| Axial compressors are rather complex systems used in a range of industrial and civil
applications. For transportation, axial compressors have found a dominant role in jet engines
powering a wide variety of civil airplanes. Despite the central role such systems play over a
number of years in propulsion, many design and performance issues are unsolved. In particular,
the efficiency and the associated risk of stall and surge present a challenge as fuel economy and
pollution issues are closely related to efficiency. To further the research on these unresolved
topics, a compressor research facility requires an interface to study the effects of the compressor
instabilities and remedial control actions, preferably at a reasonable cost. Hence, a design of a
test-bench compressor is proposed. In this work, a prototype design and implementation of such
a system are detailed including the associated electronic instrumentation and data acquisition
system. Additionally, the instrumentation along with the corresponding acquired signals from the
different sensors are analyzed and used to characterize the proposed system. An algorithm to
predict stall precursors is proposed as well. The experimental data for the algorithm, using the
pressure data around the tip clearance region of the rotor blades, is acquired from such a test
bench system. The two major components of the algorithm are designed and tested against
various test cases.
Keywords: Axial Compressor, Flow Dynamics, Measurement Systems, Test Stand |