Session: 31-05 Compressor Design

Paper Number: 121459

121459 - A Rapid Test Facility for Transonic Compressors and Fans 

Design, manufacture and test of a concept transonic compressor or fan typically takes more than a year and costs of the order of several million dollars. This paper describes a new type of transonic rapid test facility which can be used to design, manufacture, and test a concept design within a week at a cost of several thousand dollars. This represents a time and cost reduction of a factor of between a hundred and a thousand. This facility offers the potential for a new approach to the development of transonic compressors and fans, one in which the designer is empowered to move rapidly back and forth between the physical and digital worlds.

The facility has several important characteristics which have been specifically designed to reduced testing time and cost. First the facility maintains engine Mach number, but deliberately reduces the Reynolds number to just above the critical Reynolds number. This dramatically reduces the size and mechanical safety requirement of the test facility. Second the facility operates as a turboexpander where a downstream turbine extracts the work put in by the compressor. This means that the power requirement of the facility is less than a half of that of existing facilities. Third the smaller scale of the facility and the way that it has been designed allows it to be stripped and rebuilt in less than a day. Fourth a control system and instrumentation system has been designed to allow the rapid test of each configuration. In addition, a rapid design and manufacture capability has been set up which allows the design and manufacture of a new concept in less than two days. It is found that in combination these characteristics form a virtuous circle dramatically cutting the time to design, manufacture and test a new concept.

Finally, the new test capability is demonstrated by testing a series of damaged transonic compressor rotors. The geometries represent aero engine compressor blades that are boroblended to repair foreign object damages arising in service. Without this new test capability such testing would have not been possible within a realistic cost and time budget.

Presenting Author: Tianhou Wang Whittle Laboratory

Presenting Author Biography: Matt Wang is a PhD student in future propulsion and power studying at the Whittle Laboratory, University of Cambridge, where he also obtained his MEng degree.

Authors:

Tianhou Wang Whittle Laboratory
James Taylor Whittle Laboratory
Robert Miller Whittle Laboratory