In Year 9 of CFD Direct, we built on the success modular solvers and non-conformal coupling in OpenFOAM. We replaced liquid film functionality and improved dynamic mesh, including mesh-to-mesh mapping, decomposition and redistribution, to the point that OpenFOAM can simulate internal combustion engines including piston and value motion. We managed the OpenFOAM Foundation, releasing OpenFOAM v11, packaging OpenFOAM-dev and publishing websites and documentation. We provided training and cloud services to OpenFOAM users, and began creating a new course “Principles of CFD.”
CFD Direct Year 8: 2022-2023
In Year 8 of CFD Direct, we made some very significant developments to OpenFOAM, including non-conformal coupling, modular solvers and redesign of the dynamic mesh functionality. We managed the OpenFOAM Foundation, releasing OpenFOAM v10, packaging OpenFOAM-dev and publishing websites and documentation. We provided 63 days of OpenFOAM Training to users around the world, supported by the release of our book, “Notes on Computational Fluid Dynamics: General Principles”. We released Web CFD Direct From the Cloud (CFDDFC®), providing OpenFOAM which can be accessed from a remote desktop running in a web browser.
Effective OpenFOAM Maintenance
OpenFOAM is the leading free, open source software for computational fluid dynamics (CFD), distributed by The OpenFOAM Foundation. In 2014, OpenFOAM had accumulated significant “technical debt” due to a drive for new functionality at the expense of maintenance. Facing an unsustainable level of technical debt, CFD Direct was founded to manage and develop OpenFOAM back to a sustainable position. Code repair has targeted niche functionality that receives less testing. Redesign of larger, critical components of OpenFOAM has eliminated clusters of issues. By 2022, CFD Direct has recovered most of the technical debt, making OpenFOAM significantly more robust, usable and extensible.
CFD Direct Year 7: 2021-2022
In Year 7 of CFD Direct, our developments of OpenFOAM included a generalised load balancer for parallel running . We provided core maintenance, including standardisation of fluid properties, and repaired issues, e.g. to stablise multiphase simulations. We managed the OpenFOAM Foundation, releasing OpenFOAM v9, packaging OpenFOAM-dev and publishing websites and documentation. We produced our book , “Notes on Computational Fluid Dynamics: General Principles”, delivered 56 days of Live Virtual OpenFOAM Training, and provided cloud CFD with CFDDFC® to over 1000 subscribers.
CFD Direct Year 6: 2020-2021
In Year 6 of CFD Direct, our developments of OpenFOAM included new interface capturing methods and multicomponent transport models. We provided core maintenance, including redesign of fvOptions and transport modelling, and repaired issues, e.g. in meshing and conjugate heat transfer. We managed the OpenFOAM Foundation, releasing OpenFOAM v8, packaging OpenFOAM-dev and publishing websites and documentation. During the Covid restrictions, we delivered 67 days of Live Virtual OpenFOAM Training, and provided cloud CFD with CFDDFC® to over 700 subscribers.
CFD Direct Year 5: 2019-2020
In Year 5 of CFD Direct, we developed new functionality in OpenFOAM and maintained critical components of the code base. We managed the OpenFOAM Foundation: promoting sustainable development, releasing OpenFOAM v7, packaging OpenFOAM-dev and publishing websites and documentation. We delivered 60 days of OpenFOAM Training, and provided low-cost cloud CFD with CFD Direct From the Cloud™ to over 500 subscribers, including custom images to run 100s of automated production simulations.