TECH-AM ING sweetens sugar production process by using SysFera-DS HPC management software to run ANSYS-FLUENT® simulations on ROMEO supercomputer

NEW ORLEANS — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 17, 2014 — SysFera and ROMEO will present at the SC14 Exhibitor Forum this week how SysFera-DS high performance computing (HPC) management software streamlines the process of running Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for an industrial user. Leveraging the power of ROMEO’s supercomputer, the most energy-efficient supercomputer in France, large scale CFD simulations as a service (CFD-AAS) is now available for small and medium-sized industrial users on ROMEO’s supercomputer with a bring your own license model.

HPC applications are extending beyond academia to serve commercial users who require complex simulations and computations in a variety of industries. SysFera-DS, a web-based portal that makes HPC easy by enabling remote interaction with and visualization of 3D applications, provided TECH-AM ING with the ability to scale their ANSYS-FLUENT® simulations and to access large-scale CFD simulations from the desktop via a simple web browser. It enabled TECH-AM ING to optimize the process of sugar production for their customer, an industrial mixing solution manufacturer (Process Mixing Solutions – PMS).

“Delivering easily accessible and efficient HPC CFD simulations as a service to the desktop for an industrial customer was a challenge that we tackled with SysFera-DS – in collaboration with ROMEO and TECH-AM ING,” commented David Loureiro, CEO of SysFera, a software innovator that simplifies management and accessibility of HPC and cloud environments. “Easy and efficient access to simulation tools is crucial for industries; TECH-AM ING’s work reduced the duration and cost of the whole process of producing sugar. Our goal is to take this same level of resources and HPC access to all small- and medium-sized organizations.”

At SC14 on Thursday, Nov. 20, SysFera and ROMEO’s HPC Computing Center will provide details on the industrial use case during a joint presentation scheduled for 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm in Room 291. The companies will describe how SysFera-DS simplifies the whole process of running large-scale CFD simulations on ROMEO’s 2048 cores and 260 NVIDIA TESLA K20X for industrial use cases.

TECH-AM ING, a company specializing in numerical simulation and complex CFD, has worked with the ROMEO cluster since 2011, solving real challenges in the process industry, where CFD simulations involve complex interactions. CFD simulation performed with HPC is a powerful tool for mixing system providers and is key to future innovation. Through CFD, one can illustrate or optimize system performance and can access data on real scale geometries.

The talk will present the business case challenge of transforming molasses into sugar. The industrial process is expensive and requires heating meters of sticky syrup for hours. Although past CFD simulations to improve and validate the industrial process were a real challenge, thanks to SysFera-DS and ROMEO, the customer computed an appropriate mixing solution that made it possible to halve the crystallization phase, reducing investment in equipment, electricity consumption, and user productivity.

“Simulating a four-minute window of the complete two hour process, including the turbulence (k-eps model) and heat exchange physics, takes a whole day of simulation on 1024 cores for such an unsteady and moving mesh simulation,” explained Dr. Sydney TEKAM, founder of TECH-AM ING. “I was able to validate the efficacy of the solution, as well as the robustness and the power consumption of the blender, within a consistent workflow. All the tools and applications I needed were available through SysFera-DS’ web portal, and within a few clicks, I was able to harness the power and scalability of ANSYS-Fluent® on ROMEO’s supercomputer.”

“Just one year after the installation of the new ROMEO cluster, the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne is proud to offer CFD as a service in collaboration with SysFera-DS,” said Professor Michael Krajecki, CEO of the ROMEO HPC Center. “SysFera-DS is making it easier and easier to run simulations on ROMEO, and we can now offer an extensive portfolio of software services thanks to SysFera-DS. As a member of the French HPC-SMB initiative for newcomers (HPC-PME), ROMEO offers a free trial for small- and medium-sized companies to run their simulations.”

About the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) and the ROMEO HPC Center

With the ROMEO cluster (151th Top500, 5th Green500, 260 GPU K20X cards), the ROMEO HPC Center delivers high performance computing resources for both industrial and academic researchers in the Champagne-Ardenne region, along with an entire ecosystem of services like secured storage space, specific software, and user support, as well as in-depth expertise in mathematics and computer science, physics and engineering sciences, and multiscale molecular modeling. Funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), France, the Regional Council of Champagne-Ardenne and Reims Metropolis has enabled URCA to introduce the supercomputer ROMEO, which is a member of the French tier-1.5 HPC Network. For more information, visit https://romeo.univ-reims.fr/aboutUs.

About SysFera

SysFera develops innovative software solutions that enable computer centers in government, industry, and academia to make their high performance computing (HPC) environments or Cloud platforms more accessible to non-technical users, and to manage their computing resources more efficiently. Focusing primarily on ease-of-use for end users, project managers and IT administrators, SysFera’s software products simplify the access, management, and submission of complex simulations on traditional, hybrid or cloud infrastructures. For more information, visit www.sysfera.com .