Abstract
It is well known that riblet applied on compressor blades is a promising flow control technique. However, detailed investigation of its effects on the flow field of turbomachinery is rare in existing literatures. This paper presents a detailed experimental investigation of effects of distributed riblet on the flow field of an axial compressor isolated-rotor stage. The research was performed in a large-scale facility respectively with two configurations, including grooved hub, and grooved surface on both hub and partial suction surface. The riblet film is rectangle grooved type with a height of 0.1 mm. The flow field at 10% chord downstream from the cascade trailing edge was measured using a mini five-hole pressure probe and a total pressure probe. The testing was conducted at several operational points under two reduced rotational speeds. Stagnation pressure loss in rotational frame was calculated and compared with the control test in which a smooth film was applied to the corresponding position. Results show that with the grooved hub configuration at the design operation point of the lower rotational speed, the riblet film provides an obvious improvement of a 48% reduction of total pressure loss in rotational frame. Also, a distinct weaken hub corner vortex was identified. In the meantime, there exists a deviation of flow angle about 5 degrees at 20%–80% span which previously was not considered to be the affected region.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Abbreviations
- STH :
-
with smooth film
- HR :
-
with riblet on hub
- HBR :
-
with riblet on hub and partial suction side
- RPM :
-
rotational speed (r/min)
- N :
-
Reduced rotational speed (r/min)
- Dp :
-
dynamic pressure at inlet (Pa)
- Ps :
-
static pressure at outlet (Pa)
- Pt :
-
total pressure at outlet (Pa)
- V :
-
velocity (m/s)
- U tip :
-
tangential velocity of blade tip (m/s)
- cva :
-
V 0 / U tip, axial velocity coefficient at inlet
- cp :
-
(Ps 1-Ps 0) /Dp, static pressure rise coefficient
- W2u :
-
V t in RF at outlet (m/s)
- Yaw :
-
flow angle at outlet (degree)
- Beta :
-
pitch angle at outlet (degree)
- cvz :
-
V a1 /U tip, axial flow coefficient
- cpt :
-
(Pt 1-Pt 0) /Dp, Pt coefficient
- cps :
-
(Ps 1-Ps 0) /Dp, Ps coefficient
- ξ :
-
relative total pressure loss coefficient normalized by Dp
- 0:
-
compressor inlet
- 1:
-
compressor outlet
- t:
-
tangential
- a:
-
axial
References
Viswanath, P. R., Riblets on Airfoils and Wings: A Review, 30th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference, 1999, Norfolk, VA, AIAA-99-3402.
Marec, J.P., Drag Reduction: a Major Task for Research, CEAS/DragNet European Conference, Potsdam, Germany, 2000.
Gallagher, J. A., Thomas, W., Turbulent Boundary Layer Characteristics Over Streamwise Grooves, AIAA 84-0347, Seattle, USA, 1984.
Choi, K.S., Near-Wall Structure of a Turbulent Boundary Layer with Riblets, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1989, vol. 208, pp, 417–458.
Bacher, E. V., Smith, C. R., A Combined Visualization-Anemometry Study of the Turbulent Drag Reducing Mechanisms of Triangular Micro-groove Surface Modifications, 1985, AIAA 85-0548, Boulder, USA.
Gong, Wuqi, et al, Experiment Study on the Mechanism of Riblets Drag Reduction, Journal of Engineering Thermophysics, 2002, 23(5): 579–582.
Wang, Jinjun, et al, Experiment Study on the Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow over Riblets Surface, Journal of Mechanics, 2000, 32(5): 621–626.
Matthias, B., Leonhard, F.: Effects of Riblet on the Loss Behavior of a Highly Loaded Compressor Cascade, Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo, 2002, Netherlands, GT-2002-30438.
Karsten, O., Joerg, R. S., Exploratory Experiments on Machined Riblets on Compressor Blades, Proceedings of FEDSM, 2006, FEDSM-2006-98093, Miami, USA.
Karsten, O., Joerg, R. S., et al., Exploratory Experiments on Machined Riblets for 2-D Compressor Blades, Proceedings of IMECE, 2007, IMECE-2007-43457, Seattle, USA.
Christoph, L., Berend, D., Recent Advances in Manufacturing of Riblets on Compressor Blades and Their Aerodynamic Impact, Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo, 2012, Denmark, GT-2012-69067.
James, S. S., David, B. G., Direct Numerical Simulations of Riblets to Constrain the Growth of Turbulent Spots, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, vol. 668, pp.267–292, (2011).
Ma, H., Guo, J., Effects of a Kind of Non-smooth Blade on the Unsteady Flow Field at the Exit of an Axial Fan, Journal of Thermal science, pp.200–205, (2006).
Ma, H., Jiang H., Three-dimensional Turbulent Flow Field at the Exit of an Axial Compressor Rotor Passage in Both Design and Near Stall Conditions, Journal of Engineering Thermophysics, vol. 18, pp.153–158, (1997).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant No. 51161130525 and 51136003, supported by the 111 Project, No. B07009.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ma, H., Wei, W. Experimental investigation of effects of distributed riblets on aerodynamic performance of a low-speed compressor. J. Therm. Sci. 22, 592–599 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-013-0667-1
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-013-0667-1