Due to the complexity of the internal flow field of compressors, the aerodynamic design and optimization of a highly loaded axial compressor with high performance still have three problems, which are rich engineering design experience, high dimensions, and time-consuming calculations. To overcome these three problems, this paper takes an engineering-designed 2.5-stage highly loaded axial flow compressor as an example to introduce the design process and the adopted design philosophies. Then, this paper verifies the numerical method of computational fluid dynamics. A new Bezier surface modeling method for the entire suction surface and pressure surface of blades is developed, and the multi-island genetic algorithm is directly used for further optimization. Only 32 optimization variables are used to optimize the rotors and stators of the compressor, which greatly overcome the problem of high dimensions, time-consuming calculations, and smooth blade surfaces. After optimization, compared with the original compressor, the peak efficiency is still improved by 0.12%, and the stall margin is increased by 2.69%. The increase in peak efficiency is mainly due to the rotors. Compared with the original compressor, for the second-stage rotor, the adiabatic efficiency is improved by about 0.4%, which is mainly due to the decreases of total pressure losses in the range of above 30% of the span height and 10%–30% of the chord length. Besides, for the original compressor, due to deterioration of the flow field near the tip region of the second-stage stator, the large low-speed region eventually evolves from corner separation into corner stall with three-dimensional space spiral backflow. For the optimized compressor, the main reason for the increased stall margin is that the flow field of the second-stage stator with a span height above 50% is improved, and the separation area and three-dimensional space spiral backflow are reduced.

A comprehensive quantitative analysis of a high-loading transonic centrifugal compressor is performed under the design point. The reason for secondary flow within the impeller is examined under the approximation of boundary layer theory. Comparing the amplitudes of different terms of the Navier–Stokes (N–S) equations reveals that the acceleration that creates secondary flow within the shear layer is caused primarily by the Coriolis force difference, which has often been neglected in previous research. Migration flow on the wall surface further leads to the formation of three-dimensional secondary flow structures that occupy the entire blade passage. The vortex structure inside the impeller is visualized, and the contribution of the different vortices to the wake is clarified. The wake is ultimately composed of high-loss fluid that includes migration flow from the hub to the tip on the blade suction surface, leakage flow, and recirculating flow at the impeller outlet. By decomposing the N–S equations, it is clarified that the pressure distribution in the blade passage is mostly determined by the acceleration caused by the three-dimensional secondary flow structure, especially the momentum convection term. Therefore, the relationship between the secondary flow and the impeller loading is established. Furthermore, the natural frequency of the unsteady fluctuation of the secondary flow inside the impeller is discovered by unsteady numerical simulation, revealing the evolution of vortex structures.

To explore the internal flow mechanism and improve the performance of a supersonic compressor, an efficient global optimization design method was developed for an axial flow compressor and applied in the optimization design of a prototype supersonic compressor. Based on the multiple circular arc (MCA) blade parameters, the method can be used to parameterize the elementary stage of the blade. The optimized solution is obtained by changing the elementary stage and stacking lines of the blade during the optimization process. It has the advantages of fewer optimization variables, strong physical intuition, and a smooth surface. The optimization results show that a change in the rotor blade shape parameters has a significant effect on the compressor efficiency under design conditions, while a change in the skewed-swept parameters of the stator is the main factor that improves the compressor’s performance under near-stall conditions. Further numerical results show that the optimized rotor changes the form of the shock, weakens the degree of shock boundary layer interference, inhibits the radial migration flow of the supersonic rotor, reduces the loss of the rotor blade top, and improves the performance of the compressor under design conditions. The stator’s optimization restrains the generation of a concentrated shedding vortex at the root of the blades and greatly improves the stall margin of the compressor. Finally, the total pressure ratio and flow rate are less than 1% of the values based on the prototype operating conditions, the design mass flow of the optimized high-load supersonic compressor is increased by 0.25%, the isentropic efficiency is increased by 1.05%, and the stall margin is enhanced by 3.5%, thus verifying the effectiveness of the optimization method.