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The Numerical Methods of John von Neumann and How They Led to Hypersonic CFD

AMS Seminar Series

Speaker: Russell M. Cummings, Department of Aeronautics, US Air Force Academy

Presentation

Seminar Slide Deck (PDF-8MB)

Abstract

The history of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been intertwined with the history of numerical methods and calculation capabilities for decades. Those connections are perhaps no stronger than when looking at the development of numerical methods and calculation approaches that could simulate shock waves due to the discontinuity that exists across the shock. Some people have even conjectured that the simulation of the discontinuities across shock waves was perhaps the single most challenging numerical problem, one that would take decades for significant improvements to take place (including to the present day). How those advances came about, however, is a story that involves some of the greatest minds of the 20th century, who were trying to find methods to predict blast waves from atomic detonation, and the other aspects of creating an atomic weapon during World War II. First among those great minds, at least in terms of their contributions to CFD, is John von Neumann.

Biography

Photo of Russell Cummings
Russell M. Cummings is Professor of Aeronautics and Managing Director of the DoD HPCMP Hypersonic Vehicle Simulation Institute at the US Air Force Academy. From 2015-2018, he was the Technical Director at AFOSR’s European Office of Aerospace Research & Development in London. Dr. Cummings is a graduate of the University of Southern California where he received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, and also has earned B.S., B.A., and M.S. degrees from California Polytechnic State University. He currently serves as editor-in-chief of Aerospace Science & Technology, deputy editor of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, and is an associate editor of the Journal of Aircraft and The Aeronautical Journal. He is co-author of the 7th edition of Aerodynamics for Engineers and lead author for Applied Computational Aerodynamics. Dr. Cummings has previously worked at Hughes Aircraft Company, NASA Ames Research Center, and California Polytechnic State University. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Royal Aeronautical Society.