feature impeller design

Advanced design software for

pumps
Design software based on the inverse design approach offers a number of advantages for
the hydrodynamic design of pump components such as impellers. M. Zangeneh, founding
director of UK-based Advanced Design Technology (ADT) and professor of thermofluids at
University College London, discusses and illustrates the capabilities of this inverse approach
as embodied in ADT’s TURBOdesign-1 software. The advanced features of the company’s latest
release, TURBOdesign-1 v. 3.0, are highlighted.

M
any of the leading pump • Continual price pressure and customers expect to get designs
companies in Japan, the margin compression. Important that meet their requirements
USA and Europe currently to reduce both manufacturing and in terms of efficiency, suction
use the TURBOdesign-1 design code developments costs. performance and motor size and
from Advanced Design Technology • Reduced time to market. This no longer accept a choice from a
(ADT) in their design systems. In will help reduce design and pump series that only half meets
response to what compelled them development time and hence costs. their requirements.
to consider TURBOdesign-1, these • Skills shortages. Many companies • Ease of use. This feature of
companies have highlighted the face problems in recruiting skilled TURBOdesign-1 not only helps
following commercial drivers: hydrodynamic designers and to improve the productivity of
the time required to train a new designers but also is the main reason
• Global competition. The need to graduate engineer in hydrodynamic why young graduate engineers can
compete globally means that the design using conventional design be trained very quickly to make
company’s products need to be methods is too long and hence them productive in hydrodynamic
superior in terms of performance, considered as an expensive design.
cost and in meeting the customer’s investment.
requirements as closely as possible • Requirement to supply customized
Helping meet
(customized designs). products. In many applications
requirements
Figure 1. Schematic There are two approaches to the
of the direct or
conventional design
hydrodynamic design of pumps. The
approach in which direct (or conventional) approach
blade shape is is based on trial and error changes
modified by trial and
error.
to the blade shape. The designer
starts from an initial blade shape
and then evaluates the flow field
in the impeller or diffuser by the
application of a computational
fluid dynamics code (CFD), which
is then modified based on previous
experience (Figure 1). Because of its
Figure 2. Schematic
reliance on previous experience, this
diagram showing approach can inherently restrict the
the design process designer to work in a relatively small
by TURBOdesign-1.
part of the design space, which limits
his/her ability to develop innovative
designs quickly.

An alternative approach is the inverse

design method, in which the blade
shape is computed for a specified
distribution of pressure distribution or
blade loading. Such an approach offers
many advantages:

28 0262 1762/07 © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved WORLD PUMPS June 2007
 feature impeller design

volume. Also shown in Figure 4 is

the performance of the stage with
the same meridional shape as the
conventional stage but redesigned by
TURBOdesign-1 (Ns800C). This stage
was found to have a peak efficiency
that is 5.8 percentage points higher
than the conventional one.

Graphical user interface

In developing TURBOdesign-1,
considerable effort has been spent on
creating a very user-friendly graphical
user interface (GUI) for the code
Figure 3. Supercompact pump stage design5. to further improve the designer’s
productivity. This interface allows a
design case to be built very rapidly from
• Flow-related design parameter. Design breakthrough basic 1D design information. Some
The design parameter is based on features of the GUI are as follows:
pressure or loading distribution, TURBOdesign-1 has enabled some
which can be based on aerodynamic important breakthroughs in the design • The meridional shape can be easily
principles. of pump stage components. For example, manipulated interactively.
• Design beyond previous experience. by using this approach in the design of • The thickness distribution can be
The flow-based design parameter mixed flow and centrifugal impellers, constant or specified from a file or
allows the designer to use his/her it was possible to derive a simple set modified interactively.
aerodynamics knowledge and of design guidelines for suppression • The blade loading also can be
feedback from CFD to arrive at a of secondary flows in these impeller modified by using a three-segment
design specification that results in types2,3. In another application, the combination of two parabolic
innovative design. method was used to suppress corner sections and a straight line section
• Database of design know-how. The separation in vaned bowl diffusers of or arbitrarily modified by using B-
design specification has generality the type commonly used in mixed flow splines. The arbitrary modification
and can be easily used in the pumps4. The method has also been used by B-splines has been found to be
design of similar components. to achieve a supercompact design of useful for cavitation control in
This can allow the generation of mixed flow pumps without significant pumps.
valuable design know-how that reduction in efficiency and suction
can be used to generate optimum performance5, and in suppressing inlet
designs very quickly even if the recirculation or rotating cavitation in 1.25
Conventional Ns800C
head, flow rates or rpm change for rocket pump inducers6. design
a given design. Ns800
1.0
In Figure 3 the example of a
TURBOdesign-1 is based on this supercompact pump stage designed
Efficiency ratio η*

inverse approach, with the advantage by TURBOdesign-1 is presented. The

0.75
that it uses blade loading together pump stage has been redesigned to
with thickness distribution as the achieve a 61% reduction in volume.
Ns800S
design input and hence results in a As shown, the stage’s tip radius had to
0.5
robust design method in which the be reduced substantially to achieve this
structural integrity of the designed aim. As a result, in order to achieve
blade is ensured. The method starts the same head, the pump stage loading
0.25
with information available from a coefficient (Ψ) had to be almost
Efficiency - flow
basic 1D or mean-line analysis, such doubled from 0.33 to 0.6. Comparing
characteristics
as rpm, mass flow rate, Euler head, the resulting normalized measured
inlet and exit tip diameters and blade efficiency for the compact stage design 0 0.5 1.0 1.5
width, which is then used together (Ns800S) with the conventional
with the blade loading distribution to stage performance (Figure 4), one Flow rate ratio Q*
generate the blade shape (Figure 2). can see that the new compact stage
Further details on this approach for performance is very similar to that Figure 4. Measured normalized performance of the supercompact
stage designed by TURBOdesign-1 (Ns800S) compared with that of the
pump applications can be found in of the original conventional stage conventional stage, and of the redesigned stage (Ns800C) with the
Reference 1. despite having only 39% of the same meridional geometry as the conventional stage.

WORLD PUMPS June 2007 www.worldpumps.com 29

 feature impeller design

• Accurate leading and trailing edges both in streamwise and spanwise Version 3.0 suite
can be generated with different directions.
elliptic distributions or under and • Blade geometry export to most The development of TURBOdesign
over filing. commercially available CFD, CAD version 3.0 – scheduled for release
• Accurate surface pressure and FEA codes (including export at the end of May 2007 – has been
distributions can be obtained functionality for FLUENT, CFX, based on intensive consultation
that correlate closely with CFD STAR-CD and CCM+), IGES with customers, who expressed a
data. This information can be surface and point data formats, requirement for better integration
used to improve the cavitation as well as STL formats for rapid of the design code into existing
performance of the blade. prototyping. CAE (computer-aided engineering)
• The code allows for detailed In addition to the above, systems. Many customers have a large
comparison of one or two different TURBOdesign has a special script database of existing pumps defined in
blade geometries in terms of version that allows very easy terms of blade geometry and wish to
blade shapes, blade angle, wrap coupling of the code with automatic translate this database with ease into
angle, thickness and curvature optimization algorithms7,8,9. the TURBOdesign environment.
Another important requirement was
the facility to make simple changes to
the blade geometry once the program
generates the blade shape. This feature
allows designers to meet any possible
manufacturing or other related
geometrical constraints.

In response to these requirements,

detailed planning was undertaken in
order to ensure that the TURBOdesign
software can be fully integrated into
existing CAE systems in a seamless
manner. In order to achieve these
aims, three main components were
developed, as outlined below.

CAD conversion module

This allows the translation of IGES
surface data into native TURBOdesign
point data. This module allows
automatic generation of all the required
Figure 5. Example of an IGES file brought into a TDCAD module. TURBOdesign data files from an
existing IGES file.

Q3D analysis module

By using this quasi-3D code, the blade
loading for a given blade geometry can
be computed with ease. This will then
allow the designer to relate better the
features of the optimum blade geometry
to the hydrodynamics of the flow and
derive more general design know-how
from the existing database. Also this
blade loading can then be brought
into TURBOdesign-1 and modified to
improve the hydrodynamic design.

Direct design module

This module will allow for the small
Figure 6. Example of a loading distribution on the highlighted streamline as computed by manipulation of the blade shape
the Q3D module. computed by TURBOdesign-1 to meet

30 www.worldpumps.com WORLD PUMPS June 2007

 feature impeller design

any possible constraints in terms of obtained are expected to be more

manufacturing. universal and operator-independent, About ADT
and are easily transferred to the next Since its foundation in 1998,
In Figure 5, an example IGES surface generation. London, UK-based Advanced Design
Technology (ADT) has been involved
geometry loaded by the TDCAD in the development of advanced
module of TURBOdesign version 3.0 is The use of TURBOdesign also enables design methods for turbomachinery
shown. The converter requires the user the optimization of one of the design applications. ADT was established
after a long period of collaboration
to specify the surface patches that make parameters while keeping other with Ebara Corporation of Japan
up the hub, shroud and blade surfaces. parameters the same. The effects and the US Office of Naval Research
Once these surfaces are specified of adopting a different meridional in order to validate these design
methodologies experimentally for
interactively by the user, the point data geometry, for example, can be evaluated pump applications. ADT’s main
is generated automatically, including all independently while keeping the blade objective is the development
the necessary files to run TURBOdesign loading distribution and other design of design methodologies that
not only help designers achieve
such as the thickness and meridional parameters the same. breakthrough designs but can also
geometry file. reduce design time for customized
In addition to the above features, designs and meet the multi-
objective requirements that are
The point data can then be read into TURBOdesign version 3.0 will offer necessary in many pump applications
the quasi-3D module which, together seamless integration to existing CAE – such as improvement to suction
with basic design specifications systems and will allow easy import performance and efficiency or
reduction in shut-off head or power,
such as rpm, mass flow rate and inlet of existing design databases into the as well as improvements to stall
total pressure, is used to compute the TURBOdesign environment. margin.
loading distribution on the blade. An
example of a blade geometry converted ADT is currently involved in a Fluids Eng., Vol. 124, pp. 319-328,
to point data and its resulting loading consortium with Engenious Japan in (2002).
distribution computed by the quasi-3D the development of a design system [5] A. Goto et al., ‘Compact Design
code is shown in Figure 6; the loading where TURBOdesign is coupled with of Diffuser Pumps using Three-
distribution on the highlighted Design of Experiment, Response Surface Dimensional Inverse Design
streamline is shown in the lower left Modelling and Multi-objective Genetic Method’, 3rd ASME/JSME Joint
window. Algorithms. This methodology, which Fluids Engineering Conference,
will become available in TURBOdesign ASME paper No. FEDSM99-6847,
The loading distribution can then be next year, will allow rapid development (1999).
read into TURBOdesign-1, where it can of new know-how in terms of optimum [6] K. Ashihara et al., ‘Improvements
be modified interactively and this can blade loading for multi-objective and of inducer inlet backflow
then be used to compute an improved multi-point applications. ■ characteristics using 3D inverse
blade shape. design methods’, AIAA 2002 4158,
(2002).
[7] C. Yiu and M. Zangeneh,
References
‘Three Dimensional Automatic
Concluding remarks
[1] M. Zangeneh and A. Goto, Optimisation Method for
TURBOdesign enables the designer to ‘TURBOdesign-1: next generation Turbomachinery Blade Design’, J.
control the flow field in the impeller design software for pumps’, World Propulsion Power, Vol. 16, No. 6,
and diffuser by careful control of 3D Pumps, No. 437, pp. 32-36, (2003). (2000).
pressure fields, through the specified [2] M. Zangeneh, A. Goto and H. [8] S. Miyauchi, N. Kassai and J.
blade loading distribution. Thus, it Harada, ‘On the design criteria Fukutumi, ‘Optimization of
is possible to achieve an innovative for suppression of secondary meridional shape design of pump
design for turbomachinery blades flows in centrifugal and mixed impeller’, 23rd IAHR Symposium,
having, for example, high efficiency, flow impellers’, Trans ASME, J. Yokohama, Japan, (2006).
high suction performance and Turbomachinery, Vol. 120, pp. 723- [9] M. Zangeneh, ‘Conventional design,
very compact machine size. Once 735, (1998). inverse design and optimization’,
optimum input data, based on solid [3] M. Zangeneh, A. Goto and H. Turbonews, No. 1, Oct 2004 (www.
physical background, are found for Harada, ‘On the Role of Three- adtechnology.co.uk/news) (2004).
TURBOdesign, it is possible to apply Dimensional Inverse Design
these results to similar designs or at Methods in Turbomachinery Shape
least give a good baseline design to Optimization’, Proc. Instn Mech CONTACT
start an optimization process. This Engrs, Vol. 213 Part C, pp. 27-42, M. Zangeneh
Advanced Design Technology Ltd
feature is especially useful for the (1999). Monticello House, 45 Russell Square
systematic series development of [4] A. Goto and M. Zangeneh, London WC1B 4JP, UK
pumps covering a wide range of flow ‘Hydrodynamic Design of Pump Tel: +44-20-7907-4715
Fax: +44-20-7907-4711
coefficients (or specific speeds). The Diffuser Using Inverse Design E-mail: [email protected]
design guidelines or expertise thus Method and CFD’, ASME J. www.adtechnology.co.uk

WORLD PUMPS June 2007 www.worldpumps.com 31