Ecient Adaptation using Discrete Adjoint Error Estimates in Unsteady Flow Problems

This paper presents a framework for the reduction of the spatial, temporal and algebraic error by use of the discrete adjoint solution in a time integrated functional (i.e. Lift, Drag, etc.) for problems of aerodynamic interest. The three types of error are separated into distinct contributions that are used to selectively adapt the discretization to reduce the error in the functional in the most ecient manner. A simple unsteady problem of a vortex convecting through a time integrated box is used to demonstrate that the frequency of renement has a large impact on the overall computational eciency of the solution. Analysis of the simplied problem shows that adaption of one parameter in isolation results