Investigation of Unsteady Compressor Flow Structure With Tip Injection Using Particle Image Velocimetry

Fluid injection at the tip of highly loaded compressor rotors is known to be very effective in suppressing the onset of rotating stall and eventually compressor instability. To understand the effects of tip injection, the flow field at the tip region of a transonic compressor rotor with and without fluid injection was investigated in this paper. Using results acquired by phase-locked PIV measurements as well as the static pressure field obtained by fast response pressure transducers, the unsteady interaction between the injection jet and the rotor could be described thoroughly. Both, an influence of the rotor’s flow field on the jet as well of the jet on the rotor was clearly visible. Since unsteady inflow conditions to the front rotor in the relative frame of reference were imposed by the injection jets, the rotor’s unsteady response was investigated by inspection of the position of the tip leakage vortex trajectory. It could be shown that due to a short time for the flow to adapt at the rotor’s leading edge, its position didn’t change distinctly. Because a significantly longer time was needed for the overall passage flow to adapt, it was concluded that this causes the beneficial effect of tip injection.