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Maximising the impact of CFD in the design office: ARA's role

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

A. J. Peace*
Affiliation:
Aircraft Research Association (ARA)Research DepartmentBedford, UK

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools are an integral part of the processes within design and performance assessment offices in the aerospace industry. As timescales from initial concept to design-freeze become shorter, there is an increasing need for the CFD process to be timely and cost effective and for confidence in the predictive capability of the CFD tool to be high. Only in this way will the impact of CFD be maximised. The CFD software development and support team plays a key role in achieving this goal. This paper describes how the team at ARA has met the challenge of delivering to industry what it requires in terms of both the CFD tools and the people who supply them. The qualities needed to do this extend beyond the ability to achieve technical advancement, although prime emphasis is still placed on this aspect. In particular, the importance of developing a close relationship between CFD team and end user — an integrated team approach — is stressed. This leads to a precise and unambiguous understanding of customer needs and the delivery of the required product and its maintenance. The demonstration of recent technical achievements and the discussion of supporting team attributes exemplify these points.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2002 

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