Design and Performance Optimization of a Radial Turbine Using Hydrogen Combustion Products

The combustion of hydrogen increases the water content of the combustion products, affecting the aerodynamic performance of turbines using hydrogen as a fuel. This study aims to design a radial turbine using the differential evolution (DE) algorithm to improve its characteristics and optimize its aerodynamic performance through an orthogonal experiment and analysis of means (ANOM). The effects of varying water content in combustion products, ranging from 12% to 22%, on the performance of the radial turbine are also investigated. After optimization, the total–static efficiency of the radial turbine increased to 89.12%, which was 1.59% higher than the preliminary design. The study found that flow loss in the impeller primarily occurred at the leading edge, trailing edge, and the inlet of the suction surface tip and outlet. With a 10% increase in water content, the enthalpy dropped, Mach number increased, and turbine power increased by 4.64%, 1.71%, and 2.41%, respectively. However, the total static efficiency and mass flow rate decreased by 0.71% and 2.13%, respectively. These findings indicate that higher water content in hydrogen combustion products enhances the turbine’s output power while reducing the combustion products’ mass flow rate.