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Design and optimization of a micro turbine engine centrifugal compressor for

engineering education

Conference Paper · August 2019

DOI: 10.2514/6.2019-3910

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 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum 10.2514/6.2019-3910
19-22 August 2019, Indianapolis, IN
AIAA Propulsion and Energy 2019 Forum

Design and optimization of a micro turbine

engine centrifugal compressor for
engineering education
Fernández-Fraire Fernando,1 Sánchez-Ramírez Carlos2
Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31125, Mexico

Small turbine engine technology or micro gas turbine (MGT) represents a useful tool for
undergraduate propulsion education since it provides students with the opportunity to learn
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in a practical way what they learn in class. Instead of acquiring a commercial product, the
University of Chihuahua in Mexico started a R&D project to develop a MGT to be
implemented in a laboratory setting for undergraduate propulsion education. The goal was to
develop a 70-N thrust engine based on propane as fuel. For this purpose, the project was
divided into several engine sections: compressor, combustion chamber, turbine, and nozzle
sections. This paper deals with the engine’s thermodynamic cycle, the compressor’s
conceptual design and its aero-structural optimization, both of which were carried out using
high-fidelity CAE tools. The results show that the impeller could be modeled and analyzed
with CFD and FEA until a compromise was found by obtaining a higher pressure ratio, less
stress and total deformation compared to the baseline. From this point on, the compressor
diffuser is in the process to be finalized so that work on the combustion chamber can be
started. This work in propulsion systems development help undergraduate aerospace students
get a systems-level understanding of propulsion along with CAD and CAE practice.

Key words: micro-turbine, centrifugal compressor, impeller, optimization, thermodynamic

cycle.

I. Nomenclature
N = Newton
K = Kelvin
m = meter
s = second
J = Joules
Pa = Pascal
kg = Kilogram
𝜓 = Power input factor
𝛾 = Heat capacity ratio
𝜂𝑐 = Compressor efficiency
𝜂𝑐𝑝 =Combustor efficiency
𝜂𝑛 =Nozzle efficiency
𝜂𝑡 =Turbine efficiency
𝜎 = Slip factor
𝐶𝑟 = Speed at the impeller eye root radius
𝐶𝑡 = Peripheral speed at the impeller eye tip radius

1
Undergraduate Student, Circuito universitario, School of Engineering, AIAA student member, a305023@uach.mx
2
Aerospace Center Head, Circuito universitario, School of Engineering. csanchezr@uach.mx

Copyright © 2019 by Fernando Fernandez. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission.
 𝐶𝑎1 = Inlet velocity
n = Rotational speed
𝐷1 = Eye root diameter
𝐷2 = Eye tip diameter
II. Introduction
The term Micro Gas Turbine is used within the propulsion field to refer to an engine which is able to generate thrust
up to 1000 N. The small turbine engine market is likely to develop great economic and technological importance on
the near future due to the wide variety of application and relevance in some important fields. Smaller engines such as
micro turbine engines for model aircraft, UAVs (civil and military applications) and propulsion tests on laboratories
have not been developed in the same way as the big turbo fan engines on commercial aircraft have.
Different companies already commercialize these systems such as JetCatTM [1]. Universities around the world have
also been involved in R&D (Research and development) efforts to design these systems for different applications [2 -
4]. For this project, the objective is to acquire experience and develop skills in turbine engine design and analysis to
translate this knowledge into the classroom and laboratories. In this sense, the design and complete engine’s analysis
is being carried out by students and faculty, and the manufacturing by third-party suppliers.
This paper deals with the centrifugal compressor’s design of the proposed micro turbine engine using propane as
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the fuel, able to generate 70 N thrust. First, the engine’s thermodynamic cycle has been carried out through each stage
in order to get the baseline values to be accomplished by each component. Secondly, the impeller performance
improvement has been carried out by an aero-structural optimization, using CFD (Computational Fluids Dynamics)
to rise the isentropic efficiency, and FEA (Finite Element Analysis) to lower the centrifugal stress and strain.
The work is developed in 2 main chapters. Chapter 1 presents the thermodynamic cycle to obtain values such as
temperature, velocity, and pressure at each stage. Chapter 2 focuses on the design process which implies the use of
the values from the thermodynamic cycle and numerical methods to obtain the initial geometry for its later
optimization.

Literature background
The use of UAVs generate potential applications to down-scale propulsion systems in military and civil areas using
the UAV as a tool to improve their activities at a low cost. Advantages of using turbo engines propelled UAVs in
military and civil applications include the high range of altitude the engine may work compared with other systems,
the high speed the turbine engine may work even in compressible flow, and the high power or thrust it can provide
[5].
Gas turbine engines may be divided into two generic types: turbo jet engines which produce thrust from the
difference in velocity and turbo shaft engines which generate power by an output shaft which drives a propeller. Those
engines produce less noise than piston engines and have higher power to mass ratio [3]. These engines also have few
moving parts. In addition, due to its continuous combustion and steady rotational speed, vibrations are lower compared
to the reciprocating piston engines (see Table 1)
Table 1: Comparison of UAV propulsion systems by Anna Marcellan from Delft University of Technology [6].

2
 III. Methodology and materials
The research work was carried out at the Aerospace Center of the School of Engineering at the University of
Chihuahua (Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua), since January 2017. The employed methodology implied using a
thermodynamic cycle tool developed in-house to generate data for a 70-N engine, followed by the conceptual design
of the impeller by means of ANSYS Vista CCD [7]. Once the baseline impeller was created, a series of CFD and FEA
analysis were carried out on it. CFD was employed to calculate the pressure ratio and isentropic efficiency. Also, FEA
was employed to calculate the initial the stress and strain values. Then a detailed analysis was carried out to find the
geometrical parameters that drive the impeller aerodynamic and structural performance in terms of these 4 aero-
structural characteristics. Finally, a trade study was performed to identify the geometry that would represent the best
aerodynamic and structural compromise. The calculations were carried out in non-workstation university computers.

Phase 1: Thermodynamic cycle analysis

Based on propulsion systems literature using the isentropic relations for an ideal gas [8, 9], a thermodynamic cycle
analysis spreadsheet tool was developed. This tool required initial inputs such as inlet diameter and velocity, as shown
in table 2. The cycle was used to obtain the different values of pressure and temperature through each engine section
as well as the final turbine results: thrust, TSFC (thrust specific fuel consumption), turbine power, and the nozzle
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outlet area required to meet the thrust value.

The initial temperature, pressure and density condition values were set for sea level. The cycle analysis was
calculated with propane as fuel, which has a combustion temperature of 760 K (assuming complete combustion) [10],
shown in table 2 as T03. The complete thermodynamic cycle is shown in appendix section, but the target cycle of the
ideal engine is shown in Fig. 1, where the compressor values shall meet it to generate the target thrust.
Table 2: Thermodynamic cycle initial conditions and geometrical parameters
Thrust 70 N
Diameter intake 0.06 m
Area intake 0.0027489 m2
Pressure atm 101325 Pa
Atmosphere temperature 293.15 K
Air density 1.20432809 kg/m3
Inlet velocity 100 m/s
Mass flow 0.34356106 kg/s
T0a 298.127601 K
P0a 107475.535 Pa
T03 760 K

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Downloaded by Carlos Sanchez on June 13, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/6.2019-3910

Figure 1: Target cycle of the ideal MGT

Phase 2.1: Pre-compressor analysis

With the thermodynamic analysis data, the pre-compressor analysis was done by using the dynamic temperature
to create impeller requirements such as maximum revolutions per minute and its isentropic efficiency. During the
project, a study to determine the number of vanes was also obtained by analyzing the advantages or disadvantages of
adding or removing vanes from the CFD and FEA analysis for this specific case. This study resulted in 12 vanes, since
the addition of more vanes did not improve the CFD results and decreased the FEA-based performance (stress and
strain). Figure 2 shows the relation between thrust (left side) and pressure ratio, resulting in a selected pressure ration
of 2.6. As can be seen in the Fig. 2, it corresponds to 74 N, but it was decided to take this value, assuming losses in
thrust might result due to mechanical or other inefficiencies.

Figure 2: Thrust variation with pressure ratio

Once the pressure ratio was selected, then the overall isentropic efficiency 𝜂𝑐 could be assumed and also how
much of the work is employed to rise the pressure ratio, described by the following isentropic equation:
𝛾−1
𝑃 ( 𝛾 )
[ 03 −1]𝐶𝑝 𝑇01
𝑃01
𝜂𝑐 = (1)
𝜑𝜎𝑈 2

4
 When the isentropic efficiency was calculated per each RPM as shown in table 3, the optimum RPM selection was
carried out within the range of 0.7 to 0.9, due to the most common compressor efficiency [10, 11]. Thus, the 70,000-
rpm mark was selected as the maximum impeller rotational velocity.

Table 3: RPM and isentropic efficiency for 2.6 pressure ratio

PR= 2.6
Isen Effic n (rpm) U (m/s) T03-T01
45000 235.62 47.8593889
50000 261.8 59.0856653
55000 287.98 71.493655
60000 314.16 85.083358
0.93719713 65000 340.34 99.8547743
0.80809344 70000 366.52 115.807904
0.70393918 75000 392.7 132.942747
0.61869654 80000 418.88 151.259303
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0.54804953 85000 445.06 170.757573

0.48884665 90000 471.24 191.437555
0.43874325 95000 497.42 213.299252
0.39596579 100000 523.6 236.342661
0.35915264 105000 549.78 260.567784
0.32724445 110000 575.96 285.97462
0.29940702 115000 602.14 312.563169
0.27497624 120000 628.32 340.333432

5
 Phase 2.2: Centrifugal Compressor analysis
In this step a centrifugal compressor analysis was done in order to find the impeller vane’s inlet angle. This step
was taken since it was necessary to determine the axial-flow engine inlet velocity 𝐶𝑎1 and it must also satisfy the
continuity equation.
Once the tip velocity and the density were found, the vane angles can now be calculated using Eq. (2, 3):
𝐶𝑡 = 𝜋 ∙ 𝐷2 ∙ 𝑛 (2)
And the eye root radius;
𝐶𝑟 = 𝜋 ∙ 𝐷1 ∙ 𝑛 (3)
Once the velocities have been solved the inlet angles can be calculates using Eq. (4, 5):
𝐶𝑎1
𝛼 𝑎𝑡 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (4)
𝐶𝑟
𝐶𝑎1
𝛼 𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑝 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (5)
𝐶𝑡

Phase 3.1: Aerodynamic analysis on initial impeller geometry, CFD

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As a second step in the impeller design methodology, the initial sketch creation was carried out in VISTA CCD
from ANSYS [7] where the angles values obtained in the last phase were used. A 1-D geometry was created and some
data from the thermodynamic cycle were inserted into this software to create the 3D geometric values such as inlet
vane angles, impeller tip diameter, eye tip diameter, compressor pressure ratio, number of main vanes, and intervanes,
as shown in Fig. 3. Then the geometry was analyzed (Fig. 4) using the CFD code (see turbomachinery fluid flow set
up in table 4), and a baseline CFD analysis was performed, as shown in Fig. 3.

Table 4: ANSYS turbomachinery fluid flow Set-up

CFD simulation Set-up
Compressible flow On
Steady-state model On
Medium Air (ideal gas)
Temperature at inlet 298.1 K
Rotation Speed 70,000 RPM
Turbulence model SST
Mass Flow Rate 0.34 Kg/s

Figure 3: BladeGen, 3D geometry

6
 Figure 4: CFD result. Pressure distribution along the vanes.
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Phase 3.2: Impeller baseline structural analysis, FEA

Using ANSYS Mechanical, the structural simulations were obtained, where the centrifugal loads were set up into
the software. The pressure load by the fluid was neglected due to very low impact over the stress result, which
represented only 1% of the stress caused by the centrifugal loads. In addition, a temperature condition of 100°C was
set up caused by the energy provided to the fluid. The simulation resulted as shown in Fig. 5 and 6.

Figure 5: FEA results, total deformation

7
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Figure 6: FEA results, maximum centrifugal stress

Phase 4: Impeller aero-structural optimization

Moreover, a manual optimization process was done in order to modify the impeller geometric parameters in a trade
study, resulting in the best compromise between CFD and FEA results. For the aerodynamic efficiency, the objective
was to maximize the pressure ratio and the isentropic efficiency, whereas for the structural efficiency, the objective
was to minimize the impeller stress and strain.
The first step was to parametrize the geometry, which was carried out in the BladeGen code. Each blade was
represented by 2 curves: one that represented the angle distribution along the vane, and the other that represented the
thickness distribution along the vane, as shown in Fig. 7 and 8.

Figure 7: Curve that represents the thickness distribution along the vanes.

8
Downloaded by Carlos Sanchez on June 13, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/6.2019-3910

Figure 8: Curve that represents the angle distribution along the vanes
This resulted in 11 parameters that control the impeller geometry. From them, a parametric study was completed
to identify which of the 11 parameters caused the largest change in aerodynamic and structural performance. So, 11
impeller geometries were created and analyzed with CFD and FEA, where each new geometry represented the
modification of 1 parameter, leaving the other 10 parameters unchanged (see Fig. 9).

Figure 9: Parameter analysis graphics.

This resulted in 4 parameters that drive the impeller aero-structural performance, shown in table 3.
Table 5: Top 4 critical parameters that influence impeller aero-structural performance and their modification
with respect to the baseline value
Parameter number Parameter Modification
1 Rake angle ± 1º
2 Theta P2 D ± 1º
3 Theta P3 Mp ± 3.3%
4 Theta P3 D ± 1º

Finally, each critical parameter was assigned two values, which varied by ± 1º (parameters 1,2, and 4) or ± 3.3%
(parameter 3) see table 5. Then the 4 critical parameters with the values modified were combined, so obtaining 81
different combinations, where one combination represented the baseline. Each one of the 81 combinations were
analyzed with CFD and FEA. Once the complete analysis was done, the best values were selected in terms of minimum
stress, minimum deformation, maximum efficiency and maximum pressure ratio as shown in table 6. As the final step,

9
 the iteration 29 was the best result over the 4 final results including the baseline. The optimization resulted in an
improved impeller aero-structural performance, which is going to affect the final turbine engine’s performance.

Table 6: Results of the 4 best parameter combinations as compared to the baseline

IV. Results and discussion

As the final step, the iteration 29 was the best result over the 4 final results including the baseline. The optimization
resulted in an improved impeller aero-structural performance, which is going to affect the final turbine engine’s
performance. The final results are shown in table 7.
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Table 7: Final optimization result, Optimized model and baseline model values.
Variables Optimized model Baseline model Improvement
Centrifugal Stress (Mpa) 443.52 (better) 466.07 -4.83 %
Total deformation (mm) 0.38445 (better) 0.399 -3.64 %
Isentropic efficiency (%) 90.258 (similar) 90.271 -
Pressure Ratio 2.5 (better) 2.4 4%

As seen on the literature [11-14] the compressor’s performance obtained in this project is over the common
efficiency values, since this method has not been used in the design process.

Engine performance

Given that values from the compressor analysis stage met the requirements established by the thermodynamic
cycle shown in the appendix section, the engine performance is shown by several charts.

a) Compressor performance
Figure 10 shows the relationship between RPM and compressor efficiency for this engine.

Compressor Efficiency vs RPM

1.2
Compressor Efficiency

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

RPM

2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 3

Figure 10: Variation of compressor efficiency with respect to revolution per minute for pressure ratio

10
 b) Effect of pressure ratio on TSFC
The variation of the TSFC is considered in this study and with the respect to the pressure ratio they are shown in
Fig.11. It is observed that the TSFC of the engine for pressure ratio is around 0.16 kg/N-h and gradually reduces to
0.13 kg/N-h and after a pressure ratio of 3 it remains constant. In addition, it is seen that the TSFC decreases with
increase in pressure ratio as well as shown in Fig. 12 the fuel consumption decreases with respect to the pressure
ratio because of the combustion improvement.
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Figure 11: Variation of TSFC with respect to pressure ratio

Figure 12: Variation of fuel consumption respect the pressure ratio

c) Thrust generation’s air mass flow effect

The change’s effect in Mach number or air mass flow rate is shown in table 8. It is observed the thrust generated
increases with inlet velocity. The Mach number and mass flow of 0.3 and 0.34 kg/s with a pressure ratio of 2.6 and
2.7 provide the maximum thrust possible, and it meets one of the requirements of this investigation.

11
 Table 8: Thrust variation with respect to Mach number and pressure ratio.
Thrust (N)
Mach
Pressure Ratio
2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7
0.17 39.2 39.9 40.4 40.8 41.0 41.2 41.3 41.3
0.17 45.9 46.7 47.3 47.7 48.0 48.2 48.3 48.3
0.20 52.4 53.3 53.9 54.4 54.8 54.9 55.0 55.0
0.23 58.7 59.7 60.4 60.9 61.3 61.5 61.5 61.5
0.26 65.0 66.0 66.7 67.3 67.6 67.8 67.9 67.8
0.3 71.1 72.1 72.9 73.5 73.8 74.0 74.0 72.9

V. Conclusion
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This project’s results show it is possible to improve the aero-structural performance of a centrifugal impeller by
identifying and analyzing the critical parameters using a baseline model, which can be created with basic spreadsheet
tools and commercial impeller design codes. High fidelity CFD and FEA softwares are essential tools to reach these
ends. The optimized impeller model is going to be used as a baseline data for the next engine section development,
the diffuser, which is the last part of the centrifugal compressor.
The design work in propulsion systems is a multidisciplinary task, and requires experience in different disciplines.
The improvement of aerospace engineering education comes with a balanced approach between theory and practice.

12
 Appendix
Appendix 1: Thermodynamic cycle
Inlet
Intake efficiency 0.93
T01 298.127601 K
P01 107036.54 Pa
Mass Flow 0.343 Kg/s

Centrifugal compressor
Compressor efficiency 0.78
Pressure ratio 2.6
P02 321109.621 Pa
T02 439.064789 K
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Added work 48662.6329 J

Combustion chamber
T03 760 K
Pressure ratio 1
Combustion efficiency 0.98
P03 321109.621 Pa
Fuel mass flow 0.00279214 Kg/s

Turbine
Total mass flow 0.3463532 kg/s
Extracted work 49655.7479 J
Turbine efficiency 0.85
T04 635.332721 K
P04 135319.829 Pa

Nozzle
P04/Pa 1.33550287
P04/Pcr 1.91681532
Nozzle efficiency 0.95
P5 101325 Pa
T5 593.525322 K
T05 635.332721 K
Dynamic temperature 41.8073992 K
Outlet velocity 310.091951 m/s
Thrust by velocity 72.7660199 N
TSFC 0.13813729 kg/Nh
Density 0.59483356 kg/m^3

13
 Outlet area 0.00187773 m^2
Nozzle diameter 0.04889576 m
Thrust by pressure 0 N
Total thrust 72.7660199 N
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 References
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[2] Isomura, K.; Tanaka, S.; Togo, S.-I.; Kanebako, H. "Development of Micromachine Gas Turbines at Tohoku
University." Educational Notes RTO-EN-AVT-131 2005: 10-1 – 10-34.
[3] Moodley. “Design and evaluation of a single stage axial flow turbine rotor for a micro turbojet engine”, 2016. Available:
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vehicles." Technical Report. Delft University of Technology. 2015.
[7] ANSYS Inc. "ANSYS BladeModeler" ANSYS. 2019. ANSYS Inc. 01/30/2019 https://www.ansys.com/products/fluids/ansys-
blademodeler.
[8] John D. Anderson Jr. Introduction to flight. New York, NY 10020: Mc Graw Hill, 2012.
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[10] Xinqian Zheng, Lei Jin, Tao Du, Binlin Gan, Fenghu Liu and Huihua Qian. "Effect of temperature on the strength of a
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centrifugal compressor impeller for a turbocharger." ReasearchGate August 2018.

[11] BARSI Dario, PERRONE Andrea, QU Yonglei, RATTO Luca, RICCI Gianluca, SERGEEV Vitaliy, ZUNINO Pietro.
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