Parker-Type Acoustic Resonances in the Return Guide Vane Cascade of a Centrifugal Compressor – Theoretical Modeling and Experimental Verification

Abstract

The potential of acoustic resonances within vane arrays of turbomachinery has been known since the fundamental investigations of Parker back in the sixties and seventies. In his basic studies on flat plate arrays (and later on for an axial compressor) he could show that vortex shedding from the respective trailing edges may excite acoustic resonances that are localized to the vaned flow region. In principle, such phenomena are conceivable for any kind of turbomachinery; however, no such investigations are publicly available for the centrifugal type. The current investigation is one part of an extended research program to gain a better understanding of excitation and noise generating mechanism in centrifugal compressors, and focuses on Parker-type acoustic resonances within the return guide vane cascade of a high-pressure centrifugal compressor. A simplified model to calculate the respective acoustic eigenfrequencies is presented, and the results are compared with finite element analyses. Furthermore, the calculated mode shapes and frequencies are compared with experimental results. It is shown that for high-pressure centrifugal compressors, according to the nomenclature of Parker, acoustic modes of the α, β, γ, and δ type exist over a wide operating range within the return guide vane cascade. For engine representative Reynolds numbers, the experimental results indicate that the vortex shedding frequencies from the vane trailing edges cannot be characterized by a definite Strouhal number; the excitation of the Parker-type acoustic modes is mostly broadband due to the flow turbulence. No lock-in phenomenon between vortex shedding and acoustic modes takes place, and the amplitudes of the acoustic resonances are too small to cause machines failures or excessive noise levels. The simplified model presented in the current paper has been successfully validated for the return guide vane cascade of a centrifugal compressor but can also be applied for arbitrary blade and vane arrays, given that the chord-to-pitch ratio is sufficiently high. With this model, frequency components in measured pressure signals, that were left unexplained in the past, can be easily inspected for possible Parker-type resonances.