Turbomachinery#

Flow360 provides specialized capabilities for turbomachinery simulations, enabling high-fidelity analysis of compressors, turbines, pumps, and other rotating machinery. This section covers advanced techniques for accurately predicting performance, efficiency, and flow phenomena in complex turbomachinery configurations.

🔄 Periodic Simulations

Learn how to leverage periodic boundary conditions to efficiently simulate turbomachinery components with rotational symmetry.

Periodic Boundary Conditions

Key Turbomachinery Simulation Concepts#

  • Rotating reference frames and multiple frame of reference (MFR) techniques

  • Periodic boundary conditions for blade passage simulations

Applications#

Flow360’s turbomachinery simulation capabilities support a wide range of applications:

  • Compressor and fan performance prediction

  • Turbine efficiency and cooling effectiveness

  • Pump and hydromachinery analysis

  • Blade loading and structural analysis

  • Off-design performance evaluation

  • Stage matching and multi-stage analysis

  • Novel concept evaluation and optimization

  • Secondary air system and sealing effectiveness

Simulation Approaches#

Flow360 supports multiple approaches for turbomachinery simulation:

Single Passage Analysis: * Utilize periodic boundaries to model a single blade passage * Computational efficiency for parametric studies * Appropriate for steady-state design point analysis

Full Annulus Simulation: * Complete 360-degree model capturing blade count effects * Required for unequal blade counts and certain instabilities * Captures large-scale flow structures and asymmetries

Multiple Frame of Reference: * Models relative motion between rotating and stationary components * Steady-state approximation of rotor-stator interaction * Efficient for multi-stage preliminary design

Unsteady Simulation: * Time-accurate capture of blade passing effects * Required for transient phenomena and acoustic analysis * Predicts blade row interaction and flow instabilities