Research on multi-parameter optimization methods of the performance for a micro pneumatic turbine

Abstract In this article, response surface method (RSM), RSM combined with seeker optimization algorithm (RSM-SOA) and RSM combined with differential evolution seeker optimization algorithm (RSM-DE-SOA) are adopted for the performance optimization of a micro pneumatic turbine, avoiding the limitation of being prone to local optima of control variable method, RSM and factorial method. The nonlinear combinations of structure parameters affecting rotation speed of a pneumatic turbine are obtained by using Minitab. Furthermore, a sample comprising turbine structure parameters and corresponding rotation speed calculated by actual conditions driving simulation (ACDS) is established. The structure parameters are optimized by using RSM with rotation speed as optimization objective and further optimized through RSM-SOA and RSM-DE-SOA. The results demonstrate that RSM-DE-SOA obtains the best outcome. The turbine attains global optimal rotation speed of 171.2 krpm with an output power of 106.7 W when nozzle diameter, turbine diameter and blade tip clearance are 1.9 mm, 15.0 mm and 0.45 mm, respectively.