Roughness effect on shock wave boundary layer interaction area in compressor fan blades passage

Abstract The main objective of this research is to study experimentally the effect of transition on the flow structure of the shock wave boundary layer interaction in the blades passage of a compressor cascade. For this purpose a model of a turbine compressor passage was designed and assembled in a transonic wind tunnel. In the experiment the distributed roughness with different heights and locations was used to induce transition upstream of the shock wave. Three locations of distributed roughness in form of standard sandpaper strips were chosen to apply on the blade. The average roughness height comprised in a range of 8 to 16 μm. All together 8 different flow cases were investigated. The paper focuses on the influence of the boundary layer transition induced by different roughness values and locations on the flow pattern in the blades passage of a compressor cascade. Very promising results were obtained in the roughness application for the boundary layer transition control, demonstrating a positive effect in changing the nature of the interaction.