Expectations for computational fluid dynamics

This article presents a sampling of the author's expectations for the field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the areas of research, development and application. The primary focus of the discussion herein is related to the non-linear transonic flow regime, and more specifically, for calculations about commercial transport aircraft. However, many of these topics are pertinent to all flow field regimes and aircraft designs. The underlying goal is to enable the automation of multi-disciplinary design processes, which utilize state-of-the-art numerical simulation methods. These include issues pertaining to accuracy, robustness, efficiency, ease-of-use, uncertainty requirements and other challenges.