Lebanon, New Hampshire, May 8, 2000 -- Fluent Inc., the world's leading supplier of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, introduces Airpak 1.0, its CFD-based HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system design software. Airpak is an accurate, quick and easy-to-use tool, which simplifies the design and analysis of ventilation systems. Airpak's capabilities are unique in the HVAC industry, because it combines some of the most advanced features available in CFD software, such as highly accurate unstructured meshing and a powerful solver engine in a remarkably easy-to-use package. Using drag and drop selection of solid models in Airpak, a ventilation system designer quickly builds a virtual prototype of his design. Then, Airpak simulates the airflow through the design and provides visual results that the designer uses to pinpoint problem areas and optimize the design.

No Ph.D. Required
According to Airpak Product Manager Walter Schwarz, who is also the Secretary for the ASHRAE Indoor Environmental Modeling Technical Committee, "We saw the need for an HVAC system design tool that focused specifically on the types of structures and flow problems unique to the industry. Airpak uses Fluent's highly powerful general-purpose CFD technology as its base, but it is customized specifically to help HVAC system engineers."

"Airpak enables you to obtain the most accurate solution in the shortest amount of time and in the easiest manner possible compared to other CFD software tools. You don't need to be an expert in CFD to fully benefit from using Airpak," Dr. Schwarz concluded.

According to Professor Quingyan Chen of the Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "Airpak's ease of use and the many parameters that Airpak provides related to thermal comfort and indoor air quality make this a very good tool which should greatly aid designers of HVAC systems. Other features, such as easily defining boundary conditions, the ability to group objects based on their physical conditions, and mesh generation that allows users to set priorities, give you the versatility you need to quickly and easily build your model. The rich post-processing feature that allows you to view the results in various ways is beneficial as well."

It Wraps Around the Curves
Airpak streamlines time-consuming model building processes with automated meshing and libraries of object-based building blocks. Users can easily import and adapt CAD files into Airpak geometries. Airpak is robust, fast, and efficient and its support of parallel processing provides further performance gains.

The technology in Airpak features hybrid and unstructured meshing that wraps around the curves and complex surfaces of a design, rather than making stair-stepping approximations. This provides the most realistic model and therefore, the most accurate solution.

Professor Jianshun Zhang of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering at Syracuse University states, "The program is easy to use. Airpak should be a very useful tool for the HVAC industry in the design and analysis of air diffuser performance and room air distribution."

Wide Range of Airflow Applications
HVAC designers use Airpak for commercial/residential building ventilation, telecommunication room ventilation, clean rooms, industrial air conditioning, industrial hygiene, health and safety analyses, external building flows, and architectural design.

Pricing and Availability
Airpak 1.0 is now available worldwide on all major UNIX and NT platforms as a license renewed annually. Typical entry-level pricing is $20,000, which includes the software, training and unlimited technical support.

Corporate Background
Fluent Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aavid Thermal Technologies Inc. and is a world leader in the rapidly growing field of computerized design and simulation software. Fluent's software is used to predict fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, chemical reaction, and related phenomena. Fluent's software products and services help engineers with detailed product development, design optimization, trouble shooting, scale-up and retrofitting. The software significantly reduces engineering cost while improving the final design of products in applications ranging from design of electronic components and systems to automotive engineering, and from combustion system design to process plant troubleshooting.

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

Additional information on Fluent and its products can be obtained on the World Wide Web at http://www.fluent.com or by E-Mailing info@fluent.com.

More information on Aavid Thermal Technologies is available at http://www.aatt.com.

Airpak is a trademark of Fluent Inc.
Airpak is a joint development of Fluent Inc. and ICEM-CFD Engineering.