Axial Air Compressor CFD

Axial Air Compressor for Turbofan Engine

Designed and simulated a multi-stage axial compressor capable of achieving a 20:1 pressure ratio at 40,000 ft.
Simulations were performed in ANSYS Fluent using detailed stage-by-stage geometry and validated at both altitude and sea-level conditions.

Design Constraints

Achieve 20:1 pressure ratio
Maximum altitude of 40,000 ft
Outer diameter between 5 ft and 6 ft
Maximum RPM of any stage < 50,000 rpm

Design parameters

Parameter	Value	Unit
Rotational speed	2500	rpm
Outer Diameter	5.96	ft
Length	23.4	ft
Maximum blade length	25.8	in
Minimum blade length	3.2	in
Dry Mass	11000	lbm
Blade/Vane shape	NACA 9506	-
Power at 40k	1087	HP
Compression Ratio 40K	22	—
Power at STP	4902	HP
Compression Ratio STP	22	—

Hand Calculations

Stage-wise hand calculation to determine stage inlet & outlet area and angles of attack for rotors & stators required to meet the design criteria.

Parametric CAD model

Built fully Parametric CAD Model in Onshape with ability to rapidly adjust the following design parameters for each stage:

Stage inlet and outlet area
Rotor and stator
- number of blades
- chord
- camber
- angle of attack at base and tip

Simulation

Mesh

Stage 1 Mesh

Mesh Mesh

Stage 1 Simulation

Stage 4 Simulation

Results

Achieved total 20 : 1 compression ratio across 17 stages
Average stage efficiency of 82%
Pressure ratio and efficiency validated against hand calculations
Turbulence modeling, residual analysis, and mesh-independence verification

Table 1: Performance metrics for maximum operating altitude.

40,000 Feet	Inlet	Outlet	Unit
Pressure	2.7	103	psi
Temperature	-69.7	1592	F

Table 2: Performance metrics at sea level.

Sea level	Inlet	Outlet	Unit
Pressure	14.7	223	psi
Temperature	59.0	1253	F

More information about this project in the full report
Original Assignment