Small Grants for Exploratory Research: Optimum Design of Turbulent Flow Diffusers

Funded by a Small Grant for Exploratory Research, a numerical calculation will be carried out to test the validity of a scheme for rapidly and efficiently obtaining optimized flows. The test case will be turbulent flow in a two-dimensional diffuser. The optimization is to attain the maximum pressure rise for given inlet conditions and diffuser length. A conventional engineering turbulence model will be incorporated into the calculation. The optimized configuration will be tested with the same model in a continuous validation as the optimization scheme proceeds. Fast optimization methods to maximize or minimize some performance parameter (pressure, drag), without recourse to time consuming trial and error, would be of great utility in a variety of engineering flow systems.