An investigation of modelling parameters for surge phenomenon in axial compressors

Abstract

Axial compressors have been used in areas such as propulsion and power generation for many decades now. The development of compressors has been accompanied by the identification of gas dynamic instabilities during their operation, such as surge and stall, and the subsequent development of technologies to mitigate such problems. A widely employed lumped model for studying post stall phenomenon, usually referred to as Moore-Greitzer model, involves combining the geometric and operating parameters of the compression system into certain non-dimensional groups. In this paper, a numerical study of the different parameters affecting the surge phenomenon in axial compressors is performed. By unfurling the non-dimensional groups in the Moore-Greitzer model, the significance of the actual geometric and operational variables is identified.