An efficient multiblock method for aerodynamic analysis and design on distributed memory systems

摘要

This paper describes the application of a multiblock gridding strategy to the solution of aerodynamic design optimization problems involving complex configurations. ^The design process is parallelized using the MPI (Message Passing Interface) Standard so that it can be efficiently run on a variety of distributed memory systems. ^Substantial improvements to the parallel performance of the baseline method are presented, with particular attention to their impact on the scalability of the program as a function of the mesh size. ^Drag minimization calculations at a fixed coefficient of lift are presented for a business jet configuration that includes the wing, body, pylon, aft-mounted nacelle, and vertical and horizontal tails. ^An aerodynamic design optimization is performed with both the Euler and Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations governing the flow solution and the results are compared. ^These sample calculations establish the feasibility of efficient aerodynamic optimization of complete aircraft configurations using the RANS equations as the flow model. ^(Author)