Tip flow on rotating instability on an axial compressor with different tip clearances

Rotating instability (RI) as an unsteady phenomenon usually occurs at off-design conditions in compressors, featuring a broadband hump in the pressure spectra below the blade passing frequency (BPF). RI phenomenon could not only cause deterioration to the performance, but also lead to tip clearance noise or non-synchronous vibration to the compressor. In this paper a detailed experiment was carried out in a low-pressure single-rotor compressor. By replacing the casing the relative tip clearance size was changed and the time-resolved wall pressure with a distinct RI signature was thus measured under several different conditions through the Kulite pressure transducers both circumferentially and chordwise installed. The temporal-spatial distribution of RI signature evolution with the flow coefficient is interrogated, and its propagation characteristics are also investigated through the cross-correlation method. Moreover, the quasi-instantaneous contour measured by the chordwise transducers shows no distinct flow structure which could be connected to the RI signature, i.e., the prestall disturbance. Therefore, a quasi-SFT method is developed to identify different disturbance counts and the corresponding relationship between the disturbance count per revolution and the azimuthal mode order could thus be strictly established. The prestall disturbance is found to originate from the mid-chord positions as RI initiates and travel upstream as the reduction of flow coefficient, and eventually reaches the leading edge as rotating stall occurs. Furthermore, the location of prestall disturbances is proven to be independent on the blade position. These findings describe the tip flow field when the RI mode orders are relatively high, and provide new insights for the shear layer instability theory as RI mechanism.