Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

In collaboration with GE Canada (Hydro), this project proposes to pursue fundamental and applied research on parametric geometric modeling, mesh generation, analysis tool integration and CFD-based optimization methodology for hydraulic design. This project will tackle a broad spectrum of issues from fundamental domain representation and discretization techniques, to methodological developments for optimal design implementation in an industrial setting and large scale tool integration. Results from this research will collectively be harnessed to provide GE design engineers with better integrated, faster and more robust numerical tools, to guide and automate their design work. Research topics, identified through a careful analysis of recent advances in optimal engineering design, form a three year plan to address concrete challenges in the implementation and deployment of simulation-based shape optimization methodologies. The present proposal defines several reseach  objectives directly based on previous collaborative research results, that extend the scope of research to encompass issues related both to the quality and precision of analysis processes and to hydraulic components shape optimization methodology. Four types of hydraulic components are targeted by this project : turbine distributors, turbine runners, draft-tube diffusers and hydraulic seals.