Fluid flow feature identification methods and tools

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing machine readable instructions to control one or more processors to:

• establish a computational fluid dynamics simulation of fluid flow on a computer;
• access one or more data files stored on the computer containing fluid flow parameter data identifying a plurality of points at locations over a three-dimensional flow region of simulated flow in which a flow feature detection is to be performed;
• store, for each point, a value for one or more fluid flow parameters;
• group the points in one of a flow feature group and a remaining non-flow feature group of the flow region according to a distribution of the points based on a mixture model applied to the values of the one or more fluid flow parameters of the points;
• identify a point within the flow feature group and a plurality of further points at least partially surrounding the identified point;
• determine a two-dimensional plane in which a strongest fluid flow feature is identified based on the relative values of the one or more fluid flow parameters for the plurality of further points, the two-dimensional plane having a maximum variance of one or more fluid flow parameters and including a maximum value of the fluid flow, the two-dimensional plane being determined using a statistical search processing;
• output an array of points including (i) the identified point grouped in the flow feature group and (ii) the plurality of further points surrounding the identified point, which are each located on the determined two-dimensional plane, that identify a location of the fluid flow feature on a surface of a fluid-washed component;
• and
• design a surface geometry of the fluid-washed component for manufacturing of the fluid-washed component based on the array of points, and repeat the steps of the method until the identified location of the fluid flow feature based on the array of points changes in a direction normal to the surface of the fluid-washed component.

A vortex detection tool comprising:

• a memory storing location data for a plurality of points over a three-dimensional fluid flow region of a computational fluid dynamics simulation of flow in which vortex detection is to be performed, and a plurality of fluid flow parameter values at each of the plurality of points;
• and one or more processors configured to:
• establish the computational fluid dynamics simulation of fluid flow on a computer;
• group the points in one of a vortical flow group and a non-vortical flow group of the flow region according to a distribution of the points based on a mixture model applied to the values of the fluid flow parameters of the points;
• identify a first point in a vortex core of the vortical flow group and a plurality of further points at least partially surrounding the identified point;
• determine a two-dimensional plane in which a strongest fluid flow feature is identified based on the relative values of at least one of the one or more fluid flow parameters for the plurality of further points, the two-dimensional plane having a maximum variance of one or more fluid flow parameters and including a maximum value of the fluid flow, the two-dimensional plane being determined using a statistical search processing;
• output an array of points including (i) the identified point grouped in the vortical flow group and (ii) the plurality of further points surrounding the identified point, which are each located on the determined two-dimensional plane, that identify a location of the fluid flow feature on a surface of a fluid-washed component;
• and
• design a surface geometry of the fluid-washed component for manufacturing of the fluid-washed component based on the array of points, and repeat the steps of the method until the identified location of the fluid flow feature based on the array of points changes in a direction normal to the surface of the fluid-washed component.