Influence of leading edge point on aerodynamic performance of asymmetric leading edge compressor airfoils

Abstract Leading edge (LE) plays a prominent role in compressor flow. The asymmetric leading edge (ASYLE) has shown superiorities to symmetric LE in blade aerodynamic performance. However, the influencing rules of ASYLE design parameters are still ambiguous. In this work, numerical calculations were conducted to investigate the influencing effects of LE point curvature and position. The results show that the operating range of ASYLE blades expand with the decrease of LE point curvature, which helps to moderate LE flow acceleration, while the LE point position mainly affects the operating range. It is also revealed that the SSLE curvature peak is supposed to be close to LE point, and the maximum value of PSLE curvature should be restricted.