High Performance Computing Issues Related to the Simulation of Scramjet Flow Fields

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has proven to be an invaluable tool for the design and analysis of high-speed propulsion devices. The maturation of high performance computer architectures, together with the availability of robust computational algorithms, has made it possible to perform simulations of complete engine flow paths. For instance, steady-state Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations are now routinely used in the scramjet engine development cycle to optimize fuel injector arrangements, investigate experimental anomalies and trends, and extract various measures of engine performance. Great strides have been made over the last decade to achieve this milestone; perhaps the most note-worthy is our ability to port scalar codes to parallel architectures. Unresolved issues remain, however, preventing the CFD practitioner from increasing the level of fidelity used to model these high-speed, reacting flows. The present lecture will highlight state-of-the-art simulation practices used by engineers to model scramjet flow fields. The presentation will highlight the challenges in high speed computing that must be overcome to expand these simulation practices and allow more of the fundamental flow physics to be resolved.