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Case Study: Benchmarking Pedestrian Wind Comfort Using CFD

January 28, 2026January 28, 2026 By jameslinfield@hotmail.com Comment Closed

Benchmarking pedestrian wind comfort using CFD in complex urban environments Navier is participating in BeStPLW (Benchmark Study on Pedestrian Level Winds), a UK-wide blind benchmarking exercise led by the UK Wind Engineering Society (WES) in collaboration with industry and academia. The study aims to assess how consistently pedestrian wind comfort is predicted across CFD and wind tunnel methodologies, and to help establish clearer best-practice guidance for wind microclimate assessments in the UK. Our involvement reflects Navier’s wider capability in atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) modelling, urban airflow, and external flow interaction with the built environment, with direct relevance to: Pedestrian wind comfort and safety Urban pollutant dispersion Data centre heat rejection and recirculation risk External ventilation and exhaust re-ingestion studies Background to the BeStPLW benchmark Pedestrian wind comfort assessments are now a routine requirement for major developments in the UK, particularly in dense urban environments and high-rise schemes. While guidance exists - notably the City of London Wind Microclimate Guidelines - significant variation remains in how studies are executed and...

Case Study: Aerodynamic Optimisation of Arion8 High-Speed Bike

August 8, 2025August 8, 2025 By jameslinfield@hotmail.com Comment Closed

Competitive Aerodynamics for One of the Fastest Hand-Cycles Ever Built Client: University of Liverpool Velocipede (ULV) Team Sector: Aerodynamics / Sports Engineering Challenge The University of Liverpool Velocipede Team (ULV) embarked on Arion8, a next-generation hand-powered racing bike targeting new world records at the World Human Powered Speed Challenge (WHPSC) 2025. ULV has a proven pedigree in this category, holding the current male and female hand-cycle world speed records of 51.58 mph (83.02 km/h) and 46.54 mph (74.88 km/h) respectively, set in 2018 with their Arion4 vehicle. The project was constrained by a tightly defined external envelope to meet rider ergonomic needs, safety rules, and critical transport limitations. Given the limited time and geometry freedoms, much of the vehicle was effectively locked down by early design requirements and keep-out zones (similar to those in motorsport). The rear tail section stood out as the best remaining opportunity to reduce overall aerodynamic drag before finalising the design. Solution As both a technical sponsor and aerodynamic partner, Navier supported...

Case Study: Aerodynamic Development of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

June 16, 2025August 8, 2025 By jameslinfield@hotmail.com Comment Closed

Solving Urban Wind Energy Challenges with Validated VAWT Blade Design Client: Alpha 311 Sector: Renewable Energy / Wind Technology Challenge Alpha 311 tasked Navier with aerodynamic development of a new vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) for their emerging product line. The goal was to maximise power output while ensuring the design remained compact, lightweight, and easy to retrofit onto existing infrastructure like lighting columns or bridges in urban environments. Key objectives included: Strong performance at low and turbulence-rich wind speeds Minimised blade size and material cost, without sacrificing output Suitable for roadside, rail-edge, and rooftop installations Alpha 311 needed a turbine that could fit almost anywhere and generate power where it’s needed most. Solution Navier led a blank-page aerodynamic development of custom blade profiles, focusing on a hybrid drag- and lift-based aerofoil concept. The process included: Parametric 2D and 3D blade modelling using CFD Iterative optimisation targeting torque output across expected wind scenarios Comparative simulations against conventional Savonius and Darrieus VAWT forms The result was a compact, high-performance blade design that achieved the power goals with a...

Case Study: Lab Stack Pollutant Dispersion Assessment

June 14, 2025June 16, 2025 By jameslinfield@hotmail.com Comment Closed

CFD-Based Stack Height and Pollutant Dispersion Assessment for Design and Compliance Client: University of Derby Sector: Atmospheric Pollutant Dispersion Challenge As part of planned laboratory upgrades, the University of Derby required an assessment of the proposed fume stack configuration for B-Block. The upgrades included a significant increase in ventilation flow due to additional fume cupboards, raising concerns about whether the existing stack height would provide adequate dispersion of airborne pollutants. Key priorities included: Preventing re-ingestion of exhaust gases at nearby air intakes and windows Managing exposure risk for building users and pedestrians Demonstrating compliance with UK health-based exposure standards Solution Navier carried out a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based atmospheric dispersion study to evaluate plume behaviour under a range of wind conditions. The simulation accounted for: Local building wake effects and site topography Buoyancy-driven dispersion and atmospheric boundary layer behaviour A range of wind directions informed by site-specific wind rose data To benchmark pollutant risk, a chemical survey was undertaken covering over 150 substances used within the laboratory. Based on hazard codes and evaporation...

Navier presents CFD for contact tanks to water utilities at WRc forum

January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 By Guest Admin Comment Closed

CFD analysis for Chlorine Contact Tanks Navier was delighted to receive an invitation from the Water Research Company (WRc) to present at one of their quarterly Disinfection Forums. The forum engages several water utilities based around the UK to address common issues and share best practices. Navier was asked to give a presentation on the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to model chlorine contact tanks (CCT’s). Generally, CFD modelling has become the preferred method for verifying the performance of new-build contact tanks. When applied correctly CFD has shown excellent agreement with both lab scale and on-site tracer studies. Example of poorly performing asset But CFD can also provide benefits in improving existing assets and de-risking tank 'change of use' activities. Example of contact tank retrofit modifications Some of these benefits include: Evaluating hydraulic & mixing efficiency of potential retrofits;Characterising performance over complete operating envelope accounting for seasonal water supply variations;Assessing energy efficiency (OPEX) of proposed modifications. The importance of assessing the energy efficiency of a proposed modification was...

Navier adds 1D network modelling to its capabilities

June 23, 2020June 23, 2020 By jameslinfield@hotmail.com Comment Closed

Navier is excited to announce that we have extended our computational modelling capabilities to include 1D network modelling of integrated thermo-fluid systems, utilising the industry-leading Flownex® SE code. We routinely tackle a broad range of complex thermo-fluid problems for our clients with physics that often span thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer and combustion. Flownex® is an extremely powerful 1D modelling tool and it has enabled our Engineers to apply their fundamental fluid mechanics and heat transfer expertise to the 1D modelling of integrated thermo-fluid systems for both steady and transient scenarios. It incredibly useful for efficiently capturing and understanding complex component interactions that are tightly related to the dynamics of an overall system. It is a fantastic alternative to full 3D CFD simulations when system wide performance is critical, and a vast range of physical lengths scales are present that makes CFD an inefficient option. Recently we have had great success in applying this technique to help the renewable industry to make significant savings by predicting...

Navier Interviewed for Talking CFD Podcast

October 14, 2019March 11, 2024 By Guest Admin Comment Closed

Navier's James Linfield, one half of the dynamic duo behind Navier Flow Consultants was recently interviewed by Robin Knowles of CFD Engine for his Podcast Talking CFD. James gave the benefit of his recent experience & shares his thoughts on: The origins of Navier Choosing a niche to focus on Advice for those looking to start a CFD consultancy in today’s market Navier's approach to the cloud & why they have invested heavily in in-house compute power The importance of networking, building trust and credentialising yourself to potential clients. Listen to the podcast here: Or if you would rather read the transcript, scroll down. Transcript: - Robin Today I'm joined by fellow Brit James Linfield co-founder of UK CFD consultancy Navier Flow Consultants. Welcome to the show James - James Hi Robin, thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. - Robin No problem. So as to Brits this show should be 40 minutes of complaining about the weather or politics as they are both completely bannas at the moment. I think we'll stick to the more...

Navier Named in List of Top 40 CFD Companies Worldwide

October 1, 2019October 20, 2019 By Guest Admin Comment Closed

Navier Named in List of Top 40 CFD Companies Worldwide Finding the right CFD consultant for your project can be very challenging. Luckily, our friends at Resolved Analytics have kindly compiled a list of the top 40 CFD companies worldwide, for everyone's use in determining what CFD service provider is the best fit for their unique application or problem. The list includes the companies name, location, and a link to their websites. The companies are very diverse and we appreciate that trying to qualify the right consultancy for your application can be overwhelming. Click here to check out the full post....

I’m James Linfield and This is How I Mesh

September 10, 2019October 19, 2019 By Guest Admin Comment Closed

I grew up on the south coast of the UK, in a small sleepy village called Storrington in West Sussex. Not too far away from the seaside town of Brighton (that’s where I say I’m from when people, quite rightly, have no idea where Storrington is!) As a kid, I always enjoyed figuring out how things worked, and I can vividly remember building a model remote-control car (The Grasshopper R/C Model Kit) from scratch with my Dad at a fairly young age. I think projects like that helped pique my interest in engineering at an early age, although I wasn’t aware of it at the time. I also loved airplanes. I can remember being completely obsessed with the Blackbird (Lockheed SR-71 to give it its proper name) and had a scale model of it in my room, I still think it looks incredible today. Eventually, this led me up to the East Midlands to study Mechanical Engineering at Loughborough University, where I...

Navier will be attending The Commercial UAV Show

August 14, 2019October 20, 2019 By Guest Admin Comment Closed

Navier will be attending The Commercial UAV Show on the 12–13 November 2019 in London to see the latest emerging technologies in UAV aerodynamics, novel drone applications and the sectors future outlook and much, much more. We hope this event will keep Navier ahead of the exciting changes developing throughout the UAV ecosystem. The Commercial UAV Show sees more than 120 exhibitors from across the globe, featuring products and services to help deliver the next generation of UAV solutions. This year, the exhibition continues to grow with an expected 3000+ attendees over the two days. We’re looking forward to seeing speakers from (amongst others): AirbusBAE SystemsRoyal Aeronautical SocietyGerman Aerospace Center (DLR)Loughborough University See you there?...