Two- and Three-Dimensional Prescribed Surface Curvature Distribution Blade Design (CIRCLE) Method for the Design of High Efficiency Turbines, Compressors, and Isolated Airfoils

Author(s):  
T. Korakianitis ◽  
I. A. Hamakhan ◽  
M. A. Rezaienia ◽  
A. P. S. Wheeler

The prescribed surface curvature distribution blade design (CIRCLE) method is presented for the design of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) blades for axial compressors and turbines, and isolated blades or airfoils. The original axial turbine blade design method is improved, allowing it to use any leading-edge (LE) and trailing-edge (TE) shapes, such as circles and ellipses. The method to connect these LE and TE shapes to the remaining blade surfaces with curvature and slope of curvature continuity everywhere along the streamwise blade length, while concurrently overcoming the “wiggle” problems of higher-order polynomials is presented. This allows smooth surface pressure distributions, and easy integration of the CIRCLE method in heuristic blade-optimization methods. The method is further extended to 2D and 3D compressor blades and isolated airfoil geometries providing smooth variation of key blade parameters such as inlet and outlet flow angles, stagger angle, throat diameter, LE and TE radii etc. from hub to tip. One sample 3D turbine blade geometry is presented. The efficacy of the method is examined by redesigning select blade geometries and numerically evaluating pressure-loss reduction at design and off-design conditions from the original blades: two typical 2D turbine blades; two typical 2D compressor blades; and one typical 2D isolated airfoil blade geometries are redesigned and evaluated with this method. Further extension of the method for centrifugal or mixed-flow impeller geometries is a coordinate transformation. It is concluded that the CIRCLE method is a robust tool for the design of high-efficiency turbomachinery blades.

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Korakianitis ◽  
M. A. Rezaienia ◽  
I. A. Hamakhan ◽  
A. P. S. Wheeler

The prescribed surface curvature distribution blade design (CIRCLE) method is presented for the design of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) blades for axial compressors and turbines, and isolated blades or airfoils. The original axial turbine blade design method is improved, allowing it to use any leading-edge (LE) and trailing-edge (TE) shapes, such as circles and ellipses. The method to connect these LE and TE shapes to the remaining blade surfaces with curvature and slope of curvature continuity everywhere along the streamwise blade length, while concurrently overcoming the “wiggle” problems of higher-order polynomials is presented. This allows smooth surface pressure distributions, and easy integration of the CIRCLE method in heuristic blade-optimization methods. The method is further extended to 2D and 3D compressor blades and isolated airfoil geometries providing smooth variation of key blade parameters such as inlet and outlet flow angles, stagger angle, throat diameter, LE and TE radii, etc. from hub to tip. One sample 3D turbine blade geometry is presented. The efficacy of the method is examined by redesigning select blade geometries and numerically evaluating pressure-loss reduction at design and off-design conditions from the original blades: two typical 2D turbine blades; two typical 2D compressor blades; and one typical 2D isolated airfoil blade geometries are redesigned and evaluated with this method. Further extension of the method for centrifugal or mixed-flow impeller geometries is a coordinate transformation. It is concluded that the CIRCLE method is a robust tool for the design of high-efficiency turbomachinery blades.


Author(s):  
T. Korakianitis ◽  
M. A. Rezaienia ◽  
I. A. Hamakhan ◽  
E. Avital ◽  
J. J. R. Williams

The prescribed surface curvature distribution blade design (CIRCLE) method can be used for the design of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) turbomachinery blade rows with continuous curvature and slope of curvature from leading edge (LE) stagnation point to trailing edge (TE) stagnation point and back to the LE stagnation point. This feature results in smooth surface pressure distribution airfoils with inherently good aerodynamic performance. In this paper the CIRCLE blade design method is modified for the design of 2D isolated airfoils. As an illustration of the capabilities of the method, it is applied to the redesign of two representative airfoils used in wind turbine blades: the Eppler 387 airfoil; and the NREL S814 airfoil. Computational fluid dynamic analysis is used to investigate the design point and off-design performance of the original and modified airfoils, and compare with experiments on the original ones. The computed aerodynamic advantages of the modified airfoils are discussed. The surface pressure distributions, drag coefficients, and lift-to-drag coefficients of the original and redesigned airfoils are examined. It is concluded that the method can be used for the design of wind turbine blade geometries of superior aerodynamic performance.


Author(s):  
T. Korakianitis ◽  
M. A. Rezaienia ◽  
I. A. Hamakhan ◽  
E. J. Avital ◽  
J. J. R. Williams

The prescribed surface curvature distribution blade design (CIRCLE) method can be used for the design of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) turbomachinery blade rows with continuous curvature and slope of curvature from leading edge (LE) stagnation point to trailing edge (TE) stagnation point and back to the LE stagnation point. This feature results in smooth surface pressure distribution airfoils with inherently good aerodynamic performance. In this paper the CIRCLE blade design method is modified for the design of 2D isolated airfoils. As an illustration of the capabilities of the method, it is applied to the redesign of two representative airfoils used in wind turbine blades: the Eppler 387 airfoil and the NREL S814 airfoil. Computational fluid dynamic analysis is used to investigate the design point and off-design performance of the original and modified airfoils, and compare with experiments on the original ones. The computed aerodynamic advantages of the modified airfoils are discussed. The surface pressure distributions, drag coefficients, and lift-to-drag coefficients of the original and redesigned airfoils are examined. It is concluded that the method can be used for the design of wind turbine blade geometries of superior aerodynamic performance.


1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodosios Korakianitis

Blade surfaces with continuous curvature and continuous slope of curvature minimize the possibility of flow separation, lead to improved blade designs, and reduce the direct and inverse blade-design iterations for the selection of isolated airfoils and gas-turbine-blade cascades. A method for generating two-dimensional blade shapes is presented. The geometry near the trailing edge is specified by an analytic polynomial, the main portion of the blade surface is mapped using as input a prescribed surface-curvature distribution, and the leading edge is specified as a thickness distribution added to a construction line. This procedure is similar for the suction and pressure surfaces, and by specification it constructs continuous slope-of-curvature surfaces that result in smooth surface-Mach-number and surface-pressure distributions. The method can be used to generate subsonic or supersonic airfoils for compressors and turbines, or isolated airfoils. The resulting geometric shapes can be used as inputs to various blade-design sequences. It is shown that, with other cascade-design parameters being equal, increasing the stagger angle of turbine blades results in more-front-loaded and thinner blades, and that there is an optimum stagger angle resulting in minimum wake thickness. The subsonic axial-turbine blade rows included for discussion in this paper have been designed by iterative modifications of the blade geometry to obtain a desirable velocity distribution. The blade-design method can be used to improve the aerodynamic and heat transfer performance of turbine cascades, and it can result in high-performance airfoils, even if using the direct method exclusively, in very few iterations.


1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Korakianitis

Blade surfaces with continuous curvature and continuous slope of curvature minimize the possibility of flow separation, lead to improved blade designs, and reduce the direct and inverse blade-design iterations for the selection of isolated airfoils and gas-turbine-blade cascades. A method for generating two-dimensional blade shapes is presented. The geometry near the trailing edge is specified by an analytic polynomial, the main portion of the blade surface is mapped using as input a prescribed surface-curvature distribution, and the leading edge is specified as a thickness distribution added to a construction line. This procedure is similar for the suction and pressure surfaces, and by specification it constructs continuous slope-of-curvature surfaces that result in smooth surface-Mach-number and surface-pressure distributions. The method can be used to generate subsonic or supersonic airfoils for compressors and turbines, or isolated airfoils. The resulting geometric shapes can be used as inputs to various blade-design sequences. It is shown that, with other cascade-design parameters being equal, increasing the stagger angle of turbine blades results in more front-loaded and thinner blades, and that there is an optimum stagger angle resulting in minimum wake thickness. The subsonic axial-turbine blade rows included for discussion in this paper have been designed by iterative modifications of the blade geometry to obtain a desirable velocity distribution. The blade-design method can be used to improve the aerodynamic and heat transfer performance of turbine cascades, and it can result in high-performance airfoils, even if using the direct method exclusively, in very few iterations.


2015 ◽  
Vol 798 ◽  
pp. 589-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Shen ◽  
Theodosios Korakianitis ◽  
Eldad Avital

The prescribed surface curvature distribution blade design (CIRCLE) method optimises aerofoils and blades by controlling curvature continuity and slope of curvature distribution along their surfaces. The symmetrical NACA0012 exhibits a surface curvature discontinuity at the leading edge point, and the non-symmetrical E387 exhibits slope-of-curvature discontinuities in the surface. The CIRCLE method is applied to both aerofoils to remove both surface curvature and slope-of-curvature discontinuities. Computational fluid dynamics analyses are used to investigate the curvature effects on aerodynamic performance of the original and modified aerofoils. These results are compared with experimental data obtained from tests on the original aerofoil geometry. The computed aerodynamic advantages of the modified aerofoil are analysed in different operating conditions. The leading edge singularity of NACA0012 is removed and it is shown that the surface curvature discontinuity affects the aerodynamic performance near the stalling angle of attack. The discontinuous slope-of-curvature distribution of E387 influences the size of the laminar separation bubble at lower Reynolds numbers, and it affects the inherent profile of the aerofoil at higher Reynolds numbers. It is concluded that the surface curvature distribution of aerofoils has a significant effect on aerofoil aerodynamic performance, which can be improved by redesigning the surface curvature distribution of the original aerofoil geometry.


Author(s):  
C. Xu ◽  
R. S. Amano

With the development of the advanced technology, the combustion temperature is raised for increased efficiencies. At the same time, the turbine and compressor pressure ratio and the mass flow rate rise; thus causing turbine and compressor blades turning and blade lengths increase. Moreover, the high efficiency requirements had made the turbine and compressor blade design difficult. A turbine airfoil has been custom designed for many years, but an optimization for the section design in a three-dimensional consideration is still a challenge. For a compressor blade design, standard section cannot meet the modern compressor requirements. Modern compressor design has not only needs a custom designed section according to flow situation, but also needs three-dimensional optimizations. Therefore, a good blade design process is critical to the turbines and compressors. A blade design of the turbomachines is one of the important steps for a good turbomachine design. A blade design process not only directly influences the overall machine efficiency but also dramatically impact the design time and cost. In this study, a blade design and optimization procedure was proposed for both turbine and compressor blade design. A compressor blade design was used as a test case. It was shown that the current design process had more advantages than conventional design methodology.


2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvaro Gonzalez ◽  
Xabier Munduate

This work undertakes an aerodynamic analysis over the parked and the rotating NREL Phase VI wind turbine blade. The experimental sequences from NASA Ames wind tunnel selected for this study respond to the parked blade and the rotating configuration, both for the upwind, two-bladed wind turbine operating at nonyawed conditions. The objective is to bring some light into the nature of the flow field and especially the type of stall behavior observed when 2D aerofoil steady measurements are compared to the parked blade and the latter to the rotating one. From averaged pressure coefficients together with their standard deviation values, trailing and leading edge separated flow regions have been found, with the limitations of the repeatability of the flow encountered on the blade. Results for the parked blade show the progressive delay from tip to root of the trailing edge separation process, with respect to the 2D profile, and also reveal a local region of leading edge separated flow or bubble at the inner, 30% and 47% of the blade. For the rotating blade, results at inboard 30% and 47% stations show a dramatic suppression of the trailing edge separation, and the development of a leading edge separation structure connected with the extra lift.


Author(s):  
Markus Waesker ◽  
Bjoern Buelten ◽  
Norman Kienzle ◽  
Christian Doetsch

Abstract Due to the transition of the energy system to more decentralized sector-coupled technologies, the demand on small, highly efficient and compact turbines is steadily growing. Therefore, supersonic impulse turbines have been subject of academic research for many years because of their compact and low-cost conditions. However, specific loss models for this type of turbine are still missing. In this paper, a CFD-simulation-based surrogate model for the velocity coefficient, unique incidence as well as outflow deviation of the blade, is introduced. This surrogate model forms the basis for an exemplary efficiency optimization of the “Colclough cascade”. In a first step, an automatic and robust blade design methodology for constant-channel blades based on the supersonic turbine blade design of Stratford and Sansome is shown. The blade flow is fully described by seven geometrical and three aerodynamic design parameters. After that, an automated numerical flow simulation (CFD) workflow for supersonic turbine blades is developed. The validation of the CFD setup with a published supersonic axial turbine blade (Colclough design) shows a high consistency in the shock waves, separation zones and boundary layers as well as velocity coefficients. A design of experiments (DOE) with latin hypercube sampling and 1300 sample points is calculated. This CFD data forms the basis for a highly accurate surrogate model of supersonic turbine blade flow suitable for Mach numbers between 1.1 and 1.6. The throat-based Reynolds number is varied between 1*104 and 4*105. Additionally, an optimization is introduced, based on the surrogate model for the Reynolds number and Mach number of Colclough and no degree of reaction (equal inlet and outlet static pressure). The velocity coefficient is improved by up to 3 %.


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