Development of CFD and applications: Monologue by a non-CFD-expert

Abstract This paper first introduces personal observations of CFD activities in the wind engineering field from the past to today by the first author, who is not a CFD expert. Some impressive matters related to wind engineering CFD in the past four decades are introduced, and study topics presented in the first CWE1992 and the most recent wind engineering conferences including CWE2010 are summarized with the aid of the second author. The accuracy of CFD, wind tunnel tests, and codes and standards is also discussed. The current status of practical applications of CFD is examined based on questionnaire studies at six major research institutes working on wind engineering in Japan, and relevant AIJ activities are also introduced. Finally, recent sophisticated CFD results using the world's fastest class computer are introduced and concluding remarks are given.