ESI Releases New Features in V2008.0 of CFD-ACE+

By DE Editors

ESI Group (Chicago, IL) released version 2008.0 of CFD-ACE+, a CFD and multiphysics software platform that enables coupled simulations of fluid, thermal, chemical, biological, electrical, and mechanical phenomena for applications in a range of industries.

CFD-ACE+ includes state-of-the-art numerical and physical models, and advanced pre- and postprocessing modules. It supports all mesh technologies including multi-block structured, general polyhedral unstructured, arbitrary interfaces, and moving and deforming meshes with data links for most of the frequently used CAD, CAE, and EDA data formats.

Version 2008.0 is a major release, states the press release, with feature enhancements supporting the CFD-ACE+ flagship mesh generator tool, CFD-GEOM, and the CFD-ACE-Solver tool. One key enhancement includes a honeycomb meshing feature that produces n-sided, complex polyhedral mesh elements, which decrease the time to convergence by 50 percent. This is done by eliminating the high degree of skewed cells and the convergence problems often encountered when discretizing complex geometries with tetrahedral elements.

Because CFD-ACE+ was designed to use polyhedral mesh technology, it offers users faster run times and more robust solutions. Plus, its modular and expandable design offers users greater flexibility.

The release offers a new boundary layer meshing option that allows the creation of either highly stretched prismatic or hexahedral layers near desired surfaces prior to tetrahedral mesh generation. Using this method enables proper resolution of near-wall behavior while minimizing the number of cells.

Another key enhancement is the addition of multi-step chemistry for fuel cell modeling using the full form of the Butler-Volmer equation that allows for studying the effects of fuel/air starvation or maldistribution, both of which must be avoided as they can lead to carbon corrosion and decay of the membrane electrolyte assembly (MEA).

For more information, please visit ESI Group.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.