Hello, My company is interested in pursuing some CFD work and improving some of the product designs. We are interested in modeling systems like 3-phase separators, liquid-liquid cyclones, and the effect of sea motion on the performance of these equipments. We are in the process of deciding which CFD software would be best for such applications: FLUENT/GAMBIT or STAR CCM PLUS.

I am looking for the advantages and disadvantages of each of these softwares. Please provide your insight regarding the same. Which software would be better for a beginner.

Thanks a lot.

As you have no doubt realised, your specific applications are pretty advanced CFD. This needs to be approached step by step, and about the worst thing you could do would be to start by building a full model of one of your designs. You really need to build up confidence in the CFD methods and your own application thereof first. This is a roundabout way of saying that selecting the CFD code is the least of your difficulties! Both of those packages have tremendous capabilities, but you cannot (in any code) approach this as a beginner - you first have to turn yourself into something that is not a beginner. This is not about driving the code (which is pretty easy), it is about developing the methodology to tackle some very nasty fluid dynamics.