December 17, 2001, Lebanon, New Hampshire…Fluent Inc., the world's leading CFD software provider, announces the release of FLUENT 6.0. As the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software becomes more commonplace in the metals industry, software vendors such as Fluent are responding with many features ideal for modeling the performance of metallurgy processes and allied equipment. FLUENT will allow users to easily simulate a wide range of processes, such as direct casting (DC), continuous casting (CC) and ingot casting, mold and tundish flows, pumps, filters, steel refining, mixing, oxygen-steel making, scrap melting, electric arc furnaces and various reheat furnaces. Time and costs are saved because computer modeling and simulation reduces the number of iterations and trial-and-error prototyping in the design process.

FLUENT 6.0 is the latest release of the world's most widely used CFD software. Its many new capabilities are ideal for metals industry applications and include an enhanced volume-of-fluid (VOF) capability with heat transfer that provides accurate simulation of melting, casting, solidification and metal drawing processes. It is also possible to do Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) tracking for any metal processing analysis using FLUENT 6.0. Electromagnetic braking, stirring, and heating processes can be accurately simulated using this version's magnetohydrodynamics modeling feature. Special models are also available in FLUENT 6.0 to capture the dynamics of gas purging in liquid metal baths and chemical treatment of liquid metals.

Usability Enhancements

While real-life simulations require large meshes, parallel processing can significantly reduce the simulation time. FLUENT's parallel processing scalability has been head and shoulders above other general purpose CFD software. This position is further enhanced with the new version, where automatic partitioning, dynamic load balancing and other advanced features enable users to unleash the power of FLUENT on a wide variety of multiprocessor configurations. FLUENT 6.0 offers a new set of options for postprocessing and visualization, such as automatic generation of animations. Results can be output in VRML format, which enables the user to send three-dimensional images across the Web for remote viewing, where the recipient can change views, zoom in/out, and rotate the image.

Pricing and Availability

FLUENT 6.0 is available on UNIX, NT, and Linux platforms. It is provided at no additional cost to all current FLUENT users who have chosen to purchase upgrades along with their FLUENT license. FLUENT license fees are determined by the number of processes that a user requires. Annual license fees include unlimited technical support.

About Fluent

Fluent is the world's largest provider of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and consulting services. Fluent's software is used for simulation, visualization, and prediction of fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, and chemical reactions. It is a vital part of the computer-aided engineering (CAE) process for companies around the world and in almost every manufacturing industry. Using Fluent's software, product development, design and research engineers build virtual prototypes and simulate the performance of proposed and existing designs, which helps them to optimize, troubleshoot, scale-up, and retrofit. Use of CFD software reduces time-to-market by reducing the need for costly physical testing and prototyping.

Fluent's corporate headquarters are located in Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA. Fluent's European headquarters are located in Sheffield, England, with local offices in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. Fluent's Asia Pacific headquarters are located in Tokyo, Japan. Its CFD software is also available around the world through joint ventures, partnerships, and distributors in Korea, Australia, Brazil, China, Taiwan, the Czech Republic, Middle East, and most European countries.

Fluent is a subsidiary of Aavid Thermal Technologies Inc. Additional information on Fluent's products can be obtained on the World Wide Web at www.fluent.com or by e-mailing info@fluent.com. More information on Aavid Thermal Technologies is available at www.aavid.com.

FLUENT® and GAMBIT® are registered trademarks of Fluent Inc.

For more information, contact:

Jennifer Correa
Fluent Inc.
10 Cavendish Court
Lebanon, NH 03766
(603) 643-2600 Ext. 668
jrc@fluent.com