CFD used to remove plant, not to justify it.
Computational fluid dynamics is most valuable before a design is fixed, not after it is challenged. Applied early, it routinely demonstrates that a prescriptive ventilation provision is larger than the building requires — and a shaft, a fan bank or a plant room that can be deleted with evidence is worth considerably more than the analysis costs. Applied late, it can only defend what has already been built into the drawings.
Scope, by project stage.
Stated by stage so you can see exactly what is included at the point you are engaging us — and what is not.
Typical applications
- Carpark ventilation and contaminant dispersal
- Smoke management and tenability assessment
- Atrium and large-volume smoke modelling
- Natural and mixed-mode ventilation performance
- Thermal comfort in large or unconditioned volumes
- Exhaust dispersion and reingestion assessment
- Plant room and switchroom cooling verification
What is delivered
- Model geometry built from the federated services model
- Documented boundary conditions, assumptions and mesh strategy
- Results reporting against the accepted criteria
- A report structured for assessment by a fire engineer, certifier or authority
Where it supports a performance solution
- Input to the fire engineering brief
- Coordination with the fire engineer and certifier
- Sensitivity analysis on the governing scenarios
- Documentation traceable to the as-designed condition
Three positions we hold on cfd modelling.
These are the decisions that determine whether the package works. They are made early, and they are the ones we will argue about.
The value is in what gets deleted
A CFD study that confirms an existing design is technically satisfying and commercially neutral. A CFD study that removes an exhaust shaft, reduces a fan bank or returns floor area to the developer has paid for itself several times over. We use it where there is something to win.
Publish the assumptions with the result
A CFD result is only as good as its boundary conditions, its mesh and its governing scenario. Every study we issue states them, because a reviewing engineer will ask, and a study that cannot answer is a study that gets rejected.
Model the building that is being built
Geometry is taken from the federated model rather than idealised, so the result describes the actual obstruction, the actual plenum and the actual duct route. Idealised geometry produces optimistic answers that fail on site.
Sectors and framework.
Compliance is the floor. Constructability, maintainability and long-term value carry equal weight.
Sectors
Design framework
- AS 1668.2 where CFD supports an alternative to the prescriptive provisions
- NCC Performance Requirements and the relevant verification methods
- Accepted tenability criteria for smoke and egress assessment
Recent projects.
Residential, education, student accommodation, hospitality, alpine and industrial projects delivered across Australia.
All projects
CFD Modelling.
Marked up as FAQPage structured data — the correct structure for AI answer engines as well as for search.
During concept or early design development, while the ventilation strategy can still change. CFD commissioned after documentation can defend a design but rarely improves one.
A study is assessed on its assumptions, its governing scenarios and its traceability to the as-designed condition. We document all three explicitly and coordinate with the fire engineer and certifier before the analysis is run, not after.
Frequently, yes — the prescriptive provisions are necessarily conservative because they cannot see the geometry. Whether it is worth doing on a given project depends on how much plant and shaft area is at stake, which we can assess quickly.
Named on the BIM and digital engineering page. Specificity matters more than description, and the list is kept current there.
Usually engaged alongside this.
Mechanical Engineering
HVAC, ventilation and thermal comfort designed for buildability, efficient plant space and long-term performance.
Fire Protection
Sprinkler, hydrant, detection and suppression design, including performance solutions where prescriptive compliance constrains the project.
Ecologically Sustainable Design (ESD)
Energy modelling, Green Star, NABERS and BASIX pathways that meet targets without inflating capital cost.
Have a project that needs cfd modelling?
Tell us the scope, the stage and the deadline. We will come back with a clear fee proposal.