Experimental Study of Bowed-twisted Stators in an Axial Transonic Fan Stage

Bowed-twisted stators with large camber angles have been developed to replace the conventional tandem stators in an axial transonic fan stage working at high subsonic speeds. Experimental study is carried out on both stages with tandem stators and with bowed-twisted stators. Compared to the tandem stators, the bowed-twisted stators change the distribution of the low-energy fluid and the potential high-energy fluid at the compressor outlets, reduce the endwall loss significantly, improve the aerodynamic matching of rotors and stators, and eventually increase the fan stage performances. The aerodynamic performances of the fan stage at different operating points are compared and contrasted. The results show that the transonic fan stage with bowed-twisted stators has better aerodynamic performances. It is thus suggested that the bowed-twisted stators with large camber angles be popularized into the high-loaded transonic fan designs.