Turbomachinery CFD Workshop: Keynote Speaker
Keynote Title
Prediction of aerodynamic and aeroelastic instabilities of fans
Abtract:
Accurate evaluation of stall and flutter boundary is crucial in design of aeroengines. Aerodynamic and aeroelastic design of modern fans in turbomachines is conducted by simplified simulations and design rules resulting from years of experience; verification and certification are based on experimental testing and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. However, current engine designs have approached their limit in efficiency and noise, and to achieve significant improvements new design concepts are required. The rules for aerodynamic and aeroelastic stability do not exist for these new design concepts, and hence, the role of simulations is now more relevant than ever as engine/rig test are very expensive especially in case of failure.
The need for cheaper alternatives to rig testing has driven engine manufactures towards investing more in computing power and developing computational models for predicting and understanding the flow in turbomachinery. In this presentation the requirements for accurate CFD prediction of instabilities of fan blades is presented.
Prof. Mehdi Vahdati
Professor Vahdati is the Principal Research Fellow in the Dynamics Group and leads the Aeroelasticity Group in the Vibration University Technology Centre sponsored by Rolls-Royce plc.
His main research focus is the development of CFD algorithms, modeling fan blade flutter, turbine and compressor forced response, stall and surge modeling and aeroacoustic and aeroelastic phenomena. In practice, one of the main reasons for turbomachinery failure is vibration, and our work is directly relevant to the industry. Through modeling, the behavior and mitigating causes of engine failures lead to substantial increases in safety and reliability, provides energy-efficient environmental friendly benefits and significant cost savings.
In 2001, he was awarded by Rolls-Royce plc, the title Rolls-Royce Research Fellow at Imperial College, in recognition of his contributions to the company.
Prof. Mehdi Vahdati
Department of Mechanical Engineering Imperial College London
