Autodesk CFD

Main features of Autodesk CFD

Autodesk CFD offers computational fluid dynamics and thermal simulation tools to help you create new, better products. It uses the "computational fluid dynamics" method. It combines the CFD Design Study environment with an advanced solver to predict product performance, optimise design, and verify product behaviour before manufacturing.

The results of analyses and simulations can be presented in the form of a 3D model, graphs or real-time data. You can publish the evaluation as a 3D web model, animation, images, or as a report in DOC, PDF or HTML format.

In addition to models from Autodesk Inventor, Revit or Fusion, Autodesk CFD supports most other 3D CAD applications and formats - e.g. ACIS, Parasolid, Catia V5, CoCreate, NX, Pro/Engineer, Solid Edge, Solidworks, SpaceClaim.

Using CFD

• The CFD software includes tools to modify, simplify, repair and idealise CAD models for CFD analysis

• Architecture and MEP: improve building efficiency by optimising BIM design (ventilation, cooling, lighting)

• Industrial flow control: optimise your flow control equipment (valves)

• Temperature management: use a digital prototype for thermal simulations of the design (e.g. electronics heat sinks, data centres)

• Free surfaces: simulate the contact between liquid and gas

Types of analyses

Autodesk CFD offers advanced computational fluid dynamics methods:

• Flow

  • Laminar flow

  • Turbulent flow

  • Incompressible flow

  • Subsonic and transonic flow

  • Steady state (time independent)

  • 2D and 3D Cartesian

  • 2D axisymmetric

  • Velocity and pressure boundary conditions

  • Volume flow rate and mass flow rate boundary conditions

  • External fan curve with rotational speed and slip factor

  • Slip/symmetry and unknown (natural)

  • Spatially periodic boundary conditions

  • Velocity and pressure initial conditions

  • Supersonic compressible

  • Transient (time varying)

  • Two-phase flows (humidity and steam)

  • Height of fluid

  • Two-fluid scalar mixingdvou tekutin

  • Compressible liquid (water hammer)

  • Cavitation

• Heat Transfer

  • Conduction

  • Convection (with automatic film coefficient calculation)

  • Forced convection (with automatic transition from flow to thermal)

  • Natural convection (buoyancy-driven with gravity vector)

  • Thermal comfort calculation

  • Conjugate heat transfer (simultaneous conduction and convection)

  • Temperature, film coefficient, and radiation boundary conditions

  • Area-based and total heat flux boundary conditions

  • Volume-based and total heat source boundary conditions

  • Temperature-dependent heat source boundary conditions with user-defined sensing location

  • Temperature initial conditions

  • Internal radiation heat transfer

  • Radiation through transparent media

  • Solar loading

  • Temperature dependent emissivity

  • Joule heating with temperature-dependent resistivity

• Turbulence Models

  • K-epsilon

  • Low Reynolds number K-epsilon

  • RNG

  • Mixing length

  • Automatic turbulence startup (for seamless integration of turbulence into the solution)

  • Laminar

• Motion

  • Linear

  • Angular

  • Rotating/turbomachinery

  • Combined linear and angular

  • Combined orbital and angular

  • Nutation

  • Sliding vane

  • Unconstrained motion

• Design Study Environment

  • Direct modelling – SimStudio Tools

  • Simulation Data Management with Vault

  • MultiCAD data support

  • Web and mobile storage, sharing, and viewing

  • Export results to 3ds max, VRED, Maya

  • Microsoft HPC cluster + cloud solver

  • Design study automation

  • Critical Value Decision Center

  • Multi-scenario design review center

  • Model-centric interface

  • Customisable material databases

  • Non-Newtonian fluid materials

• Intelligent Meshing

  • Automatic mesh sizing

  • Local size adjustment

  • Geometry mesh diagnostics

  • Boundary layer mesh enhancement

  • Interactive mesh refinement regions

  • Extrusion

  • Volume mesh growth rate specification

  • Surface-based mesh distribution and refinement

  • Gap and thin solid refinement

  • Mesh generation flexibility