A Database of Optimal Airfoils for Axial Compressor Throughflow Design

This text describes methods to organize a large set of optimized airfoils in a relational database and its application in throughflow design. Optimized airfoils are structured in five dimensions: inlet Mach number, blade stagger angle, pitch-chord ratio, maximum thickness-chord ratio and a parameter for aerodynamic loading. In this space, a high number of airfoil geometries is generated by means of numerical optimization. Each airfoil geometry is tailored to its specific requirements and optimized for a wide working range as well as low losses. During the optimization of each airfoil, performance in design and off-design conditions is evaluated with the blade-to-blade flow solver MISES. Together with airfoil geometry, the database stores automatically calibrated correlations which describe cascade performance in throughflow calculation. Based on these methods, two subsonic stages of a 4.5-stage transonic research compressor are redesigned. Performance of baseline and updated geometries is evaluated with 3D CFD. The overall approach offers accurate throughflow design incorporating optimized airfoil shapes and a fast transition from throughflow to 3D CFD design.

[1]  Reinhard Mönig,et al.  Development of Advanced Compressor Airfoils for Heavy-Duty Gas Turbines: Part II — Experimental and Theoretical Analysis , 1999 .

[2]  Reinhard Mönig,et al.  1999 Turbomachinery Committee Best Paper Award: Development of Advanced Compressor Airfoils for Heavy-Duty Gas Turbines— Part I: Design and Optimization , 2000 .

[3]  G. K. Serovy,et al.  Modeling the 3-D Flow Effects on Deviation Angle for Axial Compressor Middle Stages , 1986 .

[4]  Nicholas A. Cumpsty,et al.  Spanwise Mixing in Multistage Axial Flow Compressors: Part I—Experimental Investigation , 1986 .

[5]  Andreas Schmitz,et al.  Novel Approach for Loss and Flow-Turning Prediction Using Optimized Surrogate Models in Two-Dimensional Compressor Design , 2011 .

[6]  Paul DuBois,et al.  MySQL Reference Manual , 2002 .

[7]  B. Lakshminarayana.  Methods of Predicting the Tip Clearance Effects in Axial Flow Turbomachinery , 1970 .

[8]  Reinhard Mönig,et al.  Development of Advanced Compressor Airfoils for Heavy-Duty Gas Turbines: Part I — Design and Optimization , 1999 .

[9]  Eberhard Nicke,et al.  Automated Calibration of Compressor Loss and Deviation Correlations , 2015 .

[10]  Milan Banjac,et al.  Secondary Flows, Endwall Effects and Stall Detection in Axial Compressor Design , 2014 .

[11]  Andreas Schmitz,et al.  Novel Performance Prediction of a Transonic 4.5 Stage Compressor , 2012 .

[12]  Seymour Lieblein,et al.  Résumé of Transonic-Compressor Research at NACA Lewis Laboratory , 1961 .

[13]  H. D. Weingold,et al.  Development of Controlled Diffusion Airfoils for Multistage Compressor Application , 1983 .

[14]  Hubert Grieb.  Verdichter für Turbo-Flugtriebwerke , 2009 .

[15]  Reinhard Mönig,et al.  1999 Turbomachinery Committee Best Paper Award: Development of Advanced Compressor Airfoils for Heavy-Duty Gas Turbines— Part II: Experimental and Theoretical Analysis , 2000 .

[16]  S. J. Gallimore,et al.  Spanwise Mixing in Multistage Axial Flow Compressors: Part II—Throughflow Calculations Including Mixing , 1986 .

[17]  E. Johann,et al.  Experimental and Numerical Examinations of a Transonic Compressor-Stage With Casing Treatment , 2013 .

[18]  Ronald H. Aungier.  Axial-Flow Compressors , 2003 .