Hexa Meshing

4.2.6: Pipe Blade

Overview

This tutorial example uses the Collapse function to create a degenerate

topology in a Conjugate Heat transfer problem around a blade located in
the center of a cylindrical pipe.

a) Summary of Steps

The Blocking Strategy

Starting the Project
Creating Parts in the Mesh Editor
Starting Blocking
Using Prescribed Points to Fit the Blocking
Splitting the Topology Using Prescribed Points
Collapsing Blocks to Represent the Blade Material
Edge to Curve Association on the Blade
Moving the Vertices
Generating the O-grid
Defining Surface Parameters for the Mesh
Defining Edge Parameters to Adjust the Mesh
Checking mesh quality for determinants and angle
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Saving before Quitting

b) The Blocking Strategy

In this lesson, the blade is regarded as a Solid region, while the region
surrounding the blade is regarded as the Fluid region. Using Block
Splitting at Prescribed point, the user will generate a Hexahedral Mesh
for both of the regions, so that the topology of the solid region is a
degenerate Hexahedral mesh.
Before the user employs the Collapse function for his/her own
applications, confirm that the solver accepts degenerated hexas (for a
structured solver) or penta_6 elements (prism) for an unstructured solver.
Note: Settings >Selection>Auto pick mode should be turned OFF for
ANSYS ICEM CFD to behave exactly as this tutorial describes.
c)

Starting the Project

The input files for this tutorial can be found in the Ansys installation
directory, under ../v110/docu/Tutorials/CFD_Tutorial_Files>PipeBlade.
Copy and open the geometry.tin file in your working directory.
d) Creating Parts in the Mesh Editor

Right click in the Display Tree on Parts > Create Part to create different
Parts and assign the different surface of the geometry to the appropriate
part. Refer to the figure below for the Surface part assignments.

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Figure
4-147
The
Pipe
Blade
configu
ration

e)

Surface Parts

After the Pipe Blade project is open, activate the Points and Surfaces from
the Display Tree. Switch on Points > Show Points Names.
Begin the Surface part reassignment by changing the region enclosed by
GEOM/4 - GEOM/7 to the part OUTLET.
The region that is denoted by GEOM/0 - GEOM/3 should be reassigned to
the part INLET.
The Surface defining the Cylinder pipe will be placed in the Surface part,
CYL.
The surfaces belonging to the solid blade in the middle of the cylinder
should be classified as BLADE.
When all of the Surface parts have been assigned (INLET, OUTLET,
CYL, BLADE), press the middle mouse button to exit from continuous
mode.
f)

Curve Parts and Point Parts

For this tutorial, we will leave the curves and points assigned to the initial
part GEOM.
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g) Creating the Material Points

Select Geometry > Create Body

> Material Point
Enter FLUID
in the Create Body window that appears. The material point that will be
created will help us to keep the FLUID region separate from the SOLID
region, but is not necessary since blocks can simply be created in the
FLUID part rather than creating a material point.
With the left mouse button, select two locations on the opposite sides of
the cylinder. Note that the FLUID material point should not be within the
BLADE. If tetra meshing, this location would be important. With Hexa
meshing, it is not. Press the middle mouse button to accept the selection,
and press Apply and the Body name FLUID should appear within the
geometry (midway between the selected locations). Rotate the model to
confirm that FLUID is in an appropriate location.
Now enter SOLID as the new Part Name in the Create Body window.
Press the location selection icon
and select two locations on the blade
surfaces so that the midpoint will be inside of the blade. Press the middle
mouse button to accept, and press Apply. After accepting this Parts
assignment, dynamically rotate the model to confirm that SOLID is inside
the blade.
When this is complete, all components of the Geometry should now have
part name assignments.
Delete any Empty Parts: From the Display Tree, right mouse select on
Parts > Delete empty Parts.
File > Save Project As to save the updated model before continuing on in
this tutorial. Give the project any name you want.
h) Blocking

Initialize blocking, which will create the first block, by going to Blocking
> Create Block
will open.

> Initialize Block

. The Create Block window

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Figure 4-148
Create block window

Select the block Type as 3D Bounding Box (default) from the pull down
arrow. Name the Part as Fluid. Press Apply without selecting anything,
and the initial block will be created around the whole model.
i)

Association of vertex to point

To fit the Initialized Blocking more closely to the geometry, the user will
associate vertices to points.
> Associate Vertex
and the
Select Blocking > Associate
window shown will open. Toggle ON Blocking > Vertices and right
mouse click on Vertices > Numbers under Blocking in Display Tree.

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Figure 4-149
Associate vertex window

Select Point under Entity.

Press the vertex selection icon

and select Vertex 42. Press the point

and select Point GEOM/7 and press Apply to associate

selection icon
them as shown below. Similarly, associate the other vertices and points for
the inlet and outlet so that after completion the geometry should look like
below.

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Figure
4-150
Moving
the
vertices

Figure 4-151
Geometry after associating all vertices to corresponding points

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Note: When possible, the Block vertices on any circular geometry should be
placed so that edges are equal in length and the angles between edges are 90
degrees. This amounts to vertices being placed at 45, 135, 225, and 315 degrees
around the circle. This results in the best mesh quality.
j)

Associating edges to curves

Select Associate

>Associate Edge to Curve

. Press the edge

selection icon
then select the four edges shown in the figure below
and press the middle mouse button. Then press the curve selection icon
and select the four curves shown in the figure below and press the
middle mouse button. Notice that the block edges then transform from
white to green, confirming their association with the curve. Also
notice that the four curves become one color, indicating that they have
been grouped into one curve.
Figure 4-152
Association window

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Figure 4-153
Edges and Curve
selection for
association

Similarly, associate the four edges on the other circle to the corresponding
four curves. To see a confirmation of these associations, right mouse click
on Blocking > Edges > Show Association in the Display Tree.

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Figure
4-154
The Edge
Projection

Note: If the edges lie on the geometry, as is the case with longitudinal edges, the
projection arrows are not shown. By default, all external edges are surfaceassociated to the nearest active surface and appear as white. The association can
be set to this default using Associate

> Associate Edge to Surface

This operation is useful to correct any Edge to Curve Association mistakes. All
internal edges, by default, have no association, and appear as blue. You can set
this association, which is really deleting an association, by pressing

k) Grouping curves

Note: This section does not need to be performed on the model, but it
shows the user how to manually group curves.
Select Blocking > Associate

> Group curves.

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Figure 4-155
Group curve window

Select the four curves corresponding to OUTLET as shown in the figure

and press Apply to group them.
l)

Splitting the Topology Using Prescribed Points and Screen Select

The following steps instruct the user to split the block in the k and j
directions around the blade, thus creating further blocking topology for the
blade. The k-direction splits will be created through the prescribed point
method, while the j-direction splits will be made by visual judgment.
Press View > Top, then Fit Window
Turn off Vertices at this stage.
>Split Block
and it will open
Choose Blocking > Split Block
the window as shown in the figure below. Choose All visible and Split
method as Prescribed Point. Select the edge selection icon
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one of the edge which is along z-direction. After selecting the edge it will
prompt you to select the point Select the Prescribe point, GEOM/9 and
press middle click to accept the selection.
Similarly, make another split using the same edge but through the
Prescribed Point, GEOM/8.
Similarly, make another horizontal split through the prescribed point
GEOM/12. The final result will have three horizontal splits as shown in
below.
Note: Make sure that the Edge that is selected lies within the range of the
Prescribed Point that will be selected.
Figure 4-156
Split block window

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Figure 4-157
Make the
horizontal splits in
the block

These are the splits in the k-direction. The next set of splits will be in the
i direction.
Now select the Split method as Screen select. Press the edge selection
icon

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direction) to create a vertical split. If Settings>Selection>Auto pick mode

is OFF, press Apply, and it will ask for a location on the screen to split
through. Select on a curve or edge on any location that is vertically in line
with the right side of the blade. If Auto pick mode is ON, you should left
mouse click on the edge and hold the button while dragging the split to
where you want it. Press the middle mouse button to complete the split
operation. Then use the same method to create another vertical split on
the left side of the blade.

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Figure 4-158
Horizontal splits on blade sides

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Note: Every time a block Split is performed, the Index control is updated. After
the splits are complete, the new range of the K index will be from 0-6.

m) Collapsing Blocks to Display the Blade

In this section, the Collapse feature is introduced to create degenerate

blocks for the blade.
For clarity in these operations, right mouse click in the Display tree on
Blocking>Index Control. Change the Index control for the I dimension
so that the Min is 2 and the Max is 3. Turn OFF the Points from the
Display window. The restricted topology consists of four blocks, where
the two center blocks belong to the blade.
Before collapsing the blocks, change the Part family of the two center
blocks to SOLID, the material representing the blade.
Right mouse click on SOLID>Add to part underneath Parts in the Display
Tree, and it will open the Add to Part window. Select Blocking Material,
Add Blocks to Part
, and select the blocks of the blade as shown
below, then press the middle mouse button to complete the operation.
Figure
4-159
Assigning
the blade
blocks

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Now select Blocking > Merge Vertices

> Collapse Block
.
Choose the edge that should be collapsed. In this case it is the shortest
edge of the selected blocks. Select the two blocks shown in the figure
below. Press Apply to Collapse the blocks.
Figure
4-160
Collapsing
the blade
Blocks

After collapsing we get the model as shown below.

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Figure 4-161
The Collapsed
Blocking

n) Edge to Curve Association on the Blade

Choose Blocking> Associate

>Associate Edge to Curve
Associate edge to curve window will open as shown below.

.The

Note: Make sure Project Vertices is disabled.

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Figure 4-162
Association Edge to Curve Window

You should associate the Edges and corresponding blade curves as shown
below.Do this to the top and bottom of the blade, on both sides.
After associating, Switch on Blocking > Edge > Show Association from
the Display Tree. The geometry should look as shown.

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Figure 4-163
Blade edges to be
association to curves

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Figure 4-164
Blade edges
Associated to curves

o) Moving the Vertices

This section shows the user how to move all the associated vertices onto
the geometry in one step.
Snap the appropriate block vertices onto the geometry by selecting
> Snap Project Vertices
.All Visible should be toggled
Associate
ON. Then Press Apply.
Switch off Edges > Show Association. All the vertices belonging to blade,
inlet and outlet are moved to the locations as shown below.

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Figure
4-165
The final
positions
of the
vertices
before
the O
grid

p) Vertex Color Distinction

Notice from this lesson and from previous lessons, that the movement of
the vertices is restricted to the associated Curve. The colors of the vertices
indicate their associations and degrees of freedom.
Vertices associated with Prescribed Points are red and are fixed at a point.
Vertices associated to a curve are green and can be moved on the
associated curve.
By default, all the vertices lying on the block material boundary are white
and are free to move on any surface.
Additionally, internal surfaces are blue and can be moved along the blue
block edges to which they are connected.
q) Generating the O-Grid

If the pre-mesh is generated at this point, the existing blocking would

result in skewed cells on the four corners of the pipe. Converting the
existing H-Grid type topology to an O-grid type topology inside the pipe
will produce a mesh that is low in skewness, with orthogonal grid on the
pipe walls. The following steps will improve the overall mesh quality.

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Press Blocking >Split Block

> O grid Block

Press
and select all the Blocks of both the FLUID and SOLID
regions since the O-grid will be added in the entire pipe as shown in
below. Press the middle mouse button to accept.
Similarly, press
and select the two INLET faces and two OUTLET
faces as shown. Press the middle mouse button to accept, and Press Apply
to create the O-grid.
Figure
4-166
Add the
faces of
the outlet
and inlet
to O-grid

After creating the O-Grid, the blocking will appear as shown.

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Figure
4-167
The O-grid

r)

Defining Surface Parameters for the Mesh

In this step, the user will define node distributions on the blocking using
surface parameters. Surfaces should be turned ON in the Display Tree so
they can be selected from the screen.
Select Mesh > Surface Mesh Setup

and select the surface selection

icon
. Then select all the surfaces by box selecting the entire model or
pressing a. Enter the Maximum Element size as 0.3, Height as 0.03 and
Ratio as 1.25, as shown.

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Figure 4-168
Surface mesh size window

Press Apply to assign the surface parameters. Display the surface

parameters by right mouse clicking in the Display Tree on Geometry>
Surface > Hexa Sizes. The surfaces will show hexa icons as shown.

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Figure
4-169
The
surface
parameters

Switch OFF Surface > Hexa Sizes.

s)

Defining Edge Parameters to Adjust the Mesh

Although it may be enough to define the meshing with surface parameters,

the mesh quality of more complex models can be improved by defining
additional edge parameters. Perform these next steps to redistribute points
along the diagonal (radial) edge of the O-grid.
For the convenience of selecting the edges, right mouse click in the
Display Tree to turn ON Vertices > Numbers and Edges > Bunching.
Then make sure Vertices in ON. Zoom-in on the OUTLET area of the
blocking.
Select Blocking >Pre-mesh Params
>Update Sizes
.Make sure
Update All is toggled on (default), and Press Apply. This will compute the
node distributions on the blocking edges from the surface parameters.
Turn ON Blocking > Pre-Mesh from the Display Tree. Press Yes, when
it says, Mesh is currently out of date recompute?
Right click on Blocking > Pre-Mesh > Solid and Wire in the Display Tree
to display the mesh in Solid/Wire for better Visualization. The mesh will
look like as shown below when viewing the OUTLET.

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Figure 4-170
Mesh before
changing mesh
parameters

The mesh is denser at the walls. The near wall elements will have the
same initial height that was set on the surface parameters, which was 0.03.
It may be desirable to have denser near-wall spacing.
Select Blocking >Pre-mesh Params
>Edge Params
. Turn OFF
Blocking > Pre-Mesh so the edges can be easily seen and selected. Select
any of the radial edges. These are the edges created by the O-grid that
are oriented radially in relation to the grid lines that run circumferentially
around the tube. Or you can select the same edge shown in the figure
below, which is the blocking Edge 196-118. Set Spacing1 to 0.015, which
is half the previous value. Set Spacing2 to 0, which will allow it to go as
large as possible. Increase the number of nodes to 13 so the Ratio1 (1.25)
can be met. Enable Copy Parameters and select Method Copy to
Parallel edges to duplicate these settings on parallel edges in the blocking.
Then press Apply.
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Figure 4-171
Setting edge meshing parameters

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Figure 4-172
Selection of
edge for
changing
Parameters

Note: Spacing1 is the first element size at vertex 118 while spacing2 is the first
element size at vertex 196. Side 1 and Side 2 are indicated by the direction

arrow that displays on the edge after it is selected.

Switch OFF Edges > Bunching in the Display Tree.
Switch ON Blocking > Pre-Mesh in the Display Tree. If you right click on
Blocking > Pre-mesh, you should see Project faces checked ON by
default. Choose Yes when asked to recompute the mesh. Switch OFF
Geometry, Vertices and Edges in the Display Tree.
Turn off the SOLID volume part name from the Display Tree and right
click in the Display Tree to turn on Blocking > Pre-mesh > Solid and Wire
if it is not already on.

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Figure
4-173
The final
mesh
displayed
in Solid
and Wire

t)

Checking mesh quality for determinants and angle

To check the mesh quality, select Blocking >Pre-mesh Quality Histogram

. Select the criterion as Determinant (2x2x2) and enter the Min-X
value 0, Max-X value 1, Max-y height 12 and Num of bars 20. Press
Apply. The histogram will be displayed in the lower right.
A value of determinant greater than 0.2 is acceptable for most commercial
solvers.

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Figure 4-174
Pre-mesh quality
window while selecting
Determinant 2x2x2

Figure 4-175
Histogram showing
Determinant 2x2x2

Then, in the Pre-Mesh Quality window at the upper left, select Angle from
the Criterion pull down. Enter the values as shown below and press
Apply. A new histogram will appear for the internal angles of elements as
shown.

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Figure 4-176
Pre-mesh quality
Window while
selecting Angle

An angle greater than 18 degrees is acceptable for most commercial

solvers.
Figure
4-177
Histogram
showing
Angle

Note: As taught in the 3DPipeJunct example, to display cells of a particular

determinant or angle value, select a histogram bar and then select Show. Cells
within that range will be highlighted. The user should then inspect the elements
and decide on a solution. In most of the cases, block vertices can be moved or
edge parameters can be changed to improve the area.

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u) Running Pre-mesh smoother

Before converting the Pre-mesh to an unstructured or structured mesh, the

user may choose first to smooth the mesh.
. The Pre-mesh smooth window
Select Blocking > Pre-mesh Smooth
will then appear. Select the Method as Quality. Select the Criterion as
Angle and enter Smoothing iterations 3 and Up to quality 0.5 as shown.
Figure 4-178
Pre-mesh smooth window

Press Apply to smooth mesh. Changes in the minimum angle of the mesh
can be seen in the histogram as shown. The node position changes made
by the pre-mesh smoother will not be saved to the blocking. So reloading
the blocking and computing the mesh will always produced the mesh
before smoothing. So at this point, you should not recompute the mesh.

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Figure 4-179
Histogram after
running
smoother

v) Saving

Select File > Blocking > Save blocking As and enter a name, such as
b1.blk. Saving the blocking will allow the user to change any meshing
parameters in the future by reloading the blocking onto the geometry.
To write the mesh in an unstructured format, right mouse click in the
Display Tree on Blocking > Pre-mesh > Convert to Unstruct Mesh. This
will write the default name hex.uns to the working directory, and
immediately load the mesh. To save the mesh to a different name, the user
can then select File>Mesh>Save Mesh As.
To write the mesh in a structured format, right mouse click in the Display
Tree on Blocking > Pre-mesh > Convert to MultiBlock Mesh.
Finally, save the project.

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