Development of a multi-disciplinary design tool for axial flow turbines

A preliminary design tool has been created to aid in the development and design of axial flow turbines. The design tool outputs all of the required geometry and flow conditions for the preliminary design of a single stage axial turbine. Inherent to the tool is its ability to produce performance estimates, both aerodynamically and structurally. The aerodynamic analysis is largely empirical based and makes use of the most up-to-date correlations available in the literature. The tool is multi-disciplinary in its ability to produce structural results as well as aerodynamic results. First order estimates of the blade root and disk stresses, as well as fatigue and creep life predictions are conducted. Additionally, preliminary estimates of the minimum casing thickness for blade containment and the corresponding rotor burst speed are carried out. The tool has been created to obtain a fast estimate of performance and a fast screening of various design variables. The design tool is also required in order to produce a first geometrical input for more advanced computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and finite element method (FEM) analyses. A test case has been conducted through the design and development of two single stage turbines for a 1-MW gas turbine engine. The results of the design tool were then compared to those results obtained from complete CFD and FEM analyses in order to validate the accuracy of the tool. Overall, the results showed excellent agreement both aerodynamically and structurally.