The present thesis concerns semi analytic sensitivity analysis and its use in a gradient based optimization method. Using the direct differentiation method the governing equations of the flow problem are differentiated after discretization. The discretization is carried out using nonconforming finite elements and unstructured grids. The iterative solution of the sensitivity equations is accelerated by a nonlinear multigrid strategy where a modified SIMPLE algorithm is chosen to solve the sensitivity equations of pressure and velocity. The method is verified using analytic solutions of the Euler and the Navier-Stokes equations. The optimization tool is applied on a two-dimensional laminar diffuser in order to obtain maximum pressure recovery by contouring the divergent wall section and on a two-dimensional cascade in order to optimize the pressure distribution. It is verified that major time savings can be obtained in the optimization when using sensitivity analysis. A further advantage of the method is the possibility to use alternative optimization strategies.
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