Applications of fluid mechanics are just as important in an industrial setting as they are in a research lab. For example, one of our projects is concerned with predicting wind loading on a range of mobile lifts. Such machinery is commonly used outside and thus must be designed to maintain stability under different wind loads. Accurate prediction of the force due to the incoming wind is necessary to ensure that the lifts are safe to operate. A combination of experimental and computational (CFD) tools are used for such projects. Numerical modeling results are depicted in Figure 13 for different lift configurations.
13a.
13b.
Figure 13. Ansys CFX pressure simulations for a) a boom lift and b) a scissor lift.