[dcarden]

I'm a complete beginner at engineering or CAD software. I'm looking for something that could be used to model whirlpools, and wondering if this would be the right software for the job.

On an episode of Mythbusters, they built a whirlpool simulator using a large water tank with a drain out the bottom. They then hooked up a large water pump to the outlet hose of the bottom of the tank, and pumped the water bank into the tank through the open top.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYsPyguu7cc

I'm looking for a software to model this type of setup. I'd like to be able to change up the water inlet, drain properties, tank size and shape and so on to model the affect on the whirlpool.

Before I spend a lot of time going through the tutorials and manuals and such to learn the software I thought I ask the community first if I'm on the right track. I'd appreciate any feedback on if this is an appropriate software to use for this purpose, as well as any pointers or advice on getting started for this specific purpose. Suggestions on other, preferably open source or otherwise reasonably priced software packages that might be more appropriate would also be appreciated if OpenFOAM is not the right (or best/easiest to learn) tool for the job.

Thanks