Numerical analysis of flow through oscillating cascade sections

The design of turbomachinery blades requires the prevention of flutter for all operating conditions. However, flow field predictions used for aeroelastic analysis are not well understood for all flow regimes. The present research focuses on numerical solutions of the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations using an ADI procedure to model two-dimensional, transonic flow through oscillating cascades. The model prescribes harmonic pitching motions for the blade sections for both zero and non-zero inter-blade phase angles. The code introduces the use of a deforming grid technique for convenient specification of the periodic boundary conditions. Approximate nonreflecting boundary conditions have been coded for the inlet and exit boundary conditions. Sample unsteady solutions have been performed for an oscillating cascade and compared to experimental data. Also, test cases were fun for a flat plate cascade to compare with an unsteady, small-perturbation, subsonic analysis. The predictions for oscillating cascades with non-zero inter-blade phase angles are in good agreement with experimental data and small-perturbation theory. The zero degree inter-blade phase angle cases, which were near a resonant condition, differ from the experiment and theory. Studies on reflecting versus non-reflecting inlet and exit boundary conditions show that the treatment of the boundary can have a significant effect on the first harmonic, unsteady pressure distributions for certain flow conditions. This code is expected to be used as a tool for reviewing simpler models that do not include the full nonlinear aerodynamics or as a final check for designs against flutter in turbomachinery.