High performance computing and computational aerodynamics in the UK

The establishment of the UK Applied Aerodynamics Consortium in 2004 brought together many of the UK's leading research groups to tackle challenging aerodynamic problems on the national computing facility, HPCx. This paper provides a brief history of some early pioneers of numerical simulation and highlights some key contributions to development in parallel processing that laid the foundations for today's researchers. The transition from vector to massively parallel processing is discussed from a UK viewpoint along with technological barriers that could have a significant impact on future systems. Solutions to these barriers are already being sought and the paper discussed some of the novel technologies that may be deployed in the future. In its short history, the consortium has made substantial progress and this is briefly discussed with several highlights that illustrate the scientific Output. Although a number of challenges are identified, particularly with respect to developing a comprehensive visualisation capability, the consortium is well placed to build upon its initial success.