Project Falcon for Autodesk® Alias software is a wind tunnel simulator that seamlessly integrates with Alias allowing designers to interactively investigate the aerodynamic performance of their designs at any stage. Industrial designers can get intuitive simulation results for their designs in seconds with no specialist knowledge required. Simply launch Project Falcon and results appear immediately. Project Falcon makes use of a revolutionary new automatic meshing technology that can handle any geometry at any stage of design. Flow and wind pressure results update almost in real-time in response to changes in wind-direction and speed. These results can be used to improve design decision making much earlier in the process.
Understanding the aerodynamic behaviour of your design is critical whenever air flows over, around, or through a design. As “organic” surfacing becomes more prevalent in industrial design, so too does the opportunity to create designs that work in harmony with the wind to reduce costly aerodynamic drag.
http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/falcon/
Please try it and post your comments as a reply in this thread.
I have been meaning to reply back. Thanks for the conformation that updating your video driver fixed the issue.
I've got some issues with Falcon's ability to calculate drag correctly, or it's interpretation of model data and drag.
I can replicate expected figures at low speeds for primitive shapes, but if i place an elongated shape such as a rectangle into Falcon it seems to calculate some areas incorrectly.
For example, I run a test on a very basic rectangle shape with a curved leading edge. This gets calculated as having a CD of 0.7 with a drag force of 2947 N.
The frontal area of the model is 8.925m, but to have the CD and drag being calculated as it is would require a frontal area of around 11.11m, or an air density of 1.5kg/m3, both of which are incorrect.
Similarly, if the model is rotated before import to requre a 0 degree yaw in Falcon, there are errors in the calculation once again.
Is it possible to divulge some more information regarding how Falcon interprets the geometry model and the airflow / drag readings so that this issue can be troubleshooted?
Please send me your file, so I team can play with it, and we can be sure we are seeing the same results.
The team has shared with me that the next release will have accurate (error < 0.001%) front area calculated.
Thanks to the team for looking at that problem. Looking forward to the next version; any idea when the next update might be expected?
Not sure - I rarely know in advance. Labs is an agile organization that responds quickly, so we don't require advance notice.
Install Standalone
Falcon32bit.exe
2011.0.1.0
Project Falcon 2012
on
Windows XP Pro
Version 2002
SP 3
Pentium 4 3.00GHz
2GB RAM
After installation, attempt to run by clicking installed icon... Get the following error
Falcon Application
Exception caught whilst running WindTunnelApp: 'pack://application:,,,/WPFOpenTK;Component/Themes/ExpanderTemplate.xaml' value cannot be assigned to property 'Source' of object 'System.Windows,ResourceDictionary'. Could not load file or assembly 'System.Core, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file
specified. Error at object 'System.Windows.ResourceDirectory' in markup file 'WindTunnel_CFD;component/mainwindow.xaml'.
Subsequently have to kill WindTunnelApp.exe in the Windows Task Manager.
Any suggestions?
Cheers, Simon
Is there any word on a likely release of the next update to Falcon?
Thanks
I do not know of anything schedueld at this time.
Thank you for the reply.
I only ask because if i remember correctly, the current version of Falcon has a license that runs out in August.
Looks promising! It is easy to use and is focused on simulating the flow over the exterior of a vehicle without being crowded with too many tools. I don´t think one can count on it though.
Are these features in the pipeline?
Thank you for your detailed feedback.
I have the same problem:
Falcon.exe
Project Falcon 2012
on
Windows XP Pro 64
SP 2
After installation, attempt to run by clicking installed icon... Get the following error
Falcon Application
Exception caught whilst running WindTunnelApp: 'pack://application:,,,/WPFOpenTK;Component/Themes/ExpanderTemplate.xaml' value cannot be assigned to property 'Source' of object 'System.Windows,ResourceDictionary'. Could not load file or assembly 'System.Core, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file
specified. Error at object 'System.Windows.ResourceDirectory' in markup file 'WindTunnel_CFD;component/mainwindow.xaml'.
Please HELP !!!
This error message indicates that your system is lacking a component that Project Falcon needs in order to run. Sometimes you can resolve this by getting newer system libraries. One of these new libraries may contain the missing functionality that Project Falcon is looking for. You should at least try Wndwos update and get all of the updates available for your system. This is not a guarantee, but it is worth a try.
where can I find lift coefficient's or lift values on this software?
Thanks
Nick
I was wondering if anybody could help me. I have modled a car on Inventor and pulled it into Project Falcon as an STL file, I have simulated it but dont have any idea how to read the results, the graph on the bottom of the screen shows me the drag coeficient (which I need) but this changes as the time on the graph changes, this is onfusing me because I thought the air flow over the car was constant meaning the drag coeficient should be constant.
Also if there is anything else i should be looking out for in these tests then please tell me.
Thank you.