Fatigue Analysis for Axial Compressor Blades Utilizing Harmonic Balance in STAR-CCM+

Gas turbine engine development is something that is being continuously pursued across a range of industries from power generation and petrochemical to aviation, marine transportation, and defense. More specifically, there is a constant desire to increase the specific power and efficiency of these engines which leads to an increase in the intensity of unsteady loads on the engine’s elements, particularly the blades.

One of the main components of gas turbine engines and power plants is the compressor. Increasing performance and efficiency demands on compressors can lead to an increase in aerodynamic loads on the blades and a decrease in profile thickness because of the high Mach numbers. Ensuring the dynamic strength of the compressor vanes in an unsteady flow is a complex and critical problem.

The AxSTREAM software platform for multidisciplinary design, analysis, and optimization provides a unique approach to turbomachinery design in a single integrated solution. Through a new partnership between SoftInWay and Siemens, engineers are now able to utilize Simcenter STAR-CCM+ paired with the AxSTREAM platform to analyze harmonic excitation and other advanced analyses in a single environment, reducing development time and improving reliability.

In this webinar we will discuss the concept of harmonic excitation as it pertains to axial compressor blade design, as well as how to analyze and prevent high cycle fatigue of the blades resulting from these excitations. This will be illustrated through the integration of AxSTREAM and STAR-CCM+. Coupling these two software products together allows users to reduce the time spent creating computational models and significantly speeds up the design process.

The webinar session will include:

• Demonstration of the combined capabilities of AxSTREAM and STAR-CCM+ when integrated (transfer of geometry and boundary conditions, creation of a 3D CFD calculation model etc.)
• 3D CFD analysis using the harmonic balance method in STAR-CCM+
• Consideration of the flow dynamic excitation magnitudes and frequencies, utilizing such information for the structural harmonic blade analysis
• Determination of the blades fatigue life using AxSTRESS

Who should attend?

• Mechanical and aerospace engineers
• Managers looking to expand their knowledge about the capabilities of modern design tools for axial compressors
• Faculty members from mechanical and aerospace engineering universities
• Students who are thinking of careers in mechanical engineering and would like to learn the fundamentals of axial compressor design