Computational fluid dynamics as an aid to mechanical design - By: Tom Jui

Mechanical engineering design today relies a great deal on 3D CAD and virtual simulation, especially in the early stages of development. However this does not transfer to computational fluid dynamics, or CFD. Despite the amount of CFD simulation software available, few mechanical design engineers use it.

CFD is a way of measuring the flow of fluid (or air), both internally and externally, around a 3D object. The product could be a boat, automobile, mechanical pump – or even a building. Early CFD software was expensive, complicated, and difficult to integrate with other 3D mechanical design tools. However, this has improved. Today, CAD-embedded CFD software exists which allows engineers to manage not only fluid flow, but thermal dynamics and other design tasks from one central CAD platform. Integrating the entire design process in this way allows “what if” scenarios, and for the engineer to compare modifications of his mechanical design, without the need to learn a specialist CAD software product. However, many engineers are still struggling with traditional simulation techniques, slowing down the entire design process and allowing errors to creep in.

There are many benefits to integrating simulation into the early stages of product design. A good, basic mechanical design which has its teething problems ironed out at an early stage saves untold hours of work later, reducing the number of test sessions, prototypes and post-release modifications, and allowing the product to hit the market that much sooner – and with much less chance of recall.

Embedding simulation programs within mechanical engineering CAD software allows the simulation to be created and transferred to a pre-processor application (such as a fatigue analysis program) in one easy step, without the need to switch between applications. It is widely utilized by engineers. However, while engineers embrace thermal analysis and FEAS, they are much less likely to use CFD as a mechanical design tool, even though fluid flow is highly important to the design of many modern products.

Perhaps this is because engineers think of CFD in terms of its “real world” cousins, the air tunnel and air-flow bench. While it is true that motor vehicles and aircraft are heavily influenced by air flow, making CFD an important part of the design process, the technology can be applied to almost any mechanically-engineered system utilizing air/fluid flow and/or heat transfer in its function – including apparatus used in clinical practice and chemical processing plants.

Computational fluid dynamics allows a far more detailed and mathematical approach than traditional bench methods, using complex algorithms based on differential, non-linear equations, geometric calculations, and fundamental laws of physics and even chemistry. From these myriad streams of data, the program can make accurate predictions about temperature differentials, fluid flow velocity and electrolyte concentrations, which can then be used to modify the design. CFD is essential to any mechanical engineering company involved in the design of fluid or gas-processing equipment.

It is essential mechanical designs are verified at the start of their design cycle, rather than the post-production phase. We at Enventure Technologies are experts in all areas of mechanical design, including computational fluid dynamics, and use the latest advanced CAD software to achieve solutions.

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