Project PRESTIGE: In-situ visualization of flow processes in very large CFD calculation models

Jet engine © -jkb- Lizenz: CC BY-SA 3.0

As part of the aviation research programme of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi)the joint project PRESTIGE was launched in 2018. This project brings together partners from academic research and industry and is dedicated to the further development and validation of simulation methods to improve the interdisciplinary understanding of engine systems.
One goal of the project is the numerical simulation of a transient flow through a complete engine compressor including its stationary and rotating components. In order to be able to compare the numerical investigation results with existing practical or experimental experience, a correspondingly fine grid resolution of the volume including all individual components is required. This leads to computational grids with several billion grid nodes, which can only be processed on supercomputers.
Due to the unsteady effects within the engine system, a time-dependent investigation of the processes is necessary. This generates immense amounts of backup and evaluation files, the handling of which (read and write accesses, memory requirements) is associated with high time and cost-intensive expenditure. Possibilities to significantly reduce this effort by direct processing and evaluation during the running process (“in-situ”) is part of the research work within the PRESTIGE project. In-situ visualization enables the user to extract and process results directly from the memory of the process already during the running CFD simulation
More powerful hardware and software enables ever more complex and realistic calculation models, so that in-situ evaluations will gain immensely in importance in the future.

CFD Consultants GmbH, as an industrial partner in cooperation with Intelligent Light, a leading company in the field of CFD post-processing, has made a significant contribution to the joint project and was able to develop an in-situ visualization solution and successfully implement it in a CFD code.

Pressure contours in a jet engine

This solution is not only suitable for large-scale projects, but is also interesting for all other fluidic simulation projects, especially for time-dependent investigations. This makes the method attractive for everyone who is involved in numerical flow simulation.

Contact: Birgit Hanna, CFD Consultants GmbH

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