The relationship between the two companies began back in 1993 under the Benetton F1 team, and continued after the Renault take over in 2000. FLUENT CFD software has played a key role in the aerodynamic design and development of the R24, one of the most competitive cars in the 2004 F1 World Championship.

FLUENT will work alongside the Renault F1 Team on two fronts, developing the R24 and its successors but also profiting from the relationship by using this cutting-edge environment to drive development of the FLUENT CFD software. The agreement will also see the Renault F1 Team increase the number of licences it holds for FLUENT CFD, thus enhancing the team’s CFD capacity.

AMD has announced that Sauber Petronas will implement a server cluster based on the AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture. The cluster is designed to deliver increased performance for the Swiss Formula One team as part of their aerodynamics research and development efforts. Sauber selected AMD Opteron processor-based solutions to help achieve greater progress particularly in the field of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), a critical factor complementing Sauber’s aerodynamics and wind tunnel testing.

“The entire field of aerodynamics and CFD is becoming increasingly important in Formula One, that’s why it’s crucial to have the right technology partners,” said Peter Sauber, team principal for Sauber Petronas.

When Sauber Petronas decided to upgrade their computing capabilities in order to push the limits of their computer-aided research and performance, they carefully evaluated the 32-bit and 64-bit solutions available. Sauber’s technology team determined that only the AMD Opteron processor met their technical requirements, by delivering the best overall 32-bit performance combined with the power of 64-bit computing.

More than a simple facelift, ANSYS ICEM CFD 5.0 represents a dramatic redesign for the market leader in CFD mesh generation. For new users, ICEM CFD 5.0's intuitive user interface dramatically shortens the learning curve by providing a more streamlined meshing process, context sensitive help and a common interface for all ANSYS ICEM CFD meshers. New at Release 5.0 is the integration of the hex meshing and post-processing modules. The integration provides a more streamlined user experience, while maintaining the large amount of control desired by users. Existing users will benefit from the new meshing technology in a single, unified environment for shell, tet, prism, hex and hybrid meshes. Productivity improvements include: additional display options, Spaceball support and hotkeys to further enhance the usability for power-users.

CFD plays a key role in modern Formula 1, in the modelling of aerodynamic components and their performance, but also in engine development through advanced in-cylinder simulation. The Renault F1 Team’s design engineers use the CD adapco Group’s CFD code STAR-CD and its associated expert system tool es-aero as an integral part of their aerodynamic development, while in the engine field, the CD adapco Group’s tool es-ice is used for designing the combustion system, accelerating the design process by eliminating costly prototyping and testing phases.

The Renault F1 Team’s Technical Director Bob Bell commented: “CFD technology plays a fundamental role in the design and development of a modern F1 car. The ability to simulate the behaviour and performance of our designs quickly and accurately has a direct influence on our on-track performance. We are pleased to continue our relationship with CD adapco, an acknowledged leader in this field.”

The article further states that "after examining the software, engineers will find the CFD is easy to use thanks to a close link with CAD software and a wizard that speeds model setup".

Finally, the article discusses the concept of goal based simulations which "let users assign a sort of digital sensor to a component or surface of interest".