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Numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the flow structure in the blade tip region of axial compressors. Various tip clearance heights and end wall motion conditions in a linear compressor cascade are studied to assess the effect of vorticity transport on the tip leakage flow (TLF). Moreover, the effect of vorticity transport on the TLF in a compressor rotor at different operating conditions is studied using delayed detached eddy simulation. The results show that the vorticity transport at both the blade tip and the end wall plays an important role in the roll-up and evolution of the tip leakage vortex (TLV), resulting in great impacts on the loss and stability of the TLV. It is found that the TLV is composed of a two-layer structure. The inner vortex core region formed by the vorticity transport from the blade tip shear layer to the TLV has a great effect on the strength and loss of the vortex, and the structure of the outer shear layer is altered by the secondary vortex formed by the vorticity transport from the end wall shear layer and thus affects the stability of the TLV. By the mechanism of the vorticity transport, the effects of the clearance height, the end wall motion, and the non-uniform clearance as a control method can be explained uniformly. The new understanding of the TLF structure and the vorticity transport mechanism helps to improve the performance of axial compressors by controlling the vorticity transport of the TLF.

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