Open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics Course

Welcome to Open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics Course

Description: Interaction between fluid and a human-made structure or device is design critical in a wide range of engineering disciplines. When designing bridges, cars, wind turbines and when optimizing electronics cooling, ship hulls etc. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software is becoming an ever more important design tool. CFD enables faster design loop iteration by detailed flow analysis in or around a proposed design in a virtual environment.

Why learn Open FOAM®?

This course is an introduction to CFD using Open FOAM which is the most widely used open source toolkit for CFD. The fact that Open FOAM is open source makes it highly versatile allowing you to modify any aspect of the code to his/her needs and set up fully automated workflows. While large scale simulations with commercial CFD software can be extremely expensive due to license fees, Open FOAM® can be run on massively parallel HPC’s at no additional cost.

Including learning objectives: By the end of the course the participant will know how to setup and simulate various fluid flow problems using the open-source software Open FOAM. They will know how to navigate the code and adapt it for various purposes and develop their own solvers for specific type of problems they may encounter during their PhD studies.

Prerequisites: 

• Basic fluid dynamics
• Basic understanding of programming (C++, Bash and Python)
• Basic understanding of Linux systems

Prior to course commencement, material will be sent out to participants to ensure all are on the same level with regards to the above three prerequisites.

Learning objectives: By the end of the course the participant will know how to setup and simulate various fluid flow problems using the open-source software Open FOAM. They will know how to navigate the code and adapt it for various purposes and develop their own solvers for specific type of problems they may encounter during their PhD studies. 

Form of evaluation: Mini project

Organizer: Associate Professor, Jakob Hærvig, jah@energy.aau.dk

Lecturers: Associate Professor, Jakob Hærvig, jah@energy.aau.dk, Associate Professor Johan Rønby, RUC

ECTS: 5

Time: 15 - 19 June 2026

Place: Aalborg University

City: Aalborg

Maximal number of participants: 30

Deadline: 25 May 2026

Important information concerning PhD courses: 

There is a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start of the course.

We cannot ensure any seats before the deadline for enrolment, all participants will be informed after the deadline, approximately 3 weeks before the start of the course.

For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration at phdcourses@adm.aau.dk When contacting us please state the course title and course period. Thank you.