December 8, 2025
NTNU has published its first scientific paper entitled "Design and Surrogate-Based Optimization of a Rim-Driven Thruster for Reversible Pump-Turbine" in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
The full abstract reads as follows:
"This paper proposes a design methodology for a rim-driven thruster (RDT) integrated within the draft tube of a reversible pump-turbine (RPT), aiming to mitigate cavitation during pump mode in retrofitted hydropower plants. A fast, computationally efficient workflow is developed that combines 1D mean-line flow analysis, potential flow-based airfoil simulations using XFoil, and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) surrogate modeling. Key hydrodynamic performance metrics—lift, drag, pitching moment, and minimum pressure coefficient—are predicted across a range of hydrofoil geometries. Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) value analysis is employed to quantify feature importance and guide the multi-objective optimization of blade profiles along the radial span. Results demonstrate that blade design inherently involves balance between competing performance objectives, such as drag, pitching moment, and minimum pressure, emphasizing the need to tailor geometry for specific operational priorities such as cavitation mitigation. This methodology provides a viable starting point for booster pump design in RPT retrofits."
You can read and download the full paper at the link below:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1561/1/012024
