NPAC Technical Report SCCS-676
Discussion of the NAS Parallel Benchmark for CFD
Ammar Degani, Geoffrey Fox
Submitted December 14 1994
Abstract
The Numerical Aerodynamics Simulation (NAS) group at NASA Ames has developed
a "pencil and paper" benchmark for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
Applications. A set of synthetic Partial Differential Equations (PDE's)
and the solution methodology, embodying many salient features of a typical
application code, are specified. In the benchmark specification, the
derivation of the discretized equations and the solution algorithm are not
considered. Here, these equations are derived beginning with the
differential form of the Navier-Stokes equations. Discrepancies between
the resulting equations developed here and those specified in the NAS
benchmark are delineated, and the correspondence of the synthetic set of
PDE's to those in a "real" CFD code is discussed. This report
is targeted to an audience that has an interest in establishing the physical
significance of various variables that appear in the set of synthetic
PDE's in the NAS benchmark.