Automated design of controlled diffusion blades

Abstract

A numerical automation procedure was developed to be used in conjunction with an inverse hodograph method for the design of controlled diffusion blades. With this procedure a cascade of airfoils with a prescribed solidity, inlet Mach No., inlet air flow angle and air flow turning can be produced automatically. The trailing edge thickness of the airfoil, an important quantity in inverse methods, is also prescribed. The automation procedure consists of a multi-dimensional Newton iteration in which the objective design conditions are achieved by acting on the hodograph input parameters of the underlying inverse code. The method, although more general in scope, is applied to the design of axial flow turbomachinery blade sections, both compressors and turbines. A collaborative effort with U.S. Engine Companies to identify designs of interest to the industry will be described.