Respective leaders in CFD and FEA join forces to deliver an open approach solution to a wide range of multidisciplinary simulations

March 8, 2005 Lebanon, NH, USA and Providence, RI, USA

Fluent Inc., the leading provider of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation software and services, and ABAQUS, Inc., the leading supplier of software and services for advanced finite element structural analysis (FEA), announced today the availability of new software capability for simulation of fluid-structure interaction (FSI). Using recently released software from both companies (ABAQUS 6.5 and FLUENT 6.2), the new FSI capability fills a gap in the market by enabling users to solve complex multidisciplinary design problems involving coupled fluid flow and structural phenomena using leading technologies from their respective domains and backed by the two most highly respected support teams in the industry.

To meet the requirement for higher fidelity simulations, there is an increasing demand for solutions involving two or more disciplines. The joint approach taken by ABAQUS and Fluent uses an independent, open solution for the coupling—MpCCI software from Fraunhofer SCAI, Germany—to enable their individual products to work together to solve a range of important FSI problems. The new FSI capability supports steady-state or transient analysis of thermal-stress and/or mechanical deformation effects, including full bi-directional scalable coupling and takes advantage of the latest parallel processing within each analysis product. Target applications for FSI include, flow-induced vibrations in structures and equipment, fan blade flutter, in-vivo vascular flows, microfluidics, and consumer products design and packaging applications.

"Fluid-structure interaction effects are present in many of our customers’ most challenging design problems, and the new FSI capability allows us to engage with those customers to develop robust and reliable modeling approaches," notes Paul Bemis, Fluent's Vice President of Marketing. "We believe that this innovative coupling of best-in-class engineering simulation software is a significant milestone in the quest for an engineering capability that solves real-world FSI problems within industrially realistic timescales."

"Integration with other analysis disciplines is increasingly of interest to our customers," says Ken Short, Vice President of Marketing at ABAQUS Inc. "The open standard approach to coupling that we have adopted here allows us and our customers to focus on best-in-class tools within the structural analysis domain, while providing solutions that address a very wide range of fluid-structure interaction physics. We are very enthusiastic to be working with Fluent to provide a tested and reliable combined modeling capability."

The full set of modeling capabilities in FLUENT 6.2 and ABAQUS 6.5 (including both ABAQUS/Standard and ABAQUS/Explicit structural analysis products) is available for use in coupled FSI simulations. This technology combines the benefits of full nonlinear structural simulation from both ABAQUS products with the unique dynamic meshing capability in FLUENT to account for the effect of structural motion or deformation on the fluid domain.

About Fluent

Fluent is the world's largest provider of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and consulting services. Fluent's software is used for simulation, visualization, and analysis of fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, and chemical reactions. It is a vital part of the computer-aided engineering (CAE) process for companies around the world and is deployed in nearly every manufacturing industry. Using Fluent's software, product development, design and research, engineers build virtual prototypes and simulate the performance of proposed and existing designs, allowing them to improve design quality while reducing cost and speeding time to market. Fluent's corporate headquarters are located in Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA, with offices in Belgium, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, China, and Sweden. Its CFD software is also available around the world through joint ventures, partnerships, and distributors.

Graphics Available

Graphic images and accompanying captions to support this release can be found on the web at http://www.fluent.com/about/news/pr/index.htm by following the links to this release. Fluent Inc. grants permission for use of these graphics and their captions in conjunction with any or all of this press release.

FLUENT® is a registered trademark of Fluent Inc. For more information about Fluent, contact:

Jennifer Correa Fluent Inc. 10 Cavendish Court Lebanon, NH 03766 (800) 445-4454 Ext. 668 jrc@fluent.com

About ABAQUS

Founded in 1978, ABAQUS, Inc., is the world's leading provider of software and services for advanced finite element analysis. The ABAQUS® software suite has an unsurpassed reputation for technology, quality and reliability. It has been adopted by major corporations across all engineering disciplines as an integral part of their design process. ABAQUS offers a powerful and complete solution for simple to complex linear and nonlinear engineering problems, using the finite element method. A wide range of structural, thermal, and coupled analyses is supported. The software delivers a unified finite element analysis environment without equal, presenting a compelling alternative to implementations involving multiple products and vendors. ABAQUS employs over 400 people worldwide, with 27 direct offices for technical support, sales and services, plus a network of technically advanced distributors in emerging markets. (www.abaqus.com)

ABAQUS® is a registered trademark or trademark of ABAQUS, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. For more information about ABAQUS, contact:

Jeff Rankin ABAQUS, Inc.

+1 401 727-4200 jeff.rankin@abaqus.com