ACADEMIA

LEBANON, N.H.--Fluent Inc., the world leader in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, announces the release of FlowLab 1.1 software. FlowLab is a unique piece of educational software that uses the power of flow visualization through CFD to teach basic fluid mechanics principles in the engineering classroom. The software runs Fluent's general purpose CFD code, FLUENT 6.1, and pre-processor, GAMBIT 2.1, in the background, with a user-friendly, student-specific graphical user interface (GUI) on its front end. Students have been using FlowLab as a complement to traditional lab exercises for two years and this release provides additional features and functionality: -- FlowLab 1.1 performs time dependent analysis now, such as vortex shedding behind a cylinder in cross-flow. -- Solutions can be saved periodically so that the user can create time dependent animations for visualization. -- The user can inject particles into the flow fields being analysed for enhanced visualization purposes. -- FlowLab 1.1 supports Redhat Linux versions 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 8.0 as well as Windows XP and Windows 2000 operating systems. -- A range of 11 Application Templates created by Fluent Inc. come with the software as standard ranging from flows over airfoils, backward facing steps, orifice flows, pipe flows, flow over a flat plate, conduction flows and cylinder cross-flows to name but a few. In addition to these new features, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) funded a program in which Fluent Inc. collaborated with Iowa State University, Howard University, Cornell University and the University of Iowa to create three new FlowLab templates to be released in October over the Worldwide Web to FlowLab users. These templates are tailored to engineering curricula requirements specified by the academic institutions involved. Other templates created by European universities will be made available on the www.flowlab.fluent.com website next month also. "FlowLab 1.0 was well received by universities in the US and Europe," notes Shane Moeykens, Fluent's University Program Manager. "FlowLab 1.1 builds upon the success of the first release, takes on board feedback from university users across the world, and extends the software's capabilities to meet ever-changing curriculum needs. We are hearing exciting things about the way FlowLab exposes students to the concepts of CFD analysis as undergraduates thus preparing them for an engineering world that's embracing CFD design and analysis methods more and more," adds Moeykens. Fred Stern, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa, and advisor to the National Science Foundation (NSF) stated, "Increasingly the undergraduate engineering curriculum in the United States is changing in response to rapid advancements in simulation technology. We believe that the use of simulation-based design and ultimately virtual reality will eventually dominate engineering practice. FlowLab certainly promotes the understanding of simulation-based design pedagogy and we are pleased that Fluent is taking the lead in this area." Pricing and Availability FlowLab is currently available from Fluent Inc. Pricing starts at $1000/year for 25 concurrent users. Please visit the FlowLab web site at http://flowlab.fluent.com to obtain additional information.