Flow simulation

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an established method in fluid mechanics. Its aim is to solve fluid mechanics problems approximatively using numerical methods.

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The model equations used are mostly Navier-Stokes equations, Euler equations or potential equations. The motivation for this is that important problems such as the calculation of the drag coefficient very quickly lead to nonlinear problems that can only be solved exactly in special cases. Computational fluid dynamics then offers a cost-effective alternative to wind tunnel experiments.

The internationally common abbreviation CFD has been used since about a conference of the AIAA in 1973. It was there that the use of CFD as a tool for aircraft design was established.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Fluid mechanics and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.

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