Barracuda Release Guide 15.1

15.
1 Release Guide
October 16, 2012
CPFD Software LLC

10899 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Suite A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
+1.505.275.3849
www.cpfd-software.com
www.cpfd -software.com
Contents
• General overview ……………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………... p. 3
• Barracuda names ……….…………………………………………………….……………………………………………………….…. p. 4

• Usability enhancements
– Project Description Field ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…. p. 5
– Automated plotting of polynomial material properties…………………………………………………………… p. 6
– Grid generator window split view...………………………………………………………………………………………… p. 8
– BC Editor for Transient Boundary Conditions…..……………………………………………………………………… p. 11
– Editor for Particle Size Distribution Files ......…..………………………………………………………………………. p. 16
– Particle mass flow controller simplification…..………………………………………………………………………… p. 17
– Transient control of “Particle feed per ave volume” at particle feed BCs……….………………………… p. 20
– New GMV output variables…………..……………….……………………………………………………………………….. p. 21
– Overlaying Flow Boundary Conditions …………………………………………………………………………………….. p. 22
• Improved physics and chemistry

– Injection BCs…………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………. p. 23
– Chemistry reaction rate flexibility…………………………………………………………………………..………………. p. 30
– Chemistry reaction rate temperature dependence weighting…..………………………………….…………. p. 32
– Chemistry comment fields……………..…………………………………………………………….……………….………… p. 34
– Ramping chemistry reaction rates over time……………..…………………………………………….…….……….. p. 35
– Import Chemistry enhancements…………………….…………………………….……………………………….………. p. 37
– Chemistry gas transport limiter…………………….…………………………….……………………………….………. p. 38
– General Physics and Numerics Improvements….…………………………….……………………………….………. p. 39
2
General Overview
• This Release Guide is an overview of the major features in Barracuda
VR 15.1
• This guide assumes you are familiar with the Barracuda 14-series of
software and Barracuda VR 15.0
• This guide serves as reference material on the new features of

Barracuda VR 15.1
3
Barracuda Names
TM
Barracuda has been named Barracuda Virtual Reactor or Barracuda
TM
VR
We believe the ‘VR’ name best reflects the engineering purpose of our
software. Barracuda VR is aimed at solving fluid-particle problems in
commercial systems with complex geometry, multi-materials, and which
can be chemically reacting
CPFD Software has secured the trademarked names for our products from the US
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
4
Project Description Field
• A project description
field has been added
to allow users to
note:
- Project features
- Log of model setup
status
- Model assumptions
and simplifications
- Etc.
5
Automated Plotting of Polynomial Material
Properties
• This feature allows users
to plot the polynomial
expressions for property
data in Base Materials
• Users can now visualize

property data over a
range of temperatures
present within a
simulation
6
Automated Plotting of Polynomial Material
Properties
• In the Material Properties
dialog, users can specify the
temperature range to be
used in plotting polynomial
expressions for property
data of individual project
materials
• To view the polynomial

expression for a given
property, click on the
corresponding button in the
GUI
• To view the plot for the

polynomial, click on the Plot
button in the GUI
7
Grid Generator Window Split View
• The improved grid

generator split view
window simultaneously
displays the x-y, x-z, and
y-z planes of the STL file
• This allows for better

visualization of subsets
where users can
simultaneously view
gridding in three
dimensions
8
Grid Generator Window Split View
Sample subset using z-min and z-max
STL lines less than

z-min and greater
than z-max have
been removed
Location of z-min
and z-max in x-z
and y-z planes
View panels can

be resized by
dragging the
panel dividers to
the left or right
Note: x, y, and z subsets can be used concurrently
9
Other Grid Generator Enhancements
• Grid generator is now compatible with STL files that contain spaces
within the file name
• Note that the new 15.1 GUI is only compatible with the latest 15.1
version of the grid generator (cpfd.g.15)
10
BC Editor for Transient Boundary Conditions
• In version 15.1 transient

BCs are specified with
*.sff files
• The new *.sff file format

allows greater flexibility
when specifying
boundary conditions
• Any .i files from previous

versions of Barracuda are
automatically converted
to *.sff files
11
BC Editor for Transient Boundary Conditions
• Transient file editing is now done

through the BC Editor dialog
• This provides a table based

editing of the *.sff file
• Copying a row can be done by
highlighting it and dragging it
down
• New rows are added using the
Add Row button
• Rows are deleted using the
Delete Row button
• The Check Data button checks
the table for formatting errors
• *.sff files must be saved in the
project directory
12
BC Editor: Selecting Variables and Units
• Double click on the flow header

to select Mass Flow Rate or
Velocity
• Users can now select units for

variables in a *.sff file
• Simply double click on the
column header and select the
desired unit
13
BC Editor: Graphing Transient Input
• The Graph button allows the user to
quickly visualize transient input
• To generate the graph,

simply select the x and
y axis variables, then
click OK
• Graph settings such as

line color, style, and
width can be adjusted
from the graph dialog
as well as directly from
the xmgr plot
14
BC Editor: Updating Simulation
• Clicking on the Update

Simulation button prompts
Barracuda to re-read ALL
*.sff files into a running
simulation
• This is equivalent to clicking

re-read BC input files from
the Interact dialog
15
Particle Size Distribution Editor
• Particle size distributions are also
specified by *.sff files where users
may:
• Specify the distribution type as
Cumulative or Frequency
• Enter particle size by Radius or
Diameter (in units of m, mm,
or m)
• These changes can be made by

double clicking on the column
header
• Clicking on Update Simulation will

only affect particles that are being
fed into the domain at a boundary
16
Particle Mass Flow Controller Simplification
• The particle feed controller now
has a simplified interface for the
two commonly used feed control
schemes:
• Matching particle mass flow

rate through a flux plane
• Control based on system

mass
• The feed control dialog from

previous versions of Barracuda is
available as Advanced Feed
Control and continues to
provide additional feed control
options
17
Particle Feed Control: Matching a Flux plane
• A particle feed can be set to match the particle mass flow
rate through the flux plane selected from the drop down
menu
• This particle feed control option allows users to specify

the following parameters:
• Efficiency: the fraction of measured solids at the flux plane
that are fed by the particle feed controller. A value of 1.0
corresponds to 100% of the solids being matched.
• Slip ratio: is the ratio of particle velocity to the fluid velocity

in the boundary cell with particle feed. The slip ratio can be
less, equal to, or greater than 1 depending on whether the
fluid flow or the particle flow is the driving force.
• Over time: allows users to specify the time period over

which the change in particle feed takes place gradually
(linearly). Usually this parameter is set to zero, allowing the
feed change to take place in one time step whenever
possible.
18
Particle Feed Control Based on System Mass
• Users may control the particle feed based on total system

mass . The system mass is controlled with a deadband
between the minimum system mass and the maximum
system mass specified
• Minimum system mass: If the system mass drops

below the specified minimum, the particle feed will
turn on
• Maximum system mass: If the system mass exceeds

the specified maximum, the particle feed will turn off
• Slip ratio: Users may specify a slip ratio, which can be

less, equal to, or greater than 1 depending on
whether the fluid flow or the particle flow is the
driving force
19
Transient control of “Particle feed per ave
volume” at Flow BCs
• Barracuda 15.1 allows the user to transiently adjust the number of computational particles
used at flow BCs.
• In the Flow Boundary Conditions Editor, there is a column named “Number Density Manual”.
• This value has the same meaning as the value specified in the Particle feed settings dialog,
labeled “Particle feed per ave volume”. If a transient file is used, the transient value is used
(rather than the static value specified in the Particle feed settings dialog).
• If you find that you need more
or fewer computational particles
at a flow BC with particle feed,
you can adjust the value in the
“Number Density Manual”
column, then click “Update
Simulation”.
• This column is automatically
included in all flow BC transient
data files, regardless of whether
particles are fed in at the flow
BC.
20
New GMV Output Variables
• Two new variables have been added to GMV Output Options:
• Cell indices (i, j, k): allows

cells to be plotted by i, j, k
locations. This option is
useful for identifying specific
cells in a GMV plot
• Cell volume (cellVol): useful

for calculating spatial
averages in GMV using Field
Calculations
21
Overlaying Flow Boundary Conditions
• Barracuda VR 15.1 allows flow boundary conditions to be overlayed, which provides greater
flexibility when specifying gas compositions and flowrates at complex flow boundaries
• With overlayed flow BCs, different particle or fluid flow rates can be specified and controlled
by different data files. Example of two BCs at same location:
– BC-1 inlet of N2 on from 0 to 20s then off
– BC-2 inlet of CH4 on from 18 s to 100 s
• This is an expert usage of Barracuda not supported in Barracuda VR 15.1 and should be used
with caution
• The solver will report use of overlayed flow BCs. It is important to be exact with the
application of flow BCs within the system
• The overlaying of flow boundary conditions differs from the previous version of Barracuda,
where only one of the overlayed flow boundary conditions was applied. While the previous
approach could be used successfully, the flow BC specification was ambiguous
22
Injection BCs
Injection BCs are a new type of boundary condition in Barracuda that
allows for the injection of fluid and/or particles to be specified at a given
location, velocity, mass rate, and direction.
Injection set with 116 injection points
Each injection point

has a unique location
and direction
Fluid and Particle

injections can be
displayed in GMV as
polygons
23
Injection BCs
• One or more injection sets may be
created in a project file and each
injection set may consist of one or
more injection points.
• Injection points within an injection

set will have a common composition
and velocity.
• Each injection set can have:

• Particle or Tracer injection alone
• Fluid injection alone
• Both particle/tracer and fluid
injection
24
Particle Injection
• Each injection set can be given a name, a flux plane, and a comment
• To specify a Particle Injection:
• Injection Species must be selected from the available particle species in the project
• Users may specify values for velocity, mass flow, temperature and number density via the text boxes
or through a file
• The number density is determines the number of computational particles that will be fed at an
injection location
• Angle Expansion/Orientation add some variability to the particle injection direction
25
Fluid Injection
• To specify a Fluid Injection:
• Fluid Composition: is specified by clicking on the corresponding button in the GUI
• Users may specify values for velocity, mass flow, and temperature, via the text boxes or
through a file
26
Injection Locations
The x,y,z coordinates, directional vector, and mass and temperature weighting factors for
each injection point within an injection set are specified in the Locations table.
• Name: each injection point should be given a unique identifier
• On/Off: injection points can be enabled or disabled
• X, Y, Z: injection location (x, y, z coordinates in meters)
• nx, ny, nz: specifies the directional vector for each injection point
• Particle/Fluid Mass Weight: specifies the relative weighting of each injector. The mass rate specified for
the set is the total of all injectors.
• Particle/Fluid Temperature Multiplier: temperature at the injection point is equal to the product of the
specified temperature for the set and the multiplier for each point.
27
Import/Export Location
• This feature is useful for editing large sets of location and direction data in Excel, Open Office,
or other spreadsheet applications
• Data from the Locations table can be exported as a *.csv file by clicking on the export button
in the GUI
• Once the file has been edited, it can be easily imported into the locations table
28
Tracer Injection
• Tracers act as Lagrangian particles for tracking fluid movements in residence time studies
• They are treated as very small particles with no physical impact on the results of the
simulation. Particle and fluid movement, thermal calculations, and chemistry results will be
the same as if no tracers were present.
• To specify a Tracer Injection:
• Users must set the injection Type to “Tracer” and specify a tracer Species number
• Number density must also be specified
29
Chemistry Reaction Rate Flexibility
• Barracuda 15.1 supports more general chemical reaction rate expressions.
– To understand what kinds of reaction rate expressions are possible, it is useful to think about increasingly complex
groupings of the available terms. The concepts and names used below, such as “Basic Groups”, “Summation
Groups”, etc., are not used directly in the Barracuda GUI. Instead, they are used in this document to help explain
the ways in which terms can be combined to form the final rate expression.
• The building blocks of a reaction rate expression are:
– Constants: c0, c1, c2, …
– Reaction rate coefficients: k0, k1, k2, …
– Gas species terms: [A], [B], [C], …
• These building blocks can be combined into “Basic Groups” (BG1, BG2, …):
– BG1 = c0 * ( c1 * k0 + c2 * k1 + …) * [A]^c3 * [B]^c4 * …
• Multiple “Basic Groups” can be added together in “Summation Groups” (SG1, SG2, …):
– SG1 = BG1 + BG2 + …
• Multiple “Summation Groups” can be multiplied together in “Product Groups” (PG1, PG2, …):
– PG1 = SG1^c5 * SG2^c6 * …
• Multiple “Product Groups” can be added together to form the final rate expression:
– R00 = PG1 + PG2 + …
30
Chemistry Reaction Rate Example
• The example below shows a reaction rate expression that was not possible to input into older
Barracuda versions, but is now accepted in Barracuda 15.1.
R 00 
k 0[A]  2
1  k1[B] 1  k 2[C][D] 
0.5 2
• The Barracuda 15.1 GUI also adds parenthesis highlighting to make it easier to identify pairs of
parenthesis. Matching pairs of parenthesis are highlighted green when you move the cursor
near them. An unmatched parenthesis is highlighted red when the cursor is next to it.
31
Chemistry Reaction Rate Temperature
Dependence Weighting
• This feature allows users to adjust how temperature is calculated in the rate
coefficient equation. Temperature values can be based on the fluid, the
particles, or a mixture of both.
Fluid
Temperature
• Fluid temperature is constant
Particle 1
throughout the cell Temperature
• Each computational particle may have Particle 2

a distinctive temperature Temperature
• Reaction temperature dependence is

a function of both particle and fluid Particle 3
temperature Temperature
32
Chemistry Reaction Rate Temperature
Dependence Weighting
• The fluid or particle weighting factor can be specified as
needed. When either is changed, the other is
automatically adjusted such that their sum is equal to
1.0
• Default values for both the fluid and particle weighting

factors is 0.50
• Temperature weighting factors are used to calculate the

temperature value for the rate coefficient equation
shown at the top of the dialog as follows:
T = Tf (weight factor for fluid) + Tp (weight factor for particles)
where Tf is the fluid temperature and Tp is the particle
temperature
33
Chemistry Comment Fields
• Comment fields have been
added to rate coefficients
and reactions.
• This allows the user to note:

name of the reaction, source
of reaction kinetics, and
other relevant information.
• Comments are then

displayed in the chemistry
coefficient list and the
chemical reactions window.
34
Ramping Chemistry Reaction Rates Over Time
• A new feature has been added to

allow users to delay the start of
chemical reactions and slowly ramp-
up the reaction rates in a simulation,
providing further control over the
startup of reacting models.
• This allows the user to gradually

increase chemical reaction rates until
the particle, fluid, and thermal
dynamics within the system have had
a chance to stabilize.
35
Ramping Chemistry Reaction Rates Over Time
• Chemistry ramping is accessed under the Global Settings tab alongside the data specification for
gravitational forces and thermal specifications in the model.
• There are 3 different modes for starting the chemistry in

Barracuda:
• On – The “On” setting is the default. In this case, the
chemistry will be present from the start of the simulation.
• Off, ramp on from ____ s to ______ s – The ramp setting
provides the delay and ramp functionality that is beneficial
for the startup of high reaction rate models. The first
number (20 is shown in the snapshot) indicates the time at
which the ramp will start. Prior to the start of the ramp, the
chemistry is off. From the time of the first number to the
second number (60 is shown in the snapshot) the chemistry
will be ramped from an “off” state to an “on” state.
• Off – The “Off” setting indicates that any chemistry entered
in Barracuda will not be active during the simulation. The
chemistry can later be activated to an “On” state from a
simulation restart.
36
Import Chemistry Enhancements
• The Import Chemistry Settings feature allows users to import base
materials and chemistry from an existing project file. This is useful
when large reaction sets for specific materials need to be added to
a new project.
• Clicking on the Import Chemistry button raises a dialog where users
can select the project file from which to import settings and specify
how these settings will be applied to the current project.
• For Base Materials, users have 4 options when importing:
• None: will not import any base materials
• Append: adds all materials from imported project while keeping any
materials already in the current project
• Merge (overwrite): adds all materials from imported project and
replaces any duplicate materials with those being imported
• Merge (keep): adds all materials from imported project and, in the case
of duplicates, keeps the materials in the current project
• For Chemistry, users may select:

• None: will not import any chemistry • Once base materials and
• Replace: replaces all current chemistry with imported reactions and chemistry have been imported,
coefficients
users can edit individual rate
• Append: adds chemistry from imported project without deleting
coefficients and reactions as
current reactions and rate coefficients
needed
37
Chemistry Gas Transport Limiter
• For gas-solid chemistry, particles are at discrete locations which requires gas to move to a
particle to react. A gas transport limiter model has been added in Barracuda 15.1 to
approximate this physical limitation on chemical reaction rates.
• The model is only applicable to gas-

solid reactions. If the reaction rates for
gas-solid chemistry are very high, using
this model can help the solution of the
reaction equations.
• The analytic solution of the transport

equation requires a first order reaction.
The first order reaction is not enforced
(correctness of the model is violated),
but the gas transport rate is limited. It is
suggested to only use the model for
first order reactions.
38
General Physics and Numerics
Improvements
• New and more accurate physics has been added to better capture particle-fluid flow.
• Improved numerics have been added which provide a more robust solution.
• Barracuda VR 15.1 has improved numerics which can provide a 10 to 15% faster solution while
being more accurate.
• Barracuda VR 15.1 went through extensive testing of both solver and GUI.
• Solver and GUI bugs reported by the Barracuda VR user community were fixed.
39

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15.

CPFD Software LLC

• Barracuda names ……….…………………………………………………….……………………………………………………….…. p. 4

• Improved physics and chemistry

• This guide serves as reference material on the new features of

• Users can now visualize

• To view the polynomial

• To view the plot for the

• The improved grid

• This allows for better

STL lines less than

View panels can

Note: x, y, and z subsets can be used concurrently

• In version 15.1 transient

• The new *.sff file format

• Any .i files from previous

• Transient file editing is now done

• This provides a table based

• Double click on the flow header

• Users can now select units for

• To generate the graph,

• Graph settings such as

• Clicking on the Update

• This is equivalent to clicking

• These changes can be made by

• Clicking on Update Simulation will

• Matching particle mass flow

• Control based on system

• The feed control dialog from

• This particle feed control option allows users to specify

• Slip ratio: is the ratio of particle velocity to the fluid velocity

• Over time: allows users to specify the time period over

• Users may control the particle feed based on total system

• Minimum system mass: If the system mass drops

• Maximum system mass: If the system mass exceeds

• Slip ratio: Users may specify a slip ratio, which can be

• Cell indices (i, j, k): allows

• Cell volume (cellVol): useful

Injection set with 116 injection points

Each injection point

Fluid and Particle

• Injection points within an injection

• Each injection set can have:

• Number density must also be specified

• Each computational particle may have Particle 2

• Reaction temperature dependence is

• Default values for both the fluid and particle weighting

• Temperature weighting factors are used to calculate the

• This allows the user to note:

• Comments are then

• A new feature has been added to

• This allows the user to gradually

• There are 3 different modes for starting the chemistry in

• For Chemistry, users may select:

• The model is only applicable to gas-

• The analytic solution of the transport

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