Turbomachinery Design Suite Models Volute Pumps and Casings

By Anthony J. Lockwood

Image courtesy of Advanced Design Technology.

Advanced Design Technology (ADT; London, UK) has announced that version 5.2 of its TURBOdesign aerodynamic and hydrodynamic 3D software suite for designing turbomachinery blades such as pumps, compressors,  fans, turbines and torque converters is now shipping. The company reports that this version of its 3D inverse design technology software offers a new TURBOdesign Volute module and faster turbomachinery design and optimization capabilities.

TURBOdesign Technology, Inc. (TDT; New York, NY), the exclusive US distributor for ADT’s TURBOdesign suite, says that the 3D inverse design approach enables users to describe loading criteria then output a blade design based on those criteria. This, TDT adds, is essentially the reverse of how most other CAD systems for turbomachinery work.

ADT says that its new TURBOdesign Volute toolset “introduces a fresh approach to volute design for compressible and incompressible flows which allows for more practical and faster volute design cycles, eliminating most of the traditional CAD volute design work.” The code supports a conventional 1D approach to volute design and also “a novel 2D method” that allows for specification of non-uniform inlet boundary conditions along a number of periodic sections or along the 360-degree volute inlet. This allows for better matching of off-design conditions and higher stage efficiency, the company says. The code outputs the 3D volute geometry in IGES format that’s ready for meshing and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analysis.

Image courtesy of Advanced Design Technology.

The TURBOdesign CFD module has been enhanced with three new capabilities: an option to analyze high-speed applications such as transonic compressors or turbines and pumps or fans; single-equation Spalart-Allmaras and two-equation Wilcox’s k-omega model;  and support for parallel computations on multi-core CPUs.

A tonal noise model based on Ffowcs-Williams Hawkins model has been implemented in the TURBOdesign1 aero-/hydro-dynamic design module. This model uses the geometry created by TURBOdesign1 and the resulting surface pressures to compute tonal noise. Tonal noise values can be obtained in seconds, says the company.

The ability to use tonal noise data from TURBOdesign1 in fan optimization has also been implemented in TURBOdesign Optima, the company’s platform for turbomachinery design optimization. As well, the function to optimize centrifugal compressors or pumps with splitter blades has been implemented, according to the company.

Image courtesy of Advanced Design Technology.

“Our 3D inverse design optimization technology provides for innovative solutions while reducing development time and costs,” said Mehrdad Zangeneh, founder and managing director of ADT in the company’s press announcement. “TURBOdesign software involves a unique approach that specifies flow-related design parameters, which eliminate trial and error and helps engineers view a larger design space. Even new engineers are productive within days. With the 5.2 release, we bring these functionalities to the design of volutes and casings for the first time.”

Additional modules in the TURBOdesign suite provide for third-party CAE/CAD integration and for the 1D sizing of preliminary designs of turbomachinery components. This Windows-based suite runs on mid-range engineering workstations equipped with 2.4GHz or faster processors, 2GB RAM, and 1GB of disk space. Individual module pricing begins at $15,000, which includes training and technical support.

For full details, visit Advanced Design Technology or TURBOdesign Technology.

Go here for more on the TURBOdesign Volute module.

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Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.