new to CFD

Lattice Boltzmann Method LBM: Theory
#1

Hi there,

I am new to the world of CFD. I have always been interested in fluids and have no decided that I am going to attempt to learn some techniques of CFD. I have no qualifications on the subject, and am purely self taught in math and physics, so please bear with me! :slight_smile:

I have done much searching on google, and to be honest I feel quite lost at where to start. There is a huge amount of information that is almost impossible for me to decipher. I would like to learn the math/physics behind the fluid equations (Boltzmann, Navier Stokes etc) and then be able to mesh the results to view in a 3D application.

The only problem is I have no idea of where to start. I have a strong understanding of linear algebra, intermediate calculus and physics. I am very keen to learn everything necessary that I already lack. All I need is a little help on the basic questions I have, which I was hoping could be found here.

The questions I have are (please try to put in laymans terms):

  1. What methods are there related to CFD? I know LBM is one, what about the others? SPH? FEM? FVM?
  2. How is visualization done? Marching cubes etc? Level sets?
  3. Representation of data? Particles?

It’s a little hard for me to dive straight into learning the math/physics without having a basic idea of how to put the whole thing together, hence the above questions! Once I have a better idea of how the process works, then I can start on the math/physics.

I have built a simple marching cubes application before, but have never used level sets before, and only have a very basic idea the LS method.

Basically I want to start building an application that achieves basically what this application does: http://www.realflow.com/ - I have read that Realflow uses the SPH method.

I will not be attempting to build something like realflow, but would rather just like to learn a little about how fluids are made (from simluation to meshing). That’s my new hobby, and I hope to learn some cool stuff!

I apologise for not making this purely a Lattice Boltzmann topic. I have also posted this on the CFD forum (http://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/main/75560-new-cfd.html#post256745). However, I am definitely interested in the LBM!

I look forward to any replies!

Thanks!