C(NN)FD -- a deep learning framework for turbomachinery CFD analysis
Giuseppe Bruni Sepehr Maleki Senthil K. Krishnababu
Deep Learning methods have seen a wide range of successful applications
across different industries. Up until now, applications to physical simulations
such as CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), have been limited to simple
test-cases of minor industrial relevance. This paper demonstrates the
development of a novel deep learning framework for real-time predictions of the
impact of manufacturing and build variations on the overall performance of
axial compressors in gas turbines, with a focus on tip clearance variations.
The associated scatter in efficiency can significantly increase the $CO_2$
emissions, thus being of great industrial and environmental relevance. The
proposed \textit{C(NN)FD} architecture achieves in real-time accuracy
comparable to the CFD benchmark. Predicting the flow field and using it to
calculate the corresponding overall performance renders the methodology
generalisable, while filtering only relevant parts of the CFD solution makes
the methodology scalable to industrial applications.