ZONA's Proper Orthogonal Decomposition / Response Surface Method (zPOD) is a software tool that is used to perform interpolation on user supplied CFD solution data sets in the form of PLOT3D (structured) or Fieldview (unstructured) formats.

zPOD processes a user set-up CFD table database that specifies the location to the external CFD solution files (or any structured data set files that can be save in PLOT3D format) followed by user specified parameter values such as Mach number, Angle-of-Attack, Altitude, Control surface deflection angle, etc. All input parameter values are real numbers that represent any physical facet of the corresponding structured or unstructured dataset. It is on these parameters that zPOD peforms the interpolation to construct a new solution file.

Some of zPOD's capabilities are listed below:

• can process PLOT3D (structured mesh) and Fieldview (unstructured mesh).
• performs both Local Linear and global Radial Basis Function (RBF) interpolation.
• supports re-start runs so that once you process the CFD solution files for the first time, subsequent interpolation runs only take from seconds to minutes to complete.
• can perform a static grid mapping to handle different numbers of grids that can occur in unstructured meshes.
• user can specify a VOLUME space for Fieldview files to focus the solution interpolation within a region of the original Filedview file flowfield (e.g., in cases where the entire flowfield are not needed such as focusing on the flow over a wing)
• can generate Tecplot plotting files for: referenced Fieldview solution files, interpolated solution results, and response surface plots (from the response surface coefficients generated in the PODRSM process)
• can generate an INPCFD1 data file that is compatible with ZONA's ZAERO and ZONAIR software. This is useful, for example, if you want to run a transonic analysis in ZAERO whereby you need CFD solutions on the vehicle. zPOD's interpolated solution can then be directly used by ZAERO or ZONAIR.
• can output an ATAC data file that can be read by the Thermal Desktop commercial software of C&R Inc.