A tensorial approach to computational continuum mechanics using object-oriented techniques

In this article the principles of the field operation and manipulation (FOAM) C++ class library for continuum mechanics are outlined. Our intention is to make it as easy as possible to develop reliable and efficient computational continuum-mechanics codes: this is achieved by making the top-level syntax of the code as close as possible to conventional mathematical notation for, tensors and partial differential equations. Object-orientation techniques enable the creation of data types that closely mimic those of continuum mechanics, and the operator overloading possible in C++ allows normal mathematical symbols to be used for the basic operations. As an example, the implementation of various types of turbulence modeling in a FOAM computational-fluid-dynamics code is discussed. and calculations performed on a standard test case, that of flow around a square prism, are presented. To demonstrate the flexibility of the FOAM library, codes for solving structures and magnetohydrodynamics are also presented with appropriate test case results given. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0894-1866(98)01906-3].