Thermo-Mechanical Analysis for an Integrated Turbopump Design System

Integrating cost and time effective analysis of turbopump steady state and transient thermo-mechanical effects into the preliminary and final design process is the overall goal. Automating the thermo-mechanical analysis process is the proposed innovation. Integrating the new methodology within an existing multi-discplinary turbopump design system (owned by NASA and select turbopump manufacturers) is the primary commercialization path. The subtopic calls for advancements in the area of integrated multi-disciplinary design and analysis systems for important vehicle subsystems such as turbopumps. As detailed later in this proposal, the offered approach meets the topic goal of lowering design, development, and vehicle subsystem production costs by developing advanced and innovative technology. The integrated thermo-mechanical analysis capability is required by turbopump designers in order to support low cost turbopump development for Second Generation RLVs and other applications. Turbopump requirements include better performance and reliability, lower product cost, reduced size and weight, and improvements in product development cycle time. More efficiently and effectively analyzing turbopump system thermal and transient response may be the most challenging aspect of turbopump design and integration into the propulsion system. The proposed work also has tremendous dual use potential for designers of industrial turbomachinery products.