Applications and Software

Converge CFD simulation of the oral plume left by someone walking down an aircraft aisle. Image from Machine Design.
- Best CFD blog article title EVAR: Because No One Likes Sand in their Crack. Kudos CD-adapco.
- Via the CFD World blog comes news of PyFR, “an open-source Python based framework for solving advection-diffusion type problems on streaming architectures using the Flux Reconstruction approach of Huynh.”
- Here’s an article about the use of Converge CFD for aircraft interiors. See image above.
Meshing
- Scan & Solve for Rhino isn’t CFD but the implications for meshing are interesting.
- Speaking of Rhino and meshing, KUBRIX BlockRanger is now available for hex meshing.
- In the recently release Pointwise V17.2 you’ll find the ability to rapidly generate hybrid meshes with near-wall hex layers.
- FLOW-3D v11 will have new tools for checking their FAVOR meshing technique.
- The meshing contest geometry for the International Meshing Roundtable 2014 is the Tower Bridge.

This year’s International Meshing Roundtable meshing contest is London’s Tower Bridge. (Image from Pointwise)
More Applications
- In this concise summary of the limitations placed on aerodynamic design of Formula 1 cars we learn that CFD is limited to 30 teraflops, a reduction of 25% from the previous year.
- If you want to draft off another swimmer it seems that if you remain about 6 meters behind another swimmer your drag coefficient will be 84% of theirs. (From the Journal of Sports and Medicine.)
Events and Validation
- DEVELOP3D Live is an event for CAD junkies focused on “Interesting stories, about Interesting People who design interesting stuff – and the digital tools they use to do it.” There’s a nice write-up of this year’s event on the enigmatically named The CAD Setter Out blog in which we read that cloud = collaboration.
- Prof. Lorena Barba’s presentation on “The Reliability of Computational Research Findings: Reproducible Research, Uncertainty Quantification, and Verification & Validation” is available online, including slides and video recording. Conclusion: knowing and publishing uncertainty is the key to reproducibility.
- On a related note, Sandia National Labs is hosting a V&V Challenge Workshop in advance of the ASME V&V Symposium.
Business
- If you’re interested in keeping up with how PTC’s doing, Monica Schnitger shares info through March. [You will read about IoT, the internet of things. If you haven’t already heard that term, you’ll likely be hearing a lot about it in the future from a variety of sources.]
- Here’s the best of the visualization web for March 2014.
- Marin in the Netherlands has an opening for an Applied CFD Specialist.
- Boeing thinks Altair is excellent and awarded them as such.
- CIMdata thinks ANSYS’ acquisition of SpaceClaim substantially strengthens their products.
Grid Painting
Artist Ann Thornycroft is very aware of the inter-relationship of humans and nature. Unlike other painters who insist that every horizontal line isn’t the horizon and every vertical line isn’t a person, for her the horizontal line represents nature while the vertical lines are human figures.
Bonus: Combining sound and fire is just insane – Pyro Board.
Thank you for the news of PyFR. It’s a very good framework with top precision. And – the most importan thing – its open source. Have a nice day!