Axial compressor

An axial compressor comprising:

• a casing having a tubular shape;
• variable stator vanes each having a vane shaft as a swing center, provided in the casing as stator vanes or inlet guide vanes, and arranged in a circumferential direction of the casing;
• rotor blades provided on a trailing edges side of the variable stator vanes in the casing and arranged in the circumferential direction of the casing;
• and
• a plasma actuator configured to generate a plasma annularly distributed in the circumferential direction of the casing, the plasma actuator being attached on an inner circumferential surface of the casing and intersects with a clearance between each variable stator vane and the inner circumferential surface of the casing;
• wherein
• the plasma actuator is located in a first region between the vane shafts and trailing edges of the variable stator vanes in a fully-closed state in an axial direction of the casing and in a second region between the trailing edges of the variable stator vanes in the fully-closed state and the trailing edges of the variable stator vanes in a fully-opened state in the axial direction of the casing, and
• a generation of the plasma in the second region by the plasma actuator is controlled depending on an opening degree of the variable stator vanes.