OpenFOAM GUI and CFD Solver Integration with FEATool Multiphysics
The FEATool Multiphysics™ and ™ toolboxes, featuring a fully integrated Graphical User Interface (GUI), now makes setting up and running Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations with OpenFOAM both quicker and easier than ever before.
GUI for OpenFOAM
FEATool Multiphysics with its fully integrated GUI allows for setting up, defining, and running OpenFOAM case files without ever having to leave the GUI, featuring
- Built-in CAD and 3D geometry modeling tools
- Automatic unstructured mesh generation
- Dedicated OpenFOAM solver and control panel GUI
- Support for incompressible, compressible, laminar and turbulent flow OpenFOAM CFD solvers
- Custom editing and export of OpenFOAM case files
- Automatic decomposition and handling of parallel domains and computations
- Solver control, solution, and residual monitoring directly in the GUI
- Integrated visualization, postprocessing, and analysis of results for CFD simulations
OpenFOAM & CFD Simulation Made Easy
With the FEATool Multiphysics and CFDTool GUI integrations for OpenFOAM the complexities of setting up complex and parallel CFD simulations is as much as possible completely automated. The toolboxes automatically meshes, defines and sets up corresponding case files, and solves so that users can save time and perform complex CFD simulations without having to think much about it. The GUI can either be used to run full CFD simulations, or as a pre and post-processor for setting up, defining, and postprocessing OpenFOAM simulations, as well as aid to learn OpenFOAM case files.
In addition to the OpenFOAM GUI functionality, as each GUI “button click and selection” corresponds to a FEATool Multiphysics function call, this enables directly exporting and running CFD and OpenFOAM simulations as MATLAB scripts. This can be used to easily set up automated parametric simulation runs and parallel studies, and combining with all available MATLAB scripting functionality and toolboxes.
Furthermore, the GUI can also be completely automated, which is ideal for producing reproducible step-by-step CFD tutorials, learning, and educational teaching materials.
Multi-CFD Solver Simulation
The unique Multi-Simulation capabilities of FEATool Multiphysics allows one to easily set up and run CFD simulations combining and coupling completely different physics solvers, all from the fully integrated CLI and GUI interfaces. This functionality enables one to use the most accurate and efficient solvers for different parts of a model, for example OpenFOAM or SU2 for fluid flow, and FEniCS or FEATool Multiphysics for temperature and chemical reactions.
An example of multi-solve simulation is available as a step-by-step CFD tutorial of modeling cooling via forced convection in a tube and fin heat exchanger. In this multi-simulation model the flow field and fluid dynamics is solved with the OpenFOAM CFD solver, after which the temperature field is solved with the built-in multi-physics solver (using the flow field computed with OpenFOAM). Combined with the introduced parallel processing support, the multi-solver simulation functionality saves both computational time and memory, and enables solving larger scale models not before possible with limited resources.
Download and Try!
Please use the link below to download and try FEATool Multiphysics
If you use FEATool Multiphysics or CFDTool and find it useful in your work or studies please do share your models, modeling experience, and recommend FEATool to your colleagues and coworkers.
Originally published at https://www.featool.com.
