The influence of geometry deformation on a multistage compressor

Over the service time, the rotating parts of turbine engine vary in their geometry. When aircraft take off or fly through a volcanic ash cloud, the particles are sucked into the engine, impinge the blade and gradually erode the surface. The impinging between particles and blades is responsible for the increase of the surface roughness. Also, during the long-time operation, the function of the blade’s stacking law combined with the centrifugal force could cause deviation of the stagger angle. Moreover, blade tip clearance could vary because of the casing deformation. All the deformation of geometry could severely reduce the engine performance and thus engine life. The work presented in this paper focused on the influence of geometry deformation in a real low-pressure compressor. The investigation is more difficult than most of the previously published researches with a total of five stages being considered. Due to the irregularities in geometry, it is difficult to numerically assess the performance of the compressor. The aim of this study is to give an analysis method that allows an efficient and accurate estimation of the performance for multistage compressor with geometry deformation. In the first step, the geometry models with different deviation in tip clearance, roughness and stagger angle were established respectively. A CFD study was then applied to the compressor with RANS method to calculate the flow field with different types of deformation. The variation of overall performance due to the deformation was finally analyzed to identify the dominant factor on influencing the performance of the compressor among different types of geometry deformation. A method based on polytropic efficiency analysis and flow field analysis was also established to specifically analyze which stage is most sensitive to the geometry deformation. The results show a significant influence of geometric deformation on the efficiency, total pressure rise and flow range of the multistage compressor. The conclusions of this study would provide an important guidance for engine overhaul in the factory.