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Mechanical Engineering vocabulary · Fluid Mechanics, Pumps and Valves

CFD

Meaning in mechanical engineering, with examples

abbreviationAdvanced term

In mechanical engineering, CFD means: Short for computational fluid dynamics: computer simulation of how liquids and gases flow, together with the pressure, temperature and heat transfer that come with the flow.

In Turkish: hesaplamalı akışkanlar dinamiği, HAD

How it is used

Used for pumps, fans, valves, HVAC spaces, heat exchangers and vehicle aerodynamics. Engineers build a mesh, choose a turbulence model, set boundary conditions and run the simulation. Common tools include ANSYS Fluent and OpenFOAM. Said letter by letter.

Example sentences

  1. The CFD results show a dead zone behind the baffle where the air hardly moves.

  2. We ran a CFD simulation to check the pressure drop through the new valve.

Common collocations

  • CFD simulation
  • CFD analysis
  • CFD model
  • CFD results
  • turbulent flowFluid flow in which the particles move in irregular, mixing paths. It happens at higher speeds and is the opposite of smooth, layered laminar flow.
  • pressure dropThe loss of pressure as a fluid flows through a pipe, filter, valve or other component, caused by friction and by changes in direction or cross-section.
  • finite element analysisA computer method that divides a part into many small elements, called a mesh, to calculate stress, deflection, temperature or vibration under given loads.
  • heat transferThe movement of thermal energy from a hotter place to a colder one. It happens in three ways: conduction, convection and radiation.

More terms: Fluid Mechanics, Pumps and Valves

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