A numerical method for 3D turbomachinery aeroelasticity

This work provides an extension to 3D aeroelastic problems of a recently developed numerical method for turbomachinery aeroelasticity. The unsteady Euler or Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations are solved in integral form, the blade passages being discretised using a deforming grid. The grid is regenerated at each time step using a novel methodology, that automatically avoids grid lines overlapping and guarantees the smoothness of the regenerated mesh. Firstly, the method has been validated versus the 2D 4th Aeroelastic Turbine Standard Configuration. Both inviscid and viscous turbulent computations have been performed, and the results previously obtained usind a different moving grid strategy have been recovered. In order to prove the robustness of the proposed deforming grid methodology, the same case has also been computed with the blade under-going large torsion displacements, the regenerated grid always preserving a good smoothness. Then, the methodology has been validated versus the 3D 4th Standard Aeroelastic Configuration, that involves a rigid body blade motion. Finally, a more severe 3D configuration, involving a clamped-beam-like blade deformation, has been considered.