COMMERCIAL DUCTWORK SIMULATION
Size, balance, and de-noise commercial ductwork with cloud-native CFD
SimScale runs CFD on full commercial ductwork systems to predict pressure drop, airflow distribution, and noise across air-handling units, supply runs, and exhaust networks. Run from a browser with elastic compute, no on-prem HPC.
SimScale enables HVAC and ventilation engineers to validate full ductwork systems across CFD and thermal analysis in a simple-to-use, cloud-native platform. Teams predict pressure drop, air distribution, and noise hot spots in hours rather than weeks, eliminating costly physical balancing rework and meeting ASHRAE and Eurocode standards.
Commercial ductwork simulation that covers your full design challenge
All the physics your engineers need
Couple CFD, conjugate heat transfer, and structural FEA on the same duct geometry. One mesh, one results store. Validate pressure drop, thermal stratification, and structural integrity of plenums and supports in a single project.
AI-native ductwork design optimization
Physics AI surrogates deliver near-instant predictions on duct routing and sizing. Sweep diameter, branch take-off, and damper position variants in seconds before committing to full CFD on the final layout.
Cloud benefits: more variants, faster
Oxygen8 validated the Terra V air handling unit with a single prototype iteration using SimScale CFD. Elastic cloud compute scales per project so HVAC consultants sweep dozens of duct configurations in parallel from a browser.
Pressure drop and air balancing across supply runs
Predict static pressure drop, branch flow split, and diffuser performance across the entire duct network. Catch poorly balanced runs in simulation rather than at commissioning with a balancing meter.
Diffuser, grille, and louver airflow
Run detailed CFD on diffusers, linear bar grilles, and exhaust louvers. Predict throw, terminal velocity, and Coanda attachment for occupant comfort and ASHRAE 55 / ISO 7730 alignment.
Noise and pressure-loss optimization on bends and transitions
Identify turbulent zones at elbows, branch take-offs, and transitions that drive both noise and pressure loss. Reshape transitions and add turning vanes virtually before fabrication.
One prototype iteration
on the Terra V AHU
“By adopting SimScale as a core design and validation tool, we have reimagined how ventilation systems are developed. From rapid concept evaluation to final optimization, cloud-native simulation enabled faster iteration, better decision-making, and superior product performance during the entire development process.”
Ethan Quisias
Room-level CFD
on building ventilation parameters
“At the room level, using SimScale, AirIDEA was able to evaluate the following parameters: air distribution, temperature stratification, occupant comfort, and pressure balance across the supply and return system.”
Parallel CFD
to find the best architectural HVAC solution
“As the team at Gruner Roschi aimed to discover, create, and validate the best natural ventilation design possible to be implemented in the building, the parallel processing capability in SimScale was critical.”
Related resources
Alex Graham
June 16, 2026
Multi-agent workflows: key takeaways from Design & Simulation Week 2026
SimScale and CoLab demonstrated live AI agent collaboration at Design & Simulation Week 2026, cutting engineering review and simulation lead times dramatically.
Alex Graham
June 12, 2026
SimScale Workflows: Why we are opening up the platform (& why you should care)
SimScale Workflows opens its platform to custom solvers and tools, enabling automated, AI-driven multi-step engineering simulation pipelines for any organization.
Alex Graham
May 29, 2026
Luis Goncaves
June 18, 2026
Luis Goncaves
January 27, 2026
Paras Ghumare
December 4, 2025
Jon Wilde
June 16, 2026
David Heiny
June 15, 2026
Jon Wilde
June 3, 2026
Peter Selmeczy
March 24, 2026
Peter Selmeczy
September 10, 2025
Peter Selmeczy
June 25, 2025
Peter Selmeczy
May 29, 2026
Commercial supply and return ductwork, exhaust and fume extraction, AHU internals, smoke control, kitchen extraction, laboratory ventilation, and industrial process ducts. CFD, thermal, and structural analysis in one project.
Yes. Run thermal comfort to ASHRAE 55 and ISO 7730, energy efficiency to ASHRAE 90.4, and air distribution per ASHRAE handbook recommendations. Code-aligned templates accelerate the start.
Import IFC, Revit, and STEP models directly through the browser. Mesh automation handles complex MEP geometry without manual cleanup so a duct network goes from CAD to CFD in minutes.
Yes. Elastic cloud compute scales to full-building duct networks. Sub-model individual zones where you need higher resolution, then combine results into a system-level performance check.
Sign up for free, open a public ductwork project, and run your first simulation within an hour from the browser.
