Computational Fluid Dynamics and System Design

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods are well documented (e.g., Versteeg & Malalasekera 1996; Tannehill et al. 1997; Ferziger & Peric 2002; Durbin & Medic 2007; Tu et al. 2008; among others). They are routinely applied to gain new physical insight and to improve engineering system design and hence performance. Nowadays in aircraft, automobile and machine-part design, CFD simulations have replaced wind-tunnel or other experimental tests, relying often on general-purpose (or problem-specific) commercial CFD software tools. Such software has to run efficiently on suitable computer platforms, which is especially important in light of parallel processing, computing speed and numerical accuracy. Needless to mention, experimental analysis will remain important for obtaining new discoveries, verifying theories, and validating computer models. Salient features of any CFD model are depicted in Fig. 10.1.