Through its partnership with the University of Cape Town (UCT), software developer Elemental Numerics has completed the commercialisation of its first major software product AlphaFlow, which was launched in July, says Elemental Numerics founder and MD Professor Arnaud Malan.

Developed by Elemental and UCT’s Industrial Computational Fluid Dynamics (InCFD) research group, the software was first used by aerospace corporation Airbus, in 2024, to compute jet-fuel-slosh-induced impacts in wings, which are complex to model. In this project, AlphaFlow’s accuracy allowed major innovations to the wing design.  

The software models liquid-gas multiphase flows up to 40 times faster than standard, commercial CFD models, accurately predicting how liquids and gases behave together when they move and interact inside a container, says Malan.

Among various applications, the software is ideal for fuel containment modelling, including cryogenic liquefied fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquid methane and liquid hydrogen (LH₂).

Malan explains that developing and launching AlphaFlow is a significant milestone for the company, serving as a major achievement for Africa.

“Having developed this new groundbreaking CFD technology, we developed world class expertise and capabilities at Elemental,” says Malan, adding that the company is now engaging industries outside of aerospace, including LNG, shipping and mining.

As part of its partnership with UCT, InCFD provided raw code from postgraduate research while Elemental provided funding and expertise through co-supervision.

As part of the partnership, ownership of code developed at InCFD transfers to Elemental Numerics, subject to National Intellectual Property Management Office approval. UCT is also an Elemental Numerics shareholder and continues to benefit financially from the software’s commercialisation.

Malan says that Elemental was able to achieve high accuracy levels by critically evaluating basic partial differential governing equations describing multi-phase flows and studying these flows carefully over years.

Additionally, the developers did not add additional odd terms to the governing equations in an effort to ensure “so-called stable” solutions, thereby avoiding potential consequences/unintended impacts on accuracy.

Malan notes that academics are often not aware of the realities and challenges that the aerospace industry faces, however, through its work in several industries abroad, Elemental is able to guide the research at InCFD accordingly.

Thus far, Elemental has worked with Airbus and participated in EU-funded research projects including the Sloshing Wing Dynamics project, the Hydrogen Aircraft Sloshing Tank Advancement project and the CRYOSTAR project.

“Sales and requests for quotes are streaming in already so we are close to becoming self-sufficient in the near future,” says Malan.

On request from a client, Elemental is developing additional capabilities to enable the modelling of more of the LH2 supply chain, including pipes, valves and pumps. The first version of the new feature is expected to be made available for license this month, with expanded development anticipated over the next three years.

Malan explains that AlphaFlow is also able to model hot liquids, such as oil in pressure vessels, adding that Elemental has been asked to tender on large consulting projects ranging from cryogenic shipping and storage to offshore pressure vessel designs.

South African Aerospace Development
Malan posits that international uptake of Elemental’s software could be a beneficial step towards South Africa becoming a hub for aerospace CFD and simulation development.

“With this comes reputation enhancement not only for the company, but for the country and continent,” he says.

However, he points out that maximising this opportunity depends on various factors.

First, adequate grant funding, which remains limited in the South African CFD field, is required to enable innovation, which, in turn, is critical in developing a strong market presence.

At present about 50% of InCFD is funded by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation’s South African Research Chairs Initiative, with the remainder funded through the industry and Elemental.

Elemental is completing its first three-year Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme grant from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and is seeking a follow-on project.

Malan points out that grant funding was crucial in helping Elemental develop AlphaFlow.

He adds that grant funding is also crucial in facilitating seminars and articles to raise awareness on CFD and its capabilities.

“Raising awareness is not easy as there are a lot of ‘myths’ when it comes to multi-phase CFD which have to be corrected,” says Malan, stressing the need for increased awareness as it will boost the local industry’s international reach and attract funding.

He  also calls for increased local investment in aerospace flagship development projects, such as developing an airframe or cryogenic rocket.

Second, he highlights the need for modern large computing infrastructure suitable for high-end multi-phase CFD developments. Element is liaising with research and development organisation Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Centre for High Performance Computing programme to address this challenge.

“These initiatives go a long way toward building the industry’s reputation for a leading nation,” Malan concludes.