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Towards certification of computational fluid dynamics as numerical experiments for rotorcraft applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2017

M.J. Smith*
Affiliation:
Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
K.E. Jacobson
Affiliation:
Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
J.-P. Afman
Affiliation:
Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Abstract

Virtual Engineering (VE), also known as Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), is necessary in both current operational engineering qualifications and to help reduce the costs of future vertical lift design and analysis. As computational power continues to provide increasing capability to the rotorcraft engineering community to perform simulations in both real time and off line, it is imperative that the community develop verification and validation protocols and processes to certify these methods so that they can be reliably used to help reduce engineering cost and schedule. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become a major Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) tool in the fixed wing and vertical lift communities, but it has not been developed to the point where it is accepted as a replacement for testing in certification of new or existing systems or vehicles. Since the rise of modern CFD in the 1980s, the promise of CFD’s capabilities has been met or exceeded, but its role in certification arguably remains less prominent than projected. The ability to implement transformative technologies further drives the need for CFD in design. To meet CFD’s role in certification, several goals must be met to provide a true “numerical experiment” from which accuracies (error estimates), sensitivities, and consistent application results can be extracted. This paper discusses the progress and direction towards developing CFD strategies for certification.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2017 

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Footnotes

This is a version of a paper first presented at the RAeS Virtual Engineering Conference held at Liverpool University, 8-10 November 2016.

References

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