Multidisciplinary optimization for gas turbine airfoil design

A multidisciplinary optimization procedure for gas turbine airfoil design has been developed and demonstrated on a generic blade. Aerodynamic and heat transfer design objectives are integrated along with various constraints on the airfoil geometry. Heat transfer optimization and external aerodynamic shape optimization has been performed on a generic blade. Shape optimization is performed using geometric parameters associated with film cooling and blade external shape. The blade is cooled both internally and externally (film cooling). Thin layer Navier-Stokes equations are used for the external flow field evaluations and finite element analysis is used to determine the blade interior temperatures. Total pressure loss, exit kinetic energy loss, average blade temperature and maximum blade temperature are minimized, with constraints on the blade geometry. The constrained multiobjective optimization problem is solved using the Kreisselmeier-Steinhauser (K-S) function approach. The results for the generic blade demonstrate the effectiveness of the optimization procedure.