Release Fast-Tracks User Requests

The newest version of FLUENT contains enhancements in several areas, including numerics, physical models, postprocessing and code's usability. "The story of version 5.1 is really about responding to the requests of users with specific models and functionality enhancements that meet their needs," says FLUENT product manager Sung Eun Kim. "FLUENT 5.1 continues to have the most complete set of physical models available in an unstructured code framework, and this release widens the gap," he adds.

Usability enhancements in FLUENT 5.1 include grid-to-grid solution interpolation -a highly useful feature for parametric studies involving geometry changes. Mesh extrusion capability has been added to facilitate the task of extending flow field boundaries. Another major usability enhancement is this version's transient boundary condition file import capability, which allows you to read in transient boundary conditions in two alternative formats. This feature, for instance, allows one-way coupling with 1-dimensional engine "cycle simulation" codes and opens the door to easier analysis of many other transient simulations.

Physical modeling improvements are significant with this release. The new discrete phase parallelization capability provides significant parallel performance boosts for applications where particle tracking is heavily used. Multicomponent diffusion and thermal diffusion improvements are especially critical to semiconductor CVD reactor modeling. For high speed flow applications, the discrete phase drag law for high-Mach-number effects provides realistic prediction of particle dynamics.

Numerics advancements in version 5.1 include a feature enabling users to specify "profile" velocity boundary conditions at the walls – a useful capability when the wall velocity changes from point to point, such as in glass forming applications. The PISO algorithm is also upgraded to enable users to tackle compressible flows more efficiently. Postprocessing improvements include adding relative humidity to the menu, useful for HVAC applications

This benchmark illustrates the impressive performance gains possible using FLUENT 5.1's new parallel processing for discrete phase particle-tracking applications.

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