Validation of a partitioned fluid-structure interaction simulation for turbo machine rotors

Abstract

In the scope of this work, a partitioned solution approach for the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations of turbo machine rotors is presented. The in-house developed boundary element method (BEM) solver panMARE is used for the fluid simulation, while the structural side is treated with the commercial finite element method (FEM) solver ANSYS. The generic in-house multiphysics coupling library comana is used for the management of the implicit coupling procedure. As the first example, the KRISO container ship propeller is considered. The corresponding FSI simulation is validated for open water test conditions assuming a rigid propeller based on experimental values for the thrust and torque coefficients. Furthermore, results for a flexible propeller simulated with a partitioned coupled FSI simulation in open water are presented. In the second example, the validation of the fully coupled FSI simulation is conducted for a multilayered flexible submersible mixer based on thrust and torque coefficients. The results show a good agreement between the simulations and the experimental data for the rigid body propeller and the flexible rotor of a submersible mixer.