1997 Worldwide Users' Group Meetings

Planning is well underway for the 1997 Fluent Users' Group Meetings. These annual events bring together the world's top CFD software users in a forum for discussion of applied CFD and Fluent's software development directions. The worldwide meetings will showcase the new Fluent preprocessor (see pages 8 and 9) as well as other new product capabilities. Presentations by users will describe how CFD is being used today throughout industry. The 1997 meetings will, in addition, be the first meetings in which users of FLUENT, FLUENT/UNS, RAMPANT, NEKTON, FIDAP, and POLYFLOW will come together in a combined forum.

Mark your calendar now and plan to attend one of these outstanding technical meetings. Registration packages will be mailed shortly. Contact Leann Cushman at 603-643-2600 (lc@fluent.com) for more information.

Worldwide Meeting Dates

FIDAP Seminar for PC Users

Are you a user of FIDAP on the PC platform? Are you interested in optimizing your PC for FIDAP execution? If so, plan to attend a special one-day meeting, May 15, 1997, at the Fluent offices in Evanston, Illinois. The seminar will cover hardware recommendations and suggestions on hardware upgrades, including experiences with Windows NT 4.0, service packs, potential conflicts with other applications, and useful system utilities. Other topics will include Exceed settings, and FIDAP tips for plotting results and avoiding system-related problems. Overall, the meeting will be a chance for FIDAP/PC users to share knowledge and experience in a forum of presentation and roundtable discussion. For more information or to contribute to the seminar, call Jack Blaylock at 847-491-0200 (jb@fluent.com). To register, contact Jody Terry at 847-491-0200.

Fluent Collaborates in Key Project to Model Coal Fired Utility Boilers

Fluent Europe is taking part in a major initiative to push forward the boundaries of CFD as it is applied in the power generation industry. The project, the largest of its kind in Europe, involves the UK utility companies (National Power and PowerGen) as well as the equipment suppliers at Mitsui Babcock Energy Ltd., and International Combustion Ltd. British Gas plc. and CRE Group Ltd. are also involved and bring important experimental expertise to the partnership. The project receives partial funding from the UK Department of Trade and Industry and runs in parallel with research projects at several UK universities. The project involves taking experimental measurements in pilot scale rigs burning pulverized coal and rated at between 160kW and 40MW. Full-scale power station trials are also involved. CFD modeling will be validated against the experimental data, including the very challenging simulation of the full-scale wall fired boiler. FLUENT/UNS was selected for the project, as its powerful mesh capability is crucial to the goal of resolving detailed interactions between multiple burners.

Fluent Strengthens Relationship with Polyflow S.A.

In April, 1996, Fluent entered into a joint venture partnership with Polyflow, S.A., and began distribution and support of the POLYFLOW software in North America. In January, 1997, this relationship was strengthened as Polyflow became a wholly owned subsidiary of Fluent. "The closer association of Fluent and Polyflow enhances our leadership position in the simulation of polymer processing and related flows", notes Yves Rubin, Marketing Manager for Polyflow, S.A. POLYFLOW will continue to be developed by Polyflow, S.A., while Fluent will provide sales and technical support through its worldwide network.

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