Current problems in turbomachinery fluid dynamics

A multi-investigator effort on problems of current interest in turbomachinery fluid dynamics is being carried out in the Gas Turbine & Plasma Dynamics Lab. of MIT. Within the overall program, four different tasks having to do with a wide range of design and off-design flow fields have been identified. These are: (1) investigation of fan and compressor design point fluid dynamics (including formulation of design procedures using current three-dimensional transonic codes and development of techniques for instantaneous temperature measurements in transonic fans); (2) studies of compressor stability enhancement (including basic investigations of fluid dynamics of compressor casing/hub treatment); (3) fluid mechanics of gas turbine engine operation in inlet flow distortion (including inlet vortex distortion and combined circumferential/radial distortions); and (4) investigations of three-dimensional flows in highly loaded turbomachines (including actuator duct theory and blade-to-blade flow analysis) and linearized analysis of swirling three-dimensional flows in turbomachines. This report summarizes the work carried out to data as well as indicates the direction of future efforts on these tasks.