Efficient extraction of vortex structures by coupling proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and high-dimensional model representation (HDMR) techniques

Spatially evolving and temporally developing fluid flow patterns are encountered in wide-spectrum fluid thermal problems. The time and length scales of eddies involved may vary over a few orders of magnitude. Often, simultaneous detection, identification, and characterization of small- and large-scale eddies, and persistent structures such as coherent structures, are crucial. The amount of scientific data generated either in a wind tunnel or in a virtual numerical tunnel through computational fluid dynamics is too voluminous for both storage and handling. To this end, a variety of data analysis and feature extraction tools, which rely on model reduction and efficient on-the-fly reconstruction, are highly desirable. In this article, we introduce a novel and efficient yet cheaper reconstruction strategy that enables a symbiotic coupling between two such techniques, viz., proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and high-dimensional model representation (HDMR). © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.