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Contributing to PANKH

First off, thank you for considering contributing to PANKH!
Your contributions—whether in the form of code, documentation, bug reports, feature requests, or testing—are all highly appreciated.

If you're not ready to contribute code but want to support the project:

  • Star the repository
  • Share it with others in your field
  • Cite it in your academic work
  • Use it in your classroom or lab

Table of Contents

Code of Conduct

Please read our Code of Conduct before contributing. By participating in this project, you agree to follow its terms.

How to Contribute

Reporting Bugs

If you encounter a bug:

  • Check if it’s already reported in Issues
  • If not, open a new issue
  • Include:
    • What you expected to happen
    • What actually happened
    • Steps to reproduce it
    • System info: OS, compiler version, etc.
    • Input files, if possible

Suggesting Features

If you have an idea for a feature:

  • First, check existing issues
  • If it's not there, open a new issue with a clear title and description
  • Explain why it would be useful, and any ideas on implementation

Adding New Code or Examples

If you're submitting new code (e.g. motion modules, solvers, visualization):

  • Fork the repository
  • Create a new branch (feature/your-feature-name)
  • Keep functions modular and avoid hardcoding
  • If you're adding examples (e.g. sudden acceleration, pitch–plunge):
    • Place input files in examples/your_case/
    • Write a short README for the new example

Improving Documentation

You can improve:

  • The README.md (installation, usage, references)
  • The examples/ documentation
  • The input JSON format explanation
  • Add doc comments in the code

Style Guide

  • Use C++11 or newer
  • No classes/structs (for now) – keep procedural
  • Maintain consistent formatting:
    • 4-space indentation
    • snake_case for variable names
    • Use Eigen::VectorXd, Eigen::MatrixXd, etc. when applicable
  • Keep the main.cpp clean – parse input in a separate file
  • Place .h files in includes/, .cpp in src/

Commit Messages

Please follow this format:

<type>: <short summary>

<body - optional, wrap at 72 chars>

Example:

fix: correct vortex strength update in unsteady solver

The Kutta condition wasn’t enforced properly for high reduced frequencies.

Types: fix, feat, docs, refactor, test, chore

Setting Up Locally

git clone https://github.com/coding4Acause/PANKH.git
cd PANKH
g++ -o PANKH_solver src/*.cpp -Iincludes -std=c++11

Input files are in JSON format and passed to the solver like:

./PANKH_solver input.json

Running Tests

We use basic test.cpp files to check solver outputs against reference data.

g++ -o test_solver test.cpp -std=c++11
./test_solver

The test compares Cl values against *_ref.dat files within a defined tolerance.

GitHub Actions CI runs these tests automatically on every push.

Project Vision and Contribution Opportunities

PANKH is an open-source C++ framework for unsteady aerodynamic simulations using the unsteady vortex panel method. It aims to be lightweight, modular, and research-friendly—serving as a platform for both educational purposes and high-fidelity aerodynamic investigations.

We welcome contributions from researchers, students, developers, and enthusiasts who are passionate about unsteady flow simulations and numerical methods in fluid dynamics.

Contribution Opportunities

Here are several ways you can contribute to the development of PANKH:

  • Fix bugs: Help identify, report, and resolve bugs to improve the robustness of the codebase.
  • Improve documentation: Contribute to better usage instructions, inline documentation, or example cases.
  • Suggest or implement enhancements: Propose new features or optimization techniques to improve performance and usability.
  • Cross-platform support: Ensure smooth compilation and execution across different operating systems (Linux, Windows, macOS).
  • Add tests: Contribute unit tests or regression tests to ensure correctness and stability.
  • Performance tuning: Optimize computational efficiency, solver speed, or memory usage.
  • New modules or algorithms: Add aerodynamic models, improve numerical stability, or include other simulation features.
  • Example simulations: Submit useful cases in the examples/ directory along with proper documentation and expected results.
  • Geometry module improvements: Help extend the current airfoil module to support arbitrary airfoil shapes via .dat files and automate panel generation.

Special Areas of Interest

The PANKH core team is actively seeking contributors in the following areas:

  • Development of a GUI or CLI: We welcome contributors to build a graphical user interface or an interactive command-line tool similar to XFOIL, allowing users to control simulation parameters and view flow visualizations more intuitively.
  • Improved airfoil support: Extend the geometry module to handle arbitrary airfoil geometries, including NACA or imported .dat formats, and automatically generate surface panels with smooth curvature handling.
  • Fluid–Structure Interaction (FSI): We are working on incorporating structural flexibility into the solver for 2-way FSI simulations with deformable airfoils.
  • 3D extension: The roadmap includes extending PANKH from 2D unsteady panel methods to full 3D vortex-lattice-based simulations in the near future.

If any of these areas interest you, please reach out or open a discussion—we’d love to collaborate!

You can check the Issues page to find tasks labeled good first issue or help wanted, or suggest new ideas of your own.

Thank you for helping make PANKH better!
— The Maintainers