The Development of a Framework for CFD Validation and Best Practice: The QNET-CFD Knowledge Base

QNET-CFD is a thematic network on quality and trust for the industrial applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), developed under the European Union R&D program. The main objectives of QNET-CFD were to collect CFD and experimental data in a systematic and quality controlled way and to set the basis for a consistent Knowledge Base in support of CFD guidance and validation. The QNET-CFD activity was organized around six Thematic Areas (TAs) covering the following industry sectors: external aerodynamics; combustion & heat transfer; chemical process, thermal hydraulics and nuclear safety; civil construction & HVAC; environment; turbomachinery internal flows. The main outcome of the QNET-CFD actions is the Knowledge Base (KB) with contains in a user oriented interface, extensive experimental and CFD data for a large number of test cases subdivided into 53 Application Challenges (AC) and 43 Underlying Flow Regimes (UFR). The KB contains, in addition to state-of-the-art reviews for each of the six thematic areas, Best Practice Advice (BPA) in the use of CFD for most of AC. This is considered as a significant contribution form the QNET-CFD activities and it is expected that the level of the thrust and quality in CFD will hereby be improved.