Research and development program for helium gas compressor aerodynamics was planned for the power conversion system of the Gas Turbine High Temperature Reactor (GTHTR300). The axial compressor with polytropic efficiency of 90% and surge margin more than 30% was designed with 3-dimensional aerodynamic design. Performance and surge margin of the helium gas compressor tends to be lower due to the higher boss ratio which makes the tip clearance wide relative to the blade height, as well as due to a larger number of stages. The compressor was designed on the basis of methods and data for the aerodynamic design of industrial open-cycle gas-turbine. To validate the design of the helium gas compressor of the GTHTR300, aerodynamic performance tests were planned, and a 1/3-scale, 4-stage compressor model was designed. In the tests, the performance data of the helium gas compressor model will be acquired by using helium gas as a working fluid. The maximum design pressure at the model inlet is 0.88MPa, which allows the Reynolds number to be sufficiently high. The present study is entrusted from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.
