Effect of Non-Periodic Leading-Edge Wear on Aerodynamic Performance and Stall-Precursor Coherence in Centrifugal Compressor

Abstract

Non-periodic leading-edge wear near the impeller tip is investigated with respect to the aerodynamic performance, steady flow organization, and near-stall unsteady evolution of a centrifugal compressor. A full-annulus three-dimensional impeller–vaned-diffuser model is established for a baseline configuration (O-M) and a non-periodically worn configuration (W-M). The two configurations are compared in terms of performance characteristics, near-tip pressure coefficient, static pressure, entropy, relative Mach number, three-dimensional vortical structures, and pressure fluctuation signals. The W-M generally produces a lower total pressure ratio than the O-M, with a maximum reduction of approximately 0.7%. Nevertheless, the isentropic efficiency is slightly improved over the main operating range, with a peak increase of about 0.6%, and the near-stall flow rate shifts toward a lower value. Pressure coefficient distributions at 95% span show that leading-edge wear weakens both the pressure-side pressure peak and the suction-side suction peak of the worn blades, redistributing the near-tip loading from a highly leading-edge-concentrated form to a broader chordwise distribution. The steady flow fields indicate that wear does not eliminate local low-pressure or high-entropy regions; rather, it reorganizes their circumferential arrangement, converting originally synchronized low-pressure zones, high-entropy bands, and high-speed shear layers into a non-uniform pattern with alternating strong and weak passages. Near-stall unsteady results further reveal that pressure cells, high-entropy zones, and large-scale vortical structures in the O-M exhibit clear cross-passage propagation, whereas the corresponding disturbances in the W-M remain predominantly localized, dispersed, and asynchronous. These results demonstrate that, for the wear location and blade-to-blade distribution considered here, non-periodic leading-edge wear affects stability primarily by weakening the circumferentially coherent amplification of disturbances, rather than by simply reducing all local loss sources.