A surface parametric control and global optimization method for axial flow compressor blades

An aerodynamic optimization method for axial flow compressor blades available for engineering is developed in this paper. Bezier surface is adopted as parameterization method to control the suction surface of the blades, which brings the following advantages: (A) significantly reducing design variables; (B) easy to ensure the mechanical strength of rotating blades; (C) better physical understanding; (D) easy to achieve smooth surface. The Improved Artificial Bee Colony (IABC) algorithm, which significantly increases the convergence speed and global optimization ability, is adopted to find the optimal result. A new engineering optimization tool is constructed by combining the surface parametric control method, the IABC algorithm, with a verified Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation method, and it has been successfully applied in the aerodynamic optimization for a single-row transonic rotor (Rotor 37) and a single-stage transonic axial flow compressor (Stage 35). With the constraint that the relative change in the flow rate is less than 0.5% and the total pressure ratio does not decrease, within the acceptable time in engineering, the adiabatic efficiency of Rotor 37 at design point increases by 1.02%, while its surge margin 0.84%, and the adiabatic efficiency of Stage 35 0.54%, while its surge margin 1.11% after optimization, to verify the effectiveness and potential in engineering of this new tool for optimization of axial compressor blade.