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Energy Applications
Engineers in the energy sector around the world face complex design challenges every day in a wide range of processes for which solutions can be found through computational fluid dynamics. Many of these problems involve free-surface flows for which FLOW-3D is uniquely suited to provide accurate understanding and analysis. These problems include such areas as:
- Fuel or cargo sloshing inside containers on the high seas
- Wave effects on offshore platforms
- Performance optimization for separation devices undergoing 6 DOF motion
- Design of devices to capture energy from waves
FLOW-3D’s ability to accurately capture free-surface flow dynamics enables engineers to develop new and improved designs in a reasonable amount of time and at an attractive cost versus physical testing.
An oil platform fastened to the seabed by 12 ropes simulated using FLOW-3D's unique General Moving Objects model. Click on the image to view the animation.
Download the Energy Brochure >
Read more about FLOW-3D's unique fluid-structure interaction capabilities for simulating offshore structures.
CFD-101 – Free Surface Modeling Methods
The presence of a free or moving boundary introduces serious complications for any type of flow analysis. For all but the simplest of problems, it is necessary to resort to numerical solutions. Even then, however, free surfaces require the introduction of special methods to define their location, their movement and their influence on a flow.
In the following discussion we briefly review the types of numerical approaches that have been used to model free surfaces, indicating the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Read more in CFD-101 >