There are three main methods of predicting the behavior of fluids and their interaction with the surrounding environment – experimental, analytical, and numerical. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) refers to the numerical method of simulating steady and unsteady fluid motion using computational methods and hardware.
CFD simulation is a well-established methodology often used to replace or supplement experimental and analytical methods to aid the engineering design and analysis of everyday products. Compared to prototyping and experiments, CFD simulations are:
- Less expensive to run
- Faster to complete
- Can tackle phenomena that are difficult for experiments
- Give in-depth understanding of the physics involved
- Lend themselves easily to exploring multiple designs and scenarios
