Nextflow offers meshless smooth-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) technology.
Nextflow Software, headquartered in Nantes, France, was founded in 2015 as a spinout from HydrOcean when that organization was acquired by Bureau Veritas (BV) to form their Marine & Offshore Solutions Group. The technology was originally developed at the Ecole Centrale Nantes (ECN) and the Bureau Veritas group continues to support research at ECN. Siemens notes that ECN and the Nexfflow team have been instrumental in moving SPH out of the labs and into the hands of working analysts.
Nextflow’s technology is interesting to Siemens because it adds meshless solving to the portfolio of CFD technology that Siemens already owns. Meshless analysis tools are easier and faster for customers to use meaning they can put analysis to work earlier in the design process. Obviously, meshless analysis gives up some accuracy in return of speed and ease of use.
Siemens plans to integrate Nextflow’s meshless CFD technology into its Xcelerator software portfolio to enable fast and automated analysis of complex applications where transient flows and motion are considerations in the design process.
Siemens says the acquisition will allow them to combine the advantages of Nextflow’s SPH with mesh-based solvers to enable new applications that would otherwise be difficult to develop. Filling in the blanks here, we’d assume they mean still easier to use but with increased accuracy.
“We are very excited to join Siemens and expand the scope of CFD simulation for our customers,” said Vincent Perrier, CEO of Nextflow Software, “Today, there is no single validation approach that fits all industrial applications. As engineering problems become more complex and design cycles are shortened, analysts must find the optimal trade-off between accuracy and computation time. Nextflow Software’s SPH solutions nicely complement the existing CFD offering in the Simcenter Portfolio to overcome challenges of complexity and long run-times.”
NextFlow has been developing tools for a wide range of industries where CFD analysis is helpful including Automotive, Aeronautics, Marin and Offshore, Industrial processes, and energy and environment. Siemens is especially interested in NextFlows applicability in automotive, aerospace, and marine.
“Our customers need to leverage sophisticated simulations earlier and more often in their design process, and this is creating a strong demand for rapid and automated CFD of dynamic gas-liquid flows,” said Jean-Claude Ercolanelli, Senior Vice President, Simulation and Test Solutions, Siemens Digital Industries Software. “Meshless technology has emerged as a leading solution to greatly reduce the setup and solving times for this class of problems, accelerating time to results and prove the behavior of products at a reduced time and cost.”
The transaction closed on June 1, 2020. Details were not disclosed.
