Boundary layer investigations on a highly loaded transonic compressor cascade with shock/laminar boundary layer interactions

Detailed experimental and numerical investigations of the flowfield and boundary layer on a highly loaded transonic compressor cascade were performed at various Mach and Reynolds numbers representative of real turbomachinery conditions. The emerging shock system interacts with the laminar boundary layer, causing shock-induced separation with turbulent reattachment. Steady two-dimensional calculations have been performed using the Navier-Stokes solver TRACE-U. The flow solver employs a modified version of the one-equation Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model coupled with a transition correlation by Abu-Ghannam/Shaw in the formulation by Drela. The computations reproduce well the experimental results with respect to the profile pressure distribution and the location of the shock system. The transitional behaviour of the boundary layer and the profile losses in the wake are properly predicted as well, except for the highest Mach number tested, where large separated regions appear on the suction side.