Cradle is a suite of software packages that are the next generation of multiphysics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation and visualization.
It is known for its processing speed, user friendliness, and practicality.
It is being used in a wide range of applications and industries to solve thermal and fluid problems.
It has the ability to perform multiphysics co-simulation and chained simulations with structural, mechanical acoustic, one-dimensional and other relavent analysis software. It also has powerful postprocessing features to generate simulation graphics. Cradle CFD enables any level users to perform and process simulations with ease.
The following sections provide an overview of the software packages that form part of the Cradle CFD suite.
scFLOW has been developed to become the next generation computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool with a host of new technologies and features. It will eventually completely replace its predecessor SC/Tetra. The software is currently equipped with a new solver with stability and calculation speed improvements, as well as a new preprocessor which helps entry-level users build complicated models and high-quality meshes.
It is a general purpose CFD simulation package using a hybrid mesh to represent geometry with high accuracy. It includes the following characteristics: advanced mesh generator, high speed computing, low memory usage and user-friendly interface. You can obtain simulation results in a short time without to much difficulty. Although SC/Tetra has handed over the rains to scFLOW there are still be some functionalities within the software that has not yet been incorporated in scFLOW.
scSTREAM, introduced over thirty years ago, has serviced the electronics and architectural industries by providing high accuracy and efficiency computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solutions. scSTREAM has mainly been characterized by its user-friendly step by step interfaces and implementation of a structured Cartesian mesh.
A structured mesh is simple, easy to construct, and fast to solve. It is most useful for applications where tiny details and surface curvature do not have a significant effect on the overall flow field. Applications that benefit from a structured mesh include: electronics cooling, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and architecture.
HeatDesigner is an analysis software that is specially designed to perform thermal analysis of electronic components. It uses the scSteam solver technology in the background to perform the analysis.
scSTREAM is seen as a general purpose thermal-fluid software product whereas HeatDesigner only focuses on the thermal analysis.
Similar to scSTREAM, HeatDesigner is optimized for applications that do not require precise reproduction of fine geometrical curvature to predict an accurate flow field. HeatDesigner is however still capable of accommodating meshes with more than a hundred million elements enabling it to capture fine geometrical details. Like scSTREAM, the major advantages of HeatDesigner are fast calculations times and low memory usage.
scPost is used to visualize simulation results calculated by the solver. The post-processor can be used to view a wide range of different result types/formats and it is not limited only to the results generated by Cradle software packages.
Supported file formats:
The post processor is also a very powerful tool to visualize CFD results in particular as it can perform contour, surface, ISO and streamline plots and much more for a variety of parameters.
The other advantage that scPost has to offer is that you can do all you post-processing in one place, form generating plots and result images for a report to high resolution images and videos for marketing purposes.
PICLS is a real time thermal simulation tool which helps designers during the PCB design stage. Different layouts can quickly be analyzed and compared, components can be added, moved or deleted in real time to see the effects. This is by no means a detailed analysis tool but it will assist you to quickly see which PCB layout might or might not work before you perform a more detailed analysis in scSTREAM or HeatDesigner.
The work that was done in PICLS is not lost as the PCB data generated can directly be imported into scSTREAM and HeatDesigner. This allows the designer to easily transition from the PCB design stage to the mechanical design stage.
