editors in chiefT HE  TE RM “MULTIPHYSICS” has been a part of
simulation engineers’ vocabulary for some time. It
describes any situation where two or more physical
phenomena are coupled together. Often, the term is
used to describe simulations that involve both fluid
and structural mechanics, such as fluid-structure inter-
action (FSI). During the past few years, we have run
stories on FSI in Fluent News and in the current issue,
several stories are featured that illustrate different
approaches to this difficult engineering problem. The
articles cover applications ranging from aerospace
(p. 5) to healthcare (p. 10). Most describe tightly
coupled interactions between CFD and structural
solvers and one illustrates the use of MpCCI (Mesh-
based parallel Code Coupling Interface, from
Fraunhofer SCAI) to manage the coupled calculation
(p. 11). Not all such applications are tightly coupled
however, and the Support Corner (p. 34) describes a
tool, based on user-defined functions in FLUENT, that
can be used to transfer data between fluid and struc-
tural solvers for loosely coupled interactions.
In addition to the FSI stories, several of the articles in
the Process Industries supplement could be given the
multiphysics label as well. Multiphase flows and react-
ing flows are examples where strong coupling exists
between either separate fluid phases (p. S13 - S14) or
chemical species through temperature-dependent
reactions (p. S8 - S14). Traditional processes such as
mixing are covered (p. S3 - S6) as are novel processes
that involve the flow through microchannels (p. S7) or
the extrusion of foam products (p. S16).As is customary with Fluent N ews , the current slate of articles represents engineering efforts from many cor-ners of the world. Air conditioning units being manufac-tured in Malaysia (p. 13) and aircraft fuselage design being performed in China (p. 19) are two exampl
es.There are several articles from the US and E urope, covering topics such as automotive components (p. 16- 17), a unique dough conditioner (p. 22), a car in a crosswind (p. 14), and a two-stroke engine (p. 18). A few new applications of CFD are also presented. The flow inside an infant incubator is optimized (p. 24), and a ventilation system is installed in an Egyptian tomb to help preserve the ancient wall paintings (p. 28).Students shine once again with their unbound energy for innovation. This time, their efforts are used to devel-op a human-powered submarine (p. 29).Last November, a 64-bit version of FLUENT running on a Windows Cluster was showcased at Supercomputing 2005. The performance of this exciting new capability is summarized (p. 30). In other product news, the upcoming releases of GAMBIT 2.3 and TGrid 4.0 are reviewed (p. 32). These new products and computing opportunities will make our work more manageable in the months and years to come. Please continue to keep us informed of your own efforts to push the limits of CFD and let us know what CFD has been able to do for you.  LIZ MARSHALL
fluentnews@fluent EDITOR’S NOTE
ON THE COVER:
Contours of  presssure on the wing of the
Aermacchi M346 Advanced Trainer
Courtesy of Politecnico di Milano and Aermacchi SpA ON THE SUPPLEMENT COVER:Contours of velocity magnitude on a plane between two impellers in a stirred tank and vortex structures near the upper impeller, colored by velocity magnitude
Courtesy of Prague Institute of Chemical Technology