International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124

DESIGN AND CFD ANALYSIS OF A 3D CONVERGENT DIVERGENT

NOZZLE USING ANSYS FLUENT

Anantha Gopal1, Dr. C. Naga Bhaskar2, Ch.Naveen Kumar3

PG Student, NRI Institute of Technology, Agiripalli, Pothavarapadu, India, A.P.
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, NRI Institute of Technology,
Agiripalli, Pothavarapadu, India, A.P.
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vishnu Institute of
Technology, Bhimavaram, India, A.P.

Abstract
A de Laval nozzle (or convergent-divergent nozzle, CD nozzle or con-di nozzle) is
a tube that is pinched in the middle, making a carefully balanced,
asymmetric hourglass shape. It is used to accelerate a hot, pressurized gas passing
through it to a higher supersonic speed in the axial (thrust) direction, by converting the
heat energy of the flow into kinetic energy. Because of this, the CD nozzle is widely used
in some types of steam turbines and rocket engine nozzles. It also sees use in
supersonic jet engines. Different applications of a variable area convergent-divergent
nozzle are found in various parts of the industry. This work presents the development of a
new design methodology for a variable area convergent-divergent nozzle, to maintain
constant nozzle area ratio for different values boundary conditions. For this study the
nozzles were modeled and Hexa meshing was done by using academic licensed ANSYS
ICEM CFD 15.0 software. The nozzle is modeled for the Mach number 3.0 Finite volume
method of simulation is used for solution and the K-omega model is used in simulating
turbulent flows through nozzle inlet geometries. Three-dimensional computational fluid
dynamics analyses have been employed to study the compressible and turbulent flow of
the flow field has been computed by the numerical approach using Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) Analysis to investigate the variation of different parameters like
Temperature, Pressure, Density, Velocity, Mass flow rate and Mach number etc. of a
convergent–divergent nozzle. The numerical model was validated through comparison
between the numerical results and computational data. Computational fluid dynamics
models showed satisfactory prediction performance in comparison with the theoretical
results.

Keywords: ICEM CFD, Mesh generation in ICEM CFD, CFD, CD Nozzle.

1. Introduction
Nozzles are found encountering in a wide variety of engineering applications,
mainly to generate jets, flow metering, and sprays. The accurate prediction of the
compressible nozzle flows is still challenging for the aerodynamicist, and achieves
increasing importance since Nozzle geometry variations on the discharge coefficient the
nozzle performance is significantly influenced by its inlet geometry. The flow emanating
from nozzle exit serves as the initial conditions for the downstream jet flows. Thus, the
studies on nozzle geometric effect are becoming a major interest for compressible and
incompressible nozzle flows. Several works reported information on aerodynamic
features of jets and flow with various inlet-boundary conditions and nozzle geometries.
A nozzle is an extremely efficient device for converting thermal energy to kinetic
energy. Nozzles come up in a vast range of applications. Obvious ones are the thrust

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International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124

nozzles of rocket and jet engines. Converging-diverging ducts also come up in aircraft
engine inlets, wind tunnels and in all sorts of piping systems designed to control gas flow.
The flows associated with volcanic and geyser eruptions are influenced by converging-
diverging nozzle geometries that arise naturally in geological formations.
Nozzle is a duct by flowing through which the velocity of a fluid increases at the expense
of pressure drop. if the fluid is steam, then the nozzle is called as Steam nozzle.
The flow of steam through nozzles may be taken as adiabatic expansion. The steam
possesses a very high velocity at the end of the expansion, and the enthalpy decreases as
expansion occurs. Friction exists between the steam and the sides of the nozzle; heat is
produced as the result of the resistance to the flow. The phenomenon of super saturation
occurs in the steam flow through nozzles. This is because of the time lag in the
condensation of the steam during the expansion.
The area of such duct having minimum cross-section is known as throat.
A fluid is called compressible if its density changes with the change in pressure
brought about by the flow. If the density changes very little or does not changes, the fluid
is said to be incompressible. Generally the gases and vapors are compressible, whereas
liquids are incompressible.
Supersaturated flow or metastable flow of in Nozzles: As steam expands in the
nozzle, the pressure and temperature in it drop, and it is likely that the steam start
condensing when it strikes the saturation line. But this is not always the situation. Due to
the high velocities, the time up to which the steam resides in the nozzle is small, and there
may not be sufficient time for the needed heat transfer and the formation of liquid droplets
due to condensation. As a result, the condensation of steam is delayed for a while. This
phenomenon is known as super saturation, and the steam that remains in the wet region
without holding any liquid is known as supersaturated steam. The locus of points where
condensation occurs regardless of the initial temperature and pressure at the entrance of
the nozzle is called the Wilson line. The Wilson line generally lies between 4 and 5
percent moisture curves in the saturation region on the h-s diagram in case of steam, and
is often taken as 4 percent moisture line.
A nozzle (from nose, meaning 'small spout') is a tube of varying cross-sectional
area (usually axisymmetric) aiming at increasing the speed of an outflow, and controlling
its direction and shape. Nozzle flow always generates forces associated to the change in
flow momentum, as we can feel by handholding a hose and opening the tap. In the
simplest case of a rocket nozzle, relative motion is created by ejecting mass from a
chamber backwards through the nozzle, with the reaction forces acting mainly on the
opposite chamber wall, with a small contribution from nozzle walls. As important as the
propeller is to shaft-engine propulsions, so it is the nozzle to jet propulsion, since it is in
the nozzle that thermal energy (or any other kind of high-pressure energy source)
transforms into kinetic energy of the exhaust, and its associated linear momentum
producing thrust.
The flow in a nozzle is very rapid (and thus adiabatic to a first approximation),
and with very little frictional loses (because the flow is nearly one-dimensional, with a
favourable pressure gradient except if shock waves form, and nozzles are relatively short),
so that the isentropic model all along the nozzle is good enough for preliminary design.
The nozzle is said to begin where the chamber diameter begins to decrease (by the way,
we assume the nozzle is axisymmetric, i.e. with circular cross-sections, in spite that
rectangular cross-sections, said two-dimensional nozzles, are sometimes used, particularly
for their ease of directionability). The meridian nozzle shape is irrelevant with the 1D
isentropic model; the flow is only dependent on cross-section area ratios.
Croquer et al.[1] One of the biggest problems with predicting flow performance of
ejectors by CFD is connected with turbulence modeling. There is still no agreement on
what kind of model should be used.

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Besagni and Inzoli [2] compared seven RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes)
turbulence models under different wall conditions. The k −ω SST model showed the best
performance with maximum ER relative error equal to about 10%. In addition, the shock
wave position was also well predicted.
Pereira et al. [3] experimentally verified the advantages of using an ejector with variable
area nozzle compared to a fixed ejector geometry in refrigeration technology. The
variable area nozzle was assembled from the conical spindle and a fixed cylinder. Also, it
was shown that nozzle area ratio and nozzle position can be effectively controlled with
the spindle, so the position that is optimal for the COP of the cycle can be found for
different condenser pressures.
Similar results were obtained by Varga et al. [4] , showing that adequate selection of the
spindle position achieved thermal COP improvements as high as 35%. However, ejectors
with this type of variable area nozzle (conical spindle and fixed cylinder) are unable to
preserve values of CR and ER in narrow limits, for constant inlet pressures of primary and
secondary fluids, while varying the mass flow rate of the primary fluid. This behavior is
the consequence of huge total pressure drop which exists due to shockwaves that occur in
this type of variable area nozzle.
Matsuo etal. [5] performed numerical study to investigate the effect of nozzle geometry
on the sonic line and characteristics of the supersonic air jets. Two contoured converging
nozzles, two conically converging sharp-edged nozzles and a sharp-edged orifice were
employed in their study.
Gulati et al. [6] studied the effect of various nozzle types on local heat transfer
distribution. The rectangular nozzle produced the highest local Nusselt number
distribution in comparison to the circular and square nozzles. The highest pressure loss
was observed for rectangular nozzle while the lowest pressure loss was observed for the
circular nozzle, although all nozzles showed almost identical average Nusselt number
distribution.

2. DESIGN CALCULATIONS
There are multiple varieties of nozzles to choose from, such as two-dimensional (2D), axi-
symmetric, plug, ejector, or single expansion ramp nozzle (SERN). Final nozzle concept
selection should be based on the functional requirements of a particular program or
vehicle. Each concept should be evaluated based on its merits as compared to the
important program parameters. Trade studies should be used to achieve a compromise
between weight, performance, stealth, reliability/maintainability, and cost.
i. Throat diameter = 25 mm
Therefore throat area can be calculated from the following relation,

At = dt2 mm2
4

At = dt2
4

At  *25*25
4
At  490.87mm2
ii. Exit diameter = 51 mm

Therefore exit area, Ae  de2
4

Ae  *51*51
4

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Ae  2042.82mm2
iii. Length of the divergent nozzle
d e  dt 51  25
L = = 185.90 mm
 8
2 tan( ) 2 tan( )
2 2

iv. Total length of the CD Nozzle is 609 mm

3. DESIGN AND ANALYSYS
Initially the design and Hexa mesh generation of a 3D CD Nozzle is done in ICEM CFD
15.0, after that analysis is made in FLUENT 15.0.
3.1creation of Geometry
Open ICEM CFD 15.0 → Go to settings → Units → Set as Millimeters.
Dimensions of the nozzle:
From the theoretical calculations the dimensions of the nozzle are:
Throat diameter = 25.5 mm
Exit diameter = 51 mm
Inlet diameter = 51 mm
Throat Area =490.87 mm2
Exit Area = 2042.82 mm2
Cone angle = 8˚
Length of the convergent nozzle = 185.9 mm
Length of the divergent Nozzle = 185.9 mm
Step 1: Creating the points
Go to Geometry → Explicit Coordinates → Method → Create one point → Create
points with the following coordinates → (0,0,0), (25.5,0,0) , (0,25.5,0) , (0,0,-185.9) ,
(12.5,0,0), (0,12.5,0), (0,0,-185.9), (25.5,0,0) , (0,25.5,0).

Fig 1: 3D CD Nozzle with dimensions

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Fig.2: Hexa mesh with mesh quality

3.2 Converted to Un-structured Mesh
Select output from menu bar → Select solver → Select ANSYS Fluent → write input
file→ save the project→ fluent.msh

Fig.3: Un-Structured Mesh

3.3 Boundary conditions

From the theoretical calculations the following boundary conditions are applied
Density = 4.355 Kg/m3
Pressure at inlet = 1500000 Pa
Temperature at Inlet = 1200 K
Velocity at inlet = 0 m/s

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Mass flow rate = 2.86 Kg/s

Mach number = 3.0
contours
Contour of Pressure:

Fig.4: Pressure contour of a 3D Nozzle

Temperature Contour:

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Fig.5: Temperature contour of a 3D Nozzle

Density Contour:

Fig.6: Density contour of a 3D Nozzle

Mach number:

Fig.7: Mach number contour of a 3D Nozzle

S. Parameter Theoretical Value Analytical Solution % of Error
No
Inlet Throat Outlet Inlet Throat Outlet Throat Outlet

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1 Pressure
(bar) 15 7.924 0.4083 15 7.535 0.412 5.16 0.906

2 Density
(Kg/m3) 4.355 2.76 0.3312 4.355 2.72 0.3425 3.41 1.47

3 Velocity
(m/s) 0 633.86 1244.8 0 612.4 1210.6 3.50 2.82

4 Temperature
1200 999.96 428.5 1200 951.5 443.1 5.09 3.40
(K)
5 Mach
0 1 3 0 1.03 2.92 3 2.73
Number
6 Mass flow
rate (Kg/sec) 0.8590 0.8423 1.98

Average Error Percentage 3.69 2.26

Table.1: Results of 3D CD Nozzle
4.CONCLUSION
Modeling and analysis of 3D Convergent and divergent nozzle is done in ICEM
CFD 15.0 and ANSYS FLUENT 15.0. Modeling of CD nozzle is done by using various
commands in ANSYS and analyzed by varying the boundary conditions.
From the investigation we have done, the following conclusions have been drawn.
 It has been found that the design of 3D CD nozzle gives a velocity at the exit is
1210.6 m/s, from analytical results it is found that the percentage of error at throat
and exit are 2.82 and 3.50%.
 Velocity increases when pressure drops. It has been found that nozzle gives a
pressure drop of 0.4083 bar. The pressure drop error percentage for the designed
nozzle when compared to its theoretical value is 0.906%.
 It has been found that temperature drop of 428.5 K, the percentage error
compared to theoretical values is 3.40 %.
 From the theoretical calculation we get the mass flow rate is 0.8590 Kg/s
percentage of error from the theoretical value is 1.98%.
 From the theoretical calculation the density at the outlet is 0.3312 Kg/m3, the
percentage of error from the theoretical value is 1.47%.
 Since the nozzle is designed for Mach number 3 at outlet form the analytical
results we get the Mach number is 2.92, The percentage of error from the
theoretical value is 2.73%.
 The numerical model was validated through comparison between the numerical
results and computational data. Computational fluid dynamics models showed
satisfactory prediction performance in comparison with the theoretical results.

REFERENCES

[1] A. S. Croquer , S. Poncet , N.Galanis ,Comparison of ejector predicted performance

by thermodynamic and CFD models, Int. J. Refrig. 68 (2016) 28–36 .
[2] G. Besagni , F. Inzoli , Computational fluid-dynamics modeling of supersonic
ejectors: screening of turbulence modeling approaches, Appl. Therm. Eng. 117 (2017)
122–144 .

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[3] P.R. Pereira , S. Varga , J. Soares , A .C. Oliveira , A .M. Lopes , F.G. de Almeida ,
J.F. Carneiro , Experimental results with a variable geometry ejector using R600a as
working fluid, Int. J. Refrig. 46 (2014) 77–85 .
[4] S. Varga , A.C. Oliveira , X. Ma , S.A. Omer , W. Zhang , S.B. Riffat , Experimental
and numerical analysis of a variable area ratio steam ejector, Int. J. Refrig. 34 (2011)
1668–1675 .
[5] S. Matsuo, M.Tanaka, Y.Otobe, H.Kashimura, H.D.Kim, T. Setoguchi, Effect of axi-
symmetric sonic nozzle geometry on characteristics of supersonic air jet,
J.Therm.Sci.13(2) (2004) 121–126.
[6] Gulati, P., Katti, V., Prabhu, S.V., 2009. Influence of the shape of the nozzle on local
heat transfer distribution between smooth flat surface and impinging air jet. Int. J. Therm.
Sci. 48, 602–617.
[7] K. Kawatsu, S.Koike, T.Kumasaka, G.Masuya, K.Takita, Pseudo- shock wave
produced by back pressure in straight and diverging rectangular, AIAA Paper
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[8] K.C. Lin , C.J. Tam , Effects of temperature and heat transfer on shock train structures
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[9] Y. Zhu, P. Jiang, Experimental and analytical studies on the shock wave length in
convergent and convergent–divergent nozzle ejectors, Energy Convers. Manage. 88
(2014) 907–914.
[10] S.B. Verma, Shock unsteadiness in a thrust optimized parabolic nozzle, Shock
Waves 19 (2009) 193–212.

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