RCPE/AVL/CATRA: New Software for the Pharmaceutical Industry

With the signing of the contract between the companies RCPE, AVL and CATRA the distribution of the new particle simulation software XPS has started. Combined with the 3D CFD software AVL FIRE® exciting applications open up, which are of particular interest for the pharmaceutical and food industries.

XPS was developed at the Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH (RCPE) in Graz. It allows an accurate and ultra-fast calculation of mixing processes for powdery media to an extent which was inconceivable until recently. While currently established computer programs for the simulation of several 100,000 particles reach their limits, XPS allows to simulate up to 50 million (!) particles at once and with appealing computing speeds. Thus, processes can be described in such great detail that reality and simulation seem to merge.

"The biggest challenge was to do justice to our own high demands on a realistic process mapping and short simulation times," say the two RCPE CEOs Khinast and Klein. "We are delighted to have mastered this challenge and to bring the XPS software, a very powerful product, on the market."

Other possible applications of XPS open up by the co-simulation with AVL FIRE®, a modern simulation tool for predictive calculation of gas and liquid flows, developed by AVL List GmbH. FIRE® / XPS computations illustrate the interaction between fluid flow on the one hand and solid particles on the other. Thus, for example, mixing and drying processes of particles considering the interaction with the surrounding air can be shown by simulation.

"By coupling AVL FIRE® and XPS the application fields of both products significantly expand. This results in the ability to satisfy existing customers even better and simultaneously expand into new markets“, says Maik Suffa, Product Manager for AVL FIRE®.

While the co-operation partners AVL and RCPE are responsible for the development and coupling of the two calculation tools, the company CATRA handles the software solutions’ worldwide distribution and first level support. It is particularly pleasing that after signing the contract, the first software licenses were directly delivered to an internationally renowned pharmaceutical company.

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