This two-part paper presents general methodologies for the evaluation of passive compressor stabilization strategies using tailored structural design and aeromechanical feedback control (Part I), and quantitatively compares the performance of several aeromechanical stabilization approaches which could potentially be implemented in gas turbine compression systems (Part II). Together, these papers offer a systematic study of the influence of ten aeromechanical feedback controllers to increase the range of stable compressor operation, using static pressure sensing and local structural actuation to postpone modal stall inception. In this part, the stability of aeromechanically compensated compressors was determined from the linearized structural-hydrodynamic equations of stall inception. New metrics were derived, which measure the level of aeromechanical damping, or control authority of aeromechanical feedback stabilization. They indicate that the phase between the pressure disturbances and the actuation is central to assess the impact of aeromechanical interactions on compressors stability.

A theoretical evaluation was conducted delineating how aeromechanical feedback control can be utilized to stabilize the inception of rotating stall in axial compressors. Ten aeromechanical control methodologies were quantitatively examined based on the analytical formulations presented in the first part of this paper (McGee et al, 2003a). The maximum operating range for each scheme is determined for optimized structural parameters, and the various schemes are compared. The present study shows that the most promising aeromechanical designs and controls for a class of low-speed axial compressors were the use of dynamic fluid injection. Aeromechanically incorporating variable duct geometries and dynamically re-staggered IGV and rotor blades were predicted to yield less controllability. The aeromechanical interaction of a flexible casing wall was predicted to be destabilizing, and thus should be avoided by designing sufficiently rigid structures to prevent casing ovalization or other structurally-induced variations in tip clearance. Control authority, a metric developed in the first part of this paper, provided a useful interpretation of the aeromechanical damping of the coupled system. The model predictions also show that higher spatial modes can become limiting with aeromechanical feedback, both in control of rotating stall as well as in considering the effects of lighter, less rigid structural aeroengine designs on compressor stability.