Surrey awarded funding to develop accurate, geometry free computational fluid dynamics

CFD is used in industry, from modelling wind flow around cars to modelling the flow of ink through an inkjet printer nozzle. Most CFD methods model fluid flow through a fixed mesh – like putting a wire mesh into a river and modelling the flow in and out of each of the wire cells.

Unlike the majority of CFD systems, the Surrey team, led by Professor Justin Read, will model fluid flow using cells that move along with the flow. This makes it much easier to model highly complex flow geometry, like flow through an engine with many moving parts.

Professor Justin Read, Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Surrey, said:

“We are really excited to get started on this new project. The funding support from the Science and Technology Facilities Council will allow us to push the limits of what "geometry free" methods can achieve. Such methods have been around since the 1970s, but our new approach is significantly more accurate, opening up new applications where both accuracy and complex geometry are needed.”