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CFD · Computational fluid dynamics

Internal flows (CFD)

Flow inside pipework, ducts, housings, devices and spaces: where the pressure is lost, how the flow is shared, and where it recirculates or stagnates.

Discuss your technical question See our work
CFD airflow streamlines inside a container with cultivation racks
What it covers

When an average value does not describe the flow.

Many internal flow problems are settled with calculations: flow rate, head, pressure drop along a pipe. CFD is worth it where the geometry decides the result: a manifold that feeds its outlets unevenly, an enclosure with hot spots, a room where the air short-circuits from inlet to outlet.

  • Pressure losses
  • Flow distribution
  • Recirculation
  • Stagnant zones
  • Airflow in enclosures and rooms
  • Effect of a geometry change

Typical questions

  • What flow rate and pressure head does the system require?
  • Where are the major pressure losses?
  • How is the fluid distributed through the system?
  • Are there regions of recirculation or unfavourable flow?
  • Does the air reach every part of the space evenly?
Velocity contours on vertical section planes through the cultivation racks
Velocity on section planes shows how evenly each level of the racks is ventilated.
Worked example

How CFD fits into a wider engineering investigation.

Failure investigation

Recurring failures in a pump or fluid-handling system

A manufacturer experiences repeated failures. A useful investigation starts from the operating conditions and the failure history, not from building a CFD model.

A complete assessment considers
  • Pump and system specifications
  • Flow rate, pressure, head and operating conditions
  • Pipework and system resistance
  • Installation and operating practices
  • Engineering calculations
  • Mechanical loads and structural implications where relevant
What CFD adds

Detail where the flow behaviour itself needs further investigation.

What decides

The engineering causes behind the failures, and which changes or further measurements are justified. Simulation is one possible tool within the investigation, not a substitute for understanding the system.

Failure Investigation Cost, Quality and Productivity Improvement
Open-source CFD

Professional flow analysis, without enterprise licence costs.

Commercial CFD packages often cost thousands of euros a year per seat, and that cost ends up in the price of every study. We work with a mature open-source toolchain instead, so an SME pays for engineering time, not for software licences.

The solver, OpenFOAM, is one of the most widely used CFD codes in industry and research: steady and transient, laminar and turbulent flow.

Honest about the limits

Where a question genuinely needs a feature that only a commercial package offers, we say so before the work starts.

The workflow

  1. Geometry: FreeCAD

    The fluid domain is built from the CAD model, with details removed where they don't affect the flow.

  2. Mesh: Netgen

    The domain is meshed, with refinement near walls, openings and wherever the flow changes quickly.

  3. Solution: OpenFOAM

    Physical models and boundary conditions are set, each assumption is recorded, and convergence and sensitivity are checked.

  4. Post-processing: ParaView

    Velocities and pressures are extracted and presented as streamlines, sections and figures for the decision.

This offering is not approved or endorsed by OpenCFD Limited, producer and distributor of the OpenFOAM software via www.openfoam.com, and owner of the OPENFOAM® and OpenCFD® trade marks. Other product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

Related projects

A real project.

CFD · Mechanical design

A hydroponic laboratory in a container

The airflow corrected with CFD before construction.
See the project

All projects: CFD

Related services

Every service is also available on its own. We only suggest a combination when the project actually needs it.

Product Development

From the technical idea to a product ready for production.

View service

Failure Investigation

When a part breaks or deforms, the right question is not only "how high is the stress?" but "why did it happen?".

View service

Cost, Quality and Productivity Improvement

We look for where time, material, capacity or quality is lost, and design practical interventions.

View service

Automation and Special Production Equipment

Special equipment, fixtures and robotic cells designed around your own production process.

View service

Do you have an engineering question? Let's discuss it.

Tell us what you are developing, changing or trying to fix. We first look at the engineering question, then say plainly what is worth doing: a calculation, a design review, a test, a simulation, or a combination.

Start a conversation +30 210 2207 582
Complimentary first site visit & analysis Custom proposal, regardless of project scale Strict confidentiality & NDA protection