A Fully Three-Dimensional Inverse Method for Turbomachinery Blading in Transonic Flows

Abstract

This paper presents a procedure to extend a recently developed fully three-dimensional inverse method for highly loaded turbomachine blades into the transonic-flow regime. In this inverse method, the required three-dimensional blade profile to produce a prescribed swirl schedule is determined iteratively using the blade boundary conditions. In the present implementation, the flow is assumed to be inviscid and the blades are assumed to be infinitely thin. The relevant equations are solved in the conservative forms and are discretized in all three directions using a finite-volume technique. Calculations are carried out for the design of high-pressure axial- and centrifugal-compressor rotors. These examples include prescribed swirl schedules corresponding to blade designs that are shock-free and blade designs that have rapid compression regions in the blade passage.