Course Contents This course educates aerospace students to apply theoretical knowledge in the field of fluid- mechanics and thermodynamics for
analyzing and designing a thermal turbomachinery. Typical examples are: axial and radial compressors of gas turbine engines,
industrial gas and steam turbines, radial turbines of automotive turbochargers, turbo-expanders and compressors used in
refrigeration and liquefaction industry, micro-turbines for power generation.
Since the turbomachinery field is intrinsically interdisciplinary, it is assumed that students already possess basic knowledge of
thermodynamics, fluid-mechanics, applied mathematics, propulsion systems, internal flows, acquired in previous courses.
Prerequisite of the course are therefore bachelor and master courses addressing fundamental (e.g. Thermodynamics, Internal
Flows) and applied aspects (e.g. Aero-Engines) of air-breathing engines.
Starting from basic concepts of gas-dynamics and fluid-machinery, the course brings the student to the level that he is able to
select a turbomachinery for a specific application, perform the conceptual design of the stages, and eventually predict the flow
characteristics within the blade passages by means of conceptual physical models and more sophisticated simulation tools.
Study Goals After the course the student will be able to:
Classify and illustrate the main features of a turbomachine
Select the most appropriate turbomachine for a given aerospace application
Apply first principles to simplified turbomachinery configurations
Identify the most prominent loss sources of a given turbomachinery stage
Define the aerodynamic blade design of turbomachinery cascades
Predict the performance of a turbomachine with analytical and numerical methods
Devise solutions for performance improvement of turbomachinery cascades based on physical understanding
Perform the conceptual and detailed fluid-dynamic design of a turbomachine for propulsion systems using analytical and
numerical tools
