Les hélices sont connues pour leur avantage significatif en termes de rendement propulsif. Ces avantages se traduisent directement par une réduction de la consommation de carburant de sorte qu’elles connaissent aujourd’hui un regain d’intérêt. Actuellement, les avancées récentes en simulations numériques rendent possible d’appliquer l’optimisation multidisciplinaire au cas exigeant du design de pales d’hélice transsonique. Pour ces raisons, une méthode d’optimisation est développée, dans laquelle les objectifs de performance aérodynamique, aéroacoustique et aéroélastique sont en concurrence. Cette méthode est appliquée au design de pales d’hélice à haute vitesse et à simple rotation. L’optimisation s’appuie sur l’Evolution Différentielle Multi-Objectifs (Multi-Objective Differential Evolution - MODE). Cette technique est une des formes d’algorithme évolutionnaire qui mimique l’évolution naturelle des populations par le concours de la sélection, de la recombinaison et de l’éventuelle mutation de formes de pales, chacune d’elles étant représentée par un vecteur de variables (corde, angle de flèche, etc. . .). MODE offre l’avantage de considérer tous les objectifs en concurrence lors de la sélection des designs prometteurs au sein d’une population. Afin de garder le coût computationnel dans des limites acceptables, l’évaluation des performances des designs proposés est faite par une approche à deux niveaux. Un meta-modèle fournit les estimations de performance pour chaque design à un coût computationnel extrêmement faible alors que des codes d’analyse à haute fidélité calculent les performances précises à un coût nettement plus élevé. Pour préserver la précision des estimations, le meta-modèle est initialement entraîné sur une population composée à cet effet. L’entraînement est ensuite répété de temps à autres avec les performances haute fidélité de designs prometteurs. Différents outils à haute fidélité ont été développés et utilisés dans ce cadre. L’outil CFD exécute la simulation RANS stationnaire d’un seul passage d’entrepales pour une hélice isolée sans angle d’attaque dans un écoulement libre. Ces simulations délivrent les valeurs de performance aérodynamique. L’hélice complète est modélisée grâce à des conditions aux limites cycliques. Le modèle de turbulence k - ε est utilisé en combinaison avec un traitement adapté près des murs. Des conditions adiabatiques et sans glissement sont imposées sur le carénage et la surface de la pale tandis que la limite radiale de la section d’essais reproduit les effets d’un champ de pression lointain. Cette approche a prouvé sa robustesse et, par-dessus tout, sa précision puisque une correspondance acceptable avec des résultats expérimentaux est obtenue pour différentes conditions d’utilisation et un large éventail de formes de pales. De plus, l’indépendance par rapport au maillage est satisfaisante. Lors de l’analyse a posteriori des résultats aérodynamiques, le Sound Pressure Level (SPL) est calculé par l’outil aéroacoustique (CHA) pour le bruit tonal en différentes positions. La formulation 1A de Farassat est utilisée à cette fin. Cette formulation découle de l’équation non-homogène d’onde dérivée de l’analogie acoustique de Lighthill par Ffowcs Williams et Hawkings (FW-H). Elle bénéficie du découplage partiel des aspects aérodynamiques et aéroacoustiques en plus d’être particulièrement adaptée pour le calcul du bruit d’hélice. Le bruit d’épaisseur et le bruit de charge sont exprimés par des termes séparés dans le domaine temporel tandis que les quadripôles de l’équation de FW-H sont négligés. La surface de la pale est utilisée comme surface d’intégration et une nouvelle technique de troncation a été développée et appliquée pour circonvenir la singularité mathématique qui apparaît lorsque des parties de la pale ont des conditions soniques en termes de cinématique par rapport à l’observateur. Cette approche délivre des résultats fiables à un coût acceptable. [...] / Open rotors are known to have significant advantages in terms of propulsive efficiency. These advantages translate directly in reduced fuel burn so that they nowadays benefit from a surge of interest. At the same time, recent advances in numerical simulations make the application of multidisciplinary optimization for the demanding design of transonic propeller blades, an affordable option. Therefore, an optimization method in which the performance objectives of aerodynamics, aeroacoustics and aeroelasticity compete against each other, is developed and applied for the design of high-speed single-rotation propellers. The optimization is based on Multi-Objective Differential Evolution (MODE).This technique is a particular kind of evolutionary algorithm that mimics the natural evolution of populations by relying on the selection, recombination and eventually mutation of blade designs, each of them being represented by a vector of design variables (e.g. chord width, tip sweep, etc). MODE has the advantage of dealing concurrently with all the objectives in the selection of potentially promising designs among a population. In order to keep the computational cost within reasonable margins, the assessment of the performance of proposed designs is done in a two-level approach. A metamodel provides performance estimates for each proposed design at extremely low computational effort while high-fidelity analysis codes provide accurate performance values on some promising designs at much higher cost. To safeguard the accuracy of the estimates, the metamodel is initially trained on a population that is specifically assembled for that purpose. The training is repeated from time to time with the high-fidelity performance values of promising designs. Different high-fidelity tools have been developed and used for the assessment of performance.The CFD-tool performs steady RANS simulations of a single blade passage of the isolated propeller in free air under zero angle of attack. These simulations provide the aerodynamic performance values. The full propeller is modelled thanks to cyclic boundary conditions. The k - ε turbulence model is used in combination with wall treatment. Adiabatic no-slip wall conditions are imposed on the spinner and blade surfaces whereas the test-section radial boundary is reproducing the effects of a pressure far-field. This approach has proven its robustness and, above all, its accuracy as satisfactory agreement with experimental results has been found for different operating conditions over a wide range of blade shapes, as well as sufficient grid independency. In the post-processing of the aerodynamic results, the Sound Pressure Level (SPL)is computed for tonal noise at various observer locations by the aeroacoustic solver(CHA). Formulation 1A from Farassat is used for this purpose. This formulation is related to the inhomogeneous wave equation derived from Lighthill’s acoustic analogy by Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H). It benefits from the partial decoupling of the acoustic and aerodynamic aspects and is particularly suited to compute the noise from propellers. The thickness noise and loading noise are expressed by separate equations in the time-domain whereas the quadrupole source term is dropped from the original FW-H equation. The blade surface is chosen as integration surface and a newly developed truncation technique is applied to circumvent the mathematical singularity arising when parts of the blade reach sonic conditions in terms of kinematics with respect to the observer. This approach delivers accurate values at acceptable computational cost. Besides, CSM-computations make use of a finite elements solver to compute the total mass of the blade as well as the stresses resulting from the centrifugal and aerodynamic forces. Considering the numerous possibilities to tailor the blade structure so that it properly takes on the stresses, only a simplified blade model is implemented. [...]

In this thesis a numerical study has been undertaken to investigate turbulent flow and heat transfer in a number of flow problems, representing the gas-cooled reactor core flows. The first part of the research consisted of a meticulous assessment of various advanced RANS models of fluid turbulence against experimental and numerical data for buoyancy-modified mixed convection flows, such flows being representative of low-flow-rate flows in the cores of nuclear reactors, both presently-operating Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs) and proposed ‘Generation IV’ designs. For this part of the project, an in-house code (‘CONVERT’), a commercial CFD package (‘STAR-CD’) and an industrial code (‘Code_Saturne’) were used to generate results. Wide variations in turbulence model performance were identified. Comparison with the DNS data showed that the Launder-Sharma model best captures the phenomenon of heat transfer impairment that occurs in the ascending flow case; v^2-f formulations also performed well. The k-omega-SST model was found to be in the poorest agreement with the data. Cross-code comparison was also carried out and satisfactory agreement was found between the results.The research described above concerned flow in smooth passages; a second distinct contribution made in this thesis concerned the thermal-hydraulic performance of rib-roughened surfaces, these being representative of the fuel elements employed in the UK fleet of AGRs. All computations in this part of the study were undertaken using STAR-CD. This part of the research took four continuous and four discrete design factors into consideration including the effects of rib profile, rib height-to-channel height ratio, rib width-to-height ratio, rib pitch-to-height ratio, and Reynolds number. For each design factor, the optimum configuration was identified using the ‘efficiency index’. Through comparison with experimental data, the performance of different RANS turbulence models was also assessed. Of the four models, the v^2-f was found to be in the best agreement with the experimental data as, to a somewhat lesser degree were the results of the k-omega-SST model. The k-epsilon and Suga models, however, performed poorly. Structured and unstructured meshes were also compared, where some discrepancies were found, especially in the heat transfer results. The final stage of the study involved a simulation of a simplified 3-dimensional representation of an AGR fuel element using a 30 degree sector configuration. The v^2-f model was employed and comparison was made against the results of a 2D rib-roughened channel in order to assess the validity and relevance of the precursor 2D simulations of rib-roughened channels. It was shown that although a 2D approach is extremely useful and economical for ‘parametric studies’, it does not provide an accurate representation of a 3D fuel element configuration, especially for the velocity and pressure coefficient distributions, where large discrepancies were found between the results of the 2D channel and azimuthal planes of the 3D configuration.