Performance Analysis

The most elementary design process consists of assessing a given candidate’s performance, and then incrementing the design to improve that performance. The concept is evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and requires a large number of potential candidates to be analyzed. Efficiency of the final design is related to how many candidates can be assessed within the time allotted for design. Varying more design variables over a wider range increases the likelihood of finding the optimal solution. Performing the analysis over a greater range of operating conditions increases the overall robustness of a design.

Success is therefore dependent not only on obtaining accurate flow data for driving the performance assessment, but also on repeating the analysis over and over. Experimental methods often require too much time for model construction, whereas simpler potential flow or empirical methods are not proving sufficiently accurate. RANS bridges the gap between these other alternatives, and provides designers with the ultimate combination of accuracy and efficiency. Click on a menu item at left to see examples of how AFT uses RANS-based performance assessment to aid customers’ design projects.