Practical Applications of Parallel Processing in Computational Fluid Dynamics

The onset of parallel computing has had a profound impact on CFD, both in terms of its utility as an analysis and design tool, and its capability in adequately resolving flowfields that exhibit complex physical phenomena. The resources provided by a distributed network of processors cohesively working together provides an opportunity to tackle some of the most challenging problems in fluid dynamics, that have proved elusive to serial supercomputing. Turbomachinery and combustion are two such areas of fluid dynamics that have benefited immensely from the increase in resources afforded by parallel machines. In this paper, we discuss the parallel implementation of conventionall y popular implicit and explicit serial CFD algorithms and utilize them to solve problems of increased complexity in turbomachinery and combustion. Specific applications in turbomachiner y that are discussed in this paper include the rotor-stator interaction problem, analysis of tip vortex generation, multiple passage simulations for non-periodic distortions and cavitation. Also discussed in the paper are problems related to combusting flowfields in rocket injectors that require fine local resolution necessary to capture the wide range of dominant characteristic scales.