Response of a Tandem-Staged Compressor to Circumferential Inflow Distortion

Tandem rotor, as a concept, promises a higher diffusion capacity than a single rotor. However, it is reported to have a lower operating range than the conventional rotor. Inflow distortion can lead to significant changes in the flow dynamics of the axial-flow compressor. Further, a highly loaded tandem blade is likely to be severely affected due to the inflow distortions. In this study, circumferential distortion is imposed at the inlet of a tandem stage and its response is studied, using steady and unsteady probes. The performance characteristics and other aerodynamics parameters under the circumferential distortion are compared with the clean inflow case. As expected, the tandem stage experiences a significant drop in the total pressure rise and operating range under circumferential distortion. A large deficit in the total pressure, efficiency, and axial velocity is observed in the distorted region. The casing pressure traces, Morlet wavelet analysis, and Fast Fourier Transform techniques are used to analyze the unsteady data. The stall is incepted in the form of a low-intensity spike, which later evolved into a fully grown stall within 2.5 rotor revolutions. Further, the amplitude of the stall cell under the circumferential distortion is found to be higher than the clean flow.