Multidisciplinary design optimization for turbomachinery

Modern engineering design processes exhibit a multidisciplinary outlook involving high-fidelity analyses and fast and efficient computational tools. The design processes are capable of addressing multiple disciplines in a coupled and structured format unlike the ad-hoc and empirical methods used in the recent past. More accurate models are replacing empirical and/or simplified ones and, with the advent of powerful computers, more detailed and accurate evaluation of performance characteristics of complex engineering systems is feasible now. Of particular significance in this regard is the recent advances made in the area of aerospace systems design. The development of highly accurate flow solvers and efficient computational algorithms has led to a wide range of design applications such as aircraft wing design, helicopter rotor blade design, and turbomachinery design. The primary goal of any design process is to end up with an optimum design that meets all the design objectives subject to all the constraints imposed on the design. Formal optimization techniques are increasingly being used as part of the design process toward achieving optimum design of overall systems as well as components. While formal optimization procedures have not yet been fully integrated into all present-day engineering designs, their potential utility and adaptability have led to increased efforts in developing robust and efficient optimization techniques. A brief glimpse into the evolving area of design optimization with specific application in the area of gas turbine design is provided here.