ABSTRACT
The Open source Field Operation And Manipulation (OpenFOAM) code is an object-oriented numerical simulation toolbox for continuum mechanics, written in C++ language, released by OpenCFD Ltd. This chapter details the characteristics of OpenFOAM that help computational fluid dynamics (CFD) programmers. OpenFOAM is not really thought of as a ready to use code, but aims to be as flexible as possible in defining new models and solvers in the simplest way. Its strength, in fact, lies in being open, not only in terms of source code but also in its inner structure and hierarchical design, giving the user the opportunity to fully extend its capabilities. Mesh generation is one of the initial tasks that a CFD modeler should complete before solving the problem at hand. The mesh system should capture the geometry and topology of the problem as well as provide the computational cells to solve the mathematical equations.
