Reduce Batch Losses and Delays – Scale-Up Efficiently with CliqScale.R
CliqScale.R is the first cloud solution for rapid, CFD-based stirred reactor mixing assessment and scale-up. Designed to be used by scientists, engineers and laboratory technicians.
What is CliqScale.R and how is it different from other solutions?
It enables you to scale up reactors using CFD more easily than ever.
Bringing the most widely used CFD-methodology to the cloud and making it applicable in an easy-to-use way helps to address a very specific and common reactor scaling problem in the pharma and chemical industries.
CliqScale.R provides an instantly accessible alternative to general purpose CFD and CAD packages that run on expensive local workstations, taking days to build reactor geometries and execute repetitive CFD tasks for every scale-up project. With CliqScale.R’s cloud-based modeling, you can simply log in and access scale-up-relevant CFD insights from anywhere — no need for new software installations, added infrastructure, or extra investment for the evaluation of the methodology itself.
This completely transforms the modeling and scaling process. It includes a reactor design suite that allows you to build individual reactors online – in less than one hour. Putting powerful, automated, and industry-approved CFD methodology at your fingertips, you can launch multiple simulations on your own on click and get scale-up-relevant CFD results more quickly than ever that help you successfully master your reactor scaling with ease.
One scale-up iteration with 12 simulations takes no longer than 1.5 to 6 hours, depending on the selected mesh resolution. It’s like having a CFD expert right by your side.
Easily Interpret, Process, and Share Results
Critical scale-up parameters such as turbulence and shear rates are delivered interpretation-ready and in an open format, fulfilling the prerequisites for data FAIRification, where data must be Findable, Accessible, Iterpoperable and Reusable. This allows for straightforward programmatic further processing and sharing amongst project participants and other stakeholders at scale. Visual comparisons between operating conditions make results also easy-to-interpret for anyone with a scientific or technical background.
Working with CliqScale.R is as easy as making a coffee – you don’t need to be a coffee roasting and machine expert to get a perfectly brewed coffee. You just need to select your ingredients and have a machine that follows your commands in an easy way.
In CliqScale.R, with just a few clicks, the complex CFD engine hums into action and rapidly scales up your reactor from small to large scale or vice versa in a fraction of the time compared to traditional methods.
Direct Comparison To On-Premises Solution
Monetary
- Initial SW + HW Investment
- Time to production
On-Premises*
- Medium five-digit amount**
- 1-6 months (depending on type and size of company**)
CliqScale.R
- Starts at 6000 €
- Login and start
Workload and time to result
- Geometry build-up
- Meshing
- Parameter settings
- Simulation time for 12 simulations (1 Scale-up)
- Automated simulations setup and results processing
On-Premises*
- 1 - 2 days
- 1 - 2 days
- 1 hour (12 simulations)
- Sequential (~48 - 72 hours**)
- If in-house development: several weeks to months
CliqScale.R
- 45 min
- Included / automated
- 10 min per reactor
- 1.5 - 6 h (12 simulations simultaneously)
- Included / automation
Data & Tech Management
- Meets the requirements for embedding according to the FAIR principle
- Data storage
- IT internal blockers (e.g. HW/SW approval, workstation in network)
- Software updates
- Data formats and further processing
On-Premises*
- Can require additional effort
- Local
- Can be significant, specifically for large companies
- New installations
- Partially closed formats
CliqScale.R
- Yes
- Downloadable or Online (S3)
- No SW or HW blockers
- Centrally managed online
- Open (JSON, OpenFOAM, CSV)
User Qualification requirement
- Geometry Build-Up
- Meshing
- Solving
- Result post processing
- Result interpretation
On-Premises*
- Engineer / CAD Specialist
- CFD Specialist
- CFD Specialist
- CFD Specialist / Programmer
- CFD Specialist
CliqScale.R
- Ability to read a technical drawing of a reactor
- Anyone
- Anyone
- Anyone
- Anyone with scientific background
* Representative experience-based procedure with commercial CFD software and appropriate simulation workstation, and in-house coding for scale-up specific post-processing.
** Representative experienced value with commercial software on local machine with 28 cores in a large Pharma company.
FAQs
What it is: CliqScale.R follows the reduce-to-the-max principle, where simplicity comes first, with respect to scale-up definition, simulation, results sharing and machine learning enablement. It is an industry approved and field tested scale-up CFD automation, made available in the cloud.
What it is not: CliqScale.R is not a general purpose CFD-software package, where arbitrary settings can be made online. However, through the freely downloadable OpenFOAM data, the cases can be further used as a starting point for any local simulation like multiphase or particle laden simulations using the corresponding OpenFOAM solvers.
No. CliqScale.R scales the fluid dynamics and mixing conditions to show and equalize differences between two reactors.
For any fluid dynamics and mixing sensitive process. E.g., in our own and our customers’ experience, 80-90% of the crystallizations can be scaled with the CliqScale.R methodology straightaway. For any additional calculation like sedimentation and homogeneity analysis or detailed mixing times we can support you in an individual project.
OpenFOAM 9, simpleFoam, k-epsilon, snappyHexMesh (hexa-dominant unstructured)
.json, .stl and OpenFOAM.
Full statistical distributions (histograms) of all flow quantities and percentiles (5,50,95)
Yes, percentiles and distributions can be associated with the reactor configuration, including impeller geometries, operating conditions, and material properties.
Due to the open format, pharmaceutical companies and CDMOs can share the fluid dynamic statistical distributions in advance, streamlining the process transfer.
The definition of the reactor geometries and operating conditions in CliqScale.R is in .json and .stl format. This provides the basis for reactor mapping and retrieving.
The methodology is based on the hypothesis that for similar mixing conditions, similar product outcomes can be expected – independent of reactor type and scale.
A methodology cannot be generically validated but only case by case. However, the methodology is widely accepted and industry-approved.
Many scale-up tools are either based on simple correlations, or on precalculated CFD cases of specific reactors. In the latter case they work within a predefined parameter range using a response surface approach for the output calculation. An indication for this approach is an instant result generation. We consider this first level scale-up support and these tools have their value. However, they also have a big limitation and don’t allow for the simulation of specific reactors. In CliqScale.R, individual models can be built up and simulated with higher degree of detail. This can be considered as second level scale-up support. Also, in CliqScale.R you obtain the full CFD results for more advanced, higher fidelity CFD modeling with OpenFOAM. This enables expert third level scale-up support by default.
Yes, the pharma case study is based on CliqScale.R’s methodology
Yes, you can submit a simple case and we will build it up for you. Additionally, you can try it out for yourself with 5 free trial runs. (no obligation)
Still have questions?
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