Rotor Wake Generated Unsteady Aerodynamic Response of a Compressor Stator

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the fluctuating pressure distribution on a stationary vane row, with the primary source of excitation being the wakes from the upstream rotor blades. This was accomplished in a large scale, low speed, single stage research compressor. The forcing function, the velocity defect created by the rotor wakes, was measured with a crossed hot-wire probe. The aerodynamic response on the vanes was measured by means of flush mounted high response dynamic pressure transducers. The dynamic data were analyzed to determine the chordwise distribution of the dynamic pressure coefficient and aerodynamic phase lag as referenced to a transverse gust at the vane leading edge. Vane suction and pressure surface data as well as the pressure difference across the vane were obtained for reduced frequency values ranging from 3.65 to 16.80 and for an incidence angle range of 35.5 deg. The pressure difference data were correlated with a state-of-the-art aerodynamic cascade transverse gust analysis. The correlation was quite good for all reduced frequency values for small values of incidence. For the more negative incidence angle data points, it was shown that a convected wake phenomena not modeled in the analysis existed. Both the first and second harmonic unsteady pressure differential magnitude data decrease in the chordwise direction. The second harmonic magnitude data attains a value very nearly zero at the vane trailing edge transducer location, while the first harmonic data is still finite, albeit small, at this location. That the magnitude of the unsteady pressure differential data approaches zero near to the trailing edge, particularly the second harmonic data which has reduced frequency values to 16.8, is significant in that it reflects upon the validity of the Kutta condition for unsteady flows.