Laser Doppler velocimeter measurement in the tip region of a compressor rotor

The axial and tangential velocity components near the tip region of a compressor rotor were measured by a laser Doppler velocimeter. The measurements were taken at 25 radial locations in the outer twenty percent of the blade span and at 10 axial locations upstream, inside and at the exit of the rotor. The results are interpreted to derive the behavior of the leakage flow, annulus wall boundary layer growth, inviscid effects and the rotor wake decay characteristics in the tip region. The inviscid and annulus wall boundary layer effects dominate up to quarter chord, beyond which the leakage phenomena has a major influence in altering the flow characteristics in the outer ten percent of the blade span. The annulus wall boundary layer undergoes drastic change through the passage. The velocity field measured near the leading edge reveals the effects of rapid acceleration near the suction surface and the stagnation point on the pressure surface.