Parallel fluid dynamics computations in aerospace applications

Abstract

Abstract Massively parallel finite element computations of the compressible Euler and Navier‐Stokes equations using parallel supercomputers are presented. The finite element formulations are based on the conservation variables and the streamline‐upwind/Petrov‐Galerkin (SUPG) stabilization method is used to prevent potential numerial oscillations due to dominant advection terms. These computations are based on both implicit and explicit methods and their parallel implementation assumes that the mesh is unstructured. The implicit computations are based on iterative strategies. Large‐scale 3D problems are solved using a matrix‐free iteration technique which reduces the memory requirements significantly. The flow problems we consider typically come from aerospace applications, including those in 3D and those involving moving boundaries interacting with boundary layers and shocks. Problems with fixed boundaries are solved using a semidiscrete formulation and the ones involving moving boundaries are solved using the deformable‐spatial‐domain/stabilized‐space‐time (DSD/SST) formulation.