Abstract

The design and development of a high-speed automatic Laser Doppler Anemometer system will be described for applications on multi-stage compressor rigs. The constraints from such rigs are imposed by their high running cost, the need to operate in backscatter due to single ended access and the high optical noise environment due to scattering from nearby static and moving surfaces. Contamination of the rig windows can also pose problems. These factors, especially the high rig running cost have greatly influenced the design of the complete system. Flow velocity measurements have been made to map out the flow pattern between the stages of the rotating blade rows of the compressor. This has included flow velocity profiles closer than 0.5 mm from metal surfaces. At typical flow speeds of 200 ms^-1 and turbulence levels up to 20 % sub-micron seeding particles are used to ensure flow following.

© 1992 Optical Society of America