Characterisation of conventional and controlled diffusion stator blades in a transonic compressor stage 13; 13;

This paper describes the design and performance evaluation of a controlled diffusion aerofoil (CDA) stator in a transonic axial compressor stage. The overall and blade element performance, determined experimentally, as well as the results of computational flow analysis are compared with those obtained with a NACA double circular arc (DCA) stator tested with the same transonic rotor. The design of the CDA stator, having a low loading level similar to the conventional DCA stator, was based upon a geometric procedure, initially developed by Lubenstein, et al. (1984) but built into a suitable FORTRAN program during the present investigations. The surface Mach number profiles on CDA stator clearly indicated forward loading and were typical of this class of aerofoils confirming the applicability of this geometric procedure for the design of CDA blading