Axial Rotor Design under Clean and Distortion Conditions using Mean-Line and CFD Methods

A methodology for the analysis and preliminary design of axial compressor rotors operating under clean and inlet flow distortion conditions is here discussed. An existing software based on a 1D Mean-Line solver has been further developed, enabling a quasi-2D discretization to deal with non-uniform inflows. Boundary conditions have been extracted from full-annulus CFD results through a novel procedure. A multi-objective optimizer has been implemented to activate the design mode. The application under clean and distortion conditions focuses on spanwise geometry optimization. Three-dimensional models have been rebuilt from 1D results, and single-passage and full-annulus CFD simulations have been carried out for verification. The test cases considered are the transonic NASA Rotor 37, Rotor 67, and R4.