Inspire, Educate and Mentor

engineers globally

CFD Modeling Using

ANSYS FLUENT

www.LearnCAx.com
info@learncax.com +91 20 4009 8382

Course Notes
Not for sale. Strictly for private circulation.
Published 2015
Before First Simulation
Lesson 02

Inspire | Educate | Mentor

www.LearnCAx.com
Across the Table!!

The following background knowledge is expected from the

candidates:
Familiarity with the UI of ANSYS FLUENT
CFD numerics and methodology

By the end of the lecture, you should be able to answer:

What and how to prepare before doing a simulation?
What can ANSYS FLUENT be employed for?

42 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Overview

Precision and dimension

File handling
Units and geometry scale
Mesh modifications
Mesh nomenclature
Available features
Support options

43 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

ANSYS FLUENT Launcher

44 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Single and double precision solver

For most cases single precision solvers are sufficiently accurate

Certain kind of problems need double precision

If your geometry has features of very disparate length scales
Mean pressure level is high but pressure driving the flow is small
For conjugate heat transfer problems involving high thermal-
conductivity ratios and/or high-aspect-ratio grids

2d (2D single precision )

2ddp ( 2D double precision)
3d (3D single precision)
3ddp (3D double precision)

45 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

File I/O in ANSYS FLUENT

46 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Data handling in ANSYS FLUENT

MESH file CASE file DATA file

U

Uns. mesh info Uns. mesh info Dependent variables

Coordinates Problem set-up values at locations
Names of nodes/cells Numerical set-up specified in the CASE file
Display settings u, v, w, p
T
Yi, k, e,

47 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Compressed Files

Reading
Fluent can read files compressed using compress or gzip
If you select a file with .gz, it invokes gunzip
If you select file with .Z extension, it invokes zcat
On Windows, files with only .gz extension can be read
Writing
To compress the file, append .Z or .gz extension to the file name
Fluent invokes the appropriate compression tool and gives following
message in case you have added .gz
Writing "| gzip -cfv > flow.cas.gz"...
On Windows, compression can be performed only with gzip.
.gz extension can compress the file
.Z does not compress the file

48 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Automatic Numbering

You can include special characters in file name

Provides shortcut for numbering the files based on various
parameters (iteration no., time step etc.)
E.g. : For unsteady calculations, saving file that reflect the time step at
which file is saved
contours-%t.ps : contours-0001.ps
E.g. : File name which reflect the number of iteration
airfoil-%i : airfoil-005.cas

49 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Automatic Saving of Case & Data

50 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Automatic Saving of Case & Data

Case & Data file can be saved automatically at specified interval during
calculation
Useful for time-dependent solution
Useful to see how solution has progressed for steady solution
Case file may or may not be written every time
If Case file undergoes a change, it will always be saved along with the
updated Data file
To Autosave
File Write Autosave
Frequency for saving case and data
For steady flow number of iterations
For unsteady flow number of time steps
In case of limited disc space
Use Overwrite Existing File option
Specifies how many maximum files can be written
After saving specified number of files, earliest existing file will be
overwritten

51 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

 Automatic Saving of Case & Data

Specify the root name of file

.cas or .dat will be added automatically
If .gz or .Z is given, files will be written in compressed format
Iteration number/time-step/flow-time automatically appended to the
name, dependent on the choice

Frequency for
file saving

In case of
Path for limited disk space
saving

52 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Unit Systems

Fluent allows to work in any unit system, including inconsistent unit

systems
You may work in British units with heat input in Watts (SI) OR you
may work in SI units with length defined in inches
This is accomplished by using appropriate conversion factors
Fluent uses these conversion factors for input and output, internally
storing all parameters and performing all calculations in SI units
Units can be changed during problem setup or after calculation
If you have completed simulation in SI units but would like to see
reports in any other units
Fluent converts all parameters in specified units and displays results
Fluent always works in SI units internally and stores all results in SI units
To be considered while generating Profile files, Journal files, UDFs, etc.

53 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Built-In Unit Systems in FLUENT

Four built in unit systems

British, SI, CGS, and
"default''
You can convert all units
from one system to another
Define Units

Default is same as SI, but uses degrees

instead of radians for angles

Clicking on any system will immediately

change all units in selected system
All future inputs will be in selected system
54 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Customizing Units

Used in case of mixed unit systems

Select quantity, select unit from available list or specify your own
conversion factor
Before changing any unit, you can list the units of all quantities that
are currently used
Press List button in Set Unit form

55 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Geometry/Mesh scaling

Some grid generators allow to define

set of units for the mesh dimensions
But when mesh is read into Fluent, it
always assumes unit of length as
meters
You can change the unit of grid using
Mesh Scale

56 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Defining a New Unit

To create new unit for selected

quantity
Select the quantity in list
Click New to open Define Unit
panel
Set the name of new unit in Unit
field E.g. To use hour as unit of Time :
Conversion factor in Factor field Select Time, Select New, Enter
Offset in Offset field
Name as hour, Enter 3600 for
Click OK
factor

57 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Mesh modifications in ANSYS FLUENT

58 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Operations on Grid

Fluent can import different types of gird

Operations on grid
Modify the grid by translating or scaling node coordinates
Partitioning the cells for parallel processing
Reordering the cells in the domain to decrease bandwidth
Merging or separating zones
Adapt grid as per solution
Diagnostic information on the grid
Memory usage
Simplex, topological, and domain information
Number of nodes, faces, and cells in the grid
Determine the minimum and maximum cell volumes in the domain
Check for the proper number of nodes and faces per cell

59 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Grid Topology

Fluent is an unstructured solver

It can accept
2D tri and quad
3D hex, tet, pyramid, and wedge
Single and multi-block structured grid
Hybrid grid
Grid with hanging nodes

Hanging Node
60 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Choosing the Appropriate Grid Type

When choosing the mesh type, consider the following issues

Setup time
Computational expense
Setup Time
Creation of structured grid for complex geometries is time consuming if
not impossible
Gives advantage to unstructured mesh
If geometry is simple, setup time is almost same
Computational Expense
Mesh generated using unstructured algorithm usually has a very high cell
count

Mesh Quality
Plays an important role in accuracy and stability of the numerical
computation
Attributes associated with mesh quality are
Node point distribution
Smoothness
Skewness

61 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

 Choosing the Appropriate Grid Type

Why go the hard way: structured mesh?

Grid aligned along the flow direction
Least numerical diffusion accurate flow prediction
Great control over the mesh quality and cell count
Boundary layer capturing
Why go the easy way: unstructured mesh?
Can capture complex geometry with minimum user intervention
If flow is rapidly changing direction, grid alignment along the flow not possible to
maintain
Fast computational power available

62 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Choosing the Appropriate Grid Type

L-grid type Multi-block Structured

Mesh for flow through a Sector
Grid aligned along the flow direction

Unstructured Mesh for flow through a

Sector (Octree algorithm)
Grid not aligned along the flow direction

63 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Non-Conformal Grids

In FLUENT it is possible to use a grid composed of cell zones

with non-conformal boundaries
What is non-conformality ?
Grid node locations are not identical at the boundaries where two sub-
domains meet

Completely Overlapping Grid Partially Overlapping Grid Interface

Interface Intersection Intersection

64 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Checking the Grid

The grid checking capability in FLUENT provides

Domain extents
Volume statistics
Grid topology
Periodic boundary information
Verification of simplex counters, and (for axisymmetric cases) node
position verification with respect to the axis
Accessible through
Grid Check

It is generally a good idea to check your grid right after reading it into
the solver, in order to detect any grid trouble before you get started
with the problem setup

65 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Mesh terminology in ANSYS FLUENT

Cell center and Node

Edge
Face
Cell
Zone or Thread
Collection of faces Face zone
Collection of volumetric cells Cell zone

66 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Basic Modeling capabilities in ANSYS FLUENT

2D planar, 2D axi-symmetric, 2D axi-symmetric with swirl (rotationally

symmetric), and 3D flows

Quadrilateral, triangular, hexahedral (brick), tetrahedral, prism (wedge), pyramid,

and mixed element meshes with non-conformal interface

Steady-state or transient flows

Incompressible or compressible flows, including all speed regimes (low subsonic,

transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic flows)

Inviscid, laminar, and turbulent flows

Heat transfer, including forced, natural, and mixed convection, conjugate

(solid/fluid) heat transfer

Multi-species and User-defined scalar/Additional variable simulation

67 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Advanced Modeling capabilities in ANSYS FLUENT

Radiation heat transfer modeling, Solar Load Model

Multiple reference frame (MRF) and sliding mesh options for modeling multiple
moving frames

Mixing-plane model for modeling rotor-stator interactions, torque converters, and

similar turbo-machinery applications with options for mass conservation and swirl
conservation

Dynamic mesh model for modeling domains with moving and deforming mesh (IC
Engine simulations, reciprocating pumps, flow induced rotations, etc.)

Volumetric sources of mass, momentum, heat

Multiphase flow modeling

Reacting flow modeling Kinetics and PDF based combustion models

Material property database

68 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Embedded HELP in ANSYS FLUENT

69 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Content HELP in ANSYS FLUENT

70 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Control Panel HELP in ANSYS FLUENT

71 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Model User Guide HELP in ANSYS FLUENT

72 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Theory HELP in ANSYS FLUENT

73 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Tutorial HELP in ANSYS FLUENT

Required Mesh and related files are

available from the ANSYS Customer Portal www1.ansys.com/customer

74 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

Summary

Familiarity with file formats necessary to start with

simulations
FLUENT processes all data internally in SI unit system
Appropriate mesh choice necessary for efficient and accurate
simulations
Mesh modifications possible in ANSYS FLUENT to some
extent only
ANSYS FLUENT offers on the fly HELP on theory and
software specific topics

75 LearnCAx.com : Inspire | Educate | Mentor

 Inspire | Educate | Mentor

www.LearnCAx.com
info@learncax.com +91 20 4009 8382

www.facebook.com/LearnCAx

in.linkedin.com/company/learncax

twitter.com/info_learncax