High-performance aerodynamic computations for aerospace applications

Abstract

A recent study outlining a NASA vision for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) development emphasizes the importance of high-performance computing (HPC) in increasing the impact of CFD on design and certification of aerospace vehicles.Broader use of CFD in aerospace applications has been limited by its inability to accurately predict turbulent separated flows.This paper presents recent experiences with the development, implementation, and application of a large-scale solver for turbulent flow simulations in HPC environments and discusses computational challenges and opportunities pertaining to aerospace computations. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) plays a critical role in aerospace applications. A recent study outlining a NASA vision for CFD development emphasizes the importance of high-performance computing (HPC) in increasing the impact of CFD on design and certification of aerospace vehicles. Advanced CFD capabilities have already led to significant reduction of wind tunnel and flight test campaigns as well as important physical insights. However, broader use of CFD in aerospace applications has been limited by its inability to accurately predict turbulent separated flows. This paper presents recent experiences with the development, implementation, and application of a large-scale solver for turbulent flow simulations in HPC environments and discusses computational challenges and opportunities pertaining to aerospace computations.