Abstract
The ability to perform credible CFD simulations at accelerated speeds has opened up the potential for a new use-mode for CFD as a tool in engineering: the application of CFD for first-order parameter-space exploration, analysis, and design communication. When coupled with a suitable real-time rendering and interaction capability for in-situ visualisation and manipulation of 3D results, CFD may be used as part of an interactive design tool in virtual engineering. These steerable applications represent a paradigm shift in the application of CFD for engineering and offer the potential to transform the way CFD is used within the industry. This article presents developments towards a production-ready virtual wind tunnel including presentation of an integrated, interactive modelling and simulation tool for aerodynamic design and analysis built using the Unreal Engine 4 game engine. The virtual wind tunnel application provides a mechanism for integrating virtual reality observation, navigation, visualisation and in-game interaction with a flow field simulated using our own GPU-accelerated CFD library based on the lattice-Boltzmann method. Objects may be imported from CAD or reconstructed using Microsoft Kinect-based 3D scanning. Simulation parameters may be modified at run-time by the user. The flow solver has been validated against experimental data for a representative turbulent flow and demonstrates excellent agreement with available data.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of 6th European Conference on Computational Mechanics (ECCM 6) and 7th European Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics (ECFD 7) |
| Subtitle of host publication | 11-15 June 2018, Glasgow, UK |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- Virtual Reality
- Game Engines
- Mobile Devices
- GPU Computing
- Lattice- Boltzmann Method