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Rotorcraft Flying Menu >Helicopter
Systems>Engines >Turbine
Engine >Compressor
The compressor may consist of an axial compressor,
a centrifugal compressor, or both. An axial compressor consists
of two main elements, the rotor and the stator. The rotor consists
of a number of blades fixed on a rotating spindle and resembles
a fan. As the rotor turns, air is drawn rearwards. Stator vanes
are arranged in fixed rows between the rotor blades and act
as a diffuser at each stage to decrease air velocity and increase
air pressure. There may be a number of rows of rotor blades
and stator vanes. Each row constitutes a pressure stage, and
the number of stages depends on the amount of air and pressure
rise required for the particular engine.
A centrifugal compressor consists of an impeller,
dif-fuser, and a manifold. The impeller, which is a forged disc
with integral blades, rotates at a high speed to draw air in
and expel it at an accelerated rate. The air then passes through
the diffuser which slows the air down. When the velocity of
the air is slowed, static pressure increases, resulting in compressed,
high-pres-sure air. The high pressure air then passes through
the compressor manifold where it is distributed to the combustion
chamber.
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