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Optimal Design of Swept, Leaned and Skewed Blades in a Transonic Axial

Compressor

Conference Paper · January 2006

DOI: 10.1115/GT2006-90384

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ASME Turbo Expo 2006: Power for Land, Sea and andAir
OPTIMAL DESIGN OF SWEPT, LEANED AND SKEWED BLADES
IN A TRANSONIC AXIAL COMPRESSOR
Choon-Man Jang
Fire & Engineering Services Research Dept.,
Korea Institute of Construction Technology,
2311, Daehwa-Dong, Goyang, 411-712, Korea
jangcm@kict.re.kr
ABSTRACT
Shape optimization of a transonic axial compressor rotor
operating at the design flow condition has been performed
using the response surface method and three-dimensional
Navier-Stokes analysis. The three design variables, blade
sweep, lean and skew, are introduced to optimize the three-
dimensional stacking line of the rotor blade. The objective
function of the shape optimization is adiabatic efficiency.
Throughout the shape optimization of the rotor, the adiabatic
efficiency is increased by reducing the hub corner and tip
losses. Separation line due to the interference between a
passage shock and surface boundary layer on the blade suction
surface is moved downstream for the optimized blade
compared to the reference one. Among the three design
variables, the blade skew is most effective to increase the
adiabatic efficiency in the compressor rotor.
Keywords: Axial Compressor, Blade Optimization, Sweep,
Lean, Skew
INTRODUCTION
This paper describes the shape optimization of a transonic
axial compressor rotor (NASA rotor 37). The design method of
axial flow compressors based on the three-dimensional flow
analysis has been developed remarkably in recent years with
the rapid enhancement of computational power. The accurate
flow prediction inside a transonic axial compressor rotor using
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is difficult due to its
extremely complex features: three-dimensional, unsteady and
vortical nature of flow in the blade passage [1-3]. However,
CFD has obvious advantages compared to the traditional
experimental analysis. CFD helps us to analyze the effects of
Proceedings
ProceedingsofofGT2006
GT2006
ASME Turbo Expo 2006: Power for Land, Sea
Air
May 8-11, 2006, Barcelona, Spain
May 8-11, 2006, Barcelona, Spain
GT2006-90384
GT2006-90384
Abudus Samad and Kwang-Yong Kim
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering,
Inha University,
253, Yonghyun-Dong, Incheon, 402-751, Korea
abdussamad77@inhaian.net, kykim@inha.ac.kr
individual feature more easily as compared to the experimental
method.
Recently, the use of sweep, lean (dihedral), and skew
(stacking line in rotational direction) in axial flow compressor
rotor has become a matter of interest in the design of
turbomachinery blades [4-10]. These blade shape parameters,
which form a three-dimensional stacking line, are generally
introduced to reduce shock losses, corner separation in the
blade hub, and tip clearance losses in transonic compressor
rotor. For example, Gallimore et al. [4] introduced three-
dimensional blade designs using a sweep and a lean in an axial
flow compressor rotor for engine. They showed that the
positive lean reduces the hub corner and tip clearance losses
except near the mid-span region. They also showed that the
improvement in the compressor performance as well as the
large reduction in the cost and timescales associated with a rig
test was obtained together with CFD calculation.
One of the significant design trends is the use of
aerodynamic sweep to improve the performance and stability of
transonic compressor blades. The pioneer study on blade sweep
in compressors has been done by Bliss [5]. The main objective
of this study was to reduce the noise level induced by shock
waves. Hah, et al. [6] studied both forward- and backward-
swept compressor blades and showed that a backward-swept
blade suppressed the intensity of the shock loss and a forward-
swept blade suppressed secondary flow and tip entropy
generation. Watanabe and Zangeneh [7] reported that the blade
sweep in the design of a transonic turbomachinery blade was an
effective parameter to control the strength and position of the
shock wave at the tip of the transonic rotors. Denton and Xu [8]
investigated the effects of sweep and lean on the performance
of a transonic fan and showed that the stall margin was
significantly improved with the forward swept blade although a
1 Copyright © 2006 by ASME
 Table 1 Design specifications of NASA rotor 37
Mass flow, kg/s 20.19
Rotational speed, rpm 17188.7
Pressure ratio 2.106
Inlet hub-tip ratio 0.7
Inlet tip relative Mach no. 1.4
Inlet hub relative Mach no. 1.13
Tip solidity 1.288
Rotor aspect ratio 1.19
Number of rotor blades 36
Fig. 1 Meridional view of Rotor 37
very little change in the peak efficiency was produced by the
blade sweep or lean.
A number of studies have been done on the advantages of a
skewed rotor. Cai, et al. [9] studied on aerodynamic and
aeroacoustic characteristics of an axial flow fan with skewed
blade. With the reduction of a secondary flow and the thinness
of a rotor wake, they reduced a broadband noise. Fischer, et al.
[10] observed the effect of bowed stators on the performance of
a compressor and showed that the separation was reduced in the
bowed stator leading to increase in the stagnation pressure ratio
and efficiency.
On the other hand, response surface method (RSM) [11],
which is a global optimization method, is recently introduced as
a tool of design optimization in turbomachinery. This method
does not require calculation of the local sensitivity of each
design variable, and is able to perform tasks in parallel easily.
The RSM can utilize information collected from various
sources and by different tools. Thus, this method is effective for
both of single- and multi-disciplinary optimization problems
[12]. Ahn and Kim [13] used response surface method to
optimize the stacking line of axial compressor rotor blades.
Jang and Kim [14] performed the shape optimization of stator
blade in a single-stage transonic axial compressor by using
RSM. They showed that the increase in adiabatic efficiency by
optimization of the stacking line of a stator blade was caused
mainly by suppression of flow separation on the blade suction
surface.
In the present study, the response surface method (RSM)
combined with three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solver is
introduced to find optimum blade shape in a transonic axial
compressor rotor (NASA rotor 37). Three design variables,
Fig. 2 Optimization procedure using RSM
blade sweep, lean and skew, are used to optimize three-
dimensional stacking line of the rotor blade. An adiabatic
efficiency is selected as an objective function. The optimal
values of each variable are obtained by making a response
surface. Detailed internal flow analysis is also performed in
relation to the efficiency enhancement.
TRANSONIC AXIAL COMPRESSOR ROTOR
NASA rotor 37 [15], an axial-flow compressor rotor
having a low-aspect ratio, is used for blade shape optimization
in the present study. The detailed specifications of the
compressor are summarized in Table 1. The rotor tip clearance
is 0.356 mm (0.45 percent span). The measured choking mass
flow rate is 20.93 kg/s, which corresponds to 103.67% of the
design flow rate.
The meridional view of the axial compressor is shown in
Fig. 1. Total pressure, total temperature and the adiabatic
efficiency in relation to the mass flow rates are measured at
inlet (station 1) and outlet (station 2) positions. The inlet and
outlet positions are located at 41.9 mm upstream of the tip
leading edge of the rotor and at 101.9 mm downstream of the
tip trailing edge of the rotor, respectively.
SHAPE OPTIMIZATION AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
Method of Blade Optimization
Optimization using RSM is a series of statistical and
mathematical processes i.e., generation of data by numerical
computations or experiments, construction of response surface
by interpolating the data, and optimization of the objective
function on the surface. The overall procedures of the RSM-
based optimization are shown in Fig. 2. At first, an objective
function is defined as a primary parameter for the shape
optimization. Design variables are selected among the variables
for which objective function is sensitive, and then experimental
points are determined with the help of design of experiments
(DOE). In the next step, the value of objective function at each
2 Copyright © 2006 by ASME
 (a) top view
(b) side view
Fig. 3 Definition of blade sweep
experimental point is obtained by numerical analysis or
experiment. Finally, a response surface is determined to obtain
an optimal point. Although RSM was devised to obtain
empirical correlation from the experimental data but the ability
to reduce the number of experiments let this method be applied
widely to the optimization problems [11].
The polynomial-based response surfaces are commonly
employed in RSM. In the present study, a response model f is
assumed as a second-order polynomial, which can be written as
follows:
n n
f = β 0 + ∑ β j x j + ∑ β jj x 2j + ∑∑ β ij xi x j (1)
j =1 j =1 i≠ j
where n is the number of design variables, and x and β indicate
the design variables and the regression coefficients,
respectively. The number of coefficients (βo, β1, etc.) is
(n+1)·(n+2)/2. Unknown coefficients of polynomial are
Fig. 4 Definition of blade lean (top view)
obtained from a standard least-squares regression. In this case,
the number of data must be larger than the number of
coefficients.
Objective Function and Design Variables
In the present study, adiabatic efficiency ηad is selected as
an objective function for the shape optimization of the rotor
blades, and is defined as follows:
η ad =
(P0exit / P0inlet )(γ −1) / γ − 1 (2)
T0 exit T0inlet − 1
where P0 and T0 are total pressure and total temperature,
respectively.
To enhance the adiabatic efficiency of the compressor
rotor, three-dimensional blade stacking line is optimized by
introducing three shape variables; namely sweep, lean, and
skew as shown in Figs. 3-5. A variety of terms have been used
to define the stacking line (e.g. sweep, lean, skew etc.) and no
consistent nomenclature has emerged. The term of sweep is
used to describe movement of airfoil section in the manner
shown in Fig. 3. That is, movement parallel to the airfoil chord
line is termed sweep. A sweep value, α in Fig. 3, is defined at
the rotor tip and normalized by the axial tip chord (= 27.77
mm). The blade sweep is taken to be positive if the airfoil
sections are moved in the downstream direction. The line of the
swept blade between the rotor tip (α in Fig. 3) and hub (= zero)
is linearly connected while the gap of the tip clearance is kept
constant.
Figure 4, which is top view of the rotor, shows the
definition of blade lean (or dihedral). Lean is defined when the
blade moves normal to the airfoil chord line. The lean value, β
in Fig. 4, is defined at the rotor tip and normalized by the axial
tip chord. This definition is similar to that of the blade sweep.
The blade lean is taken to be positive if the airfoil sections are
3 Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Table 2 Design space of blade sweep, lean, and skew
Lower Upper
Variables Middle
Bound Bound
Sweep (α) % 0.0 12.6 25.2
Lean (β) % -3.6 -1.8 0.0
Skew (γ) rad. 0.0 0.05 0.1
Fig. 5 Definition of blade skew (front view)
moved to the blade suction side. The value of blade lean is zero
at hub, and is linearly connected to the rotor tip keeping
constant tip clearance.
In the previous study, the authors [14] tried to enhance the
adiabatic efficiency of a single-stage axial compressor by
optimizing the skew line of the stator blade. Adiabatic
efficiency was increased due to the reduction of separation
region on the blade suction surface. Fischer et al. [10] also
reported that the flow separation could be reduced in the bowed
stator and as a result stagnation pressure ratio and efficiency
could be increased. In the present study, a skew line is
introduced to optimize the blade stacking as shown in Fig. 5.
The skew angle defined at rotor tip, γ in Fig. 5, is taken to be
positive if the skew line of the rotor tip bends to the blade
pressure surface side. The skew line is formed by a second
order polynomial curve. To complete the skew line, skew
angles at hub and at 50 percent span are set to zeros.
The range of each variable for selection of the points for
response evaluation is determined by preliminary calculations,
and is summarized in Table 2.
Numerical Analysis Method
The three-dimensional thin-layer Navier-Stokes and energy
equations are solved on body-fitted grids using an explicit
finite-difference scheme. An explicit Runge-Kutta scheme
proposed by Jameson, et al. [16] is used to solve flow from
initial to steady state with a spatially varying time step to
accelerate convergence. Artificial dissipation terms have been
added to resolve shocks. The algebraic turbulence model of
(a) perspective view
(b) view from casing at LE and TE of hub
Fig. 6 Computational grids
Baldwin and Lomax [17] has been employed to estimate the
eddy viscosity.
Figure 6 shows the computational grids. A composite grid
system with structured H-, C-, and O-type grids is adopted to
represent the complicated configuration of the axial
compressor. H-type grid consists of 60×36×63 grids (in the
streamwise, pitchwise and spanwise directions, respectively),
and is introduced for the inlet flow region. C-type grid consists
of 350×46×63 grids, and is used for the blade passage. The O-
type grid embedded in the tip clearance consists of 182×13×13
grids. Grid spacing for the first grid point from the blade
surface gives y+ < 5.0. The whole grid system has about
1,181,000 grid points. The average number of iterations and
CPU time for the converged solution are approximately 3,000
and 3.5 hours with supercomputer of NEC SX-6 (144
GFLOPS), respectively.
Mach numbers in each direction, total pressure and total
temperature are given at the inlet. At exit, the hub static
pressure ratio has been specified and the radial equilibrium
equation is solved along the blade span. A periodic tip
clearance model is used to resolve the tip clearance flow
explicitly. No-slip and adiabatic wall conditions are used at the
wall boundaries. For reducing the computational load, flow
field in a single blade passage is simulated by applying periodic
boundary condition in the tangential direction.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The shape optimization of a transonic axial compressor
rotor (NASA rotor 37) at the design flow condition is
4 Copyright © 2006 by ASME
 100 Table 3 Results of ANOVA and regression analysis for
the optimization of blade shape

80 Std. error of
Model R R2adjusted
the estimate
Lean-sweep 0.986 0.903 0.0022283
60 Skew-lean 0.985 0.919 0.0059015
Span %

Experiment Sweep-skew 0.988 0.936 0.0013443

Reference
40
Opt. lean-sweep Table 4 Optimum value of design variables
Opt. skew-lean
20 Design Lean- Skew- Sweep Mean
Opt. sweep-skew
variables sweep lean -skew value
Opt. lean-sweep-skew Sweep (α) % 10.08 - 10.44 10.26
0 Lean (β) % -1.60 -1.35 - -1.48
0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 Skew (γ) rad - 0.067 0.064 0.065
Adiabatic Efficiency

Fig. 7 Spanwise distribution of adiabatic efficiency

efficiency match well with the experimental results for the
Design Flow Rate (0.965)
reference shape. The maximum difference of the local adiabatic
efficiency between the computational and experimental result at
90
the design flow rate is 4 percent based on the experimental
data.
Adiabatic Efficiency %

Figure 8 shows the comparison between computational and

88 experimental distributions of adiabatic efficiency with respect
to mass flow rate. In the figure, the mass flow rates are
normalized with the choking flow rate (20.93 kg/s) obtained
Experiment
from the experiment [15]. It is noted that the horizontal axis
86 Reference has narrow range around the design flow condition (= 0.965)
Opt. lean-sweep
because flow characteristics in the present study is considered
only in the design flow condition. At the design flow rate
Opt. skew-lean (design mass flow/ choke flow rate = 0.965 in Fig. 8), the
84
Opt. sweep-skew adiabatic efficiency obtained by the numerical analysis for the
reference blade is 1.3 percent higher than that of the
Opt. lean-sweep-skew experimental efficiency. The comparisons between the
82 numerical and experimental results at the design flow rates
0.955 0.960 0.965 0.970 0.975 show that the adiabatic efficiency of the compressor rotor is
Mass Flow/Choke Mass Flow simulated correctly by the present calculation. Consequently,
flow characteristics in the compressor rotor are investigated by
Fig. 8 Adiabatic efficiency according to normalized mass analyzing the numerical results in detail.
flow rates In the present study, three shape variables (sweep, lean,
and skew as shown in Figs. 3-5) are introduced to optimize the
blade stacking line in the axial compressor rotor. The relations
between coupled variables are analyzed to estimate the
performed using response surface method (RSM) and adiabatic efficiency.
numerical analysis of the flow. To understand the effects of
each variable on the compressor performance, three couples of Optimization of Blade Lean, Sweep and Skew
the variables are selected and analyzed. To understand the effects of three design variables on the
objective function, the optimization has been done by coupling
Validation of Numerical Simulation the variables like lean-sweep, skew-lean, and sweep-skew. As
For the validation of the present numerical solutions, the described for the design space in Table 2, nine training points
spanwise distributions of local adiabatic efficiency for the are necessary for each coupled case having three boundary
reference blade are compared to the experimental results at the levels. Seven training points, however, are selected in the
design flow rate in Fig. 7. The adiabatic efficiency is obtained present calculation by D-optimal design [18]. After determining
by mass averaging of the local values tangentially. The figure the values of objective function (adiabatic efficiency) for each
shows that the spanwise distribution of local adiabatic training point, a response surface is constructed. The

5 Copyright © 2006 by ASME


Fig. 9 Response surface of adiabatic efficiency (%) for
blade lean and sweep (contour intervals = 0.204)
(a) perspective view from casing
(b) meridional view
Fig. 10 Comparisons of reference and optimum blades
polynomial-based response surface having a second-order is
used.
To measure uncertainty in the set of coefficients in a
polynomial, ANOVA and regression analysis provided by t-
statistic are used and the results are shown in Table 3. Guinta
Table 5 Results of optimization for the adiabatic
efficiency %
Refere Optimized Increment
Model
nce % shape % %
Lean-sweep 89.5 0.95
Skew-lean 89.9 1.41
88.65
Sweep-skew 89.7 1.18
Lean-sweep-skew 89.9 1.41
Fig. 11 Comparison of adiabatic efficiency at the mean
value of optimal blade lean, sweep and skew only
[19] suggested that the typical values of adjusted R2 are in the
range, 0.9≤ adjusted R2 ≤ 1.0, when the observed response
values are well predicted by the response surface model.
Therefore, the present response surfaces obtained from the
three cases are reliable.
Figure 9 shows the contour plot of predicted responses for
the couple of blade lean and sweep. In the figure, horizontal
and vertical axes represent the design variables of sweep and
lean, respectively. The optimal values of the design variables,
blade sweep and lean, are 10.08 and –1.60 percent of tip axial
chord, respectively. It should be noted that the optimal position
having maximum adiabatic efficiency is located inside the
boundary of design space of the sweep and lean as shown in
Table 2.
Table 4 shows the optimal values of design variables
obtained from three coupled cases. In the present calculation,
the mean values of optimal sweep, lean and skew is 10.26, -
1.48 and 0.065, respectively. The deviation of design variables
between the mean value of optimal point and the value obtained
from the coupled cases is less than maximum 8 percent with
reference to the mean value.
Figure 10 shows the three-dimensional and meridional
blade shape of the reference and the optimum blade shape
obtained by the mean values of Table 4. The optimal shape of
the rotor blade has a backward-sweep; this is also reported in
the previous study [20].
6 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

(a) reference
(b) optimal lean-sweep
(c) optimal lean-sweep-skew
Fig. 12 Identified vortical center of tip leakage vortex
and contours of Mach number on the plane of
96 percent span (interval of contour lines =
0.0375)
Results of the blade shape optimization for the three-
coupled variables at the design flow rate are shown in Table 5.
The model of lean-sweep-skew is determined by using the
mean value of optimized three design variables as shown in
Table 4. Adiabatic efficiency, which is the objective function of
the present optimization, is successfully increased for three
coupled cases. As shown in Fig. 8, the adiabatic efficiency is
increased compared to the reference one at the off-design
conditions as well as at the design point.
The adiabatic efficiencies for the design variables of lean,
sweep and skew only are shown in Fig. 11, and compared to
that of reference shape. The adiabatic efficiencies for the cases
with single parameter are increased from 0.5 to 0.73 percent
compared to the reference one. Among the three design
variables, the blade sweep is most effective to increase the
efficiency. It should be noted that the adiabatic efficiencies
obtained by the shape optimization using single parameters are
lower than those of the three-coupled cases.
Flow Characteristics of the Reference and Optimum
Blade Shapes
Vortical flow and flow characteristics inside the blade
passage for the reference and optimum cases are analyzed in
the following. The identified vortical center of a tip leakage
vortex and the contours of Mach numbers on the plane of 96
percent span are shown in Fig. 12, which is perspective view
from casing. The plane of 96 percent span is the region where
the tip leakage is located. In the figure, the Mach number is
shown only between 0.4 and 1.3. The inflow is accelerated to
supersonic state near the inlet of the blade passage. That is, a
bow shock is generated at upstream of the blade leading edge,
and a passage shock is developed at the rotor suction surface.
The area of a bow shock having Mach number of 1.3 is
decreased for the optimal cases. This means that the intensity of
shock for the optimal cases is weakened compared to that of the
reference one. Large low velocity region is also observed in the
reference case just at the downstream of the bow shock, which
results in large shock loss. Wennerstrom [21] reported that the
use of sweep on a transonic fan stator could reduce loss. The
loss is obtained by reducing the normal component of Mach
number relative to the shock surface. It is also found that the
interference position of the passage shock with the blade
suction surface is moved to downstream for the optimal cases
compared to that for the reference one. Through the blade
optimization using lean, sweep and skew, Mach number is
reduced near the casing and can decrease shock losses in the
blade passage.
On the other hand, the gray colored line represents the
identified vortical center. The vortex identification method by
Sawada [22] can find the vortex center in the rotor blade
passage. In Sawada’s method, the vortex axis is identified by a
semi-analytic method based on the critical point analysis. The
local velocity field is linearly parameterized in a tetrahedral
cell. The streamline equations written in the parameter space
become analytically integrable over the cell and as a result, the
obtained expression provides the possible vortex centerline. If
the vortex centerline crosses the cell, the line segment inside
the tetrahedral cell is regarded as the fraction of vortex core. In
the present study, the vortex identification was performed in the
velocity field relative to the rotor. This method was aplied to
analyze the structures of a leakage vortex in an axial
compressor rotor [23,24] and in a propeller fan [25]. In Fig. 12,
vortical center of a tip leakage vortex is clearly observed in the
7 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

(a) reference
(b) optimal lean-sweep (c) optimal lean-sweep-skew
Fig. 13 Distribution of vorticity on the quasi-orthogonal
planes to the leakage vortex and leakage
streamlines (interval of contour lines = 1.0)
blade passage. Although the identified vortex center is observed
upstream of the bow shock for the referenced one but the
identified vortical center disappears downstream of the bow
shock because of the interference between the leakage vortex
and the shock wave. However, the vortical center at
downstream the bow shock is still observed for the optimized
cases.
Figure 13 shows distributions of the vorticity on six
planes nearly perpendicular to the tip leakage vortex and
leakage streamlines surrounding the vortex core shown in Fig.
12. In the figure, the vorticity is shown only from zero to seven.
As described by Inoue et al. [23], the leakage vortex is
formed on the blade suction surface by the induced velocity
generated between a leakage jet flow and a main through flow.
It is found that the leakage vortex is tightly rolled up upstream
of the bow shock with the high vorticity. However, the leakage
vortex is decayed drastically just at downstream of the bow
shock because of the interference between the leakage vortex
and shock wave.
On the Plane IV of the reference blade, the vorticity is
abruptly decreased and is diffused largely. For the reference
blade, the region having a vorticity above zero is spread out to
(a) reference
(b) optimal lean-sweep (c) optimal lean-sweep-skew
Fig. 14 Limiting streamlines on the blade suction surface
about 10 percent of span from the rotor tip. This can be said
that the bow shock having a high Mach number induces a shock
loss at downstream. Relatively high vorticity is still remained in
the Planes III and IV of the optimal lean-sweep-skew blade as
shown in Fig. 13 (c). This is due to relatively low value of bow
shock of the optimized blades as shown in Fig. 12. In the
present study, the shock losses can be reduced by optimization
the three-dimensional stacking line with the design parameters
of blade lean, sweep and skew.
Figure 14 shows the limiting streamlines on the blade
suction surface for the reference and the optimal cases. In the
figure, the three solid lines represent the positions of 10, 75 and
90 percent spans. Near the mid-chord of the blade passage,
separation line is formed due to interference between the
passage shock and the suction surface boundary layer. An
attachment line is also observed behind the separation line for
the reference and optimized cases. This gives rise to separation
bubble region between the separation and the attachment lines.
Outward radial flow caused by centrifugal effect is also
observed downstream of the separation line.
As shown in Fig. 7, relatively high increases of the
adiabatic efficiencies for the optimized cases are observed near
the 75 percent span. The separation line for the optimized
blades is largely moved to downstream near the 75 percent span
compared to that for the reference one as shown in Fig. 14. It is
well known that the separation on the blade suction surface
8 Copyright © 2006 by ASME
 (a) 90 percent span
(b) 75 percent span
(c) 10 percent span
Reference Optimal lean-sweep-skew
Fig. 15 Mach number contours on the planes of 10, 75,
and 90 percent span (interval of contour lines =
0.05)
deteriorates the performance of a turbomachine. This means
that the removing or reducing the separation area is effective to
increase the adiabatic efficiency. It is noted that the increase in
adiabatic efficiency for the optimized blades is also caused by
moving the separation line to the downstream on the blade
suction surface.
Figure 15 shows Mach number contours on the planes of
10, 75 and 90 percent span for the reference and the optimal
lean-sweep-skew, which is perspective view from the casing. It
is found that the interference position of the passage shock with
the blade suction surface boundary layer is also moved to
downstream for the optimum blade compared to that for the
reference one at the 75 and 90 percent span and a relatively
large increase in adiabatic efficiency is observed as shown in
(a) reference
(b) optimal lean-sweep-skew
Fig. 16 Axial velocity normalized by Mach number at TE
(interval of contour lines = 0.05)
Fig. 7. On the other hand, the pattern of a shock and its
interference position on the blade suction surface are almost
same for both the cases at the 10 percent span and at this
position, the optimum blade dose not show the improvement of
efficiency. For both cases, a recirculation region is observed
near the suction side of the trailing edge (TE).
Figure 16 shows the distributions of axial velocity
normalized by Mach number at the blade trailing edge, which is
perspective view from downstream. Everybody knows that low
axial velocity region observed near the blade suction side of the
casing for the reference blade is recovered by optimizing the
blade stacking line. This is obtained by reducing the vortical
flow due to the tip leakage vortex. A reverse flow region is
observed near the blade suction surface of 10 percent span for
the reference blade and the recirculation flow is generated in
Fig 15 (c). The axial velocity having a minus value, however, is
eliminated by optimizing the blade shape.
The above results show that the optimization of three-
dimensional stacking line using the blade sweep, lean and skew
reduces the hub corner and tip losses, leading to a fuller
velocity profile. Gallimore et al. [4] also reported that a positive
lean reduced a hub corner and tip clearance losses except near
the mid-span region.
9 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

CONCLUSION
The shape optimization of rotor blades for a transonic axial
compressor has been performed by the response surface method
and the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes analysis. The
adiabatic efficiency is successfully increased by reducing the
hub corner and tip losses by optimizing the three-dimensional
stacking line with lean, sweep and skew. Separation line due to
the interference between a passage shock and a blade suction
surface boundary layer is moved to downstream for the
optimized blade, thus this movement results in the increase of
the adiabatic efficiency by reducing the separation region on
the blade surface. It is also found that the optimized rotor
blades can reduce the Mach number of a bow shock at the span
where the tip leakage vortex is located.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the support from
KISTI (Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information)
under ‘The Seventh Strategic Supercomputing Support
Program.’ The use of the computing system of the
Supercomputing Center is also greatly appreciated.
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