Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

CFDTool VS OpenFOAM

Compare CFDTool VS OpenFOAM and see what are their differences

CFDTool logo CFDTool

An Easy to Use MATLAB Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD Simulation GUI Toolbox

OpenFOAM logo OpenFOAM

OpenFOAM® - Official home of The Open Source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Toolbox.
  • CFDTool Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-20
  • OpenFOAM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-02

CFDTool features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    CFDTool offers a highly intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it accessible to both beginners and experienced users without requiring extensive CFD knowledge.
  • Integrated with MATLAB
    The integration with MATLAB allows users to leverage powerful MATLAB capabilities for pre-processing, post-processing, and further analysis, enhancing productivity and broadening application scope.
  • Multiphysics Simulation
    CFDTool supports multiphysics simulations, which enables users to solve coupled heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and structural mechanics problems in a single environment.
  • Built-in Geometry and Mesh Generation
    The tool comes with built-in features for geometry creation and mesh generation, simplifying the setup of simulation models and reducing preparation time.
  • Extensive Documentation and Tutorials
    Extensive documentation along with tutorials and examples are available which can help users to quickly learn how to use the software and understand best practices.

Possible disadvantages of CFDTool

  • Limited Standalone Functionality
    CFDTool heavily relies on MATLAB, meaning users must have an appropriate MATLAB license, which could limit standalone use and increase costs.
  • Performance for Complex Simulations
    For highly complex simulations and large-scale problems, CFDTool might not perform as efficiently compared to more specialized CFD software packages.
  • Feature Limitations
    Although capable of handling a variety of simulations, it may not offer the depth of features for extremely specialized CFD tasks when compared to industry-standard solutions.
  • Cost
    While relatively affordable, the costs associated with necessary MATLAB licenses can make it a less attractive option for users looking for completely standalone and cheaper alternatives.

OpenFOAM features and specs

  • Open Source
    OpenFOAM is free to use and its source code is openly available under the GPL license, allowing for extensive customization and transparency in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations.
  • Extensibility
    Users can extend and modify the functionality of OpenFOAM to suit specific needs or integrate new algorithms, making it highly adaptable to various projects and research requirements.
  • Community and Support
    A robust community of users and developers contributes to forums, documentation, and collaboration, providing substantial peer support and shared knowledge.
  • Versatility
    OpenFOAM supports a wide range of physical models and simulation types, from simple incompressible flow to complex multiphase flows and chemical reactions, making it suitable for diverse applications.
  • Parallel Computing
    Optimized for parallel processing, OpenFOAM can run efficiently on high-performance computing systems, thereby handling large-scale simulations effectively.

Possible disadvantages of OpenFOAM

  • Steep Learning Curve
    OpenFOAM requires a significant investment of time to learn and master, as it involves understanding complex physics, programming concepts, and software-specific syntaxes.
  • Limited GUI
    Unlike some commercial CFD software, OpenFOAM lacks a sophisticated graphical user interface (GUI), necessitating users to rely on command-line input and scripting for setup and execution of simulations.
  • Documentation Quality
    Although community-driven, the documentation can sometimes be incomplete or outdated, making it challenging for new users to find reliable and up-to-date instructions and tutorials.
  • Performance Variation
    Performance and stability can vary depending on the specific simulation setup and hardware used, which may require users to conduct extensive testing and optimization.
  • Dependency Management
    Installing and maintaining OpenFOAM and its dependencies can be complex, often requiring specific versions of libraries and compilers to ensure compatibility and optimal performance.

CFDTool videos

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OpenFOAM videos

What is OpenFoam? | Skill-Lync

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to run your first simulation in OpenFOAM® - Part 1 - tutorial
  • Tutorial - CFD tutorial for beginners | What is OpenFOAM? | SKILL-LYNC

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to CFDTool and OpenFOAM)
Numerical Computation
33 33%
67% 67
Technical Computing
30 30%
70% 70
Simulation Software
43 43%
57% 57
CFD
38 38%
62% 62

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, OpenFOAM seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 19 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

CFDTool mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of CFDTool yet. Tracking of CFDTool recommendations started around Mar 2021.

OpenFOAM mentions (19)

  • OpenFOAM on Debian 12
    In openfoam.org, there is not compiled binaries for Debian (any version). So one should install it using docker (I prefer to do not use it) or by compiling the code from the source. I consider compiling from source, but I do prefer binaries. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Please help me get running OpenFOAM
    Hello I am a mechanical engineering student in my last year. So I made the wisest decision to learn OpenFOAM. But there is the catch. I have no idea how to use Linux or how to emulate Linux on Windows 10. I found a lot of videos on Youtube how to download an start OpenFOAM but every one of them was using different methods each time so I got confused. Can anyone please help or direct me? Thank you for your answers... Source: about 2 years ago
  • Step by Step (Written not Video) Tutorial for FEM with Air
    As far as air flow simulation, I got slightly farther with Open Foam than I did in FreeCAD directly. Still, I got in way over my skill level and stopped before getting anything useful. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Open source FEA tools instead of ANSYS Workbench and APDL
    There are two versions of openfoam, one closed source (which is the one I linked to in my original comment, my apologies about that) and the open source version. But what you're describing makes it sound like fenics might be your best option. Source: over 2 years ago
  • command not found and looping
    I suggest you install per the instructions at openfoam.com or openfoam.org instead of using apt. Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing CFDTool and OpenFOAM, you can also consider the following products

ANSYS Fluent - ANSYS engineering simulation and 3D design software delivers product modeling solutions with unmatched scalability and a comprehensive multiphysics foundation.

Simscale CFD - SimScale CFD is a cloud-based leading CAE platform that offers access to CFD, FEA, and thermodynamics simulation capabilities 100% via a standard web browser.

MATLAB - A high-level language and interactive environment for numerical computation, visualization, and programming

Autodesk Fluid Flow - Autodesk Fluid Flow is an industry-leading fluid dynamics software that helps to enhance product performance and reliability.

Wolfram Mathematica - Mathematica has characterized the cutting edge in specialized processing—and gave the chief calculation environment to a large number of pioneers, instructors, understudies, and others around the globe.

FEATool Multiphysics - FEATool Multiphysics is a fully integrated Finite Element FEM CAE simulation toolbox for Matlab.