TABLE OF CONTENTS Let us go back again to Figures I.2.1 and I.3.1 of the general introduction, where you can follow the succession of the steps and components required to set up a CFD model. We have now reached the third part, after following the steps of the previous chapters toward the development of a numerical simulation of our flow problem. Hence we are, at this stage, faced with a set of discretized equations. This set of equations, defining the numerical scheme, has now to be analyzed for its properties, i.e. we have to investigate the validity of the selected discretization and its accuracy by attempting to quantify the associated numerical errors.
To achieve these objectives, we will define a certain number of concepts, such as consistency, stability and convergence, which form the basis for the quantitative assessment of validity and accuracy of a numerical scheme.
These fundamental concepts are all that is required and they have to provide us with the assurance that the results of the computer simulation indeed represent a valid approximation of our 'reality'.
What do we mean with this statement?
Consider one of the examples from the general introduction or from Chapter 2. If you want, for instance, to investigate by CFD the flow around a car, or an aircraft, or a building, with the full turbulent Navier-Stokes equations and tens of millions of...
