Computational Fluid Dynamics

As I begin to refamiliarize myself with open-source CFD software such as OpenFOAM for CFD simulation and ParaView for post-processing, I’m reminded of the steep learning curve these tools present. In previous articles, I’ve written about OpenFOAM and its powerful capabilities, and now I want to shift focus to ParaView—a powerful yet complex tool for visualizing simulation results. For beginners, the learning curve with ParaView can be just as daunting as with OpenFOAM. With so much information available, it can be overwhelming to quickly grasp the essentials required to generate simple visuals from your simulation results.

In my opinion, ParaView is one of the best, if not the only tool, for post-processing and visualizing OpenFOAM simulations. Its powerful features and flexibility make it an essential tool for anyone working with...

Quick Takeaways​

• Airshaper is a cloud-based OpenFOAM solver that simplifies the setup and execution of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations for vehicle aerodynamics.
• In just under 10 minutes, you can set up your simulation by uploading a CAD model, defining boundary conditions, and choosing your simulation type.
• For a basic simulation of a vehicle (like a 991.1 GT3 RS), the cost is around €50 ($52 USD), with a simulation runtime of under 20 minutes.
• The basic simulation offers key outputs such as surface pressure, friction, aerodynamics noise (aeroacoustics), and wake structures, but is limited by a mesh of 1 million cells.
• Upgraded simulation packages with rotating wheels and higher-resolution meshes (up to 100 million cells) are available at higher costs, starting at €500 ($520 USD) and going up to €2500 ($2600 USD)...