Coupled Aero, Thermal, & Structural Simulation of Cooled Turbine Blades

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Optimizing turbine-cooled blades is a complex multidisciplinary task that requires precise and time-efficient software to ensure the best performance. Typically, in uncooled blades, there’s a trade-off between aerodynamic efficiency and structural integrity. However, cooling introduces another layer of complexity by ensuring material temperatures are adequately low and well distributed across the blade surface, therefore preventing thermal fatigue and ultimately failure. This balance has become increasingly important as turbines are experiencing higher inlet temperatures than ever before, pushing material limits and engineering solutions to provide more efficient systems.

Despite today’s computing power, 3D calculations remain time-consuming, limiting their use for very large domains or conceptual designs, where numerous geometry iterations are needed. Cooled blades rely on external flow thermodynamics (flow temperature along blade surface), internal flow thermodynamics (flow temperature inside cooling channels), and material thermal (disk, nozzle, etc. temperature) calculations. Specifically, internal flow characteristics are derived from compressor bleed through various secondary air system cavities, where pressure drop and temperature rise occur—a resource-intensive process with 3D solvers, but manageable for 1D simulations.

While multiple approaches may be used to run such simulations, all requiring some iteration, this webinar will emphasize the best balance of time efficiency and accuracy. This will be presented through the integration between SoftInWay’s 0D-1D system-level modelling software and Ansys’ 3D CFD and thermal solvers, highlighting the benefits this approach provides, including the ease of use for parametric and off-design studies as well as optimizations.

Join this webinar to:

• Learn about the trade-offs between aerodynamic efficiency and structural integrity, and the added complexities introduced by turbine blade cooling.
• Understand computational challenges associated with 3D calculations and strategies to manage these challenges effectively.
• Explore various simulation approaches and the importance of achieving a balance between time efficiency and accuracy.
• Gain practical insights on how AxSTREAM System Simulation, Ansys CFX, and Ansys Mechanical can be seamlessly integrated to optimize the performance, longevity, and efficiency of cooled turbine blades, ensuring reliable results and significant time-savings (40% or more).

Who should attend?

Engineers, engineering managers, and academics involved in:

• Cooled turbine technologies
• Multi-disciplinary optimization of energy conversion systems and components, including turbomachinery
• Secondary air system modelling

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