Study of Sand Particle Trajectories and Erosion Into the First Compression Stage of a Turbofan

Aero-engines operating in dusty environments are subject to ingestion of erodent particles leading to erosion damage of blades and a permanent drop in performance. This work concerns the study of particle dynamics and erosion of the front compression stage of a commercial turbofan. Particle trajectories simulations used a stochastic Lagrangian tracking code that solves the equations of motion separately from the airflow in a stepwise manner, while the tracking of particles in different cells is based on the finite element method. As the locations of impacts and rates of erosion were predicted, the subsequent geometry deteriorations were assessed. The number of particles, sizes, and initial positions were specified conformed to sand particle distribution (MIL-E5007E, 0-1000 micrometers) and concentrations 50–700 mg/m3. The results show that the IGV blade is mainly eroded over the leading edge and near hub and shroud; also the rotor blade has a noticeable erosion of the leading and trailing edges and a rounding of the blade tip corners, whereas in the diffuser, erosion is shown to spread over the blade surfaces in addition to the leading edge and trailing edge.