A simple method for potential flow simulation of cascades

Abstract

A simple method using a combination of conformal mapping and vortex panel method to simulate potential flow in cascades is presented. The cascade is first transformed to a single body using a conformal mapping, and the potential flow over this body is solved using a simple higher order vortex panel method. The advantage of this method over existing methodologies is that it enables the use of higher order panel methods, as are used to solve flow past an isolated airfoil, to solve the cascade problem without the need for any numerical integrations or iterations. The fluid loading on the blades, such as the normal force and pitching moment, may be easily calculated from the resultant velocity field. The coefficient of pressure on cascade blades calculated with this methodology shows good agreement with previous numerical and experimental results. © 2010 Indian Academy of Sciences.