Numerical results for axial flow compressor instability

Using Cornell's supercomputing facilities, an extensive study of the Moore-Greitzer model was carried out, which gives accurate and reliable information about compressor instability. The bifurcation analysis in the companion paper shows the dependence of the mode of compressor response on the shape of the rotating stall characteristic. The numerical results verify and extend this with a more accurate representation of the characteristic. The effect of the parameters on the shape of the rotating stall characteristic is investigated, and it is found that the parameters with the strongest effects are the inlet length, and the shape of the compressor pressure rise vs. mass flow diagram (i.e. tall diagrams vs. shallow diagrams). The effects of inlet guide vane loss on the characteristic are discussed.