Airflow Simulation
Published on November 13, 2020
Design for Safer Air Quality
As more people return to the workplace, indoor air quality and proper ventilation can make a significant difference on the safety of employees and customers. With Autodesk CFD, computational fluid dynamics simulation can be used to identify areas of risk and then explore multiple mitigation strategies for occupant safety before making any physical changes to the building. This workflow uses Autodesk CFD to help you leverage your existing 3D models to address airflow safety concerns.
Click here to view a diagram of this process.
IT Readiness
Make sure you have tools you need
In order to run an airflow simulation, you must have Autodesk CFD software and a 3D model of the building, plane, train or other enclosed area for the study. Click Learn More below to learn how to download your subscription products.
Model Authoring
Establish the Architectural Model
Before you can explore air flow simulations, you must have the base of the model. In this case, we are using an architectural model. In this video, Stephan Gumpert, Senior Technical Specialist at Autodesk Australia gives a high level overview / introduction to Revit from an AutoCAD perspective.
CFD Analysis
Get Familiar with Autodesk CFD
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is the industry standard method for simulating the flow of gasses and liquids both through and around solid bodies (think of the flow around a car, or through a faucet). If a CFD analysis is not set-up correctly, it can produce convincing results that are wrong. To prevent misleading results, users of CFD need to start with a firm understanding of the underlying physics, and the limitations of the simulation tool. So, before you jump in with both feet, take some time to get familiar with the Autodesk CFD software.
Design Indoor Air Quality Simulations
Now that you have the basics, let’s talk about the CFD workflow. Understanding how the models are built helps you do a better design for safer air quality upfront. You will start with the defining the model materials and setting the boundary conditions. Next, you divide the system into small parts (called meshing) to apply numerical approximations to the equations of the fluid flow.
Take a Deep Dive into CFD’s Capabilities
The best way to become efficient with any technology is to jump into it and try it out. We have several tutorials available that will let you do just that. Each tutorial features a different application type often solved with Autodesk Simulation CFD. All explore the entire process from launching CAD geometry to visualizing results. In some of the examples, we compare the results after making geometry and set-up changes.
Documentation
Document the Design
When you have the design right where you want it, you can document the design. There are several steps to preparing the construction documents that builders and engineers use.
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