A finite volume method for two-dimensional transonic potential flow through turbomachinery blade rows

To predict inviscid transonic flow through turbomachinery blade rows, the exact transonic potential flow equation is solved on a mesh constructed from small area elements. A transformation is introduced through which distorted squares of the physical plane are mapped into computational squares. Two sets of overlapping elements are used; while the thermodynamic properties are calculated at the primary element centres, the flux balance is established on the secondary elements. For transonic flows an artificial compressibility term (upwind density gradient) is added to density in order to produce the desired directional bias in the hyperbolic region. while the entropy does not increase across mass conservative shock jump regions. Comparisons withexperiments and with other numerical and analytical solutions for various turbomachinery configurations show that this approach is comparatively accurate, reliable, and fast.