Adaptive unstructured grid generation for engineering computation of aerodynamic flows

A unified framework is presented for automatic unstructured grid generation and grid flow adaptation. The method can simultaneously refine and coarsen the grid cells, a capability that is heavily required in transient flow problems. The proposed method includes a Cartesian grid generation approach in the first stage that enables an automatic field discretization without need to explicitly define the surface grid. The Cartesian grid cells are then subdivided in such a way that prevents the existence of hanging nodes. This allows the application of efficient fully unstructured flow solvers. The capabilities of the method are demonstrated by flow computation around a maneuver wing-flap geometry (SKF 1.1) at transonic flow conditions. An explicit finite volume cell-centered scheme is used for numerical solution of compressible inviscid flow equations. Results show the efficiency and applicability of the method. (C) 2008 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.