Turbofan Engine

ME407: Final

Mitchell Cady
Professor Bondi

May 12, 2014

Problem Statement
We are tasked with designing the compressor stage of a new type of gas turbofan engine. The
compressor will increase the density of air before it is fed into the combustor of the engine. The outlet
gas from the combustor will then be fed into a turbine that is mechanically linked to the compressor.
The compresor will be modeled using CFD as a tool. Simulations will be used to determine the ideal
compressor geometry and speed.

Design Criteria
The customer mandated several performance requirememnts. These requirements are listed below:

• Minimum pressure ratio of 8.5:1 at 38000ft.

• Diameter between 3 and 5 feet

• Maximum operating speed less than 100000RPM.

Design Process
The design process intended in this project was to start with a literature review. Through this research
process governing equations, common compressor geometries, common blade geometries, and material
properties were explored. The research will be used to generate an initial concept for a geometry and
operating conditions. The initial design concept will be greatly simplified from an actual compressor
to ease modeling. As models begin to run properly, complexity will be added. Typical compressor
blades are designed from a lofted and twisted airfoil. The initial design concept will use a simple
straight extruded blade with similar geometry to a typical turbine blade. The compressor will be
initially modeled with only the first stage with stages added on as more simulations successfully run.

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Geometry and Mesh
The early research focused on finding a suitable airfoil to use as the basis of my geometry. A number
of papers mention that it is common practice to use a 65-series NACA airfoil, specifically a 65-210, 65-
410, or 65-810. For this assignment a 65-410 was used as a good intermiediary blade. The governing
equations of airfoil geometry were used to generate points in excel. These points were imported into
Autodesk Inventor where a spline was run through the points. The geometry that was generated is
shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1: NACA 65410

The original geometry consisted of the above airfoil sketched onto the surface of a shaft. This
sketch was then scaled such that the rotor blade was 4 inches long. This rotor blade geometry was
then rotated 20◦ with respect to the axis of rotation. This rotated geometry was then extruded 18
inches from the surface of a shaft. This extrusion was then repeated with a circular mirror so that
each stage of the compressor has 32 rotor blades, ie the blades are separated by 10◦ . The stator
blades were designed in a similar manner. The blades were imported and then scaled so that each
stator measured two inches in length. Each stator blade was rotated 10◦ with respect to the axis of
rotation and then extruded. The blades were repeated radially so that there are 72 stator blades or
one blade for every five degrees of rotation. The shaft itself is a cone with an initial diameter of 12
inches and a final diameter of 18 inches. This constriction occurs over the length of 6 feet. Figure 2
shows an isometric view of the three stage solid rotor and stator geometry that was generated using
these methods.
When modeling in Fluent, the space taken up is what must be modeled. The solid geometry was
filled by generating surfaces along the airfoils and the surface of the shaft. This surface was then filled
to produce the fluid geometry. The fluid geometry of the geometry shown above is shown in Figure 3
below.
Meshing was preformed in Altair Hypermesh. Extraneous edges, specifically edges that were
created during extrusion of the airfoil, were removed with the edge quick edit. This made the surfaces
along smooth without any difficult to mesh discontinuities. A mapped volume mesh was used for all
models. The first model, the model with the 18 inch straight blades, was meshed with an element
size of .125. This mesh is shown in Figure 4.

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 Figure 2: 3 Stage Isometric

Figure 3: Rotor and Stator Fluid Volume

After this model was run, problems were found in the geometry. The height of the blades meant
that the top was movingn significantly faster than the bottom and creating a large pressure gradient
along the length of the blade. A shorter blade geometry was chosen so that these pressure gradients
were lessend. A geometry with 4 inch blades as produced in a similar manner to the taller blades.
The shaft was redesigned so that the shaft begins at 14 inches in radius and increases until it is 17
inches. This shaft expansion occurs over the length of 14 inches. The new fluid geometry is shown in
Figure 5.
When a shorter model was switched too, a new mesh was created. A similar meshing process to
the 18 inch blades was performed. However, the element size was decreased to .100. This new size
was chosen to create a tighter mesh to more accurately model conditions near walls. This mesh is
shown below in Figure 6.
When this first stage was able to run, a second stage was generated and meshed. The mesh is shown
in Figure 7. Each compressor stage, which includes both the rotor and stator geometry, measures
6.25 inches long not including the inlet and outlet sections that were used to smooth modeling.

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 Figure 4: Mesh of 18 inch blades

Figure 5: Fluid geometry of 4 inch blades

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Figure 6: Mesh of 4 inch blades

Figure 7: Second Stage Mesh

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Material Properties
Two materials were used in the modeling of the compressor, air and inconel 625. The properties for
air were taken from the Fluent materials database are are shown in Table 1 below. An ideal gas
model was used when running the models. Using ideal gas allows the working fluid to increase in
density which is useful when running a compressor.

Table 1: Properties of Air

Variable Value Units
Density Variable lbm/ft3
Cp 0.240388 but/lb*r

Research was performed to find a common material used in the construction of compressor. The
material chosen was inconel 625. Inconel 625 is a super alloy that is composed of 58% Ni at a minimum,
20-23% Cr, 8-10% Mo, 3.15-3.15% Nb+Ta, and 5% Fe maximum. Inconel is used as a rotor blade
material because it has an extremely high melting point, approximately 1350◦ C. Inconel 625 has a
variable thermal conductivity and specific heat depending on operating temperature. For the sake of
this project a mean temperature value of 1000◦ F was used when selecting material properties. The
properties used are shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Properties of Inconel 625

Variable Value Units
Density 0.305 lbs/in3
Cp 0.128 Btu/lb*◦ F
K 121 But*in/ft2*hr*◦ F

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Boundary Conditions
The performance critera state that the compressor must achieve a compression ratio of 8.5:1 at 38000
ft. Data must also be provided of the maximum compression ratio at sea level. These conditions were
used to generate the inlet conditions for the compressor. A pressure inlet was used for the compressor
inlet. Table 3 shows the inlet conditions for the model at 38000.

Table 3: Inlet Conditions

Variable 38000ft STP Units
Gauge Total Pressure 2.73 14.6 psi
Initial Gauge Pressure 2 14 psi
◦
Total Temperature -69.70 70 F

The outlet boundary condition on the fluid flow was designated a pressure outlet. The values used
for the pressure outlet are shown in Table 4 below.

Table 4: Outlet Conditions

Variable 38000ft STP Units
Gauge Total Pressure 2.73 14.6 psi
◦
Backflow Temperature -69.70 70 F

The radial symmetry of the compressor was modeled using periodic boundary conditons. The
mapped mesh that was generated in Hypermesh allowed me to use conformal periodic boundary
conditons. The interface between the rotor and stator zones was defined as a sliding mesh. The rotor
zone defined with mesh motion. The zone was initialized with 1000rpm which was then ramped to
2500, 5000, and finally 7500rpm. The operating conditions were set at 0 psi
Later version that were created with a lofted blade had a slightly different set of boundary condi-
tions. Instead of using a conformal periodic boundary condition, a nonconformal periodic boundary
condition had to be used. Unfortunately, The stator volume was unable to create this condition and
an error stating that the solver could not intersect the threads was thrown.

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Model
The first models, specifically the 18inch blade and the first 4 inch blade, were modeled with a transient
inviscid model. Energy equation was enabled to allow the ideal-gas equations to run properly. A
Coupled soultion method was used with the spatial discretization methods for gradient set at least
squares cell based, pressure set to standard, density to second order upwind, momentum to second
order upwind, and dnergy to second order upwind. Transient forumlation was set to second order
upwind. The under-relaxation factors are shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Solution Controls: Inviscid

Control Value
Courant Number 200
Momentum 0.5
Pressure 0.5
Density 0.8
Body Forces 0.8
Energy 0.8
Temperature 0.8

A later model was run on the 4 inch blade geometry with K-epsilon turbulence enabled. This was
run to get a more realistic view of what the air was actually doing in the compressor. The solution
methods were similar to those of the inviscid model except that the additional turbulent kinetic energy
was set to second order upwind and turbulent dissipation rate was set to second order upwind. The
under-relaxation factors are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Solution Controls: Turbulent

Control Value
Courant Number 200
Momentum 0.5
Pressure 0.5
Density 0.8
Body Forces 0.8
Turbulent Kinetic Energy 0.8
Turbulent Dissipation Rate 0.8
Turbulent Viscosity 0.8
Energy 0.8

These under-relaxation values were selected after hours of simulations failing. The models were
initialized in serial and then run in parallel.

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Hand Calculations
Hand calculations were used as a means of sanity checking the simulations produced with Fluent.
Typically a simulation is accepted as being reasonable if the hand calculations and the simulation
agrees to within an order of magnitude.
Geometry Constriction A very rough hand calculation of compression ratio from the constriction
in geometry.

Pout = ((30in)2 − (12in)2 )/((30in)2 − (12in)2 ) = 1.315

Temperature Approximation The theoretical exit temperature was calculated using a simple ther-
modynamic equation.

Tout = T in(Pout /Pin )(γ−1)/γ

Tout = 220◦ F
Power Required
W = ((1/2 ∗ CD ∗ ρ ∗ A ∗ V 2 )Xr) ∗ N = 5.6M W

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 Operating Efficiency

Eta = Compression/P ower = 8.5/5.6M W = 1.52/M W

Results
The first model that was run was the one stage, invisicd model with 18inch blades run at 38000ft.
The results for the model are shown in the Table 7.

Table 7: 18 inch Model

Variable Value Units
Inlet Pressure 2.73 PSI
Outlet Pressure 3.41 PSI
Compression Ratio 1.25 Unitless
Inlet Temperature 365.37 R
Outlet Temperature 413.58 R

The pressure contours are shown in Figure 8, temperature in Figure 9, and velocity vectors in
Figure 10. A large gradient of pressure and temperature is clearly seen along the length of the blade.
This has to do with the top of the blade moving significantly faster than the bottom of the the blade.
To remove this issue, shorter blades were used.

Figure 8: 18inch Blade Pressure Contours

The first stage model with 4 inch blades was run at 38000ft with Inviscid models and the results
are shown in the Table 8.
The pressure contours are shown in Figure 11, temperature in Figure 12, and velocity vectors in
Figure 13.
When a model that was comprised of two compressor stages was run errors involving the solver
limiting abosolute pressure and temperature were thrown and the model exited. This was solved by
running the second stage of the model with its inlet boundary condition defined as the outlet profile
from the first stage. The results are shown in Table 9. The pressure contours are shown in Figure 14,
temperature in Figure 15, and velocity vectors in Figure 16.

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 Figure 9: 18inch Blade Temp Contours

Figure 10: 18 inch Blade Velocity Vectors

Figure 11: 4 inch blades 1st Stage Pressure

A single stage model was modeled with turbulence, it’s values are shown in Table 10. The pressure
contours are shown in Figure 17, temperature in Figure 18, and velocity vectors in Figure 19. There

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 Table 8: 4 Inch 1st Stage
Variable Value Units
Inlet Pressure 2.73 PSI
Outlet Pressure 3.43 PSI
Compression Ratio 1.26 Unitless
Inlet Temperature 359.72 R
Outlet Temperature 429.39 R

Figure 12: 4 inch blades 1st Stage Temperature

Figure 13: 4 inch blades 1st Stage velocity

can be seen vorticities forming on the trailing blade. These are not good. They suggest that the
blades need to be rotated more.
Finally, a model for the first stage was run at sea level. The results are shown in Table 11. The
compression ratio shows that the compressor is far less efficient at sea level than it is at 38000ft. This
is expected because the air is denser.

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 Figure 14: 4 inch blades 2nd Stage Pressure

Figure 15: 4 inch blades 2nd Stage Temperature

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 Table 9: 4 Inch 2nd Stage
Variable Value Units
Inlet Pressure 3.96 PSI
Outlet Pressure 4.23 PSI
Compression Ratio 1.07 Unitless
Inlet Temperature 470.54 R
Outlet Temperature 530.57 R

Figure 16: 4 inch blades 2nd Stage velocity

Figure 17: 4 inch blades 1st Stage Pressure Turbulent

Table 10: 4 Inch 2nd Stage

Variable Value Units
Inlet Pressure 3.96 PSI
Outlet Pressure 4.23 PSI
Compression Ratio 1.07 Unitless
Inlet Temperature 470.54 R
Outlet Temperature 530.57 R

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Figure 18: 4 inch blades 1st Stage Temperature Turbulent

Figure 19: 4 inch blades 1st Stage velocity Turbulent

Table 11: 4 Inch 2nd Stage

Variable Value Units
Inlet Pressure 14.4 PSI
Outlet Pressure 17.13 PSI
Compression Ratio 1.19 Unitless
Inlet Temperature 532.14 R
Outlet Temperature 590.48 R

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Conclusions
If the compression ratio is assumed to be constant per stage, the 1.45:1 compression ratio shown in the
first stage invisicd model would lead me to believe that 6 stages would be needed. These six stages
would produce a final compression ratio of 9.29:1. Unfortunately, this is not a good assumption.
When the second stage was modeled with the inlet boundary conditions modeled as the outlet of the
first stage, a stage compression ratio of 1.07 was found. Additonally the turbulent model for the first
stage produced a compression ratio of INSERT HERE. This means that the geometry would need
on the order of 25 stages to obtain the correct compression ratio. At 6.25 inches a stage this means
that the compressor would be approximately 13 feet long and would weigh 3500lbs. This is not a
useful size for a compressor. The power required for the first stage is 3.4MW, which means the entire
compressor requires a power input of 85MW.
Approximately 200 hours were spent on this assignment. There are numerous improvments that
can still be made. Lofted blades would more readily simulate actual compressor blades. Additionally,
the blades should also be optimized for bending and flutter to make sure that robust compressor is
designed.

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References
http://www.specialmetals.com/documents/Inconel%20alloy%20625.pdf

Singh, Murari P., and George M. Lucas. Blade Design and Analysis for Steam Turbines. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Wilson, David Gordon. The Design of High-Efficiency Turbomachinery and Gas Turbines. Camp-
gridge, MA: MIT, 1984. Print.

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Residuals
The residuals are shown in this section to save room in the earlier parts of the paper. All models were
allowed to run until they reached convergence.

Figure 20: 18 inch Blade Residuals

Figure 21: 4 Inch Second Stage Residuals

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 Figure 22: 4 Inch First Stage with Turbulence

Figure 23: 4 Inch First Stage Sea Level Residuals

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Lofted Blades
I started some calculations on lofted blades but was unable to get them to run properly. The lofted
blades are far more ideal for compressors than straight extruded blades. Images of the lofted blades
are shown below.

Figure 24: 10◦ Twist Geometry

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 Figure 25: 10◦ Twist Mesh

Figure 26: 15◦ Twist Geometry

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Figure 27: 15◦ Twist Mesh

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