The sensitivity equation method in fluid mechanics

Abstract

We present the sensitivity Equation Method (SEM) as a complementary tool to adjoint based optimisation methods. Flow sensitivities exist independently of a design problem and can be used in several non-optimization ways: characterization of complex flows, fast evaluation of flows on nearby geometries, and input data uncertainties cascade through the CFD code to yield uncertainty estimates of the flow field. The Navier-Stokes and sensitivity equationssensitivity are solved by an adaptive finite element method.