tool· draft
OpenFOAM
Free, open-source computational fluid dynamics software, maintained in two lines by OpenCFD Ltd and by the OpenFOAM Foundation; used for flow, turbulence, heat and multiphase problems across engineering and science.
OpenFOAM is a general-purpose computational fluid dynamics code. Two organisations distribute it under the same name: OpenCFD Ltd, a subsidiary of Keysight, which says it has developed OpenFOAM since 2004 and publishes releases every June and December; and the OpenFOAM Foundation, a not-for-profit that owns the copyright of its line and distributes code produced by CFD Direct.
Both sites describe a user base across most of engineering and science, from chemical and process work to civil, mechanical and environmental problems, and the Foundation notes growing use in clean-energy research such as renewables, batteries and carbon capture. In a digital-twin setting it is the kind of solver used for detailed wave, current or airflow studies around a site.
It is free software under the GNU General Public Licence v3, installed on Linux, macOS or Windows or built from source. Both organisations sell support, training and development services around it.
Status: operational, in long-term maintenance.
- form
- open-source simulation code
- homepage
- https://www.openfoam.com/
- licence
- GPL v3
- cost
- free
used by
-
Caribbean project testing whether dense restored stands of elkhorn coral reduce wave energy and sediment movement along coasts, with sites in Jamaica, Barbados and Antigua & Barbuda; funded by the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund.
Tags: cfd, fluid dynamics, open source, simulation, waves