CHAPTER 4- COMPRESSOR

1)What is the function of compressor

 Primary function
 A gas turbine engine takes in a quantity of air, adds energy to it, and then discharges
the air to produce thrust.
 To be effective, the compressor must increase intake air pressure 20 to 30 times
above ambient and move the air at a velocity of 400 to 500 feet per second
 One way to measure a compressor's effectiveness is by comparing the static pressure
of the compressor discharge and the static air pressure at the inlet, it is known as
compression ratio and it should be 30:1
 Secondary function
 Supplies the bleed air to cool the hot section and heated air for anti-icing. Air is often
bled from the final or highest pressure stage since, at this point, pressure and air
temperature are at a maximum.(650 F).
 Bleeding air from compressor produces a noticeable drop in engine power
 Bleed valve is mounted directly to the compressor case or in the downstream
ducting.
 Cabin pressurization, air conditioning, fuel system de-icing and pneumatic engine
starting
2)State different types of Compressor?
 Different types of compressor are
1. Centrifugal compressor
2. Axial flow compressor
3. Centrifugal-axial flow compressor
 Axial flow compressors are normally found on turbofan engines which are widely
used in aviation. Centrifugal flow compressors are commonly used in turbo prop
and turbo-shaft engines.
3)Write in detail about centrifugal compressor.
 The centrifugal-flow compressor achieves its purpose by picking up the entering air
and accelerating it out wardly by centrifugal action.
 The centrifugal-flow compressor consists of an impeller (rotor), a diffuser (stator),
and a compressor manifold.
 Centrifugal compressors have a high pressure rise per stage that can be around 8:1.
 Generally centrifugal compressors are limited to two stages due to efficiency
concerns
 Impeller
 impeller is usually made from forged aluminum alloy, heat treated, machined, and
smoothed with integral blades coupled to a common power shaft by the spines
 To ease change of air from axial flow to radial flow in the entry duct on to the
rotating impeller, the vanes in the center of impeller are curved in the direction of
rotation
 Single stage compressor has one impeller and double stage compressor has two
impeller
 Single entry have larger diameter
 Double sided or double entry are those where the impeller is mounted back to back.
And Double entry Impeller permits a higher mass airflow with smaller diameter
 The plenum chamber is necessary for a double-entry compressor because the air
must enter the engine at almost right angles to the engine axis.
 Plenum chamber is a component of jet engine which stabilize the air before it enters
the compressor
 Necessary parts of the plenum chamber are the auxiliary air-intake doors (blow-in
doors). These blow in doors admit air to the engine compartment during ground
operation, when air requirements for the engine are in excess of the airflow through
the inlet ducts.
 The doors are held closed by spring action when the engine is not operating. During
operation, however, the doors open automatically whenever engine compartment
pressure drops below atmospheric pressure. During takeoff and flight, ram air
pressure in the engine compartment aids the springs in holding the doors closed.
 Diffuser
 The diffuser is an annular chamber provided with a number of vanes forming a series
of divergent passages into the manifold
 The diffuser vanes direct the flow of air from the impeller to the manifold at an angle
designed to retain the maximum amount of energy imparted by the impeller.
 In diffuser section air velocity decreases and pressure increases
 The diffuser assembly may be integral part of the compressor casing or a separately
attached assembly
 The diffuser or compression discharge pressure is the highest pressure of any
location within the engine
 Manifold
 Manifold distributes the air from diffuser in a smooth flow to the combustion section
 The manifold has one outlet port for each chamber so that the air is evenly divided. A
compressor outlet elbow is bolted to each of the outlet ports. These air outlets are
constructed in the form of ducts and are known by a variety of names, such as air
outlet ducts, outlet elbows, or combustion chamber inlet ducts.
 The duct changes the direction of the airflow from radial direction of airflow to axial
flow
 To help the elbows perform this function in an efficient manner, turning vanes
(cascade vanes) are sometimes fitted inside the elbows.
  These vanes reduce air pressure losses by presenting a smooth, turning surface.
 These vanes guide air to the combustion chamber from compressor outlet
4)What are the advantages and dis-advantages of centrifugal compressor?
 Advantages
1. High pressure rise per stage,
2. Efficiency over wide rotational speed range,
3. Simplicity of manufacture and low cost,
4. Low weight, and Low starting power requirements.
 Disadvantages
1. Its large frontal area for a given airflow and
2. Losses in turns between stages.
5)Explain axial flow compressor.
 An axial flow compressor has two main elements a rotor and a stator.
 The rotor includes rows of blades fixed on a rotating spindle. The angle and airfoil
contour of the blades force air rearward, much like a propeller.
 The stator vanes are arranged in fixed rows between the rows of rotor blades and act
as diffusers
 At each stage, air velocity decreases and pressure increases. Each consecutive row of
rotor blades and stator vanes comprises a pressure stage.
 The number of stages is determined by the amount of air and total pressure rise
required in the design of an engine.
 An axial flow compressor is capable of producing a compressor pressure ratio of only
1.25:1.
 The only way to achieve high compressor pressure ratios with an axial flow
compressor is by adding more compressor stages.
 In axial flow compressor airflow velocity remains constant as air pressure increases
through each stage of Compression
 On most axial flow compressors, the case is divided horizontally in halves, which
permits technicians to inspect and maintain rotor blades and stator vanes.
6)State advantages and dis-advantages of axial flow compressor.
 Advantages
1. High peak efficiencies
2. Small frontal area
3. Straight through flow allowing high ram efficieny
4. Increasing pressure by increasing stages
 Disadvantages
1. Good efficiencies over only narrow rational speeds
2. High cost and difficult to manufacture
3. High weight
 4. High starting power requirement
5. Low pressure rise per stage
7)Explain design, construction and function of rotor blade.
 The airfoil cross-section of rotor blades used in an axial flow compressor has a varied
angle of incidence, or twist.
 This twist compensates for variations in blade velocity caused by relative distance
from the rotational axis, the faster it travels
 The rotor blades are usually made of stainless steel with the latter stages being
made of titanium.
 Axial flow compressors typically have from 10 to 18 compression stages.
 The base or root of a rotor blade is often designed to fit loosely into the rotor disk.
The air stream over each blade provides a shock- absorbing or cushioning effect
 Rotor blades roots are designed with a different shapes such as
1. Bulb
2. Fir tree
3. Dove tail
 Bulb and fir tree are commonly used
 Some long fan blades are supported by a mid-span shroud, which makes them more
resistant to the bending forces created by the airstream. These shrouds block some
of the airflow and create aero-dynamic drag, reducing fan efficiency.
 In addition, when the mating surfaces on a mid-span shroud become excessively
worn , the shrouds can overlap. This is known as shingling and can cause fan
vibration and engine damage.
 Some blades are cut off square at the tip and are referred to as flat machine tips.
Other blades have a reduced thickness at the tips and are called profile tips. Profile
tips help to increase in velocity by creating vortex and prevents air from spilling
back
 On some newer engines, the profile-tipped blades are designed with tight running
clearances and rotate within a shroud strip of abradable material. Because rotor
blades are usually made of a stainless steel alloy, if contact loading takes place, the
shroud strip wears away with no loss of blade length.
 Sometimes after engine shutdown, a high-pitched noise is audible as the rotor coasts
to a stop. This noise is a result of contact between the blade tip and shroud strip. For
this reason, profile tip blades sometimes referred as squealer tips
 Another blade design that increases compressor efficiency uses a localized increase
in blade camber, both at the blade tip and the blade root. The increased blade
camber helps overcome the friction and makes the blade extremities appear as if
they were bent over at each corner, hence the term end bend.
 Increase in camber helps to prevent airflow stagnation near the tips
8)Explain design, construction and function of stator blade.
 Stator vanes are stationary blades located between each row of rotor blades in an
axial flow compressor.
 Stator vanes diffuse air coming off the rotor, which decreases its velocity and
increases its pressure.
 Stators also help prevent swirling by directing the flow of air from one stage and
delivering it to the next at an appropriate angle
 The angle of attack for stator vanes can be fixed or variable. Stator vanes are
normally constructed 'out of steel or nickel because the materials possess high
fatigue strength. In low-pressure and temperature stages, stator vanes are
sometimes constructed from titanium
 Most stator vanes are attached in rows with a dovetail arrangement and radiate
toward the rotor axis. Stator vanes are often shrouded at their tips to minimize
vibration tendencies
 Stator vanes positioned in front of the first stage rotor blades are called inlet guide
vanes
 The last set of vanes through which the compressor air passes is the outlet vane
assembly. These vanes straighten and smooth airflow to the diffuser and prepare the
air mass for combustion.
 Stator vanes can be secured directly to the compressor case or to a stator vane
retaining ring that is secured to the compressor case
 Labyrinth seal is used in order to minimize the leakage of air from stator exit to stator
inlet.
9)Write the features of compressor rotor.
 The rotor features either drum-type or disk type construction
 Drum type rotor
 This type of construction is satisfactory for low-speed compressors where centrifugal
stresses are low.
 The drum-type rotor consists of rings that are flanged to fit one against the other,
wherein the entire assembly can then be held together by through bolts.
 Disk type rotor
 The disk-type rotor consists of a series of disks machined from aluminum forgings,
shrunk over a steel shaft, with rotor blades dovetailed into the disk rims.
 Another method of rotor construction is to machine the disks and shaft from a single
aluminum forging, and then to bolt steel stub shafts on the front and rear of the
assembly to provide bearing support surfaces and splines for joining the turbine
shaft.
10)State different blade fixing design.
 Different blade fixing designed used at present are
1. Conventional
2. Blisk
3. Bling
11)Explain compressor stall
 Each compressor blade is an airfoil
 Just as a wing can stall and lose lift when the maximum angle of attack is exceeded,
the same is true for a compressor blade or, the entire stage or stages of the
compressor.
 When a single compressor blade or stage stalls, it is said to have stalled or known
as rotational stall. When the entire compressor stalls, it is known as surge or
axisymmetric stall
 Compressors experience stall or surge on the ground when a high wind suddenly
blows across the engine inlet duct. The same can happen in flight
 A compressor stall can be described as an imbalance between two vector quantities:
inlet velocity and compressor rotational speed.
 Cockpit gauges do not always indicate a mild (flutter sound )or transient
compressor stall but indicate developed stall (explosion sound)
 Due to icing, failure of variable guide vanes or stator vanes , deterioration of blade
etc. can lead to compression stall
 The only way to overcome a compressor stall is to reduce the angle of attack on the
rotor blades. This can be accomplished by variable inlet guides as well as stator
vanes that change the direction of air contacting the rotor blades.
 Another way to change the angle of attack of compressor blades is by bleeding off air
pressure from within the compressor.The bleed valve are automatically controlled by
the engine fuel control
 In a nutshell a stall condition is caused by a pressure ratio that is incompatible with
the engine Rpm
 Hung stalls can damage engine
12)What is dual spool compressor?
 Engine designers devised a way to overcome the limitations of single spool
compressor by splitting the compressor
 Each section of Compressor is connected to other section by coaxial shaft
 Front section of dual spool compressor is low pressure, low speed or N1
compressor driven by two stage compressor at the rear of the turbine section
  The second section of dual spool compressor is high pressure, high speed or N2
compressor driven by single stage high pressure turbine at the front of turbine
section
 The speed of low pressure compressor varies, where speed of high pressure
compressor remains constant
 The low pressure compressor supplies a high pressure compressor with a constant air
pressure at each power setting
13)What are the methods preferred when blade is damaged on field?
 If a fan blade is damaged in the field and replacement is needed, there are three trim
balance options.
1. The blade can be replaced with a blade that is within a small tolerance of the
original radial moment weight so the balance of the whole assembly is not
affected.
2. The blade could also be replaced with another of different weight then, using a
formula from the maintenance manual, acorrecting weight could be fitted to
maintain assembly balance.
3. The third option is to replace the blade and the blade that is diametrically
opposite to the damaged blade with a pair of blades that are of matching
weights.

 IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER