2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Traditional computational fluid dynamics courses focused on applying numerical methods to solve differential equations that govern the fluid flow for problems described with some initial and boundary conditions. However, due to limited computational resources available to the classroom, the example problems and laboratory assignments are limited to simple benchmark fluid problems. Students cannot try to solve more complicated problems similar to practical industrial applications since those problems are usually required to solve on high-performance clusters (HPC). In this paper, we propose a course in the curriculum that addresses this issue. In this class, the fundamental theories of high-performance computing will be first introduced. Then, a commercial CFD package, AEROFLO Cloud, operated based on a software-as-a-service model (SaaS), will be presented. The software is deployed on a Cloud server optimized for high-performance computing and can be accessed via a web browser. Students can use the software to set up CFD projects, run the simulation on the cloud servers, and post-process the simulation results on the cloud. All these can be done with a classroom PC with an internet connection. Several laboratory projects based on realistic applications are developed for students to solve. Finally, the methods to analyze the simulation results will be discussed. In terms of the seven ABET Student Outcomes (SOs), it is envisioned that, with the appropriate performance indices, the course will contribute to satisfying SO (1): Identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems, SO (5): Ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives, and SO (7): Ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies. More details will be provided in the final paper.