Assessment of CFD work in India

Gopal R Shevare
Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Bombay & Zeus Numerix Private Limited
ABSTRACT
CFD Software is off the self commodity. Availability of teraflop computers (the old bottleneck in CFD) does not exist
anymore and teraflop computers can be bought, built or hired. It looks as if CFD has managed to come to the centre
stage. Naturally, assessment of its strengths and weakness will be useful for planning, adopting and deploying this
powerful technology for aerospace projects. The paper classifies CFD in three separate activities: Teaching/R&D in
institutes, developing and deploying CFD software in industry and CFD as an automated process to be used by aerospace
designer in future. India has made some progress in the first two. It is argued that improvements in CFD alone are not
enough in future. The design process must change to take advantage of virtual/numerical simulations, CFD being one the
many simulation technologies.

Key Words: Computational Fluid Dynamics, Aerospace CFD, Assessment of CFD

1. INTRODUCTION
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has
made great strides in the last decade. Aerospace CFD
seems to have made an impact in the 1970s when a
supersonic pocket and a shock wave embedded in
subsonic flow were automatically captured. The next
important mile stone was reached in 1980s, when
CFD could simulate heat transfer rates in hypersonic
flows for reentry vehicles. In India, the first step in
CFD was taken in 1981, when an international
workshop in CFD was held in Trivandrum. The
second step and probably the most important
development of CFD happened when Aeronautical
Development Agency (ADA) took a lead and
challenged a scattered aerospace CFD community to
work together cohesively towards analyzing Light
Combat Configuration (LCA) configurations. Since
then educational institutes, research labs and design
offices have made investment in understanding CFD
and its usage in aerospace engineering analysis.
There have been discussions on facets,
especially scientific facets of CFD in various forums
helping aerospace community chart its healthy and
robust growth [1]. Presently, there are many civil
and military aerospace projects on the drawing board
and hence it is timely that we assess our capability in
developing and deploying CFD as a technology.

2. AEROSPACE CFD
There is a dilemma of accessibility of highly
matured CFD technology but not the usefulness of
CFD technology. One hand, most of our
organizations has suites of CFD software having
different maturity levels in algorithms and tools.
They use CFD based on the level of uncertainty they

place in CFD predictions. On the other hand, many

phenomena cannot be modeled effectively in CFD.
Turbulence model with and without compressibility
effects,
transition
and
separated
flows,
aerothermodynamics, non-equilibrium flows, multiphase flows are some examples. Thus ability to
model multi-scale physics must be the first metric to
assess our CFD.
Designers are at most specialists of flow
physics among things; they are not the experts in
numerical methods. In fact designers need a quick
tool to help them in their global thinking and it is
undisputed that CFD is quicker and cost effective tool
compared to wind tunnel testing. Naturally to make
CFD as one of such tool, we need to develop an
infrastructure / systems that do require designers to
worry about availability to worry about such diverse
things as no. of CPUs, types and quality grids, tuning
parameters to be used in turbulence models, etc. Our
ability to create CFD hardware/software system
which enables the designers to deploy CFD properly,
carefree and yet very is the second important metric.
The last and equally important requirement
of CFD technology is its ability to co-exist in a suite
of complex multi-disciplinary analysis and design
tools.
Faster turnaround time and an ability to
conceptualize a non-conventional design is the order
of the day. Flapping wings, cm-sized engines, zero
RCS signatures are possible and have a meaning if
and only if, CFD co-exists with combustion, analysis
of composite materials, electromagnetic analysis of
dielectric materials, controls, etc. The ability to
design and develop CFD software so that it co-exists
with CAD on one hand and numerous simulations
tools with correct an automatic data transfer between

Gopal R Shevare

them is the third important metric. Admittedly, this

requirement is not specific to CFD alone.
Indian CFD is assessed here in terms of the
above three metrics.

3. CFD algorithms and Minds-on training in

CFD
The seeds of CFD, like any subject, are
sowed in educational institutes. Undergraduates /
postgraduates get initiated to applied mathematics,
fluid mechanics, gas dynamics, heat transfer and
advanced topics such as turbulence, stability, etc. It
is here that young CFD engineers get to know the
interplay between various competing phenomena and
how to model them. There is an emphasis on
concepts rather than problem solving ability. The
training is therefore conceptual; mentally challenging
or minds on rather than hands-on which demands
solving well defined problems rather mechanically.
By nature, this needs to be an individual oriented
work seeking original contributions to the science.
Being a non-profit activity, it needs to intrinsically
driven by interest of faculty and funded by
government.

AR&DB had an important role to play in

shaping this activity. It has funded large no of
projects in the past and it has been funding CFD
activity aggressively. A large number of CFD
scientist / engineers got their grinding through the
funds provided by AR&DB. Recently funded CFD
centers at IITs and IISc is a timely step in this
direction. However, it would be better that mandate
to the centers is (a) training of CFD manpower and
(b) carrying out basic research in algorithm in CFD
and CFD related areas.
Ref [2] states that CFD has been used for
high-speed
cruise
wing
design
and
propulsion/airframe integration. Not only this, it
states that CFD has been used for analysis / design of
flap support fairings, identifying locations air-data
sensors, environmental control system (ECS) inlet
and exhaust ports, cabin pressurization and outflow
valves were position with CFD. There is a claim that
CFD can provide insight to high-lift concepts and
hence used for assess plan form effects. But on the
other hand, Ref [3] shows that RANS simulation is
failing in predicting of stall of 2D airfoil and
RANS/LES is with compact differencing provide the
answer. See Fig.1

For CFD to survive and thrive, it is essential

that basics science and numerical methods are
covered in great details. The activity must produce
researchers who understand basic physics and
chemistry of the flow, though processes which leads
to novel algorithms for producing behaviour of fluids.
It is natural that the activity is funded by Govt. as the
training is broad based. This CFD activity is lively in
the country, but its spread is limited. Industry and
R&D laboratories are getting ready manpower from
these institutions, though the number seems to be too
small against the requirement.
The manpower being trained is mainly in the
area of what can be called as mainstream CFD.
There is hardly any attempt modeling physics in
some novel way. Particle based CFD remains
unexplored. Large eddy simulations do not find
place in national conferences, transition studies are
rare. Multi-phase flows are not even attempted.
CFD effort has not been diversified. It evolved
mostly in experimenting with algorithms for
convective terms in Navier-Stokes algorithm.
Serious code development has suffered. This needs
to be changed. This may change with increase in
post graduate intake.
It is well-known that the
productivity in this kind of activity has large
dispersion and hence it is difficult define the goals
and even more difficult to realize them.

Fig. 1: Lift curve of NACA 64A006 airfoil [4]

Fig.2 shows pressure distribution on
triangular wing [3, 4]. The author has used approx. 8
million cells but feels that unless the turbulence
model is improved the pressure distribution may not
match.
This uncertainty where CFD can be used and
where it should not be used needs immediate
attention.
One of the ways is to carry out
verification & validation forum. This will lead to (a)
awareness of scatter in CFD results, (b) limits on the
usefulness of models, (c) direction for CFD R&D.

Assessment of CFD work in India

instead users of CFD software are aerodynamicist.

There are two options to access CFD software: (a)
acquire commercial software, (b) Build CFD
software.

Non-dimensional Span wise distance

Fig.2: Cp variation along span wise direction [4].
European effort QNET-CFD and Drag
Prediction workshops (DPW) by Boeing and NASA
[5] in US are worth emulating. The modest aim
could be to (a) collate known problems where CFD
does not work, existing knowledge on the industrial
application of CFD and to make these available to
European industry, (b) conduct workshops to show to
improve the accuracy of CFD. Luckily, there has
been initiative in this direction already. Symposium
on promotion of Indigenous CFD in Engineering
Services (SPICES) needs support form aerospace
community.

4. Technology Development and hands-on

training in CFD
The speed is the pivotal in usage of CFD. It
can create paradigm shift in the design and analysis
because it is fast. The speed with which CFD can be
used is therefore an important metric in the
assessment of CFD. Though understanding of CFD
is essential, it is possible that repetitive procedures
are made automatic. Work which is time consuming,
but essential for CFD simulations is laid out as
sequence of procedures so that novice user finds
simulation intuitive and regular user, easy. This is
typically done through the usage of software (CFD
software) where each individual step processes the
data as intended by the type of CFD simulation
required to be carried out. At every step, the user
will have plethora of options to choose from
softwares graphics user interface but he must know
the precise options. This activity is supposed to
provide Hand-on training. The emphasis is on the
understanding what is to be done rather than why it is
required to be done. It is for these reasons, that the
user is rarely a CFD scientist or CFD engineer;

Acquiring commercial CFD software option

is faster and easier, if not cheaper. There are many
aerospace organizations in the country that find this
as a better option. Though the organizations may
have capability of building CFD software, they do
not venture in this activity as they have mandate of
designing systems meeting product delivery with
schedule and budget following prevailing design
practices, though some daredevil technology
managers take up the risk of developing the tools
along with the products. It is thus satisfying that
many aerospace organizations using commercial
CFD tools for their analysis and design activity. Due
to lack of in-depth knowledge, industrial users of
commercial software tend to use CFD for
applications where it may not be applicable. It is for
this reason that advanced large aerospace
organizations develop their own code as the
developers constantly talk to the designers and advice
them to use it correctly.
Unfortunately, building CFD software
requires many challenging developments other than
algorithmic development of solving Navier-Stokes
equations. CAD repair tools and CAD repair is the
first challenge. It is well-known that CAD repair for
military aircraft geometry can be the most daunting
task, especially when it is weponized. Automatic or
almost automatic CAD repair is an order of the day.
The second challenge is the pre-processor. This is
not a unique to CFD. It is a universal challenge for
solving problems in engineering physics posed using
partial differential equations. The challenge gets
compounded in CFD because it needs to model
volume not modeled by solids in CAD. In fact this
problem can be so complex that many software
vendors prefer to get pre-processor developed by a
sub-vendor. The third challenge happens to be the
usage of high performance computers in solving and
complex fluid flow. Present simulations use several
tens of millions of meshes in routine CFD. If the
configuration has to analyzed for a range of Mach
nos. and angles of attack, several hundreds computer
runs will be required. It will be possible to generate
CFD data in the flight envelop within months if and
only if thousands of cores (CPUs) are simultaneously
used. Last but not the least, exploring the large field
data generated in CFD simulations requires postprocessing tools capable of extracting millions of
cells and displaying their field properties for
interpretation of the designer.

Gopal R Shevare

As an alternative to full blast CFD software,

it should be possible for a design office to craft
customized set of tools for their own individual
needs. A typical set of tools for an aircraft design
office may consist of a surface modeler (not solid
modeler with IGES file I/O), structured multi-block
surface and volume mesh generator (no other types of
meshes), density based parallelized finite volume
solver with SA as turbulence model (no other
turbulence models) and a post-processor compatible
with each other through cgns. The tools do not need
GUI, in fact GUI is not essential. If CFD can be
made scriptable, for standard configurations of the
organization, designer becomes an order of time more
efficient. It was satisfying that efforts in these
directions were made, but implementation did not
even take off.
CFD is used in many engineering disciplines
in addition to aerospace applications. This has made
providing CFD services and also developing CFD
software as a business proposition. There are a large
number of industrial houses boasting of providing
CFD solutions to aerospace and non-aerospace
sectors. There a couple of groups planning to
develop commercial CFD products. This innovation
in Indian CFD market has just begun. Around 2005,
the market saw what is referred to as fluid phase
and now there are multiple business models in CFD
products and CFD services. Indian CFD business is
in a transitional phase in which a viable business
model is likely to emerge. It is likely that in the next
three to four years only incremental product
innovation will take place, but number of industrial
organizations offering services aerospace may
continue to grow.

5. CFD as a Process
The only way CFD can deliver value to the
organization is that it must affect its product. To
affect the product, it must become an integral part of
the engineering process for the design, manufacture,
and support of the product. Otherwise, CFD is just
an add-on; it may have some value but its effect is
limited. Presently, it an add-on tool; it is not an
integral part of the design process.
This phase is the most difficult phase as
diverse team of design engineers, managers,
consultants and developers need to contribute. They
require far more faith in each others capability than in
all other phases. If this phase is successful, there
will be visible returns on the investment. Without

investments in this activity, the enormous pay-off can

not happen.
A key component of CFD is the CAD
system. Design is embedded in CAD system;
designer accepts design in CAD systems; in fact they
own the design only if it is in his CAD system. The
reality is designer is the customer for CFD researcher
/ developer / service provider. This is because
managing data has become far more complex task
than generating data through numerical simulations
or through experiments. In electronics industry
processes have become CAE driven as the diversity is
far less. It can happen in aerospace engineering in
near future. The designer needs to accept the demand
his own customer. He should be prepared to get his
designs rejected and hence CFD must CFD should be
ready to accept rejection of his best tools, if designer
does not need them because it could be difficult,
inappropriate or costly, etc. CFD developers must
understand that use of CFD requires a pull from the
designers. It is an eye opener to note that 30 % of
some NASA conferences discuss how to develop
systems CFD systems which are easier to use and
more reliable.
However, designers need to understand that
there is sufficient evidence to show that usage cost
incurred in the usage of CFD makes economic sense.
Continuous innovation is the backbone of aerospace
engineering. At every stage they will face a dilemma
of accepting inferior design vs. increasing the cost of
project. It need not always in favor of accepting
inferior design.

6. CONCLUSION
CFD has grown in India as a science and
also as technology.
There are groups and
organizations in the country utilizing their resources
to do research, produce CFD products and provide
services. The evolution will certainly throw up
researchers, software products and organizations
providing services. The quality will depend on the
patronage received from technology mangers. The
first activity will need constant support from the
government. The last activity does not need and this
activity has just begun. The fate of second activity
remains uncertain as it does not guarantee returns on
investment, at the same time it is not considered as
teaching & research activity which Govt. can fund.
Absence of analysis tools for multi-physics, and
interplay between the tools and optimizers will
decide the inroads CFD make in Indian industry.

Assessment of CFD work in India

REFERENCES
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(2005) 455470

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Compressibility,
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Aerodynamics, 24th International Congress
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John C. Vassberg, Mark A. DeHaan,

Melissa Rivers, Richard A. Wahls,
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