[bhigahAshish]

Hi,
I am a Phd student and I am doing a Phd in the CFD field. I am applying CFD to Fire engineering field and I am using FDS. Furthermore, I am studying smoke management systems. Once I finished the Phd I would like to apply CFD to Fire Engineering and to smoke control systems. Do you think that, before entering in the industry should I learn an other software?

[sbaffini]

I'm not in the field, but I'm pretty sure that FDS is the de facto standard in fire simulation, and as long as you stay there you should be fine. But if you want to stay in CFD in general, a minimum knowledge of a major commercial and open source solver are kind of smart moves. Also, a mesh generator and a CAD would be useful as well.

[bhigahAshish]

Since, I also studied the smoke control, maybe I can also use cfd for HVAC systems. Which commercial software would you suggest?

[Svetlana]

Not from this field myself, just two questions:


- What does your PhD advisor, and your university School career support hub, recommend? The former may know about software to learn and the latter may help you explore the market.



- From my perspective software does not have to be commercial, if you can find openfoam or some other software more suitable for the field, it can also be a useful asset (for PhD too for model verification if you are interested.) Again speaking with your supervisor may be of utility in this regard to help with finding what to learn.

[aerosayan]

Originally Posted by bhigahAshish

Do you think that, before entering in the industry should I learn an other software?

Are you looking for an engineering role, or a CFD code developer role?


- If you're looking for a CFD code developer role, I would recommend learning a few CFD tools, while simultaneously working on developing CFD codes to improve your skills and knowledge.


- If you're looking for an engineering role, having knowledge of multiple CFD tools will be beneficial.


Since, you're doing Ph.D, it's expected that you will have good knowledge of the theory, so becoming good in different CFD tools shouldn't be a problem.




PS: Not a Ph.D or a recruiter. So take my opinion with some salt.

[sbaffini]

Originally Posted by bhigahAshish

Since, I also studied the smoke control, maybe I can also use cfd for HVAC systems. Which commercial software would you suggest?

There are two main competitors out there, and knowing at least one of them would be beneficial. My personal preference is for Fluent.

But, maybe, there are also commercial products in your specific field, which maybe might be worth knowing. I can't come up with a name now, but there are several listed here https://www.cfd-online.com/Wiki/Codes#Commercial_codes

You can check the names in the list