Cross-Validation of Multistage Compressor Map Generation by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics and Stage-Stacking Techniques

Gas turbine operating state determination consists of the assessment of the modification, due to deterioration and fault, of performance and geometric data characterizing machine components. One of the main effects of deterioration and fault is the modification of compressor and turbine performance maps. In this paper, three-dimensional numerical simulations of a multistage axial compressor are carried out. As a case study, the axial sections (i.e. the first six stages) of the Allison 250-C18 axial-centrifugal compressor are considered for the numerical investigation. Simulations are performed by means of a commercial computational fluid dynamic code. A multistage numerical model is set up and validated against the experimental data, gathered from an in-house test rig. Computed performance maps and main flow field features show fairly good agreement with the experimental data. The model is then used to cross-validate the results of zero-dimensional stage-stacking procedures and the stage maps obtained by means of a multistage CFD calculation (i.e. to evaluate the mutual consistency of the two methods for the generation of multistage compressor maps). The stage-stacking procedure results adequately fit the behavior of the multistage compressor.