Accelerating Computational Aerodynamics

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Accelerating Computational Aerodynamics
David Willis, Prof. Jaime Peraire and Prof.
Jacob White

• Goal To develop a fast and robust computational
  tool for preliminary design and optimization of
  3-D aerodynamic bodies.
• Approach
• Boundary Element Methods
• Surface solutions rather than domain simulations.
• Faster simulation
• Implement fast boundary element method solvers,
  eg fast multipole methods or precorrected-FFT
  approaches ( O(n) or O(nlog(n)) solution time ).
• Increased accuracy
• Higher order shape function distributions to
  represent solution (piecewise linear)
• Account for surface curvature using higher order
  surface patch discretization (cubic surface
  panels).
• Unsteady and steady flow simulation
• Approaches to handle the free wake automatically
  have been investigated and developed.
• User friendly
• The goal is to maintain a user friendly approach
  while including all necessary components for
  rapid design evaluation.
• Possible future work
• Structural coupling, preliminary design shape
  optimization, flight simulation, stability and
  control, applications etc.

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Examples
?The surface potential on a translating unit
sphere (non-lifting)
Above The wake position and roll up behind a
rectangular wing computed using vortons
(particles of vorticity).
?The surface pressure distribution on a swept
wing (NACA 2412).