An aerodynamic investigation was performed to assess the effectiveness of combined boundary layer suction and trailing edge blowing at reducing the blade profile losses and the wake momentum deficit of a cascade of tandem IGV's operating at realistic flow conditions. Two trailing edge blowing designs were tested: metal-angle blowing, which oriented the blowing jets very near to the blade exit angle, and deviation-angle blowing, which oriented the blowing jets at a significant deviation angle from the blade exit angle. Both blowing designs used the same boundary layer suction arrangement. A linear cascade of five IGV's was tested with a flap deflection angle of 40 degrees and an inlet Mach number of 0.3. The Reynolds number based on the overall IGV chord length for these experiments was greater than 500,000. The inlet and exit angles of the IGV at this flap setting were 0 degrees and 55 degrees, respectively. Tests performed with no flow control showed significant suction surface flow separation that generated large wakes with high losses and large momentum deficits. The application of boundary layer suction reduced the baseline pressure loss coefficient and wake momentum thickness by 22%. A suction mass flow of 0.4% of the passage flow was used to obtain these results. The addition of metal-angle blowing with the suction resulted in total reductions of 48% and 38% for the pressure loss coefficient and wake momentum thickness. A blowing mass flow of 3.1% of the passage flow was used in addition to 0.4% suction mass flow to obtain these results. The application of the deviation-angle blowing was detrimental to the aerodynamics of the IGV, as both the pressure loss coefficient and wake momentum thickness increased slightly over their suction-only values. This was attributed to a manufacturing defect which distorted the flow of the blowing jet. The results of the deviation-angle blowing experiments were not considered representative of the design intent and reinforced the importance of the hole design for creating a proper blowing jet. While low speed tests of this cascade showed results and trends very similar to those of previous research, the application of flow control proved to be less effective at higher speeds due to the generation of significantly larger wakes. / Master of Science

A high-turning compressor stator with a unique flow control design was developed and tested. Both boundary layer suction and trailing edge blowing developed from a single supplied motive pressure source are employed on the stator. Massflow removed through boundary layer suction is added to the motive massflow, and the resulting combined flow is used for trailing edge blowing to reduce the total pressure deficit generated by the stator wake. The effectiveness of the flow control design was investigated experimentally by measuring the reduction in the total pressure loss coefficient. The experiment was conducted in a linear transonic blowdown cascade wind tunnel. The inlet Mach number for all tests was 0.79, with a Reynolds number based on stator chordlength of 2,000,000. A range of inlet cascade angles was tested to identify the useful range of the flow control design. The effect of different supply massflows represented as a percentage of the passage throughflow was also documented. Significant reductions in the total pressure loss coefficient were accomplished with flow control at low cascade angles. A maximum reduction of 65% in the baseline (no flow control) loss coefficient was achieved by using a motive massflow of 1.6% of the passage throughflow, at cascade angle of 0°. The corresponding suction and blowing massflow ratio was approximately 1:3.6. Cascade angle results near 0° showed significant reductions in the loss coefficient, while increases in the cascade angle diminished the effects of flow control. Considerable suction side separation and the presence of a leading edge shock are noticeable as the cascade angle is increased, and contribute to the losses across the stator surface. Also identified was the estimated increase in wake turning due to flow control of up to 4.5°. / Master of Science

A wind tunnel investigation of an axisymmetric bluff body, known as a Goldschmied propulsor, was completed. This model conceptually combines boundary layer control and boundary layer ingestion into a single complementary system that is intended to use energy to reduce the axial force on the body by eliminating separation and increasing the pressure recovery aft of the body’s maximum thickness. The goal of the current project was to design, fabricate, and fully document the performance of a wind tunnel model incorporating the Goldschmied propulsor concept and complete an examination of its aerodynamic performance. The investigation took place at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in the Aerospace Engineering Department’s subsonic 3ft by 4ft wind tunnel. The model is 38.5 inches in length and 13.5 inches in diameter with a discrete suction slot at 85% of the body length and an embedded propulsor that provides the suction flow, expelling it out of the model’s aft end. The experiment included measurements of surface pressure, total axial force, suction mass flow rate, fan thrust, fan torque, fan speed, and input fan power. The size of the suction slot and amount of input fan power were the main test variables in the 54 data point test matrix that was completed at a length Reynolds number of 1.34 million and a tunnel speed of 66 ft/s (20 m/s). The model was able to achieve fully attached flow on the aftbody with as little as 100W of input power and a net positive (forward) axial force coefficient of 0.12 with as little as 200W of input power. The model was also able to achieve a peak axial pressure force coefficient of 0.005 in the forward direction with an input power of 500W and a slot gap of 1.6% of the body length. A slightly lower axial pressure force coefficient of 0.0045 was achieved with only 200W of input power and a slot gap of 0.7% of the body length. The peak axial pressure force for most tested slot gaps occurred at about 200W of input power, and a slot gap of 0.7% of the body length resulted in the best overall performance for most input power settings. Two different suction slot configurations, a simple gap and a cusp, were tested, and no significant performance differences were seen between them. The pressure coefficient data showed similar trends as test data from 1956 of a similar model at higher Reynolds number, but it did not show complete agreement. Despite these positive aspects of the investigation, a simple power based comparison between the collected data and a conventional non-integrated propulsor does not show a performance improvement for the Goldschmied propulsor.

Wall transpiration, in the form of wall-normal suction or blowing through a permeable wall, is a relatively simple and effective technique to control the behaviour of a boundary layer. For its potential applications for laminar-turbulent transition and separation delay (suction) or for turbulent drag reduction and thermal protection (blowing), wall transpiration has over the past decades been the topic of a significant amount of studies. However, as far as the turbulent regime is concerned, fundamental understanding of the phenomena occurring in the boundary layer in presence of wall transpiration is limited and considerable disagreements persist even on the description of basic quantities, such as the mean streamwise velocity, for the rather simplified case of flat-plate boundary-layer flows without pressure gradients. In order to provide new experimental data on suction and blowing boundary layers, an experimental apparatus was designed and brought into operation. The perforated region spans the whole 1.2 m of the test-section width and with its streamwise extent of 6.5 m is significantly longer than previous studies, allowing for a better investigation of the spatial development of the boundary layer. The quality of the experimental setup and measurement procedures was verified with extensive testing, including benchmarking against previous results on a canonical zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer (ZPG TBL) and on a laminar asymptotic suction boundary layer. The present experimental results on ZPG turbulent suction boundary layers show that it is possible to experimentally realize a turbulent asymptotic suction boundary layer (TASBL) where the boundary layer mean-velocity profile becomes independent of the streamwise location, so that the suction rate constitutes the only control parameter. TASBLs show a mean-velocity profile with a large logarithmic region and without the existence of a clear wake region. If outer scaling is adopted, using the free-stream velocity and the boundary layer thickness (δ99) as characteristic velocity and length scale respectively, the logarithmic region is described by a slope Ao=0.064 and an intercept Bo=0.994, independently from the suction rate (Γ). Relaminarization of an initially turbulent boundary layer is observed for Γ&gt;3.70×10−3. Wall suction is responsible for a strong damping of the velocity fluctuations, with a decrease of the near-wall peak of the velocity-variance profile ranging from 50% to 65% when compared to a canonical ZPG TBL at comparable Reτ. This decrease in the turbulent activity appears to be explained by an increased stability of the near-wall streaks. Measurements on ZPG blowing boundary layers were conducted for blowing rates ranging between 0.1% and 0.37% of the free-stream velocity and cover the range of momentum thickness Reynolds number 10000&lt;Reθ&lt;36000. Wall-normal blowing strongly modifies the shape of the boundary-layer mean-velocity profile. As the blowing rate is increased, the clear logarithmic region characterizing the canonical ZPG TBLs gradually disappears. A good overlap among the mean velocity-defect profiles of the canonical ZPG TBLs and of the blowing boundary layers for all the Re number and blowing rates considered is obtained when normalization with the Zagarola-Smits velocity scale is adopted. Wall blowing enhances the intensity of the velocity fluctuations, especially in the outer region. At sufficiently high blowing rates and Reynolds number, the outer peak in the streamwise-velocity fluctuations surpasses in magnitude the near-wall peak, which eventually disappears. / Genom att använda sig av genomströmmande ytor, med sugning eller blåsning, kan man relativt enkelt och effektivt påverka ett gränsskikts tillstånd. Genom sin potential att påverka olika strömningsfysikaliska fenomen så som att senarelägga både avlösning och omslaget från laminär till turbulent strömning (genom sugning) eller som att exempelvis minska luftmotståndet i turbulenta gränsskikt och ge kyleffekt (genom blåsning), så har ett otaligt antal studier genomförts på området de senaste decennierna. Trots detta så är den grundläggande förståelsen bristfällig för de strömningsfenomen som inträffar i turbulenta gränsskikt över genomströmmande ytor. Det råder stora meningsskiljaktigheter om de mest elementära strömningskvantiteterna, såsom medelhastigheten, när sugning och blåsning tillämpas även i det mest förenklade gränsskiktsfallet nämligen det som utvecklar sig över en plan platta utan tryckgradient. För att ta fram nya experimentella data på gränsskikt med sugning och blåsning genom ytan så har vi designat en ny experimentell uppställning samt tagit den i bruk.Den genomströmmande ytan spänner över hela bredden av vindtunnelns mätsträcka (1.2 m) och är 6.5 m lång i strömningsriktningen och är därmed betydligt längre än vad som använts i tidigare studier. Detta gör det möjligt att bättre utforska gränsskiktet som utvecklas över ytan i strömningsriktningen. Kvaliteten på den experimentella uppställningen och valda mätprocedurerna har verifierats genom omfattande tester, som även inkluderar benchmarking mot tidigare resultat på turbulenta gränsskikt utan tryckgradient eller blåsning/sugning och på laminära asymptotiska sugningsgränsskikt. De experimentella resultaten på turbulenta gränsskikt med sugning bekräftar för första gången att det är möjligt att experimentellt sätta upp ett turbulent asymptotiskt sugningsgränsskikt där gränsskiktets medelhastighetsprofil blir oberoende av strömningsriktningen och där sugningshastigheten utgör den enda kontrollparametern. Det turbulenta asymptotiska sugningsgränsskiktet visar sig ha en medelhastighetsprofil normalt mot ytan med en lång logaritmisk region och utan förekomsten av en yttre vakregion. Om man använder yttre skalning av medelhastigheten, med friströmshastigheten och gränsskiktstjockleken som karaktäristisk hastighet respektive längdskala, så kan det logaritmiska området beskrivas med en lutning på Ao=0.064 och ett korsande värde med y-axeln på Bo=0.994, som är oberoende av sugningshastigheten. Om sugningshasigheten normaliserad med friströmshastigheten överskrider värdet 3.70x10^-3 så återgår det ursprungligen turbulenta gränsskiktet till att vara laminärt. Sugningen genom väggen dämpar hastighetsfluktuationerna i gränsskiktet med upp till 50-60% vid direkt jämförelse av det inre toppvärdet i ett turbulent gränsskikt utan sugning och vid jämförbart Reynolds tal. Denna minskning av turbulent aktivitet verkar härstamma från en ökad stabilitet av hastighetsstråken närmast ytan. Mätningar på turbulenta gränsskikt med blåsning har genomförts för blåsningshastigheter mellan 0.1 och 0.37% av friströmshastigheten och täcker Reynoldstalområdet (10-36)x10^3, med Reynolds tal baserat på rörelsemängds-tjockleken. Vid blåsning genom ytan får man en stark modifiering av formen på hastighetesfördelningen genom gränsskiktet. När blåsningshastigheten ökar så kommer till slut den logaritmiska regionen av medelhastigheten, karaktäristisk för turbulent gränsskikt utan blåsning, att gradvis försvinna. God överens-stämmelse av medelhastighetsprofiler mellan turbulenta gränsskikt med och utan blåsning erhålls för alla Reynoldstal och blåsningshastigheter när profilerna normaliseras med Zagarola-Smits hastighetsskala. Blåsning vid väggen ökar intensiteten av hastighetsfluktuationerna, speciellt i den yttre regionen av gränsskiktet. Vid riktigt höga blåsningshastigheter och Reynoldstal så kommer den yttre toppen av hastighetsfluktuationer i gränsskiktet att överskrida den inre toppen, som i sig gradvis försvinner. / <p>QC 20171101</p>

Afin d’alléger les moteurs d’avions et diminuer la consommation de carburant, les industriels tendent à rendre plus compact le système de compression de leurs moteurs, qui représente environ 40% de la masse totale. Or, à taux de compression global égal, la réduction du nombre d’étages implique une charge aérodynamique plus élevée par étage. Cela augmente d’autant les risques de décollements sur les aubes et la dégradation des performances. L’aspiration de la couche limite sur les aubages s’est révélée très prometteuse pour supprimer ces décollements néfastes et satisfaire aux besoins de charge aérodynamique élevée. Cependant, l’aspiration modifie fortement la distribution de pression statique à la paroi des aubes, rendant les approches de conception traditionnelles inadaptées. L’objectif de ce travail de thèse est donc de proposer une nouvelle méthode et de nouveaux critères de conception d’aubages fortement chargés, intégrant l’aspiration de la couche limite. Cette méthode repose sur une stratégie d’aspiration en deux étapes. Dans un premier temps, un contrôle passif, par courbure et diffusion, de la position du point de décollement est effectué dans le but de la rendre insensible aux conditions de fonctionnement. Dans un second temps, un contrôle actif par aspiration vise à placer la fente d’aspiration par rapport au point de décollement de manière à minimiser le taux d’aspiration nécessaire au recollement de la couche limite. Afin de mettre en pratique cette stratégie, une technique de dessin d’aubages par prescription de la distribution de courbure de l’extrados et de la variation de section du canal inter-aubes, est ainsi développée. Associée à un outil de pré-dimensionnement rapide ainsi qu’une évaluation des pertes de pression totale incluant la présence d’aspiration, cette méthode permet ainsi de concevoir une grille de stator aspirée subsonique réalisant une déflexion fluide de 60 degrés, pour un nombre de Mach amont de 0,5, correspondant à un facteur de diffusion de 0,73. Cette performance au point nominal est obtenue avec un coefficient de pertes de pression totale de 2,5%, en aspirant 1,1% du débit entrant dans la grille. Ces valeurs peuvent néanmoins être réduites respectivement à 2,1% et 0,8% par l’emploi d’une fente d’aspiration à bords arrondis. Cette étude numérique bidimensionnelle est effectuée à l’aide du code de calcul elsA de l’ONERA. Afin de valider expérimentalement cette méthode de conception ainsi que les outils numériques associés, une grille d’aubes plane est construite et testée à basse vitesse au laboratoire de Mécanique de Fluides et d’Acoustique de l’Ecole Centrale de Lyon. A mi-envergure, les résultats issus de l’expérience et de simulations numériques 3D confirment la pertinence de la stratégie d’aspiration et la démarche de conception adoptée. Cette confrontation met alors en évidence l’impact de la distribution du taux d’aspiration suivant l’envergure sur l’efficacité de l’aspiration. Etant donné l’importance des écoulements tridimensionnels rencontrés, une généralisation en trois dimensions de la stratégie d’aspiration est proposée et est appliquée numériquement sur cette même grille d’aubes. En contrôlant simultanément les couches limites se développant sur l’aube et sur les parois latérales du canal de compression, il est alors possible de supprimer presque totalement les décollements de coins présents dans celui-ci. En contrepartie, le taux d’aspiration voit sa valeur augmenter très fortement, tempérant ce bénéfice. L’épaisseur des couches limites entrantes se révèle alors également être un facteur déterminant pour le succès du contrôle des couches limites par aspiration, dans un cadre tridimensionnel. / In order to reduce the mass of aircraft jet engines as well as their fuel consumption, manufacturers tend to make the compression system of their engines more compact, since this component represents approximately 40% of the total mass. However, for a given overall pressure ratio, decreasing the number of stages implies increasing the aerodynamic load per stage. This all the more increases the risk of flow separation on the blades ultimately resulting in a decrease in performance. Boundary layer suction on the blade has proven to be very promising to suppress this deleterious flow separation and meet the needs of high aerodynamic loads. Nevertheless, boundary layer suction significantly modifies the static pressure distribution on the blades, making traditional design approaches unsuitable. Therefore, the objective of this Ph.D. work is to develop a new method and new criteria for the design of highly loaded compressor blades, integrating boundary layer suction into the design process. This design method relies on a two-step aspiration strategy. First, passive control of the separation point location is applied via curvature and diffusion in order to make it insensitive to operating conditions. Second, active control through boundary layer suction aims at placing the suction slot with respect to the separation point location, in order to minimize the necessary suction mass flow rate required to reattach the flow. To put this strategy into practice, a blading technique that consists of prescribing the curvature distribution on the suction side of the blade and the cross-section distribution of the blade passage is developed. In association with a fast pre-design tool, as well as an overall total pressure loss coefficient including aspiration, this method allows the design of a subsonic aspirated stator cascade with flow turning of 60 degrees, for an inlet Mach number of 0.5,giving a Diffusion Factor of 0.73. This performance at the design point is obtained for an overall total pressure loss coefficient of 2.5%, aspirating 1.1% of the inlet mass flow rate. Nevertheless, these two values can be respectively reduced to 2.1% and 0.8% by rounding the edges of the suction slot. This bi-dimensional numerical study has been carried out with the elsA solver from ONERA. To experimentally validate this design method and the associated numerical tools, a planar cascade is built and tested at low speed at the Laboratoire de Mécanique de Fluides et d’Acoustique at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon. At mid-span, results from the experiment and from tri-dimensional numerical simulations confirm the relevance of the design approach. This comparison then discloses the impact of the suction mass flow rate distribution along the span, on the efficiency of aspiration. Given the importance of tri-dimensional flows encountered in the experiment and simulations, a generalization in three dimensions of the aspiration strategy is proposed and numerically applied on the same cascade. By simultaneously controlling the boundary layers developing on the blades and on the endwalls,it is possible to almost entirely suppress the corner separations present in the blade passage. However, one disadvantage is that the suction mass flow rate undergoes a strong increase, moderating this benefit. The thickness of the inlet boundary layers appears to be also a key factor in the success of boundary layer control by aspiration, in a tri-dimensional context.