A Reduced Order Model of Unsteady Flows in Turbomachinery

Abstract

A novel technique for computing unsteady flows about turbomachinery cascades is presented. Starting with a frequency domain CFD description of unsteady aerodynamic flows, we form a large, sparse, generalized, non-Hermitian eigenvalue problem that describes the natural modes and frequencies of fluid motion about the cascade. We compute the dominant left and right eigenmodes and corresponding eigenfrequencies using a Lanczos algorithm. Then, using just a few of the resulting eigenmodes, we construct a reduced order model of the unsteady flow field. With this model, one can rapidly and accurately predict the unsteady aerodynamic loads acting on the cascade over a wide range of reduced frequencies and arbitrary modes of vibration. Moreover, the eigenmode information provides insights into the physics of unsteady flows. Finally we note that the form of the reduced order model is well suited for use in active control of aeroelastic and aeroacoustic phenomena.