An Automated High Aspect Ratio Mesher for Computational Fluid Dynamics

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are routinely used while designing, analyzing, and optimizing air- and spacecraft. An important component of CFD simulations is mesh generation, or discretization into polygonal or polyhedral cells, of the domain being analyzed. The overall computational cost and accuracy of simulations depend heavily on mesh quality the size, shape, and structure of the cells. Another important aspect of CFD simulation is that solutions are achieved iteratively, with each subsequent pass decreasing error and increasing solution accuracy. Grid adaption uses output from the last simulation to improve the mesh for the next. FUN3D is a CFD simulator developed at NASA that requires both a tight integration with mesh generation software for grid adaption and the generation of high aspect ratio cells (i.e. 10,000:1) to accurately capture dynamics around boundary layers. Current meshing methods use the well known advancing front or Delaunay algorithms, and the user must often perform multiple manual inputs and interactions to generate a mesh of sufficient quality. Ideally, a meshing module would subdivide complex designs and perform grid adaption automatically, with little or no human intervention. The proposed innovation is the development of a very high aspect ratio mesher that demonstrates a significant improvement over current techniques as measured by the time and effort necessary for FUN3D users to solve CFD problems.

Ciespace has emerged as a successful advanced meshing software provider to the electronics and manufacturing industries. Customers include Honda, IBM and more than 40 other companies, like Hitachi, Hyundai, Mitsubishi Electric, Ricoh, Sony, and Samsung, that use Ciespace's meshing products via Toray Engineering's finite element analysis (FEA) software. Because an automated and general purpose, highly anisotropic mesher is not yet commercially available, the new product's increased automation will provide a compelling ROI to potential customers. Preliminary discussions with strategic partners and CAE companies indicate that Ciespace can target CFD and EM simulators to grow this new product's revenue to several million dollars. Potential customers include IBM, NASA, DoD, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Honda Jet, Boeing, Intel, ANSYS and Agilent.

The BubbleMesh product suite includes 2D triangular, quadrilateral, and quad-dominant; and 3D tetrahedral and hex-dominant meshing engines. Even for complex models, the mesh quality is excellent because all mesh typescurve, surface, and volumeare unified; they are derived from the same BubbleMesh formulation. The company plans to leverage its product portfolio to mature the proposed anisotropic meshing product quickly and at significantly less cost than would otherwise be possible. Ciespace anticipates the first commercial application within NASA is with the NASA CFD simulator, FUN3D. Ciespace will work closely with the FUN3D team, meet their requirements and help them to solve difficult CFD problems in a more automated fashion. Because there are several additional CFD simulators within NASA, each targeting different problems, the proposed work could be extended to meet their requirements as well. In addition, products from Ciespace's meshing portfolio could be used inside of other physics based simulators at NASA - those performing crash, impact, warpage or other types of nonlinear analysis. To date, customers using Ciespace products have realized significant savings though increased automation, decreased outsourcing cost and decreased product design time.

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