Every visitor, delegate and exhibitor at the EXPO can attend any of the following presentations, FREE OF CHARGE. Each is delivered by one of the Exhibitors at the EXPO - all of them leading experts in their field.
Tuesday | 1:00 - 1:30pm
Presentation: Leveraging GPU and AI for faster Turbomachinery design cycle
Speaker: John Stokes, Software Engineering, Vice President
Description: Advances in GPU technology are transforming the computational landscape, enabling engineers to reach unprecedented speed and fidelity in their numerical simulations. This presentation highlights how Ansys CFD harnesses modern GPU architectures to deliver maximum value and lays the groundwork for use of AI technologies that are redefining productivity while opening entirely new possibilities for turbomachinery design and analysis.
Tuesday | 1:45 - 2:15pm
Presentation: Mesh Provenance for Physical AI: Quality Requirements for Turbomachinery Simulation Data When the Consumer is a Neural Network
Speaker: Peter Eiseman, President at Program Development Company (GridPro)
Description: Computational meshes have traditionally been judged by how accurately they support a single simulation. But when meshes become training data for neural surrogate models, a different set of quality requirements emerges: topological consistency across design variants, tight quality distributions to limit label noise, deterministic reproducibility, and documented provenance. This talk discusses that the w requirements are distinct from classical mesh quality criteria, that they are not optional for reliable surrogate training, and topology-based structured meshing offers a natural path to meeting them.
Tuesday | 2:30 - 3:00pm
Presentation: High Value Thermal Mapping for Widespread Turbine Applications
Speakers: Logan Whalen, Industrial Lead & Elmira Parsa, Engineering Analyst
Description: SCS provides advanced thermal measurement services with widespread applicability. This service is vital for OEM R&D and design validation, as demonstrated through past projects covering a wide range of operating conditions. SCS has worked with OEMS to enable the transition to greener, more sustainable energy solutions such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and is also valuable for MRO applications, including root cause analysis.
Tuesday | 3:15 - 3:45pm
Presentation: VEM Sachsenwerk GmbH
Speaker: Francesco Bruzzo
Description: This talk presents Direct Energy Deposition (DED) as an industrial tool for enabling faster and more economical supply chains through integration in hybrid manufacturing chains. The focus is on two key industrial use cases:
- Large impellers: A hybrid manufacturing chain combining machining and DED significantly reduces material waste (~65%), production time (~30%), and costs (~20%), while meeting high-performance requirements and avoiding complex joining steps.
- Repair workflows: Hybrid repair strategies, based on material removal, DED re-manufacturing and finishing, enable efficient recovery of high-value components during production and service, reducing scrap and improving supply chain resilience.
These examples highlight how integrating DED into manufacturing chains allows companies to shift from material-intensive, time-consuming processes to more flexible and resource-efficient production routes.
The talk emphasizes the industrial impact: shorter lead times, lower costs, and increased supply chain robustness. Remaining challenges such as process qualification and design guidelines are discussed.
Tuesday | 4:00 - 4:30pm
Presentation: Powering a Robust MDO Process with nTop for Turbine Blade Optimization
Speaker: Behnam Nouri, AI/ML - Tools Expert - Knowledge Based Engineering & Platform Design, Siemens Energy
Description: Turbine blade development requires balancing aerodynamic performance, thermal management, and structural durability across hundreds of design variables—and doing it fast enough to meet program timelines. This presentation describes how they integrated nTop into their multi-disciplinary optimization process to build parametric blade models that generate reliably across wide parameter ranges and feed directly into automated analysis loops. They will cover how replacing fragile CAD-based geometry generation with nTop's implicit modeling approach eliminated manual intervention in their MDO pipeline and expanded the design space their team can practically explore. Attendees will leave with a clear picture of how a leading turbomachinery OEM structured their geometry-to-simulation workflow, what it took to integrate nTop with existing validated solvers, and the tradeoffs involved in shifting from traditional CAD to a programmatic design approach at scale.
Tuesday | 4:45 - 5:15pm
Presentation: The Right Power Source for the Mission
Speaker: James Hoare, VP of Engineering
Description: The presentation will cover how we think about missions for traditional gas turbine applications vs hybrid-electric and (if appropriate) all-electric. Also will discuss the new wave of aircraft applications and how we develop solutions in every workstream (other than ATR size propulsion).
Tuesday | 5:30 - 6:00pm
Presentation: From Months to Minutes: Accelerating Compressor Design Exploration with Physics AI and CFD
Speaker: Alex Graham, Senior Product Marketing Manager
Description: Designing high-performance turbomachinery components such as compressors and pumps requires extensive design space optimization, balancing efficiency, pressure ratio, flow behavior, and thermal performance. Traditionally, this process relies on iterative high-fidelity CFD simulations, which are computationally expensive and limit the number of design variants engineers can evaluate within project timelines.
As a result, design decisions are often constrained by available simulation capacity rather than engineering intent.
This presentation introduces an approach that combines high-fidelity CFD with AI to scale turbomachinery design exploration without compromising physical accuracy. Physics AI models, trained on validated simulation data, enable rapid prediction of key performance metrics across a wide range of geometries and operating conditions, allowing engineers to explore design spaces significantly faster. Agentic AI provides a way to rapidly build and navigate these workflows, freeing up engineers’ time to spend on analysis and decision-making.
The session will focus on a compressor (or pump) design workflow, demonstrating how:
- CFD is used to generate high-quality training data and validate results
- Physics AI models enable rapid evaluation of design variants
- Engineering AI iterating on geometry and operating conditions in seconds rather than days in a workflow using SimScale and Concepts NREC
- Simulation insight can be reused across the design process
Rather than replacing traditional CFD, this approach augments it, enabling engineers to combine trusted simulation methods with scalable design exploration. The result is a more efficient and responsive turbomachinery design process, supporting improved performance, reduced development time, and better-informed engineering decisions.
Wednesday | 1:00 - 1:30pm
Presentation: VEM Sachsenwerk GmbH
Speaker: Dr.-Ing. Robert Seifert
Description: The oil and gas industry must constantly reduce its CO2 emissions following e.g. the European Green Deal. That leads to a high demand for electric drives to substitute gas turbines in new as well as existing compressor plants and industrial heat pumps. To keep the footprint small and drivetrain short, especially for retrofits, gearless high-speed drives are preferred. Their variable frequency enables a more efficient process control without turbo gear boxes or throttle valves. To increase acceptance for high-speed drives in a broader market, motor manufacturers are challenged to offer simple and affordable solutions. Slide bearings are suitable for a large range of applications in this market, but oil-free active magnetic bearings (AMBs) can further reduce the environmental impact and eliminate contamination. They are maintenance-free and allow a simple condition monitoring in most compact plant installations. However, AMBs are costly and their commissioning comparatively time-consuming. After our first high speed prototype with three-lobe sleeve bearings from Renk, which we manufactured and tested with up to 17000 rpm in 2022, we now present a newly developed prototype. It has a revised solid rotor concept with copper cage, designed to mechanically withstand up to 18000 rpm, which also serves as a proof-of-concept for an oil-free alternative based on active magnetic bearings. In this presentation we give a brief introduction in the advantages of AMBs and give insights in the lessons we learned during the design, manufacturing and commissioning of our first in-house AMB concept for a turbo compressor drive (≈1 MW, 12 000. . .18 000 rpm).
Wednesday | 1:45 - 2:15pm
Presentation: Shaping the Future with Knowledge - Turbomachinery Research at TFD
Speaker: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joerg R. Seume, Executive Director
Description: Are you looking for a reliable partner to improve your products? We offer a wide range of services – short term consulting projects, manufacturing and instrumentation, analytical, testing, FEM and CFD services, and long term research projects. Learn more details about our newly established test infrastructure for turbomachinery and wind tunnel testing and about our expertise in in high fidelity CFD.
Wednesday | 2:30 - 3:00pm
Presentation: Expanding application segments of active magnetic bearings with a new magnetic bearing controller Magma X100
Speaker: Nikita Uzhegov
Description: This presentation introduces Active Magnetic Bearings (AMBs) technology highlighting its current applications in turbomachinery. It explores the new market opportunities enabled by new magnetic bearing controller Magma X100, including small turbomachinery, hydrogen and cryogenic solutions, etc.
Wednesday | 3:15 - 3:45pm
Presentation: ML-Driven Optimization of Impeller Performance via Automated CFD workflow
Speaker: Ruggero Poletto, CEO - CFD FEA SERVICE SRL UNIPERSONALE
Description: The presentation details an innovative, ML-driven workflow for the optimization of turbomachinery impeller performance. Leveraging automated CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) via the turboAPP platform and OpenFOAM, we efficiently generate and analyze numerous geometry variations. The core methodology involves using the results of an initial set of CFD simulations to train a custom Machine Learning model (cloudIA), which then accurately predicts optimal performance geometries (power and efficiency). This integrated approach drastically accelerates the design cycle, allowing engineers to rapidly extrapolate new, optimized designs that are validated through final CFD verification.
Wednesday | 4:00 - 4:30pm
Presentation: Powering the Clean Industrial Deal: The Role of Mechanical Industry in Energy Systems Transformation
Speakers: Daniela Lionetti, Head of Energy, Innovation and Sustainability
and Riccardo D'Alessandro, Energy Technical Officer
Description: As Europe advances towards climate neutrality, the Clean Industrial Deal is redefining the relationship between industrial competitiveness and sustainability. Energy systems are at the core of this transformation, requiring a balance between decarbonization, security of supply, and economic resilience. This presentation will examine the role of the mechanical industry in supporting this transition, with a focus on enabling technologies such as advanced turbomachinery, energy efficiency solutions, and components for emerging energy carriers. It will explore how industrial supply chains can adapt to evolving regulatory frameworks while maintaining global competitiveness.
By connecting policy developments with industrial capabilities, the session will provide insights into how companies can position themselves within the new energy paradigm, turning regulatory challenges into opportunities for innovation, investment, and long-term growth.
Wednesday | 4:45 - 5:15pm
Presentation: Simulation of flexible operation of GT plants with THERMOFLOW software
Speaker: Ignacio Martín / Karsten Huschka
Description: With the increasing participation of renewable plants in the power generation sector thermal power plants specially Gas Turbines and CCGT are shifting from base load to flexible operation. The implications of such a change on the performance and economics of Gas Turbine plants need to be evaluated in detail.
Thermoflow offers advanced software tools to automatic design of CCGT plants based on a few assumptions and provides plant performance outputs, thermodynamic details as well as complete equipment specification and cost estimation. The plant can also be simulated at off design conditions such as load or ambient variation which allows to simulate the plant either standalone running at base load or integrated into a grid on flexible operation. Renewable plants such as PV and Wind in combination with storage systems can be added as well and the program simulates the performance of each plant on an hourly basis for a given demand curve and evaluates the flexible operation of thermal plants as back up of the renewables, shifting load every hour and with a large number of shut downs and starts per year, and its effect to the annual capacity factor, average efficiency, fuel consumed, CO2 emitted and financial parameters like LCOE. Different alternatives like multiple gas engines or GTs in open cycle and CCGT plants can be evaluated and compared.
Other options relevant to the energy transition such as CO2 capture, hydrogen production and use, gasification or advanced storage systems are also available.
Wednesday | 5:30 - 6:00pm
Presentation: A unified workflow for turbomachinery design, analysis, and optimization
Speaker: Margarita Campos
Description: This session demonstrates how an integrated Cadence workflow accelerates the design and optimization of centrifugal compressors, from early concept through high‑fidelity simulation.
We show how preliminary design tools can be seamlessly linked to Cadence’s high‑fidelity CFD environment, removing traditional bottlenecks between early design and detailed analysis. This integration enables engineers to explore a broader design space with significantly reduced manual effort.
The session then illustrates how turbomachinery‑focused simulations can be combined with machine learning to enable automated optimization, turning simulation data into a predictive asset that directly informs engineering decisions.
Finally, we provide an overview of the Cadence portfolio for high‑fidelity CFD, automated mesh generation for rotating machinery, GPU‑accelerated workflows, and multiphysics capabilities.
Thursday | 12:30 - 1:00pm
Presentation: Turbomachinery Applications in COMSOL Multiphysics®
Speaker: Jonas Helboe Jørgensen
Description: This presentation will cover the capabilities of the COMSOL Multiphysics® software for modeling and analyzing turbomachinery systems. The software can be used to study the underlying effects in systems, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD), heat transfer, acoustics, structural mechanics, and rotordynamics, as well as multiphysics phenomena such as vibroacoustics and aeroacoustics.
The presentation will also demonstrate how all stages of the simulation workflow can be performed within a single integrated environment. These stages include geometry preparation, material definition, physics setup, multiphysics coupling, meshing, solving, and results evaluation and visualization. By providing these capabilities within a single platform, COMSOL Multiphysics® helps streamline model development and analysis.
In addition, COMSOL Multiphysics® supports a wide range of CAD and mesh formats and enables the import of various file formats, including CGNS for flow data. The software can also be integrated with external CAD tools via interfacing products in the COMSOL product suite.