As part of the CFX system of integrated software for turbomachinery applications which includes CFX-5(tm), CFX-TASCflow(tm) and CFX-BladeGen(tm), earlier versions of CFX-TurboGrid serves more than 250 users worldwide in more than 150 companies. Grid generation is a key element in CFD analysis, particularly in the exacting turbomachinery field. High-quality grids are required to generate the accurate results needed to compare performance simulation of multiple designs. In industries where meeting rigorous specifications is paramount and small increases in efficiency can lead to millions of dollars profit, CFX-TurboGrid is a software tool that provides fast turnaround of the grid-generation process to ensure maximum utility from the CFD analysis process.

The latest version of CFX-TurboGrid can automatically create a customized mesh topology for the blade geometry being studied - pre-defined templates are not required. This topology is propagated to the hub and shroud allowing CFX-TurboGrid to generate a consistent high-quality hexahedral element mesh. As in previous versions, geometry can be imported using formats familiar to blade designers, and meshes can be exported for use with other products in the CFX software system, including CFX-5.

"We have used CFX-TurboGrid at PCA Engineers for many years due to its ability to deliver good meshes quickly," states Dr. Chris Robinson of PCA Engineers. "This allows us to provide our customers, including many of the most prominent companies in the turbomachinery industry, with fast turnaround and accurate results. We are impressed by the overall feel of the new user interface of CFX-TurboGrid, as well as its consistency with the emerging generation of CFX products. The high degree of automation in the latest version will be very beneficial to new users."

"Providing class-leading special purpose tools for our turbomachinery customers has been a strategic goal of CFX for many years," commented Dr. Michael Raw, vice president of CFX product development. "In CFX-TurboGrid 2.1 several new developments converge. Firstly, the automation of topology generation allows the user to tackle a wider variety of geometries and applications than previously. Secondly, we have relied on the ANSYS ICEM CFD unit, for several key geometry and meshing functions to leverage their technology and ours. Finally, the new user interface paradigm is modern, fully supported on all common engineering platforms (including Linux and Windows XP), and consistent with the style of the CFX-5 pre- and post-processing. Users will find moving between these products very seamless."