Session: 37-03 Preliminary and structural design optimization

Paper Number: 101604

101604 - Gas Turbines Cantilever Nozzles Simplified Approach for Performance and Structural Optimization 

One of the most critical phases of designing a competitive product such as a Gas Turbine is the conceptual phase, in particular the definition of the flow path, which decides the performance of the engine. Therefore, the ability to optimize the performance of the flow path is essential, but constrained by the reduction of the time to market of new products.

Typically, the definition of an acceptable flow path is an iterative process between the Aerodynamic and Structural teams, which requires a considerable amount of time, thus narrowing the optimization space. 

Considering the common architecture of a turbine, only the first stage nozzle can be supported both at inner and outer diameter, while all the other stages can be only supported at the outer. This leads to an extraordinarily strong structural and life constraint for airfoils definition because they must be properly seized to comply with creep requirements. 

According to the earlier design process, the aerodynamic optimization of the flow path was performed on a 1D tool, later airfoils were built and analyzed from a structural standpoint to verify if they were complaint. 

The proposed approach is based on a newly developed transfer function between the geometry parameters available from the 1D aero tool and the bending stress on the airfoils. Function has been trained on legacy engines and later verified and applied in ongoing studies.  

In this way the Aerodynamic designer can obtain a preliminary mechanical assessment while exploring several 1D flow path configurations.  

The article explains how the mentioned transfer function works along with a case study highlighting its application. The findings confirm that this innovative tool can simplify and speed up the optimization of a 1D flow path. 

Presenting Author: Andrea Fardelli Baker Hughes

Presenting Author Biography: Andrea Fardelli is a MSc graduate in Aeronautical Engineering from La Sapienza University in Rome, Italy.
He has been working at Baker Hughes as a Gas Turbine Design Engineer for a year, in particular he is part of the Hot Section Design Team.
Lately he has developed a particular interest in Additive Manufacturing, Topology Optimization and Mechanical Design.

Authors:

Andrea Fardelli Baker Hughes
Giacomo Ragni Baker Hughes
Daniele Di Benedetto Baker Hughes
Alessandro De Luca Baker Hughes
Simone Colantoni Baker Hughes