Analytical Investigation of Some Three-Dimensional Flow Problems in Turbomachines

One problem encountered in the theory of turbomachines is that of calculating the fluid velocity components when the inner and outer boundaries of the machine as well as the shape of or forces imparted by the blade row are given. The present paper discusses this problem under the restrictions that the fluid is inviscid and incompressible and that the blade rows consist of an infinite number of infinitely thin blades so that axially symmetric flow is assumed. It is shown, in general, that the velocity components in a plane through the turbomachine axis may be expressed in terms of the angular momentum and the leading-edge blade force normal to the stream surfaces. The relation is a nonlinear differential equation to which analytic solutions may be obtained conveniently only after the introduction of linearizing assumptions. A quite accurate linearization is effected through assuming an approximate shape of the stream surfaces in certain nonlinear terms. The complete linearized solution for the axial turbomachine is given in such form that blade loading, blade shape, distribution of angular momentum, or distribution of total head may be prescribed. Calculations for single blade rows of aspect ratio 2 and 2/3 are given for a radius ratio of 0.6. They indicate that the process of formation of the axial velocity profile may extend both upstream and downstream of a high-aspect-ratio blade row, while for low aspect ratios the major portion of the three-dimensional flow occurs within the blade row itself. When the through-flow velocity varies greatly from its mean value, the simple linearized solution does not describe the flow process adequately and a more accurate solution applicable to such conditions is suggested. The structure of the first-order linearized solution for the axial turbomachine suggested a further approximation employing a minimizing operation. The simplicity of this solution permits the discussion of three interesting problems: Mutual interference of neighboring blade rows in a multistage axial turbomachine, solution for a single blade row of given blade shape, and the solution for this blade row operating at a condition different from the design condition. It is found that the interference of adjacent blade rows in the multistage turbomachine may be neglected when the ratio of blade length to the distance between centers of successive blade rows is 1.0 or less. For values of this ratio in excess of 3.0, the interference may be an important influence. The solution for the single blade row indicated that, for the blade shape considered, the distortion of the axial velocity profile caused by off-design operation is appreciably less for low- than for high-aspect-ratio blades. To obtain some results for a mixed-flow turbomachine comparable with those for the axial turbomachine as well as to indicate the essential versatility of the method of linearizing the general equations, completely analogous theoretical treatment is given for a turbomachine whose inner and outer walls are concentric cones with common apex and whose flow is that of a three-dimensional source or sink. A particular example for a single rotating blade row is discussed where the angular momentum is prescribed similarly to that used in the examples for the axial turbomachine