Robust, optimal subsonic airfoil shapes
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
InventorMan Mohan Rai
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Method system, and product from application of the method, for design of a subsonic airfoil shape, beginning with an arbitrary initial airfoil shape and incorporating one or more constraints on the airfoil geometric parameters and flow characteristics. The resulting design is robust against variations in airfoil dimensions and local airfoil shape introduced in the airfoil manufacturing process. A perturbation procedure provides a class of airfoil shapes, beginning with an initial airfoil shape.
Claims12
A method for design of a rotating machinery airfoil, the method comprising:
- providing an initial airfoil shape;
- providing a statement of at least one objective that a final airfoil shape must satisfy;
- providing a statement of at least one constraint that the final airfoil shape must satisfy;
- using computational fluid dynamics (“CFD”) to estimate a pressure value at each of at least two selected perimeter locations for the initial airfoil shape;
- using a neural network/support vector machine (“NN/SVM”) and CFD to determine a modified airfoil shape and a corresponding pressure value change, from a pressure value determined for the initial airfoil shape, at the two or more airfoil perimeter locations, in response to change of a portion of the airfoil shape in a neighborhood of the corresponding perimeter location;
- and
- providing at least one of an alphanumeric description and a graphical description of at least one version of the modified airfoil shape as the final airfoil shape.
A system for design of a rotating machinery airfoil, the system comprising a computer that is programmed:
- to provide an initial airfoil shape;
- to provide a statement of at least one objective that a final airfoil shape must satisfy;
- to provide a statement of at least one constraint that the final airfoil shape must satisfy;
- to use computational fluid dynamics (“CFD”) to estimate a pressure value at each of at least two selected perimeter locations for the initial airfoil shape;
- to use a neural network/support vector machine (“NN/SVM”) and CFD to determine a modified airfoil shape and a corresponding pressure value change, from a pressure value determined for the initial airfoil shape, at the two or more airfoil perimeter locations, in response to change of a portion of the airfoil shape in a neighborhood of the corresponding perimeter location;
- and
- to provide at least one of an alphanumeric description and a graphical description of at least one version of the modified airfoil shape as the final airfoil shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.