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Overview

Use of simulations as part of design process is increasingly becoming a standard practice in industry and research mainly because it leads to efficient design in lesser time. Due to same reason CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) is rapidly becoming an integral part of product development cycle. When CFD was newly invented it was just part of research laboratories. Now since the growth of commercial CFD software and more powerful computing resources, CFD is part of every design team in industry.

The most critical obstacle toward learning CFD is the fundamental knowledge and high level of expertise in software usage. Currently among the most popular software to perform CFD analysis in industry is ANSYS FLUENT. We at LearnCAx believe that for becoming a CFD expert one must focus not only on software, but the overall ‘CFD for design’ idea. To gain expertise in CFD one must develop five basic skills or capabilities. Those are fundamental knowledge of fluid dynamics, theory of CFD, CFD software skill and lastly how to use CFD results for making design decisions. This course on CFD covers all these aspects and not just software training. Although the course involves training on CFD software suite of ANSYS FLUENT and ICEM CFD, the end objective of the course is not just to make you an expert software user but to inculcate a thinking of how to use CFD as a design tool. To teach CFD skillsets the course will include variety of learning techniques like course lessons, software demos, video tutorials, quiz, practice assignments, course projects, and online mentoring. 

Recommended background

A science background is recommended for this course. One should be familiar with basic physics concepts like scalars, vectors, pressure, velocity, forces etc. The course will start with a review of fundamental concepts of fluid dynamics and heat transfer. So you do not need any pre-requisite for this course other than having an interest in CFD. No specific educational degree is necessary to take this course. CFD analysis is based on fundamental equations of fluid dynamics and heat transfer; hence participants from mechanical, chemical, civil and petroleum fields find themselves more comfortable than other background. They will also benefit more than participants from other background.

"The early you start more the benefit". CFD is fast becoming a popular simulation based design tool in industry. Our course participants are from academic background as well as industry professionals. But if you are a student in an undergraduate science degree this is the best time to start learning CFD. The early you start, more are the benefits. 

Your Learning

By the end of this course you will gain expertise in conducting CFD analysis using ANSYS FLUENT and ICEM CFD. Apart from software skills our objective of this course is also to make you understand how CFD is used as a design tool. Below will be your learning in this course:

  • You will have better understanding of fluid dynamics and heat transfer.
  • You will have a clear understanding of CFD. 
  • You will know the process to define a CFD problem.
  • You will learn the process to conduct mesh generation for CFD using ICEM CFD.
  • You will learn the process to conduct CFD simulation using ANSYS FLUENT.
  • You will learn how CFD results are used for making design decisions.
  • You will be inspired to pursue CFD as a professional or academic field of your choice.

The course mainly contains video lessons based on fundamental theory and software skills. Apart from video lessons, the course also contains other components like software demos, assignments, quizzes, and project. The course is delivered based on a concept of ‘learning lessons accompanied with live mentoring sessions’. Initial sections of the course contain fundamental lessons, middle part is based on mesh generation skills using ANSYSICEM CFD and end part of the course is based on CFD simulation using ANSYS FLUENT. Based on the content of the video lessons and accompanied assignments, projects you can expect to complete the course in 6 to 7 weeks.

Course Format

The course mainly contains video lessons. The duration of each lesson varies from few minutes for some lessons to 40 minutes for some lessons. For short software demos the duration is very small and for detailed theory lessons or software knowledge lessons the duration is large. The course also contains other content like tests, assignments, and project. 

The course is delivered based on a concept of ‘online learning using video lessons accompanied with live mentoring’. Below are features or elements of our training process:

Video lessons : The course consists of video lessons on various topics of theory and software knowledge. You can gain knowledge and software skills by watching these video lessons any number of times.

Software Demos: The course also consists of software demos. These short videos explain some tools or operations of software so that you can watch and practice on your own.

Video Tutorials : Video tutorials will also be provided to you as part of the course. These video tutorials are sample CFD problems which explain or demonstrate how to conduct CFD simulation of common industrial problems using the software ANSYS FLUENT and ICEM CFD.

Objective Test or Quiz : After some specific amount of video lessons you will be asked to give objective test or quiz. These tests or quizzes are based on theory knowledge and software skills. The purpose of these tests or quizzes is to refresh your learning till that point. These will also help you later to review or understand important concepts. 

Software Assignments : After certain software learning is complete you will be provided with assignments. These assignments will be industrial level mesh generation or CFD solution problems which you will have to do on your own using skills acquired in the course. You will be provided with all the necessary input files for the assignments. Once you complete these assignments you will have to submit them to us for evaluation. 

Course project : At the end of the course you will be assigned a course project. This project will be a complete CFD problem from start to end. You will be provided with the problem statement and input files. Using your acquired skills of the software ICEM CFD and FLUENT you will conduct this CFD project and present a CFD project report by the end of your course. Our mentors will evaluate your report and provide you suggestions or additional mentoring based on your performance in the project. 

Mentoring :  Along with our course content we also provide mentoring for the participants in this course. The mentoring is provided to resolve any of your doubts or question related to the course learning. There are two types of mentoring:

  1. Unlimited mentoring through email: During the course you may have queries or doubts about the course content. To resolve those queries our mentors will interact with you using email. You can ask your queries through email and our mentors will provide you with specific answers to help resolve your queries.  
  2. Limited hours of live mentoring: In this our mentors will conduct a live mentoring session with you every week for an hour. So total you get 6 hours of live mentoring as part of the course. These live mentoring sessions will be sought of Q & A sessions to resolve any of your doubts related to the course learning. You can directly ask your questions to our mentor. 

Please note that mentoring through email and live session is meant to resolve your queries related to learning through the course. This mentoring does not cover any queries which are not related to the course or for any of your other CFD related queries. For such queries we recommend to you our other learning services. Information of such learning services can be found on course page. 

Certification : At the end of the course based on your performance and our evaluation you will be granted a certification from LearnCAx for successful completion of the course. 

Course Material : At the end of the course LearnCAx will send you course material in the form of course lesson notes for your future reference. 

Course Syllabus

The course is divided into 18 lessons and additional content like assignment and project. Each lesson has a specific objective and is designed to satisfy the needs of subsequent lesson. It is recommended that you do not move to the next lesson until all the concepts in the lesson are well understood.

Video Lessons :

Lesson 1: Study of Fluid Flows

Have you ever observed common fluid flow phenomenon around you? Have you ever wondered about the physics behind such fluid flows? Whether they can be described by using mathematics and who discovered such mathematical equations of fluid flows? Fluid flow is present everywhere. The aim of this lesson is to show you how every phenomenon around us involves fluid flow. The lesson will present a discussion on the three fundamental methods used to study fluid flow. In the end you will also understand where simulation finds its place as tool to study fluid flow and allied phenomenon. 

Lesson 2: Introduction to CFD  

Assuming that most of the participants are new to the topic of CFD, the first lesson is designed as an introduction to CFD. CFD is a distinct field of simulation sciences which is based on physics and mathematical equations. Hence our first lesson is designed in order to provide you a complete understanding of overall concept of CFD. This lesson provides the basics of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) without going into details of the mathematics or numerical algorithms. By the end of this lesson you will have a clear understanding of CFD and terms like Design, Modeling, Simulation, and CFD. You will also realize that CFD is very interesting and highly useful design tool.

Lesson 3: CFD Equations and Numerical Solution 

We believe that every participant of our course, who uses CFD software, should also be aware of what is happening behind the software. Behind the software there are physics equations solved using numerical methods. This lesson is design in a way that you will get a basic understanding of the generalized CFD equations and the numerical methods that are used to solve these equations. The objective of this lesson is to refresh the knowledge of mathematical equations which govern fluid flow and heat transfer and also to provide an overview of the additional equations that are solved in CFD. By the end of this lesson you will be familiar with Navier Stokes equations and the difference between exact and numerical solution of differential Equations.

Lesson 4: Fundamentals of Finite Volume method

One of the most commonly used algorithms to convert the partial differential equation to algebraic equations is the Finite Volume Method. It is also the method used for CFD calculations in FLUENT software. Hence it is critical to understand the finite volume method. In this lesson we will see how the Navier Stokes equations are converted into mathematical formulations using the finite volume methods. This lesson would explain how to convert the integral form of conservation equations into linear algebraic equations, using Finite Volume Method. By the end of this lesson you will have a clear understanding of the Finite Volume Method.

Lesson 5: Fundamental Concepts of Meshing

What is mesh generation? Have you heard the term pre-processing? The aim of this lesson is to introduce you to fundamental concept of meshing. You will learn what is grid or mesh generation. Then you will understand a grid cell and different cell types. Ever wondered what are the different methods of mesh generation? This lesson will also provide you with an overview of different grid generation methods. You will also get a first look of the software ICEM CFD in this lesson. By the end of this lesson you will be familiar with all the fundamental concepts of grid generation process. 

Lesson 6: Introduction to GUI of ICEM CFD

This lesson is your first introduction to meshing process. When you perform CFD using ANSYS CFD suite the meshing process is done using ICEM CFD. The objective of this lesson to provide you a clear understanding of the concept of mesh generation and why mesh is required. The lesson will also familiarize you with the overall process of mesh generation within ICEM CFD software. By the end of this lesson you will have a clear understanding of ICEM CFD functions and its capabilities. Detailed operations will be taught in further lessons. 

Lesson 7: Geometry creation in ICEM CFD

For every CFD simulation we require a CAD model to create virtual CFD environment. We have to either generate CAD model in ICEM CFD or import it from third party software. Also many repair operations are needed to be performed on the imported CAD model as it is not ready for CFD. By the end of this lesson you will be able to create and import geometries in ICEM CFD. You will also know all skills to make geometry ready for CFD. 

Lesson 8: Hexahedral meshing in ICEM CFD

This lesson will introduce you to the most commonly used and preferred mesh type –Structured Hexahedral meshing. The objective of this lesson is to teach you all the skills required to generate a structured hexahedral mesh using multi-block method in ICEM CFD. By the end of this lesson you will have a clear understanding of mesh or grid generation process and also you will acquire all skills to decide a blocking topology and create hexahedral mesh for different levels of geometric complexity.

Lesson 9: Shell meshing in ICEM CFD

The objective of this lesson is to train you in surface meshing which is also called as the shell mesh. Many times we need to use shell mesh type for 2D cross section or as an input for 3D volume mesh. Although this lesson covers all types of shell meshing, the prime focus will be more on surface cell sizing and triangular element meshing using patch independent method. This lesson will teach you how to generate shell mesh in ICEM.

Lesson 10: Volume meshing process – Tetrahedral meshing in ICEM CFD

This lesson will focus on tetrahedral mesh generation. It will teach you the entire process of tetrahedral mesh generation using ICEM CFD. It is not always possible to generate hexahedral mesh for complex shapes of geometries in CFD. Hence you need to know how to generate tetrahedral mesh. By the end of this lesson you will be comfortable to generate mesh for complex CFD models which cannot be handled by hexahedral mesh.

Lesson 11: Volume meshing process – Prism meshing in ICEM CFD

Another important aspect of mesh generation and perhaps the most advanced, is prism mesh generation. Accurate numerical simulation of most physical phenomenon in fluids depends on capturing boundary effects by using prism mesh near surfaces. The lesson will provide you complete knowledge of how to resolve boundary layer flows using prism mesh type in ICEM CFD. 

Lesson 12: CFD analysis - Software perspective

Objective of this lesson is to introduce you to the world of commercial CFD software. While providing an introduction to performing CFD analysis using software, we also focus on teaching you what happens behind the software. Basic steps of any general CFD analysis process will be taught. By the end of this lesson you will know what to expect from a generic CFD software program and also what are general steps involved in CFD analysis using CFD software.

Lesson 13: User Interface of ANSYS FLUENT

The objective of this course is to make you comfortable with the graphic user interface (GUI) of the software ANSYS FLUENT. Before starting to use any software you should be well familiar with the user interface, various mouse options and clicks as well panel locations and buttons. This lesson will provide you with all the knowledge required to handle FLUENT software user interface. By the end of this lesson you will be able to carry out basic tasks using ANSYS FLUENT and also navigate through the User Interface of ANSYS FLUENT.

Lesson 14: Before first simulation

The objective of this lesson is to teach you standard practices followed while using ANSYS FLUENT for any generalized CFD simulation. The lesson will teach you how to launch ANSYS FLUENT as well as procedures like importing mesh files, checking mesh files, setting up units, scaling geometry and standard grid operations. By the end of this lesson you will be familiar with preparations needed before doing any simulation in ANSYS FLUENT. You will also be aware of different physics models and their application areas.

Lesson 15: Solver Basics

ANSYS FLUENT is a CFD solver. Which means it will use a meshed geometry and CFD equation along with user inputs to produce solution of these equations by using various finite volume algorithms and models. The objective of this lesson is to teach you how to provide different inputs to the software to solve a CFD problem. By the end of this lesson you will be familiar with overall procedure for implementing any CFD project in ANSYS FLUENT.

Lesson 16: Turbulence modeling

The objective of this lesson is to teach you how to conduct CFD simulation of turbulent flows in ANSYS FLUENT. Why is this so important? In industry as well in many natural phenomena involving fluid flow, most of the times the flow is in turbulent regime. Hence it becomes critical to know how to model turbulent flows. The lesson will provide you knowledge of turbulent flow models and also teach you setup of these models. By the end of this lesson you will know how to conduct a simulation of turbulent flows in ANSYS FLUENT.

Lesson 17: Boundary and Cell Zone conditions

Boundary conditions are the most important part of CFD simulation setup. The objective of this lesson is to train you in order to decide how to provide sensible and accurate boundary conditions to a CFD problem. Boundary conditions are nothing but transfer of information from real life scenario to a virtual CFD model at the boundaries of the CFD environment. By the end of this lesson you will able to extract information from real life scenarios and transfer it to different boundary condition types in a CFD model within ANSYS FLUENT. 

Lesson 18: Solver Mathematics and Post Processing

The aim of this lesson is to teach you two aspects of CFD process:

  1. To modify the mathematical algorithms to adjust accuracy and speed of a CFD solution. This will be taught in solver mathematics section. 
  2. To judge the quality of CFD results and represent them in a realistic and informative manner. This will be covered in the Post processing section. 

By the end of this lesson you will learn how to select appropriate solver schemes for accurate CFD results. You will also learn to extract CFD results and apply them to improve design.

Video Tutorials :

Tutorial 1: Geometry cleanup in ICEM CFD

The objective of this tutorial is to demonstrate you various geometry repair operations in ICEM CFD. The tutorial is based on geometry cleanup of a control valve model. You can practice different geometry repair tools by watching this tutorial. 

Tutorial 2: Hexahedral meshing in ICEM CFD

Objective of this video tutorial is to demonstrate you the hexahedral mesh generation process in ICEM CFD. You can learn various techniques of hexahedral mesh generation process including blocking by watching this tutorial. 

Tutorial 3: Tetrahedral meshing in ICEM CFD

The aim of this tutorial is to teach you the tetrahedral meshing process using ICEM CFD. An example of electronic cabinet CFD model is used for demonstrating tetrahedral mesh type. By watching this tutorial you can learn the process of tetrahedral mesh generation. 

Tutorial 4: Post processing CFD results in FLUENT

This tutorial will demonstrate you various result extraction options in ANSYS FLUENT. You can learn how to represent CFD results using ANSYS FLUENT by watching this tutorial.

Course Assignments :

Assignment 1: Mesh generation of 2D profile geometry

The objective of this assignment is to provide you software practice opportunity to generate mesh for 2D geometry. Our mentors will be available to help resolve your queries related to assignment. By the end of this assignment you will become comfortable in using ICEM CFD for generating 2D mesh.

Assignment 2: Meshing generation for Heat exchanger geometry

The objective of this assignment is to provide you software practice opportunity to generate volume mesh for a CFD model. The assignment is based on sample tube in tube geometry. Our mentors will be available to help resolve your queries related to assignment. By the end of this assignment you will become comfortable in using ICEM CFD for generating volume mesh. 

Assignment 3: Mesh generation for Catalytic convertor geometry

The objective of this assignment is to provide you software practice opportunity and gain confidence and expertise in the entire mesh generation process in ICEM CFD. The complexity level of this assignment is high as you will need to think from CFD physics point of view as well while generating mesh. The assignment is based on Catalytic convertor geometry. Our mentors will be available to help resolve your queries related to assignment.

Course Tests :

Test 1: ICEM CFD Geometry Creation

The objective of this test is to refresh and check your learning on geometry creation and repairing tools in ANSYS ICEM CFD. This test contains a total of 16 multiple choice type questions. The maximum time duration allotted for this test is 20 minutes. All the knowledge required to attend this test are covered in lesson 5 and lesson 6 of this course. So, we suggest you to take this test only after you complete the lesson-6 i.e., ‘Geometry creation in ICEM CFD’. This will help you in approaching a geometry for CAD clean-up or repair.

Test 2: ICEM CFD Blocking Topology

The objective of this test is to provoke your thought on blocking topologies or strategies for geometries. Three 2D geometries are shown and you need to sketch a blocking topology for those geometries and upload the file. You don’t have to consider ICEM CFD options for this test. This will help you in approaching geometry for multi-block structured hexahedral mesh generation. We suggest you to take this test only after you complete the lesson-7 i.e., ‘Hexahedral meshing in ICEM CFD’ of this course.

Test 3: ICEM CFD Hexa Meshing

The objective of this test is to refresh and check your learning on ‘multi-block structured hexahedral mesh’ generation method and tools in ANSYS ICEM CFD. This test contains a total of 10 multiple choice type questions. This can be an open-software test. You can open ANSYS ICEM CFD and make use of it to answer the test. But the maximum time duration allotted for this test is 20 minutes. We suggest you to take this test only after you complete the lesson-7 i.e., ‘Hexahedral meshing in ICEM CFD’ of this course.

Course Project :

CFD modeling of turbulence flow through nozzle geometry : The objective of the course project is to provide you an experience of performing a CFD simulation project from start to end. The project will involve a mesh generation task and a simulation task. The CFD problem is based on modeling turbulent flow through nozzle geometry. By the end of this project you will be confident of handling complete CFD simulation process using both the software ICEM CFD and FLUENT.

1. I do not know what CFD is? How should I decide whether to take this course or not? 

Many of our participants do not know about CFD before they start the course. If you are from science background or if you are from any of the fields of mechanical, chemical, petroleum, or civil engineering field then learning CFD can benefit you in many ways. In order to know more about CFD please use “Ask a Question” link on course page and our mentors and representative will contact you to explain CFD and its application.

2. When can I start the course and how much time is needed to complete the course?

The course is available all the time. To start this course you need to buy the course. After this our executive will contact you and guide you through further process in order to activate your course. The course usually gets activated within 1 to 2 working days once all processing is completed. Considering difficulty level, understanding capacity and necessary extra reading and assignments to be done; on an average, we expect this course to be finished in 6 to 7 weeks.

3. Why is it important to learn CFD skills? Why is CFD becoming popular in industry?

CFD has become an important tool in design process in product and process industry across industry domain. The importance of simulation is increasing rapidly as it results in better product in shorter design cycle. Also the end cost of product is reduced because of use of simulations and CFD forms an important part of simulation based product development. Hence the use of CFD in industry and research has increased and will keep on growing. Due to same reason, it becomes beneficial to acquire CFD skills. 

4. How difficult is this course?

This course is intensive in terms of knowledge, training, and practice involved. But it is not a difficult course. You do not need any prerequisite knowledge to join the course. An interest in CFD and willingness to study and practice is certainly required. 

5. I have few queries related to work I am doing. Can I contact you? 

As the course is designed for beginners, so you might have specific questions. Feel free to ask those questions using the link “Ask a Question” given on course page.

6. I am a student in undergraduate degree. Is it too soon to learn CFD? Will I understand it?

No. It is not too soon. In fact this is the right time to get involved in CFD related learning. The earlier you gain knowledge of CFD, the better it is for you. You can conduct research in CFD in your academic life as well as this will open up many career opportunities related to CFD. 

7. What is ANSYS FLUENT and ANSYS ICEM CFD?

ANSYS, Inc. is an engineering simulation software developer. ANSYS FLUENT software is CFD software from ANSYS which has broad physical modeling capabilities needed to model flow, turbulence, heat transfer, and reactions for industrial applications. Thousands of companies throughout the world benefit from the use of ANSYS FLUENT software as an integral part of the design and optimization phases of their product development. ICEM CFD is a mesh generation software from ANSYS. 

8. Why is this course based on ANSYS FLUENT and ANSYSICEM CFD? 

ANSYSICEM CFD and ANSYS FLUENT are among the most commonly used CFD tools in industry and academia. Due to this it is beneficial to learn these products as in most of the industries and research facilities you will be exposed to projects related to these software tools. Also they are highly robust, validated, and efficient tools for conducting CFD analysis.

9. Does your course provide access to software for practice?

No. Participants have to arrange for their own access to software for practice. 

10. Do you provide certification?

Yes. After successful completion of the course we provide certification to participants. 

11. Is it possible to learn software using online learning?

Yes. Online learning has already been established as one of leading methods for cost effective and flexible software learning. 

12. I am weak in fundamentals of fluid dynamics or forgotten them. Can I take this course?

Our course content will help you review your fundamental knowledge about fluid dynamics. Also our course mentors will guide you on methods to strengthen your knowledge of fluid dynamics. So this is not a problem while you take the course. 

13. How will I ever use CFD if I am a student?

Currently many student in undergraduate or post graduate degrees use CFD as a tool for their research activity. If you are in a field where CFD simulation has applications you may use CFD for any of your research activity. 

14. I am a professional and work in a field not related to CFD. But I am interested in CFD. Can I take this course?

Yes. Certainly you can take the course. Our mentors will help you make your learning smooth even if you have to take up this course along with your profession which is not related to CFD. Acquiring CFD analysis skills will certainly add value to your skill set along with you current profession.