Ansys Blade Modeler

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(1)TurboSystem. ANSYS, Inc. Southpointe 275 Technology Drive Canonsburg, PA 15317 [email protected] http://www.ansys.com (T) 724-746-3304 (F) 724-514-9494. Release 12.0 April 2009 ANSYS, Inc. is certified to ISO 9001:2008..

(2) Copyright and Trademark Information © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited. ANSYS, ANSYS Workbench, Ansoft, AUTODYN, EKM, Engineering Knowledge Manager, CFX, FLUENT, HFSS and any and all ANSYS, Inc. brand, product, service and feature names, logos and slogans are registered trademarks or trademarks of ANSYS, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States or other countries. ICEM CFD is a trademark used by ANSYS, Inc. under license. CFX is a trademark of Sony Corporation in Japan. All other brand, product, service and feature names or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.. Disclaimer Notice THIS ANSYS SOFTWARE PRODUCT AND PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION INCLUDE TRADE SECRETS AND ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY PRODUCTS OF ANSYS, INC., ITS SUBSIDIARIES, OR LICENSORS. The software products and documentation are furnished by ANSYS, Inc., its subsidiaries, or affiliates under a software license agreement that contains provisions concerning non-disclosure, copying, length and nature of use, compliance with exporting laws, warranties, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and remedies, and other provisions. The software products and documentation may be used, disclosed, transferred, or copied only in accordance with the terms and conditions of that software license agreement. ANSYS, Inc. is certified to ISO 9001:2008.. U.S. Government Rights For U.S. Government users, except as specifically granted by the ANSYS, Inc. software license agreement, the use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions stated in the ANSYS, Inc. software license agreement and FAR 12.212 (for non-DOD licenses).. Third-Party Software See the legal information in the product help files for the complete Legal Notice for ANSYS proprietary software and third-party software. If you are unable to access the Legal Notice, please contact ANSYS, Inc. Published in the U.S.A..

(3) Table of Contents Introduction to TurboSystem ..................................................................................................................... 1 TurboSystem Workflows ............................................................................................................................. 3 Geometry Sources .................................................................................................................................. 3 Mesh Sources ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Solution Sources ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Examples of TurboSystem Workflows ...................................................................................................... 4 Usage Notes for Specific Workflows ......................................................................................................... 5 Tips on using ANSYS Workbench ....................................................................................................... 5 Using BladeGen ................................................................................................................................ 6 Changing the Active Document in BladeGen ............................................................................... 6 Using BladeEditor ............................................................................................................................. 6 Loading versus Importing a BladeGen Geometry ......................................................................... 6 Restarting a BladeEditor Session ................................................................................................. 7 Modifying Spline Curves ............................................................................................................. 7 Adding a Hub Fillet to an Imported BladeGen Geometry ............................................................. 7 Creating a Full 360-Degree Fluid Zone for an Impeller .................................................................. 8 Using ANSYS TurboGrid .................................................................................................................... 8 Using ANSYS CFX .............................................................................................................................. 8 Connecting from a Turbo Mesh Cell ............................................................................................ 9 Changing the Geometry ............................................................................................................. 9 Quick Pump Tutorial ............................................................................................................................... 9 ANSYS BladeGen ....................................................................................................................................... 13 ANSYS BladeEditor ................................................................................................................................... 19 The BladeEditor User Interface .............................................................................................................. 19 Tree View and Details View .............................................................................................................. 19 Contour Sketch Management ......................................................................................................... 20 BladeEditor Toolbars ....................................................................................................................... 21 Feature Creation Toolbar ........................................................................................................... 21 Active Selection Toolbar ............................................................................................................ 23 Display Control Toolbar ............................................................................................................. 24 Angle and Thickness Views ............................................................................................................. 24 Angle View ............................................................................................................................... 24 Thickness View ......................................................................................................................... 25 User Preferences and Properties ...................................................................................................... 25 Blade Editing Features .......................................................................................................................... 26 Flow Path Contour Creation ............................................................................................................ 27 FlowPath Feature ............................................................................................................................ 28 Flow Cut ................................................................................................................................... 29 Camberline/Thickness Definition Feature ........................................................................................ 30 Importing and Exporting Angle Definition Data ........................................................................ 32 Importing and Exporting Thickness Definition Data ................................................................... 33 Converting Curves to Bezier or Spline ........................................................................................ 33 Converting Angle Definition Data ............................................................................................. 34 Forcing Interpolation of the Definition Data .............................................................................. 34 Blade Feature ................................................................................................................................. 34 Splitter Feature ............................................................................................................................... 36 Cloned Splitter ......................................................................................................................... 36 Independent Splitter ................................................................................................................ 36 Stage Fluid Zone Feature ................................................................................................................ 38 Throat Area Feature ........................................................................................................................ 39 Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. iii.

(4) TurboSystem Importing Blades from ANSYS BladeGen ............................................................................................... 41 Loading and Modifying Blades from ANSYS BladeGen ........................................................................... 45 Using and Exporting Blades .................................................................................................................. 45 Export to Vista TF (.geo) .................................................................................................................. 46 Export as Meanline Data (.rtzt file) ................................................................................................... 47 Export to ANSYS TurboGrid ............................................................................................................. 48 Configuring the BladeModeler License .................................................................................................. 50 ANSYS TurboGrid ...................................................................................................................................... 53 ANSYS CFX-Pre ......................................................................................................................................... 57 ANSYS CFD-Post ........................................................................................................................................ 59 Vista TF ..................................................................................................................................................... 61 Vista TF User's Guide ............................................................................................................................. 61 Vista TF Setup Cell Properties .......................................................................................................... 62 Customizing the Vista TF Template Files ........................................................................................... 66 Vista TF Context Menu Commands .................................................................................................. 67 Vista TF Reference Guide ....................................................................................................................... 68 Running Vista TF from the Command Line ....................................................................................... 68 Input and Output Data Files for Vista TF ........................................................................................... 69 The Auxiliary File with the Default Name: vista_tf.fil ................................................................... 69 Overview of Input Files ............................................................................................................. 70 Overview of Output Files .......................................................................................................... 72 Specification of the Control Data File (*.con) .............................................................................. 74 Specification of the Geometry Data File (*.geo) .......................................................................... 83 Specification of Aerodynamic Data File (*.aer) ............................................................................ 91 Specification of Correlations Data File (*.cor) ............................................................................ 101 Specification of the Output Data File (*.out) ............................................................................. 111 Specification of the Text Data Files (*.txt) ................................................................................. 114 Specification of the CFD-Post Output Files (*.csv) ..................................................................... 116 Specification of Convergence History Data File (*.hst) .............................................................. 117 Software Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 118 Streamline Curvature Throughflow Theory .................................................................................... 118 The Equations ......................................................................................................................... 119 The Mean Stream Surface ....................................................................................................... 119 The Grid ................................................................................................................................. 120 Ductflow and Throughflow ..................................................................................................... 121 Iterative Solution Procedure .................................................................................................... 121 Initial Estimate ........................................................................................................................ 122 Radial Equilibrium Equation .................................................................................................... 122 Combination of Velocity Gradient and Continuity Equations .................................................... 122 Relaxation Factors ................................................................................................................... 123 Streamline curvature .............................................................................................................. 123 Equations for Enthalpy and Angular Momentum ..................................................................... 123 Boundary Conditions .............................................................................................................. 123 Empirical Data ........................................................................................................................ 124 Blade-to-blade Solution .......................................................................................................... 124 Spanwise Mixing .................................................................................................................... 124 Streamline Curvature Throughflow Theory: Bibliography ......................................................... 125 Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 126 Appendix A: A Note on Sign Convention for Angles and Velocities ............................................ 127 Definition of Blade Lean Angles ......................................................................................... 128 Definition of Meridional Streamline Inclination Angle or Pitch Angle .................................. 129 Definition of Blade Angle .................................................................................................. 129. iv. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(5) TurboSystem Appendix B: Example of a Control Data File (*.con) ................................................................... 130 Appendix C: Example of a Geometry Data File (*.geo) for a Radial Impeller ............................... 130 Appendix D: Example of an Aerodynamic Data File (*.aer) ........................................................ 132 Appendix E: Examples of Correlations Data Files (*.cor) ............................................................ 133 Appendix F: Troubleshooting .................................................................................................. 138 Input-output Errors ........................................................................................................... 139 Convergence .................................................................................................................... 140 Reverse Flow .................................................................................................................... 142 Choking ........................................................................................................................... 142 Computational Grid .......................................................................................................... 144 Other Numerical Issues ..................................................................................................... 145 Appendix G: The RTZTtoGEO Program ..................................................................................... 147 Index ........................................................................................................................................................ 151. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. v.

(6) vi. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(7) Introduction to TurboSystem TurboSystem is a set of software applications and software features for designing turbomachinery in the ANSYS Workbench environment. It consists of the following components: •. ANSYS BladeGen: a geometry creation tool that is specialized for turbomachinery blades. For details, see "ANSYS BladeGen" (p. 13).. •. ANSYS DesignModeler: a general purpose geometry preparation tool that is integrated in ANSYS Workbench. This CAD-like program is primarily used to prepare CAD geometry models for analysis by other ANSYS Workbench based tools. For details, see DesignModeler Help.. •. ANSYS BladeEditor: a plugin for DesignModeler for creating blade geometry. ANSYS BladeEditor provides the geometry link between BladeGen and DesignModeler, and therefore links BladeGen with other ANSYS Workbench based applications. For details, see "ANSYS BladeEditor" (p. 19).. •. ANSYS TurboGrid: a meshing tool that is specialized for CFD analyses of turbomachinery blade rows. For details, see "ANSYS TurboGrid" (p. 53).. •. ANSYS CFX-Pre: a general-purpose CFD preprocessor that has a turbomachinery setup wizard for facilitating the setup of turbomachinery CFD simulations. For details, see "ANSYS CFX-Pre" (p. 57).. •. ANSYS CFD-Post: a general-purpose CFD postprocessor that has features for facilitating the post-processing of turbomachinery CFD simulations. For details, see "ANSYS CFD-Post" (p. 59).. •. Vista TF: a streamline curvature throughflow program for the analysis of turbomachinery. This program enables you to rapidly evaluate radial blade rows (pumps, compressors and turbines) at the early stages of the design. For details, see "Vista TF" (p. 61).. For information about using TurboSystem in various workflows, see "TurboSystem Workflows" (p. 3).. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 1.

(8) 2. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(9) TurboSystem Workflows TurboSystem is a set of software applications and software features that help you to perform turbomachinery analyses in ANSYS Workbench. The software applications and features are listed in "Introduction to TurboSystem" (p. 1). This chapter describes the primary ways of using TurboSystem. The following topics are discussed: Geometry Sources Mesh Sources Solution Sources Examples of TurboSystem Workflows Usage Notes for Specific Workflows Quick Pump Tutorial. Geometry Sources The turbomachinery geometry is typically provided by one of the following cells: •. Blade Design cell of a BladeGen system. •. Geometry cell of a Geometry or Mesh system This can be based on an upstream Blade Design cell. If you want to pass the geometry to the Turbo Mesh cell of a TurboGrid system, you must use BladeEditor to export to ANSYS TurboGrid.. Mesh Sources The mesh is typically provided by one of the following cells: •. Turbo Mesh cell of a TurboGrid system. •. Mesh cell of a Mesh system. Solution Sources You can use one of the following systems to compute and report performance data: •. CFX component system Use a CFX component system to perform a CFD analysis.. •. Vista TF component system Use a Vista TF component system to perform a throughflow analysis.. •. Static Structural (ANSYS) analysis system Use a Static Structural (ANSYS) analysis system to compute stresses and strains due to fluid forces and centrifugal forces. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 3.

(10) TurboSystem Workflows. Examples of TurboSystem Workflows This section shows examples of TurboSystem workflows, represented as connected systems in the Project Schematic view. Many other configurations are possible. CFD analysis of a centrifugal pump:. CFD analysis of a turbine stage:. Throughflow analysis and CFD analysis of a turbine stage:. 4. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(11) Tips on using ANSYS Workbench. Usage Notes for Specific Workflows This section describes TurboSystem-related workflow issues and recommended practices: Tips on using ANSYS Workbench Using BladeGen Using BladeEditor Using ANSYS TurboGrid Using ANSYS CFX. Tips on using ANSYS Workbench The following is a list of tips that you may find useful when working in ANSYS Workbench: •. Try right-clicking on different parts of the interface to see shortcut menus.. •. You may find Compact Mode to be useful. Select View > Compact Mode from the ANSYS Workbench to turn the Project Schematic view into a small, non-intrusive “title bar” menu or click that is always visible. To return to Full Mode, hover the mouse over the title bar, then, after the window has expanded, click Restore Full Mode. in the upper-right corner of the application window.. •. Use the Files view to determine which files were created for each cell/system. It is easiest to find files associated with a specific cell by sorting the view by Cell ID. This will sort the list by system and then by cell.. •. When selecting a system in the toolbox, ANSYS Workbench will highlight the cells in any systems already in the Project Schematic view to which a valid connection can be made. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 5.

(12) TurboSystem Workflows •. Give unique meaningful names to all of your systems, especially if there are multiple systems of the same type.. Using BladeGen The following topic(s) are discussed: Changing the Active Document in BladeGen. Changing the Active Document in BladeGen If you want to replace the active document in BladeGen, then: 1.. Reset the corresponding Blade Design cell.. 2.. Edit the Blade Design cell or right-click it and select Import Existing Case.. Note that opening a subsequent .bgd file in the same instance of BladeGen will not replace the model associated with the Blade Design cell.. Using BladeEditor The following topic(s) are discussed: Loading versus Importing a BladeGen Geometry Restarting a BladeEditor Session Modifying Spline Curves Adding a Hub Fillet to an Imported BladeGen Geometry Creating a Full 360-Degree Fluid Zone for an Impeller. Loading versus Importing a BladeGen Geometry There are two basic ways of transferring a BladeGen geometry into BladeEditor •. Importing If you import the geometry, the connection to the BladeGen geometry is maintained, and blade geometry changes must be made by editing the upstream Blade Design cell.. •. Loading If you load the geometry, native BladeEditor features are created to represent the complete geometry, the connection to the BladeGen geometry is lost, and all geometry changes must be made by editing the Geometry cell.. Linking from a Blade Design cell to a Geometry cell causes the BladeGen geometry to be imported into BladeEditor. The desired import options should be set in the Blade Design cell properties. (See Table 1: BladeGen Blade Design Cell Properties (p. 14) for more information.) After you make the link, the Geometry cell should be updated to process the imported geometry.. 6. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(13) Using BladeEditor. Note If you edit the Geometry cell before updating it, then the Import BGD feature details that are shown in BladeEditor may not accurately reflect the Blade Design cell properties. To refresh the Import BGD feature properties, click in BladeEditor. It is not recommended that you edit the Import BGD properties inside BladeEditor because they will be overwritten by the properties from the Blade Design cell the next time you update the Geometry cell. For details on importing BladeGen geometries, see Importing Blades from ANSYS BladeGen (p. 41). For details on loading BladeGen geometries, see Loading and Modifying Blades from ANSYS BladeGen (p. 45).. Restarting a BladeEditor Session If you want to clear a BladeEditor session while maintaining the link to the upstream cell, do not use the Start Over command from the File menu in BladeEditor. Doing so would erase the incoming data from any upstream connections — notably when there is an upstream link to a BladeGen system. Instead, return to the Project Schematic view, right-click the Geometry cell and select Reset from the shortcut menu. When you subsequently edit the Geometry cell, the upstream data is imported correctly.. Modifying Spline Curves When a spline is initially created, it is uniquely defined by its fit points. If you move any of the points, the spline may or may not be uniquely-defined, depending on the way in which you move the points: •. •. If you move a fit point by using the following procedure, the resulting spline will be uniquely defined: 1.. On the Sketching tab, click Spline Edit.. 2.. Click the spline in the viewer to select it.. 3.. Right-click the spline and select Drag Fit Point.. 4.. Drag one or more fit points to adjust the shape of the spline.. If you move a fit point using the Drag tool on the Sketching tab, or if you change a parameter that controls a fit point location, the resulting spline will not be uniquely defined. Such a spline is usable, but if you want the spline to be uniquely defined by the position of the fit points, then: 1.. On the Sketching tab, click Spline Edit.. 2.. Click the spline in the viewer to select it.. 3.. Right-click the spline and select Re-fit Spline.. Adding a Hub Fillet to an Imported BladeGen Geometry Assuming that you have already created the hub when you initially imported the BladeGen model, you can add a hub fillet using the following procedure: 1.. Edit the Geometry cell.. 2.. In BladeEditor/DesignModeler, in the feature tree, right-click the first feature that is listed below both the hub and blade features, then select Insert > Fixed Radius from the shortcut menu. This inserts a new Blend feature immediately above the feature that you right-click in the tree. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 7.

(14) TurboSystem Workflows 3.. Select an edge along the intersection of a blade and the hub, for each edge that is to have a fillet of a specified size. You may need to use viewer toolbar icons to manipulate the view beforehand. If you cannot select an edge, confirm that the selection filter is set for selecting edges (the. 4.. toolbar icon).. Select Extend to Limits from the toolbar.. This causes the selected edge to reach as far as possible around the blade. 5.. Click Apply beside the Geometry property in the details view.. 6.. Set an appropriate value for the Radius property in the details view.. 7.. Click. .. Creating a Full 360-Degree Fluid Zone for an Impeller Assuming that you have not created the fluid zone when you initially imported the BladeGen model, you can create a fluid zone for a full, 360° impeller model using the following procedure: 1.. View the Blade Design cell properties. To do this, right-click the Blade Design cell and select Properties from the shortcut menu.. 2.. In the Properties view, ensure that Create All Blades is selected.. 3.. Update the Geometry cell if required.. 4.. Edit the Geometry cell.. 5.. Create a Revolve feature using the master profile, and revolve it around the axis for the full 360° to generate the annulus volume.. 6.. Use an Enclosure feature to subtract the solid impeller from the annulus to generate the desired full 360° fluid zone.. Using ANSYS TurboGrid The following is a list of tips that you may find useful when working with ANSYS TurboGrid: •. Session file playback in ANSYS TurboGrid in ANSYS Workbench is not supported. It is released as a beta feature. For more information about this feature, see the Beta Features section of the ANSYS TurboGrid release notes in the online help.. •. ANSYS Workbench units and appearance options are not passed to ANSYS TurboGrid.. Using ANSYS CFX The following topic(s) are discussed: Connecting from a Turbo Mesh Cell. 8. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(15) Quick Pump Tutorial Changing the Geometry. Note For more tips on using ANSYS CFX in ANSYS Workbench, please refer to the ANSYS CFX in ANSYS Workbench chapter of the ANSYS CFX online help, which is accessible from the Help menu in CFX-Pre.. Connecting from a Turbo Mesh Cell It is recommended that you connect the Turbo Mesh cell of a TurboGrid system to the Setup cell of a CFX component system rather than to the Setup cell of a Fluid Flow (CFX) system.. Changing the Geometry After setting up a turbomachinery simulation in a CFX component system, if you change topology or number of blades in the mesh, then refreshing or updating the CFX Setup cell (directly or indirectly) will fail to propagate the new information correctly. This will lead to incorrect results. To compensate, you can manually correct the number of blades in CFX-Pre by re-entering Turbo Mode (available from the Tools menu). In addition, the boundaries may need to be manually corrected in CFX-Pre. If you generate a turbo report in CFD-Post (the latter accessed by editing the Results cell), then subsequently make changes that affect the upstream solution, and then update the Results cell, the resulting turbo report will use the updated values for any variables (such as pressure and velocity) and expressions that it uses, but the report will continue to use the old turbomachinery data (such as the number of blades and the machine axis). After updating the solution, you will have to take one of the following actions to update the turbo report: •. •. If you have no work that needs to be preserved with respect to the Results cell, then: 1.. Reset the Results cell.. 2.. Edit the Results cell.. 3.. Load a turbo report.. If you have done work in CFD-Post but have no work that needs to be preserved with respect to the turbo report, then: 1.. Update the Results cell.. 2.. Reload the turbo report.. This is slower than the previously-mentioned method because the update process includes an unwanted reprocessing of the old turbo report (with new results, but old turbomachinery data). However, because this method does not involve resetting the Results cell, any work you have done in CFD-Post is preserved (except for any modifications you have made to the original report).. Quick Pump Tutorial In this tutorial, you will quickly run through the steps required to simulate a water pump while using TurboSystem.. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 9.

(16) TurboSystem Workflows. Designing the Blade and Creating the Mesh 1.. Open ANSYS Workbench and click File > Save As.. 2.. Save the project as QuickPump in a suitable directory.. 3.. In the Toolbox view, under Component Systems, double-click BladeGen. A new BladeGen system appears in the Project Schematic view.. 4.. Double-click the Blade Design cell in the BladeGen system. BladeGen appears.. 5.. Within BladeGen, create a new blade using Vista CPD by selecting File > New > Vista Centrifugal Pump Design.. 6.. On the Geometry tab, change the number of blades from 6 to 7, then click Calculate. The pump design is updated and the results are displayed.. 7.. Click Impeller Model.. 8.. Exit BladeGen and return to the Project Schematic view.. 9.. Right-click the Blade Design cell and select Create New Blade CFD Mesh. After some time, a mesh will be created.. Note If you receive an error message about licensing, click Tools > License Preferences and, in the dialog box on the Geometry tab, select ANSYS BladeModeler, click Move up, then click OK. You should then delete the Mesh system from the Project Schematic view before continuing. 10. Right click the Mesh cell of the Mesh system and select Transfer Data To New > CFX. A CFX system is added. The additional information requirements posed by the CFX system causes the Mesh cell to switch to an 'Update Required' state, as indicated by the. symbol.. 11. Right-click the Mesh cell and select Update. 12. Double-click the Setup cell in the CFX system.. CFX-Pre appears.. 10. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(17) Setting up the Turbomachinery Simulation. Setting up the Turbomachinery Simulation You will use CFX-Pre in Turbo mode to set up physics and boundary conditions. In this case, you will specify the same rotational rate and mass flow as specified in Vista CPD. 1.. Click Tools > Turbo Mode.. 2.. On the Basic Settings panel, set Machine Type to Pump, Rotation Axis to Z, and leave the other settings at their defaults.. 3.. Click Next.. 4.. On the Component Definition panel, double-click R1 and set the following values: Setting. Value. Component Type > Type. Rotating. Component Type > Value. 1450 [rev min^-1]. Wall Configuration. (Selected). Wall Configuration > Tip Clearance at Shroud. Yesa. a Although, in this case, the geometry and mesh do not model the tip clearance, specifying a tip clearance at the shroud causes the entire shroud to be treated as being stationary (via a counter-rotating wall in the rotating frame); otherwise, the entire shroud would be treated as being a rotating wall (stationary in the rotating frame).. Leave the other settings at their defaults. 5.. Click Next.. 6.. On the Physics Definition panel, set the following values: Setting. Value. Fluid. Water. Model Data > Reference Pressure. 1 [atm]. Inflow/Outflow Boundary Templates > P-Total Inlet Mass Flow Outlet. (Selected). Inflow/Outflow Boundary Templates > P-Total. 0 [atm]. Inflow/Outflow Boundary Templates > Mass Flow. Per Machine. Inflow/Outflow Boundary Templates > Mass Flow Rate. 77.8 [kg s^-1]. Inflow/Outflow Boundary Templates > Flow Direction. Normal to Boundary. Solver Parameters > Advection Scheme. High Resolution. Solver Parameters > Conver- Physical Timescale gence Control. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 11.

(18) TurboSystem Workflows Setting. Value. Solver Parameters > Physical 1e-2 [s]a Timescale a. The time scale is approximately 1/(rotation speed [rad/s]). This gives a much more aggressive timescale than the default, for faster convergence.. Leave the other settings at their defaults. 7.. Click Next.. 8.. On the Interface Definition panel, verify that the periodic interface is set correctly. To do this, click R1 to R1 Periodic 1 in the tree view and then examine the associated settings (shown in the lower portion of the panel) and highlighted regions in the viewer. If no regions appear highlighted in the viewer, ensure that highlighting is turned on in the viewer toolbar.. 9.. Click Next.. 10. On the Boundary Definition panel, verify that each boundary is set correctly. To do this, click a boundary listed in the tree view and then examine the associated settings and highlighted regions. 11. Click Next. 12. On the Final Operations panel, leave the operation set to Enter General Mode and click Finish. 13. Return to the Project Schematic view. 14. Right-click the Solution cell and select Update. After some time, a CFD solution will be generated. If the progress indicator is not visible, you can display or, to see detailed output, right-click the Solution cell and select Display. it by clicking Monitors. 15. Double-click the Results cell. CFD-Post appears.. Viewing the Turbo Report To see a report for the pump performance: 1.. Click File > Report > Load 'Pump Impeller Report' Template.. 2.. Click the Report Viewer tab.. Note that if you have visited the Report Viewer tab before loading the template, or have otherwise made any changes to the report definition after first viewing the report, you need to click Viewer to update the report as displayed.. 12. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. in the Report.

(19) ANSYS BladeGen ANSYS BladeGen is a geometry creation tool that is specialized for turbomachinery blades. BladeGen has its own documentation that can be accessed through the user interface, or by browsing the installation directory. The main documentation, “ANSYS BladeGen User's Guide”, is available from the Help menu in BladeGen. There, you will find general help, tutorials, and help on a series of Vista programs which run inside BladeGen: •. Vista CCD (for centrifugal compressors). •. Vista CPD (for centrifugal pumps). •. Vista RTD (for radial inflow turbines). •. Vista AFD (for axial fans). Note Another Vista program, Vista TF, is for throughflow analyses in turbomachinery. It has a reference guide named "Vista TF Reference Guide" that is in this set of documentation. You can access it by clicking the following link: Vista TF Reference Guide (p. 68). To launch BladeGen from ANSYS Workbench, add the BladeGen component system to your project schematic, then edit the Blade Design cell of that system. The Blade Design cell has properties that need to be configured in order to transfer the blade geometry from BladeGen to BladeEditor. This transfer is represented by a link that connects a Blade Design cell to a Geometry cell. A sample of the cell properties is shown in Figure : Properties of the BladeGen Blade Design Cell (p. 13).. Figure: Properties of the BladeGen Blade Design Cell. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 13.

(20) ANSYS BladeGen Table 1: BladeGen Blade Design Cell Properties (p. 14) describes each of the cell properties. These are related to the properties of the ImportBGD feature in BladeEditor (described at Table 3: Properties for the Import BGD File Feature (p. 42)).. Table 1 BladeGen Blade Design Cell Properties Group. Name. Description. Import Options. Create Hub*. If this property is selected, then BladeEditor will create a HubProfile sketch for the non-flow path hub geometry, and will create a revolved body feature called HubBody.. Create All Blades. If this property is selected, then BladeEditor will create all the blades using the number of blades specified in the BladeGen model. If this property is not selected, then only the first blade will be created.. Merge Blade Topo- If this property is not selected, then logy BladeEditor will create the blade with four faces corresponding to the leading edge, pressure side, trailing edge and suction side. This can make it easier to create a structural mesh for the blades in the Mechanical application. If this property is selected, then the blade faces will be merged where they are tangent to one another. Blade Loft Direction. If this property is set to Streamwise, then BladeEditor will loft the blade surfaces in the streamwise direction through curves that run from hub to shroud. This is the default because the surface is more well defined, especially for flank-milled blades. If this property is set to Spanwise, then BladeEditor will loft the blade surfaces in the spanwise direction through the blade profile curves.. Shroud Clearance. 14. This property specifies whether a shroud clearance is created. If None is selected, then no shroud clearance is created. To create a shroud clearance, choose either Relative Layer or Absolute Layer. The blade(s) will be trimmed off at the selected BladeGen output layer, and the layer contour will be created in the LayerProfile sketch.. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(21) ANSYS BladeGen Group. Name. Description If Relative Layer is selected, then the selected Layer Number is relative to the shroud layer, e.g., 1 implies the first layer closest to the shroud layer, 2 implies the second closest layer to the shroud, etc. If Absolute Layer is selected, then the selected layer index counts up from the hub layer, which is zero.. Create Fluid Zone*. If this property is selected, then BladeEditor will create a StageFluidZone body for the flow passage, and an Enclosure feature to subtract the blade body. The resulting Enclosure can be used for a CFD analysis of the blade passage.. Create Named Selections*. If this property is selected, then BladeEditor will create NamedSelections (regions) for the typical faces of the blade passage, i.e., Blade, Hub, Shroud, Inflow, Outflow, PeriodicA and PeriodicB. These NamedSelections can be used as selection groups in other ANSYS Workbench applications, e.g., as regions in CFX-Mesh. Note that this property is available only if Create Fluid Zone is selected.. Blade Extension (%). This property defines the surface extension length (as a percentage of the average hub to shroud distance) for the blade surfaces. These surfaces are extended and then trimmed to the MasterProfile sketch to ensure that the blade solid correctly matches the hub and shroud contours.. Periodic Surface Extension (%). This property defines the surface extension length (as a percentage of the average hub to shroud distance) for the periodic surfaces. These surfaces are extended to ensure that the StageFluidZone is properly cut.. Periodic Surface Style. This property specifies the style of the periodic interface surfaces. If Three Pieces is selected, then the periodic surface is created in three con-. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 15.

(22) ANSYS BladeGen Group. Name. Description nected pieces: one upstream of the blade, one within the passage, and one downstream of the blade. This style can better accommodate highly curved or twisted blades, and is similar to the ANSYS TurboGrid style of periodic surface. If One Piece is selected, then the periodic surface is created as a single surface. Note that this property is available only if Create Fluid Zone is set to Yes.. * These properties will only apply when you initially import the model. Any subsequent changes to these properties will not be propagated to downstream cells upon updating the latter. Once the ImportBGD feature has been created (for example, by updating the Geometry cell), changing the following Blade Design cell properties will have no effect: •. Create Hub. •. Create Fluid Zone. •. Create Named Selections. Note In order to facilitate the use of a BladeGen model in another application (such as BladeEditor or ANSYS TurboGrid), you should always ensure that the model units are set. When you create a new BladeGen model (File > New > BladeGen Model), the default units are always “Unknown” (regardless of ANSYS Workbench preferences). In this case, select Model > Properties from the BladeGen main menu and set Model Units in the Model Property Dialog. You can access a context menu for the Blade Design cell in the BladeGen component system by right-clicking the cell. Most of the commands that are available are standard, and are described in Systems and Cells. The context menu commands that are specific to the Blade Design cell are described in Table 2: Context Menu Commands Specific to the BladeGen Blade Design Cell (p. 16).. Table 2 Context Menu Commands Specific to the BladeGen Blade Design Cell Command. Description. Edit. This command opens BladeGen. If the cell is up to date, then BladeGen will load the associated BladeGen model.. Import Existing Case. This command opens a file browser for selecting a .bgd file. This command is only available if the cell is in the Edit Required state. If this command is not available due to having already selected a .bgd file, and you want to make the command available so. 16. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(23) ANSYS BladeGen Command. Description that you can select a different .bgd file, then choose the Reset command in the context menu.. Create New Blade CFD Mesh This command creates a linked Mesh system and generates a mesh for the associated BladeGen model. This command is available only if the cell is up to date.. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 17.

(24) 18. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(25) ANSYS BladeEditor ANSYS BladeEditor is a plugin for ANSYS DesignModeler for creating, importing, and editing blade geometry. Using BladeEditor, you can create a blade from scratch. You can also import a blade from ANSYS BladeGen. Once you have a blade in DesignModeler, you can use it as you would any geometry created in DesignModeler. In addition, you can use BladeEditor to export the geometry for use in ANSYS TurboGrid (a meshing tool) and Vista TF (a throughflow analysis tool). The following topics are discussed: The BladeEditor User Interface Blade Editing Features Importing Blades from ANSYS BladeGen Loading and Modifying Blades from ANSYS BladeGen Using and Exporting Blades Configuring the BladeModeler License. The BladeEditor User Interface The BladeEditor user interface extends the DesignModeler user interface in the following ways: •. There are new feature types aimed at creating a blade and flow passage.. •. There is a set of toolbar icons, most of which are used to create the new feature types.. •. There are new views associated with some of the feature types.. •. There are new context menu commands associated with the new views.. The following topics will be discussed: Tree View and Details View Contour Sketch Management BladeEditor Toolbars Angle and Thickness Views User Preferences and Properties. Tree View and Details View As with DesignModeler features, the primary user control of the new blade geometry features is through the tree view and details view. The tree view shows the list of the features in the current model, and provides a mechanism for you to select a feature for inserting, editing, or deleting. The tree view also shows the order of operations in which DesignModeler will generate the model (top to bottom), and the feature dependencies.Figure : Tree View (p. 20) shows an example of the tree view diagram with the sketches (HubContour1), FlowPath (FlowPath1), CamThkDef (IGVCam1), and Blade (IGV) features for two blade rows.. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 19.

(26) ANSYS BladeEditor. Figure: Tree View. You might want to temporarily suppress various features to speed up the regeneration time. This can be managed in DesignModeler by right-clicking the feature in the tree view and selecting “Suppress”. Note that suppressing a feature also suppresses all dependent features below it. Sketches cannot be suppressed; they can only be hidden or deleted. When you click a contour sketch in the tree view, the sketch will be highlighted in the 3D viewer. When you click on a camberline definition, the corresponding FlowPath layer contour will be highlighted in the 3D viewer, and the angle and thickness views will be displayed for this definition. Any changes made to the sketches or camberline definitions will be immediate. However, updates to the dependent FlowPath or Blade features will happen only when you subsequently click the “Generate” button.. Contour Sketch Management The contour sketches are managed just as normal sketches are managed in DesignModeler. To modify a meridional contour, you should first select the sketch in the tree view and then click the “Sketching” tab to open the sketch toolbox. If you already have the sketch toolbox open, you can select a different active sketch from the toolbar drop-down list. For models with many different sketches, and for switching between editing one contour or another, this could be tedious. For this reason, it is possible to modify or delete existing edges in a sketch that is not the active sketch as long as it belongs to the same plane as the active sketch. However, newly created edges are added only to the active sketch, so it is imperative that you have the active sketch selected appropriately when creating new edges.. 20. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(27) BladeEditor Toolbars. BladeEditor Toolbars BladeEditor utilizes three separate toolbars: one for feature creation, one for selection, and one for display control. The following topics are discussed Feature Creation Toolbar Active Selection Toolbar Display Control Toolbar. Feature Creation Toolbar The feature creation toolbar has icons for the BladeEditor specific features that can be added to the model (and that appear in the tree view). The following icons exist in this toolbar: Icon. Description. Import BGD. Creates an ImportBGD feature, which is used to import a BladeGen file and construct a solid model of the blade and optionally the hub and fluid zone. The flow path and blade shape cannot be edited in BladeEditor, but the import can be refreshed if there are any changes to the BladeGen file. For details, see Importing Blades from ANSYS BladeGen (p. 41).. Load BGD. Loads a BladeGen file and constructs the FlowPath, CamThkDef, Blade, and Splitter features so that the flow path and blade shape may be edited in BladeEditor.. FlowPath. Creates a flow path (FlowPath) feature, which is used to define the flow path for blade geometry (that is, the meridional shape of the passage). For details, see FlowPath Feature (p. 28).. CamThkDef. Creates a camberline/thickness (CamThkDef ) feature (a blade profile), which is used to construct a blade geometry. For details, see Camberline/Thickness Definition Feature (p. 30).. Blade. Creates a blade (Blade) feature, which is used to create the blade bodies. For details, see Blade Feature (p. 34).. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 21.

(28) ANSYS BladeEditor Icon. Description. Splitter. Creates a splitter (Splitter) feature, which is used to create the splitter bodies. For details, see Splitter Feature (p. 36).. VistaTFExport. Creates a Vista TF export (VistaTFExport) feature for exporting the flow path and blade geometry to the Vista TF through flow analysis tool. For details, see Export to Vista TF (.geo) (p. 46).. ExportPoints. Creates an ExportPoints feature for exporting blade point data to TurboGrid or to a meanline file. For details, see Export to ANSYS TurboGrid (p. 48) and Export as Meanline Data (.rtzt file) (p. 47).. StageFluidZone. Creates a stage fluid zone (StageFluidZone) feature for generating the blade passage bodies. The stage fluid zone is a 3D fluid region to support CFD analyses. For details, see Stage Fluid Zone Feature (p. 38).. ThroatArea. Creates a throat area (ThroatArea) feature for calculating the blade throat area. For details, see Throat Area Feature (p. 39).. Preferences. Opens the BladeEditor preferences in the details view. For details, see User Preferences and Properties (p. 25).. Note that, because of limitations in the FlowPath, CamThkDef, and Blade features, the ‘Load BGD’ feature supports loading BladeGen files with the following restrictions: •. Model Only the ‘Angle/Thickness’ mode is supported.. •. If loading multiple BladeGen files, the Beta Definition, ‘from Axial’ or ‘from Tangential’, must be consistent for all files.. •. Layers Only specified span fraction layers are supported. The Spanwise Calculation mode must be ‘Geometric’.. •. Angle Definition Only Theta and/or Beta definitions are supported, not End Angle.. 22. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(29) BladeEditor Toolbars Only General and Ruled Element spanwise distributions are supported. At least one angle definition must exist on either the hub or shroud layer. The Angle View Data Location must be 'Meanline'. •. Thickness Definition Only the 'Normal to Meanline on Layer Surface' thickness data type is supported. The 'vs. Cam' and '% Cam vs. % Cam' thickness specifications are not supported. Only the General spanwise distribution is supported At least one thickness definition must exist on either the hub or shroud layer.. •. Meridional Profile Only the 'Design Profile' is supported.. Active Selection Toolbar The selection of the “active” angle and thickness view utilizes a toolbar similar to the sketch selection functionality. The toolbar consists of two combo boxes: one for the FlowPath/Blade selection and one for the layer selection. The first combo box will enable you to select from all of the currently defined FlowPath and Blade features, while the second combo box will enable you to select from the available layers defined on the active FlowPath. For example, for a model that contains two FlowPath features (FlowPath1 and FlowPath2) with one Blade feature defined on FlowPath1 and a Blade feature and Splitter feature defined on FlowPath2, the combo box would list the following: FlowPath1 FlowPath1 Blade1 FlowPath2 FlowPath2 Blade2 FlowPath2 Splitter2 The FlowPaths and Blades are shown separately because the CamDef feature is defined in the context of both the FlowPath and the Blade, and therefore the view is context-specific. Assuming there are five layers in the selected FlowPath/Blade, the Layer combo box would list the following: Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Layer 4 Layer 5 Alternatively, if CamDef features were defined on layers 1 and 5, then the Layer combo box would list the following:. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 23.

(30) ANSYS BladeEditor Layer 1 CamDef1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Layer 4 Layer 5 CamDef2. Display Control Toolbar The display control toolbar enables you to control display properties such as the angle/thickness graph visibility and graph view actions such as “zoom fit”, etc.. Angle and Thickness Views The Angle and Thickness Views let you see and modify the Camberline/Thickness definitions. These views have behavior similar to the views in BladeGen. Both views present the data for the active CamDef feature. See Active Selection Toolbar (p. 23) for more details on how the active CamDef feature is selected. If the Blade feature or any of its parent features have been modified, the curves shown in the angle/thickness views, when displayed under the Blade feature, are updated when the model is regenerated. The following topics are discussed: Angle View Thickness View. Angle View The angle view displays a graph of the Theta and Beta angle definition for the selected CamDef feature. Within this view, you can: •. Access a shortcut menu by right-clicking the mouse.. •. Drag the control points defining the Theta/Beta curve (left-click on a control point and drag with the mouse).. •. Change the angle type: Theta or Beta (context menu).. •. Change the curve type (context menu).. •. Insert or delete points (context menu).. •. Set control point coordinates (double-click a control point and edit the coordinate values in a dialog box).. •. View the coordinates of any location on a curve (hold the Ctrl key and left click any control point or line segment of a curve).. •. Show all defining Theta/Beta curves in the current view (context menu).. •. Show the second angle curve (beta or theta) in the current view (context menu).. •. Pan the view (right-click and drag).. •. Zoom in and out (middle-click and drag).. •. Zoom in via a zoom box (hold the Alt key and left-click and drag from the top-left corner to the bottomright corner of a rectangular region; drag in the opposite direction to re-fit the view).. •. Change the x-axis display type: m, m’, %m, or %m’ (context menu).. 24. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(31) User Preferences and Properties •. Read angle data points from a file or save points to a file (context menu). In a crude way, this enables copying and pasting data from one CamDef feature to another, or to and from an external application, e.g. a spreadsheet.. •. Convert the selected curve segment to a Bezier or spline curve of the specified order (context menu).. Note When the meridional contours are changed, the angle data points are scaled relative to the percent m’-coordinate (% m-prime).. Note X-axis value behaviour: preference used as default. Change of x-axis value will affect all layers viewed for a given Blade feature.. Thickness View The thickness view displays a graph of the thickness definition for the selected CamDef feature. Within this view, you can: •. Drag the points defining the thickness curve (mouse). •. Change the curve type: Bezier, cubic spline, piecewise-linear (context menu). •. Insert or delete points (context menu). •. Show all defining thickness curves in the current view (context menu). •. Zoom/Pan the view (mouse). •. Change the x-axis display type: m, m’, %m or %m’ (context menu). •. Read thickness data points from a file or save points to a file (context menu). •. Convert selected curve segment to Bezier or spline curve of specified order (context menu). Note When the meridional contours are changed, the thickness data points are scaled relative to the percent m-coordinate (% m).. Note X-axis value behavior: preference used as default. Change of x-axis value will affect all layers viewed for a given Blade feature.. User Preferences and Properties The model properties are listed in the details view for the root node (along with the DesignModeler file properties.) Model properties are saved with the .agdb file. These properties include: •. Length Tolerance - Sketch edge tessellation tolerance in current length unit. •. Angle Tolerance – Angle graph tolerance in degrees. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 25.

(32) ANSYS BladeEditor •. Beta definition (axial or tangential). •. Angle View – x-axis type. •. Thickness View – x-axis type. •. Show Advanced Properties – this specifies whether the advanced parameters or expert parameters are shown in the details view. This only applies to specific features, such as the Blade and Splitter.. Blade Editing Features The BladeEditor toolbar icons related to creating/editing a blade are: Icon. Description. FlowPath. Creates a flow path (FlowPath) feature, which is used to define the flow path for blade geometry (that is, the meridional shape of the passage). For details, see FlowPath Feature (p. 28).. CamThkDef. Creates a camberline/thickness (CamThkDef ) feature (a blade profile), which is used to construct a blade geometry. For details, see Camberline/Thickness Definition Feature (p. 30).. Blade. Creates a blade (Blade) feature, which is used to create the blade bodies. For details, see Blade Feature (p. 34).. Splitter. Creates a splitter (Splitter) feature, which is used to create the splitter bodies. For details, see Splitter Feature (p. 36).. VistaTFExport. Creates a Vista TF export (VistaTFExport) feature for exporting the flow path and blade geometry to the Vista TF through flow analysis tool. For details, see Export to Vista TF (.geo) (p. 46).. ExportPoints. Creates an ExportPoints feature for exporting blade point data to TurboGrid or to a meanline file. For details, see Export to ANSYS TurboGrid (p. 48) and Export as Meanline Data (.rtzt file) (p. 47).. StageFluidZone. Creates a stage fluid zone (StageFluidZone) feature for generating the blade passage bodies. The stage fluid zone is a 3D fluid region to support CFD analyses. For. 26. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(33) Flow Path Contour Creation Icon. Description details, see Stage Fluid Zone Feature (p. 38).. ThroatArea. Creates a throat area (ThroatArea) feature for calculating the blade throat area. For details, see Throat Area Feature (p. 39).. The following topics will be discussed: Flow Path Contour Creation FlowPath Feature Camberline/Thickness Definition Feature Blade Feature Splitter Feature Stage Fluid Zone Feature Throat Area Feature. Flow Path Contour Creation The main elements of a multi-blade row machine are the flow path and the individual blade rows, as shown in Figure : Flow Path and Blade Row Concepts (p. 27).. Figure: Flow Path and Blade Row Concepts. The first step in creating new blade row geometry is creating the flow path contours that define the hub, shroud, inlet and outlet. The flow path contours are defined by sketch edges, which can be created using the existing DesignModeler sketch tools. Each contour (hub, shroud, etc.) should be defined in a separate sketch. This implicitly identifies all the edges belonging to a given contour. All contour sketches are expected to lie on the same Plane feature. Not only will this guarantee that the contours are coplanar, it will enable you to apply constraints and dimensions between sketches.. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 27.

(34) ANSYS BladeEditor. Note •. Contour sketches must be created on the (global) ZX-plane. The local X and Y axes on the sketch plane correspond to the global Z and X axes, respectively. The local X axis corresponds to the machine axis and the local Y axis corresponds to the radial coordinate axis. Consequently, all flow contours in the sketch must have positive Y coordinates.. •. It is advisable that you turn off the sketch global autoconstraint setting. Click the Sketching tab, click the Constraints toolbox, click Auto Constraints and clear the Global check box. Having this global constraint turned on may cause undesirable constraints to be added to the LayerContour edges.. •. The hub, shroud, inlet, and outlet contour end points must be coincident.. FlowPath Feature The FlowPath feature specifies the flow path. The contour sketches described in Flow Path Contour Creation (p. 27) are used in the definition of this feature. The FlowPath feature also creates the constant-spanfraction layers used to define the blade profiles, and automatically creates the LayerContour sketch, which shows the locations of the layers. The feature properties are listed in the table below. Note that all items under each bold heading in the table are grouped under that heading. Details of [Feature Name] FlowPath. [Name]. Machine Type. [Pump | Centrifugal Compressor | Axial Compressor | Fan | Radial Turbine | Axial Turbine | Hydraulic Turbine | Other | Undefined]. Theta Direction. [Right-handed | Left-handed]. Hub Contour. [Sketch selection]. Shroud Contour. [Sketch selection]. Inlet Contour. [Sketch selection]. Outlet Contour. [Sketch selection]. Hub Cut?. [Yes | No]. (If Hub Cut = Yes). [Sketch selection]. Hub Cut Shroud Cut?. [Yes | No]. (If Shroud Cut = Yes). [Sketch selection]. Shroud Cut Number of Layers. Implicitly defined number of layers. Layer: 1 Layer Type. Fixed Span. Span Fraction. 0. Layer: 2. 28. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(35) FlowPath Feature Layer Type. Fixed Span. Span Fraction. [0 < Value < 1]. Layer: 3 Layer Type. Fixed Span. Span Fraction. [0 < Value < 1]. Layer: 4 Layer Type. Fixed Span. Span Fraction. 1. The Machine Type is used by downstream applications, for example in CFD-Post, for determining the appropriate default post-processing report. The Theta Direction specifies the interpretation of the theta direction for the CamDef angle definitions. The theta direction can be specified as either right-handed or left-handed relative to the direction of the global z-axis (the machine axis). By default, the flow path starts with two layers: one for the hub and one for the shroud. You can insert or delete layers using a shortcut menu in the details view. Layers on which CamDef features are defined cannot be deleted. The first and last layers must be at span fractions of 0 and 1, respectively; these will always be created and cannot be deleted or changed. A given blade does not need to have defined profiles on all layers. The layers are defined in the context of the FlowPath feature for consistency between blade rows. The only Layer Type in version 12 is Fixed Span. This requires that you specify the span fraction for the given layer. You can create the FlowPath feature automatically via a BladeGen import, or manually. In either case, you can change the sketch selections once the feature has been created. You must ensure that the contours are properly connected to form a closed loop. This means that the endpoints of adjacent contours must be coincident. In the tree view, the parent sketches (HubContour, ShroudContour, etc.) and child sketch (LayerContour) should appear as sub-features of the FlowPath feature. These sketches will also appear under the parent meridional plane. The following topic will be discussed: Flow Cut. Flow Cut The FlowPath feature has optional hub cut and shroud cut properties to support trimming the flow path for a 'flow cut'. An example is if you have a base centrifugal compressor blade design that is used for a range of compressors. In this case, the FlowPath and Blade features would define the base blade geometry. You then wish to use the same blade but in a different size compressor, so the blade height needs to be trimmed. The flow cut would be used to define the final flow path boundaries, and would trim the height of all blades in the flow path. The flow cut affects all blades that reference the flow path. The flow cut properties take as input the sketch contours that define the flow cut. The additional feature properties are in a group below the Outlet Contour property. The property group is defined below. To make best use of this feature, sketches should support the reading of external point data, in particular point data exported from CFD-Post. This lets you choose a flow “streamline” from a Vista TF or CFX analysis. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 29.

(36) ANSYS BladeEditor and use it to trim the flow path. Currently, creating spline curves from external point data is only supported via script.. Camberline/Thickness Definition Feature The Camberline/Thickness Definition (CamDef ) feature provides the angle and thickness distribution on a selected layer contour. This definition is a child of the FlowPath feature and a parent of the Blade feature. The angle and thickness distributions are specified versus normalized coordinates corresponding to 0% at the leading edge and 100% at the trailing edge. A CamDef feature can be referenced by more than one Blade feature. Also, a CamDef feature can be copied from one layer to another. Each CamDef feature will appear as a sub-feature of the parent FlowPath in the tree view. When a CamDef feature is referenced by a Blade, it will also appear as a sub-feature for that Blade. This is consistent with the tree view behavior for sketches, which provide a similar function to the CamDef features. The CamDef feature properties are as follows: Details of [Feature Name] Camberline Definition. [Feature Name]. Flow Path. [FlowPath feature selection]. Layer Number. [Index Value]. Camberline Details Angle Definition?. [Yes | No]. Angle Definition Type. [Theta | Beta]. (For Beta definition only). [Leading Edge | Trailing Edge]. Theta Reference Theta @ LE. [Value]. or Theta @ TE. [Value]. Angle Data Location. [Camberline | Side 1 | Side 2]. [Parameter List]. [Parameter Values]. Thickness Details Thickness Definition?. [Yes | No]. Thickness Definition Type. [Normal to Cambersurface | Normal to Camberline on Layer surface | Tangential on Layer surface]. The angle and thickness data that is associated with a CamDef feature is displayed in the angle/thickness graph view.. 30. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates..

(37) Camberline/Thickness Definition Feature. The CamDef feature saves the angle data as % m-prime and the thickness data as % m. After a CamDef is applied to the portion of a layer between LE and TE of a blade/splitter, the local angle data and thickness data are created for the blade/splitter. These local data are represented as m-prime and m values which are converted from % m-prime and % m. If the Angle Definition Type is set to Theta, then the specified angle curve is used as the theta definition for the camberline. If the Angle Definition Type is set to Beta, then the angle curve is used as the Beta definition, and the theta definition is derived by integrating the Beta curve with the specified Theta Reference. The Theta Reference can be specified at either the leading edge or the trailing edge of the blade for which the camberline is applied. When a CamDef feature is selected on the feature tree, its angle data will be displayed on the angle graph and its thickness data will be displayed on the thickness graph. When the data in angle or thickness graph pane is modified, the data inside the CamDef feature will be changed to reflect the modification. Also, if any blade/splitter refers to the CamDef feature, all these blade/splitter should update their local angle/thickness data. If you select 'No' for the Angle Definition or Thickness Definition parameter, then no curve data for this definition will be available for editing in the graph view, and this definition will be ignored in the corresponding angle or thickness surface calculation. Furthermore, if the selected CamDef feature is a sub-feature to a Blade, then the graph view will show the interpolated angle or thickness data for this blade, otherwise. Release 12.0 - © 2009 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.. 31.

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