NUMECA

1
NUMECAs experience with Industry-Academia
Partnerships and Patways (IAPP) programs
Presentation given at the Journée Marie
CurieEcole Royale Militaire, BrusselsNovember
6th, 2009

• J. E. Anker, Prof. Ch. Hirsch,
• NUMECA Int., Av. Franklin D. Rooseveltlaan 5,
• B-1050 Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium
• www.numeca.com

2
Outline

• Brief presentation of NUMECA Int.
• Importance of innovation and support for RD
• Experience from previous EU projects
• Marie Curie AdComb-CFD ToK-IAP project (FP6)
• Marie Curie COMBINA IAPP project (FP7)
• IAPP projects Challenges and benefits
• Conclusions

3
NUMECA Activities and locations

• NUMECA International s. a. was created in 1992 as
  a spin-off of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
• Main activities
• Development of software systems for the
  simulation of fluid flows
• Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  software for analysis and optimization of fluid
  machinery and aero-nautical systems
• NUMECA Int. is a globally acting high-tech
  company
• Employs globally 70 CFD experts and highly
  qualified engineers
• NUMECA Int. has its headquarters in Brussels and
  subsidiaries in Mons (B) and San Francisco (USA).
  Distributors located worldwide Germany, Spain,
  Italy, Japan, India, China,

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NUMECA - Products

• Preprocessing tools / Grid generation software
• Task Definition of geometry, boundary
  conditions, subdivision of computational domain
  in finite volumes (grid)
• Hexpress Generates unstructured, hexahedral
  grids
• Autogrid/IGG Automated generation of structured
  grids
• Flow solvers
• Task Numerical solution of the flow equations
• FINE/Turbo Flow Solver Leading flow solver for
  turbomachinery applications using structured
  grids
• FINE/Hexa Flow Solver General, multi-purpose
  flow solver using unstructured hexahedral meshes
• Post-processors / Visualisation
• CFView for visualization and evaluation of the
  simulated flow fields
• Unique features
• Flow Integrated Environments Complete software
  packages with flow solver and pre- and
  postprocessor (FINE/Turbo, FINE/Marine,
  FINE/Hexa)
• Turbomachinery modeling capabilities (Non-linear
  harmonics method)
• FINE/Design3D Software for design and automatic
  optimization of turbomachinery components

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NUMECAs products Some areas of application

• Aerospace
• ARIANE propulsion cryogenic engines
• Objectives Predict and improve performances
  engine stabilization
• Aeronautics
• Aero engines civil and military aircrafts
• Objectives Wing-fuselage interactions, optimize
  guide vanes and blades, understand aerodynamics
• Power generation
• Gas and steam turbines axial and centrifugal
  compressors
• Objectives Blade design minimization of exergy
  losses
• Environment
• Flow around buildings, ventilation (HVAC),
  pollution
• Objectives Architectural impact on the wind
  flow, emission prediction

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NUMECA Some of our customers
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Importance of innovation and support for RD

• Importance of innovation
• CFD software systems need to employ
  state-of-the-art methods in
• Numerical and applied mathematics
• Computational physics
• Computer and engineering science
• to be as efficient and accurate as possible
• Being innovative and up-to-date in the
  aforementioned disciplines is a key element for
  the successful development of CFD software
  systems
• Importance of technological and financial support
  for RD
• Strong efforts in RD are important for NUMECA to
  keep its technological leadership, remain
  competitive and to develop next-generation
  products
• Since efforts in RD are cost-intensive, it is
  essential for an SME to obtain technological and
  financial support

8
Experience from previous EU projects

• NUMECA has been involved in several EU projects
  either as a partner or as a coordinator
• NUMECA has initiated and coordinated several
  projects
• TROPHY (FP5) on hydroplaning simulation
• AdComb-CFD (ToK-IAP FP6) project (2005-2008)
• NODESIM (FP6) on non-deterministic simulations
• COMBINA (IAPP FP7) on combustion models for
  industrial applications
• Participation in EU funded research projects can
  be a difficult task
• Certain level of recognition of the in-house
  technology is essential for the ability to
  establish a network
• Research projects are generally led by large
  enterprises (although the EU has specific
  programs to support the participation of SMEs)
• IAPP-program (FP6 ToK-IAP) is an excellent
  opportunity to establish contact and exchange
  personnel between academia and industry

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AdComb-CFD project Goal and Partners

• Goal of the Marie Curie AdComb-CFD ToK-IAP
  project (FP6) was
• AdComb-CFD Advanced Combustion Models for CFD
  Applications
• University partners provide industry
  state-of-the-art combustion models for
  non-premixed combustion
• Industry provides university partners with
  professional software and expertise
• Partners in the project
• TU Delft, TU Delft, Univ. of Heidelberg, NUMECA
  (Coordinator)
• Knowledge transfer
• RANS- and LES based combustion models
• Radiation modelling
• Software-engineering, professional validation
  procedures

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AdComb-CFD project Motivation

• Development of the FINE/Hexa unstructured
  software package towards a multiphysics-multipurpo
  se CFD solver
• Turbomachinery applications, conjugate heat
  transfer, fluid-structure interaction,
  acoustics
• Combustion (heat release, pollution)
• Radiation modeling
• Long term goal
• Software package for the simulation of a
  complete aero engine including combustion chamber
  
• Situation before NUMECA obtained the AdComb-CFD
  IAPP project
• NUMECA had profound expertise in CFD for fluid
  machinery and aerodynamic devices
• No in-house expertise on combustion modeling
• Acquisition of knowledge in combustion and
  radiation modeling was therefore necessary

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AdComb-CFD project Results (examples)

• Glass-furnace
• Gas turbine combustor

• Turbulent flame

• GUI

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COMBINA project

• COMBINA - Combustion Models for Industrial
  Applications (IAPP FP7)
• Development of combustion models for the
  simulation of aero-engine and stationary gas
  turbine combustors
• Transfer of knowledge program with leading
  European universities (The Netherlands, Germany,
  France, Turkey)
• Turkish SME will support the project by providing
  experimental data from industry-like test cases
• NUMECA is coordinating the project
• The project is guided by an Industrial Observer
  Group (IOG)
• Representatives from companies in the energy
  sector (gas turbine) and in the aero-nautical
  field (aero-engines)

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13
IAPP projects Challenges

• Planning phase
• Definition of a project with partners that
  contributes to the global objectives of the
  European program
• Proposals require attention to both technical and
  non-technical issues
• Socio-economic impact
• Demand for novelties and innovative research in a
  ToK/IAPP project
• Start-up phase (after the proposal has been
  approved)
• Not all university partners are immediately able
  to find suitable post-docs which they can assign
  to the project
• Change in planning necessary to accommodate for
  problems with recruitment
• Reporting
• Financial reporting can be difficult since the
  guidelines are open to interpretation
• Technical reports are easy to write

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IAPP projects Benefits

• Industrys point of view experience from the
  AdComb-CFD project
• NUMECA has obtained state-of-the-art technology
  in modeling of non-premixed combustion
• Creation of a network of relations and potential
  partners within the European research community
  in combustion
• Source of creativity regular discussion with
  leading academic institutions has provided NUMECA
  with new innovative ideas
• Academic partners
• Establishment of additional contacts with
  industry
• Development of combustion models from a software
  engineering and industrial point of view
• Platform for testing of new combustion models for
  complex applications

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Conclusions

• Strong efforts in RD are important to remain
  competitive and to develop next generation
  products
• Since efforts in RD are cost-intensive, it is
  essential for an SME to obtain technological and
  financial support
• EU programs offer unique possibilities to
  establish Inter-European co-operations, pathways
  and networks
• IAPP-program is an excellent basis for
• establishing contact and exchanging personnel
  between academia and industry
• increasing the technological expertise and
  know-how of all partners involved
• supporting applied research
• providing industry with most recent results from
  the research community