Improving Flow Stability of a Centrifugal Compressor by Regulating Energy Transfer Among Dynamic Modes

Document Type : Regular Article

Authors

1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, 300350 Tianjin, China

2 National Key Laboratory of Vehicle Power System, Tianjin University, 300350 Tianjin, China

3 School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Commerce, 300134 Tianjin, China

10.47176/jafm.18.11.3433

Abstract

Compressor flow instability significantly constrains the development of aviation power systems. Improving flow stability of compressor is usually challenging without deteriorating aerodynamic performances. In this study, a new method for improving compressor flow stability is proposed based on regulating energy transfer among flow field dynamic modes. Firstly, dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) is conducted on the compressor flow field to identify the dominant dynamic modes and the corresponding evolution characteristics. It is found that the BPF (Blade-Passing-Frequency) mode and its harmonics represent the rotor-stator interactions of the flow field, and they are named as inherent mode. The 0.11RF (Rotor Frequency) mode, which is caused by large-scale low-frequency disturbances downstream of the rotor, characterizes periodic fluctuations of the compressor flow field, and it is recognized as characteristic mode. DMD analyses on the compressor throttling process reveals that the essential feature of compressor flow instability is the energy transfer from the inherent mode to the characteristic mode. Then, an optimization method is proposed for improving flow stability by maximizing inherent mode energy and minimizing characteristic mode energy. Optimization based on this approach has resulted in a 25.4% increase in the energy-ratio of the inherent mode at the compressor near-stall condition, alongside a 51.84% reduction in the energy-ratio of the characteristic mode. The compressor stall flow rate is decreased by 8.45% and the choke flow rate is increased by 5.11%, and the overall aerodynamic performances are maintained.

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Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics
Volume 18, Issue 11 - Serial Number 103
November 2025
Pages 2874-2892

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History

  • Received: 10 February 2025
  • Revised: 26 April 2025
  • Accepted: 08 June 2025
  • Available online: 03 September 2025

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