FINFLO^®

In addition to the flow solver itself, the FINFLO environment contains several supporting tools for pre-processing (grid-generation) and post-processing (e.g. for visualization, data analysis etc.). FINFLO is effectively parallelized and can be used on supercomputers as well as on personal workstations.

In the FINFLO code the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved by a finite-volume method. Reynolds-averaging is practically the only way to handle the effects of turbulence in technical applications. In FINFLO turbulence modeling ranges from simple algebraic models (Baldwin-Lomax or Cebeci-Smith) to a full Reynolds-stress closure. The most common approaches (k-e and k-w) are two-equation models, i.e. in addition to the basic flow equations there are two additional differential equations to be solved. At least partly time dependent simulation of turbulence is becoming more and more common in technical applications, too. In aerodynamic applications FINFLO uses DES (detached eddy simulation) and other DES based ways to describe turbulence.

In addition to aerodynamical simulations, the FINFLO-code has many different applications. An important field of application is rotating machinery. The code has been used to compute flows in pumps and ship propellers (incompressible flow) as well as in high-speed compressors, where the flow is compressible. Finflo uses its own solver to perform numerical simulations.

This is in many respects advantageous. If a model needed in a simulation does not exist, it can be easily and without a delay incorporated into the code. New approaches in turbulence modeling can be tested almost immediately after those have been developed.

FINFLO® flow solver can be used to analyze aircraft maneuvering