SpinOffs

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 International, is the tool used to accomplish aerodynamic analysis of designs by applying standard methods of three-dimensional analysis. However, arriving at a converged CFD solution in any CFD program can sometimes be a challenge.

Historically, testing has played a critical role in the turbomachinery design process and multiple rounds of “design, test, analyze, repeat” were not uncommon.  Today however, the industry seems to be drifting away from development testing. Often, the only scheduled test in a development program is the performance validation test of the first assembled system. I believe this trend exists for three main reasons:

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 present your final design for review, you want it to look as good as you know it is. Choosing the best post-processor for CFD results can not only save time in creating the desired views, but also show solutions at their best.  Without proper post-processing, your solution can lose that "je ne sais quoi" that made it the best design for the application. In other words - it has to look as good as you know it is.

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 2016, Concepts NREC released version 8.5 of its Agile Engineering Design System, the first version to integrate NUMECA's FINE/Turbo product for CFD analysis. Geometry and boundary-condition data specified in AxCent are automatically passed to FINE/Turbo to set up the CFD calculation. Many of the FINE/Turbo grid generation parameters and solver settings are provided in the AxCent interface to allow a CFD calculation to be set up and run without leaving the AxCent application.