Hierarchal Visualization of Three-dimensional Vortical Flow Calculations

Book excerpt: A hierarchal approach for the visualization of complex, three-dimensional vortical flows is presented. This integrated philosophy employs standard and novel visualization techniques to quickly and accurately analyze vortical flows. The hierarchal approach begins by identifying interesting features within the computational domain. Next, these areas of the flow are thoroughly scanned in an attempt to understand the physics which give rise to them. Finally, a variety of extremely interactive probes are used to investigate the finest details of the solution in these regions. Visualization, when approached in this systematic way, is an extremely powerful tool for flow analysis. To aid in understanding of visualization results, the typical features of vortical flows are discussed for a wide range of freestream conditions. The thesis concludes with a detailed visualization of the vortical flow over the National Transonic Facility (NTF) delta wing as calculated by Becker. Using the hierarchal strategy, several interesting flow features including vortex breakdown and vortex sheet instabilities are identified.