Adaptive Multi-Grid Methods for Parallel CFD Applications

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) computations are memory and time intensive and need to be executed in parallel for larger computational domains. In order to produce physical accurate solutions, adaptive grid setups have to be chosen as the memory and computing time would otherwise be too high, and results would not be obtained in a reasonable amount of time. This paper describes the usage of a multi-grid based approach for solving the pressure Poisson equation, arising during every time step of the Navier-Stokes equations. It will then highlight an analysis of errors introduced due to an adaptive setup of the domain, and show performance measurements for uniform and adaptive grid setups. Last but not least, a CFD benchmark example based on the von K\'{a}rm\'{a}n vortex street will be presented, and the results will be discussed.