The rapid and robust generation of efficient hybrid grids for rans simulations over complete aircraft

A description is given of a method capable of automatically forming efficient, high‐quality hybrid meshes for viscous flow calculations over complete aircraft, given engineers' requirements on mesh density and first cell‐height. Mixed quadrilateral/triangular surface grids are constructed using the moving‐front approach, with point placement and connection optimized to ensure high‐quality, anisotropic panels are generated. The volume mesh is built in two stages. A near field mesh is formed using the advancing‐layer approach, significantly enhanced through the use of mesh enriching/collapsing techniques and layer‐intersection detection/front‐termination algorithms. The remainder of the domain is then covered by a cut‐cell Cartesian mesh of varying density that conforms to the outer‐surface of the near field mesh. Examples of meshes generated using the described methods are presented and the user‐input discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.