Design Methods company won the 2016 Hall of Fame world competition in the session Corporate thanks to a groundbreaking application concerning the optimization of A-class catamaran that was accomplished through the coupled use of ANSYS Fluent and RBF Morph.

In specific, a CFD sail analysis with an analytical velocity prediction program (VPP) was tuned against multiphase CFD analysis of the hull in order to get the optimal shape.

Application Summary

Sail design is a complex aerodynamic problem.

Apart from the capability to accurately predict sail performance, the numerical design tool must adjust to sailing conditions related to hull performance.

A sail shape optimization procedure coupling ANSYS Fluent for aerodynamic analysis to an analytical velocity prediction program led to the successful design of an A-class catamaran sail.