Patent ID: 7590515

Claim:
Method for implementing a multi-cell computational fluid dynamics model having a moving surface during a transient condition, the model having a fixed underlying geometric grid defining model cells, the method being executed in a digital computer, the method comprising: loading the model into the digital computer; identifying as beginning adjacent cells the model cells in the grid adjacent the moving surface at the beginning of a transient time step, wherein identifying beginning adjacent cells includes identifying beginning adjacent cell boundaries formed in the grid by the moving surface; computing effective thermophysical value fluxes through the beginning adjacent cell boundaries in accordance with the sense of the movement of the moving surface relative to the beginning adjacent cells, wherein the computing step includes determining respective swept volumes swept by each beginning adjacent cell boundary projected to a position of the moving surface at the end of the time step; solving transport equations for all the cells in at least the portion of the grid including the beginning adjacent cells to determine cell thermophysical values at the end of the time step, using the computed effective fluxes; and reforming the grid to add or delete model cell portions based on the respective swept volumes, to comply with the moving surface at the end of the time step.