Introduction

This book represents a timely review of state-of-the-art algorithms in the many branches of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Algorithms for a wide range of incompressible flow phenomena are presented ranging from highly turbulent flows to low-speed non-Newtonian flows. Despite the enormous advances of the past ten years it is clear that there are still many interesting new Algorithmic directions evolving.

Much of the material presented herein is from the perspective of the algorithm researcher whose ultimate goal is the development of viable algorithms for the accurate and efficient simulation of real-world CFD problems. In this chapter, I would like to take the opportunity to discuss CFD from a different perspective - that of a commercial CFD package developer and more importantly that of the user of CFD codes. For, in the final analysis, it is the user who must apply the algorithms developed by researchers and packaged in commercial CFD codes. Over the last ten years CFD has evolved to the point where commercial CFD codes have been developed and introduced into the marketplace. These codes are being used with increasing frequency and it is probably fair to state that today the use of CFD in industry is increasingly becoming an accepted analysis tool.

Over the last decade the application of CFD has spread from its original aerospace beginnings to increasing application in a broad spectrum of industries ranging from the more traditional automotive and electronics industries to exciting new applications in the biomedical and food industries. In these industries CFD is still not used in a truly design environment; however, the real payback from the use of CFD will come when it is used on a daily basis as a design tool by design engineers who are not CFD specialists.