Fundamentals of CFD
If you are on this course page and reading this, then probably you might have already heard about CFD and know what the acronym CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) stands for. But, as rightly said by Richard Feynman ‘knowing the name of something is entirely different from actually knowing the thing’.
Working professionals, who use commercial CFD software frequently to complete their project work, often refer to user’s manual or tutorial guide, to make a choice of numerical technique, or turbulence model, or the type of boundary condition to apply. But most of the tutorial guides let them down, by not providing sufficient explanation of the theoretical background and justification for using a particular numerical scheme for the given problem. Sometimes this can give rise to questions like: why we need grid? Or why there is a variety of spatial discretization for gradient and variable interpolation?
Vast numbers of commercial packages are available in the market. But many times students in the research domain attempt to write a new CFD code from scratch or modify an existing code in order to have a tailor made code for their problem.
So, knowing the fundamentals of CFD becomes very important in the process of using CFD as a tool for design analysis. 'Fundamentals of CFD' course provides an introduction to the governing equations of fluid flows, and the numerical methods developed for solving flow problems on computers, the computational aspects of fluid dynamics.
Recommended background
The course doesn’t demand any degree from a specific branch of engineering. But mostly students from Mechanical/Aerospace/Chemical or Automobile background are seen to subscribe for this course. A graduate level course in fluid mechanics and heat transfer would be an added advantage. Knowledge of solving Partial Differential Equations would give an edge in learning. The course is aimed at graduate students, researchers, engineers and physicists involved in fluid computations. It is designed to be equally useful to beginners and experts.
Your Learning
The objective of the course is to provide an overview of the most common numerical techniques to solve the partial differential equations, with a focus on Finite Difference Method and Finite Volume Method. After successful completion of this course, you will be in a position to convert a given Partial Differential Equation (differential and integral forms) into linear algebraic form using FDM and FVM. Also you will understand the requirement of domain discretization or computational grid.
The course mainly contains video lessons to learn and enhance their CFD knowledge. As this is a theoretical course, there are no video demos or tutorials. Currently there are no unit tests or assignments for this course.
Course Format
All the course video lessons are split into two smaller videos of approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Considering the density of concepts covered in each video lesson and the required background study that you need to do in order to understand each concept, the calculated course duration is 2 weeks.
Course Syllabus
The complete course syllabus is divided into 4 lessons. Each lesson is designed to provide a sound foundation of the necessary principles required for the subsequent lessons. So, it is recommended that you do not move to the next lesson until all the concepts of the present lesson are well understood.
Lesson 1: Study of Fluid flows
Have you ever observed common fluid flow phenomenon around you? Have you ever wondered about the physics behind such fluid flows? Whether they can be described by using mathematics and who discovered such mathematical equations of fluid flows? Fluid flow is present everywhere. The aim of this lesson is to show you how every phenomenon around us involves fluid flow. The lesson will present a discussion on the three fundamental methods used to study fluid flow. In the end you will also understand where simulation finds its place as a tool to study fluid flow and allied phenomenon.
Lesson 2: Introduction to CFD
Assuming that most of the participants are new to the topic of CFD, the first lesson is designed as an introduction to CFD. CFD is a distinct field of simulation sciences which is based on physics and mathematical equations. Hence our first lesson is designed in order to provide you a complete understanding of overall concept of CFD. This lesson provides the basics of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) without going into details of the mathematics or numerical algorithms. By the end of this lesson you will have a clear understanding of CFD and terms like Design, Modeling and Simulation and CFD. You will also realize that CFD is very interesting and highly useful design tool.
Lesson 3: CFD Equations and Numerical Solution
We believe that every participant of our course, who uses CFD software, should also be aware of what is happening behind the software. Behind the software there are physics equations solved using numerical methods. This lesson is design in a way that you will get a basic understanding of the generalized CFD equations and the numerical methods that are used to solve these equations. The objective of this lesson is to refresh the knowledge of mathematical equations which govern fluid flow and heat transfer and also to provide an overview of the additional equations that are solved in CFD. By the end of this lesson you will be familiar with Navier Stokes equations and the difference between exact and numerical solution of differential Equations.
Lesson 4: Fundamentals of Finite Volume method
One of the most commonly used algorithms to convert the partial differential equation to algebraic equations is the Finite Volume Method. Hence it is critical to understand the finite volume method. In this lesson we will see how the Navier Stokes equations are converted into mathematical formulations using the finite volume methods. This lesson would explain how to convert the integral form of conservation equations into linear algebraic equations, using Finite Volume Method. By the end of this lesson you will have a clear understanding of the Finite Volume Method.
1. I don’t have an engineering background. Can I take this course?
Although this course doesn’t demand any degree from a specific branch of engineering, a graduate level course in fluid mechanics, mathematics & heat transfer would be preferred.
2. How much time needed to complete the course?
The course is available all the time. To start this course you need to buy the course. After this our executive will contact you and guide you through further process in order to activate your course. The course usually gets activated within 1 to 2 working days once all processing is completed. Considering difficulty level, understanding capacity and necessary extra reading, on average, we expect this course to be finished in 2 weeks.
3. Is this course only for people who have used CFD software?
No. This course is for all of you who want to know more about the subject. So, it’s not necessary that you have exposure to CFD software available in the market.As a matter of fact this course can be a head start to learn new CFD software. Also you can apply these concepts to create your own CFD code.
4. Do I need any CFD software access or programming language?
No. This is complete theoretical course. So you don’t need any CFD software or programming software package installed on your computer
5. How difficult is this course?
The course is designed for beginners and we believe that it’s easy for everyone.
6. I have few queries related to work I am doing. Can I contact you?
As the course is designed for beginners, so you might have specific questions. Feel free to ask those questions using the link “Ask a Question” given on course page.
7. What next learning you suggest once this course is completed?
If you are good at any programming language or you can use MATLAB software to write your own problem specific CFD code using FDM or FVM formulation of governing equations.