Conjugate Heat Transfer Analysis Capability for Gas Turbine Component Design

The drumbeat for higher efficiency gas turbine engines is driving new designs capable of operating at higher temperatures and pressure ratios, in fewer stages, and with higher airfoil loads.   These conditions pose a great challenge for turbomachinery designers.  They must now accurately predict airfoil metal temperatures to design effective cooling schemes that counter the high external gas temperatures around turbine airfoils.  They must also account for the strong time-varying airfoil loads produced by todays small axial gap designs.  Without these capabilities, designers compromise the durability, reliability and performance of next generation military and commercial gas turbine engines. These challenges demand the availability of advanced physics-based simulation tools to accurately predict aerodynamic loads and airfoil metal temperatures during design.   Under private funding, AeroDynamic Solutions (ADS) has developed a high performance CFD simulation capability to analyze unsteady flows with high accuracy and fast turnaround.  In Phase I, feasibility of conjugate heat transfer analysis for the ADS flow solver was demonstrated.  Phase II further enhances the advanced capabilities of the ADS solver in the areas of conjugate heat transfer and unsteady flow analysis, and lays the groundwork to allow these capabilities to be commercialized for use by turbomachinery researchers and designers. BENEFIT: With the ability to accurately and quickly predict aero and thermal loads during design, gas turbine OEMs can iterate and optimize designs without the time and cost penalties incurred by traditional design and test development techniques.  Strategically, this capability speeds the delivery of superior products to market, giving gas turbine OEMs tools for achieving higher efficiencies and thrust-to-weight ratios and a means to combat high development costs, maturing markets and fierce global competition.    High fidelity CFD simulation is widely applicable to all sectors of the turbomachinery industry, including military and commercial jet engines, industrial gas turbines and centrifugal compressors.