SimWorks free CFD

SimWorks is a GUI for OpenFoam.

SimWorks - Free CFD software and OpenFOAM® GUI - IdealSimulations https://www.idealsimulations.com/simworks-free-cfd-software/

Glider Simulation:

 

Sounds too good to be true. When I tried to download it, I got trapped in an endless loop that could not be cancelled even in the task manager. I had to switch off the computer and restart.

 

Strange, I have run it (beta-version?) to check against other software. It loaded ok, and it seems to give fair results for a couple of basic components. It is not ready for free-surface simulations as far as I can see.

 

I am one of the two co-founders of SimWorks and to give a bit of background to the project one of the main reasons why SimWorks is free and will stay like that is the opportunity that gives us to receive feedback and to widen our user base. As a consequence of this we are receiving some constructive feedback and we roll out a new release almost every 2 weeks, so please keep an eye on the main page for any new releases:
SimWorks - Free CFD software and OpenFOAM® GUI - IdealSimulations https://www.idealsimulations.com/simworks-free-cfd-software/

You can also find some useful tutorials at this link, we are trying to release a few more to show the actual SimWorks capabilities:
SimWorks Tutorials - IdealSimulations https://www.idealsimulations.com/tutorials/

Admittedly SimWorks does not include quite yet free-surface analysis, but it outputs the original OpenFOAM dictionaries which can be manually modified to achieve this type of analysis. Introducing that feature is in our development plan and hopefully will be available in the near future. In the meantime please check the latest releases of SimWorks and if you find issues just send us a mail or log the issue in SimWorks (the software will ask to do that if it crashes) since this will massively help us in improving it and moving from the Beta release to the full production one!
Also any feedback is welcome!

 

Thanks for sharing and SimWorks looks awesome! I've been meaning to give OpenFOAM a try but it looks rather daunting.

So to be clear for now you can't yet use the free-surface analysis with a multiphase CFD solver to create a full boat hull resistance speed map? At least not within the UI itself without fiddling with OpenFOAM?

 

That is correct, the free-surface analysis will be implemented in the future but it is difficult to say when since we are fully focused in improving the software stability at the moment. The only available option is to test the hull resistance in the submerged portion with a single phase simulation which is quick and easy to setup. Hopefully soon we will have the free-surface analysis, will keep you posted as soon as that functionality is available.