Based on the number of event announcements and updates in this week’s CFD news, everyone’s desire to bring the CFD community together at conferences is almost palpable even though we’re still waiting for the first fully in-person event. From the Reading department comes an open-source CFD textbook, a survey on CAD, and a whitepaper on geometry modeling for CFD (that we hope you’ll read and comment on.) And of course, plenty of software releases and applied CFD. Shown here is a simulation of a Caruthers Waterwheel, designed for efficient, micro hydro electricity generation.
Events
- The preCICE Workshop 2021 will be online on 22-25 February. Registration is open.
- Just a reminder that you have until 19 Feb to submit your full manuscript (not an abstract) for this June’s International Meshing Roundtable.
- The NAFEMS World Congress 2021 – their first hybrid congress – is coming up on 25-29 October in Salzburg and online. Your abstract is due 16 April.
- The 22nd IEEE International Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Engineering and Scientific Computing will be an online event on 21 May 2021. Papers are due today.
- A video introduction to the Online International Meeting for Users of OpenFOAM IV. Submission deadline is 16 March.
- See a recording of Zenotech’s presentation from the OpenMP Users Conference on how they parallelized their CFD code.
- The SIAM Annual Meeting 2021 will either be hybrid or virtual (TBD) on 19-23 July. The submissions deadline has been extended to 17 February.
Jobs
- Lilium seeks an aerodynamics software developer to work on the company’s in-house CFD code.
- Pointwise seeks an applications engineer for our engineering services team.
- We’re very happy to have found two great candidates for our summer internships. Thanks to everyone who applied.
- SimScale has an opening for a senior CFD software developer.
Software
- Rhino 7 is now available for your geometry modeling needs.
- I don’t remember how I found this or who recommended it, but be treated to lecture slides on Unix, Scripting, and Tools.
- Introducing HiFiLES version 0.1, High Fidelity Large Eddy Simulation, from Stanford. [Is it pronounced “high files” or “hi fi L-E-S”? This question from the guy who pronounces PyFR as “pie fire” which would be a great name for a rock band.]
- preCICE v2.2 is now available for coupling partitioned, multiphysics simulations.
- MOOSE is a plug-and-play simulation platform from Idaho National Lab. Coreform is working with INL on this open source tool.
- ANSYS 2021 R1 is now available.
- In this article on 10 computer codes that transformed science, the Fortran compiler is listed first. [Is it just me, or has there been a lot of renewed interest in Fortran recently?]
- Musings on what “open source” really means.
- Coherent-vorticity-preserving LES.
- What’s new in SimScale.
News
- Pointwise published the whitepaper Preparation of Geometry Models for Mesh Generation and CFD.
- Enterprise spending on cloud-based HPC is growing at more than twice the rate of on-premise HPC. How long before HPC is predominantly in the cloud?
- Computational Fluid Dynamics: An Open Source Approach is a an open-source textbook for learning CFD using open-source software.
- Take a few minutes and contribute your thoughts to Tech Clarity’s survey on CAD and Product Development Collaboration.
- Learn about running FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulation) on AWS.
- Intelligent Light‘s updated website includes a nice summary of the company’s history.
- PTC’s revenue for the 4th quarter of calendar 2020 was up 10% to $429 million.
- It’s a small thing but we’re happy about it. Pointwise was named a Best Place for Working Parents in 2021. [This has nothing to do with the fact that it’s been suggested that I personally offer daycare services in my office because that’s where the kids all end up because of the toys.]

CFD for…
- congenital heart defects. [Work being done at my alma mater, Syracuse University.]
- cycling wheels (for less than $1,000).
- Formula 1.
- generating a compressor map (leveraging GPUs).
- Toyota Gazoo Racing’s new GR010 hypercar. [Is that more or less than a supercar?]
- efficient, micro, hydro electric generation. (See image at the top of this post.)
- 3D printed, aftermarket, car bodies.
- HVAC systems (upcoming webinar).
- 50m Project Sapphire yacht.
- catamaran fast ferry.
- suction intakes.
- the world’s largest sailing sloop. [What’s with all the boats? And “sloop” reminds me of the Beach Boys tune with “sloop” in its title that isn’t a favorite.]
Sometimes a Snowflake is Just a Snowflake
No, this is not an homage to Frozen from my Disney fandom. Snowflakes are an interesting example of geometry (crystal growth). So I leave you with hours of pure fun with the Snowflake Generator.
Bonus: DFW outranks Silicon Valley in new report of best U.S. tech hubs.