Integrating CFD into the Product Development Process
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) allows engineers to numerically solve very complex analyses that describe and predict the flow of air, gases, or liquids around or through a body or within an enclosed system. Analyzing the flow patterns and pressure regulation of fluid within an automotive transmission and the flow of air within an HVAC system are two typical examples of CFD applications.
Traditionally, CFD has been considered a tedious and time-consuming process performed exclusively by PhD specialists and, in many industries, not part of a company's mainstream product development strategy. More recently, computer-aided engineering (CAE) has taken on a greater level of importance within product lifecycle management (PLM), and the increasing use of CAE is being credited for the development of higher quality, more marketable products. In turn, these innovative products feature significantly increased performance and profit margins, which directly benefit a company's bottom line. As such, varying types of CAE analyses - including CFD - are moving further upstream in the digital product development process.
Various surveys and articles have recently been published on the topic of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The consensus is that companies are facing multiple challenges in attempting to incorporate CFD engineering analysis earlier - and throughout - the product development process. The integration of CFD, like any other engineering analysis technology (such as thermal or structural), relies on the ability to quickly go from a concept design based on detailed 3D geometry to a discrete representation of the simulation model, complete with associated physical boundary conditions; and, ultimately to the performance simulation results. In addition, the iterative nature of the product development process calls for associativity between the 3D CAD part geometry as well as the assembly data and the simulation model representation.
Regardless of the challenges, CFD can play a very beneficial role in product development for specific applications that are dependent on the physics of fluid flow. More specifically, CFD can help reduce or eliminate costly prototypes. As a prediction solution, CFD analyses are valuable in evaluating multiple "what if'" scenarios in an effort to obtain an optimal design alternative. CFD analysis can help reduce design cycle time without compromising quality by pinpointing fluid flow and thermo-fluid related design flaws through digital simulation early in the design process.
The value of an integrated CFD approach
An example of the value of CFD can be illustrated by Cisco Systems. The Network-to-Users Business Unit of Cisco Systems faces a continual challenge of heat dissipation requirements affecting their product development initiatives. Physical prototyping is expensive and testing is time consuming. With an integrated CFD solution, Cisco's engineers have complete control over the analysis models and modifications can be done quickly and efficiently. They know from experience that by using CFD they can come within 10 percent accuracy of physical test models; and early prototyping and weeks of testing can be shortened significantly. Final physical prototypes are built and tested only at the end of the design cycle, and serve as verification rather than design purposes. Cisco relies on CFD 100 percent for design support.
Summary
The traditional "experts only" domain of CFD and coupled flow/thermal technology is making its way into the mainstream of digital product development. Advances in CAD integration, automated geometry abstraction and meshing algorithms and high-performances solvers that take advantage of the rapid advances in desktop compute power will soon lead to a much higher utilization of flow and multi-physics performance simulations earlier in the product design process. This increased adoption rate for CFD tools over the next 5-10 years will be similar to the significant advancements experienced in mainstream structural analysis tools such as Nastran over the past decade.
In addition, new knowledge-enabled "process-centric" user environments for non-expert design engineers that leverage the expertise and best practices of CAE/CFD domain experts will lead to a much broader utilization of digital performance simulation in the context of PLM. The business impact will be substantial to those companies that leverage these new CAE tools as a strategic competitive advantage in new product development.
A recent white paper from UGS describes the benefits of incorporating CFD, as well as coupled thermal/flow solutions, into an integrated PLM environment. The paper also discusses the capabilities of NX™ Flow software - the new design-integrated CFD solution from UGS. Download this paper.
