SpinOffs

A blog on what's new, notable, and next in turbomachinery

Posts about CAE Software

The Gyroscopic Effect

The Gyroscopic Effect

By Thomas Gresham, Senior Mechanical Design Engineer
Mar 6, 2024

This post covers one of the fundamental issues that makes rotordynamics a unique subject: The Gyroscopic Effect. The gyroscopic effect can be observed in the behavior of spinning tops, fidget...

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Part 2: Hydrogen Turbomachinery Design

Part 2: Hydrogen Turbomachinery Design

By Mark R. Anderson, Chief Technical Officer, Concepts NREC
Jan 10, 2023

Hydrogen is attracting a lot of interest in different circles these days from: propulsion, to energy storage, to personal transportation. The most obvious benefit of hydrogen fuel is a total lack of...

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Part 1: Hydrogen and Turbomachinery

Part 1: Hydrogen and Turbomachinery

By Dr. David Schowalter, Sr. Director, Global Software Sales
Jan 3, 2023

Because of its promise as a non-polluting fuel, hydrogen is currently a very popular topic among the energy and turbomachinery communities. If hydrogen is reacted with pure oxygen, the thermal energy...

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Critical Speed Maps

Critical Speed Maps

By Thomas Gresham, Senior Mechanical Design Engineer
Aug 16, 2022

This post is about one of the most useful design tools for rotordynamics of turbomachinery: The Undamped Critical Speed Map. A critical speed map can provide a great deal of insight on the potential...

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The Agile Engineering System™: What is the history and where is the future?

The Agile Engineering System™: What is the history and where is the future?

By Dr. Dave Japikse, CEO/Chairman & Founder, Concepts NREC
Mar 11, 2022

Dave Japikse, the CEO/Chairman & Founder of Concepts NREC, discusses the integrated software tools developed specifically for the design and analysis of turbomachinery. Examples include thermodynamic...

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Compressor Design : Axial, Mixed, or Radial?

Compressor Design : Axial, Mixed, or Radial?

By Mark R. Anderson, CTO of Concepts NREC
Feb 25, 2022

With so many papers out there, I like to pass the word along when a particularly good one comes my way. My favorite paper for 2021 was titled “SELECTING A COMPRESSOR MERIDIONAL TOPOLOGY: AXIAL,...

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Performance v. Durability: The Eternal Turbomachinery Design Grudge Match

Performance v. Durability: The Eternal Turbomachinery Design Grudge Match

By Steve Kohr, Director of Software Product Management & UX
Nov 12, 2021

It is not a secret that when designing turbomachinery components there is a trade-off between the performance and durability. I challenge any aero or structural designer to highlight a geometric...

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Meet Claudio Raia

Meet Claudio Raia

By Kate Guerrina, Marketing Manager
Sep 17, 2021

Dave Schowalter, Director of Global Software Sales, introduces you to Claudio Raia, our newest team member and the Managing Director of Concepts NREC Europe. Welcome Claudio!

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To The Question of sCO2 Compressor Upstream Conditions Selection

To The Question of sCO2 Compressor Upstream Conditions Selection

By Oleg Zubalev, CAE Software Design Engineer
Sep 10, 2021

The compressor is generally one of the most sensitive components of an sCO2 cycle. This makes it a challenge to design a robust compressor while keeping the thermodynamic cycle close to optimal.

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Preliminary Design Considerations of Zero Reaction Stages in Turbines

Preliminary Design Considerations of Zero Reaction Stages in Turbines

By Oleg Dubitsky, Distinguished Corporate Fellow, Director of Corporate Technology
Aug 27, 2021

Low reaction stages are often used as control stages of steam turbines, ORC turbines, drive and rocket turbopump turbines. Some of the benefits of low reaction stages vs higher reaction stages are:

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Use of Optimization in Turbomachinery Design Process

Use of Optimization in Turbomachinery Design Process

By Akshay Bagi, General Manager, Concepts NREC India Private Limited
Jun 4, 2021

Introduction: With the advancements in computation power, optimization is not just limited to academics and research anymore. It can now be realistically used for industrial designs. There are...

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What Fluid Model Should I Choose?

What Fluid Model Should I Choose?

By Mark R. Anderson, CTO of Concepts NREC
Apr 30, 2021

When starting a turbomachinery design, the first choice an engineer has to make is the thermodynamic model. The actual fluid type (air, water, R1234ze, etc) is usually clear enough, but what model...

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2020 Software Release Feature Highlight: Streamlining the Optimization Process in TurboOPT II™

2020 Software Release Feature Highlight: Streamlining the Optimization Process in TurboOPT II™

By Steve Kohr, Associate Director, CAE Product Management
Nov 20, 2020

Concepts NREC’s TurboOPT IITM product was created to provide designers a link between Concepts NREC meanline and 3D design products and 3rd party optimization products. The use of optimization in...

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2020 Software Release Feature Highlight: Importing FINE™/Open Grids and Starting CFD From a Previous CFD Run in pbPost™

2020 Software Release Feature Highlight: Importing FINE™/Open Grids and Starting CFD From a Previous CFD Run in pbPost™

By Steve Kohr, Associate Director, CAE Product Management
Oct 30, 2020

Concepts NREC’s pbPost™ product was created to provide designers a turbomachinery-specific pre- and post-processing tool to link our flagship 3D design product, AxCent®, and our partner NUMECA...

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2020 Software Release Feature Highlight: Axial Design in AxCent®

2020 Software Release Feature Highlight: Axial Design in AxCent®

By Steve Kohr, Associate Director, CAE Product Management
Oct 16, 2020

AxCent® has long been recognized as the premier 3D design software for turbomachinery components.

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2020 Software Release Feature Highlight: Aungier Model Calibration in COMPAL®

2020 Software Release Feature Highlight: Aungier Model Calibration in COMPAL®

By Steve Kohr, Associate Director, CAE Product Management
Oct 2, 2020

In 2019, the Aungier model was added to COMPAL®, our compressor meanline design and analysis product. The Aungier model is a globally accepted, physics-based loss approach to aid in the design of...

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Design Considerations for Turbo Expander Supersonic Turbines with Liquid to Gas-Liquid Flow Transition

Design Considerations for Turbo Expander Supersonic Turbines with Liquid to Gas-Liquid Flow Transition

By Oleg Dubitsky, Corporate Fellow, Director of Corporate Technology
Sep 28, 2020

A small turbine (for ORC, air liquification processes) , operating with low volumetric flows at inlet and significant pressure ratio in a single stage configuration (to reduce costs) is often...

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Optimization using Dakota in Concepts NREC’s TurboOPT II

Optimization using Dakota in Concepts NREC’s TurboOPT II

By Rachel Moore, Senior Software Engineer
Sep 11, 2020

Automated optimization is becoming more and more common place in the turbomachinery industry today. What was once exclusively the domain of academics and high-end researchers, has become much more...

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Coupled Optimization of Preliminary Geometry of Two-Stage Low Flow Turbine and Regenerative Rankine Cycle Parameters (Part 2)

Coupled Optimization of Preliminary Geometry of Two-Stage Low Flow Turbine and Regenerative Rankine Cycle Parameters (Part 2)

By Oleg Dubitsky
Dec 20, 2019

This blog article is a follow up for the earlier blog “Coupled Optimization of Preliminary Design Geometry of Low Flow Steam Turbine with Curtis Stage Layout and Rankine Cycle Parameters”, which...

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Coupled Optimization of Preliminary Design Geometry of Low Flow Steam Turbine with Curtis Stage Layout and Rankine Cycle Parameters

Coupled Optimization of Preliminary Design Geometry of Low Flow Steam Turbine with Curtis Stage Layout and Rankine Cycle Parameters

By Oleg Dubitsky
Dec 6, 2019

Designing turbines for low flow Rankine Cycle for steam is challenging due to their small size, manufacturing restrictions, clearances and cost constraints. Such turbines operate at significant...

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Coupled Optimization of Cycle Parameters and Preliminary Geometry of Turbofan Engine

By Oleg Dubitsky
Nov 15, 2019

In many instances, the design of new turbofan engine is an iterative process of optimizing engine cycle parameters (i.e. thermodynamics) and executing preliminary design geometry of engine...

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Super Critical Carbon Dioxide Turbomachinery Design

Super Critical Carbon Dioxide Turbomachinery Design

By Mark R. Anderson
Nov 8, 2019

Why supercritical CO2? Super critical carbon dioxide (sCO2) is one of the hottest topics in the turbomachinery world right now. From my own experience, I remember when the subject occupied a few...

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The Map Is Not the Terrain

The Map Is Not the Terrain

By Thiago Ebel
Oct 25, 2019

I remember my geography high school teacher talking about maps and how the different projections of the actual globe change the way we visualize it in 2D views. Figure 1 - Photo by Muhammad Haikal...

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Practical Application of Multidisciplinary Optimization

Practical Application of Multidisciplinary Optimization

By Dr. Peter Weitzman & Steve Kohr
Jul 26, 2019

If you design turbomachinery for a living, you are already doing multidisciplinary optimization (MDO), regardless of whether you have a special software tool with MDO built in or not. Turbomachines,...

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In Thermodynamics: “What Goes Around-Comes Around” is a Good Thing

In Thermodynamics: “What Goes Around-Comes Around” is a Good Thing

By Francis A. Di Bella, P.E.
Jun 28, 2019

When discussing the efficiency of transforming one form of energy to another, circularity is the way to go. Anyone who has spent even a little time studying engineering thermodynamics knows that the...

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Abstracts From Papers Presented at Turbo Expo 2019

Abstracts From Papers Presented at Turbo Expo 2019

By Barbara Shea
Jun 21, 2019

Wow, Concepts NREC had a lot going on at this year's ASME Turbo Expo 2019 in Phoenix, AZ! We held our North American CAE User Group Meeting, spoke to over 200 people at our booth, chaired several...

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What’s the Difference Between a Fan, a Blower, and a Compressor?

What’s the Difference Between a Fan, a Blower, and a Compressor?

By Dan Hinch
Jun 6, 2019

Turbomachinery equipment is generally segmented based on whether it extracts energy (e.g., turbines) or adds energy (e.g., pumps and compressors). The addition of energy is usually used to compress...

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What's Better than Perfect? Semi-Perfect Gas Models

What's Better than Perfect? Semi-Perfect Gas Models

By Mark R. Anderson
Mar 8, 2019

In a previous blog, Fluid Phenomena Primer: Energy Versus Temperature, Specific Heat, I explained the behavior for gas phase fluids and how the temperature is affected at high energy levels. In...

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When Perfect is Good Enough - Perfect Gas Models

When Perfect is Good Enough - Perfect Gas Models

By Mark R. Anderson
Feb 15, 2019

What is a perfect gas? A perfect gas is one that has a linear variation in energy with respect to temperature and a linear variation in pressure with respect to temperature at constant volume. The...

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Fluid Phenomena Primer: Energy Versus Temperature, Specific Heat

Fluid Phenomena Primer: Energy Versus Temperature, Specific Heat

By Mark R. Anderson
Feb 8, 2019

As one might expect, the temperature of a substance typically increases as energy is added to it. This is the case with most substances in all phases. The exception is when a substance crosses to a...

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Does Meanline Design Still Make Sense in the Era of CFD and Optimization?

Does Meanline Design Still Make Sense in the Era of CFD and Optimization?

By Thiago Ebel
Jan 25, 2019

PCs and workstations are getting faster every year, following Moore's Law. With all this power and speed, the “virtual prototyping” of turbomachinery, using CFD simulations and optimization...

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Specific Speed Performance Effects

Specific Speed Performance Effects

By Mark R. Anderson
Jan 18, 2019

In my last blog, Specific Speed Demystified, I covered the mathematical definition of specific speed and how it relates to flow and work coefficient. The concept of specific speed has been a guiding...

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Do You Design Turbomachinery with a Pocketknife or a Sushi Knife?

Do You Design Turbomachinery with a Pocketknife or a Sushi Knife?

By Thiago Ebel
Dec 21, 2018

Years ago, I got a pocketknife as a gift, and I absolutely loved it, still do. It came in handy during my college years, when I was really into camping and trekking. As the years went by, it stayed...

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Reverse Engineering - Going from Part to Art

Reverse Engineering - Going from Part to Art

By Sharon Wight
Dec 7, 2018

Have you ever needed to know the exact geometry of a compressor that has been running for years in your process plant? Perhaps you need to analyze how it would perform if the process fluid had to be...

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20 Great Gifts for Engineers from $10 to $2 Million

20 Great Gifts for Engineers from $10 to $2 Million

By Barbara Shea
Nov 23, 2018

Gifts for Engineers can usually be segmented into a few categories: Things you have to put together, science fiction, gaming, new technology, and witty phrases printed on stuff. A Google search of...

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There is No Such Thing as a Design Point

There is No Such Thing as a Design Point

By Dr. Peter Weitzman
Oct 26, 2018

Most turbomachines need to operate across a range of fluid flow rates and speeds. This is obvious in transportation applications where gas turbine engines and turbochargers need to operate at all of...

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Designing Turbomachinery is like Solving a Rubik's Cube

Designing Turbomachinery is like Solving a Rubik's Cube

By Barbara Shea
Sep 21, 2018

I think we can all agree that designing turbomachinery is hard. There are just so many moving parts (pun intended) in the design process, and they are all interconnected. When you change the blade...

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Investing in Designing Gas Turbines for Power Generation

Investing in Designing Gas Turbines for Power Generation

By David Teal
Sep 14, 2018

Gas turbines (or GTs) are important in the power generation sector due to their high efficiency, cleaner emissions and faster startup than old coal-powered plants. These power generators can range...

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Using Curvature Smoothing for Quality Reconstruction of Blade Sections Using Surface Data Tables

Using Curvature Smoothing for Quality Reconstruction of Blade Sections Using Surface Data Tables

By Oleg Dubitsky
Aug 31, 2018

Frequently, there is a need to reconstruct 2D and 3D geometry from reported or measured surface data points. In most cases, the provided surface data include significant amounts of noise for various...

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The Challenges & Cures of CFD Solution Failures

The Challenges & Cures of CFD Solution Failures

By Mark R. Anderson
Aug 3, 2018

Computational fluid dynamic analysis (CFD) has become a standard part of the turbomachinery design process. Within Concepts NREC’s Agile Engineering Design System, FINE/Turbo, from our Partner NUMECA...

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The Slip Factor Model for Axial, Radial, and Mixed-Flow Impellers

The Slip Factor Model for Axial, Radial, and Mixed-Flow Impellers

By Mark Anderson and Chanaka Mallikarachchi
Jul 20, 2018

Ideally, the exit flow angle for an impeller should be the same as the exit blade metal angle. However, the exit flow angle deviates from the blade guidance at the impeller exit due to the finite...

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Great Designs Deserve to Shine

Great Designs Deserve to Shine

By George C. Zitka, P.E.
May 4, 2018

If you are a turbomachinery engineer, you know you can spend days, weeks, or even months analyzing various design iterations, looking for the optimal choice for the application. When you go to...

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Preliminary Sizing of Supersonic Turbines with Partial Admission for Best Performance Using AXIAL™

Preliminary Sizing of Supersonic Turbines with Partial Admission for Best Performance Using AXIAL™

By Oleg Dubitsky
Apr 27, 2018

Many energy recovery, drive cycles (Organic and Steam Rankine cycles) and rocket propulsion cycles require the use of a turbine that operates at low volumetric flow and high-pressure ratio....

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Optimizing the Radial-to-Axial Duct Geometry for a Gas Turbine Radial Compressor Impeller

Optimizing the Radial-to-Axial Duct Geometry for a Gas Turbine Radial Compressor Impeller

By Oleg Dubitsky
Apr 13, 2018

Many gas turbines with radial compressors utilize a radial-to-axial inlet duct upstream of the first compressor stage. Aside from the fact that flow in the duct generates aerodynamic losses, the flow...

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Optimizing the Screw Inducer for a Pump

Optimizing the Screw Inducer for a Pump

By Oleg Dubitsky
Feb 16, 2018

High-efficiency, low-cavitation pumps often require a screw type inducer to treat the inflow to the main radial/mixed flow pump blades. Efficiency and head rise, split between inducer and main pump,...

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Leveraging Your Legacy Designs

Leveraging Your Legacy Designs

By George C. Zitka, P.E.
Feb 9, 2018

Engineers, by their very nature, like to design new things. To us, there is an undeniable appeal to creating something no one has ever seen before. However, there are compelling reasons to leverage...

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Why You Need CAE & CAM Software Specialized for Turbomachinery

Why You Need CAE & CAM Software Specialized for Turbomachinery

By Dr. Peter Weitzman
Feb 2, 2018

Concepts NREC just had its most successful year ever in software sales. Why? It really comes down to two things, the first is our team, we have some incredibly talented people developing our software...

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Robot Engineers?

Robot Engineers?

By Barbara Shea
Dec 14, 2017

Wouldn’t it be ironic if the profession that is creating all the robots was eventually replaced by them? It could happen. Engineering is all about applying laws, measurements, facts, and analysis to...

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Getting Something for Nothing – Extending Compressor Operating Range Without an Efficiency Penalty

Getting Something for Nothing – Extending Compressor Operating Range Without an Efficiency Penalty

By George C. Zitka, P.E.
Dec 8, 2017

Can you really get something for nearly nothing? In many cases, a properly-designed compressor casing treatment can extend compressor operating range without having to pay an appreciable efficiency...

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The Value of Visualizing Velocity Vectors

The Value of Visualizing Velocity Vectors

By Mark R. Anderson
Nov 9, 2017

Beyond being a fun tongue twister, visualizing the velocity vectors is probably the most useful and intuitive information available in turbomachinery design. Many fundamental parameters can be...

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Getting to the Root Cause of a Catastrophic Impeller Failure

Getting to the Root Cause of a Catastrophic Impeller Failure

By George C. Zitka, P.E.
Oct 27, 2017

Finding the root cause of a failure by narrowing down multiple overlaid symptoms can be a long and tedious process—and very often the true underlying problem is not what one might expect by a casual...

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Turbomachinery in Fire Fighting

Turbomachinery in Fire Fighting

By Mark R. Anderson
Oct 5, 2017

I was a firefighter (we never call ourselves firemen) for more than ten years. While this was only a part time, volunteer gig, I was a turbomachinery developer and modeler as my full-time job....

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Where Does CAD fit in the CAE Process for Turbomachinery?

Where Does CAD fit in the CAE Process for Turbomachinery?

By Dr. Peter Weitzman
Sep 7, 2017

A common struggle for mechanical engineers using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools is the time-consuming process of moving geometry between the CAE system and Computer Aided Design (CAD)...

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The Best CFD Averaging Methods for Distortion

The Best CFD Averaging Methods for Distortion

By Mark R. Anderson
Aug 9, 2017

Three-dimensional flow fields typically have some degree of distortion in the flow properties and flow profiles across a given cross section. These distortions can be quite significant in regions...

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Shrouded or Open Impellers for Compressor Chillers - That is the Question

Shrouded or Open Impellers for Compressor Chillers - That is the Question

By Steve Kohr
Aug 2, 2017

One of the most important design choices facing a chiller compressor designer is whether to utilize open or shrouded impellers. The impacts of this verdict are wide ranging, which arguably makes this...

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Optimization of Cycle Parameters, Fuel Consumption, and Weight of a Turboshaft Engine Using 1D Design Tools

Optimization of Cycle Parameters, Fuel Consumption, and Weight of a Turboshaft Engine Using 1D Design Tools

By Oleg Dubitsky
Jun 1, 2017

New engine development is a costly endeavor and making the right decisions early in the engine design is extremely important. It requires multi-disciplinary consideration of the engine thermodynamic...

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Using FINE™/Turbo for CFD Analysis in AxCent®

Using FINE™/Turbo for CFD Analysis in AxCent®

By Daryl L. Bonhaus
May 12, 2017

In May of 2016, Concepts NREC and NUMECA International announced a strategic partnership to combine their products to provide a comprehensive turbomachinery design and analysis system. In November of...

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Advantages of an Integrated, Turbomachinery Specific FEA  System

Advantages of an Integrated, Turbomachinery Specific FEA  System

By John Keeling
May 3, 2017

The biggest reason to use an integrated turbomachinery design and analysis environment is speed. Basically, having everything you need in one place makes a big difference!

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The Advantage of Designing Axial Blades Using the Curvature Control Method

The Advantage of Designing Axial Blades Using the Curvature Control Method

By Oleg Dubitsky
Apr 6, 2017

Arbitrary blade section profiling is an essential part of designing high performance axial turbines and compressors. In most cases such blade section models are formed by hybrid use of arbitrary...

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How Manufacturing Methods Impact Performance 3 Examples

How Manufacturing Methods Impact Performance 3 Examples

By Mark R. Anderson
Mar 27, 2017

Some of my other blogs have touched on how important it is to consider manufacturing methods during the design phase. This one will show exactly how manufacturing methods impact performance. We will...

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Throughflow Modeling: An Overview

Throughflow Modeling: An Overview

By Morgan Williams
Mar 22, 2017

This Blog post gives a brief outline of the throughflow method for turbomachinery flows and presents the calculated performance results of a Single-Stage Axial-Flow Compressor validation.

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Designing Turbomachinery with Optimization – Better Designs in Less Time

Designing Turbomachinery with Optimization – Better Designs in Less Time

By Edward Childs
Mar 2, 2017

Thanks to early pioneering efforts by Dr. David Japikse and his team, Concepts NREC has been at the forefront of turbomachinery design optimization for the past 15 years.

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Designing Gas Turbines - It Really Requires Rocket Science

Designing Gas Turbines - It Really Requires Rocket Science

By Barbara Shea
Feb 16, 2017

Engineers who design aircraft engines face a conundrum. Gas turbines in aircraft engines have to operate at very high temperatures for thermal efficiency and power output. These high temperatures put...

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The Need for Computational Tools for Predicting Compressor Performance in Supercritical CO2 Power Cycles

The Need for Computational Tools for Predicting Compressor Performance in Supercritical CO2 Power Cycles

By Mark R. Anderson
Feb 7, 2017

Supercritical CO2 cycles have the potential to significantly improve efficiency and reduce emissions in power generation. However, the unique fluid dynamic properties of supercritical CO2 that enable...

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The Future of Turbomachinery Software

The Future of Turbomachinery Software

By Mark R. Anderson
Sep 9, 2016

The turbomachinery and software industries have evolved, in tandem, to high levels of maturity. On the engineering side, improved modeling capability and access to more powerful computational...

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Agile Engineering Design System for Steam and Organic Rankine Cycle Turbines

Agile Engineering Design System for Steam and Organic Rankine Cycle Turbines

By Concepts NREC
Sep 1, 2016

Expanding design capabilities for advanced high-performance turbines for steam and organic Rankine cycle power generation is a constant area of focus in developing Concepts NREC’s Agile Engineering...

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Benefits of the Cooled Turbine Airfoil Agile Design System

Benefits of the Cooled Turbine Airfoil Agile Design System

By Concepts NREC
Sep 1, 2016

Achieving optimum performance and efficiency in a gas turbine engine requires pushing operating temperatures as high as possible. In fact, many gas turbine engines in service today operate at hot-gas...

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