Experimental investigation on the effects of vortex generator on corner separation in a high-load compressor cascade

The vortex generator could effectively reduce corner separation in the compressor cascade. To assess the flow control effects, schemes with different vortex generator's circumference positions were proposed and experimental investigations were performed. The results show that the vortex generator changes the vortices' structure by generating a trailing vortex, which enhances the mixing of the end-wall low momentum flow with the main flow and suppresses the corner separation. After application of VG scheme A, the averaged pressure loss coefficient is reduced by 5%~14% and the averaged flow turning angle increases 2.49°~3.15° with the incidence angle from -3° to 3°. Compared with VG scheme A, if the vortex generator gets 0.15 pitch length farther away from the suction surface then the corner vortex is enhanced and the aerodynamic performance is unsatisfactory; while additional corner loss can emerge and the control effect gets weakened if the vortex generator gets 0.15 pitch length closer to the suction surface.