ISSN 0040-6015, Thermal Engineering, 2020, Vol. 67, No. 7, pp. 422–429. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2020.

Russian Text © The Author(s), 2020, published in Teploenergetika.

STEAM TURBINE, GAS TURBINE, AND COMBINED

CYCLE PLANTS AND THEIR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT

A Method for Parametrically Representing the Aerodynamic Profiles

of Axial Turbine Machinery Blades
V. G. Gribina, *, A. A. Tishchenkoa, R. A. Alekseeva, V. A. Tishchenkoa, I. Yu. Gavrilova, and V. V. Popova
aNational Research University Moscow Power Engineering Institute, Moscow, 111250 Russia
*e-mail: GribinVG@mpei.ru
Received October 29, 2019; revised December 12, 2019; accepted December 18, 2019

Abstract—A parametric method for designing the cross sections of axial turbine machinery blade airfoils is
described. Analytical Bezier curves are used for representing the profile generatrices and the skeleton line.
Their shapes are uniquely determined by a set of 13 parameters that are related to the turbine cascade’s aero-
dynamic and strength characteristics. These parameters determine the main points through which the profile
generatrices must pass at the specified tangent line angles. In general terms, the blade shape’s design calcu-
lation involves the following sequential stages: calculating the geometrical constraints based on 13 parame-
ters, determining the skeleton line shape, and calculating the profile suction and pressure sides. By using the
proposed method, it is possible to control the blade shape taking into account the imposed geometrical con-
ditions, including the surface curvature distributions. A distinguishing feature of the proposed method is its
adaptability: the degree of Bezier curves is determined during calculation by means of multidimensional min-
imization. This feature imparts flexibility to the method in terms of the possibility to specify the parameters
in wide ranges of their values, thus making the method versatile in nature. An algorithm for iteratively deter-
mining the curve shape through calculating the skeleton line is presented. The proposed approach is supple-
mented by a procedure for automatically parameterizing the profiles specified as unevenly distributed point-
wise coordinates of their generatrices. This opens up the possibility to represent the already existing blade
shapes in the form of 13 parameters and to optimize them.

Keywords: profiling, parametric designing, power loss, turbine blades, axial-flow turbomachinery
DOI: 10.1134/S0040601520070022

Aerodynamic improvement of turbine units' flow
path is one of the main ways for achieving more effi-
cient operation of these units. Optimizing the shape of
interblade channels is a challenging problem, which
should be solved taking into account various specific
features pertinent to the operation of both stator and
rotating turbine cascades. The main intent of the guide
(nozzle) vanes or turbine blades is to smoothly change
the specific momentum of cycle fluid for obtaining the
required flow exit velocities and angles and the con-
version of one kind of energy into another. In so doing,
it is necessary to minimize the kinetic energy losses
caused by various processes that take place in the
interblade channel and downstream of it [1]: shock
waves, secondary currents, separation processes, fric-
tion in the boundary layer, and heat transfer processes.
A blade is of course one of the turbine cascade’s
most important components. The shape of its outlines
governs the distribution of flow parameters in the stage;
in addition, it is of much significance for ensuring the
strength properties of cascade blades. Figure 1 shows
the estimated contributions from different sources of
losses in the cascade’s total profile losses [2]. It can be
seen from this diagram that the blade suction side is the
most important zone from the blade profiling view-
point. Overexpansion of the flow in this zone with its
subsequent divergent motion in the outlet area between
the throat and trailing edge are factors intensifying the
growth of flow kinetic energy losses in the boundary
layer [1].
The cascade’s geometrical characteristics are devel-
oped through a closed cycle consisting of many itera-
tions [3] consisting in optimizing the blade shape for the
specified operation conditions of the turbine machine
stage or a group of its stages. At present, extensive exper-
imental and calculated data on the influence of cascade
characteristics on the flow parameters have been accu-
mulated [4, 5]. These data are used as an initial approx-
imation for constructing the interblade channel’s initial
shape. Further improvement of the blade prototype,
even subject to 3D flow, lies in optimizing the blade’s
2D profiles obtained by cutting the blade along the cur-
rent lines [6]. As a rule, the calculation is carried out
with the use of CFD-packages, which allow the flow
pattern to be quite quickly analyzed for such 2D prob-
lems [7]. Based on the obtained data, the profile’s geo-
metrical characteristics are changed. As a rule, in carry-
ing out computations, a few iterations have to be done

422
 A METHOD FOR PARAMETRICALLY REPRESENTING THE AERODYNAMIC PROFILES 423

1 For specifying the shape of blade 2D section gener-

16%
2 (1) a set of “simple” geometric lines (circles,
4%
60% 20% 3 Bezier curves, etc.) of the specified order (polynomial
4 It should be pointed out here that the results of
Fig. 1. Contribution of different sources of losses occurring
in different blade profile zones in the total losses. 1—Mix-
ing zone; 2—wake zone; 3—pressure side; 4—suction side.
with changing the shape of the blade’s 2D section gen-
eratrix. The operations can be automated with the use of
adjoint solvers [8, 9] or neural networks [10]. There is a
need to present the curvilinear profile shape in a way
that it could be modified during the iterative optimiza-
tion process. Such representation can best be made in a
parametric form, in which a set of certain characteristics
of the cascade and 2D profile fully determine their geo-
metrical characteristics [6]. By using this method, the
blade shape can be changed quite quickly with simulta-
neously controlling the airfoil’s basic parameters.
Numerous procedures have presently been proposed
for parametrically describing the shape of turbine
machinery blades [10, 11]. Each of these procedures
uses a different number of free variable parameters.
However, all of these parameters are closely linked with
the cascade’s gas dynamic or strength characteristics.
The parametric form of representing the blade profile
implies the use of various kinds of analytic curves that
form the 2D section generatrices. The choice of their
types has a significant influence both on the capacities
of a particular profiling method (with respect to the
optimization range) and on its applicability boundaries
for different kinds of turbine machines.
atrices, a few methods are presently applied, which are
based on using curves of different kinds:
straight lines, parabolas, and hyperbolas) [12];
(2) blade profiles’ individual generatrices obtained
by matching analytical curves (NURBS-splines,
degree) [11]; and
(3) analytic curves whose order is not limited and is
determined in calculating the profile shape.
investigations aimed at studying the effect that the
blade profile shape has on the turbine machine’s gas
dynamics [13, 14] point to the special importance of
controlling the profile shape and the characteristics of
its producing curves. In particular, the authors of these
publications point out the necessity of taking into
account the third derivative (the change of curvature)
of the curve along the entire blade outline, especially
in the outlet area between the throat and trailing edge,
which determines the near-wall flow pattern in the
divergent zone of the channel formed by the blades.
Attempts to apply separate “simple” curves usually
result in that a break occurs in the profile curvature dis-
tribution at their matching point. Methods involving
the use of analytic curves of the preset order that have
the third derivative are free from this drawback. How-
ever, the scope of these methods covers only certain
types of turbine machines. In our opinion, the third
method that uses curves whose order is determined in
calculating the blade profile is the most promising one.
Below, an adaptive parametric profiling method, in
which Bezier curves are used for forming the blade
outline shape, is described. The order of these curves
is determined directly during the calculation, a feature
due to which this method can be used for shaping the
blades for any type of turbine machines. The suggested
method uses 13 parameters (Fig. 2) that are directly
linked with the blade system’s gas dynamic and
strength characteristics.

xbend
xmax
xRmax Suction side

αbend Skeleton
ω1 line
R2
ymax

R1

α1 α2
Rmax Pressure Rbend
side ω2
Fig. 2. Parametric representation of a blade profile.

THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 67 No. 7 2020

424 GRIBIN et al.
PROFILE PARAMETRIC
REPRESENTATION FORM
To decrease the computation time, the blade shape
is constructed in parametric form in the coordinate
system in which the leading and trailing edge circle
centers lie at the points x = 0 and x = 1.0, with y = 0 for
both circles.
The value of each specified parameter determines
the blade aerodynamic or strength properties. Thus,
the profile’s maximal thickness Rmax and its location
xR max have an effect on the profile inertia’s moment.
The blade shape in the cascade throat area is deter-
mined by the inscribed circle radius Rbend , by its loca-
tion xbend , and by the profile generatrices joining angle
α bend . These parameters have an essential effect on the
flow in the boundary layer on the blade suction side
(with the specified cascade throat values). The leading
edge radius R1 and its edge angle ω1 determine the
ability of cascade operation at flow incidence angles
differing from the nominal value. The trailing edge
radius R2 and its edge angle ω2 have an effect on the
flow in the cascade wake area and on the profile
strength characteristics; they also determine the bound-
ary layer development features at the outlet area’s inter-
blade channel walls. The slope angles of the profile skel-
eton line leading and trailing parts α1 and α 2 have an
effect on the flow turning; they also determine the flow
inlet and outlet angles at the specified blade angle.
In forming the profile’s optimal shape (with
respect to the flow kinetic energy losses), it is neces-
sary to provide the possibility of changing the working
fluid parameters along the blade generatrices while
keeping the flow angles at the cascade inlet and outlet.
Thus, for example, it one knows the flow pressure dis-
tribution along the profile outline, it is possible to
judge about the divergent section length on the blade
suction side and also about the pressure recovering in
this area. These data characterize the boundary layer
development processes, which influence the flow
kinetic energy losses [2]. Hence, in using the profiling
method, it is necessary to ensure the possibility of
effectively influencing the distribution of flow param-
eters, which can be achieved by changing the profile
surface curvatures. To this end, two parameters are
introduced that determine the position of the skeleton
line maximum ( xmax , ymax ) in the selected system of
coordinates. With this approach, it also becomes pos-
sible to solve the problem of unifying the process of
constructing the rotor and nozzle vane profiles within
the framework of the same method [5].
The presented parameters describe the shape of a
standalone aerodynamic profile and are directly
linked with the cascade’s main characteristics. For
shaping the interblade channel, the following parame-
ters must be specified:
(1) the blade angle αi ;
(2) the throat size O, which is determined proceed-
ing from the flowrate and theoretical velocity values
downstream of the cascade;
(3) the flow inlet and outlet angles β1 and β2 ; and
(4) the cascade pitch t.
If the values of these parameters are known, it
becomes possible to determine such parameters as
xbend , Rbend , and α bend from geometrical manipula-
tions, whereas for the other parameters there is a direct
link with the parameters obtained for the profiles that
are already being used [4]. For example, the parameters
α1 and α 2, which are analogs of the skeleton (structural)
cascade angles, are rigidly linked with the flow inlet and
outlet angles and also with the throat size. It should be
noted that all formulas for calculating these parameters
are given in many sources, e.g., in [4, 5]; therefore, they
are not described in detail in this article.
APPLICATION OF BEZIER CURVES
FOR CALCULATING THE PROFILE
OUTLINES AND SKELETON LINE
For describing the shapes of the blade skeleton line
and the blade suction and pressure sides proceeding
from the specified 13 parameters, the Bezier curves are
used (Fig. 3a).
The general equation of a curve of the nth degree is
given by
 n 
R (t ) =  PB
i =0
i i
n
(t ),

where R (t ) is the coordinate of the Bezier curve point

(x, y) at the dimensionless coordinate t, Pi is the coor-
dinate of the point forming the reference broken curve
(their number is (n + 1)), and Bin (t ) is the Bernstein
polynomial [15].
The array of reference point coordinates fully
determines the curve shape. The parametric Bezier
curves have the following properties, which are
extremely useful for solving the blade airfoil transverse
section profiling problem:
(1) They are smooth; that is, their first and second
 
derivatives R ' and R '' exist and are continuous.
(2) They always lie in a convex polygon generated
by the array of reference point coordinates.
(3) Any Bezier curve of the nth order can be repre-
sented as a Bezier curve of the (n + 1)th order.
(4) They begin at the first vertex of the array of ref-

erence point coordinates P0, touching the broken
 
curve interval [ P0, P1 ] and end at the last vertex of the
  
array Pn, touching the interval [ Pn−1, Pn ].
The general approach to carrying out the calculation
is shown in Fig. 3b. The curve must pass through the
initial point ( x1, y1 ), final point ( xm, ym ), and interme-
THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 67 No. 7 2020
 A METHOD FOR PARAMETRICALLY REPRESENTING THE AERODYNAMIC PROFILES
(а)
P2
Bezier curve
Reference broken line
P1
Pn
Fig. 3. General view of the (a) Bezier curve and the (b) Bezier curve calculation process proceeding from the specified conditions.
diate points ( xi , yi ) (for each of the profile curves, they
are indicated by square markers in Fig. 2). These
points are determined proceeding from the specified
13 parameters. The tangent slope angles β1 to the curve
are also specified at these points. For ensuring smooth
transition of the profile generatrix to the leading and
trailing edges, the curvature values are specified at the
initial and final points. To ensure aerodynamic effec-
tiveness of the developed profile, the following con-
straint is imposed on each curve: its curvature must be
less or equal to zero [4]. For calculating the Bezier
curve (for calculating the array from (n + 1) points of
the reference curve) subject to the boundary condi-
tions and constraints imposed on it, multidimensional
minimization based on the quasi Newtonian approach
known as the Limited memory Broyden Fletcher
Goldfarb Shanno (L-BFGS) described in [16] is used.
The presented profiling procedure is adaptive in
nature: the Bezier curve order (the degree of the poly-
nomial that describes it) is determined through itera-
tively minimizing the objective function. The main
condition is that the curve must pass through all inter-
mediate points at the specified angles (see Fig. 3b)
with the minimal specified error ε:
 
R (ti ) − Wi < ε ∀i ∈ 2 … m − 1,
where Wi are the coordinates of the point through
which the Bezier curve must pass, R (ti ) are the coor-
dinates of the point on the Bezier curve, and m is the
number of points through which the curve must pass
(see Fig. 3b) (these points are indicated in Fig. 2 by
square markers).
Figure 4a shows the flowchart of the developed
algorithm, and Fig. 4b shows an example of stages
through which the skeleton line is calculated. Initially,
the Bezier curve degree n = 3 is specified. After that,
the objective function is minimized. The obtained line
shape is checked for condition (1). If the calculated
curve does not satisfy the requirement, it is repre-
sented as a Bezier curve of the (n + 1)th degree so that
the number of reference points P is increased by one.
THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 67 No. 7
425
(b)
βm
Pn – 2
(x2, y2) (xm, ym)
β2
Resulting curve
βi
Pn – 1
(xi, yi)
β1 Initial curve
(x1, y1)
The iteration algorithm is repeated for the new
Bezier curve of a higher degree and is stopped either if
condition (1) is satisfied or if the specified limit degree
of the curve nmax is reached. If the maximal value of n is
reached but inequality (1) is not satisfied, it can be con-
cluded that it is not possible to draw the Bezier curve
through the specified intermediate points that would
satisfy all conditions and that it is not possible to con-
struct the profile with these geometrical parameters.
BLADE PROFILE CONSTRUCTION METHOD
The blade geometrical characteristics are deter-
mined using the Bezier curves in three stages by calcu-
lating the following profile lines:
(1) The skeleton line, the reference points of which
are found from the following geometrical parameters:

Psk = f1 ( α1,α 2, xmax , ymax ) ;
(2) The suction side line, the reference points of
which are determined from the following geometrical
parameters:
 
(1) Ps.s = f2(R1, R2,ω1,ω2,α1,α 2, Psk ,
xRmax , Rmax , xbend , Rbend ,α bend );
(3) The pressure side line, the reference points of
which are determined from the following geometrical
parameters:
 
Pp.s = f3(R1, R2,ω1,ω2,α1,α 2, Psk ,
xRmax , Rmax , X bend , Rbend ,α bend ).
The Bezier curve for each stage is calculated using
the method described in the previous section. The
intermediate points for each curve are determined
from the geometrical parameters indicated in Fig. 2.
For fulfilling the multidimensional minimization
process convergence condition in calculating the pro-
file suction and pressure side shapes, the approach
2020
426 GRIBIN et al.

(а) (b)

1 Initial Bezier curve n = 3 1

(xmax, ymax)
2 Multidimensional minimization
2

3
Does the curve No
Increasing the curve degree 3
pass through n=n+l
intermediate points?

Yes
4
4 End

Fig. 4. Flowchart of the algorithm for calculating the (a) Bezier curve and (b) example of the skeleton line calculation sequence.

4 3
2
γ2
γ1

γ4

n2
γ3

n1 n3
K2 K3
K1 K4
1

Fig. 5. Profile suction side construction scheme. 1—Skeleton line; 2—profile suction side; 3—Bezier curve reference broken line;
4—points of the reference broken line.

suggested in [10] is used: the positions of the Bezier PARAMETRIC REPRESENTATION

curve reference points (which describe the blade suc-
tion and pressure sides) are determined by the skeleton
line shape, as is reflected in Fig. 5. Thus, the coordi-
nate of each reference point of the curve is specified by
the relative coordinate (see points K in Fig. 5) of the
skeleton line and by the distance γ from it along the
normal (the vector n).
The approbation of the described optimization
method has shown that the maximal degree of the
Bezier curve is as a rule not higher than five for the
skeleton line and not higher than nine for the blade
suction and pressure sides. By using the proposed
method, it is possible to determine the shapes of both
rotor blades and nozzle vanes of difference configura-
tions. Figure 6 shows examples of the profiles and the
interface of the computer program developed on the
basis of the described method.
OF A PROFILE WITH THE KNOWN SHAPE
As a rule, in optimizing an aerodynamic cascade,
the profile of the known shape, which has been elabo-
rated in the course of model or full-scale tests, is used
as the blade’s initial shape [8]. The presented parame-
terization method can be efficiently applied for auto-
mated description of blades whose the geometrical
characteristics are specified by a set of nonuniformly
distributed coordinates of the points forming the cur-
vilinear surfaces of the profile suction and pressure
sides. It is worthy of noting that this procedure is
important for achieving better accuracy in manufac-
turing the blades. The stages of this procedure are
shown in Fig. 7a.
At the first stage, the profile suction and pressure
sides are represented in the form of parametric

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 A METHOD FOR PARAMETRICALLY REPRESENTING THE AERODYNAMIC PROFILES 427

(а) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 6. Examples of profiles obtained using the developed procedure. (a) Peripheral supersonic section of the rotor blade of a con-
densing stream turbine’s last stage, (b) subsonic profile of a nozzle vane, (c) subsonic profile of an impulse rotor blade, and
(d) interface of the profiling computer program.

Representation
Input data:
of the blade suction
array of blade suction
and pressure sides in the
and pressure side points
form of NURBS-curves
(а)
Construction of the
Inscribing of circles skeleton line proceeding
Calculation of the
between the suction from the centers
leading and trailing edges
and pressure sides of inscribed circles

Output data: Output data: Output data:

xRmax, Rmax, α1, α2, αbend, ω1, ω2,
xbend, Rbend xmax, ymax R1, R2

(b)
3

6 2
5
7
4

Fig. 7. (a) Algorithm for parameterizing the profile with a known shape and (b) scheme for parameterizing the profile shape spec-
ified as a set of points. 1—Profile points; 2—skeleton line; 3—inscribed circles; 4—circle circumscribing the leading edge; 5—maxi-
mal profile thickness; 6—circle inscribed in the profile in the cascade throat; 7—circle circumscribing the trailing edge.

NURBS-curves using the method described in [17].
This will make it possible to calculate the set of circles
that are inscribed in the space between the blade pro-
file’s generatrices (each circle simultaneously touches
the suction and pressure sides). Proceeding from the
distribution of their radiuses, the following geometri-
cal parameters are found: xR max , Rmax , xbend , Rbend . It
should be noted that this procedure is discrete in
nature, and that the accuracy with which the profile
characteristics are calculated depends on the number

THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 67 No. 7 2020

428 GRIBIN et al.

Table 1. Parameters of the S9015A and R3021A profiles (4) The described method can be applied for
Blade profile parameterizing the already known shape presented as
Parameter a set of point coordinates.
S9015A R3021A (5) The developed procedure has been imple-
α1 60.03 69.60 mented in a computer program and can be used as a
tool for designing the flow paths of turbine machines.
α2 21.49 53.38
ω1 61.15 41.00 FUNDING
ω2 8.80 18.20 This work was financially supported by the Russian Sci-
xmax 0.10 0.439 ence Foundation (grant no. 16-19-10484).
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