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Most turbofans nowadays use "variable stator vanes"; what are these, what is their purpose, and how does it affect a gas turbine's performance?

Vikki
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Anugerah Radifan
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    Hi Anugerah Radifan. It's best to ask about one thing at a time. Be sure to take the tour. For VBV, see: What is the difference between variable and transient bleed valves? –  Apr 26 '21 at 04:52
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    Ah sorry, because both of them are in compressor airflow control so I thought they are related. – Anugerah Radifan Apr 26 '21 at 05:06
  • If the linked post helped you with VBVs, you can press Edit and limit your question to VSVs. –  Apr 26 '21 at 05:12
  • VSV and VBV are not the same. As explained in the linked question VBV are valves to discharge air into the secondary flow, VSV are vanes with a variable angle of attack, found on the first stages of the high pressure compressor (e.g. CFM56, the first 3 stators). See these slides starting p58. – mins Apr 26 '21 at 22:18
  • Related: Does the stator blade angle change? Why? – Peter Kämpf Apr 29 '21 at 20:27
  • @AnugerahRadifan they are related indeed in terms of airflow control, for example on the Trent 500s the Engine Electric Controller (EEC) controls the variable stator vanes, variable inlet guide vanes and bleed valves. The first two to control AOA and the third to prevent engine stall/surge conditions. I understand why you would include them together in the same question - as if you are trying to understand the system, you would learn about them together, rather than tackling them in isolation. – tedioustortoise Nov 04 '21 at 11:46
  • @mins on TRENTs e.g the TRENT 500, the VSVs are found in the Intermediate compressor (first stage). Three bleed values in the Intermediate Compressor and a further three bleed valves are found in the HP compressor, both controlled the EEC via the Bleed Valve Solenoid Unit. – tedioustortoise Nov 04 '21 at 11:51

1 Answers1

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A fan blade at the front or turbine blade at the back of a jet engine is a small aerofoil surface which is fixed to the main shaft and spins with it. By contrast, a stator vane is a similar aerofoil surface fixed to the outer casing and remains static.

Why do that? The spinning blades of a given stage cause the airflow to start spinning, and that slows the relative speed of the next stage (two things spinning together are at rest with respect to each other). The stator vanes "un-spin" the airflow so that the next stage blades meet it at full speed.

A variable vane pivots about its spanwise (radial) axis, allowing you to change its angle of attack to the oncoming airflow. Why do that? A turbojet engine at different stages in the flight will have different demands and conditions on it and will accordingly spin at different speeds. These effects change the airflow pattern through the engine. If a given stator vane is optimised for one stage of flight, it may not work so well in the modified airflow when a different stage is reached. Varying its angle can ensure that it can always be set at the optimum angle for the best performance.

So variable stator vanes ensure that a given jet engine can always operate at maximum efficiency and deliver optimal performance.

A typical way this is done is to fit gear wheels on the outer ends of the vane pivots, and place a single large toothed wheel around the whole engine so that when the large wheel turns, all the vanes in that position turn with it.

Guy Inchbald
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