CFD Review  
Serving the CFD Community with News, Articles, and Discussion
 
CFD Review

User Preferences
Site Sponsorship
Headline Feeds
Mobile Edition
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
twitter

Submit a CFD Story

Site Sponsors
The Choice for CFD Meshing
Azore CFD
CFD Review

Tell a Friend
Help this site to grow by sending a friend an invitation to visit this site.

CFD News by Email
Did you know that you can get today's CFD Review headlines mailed to your inbox? Just log in and select Email Headlines Each Night on your User Preferences page.

 
ANSYS Providing CFX to X-Prize Rocket Team
Posted Sat March 27, 2004 @11:02AM
Print version Email story Tweet story
News ANSYS is providing its CFX software to the da Vinci Project, a Canadian entrant in the $10 million X PRIZE competition. The X PRIZE is designed to jumpstart the space tourism industry through competition among the most talented entrepreneurs and rocket experts in the world.

The da Vinci Project recently implemented CFX, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, to aid in the development of processes involving fluid flow, heat transfer and chemical reaction. Also added from the ANSYS software suite was ANSYS ICEM CFD, a post-processing tool to help streamline product development.


Sponsor CFD Review

ANSYS first partnered with the Canadian team in 2002, offering a broad- range of structural simulation software tools that have helped the da Vinci Project in the development of the first privately funded, reusable spacecraft. These applications are essential tools used to substantially minimize costs and improve time-to-market for designers and engineers, and are still used by the da Vinci Project today, complementing the two new ANSYS additions.

"The da Vinci team has relied on ANSYS software for over a year now, so we were thrilled to implement the CFX and ANSYS ICEM CFD products," said Brian Feeney, team leader and pilot at the da Vinci Project. "With these additions, our team is working with some of the most comprehensive and advanced simulation tools available, enabling us to build our spacecraft from design to final-stage testing and performance validation. CFX is currently helping us evaluate external aerodynamics of the vehicle at subsonic and super-sonic speeds and the internal heat transfer in the fuel tanks and storage systems. Our engineers can do this all right from their desktops -- this provides us with a major edge on the competition."

The da Vinci Project began development of its vehicle shortly after the X PRIZE was announced in 1996, and the team officially entered the competition in 2000. To date, there have been two unmanned flight tests of the full-scale rocket propulsion system and flight qualification of the flight guidance system. Detailed engineering and fabrication of the manned rocket is ongoing. Flight-testing of the manned rocket is targeted for later this year.

"With our CFX foundation and skilled team in Waterloo, Canada, we were thrilled to become a part of the da Vinci project," said Chris Reid, vice president and general manager, fluids business unit at ANSYS, Inc. "Knowing that we're able to provide the CFD tools to help support this remarkable project is important to ANSYS CFX, as well as ANSYS as a whole because it represents much of what we stand for and builds upon the foundation that we've developed as a Canadian technology leader."

To win the $10 million X PRIZE, a spacecraft must be privately financed and constructed with the ability to fly three people into space. It also must be reusable, flying twice within a two-week period. The competition's goal, endorsed by leading space and aviation organizations around the world, is to jumpstart the commercialization of space, including space tourism. "ANSYS has felt a strong connection with the da Vinci Project since the beginning of our work together," said James E. Cashman III, president and chief executive officer at ANSYS, Inc. Both organizations share a similar vision -- to use technology and innovation to help make an impact on the future. "What's also exciting about this partnership is that we're able to leverage ANSYS' Canadian presence through the talented team we've acquired at CFX -- being able to provide this expanded set of tools right from CFX headquarters in Waterloo makes ANSYS' contribution to help build this generation of spacecraft uniquely special."

[ Post Comment ]

Improving the Performance of Asphalt Plant Components | Fluent Help Needed  >

 

 
CFD Review Login
User name:

Password:

Create an Account

Related Links
  • ANSYS CFX
  • da Vinci Project
  • ICEM CFD
  • providing
  • X PRIZE
  • More on ANSYS CFX
  • Also by nwyman
  • This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

    You will be the victim of a bizarre joke. All content except comments
    ©2022, Viable Computing.

    [ home | submit story | search | polls | faq | preferences | privacy | terms of service | rss  ]