Steady and unsteady flow field measurements within a NASA 22-inch fan model

Results are presented of an experiment conducted to investigate possible sources of fan noise in the flow developed by a 22-in. (55.9 cm) diameter turbofan model. Flow diagnostic data were acquired to identify possible sources of both tone and broadband noise. Laser Doppler velocimetry was used to characterize the tip flows that develop within the rotor blade passages, the wake flow downstream of the rotor, and the shock waves that develop on the blades when operated at transonic relative tip speeds. Single-point hot-wire measurements were made in the rotor wake to determine the frequency content and the length scales of the flow unsteadiness. The results document the changes in the rotor wake flow with both rotor speed and axial distance downstream of the rotor. The data also show the tip flow development within the blade passage, its migration downstream, and (at high rotor speeds) its merging with the blade wake of the following blade. Data also depict the variation of the tip flow with tip clearance. LDV data obtained within the blade passages at high rotor speeds illustrate the passage-to-passage variation of the mean shock position. Spectra computed from the single-point hot-wire measurements illustrate how the energy in the flow oscillations is split between periodic and random components, and how this split varies with both radial and axial position in the rotor wake.