Numerical simulation and experimental measurements were conducted to investigate the rotor wake of a transonic axial compressor. Combined with theoretical analysis
the relations between area-average total pressure and mass-average total pressure that are commonly calculated in transonic rotor wake flow fields were studied. The results showed that the area-average total pressures were larger than the mass-average total pressures at surfaces close to rotor trailing edge because of the existence of the wake flow
which had higher total pressure and lower axial velocity than the main flow. However
the downstream area-average total pressure changed to become smaller than the mass-average total pressure as the wake dissipated under the interaction with the main flow. These results can provide some references for investigations on the compressor rotor wakes
especially during comparative analysis of computational and experimental results.