Abstract
The unsteady flow phenomena due to the breakdown of the tip leakage vortex in an axial compressor rotor have been investigated by Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes flow simulation with an algebraic turbulence model of Baldwin and Lomax. The simulations show the unsteady vortex behavior caused by the spiral-type breakdown of the tip leakage vortex. As the flow rate is decreased from the near-stall conditions, the movement of the tip leakage vortex due to its breakdown becomes so larger that the leakage vortex interacts with the suction surface as well as the pressure one. The interaction gives rise to the three-dimensional separation of the suction surface boundary layer.
