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C²A²S²E

Numerical simulation of the flow around an A380 Pressure distribution on an A380 and on a cut through the unstructured grid Multi-disciplinary simulation of a gust encounter A320 flying through a wake-vortex system of a A340 Scale-resolved simulation of the turbulent flow over a trailing-edge flap in landing configuration Simulation of flow over control devices Scale-resolving simulation of separated turbulent flow Simulation of longitudinal vortices on a delta wing

The C²A²S²E department’s main activity is the development of numerical methods and processes for the multi-disciplinary simulation and optimization of aircraft.  In addition to the development of physical models for complex flows and cutting-edge solution algorithms, the department is also active in the development of efficient optimization strategies covering all relevant disciplines, as well as developing surrogate models of higher fidelity methods. The customization of numerical methods for optimal efficiency on high-performance computer clusters is of particular importance to the department. The hybrid flow-solver developed at C²A²S²E is routinely used for a wide range of simulations in both research and industry. The department is also involved in the development of a system for the multi-disciplinary simulation and design of wind turbines.

Current Activities at C²A²S²E

• Modeling of turbulent aerodynamic  flows for industrially relevant configurations using high-fidelity RANS models (Reynolds-Stress-Models) and scale-resolving approaches (hybrid RANS/LES, SAS, LES)
• Development of flexible methods for the simulation of laminar-turbulent transition
• Development of advanced CFD methods for the simulation of turbulent flows around complex aircraft configurations at high Reynolds-Numbers on unstructured grids (multi-grid, implicit methods, higher-order methods, adaptation)
• Development of a next-generation CFD solver (modern data-layout, multi-level parallelization, combination of different solution methods, expanded application scope)
• Tailoring the developed solution algorithms to the effective use of massively-parallel cluster architectures with highly efficient processor communication
• Detailed, multi-disciplinary maneuver simulations including the effects of aerodynamics, structure, flight-mechanics and –control, as well as the modeling of control surfaces
• Development of aerodynamic and multi-disciplinary optimization methods (adjoint methods, surrogate-model based optimization)
• Development of surrogate models for the efficient determination of aerodynamic data and loads over the whole flight envelope (reduced-order models, error-estimation)
• Formulation of methods for the quantification of aerodynamic uncertainties by use of numerical simulations, leading to more robust aerodynamic designs
• Development and deployment of an adaptable simulation environment for multi-disciplinary simulations and optimizations on highly parallel cluster architectures

Software Products / Research Tools

• TAU
  The DLR-TAU-Code (TAU=Triangular Adaptive Upwind) is a software for the numerical flow simulation based on the (U)RANS or the hybrid RANS/LES approach using a finite-volume discretization for adaptable unstructured grids. TAU allows for flow predictions around complex moving geometries over a wide range of Mach numbers and has been established as a production code in the European aircraft industry, as well as a research tool for new aerospace technologies.


• THETA
  The DLR-THETA-Code (THETA=Turbulent Heat Release Extension of the TAU-Code) was developed for the simulation of incompressible combustion chamber flows. Further areas of application include two-phase flow using the Volume-of-Fluid method, which is used to simulate fuel sloshing in tanks of upper stages of rockets, as well as the high-fidelity simulation of flows around wind turbines and in the surrounding terrain taking important atmospheric parameters into account.


• CODA
  CODA (CODA=CFD for ONERA, DLR and Airbus) is a software for the solution of the RANS equations on unstructured grids based on second-order finite-volume and higher-order Discontinuous-Galerkin discretizations. The implementation addresses the efficient utilization of current and upcoming high performance computing clusters. Further development of the software takes place within in a European collaboration with the French research lab ONERA and Airbus as a partner from aircraft industry.


• SMARTy
  SMARTy (SMARTy=Surrogate Modeling for AeRo data Toolbox in Python) is a modular, object-oriented Python package (API) for rapidly predicting aerodynamic data based on high-fidelity CFD. Key features include design of experiments methods, adaptive sampling strategies, dimensionality reduction and data fusion approaches, and methods for surrogate modeling, variable-fidelity modeling and reduced-order modeling.
   
• FlowSimulator
  An adaptive simulation environment optimized for multi-disciplinary coupled simulations on highly-parallel cluster architectures