Topology optimization for CFD applications is a new research and development field. Approaches that are well known in structural mechanics cannot be transferred to fluid dynamics problems. The governing equations and the solver techniques are different and hence new ways for optimization methods must be found. Sensitivity-based approaches are investigated at the Technical University of Denmark. An optimality criterion-based approach has been suggested by Moos and Klimetzek. General optimization approaches based on parameters and genetic algorithms, for example, are not suitable for topology optimization. The reason is the very large number of design variables: Every single cell in the CFD model must be considered as a design variable. Even for moderate CFD applications this might result in several hundreds of thousands of design variables which a general parameter-based optimizer cannot handle. | |||||||