INFLUENCE OF THE BLADE COUNT RATIO ON AERODYNAMIC FORCING PART I: HIGHLY LOADED TRANSONIC COMPRESSOR

The influence of the Blade Count Ratio (BCR) on the aerodynamic forcing of a highly transonic compressor has been investigated. The focus has been put on the unsteady aerodynamics as well as mode excitability and thus High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) risk. A number of compressor stages were investigated that differed in blade count of the stator blade row. Time-resolved aerodynamic forcing results were acquired using a non-linear CFD approach. The results were decomposed into frequency content and combined with modal properties of the various components. It is found that the BCR is a key parameter to reduce generalized force and consequently vibratory HCF stresses. Furthermore a potential in avoiding and/or alleviating potential resonant crossings in the Campbell diagram is reported. The dependency of these aspects from BCR is largely non-linear and for the first time discussed in detail on the basis of a transonic compressor stage.