OpenFOAM beginner core courses from Udemy

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is an advanced tools to solve complex fluid dynamic and heat transfer equations using numerical method. OpenFOAM is an open-source and free to use CFD solver with the largest community in the world. Despite its powerful capability, its major drawback is the step learning process. By making this course, I hope I can reduce the effort of new learners to start learning using this amazing and powerful tool.

In this course, you will get hands-on experience using OpenFOAM following the core theories related to the setting used in the simulation simply and intuitively, so you can use it for your applications.

You don't have to have basic LINUX or other programming experience before this course; we will explain some basic useful LINUX commands only related to the operation of OpenFOAM, and some efficient programming tricks will be also explained during the course.

This course will be separated into five parts (1) introduction, (2) core knowledge, (3) useful cases, (4) some advanced theories, and (5) More "realistic" applications.

with the focus on the basic "tutorial" case folder, meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, geometry editing using Blender, post-processing, turbulent modeling, scheme and algorithm theory, and some "real-world" workflow.

What's inside

Learning objectives

Understand the instalation of openfoam
Able to utilise existing template folder to new case

Have a core understanding of meshing, boundary conditions, and computational scheme
Learn how to use code for efficient programming

Understand the instalation of openfoam
Able to utilise existing template folder to new case
Have a core understanding of meshing, boundary conditions, and computational scheme
Learn how to use code for efficient programming

Syllabus

Introduction

Course Structure

Why OpenFOAM

OpenFOAM Installation (Windows via WSL: openfoam.com)

Traffic lights

Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Provides hands-on experience with OpenFOAM, which allows learners to apply core theories to simulations in a practical and intuitive manner

Explains basic, useful LINUX commands and efficient programming tricks, which are essential for operating OpenFOAM effectively

Covers meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, which are essential techniques for setting up accurate CFD simulations

Includes geometry editing using Blender, which is useful for creating and modifying complex geometries for CFD simulations

Requires installation of OpenFOAM via WSL on Windows or Docker on MacOS, which may require some technical proficiency

Explores turbulence modeling with RANS and LES, which are fundamental approaches for simulating turbulent flows in engineering applications

Reviews summary

Practical beginner's guide to openfoam

According to students, this course offers a solid introduction to OpenFOAM, focusing on practical, hands-on experience. Learners appreciate the coverage of essential tools like blockMesh and ParaView, finding it helpful for getting started with complex CFD simulations. However, some note a steep learning curve, particularly if lacking prior experience with Linux or CFD fundamentals. While effective for core concepts, reviews suggest the course may not go deep enough on advanced topics like snappyHexMesh for all users. Overall, it's seen as a valuable first step into the world of OpenFOAM.

Covers key tools like blockMesh and ParaView.

"The sections on blockMesh and ParaView were very useful."

"Appreciated the focus on blockMesh grading and post-processing with ParaView."

"Learned exactly how to use the basic tools needed for simulations."

"Good coverage of the fundamental meshing tool, blockMesh."

Offers a solid foundation for practical application.

"This course provides a really good hands-on approach to learning OpenFOAM."

"Excellent starting point for anyone wanting to get into CFD using OpenFOAM."

"I learned practical steps to set up and run my first simulations."

"Helped me get a solid grasp of the workflow using blockMesh and ParaView."

Doesn't cover advanced topics in great detail.

"SnappyHexMesh section could be expanded upon, felt a bit rushed."

"Doesn't delve deeply into turbulence models or boundary conditions theory."

"Good for core concepts but not enough detail for complex real-world problems."

"Provides an overview but for true understanding, more study is needed."

Some prior knowledge is highly recommended.

"Would be easier if you have basic understanding of CFD concepts."

"Definitely need some comfort with Linux command line."

"Don't go into this completely blind on Linux or you'll struggle."

"Assumes a certain level of technical literacy that true beginners might lack."

Can be challenging, especially for absolute beginners.

"The course is quite challenging, definitely a steep learning curve for me."

"Requires some prior knowledge, it's not for someone completely new to computing or physics."

"I struggled initially as a complete beginner, had to supplementary resources."

"Pacing might be a bit fast if you have zero background in Linux or CFD."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in OpenFOAM beginner core courses with these activities:

Review Basic Fluid Dynamics

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Strengthen your understanding of fluid dynamics principles. This will provide a solid foundation for understanding the more complex CFD concepts in OpenFOAM.

Browse courses on Fluid Dynamics

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Review textbook chapters on fluid properties and behavior.
Work through example problems related to fluid flow.
Watch introductory videos on fluid dynamics concepts.

Practice Basic Linux Commands

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Familiarize yourself with essential Linux commands. This will make navigating the OpenFOAM environment and running simulations much easier.

Browse courses on Linux Command Line

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Complete an online tutorial on basic Linux commands.
Practice using commands like 'cd', 'ls', 'mkdir', 'rm', and 'cp'.
Create a simple bash script to automate a task.

Read 'The Finite Volume Method in Computational Fluid Dynamics'

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Gain a deeper understanding of the numerical methods used in OpenFOAM. This book will help you understand how OpenFOAM solves fluid dynamics equations.

View The Finite Volume Method in Computational Fluid... on Amazon

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Read the chapters on discretization schemes and boundary conditions.
Work through the example problems in the book.
Compare the methods described in the book to those used in OpenFOAM.

Four other activities

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Follow OpenFOAM Tutorial Cases

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Work through the official OpenFOAM tutorial cases. This will provide hands-on experience with setting up and running simulations.

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Select a tutorial case relevant to your interests.
Follow the instructions in the tutorial to set up and run the simulation.
Analyze the results and compare them to the expected outcome.

Simulate Flow Around a Simple Object

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Apply your OpenFOAM knowledge to a practical problem. This project will solidify your understanding of meshing, boundary conditions, and solver settings.

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Choose a simple object, such as a sphere or cube.
Create a mesh around the object using blockMesh or snappyHexMesh.
Set up the boundary conditions and solver settings in OpenFOAM.
Run the simulation and analyze the results.

Document Your OpenFOAM Project

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Reinforce your learning by documenting your OpenFOAM project. This will help you organize your thoughts and identify areas where you need more understanding.

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Write a report describing your project setup and results.
Include screenshots of your mesh and simulation results.
Explain the choices you made in setting up the simulation.

Contribute to the OpenFOAM Community

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Deepen your understanding of OpenFOAM by contributing to the open-source community. This could involve reporting bugs, writing documentation, or contributing code.

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Explore the OpenFOAM bug tracker and identify a bug to fix.
Write a patch to fix the bug and submit it to the OpenFOAM developers.
Contribute to the OpenFOAM documentation by writing a tutorial or improving an existing page.

Career center

Learners who complete OpenFOAM beginner core courses will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer

The Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer utilizes software to simulate fluid flow and heat transfer, optimizing designs and solving engineering problems. If you want to become a Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer, this course is designed to reduce the effort of learning the powerful OpenFOAM tool. It offers hands-on experience, core theories, and covers meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh. The course explores real-world workflows, turbulence modeling, and computational schemes, all valuable for a CFD Engineer. This course explains basic but useful LINUX commands relevant to OpenFOAM operations, and efficient programming tricks.

See salaries and explore the career path for Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer

CFD Consultant

A consultant working in Computational Fluid Dynamics advises clients on how to best model or simulate systems. This course, focusing on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with OpenFOAM, is especially helpful as the tool is open source. It provides hands-on experience, core theories, and covers meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, post-processing, real-world workflows, turbulence modeling, and computational schemes, all valuable for a CFD Consultant. This course also discusses useful LINUX commands relevant to OpenFOAM operations.

See salaries and explore the career path for CFD Consultant

Fluid Mechanics Engineer

Fluid Mechanics Engineers analyze and solve problems involving the behavior of fluids. This course is centered around Computational Fluid Dynamics using OpenFOAM, offering practical experience with this open-source CFD solver. As a Fluid Mechanics Engineer, this course may improve your understanding of meshing, boundary conditions, and computational schemes to get hands-on experience. The course includes useful cases and advanced theories relevant to various fluid mechanics applications, helping those who take it gain expertise.

See salaries and explore the career path for Fluid Mechanics Engineer

Thermal Engineer

A Thermal Engineer focuses on heat transfer and thermodynamics in various engineering applications. This course, emphasizing Computational Fluid Dynamics through OpenFOAM, provides a solid foundation in simulating heat transfer phenomena. For Thermal Engineers, the course's coverage of meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, geometry editing, and post-processing is useful. This course offers practical experience with core theories, useful examples, and advanced theories, all pertinent to thermal engineering, and helps reduce the effort of learning OpenFOAM.

See salaries and explore the career path for Thermal Engineer

Simulation Engineer

A Simulation Engineer develops and implements computer models to simulate physical systems and processes. This course offers hands-on experience using OpenFOAM, covering fundamental aspects such as meshing with blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, geometry editing using Blender, and post-processing techniques. The course's focus on core knowledge, useful cases, and advanced theories, including boundary conditions and computational schemes, helps build a strong foundation for a Simulation Engineer. If you want to become a simulation engineer, understanding turbulence modeling, as covered in this course, is crucial for accurate simulations.

See salaries and explore the career path for Simulation Engineer

Hydraulic Engineer

Hydraulic Engineers design systems that involve the movement and control of fluids, especially water. This course, focusing on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with OpenFOAM, will be helpful for simulating water flow in various applications. For Hydraulic Engineers, the course's content on meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, boundary conditions, and turbulence modeling will allow them to apply these in many practical cases. This course's lessons are useful for gaining proficiency in hydraulic simulations.

See salaries and explore the career path for Hydraulic Engineer

Automotive Engineer

Automotive Engineers design and develop vehicles, and their work can benefit from fluid dynamics simulations. This course, focusing on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with OpenFOAM, provides tools for simulating airflow around vehicles and within engine components. For an Automotive Engineer, the course's coverage of meshing, turbulence modeling, and boundary conditions are useful in many automotive applications. The course may help an automotive engineer apply these techniques to optimize vehicle design and performance.

See salaries and explore the career path for Automotive Engineer

HVAC Engineer

HVAC Engineers are responsible for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in buildings. This course focuses on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with OpenFOAM, and may be helpful for simulating airflow and heat transfer within buildings of all kinds. For an HVAC Engineer, the course's coverage of meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, boundary conditions, and turbulence modeling, is crucial. The course focuses on core knowledge, useful examples, and some advanced theories which can be applied directly to HVAC design and optimization.

See salaries and explore the career path for HVAC Engineer

Aerospace Engineer

Aerospace Engineers design and test aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles. This course, with its focus on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and OpenFOAM, offers practical experience in simulating airflows and aerodynamic phenomena. For an Aerospace Engineer, understanding meshing, boundary conditions, turbulence modeling, and computational schemes is very helpful. The course may also cover aspects of geometry editing using Blender. This course covers real-world workflow.

See salaries and explore the career path for Aerospace Engineer

Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical Engineers design, develop, and test mechanical devices and systems. This course, focusing on Computational Fluid Dynamics with OpenFOAM, provides hands-on experience in simulating fluid dynamics and heat transfer. For a Mechanical Engineer, the course covers aspects like meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, geometry editing with Blender, and understanding turbulence modeling. This course makes is easier to learn the powerful tool of OpenFOAM for the aspiring mechanical engineer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Mechanical Engineer

Energy Engineer

Energy Engineers work on improving energy efficiency and developing sustainable energy solutions. This course, centered around Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with OpenFOAM, offers valuable tools for simulating fluid flow and heat transfer in energy systems. For an Energy Engineer, the course covers meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh; the application of boundary conditions will enhance. The course's focus on real-world workflows, turbulence modeling, and computational schemes relevant to energy-related applications helps build a foundation.

See salaries and explore the career path for Energy Engineer

Research Scientist

A Research Scientist conducts experiments and analyzes data to advance scientific knowledge. For research scientists working with fluid dynamics, this course may be useful through its exploration of Computational Fluid Dynamics and OpenFOAM. The course's comprehensive structure, including introductory material, core knowledge, useful cases, and advanced theories, may help a research scientist. The course may be helpful for those who want to understand meshing, boundary conditions, turbulent modeling, and computational schemes.

See salaries and explore the career path for Research Scientist

Chemical Engineer

Chemical Engineers design and operate chemical plants and processes. This course, focusing on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with OpenFOAM, may be useful for simulating fluid flow and mixing in chemical reactors and other equipment. For Chemical Engineers, the course's coverage of meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, boundary conditions, and turbulence modeling are useful. The course may help chemical engineers apply these to the optimization and design of chemical processes.

See salaries and explore the career path for Chemical Engineer

Environmental Engineer

Environmental Engineers work to protect the environment through various engineering solutions, including pollution control and resource management. For the environmental engineer, this course's focus on Computational Fluid Dynamics with OpenFOAM may be useful in their day-to-day work. This course's lessons on meshing using blockMesh and snappyHexMesh, boundary conditions, turbulence modeling, and computational schemes, are useful as a start. This course covers real-world workflows.

See salaries and explore the career path for Environmental Engineer

Product Development Engineer

Product Development Engineers are involved in designing and improving new products. This course emphasizes Computational Fluid Dynamics using OpenFOAM, offering the ability to simulate fluid behavior in designs, which is important for many product applications. For a Product Development Engineer, the course covers core knowledge, meshing, and boundary conditions to apply it in many practical cases. This course can provide insights into optimizing product performance through fluid simulations, and covers real-world workflows.

See salaries and explore the career path for Product Development Engineer

Reading list

We've selected one books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in OpenFOAM beginner core courses.

The Finite Volume Method in Computational Fluid...

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Provides a comprehensive overview of the finite volume method, which is the numerical method used by OpenFOAM. It explains the theoretical foundations and practical implementation of the method. This book is useful for understanding the underlying principles of OpenFOAM and for developing custom solvers. It is more valuable as additional reading to deepen understanding.

The Finite Volume Method in Computational Fluid...

Paperback

$$$

OpenFOAM beginner core courses

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

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Reviews summary

Practical beginner's guide to openfoam

Activities

Career center

Reading list

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