Computational fluid dynamics for turbomachinery design

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) probably plays a greater part in the aerodynamic design of turbomachinery than it does in any other engineering application. For many years the design of a modern turbine or compressor has been unthinkable without the help of CFD and this dependence has increased as more of the flow becomes amenable to numerical prediction. The benefits of CFD range from shorter design cycles to better performance and reduced costs and weight. This paper presents a review of the main CFD methods in use, discusses their advantages and limitations and points out where further developments are required. The paper is concerned with the application of CFD and does not describe the numerical methods or turbulence modelling in any detail.