Geometry, mesh generation, and the CFD 2030 vision

The NASA CFD Vision 2030 Study: A Path to Revolutionary Computational Aerosciences is the latest in a series of significant reports that illuminate the path ahead for computational fluid dynamics. Mesh generation and the use of complex geometry models were cited by the study as key aspects requiring significant improvement if the vision for CFD in the year 2030 is to be realized. In particular, the study cited meshing for being unable to reliably generate valid, high-quality meshes on the first attempt, for being inadequate in its ability to utilize complex geometry models, for not taking advantage of high performance computing resources, and for not providing robust, solution-adaptive capabilities. This paper delves into all these challenges, expands on them, contextualizes them, and identifies paths toward their resolution. For most of these challenges, in the short term, the potential resolutions tend more toward the educational and organizational than technical. This is particularly true for CFD’s use of geometry models and, to a lesser extent, mesh quality. Meshing’s future use of high performance computing resources and implementation of technology such as adaption are more technical and require alignment with the needs of CFD solver technology.