UQ4CFD: An Uncertainty Quantification Platform for CFD Simulation

Abstract

The credibility of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been a topic of debate due to the significant uncertainties inherent in its modeling processes and numerical implementations. Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) offers a scientific framework for quantitatively assessing and mitigating uncertainties in CFD simulations. However, this procedure typically requires numerous CFD simulations and considerable manual effort for both simulation management and data analysis. To overcome these challenges, this work develops a platform called UQ4CFD, a browser–server software that provides automated and customized uncertainty quantification capabilities for CFD studies. The UQ4CFD platform integrates different kinds of methodologies to perform comprehensive uncertainty analysis, including uncertainty propagation, sensitivity analysis, surrogate modeling, numerical discretization uncertainty analysis, model validation, model calibration, etc. A tightly coupled CFD-UQ workflow is built to automate the complete analytical process, encompassing parameter sampling, simulation execution, and results analysis, which significantly improves computational efficiency while reducing risks associated with data processing errors. Comprehensive validation employing both analytical benchmark functions and practical CFD cases has been conducted to demonstrate the platform’s effectiveness and adaptability in diverse UQ scenarios.