Advances in numerical optimization have raised the possibility that efficient and novel aircraft configurations may be ``discovered'' by an algorithm. To begin exploring this possibility, a fast and robust set of tools for aerodynamic shape optimization is developed. Parameterization and mesh-movement are integrated to accommodate large changes in the geometry. This integrated approach uses a coarse B-spline control grid to represent the geometry and move the computational mesh; consequently, the mesh-movement algorithm is two to three orders faster than a node-based linear elasticity approach, without compromising mesh quality. Aerodynamic analysis is performed using a flow solver for the Euler equations. The governing equations are discretized using summation-by-parts finite-difference operators and simultaneous approximation terms, which permit nonsmooth mesh continuity at block interfaces. The discretization results in a set of nonlinear algebraic equations, which are solved using an efficient parallel Newton-Krylov-Schur strategy. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is adopted. The gradient is evaluated using adjoint variables for the flow and mesh equations in a sequential approach. The flow adjoint equations are solved using a novel variant of the Krylov solver GCROT. This variant of GCROT is flexible to take advantage of non-stationary preconditioners and is shown to outperform restarted flexible GMRES. The aerodynamic optimizer is applied to several studies of induced-drag minimization. An elliptical lift distribution is recovered by varying spanwise twist, thereby validating the algorithm. Planform optimization based on the Euler equations produces a nonelliptical lift distribution, in contrast with the predictions of lifting-line theory. A study of spanwise vertical shape optimization confirms that a winglet-up configuration is more efficient than a winglet-down configuration. A split-tip geometry is used to explore nonlinear wake-wing interactions: the optimized split-tip demonstrates a significant reduction in induced drag relative to a single-tip wing. Finally, the optimal spanwise loading for a box-wing configuration is investigated.

The linear elastodynamic two-dimensional anti-plane stress problem, where deformations occur in only one direction is considered for one sided non-planar faults. Fault dynamics are modeled using purely velocity dependent friction laws, and applied on boundaries with complex geometry. Summation-by-parts operators and energy estimates are used to couple a high-order finite difference method with an unstructured finite volume method. The unstructured finite volume method is used near the fault and the high-order finite difference method further away from the fault where no complex geometry is present. Boundary conditions are imposed weakly on characteristic form using the simultaneous approximation term technique, allowing explicit time integration to be used. Numerical computations are performed to verify the accuracy and time stability, of the method.

Advances in numerical optimization have raised the possibility that efficient and novel aircraft configurations may be ``discovered'' by an algorithm. To begin exploring this possibility, a fast and robust set of tools for aerodynamic shape optimization is developed. Parameterization and mesh-movement are integrated to accommodate large changes in the geometry. This integrated approach uses a coarse B-spline control grid to represent the geometry and move the computational mesh; consequently, the mesh-movement algorithm is two to three orders faster than a node-based linear elasticity approach, without compromising mesh quality. Aerodynamic analysis is performed using a flow solver for the Euler equations. The governing equations are discretized using summation-by-parts finite-difference operators and simultaneous approximation terms, which permit nonsmooth mesh continuity at block interfaces. The discretization results in a set of nonlinear algebraic equations, which are solved using an efficient parallel Newton-Krylov-Schur strategy. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is adopted. The gradient is evaluated using adjoint variables for the flow and mesh equations in a sequential approach. The flow adjoint equations are solved using a novel variant of the Krylov solver GCROT. This variant of GCROT is flexible to take advantage of non-stationary preconditioners and is shown to outperform restarted flexible GMRES. The aerodynamic optimizer is applied to several studies of induced-drag minimization. An elliptical lift distribution is recovered by varying spanwise twist, thereby validating the algorithm. Planform optimization based on the Euler equations produces a nonelliptical lift distribution, in contrast with the predictions of lifting-line theory. A study of spanwise vertical shape optimization confirms that a winglet-up configuration is more efficient than a winglet-down configuration. A split-tip geometry is used to explore nonlinear wake-wing interactions: the optimized split-tip demonstrates a significant reduction in induced drag relative to a single-tip wing. Finally, the optimal spanwise loading for a box-wing configuration is investigated.

In this thesis, we have analyzed the accuracy and stability aspects of weak boundary and interface conditions (WBCs) for high order finite difference methods on Summations-By-Parts (SBP) form. The numerical technique has been applied to wave propagation and flow problems. The advantage of WBCs over strong boundary conditions is that stability of the numerical scheme can be proven. The boundary procedures in the advection-diffusion equation for a boundary layer problem is analyzed. By performing Navier-Stokes calculations, it is shown that most of the conclusions from the model problem carries over to the fully nonlinear case. The work was complemented to include the new idea of using WBCs on multiple grid points in a region, where the data is known, instead of at a single point. It was shown that we can achieve high accuracy, an increased rate of convergence to steady-state and non-reflecting boundary conditions by using this approach. Using the SBP technique and WBCs, we have worked out how to construct conservative and energy stable hybrid schemes for shocks using two different approaches. In the first method, we combine a high order finite difference scheme with a second order MUSCL scheme. In the second method, a procedure to locally change the order of accuracy of the finite difference schemes is developed. The main purpose is to obtain a higher order accurate scheme in smooth regions and a low order non-oscillatory scheme in the vicinity of shocks. Furthermore, we have analyzed the energy stability of the MUSCL scheme, by reformulating the scheme in the framework of SBP and artificial dissipation operators. It was found that many of the standard slope limiters in the MUSCL scheme do not lead to a negative semi-definite dissipation matrix, as required to get pointwise stability. Finally, high order simulations of shock diffracting over a convex wall with two facets were performed. The numerical study is done for a range of Reynolds numbers. By monitoring the velocities at the solid wall, it was shown that the computations were resolved in the boundary layer. Schlieren images from the computational results were obtained which displayed new interesting flow features.

This project studied two different ways of imposing boundary conditions weakly with the finite difference summation-by-parts (SBP) operators. These operators were combined with the boundary handling methods of simultaneous-approximation-terms (SAT) and the Projection to impose homogeneous Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions. The convergence rate of both methods was analyzed for different boundary conditions for the one-dimensional (1D) Schrödinger equation, without potential, which resulted in both methods performing similarly. A multi-block discretization was then implemented and different combinations of SBP-SAT and SBP-Projection were applied to impose inner boundary conditions of continuity between the blocks. A convergence study of the different methods of imposing the inner BC:s was conducted for the 1D Schrödinger equation without potential. The resulting convergence was the same for all methods and it was concluded that they performed similarly. Methods involving SBP-Projection had the slight advantage of faster computation time. Finally, the 1D Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) and the 1D Schrödinger equation were analyzed with a step potential. The waves propagating towards the potential barrier were in both cases partially transmitted and partially reflected. The waves simulated with the Schrödinger equation dispersed, while the solitons simulated with the GPE kept their shape due to the equations reinforcing non-linear term. The bright soliton was partly transmitted and partly reflected. The dark soliton was either totally reflected or totally transmitted.

This paper describes simulations of the generalized modified Benjamin-Bona-Mahony (BBM) equation, using finite difference methods (FDM). Well-posed boundary conditions (BCs) as well as stable semi-discrete approximations are derived using summations-by-parts (SBP) operators combined with the projection method. For time integration, explicit Runge-Kutta 4 (RK4) is used, as well as SBP-SAT, which discretizes the temporal domain using SBP operators and imposes initial conditions using simultaneous approximation term (SAT). These time-marching methods are evaluated and compared in terms of accuracy and computing times, and soliton-boundary interaction is studied. It is shown that SBP-SAT time-marching perform well and is more suitable than RK4 for this type of non-linear, dispersive problem. Generalized summation-by-parts (GSBP) time-marching perform particularly well, due to high accuracy with few solution points.

In this report, we study how finite differences can be used to simulate acoustic wave propagation originating from a point source in the ocean using the Helmholtz equation. How to model sediment layers and the vast size of the ocean is studied in particular. The finite differences are implemented with summation by parts operators with boundary conditions enforced with simultaneous approximation terms and projection. The numerical solver is combined with the WaveHoltz method to improve the performance. Sediment layers are handled with interface conditions and the domain is artificially expanded using absorbing layers. The absorbing layer is implemented with an alternative approach to the super-grid method where the domain expansion is accomplished by altering the wave speed rather than with coordinate transformations. To isolate these issues, other parameters such as variations in the ocean floor are neglected. With this simplification, cylindrical coordinates are used and the angular variation is assumed to be zero. This reduces the problem to a quasi-three-dimensional system. We study how the parameters of the alternative absorbing layer approach affect its quality. The numerical solver is verified on several test cases and appears to work according to theory. Finally, a semi-realistic simulation is carried out and the solution seems correct in this setting.

This thesis develops the methodology for solving initial boundary value problems with the use of summation-by-parts discretizations. The combination of high orders of accuracy and a systematic approach to construct provably stable boundary and interface procedures makes this methodology especially suitable for scientific computations with high demands on efficiency and robustness. Most classes of high order methods can be applied in a way that satisfies a summation-by-parts rule. These include, but are not limited to, finite difference, spectral and nodal discontinuous Galerkin methods. In the first part of this thesis, the summation-by-parts methodology is extended to the time domain, enabling fully discrete formulations with superior stability properties. The resulting time discretization technique is closely related to fully implicit Runge-Kutta methods, and may alternatively be formulated as either a global method or as a family of multi-stage methods. Both first and second order derivatives in time are considered. In the latter case also including mixed initial and boundary conditions (i.e. conditions involving derivatives in both space and time). The second part of the thesis deals with summation-by-parts discretizations on multi-block and hybrid meshes. A new formulation of general multi-block couplings in several dimensions is presented and analyzed. It collects all multi-block, multi-element and  hybrid summation-by-parts schemes into a single compact framework. The new framework includes a generalized description of non-conforming interfaces based on so called summation-by-parts preserving interpolation operators, for which a new theoretical accuracy result is presented.

In this thesis we will investigate how the SBP-SAT finite difference method behave with and without an interface. As model problem, we consider the heat equation with piecewise constant coefficients. The thesis is split in two main parts. In the first part we look at the heat equation in one-dimension, and in the second part we expand the problem to a two-dimensional domain. We show how the SAT-parameters are chosen such that the scheme is dual consistent and stable. Then, we perform numerical experiments, now looking at the static case. In the one-dimensional case we see that the second order SBP-SAT method with an interface converge with an order of two, while the second order SBP-SAT method without an interface converge with an order of one.

In this thesis we look at acoustic wave propagation under water. We look in particular at waves generated by a point source and what happens with the propagation when we model the bottom as flat or as curvilinear. We assume the source to be working at a certain frequency and therefore we model this problem by solving the Helmholtz equation. Since Helmholtz equation has some unwanted numerical properties we are interested in finding new numerical methods that could accelerate the solver. In this thesis we use the Waveholtz iteration, which solves Helmholtz equation by connecting it to the time-dependent wave equation. We use finite differences and the SBP-SAT method to approximate the spatial problem numerically and for modelling the sea bottom we use curvilinear coordinates.  To compare the Waveholtz iteration we also solve Helmholtz equation with a naive solver. The naive solver consists of approximating the equation with finite differences and then solving the linear system of equation by some iterative solver, which for our tests will be GMRES. The results show that the Waveholtz iteration converges in less iterations than our naive solver. It also shows that the number of iterations stays unchanged when changing our discretization, which otherwise is a big problem for our naive solver. This allows us to increase the accuracy of our numerical solution without changing the computation time too much.  We show that the number of iterations increases according to theory for an increasing frequency, and that for open problems we even see a smaller increase. For certain resonant frequencies in Helmholtz equation we do not expect the Waveholtz iteration to converge. In the neighbourhood of these frequencies the convergence becomes slow and we need many iterations for a solution of a certain accuracy. By reformulating the Waveholtz iteration as a Krylov solution we can see that resonances in Helmholtz equation have a smaller impact of the convergence. / I detta examensarbete undersöker vi akustisk vågutbredning i vatten. Vi kollar specifikt på vågor som genereras av en punktkälla och vad som sker när vi modellerar botten som plan eller som kurvlinjär. Då vi antar att punktkällan arbetar vid en bestämd frekvens, kommer vi modellera det fysikaliska problemet genom att lösa Helmholtz ekvation. Helmholtz ekvation har dock några numeriska egenskaper som är oönskade, och därför finns ett intresse av att hitta nya numeriska metoder som löser ekvationen. I detta examensarbete undersöker vi Waveholtz iteration, som löser Helmholtz ekvation genom att koppla den till den tidsberoende vågekvationen. Vi använder finita differenser och SBP-SAT metoden för att approximera det rumsliga problemet numeriskt. För att ge en detaljerad beskrivning av botten använder vi kurvlinjära koordinater. För att jämföra Waveholtz iterationen med något löser vi även Helmholtz med hjälp av en naiv lösare. Den naiva lösaren består av att approximera problemet med finita differenser och sedan lösa det linjära systemet rakt av med en iterativ lösare (vilket för våra fall kommer vara GMRES). Resultatet visar att Waveholtz iteration konvergerar på ett lägre antal iterationer än vår naiva lösare. Det visar även att antalet iterationer inte förändras när vi ändrar diskretisering, vilket annars är ett problem för vår naiva lösare. Detta innebär att vi kan få en högre noggrannhet utan att förlänga beräkningstiden alltför mycket.  Vi visar även att antalet iterationer ökar som förväntat med en ökad frekvens, samt att för öppna problem så ökar antalet iteration mindre än enligt teorin. Vid vissa resonanta frekvenser i Helmholtz ekvation förväntar vi oss att Waveholtz iteration inte kommer konvergerar. I närheten av dessa frekvenser blir konvergensen långsam och vi behöver många iterationer för att lösa problemet. Genom att formulera Waveholtz iteration som en Krylov lösning kommer resonanser i Helmholtz ekvation ge en mindre negativ effekt på konvergensen än om den är formulerad som en fixpunkts iteration.