Over the last three decades Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has developed into a sophisticated tool for analyzing fluid flow and other thermal sciences related phenomena. Most educational courses on this topic focus on the fundamentals of CFD, but sound knowledge of the fundamentals is not enough to make effective use of CFD in practical engineering product development. This seminar provides significant practical considerations in using CFD for product development and is designed to help engineers extract best benefits from CFD while avoiding potential pitfalls.

The seminar begins by discussing the applicability, benefits, and drawbacks of CFD in engineering product development. Ways of leveraging CFD, while avoiding pitfalls at various stages of the product development process, as well as various aspects of managing and implementing practical CFD projects, will be explained. Advanced aspects of CFD management and implementation such as methods development and multiphysics will also be covered. The resource requirements and costs of CFD are then detailed along with a discussion and exercises on performing return of CFD investment calculations. Commercially available codes will also be compared and contrasted. Hands-on exercises and case studies are used throughout the seminar to put practical emphasis on topics taught in the lectures.

• Explain benefits and limitations of CFD in engineering product development
• Determine where to use CFD in various stages of the product development process
• Use CFD and experimental testing to compliment each other in the product development process
• Determine when to and when not to use CFD
• Plan, manage, and implement CFD simulation projects
• Evaluate CFD results for correctness and accuracy
• Leverage CFD with numerical simulations of other physics
• Calculate and plan the resources needed for implementing CFD
• Perform return on investment calculations for investments in CFD
• Make informed choices of commercial CFD software
• Determine when to and how to effectively use external CFD services

• Review of CFD
  • Overview of basic physics, mathematics, and numerics
  • Applications of CFD in automotive, off-highway and aerospace engineering
  • Typical CFD project work-flow
  • Benefits and limitations of CFD
• Hands-On Exercise - Understanding the Benefits and Limitations of CFD
• Leveraging CFD in the Product Development Process
  • Use of CFD at various product development stages
  • System and component level CFD simulations
  • How CFD and testing compliment each other
  • How to choose between CFD and testing
  • When and when not to use CFD
• Hands-On Exercise 2 - This exercise goes through a complete design optimization cycle, where a specific engineering product design is optimized using CFD
• CFD Project Management and Implementation
  • Need identification and goal determination
  • CAD data handling and extraction
  • Preprocessing, solving, post-processing and reporting
  • Evaluating correctness and accuracy of CFD results
  • Meaningful comparison of CFD results with experimental test data
  • Archiving CFD simulation data

• Advanced Aspects of CFD Implementation
  • Various stages of CFD acceptance and usage
  • CFD methods development and R&D
  • Leveraging CFD with other numerical simulations
• Multi-physics
  • CFD process compression
• Resources Needed for CFD Implementation
  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Personnel - roles of specialists and non-specialists
• Costs and Returns of CFD
  • CFD costs
  • Typical time needed for CFD implementation
  • CFD return on investment
  • Case studies and exercises
• Overview of Commercial CFD Software
  • Commercial CFD software tools currently available
  • Comparison of commercial CFD software tools
  • How to choose commercial CFD software
• External CFD Services
  • Types of external CFD services
  • When to use external CFD services
  • How to choose an external CFD services vendor
• External Resources for CFD Information