Fluent-Adv-rm 14.5 L04 SRF2

Lecture 4
Single Rotating Frame Modeling (SRF):

Part 2 14.5 Release
Advanced Rotating Machinery
© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 1 Release 14.5

Outline
• Introduction
• SRF Modeling
– Cell Zone Conditions
– Boundary Conditions
– Solver Settings and Controls
– Initialization
• Troubleshooting SRF Problems
• Summary
• Appendix

Cell Zone Conditions for SRF Models
• Select Frame Motion option and
click on Reference Frame Tab to
provide inputs
• Inputs
– Rotation-Axis Origin
– Rotation-Axis Direction
– Rotational Velocity
– Translational Velocity
– Zone Motion UDF
• All inputs can be hooked to

UDFs or profile files.
– Permits prescription of transient
variations for all frame motion inputs.
• Notes
– Rotational velocity is CCW + about the
axis of rotation.
– Axis direction should be a unit vector,
but will be normalized if not.
UDFs for Unsteady Frame Motion
• New UDF macro is available for /**********************************************/
/* UDF for specifying a time-varying omega */
transient inputs. /* FLUENT 14.5 */
/**********************************************/
• Allows you to write UDFs to #include "udf.h“

control unsteady rotational and
DEFINE_TRANSIENT_PROFILE(speed, time)
translational frame velocities.
{
• The physical time (time) occurs real ampl = 2.0
real freq = 3.5;
in the argument list. Function real omega;
returns the unsteady variable. omega = 2.0*PI*ampl*cos(freq*time);
• Hook up UDF using drop down return omega;

list next to input. }
• “Zone Motion Function” option

enables the use of a single DEFINE_ZONE_MOTION(rotor, omega, axis, origin, velocity,
macro to set all frame motion time, dtime)
inputs.
– More convenient than writing separate
functions.

Boundary Conditions For SRF Models
Inlet BCs
• Velocity Inlet
• Pressure Inlet
Shroud
• Mass Flow Inlet
Outlet BCs
• Pressure Outlet Outlet
– Non-reflecting BCs Blade
– Mass flow outlet
Walls Inlet
Interfaces Hub
Periodic BCs
• Conformal
Axial Pump IGV
• Non-conformal

Velocity Inlets
• Use for incompressible or mildly
compressible flows when inlet
velocity is known
• Can specify absolute or relative
velocities using the Reference
Frame option
• Can specify vector components or
magnitude and direction in
Cartesian or Cylindrical coordinates
• For 2-D, axisymmetric with swirl
and 3-D problems you can specify
tangential velocity as follows:
V  V ,inp  inpr
V ,inp  user tangential velocity • Specify other scalar BCs as appropriate
(turbulence, thermal, species, multiphase etc.)
inp  user angular velocity

Flow Direction
• Flow direction is defined as the
velocity vector normalized by dˆ   xˆx   yˆy   zˆz (Cartesian)
its magnitude
dˆ   rˆr  ˆ   aˆa (Cylindrical - Polar)
• Input allows Cartesian or 
Cylindrical-Polar coordinate ˆ V
forms d abs   (Absolute Frame)
V
• Note that the flow directions 
W
differ in absolute and relative dˆrel   (Relative Frame)
frames! W
• Velocity triangle rule

Pressure Inlets (1)
• Pressure inlets can be used with both incompressible or
compressible flows
• Definitions of total pressure and total temperature depend on
the reference frame and compressibility:
1 V2 incompressible, abs
pt  p  V 2 Tt  T 
2 2C p Neglected for
incompressible flow
1 W2 incompressible, rel
ptr  p  W 2 Ttr  T 
2 2C p

  1 2   1   1 2  compressible, abs
pt  p1  M  Tt  T 1  M 
 2   2 

  1 2   1   1 2  compressible, rel
ptr  p1  Mr  Ttr  T 1  Mr 
 2   2 

Pressure Inlets (2)
• Specify appropriate total
pressure
• Specify reference frame
– Absolute or Relative
• Specify flow direction vector
– Frame of flow direction depends
on Reference Frame input

• If using Absolute  d abs

• If using Relative  d rel
• Specify other scalar BCs as appropriate


Mass Flow Inlets
• Mass flow inlets can also be used
with incompressible or compressible
flows
• Specify total mass flow rate or mass
flux
• Same reference frame and flow
direction options as Velocity Inlet
• You can also use this BC as an outlet
by selecting “outward normals” as
the Direction Specification Method
– Prescribed mass flow is held at boundary
(static pressure is computed)
• Specify other scalar BCs as appropriate

Flow Direction and Mass Flow Inlets

• How do you determine the V  Vdˆ
velocity magnitude knowing
the mass flow rate and flow m 
direction? Vn   V  nˆ  V (dˆ  nˆ )
A
Vt
V
m
V
d̂
A(dˆ  nˆ )
Vn
n̂
m mass flow rate • NOTE: For relative frame, substitute
A boundary face area relative velocity and direction (W) for
Vn normal velocity absolute velocity (V)
Vt tangen tial velocity

Pressure Outlets
• Specify static pressure (constant or
profile) at the outlet
• Can employ a simple radial equilibrium
assumption which computes a radial
pressure variation from
p V2

r r
– The specified pressure is then assumed to be
the hub static pressure
– Appropriate for axial compressors and
turbines, where the flow is parallel to
rotational axis
• You must also specify backflow

variables (e.g. total temperature,
species, phase, etc.)
• Other options: average pressure
specification, target mass flow, non-
reflecting BCs – see Appendix for
additional details

Backflow
Backflow (reversed flow at a boundary) typically occurs when the static pressure
in a cell adjacent to a pressure boundary (Pc) forces the flow in a direction
opposite to what is intended
• For a Pressure Inlet (Pb < Pc): Boundary total pressure is assumed to be a
static pressure for the purposes of determining the flow velocity
– Backflow scalars (temperature, species, etc.) are obtained from the solution
• For a Pressure outlet (Pb > Pc): Boundary static pressure is assumed to be a
total pressure for the purposes of determining the flow velocity
– Backflow scalars (temperature, species, etc.) are prescribed in the GUI
Pb < Pc Pb > Pc
Pb Pc Pc Pb
Pc
Pressure Inlet Pressure Outlet

Backflow (2)
• For a pressure inlet, the flow direction comes from the velocity
components calculated in the cell
• For a pressure outlet, there are three methods for determining the
direction of reversed flow:
– Normal to boundary
– From adjacent cell
– Prescribed direction vector
• For moving reference frame problems, the reverse flow direction is…
– relative to the boundary in the absolute frame if AVF is used
– relative to the boundary in the relative frame if RVF is used
• Recommendations
– As some backflow may occur during the solution process, prescribe
reasonable values for all backflow quantities
– Reverse flow model only valid for small reverse flow velocities!
• If velocities are not small, try to minimize (or eliminate) backflow by
extending your boundaries further upstream or downstream

Wall Boundary Conditions (Motion)
• If Moving Reference Frame is used
for fluid zone, a “Stationary Wall”
means stationary with respect to
the moving zone!
• Recommended specification of
wall BCs for all moving reference
frame problems…
– Set Rotation Axis and Origin same as
fluid zone
Stationary wall
– For stationary surfaces (in the absolute
frame) use zero Rotational Speed,
Absolute
– For moving surfaces, use zero
Rotational Speed, Relative to Adjacent
Cell Zone
– Specify other scalar BCs as appropriate
(thermal, species, multiphase etc.)
Moving wall

Conformal Periodic Boundary Conditions
• Conformal periodic BCs in Fluent
require that the boundary face mesh
elements match one-for-one on the
periodic boundary
• Rotationally periodic BCs rely on the
rotational axis specification to transfer
information correctly
• Rotationally periodic boundaries can
be used in moving reference frame
problems to reduce mesh size provided
both the geometry and flow are
periodic
• Notes:
– If you are using the make-periodic
command in the TUI, make sure you set
the rotational axis in the Fluid BC panel
first before creating the periodic BCs
– Once the periodic BCs have been set, Mesh check:
perform a mesh check to see if the Periodic angles
reported periodic angles are correct

Non-conformal Periodic Boundary
Conditions
• Fluent permits the use of non-
conformal rotationally periodic BCs
• Non-conformal periodics do not
require a matching mesh on the
boundaries
– Coupling of the periodic zones is
accomplished using the same
algorithms employed in non-conformal
mesh interfaces
• Non-conformal periodic can be
created in the Mesh Interfaces GUI
– Select Periodic Boundary Condition
option and choose the Type
(Translational or Rotational)
– Offset (periodic angle) should be
computed automatically, but check this
value to make sure it is evenly divisible
into 360 deg!

Other Boundary Conditions
• Non-reflecting Boundary Conditions (NRBC)
– Permit waves to pass through flow boundaries without
spurious reflections
– Two types of NRBCs in FLUENT
• Steady-state turbo-Oriented NRBCS
• General NRBC (steady and unsteady formulations)
• Target Mass Flow Outlet
– Enables exit pressure to be adjusted automatically to achieve a
specified mass flow rate
– Useful for cases where the exit mass flow is know but the
pressure unknown (e.g. compressors and pumps)
• Additional material on these BCs is provided in the
Appendix.

Solver Settings – Pressure-Based Solver
Pressure-Based Solver
• Pressure-Velocity Coupling Method
– Coupled
• Recommended (provides robust, fast
convergence)
• Requires twice the memory relative to other
schemes
– SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, PISO
• Use when computer memory is an issue
(large mesh)
• Pressure Discretization
– Standard scheme is acceptable for low speed
flows
– For highly swirling flows, use PRESTO! scheme
• General Equation Discretization
– Use second order upwind
– Can start with first order for stability, especially
for problems with high rotational speeds
• Compressible flows with Pressure-based solvers
– May need to under-relax Density (0.1 is
recommended)
Convergence aids
– Can also run with energy equation initially
turned OFF – enable the energy equation after • Pseudo Transient solver algorithm
establishing a reasonable, isothermal flow field. • High Order Term Relaxation

Solver Settings – Density-Based Solver
Density-Based Solver
• Implicit scheme is recommended unless computer
memory is an issue
• Flux type options
– Roe-FDS – baseline methods
– AUSM – can provide enhanced accuracy for
strong shocks
• Use first order discretizations to begin your
calculation - then switch to second order when the
solution is close to convergence
• Use default Courant numbers as a start (1 for explicit
solver, 5 for implicit solver)
• For coupled-explicit solver
– Use 4 levels of FAS multigrid for most problems
• helps propagate solution more rapidly
through the domain
– Use more levels of you have a very large mesh
Convergence aids
• Pseudo Transient solver algorithm
• High Order Term Relaxation
• Convergence Acceleration for Stretched Meshes
Initialization
• Good initialization of the solution is often the key to obtaining rapid
and robust convergence of turbomachinery problems
– Less of an issue for
• Incompressible flows with velocity / mass flow inlets
– Fixed flow rate provides stability to the calculation
• Problems with favorable pressure gradients (e.g. turbines)
– Less propensity for reverse flow at boundaries
– More of an issue for
• Compressible flows with adverse pressure gradients (e.g. compressors,
diffusers)
– Adverse pressure gradient leads to reverse flows, solution instability
• Two ways of providing good initial conditions

– Use grid interpolation to patch a coarse mesh solution onto a fine
mesh
– Use the Full Multigrid (FMG) initialization technique

Solution Interpolation
• Procedure
– Run coarse grid version of your
model
– Write data to interpolation file
– Set up fine mesh model
– Read interpolation file to initialize
solution
• Advantages
– Can be applied to nearly any
geometry, configuration
– Easy to use
• Disadvantage
– Requires development of coarse
mesh model

Full Multigrid (FMG) Initialization
• FMG Initialization option in FLUENT uses the Full Multigrid

algorithm in the density-based explicit solver to generate and
solve on a system of coarse meshes
– Solves the flow equations on coarsest mesh, interpolates to
next finest, and so forth until finest mesh is reached
– Approximate solution used as initial condition for subsequent
full Navier-Stokes calculation
• Benefits
– Convenient for user (no separate meshes or solutions required)
– Any solver can be used (segregated, coupled-explicit or
implicit)
– Permits very large Courant numbers for coupled–implicit solver

FMG Interface (TUI)
• FMG controls can be set in TUI
using
– solve/initialize/set-fmg-
initialization
• Permits setting of
convergence tolerance, max
number of iterations on each
coarse grid level, Courant
number, verbosity
• Once FMG parameters set,
the initialization can be
started using the text
command
– solve/initialize/fmg-
initialization

FMG Initialization – Eckardt Rotor
FMG Init.
• Eckardt rotor model ~ 400,000 cells

• Number of iterations reduced by a
factor of 5 using FMG initialization
No FMG Init

Solution Monitoring
• Always use solution monitors to aid
in the evaluation of steady-state
solution convergence
– Mass-weighted averages of total
quantities at inlet/outlet
– Mass flow rate
– Forces, Moments (torque)
– Surface temperatures and heat fluxes

Convergence Manager
• Calculates relative error (residual) of current monitor variables with
respect to values at previous iterations
Res_m(1) = (abs((m[n]-m[n-1])/m[n])
Res_m(2) = (abs((m[n]-m[n-2])/m[n]) m[n] = monitor value at iteration n
: NP = number of previous iterations to consider
Res_m(NP) = (abs((m[n]-m[n-NP])/m[n])
• Calculation halts when max errors are below user-defined threshold

Calculating the Solution
• Provide number of iterations for steady-

state run
• If using the Pseudo Transient option
– Prescribe Length Scale Method and Time Scale
Factor to calculate the time step
• Conservative, 1 are good initial choices
– You may also prescribe the time step directly
using the User-Specified option
• Time step should be proportional to 1 /
rotational speed (rad/s)
– Example: N = 1000 rad/s, dt ~ 0.001 sec

Troubleshooting SRF Problems
• SRF problems may be difficult to solve because of large flow gradients
resulting from the rotation of the fluid domain
– May need to use lower under-relaxations than default
• Some things to consider for troublesome cases
1. Make sure the mesh quality is good (max cell skewness < 0.9 – 0.95)
2. Use FMG initialization for hard-to-start problems
3. Reduce under-relaxation factors and/or Courant numbers as
appropriate
4. Interactively ramp up rotational speed of the cell zone (e.g. start with
small value for rotational speed, run 100 iterations, increase, run
again – until full value is attained)

Summary
• SRF modeling is the simplest modeling approach for rotating

machinery
• FLUENT has wide range of boundary conditions appropriate for
SRF modeling
• Initial conditions can be very important, especially if rotational
speeds are high – Use FMG initialization for difficult cases
• A full set of convergence monitoring tools are available to
automate the solution process as much as possible

Appendix A: SRF Examples
3-D propeller
3-D cavitating centrifugal pump

3-D Propeller Validation Case (NACA
1375)
Validation case for aircraft propellers based on NACA report 1375
(see reference [1])
Three bladed propeller was tested in a wind tunnel over a range of
advance ratios and a propeller speed of 1600 rpm
• Blade diameter = 9.75 ft.
• Hub radius = 2.667 ft
• Wind tunnel actual cross section is octagonal  approximated as circular
cross section based on Fig. 1 in Ref. [1].
Validation examined the propeller performance parameters over a
range of advance ratios
• Thrust coefficient
• Power coefficient
• Efficiency

Parameter Definitions
V V
Freestream velocity (m/s)
J Advance ratio
nD
 Freestream density (kg/m3)
n Fx
Rotational speed (rev/s) CT  Thrust coefficient
n 2 D 4
D Propeller diameter (m)
P
T Propeller torque (N-m) CP  Power coefficient
n3 D 5
Fx Propeller axial thrust (N)
P  T Propeller power (N) 

JCT
Efficiency
CP
  2n Rotational speed (rad/s)

Wind Tunnel Configuration
From Ref [1]

CFD Model Geometry
Approximate wind tunnel with annular passage, with prescribed

inflow BCs
Assume flow is periodic  120 deg sector
Rotating walls include blade surfaces and propeller hub only –
other wind tunnels walls are stationary
Annulus extended upstream and downstream to place flow
boundaries away from blade
Blade geometry derived from blade parameter specifications in
NACA 1375 (see next slide)
• Airfoil profile = NACA 16 series
• Thickness and angle from hub to tip obtained from plot
• Generated x,y,z tables for several blade sections from hub to tip
• Used GAMBIT to generate blade/wind tunnel geometries
Blade Geometry Parameters
Blade angle
@ 0.75R
= 44.4 deg

Propeller Model Geometry

CFD Mesh (1)
Hybrid mesh created in GAMBIT

• Hex/wedge blocks upstream/downstream of propeller
• Fine tetrahedral mesh around the propeller
• Final mesh size = 2,243,254 cells
Tetrahedral mesh elements converted to polyhedra in Fluent
• Only tets and wedges converted
• Final mesh size = 1,354,920 cells

CFD Mesh (2)
Surface mesh
Hex/wedge cells
Hex/wedge cells
Polyhedral cells

CFD Model
Fluent 12.0.15 used for all calculations
Compressible flow, ideal gas (air), steady-state, moving reference
frame (rotational speed = 1600 rpm)
Solver Settings
• Density-based solver, LSQ gradients
• Second order discretizations for all equations
• SST k-w turbulence model
BCs
• Inlet – Pressure far field
– Mach number is prescribed based on advance ratio
– Tinlet = 288 K, Pinlet = 1 atm
• Outlet – Pressure outlet
– Poutlet = 1 atm
• Walls – viscous, no slip, adiabatic

CFD Runs
Calculation performed for a range of advanced ratios (1.0 – 2.3)
Inlet Mach number computed from
JnD
M in 
RTin
Axial blade force and torque derived from CFD solutions 

propeller thrust coefficient, power coefficient, and efficiency
Solution obtained from J = 2.0 using solution steering
• Other advance ratios restarted from J = 2.0 solution

Residual history (J = 2.0)
DBNS with Solution Steering

Surface Pressure (J = 2.0)

Tip Vortex Flow (J = 2.0)

Thrust Coefficient
NACA 1375
0.1600
0.1400
CFD
0.1200
Thrust Coefficient
0.1000
0.0800
0.0600
0.0400
0.0200
0.0000
1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
Advance Ratio
CFD: beta @ 0.75R = 44.4 deg

Power Coefficient
NACA 1375
0.3500
0.3000
0.2500 CFD
Power Cefficient
0.2000
0.1500
0.1000
0.0500
0.0000
1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
Advance Ratio
CFD: beta @ 0.75R = 44.4 deg

Efficiency
NACA 1375
1.0000
0.9000
0.8000
0.7000
Efficiency
0.6000
0.5000
0.4000
0.3000
0.2000
CFD
0.1000
0.0000
1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
Advance Ratio
CFD: beta @ 0.75R = 44.4 deg

Discussion
NACA 1375 presents charts of data for a range of

propeller blade setting angles
• Defined by blade angle b @ r = 0.75R, R = blade radius
Thrust and power coefficients have correct trends and
numerical values appear reasonable
• CFD model blade angle is between two levels of the plotted data
Shape of efficiency curve matches the data
Peak efficiency (approximately 0.86) is in excellent
agreement with the data

Summary
Flow over a three bladed propeller was simulated using

the Fluent 12 CFD solver
Results show good agreement with data for the range of
advance ratios considered
• CFD simulation captures basic performance behavior of the
propeller
Reference
[1] Evans, A.J. and Liner, G. (1953)
“A WIND-TUNNEL INVESTIGATION OF THE AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A
FULL-SCALE SUPERSONIC-TYPE THREE-BLADE PROPELLER AT MACH NUMBERS TO
0.96,”
NACA Report 1375, Langley Field, VA., May 18, 1953.

Cavitating Centrifugal Pump
Fluent 6.1 was used to simulate flow in a centrifugal pump with
cavitation effects
Geometry based on pump design reported in paper by Hoffman
et al. (2001)
Hoffman M., Stoffel B., Friedrichs J., Kosyna G. (2001)
“Similarities and Geometrical Effects on Rotating Cavitation in Two
Scaled Centrifugal Pumps,” Proceedings of the 4th International
Symposium on Cavitation, Pasedina, CA, June 2001.
• TFA pump design used in the present study
• Impeller diameter = 278 mm
• Number of blades = 5
• Speed = 2160 rpm
Single blade passage modeled with rotationally-periodic
boundaries
• Mesh Type: Hex mesh - 284,955 cells
Pump Geometry
outlet
diffuser
inlet
impeller
inlet tube

Pump Model Mesh
Single blade
passage

Physical / Numerical Models
Steady-state solutions, segregated solver

Incompressible flow, SRF, AVF
Multiphase cavitation model enabled
• Mixture model used
• Primary phase = water (density = 1000 kg/m3)
• Pvapor = 2620 Pa, surface tension = 0.0717 N/m, Non-
condensible gas = 1.5e-5
• Secondary phase = water vapor (density = 0.01927
kg/m3, viscosity = 8.8e-6 N-s/m2)
Turbulence model: Realizible k-e model with standard
wall functions

Case Studies
Non-cavitating cases
• Model run over a range of flowrates (100 – 275 m3/hr)
to obtain non-cavitating pump curve
• pump head rise (pressure rise) predicted and
compared to non-cavitating data
Cavitating Cases
• Flowrate fixed at design flow (210 m3/hr)
• Exit pressure initial set to 600 kPa to ensure non-
cavitating flow
• Exit pressure decreased in 50 kPa increments to
gradually develop cavitating conditions
• Predicted head rise vs NPSH compared with data
– NPSH = Pinlet - Pvapor
Non-cavitating Flow: Comparison with
Data

Midspan Pressure: Non-cavitating Flow
Design Flowrate

Midspan Rel. Velocity: Non-Cavitating
Flow
Design Flowrate

Cavitating Flow: Comparison to Data

Cavitating Pump – Midspan Pressure (1)
Exit Pressure: 500 kPa



Cavitating Pump – Volume Fraction (1)
Cavitation
inception


Significant
cavitation on
pressure side
of blade

Illustration of Cavitation Induced
Separation
Separation bubble
downstream of
vapor cavity

Appendix B: Additional BC Notes
• Target Mass Flow Outlet BC

• Non-reflecting Boundary Conditions

Target Mass Flow BC
For some problems the inlet mass flow rate and inlet total pressure
and temperature are known, and the exit pressure is unknown
• Example: fans and compressors for which the pressure rise is
unknown
Fluent can address this situation with the target mass flow outlet
BC
How it works
• User sets the exit BC to a pressure outlet
• Desired mass flow rate is prescribed
• As calculation proceeds, exit pressure is adjusted automatically
to achieve desired mass flow rate

Target Mass Flow Methods
Two methods are available for computing the pressure for a
prescribed mass flow
• Method 1 (best suited for turbomachinery applications)
– Mass flow rate at the outlet boundary is computed and
compared to the desired mass flow rate
– A pressure increment is determined based on the required
change in mass flow rate – the basic behavior is to
• increase the exit pressure if computed mass flow >
desired mass flow
• decrease the exit pressure if computed mass flow <
desired mass flow
• Method 2 (best suited for incompressible flows)
– Same basic algorithm except the pressure increment is
determined from a linearized form of Bernoulli’s equation

Target Mass Flow Outlet Setup
To activate target mass flow outlet ,

simply enable the Target mass-
flow rate option in pressure outlet
BC panel and type in the
desired mass flow rate
You can specify the mass flow
outlet method in the text
interface:
/define/boundary-conditions/target-mass-
flow-rate-settings>
enable? set method verbosity?

Target Mass Flow Outlet Example
Mass flow outlet BC

applied at compressor
outlet Convergence History
Target mass flow:

0.3 kg/s
Eckardt centrifugal compressor

Non-reflecting BCs (1)
Standard pressure BCs for compressible flow “fix” specific flow
variables at the boundary (e.g. static pressure at an outflow
boundary)
• Result: pressure waves incident on the boundary will reflect in an
unphysical manner
• Can lead to local errors and convergence degradation
• Effects are more pronounced if the boundary is close to the blade
(e.g. truncated domain, mixing plane boundary)
Non-reflecting boundary conditions (NRBCs) permit waves to pass
through the boundaries without spurious reflections
Fluent 6.2 now has two available methods for NRBCs
• Turbo-specific NRBCs
• General NRBCs

Turbo-Specific NRBCs
Turbo-Specific NRBCs are based on the Saxer-Giles steady-state

formulation.
NRBCs are available for pressure inlets and pressure outlets only
• All pressure boundaries will be affected (cannot selectively
activate NRBCs for specific boundaries)
• can coexist with other BCs (e.g. mass flow inlet)
NRBCs require the use of the steady-state, coupled solver.
Mesh requirements
• The mesh at the pressure inlet/outlet boundaries must be a
structured quad (2-D) or hex (3-D) mesh.
• Note that away from the boundaries, any mesh type is
permissible (e.g. hybrid tri-quad mesh is permitted in 2-D).
You can use NRBCs with mixing planes.

Turbo-Specific NRBC Example: 2-D Vane
Simple 2-D vane (chord = 0.05864 m)
Compressible flow, ideal gas (air)
Boundary conditions
• Inlet total pressure = 1.5 atm
• Inlet total temperature = 300 K
• Inlet turbulence intensity = 1%
• Outlet static pressure = 0.8 atm (transonic case)
Hybrid quad-tri mesh used (quad block at inlet)
Solutions on two meshes compared
• Long mesh - ideal mesh for the problem - no NRBCs needed
• Short mesh - mesh truncated near trailing edge - NRBCs required
• Compare solutions on long mesh with solutions on the short
mesh with and without NRBCs

2D Vane - Long Mesh

2D Vane - Short Mesh
Truncated downstream
boundary

2-D Vane - Long Mesh
shock wave at
vane trailing edge

2-D Vane - Short Mesh - NBRCs Off
Constant pressure BC
results in incorrect shock
location

2-D Vane - Short Mesh - NRBCs Activated
Non-reflecting boundary
conditions permit shock
wave to pass through the
boundary - shock location
is correctly predicted!

General NRBC Formulation
A new general NRBC formulation has been developed for Fluent 6.2
• Uses general characteristics-based algorithms from the literature
• Applies to pressure outlets only
Benefits
• Can be used for both steady-state and unsteady flows
• No geometry or mesh restrictions
Limitations
• Can only be used with the coupled-explicit or coupled-implicit
solvers (no segregated solver implementation at this time)

General NRBC User Interface
Option selected in pressure outlet BC
GUI panel
• Permits selected enabling of the
NRBCs (unlike Turbo-Specific NRBCs).
Two options available
• Exit pressure is at infinity
– Assumes specified pressure is defined
downstream of actual boundary (far
field)
– Example: rocket nozzle
• Exit pressure is average pressure
– Assumes specified pressure is an
average pressure at the outlet
boundary
– Example: turbine blade row exit
boundary

General NRBCs: 2-D Stator Vane
Constant Pressure BC Non-Reflecting Pressure BC
Contours of Static Pressure (atm)

Fluent-Adv-rm 14.5 L04 SRF2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fluent-Adv-rm 14.5 L04 SRF2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lecture 4

Single Rotating Frame Modeling (SRF):

Advanced Rotating Machinery

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 1 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 2 Release 14.5

• All inputs can be hooked to

• Allows you to write UDFs to #include "udf.h“

• Hook up UDF using drop down return omega;

• “Zone Motion Function” option

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 4 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 5 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 6 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 7 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 8 Release 14.5

• Specify other scalar BCs as appropriate

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 9 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 10 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 11 Release 14.5

• You must also specify backflow

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 12 Release 14.5

Pressure Inlet Pressure Outlet

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 14 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 15 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 16 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 17 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 18 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 19 Release 14.5

• Two ways of providing good initial conditions

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 21 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 22 Release 14.5

• FMG Initialization option in FLUENT uses the Full Multigrid

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 23 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 24 Release 14.5

• Eckardt rotor model ~ 400,000 cells

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 25 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 26 Release 14.5

• Calculation halts when max errors are below user-defined threshold

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 27 Release 14.5

• Provide number of iterations for steady-

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 28 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 29 Release 14.5

• SRF modeling is the simplest modeling approach for rotating

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 30 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 31 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 32 Release 14.5

P  T Propeller power (N) 

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 33 Release 14.5

From Ref [1]

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 34 Release 14.5

Approximate wind tunnel with annular passage, with prescribed

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 36 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 37 Release 14.5

Hybrid mesh created in GAMBIT

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 38 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 39 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 40 Release 14.5

Axial blade force and torque derived from CFD solutions 

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 41 Release 14.5

DBNS with Solution Steering

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 42 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 43 Release 14.5

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 44 Release 14.5

CFD: beta @ 0.75R = 44.4 deg

© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. June 19, 2013 45 Release 14.5