Rapid Development of Advanced High-Speed Aerosciences Simulation Capability

The current state of the art for production computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations in both the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) communities and modeling of hypersonic vehicles is the solution of steady-state problems on fixed computation grids. However, the majority of relevant challenge problems are unsteady. Accurate simulations of such unsteady phenomena currently require computational grids that are overly refined, i.e., in large portions of the domain or even globally. An effective method to alleviate over-refinement, and associated cost, is the application of automatic mesh adaptation. Mesh adaptation applies refinement in the vicinity of critical flow features while coarsens at other areas and can significantly reduce the time-to-solution in terms of both overall computation time and hands-on gridding. Corvid, RPI, and Simmetrix will continue development of an in-memory, parallel, mesh adaptation framework for unsteady problems that will enable rapid turnaround of large sets of CFD runs in a significantly shorter time frame than current workflows. Carrying out a CFD simulation of a complex hypersonic flight vehicle geometry can require months of lead time. Obtaining a solution often implies compromises in terms of geometry fidelity, resolution and accuracy due to mesh/workflow limitations, computational resources, and time constraints. Corvid is developing an in-memory, parallel, mesh adaptation framework that can be coupled to any existing CFD code to enable automatic grid adaptation in near-body boundary layer regions, as well as off-body flowfield features such as shocks, shear layers and wakes, while performing in-memory mesh adaptation with solution transfer. Steps will operate in parallel on distributed/partitioned meshes, drastically reducing the time to achieve results. Due to anisotropic mesh adaptation including mixed element surface meshes capturing unsteady flow features, our approach will offer greater robustness and a higher degree of solution accuracy compared to solutions on fixed meshes. Our solution will enable rapid turnaround of large sets of CFD runs in a shorter time frame than other existing workflows. Technical Objectives Extend adaptation framework to be highly accurate by including mixed-element hex-dominant boundary layer adaptation. Corvid will extend the adaptation capability to hex-dominant boundary layers formed from quad-dominant mixed element surface meshes to provide high accuracy. Demonstrate the robustness and performance of the adaptation framework: developed unsteady, parallel, in-memory grid adaptation framework will be capable of parallel execution on HPC environments for realistic 3-D problems on mixed element grid topologies. Deliver a production-ready adaptation framework along with benchmark cases: The software package of the developed adaptation framework and benchmark test cases will be available for testing by NASA at the conclusion of the Phase II effort. The framework will provide a well-defined set of APIs for a straightforward integration with other CFD solvers. Proposed Deliverables The developed adaptation controller software package and benchmark test cases will be provided. Documentation will be provided including descriptions of the adaptation controller APIs and how to integrate the adaptation framework into existing codes, such as those at the NASA. Quarterly reports  Final report 

Our in-memory, parallel, mesh adaptation framework would be directly applicable to programs under multiple NASA directorates such as ARMD, SMD, and STMD. Programs involving an EDL component (such as Mars Sample Return, Artemis, Commercial Crew, Dragonfly, etc.)  would benefit from the capability to run analyses which have been historically challenging and costly.  Our solution would support a broad range of current Corvid customers in the Air Force, Navy and MDA as well as large prime contractors, including Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.  Specific target hypersonic programs would include Conventional Prompt Strike, Standard Missile, Glide Phase Interceptor, and Next Generation Interceptor. 

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