PLOS ONE

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Numerical study of probe parameters on

performance of a transonic axial compressor
Asad Islam ID*, Hongwei Ma
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China

* [email protected]

a1111111111
a1111111111
Abstract
a1111111111 The paper shows the effect of the probe on the performance of a transonic axial speed com-
a1111111111
a1111111111 pressor. The unobstructed flow case with the experimental data was validated and used as
a guide for all subsequent study cases. The aerodynamic performance for different probe
parameters were calculated numerically using ANSYS-CFX. This covered the results on
compressor output from changing probe axial positions, the radial immersion depths, the
size of the probe, and the total number of probes. The findings were evaluated in relation to
OPEN ACCESS
the total pressure ratio, performance, margin of deflation and stability. The velocity part dis-
Citation: Islam A, Ma H (2021) Numerical study of
tributions further showed that the probe block and raises the flow Mach value, which is the
probe parameters on performance of a transonic
axial compressor. PLoS ONE 16(1): e0245711. explanation why the compressor rotor’s total pressure ratio is lost. In fact, the parameters of
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245711 the sample will significantly influence the calculation outcomes and affect the standard mar-
Editor: Hongbing Ding, Tianjin University, CHINA gin. The range of stability was also affected, which changes the performance trend from the
choke to the stall. Consequently, the collection of correct probe parameters with fewer
Received: August 20, 2020
impact on compressor output is addressed.
Accepted: December 31, 2020

Published: January 25, 2021

Peer Review History: PLOS recognizes the

benefits of transparency in the peer review
1 Introduction
process; therefore, we enable the publication of
all of the content of peer review and author The pneumatic probes find wide applications in the aerospace industry, because of their low
responses alongside final, published articles. The cost, easy implementation and its capability to give reliable and stable measurements. How-
editorial history of this article is available here: ever, the presence of probe enhances the flow-complexity when it is installed at upstream of
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245711
the cascade that may affect the stability and engine performance [1, 2].
Copyright: © 2021 Islam, Ma. This is an open Prof. Wyler [3] studied the isolated probe blockage effects on the free- stream Mach num-
access article distributed under the terms of the ber and pressure in open jets and closed tunnel. The results found were approximately the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which
same for probe in both the free jets and closed tunnel. But the major difference lied in a closed
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original tunnel, the probe decreases the pressure and increases the Mach number. Thus in order to get
author and source are credited. more accurate measurement results by the probes, the flow-blocking effect must be minimized.
Reducing the blocking effect means reducing the size of the probe which demands for greater
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
within the manuscript.
material strength and its design. For high Mach numbers, higher material strength is required
to resist the more substantial airflow pressure and reduce the measurement deviations. Wang
Funding: The authors gratefully acknowledge the
Hongwei [4] studied the blocking effect due to cylindrical probes in free jets and wind tunnels.
funds from the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant No. 51776011), and the
The results indicated that for a blocking ratio of more than 0.06, a 1-deg error was generated
National Science and Technology Major Project for static-pressure angle, while there exists a critical Mach number in a high subsonic wind
(2017-V-0016-0068). tunnel. Besides, the more severe blockages were a result of higher Mach number involving

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

Competing interests: The authors have declared shock wave and flow separations made the calibration impossible. The effects of different head
that no competing interests exist. geometries [5] on the angular range of a three-hole probe depicted that the cobra type probe
had a wide range of measurement angles out of the three structures tested. However, the cylin-
drical type head extended the range with hole separation angle of 30 degrees. In addition to
these studies, the numerical simulations have also been used to study the unsteady wake effects
due to rotating struts [6] on turbine blades. The rotating probe [7] has different effects on the
channel with a noticeable reduction in axial velocity and static pressure. It also had a negative
impact on compressor performance along with the reduction in tip-vortex intensity [8].
The effects on low-speed axial compressor performance have largely been studied in the
past decade. Our research group at Beihang University (BUAA) has also reported the experi-
mental and numerical studies of probe effects on low-speed axial flow compressor stall charac-
teristics [9] and downstream flow-field distortions [8] by placing the probe at half chord
upstream with half blade span intrusion. The results indicated that the probe presence could
vary the flow-structure and can lower the compressor stall margin. The numerical simulations
of probe indicated that the main contributor in the measurement error lies in the blockage
[10]. Later the numerical simulation study of airfoil probes [11] depicted the vortex formations
along both sides of the blade. Nevertheless, the intensity of these vortices gradually decreased
in the downstream, with the pressure side as the most affected.
Furthermore, from the industrial application point of view, the thorough knowledge of the
flow field measurement is also essential. For example, after rapid expansion through the nozzle
the moist air could condense. The difference of time between inertial recovery and tempera-
ture restoration is important where the velocity gradient is high, leading to a non-equilibrium
condensation thermodynamics [12, 13]. The liquid mass fraction, which could impact the
measuring accuracy, has been stated to be predominantly determined by non-equilibrium
condensations [14, 15]. In addition, greater the degree of expansion, the greater the non-equi-
librium condensate and a greater lack of irreversibility [16–19], as well as loss due to friction
could affect the end results. The precise flow field prediction is therefore necessary to interpret
the test results.
Summarizing the associated researches on the upstream probe and compressor perfor-
mance effects, most scientists focused on the flow field of low-speed axial compressors. The
transonic speed compressor has not yet been studied for the results of probe size variations,
axial locations, probe immersion depths and the full annulus effects of the total number of
probes. These parameters can largely influence the performance trend and can, due to their
improper choice, become a source of measurement deviation. The unavailability of such
research to concentrate on compressor performance, stability and stall margin is a novel devel-
opment in current research. The new research presented in the current article therefore
focuses on the impacts on aerodynamic compressor performance in terms of the total pressure
ratio, adiabatic efficiency, stability and stable margin.

2 Computational setup
The performance effects on a transonic speed axial compressor Rotor–37 is calculated in the
present study. The design total pressure ratio of the rotor is 2.106 at a mass flow rate of 20.19
kg/s while rotating at a design speed of 17.1887 krpm [20]. The total number of blades are 36
and the k − � turbulence model [21–24] was used to solve the 3D steady compressible Navier-
Strokes equation using a finite volume approach. Total pressure and total temperature values
of 1 atm and 288K respectively were specified at the inlet (Station 1), whereas, the static pres-
sure value at the outlet (Station 4) was varied to obtain the performance characteristics from

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

Fig 1. CFD model of (a) Clean flow (left) with the probe (right), (b) boundary conditions, and (c) measurement stations [28].
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choke to stall inception, Fig 1. The governing equations of continuity, momentum and energy
equations are as follows:
Continuity:

@r
þ r � ðrUÞ ¼ 0 ð1Þ
@t

Momentum:

@ðrUÞ
þ r � ðrU � UÞ ¼ rp þ r � t þ SM ð2Þ
@t

Where, the stress tensor τ is related as;

� �
T 2
t ¼ m rU þ ðrUÞ dr � U ð3Þ
3

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

And the total energy equation:

@ðrht Þ @r
þ r � ðrUht Þ ¼ r � ðlrTÞ þ r � ðU � tÞ þ U � SM þ SE ð4Þ
@t @t
Where,
1
ht ¼ h þ U 2 ð5Þ
2
The viscous work term is represented using the term r � (U � τ), while U � SM is the term that
represents work due to external momentum sources.
The first step considered the validation of rotor performance without the probe that is
hereby referred to as the clean flow. It served as a basis for comparison of subsequent analysis
of performance characteristics in the presence of probe. The influence of probe parameters on
compressor performance is studied concerning variations in probe axial position, radial
immersion height, probe size, and total probe number. All the subsections consider probe at
the half circumferential position as the flow characteristics are not much influenced at this
position as reported [25]. Furthermore, the first three subsections considered the total blades
to total probe ratio of 4, except the last, where blade passages per probe were changed accord-
ingly. Besides, the probe size is 8mm except for the third subsection, where the different probe
sizes were studied and were changed accordingly. All the analyses were performed at the rota-
tional design speed. The further details of the subsections are as follows:
1. Firstly the probe is located streamwise at different axial positions ranging from 20% (the
closest) to 70% (the farthest location) while keeping the half intrusive probe height (50% of
blade span).
2. Later, the axial probe position (half chord) is fixed, and variations due to intrusive heights
(25% -full immersion) were studied.
3. Probe size is one of the important parameters in the study that was varied from 4mm to
14mm while keeping the same axial and radial probe position (i.e., 50% axial chord and half
immersion respectively).
4. Finally, the most critical parameter that is often neglected is the probe number. Six different
blades-to-probe ratios were studied with respective blade passages per probe and the results
were recorded while maintaining a fixed axial and span-wise height of the probe (i.e., 50%
chord and 50% span of the rotor blade respectively).

3 Results and discussions

The results are divided into four sections. Firstly, the clean flow case (i.e., without the probe) is
validated with the available experimental data. Then, the rotor characteristics curves were gen-
erated and compared with the clean flow reference case to calculate the relative influence. The
stall margin and stability range with increasing respective parameters will be plotted and then,
the last section discusses the flow-phenomenon after probe insertion that is responsible for
degradation in performance.

3.1 Clean flow validation

The current study utilizes a transonic speed rotor, namely Rotor-37, having a peak efficiency
and total pressure ratio of 0.876 & 2.106, respectively at 20.19kg/sec while rotating at

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

Fig 2. Clean flow performance characteristic curves of (a) Total Pressure ratio, (b)Adiabatic efficiency, and Radial distributions of (c) total temperature
ratio, (d) total pressure ratio at rotor downstream with fine mesh.
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17188.7rev/min. Suder et al. [26, 27] provided information about its experimental stations.
Fig 1 shows the measurement stations and the CFD model with boundary conditions.
The clean flow case without the probe needs to be validated first before proceeding towards
the analysis with the probe. So, the characteristics of total pressure ratio and adiabatic effi-
ciency (Fig 2(a) and 2(b)) were generated with three different mesh sizes of 0.62, 1.2, and 1.9
million elements, respectively. The mesh size affected the performance prediction, particularly
when approaching near the stall point. The fine mesh (Mesh 3) depicted a solution closer to
the experimental data, and a nice validation was achieved. Moreover, (Fig 2(c) and 2(d)) shows
the downstream rotor radial variations in terms of total temperature and total pressure respec-
tively. Whereas for normalizing, the mchoke, Tref and Pref values were 20.93kg/s, 288K and
101.325kPa, respectively. The results indicated a good comparison with the available experi-
mental data [20, 29]. All these validation results of the unobstructed flow case form a

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

Fig 3. Total pressure ratio characteristics for effects of (a) streamwise axial probe positions, (b) Spanwise probe immersion, (c) probe sizes, and (d) total
number of probes in full annulus.
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benchmark for further research in the presence of probe and, subsequently, its influence on
compressor performance.

3.2 Rotor performance with the probe

The probe is now introduced in the rotor upstream and the performance characteristics are
generated in terms of total pressure ratio (Fig 3), and adiabatic efficiency (Fig 4). The major
points are as under:
• Placing the probe at different axial positions in the rotor upstream shows different character-
istics. The closest position (i.e., 20% axial position) depicted a significant drop in total pres-
sure ratio and efficiency. The significant deflection appears while approaching the stall

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

Fig 4. Adiabatic efficiency characteristics for effects of (a) streamwise axial probe positions, (b) Spanwise probe immersion, (c) probe sizes, and (d) total
number of probes in full annulus.
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regime. Also, placing the probe at an axial distance of about half blade chord or higher,
makes a lesser wake effect and the characteristics map gets closer to the clean flow scenario.
• The radial immersion depths indicate that the total pressure ratio of the under-discussion
rotor can be achieved at half span intrusion while the probe is located half blade chord
upstream. It further shows that when the probe is inserted at a 25% span, the drop is mini-
mum compared to the clean flow case. But as the immersion depth increases the drop maxi-
mizes along with the considerable drop in choking mass flow.
• The probe size plays a vital role in the flow distortions downstream, as can be seen from Figs
3c and 4c. The minimum the size, the closer it is to the clean flow characteristics. It means

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

that the flow blockage (Fig 7b) enhances with the increase of probe size that increases the
Mach number and becomes a source for a decrease in the total pressure ratio and efficiency.
• The probe number in the full annulus also varies the performance. As increasing the total-
blades to total-probes ratio means a reduction in the area blockage offered to the incoming
flow. Although the adiabatic efficiency drop in all the cases involving probe but it signifi-
cantly drops in increasing probe number and increasing probe-radial depth. The maps also
show that besides degrading performance, the design total pressure ratio can be achieved
with a total of 9 probes of 8mm size (Fig 3c and 3d).

3.3 Stability range and stall margin

The stall margin [30] and stability range [31] were calculated using the Eqs 6 and 7 respec-
tively. The stall margin is dependent on peak efficiency and stall point data. Where, Pr and m _
represents the total pressure ratio and mass flow rate, respectively. While the subscripts repre-
sents the data at peak efficiency and stall points.
Prstall � m _ peak
S:M ¼ 1 ð6Þ
m_ stall � Prpeak

_ chock m
m _ stall
S:R ¼ ð7Þ
m_ chock

Fig 5 shows the variations for all the cases under discussion. The stall margin improves with
locating the probe away from the rotor leading edge. The more the radial immersion depth,
the lesser the stall margin but improved stability range. Besides, increasing the probe size
decreases the stability with an increase in stall margin from 6mm to 10mm. However, increas-
ing the total number of probes decrease both the compressor stall margin and its stability. It
was therefore depicted that lesser total probes should be deployed for measurements to have a
better compressor performance.

3.4 Flow phenomenon after probe insertion

This section discusses the changes in the total pressure ratio at peak efficiency, the peak effi-
ciency, choking mass flow, and efficiency at clean flow stalling mass flow rate; due to the inser-
tion of the probe in the rotor-upstream. The probe parameters were varied to analyze the
effects on performance. Fig 6 represents a comprehensive analysis of all the parameters versus
the corresponding increase in the parameter. The abscissa is represented on a normalized scale
of 0–1. All the parameters (probe size, radial depth and axial distance increase) were normal-
ized with the blade span height, while the parameter increase for the total number of probes
represents the total-probes to total-blades ratio.
The increase in axial gap between the probe and blade leading edge, shows an increase in
the peak efficiency along with the total pressure ratio at this condition. Also, the drop in choke
mass flow minimizes with an increase in the upstream axial probe location, which means a
reduction in flow blocking effect. The overall relative increase in radial depths in the flow-
field, also drops the total pressure ratio at their respective peak efficiencies. However, increas-
ing the radial probe immersion beyond half the blade span, decreases the total pressure ratio
significantly.
The presence of the probe causes the adiabatic efficiency to drop in all the cases relative to
the clean flow case. However, at the near stall mass flow rate of clean flow case, all with the

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

Fig 5. Stall margin and stability range for (a) streamwise axial probe positions, (b) Spanwise probe immersion, (c) probe sizes, and (d) total number of
probes in full annulus.
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probe cases were normal working. This is due to the probe blockage that decreased the mass
flow rate and shifted the characteristics map towards the left, along with their respective peak
efficiency points (Fig 4).
Although the mass flow drop near choke, was observed for all the cases with the probe but
reducing the probes to a total of 4 in the full annulus, shows a slight increase in the mass flow
relative to the clean flow. Besides, the total pressure ratio at its peak efficiency was also higher,
although the peak efficiency value was lower than the clean flow case.
Due to large simulated data points and in order to show the flow-phenomenon responsible
for degrading performance, the flow-field is shown on selective parameter data to have a dis-
tinct view. It can be seen from Fig 7 that the airflow bypasses the bottom of the strut to form
an obvious acceleration area, and the larger the diameter of the stem, the larger the accelera-
tion area. The radial influence along the probe rod starts to increase in full immersion (Fig 7a),
along with an increase of rotational energy behind it. During the propagation of the rod trail

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

Fig 6. Variations in (a) peak adiabatic efficiency, (b) mass flow at the choke, (c) total pressure ratio at peak efficiency, (d) efficiency at stall mass flow rate of
clean flow; versus the respective increase in parameter values.
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wake in the downstream, the trail causes the vortical leakage flow to deflect in the channel
behind the rod, and the larger the diameter of the rod, the more serious the leakage vortex
deflection (Fig 7b). The deflection of the leakage vortex means that its influence range is
expanded and the flow channel is more seriously blocked. Fig 7d and 7e shows the effects of
four intrusive probe heights (25%, 50%, 75% & full span) relative to clean flow and indicates
that the influence range in the circumferential direction has been expanded resulting in the
production of tip leakage vortex at rotor trailing edge with increasing immersion heights. It
further indicates that the trail of the stem has a specific pressure weakening wake effect in the
downstream (Fig 7c), and the larger the diameter of the strut, the stronger the distortion effect
that enhances the loss in the total pressure ratio of the compressor rotor.

4 Conclusions
The influences on transonic compressor performance have been studied through numerical
CFD simulations. The clean flow data served as a reference to compare the effects of the probe
presence. It was revealed that the upstream probe presence could influence the overall pre-
dicted compressor performance. The parameters like probe size, total probe number, axial

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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

Fig 7. Flow phenomenon of clean flow, half and full probe immersion in terms of (a) Streamwise rothalpy gradient,
(b) velocity streamlines with bigger probe sizes; (c) Velocity swirling strength for closest and far probe locations;
Variations for clean flow and relative probe immersions; (d) Radial mach at rotor TE, and (e) Circumferential Mach
distribution on rotor TE surface.
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PLOS ONE Numerical study of probe parameters on performance of a transonic axial compressor

probe placement, and probe intrusion depth are often neglected while taking measurements.
The improper selection of these parameters can impair the measurements and can degrade the
rotor performance resulting in lower stall margin, ultimately affecting the end measurement
result. The major points observed are as under:
1. The Mach number will increase as the probe is inserted into the flow-field. This increase
further enhances with relative increasing probe-depths. In full immersion, the radial vorti-
cal flow starts to form behind the probe-rod in addition to axial that decreases the total
pressure ratio drastically. The increase in the total number of probes also increases the fron-
tal blockage area that reduced the performance characteristics both near stall and choke. So,
in order to have a low wake and reduced blocking effect, the total number of probes
deployed should be kept as low as possible.
2. The stall margin is dependent on the surge point and the peak efficiency data. The probe
presence increases the blocking effect significantly with a larger mass flow rate (i.e., near
choke point), and shifts the characteristics curve towards left. It was due to the enhance-
ment in the vortical influence regime in the downstream that increased the blockage.
3. The minimum probe size enhanced the stability range, but the stall margin with an 8mm
probe size is closer to the clean flow case. The wake flow deflection enhanced with the
greater probe size (Fig 7b) that degraded the rotor performance.
4. Increasing the axial distance between the upstream probe and blade leading edge, increase
the stall margin, and the characteristics curve becomes closer to the clean flow data. It was
further seen that in order to achieve the design total pressure ratio of the transonic com-
pressor rotor under discussion, the probe should be placed at about half chord upstream
while half blade span intruded with a total of 9 probes. While reducing probes to a total of
4, increases mass flow at choke slightly with a higher stall margin than clean flow.
5. The peak adiabatic efficiency, along with the total pressure ratio at this condition, drops
with a relative increase in all the cases with the probe. It was further seen that besides lower-
ing of stall margin, the mass flow rate at which the clean flow stalls is the normal working
mass flow for the cases with the probe.

Author Contributions
Funding acquisition: Hongwei Ma.
Investigation: Asad Islam.
Methodology: Asad Islam.
Supervision: Hongwei Ma.
Validation: Asad Islam.
Writing – original draft: Asad Islam.
Writing – review & editing: Asad Islam, Hongwei Ma.

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