Understanding Effects of Wet Compression on Separated Flow Behavior in an Axial Compressor Stage Using CFD Analysis

The effects of wet compression on the flow field within a compressor stage, particularly in the presence of the separated flow region, are not fully understood. Numerical simulations of 3D compressible separated flows within a wet compression compressor stage are carried out using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program. Numerical computations of flow fields in a compressor cascade with wet compression assume that a separated region exist in the corner of the rotor blade suction surface and hub surface in the case of dry compression. Under different operating conditions and with wet compression, this study presents the changes in the extent of separated region on the flow channel surfaces, compression efficiency, pressure ratio and specific compression work, etc. Also, effects of factors such as droplet size, droplet temperature, and injected water flow rate on the compressor stage performance and flow field within compressor stage passage have been investigated. The results show that wet compression could weaken and eliminate the flow separation and then the efficiency and pressure ratio maintain a high level.