How to Make CFD Truely Predictive: DFS

The global market for CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics software reaches soon $2B per year with Ansys dominating, but still struggles with basic difficulties of computational simulation including turbulence and flow separation from solid walls, despite major efforts over many years.

The effect is that CFD is not predictive, which means that design still needs time consuming and expensive experimental testing in wind tunnels or ship tanks. At best CFD can be used to support already known facts from experiment or accumulated experience, by suitable fitting of parameters in turbulence and wall models.

DFS Direct Finite Element Simulation represents a breakthrough meeting the NASA 2030 Vision by offering for the first time predictive computational simulation of wall bounded turbulent fluid flow. DFS is predictive because it is based on first principle physics without use of turbulence or wall modeling.

The first principle physics of DFS consists of best possible computational solution of equations expressing incompressibility and Newton's 2nd law combined with a slip boundary condition at solid walls reflecting the observed very small skin friction for Reynolds numbers larger than $10^6$of relevance for airplanes, ships and cars.

In particular DFS has been shown to correctly capture the physics of flow separation as 3d rotational slip separation with point stagnation, and more generally bluff body flow as potential flow modified by 3d rotational slip separation. DFS gets around the obstacle of computational resolution of thin boundary layers, which has so long prevented predictive CFD simulation.

In short, DFS is the first truely predictive CFD code.

DFS is presented to the market by Icarus Digital Math in basic open source form with add-ons for different complex applications including F1 racing and flight simulation.

Ludwig Prandtl was given the role of Father of Modern Fluid Mechanics because he presented a resolution in 1904 of d'Alembert’s paradox formulated in 1755 and so gave new promise to a fluid mechanics haunted by a fundamental contradiction for 150 years. But Prandtl’s resolution came with the severe side effect of making predictive CFD impossible by asking for computational resolution of thin boundary layers.

DFS frees CFD for the first time from the spell of Prandtl.

Understanding that Prandt’s resolution was physically incorrect and giving a different physically correct resolution, represented key first steps towards the predictive CFD now being realised in fully developed form as DFS with key scientific references:

• Resolution of d'Alembert's Paradox
• Computational Turbulent Incompressible Flow
• New Theory of Flight
• 3rd High Lift Workshop

DFS as New Design Tool: As an example from the 3rd High Lift Workshop, standard CFD computes the drag of an airplane as 50% form and 50% skin friction drag with the total drag matching experiments, while DFS with zero skin friction computes correct drag then as 100% form. This means that standard codes miss form drag by 50% by missing physically correct flow separation,  which is captured by DFS from first principle physics! In other words, standard codes appear to give a completely wrong picture of the contribution to total drag from form and skin friction, thus misleading design. The fact that standard CFD despite missing form drag with 50% gets total drag right, indicates that standard CFD is fitted to observation and thus does not deliver true prediction.

DFS reveals New Theory of Flight: DFS comes with mathematical theory offering a true explanation of the miracle of flight for the first time.