Development of TDOS (Torque converter Design Optimization System), an integrated design process, is presented. The main functional groups of TDOS are torque converter geometry designer, 3D CFD analysis module, and design optimizer. For the geometry design, an in-house code BPG (Blade Profile Generator), is employed to create the 2D torus and 3D blade coordinates with given design constraints. To obtain an accurate performance results, an automated CFD analysis module is created which includes 3D geometry modeling, mesh generation, solving and result analysis. All CFD parameters that affect the accuracy of solution such as mesh size, simulation scheme and boundary conditions are predefined for the automated CFD analysis. The optimal parameters for CFD analysis are determined from the previous study of mass-produced torque converters. Having automated the geometry design and CFD analysis process, an optimization procedure of torque converter geometry is developed. A simple-to-use GUI is introduced to enhance the accessibility and usability of TDOS.
To demonstrate the capability of TDOS, following two cases are considered: 1) design parameter study on the hydraulic performance of torque converter and 2) blade profile optimization to satisfy a given performance target. The results show that the design of torque converter can be optimized to meet the target performance at 1/30 the man-hour cost compared to the traditional way. In general, further reduction of computational cost can be expected since the automated process eliminates additional cost that can rise from possible human error. With fast turn-around time, design engineers can concentrate on the design task with quick review of their designs. This improves the overall efficiency of torque converter development.