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Fluent Summary
Fluent Summary
Used for incompressible flows (similar to mass-flow inlet boundary condition that is used for
compressible flows to account for variable density)
Pressure is calculated at the inlet
For turbulent flows, also need to specify turbulence parameters
For heat transfer, also need to specify inlet temperature
For non-uniform velocity profile, use boundary profile file (7.6 of User's Guide) created from
previous simulation, analytical analysis, or experimental data.
Examples: uniform flow at inlet of pipe or duct, uniform flow for external flow, fully-developed
flow at inlet of pipe or duct
2. PRESSURE-INLET (7.3.3 of User's Guide): fixes total fluid pressure at inlet
The total pressure, p0, is related to the static pressure, ps, through Bernoullis equation:
2
p0 = ps + 12 V
Example: free boundary where there is flow in from a room at atmospheric pressure
3. INLET-VENT (7.3.6 of User's Guide): fixes ambient total pressure with inlet vent (assumed
infinitely thin) with specified loss coefficient, kL, that can be constant or a function of velocity
and is defined as
p = k L
1
2
2
V
4. INTAKE-FAN (7.3.7 of User's Guide): fixes ambient total pressure with inlet fan (assumed
infinitely thin) with specified pressure jump that can be constant or a function of velocity
FRW i
N bnd
FRW
i=1
flow
pressure outlet
outflow
3. OUTLET-VENT (7.3.12 of User's Guide): fixes ambient discharge pressure with outlet vent
(assumed infinitely fin) with specified loss coefficient, kL, that can be constant or function of
velocity and is defined as
p = k L
1
2
2
V
4. EXHAUST-FAN: (7.3.13 of User's Guide) fixes ambient discharge pressure with exhaust fan
(assumed infinitely thin) with specified pressure jump that can be constant or function of velocity
3
(u)
2
k = ( u) and I =
2
u
Ideally, use experimental data to measure k or I. For underdeveloped, undisturbed flow use
I = 1% (wind tunnel inlet or typical free stream air).
I = 0.16 ( ReDh )
1/ 8
2. Specify turbulent dissipation rate (), turbulent length scale ( m ), viscosity ratio (t/), or
hydraulic diameter (Dh):
k3/2
where C = 0.09
m
= C3 / 4
To calculate
t/ from k and use the following:
t
k2
= C
where 1 < t < 10
m = 0.07 Dh
k U
approximate decay of k
across domain (about 10%)
free-stream velocity
Used when both flow and thermal solution are symmetric about a plane to reduce
computational domain
Use Display/Views menu and the Mirror Planes section to mirror the display
3. AXIS (7.3.17 of User's Guide): fixes boundary as axis for 2-D axisymmetric flow (use x-axis)
4. PERIODIC (7.3.16 of User's Guide): fixes boundary as periodic when geometry and flow
solution have a periodically repeating nature and will force the flow in to match the flow out
Can have either (1) no pressure drop or (2) prescribed pressure drop
Can specify either (1) translational or rotational periodicity
Must link boundaries together as periodic: for FLUENT use Command Window and enter
"mesh/modify-zones/make-periodic" and select Periodic Conditions to set mass flow rate or
pressure gradient and upstream bulk temperature
Examples: flow through heat exchanger tube bundle and rotational with multiple fluid in ports
flow
symmetry
flow
periodic
periodic
periodic
symmetry
ZONES:
1. FLUID (7.2.1 of User's Guide): sets zone as fluid
FLUID
SOLID
FLUID
Examples of porous media include filters, packed beds, perforated plates, and tube banks
Permeability and inertial losses for the porous media must be specified
Heat transfer calculations assume thermal equilibrium between medium and fluid flow
1-D simplification of porous media model is POROUS JUMP (7.3.20 of User's Guide) for
thin membranes where pressure drop versus velocity must be specified
4. FAN (7.3.18 of User's Guide): lumped-parameter model used to determine the impact of a fan
with known characteristics (pressure rise and velocity profile at exit) upon a larger flow field
The fan is assumed infinitely thin, thus is modeled as the interface between cells and the fan
zone type is an INTERFACE zone
5. RADIATOR (7.3.19 of User's Guide): lumped-parameter model used to add a heat exchange
element (for example a heat exchanger or condenser) with known characteristics (pressure drop
and heat transfer coefficient as a function of velocity) upon a larger flow field
The radiator is assumed infinitely thin, thus is modeled as the interface between cells and the
radiator zone type is an INTERFACE zone
Solver
Type
Space
Time
Units
Models
Energy
Viscous
Model
k- Model
Near-Wall
Options
Materials
Boundary Cond.
Zone
Reference Values
4. Solution
Solution Methods
Press.-Vel. Coup.
Spatial Discret.
Gradient
Pressure
Upwinding
Solution Controls
Relaxation
Advanced
Monitors
Residuals
Surface Mon.
Volume Mon.
Solution Init.
Compute From
Initialize
Can use inlet conditions for initial values (good for k and )
Sets values as initial guess or initial condition for transient
Calc. Activities
Autosave Every
Sol. Animations
File/Write/Case
Run Calculation
Check Case
Calculate
File/Write/Case & Data Save a copy of the case and data after converging to a solution
5. Results
Graphics and Animations
Graphics
Contours
Use to visualize contour plots of temperature, pressure, velocity,
etc.; use Colormap to change options such as number formatting
for contour plots; use Views to return to original view or to mirror
the solution for cases with symmetry; use New Surface to create a
new point, line, or plane in the flow for plotting
Vectors
Use to visualize velocity vectors for solution
Animations
Playback
Use to visualize animations for unsteady solutions
Plots
XY Plot
Reports
Fluxes
Forces
aP P = anb nb + b
nb
where aP is the center coefficient, anb are coefficients for the neighboring cells, and b results from
the boundary conditions and source terms. After each iteration the scaled residual is calculated
by summing over all cells the imbalance in the discretized conservation equation above and then
normalizing the result using the term shown in the denominator below
nb
R =
N cells
nb + b aP P
nb
aP P
N cells
Residual definitions are often useful for judging convergence for many classes of problems, but
are sometimes misleading. As a result, there are no universal metrics for judging convergence.
Thus, it is a good idea to judge convergence not only by examining residual levels, but also by
monitoring relevant integrated quantities such as mass flux or total heat transfer.
1. If an initial guess for a solution is very good the residual values will not decrease significantly
even though a converged solution has been reached.
2. If the variable of interest is nearly zero everywhere, the residuals may not decrease
significantly. In fully-developed pipe flow, for example, the cross-sectional velocities are zero. If
these velocities have been initialized to zero, initial (and final) residuals are both close to zero.
3. If the governing equation contains non-linear source terms that are zero at the beginning of the
calculation and build up slowly during computation, the residuals may not drop significantly. In
the case of natural convection in an enclosure, for example, initial momentum residuals may be
very close to zero because the initial uniform temperature guess does not generate buoyancy. The
initial nearly-zero residual is not a good scale for the residual.
4. For some equations, such as for turbulence quantities, a poor initial guess may result in high
scale factors. In such cases, scaled residuals will start low, increase as non-linear sources build
up, and eventually decrease. It is therefore good practice to judge convergence not just from the
value of the residual itself, but from its behavior. You should ensure that the residual continues
to decrease (or remain low) for several iterations (approximately 50 or more) before concluding
that the solution has converged.