CFD-Rocket Disclaimer and Engineering Use Notice

1. Intended Use

This software is intended for computational fluid dynamics (CFD), heat transfer, and general engineering analysis for research, educational, exploratory, and non-certified engineering use.

It is designed as a numerical simulation tool and is not a substitute for experimental testing, engineering judgment, design review, certification, or regulatory approval.

2. Nature of the Results

All results generated by this software are numerical approximations derived from mathematical models, discretization methods, and user-specified assumptions.

Computed quantities such as, but not limited to:

• pressure
• velocity
• temperature
• density
• turbulence quantities
• wall shear stress
• heat flux
• lift / drag / force coefficients
• shock location
• separation behavior
• boundary layer behavior

may be sensitive to:

• mesh resolution and quality
• near-wall resolution and
• turbulence model selection
• wall treatment / wall-function assumptions
• boundary conditions
• thermodynamic and transport property models
• numerical schemes
• time-step or iteration settings
• convergence criteria
• solver stabilization choices
• geometry idealization
• user setup errors

Simulation outputs should therefore be treated as model-dependent engineering estimates, not guaranteed physical truth.

3. Turbulence and Wall-Model Limitations

This software may include turbulence closures and near-wall models (including wall functions and related approximations) that are inherently limited.

Predictions may be inaccurate or unreliable for cases involving, including but not limited to:

• flow separation
• reattachment
• transition from laminar to turbulent flow
• strong streamline curvature
• shock / boundary-layer interaction
• highly unsteady flow
• recirculation-dominated flow
• complex secondary flow
• low-Reynolds-number near-wall effects
• roughness effects not explicitly modeled
• heat transfer regimes outside the assumptions of the selected wall treatment
• combustion, multiphase, reacting, or rarefied flow unless explicitly supported and validated

Users are responsible for determining whether the selected turbulence and wall-treatment models are appropriate for the intended application.

4. Compressible / High-Speed Flow Limitations

For compressible or high-speed flow applications, results may be particularly sensitive to:

• shock-capturing behavior
• grid alignment and resolution
• limiter behavior
• thermodynamic property assumptions
• viscosity / conductivity models
• boundary-condition treatment
• numerical dissipation
• turbulence–compressibility interaction modeling

Special care is required when interpreting shock structure, boundary-layer thickness, wall heating, pressure recovery, and separation behavior.

5. User Responsibility

The user is solely responsible for:

• selecting appropriate governing equations and models
• defining geometry, mesh, and boundary conditions
• checking dimensional consistency and units
• verifying numerical convergence and conservation
• evaluating mesh independence
• reviewing wall treatment suitability and behavior
• validating results against analytical solutions, benchmark cases, experiments, or trusted references where appropriate
• and determining whether the results are suitable for the intended engineering purpose

A converged residual history, visually smooth contour plot, or stable iteration behavior does not guarantee physical correctness.

6. Not for Sole Safety-Critical Use

This software and its outputs must not be used as the sole basis for any safety-critical, certification, or mission-critical decision, including but not limited to:

• aerospace or flight safety design
• pressure containment or structural integrity decisions
• thermal protection or overheating prevention decisions
• automotive safety systems
• medical or biomedical device design
• energy system hazard assessment
• fire / thermal runaway prevention
• or any other application where failure could result in injury, death, environmental harm, property damage, or significant financial loss

Any such use requires independent verification, validation, engineering review, and domain-appropriate qualification procedures beyond this software alone.

7. Verification and Validation Expectation

Responsible engineering use of this software should include, where applicable:

• code verification
• solution verification
• benchmark comparison
• conservation checks
• sensitivity studies
• mesh refinement studies
• wall-resolution assessment
• and comparison against experimental or trusted reference data

Users should not assume correctness solely because a simulation completed successfully.

8. Development and Qualification Status

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, this software should be treated as a research / development engineering tool, not a fully qualified or certified commercial simulation platform.

Some features, numerical methods, physical models, or solver options may still be under development, partially verified, or validated only for limited classes of problems.

Users are responsible for independently confirming suitability before relying on results.

9. No Warranty

This software is provided “as is” and without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of:

• accuracy
• merchantability
• fitness for a particular purpose
• non-infringement
• performance
• or suitability for engineering design use

No representation is made that the software will be error-free, numerically robust, physically accurate, or appropriate for any particular analysis task.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the authors, developers, contributors, publishers, and distributors of this software shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from use of the software or its outputs, including but not limited to:

• design errors
• incorrect engineering conclusions
• equipment damage
• production loss
• thermal or fluid system failure
• structural or performance failure
• financial loss
• business interruption
• personal injury
• or any other loss arising from reliance on simulation results

Use of this software is at the user’s own engineering and operational risk.

11. Acceptance

By downloading, installing, executing, modifying, distributing, or using this software, the user acknowledges these limitations and accepts full responsibility for all model setup, result interpretation, and engineering use.

Known Limitations

Current known or expected limitations may include:

• sensitivity to near-wall mesh and
• dependence on turbulence-model assumptions
• limited reliability in separated or massively recirculating flows
• limited prediction quality for transition unless explicitly modeled
• possible sensitivity to inlet turbulence assumptions
• numerical diffusion effects on coarse meshes
• wall heat transfer sensitivity to first-layer spacing and wall treatment
• possible inaccuracies in shock / separation interaction regions
• possible setup sensitivity in high-Mach or high-gradient flows
• user responsibility for unit consistency and boundary-condition correctness