Abstract—Flow through elbow bends are found in many engineering applications. The complexity of pipe systems and the high demand for efficiency and accuracy poses a challenge for traditional engineering design. Commercially, industries spend much more time in the design phase of components, using different simulation methods, in order to get the best possible design and save time in service. However, the question of how to readily explore a large number of design alternates for optimal solutions remains even a greater challenge in traditional product design methodology. This paper demonstrates how faster design processes, by means of unique parametric modeling, direct coupling, automation, and application of optimization techniques, can be used to explore complex shapes and designs. As a case study, a fully parametric model of a double 90
0 bend was designed, and directly coupled with CFD tool for analysis of flow fields. Parameterization methods for describing the complex pipe bend geometry were discussed which provide required flexibility and smoothness by a minimum set of descriptive parameters. Shape optimization was subsequently performed to determine parameters that affect the performance of the pipe. It was observed that the optimum case showed a relatively larger distribution of total pressure at mid-stream outer walls with very low pressures far upstream and downstream region compared to the localized pressure distribution of baseline design. Flow velocity was seen to be higher at downstream of optimum case due to the change in bend shape and high momentum flow of the fluid. The optimum case showed a percentage decrease of 19.83% in total pressure, and an increase of 1.03% in outlet flow uniformity compared to baseline design.
Index Terms—Double 90
0 Elbow bend, direct coupling, optimization, parametric modeling.
The authors are with Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China (e-mail: adj.richard@hotmail.com, mohsin07mt@gmail.com).
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Cite: Richard A. Adjei and Ali Mohsin, "Simulation-Driven Design Optimization: A Case Study on a Double 900 Elbow Bend," International Journal of Modeling and Optimization vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 426-432, 2014.
