Introduction to DesignModeler and CFX

By:
Ephraim Sparrow, John Abraham, Jimmy Tong, Sandra Sparr

2005 ANSYS, Inc.

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary

Presentation Agenda
Brief background on computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
Introduction to the ANSYS software suite
A series of step-by-step tutorials to guide you through ANSYS
DesignModeler and ANSYS CFX

2006 ANSYS, Inc.

CFD Background
Computational fluid dynamics involves the simulation of fluid flow
and heat transfer.
The method requires the subdivision of a flowing fluid region into a
series of elements (control volumes)

2006 ANSYS, Inc.

CFD Background
Each element contains calculation locations where quantities such
as velocity, pressure, and temperature are determined.
The collection of the calculations provide a description of the entire
flow field.

2006 ANSYS, Inc.

CFD Background
Control volumes used to subdivide a three-dimensional rectangular
solid.
Creating the mesh is critical for the attainment of accurate solutions.
It is often impossible to extract meaningful results from a poor mesh.

2006 ANSYS, Inc.

CFD Background
Another critical step in a CFD analysis is the creation of boundary
conditions. Boundary conditions describe characteristics of the fluid
flow at the boundary of the solution domain.

The boundary regions, shown in green, completely encompass the

fluid.

2006 ANSYS, Inc.

Software Overview
The ANSYS software has the capability of solving structural, thermal,
E-M, and fluid problems.
Within ANSYS Workbench, CFX is utilized to carry out fluid flow
solutions.

2006 ANSYS, Inc.

Software Overview
WORKBENCH:
A working environment that enables the development, preparation and management of CAE information for
finite element analyses as simple as linear, static simulations or as complex as nonlinear, transient, dynamic
simulations for structural, mechanical, electrical, electromagnetic, thermal, fluid and biomedical applications.
The following tools are contained within ANSYS Workbench:
DESIGNMODELER:
A feature-based parametric 2D sketching and 3D modeling tool in Workbench where imported and/or
attached CAD geometry can be prepared for simulation.
CFX-MESH:
A meshing tool which allows the construction of a CFD mesh on three dimensional geometries created in
DesignModeler. The resulting mesh file is imported into CFX for analysis.
CFX:
A fully integrated CFD program which allows a user to construct and solve a fluid flow problem and analyze
the results.
ANSYS ICEM CFD:
From CAD to mesh generation for analysis, ANSYS ICEM CFD provides sophisticated geometry
acquisition, mesh generation, post-processing, and mesh optimization tools. The ICEM mesh generation
tools can parametrically create grids in multiple formats, including hexahedral, tetrahedral, hybrid, and
Cartesian meshes. ICEM CFD is an alternative to the mesh generation capability of CFX-Mesh. ICEM
CFD will not be featured in the present tutorial.

2006 ANSYS, Inc.

Software Overview - DesignModeler

Within each of the featured programs that are contained within the
ANSYS Workbench suite, generic algorithms may be followed for
most numerical simulations. For CFX-Mesh and CFX, those
algorithms are shown in the following:
CFX-Mesh Algorithm:
Step 1: Import the solid model from ANSYS DesignModeler
Step 2: Create the regions which are related to the physical boundary
conditions
Step 3: Specify the characteristics of the mesh (element size and layout)
Step 4: Create the surface mesh
Step 5: Create the volume mesh

2006 ANSYS, Inc.

Software Overview - CFX

CFX Algorithm:
I. Preprocessor (CFX-Pre):
Step 1: Import the mesh from CFX-Mesh
Step 2: Select the fluid type from the CFX database or assign the physical
properties of a fluid
Step 3: Specify the region of fluid flow, the physical model and the
boundary conditions
Step 4: Initialize the solution
Step 5: Provide information relating to the numerical solution procedure
Step 6: Export the files required for simulation to CFX-Solve
II. Solver (CFX-Solve):
Step 1: Carry out the numerical solution until convergence is achieved
III. Postprocessor (CFX-Post):
Step 1: View and analyze the results

2006 ANSYS, Inc.

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