CFX
Encyclopedia
CFX is a commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics
(CFD) program, used to simulate fluid flow in a variety of applications. The ANSYS CFX product allows engineers to test systems in a virtual environment. The scalable program has been applied to the simulation of water flowing past ship hulls, gas turbine engines (including the compressors, combustion chamber, turbines and afterburners), aircraft aerodynamics, pumps, fans, HVAC
systems, mixing vessels, hydrocyclones, vacuum cleaners, and more.
and originally developed in-house for use by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
(UKAEA), and TASCflow which was developed by Advanced Scientific Computing (ASC), of Waterloo, Ontario
, Canada.
FLOW3D was commercialized by UKAEA in the late 1980s early 1990s, based on other in-house codes. It was renamed as CFX-4 in the mid 1990s, since the name Flow-3D was already used in North America. The original product offering was based on a multi-block structured hexahedral code based on the SIMPLE staggered grid solution technique. CFX-4 was very strong in the chemical process industry and included some of the industry's most advanced multiphase and chemistry models.
TASCflow was a structured hexahedral grid code, with a co-located primitive variable formulation that utilized a control volume based finite volume discretization scheme to create a linearized system of equations that was solved using a unique, highly effective proprietary coupled-multigrid solver. The Waterloo office has maintained strong ties with the University of Waterloo and its initial, highly academic focus led to the development of advanced discretization methods and solution algorithms. TASCflow was primarily used for mechanical applications, with modeling strengths in combustion and turbomachinery where the coupled solver delivered the simultaneous coupled.
Computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with...
(CFD) program, used to simulate fluid flow in a variety of applications. The ANSYS CFX product allows engineers to test systems in a virtual environment. The scalable program has been applied to the simulation of water flowing past ship hulls, gas turbine engines (including the compressors, combustion chamber, turbines and afterburners), aircraft aerodynamics, pumps, fans, HVAC
HVAC
HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
systems, mixing vessels, hydrocyclones, vacuum cleaners, and more.
History
ANSYS CFX software has its roots in the program CFX-4, formerly Flow3D in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and originally developed in-house for use by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of nuclear fusion power. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and was formerly chaired by Lady Barbara Judge CBE...
(UKAEA), and TASCflow which was developed by Advanced Scientific Computing (ASC), of Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
, Canada.
FLOW3D was commercialized by UKAEA in the late 1980s early 1990s, based on other in-house codes. It was renamed as CFX-4 in the mid 1990s, since the name Flow-3D was already used in North America. The original product offering was based on a multi-block structured hexahedral code based on the SIMPLE staggered grid solution technique. CFX-4 was very strong in the chemical process industry and included some of the industry's most advanced multiphase and chemistry models.
TASCflow was a structured hexahedral grid code, with a co-located primitive variable formulation that utilized a control volume based finite volume discretization scheme to create a linearized system of equations that was solved using a unique, highly effective proprietary coupled-multigrid solver. The Waterloo office has maintained strong ties with the University of Waterloo and its initial, highly academic focus led to the development of advanced discretization methods and solution algorithms. TASCflow was primarily used for mechanical applications, with modeling strengths in combustion and turbomachinery where the coupled solver delivered the simultaneous coupled.
See also
- Computational fluid dynamicsComputational fluid dynamicsComputational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with...
- Finite element analysis
- Computer simulationComputer simulationA computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...
- Computer-aided designComputer-aided designComputer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
- Computer-aided engineeringComputer-aided engineeringComputer-aided engineering is the broad usage of computer software to aid in engineering tasks. It includes computer-aided design , computer-aided analysis , computer-integrated manufacturing , computer-aided manufacturing , material requirements planning , and computer-aided planning .- Overview...
Related Software
- ANSYS Fluent (proprietary software)
- Star-CCM+
- Code SaturneCode SaturneCode_Saturne is a general purpose computational fluiddynamics free software. Developed since 1997 at EDF R&D, Code_Saturne is distributed under the GNU GPL licence....
(GPL) - OpenFOAMOpenFOAMOpenFOAM is a C++ toolbox for the development of customized numerical solvers, and pre-/post-processing utilities for the solution of continuum mechanics problems, including computational fluid dynamics . The code is released as free and open source software under the GNU General Public License...
(GPL)
External links
- CFX product page
- SVS FEM s.r.o (Czech Republic, Brno)
- CFD.HU Ltd. (Hungary, Budapest)