Passive Control of Rotating Stall in a Parallel-Wall Vaned Diffuser by J-Grooves

In order to control and suppress instabilities caused by swirl flow, the authors have proposed a very simple passive method utilizing shallow grooves mounted on a casing wall or diffuser wall(s) parallel to the pressure gradient. The groove is termed a “J-groove.” The method is theoretically analyzed and experimentally proved capable of suppressing rotating stall in a vaneless diffuser. The performance curve instability is characterized by the positive slope of the head-capacity curve of a mixed flow pump for the entire flow range. In continuation, this work is aimed at realizing experimentally the effect of J-grooves on suppressing rotating stall in the vaned diffuser of a centrifugal turbomachine. Thirteen double curvature vanes with various radial positions, various setting angles, and J-grooves of different dimensions are tested in a parallel wall vaned diffuser with a semi-open radial impeller with and without J-grooves. The results show that J-grooves can also suppress rotating stall in the vaned diffuser for the entire flow range.