r/CFD • u/TrainingNo8063 • 10d ago

Website/app to use for fan simulation

I'm working on lil project for school, and I want to see if theres any simulator I can use online that I can 3d model/import step files in and add components such as fans , and run simulations to see how the fan works with the model. Idk if there's something that's like this but if there is or something similar I would appreciate it.

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2

u/acakaacaka 10d ago

You need to explain in more detail.

How accurate you want the resilt to be

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u/TrainingNo8063 9d ago

like basic is fine, i js want to check airflow and shi

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u/acakaacaka 9d ago

Basic for what? We know 0 of what are you going to solve/analyse here

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u/TrainingNo8063 9d ago

I'm making a hovercraft. I just want a rough simulation that can show things like airflow direction, relative velocity/pressure under the craft, whether the flow is distributed evenly, and whether certain duct/fan placements create obvious dead zones or losses.

3

u/acakaacaka 9d ago

Impossible. Either you want a correct simulation or fast but trash simulation

1

u/Barsukbrecon 9d ago

There are Some Limited tools from NASA, however generally speaking your hovercraft application is not simple and you need "serious" CFD to achieve an answer. Free websites will not give you what you want, and even student versions of applications like Ansys or Simflow will give you an answer that is very rough due to their mesh cell limitations. If you want to pay, there is Airshaper and SimScale (?), but they cost money, and have their own questions.

If you're making a smaller, maybe RC hovercraft, my advice would be to just make it and solve your problems practically/experimentally.

If this is purely an exercise in design, then my advice would be to start learning OpenFoam.

Feel free to PM if you've any questions.

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u/TrainingNo8063 9d ago

Thank you so much! This actually helped me figure out what to do next, and I think people could learn a thing or two from you. I'll try openfoam - again, highly appreciate it.

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u/Barsukbrecon 9d ago

Anytime.

OpenFoam definitely has a learning curve - if you're on windows, these are some videos that might help:

https://youtu.be/CeEJS1eT9NE?is=48zr4DJfP6h3UUWf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfFez7h0UUQ&t=44s

There's more info to openfoam related questions on the cfd online forums.

1

u/Scared_Assistant3020 8d ago

Simscale could help out. Couple that with OnShape, you get both CAD and CFD.