Hydrodynamic shape optimization of propulsor configurations using continuous adjoint approach

This paper describes the application of a shape optimization procedure to the problem of incompressible, internal, rotating flow. The approach is a simple gradient-based method where the descent direction is computed using a continuous adjoint formulation. A hallmark of this approach is a relative insensitivity to the number of design variables. The governing equations are the three-dimensional pseudocompressible Euler equations in rotating Cartesian coordinates. The methodology is demonstrated using the inverse design cost function applied to both the stationary (inlet guide vane) and rotating (rotor) blade rows of the HIREP geometry. In spite of > 1600 design variables for each blade, a single design cycle CPU cost of < 30 seconds was achieved and accurate inverse designs were obtained for both blade rows.