Computational fluid dynamics for turbomachinery internal air systems

Considerable progress in development and application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for aeroengine internal flow systems has been made in recent years. CFD is regularly used in industry for assessment of air systems, and the performance of CFD for basic axisymmetric rotor/rotor and stator/rotor disc cavities with radial throughflow is largely understood and documented. Incorporation of three-dimensional geometrical features and calculation of unsteady flows are becoming commonplace. Automation of CFD, coupling with thermal models of the solid components, and extension of CFD models to include both air system and main gas path flows are current areas of development. CFD is also being used as a research tool to investigate a number of flow phenomena that are not yet fully understood. These include buoyancy-affected flows in rotating cavities, rim seal flows and mixed air/oil flows. Large eddy simulation has shown considerable promise for the buoyancy-driven flows and its use for air system flows is expected to expand in the future.