Chapter 4 - Engine optimization using computational fluid dynamics and genetic algorithms

Abstract

The combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and evolutionary methods has been a breakthrough in the development of internal combustion engines (ICE) in the last three decades. The continuous evolution of computational methods, together with the impressive growth of computer performance, has allowed large-scale and massive engine simulations. Adaptive meshing strategies and detailed chemistry acceleration techniques are some of the most relevant examples of how research has contributed to improvement in accuracy while decreasing the wall-clock time of CFD simulations. In parallel, advances in the research of evolutionary mathematical methods, genetic algorithms (GAs) in particular, has promoted a different point of view in the optimization of ICEs, by increasing the flexibility for exploring the optimization space. This chapter describes the fundamentals of CFD-GA optimization strategies and their contribution to the optimization of ICEs.