Aerodynamic Design on Unstructured Grids for Turbulent Flows

by National Aeronautics and Space Administration

An aerodynamic design algorithm for turbulent flows using unstructured grids is described. The current approach uses adjoint (costate) variables for obtaining derivatives of the cost function. The solution of the adjoint equations is obtained using an implicit formulation in which the turbulence model is fully coupled with the flow equations when solving for the costate variables. The accuracy of the derivatives is demonstrated by comparison with finite-difference gradients and a few example computations are shown. In addition, a user interface is described which significantly reduces the time required for setting up the design problems. Recommendations on directions of further research into the Navier Stokes design process are made. Anderson, W. Kyle and Bonhaus, Daryl L. Langley Research Center NASA-TM-112867, NAS 1.15:112867 RTOP 522-31-21-01...

28 pages, Paperback

Published August 10, 2018

About the author

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.