Stabilization of a Linear Flow Solver for Turbomachinery Aeroelasticity Using Recursive Projection Method

Abstract

The linear analysis of turbomachinery aeroelasticity relies on the assumption of small level of unsteadiness and requires the solution of both the nonlinear steady and the linear unsteady flow equations. The objective of the analysis is to compute a complex flow solution that represents the amplitude and phase of the unsteady flow perturbation for the frequency of unsteadiness of interest. The solution procedure of the linear harmonic Euler/Navier‐Stokes solver of the HYDRA suite of codes consists of a preconditioned fixed-point iteration, which in some circumstances becomes numerically unstable. Previous work had already highlighted the physical origin of these numerical instabilities and demonstrated the code stabilization achieved by wrapping the core part of the linear code with a Generalized Minimal Residual (GMRES) solver. The implementation and the use of an alternative algorithm, namely, the Recursive Projection Method, is summarized. This solver is shown to be well suited for both stabilizing the fixed-point iteration and improving its convergence rate in the absence of numerical instabilities. In the framework of the linear analysis of turbomachinery aeroelasticity, this method can be computationally competitive with the GMRES approach.