Importance of CFD Modeling in Product Development
By: Francois Martin
Tags: Product Development, Cfd Modeling

Image by Imaginationeering

In the past, there were assumptions that CFD modeling was elaborate, pricy, and harder to perform on each product. Over time CFD modeling has proven to provide more flexibility, accuracy, and depth in their applications.

Today CFD modeling can bring out unexpected opportunities for your product. CFD modeling helps in easing out the design process and product development engineering. This approach saves time, money, and in some cases, helps in skipping some tests for any production. Since there are no physical prototypes built, almost everything is analyzed using computers.

In general, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling is the concept of using numerical inputs and algorithm equations to solve problems related to fluid flows.

The purpose of CFD in modeling is to help solve complex fluid flow simulation issues where surface boundary conditions define the interaction of liquids and gases.

Some major applications of CFD modeling in engineering can be seen in industries like:-

Chemical engineering Architecture Aerospace Automobile Electronics and Computer HVAC (Heat, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) Turbo Machinery

There are ’n’ no. of CFD applications, and majorly it’s known for the qualitative analysis of flow in fluids. But in some occasional cases, it is also useful for quantitative analysis of fluid flow.

Here we want to shed some light on importance of CFD modeling services in product development engineering considering:-

Optimizing and Understanding Product Behavior

For the majority of CFD modeling problems, Navier-Stokes equations are used. These equations determine the flow of fluid in a single-phase, and after further research on development, it can lead to complex equations considering real-life parameters.

Since such simulations are further turned into numerical values using a computer. It is easier for trained engineers to give in-depth CFD analysis of a product.

If there is one thing that engineers would love to deal with in advance before diving into product development would be knowing external factors that come into play while developing the product.

This is important because knowing how a product can perform in a real-life environment will make it easier to achieve precise dimensions despite the product’s complexity.

The process adopted by CFD shows us why it’s crucial in product development engineering. Let us give you some glimpse of what happens in a CFD analysis:-

Firstly, the physical product is converted into a mathematical model in a computer with the help of some equations. Then the numerical values are inserted in these equations. Methods like the Finite element method, Finite volume method, etc. are used. Equations get solved and even small volumes of fluid known as mesh are evaluated using the equations. Later multiple iterations are done using computers by considering real-life parameters.

Some of the significant factors that come into play during a CFD analysis would be pressure drop, fluid temperatures, fluid mixing, aerodynamic lifts, and chemical reactions within the surfaces. Understanding each factor will help us position the product better for improved performance.

CFD Modelling is Time Saving

In modern-day CFD projects, software tools remove a lot of manual processes that were used to be done way back in the day. The software eliminates the steps; in fact, it completely automates them.

To translate any geometry from CAD to CFD, there was a need to extract cavities from CAD and mesh them. To maintain the quality of the mesh, variables like skewness, aspect ratio, warpage, and volume of individual cells were needed to be monitored manually.

In today’s CFD analysis, it doesn’t require monitoring and translation of such data. The data needed for flow simulations automatically gets in the system simultaneously to the CAD design changes. Thus, it leaves no user interaction for determining the fluid and solid regions, and all of this is done automatically.

Apart from being a time-saver, CFD modeling isn’t a complicated task to perform considering that engineers on the production floor are well aware of the CAD system and physics of the product.

To make it more accessible and time-saving, Ansys has a free-licensed 3D CFD viewer with an interactive window. Design engineers can easily share their 3D graphics from their comfort.

CFD Modelling is Cost-Effective

CFD indeed adds a high value in the field of product development engineering and to top that off, it is cost-effective. Today’s CFD software models are proven to be way cheaper than the earlier CFD software models.

Being affordable and effective are the significant reasons why CFD modeling has a wide range of applications in major industries.

Using CFD modeling prevents us from making physical models and creating digital prototypes on the computer. All the equations, parameters, and numerical values are inserted in the software.

Once the CFD analysis is done, engineers don’t need to carry out various testing methods and don’t need to spend time studying it. The overall optimization of complex products is done by the algorithms and it leaves little room to pay any extra money for testing.

The only initial cost of CFD modeling for product development services is purchasing the software to create computer models. Once engineers have the access to such software tools, all they need is time for designing and analyzing complex products.

Conclusion

The kind of flexibility, precision, and in-depth analysis obtained from CFD modeling can rarely be seen from any other physical modeling methods.

At the end of this article, here are some short and swift points about CFD modeling:-

CFD modeling helps in predicting performances before executing it in real systems

CFD analysis services can predict crucial design layout changes without having to install (or) modify any real system

CFD modeling rightly fits in the complexity of today’s engineering products

Every product and process which interacts with fluid (or) gases are a potential subject of CFD analysis

CFD modeling is accountable for saving money during production and saving time for any business in the long-run

The above reasons tell us exactly why CFD modeling is essential for product development engineering. Due to such practical advantages, CFD modeling is widely used in more complex and high-value industries.