A parallel adaptive finite element euler flow solver for rotary wing aerodynamics

We present a parallel adaptive finite element flow solver for rotary wing applications. The code adaptively refines and derefines the discretization for accurately resolving the different features of the flow, such as shocks and wakes. The code performs all the stages of the analysis—finite element solution, error indication, mesh adaptation—in a parallel MIMD environment making use of efficient scalable parallel algorithms. The main features of all the building blocks of the implemented approach are detailed and discussed in the paper. The capabilities and performance characteristics of the parallel automated adaptive procedure are demonstrated with regard to subsonic and transonic compressible flow problems. In particular, different hovering rotor problems are analyzed and the results are compared with experimental data showing good agreement.