Development and Application of Robust Design Optimization Methods for Turbomachinery

Noaparast, Michel

4. term

Energy Engineering, Master

2001

2018-05-31

63 pages

The influence of manufacturing variations on product performance shows that manufacturing uncertainties should be considered already in the development phase. One way of doing this is by combining numerical optimization and sensitivity analysis. This unification is referred to as Robust Design Optimization (RDO). RDO methods can be applied to any type of product, but the aim of this project is to develop and apply RDO methods for turbomachinery applications that use inverse design methods. Existing RDO methods are used to inspire new approaches that are tested on a representative case. The RDO methods revolve around a CFD model created to successfully facilitate RDO. Results show that while none of the tested methods are successfully able to produce a more robust design than conventional optimization in this case, designs performing similarly can generally have different performance variations and hence sensitivities. In addition to this, the hydraulic sensitivity of the blade has also been investigated through a sensitivity analysis. This shows the trailing edge to be the most sensitive part of the blade, and the tolerances should therefore be tighter at the trailing edge in this design. Since the sensitivity analysis is performed on a single nominal design, it cannot be extrapolated to apply to all impellers. Until more studies are performed and potential general tendencies are identified, it is therefore recommended to always investigate the hydraulic sensitivity of a design before specifying tolerances.

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