Hi,

I'm conducting a research project for a class and I have a few questions regarding the CFD (computation fluid dynamics) marketplace. I would greatly appreciate any insights that you can share and/or any helpful links to interesting reports.

What is the total size of the CFD market ? Is it growing?

Is there a trend of users switching from high-end CFD products to lower-end CFD product? I'm defining "low-end" as less sophisticated, easier-to-use, faster response time products.

Any way to figure out the size of the "low-end" cfd space?

Thanks again !!!!

Its impossible to put a number of the total size of the CFD market. Do want the sum in dollars of all commercial sales or do you want the number of users? How do you add the value or find the number of users of free, open source codes, in-house codes and NASA codes that are generally also free? How do split out token based licenses that can be used (in some codes) for CFD one day and stress the next?

Even if you all you wanted was the sum of commercial software, its simply not available as a number of the firms are private and don't release figures. I wouldn't even trust the figures released from the publicly traded companies without a detailed analysis of what they include.

I also disagree with your definition of "low-end". Low end means less functional and very often less accurate. It doesn't guarantee easier to use and certainly has nothing to do with faster response time. Some low end codes aren't even parallelized so how fast could they be?

Though it is very uncertain to guess the size of CFD market, one thing is guaranteed that its market is growing and growing fast.

By low-end, do you mean customized software? If yes, certainly software vendors have started offering some customized softwares for specific industry. Fluent, CFX, STAR are general purpose. However, ICEPAK, FLOTHERM, COOLIT, etc are suitable for specific industry say Electronics Cooling or Thermal Comfort and Ventialtion in Bulidings, AIrports and Huge Multi-storied Parking Lot.

It is not that the general purpose softwares cannot be used for Ventilation of larger parking area but the constrains on hardware may arise. Customized packages uses templates to reduce the memory!

I have encountered a case where many companies have purchased license but they are not using them because of lack of skill or motivation!

|A|

you can do "nearly-3D" simulations with GT-power now as well. So part of the simulations that were done with CFD codes are now done with those so-called 1D code with enough accuracy and in timely manner. It takes out a big chunk of the CFD market out.

Ya sure, whatever, GT power will now displace FLUENT or CFX or CCM+. You must define 'big chunk' as a very small number relative to the overall market, whatever that is.

Does GT-Power simulate multiphase flow as well?