Max David Collao

Generation and Optimization of Spacing Fields

A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science in Computational Engineering Degree, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Max David Collao, August 2011

Abstract:
Meshes are used to discretize space for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Mesh adaptation through refinement and smoothing can improve the accuracy of the CFD solution. In order to perform adaptive refinement or smoothing a spacing field is needed to define the desired edge sizes in the mesh. The objectives of this research are to generate spacing fields from existing CFD solutions and optimize this spacing information for efficient use by programs to perform adaptive refinement or smoothing. All work was done on 2D meshes with the intention of gaining knowledge and experience for later application to 3D meshes. The program written to generate spacing fields is presented. Images depicting spacing fields created from different meshes using this program are shown. Next, a library of functions created to store and retrieve spacing information is presented. Finally, the shortcomings of the developed software as well as ideas for future research are discussed.

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