Reliability-based structural design optimization of a double-stage swirler

Swirler is an important component of combustor in aero-engine and is widely applied in current advanced aero-engine. The function of swirler is usually to promote the mixture of fuel and air thoroughly and establish a recirculation area in front of the combustor to guarantee the stability of flame in the combustor. Thus, the performance of swirler would have a direct effect on the operation stability of the whole combustor and then affect the performance of aero-engine. Funazaki, K. I. et al. 2005 employed multi-objective genetic algorithm to the optimization design of a swirler so as to create a beneficial flow pattern to the turbine nozzle aerodynamic performance. Huang, M. et al. 2013 employed optimal Latin Hypercube Sampling and CFD simulation to acquire an optimized swirler design. However, the researches above are deterministic design optimization with no consideration of the uncertainties. In general, uncertainties exist in the process of design and manufacture and it is reasonable to account for these uncertainties in the process of design optimization and then provide a reliable design. Therefore, a reliability-based structural design optimization (RBSDO) method considering manufacturing uncertainty is proposed and applied into the optimization of the swirler.