In the first part of this article on the design of a Sirocco-type CPU cooling fan stage, we showed that there is scope for improvement in the baseline impeller especially in terms of achieving the stage pressure rise requirement ..read more

Central Processing Unit (CPU) is a critical component of any high performance computing machine and is used for highly demanding tasks such as creative production, machine learning, cryptocurrency mining and to render computer graphics for video games. But with great power comes the need for effective cooling, and therefore CPU cooling is a critical aspect that directly impacts the system performance and longevity. Its main goal is to maintain optimal operating temperatures to prevent overheating, which can otherwise lead to performance throttling, instability, and even permanent damage to th ..read more

TURBOdesign Suite is a unique aerodynamic and hydrodynamic 3D design software package that allows users to design, analyze and optimize all types of turbomachinery, such as axial, mixed-flow, or centrifugal pumps, compressors, fans, turbines and torque converters. Using the software, designers evaluate turbomachinery package size and performance predictions, perform detailed 3D blade design with 3D inverse design capabilities, analyze flow information per component, stage performances with turbomachinery specific 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and automate exploration of the design sp ..read more

Mixed-flow pumps are widely used at drainage pumping stations, power plants and in water-jet applications. When the specific speed is high, the design is considerably challenging since it is generally necessary to satisfy multiple performance objectives that are in relative trade-off. Furthermore, in addition to operating outside of the best efficiency region, the flow often approaches the impeller eye with low value of static pressure, leading the pump to operate under cavitating conditions ..read more

In the first part of this article on the design of a Sirocco fan stage, we showed that there is scope for improvement in the baseline impeller especially in terms of achieving the stage total pressure rise requirement. In this second part, we show how the performance of the baseline stage can be enhanced to achieve the target through the application of manual redesign on the baseline impeller and volute. Redesign 1 A parametric study was started on the baseline fan and in the first redesign, we looked at the blade loading on the baseline design, and we started doing a parametric study. The fi ..read more

The fan design process generally starts with the chart shown in Figure 1 which provides the relationship between speed number and diameter number as experimentally found by Cordier. This relationship, which is called Cordier-line in the literature, represents sort of “optimum” fans with high efficiency, and so there is a relationship between the speed number or diameter number and the type of fan to be used, whether axial, diagonal or radial, in order to obtain high efficiencies ..read more

Turbopumps are mainly used in rocket engines and in low suction pressure situations in the industry. As Figure 1 shows, their suction specific speed is very sensitive to the inlet eye diameter and the leading edge blade angle [1], and this makes a cavitation-free performance difficult to achieve using traditional methods ..read more

The first step in the design of any turbine is to identify the required specific speed regime of the turbine. This will dictate the meridional shape and hence the general flow direction through the machine. For example, a low specific speed turbine is likely to be a radial inflow type, whereas a high specific speed one is likely to be of mixed or axial flow type. From the required specific speed, we can identify the main flow phenomena and loss mechanisms dominant in that particular range. For example, as the NsDs turbine chart in Figure 1 shows, leakage and secondary flow effects are more do ..read more

In the first part of this article on the design of an axial turbine rotor, we showed that both aerodynamic and mechanical aspects of the baseline rotor need to be addressed. In this second part, also based on one of ADT’s technical papers that was presented at the ASME Turbo Expo 2023 [1], we demonstrate the use of Optima feature in TURBOdesign1 to rapidly optimize the baseline rotor and achieve a simultaneous improvement in its aerodynamic performance and structural integrity. Optimization Workflow Figure 1 displays the workflow used by the automatic optimization, where the blade loading and ..read more

Professor Mehrdad Zangeneh Awarded the 2023 ASME Henry R. Worthington Medal for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Mechanical Engineering ..read more