ANSYS Fluent

ANSYS Fluent is a leading computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software renowned for its advanced physics modeling and industry-specific capabilities. It enables engineers and researchers to simulate fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemical reactions with high accuracy, facilitating the design and optimization of products across various industries.

System Requirements for ANSYS Fluent

To ensure optimal performance with ANSYS Fluent, your system should meet the following specifications:

Minimum Requirements

• Operating System: 64-bit Windows or Linux distributions

• Processor: Dual-core CPU

• Memory: 8 GB RAM

• Graphics: OpenGL 4.5 compatible graphics card

• Storage: 25 GB of available disk space

Recommended Specifications

• Operating System: Latest 64-bit Windows or Linux distributions

• Processor: Quad-core CPU

• Memory: 16 GB RAM or more

• Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro or AMD Radeon Pro series

• Storage: SSD with 50 GB of available space

Meeting these specifications will help you get the most out of ANSYS Fluent, ensuring efficient workflows and high-quality outputs.

Enabling GPU Acceleration in ANSYS Fluent

ANSYS Fluent supports GPU acceleration to enhance computational performance, particularly for large-scale simulations. To enable GPU acceleration:

1. Verify GPU Compatibility
   Ensure your system has a CUDA-enabled NVIDIA GPU with compute capability 3.0 or higher.

2. Install Appropriate Drivers
   Download and install the latest NVIDIA drivers compatible with your GPU from the NVIDIA website.

3. Configure Fluent to Use the GPU
   When launching Fluent, specify the number of GPUs to utilize by including the -gpgpu flag in the command line. For example:

   This command configures Fluent to use one GPU for the simulation.

4. Monitor GPU Utilization
   Use tools like NVIDIA's nvidia-smi to monitor GPU usage and ensure that Fluent is effectively utilizing the GPU during simulations.

By following these steps, you can effectively enable and utilize GPU acceleration in ANSYS Fluent.

Top Tips to Speed Up ANSYS Fluent

• Optimize Mesh Quality
  Ensure your mesh is well-structured and refined appropriately to balance accuracy and computational load.

• Utilize Parallel Processing
  Leverage multiple CPU cores and GPUs by configuring the appropriate parallel processing settings during job submission to distribute the workload effectively.

• Update Software and Drivers
  Regularly update ANSYS Fluent and your GPU drivers to the latest versions to benefit from performance improvements and bug fixes.

• Manage Memory Usage
  Ensure your system has sufficient RAM to handle large simulations, as insufficient memory can lead to increased paging and slower performance.

• Optimize Solver Settings
  Adjust solver parameters, such as convergence tolerances and time steps, to balance accuracy and computation time.

Implementing these strategies can help maintain smooth and reliable performance in ANSYS Fluent.

Top Recommended GPUs for ANSYS Fluent

• NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core
  Designed for high-performance computing, the A100 offers exceptional processing power, making it ideal for large-scale simulations in Fluent.

• NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000
  This professional-grade GPU provides 24 GB of GDDR6 memory and is optimized for complex simulations, offering excellent performance and stability.

• NVIDIA Tesla V100
  Built for intensive computational tasks, the Tesla V100 delivers outstanding performance for demanding CFD simulations.

• NVIDIA RTX 3090
  With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, the RTX 3090 is a cost-effective option for advanced GPU computing in Fluent.

Selecting a high-performance GPU enhances ANSYS Fluent's capabilities, ensuring faster computations and better support for data-intensive applications.

What’s New in ANSYS Fluent 2025

If you haven’t checked in with ANSYS Fluent lately, you might be surprised by how fast things are changing, especially on the GPU side. Fluent 2025 marks another big step toward making full-scale CFD simulations faster, lighter, and more accessible to engineers who don’t want to babysit clusters all day.

Here’s what actually matters.

GPU Solver: Now Capable of More Than Ever

A few years ago, GPU support in Fluent felt like a cool experiment. Now it’s a legitimate performance strategy. In Fluent 2025, the GPU solver can handle VOF (Volume of Fluid) and species transport models, a major leap for multiphase and combustion workflows. ANSYS even previewed further expansions coming down the line, with turbulence and radiation improvements in testing.

In some benchmark cases, a single NVIDIA A100 GPU has matched or exceeded the throughput of 400+ CPU cores. That’s not marketing fluff; those numbers come from real benchmark studies run by hardware partners like Exxact and SimuTech. Of course, results vary depending on your case complexity, mesh size, and physics, but the speedups are now undeniable.

And there’s more: early AMD GPU compatibility is being explored for Linux environments, signaling a future where Fluent’s GPU solver won’t be locked to CUDA hardware forever. Still early days, though. Stick with NVIDIA for reliability.

Smarter Use of Memory and Licensing

One of the biggest upgrades in recent releases has nothing to do with speed, it’s about memory efficiency. The new solver architecture drastically reduces VRAM consumption per million cells. ANSYS suggests around 1–3 GB of VRAM per million elements as a safe planning range, depending on physics and boundary complexity.

Licensing has evolved too. Fluent’s GPU solver now uses Streaming Multiprocessor (SM)-based licensing, meaning your available SM count determines how much GPU power you can use at once. It’s a good move for scalability, but you’ll want to double-check your HPC add-on entitlements before running multi-GPU setups.

When GPU Isn’t the Magic Button

Let’s be honest: not every simulation benefits from GPU acceleration. If your models are under ~1–2 million cells, or you rely heavily on physics models not yet ported to GPU (like DPM or complex radiation), you might not see massive gains. In some smaller setups, a strong multi-core CPU can still outperform a single GPU purely on consistency and memory headroom.

Another hidden bottleneck? Storage I/O. GPUs can crunch numbers faster than your drive can feed them. If you’re still using HDDs for large mesh files, even a top-tier A100 will end up waiting around. SSD or NVMe drives are a must.

Future-Proofing Your CFD Hardware Setup

If you’re planning to stick with Fluent for the long run, it’s worth thinking about your next few years of projects. Based on Fluent 2025 trends, here’s a simple way to future-proof:

• GPU VRAM first, cores second. Go for GPUs with at least 24 GB VRAM (RTX 4090, RTX 6000 Ada, A100, etc.).

• Aim for 64 GB+ of system RAM. Even if you don’t need it now, you’ll need it when your mesh doubles.

• SSD or NVMe storage. You’ll feel the difference every time you save, open, or post-process a big case.

• Stable drivers. Don’t chase every update, find a version that works and stick with it for production.

And, of course, benchmark your own models. Every geometry and physics combination behaves differently. Before investing thousands in hardware, try running a scaled-down version of your simulation on a high-end machine (local or cloud) to see how it actually performs.

Enhance Your Workflow with Vagon

To further accelerate your simulations and streamline your workflow, consider utilizing Vagon's cloud PCs. Powered by 48 cores, 4 x 24GB RTX-enabled NVIDIA GPUs, and 192GB of RAM, Vagon allows you to work on your projects faster than ever. It's easy to use, right in your browser. Transfer your workspace and files in just a few clicks and experience the difference for yourself!