Deciphering the Potential of High-Fidelity CFD Simulations Across Industries

The landscape of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is undergoing a novel shift, particularly with the emergence and application of high-fidelity simulations. These advanced simulations, particularly through large eddy simulations (LES), are setting new benchmarks in precision, accuracy, and efficiency across various industries—from aerospace to automotive and beyond. This blog post will shed light on the remarkable benefits and applications of high-fidelity CFD simulations, spotlighting the groundbreaking outcomes they facilitate in tackling some of the most challenging design and optimization problems.

A New Era of CFD

Many industry breakthroughs are driven by the continuous search for precision and efficiency. Leading this charge is the use of high-fidelity LES CFD simulations. LES is known for its detailed simulations that accurately capture the intricate movements of fluid flow. This is particularly beneficial in fields where even slight deviations can lead to significant consequences.

Aerospace

For instance, in aerospace, the journey toward next-generation turbofans is marked by ambitious efficiency and emission benchmarks. The industry is amidst a significant transformation characterized by the development of new propulsion technologies and a shift away from traditional fossil fuels in favor of more sustainable alternatives. Here, optimizing performance and efficiency is not just a goal but a necessity—underscored by the imperative of making early design adjustments.

This approach, known as "shifting left," emphasizes enhancing product performance and quality by moving the testing stage earlier in the product design cycle. It is in this intricate process that high-fidelity CFD emerges as a crux, providing fast, reliable, predictive results not just in aerospace but also in energy generation and the automotive sectors.

(Goc, Moin, Bose, & Clark, 2024)

In the aerospace domain, the challenge of predicting the maximum lift and stall characteristics of commercial aircraft illustrates the superior capability of high-fidelity LES over traditional CFD methods. The NASA High Lift Common Research Model's case, where LES accurately mimics realistic aircraft configurations during landing, exemplifies this. By closely aligning with experimental data and capturing critical dynamics like lift, drag, and stall onset, LES propels the aerospace industry closer to relying on simulations in aircraft certification processes, alongside or even in place of traditional testing.

Automotive Aerodynamics

As the automotive industry transitions to battery electric vehicles (BEVs), it confronts the fundamental challenge of optimizing aerodynamics. Half the energy required for highway propulsion is consumed in overcoming aerodynamic drag. As we move from conventional internal combustion engines to electric motors, the importance of minimizing aerodynamic drag intensifies.

(Nagaoka, 2024)

High-fidelity CFD simulations stand out in their capacity to predict the aerodynamic impact of subtle design alterations with high precision. This capability is invaluable, enabling engineers to assess multiple design adjustments, each offering marginal drag benefits through the design process, enhancing overall efficiency and driving range.

Leveraging high-fidelity CFD for SUV aerodynamics underscores the practical applications of these advanced simulations. Through accurate and efficient CFD simulations, actionable design guidance and experimental-like insights are obtained, facilitating crucial predictions related to aerodynamics, acoustics, and heat transfer, among other applications.

(Brès, et al., 2023)

A standout example is Honda’s vehicle noise predictions for a full-scale sedan, where high-fidelity CFD simulations achieve remarkable correlation with wind tunnel experiments, allowing for earlier and more effective investigations into vehicle acoustics.

Catalyzing Innovations with the Millennium Platform

A pivotal aspect of advancing LES applications is the integration of performance and acceleration on GPUs, a feat embodied by the Millennium Platform. Fusing computational power with high levels of accuracy can significantly broaden the practical applications of LES across varied fields. Such advancements not only promise enhanced accuracy in outcomes but also make high-fidelity simulations more accessible and feasible for a broader range of applications.

Millennium Enterprise Multiphysics Platform combines best-in-class GPU resident high-fidelity CFD software with scalable high-performance computing (HPC) hardware, offering improved accuracy, speed, and scalability, delivering up to 100X impact on design. Its near-linear scaling across multiple applications with up to 88% performance scaling and up to 32,000 CPU-core equivalents allows predictive CFD to run ahead of production testing.

With GPU compute and modern CFD solvers, this system enables high-performance CFD design and optimization. The system is highly flexible and scalable, with the option to deploy it on-premises or in the cloud and is compatible with GPUs from leading vendors. This makes it an extremely versatile solution that can cater to the needs of customers of any size and computing requirements.

A Promising Outlook for CFD

The advancements made in high-fidelity CFD, driven by LES technology, signal a new era of innovation across various industries. As businesses continue to tackle the intricacies of design and optimization in an increasingly environmentally conscious and efficiency-focused world, the role of precise and high-fidelity simulations becomes more vital. The remarkable progress in fields such as automotive and aerospace underscores the critical importance of CFD in broadening the frontiers of engineering. This lays the groundwork for a future in which innovations guided by simulation insights will drive the next wave of engineering progress.

(Cui & Bose, 2022)

We are continuing to extend the practical application of high-fidelity CFD simulations across industries. Utilizing platforms such as the Millennium and leveraging LES technology enables us to effectively confront existing challenges while laying the groundwork for future developments. The progression of high-fidelity CFD is merely at its inception; it is revealing exciting new avenues for investigation and innovation across industries.

References

Brès, G. A., Ivey, C. B., Philips, D. A., Bose, S., et al., (2023). Aeroacoustic simulations of full-scale sedan vehicle towards interior noise predictions. AIAA AVIATION 2023 Forum. doi:10.2514/6.2023-3825

Goc, K. A., Moin, P., Bose, S. T., & Clark, A. M. (2024). Wind Tunnel and Grid Resolution Effects in Large-Eddy Simulations of the High-Lift Common Research Model. Journal of Aircraft, 61, pp. 267- 279. doi:10.2514/1.C037238

Cui, M., Bose, S. (2022). Investigation of the effect of conjugate heat transfer on the adiabatic effectiveness of an annular gas turbine engine combustor. Proceedings of the Summer Program, Center for Turbulence Research. pp. 289–298.

Nagaoka, H., Yenerdag, B., Ambo, K., Philips, D., et al., (2024). Prediction of Aerodynamic Drag in SUVs with Different Specifications by Using Large-Eddy Simulations. SAE Technical Paper 2024-01-2525. doi:10.4271/2024-01-2525.

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