Daikin Applied of Minneapolis, Minn., delivers engineered, flexible solutions for commercial, industrial and institutional heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) requirements. As part of Daikin Industries, a Fortune 1000 company, Daikin Applied is the largest air conditioning, heating, ventilating and refrigeration company in the world.
As any building operations manager knows, the HVAC system represents a large percentage of a building’s energy use. Since the 1980s, manufacturers of HVAC equipment like Daikin Applied have worked to make their systems more efficient. This was originally driven by rising energy costs and therefore customer demand. More recently, it was mandated by governmental standards like those set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Engine Testing Regulations and Europe’s Ecodesign Directive.
There are several methods for making HVAC systems that meet or exceed new standards, including making individual components such as air conditioning system compressors more efficient. Recently Daikin Applied achieved more than a two-point compressor efficiency improvement within eight weeks by redesigning a compressor unit using a commercially available 3D Inverse Design software system, TURBOdesign Suite by Advanced Design Technology of London, England.
Fig. 2. Geometry of Impeller Designed by TURBOdesign Suite.
“We are always constrained by development time,” said Phuong. “So, we were looking for ways to cut development time in addition to achieving the efficiency goals. TURBOdesign Suite was the only commercially avialable 3D inverse design software. We decided to use it.”
According to Phuong, becoming an advanced user was easy, taking only a few days working with ADT engineers. It took just three months for Phuong to feel completely comfortable and confident with it. For others at Daikin, training took about two days, and going from beginner to immediate took about three months.