Journal of Theoretical
and Applied Mechanics
56, 4, pp. 1005-1015, Warsaw 2018
DOI: 10.15632/jtam-pl.56.4.1005

Investigation of inlet distortion effects on axial compressor performance based on streamline curvature method

Sarallah Abbasi, Alireza Pirnia, Reza Taghavi-Zenouz
In this paper, the effects of inlet flow distortion on performance maps and details of the flow
field are investigated using the Streamline Curvature Method. The results are presented for
both design and off-design conditions and compared with experimental data, which shows
good agreement. The effects of inlet flow distortion are investigated by inlet total pressure
variation in three different cases in the way that the average total pressure remains constant
and equal to the design value. The results show that a relative increase in the total pressure
at tip causes an increase in the pressure ratio and efficiency as well as a better performance
in the choking region. Alternatively, a relative increase in the total pressure in hub causes
opposite behavior and a better performance at the surging region.
Keywords: axial compressor, performance map, inlet distortion, surge margin, streamline curvature

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