New simulation tools set to help UK aerospace fly

Acknowledging this trend the UK government developed a ‘Plan for Growth' to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries'. Part of this initiative focuses on the UK aerospace sector; one of Britain's key industries. Government and the private-sector recently committed to an ambitious long-term partnership, and £2 billion investment, to retain the UK's position at the forefront of aerospace manufacturing. World-leading understanding of aerodynamics has been key to the UK's success in the aerospace sector, and pushing the boundaries of aerodynamic design is essential to meet the economic and environmental challenges facing aviation in the future. Computational simulation of fluid flow, often referred to as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), plays a vital role in the aerodynamic design of aircraft; allowing engineers to understand complex flow patterns without ever flying a real aircraft, or firing-up a wind tunnel. It is becoming apparent, however, that current generation CFD software does not meet industrial needs – put simply, for complex flow problems the software takes too long to obtain a solution, and if it does eventually reach a solution, it is often wrong. A new generation of CFD software is required. Dr Peter Vincent, a lecturer in the department of Aeronautics at Imperial College London, is working with a team of PhD students to develop this new generation of CFD software. Their software is designed to harness the power of new ‘many-core' computing platforms, such as Nvidia Tesla GPUs, the latest generation of which have over 2,500 compute cores (compare this with the 2-4 cores found in a modern laptop). In fact, the software is even able to run on clusters of hundreds of these GPUs, such as Emerald, the UK's largest GPU supercomputer. The ability to run on many-core technology means results can be obtained more quickly – valuable flow solutions in hours, potentially, instead of weeks. The software is also based on new mathematical algorithms – highly accurate ways of ‘discretising' the complex equations governing fluid flow. Developed by Dr Vincent with colleagues at NASA and Stanford University, these new algorithms help ensure the results are not only timely, but also correct. “Our objective is to provide industry and academia with cutting-edge aerodynamic design software, and establish a world-leading skills hub and support base for this software in the UK,” says Dr Vincent. “This will give key UK industries such as aerospace unrivalled strategic advantage in the global race.” Dr Vincent was recently awarded a £1.3m Early Career Fellowship from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to support his research. He also collaborates closely with various academic partners in the US and UK, including colleagues at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, University of Swansea, and University of Utah, as well as various industrial partners including BAE Systems, NASA, Nvidia, and Zenotech. Dr Vincent works particularly closely with his industrial partners, ensuring that the technology he develops is relevant and fundamentally useful. “Effective translation of our technology from the blackboard to the real-world via our industrial partners is key,” says Dr Vincent. In particular, the new software could help BAE Systems design next generation Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). UAVs are set to have a significant impact on our society in the coming decades, playing important roles in areas such as defence, border security, search and rescue, farming, fishing, cargo transport, wireless communications, and weather monitoring. “At BAE Systems we have an open innovation approach to science and technology, as well as conducting our own in-house research programmes we work closely with academia to help develop the best ideas to benefit all parties involved,” says Professor Clyde Warsop, Executive Scientist at BAE Systems. “Imperial College has a distinguished history of producing CFD software, and we are excited by the new technology on offer here which in the future could be integrated into our own codes and toolsets. We believe it could play an important role in the design of next-generation air platforms helping UK industry move to the forefront of this important emerging market.” www.imperial.ac.uk www.baesystems.com