I am looking for some general ideas about a project to do in CFD for a graduate computational science class. This project is a group project (3-5 members) and I will have only this one semester to complete it. A group member suggested CFD as a possible subject area for the project as he has some experience in the field.

A few details: 1. The general goal of the project as stated by the instructor is to "research a scientific discipline and find an area where new simulations might provide insight".

2. I knew absolutely nothing about CFD until this week. However, I have a BS in physics and have extensive undergrad math and computer science courswork. I am also willing to work hard on my own this semester to learn about CFD. Based on my online research this week, I am extremely interested in CFD's practical applications.

3. The project idea needs to be something do-able in one semester. For example, my group won't be able to simulate a full-scale aerodynamic design of a race car.

So I am writing to see if anyone out their might have some general ideas about a possible project. I'm not looking for anything terribly specific, just a general direction to go in. Also, it would need to be an idea that addresses/solves a particular scientific problem (i.e. We can't just write a simulation that shows how air pressure causes a plane to fly). Since I don't have a background in CFD, coming up with an idea is pretty tough. But, again, I am extremely intrigued by this field so would like to do the project in CFD.

One last comment: I read a few articles about how golf ball manufacturers model their golf balls computationally to determine ways to make their golf balls travel farther (for example, the number and size of the dimples). I thought that sounded pretty interesting, but wasn't sure how we could possibly expand/improve on what those well-paid golf manufacturer engineers are already doing.

I would suggest just some very simple Euler calculation due to time limitations. You can maybe find a code, or even write one yourself. Some comparison with experimental results is doable, and you could discuss the validity of your approach as a part of your approach.

Alternatively, look at the Taylor-Couette problem. Depending on the parameters you choose and on your approach, this can be rather simple or very complicated problem.

And third option: lid-driven cavity.

The last two are rather traditional class project cases, and can be done with structured grid, so the grid generation would not take the majority of your time.

I hope this helps.

-- Jarmo

Something doesn't make sense here. On the one hand you are trying to get into CFD from almost zero knowledge within only one semester. And then you want to be advanced enough to apply your newly found expertise on cutting-edge research problems. I don't think it's feasable. I would advise you to either drop the idea of doing CFD by choosing something else that you're more familiar with, or to restrict yourself to simple problems that have been solved before. Alternatively you could come up with some ingeneous new application/method for CFD, simple AND revolutionary. If that's the case, please let me know. )

I am wondering if you would be using an already available CFD code or would be writing your own code. If you want to use available code then you have lot of options Moisture transfer in walls is one. The fluid mistures is another, flow in enclousers like double pane window is also an intresting topic, you can play with different dimensions and multiple sections. Hope this helps, I am also a beginner in CFD and found your site while searching for projects in CFD

I am wondering if you would be using an already available CFD code or would be writing your own code. If you want to use available code then you have lot of options Moisture transfer in walls is one. The fluid mistures is another, flow in enclousers like double pane window is also an intresting topic, you can play with different dimensions and multiple sections. Hope this helps, I am also a beginner in CFD and found your site while searching for projects in CFD