Just as innovation is the lifeblood of U.S. industry, so is computation increasingly vital to innovation. Computer simulations, data analysis, and modeling are speeding up the design and adoption of new materials, machines, and manufacturing processes.
Many CASC members are engaged in public-private partnerships to advance U.S. industrial innovation and competitiveness. And even those who may not have ties to specific companies support industry with research that leads to new products and services.
Simulation has been used to analyze the performance and design of aircraft components since the early days of computing. Today, computational simulation is an essential tool in the complete design process not only for aircraft, but also for automobiles, manufacturing robots, and other machines.
Computer-aided design drastically reduces the need to construct and test prototypes. The Boeing 777, for example, was the first jetliner to be completely digitally designed. The airplane was pre-assembled by computer, eliminating the need for costly full-scale mock-ups.
Recently a group of 60 universities and companies led by the University of California, Los Angeles, formed the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition, a public-private partnership to advance U.S. Manufacturing. While individual systems within factories are smarter, more instrumented, and more integrated, this group is working to marry systems more closely together with simulation and modeling to make American manufacturing smarter, more efficient, and more competitive.
The simulation of complex phenomena, such as breaking waves and spray sheets, play a key rols in the design and
operation of Naval combat ships.
This simulation shows the resulting turbulence as water flows past a NACA 0024 airfoil that approximates a ship’s hull. A ship moving through water forms steep breaking waves, shedding spray along the crests and also near the ship’s bow where thin sheets of water form. The Navy uses such simulations to learn how water interacts with naval vessels, not only to understand the propulsive power needed to overcome water resistance, but also to study the signature that the ship leaves in its wake, and to model how waves, which can break anywhere along the hill, affect ship stability. Paul Navratil and Bill Barh of the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas at Austin and Hank Childs of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory created these visualizations from simulations performed by Doug G. Dommermuth of Science Applications International Corporation.
Understanding turbulent mixing noise sources for jet exhaust nozzles is critical to delivering the next generation of greener, lower-noise engines.
A complex large eddy simulation offers incredibly detailed, direct computation of turbulence, noise sources, and heat transfer. This work will enable the design of quieter, more efficient airfoils for wind turbines as well as nozzles for jet engines. Reducing wind turbine noise by even one decibel could translate into two or three percent more yield per turbine. Joseph A. Insley of Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago Computational Institute created the visualization from simulations performed at Argonne by Umesh Paliath and Anurag Gupta of General Electric Global Research.
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