Cavitation optimization of a throttle orifice plate based on three-dimensional genetic algorithm and topology optimization

Abstract

A throttle orifice plate is a mechanical device that is used to throttle and depressurize a fluid piping system. In the pipeline, the throttle orifice plate serves as a hindrance to the flow of liquid, leading to the phenomenon of cavitation. An optimization method based on 3D geometric model simulation, genetic algorithm, and topology optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize the structure of the throttle orifice plate. The flow path optimization method is applied to the genetic algorithm through the simulation results, while three-dimensional flow path model is achieved with minimum cavitation region under the condition of flow constraint. Then, on the basis of the flow path model, the optimal solution of the structure is achieved through the topology optimization model. To reduce the computational resources required for topology optimization, an adaptive parameter function of bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization(BESO) method is proposed, which reduces the iterations for simulation convergence. Our results show that the method is effectively applied to the design of the throttle orifice plate under flow requirements and structure limits.