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The application and development of pulsed plasma thrusters (PPTs) in recent years are reviewed in this paper. The advantages of PPTs are discussed. The schematics, propulsion performance parameters and key physical processes of PPTs are described. Some representative PPT products and flight systems developed in recent years are presented to show the performance of the PPT. Studies about how electrode structures, discharge circuits, propellant materials, energy discharge method, propellant feed method, ignition method and number of thruster heads influence the PPT performance are presented and analyzed. The ignitor design method, ignition process and propellant carbonization are introduced to discuss the reliability and lifetime issues in PPTs. The modeling methods of the discharge circuit, as well as ablation, ionization and acceleration in PPTs are presented. Finally, the application of PPTs in the future is analyzed and some suggestions for PPT development are proposed.

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Nowadays, the corner separation, occurring near the corner region formed by the suction surface of blade and end wall, has been an important limitation for the increasing of the aerodynamic loading in the compressor. The previous numerical studies indicate that the Blended Blade and End Wall (BBEW) technology is useful in delaying, or reducing, or even eliminating the corner separation. To further validate the concept, this paper presents combined experimental and numerical investigations on a BBEW cascade and its prototype. Firstly, the NACA65 linear compressor cascade with the turning angle 42 degrees was designed and tested in a low-speed wind tunnel. Then, the cascade with blended blade and end wall design was made and tested in the same wind tunnel. The experimental results show that the design of blended blade and end wall can improve the performance of the cascade when the incidence angle was positive or at the design point, and the total pressure loss coefficient was reduced by 7%–8%. The performance improvement mainly located from 10%–25% span heights. Secondly, based on the experimental data, the numerical study made by our internal code Turbo-CFD shows the difference of the simulation precision of the results, obtained from four different turbulence model after the mesh independence test. The four turbulence model is Spalart-Allmaras model, standard k-ε model, standard k-ω model, and shear stress transport k-ω model. For this case, the SST turbulence model has better performance compared with others. Thirdly, based on the results which were calculated with the turbulence model SST, the effect of the blended blade and end wall design was discussed. The numerical study shows that the design with the blended blade and end wall can have a good effect on the corner flow of the cascade. The strong three-dimensional corner separation, caused by the accumulation of the flow happening at the trail of the suction side was avoided, and the flow losses of the prototype cascade were reduced. Above all, the experiment shows that the design with blended blade and end wall can improve the performance of the cascade. Compared with the experiment data, the SST turbulence model shows the best results of the flow field. Based on the numerical results, the details of the flow field and the effect of the blended blade and end wall design on the corner separation are discussed and analyzed.

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