Tut06 PDF

Tutorial 6.
Using a Non-Conformal Mesh

Introduction
Film cooling is a process that is used to protect turbine vanes in a gas turbine engine from
exposure to hot combustion gases. This tutorial illustrates how to set up and solve a lm
cooling problem using a non-conformal mesh. The system that is modeled consists of
three parts: a duct, a hole array, and a plenum. The duct is modeled using a hexahedral
mesh, and the plenum and hole regions are modeled using a tetrahedral mesh. These two
meshes are merged together to form a hybrid mesh, with a non-conformal interface
boundary between them.
Due to the symmetry of the hole array, only a portion of the geometry is modeled in
FLUENT, with symmetry applied to the outer boundaries. The duct contains a high-
velocity uid in streamwise ow (Figure 6.1). An array of holes intersects the duct at an
inclined angle, and a cooler uid is injected into the holes from a plenum. The coolant
that moves through the holes acts to cool the surface of the duct, downstream of the
injection. Both uids are air, and the ow is classied as turbulent. The velocity and
temperature of the streamwise and cross-ow uids are known, and FLUENT is used to
predict the ow and temperature elds that result from convective heat transfer.
This tutorial demonstrates how to do the following:
Merge hexahedral and tetrahedral meshes to form a hybrid mesh.
Create a non-conformal grid interface.
Model heat transfer across a non-conformal interface with specied temperature
and velocity boundary conditions.
Calculate a solution using the pressure-based solver.
Plot temperature proles on specied isosurfaces.
Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the menu structure in FLUENT and that
you have completed Tutorial 1. Some steps in the setup and solution procedure will not
be shown explicitly.
c Fluent Inc. September 21, 2006 6-1
Problem Description
This problem considers a model of a 3D section of a lm cooling test rig. A schematic
of the problem is shown in Figure 6.1. The problem consists of a duct, 49 in long,
with cross-sectional dimensions of 0.75 in 5 in. An array of uniformly spaced holes is
located at the bottom of the duct. Each hole has a diameter of 0.5 inches, is inclined at
35 degrees, and is spaced 1.5 inches apart laterally. Cooler injected air enters the system
through the plenum having cross-sectional dimensions of 3.3 in 1.25 in.
Only a portion of the domain needs to be modeled because of the symmetry of the
geometry. The bulk temperature of the streamwise air (T
) is 273 K, and the velocity

of the air stream is 20 m/s. The bottom wall of the duct that intersects the hole array
is assumed to be a completely insulated (adiabatic) wall. The secondary (injected) air
enters the plenum at a uniform velocity of 0.4559 m/s. The temperature of the injected
air (T
inject
) is 136.6 K. The properties of air that are used in the model are also mentioned
in Figure 6.1.
8
= 273 K T
8
= 273 K T
35
z
x
0.5 in
= 0.000017894 kg/ms
= 136.6 K
inject
T
= 1006.43 J/kgK C
p
= 136.6 K
inject
T
Hole1
Plenum1
Hole2
Plenum2
9.5 in
0.5 in 0.5 in
5 in
3.3 in
14.5 in
v = 20 m/s
x
y
24 in
0.75 in
v = 0.4995 m/s
TOP VIEW
1.25 in
1.25 in
FRONT VIEW
v = 0.4995 m/s
Figure 6.1: Schematic of the Problem
6-2 c Fluent Inc. September 21, 2006
Setup and Solution
Preparation
1. Download non_conformal_mesh.zip from the Fluent Inc. User Services Center or
copy it from the FLUENT documentation CD to your working folder (as described
in Tutorial 1).
2. Unzip non_conformal_mesh.zip.
film hex.msh and film tet.msh can be found in the non conformal mesh folder
created after unzipping the le.
Step 1: Merging the Mesh Files
1. Start the 3D (3d) version of TGrid.
Information about TGrid is available on the Fluent Inc. User Services Center.
2. Read in the hexahedral and tetrahedral mesh les.
File Read Mesh...
(a) Select the rst mesh le lm tet.msh from the Files list.
(b) Select the second mesh le lm hex.msh from the Files list.
!
The mesh les must be read into TGrid in this order for the tutorial to run
as written. Otherwise, zone names and numbers will be assigned dierently
when the les are merged together. In general, however, you can specify
les to be read into TGrid in any order.
(c) Click OK to read the two les.
You can also use the Append Files option in TGrid to read in the mesh les.
Use the following procedure to use the Append Files option:
i. Read the rst mesh le in TGrid.
ii. Enable Append File(s) in the Select File panel and read the second mesh
le.
!
The Append File(s) option is not accessible while reading the rst mesh le.
It will be accessible only after reading in the rst mesh le.
3. Save the hex and tet mesh les together as a new merged mesh le (filmcool.msh).
File Write Mesh...
4. Exit TGrid.
File Exit
Step 2: Grid
1. Start the 3D (3d) version of FLUENT.
2. Read in the mesh le (filmcool.msh).
File Read Case...
3. Check the grid.
Grid Check
FLUENT will perform various checks on the mesh and report the progress in the
console. Make sure that the minimum volume reported is a positive number.
4. Scale the grid and change the unit of length to inches.
Grid Scale...
(a) Select in from the Grid Was Created In drop-down list in the Unit Conversion
group box.
(b) Click Scale to scale the grid.
(c) Click Change Length Units to set inches as the working units for length.
The nal Domain Extents should appear as shown in the Scale Grid panel.
(d) Close the Scale Grid panel.
5. Display an outline of the 3D grid (Figure 6.2).
Display Grid...
(a) Retain the default selections in the Surfaces list.
(b) Click Display.
Grid
FLUENT 6.3 (3d, pbns, lam)
Z
Y
X
Figure 6.2: Hybrid Mesh for Film Cooling Problem
(c) Zoom in using the middle mouse button to view the hole and plenum regions
(Figure 6.3).
Grid
FLUENT 6.3 (3d, pbns, lam)
Z
Y
X
Figure 6.3: Hybrid Mesh (Zoomed-In View)
In Figure 6.3, you can see the quadrilateral faces of the hexahedral cells that are
used to model the duct region and the triangular faces of the tetrahedral cells that
are used to model the plenum and hole regions, resulting in a hybrid mesh.
Extra: You can use the right mouse button to check which zone number corresponds
to each boundary. If you click the right mouse button on one of the boundaries
in the graphics window, its zone number, name, and type will be printed in
the FLUENT console. This feature is especially useful when you have several
zones of the same type and you want to distinguish between them quickly.
6. Close the Grid Display panel.
Step 3: Models
1. Retain the default solver settings.
Dene Models Solver...
2. Enable heat transfer by enabling the energy equation.
Dene Models Energy...
3. Enable the standard k- turbulence model.
Dene Models Viscous...
(a) Select k-epsilon (2 eqn) in the Model list.
The Viscous Model panel will expand to show the additional input options for
the k- model.
(b) Retain the default settings for the remaining parameters.
(c) Click OK to close the Viscous Model panel.
Step 4: Materials
1. Dene the material properties.
Dene Materials...
(a) Retain the selection of air in the Fluent Fluid Materials drop-down list.
(b) Select incompressible-ideal-gas law from the Density drop-down list.
The incompressible ideal gas law is used when pressure variations are small
but temperature variations are large. The incompressible ideal gas option for
density treats the uid density as a function of temperature only. If the above
condition is satised, the incompressible ideal gas law generally gives better
convergence compared to the ideal gas law, without sacricing accuracy.
(c) Retain the default values for all other properties.
(d) Click Change/Create and close the Materials panel.
Step 5: Operating Conditions
1. Retain the default operating conditions.
Dene Operating Conditions...
Step 6: Boundary Conditions
Dene Boundary Conditions...
1. Set the boundary conditions for the streamwise ow inlet (velocity-inlet-1).
(a) Change the Zone Name from velocity-inlet-1 to velocity-inlet-duct.
(b) Enter 20 m/s for the Velocity Magnitude.
(c) Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specication Method drop-
down list in the Turbulence group box.
(d) Enter 1% and 5 in for the Turbulent Intensity and the Hydraulic Diameter,
respectively.
(e) Click the Thermal tab and enter 273 K for the Temperature.
(f) Click OK to close the Velocity Inlet panel.
2. Set the boundary conditions for the rst injected stream inlet (velocity-inlet-5).
(a) Change the Zone Name from velocity-inlet-5 to velocity-inlet-plenum1.
(b) Enter 0.4559 m/s for the Velocity Magnitude.
(c) Select Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specication Method drop-down
list in the Turbulence group box.
(d) Enter 1% for the Turbulent Intensity and retain the default setting of 10 for
the Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
(e) Click the Thermal tab and enter 136.6 K for Temperature.
(f) Click OK to close the Velocity Inlet panel.
In the absence of any identiable length scale for turbulence, the Intensity and Vis-
cosity Ratio method should be used.
See Chapter 12 of the Users Guide for more information on how to set the boundary
conditions for turbulence.
3. Copy the boundary conditions set for the rst injected stream inlet.
(a) Click the Copy... button in the Boundary Conditions panel to open the Copy
BCs panel.
(b) Select velocity-inlet-plenum1 from the From Zone selection list.
(c) Select velocity-inlet-6 from the To Zone selection list.
(d) Click Copy.
A Warning dialog box will open, asking if you want to copy velocity-inlet-
plenum1 boundary conditions to velocity-inlet-6. Click OK.
(e) Close the Copy BCs panel.
!
Copying a boundary condition does not create a link from one zone to
another. If you want to change the boundary conditions on these zones,
you will have to change each one separately.
4. Set the boundary conditions for the second injected stream inlet (velocity-inlet-6).
(a) Change the Zone Name from velocity-inlet-6 to velocity-inlet-plenum2.
(b) Verify that the boundary conditions were copied correctly.
(c) Click OK to close the Velocity Inlet panel.
5. Set the boundary conditions for the ow exit (pressure-outlet-1).
(a) Change the Zone Name from pressure-outlet-1 to pressure-outlet-duct.
(b) Retain the default setting of 0 Pa for Gauge Pressure.
(c) Select Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specication Method drop-down
list in the Turbulence group box.
(d) Enter 1% for the Backow Turbulent Intensity and retain the default setting of
10 for the Backow Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
(e) Click the Thermal tab and enter 273 K for Backow Total Temperature.
(f) Click OK to close the Pressure Outlet panel.
6. Set the conditions for the uid in the duct (uid-9.65527).
(a) Change the Zone Name from fluid-9.65527 to fluid-duct.
(b) Retain the default selection of air in the Material Name drop-down list.
(c) Click OK to close the Fluid panel.
7. Set the conditions for the uid in the rst plenum and hole (uid-8).
(a) Change the Zone Name from fluid-8 to fluid-plenum1.
8. Set the conditions for the uid in the second plenum and hole (uid-9).
(a) Change the Zone Name from fluid-9 to fluid-plenum2.
9. Retain the default boundary conditions for the plenum and hole walls (wall-4 and
wall-5).
10. Verify that the symmetry planes are set to the correct type.
(a) Select symmetry-1 in the Zone list.
(b) Make sure that symmetry is highlighted in the Type list.
(c) Similarly, verify that the zones symmetry-5, symmetry-7, symmetry-tet1, and
symmetry-tet2 are set to the correct type.
11. Dene the zones on the non-conformal boundary as interface zones by changing the
Type for wall-1, wall-7, and wall-8 to interface.
The non-conformal grid interface contains three boundary zones: wall-1, wall-7,
and wall-8. wall-1 is the bottom surface of the duct, wall-7 and wall-8 represent the
holes through which the cool air is injected from the plenum (Figure 6.4). These
boundaries were dened as walls in the original mesh les (film hex.msh and
film tet.msh) and must be redened as interface boundary types.
(a) Open the Grid Display panel.
Display Grid...
i. Select wall-1, wall-7, and wall-8 from the Surfaces selection list.
Use the scroll bar to access the surfaces that are not initially visible in the
panel.
Note: You may need to deselect all surfaces rst by selecting the unshaded
icon to the far right of Surfaces.
ii. Click Display and close the Grid Display panel.
(b) Display the bottom view.
Display Views...
i. Select bottom under Views and click Apply.
ii. Close the Views panel.
Zoom in using the middle mouse button. Figure 6.4 shows the grid for the
wall-1 and wall-7 boundaries (i.e., hole-1). Similarly, you can zoom in to
see the grid for the wall-1 and wall-8 boundaries (i.e., hole-2).
Grid
FLUENT 6.3 (3d, pbns, ske)
Z
Y X
Figure 6.4: Grid for the wall-1 and wall-7 Boundaries
(a) Select wall-1 in the Zone list and select interface as the new Type.
A Question dialog box will open, asking if it is OK to change the type of wall-1
from wall to interface. Click Yes in the Question dialog box.
The interface panel will open and give the default name for the newly created
interface zone.
i. Change the Zone Name to interface-duct.
ii. Click OK to close the interface panel.
(b) Similarly, convert wall-7 and wall-8 to interface boundary zones, specifying
interface-hole1 and interface-hole2 for Zone Name, respectively.
12. Close the Boundary Conditions panel.
Step 7: Grid Interfaces
In this step, you will create a non-conformal grid interface between the hexahedral and
tetrahedral meshes.
Dene Grid Interfaces...
1. Select interface-hole1 and interface-hole2 from the Interface Zone 1 selection list.
!
When one interface zone is smaller than the other, choose the smaller zone
as Interface Zone 1.
2. Select interface-duct from the Interface Zone 2 selection list.
3. Enter the name junction under Grid Interface.
4. Click Create.
In the process of creating the grid interface, FLUENT will create three new wall
boundary zones: wall-10, wall-17, and wall-18.
wall-10 and wall-17 are the non-overlapping regions of the interface-hole1 and
interface-zone2 zones that result from the intersection of the interface-hole1,
interface-hole2, and interface-duct boundary zones. They are listed under Bound-
ary Zone 1 in the Grid Interfaces panel. These wall boundaries are empty, since
interface-hole1 and interface-hole2 are completely contained within the interface-
duct boundary.
wall-18 is the non-overlapping region of the interface-duct zone that results from
the intersection of the three interface zones, and is listed under Boundary Zone
2 in the Grid Interfaces panel.
You will not be able to display these walls.
!
You will need to set boundary conditions for wall-18 (since it is not empty).
In this case, the default settings are used.
5. Close the Grid Interfaces panel.
Step 8: Solution
1. Set the solution parameters.
Solve Controls Solution...
(a) Select Second Order Upwind for Momentum, Turbulent Kinetic Energy, Turbulent
Dissipation Rate and Energy in the Discretization group box.
Use the scroll bar to access the properties that are not initially visible in the
panel.
(b) Click OK to accept the settings and close the Solution Controls panel.
2. Enable the plotting of residuals.
Solve Monitors Residual...
(a) Enable Plot in the Options group box.
(b) Click OK to close the Residual Monitors panel.
3. Initialize the solution.
Solve Initialize Initialize...
(a) Select velocity-inlet-duct from the Compute From drop-down list.
(b) Click Init and close the Solution Initialization panel.
4. Save the case le (filmcool.cas.gz).
File Write Case...
5. Start the calculation by requesting 250 iterations.
Solve Iterate...
(a) Enter 250 for the Number of Iterations.
(b) Click Iterate.
Note: During the rst few iterations, the console reports that turbulent viscos-
ity is limited in a couple of cells. The console should no longer display this
message as the solution converges and the turbulent viscosity approaches
more reasonable levels.
The solution converges after approximately 140 iterations.
(c) Close the Iterate panel.
6. Save the case and data les (filmcool.cas.gz and filmcool.dat.gz).
File Write Case & Data...
Note: If you choose a le name that already exists in the current folder, FLUENT
will prompt you for conrmation to overwrite the le.
Step 9: Postprocessing
1. Reset the view to the default view if you changed the default display of the grid.
Display Views...
(a) Click Default in the Actions group box.
(b) Close the Views panel.
2. Display lled contours of static pressure (Figure 6.5).
Display Contours...
(a) Enable Filled in the Options group box.
(b) Select Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Contours of drop-down lists.
(c) Select interface-duct, interface-hole1, interface-hole2, symmetry-1, symmetry-tet1,
symmetry-tet2, wall-4, and wall-5 from the Surfaces selection list.
panel.
(d) Click Display in the Contours panel.
Contours of Static Pressure (pascal)
3.54e+02
3.29e+02
3.05e+02
2.81e+02
2.56e+02
2.32e+02
2.08e+02
1.83e+02
1.59e+02
1.34e+02
1.10e+02
8.57e+01
6.13e+01
3.70e+01
1.26e+01
-1.17e+01
-3.61e+01
-6.05e+01
-8.48e+01
-1.09e+02
-1.34e+02
Z
Y
X
Figure 6.5: Contours of Static Pressure
The maximum pressure change (see Figure 6.5) is only 488 Pa. Compared to
a mean pressure of 1.013e5 Pa, the variation is less than 0.5%, and thus the
use of the incompressible ideal gas law is appropriate.
(e) Zoom in on the view to display the contours at the holes (Figures 6.6 and 6.7).
Note the high/low pressure zones on the upstream/downstream sides of the
coolant hole, where the jet rst penetrates the primary ow in the duct.
3.54e+02
3.29e+02
3.05e+02
2.81e+02
2.56e+02
2.32e+02
2.08e+02
1.83e+02
1.59e+02
1.34e+02
1.10e+02
8.57e+01
6.13e+01
3.70e+01
1.26e+01
-1.17e+01
-3.61e+01
-6.05e+01
-8.48e+01
-1.09e+02
-1.34e+02
Z
Y
X
Figure 6.6: Contours of Static Pressure at the First Hole
3.54e+02
3.30e+02
3.05e+02
2.81e+02
2.56e+02
2.32e+02
2.08e+02
1.83e+02
1.59e+02
1.35e+02
1.10e+02
8.57e+01
6.13e+01
3.70e+01
1.26e+01
-1.18e+01
-3.62e+01
-6.06e+01
-8.50e+01
-1.09e+02
-1.34e+02
Z
Y
X
Figure 6.7: Contours of Static Pressure at the Second Hole
3. Display lled contours of static temperature (Figures 6.8 and 6.9).
Display Contours...
(a) Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Contours of drop-down
lists.
(b) Disable Auto Range under Options so that you can change the maximum and
minimum temperature gradient values to be plotted.
(c) Retain the default value of 0 for Min.
(d) Enter 273.096 for Max.
(e) Disable Clip to Range under Options.
(f) Click Display and close the Contours panel.
(g) Zoom in on the view to get the display shown in Figure 6.9.
Figures 6.8 and 6.9 clearly show how the coolant ow insulates the bottom of
the duct from the higher-temperature primary ow.
Contours of Static Temperature (k)
2.73e+02
2.59e+02
2.46e+02
2.32e+02
2.18e+02
2.05e+02
1.91e+02
1.78e+02
1.64e+02
1.50e+02
1.37e+02
1.23e+02
1.09e+02
9.56e+01
8.19e+01
6.83e+01
5.46e+01
4.10e+01
2.73e+01
1.37e+01
0.00e+00
Z
Y
X
Figure 6.8: Contours of Static Temperature
Contours of Static Temperature (k)
2.73e+02
2.59e+02
2.46e+02
2.32e+02
2.18e+02
2.05e+02
1.91e+02
1.78e+02
1.64e+02
1.50e+02
1.37e+02
1.23e+02
1.09e+02
9.56e+01
8.19e+01
6.83e+01
5.46e+01
4.10e+01
2.73e+01
1.37e+01
0.00e+00
Z
Y
X
Figure 6.9: Contours of Static Temperature (Zoomed-In View)
4. Display the velocity vectors (Figure 6.10).
Display Vectors...
(a) Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Color by drop-down lists.
(b) Enter 2 for the Scale.
This enlarges the vectors that are displayed, making it easier to view the ow
patterns.
(c) Select interface-duct, interface-hole1, interface-hole2, symmetry-1, symmetry-tet1,
symmetry-tet2, wall-4, and wall-5 from the Surfaces selection list.
panel.
(d) Click Display and close the Vectors panel.
(e) Zoom in on the view to get the display shown in Figure 6.10.
In Figure 6.10, the ow pattern in the vicinity of the coolant hole shows the level of
penetration of the coolant jet into the main ow. Note that the velocity eld varies
smoothly across the non-conformal interface.
Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s)
2.15e+01
2.04e+01
1.93e+01
1.83e+01
1.72e+01
1.61e+01
1.50e+01
1.40e+01
1.29e+01
1.18e+01
1.07e+01
9.67e+00
8.60e+00
7.52e+00
6.45e+00
5.38e+00
4.30e+00
3.23e+00
2.15e+00
1.08e+00
6.75e-03
Z
Y
X
Figure 6.10: Velocity Vectors
5. Create an isosurface along a horizontal cross-section of the duct, 0.1 inches above
the bottom, at y = 0.1 in.
Surface Iso-Surface...
(a) Select Grid... and Y-Coordinate from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
(b) Enter 0.1 for Iso-Values.
(c) Enter y=0.1in under New Surface Name.
(d) Click Create.
(e) Close the Iso-Surface panel.
6. Create an XY plot of static temperature on the isosurface created (Figure 6.11).
Plot XY Plot...
(a) Retain the default Plot Direction.
(b) Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Y-Axis Function drop-
down lists.
(c) Select y=0.1in from the Surfaces selection list.
Scroll down using the scroll bar to access y=0.1in.
(d) Click Plot.
In Figure 6.11, you can see how the temperature of the uid changes as the
cool air from the injection holes mixes with the primary ow. The temperature
is coolest just downstream of the holes. You can also make a similar plot on
the lower wall to examine the wall surface temperature.
(e) Close the Solution XY Plot panel.
Z
Y
X
Static Temperature
Position (in)
(k)
Temperature
Static
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10
2.80e+02
2.60e+02
2.40e+02
2.20e+02
2.00e+02
1.80e+02
1.60e+02
1.40e+02
1.20e+02
y=0.1in
Figure 6.11: Static Temperature at y=0.1 in
Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how FLUENTs non-conformal grid interface capability can
be used to handle hybrid meshes for complex geometries, such as the lm cooling hole
conguration examined here. One of the principal advantages of this approach is that
it allows you to merge existing component meshes together to create a larger, more
complex mesh system, without requiring that the dierent components have the same
node locations on their shared boundaries. Thus, you can perform parametric studies
by merging the desired meshes, creating the non-conformal interface(s), and solving the
model. For example, in the present case, you can do the following:
Use a dierent hole/plenum mesh.
Reposition the existing hole/plenum mesh.
Add additional hole/plenum meshes to create aligned or staggered multiple hole
arrays.
Further Improvements
This tutorial guides you through the steps to reach an initial solution. You may be able
to obtain a more accurate solution by using an appropriate higher-order discretization
scheme and by adapting the grid. Grid adaption can also ensure that the solution is
independent of the grid. These steps are demonstrated in Tutorial 1.

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Tutorial 6.

Using a Non-Conformal Mesh

) is 273 K, and the velocity

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