Flow and Heat Transfer in Rotating Compressor Cavities With Inverted Shroud-Throughflow Temperature Differences

Abstract In an aero-engine compressor, co-rotating discs form cavities that interact with an axial throughflow of secondary air at low radius. In the high-pressure (HP) compressor the shroud is hotter than the throughflow (directed downstream to the turbine) and the radial temperature gradient creates buoyancy-induced flow at Grashof numbers ∼ 1013. Such flows can be unstable and typically take the form of counter-rotating vortex pairs separated by radial hot and cold plumes. However, in low pressure (LP) and intermediate pressure (IP) compressors the secondary air is directed upstream. In this inverse scenario, the axial throughflow is hotter than the compressor discs, reversing the disc temperature gradient and eliminating the fundamental driver for buoyancy. Despite its practical application and importance, this inverse scenario has not been previously investigated. The University of Bath Compressor Cavity Rig has been uniquely designed to simulate such flows, measuring temperature and unsteady pressure in the frame of reference of the rotating discs. Bayesian and spectral analysis have determined the radial distribution of disc heat flux, as well as the asymmetry of the rotating vortex structures and their slip relative to the discs. Unexpectedly, the new data reveal the flow structure in cavities with positive and inverted temperature differences are fundamentally similar (albeit with reversed radial-temperature profiles). Isothermal cases identified a critical Rossby number (Ro), above which the flow structure in the cavity was dominated by a toroidal vortex. At sub-critical Ro, the flow structure for the inverted temperature gradient continued to be governed by buoyancy due to disc heat transfer. Momentum exchange with the axial throughflow and the gradient of circumferential pressure combine to vary the slip and vortex symmetry. This paper provides the first data and analysis of flow and heat transfer during inverse throughflow conditions in LP and IP compressors. The new insights are of importance for the determination of the thermal stresses in discs, engine life, compressor blade clearance and efficiency.