The surge and rotating stall post-instability behaviors of axial flow
compressors are investigated from a bifurcation-theoretic perspective,
using a model and system data presented by Greitzer (1976a). For this
model, a sequence of local and global bifurcations of the nonliner sy
stem dynamics is uncovered. This includes a global bifurcation of a pa
ir of large-amplitude periodic solutions. Resulting from this bifurcat
ion are a stable oscillation (''surge'') and an unstable oscillation (
''anti-surge''). The latter oscillation is found to have a deciding si
gnificance regarding the particular post-instability behavior experien
ced by the compressor. These results are used to reconstruct Greitzer'
s (1976b) findings regarding the manner in which post-instability beha
vior depends on system parameters. Although the model does not directl
y reflect nonaxisymmetric dynamics, use of a steady-state compressor c
haracteristic approximating the measured characteristic of Greitzer (1
976a) is found to result in conclusions that compare well with observa
tion. Thus, the paper gives a convenient and simple explanation of the
boundary between surge and rotating stall behaviors, without the use
of more intricate models and analyses including nonaxisymmetric flow d
ynamics.