Framework for computational fluid dynamics simulations using Python. Use when running fluid dynamics simulations including Navier-Stokes equations (2D/3D), shallow water equations, stratified flows, or when analyzing turbulence, vortex dynamics, or geophysical flows. Provides pseudospectral methods with FFT, HPC support, and comprehensive output analysis.
SKILL.md
FluidSim
Routing Boundary
Use this skill only for FluidSim or explicit CFD workflows such as Navier-Stokes, turbulence, shallow-water, stratified-flow, or pseudospectral fluid simulations. Do not use it for CSS fluid layouts, responsive design, generic Python simulation, generic PDE solving, or non-FluidSim numerical physics work.
Overview
FluidSim is an object-oriented Python framework for high-performance computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. It provides solvers for periodic-domain equations using pseudospectral methods with FFT, delivering performance comparable to Fortran/C++ while maintaining Python's ease of use.
params.init_fields.type = "noise" # or "dipole", "vortex", "from_file", "in_script"
Output settings:
params.output.periods_save.phys_fields = 1.0 # save every 1.0 time units
params.output.periods_save.spectra = 0.5
params.output.periods_save.spatial_means = 0.1
The Parameters object raises AttributeError for typos, preventing silent configuration errors.
See references/parameters.md for comprehensive parameter documentation.
5. Output and Analysis
FluidSim produces multiple output types automatically saved during simulation:
Physical fields: Velocity, vorticity in HDF5 format
Parametric studies: Run multiple simulations with different parameters
for nu in [1e-3, 5e-4, 1e-4]:
params = Simul.create_default_params()
params.nu_2 = nu
params.output.sub_directory = f"nu{nu}"
sim = Simul(params)
sim.time_stepping.start()
See references/advanced_features.md for forcing types, custom solvers, cluster submission, and performance optimization.
Common Use Cases
2D Turbulence Study
from fluidsim.solvers.ns2d.solver import Simul
from math import pi
params = Simul.create_default_params()
params.oper.nx = params.oper.ny = 512
params.oper.Lx = params.oper.Ly = 2 * pi
params.nu_2 = 1e-4
params.time_stepping.t_end = 50.0
params.time_stepping.USE_CFL = True
params.init_fields.type = "noise"
params.output.periods_save.phys_fields = 5.0
params.output.periods_save.spectra = 1.0
sim = Simul(params)
sim.time_stepping.start()
# Analyze energy cascade
sim.output.spectra.plot1d(tmin=30.0, tmax=50.0)