Ya'll lack some optimism...
From everything I've seen, I agree that I certainly won't be able to understand everything about it, nor what makes it up, but...
I need something that'll help me visualize some elements.
I've been mucking with Saints2000 this afternoon, and here's what I found:
Software: it's buggy, and crashes unless everything is done right (i.e. it's not idiot proof)
21 by 21 is a joke. It's nowhere near accurate, especially for odd shapes (anything that's not rectangular).
It is limited to 2D (+time) simulations.
There doesn't appear to be any units to the input parameters, which appears to be by design, which would mean that it's all "in proportion". Since I'm dealing with fairly small bits of material, I am effectively introducing an even larger margin of error.
It will however allow me to get a rough (albeit very rough) idea of what the turbulence might look like. It should also allow me to get a "good enough" understanding of CFDs, so that when I try the next one, it should be a bit easier to input parameters.
As for how it relates to Radius, it doesn't help me one bit, but it will help me to visualize (read: get a mental picture) the flow, turbulence and (maybe) heat dispersion a bit more.
I personally would encourage would-be block makers to play with this.
What I was really looking for, is a free 3d modeling tool, so that I can calculate the pressure drop. I'm still looking.
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