Course detail

Multiphysical Simmulation in Automotive Industry

FSI-QMO Acad. year: 2025/2026 Winter semester

The course will provide an overview of contemporary computational simulations of fluid mechanics and fluid-structure interactions used in the development of modern vehicles. Within the course, selected physical processes including a basic mathematical description are introduced. Preference is given to practical knowledge including lubrication and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Emphasis is placed on the practical use of simulations within commercial software. Computational simulations are applied to typical tasks occurring in the automotive industry, such as hydrodynamic bearings, vehicle aerodynamics or rotor-fluid interactions.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

6

Supervisor

prof. Ing. Pavel Novotný, Ph.D.

Department

Institute of Automotive Engineering

Entry knowledge

Knowledge of mathematics taught at the bachelor’s degree level and necessarily includes linear algebra (matrices, determinants, systems of linear equations), differential and integral calculus, and ordinary differential equations.

Knowledge of basic principles of hydrodynamics and thermodynamics taught at the bachelor’s degree level.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The course-unit credit is conditioned by active participation in the seminars, proper preparation of the semester work and fulfillment of the conditions of the control tests. The exam verifies the knowledge gained during lectures and seminars and is divided into a written theoretical part, part of the computational solution of lubrication, fluid flow and heat transfer, and an oral part. The exam considers the work of the student in the exercise. The student must score more than one-half of the total points for the successful completion of the test. An oral examination can test the student's knowledge of the subject and influence the final grade.

Exercises are compulsory, and the form of replacing the missed lessons is solved individually by the lecturer or with the course guarantor. Lectures are optional but strongly recommended.

Aims

The objective of the course is to provide basic knowledge in the problems of multiphysics simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which are applied in the development of motor vehicles and powertrains. The objective is also to obtain knowledge applicable in practice in the areas of external vehicle aerodynamics, internal aerodynamics of rotary machines, lubrication of hydrodynamic bearings or piston and turbocharger seals.

The student will acquire the skills of the practical application of modern methods supported by knowledge of the necessary theoretical principles. The student will apply these skills in the development of motor vehicles in areas such as external vehicle aerodynamics, internal fluid dynamics, and heat transfer in rotary machines or powertrain cooling and lubrication.

The study programmes with the given course

Programme N-AAE-P: Advanced Automotiv Engineering, Master's, compulsory-optional

Programme N-ADI-P: Automotive and Material Handling Engineering, Master's, compulsory-optional

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hours, optionally

Syllabus


  1. Basic concepts in multiphysical simulations

  2. Advanced volume discretization methods with applications to motor vehicles and powertrains

  3. Fundamentals of fluid flow and heat transfer using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

  4. Fluid flow domain and boundary condition modelling by CFD

  5. Numeric solution of transport equations

  6. Modelling of turbulent fluid flow by CFD

  7. Modelling of transient turbulent fluid flow by CFD

  8. Modelling of heat transfer by CFD

  9. Component lubrication description

  10. Modelling of hydrodynamic lubrication with application to turbocharger bearings

  11. Lubrication modelling of highly loaded contact pairs with application to powertrains

  12. Modelling of external aerodynamics with application to passenger vehicles

  13. Modelling of thermodynamics with application to centrifugal compressors of turbochargers

Computer-assisted exercise

26 hours, compulsory

Syllabus


  1. Introduction of tools for CFD application

  2. Application of mesh generation methods for solids and domains

  3. Application of mesh generation methods for CFD simulations

  4. Creation of computational models for CFD simulations

  5. Application basics for CFD tools

  6. Simulation of component lubrication using CFD

  7. Simulation of flow in a turbocharger compressor

  8. Simulation and analysis of component lubrication

  9. Simulation of oil flow in the lubrication system

  10. Simulation and analysis of external aerodynamics of vehicle components

  11. Simulation of the vehicle external aerodynamics

  12. Simulation of gas flow through a thin gap

  13. Test in the form of a practical application of a CFD tool