The document summarizes recent developments in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. It discusses research using CFD to map blood flow patterns in the human heart. It also announces new software from ETA Inc. and Blue Ridge Numerics that aim to improve fluid-structure interaction and user experience in CFD simulations, respectively. The newsletter seeks input from members and provides information on joining the CFD discussion group.

1. August 2008
Issue 4
L INKED I N CFD
A networking forum for CFD professionals
Inside This Issue
MRI of Heart
Membership Report 1
By Kevin Colburn kevin_colburn@hotmail.com
MRI of Heart 1
Joining Us 1
Ann F. Bolger, MD, of the University of California,
San Francisco, has led the multi-disciplinary team, ETA Software 2
which includes researchers from Linköping Your Input 2
University in Sweden, in successfully mapping the CFdesing V10 3
multidimensional flow paths, as well as changes in
kinetic energy, of blood flowing through the left
ventricle of the heart. Their work has brought
together specialists in cardiology, physiology,
advanced imaging, biomedicine and engineering
with the support of the Swedish Research Council
Membership Report
and the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation.
Wow! We now have more than 400 members in our
group. “Request to join” our group is about 5 to 10
people on a daily basis. As I mentioned in previous
newsletter, it would be great if we can harness the
power of this group by devising a database that
shows how each member is associated with CFD and
what is the expertise of each member. Google
spreadsheet has been suggested as way to generate
this database. Do you agree? Let’s hear from you.
http://groups.google.com/group/cfdlinked
or
cfdlinked@gmail.com
Joining Us
You are invited to join our Google discussion
group. You can apply to be part of that group by
Velocity-encoded path lines overlaying the cardiac going to:
structure (grayscale MRI images) illustrate the http://groups.google.com/group/cfdlinked. Then,
variation in flow velocity from the left atrium on right hand side, click on "Apply for group
through the left ventricle of the beating heart at membership"
early and late stages of cardiac filling phase cycle.
The multi-disciplinary team used EnSight for their Meanwhile, please encourage your CFD friends or
visualizations. colleagues to join our LinkedIn CFD group. Please
note that LinkedIn membership is required for
To read the full article about the research being joining. To join, applicants should first sign in on
done at University of California-San Francisco click LinkedIn and then do a search in LinkedIn using
on the article titled, ‘Extreme Visualizations Reveal Keywords: CFD in Category: Professional Group.
Secrets of the Beating Heart’. Our group should be the first on the list. Look for
our logo.

2. ETA Inc. Announces New ETA (Cont.)
ALE Fluid-Structure Simulate Fluid & Structure Interaction
Interaction Software Tools Fluid and structural interactions are quickly and
accurately defined using ALE/FSI. The user can
ETA Inc. of Troy, MI has announced the release of take advantage of eta/VPG’s complete LS-DYNA
eta/VPG ALE-FSI for the simulation of explosive element and material library to create complex
blast environments. Utilizing Arbitrary Lagrangian structural models which interact with the ALE
Eulerian (ALE) techniques, eta/VPG improves ease mesh.
of use, user productivity, results accuracy and
speeds simulation turnaround of complex blast Generate Graphical Data for Evaluation
scenarios. Coupled with eta/VPG structures, VPG’s post processing capabilities allow the user
these tools provide the first real look at how IED’s to visualize all simulation results, animating the
or land mines may impact a vehicle’s structure or pressure, velocity and motion of the results.
stability. In addition, other analyses of explosive Graphical data may also be displayed to provide
ordinance will be improved utilizing eta/VPG ALE- an in-depth evaluation of the simulation results.
FSI tools. Examples include armor or ground
penetration studies, fuzing/timing, and projectile For more information, see our web site at
or systems structural shock analysis. This product www.eta.com or email Dave Hendrie, Business
is currently being used by the US Government. Development Manager at dhendrie@eta.com or
Phone: (248) 917-4177 .
eta/VPG’s ALE/FSI Module allows the engineer to
create advanced ALE and SPH simulations using
LS-DYNA and automatically creates ALE mesh
zones and explosive pressure sources, saving time
and increasing productivity.
Your Input
Our membership is growing and so should the
content of this newsletter. Your input is needed and
appreciated for a better newsletter.
Following is our current guidelines for your input:
• Inputs should be no more than 300 words
• Inputs should be in Microsoft Word format
• Inputs should exclude any direct sales pitch
(we don’t want to turn this into a billboard)
Parametric Model Definition • Inputs can include a link to send interested
The ALE/FSI Module quickly sets up LS-DYNA ALE readers to the full story (pitch)
meshes with multiple zones and blast sources • Inputs can include one or two small images
using a simple parametric model definition. Users
have complete control over mesh density and Email us at: cfdlinkd@gmail.com
blast source shapes.

3. LinkedIn CFD CFdesign v10 Focuses on
cfdlinked@gmail.com
the User Experience
Group Manager
Kamran Fouladi
The new release of the upfront CFD solution from
fouladi@infomec.cc
Blue Ridge Numerics, improves first-time user
experience, extends flow and thermal capabilities
Phone: and supports high-performance computing.
610-291-6642 This major release is not only a complete overhaul of
the already easy to use user interface, but also
E-Mail: focuses on eliminating barriers for the first time and
CFDlinked@gmail.com casual user.
A list of improvements include…
Past issues 1. Deeper CAD Connectivity
2. Geometry tools, such as, Interactive Void
Filling & External Volume Creation
Past issues of this newsletter can be 3. Improved automatic mesh generation,
accessed at: 4. An innovative way to increase Convection
http://www.infomec.cc/news.htm analysis computation
5. Improved results visualization
6. CFD-tv – on demand videos to answer
common questions
7. An new Updated User Forum
8. A new Cavitation Model
9. Thermal Electric Cooler (TEC) model
10. High Performance Computing capability
More information can be found here.