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We present a space–time (ST) computational flow analysis method with built-in Reynolds-equation limit. The method enables solution of lubrication fluid dynamics problems with a computational cost comparable to that of the Reynolds-equation model for the comparable solution quality, but with the computational flexibility to go beyond the limitations of the Reynolds-equation model. The key components of the method are the ST Variational Multiscale (ST-VMS) method, ST Isogeometric Analysis (ST-IGA), and the ST Slip Interface (ST-SI) method. The VMS feature of the ST-VMS serves as a numerical stabilization method with a good track record, the moving-mesh feature of the ST framework enables high-resolution flow computation near the moving fluid–solid interfaces, and the higher-order accuracy of the ST framework strengthens both features. The ST-IGA enables more accurate representation of the solid-surface geometries and increased accuracy in the flow solution in general. With the ST-IGA, even with just one quadratic NURBS element across the gap of the lubrication fluid dynamics problem, we reach a solution quality comparable to that of the Reynolds-equation model. The ST-SI enables moving-mesh computation when the spinning solid surface is noncircular. The mesh covering the solid surface spins with it, retaining the high-resolution representation of the flow near the surface, and the SI between the spinning mesh and the rest of the mesh accurately connects the two sides of the solution. We present detailed 2D test computations to show how the method performs compared to the Reynolds-equation model, compared to finite element discretization, at different circumferential and normal mesh refinement levels, when there is an SI in the mesh, and when the no-slip boundary conditions are weakly-enforced.

We present the core and special multiscale space–time (ST) methods we developed for thermo-fluid analysis of a ground vehicle and its tires. We also present application of these methods to thermo-fluid analysis of a freight truck and its rear set of tires. The core multiscale ST method is the ST variational multiscale (ST-VMS) formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations of incompressible flows with thermal coupling, which is multiscale in the way the small-scale thermo-fluid behavior is represented in the computations. The special multiscale ST method is spatially multiscale, where the thermo-fluid computation over the global domain with a reasonable mesh refinement is followed by a higher-resolution computation over the local domain containing the rear set of tires, with the boundary and initial conditions coming from the data computed over the global domain. The large amount of time-history data from the global computation is stored using the ST computation technique with continuous representation in time (ST-C), which serves as a data compression technique in this context. In our thermo-fluid analysis, we use a road-surface temperature higher than the free-stream temperature, and a tire-surface temperature that is even higher. We also include in the analysis the heat from the engine and exhaust system, with a reasonably realistic representation of the rate by which that heat transfer takes place as well as the surface geometry of the engine and exhaust system over which the heat transfer occurs. We take into account the heave motion of the truck body. We demonstrate how the spatially multiscale ST method, with higher-refinement mesh in the local domain, substantially increases the accuracy of the computed heat transfer rates from the tires.