Flutter analysis for a first stage rotor of a compressor assembly was performed using the traditional Single-Passage, Single-Row (SPSR) flow model, and the prediction results did not correlate well with the test findings. In the tests flutter was observed but the SPSR simulation results indicated no flutter. It was suspected that influences from the upstream and downstream rows, which were omitted by the use of the SPSR model, might have significantly altered the flutter behavior of this rotor in a multistage environment. To confirm this hypothesis and to better understand the multistage turbomachinery flutter problem, FAMR (Full-Annulus, Multi-Row) models were employed in the current study to accurately take into account the interferences generated by the presence of the neighboring rows and to capture the time-varying flow variations in all directions.
It was found that the flutter performance predicted by a FAMR model can be dramatically different from that predicted by a SPSR model of the same design. The FAMR model showed that flutter can occur for this design, as indicated by test results. Present results indicate the potential impact of complex blade row interactions and aliasing on flutter behavior in a multi-blade row turbomachinery configuration. A simple sine-wave model was also used to better explain the FAMR simulation results and help the analyst in judging the efficacy of the FAMR simulation.
