Investigation of the wavy leading edge suppressing suction surface separation in a single-stage axial flow compressor

In order to improve the compressor efficiency, a wavy leading edge design method is introduced. A single objective optimization method is adopted to find the optimal wavy leading edge design and the effect of the wavy leading edge on the suction surface separation of a subsonic compressor stator is investigated by means of numerical simulations and controlling the sinusoidal function. The optimization results indicate that the amplitude has a significant impact on the compressor efficiency. Three amplitude schemes were studied, and the results show that as the amplitude increases, the efficiency of the compressor first increases and then decreases. The optimal schemes can reduce flow loss by 21.8% and increase the peak efficiency of the compressor by 1.46%. The wavy leading edge blades could change the static pressure distribution and induce the formation of leading edge vortex pairs behind the valley to improve the ability of resisting the separation for the flow.