CFD brings together various numerical methods for modeling the flow of fluids such as liquids, gases and other complex substances. It enables the study of specific environments, such as flows around or inside an object, taking into account fluid-structure interactions, heat transfer, thermohydraulics, laminar, turbulent and reactive flows, as well as other phenomena such as microfluidics, viscous flows, liquid metals, electrolytes, two-phase flows, multiphase flows and aerodynamics.
Studying and mastering flows, heat transfers and their associated kinetics are invaluable assets for a project team, whether creating a new process, rethinking an existing system or seeking to optimize it.
Today, CFD is indispensable for optimizing energy consumption, which is more necessary than ever to control costs.
They are widely used to study the behavior of fluids, such as air, water or gases, in real physical systems. Why is CFD an asset for your R&D and innovation projects? Because it allows you to :
At every stage of your project, our teams will support you in :
- Define the model: specify boundary conditions and fluid properties, and select the appropriate model type for the system under study.
- Model the geometry so that it is representative of the real situation. This step may involve creating a 3D model of the geometry, or importing an existing model.
- Meshing: this is an important step for simulation accuracy. The mesh must be fine enough to capture the important details of the geometry, but not too fine to avoid long calculation times.
- Define initial and boundary conditions for the model. This can include temperature, pressure, speed, etc.
- Solving the equations : The equations of fluid dynamics are solved numerically to determine the fields of velocity, pressure, temperature and so on.
- Analyze results to understand the behavior of fluids in the system and make appropriate decisions to validate the design, operating procedures, plan and anticipate maintenance operations…
- Check and validate results: to ensure that the simulation is accurate and represents the real situation, and to enrich the model which can then be transferred to your teams. This can include comparing simulation results with experimental data.
The main elements analyzed are :
- Fluid flows: displacement in the system, speeds and directions.
- Pressure: to understand how the fluid interacts with the system’s solid surfaces.
- Temperature: to understand how heat propagates in systems such as enclosures housing electronic components subjected to extreme conditions.
- Turbulence: CFD simulations can also help predict and quantify the effects of turbulence, i.e. chaotic fluid movements.
- Heat exchange: CFD simulations can be used to understand heat exchange between the fluid and the system’s solid surfaces.
