Back to results

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Automatic higher order mesh generation and movement utilizing spring-field and vector-adding

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

In this research, an automatic, complex geometry applicable, unstructured curved 2D mesh generation method is developed. Based on this 2D method, an extension to 3D geometries is developed. The methodology of this mesh generation is to provide near-body and off-body meshes by an advancing-layer method to avoid mesh quality problems in transition areas, while using spring models to complement the advancing-layers by smoothing the mesh, especially in medial axis regions. After generating the linear mesh, a higher-order finite-element ready, curved mesh is obtained by deforming the linear mesh through “pipes” using a simple Vector-Adding approach. Different from most curved viscous mesh generation approaches, this method eschews a linear or nonlinear elasticity analogy while still providing positive-Jacobian mesh elements. In addition, the transformation from linear to curved meshes can be achieved by only deforming the necessary edges of the elements near domain boundaries while retaining the remaining non-curved edges to the benefit of numerical solvers. The CFD results of 30P30N airfoil on the curved mesh are given and are in good agreement with the experimental data. Further, a new method for moving boundary problems with viscous mesh layers is also presented. This method is an extension of the mesh generation approach above. It can be used not only for high-order mesh moving but also for high-order mesh generation. Also, based on the curved mesh deformation strategy, the method can handle high-order mesh movement or regeneration with minimal extra computational time compared with linear mesh movement. Several 2D boundary motion cases are tested including boundary translations, boundary rotations, and boundary morphing. The CFD results on the curved mesh after rotation are given and are in good agreement with the experimental data. This technique is also tested through the optimization of an airfoil to achieve a maximized lift and drag ratio. The results demonstrate that this approach can handle large boundary movements while preserving a good mesh quality.

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor dc:publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Liu, Tuo
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Hilbert, C. Bruce
  • Newman, James C., III; Sreenivas, Kidambi; Karman, Steve L., Jr.
  • College of Engineering and Computer Science

Subjects

dc:subject × 2

Rights

dc:rights
Language dc:language
English, eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/532
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1680

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
Base URL
scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Liu, Tuo. Automatic higher order mesh generation and movement utilizing spring-field and vector-adding. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/532