FEATool Multiphysics Multiphysics Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Toolkit by Precise Simulation has been updated to version 1.17. The improvements focus on improved physics modes, an improved user interface, and increased performance and capabilities for aerodynamic simulations.
The new version includes improvements for turbulent and compressible flow simulations and adds support for these flow regimes to the OpenFOAM and SU2 Code solver interfaces. A dedicated OpenFOAM scripting and programming interface (API) was introduced, and the performance and responsiveness of the toolbox’s graphical user interface (GUI) were improved.
Simulation of compressible supersonic flow
A new physics regime has been introduced for compressible flow in turbulent and high Mach number flow regimes. This physics mode is supported by SU2 and OpenFOAM CFD solvers and allows users to model flow and applications involving high-speed transonic and supersonic airflow with shock waves and boundary layers, such as in high-Ma aerodynamic, rocket and also space applications.
A new tutorial reference model of supersonic flow around a prism has also been made available to begin compressible flow modeling.
In addition, of course, the existing compressible flow mode for inviscid (zero viscosity) Euler equations is still available, with support for all solvers, including full-fledged multiphysics applications and built-in and FEniCS FEA solvers.
OpenFOAM simulation with conjugate heat transfer
The OpenFOAM GUI and CFD solver interfaces have also been enhanced to support natural and forced convection with conjugate heat transfer and multi-domain geometries using the chtMultiRegionFoam and buoyantBoussinesqFoam application solvers. This can be used for complex multiphysics simulations involving heat transfer and chemical reactions that occur in, for example, heat exchangers, reactors, and battery simulations.
In conjunction with this addition, new model examples and tutorials on heat exchangers and heat transfer have been introduced and expanded, offering users a range of applications within industries such as automotive, energy and process engineering where thermal effects affect system performance. With these new tutorial examples, users can become familiar with complex heat transfer simulations while analyzing different design scenarios.
OpenFOAM API for MATLAB
The OpenFOAM CFD solver API has been fully opened and made available to all users, meaning that users can programmatically set up, define, manage and run OpenFOAM CFD simulations directly from the MATLAB CLI and user-defined m-file scripts. This also includes importing and exporting external OpenFOAM dictionaries, data and simulation results.
The new API allows advanced users to take advantage of the flexibility and ease of use of MATLAB scripts and control all aspects of OpenFOAM and advanced fluid dynamics simulations.
Improvements to the SU2 code solver interface
The SU2 CFD solver interface has also been improved to support high-Ma compressible flow and turbulent flow (in addition to inviscid compressible flow as before). These enhancements provide users with a toolset that enables the simulation of various engineering systems involving supersonic airflow and shock waves.
The ability to use and run multiple solvers with the same GUI and model setup allows users to perform advanced verification and benchmarking CFD studies.
FEATool version 1.17 also includes improvements to improve performance and responsiveness of the user interface (GUI) to enable smoother and more efficient simulations. These enhancements allow users to quickly navigate between models, scripts, and results.
A detailed list of changes and new features can be found in FEATool Multiphysics changelist and in improved and updated toolkit documentation.
Source: www.cad.cz
