Numerical simulations of supersonic flow through oscillating cascade sections

A finite difference code has been developed for modeling inviscid, unsteady supersonic flow by solution of the compressible Euler equations. The code uses a deforming grid technique to capture the motion of the airfoils and can model oscillating cascades with any arbitrary interblade phase angle. A flat plate cascade is analyzed, and results are compared with results from a small-perturbation theory. The results show very good agreement for both the unsteady pressure distributions and the integrated force predictions. The reason for using the numerical Euler code over a small-perturbation theory is the ability to model 'real' airfoils that have thickness and camber. Sample predictions are presented for a cascade of loaded airfoils and show appreciable differences in the unsteady surface pressure distributions when compared with the flat plate results.