FLUENT - Steady Flow Past a Cylinder

Authors: John Singleton and Rajesh Bhaskaran, Cornell University

Problem Specification
1. Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
2. Geometry
3. Mesh
4. Physics Setup
5. Numerical Solution
6. Numerical Results
7. Verification & Validation
Exercises
Comments

Steady Flow Past a Cylinder

Created using ANSYS 13.0

Problem Specification

Consider the steady state case of a fluid flowing past a cylinder, as illustrated above. Obtain the velocity and pressure distributions when the
Reynolds number is chosen to be 20. In order to simplify the computation, the diameter of the cylinder is set to 1 m, the x component of the
velocity is set to 1 m/s and the density of the fluid is set to 1 kg/m^3. Thus, the dynamic viscosity must be set to 0.05 kg/m*s in order to obtain the
desired Reynolds number.

Go to Step 1: Pre-Analysis and Start-Up

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Steady Flow Past a Cylinder - Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
Authors: John Singleton and Rajesh Bhaskaran, Cornell University

Problem Specification
1. Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
2. Geometry
3. Mesh
4. Physics Setup
5. Numerical Solution
6. Numerical Results
7. Verification & Validation
Exercises
Comments

Pre-Analysis & Start-Up

Prior to opening FLUENT, we must answer a couple of questions. We must determine what our solution domain is and what the boundary
conditions are.

Solution Domain

For an external flow problem like this, one needs to determine where to place the outer boundary. A circular domain will be used for this
simulation. The effects that the cylinder has on the flow extend far. Thus, the outer boundary will be set to be 64 times as large as the diameter of
the cylinder. That is, the outer boundary will be a circle with a diameter of 64 m. The solution domain discussed here is illustrated below.

Boundary Conditions

First, we will specify a velocity inlet boundary condition. We will set the left half of the outer boundary as a velocity inlet with a velocity of 1 m/s in
the x direction. Next, we will use a pressure outlet boundary condition for the right half of the outer boundary with a gauge pressure of 0 Pa.
Lastly, we will apply a no slip boundary condition to the cylinder wall. The aforementioned boundary conditions are illustrated below.
Go to Step 2: Geometry

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Steady Flow Past a Cylinder - Geometry
Authors: John Singleton and Rajesh Bhaskaran, Cornell University

Problem Specification
1. Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
2. Geometry
3. Mesh
4. Physics Setup
5. Numerical Solution
6. Numerical Results
7. Verification & Validation
Exercises
Comments

Geometry
Launch ANSYS Workbench: Start > All Programs > ANSYS > Workbench

For users of ANSYS 15.0, please check this link for procedures for turning on the Auto Constraint feature before creating sketches in
DesignModeler.

Create Flow Domain

Imprint Lines to Control Mesh Sizing

Close Design Modeler and Save Project

Go to Step 3: Mesh

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Steady Flow Past a Cylinder - Mesh
Authors: John Singleton and Rajesh Bhaskaran, Cornell University

Problem Specification
1. Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
2. Geometry
3. Mesh
4. Physics Setup
5. Numerical Solution
6. Numerical Results
7. Verification & Validation
Exercises
Comments

Mesh
In this section the geometry will be meshed with 18,432 elements. The geometry will be given 192 circumferential divisions and 96 radial
divisions. Mapped face meshing will be used and biasing will be used in order to significantly increase the number of elements located close to
the cylinder.

Create Named Selections

In this section the various parts of the geometry will be named according to the image below.

Go to Step 4: Physics Setup

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Steady Flow Past a Cylinder - Numerical Solution
Authors: John Singleton and Rajesh Bhaskaran, Cornell University

Problem Specification
1. Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
2. Geometry
3. Mesh
4. Physics Setup
5. Numerical Solution
6. Numerical Results
7. Verification & Validation
Exercises
Comments

Numerical Solution

Second Order Upwind Momentum Scheme

Solution > Solution Methods > Spatial Discretization.

Set Momentum to Second Order Upwind

Convergence Criterion

Solution > Monitors > Residuals > Edit....

Set the Absolute Criteria for continuity, x-velocity and y-velocity to 1e-6. Click ok

Solution > Monitors > Create > Drag

Then check Print to Console and Plot. Next, click cylinderwall, which is located under Wall Zones. Lastly, click ok

Initial Guess
Solution > Solution Initialization > Standard Initialization.
Set Compute From to farfield1. Alternately, you can simply set X Velocity to 1 m/s. Then, click Initialize.

Iterate Until Convergence

Solution > Run Calculation.

Set the Number of Iterations to 2000. Then, click Calculate. (You may have to hit Calculate twice.) Now, have a cup of coffee. The solution
should converge after approximately 1600 iterations.

Save Project

Go to Step 6: Numerical Results

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Steady Flow Past a Cylinder - Numerical Results
Authors: John Singleton and Rajesh Bhaskaran, Cornell University

Problem Specification
1. Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
2. Geometry
3. Mesh
4. Physics Setup
5. Numerical Solution
6. Numerical Results
7. Verification & Validation
Exercises
Comments

Numerical Results
See below for tips on how to zoom in, zoom out etc.

Pressure Contours

Velocity Magnitude Contours

Streamlines

Velocity Vectors

Results > Graphics and Animations > Vectors > Set Up...
Then click Display. The Scale was set to 2 in the plot below.

Higher Resolution Image

Stream Lines

Results > Graphics and Animations > Contours > Set Up...
Set Contours of to Velocity.. and set the box below to Stream Function. Make sure Filled is not selected and click Display. The plots below
were created by setting levels to 40, deselecting Auto Range, setting Min (kg/s) to 31 and setting Max (kg/s) to 33.
Higher Resolution Image

Vorticity

Results > Graphics and Animations > Contours > Set Up...
Set Contours of to Velocity.. and set the box below to Vorticity Magnitude. Then click Display. The plot below was created by setting levels to
60, deselecting Auto Range, setting Min (1/s) to 0.25 and setting Max (1/s) to 9.

Higher Resolution Image

Drag Coefficient

Reports > Result Reports > Forces > Setup

Then, click Print. The command pane will now display the following results: the pressure force, the viscous force, the total force, the pressure
force coefficient, the viscous force coefficient and the drag force coefficient. As one can see from the following image link, FLUENT yields 2.04 for
the value of the drag coefficient. Drag Coefficient

Manipulating the Model

Some of the operations available in the graphics window are:

Translation: The model can be translated in any direction by holding down the Left Mouse Button and then moving the mouse in the desired
direction.

Zoom In: Hold down the Middle Mouse Button and drag a box from the Upper Left Hand Corner to the Lower Right Hand Corner over the
area you want to zoom in on.

Zoom Out: Hold down the Middle Mouse Button and drag a box anywhere from the Lower Right Hand Corner to the Upper Left Hand Corner.

Go to Step 7: Verification & Validation

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Steady Flow Past a Cylinder - Verification & Validation
Authors: John Singleton and Rajesh Bhaskaran, Cornell University

Problem Specification
1. Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
2. Geometry
3. Mesh
4. Physics Setup
5. Numerical Solution
6. Numerical Results
7. Verification & Validation
Exercises
Comments

Verification & Validation

1. Assess linearization error: Compare the total, form, and skin friction drag coefficients when the residuals have dropped to 1E-3, 1E-6, and
1E-9. At what level of residuals is the linearization error small enough?
2. Assess truncation error: Refine your mesh from 192 x 96 cells to 384 x 192 cells. Keep the same bias factor (460). Compare the total,
form, and skin friction drag coefficients on the two meshes. Compare gauge pressure vs. on the cylinder surface for the two meshes by
plotting them in the same figure. Is the level of truncation error small enough on the original mesh or is additional mesh refinement
needed?
3. Assess effect of truncating infinite solution domain: Re-do the solution on the original mesh (192 x 96 cells) with the outer boundary now
at 128d, with the bias factor at 920. Check if the new bias factor will keep the height of the first cell adjacent to the cylinder surface nearly
the same as the original mesh. Compare total, form, and skin friction drag coefficients with their original values. Compare total drag
coefficient with values in "A Numerical Study of Steady Viscous Flow Past a Circular Cylinder (Fonberg 1980). Comment on the effect of
outer boundary location.

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