Session: 31-05 Experimental Methods

Paper Number: 153123

Design and Commissioning of a Supersonic Linear Compressor Cascade Test Section in the VKI Isentropic Compression Tube CT-2 Facility 

A new supersonic linear compressor cascade test section, designed to investigate supersonic aerodynamics of low-pressure compressor and fan blades of forthcoming aircraft engines architectures, is presented in this paper. This test section, installed in the short-duration VKI isentropic compression tube CT-2 facility, is composed of a 5-blade linear cascade and is designed to operate from subsonic up to supersonic (M₁ = 1.4) inflow conditions with independent Reynolds number variation up to engine-like conditions. A throttling mechanism allows the variation of the cascade pressure ratio for a fixed inlet Mach number, thereby covering a wide flow regime from unstarted to started “unique incidence” conditions. The first part of the paper outlines the methodology used for the design of the test section in view of the challenges imposed for the assessment of the aerodynamic performance of transonic compressor blade profiles at engine-like conditions in a linear cascade arrangement. The second part of the paper describes the employed measurement techniques, with an emphasis on the optical setup designed for the Background-Oriented Schlieren (BOS) measurements used for the visualization of the complex shock patterns. Finally, a selection of preliminary experimental results obtained at high inlet Mach numbers (M₁ = [1.2 – 1.4]) are briefly presented.

Presenting Author: Julien Clinckemaillie von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics

Presenting Author Biography: I graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Université Catholique de Louvain in 2012, having performed my master thesis on heat transfer in rotating high-pressure turbine rib-roughened cooling channels under Prof. Tony Arts at the von Karman Institute (vKI).
I continued my adventure at vKI by joining the Research Master program in 2012, graduating in 2013 and having performed a research project on the aerodynamics of Turbine Rear Vanes.
I then became a research assistant, still under the guidance of Prof. Tony Arts, working on the experimental assessment of the aerodynamic performance of low-pressure turbine profiles with periodic incoming wakes.
In 2017, I became a full research engineer, and worked on a wide variety of projects ranging from high-speed low-pressure turbine aerodynamics, the design and commissioning of cooled fast-response static pressure probes for combustion chamber measurements, design and commissioning of fast-response totale pressure probes, and as of late, the design and commissioning of a supersonic compressor cascade test section for the CT-2 short-duration test facility.

Authors:

Julien Clinckemaillie von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics
Yves Marichal Safran Aero Boosters
Rémy Princivalle Safran Aero Boosters
Fabrizio Fontaneto von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics