Loss Prediction in an Axial Compressor Cascade at Off-Design Incidences With Free Stream Disturbances Using Large Eddy Simulation

Axial compressors may be operated under off-design incidences due to variable operating conditions. Therefore, a successful design requires accurate performance and stability limits predictions under a wide operating range. Designers generally rely both on correlations and on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS), the accuracy of the latter often being questioned. The present study investigates profile losses in an axial compressor linear cascade using both RANS and wall-resolved large eddy simulation (LES), and compares with measurements. The analysis concentrates on “loss buckets,” local separation bubbles and boundary layer transition with high levels of free stream turbulence, as encountered in real compressor environment without and with periodic incoming wakes. The work extends the previous research with the intention of furthering our understanding of prediction tools and improving our quantification of the physical processes involved in loss generation. The results show that while RANS predicts overall profile losses with good accuracy, the relative importance of the different loss mechanisms does not match with LES, especially at off-design conditions. This implies that a RANS-based optimization of a compressor profile under a wide incidence range may require a thorough LES verification at off-design incidence.