Short course description: OpenFOAM - Essentials

Content of the short-term learning experience

OpenFOAM® stands as a widely utilized open-source code and robust framework designed for addressing a myriad of challenges, predominantly within the realm of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). In recent years, OpenFOAM® has emerged as a leading choice for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations across a diverse array of industries. Its open- source nature, coupled with its robust capabilities, has led to its widespread adoption by engineers, researchers, and organizations worldwide.

Course is designed to provide a solid foundation in key concepts such as computational fluid dynamics, mesh generation, boundary conditions, turbulence modeling and post- processing techniques. The course will cover topics ranging from laminar to turbulent flows as well as moving meshes, heat transfer and lagrangian particle tracking. Through acombination of on-site lectures and practical exercises as well as complementary hands-on online-tutorials, you will gain the essential to tackle real-world engineering challenges using OpenFOAM.

Lecture notes and tutorials all participants will be given a digital handout of the course material. Furthermore, the course is complemented with additional self-study video tutorials, enabling the participants to recap and strengthen their knowledge after the course. Note that handouts and videos are provided in English.

Other instructors

M.Sc. Jana Wedel (University of Erlangen- Nuremberg), 
Nejc Vovk (University of Maribor), M.Eng.

Objectives and competences

After the course the participants will possess the following skills:

Computational fluid mechanics

• Participants will have gained a basic insight into fluid mechanics and CFD.

Mesh generation

• Participants will be able to create high quality computational meshes using the blockMesh and snappyHexMesh utility.
• Participants will be able to assess and improve the mesh quality.

Simulation set up

• Participants will be able to choose appropriate boundary and initial conditions in accordance with the physics of the problem.
• Participants will posess basic knowledge of solver algorithms (SIMPLE, PISO, PIMPLE).
• Participants will be able to improve and assess the stability of the numerical computation.

Post-Processing and Validation

• Participants will be able to use basic function objects in OpenFOAM (residuals, drag and lift coefficients, etc.).
• Participants will be able to display and process relevant results using ParaView and gnuplot.
• Participants will be able to assess and improve the numerical results.

Prerequisites for enrolling

This course is designed for individuals at all levels, whether you're interests lie in academic research, industrial applications, or you’re simply looking to expand your engineering toolkit. The course is aimed at beginners to OpenFOAM®. No special prior knowledge is required, however, basic knowledge of CFD is advantageous.