NSF Award
9627661
9627661 Flannery This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to develop a scalable, parallel FLUENT-compatible code for realistic time-dependent laminar and turbulent problems. The rapid development of computer hardware, especially superworkstations and parallel supercomputers, coupled with advances in numerical and physical modeling of fluid dynamics have opened new opportunities for working engineers and scientists to use flow simulations for analysis and design in areas previously only amenable to costly, time-consuming experimental laboratory exploration. Phase I demonstrated the significant potential of a new code for general-purpose fluid dynamics computations on parallel computers, with order-of-magnitude speedups over presently available commercial codes achieved even on moderate problems. The specific research issues to be addressed in Phase II include: (1) implementation, parallelization, and testing of algebraic multigrid acceleration for the pressure solve, as well as further study of other non-symmetric solver technologies; (2) introduction of enhanced coordinate systems capability; (3) enhancement of ZFLOW to handle turbulent heat transfer; (4) implementation, parallelization, and testing of parallel block-unstructured techniques which potentially lead to order-of-magnitude increases in maximum treatable problem sizes. Commercial CFD users increasingly require problem solutions involving significant three-dimensional COIIlplexity and/or time-dependence. These solutions demand the use of advanced parallel supercomputers. This project provides a unique opportunity to integrate advanced CFD and parallel computer technologies into a highly practical software product that will quickly address this need. This new technology should have a significant impact on the commercial CFD market.
