Finding Discord in CFD with Tecplot Chorus

Analysis of analysis results—sounds redundant? Not at all, according to Tecplot. The company’s latest software product, Techplot Chorus, is developed precisely to serve that purpose. In Tecplot’s words, it’s a “simulation analytics management software.”

Think of it this way. If a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) session is a single doctor’s visit or a medical checkup, then a simulation analytics is the equivalent of  looking at a patient’s history—the results of all the checkups over a period of time—to identify potential ailments and hazards.

According to Tecplot, Chorus “addresses a number of large and growing need for engineers who need to look at massive amounts of data and quickly identify the trends and anomalies that may affect the critical design decisions they need to make.” Most commonly, Tecplot thinks you may deploy a product like Chorus to “optimize a design, analyze the operational envelope of a configuration, or investigate an engineering problem.”

Currently in beta testing and scheduled to ship in Q3 of 2011, Tecplot Chorus plugs in with  Tecplot 360, the company’s CFD tool, and  other post-processors from competing firms. The software allows you to load analysis results from a series of CFD sessions into a single environment, then compare them to identify, isolate, and investigate deviations and anomalies.

Blogging about the development of Chorus, Mike Peery, Tecplot’s president and CEO, wrote, “Tecplot Chorus has been in testing the last several months, during which time we have been quietly asking our key customers, analysts, and other industry leaders what they think about this new product. We hear comments like ‘It’s a breakout technology,’ ‘Wow!,’ and ‘This will be great for the industry.’ This positive response definitely feeds our professional pride, but, more importantly, it feels good to know that we’re on track to a great new way to help our customers do their work better, faster, and more productively” (”Something Abuzz at Tecplot Inc.,” May 16, 2011).

By its makers’ own admission, the software has been in the work in the last 18 months. It’s intended to serve both generalists and specialists in the CFD field. Tecplot hasn’t announced the price for Chorus.