A medial-object-based design-in-context approach for the structural design of engine subsystems

Yong, Hau Kit, Wang, Leran, Toal, David, Keane, Andrew and Stanley, Felix (2019) A medial-object-based design-in-context approach for the structural design of engine subsystems. AIAA Propulsion & Energy Forum, JW Marriott, Indianapolis, United States. 19 - 22 Aug 2019. 13 pp .

Abstract

The distributed design of gas turbine engines based on its decomposition into sub-systems causes each sub-system to lose the system-level context of its decisions. Sub-systems thus become prone to making design changes that may violate non-local constraints, which can lead to costly rework. A novel geometry-based design-in-context approach is proposed to enable sub-systems to infer the impact of their local decisions on the rest of the engine and subsequently design with respect to non-local constraints. The approach is centered around the creation and use of whole engine finite element models of mixed dimensions. These whole engine models are composed of a high-fidelity solid mesh of the sub-system under consideration and low-fidelity shell meshes of the neighbouring sub-systems. The shell meshes are generated from CAD
geometry using medial object transformation algorithms. The resulting mixed-dimensional models provide individual sub-system design teams with cheap but accurate approximations of non-local structural behaviour. The implementation and operational benefits of this design-in-context approach is demonstrated through an optimization of the intermediate compressor casing within the CRESCENDO whole engine geometry. The results show that the optimum casing designs that are found are engine-wide feasible, and that the additional simulation costs are minimal.

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Contributors

Author: David Toal

Author: Andrew Keane

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