Courtesy of Wärtsilä via Reuters press release

Last week I came across a press release from Wärtsilä Corporation in which it announced the launch of “a new, highly efficient Aframax tanker design that offers solutions for current and forthcoming emissions legislation.” So what is the big deal, since there are thousands of press releases every day? What caught my attention was how the company emphasized that designing this highly efficient tanker was made possible using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), applying optimization techniques to design a hull with less resistance.

If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you know that this does not surprise me, as I am a big believer in using simulation and optimization to improve product performance. But are simulation and CFD becoming mainstream? Moving from an engineering tool to a marketing argument that can be used in a press release? Will we soon see, similar to the Intel commercials, products with the label “CFD Inside”?

Whatever the future, I found this press release to be very encouraging for all of us who are believers in the power of simulation. While we can all talk theoretically about its benefits, it is great to see an actual company designing products using simulation and mentioning it in the second paragraph of the press release that introduces this new product.

The question I now have is, “Why CFD only?” The pressure exerted on the bow of those tankers must be huge. Why not a fluid−structure simulation to make sure that the structure is optimized to resist a rogue wave those vessel sometimes encounter? Or what about an explicit simulation to simulate a crash in a harbor, making sure such an accident would not lead to major pollution?

The possibilities are limitless. If you see any press releases in which a company praises simulation, don’t hesitate to connect and send me a message on LinkedIn. Or send me a tweet (@gilleseggenspie) — because I do not spend my day reading press releases.

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