An intellectual design case of compressor airfoils based on reinforcement learning

Abstract

Purpose

In general, the existing compressor design methods require abundant knowledge and inspiration. The purpose of this study is to identify an intellectual design optimization method that enables a machine to learn how to design it.

Design/methodology/approach

The airfoil design process was solved using the reinforcement learning (RL) method. An intellectual method based on a modified deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) algorithm was implemented. The new method was applied to agents to learn the design policy under dynamic constraints. The agents explored the design space with the help of a surrogate model and airfoil parameterization.

Findings

The agents successfully learned to design the airfoils. The loss coefficients of a controlled diffusion airfoil improved by 1.25% and 3.23% in the two- and four-dimensional design spaces, respectively. The agents successfully learned to design under various constraints. Additionally, the modified DDPG method was compared with a genetic algorithm optimizer, verifying that the former was one to two orders of magnitude faster in policy searching. The NACA65 airfoil was redesigned to verify the generalization.

Originality/value

It is feasible to consider the compressor design as an RL problem. Trained agents can determine and record the design policy and adapt it to different initiations and dynamic constraints. More intelligence is demonstrated than when traditional optimization methods are used. This methodology represents a new, small step toward the intelligent design of compressors.

Citation

Xu, X., Huang, X., Zhang, K. and Zhou, M. (2023), "An intellectual design case of compressor airfoils based on reinforcement learning", Engineering Computations, Vol. 40 No. 9/10, pp. 2145-2173. https://doi.org/10.1108/EC-07-2022-0502