CERFACS is advancing high-performance computing (HPC) simulation methods for multiphysics flows using cutting-edge numerical techniques to support next-generation aircraft design. This work targets complex phenomena—unsteady aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, heat transfer, and combustion—in critical aircraft components such as fans, turbines, and combustion chambers. Traditional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models are limited in capturing these effects, prompting exploration of more accurate alternatives like the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) and the Spectral Difference Method (SDM). These advanced methods aim to deliver high-fidelity simulations with reduced computational costs, making Large Eddy Simulation (LES) viable for industrial use.
Key research priorities include applying LBM to contrail formation modeling, developing wall-law models for heat transfer in high-pressure turbines, improving propeller aeroacoustic simulations using isotropic LBM models, and adapting SDM for reactive flows using unstructured meshes. Each challenge addresses a specific technical barrier to industrial adoption of LES, such as turbulence resolution, mesh flexibility, or computational efficiency.
Strategically, this work supports CERFACS' broader goals in numerical algorithms, sustainable programming, and data-driven modeling. LBM and SDM offer strong potential for use on massively parallel HPC platforms, with co-processing tools being developed to manage large-scale simulation data in real time. AI techniques, such as deep learning, are also being considered for complex sub-models like wall turbulence, to further reduce simulation cost.
CERFACS collaborates with major industrial and institutional partners, including Airbus, SAFRAN, ONERA, CNES, EDF, and Météo France. The goal is to enable widespread deployment of LES-based simulation workflows in these organizations. Software tools involved include ProLB and BLAST for LBM, CODA for RANS, and JAGUAR and AVBP for SDM-based simulations. These efforts align with CERFACS' strategic axes and are embedded in broader partnerships with ONERA, INRIA, CEA, and others, supporting technology transfer and real-world validation.
Ultimately, this application axis aims to push high-fidelity CFD methods toward industrial maturity, leveraging advanced numerical schemes and exascale computing to tackle the complex physics of modern and future aircraft propulsion and environmental impact.
