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In this article, one of the new casing treatment methods for improving of compressor performance have been investigated. Stepped tip gap is one of the appropriate methods of casing treatment that its functionality in axial compressors have been proved lately. In the present study, for the first time, effects of stepped tip gap on stall margin improvement of a centrifugal compressor have been evaluated numerically. Simulation has been done using Fluent software and k-ε turbulence modeling. To find the optimum geometry of stepped tip gap, seven casing geometries with one untreated smooth wall were considered. Results of velocity contours and streamlines patterns on various azimuthal and meridional planes showed that by using casing with stepped tip gap, tip leakage flow has been weaken and flow blockage in compressor main passage has been reduced. Hence, stepped tip gap extends the stable operating range of compressor and delays the occurrence of stall phenomenon. Results of present research, shows that by using stepped tip gap with optimum size, stall margin of the proposed compressor was improved by 7.38%.

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Turbine tip leakage flow is one of the effective factors in reducing the efficiency and performance of axial turbines, which can also destroy turbine blades. Accordingly, it is important to identify and control the tip leakage flow. In this paper, we investigate the effect of tip clearance sizes and changes in tip shape as a passive control method on tip structure and total turbine flow performance. For this purpose, the flow loss in a two-stage axial turbine is performed using the CFX software. In order to ensure the accuracy of the results, the turbine performance curves were compared with the experimental results which good consistency have been observed. Considering the four cases for tip clearance size, the turbine performance curves and resulting pressure loss have been investigated. It was found that increasing the tip clearance size leads to reduced efficiency and increased losses in the axial turbine. In the following, we examine the application of the passive control method through the change of the tip geometry. In this regard, the shape of the blade tip is somehow considered that the tip clearance size is variable from leading edge to trailing edge. The results show that in these cases, tip leakage flow and the resulting vertices are weakened, which leads to a decrease in the rotor loss coefficient. Observing the flow contours results in lower temperatures in the blade region due to the formation of a weaker tipping leak flow, which helps cool the turbine blades.