b4wind

The b4wind utility is now obsolete and no longer being maintained.

b4wind is an interactive utility that may be used for a variety of tasks that may be helpful to users of NPARC Alliance software. Its features are accessed through a GUI written in Tcl/Tk , which must be installed on the user's system.

The options available in b4wind are listed below, along with a brief explanation. More detail may be found in the b4wind User's Guide by Don Todd, the author of b4wind. The links in the list point to the detailed descriptions in the User's Guide.

• Convert files

  This option may be used to convert between various types of grid and solution files. Three types of grid and solution files are supported - NPARC restart files, PLOT3D files (all types), and common grid (.cgd) and common flow (.cfl) files.

• Compute initial conditions

  b4wind may also be used to compute an initial flow field. Three types of grid and solution files are supported - NPARC restart files, PLOT3D files (all types), and common grid (.cgd) and common flow (.cfl) files.

  After reading a grid file, initial conditions may be computed using one of three methods.

  • Uniform flow
  • Interpolation between given values at the ends of each block
  • One-Dimensional flow

• Interpolate

  Given a grid file and the corresponding solution file, this option may be used to interpolate the solution onto the grid in a second grid file, and create the new solution file. Trilinear interpolation is used. Again, three types of grid and solution files are supported - NPARC restart files, PLOT3D files (all types), and common grid (.cgd) and common flow (.cfl) files.

• Compute Reynolds number

  Various reference conditions and gas properties, and their units, may be interactively specified, and the resulting Reynolds number will be displayed.

• Scan a common file

  This option may be used display the header data and structure information for common grid (.cgd) and common flow (.cfl) files. It can also be used to delete selected turbulence model variables from a .cfl file.

• Prepare NPARC or XAIR NAMELIST

  This option may be used to create a namelist input file for NPARC (the flow solver formerly supported by the NPARC Alliance) or XAIR (a flow solver used primarily at AEDC).