Using simulation-driven design with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) gives you the tools to discover how air and liquids move in, through, and around your designs as well as understanding thermal impact.
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation is a general parametric flow simulation tool that uses the Finite Volume Method (FVM) to calculate product performance through “what if” studies that allow you to perform optimisation using the results.
Having this information early in the design process enables you to make smarter choices to avoid unnecessary design delays, multiple physical prototypes, heating and cooling design issues and ultimately, lost productivity.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation supports SOLIDWORKS materials and configurations for easy analysis of multiple loads and product configurations.
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Multi-parameter optimisation
Conduct an optimisation study for more than one input variable using Design of Experiments and Optimisation parametric study. Run a calculation of design points and find optimum solutions.
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SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation capabilities
Compressible gas/liquid and incompressible fluid flows
Subsonic, transonic, and supersonic gas flows
Ability to take into account heat transfer by conduction in fluid, solid and porous media. Could be with or without conjugate heat transfer (Fluid-Solid) and with/without heat resistance (Solid-Solid).
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Material database
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation: A customisable engineering database enables users to model and include specific solid, fluid, and fan behaviours.
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation and HVAC Module: The HVAC engineering database extension adds specific HVAC components.
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation and Electric Cooling Module: The Electronic Cooling extended engineering database includes specific electronic components and their thermal characteristics.
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Internal & External
Calculate the impact of fluid flow through and around your product.
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2D-3D
By default, all calculations are on a full 3D domain. Where applicable, simulations can also be carried out in a 2D plane to reduce run time without effecting accuracy.
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Heat Conduction in solids
The calculation of temperature change in the product’s solid geometry is an option selection. Conjugate heat transfer through convection, conduction, and radiation can be created. Calculations can include thermal contact resistance.
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation: Calculate pure heat conduction in solids to identify problems where no fluid exists for fast solutions.
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation and HVAC Module: Include materials that are semitransparent to radiation, for accurate solutions where the product’s thermal load is influenced by transparent materials.
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation and Electrical Cooling Module: Simulate specific electronics device effects
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Gravity
Include fluid buoyancy important for natural convection, free surface, and mixing problems.
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Rotation
Ability to simulate moving/rotating surfaces or part to calculate the effect of rotating/moving devices.
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Free surface
Simulate flows with a freely moving interface between two immiscible fluids, such as gas-liquid, liquid-liquid, gas-non-Newtonian liquid.
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Symmetric
Simulation solution times can be reduced by taking advantage of symmetry.
Cartesian symmetry can be applied to x, y, or z planes.
Sector period icy allows users to calculate a sector of a cylindrical flow.
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Gases
Calculation of both ideal and real flows for subsonic, transonic, and supersonic conditions.
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Liquids
Liquid flows can be described as incompressible, compressible, or as non-Newtonian (as oil, blood, sauce, etc.).
For water flows, the location of cavitation can also be determined.
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Steam
For flows that include steam water vapor condensation and relative humidity is calculated.
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Boundary layer description
Laminar, turbulent, and transitional boundary layers are calculated using a modified Law of the Wall approach.
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Mixing Flows
Immiscible Mixtures: perform flow of any pair of fluids belonging to gases, liquids, or non-Newtonian liquids.
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Non Newtonian fluids
Determine the flow behaviour of Non-Newtonian liquids, such as oil, blood, sauce, etc.
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Flow conditions
Problems can be defined by velocity, pressure, mass, or volume flow conditions.
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Thermal conditions
Thermal characteristics for fluids and solids can be set locally and global for accurate setup.
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Wall conditions
Local and global wall thermal and roughness conditions can be set for accurate setup.
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Porous components
Ability to treat some model components as porous media with the fluid flow through them, or simulating them as fluid cavities with a distributed resistance to fluid flow.
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Visualisation
Visualize the stress and displacement of your assembly with customizable 3D plots. Animate the response of your assembly under loads to visualize deformations, vibration modes, contact behavior, optimization alternatives, and flow trajectories.
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Results customisation
Provides the standard results components for a structural analysis, such as von Mises stresses, displacements, temperature, etc. The intuitive equation-driven result plot enables you to customise the post-processing of structural analysis results for better understanding and interpretation of product behaviour.
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Communication & reporting
Create and publish customized reports for communicating simulation results and collaborating with eDrawings®.
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Two-phase (Fluid + Particles) flows
Ability to calculate (with the post-processor) in the obtained fields of results, motions of the specified particles (Particle Studies) or flows of the specified extraneous fluids (Tracer Study) in the fluid flow, which does not affect this fluid flow.
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Noise predication (Steady State & Transient)
Noise prediction using a fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) algorithm that converts a time signal to the complex frequency domain for transient analysis.
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HVAC conditions
Include materials semi-permeable to radiation for accurate thermal analysis.
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Tracer study
HVAC applications vary widely. Considerations for meeting requirements for thermal performance and quality include airflow optimisation, temperature, air quality, and containment control.
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Comfort parameters
Understand and evaluate thermal comfort levels for multiple environments using thermal comfort factor analysis.
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