Redesign of a Low Speed Turbine Stage Using a New Viscous Inverse Design Method

2010 ◽  
Vol 133 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedikt Roidl ◽  
Wahid Ghaly

The midspan section of a low speed subsonic turbine stage that is built and tested at DFVLR, Cologne, is redesigned using a new inverse blade design method, where the blade walls move with a virtual velocity distribution derived from the difference between the current and target pressure distributions on the blade surfaces. This new inverse method is fully consistent with the viscous flow assumption and is implemented into the time-accurate solution of the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. An algebraic Baldwin–Lomax turbulence model is used for turbulence closure. The mixing plane approach is used to couple the stator and rotor regions. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis formulation is first assessed against the turbine stage experimental data. The inverse formulation that is implemented in the same CFD code is assessed for its robustness and merits. The inverse design method is then used to study the effect of the rotor pressure loading on the blade shape and stage performance. It is also used to simultaneously redesign both stator and rotor blades for improved stage performance. The results show that by carefully tailoring the target pressure loading on both blade rows, improvement can be achieved in the stage performance.

Author(s):  
Benedikt Roidl ◽  
Wahid Ghaly

The midspan section of a low speed subsonic turbine stage that is built and tested at DFVLR, Cologne, is redesigned using a new inverse blade design method where the blade walls move with a virtual velocity distribution derived from the difference between the current and the target pressure distributions on the blade surfaces. This new inverse method is fully consistent with the viscous flow assumption and is implemented into the time accurate solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. An algebraic Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model is used for turbulence closure. The mixing plane approach is used to couple the stator and the rotor regions. The CFD analysis formulation is first assessed against the turbine stage experimental data. The inverse formulation that is implemented in the same CFD code is also assessed for its robustness and merits. The inverse design method is then used to study the effect of the rotor pressure loading on the blade shape and stage performance. It is also used to simultaneously redesign both stator and rotor blades for improved stage performance. The results show that by carefully tailoring the target pressure loading on both blade rows, improvement can be achieved in the stage performance.


Author(s):  
Benedikt Roidl ◽  
Wahid Ghaly

A new dual-point inverse blade design method was developed and applied to the redesign of a highly loaded transonic vane, the VKI-LS89, and the first 2.5 stages of a low speed subsonic turbine, the E/TU-4 4-stage turbine that is built and tested at the university of Hannover, Germany. In this inverse method, the blade walls move with a virtual velocity distribution derived from the difference between the current and the target pressure distributions on the blade surfaces at both operating points. This new inverse method is fully consistent with the viscous flow assumption and is implemented into the time accurate solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. An algebraic Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model is used for turbulence closure. The mixing plane approach is used to couple the stator and rotor regions. The dual-point inverse design method is then used to explore the effect of different choices of the pressure distributions on the suction surface of one or more rotor/stator on the blade/stage performance. The results show that single point inverse design resulted in a local performance improvement whereas the dual point design method allowed for improving the performance of both VKI-LS89 vane and E/TU-4 2.5 stage turbines over a wide range of operation.


Author(s):  
Benedikt Roidl ◽  
Wahid Ghaly

The midspan section of a multi-stage subsonic turbine that is built and tested at the University of Hannover is redesigned using a new inverse blade design method where the blade walls move with a virtual velocity distribution derived from the difference between the current and the target pressure loading on the blade surfaces. The prescribed design variables are the blade loading and thickness distribution. This new inverse method is fully consistent with the viscous flow assumption and is implemented into the time accurate solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations that are expressed in an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) form to account for mesh movement. A cell-vertex finite volume method of the Jameson type is used to discretize the equations in space; time accurate integration is obtained using dual time stepping. An algebraic Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model is used for turbulence closure. The mixing plane approach is used to couple the blade row regions of the multistage. The CFD analysis formulation is first assessed against the multi-stage turbine experimental data. The method is then used to redesign the second and third stators of the 2.5 stage turbine so as to reduce the blade suction side diffusion. The results show that by carefully tailoring the target pressure loading, some improvement can be achieved in the turbine performance.


Author(s):  
Raja Ramamurthy ◽  
Wahid Ghaly

The midspan section of Rotor 67 is redesigned simultaneously at two different design points using a new inverse blade design method where the blade walls move with a virtual velocity distribution derived from the difference between the current and the target pressure distributions on the blade surfaces. This inverse method is fully consistent with the viscous flow assumption and is implemented into the time accurate solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations that are expressed in an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) form to account for mesh movement. A cell-vertex finite volume method of the Jameson type is used to discretize the equations in space; time accurate integration is obtained using dual time stepping. An algebraic Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model is used for turbulence closure. The CFD analysis provides the initial blade pressure distributions at both operating points, e.g. at two different back pressures and/or blade speeds. At each operating point, a target pressure distribution that results in a performance improvement, is prescribed. The inverse design method is then used to reach the prescribed target pressure distributions at both operating points, simultaneously. This is done by using a weighted average of the difference between the target and current pressure distributions at the two operating points, to modify the airfoil profile. The results show that by carefully tailoring the target pressure loadings at the two design points, some performance improvement can be achieved over the entire range between the two operating points.


Author(s):  
Jiangnan Zhang ◽  
Mehrdad Zangeneh

Most radial turbines have a peak efficiency at around U/Cis (velocity ratio or jet speed ratio) of 0.7. It is a well-known fact that it is beneficial for radial turbocharger turbines to have a higher efficiency at low U/Cis region, since the pulsating engine exhaust gas at low U/Cis region (with high pressure and temperature) carries more energy compared to that at high U/Cis region (with low pressure and temperature). The improvement of Total to Static efficiency at low U/Cis region will help the turbine extract more energy from the exhaust gas and thereby increase the turbine cycle-averaged Total to Static efficiency. In the past there has been some attempts to move the peak U/Cis to lower values by using conventional or direct design approach on mixed flow impellers. But this approach usually results in reduction of stage performance. In this paper, a methodology is presented to control and move the radial turbine peak efficiency U/Cis to lower values by using a 3D inverse design method. The stage performance is measured by using steady CFD analysis. Furthermore detailed stress and vibration analysis are presented on the mechanical performance of the new design.


Author(s):  
L. de Vito ◽  
R. A. Van den Braembussche ◽  
H. Deconinck

This paper presents a novel iterative viscous inverse method for turbomachinery blading design. It is made up of two steps: The first one consists of an analysis by means of a Navier-Stokes solver, the second one is an inverse design by means of an Euler solver. The inverse design resorts to the concept of permeable wall, and recycles the ingredients of Demeulenaere’s inviscid inverse design method that was proven fast and robust. The re-design of the LS89 turbine nozzle blade, starting from different arbitrary profiles at subsonic and transonic flow regimes, demonstrates the merits of this approach. The method may result in more than one blade profile that meets the objective, i.e. that produces the viscous target pressure distribution. To select one particular solution among all candidates, a target mass flow is enforced by adjusting the outlet static pressure. The resulting profiles are smooth (oscillation-free). The design of turbine blades with arbitrary pressure distribution at transonic and supersonic outflow illustrates the correct behavior of the method for a large range of applications. The approach is flexible because only the pitch chord ratio is fixed and no limitations are imposed on the stagger angle.


Author(s):  
Kasra Daneshkhah ◽  
Wahid Ghaly

The redesign of VKI-LS89 turbine vane, which is typical of a highly loaded transonic turbine guide vane is presented. The redesign is accomplished using a new inverse design method where the blade walls move with a virtual velocity distribution derived from the difference between the current and the target pressure distributions on the blade surfaces. This new inverse method is fully consistent with the viscous flow assumption and is implemented into the time accurate solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations that are expressed in an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) form to account for mesh movement. A cell-vertex finite volume method is used to discretize the equations in space; time accurate integration is obtained using dual time stepping. An algebraic Baldwin-Lomax model is used for turbulence closure. The flow analysis formulation is first assessed against the LS89 experimental data. The inverse formulation that is implemented in the same code, is also assessed for its robustness and accuracy, by inverse designing the LS89 original geometry through running the inverse method with the original LS89 pressure distributions as target distributions but starting from an arbitrary geometry. The inverse design method is then used to redesign the LS89 using an arbitrary pressure distributions at a subsonic and a transonic outflow condition and the results are interpreted in terms of the blade overall aerodynamic performance.


Author(s):  
Peixin Hu ◽  
Mehrdad Zangeneh ◽  
Benjamin Choo ◽  
Mohammad Rahmati

The application of 3D inverse design to transonic fans can offer designers many advantages in terms of reduction in design time and providing a more direct means of using the insight obtained into flow physics from CFD computations directly in the design process. A number of papers on application of inverse design method to transonic fans have already been reported. However, in order to apply this approach in product design a number of issues need to be addressed. For example, how can the method be used to affect and control the fan rotor characteristics? The robustness of the method and its ability to deal with accurate representation of leading and trailing edges, as well as tip clearance flow. In this paper the further enhancement of the 3D viscous transonic inverse design code TURBOdesign-2 and its application to the re-design of NASA37 and NASA67 rotors will be described. In this inverse design method the blade geometry can be computed by the specification of the blade loading (meridional derivative of rVθ) or the pressure loading. In both cases the blade normal thickness is specified to ensure structural integrity of the design. Improvements to the code include implementation of full approximation storage (FAS) multigrid technique in the solver, which increases the speed of the computation. This method allows the modification of blade thickness and pressure loading by B-splines. In addition improvements have been made in the treatment of proper leading edge geometry. Two well known examples of NASA 67 and NASA 37 rotors are used to provide a step-by-step guide to the application of the method to the design of transonic fan rotors. Improved designs are validated by commercial CFD code CFX.


Author(s):  
Benjamin M. F. Choo ◽  
Mehrdad Zangeneh

An aerodynamics inverse design method for turbomachinery blades using fully (adaptive) unstructured meshes is presented. In this design method, the pressure loading (i.e. pressure jump across the blades) and thickness distribution are prescribed. The design method then computes the blade shape that would accomplish this loading. This inverse design method is implemented using a cell-centred finite volume method which solves the Euler equations on Delaunay unstructured triangular meshes using upwind flux vector splitting scheme. The analysis/direct Euler solver first is validated against some test cases of cascades flow. Computational grid and solution adaptation is performed to capture any flow behaviors such as shock waves using some error indicators. In the inverse design method, blade geometry is updated at the end of each design iteration process. A flexible and fast remeshing process based on a classical ‘spring’ methodology is adopted. An improved spring smoothing methodology for large changes of blades geometry is also presented. This flexible remeshing method can be used in designing a real blade (i.e. round leading and trailing edge) and also ‘fat’ turbine blades with blunt leading and trailing edge. The inverse design method using unstructured triangular meshes is validated by regeneration of a generic compressor rotor blade geometry subjected to a specified pressure loading and blade thickness. Finally, the method is applied to the design of the tip section of Nasa Rotor 67. The result shows that the design method is very useful in controlling shock waves.


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