FLUENT(r) 6.0 is Released

Fluent Inc.'s Flagship CFD Software's Newest Version is Geared to the
Challenges of the Automotive Industry

December 17, 2001, Lebanon, New Hampshire...Fluent Inc., world's leading
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software provider, announces the
release of FLUENT 6.0. This new release, built on Fluent's core
unstructured technology platform, opens up a whole new class of
automotive problems to the simulation power of CFD, such as de-icing and
water runoff, fuel tank studies, HVAC systems and components, and
flow-induced noise. Major enhancements in turbomachinery modeling and
underhood thermal analysis provide new and economical design testing
options for automotive engineers. A new moving/deforming mesh
capability, being released in beta form with this version, is one of
many building blocks in this release intended to tackle challenging
internal-combustion engine modeling.

A New Class of Engineering Problems
Problems involving fluids in multiple phases (like liquids and gases
combined) are common in the automotive industry, but often receive less
attention as candidates for CFD modeling than the traditional
aerodynamics problems. FLUENT 6.0 contains significant new capabilities
in multiphase modeling that offer new and highly accurate options for
simulating phenomena such as ice melting and water runoff; fuel tank
filling, sloshing, pressurization, thermal studies; and two-phase
separators and heat exchangers used for vehicle HVAC systems. New spray
models have applicability to the analysis of fuel injectors and
in-cylinder flows. "The testing that I have done on the spray model
enhancements in FLUENT 6.0 has shown promise for Jaguar's future
powertrain applications. Qualitatively speaking, the spray geometries
were correct, problem setup was straightforward and logical, and the
post-processing capabilities were excellent. For all scenarios modeled,
the solutions converged well with few problems," says Steven Pierson of
Jaguar Cars, U.K.

Turbomachinery-Enabled
With respect to turbomachinery modeling, FLUENT 6.0 has made a major
step forward. Its unstructured technology offers unparalleled geometric
fidelity for modeling rotating machinery, and its versatility makes it
possible for the engineer to include detailed turbomachinery results in
a complete engine analysis. Turbomachinery-specific panels let the user
easily calculate key integral quantities and examine meridional,
pitchwise and spanwise cuts. A specialized turbomachinery preprocessing
tool, G/Turbo(tm), is also available from Fluent for doing fast,
automated turbomachinery model set-up.

Underhood Modeling Enhancements
FLUENT's tools for underhood analysis gain a leading-edge in version 6.0
with the capability to study both surface-to-surface and discrete
ordinates radiation. Its in-plane conduction model is an efficient and
accurate means of predicting in-plane conduction, so that full thermal
predictions of the underhood can be easily obtained within FLUENT.

Speed and Usability
FLUENT's ability to scale well for parallel processing has been head and
shoulders above other general purpose CFD software, and this position is
further advanced with the new version, where automatic partitioning,
dynamic load balancing and other advanced features enable users to
easily adapt FLUENT to 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 of results across the Web for remote viewing,
where the receiver 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(r) is a registered trademark of Fluent Inc. G/Turbo(tm) is a
trademark 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