Computational Fluid Dynamics

( And Visualization Thereof )

John T. Bell
CS 526 at UIC
12 February 2004
 What is CFD, and Who Cares ?
• Simply put, CFD is the calculation of properties
of a flowing fluid.
• Practical problems may include energy flow,
chemical reactions, phase changes, …
• Domain is often ( irregular ) 3D, plus time.
• Results may be scalar, but more often are n-D
• Relevant industries include automotive, chemical
processing, aerospace, HVAC, . . .
Automotive Aerodynamics . . .
. . . And Interior Comfort . . .
. . . And Engine Conditions
Process Engineering
Aeronautics
NASA Ames’ Virtual Windtunnel
HVAC
VTK Examples
So How is CFD Calculated ?
 Classic Differential Equations


• Navier-Stokes: u   1 2 1

  u   u   P   u  F
t  

• Continuity: 
  (vn)dA  t   dV  0
 Q  Ws  W
• Cons. Energy: dt

dt

dt


P


   e   (vn)dA   e  dV
t
Fourth Order Runge-Kutta

k1  hf ( xn , yn )
h k1

k2  hf ( xn  , yn  )
2 2
h k2
k3  hf ( xn  , yn  )
2 2
k4  hf ( xn  h, yn  k3 )
k1 k2 k3 k4
yn 1  yn      O(h5 )
6 3 3 6
 Conclusions
• Computational Fluid Dynamics is an important tool in
many branches of science and engineering.
• Results are typically n-D, over 3-D plus time.
• CFD calculations require simultaneous solution of many
sets of differential equations, typically involving 4th order
Runge-Kutta in 3-D space.
• Visualization of CFD data is an important and challenging
problem, requiring clever use of all available visualization
tools and skills.
 References
• Fluent Inc.: Http://www.fluent.com
• Schulz, Martin et. al.: “Interactive Visualization of Fluid
Dynamics Simulations in Locally Refined Cartesian Grids”.
IEEE, 1999.
• NASA: http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Research/Tasks/
applications.html and http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Research/
Reports/ Techreports/1992/HTML/RNR-92-013.html
• Schroeder et. al.: “The Visualization Toolkit, 3rd Ed.”
• SDSC: http://www.sdsc.edu/Publications/GCequations/
• Welty, Wicks, & Wilson, “Fundamentals of Momentum, Heat,
and Mass Transfer, 2nd Ed.”, Wiley, 1976.
• Press, William et. al.: “Numerical Recipes in C”.