Hole-Blade Treatment in High-Speed Axial Compressors

The effect of a novel blade treatment on the performance characteristics of NASA Rotor 37 is investigated numerically in this study. The treatment includes making special holes in the blade and near the tip section. The impact of the treatment on the end-wall flow structure is evaluated and discussed. Furthermore, the influence of the streamwise location and the angle of the holes is investigated. The results reveal that a significant stability enhancement can be achieved by the appropriate design of the hole location and configuration, at the expense of a small degradation in the peak efficiency and pressure ratio. It is shown that the position of the holes should be downstream of the passage shock wave to maximize the operating range of the rotor. In this situation, the shock is sucked back by the hole, which reduces its angle and postpones stall inception. Maximum stability improvement (about 30%) has been obtained for a hole angle equivalent to 75 degrees and a 60% chord location.