On high-order pressure-robust space discretisations, their advantages for incompressible high Reynolds number generalised Beltrami flows and beyond

An improved understanding of the divergence-free constraint for the incompressible Navier--Stokes equations leads to the observation that a semi-norm and corresponding equivalence classes of forces are fundamental for their nonlinear dynamics. The recent concept of {\em pressure-robustness} allows to distinguish between space discretisations that discretise these equivalence classes appropriately or not. This contribution compares the accuracy of pressure-robust and non-pressure-robust space discretisations for transient high Reynolds number flows, starting from the observation that in generalised Beltrami flows the nonlinear convection term is balanced by a strong pressure gradient. Then, pressure-robust methods are shown to outperform comparable non-pressure-robust space discretisations. Indeed, pressure-robust methods of formal order $k$ are comparably accurate than non-pressure-robust methods of formal order $2k$ on coarse meshes. Investigating the material derivative of incompressible Euler flows, it is conjectured that strong pressure gradients are typical for non-trivial high Reynolds number flows. Connections to vortex-dominated flows are established. Thus, pressure-robustness appears to be a prerequisite for accurate incompressible flow solvers at high Reynolds numbers. The arguments are supported by numerical analysis and numerical experiments.Comment: 43 pages, 18 figures, 2 table

Simultaneous single-step one-shot optimization with unsteady PDEs

The single-step one-shot method has proven to be very efficient for PDE-constrained optimization where the partial differential equation (PDE) is solved by an iterative fixed point solver. In this approach, the simulation and optimization tasks are performed simultaneously in a single iteration. If the PDE is unsteady, finding an appropriate fixed point iteration is non-trivial. In this paper, we provide a framework that makes the single-step one-shot method applicable for unsteady PDEs that are solved by classical time-marching schemes. The one-shot method is applied to an optimal control problem with unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations that are solved by an industry standard simulation code. With the Van-der-Pol oscillator as a generic model problem, the modified simulation scheme is further improved using adaptive time scales. Finally, numerical results for the advection-diffusion equation are presented. Keywords: Simultaneous optimization; One-shot method; PDE-constrained optimization; Unsteady PDE; Adaptive time scal

Index handling and assign optimization for Algorithmic Differentiation reuse index managers

For operator overloading Algorithmic Differentiation tools, the identification of primal variables and adjoint variables is usually done via indices. Two common schemes exist for their management and distribution. The linear approach is easy to implement and supports memory optimization with respect to copy statements. On the other hand, the reuse approach requires more implementation effort but results in much smaller adjoint vectors, which are more suitable for the vector mode of Algorithmic Differentiation. In this paper, we present both approaches, how to implement them, and discuss their advantages, disadvantages and properties of the resulting Algorithmic Differentiation type. In addition, a new management scheme is presented which supports copy optimizations and the reuse of indices, thus combining the advantages of the other two. The implementations of all three schemes are compared on a simple synthetic example and on a real world example using the computational fluid dynamics solver in SU2.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures, 4 table

Aerostructural Wing Shape Optimization assisted by Algorithmic Differentiation

With more efficient structures, last trends in aeronautics have witnessed an increased flexibility of wings, calling for adequate design and optimization approaches. To correctly model the coupled physics, aerostructural optimization has progressively become more important, being nowadays performed also considering higher-fidelity discipline methods, i.e., CFD for aerodynamics and FEM for structures. In this paper a methodology for high-fidelity gradient-based aerostructural optimization of wings, including aerodynamic and structural nonlinearities, is presented. The main key feature of the method is its modularity: each discipline solver, independently employing algorithmic differentiation for the evaluation of adjoint-based sensitivities, is interfaced at high-level by means of a wrapper to both solve the aerostructural primal problem and evaluate exact discrete gradients of the coupled problem. The implemented capability, ad-hoc created to demonstrate the methodology, and freely available within the open-source SU2 multiphysics suite, is applied to perform aerostructural optimization of aeroelastic test cases based on the ONERA M6 and NASA CRM wings. Single-point optimizations, employing Euler or RANS flow models, are carried out to find wing optimal outer mold line in terms of aerodynamic efficiency. Results remark the importance of taking into account the aerostructural coupling when performing wing shape optimization