Newsroom
Flow Science Releases
FLOW-3D V8.1 for CFD
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, October 21, 2002. Flow Science, Inc. announces the availability of a new upgrade release of its FLOW-3D computational fluid dynamics software. Version 8.1 features multi-processor capability, new models and improvements to existing models, new file compression options, continued advances in the FLOW-VU visualization tool, and a general speed-up in tested calculation speeds.
This release makes available to interested users a version of FLOW-3D that will run on shared memory, multiple processor computers. The implementation is based on OpenMP technology and is available on Windows NT, 2000 and XP, HP-UX, Compaq DEC Alpha and SGI platforms.
Other notable aspects of Version 8.1:
Increase in calculation efficiency. The solver calculation efficiency has been increased by improving the structure of FLOW-3D. As a result, CPU times are reduced by as much as 20%, depending on the computer platform and the type of problem. The largest speedup was achieved on the DEC Alpha and HP platforms for a range of flow and heat transfer problems.
Unsaturated flow in porous media. Each porous obstacle can
now have its own set of unsaturated porous medium properties. This enhancement
to the unsaturated porous media flow allows users to have multiple porous objects
with different saturation properties.
Turbulent wall boundary conditions. The logarithmic law-of-the-wall
turbulent boundary conditions, have been fully implemented in both momentum and
turbulent transport equations. This enhancement improves the accuracy of the
turbulence models in the code. There is no special input required to invoke the
new turbulent wall shear model.
Wall roughness in turbulent and laminar flows. Wall roughness
has been incorporated into no-slip, laminar and turbulent, wall boundary conditions
in a more accurate and consistent fashion. The roughness can now be defined as
the actual physical size of the pits and bumps on the wall surface, eliminating
the need for calibration studies.
Two-fluid phase change. A two-fluid phase change model has
been added. The new model is designed to model mass and heat exchange between
a compressible gas (vapor) and an incompressible fluid (condensed vapor) when
significant spatial variations of pressure and temperature are expected in the
vapor.
Temperature-dependent cavitation/boiling model. The existing
cavitation model has been extended to include thermal effects in both fluid and
vapor. The model works in conjunction with the homogeneous bubble and phase change
models. The new model will enable the formation of vapor bubbles in the fluid
by applying heat, which is a common technique for creating pressure pulses in
inkjet nozzles. Another typical application of the model is the boiling of liquids.
Wall adhesion. The surface tension and wall adhesion models
have been enhanced to better handle flow near curved and sloped walls. This reduces
the dependence of the flow solution on the orientation of the walls and generally
improves the accuracy of the surface tension model.
Residence time. A new model has been added to record the
residence time for the fluid. The model works by recording the time a specific
volume of fluid has spent within the computational domain from the beginning
of the calculation, or from the time of entry through an inlet boundary or at
a mass source. This addition should be useful in a wide range of applications,
from casting, to pollution control, to civil engineering flow problems.
File compression. Progress has been made to meet the long-standing
user demands to reduce the size of the main solver output file. Three options
are now available for the output file format. FLOW-3D’s
OpenGL-based visualization tool, FLOW-VU, has been improved significantly. The
major new features include multiple display windows, the ability to display meshes
and the ability to probe and transform (translate, rotate and scale) objects.
Flow Science has commenced shipment of the new release to customers under maintenance contracts.
Flow Science, Inc. is a privately held software company specializing in high fidelity fluid dynamics modeling software for industrial and scientific applications worldwide. Flow Science has Associates for FLOW-3D sales and support in Japan, Germany, Korea, Finland, Norway, Russia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy.
For information, contact Flow Science, Inc. at:
Flow Science
683 Harkle Road, Suite A
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Telephone: (505) 982-0088
Fax: (505) 982-5551
E-mail: info@flow3d.com
Website: www.flow3d.com.
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