SolidWorks® Flow Simulation

Unlike other Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) programs, SolidWorks Flow Simulation combines a high level of functionality and accuracy with ease-of-use. SolidWorks Flow Simulation is perfect for the engineer who needs flow analysis, but is not an expert with fluid simulation.
SolidWorks Flow Simulation can be used in a diverse array of applications and has been designed to be extremely flexible. Whether you are developing an automobile, the wing of an airplane, or an exhaust valve, using SolidWorks Flow Simulation in the product development cycle can help you build a better product in less time.

Features and Benefits of SolidWorks Flow Simulation

• Complete Integration with SolidWorks. SolidWorks Flow Simulation is fully embedded within the SolidWorks Windows®-native environment. There is no need to modify your SolidWorks designs for fluid flow and heat transfer analysis.
• Configuration based analysis. Each SolidWorks Flow Simulation analysis is tied to a SolidWorks configuration thereby making it easy to analyze design variants and do “What-If” scenarios.
• Fully automatic and innovative meshing technology. SolidWorks Flow Simulation can automatically capture the geometry and resolve it to accurately compute the boundary layer. This technology handles very thin geometry well and results in a significant reduction in the number of computational cells. Simulations which take several hours for traditional CFD programs can be solved in fraction of the time.
• Wizard mode for analysis setup. SolidWorks Flow Simulation uses a wizard interface to setup the analysis thereby making it easy and intuitive to solve the problem. The toolbars and dialog boxes are very similar to SolidWorks interface thereby making the experience of using SolidWorks Flow Simulation very similar to SolidWorks.
• Engineering goal based analysis. SolidWorks Flow Simulation is a goal based CFD analysis program. You simply tell the program what you are interested in like Max temperature in part A, Max velocity in my flow, Flow rate at opening 1, Pressure drop across my model etc… and it will calculate these goals and present to the user after the completion of the analysis. This functionality helps you to get better engineering insight into your designs.
• Expanded CFD analysis capability. SolidWorks Flow Simulation can solve a wide range of problems including conjugate heat transfer, subsonic, supersonic and compressible flows, mixing of gases, flow around rotating geometry, porous media, cavitation prediction, humidity and climate control and fluid structure interaction.

SolidWorks Flow Simulation Analysis Types
The following analysis features are available in SolidWorks Flow Simulation:

Table: SolidWorks Flow Simulation Analysis Types

Analysis Types

Physical Features

Internal and/or external flow

Incompressible (liquid) and compressible (gas)

Subsonic, transonic, and supersonic regimes

Viscous, pure laminar, and turbulent flow

Automatic laminar/turbulent flow with transition

Steady state and transient analysis

Conjugated heat transfer

Forced and natural convection

Radiation to ambient

Mixing of multiple fluids

Porous media

Pure conduction

Compressible flow (liquid)

Non newtonian liquids

Surface to surface radiation

Solar radiation

Rotating frame of reference

Moving walls

Usability

Multiple configurations, "what if scenarios"

Flow calculator

Customizable database of materials (liquids, gases, solids)

Predefined fan curves for standard fans

Batch run feature

Setting engineering goals

Parametric study tool

Environments (Boundary Conditions)

Inlet/Outlet:- velocities, mass/volume flow rate, static pressure, total pressure, temperature, mass/volume fraction, fan

Heat generation rate, Volume heat generation rate

Convection heat transfer coefficient

Ideal wall, Real wall

Radiative surface

Transferred boundary condition (Zooming technique)

Visualization

Pressure, velocity, temperature, vorticity plots

Vector, Dynamic section, Isosurface plots

Flow trajectories

Particle tracking

XY plots, Surface/Volume parameters

Goal plots

Engineering Collaboration

Microsoft Word based report

Animation and save as AVI

Customizable report templates