Some Seminal Solutions and Applications
We have discussed the historical evolution of the governing flow equations, the first essential element of CFD. We then discussed the evolution of the high-speed digital computer, the second essential element of CFD. We now come to the crux of this article, the actual CFD flow-field solutions, their evolution, and their importance. Computational fluid dynamics has grown exponentially in the past four decades, rendering any selective examination of applications problematical. This case study examines four applications that have driven the development of CFD to its present place of prominence: the supersonic blunt body problem, transonic airfoils and wings, Navier-Stokes solutions, and hypersonic vehicles.