LinkedIn CFD Group Newsletter.

1. June 2008
Issue 2
L INKED I N CFD
A networking forum for CFD professionals
Inside This Issue
Growing Everyday Growing Everyday 1
Our CFD group is growing everyday at a rapid CFD Pain 1
pace. Presently, our group has 75 members (up FUN3D Update 1
from 28 just a month ago). Our membership Exa Case Study 1
roster is diverse both in background and location. COMSOL 2
Your Input 3
The wide range of our members’ expertise
includes application, flow solver and grid
generation software development, hardware
development, teaching & training, marketing,
More Fun – FUN3D Update
recruiting, and even outsourcing. Our members By Bil Kleb (Bil.Kleb@NASA.gov)
are also geographically dispersed around the
globe (USA, Canada, Italy, UK, France, Sweden, FUN3D 10.5.0 has been released. Features are
Germany, Switzerland, India, and China). With documented in the Release Notes section of the
such a strong start, it is easy to predict that our website: http://fun3d.larc.nasa.gov
CFD group will continue to grow. Hopefully, the
strong membership will also translate into Case Study - Exa
benefits to all members and the CFD community
as a whole. By Rich Oasis (ROasis@exa.com)
ENGINEERING THE ENGINE OF THE FUTURE - AGCO
Top 3 CFD Pain LOOKS TO EXA FOR AERO/THERMAL ENGINE
SIMULATIONS
By Greg Burgreen (burgreen@SimCenter.MsState.Edu)
Five years ago, with over thirty years of engineering
Optimal LLC (www.o-ptimal.com) has received a
experience, David Bloch joined AGCO as their Chief
strong response to its CFD Pain Survey
Engineer of Engine Installations. His team’s primary
(http://www.o-ptimal.com/survey.html) that
responsibility—to find a way to design and fit
inquires about significant pain or bottlenecks
engines within a small underhood compartment
associated with CFD applications. The current top
while balancing optimal performance, new space
three CFD pains include: 1) Software expense (71%
demands required for Tier 4 emissions-reducing
respondents indicating intense or searing pain); 2)
equipment, and styling requirements. With the
Mesh generation (67%); and 3) Geometry
larger farms growing at an average of 30% per year,
creation/clean-up (65%). Do these findings
the market potential for heavy equipment sales is
resonate with your own experience? We invite you
enormous, and companies that can offer reliability
to contribute your own unique response to our
and efficiency will get the orders. Block knows his
survey. This is your opportunity to provide direct
input toward software aimed at reducing your CFD Continued on Page 2
pain.

2. Case Study - Exa (cont.)
department is key to the success of AGCO’s market “The ability for AGCO to use our fully-detailed
share growth and stated, “Cutting-edge geometry, with Exa’s PowerFLOW and PowerCOOL
engineering of the underhood is now a critical part applications, was very reassuring, as we knew for
of the design process. AGCO has made engineering the first time the results would reflect the extremely
the best equipment for our customers our number complex underhood geometry. We’ve found Exa’s
one priority.” results to be fast and consistently accurate.” Bloch
also discovered great value in Exa’s On Demand
MOVING TO VIRTUAL DESIGN
servers where PowerFLOW and PowerCOOL
Traditionally, David Bloch had used a series of simulations can be turned around in record time as
physical tests to map out and analyze engine CPU hours can be picked up as needed. David Bloch
airflow and thermal management issues, often commented, “To have CPU-capacity ready and
running up to twenty iterations for each proposed waiting is a luxury most companies cannot afford.
design. In the end, hundreds of thousands of Exa has made it easy for us to perform geometry
dollars and thousands of man hours were required iterations in record time.”
to run, analyze, redesign and run again each
physical model test.
With multiple platforms and numerous variations of
engines and cooling packages to support for each
platform, Bloch quickly realized that CAE would be
required to make his deadlines, streamline the
process and reduce his budget. He began
researching commercial computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) packages. Unfortunately, Bloch was
immediately disappointed. “The first software
application I investigated was not user-friendly,
and in our numerous attempts to run thermal and To read the entire AGCO case study, please visit
airflow simulations, we never got acceptable www.exa.com or email info@exa.com.
results; often, no results,” Bloch stated. “That’s
when I began to work with Exa.”
Conference
SERVICES & AN ON DEMAND SOLUTION By Daniel Ericsson (daniel.ericsson@comsol.com)
After evaluating the extensive list of simulations The COMSOL Conference 2008 is the fourth annual
required, and with his team already being pulled in conference highlighting multiphysics modeling and
many directions, Bloch quickly came to the simulation using COMSOL. The conferences take
conclusion to try Exa’s services and its On Demand place at 11 different locations and the Conference
option. “I was pleased to finally find a one stop proceedings will be distributed to over 100,000
solution that not only handled both our underhood engineers and scientists world wide. To learn more,
cooling and airflow management demands, but visit
also virtually extended my engineering staff,” http://www.comsol.com/conference2008/usa/.
commented Bloch.

3. LinkedIn CFD Your Input
Group Manager
Kamran Fouladi As you know, members can reach one another
fouladi@infomec.cc individually. On the other hand, this newsletter allows
members to broadcast their requests, news, events,
Phone: and opinions to the entire group easily and
610-291-6642 effectively. Your participation is needed and
appreciated.
E-Mail:
CFDlinked@gmail.com Following is our current guidelines for your input:
• Inputs should be no more than 300 words
• Inputs should be in Microsoft Word format
• Inputs should exclude any direct sales pitch
Past issues (we don’t want to turn this into a billboard)
• Inputs can include a link to send interested
Past issues of this newsletter can
readers to the full story (pitch)
be accessed at:
• Inputs can include one or two small images
http://www.infomec.cc/news.htm
Email us at: CFDlinkedin@gmail.com