A New Concept of a Two-Dimensional Supersonic Relative Inlet Mach Number Compressor Cascade

In this study, a numerical shape optimization method based on evolutionary algorithms coupled with a verified CFD solver has been applied to the ambitious target of a shock free 2-D supersonic inlet Mach number compressor cascade. The study is based on the DLR-PAV-1.5 supersonic compressor cascade designed by the pre-compression blading concept. The DLR cascade airfoil has been optimized using a verified CFD code. A superior performance of the optimized supersonic cascade with about 24% reduction of the total pressure loss coefficient compared to the original cascade has been realized. The flow mechanisms observable around the blade with improved performance and the resulting design concept are discussed in this paper.