Anyone investing in OpenFOAM Training must want training that delivers the best return on their investment. It can be difficult to choose the best OpenFOAM training from the variety of disparate training offerings in a market that is particularly open due to the open source nature of the software. Questions should be asked of potential training providers to establish their credibility and experience in OpenFOAM and in CFD training. In this article we present 10 questions that might usefully be asked and present CFD Direct’s answers to the questions.
OpenFOAM v12 Training

In Autumn 2024, CFD Direct is running its OpenFOAM Training courses — Principles of CFD, Essential CFD, Applied CFD and Programming CFD — fully updated with the latest features of the new version 12 release of OpenFOAM. The training uses new features in OpenFOAM v12 for more productive and effective CFD, including: foamFind, unit conversion, coded and packaged function object, meshing multiple regions and coupling with boundary conditions. Productive CFD is available 16-19 Sep and 28-31 Oct. Essential and Applied CFD courses are available: 23-27 Sep, 7-11 Oct. Programming CFD is available 14-16 Oct, 5-7 Nov.
CFD Direct Year 9: 2023-2024

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 “Productive CFD.”
OpenFOAM v11 Training 2024

In Spring/Summer 2024, CFD Direct is running its OpenFOAM Training courses — Essential CFD, Applied CFD and Programming CFD — fully updated with the latest features of the new version 11 release of OpenFOAM. The training uses new features in OpenFOAM v11 for more productive and effective CFD. All courses are delivered as live virtual training. Essential and Applied CFD courses are available: 29 Jan-2 Feb, 4-8 Mar, 8-12 Apr, 13-17 May. Programming CFD is available 12-14 Feb, 18-20 Mar, 3-5 Jun, 24-26 Jun.
Useful Tools in OpenFOAM 11

In 2016 we published a guide of Useful Tools in OpenFOAM with tools we first released in OpenFOAM v4. The tools included the post-processing CLI and template cases, and applications such as foamDictionary. We extended the article following the release of new tools such as TAB completion in OpenFOAM v5 and again later with the introduction of new tools in subsequent versions of OpenFOAM. This article describe more significant new tools introduced in OpenFOAM version 11, notably foamToC and foamPostProcess, to provide compatibility with its modular solvers, while maintaining backward-compatibility with application solvers.
OpenFOAM v11 Training

In Autumn 2023 – Spring 2024, CFD Direct is running its OpenFOAM Training courses — Essential CFD, Applied CFD and Programming CFD — fully updated with the latest features of the new version 11 release of OpenFOAM. The training uses new features in OpenFOAM v11 for more productive and effective CFD, including: modular solvers; the
snappyHexMeshConfig utility to simplify meshing; the foamToC utility to search OpenFOAM; updated post-processing functionality; and, enhancements to dictionary input syntax. Essential and Applied CFD courses are available: 18-22 Sep, 2-6 Oct, 29 Jan -2 Feb (2024), 4-8 Mar. Programming CFD is available 23-25 Oct, 14-16 Nov, 12-14 Feb, 18-20 Mar.