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Performance enhancement of axial fan blade through multi-objective optimization techniques

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Abstract

This paper presents an axial fan blade design optimization method incorporating a hybrid multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (hybrid MOEA). In flow analyses, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations were solved using the shear stress transport turbulence model. The numerical results for the axial and tangential velocities were validated by comparing them with experimental data. Six design variables relating to the blade lean angle and the blade profile were selected through Latin hypercube sampling of design of experiments (DOE) to generate design points within the selected design space. Two objective functions, namely, total efficiency and torque, were employed, and multi-objective optimization was carried out, to enhance the performance. A surrogate model, Response Surface Approximation (RSA), was constructed for each objective function based on the numerical solutions obtained at the specified design points. The Non-dominated Sorting of Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) with local search was used for multi-objective optimization. The Pareto-optimal solutions were obtained, and a trade-off analysis was performed between the two conflicting objectives in view of the design and flow constraints. It was observed that, by the process of multi-objective optimization, the total efficiency was enhanced and the torque reduced. The mechanisms of these performance improvements were elucidated by analysis of the Pareto-optimal solutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, 253 Yonghyun-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon, 402-751, Rep. of Korea

    Jin-Hyuk Kim, Afzal Husain & Kwang-Yong Kim

  2. Energy Equipment R&D Team, Samsung Techwin Co., Ltd., 701 Sampyeong-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 463-400, Rep. of Korea

    Jae-Ho Choi

Authors
  1. Jin-Hyuk Kim
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  2. Jae-Ho Choi
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  4. Kwang-Yong Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kwang-Yong Kim.

Additional information

This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Jun Sang Park

Jin-Hyuk Kim received his bachelor’s degree to be honored with the early graduation of excellent from Sunmoon University, Korea, in 2007, and his master’s degree from Inha University, Korea, in 2009. He also received the excellent master’s thesis award in fluid engineering division from Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers (KSME), Korea. Currently he is pursuing his research towards Ph.D. degree in Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics at Inha University, Korea. His research interests are designs of turbomachinery, numerical analyses and optimization techniques.

Jae-Ho Choi received his B.S. degree from Inha University, Korea, in 1993, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics at the same University in 1995 and 2000, respectively. He is currently a principal research engineer and the leader of aerodynamic design group at Samsung Techwin R&D Center, Seongnam, Korea. He is an editor in the compressor division of the Korean Fluid Machinery Association (KFMA). His research and development interests are aerodynamic designs with conventional approaches and numerical optimizations, flow analyses, and performance tests on axial-, centrifugal-, and mixed-flow compressors used for energy equipment systems and gas turbines.

Afzal Husain received B.E. and M.Tech. degrees in Mechanical Engineering with specialization in Thermal Sciences from Aligarh Muslim University, India in 2003 and 2005, respectively. He successfully completed Ph.D. degree in Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics at Inha University, Republic of Korea. His research interests are computational fluid dynamics, numerical analysis and optimization of fluid flow and heat transfer systems using surrogate models, development of heat transfer augmentation and optimization techniques for conventional- and micro-systems, thermal analysis of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and electronic cooling.

Kwang-Yong Kim received his B.S. degree from Seoul National University in 1978, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea, in 1981 and 1987, respectively. He is currently an Inha Fellow Professor and the head of the School of Mechanical Engineering of Inha University, Incheon, Korea. Professor Kim is also the current editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems (IJFMS), and the president of the Korean Fluid Machinery Association (KFMA). He is also a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

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Kim, JH., Choi, JH., Husain, A. et al. Performance enhancement of axial fan blade through multi-objective optimization techniques. J Mech Sci Technol 24, 2059–2066 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0619-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0619-6

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