Stall Margin Improvement in a Transonic Axial Compressor using Self-Recirculating Flow Control

What is it about?

The development of a passive, low profile design to extend the margin to stall on high performance military aircraft would improve safety and extend the operational envelope of both current aircraft in service as well as future designs. Two self-recirculating flow control designs were developed and tested and were able to enhance stall margin and expand the usable area of the compressor map where previous axial slot and groove casing treatments failed. This paper reports the actual test data from a transonic axial compressor showing both the resulting improvements along with a comparison of efficiency penalties as a result of flow recirculation.

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Photo by Simon Hurry on Unsplash

Photo by Simon Hurry on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Compressor stall in high performance military aircraft can result in loss of life and equipment. We designed and tested a low profile self-recirculating flow control device that improves stall margin where previous axial slot and circumferential groove designs were unsuccessful.