Meshing Considerations for Adjoint-based Mesh Adaptation

Improvements in computational power, accessibility to high performance computing (HPC) resources, and open-source tools have recently contributed to the prevalence of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and its widespread adoption across several diverse industries. CFD simulations that leverage sophisticated physical models are regularly used throughout the design cycle to help shape and refine the overall final configuration of a product.

However, ensuring that the computed solutions are sufficiently accurate with respect to the physical system being modeled is often left to the practitioner to determine. Even for relatively standard simulations, questions often arise as to the robustness with which CFD methods can accurately compute outputs of interest. Numerical errors can often be directly traced to the configuration of the underlying mesh and orientation of individual and neighboring cells used in calculating a solution. Error estimation and adaptive methods are critical ingredients to improve the reliability of computational simulations efficiently and reliably.

In this webinar, we demonstrate some recommended best meshing practices in Pointwise and demonstrate adjoint-based mesh adaptation using NASA Langley's FUN3D solver to accurately compute the flow over an ONERA M6 wing.

You will learn how to:

• Seamlessly import IGES files into Pointwise
• Create Coons patches to easily close gaps in analysis models
• Utilize solid modeling techniques to quickly organize models into representative analysis surfaces 
• Quickly generate farfield and symmetry boundary domains using Pointwise's built-in geometry creation tools
• Generate anisotropic surface and volume grids using T-Rex (anisotropic tetrahedral extrusion)
• Setup mesh and input files necessary for mesh adaptation using FUN3D