Why is there an ongoing effort to cram rich interactive 3D CAD/CAE applications into a web browser for desktop and laptop computers yet there is a proliferation of dedicated apps on tablets and smart phones?

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has the potential to overwhelm any computer, including the largest super computers, with generated flow field data (e.g., pressure, velocity) for transient (time dependent or time accurate) simulations. The traditional approach to transient simulations, and still widely used today, is to run a transient simulation and store entire flow field data sets at each time step for post processing at a later date. Given that a transient simulation can run for 10,000s of time steps, data management clearly becomes a significant issue, or more often a headache. However, there is an elegant alternative - co-processing.

CFD Co-Processing for a Transient Simulation in Caedium

Configuring a flow volume for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is often the most difficult task during the simulation process. Follow these 5 tips to make your CFD flow volume creation less painful.

3D Model With Too Much Detail for CFD

Solid modeling is the dominant form of virtual object representation underpinning nearly all 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems. The strength of a solid model is that it defines a water tight (manifold) unambiguous object which implicitly delineates between the inside and the outside of an object simply by the alignment of the boundaries (B-rep or BREP) that define it. This makes solid modeling an ideal basis for virtual analysis techniques, e.g., stress analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Also solid modeling provides a relatively straightforward path to manufacture through CNC machines and, more recently, 3D printing.

Cylinder Head Solid ModelBoundary Representation (B-rep or BREP)

Given how easy it is to define a sphere with a single value (radius) you'd think the fluid flow around a sphere would be simple too, right? However, as with many innocuous looking fluid problems, our intuition is wrong. The resulting flow characteristics, especially the drag variation with fluid velocity, are wild. Why does this matter? One word - sports.

CFD Simulation of Flow Around a SphereReynolds number 10,000, large unsteady asymmetric recirculation

Which is more efficient: laminar or turbulent flow over an airfoil? Find out in this simple Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study.

CFD Simulation of Laminar Flow Over An AirfoilVelocity Magnitude Contours

To make best use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software there are a number of key concepts to keep in mind. Based on my experiences and those of Caedium Professional users here's a selection of the important issues to consider while you prepare and perform your own CFD simulations.

Caedium Professional CFD Simulation

There are some fascinating proposals for power generation using tethered kites and balloons, so why not investigate the equivalent of underwater kites for generating power? Why not indeed, because that is exactly what two independent teams of researchers are doing, one from Minesto, Sweden and the other from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA [Source: Discovery News].

Minesto Underwater Kite

For Santa to meet his aggressive toy delivery schedule on Xmas eve it would appear that he has to travel impossibly fast. Yet there are often sightings of Santa on his rounds, which seems to contradict this high speed hypothesis. The only way to explain Santa's whereabouts is that he uses a Reality Distortion Field (RDF). Santa's special projects division (known as Elf Works) is responsible for the RDF and it remains tight lipped on how it works. However, with the help of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) we have pieced together how the RDF might work.

CFD Simulation of Reality Distortion Field Bubble Around Santa and his EntourageIso-surfaces of velocity magnitude

What happens if by suspending the laws of physics an elephant was to instantaneously transform into water? Given that approximately 70% of an elephant is already water we just need to magically convert the remaining 30% - I'll leave that as your homework assignment. Then the results would probably look something like this Volume Of Fluid (VOF free-surface) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation.

VOF Free Surface CFD SimulationElephant collapses into a puddle