Check it Out: Learn About the XFlow CFD System from MSC Software

By DE Editors

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

This is something interesting that I wanted to write about but haven’t gotten to until now. A while back MSC Software announced that it had entered into a strategic market development partnership with Next Limit Technologies for XFlow, which it describes as a new CFD (computational fluid dynamics) system. So, what’s XFlow?

XFlow uses a proprietary particle-based, fully Lagrangian approach to handle complex CFD problems. It can simulate the flow of gases and liquids, heat and mass transfer, moving bodies and deformable parts, multiphase physics, acoustics, and fluid structure interaction. XFlow is designed to give you quick feedback on complex flow behavior. “Quick” means that it minimizes algorithmic parameters, it doesn’t get bogged down over moving or crossing surfaces, and it uses a meshless process. “Quick” does NOT mean less powerful. It seems quite robust. A side benefit is that XFlow can run on standard desktop workstations, so you do not need to rely on large clusters or HPC systems to benefit from it.

The web page for XFlow has been fleshed out with short and sweet explanations of features, benefits, and the like. It does a good job of explaining what XFlow is, who it’s for, and how it goes about its work. The interesting thing is that on that web page you’ll find a link on the right to a 12-page application brief titled “Aerodynamic Analysis Involving Moving Parts with XFlow.” This paper really shows you how XFlow can be leveraged ... specifically for the aerodynamic analysis of moving parts.

The paper is a no nonsense technical affair, written by anonymous at Next Limit Technologies. (BTW, you can download it anonymously.) I’m not much of a CFD maven myself, but I know enough to know that meshing moving parts is a tricky business that takes a lot of time and is ripe for problems. The paper shows that these problems are overcome efficiently with the way XFlow operates. That, in turn, can mean a big set of cost and time savings for you.

One interesting aspect of all this is that it means MSC offers a complete vehicle simulation portfolio with structures, CFD, multibody dynamics, and systems and control through connectivity between XFlow and MSC’s MSC/MD Nastran, Marc, and Adams solutions. That in and of itself is quite interesting.

The more I learn about XFlow, the more intriguing I find it. Check it out for yourself from this link.

Thanks, pal.—Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood
Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering