Computational fluid dynamics: A virtual prototyping tool for materials engineering

The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software in many materials processing industries has grown tremendously in recent years. Computational fluid dynamics has been widely utilized for conducting virtual experiments, prototype testing, and parametric studies. Analysis using CFD complements and reduces physical testing, and it can result in a significant time and cost savings. In this article, the application of CFD to a variety of materials-processing problems is presented, with examples taken from the steel, aluminum, glass, semiconductor, and polymer processing fields.