Support of free-form components in the coupling of catalyst simulation software with OpenFOAM

This project followed the earlier development of crossfire, a library that couples the commercial software exothermia suite and OpenFOAM for the simulation of exhaust systems with components of standard geometry. Real-life diffusers and inlet manifold deviate substantially from standard 3d geometries due to the restrictions in the engine bay and underneath the vehicle, as shown in the pictures. The 3d geometry introduces non-uniformities that need to be accurately modeled in order to predict the performance of the complete exhaust system. With the updated library all free-form components can be imported and simulated in exothermia suite, covering fully the needs of R&D for exhaust systems. All major 3d mesh file formats are supported, hence the use of third party CFD tools is unnecessary.

The project was assigned to the University of Thessaly by Exothermia SA and funded by an innovation voucher issued by the Region of Central Macedonia, Greece.

The development of the library and the management of the project was undertaken by Onoufrios Haralampous. On behalf of Exothermia SA, Dr Theodoros Atmakidis SA was responsible for the collaboration and integration in exothermia suite.