Blade Design

Without any doubt, the blades are the central component of any turbomachine. They transfer energy between a rotating shaft and a fluid, and depending on whether the turbomachine in question is a turbine, a compressor, a pump, a fan, or a propeller, they either extract energy from or impart energy to a continuously moving stream of fluid. Depending on the application, blade designs come in a large variety of shapes, which are typically defined by their cross-section and how it changes in spanwise direction. These properties largely determine the turbomachinery’s performance and can encompass rather large design spaces, which can only reasonably be inspected with automated workflows.

CAESES’ Blade Design Capabilities

CAESES® is a dedicated CAD and automation environment for exploring and optimizing complex and performance-critical geometries (see also this overview on turbomachinery applications). In particular, it brings along several key capabilities for designing state-of-the-art turbomachinery blade geometries:

• Complete parametric blade modeling capabilities for radial, axial, and mixed flow rotors and stators.

• Angle and shape preserving transformations for axial machine airfoil modeling.

• Flexible control of blade, wrap angle and thickness distributions for radial impellers.

• High level of customization, i.e., no black box models and full freedom to set up user-defined workflows.
• Control of the blade shape via discrete parametric cross sections, continuous control via radial parameter distribution functions, or customized modeling approaches, e.g., for radially fibered or flank milled blades.
• High robustness and flexibility of parametric models for automated design studies and optimization.

• Comprehensive tuning possibilities of shape details like root fillets, scalloping, leading edges, and blade tips.
• Consideration of manufacturing constraints (e.g., flank milling, casting, additive manufacturing).

Learn More

Impeller Design with CAESES – Do it yourself!

1. Test the online demo model below.

2. Download CAESES®, register for a trial license, and open the impeller sample file downloaded in the previous step.

3. Watch the corresponding video for explanations.

4. Create a geometry from scratch with the impeller modeling tutorial in CAESES®.

Case Studies and Blog Posts for Blade Design

Questions?

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have questions in the context of your specific application. We look forward to discussing it together with you!