Acoustic Resonance in an Axial Multistage Compressor Leading to Non-Synchronous Blade Vibration

Abstract

Significant non-synchronous blade vibrations (NSVs) have been observed in an experimental three-stage high-speed compressor at part-speed conditions. High-amplitude acoustic modes, propagating around the circumference and originating in the highly loaded stage-3, have been observed in coherence with the structural vibration mode. In order to understand the occurring phenomena, a detailed numerical study has been carried out to reproduce the mechanism. Unsteady full-annulus Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations of the whole setup have been performed using the solver elsA. The results revealed the development of propagating acoustic modes which are partially trapped in the annulus and are in resonance with an aerodynamic disturbance in rotor-3. The aerodynamic disturbance is identified as an unsteady separation of the blade boundary layer in rotor-3. The results indicate that the frequency and phase of the separation adapt to match those of the acoustic wave and are therefore governed by acoustic propagation conditions. Furthermore, the simulations clearly show the modulation of the propagating wave with the rotor blades, leading to a change of circumferential wave numbers while passing the blade row. To analyze if the effect is self-induced by the blade vibration, a non-coherent structural mode has been imposed in the simulations. Even at high vibration amplitude, the formerly observed acoustic mode did not change its circumferential wave number. This phenomenon is highly relevant to modern compressor designs, since the appearance of the axially propagating acoustic waves can excite blade vibrations if they coincide with a structural eigenmode, as observed in the presented experiments.