I admire mechanical engineers. I really mean it. If the world ever implodes, then I want to be hanging out with you guys. You know how to build and fix things. I on the other hand can probably contribute to the betterment of future society by picking berries (so long as I don’t have to deal with any creepy crawlies) or by spreading good cheer – I can’t help it I’ve got a sunny disposition (that … Read More
Tags: Design Engineer, FloEFD, CFD
Smoke, Smoke, Everywhere?
This has the possibility to be my most unpopular blog ever, which I’m ok with. The topic of this blog is smoking, specifically the second hand kind. Let me start by saying I am not a smoker. I don’t care for the smell, and am happy that it is not allowed in most building, Vegas casino’s being the main exception. My mom was for a long time though, and in general it seems … Read More
Tags: Smoke, parts per million, CFD, Computational Fluid Dynamics, California, isosurfaces, Park, Concentration, FloEFD
A virtual version of one of the MGC data center representing one of the configurations tested. Image courtesy of Mentor Graphics.
Over the weekend I realized I have become English. No, I haven’t picked up the accent. Nor do I eat Marmite. Actually eating Marmite can be relegated to one of those things I’d never do. Never, ever. So why have I become English? I tend to discuss the weather and temperature … Read More
The UK government has a policy for all year 10 or year 11 students to undertake a week’s work experience. Last week we welcomed a 15 year old student to the Mentor office where the FloTHERM and FloVENT software development is done. The student was tasked with simulating the air flow and temperature distribution in the office space using FloVENT. Using our own software to model our own offices … Read More
Tags: Electronics Cooling, FloVENT, CFD, HVAC, thermal comfort
Back in December I heard something on the radio that made me both sad and happy at the same time. It turns out that the last neon sign in Piccadilly Square in London was to be turned off by the end of the year. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of seeing London at night, Piccadilly Sq is a sight to behold (for a picture click here ) The neon sign in question had been in use since 1987 and … Read More
Tags: FloEFD, CFD, Thermal Characterization, T3ster
‘Bits stuck onto other bits’, a succinct definition of an electronic product, if not a product that contains electronics. Soldering is the method of choice for getting the components to attach to the pcb, the layered board that contains the metallic traces connecting component pins to other component pins. Rivets, welds, screws or bolts for the chassis, some form of gluing or sticky adhesion … Read More
Tags: Electronics Cooling, CFD, thermal chokepoint, T3ster, thermal bottleneck
It’s that time of the year, when the weather turns cold and people start to think about winterizing their home to reduce heating costs. Usually it takes the first winter heating bill to provide the motivation to undertake this task. With this in mind, I would like to talk about pipe insulation. Specifically, the foam wrap insulation you can find at any hardware store (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202318552/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053)
In … Read More
Tags: FloEFD, Heat Transfer, CFD, pipe, Home Improvement, insulation
Have you ever had one of those days where it would have been better to have stayed in bed with the duvet pulled up firmly above your head? I’m sure most of us have had those kinds of days. Last week I was suffering from this malaise. I curbed the front wheel of our new car on the way to work, I dropped my breakfast bagel after taking the first bite (and yes a dropped bagel exhibits the same behavior … Read More
My colleague Ed and I were marvelling the other day at the CPU cooling unit from one of our training desktop PCs undergoing a repair. “What, all that just for that!?”. The CPU itself was but a small square wafer compared to the behemoth that was the ducted fan and heatsink with integral heatpipes mounted on top of it. Whereas transistor sizes are measured in nanometres cooling systems can … Read More
Tags: CPU cooling, Electronics Cooling, CFD, PC cooling, Heatsink
For the past few months I’ve been working behind the scenes on a very exciting project. I’ve been working with the good folks at the Aberdeen Group, a leading Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) industry consulting and research organization, to better understand the ROI of using simulation -- specifically CFD. Of course as a leading developer of CFD software we inherently understand the value of simulation … Read More
Tags: CFD, ROI, Concurrent CFD
Jim Martens
John Day
J VanDomelen
Michael Ford
Dennis Brophy
Mike Jensen
Colin Walls
Tom Fitzpatrick
Max Clark
Patrick Carrier
Mark Laing
Chris Hallinan
Christopher Hallinan
Bernard Sutton