Tests on a typical whittle compressor

Abstract

Tests have been carried out to determine the performance of a typical Whittle compressor (produced in 1944) as used in the W2/700 series of engines. At 1,500 ft/sec tip speed the overall pressure ratio (total head) was 4.27 and the adiabatic efficiency was 75.6 per cent at a mass flow of 36.3 lb/sec. The overall efficiency fails rapidly from 79.6 per cent at 1,400 ft/sec to 75.6 per cent at 1,500 ft/sec due to choking of the outer half of the impeller eye. The maximum diffuser efficiency is approximately 80 per cent at a tip speed of 1,500 ft/sec.