AN ISOGEOMETRIC ANALYSIS SOLVER FOR 3D FLOWS

Abstract

The purpose of this master thesis is to formulate and solve the Boundary Integral Equation (BIE), which describes the flow around a 3D wing with constant cross-section. The 3D wing is subjected to a uniform flow under the assumption of potential flow theory. Potential flow is characterized by the following assumptions, namely incompressible, inviscid and irrotational flow. For the solution of the corresponding BIE, the IsoGeometric Analysis (IGA) method, combined with the boundary element method, is applied. The unknown potential field, following the IGA paradigm, will be represented using Non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) which are also used for the representation of body geometry. In potential theory, the wake sheet is added to guarantee the existence of circulation and consequently lift forces. After solving the BIE, the pressure and velocity distribution on the wing body can be computed using the velocity potential approximation. One of the main objectives of this research is to verify the results acquired using the herein described NURBS formulation with other representations employed in other IGA-enabled solvers addressing the same problem. However, the zero pressure condition is not satisfied on the trailing edge of the wing and future work is proposed. Keywords: