An edge-based solution-adaptive method applied to the AIRPLANE code
ABSTRACTComputational methods to solve large-scale re-alistic problems in fluid flow can be made more effi-cient and cost effective by using them in conjunctionwith dynamic mesh adaption procedures that per-form simultaneous coarsening and refinement to cap-ture flow features of interest. This work couples thetetrahedral mesh adaption scheme, called 3D.TAG,with the AIRPLANE code to solve complete aircraftconfiguration problems in transonic and supersonicflow regimes. Results indicate that the near-fieldsonic boom pressure signature of a cone-cylinder isimproved, the oblique and normal shocks are bet-ter resolved on a transonic wing, and the bow shockahead of an unstarted inlet is better defined.INTRODUCTIONTraditional computational methods can bemade more efficient and cost effective by redistribut-ing the available mesh points to capture flowfieldphenomena of interest. Such adaptive proceduresevolve with the solution and provide a robust andreliable methodology. Highly localized regions ofmesh refinement are required in order to accuratelycapture shock waves, contact discontinuities, andshear layers. This provides the aerodynamicist withthe opportunity to obtain flow solutions on adaptedmeshes that are comparable to those obtained onglobally-fine grids.Two types of solution-adaptive grid strategiesare commonly used with unstructured-grid methods.