Page 8 - Computational Fluid Dynamics for Engineers

Preface VII

presented in a book of modest size. The discussions, however, are general in this
introductory book and apply to a variety of flows, including three-dimensional
flows.
The format of the book assures that essential topics are covered in a logical
sequence. The Introduction of Chapter 1 presents some examples to demon-
strate the use of computational fluid dynamics for solving engineering problems
of relevance. Chapter 2 presents the conservation equations; it is comparatively
brief since detailed derivations are available elsewhere. The third chapter intro-
duces important properties of turbulent flows, and exact and modeled forms of
the turbulence equations with explanations to justify the assumptions of the
models.
Chapters 4 and 5 provide an introduction to the numerical methods for solv-
ing the model equations for conservation equations which are useful for modeling
the behavior of the more complete and complicated parabolic, hyperbolic and
elliptic partial-differential equations considered in subsequent chapters. Chapter
4 discusses the numerical methods for the model parabolic and elliptic equa-
tions and Chapter 5 the model hyperbolic equations and include many computer
programs.
The calculation of solutions for inviscid and boundary-layer equations is ad-
dressed in Chapters 6 and 7. Chapter 6 discusses finite-difference and panel
methods for solving the Laplace equation and include computer programs for
single and multi-element airfoils. Chapter 7 discusses the solution of laminar
and turbulent boundary-layer equations for a prescribed external velocity dis-
tribution and specified transition location and includes a computer program
based on Keller's finite-difference method.
The prediction of the onset of transition from laminar to turbulent flow has
traditionally been achieved by correlations which are known to have limited
n
ranges of applicability. The use of the e -method, based on the solutions of the
stability equations, has been proposed as a more general approach. Chapter 8
describes the solution of the stability equations and provides a computer pro-
gram for solving the Orr-Sommerfeld equation and computing transition with
n
the e -method. It also presents applications of the stability/transition program,
together with the computer programs of Chapters 6 and 7, to demonstrate how
problems of direct relevance to engineering can be addressed by this approach.
Chapter 9 presents grid generation methods and is followed by Chapters
10 to 12 which describe methods for solving Euler (Chapter 10), incompress-
ible Navier-Stokes (Chapter 11) and compressible Navier-Stokes equations.
Again computer programs are included in each chapter and summarized in
Appendix B.
A one semester course for advanced undergraduate and first-year graduate
students would include a brief reading of Chapter 1 followed by Chapters 2, 4, 5
and 10 which include an extensive number of example problems and associated