The group is working mainly within the area of turbomachinery applications, in particular for aero engine applications. In this research area we focus primarily on system analysis and engine concept evaluation, and detailed flow and acoustics analysis for specific sub-problems such as compressors, turbines, transition ducts, intercoolers, combustors/afterburners and nozzles.
Research and tools for modeling
The system analysis studies range from developing models for space launchers to minimizing operating cost for civil airlines. Generic tools for system analysis have been developed within the group (GESTPAN) coupling ordinary differential algebraic equations with optimizers to model aircraft performance, engine performance, weight, operating cost, emission formation and noise pollution. Frequently, multidisciplinary questions are addressed, where new aero engine concepts are optimized subject to environmental constraints.
Large calculation clusters and smart design
The detailed flow and acoustics analysis studies range from large scale LES computations for jet noise prediction, utilizing 25 million grid nodes, to relatively small scale RANS solutions for shape optimization. For most numerical simulations we use in-house codes (G2D/G3D) that include RANS, U-RANS, hybrid RANS/LES and LES solvers in time domain as well as linearized Euler/Navier-Stokes solvers in time or frequency domain. State-of-the-art numerical schemes for compressible flow are applied in these solvers, and they are fully parallelized (using MPI) for running on large scale Linux clusters.
We have access to the C3SE computer center at Chalmers, with more than 1000 CPUs, as well as the all national computer centers run by SNIC.
Industrial partners
Most of our research projects are applied and closely linked to industrial interests and needs. GKN Aerospace in Trollhättan is naturally an important industrial partner for us, since they develop and manufacture certain parts for large civil aero engines. We are involved in several European projects together with Volvo Aero. We also have some collaboration with Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery in Finspång, especially concerning combustor stability.
