Mathematical Problems in Engineering
Volume 4 (1998), Issue 1, Pages 21-42
doi:10.1155/S1024123X98000702
Shape optimization of turbine blades with the integration of
aerodynamics and heat transfer
1MEAT Department, Arizona State University, Tempe 85287-6106, AZ, USA
2Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe 85287-6106, AZ, USA
Received 30 July 1996
Copyright © 1998 J. N. Rajadas et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
A multidisciplinary optimization procedure, with the integration of aerodynamic and heat transfer criteria, has been developed for the design of gas turbine blades. Two different optimization formulations have been used. In the first formulation, the maximum temperature in the blade section is chosen as the objective function to be minimized. An upper bound constraint is imposed on the blade average temperature and a lower bound constraint is imposed on the blade tangential force coefficient. In the second formulation, the blade average and maximum temperatures are chosen as objective functions. In both formulations, bounds are imposed on the velocity gradients at several points along the surface of the airfoil to eliminate leading edge velocity spikes which deteriorate aerodynamic performance. Shape optimization is performed using the blade external and coolant path geometric parameters as design variables. Aerodynamic analysis is performed using a panel code. Heat transfer analysis is performed using the finite element method. A gradient based procedure in conjunction with an approximate analysis technique is used for optimization. The results obtained using both optimization techniques are compared with a reference geometry. Both techniques yield significant improvements with the multiobjective formulation resulting in slightly superior design.