Tool development and validation for fast aeromechanics feedbacks in LPT preliminary design

Thanks to the cooperation between Avio Aero and the Politecnico di Torino, it was possible to partecipate to GREAT 2020 research program, which aim is to find new methods to reduce CO2, NOx and noise emissions. The purpose of this thesis work is the development of a tool named PRIME (Preliminary Aeromechanics Integrated Environment) able to evaluate, in an automatic and simplified way, the the preliminary mechanical and aerodynamic behaviour of a Low Pressure Turbine blade of an aeronautic engine. In this way the interactions between aerodynamic and aeromechanics design are optimized, making the process more robust and smarter, obtaining clear results and saving a lot of time. The tool generates the 3D airfoil, then it completes the CAD adding consistent inner and outer parametric templates. This process is handled in the Unigraphics NX environment with a managed wizard of an in-house developed tool (Dynbooster). Afterwards a Finite Elements Model is created in Ansys Workbench in order to perform static and modal analysis. Results are displayed in a clear and global visualization in a dedicated dashboard. This thesis work concerns the development of the CAD generation tool, fixing problems occured testing the entire process and implementing new features inside. In particular template positioning was fixed and a new method to update parameters was introduced to avoid some construction problems. As new features, it was implemented the possibility to have hollow blades, creating an internal cavity that follows the external profile. Another feature was implemented in order to create other four CAD blades, with each one inclined by a small angle in the axial and tangential directions; this is a foundamental method to assess the correct balance of the blade. Further developments of PRIME will include the development of parametric FE models, able to handle the newly introduced CAD features. In this way the tool will be able to manage the complete preliminary design of next generation LPT stages.