OpenMP performance with an Euler code on an Intel based computer

Personal computers of the past were limited to running computational fluid dynamics codes in serial mode. With the advent of multi-core technology and suitable compilers, personal computers nowadays can execute codes in a parallel fashion similar to that of supercomputers and cluster computer systems. This article investigated what performance can be achieved when executing an aerodynamic code on an Intel quad core based personal computer with an OpenMP compiler in a Windows environment. The code solved the Euler equations to find the flowfield around a NACA 0012 aerofoil on an O-type boundary fitted structured grid system. A speedup of up to 350% was obtainable in double precision accuracy. The reduced computation time was means that, for small scale problems, more accurate Euler codes can replace commonly used transonic small disturbance codes. For larger problems, this transformation serves as a reference for developers of hybrid MPI/OpenMP algorithms for cluser computer systems