Effect of Blade-surface Finish on Performance of a Single-stage Axial-flow Compressor

A set of modified NACA 5509-34 rotor and stator blades was investigated with rough-machine, hand-filed, and highly polished surface finishes over a range of weight flows at six equivalent tip speeds from 672 to 1092 feet per second to determine the effect of blade-surface finish on the performance of a single-stage axial-flow compressor. Surface-finish effects decreased with increasing compressor speed and with decreasing flow at a given speed. In general, finishing blade surfaces below the roughness that may be considered aerodynamically smooth on the basis of an admissible-roughness formula will have no effect on compressor performance.