Computational Aerosciences (CAS) Project

The goal of the CAS project in the NASA HPCC Program is to accelerate the development and availability of high-performance computing technology that will be of use to the U.S. aerospace community, to facilitate the adoption and use of this technology by the U.S. aerospace industry, and to hasten the emergence of a viable commercial market for hardware and software vendors to exploit this lead.

The CAS Grand Challenges will perform multidisciplinary simulations of complete aircraft throughout their flight envelope. The CAS project will not actually solve the CAS Grand Challenges instead it will develop computational techniques and applications that will eventually lead to the solution of the CAS Grand Challenges. Some of the intermediate challenges will demonstrate computational science that has not been achieved previously. Others will demonstrate engineering challenges that seek to measure and test problem cycle time and cost against accuracy across a range of problem sizes. These efforts will be structured with near-term, intermediate, and long-term milestones that, at each stage, provide "end-user" benefits. These milestones will be undertaken in close cooperation with the aerospace industry and academia.

The CAS project will work with the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Program and the National Research and Education Network to ensure that the aerospace community has access to the NREN and the CAS testbeds. The CAS Project will also try to characterize the networking needs of the aerospace community and conduct appropriate experiments to ensure that future network technology meets those needs.

During the past year, the CAS project has undergone a number of changes due to comments from industry and academia. The CAS project will undergo an applications shift from research on aerobrake and a NASP-derived vehicle to research that addresses advanced subsonic civil transport and rotorcraft. Research on high speed civil transport (airframe and engine) and high-performance aircraft (airframe and simple engine) shall continue with moderate change.

The CAS project has developed a strategy for increasing its outreach to industry and academia. This strategy includes the issuance of announcements for research and cooperative agreements and encouraging the joint development of new metrics that address affordability and cycle time.

NASA Research Centers participating in the CAS Project:

Return to the NASA HPCC Office Web Page
Authorizing NASA Official: Paul Hunter, Program Manager, NASA HPCC Program

Authors: Lawrence Picha (lpicha@usra.edu) & Michele O'Connell (michele@usra.edu), Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences, Universities Space Research Association, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.
Last revised: 15 APRIL 1996 (l.picha)

A service of the Space Data and Computing Division, Earth Sciences Directorate, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.