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There’s a dichotomy to designing multi-purpose engines that Fuji Heavy Industries knows well: innovative design is essential for differentiating the product, but it must always be a slave to functionality and cost. Rather than lament that basic truth, Fuji is using CFdesign software from Blue Ridge Numerics to embrace it.
“Without originality, differentiation is not possible,” says Masanori Noguchi, a design engineer in the development section of Fuji Heavy Industries. “At the same time, if product development is not based on a reasonable concept that includes the consideration for cost, it will not result in a marketable item.”
According to Noguchi, designing general-purpose engines can be a solitary task, often managed from concept to completion by a single person. Because it does not require CFD expertise or experience, CFdesign enables designers to both create and validate their work.
“CFdesign results in the designer being confident of his or her ability to approach design analysis at a higher level,” says Noguchi.
Noguchi says that there is “conflict” within almost every design decision – issues such as overall appearance vs. performance, the effect of the body structure on the engine’s intake and exhaust systems, and positioning of ports in relation to the overall product.
CFdesign is an ideal tool for solving these types of conflicts early in the design process, helping Fuji balance style and performance, optimize the use of materials, and make rational judgments based on easy-to-understand simulations.
Noguchi gives an example: “The issue of engine output can often be clearly conveyed by showing the results of an actual flow and thermal analysis situation to those in charge of body design, so that they can be convinced of the need for change. So, CFdesign is a weapon, so to speak, that is available for the engine design team to employ.”
For more on Fuji’s use of CFdesign, visit:
http://www.cfdesign.com/Customer-Briefs/Fuji.aspx
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