GOODNESS-OF-GRID: MEASURES

DURING THE LAST FEW YEARS, NUMERICAL GRID GENERATION HAS EVOLVED AS A CRITICAL LINK IN THE CHAIN OF EVENTS LEADING TONUMERICAL SOLUTIONS OF PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS OF FLUID MECHANICS. HOWEVER, IT IS OFTEN (IF NOT ALWAYS) VERY DIFFICULT TO ASCERTAIN HOW "GOOD" A GIVEN GRID IS, PARTICULARLY FOR THREE DIMENSIONAL CONFIGURATIONS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH EFFORT IS AIMED AT DEVELOPING TRUE QUANTITATIVE MEASURES OF A "GOOD" GRID ALONG WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN ADAPTIVE GRID STRATEGIES. THE FORMULATION OF THESE MEASURES WILL BE BASED ON THE GEOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FLOW FIELD REGION, VARIATIONS IN SOLUTION BEHAVIOR, AND NUMERICAL ALGORITHM UNDER CONSIDERATION. THE PROPOSED ANALYSIS WILL OFFER AN ABILITY TO SELECT AN "OPTIMAL" GRID ASSOCIATED WITH THE APPLICATION BEING ADDRESSED AND WILL PROVIDE DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS FOR GRID SYSTEMS.