Research on the lean and swept optimization of a single stage axial compressor

Abstract

Compressor design is always a prevalent research issue as nowadays the compressor demands higher performance. Designing afresh a new compressor of higher aerodynamic performance will cost a tremendous amount of time and expense. Consequently, the wiser method of acquiring a higher performance compressor is to optimize a current compressor, discussed in this paper. First, a detailed numerical simulation of al compressor is done. A parametric rotor model is created and the variations of lean and swept parameters are limited. Then, an optimization calculation is carried out based on the combination of an artificial neural network and a genetic algorithm. The optimization iteration is started at three specified working points – a choke point, a design point and a near stall point – to acquire a comprehensive improved solution. A novel penalty function considering both pressure ratio and efficiency is constructed to find the optimal model. Finally, a detailed review is made of the original and the optimized compressor. The computational results show that the isentropic efficiency is successfully increased and the stall margin is remarkably improved. Ultimately, a detailed vortex structure analysis with increasing outlet pressure is discussed. This helps the performance increment mechanism to be understood further.

Keywords

• optimization
• axial compressor
• lean and swept
• stall margin