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By Andy Keane and Neil Bressloff, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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Southampton University’s School of Engineering Sciences is home to the
Computational Engineering and Design (CED) group, which uses FLUENT
extensively in a number of academic research projects. The group has an
international reputation in the field of multi-disciplinary design optimization,
and hosts the University Technology Partnership for design supported by Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems. The industrial partners are eager for the CED group
to use an industry standard code like FLUENT for optimization of aerodynamic
performance and geometry.
Poor (top) and improved (bottom) designs for a flap track fairing
One important project undertaken by the group was the development of
an automated design environment to exploit a heterogeneous mixture of local
and remote computing facilities. Template files are used to drive CAD-based
parametric geometry definition (e.g. CATIA, ICAD, Pro/ENGINEER, IDEAS), mesh
generation (GAMBIT) and CFD solutions (FLUENT). In a typical application for
the aerospace industry, for example, the system has been used to optimize the
shape and orientation of the flap-track fairing on a commercial aircraft wing,
which houses the mechanism used to deploy the trailing edge flaps.
Illustration of a response surface for the scarf angle optimization of a nacelle
(top) with pressure coefficient contours (bottom)
Because the group has strong links with industry, it concentrates on methods
that combine flexibility with robustness and efficiency. The design search
and optimization strategies under investigation by the group attempt to deal
with the computationally intensive nature of CFD in a number of ways:
- Application of enhanced response surface methods
- Use of partially converged CFD solutions to build accurate response
surface models in a fraction of the time required for full convergence
- Data fusion to combine low and high fidelity CFD data
- CFD mesh morphing to progress rapidly towards optimum geometry.
The work in these areas continues, but the methods under development show
considerable potential for improving the speed with which design optimization
based on CFD can progress.
In recognition of its expertise, the group has been awarded funds to host
one of the UK regional e-Science centers, which is tasked with the promotion
and development of a distributed computing infrastructure at both local and
national levels. One of the supported projects is called GEODISE (Global Engineering
Optimization and Design Search for Engineering). The project activities include
the use of FLUENT to optimize the scarf angle of the inlet face of an aero-engine
nacelle, making the compromise between ground noise levels and aerodynamic
performance. The optimization strategy combines a design of experiment (DOE)
study with response surface modeling. The experience gained in using FLUENT
in aircraft optimization projects is now being extended to a broader range of
applications. Racing car components, curved diffusers, river bank erosion, and
the influence of bio-geometry on arterial disease all form the subjects of current
research projects within the group. Southampton University demonstrates
once again the power of FLUENT as a tool for the academic researcher.
References:
- W. Song, A.J. Keane, and S.J. Cox, CFD-Based Shape Optimisation with Grid-Enabled Design
Search Toolkits, Proc. UK e-Science All Hands Meeting, ISBN 1-904425-11-9, ed. S.J. Cox,
Nottingham, pp.619-627, 2003.
- A.I.J. Forrester, N.W. Bressloff, and A.J. Keane. Response Surface Model Evolution, 16th AIAA
Computational Fluid Dynamics Conference, Orlando, Florida, pp.23-26, June 2003.
- A.J.Keane, Wing Optimization Using Design of Experiment, Response Surface, and Data Fusion
Methods, J. Aircraft, 40(4), pp.741-750, 2003.
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