code_saturne
Open-source CFD solver developed by EDF R&D in France, built for parallel runs from workstations to supercomputers
Quick Overview
| Company | EDF R&D (developer); SIMVIA SAS (hosting, support, training) |
|---|---|
| Category | Engineering Simulation (CAE/FEA) |
| Headquarters | Paris-Saclay area, France |
| Founded | Not stated |
| EU Presence | Yes - France (EU) |
| Data Location | Runs on your own machines or HPC |
| Open Source | GNU GPL |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes |
| Self-Hosting | Yes - download and run locally |
| Main Features | Navier-Stokes solver, RANS and LES turbulence, combustion, radiative heat transfer, atmospheric flows, MPI and OpenMP parallelism, 2D and 3D |
| Pricing | Free software; paid support and training through SIMVIA |
| Best For | Industrial and research CFD with large meshes and an open-source workflow |
| Replaces | Ansys Fluent, Ansys CFX |
Detailed Review
code_saturne solves the Navier-Stokes equations with scalar transport for laminar or turbulent, steady or unsteady, incompressible or weakly compressible flows, in 2D, axisymmetric and 3D configurations. It was developed mainly by EDF's R&D department.
The project site is published by SIMVIA SAS in Palaiseau, states 29 years of development and about 680 thousand lines of code, and links the source to GitHub.
Scale and Parallelism
The product page says the code is designed for distributed-memory parallelism with MPI and optional OpenMP, using ParMETIS and PT-SCOTCH for mesh partitioning. Production cases above 200 million cells and runs above 1 billion cells on thousands of MPI ranks are cited.
GPU acceleration is described as under active development, not as a finished feature.
Physics Modules
Turbulence modelling spans RANS and LES. Dedicated modules cover combustion of gas, pulverised coal, heavy fuel oil and biomass, semi-transparent radiative transfer, and atmospheric flows including microphysics.
The same page notes inclusion in the European UEABS benchmark suite.
Support and Community
The related Simvia site lists technical support, integration, cloud and HPC services and training. A forum and documentation are linked from the project site.
As with all open-source CFD, there is no per-seat fee, so cost moves to engineering time and support.
Limitations to Consider
code_saturne is a CFD solver only; structural problems belong to code_aster. There is no commercial all-in-one interface like Ansys Fluent's, and geometry and meshing come from other tools. GPU support is still in development. Support is commercial through SIMVIA, not directly from the developer.
Who Should Use code_saturne
Energy, process and research teams that need scalable CFD on clusters and prefer open-source tooling from a French developer.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- No licence fee
- Proven large-scale parallel runs
- Combustion and atmospheric modules
- French industrial developer
- Commercial support exists via SIMVIA
Cons
- CFD only
- No integrated geometry and meshing tool
- GPU acceleration not yet finished
- Script and expert oriented
Alternatives to code_saturne
Other European engineering simulation (cae/fea) worth comparing before you decide:
SimScale
Germany · Cloud simulation for CFD, structural and thermal analysis in a browser
Quanscient
Finland · Cloud multiphysics solver with all physics and unlimited users
COMSOL
Sweden · Multiphysics platform with one interface and add-on modules
code_aster
France · Open-source structural and thermal solver from EDF R&D
See all European engineering simulation (cae/fea) or compare them directly against Ansys Fluent on our alternatives page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. It is open-source software distributed under the GNU GPL. Support and training can be bought from SIMVIA.
The product page cites production cases above 200 million cells and runs above 1 billion cells on thousands of MPI ranks.
GPU acceleration is stated to be under active development, so treat it as not yet generally available.