Mesh Deformation Using Radial Basis Function Interpolation for Numerical Optimisation of Internal Flow Applications

Developments in computational capabilities and the always increasing demand for higher performance of internal flow applications has meant that Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become an essential tool within the design process. A key point of interest is to couple the fluid solver with numerical optimisation techniques in order to obtain...

Data-driven boundary layer loss model for organic rankine cycle turbomachines

There is a requirement for localised efficient electricity generation systems that increase the efficiency of power plants and reduce wasted heat from other engineering applications such as cement manufacturing units and brick kilns. Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power systems use organic fluids and low-grade heat sources to accomplish this. Lack...

Adjoint-based 3D Shape Optimization for Turbomachinery Applications

In order to reduce the carbon foot-print of turbo-generators to global warming, a step-change in the design process is needed. Extensive CFD simulations coupled with optimization algorithms are required, resorting to novel techniques to capture the complex flow phenomena occurring in the passage. However, the computation of the optimization...

Assessment of SU2 for radial compressor performance prediction

The open-source SU2 suite has been subject to extensive verification and validation studies in the past few years. Through such studies, the ability of the SU2 CFD solver to produce high-fidelity results for external flows has been substantiated by data from numerous testcases. Interest in applying the suite to turbomachinery flow analysis and...

Effects of Increasing Aerothermodynamic Fidelity on Hypersonic Trajectory Optimisation for Flight Testing Purposes

In a previous study, the optimal re-entry trajectory of Hyperion-2 has been derived. The mission of the vehicle is to measure hypersonic boundary-layer transition, a phenomena in which the laminar boundary layer turns into a turbulent boundary layer. This is an important feature in hypersonic flow to investigate, as it introduces peak heating...