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Using the Single Reference Frame (SRF) Model
Introduction
Centrifugal compressors are used to achieve a high pressure rise in a single stage, and are
commonly seen in aircraft and automotive engines, power generation systems, and gas processing
applications. Computational fluid dynamics is used extensively in the design and analysis of
compressors, with the aim of achieving high efficiency for a target pressure rise and flow rate range.
The purpose of this tutorial is to illustrate how to set up a centrifugal compressor
model in ANSYS FLUENT. This example represents the Single Reference Frame (SRF)
modeling approach for single blade row turbomachinery analysis, as the entire computational
domain is referred to a moving reference frame.
In this tutorial you will:
• Use the SRF modeling with the density‐based solver and Spalart‐Allmaras turbulence model
to solve for the compressor flow field.
• Use periodic boundary conditions.
• Define the turbo topology so that turbo post‐processing can be applied to the results.
Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the menu structure in FLUENT. The SRF capability
of FLUENT is used in this tutorial. For more information on SRF modeling, refer to Tutorial 7: Using
a Single Rotating Reference Frame of the ANSYS FLUENT 13 Tutorial Guide.
Problem Description
The problem involves modeling the steady‐state flow of air through a centrifugal compressor
running at 14,000 rpm. There are 20 blade rows (a blade row is a passageway between two
adjacent blades on the rotor) in this compressor. To simplify the CFD calculation, the flow is
modeled only through a single blade row and uses rotationally periodic boundary conditions on the
boundaries between the blade rows. The governing equations are cast in a SRF moving at the speed
of the rotor. Air is treated as an ideal gas with constant values of specific heat, thermal conductivity,
and dynamic viscosity. The schematic of a single blade row and the complete rotor (repeating a
single blade row 20 times) are shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively.
Figure 1: Single Blade Row
Figure 2: Complete Rotor
Preparation
1. Copy the mesh file (eckardt‐comp.msh.gz) to your working directory.
2. Start the 3D version of ANSYS FLUENT 13.
Setup
Step 1: Mesh
1. Read the mesh file, eckardt‐comp.msh.gz, into ANSYS FLUENT 13. The grid (28,000 cells)
defines a single blade passage of the compressor and assumes that the flow is rotationally
periodic. Use the graphical display of the mesh to understand the flow domain and the
geometry and plot the various surfaces and zones.
2. Check the mesh (MeshÆCheck).
Figure 3: Mesh display
Note: It is always a good practice to check the mesh for problems before proceeding with the model set
up.
Step 2: Models
1. General: Enable the Density‐based, Steady‐State solver and retain the default values for the
other parameters.
2. Turbulence: Enable the Spalart‐Allmaras (1 equation) turbulence model, and retain the
default values for the other parameters.
Note: The SpalartAllmaras turbulence model is a good and economical choice for mildly
complex boundarylayer flows in turbomachinery.
Step 3: Materials
1. Set the density of air to ideal‐gas. The ideal gas model will automatically enable the solution
of the energy equation. For simplicity, we will keep the other fluid properties at their
default constant values, though they could be made function of temperature if desired.
Step 4: Operating Conditions
1. Set the Operating Pressure to 0 Pa, and retain the default values for the other parameters.
Note: With the operating pressure set to zero, all the pressures will be absolute pressures.
This simplifies the specification pressures for compressible flows in the boundary conditions
panels.
Step 5: Cell Zone Conditions
1. The cell zone specification for moving frames has changed in ANSYS FLUENT 13, and is
shown in the figure below. We first select the “Frame Motion” option, then provide the
inputs for rotational axis origin and direction, and rotational speed in the Reference Frame
tab.
Note: It is convenient to change the units for angular velocity to rpm in DefineÆUnits.
Step 6: Boundary Conditions
1. Set the boundary conditions for the zone inlet, which is a pressure inlet. To facilitate the
pressure inputs, change the units of pressure to atmospheres (atm) in DefineÆUnits.
• Set the Gauge Total Pressure and Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure to 1 atm and 0.9
atm respectively.
• Set the Total Temperature to 288.1 under the Thermal tab.
• Set Turbulent Viscosity Ratio as the Specification Method for turbulence and the
value to 10.
2. Set the boundary conditions for the zone outlet as follows:
• Set the Gauge Pressure to 1.59.
• Set the Backflow Total Temperature to 288 K.
• Set the Backflow Direction Specification Method as From Neighboring Cell.
• Set Turbulent Viscosity Ratio as the Turbulence Specification Method.
3. Set the wall boundary conditions for the moving walls (hub, wall‐blade‐suction, wall‐blade‐
pressure) as shown below.
4. Set the boundary conditions for the stationary wall (shroud) as shown below:
5. Set the periodic boundary condition option for zones periodic‐wall‐1 and periodic‐wall‐2 to
Rotational.
Note: The mesh file used in the present case has the periodic matching defined. If you are
using a mesh from a source which does not defined the periodic matching, and the
corresponding nodes match oneforone, you can create the periodic zones using the TUI
command mesh/modifyzones/makeperiodic . If the mesh does not match, you can create a
nonconformal periodic boundary condition using DefineÆMesh Interfaces.
Step 7: Solver Discretization, Controls, and Monitors
1. Retain the default solution methods for flow under SolveÆMethods, and set the turbulence
equation to Second Order Upwind. Activate the Pseudo Transient method.
2. Retain the default solution controls under SolveÆControls.
3. For the residual convergence, set the convergence criterion for Continuity to 1e‐4.
4. Create three surface monitors as follows:
• Mass flow rate at the inlet
• Mass flow rate at the outlet
• Mass‐averaged total pressure at the outlet.
Note: These surface monitors will be used to assess the convergence of the solution.
Step 8: Initialization
1. Use the hybrid initialization option (new in ANSYS FLUENT 13) to initialize the flow field.
• Before initializing, click on the More Settings… button and enter 20 for the Number
of Iterations as shown below.
• Close the panel and click on Initialize.
Note: The convergence of the hybrid initialization will be printed to the text
interface.
Solution
1. In SolveÆRun Calculation…, choose the Aggressive option for the Length Scale Option.
This will accelerate convergence in the present case.
Note: If the solution becomes unstable, retain the default Length Scale Option and
reduce the Timescale Factor to 0.1.
2. Solve for 800 iterations. The solution should be sufficiently converged, as shown in the
figures below.
3. Save the case and data files (eckardt comp.cas.gz and eckardt comp.dat.gz).
Figure 4: Scaled Residuals
Figure 5: Convergence History of Mass Flow Rate at Inlet
Figure 6: Convergence History of Mass Flow Rate at Outlet
Figure 7: Convergence History of Total Pressure on Outlet
Step 7: Postprocessing
We will demonstrate the use of turbo post‐processing for the present case. In order to use turbo
post‐processing, we first will define the topology of the flow domain.
1. Define topology of the model in Define ÆTurbo Topology...
• Name the topology as topology‐1
• Assign Boundaries to the Surfaces as shown in the table below.
• Click on Define as shown in the figure.
Boundaries Surfaces
Hub hub
Casing shroud
Theta Periodic period‐wall‐1
period‐wall‐2
Theta Min wall‐blade‐pressure
Theta Max wall‐blade‐suction
Inlet inlet
Outlet outlet
2. Create iso‐surfaces of constant meridional coordinate using Surface ÆIso‐Surface...
• In the Surface of Constant drop‐down lists, select Mesh... and Meridional Coordinate.
• Enter 0.2 for Iso‐Values and meridional‐0.2 for New Surface Name.
• Click Create.
• Repeat the procedure to define surfaces of meridional coordinates equal to 0.4, 0.6
and 0.8.
3. Similarly, create a surface of constant spanwise coordinate of 0.5.
4. Display filled contours of static pressure and relative Mach number on these iso‐surfaces
using DisplayÆGraphics and Animations…ÆContours. Use the Draw Mesh option to
display the outlet of the flow path. Sample images are provided in Figures 8 – 11 below.
Figure 8: Contours of static pressure – constant meridional surfaces.
Figure 9: Contours of relative Mach number ‐ constant meridional surfaces.
Figure 10: Contours of static pressure – constant spanwise surface.
Figure 11: Contours of relative Mach number ‐ constant spanwise surface.
5. Display the surface static pressure contours as a full wheel plot by first selecting the hub,
wall‐blade‐suction, and wall‐blade‐pressure and displaying the static pressure contours,
then defining periodic repeats using DisplayÆViews…ÆPeriodic Repeats. The resulting
plot is shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12: Contours of static pressure – periodic repeats.
6. Print the quantitative turbo reports for the blade passage using TurboÆReport… Use mass‐
weighted averages to compute the results, as shown below.
Summary
In this tutorial, we considered the SRF modeling for a single blade row turbomachinery analysis of a
centrifugal compressor. The density‐based solver was used to compute the solution, and turbo‐
post‐processing tools were used to examine the solution and report quantitative data. Additional
analysis of the present blade row could be performed to examine the performance of the
compressor over a range of rotational speeds and pressure ratios, which would yield an estimate of
the compressor map for this design.
References
Eckardt, D., “Flow field analysis of radial and backswept centrifugal compressor impellers,
Part I : Flow measurements using a laser velocimeter,” ASME 25th Annual International
Gas Turbine Conference, March 9‐13, 1988.