Ansys Fluent Tutorial Guide 2023 R1

Ansys Fluent Tutorial Guide
ANSYS, Inc. Release 2023 R1

Southpointe January 2023
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Table of Contents
Using This Manual .................................................................................................................................... xxxi
1. What’s In This Manual ...................................................................................................................... xxxi
2. How To Use This Manual .................................................................................................................. xxxi
2.1. For the Beginner ..................................................................................................................... xxxi
2.2. For the Experienced User ........................................................................................................ xxxi
3. Typographical Conventions Used In This Manual .............................................................................. xxxi
1. Fluid Flow in an Exhaust Manifold .......................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Prerequisites ..................................................................................................................................... 2
1.3. Problem Description ......................................................................................................................... 2
1.4. Setup and Solution ........................................................................................................................... 2
1.4.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................................. 3
1.4.2. Launching Ansys Fluent ........................................................................................................... 3
1.4.3. Meshing Workflow ................................................................................................................... 5
1.4.4. General Settings ..................................................................................................................... 18
1.4.5. Solver Settings ....................................................................................................................... 19
1.4.6. Models ................................................................................................................................... 20
1.4.7. Materials ................................................................................................................................ 20
1.4.8. Cell Zone Conditions .............................................................................................................. 21
1.4.9. Boundary Conditions ............................................................................................................. 21
1.4.10. Solution ............................................................................................................................... 26
1.5. Postprocessing ............................................................................................................................... 34
1.6. Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 48
2. Fluent Postprocessing : Exhaust Manifold ............................................................................................ 49
2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 49
2.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................... 50
2.3. Problem Description ....................................................................................................................... 50
2.4. Setup and Solution ......................................................................................................................... 50
2.4.1. Preparation ............................................................................................................................ 51
2.4.2. Reading the Solution .............................................................................................................. 51
2.4.3. Manipulating the Mesh in the Viewer ...................................................................................... 51
2.4.4. Adding Lights ........................................................................................................................ 53
2.4.5. Creating Isosurfaces ............................................................................................................... 57
2.4.6. Generating Contours .............................................................................................................. 60
2.4.7. Generating Velocity Vectors .................................................................................................... 64
2.4.8. Creating an Animation ........................................................................................................... 69
2.4.9. Creating a Scene With Multiple Graphics Features ................................................................... 74
2.4.10. Creating Exploded Views ...................................................................................................... 76
2.4.11. Animating the Display of Results in Successive Streamwise Planes ......................................... 79
2.4.12. Generating XY Plots .............................................................................................................. 82
2.4.13. Saving Picture Files ............................................................................................................... 85
2.4.14. Generating Volume Integral Reports ..................................................................................... 86
2.5. Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 87
3. Modeling Flow Through Porous Media ................................................................................................. 89
3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 89
3.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................... 90
3.4. Setup and Solution ......................................................................................................................... 91
3.4.1. Preparation ............................................................................................................................ 91
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3.4.2. Meshing Workflow ................................................................................................................. 91

3.4.3. General Settings ................................................................................................................... 108
3.4.4. Solver Settings ..................................................................................................................... 110
3.4.5. Models ................................................................................................................................. 111
3.4.6. Materials .............................................................................................................................. 112
3.4.7. Cell Zone Conditions ............................................................................................................ 113
3.4.8. Boundary Conditions ............................................................................................................ 117
3.4.9. Solution ............................................................................................................................... 119
3.4.10. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................... 125
3.5. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 136
4. Modeling External Compressible Flow ............................................................................................... 137
4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 137
4.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 137
4.3. Problem Description ..................................................................................................................... 138
4.4. Setup and Solution ....................................................................................................................... 139
4.4.1. Preparation .......................................................................................................................... 140
4.4.2. Meshing Workflow ............................................................................................................... 140
4.4.3. Mesh .................................................................................................................................... 153
4.4.4. Solver .................................................................................................................................. 156
4.4.5. Models ................................................................................................................................. 157
4.4.6. Materials .............................................................................................................................. 158
4.4.8. Operating Conditions ........................................................................................................... 163
4.4.9. Reference Values .................................................................................................................. 164
4.4.10. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 165
4.4.11. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................... 169
4.5. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 180
5. Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in a Mixing Elbow ................................................................................. 181
5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 181
5.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 182
5.4.1. Preparation .......................................................................................................................... 183
5.4.3. Setting Up Domain ............................................................................................................... 192
5.4.4. Setting Up Physics ................................................................................................................ 194
5.4.5. Solving ................................................................................................................................ 207
5.4.6. Displaying the Preliminary Solution ...................................................................................... 218
5.4.7. Adapting the Mesh ............................................................................................................... 231
5.5. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 243
6. Exhaust System: Fault-tolerant Meshing ............................................................................................ 245
6.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 245
6.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 246
6.4.1. Preparation .......................................................................................................................... 247
6.4.2. Geometry and Mesh ............................................................................................................. 247
6.4.3. General Settings ................................................................................................................... 268
6.4.4. Solver Settings ..................................................................................................................... 269
6.4.5. Models ................................................................................................................................. 270
6.4.6. Materials .............................................................................................................................. 271
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6.4.7. Cell Zone Conditions ............................................................................................................ 271

6.4.9. Solution ............................................................................................................................... 273
6.4.10. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................... 280
6.5. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 286
7. Modeling Hypersonic Flow ................................................................................................................. 287
7.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 287
7.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 287
7.4.1. Preparation .......................................................................................................................... 288
7.4.3. Mesh .................................................................................................................................... 301
7.4.4. Solver .................................................................................................................................. 303
7.4.5. Models ................................................................................................................................. 304
7.4.6. Materials .............................................................................................................................. 306
7.4.9. Solution ............................................................................................................................... 312
7.4.10. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................... 322
7.5. Enable the species model .............................................................................................................. 332
7.6. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 345
8. Modeling Transient Compressible Flow .............................................................................................. 347
8.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 347
8.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 347
8.4.1. Preparation .......................................................................................................................... 348
8.4.3. Set Units .............................................................................................................................. 359
8.4.4. Solution ............................................................................................................................... 359
8.4.5. Models ................................................................................................................................. 360
8.4.6. Materials .............................................................................................................................. 362
8.4.9. Solution: Steady Flow ........................................................................................................... 367
8.4.10. Enabling Time Dependence and Setting Transient Conditions ............................................. 381
8.4.11. Specifying Solution Parameters for Transient Flow and Solving ............................................ 383
8.5. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 386
9. Performing Parametric Analyses in Ansys Fluent ............................................................................... 387
9.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 387
9.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 387
9.4.1. Preparation .......................................................................................................................... 389
9.4.2. Mesh .................................................................................................................................... 389
9.4.3. Initialize the Parametric Study ............................................................................................... 390
9.4.4. Add Design Points ................................................................................................................ 392
9.4.5. Set Up Design Point and Parametric Reports ......................................................................... 393
9.4.6. Update Design Point Solutions ............................................................................................. 395
9.4.7. Generate Design Point and Parametric Simulation Reports .................................................... 397
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9.4.8. Compare Design Point Results .............................................................................................. 399

9.5. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 407
10. Using the Frozen Rotor Method ........................................................................................................ 409
10.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 409
10.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 409
10.3. Problem Description ................................................................................................................... 409
10.4. Setup and Solution ..................................................................................................................... 410
10.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 411
10.4.2. Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 411
10.4.3. Models ............................................................................................................................... 412
10.4.4. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 412
10.4.5. Cell Zone Conditions .......................................................................................................... 413
10.4.6. Boundary Conditions .......................................................................................................... 414
10.4.7. Turbomachinery Models ..................................................................................................... 415
10.4.8. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 416
10.4.9. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................... 420
10.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 423
10.6. Further Improvements ................................................................................................................ 423
11. Turbomachinery Setup and Analysis Using the Turbo Workflow ..................................................... 425
11.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 425
11.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 426
11.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 427
11.4.2. Turbo Workflow .................................................................................................................. 427
11.4.3. Review Setup ..................................................................................................................... 443
11.4.3.1. Models and Materials ................................................................................................. 443
11.4.3.2. Cell Zone and Boundary Conditions ........................................................................... 444
11.4.3.3. Mesh Interfaces ......................................................................................................... 445
11.4.3.4. Named Expressions .................................................................................................... 446
11.4.4. Review Solution ................................................................................................................. 448
11.4.4.1. Report Definitions ..................................................................................................... 448
11.4.4.2. Solution Controls ....................................................................................................... 451
11.4.4.3. Residual Monitors ...................................................................................................... 452
11.4.4.4. Monitors .................................................................................................................... 453
11.4.4.5. Solution ..................................................................................................................... 454
11.5. Postprocessing ............................................................................................................................ 459
11.6. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 463
12. Modeling Blade Row Interaction using Steady-State and Transient Simulations ............................ 465
12.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 465
12.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 465
12.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 467
12.4.2. Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 467
12.4.3. Solver Settings for the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model ..................................................... 468
12.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 469
12.4.5. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 470
12.4.6. Cell Zone Conditions for the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model ............................................ 470
12.4.7. Operating Conditions ......................................................................................................... 471
12.4.8. Boundary Conditions for the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model ............................................ 472
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12.4.9. Solution of the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model ................................................................ 481

12.4.10. Postprocessing of the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model .................................................... 490
12.4.11. Solver Settings for the Transient Pitch Scale Model ............................................................ 494
12.4.12. Reference Values .............................................................................................................. 495
12.4.13. Interface Conditions for the Transient Pitch Scale Model .................................................... 496
12.4.14. Cell Zone Conditions for the Transient Pitch Scale Model ................................................... 498
12.4.15. Boundary Conditions for the Transient Pitch Scale Model ................................................... 498
12.4.16. Solution Settings for the Transient Pitch Scale Model ......................................................... 499
12.4.17. Postprocessing for the Transient Pitch Scale Model ............................................................ 505
12.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 509
13. Using Sliding Meshes ........................................................................................................................ 511
13.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 511
13.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 511
13.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 513
13.4.2. Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 513
13.4.3. General Settings ................................................................................................................. 513
13.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 517
13.4.5. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 518
13.4.9. Mesh Interfaces .................................................................................................................. 528
13.4.10. Solution ........................................................................................................................... 530
13.4.11. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 549
13.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 553
14. Using Overset and Dynamic Meshes ................................................................................................. 555
14.1. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 555
14.3. Preparation ................................................................................................................................. 557
14.4. Mesh .......................................................................................................................................... 557
14.5. Overset Interface Creation ........................................................................................................... 561
14.6. Steady-State Case Setup .............................................................................................................. 564
14.6.2. Models ............................................................................................................................... 564
14.6.3. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 566
14.6.6. Reference Values ................................................................................................................ 568
14.6.7. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 568
14.7. Unsteady Setup .......................................................................................................................... 574
14.7.2. Compile the UDF ................................................................................................................ 575
14.7.3. Dynamic Mesh Settings ...................................................................................................... 575
14.7.4. Report Generation for Unsteady Case ................................................................................. 577
14.7.5. Run Calculations for Unsteady Case .................................................................................... 579
14.7.6. Overset Solution Checking ................................................................................................. 580
14.7.7. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................... 580
14.7.8. Diagnosing an Overset Case ............................................................................................... 583
14.8. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 589
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15. Modeling Species Transport and Gaseous Combustion ................................................................... 591

15.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 591
15.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 591
15.4. Background ................................................................................................................................ 592
15.5.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 593
15.5.2. Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 593
15.5.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 596
15.5.5. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 599
15.5.7. Initial Reaction Solution ...................................................................................................... 608
15.5.8. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................... 611
15.5.9. NOx Prediction ................................................................................................................... 619
15.6. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 630
16. Using the Monte Carlo Radiation Model ........................................................................................... 633
16.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 633
16.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 633
16.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 635
16.4.2. Meshing Workflow .............................................................................................................. 635
16.4.3. Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 648
16.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 650
16.4.5. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 652
16.4.8. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 658
16.4.9. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................... 659
16.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 663
17. Using the Eddy Dissipation and Steady Diffusion Flamelet Combustion Models ............................ 665
17.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 665
17.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 665
17.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 667
17.4.3. Solver Settings ................................................................................................................... 675
17.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 675
17.4.6. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 677
17.4.7. Postprocessing for the Eddy-Dissipation Solution ................................................................ 680
17.5. Steady Diffusion Flamelet Model Setup and Solution ................................................................... 686
17.5.1. Models ............................................................................................................................... 687
17.5.3. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 689
17.5.4. Postprocessing for the Steady Diffusion Flamelet Solution ................................................... 689
17.6. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 693
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18. Effusion Cooling simulation in a 3D model Combustor .................................................................... 695

18.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 695
18.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 695
18.4. Background ................................................................................................................................ 696
18.5.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 697
18.5.3. Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 709
18.5.4. Setting Up Physics .............................................................................................................. 711
18.5.5. Models ............................................................................................................................... 711
18.5.6. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 722
18.5.8.1. Perforated Walls ......................................................................................................... 724
18.5.9. Cold Flow Solution ............................................................................................................. 728
18.5.10. Combustion Solution ........................................................................................................ 731
18.5.11. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 732
18.6. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 736
19. Selective Catalytic Reduction Simulation ......................................................................................... 737
19.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 737
19.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 738
19.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 740
19.4.2. Reading and Checking the Mesh ......................................................................................... 740
19.4.4. Solver Settings ................................................................................................................... 744
19.4.5. Specifying the Models ........................................................................................................ 745
19.4.6. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 752
19.4.8. Specifying Boundary Conditions ......................................................................................... 756
19.4.9. Modify the Particle Properties ............................................................................................. 767
19.4.10. Flow Simulation ................................................................................................................ 768
19.4.11. Postprocessing the Solution Results .................................................................................. 776
19.5. SCR Specific Post Processing ....................................................................................................... 796
19.6. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 806
20. Modeling Evaporating Liquid Spray ................................................................................................. 807
20.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 807
20.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 807
20.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 808
20.4.2. Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 809
20.4.3. Solver ................................................................................................................................. 812
20.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 812
20.4.5. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 815
20.4.7. Initial Solution Without Droplets ......................................................................................... 823
20.4.8. Creating a Spray Injection ................................................................................................... 831
20.4.9. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 840
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20.4.10. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 849

20.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 860
21. Using the VOF Model ......................................................................................................................... 861
21.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 861
21.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 861
21.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 863
21.4.2. Reading and Manipulating the Mesh ................................................................................... 864
21.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 871
21.4.5. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 873
21.4.6. Phases ................................................................................................................................ 874
21.4.9. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 882
21.4.10. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 889
21.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 893
22. Modeling Cavitation .......................................................................................................................... 895
22.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 895
22.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 895
22.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 896
22.4.3. Solver Settings ................................................................................................................... 898
22.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 899
22.4.5. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 901
22.4.6. Phases ................................................................................................................................ 904
22.4.9. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 913
22.4.10. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 918
22.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 923
23. Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model ............................................................................................... 925
23.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 925
23.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 925
23.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 927
23.4.2. Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 927
23.4.3. Solver Settings ................................................................................................................... 928
23.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 929
23.4.5. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 930
23.4.6. Phases ................................................................................................................................ 931
23.4.9. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 934
23.4.10. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 935
23.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 941
24. Modeling Solidification ..................................................................................................................... 943
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24.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 943

24.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 943
24.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 945
24.4.3. Specifying Solver and Analysis Type .................................................................................... 946
24.4.4. Specifying the Models ........................................................................................................ 947
24.4.5. Defining Materials .............................................................................................................. 949
24.4.6. Setting the Cell Zone Conditions ......................................................................................... 951
24.4.7. Setting the Boundary Conditions ........................................................................................ 951
24.4.8. Solution: Steady Conduction ............................................................................................... 958
24.4.9. Solution: Transient Flow and Heat Transfer ........................................................................... 969
24.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 978
25. Using the Eulerian Granular Multiphase Model with Heat Transfer ................................................. 979
25.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 979
25.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 979
25.4.1. Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 981
25.4.2. Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 981
25.4.3. Solver Settings ................................................................................................................... 982
25.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................... 983
25.4.5. UDF ................................................................................................................................... 984
25.4.6. Materials ............................................................................................................................ 985
25.4.7. Phases ................................................................................................................................ 986
25.4.9. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 997
25.4.10. Postprocessing ............................................................................................................... 1010
25.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................. 1013
25.6. References ................................................................................................................................ 1013
26. Modeling Ablation .......................................................................................................................... 1015
26.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1015
26.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................. 1015
26.3. Problem Description ................................................................................................................. 1015
26.4. Setup and Solution .................................................................................................................... 1016
26.4.1. Preparation ...................................................................................................................... 1016
26.4.2. Mesh ................................................................................................................................ 1017
26.4.3. Solver ............................................................................................................................... 1019
26.4.4. Models ............................................................................................................................. 1019
26.4.5. Materials .......................................................................................................................... 1021
26.4.6. Boundary Conditions ........................................................................................................ 1022
26.4.7. Dynamic Mesh ................................................................................................................. 1026
26.4.8. Solution ........................................................................................................................... 1030
26.4.9. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 1042
26.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................. 1045
27. Modeling One-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) Within Fluent ............................................... 1047
27.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1047
27.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................. 1047
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27.4.1. Preparation ...................................................................................................................... 1048

27.4.2. Structural Model ............................................................................................................... 1050
27.4.3. Materials .......................................................................................................................... 1051
27.4.4. Cell Zone Conditions ........................................................................................................ 1053
27.4.6. Solution ........................................................................................................................... 1058
27.4.7. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 1061
27.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................. 1062
28. Modeling Two-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) Within Fluent ............................................... 1063
28.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1063
28.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................. 1063
28.4.1. Preparation ...................................................................................................................... 1064
28.4.2. Solver and Analysis Type ................................................................................................... 1067
28.4.3. Structural Model ............................................................................................................... 1068
28.4.4. Materials .......................................................................................................................... 1069
28.4.5. Cell Zone Conditions ........................................................................................................ 1070
28.4.7. Dynamic Mesh Zones ....................................................................................................... 1074
28.4.8. Solution Animations ......................................................................................................... 1078
28.4.9. Solution ........................................................................................................................... 1089
28.4.10. Postprocessing ............................................................................................................... 1092
28.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................. 1095
29. Using the Adjoint Solver – 2D Laminar Flow Past a Cylinder .......................................................... 1097
29.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1097
29.3.1. Step 1: Preparation ........................................................................................................... 1098
29.3.2. Step 2: Define Observables ............................................................................................... 1099
29.3.3. Step 3: Compute the Drag Sensitivity ................................................................................ 1102
29.3.4. Step 4: Postprocess and Export Drag Sensitivity ................................................................. 1106
29.3.4.1. Drag Force Sensitivity Orientation for Plotting .......................................................... 1106
29.3.4.2. Boundary Condition Sensitivity ................................................................................ 1107
29.3.4.3. Momentum Source Sensitivity .................................................................................. 1108
29.3.4.4. Shape Sensitivity ..................................................................................................... 1109
29.3.4.5. Exporting Drag Sensitivity Data ................................................................................ 1111
29.3.5. Step 5: Compute Lift Sensitivity ......................................................................................... 1114
29.3.6. Step 6: Modify the Shape .................................................................................................. 1115
29.4. Summary .................................................................................................................................. 1122
30. Simulating a Single Battery Cell Using the MSMD Battery Model .................................................. 1123
30.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1123
30.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................. 1123
30.4.1. Preparation ...................................................................................................................... 1124
30.4.2. Reading and Scaling the Mesh .......................................................................................... 1125
30.4.3. NTGK Battery Model Setup ................................................................................................ 1125
30.4.3.1. Specifying Solver and Models ................................................................................... 1125
30.4.3.2. Defining New Materials for Cell and Tabs .................................................................. 1129
30.4.3.3. Defining Cell Zone Conditions .................................................................................. 1133
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30.4.3.4. Defining Boundary Conditions ................................................................................. 1133

30.4.3.5. Specifying Solution Settings ..................................................................................... 1134
30.4.3.6. Obtaining Solution .................................................................................................. 1138
30.4.4. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 1140
30.4.5. Simulating the Battery Pulse Discharge Using the ECM Model ............................................ 1151
30.4.6. Using the Reduced Order Method (ROM) .......................................................................... 1153
30.4.7. External and Internal Short-Circuit Treatment .................................................................... 1154
30.4.7.1. Setting up and Solving a Short-Circuit Problem ........................................................ 1154
30.4.7.2. Postprocessing ........................................................................................................ 1156
30.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................. 1162
30.6. Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 1162
30.7. References ................................................................................................................................ 1163
31. Simulating a 1P3S Battery Pack Using the Battery Model .............................................................. 1165
31.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1165
31.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................. 1165
31.4.1. Preparation ...................................................................................................................... 1166
31.4.2. Reading and Scaling the Mesh .......................................................................................... 1167
31.4.3. Battery Model Setup ......................................................................................................... 1168
31.4.3.1. Specifying Solver and Models ................................................................................... 1168
31.4.3.2. Defining New Materials ............................................................................................ 1173
31.4.3.3. Defining Cell Zone Conditions .................................................................................. 1176
31.4.3.4. Defining Boundary Conditions ................................................................................. 1177
31.4.3.5. Specifying Solution Settings ..................................................................................... 1178
31.4.3.6. Obtaining Solution .................................................................................................. 1182
31.4.4. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 1184
31.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................. 1193
32. In-Flight Icing Tutorial Using Fluent Icing ....................................................................................... 1195
32.1. Fluent Airflow on a Rough NACA0012 Airfoil .............................................................................. 1195
32.1.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1195
32.1.2. Problem Description ......................................................................................................... 1195
32.1.3. Setup and Solution ........................................................................................................... 1196
32.1.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1196
32.1.3.2. Setup ...................................................................................................................... 1197
32.1.3.3. Solution ................................................................................................................... 1213
32.1.3.4. Post-processing ....................................................................................................... 1216
32.1.4. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1217
32.2. Droplet Impingement on the NACA0012 ................................................................................... 1217
32.2.1. Monodispersed Calculation .............................................................................................. 1218
32.2.2. Langmuir-D Distribution ................................................................................................... 1223
32.2.3. Post-Processing Using Viewmerical ................................................................................... 1227
32.3. Fluent Icing Ice Accretion on the NACA0012 .............................................................................. 1236
32.4. Postprocessing an Ice Accretion Solution Using CFD-Post Macros ............................................... 1243
32.5. Multi-Shot Ice Accretion with Automatic Remeshing .................................................................. 1249
32.6. Multi-Shot Ice Accretion With Automatic Remeshing – Postprocessing Using CFD-Post ............... 1255
32.7. FENSAP Airflow on the Clean NACA0012 Airfoil .......................................................................... 1261
32.7.1. FENSAP Airflow Solution on a Clean NACA0012 Airfoil ....................................................... 1261
32.8. FENSAP Airflow Solution on the Rough NACA0012 Airfoil ........................................................... 1265
32.9. Scheduling a Sequence of Runs With Fluent Icing ...................................................................... 1270
32.9.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1270
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32.9.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1270
32.9.3.2. Setup ...................................................................................................................... 1271
32.9.3.3. Post-processing ....................................................................................................... 1304
32.9.4. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1309
33. Droplet Impingement Using Fluent Icing ....................................................................................... 1311
33.1. Droplet Impingement on a Complete Aircraft ............................................................................ 1311
33.1.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1311
33.1.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1312
33.1.3.2. Setup ...................................................................................................................... 1313
33.1.3.3. Solution ................................................................................................................... 1322
33.1.4. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1324
33.2. Splashing and Bouncing by Post-processing on a NACA23012 Airfoil .......................................... 1324
33.2.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1324
33.2.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1325
33.2.3.2. Setup ...................................................................................................................... 1326
33.2.3.3. Solution ................................................................................................................... 1334
33.2.4. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1337
34. Ice Accretion Using Fluent Icing ...................................................................................................... 1339
34.1. Ice Accretion at High Speed ....................................................................................................... 1339
34.1.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1339
34.1.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1340
34.1.3.2. Setup ...................................................................................................................... 1341
34.1.3.3. Solution ................................................................................................................... 1356
34.1.4. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1358
34.2. Ice Shedding on an Engine Fan Blade ......................................................................................... 1358
34.2.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1358
34.2.2. Limitations ....................................................................................................................... 1358
34.2.4.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1359
34.2.4.2. Setup ...................................................................................................................... 1360
34.2.4.3. Solution ................................................................................................................... 1392
34.2.5. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1398
35. Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing Tutorial ...................................................................... 1399
35.1. Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 1399
35.2. Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic Remeshing Using Fluent Meshing ........................................ 1399
35.2.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1399
35.2.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1402
35.2.3.2. Setup ...................................................................................................................... 1403
35.2.3.3. Solution ................................................................................................................... 1423
35.2.3.4. Post-processing ....................................................................................................... 1425
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35.2.4. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1427

35.3. Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing - Run in Batch Mode ................................................ 1427
35.4. Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic Remeshing - Postprocessing Using CFD-Post ........................ 1431
36. Fluent Aero Tutorial ......................................................................................................................... 1439
36.1. Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an ONERA M6 Wing at a Range of Angles of Attack ...... 1439
36.2. Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients and Wall Heat Flux on a Re-Entry Capsule at Different Altitudes
Using Custom Exploration ................................................................................................................. 1466
36.3. Introduction to Aircraft Component Groups and Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an Aircraft
at Different Flight Altitudes and Engine Regimes ............................................................................... 1489
36.4. Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an Aircraft Horizontal Tail Wing in a Wind Tunnel Domain
at Different Mass Flow Rates .............................................................................................................. 1518
36.5. Fluent Aero AET Part III – Creating VBM Input File for Blade Section ............................................ 1544
36.5.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1544
36.5.2. Prerequisites .................................................................................................................... 1545
36.5.4.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1546
36.5.4.2. Setup ...................................................................................................................... 1547
36.5.4.3. Solution ................................................................................................................... 1555
36.5.4.4. Post-processing ....................................................................................................... 1572
36.5.5. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1581
37. Fluent Material Processing Tutorials ............................................................................................... 1583
37.1. 3D Polymer Extrusion ................................................................................................................ 1583
37.1.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1583
37.1.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1585
37.1.3.2. Launching Ansys Fluent ........................................................................................... 1586
37.1.3.3. Setup Your Simulation .............................................................................................. 1586
37.1.3.4. General Properties ................................................................................................... 1588
37.1.3.5. Material Properties ................................................................................................... 1588
37.1.3.6. Cell Zone Properties ................................................................................................. 1589
37.1.3.7. Boundary Condition Properties ................................................................................ 1590
37.1.3.8. Mesh Deformation Properties .................................................................................. 1592
37.1.3.9. Solution ................................................................................................................... 1593
37.1.4. Results ............................................................................................................................. 1594
37.1.5. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1597
37.2. 3D Polymer Blow Molding & Thermoforming ............................................................................. 1597
37.2.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1598
37.2.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1601
37.2.3.7. Layer Properties ....................................................................................................... 1610
37.2.3.8. Fluid Boundary Condition Properties ........................................................................ 1611
37.2.3.9. Contact Boundary Conditions .................................................................................. 1612
37.2.3.10. Mesh Deformation Properties ................................................................................. 1612
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37.2.3.11. Adaptive Mesh Settings .......................................................................................... 1612

37.2.3.12. Solution ................................................................................................................. 1613
37.2.4. Results ............................................................................................................................. 1614
37.2.5. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1620
37.3. Injection Stretch Blow Molding (ISBM) ....................................................................................... 1620
37.3.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1620
37.3.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1623
37.3.3.7. Layer Properties ....................................................................................................... 1632
37.3.3.10. Mesh Deformation Properties ................................................................................. 1634
37.3.3.12. Solution ................................................................................................................. 1636
37.3.4. Results ............................................................................................................................. 1640
37.3.5. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1646
37.4. Glass Pressing ........................................................................................................................... 1646
37.4.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1646
37.4.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1648
37.4.3.9. Mesh Deformation Properties .................................................................................. 1656
37.4.3.11. Solution ................................................................................................................. 1658
37.4.4. Results ............................................................................................................................. 1660
37.4.5. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1666
37.5. 3D Inverse Extrusion .................................................................................................................. 1666
37.5.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1667
37.5.3.1. Preparation .............................................................................................................. 1671
37.5.3.6. Solution ................................................................................................................... 1676
37.5.4. Results ............................................................................................................................. 1678
37.5.5. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1688
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List of Figures
1.1. Manifold Geometry for Flow Modeling .................................................................................................... 2
1.2. Mass Flow Rate History ......................................................................................................................... 33
1.3. Residuals .............................................................................................................................................. 34
1.4. Pathlines Through the Manifold ............................................................................................................. 36
1.5. Scene Containing the Mesh and Pathlines Throughout the Manifold ...................................................... 40
1.6. Contours of Velocity Magnitude at the Outlet ........................................................................................ 43
1.7. Contours of Temperature at the mid-plane ............................................................................................ 46
1.8. Contours of Temperature on the Exhaust Manifold ................................................................................. 48
2.1. Manifold Geometry for Flow Modeling .................................................................................................. 50
2.2. Mesh Display of the Exhaust Manifold ................................................................................................... 53
2.3. Graphics Window with Default Lighting ................................................................................................ 55
2.4. Display with Additional Lighting: - Headlight Off .................................................................................... 56
2.5. Display with Additional Lighting ........................................................................................................... 57
2.6. Filled Contours of Temperature on the Mid-Plane-x and the Outlet ......................................................... 63
2.7. Filled Contours of Temperature for the Surface of the Manifold .............................................................. 64
2.8. Velocity Vectors in the Mid-Plane of the Manifold ................................................................................... 66
2.9. Velocity Vectors mid-plane in the z-direction ......................................................................................... 69
2.10. Filled Temperature Contours on the mid-plane-x, clip-z-inner and outlet-plane Surfaces ....................... 71
2.11. Filled Temperature Contours on the Mid-Plane, Inner-Clip, and Outlet-Plane Surfaces ........................... 73
2.12. Temperature Contours and Velocity Vectors Scene ............................................................................... 76
2.13. Exploded Scene Display of Temperature, Velocity, and Pathlines ........................................................... 79
2.14. Temperature Along a Solid Portion of the Manifold .............................................................................. 85
3.1. Catalytic Converter Geometry for Flow Modeling ................................................................................... 90
3.2. The Imported CAD Geometry for the Catalytic Converter ....................................................................... 94
3.3. Mesh for the Catalytic Converter Geometry in Fluent (Solver Mode) ..................................................... 110
3.4. Mass Flow Rate History ........................................................................................................................ 124
3.5. Velocity Vectors Through the Interior ................................................................................................... 132
3.6. Contours of Static Pressure Through the Interior .................................................................................. 134
3.7. Contours of Velocity Magnitude on the z=185, z=230, z=280, z=330, and z=375 Surfaces ...................... 136
4.1. Problem Specification ......................................................................................................................... 139
4.2. The Imported CAD Geometry for the Wing .......................................................................................... 143
4.3. The Entire Mesh .................................................................................................................................. 154
4.4. Magnified View of the Mesh Around the Wing ..................................................................................... 156
4.5. Contour Plot of y+ Distribution ............................................................................................................ 170
4.6. Contour Plot of Pressure ...................................................................................................................... 172
4.7. Contour Plot of Mach Number ............................................................................................................. 174
4.8. Contour Plot of x Component of Velocity ............................................................................................. 176
4.9. Plot of Velocity Vectors Downstream of the Shock ................................................................................ 178
4.10. XY Plot of x Wall Shear Stress ............................................................................................................. 180
5.2. Convergence History of the Mass-Weighted Average Temperature ....................................................... 215
5.3. Residuals ............................................................................................................................................ 216
5.4. Predicted Velocity Distribution after the Initial Calculation ................................................................... 220
5.5. Predicted Temperature Distribution after the Initial Calculation ............................................................ 222
5.6. Velocity Vectors Colored by Velocity Magnitude ................................................................................... 224
5.7. Resized Velocity Vectors ...................................................................................................................... 225
5.8. Magnified View of Resized Velocity Vectors .......................................................................................... 225
5.9. Outlet Temperature Profile for the Initial Solution ................................................................................ 228
5.10. Contours of the Dynamic Head Custom Field Function ....................................................................... 231
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5.11. Cells Marked for Adaption ................................................................................................................. 234

5.12. Alternative Display of Cells Marked for Adaption ................................................................................ 236
5.13. The Adapted Mesh ............................................................................................................................ 238
5.14. The Complete Residual History .......................................................................................................... 239
5.15. Convergence History of Mass-Weighted Average Temperature ........................................................... 239
5.16. Filled Contours of Temperature Using the Adapted Mesh ................................................................... 240
5.17. Outlet Temperature Profile for the Adapted Coupled Solver Solution .................................................. 241
5.18. Outlet Temperature Profiles for the Two Solutions .............................................................................. 243
6.1. Exhaust System Geometry for Flow Modeling ...................................................................................... 246
6.2. Manifold CAD Geometry for Flow Modeling ......................................................................................... 249
6.3. Residuals ............................................................................................................................................ 279
6.4. Mass Balance History ........................................................................................................................... 279
6.5. Pathlines Through the Manifold ........................................................................................................... 281
6.6. Contours of Velocity Magnitude Through the Manifold ........................................................................ 283
6.7. Scene Containing the Mesh and Contours Throughout the Manifold .................................................... 286
7.2. The Imported CAD Geometry for the Capsule ...................................................................................... 291
7.3. View of the Mesh Around the Capsule ................................................................................................. 303
8.2. The Imported CAD Geometry for the Nozzle ........................................................................................ 351
8.3. Mass Flow Rate History ........................................................................................................................ 374
8.4. 2D Nozzle Mesh after Adaption ........................................................................................................... 377
8.5. Mass Flow Rate History (Transient Flow) .............................................................................................. 386
9.1. Problem Schematic ............................................................................................................................. 388
9.2. Mesh Display of the Static Mixer .......................................................................................................... 390
9.3. The Design Point Table for the Initial Static Mixer Case ......................................................................... 391
9.4. The Case View and Parametric Study View for the Initial Static Mixer Case ............................................. 391
9.5. The Current Parameters for the Static Mixer Case ................................................................................. 392
9.6. The Design Point Table With Additional Design Points .......................................................................... 392
9.7. The Simulation Report Outline Task Page for Design Point Settings ...................................................... 394
9.8. The Simulation Report Outline Task Page for Parameter Report Settings .............................................. 395
9.9. The Status Column in the Design Point Table ....................................................................................... 396
9.10. The Run Status Category of the Parametric Ribbon ............................................................................ 396
9.11. The Transcript Window for DP1 ......................................................................................................... 396
9.12. The Monitors Window for DP1 .......................................................................................................... 397
9.13. The Residuals Window for DP1 .......................................................................................................... 397
9.14. Simulation Report for a Design Point (DP1) ........................................................................................ 398
9.15. Parametric Report ............................................................................................................................. 399
9.16. Contours Section of the Parametric Report (DP=0) ............................................................................. 400
9.17. Contours Section of the Parametric Report (All Design Points) ............................................................ 401
9.18. Contours Section of the Parametric Report (Contour Comparison of Temperatures on the Inlet
Plane) ....................................................................................................................................................... 402
9.19. Contours Section of the Parametric Report (Contour Comparison of Temperature at the Outlet) ......... 403
9.20. Contours Section of the Parametric Report (Contour Comparison of Wall Temperature) ...................... 404
9.21. Contours Section of the Parametric Report (Contour Comparison of Velocity) ..................................... 405
9.22. Elements of Comparison Plots ........................................................................................................... 406
9.23. Plot of Exit Temperature vs Inlet Velocity Value ................................................................................... 406
10.1. Case Geometry ................................................................................................................................. 410
10.2. Convergence History of the Pump Head ............................................................................................ 420
10.3. Contours of Velocity Magnitude at the Outlet .................................................................................... 421
10.4. Contours of Static Pressure on the Walls ............................................................................................. 422
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10.5. Contours of Static Pressure ................................................................................................................ 423

11.1. Case Geometry ................................................................................................................................. 426
11.2. The Turbo Workflow Category of the Preferences Dialog Box .............................................................. 429
11.3. Models and Materials Defined From the Turbo Workflow .................................................................... 444
11.4. Cell Zone Conditions Defined From the Turbo Workflow ..................................................................... 444
11.5. Boundary Conditions Defined From the Turbo Workflow .................................................................... 445
11.6. Mesh Interfaces Defined From the Turbo Workflow ............................................................................ 446
11.7. The Expression Manager Dialog Box .................................................................................................... 447
11.8. An Example of a Named Expression from the Turbo Workflow ................................................................. 448
11.9. An Example of the Report Definitions Dialog Box ................................................................................... 450
11.10. An Example of a Turbo-Specific Expression Report Definition ................................................................ 451
11.11. Residuals ........................................................................................................................................ 456
11.12. Isentropic Efficiency of the Compressor ........................................................................................... 457
11.13. Pressure Ratio ................................................................................................................................. 458
11.14. Total Mass Flow Rate at the Outlet ................................................................................................... 459
11.15. Contours of Velocity Magnitude (span=25) ...................................................................................... 461
11.16. Contours of Total Pressure (span=25) ............................................................................................... 461
11.17. Contours of Mach Number (span=25) .............................................................................................. 462
12.1. Case Geometry ................................................................................................................................. 466
12.2. Pressure Ratio ................................................................................................................................... 489
12.3. Outlet Mass Flow Rate ....................................................................................................................... 489
12.4. Efficiency .......................................................................................................................................... 490
12.5. Contours of Velocity Magnitude ........................................................................................................ 492
12.7. Contours of Static Temperature ......................................................................................................... 494
12.8. Pressure Ratio ................................................................................................................................... 503
12.9. Outlet Mass Flow Rate ....................................................................................................................... 504
12.10. Efficiency ........................................................................................................................................ 504
12.11. Contours of Entropy ........................................................................................................................ 505
12.12. Contours of Velocity Magnitude ....................................................................................................... 507
12.13. Contours of Static Pressure .............................................................................................................. 508
12.14. Contours of Static Temperature ....................................................................................................... 509
13.1. Rotor-Stator Problem Description ...................................................................................................... 512
13.2. Rotor-Stator Display .......................................................................................................................... 514
13.3. Residual History for the First Revolution of the Rotor .......................................................................... 539
13.4. Mass Flow Rate at the Inlet During the First Revolution ...................................................................... 540
13.5. Mass Flow Rate at the Outlet During the First Revolution .................................................................... 540
13.6. Static Pressure at the Interface During the First Revolution ................................................................. 541
13.7. Mass Flow Rate at the Inlet During the Next 3 Revolutions ................................................................. 544
13.8. Mass Flow Rate at the Outlet During the Next 3 Revolutions ............................................................... 544
13.9. Static Pressure at the Interface During the Next 3 Revolutions ............................................................ 545
13.10. Static Pressure at a Point on The Stator Interface During the Final Revolution .................................... 549
13.11. FFT of Static Pressure at the Stator ................................................................................................... 551
13.12. Mean Static Pressure on the Outer Shroud of the Axial Compressor .................................................. 553
14.1. Schematic of Problem ....................................................................................................................... 556
14.2. Close View of Bay Area ...................................................................................................................... 557
14.3. Cell Marking on component .............................................................................................................. 587
14.4. Cell Marking on fluid-background ..................................................................................................... 587
14.5. Dead Cells in the Component ............................................................................................................ 588
14.6. Dead Cells in the Background ............................................................................................................ 589
15.1. Combustion of Methane Gas in a Turbulent Diffusion Flame Furnace .................................................. 592
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15.2. The Quadrilateral Mesh for the Combustor Model .............................................................................. 595
15.3. Contours of Temperature ................................................................................................................... 612
15.4. Velocity Vectors ................................................................................................................................. 615
15.5. Contours of CH4 Mass Fraction .......................................................................................................... 616
15.6. Contours of O2 Mass Fraction ............................................................................................................ 616
15.7. Contours of CO2 Mass Fraction .......................................................................................................... 617
15.8. Contours of H2O Mass Fraction .......................................................................................................... 617
15.9. Contours of NO Mass Fraction — Prompt and Thermal NOx Formation ............................................... 625
15.10. Contours of NO Mass Fraction—Thermal NOx Formation ................................................................. 626
15.11. Contours of NO Mass Fraction—Prompt NOx Formation .................................................................. 628
15.12. Contours of NO ppm — Prompt NOx Formation ............................................................................... 630
16.1. Case Geometry ................................................................................................................................. 634
16.2. The Imported CAD Geometry for the Headlamp ................................................................................. 637
16.3. Graphics Display of Headlamp Mesh .................................................................................................. 650
16.4. Contour of Temperature on Inner Bezel .............................................................................................. 661
16.5. Contour of Radiation Intensity Normalized Standard Deviation on Inner Bezel .................................... 663
17.1. Can Combustor Geometry ................................................................................................................. 666
17.2. Scaled Residuals ................................................................................................................................ 679
17.3. Convergence History of Mass-Weighted Average CO2 on the Outlet ................................................... 680
17.5. Contours of O2 Mass Fraction ............................................................................................................ 685
17.6. Contours of Static Temperature on the Combustor Walls .................................................................... 686
17.7. Contours of Mean Mixture Fraction .................................................................................................... 690
17.9. Convergence History of Mass-Weighted Average CO2 on the Outlet ................................................... 693
18.1. 3D model gas turbine combustor with liquid fuel Combustion of Methane ......................................... 696
18.2. The Imported CAD Geometry for the Combustor ............................................................................... 700
19.1. Schematic of the selective catalytic reduction system ........................................................................ 739
19.2. Wall Surface Mesh Display ................................................................................................................. 742
19.3. Mixer Mesh Display ........................................................................................................................... 743
19.5. Surface Monitor of Uniformity Index (Area–Weighted) for NH3 Mass Fraction at Catalyst Inlet ............. 774
19.6. Surface Monitor of Uniformity Index (Area–Weighted) for Mixture Velocity Magnitude at Catalyst In-
let. ............................................................................................................................................................ 775
19.7. Surface Monitor of Total Wall Film Mass at Each Wall Boundary. .......................................................... 776
19.8. Static Pressure Distribution on the System Walls. ................................................................................ 778
19.9. Static Pressure Distribution on the System Walls; Limited Range. ........................................................ 780
19.10. Static Temperature Distribution at the Two Internal Planes ............................................................... 785
19.11. Distribution of NH3 Mass Fraction on the Mixer Walls. ...................................................................... 787
19.12. Distribution of Wall Film Height on the External Walls of the SCR System. .......................................... 790
19.13.Tracks of Free and Wall Film Particles, Colored by Urea Mass Fraction and Scaled by Particle Diamet-
er. ............................................................................................................................................................. 793
19.14.Tracks of Wall Film Particles with H2O Content Practically Evaporated and Scaled by Particle Diamet-
er. ............................................................................................................................................................. 796
19.15. Contours of Overall Deposition Risk on the Walls of the SCR System. ................................................. 806
20.1. Problem Specification ....................................................................................................................... 808
20.2. Air-Blast Atomizer Mesh Display ........................................................................................................ 812
20.4. Velocity Magnitude at Mid-Point of Atomizer Section ......................................................................... 830
20.5. Pathlines of Air in the Swirling Annular Stream ................................................................................... 831
20.6. Convergence History of Mass Fraction of ch3oh on Fluid .................................................................... 847
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20.7. Convergence History of DPM Mass Source on Fluid ............................................................................ 848

20.8. Convergence History of Total Mass in Domain .................................................................................... 848
20.9. Convergence History of Evaporated Particle Mass .............................................................................. 849
20.10. Particle Tracks for the Spray Injection ............................................................................................... 851
20.11. Contours of DPM Temperature ......................................................................................................... 853
20.12. Contours of DPM Sauter Diameter ................................................................................................... 854
20.13. Vectors of DPM Mean Velocity Colored by DPM Velocity Magnitude .................................................. 856
20.14. Full Atomizer Display with Surface of Constant Methanol Mass Fraction ........................................... 859
20.15. Atomizer Display with Surface of Constant Methanol Mass Fraction Enhanced .................................. 860
21.1. Schematic of the Problem ................................................................................................................. 862
21.2. Default Display of the Nozzle Mesh .................................................................................................... 864
21.3. The Quadrilateral Mesh ..................................................................................................................... 865
21.4. Mesh Display of the Nozzle Mirrored and Upright .............................................................................. 868
21.5. Contours of Water Volume Fraction After 6 μs .................................................................................... 891
21.6. Contours of Water Volume Fraction After 12 μs ................................................................................... 892
22.1. Problem Schematic ........................................................................................................................... 896
22.2. The Mesh in the Orifice ...................................................................................................................... 898
22.4. Mirrored View of Contours of Static Pressure ...................................................................................... 921
22.5. Contours of Turbulent Kinetic Energy ................................................................................................. 922
22.6. Contours of Vapor Volume Fraction .................................................................................................... 923
23.2. Mesh Display of the Mixing Tank ........................................................................................................ 928
23.3. Residual History ................................................................................................................................ 935
23.4. Contours of Air Volume Fraction on the XZ plane ............................................................................... 937
23.5. Contours of Air Volume Fraction on the z=0.08 plane ......................................................................... 938
23.6. Vectors of Water Velocity Magnitude on the XZ plane ......................................................................... 939
23.7. Vectors of Air Velocity Magnitude on the XZ plane ............................................................................. 940
24.1. Solidification in Czochralski Model .................................................................................................... 944
24.2. Mesh Display .................................................................................................................................... 946
24.3. Contours of Temperature for the Steady Conduction Solution ............................................................ 967
24.4. Contours of Temperature (Mushy Zone) for the Steady Conduction Solution ...................................... 969
24.5. Contours of Temperature at t=0.2 s .................................................................................................... 975
24.6. Contours of Liquid Fraction at t=0.2 s ................................................................................................. 976
24.7. Contours of Temperature at t=5 s ....................................................................................................... 977
24.8. Contours of Liquid Fraction at t=5 s ................................................................................................... 978
25.2. Mesh Display of the Fluidized Bed ..................................................................................................... 982
25.3. Initial Volume Fraction of Granular Phase (solids) .............................................................................. 1008
25.4. Plot of Mixture-Averaged Heat Transfer Coefficient in the Cell Next to the Heated Wall Versus Time .... 1010
25.6. Contours of Volume Fraction of Solids .............................................................................................. 1013
26.1. Problem Schematic ......................................................................................................................... 1016
26.2. Wedge Mesh Display ....................................................................................................................... 1018
26.3. Scaled Residuals .............................................................................................................................. 1040
26.4. History of the Drag Force on the Ablation Wall ................................................................................. 1041
26.5. History of the Averaged Pressure on the Ablation Wall ...................................................................... 1041
26.6. History of the Maximum Z Coordinate of the Ablation Wall ............................................................... 1042
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26.8. Contours of Mach Number .............................................................................................................. 1045
27.2. Velocity Magnitude on the Symmetry Plane ..................................................................................... 1050
27.3. Contours of Total Displacement ....................................................................................................... 1062
28.2. Steady-State Velocity Magnitude ..................................................................................................... 1066
28.3. Duct with Mirroring ......................................................................................................................... 1067
28.4. The Vertex Average Displacement of the Flap's Point Surface ............................................................ 1092
28.6. Contours of Total Displacement ....................................................................................................... 1094
28.7. The Mesh of the Displaced Flap ....................................................................................................... 1095
29.1. Mesh Close to the Cylinder Surface .................................................................................................. 1099
29.3. Adjoint Observables Dialog Box ....................................................................................................... 1100
29.4. Manage Adjoint Observables Dialog Box ......................................................................................... 1100
29.5. Adjoint Observables Dialog Box ....................................................................................................... 1102
29.6. Adjoint Solution Controls Dialog Box ............................................................................................... 1103
29.7. Adjoint Residual Monitors Dialog Box .............................................................................................. 1105
29.8. Run Adjoint Calculation Dialog Box .................................................................................................. 1105
29.9. Residuals for the Converged Solution .............................................................................................. 1106
29.10. Adjoint Postprocess Options Dialog Box ........................................................................................ 1107
29.11. Adjoint Reporting Dialog Box ........................................................................................................ 1107
29.12. Contours Dialog Box When Plotting Adjoint Fields ......................................................................... 1108
29.13. Adjoint Sensitivity to Body Force X-Component Contours .............................................................. 1109
29.14. Vectors Dialog Box ........................................................................................................................ 1110
29.15. Shape Sensitivity Colored by Sensitivity to Mass Sources (Cell Values) ............................................. 1111
29.16.The Design Tool Dialog Box ............................................................................................................ 1112
29.17. Morphing Region Around Cylinder ................................................................................................ 1113
29.18.The Design Tool Dialog Box Objectives Tab ..................................................................................... 1114
29.19. Morphing Preview of Cylinder ........................................................................................................ 1120
29.20. Mesh After Deformation ................................................................................................................ 1121
30.1. Schematic of the Battery Cell Problem ............................................................................................. 1124
30.2. Model Options ................................................................................................................................ 1126
30.3. Conductive Zones ........................................................................................................................... 1127
30.4. Electric Contacts ............................................................................................................................. 1128
30.5. Residual History of the Simulation ................................................................................................... 1139
30.6. Report Plot of Discharge Curve at 1 C ............................................................................................... 1139
30.7. History of Maximum Temperature in the Domain ............................................................................. 1139
30.8. Contour Plot of Phase Potential for the Positive Electrode ................................................................. 1141
30.9. Contour Plot of Phase Potential for the Negative Electrode ............................................................... 1143
30.10. Contour Plot of Phase Potential for Passive Zones ........................................................................... 1145
30.11. Contour Plot of Temperature ......................................................................................................... 1147
30.12. Vector Plot of Current Density ........................................................................................................ 1149
30.13. NTGK Model: Discharge Curves ...................................................................................................... 1151
30.14. NTGK Model: Maximum Temperature in the Domain ...................................................................... 1151
30.15. Battery Pulse Discharge ................................................................................................................. 1153
30.16. Internal Short Circuit Region Marked for Patching .......................................................................... 1155
30.17. The Vector Plots of Current at the Positive Current Collectors .......................................................... 1159
30.18. The Vector Plots of Current at the Negative Current Collectors ........................................................ 1160
30.19. Contour Plot of Temperature ......................................................................................................... 1161
xxii of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Tutorial Guide
31.1. Schematic of the Battery Pack Problem ............................................................................................ 1166

31.2. Model Options ................................................................................................................................ 1169
31.3. Conductive Zones ........................................................................................................................... 1171
31.4. Electric Contacts ............................................................................................................................. 1172
31.5. Residual History of the Simulation ................................................................................................... 1183
31.6. Surface Report Plot of Discharge Curve at 200W .............................................................................. 1183
31.7. Volume Report Plot of Maximum Temperature in the Domain .......................................................... 1184
31.8. Vector Plot of Current Density .......................................................................................................... 1187
31.9. Contour Plot of Temperature ........................................................................................................... 1189
31.10. Ohmic Heat Generation Rate ......................................................................................................... 1191
31.11. Total Heat Generation Rate ............................................................................................................ 1193
32.1. NACA0012 Structured C-Mesh Overview and Close-Up .................................................................... 1196
32.2. Fluent Icing Workspace .................................................................................................................... 1199
32.3. NACA0012 Mesh Display ................................................................................................................. 1201
32.4. Scaled Residuals .............................................................................................................................. 1214
32.5. Convergence of Lift and Drag Coefficients of the Clean Airfoil .......................................................... 1215
32.6. The Residual Values ......................................................................................................................... 1216
32.7. Convective Heat Flux Over the Rough NACA0012 Airfoil ................................................................... 1216
32.8. Convergence of Residuals: Momentum, LWC and Average Residuals ................................................. 1220
32.9. Convergence of Total Beta and Change in Total Beta Curves ............................................................. 1221
32.10. Collection Efficiency of Monodispersed Droplets over a NACA0012 ................................................ 1222
32.11. LWC of Monodispersed Droplets Around a NACA0012 .................................................................... 1223
32.12. Collection Efficiency of Droplets with Langmuir-D Distribution over a NACA0012 ........................... 1225
32.13. LWC of Droplets with Langmuir-D Distribution Around a NACA0012 ............................................... 1226
32.14. LWC of a Langmuir D Droplet Cloud over a NACA0012 at an AoA of 4 Degrees, Showing the Shadow
Zone (Blue Region) ................................................................................................................................. 1229
32.15. Collection Efficiency of a Langmuir D Droplet Cloud on the Surface of the Airfoil at an AoA of 4 De-
grees ...................................................................................................................................................... 1229
32.16. Collection Efficiency of a Langmuir D Droplet Cloud on the Surface of the Airfoil at an AoA of 4 De-
grees ...................................................................................................................................................... 1231
32.17. Collection Efficiency on the Surface of the Airfoil at an AoA of 4 Degrees, Langmuir D Droplet Solu-
tions ....................................................................................................................................................... 1233
32.18. Collection Efficiency on the Surface, Langmuir D vs. Monodisperse ................................................. 1235
32.19. LWC Distribution and Shadow Zones for 44.4 Micron Droplets (Left) and 6.2 Micron Droplets
(Right) .................................................................................................................................................... 1236
32.20. Mass Conservation Table Printed in the Log File of Fluent Icing ....................................................... 1238
32.21. Ice View in Viewmerical Showing Shaded + Wireframe, -25 °C ......................................................... 1239
32.22. Ice View in Viewmerical Showing Metallic + Smooth, -7.5 °C ........................................................... 1240
32.23. Ice Shapes at -25, -10, and -7.5 C ..................................................................................................... 1241
32.24. Film Height Variation Over the Ice at -25, -10, and -7.5 C .................................................................. 1243
32.25. Ice View with CFD-Post, Ice Cover ................................................................................................... 1245
32.26. Ice View in CFD-Post, Ice Cover with Display Mesh .......................................................................... 1246
32.27. Ice View in CFD-Post, Instantaneous Ice Growth over Ice Cover Surface ........................................... 1247
32.28. 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Clean Wall Surface and Ice Cover Surface ........................................................ 1248
32.29. 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Ice Thickness Distribution ............................................................................... 1249
32.30. 3-Shots Ice Shape at -7.5 C ............................................................................................................. 1254
32.31. Ice Shapes at -7.5 C, Obtained Using One Shot and Three Shots Computations ................................ 1255
32.32. Ice View in CFD-Post, Final Ice Shape .............................................................................................. 1257
32.33. Ice View in CFD-Post, Instantaneous Ice Growth over Ice Cover Surface, Final Ice Shape ................... 1258
32.34. 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Ice Shapes of the Multishot Simulation ........................................................... 1260
32.35. NACA0012 Structured C-Mesh Overview and Close-Up .................................................................. 1261
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32.36. Scaled Residuals ............................................................................................................................ 1263

32.37. Convergence of Lift and Drag Coefficients of the Rough Airfoil ....................................................... 1264
32.38. The Residual Values ....................................................................................................................... 1265
32.39. Convective Heat Flux Over the Clean NACA0012 Airfoil .................................................................. 1265
32.40. Scaled Residuals ............................................................................................................................ 1267
32.41. Convergence of Lift and Drag Coefficients of the Rough Airfoil ....................................................... 1268
32.42. The Residual Values ....................................................................................................................... 1269
32.43. Convective Heat Flux Over the NACA0012 ...................................................................................... 1269
32.44. Fluent Icing Workspace .................................................................................................................. 1273
32.45. Grid Mesh Display ......................................................................................................................... 1276
32.46. Ice Shape at 258K and 20 Microns .................................................................................................. 1291
33.1. DLR-F6 Mesh ................................................................................................................................... 1312
33.3. DLR Mesh Display ............................................................................................................................ 1316
33.4. DLR-F6 Collection Efficiency Contours ............................................................................................. 1323
33.5. Collection Efficiency Plots on the Wing Using Viewmerical: Root(Z=4m), Middle(Z=15m), Tip(
Z=22.5m) ................................................................................................................................................ 1324
33.7. NACA23012 Mesh Display ............................................................................................................... 1329
33.8. NACA23012 Collection Efficiency Contours ...................................................................................... 1335
33.9. SLD Clipping Effect of Splashing (Red) And Bouncing (Blue) On the Collection Efficiency .................. 1336
34.1. NACA0012 Mesh ............................................................................................................................. 1340
34.4. NACA0012 LWC Contours ................................................................................................................ 1356
34.5. Beak Ice on the NACA0012 Airfoil .................................................................................................... 1357
34.6. 10-Degree Rotationally Periodic Section for a Simple Engine Fan Blade ............................................ 1359
34.9. Air Residuals ................................................................................................................................... 1392
34.10. Particles Residuals ......................................................................................................................... 1393
34.11. Collection Efficiency on the Blade and Splitter ................................................................................ 1394
34.12. Ice Residuals ................................................................................................................................. 1395
35.1. ONERA M6 Swept Wing Geometry and Mesh ................................................................................... 1401
35.3. NACA0012 Clean Mesh Display ........................................................................................................ 1406
35.4. Multishot Automatic Remeshing Ice Shape ...................................................................................... 1426
35.5. Residuals of 1st Shot’s Air Flow Simulation (Left: Script Run; Right: Simulation from the Multishot Icing
with Automatic Remeshing on the Onera M6 Wing Tutorial) ..................................................................... 1429
35.6. Instant. Ice Growth of 1st Shot Surface Icing Solution (Red: Script Run; Black: Simulation from the
Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing on the Onera M6 Wing Tutorial) ............................................. 1430
35.7.Water Film of 1st Shot Surface Icing Solution (Red: Script Run; Black: Simulation from the Multishot Icing
with Automatic Remeshing on the Onera M6 Wing Tutorial) ..................................................................... 1430
35.8.Wall Temperature of 1st Shot Surface Icing Solution (Red: Script Run; Black: Simulation from the Multishot
Icing with Automatic Remeshing on the Onera M6 Wing Tutorial) ............................................................ 1430
35.9. Computed Ice Shape at the End of the 6th Shot (Left: Script Run; Right: Simulation from the Multishot
Icing with Automatic Remeshing on the Onera M6 Wing Tutorial) ............................................................ 1431
35.10. Ice View in CFD-Post, Transparent Ice Cover of the Final Ice Shape ................................................... 1433
35.11. Ice View in CFD-Post, Instantaneous Ice Growth over the Final Ice ................................................... 1434
35.12. 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, 3rd Shot Ice Shape at Z=0.5 ............................................................................ 1436
35.13. 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Multishot Ice Shapes at a User-Defined Cutting Plane ...................................... 1438
xxiv of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Tutorial Guide
36.1. View of the Surface Mesh around the ONERA M6 Wing ..................................................................... 1440
36.2. Boundary Surface Mesh of the ONERA M6 Domain .......................................................................... 1440
36.3. Initial Input:Design Points Table ....................................................................................................... 1447
36.4. Convergence of Residuals for Design Point 1 .................................................................................... 1448
36.5. Convergence History of the Lift Coefficient for Design Point 1 .......................................................... 1449
36.6. Input:Design Points Table after Calculation ...................................................................................... 1449
36.7. Summary Table of the Flight Conditions and Convergence Information ............................................ 1451
36.8. Results Table of Aerodynamic Coefficients ....................................................................................... 1451
36.9. Results Table of Aerodynamic Forces ................................................................................................ 1451
36.10. Results Table of Final Residuals ...................................................................................................... 1452
36.11. Convergence History of the Lift Coefficient for Design Point 7 ........................................................ 1452
36.12. Convergence History of the Drag Coefficient for Design Point 7 ...................................................... 1453
36.13. Lift Coefficient vs. Design Point ...................................................................................................... 1453
36.14. Drag Coefficient vs. Design Point .................................................................................................... 1454
36.15. Pitching Moment Coefficient vs. Design Point ................................................................................ 1454
36.16. Lift Coefficient vs. Drag Coefficient ................................................................................................. 1455
36.17. Option to Modify Plot Settings ....................................................................................................... 1455
36.18. Lift Coefficient vs Angle of Attack ................................................................................................... 1456
36.19. Comparing a Reference Dataset to the Lift Coefficient Curve .......................................................... 1457
36.20. Distribution of the Wall Pressure Coefficient at Z=0.25m for DP-2 ................................................... 1459
36.21. Load a Reference Data to the Pressure Coefficient Plot of DP-2 at Z=0.25m ..................................... 1459
36.22. Data Folder in the Project View After Creating a Cut Plot and Plotting Reference Results ................. 1460
36.23. Wall Static Pressure Contour of Design Point 2 ................................................................................ 1462
36.24. Mach Number Cutting Plane Contour of Design Point 2 .................................................................. 1464
36.25. Solution of Design Point 2 in CFD-Post ........................................................................................... 1465
36.26. Re-entry Capsule Problem Specification ......................................................................................... 1467
36.27. View of the Mesh around the Capsule ............................................................................................ 1467
36.28. Input:Design Points Table of a Custom Exploration With 3 Design Points ......................................... 1473
36.29. Select Custom Outputs .................................................................................................................. 1474
36.30. Convergence of the Residuals for Design Point 1 ............................................................................ 1475
36.32. Input:Design Points Table after Calculation .................................................................................... 1476
36.33. Summary Table of the Flight Conditions and Convergence Information .......................................... 1478
36.34. Results Table of the Aerodynamic Coefficients ................................................................................ 1478
36.35. Results Table of the Aerodynamic Forces ........................................................................................ 1478
36.37. Results Table of Custom Outputs .................................................................................................... 1479
36.38. Lift Coefficient vs. Design Point ...................................................................................................... 1479
36.39. Distribution of the Wall Pressure Coefficient at Z = 0.1m for DP-2 .................................................... 1480
36.40. Distribution of the Wall Heat Flux at Z = 0.1m for DP-2 .................................................................... 1480
36.41. Wall Heat Flux Contour of DP-03 .................................................................................................... 1482
36.42. Wall Static Pressure Contour of DP-03 ............................................................................................ 1483
36.43. Mach Number Cutting Plane Contour Plot ...................................................................................... 1484
36.44. Convergence of Residuals for Design Point 1 Using Continue to Update ......................................... 1486
36.45. View of the Mesh Around the Aircraft ............................................................................................. 1489
36.46. Input:Design Points Table With 2 Design Points .............................................................................. 1503
36.47. Convergence of Residuals for Design Point 1 (DP-1) ........................................................................ 1505
36.48. Convergence History of the Lift Force from the Wing_01 for Design Point 1 .................................... 1506
36.51. Results Table of the Aerodynamic Coefficients ................................................................................ 1508
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36.52. Results Table of the Aerodynamic Forces ........................................................................................ 1508

36.53. Lift to Drag Ratio vs. Design Point .................................................................................................. 1509
36.54. Lift Coefficient vs. Drag Coefficient ................................................................................................. 1510
36.55. Distribution of the Wall Pressure Coefficient at Z=4m for DP-1 ........................................................ 1512
36.56. Wall Static Pressure Contour of the Wing_01 and Engine_01 Components of Design Point 2 ........... 1514
36.57. Wall Static Pressure Contour of the Wing_01 and Engine_01 Components of Design Point 1 ........... 1515
36.59. View of the Surface Mesh Around the Horizontal Stabilizer ............................................................. 1519
36.60. Setup of the Boundary Surface Mesh ............................................................................................. 1519
36.61. Initial Input:Design Points Table ..................................................................................................... 1524
36.62. Convergence of Residuals for Design Point 1 .................................................................................. 1528
36.64. Input:Design Points Table After Calculation .................................................................................... 1529
36.66. Results Table of Aerodynamic Coefficients ...................................................................................... 1530
36.67. Results Table of Aerodynamic Forces .............................................................................................. 1530
36.68. Results Table of Component Outputs ............................................................................................. 1531
36.70. Drag Coefficient vs. Design Point .................................................................................................... 1532
36.71. Wing Drag vs Wind Tunnel Inlet Mass Flow Rate ............................................................................. 1533
36.72. Distribution of the Wall Pressure Coefficient at Z=-0.6m for DP-1 .................................................... 1534
36.73. Load a Reference Data to the Pressure Coefficient Plot of DP-1 at Z=-0.6m ...................................... 1535
36.74. Wall Static Pressure Contour of Design Point 1 ................................................................................ 1537
36.76. Project View Panel After Calculation and Post-Processing ............................................................... 1540
36.77. Naca0015 Mesh ............................................................................................................................. 1546
36.78. Fluent Aero Workspace .................................................................................................................. 1548
36.79. NACA0015 Mesh Display ............................................................................................................... 1550
36.80. Initial Input:Design Points Table ..................................................................................................... 1554
36.81. Dataset: DP-10, Curve: Residuals ..................................................................................................... 1557
36.82. Dataset: DP-10, Curve: Lift-Coefficient ............................................................................................. 1558
36.83. Dataset: DP-10, Curve: Drag-Coefficient .......................................................................................... 1558
37.2. Boundary Sets for the Problem ........................................................................................................ 1585
37.3. Contour Properties .......................................................................................................................... 1594
37.4. Selecting Boundaries in the Surfaces Dialog ..................................................................................... 1595
37.6. Velocity Profiles at Cross-Sections .................................................................................................... 1597
37.7. Thermoforming of a Blister, Sheet (blue) and Mold (red) ................................................................... 1599
37.8. Finite Element Mesh, Subdomains and Boundary Sets ...................................................................... 1600
37.9. Thickness Contour Properties .......................................................................................................... 1615
37.10. Selecting Boundaries in the Surfaces Dialog ................................................................................... 1615
xxvi of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
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37.11. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_1) ............................................................................................ 1616

37.12. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_1): Timestep =1 ........................................................................ 1617
37.13. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_1): Timestep =25 ...................................................................... 1617
37.14. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_1): Timestep=50 ...................................................................... 1618
37.15. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_2) ............................................................................................ 1618
37.16. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_TOT) ....................................................................................... 1619
37.17. Contours of Area Stretch (AREA_STRETCH) ..................................................................................... 1620
37.18. Problem Description ...................................................................................................................... 1621
37.19. Thickness Contour Properties ........................................................................................................ 1640
37.21. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS) ............................................................................................... 1641
37.22. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS): Timestep =0 ........................................................................... 1642
37.23. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS): Timestep =208 ....................................................................... 1643
37.24. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS): Timestep=417 ........................................................................ 1643
37.25. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS): Timestep=625 ........................................................................ 1644
37.26. Contours of Area Stretch (AREA_STRETCH) ..................................................................................... 1645
37.27. Contours of Self-contact (SELF_CONTACT) ..................................................................................... 1645
37.29. Contact Time Contour Properties ................................................................................................... 1661
37.31. Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2) ................................................................................ 1662
37.32. Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2): Timestep =1 ........................................................... 1663
37.33. Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2): Timestep =42 ......................................................... 1664
37.34. Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2): Timestep=84 .......................................................... 1664
37.35. Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2): Timestep=126 ........................................................ 1665
37.36. Contours of Initial Coordinate Y (COORDINI[Y]) .............................................................................. 1665
37.37. Contours of Initial Coordinate X (COORDINI[X]) .............................................................................. 1666
37.39. Boundaries .................................................................................................................................... 1669
37.40. Constant, Adaptive, and Fixed Walls ................................................................................................ 1669
37.41. Extrudate Guide ............................................................................................................................ 1670
37.42. Symmetries ................................................................................................................................... 1670
37.43. Contours of Normal Component of Velocity ................................................................................... 1678
37.44. Contours of Pressure ..................................................................................................................... 1679
37.45. Contours of Temperature ............................................................................................................... 1679
37.46. Contours of Temperature From +Y Direction .................................................................................. 1680
37.47. Contours of Temperature From +Z Direction .................................................................................. 1680
37.48. Contour Properties ........................................................................................................................ 1681
37.50. Die Lip Contours of Velocity Magnitude ......................................................................................... 1682
37.51. Contours of Velocity Magnitude ..................................................................................................... 1683
37.53. Contours of Velocity-Z From +X Direction ...................................................................................... 1685
37.55. Contours of Velocity-Z From +X Direction ...................................................................................... 1686
37.56. Line Properties .............................................................................................................................. 1686
37.57. XY Plot Properties .......................................................................................................................... 1687
37.58. XY Plot .......................................................................................................................................... 1688
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xxvii
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List of Tables
1. Mini Flow Chart Symbol Descriptions .................................................................................................... xxxii
3.1. Values for the Principle Direction Vectors ............................................................................................. 116
3.2. Values for the Viscous and Inertial Resistance ....................................................................................... 117
9.1. Design Point Settings for the Mixing Tank ............................................................................................ 392
14.1. Meaning of Values ............................................................................................................................. 585
19.1. Values for the Principle Direction Vectors ........................................................................................... 755
19.2. Values for the Viscous and Inertial Resistance ..................................................................................... 756
21.1. Ink Chamber Dimensions .................................................................................................................. 862
35.1. Simulation In-Flight Icing Conditions ............................................................................................... 1401
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xxix
xxx of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Using This Manual
This preface is divided into the following sections:
1. What’s In This Manual
2. How To Use This Manual
3.Typographical Conventions Used In This Manual
1. What’s In This Manual

The Ansys Fluent Tutorial Guide contains a number of tutorials that teach you how to use Ansys Fluent to
solve different types of problems. In each tutorial, features related to problem setup and postprocessing
are demonstrated.
2. How To Use This Manual

Depending on your familiarity with computational fluid dynamics and the Ansys Fluent software, you
can use this tutorial guide in a variety of ways.
2.1. For the Beginner

If you are a beginning user of Ansys Fluent you should first read and solve Tutorial 1, in order to fa-
miliarize yourself with the interface and with basic setup and solution procedures. You may then
want to try a tutorial that demonstrates features that you are going to use in your application.
You may want to refer to other tutorials for instructions on using specific features, such as custom
field functions, mesh scaling, and so on, even if the problem solved in the tutorial is not of particular
interest to you.
2.2. For the Experienced User

If you are an experienced Ansys Fluent user, you can read and/or solve the tutorial(s) that demonstrate
features that you are going to use in your application.
You may want to refer to other tutorials for instructions on using specific features, such as custom
field functions, mesh scaling, and so on, even if the problem solved in the tutorial is not of particular
interest to you.
3. Typographical Conventions Used In This Manual

Several typographical conventions are used in this manual’s text to help you find commands in the
user interface.
• Different type styles are used to indicate graphical user interface items and text interface items. For
example:
Iso-Surface dialog box
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xxxi
Using This Manual
surface/iso-surface text command
• The text interface type style is also used when illustrating exactly what appears on the screen to
distinguish it from the narrative text. In this context, user inputs are typically shown in boldface. For
example,
solve/initialize/set-fmg-initialization
Customize your FMG initialization:

set the number of multigrid levels [5]
set FMG parameters on levels ..
residual reduction on level 1 is: [0.001]

number of cycles on level 1 is: [10] 100

• Mini flow charts are used to guide you through the ribbon or the tree, leading you to a specific option,
dialog box, or task page. The following tables list the meaning of each symbol in the mini flow charts.
Table 1: Mini Flow Chart Symbol Descriptions
Symbol Indicated Action

Look at the ribbon
Look at the tree

Double-click to open task page
Select from task page
Right-click the preceding item
For example,
Setting Up Domain → Mesh → Transform → Translate...
indicates selecting the Setting Up Domain ribbon tab, clicking Transform (in the Mesh group box)
and selecting Translate..., as indicated in the figure below:
And
xxxii of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Typographical Conventions Used In This Manual
Setup → Models → Viscous Model → Realizable k-epsilon
indicates expanding the Setup and Models branches, right-clicking Viscous, and selecting Realizable
k-epsilon from the Model sub-menu, as shown in the following figure:
And
Setup → Boundary Conditions → velocity-inlet-5
indicates opening the task page as shown below:
In this manual, mini flow charts usually accompany a description of a dialog box or command, or a
screen illustration showing how to use the dialog box or command. They show you how to quickly
access a command or dialog box without having to search the surrounding material.
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xxxiii
Using This Manual
• In-text references to File ribbon tab selections can be indicated using a "/". For example
File/Write/Case... indicates clicking the File ribbon tab and selecting Case... from the Write submenu
(which opens the Select File dialog box).
xxxiv of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Chapter 1: Fluid Flow in an Exhaust Manifold
This tutorial is divided into the following sections:
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Prerequisites
1.3. Problem Description
1.4. Setup and Solution
1.5. Postprocessing
1.6. Summary
1.1. Introduction
Licensing Capability:
This tutorial is fully supported at all licensing levels.
This tutorial illustrates the setup and solution of a three-dimensional turbulent fluid flow and heat
transfer problem in a manifold. The manifold configuration is encountered in the automotive industry.
It is often important to predict the flow field and temperature field in the area of the mixing region in
order to properly design the junction.
This tutorial demonstrates how to do the following in Ansys Fluent:
• Use the Watertight Geometry guided workflow to:
– Import a CAD geometry
– Generate a surface mesh
– Cap inlets and outlets
– Extract a fluid region
– Generate a volume mesh
• Set up appropriate physics and boundary conditions.
• Calculate a solution.
• Review the results of the simulation.
Related video that demonstrates steps for setting up, solving, and postprocessing the solution results
for a turbulent flow within a manifold:
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 1
Fluid Flow in an Exhaust Manifold
1.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial is written with the assumption that you have completed the introductory tutorials found
in this manual and that you are familiar with the Ansys Fluent outline view and ribbon structure. Some
steps in the setup and solution procedure will not be shown explicitly.

The manifold modeled here is shown in Figure 1.1: Manifold Geometry for Flow Modeling (p. 2). Hot
air flows through the three inlets at 925 K and the same inlet velocity of 10 m/s, and then exits through
the outlet. Convective heat transfer takes place between the fluid and the manifold.
Figure 1.1: Manifold Geometry for Flow Modeling

The following sections describe the setup and solution steps for this tutorial:
1.4.1. Preparation
1.4.2. Launching Ansys Fluent
1.4.3. Meshing Workflow
1.4.4. General Settings
1.4.5. Solver Settings
1.4.6. Models
1.4.7. Materials
1.4.8. Cell Zone Conditions
1.4.9. Boundary Conditions
1.4.10. Solution
2 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Setup and Solution
1.4.1. Preparation
To prepare for running this tutorial:
1. Download the exhaust_manifold.zip file here.
2. Unzip exhaust_manifold.zip to your working directory.
The SpaceClaim CAD file manifold.scdoc can be found in the folder. In addition, the mani-
fold.pmdb file is available for use on the Linux platform.
1.4.2. Launching Ansys Fluent

1. From the Windows Start menu, select Start > Ansys 2023 R1 > Fluid Dynamics > Fluent 2023
R1 to start Fluent Launcher.
Fluent Launcher allows you to decide which version of Ansys Fluent you will use, based on your
geometry and on your processing capabilities.
2. Ensure that the proper options are enabled.
a. Select Meshing in the top-left selection list to start Fluent in Meshing Mode.
b. Ensure that the Double Precision option is selected.
c. Set Processes to 4 under the Parallel (local Machine).
Note:
Fluent will retain your preferences for future sessions.
3. Set the working folder to the one created when you unzipped manifold.zip.
a. Enter the path to your working folder for Working Directory by double-clicking the text box
and typing.
Alternatively, you can click the browse button ( ) next to the Working Directory text box
and browse to the directory, using the Browse For Folder dialog box.
4. Click Start to launch Ansys Fluent.
Setup and Solution

1. Start the meshing workflow.
a. In the Workflow tab, select the Watertight Geometry workflow.
b. Review the tasks of the workflow.
Each task is designated with an icon indicating its state (for example, as complete, incom-
plete, etc. All tasks are initially incomplete and you proceed through the workflow com-
pleting all tasks. Additional tasks are also available for the workflow.
2. Import the CAD geometry (manifold.scdoc).
a. Select the Import Geometry task.
b. For File Format, keep the default setting of CAD.
c. For Units, keep the default setting as mm.
d. For File Name, enter the path and file name for the CAD geometry that you want to import
(manifold.scdoc).
Setup and Solution
Note:
The workflow only supports *.scdoc (SpaceClaim), Workbench (.agdb), and the
intermediary *.pmdb file formats.
e. Select Import Geometry.
This will update the task, display the geometry in the graphics window, and allow you to proceed
onto the next task in the workflow.
Note:
Alternatively, you can use the ... button next to File Name to locate the CAD geo-
metry file, after which, the Import Geometry task automatically updates, displaying
the geometry in the graphics window, and the workflow automatically progresses
to the next task.
Throughout the workflow, you are able to return to a task and change its settings using either the
Edit button, or the Revert and Edit button.
3. Add local sizing.
a. In the Add Local Sizing task, you are prompted as to whether or not you would like to add
local sizing controls to the faceted geometry.
b. For the purposes of this tutorial, you can keep the default setting of no.
c. Click Update to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
4. Generate the surface mesh.
a. In the Generate the Surface Mesh task, you can set various properties of the surface mesh
for the faceted geometry.
Setup and Solution
b. For the purposes of this tutorial, you can keep the default settings.
Note:
The red boxes displayed on the geometry in the graphics window are a graphical
representation of size settings. These boxes change size as the values change, and
they can be hidden by using the Clear Preview button.
c. Click Generate the Surface Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
5. Describe the geometry.
When you select the Describe Geometry task, you are prompted with questions relating to the
nature of the imported geometry.
a. Since a fluid region is extracted from the solid model and capping surfaces are added,
the default settings are appropriate.
b. Click Describe Geometry to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
6. Cover any openings in your geometry.
Select the Enclose Fluid Regions (Capping) task where you can cover or cap any openings in
your geometry in order to later extract the enclosed fluid region.
a. Create a cap for the inlets.
Setup and Solution
i. In the Name field, assign a name for the capping surface (for example, inlet) to be
assigned to all of the manifold's inlets.
ii. For the Zone Type, keep the default setting of velocity-inlet.
iii. For the Select By field, keep the default setting of label.
iv. In the list of labels, select in1, in2, and in3 for the openings that you want to cover.
For occasions when the list of items is long, you can use the Filter Text option and use
an expression such as in* to show only items starting with "in". Alternatively, you can
use the Use Wildcard option to list and pres-select matching items. See Filtering Lists and
Using Wildcards for more information.
The graphics window indicates the selected items.
v. Click Create Cap(s) to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
b. Create a cap for the outlet.
i. In the Name field, assign a name for the capping surface (for example, outlet) to
be assigned to the manifold's outlet.
Setup and Solution
ii. For the Zone Type, change the setting to pressure-outlet.
iii. For the Select By field, keep the default setting of label.
iv. In the list of labels, select out1 for the outlet that you want to cover.
v. Click Create Cap(s) to complete this task.
Now, all of the openings in the geometry are covered.
7. Create the fluid region.
a. Select the Create Regions task, where you can determine the number of fluid regions that
need to be extracted. Ansys Fluent attempts to determine the number of fluid regions to extract
automatically.
b. For the Estimated Number of Fluid Regions, keep the default selection of 1.
c. Click Create Regions.
8. Update your regions.
Setup and Solution
a. Select the Update Regions task, where you can review the names and types of the various
regions that have been generated from your imported geometry, and change them as needed.
b. Keep the default settings, and click Update Regions.
Aside from fluid regions and solid regions, you can also have voids within your geometry that are
designated as dead regions. As you can see, there are four dead regions that correspond to the
four bolt holes near the outlet, a solid region and a fluid region.
Once the regions have been updated, the fluid region is displayed by default in the graphics window.
You can use the Draw Regions button to display other options, such as drawing just the solid region,
just the dead regions, or all regions.
9. Add boundary layers.
a. Select the Add Boundary Layers task, where you can set properties of the boundary layer
mesh.
b. Keep the default settings, and click Add Boundary Layers.
10. Generate the volume mesh.
Setup and Solution
a. Select the Generate the Volume Mesh task, where you can set properties of the volume mesh.
b. Keep the default settings, and click Generate the Volume Mesh.
Ansys Fluent will apply your settings and proceed to generate a volume mesh for the manifold
geometry. Once complete, the mesh is displayed in the graphics window and a clipping plane is
automatically inserted with a layer of cells drawn so that you can quickly see the details of the
volume mesh.
11. Check the mesh.
Mesh → Check Quality
12. Save the mesh file (manifold.msh.h5).
File → Write → Mesh...
13. Switch to Solution mode.
Now that a high-quality mesh has been generated using Ansys Fluent in meshing mode, you can
now switch to solver mode to complete the set up of the simulation.
We have just checked the mesh, so select Yes when prompted to switch to solution mode.

In the Mesh group box of the Domain ribbon tab, set the units for length..
Domain → Mesh → Units...
Setup and Solution
This opens the Set Units dialog box.
1. Select length under Quantities.
2. Select mm under Units.
3. Close the Set Units dialog box.

In the Solver group box of the Physics ribbon tab, retain the default selection of the steady pressure-
based solver.
Physics → Solver
1.4.6. Models
1. Enable heat transfer by activating the energy equation.
Setup → Models → Energy On
2. Retain the default k-ω SST turbulence model.
You will use the default settings for the k-ω SST turbulence model, so you can enable it directly from
the tree by right-clicking the Viscous node and choosing SST k-omega from the context menu.
Setup → Models → Viscous Model → SST k-omega
1.4.7. Materials
Change the default material of Aluminum to cast iron.
1. Create solid material properties for Cast Iron.
Setup → Materials → Solid → Aluminum Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Change the name of the material to be cast-iron.
b. Clear the Chemical Formula field.
c. Change the Density to 7150 kg/m3.
d. Change the Cp to 460 j/kg-k.
e. Change the Thermal Conductivity to 50 w/m-k.
f. Click Change/Create and overwrite the aluminum material.
g. Click Yes to replace the aluminum material.
h. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

Ordinarily, you would set up the cell zone conditions for the CFD simulation using the Zones group
box of the Physics ribbon tab.
The properties of air for the fluid zone and cast-iron for the solid zone will be used.

1. Set the velocity, turbulence, and thermal boundary conditions for the first inlet (inlet).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inlet Edit...
a. Enter 10 m/s for Velocity Magnitude.
b. In the Turbulence group box, select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification
Method drop-down list.
c. Enter 10 % for the Turbulent Intensity.
d. Enter 40 mm for the Hydraulic Diameter.
e. Click the Thermal tab
Setup and Solution
f. Enter 925 [K]
g. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
2. Apply the same conditions to the other inlets (inlet1, and inlet2).
a. Select inlet from the Boundary Conditions node of the Outline View, right-click and select
Copy from the context menu.
This opens the Copy Conditions dialog box.
b. Select inlet _1 and inlet_2 from the To Boundary Zones list.
c. Click Copy, click OK in the confirmation prompt, and close the Copy Conditions dialog box.
3. Set the boundary conditions at the outlet (outlet).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → outlet Edit...
a. Retain the default setting of 0 for Gauge Pressure.
c. Enter a value of 10% for the Backflow Turbulent Intensity.
d. Enter 40 mm for the Backflow Hydraulic Diameter.
e. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
4. Set the wall heat transfer boundary conditions.
Setup and Solution
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → solid_up:1 Edit...
a. Select Convection under Thermal Conditions.
b. Enter 10 for the Heat Transfer Coefficient.
c. Enter 300 for the Free Stream Temperature.
d. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
5. Apply the same conditions to the other walls (in1, in2, in3, and out1).
a. Select solid_up:1 from the Boundary Conditions node of the Outline View, right-click and
select Copy from the context menu.
This opens the Copy Conditions dialog box.
b. Select in1, in2, in3, and out1 from the To Boundary Zones list.
6. Retain the remaining default (wall and interior) boundary conditions.
1.4.10. Solution
1. Specify the discretization schemes.
In the Solution ribbon tab, click Methods... (Solution group box).
Solution → Solution → Methods...
Setup and Solution
Retain the default settings.
2. Create a surface report definition of the velocity at the outlet (outlet).
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Facet Maximum...
Note:
You can also access the Surface Report Definition dialog box by right-clicking Report
Definitions in the tree (under Solution) and selecting New/Surface Report/Facet
Maximum... from the menu that opens.
a. Enter point-vel for the Name of the report definition.
b. Enable Report File, Report Plot, and Print to Console in the Create group box.
During a solution run, Ansys Fluent will write solution convergence data in a report file, plot the
solution convergence history in a graphics window, and print the value of the report definition to
the console.
c. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
d. Select outlet from the Surfaces selection list.
Setup and Solution
e. Click OK to save the surface report definition and close the Surface Report Definition dialog
box.
The new surface report definition point-vel will appear under the Solution/Report Definitions
tree item. Ansys Fluent also automatically creates the following items:
• point-vel-rfile (under the Solution/Monitors/Report Files tree branch)
• point-vel-rplot (under the Solution/Monitors/Report Plots tree branch)
3. Monitor the mass flow rate at the inlets.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Flux Report → Mass Flow Rate...
a. Enter mass-in for the Name of the report definition.
b. Select Mass Flow Rate under Options.
c. Select in1, in2, in3, as well as inlet, inlet_1, inlet_2 from the Boundaries selection list.
d. Enable Report File, Report Plot, and Print to Console in the Create group box.
e. Click OK to save the surface report definition and close the Flux Report Definition dialog
box.
The new surface report definition mass-in will appear under the Solution/Report Definitions
tree item. Ansys Fluent also automatically creates the following items:
• mass-in-rfile (under the Solution/Monitors/Report Files tree branch)
• mass-in-rplot (under the Solution/Monitors/Report Plots tree branch)
4. Monitor the total mass flow rate through the entire domain.
Perform the same procedure as described above, naming the report mass-tot, and selecting all
boundaries.
5. Monitor the mass balance.
Use expressions to create a report definition for the mass balance using existing report definitions.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Expression...
This opens the Expression Report Definition dialog box.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter mass-bal for the Name of the expression.
b. Select mass-tot from the Report Definitions drop-down list on the right.
c. Type the / operand.
d. Select mass-in from the Report Definitions drop-down list on the right.
e. Enable Report File, Report Plot, and Print to Console in the Create group box.
f. Click OK to save the expression definition.
6. Initialize the flow field using the Initialization group box of the Solution ribbon tab.
Solution → Initialization
a. Select Standard from the Method list.
b. Click Initialize.
7. Save the case file (manifold_solution.cas.h5).
File → Write → Case...
8. Start the calculation by adjusting the time scale factor to 5 and requesting 100 iterations in the
Solution ribbon tab (Run Calculation group box).
Solution → Run Calculation
a. Change the Time Scale Factor to 5.
b. Enter 100 for No. of Iterations.
c. Click Calculate to begin the iterations.
As the solution progresses, the mass flow rate graph flattens out, as seen in Figure 1.2: Mass Flow
Rate History (p. 33).
Setup and Solution
Figure 1.2: Mass Flow Rate History
d. Similarly, the residuals history will be plotted in the Scaled Residuals tab in the graphics
window (Figure 1.3: Residuals (p. 34)).
Figure 1.3: Residuals
9. Save the case and data files (manifold_solution.cas.h5 and manifold_solu-

tion.dat.h5).
File → Write → Case & Data...
1.5. Postprocessing
1. Display path lines highlighting the flow field (Figure 1.4: Pathlines Through the Manifold (p. 36)).
Results → Graphics → Pathlines → New...
Postprocessing
a. Keep the default of pathlines-1 for the Name.
b. Select Particle Variables... and Time from the Color by drop-down lists.
c. Set the Path Skip value to 5.
d. Select Accuracy Control from the Options list.
e. Select inlet, inlet_1, and inlet_2 from the Release from Surfaces list.
f. Click Save/Display and close the Pathlines dialog box.
The new pathlines-1 definition appears under the Results/Graphics/Pathlines tree branch. To edit
your surface definition, right-click it and select Edit... from the menu that opens.
Figure 1.4: Pathlines Through the Manifold
2. Create two clipped surfaces through the manifold geometry.
Results → Surface → Create → Iso-Clip...
a. Create Surface 1
i. Enter clip-x-coordinate for Name.
Postprocessing
ii. Select Mesh... and X-Coordinate from the Clip to Values of drop-down lists.
iii. Select solid_up:1 from the Clip Surface list.
iv. Click Compute.
v. Keep the Min value at its minimum setting, and adjust the Max value to be at its halfway
point.
vi. Click Create.
The new clip-x-coordinate definition appears under the Results/Surfaces tree branch. To edit
b. Create Surface 2
i. Enter clip-z-coordinate for Name.
ii. Select Mesh... and Z-Coordinate from the Clip to Values of drop-down lists.
iii. Select solid_up:1 from the Clip Surface list.
iv. Click Compute.
v. Keep the Min value at its minimum setting, and adjust the Max value to be at -44.0 .
vi. Click Create and close the Iso-Clip dialog box.
The new clip-z-coordinate definition appears under the Results/Surfaces tree branch. To edit
3. Create a scene containing the mesh and the path lines.
Results → Scene New...
a. Keep the default scene-1 for the Name.
b. Enable the pathlines-1 graphics object.
c. Create a new mesh object to add to the scene.
i. Click New Object and select Mesh to open the Mesh Display dialog box.
Postprocessing
ii. Ensure that Edges is selected under the Options list.
iii. Select clip-x-coordinate under the Surfaces list.
iv. Click Save/Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
The new mesh-1 definition appears under the Results/Graphics/Mesh tree branch. The new
object also appears in the Scene dialog box.
d. In the Scene dialog box, set the Transparency of mesh-1 to 50.
e. Click Save & Display and close the Scene dialog box.
Figure 1.5: Scene Containing the Mesh and Pathlines Throughout the Manifold
4. Create and define contours of velocity magnitude at the outlet along with the mesh.
Results → Graphics → Contours → New...
Postprocessing
a. Enter contour-velocity for the Name.
b. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Contours of drop-down lists.
c. Select outlet from the Surfaces list.
d. Disable Node Values under Options.
e. Enable Draw Mesh under Options.
This displays the Mesh Display dialog box.
In the Mesh Display dialog box, deselect all surfaces, select the out1 surface, click Display and
close the dialog.
f. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
Postprocessing
Figure 1.6: Contours of Velocity Magnitude at the Outlet
5. Create an iso-surface through the manifold geometry.
Results → Surface → Create → Iso-Surface...
a. Enter mid-plane-z for Name.
b. Select Mesh... and Z-Coordinate from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
c. Select fluid1 and solid_up from the From Zones... list.
d. Click Compute.
The Min and Max fields display the Z extents of the domain.
e. Enter -44 for the Iso-Values.
f. Click Create and close the Iso-Surface dialog box.
6. Create and define a contour of temperature along the mid-plane.
a. Enter contour-temperature for the Name.
b. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Contours of drop-down lists.
c. Select inlet, inlet_1, inlet_2, mid-plane-z, outlet, and out1 from the Surfaces list.
d. Enable Draw Mesh under Options.
Postprocessing
In the Mesh Display dialog box, deselect all surfaces, select the clip-z-coordinate surface, click
Display and close the dialog.
e. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
Figure 1.7: Contours of Temperature at the mid-plane
7. Create and define a contour of temperature for the manifold geometry.
Postprocessing
a. Enter contour-temperature-manifold for the Name.
c. Select the Wall group from the Surfaces list.
Click to deselect all surfaces. Click and select Surface Type under Group By to list the surfaces
by type, as shown above.
d. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
Figure 1.8: Contours of Temperature on the Exhaust Manifold
8. Save the case and data files (manifold_solution.cas.h5 and manifold_solution.dat.h5).
You will use these case and data files in Fluent Postprocessing : Exhaust Manifold (p. 49).
1.6. Summary
In this tutorial, you learned how to import a CAD geometry, generate a volume mesh, and set up, solve,
and postprocess a CFD problem involving air flow and heat transfer through a manifold all within a
single Ansys Fluent interface.
Chapter 2: Fluent Postprocessing : Exhaust Manifold
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Prerequisites
2.5. Summary
2.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates the postprocessing capabilities of Fluent using a 3D model of an exhaust
manifold with high temperature flows passing through. The flow through the manifold is turbulent and
involves conjugate heat transfer.
The heat transfer involves conduction in the manifold and conduction and convection in the exhaust
fluid. The physics of conjugate heat transfer such as this are common in many engineering applications,
including the design of vehicle engines.
In this tutorial, you will read the case and data files that you created in performing the "Fluid Flow in
an Exhaust Manifold" tutorial and perform a number of postprocessing exercises.
This tutorial demonstrates how to do the following:
• Add lights to the display at multiple locations.
• Create surfaces for the display of 3D data.
• Display filled contours of temperature on several surfaces.
• Display velocity vectors.
• Create animations.
• Create a scene.
• Display results on successive slices of the domain.
• Display pathlines.
Fluent Postprocessing : Exhaust Manifold
• Plot quantitative results.
• Overlay and explode a display.
2.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial is written with the assumption that you have completed the Fluid Flow in an Exhaust
Manifold (p. 1) tutorial found in this manual and that you are familiar with the Ansys Fluent tree and
ribbon structure. Some steps in the setup and solution procedure will not be shown explicitly.

The problem considered is shown schematically in Figure 2.1: Manifold Geometry for Flow Model-
ing (p. 50). The configuration consists of three inlets and one outlet. Hot exhaust gases are pushed
through each inlet and mix before leaving through the outlet. Conjugate heat transfer takes place
between the manifold and the surrounding ambient air.
As shown in the figure, air at 10 m/s is pushed through each inlet at a gas temperature of 900 K. The
outlet has a static pressure of 0 Pa.
Figure 2.1: Manifold Geometry for Flow Modeling

2.4.1. Preparation
2.4.2. Reading the Solution
2.4.3. Manipulating the Mesh in the Viewer
2.4.4. Adding Lights
2.4.5. Creating Isosurfaces
Setup and Solution
2.4.6. Generating Contours

2.4.7. Generating Velocity Vectors
2.4.8. Creating an Animation
2.4.9. Creating a Scene With Multiple Graphics Features
2.4.10. Creating Exploded Views
2.4.11. Animating the Display of Results in Successive Streamwise Planes
2.4.12. Generating XY Plots
2.4.13. Saving Picture Files
2.4.14. Generating Volume Integral Reports
2.4.1. Preparation
1. Navigate to the working directory where you completed the "Fluid Flow in an Exhaust Manifold"
tutorial.
2. Use the Fluent Launcher to start Ansys Fluent.
3. Select Solution in the top-left selection list to start Fluent in Solution Mode.
4. Select 3D under Dimension.
5. Enable Double Precision under Options.
6. Set Solver Processes to 4 under Parallel (Local Machine).
2.4.2. Reading the Solution

1. Read in the case and data files manifold_solution.cas.h5 and manifold_solu-
tion.dat.h5.
File → Read → Case & Data...
When you select the case file, Fluent will read the data file automatically.
2.4.3. Manipulating the Mesh in the Viewer

1. Display the mesh surfaces.
Results → Graphics → Mesh → New...
a. Select the Edges option and retain the default Faces option in the Options group box.
b. Deselect all surfaces an then select all the wall surfaces by selecting the Wall surface type.
Click to deselect all surfaces. Click and select Surface Type under Group By to list the
surfaces by type, as shown above.
c. Click Save/Display.
2. Rotate and adjust the magnification of the view.
Use the left mouse button to rotate the view. Use the middle mouse button to adjust the magnification
until you obtain an enlarged display of the exhaust manifold, as shown in Figure 2.2: Mesh Display of
the Exhaust Manifold (p. 53).
Setup and Solution
Figure 2.2: Mesh Display of the Exhaust Manifold
3. Display the mesh faces.
a. Disable Edges in the Options group box.
b. Click Save/Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
2.4.4. Adding Lights

1. Add lighting effects.
The default light settings add a white light at the position (1, 1, 1). The default light is defined in the
Lights dialog box by the Light ID 0 with Direction vectors (X, Y, Z) as (1, 1, 1).
View → Graphics → Lights...
a. Make sure that the Light On option is enabled.
b. Retain the selection of Automatic from the Lighting Method drop-down list.
Flat is the most basic lighting whereas Gouraud gives better color gradation. Note that Gouraud
rounds off corners, and so should be used with caution on highly angular geometries.
c. Click Apply and close the Display Options dialog box.
Shading will be added to the surface mesh display (Figure 2.3: Graphics Window with Default
Lighting (p. 55)).
Setup and Solution
Figure 2.3: Graphics Window with Default Lighting
2. Add lights in two directions, (-1, 1, 1) and (-1, 1, -1).
View → Graphics → Lights...
You can also open the Lights dialog box by clicking the Lights... button in the Display Options dialog
box.
a. Set Light ID to 1.
b. Enable Light On.
c. Enter -1, 1, and 1 for X, Y, and Z respectively in the Direction group box.
d. Retain the selections of Automatic in the Lighting Method and Headlight On drop-down
lists.
e. Click Apply.
The Headlight On option provides constant lighting effect from a light source directly in front of
the model, in the direction of the view. You can turn off the headlight by selecting Off in the
Headlight On drop-down list (the results of this action are shown in Figure 2.4: Display with Addi-
tional Lighting: - Headlight Off (p. 56)).
Figure 2.4: Display with Additional Lighting: - Headlight Off
f. Similarly, add a second light (Light ID= 2 with Light On enabled) with a Direction of (-1, 1,
-1). Click Apply.
The result will be more softly shaded display (Figure 2.5: Display with Additional Lighting (p. 57)).
Setup and Solution
Figure 2.5: Display with Additional Lighting
g. Close the Lights dialog box.
Extra:
You can use the left mouse button to rotate the ball in the Active Lights window to gain
a perspective view on the relative locations of the lights that are currently active, and see
the shading effect on the ball at the center.
You can also change the color of one or more of the lights by selecting the color from the
Color drop-down list or by moving the Red, Green, and Blue sliders.
2.4.5. Creating Isosurfaces

To display results in a 3D model, you will need surfaces on which the data can be displayed. Fluent creates
surfaces for all boundary zones automatically.
You can define additional surfaces for viewing the results, such as a plane in Cartesian space. In this exercise,
you will create a plane cutting through the middle of the manifold, and at the outlet. You can use these
surfaces to display the temperature and velocity fields.
1. Create iso-surfaces of constant coordinates.
a. Enter outlet-plane for New Surface Name.
Tip:
When you are creating multiple postprocessing surfaces, it can be helpful to group
surfaces by type for viewing in lists (Click and select Surface Type under Group
By). All iso-surfaces will be grouped together.
b. Select Mesh... and Y-Coordinate from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
c. Click Compute.
The Min and Max fields display the Y extents of the domain.
d. Enter -125.0188 for the Iso-Values.
e. Click Create.
2. Results → Surface → Create → Iso-Surface...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter mid-plane-x for New Surface Name.
b. Select Mesh... and X-Coordinate from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
c. Click Compute.
d. Enter -174 for the Iso-Values.
e. Click Create and close the Iso-Surface dialog box.
3. Create clipped surfaces through the inner manifold geometry.
Results → Surface → Create → Iso-Clip...
a. Enter clip-z-inner for Name.
b. Select Mesh... and Z-Coordinate from the Clip to Values of drop-down lists.
c. Select solid_up:1:447 from the Clip Surface list. Note the number may be different due to
mesh generation.
d. Click Compute.
e. Enter -44 for the Min value and leave the Max value at its maximum.
f. Click Create and close the Iso-Clip dialog box.
The new clip-z-inner definition appears under the Results/Surfaces tree branch. To edit your
surface definition, right-click it and select Edit... from the menu that opens.
2.4.6. Generating Contours

1. Display filled contours of temperature on the mid-plane and the outlet (Figure 2.6: Filled Contours
of Temperature on the Mid-Plane-x and the Outlet (p. 63)). Access the contour plot that was
defined in the simulation tutorial for this case.
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-temperature Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Click to deselect all surfaces.
b. Click and select Surface Type under Group By (if surfaces are not already grouped by
type).
c. Select mid-plane-x and outlet-plane (under Iso-Surface in the Surfaces selection list.)
d. Enable Draw Mesh under Options.
This displays the Mesh Display dialog box.
In the Mesh Display dialog box, deselect all surfaces and select the clip-x-coordinate surface.
e. Enable Edges option in the Options group box.
f. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
g. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialogue box.
h. Rotate and adjust the magnification of the view using the left and middle mouse buttons, re-
spectively, to obtain the view as shown in Figure 2.6: Filled Contours of Temperature on the
Mid-Plane-x and the Outlet (p. 63).
Tip:
If the model disappears from the graphics window at any time, or if you are having
difficulty manipulating it with the mouse, do one of the following:
• Click the Fit to Window button in the graphics toolbar.
• Open the Views dialog box by right-clicking Graphics in the tree (under
Results) and selecting Views... from the menu that opens, and then use
Setup and Solution
the Default button to reset the view. You could also click Camera... in this
dialog box to open the Camera Parameters dialog box, where you could
select orthographic from the Projection drop-down list to reduce the
likelihood of zooming through the geometry.
• Press the Ctrl + L to revert to a previous view.
The inlet streams don't mix in the manifold as shown by the inlet streams not mixing together.
Figure 2.6: Filled Contours of Temperature on the Mid-Plane-x and the Outlet
In Figure 2.6: Filled Contours of Temperature on the Mid-Plane-x and the Outlet (p. 63), the high tem-
peratures in the exhaust stream drastically increase the temperature of the cast iron manifold. You
can also display other quantities such as velocity magnitude or pressure using the Contours dialog
box.
2. Display filled contours of temperature for the surface of the manifold(Figure 2.7: Filled Contours
of Temperature for the Surface of the Manifold (p. 64)).
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-temperature-manifold Edit...
a. Deselect Global Range.
b. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialogue box.
c. Click the Fit to Window button in the graphics toolbar.
d. The surface of the manifold heats up to over 700 K from from an initial temperature of 300 K (Fig-
ure 2.7: Filled Contours of Temperature for the Surface of the Manifold (p. 64)).
Figure 2.7: Filled Contours of Temperature for the Surface of the Manifold
Tip:
You can increase/decrease the size of the colormap by dragging the corners of the box
that appears when you hover over the colormap.
2.4.7. Generating Velocity Vectors

Velocity vectors provide an excellent visualization of the flow through the manifold, depicting details of
the flow structure.
1. Display velocity vectors on the mid-plane through the manifold (Figure 2.8: Velocity Vectors in the
Mid-Plane of the Manifold (p. 66)).
Results → Graphics → Vectors → New...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter velocity-vector for Vector Name.
b. Confirm that Velocity is selected under Vectors of and that Color by is set to Velocity... and
Velocity Magnitude.
c. Ensure Global Range, Auto Range, and Auto Scale are the only enabled Options.
d. Enter 1 for Scale.
e. Click to deselect all surfaces from the Surfaces selection list and then select mid-plane-
x.
f. Click Save/Display and close the Vectors dialog box.
g. Orient the view to display the vectors.
2. Rotate and adjust the magnification of the view to match (Figure 2.8: Velocity Vectors in the Mid-
Plane of the Manifold (p. 66)).
Figure 2.8: Velocity Vectors in the Mid-Plane of the Manifold
3. Plot velocity vectors along the mid z-direction plane manifold coloured by temperature (Fig-
ure 2.9: Velocity Vectors mid-plane in the z-direction (p. 69)).
a. Enter velocity-vector-2 for Vector Name.
b. Enable Draw Mesh in the Options group box to open the Mesh Display dialog box.
Setup and Solution
i. Ensure that Faces is enabled and that Edges is disabled in the Options group box.
ii. Deselect all surfaces and select clip-z-coordinate from the Surfaces selection list.
iii. Click the Colors... button to open the Mesh Colors dialog box.
A. Select By Type in the Options group box.
B. Select surface from the Types selection list.
C. Select light-blue from the Colors selection list and close the Mesh Colors dialog box.
iv. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
c. Select arrow from the Style drop-down list.
d. Enter 0.5 for Scale.
e. Deselect all surfaces.
f. Select mid-plane-z from the Surfaces selection list.
g. Click Save/Display and close the Vectors dialog box.
h. Rotate the view and increase the magnification to obtain the view as shown in Figure 2.9: Ve-
locity Vectors mid-plane in the z-direction (p. 69).
Setup and Solution
Figure 2.9: Velocity Vectors mid-plane in the z-direction
2.4.8. Creating an Animation

Using Fluent, you can animate the solution.
You will display the surface temperature distribution on the inner part of the manifold along with the
temperatures of the outlet flow and mid-plane flow. You will also create the key frames and view the
transition between the key frames, dynamically, using the animation feature.
1. Display filled contours of surface temperature on the mid-plane, inner-clip, and outlet-plane.
(Figure 2.10: Filled Temperature Contours on the mid-plane-x, clip-z-inner and outlet-plane Sur-
faces (p. 71)).
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-temperature Edit...
a. Select Banded from the Coloring group box.
b. Retain the selection of Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Contours of drop-
down lists.
c. Deselect all surfaces.
d. Select clip-z-inner, mid-plane-x, and outlet-plane from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Reorient the display as needed to obtain the view shown in Figure 2.10: Filled Temperature
Contours on the mid-plane-x, clip-z-inner and outlet-plane Surfaces (p. 71).
Setup and Solution
Figure 2.10: Filled Temperature Contours on the mid-plane-x, clip-z-inner and outlet-plane Sur-
faces (p. 71) shows the high temperature exhaust heating the walls of the manifold.
Figure 2.10: Filled Temperature Contours on the mid-plane-x, clip-z-inner and outlet-plane
Surfaces
2. Create the key frames by changing the point of view.
Results → Animation → Scene Animation...
You will use the current display (Figure 2.10: Filled Temperature Contours on the mid-plane-x, clip-z-
inner and outlet-plane Surfaces (p. 71)) as the starting view for the animation (Frame = ).
a. Click Add in the Key Frames group box to create the first frame for your animation.
This will store the current display as Key-1.
b. Magnify the view to focus on the outlet region.
c. Enter 100 for Frame in the Key Frames group box.
d. Click Add to create the one-hundredth frame for your animation.
This will store the new display as Key-100.
The magnified view will be the one-hundredth key frame of the animation, with intermediate displays
(2 through 99) to be filled in during the animation.
e. Rotate the view and adjust the magnification so that the backside of the manifold is visible
from an angle (Figure 2.11: Filled Temperature Contours on the Mid-Plane, Inner-Clip, and
Outlet-Plane Surfaces (p. 73)).
Setup and Solution
Figure 2.11: Filled Temperature Contours on the Mid-Plane, Inner-Clip, and Outlet-Plane
Surfaces
f. Enter 200 for Frame.
g. Click Add to create the two-hundredth frame for your animation.
This will store the new display as Key-200.
Note:
You can check the display view of any of your saved key frames by selecting it in
the Keys list.
3. View the scene animation by clicking the play button ( ) in the Playback group box.
While effective animation is best conducted on high-end graphics workstations, you can view scene
animations on any workstation. If the graphics display speed is slow, the animation playback will take
some time and will appear choppy, with the redrawing very obvious. On fast graphics workstations,
the animation will appear smooth and continuous and will provide an excellent visualization of the
display from a variety of spatial orientations. On many machines, you can improve the smoothness
of the animation by enabling the Double Buffering option in the Display Options dialog box.
To produce a slower animation, increase the number of frames between the key frames. The more
sparsely you place your key frames, the more transition frames Fluent creates between the key frames
and therefore stretching out your animation.
Extra:
You can change the Playback Mode if you want to auto repeat or auto reverse the
animation. When you are in either of these modes, you can click the stop button ( )
to stop the continuous animation.
4. Close the Animate dialog box.
2.4.9. Creating a Scene With Multiple Graphics Features

Scenes allow you to display multiple graphics plots in a single window.
1. Create a scene displaying contours and vector plots in a single window.
a. Edit contour-temperature to use the clip-z-inner and outlet-plane as the display surface.
Click Save/Display.
b. Edit velocity-vector to use the mid-plane-z as the display surface and reduce the Scale to 1.
Click Save & Display.
c. Open the previously created scene scene-1.
Results → Scene → scene-1 Edit...
Setup and Solution
d. Deselect any previously selected graphics objects.
e. Select contour-temperature and velocity-vector.
f. In the Scene dialog box, set the Transparency for contour-temperature to 30.
g. Click Save & Display to create the scene and display it in the graphics window, and close the
Scene dialog box.
h. Drag the velocity vector colormap to the left of the graphics window and drag the temperature
colormap to the bottom of the graphics window and modify the orientation and zoom of the
scene to match Figure 2.12: Temperature Contours and Velocity Vectors Scene (p. 76).
i. Figure 2.12: Temperature Contours and Velocity Vectors Scene
2.4.10. Creating Exploded Views

The Scene Description dialog box stores each display that you request and allows you to manipulate the
displayed items individually. This capability can be used to generate exploded views, in which results are
translated or rotated out of the physical domain for enhanced display. As shown in the Scene Description
dialog box, you can experiment with this capability by displaying side-by-side velocity vectors, pathlines,
and temperature contours.
1. Create a Scene comprised of various graphical features.
a. Edit velocity-vector to use the clip-z-inner as the display surface and reduce the Scale to 1.
Click Save & Display.
b. Open the Scene dialog box.
c. Enable the features pathlines-1, velocity-vector, and contour-temperature.
d. Click Save & Display and close the Scene dialog box.
2. Transform the features to form an exploded view.
View → Graphics → Compose...
Setup and Solution
a. Select the temperature contour plots in the Names list.
b. Click Display... in the Geometry Attributes group box and disable the Nodes option.
c. Click Apply and close the Display Properties dialog box.
d. Click Transform... in the Geometry Attributes options box.
e. Enter 135 for Y in the Translate group box.
f. Click Apply and close the Transformations dialog box.
g. In the Scene Description dialog box, deselect all names and select velocity_vector.
h. Click Transform..., and in the Transformations dialog box, enter 100 for Z under the Translate
heading.
i. Click Apply and close both the Transformations dialog box and the Scene Description dialog
box.
j. Click, drag and drop the color maps as shown.
Setup and Solution
Figure 2.13: Exploded Scene Display of Temperature, Velocity, and Pathlines
2.4.11. Animating the Display of Results in Successive Streamwise Planes

You may want to march through the flow domain, displaying a particular variable on successive slices of
the domain. While this task could be accomplished manually, plotting each plane in turn, or using the
Scene Description and Animate dialog boxes, here you will use the Sweep Surface dialog box to facilitate
the process. To illustrate the display of results on successive slices of the domain, you will plot contours of
temperature on planes along the z-axis.
1. Delete the vectors and temperature contours from the display.
Click the Close Tab button ( ) to clear the graphics window (located on the upper right-hand
side of the graphics window tab).
2. Generate contours of temperature and sweep them through the domain along the X axis.
Results → Animation → Sweep Surface...
a. Change X to be 0 and Z to be 1.
b. Click Compute.
c. Retain the default value of -0.1018252 m for Initial Value in the Animation group box.
d. Retain 0.01345717 m for Final Value.
Warning:
The units for the initial and final values are in meters, regardless of the length
units being used in the model. Here, the initial and final values are set to the
Min Value and Max Value, to generate an animation through the entire do-
main.
e. Enter 200 for Frames.
f. Select Contours from the Display Type selection list and click Properties to open the Contours
dialog box.
Setup and Solution
i. Enable Filled in the Options group box.
ii. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Contours of drop-down lists.
iii. Deselect all surfaces and select clip-x-coordinate from the Surfaces drop-down list.
iv. Click OK to close the Contours dialog box.
g. Click Animate and close the Sweep Surface dialog box.
You will see the temperature contour plot displayed at 200 successive streamwise planes. Fluent will
automatically interpolate the contoured data on the streamwise planes between the specified end
points. Especially on high-end graphics workstations, this can be an effective way to study how a flow
variable changes throughout the domain.
2.4.12. Generating XY Plots

XY plotting can be used to display quantitative results of your CFD simulations. Here, you will complete
the review of the manifold heat transfer simulation by plotting the temperature variation through a solid
portion of the manifold.
1. Define the rake along which to plot results.
Results → Surface → Create → Line/Rake...
a. Enter rake-solid for New Surface Name.
b. Select rake from the Type drop-down list.
c. Enter 100 for the Number of Points option.
d. Enter the coordinates of the rake using a starting coordinate of (-145, -105, -44) and an
ending coordinate of (-120, -105, -44) in the End Points group box.
These coordinates define a line through a solid portion of the manifold located slightly above the
outlet.
e. Click Create and close the Line/Rake Surface dialog box.
2. Plot the temperature distribution along the rake through a solid region. (Figure 2.14: Temperature
Along a Solid Portion of the Manifold (p. 85)).
Results → Plots → XY Plot → New...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter xy-plot for XY Plot Name.
b. Retain the default Plot Direction of (1, 0, 0).
c. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Y Axis Function drop-down lists.
d. Select rake-solid from the Surfaces selection list.
This will plot temperature vs. the X coordinate along the selected rake (rake-solid).
e. Click the Axes... button to open the Axes - Solution XY Plot dialog box.
i. Retain the selection of X in the Axis list.
ii. Select general in the Type group box.
iii. Set Precision to 3.
iv. Click Apply and repeat for Y.
v. Click Apply and close the Axes - Solution XY Plot dialog box.
f. Click Save/Plot and close the Solution XY Plot dialog box.
The temperature distribution (Figure 2.14: Temperature Along a Solid Portion of the Manifold (p. 85))
shows that the solid portion of the manifold saw similar temperatures through the thickness.
Setup and Solution
Figure 2.14: Temperature Along a Solid Portion of the Manifold
g. Save the case file (manifold_solution.cas.h5).
2.4.13. Saving Picture Files

You can save picture files of the graphics window in many different formats, including PostScript, encap-
sulated PostScript, TIFF, PNG, PPM, JPEG, VRML and window dumps. Here, the procedure for saving a color
PostScript file is shown.
Click the Save Picture icon- in the toolbar to open the Save Picture dialog box.
1. Select JPEG from the Format list.
2. Retain the default selection of Color from the Coloring list.
3. Click the Save... button to open the Select File dialog box.
a. Enter a name for Hardcopy File.
b. Click OK to close the Select File dialog box.
4. Close the Save Picture dialog box.
2.4.14. Generating Volume Integral Reports

Reports of volume integrals can be used to determine the volume of a particular fluid region (that is, a
fluid zone), the sum of quantities, or the maximum and minimum values of particular variables. Here we
will use the volume integral reports to determine the mass of the air in the manifold and the maximum
temperature of the manifold.
Results → Reports → Volume Integrals...
Summary
1. Select Mass from the Report Type list.
2. Select fluid1 from the Cell Zones selection list.
3. Click Compute to calculate the total mass of the air in the manifold.
The mass of the air in the fluid1 cell zone is displayed.
4. Select Maximum in the Report Type group box.
5. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
6. Select solid_up from the Cell Zones selection list.
The maximum temperature in the solid_up cell zone is displayed.
7. Repeat the previous operation to determine the minimum temperature in the solid_up cell zone.
The maximum and minimum temperatures are an important characteristic of exhaust manifold design.
2.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated the use of many of the extensive postprocessing features available in Fluent.
For more information on these and related features, see reporting alphanumeric data and displaying
graphics in the Fluent User's Guide.
Chapter 3: Modeling Flow Through Porous Media
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Prerequisites
3.5. Summary
3.1. Introduction
Many industrial applications such as filters, catalyst beds, and packing, involve modeling the flow through
porous media. This tutorial illustrates how to set up and solve a problem involving gas flow through
porous media.
The industrial problem solved here involves gas flow through a catalytic converter. Catalytic converters
are commonly used to purify emissions from gasoline and diesel engines by converting environmentally
hazardous exhaust emissions to acceptable substances. Examples of such emissions include carbon
monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and unburned hydrocarbon fuels. These exhaust gas emissions
are forced through a substrate, which is a ceramic structure coated with a metal catalyst such as platinum
or palladium.
The nature of the exhaust gas flow is a very important factor in determining the performance of the
catalytic converter. Of particular importance is the pressure gradient and velocity distribution through
the substrate. Hence, CFD analysis is useful for designing efficient catalytic converters. By modeling the
exhaust gas flow, the pressure drop and the uniformity of flow through the substrate can be determined.
In this tutorial, Ansys Fluent is used to model the flow of nitrogen gas through a catalytic converter
geometry, so that the flow field structure may be analyzed.
Modeling Flow Through Porous Media
• Set up a porous zone for the substrates with appropriate resistances.
• Calculate a solution for gas flow through the catalytic converter using the pressure-based solver.
• Plot pressure and velocity distribution on specified planes of the geometry.
For more information about using the guided workflows, see Getting Started with the Fluent Guided
Workflows in the Fluent User's Guide.
3.2. Prerequisites

The catalytic converter modeled here is shown in Figure 3.1: Catalytic Converter Geometry for Flow
Modeling (p. 90). The nitrogen flows through the inlet with a uniform velocity of 125 m/s and 800K,
passes through a pair of ceramic monolith substrates with square-shaped channels, and then exits
through the outlet.
Figure 3.1: Catalytic Converter Geometry for Flow Modeling
While the flow in the inlet and outlet sections is turbulent, the flow through the substrates is laminar
and is characterized by inertial and viscous loss coefficients along the inlet axis. The substrates are im-
permeable in other directions. This characteristic is modeled using loss coefficients that are three orders
of magnitude higher than in the main flow direction.
Setup and Solution

3.4.1. Preparation
3.4.5. Models
3.4.6. Materials
3.4.9. Solution
3.4.10. Postprocessing
3.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the catalytic_converter.zip file here.
2. Unzip catalytic_converter.zip to your working directory.
The SpaceClaim CAD file catalytic_converter.scdoc can be found in the folder. In addition,
the catalytic_converter.pmdb file is available for use on the Linux platform.
4. Select Meshing in the top-left selection list to start Fluent in Meshing Mode.
6. Set Meshing Processes and Solver Processes to 4 under Parallel (Local Machine).

plete, etc. For more information, see Understanding Task States in the Fluent User's Guide).
All tasks are initially incomplete and you proceed through the workflow completing all
tasks. Additional tasks are also available for the workflow. For more information, see
Customizing Workflows in the Fluent User's Guide.
2. Import the CAD geometry (catalytic_converter.scdoc).
(catalytic_converter.scdoc).
Setup and Solution
Note:
The workflow only supports *.scdoc (SpaceClaim) and the intermediary *.pmdb
file formats.
This will update the task, display the geometry in the graphics window (Figure 3.2: The Imported
CAD Geometry for the Catalytic Converter (p. 94)), and allow you to proceed onto the next task in
the workflow.
Figure 3.2: The Imported CAD Geometry for the Catalytic Converter
Note:
to the next task.
Edit button, or the Revert and Edit button. For more information, see Editing Tasks in the Fluent
User's Guide.
Setup and Solution
In this tutorial, we will add local sizing in and around the sensor, since that is an area where we
require a more refined mesh. Later, we will apply settings for a coarser surface mesh elsewhere.
b. At the prompt for adding local sizing, select yes.
c. Enter sensor for the Name of the size control.
d. Specify Curvature for the Size Control Type.
e. Specify 0.1 for the Local Min Size.
f. Specify 1.2 for the Max Size
g. Select the faces in and around the sensor in the list, specifically, sensing_element-65-
solid, sensor_innertube-67-solid, and sensor_protectiontube-66-solid1.
For occasions when the list of items is long, you can use the Filter Text option and use an expression
such as in* to show only items starting with "in". Alternatively, you can use the Use Wildcard
option to list and pres-select matching items. See Filtering Lists and Using Wildcards for more in-
formation.
Select the Use Wildcard option and enter sens* in the text field to filter out the other labels
and automatically select the desired labels.
h. Click Add Local Sizing to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
b. Specify 1.5 for the Minimum Size.
Note:
c. Specify No for the Separate Out Boundary Zones by Angle? option.
d. Select Advanced Options to expose additional settings.
Setup and Solution
e. Specify 0.95 for the Quality Improve Skewness Limit.
f. Click Generate the Surface Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
a. Select The geometry consists of both fluid and solid regions and/or voids option under
Geometry Type, since this model contains both fluid and solids, and potential voids.
b. Select Yes for the Will you cap openings and extract fluid regions? prompt, since we
plan on adding capping surfaces and extracting a fluid.
c. Select Yes for the Change all fluid-fluid boundary types from 'wall' to 'internal'?
prompt, since we are modeling flow through the entire geometry, and any interior wall
boundaries between potential fluid regions should be interior boundaries to allow the
flow to pass.
Remember that there are two regions within the catalytic converter that will ultimately represent
porous regions.- surrounded by other non-porous fluid regions For now, we will consider all
of these internal regions as fluid regions and change them accordingly in the Ansys Fluent
solver.
d. Keep the rest of the default settings for this task.
e. Click Describe Geometry to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
Select the Enclose Fluid Regions (Capping) task, where you can cover, or cap, any openings in
a. Create a cap for the inlet.
i. Enter inlet for the Name of the capping surface to be assigned to the manifold's
inlet.
ii. For the Zone Type, keep the default setting of velocity-inlet.
iii. In the list of labels, select in1 for the opening that you want to cover (or right-click
the surface of the inlet in the graphics window).
The graphics window indicates the selected items.
Setup and Solution
iv. Click Create Cap(s) to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
Once completed, this particular task will return you to a fresh task in order to assign
additional capping surfaces, if necessary. We will proceed to assign a cap for the re-
maining opening and assign it to be an outlet.
b. Create a cap for the outlet.
i. Enter outlet for the Name of the capping surface to be assigned to the manifold's
outlet.
ii. For the Zone Type, change the setting to pressure-outlet.
iii. In the list of labels, select out1 for the outlet that you want to cover (or right-click the
surface of the inlet in the graphics window).
Setup and Solution
iv. Click Create Cap(s) to complete this task.
7. Confirm and update the boundaries.
a. Select the Update Boundaries task, where you can inspect the mesh boundaries and confirm
and change any designated boundaries accordingly. Ansys Fluent attempts to determine the
correct arrangement of boundaries automatically.
b. All the proposed boundaries are correct, so click Update Boundaries. and proceed to the next
task.
Setup and Solution
automatically.
b. For the Estimated Number of Fluid Regions, enter a value of 3.
We anticipate that there will be fluid regions located at the inlet, the outlet, and the fluid region
between the substrates.
The extracted fluid regions are displayed in the graphics window.
a. Select the Update Regions task, where you can review and change the tabulated names and
types of the various regions that have been generated from your imported geometry, and
change them as needed.
Setup and Solution
We can see that the three fluid regions are defined, however, the two regions of the individual
substrates are identified as solid regions. We can change their designations here in this task, and
provide them with useful names.
b. Change the two substrate solid regions to be fluid regions, and rename them, in the table.
i. Under Region Name, locate the honeycomb.solid1 region, double-click and rename
the region to fluid:substrate:1.
ii. For that specific region, under Region Type, select fluid from the drop-down menu.
c. Repeat the procedure for the honeycomb_af0-solid1 region, renaming it to fluid:sub-

strate:2.
d. Click Update Regions to update your settings.
mesh.
For the Add Boundary Layers task, ensure yes is selected at the prompt as to whether or not
you want to define boundary layer settings. In this task, you can define specific details for
capturing the boundary layer in and around your geometry.
Setup and Solution
a. Select the Generate the Volume Mesh task, where you can set properties of the volume mesh
itself.
b. Keep the default settings, and click Generate the Volume Mesh.
volume mesh.
12. Check the mesh.
13. Save the mesh file (catalytic_converter.msh.h5).

Setup and Solution
4. Examine the mesh.
Rotate the view and zoom in to get the display shown in Figure 3.3: Mesh for the Catalytic Converter
Geometry in Fluent (Solver Mode) (p. 110).
Figure 3.3: Mesh for the Catalytic Converter Geometry in Fluent (Solver Mode)

Retain the default solver settings.
Physics → Solver
Setup and Solution
3.4.5. Models
1. Allow temperatures to be considered in the calculations by enabling the energy model.
You can enable the calculation of temperatures directly from the tree by right-clicking the Energy
node and choosing On from the context menu.
3.4.6. Materials
Add nitrogen to the list of fluid materials by copying it from the Fluent Database of materials.
Physics → Materials → Create/Edit...
a. Click the Fluent Database... button to open the Fluent Database Materials dialog box.
Setup and Solution
i. Select nitrogen (n2) in the Fluent Fluid Materials selection list.
ii. Click Copy to copy the information for nitrogen to your list of fluid materials.
iii. Close the Fluent Database Materials dialog box.
b. Click Change/Create and close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

1. Set the cell zone conditions for the first fluid zone (fluid:0).
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Fluid → fluid:0 Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Select nitrogen from the Material Name drop-down list.
b. Click Apply and close the Fluid dialog box.
2. Perform the same operation for the other fluid zones (fluid:1 and fluid:3).
3. Set the cell zone conditions for the first substrate (fluid:substrate:1).
a. Select nitrogen from the Material Name drop-down list.
b. Enable Porous Zone to activate the porous zone model.
c. Enable Laminar Zone to solve the flow in the porous zone without turbulence.
d. Click the Porous Zone tab.
i. Make sure that the principal direction vectors are set as shown in Table 3.1: Values for the
Principle Direction Vectors (p. 116).
Ansys Fluent automatically calculates the third (Z direction) vector based on your inputs for
the first two vectors. The direction vectors determine which axis the viscous and inertial resistance
coefficients act upon.
Table 3.1: Values for the Principle Direction Vectors
Axis Direction-1 Vector Direction-2 Vector

X 1 0
Y 0 1
Z 0 0
Setup and Solution
ii. For the viscous and inertial resistance directions, enter the values in Table 3.2: Values for
the Viscous and Inertial Resistance (p. 117).
Direction-1 and Direction-2 are set to arbitrary large numbers. These values are several orders
of magnitude greater than that of the Direction-3 flow and will make any radial flow insignific-
ant.
Scroll down to access the fields that are not initially visible.
Table 3.2: Values for the Viscous and Inertial Resistance
Direction Viscous Resistance (1/m2) Inertial Resistance (1/m)

Direction-1 1e+06 1000
e. Click Apply and close the Fluid dialog box.
4. Repeat these steps for the other substrate (fluid:substrate:2).

1. Set the velocity and turbulence boundary conditions at the inlet (inlet).
c. Enter 5% for the Turbulent Intensity.
d. Enter 500mm for the Hydraulic Diameter.
e. Click the Thermal tab and enter 800 K for the Temperature of the incoming fluid.
f. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions at the outlet (outlet).
Setup and Solution
c. Retain the default value of 5% for the Backflow Turbulent Intensity.
d. Enter 500 mm for the Backflow Hydraulic Diameter.
e. Click the Thermal tab and enter 800 K for the Backflow Total Temperature of the outgoing
fluid.
f. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
3.4.9. Solution
2. Enable the plotting of the mass flow rate at the outlet.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Mass Flow Rate
Setup and Solution
a. Enter surf-mon-1 for the Name of the surface report definition.
b. In the Create group box, enable Report File, Report Plot and Print to Console.
c. Select Outlet in the Surfaces selection list.
d. Click OK to save the surface report definition settings and close the Surface Report Definition
dialog box.
3. Initialize the solution.
a. Select Standard under Method.
Warning:
Standard is the recommended initialization method for porous media simulations.

The default Hybrid method does not account for the porous media properties, and
depending on boundary conditions, may produce an unrealistic initial velocity field.
For porous media simulations, the Hybrid method should only be used when the
Maintain Constant Velocity Magnitude option is enabled in the Hybrid Initializ-
ation dialog box.
b. Click Options... to open the Solution Initialization task page, which provides access to further
settings.
Setup and Solution
a. Select inlet from the Compute from drop-down list in the Solution Initialization task
page.
b. Retain the default settings for standard initialization method.
c. Click Initialize.
4. Save the case file (catalytic_converter.cas.h5).
5. Start the calculation.
Solution → Run Calculation → Run Calculation...
a. Enter 150 for No. of Iterations.
b. Click Calculate to begin the iterations.
The mass flow rate graph flattens out, as seen in Figure 3.4: Mass Flow Rate History (p. 124). Since
the mass flow rate has stabilized after 150 iterations, the solution can be said to have reached
convergence.
6. Save the case and data files (catalytic_converter.cas.h5 and catalytic_convert-

er.dat.h5).
Setup and Solution
1. Display the wall surfaces.
Results → Graphics → Mesh... → New...
a. Deselect all items in the Surfaces selection list, and make sure that only Wall category of
surfaces is selected.
b. Click Save/Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
2. Set the lighting for the display.
View → Display → Options...
a. Make sure Lights On is enabled in the Lighting Attributes group box.
b. Retain the selection of Automatic from the Lighting drop-down list.
c. Click Apply and close the Display Options dialog box.
3. Set the transparency for the wall surfaces.
View → Graphics → Compose...
Setup and Solution
a. Select all surfaces in the Names selection list.
b. Click the Display... button in the Geometry Attributes group box to open the Display
Properties dialog box.
i. Disable Edges, Perimeter Edges, and Nodes in the Visibility group box.
ii. Make sure that the Red, Green, and Blue sliders are set to the maximum position (that is,
255).
iii. Set the Transparency slider to 70.
iv. Click Apply and close the Display Properties dialog box.
c. Click Apply and close the Scene Description dialog box.
4. Create a surface passing through the geometry for postprocessing purposes.
Results → Surface → Create → Plane...
a. Enter y=-425 as the New Surface Name.
b. Select ZX Plane from the Method drop-down list.
c. Enter -425 for Y.
d. Click Create.
5. Create cross-sectional planes at locations throughout the domain: in the inlet prior to the first
substrate, within the first substrate, in the fluid zone between the substrates, within the second
substrate, and just after the second substrate in the outlet.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter z=185 as the New Surface Name.
b. Select XY Plane from the Method drop-down list.
c. Enter 185 for Z.
d. Click Create.
e. Repeat these steps for the remaining surfaces at z=230, z=280, z=330, and z=375, and close
the Plane Surface dialog box.
6. Display velocity vectors on the y=-425 surface (Figure 3.5: Velocity Vectors Through the Interi-
or (p. 132)).
a. Enter vector-vel for Vector Name.
b. Disable Global Range under Options.
c. Enable Draw Mesh in the Options group box to open the Mesh Display dialog box.
Setup and Solution
i. Make sure that Wall is selected in the Surfaces selection list.
ii. Set the Transparency slider to 70.
iii. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
d. Assign a value of 0.006 for Scale.
e. Select y=-425 in the Surfaces selection list.
f. Click Save/Display and close the Vectors dialog box.
g. Repeat the procedure in step 3 to set the transparency for the wall surfaces.
h. Rotate the view and adjust the magnification to get the display shown in Figure 3.5: Velocity
Vectors Through the Interior (p. 132).
Figure 3.5: Velocity Vectors Through the Interior
The flow pattern shows that the flow enters the catalytic converter as a jet, with recirculation on
either side of the jet. As it passes through the porous substrates, it decelerates and straightens out,
and exhibits a more uniform velocity distribution. This allows the metal catalyst present in the
substrates to be more effective.
7. Display filled contours of static pressure on the interior plane (Figure 3.6: Contours of Static Pressure
Through the Interior (p. 134)).
Setup and Solution
a. Enter contour-pressure for Contour Name.
b. Make sure that Filled, Node Values, and Boundary Values are enabled in the Options group
box.
c. Enable Draw Mesh to open the Mesh Display dialog box.
a. Make sure that Wall is selected in the Surfaces selection list.
b. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
d. Make sure that Pressure... and Static Pressure are selected from the Contours of drop-down
lists.
e. Select y=-425 in the Surfaces selection list.
The pressure changes rapidly in the middle section, where the fluid velocity changes as it passes through
the porous substrates. The pressure drop can be high, due to the inertial and viscous resistance of the
porous media.
Figure 3.6: Contours of Static Pressure Through the Interior
8. Display filled contours of the velocity magnitude on the z=185, z=230, z=280, z=330, and z=375
surfaces (Figure 3.7: Contours of Velocity Magnitude on the z=185, z=230, z=280, z=330, and z=375
Surfaces (p. 136)).
Setup and Solution
a. Enter contour-vel-mag for Contour Name.
b. Make sure that Filled, Node Values, and Boundary Values are enabled in the Options group
box.
c. Disable Global Range in the Options group box.
d. Enable Draw Mesh to open the Mesh Display dialog box.
a. Make sure that Wall is selected in the Surfaces selection list.
e. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Contours of drop-down lists.
f. Select z=185, z=230, z=280, z=330, and z=375 in the Surfaces selection list, and deselect all
others.
g. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
Figure 3.7: Contours of Velocity Magnitude on the z=185, z=230, z=280, z=330, and z=375
Surfaces
The velocity profile becomes more uniform as the fluid passes through the porous media. The velocity
is higher at the center (the area in red) just before the nitrogen enters the substrates and then decreases
as it passes through and exits the second substrate. The area in green, which corresponds to a moderate
velocity, increases in extent.
9. Save the case and data file.
3.5. Summary
In this tutorial, you learned how to set up and solve a problem involving gas flow through porous media
in Ansys Fluent. You also learned how to perform appropriate postprocessing. Flow non-uniformities
were easily identified through images of velocity vectors and pressure contours.
Chapter 4: Modeling External Compressible Flow
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Prerequisites
4.5. Summary
4.1. Introduction
The purpose of this tutorial is to compute the turbulent flow past a transonic wing at a nonzero angle
of attack. You will use the k-ω SST turbulence model.
• Creation of capsule mesh using Watertight Geometry workflow.
• Model compressible flow (using the ideal gas law for density).
• Set boundary conditions for external aerodynamics.
• Use the k-ω SST turbulence model.
• Calculate a solution using the pressure-based coupled solver with global time step selected for the
pseudo time method.
• Check the near-wall mesh resolution by plotting the distribution of .
4.2. Prerequisites
Modeling External Compressible Flow

The problem considers the flow around a wing at an angle of attack α=3.06° and a free stream Mach
number of 0.8395 (M∞=0.8395). The flow is transonic, and has a shock near the mid-chord (x/c 0.20) on
the upper (suction) side. The wing has a mean aerodynamic chord length of 0.64607 m, a span of 1.1963
m, an aspect ratio of 3.8, and a taper ratio of 0.562. The geometry of the wing is shown in Figure 4.1: Prob-
lem Specification (p. 139).
Setup and Solution
Figure 4.1: Problem Specification

4.4.1. Preparation
4.4.3. Mesh
4.4.4. Solver
4.4.5. Models
4.4.6. Materials
4.4.8. Operating Conditions
4.4.9. Reference Values
4.4.10. Solution
4.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the external_compressible.zip file here.
2. Unzip external_compressible.zip to your working directory.
The SpaceClaim CAD file wing.scdoc can be found in the folder.

Setup and Solution
2. Import the CAD geometry (wing.scdoc).
b. For Units, keep the default setting as mm.
c. For File Name, enter the path and file name for the CAD geometry that you want to import
(wing.scdoc).
Note:
d. Click Import Geometry.
the workflow.
Setup and Solution
Figure 4.2: The Imported CAD Geometry for the Wing
The wing geometry has been encased in a half-spherical, half-cylindrical volume with 25m of space
in all directions.
Note:
to the next task.
In this tutorial, we will add local sizing around the wing and a region past the trailing edge, since
they are areas where we require a more refined mesh. Later, we will apply settings for a coarser
surface mesh elsewhere.
i. At the prompt for adding local sizing, select yes.
ii. Enter wing-facesize for the Name of the size control.
iii. Retain Face Size for the Size Control Type.
iv. Specify 10 for the Target Mesh Size.
v. Select wing_bottom and wing_top.
b. Click Add Local Sizing task, you are prompted as to whether or not you would like to add
Setup and Solution
You can now see the wing task in the workflow, which can be selected to change its settings. The
Add Local Sizing task can still be used to add more local sizing controls to the geometry.
ii. Enter wing-edge-facesize for the Name of the size control.
iii. Retain Face Size for the Size Control Type.
v. Select wing_edge.
c. Click Add Local Sizing.
You can now see the wing task in the workflow, which can be selected to change its settings. The
Add Local Sizing task can still be used to add more local sizing controls to the geometry.
i. Select Body Of Influence for the Size Control Type.
ii. Enter wing-boi for the Name of the size control.
iii. Specify 5 for the Target Mesh Size.
iv. Select wing-boi.
v. Click Add Local Sizing to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
Setup and Solution
b. Specify 2 for the Minimum Size.
c. Specify 1000 for the Maximum Size.
Note:
d. Click Generate the Surface Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
a. Select The geometry consists of only fluid regions with no voids option under Geo-
metry Type, since this model contains only the fluid region.
b. Keep the rest of the default settings for this task.
c. Click Describe Geometry to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
Setup and Solution
task.
We can see that the only defined region is the fluid region.
b. The proposed region type is correct, so click Update Regions to update your settings.
Setup and Solution
mesh.
For the Add Boundary Layers task, ensure yes is selected at the prompt as to whether or not
you want to define boundary layer settings. In this task, you can define specific details for
capturing the boundary layer in and around your geometry.
b. Specify 12 for Number of Layers.
Many boundary layers are desired to model a well resolved flow near the wall.
c. Click Add Boundary Layers.
9. Generating the volume mesh.
a. Select the Generate the Volume Mesh task, where you can set properties of the volume mesh
itself.
b. Select the poly-hexcore for Fill With.
c. Specify 512 for Max Cell Length.
d. Enable Advanced Options to expose additional options that are required for this task.
Select yes for Check Self Proximity.
e. Click Generate the Volume Mesh.
Ansys Fluent will apply your settings and proceed to generate a volume mesh for the wing geometry..
The mesh is displayed in the graphics window and a clipping plane is automatically inserted with
a layer of cells drawn so that you can quickly see the details of the volume mesh.
Setup and Solution
10. Check the mesh.
11. Save the mesh file (wing.msh.h5).
Now that a mesh has been generated using Ansys Fluent in meshing mode, you can now switch
to solver mode to complete the set up of the simulation. Note that to obtain more accurate
solutions a higher quality mesh should be used.
4.4.3. Mesh
1. Examine the mesh (Figure 4.3: The Entire Mesh (p. 154) and Figure 4.4: Magnified View of the Mesh
Around the Wing (p. 156)).
Figure 4.3: The Entire Mesh
To examine the cells of the mesh around the wing, display the mesh with edges enabled and the
far-field boundary disabled.
Domain → Mesh → Display...
Setup and Solution
a. Enable Edges in the Options group box.
b. Ensure All is selected in the Edge Type group box.
c. Deselect pressure-farfield from the Surfaces selection list.
d. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
e. Zoom in on the region around the wing, as shown in Figure 4.4: Magnified View of the Mesh
Around the Wing (p. 156).
Figure 4.4: Magnified View of the Mesh Around the Wing
The cells near the surface have a relatively higher resolution and high aspect ratios, to account for the
flow around the wing.
Extra:
You can use the right mouse button to probe for mesh information in the graphics
window. If you click the right mouse button on any node in the mesh, information will
be displayed in the Ansys Fluent console about the associated zone, including the
name of the zone. This feature is especially useful when you have several zones of the
same type and you want to distinguish between them quickly.
4.4.4. Solver
1. Set the solver settings.
Setup → General
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default selection of Pressure-Based from the Type list.
The pressure-based solver with the Coupled option for the pressure-velocity coupling is a good
alternative to density-based solvers of Ansys Fluent when dealing with applications involving high-
speed aerodynamics with shocks. Selection of the coupled algorithm is made in the Solution
Methods task page in the Solution step.
4.4.5. Models
1. Select the k-ω SST turbulence model.
Physics → Models → Viscous...
a. Retain the default selection of k-omega (2 eqn) in the Model list.
b. Retain the default selection of SST in the k-omega Model list.
c. Click OK to close the Viscous Model dialog box.
4.4.6. Materials
The default Fluid Material is air, which is the working fluid in this problem. The default settings need to
be modified to account for compressibility and variations of the thermophysical properties with temperature.
Setup and Solution
1. Set the properties for air, the default fluid material.
Setup → Materials → Fluid → air Edit...
a. Select ideal-gas from the Density drop-down list.
The Energy Equation will be enabled.
b. Select sutherland from the Viscosity drop-down list to open the Sutherland Law dialog box.
i. Retain the default selection of Three Coefficient Method in the Methods list.
ii. Click OK to close the Sutherland Law dialog box.
The Sutherland law for viscosity is well suited for high-speed compressible flows.
c. Click Change/Create to save these settings.
d. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
While Density and Viscosity have been made temperature-dependent, Cp (Specific Heat) and Thermal
Conductivity have been left constant. For high-speed compressible flows, thermal dependency of the
physical properties is generally recommended. For simplicity, Thermal Conductivity and Cp (Specific
Heat) are assumed to be constant in this tutorial.
Setup → Boundary Conditions
Setup and Solution
1. Set the boundary conditions for pressure_farfield.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → pressure_farfield → Edit...
a. Retain the default value of 0 Pa for Gauge Pressure.
Note:
The gauge pressure in Ansys Fluent is always relative to the operating pressure,
which is defined in a separate input (see below).
b. Enter 0.8395 for Mach Number.
c. Enter 0.998574 and 0.053382 for the X-Component of Flow Direction and Z-Component
of Flow Direction, respectively.
These values are determined by the 3.06° angle of attack: cos 3.06° 0.998574 and sin 3.06° 0.053382
d. Retain Turbulent Viscosity Ratio from the Specification Method drop-down list in the Tur-
bulence group box.
e. Retain the default value of 5% for Turbulent Intensity and 10 for Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
The viscosity ratio should be between 1 and 10 for external flows.
Setup and Solution
f. Click the Thermal tab and enter 255.56 K for Temperature.
g. Click Apply and close the Pressure Far-Field dialog box.

1. Set the operating pressure.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Operating Conditions...
The Operating Conditions dialog box can also be accessed from the Cell Zone Conditions task page.
a. Enter 80600 Pa for Operating Pressure.
The operating pressure should be set to a meaningful mean value in order to avoid round-off errors.
The absolute pressure must be greater than zero for compressible flows. If you want to specify
boundary conditions in terms of absolute pressure, you can make the operating pressure zero.
b. Click OK to close the Operating Conditions dialog box.
For information about setting the operating pressure, see the Fluent User's Guide.

1. Set the reference values that are used to compute the pressure coefficient.
Setup → Reference Values
The reference values are used to non-dimensionalize physical quantities used for postprocessing. The
dimensionless pressure coefficient will be used in future steps.
Setup and Solution
a. Select pressure_farfield from the Compute from drop-down list.
Ansys Fluent will update the Reference Values based on the boundary conditions at the far-field
boundary.
4.4.10. Solution
1. Set the solution parameters.
2. Enable residual plotting during the calculation.
Solution → Reports → Residuals...
Setup and Solution
a. Ensure that Plot is enabled in the Options group box and click OK to close the Residual
Monitors dialog box.
a. Retain the default selection of Hybrid Initialization from the Initialization Methods group
box.
b. Click Initialize to initialize the solution.
4. Save the case files (wing.cas.h5).
5. Start the calculation by requesting 150 iterations.
a. Enter 5 for the Time Scale Factor.
The Time Scale Factor allows you to further manipulate the computed time step size calculated by
Ansys Fluent. Larger time steps can lead to faster convergence. However, if the time step is too
large it can lead to solution instability.
b. Enter 150 for Number of Iterations.
c. Click Calculate.
Setup and Solution
6. Save the case and data files (wing.cas.h5 and wing.dat.h5).
1. Plot the distribution on the wing (Figure 4.5: Contour Plot of y+ Distribution (p. 170)).
a. Enter contour-yplus for Contour Name.
b. Disable Node Values in the Options group box.
c. Select Turbulence... and Wall Yplus from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Select wing_bottom, wing_edge, and wing_top from the Surfaces selection list.
Note:
The values of are dependent on the resolution of the mesh and the Reynolds number
of the flow, and are defined only in wall-adjacent cells. The value of in the wall-ad-
jacent cells dictates how wall shear stress is calculated.
The equation for is

(4.1)
where is the distance from the wall to the cell center, is the molecular viscosity,
is the density of the air, and is the wall shear stress.
For this tutorial, the relatively coarse mesh was prepared with a target max value of
~100, as indicated in Figure 4.5: Contour Plot of y+ Distribution (p. 170).
Figure 4.5: Contour Plot of y+ Distribution
2. Plot the pressure distribution on the wing (Figure 4.6: Contour Plot of Pressure (p. 172)).
Setup and Solution
b. Enable Banded in the Coloring group box.
c. Select Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Select fluid_symmetry, wing_bottom, wing_edge, and wing_top from the Surfaces

selection list.
e. Click Save/Display.
Figure 4.6: Contour Plot of Pressure
3. Create a plane near the shock region.
a. Enter plane-zx for New Surface Name.
b. Select ZX Plane from the Method drop-down lists.
Setup and Solution
c. Enter 1.11 m for Y.
This value corresponds to the y-coordinate at around the shock region near the tip of the wing.
Alternatively, you can click Select with Mouse to select a point from the graphics window.
d. Click Create and close the Plane Surface dialog box.
4. Plot the Mach number distribution on the wing near the shock region (Figure 4.7: Contour Plot of
Mach Number (p. 174)).
a. Enter contour-mach for Contour Name.
b. Enable Banded in the Coloring group box.
c. Select Velocity... and Mach Number from the Contours of drop-down list.
d. Select plane-zx from the From Surface selection list.
f. Zoom in on the region around the wing, as shown in Figure 4.7: Contour Plot of Mach Num-
ber (p. 174).
Figure 4.7: Contour Plot of Mach Number
Note the discontinuity, in this case a shock, on the upper surface of the wing in Figure 4.7: Contour
Plot of Mach Number (p. 174) at about x/c 0.20.
5. Display filled contours of the component of velocity (Figure 4.8: Contour Plot of x Component
of Velocity (p. 176)).
Setup and Solution
a. Enter contour-x-vel for Contour Name.
b. Ensure Filled is enabled in the Options group box.
c. Enable Banded in the Coloring group box.
d. Select Velocity... and X Velocity from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select plane-zx from the From Surface selection list.
Note the flow reversal downstream of the shock in Figure 4.8: Contour Plot of x Component of Velo-
city (p. 176).
Figure 4.8: Contour Plot of x Component of Velocity
6. Plot velocity vectors (Figure 4.9: Plot of Velocity Vectors Downstream of the Shock (p. 178)).
Setup and Solution
b. Enter 0.05 for Scale.
c. Select Velocity... and X Velocity from the Color by drop-down lists.
d. Select plane-zx from the From Surface selection list.
e. Click Save/Display and close the Vectors dialog box.
f. Zoom in on the flow above the upper surface at a point downstream of the shock, as shown
in Figure 4.9: Plot of Velocity Vectors Downstream of the Shock (p. 178).
Figure 4.9: Plot of Velocity Vectors Downstream of the Shock
Flow reversal is clearly visible in Figure 4.9: Plot of Velocity Vectors Downstream of the Shock (p. 178).
7. Create iso-surfaces near the shock region.
a. Enter iso-y-bottom for New Surface Name.
Setup and Solution
c. Select wing_bottom from the From Surface selection list.
d. Click Compute and enter 1.11 m for Iso-Values.
This value corresponds to the y-coordinate at the shock region near the tip of the wing.
e. Click Create.
f. Similarly, create a surface iso-y-top from the wing_top surface.
g. Close the Iso-Surface dialog box.
8. Plot the component of wall shear stress on the wing near the shock region (Figure 4.10: XY Plot
of x Wall Shear Stress (p. 180)).
a. Enter xy-x-shear-stress for XY Plot Name.
b. Select Wall Fluxes... and X-Wall Shear Stress from the Y Axis Function drop-down lists.
c. Select iso-y-bottom and iso-y-top from the Surfaces selection list.
d. Click Save/Plot and close the Solution XY Plot dialog box.
As shown in Figure 4.10: XY Plot of x Wall Shear Stress (p. 180), the large, adverse pressure gradient in-
duced by the shock causes the boundary layer to separate. The point of separation is where the wall
shear stress vanishes. Flow reversal is indicated here by negative values of the x component of the wall
shear stress.
Figure 4.10: XY Plot of x Wall Shear Stress
9. Save the case file (wing.cas.h5).
4.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to set up and solve an external aerodynamics problem using poly-
hexcore meshing, the pressure-based coupled solver with under-relaxation from a pseudo time method
and the k-ω SST turbulence model.
Chapter 5: Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in a Mixing
Elbow
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Prerequisites
5.5. Summary
5.1. Introduction
This tutorial illustrates the setup and solution of a three-dimensional turbulent fluid flow and heat
transfer problem in a mixing elbow. The mixing elbow configuration is encountered in piping systems
in power plants and process industries. It is often important to predict the flow field and temperature
field in the area of the mixing region in order to properly design the junction.
– Describe the geometry
• Launch Ansys Fluent.
• Read an existing mesh file into Ansys Fluent.
• Use mixed units to define the geometry and fluid properties.
• Set material properties and boundary conditions for a turbulent forced-convection problem.
• Create a surface report definition and use it as a convergence criterion.
• Calculate a solution using the pressure-based solver.
• Visually examine the flow and temperature fields using the postprocessing tools available in Ansys
Fluent.
Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in a Mixing Elbow
• Change the solver method to coupled in order to increase the convergence speed.
• Adapt the mesh based on the temperature gradient to further improve the prediction of the temper-
ature field.
5.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have little or no experience with Ansys Fluent, and so each step will be
explicitly described.

The problem to be considered is shown schematically in Figure 5.1: Problem Specification (p. 183). A
cold fluid at 20° C flows into the pipe through a large inlet, and mixes with a warmer fluid at 40° C that
enters through a smaller inlet located at the elbow. The pipe dimensions are in inches and the fluid
properties and boundary conditions are given in SI units. The Reynolds number for the flow at the larger
inlet is 50,800, so a turbulent flow model will be required.
Note:
Since the geometry of the mixing elbow is symmetric, only half of the elbow must be modeled
in Ansys Fluent.
Setup and Solution

To help you quickly identify graphical user interface items at a glance and guide you through the steps
of setting up and running your simulation, the Ansys Fluent Tutorial Guide uses several type styles and
mini flow charts. See Typographical Conventions Used In This Manual (p. xxxi) for detailed information.
The following sections describe the setup and solution steps for running this tutorial in serial:
5.4.1. Preparation
5.4.3. Setting Up Domain
5.4.4. Setting Up Physics
5.4.5. Solving
5.4.6. Displaying the Preliminary Solution
5.4.7. Adapting the Mesh
5.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the introduction.zip file here.
2. Unzip introduction.zip to your working directory.
3. The SpaceClaim CAD file elbow.scdoc can be found in the folder. In addition, the elbow.pmdb
file is available for use on the Linux platform.

Setup and Solution
2. Import the CAD geometry (elbow.scdoc).
b. For Units, select in from the drop-down list.
(elbow.scdoc).
Note:
d. Select Import Geometry.
Note:
to the next task.
b. For the purposes of this tutorial, you can keep the default setting of no.
c. Click Update to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
Setup and Solution
b. Specify 0.3 for Maximum Size.
Note:
c. Click Generate the Surface Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
a. Since the geometry defined the fluid region. Select The geometry consists of only fluid
regions with no voids for Geometry Type.
b. Click Describe Geometry to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
6. Update Boundaries Task
Setup and Solution
a. For the Select Type field, select label.
b. For the wall-inlet boundary, change the Boundary Type field to wall.
c. Click Update Boundaries to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
a. Select the Update Regions task, where you can review the names and types of the various
regions that have been generated from your imported geometry, and change them as needed.
8. Add Boundary Layers.
mesh.
Setup and Solution
a. Select the Generate the Volume Mesh task, where you can set properties of the volume mesh.
c. Click Generate the Volume Mesh.
volume mesh.
10. Check the mesh.
11. Save the mesh file (elbow.msh.h5).
5.4.3. Setting Up Domain

In this step, you will perform the mesh-related activities using the Domain ribbon tab (Mesh group
box).
Setup and Solution
1. Check the mesh.
Domain → Mesh → Check → Perform Mesh Check
Ansys Fluent will report the results of the mesh check in the console.
Domain Extents:
x-coordinate: min (m) = -2.000000e-01, max (m) = 2.000000e-01
y-coordinate: min (m) = -2.250000e-01, max (m) = 2.000000e-01
z-coordinate: min (m) = 0.000000e+00, max (m) = 4.992264e-02
Volume statistics:
minimum volume (m3): 2.440065e-10
maximum volume (m3): 5.516694e-07
total volume (m3): 2.500656e-03
Face area statistics:
minimum face area (m2): 3.018938e-08
maximum face area (m2): 7.907492e-05
Checking mesh.....................................
Done.
The mesh check will list the minimum and maximum x, y, and z values from the mesh in the default
SI unit of meters. It will also report a number of other mesh features that are checked. Any errors
in the mesh will be reported at this time. Ensure that the minimum volume is not negative, since
Ansys Fluent cannot begin a calculation when this is the case.
Note:
The minimum and maximum values may vary slightly when running on different plat-
forms.
2. Set the working units for the mesh.
Domain → Mesh → Scale...
a. Select in from the View Length Unit In drop-down list to set inches as the working unit for
length.
b. Confirm that the domain extents are as shown in the previous dialog box.
c. Close the Scale Mesh dialog box.
The working unit for length has now been set to inches.
Note:
Because the default SI units will be used for everything except length, there is no need
to change any other units in this problem. The choice of inches for the unit of length
has been made by the actions you have just taken. If you want a different working unit
for length, other than inches (for example, millimeters), click Units... in the Domain
ribbon tab (Mesh group box) and make the appropriate change in the Set Units dialog
box.

In the steps that follow, you will select a solver and specify physical models, material properties, and
zone conditions for your simulation using the Physics ribbon tab.
1. In the Solver group box of the Physics ribbon tab, retain the default selection of the steady
pressure-based solver.
Physics → Solver → General
Setup and Solution
2. Set up your models for the CFD simulation using the Models group box of the Physics ribbon
tab.
Note:
You can also use the Models task page, which can be accessed from the tree by ex-
panding Setup and double-clicking the Models tree item.
a. Enable heat transfer by activating the energy equation.
In the Physics ribbon tab, enable Energy (Models group box).
Physics → Models → Energy
Note:
You can also double-click the Setup/Models/Energy tree item and enable the energy
equation in the Energy dialog box.
b. Enable the - turbulence model.
Setup and Solution
i. Retain the default selection of k-omega from the Model list.
ii. Retain the default selection of SST in the k-omega Model group box.
iii. Click OK to accept all the other default settings and close the Viscous Model dialog box.
Note that the Viscous... label in the ribbon is displayed in blue to indicate that the Viscous
model is enabled. Also Energy and Viscous appear as enabled under the Setup/Models
tree branch.
Note:
While the ribbon is the primary tool for setting up and solving your problem,
the tree is a dynamic representation of your case. The models, materials, condi-
tions, and other settings that you have specified in your problem will appear in
the tree. Many of the frequently used ribbon items are also available via the
right-click functionality of the tree.
3. Set up the materials for the CFD simulation using the Materials group box of the Physics ribbon
tab.
Create a new material called water using the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
a. In the Physics ribbon tab, click Create/Edit... (Materials group box).
Setup and Solution
b. Click the Fluent Database... button to access pre-defined materials.
c. Select water-liquid (h2o < l >) from the Fluent Fluid Materials selection list and click Copy,
then close the Fluent Database Materials dialog box.
d. Ensure that there are now two materials (water-liquid and air) defined locally by examining
the Fluent Fluid Materials drop-down list.
Both the materials will also be listed under Fluid in the Materials task page and under the Mater-
ials tree branch.
e. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
4. Set up the cell zone conditions for the fluid zone (fluid) using the Zones group box of the Physics
ribbon tab.
a. In the Physics tab, click Cell Zones (Zones group box).
Physics → Zones → Cell Zones
This opens the Cell Zone Conditions task page.
Setup and Solution
b. Double-click fluid in the Zone list to open the Fluid dialog box.
Note:
You can also double-click the Setup/Cell Zone Conditions/fluid tree item in order
to open the corresponding dialog box.
c. Select water-liquid from the Material Name drop-down list.
d. Click Apply and close the Fluid dialog box.
5. Set up the boundary conditions for the inlets, outlet, and walls for your CFD analysis using the
Zones group box of the Physics ribbon tab.
a. In the Physics tab, click Boundaries (Zones group box).
Physics → Zones → Boundaries
This opens the Boundary Conditions task page where the boundaries defined in your simula-
tion are displayed in the Zone selection list.
Note:
To display boundary zones grouped by zone type (as shown previously), click the
Setup and Solution
Toggle Tree View button ( ) in the upper right corner of the Boundary Condi-
tions task page and select Zone Type under Group By.
Here the zones have names that were previously given during the meshing process. It is good
practice to give boundaries meaningful names in a meshing application to help when you set
up the model. You can also change boundary names in Fluent by simply editing the boundary
and making revisions in the Zone Name text box.
b. Set the boundary conditions at the cold inlet (cold-inlet).
Tip:
If you are unsure of which inlet zone corresponds to the cold inlet, you can
probe the mesh display using the right mouse button or the probe toolbar
button ( ) as described previously in this tutorial. The information will be

displayed in the Ansys Fluent console, and the zone you probed will be auto-
matically selected from the Zone selection list in the Boundary Conditions
task page.
i. Double-click cold-inlet to open the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
ii. Retain the default selection of Magnitude, Normal to Boundary from the Velocity Spe-
cification Method drop-down list.
iii. Enter 0.4 [m/s] for Velocity Magnitude.
iv. In the Turbulence group box, select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specific-
ation Method drop-down list.
v. Retain the default value of 5 [%] for Turbulent Intensity.
vi. Enter 4 [inches] for Hydraulic Diameter.
The hydraulic diameter is defined as:
where is the cross-sectional area and is the wetted perimeter.
vii. Click the Thermal tab.
viii.Enter 293.15 [K] for Temperature.
ix. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
Note:
You can also access the Velocity Inlet dialog box by double-clicking the
Setup/Boundary Conditions/cold-inlet tree item.
Setup and Solution
c. In a similar manner, set the boundary conditions at the hot inlet (hot-inlet), using the values
in the following table:
Setting Value
Velocity Specification Method Magnitude, Normal to Boundary
Velocity Magnitude 1.2 [m/s]
Specification Method Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter
Turbulent Intensity 5 [%]
Hydraulic Diameter 1 [inch]
Temperature 313.15 [K]
d. Double-click outlet in the Zone selection list and set the boundary conditions at the outlet,
as shown in the following figure.
Note:
• You do not need to set a backflow temperature in this case (in the Thermal tab)
because the material properties are not functions of temperature. If they were,
a flow-weighted average of the inlet conditions would be a good starting value.
• Ansys Fluent will use the backflow conditions only if the fluid is flowing into the
computational domain through the outlet. Since backflow might occur at some
point during the solution procedure, you should set reasonable backflow condi-
tions to prevent convergence from being adversely affected.
e. For the wall of the elbow (wall-elbow) and the wall of the hot inlet (wall-inlet), retain the
default value of 0 W/m2 for Heat Flux in the Thermal tab.
Setup and Solution
5.4.5. Solving
In the steps that follow, you will set up and run the calculation using the Solution ribbon tab.
Note:
You can also use the task pages listed under the Solution tree branch to perform solution-
related activities.
1. Select a solver scheme.
a. In the Solution ribbon tab, click Methods... (Solution group box).
2. Enable the plotting of residuals during the calculation.
Setup and Solution
a. In the Solution ribbon tab, click Residuals... (Reports group box).
Note:
You can also access the Residual Monitors dialog box by double-clicking the
Solution/Monitors/Residual tree item.
b. Ensure that Plot is enabled in the Options group box.
c. Retain the default value of 0.001 for the Absolute Criteria of continuity.
d. Click OK to close the Residual Monitors dialog box.
Note:
By default, the residuals of all of the equations solved for the physical models enabled
for your case will be monitored and checked by Ansys Fluent as a means to determine
the convergence of the solution. It is a good practice to also create and plot a surface
report definition that can help evaluate whether the solution is truly converged. You
will do this in the next step.
3. Create a surface report definition of average temperature at the outlet (outlet).
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Mass-Weighted Average...
Note:
You can also access the Surface Report Definition dialog box by right-clicking Report
Definitions in the tree (under Solution) and selecting New/Surface Report/Mass-
Weighted Average... from the menu that opens.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter outlet-temp-avg for the Name of the report definition.
During a solution run, Ansys Fluent will write solution convergence data in a report file, plot the
solution convergence history in a graphics window, and print the value of the report definition to
the console.
c. Set Frequency to 3 by clicking the up-arrow button.
This setting instructs Ansys Fluent to update the plot of the surface report, write data to a file, and
print data in the console after every 3 iterations during the solution.
d. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
e. Select outlet from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Click OK to save the surface report definition and close the Surface Report Definition dialog
box.
The new surface report definition outlet-temp-avg will appear under the Solution/Report
Definitions tree item. Ansys Fluent also automatically creates the following items:
• outlet-temp-avg-rfile (under the Solution/Monitors/Report Files tree branch)
• outlet-temp-avg-rplot (under the Solution/Monitors/Report Plots tree branch)
4. Examine the report file settings of the created report definition (outlet-temp-avg-rfile).
Solution → Monitors → Report Files → outlet-temp-avg-rfile Edit...
The Edit Report File dialog box is automatically populated with data from the outlet-temp-avg
report definition.
a. Verify that outlet-temp-avg is in the Selected Report Definitions list.
If you had created multiple report definitions, the additional ones would be listed under Available
Report Definitions , and you could use the Add>> and <<Remove buttons to manage which
were written in this particular report definition file.
b. (optional) Edit the name and location of the resulting file as necessary using the File Name
field or Browse... button.
c. Click OK to close the Edit Report File dialog box.
5. Create a convergence condition for outlet-temp-avg.
Solution → Reports → Convergence...
Setup and Solution
a. Click the Add button.
b. Enter con-outlet-temp-avg for Conditions.
c. Select outlet-temp-avg from the Report Definition drop-down list.
d. Enter 1e-5 for Stop Criterion.
e. Enter 20 for Ignore Iterations Before.
f. Enter 15 for Use Iterations.
g. Enable Print.
h. Set Every Iteration to 3.
i. Click OK to save the convergence condition settings and close the Convergence Conditions
dialog box.
These settings will cause Fluent to consider the solution converged when the surface report definition
value for each of the previous 15 iterations is within 0.001% of the current value. Convergence of the
values will be checked every 3 iterations. The first 20 iterations will be ignored, allowing for any initial
solution dynamics to settle out. Note that the value printed to the console is the deviation between
the current and previous iteration values only.
a. Retain the default selection of Hybrid from the Method list.
7. Save the case file (elbow1.cas.h5).
8. Start the calculation by requesting 150 iterations in the Solution ribbon tab (Run Calculation
group box).
b. Click Calculate.
Note:
By starting the calculation, you are also starting to save the surface report data at
the rate specified in the Surface Report Definition dialog box. If a file already exists
in your working directory with the name you specified in the Edit Report File dialog
box, then a Question dialog box will open, asking if you would like to append the
new data to the existing file. Click No in the Question dialog box, and then click
OK in the Warning dialog box that follows to overwrite the existing file.
As the calculation progresses, the surface report history will be plotted in the outlet-temp-
avg-rplot tab in the graphics window (Figure 5.2: Convergence History of the Mass-Weighted
Average Temperature (p. 215)).
Setup and Solution
Figure 5.2: Convergence History of the Mass-Weighted Average Temperature
Similarly, the residuals history will be plotted in the Scaled Residuals tab in the graphics
window (Figure 5.3: Residuals (p. 216)).
Note:
You can monitor the two convergence plots simultaneously by right-clicking a tab
in the graphics window and selecting SubWindow View from the menu that opens.
To return to a tabbed graphics window view, right-click a graphics window title
area and select Tabbed View.
Since the residual values vary slightly by platform, the plot that appears on your screen may
not be exactly the same as the one shown here.
The solution will be stopped by Ansys Fluent when any of the following occur:
• the surface report definition converges to within the tolerance specified in the Conver-
gence Conditions dialog box
• the residual monitors converge to within the tolerances specified in the Residual
Monitors dialog box
• the number of iterations you requested in the Run Calculation task page has been
reached
In this case, the solution is stopped when the convergence criterion on outlet temperature is
satisfied. The exact number of iterations for convergence will vary, depending on the platform
being used. An Information dialog box will open to alert you that the calculation is complete.
Click OK in the Information dialog box to proceed.
Setup and Solution
9. Examine the plots for convergence (Figure 5.2: Convergence History of the Mass-Weighted Average
Temperature (p. 215) and Figure 5.3: Residuals (p. 216)).
Note:
There are no universal metrics for judging convergence. Residual definitions that are
useful for one class of problem are sometimes misleading for other classes of problems.
Therefore it is a good idea to judge convergence not only by examining residual levels,
but also by monitoring relevant integrated quantities and checking for mass and energy
balances.
There are three indicators that convergence has been reached:
• The residuals have decreased to a sufficient degree.
The solution has converged when the Convergence Criterion for each variable has
been reached. The default criterion is that each residual will be reduced to a value
of less than 10–3, except the energy residual, for which the default criterion is 10–6.
• The solution no longer changes with more iterations.
Sometimes the residuals may not fall below the convergence criterion set in the case
setup. However, monitoring the representative flow variables through iterations may
show that the residuals have stagnated and do not change with further iterations.
This could also be considered as convergence.
• The overall mass, momentum, energy, and scalar balances are obtained.
You can examine the overall mass, momentum, energy and scalar balances in the
Flux Reports dialog box. The net imbalance should be less than 0.2 % of the net
flux through the domain when the solution has converged. In the next step you will
check to see if the mass balance indicates convergence.
10. Examine the mass flux report for convergence using the Results ribbon tab.
Results → Reports → Fluxes...
a. Ensure that Mass Flow Rate is selected from the Options list.
b. Select cold-inlet, hot-inlet, and outlet from the Boundaries selection list.
c. Click Compute.
The individual and net results of the computation will be displayed in the Results and Net Results
boxes, respectively, in the Flux Reports dialog box, as well as in the console.
The sum of the flux for the inlets should be very close to the sum of the flux for the outlets. The net
results show that the imbalance in this case is well below the 0.2% criterion suggested previously.
d. Close the Flux Reports dialog box.
11. Save the data file (elbow1.dat.h5).
File → Write → Data...
In later steps of this tutorial you will save additional case and data files with different suffixes.
5.4.6. Displaying the Preliminary Solution

In the steps that follow, you will visualize various aspects of the flow for the preliminary solution using
the Results ribbon tab.
1. Display filled contours of velocity magnitude on the symmetry plane (Figure 5.4: Predicted Velocity
Distribution after the Initial Calculation (p. 220)).
Setup and Solution
a. Enter contour-vel for Contour Name.
b. Ensure that Filled is enabled in the Options group box.
c. Ensure that Node Values and Boundary Values are enabled in the Options group box.
d. Select Banded in the Coloring group box.
e. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Contours of drop-down lists.
f. Select symmetry-xyplane from the Surfaces selection list.
g. Click Save/Display to display the contours in the active graphics window. Clicking the blue
z-axis arrow in the axis triad will orient the view with the z-axis, and clicking the Fit to Window
icon ( ) will cause the object to fit exactly and be centered in the window.
Note:
If you cannot see the velocity contour display, select the appropriate tab in the
graphics window.
h. Close the Contours dialog box.
Figure 5.4: Predicted Velocity Distribution after the Initial Calculation
Extra:
When you probe a point in the displayed domain with the right mouse button or the
probe tool, the level of the corresponding contour is highlighted in the colormap in
the graphics window, and is also reported in the console.
2. Create and display a definition for temperature contours on the symmetry plane (Figure 5.5: Pre-
dicted Temperature Distribution after the Initial Calculation (p. 222)).
You can create contour definitions and save them for later use.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter contour-temp for Contour Name.
c. Select symmetry-xyplane from the Surfaces selection list.
The new contour-temp definition appears under the Results/Graphics/Contours tree branch.
To edit your contour definition, right-click it and select Edit... from the menu that opens.
Figure 5.5: Predicted Temperature Distribution after the Initial Calculation
3. Display velocity vectors on the symmetry plane (Figure 5.8: Magnified View of Resized Velocity
Vectors (p. 225)).
Setup and Solution
b. Select symmetry-xyplane from the Surfaces selection list.
c. Click Save/Display to plot the velocity vectors.
Figure 5.6: Velocity Vectors Colored by Velocity Magnitude
The Auto Scale option is enabled by default in the Options group box. This scaling sometimes
creates vectors that are too small or too large in the majority of the domain. You can improve
the clarity by adjusting the Scale and Skip settings, thereby changing the size and number
of the vectors when they are displayed.
d. Enter 4 for Scale.
e. Set Skip to 2.
f. Click Save/Display again to redisplay the vectors.
Setup and Solution
Figure 5.7: Resized Velocity Vectors
g. Close the Vectors dialog box.
h. Zoom in on the vectors in the display.
Figure 5.8: Magnified View of Resized Velocity Vectors
i. Zoom out to the original view.
Clicking the Fit to Window icon, , will cause the object to fit exactly and be centered in
the window.
4. Create a line at the centerline of the outlet. For this task, you will use the Surface group box of
the Results tab.
a. Enter z=0_outlet for New Surface Name.
b. Select Mesh... and Z-Coordinate from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
c. Click Compute to obtain the extent of the mesh in the z-direction.
The range of values in the z-direction is displayed in the Min and Max fields.
d. Retain the default value of 0 inches for Iso-Values.
e. Select outlet from the From Surface selection list.
f. Click Create.
Setup and Solution
The new line surface representing the intersection of the plane z=0 and the surface outlet
is created, and its name z=0_outlet appears in the From Surface selection list.
Note:
• After the line surface z=0_outlet is created, a new entry will automatically be
generated for New Surface Name, in case you would like to create another sur-
face.
• If you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click Manage... to

open the Surfaces dialog box.
g. Close the Iso-Surface dialog box.
5. Display and save an XY plot of the temperature profile across the centerline of the outlet for the
initial solution (Figure 5.9: Outlet Temperature Profile for the Initial Solution (p. 228)).
a. Enter xy-outlet-temp for XY Plot Name.
b. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Y Axis Function drop-down lists.
c. Select the z=0_outlet surface you just created from the Surfaces selection list.
d. Click Save/Plot.
e. Enable Write to File in the Options group box.
The button that was originally labeled Save/Plot will change to Write....
f. Click Write....
i. In the Select File dialog box, enter outlet_temp1.xy for XY File.
ii. Click OK to save the temperature data and close the Select File dialog box.
g. Close the Solution XY Plot dialog box.
Figure 5.9: Outlet Temperature Profile for the Initial Solution
6. Define a custom field function for the dynamic head formula ( ).
User Defined → Field Functions → Custom...
Setup and Solution
a. Select Density... and Density from the Field Functions drop-down lists, and click the Select
button to add density to the Definition field.
b. Click the X button to add the multiplication symbol to the Definition field.
c. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Field Functions drop-down lists, and
click the Select button to add |V| to the Definition field.
d. Click y^x to raise the last entry in the Definition field to a power, and click 2 for the power.
e. Click the / button to add the division symbol to the Definition field, and then click 2.
f. Enter dynamic-head for New Function Name.
g. Click Define and close the Custom Field Function Calculator dialog box.
The dynamic-head tree item will appear under the Parameters & Customization/Custom
Field Functions tree branch.
7. Display filled contours of the custom field function (Figure 5.10: Contours of the Dynamic Head
Custom Field Function (p. 231)).
a. Enter contour-dynamic-head for Contour Name.
b. Select Banded in the Coloring group box.
c. Select Custom Field Functions... and dynamic-head from the Contours of drop-down lists.
Tip:
Custom Field Functions... is at the top of the upper Contours of drop-down

list.
d. Select symmetry-xyplane from the Surfaces selection list.
Setup and Solution
Figure 5.10: Contours of the Dynamic Head Custom Field Function
Note:
You may need to change the view by zooming out after the last vector display, if you
have not already done so.
8. Save the settings for the custom field function by writing the case and data files (elbow1.cas.h5
and elbow1.dat.h5).
a. Ensure that elbow1.cas.h5 is entered for Case/Data File.
Note:
When you write the case and data file at the same time, it does not matter whether
you specify the file name with a .cas or .dat extension, as both will be saved.
b. Click OK to save the files and close the Select File dialog box.
c. Click OK to overwrite the files that you had saved earlier.
5.4.7. Adapting the Mesh

For the first run of this tutorial, you have solved the elbow problem using a fairly coarse mesh. The
elbow solution can be improved further by refining the mesh to better resolve the flow details. Ansys
Fluent provides a built-in capability to easily adapt (locally refine) the mesh according to solution
gradients. In the following steps you will adapt the mesh based on the temperature gradients in the
current solution and compare the results with the previous results.
1. Define Cell Registers to adapt the mesh in the regions of high temperature gradient.
Solution → Cell Registers New → Field Variable...
Setup and Solution
a. Select Cells More Than from the Type drop-down list.
b. Select Curvature from the Derivative Option drop-down list.
c. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Curvature of drop-down list.
d. Click Compute.
Ansys Fluent will update the Minimum and Maximum values to show the minimum and maximum
temperature gradient. The Average temperature gradient and Standard Deviation will also be
displayed.
e. Enter a value of 0.0015 for the Cells having value more than.
A general rule is to use about 10% of the maximum gradient when setting the value for refinement.
f. Click Save and close the Field Variable Register dialog box.
2. Setup mesh adaption using the Cell Registers. For this task, you will use the Adapt group box
in the Domain ribbon tab.
Domain → Adapt → Manual...
a. Select the previously defined curvature_0 cell register from the Refinement Criterion drop-
down lists.
Ansys Fluent will not coarsen beyond the original mesh for a 3D mesh. Hence, it is not necessary
to select the Coarsening Criterion in this instance.
b. Click Adapt.
c. Click Display.
Ansys Fluent will display the cells marked for adaption in the graphics window (Figure 5.11: Cells
Marked for Adaption (p. 234)).
Figure 5.11: Cells Marked for Adaption
Extra
Setup and Solution
You can change the way Ansys Fluent displays cells marked for adaption (Figure 5.12: Al-
ternative Display of Cells Marked for Adaption (p. 236)) by performing the following steps:
i. Click Display Options... in the Manual Mesh Adaption dialog box to open the
Display Options - Adaption dialog box.
ii. Enable Draw Mesh in the Options group box.
The Mesh Display dialog box will open.
iii. Ensure that only the Edges option is enabled in the Options group box.
iv. Select All from the Edge Type list.
v. Select all of the items except z=0_outlet from the Surfaces selection list.
vi. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
vii. Click OK to close the Display Options - Adaption dialog box.
viii.Click Display in the Manual Mesh Adaption dialog box.
ix. Rotate the view and zoom in to get the display shown in Figure 5.12: Alternative
Display of Cells Marked for Adaption (p. 236).
Figure 5.12: Alternative Display of Cells Marked for Adaption
x. After viewing the marked cells, rotate the view back and zoom out again.
xi. Click Close to close the Manual Mesh Adaption dialog box.
3. Display the adapted mesh (Figure 5.13: The Adapted Mesh (p. 238)).
Setup and Solution
a. Disable Faces in the Options group box.
b. Select All from the Edge Type list.
c. Deselect all of the highlighted items from the Surfaces selection list except for symmetry-
xyplane.
Tip:
To deselect all surfaces, click the Deselect All Shown button ( ) at the top of
the Surfaces selection list. Then select the desired surface from the Surfaces selec-
tion list.
Figure 5.13: The Adapted Mesh
4. Request an additional 150 iterations.
Solution → Run Calculation → Calculate
The solution will converge as shown in Figure 5.14: The Complete Residual History (p. 239) and Fig-
ure 5.15: Convergence History of Mass-Weighted Average Temperature (p. 239).
Setup and Solution
Figure 5.14: The Complete Residual History
Figure 5.15: Convergence History of Mass-Weighted Average Temperature
5. Save the case and data files for the solution with an adapted mesh (elbow2.cas.h5 and el-
bow2.dat.h5).
a. Enter elbow2.cas.h5 for Case/Data File.
b. Click OK to save the files and close the Select File dialog box.
The files elbow2.cas.h5 and elbow2.dat.h5 will be saved in your default folder.
6. Display the temperature distribution (using node values) on the revised mesh using the temper-
ature contours definition that you created earlier (Figure 5.16: Filled Contours of Temperature Using
the Adapted Mesh (p. 240)).
Right-click the Results/Graphics/Contours/contour-temp tree item and select Display from the
menu that opens.
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-temp Display
Figure 5.16: Filled Contours of Temperature Using the Adapted Mesh
7. Display and save an XY plot of the temperature profile across the centerline of the outlet for the
adapted solution (Figure 5.17: Outlet Temperature Profile for the Adapted Coupled Solver Solu-
tion (p. 241)).
Results → Plots → XY Plot → xy-outlet-temp Edit...
a. Click Save/Plot to display the XY plot.
Setup and Solution
Figure 5.17: Outlet Temperature Profile for the Adapted Coupled Solver Solution
b. Enable Write to File in the Options group box.
The button that was originally labeled Save/Plot will change to Write....
c. Click Write....
i. In the Select File dialog box, enter outlet_temp2.xy for XY File.
ii. Click OK to save the temperature data.
d. Close the Solution XY Plot dialog box.
8. Display the outlet temperature profiles for both solutions on a single plot (Figure 5.18: Outlet
Temperature Profiles for the Two Solutions (p. 243)).
a. Open the Plot Data Sources dialog box.
Results → Plots → Data Sources...
b. Click the Load File... button to open the Select File dialog box.
i. Select outlet_temp1.xy and outlet_temp2.xy.
Each of these files will be listed with their folder path in the bottom list to indicate that they
have been selected.
Tip:
If you select a file by mistake, simply click the file in the bottom list and
then click Remove.
ii. Click OK to save the files and close the Select File dialog box.
c. Select the folder path ending in outlet_temp1.xy from the Curve Information selection list
(Curves group box).
d. Enter Before Adaption in the lower-right text-entry box.
e. Click the Change Legend Entry button.
The item in the Legend Entries list for outlet_temp1.xy will be changed to Before Adaption. This
legend entry will be displayed in the upper-left corner of the XY plot generated in a later step.
f. In a similar manner, change the legend entry for the folder path ending in outlet_temp2.xy
to be Adapted Mesh.
g. Click Plot and close the Plot Data Sources dialog box.
Figure 5.18: Outlet Temperature Profiles for the Two Solutions (p. 243) shows the two temperature profiles
at the centerline of the outlet. It is apparent by comparing both the shape of the profiles and the pre-
dicted outer wall temperature that the solution is highly dependent on the mesh and solution options.
Summary
Specifically, further mesh adaption should be used in order to obtain a solution that is independent
of the mesh.
Figure 5.18: Outlet Temperature Profiles for the Two Solutions
5.5. Summary
A comparison of the convergence speed for the SIMPLE and Coupled pressure-velocity coupling schemes
indicates that the latter converges much faster. With more complex meshes, the difference in speed
between the two schemes can be significant.
Chapter 6: Exhaust System: Fault-tolerant Meshing
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Prerequisites
6.5. Summary
6.1. Introduction
This tutorial illustrates the setup and solution of a three-dimensional turbulent fluid flow in a manifold
exhaust system. The manifold configuration is encountered in the automotive industry. It is often im-
portant to predict the flow field in the area of the mixing region in order to properly design the junction.
You will use the Fault-tolerant Meshing guided workflow, which unlike the watertight workflow used
in Fluid Flow in an Exhaust Manifold (p. 1), is appropriate for geometries with imperfections, such as
gaps and leakages.
• Use the Fault-tolerant Meshing guided workflow to:
– Import a CAD geometry and manage individual parts
– Define leakages
– Extract edge features
– Setup size controls
• Set up appropriate physics and boundary conditions.
Exhaust System: Fault-tolerant Meshing
6.2. Prerequisites

The manifold modeled here is shown in Figure 6.1: Exhaust System Geometry for Flow Modeling (p. 246).
Air flows through the three inlets with a uniform velocity of 1 m/s, and then exits through the outlet.
Figure 6.1: Exhaust System Geometry for Flow Modeling
A small pipe is placed in the main portion of the manifold where edge extraction will be considered.
There is also a known small leakage included that will be addressed in the meshing portion of the tu-
torial to demonstrate the automatic leakage detection aspects of the meshing workflow.

6.4.1. Preparation
6.4.2. Geometry and Mesh
Setup and Solution

6.4.5. Models
6.4.6. Materials
6.4.9. Solution
6.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the exhaust_system.zip file here.
2. Unzip exhaust_system.zip to your working directory.
The CAD file exhaust_system.fmd can be found in the folder.
6.4.2. Geometry and Mesh

In this step, we will use Ansys Fluent's guided workflow to import a CAD geometry, and perform
various enhancements so that we can generate a complete surface and volume mesh for a complete
CFD analysis.
1. Start the Fault-tolerant Meshing workflow.
a. In the Workflow tab, select the Fault-tolerant Meshing workflow.
2. Import the CAD geometry (exhaust_system.fmd).
a. Select the Import CAD and Part Management task.
b. For CAD File, enter the path and file name for the CAD geometry that you want to import
(exhaust_system.fmd).
c. Perform some selective part management.
i. Select Custom for Create Meshing Objects.
Using the Custom option allows you load the CAD objects, and selectively pick and choose
which parts you want to include in your CFD simulation as meshing objects. Selecting the One
per part option would load the CAD geometry and automatically create meshing objects for
every part.
ii. For Display Unit, keep the default setting as mm.
iii. Click the Load button.
This will load the CAD file's content into the CAD Model tree below.
Setup and Solution
Note:
Items in the model trees that are checked indicate an object that is displayed
in the graphics window. Using the check boxes is not the same as selecting a
object in the tree to perform a particular operation.
Figure 6.2: Manifold CAD Geometry for Flow Modeling
iv. In the CAD Model tree, select the first part (main), hold the Shift button and select the
last part (object1), thereby selecting all of the parts.
You can also select the parts you require in the graphics window.
v. Holding down the left mouse button, drag the collection of parts and drop them onto the
Meshing Model tree.
The parts in the CAD Model tree will become grayed out and will appear in the Meshing
Model tree. If you make a mistake, you can right-click the appropriate node in the Meshing
Model tree, and select the Restore to Cad Model option from the context menu, and the parts
will be restored to the CAD Model tree.
Note:
You can also select objects in the graphics window and add them to the tree.
Make sure that you select the check box for the top-level node in the Meshing Model tree to
view all of the parts of the meshing model in the graphics window.
Setup and Solution
d. Click Create Meshing Objects at the bottom of the task.
This will update the task, create meshing objects with the designated properties based on the se-
lected portions of the CAD model. This will also display the geometry in the graphics window, and
allow you to proceed onto the next task in the workflow.
3. Provide a description for the geometry and the flow characteristics.
a. In the Describe Geometry and Flow task, you are prompted for more information about the
geometry and flow.
b. Select Internal flow through the object for the Flow Type.
c. Enable Advanced Options to expose additional options that are required for this task.
Many workflow tasks have advanced options that you may want to inspect before updating a task.
d. Select Yes for the Extract edge features? prompt.
This particular geometry has a few areas that will require special feature extraction treatment.
e. Click Describe Geometry and Flow to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
Select the Enclose Fluid Regions (Capping) task, where you can cover, or cap, any openings in
a. Create a cap for one of the inlets.
Setup and Solution
i. In the Name field, enter inlet_1 for the name of the capping surface to be applied
to one of the manifold's inlets.
ii. For the Zone Type field, choose velocity-inlet.
iii. For the Select By field, choose zone.
iv. In the list of zones, select inlet.1 as the opening that you want to cover.
For occasions when the list of items is long, you can use the Filter Text option and use
an expression such as in* to show only items starting with "in". Alternatively, you can
use the Use Wildcard option to list and pres-select matching items. See Filtering Lists and
Using Wildcards for more information.
The graphics window indicates the selected item.
v. Click Create Cap(s) to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
Once completed, this particular task will return you to a fresh task in order to assign
additional capping surfaces, if necessary. We will proceed to assign a cap for the re-
maining openings.
b. Repeat the previous steps, creating a cap called inlet_2 for the inlet.2 zone, and another
cap called inlet_3 for the inlet zone.
This will cover all of the manifold's inlets.
Alternatively, you could also have selected all three inlet zones and created a single cap for all
three inlets.
Setup and Solution
c. Create a cap for the outlet.
i. In the Name field, enter outlet_1 for the name of the capping surface to be applied
to the manifold's outlet.
ii. For the Zone Type field, choose pressure-outlet.
iii. For the Select By field, specify zone.
iv. In the list of zones, select outlet for the outlet that you want to cover.
v. Click Create Cap(s) to complete this task.
5. Extract edge features.
In the Extract Edge Features task, you can set various properties for the extraction of features
in your geometry.
In this tutorial, we will create a single extraction object to capture the features between the smaller
pipe and the main manifold.
Create a feature extraction object based on intersection loops between the smaller pipe and the
main manifold.
Setup and Solution
i. Keep the default Name as edge-group-1
ii. Select Intersection Loops for the Extraction Method Using field.
iii. Select main and flow_pipe in the Objects list.
iv. Keep the default Intersected By setting as collectively.
This will localize the feature extraction to the intersection of the small pipe (flow_pipe)
with the main manifold (main).
v. Click Extract Edge Features to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
6. Identify regions.
In the Identify Regions task, you can choose the various regions that you want to use in your
simulation.
In this tutorial, we will identify the internal fluid region as well as the external (void) region outside of
the geometry. The external void region will be useful in identifying any potential leakages from within
the fluid region to the outer domain.
a. Identify the fluid region.
Setup and Solution
i. For the Would you like to identify any fluid or void region(s)? prompt, keep the
default setting of yes.
ii. Keep the default Name as fluid-region-1
iii. Keep the default Define Location Using setting as Centroid of Objects.
iv. Keep the default Region Type setting as fluid.
v. Set the Select By setting to zone.
vi. Select main.1 in the list of zones.
vii. Click Identify Region.
Once completed, this particular task will return you to a fresh task in order to identify ad-
ditional regions, if necessary. We will proceed to identify a void region.
b. Identify the region outside the geometry.
i. Change the Region Type setting to void.
ii. Keep the default Name as void-region-1
iii. Keep the default Define Location Using setting as Centroid of Objects.
iv. Keep the default Select By setting as object.
v. Select main, inlet_1, inlet_2, and inlet_3 in the list of objects.
This will ensure that the void region is located properly based on the centroid of the selected
objects.
vi. Click Identify Region to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
7. Define thresholds for any potential leakages.
In the Define Leakage Threshold task, you can choose to define a threshold for when leakages
within your geometry can be identified and automatically patched.
Setup and Solution
a. Specify yes at the prompt to define a leakage threshold.
In the case of this tutorial, we know there is a potential leakage (a small opening in the main
manifold in the neck of the outlet) that we want to define a threshold.
b. Keep the default Name as leakage-1
c. Keep the default Select By: as identified region
d. Select void-region-1 from the Regions list.
e. Keep the default value of 6.4 mm for the Maximum Leakage Size.
f. Click Preview Leakages.
This will display a cut plane through the domain that you can adjust using the Leakage Plane
controls. Use the Location slider and the Orientation fields to identify any potential leakages with
the current settings.
g. Adjust the Location slider to a value of 30 mm.
h. Change the Orientation setting to Y.
Rotate the display and examine the mesh. Note that there are no leakages present.
i. Click Define Leakage Threshold to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
8. Review your region settings.
a. In the Update Region Settings task, you can review and revise a table of settings for the
defined regions.
Setup and Solution
b. For the Displayed Regions field, select Identified Regions, as a means of simplifying the
listing to only show previously identified regions.
c. For fluid-region-1, change the Volume Fill setting from hexcore to tet, since, for internal
flow, we are interested only in using tetrahedral cells.
To change the setting in the table, double-click the cell to expose the drop-down menu options.
d. Keep the Volume Fill setting for void-region-1 set to none.
This is done since we do not want to consider the void region, however, we want to use the Leakage
Size threshold of 6.4 mm to detect any leakages from the fluid region into the void region when
that threshold is exceeded.
e. Click Update Regions to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
9. Select options for controlling the mesh.
In the Choose Mesh Control Options task, you can determine how much control you want when
generating the mesh: either through size controls; and/or through boundary layer settings.
For the purposes of this tutorial, you can keep the default settings in this task.
Click Choose Options.
This will create a Add Local Sizing task.
a. For the Add Local Sizing task, keep the default size controls (default-curvature
and default-proximity) already populated with useful default settings.
a. In the Generate the Surface Mesh task, you can customize how the surface mesh is created.
b. Click Generate the Surface Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
Ansys Fluent will apply your settings (calculate size fields, closing leakages, remeshing surfaces,
calculating regions, etc.) and proceed to generate a surface mesh for the manifold geometry. You
can visualize the surface mesh by selecting the Draw Mesh button at the bottom of the task, and
adjusting the clipping plane controls accordingly.
Setup and Solution
task.
For the Add Boundary Layers task, select yes at the prompt as to whether or not you want to
define boundary layer settings. In this task, you can define specific details for capturing the
boundary layer in and around your geometry.
i. Select Continuous from the Post Improvement Methos list.
These default settings create a continuous boundary layer along the walls of the fluid region.
ii. Click Add Boundary Layers to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
a. In the Generate the Volume Mesh task, you can customize how the volume mesh is created,
primarily defining the final skewness for the volume mesh.
Setup and Solution
b. Select the Enable Region Settings to view and edit volume fill settings, prior to actually
generating the fluid volume mesh.
c. Click Generate the Volume Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
volume mesh.
14. Check the mesh.
15. Save the mesh file (exhaust_system.msh.h5).

In the Mesh group box of the Domain ribbon tab, set the units for length.
Setup and Solution

based solver.
Physics → Solver
6.4.5. Models
tab.
Setup and Solution
Note:
You can also use the Models task page, which can be accessed from the tree by ex-
panding Setup and double-clicking the Models tree item.
6.4.6. Materials
Ordinarily, you would set up the materials for the CFD simulation using the Materials group box of
the Physics ribbon tab.
In this tutorial, we will keep the default fluid material of air.

Ordinarily, you would set up the cell zone conditions for the CFD simulation using the Zones group
box of the Physics ribbon tab.
In this tutorial, we will keep the default assignment of air for the fluid zone.

1. Set the velocity and turbulence boundary conditions for the first inlet (inlet-1).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inlet_1 Edit...
b. Keep the remaining default settings.
c. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
2. Apply the same conditions for the other velocity inlet boundaries (inlet_2, and inlet_3).
3. Set the boundary conditions at the outlet (outlet-1).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → outlet_1 Edit...
Setup and Solution
b. Keep the remaining default settings.
c. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
6.4.9. Solution
In the Solution ribbon tab, click Methods... (Solution group box).
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default settings for Solution Methods.
2. Monitor the mass flow rate at the inlets.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Flux Report → Mass Flow Rate...
a. Enter mass-in for the Name of the report definition.
b. Ensure Mass Flow Rate is selected in the Options group box.
c. Select inlet_1, inlet_2, and inlet_3, from the Boundaries selection list.
d. Enable Report Plot and Print to Console in the Create group box.
Setup and Solution
e. Click OK to save the surface report definition and close the Flux Report Definition dialog
box.
3. Monitor the total mass flow rate through the entire domain.
Perform the same procedure as described above, naming the report mass-tot, and selecting the
boundaries inlet_1, inlet_2, inlet_3, and outlet_1.
4. Monitor the mass balance.
a. Enter mass-bal for the Name of the expression.
b. Select mass-tot from the Report Definitions drop-down list on the right.
c. Type the / operand.
d. Select mass-in from the Report Definitions drop-down list on the right.
e. Enable Report Plot and Print to Console in the Create group box.
f. Click OK to save the expression definition.
a. Select Standard from the Method list.
6. Save the case file (exhaust_system.cas.h5).
7. Start the calculation by requesting 100 iterations in the Solution ribbon tab (Run Calculation
group box).
b. Click Calculate to begin the iterations.
As the solution progresses, the residuals history will be plotted in the Scaled Residuals tab
in the graphics window (Figure 6.3: Residuals (p. 279)).
Setup and Solution
c. Similarly, the monitors will be plotted in their respective tabs in the graphics window.
Figure 6.4: Mass Balance History
The net mass imbalance is a small fraction (less than 0.5%) of the total mass flow rate through
the system, which indicates that the solution has converged.
8. Save the case and data files (exhaust_system.cas.h5 and exhaust_system.dat.h5).
1. Display path lines highlighting the flow field (Figure 6.5: Pathlines Through the Manifold (p. 281)).
a. Keep the default of pathlines-1 for the Name.
b. Select Particle Variables... and Time from the Color by drop-down lists.
c. Enable Accuracy Control under Options.
d. Set the Path Skip value to 5.
e. Select inlet-1, inlet-2, and inlet-3 from the Release from Surfaces list.
f. Click Save/Display and close the Pathlines dialog box.
The new pathlines-1 definition appears under the Results/Graphics/Pathlines tree branch. To
edit your surface definition, right-click it and select Edit... from the menu that opens.
Setup and Solution
Figure 6.5: Pathlines Through the Manifold
2. Create an iso-surface through the manifold geometry.
Results → Surface → New → Iso-Surface...
a. Select Mesh... and X-Coordinate from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
b. Enter surf-x-coordinate for the Name.
c. Select fluid-region-1 from the From Zones list.
d. Click Compute.
e. Use the slider to locate the iso-surface in the middle of the geometry (approximately 380
mm).
The new surf-x-coordinate definition appears under the Results/Surfaces tree branch. To edit
3. Create and define contours of velocity magnitude throughout the manifold along with the mesh.
a. Enter contour-velocity for the Name.
b. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Contours of drop-down lists.
c. Select surf-x-coordinate from the Surfaces list.
d. Disable Node Values under Options.
e. Disable Global Range under Options.
Setup and Solution
Figure 6.6: Contours of Velocity Magnitude Through the Manifold
4. Create a scene containing the mesh and the contours.
a. Keep the default scene-1 for the Name and Title.
b. Select contour-velocity under Graphical Objects.
c. Create a new mesh object to add to the scene.
i. Click New Object and select Mesh to open the Mesh Display dialog box.
Setup and Solution
ii. Select all of the surfaces under the Surfaces list, except the newly created surface.
iii. Click Save/Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
The new mesh-1 definition appears under the Results/Graphics/Mesh tree branch. The
new object also appears in the Scene dialog box.
d. In the Scene dialog box, set the Transparency to 90 for the mesh-1 graphical object.
Figure 6.7: Scene Containing the Mesh and Contours Throughout the Manifold
f. Save the case file (exhaust_system.cas.h5).
6.5. Summary
In this tutorial, you learned how to import a faulty CAD geometry, add modifications and enhancements,
generate a volume mesh, and set up, solve, and postprocess a CFD problem involving air flow through
a exhaust system.
Chapter 7: Modeling Hypersonic Flow
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Prerequisites
7.5. Enable the species model
7.6. Summary
7.1. Introduction
The purpose of this tutorial is to compute the flow around a re-entry capsule at hypersonic speed. The
simulated speed, trajectory, and ambient conditions are representative of such a vehicle as it passes
through the earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of approximately 50 [km].
• Creation of capsule mesh using Watertight Geometry workflow.
• Model hypersonic flow, using high-speed numerics, appropriate models for air properties, the two-
temperature model for energy to address thermal non-equilibrium, and the species model to address
the chemical non-equilibrium.
• Set boundary conditions for external aerodynamics.
• Use the k-ω SST turbulence model.
• Calculate a solution using the density-based coupled solver.
7.2. Prerequisites

The problem considers the flow around a re-entry capsule at an angle of attack α=-25° and a free stream
Mach number of 17.0. The geometry of the capsule is shown in Figure 7.1: Problem Specification (p. 288),
which also shows the lift and drag directions for the given case. The flow around the capsule can be
assumed to be symmetric for this tutorial.
Modeling Hypersonic Flow

7.4.1. Preparation
7.4.3. Mesh
7.4.4. Solver
7.4.5. Models
7.4.6. Materials
7.4.9. Solution
7.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the reentry_capsule.zip file here.
2. Unzip reentry_capsule.zip to your working directory.
The SpaceClaim CAD file CapsuleFlow.scdoc can be found in the folder.
Setup and Solution

2. Import the CAD geometry (CapsuleFlow.scdoc).
b. For Units, select m.
(CapsuleFlow.scdoc).
Note:
This will update the task, display the geometry in the graphics window and allow you to proceed
Setup and Solution
Figure 7.2: The Imported CAD Geometry for the Capsule
The capsule geometry has been enclosed in a suitable flow domain, which should provide distinct
regions of inflow and outflow for a range of angles of attack, and avoids having the bow shock
that forms in such flows from contacting the inflow surfaces..
Note:
Alternatively, the ... button next to File Name can be used to locate the CAD geo-
to the next task.
Local mesh sizing controls are added on the wall surfaces using face sizing, and in the flow volume
around the capsule using Bodies Of Influence (BOIs), in regions of flow of interest. Note that all
the mesh sizes, local and global, are coarser than would be typical for industrial use, in order to
ensure the mesh is not too large for tutorial purposes.
a. In the Add Local Sizing task, add local sizing controls to the faceted geometry by selecting
yes:
In this tutorial, we will add local sizing around the surfaces of the capsule, since they are areas
where we require a more refined mesh.
ii. Enter capsule for the Name of the size control.
iii. Specify 1.1 for the Growth Rate.
iv. Retain Face Size for the Size Control Type.
v. Specify 0.1 for the Target Mesh Size.
vi. Select Zone for the Select By.
vii. Select origin-capsule.
b. Click Add Local Sizing.
In the Add Local Sizing task, you can add more local sizing controls to the faceted geometry.
Two bodies included in the geometry model are used for this purpose: one frustum-shaped
body to refine the flow region around and just downstream in the wake of the capsule, and
a second, toroidal body running along the sharp corner at the outer radius of the capsule.
Setup and Solution
i. Select Body Of Influence for the Size Control Type.
ii. Retain the default boi_1 for the Name of the size control.
iv. Specify 0.2 for the Target Mesh Size.
v. Select Label for the Select By.
vi. Select capsuleflow-boi1.
c. Click Add Local Sizing.
The Add Local Sizing task can still be used to add more local sizing controls to the geometry.
i. Retain the default boi_2 for the Name of the size control.
ii. Specify 1.1 for the Growth Rate.
iii. Specify 0.05 for the Target Mesh Size.
iv. Select capsuleflow-boi2.
v. Click Add Local Sizing to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
With the local sizing set as described above, the global surface mesh sizing only defines the largest
elements on other surfaces, farther away from the capsule, on the inflow, outflow, and symmetry
surfaces.
Setup and Solution
b. Specify 0.1 for the Minimum Size.
Note:
d. Specify 1.1 for the Growth Rate.
e. Click Generate the Surface Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
workflow.
Setup and Solution
b. Select pressure-far-field for the inflow boundary.
c. Select pressure-outlet for the outflow boundary.
d. Select symmetry for the sym boundary.
e. All the proposed boundaries are correct, click Update Boundaries and proceed to the next
task.
types of the various regions that have been generated from your imported geometry and
We can see that the only defined region is the fluid region.
Setup and Solution
mesh.
For the Add Boundary Layers task, ensure yes is selected at the prompt as to define boundary
layer settings. In this task, you can define specific details for capturing the boundary layer in
and around your geometry.
b. Select last-ratio for the Offset Method Type.
c. Retain the default last_ratio_1 for the Name of the size control.
d. Specify 30 for Number of Layers.
Many boundary layers are desired to model a well resolved flow near the wall.
e. Specify 1 for Transition Ratio.
f. Specify 0.001 for First Height.
g. Click Add Boundary Layers.
With the local sizing set as described above, including bodies of influence, the global volume
mesh sizing only defines the largest elements in the flow domain. In this case, the maximum is
set to be consistent with the specified global surface mesh sizing.
a. Select the Generate the Volume Mesh task, to set properties of the volume mesh.
b. Select the polyhedra for Fill With.
c. Specify 1.1 for Growth Rate.
d. Specify 1 for Max Cell Length.
e. Retain the default selection of Enable Parallel Meshing.
f. Click Generate the Volume Mesh.
Ansys Fluent will apply your settings and proceed to generate a volume mesh for the geometry..
Setup and Solution
10. Check the mesh.
11. Save the mesh file (CapsuleFlow.msh.h5).
7.4.3. Mesh
1. To examine the cells of the mesh around the capsule display the mesh with edges and faces en-
abled and the far-field boundary disabled.
c. Select capsule and sym from the Surfaces selection list.
e. Zoom in on the region around the capsule, as shown.
Setup and Solution
Figure 7.3: View of the Mesh Around the Capsule
The cells near the surface have a relativlely higher resolution and high aspect ratios, to account for
the flow around the capsule.
7.4.4. Solver
1. Set the solver settings.
Setup → General
a. Select Density-Based from the Type group box.
7.4.5. Models
1. Select to solve the Energy Equation and with it the Two-Temperature Model option. In the two-
temperature model, one temperature is representative of the translational and rotational energy
of the air molecules, and the other of their vibrational and electronic energy. Accounting for this
thermal non-equilibrium is important for accurate simulations of hypersonic flows, most importantly
in the predictions of surface heat transfer and temperatures.
Setup → Models → Energy Edit...
a. Select the Two-Temperature Model in the Energy Modes group box.
b. Click OK to close the Energy dialog box.
Setup and Solution
a. Ensure that Compressibilty Effects is selected in the Options group box.
b. Click OK to close the Viscous model dialog box.
7.4.6. Materials
The default Fluid Material is air, which is the working fluid in this problem. For hypersonic flows it is im-
portant to account for compressibility and variations of the thermophysical properties with temperature.
This is done automatically when selecting to use the two-temperature model, to ensure that appropriate
properties are used.
Retain the default properties for air that are set automatically in conjunction with the selection
of the Two-temperature Model:
a. ideal-gas for Density.
b. Select Boltzmann-kinetic-theory for Specific Heat.
Setup and Solution
c. eucken-relation for Thermal Conductivity.
d. blottner-curve-fit for Viscosity.
e. Click the Change/Create button to save your change.
f. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

For information about setting the operating pressure, see the Fluent User's Guide.

Set the momentum and energy boundary conditions.
1. Set the boundary conditions for far-field boundary.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inflow Edit...
a. Enter 25 Pa for Gauge Pressure.
b. Enter 17 for Mach Number.
c. Enter 0.90630778 and -0.42261826 for the X-Component of Flow Direction and Y-
Component of Flow Direction, respectively.
These values are determined by the -25° angle of attack: cos -25°= 0.90630778 and sin -25° = -
0.42261826.
d. Retain Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specification Method drop-down list in the
Turbulence group box.
e. Enter a value of 1% for Turbulent Intensity and 1 for Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
f. Click the Thermal tab and enter 250 K for Temperature.
Setup and Solution
g. Click Apply and close the Pressure Far-Field dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions for the outflow boundary.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → outlet → outflow Edit...
a. Enter 25 Pa for Gauge Pressure.
b. Select Average Pressure Specification.
c. Select Weak for the Averaging Method.
d. Retain Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specification Method drop-down list in the
e. Retain the default value of 1% for Turbulent Intensity and 1 for Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
f. Click the Thermal tab and enter 250 K for Temperature.
Setup and Solution
g. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
3. Set the boundary conditions for capsule wall.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → capsule Edit...
a. Click the Thermal tab and enter 1500 K for Temperature.
b. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
7.4.9. Solution
1. Turn on high speed numerics in the TUI.
a. Press Enter in the console to get the command prompt (>).
b. Enter the text commands as shown in the box:
/solve/set/high-speed-numerics enable y
Enabling adaptive high-speed numerics for all Mach.
Reducing AMG termination criterion for flow (<0.01)
Activating divergence prevention
Activating limiter filter
Activating high-speed numerics
c. Enter the text commands as shown in the box:
/solve/set/cafsm y 100
2. Set the solution method parameters.
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default Implicit for the Formulation drop-down list.
b. Select AUSM (Advection Upstream Splitting Method) from the Flux Type drop-down list.
c. Select Green-Gauss Node Based from the Gradient drop-down list in the Spatial Discretiza-
tion group box.
d. Select Second Order Upwind for Flow and Two-Temperature Model in the Spatial Discret-
ization group box.
e. Select First Order Upwind for Turbulent Kinetic Energy and Specific Dissipation Rate in
the Spatial Discretization group box.
f. Select Warped-Face Gradient Correction.
g. Select Higher Order Term Relaxation.
h. Select Convergence Acceleration For Stretched Meshes.
3. Set the solution control parameters.
Solution → Solution → Controls...
a. Click Limits... to open the Solution Limits dialog box.
Setup and Solution
b. Enter 20000 for the Maximum Static Temperature.
c. Click OK to close the Solution Limits dialog box.
4. Create a force report definition to plot and write the drag force on the capsule
Solution → Defnitions → New → Force Report → Drag...
a. Enter drag-force for Name.
b. Select Drag Force in the Report Output Type group box.
c. Enter 0.9063078 for X and -0.4226183 for Y in the Force Vector group box.
d. Select capsule in the Zones selection list.
e. In the Create group box, enable Report Plot and Print to Console.
f. Click OK to close the Drag Report Definition dialog box.
Setup and Solution
5. Similarly, create a force report definition for the lift force on the capsule.
Solution → Defnitions → Force Report → New → Lift...
a. Enter lift-force for Name.
b. Select Lift Force in the Report Output Type group box.
c. Enter 0.4226183 for X and 0.9063078 for Y in the Force Vector group box.
d. Select capsule in the Zones selection list.
e. In the Create group box, enable Report Plot and Print to Console.
f. Click OK to close the Lift Report Definition dialog box.
6. Create a flux report definition for the total heat transfer on the capsule
Solution → Defnitions → New → Flux Report → Total Heat Transfer Rate...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter heat-flux for Name.
b. Select capsule in the Zones selection list.
c. In the Create group box, enable Report Plot and Print to Console.
d. Click OK to close the Flux Report Definition dialog box.
a. Select Show Advanced Options to open the panel.
b. Select Scale and Compute Local Scale in the Residual Values group box.
c. Select local scaling from the Reporting Option drop down list.
d. Select Absolute under Convergence Criterion.
e. Ensure that Plot is enabled in the Options group box and click OK to close the Residual
Setup and Solution
a. Select Standard Initialization from the Initialization Methods group box.
b. Select Inflow from the Compute From drop down list.
c. Click Initialize to initialize the solution.
d. Run the Full Multigrid (FMG) initialization.
FMG initialization often facilitates an easier start-up of a calculation, especially for hypersonic flows
in which extremely strong variations and gradients are present, and the initialized solution must
adapt to reflect the given boundary conditions. Use of FMG initialization usually minimizes the
need for users to take other measures at start-up, such as gradually ramping up the CFL (Courant
Friedrichs Lewy) number, thereby reducing the number of iterations for convergence.
i. Press Enter in the console to get the command prompt (>).
ii. Enter the text commands and input responses as shown in the boxes. Accept the default
values by pressing Enter when no input response is given:

set the number of multigrid levels [5] 3


residual reduction on level 3 [coarsest grid] is: [0.001]

Number of FMG (and FAS geometric multigrid) levels: 3

* FMG customization summary:
* residual reduction on level 0 [finest grid] is: 0.001
* number of cycles on level 0 is: 1
* residual reduction on level 1 is: 0.001
* residual reduction on level 3 [coarsest grid] is: 0.001
* FMG customization complete
set FMG courant-number [0.75] 0.25
enable FMG verbose? [no] yes
solve/initialize/fmg-initialization
Enable FMG initialization? [no] yes
Note:
Whenever FMG initialization is performed, it is important to inspect the FMG initialized

flow field using the postprocessing tools of Ansys Fluent. Monitoring the normalized
residuals, which are plotted in the console window, will give you an idea of the conver-
gence of the FMG solver. You should notice that the value of the normalized residuals
decreases. For more information about FMG initialization, including convergence
strategies, see the Fluent User's Guide.
9. Save the case files (CapsuleFlow.cas.h5).
a. Enter 500 for Number of Iterations.
b. Click Calculate.
11. Save the case and data files (CapsuleFlow.cas.h5 and CapsuleFlow.dat.h5).
1. Plot the Mach number distribution on the symmetry plane. This is one way to get an overall picture
of the flow field and important flow features, such as the detached bow shock ahead of the capsule,
flow expansion around its outer edge, and the wake behind the capsule.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter contour-mach-sym for Contour Name.
b. Disable the Global Range option in the Options group box.
c. Select Velocity... and Mach Number from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Select sym from the Surfaces selection list.
e. Select Draw Mesh.
f. On the Mesh Display dialog box that opens, select capsule from the Surfaces selection
list.
g. Select Edges from the Options group box.
h. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
i. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
j. Views → Display → Views..
i. Click Read and select the view file CapsuleFlow.vw.
ii. Select CapsuleFlow.vw from the Views selection list.
2. Plot the total surface heat flux distribution on the capsule surface. The heat flux distribution on
the surfaces shows which parts of the capsule are predicted to experience the greatest thermal
load and hence would need to be correspondingly protected thermally. Keep in mind that, by
convention, the heat flux out of the flow solution domain is negative, so the largest thermal loads
have a negative sign.
a. Enter contour-heat-flux for Contour Name.
c. Select Wall Fluxes... and Total Surface Heat Flux from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Select capsule from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Change the light orientation to better visulaize the capsule surface. View →
Graphics → Lights...
Setup and Solution
g. Enter -1 for X in the Direction. group box
h. Click Apply and close the Lights dialog box.
i. Close the Contours dialog box.
j.
3. Plot the total surface heat flux distribution on the capsule surface.centerline.
Results → Surface → Create → Iso-surface...
a. Enter capsule-centerline for New Surface Name.
b. Select Mesh... and Z-coordinate from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
c. Enter 0 for Iso-Values.
d. Select capsule from the From Surfaces drop-down list.
e. Select fluid from the From Zones selection list.
g. Plot the heat flux along the capsule centerline. Results → Plots → XY Plot → New...
Setup and Solution
i. Enter heat-flux-capsule-centerline for Contour Name.
ii. Select Wall Fluxes... and Total Surface Heat Flux from the Y Axis Function drop-
down lists.
iii. Select capsule-centerline from the Surfaces selection list.
iv. Enable Write to File in the Options group box to save the radial velocity profile.
v. Click the Write... button to open the Select File dialog box.
A. Enter heat-flux-capsule-centerline.xy in the XY File text entry box

and click OK.
Be sure to double check the location where the files are being saved to ensure they will
be saved where you intend.
vi. Close the Solution XY Plot dialog box.
4. Plot the ratio of the Translational-Rotation Temperature to Vibrational-Electronic Temperature on

the symmetry plane. This gives an indication of regions of thermal non-equilibrium in the flow,
which can are accounted for with the two-temperature model.
a. Enter contour-ttr-tve for Contour Name.
c. Select Two-Temperature-Model... and Translational-Rotational over Vibrational-

Electronic Temperature from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Select sym from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Views → Display → Views..
Setup and Solution
5. Another way to examine the thermal non-equilibrium is to define a line through the shock to the
surface of the capsule, along which to plot the two temperatures. We will define the line to be
approximately along a line representing the stagnation line, parallel to the trajectory of the capsule.
Results → Surface → Create → Line/Rake...
a. Enter stagnation-line for New Surface Name.
b. Enter the values for x0, x1, y0, y1, z0, and z1 as follows:
End Points Value

x0 0.949
y0 0.97
z0 0
x1 01.855
y1 0.547
z1 0.
c. Click Create and close the Line/Rake Surface dialog box.
6. Plot the Translational-Rotational Temperature and the Vibrational-Electronic Temperature on the

approximate stagnation line.
a. Enter ttr-stag-line for XY Plot Name.
b. Select Two Temperature Model... and Translational-Rotational Temperature from the Y

Axis Function drop-down lists.
c. Select stagnation-line from the Surfaces selection list.
d. Enable Write to File in the Options group box to save the translational-rotational temperature
profile.
Setup and Solution
e. Click the Write... button to open the Select File dialog box.
i. Enter ttr-stag-line.xy in the XY File text entry box and click OK.
Be sure to double check the location where the files are being saved to ensure they will be saved
where you intend.
f. Similarly write an xy plot file for the Vibrational-Electronic Temperature along the stagnation-
line named tve-stag-line.xy.
g. Close the Solution XY Plot dialog box.
7. Compare the Translational-Rotational Temperature and the Vibrational-Electronic Temperature on

the approximate stagnation line.
i. Select ttr-stag-line.xy and tve-stag-line.xy.
c. Select the folder path ending in ttr-stag-line.xy from the Curve Information selection list
(Curves group box).
d. Enter Translational-Rotational in the lower-right text-entry box.
The item in the Legend Entries list for ttr-stag-line.xy will be changed to Translational-Rotational.
This legend entry will be displayed in the upper-left corner of the XY plot generated in a later step.
f. In a similar manner, change the legend entry for the folder path ending in tve-stag-line.xy
to be Vibrational-Electronic.
g. Enter Ttr & Tve Temperature for the Title and Legend Label.
h. Click Axes... and set the Precision to 2 and close the Axes - Plot Data Sources dialogue box.
i. Click Plot and close the Plot Data Sources dialog box.
8. Save the case file (CapsuleFlow.cas.h5).
7.5. Enable the species model

1. Turn on the species model to address the chemical non-equilibrium in hypersonic flows.
Physics → Models → Species...
Enable the species model
a. Select Species Transport in the Model list.
b. Select air-5species-park93 from the Mixture Material drop-down list.
c. Enable Volumetric in the Reactions group box.
d. Click OK to close the Species Model dialog box.
The imported mixture air-5species-park93 defines 5 species N2, O2, NO, N, O and Park93 reaction mech-
anism.
2. a. Set the properties for the mixture materials.
Setup → Materials → Mixture → air-5species-park93 Edit...
i. Retain the default properties for air-5species-park93 that are set automatically in con-
junction with the selection of the Two-temperature Model.
ii. Click Change/Create to accept the material property settings.
iii. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
3. a. Set the boundary conditions for far-field boundary.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inflow Edit...
i. Click the Species tab and enter 0.233 for o2.
ii. Click Apply and close the Pressure Far-Field dialog box.
b. Set the boundary conditions for the outflow boundary.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → outlet → outflow Edit...
i. Click the Species tab and enter 0.233 for o2.
ii. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
a. Select Standard Initialization from the Initialization Methods group box.
b. Select Inflow from the Compute From drop down list.
c. Click Initialize to initialize the solution.
d. Run the Full Multigrid (FMG) initialization.
FMG initialization often facilitates an easier start-up of a calculation, especially for hypersonic flows
in which extremely strong variations and gradients are present, and the initialized solution must
adapt to reflect the given boundary conditions. Use of FMG initialization usually minimizes the need
for users to take other measures at start-up, such as gradually ramping up the CFL (Courant Friedrichs
Lewy) number, thereby reducing the number of iterations for convergence.
i. Press Enter in the console to get the command prompt (>).
ii. Enter the text commands and input responses as shown in the boxes. Accept the default
values by pressing Enter when no input response is given:
solve/initialize/set-fmg-options/viscous-terms?y
solve/initialize/set-fmg-options/species-reactions?y

set the number of multigrid levels [5] 3


residual reduction on level 3 [coarsest grid] is: [0.001]

Number of FMG (and FAS geometric multigrid) levels: 3

* FMG customization summary:
* residual reduction on level 0 [finest grid] is: 0.001
* residual reduction on level 3 [coarsest grid] is: 0.001
* FMG customization complete
set FMG courant-number [0.75] 0.25
enable FMG verbose? [no] yes
solve/initialize/fmg-initialization
Enable FMG initialization? [no] yes
b. Click Calculate.
6. Plot the mass fraction of n on the symmetry plane. This gives an indication of regions of chemical
non-equilibrium in the flow, which can be accounted for with the species model.
a. Enter contour-n for Contour Name.
c. Select Species... and Mass Fraction of n from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Select sym and capsule from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Views → Display → Views..
7. Plot the Translational-Rotational Temperature on the approximate stagnation line.
a. Enter ttr-stag-line-reacting for XY Plot Name.
b. Select Two Temperature Model... and Translational-Rotational Temperature from the Y Axis
Function drop-down lists.
c. Select stagnation-line from the Surfaces selection list.
d. Click Save/Plot and close the Solution XY Plot dialog box.
8. Compare the translational-rotational temperature on the approximate stagnation line between the
non-reacting and reacting conditions. This shows the effects of chemical reactions on the temperature.
i. Select ttr-stag-line.xy and ttr-stag-line-reacting.xy.
c. Select the folder path ending in ttr-stag-line.xy from the Curve Information selection list
(Curves group box).
d. Enter non-reacting in the lower-right text-entry box.
f. In a similar manner, change the legend entry for the folder path ending in ttr-stag-line-react-
ing.xy to be reacting.
g. Enter Ttr Temperature for the Title and Legend Label.
You can see that the reacting condition predicts a shorter shock standoff distance and a lower
peak temperature than the non-reacting condition since chemical reactions absorb heat, change
the thermodynamic states behind the shock, and alter the temperature profile.
9. Plot the total surface heat flux distribution on the capsule surface.centerline.
a. Enter heat-flux-capsule-centerline-reacting for Contour Name.
b. Select Wall Fluxes... and Total Surface Heat Flux from the Y Axis Function drop-down lists.
c. Select capsule-centerline from the Surfaces selection list.
d. Enable Write to File in the Options group box to save the radial velocity profile.
e. Click the Write... button to open the Select File dialog box.
i. Enter heat-flux-capsule-centerline-reacting.xy in the XY File text entry box

and click OK.
Be sure to double check the location where the files are being saved to ensure they will be saved
where you intend.
f. Close the Solution XY Plot dialog box.
10. 10. Compare the total surface heat flux on the capsule centerline between the non-reacting and
reacting conditions. The comparison shows the effects of chemical reactions on the surface heat
flux.
Summary
i. Select heat-flux-capsule-centerline.xy and heat-flux-capsule-centerline-reacting.xy.
c. Select the folder path ending in heat-flux-capsule-centerline.xy from the Curve Information
selection list (Curves group box).
d. Enter non-reacting in the lower-right text-entry box.
f. In a similar manner, change the legend entry for the folder path ending in heat-flux-capsule-
centerline-reacting.xy to be reacting.
g. Enter Total Surface Heat Flux for the Title and Legend Label.
You can see that the reacting condition predicts a lower surface heat flux than the non-reacting
condition since chemical dissociation reactions absorb the thermal energy and reduces the
temperature in the shock layer.
7.6. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to set up and solve the hypersonic flow around a re-entry capsule as
it passes through the upper atmosphere.
Chapter 8: Modeling Transient Compressible Flow
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Prerequisites
8.5. Summary
8.1. Introduction
In this tutorial, Ansys Fluent’s density-based implicit solver is used to predict the time-dependent flow
through a two-dimensional nozzle. As an initial condition for the transient problem, a steady-state
solution is generated to provide the initial values for the mass flow rate at the nozzle exit.
• Calculate a steady-state solution (using the density-based implicit solver) as an initial condition for a
transient flow prediction.
• Define a transient boundary condition using an expression.
• Use automatic mesh adaption for both steady-state and transient flows.
• Calculate a transient solution using the second-order implicit transient formulation and the density-
based implicit solver.
8.2. Prerequisites

The geometry to be considered in this tutorial is shown in Figure 8.1: Problem Specification (p. 348).
Flow through a simple nozzle is simulated as a 3D model. The nozzle has an inlet height of 0.2 m, and
the nozzle contours have a sinusoidal shape that produces a 20% reduction in flow area. Symmetry allows
only half of the nozzle to be modeled.
Modeling Transient Compressible Flow

8.4.1. Preparation
8.4.3. Set Units
8.4.4. Solution
8.4.5. Models
8.4.6. Materials
8.4.9. Solution: Steady Flow
8.4.10. Enabling Time Dependence and Setting Transient Conditions
8.4.11. Specifying Solution Parameters for Transient Flow and Solving
8.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the transient_compressible.zip file here.
2. Unzip transient_compressible.zip to your working directory.
The geometry file nozzle.scdoc can be found in the folder.
6. Disable Double Precision under Options.
Setup and Solution

2. Import the CAD geometry (nozzle.scdoc).
b. For Units, select mm.
(nozzle.scdoc).
Note:
Setup and Solution
Figure 8.2: The Imported CAD Geometry for the Nozzle
Note:
to the next task.
3. In the Add Local Sizing task, retain the default no and click Update to complete this task and
proceed to the next task in the workflow.
elements on other surfaces.
Note:
e. Select Curvature option under Size Functions.
f. Specify 18 for the Curvature Normal Angle.
g. Click Generate the Surface Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
Setup and Solution
workflow.
b. Select pressure-inlet for the inlet boundary type.
c. Click Update Boundaries and proceed to the next task.
Setup and Solution
mesh.
b. Specify 8 for the Number of Layers.
c. Specify 0.35 for the Transition Ratio.
d. Click Add Boundary Layers.
Setup and Solution
c. Specify 1 for Buffer Layers.
d. Specify 0 for Peel Layers.
e. Specify 5 for the Min Cell Length.
f. Specify 20 for the Max Cell Length.
Note:
g. Expand the Advanced Options task, to set properties of the volume mesh.
h. Specify yes for Avoid 1/8 octree transtion?.
i. Click Generate the Volume Mesh.
10. Check the mesh.
11. Save the mesh file (nozzle.msh.h5).
Setup and Solution
8.4.3. Set Units

1. For convenience, change the unit of measurement for pressure.
The pressure for this problem is specified in atm, which is not the default unit in Ansys Fluent. You
must redefine the pressure unit as atm.
a. Select pressure in the Quantities selection list.
Scroll down the list to find pressure.
b. Select atm in the Units selection list.
c. Close the Set Units dialog box.
8.4.4. Solution
1. Select the solver settings.
Setup → General → Density-Based
a. Select Density-Based in the General task page (Solver group box, under Type).
The density-based implicit solver is the solver of choice for compressible, transonic flows without
significant regions of low-speed flow. In cases with significant low-speed flow regions, the pressure-
based solver is preferred. Also, for transient cases with traveling shocks, the density-based explicit
solver with explicit time stepping may be the most efficient.
b. Retain the default selection of Steady from the Time list.
Note:
You will solve for the steady flow through the nozzle initially. In later steps, you will
use these initial results as a starting point for a transient calculation.
8.4.5. Models
1. Enable the energy equation.
Setup and Solution
2. Retain the default k-omega SST turbulence model.
8.4.6. Materials
1. Define the settings for air, the default fluid material.
Setup and Solution
a. Select ideal-gas from the Density drop-down list in the Properties group box, so that the
ideal gas law is used to calculate density.
Note:
Ansys Fluent automatically enables the solution of the energy equation when the
ideal gas law is used, in case you did not already enable it manually in the Energy
dialog box.
b. Retain the default values for all other properties.
c. Click the Change/Create button to save your change.
d. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

1. Define the operating pressure.
Physics → Solver → Operating Conditions...
a. Enter 0 atm for Operating Pressure.
Since you have set the operating pressure to zero, you will specify the boundary condition inputs for
pressure in terms of absolute pressures when you define them in the next step. Boundary condition
inputs for pressure should always be relative to the value used for operating pressure.

1. Define the boundary conditions for the nozzle inlet.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inlet (pressure-inlet) Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter 0.9 atm for Gauge Total Pressure.
b. Enter 0.7369 atm for Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure.
The inlet static pressure estimate is the mean pressure at the nozzle exit. This value will be used
during the solution initialization phase to provide a guess for the nozzle velocity.
c. Retain Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specification Method drop-down list in the
d. Enter 1.5% for Turbulent Intensity.
e. Retain the setting of 10 for Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
f. Click Apply and close the Pressure Inlet dialog box.
2. Define the boundary conditions for the nozzle exit.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → outlet (pressure-outlet) Edit...
a. Enter 0.7369 atm for Gauge Pressure.
b. Retain Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specification Method drop-down list in the
c. Enter 1.5% for Backflow Turbulent Intensity.
d. Retain the setting of 10 for Backflow Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
If substantial backflow occurs at the outlet, you may need to adjust the backflow values to levels
close to the actual exit conditions.
e. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
Setup and Solution
8.4.9. Solution: Steady Flow

In this step, you will generate a steady-state flow solution that will be used as an initial condition for the
time-dependent solution.
1. Define the solution parameters.
a. Retain the default selection of Least Squares Cell Based from the Gradient drop-down list
in the Spatial Discretization group box.
2. Modify the Courant Number.
Solution → Controls → Controls...
a. Enter 25 for the Courant Number.
Note:
The default Courant number for the density-based implicit formulation is 5. For re-
latively simple problems, setting the Courant number to 10, 20, 100, or even higher
value may be suitable and produce fast and stable convergence. However, if you
encounter convergence difficulties at the startup of the simulation of a properly
set up problem, then you should consider setting the Courant number to its default
value of 5. As the solution progresses, you can start to gradually increase the
Courant number until the final convergence is reached.
b. Retain the default values for the Under-Relaxation Factors.
Setup and Solution
3. Enable the plotting of residuals.
a. Ensure that Plot is enabled in the Options group box.
b. Click OK to close the Residual Monitors dialog box.
4. Create the surface report definition for mass flow rate at the flow exit.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Mass Flow Rate...
a. Enter outlet-mdot for Name.
b. Select outlet in the Surfaces selection list.
c. In the Create group box, enable Report File, Report Plot and Print to Console.
Note:
When Report File is enabled in the Surface Report Definition dialog box, the mass
flow rate history will be written to a file. If you do not enable this option, the history
information will be lost when you exit Ansys Fluent.
d. Click OK to close the Surface Report Definition dialog box.
outlet-mdot-rplot and outlet-mdot-rfile are automatically generated by Fluent and appear

in the tree (under Solution/Monitors/Report Plots and Solution/Monitors/Report Files, re-
spectively).
Setup and Solution
e. Modify the output file name.
Solution → Monitors → Report Files → outlet-mdot-rfile Edit...
i. Enter steady-mdot-rfile.out for File Name.
ii. Click OK to close the Edit Report File dialog box.
5. Save the case file (nozzle_ss.cas.h5).
a. Keep the Method at the default of Hybrid.
7. Set up gradient adaption for automatic mesh refinement.
You will enable automatic adaption so that the solver periodically refines the mesh in the vicinity of
the shocks as the iterations progress. The shocks are identified by their large pressure gradients.
Domain → Adapt → Automatic...
a. Select Aerodynamics... / Shock Indicator / Density-based from the Predefined Criteria

drop-down list.
b. Complete the setup in the Automatic Mesh Adaption dialog box.
i. Enter 20 for Frequency (iteration) of mesh adaption.
ii. Click OK to close the Automatic Mesh Adaption dialog box.
Setup and Solution
b. Click Calculate to start the steady flow simulation.
9. Save the case and data files (nozzle_ss.cas.h5 and nozzle_ss.dat.h5).
Note:
When you write the case and data files at the same time, it does not matter whether
you specify the file name with a .cas.h5 or .dat.h5 extension, as both will be
saved.
10. Click OK in the Question dialog box to overwrite the existing file.
11. Check the mass flux balance.
Important:
Although the mass flow rate history indicates that the solution is converged, you should
also check the mass flux throughout the domain to ensure that mass is being conserved.
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default selection of Mass Flow Rate.
b. Select inlet and outlet in the Boundaries selection list.
c. Click Compute and examine the values displayed in the dialog box.
Important:
The net mass imbalance should be a small fraction (for example, 0.1%) of the
total flux through the system. The imbalance is displayed in the lower right
field under Net Results. If a significant imbalance occurs, you should decrease
your residual tolerances by at least an order of magnitude and continue iterat-
ing.
d. Close the Flux Reports dialog box.
12. Review a mesh that resulted from the automatic adaption performed during the computation.
a. Enter mesh-adapted for Mesh Name.
b. Ensure that Edges and Faces are enabled in the Options group box.
c. Select symmetry from the Surfaces list.
The mesh after adaption is displayed in the graphics window (Figure 8.4: 2D Nozzle Mesh after
Adaption (p. 377)).
Setup and Solution
Figure 8.4: 2D Nozzle Mesh after Adaption
e. Zoom in using the middle mouse button to view aspects of your mesh.
Notice that the cells in the regions of high pressure gradients have been refined.
13. Display the steady flow contours of static pressure.
b. Select Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Contours of list.
Setup and Solution
The steady flow prediction shows the expected pressure distribution, with low pressure near the nozzle
throat.
14. Display the steady-flow contours of mach number.
Results → Graphics → Contour → New...
b. Select Velocity... and Mach Number from the Contours of list.
Setup and Solution
8.4.10. Enabling Time Dependence and Setting Transient Conditions

In this step you will define a transient flow by specifying a transient pressure condition for the nozzle.
1. Enable a time-dependent flow calculation.
Setup → General
Select Transient in the General task page (Solver group box, under Time).
2. The pressure at the outlet is defined as a wave-shaped profile, and is described by the following
equation:
(8.1)
where
= circular frequency of transient pressure (rad/s)

= mean exit pressure (atm)
In this case, rad/s, and atm.. To convert to SI units multiple by 101325 Pa

per atm..
3. Define the transient boundary conditions at the nozzle exit (outlet).
a. Select Expressions from Gauge Pressure drop-down list.
Enter the following expression for the outlet pressure as a function of time.
(0.12*sin(2200[Hz]*t)+0.737)*101325.0[Pa]
b. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
4. Update the gradient adaption parameters for the transient case.
Domain → Adapt → Automatic...
a. Select Aerodynamics... / Shock Indicator / Density-based from the Predefined Criteria

drop-down list in the Automatic Mesh Adaption dialog box.
b. Enter 25 for Frequency (time-step).
Setup and Solution
c. Click OK to close the Automatic Mesh Adaption dialog box.
8.4.11. Specifying Solution Parameters for Transient Flow and Solving

1. Modify the mass_flowrate_out-rfile report file definition.
Solution → Monitors → Report Files → outlet-mdot-rfile Edit...
a. Enter trans-mdot-out-rfile.out for File Name.
b. Select time-step from the Get Data Every drop-down list.
2. Modify the mass_flowrate_out-rplot report plot definition.
Solution → Monitors → Report Plots → outlet-mdot-rplot Edit...
a. For Get Data Every, retain the value of 1 and select time-step from the drop-down list.
b. Select time-step from the X-Axis Label drop-down list.
3. Save the transient solution case file (nozzle_uns.cas.h5).
4. Define the time step parameters.
The selection of the time step is critical for accurate time-dependent flow predictions. Using a time
step of 2.85596 x 10-5 seconds, 100 time steps are required for one pressure cycle. The pressure cycle
begins and ends with the initial pressure at the nozzle exit.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter 2.85596e-5 s for Time Step Size.
b. Enter 100 for Number of Time Steps.
c. Enter 10 for Max Iterations/Time Step.
d. Click Calculate to start the transient simulation.
By requesting 100 time steps, you are asking Ansys Fluent to compute one pressure cycle. The mass
flow rate history is shown in Figure 8.5: Mass Flow Rate History (Transient Flow) (p. 386).
Figure 8.5: Mass Flow Rate History (Transient Flow)
5. Optionally, you can review the effect of automatic mesh adaption performed during transient
flow computation as you did in steady-state flow case.
6. Save the transient case and data files (nozzle_uns.cas.h5 and nozzle_uns.dat.h5).
8.5. Summary
In this tutorial, you modeled the transient flow of air through a nozzle. In doing so, you learned how
to:
• generate a steady-state solution as an initial condition for the transient case.
• set solution parameters for implicit time-stepping and apply a user-defined transient pressure
profile at the outlet.
• use mesh adaption to refine the mesh in areas with high pressure gradients to better capture
the shocks.
• automatically save solution information as the transient calculation proceeds.
Chapter 9: Performing Parametric Analyses in Ansys
Fluent
9.1. Introduction
9.2. Prerequisites
9.5. Summary
9.1. Introduction
This tutorial illustrates how to perform a parametric analysis, or study, of a static mixer simulation
within Ansys Fluent. The analysis will take an existing Fluent case file with predefined input and output
parameters, and setup and solve various permutations that analyze a few changes to the parametric
variables, all within the Fluent interface. For more information about using Fluent to perform a parametric
analysis, refer to Performing Parametric Studies.
• Start with a Fluent case and data file with input and output parameters.
• Define a series of additional cases (design points) where each represents a change to one or more
the parameters.
• Update the series of design points.
• Generate a simulation report for each design point.
• Review the simulation reports and perform a comparison of the results between design points.
Related video that demonstrates steps for setting up, solving, and postprocessing a parametric study
in Fluent:
9.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial is written with the assumption that you have completed one or more of the introductory
tutorials (such as Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in a Mixing Elbow (p. 181)) found in this manual and that
you are familiar with the Ansys Fluent tree and ribbon structure. Some steps in the setup and solution
procedure will not be shown explicitly.
Performing Parametric Analyses in Ansys Fluent

The problem being analyzed involves a static mixer with two inlets and an outlet.
Figure 9.1: Problem Schematic
Fluid enters through two inlets using conditions described by separate input parameter expressions for
the fluid velocity magnitude (inlet1_vel and inlet2_vel) and temperature (inlet1_temp and
inlet2_temp). The fluid exits the outlet of the mixer based on a pressure outlet condition with a
temperature of 300 Kelvin.
The input parameter expressions are initially set to the following constant values:
Input Value
Parameter
inlet1_vel 5
m/s
inlet1_temp 300
K
inlet2_vel 10
m/s
Setup and Solution
inlet2_temp 350
K

9.4.1. Preparation
9.4.2. Mesh
9.4.3. Initialize the Parametric Study
9.4.4. Add Design Points
9.4.5. Set Up Design Point and Parametric Reports
9.4.6. Update Design Point Solutions
9.4.7. Generate Design Point and Parametric Simulation Reports
9.4.8. Compare Design Point Results
9.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the parametric_mixer.zip file here.
2. Unzip parametric_mixer.zip to your working directory.
The files Static_Mixer.cas.h5 and Static_Mixer.dat.h5 can be found in the folder.
9.4.2. Mesh
1. Read the case and data file (Static_Mixer.case.h5 and Static_Mixer.dat.h5.
As Fluent reads the case/data files, it will report the progress in the console.
2. Examine the mesh (Figure 9.2: Mesh Display of the Static Mixer (p. 390)).
Extra:
You can use the right mouse button to check which zone number corresponds to each
boundary. If you click the right mouse button on one of the boundaries in the graphics
window, its zone number, name, and type will be printed in the Ansys Fluent console.
This feature is especially useful when you have several zones of the same type and you
want to distinguish between them quickly.
Figure 9.2: Mesh Display of the Static Mixer
9.4.3. Initialize the Parametric Study

Using you loaded case file with predefined input parameters, you can start the parametric study right
away.
1. Initialize the parametric study.
Parametric → Study → Initialize
2. Create a project file (Static_Mixer.flprj).
You will need to manage various files that get created for your parametric study, so Fluent will prompt
you to create a new project file to help manage the files that will be generated for each design point
run. Click Yes to proceed with creating a project file. Fluent will prompt you for the name and location
Setup and Solution
of the project file. For this tutorial, keep the default name as Static_Mixer.flprj and keep the
location as your current working folder.
Note:
Once you create a project file, you can revisit it at any time by opening the project file
using the File menu.
File → Parametric Project → Open...
3. Review the elements of the initial parametric study.
a. The Parametric Study tab that appears contains the Design Point Table with the currently
loaded case file (the "base case") with its input and output parameters.
Figure 9.3: The Design Point Table for the Initial Static Mixer Case
b. The Outline View now contains a Case View with a case-specific outline, along with a
Parametric Study View that contains access to the details of your case parameters.
Figure 9.4: The Case View and Parametric Study View for the Initial Static Mixer Case
c. Review details of the current case. To see the current parametric settings for the case,
enable the Show Current Case Parameters option under Parametric Study in the
Preferences dialog (File > Preferences...):
Figure 9.5: The Current Parameters for the Static Mixer Case
Here you can review the input and output parameters and their values and units.
9.4.4. Add Design Points

Having reviewed the parametric layout within Fluent, you can now add design points to your para-
metric study. For this tutorial, you will only vary the velocity at one of the two inlets, gradually increas-
ing the value to match the velocity at the other inlet. You will also use the design point table to set
various properties for each design point, such if the solution data is written, or if any simulation report-
specific data is saved.
Figure 9.6: The Design Point Table With Additional Design Points
1. Use the Parametric ribbon to add design points to your parametric study.
Parametric → Design Point → Add Design Point
Fluent will prompt you to ensure that you want to proceed, informing you that by adding a design
point, the state of the project will change (in case you wanted to preserve the current state of
the project). For this tutorial, you can click Continue Adding Design Point.
2. In a similar fashion, add four more design points until you have a total of six, including the base
design point (Base DP).
3. For each design point, make the following changes:
Table 9.1: Design Point Settings for the Mixing Tank
Design Point P2-inlet1_vel Enable Write Data?

DP1 6 m/s yes
DP2 7 m/s yes
DP3 8 m/s yes
Setup and Solution
Design Point P2-inlet1_vel Enable Write Data?

DP4 9 m/s yes
DP5 10 m/s yes
When you later update these design points, Fluent will run each simulation using these settings and
you will then be able to review their solutions and compare the results of each simulation.
9.4.5. Set Up Design Point and Parametric Reports

As described in Performing Parametric Studies, Fluent can create simulation reports for your CFD
analysis. In a similar fashion, each design point run can have their own individual simulation report,
as well as an overall parametric report.
Note:
For this tutorial, you are not making any changes to the settings and organization of
the reports. If you were to make changes to how your reports are organized, however,
it is a good idea to review and change these settings as needed prior to updating the
design points in your parametric study.
1. Review the settings for the individual design point simulation reports that Fluent will create.
Parametric → Simulation Report → Design Point Report Settings
This opens the Simulation Report Outline task page. When the Current Report is set to Design
Point Settings, you can choose to include or exclude various portions of a typical simulation report
using the Report Sections tree.
Figure 9.7: The Simulation Report Outline Task Page for Design Point Settings
For the purposes of this tutorial, you can keep the default settings.
2. Review the settings for the overall parametric report.
When the Current Report is set to Parametric Report, you can choose to include or exclude
various portions of a typical simulation report using the Report Sections tree.
Parametric → Simulation Report → Parametric Report
Setup and Solution
Figure 9.8: The Simulation Report Outline Task Page for Parameter Report Settings
For the purposes of this tutorial, you can keep the default settings.
For any given design point in the design point table, when the Capture Simulation Report Data
field is enabled, the information flagged in the Simulation Report Outline for that design point will
appear in the report.
9.4.6. Update Design Point Solutions

Now that the design points have been specified and the report settings have been reviewed, you
can proceed to running the individual solutions and updating your design points. For this tutorial,
you will use the default behavior and update each design point sequentially where each design point
is loaded and solved one after another. You will also see how you can monitor the status of your
various solutions as they progress.
1. Update all of the design points in your study.
Parametric → Update Options → Update All
As the calculations for each design point progresses, information is printed to the console and
the Status column in the Design Point Table updates accordingly.
Figure 9.9: The Status Column in the Design Point Table
You can also check the progress of your solution runs using the Run Status section of the Para-
metric ribbon.
Figure 9.10: The Run Status Category of the Parametric Ribbon
2. Monitor the progress of the calculation by viewing its transcript, residual plots, and plots of any
solution monitors that may exist.
a. View a transcript of a design point solution by right-clicking on the design point in the table
and selecting Show > Transcript from the context menu. The transcript will appear below the
design point table.
Figure 9.11: The Transcript Window for DP1
b. View a plot of any existing solution monitors by right-clicking on the design point in the table
and selecting Show > Monitors from the context menu. The monitor plot will appear below
the design point table. For this tutorial, the original case file already contains a solution mon-
itor definition (one for monitoring the average temperature at the outlet).
Setup and Solution
Figure 9.12: The Monitors Window for DP1
c. View a plot of default residuals of a design point solution by right-clicking on the design point
in the table and selecting Show > Residuals from the context menu. The residual plot will
appear below the design point table.
Figure 9.13: The Residuals Window for DP1
9.4.7. Generate Design Point and Parametric Simulation Reports

Now that your design points are up-to-date in your parametric study, you can create and review
simulation reports for any or all of your design points.
1. Return to the Simulation Report Outline task page to generate an individual simulation report
for one or more design points.
Parametric → Simulation Report → Design Point Report Settings
2. Set the Current Report to DP1 Report and click Generate at the bottom of the task page.
Once generated, the report will be displayed in the Fluent interface, tabbed alongside the
graphics window.
Figure 9.14: Simulation Report for a Design Point (DP1)
You can perform the same operation for the other design points in the study (DP2 and DP3 for
instance, and even the Base DP).
Based on the default selections of what the report is comprised of, the report will have tabulated
information about a particular design point simulation settings. In addition, the report can include
plots and animations of the mesh, contours, vectors, and pathlines of common flow field quantities
(such as temperature, for instance).
3. Return to the Simulation Report Outline task page to generate an overall parametric report.
4. Set the Current Report to Parametric Report and click Generate at the bottom of the task page.
Once generated, the report will be displayed in the Fluent interface, tabbed alongside the
graphics window.
Setup and Solution
Figure 9.15: Parametric Report
Based on the default selections of what the report is comprised of, the report will have tabulated
information about the design points and the base case simulation settings. In addition, the report
can include plots of the mesh, contours, vectors, and pathlines of common flow field quantities
(such as temperature, for instance).
9.4.8. Compare Design Point Results

Now that you have results for all design points, you can compare the results as part of your parametric
analysis. You can do this using the Parametric Report or by using Comparison Plots.
1. Use parametric reports to compare your results.
a. Return to the Simulation Report Outline task page to review the overall parametric report.
Set the Current Report to Parametric Report and click View at the bottom of the task page.
b. In the Parametric Report, go to the Contours section and review the Contours of Static
Temperature plot that has been generated and included in the report.
Figure 9.16: Contours Section of the Parametric Report (DP=0)
c. Use the slider to see the contour plot for the different design points in your study.
Setup and Solution
Figure 9.17: Contours Section of the Parametric Report (All Design Points)
d. Click the Contours Comparison tab to view two plots side-by-side to compare them between
two different design point values.
Figure 9.18: Contours Section of the Parametric Report (Contour Comparison of

Temperatures on the Inlet Plane)
Since there are multiple contour plots availble in the original analysis, they are also available
for each design point as well. Click the bottom slider to view other available contour plot
comparisons between different design points. For instance
Setup and Solution

Temperature at the Outlet)
Figure 9.20: Contours Section of the Parametric Report (Contour Comparison of Wall
Temperature)
Setup and Solution

Velocity)
For more information about comparing plots in your simulation reports, see Comparing Para-
metric Results.
2. Use comparison plots to compare the input and/or output parameter values as they vary with
each other or by design point.
Parametric → Comparison Plot → Create New
This opens the Parametric Plots dialog box where you can specify the details of a comparison
plot.
a. For the Name, enter Exit Temperature vs Inlet Velocity.
b. For the X Axis, select inlet1_vel.
c. For the Y Axis, select outlet-temp-avg-op.
d. Click Update to visualize the plot under the Design Point Table. A new plot is created in the
Parametric Study View under Plots.
e. Close the dialog box.
Figure 9.22: Elements of Comparison Plots
Figure 9.23: Plot of Exit Temperature vs Inlet Velocity Value
3. Save the case and data files (Static_Mixer.cas.h5 and Static_Mixer.dat.h5).
4. Save the project file (Static_Mixer.flprj).
File → Parametric Project → Save...
Summary
9.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated taking an existing singular Fluent case and data file set with input and output
parameters and developing a parametric study directly in the Ansys Fluent interface. Variations of those
input parameters were used to create different solutions for comparative analysis. Individual design
points were analyzed and simulation reports were generated for each design point and for the parametric
study itself. Finally, simulation reports and comparative plots were used to examine the changes of an
input variable per design point. For more information about using Fluent to perform a parametric
analysis, refer to Performing Parametric Studies.
Chapter 10: Using the Frozen Rotor Method
10.1. Introduction
10.2. Prerequisites
10.5. Summary
10.6. Further Improvements
10.1. Introduction
In this tutorial, you will setup a general fluid flow simulation to evaluate the performance of a centrifugal
pump with a vaneless volute using the Frozen Rotor method.
• Set up a No Pitch-Scale interface using the turbo model.
• Describe wall motion and other boundary conditions.
• Specify appropriate solver settings.
• Add and monitor expressions.
• Calculate expressions and display contours.
10.2. Prerequisites

The problem to be considered is the modeling of a centrifugal pump with a volute as shown in Fig-
ure 10.1: Case Geometry (p. 410). The pump impeller has 5 blades and rotates at a velocity of 1450 RPM.
The mass flow rate at the volute outlet is known to be 90 kg/s. A gauge total pressure of 0 pa is used
at the inlet. The simulation will be performed to determine the head generated by the pump, repres-
enting the overall pressure increase of the fluid.
Using the Frozen Rotor Method
Figure 10.1: Case Geometry

10.4.1. Preparation
Setup and Solution
10.4.2. Mesh
10.4.3. Models
10.4.4. Materials
10.4.7.Turbomachinery Models
10.4.8. Solution
10.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the pump_volute.zip file here.
2. Unzip pump_volute.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file pump_volute.msh.h5 can be found in the folder.
10.4.2. Mesh
1. Read the mesh file pump_volute.msh.h5.
File → Read → Mesh...
As Fluent reads the mesh file, it will report the progress in the console.
2. In the Mesh group box of the Domain ribbon tab, set the units for length..
a. Select angular-velocity under Quantities.
b. Select rev/min under Units.
10.4.3. Models
1. Enable the - SST turbulence model.
a. Retain the default k-omega SST turbulence model.
b. Click OK.
Compared to other two-equation models, the - SST turbulence model effectively predicts flow sep-
aration in turbomachinery, allowing for accurate evaluation of pump performance.
10.4.4. Materials
1. Add water to the list of materials.
a. Click Fluent Database... to open the Fluent Database Materials dialog box.
b. Scroll down and select water-liquid (h2o <l>) from the list of materials.
c. Select Copy.
d. Close the Fluent Database Materials dialog box and the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
water-liquid appears under Materials > Fluid in the tree view.
Setup and Solution

1. Set the cell zone conditions for the impeller.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Fluid → impeller Edit...
a. Set the Material Name to water-liquid.
b. Select Frame Motion.
c. Ensure values of (0, 0, 1) for X, Y, and Z in the Rotation-Axis Direction group box.
The impeller will rotate relative to the absolute frame. By default, the correct rotation is set (about
the z-axis).
d. For Rotational Velocity > Speed (rpm), specify 1450.
2. Set the cell zone conditions for the volute.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Fluid → volute Edit...
a. Set the Material Name to water-liquid.
The volute is stationary in the absolute frame so no motion is required.
b. Ensure values of (0, 0, 1) for X, Y, and Z in the Rotation-Axis Direction group box.
c. Click Apply and close the Fluid dialog box.

1. Set the boundary conditions for impeller-hub.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → impeller-hub Edit...
Tab Setting Value

Momentum Wall Motion Moving Wall
Motion Rotational
By default, the rotating wall is specified with a velocity of 0 relative to the impeller fluid zone.
2. Set the boundary conditions for inblock-shroud.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → inblock-shroud Edit...
Setup and Solution
Tab Setting Value

Momentum Wall Motion Moving Wall
Motion Absolute
Motion Rotational
The inblock shroud wall is stationary (velocity equal to 0) relative to the absolute reference frame.
3. Set the boundary conditions for the inlet.
Tab Setting Value

Momentum Supersonic/Initial Gauge -100
Pressure
(pascal)
4. Set the boundary conditions for the outlet.
The outlet has been automatically set as an inlet by Fluent. You must first change this boundary
condition to a mass flow outlet.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → mass-flow-inlet-11 Type → mass-flow-outlet
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → mass-flow-outlet-11 Edit...
Rename the boundary zone to outlet.
Tab Setting Value

Momentum Mass Flow Rate 90 (kg/s)
10.4.7. Turbomachinery Models

1. Enable the Turbo Models.
Domain → Turbomachinery and select Turbo Models.
2. Create the turbo interfaces.
Domain → Turbomachinery → Turbo Create...
The Frozen Rotor method will be modeled using the No Pitch-Scale (NPS) interface which allows
for connecting a 360-degree interface to another 360-degree interface.
a. Enter nps for Mesh Interface.
b. Select interface-impeller-outlet from the Interface Zones Side 1 selection list.
c. Select interface-volute-inlet from the Interface Zones Side 2 selection list.
d. Enable the General Turbo Interface option in the Interface Options group box.
e. Select No Pitch-Scale in the Pitch-Change Types group box under General Turbo Interface.
f. Click Create/Edit and close the Create/Edit Turbo Interfaces dialog box.
3. Check the mesh.
Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and will report the progress in the console. Make sure
that the reported minimum volume is a positive number.
Note that if this step is performed before creating the mesh interface, the check will fail because Fluent
will detect that the interface is missing.
10.4.8. Solution
1. Specify the solution methods.
Setup and Solution
a. Select Green-Gauss Node Based from the Gradient drop-down list in the Spatial Discretiza-
tion group box.
b. Enable the High Order Term Relaxation option.
c. Retain the default selections.
2. Create a surface report definition for total pressure at the outlet.
a. Enter p-out for the Name of the surface report definition.
b. Select Pressure... and Total Pressure from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
c. Select Outlet from the Surfaces selection list.
This automatically selects all the outlet boundary conditions that have been specified.
dialog box.
3. Create a surface report definition for total pressure at the inlet.
a. Enter p-in for the Name of the surface report definition.
c. Select Inlet from the Surfaces selection list.
dialog box.
4. Create a surface report definition for blade pressure.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Integral...
a. Enter p-blade for the Name of the surface report definition.
b. Select Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
c. Select blade from the Surfaces selection list.
d. Click OK to save the surface report definition settings and close the Surface Report
Definition dialog box.
5. Create an expression for pump head.
a. Enter the expression ({p-out} - {p-in}) / (998.2[kg/m^3] * 9.81[m/s^2]).
You can insert the report definitions you previously created using the Report Definitions drop-
down list under Select Operand Field Functions from and clicking Select.
The expression uses 998.2 as the density of water [kg/m^3] and 9.81 as the acceleration of the
fluid due to gravity [m/s^2].
b. Enter head for Name.
c. Select Report Plot
Setup and Solution
d. Select Print to Console
e. Click OK to save the expression and close the Expression Report Definition dialog box.
a. Click More Settings... to open the Hybrid Initialization dialog box.
b. Select Absolute under Reference Frame.
c. Select Use Specified Initial Pressure on Inlets under Initialization Options.
d. Click OK to close the Hybrid Initialization dialog box.
e. Click Initialize to initialize the solution.
7. Save the case file (pump_volute.cas.h5).
a. Enter 10 for Time Scale Factor.
c. Click Calculate.
You can monitor the progression of the residuals and the pump head during the run.
Figure 10.2: Convergence History of the Pump Head
9. Save the case and data files (pump_volute.cas.h5 and pump-volute.dat.h5).
1. Determine the head generated from the pump
Solution → Reports → Definitions → Edit...
a. Select head and p-blade from the Report Definitions selection list.
b. Click Compute.
The head generated by the pump and pressure integral on the blade are printed to the console
and are approximately 20.7 [m] and 5650 [pascal m^2], respectively.
2. Create a contour showing the flow uniformity at the outlet.
a. Enter contour-vel-out for Contour Name.
Setup and Solution
b. Ensure that the Filled option is enabled in the Options group box.
c. Disable the Global Range option in the Options group box.
d. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Deselect all surfaces and select Outlet from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Select Draw Mesh.
g. On the Mesh Display dialog box that opens, deselect all surfaces and select the Wall surface
type from the Surfaces selection list.
i. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box. Orient the view as shown in Fig-
ure 10.3: Contours of Velocity Magnitude at the Outlet (p. 421).
This gives an idea of how the fluid is exiting the volute.
Figure 10.3: Contours of Velocity Magnitude at the Outlet
3. Create a contour showing cross-sectional pressure.
a. Enter contour-pressure-wall for Contour Name
c. Disable the Global Range option in the Options group box.
e. Ensure Pressure... and Static Pressure are selected from the Contours of drop-down lists.
f. Select Wall from the Surfaces selection list.
The increasing pressure in the flow domain can be seen in the contour plot.
Figure 10.4: Contours of Static Pressure on the Walls
4. Create filled contours of static pressure.
a. Enter contour-pressure for Contour Name
c. Select Banded in the Coloring group box.
d. Ensure Pressure... and Static Pressure are selected from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select blade, impeller-hub and inblock-hub from the Surfaces selection list.
Pressure distribution in the flow domain is plotted in graphics window.
Further Improvements
Figure 10.5: Contours of Static Pressure
5. Save the case file (pump_volute.cas.h5).
10.5. Summary
In this tutorial you completed a fluid flow simulation to evaluate the performance of a pump and volute.
You created a custom expression to determine the head generated by the pump. While a steady-state
simulation was used to model the pump performance using the frozen rotor method, this simulation
can be converted to a transient rotor stator simulation by following these steps:
• Switch the solver to transient
• In the impeller cell zone, change the motion from Frame Motion to Mesh Motion by clicking
on Copy to Mesh Motion
• In the Run Calculation panel, enter Time Step
You can watch a video of this case being set up, solved, and postprocessed at:

This tutorial guides you through the steps to reach a basic solution. You can explore what effect varying
certain parameters, such as impeller speed and outlet flow, have on the performance of the pump.
Chapter 11: Turbomachinery Setup and Analysis
Using the Turbo Workflow
11.1. Introduction
11.2. Prerequisites
11.5. Postprocessing
11.6. Summary
11.1. Introduction
In this tutorial, you will use the Ansys Fluent Turbo Workflow to setup a fluid flow simulation to eval-
uate the performance of a 1.5 stage compressor. Note that additional analysis of this same geometry
can be found in Modeling Blade Row Interaction using Steady-State and Transient Simulations (p. 465).
This tutorial illustrates the setup and solution of a three-dimensional fluid flow through the first three
rows of a one and a half stage axial compressor, courtesy of TFD Hannover. The compressor configuration
is encountered in the aerospace and turbomachinery industry. It is often important to predict the flow
field through the various components of a compressor in order to properly design the turbomachine.
The Turbo Workflow allows you to easily set up a turbomachinery analysis within Ansys Fluent where
you can describe the type of turbo machine and its configuration, import the geometry, and define
turbo-related mappings and physics conditions, before finally creating the turbo-specific topology and
reporting tools.
• Use the Turbo Workflow to:
– Describe and configure the turbomachinery
– Import the turbo-specific geometry
– Define the turbo-related mappings and physics conditions
– Create turbo-specific topology and reporting tools for postprocessing
Turbomachinery Setup and Analysis Using the Turbo Workflow
11.2. Prerequisites

The problem to be considered is the modeling of a compressor with an inlet guide vane, rotor and
stator as shown in Figure 11.1: Case Geometry (p. 426). This geometry is the first three rows of the 4.5
stage axial Hannover compressor (Courtesy of TFD Hannover). The inlet guide vane has 26 vanes, the
rotor has 23 blades and rotates at a velocity of 17,100 RPM and the stator has 30 passages. The total
pressure at the inlet is 60,000 Pa and a radial equalibrium distribution of static pressure at the outlet,
with a static pressure of 60500 Pa at the outlet along the hub.

11.4.1. Preparation
Setup and Solution
11.4.2.Turbo Workflow
11.4.3. Review Setup
11.4.4. Review Solution
11.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the turbo_workflow.zip file here.
2. Unzip turbo_workflow.zip to your working directory.
The various components of the turbomachine (IGV.gtm , R1.gtm, and S1.gtm) can be found in
the folder.
11.4.2. Turbo Workflow

1. Start the Turbo Workflow.
a. In the Turbomachinery group box of the Domain ribbon tab, select Enable Workflow
under the Turbo Workflow drop-down button.
Domain → Turbomachinery → Turbo Workflow → Enable Workflow
b. In the Workflow tab, review the tasks of the workflow.
pleting all tasks.
2. Edit turbo-related preferences.
Ansys Fluent includes several useful settings in the Preferences dialog, some of which are specific to
the Turbo Workflow.
The Turbo Workflow partially involves setting up an association between cell and face zones and their
proper region assignments in the turbo topology. For turbo-related geometries with a large number
of components, these mappings can be more easily automated and optimized using the Preferences
dialog box where you can instruct Fluent to look for certain string configurations and in a certain order.
For the purposes of this tutorial, make the following changes to the Turbo Workflow preferences:
a. Open the Preferences dialog box and select Turbo Workflow.
File → Preferences
Setup and Solution
Figure 11.2: The Turbo Workflow Category of the Preferences Dialog Box
b. For Inlet Region, under Face Zone Mapping, change the default value to:
*inflow*, *in*
The change is to ensure *inflow* is searched for before *in* for inlet regions.
c. For Outlet Region, under Face Zone Mapping, change the default value to:
*outflow*, *out*
The change is to ensure *outflow* is searched for before *out* for outlet regions.
d. For Periodic 1 Region, under Face Zone Mapping, change the default value to:
*per*1*, *per*
The change is to ensure *per*1* is searched for before *per* for the first periodic region.
e. For Search Order, change the default order to:

*int*, *def*, *bld*, *blade*, *tip*2*, *tip*b*, *tip*out*, *tip*, *sym*,
*per*1*, *per*2*, *per*b*, *high*per*, *per*, *hub*, *shr*, *cas*, *inflow*, *outflow*,
*in*, *out*
Ensure the Search Order is correct and on a single line in the Preferences Dialog Dox, if using
a copy/paste command.
This change is to ensure that
• *bld* and *blade* are searched for before the tip components
• *per*1* is searched for in addition to *per*2*
• *inflow* and *outflow* are searched for before *in* and *out*
f. Click OK to save the preference settings, and close the dialog box.
These settings will persist until you change them in the Preferences dialog box.
3. Describe the turbomachinery component.
a. Select the Describe Component task.
b. For Component Type, select Axial Compressor.
c. For Component Name, enter hannover.
d. Keep the Number of Rows set to 3.
e. Edit the table accordingly:
i. For row 1, change the Name to igv, keep the Type as stationary, set the # Sectors
to 26, and set the End Wall Gap? to no.
ii. For row 2, change the Name to r1, keep the Type as rotating, set the # Sectors to 23,
and (since there is a tip gap in the rotor) set the End Wall Gap? to yes.
Setup and Solution
iii. For row 3, change the Name to s1, keep the Type as stationary, set the # Sectors to
30, and set the End Wall Gap? to no.
Note:
The table allows you to select a single row (or multiple rows using the Ctrl key) and
right-click to access the context menu where you can display the selected item(s)
in the graphics window, and easily change the Name, Type, # Sectors and the End
Wall Gap? settings.
You can visualize the machine you are planning to model using the schematic in the graphics
window.
f. Select Describe Component.
This will update the task and allow you to proceed onto the next task in the workflow.
4. Define the scope of the blade-row analysis.
In the Define Blade Row Scope step, to easily model a portion of the turbomachine, you can optionally
choose whether or not you want to include specific rows in the blade-row analysis (for example, you
can choose to model a single stage of a ten-stage compressor). To exclude any given row(s), select the
row and choose no in the Include Row? column. You can still describe the component with the full
ten stages, but in this task, you can choose whether to formally include certain rows or not. The only
caveat is that the selected included rows must be contiguous (for example, you may not want to include
the inlet or the outlet, but you should not exclude r1 alone as that would be incorrect.
For this tutorial, you will want to model the whole machine, so keep the default settings and click
Define Blade Row Scope.
5. Import the mesh file(s).
Setup and Solution
a. Select the Import Mesh task.
b. For Mesh File Path, enter the path and file name(s) for the mesh that you want to import. For
this tutorial, there are three TurboGrid-generated GTM files: one for the inlet guide vane
(IGV.gtm), one for the rotor (R1.gtm), and one for the stator (S1.gtm).
Note:
You can also import mesh files where all components are defined in the same file.
The workflow only supports mesh files of *.msh*, .def, .cgns and *.gtm file
formats.
c. Select Import Mesh.
Note:
Alternatively, you can use the ... button next to Mesh File Path to locate your mesh
file(s), after which, the Import Mesh task automatically updates, displaying the
geometry in the graphics window.
Once the files are imported, they appear in the workflow where you can review each file and their
respective cell zones and surfaces.
Setup and Solution
Note:
You can display the mesh using the Mesh Display dialog, selecting faces along
with hub/blade/wall boundaries with or without the use of wildcards (such as *bld*
or *hub*) to more easily select blade and hub surfaces.
6. Associate the mesh.
a. Select the Associate Mesh task to review the default associations between the cell zones and
the rows.
b. Select the Use Wireframe for Highlighting check box to better visualize your cell zone(s).
c. Use the table to associate which fluid cell zone corresponds to a given row. Hovering over a
cell zone displays the zone in the graphics window.
d. For row 1 (igv) hold the Ctrl key and select the igv.1 and the igv.2 cell zones from the drop-
down selection list.
e. For row 2 (r1) select the r1 cell zone from the drop-down selection list.
Setup and Solution
f. For row 3 (s1) select the s1 cell zone from the drop-down selection list.
g. Click Associate Mesh and proceed to the next task.
This will update the task, making the proper associations, and allow you to proceed onto the next
task in the workflow.
7. Map regions.
a. Use the Map Regions task to review the associated face zones that have been mapped to the
corresponding cell zone.
b. Use the Select Cell Zone drop-down list to specify a cell zone.
c. Select the Use Wireframe for Highlighting check box to better visualize your cell zone(s).
d. Use the table to review the list of associated face zone(s) for the selected cell zone. Be sure
to review all associations for all cell zones.
Based on the changes made earlier in the Preferences, the associations are properly identified.
e. Click Map Regions to perform the mapping and proceed to the next task.
8. Create the CFD model.
a. Use the Create CFD Model task to create a formal CFD model based on the geometry.
You can use this task to make copies of passages which will automatically copy, rotate, and merge
regions together. In this tutorial, you only want a single passage per row, so you can keep the #
Blades Per Sector and # Sectors to Modelset to 1 for each row.
b. Click Create CFD Model and proceed to the next task.
9. Define the turbo-related physics conditions.
Setup and Solution
a. Use the Define Turbo Physics task to assign various turbomachinery-related physical conditions.
b. Set the Rotation Speed to 1790.708 rad/s.
c. Keep the Operating Pressure at 0 Pascal.
d. Set the Working Fluid to Air (ideal gas).
e. Click Define Turbo Physics and proceed to the next task.
10. Define the turbo-related region and zone boundary conditions.
a. Use the Define Turbo Regions and Zones task to assign various turbomachinery-related region-
based and zone-based boundary conditions.
b. Set the Inflow/Outflow Type to Pressure Inlet, Pressure Outlet.
c. Set the Gauge Total Pressure to 60,000 Pascal.
d. Set the Total Temperature to 288.15 Kelvin.
e. Set the Flow Direction to Normal to Boundary.
f. Set the Gauge Pressure to 60,500 Pascal.
g. Enable the Radial Equilibrium Pressure Distribution setting.
You can optionally use Merge Zones to choose to merge multiple blades per passage, however,
this can be ignored for this tutorial.
h. Click Define to assign the region and zone conditions, and proceed to the next task.
11. Define the turbo-related topology.
Setup and Solution
a. Use the Define Turbo Topology task to review the region definitions for the hub, shroud,
and casing.
b. For the Topology Name, assign a name for the topology object, or use the default value.
c. Select the Use Wireframe for Highlighting check box to better visualize the topology definition.
d. Use the table to review the region assignments, hovering over the table cells to highlight them
in the graphics window for confirmation.
e. Click Define Turbo Topology to create the topology, and proceed to the next task.
12. Define turbo-specific iso-surfaces.
a. Use the Define Turbo Surfaces task to create turbo-specific iso-surfaces to facilitate postpro-
cessing.
b. Use the table to review the default surface assignments.
By default, you can create three iso-surfaces along specific constant span-wise locations, however,
you can add and remove as many as you want using the context menu.
c. For each of the default surfaces, change the Surface Name to be to include the span value
(twf_span_25, twf_span_50, and twf_span_75, respectively).
d. Click Define Turbo Surfaces to create the iso-surfaces, and proceed to the next task.
13. Create report definitions and monitors.
Setup and Solution
a. Use the Create Report Definitions & Monitors task to finalize the workflow and to create
postprocessing objects such as contour plots on the specified turbo-surfaces, as well as turbo-
specific report definitions and monitors, saving you the time and effort of having to manually
create them later in Fluent.
b. Use the table to review the default contour assignments. For any given Surface Name, you
can choose to Create Contours or not. For this tutorial, keep the default values.
c. Click Create to create the contour surface objects. At the same time, the workflow will also
automatically create several turbo-specific report definitions and monitors.
At this point, you have completed setting up the turbomachinery analysis using the Turbo Workflow.
You can now proceed with using Fluent to review the solver settings generated by the Turbo Workflow,
generate a solution, and postprocess your results.
11.4.3. Review Setup

As you review the contents of the Outline View, you can see that many of the model, material, cell
zone, and boundary condition settings have already been defined using sensible defaults through
the Turbo Workflow.
11.4.3.1. Models and Materials

The Turbo Workflow automatically sets the turbulence model to SST-k-omega, and assigns basic
material properties for your turbomachinery analysis.
Figure 11.3: Models and Materials Defined From the Turbo Workflow
11.4.3.2. Cell Zone and Boundary Conditions

The Turbo Workflow automatically creates appropriate cell zone conditions for the various compon-
ents.
Figure 11.4: Cell Zone Conditions Defined From the Turbo Workflow
In addition, the workflow automatically creates appropriate boundary conditions and populates
the Outline View accordingly.
Setup and Solution
Figure 11.5: Boundary Conditions Defined From the Turbo Workflow
11.4.3.3. Mesh Interfaces

The workflow also populates the Outline View with the appropriate mesh interfaces.
Figure 11.6: Mesh Interfaces Defined From the Turbo Workflow
By default, the workflow assigns all interfaces as mixing planes.
11.4.3.4. Named Expressions

The workflow also creates several named expressions, specific to the turbomachine analyses defined
in the workflow.
1. Double-click Named Expressions in the Outline View to open the Expression Manager where
you can view the expression created by the Turbo Workflow. You can also edit the expression
to make any modification for subsequent simulations. Select an expression from the Expressions
list to see details of the expression definition.
For example, select twf_p_ratio to review its details.
Setup and Solution
Figure 11.7: The Expression Manager Dialog Box
2. You can also double-click an expression in the Outline View to display the Expression dialog
box, where the expression is defined.
For example, double-click twf_p_ratio in the Outline View to display the Expression dialog box,
where the pressure ratio named expression is defined as the ratio of the outlet pressure and the inlet
pressure.
Figure 11.8: An Example of a Named Expression from the Turbo Workflow
11.4.4. Review Solution
11.4.4.1. Report Definitions

The workflow also automatically creates several report definitions, specific to the turbomachine
analyses defined in the workflow.
Setup and Solution
In the case of this axial compressor tutorial, the default report definitions created by the Turbo
Workflow include:
• isentropic-eff-compressor: the isentropic efficiency of the compressor
• p-ratio: the ratio of the outlet pressure to the inlet pressure
• tot-mflow-outlet: the total mass flow at the outlet
• To-inlet: the total temperature at the inlet
• To-outlet: the total temperature at the outlet
• Po-inlet: the total pressure at the inlet
• Po-outlet: the total pressure at the outlet
• mflow-outlet: the mass flow at the outlet
1. Double-click Report Definitions in the Outline View to see a summary of each report definition
in the Report Definitions dialog box.
Select p-ratio, for example, to see details of the its report definition, noting the creation and use of
named expressions.
Figure 11.9: An Example of the Report Definitions Dialog Box
2. Double-click a report definition in the Outline View to see a summary of the definition.
For example, double-click p-ratio in the Outline View to display the Expression Report Definition
dialog box where the pressure ratio between the outlet and the inlet is defined.
Setup and Solution
Figure 11.10: An Example of a Turbo-Specific Expression Report Definition
Note that report files and report plots have also been created for use in your turbomachinery simu-
lation.
For more information about creating additional reports, see Solution of the Steady-State Mixing
Plane Model (p. 481) in Modeling Blade Row Interaction using Steady-State and Transient Simula-
tions (p. 465).
11.4.4.2. Solution Controls

Change the Solution Controls for the Momentum equation (setting it to 0.1) to allow for a simu-
lation run using a larger timescale.
Solution → Controls
11.4.4.3. Residual Monitors

No changes are required for the Residual monitor settings, however, you should note how the
settings have been changed from their default values and optimized for turbomachinery cases.
Setup and Solution
11.4.4.4. Monitors
The workflow also creates several report files and report plots, specific to the turbomachine analyses
defined in the workflow.
You will note the report files and plots correspond to the isentropic efficiency of the compressor,
the pressure ratio, and the total mass flow rate at the outlet.
11.4.4.5. Solution
1. Perform a hybrid initialization of the flow field using the Initialization group box of the Solution
ribbon tab.
a. Select Hybrid from the Method list.
b. Click More Settings... to display the Hybrid Initialization dialog box.
Setup and Solution
a. Set the Reference Frame to Absolute.
b. Under Initialization Options, select Use Specified Initial Pressure on Inlets.
c. Click OK.
2. Save the case file (turbo_workflow.cas.h5).
3. Start the calculation by adjusting the time scale factor to 10 and requesting 100 iterations in
the Solution ribbon tab (Run Calculation group box).
a. Change the Time Scale Factor to 10.
b. Enter 200 for No. of Iterations.
c. Click Calculate to begin the iterations.
d. The residuals history will be plotted in the Scaled Residuals tab in the graphics window
(Figure 11.11: Residuals (p. 456)).
e. The isentropic efficiency of the compressor will also be plotted in a separate tab in the
graphics window (Figure 11.12: Isentropic Efficiency of the Compressor (p. 457)).
Setup and Solution
Figure 11.12: Isentropic Efficiency of the Compressor
f. The pressure ratio will also be plotted in a separate tab in the graphics window (Fig-
ure 11.13: Pressure Ratio (p. 458)).
Figure 11.13: Pressure Ratio
g. The total mass flow rate at the outlet will also be plotted in a separate tab in the graphics
window (Figure 11.14: Total Mass Flow Rate at the Outlet (p. 459)).
Postprocessing
Figure 11.14: Total Mass Flow Rate at the Outlet
4. Save the case and data files (turbo_workflow.cas.h5 and turbo_workflow.dat.h5).
11.5. Postprocessing
1. Review the generated contour plots (velocity magnitude, Mach number, and the total pressure)
along their span-wise locations.
Recall that the Turbo Workflow automatically creates contour plots at various span-wise locations, so
you can easily review the flow field. These plots are available in the Results section once the solution is
calculated.
2. Review the contours of the velocity magnitude at the initial span-wise location.
Results → Graphics → Contours → twf_velmag_twf_span_25
Postprocessing
Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
Figure 11.15: Contours of Velocity Magnitude (span=25)
Perform the same operations for the other span-wise locations (twf_velmag_twf_span_50 and
twf_velmag_twf_span_75).
3. Similarly, review the contours of total pressure at the initial span-wise location (twf_tot-
press_twf_span_25).
Figure 11.16: Contours of Total Pressure (span=25)
Perform the same operations for the other span-wise locations (twf_totpress_twf_span_50 and
twf_totpress_twf_span_75).
4. Similarly, review the contours of Mach number at the initial span-wise location
(twf_macnum_twf_span_25).
Figure 11.17: Contours of Mach Number (span=25)
Perform the same operations for the other span-wise locations (twf_macnum_twf_span_50 and
twf_macnum_twf_span_75).
5. Compute and review the values for the named expressions.
In the Outline View, select all of the Named Expressions (selecting the first and then the last while holding
the Shift key) . Right-click and select Compute from the context menu. The values for the named expres-
sions will be tabulated in the console window.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Expression Value Unit
------------------------------------------------------------------
twf_OP 0 [kg m^-1 s^-2]
twf_Ps_s1_s1_s1_outflow_passage 60500 [kg m^-1 s^-2]
twf_Pt_igv_1_igv_1_igv_inflow_inblock 60000 [kg m^-1 s^-2]
twf_Tt_igv_1_igv_1_igv_inflow_inblock 288.15 [K]
twf_isentropic_eff_compressor 0.86120956 []
twf_model_num_passages 1 []
twf_omega 1790.708 [s^-1 rad]
twf_p_ratio 1.2339456 []
twf_tot_mflow_outlet -8.0310815 [kg/s]
twf_tot_num_passages 30 []
twf_vol_avg_gamma 1.3990095 []
------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Compute and review the values for the report definitions.
Summary
In the Outline View, select all of the Report Definitions (selecting the first and then the last while holding
the Shift key). Right-click and select Compute from the context menu. The values for the report definitions
will be tabulated in the console window.
mflow-outlet
-------------------
Mass Flow Rate [kg/s]
-------------------------------- -------------------
s1:s1-outflow-passage -0.26770272
Po-outlet
-------------------
Mass-Weighted Average [Pa]
-------------------------------- -------------------
s1:s1-outflow-passage 74036.735
Po-inlet
-------------------
Mass-Weighted Average [Pa]
-------------------------------- -------------------
igv.1:igv-inflow-inblock 60000
To-outlet
-------------------
Mass-Weighted Average [K]
-------------------------------- -------------------
s1:s1-outflow-passage 308.82398
To-inlet
-------------------
Mass-Weighted Average [K]
-------------------------------- -------------------
igv.1:igv-inflow-inblock 288.15
tot-mflow-outlet
-------------------
Expression [kg/s]
-------------------------------- -------------------
tot-mflow-outlet -8.0310815
p-ratio
-------------------
Expression
-------------------------------- -------------------
p-ratio 1.2339456
isentropic-eff-compressor
-------------------
Expression
-------------------------------- -------------------
isentropic-eff-compressor 0.86120956
7. Save the case and data files (turbo_workflow.cas.h5 and turbo_workflow.dat.h5).
11.6. Summary
In this tutorial, you learned how to use the Ansys Fluent Turbo Workflow to more easily set up a turbo-
based fluid flow simulation to evaluate the performance of a compressor. Note that additional analysis
of this same geometry can be found in Modeling Blade Row Interaction using Steady-State and Transient
Simulations (p. 465).
Chapter 12: Modeling Blade Row Interaction using
Steady-State and Transient Simulations
12.1. Introduction
12.2. Prerequisites
12.5. Summary
12.1. Introduction
In this tutorial, you will setup a fluid flow simulation to evaluate the performance of a 1.5 stage com-
pressor using a steady-state mixing plane simulation and then a transient pitch-scale simulation.
• Set up a mixing plane and pitch scale turbo interface models to simulate flow in a compressor.
• Describe wall motion and other boundary conditions.
• Specify appropriate solver settings.
• Add and monitor expressions.
• Calculate expressions and display contours.
12.2. Prerequisites

The problem to be considered is the modeling of a compressor with an inlet guide vane, rotor and
stator as shown in Figure 12.1: Case Geometry (p. 466). This geometry is the first three rows of the 4.5
stage axial Hannover compressor (Courtesy of TFD Hannover). The inlet guide vane has 26 vanes, the
rotor has 23 blades and rotates at a velocity of 17100 RPM and the stator has 30 passages. The total
pressure at the inlet is 60,000 pa and a gauge total pressure of 60500 Pa at the outlet. A steady-state
Modeling Blade Row Interaction using Steady-State and Transient Simulations
mixing plane and a transient rotor/stator pitch-scale simulations will be performed to determine the
efficiency of the compressor.

12.4.1. Preparation
12.4.2. Mesh
12.4.3. Solver Settings for the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model
12.4.4. Models
12.4.5. Materials
12.4.6. Cell Zone Conditions for the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model
12.4.8. Boundary Conditions for the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model
12.4.9. Solution of the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model
12.4.10. Postprocessing of the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model
12.4.11. Solver Settings for the Transient Pitch Scale Model
12.4.13. Interface Conditions for the Transient Pitch Scale Model
12.4.14. Cell Zone Conditions for the Transient Pitch Scale Model
Setup and Solution
12.4.15. Boundary Conditions for the Transient Pitch Scale Model

12.4.16. Solution Settings for the Transient Pitch Scale Model
12.4.17. Postprocessing for the Transient Pitch Scale Model
12.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the hannover_compressor.zip file here.
2. Unzip hannover_compressor.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file hannover_1.5Stage.msh.h5 can be found in the folder.
12.4.2. Mesh
1. Read the mesh file hannover_1.5Stage.msh.h5.
1. Define the units for the model.
Setup → General → Units...
a. Select angular-velocity from the Quantities selection list.
b. Select rev/min from the Units selection list.
12.4.3. Solver Settings for the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model

based solver.
Physics → Solver
Setup and Solution
12.4.4. Models
tab.
2. Enable heat transfer by activating the energy equation.
3. Enable the - SST turbulence model.
a. Retain the default k-omega SST turbulence model.
b. Click OK.
Compared to other two-equation models, the - SST turbulence model effectively predicts flow sep-
aration in turbomachinery, allowing for accurate evaluation of performance.
12.4.5. Materials
b. Click Change/Create to save these settings.
c. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
12.4.6. Cell Zone Conditions for the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model
All fluid zones must be reviewed to ensure that the Rotation-Axisis specified correctly, as well as,
the Rotational Velocity for rotating zones.
1. Set the cell zone conditions for the b-rotor1.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Fluid → b-rotor1 Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Select Frame Motion.
b. Ensure that the correct Rotation-Axis is specified.
c. For Rotational Velocity > Speed (rpm), specify 17100.
d. Click Apply and close the Fluid dialog box .
2. Ensure that the correct Rotation-Axis is specified for the a-igv and c-stator1 zones.

12.4.8. Boundary Conditions for the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model

Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inlet → Edit...
Setup and Solution
a.
i. Enter a value of 60000 Pa for Gauge Total Pressure.
ii. Enter a value of 58000 Pa for Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure.
iii. Select Normal to Boundary for the Direction Specification Method.
iv. Retain Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specification Method drop-down list in
the Turbulence group box.
v. Retain the default value of 5% for Turbulent Intensity and 10 for Turbulent Viscosity
Ratio.
vi. Click the Thermal tab and enter 288.15 K for Temperature.
vii. Click Apply and close the Pressure Inlet dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions for the outlet.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → outlet → Edit...
a.
i. Enter a value of 60500 Pa for Gauge Pressure.
ii. Select From Neighbouring Cell for the Backflow Direction Specification Method.
iii. Enable Radial Equilibrium Pressure Distribution and Average Pressure Specification.
iv. Retain Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specification Method drop-down list in
v. Retain the default value of 5% for Turbulent Intensity and 10 for Turbulent Viscosity
Ratio.
vi. Click the Thermal tab and enter 300 K for Temperature.
vii. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
3. By default, when the fluid zone is rotating, all the walls attached to the fluid zone will be rotating.
Since the rotor has a tip gap and the shroud is stationary in the absolute frame, we need to
modify the wall boundary condition for the rotor shroud. Set the wall boundary condition for rotor.
Setup and Solution
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → rotor1-shroud Edit...
a.
i. Select Moving Wall for the Wall Motion.
ii. Select Absolute and Rotational for the Motion.
iii. Ensure that the correct Rotation-Axis is specified.
iv. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
4. Set the rotational periodic boundary conditions for the inlet guide vane, rotor and stator
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Symmetry → periodic_igv-per-side1_igv-per-side2 and
symmetry-15 Periodic...
Setup and Solution
a.
i. Enter a value of periodic_igv for Zone Name.
ii. Select Conformal for the Creation Method.
iii. Select Rotational as the Type for the Periodic Boundary Condition.
iv. Ensure that the correct Rotation-Axis is specified.
v. Click Create.
Similarly, create the periodic conditions for the rotor and stator.
a. Create the periodic_rotor by selecting periodic_rotor1-per-sdie2_rotor1-per-side-

1 and symmetry-18.
b. Create the periodic_stator by selecting periodic_stator1-per-side-1_stator1-per-

side2 and symmetry-27.
5. Create a mixing plane interfaces between the inlet guide vane and rotor and between the rotor
and stator.
a. Enable the Turbo Models and define the topology of the flow domain.
Domain → Turbomachinery and select Turbo Models.
b. Open the Create/Edit Turbo Interfaces dialog box.
Domain → Turbomachinery → Turbo Create...
c. Create a mesh interface for the rotor tip gap.
i. Enter rotor1-tipgap-int for Interface Name.
ii. Select tip-r1-side1 for Interface Zone Side 1 and tip-r1-side2 for Interface Zone
Side 2.
iii. Click Create/Edit.
d. Create a mesh interface between the inlet guide vane and the rotor.
Setup and Solution
i. Enter mpm1 for the Mesh Interface name.
ii. Select igv-r1-upstream for Interface Zone Side 1 and igv-r1-downstream for
Interface Zone Side 2.
iii. Select General Turbo Interface from the Interface Options group box.
iv. Select Mixing Plane for the Pitch-Change Types.
v. Click Create/Edit.
e. Create a mesh interface between the rotor and the stator.
i. Enter mpm2 for the Mesh Interface name.
ii. Select r1-s1-upstream for Interface Zone Side 1 and r1-s1-downstream for Inter-
face Zone Side 2.
iii. Select General Turbo Interface from the Interface Options group box.
iv. Select Mixing Plane for the Pitch-Change Types.
v. Click Create/Edit.
vi. Close the Create/Edit Turbo Interfaces dialog box.
6. Define the Turbo Topology
Domain → Turbomachinery → Turbo Topology...
a. Enter topo1 for the Turbo Topology Name name.
b. Select igv-hub, rotor1-hub and stator1-hub for the Surfaces.
Setup and Solution
c. Select Casing in the Boundaries group box and then select igv-shroud, rotor1-shroud
and stator1-shroud for the Surfaces.
d. Select Theta Periodic in the Boundaries group box and then select periodic_igv, peri-
odic_rotor and periodic_stator for the Surfaces.
e. Select Inlet in the Boundaries group box and then select inlet for the Surfaces.
f. Select Outlet in the Boundaries group box and then select outlet for the Surfaces.
g. Select Blade in the Boundaries group box and then select igv-vane, rotor1-blade and
stator1-vane for the Surfaces.
h. Click Define and close the Turbo Topology dialog box.
12.4.9. Solution of the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model

Retain the default selection of Coupled from the Scheme drop-down list.
2. Create a surface report definition for quantities needed to calculate the compressor efficiency.
Setup and Solution
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Area-Weighted Average...
a. Enter ave_po_in for the Name of the surface report definition.
c. Select Inlet from the Surfaces selection list.
dialog box.
Similarly, create surface report definitions for:
a. Area-Weighted Average... Total Pressure at the Outlet ave_po_out.
b. Area-Weighted Average... Total Temperature at the Inlet ave_to_in.
c. Area-Weighted Average... Total Temperature at the Outlet ave_to_out.
d. Mass Flow Rate... at the stator Outlet for one passage mfr_1psg_out
3. Create expression report definition for pressure ratio.
a. Enter p-ratio for the Name of the surface report definition.
b. You can insert the report definitions you previously created using the Report Definitions drop-
down list under Select Operand Field Functions from and clicking Select.
c. Enter the expression {ave_po_out}/{ave_po_in}.
d. Select Report Plot
e. Click OK to save the surface report definition settings and close the Expression Report
4. Create an expression report definition for total mass out flow.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter mfr_out_360 for Name.
b. Enter the expression {mfr_1psg_out}*30.
d. Click OK to save the expression and close the Expression Report Definition dialog box.
5. Create an expression report definition for compressor efficiency.
a. Enter iso_efficency for Name.
b. Enter the expression ({ave_to_in}*({p-ratio}**(0.4/1.4)-1))/({ave_to_out}-

{ave_to_in})*100.
d. Click OK to save the expression and close the Expression Report Definition dialog box.
6. Specify the convergence criteria to be used for solution monitoring.
Solution → Reports → Residuals
Setup and Solution
a. Select Advanced Options to open the panel.
b. Select Scale and Compute Local Scale in the Residual Values group box.
c. Select local scaling from the Reporting Option drop-down list.
d. Select Absolute under Convergence Criterion.
e. Click OK to close the Residual Monitors dialog box.
Solution → Initialization → More Settings...
a. Select Absolute in the Reference Frame group box.
b. Select Use Specified Initial Pressure on Inlets and click OK to close the Hybrid Initialization
dialog box.
8. Save the case file (hannover_1.5Stage.cas.h5).
a. Enter 10 for Time Scale Factor.
c. Click Calculate.
Setup and Solution
d. As the solution progresses, the plots of pressure ratio, outlet mass flow rate and the efficiency
all flatten out indicating the solution has converged.
Figure 12.3: Outlet Mass Flow Rate
Figure 12.4: Efficiency
12.4.10. Postprocessing of the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model

The flow shows the typical behavior when solving the blade row using the mixing-plane model, the
wake from the upstream rows and the potential flow from the downstream rows are mixed out across
the interface.
1. Create spanwise surfaces for the inlet guide vane, rotor and stator.
Setup and Solution
a. Create inlet guide vane spanwise surface
i. Enter igv-span=0.5 for Name.
ii. Select Mesh... and Spanwise Coordinate from the drop-down lists.
iii. Click Compute.
iv. Enter 0.5 for Iso-Values.
v. a-igv from the Zones selection list.
vi. Click Create.
vii. In a similar manner, create spanwise surfaces for the rotor-span=0.5 and stator-
span=0.5 and close the Iso-Surface dialog box.
2. Display velocity magnitude contours on the mid span.
Figure 12.5: Contours of Velocity Magnitude
a. Enter contour-span=0.5-velmag for Contour Name.
c. Enable the Contour Lines option in the Options group box.
d. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select igv-span=0.5, rotor-span=0.5 and stator-span=0.5 from the Surfaces selection list.
g. On the Mesh Display dialog box that opens, select igv-hub, igv-vane, rotor1-blade,
rotor1-hub, stator1-hub and stator1-vane from the Surfaces selection list.
3. Display static pressure contours on the mid span.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter contour-span=0.5-pressure for Contour Name
d. Ensure Pressure... and Static Pressure are selected from the Contours of drop-down lists.
g. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
h. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
4. Display static temperature contours on the mid span.
Figure 12.7: Contours of Static Temperature
a. Enter contour-span=0.5-temperature for Contour Name
d. Ensure Temperature... and Static Temperature are selected from the Contours of drop-down
lists.
g. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
5. Save the case and data files (hannover_1.5Stage.cas.h5 and hannov-

er_1.5Stage.dat.h5).
12.4.11. Solver Settings for the Transient Pitch Scale Model

In the Solver group box of the Physics ribbon tab, select transient.
Physics → Solver
Setup and Solution

Set the reference values as the inlet conditions. This will be needed to calculate entropy.
12.4.13. Interface Conditions for the Transient Pitch Scale Model

1. Modify the mixing plane interfaces between the inlet guide vane and rotor and between the rotor
and stator.
Setup → Mesh Interfaces → mpm1 Edit...
a. Create a mesh interface between the inlet guide vane and the rotor.
Setup and Solution
i. Enter ps1 for the Mesh Interface name.
ii. Select Pitch-Scale for the Pitch-Change Types.
iii. Click Create/Edit.
b. Create a mesh interface between the rotor and the stator.
i. Select the mpm2 interface.
ii. Enter ps2 for the Mesh Interface name.
iii. Select Pitch-Scale for the Pitch-Change Types.
iv. Click Create/Edit.
v. Close the Create/Edit Turbo Interfaces dialog box.
12.4.14. Cell Zone Conditions for the Transient Pitch Scale Model
The rotor zone needs to modified to use mesh motion.
1. Modify the cell zone conditions for the b-rotor1.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Fluid → b-rotor1 Edit...
a. Click Copy to Mesh Motion.
12.4.15. Boundary Conditions for the Transient Pitch Scale Model

The pressure-average option is not recommended for unsteady simulations and may result in non-
physical pressure feedback.
1. Modify the Outlet boundary condition.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → outlet → Edit...
Setup and Solution
a.
i. Disable the Average Pressure Specification.
12.4.16. Solution Settings for the Transient Pitch Scale Model

a. Ensure Coupled is selected from the Scheme drop-down list in the Pressure-Velocity Coupling
group box.
Setup and Solution
b. Select Second Order Implicit from the Transient Formulation drop-down list.
2. Modify the report plots to use an exponential axis for the flow time.
Solution → Monitors → Report Plots → iso_effiiciency-rplot Edit...
a. Ensure that Get Data Every in the Options group box is set to every time-step.
a. Click Axes... in the Plot Window group box.
b. Select X in the Axis group box.
c. Select Exponential and set the Precision to 2.
d. Click Apply and close the Axes - Report Plots dialog box.
e. Click OK to close the Edit Report Plot dialog box.
Similarly, update the report plots for the mfr_out_360-rplot and p-ratio-rplot report plots.
a. Select Period-Based from the drop-down list for Method in the Time Advancement group
box.
b. The rotor is running at 17100 rpm and has 23 passages. Therefore the period of the rotor is
0.000152555 seconds. Enter 0.000152555 for Period (s) in the Parameters group box.
c. Enter 40 for Time Steps per Period.
d. Enter 5 for the Total Periods.
e. Enter 10 for Max Iterations/Time Steps.
f. Click Calculate.
Setup and Solution
g. The plots of pressure ratio, outlet mass flow rate and the efficiency display the transient nature
of the solution. The fluctuation in the efficiency, mass flow rate and pressure-ratio is expected,
and is due to the blade passing interaction.
Figure 12.9: Outlet Mass Flow Rate
Figure 12.10: Efficiency
Setup and Solution
4. Save the case and data files (hannover_1.5Stage_trs.cas.h5 and hannov-

er_1.5Stage_trs.dat.h5).
12.4.17. Postprocessing for the Transient Pitch Scale Model

Unlike in the steady-state mixing plane solution in transient simulation, the wake will cross the interface,
but since the pitch-scale model approximation is used we see discontinuity in the wake contours.
This can be seen by plotting contours of entropy.
1. Display entropy contours on the mid span.
Figure 12.11: Contours of Entropy
a. Enter contour-entropy for Contour Name
b. Disable the Global Range, Auto Range and Clip to Range option in the Options group box.
c. Select Temperature and Entropy from the Contours of drop-down list
d. Select igv-span=0.5, rotor-span=0.5 and stator-span=0.5 from the Surfaces selection list.
e. Click Compute.
f. Enter -7 for the Min and 80 for the Max.
g. View → Display → Periodic Instancing...
i. Select a-igv.
ii. Select igv-span=0.5 from the Surfaces selection list.
iii. Enter 2 for the Number of Repeats.
iv. Click Save and then click Display.
v. Select b-rotor1.
vi. Select rotor-span=0.5 from the Surfaces selection list.
vii. Keep 23 for the Number of Repeats.
viii.Click Save and then click Display.
ix. Select c-stator1.
x. Select stator-span=0.5 from the Surfaces selection list.
xi. Enter 2 for the Number of Repeats.
xii. Click Save and then click Display.
xiii. Close the Periodic Instancing... dialog box.
h. Click Save/Display.
2. Display velocity magnitude contours on the mid span.
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-span=0.5-velmag Display
Setup and Solution
a. Disable the Contour Lines in the Options group box.
b. Click Save/Display.
3. Display static pressure contours on the mid span.
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-span=0.5-pressure Edit...
b. Click Save/Display.
4. Display static temperature contours on the mid span.
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-span=0.5-temperature Edit...
Summary
Figure 12.14: Contours of Static Temperature
b. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
12.5. Summary
In this tutorial you completed a fluid flow simulation to evaluate the performance of a compressor.
Chapter 13: Using Sliding Meshes
13.1. Introduction
13.2. Prerequisites
13.5. Summary
13.1. Introduction
The analysis of turbomachinery often involves the examination of the transient effects due to flow in-
teraction between the stationary components and the rotating blades. In this tutorial, the sliding mesh
capability of Ansys Fluent is used to analyze the transient flow in an axial compressor stage. The rotor-
stator interaction is modeled by allowing the mesh associated with the rotor blade row to rotate relative
to the stationary mesh associated with the stator blade row.
For turbomachinery applications, it is recommended that connecting rotating and stationary zones
utilizes General Turbo Interfaces (GTI) which can handle any pitch-change model. To know more about
GTI interfaces see tutorial Modeling Blade Row Interaction using Steady-State and Transient Simulations
in the Fluent Tutorials (p. 465). This tutorial will show an alternative way of connecting rotating and sta-
tionary zones (using periodic repeat interface). While this tutorial is using a turbomachinery application
the outlined procedure can be used for other flow applications that require the connection of similar-
pitch rotating and stationary zones.
• Create periodic zones.
• Set up the transient solver and cell zone and boundary conditions for a sliding mesh simulation.
• Set up the mesh interfaces for a periodic sliding mesh model.
• Sample the time-dependent data and view the mean value.
13.2. Prerequisites
Using Sliding Meshes

The model represents a single-stage axial compressor composed of two blade rows. The first row is the
rotor with 16 blades, which is operating at a rotational speed of 37,500 rpm. The second row is the
stator with 32 blades. The blade counts are such that the domain is rotationally periodic, with a periodic
angle of 22.5 degrees. This enables you to model only a portion of the geometry, namely, one rotor
blade and two stator blades. Due to the high Reynolds number of the flow and the relative coarseness
of the mesh (both blade rows are composed of only 13,856 cells total), the analysis will employ the in-
viscid model, so that Ansys Fluent is solving the Euler equations.
Figure 13.1: Rotor-Stator Problem Description

13.4.1. Preparation
13.4.2. Mesh
13.4.4. Models
13.4.5. Materials
13.4.9. Mesh Interfaces
13.4.10. Solution
Setup and Solution
13.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the sliding_mesh.zip file here.
2. Unzip sliding_mesh.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file axial_comp.msh.h5 can be found in the folder.
13.4.2. Mesh
1. Read in the mesh file axial_comp.msh.h5.

1. Check the mesh.
Ansys Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and will report the progress in the console. Ensure
Warnings will be displayed regarding unassigned interface zones, resulting in the failure of the mesh
check. You do not need to take any action at this point, as this issue will be rectified when you define
the mesh interfaces in a later step.
2. Examine the mesh (Figure 13.2: Rotor-Stator Display (p. 514)).
Orient the view to display the mesh as shown in Figure 13.2: Rotor-Stator Display (p. 514). The inlet of
the rotor mesh is colored blue, the interface between the rotor and stator meshes is colored yellow,
and the outlet of the stator mesh is colored red.
Figure 13.2: Rotor-Stator Display
Setup and Solution
c. Select pressure from the Quantities selection list.
Scroll down the Quantities list to find pressure.
d. Select atm from the Units selection list.
e. Close the Set Units dialog box.
4. Change zones rotor-per-1 and rotor-per-3 from wall zones to periodic zones.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall
a. Click rotor-per-1 to select the tree item.
b. While holding down the Ctrl key, click rotor-per-3 to add the tree item to the selection.
Note:
The first zone that is selected will be used as the periodic zone, while the second
zone will be used as the shadow zone. Although it is not significant in this case,
the order in which the two zone pairs are selected may affect simulation results.
c. Right-click the selected tree items and select Periodic... to open the Create Periodic dialog
box.
Setup and Solution
d. Select Rotational in the Type group box.
e. Click Create to close the Create Periodic dialog box.
5. Similarly, change the following wall zone pairs to periodic zones:
Zone Pairs Respective Zone IDs

rotor-per-2 and rotor-per-4 12 and 11
stator-per-1 and stator-per-3 26 and 27
stator-per-2 and stator-per-4 24 and 25
13.4.4. Models
1. Enable the inviscid model.
Setup → Models → Viscous Edit...
a. Select Inviscid in the Model list.
b. Click OK to close the Viscous Model dialog box.
13.4.5. Materials
1. Specify air (the default material) as the fluid material, using the ideal gas law to compute density.
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default entry of air in the Name text entry field.
b. Select ideal-gas from the Density drop-down list in the Properties group box.
c. Retain the default values for all other properties.
d. Click Change/Create and close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
As reported in the console, Ansys Fluent will automatically enable the energy equation, since this is
required when using the ideal gas law to compute the density of the fluid.
2. Specify that it is a transient problem, to allow mesh motion.
Setup → General
a. Retain the default selection of Pressure-Based in the Type list.
b. Select Transient in the Time list.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions
Setup and Solution
1. Set the cell zone conditions for the fluid in the rotor (fluid-rotor).
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → fluid-rotor → Edit...
a. Enable Mesh Motion.
b. Click the Mesh Motion tab.
c. Retain the default values of (0, 0, 1) for X, Y, and Z in the Rotation-Axis Direction group box.
d. Enter 37500 rpm for Speed in the Rotational Velocity group box.
2. Set the cell zone conditions for the fluid in the stator (fluid-stator).
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → fluid-stator → Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default values of (0, 0, 1) for X, Y, and Z in the Rotation-Axis Direction group box.

1. Setup the rotor-inlet boundary condition.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → rotor-inlet → Edit...
a. Enter 1.0 atm for Gauge Total Pressure.
b. Enter 0.9 atm for Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure.
For information about the Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure, see the Fluent User's Guide.
c. Click the Thermal tab and enter 288 K for Total Temperature.
Setup and Solution
d. Click Apply and close the Pressure Inlet dialog box.
2. Enter stator-outlet into the Zone field to filter the zone list.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → stator-outlet → Edit...
a. Enter 1.08 atm for Gauge Pressure.
b. Enable Radial Equilibrium Pressure Distribution.
c. Click the Thermal tab and enter 288 K for Backflow Total Temperature.
Setup and Solution
d. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
Note:
The momentum settings and temperature you input at the pressure outlet will be used
only if flow enters the domain through this boundary. It is important to set reasonable
values for these downstream scalar values, in case flow reversal occurs at some point
during the calculation.
3. Retain the default boundary conditions for all wall zones.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → rotor-blade-1 → Edit...
Note:
For wall zones, Ansys Fluent always imposes zero velocity for the normal velocity
component, which is required whether or not the fluid zone is moving. This condition
is all that is required for an inviscid flow, as the tangential velocity is computed as part
of the solution.

a. Enter 0 atm for Operating Pressure.
Since you have specified the boundary condition inputs for pressure in terms of absolute pressures,
you have to set the operating pressure to zero. Boundary condition inputs for pressure should always
be relative to the value used for operating pressure.
13.4.9. Mesh Interfaces

1. Disable the one-to-one interface creation method using the following text command, so that you
can create a mesh interface that uses the Periodic Repeats option.
define/mesh-interfaces/one-to-one-pairing? no
2. Create a periodic mesh interface between the rotor and stator mesh regions.
Setup and Solution
a. Open the Mesh Interfaces dialog box.
Setup → Mesh Interfaces New...
b. Click Manual Create... to open the Create/Edit Mesh Interfaces dialog box.
c. Enter int for Mesh Interface.
d. Enable Periodic Repeats in the Interface Options group box.
Enabling this option, allows Ansys Fluent to treat the interface between the sliding and non-sliding
zones as periodic where the two zones do not overlap.
e. Select rotor-interface from the Interface Zones Side 1 selection list.
Note:
In general, when one interface zone is smaller than the other, it is recommended
that you choose the smaller zone as Interface Zone 1. In this case, since both zones
are approximately the same size, the order is not significant.
f. Select stator-interface from the Interface Zones Side 2 selection list.
g. Click Create/Edit... and close the Create/Edit Mesh Interfaces dialog box.
h. Close the Mesh Interfaces dialog box.
3. Check the mesh again to verify that the warnings displayed earlier have been resolved.
Domain → Mesh → Perform Mesh Check
13.4.10. Solution
Setup and Solution
Select Coupled from the Pressure-Velocity Coupling group box.
2. Change the Solution Controls
a. Enter 0.5 for Momentum and Pressure in the Explicit Relaxation Factors group box.
b. Enter 0.9 for Temperature in the Under-Relaxation Factors group box.
Setup and Solution
a. Ensure that the Plot is selected in the Options group box.
b. Enable Show Advanced Options and select relative from the Convergence Criterion drop-
down list.
c. Enter 0.01 for Relative Criteria for each Residual (continuity, x-velocity, y-velocity, z-velo-
city, and energy).
d. Click OK to close the Residual Monitors dialog box.
4. Enable the plotting of mass flow rate at the inlet (rotor-inlet).
c. Enter rotor-inlet in the Surfaces field to filter the list.
d. Select rotor-inlet from the Surfaces selection list.
e. Click OK to save the surface report definition settings and close the Surface Report Definition
dialog box.
surf-mon-1-rplot and surf-mon-1-rfile that are automatically generated by Fluent appear in

the tree (under Solution/Monitors/Report Plots and Solution/Monitors/Report Files, respect-
ively).
5. Enable the plotting of mass flow rate at the outlet (stator-outlet).
Setup and Solution
c. Enter stator-outlet in the Surfaces field to filter the list.
d. Select stator-outlet from the Surfaces selection list.
dialog box.

ively).
6. Enable the plotting of the area-weighted average of the static pressure at the interface (stator-
interface).
c. Retain the default selection of Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Field Variable drop-
down lists.
d. Enter stator-interface in the Surfaces field to filter the list.
e. Select stator-interface from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Click OK to save the surface report definition settings and close the Surface Report Definition
dialog box.

ively).
7. Initialize the solution using the values at the inlet (rotor-inlet).
Solution → Initialization → Options...
Setup and Solution
a. Select rotor-inlet from the Compute from drop-down list.
b. Select Absolute in the Reference Frame list.
8. Save the initial case file (axial_comp.cas.h5).
9. Run the calculation for one revolution of the rotor.
a. Enter 6.6667e-6 s for Time Step Size.
The time step is set such that the passing of a single rotor blade is divided into 15 time steps. There
are 16 blades on the rotor. Therefore, in each time step the rotor rotates 360/16/15=1.5 degrees.
With a rotational speed of 37,500 rpm (225,000 deg/sec), 1.5 degrees of rotation takes 1.5 / 2.25e5
= 6.6667e-6 sec.
Setup and Solution
There are 16 blades on the rotor, and each rotor blade period corresponds to 15 time steps (see
above). Therefore, a complete revolution of the rotor will take 16*15=240 time steps.
c. Retain the default setting of 20 for Max Iterations/Time Step.
d. Click Calculate.
The residuals jump at the beginning of each time step and then fall at least two to three orders of
magnitude. Also, the relative convergence criteria is achieved before reaching the maximum iteration
limit (20) for each time step, indicating the limit does not need to be increased.
Figure 13.3: Residual History for the First Revolution of the Rotor
10. Examine the flow variable histories for the first revolution of the rotor (Figure 13.4: Mass Flow Rate
at the Inlet During the First Revolution (p. 540), Figure 13.5: Mass Flow Rate at the Outlet During
the First Revolution (p. 540), and Figure 13.6: Static Pressure at the Interface During the First Revolu-
tion (p. 541)).
Figure 13.4: Mass Flow Rate at the Inlet During the First Revolution
Figure 13.5: Mass Flow Rate at the Outlet During the First Revolution
Setup and Solution
Figure 13.6: Static Pressure at the Interface During the First Revolution
The flow variable histories show that the large variations in flow rate and interface pressure that occur
early in the calculation are greatly reduced as time-periodicity is approached.
11. Save the case and data files (axial_comp-0240.cas.h5 and axial_comp-0240.dat.h5).
Note:
It is a good practice to save the case file whenever you are saving the data file
especially for sliding mesh model. This is because the case file contains the mesh
information, which is changing with time.
Note:
For transient-state calculations, you can add the character string %t to the file name
so that the iteration number is automatically appended to the name (for example, by
entering axial_comp-%t for the File Name in the Select File dialog box, Ansys
Fluent will save files with the names axial_comp-0240.cas.h5 and axial_comp-
0240.dat.h5).
12. Rename the report output file in preparation for further iterations.
Solution → Monitors → Report Files → surf-mon-1-rfile Edit...
a. Enter surf-mon-1b.out for Output File Base Name.
b. Click OK to close the Edit Report File dialog box.
13. Similarly, change the output file names for the surf-mon-2-rfile and surf-mon-3-rfile report file
definitions to surf-mon-2b.out and surf-mon-3b.out, respectively.
14. Continue the calculation for 720 more time steps to simulate three more revolutions of the rotor.
Setup and Solution
15. Examine the flow variable histories for the next three revolutions of the rotor to verify that the
solution is time-periodic (Figure 13.7: Mass Flow Rate at the Inlet During the Next 3 Revolu-
tions (p. 544) Figure 13.8: Mass Flow Rate at the Outlet During the Next 3 Revolutions (p. 544), and
Figure 13.9: Static Pressure at the Interface During the Next 3 Revolutions (p. 545)).
Figure 13.7: Mass Flow Rate at the Inlet During the Next 3 Revolutions
Figure 13.8: Mass Flow Rate at the Outlet During the Next 3 Revolutions
Setup and Solution
Figure 13.9: Static Pressure at the Interface During the Next 3 Revolutions
17. Change the file names for surf-mon-1b.out, surf-mon-2b.out, and surf-mon-3b.out to surf-
mon-1c.out, surf-mon-2c.out, and surf-mon-3c.out, respectively (as described in a
previous step), in preparation for further iterations.
18. Add a point at the interface of the stator.
Results → Surface → Create → Point...
a. Enter -0.02 for x, -0.08 for y, and -0.036 for z in the Point Surface dialog box.
b. Retain the default, point-1 for New Surface Name.
c. Click Create and close the Point Surface dialog box.
19. Enable plotting of the static pressure at a point on the stator interface (point-1).
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Vertex Average...
Setup and Solution
c. Retain the defaults of Pressure and Static Pressure for Field Variable.
d. Enter point-1 in the Surfaces field to filter the list.
e. Select point-1 from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Click OK to save the surface report definition settings and close the Surface Report Definition
dialog box.
20. Continue the calculation for one final revolution of the rotor, while saving data samples for the
postprocessing of the time statistics.
a. Enter 240 for Number of Time Steps.
b. Enable Data Sampling for Time Statistics in the Options group box.
Enabling Data Sampling for Time Statistics causes Ansys Fluent to calculate and store mean and
root-mean-square (RMS) values of various quantities and field functions over the calculation interval.
Setup and Solution
c. Click Calculate.
Figure 13.10: Static Pressure at a Point on The Stator Interface During the Final Revolution
1. Examine the vertex-averaged static pressure at the stator during the final revolution of the rotor
(as calculated from surf-mon-4.out), and plot the data.
Results → Plots → FFT...
a. Click the Load Input File... button to open the Select File dialog box.
i. Select All Files from the Files of type: drop-down list.
ii. Select surf-mon-4-rfile.out from the list of files.
iii. Click OK to close the Select File dialog box.
b. Click the Plot/Modify Input Signal... button to open the Plot/Modify Input Signal dialog
box.
i. Enable Subtract Mean Value in the Options group box.
ii. Enter flow-time as the X Axis Label.
iii. Select flow-time in the X Axis Variable drop-down list.
iv. Click Apply/Plot.
v. Close the Plot/Modify Input Signal dialog box.
c. Click Plot FFT in the Fourier Transform dialog box.
d. Click Axes... to open the Axes - Fourier Transform dialog box.
Setup and Solution
e. Select exponential from the Type drop-down list, and set Precision to 1 in the Number
Format group box.
f. Click Apply and close the Axes - Fourier Transform dialog box.
g. Click Plot FFT and close the Fourier Transform dialog box.
Figure 13.11: FFT of Static Pressure at the Stator
The FFT plot clearly shows that the pressure fluctuations due to interaction at the interface are
dominated by the rotor and stator blade passing frequencies (which are 10 kHz and 20 kHz, re-
spectively) and their higher harmonics.
2. Display contours of the mean static pressure on the walls of the axial compressor.
a. Enter contour-mean-static-pressure for Contour Name.
b. Ensure Filled is enabled in the Options group box.
d. Select Unsteady Statistics... and Mean Static Pressure from the Contours of drop-down
lists.
e. Select Wall from the Surface Types selection list.
Scroll down the Surfaces selection list to find Wall.
g. Rotate the view to get the display as shown in Figure 13.12: Mean Static Pressure on the Outer
Shroud of the Axial Compressor (p. 553).
Summary
Shock waves are clearly visible in the flow near the outlets of the rotor and stator, as seen in the areas
of rapid pressure change on the outer shroud of the axial compressor.
Figure 13.12: Mean Static Pressure on the Outer Shroud of the Axial Compressor
3. Save the case file (axial_comp-1200.cas.h5).
13.5. Summary
This tutorial has demonstrated the use of the sliding mesh model for analyzing transient rotor-stator
interaction in an axial compressor stage. The model utilized the coupled pressure-based solver in con-
junction with the transient algorithm to compute the inviscid flow through the compressor stage. The
solution was calculated over time until the reported variables displayed time-periodicity (which required
several revolutions of the rotor), after which time-averaged data was collected while running the case
for the equivalent of one additional rotor revolution (240 time steps).
The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) utility in Ansys Fluent was employed to determine the time averages
from stored flow variable report data. You also used the FFT utility to examine the frequency content
of the transient report data. The observed peak corresponds to the passing frequency and the higher
harmonics of the passing frequency, which occurred at approximately 10,000 Hz.
Chapter 14: Using Overset and Dynamic Meshes
14.1. Prerequisites
14.3. Preparation
14.4. Mesh
14.5. Overset Interface Creation
14.6. Steady-State Case Setup
14.7. Unsteady Setup
14.8. Summary
The purpose of this tutorial is to provide guidelines and recommendations for setting up and solving
a dynamic overset mesh case. Overset mesh allows you to build up your case using multiple overlapping
meshes that automatically get connected by interpolating cell data in the overlapping regions. The
overset meshing technique is used in conjunction with the Six Degree of Freedom (6DOF) solver, allowing
bodies to move as a result of fluid and/or external forces.
In this tutorial, you will learn:
• Reading and appending mesh files into the Fluent solver and establishing a flow domain with
the overset approach from overlapping meshes.
• Best practices for overset mesh settings when two walls are close to each other or there is a very
tight gap.
• Compiling the UDF to specify the properties of the pod.
• Setting up the moving zones and hooking the UDF.
• Running a steady-state calculation and continuing an unsteady calculation for the problem.
• Best practices for monitoring and diagnosing an overset case and postprocessing the results.
Note:
Overset meshing has many applications beyond store separation. Refer to Overset Meshes
in the Fluent User's Guide for additional information on overset meshing capabilities.
14.1. Prerequisites
This tutorial is focused on overset meshing and it assumes that you are familiar with the Ansys Fluent
interface and that you have a good understanding of the basic setup and solution procedures. Some
Using Overset and Dynamic Meshes
of the basic steps in the setup and solution procedure will not be shown explicitly. In this tutorial, you
will use the dynamic mesh model and the Six Degree of Freedom model. If you have not used these
models before, refer to the Section on Dynamic Meshes in the Ansys Fluent User’s Guide. You will use
a UDF to specify the properties of the pod. If you have not used UDFs before, refer to the Fluent Cus-
tomization Manual.

A rescue pod is dropped from a moving airplane flying at Mach 0.8. As the pod falls, it is subjected to
pressure, viscous drag, and gravitational forces. These forces also create a moment on the pod, causing
it to rotate about its center of gravity.
The pod is released from the aircraft at t=0.
Figure 14.1: Schematic of Problem
The representation of the problem is shown in Figure 14.1: Schematic of Problem (p. 556) A close view
of the bay area and different walls with their interior zones are shown in Figure 14.2: Close View of Bay
Area (p. 557).
Mesh
Figure 14.2: Close View of Bay Area
14.3. Preparation
1. Download the overset_dynamic_mesh.zip file here.
2. Unzip overset_dynamic_mesh.zip to your working directory.
The files Overset-background-mesh.msh, Overset-component-mesh.msh, and prop-

erty.c can be found in the folder.
14.4. Mesh
1. Read the mesh file Overset-background-mesh.msh.
As Ansys Fluent reads the mesh file, it will report the progress in the console. This mesh has three different
zones that allow for a greater level of refinement where the pod will be falling and less refinement at
the far field. Dividing the background mesh into multiple zones allows for non-conformal interfaces
between the other zones that will not be in the overset interface.
Note:
Fluent uses the terminology of a component mesh and a background mesh. The mesh
containing the moving object is called component mesh and stationary mesh is called
the background mesh. The outer boundary of component mesh is referred as component
boundary.
• Select All Mesh Files (*.msh* *.MSH*) from the Files of type: drop down list. Then
select Overset-background-mesh.msh
2. In this step you will create mesh interfaces between multiple zones in the stationary mesh. This
mesh has three cell zones- upstream, downstream, and fluid-background.
Domain → Interfaces → Mesh...
a. Select interface-background-downstream and interface-downstream-background in the

Boundary Zones list.
b. Enter downstream-background for Interface Name Prefix.
c. Click Create.
Mesh
d. Select interface-background-upstream and interface-upstream-background in the

Boundary Zones list.
e. Enter upstream-background for Interface Name Prefix.
f. Click Create and close the Mesh Interfaces dialog box.
3. Append the component mesh file
Domain → Zones → Append → Append Case File...
a. Select overset-component-mesh.msh and click OK.
b. Click OK in the Warning dialog box that appears stating that some zone IDs have changed.
c. If you have the Display Mesh After Reading option enabled in the Fluent Launcher, then
you must refresh the graphics window by right-clicking in the graphics window and selecting
Refresh Display.
Note:
Fluent will append the component mesh and two meshes will overlap each other.
If background and component meshes are present in the same mesh file, then you
can start directly from the mesh file without appending.
4. Display the mesh.
Domain → Mesh → Display
a. Select all surfaces and click Display.
b. Close the Mesh Display dialog box.
Note:
There are approximately 110 K mesh elements in this case.
5. Check the mesh.
The mesh check fails with a warning. The warning states that there is an overset zone that is not a part
of any overset interface. If any zone already has overset type, we need to define overset-interface with
Overset Interface Creation
available overset zone. If mesh does not have any overset type predefined, then this warning will not
come.
Note:
Fluent performs various checks on the mesh and reports the progress in the console
window. Pay attention to the reported minimum volume and make sure this is a positive
number.
14.5. Overset Interface Creation

1. In this step you will ensure that the component boundary is properly defined as the overset
boundary type.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Overset → overset_boundary Type → overset
Note:
Ansys Meshing automatically assigns boundary types according to boundary names.

Meshes created in other meshing tools may require you to manually define all of the
boundary types.
Overset Interface Creation
2. Define Overset Interface.
Domain → Interfaces → Overset...
This opens the Create/Edit Overset Interfaces dialog box.
a. Enter overset-interface for Name.
b. Select fluid-background from the Background group box and component from the Com-
ponent group box.
c. Click Create to create the overset interface.
d. Close the Create/Edit Overset Interfaces dialog box.
3. Repeat the mesh check to confirm that it is successful.
4. Define overset settings for creating an efficient interface.
Set the donor-priority-method to boundary-distance-based. This option is only available

through the TUI command:
/define/overset-interfaces/options/donor-priority-method 1
While establishing overset interface, Fluent does an optimization to get best location of the interface
while reducing the number of cells in the overlapping region that will participate in the calculation.
There are options to define the priority of the cell zones that will take part in the overset interface creation.
Zones defined as higher priority will be given more weightage. When cell zones have the same priority,
there are two methods that govern overlap minimization (see Overlap Minimization in the Fluent User's
Guide ): one method is cell volume based (proportional to the inverse of the cell volume) and other
method is boundary distance based (proportional to the inverse of the distance to the closest boundary).
Cell volume based works best if the component mesh resolution is fine near walls and increases
gradually away from walls and becomes similar in size to or larger than the background mesh.
Boundary distance based method works best where overlapping meshes have uniform and nearly
identical resolutions and therefore it is most suitable when two walls have small distance in between
them. In this example, the store wall is very near to the bay wall and the boundary distance based
method allows Fluent to create an overset interface somewhere middle of the gap. It is important to
have sufficient cells overlapping each other between the gap region of two walls (at least 4 cells from
both walls), so it is better to create inflation layers on walls to resolve this requirement.
5. In this step you will create the overset intersection, also referred to as hole cutting. When the case
is initialized, Ansys Fluent automatically creates the overset intersection. Experts have the option
to investigate how the intersection is created by enabling expert options in the TUI:
/define/overset-interfaces/options/expert? yes
With expert options enabled, you can create the intersection using the following command:
/define/overset-interfaces/intersect-all
When prompted to keep bounding cells, press the Enter key to accept the default option of no.
Keep bounding cells? [no]
You can increase the overset verbosity to have Fluent print more information to the console for
any overset process. Verbosity settings range from 0 to 3 depending on the information required.
To increase verbosity, enter:
/define/overset-interfaces/options/verbosity 2
To list all overset interface related information, enter:
/define/overset-interfaces/list
14.6. Steady-State Case Setup

In this section you will set up the case for steady-state flow.

Retain the setting of steady-state pressure-based solver.
Physics → Solver
14.6.2. Models
2. Specify the k-omega viscous model.
Steady-State Case Setup
a. Retain the default selection of the k-omega SST viscous model.
b. Enable the Viscous Heating and Production Limiter options.
c. Click OK to close and confirm the model settings.
14.6.3. Materials
Specify the properties for air.
• Open the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
Physics → Materials → Create/Edit
b. Click Change/Create and close the dialog box.

Set the operating conditions.
Physics → Operating Conditions...
1. Enter 0 Pa for Operating Pressure.
2. Click OK to confirm the operating conditions.

Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → pressure-inlet Edit...
a. Enter 154419.3 pa for Gauge Total Pressure.
b. Enter 101325 pa for Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure.
c. Retain Intensity and Viscosity Ratio as the Specification Method in the Turbulence group
box.
d. Retain the default values of 5% and 10 for Turbulent Intensity and Turbulent Viscosity
Ratio respectively.
e. Click Apply and close the Pressure inlet dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions for outlet.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → pressure-outlet Edit...
a. Enter 101325 pa for Gauge Pressure.
b. Retain Intensity and Viscosity Ratio as the Specification Method in the Turbulence group
box.
c. Retain the default values of 5% and 10 for Backflow Turbulent Intensity and Backflow
Turbulent Viscosity Ratio respectively.
d. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
3. Keep the defaults for all of the other boundary conditions.
Physics → Solver → Reference Values...
1. Select pressure-inlet from the Compute from drop-down list.
2. Select fluid-background from the Reference Zone drop-down list.
3. Retain the default Reference Values as shown above.
14.6.7. Solution
In this section you will specify solution methods and controls that are appropriate for this overset
meshing case.
1. Set the solution methods.
1. In the Solution Methods task page, retain the default selections for the Spatial Discretization.
2. Set the solution controls.
a. Review and retain the default settings.
b. Click Limits... to open the Solution Limits dialog box.
c. Enter 1e+07 for Maximum Turb. Viscosity Ratio.
d. Click OK to accept the settings.
3. Define a report for the drag coefficient of the pod.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Force Report → Drag...
a. Enable Report File and Report Plot in the Create group box.
b. Select wall-pod from the Wall Zones list.
c. Click OK to create the report.
For additional information on writing report files, refer to "Creating Report Files" in the Fluent User's
Guide.
4. Specify the residual monitor criterion for the solution equations.
Enter 1e-06 as the Absolute Criterion for all of the Equations and then close the Residual
5. Ensure Hybrid is selected as the initialization method in the Solution ribbon tab.
Click Initialize.
6. Define parameters for calculation to a steady-state solution.
Note:
If you are running in serial, then you must reorder the mesh prior to beginning
the calculation, using the mesh/reorder/reorder-domain text command.
This reordering is done automatically for parallel processes > 1.
b. Click Calculate.
7. Check the mass imbalance for the inlet and outlet to confirm there is not a large difference.
a. Select pressure-inlet and pressure-outlet from the list of Boundaries.
b. Click Compute and close the Flux Reports dialog box.
8. Save the steady-state case and data files (overset-pod-steady-state.cas.h5 and

overset-pod-steady-state.dat.h5).
Click OK in the Information dialog box that appears.
14.7. Unsteady Setup

In this section you will define the transient settings.

1. Select Transient in the General task page (Solver group box, under Time).
Setup → General → Transient
2. Set the Operating Conditions.
a. Enable Gravity.
b. Enter -9.81 for Y.
Unsteady Setup
c. Click OK to confirm the operating conditions.
A warning message will be displayed that for compressible (ideal and real) gas models with
buoyancy, it is recommended to use a specified operating density value of zero.
14.7.2. Compile the UDF
User-Defined → User-Defined → Functions → Compiled...
1. Click Add... to open the Select File dialog box.
2. Select property.c and click OK.
3. Select Use Built-in Compiler.
4. Click Build to build the library.
5. Click OK to close the Question dialog box that appears.
Note:
This UDF contains the mass of the pod and its moments of inertia.
Ansys Fluent sets up the directory structure and compiles the code. You can see the compilation in
the console window.
6. Click Load to load the library.
14.7.3. Dynamic Mesh Settings

In this section you will specify the six degrees of freedom (Six DOF) and dynamic mesh settings.
Domain → Mesh Models → Dynamic Mesh...
1. Enable Dynamic Mesh.
2. Disable Smoothing.
3. Enable Six DOF.
4. Click Settings... to open the Options dialog box.
a. Enable Write Motion History.
b. Enter pod-motion for the File Name.
c. Click OK to confirm the settings.
5. Set up the moving zones.
a. Create the dynamic zone for the component
i. Click Create/Edit... in the Dynamic Mesh task page to open the Dynamic Mesh Zones
dialog box.
ii. Select component from the Zone Names drop-down list.
iii. Retain the selection of Rigid Body for Type.
iv. Retain the selection of On in the Six DOF group box.
v. Enable Passive in the Six DOF group box.
vi. Enter 7.6 for X and 18.5 for Y in the Center of Gravity Location group box.
vii. Click Create to create the dynamic zone for the component.
Note:
The UDF is automatically selected in the Six DOF UDF/Properties drop-down

list. If there were additional UDFs loaded, then you would have to select the
correct one.
b. Create the dynamic zone for the pod.
Unsteady Setup
i. Select wall-pod from the Zone Names drop-down list.
ii. Retain the selection of Rigid Body for Type.
iii. Retain the selection of On and disable Passive in the Six DOF group box.
iv. Retain the values for Center of Gravity Location.
v. Click Create to create the dynamic zone for the pod.
vi. Close the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box.
14.7.4. Report Generation for Unsteady Case

Create a new drag report definition named unsteady_pod for the drag coefficient on the wall-pod.
1. Enter unsteady-pod-drag for Name.
2. Enable Report File and Report Plot in the Create group box.
3. Select wall-pod from the Wall Zones list.
4. Click OK to create the report.
Note that the drag report definition created previously, report-def-0 for the steady state simulaiton
should be deleted. If not a Warning Message appears in the console notifying you that Data for the
following Report File can be wriiten to its file..
You can click Yes in the Warning Message to create a new report file.
Unsteady Setup
14.7.5. Run Calculations for Unsteady Case
a. Enter 0.001 for Time Step Size (s).
d. Start recording the transcript.
File → Write → Start Transcript...
Enter a name for the transcript file.
e. Click Calculate.
the simulation can take several hours depending on the compute capacity being utilized.
f. Stop recording the transcript.
• File → Write → Stop Transcript...
g. Save the case and data files (overset-pod-transient.cas.h5 and overset-pod-

transient.dat.h5).
14.7.6. Overset Solution Checking

Check overset solution.
Open the transcript file and look for the warning of:
dead->solve cells
Ideally, no cells should go directly from being dead cells to being solve cells. A large number of cells
directly converting from dead to solve can affect the accuracy of the solution or cause divergence. If
you find that there is a large number of cells that went directly from dead to solve, then you can reduce
the time step size to decrease the likelihood of this issue occurring. If there are any dead to solve
cells present for this calculation run, the warning is printed as shown below:
WARNING: 1 overset dead->solve cells in interface overset-interface
Note:
Objects move their position with time in transient overset moving mesh cases, requiring
dead cells to convert into solve cells. Dead cells do not have proper solution data, so they
need to convert to receptor cells to get the required solution information before converting
to solve cells. If a dead cell converts directly into a solve cell, it may lack required informa-
tion and cause an improper result. Refer to "Diagnosing Overset Interface Issues" in the
Fluent User's Guide for additional information.
1. Create contours of static pressure.
b. Select Banded from the Coloring drop-down list.
Unsteady Setup
c. Ensure Pressure... and Static Pressure are selected from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. De-select all surfaces in the list of Surfaces.
f. Close the Contours dialog box.
Note:
To capture intermediate images, you can create an animation definition prior to

beginning the calculation. This would allow you to view the individual image
files as well as an animation of the pod as it falls. For additional information on
creating animation definitions, see Animating the Solution in the Fluent User’s
Guide.
2. Save the case file (overset-pod-transient.cas.h5).
3. Plot the center of gravity motion of the pod.
a. Read the pod-motion file into Microsoft Excel and plot flow time vs CG-orientation of
the pod.
b. Plot flow time vs CG-angular orientation of the pod.
Unsteady Setup
14.7.8. Diagnosing an Overset Case

Once an overset interface is created, it is important to check and diagnose it. In this section you will
learn about diagnosing an overset interface and about the different cells participating in the solution.
In overset meshing all meshes are categorized into five cell types:
• Solve – (yellow in figures Figure 14.3: Cell Marking on component (p. 587) & Figure 14.4: Cell
Marking on fluid-background (p. 587)) cells that take part in the solution.
• Donor – (marked red in figures Figure 14.3: Cell Marking on component (p. 587) & Figure 14.4: Cell
Marking on fluid-background (p. 587)) provide information to corresponding cell zones.
• Receptor – (marked blue in figures Figure 14.3: Cell Marking on component (p. 587) & Fig-
ure 14.4: Cell Marking on fluid-background (p. 587)) receive information from donor cells in the
corresponding cell zones.
• Dead – (marked in red in figures Figure 14.5: Dead Cells in the Component (p. 588)) deactivated
cells located in regions of overlap between the background and component meshes, where
multiple cells are present in the same exact location. Only one set of cells in a region is allowed
to take part in the solution. Additionally, cells outside of the flow regime are marked as dead.
• Orphan – receptor cells that cannot find a corresponding donor cell. Although Fluent has in-
telligence to deal with orphan cells, their presence should be avoided to reduce the risk of
solution inaccuracies and divergence.
You can mark orphan cells using the TUI command:
define/overset-interfaces/mark-cells orphan no
This will show all of the orphan cells present in the case, unless you specify a particular zone. Marking
orphan cells creates a register that you can display via the define/overset-interfaces/dis-
play-cells text command. The marked cells are in the overset-orphan-cells-r0 register.
In this case there are not any orphan cells, so nothing is displayed in the graphics window. If you
mark solve cells or other cells types and display those registers, then it will appear in the graphics
window.
If large number of orphan cells are generated in a case, then it is advisable to modify the mesh ac-
cordingly.
Different type of cells can also be displayed creating contours of Cell Info and displaying the Overset
Cell Type for given surfaces.
Enable the following TUI command to include receptor cells in the contours display:
/define/overset-interfaces/options/render-receptor-cells? yes
The overset interface for this tutorial is created properly, but issues could arise during overset interface
creation for geometries with complex topology. Ansys Fluent provides options to diagnose issues
and fix them. You can use the ‘debug hole cut’ option to understand more about flood filling of seed
cells or leakage between overlapping boundaries. For detailed information on overset mesh diagnosis,
refer to "Diagnosing Overset Interface Issues" in the Fluent User's Guide.
1. Start a new Fluent session, and read overset-pod-steady-state.cas.h5 and overset-

pod-steady-state.dat.h5.
2. Create zone surfaces for component and fluid-background.
Results → Surface → Create → Zone...
a. Select component in the Zone list.
b. Retain component for New Surface Name and click Create.
c. Similarly, create a zone surface for fluid-background.
Unsteady Setup
d. Close the Zone Surface dialog box.
3. Enter the following TUI command in the console:/define/overset-interfaces/op-

tions/render-receptor-cells? Yes
4. Display contours of the overset cell type on the surface you just created.
De-select Lighting View → Display
a. Enter contour-overset-1 for Contour Name.
b. Disable Auto Range (which enables Clip to Range) in the Options group box.
c. Disable Node Values and Global Range in the Options group box.
d. Select Cell Info... and Overset Cell Type from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Enter -0.5 for Min and 2.5 for Max.
Note:
Table 14.1: Meaning of Values
Cell Type Integer Function Value

Donor 2
Solve 1
Receptor 0
Orphan -1
Dead -2
Dead cells cannot be displayed in contours.
f. Click Colormap Options... to open the Colormap dialog box.
i. Enter 3 for Colormap Size in the Colormap group box.
ii. Click Apply and close the Colormap dialog box.
g. Select component from the list of Surfaces.
Unsteady Setup
Figure 14.3: Cell Marking on component
i. Repeat the process for fluid-background.
Figure 14.4: Cell Marking on fluid-background
5. Marking and displaying dead cells.
a. Expand Cell Zones in the tree to check the id number.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Fluid
b. Mark dead cells in component with the following TUI command: define/overset-in-
terfaces/mark-cells dead yes 29
c. Mark dead cells in fluid-background with the following TUI command: /define/overset-
interfaces/mark-cells dead yes 7
d. Display the dead cells by entering the define/overset-interfaces/display-cells

text command in the console.
i. Enter 0 for the text command prompt to display the overset-dead-cells-component-

r0 register (you can enter 0 instead of typing the full name of the register).
Figure 14.5: Dead Cells in the Component
Summary
ii. Enter 1 for the text command prompt to display only the overset-dead-cells-fluid-
background-r1 register.
Figure 14.6: Dead Cells in the Background
14.8. Summary
In this tutorial, you have learned about overset meshing in Ansys Fluent and its setup along with best
practices, by solving a store separation problem. You have also learned a few diagnostic techniques for
overset meshing and the postprocessing of results for a store separation case.
Chapter 15: Modeling Species Transport and Gaseous
Combustion
15.1. Introduction
15.2. Prerequisites
15.4. Background
15.6. Summary
15.1. Introduction
This tutorial examines the mixing of chemical species and the combustion of a gaseous fuel.
A cylindrical combustor burning methane ( ) in air is studied using the eddy-dissipation model in
Ansys Fluent.
• Enable physical models, select material properties, and define boundary conditions for a turbulent
flow with chemical species mixing and reaction.
• Initiate and solve the combustion simulation using the pressure-based solver.
• Examine the reacting flow results using graphics.
• Predict thermal and prompt NOx production.
• Use custom field functions to compute NO parts per million.
15.2. Prerequisites
To learn more about chemical reaction modeling, see the Fluent User's Guide and the Fluent Theory
Guide. Otherwise, no previous experience with chemical reaction or combustion modeling is assumed.
Modeling Species Transport and Gaseous Combustion

The cylindrical combustor considered in this tutorial is shown in Figure 15.1: Combustion of Methane
Gas in a Turbulent Diffusion Flame Furnace (p. 592). The flame considered is a turbulent diffusion flame.
A small nozzle in the center of the combustor introduces methane at 80 . Ambient air enters the
combustor coaxially at 0.5 . The overall equivalence ratio is approximately 0.76 (approximately 28
excess air). The high-speed methane jet initially expands with little interference from the outer wall,
and entrains and mixes with the low-speed air. The Reynolds number based on the methane jet diameter
is approximately .
Figure 15.1: Combustion of Methane Gas in a Turbulent Diffusion Flame Furnace
15.4. Background
In this tutorial, you will use the generalized eddy-dissipation model to analyze the methane-air combus-
tion system. The combustion will be modeled using a global one-step reaction mechanism, assuming
complete conversion of the fuel to and . The reaction equation is
(15.1)
This reaction will be defined in terms of stoichiometric coefficients, formation enthalpies, and parameters
that control the reaction rate. The reaction rate will be determined assuming that turbulent mixing is
the rate-limiting process, with the turbulence-chemistry interaction modeled using the eddy-dissipation
model.

15.5.1. Preparation
15.5.2. Mesh
15.5.4. Models
15.5.5. Materials
15.5.7. Initial Reaction Solution
15.5.9. NOx Prediction
Setup and Solution
15.5.1. Preparation
1. Download the species_transport.zip file here.
2. Unzip species_transport.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file gascomb.msh can be found in the folder.
15.5.2. Mesh
1. Read the mesh file gascomb.msh.
Select All Mesh Files (*.msh* *.MSH*) from the Files of type: drop down list and then
select gascomb.msh

1. Check the mesh.
Ansys Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and will report the progress in the console. Ensure
that the reported minimum volume reported is a positive number.
2. Scale the mesh.
Since this mesh was created in units of millimeters, you will need to scale the mesh into meters.
a. Select mm from the Mesh Was Created In drop-down list in the Scaling group box.
b. Click Scale.
c. Ensure that m is selected from the View Length Unit In drop-down list.
d. Ensure that Xmax and Ymax are reset to 1.8 m and 0.225 m respectively.
The default SI units will be used in this tutorial, hence there is no need to change any units in this
problem.
e. Close the Scale Mesh dialog box.
f. Right click in the graphics window and select Refresh Display
g. Clicking the Fit to Window icon, , will cause the object to fit exactly and be centered in
the window.
3. Check the mesh.
Note:
You should check the mesh after you manipulate it (scale, convert to polyhedra, merge,
separate, fuse, add zones, or smooth and swap). This will ensure that the quality of the
mesh has not been compromised.
4. Examine the mesh with the default settings.
Setup and Solution
Figure 15.2: The Quadrilateral Mesh for the Combustor Model
Extra:
You can use the right mouse button to probe for mesh information in the graphics
window. If you click the right mouse button on any node in the mesh, information will
be displayed in the Ansys Fluent console about the associated zone, including the name
of the zone. This feature is especially useful when you have several zones of the same
type and you want to distinguish between them quickly.
5. Select Axisymmetric in the 2D Space list.
Setup → General
15.5.4. Models
1. Enable heat transfer by enabling the energy equation.
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default settings for the k-omega model.
3. Enable chemical species transport and reaction.
The Species Model dialog box will expand to provide further options for the Species Transport
model.
b. Enable Volumetric in the Reactions group box.
c. Select methane-air from the Mixture Material drop-down list.
Scroll down the list to find methane-air.
Note:
The Mixture Material list contains the set of chemical mixtures that exist in the
Ansys Fluent database. You can select one of the predefined mixtures to access a
complete description of the reacting system. The chemical species in the system
and their physical and thermodynamic properties are defined by your selection of
the mixture material. You can alter the mixture material selection or modify the
mixture material properties using the Create/Edit Materials dialog box (see Mater-
ials (p. 599)).
d. Select Eddy-Dissipation in the Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction group box.
The eddy-dissipation model computes the rate of reaction under the assumption that chemical
kinetics are fast compared to the rate at which reactants are mixed by turbulent fluctuations (eddies).
Setup and Solution
e. Click OK to close the Species Model dialog box.
Prior to listing the properties that are required for the models you have enabled, Ansys Fluent will display
a warning about the symmetry zone in the console. You may have to scroll up to see this warning.
Warning: It appears that symmetry zone 5 should actually be an axis
(it has faces with zero area projections).
Unless you change the zone type from symmetry to axis,
you may not be able to continue the solution without
encountering floating point errors.
In the axisymmetric model, the boundary conditions should be such that the centerline is an axis type
instead of a symmetry type. You will change the symmetry zone to an axis boundary in Boundary
Conditions (p. 602).
15.5.5. Materials
In this step, you will examine the default settings for the mixture material. This tutorial uses mixture
properties copied from the Fluent Database. In general, you can modify these or create your own mixture
properties for your specific problem as necessary.
1. Confirm the properties for the mixture materials.
Setup → Materials → Mixture → methane-air Edit...
The Create/Edit Materials dialog box will display the mixture material (methane-air) that was selected
in the Species Model dialog box. The properties for this mixture material have been copied from the
Fluent Database... and will be modified in the following steps.
a. Click the Edit... button to the right of the Mixture Species drop-down list to open the Species
dialog box.
Setup and Solution
You can add or remove species from the mixture material as necessary using the Species dialog
box.
i. Retain the default selections from the Selected Species selection list.
The species that make up the methane-air mixture are predefined and require no modification.
ii. Click OK to close the Species dialog box.
b. Click the Edit... button to the right of the Reaction drop-down list to open the Reactions
dialog box.
The eddy-dissipation reaction model ignores chemical kinetics (the Arrhenius rate) and uses only
the parameters in the Mixing Rate group box in the Reactions dialog box. The Arrhenius Rate
group box will therefore be inactive. The values for Rate Exponent and Arrhenius Rate parameters
are included in the database and are employed when the alternate finite-rate/eddy-dissipation
model is used.
i. Retain the default values in the Mixing Rate group box.
ii. Click OK to close the Reactions dialog box.
c. Retain the selection of incompressible-ideal-gas from the Density drop-down list.
d. Retain the selection of mixing-law from the Cp (Specific Heat) drop-down list.
e. Retain the default values for Thermal Conductivity, Viscosity, and Mass Diffusivity.
f. Click Change/Create to accept the material property settings.
g. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
The calculation will be performed assuming that all properties except density and specific heat are
constant. The use of constant transport properties (viscosity, thermal conductivity, and mass diffusivity
coefficients) is acceptable because the flow is fully turbulent. The molecular transport properties will
play a minor role compared to turbulent transport.

1. Convert the symmetry zone to the axis type.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Symmetry → symmetry-5 Type axis
The symmetry zone must be converted to an axis to prevent numerical difficulties where the radius
reduces to zero.
2. Set the boundary conditions for the air inlet (velocity-inlet-8).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → velocity-inlet-8 Edit...
To determine the zone for the air inlet, display the mesh without the fluid zone to see the boundaries.
Use the right mouse button to probe the air inlet. Ansys Fluent will report the zone name (velocity-
inlet-8) in the console.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter air-inlet for Zone Name.
This name is more descriptive for the zone than velocity-inlet-8.
b. Enter 0.5 for Velocity Magnitude.
c. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification Method drop-down list in
d. Enter 10 for Turbulent Intensity.
e. Enter 0.44 for Hydraulic Diameter.
f. Click the Thermal tab and retain the default value of 300 for Temperature.
g. Click the Species tab and enter 0.23 for o2 in the Species Mass Fractions group box.
h. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
3. Set the boundary conditions for the fuel inlet (velocity-inlet-6).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → velocity-inlet-6 Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter fuel-inlet for Zone Name.
This name is more descriptive for the zone than velocity-inlet-6.
b. Enter 80 for the Velocity Magnitude.
c. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification Method drop-down list in
d. Enter 10 for Turbulent Intensity.
e. Enter 0.01 for Hydraulic Diameter.
f. Click the Thermal tab and retain the default value of 300 for Temperature.
g. Click the Species tab and enter 1 for ch4 in the Species Mass Fractions group box.
h. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
4. Set the boundary conditions for the exit boundary (pressure-outlet-9).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → pressure-outlet-9 Edit...
a. Retain the default value of 0 for Gauge Pressure.
b. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification Method drop-down list in
c. Enter 10 for Backflow Turbulent Intensity.
d. Enter 0.45 for Backflow Hydraulic Diameter.
e. Click the Thermal tab and retain the default value of 300 for Backflow Total Temperature.
f. Click the Species tab and enter 0.23 for o2 in the Backflow Species Mass Fractions group
box.
The Backflow values in the Pressure Outlet dialog box are utilized only when backflow occurs at the
pressure outlet. Always assign reasonable values because backflow may occur during intermediate it-
erations and could affect the solution stability.
5. Set the boundary conditions for the outer wall (wall-7).
Setup and Solution
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → wall-7 Edit...
Use the mouse-probe method described for the air inlet to determine the zone corresponding to the
outer wall.
a. Enter outer-wall for Zone Name.
This name is more descriptive for the zone than wall-7.
b. Click the Thermal tab.
i. Select Temperature in the Thermal Conditions list.
ii. Retain the default value of 300 for Temperature.
c. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
6. Set the boundary conditions for the fuel inlet nozzle (wall-2).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → wall-2 Edit...
a. Enter nozzle for Zone Name.
This name is more descriptive for the zone than wall-2.
b. Click the Thermal tab.
i. Retain the default selection of Heat Flux in the Thermal Conditions list.
ii. Retain the default value of 0 for Heat Flux, so that the wall is adiabatic.
15.5.7. Initial Reaction Solution

You will first calculate a solution for the basic reacting flow neglecting pollutant formation. In a later step,
you will perform an additional analysis to simulate NOx.
1. Solution → Solution → Methods...
Setup and Solution
Retain the default selections.
2. Ensure the plotting of residuals during the calculation.
3. Initialize the field variables.
a. Retain the default Hybrid initialization method and click Initialize to initialize the variables.
4. Save the case file (gascomb1.cas.h5).
a. Enter gascomb1.cas.h5 for Case File.
b. Ensure that Write Binary Files is enabled to produce a smaller, unformatted binary file.
c. Click OK to close the Select File dialog box.
5. Run the calculation by requesting 200 iterations.
a. Enter 5 for the Time Scale Factor.
Setup and Solution
The Time Scale Factor allows you to further manipulate the computed time step size calculated by
Ansys Fluent. Larger time steps can lead to faster convergence. However, if the time step is too
c. Click Calculate.
6. Save the case and data files (gascomb1.cas.h5 and gascomb1.dat.h5).
Note:
If you choose a file name that already exists in the current folder, Ansys Fluent will ask
you to confirm that the previous file is to be overwritten.
Review the solution by examining graphical displays of the results and performing surface integrations at
the combustor exit.
1. Report the total sensible heat flux.
a. Select Total Sensible Heat Transfer Rate in the Options list.
b. Select all the boundaries from the Boundaries selection list (you can click the select-all button
).
c. Click Compute and close the Flux Reports dialog box.
Note:
The energy balance is good because the net result is small compared to the heat
of reaction.
2. Display filled contours of temperature (Figure 15.3: Contours of Temperature (p. 612)).
d. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature in the Contours of drop-down lists.
Figure 15.3: Contours of Temperature
The peak temperature is approximately 2300 .
3. Display velocity vectors (Figure 15.4: Velocity Vectors (p. 615)).
Setup and Solution
b. Select arrow from the Style drop-down list.
c. Enter 0.01 for Scale.
d. Click the Vector Options... button to open the Vector Options dialog box.
i. Enable Fixed Length.
The fixed length option is useful when the vector magnitude varies dramatically. With fixed
length vectors, the velocity magnitude is described only by color instead of by both vector length
and color.
ii. Enter 0.1 for Scale Head.
iii. Click Apply and close the Vector Options dialog box.
e. Click Save/Display and close the Vectors dialog box.
The entrainment of air into the high-velocity methane jet is clearly visible.
Setup and Solution
Figure 15.4: Velocity Vectors
4. Display filled contours of mass fraction for (Figure 15.5: Contours of CH4 Mass Fraction (p. 616)).
a. Enter contour-ch4-mass-fraction for Contour Name.
c. Select Species... and Mass fraction of ch4 from the Contours of drop-down lists.
Figure 15.5: Contours of CH4 Mass Fraction
5. In a similar manner, display the contours of mass fraction for the remaining species , , and
(Figure 15.6: Contours of O2 Mass Fraction (p. 616), Figure 15.7: Contours of CO2 Mass Frac-
tion (p. 617), and Figure 15.8: Contours of H2O Mass Fraction (p. 617)).
Figure 15.6: Contours of O2 Mass Fraction
Setup and Solution
Figure 15.7: Contours of CO2 Mass Fraction
Figure 15.8: Contours of H2O Mass Fraction
6. Determine the average exit temperature.
Results → Reports → Surface Integrals...
a. Select Mass-Weighted Average from the Report Type drop-down list.
b. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
The mass-averaged temperature will be computed as:
(15.2)
c. Select pressure-outlet-9 from the Surfaces selection list, so that the integration is performed
over this surface.
d. Click Compute.
The Mass-Weighted Average field will show that the exit temperature is approximately 1841 .
7. Determine the average exit velocity.
Setup and Solution
a. Select Area-Weighted Average from the Report Type drop-down list.
b. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
The area-weighted velocity-magnitude average will be computed as:

(15.3)
c. Click Compute.
The Area-Weighted Average field will show that the exit velocity is approximately 3.31 .
d. Close the Surface Integrals dialog box.
15.5.9. NOx Prediction

In this section you will extend the Ansys Fluent model to include the prediction of NOx. You will first calculate
the formation of both thermal and prompt NOx, then calculate each separately to determine the contribution
of each mechanism.
1. Enable the NOx model.
Setup → Models → Species → NOx Edit...
a. Enable Thermal NOx and Prompt NOx in the Pathways group box.
b. Select ch4 from the Fuel Species selection list.
c. Click the Turbulence Interaction Mode tab.
Setup and Solution
i. Select temperature from the PDF Mode drop-down list.
This will enable the turbulence-chemistry interaction. If turbulence interaction is not enabled,
you will be computing NOx formation without considering the important influence of turbulent
fluctuations on the time-averaged reaction rates.
ii. Retain the default selection of beta from the PDF Type drop-down list and enter 20 for
PDF Points.
The value for PDF Points is increased from 10 to 20 to obtain a more accurate NOx prediction.
iii. Select transported from the Temperature Variance drop-down list.
d. Select partial-equilibrium from the [O] Model drop-down list in the Formation Model
Parameters group box in the Thermal tab.
The partial-equilibrium model is used to predict the O radical concentration required for thermal
NOx prediction.
e. Click the Prompt tab.
i. Retain the default value of 1 for Fuel Carbon Number.
ii. Enter 0.76 for Equivalence Ratio.
All of the parameters in the Prompt tab are used in the calculation of prompt NOx formation.
The Fuel Carbon Number is the number of carbon atoms per molecule of fuel. The Equivalence
Ratio defines the fuel-air ratio (relative to stoichiometric conditions).
f. Click Apply to accept these changes and close the NOx Model dialog box.
2. Enable the calculation of NO species only and temperature variance.
Solution → Controls → Equations...
Setup and Solution
a. Deselect all variables except Pollutant no and Temperature Variance from the Equations
selection list.
b. Click OK to close the Equations dialog box.
You will predict NOx formation in a postprocessing mode, with the flow field, temperature, and
hydrocarbon combustion species concentrations fixed. Hence, only the NO equation will be com-
puted. Prediction of NO in this mode is justified on the grounds that the NO concentrations are
very low and have negligible impact on the hydrocarbon combustion prediction.
3. Confirm the convergence criterion for the NO species equation.
a. Ensure that the Absolute Criteria for pollut_no is set to 1e-06.
4. Request 25 more iterations.
5. Save the new case and data files (gascomb2.cas.h5 and gascomb2.dat.h5).
6. Review the solution by creating and displaying a contour definition for NO mass fraction (Fig-
ure 15.9: Contours of NO Mass Fraction — Prompt and Thermal NOx Formation (p. 625)).
a. Enter contour-no-mass-fraction for Contour Name.
b. Disable Filled in the Options group box.
c. Select NOx... and Mass fraction of Pollutant no from the Contours of drop-down lists.
Setup and Solution
Figure 15.9: Contours of NO Mass Fraction — Prompt and Thermal NOx Formation
7. Calculate the average exit NO mass fraction.
a. Select Mass-Weighted Average from the Report Type drop-down list.
b. Select NOx... and Mass fraction of Pollutant no from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
c. Ensure that pressure-outlet-9 is selected from the Surfaces selection list.
d. Click Compute.
The Mass-Weighted Average field will show that the exit NO mass fraction is approximately
0.00445.
e. Close the Surface Integrals dialog box.
9. Disable the prompt NOx mechanism in preparation for solving for thermal NOx only.
a. In the Formation tab, disable Prompt NOx.
b. Click Apply and close the NOx Model dialog box.
10. Request 25 iterations.
11. Review the thermal NOx solution by displaying the contour-no-mass-fraction contour definition
for NO mass fraction (under the Results/Graphics/Contours tree branch) you created earlier
(Figure 15.10: Contours of NO Mass Fraction—Thermal NOx Formation (p. 626)).
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-no-mass-fraction Display
Figure 15.10: Contours of NO Mass Fraction—Thermal NOx Formation
Setup and Solution
Note that the concentration of NO is slightly lower without the prompt NOx mechanism.
12. Compute the average exit NO mass fraction with only thermal NOx formation.
Tip:
Follow the same procedure you used earlier for the calculation with both thermal
and prompt NOx formation.
The Mass-Weighted Average field will show that the exit NO mass fraction with only thermal NOx
formation (without prompt NOx formation) is approximately 0.00441.
13. Save the new case and data files (gascomb2-thermal.cas.h5 and gascomb2-
thermal.dat.h5).
14. Solve for prompt NOx production only.
a. Disable Thermal NOx in the Pathways group box.
b. Enable Prompt NOx.
c. Click Apply and close the NOx Model dialog box.
16. Review the prompt NOx solution by displaying the contour-no-mass-fraction contour definition
for NO mass fraction (under the Results/Graphics/Contours tree branch) (Figure 15.11: Contours
of NO Mass Fraction—Prompt NOx Formation (p. 628)).
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-no-mass-fraction Display
Figure 15.11: Contours of NO Mass Fraction—Prompt NOx Formation
The prompt NOx mechanism is most significant in fuel-rich flames. In this case the flame is lean and
prompt NO production is low.
17. Compute the average exit NO mass fraction only with prompt NOx formation.
Tip:
Follow the same procedure you used earlier for the calculation with both thermal
and prompt NOx formation.
The Mass-Weighted Average field will show that the exit NO mass fraction with only prompt
NOx formation is approximately 9.87e-05
Note:
The individual thermal and prompt NO mass fractions do not add up to the levels
predicted with the two models combined. This is because reversible reactions are in-
volved. NO produced in one reaction can be destroyed in another reaction.
18. Use a custom field function to compute NO parts per million (ppm).
The NOppm will be computed from the following equation:
Setup and Solution
(15.4)
Note:
This is the dry ppm. Therefore, the value is normalized by removing the water mole
fraction in the denominator.
a. Select NOx... and Mole fraction of Pollutant no from the Field Functions drop-down lists,
and click the Select button to enter molef-pollut-pollutant-0 in the Definition field.
b. Click the appropriate calculator buttons to enter
*10ˆ6/(1-
in the Definition field, as shown in the previous dialog box.
Tip:
If you make a mistake, click the DEL button on the calculator pad to delete
the last item you added to the function definition.
c. Select Species... and Mole fraction of h2o from the Field Functions drop-down lists, and
click the Select button to enter molef-h2o in the Definition field.
d. Click the ) button to complete the field function.
e. Enter no-ppm for New Function Name.
f. Click Define to add the new field function to the variable list and close the Custom Field
Function Calculator dialog box.
19. Display contours of NO ppm (Figure 15.12: Contours of NO ppm — Prompt NOx Formation (p. 630)).
a. Enter contour-no-ppm for Contour Name.
b. Disable Filled in the Options group box.
c. Select Custom Field Functions... and no-ppm from the Contours of drop-down lists.
Scroll up the list to find Custom Field Functions....
Figure 15.12: Contours of NO ppm — Prompt NOx Formation
The contours closely resemble the mass fraction contours (Figure 15.11: Contours of NO Mass Frac-
tion—Prompt NOx Formation (p. 628)), as expected.
20. Save the new case and data files (gascomb2-prompt.cas.h5 and gascomb2-
prompt.dat.h5).
15.6. Summary
In this tutorial you used Ansys Fluent to model the transport, mixing, and reaction of chemical species.
The reaction system was defined by using a mixture-material entry in the Ansys Fluent database. The
procedures used here for simulation of hydrocarbon combustion can be applied to other reacting flow
systems.
The NOx production in this case was dominated by the thermal NO mechanism. This mechanism is very
sensitive to temperature. Every effort should be made to ensure that the temperature solution is not
overpredicted, since this will lead to unrealistically high predicted levels of NO.

Further improvements can be expected by including the effects of intermediate species and radiation,
both of which will result in lower predicted combustion temperatures.
The single-step reaction process used in this tutorial cannot account for the moderating effects of inter-
mediate reaction products, such as CO and . Multiple-step reactions can be used to address these
species. If a multi-step Magnussen model is used, considerably more computational effort is required
to solve for the additional species. Where applicable, the nonpremixed combustion model can be used
to account for intermediate species at a reduced computational cost.
For more details on the nonpremixed combustion model, see the Fluent User's Guide.
Radiation heat transfer tends to make the temperature distribution more uniform, thereby lowering the
peak temperature. In addition, radiation heat transfer to the wall can be very significant (especially here,
with the wall temperature set at 300 ). The large influence of radiation can be anticipated by computing
the Boltzmann number for the flow:
where is the Boltzmann constant (5.729 ) and is the adiabatic flame temperature.
For a quick estimate, assume , , and (the majority of the
inflow is air). Assume . The resulting Boltzmann number is Bo = 1.09, which shows that
radiation is of approximately equal importance to convection for this problem.
For details on radiation modeling, see the Fluent User's Guide.
Chapter 16: Using the Monte Carlo Radiation Model
16.1. Introduction
16.2. Prerequisites
16.5. Summary
16.1. Introduction
In this tutorial, radiation and conduction through coupled walls is solved using the Monte Carlo radiation
model to locate and determine the severity of any hotspots generated by the focusing of the sun's rays
through a headlamp lens.
• Use the Monte Carlo (MC) radiation model.
• Create new materials with thermal and radiation properties
• Set the boundary conditions for a heat transfer problem involving conduction and radiation.
• Display contours of wall temperature
16.2. Prerequisites
Using the Monte Carlo Radiation Model

The problem to be considered is the modeling of solar radiation in an automotive headlamp assembly
shown in Problem Description (p. 409). For cars parked in uncovered areas or standing on highways for
long periods of time, solar rays entering the headlamp are focused by the lens in certain areas inside,
producing thermal hot spots. Overall heat up of the assembly and thermal hot spots produce stresses
due to thermal expansion & mechanical constraints. Moreover, thermal hot spots can also possibly harm
electronics or other plastic components (due to melting and/or burning) that are used in the headlamp
assembly.
The headlamp assembly is modelled in an air volume with the boundaries maintained at a temperature
of 25 C. Two walls supply a 1200 w/m^2 heat flux to simulate the effect of the sun's rays shining on
the headlamp. The rays will travel into the headlamp through the front cover (polycarbonate, with an
absorption coefficient of 20 m^-1 and refractive index of 1.586) and be focused by the lens (glass, with
an absorption coefficient of 5.302 m^-1 and refractive index of 1.471).The rest of the components are
modelled as plastic and participate by absorbing, reflecting, and emitting radiation. The rim bezel is
modelled with an emissivity of 0.16, meaning 84% of incident radiation is reflected.

16.4.1. Preparation
16.4.3. Mesh
16.4.4. Models
16.4.5. Materials
16.4.8. Solution
Setup and Solution
16.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the radiation_headlamp.zip file here.
2. Unzip radiation_headlamp.zip to your working directory.
The file headlamp.scdoc can be found in the folder.

2. Import the CAD geometry (headlamp.scdoc).
(headlamp.scdoc).
Note:
The workflow only supports *.scdoc (SpaceClaim) and the intermediary *.pmdb
file formats.
Setup and Solution
the workflow.
Figure 16.2: The Imported CAD Geometry for the Headlamp
Note:
to the next task.
Edit button, or the Revert and Edit button. For more information, see Editing Tasks in the Fluent
User's Guide.
In this tutorial, we will add local sizing in and around the lens, since that is an area where we require
a more refined mesh for the radiation simulation. Later, we will apply settings for a coarser surface
mesh elsewhere.
ii. Enter boi_lens for the Name of the size control.
iii. Specify Body of Influence for the Size Control Type.
v. Select the region for body of influence, boi.
For occasions when the list of items is long, you can use the Filter Text option and use an ex-
pression such as in* to show only items starting with "in". Alternatively, you can use the Use
Wildcard option to list and pres-select matching items. See Filtering Lists and Using Wildcards
for more information.
vi. Click Add Local Sizing.
b. In the Add Local Sizing task, you can add additional local sizing controls to the faceted geo-
metry.
Setup and Solution
You can now see the boi_lens task in the workflow, which can be selected to change its settings.
The Add Local Sizing task can still be used to add more local sizing controls to the geometry.
ii. Enter bodysize_lens for the Name of the size control.
iii. Specify Body Size for the Size Control Type.
v. Select the region for body size, lens.
vi. Click Add Local Sizing to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the workflow.
Note:
d. Click Generate the Surface Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
5. Improve the surface mesh.
a. Right click Generate the Surface Mesh and Insert Next Task Improve Surface Mesh and
click Improve Surface Mesh.
Setup and Solution
b. In the Improve Surface Mesh task.
Click Improve Surface Mesh.
a. Select The geometry consists of both fluid and solid regions and/or voids option under
Geometry Type, since this model contains both fluid and solids, and potential voids.
workflow.
Setup and Solution
b. The proposed boundary is correct, so click Update Boundaries and proceed to the next task.
automatically.
b. For the Estimated Number of Fluid Regions, keep the default selection of 1.
Setup and Solution
mesh.
For the Add Boundary Layers task, select no at the prompt as to whether or not you want
to define boundary layer settings.
Since well resolved flows near the walls are not necessary, the exclusion of boundary layers will
simplify the mesh and keep cell counts low.
b. Click Update and proceed to the next task.
Setup and Solution
a. Enable Advanced Options to expose additional options that are required for this task.
b. Specify 40 for Polyhedral Mesh Feature Angle.
c. Select the Generate the Volume Mesh task, where you can set properties of the volume mesh
itself.
d. Keep the default settings, and click Generate the Volume Mesh.
volume mesh.
12. Check the mesh.
13. Save the mesh file (headlamp.msh.h5).
16.4.3. Mesh
1. Display and examine the mesh.
Setup and Solution
a. Disable Edges in the Options group box.
b. Ensure that all surfaces are selected from the Surfaces selection list.
c. Deselect enclosure:1 and rad-input from the Surfaces selection list.
The graphics display will be updated to show only the headlamp mesh.
Figure 16.3: Graphics Display of Headlamp Mesh
16.4.4. Models
Physics → Models
a. Enable Energy.
2. Enable the laminar viscous model.
Setup and Solution
a. Select Laminar in the Model group box.
3. Set up the Monte Carlo (MC) radiation model.
Physics → Models → Radiation...
a. Select Monte Carlo (MC).
b. Enter 20 for Energy Iterations per Radiation Iteration.
c. Enter 10000000 for Target Number of Histories.
The MC model is a statistical radiation model that tracks a sample of photons through the
system. The size of this sample is determined by Target Number of Histories. In general, the
larger the number of histories, the more accurate the simulation at the expense of compute
time. In this tutorial, a relatively low number is used for demonstration purposes. In practice,
this number may need to be increased to achieve suitable results.
The MC model is preferred in this case because of the collimated beam type irradiation being
modelled. The Discrete Ordinates model would require very high angular discretization and,
therefore, would be computationally expensive. The Surface to Surface model assumes all ra-
diation to be diffuse and so would not capture the specular nature of the focusing of rays by
the lens.
d. Click OK to close the Radiation Model dialog box.
e. Click OK to close the Information dialog box.
16.4.5. Materials
1. Define a new material, glass.
Setup and Solution
a. Select solid from the Material type drop-down list.
b. Clear the entry in the Chemical Formula field.
c. Configure the following properties for glass:
Field Setting
Name glass
Density 2650 kg/m3
Cp (Specific Heat) 1887 j/kg-k
Thermal Conductivity 7.6 w/m-k
Absorption Coefficient 5.302 m^-1
Refractive Index 1.4714
d. Click Change/Create and select Yes to overwrite aluminum, since it will not be used in this
case.
2. Define a new material, plastic.
a. Configure the following properties for plastic:
Field Setting
Name plastic
Density 1545.3 kg/m3
Cp (Specific Heat) 2302 j/kg-k
Thermal Conductivity 0.316 w/m-k
Absorption Coefficient 0
Refractive Index 1
b. Click Change/Create and select No to retain glass.
3. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

1. Set the cell zone conditions for the bezel.
Setup and Solution
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Solid → bezel Edit...
a. Select plastic from the Material Name drop-down list.
b. Click Apply and close the Solid dialog box.
2. Copy the cell zone conditions for bezel to holder, housing, inner-bezel, reflector, rim-bezel, and
seating-steel-rim.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Solid → bezel Copy...
a. Ensure bezel is selected in the From Cell Zone list.
b. In the To Cell Zones list, select holder, housing, inner-bezel, reflector, rim-bezel, and
seating-steel-rim.
c. Click Copy.
d. Click OK when prompted to confirm.
e. Close the Copy Conditions dialog box.
3. Set the cell zone conditions for the lens.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Solid → lens Edit...
a. Ensure glass is selected from the Material Name drop-down list.
b. Enable Participates in Radiation.
c. Click Apply and close the Solid dialog box.

The mesh has a large number of faces and several have the suffix "-shadow". These are automatically
generated in Fluent because the faces are two-sided, meaning every face has two separate boundaries,
one for each side. You will utilize the copy function used in setting up the cell zone conditions to aide in
this section.
1. Set the basic boundary conditions for all boundaries:
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → bezel-enclosure Edit...
Tab Setting Value

Thermal Material name plastic
Radiation BC Type opaque
Internal Emissivity 1
Diffuse Fraction 1
Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
2. Copy the boundary conditions for bezel-enclosure to all other boundaries.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → bezel-enclosure Copy...
a. Ensure bezel-enclosure is selected in the From Boundary Zone list.
b. Click Select All Shown ( ) to select all boundaries in the To Boundary Zones list.
c. Click Copy.
3. Set the boundary conditions for the lens:
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → enclosure-lens Edit...
Tab Setting Value

Thermal Material name glass
Radiation BC Type semi-transparent
Diffuse Fraction 0
4. Copy the boundary conditions for enclosure-lens to other lens boundary.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → enclosure-lens Copy...
a. Ensure enclosure-lens is selected in the From Boundary Zone list.
b. Select enclosure-lens-shadow in the To Boundary Zones list.
c. Click Copy.
5. Set the boundary conditions for the rim bezel:
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → enclosure-rim-bezel Edit...
Tab Setting Value

Thermal Material name plastic
Radiation BC Type opaque
Setup and Solution
Tab Setting Value

Internal Emissivity 0.16
Diffuse Fraction 0.1
6. Copy the boundary conditions for enclosure-rim-bezel to other rim bezel boundaries.
Setup → Boundary Zone Conditions → Wall → enclosure-rim-bezel Copy...
a. Ensure enclosure-rim-bezel is selected in the From Boundary Zone list.
b. Select enclosure-rim-bezel-shadow, holder-rim-bezel, holder-rim-bezel-shadow, housing-

rim-bezel, and housing-rim-bezel-shadow in the To Boundary Zones list.
c. Click Copy.
7. Set the boundary conditions for the outer walls
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → enclosure:1 Edit...
a. Click the Thermal tab and select Temperature from the Thermal Conditions list.
b. Enter 298.15 K for Temperature.
8. Set the boundary conditions for the radiation input surfaces:
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → rad-input Edit...
Tab Setting Value

Thermal Thermal Conditions Temperature
Temperature 298.15 k
Radiation Boundary Source (enabled)
Direct Irradiation 1200 w/m2
Beam Direction X -0.848
Beam Direction Y 0
Beam Direction Z -0.53
16.4.8. Solution
1. Specify the discretization schemes..
Retain the default settiings.
2. Set the convergence criteria for you simulation.
b. Enable Show Advanced Options and select none from the Convergence Criterion drop-
down list so that automatic convergence checking does not occur.
Setup and Solution
c. Click OK to close the Residual Monitors dialog box.
3. Create a surface report definition for max temperature on the inner bezel.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Facet Maximum
a. Enter max-temp for the Name of the surface report definition.
b. In the Create group box, enable Report Plot and Print to Console.
Note:
Unlike residual values, data from other reports is not saved as part of the solution
set when the Ansys Fluent data file is saved. If you want to access the surface report
data in future Ansys Fluent sessions, you can enable the Report File option. The
report file will be saved in your working directory.
c. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
d. Select enclosure-inner_bezel from the Surfaces selection list.
dialog box.
4. Save the case file (headlamp.cas.h5).
b. Click Calculate.
c. Click Yes to initialize the case before solving.
You can monitor the progression of the residuals and the temperature report of the inner bezel during
the run. The residuals spike every 20 iterations when the Monte Carlo model is called and the radiation
quantities are updated. This case is run for a relatively small number of iterations for demonstration
purposes but the temperature on the inner bezel could be monitored for many more iterations until it
reaches a relative steady state.
6. Save the case and data files (headlamp.cas.h5 and headlamp.dat.h5).
1. Create a contour of temperature on the inner bezel.
b. Ensure the Filled option is enabled in the Options group box.
d. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select enclosure-inner-bezel from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Click Save/Display.
There is a clear hotspot on the inner bezel. You can use the draw mesh function to look at the
location of the hotpsot in relation to the lens.
g. Enable the Draw Mesh option in the Options group box to open the Mesh Display dialog
box.
i. Deselect all surfaces, then select enclosure-lens from the Surfaces list.
ii. Close the Mesh Display dialog box.
Setup and Solution
Note:
On highly angular geometries, such as the inner bezel, the Gouraud lighting
method (used by default with the Automatic lighting method) will round off
corners. You may want to consider changing the lighting method to Flat in
the View tab to obtain the view as shown below.
Figure 16.4: Contour of Temperature on Inner Bezel
2. Create a contour of the normalized standard deviation of radiation intensity.
a. Enter contour-rad-std for Contour Name.
b. Ensure the Filled option is enabled in the Options group box.
c. Select Radiation... and Radiation Intensity.Normalized Std Deviation from the Contours
of drop-down lists.
d. Select all surfaces, then deselect enclosure:1 and rad-input from the Surfaces selection list.
The standard deviation is generally less than 30, but still exceeds this value in many small areas,
which is undesirable. Increasing the number of histories in the Monte Carlo radiation model would
lower the standard deviation and improve the results, at the cost of the simulation being more
computationally expensive.
Figure 16.5: Contour of Radiation Intensity Normalized Standard Deviation on Inner Bezel
3. Save the case file (headlamp.cas.h5).
16.5. Summary
In this tutorial you completed a conduction and radiation simulation to investigate the occurrence of
any hot spots generated by the focusing of rays by the headlamp lens. The MC radiation model is ap-
propriate for modeling collimated beam type radiation where the discretization methods used in the
DO model might be computationally expensive.
You can watch a video of this case being set up, solved, and postprocessed at:

This tutorial guides you through the steps to reach a basic solution. You may be able to obtain a more
accurate solution by refining the MC model settings (increasing the number of histories) or running the
case for more iterations. You can also try importing the temperature field into Ansys Mechanical for a
thermal stress analysis.
Chapter 17: Using the Eddy Dissipation and Steady
Diffusion Flamelet Combustion Models
17.1. Introduction
17.2. Prerequisites
17.5. Steady Diffusion Flamelet Model Setup and Solution
17.6. Summary
17.1. Introduction
This tutorial examines the reacting flow through a can combustor that burns methane in air in order
to determine the combustor performance. In this tutorial, you will first mesh the geometry in the Ansys
Fluent Meshing and then simulate the combustion process using the Eddy Dissipation model. You will
then repeat the simulation using the steady flamelet model and compare the results of these two ap-
proaches.
• Mesh the geometry in Ansys Fluent Meshing.
• Set up a combustion simulation in Ansys Fluent.
• Set up a reacting flow involving fuel and oxidizer.
• Use the Eddy Dissipation model.
• Use the Steady Diffusion Flamelet model.
• Display the results obtained using these two models.
17.2. Prerequisites
Using the Eddy Dissipation and Steady Diffusion Flamelet Combustion Models

A can type combustor is a component of a land-based gas turbine in which combustion occurs. Can
combustors are designed to burn the fuel efficiently, minimize the emissions, and reduce the wall
temperature. The can combustor to be considered in this tutorial is shown schematically in Fig-
ure 17.1: Can Combustor Geometry (p. 666).
Figure 17.1: Can Combustor Geometry
Compressed primary air is forced into the combustion chamber at 10 m/s through the main inlet at the
base of the canister. Six swirl inlet vanes guide the incoming air into the canister and facilitate its mixing
with pure methane for proper combustion. Methane is injected through six fuel inlets with a velocity
of 40 m/s. As the reacting mixture proceeds through the canister, secondary air is fed into the combustion
chamber at a velocity of 6 m/s through six secondary air inlets downstream from the primary combustion
zone. This helps increase the combustion efficiency and also cool the can walls as they are exposed to
the hot reacting flow. The fuel and oxidizer enter the combustion chamber at 300 K.
In this tutorial, the quantitative analysis of the combusting mixture is performed and the following
quantities are determined:
• The expected loss of total pressure through the combustor
• The temperature distribution inside the combustor that burns methane in air
• The proportion of unburned fuel remaining at the combustor outlet

17.4.1. Preparation
Setup and Solution

17.4.4. Models
17.4.6. Solution
17.4.7. Postprocessing for the Eddy-Dissipation Solution
You can also watch a video that demonstrates how to setup, solve, and postprocess the solution results
for diffusion-controlled combustion at:
17.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the edm_flamelet.zip file here.
2. Unzip edm_flamelet.zip to your working directory.
The file can_combustor.pmdb can be found in the folder.

1. In the Workflow tab on the left of the interface, click the drop-down list and select Watertight
Geometry.
2. Import the CAD geometry (can_combustor.pmdb).
b. Enable Advanced Options to expose additional options that may be required when importing
a CAD geometry.
Select region for the Separate Zone By.
Enter 0.1 for the Tolerance.
Locate the can_combustor.pmdb file using the File Name option and select the file.
c. Select Import Geometry.
a. Select yes to add local face sizing to the inlets.
Setup and Solution
i. Select Face Size for the Size Control Type.
ii. Change the Target Mesh Size to 1.
iii. Select fuelinlet, inletair1 and inletair2 from the list of labels.
iv. Click Add Local Sizing.
b. Add fuelinlet proximity sizing.
i. Change the Size Control Type to Proximity.
ii. Adjust the Local Min Size to be 0.5 and the Max Size to be 2.
iii. Change the number of Cells Per Gap to be 16.
iv. Select fuelinlet from the list of labels and click Add Local Sizing.
c. Add proximity sizing to the inlet vanes.
Setup and Solution
i. Ensure Proximity is selected and change the Local Min Size to 0.5 and the Max Size to
2.
ii. Change the Select By option to zone.
iii. Select origin-solid:18, origin-solid:20, origin-solid:21, origin-sol-

id:24 and origin-solid:25 from the list of zones.
iv. Click Add Local Sizing.
d. Add face sizing to the inlet vanes.
i. Change the Size Control Type to Face Size and enter 1 for the Target Mesh Size.
ii. Select origin-solid:18, origin-solid:20, origin-solid:21, origin-sol-

id:24 and origin-solid:25 from the list of zones.
iii. Click Add Local Sizing.
a. Adjust the Minimum Size to be 1 and the Maximum Size to be 15.
b. Change the Cells Per Gap to be 4 and click Generate the Surface Mesh.
Setup and Solution
a. In the Describe Geometry task, select the option "The geometry consists of only fluid regions
with no voids".
b. Check that both remaining options are set to "No".
c. Click Describe Geometry.
6. Update the boundaries.
a. Change the wallvanes boundary type to wall.
b. Click Update Boundaries.
7. Update the regions.
a. Retain default settings and click Update Regions.
a. Retain default settings and click Add Boundary Layers.
a. Change the Max Cell Length to 7.5.
b. Click Generate the Volume Mesh to generate the mesh.
10. Check the quality of the mesh
a. Select Check from the Mesh drop-down list on the main taskbar.
Setup and Solution
b. Switch to solution mode by clicking the Switch to Solution button on the Fluent ribbon tab.

1. Retain the default setting of Pressure-Based in the Solver group box, under Type. Retain the
default selection of Steady from the Time list.
Setup → General
17.4.4. Models
The fuel (methane) and oxidizer (air) undergo fast combustion (that is, the overall combustion rate
is controlled by turbulent mixing). In this first part of the tutorial, the combustion reaction is considered
to be driven by turbulent diffusion, and it is modeled using the Eddy Dissipation model, which is
suitable for modeling fast combustion.
1. Enable the k-ω SST turbulence model.
a. Retain the default selections in the Viscous Model dialog box.
b. Select methane-air from the Mixture Material drop-down list.
The Mixture Material list contains the set of chemical mixtures that exist in the Ansys Fluent
database. When selecting an appropriate mixture for your case, you can review the constituent
species and the reactions of the predefined mixture by clicking View... next to the Mixture Mater-
ial drop-down list. The chemical species and their physical and thermodynamic properties are
defined by the selection of the mixture material. After enabling the Species Transport model, you
can alter the mixture material selection or modify the mixture material properties using the Cre-
ate/Edit Materials dialog box.
c. Select Volumetric in the Reactions group box.
d. Select Eddy-Dissipation in the Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction group box.
The Eddy-Dissipation model computes the reaction rate under the assumption that chemical reaction
is fast compared to transport of reactants in the combusting flow. That is, the reaction is controlled
by diffusion.
A Warning message appears in the console notifying you that Ansys Fluent automatically enabled
the energy equation required for the Species reaction model.

In this step, you will define the boundary conditions at the inlets and the outlet.
1. Set the boundary condition for the fuel inlet.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → fuelinlet Edit...
In the Velocity Inlet dialog box, configure the following settings.
Tab Setting Value

Momentum Velocity Magnitude 40 m/s
Thermal Temperature 300 (default)
Species ch4 (Species Mass Fractions group box) 1
2. Set the boundary condition for the primary air inlet.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inletair1 Edit...
Setup and Solution
Tab Setting Value

Species o2 (Species Mass Fractions group box) 0.23[a]
a. Dry air is composed of 23% of oxygen and 77% of nitrogen, which is a bulk species in the
mixture. Ansys Fluent adds an appropriate amount of nitrogen at the boundaries to ensure
that the sum of the mass fractions of the components is equal to unity.
3. Set the boundary condition for the secondary air inlet.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inletair2 Edit...
Tab Setting Value

Species o2 (Species Mass Fractions group box) 0.23
4. Set the boundary condition for the pressure outlet.
In the Pressure Outlet dialog box, configure the following settings.
Tab Setting Value

Momentum Gauge Pressure 0 Pa [a] (default)
Backflow Pressure Specification Total Pressure[b]
(default)
Average Pressure Specification (Selected)
a. The gauge pressure of 0 Pa means that the pressure equals the ambient pressure.
b. This setting ensures that if the backflow occurs, only pure nitrogen at 300 K enters the chamber,
which will not affect the combustion reactions.
5. For wall-part-fluid, wallvanes and wallvanes-shadow retain the default stationary no slip adia-
batic settings.
17.4.6. Solution
In the Solution Methods task page, configure the following settings.
Group Box Setting Value

Pressure Velocity Coupling Scheme Coupled
N/A Pseudo Time Method Global Time Step
N/A Warped-Face Gradient Correc- (Default) [a]
tion
N/A High Order Term Relaxation (Enabled)[b]
a. The warped-face gradient correction is designed to improve gradient accuracy for all gradient
methods.
b. The relaxation of high order terms will help to improve the solution behavior of flow simulations
when higher order spatial discretizations are used (higher than first).
2. Ensure that the plotting of residuals is enabled during the calculation.
3. Create a surface report definition of mass-weighted average of co2 at the outlet.
Configure the following settings.

N/A Name co2-out
N/A Field Variable Species... and Mass fraction of co2
N/A Surfaces outlet
Create Report File (Selected)
Report Plot (Selected)
Print to Console (Selected)
Solution → Initialization → Initialize
5. Save the case file (can_combustor_edm.cas.h5).
6. Start calculation.
Setup and Solution
a. Set the global Time Scale Factor to 5.
The Time Scale Factor allows you to further manipulate the computed time step size calculated
by Ansys Fluent. Larger time steps can lead to faster convergence. However, if the time step is too
c. Click Calculate.
All scaled residuals have met the criteria for a converged solution (Figure 17.2: Scaled Residuals (p. 679)),
and the relative amount of CO2 exiting the combustor outlet has become stable (Figure 17.3: Convergence
History of Mass-Weighted Average CO2 on the Outlet (p. 680)).
Figure 17.2: Scaled Residuals
Figure 17.3: Convergence History of Mass-Weighted Average CO2 on the Outlet
7. Save the case and data files (can_combustor_edm.cas.h5 and can_combus-

tor_edm.dat.h5).
17.4.7. Postprocessing for the Eddy-Dissipation Solution

1. Check the mass flux balance.
Warning:
Although the mass flow rate history indicates that the solution is converged, you
should also check the net mass fluxes through the domain to ensure that mass is
being conserved.
Setup and Solution
a. Select fuelinlet, inletair1, inletair2 and outlet from the Boundaries selection list.
b. Retain the default Mass Flow Rate option.
Warning:
The net mass imbalance should be a small fraction (for example, 0.5%) of the total
flux through the system. If a significant imbalance occurs, you should decrease
the residual tolerances by at least an order of magnitude and continue iterating.
2. Report the total sensible heat flux.
a. Select Total Sensible Heat Transfer Rate in the Options list.
b. Select all the boundaries from the Boundaries selection list (you can click the select-all button
( ).
Note:
The energy balance is good because the net result is small compared to the heat
of reaction.
3. Create an XZ plane, which will be used for plotting the results.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter plane_xz in for New Surface Name.
b. In the Method drop-down list, select Point and Normal.
c. In the Point group box, enter 1, 0, 1 for X, Y, Z, respectively.
d. In the Normal group box, enter 0, 1, 0 for iX, iY, iZ, respectively.
e. Click Create and close the Plane Surface dialog box.
4. Display filled contours of CO2 mass fraction in the combustion chamber (Figure 17.4: Contours of
CO2 Mass Fraction (p. 684)).
a. Enter co2-mass-fraction for Contour Name.
b. Enable Filled in the Options group box.
c. From the Contours of drop-down lists, select Species... and Mass Fraction of co2.
d. From the Surfaces selection list, deselect all surfaces and select plane_xz.
e. In the Coloring group box, select Smooth.
f. Click Save/Display, close the Contours dialog box, and rotate the view as shown in Fig-
ure 17.4: Contours of CO2 Mass Fraction (p. 684).
The contour map of the CO2 concentration shows that the flow is mixing and reacting properly in
the combustor.
5. Display filled contours of oxygen mass fraction on the surface plane_xz (Figure 17.5: Contours of
O2 Mass Fraction (p. 685)).
a. Enter o2-mass-fraction for Contour Name.
c. From the Contours of drop-down lists, select Species... and Mass Fraction of o2.
d. From the Surfaces selection list, deselect all surfaces and select plane_xz.
e. In the Coloring group box, select Smooth.
Setup and Solution
Figure 17.5: Contours of O2 Mass Fraction
6. Display filled contours of temperature on the aluminum combustor walls (Figure 17.6: Contours
of Static Temperature on the Combustor Walls (p. 686)).
a. Enter surface-temperature for Contour Name.
c. From the Contours of drop-down lists, select Temperature... and Static Temperature.
d. Click New Surface and select Iso-Clip.
e. Name the surface clip-y-coordinate and select Mesh... and Y-Coordinate from the
Clip to Values of drop-down lists.
f. Select the surface solid:1.
g. Click Compute and enter 0 for the Min (m).
h. Click Create and close the dialog box.
i. From the Surfaces selection list, deselect all surfaces and select clip-y-coordinate and
wallvanes.
j. In the Coloring group box, select Smooth.
k. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
Figure 17.6: Contours of Static Temperature on the Combustor Walls
l. Rotate the contour plot to examine the temperature field of the combusting flow on the can-
ister walls from different angles.
7. Save the case and data files (can_combustor_edm.cas.h5 and can_combus-

tor_edm.dat.h5).
17.5. Steady Diffusion Flamelet Model Setup and Solution

In the first part of the tutorial, the combustion reaction was modeled using the Eddy Dissipation model.
In this part of the tutorial, you will use the Steady Diffusion Flamelet model to simulate a turbulent
non-premixed reacting flow. The Steady Diffusion Flamelet model can model local chemical non-equi-
librium due to turbulent strain.
In the Steady Diffusion Flamelet model, reactions take place in a thin laminar locally one-dimensional
zone, called 'flamelet'. The turbulent flame is represented by an ensemble of such flamelets. Detailed
chemical kinetics is used to describe the combustion reaction. The chemistry is assumed to respond
rapidly to the turbulent strain, and as the strain relaxes to zero, the chemistry tends to equilibrium.
Despite the tendency toward equilibrium, a flamelet solution can often yield more accurate results than
an Eddy Dissipation or one- or two-step Finite Rate solution. This is because all the chemistry details
are included, making it possible to capture some of the faster intermediate reactions. To model turbulent
mixing, a probability density function (PDF) table is used as a lookup table at run time.
To watch a video that demonstrates some steps shown below, go to
Steady Diffusion Flamelet Model Setup and Solution
17.5.1. Models
Specify settings for non-premixed combustion.
1. In the Model group box, select Non-Premixed Combustion.
2. In the State Relation group box, select Steady Diffusion Flamelet.
3. Retain the selection of Create Flamelet in the Options group box.
If you are generating a flamelet file yourself, you need to read in the chemical kinetics mechanism and
thermodynamic data, which must be in CHEMKIN format.
4. Click Import CHEMKIN Mechanism...
5. In the CHEMKIN Mechanism Import dialog box, in the Kinetics Input File text entry field, enter
the following:
path\KINetics\data\grimech30_50spec_mech.inp
where path is the Ansys Fluent installation directory (for example, C:\Program Files\ANSYS
Inc\v231\fluent\fluent23.1.0).
6. Click Import.
Once the reacting data file has been imported, the tab for specifying the fuel and oxidizer compositions,
flamelet and PDF table become accessible.
7. In the Boundary tab, specify the fuel (methane) and oxidizer (air) stream compositions in mass
fractions.
a. In the Specify Species in group box, make sure that Mass Fraction is selected.
b. Configure the following settings:
Group Species Mass Fraction

Fuel ch4 1.0
Oxid o2 0.233 (default)
n2 0.767 (default)
Tip:
Scroll down to see all the species.
Note:
All boundary species with a mass or mole fraction of zero will be ignored.
c. In the Temperature group box, retain the default values of 300 K for Fuel and Oxid.
8. In the Control tab, retain the default settings.
9. In the Flamelet tab, retain the default settings and click Calculate Flamelets.
Once the diffusion flamelets are generated, a Question dialog box opens, asking whether you want
to save flamelets to a file. Click No.
10. In the Table tab, retain the default settings for the table parameters and click Calculate PDF
Table to compute a non-adiabatic probability density function (PDF) table.
11. Click Display PDF Table...
12. In the PDF Table dialog box, retain the selection of Mean Temperature from the Plot Variable
drop-down list and all the other default parameters and click Display.
In the graphical display of the 3D look-up table, the Z axis represents the mean temperature of the
reacting fluid, and the X and Y axes represent the mean mixture fraction and the scaled variance, re-
spectively.
The maximum and minimum values for mean temperature and the corresponding mean mixture
fraction and scale variance are also reported in the console.
The 3D look-up tables are reviewed on a slice-by-slice basis. By default, the slice selected corresponds
to the adiabatic enthalpy values. You can also select other slices of constant enthalpy for display.
13. Save the PDF output file (can_combustor_flamelet.pdf.gz).
File → Write → PDF...
a. Enter can_combustor_flamelet.pdf.gz for PDF File name.
b. Click OK to write the file.
By default, the file will be saved as formatted (ASCII, or text). To save a binary (unformatted) file,
enable the Write Binary Files option in the Select File dialog box.
14. Click Close to close the PDF Table dialog box.
15. Click OK to close the Species Model dialog box.

Specify the boundary condition for the fuel inlet.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → fuelinlet Edit...
1. In the Velocity Inlet dialog box, under the Species tab, enter 1 for Mean Mixture Fraction.
The value of 1 indicates that only pure methane will be entering the fuelinlet boundary.
2. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
17.5.3. Solution
1. Edit the output filename for mass-weighted average of co2 at the outlet.
Solution → Monitors → Report Files → co2-out-rfile Edit...
a. Enter co2-out-fl-rfile.out for File Name.
b. Click OK to close the Edit Report File dialog box.
2. Save the case file (can_combustor_flamelet.cas.h5).
3. Reinitialize the solution.
4. In the Run Calculation task page, retain the settings of 5 for Time Scale Factor and 500 for
Number of Iterations and click Calculate.
5. Save the case and data files (can_combustor_flamelet.cas.h5 and can_combus-

tor_flamelet.dat.h5).
17.5.4. Postprocessing for the Steady Diffusion Flamelet Solution

1. Check the mass flux balance and the total sensible heat flux. Here, it is important for the total
sensible net heat flux to be at least less than 1% of the reaction source.
Note that in this case, the residuals may not converge. It is important to utilize both the flux calculations
along with the monitor plot to determine whether the solution has converged.
2. Display filled contours of mean mixture fraction on the surface plane_xz (Figure 17.7: Contours
of Mean Mixture Fraction (p. 690)).
a. Enter mean-mixture-fraction for Contour Name.
b. From the Contours of drop-down lists, select Pdf... and Mean Mixture Fraction.
c. From the Surfaces selection list, deselect all surfaces and select plane_xz.
d. Enable Filled in the Options group box.
e. Clear the Auto Range and Clip to Range options.
f. Enter 0.15 for Max.
g. In the Coloring group box, select Smooth.
Figure 17.7: Contours of Mean Mixture Fraction
3. Display filled contours of CO2 mass fraction in the combustion chamber (Figure 17.8: Contours of
CO2 Mass Fraction (p. 691)).
Results → Graphics → Contours → co2-mass-fraction Display
The steady diffusion flamelet simulation yields a significantly different CO2 mass fraction distribution
as compared to the eddy dissipation model calculation. The lower CO2 concentration at the base of
the flamelet flame is caused by low local temperature in the area, which results in slower combustion.
In the eddy dissipation model, chemical kinetics is ignored, and the reaction is controlled by turbulent
mixing of the materials. In this case, the CO2 concentration is greater near the base of the flame because
the rate of mixing is high in the area (see Figure 17.4: Contours of CO2 Mass Fraction (p. 684)).
4. Display the outlet CO2 concentration profiles for both solutions on a single plot.
a. In the Plot Data Sources dialog box, click the Load File... button to open the Select File
dialog box.
b. In the Select File dialog box that opens, click once on co2-out-fl-rfile.out and co2-out-
rfile.out.
Each of these files will be listed with their folder path in the bottom list to indicate that they have
been selected.
Tip:
If you select a file by mistake, simply click the file in the bottom list and then
click Remove.
c. Click OK to save the files and close the Select File dialog box.
d. In the Plot group box, enter co2-out for Title.
e. From the Curve Information selection list, select co2-out-rfile.out | Iteration | co2-out
f. Enter co2-EDM in the lower-right text-entry box under the Legend Names selection list.
g. Click the Change Legend Entry button.
The item in the Legend Entries list for co2-out-rfile.out | Iteration | co2-out will be changed to
co2-EDM. This legend entry will be displayed in the upper-left corner of the XY plot generated in
a later step.
h. In a similar manner, change the legend entry for the co2-out-fl-rfile.out | Iteration | co2-out
curve to be co2-Flamelet.
i. Click the Axes... button to open the Axes dialog box.
i. From the Axis list, select Y.
ii. Enter 2 for Precision.
iii. Click Apply and close the Axes dialog box.
j. Click the Curves... button to open the Curves dialog box, where you will define a different
curve symbol for the CO2 concentration data.
i. Retain 0 for the Curve #.
ii. Select ---- from the Pattern drop-down list.
iii. From the Symbol drop-down list, select the "blank" choice, which is the first item in the
Symbol list.
iv. Click Apply.
v. Set Curve # to 1 by clicking the up-arrow button.
vi. Modify the settings for Pattern and Symbol in a manner similar to that for the previous
curve.
vii. Click Apply and close the Curves dialog box.
k. Click Plot and close the Plot Data Sources dialog box.
Summary
Figure 17.9: Convergence History of Mass-Weighted Average CO2 on the Outlet
Despite the model differences, both models predicted similar mass-weighted average mass fractions
of CO2 exiting the combustor during the steady-state. However, the steady diffusion flamelet
model predicts less CO2 exiting the combustor and, due to its more realistic description of combustion
kinetics, is considered to be more accurate.
5. Save the case file (can_combustor_flamelet.cas.h5).
You can perform further postprocessing of the solution results as shown in the following video:
17.6. Summary
In this tutorial, you have learned how to model the reacting flow through a can combustor using the
eddy dissipation model and steady diffusion flamelet model in Ansys Fluent.
Chapter 18: Effusion Cooling simulation in a 3D model
Combustor
18.1. Introduction
18.2. Prerequisites
18.4. Background
18.6. Summary
18.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates the process to set up perforated wall model and its capability for effusion
cooling in a model combustor.
A slice of cylindrical combustor burning liquid fuel with methane ( ) as the evaporated gas in hot
air is studied using the FGM model in Ansys Fluent.
• Enable physical models, select material properties, and define boundary conditions for a turbulent
combustion flow with FGM model.
• Set up perforated wall to model effusion cooling effects.
• Initiate and solve the combustion simulation using the pressure-based solver.
• Examine the reacting flow results using graphics.
18.2. Prerequisites
To learn more about turbulent combustion modeling and perforated walls, see the Fluent User's Guide
and the Fluent Theory Guide.
Effusion Cooling simulation in a 3D model Combustor

The 3D model gas turbine combustor considered in this tutorial is shown in Figure 18.1: 3D model gas
turbine combustor with liquid fuel Combustion of Methane (p. 696). The flame considered is a turbulent
diffusion flame with fuel supplied by liquid droplets. The air is introduced from the inlet with mass flow
rate 0.10962 kg/s. Air flow is split into two streams, one goes through a swirl after which air and evap-
orated fuel mixed, and the other goes into the shroud. The fuel droplets are injected after the swirl and
evaporation will occur. The evaporated fuel is set to be methane. After air and fuel are mixed, the flame
is established in the main combustion chamber.
Figure 18.1: 3D model gas turbine combustor with liquid fuel Combustion of Methane
18.4. Background
In this tutorial, you will use the FGM turbulent combustion model and DPM model to simulate analyze
the methane-air combustion system. The effusion cooling effects are modeled with perforated wall
capability. The effusion cooling mass flow rate are determined by the pressure difference between the
shroud and the main combustion chamber.

18.5.1. Preparation
18.5.3. Mesh
18.5.5. Models
18.5.6. Materials
Setup and Solution
18.5.9. Cold Flow Solution

18.5.10. Combustion Solution
18.5.1. Preparation
1. Download the effusion_cooling.zip file here.
2. Unzip effusion_cooling.zip to your working directory.
The SpaceClaim CAD file combustor_effusion.scdoc can be found in the folder.
4. Select Meshing in the top-left selection list to start Fluent in Solution Mode.

2. Import the CAD geometry (combustor_effusion.scdoc).
b. For Units, select mm.
(combustor_effusion.scdoc).
Setup and Solution
Note:
Figure 18.2: The Imported CAD Geometry for the Combustor
The combustor geometry has been enclosed in a suitable flow domain, which should provide distinct
regions of inflow and outflow for a range of angles of attack, and avoids having the bow shock
that forms in such flows from contacting the inflow surfaces..
Note:
to the next task.
Local mesh sizing controls are added on the liner surfaces using face sizing.
a. In the Add Local Sizing task, add local sizing controls to the faceted geometry by selecting
yes:
Setup and Solution
In this tutorial, we will add local sizing around the surfaces of the liner, since they are areas where
we require a more refined mesh.
ii. Retain the default facesize_1 for the Name of the size control.
iv. Retain Face Size for the Size Control Type.
v. Specify 1 for the Target Mesh Size.
vi. Select Label for the Select By.
vii. Select wall-liner and wall-liner-cold.
viii.Click Add Local Sizing.
elements on other surfaces.
Note:
e. Click Generate the Surface Mesh to complete this task and proceed to the next task in the
workflow.
Setup and Solution
workflow.
b. Rename wall-internal for the wall-int boundary name.
c. RenameInlet-fuel for the wall-fuel boundary name.
d. Select wall for the wall-fuel boundary type.
e. Select mass-flow-inlet for the inlet boundary type.
f. Click Update Boundaries and proceed to the next task.
7. Insert a new task and create the periodic boundaries.
Setup and Solution
Right click on the Update Boundaries task, Insert New Task and select Set Up Periodic
Boundaries.
a. Retain the default Select the Update Boundaries task, where you can inspect the mesh
boundaries and confirm and change any designated boundaries accordingly. Ansys Fluent at-
tempts to determine the correct arrangement of boundaries automatically.
b. Retain the default Rotational for the Type of periodic boundary, Automatic - pick
both sides for the Method and Label for Select By:.
c. Select periodic_1 and periodic_2 for the two sides of the periodic boundary.
d. Click Set Up Periodic Boundaries and proceed to the next task.
Setup and Solution
mesh.
b. Click Add Boundary Layers.
b. Select the polyhedra for Fill With.
c. Specify 10 for Max Cell Length.
d. Retain the default selection of Enable Parallel Meshing.
e. Click Generate the Volume Mesh.
Setup and Solution
11. Check the mesh.
12. Save the mesh file (combustor_effusion.msh.h5).
18.5.3. Mesh
1. Examine the mesh.
c. Select Wall from the Surfaces selection list.
Setup and Solution

based solver.
Setup → General
18.5.5. Models
a. Retain the default settings for the k-omega model.
Setup and Solution
a. Select Partially Premixed Combustion in the Model list.
The Species Model dialog box will expand to provide further options for the Partially Premixed
Combustion model.
b. In the Chemistry Tab
i. Select the Flamelet Generated Manifold in the State Relation group box.
ii. Select Non-Adiabatic in the Energy Treatment group box.
iii. Enable Compressibility Effects in the PDF Options group box.
iv. Select Diffusion Flamelet in the Flamelet Type group box.
v. Set the Equilibrium Operating Pressure (Pa) to 1519875 under Model Settings.
vi. Click Import CHEMKIN Mechanism... to open the Import CHEMKIN Format Mechanism
dialog box.
A. Select drm19.inp for the Kinetics Input File.
B. Select thermo30.dat for the Thermodynamic Database.
C. Click Import and close the Import CHEMKIN Format Mechanism dialog box.
c. In the Boundary tab
Setup and Solution
i. Set ch4 to 1.0.
ii. Set the Fuel to be 755.37 K and the Oxid to be 422.04 K under Temperature
iii. Select Mole Fraction under Specify Species In.
d. In the Control tab, keeps the settings.
e. In the Flamelet tab
i. Enable Automated Grid Refinement.
ii. Set the Initial Number of Grid Points in Flamelet to 16.
iii. Click the Calculate Flamelets button.
iv. Then answer Yes and save the flamelet solution into a file named combustor_effu-
sion.fla.gz.
f. In the Table tab
i. Click the Calculate PDF Table button.
g. Click OK to close the Species Model dialog box.
h. Save the PDF output file (combustor_effusion.pdf.gz).
File → Write → PDF...
i. Enter combustor_effusion.pdf.gz for PDF File name.
ii. Click OK to write the file.
4. Enable Discrete Phase Model
Physics → Models → Discrete Phase...
Setup and Solution
a. Enable the Interaction with Continuous Phase in the Interaction group box.
b. Set the DPM Iteration Interval to 50.
c. In the Numerics Tab
i. Enable Linearize Source Terms in the Source Terms group box.
ii. Click the Injections button.
Setup and Solution
A. Click the Create button.
B. Select Cone as the injection type and set the Number of Streams to 300.
C. Select Droplet as the Particle Type.
D. Select kerosene-liquid as the Material and choose ch4 as the Evaporating Species.
E. Enable the Uniform Massflow Distribution option.
Setup and Solution
F. Set the X-Position [m] to 0.015 m, Y-Position [m] to 0.002 m, and the Z-Position
[m] to -0.08 m.
G. Set the Diameter [m] to 3.0E-5m.
H. Set the Temperature [K] to 340K.
I. Set the Velocity Magnitude [m/s] to 50 m//s.
J. Set the Cone Angle to 12 degrees.
K. Set the Outer Radius [m] to 0.002m.
L. Set the Total Flow Rate [Kg/s] to 0.003815 Kg/s
d. In the Turbulent Dispersion tab
i. Enable Discrete Random Walk Model and Random Eddy Lifetime.
e. Click OK to close the Set Injection Properties panel.
f. Click Close to close the Injections panel.
g. Click OK to close the Discrete Phase Model panel.
18.5.6. Materials
In this step, you will examine the default settings for the droplet material. This tutorial uses droplet prop-
erties copied from theFluent Database. In general, you can modify these or create your own droplet
properties for your specific problem as necessary .
Setup → Materials → Droplet Particle → kerosene-liquid Edit...
a. Retain the droplet particle properties. In this case, the default properties settings are used so
no changes are needed.
b. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

Setup and Solution

1. Set the boundary conditions for the air inlet.
a. Enter inlet for Zone Name.
b. Enter 0.1096181560833 kg/s for Mass Flow Rate.
c. Select Normal to the Boundary from the Direction Specification Method drop-down list.
d. Select Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specification Method drop-down list in the
e. Enter 1 for Turbulent Intensity.
f. Enter 2 for Viscosity Ratio.
g. Click the Thermal tab and retain the default value of 755.37222 for Temperature.
h. Click the DPM tab and select escape for the Discrete Phase BC Type.
i. Click Apply and close the Inlet dialog box.
18.5.8.1. Perforated Walls

1. Setup the perforated walls to model the liner effusion, by reading an input file. .
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Perforated Walls...
Setup and Solution
a. Click Import Input File dialog box.
b. Select the file named input.txt.
c. Click Manual Inputs to check the model settings.
i. The Number of injection Walls is set to 1.
ii. The Injection Explicit Relaxation Factor is set to 0.1.
iii. Click Injection Holes Geometry... button to view the detailed setup for Injection Holes.
Setup and Solution
Click OK to close the Injection Holes dialog box.
iv. Click Dynamic Conditions... Edit… button to view the detailed setup for dynamic injec-
tion conditions for all the holes.
Click OK to close the Dynamic Setup dialog box.
d. Click OK to close the Perforated Walls dialog box.
18.5.9. Cold Flow Solution

First solve the cold flow through the combustor.
1. Solution → Solution → Methods...
Setup and Solution
Select Second Order for Pressure, Second Order Upwind for Density and First Order Upwind
for the other equations in the Spatial Discretization group box.
2. Set the solution control parameters. This model combustor is relatively sensitive to the numerical
settings, thus to be conservative, low pseudo time explicit relaxation factors are used. Set all the
pseudo time explicit relaxation factors to be 0.1, except Body Forces (since there is no body force
considered in this case). With 0.1 as the relaxation factors, the case may need a greater number
of iterations to converge.
Enter 0.1 for all the Pseudo Time Explicit Relaxation Factors, except for Body Forces.
3. Set the reference pressure method in the TUI.
b. Enter the text commands as shown in the box:
define operating-conditions reference-pressure-method 1
4. Ensure the plotting of residuals during the calculation.
5. Initialize the field variables.
a. Retain the default Hybrid initialization method and click Initialize to initialize the variables.
6. Save the case file (combustor_effusion.cas.h5).
Setup and Solution
a. Enter combustor_effusion.cas.h5 for Case File.
b. Ensure that Write Binary Files is enabled to produce a smaller, unformatted binary file.
c. Click OK to close the Select File dialog box.
7. Run the calculation.
b. Click Calculate.
8. Save the case and data files (combustor_effusion.cas.h5 and combustor_effu-

sion.dat.h5).
Note:
18.5.10. Combustion Solution

Now model cooling flow with combustion.
1. Initialize the Progress Variable variable used for the ignition model.
a. Select Standard initialization method and click Patch... to initialize the variables.
b. Enter 1 for the Value.
c. Select Progress Variable from the Variable list.
d. Select newgeom-combustor from the Zones to Patch list.
e. Click Patch and close the Patch dialog box..
b. Click Calculate.
3. Save the case and data files (combustor_effusion.cas.h5 and combustor_effu-

sion.dat.h5).
Note:
Review the solution by examining graphical displays of the results.
1. Display effusion hole locations.
a. Enter contour-taggedface for Contour Name.
Setup and Solution
c. Select Smooth in the Coloring group box.
d. Select Perforated... and Tagged Face in the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select wall-liner and wall-heatsheild from the Surfaces lists.
2. Display filled contours of wall temperature.
a. Enter contour-temp-wall for Contour Name.
c. Disable Global Range in the Options group box.
d. Select Smooth in the Coloring group box.
e. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature in the Contours of drop-down lists.
f. Select wall-liner and wall-heatsheild from the Surfaces lists.
3. Create an iso-surface through the combustor geometry.
a. Enter mid-plane for Name.
c. Click Compute.
Setup and Solution
d. Enter 0 for the Iso-Values.
4. Display filled contours of temperature on a plane.
d. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature in the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select mid-plane from the Surfaces lists.
5. Display filled contours of mean mixture fraction.
a. Enter contour-mf for Contour Name.
d. Select Pdf... and Mean Mixture Fraction in the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select mid-plane from the Surfaces lists.
6. Save the case file (combustor_effusion.cas.h5).
18.6. Summary
In this tutorial you used Ansys Fluent to model the effusion cooling effects with perforated wall model
in a 3D model combustor. Discrete injection type is used here for the effusion cooling injections. The
procedures used here for simulation of effusion cooling can be applied to other combustors.
Chapter 19: Selective Catalytic Reduction Simulation
19.1. Introduction
19.2. Prerequisites
19.5. SCR Specific Post Processing
19.6. Summary
19.1. Introduction
This tutorial illustrates the setup and solution of a Selective Catalytic Reaction (SCR) system calculation
using Ansys Fluent. The selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides by injecting reducing agents
has received increasing attention in the automotive industry for the removal of harmful gases. Ammonia
is typically used as an agent to react with NOx in the presence of catalysts due to the lower exhaust
temperature in the diesel engines.
However, to ensure safe and convenient storage and operation, the urea-water solution is often used
in automobile after treatment systems. The urea-water solution is injected into the exhaust gas upstream
of the SCR catalyst. The liquid jet goes through steps including liquid atomization, evaporation/decom-
position and hydrolysis to form a mixture consisting of ammonia, iso-cyanic acid, water vapor, oxygen
and other species. The mixture reacts with NOx in the SCR catalyst to reduce the NOx in the exhaust
gas stream.
SCR performance is measured on the basis of its de-NOx efficiency, ammonia and iso-cyanic acid slip
rates. These parameters heavily depend on the exhaust temperature, the NOx concentration, and the
mixture quality at the catalyst inlet, which is mainly determined by the urea injection and decomposition
rate.
Mesh file is provided with this tutorial, however the following points need to be considered while cre-
ating the geometry and meshing the volume.
Geometric Considerations:
• Computational domain consists of three parts:
1. Injector (spray development region).
2. Mixer.
3. Catalyst.
• Separate fluid zone needs to be created for catalyst, because it is modelled as porous region.
Selective Catalytic Reduction Simulation
• In place of resolving insulation (mesh inside solid material), it can be modelled using thick-wall (shell-
elements) approach.
Note:
It is important to model insulation as it influences the wall temperature and hence urea de-
position. Resolving the mesh in the insulation region will provide accurate result, but creating
mesh in thin walls and insulation can be tedious and CPU intensive. A better approach is
available where thermal behavior of insulation and thin metal is modeled with the shell
conduction model. This model solves for thermal conduction both in the normal direction,
as well as in the planar directions of the wall.
Mesh Considerations:
The following points were considered while meshing the volume:
• Spray development region: Uniform mesh.
• Boundary layer: 4 inflation layers adjacent to all walls.
• Use the porous medium model.
• Use the laminar finite rate reaction model.
• Set up a spray injection of a multicomponent droplet.
• Model wall film using SCR specific impingement/splashing model.
• Post process results to obtain SCR specific risk analysis evaluation.
19.2. Prerequisites

An automotive selective catalytic reduction system shown in Figure 19.1: Schematic of the selective
catalytic reduction system (p. 739) will be modeled.
Setup and Solution
Figure 19.1: Schematic of the selective catalytic reduction system
In this tutorial you will simulate the injection, liquid atomization, evaporation/decomposition, mixing,
and wall film formation and evolution, that takes place inside the automotive SCR systems. To check
the performance of the SCR system you will use:
• The concept of uniformity index, which gives an indirect indication of the de–NOx efficiency of the
SCR system. The area-weighted uniformity index of a specified field variable is defined as:
(19.1)
where is the area–weighted average value and A is the facet area.
• SCR specific post–processing tools for assessing the risk for solids deposit formation.

19.4.1. Preparation
19.4.2. Reading and Checking the Mesh
19.4.5. Specifying the Models
19.4.6. Materials
19.4.8. Specifying Boundary Conditions
19.4.9. Modify the Particle Properties
19.4.10. Flow Simulation
19.4.11. Postprocessing the Solution Results
19.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the selective_catalytic_reduction.zip file here.
2. Unzip selective_catalytic_reactor.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file scr_hexprism.msh.h5 can be found in the folder.
8. Browse to the working dirirectory in General Options tab and press Start button.

1. Read the mesh file scr_hexprism.msh.h5.
2. Check the mesh.
Note:
Mesh check will perform various checks and will report the results in the console. Ensure
that the reported minimum volume is positive .
3. The SCR geometric model is a long structure made of various cylindrical co-axial parts of different
diameter, joined together by conical transitions. The inlet, outlet and central cylindrical parts have
radius of 0.1 [m] and the two larger cylindrical parts have radius of 0.125 [m]; the upstream one
contains the mixer, the downstream one the catalyst. The mixer is made of 3 zero–thickness sur-
faces: wall_mixer–pipes, wall_mixer–plate and wall_mixer–twisted and since they are internal
walls, they appear as twins (e.g. wall_mixer–pipes and wall_mixer–pipes_shadow).
Note:
it’s good practice to display one surface at a time to visually confirm that all surfaces
have the intended name. For this tutorial, follow this procedure to familiarize yourself
with the model.
Setup and Solution
Examine the mesh.
Domain → Mesh → Display
a. Select the Edges option and retain the default Faces option in the Options group box.
b. Deselect all surfaces an then select all the wall surfaces by selecting the Wall surface type.
Click to deselect all surfaces. Click and select Surface Type under Group By to list the
surfaces by type, as shown above.
c. Click Display.
d. Rotate and adjust the magnification of the view.
Figure 19.2: Wall Surface Mesh Display
a. De-select the external wall surfaces wall_ext-catalyst, wall_ext-downstream and

wall_ext-upstream.
b. Click Display to show the mixer and close the Mesh Display dialogue box.
Setup and Solution
Figure 19.3: Mixer Mesh Display

3. Select Temperature under Quantities.
4. Select C under Units.

1. Enable the pressure-based steady solver including the effects of gravity.
Physics → Solver → General
Setup and Solution
The pressure-based solver must be used for multiphase calculations.
b. Select Steady from the Time list.
c. Enable Gravity.
d. Enter -9.8065 m/s2 for the Gravitational Acceleration in the Y direction.

In this tutorial, the energy equation and the species conservation equations will be solved, along with the
momentum and continuity equations.
1. You will use the default settings for the k-ω SST turbulence model, so you can enable it directly from
b. Enable Volumetric in the Reactions group box.
c. Ensure that Diffusion Energy Source is checked in the Options group box.
d. Select urea–water-air from the Mixture Material drop-down list.
Note:
Assignment of Fluent library mixture material urea–water–air and the activation

of volumetric reactions, loads a finite rate chemistry reaction mechanism with two
gaseous reactions: CO(NH_2 )_2↔ NH_3+HCNO and HCNO+H_2 O↔ NH_3+CO_2.
These species along with air (O2 and N2) are the 7 components of the mixture,
shown in Number of Volumetric Species.
3. Enable Discrete Phase Model
Setup and Solution
a. Enable the Interaction with Continuous Phase in the Interaction group box.
Note:
This is required for the activation of unsteady particle tracking with steady state
solver.
b. Set the DPM Iteration Interval to 5.
c. Enable the Unsteady Particle Tracking in the Particle Treatment group box and change the
value of Particle Time Step [s] to 0.005.
Note:
Although gas flow can be treated in a steady-state manner, the injection and
motion of the droplets must be treated as transient.
d. Increase to 2000 the Max. Number of Steps in Tracking Parameters group box.
e. Ensure that the High-Res Tracking is enabled in the Tracking Option group box.
f. Click the Injections button.
1. Click the Create button.
2. Select Cone as the Injection Type and set the Number of Streams to 10.
3. Select Multicomponent as the Particle Type.
4. Select urea-water from the Material drop-down list.
5. Select rosin–rammler from the Diameter Distribution drop-down list.
6. Confirm solid-cone is selected in the Cone Type drop-down list at Cone Injector Paramet-
ers group box.
7. Set the X-Position [m] to 0 mm, Y-Position [mm] to 124 mm, and the Z-Position [mm]
to 180 mm.
8. Set the Temperature [C] to 20 C.
9. Set the Start Time [s] to 0 s and Stop Time [s] to 1000 s
Setup and Solution
10. Set the Azimuthal Start Angle [deg] to 0 degrees and the Azimuthal Stop Angle [deg]
to 360 degrees.
11. Set the X-Axis, Y-Axis and Z-Axis to 0, -0.866 and 0.5, respectively .
12. Set the Velocity Magnitude [m/s] to 20 m/s.
13. Set the Cone Angle to 10 degrees.
14. Set the Outer Radius [mm] to 6.25e-02 mm.
15. Set the Total Flow Rate [Kg/s] to 5e-05 Kg/s
16. Set the Min. Diameter [mm] to 4e-03 mm and the Max. Diameter [mm] to 6e-02 mm.
17. Set the Mean Diameter [mm] to 4e-02 mm.
18. Set the Spread Parameter to 3.5.
19. Set the Number of Diameters to 10.
Note:
Start Time and Stop Time are given the above values for the tutorial purposes.
For practical SCR applications these should be defined according to the actual urea
dosing intervals.
g. In the Turbulent Dispersion tab
h. Enable Discrete Random Walk Model.
Note:
This makes sure that particles are not always injected with the same exactly para-
meters, rather they follow a stochastic behavior with average values as declared in
the point properties table above and a perturbation that creates a more realistic
turbulence representation.
i. In the Components tab
Setup and Solution
i. Select co<nh2>2 for the co<nh2>2<l> Component from the Evaporating Species
drop–down list and enter 0.325 for its Mass Fraction.
ii. Select h2o for the <h2o>2<l> Component from the Evaporating Species drop–down list
and enter 0.675 for its Mass Fraction.
j. Click OK to close the Set Injection Properties panel.
k. Click Close to close the Injections panel.
l. Click OK to close the Discrete Phase Model panel.
4. Create another injection by first copying the injection-0.
Setup → Models → Discrete Phase → Injections → Injection-0 Copy...
This will create Injection-1 having the same properties as Injection-0. Change the Value of only
the following Variable of Injection-1 in Point Properties tab.
a. Set the X-Position [m] to 4.48 mm, Y-Position [mm] to 123 mm, and the Z-Position [mm]
to 172.707 mm.
b. Set the X-Axis to 0.15038.
c. Set the Y-Axis to -0.95511.
d. Set the Z-Axis to 0.25523.
e. Click OK to close the Set Injection Properties panel.
5. Repeat the procedure to create a third injection by copying injection–1.
Setup → Models → Discrete Phase → Injections → Injection-1 Copy...
This will create Injection-2 having the same properties as Injection-1. Change the Value of only
the following Variable of Injection-1 in Point Properties tab.
a. Set the X-Position to -4.48 mm.
b. Set the X-Axis to -0.15038 mm.
c. Click OK to close the Set Injection Properties panel.
19.4.6. Materials
Modify the material properties:
Setup → Materials → Mixture → urea-water-air Edit...
a. Click the Edit... button to the right of the Mixture Species drop-down list to open the Species
dialog box. Confirm that the last of the 7 species on the list Selected Species is n2.
Setup and Solution
b. Then click Cancel to return to the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
c. Edit the particle mixture by selecting particle-mixture in the Material Type drop-down list.
There is only one item urea-water in theFluent Particle Mixture Materials drop-down list.
d. Select convection/diffusion-controlled for the Vaporization/Boiling Model.
Note:
The convection/diffusion model is recommended for high evaporation rates.
i. In the Model Options dialog box, enable Variable Lewis Number Formulation in
Convection/Diffusion Vaporization Model. This causes the Use the Specific Heat
of the Evaporating Species in Boiling Law in Boiling Model to be also enabled.
Note:
Variable Lewis number allows Spalding heat transfer number and

Spalding mass number to be different.
ii. Click OK in the Model Options dialog box.
e. Click Change/Create to accept the material property settings.
f. In the Create/Edit Materials dialog box, Select press button Fluent Database… and the
dialog box Fluent Database Materials will appear.
i. Select solid from the the Material Type drop-down list and steel from the Fluent Solid
Materials list.
ii. Click Copy and close the Fluent Database Materials dialog box.

Set the cell zone conditions for the catalyst: Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Fluid → fluid_cata-
lyst Edit...
Setup and Solution
1. Enable Porous Zone to activate the porous zone model.
2. Enable Laminar Zone to solve the flow in the porous zone without turbulence.
3. Click the Porous Zone tab.
i. Make sure that the principal direction vectors are set as shown in Table 19.1: Values for the
Principle Direction Vectors (p. 755).
Ansys Fluent automatically calculates the third (Z direction) vector based on your inputs for the
first two vectors. The direction vectors determine which axis the viscous and inertial resistance
coefficients act upon.
Table 19.1: Values for the Principle Direction Vectors
Axis Direction-1 Vector Direction-2 Vector

X 0 0
Y 0 1
Z 1 0
ii. For the viscous and inertial resistance directions, enter the values in Table 19.2: Values for the
Viscous and Inertial Resistance (p. 756).
Scroll down to access the fields that are not initially visible.
Table 19.2: Values for the Viscous and Inertial Resistance
Direction Viscous Resistance (1/m2) Inertial Resistance (1/m)

Note:
This setup provides a finite resistance to flow in the axial Z-direction and practically
infinite resistance to the other two directions, therefore straightening the flow along
the axial direction. The values of coefficients in Z-direction are estimated from the
measured pressure losses along the catalyst, as a function of gases velocity,
whereas the coefficients in the other two directions are typically taken to be three
orders of magnitude larger.
4. Click Apply and close the Fluid dialog box.
19.4.8. Specifying Boundary Conditions

1. Set the boundary conditions of external wall wall_ext-catalyst.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → wall_ext-catalyst Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Click the Thermal tab
b. Select Convection under Thermal Conditions and enter 10 for the Heat Transfer Coefficient
and -30 for the Free Stream Temperature .
c. Enable Shell Conduction and then select Edit.
i. Enter 1 mm for Thickness.
ii. Select steel from the Material drop down list.
Note:
Shell conduction model allows to use zero–thickness walls, hence saving

in mesh count, and simultaneously solve accurately conductive heat transfer
inside solids not only along the thickness but also along the wall in both
lateral directions, which is necessary in conductive materials such as metals.
In case of temperature–dependent solid thermal conductivity and anticipated
large variations in temperature, more than one shell layers maybe be neces-
sary to accurately account for the in–thickness temperature distribution.
iii. Click OK in the Conduction Layers dialog box.
d. Select Species tab and confirm that for all species have Specified Mass Flux is selected for
the Species Boundary Condition and has a value of 0 specified for the Species Mass Fraction/
Mass Flux.
Setup and Solution
e. Select the DPM tab.
i. Select wall-film from the Discrete Phase BC Type drop–down list in the Discrete
Phase Model Boundary Conditions group.
ii. Enable Particle–Wall Heat Exchange.
iii. Select stochastic kuhnke from the Impingement/Splashing Model drop down
list in the Impingement/Splashing Parameters group box, retaining the default values.
Note:
Stochastic Kuhnke model is derived from the Kuhnke model and has been
developed and calibrated for addressing SCR applications. It introduces
stochastic effects into the critical temperature transition process, and the
partial evaporation concept for the evaporative splash regime.
f. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
Setup and Solution
2. Set the boundary conditions for internal wall wall_mixer–pipes.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → wall_mixer–pipes Edit...
a. Click the Thermal tab
b. Confirm that Coupled is selected in the Thermal Conditions group box.
c. Enable Shell Conduction and then select Edit.
i. Enter 2 mm for Thickness.
ii. Select steel from the Material drop down list.
iii. Click OK in the Conduction Layers dialog box.
d. Select Species tab and confirm that for all species have Specified Mass Flux is selected for
the Species Boundary Condition and has a value of 0 specified for the Species Mass Fraction/
Mass Flux.
Setup and Solution
e. Select the DPM tab.
i. Select wall-film from the Discrete Phase BC Type drop–down list in the Discrete
Phase Model Boundary Conditions group.
ii. Enable Particle–Wall Heat Exchange.
iii. Select stochastic kuhnke from the Impingement/Splashing Model drop-down

list in the Impingement/Splashing Parameters group box, retaining the default values.
f. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
3. Copy the boundary conditions to the other external walls.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → wall_ext-catalyst Copy...
Setup and Solution
a. Ensure that wall_ext–catalyst is selected from the From Boundary Zone list.
b. Select all the walls from the To Boundary Zone list.
4. Copy the boundary conditions to the other internal walls.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → wall_mixer-pipes Copy...
a. Ensure that wall_mixer-pipes is selected from the From Boundary Zone list.
b. Select all the walls from the To Boundary Zone list.
5. Set the boundary conditions for the inlet, first change its type from velocity-inlet to mass-flow-
inlet.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inlet Type → mass-flow-inlet
6. Set the conditions for mass-flow-inlet.
a. Enter 0.0347754 kg/s for Mass Flow Rate .
b. Click the Thermal tab and enter 400 C for Total Temperature.
c. Click the Species tab, set the Species Mass Fractions for o2 to 0.001, h2o to 0.08, and
co2 to 0.02.
d. Click the DPM tab and confirm that escape is selected for Discrete Phase BC Type.
e. Click Apply and close the Mass Flow Inlet dialog box.
7. Set the boundary conditions for outlet.
a. Click the Thermal tab, enter 400 C for Temperature.
b. Click the Species tab, set all the Backflow Species Mass Fractions to 0.
c. Click the DPM tab and confirm that escape is selected for Discrete Phase BC Type.
Setup and Solution
d. Click Apply and close the Pressure Oulet dialog box.
19.4.9. Modify the Particle Properties

Thermolysis model applies for both the free particles and wall film. Since wall film is now activated
in the boundary conditions thermolysis can now be setup in the materials. Modify the material
properties:
1. Select secondary rate for Thermolysis of particles and wall film:
Setup → Materials → Particle Mixture → urea–water → urea-liquid Edit...
a. Select secondary–rate for the Thermolysis Model.
Note:
Secondary rate thermolysis model allows to define different thermolysis parameters

for the particles and film.
i.
A. Enter 1.0 for the Pre–Exponential Factor in Film Thermolysis Rate group box.
B. Click OK to close the Secondary Rate Model dialog box.
2. Click Change/Create to accept the material property settings.
3. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
19.4.10. Flow Simulation

Setup and Solution
a. Select SIMPLE from the Pressure-Velocity Coupling drop-down list.
b. Enable Auto Select for the Flux Type.
c. Select Body Force Weighted for Pressure, Second Order Upwind for Momentum, Energy
and all the Species in the Spatial Discretization group box.
2. Set the solution control parameters.
a. Retain the default Under Relaxation Factors for all variables.
Setup and Solution
i. Enter -50 C for the Minimum Static Temperature.
ii. Enter 700 C for the Maximum Static Temperature.
iii. Click OK to close the Solution Limits dialog box.
Note:
It's good practice to limit the allowable range of temperature (and/or pressure in
other cases) to avoid stability problems.
3. Create a surface report definition of the species at the interior catalyst.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Uniformity Index-Area

Weighted...
a. Enter ui_nh3_cat-in for the Name of the report definition.
c. Select Species... and Mass fraction of nh3 from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
d. Select interior_catalyst-in from the Surfaces selection list.
box.
4. Create a surface report definition of the velocity at the interior catalyst.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Uniformity Index-Area

Weighted...
a. Enter ui_velmag_cat-in for the Name of the report definition.
b. Enable Report File and Report Plot in the Create group box.
c. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
d. Select interior_catalyst-in from the Surfaces selection list.
Setup and Solution
box.
5. Create a surface report definition of the wall film mass.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Sum...
a. Enter sum_wf-mass_walls for the Name of the report definition.
b. Enable separate reporting for each surface by checking Per Surface box in the Options group
box.
c. Enable Report File and Report Plot in the Create group box.
d. Select Wall Film... and Wall Film Mass from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
e. Select all the walls from the Surfaces selection list.
f. Click OK to save the surface report definition and close the Surface Report Definition dialog
box.
a. Retain the default selection of Hybrid from the Method list.
7. Save the case and dat file (scr_initial.cas.h5 and scr_initial.dat.h5.)
Note:
Convergence in this case is not judged by the residuals, rather from the monitors.
Both uniformity monitors show that main phase (gases) flow has been stabilized,
whereas the wall film mass monitor suggests, as expected, that disperse phase
flow (droplets and wall film) is developing.
a. Figure 19.4: Scaled Residuals
Figure 19.5: Surface Monitor of Uniformity Index (Area–Weighted) for NH3 Mass Fraction
at Catalyst Inlet
Setup and Solution
Figure 19.6: Surface Monitor of Uniformity Index (Area–Weighted) for Mixture Velocity
Magnitude at Catalyst Inlet.
Figure 19.7: Surface Monitor of Total Wall Film Mass at Each Wall Boundary.
9. Save the case and dat file (scr_solved.cas.h5 and scr_solved.dat.h5.)
19.4.11. Postprocessing the Solution Results

1. Display contours of pressure.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter pressure_walls for Contour Name.
b. Select Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Contours of drop-down lists.
c. Select Wall from the Surfaces selection list.
d. Click Save/Display.
Figure 19.8: Static Pressure Distribution on the System Walls.
Contours show that static pressure drops from ~112 to ~2 [Pa] across the catalyst.
Setup and Solution
e.
i. Disable Global Range and Auto Range in the Options group box.
ii. Change the Min value to 100 [Pa] and the Max value to 120 [Pa].
iii. Click Save/Display.
Figure 19.9: Static Pressure Distribution on the System Walls; Limited Range.
Contours reveal a smaller pressure drop from ~119 to ~111 [Pa] across the mixer.
2. Create two longitudinal planes to plot variables at the SCR internal region. These two surfaces
will be used to display solution results internally the SCR system.
Create a surface of constant x.
a. Enter x-mid for New Surface Name.
Setup and Solution
b. Select Mesh... and X-Coordinate from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
c. Click Compute.
The Min and Max fields display the x-extent of the domain.
d. Retain a value of 0 mm for Iso-Values.
Repeat steps above and create a surface of constant y.
a. Enter y-mid for New Surface Name.
c. Click Compute.
The Min and Max fields display the x-extent of the domain.
d. Retain a value of 0 mm for Iso-Values.
3. Display the mesh surfaces.
a. Enter mesh_ext for Mesh Name.
b. Confirm that only Faces have been selected in the Options group box.
c. Select all the Wall surfaces, except those with suffix -shadow. This is to avoid plotting twice
the internal (double) walls.
d. Click Save/Displayand close the Mesh Display dialog box.
4. Display contours of gas temperature field inside the SCR with the geometry also displayed.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter temp_mid-planes for Contour Name.
b. Disable Global Range, Auto Range and Clip to Range in the Options group box.
c. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Change the Min value to 300 C.
e. Change the Max value to 400 C.
f. Select Inlet,Outlet and Iso-surface from the Surfaces selection list.
5. Create a scene containing the static temperature distribution at the two internal surfaces.
a. Change the Name to gas_temp.
b. Change the Title to Mixture Temperature.
c. Enable the mesh_ext and temperature_mid–planes graphics object.
d. Set the Transparency of mesh_ext object to 70.
Setup and Solution
Figure 19.10: Static Temperature Distribution at the Two Internal Planes
The gases enter the domain at 400 [C] but when mixed with the cooler droplets (at 20 [C])
and also due to droplets partial evaporation, they are cooled down to an average temperature
of ~315 [C] at the outlet. Note that values below the minimum and above the maximum values
set in the contour dialog box, are displayed as blue and red, respectively, due to deactivation
of Clip to Range option, otherwise they would have been displayed as empty regions.
6. Create a contour of NH3 distribution on the mixer
a. Enter nh3_int for Contour Name.
b. Disable Global Range in the Options group box.
c. Select Species... and Mass fraction of nh3 from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Select all internal walls from the Surfaces selection list.
Setup and Solution
Figure 19.11: Distribution of NH3 Mass Fraction on the Mixer Walls.
7. Display contours of Wall Film Height.
a. Enter wfh_ext for Contour Name.
b. Disable Global Range and Auto Range in the Options group box.
c. Select Wall Film... and Wall Film Height from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Select the external walls from the Surfaces selection list.
e. Click Compute.
f. Ensure that Clip to Range is selected in the Options group box.
g. Change the Min value to 1e-05 mm.
8. Create a scene with the wall film height distribution on all walls.
Setup and Solution
a. Change the Name to wfh.
b. Change the Title to Wall Film Height on External Walls.
c. Enable the mesh_ext and wfh_ext graphics object.
Figure 19.12: Distribution of Wall Film Height on the External Walls of the SCR System.
9. Create a particle tracks graph.
Results → Graphics → Particle Tracks → New...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter par-tracks_urea for Particle Tracks Name.
b. Select Sphere in the Track Style group box.
c. Click Attributes... and change the Scale to 100.
d. Click Apply and close the Particle Sphere Style Attributes dialogue box.
This will cause the particles to appear as spheres with a size proportional to their diameter
and scaled by x100 for clarity.
e. Select Particle Variables... and Mass Fraction of co<nh2>2<l> from the Color by drop-down
lists.
f. Select all three injections from the Release from Injections selection list.
g. Select Summary in the Reporting group box, so that both a summary in the console and a
graph in the GUI will be produced.
h. Make sure that both Free Stream Particles and Wall Film Particles are checked.
i. Click Save/Display.
j. Close the Particle Tracks dialog box.
The summary track report provides information about the number of particles in the domain, their
fate ( evaporated , transformed , escaped ), their state ( In Film , In Fluid ) and the associated mass
and heat transfer, as well as their composition.
10. Create a scene with the particle tracks and the walls of the geometry.
a. Change the Name to tracks.
b. Change the Title to Particle Tracks with Urea MF.
c. Enable the mesh_ext and par-tracks_urea graphics object.
Setup and Solution
Figure 19.13: Tracks of Free and Wall Film Particles, Colored by Urea Mass Fraction and
Scaled by Particle Diameter.
The particle track graph shows both the cloud of free droplets, as well as the wall particles
that form the wall film. It is evident that water content of the droplets is evaporated upstream
the mixer and is associated with the cooling effect observed in the gas temperature contour
plot previously.
11. Modify the particles tracks to show only the wall film particles that have lost practically all their
water content.
Results → Graphics → Particle Tracks → par-tracks_urea Edit..
a. Uncheck Auto Range to be able to manually set the range of the plotted value.
b. Select Off in the Reporting group box.
c. Uncheck Free Stream Particles to hide them from the display.
d. Set the Min value to 0.999 and the Max value to 1.0, which practically means that all water
content of the droplet has evaporated.
e. Check the Filter option.
f. Select Filter By... to regulate filtering.
Setup and Solution
g. Select Particle Variables... and Mass Fraction of co<nh2>2<l> from the Filter By... drop
down lists.
h. i. Set the Filter-Min value to 0.999 and Filter-Max value to 1.0 and make sure the
remaining settings are as displayed.
ii. Click Apply and close the Particle Filter Attributes dialog box.
i. Click Save/Display and close the Particle Tracks dialog box.
12. Re-display the scene with the particle tracks and the walls of the geometry.
Results → Scene → tracks Edit...
a. Click Save & Display and close the Scene dialog box.
Figure 19.14: Tracks of Wall Film Particles with H2O Content Practically Evaporated and
Scaled by Particle Diameter.
13. Save the case and data files (scr_final.cas.h5 and scr_final.dat.h5).
19.5. SCR Specific Post Processing

Ansys Fluent has an automated workflow to post process CFD results and assess the risk for solids de-
posit formation for SCR systems operating with urea. The calculations involve chemical and hydrodynamic
risk factors based on thermodynamic data and known chemical pathways, as well as on experimental
evidence reported. The risk variables are defined as dimensionless quantities that vary from 0 (no risk)
to 1 (max risk). Note that the risk assessment calculation is not a predictive model for urea deposit
formation, and the obtained results should be considered only as rough guidance in exploring urea
deposit formation trends. The risk assessment calculation is invoked after initial film formation on SCR
surfaces and requires the transient solver.
1. In the Solver group box of the Physics ribbon tab, select transient.
Physics → Solver → General...
SCR Specific Post Processing
2. Modify the iterations interval between DPM tracks.
a. Change the DPM Iteration Interval to 100.
By setting a value equal or larger than the maximum number of iterations per time step, the
particle tracking is only performed once per time step.
b. Click OK to close the Discrete Phase Model panel.
3. Activate the urea risk assessment from the TUI.
b. Type /define/models/dpm/options/scr-urea-deposition-risk-analysis en-

able?
c. Type yes in the console and press <Enter>.
d. Type all IDs (provided in the Boundary Conditions list on the model tree) one by one followed
by Enter. When the last wall ID has been typed, press Enter again. You should get the following
output in the console.
/define/models/dpm/options/scr-urea-deposition-risk-analysis> enable
Enable the SCR urea deposition risk analysis? [no] y

Wall face zones(1) [()] 4
Wall face zones(10) [()]
e. Fluent has also activated the Data Sampling for Time Statistics in the Run Calculation Task
Page. If Sampling Options... is pressed the details can be seen.
a. Enter 20 for Number of Time Steps. This is a small time period covered, in order to demonstrate
the procedure. Larger time periods may be simulated in industrial risk assessment calculations.
b. Ensure that the Time Step Size to 0.005.
c. Enter 10 for Max Iterations/Time Steps. A transient simulation that converges every time step
in 10 iterations or less is generally considered to have a sufficiently fine time step size.
d. Click Calculate.
e. Fluent asks if the existing Report files will be over-written or new ones will be created. This
happens because now the reports are not monitored every iteration (steady-state solver) but
every time step (transient solver). Press Yes to create new files. Fluent starts the transient calcu-
lation using the steady-state solution as the initial state of the transient solution. Residuals show
that standard convergence is achieved in 10 iterations for all time steps (except a couple of steps
at the beginning), which was expected as the steady-state gas flow was quite stable.
5. Examine the risk levels.
a. Enter risk-analysis for Contour Name.
b. Disable Global Range and Auto Range in the Options group box.
c. Select SCR Urea Deposition Risk Analysis... and SCR Urea Crystallization Risk from the Con-
tours of drop-down lists.
d. Select all walls from the Surfaces selection list.
e. Click Compute. Fluent returns 0 for Min and Max, indicating that risk for crystallization is zero
at all walls.
f. Repeat the same for the other two risk parameters, SCR Urea Secondary Reactions Risk and
SCR Overall Urea Chemical Deposition Risk, which also return zero risk everywhere.
Note:
Risk assessment for solids deposition in urea SCR systems is based on empirical cor-
relations using parameters reported in the relevant literature. The user can set the
values of 9 such parameters through the TUI, according to the specific characteristics
of the SCR system simulated.
6. Modify minimum mass fraction of HNCO from the TUI.
b. Type /define/models/dpm/options/scr-urea-deposition-risk-analysis
seco-rx-min-hnco in the console and press Enter.
c.
/define/models/dpm/options/scr-urea-deposition-risk-analysis> seco-rx-min-hnco
minimum HNCO mass fraction in the gas phase above the film for secondary reactions [0.03] 0.001
d. Type 0.001 in the console and press Enter.
7. Continue the calculation for another 20 time steps
8. Re-examine the risk levels.
Results → Graphics → Contours → risk-analysis Edit...
a. Select SCR Urea Deposition Risk Analysis... and SCR Overall Urea Chemical Deposition Risk
from the Contours of drop-down lists.
b. Select all walls from the Surfaces selection list.
c. Click Compute and Fluent will return Min and Max values of 0 and 0.5, respectively.
d. Set the Min value to 1e-05.
9. Create a scene with the overall deposition risk and the walls of the geometry.
a. Change the Name to overall-depo-risk.
b. Change the Title to Overall Deposition Risk.
c. Enable the risk-analysis and mesh_ext graphics object.
Figure 19.15: Contours of Overall Deposition Risk on the Walls of the SCR System.
10. Save the case and data files (scr_transient.cas.h5 and scr_transient.dat.h5).
19.6. Summary
The main focus of this tutorial is to illustrate the setup and solution of a SCR system calculation using
Ansys Fluent.
Chapter 20: Modeling Evaporating Liquid Spray
20.1. Introduction
20.2. Prerequisites
20.5. Summary
20.1. Introduction
In this tutorial, the air-blast atomizer model in Ansys Fluent is used to predict the behavior of an evap-
orating methanol spray. Initially, the air flow is modeled without droplets. To predict the behavior of
the spray, the discrete phase model is used, including a secondary model for breakup.
• Define a spray injection for an air-blast atomizer.
• Calculate a solution using the discrete phase model in Ansys Fluent.
20.2. Prerequisites

The geometry to be considered in this tutorial is shown in Figure 20.1: Problem Specification (p. 808).
Methanol is cooled to C before being introduced into an air-blast atomizer. The atomizer contains
an inner air stream surrounded by a swirling annular stream. To make use of the periodicity of the
problem, only a section of the atomizer will be modeled.
Modeling Evaporating Liquid Spray

20.4.1. Preparation
20.4.2. Mesh
20.4.3. Solver
20.4.4. Models
20.4.5. Materials
20.4.7. Initial Solution Without Droplets
20.4.8. Creating a Spray Injection
20.4.9. Solution
20.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the evaporate_liquid.zip file here.
Setup and Solution
2. Unzip evaporate_liquid.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file sector.msh.h5 can be found in the folder.
20.4.2. Mesh
1. Read in the mesh file sector.msh.h5.
2. Change the periodic type of periodic-a to rotational.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → periodic-a → Edit...
a. Select Rotational in the Periodic Type group box.
b. Click Apply and close the Periodic dialog box.
3. In a similar manner, change the periodic type of periodic-b to rotational.
4. Check the mesh.
Ansys Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and report the progress in the console. Ensure
a. Ensure that Edges and Faces are enabled in the Options group box.
Setup and Solution
b. Select only atomizer-wall, central_air, and swirling_air from the Surfaces selection list.
Tip:
To deselect all surfaces click the far-right button at the top of the Surfaces
selection list, and then select the desired surfaces from the Surfaces selection list.
c. Click the Colors... button to open the Mesh Colors dialog box.
i. Select wall from the Types selection list.
ii. Select pink from the Colors selection list.
iii. Close the Mesh Colors dialog box.
The graphics display will be updated to show the mesh. Zoom in with the mouse to obtain the view
shown in Figure 20.2: Air-Blast Atomizer Mesh Display (p. 812).
Figure 20.2: Air-Blast Atomizer Mesh Display
20.4.3. Solver
Retain the default solver settings of pressure-based steady-state solver in the Solver group of the
Physics tab.
Physics → Solver
20.4.4. Models
Setup and Solution
Setup and Solution
b. Select methyl-alcohol-air from the Mixture Material drop-down list.
The Mixture Material list contains the set of chemical mixtures that exist in the Ansys Fluent
database. When selecting an appropriate mixture for your case, you can review the constituent
species and the reactions of the predefined mixture by clicking View... next to the Mixture Mater-
ial drop-down list. The chemical species and their physical and thermodynamic properties are
defined by the selection of the mixture material. After enabling the Species Transport model, you
can alter the mixture material selection or modify the mixture material properties using the Cre-
ate/Edit Materials dialog box. You will modify your local copy of the mixture material later in this
tutorial.
c. Click OK to close the Species Model dialog box.
20.4.5. Materials
Define materials using the Materials task page.
Setup → Materials
1. Remove water vapor and carbon dioxide from the Mixture Species list.
Setup → Materials → Mixture → Create/Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Click the Edit button next to the Mixture Species drop-down list to open the Species dialog
box.
i. Select carbon dioxide (co2) from the Selected Species selection list.
ii. Click Remove to remove carbon dioxide from the Selected Species list.
iii. In a similar manner, remove water vapor (h2o) from the Selected Species list.
iv. Click OK to close the Species dialog box.
Note:
It is good practice to click the Change/Create button whenever changes are made
to material properties even though it is not necessary in this case.

Specify boundary conditions using the Boundary Conditions task page.
1. Set the boundary conditions for the inner air stream (central_air).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → central_air → Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter 9.167e-5 kg/s for Mass Flow Rate.
b. Select Direction Vector for the Direction Specification Method.
c. Enter 0 for X-Component of Flow Direction.
d. Retain the default value of 0 for Y-Component of Flow Direction.
e. Enter 1 for Z-Component of Flow Direction.
f. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification Method drop-down list.
g. Enter 10 for Turbulent Intensity.
h. Enter 0.0037 m for Hydraulic Diameter.
i. Click the Thermal tab and enter 293 K for Total Temperature.
j. Click the Species tab and enter 0.23 for o2 in the Species Mass Fractions group box.
k. Click Apply and close the Mass-Flow Inlet dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions for the air stream surrounding the atomizer (co-flow-air).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → co-flow-air → Edit...
b. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification Method drop-down list.
c. Retain the default value of 5 for Turbulent Intensity.
d. Enter 0.0726 m for Hydraulic Diameter.
e. Click the Thermal tab and enter 293 K for Temperature.
f. Click the Species tab and enter 0.23 for o2 in the Species Mass Fractions group box.
g. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
3. Set the boundary conditions for the exit boundary (outlet).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → outlet → Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Select From Neighboring Cell from the Backflow Direction Specification Method drop-down
list.
b. Retain Intensity and Viscosity Ratio from the Specification Method drop-down list.
c. Retain the default value of 5 for Backflow Turbulent Intensity (%).
d. Enter 5 for Backflow Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
e. Click the Thermal tab and enter 293 K for Backflow Total Temperature.
f. Click the Species tab and enter 0.23 for o2 in the Species Mass Fractions group box.
4. Set the boundary conditions for the swirling annular stream (swirling_air).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → swirling_air → Edit...
a. Select Magnitude and Direction from the Velocity Specification Method drop-down list.
b. Enter 19 m/s for Velocity Magnitude.
c. Select Cylindrical (Radial, Tangential, Axial) from the Coordinate System drop-down list.
d. Enter 0 for Radial-Component of Flow Direction.
e. Enter 0.7071 for Tangential-Component of Flow Direction.
f. Enter 0.7071 for Axial-Component of Flow Direction.
g. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification Method drop-down list.
h. Retain the default value of 5 for Turbulent Intensity.
i. Enter 0.0043 m for Hydraulic Diameter.
j. Click the Thermal tab and enter 293 K for Temperature.
k. Click the Species tab and enter 0.23 for o2 in the Species Mass Fractions group box.
Setup and Solution
l. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
5. Set the boundary conditions for the outer wall of the atomizer (outer-wall).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → outer-wall → Edit...
a. Select Specified Shear in the Shear Condition list.
b. Retain the default values for the remaining parameters.
20.4.7. Initial Solution Without Droplets

The airflow will first be solved and analyzed without droplets.
1. Set the solution method.
Setup and Solution
Retain the default selections.
2. Retain the default under-relaxation factors.
4. Initialize the flow field.
a. Retain the Method at the default of Hybrid.
b. Click Initialize to initialize the variables.
Note:
For flows in complex topologies, hybrid initialization will provide better initial velocity
and pressure fields than standard initialization. This will help to improve the convergence
behavior of the solver.
Setup and Solution
5. Save the case file (spray1.cas.h5).
a. Select User-Specified from the Time Step Method group box.
b. Retain 1s for Pseudo Time Step Size.
c. Enter 150 for Number of Iterations.
d. Click Calculate.
7. Save the case and data files (spray1.cas.h5 and spray1.dat.h5).
Note:
Ansys Fluent will ask you to confirm that the previous case file is to be overwritten.
8. Create a clip plane to examine the flow field at the midpoint of the atomizer section.
a. Enter angle=15 for New Surface Name.
b. Select Mesh... and Angular Coordinate from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
c. Click Compute to obtain the minimum and maximum values of the angular coordinate.
d. Enter 15 for Iso-Values.
e. Click Create to create the isosurface.
f. Close the Iso-Surface dialog box.
9. Review the current state of the solution by examining contours of velocity magnitude (Fig-
ure 20.4: Velocity Magnitude at Mid-Point of Atomizer Section (p. 830)).
Setup and Solution
a. Enter contour-vel for Contour Name.
c. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Enable Draw Mesh.
i. Retain the current mesh display settings.
e. Select angle=15 from the Surfaces selection list.
g. Use the mouse to obtain the view shown in Figure 20.4: Velocity Magnitude at Mid-Point of
Atomizer Section (p. 830).
Figure 20.4: Velocity Magnitude at Mid-Point of Atomizer Section
10. Display pathlines of the air in the swirling annular stream (Figure 20.5: Pathlines of Air in the
Swirling Annular Stream (p. 831)).
Setup and Solution
a. Enter pathlines-air for Pathline Name.
b. Increase the Path Skip value to 5.
c. In the Release from Surfaces filter, type s to display the surface names that begin with s and
select swirling_air from the selection list.
d. Enable Draw Mesh in the Options group box.
i. Retain the current mesh display settings.
e. Click Save/Display and close the Pathlines dialog box.
f. Use the mouse to obtain the view shown in Figure 20.5: Pathlines of Air in the Swirling Annular
Stream (p. 831).
Figure 20.5: Pathlines of Air in the Swirling Annular Stream
20.4.8. Creating a Spray Injection

1. Define the discrete phase modeling parameters.
a. Select Interaction with Continuous Phase in the Interaction group box.
This will include the effects of the discrete phase trajectories on the continuous phase.
b. Retain the value of 10 for DPM Iteration Interval.
c. Select Mean Values in the Contour Plots for DPM Variables group box.
This will make the cell-averaged variables available for postprocessing activities.
d. Select the Unsteady Particle Tracking option in the Particle Treatment group box.
e. Enter 0.0001 for Particle Time Step Size.
Setup and Solution
f. Enter 10 for Number of Time Steps.
g. Under the Physical Models tab, enable Temperature Dependent Latent Heat and Breakup
in the Options group box.
h. Under the Numerics tab, select Linearize Source Terms (Source Terms group).
Enabling this option will allow you to run the simulation with more aggressive setting for the
Discrete Phase Sources under-relaxation factor to speed up the solution convergence.
i. Click Injections... to open the Injections dialog box.
In this step, you will define the characteristics of the atomizer.
An Information dialog box appears indicating that the Max. Number of Steps has been
changed from 50000 to 500. Click OK in the Information dialog box to continue.
j. Click the Create button to create the spray injection.
Setup and Solution
k. In the Set Injection Properties dialog box, select air-blast-atomizer from the Injection Type
drop-down list.
l. Enter 600 for Number of Streams.
This option controls the number of droplet parcels that are introduced into the domain at every
time step.
m. Select Droplet in the Particle Type group box.
n. Select methyl-alcohol-liquid from the Material drop-down list.
o. In the Point Properties tab, specify point properties for particle injections.
i. Retain the default values of 0 and 0 for X-Position and Y-Position.
ii. Enter 0.0015 for Z-Position.
iii. Retain the default values of 0, 0, and 1 for X-Axis, Y-Axis, and Z-Axis, respectively.
iv. Enter 263 K for Temperature.
Scroll down the list to see the remaining point properties.
v. Enter 8.5e-5 kg/s for Flow Rate.
This is the methanol flow rate for a 30-degree section of the atomizer. The actual atomizer flow
rate is 12 times this value.
vi. Retain the default Start Time of 0 s and enter 100 s for the Stop Time.
For this problem, the injection should begin at and not stop until long after the time period
of interest. A large value for the stop time (for example, 100 s) will ensure that the injection will
essentially never stop.
vii. Enter 0.0035 m for the Injector Inner Diameter and 0.0045 m for the Injector Outer
Diameter.
viii.Enter 45 degrees for Spray Half Angle.
The spray angle is the angle between the liquid sheet trajectory and the injector centerline.
ix. Enter 82.6 m/s for the Relative Velocity.
The relative velocity is the expected relative velocity between the atomizing air and the liquid
sheet.
x. Retain the default Azimuthal Start Angle of 0 degrees and enter 30 degrees for the Azi-
muthal Stop Angle.
This will restrict the injection to the 30-degree section of the atomizer that is being modeled.
p. In the Physical Models tab, specify the breakup model and drag parameters.
Setup and Solution
i. In the Drag Parameters group box, select dynamic-drag from the Drag Law drop-down
list.
The dynamic-drag law is available only when the Breakup model is used.
ii. In the Breakup group, ensure that Enable Breakup is selected and TAB is selected from
the Breakup Model drop-down list.
iii. Retain the default values of 0 for y0 and 2 for Breakup Parcels.
q. In the Turbulent Dispersion tab, define the turbulent dispersion.
i. Enable Discrete Random Walk Model and Random Eddy Lifetime in the Stochastic
Tracking group box.
These models will account for the turbulent dispersion of the droplets.
ii. Click OK to close the Set Injection Properties dialog box.
Note:
To modify the existing injection, select its name in the Injections list and click
Set..., or simply double-click the injection of interest.
r. Close the Injections dialog box.
Note:
In the case that the spray injection would be striking a wall, you should specify the
wall boundary conditions for the droplets. Though this tutorial does have wall zones,
Setup and Solution
they are a part of the atomizer apparatus. You need not change the wall boundary
conditions any further because these walls are not in the path of the spray droplets.
s. Click OK to close the Discrete Phase Model dialog box.
2. Specify the droplet material properties.
Setup → Materials → methyl-alcohol-liquid → Create/Edit...
When secondary atomization models (such as Breakup) are used, several droplet properties need to
be specified.
a. Ensure droplet-particle is selected in the Material Type drop-down list.
b. Enter 0.00095 kg/m-s for Viscosity in the Properties group box.
c. Ensure that piecewise-linear is selected from the Saturation Vapor Pressure drop-down list.
Scroll down to find the Saturation Vapor Pressure drop-down list.
d. Click the Edit... button next to Saturation Vapor Pressure to open the Piecewise-Linear
Profile dialog box.
e. Retain the default values and click OK to close the Piecewise-Linear Profile dialog box.
f. Select convection/diffusion-controlled from the Vaporization/Boiling Model drop-down

list.
g. Click OK to close the Model Options dialog box.
h. Click Change/Create to accept the change in properties for the methanol droplet material
and close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
20.4.9. Solution
1. Increase the under-relaxation factor for Discrete Phase Sources.
In the Pseudo Time Explicit Relaxation Factors group box, change the under-relaxation factor
for Discrete Phase Sources to 0.9.
2. Remove the convergence criteria.
Setup and Solution
a. Enable Show Advanced Options and select none from the Convergence Criterion drop-
down list.
3. Enable the plotting of mass fraction of ch3oh.
a. Enter ch3oh_outlet for Name of the surface report definition.
c. Select Species... and Mass fraction of ch3oh from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
d. Select outlet from the Surfaces selection list.
dialog box.
Fluent automatically generates the ch3oh_outlet-rplot report plot under the Solution/Mon-
itors/Report Plots tree branch.
4. Enable the plotting of the sum of the DPM Mass Source.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Volume Report → Sum...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter dpm-mass-source for Name.
c. Select Discrete Phase Sources... and DPM Mass Source from the Field Variable drop-down
lists.
d. Select fluid from the Cell Zones selection list.
e. Click OK to save the volume report definition settings and close the Volume Report Definition
dialog box.
Fluent automatically generates the dpm-mass-source-rplot report plot under Solution/Mon-

f. Modify the attributes of the dpm-mass-source-rplot report plot axes.
Solution → Monitors → Report Plots → dpm-mass-source-rplot Edit...
i. Click the Axes... button to open the Axes dialog box.
ii. Select Y in the Axis list.
iii. Select exponential from the Type drop-down list.
iv. Set Precision to 2.
Setup and Solution
v. Click Apply and close the Axes dialog box.
vi. Click OK to close the Edit Report Plot dialog box.
5. Create a DPM report definition for tracking the total mass present in the domain.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → DPM Report → Mass in Domain...
a. Enter dpm-mass-in-domain for Name.
c. Select injection-0 from the Injections selection list.
d. Disable Show Mass Flow / Change Rate.
e. Click OK to save the volume report definition settings and close the DPM Report Definition
dialog box.
Fluent automatically generates the dpm-mass-in-domain-rplot report plot under Solution/Mon-

f. Modify the attributes of the dpm-mass-in-domain-rplot report plot axes (in a manner similar
to that for the dpm-mass-source-rplot plot).
Solution → Monitors → Report Plots → dpm-mass-in-domain-rplot Edit...
i. In the Plot Window group box, click the Axes... button to open the Axes dialog box.
ii. Select Y in the Axis list.
iii. Select exponential from the Type drop-down list.
iv. Set Precision to 2.
vi. Click OK to close the Edit Report Plot dialog box.
6. Create a DPM report definition for tracking the mass of the evaporated particles.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → DPM Report → Evaporated Mass...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter dpm-evaporated-mass for Name.
c. Select injection-0 from the Injections selection list.
d. Ensure that the Show Mass Flow / Change Rate option is selected.
e. Click OK to save the volume report definition settings and close the DPM Report Definition
dialog box.
Fluent automatically generates the dpm-evaporated-mass-rplot report plot under Solu-

tion/Monitors/Report Plots tree branch.
f. Modify the attributes of the dpm-evaporated-mass-rplot report plot axes in a manner similar
to that for the dpm-mass-source-rplot plot.
7. Request 300 more iterations (Figure 20.6: Convergence History of Mass Fraction of ch3oh on Flu-
id (p. 847), Figure 20.7: Convergence History of DPM Mass Source on Fluid (p. 848), Figure 20.8: Con-
vergence History of Total Mass in Domain (p. 848), and Figure 20.9: Convergence History of Evap-
orated Particle Mass (p. 849)).
It can be concluded that the solution is converged because the number of particle tracks are constant
and the flow variable plots are flat.
Figure 20.6: Convergence History of Mass Fraction of ch3oh on Fluid
Figure 20.7: Convergence History of DPM Mass Source on Fluid
Figure 20.8: Convergence History of Total Mass in Domain
Setup and Solution
Figure 20.9: Convergence History of Evaporated Particle Mass
1. Display the trajectories of the droplets in the spray injection (Figure 20.10: Particle Tracks for the
Spray Injection (p. 851)).
This will allow you to review the location of the droplets.
Results → Graphics → Particle Tracks → New...
a. Enter particle-tracks-droplets for Particle Tracks Name.
b. Enable Draw Mesh in the Options group box.
i. Retain the current display settings.
c. Retain the default selection of point from the Track Style drop-down list.
d. Select Particle Variables... and Particle Diameter from the Color by drop-down lists.
This will display the location of the droplets colored by their diameters.
e. Select injection-0 from the Release from Injections selection list.
Setup and Solution
As an optional exercise, you can increase the particle size by clicking the Attributes... button in
the Particle Tracks dialog box and adjusting the Marker Size value in the Track Style Attributes
dialog box.
g. Close the Particle Tracks dialog box.
h. Use the mouse to obtain the view shown in Figure 20.10: Particle Tracks for the Spray Injec-
tion (p. 851).
Figure 20.10: Particle Tracks for the Spray Injection
The air-blast atomizer model assumes that a cylindrical liquid sheet exits the atomizer, which then
disintegrates into ligaments and droplets. Appropriately, the model determines that the droplets should
be input into the domain in a ring. The radius of this disk is determined from the inner and outer radii
of the injector.
Note:
In the real device, the inner diameter and outer diameter of the liquid injection are 3.5
mm and 4.5 mm, respectively. Hence a liquid sheet is formed that is about 0.5 mm in
thickness. The shear forces of the two air streams quickly disperse the liquid into droplets
between, roughly, 4 µm and 50 µm in diameter. This is predicted by the air-blast-atom-
izer model, which uses the parameters specified in the "Set Injection Properties" dialog
box.
Also note that the droplets are placed a slight distance away from the injector. Once
the droplets are injected into the domain, their behavior will be determined by second-
ary models. For instance, they may collide/coalesce with other droplets depending on
the secondary models employed. However, once a droplet has been introduced into
the domain, the air-blast atomizer model no longer affects the droplet.
2. Display the mean particle temperature field (Figure 20.11: Contours of DPM Temperature (p. 853)).
a. Enter contour-dpm-temp for Contour Name.
d. Select Discrete Phase Variables... and DPM Temperature from the Contours of drop-down
lists.
e. Disable Auto Range.
The Clip to Range option will automatically be enabled.
f. Click Compute to update the Min and Max fields.
g. Enter 260 for Min.
Setup and Solution
h. Select angle=15 from the Surfaces selection list.
j. Use the mouse to obtain the view shown in Figure 20.11: Contours of DPM Temperature (p. 853).
Figure 20.11: Contours of DPM Temperature
3. Display the mean Sauter diameter (Figure 20.12: Contours of DPM Sauter Diameter (p. 854)).
a. Enter contour-dpm-sauter-diameter for Contour Name.
d. Select Discrete Phase Variables... and DPM D32 from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select angle=15 from the Surfaces selection list.
Figure 20.12: Contours of DPM Sauter Diameter
4. Display vectors of DPM mean velocity colored by DPM velocity magnitude (Figure 20.13: Vectors
of DPM Mean Velocity Colored by DPM Velocity Magnitude (p. 856)).
Setup and Solution
a. Enter vector-dpm-vel for Vector Name.
b. Select dpm-mean-velocity from the Vectors of drop-down lists.
c. Select Discrete Phase Variables... and DPM Velocity Magnitude from the Color by drop-
down lists.
d. Select arrow from the Style drop-down list.
e. Enter 7 for Scale.
f. Select angle=15 from the Surfaces selection list.
Figure 20.13: Vectors of DPM Mean Velocity Colored by DPM Velocity Magnitude
5. Create an isosurface of the methanol mass fraction.
a. Enter methanol-mf=0.002 for the New Surface Name.
b. Select Species... and Mass fraction of ch3oh from the Surface of Constant drop-down lists.
c. Click Compute to update the minimum and maximum values.
Setup and Solution
d. Enter 0.002 for Iso-Values.
e. Click Create and then close the Iso-Surface dialog box.
6. Display the isosurface you just created (methanol-mf=0.002).
a. Deselect atomizer-wall in the Surfaces selection list.
b. Select methanol-mf=0.002 in the Surfaces selection list.
c. Click Display in the Mesh Display dialog box.
The graphics display will be updated to show the isosurface.
7. Modify the view to include the entire atomizer.
View → Display → Periodic Instancing...
a.
i. Select fluid from the Cell Zones list.
ii. Select swirling_airand methanol-mf=0.002 from the Associated Surfaces selection list.
iii. Retain the selection of Rotational in the Periodic Type list.
iv. Set 12 for the Number of Repeats.
v. Click Save and close the Periodic Instancing dialog box.
c. Use the mouse to obtain the view shown in Figure 20.14: Full Atomizer Display with Surface
of Constant Methanol Mass Fraction (p. 859).
Setup and Solution
Figure 20.14: Full Atomizer Display with Surface of Constant Methanol Mass Fraction
d. This view can be improved to resemble Figure 20.15: Atomizer Display with Surface of Constant
Methanol Mass Fraction Enhanced (p. 860) by changing some of the following variables:
• Disable Edges in the Mesh Display dialog box
• Select only swirling_air and methanol-mf=0.002 in the Surfaces list of the

Mesh Display dialog box
• Change the Number of Repeats to 6 in the Graphics Periodicity dialog box
• Enable Lighting and change it to Flat in the View tab (Display group)
• Enable Headlight check in the View tab (Display group)
Figure 20.15: Atomizer Display with Surface of Constant Methanol Mass Fraction Enhanced
20.5. Summary
In this tutorial, a spray injection was defined for an air-blast atomizer and the solution was calculated
using the discrete phase model in Ansys Fluent. The location of methanol droplet particles after exiting
the atomizer and an isosurface of the methanol mass fraction were examined.
Chapter 21: Using the VOF Model
21.1. Introduction
21.2. Prerequisites
21.5. Summary
21.1. Introduction
This tutorial examines the flow of ink as it is ejected from the nozzle of a printhead in an inkjet printer.
Using Ansys Fluent’s volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase modeling capability, you will be able to predict
the shape and motion of the resulting droplets in an air chamber.
• Set up and solve a transient problem using the pressure-based solver and VOF model.
• Copy material from the property database.
• Define time-dependent boundary conditions with an expression.
• Patch initial conditions in a subset of the domain.
• Automatically save data files at defined points during the solution.
• Examine the flow and interface of the two fluids using volume fraction contours.
21.2. Prerequisites

The problem considers the transient tracking of a liquid-gas interface in the geometry shown in Fig-
ure 21.1: Schematic of the Problem (p. 862). The axial symmetry of the problem enables a 2D geometry
to be used. The computation mesh consists of 24,600 cells. The domain consists of two regions: an ink
chamber and an air chamber. The dimensions are summarized in Table 21.1: Ink Chamber Dimen-
sions (p. 862).
Using the VOF Model
Figure 21.1: Schematic of the Problem
Table 21.1: Ink Chamber Dimensions
Ink Chamber, Cylindrical Region: Radius (mm) 0.015

Ink Chamber, Cylindrical Region: Length (mm) 0.050
Ink Chamber, Tapered Region: Final Radius (mm) 0.009
Ink Chamber, Tapered Region: Length (mm) 0.050
Air Chamber: Radius (mm) 0.030
Air Chamber: Length (mm) 0.280
The following is the chronology of events modeled in this simulation:
Setup and Solution
• At time zero, the nozzle is filled with ink, while the rest of the domain is filled with air. Both fluids
are assumed to be at rest. To initiate the ejection, the ink velocity at the inlet boundary (which is
modeled in this simulation by a user-defined function) suddenly increases from 0 to 3.58 m/s and
then decreases according to a cosine law.
• After 10 microseconds, the velocity returns to zero.
The calculation is run for 30 microseconds overall, that is, three times longer than the duration of the
initial impulse.
Because the dimensions are small, the double-precision version of Ansys Fluent will be used. Air will be
designated as the primary phase, and ink (which will be modeled with the properties of liquid water)
will be designated as the secondary phase. Patching will be required to fill the ink chamber with the
secondary phase. Gravity will not be included in the simulation. To capture the capillary effect of the
ejected ink, the surface tension and prescription of the wetting angle will be specified. The surface inside
the nozzle will be modeled as neutrally wettable, while the surface surrounding the nozzle orifice will
be non-wettable.

21.4.1. Preparation
21.4.2. Reading and Manipulating the Mesh
21.4.4. Models
21.4.5. Materials
21.4.6. Phases
21.4.9. Solution
21.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the vof.zip file here.
2. Unzip vof.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file inkjet.msh can be found in the folder.
Using the VOF Model
Note:
The double precision solver is recommended for modeling multiphase flows simulation.
21.4.2. Reading and Manipulating the Mesh

1. Read the mesh file inkjet.msh.
A warning message will be displayed twice in the console. You need not take any action at this point,
as the issue will be resolved when you define the solver settings in General Settings (p. 868).
2. Examine the mesh (Figure 21.2: Default Display of the Nozzle Mesh (p. 864)).
Figure 21.2: Default Display of the Nozzle Mesh
Tip:
By zooming in with the middle mouse button, you can see that the interior of the
model is composed of a fine mesh of quadrilateral cells (see Figure 21.3: The Quadrilat-
eral Mesh (p. 865)).
Setup and Solution
Figure 21.3: The Quadrilateral Mesh
3. Set graphics display options
View → Display → Options...
a. Ensure that All is selected from the Animation Option drop-down list.
Selecting All will allow you to see the movement of the entire mesh as you manipulate the Camera
view in the next step.
4. Click Apply and close the Display Options dialog box.
Using the VOF Model
5. Manipulate the mesh display to show the full chamber upright.
View → Display → Views...
a. Select front from the Views selection list.
b. Select axis from the Mirror Planes selection list.
c. Click Apply.
The mesh display is updated to show both sides of the chamber.
d. Click the Camera... button to open the Camera Parameters dialog box.
Setup and Solution
Note:
You may notice that the scale of the dimensions in the Camera Parameters dialog
box appear very large given the problem dimensions. This is because you have not
yet scaled the mesh to the correct units. You will do this in a later step.
i. Drag the indicator of the dial with the left mouse button in the clockwise direction until
the upright view is displayed (Figure 21.4: Mesh Display of the Nozzle Mirrored and Up-
right (p. 868)).
Using the VOF Model
Figure 21.4: Mesh Display of the Nozzle Mirrored and Upright
ii. Click Apply and close the Camera Parameters dialog box.
e. Close the Views dialog box.

1. Check the mesh.
Ansys Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and report the progress in the console. Make
sure that the reported minimum volume is a positive number.
2. Scale the mesh.
Setup and Solution
a. Select Specify Scaling Factors from the Scaling group box.
b. Enter 1e-6 for X and Y in the Scaling Factors group box.
c. Click Scale and close the Scale Mesh dialog box.
3. a. Right click in the graphics window and select Refresh Display
b. Click the Fit to Window icon, , to center the graphic in the window.
4. Check the mesh.
Note:
It is a good idea to check the mesh after you manipulate it (that is, scale, convert to
polyhedra, merge, separate, fuse, add zones, or smooth and swap.) This will ensure that
the quality of the mesh has not been compromised.
5. Define the units for the mesh.
Using the VOF Model
a. Select length from the Quantities list.
b. Select mm from the Units list.
c. Select surface-tension from the Quantities list.
d. Select dyn/cm from the Units list.
e. Close the Set Units dialog box.
6. Retain the default setting of Pressure-Based in the Solver group box of the General task page.
Setup → General
Setup and Solution
7. Select Transient from the Time list.
8. Select Axisymmetric in the Solver group box.
21.4.4. Models
2. Enable the Volume of Fluid multiphase model.
Physics → Models → Multiphase...
Using the VOF Model
a. Select Volume of Fluid from the Model list.
The Multiphase Model dialog box expands to show related inputs.
b. Retain the default settings and click Apply and then Close to close the Multiphase Model
dialog box.
Important:
When setting up your case, if you have made changes in the current tab, you should
click the Apply button to make them effective before moving to the next tab.
Otherwise, the relevant models may not be available in the other tabs, and your
settings may be lost.
Setup and Solution
21.4.5. Materials
The default properties of air and water defined in Ansys Fluent are suitable for this problem. In this step,
you will make sure that both materials are available for selection in later steps.
1. Add water to the list of fluid materials by copying it from the Ansys Fluent materials database.
a. Click Fluent Database... in the Create/Edit Materials dialog box to open the Fluent Database
Materials dialog box.
Using the VOF Model
i. Select water-liquid (h2o < l >) from the Fluent Fluid Materials selection list.
Scroll down the Fluent Fluid Materials list to locate water-liquid (h2o < l >).
ii. Click Copy to copy the information for water to your list of fluid materials.
21.4.6. Phases
In the following steps, you will define water as the secondary phase. When you define the initial solution,
you will patch water in the nozzle region. In general, you can specify the primary and secondary phases
whichever way you prefer. It is a good idea to consider how your choice will affect the ease of problem
setup, especially with more complicated problems.
In the Multiphase Model dialog box, open the Phases tab.
1. Specify air (air) as the primary phase.
Setup and Solution
a. Select phase-1 – Prmary Phase in the Phases selection list.
b. Enter air for Name.
c. Retain the default selection of air in the Phase Material drop-down list.
d. Click Apply
2. Specify water (water-liquid) as the secondary phase.
a. In the Phases selection list, select phase-2 – Secondary Phase.
Using the VOF Model
b. Enter water-liquid for Name.
c. Select water-liquid from the Phase Material drop-down list.
d. Click Apply.
3. Specify the interphase interaction.
In the Multiphase Model dialog box, open the Phase Interaction tab.
Setup and Solution
a. In the Force tab, select Surface Tension Force Modeling (Global Options group box).
The surface tension inputs is displayed and the Continuum Surface Force model is set as the default.
b. Enable Wall Adhesion (Adhesion Options group box) so that contact angles can be prescribed.
c. For Surface Tension Coefficient (Force Setup group box), select constant from the drop-
down list and enter 73.5 dyn/cm .
d. Click Apply.
4. Close the Multiphase Model dialog box.

1. Set the operating reference pressure location.
Using the VOF Model
You will set the Reference Pressure Location to be a point where the fluid will always be 100 air.
a. Enter 0.10 mm for X.
b. Enter 0.03 mm for Y.
c. Click OK to close the Operating Conditions dialog box.

1. Set the boundary conditions at the inlet (inlet) for the mixture by selecting mixture from the
Phase drop-down list in the Boundary Conditions task page.
a. Select expression from the Velocity Magnitude drop-down list.
Setup and Solution
b. Enter the expression in the Expression Editor dialog box as shown and click OK and close
the dialog box.
IF(t<=10e-06[sec],3.58[m/s]*cos(PI*t/30e-6[s]),0[m/s])
c. Click Apply to close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions at the inlet (inlet) for the secondary phase by selecting water-liquid
from the Phase drop-down list in the Boundary Conditions task page.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → inlet → water-liquid Edit...
Using the VOF Model
a. Click the Multiphase tab and enter 1 for the Volume Fraction.
b. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
3. Set the boundary conditions at the outlet (outlet) for the secondary phase by selecting water-liquid
from the Phase drop-down list in the Boundary Conditions task page.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → outlet → water-liquid Edit...
a. Click the Multiphase tab and retain the default setting of 0 for the Backflow Volume Fraction.
4. Set the conditions at the top wall of the air chamber (wall_no_wet) for the mixture by selecting
mixture from the Phase drop-down list in the Boundary Conditions task page.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → wall_no_wet Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter 175 degrees for Contact Angles.
Note:
This angle affects the dynamics of droplet formation. You can repeat this simulation
to find out how the result changes when the wall is hydrophilic (that is, using a
small contact angle, say 10 degrees).
5. Set the conditions at the side wall of the ink chamber (wall_wet) for the mixture.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → wall_wet Edit...
Using the VOF Model
a. Retain the default setting of 90 degrees for Contact Angles.
21.4.9. Solution
Setup and Solution
a. Enable Non-Iterative Time Advancement.
The non-iterative time advancement (NITA) scheme is often advantageous compared to the iterative
schemes as it is less CPU intensive. Although smaller time steps must be used with NITA compared
to the iterative schemes, the total CPU expense is often smaller. If the NITA scheme leads to conver-
gence difficulties, then the iterative schemes (for example, PISO, SIMPLE) should be used instead.
b. Select Fractional Step from the Scheme drop-down list in the Pressure-Velocity Coupling
group box.
Using the VOF Model
c. Retain the default selection of Least Squares Cell Based from the Gradient drop-down list
in the Spatial Discretization group box.
d. Retain the default selection of PRESTO! from the Pressure drop-down list.
e. Select QUICK from the Momentum drop-down list.
f. Select Compressive from the Volume-Fraction drop-down list.
a. Ensure Plot is selected in the Options group box.
3. Initialize the solution after reviewing the default initial values.
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default settings for all the parameters and click Initialize (either in the ribbon or
in the Solution Initialization task page.
4. Define a register for the ink chamber region.
Solution → Cell Registers New → Region...
Using the VOF Model
Setup and Solution
a. Enter a setting of 0 mm for X Min and Y Min in the Input Coordinates group box.
b. Enter 0.10 mm for X Max.
c. Enter 0.03 mm for Y Max.
d. Click Save and close the Region Register dialog box.
5. Patch the initial distribution of the secondary phase (water-liquid).
Solution → Initialization → Patch...
a. Select water-liquid from the Phase drop-down list.
Using the VOF Model
b. Select Volume Fraction from the Variable list.
c. Enter 1 for Value.
d. Select region_0 from the Registers to Patch selection list.
e. Click Patch and close the Patch dialog box.
6. Request the saving of data files every 200 steps.
Solution → Activities → Autosave...
a. Enter 200 for Save Data File Every (Time Steps).
b. Ensure that time-step is selected from the Append File Name with drop-down list.
c. Enter inkjet for the File Name.
Ansys Fluent will append the time step value to the file name prefix (inkjet). The standard
.dat.h5 extension will also be appended. This will yield file names of the form inkjet-1-
00200.dat.h5, where 200 is the time step number.
d. Click OK to close the Autosave dialog box.
7. Save the initial case file (inkjet.cas.h5).
Setup and Solution
a. Enter 1.0e-8 seconds for the Time Step Size (s).
Note:
Small time steps are required to capture the oscillation of the droplet interface and
the associated high velocities. Failure to use sufficiently small time steps may cause
differences in the results between platforms.
b. Enter 3000 for the Number of Time Steps.
c. Click Calculate.
The solution will run for 3000 iterations.
1. Read the data file for the solution after 6 microseconds (inkjet-1-00600.dat.h5).
File → Read → Data...
2. Create and display a filled contour of water volume fraction after 6 microseconds (Figure 21.5: Con-
tours of Water Volume Fraction After 6 μs (p. 891)).
Using the VOF Model
a. Change the Contour Name to contour-volume-fraction.
c. Select Phases... and Volume fraction from the Contours of drop-down lists.
d. Select water-liquid from the Phase drop-down list.
Tip:
In order to display the contour plot in the graphics window, you may need to click the
Fit to Window button .
3. Save the case file (inkjet.cas.h5).
Setup and Solution
4. Display contours of water volume fraction after 12, 18, 24, and 30 microseconds (Figure 21.6: Con-
tours of Water Volume Fraction After 12 μs (p. 892) - Figure 21.9: Contours of Water Volume Fraction
After 30 μs (p. 893)).
a. Read the data file for the solution after 12 microseconds (inkjet-1-01200.dat.h5).
File → Read → Data...
b. Reload the contour graphic saved in the previous step.
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-volume-fraction Display
c. Repeat these steps for the 18, 24, and 30 microseconds files.
Figure 21.5: Contours of Water Volume Fraction After 6 μs
Using the VOF Model
Summary
21.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated the application of the volume of fluid method with surface tension effects.
The problem involved the 2D axisymmetric modeling of a transient liquid-gas interface, and postpro-
cessing showed how the position and shape of the surface between the two immiscible fluids changed
over time.
Chapter 22: Modeling Cavitation
22.1. Introduction
22.2. Prerequisites
22.5. Summary
22.1. Introduction
This tutorial examines the pressure-driven cavitating flow of water through a sharp-edged orifice. This
is a typical configuration in fuel injectors, and brings a challenge to the physics and numerics of cavit-
ation models because of the high pressure differentials involved and the high ratio of liquid to vapor
density. Using the multiphase modeling capability of Ansys Fluent, you will be able to predict the strong
cavitation near the orifice after flow separation at a sharp edge.
• Set boundary conditions for internal flow.
• Use the mixture model with cavitation effects.
• Calculate a solution using the pressure-based coupled solver.
22.2. Prerequisites

The problem considers the cavitation caused by the flow separation after a sharp-edged orifice. The
flow is pressure driven, with an inlet pressure of 5 x 105 Pa and an outlet pressure of 9.5 x 104 Pa. The
orifice diameter is 4 x 10–3 m, and the geometrical parameters of the orifice are D/d = 2.88 and L/d =
4, where D, d, and L are the inlet diameter, orifice diameter, and orifice length respectively. The geometry
of the orifice is shown in Figure 22.1: Problem Schematic (p. 896).
Modeling Cavitation

22.4.1. Preparation
22.4.4. Models
22.4.5. Materials
22.4.6. Phases
22.4.9. Solution
22.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the cavitation.zip file here.
2. Unzip cavitation.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file cav.msh can be found in the folder.
Setup and Solution
Note:
The double precision solver is recommended for modeling multiphase flows

simulation.

1. Read the mesh file cav.msh.
2. Check the mesh.
3. Check the mesh scale.
a. Retain the default settings.
b. Close the Scale Mesh dialog box.
4. Examine the mesh (Figure 22.2: The Mesh in the Orifice (p. 898)).
Modeling Cavitation
Figure 22.2: The Mesh in the Orifice
As seen in Figure 22.2: The Mesh in the Orifice (p. 898), half of the problem geometry is modeled, with
an axis boundary (consisting of two separate lines) at the centerline. The quadrilateral mesh is slightly
graded in the plenum to be finer toward the orifice. In the orifice, the mesh is uniform with aspect ratios
close to , as the flow is expected to exhibit two-dimensional gradients.
When you display data graphically in a later step, you will mirror the view across the centerline to
obtain a more realistic view of the model.
Since the bubbles are small and the flow is high speed, gravity effects can be neglected and the problem
can be reduced to axisymmetrical. If gravity could not be neglected and the direction of gravity were
not coincident with the geometrical axis of symmetry, you would have to solve a 3D problem.

1. Specify an axisymmetric model.
Setup → General
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default selection of Pressure-Based in the Type list.
b. Select Axisymmetric in the 2D Space list.
Note:
A computationally intensive, transient calculation is necessary to accurately simulate

the irregular cyclic process of bubble formation, growth, filling by water jet re-entry,
and break-off. In this tutorial, you will perform a steady-state calculation to simulate
the presence of vapor in the separation region in the time-averaged flow.
22.4.4. Models
1. Enable the multiphase mixture model.
Modeling Cavitation
a. Select Mixture in the Model list.
The Multiphase Model dialog box will expand.
b. Clear Slip Velocity in the Mixture Parameters group box.
In this flow, the high level of turbulence does not allow large bubble growth, so gravity is not im-
portant. It is also assumed that the bubbles have same velocity as the liquid. Therefore, there is no
need to solve for the slip velocity.
c. Click Apply and close the Multiphase Model dialog box.
Important:
Setup and Solution
b. Retain the default selection of SST in the k-omega Model list
22.4.5. Materials
For the purposes of this tutorial, you will be modeling the liquid and vapor phases as incompressible.
Note that more comprehensive models are available for the densities of these phases, and could be
used to more fully capture the affects of the pressure changes in this problem.
Modeling Cavitation
1. Create a new material to be used for the primary phase.
Setup → Materials → Fluid New...
a. Enter water for Name.
b. Enter 1000 kg/m3 for Density.
c. Enter 0.001 kg/m–s for Viscosity.
d. Click Change/Create and select Yes.
2. Copy water vapor from the materials database and modify the properties of your local copy.
a. In the Create/Edit Materials dialog box, click the Fluent Database... button to open the
Fluent Database Materials dialog box.
Setup and Solution
i. Select water-vapor (h2o) from the Fluent Fluid Materials selection list.
Scroll down the list to find water-vapor (h2o).
ii. Click Copy to include water vapor in your model.
water-vapor appears under Fluid in the Materials task page
Modeling Cavitation
b. Enter 0.02558 kg/m3 for Density.
c. Enter 1.26e-06 kg/m–s for Viscosity.
d. Click Change/Create and close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
22.4.6. Phases
Setup → Models → Multiphase Edit...
In the Multiphase Model dialog box, go to the Phases tab.
1. Specify liquid water as the primary phase.
a. In the Phases selection list, select phase-1 – Primary Phase.
Setup and Solution
b. Enter liquid for Name.
c. Select water from the Phase Material drop-down list.
d. Click Apply.
2. Specify water vapor as the secondary phase.
Modeling Cavitation
b. Enter vapor for Name.
c. Select water-vapor from the Phase Material drop-down list.
d. Click Apply.
3. Enable the cavitation model.
a. In the Multiphase Model dialog box, go to the Phase Interaction tab.
Setup and Solution
b. In the Heat, Mass, Reaction tab, set Number of Mass Transfer Mechanisms to 1.
The dialog box expands to show relevant modeling parameters.
c. Ensure that liquid is selected from the From Phase drop-down list in the Mass Transfer group
box.
d. Select vapor from the To Phase drop-down list.
e. Select cavitation from the Mechanism drop-down list.
The Cavitation Model dialog box will open to show the cavitation inputs.
Modeling Cavitation
i. Retain the value of 3540 Pa for Vaporization Pressure.
The vaporization pressure is a property of the working liquid, which depends mainly on the
temperature and pressure. The default value is the vaporization pressure of water at 1 atmo-
sphere and a temperature of 300 K.
ii. Retain the value of 1e+11 for Bubble Number Density.
iii. Click OK to close the Cavitation Model dialog box.
f. Click Apply and close the Multiphase Model dialog box.

For the multiphase mixture model, you will specify conditions for the mixture (that is, conditions that apply
to all phases) and the conditions that are specific to the primary and secondary phases. In this tutorial,
boundary conditions are required only for the mixture and secondary phase of two boundaries: the pressure
inlet (consisting of two boundary zones) and the pressure outlet. The pressure outlet is the downstream
boundary, opposite the pressure inlets.
Setup and Solution
1. Set the boundary conditions at inlet_1 for the mixture. Ensure that mixture is selected from the
Phase drop-down list in the Boundary Conditions task page.
Modeling Cavitation
Setup → Boundary Conditions → inlet_1 → Edit...
a. Enter 500000 Pa for Gauge Total Pressure.
b. Enter 449000 Pa for Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure.
If you choose to initialize the solution based on the pressure-inlet conditions, the Supersonic/Initial
Gauge Pressure will be used in conjunction with the specified stagnation pressure (the Gauge
Total Pressure) to compute initial values according to the isentropic relations (for compressible
flow) or Bernoulli’s equation (for incompressible flow). Otherwise, in an incompressible flow calcu-
lation, Ansys Fluent will ignore the Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure input.
c. Retain the default selection of Normal to Boundary from the Direction Specification Method
drop-down list.
d. Retain the default settings in the Turbulence group box.
e. Click Apply and close the Pressure Inlet dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions at inlet-1 for the secondary phase.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → inlet_1
a. Select vapor from the Phase drop-down list.
b. Click Edit... to open the Pressure Inlet dialog box.
Setup and Solution
i. In the Multiphase tab, retain the default value of 0 for Volume Fraction.
ii. Click Apply and close the Pressure Inlet dialog box.
3. Copy the boundary conditions defined for the first pressure inlet zone (inlet_1) to the second
pressure inlet zone (inlet_2).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → inlet_1
a. Select mixture from the Phase drop-down list.
b. Click Copy... to open the Copy Conditions dialog box.
i. Select inlet_1 from the From Boundary Zone selection list.
ii. Select inlet_2 from the To Boundary Zones selection list.
iii. Click Copy.
A Question dialog box will open, asking if you want to copy inlet_1 boundary conditions to
inlet_2. Click OK.
Modeling Cavitation
iv. Close the Copy Conditions dialog box.
4. Set the boundary conditions at outlet for the mixture.
a. Enter 95000 for Gauge Pressure.
b. Retain the default settings in the Turbulence group box.
c. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
5. Set the boundary conditions at outlet for the secondary phase.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → outlet
a. Select vapor from the Phase drop-down list.
b. Click Edit... to open the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
Setup and Solution
i. In the Multiphase tab, retain the default value of 0 for Backflow Volume Fraction.

22.4.9. Solution
Modeling Cavitation
a. Select Coupled from the Scheme drop-down list in the Pressure-Velocity Coupling group
box.
b. Retain the selection of PRESTO! from the Pressure drop-down list in the Spatial Discretization
group box.
c. Select QUICK for Momentum and Volume Fraction.
Setup and Solution
d. Retain First Order Upwind for Turbulent Kinetic Energy and Turbulent Dissipation Rate.
e. Select Global Time Step from the Pseudo Time Method drop-down list.
f. Enable High Order Term Relaxation.
The relaxation of high order terms will help to improve the solution behavior of flow simulations
when higher order spatial discretizations are used (higher than first).
2. Set the solution controls.
a. Set the pseudo time explicit relaxation factor for Volume Fraction to 0.3.
Modeling Cavitation
b. Enter 1e-05 for the Absolute Criteria of continuity, x-velocity, y-velocity, k, omega, and
vf-vapor.
Decreasing the criteria for these residuals will improve the accuracy of the solution.
a. Select Hybrid from the Initialization group box.
b. Click More Settings... to open the Hybrid Initialization dialog box.
Setup and Solution
c. Enable Use Specified Initial Pressure on Inlets in the Initialization Options group box. The
velocity will now be initialized to the Initial Gauge Pressure value that you set in the Pressure
Inlet boundary condition dialog box. For more information on initialization options, see hybrid
initialization in the Fluent User's Guide.
d. Click OK to close the Hybrid Initialization dialog box.
e. Click Initialize to initialize the solution.
Note:
For flows in complex topologies, hybrid initialization will provide better initial velocity
and pressure fields than standard initialization. This will help to improve the conver-
gence behavior of the solver.
5. Save the case file (cav.cas.h5).
Modeling Cavitation
b. Click Calculate.
7. Save the case and data files (cav.cas.h5 and cav.dat.h5).
1. Create and plot a definition of pressure contours in the orifice (Figure 22.3: Contours of Static
Pressure (p. 920)).
Setup and Solution
a. Change Contour Name to contour-static-pressure
d. Retain the default selection of Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Contours of drop-
down lists.
The contour-static-pressure contour definition appears under the Results/Graph-

ics/Contours tree branch. Once you create a plot definition, you can use a right-click menu
to display this definition at a later time, for instance, in subsequent simulations with different
settings ;or in combination with other plot definitions.
Modeling Cavitation
Note the dramatic pressure drop at the flow restriction in Figure 22.3: Contours of Static Pressure (p. 920).
Low static pressure is the major factor causing cavitation. Additionally, turbulence contributes to
cavitation due to the effect of pressure fluctuation (Figure 22.4: Mirrored View of Contours of Static
Pressure (p. 921)) and turbulent diffusion (Figure 22.5: Contours of Turbulent Kinetic Energy (p. 922)).
2. Mirror the display across the centerline (Figure 22.4: Mirrored View of Contours of Static Pres-
sure (p. 921)).
Mirroring the display across the centerline gives a more realistic view.
Setup and Solution
a. Select symm_2 and symm_1 from the Mirror Planes selection list.
b. Click Apply and close the Views dialog box.
Figure 22.4: Mirrored View of Contours of Static Pressure
3. Create and plot a contour definition of the turbulent kinetic energy (Figure 22.5: Contours of Tur-
bulent Kinetic Energy (p. 922)).
a. Change Contour Name to contour-tke
d. Select Turbulence... and Turbulent Kinetic Energy(k) from the Contours of drop-down lists.
Modeling Cavitation
Figure 22.5: Contours of Turbulent Kinetic Energy
In this example, the mesh used is fairly coarse. However, in cavitating flows the pressure distribution
is the dominant factor, and is not very sensitive to mesh size.
4. Create and plot a contour definition of the volume fraction of water vapor (Figure 22.6: Contours
of Vapor Volume Fraction (p. 923)).
a. Change Contour Name to contour-vf-vapor
d. Select Phases... and Volume fraction from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select vapor from the Phase drop-down list.
Summary
Figure 22.6: Contours of Vapor Volume Fraction
The high turbulent kinetic energy region near the neck of the orifice in Figure 22.5: Contours of Turbulent
Kinetic Energy (p. 922) coincides with the highest volume fraction of vapor in Figure 22.6: Contours of
Vapor Volume Fraction (p. 923). This indicates the correct prediction of a localized high phase change
rate. The vapor then gets convected downstream by the main flow.
5. Save the case file (cav.cas.h5).
22.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to set up and resolve a strongly cavitating pressure-driven flow through
an orifice, using multiphase mixture model of Ansys Fluent with cavitation effects. You learned how to
set the boundary conditions for an internal flow. A steady-state solution was calculated to simulate the
formation of vapor in the neck of the flow after the section restriction at the orifice. A more computa-
tionally intensive transient calculation is necessary to accurately simulate the irregular cyclic process of
bubble formation, growth, filling by water jet re-entry, and break-off.
Chapter 23: Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model
23.1. Introduction
23.2. Prerequisites
23.5. Summary
23.1. Introduction
This tutorial examines a turbulent two-phase flow consisting of air sparged into a water-filled mixing
lab reactor. You will use the Eulerian multiphase model to simulate the mixing tank processes since the
air and water phases are not in equilibrium throughout the simulation.
• Set up a multiphase flow simulation involving air and water.
• Use multiple frames of reference.
• Use a degassing outlet boundary condition to enable only air, but not water, to escape from the
boundary.
• Calculate a solution using the multiphase coupled solver with the Eulerian model.
• Display the solution results.
• Calculate torque and power requirements.
23.2. Prerequisites

The problem to be modeled in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 23.1: Problem Schemat-
ic (p. 926).
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model
The geometry consists of a mixing vessel, four baffles along the vessel wall, a ring sparger, a pitch blade
turbine, a Rushton blade turbine, and a rotating vertical shaft. There is no water flow into or out of the
vessel. Air is injected into the tank at the bottom through the ring sparger at a speed of 0.05 m/s. Small
inlet holes in the sparger ring are ignored, and the air inlet is modeled as a uniform circular strip. The
air mixes with water, producing small bubbles. The Rushton blade turbine agitates the air-water mixture,
evenly distributing the air bubbles. The pitch blade turbine performs dispersion and pumping operations.
Both impellers rotate at 450 rpm in the counterclockwise direction about the Z axis (as viewed from
the top). Dispersed gas bubbles can escape through the top water surface, which is open to the ambient
air. This model can be used as a reasonable representation of the initial conditions in a real mixing tank.

23.4.1. Preparation
23.4.2. Mesh
23.4.4. Models
23.4.5. Materials
23.4.6. Phases
23.4.9. Solution
Setup and Solution
23.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the mixing_tank.zip file here.
2. Unzip mixing_tank.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file mixing_tank.msh.h5 can be found in the folder.
23.4.2. Mesh
1. Read the mesh file mixing_tank.msh.h5.
A warning message will be displayed that the degassing boundary condition type is not compatible
with currently enabled models. You will resolve this issue when you enable the Eulerian multiphase
model in a subsequent step.
Click OK and close the Information dialog box.
2. Check the mesh.
Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and will report the progress in the console. Make sure
a. In the Options group box, enable Faces and Edges.
b. In the Surfaces selection list, select wall_liquid_level, gas-inlet, and Wall (to select all walls),
deselect fluid-tank_body
c. Click Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
4. Examine the mesh (Figure 23.2: Mesh Display of the Mixing Tank (p. 928)).
Extra:
Figure 23.2: Mesh Display of the Mixing Tank

for a two-phase turbulent flow within a mixing tank:
Setup and Solution
2. Retain the default Solver settings.
Physics → Solver → General...
3. Set the gravitational acceleration.
a. In the Operating Conditions dialog box, enable Gravity to account for gravitational forces.
b. In the Gravitational Acceleration group box, enter -9.81 m/s2 for the Gravitational Accel-
eration in the Z direction.
c. Select Specified Operating Density.
d. Retain the default value of 1.225 kg/m3 for Operating Density.
For this simulation, you will model air as an incompressible fluid with a density of 1.225 kg/m3,
which is a default value.
Note:
For multiphase flows, the operating density should be set to the density of the least
dense phase.
e. Click OK to close the Operating Conditions dialog box.
f. Click OK to close the Information dialog box.
23.4.4. Models
1. Enable the Eulerian multiphase model.
Since you will use the default settings for the Eulerian model, you can enable it directly from the tree
by right-clicking the Multiphase node and choosing Eulerian from the context menu.
Setup → Models → Multiphase Eulerian
Click OK to close the Information dialog box.
Enabling the Eulerian multiphase model will also automatically enable the operating density parameters.
You can verify this in the Operating Conditions dialog box.
2. Verify the operating density.
a. Ensure that minimum-phase-averaged is selected from the Operating Density Method

drop-down list.
3. Enable the k-ω turbulence model with standard wall functions.
a. Retain the default k-omega model in the Model group box.
b. Retain SST in the k-omega Model group box.
c. In the Turbulence Multiphase Model group box, select Dispersed.
The dispersed turbulence model is suitable for cases when the dispersed phase is dilute. The model
assumes that turbulence in the primary phase is dominant, while the turbulent quantities of the
secondary phase can be obtained from the mean characteristics of the primary phase.
d. Click OK to close the Viscous Model dialog box.
23.4.5. Materials
The default properties for water defined in Ansys Fluent are suitable for this problem. In this step, you will
make sure that this material is available for selecting in future steps.
1. Add water to the list of fluid materials by copying it from the Ansys Fluent materials database.
Setup → Materials → Fluid → air → Create/Edit...
a. Click Fluent Database... in the Create/Edit Materials dialog box to open the Fluent Database
Materials dialog box.
Setup and Solution
i. Select water-liquid (h2o<l>) in the Fluent Fluid Materials selection list.
Scroll down the list to find water-liquid (h2o<l>). Selecting this item will display the default
properties in the dialog box.
ii. Click Copy and close the Fluent Database Materials dialog box.
The Create/Edit Materials dialog box will now display the copied properties for water-liquid.
23.4.6. Phases
In the following steps you will define the liquid water and air phases that flow in the mixing tank.
1. In the Phases tab of the Multiphase Model dialog box, specify liquid water as the primary phase.
b. Enter water for Name.
c. Select water-liquid from the Phase Material drop-down list.
d. Click Apply.
2. Specify air as the secondary phase.
c. Retain the default selection of air from the Phase Material drop-down list.
d. Enter 0.0015 m for Diameter.
The diameter of the air bubbles that are formed when the air is injected into the tank depends on
the diameter of the inlet holes in the real reactor, which is 1 mm in this example.
e. Click Apply.
3. Define the interphase interactions formulations to be used.
a. Open the Phase Interaction tab.
b. In the Forces tab, select grace from the Coefficient drop-down list (Drag Coefficient group
box).
The Grace model is suitable for liquid-gas mixtures with low gas density and bubble sizes of 1-
2 mm.
Click OK to close the Grace Swarm Correction dialog box.
c. For Surface Tension Coefficients (Force Setup group box), select constant from the drop-
down list and enter 0.073.
d. Click Apply and close the Multiphase Model dialog box.

The mesh has three fluid cell zones: fluid_mrf_1-1 and fluid_mrf_2-0 are zones associated with the Rushton
blade turbine and pitch blade turbine, respectively, and fluid_tank-2 represents the rest of the tank. In this
section, you will use multiple reference frames to define boundary conditions for the cell zones that contain
rotating components. Moving reference frames enable you to model the flow around rotating parts as
steady-state with respect to the moving frames.
Physics → Zones → Cell Zones...
Tip:
To visually confirm the location of a cell or boundary zone, you can display it by right-
clicking it in the tree and selecting either Display or Add to Graphics. Conversely, if you
click a cell or boundary mesh in the graphics window, the selected item will be highlighted
in the tree. You can use Ctrl or Shift to select multiple zones.
Setup and Solution
1. Set up the cell zone conditions for the fluid zone associated with the Rushton blade turbine (flu-
id_mrf_1-1).
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Fluid → fluid_mrf_1-1 Edit...
a. In the Fluid dialog box, enter rbt-zone for Zone Name.
This name is more descriptive for the zone than fluid_mrf_1-1.
d. Enter 450 rev/min for Speed in the Rotational Velocity group box.
2. In a similar manner, set up the cell zone conditions for the fluid zone associated with the pitch
blade turbine (fluid_mrf_2-0).
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → fluid_mrf_2-0 Edit...
a. In the Fluid dialog box, enter pbt-zone for Zone Name.
d. Enter 450 rev/min for Speed in the Rotational Velocity group box.
3. Retain the default settings for fluid_tank-2, which is stationary in the absolute reference frame.

You will now define the conditions on the boundaries of the domain. Since each wall uses the same reference
frame as the cell zone within which they are located, all walls will use the default stationary wall condition.
A stationary wall condition implies that the wall is stationary with respect to the adjacent cell zone.
Therefore, in the case of a rotating reference frame, a stationary wall is actually rotating with respect to
the absolute reference frame.
The degassing boundary condition at the top of the fluid was created in a meshing application. At the
degassing outlet, only gas phase can leave the domain. The degassing boundary condition became active
after you enabled the Eulerian multiphase model in Fluent. No input is required for this type of boundary
condition. For this problem, you only need to set the boundary conditions for the velocity inlet. Since this
is a multiphase model, you will set the conditions that are specific to the primary and secondary phases.
1. Set the boundary conditions at the inlet (gas-inlet) for the primary phase (water).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → gas-inlet Edit...
Since this is a dispersed turbulent flow, only turbulence must be defined for the water phase.
a. In the Turbulence group box, select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter as the turbulence
Specification Method.
b. Enter 3% for Turbulent Intensity.
c. Enter 0.0254 m for Hydraulic Diameter.
d. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions at the inlet (gas-inlet) for the secondary phase (air).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → gas-inlet → air Edit...
a. Enter 0.05 m/s for Velocity Magnitude.
b. In the Multiphase tab, enter 1 for Volume Fraction.
A value of unity implies that only air enters the inlet.
23.4.9. Solution
In the Solution Methods task page, configure the following settings.

Pressure Velocity Coupling Scheme Coupled
N/A Pseudo Time Method Global Time Step
N/A Warped-Face Gradient Correc- (Enabled)
tion
4. Save the case file (mixing_tank.cas.h5).
Setup and Solution
b. Retain the default selection of Automatic for the Time Step Method.
c. Retain the default value of 1 for Time Scale Factor.
Note:
It may take significant time and computer resources to complete the problem calculation.
Figure 23.3: Residual History
6. After the solution has converged, save the case and data files (mixing_tank.cas.h5 and
mixing_tank.dat.h5).
1. Create iso-surfaces for y=0 and z=0.08.
2. Display the distribution of air on the XZ plane (Figure 23.4: Contours of Air Volume Fraction on
the XZ plane (p. 937)).
a. Enter contour-air-vf-xz for Contour Name.
b. From the Contours of drop-down lists, select Phases... and Volume Fraction.
c. From the Phase drop-down lists, select air.
d. In the Surfaces selection list, deselect all surfaces by clicking and then select y=0,
wall_impeller_1, and wall_impeller_2.
e. In the Options group box, make sure that Filled is selected.
f. Disable Global Range, Auto Range, and Clip to Range.
g. Enter 0.01 for Max.
The specified range will allow you to better view the volume fraction variation.
h. Select Draw Mesh to open the Mesh Display dialog box.
Setup and Solution
i. In the Mesh Display dialog box, click next to the Surfaces filter to deselect all surfaces
and then select wall_baffle_1, wall_sparger, and all walls whose names begin with
'wall_shaft'.
ii. Enable Edges and disable Faces in the Options group box.
iii. Click Close to close the Mesh Display dialog box.
i. Ensure that Smooth is selected in the Coloring group box.
j. Click Save/Display and use the interactive triad to orient the view as shown in Figure 23.4: Con-
tours of Air Volume Fraction on the XZ plane (p. 937).
Note:
You may need to deselect Headlight and Lighting in the View ribbon tab (Display
group).
Figure 23.4: Contours of Air Volume Fraction on the XZ plane
The contour map of the air volume fraction on the XZ plane shows how the air is agitated by im-
pellers as it moves upward in the mixing tank. The shape of the Rushton blade turbine is forming
cavities below the turbine.
3. Display the distribution of air on the plane z=0.08 (Figure 23.5: Contours of Air Volume Fraction
on the z=0.08 plane (p. 938)).
a. Enter contour-air-vf-z=0.08 for Contour Name.
b. Set up the contour plot in a similar manner to step 1, except using the z=0.08 instead of y=0.
c. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
d. In the View Tools toolbar, from the Set View drop-down list ( ), select the view from the
positive Z axis ( ) to obtain the view shown in Figure 23.5: Contours of Air Volume Fraction
on the z=0.08 plane (p. 938).
Figure 23.5: Contours of Air Volume Fraction on the z=0.08 plane
Note that the air is collecting on the bottom surface of the Rushton blade turbine disk before its
dispersed by the impeller’s blades.
4. Display vectors of velocity magnitude for water on the XZ plane (Figure 23.6: Vectors of Water
Velocity Magnitude on the XZ plane (p. 939)).
a. Enter vector-vel-water for Vector Name.
b. Disable Global Range.
c. Enable Draw Mesh and retain the default settings.
d. Select arrow from the Style drop-down list.
e. Select Velocity from the Vectors of drop-down list.
Setup and Solution
f. Select water from the Phase drop-down list.
Since the Eulerian model solves individual momentum equations for each phase, you can choose
the phase for which solution data is plotted.
g. From the Color by drop-down lists, select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude.
h. Retain the selection of water from the Phase drop-down list.
i. In the Surfaces selection list, deselect all surfaces by clicking and then select y=0,
j. Click Save/Display, close the Vectors dialog box, and use the interactive triad to orient the
view as shown in Figure 23.6: Vectors of Water Velocity Magnitude on the XZ plane (p. 939).
Figure 23.6: Vectors of Water Velocity Magnitude on the XZ plane
The vector plot of the water velocity shows that the water moves in a circular motion, creating a
closed loop since it cannot escape the reactor.
5. Display vectors of velocity magnitude for air on the XZ plane (Figure 23.7: Vectors of Air Velocity
Magnitude on the XZ plane (p. 940)).
a. Enter vector-vel-air for Vector Name.
b. Enable Draw Mesh and retain the default settings.
c. Select arrow from the Style drop-down list.
d. Under Vectors of, select air from the Phase drop-down list.
e. Under Color by, select air from the Phase drop-down list.
f. In the Surfaces selection list, deselect all surfaces by clicking and then select y=0,
Figure 23.7: Vectors of Air Velocity Magnitude on the XZ plane
The vector plot of the air velocity shows that the air moves upward all the way to the water surface,
where it escapes. The baffle walls located on the sides of the tank prevent the undesirable vortex
formation.
6. Calculate the torque about the shaft for the Rushton blade turbine.
Results → Reports → Forces...
a. From the Options group box, select Moments.
b. In the Moment Center group box, enter 0, 0, and 0 for X, Y, Z, respectively.
c. In the Moment Axis group box, enter 0, 0, and -1 for X, Y, Z, respectively.
Summary
d. From the Wall Zones selection list, deselect all zones by clicking and then select
wall_impeller_1.
e. Click Print and close the Force Reports dialog box.
Fluent reports the individual and net values of the pressure moment, viscous moment, total
moment, pressure coefficient, viscous coefficient, and total coefficient about the specified
center in the console.
The power requirement is simply the required torque (0.03767 N m) multiplied by the rotational
speed (450 rpm = 47.12 rad/s): 0.03767 N m * 47.1 rad/s = 1.77 W.
Note that this value does not account for any mechanical losses, motor efficiencies, and so
on.
7. Save the case file (mixing_tank.cas.h5).
23.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to set up and solve a turbulent multiphase flow in the mixing tank using
the Eulerian multiphase model. You learned how to set degassing boundary conditions and boundary
conditions for primary and secondary phases. After completing the simulation, you displayed the results
of your calculation and calculated the torque and power requirements. For more information about the
Eulerian multiphase model, see the Fluent User's Guide.
Chapter 24: Modeling Solidification
24.1. Introduction
24.2. Prerequisites
24.5. Summary
24.1. Introduction
This tutorial illustrates how to set up and solve a problem involving solidification and will demonstrate
how to do the following:
• Define a solidification problem.
• Define pull velocities for simulation of continuous casting.
• Define a surface tension gradient for Marangoni convection.
• Solve a solidification problem.
24.2. Prerequisites

This tutorial demonstrates the setup and solution procedure for a fluid flow and heat transfer problem
involving solidification, namely the Czochralski growth process. The geometry considered is a 2D
axisymmetric bowl (shown in Figure 24.1: Solidification in Czochralski Model (p. 944)), containing liquid
metal. The bottom and sides of the bowl are heated above the liquidus temperature, as is the free
surface of the liquid. The liquid is solidified by heat loss from the crystal and the solid is pulled out of
the domain at a rate of 0.001 and a temperature of 500 . There is a steady injection of liquid at
the bottom of the bowl with a velocity of and a temperature of 1300 . Material
properties are listed in Figure 24.1: Solidification in Czochralski Model (p. 944).
Starting with an existing 2D mesh, the details regarding the setup and solution procedure for the solid-
ification problem are presented. The steady conduction solution for this problem is computed as an
Modeling Solidification
initial condition. Then, the fluid flow is enabled to investigate the effect of natural and Marangoni
convection in a transient fashion.
Figure 24.1: Solidification in Czochralski Model
In the above figure, is the mushy zone constant.

24.4.1. Preparation
24.4.3. Specifying Solver and Analysis Type
24.4.5. Defining Materials
24.4.6. Setting the Cell Zone Conditions
24.4.7. Setting the Boundary Conditions
Setup and Solution
24.4.8. Solution: Steady Conduction

24.4.9. Solution: Transient Flow and Heat Transfer
24.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the solidification.zip file here.
2. Unzip solidification.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file solid.msh can be found in the folder.

1. Read the mesh file solid.msh.
As the mesh is read by Ansys Fluent, messages will appear in the console reporting the progress of the
reading.
A warning about the use of axis boundary conditions is displayed in the console. You are asked to
consider making changes to the zone type or change the problem definition to axisymmetric. You will
change the problem to axisymmetric swirl later in this tutorial.
2. Check the mesh.
Ansys Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and will report the progress in the console. Make
sure that the minimum volume is a positive number.
3. Examine the mesh (Figure 24.2: Mesh Display (p. 946)).
Figure 24.2: Mesh Display
24.4.3. Specifying Solver and Analysis Type

1. Select Axisymmetric Swirl from the 2D Space list and include the effects of gravity on the
model.
Setup → General → Gravity
Setup and Solution
The geometry comprises an axisymmetric bowl. Furthermore, swirling flows are considered in this
problem, so the selection of Axisymmetric Swirl best defines this geometry.
Also, note that the rotation axis is the X axis. Hence, the X direction is the axial direction and the Y
direction is the radial direction. When modeling axisymmetric swirl, the swirl direction is the tangential
direction.
a. Enable Gravity.
b. Enter -9.81 for X in the Gravitational Acceleration group box.

Setup → Models → Viscous Edit...
2. Define the solidification model.
Setup → Models → Solidification & Melting Edit...
a. Enable the Solidification/Melting option in the Solidification and Melting dialog box.
The Solidification and Melting dialog box will expand to show the related parameters.
b. Retain the default value of 100000 for the Mushy Zone Constant.
This default value is acceptable for most cases.
c. Enable the Include Pull Velocities option.
By including the pull velocities, you will account for the movement of the solidified material as it
is continuously withdrawn from the domain in the continuous casting process.
When you enable this option, the Solidification and Melting dialog box will expand to show the
Compute Pull Velocities option. If you were to enable this additional option, Ansys Fluent would
compute the pull velocities during the calculation. This approach is computationally expensive and
is recommended only if the pull velocities are strongly dependent on the location of the liquid-solid
interface. In this tutorial, you will patch values for the pull velocities instead of having Ansys Flu-
ent compute them.
For more information about computing the pull velocities, see the Fluent User's Guide.
d. Click OK to close the Solidification and Melting dialog box.
An Information dialog box opens, telling you that available material properties have changed for
the solidification model. You will set the material properties later, so you can click OK in the dialog
box to acknowledge this information.
Note:
Ansys Fluent will automatically enable the energy calculation when you enable the
solidification model, so you need not visit the Energy dialog box.
Setup and Solution
24.4.5. Defining Materials

In this step, you will create a new material and specify its properties, including the melting heat, solidus
temperature, and liquidus temperature.
1. Define a new material.
a. Enter liquid-metal for Name.
b. Select polynomial from the Density drop-down list in the Properties group box.
c. Configure the following settings In the Polynomial Profile dialog box:
i. Set Coefficients to 2.
ii. In the Coefficients group box, enter 8000 for 1 and -0.1 for 2.
As shown in Figure 24.1: Solidification in Czochralski Model (p. 944), the density of the material
is defined by a polynomial function: .
iii. Click OK to close the Polynomial Profile dialog box.
d. In the Question dialog box, click Yes to overwrite air and add the new material (liquid-metal)
to the Fluent Fluid Materials drop-down list.
e. Enter 680 for Cp (Specific Heat).
f. Enter 30 for Thermal Conductivity.
g. Enter 0.00553 for Viscosity.
h. Enter 100000 for Pure Solvent Melting Heat.
Setup and Solution
Scroll down the group box to find Pure Solvent Melting Heat and the properties that follow.
Note that for solidification to occur, Pure Solvent Melting Heat must be set to a positive non-
zero value.
i. Enter 1150 for Solidus Temperature.
j. Enter 1150 for Liquidus Temperature.
k. Click Change/Create and close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.
24.4.6. Setting the Cell Zone Conditions

1. Set the cell zone conditions for the fluid (fluid).
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Fluid → fluid Edit...
a. Ensure liquid-metal is selected from the Material Name drop-down list.
24.4.7. Setting the Boundary Conditions

1. Set the boundary conditions for the inlet (inlet).
a. Enter 0.00101 for Velocity Magnitude.
b. Click the Thermal tab and enter 1300 for Temperature.
Setup and Solution
2. Set the boundary conditions for the outlet (outlet).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlet → outlet Edit...
Here, the solid is pulled out with a specified velocity, so a velocity inlet boundary condition is used with
a positive axial velocity component.
a. From the Velocity Specification Method drop-down list, select Components.
The Velocity Inlet dialog box will change to show related inputs.
b. Enter 0.001 for Axial-Velocity.
c. Enter 1 for Swirl Angular Velocity.
d. Click the Thermal tab and enter 500 for Temperature.
e. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
3. Set the boundary conditions for the bottom wall (bottom-wall).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → bottom-wall Edit...
a. Click the Thermal tab.
i. Select Temperature in the Thermal Conditions group box.
ii. Enter 1300 for Temperature.
4. Set the boundary conditions for the free surface (free-surface).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → free-surface Edit...
The specified shear and Marangoni stress boundary conditions are useful in modeling situations in
which the shear stress (rather than the motion of the fluid) is known. A free surface condition is an
example of such a situation. In this case, the convection is driven by the Marangoni stress and the
shear stress is dependent on the surface tension, which is a function of temperature.
Setup and Solution
a. Select Marangoni Stress in the Shear Condition group box.
The Marangoni Stress condition allows you to specify the gradient of the surface tension with
respect to temperature at a wall boundary.
b. Enter -0.00036 for Surface Tension Gradient.
c. Click the Thermal tab to specify the thermal conditions.
i. Select Convection from the Thermal Conditions group box.
ii. Enter 100 for Heat Transfer Coefficient.
iii. Enter 1500 for Free Stream Temperature.
5. Set the boundary conditions for the side wall (side-wall).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → side-wall Edit...
a. Click the Thermal tab.
Setup and Solution
i. Select Temperature from the Thermal Conditions group box.
ii. Enter 1400 for the Temperature.
6. Set the boundary conditions for the solid wall (solid-wall).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → solid-wall Edit...
a. From the Wall Motion group box, select Moving Wall.
The Wall dialog box is expanded to show additional parameters.
b. in the Motion group box, in the lower box, select Rotational.
The Wall dialog box is changed to show the rotational speed.
c. Enter 1.0 for Speed.
d. Click the Thermal tab to specify the thermal conditions.
i. Select Temperature from the Thermal Conditions selection list.
ii. Enter 500 for Temperature.
e. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
24.4.8. Solution: Steady Conduction

In this step, you will specify the discretization schemes to be used and temporarily disable the calculation
of the flow and swirl velocity equations, so that only conduction is calculated. This steady-state solution
will be used as the initial condition for the time-dependent fluid flow and heat transfer calculation.
Setup and Solution
a. Select Coupled from the Scheme drop-down list in the Pressure-Velocity Coupling group
box.
b. Select PRESTO! from the Pressure drop-down list in the Spatial Discretization group box.
The PRESTO! scheme is well suited for rotating flows with steep pressure gradients.
c. Retain the default selection of Second Order Upwind from the Momentum, Swirl Velocity,
and Energy drop-down lists.
d. Select Global Time Step from the Pseudo Time Method drop-down list.
This Pseudo Time Method enables an algorithm in the coupled pressure-based solver that effectively
adds an unsteady term to the solution equations, in order to improve stability and convergence
behavior. The use of this option is recommended for general fluid flow problems.
2. Enable the calculation for energy.
a. Deselect Flow and Swirl Velocity from the Equations selection list to disable the calculation
of flow and swirl velocity equations.
3. Confirm the Relaxation Factors.
Setup and Solution
Retain the default values.
a. Ensure Plot is enabled in the Options group box.
b. Click OK to accept the remaining default settings and close the Residual Monitors dialog box.
a. Retain the Method at the default of Hybrid in the Initialization group.
For flows in complex topologies, hybrid initialization will provide better initial velocity and pressure
field than standard initialization. This in general will help in improving the convergence behavior
of the solver.
6. Define a custom field function for the swirl pull velocity.
Parameters & Customization → Custom Field Functions New...
Setup and Solution
In this step, you will define a field function to be used to patch a variable value for the swirl pull velocity
in the next step. The swirl pull velocity is equal to , where is the angular velocity, and is the
radial coordinate. Since = 1 rad/s, you can simplify the equation to simply . In this example, the
value of is included for demonstration purposes.
a. From the Field Functions drop-down lists, select Mesh... and Radial Coordinate.
b. Click the Select button to add radial-coordinate in the Definition field.
If you make a mistake, click the DEL button on the calculator pad to delete the last item you added
to the function definition.
c. Click the button on the calculator pad.
d. Click the 1 button.
e. Enter omegar for New Function Name.
f. Click Define.
The omegar item appears under the Parameters & Customization/Parameters tree branch.
Note:
To check the function definition or delete the custom field function, click Manage....
Then in the Field Function Definitions dialog box, from the Field Functions selec-
tion list, select omegar to view the function definition.
g. Close the Custom Field Function Calculator dialog box.
7. Patch the pull velocities.
As noted earlier, you will patch values for the pull velocities, rather than having Ansys Fluent compute
them. Since the radial pull velocity is zero, you will patch just the axial and swirl pull velocities.
a. From the Variable selection list, select Axial Pull Velocity.
b. Enter 0.001 for Value.
c. From the Zones to Patch selection list, select fluid.
d. Click Patch.
You have just patched the axial pull velocity. Next you will patch the swirl pull velocity.
e. From the Variable selection list, select Swirl Pull Velocity.
Scroll down the list to find Swirl Pull Velocity.
f. Enable the Use Field Function option.
g. Select omegar from the Field Function selection list.
h. Ensure that fluid is selected from the Zones to Patch selection list.
i. Click Patch and close the Patch dialog box.
8. Save the initial case and data files (solid0.cas.h5 and solid0.dat.h5).
Setup and Solution
a. In the Run Calculation task page, select User-Specified for the Time Step Method in both
the Fluid Time Scale and the Solid Time Scale group boxes.
b. Retain the default values of 1 s and 1000 s for the Pseudo Time Step Size in the Fluid Time
Scale and the Solid Time Scale group boxes, respectively.
c. Enter 20 for Number of Iterations.
d. Click Calculate.
10. Create and display the definition of filled temperature contours (Figure 24.3: Contours of Temper-
ature for the Steady Conduction Solution (p. 967)).
a. Enter temperature for Contour Name.
b. Enable the Filled option in the Options group box.
d. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Click Save/Display (Figure 24.3: Contours of Temperature for the Steady Conduction Solu-
tion (p. 967)) and close the Contours dialog box.
The temperature contour definition appear under the Results/Graphics/Contours tree branch.
Setup and Solution
Figure 24.3: Contours of Temperature for the Steady Conduction Solution
11. Display filled contours of temperature to determine the thickness of mushy zone.
a. Enter temperature-mushy for Contour Name.
b. Disable Auto Range in the Options group box.
The Clip to Range option is automatically enabled.
c. Enter 1100 for Min and 1200 for Max.
e. Enable Draw Mesh in the Options group box.
f. Deselect default-interior from the Surfaces selection list and close the Mesh Display dialog
box.
g. Click Save/Display (See Figure 24.4: Contours of Temperature (Mushy Zone) for the Steady
Conduction Solution (p. 969)) and close the Contours dialog box.
Setup and Solution
Figure 24.4: Contours of Temperature (Mushy Zone) for the Steady Conduction Solution
12. Save the case and data files for the steady conduction solution (solid.cas.h5 and sol-
id.dat.h5).
24.4.9. Solution: Transient Flow and Heat Transfer

In this step, you will turn on time dependence and include the flow and swirl velocity equations in the
calculation. You will then solve the transient problem using the steady conduction solution as the initial
condition.
1. Enable a time-dependent solution by selecting Transient from the Time list.
Setup → General
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the default selection of First Order Implicit from the Transient Formulation drop-
down list.
b. Ensure that PRESTO! is selected from the Pressure drop-down list in the Spatial Discretization
group box.
3. Enable calculations for flow and swirl velocity.
a. Select Flow and Swirl Velocity and ensure that Energy is selected from the Equations selection
list.
Now all three items in the Equations selection list will be selected.
4. Set the Under-Relaxation Factors.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter 0.1 for Liquid Fraction Update.
b. Retain the default values for other Under-Relaxation Factors.
5. Save the initial case and data files (solid01.cas.h5 and solid01.dat.h5).
6. Run the calculation for 2 time steps.
a. Enter 0.1s for Time Step Size.
b. Set the Number of Time Steps to 2.
c. Retain the default value of 20 for Max Iterations/Time Step.
d. Click Calculate.
7. Display filled contours of the temperature after 0.2 seconds using the temperature contours
definition that you created earlier.
Results → Graphics → Contours → temperature Display
Setup and Solution
Figure 24.5: Contours of Temperature at t=0.2 s
8. Create and display the definition of liquid fraction contours by modifying the stream-function
contour definition (Figure 24.6: Contours of Liquid Fraction at t=0.2 s (p. 976)).
a. Enter liquid-fraction for Contour Name.
c. Enable Auto Range in the Options group box.
d. Select Solidification/Melting... and Liquid Fraction from the Contours of drop-down lists.
Figure 24.6: Contours of Liquid Fraction at t=0.2 s
The liquid fraction contours show the current position of the melt front. Note that in Figure 24.6: Contours
of Liquid Fraction at t=0.2 s (p. 976), the mushy zone divides the liquid and solid regions roughly in
half.
9. Continue the calculation for 48 additional time steps.
b. Click Calculate.
After a total of 50 time steps have been completed, the elapsed time will be 5 seconds.
10. Display filled contours of the temperature after 5 seconds using the contour definition created
earlier (Figure 24.7: Contours of Temperature at t=5 s (p. 977)).
Results → Graphics → Contours → temperature Display
Setup and Solution
Figure 24.7: Contours of Temperature at t=5 s
As shown in Figure 24.7: Contours of Temperature at t=5 s (p. 977), the temperature contours are fairly
uniform through the melt front and solid material. The distortion of the temperature field due to the
recirculating liquid is also clearly evident.
In a continuous casting process, it is important to pull out the solidified material at the proper time.
If the material is pulled out too soon, it will not have solidified (that is, it will still be in a mushy state).
If it is pulled out too late, it solidifies in the casting pool and cannot be pulled out in the required shape.
The optimal rate of pull can be determined from the contours of liquidus temperature and solidus
temperature.
11. Display filled contours of liquid fraction (Figure 24.8: Contours of Liquid Fraction at t=5 s (p. 978)).
Results → Graphics → Contours → liquid-fraction Display
The introduction of liquid material at the left of the domain is balanced by the pulling of the solidified
material from the right. After 5 seconds, the equilibrium position of the melt front is beginning to be
established (Figure 24.8: Contours of Liquid Fraction at t=5 s (p. 978)).
Figure 24.8: Contours of Liquid Fraction at t=5 s
12. Save the case and data files for the solution at 5 seconds (solid5.cas.h5 and sol-
id5.dat.h5).
24.5. Summary
In this tutorial, you studied the setup and solution for a fluid flow problem involving solidification for
the Czochralski growth process.
The solidification model in Ansys Fluent can be used to model the continuous casting process where
a solid material is continuously pulled out from the casting domain. In this tutorial, you patched a
constant value and a custom field function for the pull velocities instead of computing them. This ap-
proach is used for cases where the pull velocity is not changing over the domain, as it is computationally
less expensive than having Ansys Fluent compute the pull velocities during the calculation.
For more information about the solidification/melting model, see the Fluent User's Guide.
Chapter 25: Using the Eulerian Granular Multiphase
Model with Heat Transfer
25.1. Introduction
25.2. Prerequisites
25.5. Summary
25.6. References
25.1. Introduction
This tutorial examines the flow of air and a granular solid phase consisting of glass beads in a hot gas
fluidized bed, under uniform minimum fluidization conditions. The results obtained for the local wall-
to-bed heat transfer coefficient in Ansys Fluent can be compared with analytical results [1].
• Use the Eulerian granular model.
• Set boundary conditions for internal flow.
• Compile a User-Defined Function (UDF) for the gas and solid phase thermal conductivities.
25.2. Prerequisites
In order to complete the steps to compile the UDF, you will need to have a working C compiler installed
on your machine.

This problem considers a hot gas fluidized bed in which air flows upwards through the bottom of the
domain and through an additional small orifice next to a heated wall. A uniformly fluidized bed is ex-
Using the Eulerian Granular Multiphase Model with Heat Transfer
amined, which you can then compare with analytical results [1]. The geometry and data for the problem
are shown in Figure 25.1: Problem Schematic (p. 980).

25.4.1. Preparation
25.4.2. Mesh
25.4.4. Models
25.4.5. UDF
25.4.6. Materials
25.4.7. Phases
Setup and Solution
25.4.9. Solution
25.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the eulerian_granular_heat.zip file here.
2. Unzip eulerian_granular_heat.zip to your working directory.
The files fluid-bed.msh and conduct.c can be found in the folder.
Note:
The double precision solver is recommended for modeling multiphase flow sim-
ulations.
25.4.2. Mesh
1. Read the mesh file fluid-bed.msh.
As Ansys Fluent reads the mesh file, it will report the progress in the console.
2. Check the mesh.
Ansys Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and will report the progress in the console. Make
sure that the reported minimum volume is a positive number.
3. Examine the mesh (Figure 25.2: Mesh Display of the Fluidized Bed (p. 982)).
Extra:
Figure 25.2: Mesh Display of the Fluidized Bed

1. Enable the pressure-based transient solver.
Setup → General
Setup and Solution
b. Select Transient from the Time list.
c. Enable Gravity.
d. Enter -9.81 m/s2 for the Gravitational Acceleration in the Y direction.
25.4.4. Models
1. Enable the Eulerian multiphase model for two phases.
You will use the default settings for the Eulerian model, so you can enable it directly from the tree by
right-clicking the Multiphase node and choosing Eulerian from the context menu.
Setup → Models → Multiphase Eulerian
An Information dialog box appears reminding you to confirm the property values. Click OK in
the Information dialog box to continue.
The decision to use the laminar model should be based on the Stokes number for the particles suspended
in the fluid flow.
Setup → Models → Viscous Model → Laminar
25.4.5. UDF
1. Compile the user-defined function, conduct.c, that will be used to define the thermal conduct-
ivity for the gas and solid phases.
User Defined → User Defined → Functions → Compiled...
a. Click the Add... button below the Source Files option to open the Select File dialog box.
b. Select the file conduct.c and click OK in the Select File dialog box.
c. Click Build.
Ansys Fluent will create a libudf folder and compile the UDF. Also, a Warning dialog box will
open asking you to make sure that UDF source file and case/data files are in the same folder.
d. Click OK to close the Warning dialog box.
e. Click Load to load the UDF.
Setup and Solution
25.4.6. Materials
1. Modify the properties for air, which will be used for the primary phase.
Setup → Materials → air → Create/Edit...
The properties used for air are modified to match data used by Kuipers et al. [1]
a. Enter 1.2 kg/m3 for Density.
b. Enter 994 J/kg-K for Cp.
c. Select user-defined from the Thermal Conductivity drop-down list to open the User Defined
Functions dialog box.
i. Select conduct_gas::libudf from the available list.
ii. Click OK to close the User Defined Functions dialog box.
d. Click Change/Create and close the Materials dialog box..
2. Define a new fluid material for the granular phase (the glass beads).
Setup → Materials → air → Create/Edit...
a. Enter solids for Name.
b. Enter 2660 kg/m3 for Density.
c. Enter 737 J/kg-K for Cp.
d. Retain the selection of user-defined from the Thermal Conductivity drop-down list.
e. Click the Edit... button to open the User Defined Functions dialog box.
i. Select conduct_solid::libudf in the User Defined Functions dialog box and click
OK.
A Question dialog box will open asking if you want to overwrite air.
ii. Click No in the Question dialog box.
f. Click Change/Create and close the Materials dialog box.
25.4.7. Phases
You will now configure the phases.
1. In the Phases tab of the Multiphase Model dialog box, define air as the primary phase.
Setup and Solution
c. Ensure that air is selected from the Phase Material drop-down list.
d. Click Apply.
Important:
2. Define solids (glass beads) as the secondary phase.
b. Enter solids for Name.
c. Select solids from the Phase Material drop-down list.
d. Enable Granular.
e. Retain the default selection of Phase Property in the Granular Temperature Model group
box.
f. Enter 0.0005 m for Diameter.
g. Select syamlal-obrien from the Granular Viscosity drop-down list.
h. Select lun-et-al from the Granular Bulk Viscosity drop-down list.
i. Select constant from the Granular Temperature drop-down list and enter 1e-05.
j. Enter 0.6 for the Packing Limit.
Setup and Solution
k. Click Apply.
3. In the Phases Interaction tab of the Multiphase Model dialog box, define the interphase inter-
actions formulations to be used.
a. In the Forces tab, select syamlal-obrien from the Coefficient drop-down list (Drag Coefficient
group box).
b. Click Apply.
c. Go to the Heat, Mass, Reactions tab.
d. In the Heat tab, select gunn from the Heat Transfer Coefficient drop-down list.
The interphase heat exchange is simulated, using a drag coefficient, the default restitution coefficient
for granular collisions of 0.9, and a heat transfer coefficient. Granular phase lift is not very relevant
in this problem, and in fact is rarely used.
e. Click Apply.
f. In the Interfacial Area tab, select ia-symmetric from the Interfacial Area drop-down list.
The default ia-particle method is best suited for typical dispersed flow applications with a volume
fraction lower than 30%. In this analysis, the volume fraction of the secondary phase is relatively
high (close to 60%). The ia-symmetric correlation is more accurate for such cases because it con-
siders the volume fraction of both the primary and secondary phases in the interfacial area calcu-
lation.
g. Click Apply and close the Multiphase Model dialog box.

For this problem, you need to set the boundary conditions for all boundaries.
Setup and Solution
1. Set the boundary conditions for the lower velocity inlet (v_uniform) for the primary phase.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → v_uniform
For the Eulerian multiphase model, you will specify conditions at a velocity inlet that are specific to
the primary and secondary phases.
a. Select air from the Phase drop-down list.
b. Click the Edit... button to open the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
i. Retain the default selection of Magnitude, Normal to Boundary from the Velocity Spe-
cification Method drop-down list.
ii. Enter 0.25 m/s for the Velocity Magnitude.
iii. Click the Thermal tab and enter 293 K for Temperature.
iv. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
c. i. Select solids from the Phase drop-down list.
ii. Click the Edit... button to open the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
Setup and Solution
A. Retain the default Velocity Specification Method and Reference Frame.
B. Retain the default value of 0 m/s for the Velocity Magnitude.
C. Click the Thermal tab and enter 293 K for Temperature.
D. Click the Multiphase tab and retain the default value of 0 for Volume Fraction.
E. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions for the orifice velocity inlet (v_jet) for the primary phase.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → v_jet
b. Click the Edit... button to open the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
i. Retain the default Velocity Specification Method and Reference Frame.
ii. Enter 0.25 m/s for the Velocity Magnitude.
In order for a comparison with analytical results [1] to be meaningful, in this simulation you
will use a uniform value for the air velocity equal to the minimum fluidization velocity at both
inlets on the bottom of the bed.
iii. Click the Thermal tab and enter 293 K for Temperature.
iv. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
ii. Click the Edit... button to open the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
A. Retain the default Velocity Specification Method and Reference Frame.
B. Retain the default value of 0 m/s for the Velocity Magnitude.
C. Click the Thermal tab and enter 293 K for Temperature.
D. Click the Multiphase tab and retain the default value of 0 for the Volume Fraction.
E. Click Apply and close the Velocity Inlet dialog box.
3. Set the boundary conditions for the pressure outlet (poutlet) for the mixture phase.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → poutlet
For the Eulerian granular model, you will specify conditions at a pressure outlet for the mixture and
for both phases.
The thermal conditions at the pressure outlet will be used only if flow enters the domain through this
boundary. You can set them equal to the inlet values, as no flow reversal is expected at the pressure
outlet. In general, however, it is important to set reasonable values for these downstream scalar values,
in case flow reversal occurs at some point during the calculation.
b. Click the Edit... button to open the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
i. Retain the default value of 0 Pascal for Gauge Pressure.
4. Set the boundary conditions for the pressure outlet (poutlet) for the primary phase.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → poutlet
Setup and Solution
b. Click the Edit... button to open the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
i. In the Thermal tab, enter 293 K for Backflow Total Temperature.
ii. Click the Edit... button to open the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
A. In the Thermal tab, enter 293 K for the Backflow Total Temperature.
B. In the Multiphase tab, retain default settings.
C. Click Apply and close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
5. Set the boundary conditions for the heated wall (wall_hot) for the mixture.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → wall_hot
For the heated wall, you will set thermal conditions for the mixture, and momentum conditions (zero
shear) for both phases.
b. Click the Edit... button to open the Wall dialog box.
i. In the Thermal tab, select Temperature from the Thermal Conditions list.
ii. Enter 373 K for Temperature.
iii. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
6. Set the boundary conditions for the heated wall (wall_hot) for the primary phase.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → wall_hot
b. Click the Edit... button to open the Wall dialog box.
Setup and Solution
c. Retain the default No Slip condition and click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
7. Set the boundary conditions for the adiabatic wall (wall_ins).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → wall_ins
For the adiabatic wall, retain the default thermal conditions for the mixture (zero heat flux), and the
default momentum conditions (no slip) for both phases.
25.4.9. Solution
1. Select the second order implicit transient formulation and higher-order spatial discretization
schemes.
a. Select Second Order Implicit from the Transient Formulation drop-down list.
b. Modify the discretization methods in the Spacial Discretization group box.
i. Select Second Order for Pressure and Second Order Upwind for Momentum.
ii. Select QUICK for Volume Fraction and Energy.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter 0.5 for Pressure.
b. Enter 0.2 for Momentum.
4. Define a custom field function for the heat transfer coefficient.
Initially, you will define functions for the mixture temperature, and thermal conductivity, then you will
use these to define a function for the heat transfer coefficient.
a. Define the function t_mix.
i. Select Temperature... and Static Temperature from the Field Functions drop-down lists.
ii. Ensure that air is selected from the Phase drop-down list and click Select.
iii. Click the multiplication symbol in the calculator pad.
iv. Select Phases... and Volume fraction from the Field Functions drop-down list.
v. Ensure that air is selected from the Phase drop-down list and click Select.
vi. Click the addition symbol in the calculator pad.
vii. Similarly, add the term solids-temperature * solids-vof.
viii.Enter t_mix for New Function Name.
ix. Click Define.
b. Define the function k_mix.
Setup and Solution
i. Select Properties... and Thermal Conductivity from the Field Functions drop-down lists.
ii. Select air from the Phase drop-down list and click Select.
iii. Click the multiplication symbol in the calculator pad.
iv. Select Phases... and Volume fraction from the Field Functions drop-down lists.
v. Ensure that air is selected from the Phase drop-down list and click Select.
vi. Click the addition symbol in the calculator pad.
vii. Similarly, add the term solids-thermal-conductivity-lam * solids-vof.
viii.Enter k_mix for New Function Name.
ix. Click Define.
c. Define the function ave_htc.
i. Click the subtraction symbol in the calculator pad.
ii. From the Field Functions drop-down lists, select Custom Field Functions... and k_mix
and click Select.
iii. Use the calculator pad and the Field Functions lists to complete the definition of the
function.
iv. Enter ave_htc for New Function Name.
v. Click Define and close the Custom Field Function Calculator dialog box.
5. Define the point surface in the cell next to the wall on the plane .
Domain → Surface → Create → Point...
a. Enter y=0.24 for New Surface Name.
b. Enter 0.28494 m for x and 0.24 m for y in the Coordinates group box.
c. Click Create and close the Point Surface dialog box.
6. Create a surface report definition for the heat transfer coefficient.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Facet Average...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter surf-mon-1 for Name of the surface report definition.
c. Select Custom Field Functions... and ave_htc from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
d. Select y=0.24 from the Surfaces selection list.
dialog box.

ively).
f. Rename the report output file.
Solution → Monitors → Report Files → surf-mon-1-rfile Edit...
i. Enter htc-024.out for Output File Base Name.
7. Define a cell register for the lower half of the fluidized bed.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter 0.3 m for Xmax and 0.5 m for Ymax in the Input Coordinates group box.
b. Click Save and close the Region Register dialog box.
This register is used to patch the initial volume fraction of solids in the next step.
a. Select all-zones from the Compute from drop-down list.
b. Retain the default values and click Initialize.
9. Patch the initial volume fraction of solids in the lower half of the fluidized bed.
Setup and Solution
a. Select solids from the Phase drop-down list.
b. Select Volume Fraction from the Variable selection list.
c. Enter 0.598 for Value.
d. Select region_0 from the Registers to Patch selection list.
e. Click Patch and close the Patch dialog box.
At this point, it is a good practice to display contours of the variable you just patched, to ensure that
the desired field was obtained.
10. Display contours of Volume Fraction of solids (Figure 25.3: Initial Volume Fraction of Granular
Phase (solids) (p. 1008)).
a. Enable Filled in the Options group box.
b. Select Phases... from the upper Contours of drop-down list.
c. Select solids from the Phase drop-down list.
d. Ensure that Volume fraction is selected from the lower Contours of drop-down list.
e. Click Display and close the Contours dialog box.
Figure 25.3: Initial Volume Fraction of Granular Phase (solids)
11. Save the case file (fluid-bed.cas.h5).
Setup and Solution
a. Set 0.00015 for Time Step Size.
b. Set 12000 for Number of Time Steps.
d. Click Calculate.
The plot of the value of the mixture-averaged heat transfer coefficient in the cell next to the heated
wall versus time is in excellent agreement with results published for the same case [1].
Figure 25.4: Plot of Mixture-Averaged Heat Transfer Coefficient in the Cell Next to the Heated
Wall Versus Time
13. Save the case and data files (fluid-bed.cas.h5 and fluid-bed.dat.h5).
1. Display the pressure field in the fluidized bed (Figure 25.5: Contours of Static Pressure (p. 1012)).
Setup and Solution
c. Select mixture from Phase drop-down list.
d. Select Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Contours of drop-down lists.
Note the build-up of static pressure in the granular phase.
2. Display the volume fraction of solids (Figure 25.6: Contours of Volume Fraction of Solids (p. 1013)).
a. Enter contour-solid-vf for Contour Name.
c. Select solids from the Phase drop-down list.
d. Select Phases... and Volume fraction from the Contours of drop-down lists.
f. Zoom in to show the contours close to the region where the change in volume fraction is the
greatest.
Note that the region occupied by the granular phase has expanded slightly, as a result of fluidization.
References
Figure 25.6: Contours of Volume Fraction of Solids
3. Save the case file (fluid-bed.cas.h5).
25.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to set up and solve a granular multiphase problem with heat transfer,
using the Eulerian model. You learned how to set boundary conditions for the mixture and both phases.
The solution obtained is in excellent agreement with analytical results from Kuipers et al. [1].
25.6. References
1. J. A. M. Kuipers, W. Prins, and W. P. M. Van Swaaij "Numerical Calculation of Wall-to-Bed Heat
Transfer Coefficients in Gas-Fluidized Beds", Department of Chemical Engineering, Twente University
of Technology, in AIChE Journal, July 1992, Vol. 38, No. 7.
Chapter 26: Modeling Ablation
26.1. Introduction
26.2. Prerequisites
26.5. Summary
26.1. Introduction
In this tutorial, a flow field of air passing around a 3D wedge is simulated using the Ansys Fluent ablation
mode. Ablation is an effective treatment used to protect a vehicle from the damaging effects of external
high temperatures. During high speed vehicle operations (for example, vehicle reentry), the ablative
coating is chipped away to remove excessive amount of heat from the surface of the vehicle.
• Define boundary conditions for a high-speed flow.
• Set up the ablation model to model effects of a moving boundary due to ablation.
• Initiate and solve the transient simulation using the density-based solver.
26.2. Prerequisites

The geometry of the 3D wedge considered in this tutorial is shown in Figure 26.1: Problem Schemat-
ic (p. 1016). The air flow passes around a nose of a re-entry vehicle operating under high speed conditions.
The inlet air has a temperature of 4500 K, a gauge pressure of 13500 Pa, and a Mach number of 3. The
domain is bounded above and below by symmetry planes (displayed in yellow). As the ablative coating
chips away, the surface of the wall moves. The moving of the surface is modeled using dynamic meshes.
The surface moving rate is estimated by Vielle’s empirical law:
Modeling Ablation
where is the surface moving rate, is the absolute pressure, and and are model parameters. In
the considered case, = 5 and = 0.1.

26.4.1. Preparation
26.4.2. Mesh
26.4.3. Solver
26.4.4. Models
26.4.5. Materials
26.4.7. Dynamic Mesh
26.4.8. Solution
26.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the ablation.zip file here.
2. Unzip ablation.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file ablation_mesh.msh can be found in the folder.
Setup and Solution
26.4.2. Mesh
1. Read the mesh file ablation_mesh.msh.h5.
2. Check the mesh.
Ansys Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and report the progress in the console. Ensure
a. In the Options group box, disable Faces and enable Edges.
Modeling Ablation
b. From the Surfaces selection list, select inlet, outlet, and wall-ablation.
Tip:
To deselect all surfaces click the far-right button at the top of the Surfaces
selection list, and then select the desired surfaces from the Surfaces selection list.
c. In the Edge Type group box, ensure that All is selected.
The graphics display will be updated to show the mesh (see Figure 26.2: Wedge Mesh Display (p. 1018)).
The inlet is colored blue, the walls are colored gray, the symmetry planes are colored yellow, and the
outlet is colored red.
Figure 26.2: Wedge Mesh Display
Setup and Solution
26.4.3. Solver
1. In the General task page, retain the default solver settings of Denisty-Based solver type.
Setup → General → Density-Based
The density-based solvers of Ansys Fluent provides faster performance for applications involving
high-speed aerodynamics with shocks.
2. Select Transient from the Time list.
3. Set the Operating Conditions.
a. Enter 0 for Operating Pressure.
b. Click OK to confirm the operating conditions.
26.4.4. Models
Modeling Ablation
Setup and Solution
3. Enable the ablation model.
Physics → Models → More... → Ablation...
a. In the Ablation Dynamic Mesh Coupling Model dialog box, enable Ablation Dynamic Mesh
Coupling.
b. Click OK to close the Ablation Dynamic Mesh Coupling Model dialog box.
26.4.5. Materials
The default Fluid Material is air, which is the working fluid in this problem. The default settings need to
be modified to account for compressibility.
Modeling Ablation
a. In the Properties group, select ideal-gas from the Density drop-down list.
b. Click Change/Create to save these settings.
c. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

Specify boundary conditions using the Boundary Conditions task page.
1. Set the boundary conditions for the air inlet (inlet).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → inlet
a. In the Boundary Conditions task page, select inlet from the Zone list.
b. From the Type drop-down list, select pressure-far-field.
Setup and Solution
c. Click Edit... to open the Pressure Far-Field dialog box.
Modeling Ablation
d. In the Pressure Far-Field dialog box, configure the following settings:
Tab Setting Value

Momentum Gauge Pressure 13500 Pa
Mach Number 3
Intensity and Viscosity Ratio
Specification Method
(default)
Turbulent Intensity 0.1 %
Thermal Temperature 4500 K
e. Click Apply and close the Pressure Far-Field dialog box.
2. Set the boundary conditions for the air outlet (outlet).
Setup and Solution
a. In the Pressure Outlet dialog box, configure the following settings:
Tab Setting Value

Momentum Gauge Pressure 13500 Pa
Prevent Reverse Flow (Selected)
3. Set the ablation boundary conditions for the wall (wall_ablation).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → wall_ablation → Edit...
a. In the Wall dialog box, configure the following settings:
Tab Setting Value

Ablation Ablation Model Vielle’s Model
Parameter A 5
Parameter n 0.1 (default)
Once you have specified the ablation boundary conditions for the wall, Ansys Fluent automatically
enables the Dynamic Mesh model with the Smoothing and Remeshing options, creates the wall-
ablation dynamic mesh zone, and configure appropriate dynamic mesh settings.
Modeling Ablation
26.4.7. Dynamic Mesh

For ablation simulations, you must define dynamic mesh zones to allow the mesh to handle the zone
deformation in the Dynamic Mesh... task page.
1. In the Mesh Methods group box, click the Settings... button to open the Mesh Method Settings
dialog box.
2. Review and retain the current settings for smoothing and remeshing.
Note:
In general, there is no need to modify the dynamic mesh settings automatically con-
figured by Ansys Fluent. However, you can adjust these settings to suit your specific
needs.
3. Click OK to close the Mesh Method Settings dialog box.
4. Click the Create/Edit... button to open the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box.
5. Create the dynamic zone for the fluid cell zone.
Setup and Solution
a. From the Zone Names drop-down list, select interior--flow.
b. From the Type list, select Deforming.
c. In the Meshing Options tab, disable Smoothing.
d. Retain the remaining default settings and click Create.
6. Create the dynamic zone for the outlet.
a. From the Zone Names drop-down list, select outlet.
c. In the Meshing Options tab, enable Smoothing.
d. Retain the remaining default settings and click Create.
7. Create the dynamic zones for the symmetry zones.
a. From the Zone Names drop-down list, select symm1.
Modeling Ablation
c. In the Meshing Options tab, enable Smoothing.
d. In Geometry Definition tab, select plane from the Definition drop-down list.
e. In the Point on Plane group box, enter 0, -0.04, and 0 for X, Y, and Z.
f. In the Plane Normal group box, enter 0, -1, and 0 for X, Y, and Z.
g. Click Create.
h. In a similar manner, create the dynamic zone for symm2. For the Point on Plane, enter 0,
0.04, and 0 for X, Y, and Z, respectively. For the Plane Normal, enter 0, 1, and 0 for X, Y,
and Z, respectively.
Setup and Solution
8. Enable the movement of the adjacent boundary layer mesh with the moving face zone for the
wall_ablation dynamic zone.
Modeling Ablation
a. From the Zone Names drop-down list, select wall_ablation.
b. From the Type list, select User-Defined.
c. In the Meshing Options tab, enable Deform Adjacent Boundary Layer with Zone.
d. Click Create and close the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box.
26.4.8. Solution
Setup and Solution
a. Retain the selection of Implicit and Roe-FDS from the Formulation and Flux Type drop-down
lists, respectively.
b. For the Gradient spatial discretization, select Least Squares Cell Based.
c. Retain the default selections of Second Order Upwind for the remaining spatial discretizations.
d. From the Transient Formulation drop-down list, select Second Order Implicit.
e. Enable the Warped-Face Gradient Correction option.
Modeling Ablation
2. In the Solution Controls task page, adjust the solution settings.
a. Retain the under-relaxation factors.
Setup and Solution
c. Enter 25000 K for the Maximum Static Temperature.
d. Click OK to close the Solution Limits dialog box.
b. Enter 1e-06 for energy and retain the default values for the Absolute Criteria of continuity,
x-velocity, y-velocity, z-velocity, k, and omega.
4. Create a force report definition to plot and write the drag force on the wall_ablation wall
boundary.
Modeling Ablation
1. In the Drag Report Definition dialog box, enter drag_force_x for Name.
2. Select Drag Force in the Report Output Type list.
3. Select wall_ablation from the Wall Zones list.
4. In the Create group box, enable Print to Console.
5. Click OK to create the report.
Fluent automatically generates the drag_force_x-rplot report plot under Solution/Monit-

ors/Report Plots tree branch and the drag_force_x-rfile report file under Solution/Monit-
ors/Report Files tree branch.
6. Modify the attributes of the drag_force_x-rplot report plot axes.
Setup and Solution
Solution → Monitors → Report Plots → drag_force_x-rplot Edit...
a. In the Edit Report Plots dialog box, click the Axes... button to open the Axes - Report
Plots dialog box.
b. In the Axis list, retain the selection of Y.
c. Select exponential from the Type drop-down list.
d. Set Precision to 0.
e. Click Apply to save the modified settings and close the Axes - Report Plots dialog box.
f. Click OK to close the Edit Report Plot dialog box.
5. Create a surface report definition for the averaged pressure at the wall_ablation boundary.
Modeling Ablation
a. In the Surface Report Definition dialog box, enter pressure_avg_abl_wall for Name.
b. Retain Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
c. From the Surfaces selection list, select wall_ablation.
d. In the Create group box, enable Print to Console.
box.
f. Modify the attributes of the pressure_avg_abl_wall-rplot report plot axes in a manner similar
to that for the drag_force_x-rplot plot.
Setup and Solution
6. Create a surface report definition for the maximum value of the Z-coordinate at the wall_ablation
boundary to monitor the effects of the mesh movement.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Vertex Maximum...
a. In the Surface Report Definition dialog box, enter recede_point for Name.
b. Select Mesh... and Z-Coordinate from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
c. From the Surfaces selection list, select wall_ablation.
d. In the Create group box, enable Print to Console.
box.
Modeling Ablation
f. Modify the attributes of the rec_point-rplot report plot axes in a manner similar to that for
the drag_force_x-rplot plot.
7. Initialize the flow field.
a. In the Solution Initialization task page, select the Standard Initialization from the Initializ-
ation Methods group.
b. Select inlet from the Compute from drop-down list.
Setup and Solution
c. Click Initialize to initialize the variables.
8. Save the case file (ablation.cas.h5).
b. Enter 1e-6 for Time Step Size.
Modeling Ablation
c. Click Calculate.
Note:
It may take significant time and computer resources to complete the problem cal-
culation.
Setup and Solution
Figure 26.4: History of the Drag Force on the Ablation Wall
Figure 26.5: History of the Averaged Pressure on the Ablation Wall
Modeling Ablation
Figure 26.6: History of the Maximum Z Coordinate of the Ablation Wall
10. Save the case and data files (ablation.cas.h5 and ablation.dat.h5).
1. Create an iso-surface through the domain geometry.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter mid_plane for the New Surface Name.
c. Click Compute to update the minimum and maximum values.
d. Retain the value of 0 for Iso-Values.
e. Click Create and then close the Iso-Surface dialog box.
2. Display static pressure contours on the mid_plane iso-surface. (Figure 26.7: Contours of Static
Pressure (p. 1044)).
c. Retain the selection of Smooth in the Coloring group box.
d. Retain the default selection of Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Contours of drop-
down lists.
e. Select mid_plane from the Surfaces selection list.
Modeling Ablation
Note that the static pressure near the tipping point of the wedge has the highest value, as expected.
3. Display contours of the Mach number on the mid_plane iso-surface. (Figure 26.8: Contours of
Mach Number (p. 1045)).
c. Retain the selection of Smooth in the Coloring group box.
d. Select Velocity… and Mach number from the Contours of drop-down lists.
e. Select mid_plane from the Surfaces selection list.
Summary
Figure 26.8: Contours of Mach Number
In Figure 26.8: Contours of Mach Number (p. 1045), you can observe an oblique shock formed in the
domain. The Mach number (or velocity) is the lowest at the tipping point of the wedge where the
static pressure is the highest (see Figure 26.7: Contours of Static Pressure (p. 1044)).
4. Save the case and data files (ablation.cas.h5 and ablation.dat.h5).
26.5. Summary
In this tutorial, you used the Ansys Fluent ablation model to predict the ablation effects in a 3D wedge
flow. The Vielle's model was used to model the surface recession rate. The procedures used here can
be applied to other applications that involve ablation modeling.
Chapter 27: Modeling One-Way Fluid-Structure
Interaction (FSI) Within Fluent
27.1. Introduction
27.2. Prerequisites
27.5. Summary
27.1. Introduction
This tutorial examines turbulent air flow through a cylindrical test chamber that includes a steel probe.
You will enable a structural model in order to simulate the deformation of the probe as a result of the
fluid flow. It is assumed that the deformation will be small enough that this problem can be modeled
as a one-way fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulation; that is, the fluid flow will affect the deformation
of the structure, but not vice versa. Because Fluent performs all of the structural calculations (as opposed
to using a separate structural program), it is referred to as "intrinsic FSI".
• Run a journal file to complete an initial fluid flow simulation without structural calculations.
• Enable a structural model.
• Define structural material properties, a solid cell zone, and related boundary conditions.
• Turn off flow and turbulence equations.
• Complete a one-way FSI simulation.
• Postprocess the deformation of a solid cell zone.
27.2. Prerequisites
Modeling One-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) Within Fluent

ic (p. 1048).
Taking advantage of the symmetry of the problem, only half of the geometry is modeled. The cylindrical
test chamber is 20 cm long, with a diameter of 10 cm. Turbulent air enters the chamber at 100 m/s,
flows around and through the steel probe, and exits through a pressure outlet.

27.4.1. Preparation
27.4.2. Structural Model
27.4.3. Materials
27.4.6. Solution
27.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the fsi_1way.zip file here.
Setup and Solution
2. Unzip fsi_1way.zip to your working directory.
The files probe.msh.h5 and fluid_flow.jou can be found in the folder. Note that the solid
cell zone in the mesh file is appropriate for a 3D intrinsic FSI simulation, which requires that only
hexahedral, tetrahedral, wedge, and/or pyramid cell types are used and that a conformal mesh exists
between the solid and fluid zones.
7. Retain the default Solver Processes to 1 under Parallel (Local Machine).
8. Make sure that the Working Directory (in the General Options tab) is set to the one created
when you unzipped fsi_1way.zip.
9. Read the journal file fluid_flow.jou.
File → Read → Journal...
This journal file will read the mesh file probe.msh.h5 and set up and solve a fluid flow simulation
that will serve as the starting point for the structural calculations. It is not necessary to separate these
calculations, but it is a advantage of one-way FSI simulation that structural calculations can be simply
added to an existing fluid flow case and data file. Separating the calculations allows you to easily
discern and resolve any convergence issues that are solely related to the fluid simulation.
As Fluent reads the journal file, it will report the text commands and solution progress in the console.
You can also view the journal file in a text editor to see the settings used in this simulation. The final
text command in the journal file will display contours of the velocity magnitude (Figure 27.2: Velocity
Magnitude on the Symmetry Plane (p. 1050)).
Figure 27.2: Velocity Magnitude on the Symmetry Plane
10. Save the initial case and data files as probe_fluid.cas.h5 and probe_fluid.dat.h5.
Having completed the initial fluid flow simulation, the remaining steps are all concerned with setting up
the structural calculations and obtaining the deformation results for the solid cell zone as a result of the
flow pressure.

1. Verify that a solid cell zone is already defined, as this is necessary to be able to enable a structural
model. You can view the existing cell zones in the Outline View window.
Setup and Solution
2. Enable the linear elasticity structural model.
Setup → Models → Structure Edit...
a. Select Linear Elasticity from the Model list.
This model enables structural calculations for the solid cell zone such that the internal load is linearly
proportional to the nodal displacement, and the structural stiffness matrix remains constant.
b. Click OK to close the Structural Model dialog box.
27.4.3. Materials
1. Add steel to the list of solid materials by copying it from the Ansys Fluent materials database.
Setup → Materials → Solid → aluminum Edit...
a. Click the Fluent Database... button in the Create/Edit Materials dialog box to open the
Fluent Database Materials dialog box.
Setup and Solution
b. Select solid from the Material Type drop-down list.
c. Select steel in the Fluent Solid Materials selection list.
Scroll down the list to find steel. Selecting this item will display the default properties in the dialog
box.
d. Click Copy, then close the Fluent Database Materials dialog box.
The Create/Edit Materials dialog box will now display the copied properties for steel.
e. Keep the default values for the material.
f. Click Change/Create and close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

1. Set up the cell zone conditions for the solid zone associated with the probe (solid).
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Solid → solid Edit...
a. Select steel from the Material Name drop-down list.

You must ensure that the boundary conditions are appropriately defined for every wall that is imme-
diately adjacent to the solid zone.
1. Set the boundary conditions for solid-top, which is located where the probe attaches to the top
of the test chamber. You will define it as being fixed (that is, undergoing no displacement).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → solid-top Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Click the Structure tab.
b. Select displacement boundary conditions (that is, Node X-Displacement from the X-Displace-
ment Boundary Condition drop-down list with 0 for the X-Displacement, and so on).
2. Set the boundary conditions for all of the wall zones of the solid cell zone that lie on the plane
of symmetry and represent the center of the probe. In this case there are two: they should be
free to move with no stress in the X- and Y-directions, but fixed in the Z-direction.
a. Set the boundary conditions for solid-symmetry.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → solid-symmetry Edit...
i. Click the Structure tab.
ii. Select Stress Free from the X- and Y-Displacement Boundary Condition drop-down lists.
iii. Select the Z-Displacement Boundary Condition drop-down list and the Z-Displacement
field (that is, Node Z-Displacement and set 0, respectively).
This ensures that the zone does not move out of the plane of symmetry.
b. Copy the boundary conditions from solid-symmetry to solid-symmetry:011.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → solid-symmetry Copy...
i. Make sure that solid-symmetry is selected in the From Boundary Zone list.
ii. Select solid-symmetry:011 in the To Boundary Zones list.
Setup and Solution
iii. Click the Copy button.
A Question dialog box will open, asking if you want to copy the boundary conditions to all of
the selected zones. Click OK.
iv. Close the Copy Conditions dialog box.
3. Set the boundary conditions for all of the two-sided walls (that is, the wall / wall-shadow pairs)
between the solid and fluid cell zones. In this case there is one pair of walls, which represent the
outer surface of the probe.
a. Set the boundary conditions for fsisurface-solid-shadow.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → fsisurface-solid-shadow Edit...
Note that the Adjacent Cell Zone for this wall is flow, which is the fluid zone. The side of the wall
/ wall-shadow pair that is immediately adjacent to the fluid does not require any settings in the
Structure tab, and so this tab is not available.
i. Retain the default settings in the Momentum tab.
ii. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
b. Set the boundary conditions for fsisurface-solid.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → fsisurface-solid Edit...
Note that the Adjacent Cell Zone for this wall is solid, which is the solid zone. The side of the
wall / wall-shadow pair that is immediately adjacent to the solid does require structural settings
(that is, displacement boundary conditions).
ii. Select Intrinsic FSI from the X-, Y-, and Z-Displacement Boundary Condition drop-down
lists.
This specifies that the displacement results from pressure loads exerted by the fluid flow on the
faces. This setting is only available for two-sided walls.
27.4.6. Solution
1. Enable the inclusion of operating pressure into the fluid-structure interaction force by entering
the following text command:
> define/models/structure/expert/include-pop-in-fsi-force?
Include operating p into fsi force [no] yes
2. Disable the flow and turbulence equations, since in a one-way FSI simulation they will not change
from their converged state.
Setup and Solution
Solution → Controls Equations...
a. Deselect Flow and Turbulence from the Equations selection list.
b. Retain the selection of Structure.
c. Click OK to close the Equations dialog box.
3. Review the convergence criteria for the displacement residual equations.
Solution → Monitors → Residual Edit...
a. Retain the default settings for the x-, y-, and z-displacement equations.
4. Save the case file (probe_fsi_1way.cas.h5).
5. Start the calculation by requesting 2 iterations in the Solution ribbon tab (Run Calculation group
box)..
Since only structural calculations will be performed, you do not need a large number of iterations
to reach convergence.
b. Click Calculate.
Setup and Solution
6. After the solution has been calculated, save the case and data files (probe_fsi_1way.cas.h5
and probe_fsi_1way.dat.h5).
1. Display the total displacement of the probe (Figure 27.3: Contours of Total Displacement (p. 1062)).
a. Enter contour-disp for Contour Name.
b. Select Structure... and Total Displacement from the Contours of drop-down lists.
c. Deselect all surfaces in the Surfaces selection list by clicking , and then select solid.
d. Click Save/Display, close the Contours dialog box, and rotate and magnify the view as shown
in Figure 27.3: Contours of Total Displacement (p. 1062).
Figure 27.3: Contours of Total Displacement
2. Save the case file (probe_fsi_1way.cas.h5).
27.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to set up and solve a one-way intrinsic FSI simulation. You learned how
to enable a structural model and define the solid material and boundary conditions. After completing
the simulation, you displayed the resulting displacement of the structure. For more information about
intrinsic FSI simulations, see the Fluent User's Guide.
Chapter 28: Modeling Two-Way Fluid-Structure
Interaction (FSI) Within Fluent
28.1. Introduction
28.2. Prerequisites
28.5. Summary
28.1. Introduction
This tutorial examines turbulent air flow through a duct that includes vertical flaps. You will enable a
structural model in order to simulate the deformation of the flaps as a result of the fluid flow. It is as-
sumed that the deformation will be large enough that this problem must be modeled as a two-way
fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulation; that is, the fluid flow will affect the deformation of the
structures, and vice versa. Because Fluent performs all of the structural calculations (as opposed to using
a separate structural program), it is referred to as "intrinsic FSI".
• Run a journal file to complete an initial steady-state fluid flow simulation without structural calculations.
• Set up a transient calculation.
• Enable a structural model.
• Define structural material properties, a solid cell zone, and related boundary conditions.
• Set up dynamic mesh zones for the fluid-structure interaction.
• Create solution animation definitions for a scene, contour, and mesh.
• Complete a two-way FSI simulation.
• Postprocess the fluid flow and the deformation of a solid cell zone.
28.2. Prerequisites
Modeling Two-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) Within Fluent

ic (p. 1064).
Flow through a simple duct with vertical flaps is simulated as a 2D planar model. The duct is 10 cm
long and 4 cm high, and the flaps are 1 cm tall and 0.3 cm thick, composed of silicone rubber. Turbulent
air enters the duct at 10 m/s, flows around the flaps, and exits through a pressure outlet. Symmetry allows
only half of the duct to be modeled.

28.4.1. Preparation
28.4.2. Solver and Analysis Type
28.4.4. Materials
28.4.7. Dynamic Mesh Zones
28.4.8. Solution Animations
28.4.9. Solution
28.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the fsi_2way.zip file here.
Setup and Solution
2. Unzip fsi_2way.zip to your working directory.
The files flap.msh and steady_fluid_flow.jou can be found in the folder. Note that the cell
zone in the mesh file that will represent the solid zone is appropriate for a 2D intrinsic FSI simulation,
which requires that only quadrilateral and/or triangular cell types are used and that a conformal mesh
exists between the zones that will represent the solid and the fluid.
7. Retain the default Solver Processes to 1 under Parallel (Local Machine).
8. Make sure that the Working Directory (in the General Options tab) is set to the one created
when you unzipped fsi_2way.zip.
9. Read the journal file steady_fluid_flow.jou.
File → Read → Journal...
This journal file will read the mesh file flap.msh and set up and solve a steady fluid flow simulation
that will serve as the starting point for the transient FSI simulation. Solving the steady flow problem
first allows you to easily discern and resolve any convergence issues that are not related to the fluid-
structure interaction.
As Fluent reads the journal file, it will report the text commands and solution progress in the console.
You can also view the journal file in a text editor to see the settings used in this simulation. The final
text command in the journal file will display contours of the velocity magnitude (Figure 28.2: Steady-
State Velocity Magnitude (p. 1066)).
Figure 28.2: Steady-State Velocity Magnitude
10. Mirror the display across the centerline (Figure 28.3: Duct with Mirroring (p. 1067)).
a. Select symmetry.2 in the Mirror Planes selection list.
Setup and Solution
b. Click Apply to refresh the display.
c. Close the Views dialog box and reposition the view as shown in Figure 28.3: Duct with Mirror-
ing (p. 1067).
Figure 28.3: Duct with Mirroring
11. Save the initial case and data files as flap_fluid.cas.h5 and flap_fluid.dat.h5.
Having completed an initial steady fluid flow simulation, the remaining steps are all concerned with setting
up the structural calculations and obtaining the transient results for the deformation of the solid flaps.
28.4.2. Solver and Analysis Type

1. Specify the solver settings.
Setup → General
a. Enable a time-dependent calculation by selecting Transient in the General task page (Solver
group).
b. Retain the default selection of Pressure-Based from the Type list.

1. Verify that a solid cell zone is already defined, as this is necessary to be able to enable a structural
model. You can view the existing cell zones in the Outline View window.
Setup and Solution
2. Enable the linear elasticity structural model.
Setup → Models → Structure Edit...
a. Select Linear Elasticity from the Model list.
This model enables structural calculations for the solid cell zone such that the internal load is linearly
proportional to the nodal displacement, and the structural stiffness matrix remains constant.
b. Click OK to close the Structural Model dialog box.
28.4.4. Materials
1. Create a new solid material for the flap.
Setup → Materials → Solid New...
a. Enter silicone-rubber for the Name.
b. Clear the Chemical Formula field.
c. Enter 1600 for the Density.
d. Enter 1e+6 for the Youngs Modulus.
e. Enter 0.47 for the Poisson Ratio.
f. Click Change/Create, and click Yes in the Question dialog box to overwrite aluminum.

1. Set up the cell zone conditions for the solid zone associated with the flap (solid.5).
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → Solid → solid.5 Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Select silicone-rubber from the Material Name drop-down list.

You must ensure that the boundary conditions are appropriately defined for every wall that is imme-
diately adjacent to the solid zone.
1. Set the boundary conditions for flap_attach, which is located where the flap attaches to the duct.
You will define it as being fixed (that is, undergoing no displacement).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → flap_attach Edit...
a. In the Structure tab, select displacement boundary conditions (that is, Node X-Displacement
from the X-Displacement Boundary Condition drop-down list with 0 for the X-Displacement,
and so on).
2. Set the boundary conditions for all of the two-sided walls (that is, the wall / wall-shadow pairs)
between the solid and fluid cell zones. In this case there is one pair of walls, which represent the
outer surface of the flap.
a. Set the boundary conditions for flap_wall-shadow.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → flap_wall-shadow Edit...
Setup and Solution
Note that the Adjacent Cell Zone for this wall is fluid.4, which is the fluid zone. The side of the
wall / wall-shadow pair that is immediately adjacent to the fluid does not require any settings in
the Structure tab, and so this tab is not available.
i. Retain the default settings in the Momentum tab.
ii. Click Apply and close the Wall dialog box.
b. Set the boundary conditions for flap_wall.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall → flap_wall Edit...
Note that the Adjacent Cell Zone for this wall is solid.5, which is the solid zone. The side of the
wall / wall-shadow pair that is immediately adjacent to the solid does require structural settings
(that is, displacement boundary conditions).
ii. Select Intrinsic FSI from the X- and Y-Displacement Boundary Condition drop-down
lists.
This specifies that the displacement results from pressure loads exerted by the fluid flow on the
faces. This setting is only available for two-sided walls.
28.4.7. Dynamic Mesh Zones

For two-way FSI simulations, you must define dynamic mesh properties to allow the mesh to handle
the deformation of the solid zone.
Setup and Solution
1. Enable the Dynamic Mesh option.
2. Make sure that the Smoothing option is enabled in the Mesh Methods group box, and click the
Settings... button to open the Mesh Method Settings dialog box.
a. Select Linearly Elastic Solid from the Method list.
b. Click OK to close the Mesh Method Settings dialog box.
3. Retain the default settings in the Options group box (that is, with the options disabled). These
options are not supported for FSI simulations, except for Implicit Update. The Implicit Update
option may be required for more complex cases in which the stability of the FSI simulation may
be an issue, but for a simple case such as this one, it is not required.
4. Click the Create/Edit... button to open the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box.
Setup and Solution
a. Select po.3 (the pressure outlet) from the Zone Names drop-down list, select Stationary from
the Type list, and click Create. This ensures the boundary zone does not deform.
b. In a similar manner, create stationary dynamic zones for the other boundary zones that are
not deforming: symmetry.2, velocity_inlet.1, and wall.
c. Select flap_wall-shadow (the side of the wall / wall-shadow pair that is immediately adjacent
to the fluid) from the Zone Names drop-down list, select Intrinsic FSI from the Type list, and
click Create. This specifies that the wall / wall-shadow pair deforms according to the deform-
ation of the adjacent solid zone.
d. Close the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box.
28.4.8. Solution Animations

By setting up animation definitions, you will be able to capture results for your transient simulation
as it calculates the solution, so that you can later display how the fluid flow and flap shape change
over time.
1. Create a scene that can be used in an animation definition for the fluid flow.
Scenes are used when you want to display multiple graphics objects within a single window. In this
case, the animation will include not only contours of the fluid velocity, but also boundary zones.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter vel_bound for the Name.
b. Click New Object and select Mesh... from the drop-down list to open the associated dialog
box.
i. Enter boundaries for the Mesh Name.
ii. Select Edges under the Options list.
iii. Deselect all surfaces in the Surfaces selection list by clicking , and then select flap_wall-
shadow, po.3, velocity_inlet.1, and wall.
c. Click New Object and select Contours... from the drop-down list to open the associated dialog
box.
Setup and Solution
i. Enter vel_mag for the Contour Name.
ii. Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Contours of drop-down lists.
iii. Disable the Auto Range option and enter 20 and 29 for the Min and Max, respectively.
Disabling the Auto Range ensures that all of the results in the animation have the same scale.
The velocity of the fluid will not change very much in this particular solution, and so using a
narrow range of values will make it easier to identify the small contour changes.
iv. Deselect all surfaces in the Surfaces selection list by clicking .
For 2D cases, if no surface is selected, contouring is done on the entire domain.
v. Click the Save/Display button and close the Contours dialog box.
d. Click the Save & Display button, and then click Cancel to close the Scene dialog box.
2. Create an animation definition for the fluid velocity and boundaries scene.
Solution → Calculation Activities → Solution Animations New...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter vel_animation for the Name.
b. Enter 5 for Record after every and select iteration from the drop-down list.
c. Select In Memory from the Storage Type drop-down.
The In Memory option is acceptable for a small 2D case such as this. For larger 2D or 3D cases,
saving animation files with either the PPM Image or HSF File option is preferable, to avoid using
too much of your machine’s memory.
d. Select vel_bound from the Animation Object list.
e. Click OK to create the animation definition.
3. Create an animation definition for the flap displacement.
a. Enter disp_animation for the Name.
d. Click New Object and select Contours... from the drop-down list to open the associated dialog
box.
Setup and Solution
i. Enter disp for the Contour Name.
ii. Select Structure... and Total Displacement from the Contours of drop-down lists.
iii. Disable Auto Range and enter 0 and 5.1e-05 for Min and Max, respectively.
iv. Select solid.5 from the Surfaces list.
v. Click Save/Display and close the Contours dialog box.
e. Select disp from the Animation Object list.
f. Click OK to create the animation definition.
4. Create an animation definition for the mesh.
a. Enter mesh_animation for the Name.
d. Click New Object and select Mesh... from the drop-down list to open the associated dialog
box.
Setup and Solution
i. Enter mesh for the Mesh Name.
ii. Disable the Faces option.
iii. Deselect all surfaces in the Surfaces selection list by clicking , and then select fluid.4
and solid.5.
e. Select mesh from the Animation Object list.
f. Click OK to create the animation definition.
5. Add a structural point surface to a location of interest within the solid zone.
Results → Surfaces New → Structural Point...
The Structural Point Surface dialog appears, as does a point triad in the graphics window. Zoom
into the mesh displayed in the graphics window to focus on the tip of the flap.
a. Enter structural-point-flap for the Name.
b. Enter 0.0505 for the x coordinate, and enter 0.0095 for the y coordinate.
Alternatively,you can use the mouse to drag the point's position in the graphics window to an ap-
proximate location.
c. Click Create to create the structural point surface at this location.
d. Close the Structural Point Surface dialog box.
6. Create a report definition to monitor displacement of the flap.
Solution → Report Definitions New → Surface Report → Vertex Average...
Setup and Solution
a. Enter report-def-surf for the Name.
b. Select Structure... and Total Displacement from the Contours of drop-down lists.
c. Select structural-point-flap from the Surfaces list.
d. Enable the Report File, Report Plot, and Print to Console options.
e. Click OK.
This report definition will monitor and plot the vertex average of the displacement of the nodes that
surround the structural point surface.
28.4.9. Solution
1. Disable the checking of convergence for the displacement residual equations.
Solution → Monitors → Residual Edit...
a. Disable the Check Convergence options for the x- and y-displacement equations.
2. Save the case file (flap_fsi_2way.cas.h5).
Setup and Solution
b. Enter 0.0005 for Time Step Size.
d. Click Calculate.
4. After the solution has been calculated, save the case and data files (flap_fsi_2way.cas.h5
and flap_fsi_2way.dat.h5).
1. View the displacement of the flap's point surface (Figure 28.4: The Vertex Average Displacement
of the Flap's Point Surface (p. 1092)).
Figure 28.4: The Vertex Average Displacement of the Flap's Point Surface
The monitored plot of the vertex average of the displacement at the point surface clearly shows dis-
placement over time.
2. View the animations of the results.
Results → Animations → Playback Edit...
Setup and Solution
a. Select Auto Repeat from the Playback Mode drop-down list.
b. Disable the Use Stored View option.
c. Select vel_animation from the Animation Sequences list.
d. Decrease the Replay Speed by clicking the button four times.
e. Click the play button (the second from the right in the group of buttons in the Playback group
box).
f. Magnify the view as shown in Figure 28.5: Contours of Velocity Magnitude (p. 1094).
g. Click the button to stop the animation.
h. Select disp_animation from the Animation Sequences list.
i. Click the play button.
j. Magnify the view as shown in Figure 28.6: Contours of Total Displacement (p. 1094).
Figure 28.6: Contours of Total Displacement
Summary
k. Click the button to stop the animation.
l. Select mesh_animation from the Animation Sequences list.
m. Click the play button.
n. Magnify the view as shown in Figure 28.7: The Mesh of the Displaced Flap (p. 1095).
Figure 28.7: The Mesh of the Displaced Flap
o. Click the button to stop the animation.
28.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to set up and solve a two-way intrinsic FSI simulation. You learned how
to enable a structural model and define the solid material, boundary conditions, and dynamic mesh
zones. After completing the simulation, you viewed animations of the resulting fluid velocity contours
and displacement of the structure. For more information about intrinsic FSI simulations, see the Fluent
User's Guide.
Chapter 29: Using the Adjoint Solver – 2D Laminar
Flow Past a Cylinder
29.1. Introduction
29.4. Summary
29.1. Introduction
Ansys Fluent’s adjoint solver is used to compute the sensitivity of quantities of interest in a fluid system
with respect to the user-specified inputs, for an existing flow solution. Importantly, this also includes
the sensitivity of the computed results with respect to the geometric shape of the system. The adjoint
design change tool is a powerful component that can use the sensitivity information from one or more
adjoint solutions to guide systematic changes that result in predictable improvements in the system
performance, which can be made subject to various types of design constraints if desired.
This tutorial provides an example of how to generate sensitivity data for flow past a circular cylinder,
how to postprocess the results, and how to use the data to perform a multi-objective design change
that reduces drag and increases lift by morphing the mesh. The tutorial makes use of a previously
computed flow solution, and demonstrates how to do the following:
• Select the observable of interest.
• Access the solver controls for advancing the adjoint solution.
• Set convergence criteria and plot and print residuals.
• Advance the adjoint solver.
• Postprocess the results to extract sensitivity data.
• Use the design change tool to modify the cylinder shape to simultaneously reduce the drag and in-
crease the lift.

The configuration is a circular cylinder, bounded above and below by symmetry planes. The flow is
laminar and incompressible with a Reynolds number of 40, based on the cylinder diameter. At this
Reynolds number, the flow is steady.
Using the Adjoint Solver – 2D Laminar Flow Past a Cylinder

The following sections describe the setup steps for this tutorial:
29.3.1. Step 1: Preparation
29.3.2. Step 2: Define Observables
29.3.3. Step 3: Compute the Drag Sensitivity
29.3.4. Step 4: Postprocess and Export Drag Sensitivity
29.3.5. Step 5: Compute Lift Sensitivity
29.3.6. Step 6: Modify the Shape
29.3.1. Step 1: Preparation

1. Download the adjoint_cylinder.zip file here.
2. Unzip adjoint_cylinder.zip to your working directory.
The files cylinder_tutorial.cas and cylinder_tutorial.dat can be found in the

folder .
7. Enable Display Mesh After Reading.
8. Load the converged case and data file for the cylinder geometry.
When prompted, browse to the location of the case and data files and select cylinder_tu-
torial.cas to load. The corresponding data file will automatically be loaded as well.
Note:
After you read in the mesh, it will be displayed in the embedded graphics windows,
since you enabled the appropriate display option in Fluent Launcher.
The data file contains a previously computed flow solution that will serve as the starting point
for the adjoint calculation. Part of the mesh and the velocity field are shown below:
Setup and Solution
Figure 29.1: Mesh Close to the Cylinder Surface
29.3.2. Step 2: Define Observables

Begin setting up the adjoint solver by opening the Adjoint Observables dialog box. Here you will
create lift and drag observables. Clicking on any button in the Gradient-Based group of the Design
ribbon tab will activate the adjoint solver.
Design → Gradient-Based → Observable...
Figure 29.3: Adjoint Observables Dialog Box
1. Click the Manage... button to open the Manage Adjoint Observables dialog box.
Figure 29.4: Manage Adjoint Observables Dialog Box
2. Click the Create button and select force from the Observable types drop-down list.
3. The Manage Adjoint Observables will update to show the newly created force-01 observable
which must now be configured:
Setup and Solution
a. Ensure that force-01 is selected from the Observables list.
b. Enter force-drag for Name.
c. Select wall under Wall Zones. This is the cylinder wall on which you want the force to
be evaluated.
d. Ensure that the X-Component direction is set to 1 and the Y-Component direction is set
to 0.
e. Click OK to commit the settings for force-drag. Upon clicking OK, force-01 will be renamed
to force-drag.
4. Repeat the process in the Manage Adjoint Observables dialog box to create a lift observable
with the following settings:
Name force-lift
Wall Zones wall
X-Component 0
Y-Component 1
When you have configured the force-lift observable, click OK to commit the settings for force-
lift and close the Manage Adjoint Observables dialog box.
29.3.3. Step 3: Compute the Drag Sensitivity

1. In the Adjoint Observables dialog box (Figure 29.5: Adjoint Observables Dialog Box (p. 1102)) specify
that you will solve for the drag sensitivity.
Figure 29.5: Adjoint Observables Dialog Box
a. Select force-drag in the list of Observable Names.
The selection in the Adjoint Observables dialog box determines the observable for which
sensitivities will be computed. You will first compute the drag sensitivities.
b. Click Evaluate to print the value of the drag force on the wall in the console.
Observable name: force-drag
Observable Value [N] = 1271.7444
This value is in SI units, with N denoting Newtons.
c. Close the Adjoint Observables dialog box.
2. Adjust the solution controls.
Setup and Solution
The default solution control settings are chosen to provide robust solution advancement for a
wide variety of problems, including those having complex geometry, high local flow rates, and
turbulence. Given sufficient iterations, a converged result can often be obtained without modifying
the controls.
For this simple laminar flow case, more aggressive settings will yield faster convergence.
Open the Adjoint Solution Controls dialog box (Figure 29.6: Adjoint Solution Controls Dialog
Box (p. 1103)).
Design → Gradient-Based → Solver Controls...
Figure 29.6: Adjoint Solution Controls Dialog Box
a. Disable the Auto-Adjust Controls option.
This prevents Fluent from automatically choosing and adjusting the solution controls for you.
b. Enable Show Advancement Controls.
c. Enter 100 for Courant Number.
Higher Courant Number values correspond to more aggressive settings / faster convergence,
which is appropriate for a simple case such as this.
d. Enter 0.05 for Artificial Compressibility.
e. Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog box.
3. Configure the adjoint solution monitors by opening the Adjoint Residual Monitors dialog box
(Figure 29.7: Adjoint Residual Monitors Dialog Box (p. 1105)).
Design → Gradient-Based → Monitors...
Setup and Solution
Figure 29.7: Adjoint Residual Monitors Dialog Box
In the Adjoint Residual Monitors dialog box, you set the adjoint equations that will be checked
for convergence, as well as set the corresponding convergence criteria.
a. Make sure that the Print to Console and Plot options are enabled.
b. Enter values of 1e-05 for Adjoint continuity and Adjoint velocity, and keep the default
value of 0.001 for Adjoint local flow rate. These settings are adequate for most cases. Make
sure that the Check Convergence options are enabled.
c. Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog box.
4. Run the adjoint solver using the Run Adjoint Calculation dialog box (Figure 29.8: Run Adjoint
Calculation Dialog Box (p. 1105)).
Design → Gradient-Based → Calculate...
Figure 29.8: Run Adjoint Calculation Dialog Box
a. Click the Initialize button. This initializes the adjoint solution everywhere in the problem domain
to zero.
b. Set the Number of Iterations to 200. The adjoint solver is fully configured to start running
for this problem.
c. Click the Calculate button to advance the solver to convergence.
Figure 29.9: Residuals for the Converged Solution
d. When the calculation is complete, Close the Run Adjoint Calculation dialog box.
29.3.4. Step 4: Postprocess and Export Drag Sensitivity

In this section, postprocessing options for the adjoint solution are presented.
29.3.4.1. Drag Force Sensitivity Orientation for Plotting

1. Open the Adjoint Postprocess Options dialog box.
Design → Gradient-Based → Postprocess Options...
Setup and Solution
Figure 29.10: Adjoint Postprocess Options Dialog Box
2. Select Minimize from the Sensitivity Orientation for Plotting group box, because you are
trying to reduce the drag force. This indicates that postprocessed results for the drag sensitivity
will be displayed such that a reduction in drag is achieved by a design change in the positive
sensitivity direction.
3. Click Apply to apply the sensitivity orientation, then click Close to close the Adjoint Postprocess
Options dialog box.
29.3.4.2. Boundary Condition Sensitivity

1. Open the Adjoint Reporting dialog box (Figure 29.11: Adjoint Reporting Dialog Box (p. 1107)).
Design → Gradient-Based → Reporting...
Figure 29.11: Adjoint Reporting Dialog Box
2. Select inlet under Boundary Choice and click the Report button to display a report in the
console of the available scalar sensitivity data on the inlet:
Updating shape sensitivity data.
Done.
Boundary condition sensitivity report: inlet

Observable: force-drag
Velocity Magnitude [m/s]: 40 Sensitivity ([N]/[m/s]): 54.55674
Decrease Velocity Magnitude to decrease force-drag
3. Close the Adjoint Reporting dialog box.
29.3.4.3. Momentum Source Sensitivity

1. Open the Contours dialog box.
2. Enter x-sensitivity-bf for the Contour Name.
3. Select Sensitivities... and Sensitivity to Body Force X-Component (Cell Values) from the
Contours of drop-down lists.
Figure 29.12: Contours Dialog Box When Plotting Adjoint Fields
Setup and Solution
4. Click Compute and then Display to view the contours (Figure 29.13: Adjoint Sensitivity to Body
Force X-Component Contours (p. 1109)) and then Close the Contours dialog box.
Figure 29.13: Adjoint Sensitivity to Body Force X-Component Contours
Figure 29.13: Adjoint Sensitivity to Body Force X-Component Contours (p. 1109) shows how sens-
itive the drag on the cylinder is to the application of a body force in the -direction in the flow.
If a body force is applied directly upstream of the cylinder, for example, the disturbed flow is
incident on the cylinder and modifies the force that it experiences.
29.3.4.4. Shape Sensitivity

1. Open the Vectors dialog box (Figure 29.14: Vectors Dialog Box (p. 1110))
Figure 29.14: Vectors Dialog Box
2. Enter sensitivity-shape for the Vector Name.
3. Select Sensitivity to Shape from the Vectors of drop-down list.
4. Select Sensitivities... and Sensitivity to Mass Sources (Cell Values) from the Color by
drop-down lists.
5. Select arrow from the Style selection list.
6. Enter 1e-8 for Scale.
7. Select wall from the Surfaces selection list.
Setup and Solution
8. Click the Save/Display button to view the vectors (Figure 29.15: Shape Sensitivity Colored
by Sensitivity to Mass Sources (Cell Values) (p. 1111)) and then Close the Vectors dialog box.
Tip:
In order to display the vector plot in the graphics window, you may need to
click the Fit to Window button .
Figure 29.15: Shape Sensitivity Colored by Sensitivity to Mass Sources (Cell Values)
This plot shows how sensitive the drag on the cylinder is to changes in the surface shape. The drag
is affected more significantly if the cylinder is deformed on the upstream rather than the downstream
side. Maximum effect is achieved by narrowing the cylinder in the cross-stream direction.
29.3.4.5. Exporting Drag Sensitivity Data

Before computing the sensitivity for the force-lift observable, you need to define the region that
will be subject to geometry morphing, and export the drag sensitivity data so it can be used later
in the multi-objective optimization.
1. Open the Design Tool dialog box.
Design → Gradient-Based → Design Tool...
Figure 29.16: The Design Tool Dialog Box
2. In the Region tab, define the region that will be modified for the design change.
a. Ensure that Cartesian is selected from the Region Geometry drop-down list.
b. Click Get Bounds....
c. Select wall in the Bounding Region Definition dialog box and click OK.
This will initialize the morphing region to the bounding box around the cylinder wall.
d. Click Update Region to update the view of the bounding box illustration in the graphics
window.
Setup and Solution
You can use the Mesh Display dialog box to also display the mesh, in order to review it prior
to morphing.
Results → Graphics → Mesh → new...
Click Save/Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
e. Click Larger Region several times until the X and Y Limits are ±1.907349 m (Fig-
ure 29.17: Morphing Region Around Cylinder (p. 1113)).
Figure 29.17: Morphing Region Around Cylinder
f. In the Objectives tab, click Manage Data....
Figure 29.18: The Design Tool Dialog Box Objectives Tab
g. In the Manage Sensitivity Data dialog box, click Export... and save the sensitivity data
as force-drag.sens.
h. Close the Design Tool dialog box.
29.3.5. Step 5: Compute Lift Sensitivity

1. Select force-lift from the Observable Names selection list and select Maximize from the Sens-
itivity Orientation list in the Adjoint Observables dialog box.
Setup and Solution
2. Initialize and Calculate the adjoint solution using the Run Adjoint Calculation dialog box to
obtain the sensitivities for the force-lift observable.
Design → Gradient-Based → Calculate...
Click Yes in the Question dialog box that appears to overwrite the existing adjoint solution data.
When the calculation is complete, you can optionally specify Maximum for the Sensitivity Orientation
for Plotting similarly to Drag Force Sensitivity Orientation for Plotting (p. 1106). However for this example
we will not be plotting the sensitivities for the force-lift observable and it is not necessary to define
the sensitivity orientation for plotting. Additionally, you can export the sensitivity data for the lift
observable as you did for the drag, but it is not strictly necessary if you plan to perform the multi-
objective optimization in the current Fluent session.
29.3.6. Step 6: Modify the Shape

In this section, you will load the previously saved force-drag sensitivity data and perform the multi-
objective design change.
1. Open the Design Tool dialog box if it is not already open.
Design → Gradient-Based → Design Tool...
force-lift is now displayed in the Design Change tab because it is the currently selected observ-
able. The Design Change tab functions as a dashboard for the design modification, where you
can select which boundaries are subject to modification, enable or disable conditions that you
have defined, specify relative weighting if you have multiple freeform objectives, and view pre-
dicted results. You will return to it to perform the design change after you have configured the
objectives and the morphing region.
2. Retain the default selection of Polynomials from the Morphing Method list.
This morphing method is appropriate when you prefer mesh quality over adherence to the design
conditions. Alternatively if there are many design conditions present, Direct Interpolation is the
recommended method. Finally, when mesh quality is preferred and there are some design conditions,
Radial Basis Function is the recommended method.
3. Load the previously saved force-drag sensitivity data.
a. Open the Objectives tab.
The force-lift observable is already listed because Include current data is enabled.
b. Click Manage Data... to open the Manage Sensitivity Data dialog box.
c. Click Import... and select the force-drag.sens file you created earlier. Click OK.
d. Close the Manage Sensitivity Data dialog box.
4. Define the objective for each observable.
For this example, you will seek a design change that increases the lift and results in a 10% reduc-
tion in drag.
a. In the Objectives tab, select the force-lift observable. The current value of the lift is displayed
along with options to specify the objective for the lift.
b. Select Increase Value from the Objective list.
This indicates that you want to increase the lift, but are not prescribing a specific target change.
c. Enter 100 for Target/Reference Change.
Setup and Solution
This setting is used to normalize the scale of the change in value of the observable, which can
be important in cases where multiple observables are considered that may be of different scales.
d. Select force_drag.sens in the list of observables.
e. Select Target Change In Value from the Objective list.
This indicates that you are prescribing a specific change in the value of the observable, rather
than a freeform increase or decrease.
f. Enter -10 for Target/Reference Change and enable the As Percentage option.
10% is a generally a reasonable maximum target change for a design change. Using a target
change that is too large may result in very large deformations and/or overshooting the local
optimum.
g. Click Apply.
5. Configure the morphing region.
You already specified the dimensions of the region earlier when exporting the force-drag sens-
itivity. Now you will also configure the control-point density.
a. Click the Region Conditions tab in the Design Tool dialog box.
b. Enter 30 for Points in the In X Direction and In Y Direction group boxes.
c. Click Apply.
You can use the Mesh Display dialog box to display the mesh, in order to see the increase in
control points.
Results → Graphics → Mesh → Edit...
Many other settings are available in the Region Conditions tab, including constraints on control-
point motion, symmetry conditions, and continuity conditions. For additional information, see
the section on defining region conditions in the Fluent User's Guide manual.
6. Compute the design change and modify the mesh.
a. Return to the Design Change tab.
b. Select wall in the Zones To Be Modified selection list.
Only zones that are selected in the Zones To Be Modified list (or that have prescribed motions
applied) will be modified as part of the design change.
Setup and Solution
c. If multiple freeform objectives were defined (that is, multiple objectives with Increase Value
or Decrease Value selected in the Objectives tab), you would need to specify the Weight
for each. In this case only one objective (force-lift) is freeform, so no input is required for
Weight.
d. Retain the default settings of Control-Point Spacing for Freeform Scaling Scheme, and
0.1 for Freeform Scale Factor.
These settings allow you to adjust the magnitude of the attempted design change (Freeform
Scale Factor) and the basis for the scaling (Freeform Scaling Scheme).
e. Click Calculate Design Change.
The Results list is updated to reflect the Expected change for each observable.
Note that the drag is predicted to decrease by 10% as you requested, and the lift is predicted
to increase.
f. Click the Preview... button in the Mesh group box to preview the design change in the
graphics window.
g. Select wall on the Preview Morphing dialog box and click Display.
Figure 29.19: Morphing Preview of Cylinder
h. Click the Modify button in the Mesh group box to apply the calculated mesh deformation
that will reposition the boundary and interior nodes of the mesh. Information regarding the
mesh modification is printed in the console:
Updating mesh (steady, mesh iteration = 00001, pseudo time step 1.0000e+00)...
Dynamic Mesh Statistics:
Minimum Volume = 3.24815e-04
Maximum Volume = 6.36270e-01
Maximum Cell Skew = 3.75949e-01 (cell zone 11)
Minimum Orthogonal Quality = 6.24051e-01 (cell zone 11)
i. Display the new mesh geometry.
Results → Graphics → Mesh → mesh-1 Edit...
Click Save/Display and close the Mesh Display dialog box.
The effect on the mesh is shown in Figure 29.20: Mesh After Deformation (p. 1121):
Setup and Solution
Figure 29.20: Mesh After Deformation
j. Re-converge the conventional flow calculation for this new geometry in the Run Calculation
task page.
The currently loaded case file already has report definitions defined for lift and drag, or you
can Evaluate the new values in the Adjoint Observables dialog box.
The new values for drag and lift are reported to be:
Observable name: force-drag
Observable Value [N]: 1166.3071
Observable name: force-lift

Observable Value [N]: 294.87659
Note that the drag has changed by -105.44 N or -8.3% compared to the drag on the unde-
formed cylinder. This value compares very well with the change of -127.2 N (-10%) that was
predicted from the adjoint solver. The lift has increased by 294.4 N, which again compares
very well with the predicted change of 291.91 N.
7. Save the case and data files (cylinder-adjoint.cas.h5 and cylinder-ad-

joint.dat.h5).
29.4. Summary
This tutorial has demonstrated how to use the adjoint solver to compute the sensitivity of the drag and
lift on a circular cylinder to various inputs for a previously computed flow field. The process of setting
up and running the adjoint solver was illustrated. The steps to perform various forms of postprocessing
were also described. The design change tool was used to make a multi-objective change to the design
that reduced the drag and increased the lift in a predictable manner.
This example considered multiple objectives at a single flow condition. Another powerful application
of the design tool is to perform multi-objective design changes using sensitivities computed for multiple
flow conditions. This allows you to identify design changes that improve performance across a range
of anticipated operating conditions, potentially of differing importance. The design tool also offers a
rich set of additional capabilities for including prescribed deformations, bounding planes / surfaces,
and fixed-wall constraints in your multi-objective design change.
Chapter 30: Simulating a Single Battery Cell Using
the MSMD Battery Model
30.1. Introduction
30.2. Prerequisites
30.5. Summary
30.6. Appendix
30.7. References
30.1. Introduction
This tutorial is used to show how to set up a battery cell simulation in Ansys Fluent.
• Set up a battery cell simulation using the NTGK battery submodel
• Perform the calculations for different battery discharge rates and compare the results using the
postprocessing capabilities of Ansys Fluent
• Use the reduced order method (ROM) in a battery simulation
• Simulate a battery pulse discharge
• Introduce external and internal short-circuits in a battery simulation
30.2. Prerequisites

The discharge behavior of a lithium-ion battery described in Kim’s paper [2] will be modeled in this
tutorial. You will use the NTGK model. The battery is a 14.6 Ah LiMn2O4 cathode/graphite anode battery.
The geometry of the battery cell is shown in Figure 30.1: Schematic of the Battery Cell Problem (p. 1124).
You will study the battery’s behavior at different discharge rates.
Simulating a Single Battery Cell Using the MSMD Battery Model
Figure 30.1: Schematic of the Battery Cell Problem
For external and internal short-circuit treatment, you will consider an extreme case where external and
internal short-circuits occur at the same time. You will simulate post-short-circuit battery processes. You
can assume that the internal short is caused by a nail penetration occurring near the center of the
battery.

30.4.1. Preparation
30.4.2. Reading and Scaling the Mesh
30.4.3. NTGK Battery Model Setup
30.4.5. Simulating the Battery Pulse Discharge Using the ECM Model
30.4.6. Using the Reduced Order Method (ROM)
30.4.7. External and Internal Short-Circuit Treatment
30.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the battery_cell.zip file here.
2. Unzip battery_cell.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file unit_battery.msh.h5 can be found in the folder.
Setup and Solution

1. Read the mesh file unit_battery.msh.h5.
When prompted, browse to the location of the unit_battery.msh.h5 and select the file.
Once you read in the mesh, it is displayed in the embedded graphics windows.
The geometry is already in the correct scale. You don’t need to scale it.
2. Check the mesh.
30.4.3. NTGK Battery Model Setup

30.4.3.1. Specifying Solver and Models
30.4.3.2. Defining New Materials for Cell and Tabs
30.4.3.3. Defining Cell Zone Conditions
30.4.3.4. Defining Boundary Conditions
30.4.3.5. Specifying Solution Settings
30.4.3.6. Obtaining Solution

1. In the Solver group of the General task page, enable a time-dependent calculation.
2. Enable the battery model.
Physics → Models → More → Battery Model
a. In the Battery Model dialog box, select Enable Battery Model.
The dialog box expands to display the battery model’s settings.
Figure 30.2: Model Options
Once you enable the battery model, the Energy equation will be automatically enabled in
order to solve for the temperature field.
b. Under the Model Options tab (Figure 30.2: Model Options (p. 1126)), configure the following
battery operation conditions:
i. Ensure that MSMD is selected for Solution Method.
ii. Under E-Chemistry Models, enable the NTGK Empirical Model.
iii. Under Electrical Parameters, retain the default value of 14.6 Ah for Nominal Cell
Capacity.
iv. Select Enable Joule heat in Passive Zones in the Energy Source Options group box.
v. Retain the default selection of Specified C-Rate and the value of 1 for C-Rate.
vi. Retain the default value of 3 V for Min. Stop Voltage.
c. Under the Conductive Zones tab (Figure 30.3: Conductive Zones (p. 1127)), configure the fol-
lowing settings:
Setup and Solution
Group Control or List Value or Selection

Active Components Zone (s) e-zone
Passive Components Zone (s) tab_nzone
tab_pzone
For this single cell case, there are no busbar zones. Electro-chemical reactions occur only in
the active zone. Battery tabs are usually modeled as passive zones, in which the potential
field is also solved.
Figure 30.3: Conductive Zones
d. Under the Electric Contacts tab (Figure 30.4: Electric Contacts (p. 1128)), configure the contact
surface and external connector settings as follows:

External Connectors Negative Tab tab_n
Positive Tab tab_p
The corresponding current or voltage boundary condition will be applied to those boundaries
automatically.
Under the Electric Contacts tab, you can also define extra contact resistance for each zone.
Figure 30.4: Electric Contacts
e. Click the Print Battery System Connection Information button.
Ansys Fluent prints the battery connection information in the console window:
Battery Network Zone Information:
-------------------------------------
Battery 1s1p
Active zone: e_zone
Passive zone 0:
tab_nzone
Passive zone 1:
tab_pzone
-------------------------------------
Number of battery series stages =1; Number of batteries in parallel per series stage=1
****************END OF BATTERY CONNECTION INFO**************
f. Verify that the connection information is correct.
Setup and Solution
g. Under the Model Parameters tab, retain the default settings for Y and U coefficients.
Note:
• If in your case, Y and U functions are not in the same function form as in Kim’s
paper, you need to modify the cae_user.c source code file.
• For a given battery, you can perform a set of constant current discharging tests,
and then use the battery's parameter estimation tool to obtain the Y and U
functions.
h. Click OK to close the Battery Model dialog box.
In the background, Fluent automatically hooks all the necessary UDFs for the problem.
i. Click OK to close the Information dialog box.
30.4.3.2. Defining New Materials for Cell and Tabs

Define the new e_material material for the battery’s cell, p_material for the positive tab, and
n_material for the negative tab.
In the battery model, two transport equations are solved for the positive and negative potentials,
respectively. To specify the electric conductivity of the active material you need to define the two
electric conductivities, one for each potential field..
1. Create the electric material.
a. In the Create/Edit Materials dialog box, select solid from the Material Type drop-down
list.
b. Enter e_material for Name and e for Chemical Formula.
c. Under Properties, set Density to 2092 [kg/m3].
d. Set Cp (Specific Heat) to 678 [J/kg-K].
e. Set Thermal Conductivity to 18.2 [W/m-K].
f. Select defined-per-uds from the Electrical Conductivity drop-down list.
g. In the UDS Diffusion Coefficients dialog box, specify the user-defined scalars.
Setup and Solution
i. Select uds-0 in the User-Defined Scalar Diffusion list.
ii. Retain constant from the Coefficient drop-down list.
iii. Set Coefficient to 1.19e6.
iv. In a similar way, set uds-1 to 9.83e5 and click OK to close the UDS Diffusion
Coefficients dialog box.
v. In the Question dialog box, click No to retain aluminum and add the new material
(e_material) to the materials list.
Note:
Refer to Appendix (p. 1162) for information on how to calculate the battery
cell property values.
2. Create a new material for the positive tab by modifying copper from the solid material database.
a. In the Create/Edit Materials dialog box, click Fluent Database....
b. In the Fluent Database Materials dialog box, make sure that solid is selected for Material
Type.
c. Select copper from Fluent Solids Materials and click Copy and then Close.
The Create/Edit Materials dialog box now displays the copied properties for copper.
d. Enter p_material for Name and pmat for Chemical Formula.
e. Ensure constant is selected for Electrical Conductivity and enter 1.0e7.
f. Click Change/Create.
g. In the Question dialog box, click Yes to overwrite copper.
The new material (p_material) appears under Materials.
3. Create a new material for the negative tab with the same properties as the material for the
positive tab.
Note:
You do not need to create two different materials for the positive and negative tabs
if the positive and negative tabs are made of the same material. In this tutorial, the
Setup and Solution
two different tab materials with the same physical properties have been created for
demonstration purposes only.
a. From Fluent Solid Materials drop-down list, select p_material.
b. Enter n_material for Name and nmat for Chemical Formula.
c. Click Change/Create.
d. In the Question dialog box, click No to retain p_material and add the new material (n_ma-
terial) to the materials list.
e. Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

Assign e_material to the cell zone, p_material to the positive tab and n_material to the negative
tab.
1. Assign e_material to the e_zone zone.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → e_zone → Edit...
a. In the Solid dialog box, select e_material from the Material Name drop-down list.
b. Click Apply.
2. In a similar manner, assign p_material to tab_pzone and n_material to tab_nzone.

Define the thermal boundary conditions for all walls for the cell, and positive and negative tabs.
1. Set the convection boundary condition for wall_active.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Wall wall_active → Edit...
a. In the Wall dialog box, under the Thermal tab, under Thermal Conditions, enable
Convection.
b. Set Heat Transfer Coefficient to 5 [w/m2K].
c. Retain the default value of 300 [K] for Free Stream Temperature.
You do not need to change the settings under the UDS tab since the boundary condi-
tions for the two UDS scalars have been set automatically when you defined the cell
zone conditions.
2. Copy the boundary conditions for wall_active to wall_p and wall_n.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → wall_active Copy...
a. Make sure that wall_active is selected in the From Boundary Zone list.
b. Select wall_n and wall_p in the To Boundary Zone list.
c. Click Copy, click OK in the confirmation prompt, and close the Copy Conditions dialog
box.

1. Turn off the flow and turbulence equations.
a. In the Equations dialog box, deselect Flow and Turbulence from the Equation selection
list.
b. Click OK.
2. Remove the convergence criteria to ensure that automatic convergence checking does not occur.
a. In the Residual Monitors dialog box, enable Show Advanced Options.
b. Select none from the Convergence Criterion drop-down list.
c. Click OK.
3. Create a surface report definition for the voltage at the positive tab.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Area-Weighted Average
Setup and Solution
a. In the Surface Report Definition dialog box, enter voltage_vp for Name.
b. Select Battery Variables... and Passive Zone Potential from the Field Variable drop-down
lists.
c. From the Surfaces selection list, select tab_p.
d. In the Create group box, enable Report File, Report Plot and Print to Console.
e. Click OK to save the voltage_vp report definition and close the Surface Report Definition
dialog box.
Solution → Monitors → Report Files → voltage_vp-rfile Edit...
i. Enter ntgk-1c.out for File Name.
g. Modify the attributes of the plot axes.
Solution → Monitors → Report Plots → voltage_vp-rplot Edit...
i. In the Edit Report Plot dialog box, under the Plot Window group box, click the Axes...
button to open the Axes dialog box.
ii. Select the X axis and set Precision to 0.
iii. Click Apply.
iv. Select the Y axis and set Precision to 2.
Note:
You must click Apply to save the modified settings for each axis.
vi. Make sure that time-step is selected from the Get Data Every drop-down list.
vii. Click OK to close the Edit Report Plot dialog box.
Setup and Solution
4. Create a volume report definition for the maximum temperature in the domain.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Volume Report → Max...
a. In the Volume Report Definition dialog box, enter max_temp for Name.
c. From the Cell Zones selection list, select all zones.
d. In the Create group box, enable Report File, Report Plot and Print to Console.
e. Click OK to save the volume report definition settings and close the Volume Report
Solution → Monitors → Report Files → max_temp-rfile Edit...
i. Enter max-temp-1c.out for Output File Base Name.
g. Modify the axis attributes by setting the Precision to 0 for the X axis and to 2 for the Y
axes (in a manner similar to the surface plot definition).
h. Click OK.
5. Save the case file (unit_battery.cas.h5).

1. Initialize the field variables using the Standard Initialization method.
a. Retain the selection of the Standard method (Initialization group).
You do not need to modify Initial Values in the Solution Initialization task page, because
these values are not used for initialization. The Ansys Fluent solver automatically computes
the initial condition for UDS0 and UDS1.
Note:
Warning messages are printed in the Fluent console informing you about interior
zones between different solids. Such messages appear when two adjacent solid zones
separated by an interior face type are using two different materials. The message
suggests using the mesh/modify-zones/slit-interior-between-diff-solids text command
to slit the interior zone between solid zones of differing materials to create a wall/wall-
shadow interfaces. In general, the material property interpolation at wall/wall-shadow
is more accurate if different materials are used at two sides of an interface. However,
the battery model is implemented in such a way that both treatments are equivalent,
and such messages could be ignored.
2. Run the simulation.
a. Set Time Step Size to 30 seconds and No. of Time Steps to 100.
b. Click Calculate.
The residual plot, the report for voltage at the positive tab and the history of the maximum
temperature in the domain are shown in Figure 30.5: Residual History of the Simulation (p. 1139),
Figure 30.6: Report Plot of Discharge Curve at 1 C (p. 1139), and Figure 30.7: History of Maximum
Temperature in the Domain (p. 1139), respectively.
Setup and Solution
Figure 30.5: Residual History of the Simulation
Figure 30.6: Report Plot of Discharge Curve at 1 C
Figure 30.7: History of Maximum Temperature in the Domain
3. Save the case and data files (unit_battery.cas.h5 and unit_battery.dat.h5).
In this section, postprocessing capabilities for the MSMD battery model solution are demonstrated.
1. Display the contour plot of the phase potential for the positive electrode.
a. Enter contour-phi+ for Contour Name.
c. From the Contours of drop-down list, select Battery Variables... and Cathode Potential.
d. Click the Toggle Tree View button next to the Surfaces filter and from the drop-down list,
select Surface Type (under Group by).
e. From the Surfaces selection list, under Wall, select wall_active.
Setup and Solution
Note:
To change the precision for the colormap labels, click Colormap Options... to open
the Colormap dialog box, and increase the value of Precision.
Figure 30.8: Contour Plot of Phase Potential for the Positive Electrode
2. In a similar manner, display the contour plot of the phase potential for the negative electrode.
a. Enter contour-phi- for Contour Name.
c. From the Contours of drop-down list, select Battery Variables... and Anode Potential.
d. From the Surfaces selection list, select wall_active.
Setup and Solution
Figure 30.9: Contour Plot of Phase Potential for the Negative Electrode
3. Display a contour plot of the phase potential in the passive zones
a. Enter contour-phi-passive for Contour Name.
c. From the Contours of drop-down list, select User Battery Variables... and Passive Zone
Potential.
d. From the Surfaces selection list, select tab_n, tab_p, wall_n, and wall_p.
Setup and Solution
Figure 30.10: Contour Plot of Phase Potential for Passive Zones
4. Display the contour plot of the temperature.
c. From the Contours of drop-down list, select Temperature... and Static Temperature.
d. Select Wall in the Surfaces selection list.
The surfaces listed under Wall are automatically selected in the Surfaces list.
Setup and Solution
Figure 30.11: Contour Plot of Temperature
5. Display the vector plot of current density.
a. Enter vector-current-dens for Vector Name.
c. In the Vectors dialog box, select current-density-j from the Vectors of drop-down list.
d. Select Battery Variables... and Current Magnitude from the Color by drop-down list.
e. Click the Toggle Tree View button next to the Surfaces filter and from the drop-down list,
select Surface Type (under Group by).
f. From the Surfaces selection list, select Wall.
g. In the Options group, enable Draw Mesh and in the Mesh Display dialog box, set the mesh
display options as desired.
h. Click Save/Display and close the Vectors dialog box.
Setup and Solution
Figure 30.12: Vector Plot of Current Density
6. Save the case file as ntgk.cas.h5. You will use this saved case later to treat electric short-circuits.
7. Repeat the simulation for the following charge rates and time steps:
C-Rate Number of Time Steps

0.5 C 230
5C 23
Make the following changes in the model’s settings:
Setup → Models → Battery Model Edit...
a. In the Battery Model dialog box, under the Model Options tab, specify the value listed in
the above table for the C-Rate.
b. Modify the output filename for the voltage_vp-rfile report file by entering ntgk-C-Rate.out
for Output File Base Name in the corresponding Edit Report File dialog box, where C-Rate
is the value of the battery discharge rate. (For example, for C-Rate = 0.5 C, you will enter ntgk-
0.5c.out for the filename).
c. Similarly, modify the output filename for max_temp-rfile by entering max-temp-C-Rate.out

for Output File Base Name in the corresponding Edit Report File dialog box.
d. Initialize and run the solution for the number of the times steps specified in the above table.
Note:
The Fluent solver will stop either after completing the specified number of time
steps or when the Min. Stop Voltage condition is reached.
8. Display the discharge curves for the positive tab for the different discharge rates.
b. Click Load File... to open the Select File dialog box.
c. Change the Files of type: drop-down filter to All Files (*), select ntgk-0.5c.out and click
OK.
d. Deselect flow-time from the Y Axis Variables selection list.
e. Select voltage_vp in the Legend Names group box, enter 0.5c in the text box that populates
below it and click Change Legend Entry.
f. Do the same for ntgk-1c.out and ntgk-5c.out and change their legend entries accord-
ingly.
g. Enter Discharge Rate for the Legend Label in the Plot group box.
h. Click Plot and close the Plot Data Sources dialog box.
Note:
Use the Axes dialog box to set the precision for the plot axes.
The Figure 30.13: NTGK Model: Discharge Curves (p. 1151) shows the discharge curves for different
discharge rates in the function of time.
Setup and Solution
Figure 30.13: NTGK Model: Discharge Curves
9. In a manner similar to the previous step, load the files max-temp-0.5c.out, max-temp-
1c.out, and max-temp-5c.out and display the maximum temperature curves in the domain.
Figure 30.14: NTGK Model: Maximum Temperature in the Domain (p. 1151) shows the maximum
temperature curves in the simulation for different discharge rates.
Figure 30.14: NTGK Model: Maximum Temperature in the Domain
30.4.5. Simulating the Battery Pulse Discharge Using the ECM Model
1. In the Battery Model dialog box, under E-Chemistry Models, select Equivalent Circuit Model.
2. Under Electrical Parameters, retain the default value of 14.6 Ah for Nominal Cell Capacity.
3. Retain the default selection of Specified C-Rate and enter 1 for C-Rate.
4. Under the Model Parameters tab, retain the battery specific parameters.
For a given battery, these model parameters can be obtained using the battery's HPPC testing
data.
5. Click OK to apply the ECM battery model settings and close the Battery Model dialog box
6. Click OK in the Warning dialog box informing you that the re-initialization of the battery model
is required.
7. In the Solution Initialization task page, click Initialize to re-initialize the field variables.
8. Simulate the battery pulse discharge by changing the battery operating conditions each time
after running the calculation for five minutes.
a. In the Run Calculation task page, make sure that Time Step Size is set to 30, set Number of
Time Steps to 10 and click Calculate.
b. Click Yes to create new report definition files.
c. Once the calculation is complete, set C-Rate in the MSMD Battery Model dialog box to 0 and
run the calculation for 10 more time steps.
d. Continue the simulation by alternating the value of C-Rate between 1 C and 0 C until, until
the battery is fully discharged.
Note:
Instead of doing this manually, you can use the Using Profile option in the MSMD
Battery Model dialog box and load a profile file with specified C-rate fluctuations
to drive the whole process. For more information about the usage of a profile file,
refer to Specifying Battery Model Options in the Ansys Fluent User's Guide.
The battery pulse discharge is summarized in Figure 30.15: Battery Pulse Discharge (p. 1153).
Setup and Solution
Figure 30.15: Battery Pulse Discharge
30.4.6. Using the Reduced Order Method (ROM)

You will use the ntgk.cas.h5 case file that you saved earlier to illustrate how to use the ROM for
time-efficient calculations. This section assumes that you are already familiar with the Ansys Fluent
battery model; only the steps related specifically to using the ROM for problem solution are discussed
here.
1. Read the NTGK model case file ntgk.cas.h5.
2. Initialize the problem.
3. In the Run Calculation task page, make sure that Time Step Size is set to 30, set Number of
Time Steps to 3 and click Calculate.
Click No in the Question dialog box when asked if you would like to append the new data to the
existing file, and then click Yes in the Warning dialog box to overwrite the existing file.
4. Once the calculation is complete, enable the ROM.
a. In the MSMD Method Option group box, select Reduced Order Method.
b. Set Number of Sub-Steps/Time Step to 10 and click OK to close the Battery Model dialog
box.
5. Re-run the simulation continuing from step 2 in Obtaining Solution (p. 1138).
The solution of the simulation using the ROM is significantly faster than when using the direct
method without any changes in results.
30.4.7. External and Internal Short-Circuit Treatment

You will again use the ntgk.cas.h5 case file that you saved earlier to illustrate how to treat external
and internal short-circuits in a battery simulation. It is assumed that the battery is experiencing ex-
ternal and internal short-circuit simultaneously. This extreme case will be used to demonstrate the
problem setup and postprocessing in a short simulation. This section assumes that you are already
familiar with the Ansys Fluent battery model, only the steps related to short simulation are emphasized
here.
30.4.7.1. Setting up and Solving a Short-Circuit Problem

1. Read the NTGK model case file ntgk.cas.h5.
2. Set up the external electric short-circuit.
a. In the Battery Model dialog box, under the Model Options tab, in the Solution Options
group box, enable Specified Resistance.
b. For External Resistance, enter 0.5 Ohm and click OK.
3. Set up the internal electric short-circuit in the center of the battery cell.
a. Mark the short-circuit zone shown in Figure 30.16: Internal Short Circuit Region Marked for
Patching (p. 1155) using the region adaption feature.
Setup and Solution
Figure 30.16: Internal Short Circuit Region Marked for Patching
i. In the Region Register dialog box, enter the following values for Input Coordinates.
X Min X Max Y Min Y Max Z Min Z Max

-0.01 0.01 -0.01 0.02 -1 1
ii. Click Save/Display and close the Region Register dialog box.
Fluent reports in the console that 12 cells were marked for refinement.
4. Initialize the field variables using the standard initialization method.
5. Patch the internal short circuit zone with the short resistance value.
a. In the Patch dialog box, select Battery Short Resistance under Variable.
b. Select region_0 under Registers to Patch.
c. For Value, enter 5.0e-7.
d. Click Patch and close the Patch dialog box.
6. Save the case file (ntgk_short_circuit.cas.h5).
7. Run the simulation for 5 seconds.
a. Set Time Step Size to 1 second and No. of Time Steps to 5.
b. Click Calculate.
8. Save the case and data files (ntgk_short_circuit.cas.h5 and ntgk_short_cir-

cuit.dat.h5).
30.4.7.2. Postprocessing
1. Compute the battery tab voltage .
Setup and Solution
a. In the Surface Integrals dialog box, from the Report Type drop-down list, select Area-
Weighted Average.
b. From the Field Variable drop-down lists, select Battery Variables... and Passive Zone Po-
tential.
c. In the Surfaces filter, type t to display surface names that begin with "t" and select tab_p
from the selection list.
d. Click Compute and close the Surface Integrals dialog box.
The battery tab voltage of approximately 4.077 V is printed in the Area-Weighted Average
field and in the Fluent console.
2. Compute the battery tab current .
a. In the Report Type group box, select Volume Integrals.
b. From the Field Variable drop-down lists, select Battery Variables... and Total Current
Source.
c. From the Cell Zones selection list, select e_zone.
d. Click Compute and close the Volume Integrals dialog box.
Fluent reports in the Total Volume Integral field and in the console that the total volume
integral for the volumetric current source is approximately 8.155 A.
The computed values of the battery tab current and voltage satisfy the tab boundary condi-
tion .
3. Display the vector plot of current at the positive and negative current collectors.
a. Enter vector-current+ for Vector Name.
c. In the Vectors dialog box, select current-density-jp from the Vectors of drop-down list.
d. Select Battery Variables... and Current Magnitude from the Color by drop-down lists.
e. From the Surfaces selection list, select Wall.
The surfaces of the "wall" type are automatically selected in the Surfaces list.
g. The plot shows the vector plot of electric current flow in the positive current collector of
the battery cell.
Setup and Solution
Figure 30.17: The Vector Plots of Current at the Positive Current Collectors
h. In a similar manner, display the current for the negative current collector by selecting current-
density-jn from the Vectors of drop-down list.
The plot shows the vector plots of electric current flow in the negative current collector of
the battery cell. These plots clearly show that besides providing tab current, short current
flows from positive electrode to the negative electrode through the short area.
Figure 30.18: The Vector Plots of Current at the Negative Current Collectors
i. Close the Vectors dialog box.
4. Display the contour plot of the temperature as you did previously.
Results → Graphics → Contours → contour-temp Display
Setup and Solution
a. Figure 30.19: Contour Plot of Temperature
Figure 30.19: Contour Plot of Temperature (p. 1161) shows a temperature hotspot in the internal
shorted area of the battery cell.
5. Check for different electric current flow rates in the manner described in step 2.
a. Generate volume integral reports for the field variables listed in the table below.
Field Variable Notation Reported Value

Short Current Source -15.843 A
ECHEM Current Source 23.999 A
b. Verify that the total produced electric current equals to the sum of tab and short current,
that is .
6. Check for different types of heat generation rates.
a. As you did for the current source reports, generate reports for the field variables listed in
the table below.

Joule Heat Source 0W
Echem Heat Source 1.092 W

Short-Circuit Heat Source 64.607 W
Total Heat Source 65.699 W
b. Verify that the total heat generation rate is the sum of different contributions, that is
.
7. Save the case file (ntgk_short_circuit.cas.h5).
Note that, as battery's temperature increases, thermal runaway may occur. If thermal runaway starts,
some undesirable exothermic decomposition reactions will occur. For thermal runaway simulations,
the default electrochemistry model cannot be used. Short treatment can only capture the thermal
ramp-up process before the onset of thermal runaway.
30.5. Summary
In this tutorial, you studied how to solve a battery cell problem using the NTGK submodel with the
default settings. You then used the ROM to speed up the computation time of the battery model sim-
ulation. In addition, you learned how to use the MSMD model capability to treat external and internal
short-circuits.
For more information about using the Dual-Potential MSMD Battery model, see the Ansys Fluent User's
and Theory Guides.
30.6. Appendix
The battery cell cross-section is shown in the figure below.
References
You can estimate the material properties for your battery cell using the following correlations:
• For density , heat capacity , and thermal conductivity :
where is the effective property value of a material property (such as density, heat capacity, or
thermal conductivity), is the thickness. The subscripts , , and refer to current collector, electrode,
and separator, respectively. The superscripts and refer to positive and negative, respectively.
• For electric conductivity :
The material properties are taken from Kim’s papers [2] and [1]. The computed material properties for
the battery cell presented in the tutorial are shown in the table below.
Zone Total
[um] 20 150 12 145 10 322
[kg/m3] 2700 1500 1200 2500 8960 2092
[J/kg-K] 900 700 700 700 385 678

[W/m-K] 238 5 1 5 398 18.2
[s/m] 3.83e7 13.9 100 6.33e7 = 1.19e6
= 9.83e5
30.7. References
1. U. S. Kim et al, "Effect of electrode configuration on the thermal behavior of a lithium-polymer battery",
Journal of Power Sources, Volume 180 (2), pages 909-916, 2008.
2. U. S. Kim, et al., "Modeling the Dependence of the Discharge Behavior of a Lithium-Ion Battery on
the Environmental Temperature", J. of Electrochemical Soc., Volume 158 (5), pages A611-A618, 2011.
Chapter 31: Simulating a 1P3S Battery Pack Using the
Battery Model
31.1. Introduction
31.2. Prerequisites
31.5. Summary
31.1. Introduction
This tutorial is used to show how to set up a battery pack (battery system connected in parallel/series
pattern) simulation in Ansys Fluent. All the three submodels are available for a pack simulation.
This tutorial illustrates how to do the following:
• Set up a battery pack simulation using the NTGK battery submodel in Ansys Fluent
• Define active, tab, and busbar conductive zones
• Define electric contacts for the contact surface and external connectors
• Define electric conductivity for the active material using the user-defined scalars
• Define electric conductivity for the passive material using the user-defined function
• Obtain the battery pack simulation results and perform postprocessing activities
Most problem setup procedures are similar to the single cell simulation. The differences in the problem
setup will be emphasized in this tutorial.
31.2. Prerequisites

This problem considers a small 1P3S battery pack, that is, the three battery cells connected in series. A
schematic of the problem is shown in Figure 31.1: Schematic of the Battery Pack Problem (p. 1166).
Simulating a 1P3S Battery Pack Using the Battery Model
Figure 31.1: Schematic of the Battery Pack Problem
The discharging process of the battery pack is occurring under constant power of 200 W. The nominal
cell capacity is 14.6 Ah.
You will create a material for the battery cells (an active material) and define the electric conductivity
for the active material using the user-defined scalars (UDS). You will create a material for busbars and
tabs (a passive material) and define the electric conductivity for the passive material using the provided
user-defined function (UDF). You will use the same material for busbars and tabs.
In this tutorial, you will use the NTGK battery submodel to simulate the discharging process under
constant power conditions.

31.4.1. Preparation
31.4.3. Battery Model Setup
31.4.1. Preparation
1. Download the battery_pack.zip file here.
2. Unzip battery_pack.zip to your working directory.
The mesh file 1P3S_battery_pack.msh.h5 can be found in the folder.
Setup and Solution

1. Read the mesh file 1P3S_battery_pack.msh.h5.
When prompted, browse to the location of the 1P3S_battery_pack.msh.h5 and select the
file.
Once you read in the mesh, it is displayed in the embedded graphics windows.
2. Check the mesh.
3. Scale the mesh.
Domain → Mesh → Scale
a. In the Scale Mesh dialog box, select Specify Scaling Factors in the Scaling group.
b. Enter 0.1 for X, Y and Z in the Scaling Factors group.
c. Click Scale and close the Scale Mesh dialog box.
d. Right click in the graphics window and select Refresh Display.
e. Click the Fit to Window icon, , to fit and center the mesh in the graphics window.
4. Check the mesh.
Domain → Mesh → Perform Mesh Check
31.4.3. Battery Model Setup

31.4.3.2. Defining New Materials

1. Enable a time-dependent calculation by selecting Transient in the General task page (Solver
group).
2. Enable the battery model.
Setup and Solution
Physics → Models → More → Battery Model
a. In the Battery Model dialog box, select Enable Battery Model.
The dialog box expands to display the battery model’s settings.
Figure 31.2: Model Options
Once you enable the battery model, the Energy equation will be automatically enabled in
order to solve for the temperature field.
b. Under the Model Options tab (Figure 31.2: Model Options (p. 1169)), configure the following
battery operation conditions:
i. Under E-Chemistry Models, enable NTGK Empirical Model.
ii. In the Electrical Parameters group, retain the default value of 14.6 Ah for Nominal
Cell Capacity.
iii. Select Enable Joule heat in active zones in the Energy Source Options group.
iv. Enable Specified System Power in the Solution Options group and set System Power
to 200 W.
c. Under the Model Parameters tab, retain the default settings for Y and U coefficients.
d. Under the Conductive Zones tab (Figure 31.3: Conductive Zones (p. 1171)), configure the fol-
lowing settings:

Active Components Zone (s) cell_1
cell_2
cell_3
Passive Components Zone (s) n_tabzone_1
n_tabzone_2
n_tabzone_3
p_tabzone_1
p_tabzone_2
p_tabzone_3
bar1
bar2
Setup and Solution
Figure 31.3: Conductive Zones
e. Under the Electric Contacts tab (Figure 31.4: Electric Contacts (p. 1172)), configure the contact
surface and external connector settings as follows:

External Connectors Negative Tab tab_n
Positive Tab tab_p
The corresponding current or voltage boundary condition will be applied to those boundaries
automatically.
Figure 31.4: Electric Contacts
f. Click the Print Battery System Connection Information button.
Ansys Fluent prints the battery connection information in the console window:
Battery Network Zone Information:
-------------------------------------
Battery 1s1p
Active zone: cell_1
Battery 2s1p
Active zone: cell_2
Battery 3s1p
Active zone: cell_3
Passive zone 0:
n_tabzone_1
Passive zone 1:
p_tabzone_1
bar1
n_tabzone_2
Passive zone 2:
p_tabzone_2
bar2
n_tabzone_3
Setup and Solution
Passive zone 3:
p_tabzone_3
-------------------------------------
Number of battery series stages =3; Number of batteries in parallel per series stage=1
****************END OF BATTERY CONNECTION INFO**************
g. Verify that the connection information is correct. If an error message appears or if the con-
nections are not what you want, redefine the conductive zones in the Conductive Zones
tab (Figure 31.3: Conductive Zones (p. 1171)). Repeat this process until you confirm that the
battery connections are set correctly.
Important:
To set a valid connection, you must connect the negative tab to the positive
tab through conductive zones.
h. Click OK to close the Battery Model dialog box.
In the background, Fluent automatically hooks all the necessary UDFs for the problem.
i. Click OK to close the Information dialog box.
31.4.3.2. Defining New Materials

Define the new e_material material for all the battery’s cells and busbar_material material for the
battery pack’s busbars and tabs.
1. Create the electric material.
Setup → Materials → Solid → aluminum Edit...
a. In the Create/Edit Materials dialog box, enter e_material for Name and e for Chemical
Formula.
b. Set Thermal Conductivity to 20.
c. Under Properties, ensure that defined-per-uds is selected from the Electrical Conductivity
drop-down list and click Edit... next to Electrical Conductivity.
d. In the UDS Diffusion Coefficients dialog box, set the constant value of 1.0 e6 for the both
user-defined scalars.
Setup and Solution
i. Select uds-0 in the User-Defined Scalar Diffusion list.
ii. Retain constant from the Coefficient drop-down list.
iii. Set 1.0 e6 [1/ohm-m] for Coefficient.
iv. In a similar way, set uds-1 to 1.0 e6 [1/ohm-m] and click OK to close the UDS
Diffusion Coefficients dialog box.
e. In the Question dialog box, click No to retain aluminum and add the new material (e_ma-
terial) to the materials list.
f. Ensure that e_material (e) is selected from the Fluent Solid Materials drop-down list.
g. Close the Create/Edit Material dialog box.
2. Create the busbar_material material for busbars and tabs by modifying e-material you have
created in the previous step.
Setup → Materials → Solid → e-material Edit...
As stated in the problem description, you will use the same material for busbars and tabs.
Note:
If the busbar and tab materials are different, you need to define the two different
materials and assign them to the busbars and tabs, respectively.
a. In the Create/Edit Materials dialog box, enter busbar_material for Name and bus for
Chemical Formula.
b. Set Thermal Conductivity to 20.
c. Enter a value of 3.541 e7 [1/ohm-m] for Electrical Conductivity.
d. Click Change/Create.
e. In the Question dialog box, click No to retain e_material and add the new material (bus-
bar_material) to the materials list.
f. Ensure that busbar_material (bus) is selected from the Fluent Solid Materials drop-
down list.

Assign e_material to all the cell zones and busbar_material to all the tabs and busbars.
Setup and Solution
1. Assign e_material to the cell_1 cell zone.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → cell_1 → Edit...
a. In the Solid dialog box, select e_material from the Material Name drop-down list.
2. Copy the cell zone condition for the cell_1 zone to the cell_2 and cell_3 cell zones.
Setup → Cell Zone Conditions → cell_1 → Copy...
a. In the Copy Conditions dialog box, select cell_1 in the From Cell Zone list.
b. In the To Cell Zones list, select cell_2 and cell_3.
c. Click Copy.
d. Click OK in the Question dialog box to copy the cell zone conditions and close the Copy
Conditions dialog box.
3. In a similar manner, assign busbar_material to all the tabs and busbars cell zones.

Define the thermal boundary conditions for all walls for the cells, busbars, and tabs. The boundary
conditions for the two UDSs have been set automatically when you defined the cell zone conditions.
1. Set the convection boundary condition for wall-cell_1.
Physics → Zones → Boundaries
a. In the Boundary Conditions task page, select wall-cell_1 and click Edit....
b. In the Wall dialog box, under the Thermal tab, configure the following settings:
i. Under Thermal Conditions, enable Convection.
ii. Set Heat Transfer Coefficient to 5 [w/m2K].
iii. Set Free Stream Temperature to 300 [K].
2. Copy the boundary conditions for wall-cell_1 to wall-cell_2, wall-cell_3 and all the tab
and busbar wall zones (all boundary zones that have names starting with the "wall" string
and containing the "bar" or "tabzone" string).
Setup → Boundary Conditions → wall-cell_1 → Copy...

1. Turn off the flow and turbulence equations.
a. In the Equations dialog box, deselect Flow and Turbulence from the Equation selection
list.
b. Click OK.
2. Remove the convergence criteria to ensure that automatic convergence checking does not occur.
a. In the Residual Monitors dialog box, enable Show Advanced Options.
b. Select none from the Convergence Criterion drop-down list.
c. Click OK.
3. Create a surface report definition for the voltage at the positive tab.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Surface Report → Area-Weighted Aver-

age...
Setup and Solution
a. In the Surface Report Definition dialog box, enter surf-mon-1 for Name.
b. Select Battery Variables... and Passive Zone Potential from the Field Variable drop-down
lists.
c. From the Surfaces selection list, select tab_p.
d. In the Create group box, enable Report Plot and Print to Console.
box.
f. Modify the attributes of the plot axes.
Solution → Monitors → Report Plots → surf-mon-1-rplot Edit...
iii. Click Apply.
Note:
You must click Apply to save the modified settings for each axis.
vi. Ensure that time-step is selected from the Get Data Every drop-down list.
4. Create a volume report definition to monitor the maximum temperature in the domain.
Solution → Reports → Definitions → New → Volume Report → Max...
Setup and Solution
a. In the Volume Report Definition dialog box, enter vol-mon-1 for Name.
c. From the Cell Zones selection list, select all zones.
d. In the Create group box, enable Report Plot and Print to Console.
e. Click OK to save the volume report definition settings and close the Volume Report
f. Modify the attributes of the plot axes.
Solution → Monitors → Report Plots → vol-mon-1-rplot Edit...
iii. Click Apply.
vi. Ensure that time-step is selected from the Get Data Every drop-down list.
5. Save the case file (1P3S_battery_pack.cas.h5).

1. Initialize the field variables using the Standard Initialization method.
a. Retain the selection of Standard from the Initialization Methods group box.
Note:
Warning messages are printed in the Fluent console informing you about interior
zones between different solids. Such messages appear when two adjacent solid
zones separated by an interior face type are using two different materials. The
message suggests using the mesh/modify-zones/slit-interior-between-diff-solids
text command to slit the interior zone between solid zones of differing materials
to create a wall/wall-shadow interfaces. In general, the material property interpol-
ation at wall/wall-shadow is more accurate if different materials are used at two
sides of an interface. However, the battery model is implemented in such a way
that both treatments are equivalent, and such messages could be ignored..
You do not need to modify the Initial Values in the Solution Initialization task page, be-
cause these values are not used for initialization. The Ansys Fluent solver automatically
computes the initial condition for UDS0 and UDS1.
2. Run the simulation.
a. Set Time Step Size to 30 seconds and No. of Time Steps to 50.
b. Click Calculate and run the simulation up to 1500 seconds.
The residual plot, the history of the voltage at the positive tab and the history of the max-
imum temperature in the domain are shown in Figure 31.5: Residual History of the Simula-
Setup and Solution
tion (p. 1183), Figure 31.6: Surface Report Plot of Discharge Curve at 200W (p. 1183), and Fig-
ure 31.7: Volume Report Plot of Maximum Temperature in the Domain (p. 1184), respectively.
Figure 31.5: Residual History of the Simulation
Figure 31.6: Surface Report Plot of Discharge Curve at 200W
Figure 31.7: Volume Report Plot of Maximum Temperature in the Domain
c. Save the case and data files (1P3S_battery_pack.cas.h5 and 1P3S_bat-

tery_pack.dat.h5).
In this section, postprocessing options for the MSMD battery model solution are presented.
1. Display the vector plot of current density.
Setup and Solution
a. Enter vector-current-dens for Vector Name
b. In the Vectors dialog box, select current-density-j from the Vectors of drop-down list.
c. Select Battery Variables... and Current Magnitude from the Color by drop-down list.
select Surface Type (under Group By).
The surfaces of the "wall" type are automatically selected in the Surfaces list.
f. In the Options group, enable Draw Mesh and set the mesh display options as desired.
g. Select arrow from the Style drop-down list.
h. Set Scale to 0.003.
i. Click Vector Options....
i. In the Vector Options dialog box, enable Fixed Length.
All vectors in your plot will be displayed with the same lengths.
ii. Set Scale Head to 0.1.
iii. Click Apply and close the Vector Options dialog box.
j. Click Save/Display and close the Vectors dialog box.
Setup and Solution
Figure 31.8: Vector Plot of Current Density
Note:
Use the Headlight and Lighting display options under the View ribbon tab to
manipulate the graphics display.
2. Display the contour plot of the temperature.
c. From the Contours of drop-down list, select Temperature... and Static Temperature.
select Surface Type (under Group By).
Setup and Solution
Figure 31.9: Contour Plot of Temperature
3. In a similar manner, display the contour of Ohmic heat source.
a. Enter contour-ohmic-source for Contour Name.
c. From the Contours of drop-down list, select Battery Variables... and Joule Heat Source.
d. From the Surfaces selection list, select Wall.
Setup and Solution
Figure 31.10: Ohmic Heat Generation Rate
4. In a similar manner, display the contour of the total heat source.
a. Enter contour-total-source for Contour Name.
c. From the Contours of drop-down list, select Battery Variables... and Total Heat Source.
d. From the Surfaces selection list, select Wall.
Summary
Figure 31.11: Total Heat Generation Rate
5. Save the case file (1P3S_battery_pack.cas.h5).
31.5. Summary
This tutorial has demonstrated the use of the MSMD battery model to perform electrochemical and
heat transfer simulations for battery packs. You have learned how to set up and solve the problem for
the battery pack of the 1P3S configuration using the NTGK Battery submodel. You have also learned
some of the postprocessing capabilities available in the MSMD battery model.
Chapter 32: In-Flight Icing Tutorial Using Fluent Icing
The following sections of this chapter are:
32.1. Fluent Airflow on a Rough NACA0012 Airfoil
32.2. Droplet Impingement on the NACA0012
32.3. Fluent Icing Ice Accretion on the NACA0012
32.4. Postprocessing an Ice Accretion Solution Using CFD-Post Macros
32.5. Multi-Shot Ice Accretion with Automatic Remeshing
32.6. Multi-Shot Ice Accretion With Automatic Remeshing – Postprocessing Using CFD-Post
32.7. FENSAP Airflow on the Clean NACA0012 Airfoil
32.8. FENSAP Airflow Solution on the Rough NACA0012 Airfoil
32.9. Scheduling a Sequence of Runs With Fluent Icing
32.1. Fluent Airflow on a Rough NACA0012 Airfoil

32.1.1. Introduction
32.1.2. Problem Description
32.1.3. Setup and Solution
32.1.4. Summary
The objective of this tutorial is to obtain an airflow solution around a rough NACA0012 airfoil, using
Fluent Icing, that is suitable for icing calculations.
• Setup a rough Fluent airflow on an airfoil.
• Compute the solution.
• Examine the results.

The problem considers the rough flow of air around a NACA0012 airfoil. Since the flow is viscous and
turbulent, grid points have been clustered around the airfoil to better capture the boundary layer
and wake.
In-Flight Icing Tutorial Using Fluent Icing
Figure 32.1: NACA0012 Structured C-Mesh Overview and Close-Up

32.1.3.1. Preparation
32.1.3.2. Setup
32.1.3.3. Solution
32.1.3.4. Post-processing
1. Download the fluent_icing.zip file here.
2. Unzip fluent_icing.zip to your working directory.
3. The file, naca0012.cas.h5, can be found in the folder.
5. In the Fluent Launcher, set the Capability Level to Enterprise, then select Icing.
6. Set Solver Processes between 2 and 4.
7. Click Start.
Alternatively, Fluent Icing can be opened using the icing (on Linux) or icing.bat (on
Windows) file inside the fluent/bin/ folder.
8. Uncheck Use Custom Solver Launch Settings, Show Solution Workspace on Launch,
and Enable Solution Workspace Graphics.
Fluent Airflow on a Rough NACA0012 Airfoil
Project → Workspaces → Options
The graphical user interface (GUI) of Fluent Icing is very similar to Fluent, however there are some
differences such as:
• The ribbon is reduced to only the File, Project, Results tabs and therefore most actions for setting
up your simulation will be performed in the Outline View.
• Individual settings are defined in the Properties window which is accessed by left-clicking an
item in the Outline View.
Note:
Settings in the Properties window are saved as you define them, unlike dialog boxes
which require you to click an OK button.
• The console allows for Python scripting, and can read Python commands from a journal / script
file.
32.1.3.2. Setup
1. Create a new project file.
File → New Project...
2. Enter Fluent_Icing_NACA0012 as the Project file name within the Select File dialog.
3. Select and import the naca0012.cas.h5 input grid.
Project → Simulation → Import Case
A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New Simulation as
naca0012_icing, and check to enable Load in Solver. Click OK.
A dialog will open asking you to set the operating pressure to 0 Pa. Press Yes to accept this
change.
Note:
Absolute pressure is recommended in all icing simulations. Therefore, Fluent Icing

will automatically detect the imported case file, whose operating pressure is not
equal to zero, when importing the case file. See Airflow in the Fluent User's Guide for
more details.
A new simulation folder will be created in the Project View, and the naca0012.cas.h5 file
will be imported.
Figure 32.2: Fluent Icing Workspace
4. After the .cas.h5 file has been successfully loaded, a new Outline View tree appears under
naca0012_icing (loaded).
5. The mesh is now displayed in the Graphics window to the right.
Figure 32.3: NACA0012 Mesh Display
6. Define the Simulation Type.
Setup
Enable Airflow and disable Particles and Ice Simulation Type within the Properties - Setup
panel.
7. Set the Airflow properties for the simulation.
Setup → Airflow
• In the General section:
– Retain the default selection of Fluent for Airflow Solver.
• In the Reference Conditions section, retain the following settings:
– 0.5334 for Characteristic Length [m].
– 102.797 for Speed [m/s].
– 265.67 for Temperature [K].
– 101325 for Pressure [Pa].
• In the Direction section, retain the following settings:
– Angle of attack for Vector Mode.
– Y+ for Lift Direction.
– X+ for Drag Direction.
– 4 for AoA [deg.].
– 0 for Yaw [deg.].
– 102.797 for Vector Magnitude [m/s].
8. Set the Fluent properties for the simulation.
Setup → Fluent Set to Default Air Properties
A dialog will open. Click OK to accept the air properties computed from the current airflow
temperature.
Note:
This automatically sets the air properties, suggested for icing simulations, from the
current reference air temperature. The values of air properties have been computed
using the equations presented in Airflow.
For simplicity, thermal conductivity and viscosity equations are shown below.
where refers to the ambient air static temperature, and , and are
equal to 0.00216176 W/m/K3/2, 288 K and 17.9*10-6 Pa.s, respectively.
Airflow properties under the Materials section are now automatically updated with values
computed from the Reference Conditions under Setup → Airflow.
• In the Solver section:
– Retain the default selection of Pressure-based for Type.
• In the Models section, retain the following settings:
– Enable Energy.
– K-Omega 2-eqn for Turbulence.
– SST for k-omega Model.
– Enable both Viscous Heating and Turb. Production Limiter.
• In the Materials section, retain the following settings:
– Air for Fluid.
– Ideal gas for Density - Option.
– Constant for Cp - Option.
– 1004.69 for Cp [J/kg-K].
– Constant for Thermal Conductivity - Option.
– 0.0234394 for Thermal Conductivity [W/m-K].
– Constant for Dynamic Viscosity - Option.
– 1.68018e-5 for Dynamic Viscosity [kg/m-s].
9. Open the Fluent Workspace.
Project → Workspaces → Solution
A dialog will open advising you that the Fluent Solution Workspace will appear in another
window. Press OK to proceed.
10. Define the Viscous Model.
Setup → Models → Viscous (SST k-omega)
• In the Model Constants section, retain the following settings:
– 0.9 for Energy Prandtl Number.
– 0.9 for Wall Prandtl Number.
Press OK to close this window.
11. Define the Reference Values.
• In the Reference Values section:
– Retain the default value of 0.5334 for Area [m2].
12. Define the Report Definitions.
Solution → Report Definitions
• In the Report Definitions section:
– Select report-drag and press Edit... (To create a new drag report, you can select New →
Force Report → Drag…)
– Retain the default values of 0.99756405, 0.069756474, and 0 for X, Y, and Z for Force
Vector.
– Familiarize yourself with the selections in the Drag Report Definition dialog. Press Cancel
to close this window.
– De-select report-drag, select report-lift, and press Edit... (To create a new lift report, you
can select New → Force Report → Lift…)
– Retain the default values of -0.069756474, 0.99756405, and 0 for X, Y, and Z for Force
Vector.
– Familiarize yourself with the selections in the Lift Report Definition dialog. Press Cancel
Press Close to close the Report Definitions dialog.
13. Modify the Absolute Criteria for convergence.
Solution → Monitors → Residual
• In the Equations section, retain the following settings:
– 1e-06 for all Absolute Criteria entries.
– Enable Monitor and Check Convergence for all Residual fields.
Note:
Since this 3D simulation provides a 2D solution, ensure to uncheck z-velocity

under Monitor and keep Check Convergence enabled.
– Enable Show Advanced Options.
– Enable Scale and Compute Local Scale.
– Set Report Option to local scaling.
14. Maximize the Fluent Icing graphical user interface and close the Fluent Workspace.
15. Set the Boundary Conditions for your simulation.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlets → pressure-far-field-4
• In the Airflow section:
– Select Edit under the Conditions drop-down list.
– Press Import Ref. Conditions to import the reference conditions of the case file.
– Retain all default selections and values under the Airflow section.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Walls → wall-5
– Retain the default selection of Temperature for Thermal Conditions.
– Select High roughness for Icing under the Wall Roughness drop-down list.
– Set Roughness Height [m] to 0.0005.
– Press on Temp. Adiabatic+10 to ensure a temperature value (adiabatic temperature + 10

degree) is imposed on the wall.
– Repeat the steps above for wall-6 and wall-7.
Note:
To perform a simulation of a clean airflow solution:
Set Roughness Height [m] to 0.
16. Set the Solution properties of your simulation.
Solution → Airflow
• In the Time Integration section:
– Set Number of Iterations to 400.
– Select CFL under the Method drop-down list.
– Retain the default value of 50 for Courant Number.
• In the Initialization section:
– Select Hybrid under the Method drop-down list.
• In the Post-processing Output section:
– Retain the default selection of Disabled for Write Post-processing Files.
17. Launch the simulation.
Solution → Airflow → Calculate
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to flow_rough.
18. Once the computation is complete, the Airflow solution file, will be written inside the new run
directory, naca0012_icing/flow_rough.
32.1.3.3. Solution
1. Take a look at the convergence history of this simulation in the Plots window located at the
right of your screen. By default, the Plots window shows all Residuals of the governing equations
at each iteration. It is possible to show the residual of a given governing equation by selecting
the governing equation next to Curve located at the top of the Plots window. If other reports
Reports have been defined in the original case file, they will appear as an option next to Curve.
In this tutorial, the input case file contained lift and drag coefficient reports. Examine the con-
vergence of these coefficients listed as report-lift and report-drag. Lift and drag coefficients
have converged to 4.0570e-01 and 1.9850e-02 respectively.
The following three figures show the convergence of residuals and lift and drag coefficients.
Figure 32.5: Convergence of Lift and Drag Coefficients of the Clean Airfoil
Figure 32.6: The Residual Values
Access the Quick-View options to better visualize the results of your simulation.
Results → Quick-View
1. Visualize the convective heat flux over the NACA0012 airfoil.
Results → Quick-View → Contour → Heat Flux (Walls)
Figure 32.7: Convective Heat Flux Over the Rough NACA0012 Airfoil
2. A new quick-view-1 node is created in the Outline View which allows you to modify your heat
flux properties.
Results → Contours → quick-view-1
Droplet Impingement on the NACA0012
3. Modify your heat flux properties until you are satisfied with your view. Press Display to display
the solution in the Graphics window. Press on Save Image... to save your solution to an image
file.
32.1.4. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to obtain an airflow solution around a rough NACA0012 airfoil, using
Fluent Icing, that is suitable for icing calculations.
32.2. Droplet Impingement on the NACA0012

The objectives of this tutorial are to compute the droplet concentration around the NACA0012 airfoil
and to compare the collection efficiency of a monodispersed droplet simulation to a statistically-distrib-
uted droplet diameter solution. Completion of Fluent Airflow on a Rough NACA0012 Airfoil (p. 1195) is
required before continuing.
In a monodispersed droplet calculation, a single droplet diameter represents the icing cloud that the
aircraft is flying in. In reality, icing clouds never contain only one size of droplets; but a distribution of
droplet sizes. When running a single droplet diameter, the median volumetric diameter (MVD) of the
droplets in the cloud is chosen as the monodispersed value. If a more accurate droplet solution is
needed, then a distribution of droplet sizes can be solved for, where the MVD of this distribution matches
that of the cloud.
You are invited to read Setting-up a Fluent Icing Simulation for more information on how to set up the
input parameters of droplets and/or crystals.
Note:
If you closed your Fluent Icing session since the completion of the last tutorial, you must
reopen your project and load your previous simulation and settings. To do this, open Fluent
Icing, select Project → Open..., and navigate to and select your FLU-
ENT_ICING_NACA0012.flprj project file. Once the project is opened, right-click the
naca0012_icing simulation folder, and select Load in Solver. The simulation will be opened,
and your window display will switch to the Outline View, with a simulation tree appearing
under naca0012_icing (loaded). To ensure that you are working from the most recent set-
tings, go back to the Project View, right-click the flow_rough run, and select Load Settings.
Particle simulation requires an airflow solution, therefore, to ensure that the solution of
flow_rough is properly loaded into Fluent Icing, in Project View, right-click the out.dat.h5
file under flow_rough and select Load. Finally, go back to the Project tab to continue with
the tutorial.
32.2.1. Monodispersed Calculation

In this section, you will learn how to set-up and launch a monodispersed droplet simulation using
Fluent Icing.
1. Select Project in the top ribbon and go to the Outline View. Select Setup under naca0012_icing
(loaded). In its Properties window, make sure that Airflow and Particles are checked and uncheck
Ice.
Note:
Setup, Solution and Results settings of the airflow around the NACA0012 have already
been setup in In-Flight Icing Tutorial Using Fluent Icing (p. 1195). Therefore, they do not
need to be updated.
2. Under Setup → Particles, activate Droplets in Type. Leave the other options unchecked.
3. Go to Droplets, inside Setup → Particles. In the properties window of Droplets,
• Under Droplet Conditions, set the LWC [kg/m3] to 0.00055 and the Droplet Diameter
[microns] to 20.
• Under Particles Distribution, keep Monodispersed since you will conduct a water catch sim-
ulation using a single droplet size.
• Under Model, keep Water as the Droplet Drag Model. This is the default drag law for droplet
particles.
4. Under Setup → Boundary Conditions, expand Inlets and go to pressure-far-field-4 and make
sure that, in its properties window, under Particles, From Ref. Conditions is selected and Droplet
Velocity Vector remains unchecked. The From Ref. Conditions option will apply the Droplet
Conditions, located inside the Properties - Droplets window, at the inlet of the pressure-far-
field-4, in this case, the LWC and the MVD. If Droplet Velocity Vector remains unchecked, the
airflow velocity is imposed as the droplet velocity at the inlet. The relative velocity between air
and droplets is considered to be zero at far-field. Keep the Case settings selected under the Airflow
→ Conditions.
Note:
When configuring particle flow simulations, boundary conditions are only specified at
inlets.
5. Under Solution → Particles, set 300 as the Number of Iterations under Run Settings. Keep the
default settings in Solver and Initialization.
Note:
Inside Initialization, From Airflow conditions uses the airflow direction specified in
Setup → Airflow as the initial velocity of droplets.
6. Right-click Particles under Solution and choose Calculate to launch the droplet particle simulation
in standalone mode. A new window will appear requesting a name for the new run. Name the
new run droplets_mvd.
The calculation stops when the convergence level reaches the convergence limits set on the Re-
sidual cut-off and on the Change in total beta. Otherwise, the simulation continues until it
reaches 300 iterations. In the Plots window, you can look at Residuals, Droplets – Residual –
Average, Droplets – Residual – LWC, Droplets – Residual – Momentum, etc. curves and the
Droplets -Total Beta and Droplets - Change in Total Beta convergence curves.
Figure 32.8: Convergence of Residuals: Momentum, LWC and Average Residuals
Figure 32.9: Convergence of Total Beta and Change in Total Beta Curves
Often the solution in the wake of the droplet flow is still converging while the impingement at
the surfaces is fully converged. If you wish to converge the wake and the shadow zones further,
the Residual cut-off of the Properties - Particles panel under Solution should be reduced and
the Number of Iterations should be increased. The droplet wake is usually not of interest and it
is sufficient to achieve convergence of the total beta alone.
7. When calculations are completed, you may use Quick-View to view the results. Go to the ribbon
bar of your Fluent Icing window and, under Results → Quick-View → Contour, choose Collection
Efficiency (Walls) to output the water catch of the monodispersed droplets over the NACA0012.
See Figure 32.10: Collection Efficiency of Monodispersed Droplets over a NACA0012 (p. 1222).
Figure 32.10: Collection Efficiency of Monodispersed Droplets over a NACA0012
8. Repeat these steps to output the LWC around the NACA0012. Blue contours define the shadow
zone where there is an absence of water droplets. See Figure 32.11: LWC of Monodispersed Droplets
Around a NACA0012 (p. 1223).
Figure 32.11: LWC of Monodispersed Droplets Around a NACA0012
9. Select Project from the ribbon menu. Notice that naca0012_icing (loaded) simulation now contains
the droplets_mvd run which contains the final Droplets solution. In addition to Quick-View, you
can also open the results in Viewmerical from the Project View. Right-click the Droplets solution
and select View Results With… → Viewmerical. A Viewmerical window will appear allowing you
to further post-process the droplet results.
Note:
The Droplets solution, shown in the Project View, is a link to a file on the disk. This
link points to the filename naca0012.droplet. To show the filenames as they appear
on the disk, you may right-click Name under Project View and select Show filenames.
Repeat these steps to disable Show filenames before continuing with this tutorial.
10. Before you move on to the next tutorial, go back to the Project tab.
Caution:
Do not close Fluent Icing.
32.2.2. Langmuir-D Distribution

There are several cloud droplet size distributions that have been published in the literature. The dis-
tributions published by Langmuir have been used by NACA to determine the MVDs currently listed
in Appendix C, which is used for icing certification of aircraft. Advisory Circular No 20-37A from FAA
suggests using Langmuir-D distribution for MVDs up to 50 microns. For more details on these distri-
butions, you can consult the Advisory Circular, and also the book by Irving Langmuir, The Collected
Works of Irving Langmuir (New York, Pergamon Press, 1960).
The most important reason for considering an analysis using a distribution is that there are droplets
larger than the MVD in the distribution, which can impinge further back on the top and bottom of
the airfoil, creating a thin but rough layer of ice that can have adverse effects on aerodynamics and
control. In this case, solutions for each droplet size of a given distribution are calculated separately.
The final solution is then created as a composite of all solutions using weights on each droplet size.
In this tutorial, you will use the set-up created in Monodispersed Calculation (p. 1218) as a starting
point.
1. Without closing the previous Fluent Icing session (Monodispersed Calculation (p. 1218)), in the
Outline View panel, go to Setup → Particles → Droplets. In the Properties - Droplets window,
under Particles Distribution, set Droplet Distribution to Langmuir D.
Note:
The current version of Fluent Icing supports pre-defined droplet size distributions
(Langmuir B to E). User defined distributions are not yet supported. Below is a repres-
entation of a Langmuir D distribution and the droplet diameters that are used to rep-
resent this distribution. This figure is taken from FENSAP-ICE native user interface and
is currently unavailable in the Fluent Icing user interface.
In the figure above, the droplet diameters are on the horizontal axis, and the weights (the percent-
age of droplets of a given diameter contained in the cloud) are on the vertical axis. The individual
weights are shown with the blue curve, and the overall sum, cumulative weight, is shown with
the red curve. On the red curve, the data points are plotted at the mid-range of their cumulative
weight intervals. For example, the 20 microns droplet, which happens to be the MVD, covers the
cumulative weight range of 35% to 65% and it is therefore plotted at 50% cumulative weight on
the red curve.
A Particle droplet simulation is run for each droplet size shown in the above table.
2. Go to Solution → Particles, in its properties window, check Save Distribution Solutions under
Output.
This will allow you to save a droplet solution for each droplet size simulated. Otherwise, only the
combined solution of the distribution is saved. Keep all the other settings the same.
3. Right-click Particles under Solution, choose Calculate to run the calculation. A window will appear
asking if you would like to continue the current run. Choose No. A new run window will appear.
Set the Name of the new run to droplets_langd. Individual runs will be executed one after
the other, and the results will be combined.
4. When calculations are completed, you may use Quick-View to view the results. Go to the ribbon
bar of your Fluent Icing window and, under Results → Quick-View → Contour, choose Collection
Efficiency to output the water catch of the Langmuir D droplet distribution over the NACA0012.
See Figure 32.12: Collection Efficiency of Droplets with Langmuir-D Distribution over a
NACA0012 (p. 1225).
Figure 32.12: Collection Efficiency of Droplets with Langmuir-D Distribution over a NACA0012
5. Repeat these steps to easily output the LWC around the NACA0012. Blue contours define the
shadow zone, absence of water droplets. See Figure 32.13: LWC of Droplets with Langmuir-D Dis-
tribution Around a NACA0012 (p. 1226).
Figure 32.13: LWC of Droplets with Langmuir-D Distribution Around a NACA0012
6. Select Project from the ribbon menu. Notice that naca0012_icing (loaded) simulation now contains
the droplets_langd run. This run has a combined Droplets solution as well as each individual
Droplets solution located in numbered folders o-01 to o-07.
7. To link each numbered droplet solution to a droplet size of the Langmuir D distribution, in the
Project ribbon, select Project → View Options → Select Columns.... A Project window appears.
Click the + sign beside Metadata to expand the list of parameters associated to each run and
solution. Scroll-down and select Droplets::D-Diam and click OK. A D-Diam column appears next
to Name inside the Project panel. This column clearly identifies the droplet diameter used to
obtain each solution.
Note:
In addition to Quick-View, you may open the results in Viewmerical from the Project
View. To display the combined droplet solution in Viewmerical, right-click the Droplets
solution file and select View Results With… → Viewmerical. Alternatively, to display
an individual droplet solution file, right-click the o-0*/Droplets file of your choice and
select View Results With… → Viewmerical. A Viewmerical window will appear allowing
you to further post-process the droplet results.
8. Before you move on to the next tutorial, go back to the Project panel.
Caution:
Do not close Fluent Icing if you would like to proceed with the next section.
32.2.3. Post-Processing Using Viewmerical

To complement the built-in post-processing, Ansys distributes Viewmerical and CFD-Post with the
installation package. In this tutorial, you will use Viewmerical to post-process your droplet results. In
the next tutorial, you will use CFD-Post to post-process your icing results.
Viewmerical is a light-weight graphical display tool specifically designed for in-flight icing solutions
and applications. Viewmerical can display solution field contours, velocity vectors, planar cuts through
the volumes, 2D graphs of variables, streamlines, etc. This tutorial will demonstrate some basic features
of Viewmerical while comparing the two droplet solutions obtained in the previous sections.
1. In Project View, right-click the naca0012_icing → droplets_langd → Droplets solution and

choose View Results With... → Viewmerical. A message may appear asking if you would like to
append this solution to a previously opened Viewmerical display. Click New Instance.
2. The program will launch and show an isometric display of the entire grid showing the first solution
field, Droplet LWC, of the combined Langmuir D solution.
3. Rename this dataset by double-clicking the original name, data-naca0012.droplet. A Rename

dataset window appears, write LangD in the text box.
4. Go to the Data tab and then change the Color range to Spectrum 2 – 16.
5. Align the view angle with the Z-symmetry plane by right-clicking the 3D axes on the lower left,
and by choosing Top (Z). Alternatively, you can left-click the Z axis itself.
6. Zoom in on the airfoil. You can use Ctrl + left-click to draw a zoom box, or scroll the mouse wheel
to zoom in and middle-click to pan.
7. Change the font of your legend to bold. Click on the top left corner of the window and select
Command window; then type BIGFONTS in the command line of the 3dview console and hit
Enter. The legend fonts now become bold.
8. Using the Camera icon on the upper left corner, you can take a snapshot of the solution window
to capture the following image.
Figure 32.14: LWC of a Langmuir D Droplet Cloud over a NACA0012 at an AoA of 4 Degrees,
Showing the Shadow Zone (Blue Region)
Examine the LWC distribution in the area close to the airfoil. The blue region is called the shadow
zone, where no droplets exist. In between the shadow zone and the free stream, there are bands
of high LWC concentrations which are the enrichment zones forming due to the constriction of
stream tubes in the continuum domain. These features can be of special interest for downstream
aircraft components.
9. Go to the Data tab and choose Collection efficiency-Droplet. Collection efficiency is only displayed
on the walls of your geometry. Go to the Objects tab and uncheck BC_1004 and BC_4300 to
display the collection efficiency distribution only on the walls (BC_2005, BC_2006, BC_2007, and
BC_2008).
Use the left mouse button to rotate, the middle mouse button to pan, and the right-mouse button
to zoom in the airfoil surface to obtain the following figure.
Figure 32.15: Collection Efficiency of a Langmuir D Droplet Cloud on the Surface of the Airfoil
at an AoA of 4 Degrees
10. For a more in-depth quantitative view, it would be possible to create 2D data plots using View-
merical. Click the Query tab and enable 2D Plot.
Change the Cutting plane to Z and the horizontal axis to Y.
On the lower right corner of Viewmerical, you can directly modify data sets and solution fields.
Leave them as they are now.
11. The color and thickness of the data curve displayed in the graph can be changed by left-clicking
the cube menu located on the top right and by choosing Curve Settings. Set the curve color to
red and the curve widths to 2 and press OK.
Finally, the following 2D plot is generated.
Figure 32.16: Collection Efficiency of a Langmuir D Droplet Cloud on the Surface of the Airfoil
at an AoA of 4 Degrees
The maximum beta occurs at the stagnation point, just below the leading edge in this case. The
points on the upper and lower surfaces where beta becomes zero are the impingement limits. In
rime icing cases, all the water that impinges is frozen instantly, therefore icing limits are the same
as the impingement limits. In glaze icing, water can runback and freeze past the impingement
limits. Maximum beta is usually no more than 1.0, and reduces as the droplet flow becomes tangent
to the surface.
12. To save data points of this collection efficiency distribution, go to the cube menu on the top right
and choose Save one file. A new window pops up to browse and name the file that should contain
these data points.
13. You can also open and compare several solution files using Viewmerical. Let’s display simultaneously
all 7 droplet size solutions obtained in Langmuir-D Distribution (p. 1223).
14. Go to Project View. Under the run droplets_langd, right-click its o-01/Droplets file and select
View Results with... → Viewmerical.
15. A message appears asking if you would like to append this solution to a previously opened
Viewmerical display. Click Append.
16. Inside Viewmerical, rename this new object by double-clicking its original name in the Object
window and enter LangD-01-44.4um in the window Rename dataset, where 01 indicates the
droplet solution number and 44.4um is the droplet diameter of the droplet solution.
Note:
The droplet diameter of each droplet solution is shown in D-Diam column of the
Project panel of the naca0012_icing (loading) simulation. See step 6 of Langmuir-
D Distribution (p. 1223).
17. Repeat steps 14 to 16 to load the remaining droplet solutions from o-02/Droplets to o-07/Droplets.
Note:
Alternatively, it is possible to bring each droplet solution by going to the run

droplets_langd folder and by uploading each one of them from Viewmerical. To
do this in Viewmerical, perform the following steps:
• Click the button located at the right corner of the Object panel. A window
appears to load a pair of files, a grid file and its solution file.
• Click the folder icon of Grid file and select the naca0012.grid file located
inside your project and simulation directory FLU-
ENT_ICING_NACA0012/naca0012_icing/.
• Click the folder icon of Solution file (optional) and select the
naca0012.droplet.01 file located inside your project, simulation and run
directories /FLU-
ENT_ICING_NACA0012/naca0012_icing/droplets_langd.
• Press the Load button. A new data set is added to the Object panel. Rename
this dataset by double-clicking its original name and enter LangD-01-44.4um
in the window Rename dataset, where 01 indicates the droplet solution number
and 44.4um is the droplet diameter of the droplet solution.
• Repeat these steps for the remaining droplet solutions from naca0012.droplet.02
to naca0012.droplet.07.
18. In Viewmerical, go to the Objects panel, uncheck LangD.
19. Go to the Data panel and click Shared located under Color range. Switch the Data field to Col-
lection efficiency- Droplet.
20. Go to the Query tab, enable 2D plot, and switch the Cutting plane to Z. The graph should display
8 individual beta distributions. Click LangD, to disable the LangD curve from the 2D plot. You
can change the color and thickness of the data curve displayed in the graph via the cube menu
on the top right and by choosing Curve Settings. You can also draw a zoom box by Shift + left-
click.
Figure 32.17: Collection Efficiency on the Surface of the Airfoil at an AoA of 4 Degrees,
Langmuir D Droplet Solutions
The curve with the lowest beta corresponds to the smallest droplet size (LangD-07-6.2 µm), and
the one with the largest beta corresponds to the largest droplet size (LangD-01-44.4.µm). Smallest
droplets are less ballistic, tend to follow the air flow and avoid the aircraft therefore reducing their
collection efficiency and impingement limits. Larger droplets are more ballistic and they do not
tend to follow the airflow. Therefore, their collection efficiency and impingement are usually
higher than the smallest droplets. In general, this information is crucial to properly design the IPS
power requirements and coverage.
Note:
The difference between beta curves of different droplet sizes become more pronounced
as the aircraft surface size increases. The effect can be dramatic on large blunt surfaces
like fuselage noses or radomes where the contribution from the smaller size droplets
can be negligible if compared to the largest ones. As a result, the composite or com-
bined solution of a Langmuir simulation can be very different from the solution of the
MVD.
21. To compare the LangD result to that of the monodispersed (MVD), go to the Objects panel, check
LangD and uncheck all the other LangD-* objects.
22. Go to Project View. Under the run droplets_mvd, right-click its Droplets file and select View
Results with... → Viewmerical.
23. A message appears asking if you would like to append this solution to a previously opened
Viewmerical display. Click Yes.
24. Inside Viewmerical, rename this new object by double-clicking its original name in the Object
window and enter MVD in the window Rename dataset.
25. Go to the Query tab, enable 2D plot, and switch the Cutting plane to Z. The graph should display
9 individual beta distributions. click LangD-01-44.4um to LangD-07-6.2um to disable these curves
from the 2D plot. Change the color of the MVD to red and of the LangD to blue via the cube
menu on the top right and by choosing Curve Settings. Set their width to 2. You can also draw
a zoom box by Shift + left-click.
Figure 32.18: Collection Efficiency on the Surface, Langmuir D vs. Monodisperse
The LangD solution is fairly close to that of the MVD. The impingement limits of the Langmuir D
solution will always be further back due to the inclusion of larger droplets in the distribution. The
maximum beta of the composite is lower than the MVD here. This is not always the case. Based
on the size and shape of the impingement surface, the Langmuir D solution can have a maximum
beta that is several times higher than the MVD. In this case, however, the results of the MVD and
the distribution are close.
26. You will now compare the LWC of the largest and smallest droplet of a Langmuir D distribution.
Go to the Objects panel, uncheck LangD and MVD objects and check LangD-01-44.4um (largest
droplets) and LangD-07-6.2um (smallest droplets).
27. On the lower right corner of Viewmerical, change Collection efficiency-Droplet to Droplet LWC
(kg/m^3).
28. Select LangD-01-44.4um in the Objects panel and choose Horizontal-Left under Split screen
menu.
29. Go to the Data tab and change the color range to Spectrum 2 –16.
30. Align the view angle with the Z-symmetry plane and zoom in to capture the following image:
Figure 32.19: LWC Distribution and Shadow Zones for 44.4 Micron Droplets (Left) and 6.2
Micron Droplets (Right)
Observe the difference in the shadow zones. The smallest droplets follow the airfoil very closely
but avoiding it while the largest droplets barely change their path and hit almost straight on,
leaving a larger shadow zone.
32.3. Fluent Icing Ice Accretion on the NACA0012

The objective of this tutorial is to compute ice accretion and water runback on the NACA0012 airfoil at
different icing temperatures. Icing temperature refers to the free stream air temperature at which the
icing is to be computed. Inside Ice, this temperature can be different than what was used for the airflow
free stream temperature. Indeed, the formulation of the heat fluxes in Ice allows you to use an air
solution obtained at a temperature different than the intended icing temperature. In this manner, sev-
eral icing temperatures can be investigated using the same airflow solution.
Note:
The option to change icing air temperature in icing parameters is provided as a quick
method to obtain different ice shapes with different ambient temperatures. It should be
Fluent Icing Ice Accretion on the NACA0012
understood that this method is not identical in terms of accuracy to running air and droplet
flows independently for each of those temperatures. Change in ambient air temperature
would result in a proportional change in air density which would change the momentum
transfer between air and particles. This would ultimately affect particle flow paths and collec-
tion efficiency. For internal flows, where particle thermal equation and/or vapor transport is
enabled, icing air temperature should be kept the same as the reference air temperature.
You are invited to read Ice and Walls within the Fluent User's Guide for more information on how to
set up the input parameters of the Ice module.
This tutorial will begin as a continuation of Monodispersed Calculation (p. 1218), so the monodispersed
droplet solution and settings must be loaded.
1. Select Project from the top ribbon menu. To load the settings from the monodispersed run, right-
click the droplets_mvd folder and select Load Settings. To load the monodispersed solution, from
the left side panel, right-click the droplets_mvd → Droplets solution file and select Load.
Note:
reopen your project and load your previous simulation and settings. To do this, open
Fluent Icing, select Project → Open..., and navigate to and select your FLU-
ENT_ICING_NACA0012.flprj project file. Once the project is opened, right-click the
naca0012_icing simulation folder, and select Load in Solver. The simulation will be
opened, and your window display will switch to the Outline View, with a simulation tree
appearing under naca0012_icing (loaded). Once this is done, continue with step 1.
2. Under Outline View, select Setup under naca0012_icing (loaded). In its Properties - Setup window,
make sure that Airflow, Particles and Ice are checked.
3. Under Setup → Ice,
• In Ice Accretion Conditions,
– Check Specify Icing Air Temperature to simulate an icing temperature that is different than
the reference/far-field air temperature.
– Set the Icing Air Temperature [K] to 248.15 K (-25 °C).
• In Model,
– Make sure that Icing Model is set to Glaze.
• Leave the other settings as default.
4. In general, there is nothing to set in the Boundary Conditions of Ice unless icing is to be turned
off on certain surfaces to reduce computational effort or sink boundaries are to be declared. Examine
the options available for each wall without making any changes.
5. Go to Solution and inside the Properties - Solution window, change Log Verbosity to Complete
to output extra execution and post-processed data in the Console window.
6. Go to the Solution → Ice,
• Under Time, keep the Total Time of Ice Accretion [s] at 420 seconds and the Automatic Time
Step option checked. The Ice feature in Fluent Icing is an explicit time-accurate code where the
stability of the solution strongly depends on the value of the time step. The automatic time
stepping option calculates the optimal stable time step at every iteration, which can change
greatly depending on the size of the geometry and the mesh density.
7. Right-click Ice under Solution and choose Calculate to run the calculation. A window will appear.
Name the new run ice_mvd_m25C.
8. After the simulation is complete, an Ice solution will be saved in the ice_mvd_m25C run folder.
Note:
The Ice solution, shown in the Project View, inside the ice_mvd_m25c run, is a link to
a file on the disk. This link points to the filename naca0012.swimsol. To show the fi-
lenames as they appear on disk, you may right-click Name under Project View and select
Show Filenames. Repeat these steps to disable Show Filenames before continuing with
this tutorial.
Look through the Console window of naca0012_icing. The accumulated time, value of the time
step, total impingement, film, and mass of ice are printed at selected iterations. Heat flux and ice
mass per wall boundary condition are listed in the following two tables. Finally, energy and mass
conservation tables are printed. Most of the items in these tables are self-explanatory except perhaps
mass of clipped film and runback flux. Clipped film refers to any film that is removed by sink
boundaries and on certain nodes which collect and shed water (trailing edges, wing and blade tips,
etc.) that are detected automatically. Runback flux is the sum of all edge fluxes in the domain which
will be equal to the film removed by sink boundaries, or close to zero (mass conservation).
Figure 32.20: Mass Conservation Table Printed in the Log File of Fluent Icing
9. Cycle through the Plots window. By changing the Curve type, you will observe the progress of the
total mass of ice, the change in instantaneous ice growth, water film thickness, and ice surface
temperature with time. Since the input flow and droplet solutions are steady-state solutions, the
icing solutions will eventually reach a steady-state where instantaneous ice growth, water film
thickness, and ice surface temperature do not change after a while.
10. Go to the Ribbon menu and select Results. In Quick-View, click Ice Cover → Ice Cover - Viewmer-
ical to see the ice shape and the original surface in Viewmerical. If a window appears asking if you
would like to append to a previously opened Viewmerical display, choose New instance.
Alternatively, the ice cover solution can be loaded by going to the Project View, right-clicking Ice
located in the ice_mvd_m25C run and selecting View Results With… → Viewmerical. A window
will appear, select Ice Cover as the view type. If a window appears asking if you would like to append
to a previously opened Viewmerical display, choose New Instance.
You can change the Metallic + Smooth option to other choices in the Object box to see the wire-
frame profiles and the surface meshes. In the Data panel, you can adjust the Ice thickness threshold
based on ice growth to reduce display interlacing due to the overlapping of iced and clean surfaces.
Figure 32.21: Ice View in Viewmerical Showing Shaded + Wireframe, -25 °C
At -25 °C (248.15 K), the result is a pure rime ice shape.
11. Do not close the Fluent Icing session. You will now run two more calculations at warmer temperatures.
12. In the Outline View panel, select Setup → Ice and, in Ice Accretion Conditions, check Specify
Icing Air Temperature and set the Icing Air Temperature [K] value to 263.15 K (-10 °C).
13. Right-click Ice under Solution and click Calculate to run the calculation. A window will appear.
Name the new run ice_mvd_m10C.
14. Repeat steps 12 to 13. This time with an Icing Air Temperature [K] value of 265.67 K (-7.48 °C),
same as the airflow Temperature [K] in Setup → Airflow → Conditions. Name this run
ice_mvd_m7p5C.
Note:
This -7.48 °C run is conducted at the same temperature as the airflow simulation. This is
the standard usage of Fluent Icing, and most icing simulations will be run in this manner.
Since the icing air temperature is equivalent to the airflow simulation temperature, you
can alternatively uncheck Icing Air Temperature [K] to disable it and Fluent Icing will
use the airflow simulation temperature by default.
15. Now that there are 3 different ice shapes computed, you will analyze them using Quick-View. Go
to the Ribbon menu and select Results. In Quick-View, click Ice Cover → Ice Cover – Viewmerical.
This opens the ice solution calculated in the previous simulation.
Figure 32.22: Ice View in Viewmerical Showing Metallic + Smooth, -7.5 °C
16. Rename this object by double-clicking its original name in the Object window and enter Ice -
7.5C in the window Rename dataset.
17. To load the -10 °C and -25 °C solutions, go to Project View. Under the ice_mvd_m10C run, right-
click Ice file and select View Results With... → Viewmerical.
18. A message appears asking if you would like to append this solution to a previously opened View-
merical display. Click Append.
19. A second message appears asking you to select the view type. In this case, select Ice cover as you
are going to compare the ice shapes produced by our simulations.
20. Inside Viewmerical, rename this new object by double-clicking its original name in the Object window
and enter Ice - 10C in the window Rename dataset.
21. Repeat steps 17 to 20 for the remaining ice shape, ice_mvd_m25C.
22. Click the Lock button at the bottom right of the data set list window located in the Objects
panel to enable all the grids in the 2D plot.
23. Go to the Query panel and enable the 2D plot. Change the Cutting plane to Z and Mode to
Geometry. At the bottom left of the 2D Plot window, set the horizontal axis to X. Change the color
and thickness of the curves by right-clicking the cube menu on the top right and then by choosing
the Curve Settings menu.
Note:
In this case, since all simulations were executed using a single ice accretion quasi-steady
shot, each *-map curve represents the geometry of the NACA0012.
Figure 32.23: Ice Shapes at -25, -10, and -7.5 C
At -25 °C (248.15 K), the cooling effects are large, and all droplets freeze almost instantly producing
a rime ice shape. This shape generally resembles the original airfoil profile and can be considered
somewhat aerodynamic. As the icing temperature increases, more water can run back away from
the stagnation zone and freeze where cooling effects become more predominant. This mechanism
initiates the growth of ice horns on the upper and lower sides of the airfoil. These geometric features
are common in glaze icing conditions and induce flow separation. Therefore they dramatically change
the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil.
To properly capture the shape of the ice horns, a multishot computation is recommended where
the grid, air and droplet solutions are updated at certain time intervals.
24. Finally, you will compare the film height of the three solutions. To do this, uncheck all Ice* objects
located in the Objects panel of Viewmerical.
25. Go back to the Project View. Under the run ice_mvd_m7p5C, right-click its Ice file and select View
Results With... → Viewmerical.
26. A message appears asking if you would like to append this solution to a previously opened View-
merical display. Click New Instance. A new Viewmerical window will be used to compare the solution
values.
27. A second message appears asking you to select the view type. In this case, select Ice solution as
you are going to compare the solution fields of our ice simulations.
28. Inside Viewmerical, rename this new object by double-clicking its original name in the Object window
and enter -7.5C in the window Rename dataset.
29. Repeat steps 25 to 28 for the remaining run folders, ice_mvd_m10C and ice_mvd_m25C. However,
this time select Yes to append these solutions to the previous solution.
30. In the Data panel, inside Files, choose Film Thickness as the Data field. Click Shared inside Color
range.
31. Go to the Query panel and activate the 2D plot. Set the Mode to Data and Cutting plane to Z.
Set the horizontal axis to Y. The three curves showing the film height for the 3 different temperatures
should be visible. Change the curve colors and thickness using the Curve Settings in the cube menu
located at the top right.
Postprocessing an Ice Accretion Solution Using CFD-Post Macros
Figure 32.24: Film Height Variation Over the Ice at -25, -10, and -7.5 C
The film height and extent grow with increasing icing temperatures. At -25 °C, almost all droplets
freeze upon impact and there is no water runback on the surface. This temperature produces a rime
ice shape. In the contrary, the amount of film and water runback of the other two cases clearly
produce ice horns and form glaze ice shapes.
Caution:
Do not close Fluent Icing if you would like to proceed to the next section.
32.4. Postprocessing an Ice Accretion Solution Using CFD-Post Macros

In this tutorial, you will learn how to quickly post-process one-shot Ice results (Ice shape and ice solution
fields) using two dedicated CFD-Post macros: Ice Cover – 3D-View and Ice Cover – 2D-Plot. For this
purpose, the icing solution of your icing simulation at -7.5 °C of Fluent Icing Ice Accretion on the
NACA0012 (p. 1236) is used and, therefore, completion of Fluent Icing Ice Accretion on the
NACA0012 (p. 1236) is required.
For more information regarding these macros, consult CFD-Post Macros within the FENSAP-ICE User
Manual.
Note:
CFD-Post only supports .h5 format files when beta features are enabled. Therefore, in order
to ensure full compatibility with CFD-Post, first load CFD-Post, go to Edit → Options. Inside
the Options window, go to CFD-Post → General → Beta Options and check Enable Beta
Features.
1. Inside your Fluent Icing window, go to the Ribbon menu and select Results. In Quick-View, click
Ice Cover → Ice Cover – CFD-Post.
2. After opening CFD-Post, a Domain Selector window will request confirmation to load the following
domains: ice swimsol, map grid, and map swimsol. Click OK to proceed.
3. Go to the Calculators tab and double-click Macro Calculator. The Macro Calculator’s interface
panel will be activated and displayed.
Note:
The Macro Calculator can also be accessed by selecting Tools → Macro Calculator from
CFD-Post’s main menu.
4. Select the Ice Cover – 3D-View macro script from the Macro drop-down list. This will bring up the
user interface which contains all input parameters required to view ICE3D output solutions in the
CFD-Post 3D Viewer.
5. The default settings inside the Macro Calculator panel will allow you to automatically output the
ice shape of a one-shot icing simulation by pressing Calculate. Figure 32.25: Ice View with CFD-Post,
Ice Cover (p. 1245) shows the output of the default settings of the macro.
Figure 32.25: Ice View with CFD-Post, Ice Cover
Note:
To change the style of the ice shape display, go to the Display Mode and select one of
following options: Ice Cover, Ice Cover – shaded, Ice Cover – No Orig, Ice Cover (only)
or Ice Cover (only) - shaded. To output the surface mesh of the ice shape, go to the
Display Mesh and select Yes. Figure 32.26: Ice View in CFD-Post, Ice Cover with Display
Mesh (p. 1246) shows the output of activating Ice Cover under Display Mode by selecting
Yes under Display Mesh and pressing Calculate at the bottom of the Macro Calculator.
Figure 32.26: Ice View in CFD-Post, Ice Cover with Display Mesh
6. To display the solution fields of your icing simulation, you can either select Ice Solution – Overlay,
Ice Solution or Surface Solution under Display Mode. In this case, you will output the ice accretion
rate over the ice layer. To do this, select Ice Solution – Overlay in Display Mode, Instant. Ice
Growth (kg s^-1 m^-2) in Display Variable and No in Display Mesh to turn off the displaying
surface mesh.
7. Click Calculate to view the instantaneous ice growth over the ice shape. Figure 32.27: Ice View in
CFD-Post, Instantaneous Ice Growth over Ice Cover Surface (p. 1247) shows the output of the macro.
Figure 32.27: Ice View in CFD-Post, Instantaneous Ice Growth over Ice Cover Surface
Note:
You are invited to modify the input parameter of Display Variable to view different fields
of the ICE3D solution.
8. You will now explore some quick post-processing capabilities of the Ice Cover – 2D-Plot macro. In
the Macro drop-down list of the Macro Calculator panel, change the macro to Ice Cover – 2D-Plot.
Note:
This switches the macro from Ice Cover – 3D-View to Ice Cover – 2D-Plot. Switch back
to Ice Cover – 3D-View in the same way if needed.
9. Change Plot’s Title from default, ICE SHAPE PLOT, to Ice Shape at -7.5 C, since you will
be creating a 2D-plot of the ice shape.
10. Inside 2D-Plot (with),
• Set Mode to Geometry to output an ice shape. The other options output the ice solution fields.
• Set Cutting Plane By to Z Plane. Specify a Z=0 plane by setting X/Y/Z Plane to 0.
• Set the X-Axis to X and the Y-Axis to Y.
11. To center the 2D-Plot around the leading edge of the NACA0012, in 2D-Plot (with),
• Change the (x)Range of the X-Axis from Global to User Specified. Specify values of 0.075 and
-0.01 in the input boxes of (Usr.Specif.x)Max and (Usr.Specif.x)Min, respectively.
• Change the (y)Range of the Y-Axis from Global to User Specified. Specify values of 0.03 and
-0.03 in the input boxes of (Usr.Specif.y)Max and (Usr.Specif.y)Min, respectively.
12. Leave the other default settings unchanged and click Calculate to create a 2D-Plot of the ice shape
in ChartViewer. Adjust the output window’s size. Figure 32.28: 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Clean Wall Surface
and Ice Cover Surface (p. 1248) shows the output of the macro.
Figure 32.28: 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Clean Wall Surface and Ice Cover Surface
13. To create a 2D-plot of an ice solution field, first change the name of the plot. In this case, enter Ice
Thickness at -7.5 C in the Plot’s Title field since you will create a water film 2D plot along
the thickness of the airfoil.
• Set Mode to Solution (on Map Surfaces) to output the water film over the NACA0012. Selecting
Solution (on Ice Surfaces) will output the ice field over the ice shape.
• Set the X-Axis to Y.
• Set the Y-Axis to Ice Thickness (m).
15. To center the 2D-Plot around a meaningful scale to clearly see the water film distribution, in 2D-Plot
(with),
• Make sure that (x)Range of the X-Axis is set to User Specified. Enter values of 0.02 and -0.04
for (Usr.Specif.x)Max and (Usr.Specif.x)Min, respectively.
• Set (y)Range of the Y-Axis to Global. The macro will use the max./min. values of the water film
thickness to define the range of the Y-Axis.
Multi-Shot Ice Accretion with Automatic Remeshing
16. Leave the other default settings unchanged and click Calculate to update the 2D plot in
ChartViewer. Figure 32.29: 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Ice Thickness Distribution (p. 1249) shows the output
of the macro.
Note:
You are invited to modify the input parameter of 2D-Plot (with) → Y-Axis to view different
fields of the ICE3D solution.
Figure 32.29: 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Ice Thickness Distribution
32.5. Multi-Shot Ice Accretion with Automatic Remeshing

As ice grows, the geometric profile of the contaminated airfoil changes which modifies the flow of air
and water droplets around it. The quasi-steady multishot approach allows simulation of realistic and
accurate ice shapes. In this approach, the total time of ice accretion is divided into smaller steady-state
intervals (shots), where the mesh used to calculate the airflow, the droplet impingement, and the ice
accretion is updated at the end of each shot to account for the ice shape. In this tutorial, you will use
automatic remeshing with Fluent Meshing to rebuild a computational domain around the ice shape
generated at each shot.
Note:
Two approaches are supported in Fluent Icing to represent the computational domain at
each shot: the automatic mesh displacement approach and the automatic remeshing with
Fluent Meshing method.
The automatic mesh displacement uses the initial surface mesh to represent the ice shape.
Surface nodes are moved inside the computational domain to represent the ice that forms
at each shot. This process keeps the number of nodes and cells constant. As the ice shape
grows, the total area covered by the boundary wall mesh increases which changes the size
and the aspect ratio of the cells near the ice. This may result in a less than optimal grid
spacing if the initial mesh is not fine enough. For complex ice shapes, manual remeshing
maybe required in order to continue the multishot process when using automatic mesh
displacement.
Alternatively, it is possible to use automatic remeshing with Fluent Meshing when simulating multi-shot
icing. Remeshing refines and reorganizes the mesh topology on and around the ice. This leads to more
stable and accurate air and droplet solutions for the next shot. Negative volume elements that often
form with large mesh deformations are avoided with remeshing. For more information regarding
automatic remeshing, consult Ice.
1. This tutorial is a continuation of the previous tutorial. The last run that was computed was the
ice_mvd_m7p5C run. The current settings setup in the simulation panel will be consistent with the
settings from that run. However, to be certain that you begin from those conditions, you may right-
click the ice_mvd_m7p5C run in the Project View panel and select Load settings.
2. In the Outline View, go to Setup → Ice. In its Properties window, check Beading under Model.
Beading is the roughness model of the Ice component. At the end of each shot, Beading will produce
a roughness distribution that is used by the airflow solver (Fluent or FENSAP) during the next shot.
This approach removes any arbitrary specification of roughness value. The first shot always needs
some initial roughness, 0.5 mm in In-Flight Icing Tutorial Using Fluent Icing (p. 1195), since Ice is not
run a priori. However, the remaining shots will use the distribution obtained from the beading
model.
Note:
Alternatively, the initial shots could be conducted over small time intervals where the
surface roughness can be allowed to grow from 0 to a reasonable level, removing the
need to specify an initial roughness value. For internal flows, you should start with a zero
initial roughness instead. Roughness should be allowed to build progressively using
shorter icing shots.
3. Click Solution and, in its Properties window, under Multi-shot:
• Set Number of Shots to 3.
• Check Save Files at Each Shot to examine the steady-state solutions at the end of each shot.
At the start of each shot, the airflow can be initialized using the parameters defined in the case
file (Reinitialize)or the interpolated airflow solution from the previous shot (Continue). This can
be defined inside the Airflow Restart option. In the current simulation, leave it to Reinitialize,
which is the default option.
4. Under Solution → Ice,
• In Time, change the Total Time of Ice Accretion [s] from 420 to 140 which corresponds to 1/3rd
of the total time.
• Click Set-up Remeshing, located at the bottom of the Properties – Ice panel. This automatically
sets Fluent Meshing as the remeshing solver, and adds extra options, under Remeshing, to control
the type of mesh refinement at each shot.
• Below Remeshing, several options are available to control the surface mesh refinement as well
as hexas (boundary layer cells) and prisms that will compose the computational domain at each
shot. Enter the following settings as shown in the image below.
By selecting 2.5D under Dimension, you are indicating to Fluent Meshing to generate a 2.5D
mesh by extruding a surface mesh from one symmetry plane to the other. Therefore, there are
some requirements that the initial case file that is imported into Fluent Icing must have:
– Symmetry planes that represent the span of the airfoil must be Z planes. One of the two sym-
metry planes must be located at Z=0 and the other should be placed at a Z+ location.
– Both symmetry planes must share the same zone name and type.
– The material point must be located near the trailing edge and at half-span.
Below are some useful recommendations to consider based on the type of trailing edge that your
2.5D airfoil has:
– Sharp trailing edge
Split the pressure and suction sides into two separated zone BCs. The trailing edge will be a
geometric edge that separates these two BCs.
– Blunt trailing edge
Put the blunt trailing edge surface in a separate zone BC.
For more information, consult Ice.
5. Right-click Solution and then select Reset to automatically remove previous airflow, particles and
ice solutions from memory.
6. Launch the multishot calculation by right-clicking Solution and then by selecting Run Multi-Shot.
A Warning message will appear highlighting the need to switch to Use ref. temperature in order
to proceed with this multishot simulation. Select Use ref. temperature since the icing temperature
must be identical to the airflow reference temperature when running a multishot simulation.
7. Another window will appear. Name the new run ice_mvd_m7p5C_multi and press OK.
8. Go to the Plots window and monitor the convergence of Airflow, Particles and Ice solvers. In the
Plots window, first select a shot and a solver next to Dataset, and then choose the residual or report
to output next to Curve. The image below shows the residuals of the 3rd shot of the Airflow and
Particles solvers.
9. Go to the Project View by clicking the Project tab in the top ribbon menu. Under the
naca0012_icing (loaded) simulation, a new run named ice_mvd_m7p5C_multi now appears and
is specified as (current). Expand the run by clicking the + icon to the left of ice_mvd_m7p5C_multi
to show the files associated with the run. A shot.** folder is created for each shot of the icing cal-
culation, and includes a two-digit number that links these folders to their shot number. Once all
calculations are complete, view the final ice shape by following these steps:
a. Right-click shot.01/Ice and select Surface Grid → View With Viewmerical to load the clean
airfoil surface. Select New Instance if asked to append this solution to an existing Viewmerical
window.
b. Right-clicking shot.03/Ice and select View Results With... → Viewmerical to load the result of
computed ice shape. Click Append when a message appears asking if you would like to append
this to a previously opened Viewmerical display. . A View Ice dialog will then open asking you
to select the view type, select Ice Cover to proceed.
c. In Viewmerical, click the loaded clean airfoil surface grid-naca0012.01.map.grid under the
Objects panel. In Object, select Metallic + Smooth and double-click Cell to open the Select
Color window. In this window, set the HTML color to #474747 and press OK.
d. Click the loaded ice shape ice-naca0012.03.swimsol under the Objects panel. Make sure that
Metallic + Smooth is selected in Object. Go to the Data panel and select Ice cover (only) under
the Display mode of ICE3D. Set the Ice Growth value to 0.1 kg/m^2 under Ice thickness
threshold.
e. Go to the View panel. Set the Ambient light boost to a value of 20 % under Global display
settings.
Figure 32.30: 3-Shots Ice Shape at -7.5 C
After viewing this ice shape, close Viewmerical.
10. Next, compare the ice shape of the multishot run to that of the single shot run. Go to the Project
View. Under the run ice_mvd_m7p5C_multi, right-click shot.01/Ice and select Surface Grid →
View With Viewmerical. This grid file represents the surface grid (called naca0012.01.map.grid
on disk) used to calculate the 1st shot of ice accretion.
11. Rename this object by double-clicking the grid-naca0012.01.map.grid object name and enter
Airfoil into the Rename dataset window.
12. Under the run ice_mvd_m7p5C_multi, right-click shot.03/Ice and select Iced grid → View with
View- merical. This grid file represents the ice surface grid (naca0012..03.ice.grid on disk)
calculated during the 3rd shot of ice accretion.
13. A message appears asking if you would like to append this to a previously opened Viewmerical
display. Choose Append.
14. Rename this object by double-clicking the grid-naca0012.03.ice.grid object name and enter Ice
-7p5C, 3 shots in the Rename dataset window.
15. Under the run ice_mvd_m7p5C, right-click Ice and select Iced grid → View with Viewmerical. This
grid file represents the ice surface grid calculated during the single shot run.
16. A message appears asking if you would like to append this to a previously opened Viewmerical
display. Choose Append.
17. Rename this object by double-clicking the grid-naca0012.ice.grid object name and enter Ice -
7p5C, 1 shot in the Rename dataset window.
Multi-Shot Ice Accretion With Automatic Remeshing – Postprocessing Using CFD-
Post
18. Click the Lock icon at the lower right of the data set list in the Objects window.
19. Go to the Query panel and activate the 2D plot. Set the Mode to Geometry and Cutting plane to
Z. Set the horizontal axis to X. The three curves showing NACA0012 and the ice shapes should be
visible. Change the curve colors and thickness using the Curve Settings in the cube menu located
at the top right. You can also draw a zoom box by Shift + left-click.
Note:
The multishot simulation produces an upper horn that is more pronounced. This is mainly
due to the continuous increase in collection efficiency and convective heat fluxes (cooling
effects) as the upper horn curvature increases. The lower part of the ice is also thicker
where the roughness has grown beyond the initial 0.5mm to about 1mm (average), which
causes the water film to freeze sooner and show less runback compared to the single
shot solution.
Figure 32.31: Ice Shapes at -7.5 C, Obtained Using One Shot and Three Shots Computations
32.6. Multi-Shot Ice Accretion With Automatic Remeshing – Postpro-

cessing Using CFD-Post
In this tutorial, you will learn how to quickly post-process and generate figures and animations of a
multishot ice accretion simulation (ice shape and ice solution fields) using two dedicated CFD-Post
macros: Ice Cover – 3D-View and Ice Cover – 2D-Plot. For this purpose, the multishot icing solution
of Multi-Shot Ice Accretion with Automatic Remeshing (p. 1249) is used and, therefore, completion of
Multi-Shot Ice Accretion with Automatic Remeshing (p. 1249) is required.
For more information regarding these macros, consult CFD-Post Macros within the FENSAP-ICE User
Manual.
1. Inside your Fluent Icing window, go to the Ribbon menu and select Results. In Quick-View, click
Ice Cover → Multi-shot Ice Cover – CFD-Post.
3. Go to the Calculators tab and double-click Macro Calculator. The Macro Calculator’s interface
Note:
the CFD-Post’s main menu.
CFD-Post 3D Viewer.
ice shape for the first shot of the multishot simulation. Output the ice shape at the end of the
multishot simulation of Multi-Shot Ice Accretion with Automatic Remeshing (p. 1249). This corresponds
to the ice shape of shot 3, by specifying 3 for Multi-shot # and clicking Calculate. Figure 32.32: Ice
View in CFD-Post, Final Ice Shape (p. 1257) shows the output of the final ice shape.
Post
Figure 32.32: Ice View in CFD-Post, Final Ice Shape
Note:
To change the style of the ice shape display, go to Display Mode and select one of fol-
lowing options: Ice Cover, Ice Cover – Shaded, Ice Cover – No Orig, Ice Cover (only)
or Ice Cover (only) - shaded. To output the surface mesh of the ice shape, go to the
Display Mesh and select Yes.
6. To display the solution fields of your icing simulation, you can either select Ice Solution – Overlay,
rate over the ice layer of the 3rd shot. To do this, select Ice Solution – Overlay in Display Mode,
Instant. Ice Growth (kg s^-1 m^-2) in Display Variable and No in Display Mesh to turn off the
displaying surface mesh.
7. Click Calculate to view the instantaneous ice growth over the ice shape. Figure 32.33: Ice View in
CFD-Post, Instantaneous Ice Growth over Ice Cover Surface, Final Ice Shape (p. 1258) shows the output
of the macro.
Figure 32.33: Ice View in CFD-Post, Instantaneous Ice Growth over Ice Cover Surface, Final Ice
Shape
8. You can also generate and save animations that highlight the ice shape evolution of your multishot
simulation. Follow these steps to create and save a custom animation.
• Set Multi-shot # to 1. The animation starts at the assigned shot number in Multi-shot # to the
last shot of the simulation.
• Set (Multi-shot) Movie to On and click Calculate to see the animation on the 3D Viewer window.
• To save this animation, in (Multi-shot) Movie,
– Set Save to Yes.
– Select an export Format. Two formats are supported, wmv and MPEG4. The default is wmv.
– Specify a Filename.
• Click Calculate to generate and save the animation. A message will appear to notify you of the
location where the animation is saved and of the first shot used to generate the animation.
Note:
If CFD-Post was opened using Fluent Icing, the animation will be saved in your run dir-
ectory. If CFD-Post was opened in standalone mode, the animation will be saved in the
Window’s system default folder.
9. Select Ice Cover – 2D-Plot from the Macro drop-down list to create 2D-plots of the multishot sim-
ulation. You will create a 2D-Plot that contains all the ice shapes generated by the multishot simu-
lation.
Post
10. Make sure that Multi-shot # is set to 1.
11. Change Plot’s Title from ICE SHAPE PLOT, to Multishot Ice Shape at -7.5 C (3
shots).
12. Select Multi-Shots in 2D-Plot (with). The macro will generate a series of 2D plot curves, starting
from the assigned shot number in Multi-shot # to the last shot of the simulation.
• Set Mode to Geometry to output an ice shape. The other options output the ice solution fields.
14. To center the 2D-Plot around the leading edge of the NACA0012, in 2D-Plot (with),
-0.025 in the input boxes of (Usr.Specif.x)Max and (Usr.Specif.x)Min, respectively.
15. Leave the other default settings unchanged and click Calculate to create a 2D-Plot of the multiple
ice shapes in ChartViewer of CFD-Post. Adjust the output window’s size. Figure 32.34: 2D-Plot in
CFD-Post, Ice Shapes of the Multishot Simulation (p. 1260) shows the output of the macro.
Figure 32.34: 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Ice Shapes of the Multishot Simulation
Note:
To create 2D plots of the ice solution fields, go to 2D-Plot (with) → Mode and select
either Solution (on Ice Surfaces) or Solution (on Map Surfaces). Then go to 2D-Plot
(with) → Y-Axis and select the ice solution field of interest. Specify a (x)Range and a
(y)Range that are suitable. Click Calculate to output the 2D-Plot of the ice solution field
in ChartViewer.
16. The 2D-Plot macro can also export all plotted curves to .csv format file and simultaneously save
the plot as a figure. Keep all input parameters above unchanged and follow these steps.
• To export all plotted curves to a .csv file, set Export (to csv) to Yes and specify a file name
under Filename (csv).
• To save a figure of the 2D-Plot, set Save Figure to Yes, select a Format for the figure (PNG or
BMP) and specify a Filename to save the figure.
• Click Calculate to generate the 2D plot, export all data points to a .csv file and save the plot
into a figure file. A message will appear to notify you of the location where the .csv and figure
file are saved.
Note:
If CFD-Post was opened using Fluent Icing, both the .csv and figure files will be saved
in the working directory. If CFD-Post was opened in standalone mode, both files will
be saved in the Windows’ system default folder.
FENSAP Airflow on the Clean NACA0012 Airfoil
32.7. FENSAP Airflow on the Clean NACA0012 Airfoil

The objective of this tutorial is to obtain an airflow solution around a clean NACA0012 airfoil using
FENSAP in Fluent Icing.
Note:
In this tutorial the FENSAP Airflow solver is used. If you would like to instead use the Fluent
Airflow solver, go to In-Flight Icing Tutorial Using Fluent Icing (p. 1195).
FENSAP-ICE modules in Fluent Icing solve only 3D problems. In order to solve pure 2-D
problems, it is recommended to generate 3D grids by extruding these 2D domains along
their span or thickness. One single element is sufficient to represent the span or thickness
of the 3D domain. In this manner, Fluent Icing is always executed in 3-D mode.
Figure 32.35: NACA0012 Structured C-Mesh Overview and Close-Up
32.7.1. FENSAP Airflow Solution on a Clean NACA0012 Airfoil

1. Using the same grid file as In-Flight Icing Tutorial Using Fluent Icing (p. 1195), launch Fluent Icing
on your computer. In the Fluent Launcher window, select Icing. Icing is only available if Capability
Level → Enterprise is selected. The usage of the Icing feature requires a Fluent license with En-
terprise level. Set the number of processes to 2 to 4 CPUs. Click Start to launch Fluent Icing.
2. Once Fluent Icing opens, the Project tab will be displayed by default. In the Project’s top ribbon
panel, select Project → New... and enter FLUENT_ICING_NACA0012_FENSAP to create a new
project folder.
3. In the Project’s top ribbon panel, select Simulation → Import Case, and browse to and select
the ../workshop_input_files/Input_Grid/Naca0012/naca0012.cas.h5 file created
in the previous section. A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New
Simulation as naca0012_icing, and check to enable Load in Solver. A new simulation folder
will be created in your project folder, and the naca0012.cas.h5 file will be imported.
Note:
The naca0012.cas.h5 input case file has already been setup properly in standalone
Fluent for use in Fluent Icing simulations.
4. After the .cas.h5 file has been successfully loaded, the Simulation tab is displayed, and a new
simulation tree appears under naca0012_icing (loaded) in the Outline View window.
5. Select Setup under naca0012_icing (loaded) and, in its Properties window, uncheck Particles
and Ice.
6. Inside the Outline View window, right-click the Airflow icon located under Setup and select
Update with Fluent Case Settings to make sure that the Fluent simulation settings are properly
transferred to Fluent Icing.
7. Left-click the Airflow icon to bring up the Properties – Airflow window. Under Setup → Airflow
in the General section, set the Airflow solver to FENSAP.
8. Under Outline View, click Setup → Airflow → FENSAP icon. In the Turbulence section, set the
Turbulence Model to Spalart-Allmaras with No transition.
9. Under Setup → Boundary Conditions, expand Inlets and select pressure-far-field-4. In the
properties panel, by default the Conditions is set to Case settings. This setting ensures that the
boundary conditions will be taken directly from the settings already applied in the case file. If you
would like to modify the boundary conditions for a particular run, Conditions can be set to Edit,
which causes all the boundary conditions for that boundary type to appear in the properties
panel. For now, keep Conditions set to Case settings.
10. Under Setup → Boundary Conditions, expand Walls and click the wall surfaces (wall-5, wall-6
and wall-7). The wall boundary conditions have already been setup properly in the initial case
file. Notice that the Thermal Conditions are set to Temperature and the Temperature [K] value
is set to 280.929K. This value is equivalent to 10 degrees higher than the adiabatic stagnation air
temperature, which is the classic method for performing icing simulations, and can be set by right-
clicking the wall surface name in the Outline View and then by selecting Set Temperature to
Adiabatic + 10.
11. Under Solution → Airflow, increase the Number of Iterations to 500. Set the CFL to 100, enable
CFL Ramping and set the CFL Ramping Iterations to 300. A steady state simulation will be ex-
ecuted.
12. Under Solution → Airflow, and under the Output, set Forces to Drag-Custom direction. Set the
Lift Axis to Y+. Set the Drag-X, Drag-Y and Drag-Z values to 0.997564, 0.069756, and 0, re-
spectively. Set the Reference Area to 0.05334 m2.
13. Right-click the Airflow icon under Solution and select Calculate to launch this simulation. A new
window will appear requesting a name for the new run. Name the new run flow_clean.
14. Once the computation is complete, the Airflow solution will appear in the flow_clean run directory.
FENSAP Airflow on the Clean NACA0012 Airfoil
15. Take a look at the convergence history of this simulation in the Plots window located at the right
of your screen. The following two figures show the convergence of residuals and lift and drag
coefficients. You can obtain these figures by selecting Residuals, Forces – Lift coefficient and
Forces – Drag coefficient respectively next to Curve which is located at the top of the Plots
window.
In the Console, the residuals and coefficients are provided at each iteration. Examine the conver-
gence of lift and drag coefficients listed as lift and drag. Lift and drag coefficients have converged
to 4.617600e-01 and 8.32458-03 respectively.
Figure 32.37: Convergence of Lift and Drag Coefficients of the Rough Airfoil
FENSAP Airflow Solution on the Rough NACA0012 Airfoil
16. Go to the ribbon bar of your Fluent Icing window and, under Results → Quick-View → Contour,
choose Heat Flux (Walls) to output the convective heat flux over the rough NACA0012. See Fig-
ure 32.39: Convective Heat Flux Over the Clean NACA0012 Airfoil (p. 1265).
Figure 32.39: Convective Heat Flux Over the Clean NACA0012 Airfoil
17. Within the Project View, you will notice that the naca0012_icing (loaded) simulation now contains
the run folder flow_clean, which contains the Airflow solution.
32.8. FENSAP Airflow Solution on the Rough NACA0012 Airfoil

The objective of this tutorial is to obtain an airflow solution around a rough NACA0012 airfoil using
FENSAP, within the Fluent Icing framework, and to use this solution for water catch and ice accretion
simulations. Completion of the previous tutorial, FENSAP Airflow on the Clean NACA0012 Airfoil (p. 1261),
is required before beginning this tutorial.
Ice forms surface roughness as it accretes. This roughness increases the momentum deficit and the skin
friction, which in turn thickens the boundary layer and increases drag. Convective heat flux is also in-
creased through additional turbulent conductivity within the boundary layer. It is therefore essential
to properly model the roughness produced naturally by the ice accretion process to obtain realistic ice
shapes. Fluent Icing models such roughness by applying an appropriate sand-grain roughness height
distribution over iced walls. In Fluent Icing, this height can be specified on each wall as a constant value,
or as a distribution via empirical or analytical methods such as ice bead modeling. See Surface
Roughness within the FENSAP-ICE User Manual or the Set-up → Boundary Conditions → Wall and Set-
up → Ice sections within the Fluent User's Guide for more details on surface roughness.
Note:
reopen your project and load your previous simulation and settings. To do this, open Fluent
Icing, select Project → Open..., and navigate to and select your FLU-
ENT_ICING_NACA0012_FENSAP.flprj project file. Once the project is open, right-click
the naca0012_icing simulation folder, and select Load in Solver. The simulation will be
opened, and your window display will switch to the simulation view, with a simulation tree
appearing under naca0012_icing (loaded). To ensure that you are working from the most
recent settings, go back to the Project View, right-click the flow_clean run, and select Load
Settings. Finally, go back to the simulation view to continue with the tutorial.
1. Select Setup under naca0012_icing (loaded) and, in its Properties window, make sure Particles
and Ice are unchecked.
2. Under Setup → Boundary Conditions, update the following wall surfaces:
• Select the wall-5 boundary. In the Wall roughness section of Airflow, select High roughness
for icing and set its Roughness Height [m] to 0.0005 m.
• Repeat this process for wall boundaries wall-6, and wall-7.
3. Under Solution, right-click Airflow from the side menu. Select Reset.
4. Right-click the Airflow icon under Solution and select Calculate to launch this simulation. A window
will appear asking if the current run should be continued. Select No. A new window will appear re-
questing a name for the new run. Name the new run flow_rough.
Note:
If you closed Fluent Icing after the completion of the last tutorial, a window will appear
asking to create a new run once you click Calculate. Set the Name of the new run to
flow_rough and press OK.
5. Once the computation is complete, the Airflow solution will appear in the flow_rough run directory.
6. Take a look at the convergence history of this simulation in the Graphics window located at the
right of your screen. The following two figures show the convergence of residuals and lift and drag
coefficients. You can enlarge and move the legend box in the Graphics window by dragging one
side of the box.
In the Console, the residuals and coefficients are provided at each iteration. As it is not possible to
zoom in on the graphs, the printed values in the log can be referred to if needed. Examine the
convergence of lift and drag coefficients listed as lift and drag. Lift and drag coefficients have
converged to 4.247817e-01 and 1.874172-02 respectively.
Figure 32.41: Convergence of Lift and Drag Coefficients of the Rough Airfoil
7. Go to the ribbon bar of your Fluent Icing window and, under Results → Quick-View → Contour,
choose Heat Flux (Walls) to output the convective heat flux over the rough NACA0012. See Fig-
ure 32.43: Convective Heat Flux Over the NACA0012 (p. 1269).
Figure 32.43: Convective Heat Flux Over the NACA0012
This tutorial described the process of simulating the rough airflow over the NACA0012 airfoil using
the FENSAP airflow solver within Fluent Icing. This can be seen as an alternate tutorial to In-Flight
Icing Tutorial Using Fluent Icing (p. 1195), where Fluent is used as the airflow solver. After completing
this alternate tutorial, you may continue with the droplet impingement and icing tutorials, Droplet
Impingement on the NACA0012 (p. 1217) through Multi-Shot Ice Accretion With Automatic Remeshing
– Postprocessing Using CFD-Post (p. 1255), as the procedure is similar.
Caution:
If you would like to continue with additional tutorials, do not close Fluent Icing.
32.9. Scheduling a Sequence of Runs With Fluent Icing

32.9.4. Summary
The Run Sequence feature makes it possible to prepare several runs with different settings and execute
them in sequence without having to manually change settings between each runs. It is available if
Advanced Settings is enabled through File → Preferences... → Icing, and activated by selecting
File → Read Run Sequence…. A Select File dialog will open allowing you to select the spreadsheet
that contains the list of runs. The spreadsheet must be in .csv format and follow a certain structure
to be read correctly by Fluent Icing.

The goal of this tutorial is to explore different icing conditions using Fluent Icing's Run Sequence
feature which will allow you to find out the most critical icing condition, generate an ice shape in
that condition and compare the wing performance degradation due to ice at different angles of attack.

32.9.3.2. Setup
1. Download the fluent_icing_run_sequence.zip file here.
2. Unzip fluent_icing_run_sequence.zip to your working directory.
3. The file, grid.cas, can be found in the folder.
Scheduling a Sequence of Runs With Fluent Icing
7. Click Start.
32.9.3.2. Setup
2. Enter Run_Sequence_Tutorial as the Project file name within the Select File dialog.
3. Select and import the grid.cas input grid.
A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New Simulation as grid, and
check to enable Load in Solver. Click OK.
A new simulation folder will be created in the Project View, and the grid.cas file will be
imported.
4. Enable Advanced Settings to expose advanced features.
File → Preferences... → Icing → Advanced Settings
5. After the .cas file has been successfully loaded, a new Outline View tree appears under grid
(loaded).
Figure 32.45: Grid Mesh Display
Setup
Enable Airflow and Particles and Ice under Simulation Type.
8. In the Icing Domain section, retain the following setting:
• All for Domain.
• Fixed for Reference Frame (Single Domain).
Setup → Airflow
– 128 for Speed [m/s].
– 268 for Temperature [K].
– 128 for Vector Magnitude [m/s].
Setup → Fluent
– Enable Energy.
• In the Materials section, retain the following setting:
– Case settings for Fluid.
11. Set the Particles properties of the simulation.
Setup → Particles
Enable Droplets under Type.
12. Set the Droplets properties of the simulation.
Setup → Particles → Droplets
• In the Droplet Conditions section, retain the following settings:
– 0.0024 for LWC [kg/m3].
– 20 for Droplet Diameter [microns].
– 1000 for Water Density [kg/m3].
– Disable SLD.
– Disabled for Appendix Conditions.
• In the Particles Distribution section, retain the following setting:
– Monodispersed for Particles Distribution.
• In the Model section, retain the following settings:
– Water for Droplet Drag Model.
13. Set the Ice properties of the simulation.
Setup → Ice
• In the Ice Accretion Conditions section, retain the following settings:
– 0.9 for Recovery Factor.
– Disable Specify Icing Air Temperature.
– 100 for Relative Humidity.
– Glaze for Icing Model.
– Enable Beading.
– Disabled for Ice Shedding.
• In the Ice Properties section, retain the following settings:
– Constant for Ice Density Type.
– 917 for Constant Ice Density [kg/m3].
– Select Vector components under the Direction drop-down list.
– 0.997564 for Flow Direction X.
– 0.0697565 for Flow Direction Y.
– 0 for Flow Direction Z.
– Select Intensity and Viscosity Ratio under the Turbulence Specification drop-down list.
– 0.08 for Turbulent Intensity [%].
– 1e-5 for Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
Note:
Repeat the steps above for pressure-far-field-4.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Walls → zone2000

– Repeat the steps above for zone2001 through zone2004.
– Set Number of Iterations to 1000.
– Retain the default value of 50 for Courant Number.
– Select FMG under the Method drop-down list.
– Retain the default value of 0.75 for FMG Courant Number.
16. Solution → Particles
• In the Run Settings section, retain the following setting:
– 200 for Number of Iterations.
• In the Solver section, retain the following settings:
– 20 for CFL.
– 1e-5 for Artificial Viscosity Coef.
– 1e-8 for Residual Cut-Off.
– 1e-10 for Change in Total Beta.
• In the Initialization section, retain the following settings:
– The Velocity Initialization settings will be set to From Airflow conditions. The settings
imported under the Properties - Airflow panel will be used.
– Disable Dry Initialization.
• In the Monitors section, retain the following settings:
– Enable Total Beta.
– Enable Change in Total Beta.
– Disable Mass Deficit.
17. Solution → Ice
• In the Time section, retain the following setting:
– 140 for Total Time of Ice Accretion [s].
– Enable Automatic Time Step.
• In the Mesh section:
– Retain the default selection of Fluent Meshing for Remeshing.
• In the Remeshing section, retain the following settings:
– [0.001, 0.1] for Global Sizing - Min/Max.
– 1.2 for Global Sizing - Growth Rate.
– 0.001 for Proximity Sizing - Min.
– [0.001, 0.01] for Curvature Sizing - Min/Max.
– 1.2 for Curvature Sizing - Growth Rate.
– 21 for Prism - Number of Layers.
– 1000 for Prism - First Cell Aspect Ratio.
– 1.2 for Prism - Growth Rate.
– [0.57, 0, 0.05] for Material Point.
– 2.5D for Dimension.
– 0.1 for Extrusion - Z Thickness.
18. Open the ice_parametric.csv file found within fluent_icing_run_sequence.zip.
The file contains mandatory columns consisting of specific keywords listed below pertaining to
settings within the Fluent Icing user interface Properties panel.
• Cell A2 - simulation: The .cas file used for the simulation.
• Cell B2 - run: The run name which will be displayed within the Project View after the simu-
lation completes.
• Cell C1 - keywords: The solver used for the specific run.
• – Cell C2 - solver
– Cell D2 - Pressure
– Cell E2 - Temperature
• Cell F1 - Walls
– Cell F2 - Temperature
• Cell G1 - Setup Particles
– Cell G2 - Droplet Diameter
• Cell H1 - Setup Particles
– Cell H2 - LWC
The first run (flow_268K - B3) is a flow simulation at 5000 feet with a -10 degree temperature
deviation from standard atmosphere. The walls are at adiabatic temperature +10 degrees.
Note:
The Pressure and Temperature columns will overwrite everywhere you have Pressure
or Temperature defined in Fluent Icing (Reference Values, Inlets, Walls). For ex-
ample, Temperature will overwrite Temperature [K] (temperature at the wall) found
under Setup → Boundary Conditions → Walls → zone2000. Therefore, columns
using the Walls keyword have been added to use a different temperature at the
walls.
19. Review the Particles and Ice runs.
Following Appendix C conditions, 20 microns (Cell G4) is specified as your Droplet Diameter
and 0.0024 kg/m3 (Cell H4) as the LWC. These settings match those found under the Properties
- Droplets panel.
Row 5 contains your Ice run as shown in the figure above.
You would continue adding the same Particles and Ice conditions for 30 and 40 microns with
a LWC of 0.0017 and 0.00063 respectively.
20. The same steps are repeated for 10,000ft (flow_258K) and 15,000ft (flow_248K).
The final spreadsheet is shown below:
Save this spreadsheet within your Run_Sequence_Tutorial.cffdb/grid project folder.
21. Launch the run sequence.
File → Read Run Sequence...
Select the ice_parametric.csv file from the Select File dialog. Press OK.
A dialog will open advising you Fluent Icing will now execute 21 runs in sequence. Press OK to
proceed.
22. Once the computation is complete, the solution files will be written inside the Project View:
• grid
– flow
– particles
– ice
Project → Project View
23. Under the grid (loaded) simulation, a list of run folders now appear. Expand each folder by
clicking the + icon to show the files associated with the run. Each folder contains either an
Airflow run, three Droplets runs, at different microns (20, 30, 40) and three Ice runs, also at
different microns (20, 30, 40).
24. When reviewing the convergence of each run, you can see that the least ideal conditions are
at 258 K and 20 microns.
25. To view the final ice shape, right-click Ice located under ice_20micron_258k within the Project
View. Select View Results With... → Viewmerical. Choose Ice cover in the View Ice dialog.
Figure 32.46: Ice Shape at 258K and 20 Microns
26. Load the ice_20micron_258K settings.
Project View → ice_20micron_258K Load Settings
27. Define the multi-shot run settings.
Solution → Ice
• In the Time section, retain the following settings:
– Press on Set-Up Remeshing to enable remeshing using Fluent Meshing.
Solution
• In the Multi-shot section, retain the following settings:
– 4 for Number of Shots.
– Enable Save Files at Each Shot.
– Reinitialize for Airflow Restart.
– Uniform for Settings.
• In the Global Settings section, retain the following settings:
– Minimal for Log Verbosity.
– Default for Plotting.
Launch the simulation by pressing Run Multi-Shot.
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to multishot_ice_paramet-
ric and press OK.
Note:
Alternatively, you can launch the multi-shot calculation using Solution Run
Multi-Shot
29. Once your multi-shot simulation ends, save your case.
Project → Save Case
30. Once your case has been saved, close your simulation.
Project → Simulation → Close Simulation
A Information dialog will open asking if you would like to save the case before closing the
solver. Press Yes to proceed.
31. Close your project.
Project → Project → Close
32. Proceed with creating a new project file.
33. Enter Run_Sequence_Tutorial_Iced_Grid as the Project file name within the Select
File dialog.
34. Select and import the grid.05.cas file found under Run_Sequence_Tutorial.cff-
db/grid/multishot_ice_parametric/grid.05.cas.
Project → Import Case
A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New Simulation as iced_grid,
and check to enable Load in Solver. Click OK.
An Information dialog opens advising you of different node mapping between the current grid
and previous solution files. Press OK to proceed since you will be creating new solution files
based on the newly imported grid.
35. After the grid.05.cas file has been successfully loaded, a new Outline View tree appears
under iced_grid (loaded).
36. After importing the file, have a look at the pressure and temperature values under Setup
→ Airflow
Note:

38. Save your case.
39. Once your case has been saved, close your simulation.
Project → Simulation → Close Simulation
A Information dialog will open asking if you would like to save the case before closing the
solver. Press Yes to proceed.
40. While in the same project, select and import the grid.cas input grid once again.
A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New Simulation as clean_grid,
A new simulation folder will be created in the Project View and the grid.cas file will be
imported.
Setup → Airflow
Note:

43. Save your case.
44. Close Fluent Icing.
File → Exit
A dialog will open asking you to save the clean_grid simulation case, press Yes to proceed.
45. Reopen Fluent Icing, by selecting Icing, keeping Solver Processes at 4 and pressing Start.
46. Open your Run_Sequence_Tutorial_Iced_Grid project.
Project Library → Run_Sequence_Tutorial_Iced_Grid Open
47. Load your clean_grid project.
Project View → clean_grid Load in Solver
48. Open the perf_degradation.csv file found within fluent_icing_run_sequence.zip.

You will notice a range of angles of attack. The goal of this .csv file is to run a sweep across
various angles of attack using the imported grids and looking at the final performance degrad-
ation of the contaminated wing.
Two simulation are included in the angle of attack sweep, the clean_grid and iced_grid simu-
lation. Each consists of six sweeps, using specific keywords found within Fluent Icing's Properties
panels.
Review the various keywords and column titles. When ready, save this spreadsheet to your
Run_Sequence_Tutorial_Iced_Grid.cffdb project folder.
49. Launch the run sequence.
Select the perf_degradation.csv file from the Select File dialog. Press OK.
A dialog will open advising you Fluent Icing will now execute 12 runs in sequence. Press OK to
proceed.
50. Once the computation is complete, the solution files will be written inside the Project View.
1. You can verify the convergence of each Airflow run. You will notice that the iced grid related
to angles of attack 4, 6 and 8 have not converged well.
You can rerun them using the following new settings:
– 5 for Courant Number.
Use the same perf_degradation.csv file to rerun this sequence.
2. Fluent Icing will detect that some runs already exist, click Configure... and select iced_AoA_4deg,
iced_AoA_6deg and iced_AoA_8deg to be the only ones to rerun.
Press OK to proceed.
3. Once the simulation has ended, you can extract lift coefficient from each simulation by selecting
the Airflow solution of each run and selecting View Convergence. Select report-lift from
the Curve drop-down and extract the value at 1000 iterations.
Note:
Repeat the steps above for the other Airflow solutions found under iced_grid and
clean_grid. Use the lift_vs_aoa.xlsx file found within flu-
ent_icing_run_sequence.zip to plot your results.
32.9.4. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to use Fluent Icing's Run Sequence feature to allow you to find out
the most critical icing condition, generate an ice shape in that condition and compare the wing per-
formance degradation due to ice at different angles of attack. The Run Sequence can be used for
different usages. It is able to modify any settings in the Outline View hence why parametric studies
can be performed for every property in Fluent Icing.
Chapter 33: Droplet Impingement Using Fluent Icing
33.1. Droplet Impingement on a Complete Aircraft
33.2. Splashing and Bouncing by Post-processing on a NACA23012 Airfoil
33.1. Droplet Impingement on a Complete Aircraft

33.1.4. Summary
The objective of this tutorial is to simulate 3D droplet impingement on a realistic airplane configuration
using Fluent Icing. Next you will cover the SLD (supercooled large droplets) regime where the large
droplets can break-up, splash, and bounce based on their size and impact velocity, changing the
collection efficiency distribution.
This tutorial demonstrates the droplet impingement computation over the DLR-F6 aircraft (wing/body)
geometry. There is no yaw angle and the grid only contains one side of the symmetry plane. The grid
is unstructured, composed of 4.8 million cells approximately.
in this manual and that you are familiar with the Ansys Fluent Outline View and Ribbon structure,
see The Outline View and The Ribbon for more details. Some steps in the setup and solution procedure
will not be shown explicitly.

The aircraft considered is the DLR-F6 which is a wing-body configuration. The flight condition used
in this tutorial represents example of an in-flight icing condition. The problem considers the droplet
impingement simulation over the aircraft’s wall boundaries. The grid is unstructured, composed of
4.8 million cells approximately. This mesh is very coarse, and therefore should be used for demonstra-
tion purposes only. The limits of the computational domain are defined by a hemispherical boundary
defined as a pressure-far-field boundary type, and a flat circular boundary defined as a symmetry
plane in the Z-direction.
Droplet Impingement Using Fluent Icing
Figure 33.1: DLR-F6 Mesh

33.1.3.2. Setup
33.1.3.3. Solution
1. Download the fluent_icing_droplet_impingement.zip file here.
2. Unzip fluent_icing_droplet_impingement.zip to your working directory.
3. The file, DLR.cas.h5, can be found in the folder.
7. Click Start.
Droplet Impingement on a Complete Aircraft
33.1.3.2. Setup
File → New...
2. Enter Droplet_Impingement_Complete_Aircraft as the Project file name within the

Select File dialog.
3. Select and import the DLR.cas.h5 input grid.
A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New Simulation as DLR, and
A new simulation folder will be created in the Project View, and the DLR.cas.h5 file will be
imported.
DLR (loaded).
Figure 33.3: DLR Mesh Display
Setup
Enable Airflow and Particles and disable Ice under Simulation Type.
7. Set the Airflow properties of the simulation.
Setup → Airflow
• In the General section, retain the following setting:
– Fluent for Airflow Solver.
– 241.625 for Speed [m/s].
– 57173.2 for Pressure [Pa].
– Cartesian components for Vector Mode.
– 241.625 for X Velocity [m/s].
– 0 for Y Velocity [m/s].
– 0 for Z Velocity [m/s].
8. Set the Solution properties of the simulation.
• In the Time Integration section, retain the following setting:
– Case settings for Method.
• In the Initialization section, retain the following setting:
– Case settings for Method.
• In the Post-processing Output section, retain the following setting:
– Disabled for Write Post-processing Files.
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to airflow.
Once the computation is complete, the Airflow solution file will be written inside the new run
directory, dlr/airflow.
Setup → Particles
– 0.001 for LWC [kg/m3].
– Disable SLD.
• In the Model section, retain the following setting:
12. Set the Boundary Conditions of the simulation.
The inlet boundary condition, pressure-far-field-4, is based on the initial droplet velocity and
reference liquid water content which are both defined by enabling From Ref. Conditions.
Solution → Particles
– 20 for CFL.
Solution → Particles → Calculate
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to particles.
Once the computation is complete, the Particles solution file will be written inside the new run
directory, dlr/particles.
33.1.3.3. Solution
1. In this example, Fluent Icing will calculate for 120 iterations. Once the simulation finishes, you
can view the collection efficiency distribution on the DLR-F6 aircraft.
Results → Quick-View → Contour → Collection Efficiency (Walls)
Figure 33.4: DLR-F6 Collection Efficiency Contours
2. You can also use Viewmerical to view the collection efficiency plot.
Results → Quick-View → Contour → View With Viewmerical
Figure 33.5: Collection Efficiency Plots on the Wing Using Viewmerical: Root(Z=4m),
Middle(Z=15m), Tip( Z=22.5m)
The peak in the collection efficiency increases towards the tip of the wing, due to the decrease in
the thickness of the leading edge as the wing gets tapered. As mentioned in Langmuir-D Distribu-
tion (p. 1223), the droplets of same size are pushed away more by thicker sections of the aircraft,
while thinner sections receive more of the same size droplets.
33.1.4. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated the droplet impingement computation over a complete aircraft geometry
with no yaw angle and using symmetry allowed on only half of the aircraft to be modeled.
33.2. Splashing and Bouncing by Post-processing on a NACA23012 Airfoil

33.2.4. Summary
This tutorial illustrates how to compute droplet impingement over a NACA23012 airfoil using the
splashing and bouncing by post-processing model developed for Supercooled Large Droplets (SLD).

When the supercooled droplets are larger than 40 microns, they start to exhibit complex phenomena.
They deform and break up into smaller droplets as they get close to aircraft surfaces, splash into
Splashing and Bouncing by Post-processing on a NACA23012 Airfoil
smaller droplets upon impact that can be lost from the collection efficiency, and bounce off the surface
if the local impingement angle is too shallow. To properly calculate collection efficiency for SLD, these
phenomena should be accounted for.

33.2.3.2. Setup
33.2.3.3. Solution
1. Download the fluent_icing_droplet_impingement.zip file here.
2. Unzip fluent_icing_droplet_impingement.zip to your working directory.
3. The files, naca23012.cas.h5 and naca23012.dat.h5, can be found in the folder.
7. Click Start.
33.2.3.2. Setup
2. Enter Splashing_Bouncing_Postprocessing_NACA23012 as the Project file name

within the Select File dialog.
naca23012,and check to enable Load in Solver and Import Airflow Solution (.dat). Click
OK.
A new simulation folder will be created in the Project View, and the naca23012.cas.h5
file will be imported.
naca23012 (loaded).
Setup
Enable Airflow and Particles and disable Ice under Simulation Type.
Setup → Airflow
Note:
In this tutorial, all airflow properties are automatically imported when loading the
provided Fluent airflow solution input files, naca23012.cas.h5 and
naca23012.dat.h5.
Setup → Particles
– 0.0005 for LWC [kg/m3].
– 111.106 for Droplet Diameter [microns].
– Enable SLD.
– None for Break-Up Model.
– By post-processing for Splashing and Bouncing.
– Mundo for Splashing Model.
– Disabled for Terminal Velocity.
– 20 for CFL.
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to particles-splashing-
and-bouncing-on.
Once the computation is complete, the Particles solution file will be written inside the new
run directory particles-splashing-and-bouncing-on/Droplets.
33.2.3.3. Solution
1. In this example, Fluent Icing will calculate for 300 iterations. Once the simulation finishes, you
can view the collection efficiency distribution on the NACA23012.
Figure 33.8: NACA23012 Collection Efficiency Contours
2. You can also use Viewmerical to view the collection efficiency plot.
Results → Quick-view → Contour → View with Viewmerical
• In the Data section:
– Set Data to Collection efficiency-Droplet.
• In the Query section:
– Set 2D Plot to Enabled.
– Set Target to Walls.
– Set Cutting plane to Z.
Figure 33.9: SLD Clipping Effect of Splashing (Red) And Bouncing (Blue) On the Collection
Efficiency
The graph above shows the difference in collection efficiency when splashing and bouncing are
enabled by post processing. Splashing effects remove some collection at the stagnation point while
bouncing removes collection past a certain chord-wise limit on the upper and lower surfaces.
Note:
To obtain the curve without splashing and bouncing, a separate particles run should be
performed by changing Splashing and Bouncing to None.
33.2.4. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to compute droplet impingement over a NACA23012 airfoil using
the splashing and bouncing by post-processing model developed for Supercooled Large Droplets
(SLD).
Chapter 34: Ice Accretion Using Fluent Icing
34.1. Ice Accretion at High Speed
34.2. Ice Shedding on an Engine Fan Blade
34.1. Ice Accretion at High Speed

34.1.4. Summary
Icing calculations at high air speeds require special treatment when the total temperature of the flow
is very close or above freezing temperature. This condition may arise when the icing temperature is
low but the Mach number is in the mid- to transonic range. For these cases, an additional feature
called Extended Icing Data (EID) will be used, where Fluent Icing performs additional pre-processing
of the flow to improve the icing thermodynamics for this regime.

The problem considers the icing computations around a NACA0012 airfoil at an angle of attack of 7°
and a free-stream Mach number of 0.5912 at low icing temperature. The ice shapes encountered in
this flow regime, typically referred to as beak ice, are usually characterized by well-defined small horns
growing at a short distance from the stagnation point on a mostly uncontaminated surface. This is a
type of ice shape that is usually observed on the outboard sections of helicopter main rotor blades.
Ice Accretion Using Fluent Icing
Figure 34.1: NACA0012 Mesh

34.1.3.2. Setup
34.1.3.3. Solution
1. Download the fluent_icing_ice_accretion.zip file here.
2. Unzip fluent_icing_ice_accretion.zip to your working directory.
3. The file, naca0012.cas.h5, can be found in the folder.
7. Click Start.
Ice Accretion at High Speed
34.1.3.2. Setup
File → New...
2. Enter Ice_Accretion_High_Speed as the Project file name within the Select File dialog.
A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New Simulation as naca0012,
A new simulation folder will be created in the Project View, and the naca0012.cas.h5 file
will be imported.
naca0012 (loaded).
Setup
Setup → Airflow
– 190 for Velocity Magnitude [m/s].
8. Set the Fluent properties of the simulation.
Setup → Fluent
• In the Solver section, retain the following setting:
– Pressure-based for Type.
– Enable Energy.
– Enable Viscous Heating.
– Enable Turb. Production Limiter.
– Air for Fluid.
– 1004.69 for Cp [J/kg-K].
Setup → Particles
– 0.0002 for LWC [kg/m3].
– Disable SLD.
Setup → Ice
– Disable Beading.
– Disabled for Ice Shedding.
Press on Import Ref. Conditions to import the reference conditions of the case file. All reference
conditions are now imported to your boundary condition.
• In the Particles section, retain the following settings:
– Enable From Ref. Conditions.
– Disable Droplet Velocity Vector.
• In the Airflow section, retain the following settings:
– Edit for Conditions.
– Mach for Velocity Mode.
– 0.591209 for Mach Number.
– Vector components for Direction.
– 0.992546 for Flow Direction X.
– 0.121869 for Flow Direction Y.
– Intensity and Viscosity Ratio for Turbulence Specification.
– 0.08 for Turbulent Intensity [%].
– 1e-5 for Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
• In the Ice section, retain the following setting:
– Enabled for Icing.
– Heat Flux for Thermal Conditions.
– 0 for Heat Flux [W/m2].
For the EID calculations, icing walls need to be set as adiabatic walls. Heat transfer
coefficients will be extracted later on as part of EID solution.
– High roughness for Icing for Wall Roughness.
– 0.0005 for Roughness Height [m].
– Sink for Icing.
Note:
Sink boundaries remove any impingement and runback and prevent ice formation
on them. In this case, we will use it to remove runback water from reaching the
trailing edge on the lower side.
• In the Time Integration section, retain the following settings:
– Pseudo Time for Method.
– 0.1 for Time Scale Factor.
Note:
Time Scale Factor is a case specific setting and may need to be reduced for
stability or increased for computational efficiency.
• In the Initialization section, retain the following setting:
– Hybrid for Method.
• In the Post-processing Output section, retain the following setting:
– Disabled for Write Post-processing Files.
– 20 for CFL.
Solution → Ice
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to flow.
Once flow is complete, follow the steps below.
Once particles is complete, follow the steps below.
Solution → Ice → Calculate
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to ice.
Once the computation is complete, the solution files will be written inside the new run directory:
• naca0012
– flow
– particles
– ice
34.1.3.3. Solution
1. In this example, Fluent Icing will calculate the airflow, particles and ice simulation. Once the
simulation finishes, you can view the liquid water content on the NACA0012 airfoil.
Results → Quick-View → Contour → LWC
Figure 34.4: NACA0012 LWC Contours
2. You can also use Viewmerical to view the ice cover.
Results → Quick-View → Ice Cover → Ice Cover - Viewmerical
Figure 34.5: Beak Ice on the NACA0012 Airfoil
34.1.4. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated the ice accretion at high-speed over a NACA0012 airfoil, which encountered
a beak ice shape in this flow regime. In addition, EID feature was used to improve icing thermody-
namics.
34.2. Ice Shedding on an Engine Fan Blade

34.2.2. Limitations
34.2.5. Summary
Ice that accretes on rotating components like helicopter rotors, propellers, and engine fan blades can
shed due to breakup under centrifugal forces. When shedding happens asymmetrically, rotors exper-
ience vibrations which can be severe. Estimating when and how much ice will shed from a rotor blade
can help establish part of the parameters needed to analyze rotor vibrations and structural analysis.
The ice shedding feature is designed for the purpose of reporting the amount of ice mass that shed
during icing under the influence of rotational forces.
To compute ice delamination from the substrate and ice cracking, the ice volume is meshed internally
by ICE3D using the same surface mesh topology as the substrate. A stress analysis is then performed.
This operation takes place at a user-specified frequency which coincides with the solution output of
ICE3D. The stress analysis may reveal that multiple ice fragments delaminate and crack. These fragments
are reported in the log and the lost ice mass is removed from the solution. Icing time steps for engine
fans usually range between 1e-7 to 1e-4 seconds, while the stress analysis interval can be set much
higher, around 0.5 – 2 seconds.
For more details on the ice shedding model, consult Fluent User's Guide and Ansys FENSAP-ICE User
Manual.
34.2.2. Limitations
In this version, the stress analysis of the ice is done using a single CPU only. Large surface grids of
helicopter rotors and turbo-prop blades may take a long time to complete a single stress analysis.
Engine fan and rotor blades are more suited for use with the current version of the ice shedding im-
plementation.
Non-conformal rotational periodicity is not supported in Fluent Icing. The periodic boundaries on
either side need to be perfectly node-to-node matching.
Ice stress analysis is done on single shot ice shapes, with the ice volume mesh created as a single
layer between the starting surface and the final ice shape. Multi-shot ice shapes and multi-shot
workflows in general are not yet supported.
Ice Shedding on an Engine Fan Blade

In this tutorial, the ice shedding feature uses a simple fan blade shown in the figure below. The
structured computational mesh is 10-degree rotationally periodic. There is a tip gap between the
shroud and the fan blade. The exit is split into two sections, one for the bypass flow and one for the
engine core flow. The solution process will begin with airflow, followed with a particle solution for
droplets, and finally with an ice solution to compute ice accumulation and shedding.
Figure 34.6: 10-Degree Rotationally Periodic Section for a Simple Engine Fan Blade

34.2.4.2. Setup
34.2.4.3. Solution
1. Download the fluent_icing_ice_accretion.zip file here.
2. Unzip fluent_icing_ice_accretion.zip to your working directory.
3. The file, fan.cas.h5, can be found in the folder.
7. Click Start.
Alternatively, Fluent Icing can be opened using the icing (on Linux) or icing.bat (on Win-
dows) file inside the fluent/bin/ folder.
34.2.4.2. Setup
File → New...
2. Enter Ice_Shedding_on_Fan as the Project file name within the Select File dialog.
3. Select and import the fan.cas.h5 input grid.
A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New Simulation as fan, and
A new simulation folder will be created in the Project View, and the fan.cas.h5 file will be
imported.
4. Enable Advanced Settings to expose advanced features.
File → Preferences... → Icing → Advanced Settings
fan (loaded).
Setup
8. In the Icing Domain section, retain the following setting:
• All for Domain.
• Rotating for Reference Frame (Single Domain).
• 1800 for Speed [rev/min].
• 1 for Axis Direction X.
• 0 for Axis Direction Y.
• 0 for Axis Direction Z.
Setup → Airflow
– Cartesian components for Vector Mode.
– 77 for X Velocity [m/s].
– 0 for Y Velocity [m/s].
– 0 for Z Velocity [m/s].
10. Set the Fluent properties of the simulation.
Setup → Fluent
• In the Solver section, retain the following setting:
– Pressure-based for Type.
– Enable Energy.
– Enable Viscous Heating.
– Enable Turb. Production Limiter.
– Air for Fluid.
– 1004.5 for Cp [J/kg-K].
– Case settings for Thermal Conductivity - Option.
– Case settings for Dynamic Viscosity - Option.
Setup → Particles
Enable Droplets and Vapor under Type.
– 0.0001 for LWC [kg/m3].
– Disable SLD.
13. Set the Vapor properties of the simulation.
Setup → Particles → Vapor
• In the Conditions section, retain the following settings:
– Relative Humidity for Vapor Initialization.
– 100 for Relative Humidity [%].
– 0.7 for Turbulent Schmidt Number.
Setup → Ice
– Enable Beading.
– Enabled for Ice Shedding.
– Ice-Aluminum for Ice - Surface Interface.
– Principal Stress for Crack Detection Criteria.
– 40000 for Cohesive Tensile Strength [Pa].
– 100000 for Fracture Toughness [Pa.m^0.5].
– 8.5e+9 for Young's Modulus [Pa].
– 0.33 for Poisson's Ratio.
Note:
The Relative Humidity setting here is ineffective when vapor model is activated
as part of the particles simulation. The locally variable humidity on the wall will
instead be provided by the vapor transport solution.
The Icing Model is set to Glaze as there will be increased aerodynamic heating
from the root to the tip of the blade and conditions can change from rime to glaze
towards the tip.
Beading is enabled to find out the resulting ice surface roughness during ice ac-
cretion.
Ice shedding is enabled to compute ice stress and crack propagation as part of
the simulation. Enabling this option will bring up a list of parameters that are used
in the ice stress analysis. Currently only two options are supported for Ice – Surface
Interface: Ice-Aluminum and Ice-Steel. This choice affects the normal and shear
adhesive strength between the ice and the substrate.
Crack Detection Criteria can be set to either Principle Stress or Fracture

Toughness. Fracture Toughnessis usually used for ductile materials, while Principle
Stress is better suited for brittle materials like ice. When Principle Stress is chosen,
the critical stress for crack initiation and propagation will be the Cohesive Tensile
Stress set in this panel.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Inlets → zone1004
• In the Particles section, retain the following settings:
– Enable From Ref. Conditions.
Note:
When From Ref. Conditions is checked, the LWC and droplet diameter
values will be taken from the conditions defined in Properties - Droplets.
Water vapor boundary condition at the inlet is set to 100% relative humidity
which will apply the vapor saturation pressure at the air temperature set
for this boundary.
– Disable Droplet Velocity Vector.
– Relative Humidity for Vapor Condition Mode.
– Absolute for Reference Frame.
Note:
The Reference Frame determines if the velocity components are declared

in absolute or rotating frame of reference. In this case, the air is flowing
straight in the X direction onto the fan, while the fan is rotating as part of
the domain with it’s rotation set earlier in the Properties - Setup window.
On the other hand, if you had an inlet attached to a rotating assembly with
the air coming out of this inlet rotating with the same rate as the domain,
then you would need to set the reference frame to relative.
– Speed for Velocity Mode.
– Vector components for Direction.
– 1 for Flow Direction X.
– 0 for Flow Direction Y.
– Intensity and Viscosity Ratio for Turbulence Specification.
– 1 for Turbulent Intensity [%].
– 1 for Turbulent Viscosity Ratio.
Note:
Turbulent intensity and viscosity ratio are set to 1 instead of quiescent flow
since this is a fan domain and incoming flow could already have some tur-
bulence in an actual situation.
Note:
All walls are to be set as adiabatic (heat flux = 0) with zero roughness. In turboma-
chinery icing problems, it is preferable to have zero surface roughness, allowing it
to be built up with the beading model. Otherwise, this artificial roughness setting
applied to all walls can strongly change flow dynamics.
• In the Particles section, retain the following setting:
– Disable Vapor Wet Wall.
Note:
To simplify the problem, only the fan blade and the splitter will be enabled
for icing, while hub and shroud will be disabled. Since the blade is connected
to the hub and the ice needs to grow at this intersection, the robust method
is to set the hub to Disabled-Sliding. This will allow blade ice to follow the
hub surface at the hub/blade intersection as it grows outward from the blade.
– Disabled-Sliding for Icing.
– 0 for Roughness Height [m].
Note:
Zone2006 corresponds to the shroud, which is not needed for icing computations
and can be disabled. This is a static wall which does not rotate with the fan, and
needs to be set as counter rotating to the cell zone. This is set by enabling Rotating
Wall and applying the opposite rotation speed. Alternatively you could set it to zero
rotation in the absolute reference frame. The axis origin and direction will be locked
to the same values used for the cell zone.
– Disabled for Icing.
– Enable Rotating Wall.
– Relative to Cell Zone for Reference Frame.
– -1800 for Speed [rev/min]
Note:
The fan blade is zone2007. Icing will be enabled for this zone, with no additional
rotational settings.
– Disable Rotating Wall.
Note:
The bypass/core splitter is zone2008 and is set as counter rotating since it's a static
component similar to zone2006. Icing is also enabled for this zone to visualize the
amount of ice that will accumulate on this boundary.
– Case settings for Wall Roughness.
– Enable Rotating Wall.
– -1800 for Speed [rev/min]
Note:
On counter rotating walls, the icing results will be circumferentially averaged akin to
the mixing plane approach. This modeling approach accounts for many instances of
blades rotating past this splitter section through the course of icing computed for a
much longer period than the passage of a single blade across the periodic section.
Note:
Zone2009 is comprised of the trailing edge and the tip sections of the blade. Select
this boundary, then press Display to show it in the Graphics window:
Note:
The tip and the trailing edge have been separated on purpose to apply Sink
boundary conditions and prevent ice from accumulating on these parts. The mesh
elements part of the structured grid are extremely thin with very high aspect ratios.
This severely decreases the solver performance of the stress analysis module used
for ice cracking. Water film flow requires extremely low time steps should there be
any runback reaching these elements. The loss in ice-shedding modeling accuracy
is negligible, while the gain in solver performance is quite significant. Therefore, it
is highly recommended preparing your grids in a similar way for icing and ice shedding
analysis on rotor blades.
– Sink for Icing.
– Disable Rotating Wall.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlets → zone3010
– 300 for Backflow Total Temperature [K].
16. Reset Conditions to Case settings.
Note:
The Reference Frame is not used for outlet boundary conditions, therefore it can
remain as Relative to Cell Zone. The only other options currently available are
Backflow Total Temperature, in cases of flow reversal, and Pressure [Pa]. In rotating
flows, there will be a radial pressure increase in the fluid due to centrifugal forces.
The increase in pressure counters the centrifugal force on the fluid (radial equilibrium).
In engine aerodynamic simulations, it is important to include this effect in the mod-
eling process. Since this option is not present in Fluent Icing at this time, it will have
to be set in the Fluent Solution workspace instead.
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlets zone3010 → Reset to Custom Settings
Setup → Boundary Conditions → Outlet → zone3010 (pressure-outlet, id=10)
• In the Momentum section, retain the following settings:
– 66456 for Gauge Pressure [Pa].
– 1 for Pressure Profile Multiplier.
– Enable Prevent Reverse Flow.
– Enable Radial Equilibrium Pressure Distribution.
Note:
Apply the same settings for zone3011 (pressure-outlet, id=11).
Periodicity has already been set in the case, with one-to-one matching periodic
boundaries with a 10-degree angle. Refer to Setting Up Periodic Boundaries for
more information on setting periodicity for your domains.
Solution
• In the Multi-Shot section, retain the following settings:
– Enable Save File at Each Shot.
– Complete for Log Verbosity.
– 200 for Courant Number.
Note:
Time Scale Factor is a case specific setting and may need to be reduced for sta-
bility or increased for computational efficiency.
– 20 for CFL.
– Disable Vapor Condensation.
Note:
This is a relatively simple case and 40 iterations will suffice to reach convergence.
For more complex flows and meshes with thinner elements, the Number of Itera-
tions should be increased. The best indicator in deciding whether your turboma-
chinery problem has converged lies is the Mass Deficit. Collection efficiency will
converge before total mass balance since the shadow zones may not have com-
pletely formed. It is important to converge the exit boundaries as well since in
multi-row turbo simulations these exit rows will dictate the inflow conditions for
subsequent rows.
Solution → Ice
• In the Shedding Outputs section, retain the following settings:
– 2 for Shedding Interval [s].
Note:
The Shedding Interval [s] sets the frequency of ice stress and crack propagation
analysis. Since this is a relatively expensive operation, it should not be set at
every local time step. You can experiment with smaller and larger time intervals
to explore how it affects the overall ice shedding properties like maximum shed-
ice mass and the frequency of large shed events.
– Yes for Numbered Output Files.
20. Save the current simulation state.
Project → Simulation → Save Case
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to flow.
Once flow is complete, follow the steps below.
Once particles is complete, follow the steps below.
Solution → Ice → Calculate
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to ice.
Once the computation is complete, the solution files will be written inside the new run directory:
• fan
– flow
– particles
– ice
34.2.4.3. Solution
1. Take a look at the convergence history of this simulation in the Plots window located at the
right of your screen.
The following three figures show the convergence of residuals of the Airflow, Particles and Ice
runs.
Figure 34.9: Air Residuals
Note:
You can navigate to Results within the Outline View to display contour plots. Static
pressure and temperature plots are already included under Contours.
Figure 34.10: Particles Residuals
You can create a new contour plot to visualize the droplet solution in the window.
You can also open the results in Viewmerical from the Project View. Right-click the Droplets
solution and select View Results With… → Viewmerical. A Viewmerical window will appear
allowing you to further post-process the Droplets results.
Figure 34.11: Collection Efficiency on the Blade and Splitter
Figure 34.12: Ice Residuals
The image above shows the total ice mass history, and includes the ice accreting on the spinner
as well. The drops in value indicate some ice loss due to shedding. The largest shed event occurs
at t = 32s. The mass loss can be determined by clicking the curve at the two ends of the discon-
tinuity and comparing the values of ice mass:
More information is available in a log file, fan.iceshed.log, located in the run directory on
disk.
The Ice shedding summary log file shows 9 ice fragments were shed, with the total shed mass
close to 50% of the total before shedding.
You can view the ice accumulation history as a sequence of results by right-clicking Ice under
ice (current) in the Project View and selecting Surface Grid → View With Viewmerical to
load the ice solution. Select New Instance if asked to append this solution to an existing
Viewmerical window.
Using the – and + buttons in the top right corner, first remove this grid by clicking –, then click
+ to load a new dataset.
Under Grid file, click the browse button , navigate to the ice directory, and select
fan.ice.grid.shed.00000001. Enable the File sequence option. For Solution file (op-
tional), click the browse button and select fan.swimsol.shed.00000001. When a numbered
solution file similar to this is chosen, enable the additional File Sequence option that appears.
Press Load. You should now see the ice solution with Mass Caught displayed. Switch to the
Data tab on the right panel and select Ice Growth (kg/m^2) from its drop-down. Set the Color
range to Grayscale – 128 and set the maximum range to 0.3.
By moving the slider bar back and forth, you will be able to visualize the ice accumulation and
mass loss due to shedding. The numbered files are saved at every 2 seconds of icing, coinciding
with the shedding analysis frequency.
34.2.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated ice that accretes on rotating components like helicopter rotors, propellers,
and engine fan blades which can shed due to breakup under centrifugal forces.
Chapter 35: Multishot Icing with Automatic
Remeshing Tutorial
35.1. Limitations
35.2. Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic Remeshing Using Fluent Meshing
35.3. Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing - Run in Batch Mode
35.4. Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic Remeshing - Postprocessing Using CFD-Post
35.1. Limitations
For a list of limitations related to multi-shot, see Known Limitations in Fluent Icing 2023 R1.
35.2. Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic Remeshing Using Fluent Meshing
35.2.4. Summary
This tutorial demonstrates Fluent Icing's capabilities in conducting a multi-shot ice accretion simulation
on the 3D Onera M6 swept wing under glaze icing conditions using automatic remeshing with Fluent
Meshing. Automatic remeshing will maintain and/or improve the mesh resolution over the ice shape
as it evolves at each shot. Therefore, it will enhance convergence, precision and accuracy of the entire
simulation process.
Through this tutorial, you will learn how Fluent Icing can be set up to perform an 18-minute multi-
shot ice accretion calculation divided into 6 quasi-steady shots of 3 minutes each. The automatic
remeshing approach uses Fluent Meshing to entirely remesh the new iced surface as well as the
volumetric mesh. It maintains a high level of mesh quality and precisely captures complex features
such as ice horns.
Note:
The automatic remeshing approach shown is different than the automatic mesh displace-
ment (ALE) method. In the ALE method, only the ice surface and cells around the ice shape
Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing Tutorial
are displaced. This method maintains the same number of nodes and cells during the entire
multi-shot simulation. The disadvantage of the ALE method is the deterioration of the
mesh quality (coarsening, increase in aspect ratio of cells, etc.). This is especially true for
longer ice accretion times where the possibility of complex ice shapes such as horns can
develop.
You should have at least 64GB of RAM to run this multi-shot icing simulation since the mesh size in-
creases with the number of shots.
Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing - Run in Batch Mode (p. 1427) shows how to run a multi-
shot icing simulation in Fluent Icing using batch mode and a journal file.

The problem considers the multishot ice accretion on the 3D Onera M6 swept wing under glaze icing
conditions using automatic remeshing with Fluent Meshing.
Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic Remeshing Using Fluent Meshing
Figure 35.1: ONERA M6 Swept Wing Geometry and Mesh
Table 35.1: Simulation In-Flight Icing Conditions
Characteristic Length 0.65 m

Speed 103 m/s
Angle of Attack 4°
Pressure (Altitude = 5000 84312.727 Pa

ft)
Temperature 268 K (-5.15 °C)
MVD 20 μm
LWC Appendix C - Continuous
Maximum
Ice Accretion Time 18 minutes

35.2.3.2. Setup
35.2.3.3. Solution
1. Download the fluent_multishot.zip file here.
2. Unzip fluent_multishot.zip to your working directory.
3. The file, oneram6-wing.cas.h5, can be found in the folder.
7. Click Start.
35.2.3.2. Setup
2. Enter Fluent_Icing_ONERAM6_Multishot as the Project file name within the Select File
dialog.
3. Select and import the oneram6-wing.cas.h5 input grid.
oneram6_icing, and check to enable Load in Solver. Click OK.
A dialog will open asking you to set the operating pressure to 0 Pa. Press Yes to accept this
change.
Note:
Absolute pressure is recommended in all icing simulations. Therefore, Fluent Icing

will automatically detect the imported case file, whose operating pressure is not
equal to zero, when importing the case file. See Airflow in the Fluent User's Guide for
more details.
A new simulation folder will be created in the Project View, and the oneram6-wing.cas.h5
file will be imported.
oneram6_icing (loaded).
Figure 35.3: NACA0012 Clean Mesh Display
Setup
The Airflow, Particles and Ice Simulation Type should automatically be enabled within the
Properties - Setup panel.
Setup → Airflow
– 84312.7 for Pressure [Pa].
Setup → Fluent Set to Default Air Properties
A dialog will open. Click OK to accept the air properties computed from the current airflow
temperature.
Note:
This automatically sets the air properties, suggested for icing simulations, from the
current reference air temperature. The values of air properties have been computed
using the equations presented in Airflow.
For simplicity, thermal conductivity and viscosity equations are shown below.
where refers to the ambient air static temperature, and , and are
equal to 0.00216176 W/m/K3/2, 288 K and 17.9*10-6 Pa.s, respectively.
– Enable Energy.
– Select Air under the Fluid drop-down list.
– 1004.69 for Cp [J/kg-K].
10. Define the Viscous Model.
Setup → Models → Viscous (SST k-omega)
• In the Model Constants section, retain the following settings:
– 0.9 for Energy Prandtl Number.
– 0.9 for Wall Prandtl Number.
11. Define the Reference Values.
• In the Reference Values section:
– Set Area [m2] to 0.76.
12. Define the Report Definitions.
Solution → Report Definitions
• In the Report Definitions section:
– Select report-cd and press Edit... (To create a new drag report, you can select New →
Force Report → Drag…)
– Retain the default values of 0.99756405, 0.069756474, and 0 for X, Y, and Z for Force
Vector.
– Familiarize yourself with the selections in the Drag Report Definition dialog. Press Cancel
– De-select report-cd, select report-cl, and press Edit... (To create a new lift report, you can
select New → Force Report → Lift…)
– Retain the default values of -0.069756474, 0.99756405, and 0 for X, Y, and Z for Force
Vector.
– Familiarize yourself with the selections in the Lift Report Definition dialog. Press Cancel
Press Close to close the Report Definitions dialog.
13. Modify the Absolute Criteria for convergence.
Solution → Monitors → Residual
• In the Equations section, retain the following settings:
– Set 1e-10 for all Absolute Criteria entries.
– Monitor and Check Convergence.
– Enable Show Advanced Options.
– Enable Scale and Compute Local Scale.
– Set local scaling for Report Option.
14. Maximize the Fluent Icing graphical user interface and close the Fluent Workspace.
15. Set the Particles properties for the simulation.
Setup → Particles
Enable Droplets under Type in the Properties - Particles panel.
16. Set the Droplets properties for the simulation.
– Select Appendix C under the Appendix Conditions drop-down list and press Edit....
→ Within the Appendix C - Atmospheric icing conditions dialog, under Environment,

toggle on Continuous maximum (Stratiform clouds) and press OK.
The LWC [kg/m3] field automatically updates its value based on the previous selection.
• In the Particles Distribution section:
– Retain the default selection of Monodispersed for Particles Distribution.
• In the Model section:
– Retain the default selection of Water for Droplet Drag Model.
17. Set the Ice properties for the simulation.
Setup → Ice
• In the Model section:
– Retain the default selection of Glaze for Icing Model.
– Press on Import Ref. Conditions to import the reference conditions of the case file. All
reference conditions are now imported to your boundary condition.
– Retain all default selections under the Airflow section.
Note:
From Ref. Conditions will apply the droplet conditions at the inlet of the pressure-
far-field boundary, which in this case is the LWC and MVD. If Droplet Velocity
Vector remains unchecked, the airflow velocity is imposed as the droplet velocity
at the inlet. Therefore, the relative velocity between air and droplets is zero at
farfield.
– Temperature for Thermal Conditions.
– Click Temp. adiabatic+10 to enter 283.28 for Temperature [K].
Note:
This is the initial roughness height applied to the first shot only. All other shots
will have a roughness distribution applied over their iced surfaces since Beading
was enabled under Setup → Ice
Setup → Boundary Conditions → pressure-outlet-8
– Select Absolute under the Reference Frame drop-down list.
– Press on Import Ref. Conditions to import the reference conditions of the case file. All
reference conditions are now imported to your boundary condition.
– Retain all default selections under the Airflow section.
– Select Pseudo Time under the Method drop-down list.
– 0.1 for Time Scale Factor.
Note:
Time Scale Factor is a case specific setting and may need to be reduced for sta-
bility or increased for computational efficiency.
• Retain all default selections under the Properties - Particles panel.
Solution → Ice
• In the Time section:
– Retain the default value of 180 for Total Time of Ice Accretion [s].
– Press on Set-up Remeshing to gain access to all Remeshing options.
• In the Mesh section:
– Retain the default selection of Fluent Meshing for Remeshing.
• In the Remeshing section, retain the following settings:
– [0.002, 3] for Global Sizing - Min/Max.
– 1.2 for Global Sizing - Growth Rate.
– 0.003 for Proximity Sizing - Min.
– [0.002, 0.02] for Curvature Sizing - Min/Max.
– 1.2 for Curvature Sizing - Growth Rate.
– 20 for Prism - Number of Layers.
– 1000 for Prism - First Cell Aspect Ratio.
– 1.2 for Prism - Growth Rate.
– [1, 1, 0.05] for Material Point.
– 3D for Dimension.
Note:
– Large grids/meshes with small mesh sizing may run into memory problems
at the solver to meshing switch.
– A remesh_run.jou file is automatically created in the simulation folder.

This file contains the automatic remeshing steps used by Fluent Meshing
to create a new mesh at each shot. For advanced users of Fluent Meshing
who have specific needs, you can modify this script as needed, by going
to the Project View tab, right-clicking it and selecting Edit in Text Editor.
This provides more flexibility and allows you to adapt the journal file to
your specific needs.
Solution
• In the Multi-shot section, retain the following settings:
– Enable Save Files at Each Shot.
– Minimal for Log Verbosity.
Note:
The airflow solver can be reinitialized at each shot or continued from an interpolated
solution originating from a previous shot. This can be done by either Reinitialize
or Continue under Airflow Restart. For this tutorial, leave it to Reinitialize.
Launch the simulation by pressing Run Multi-Shot.
A New run window will appear. Set the Name of the new run to multishot_remeshing
and press OK.
Note:
Alternatively, you can launch the multi-shot calculation using Solution Run
Multi-Shot
35.2.3.3. Solution
1. View your convergence history for all shots.
Project View → multishot_remeshing View Convergence
2. You can look at the convergence history of this simulation in the Curve → Residuals window
located to the right of your screen. Dataset → ##-Air, ##--Particles, ##--Ice provide a quick
overview of the convergence history of all shots.
If your calculation stopped during the multishot simulation, you can resume your it from a
specific step within a shot. Go to the Project View, right-click the shot.xx folder, and select Set
Restart Shot. Next, go to Solution. Inside its Properties – Solution panel, set the Step
from where you would like to resume your multi-shot simulation, Airflow, Particles, Ice, and
Mesh Update. Then, click Run Multi-Shot to relaunch your calculations. Click Yes to continue
the current run.
Calculations will start at the beginning of the step that was selected.
If you would like to restart your calculations with new settings, click Interrupt followed by Reset
Multi-Shot to reload the initial grid and reset all solutions. Make changes to your multishot
calculation inside the Outline View and click Run Multi-Shot.
Do not close Fluent Icing if you would like to further post-process the multi-shot ice solution.
1. Post-process your icing solution.
Project → Project View
2. Under the oneram6_icing (loaded) simulation, a new run named multishot_remeshing now
appears. Expand the run by clicking the + icon to the left of multishot_remeshing to show the
files associated with the run. Each shot is represented by a folder and includes a two digit
number to specify the shot number. Each folder contains a mesh file (Case), and 3 solution files
(Airflow, Droplets and Ice).
3. Once all calculations are complete, you can view the final ice shape by right-clicking Ice located
under shot.06 within the Project View. Select View Results With... → Viewmerical. Choose
Ice cover in the View Ice dialog.
Figure 35.4: Multishot Automatic Remeshing Ice Shape
Note:
You are also invited to perform another icing simulation with the following finer
mesh settings. These settings will allow you to obtain a smooth representation of
the ice shape but will require more computing resources.
Within Solution → Ice, modify the following settings under Remeshing.
• Set Global Sizing - Min/Max to 0.001.
• Set Curvature Sizing - Min/Max to 0.001.
• Set Prism - Number of Layers to 25.

The figure below shows the ice shape obtained with these new conservative settings.
These settings do a better job of capturing ice horns as well as the convective and
viscous effects around the ice shape.
Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing - Run in Batch Mode
35.2.4. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to obtain a multishot ice solution around a 3D Onera M6 swept wing
using Fluent Icing.
35.3. Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing - Run in Batch Mode

In this section, you will learn how to launch your icing simulation in Fluent Icing batch mode.
A python script that recorded all steps of the previous tutorial is used to demonstrate this capability.
Note:
The python script was generated following these steps:
1. Open Fluent Icing
2. Select File → Start Journal. In the Select File window, name your script oneram6-
multishots-auto-run.py. Click OK to start the recording.
3. Repeat all the steps of the previous tutorial and wait until the simulation is completed.
4. File → Stop Journal to finish the recording.
5. Open the script. Add the following few extra command lines at the beginning of the
script if you want to delete an old existing project. In this case, the old project name is
Fluent_multishot_oneram6:
• Project.erase('Fluent_multishot_oneram6')
• preferences.PrjApp.UseLauncher.setState(False)
• preferences.PrjApp.ShowFluentWindow.setState(False)
When running in batch mode, turn off the graphical user interface Launcher and
the Fluent client.
1. Create a new working folder and name it FLUENT-ICING.
2. Download the fluent_multishot.zip file here. Extract all the files and copy oneram6-
wing.cas.h5 and oneram6-multishots-auto-run.py to the working folder ../FLUENT-
ICING/.
3. Open a terminal and navigate to the working folder ../FLUENT-ICING/. Execute the following
command to launch the run in batch mode within Fluent Icing on a Windows™ machine.
..\fluent\bin\icing.bat -R oneram6-multishots-auto-run.py -t 12 -N
To launch the run in batch mode on Linux machines, execute the following command:
../fluent/bin/icing -R oneram6-multishots-auto-run.py -t 12 -N
Replace the .. with the full path where the Ansys package is installed. The option -R in the command
means that Fluent Icing will execute the python script oneram6-multishots-auto-run.py
then exit. The option of -t 12 is the number of CPU assigned to this run, 12 CPUs in this case. Use
the -N option to set Fluent Icing in batch mode. See Python Console for more details and available
options.
Once the script is executed, it will automatically create a project name/folder, set up the icing sim-
ulation, and launch the run. Fluent Icing will run in batch mode until the simulation completes.
Note:
You can also run the script to set up the icing simulation without launching the simulation.
To do so,
• Open the script with any text editor.
• Go to the end of the script, and comment out the last line to skip the execution step
of the command by adding # at the beginning of the line.
# Project.newRun('multishot','multishot_remeshing',-1)
• Save and close the script.
• Execute the script as mentioned in Step 3 above.
4. Launch Fluent Icing and go to File → Open Project..., or select Open... under the Project ribbon.
Navigate to the working folder ../FLUENT-ICING, and select the file Flu-
ent_multishot_oneram6.flprj to add the project to Fluent Icing’s Project Library.
Note:
Fluent Icing will not automatically add new projects to its Project Library that are run
in batch mode. The new project can be accessed by using File → Open.
After the project is added, you will see it within the Project View:
Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing - Run in Batch Mode
5. Verify that the results below are similar to those obtained in Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic
Remeshing Using Fluent Meshing (p. 1399) by following the steps below:
• Right-click multishot_remeshing under Project View and select View Convergence to view the
simulation’s convergence. The figures below show the 1st shot Residuals of the airflow simulations.
Figure 35.5: Residuals of 1st Shot’s Air Flow Simulation (Left: Script Run; Right: Simulation
from the Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing on the Onera M6 Wing Tutorial)
• Right-click Ice under the shot.01 folder under Project View. Select View Results With... →
Viewmerical, and then click Ice solution from the View Ice dialog. The following shows the ice
surface solution of the 1st shot.
Figure 35.6: Instant. Ice Growth of 1st Shot Surface Icing Solution (Red: Script Run; Black:
Simulation from the Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing on the Onera M6 Wing
Tutorial)
Figure 35.7: Water Film of 1st Shot Surface Icing Solution (Red: Script Run; Black: Simulation
Figure 35.8: Wall Temperature of 1st Shot Surface Icing Solution (Red: Script Run; Black:
Simulation from the Multishot Icing with Automatic Remeshing on the Onera M6 Wing
Tutorial)
Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic Remeshing - Postprocessing Using CFD-Post
• To view the final ice shape, right-click the Ice icon located under shot.6 in the Project View. Select
View Results With... → Viewmerical. Choose New Instance from the Information window to
load the ice shape in a new Viewmerical window if you didn’t close the previous one. You will
then choose Ice cover in the View Ice dialog.
Figure 35.9: Computed Ice Shape at the End of the 6th Shot (Left: Script Run; Right: Simulation
You can now post-process these icing results with CFD-Post. Consult the next section for more
information.
35.4. Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic Remeshing - Postprocessing

Using CFD-Post
In this tutorial, you will learn how to postprocess and generate figures and animations of a 3D Multishot
ice accretion calculation (ice shape and ice solution fields) using two dedicated CFD-Post macros: Ice
Cover – 3D-View and Ice Cover – 2D-Plot. For this purpose, the Multishot icing solutions of the
multishot_remeshing run are needed and, therefore, completion of Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic
Remeshing Using Fluent Meshing (p. 1399) is required.
For more information regarding these macros, consult the CFD-Post Macros section within the FENSAP-
ICE User Manual.
1. In your Fluent Icing window, go to the Project View and right-click multishot_remeshing. Select
View Results With CFD-Post.
2. 2A dialog will open asking you to select the type of dataset. Press on Ice. A secondary window will
then open asking you to select the type of Ice dataset. Press on Ice cover.
4. Go to the Calculators tab and double-click on Macro Calculator. The Macro Calculator’s interface
Note:
the CFD-Post’s main menu.
CFD-Post 3D Viewer.
ice shape of a first shot of the Multishot simulation. Output the ice shape at the end of the multi-
shot simulation of Multishot Glaze Ice with Automatic Remeshing Using Fluent Meshing (p. 1399), this
corresponds to the ice shape of shot 6. Set Multi-shot # to 6.
7. Under Display Mode, enter 0.2 in Transparency to output a semi-transparent ice shape that will
allow you to see the swept wing beneath the ice shape.
8. Leave the other settings unchanged. Click Calculate to execute the macro and view the ice shape
in 3D Viewer.
Figure 35.10: Ice View in CFD-Post, Transparent Ice Cover of the Final Ice Shape
Note:
To change the style of the ice shape display, go to Display Mode and select one of the
following options: Ice Cover, Ice Cover – shaded, Ice Cover – No Orig, Ice Cover (only)
or Ice Cover (only) - shaded. To output the surface mesh of the ice shape, go to Display
Mesh and select Yes.
9. To output the solution fields of your icing simulation, you can either select Ice Solution – Overlay,
rate over the ice layer without transparency.
10. To do this, select Ice Solution – Overlay in Display Mode.
11. Set a Transparency value of 0 under Display Mode as this will provide a more solid view on the
displayed surfaces.
12. Select Instant. Ice Growth (kg s^-1 m^-2) in the Display Variable drop-down list.
13. You will change the range and number of contours of the ice solution field. Under Display Variable,
• Set Number of Contours to 21.
• Change Range from Global to User Specified.
• Enter 0.03 and 0 in the (Usr. Specif.) Max and (Usr. Specif.) Min input boxes, respectively.
14. Click Calculate to view the instantaneous ice growth over the final ice shape.
Figure 35.11: Ice View in CFD-Post, Instantaneous Ice Growth over the Final Ice
15. Go to Save Figure to save this figure in a file,
• Select Yes beside Save Figure.
• Keep Screen Shot under By. If you select Size, you must specify width and height of the image.
• Keep the default Format. There are three types of format supported: PNG, JPEG, and BMP. The
default format is PNG.
• Specify a Filename for the figure.
16. Click Calculate to generate and save the figure. A message will appear to notify the user of the
location where the figure is saved.
Note:
If CFD-Post was opened through Fluent Icing, the figure will be saved in the run folder.
If CFD-Post was opened in standalone mode, the figure will be saved in the Window’s
system default folder.
17. You can also generate and save animations that highlight the ice shape evolution of your Multishot
simulation while displaying an ice solution field over it. Follow these steps to create and save a
custom animation.
• Go to Save Figure and select No.
• Go to Multi-shot # and set it to 1. The animation starts at the assigned shot number in Multi-
shot # to the last shot of the simulation.
• Set (Multi-shot) Movie to On and click Calculate to see the animation on the 3D Viewer window.
• To save this animation, in (Multi-shot) Movie,
– Set Save to Yes.
– Keep the default Format. Two formats are supported, wmv and MPEG4. The default is wmv.
– Specify a Filename.
• Click Calculate to generate and save the animation. A message will appear to notify the user of
the location where the animation is saved and at which shot the animation starts.
Note:
If CFD-Post was opened through Fluent Icing, the animation will be saved in the run
folder. If CFD-Post was opened in standalone mode, the animation will be saved in the
Window’s system default folder.
18. Select Ice Cover – 2D-Plot from the Macro drop-down list to create 2D-plots of the Multishot sim-
ulation. You will create 2D-Plots at various locations along the swept wing using a single shot
solution or multiple shot solutions.
19. Set Multi-shot # to 3 since you will output the ice shape of the third shot.
20. Change the Plot’s Title to Multishot – Remeshing – Shot No.3.
21. Keep the default setting of 2D-Plot (with). The default setting is Single Shot. The other options of
2D-Plot (with) allow the creation of multiple shot results within the same 2D-Plot.
22. Under 2D-Plot (with),
• Keep the default setting of Mode. The default setting is Geometry to output the ice shape.
• Make sure Cutting Plane By is set to the default Z Plane.
• Set X/Y/Z Plane Point to 0.5. In this case, this corresponds to a Z=0.5 plane.
23. To center the 2D-Plot around the wing section at Z=0,
• Keep the (x)Range of the X-Axis to Global.
24. Leave the other default settings unchanged and click Calculate to create a 2D-Plot of the 3rd shot
ice shape at Z=0.5 in ChartViewer. Adjust the output window’s size. The figure below shows the
cutting plane location in the 3D Viewer window and the output of the macro in ChartViewer.
Figure 35.12: 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, 3rd Shot Ice Shape at Z=0.5
25. You will now create a 2D-Plot of all the ice shapes of the multishot simulation using a user-defined
cutting plane and save this image in a file. First, set Multi-shot # to 1.
26. Change the Plot’s Title to Multishot – Remeshing – All Shots.
27. Select Multi-Shots from the 2D-Plot (with) drop-down list. This will generate a series of 2D plot
curves, starting from the assigned shot number in Multishot Num. to the last shot of the multishot
simulation.
28. Under 2D-Plot (with),
• Keep the default setting of Mode. The default setting is Geometry to output the ice shape.
• Set the Cutting Plane By to Point and Normal to define an arbitrary cutting plane. The
normal does not need to be a unit vector.
• Set the coordinate of the point (0.533646, -0.022681, 0.898708) inside (Pt. &
Nml.)Pnt.X/Y/Z, respectively.
• Set the normal vector coordinates (0.5, 0, 0.866025) inside (Pt. & Nml.)Nml.X/Y/Z, respect-
ively.
29. To center the 2D-Plot around the leading edge of the wing section defined by the arbitrary cutting
plane,
0.45 in the input boxes of (Usr.Specif.x)Max and (Usr.Specif.x)Min, respectively.
30. To simultaneously save this 2D-Plot as a figure, go to Save Figure,
• Select Yes beside Save Figure.
• Keep the default Format. There are three types of format supported: PNG, JPEG, and BMP. The
default format is PNG.
• Specify a Filename for the figure.
31. Leave the other default settings unchanged and click Calculate to create a 2D-Plot of all the ice
shapes at a user-defined cutting plane in ChartViewer. A message will appear to notify the user of
the location where the figure is saved. Adjust the output window’s size. The figure below shows the
cutting plane location in the 3D Viewer window and the output of the macro in ChartViewer.
Figure 35.13: 2D-Plot in CFD-Post, Multishot Ice Shapes at a User-Defined Cutting Plane
Chapter 36: Fluent Aero Tutorial
36.1. Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an ONERA M6 Wing at a Range of Angles of Attack
36.2. Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients and Wall Heat Flux on a Re-Entry Capsule at Different Altitudes
Using Custom Exploration
36.3. Introduction to Aircraft Component Groups and Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an Aircraft at
Different Flight Altitudes and Engine Regimes
36.4. Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an Aircraft Horizontal Tail Wing in a Wind Tunnel Domain at
Different Mass Flow Rates
36.5. Fluent Aero AET Part III – Creating VBM Input File for Blade Section
36.1. Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an ONERA M6 Wing at a

Range of Angles of Attack
The objective of this tutorial is to use Fluent Aero to obtain lift, drag and moment coefficients on an
ONERA M6 swept wing geometry at a range of angles of attack.
Download the fluent_aero_tutorial.zip file here.
Unzip fluent_aero_tutorial.zip to your working directory.
1. Extract the oneram6-wing.msh.h5 file and the reference_data folder for this tutorial. The
reference_data folder contains several .csv formatted text files. Their content will be compared
to the CFD results of the current calculation. The reference data files are provided for demonstration
purposes only.
The oneram6-wing.msh.h5 file contains a grid of an ONERA-M6 swept wing that is an all-poly
mesh and consists of 478,848 nodes, and 114,219 cells. This is a very coarse grid. Its purpose is to
ease calculation time and resources while demonstrating the most common features of Fluent Aero.
Four layers of prisms are grown off the wing’s wall boundaries and are used to capture the boundary
layer. This number is insufficient if the goal is to obtain precise and accurate solutions. The limits
of the computational domain are defined by a hemispherical boundary that acts as a pressure-farfield,
and a flat circular boundary defined as a symmetry plane in the Z direction. This mesh follows the
Freestream domain type requirements of a Fluent Aero simulation. For a Freestream domain type,
the external boundary of the domain should be defined with a pressure-far-field zone, and can op-
tionally include a connected pressure-outlet zone. Refer Freestream or WindTunnel Domain Type
Requirements for more information.
Fluent Aero Tutorial
Figure 36.1: View of the Surface Mesh around the ONERA M6 Wing
Figure 36.2: Boundary Surface Mesh of the ONERA M6 Domain
2. Launch Fluent 2023 R1 on your computer. On the Fluent Launcher panel, set the Capacity Level
to Enterprise. Then select Aero. Set the number of Solver Processes to 4-8. Click Start.
Alternatively, Fluent Aero can be opened using the aero (on Linux) or aero.bat (on Windows)
file inside the fluent/bin/ folder.
3. In the Fluent Aero workspace, go to the Project ribbon. Click Workspaces → Options, and make
sure to uncheck Use Custom Solver Launch Settings, Show Solution Workspace on Launch, and
Enable Solution Workspace Graphics.
Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an ONERA M6 Wing at a Range of Angles
of Attack
4. In the Project ribbon panel, select Project → New… and enter Fluent_Aero_Tutorial_01 to
create a new project folder.
5. In the Project ribbon, select Simulation → New Aero Workflow, and browse to and select the
oneram6-wing.msh.h5 file. A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New
Simulation as oneram6-aoa-exploration, and check to enable Load in Solver. Click OK.
The case file will be opened and a background solver session will be loaded. A new simulation folder
will be created in your project folder. Fluent Aero will convert the .msh.h5 grid file to a .cas.h5
format case file and the latter will be imported in the simulation folder as oneram6-wing.cas.h5.
After the .cas.h5 file has been successfully loaded, a new Outline View tree appears under
oneram6_aoa_exploration (loaded).
While importing, Fluent Aero will search for and find the pressure-far-field zone that defines the
external boundary of the domain. If present, this will cause Fluent Aero to determine that this case
is using a Freestream domain type, and the following message will be reported in the Console.
6. In the Outline View window, click Geometric Properties. A Properties - Geometric Properties
window appears below the Outline View window. At the top of this new properties window, notice
that the Domain Type has been automatically set to Freestream.
Define the orientation of the geometry within the computational domain, which will be used to
compute the aerodynamic forces.
of Attack
• Set Domain Dimension to 3D.
• Set Lift Direction at AoA = 0 Degrees to Y+.
• Set Drag Direction at AoA = 0 Degrees to X+.
• Set the Moment Center X, Y and Z Position [m] to 0.2, 0, and 0, respectively.
• Set the Reference Length [m] to 0.646, which corresponds to the mean chord length.
• Set the Reference Area [m^2] to 0.748827.
Alternatively, the reference area can be computed by enabling the Compute Projected Area option.
A Projected Surface Areas dialog will appear. Set the Projection Direction to Y and select all wall
surfaces. Click the Compute button and then click the Use as Ref. Area button to copy the computed
area to the Reference Area [m^2] box.
7. In the Setup tree, go to Airflow Physics. A Properties – Airflow Physics window appears below
the Outline View window.
– Set Type to Density based.
• In the Models section:
– Set Turbulence to K-Omega SST.
– Set Two Temperature to Disabled.
• In the Materials section
– Set Air Properties to Air default.
8. In the Setup tree, go to Simulation Conditions. In the Properties – Simulation Conditions window,
go to Flight Conditions.
of Attack
• In the Flow Speed section,
– Set Parameter to Mach.
– Set Distribution to Constant.
– Set the Mach Number to 0.65.
• In the Flow Direction section,
– Set Parameter to AoA.
– Set Distribution: Angle of Attack to Uniform.
– Set the Minimum Angle of Attack [degrees] to 0.
– Set the Maximum Angle of Attack [degrees] to 15.
– Set the Number of Points to 7.
• In the Pressure and Temperature section,
– Set Parameter to Static.
– Set Distribution: Pressure to Constant.
– Set the Atmospheric Static Pressure [Pa] to 80000.
– Set Distribution: Temperature to Constant.
– Set the Atmospheric Static Temperature [K] to 275.
• In the Turbulence section:
– Set Parameter to Intensity and Viscosity Ratio.
– Set both Distribution: Turbulent Intensity and Distribution: Turbulent Viscosity Ratio to
Constant.
– Set Turbulent Intensity [%] to 0.08.
– Set Turbulent Viscosity Ratio to 1e-5.
• In the Wall Conditions section:
– Enable Apply to All Walls.
– In the Thermal Conditions section:
→ Set Parameter to Heat Flux.
→ Set Distribution to Constant.
→ Set Heat Flux [W/m2] to 0.
An Input:Design Points table will be created in the graphic window on the right-hand side of the
user interface. This table shows all the design points that will be simulated. The initial status of each
design points (DP) has been set as Needs Update. The status can be set as Do Not Update if you
decide not to update one or several design points. In this tutorial, you will keep all design points
as Needs Update.
of Attack
Figure 36.3: Initial Input:Design Points Table
9. Go to Component Groups. Two default Component Groups have been created after the simulation
is loaded.
• The Freestream group contains the pressure-far-field zone that defines the external
boundary of the domain, and is where the freestream atmospheric flight conditions for each
design point are defined as boundary conditions.
• The Other group contains the remainder of the boundary zones which are the walls of
oneram6 wing geometry and the symmetry plane of the simulation domain.
10. Go to Solve. Keep the default number of Iterations of 1000. Keep Convergence Settings as Default.
11. Click the Update button at the bottom of the Properties - Solve panel.
The calculation will start, and the first design point, DP-1, featuring the minimum Angle of Attack,
will be simulated. A Convergence window will appear in place of the Graphics window and display
the residuals and monitors for DP-1.
Design point DP-1 will calculate until the total Iterations (1000) or the Residuals Convergence
Cutoff (1e-5) and Aero Coeff Conv. Cutoff (2e-5) are reached, whichever comes first. In this example,
DP-1 will calculate for about 400 iterations. At that point, the Angle of Attack will be updated for
the next design point and the calculation will resume. This process repeats until all design points
are simulated.
Moreover, in the Project View, a Results folder will be created after the calculation starts. A folder
for each design point along with an associated case file, data file, and convergence file will appear
inside the Results folder.
12. Look at the convergence history of the simulation in the Convergence window located on the right
of your screen. Set the Dataset to DP-1 and the Curve to Residuals, to view the continuity, x-, y-,
z-velocity, energy, and turbulence residuals for the first design point. You can left-click a residual
curve to show the iteration number and the corresponding residual value. Here, the residual con-
tinuity at iteration 405 is shown and equals to 4.09109e-8. This and all other residuals are lower
than the residual convergence cutoff (1e-5), so the calculation has stopped at approximately 405
iterations.
Figure 36.4: Convergence of Residuals for Design Point 1
Note:
While all residuals in the image above meet the residual convergence cutoff criterion of
1e-5, it is still recommended for you to investigate your solutions to ensure that appro-
priate convergence levels have been achieved and that convergence remains stable. A
residual convergence cutoff of 1e-5 may be appropriate for some cases, but not for others,
and therefore care should be taken when selecting this value. If a stricter convergence
criterion is required, you can go to Solve, change Convergence Settings to Custom and
set a lower value (1e-6 for example) next to Residuals Convergence Cutoff.
of Attack
In the Convergence window, set Curve to drag-coefficient. The evolution of the drag coefficient
for DP-1 will be displayed. Left-click the last iteration of the drag-coefficient plot, to show the drag
coefficient value.
Figure 36.5: Convergence History of the Lift Coefficient for Design Point 1
When the calculation of DP-1 is complete, the status column in row 1 of the Input:Design Points
table will be set to Updated, and the calculation of DP-2 will begin.
13. After all the design points have been updated, the status of the Input:Design Points table will be
set to Updated for all the design points.
Figure 36.6: Input:Design Points Table after Calculation
14. A Results node will be displayed in the Outline View tree after the simulation starts. This allows
you to quickly post-process design point solutions, by obtaining aerodynamic coefficient plots, cre-
ating contour plots of the solution fields, comparing solution fields to experimental data, and more.
15. The first element in the Results node is Tables. In the current tutorial, 4 different Tables will be
created automatically in the Graphics window area when the calculation is complete.
Click the Table:Summary, Table:Coefficients, Table:Forces and Table:Residuals tabs at the bottom
of the Graphics window to reveal each table.
• Table:Summary summarizes the flight conditions and convergence information for each design
point. In the current simulation, most design points have met or partially met the convergence
criteria.
Note:
Depending on the number of CPUs used to calculate the design points, there may be
some differences in the convergence achieved.
of Attack
Figure 36.7: Summary Table of the Flight Conditions and Convergence Information
• Table:Coefficients contains the lift, drag, yaw moment, pitching moment and rolling moment
coefficients. The Cl Conv. and Cd Conv. columns measure the convergence of the lift and drag
coefficients. These are used to determine if the convergence criteria are met. The last column
shows the maximum value of the convergence of the yaw, pitching and rolling moments.
Figure 36.8: Results Table of Aerodynamic Coefficients
• Table:Forces contains the lift, drag and moment forces.
Figure 36.9: Results Table of Aerodynamic Forces
• Table:Residuals shows the final residuals as well as the number of iterations run for each design
point.
Figure 36.10: Results Table of Final Residuals
16. Based on the convergence status, you can continue to calculate selected design points from the
current results. Although the convergence criteria have been partially met for design points 6 and
7, which have high angle of attacks, the average residual and the residual of aerodynamic coefficients
are very low. The aerodynamic forces plateaued after 600 iterations, as shown in Figure 36.11: Con-
vergence History of the Lift Coefficient for Design Point 7 (p. 1452) and Figure 36.12: Convergence
History of the Drag Coefficient for Design Point 7 (p. 1453).
Figure 36.11: Convergence History of the Lift Coefficient for Design Point 7
of Attack
Figure 36.12: Convergence History of the Drag Coefficient for Design Point 7
17. Click Graphs in the Outline View to show the plots of the aerodynamic coefficients defined in
Fluent Aero. At the bottom of the Properties - Graphs window, click Plot Coefficients.
An X- Y plot of lift coefficient (Cl) vs. design point (DP) will appear in the Graphics window. The
drag and moment coefficients can be shown by selecting Cd and Cm-r/y/p from the Curve selection
drop-down list.
Figure 36.13: Lift Coefficient vs. Design Point
Figure 36.14: Drag Coefficient vs. Design Point
Figure 36.15: Pitching Moment Coefficient vs. Design Point
Click the Plot Drag Polar button. An X-Y plot of Lift Coefficient (Cl) vs. Drag Coefficient (Cd) will
appear in the Graphics window. Alternatively, you can simply change Dataset to Drag Polar from
the Graphics window to show the drag polar plot.
of Attack
Figure 36.16: Lift Coefficient vs. Drag Coefficient
18. Click the Plot Other Variables button. An X-Y plot AoA vs. DP will appear in the Graphics window.
Select Cl from the Curve drop-down. There is an […] option button located on the right of the
Dataset All Variables drop-down. This button can be used to modify some of the plot settings and
export the plot to the disk. Click […] the option button and select Plot settings → X Axis → Plot
by specified variable... to change the x variable to AoA. The plot of the lift coefficient vs the angle
of attack will be shown.
Figure 36.17: Option to Modify Plot Settings
Figure 36.18: Lift Coefficient vs Angle of Attack
19. In the Properties – Graphs window, you can load and plot a reference dataset to compare with
the simulation results by using the Plot Ref. Data function. To compare the Cl vs AoA curve from
simulation with a reference data, set Dataset to All Variables and Curve to Cl from the Graphs
plot window. Ensure that AoA is the x-axis variable. Click Plot Ref. Data. A file browser will appear.
For this tutorial, you will use the results from a finer mesh to demonstrate this functionality. Browse
to the reference_data folder inside the tutorial folder and select the ref-onera-wing-Cl-
vs-AoA.csv file. The reference data will be loaded to the Cl curve.
Note:
The reference file should contain row data separated by commas. The first line contains
the x- and y- axis names of the plot that you want to compare to. The remaining lines
contain the data values you would like to plot. The format of the file used here is shown
in the image below:
of Attack
Figure 36.19: Comparing a Reference Dataset to the Lift Coefficient Curve
20. Click Results → Plots in the Outline View. The Plots options can be used to quickly display simple
2D plots of selected design points and solution variables. The Properties - Plots window will be
displayed.
• Set Surfaces to Walls.
• Set Surface Cut Normal Direction to Z.
• Set Surface Cut Position [m] to 0.25.
• Set Field to Pressure Coefficient.
• Set Design Point to 2.
• Click Plot.
The pressure coefficient on the walls of DP-2 at Z=0.25m will be plotted in the Plots window.
A Plot Options panel will appear after clicking the Plot button. You can use this panel to customize
plot settings for both axes. Press Plot to apply these settings.
A .csv file will be saved in the Results folder after clicking the Plot button, which is visible within
the DP-2/Data folder in the Project View.
of Attack
Figure 36.20: Distribution of the Wall Pressure Coefficient at Z=0.25m for DP-2
Click the Plot Ref. Data button to load and plot a reference dataset in the current plot. In the dialog
window that appears, browse to the reference file ref-onera-wing-Cp-2.5deg-section-
0.25m.csv in the reference_data folder, and click OK. You can use the Save Plot button to
export the current plot to a .png file on disk. The reference data will be imported in the DP-2/Data
folder in the Project View.
Figure 36.21: Load a Reference Data to the Pressure Coefficient Plot of DP-2 at Z=0.25m
Figure 36.22: Data Folder in the Project View After Creating a Cut Plot and Plotting Reference
Results
21. The Contours options can be used to quickly display simple contour plots of selected design points
and solution variables. Left-click Contours from Outline View to display the Properties - Contours
setup window.
of Attack
• Set Field to Static Pressure.
• Enable Auto-Compute Range.
• In the ColorMap section:
– Enable Visible.
– Set Color Map to field-velocity.
– Enable Automatically Skip Labels.
• Click the Plot button.
The selected wall contour will be displayed in the Graphics window.
In the Graphics window, use the mouse to set the view of the contour. Click View… and change
Save Name to onera-wing-view-1. Click Save to save the current contour view. The saved view
can later be applied to other contour plots.
Figure 36.23: Wall Static Pressure Contour of Design Point 2
Note:
The mesh used in this tutorial is a very coarse. Its sole purpose is to quickly demonstrate
a typical workflow in Fluent Aero and should not be relied upon for precise and/or accurate
simulations. This mesh will not capture well viscous effects (such as viscous drag) or
complex flow features (such as separation or wake).
22. In the Properties - Contours area, click Save Image… and a Save Picture dialog will appear. From
this dialog, check to enable Save All Updated DPs and set Format to JPEG. Click the Save… button.
Set the image name to onera-wing-static-pressure.jpg from the Select File dialog and
the contours of the static pressure for all the 7 design points will be saved to the Results folder as
onera-wing-static-pressure-DP-1 inside 7.jpg.
of Attack
23. In the Properties - Contours area,
• Set Surfaces to Cutting Plane.
• Set Cutting Plane Normal Direction to Z.
• Set Cutting Plane Position [m] to 0.25.
• Set Field to Mach Number.
• Set the Design Point to 2.
• Click the Plot button to show the cutting plane contour in the Graphics window.
Figure 36.24: Mach Number Cutting Plane Contour of Design Point 2
24. It is also possible to post-process Fluent Aero simulation result using an external post processing
tool such as CFD-Post and EnSight. By right-clicking a .dat.h5 file in the Project View, a View
Results With... menu appears with several post-processing options such as CFD-Post – Fluent
Solution, CFD-Post - Post Solution, EnSight – Fluent Solution and EnSight – Post Solution.
In this tutorial, you will use CFD-Post. Right-click out.00001.dat.h5 and select View Results
With... → CFD-Post – Fluent Solution to view the result file in CFD-Post. A CFD-Post window will
appear where the data file can be further post-processed.
The CFD-Post/Ensight – Post Solution menus are available to view the .post.dat solution files
which have been saved by default.
of Attack
Figure 36.25: Solution of Design Point 2 in CFD-Post
25. After completing the post-processing of the current simulation, right-click oneram6_aoa_exploration
from the Outline View and then select Close Solver. An information panel will appear to ask you
if you want to save the case file or not. Click Yes to save the case file.
If you would like to create a new simulation, select Simulation → New Aero Workflow from the
Project ribbon. Browse and select a file to create a new simulation.
26. Once you have completed all your simulations, close the project and exit Fluent Aero. From the
ribbon, select Project → Close to close a project. Next, select File → Exit and the Fluent Aero
workspace will be closed.
36.2. Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients and Wall Heat Flux on a Re-

Entry Capsule at Different Altitudes Using Custom Exploration
The objective of this tutorial is to use Fluent Aero to compute the flow around a re-entry capsule in a
range of hypersonic flight conditions. The flight conditions used in this tutorial correspond to conditions
experienced at different altitudes during an example flight path of a reference re-entry capsule, at alti-
tudes ranging from approximately 50-70 [km].
Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients and Wall Heat Flux on a Re-Entry Capsule at
Different Altitudes Using Custom Exploration
Figure 36.26: Re-entry Capsule Problem Specification
Note:
In this tutorial, hypersonic flow conditions are simulated which make use of the Two Tem-
perature model for improved accuracy. This model is only available with access to the
cfd_hsf license increment. If you attempts to run this tutorial without this license increment,
the Two Temperature model will be Disabled and your results may be different than what
is shown here. If your cfd_hsf license increment is unavailable, a message will be printed
in your console log. Please contact your Ansys representative to add this increment if needed.
1. Extract the Capsule.msh.h5 file for this tutorial. The grid is an all-poly mesh which consists of
620,000 nodes and 180,000 cells. The limits of the computational domain are defined by a pressure-
farfield, pressure-outlet, and a symmetry plane in the Z direction.
Figure 36.27: View of the Mesh around the Capsule
2. Launch Fluent 2023 R1 on your computer. On the Fluent Launcher panel that appears, set the
Capacity Level to Enterprise. Then select Aero. Set the number of Solver Processes to 4-16. Click
Start.
In the Fluent Aero workspace, go to the Project ribbon. Click Workspaces → Options, and make
sure to uncheck Use Custom Solver Launch Settings, Show Solution Workspace and Enable
Solution Workspace Graphics.
3. When Fluent Aero first opens, the Project tab will be displayed by default. In the Project ribbon
panel, select Project → New… and enter Fluent_Aero_Tutorial_02 to create a new project
folder.
4. In the Project’ ribbon, select Simulations → New Aero Workflow, and browse to and select the
Capsule.msh.h5 file. A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New Simu-
lation as Capsule_Custom_Exploration, and check to enable Load in Solver.
5. The case file will be opened and a background solver session will be loaded. A new simulation folder
format case file and the latter will be imported in the simulation folder as Capsule.cas.h5.
After the .cas.h5 file has been successfully loaded, a new Outline View tree appears under
Capsule_Custom_Exploration (loaded).
external boundary of the domain. Its presence will cause Fluent Aero to determine that this case is
using a Freestream Domain Type, and the following message will be reported in the Console.
6. From the Outline View window, go to Geometric Properties. At the top of the Properties – Geo-
metric Properties window, notice that the Domain Type has been automatically set to Freestream.
Define the orientation of the geometry within the computational domain. This is used to compute
the aerodynamic forces.
• Set Lift Direction at AoA = 0 degree to Y+.
• Set Drag Direction at AoA = 0 degree to X+.
• The Pitching Moment Direction will automatically set to Z-.
• Set the Moment Center X-, Y- and Z-Position [m] to 0, 0, and 0, respectively.
• Set the Reference Length [m] to 3.5.
7. In the Setup tree, go to Airflow Physics. A Properties – Airflow Physics window appears below
the Outline View window.
– Set Two Temperature to Automatic.
Note:
This model is used to improve the accuracy of hypersonic flow condition, like
those used in this tutorial. It is only available if you have access to the cfd_hsf
license increment. If you are unable to set the Two Temperature to Automatic,
you may not have access to this license increment. Please contact your Ansys
representative to add this increment if needed.
• In the Materials section:
8. In the Setup tree, select Simulation Conditions. In the Properties – Simulation Conditions window.
• Set the Number of Design Points to 3.
– Set Distribution to Custom.
• For Flow Direction,
– Set Parameter to AoA.
– Set Distribution: Angle of Attack to Constant.
– Set Angle of Attack [degrees] to 18.4.
– Set Parameter to Altitude.
– Set Distribution to Custom.
• In the Turbulence section,
– Set both Distribution: Turbulent Intensity and Turbulent Viscosity to Constant.
→ Set Parameter to Temperature.
→ Set Temperature [K] to 2000.
An empty Input:Design Points table will be created with 3 rows, one for each design point. You
can manually fill the Input:Design Points table by clicking each entry cell and entering a value.
Notice that there are 6 columns in the table. The first column specifies the Design Point number,
and cannot be edited. The second and third columns are for specifying the variable inputs of Mach
Number and Altitude [m], respectively. Since Altitude was selected under Pressure and Temper-
ature, Pressure [Pa] and Temperature [K] are also shown in the table. These columns cannot be
edited, as they will be automatically calculated and filled based on the Altitude input, which uses
the International Standard Atmosphere. The final column lists the Status of each design point calcu-
lation.
Begin to manually fill the table by clicking the Mach Number cell of design point 1, and enter
20.65. Next, click the Altitude [m] cell and enter 67300. Notice that the Pressure [Pa] and Tem-
perature [K] cells are automatically filled with 7.0319 and 225.01, respectively.
Fill the remainder of the table by importing the data from a .csv file. Right-click the Simulation
Conditions and select Import Data File to DP Table from the drop-down list of commands.
Navigate to and load the Capsule_Input_3_Design_Points.csv from the FLUENT_AERO_TU-

TORIALS folder and the remainder of the Input:Design Points Table will be filled.
Figure 36.28: Input:Design Points Table of a Custom Exploration With 3 Design Points
Note:
The Status of each design point (DP) is currently set to Needs Update, because they
have not yet been calculated.
9. From the Properties - Simulation Conditions window, enable Use Custom Output Parameters.
A selection panel will appear which contains a list of pre-defined custom-output variables. Select
dragPress (pressure induced drag force), dragVisc (wall shear stress induced drag force), and
maxWallTemp (maximum wall temperature), and click Update. Fluent Aero will create the selected
variables in the solver and the results of these output parameters will be shown in a table at the
end of the calculation. Refer to Fluent Aero for more details about the functionality of the custom
input/output parameters.
Figure 36.29: Select Custom Outputs
10. Go to Component Groups. Two default Component Groups have been created after the simulation
is loaded. The Freestream group contains a pressure-far-field and a pressure-outlet zone that
define the external boundary of the domain, and is where the freestream atmospheric flight conditions
for each design point are defined as boundary conditions. The Other group contains the remainder
of the boundary zones which are the walls of re-entry capsule and a symmetry plane of the simulation
domain.
11. Go to Solve. Set Iterations to 1500. Keep Convergence Settings to Default.
12. Click the Update button at the bottom of the Properties - Solve panel. The simulation will first
initialize using the flight conditions of DP-1 and then DP-1 will begin to iterate. The residuals plot
of DP-1 will appear in the Convergence window located on the right of the screen.
Figure 36.30: Convergence of the Residuals for Design Point 1
In the Convergence window, set Dataset to DP-1 and Curve to drag-coefficient. The evolution of
the drag coefficient for DP-1 will be displayed. You can query the value of the drag coefficient by
left-clicking the curve.
After 1500 iterations, the calculation of DP-1 is complete, the status column in row 1 of the In-
put:Design Points table will be set to Updated, the results data file (.dat[.h5]) will be saved,
and calculation of DP-2 will begin.
Figure 36.32: Input:Design Points Table after Calculation
14. A Results node will be displayed in the Outline View after the simulation starts. This allows you to
quickly postprocess all design point solutions, by obtaining aerodynamic coefficient plots, creating
contour plots of the solution fields, comparing solution fields to experimental data, and more.
automatically created in the Graphic window area when the calculation is complete.
Note:
You can also click Tables → Export Results Tables button and the results tables will be
exported to the Results folder of the current simulation and they will be visible in the
Project View under the Summary folder.
Click the Table:Summary, Table:Coefficients, Table:Forces, Table:Residuals, and Table:Custom

Outputs tabs at the bottom of the Graphics window to reveal each table.
point.
Note:
You can see from the convergence curves that the convergence of lift and drag plat-
eaued. However, you may notice in the final column of this table that all 3 design
points have not fully met the default residuals convergence criteria of 1e-5. To have
the Conv. Criteria Met? column set to yes, you could relax the convergence criteria
by increasing the values of Residuals Convergence Cutoff, or calculate for more iter-
ations until the default convergence criteria is met. You can go to Solve, change
Convergence Settings to Custom and Residuals Convergence Cutoff will be available
within the Properties – Solve panel.
• Table:Coefficients contains the lift, drag and moment coefficients. The last three columns show
the convergence information of the lift and drag coefficients and the maximum convergence
among the three moment coefficients.
Figure 36.34: Results Table of the Aerodynamic Coefficients
• Table:Forces contains the lift, and drag forces as well as the moment.
Figure 36.35: Results Table of the Aerodynamic Forces
• Table:Residuals summarizes the final residuals as well as the number of iterations run for each
design point.
• Table:Custom Outputs shows the final values of the custom outputs.
Figure 36.37: Results Table of Custom Outputs
Fluent Aero. At the bottom of the Properties - Graphs window, click Plot Coefficients. An X-Y plot
of lift coefficient (Cl) vs. design point (DP) will appear in the Graphics window. The drag and moment
coefficients can be shown by selecting Cd and Cm-y/p/r from the Curve selection drop-down list.
Figure 36.38: Lift Coefficient vs. Design Point
17. Click Results → Plots. The Plots options can be used to quickly display simple 2D plots of selected
design points and solution variables. The Properties - Plots window will be displayed.
• Set Surface Cut Position [m] to 0.1.
• Click Plot.
Since the solution for DP-2 at Z=0.1m will be plotted in the Plots window, a cut plot using default
plot options will be created and a popup panel which allows you to customize certain plot options
will appear. If the field is set to Pressure Coefficient, the Invert Range option for the y-axis will be
enabled.
From the Plot Options panel, set the Pattern in Curve Settings to points-square. Click Plot. The
2d cut plot in the graphic window will be updated using these new settings.
Figure 36.39: Distribution of the Wall Pressure Coefficient at Z = 0.1m for DP-2
Then set Field to Heat Flux and click Plot to show the walls static temperature of DP-2 at Z=0.1m.
Figure 36.40: Distribution of the Wall Heat Flux at Z = 0.1m for DP-2
and solution variables. Left-click Contours from the Outline View to display the Properties –
Contours setup window.
• Set Field to Heat Flux.
• Uncheck to disable Auto-Compute Range.
• Set the Minimum and Maximum Value to -600000 and -3000 respectively.
• Check to enable Draw Mesh.
• Click to expand Color Map.
• Uncheck Automatically Skip Labels and set Skip to 15.
The selected wall contour will be displayed in the Graphics window. In the Graphics window, use
the mouse to set the view of the contour. Click View… and change Save Name to capsule-view-
1. Click Save to save the current contour view.
Note:
To change graphics display settings, you can go to File → Preferences → Graphics. For
example, in the Lighting section, you can set Headlight to On, and set appropriate values
to both Headlight intensity and Ambient light intensity to personalize the graphics
object rendering.
Figure 36.41: Wall Heat Flux Contour of DP-03
• Next, set Surfaces to Walls.
• Check to enable Auto-Compute Range.
• Uncheck the Draw Mesh option.
• Click Plot.
After the contour is created, click Views.... From the Views panel, select capsule-view1 and click
Apply. Close the Views panel. Click Save Image… and a Save Picture option panel will appear.
From this panel, check to enable Save All Updated DPs and set Format to JPEG. Click the Save…
button. Set image name to capsule-static-pressure from the Select File dialog and the
contours of the static pressure for all the 3 design points will be saved to the Results folder as
capsule-static-pressure-DP-1, 2 and 3.jpg.
Figure 36.42: Wall Static Pressure Contour of DP-03
In this solution, notice the high pressure region around the stagnation point located towards the
front of the capsule (left side in image), and the low pressure region in the backside of the capsule,
which is surrounded by the wake.
19. In the Properties - Contours area, set Surfaces to Cutting Plane, Cutting Plane Normal Direction
to Z, Cutting Plane Position [m] to 0.1 and Field to Mach Number. Click the Plot button to show
the cutting plane contour in the Graphics window.
Figure 36.43: Mach Number Cutting Plane Contour Plot
20. To further improve the convergence, you can continue to calculate the design points from the current
results.
21. Go to the Input:Design Points table. You will set the status of all the design points to Continue
To Update. This operation can also be performed by using commands in the Design Points ribbon.
• Click Design Points in the top ribbon.
• Click Status → Set Status.
• A Set Status of Design Points dialog opens which can be used to set the status of a group of
design points.
• Set Select DPs to All.
• Set Choose a Status → Status to Continue To Update.
• Click Apply.
• The status of all the design points will be set to Continue To Update.
In the Outline View, under Solution → Solve, set the Iterations to 500 and click Update.
Note:
Other commands available in the Design Points ribbon can be useful to manage your
calculation activities. For example, an alternative option to perform the Continue to
Update procedure outlined above would be to use the Solve → Continue... command.
This allows you to update a group of design points without needing to set their status.
If you select Continue... and then select DPs – Conv. Criteria Not or Partially Met, all
design points that have not met their convergence criteria will immediately Continue to
Update.
Figure 36.44: Convergence of Residuals for Design Point 1 Using Continue to Update
Notice that after completing a Continue to Update calculation, the Conv. Criteria Met? is now set
to yes in the Summary table for all of the design points.
Note:
In the above tutorial, Fluent Aero’s default solver convergence settings are used to calcu-
late the first 1500 iterations of each design point. However, in some cases, it is possible
to start the calculation with different solver settings in order to improve convergence.
For example, you could repeat the above tutorial using more aggressive solver settings
by specifying the following:
• Create a New Aero Workflow simulation, set up the Geometric Properties, Airflow
Physics and Simulation Conditions as previously described in the above steps.
• Enter the following alternate settings under Solution → Solve:
– Set the Iterations to 1500.
– Set Convergence Settings to Custom. This will reveal additional options that can
be useful to modify to attempt to improve the convergence or the speed of conver-
gence.
– Change the Flow Range from Automatic to Hypersonic. This will reveal solution
steering settings.
– Right-click Solve from the Outline View and select the Show Default Settings
command.
– From the Show Default Settings panel, change Flow Range to Hypersonic and
press Apply. This will show the Convergence Settings set as Default that have
been previously applied in the first part of this tutorial inside the Properties - Solve
panel.
– Increase the Initial Courant Number from 1 to 4.
• Press Update to launch the calculation. Notice that the calculations will converge more
quickly using these more aggressive settings.
22. After completing the current simulation, you can close the solver by left-clicking Capsule_Custom_Ex-
ploration from the Outline View and selecting Close Solver. An information panel will appear to
ask you if you want to save the case file or not. Click Yes to save the case file.
23. Close the project and exit Fluent Aero. From the ribbon, select Project → Close to close a project.
Next, select File → Exit and the Fluent Aero workspace will be closed.
Introduction to Aircraft Component Groups and Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients
on an Aircraft at Different Flight Altitudes and Engine Regimes
36.3. Introduction to Aircraft Component Groups and Computing Aero-

dynamic Coefficients on an Aircraft at Different Flight Altitudes and En-
gine Regimes
The objective of this tutorial is to introduce the aircraft Component Groups feature in Fluent Aero and
to compute the flow around a common commercial aircraft at different flight Altitudes, Mach and engine
regimes. The aircraft considered is the NASA Common Research Model (CRM) in the wing-body-nacelle-
pylon (WBNP) configuration. The flight conditions used in this tutorial represent examples of climb and
nominal cruise conditions and are for demonstration purposes only.
Extract the CRM_WBNP_Aircraft.msh.h5 file for this tutorial. The grid consists of 1.2M nodes and
2.4M cells. Five layers of prisms are grown off the aircraft’s wall boundaries and the remainder of the
computational domain is filled with tetrahedral cells. The limits of the computational domain are defined
by a hemispherical boundary defined as a pressure-farfield boundary type, and a flat circular boundary
defined as a symmetry plane in the Z direction. This .msh file therefore meets the General Case File or
Mesh File Requirements. However, the mesh is very coarse, and therefore should be used for demon-
stration purposes only.
Figure 36.45: View of the Mesh Around the Aircraft
1. Launch Fluent on your computer. On the Fluent Launcher panel that appears, set the Capacity
Level to Enterprise. Then select Aero. Set the number of Solver Processes to 4-8. Click Start.
2. In the Fluent Aero workspace, go to File → Preferences.... In the Preferences window, go to the
Aero menu and ensure Use Custom Solver Launch Settings is disabled. Disabling this setting is
the preferred approach for running Fluent Aero simulations on your local machine.
3. When Fluent Aero first opens, the Project tab will be displayed by default. In the Project ribbon
panel, select Project → New… and enter Fluent_Aero_Tutorial_03 to create a new project
folder.
4. In the Project ribbon, select Simulations → New Aero Workflow, and browse to and select the
CRM_WBNP_Aircraft.msh.h5 file. A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of
the New Simulation as CRM_WBNP_Aircraft, and check to enable Load in Solver.
5. The case file will be opened and a background solver session will be loaded. A new simulation folder
format case file and the latter will be imported in the simulation folder as CRM_WBNP_Air-
craft.cas.h5.
6. After the case file has been successfully loaded, a new Setup tree appears under CRM_WBNP_Aircraft
(loaded) in the Outline View window.
external boundary of the domain. Its presence will cause Fluent Aero to determine that this case is
using a Freestream domain type, and the following message will be reported in the Console.
7. In the Outline View window, under the Setup tree, go to Geometric Properties. A Properties –
Geometric Properties window appears below the Outline View. Define the orientation of the
geometry within the computational domain, which is used to compute the aerodynamic forces.
• Set the Moment Center X-, Y- and Z-Position [m] to 33.678, 4.520, and 0, respectively.
• Set the Reference Length [m] to 7.005
• Set the Reference Area [m^2] to 167.513 which is the reference wing area.
• Alternatively, you can use Compute Projected Area to calculate the reference area.
– Enable Compute Projected Area.
– From the Projected Surface Areas panel
→ Set Projection Direction to Y.
→ Keep Min Feature Size [m] as 0.001.
→ In the Walls section, select all walls staring with wing-.
→ Press Compute. The reference wing area will be computed and displayed.
→ Press Use as Ref. Area to use the computed area as the Reference Area [m^2] in the
Properties – Geometric Properties panel.
8. In the Setup tree, go to Airflow Physics.
9. You will now set up the Freestream flight conditions. Two design points will be created. The first
DP represents an example of a climb condition and the second DP corresponds to a nominal cruise
condition and they are for demonstration purposes only. In the Setup tree, go to Simulation Con-
ditions. In the Properties – Simulation Conditions window,
• Set the Number of Design Points to 2
– Set Distribution to Custom. An empty column will appear in the Input: Design Points
table where you can set the Mach Number for each design point.
• In the Flow Direction section,
– Set Parameter to AoA .
– Set Distribution: Angle of Attack to Custom An empty column will appear in the
Input: Design Points table where you can set the Angle of Attack for each design
point. You will enter these conditions in the next step.
– Set Parameter to Altitude.
– Set Distribution to Custom. An empty column will appear in the Input: Design Points
table where you can set the Altitude for each design point.
• Fill the Mach Number, Angle of Attack [deg] and Altitude [m] columns with the values
shown below. The Pressure [Pa] and Temperature [K] columns will be automatically com-
puted from the International Standard Atmosphere model at the altitude of each design point.
• In the Turbulence section,
– Set both Distribution: Turbulent Intensity and Turbulent Viscosity to Constant.
→ Set Parameter to Heat Flux.
→ Set Heat Flux [W/m2] to 0.
10. You will now create several aircraft components which will allow you to define some component-
specific inputs and outputs. In the Setup tree, go to Component Groups. In the Properties –
Component Groups window, click Manage Components. The Component Manager panel will
appear.
11. Use the Component Manager to create an Engine type component:
• In the New Component section, set Type to Engine and a default group name Engine_01
will appear.
• Use Create>> to add Engine_01 into Existing Components.
All the boundary zones that have not been assigned to any group are listed under Available Zones.
An Engine type group is a specific type of group which contains three different Component Parts:
• Exhaust
• Intake
• Nacelle
At least one boundary zone must be added to the Exhaust and Intake Component Parts.
• From Available Zones, select engine-inlet and use the Add>> button to add it to the Intake
component part.
• Select and add engine-nozzle to the Exhaust part.
• Select and add all the remaining boundary zones starting with engine- to the Nacelle part.
The Engine_01 component group is now successfully created.
12. Use the Component Manager to create a Wing type component:
• From the New Component section, change Type to Wing.
• Use Create>> to add Wing_01 to the Existing Components.
• From Available Zones, select all the boundary zones that start with wing and use Add>>
to add them to the Walls component parts.
13. Use the Component Manager to create a General type component:
• Change Type in the New Component to General.
• Change Name to Fuselage.
• Use Create>> to add the Fuselage group to Existing Components.
• From the Available Zones, select all the boundary zones with the fuselage- prefix and use Add>>
to add them to the All component part.
14. Click OK to close the Component Manager. The three new Component Groups will appear in the
Outline View in addition to the default Freestream and Other groups.
15. From Outline View → Component Groups, expand the Engine_01 component and select engine-
inlet which is a pressure-outlet type boundary zone. You will now set up the engine conditions.
• In the Properties – engine-inlet window,
– Change Conditions to Edit.
– Set Static Pressure to Custom to apply different Static Pressure [Pa] for each design
point.
– Change the default Parameter Name to inlet_P.
A custom expression for the Static Pressure [Pa] will be created in the solution workspace with the
name inlet_P. A column named inlet_P will be added to the Input:Design Points table. You will
enter the values of inlet_P [Pa] in a later step.
16. Select engine-nozzle to set boundary conditions at the engine exhaust.
Note:
The engine exhaust surface in this tutorial is a single flat circular disk that accounts
for the fan and the core airflow and therefore cannot well represent the double-flow
design of a typical aircraft engine. In this manner, the engine thrust computed in
the current tutorial is for demonstration purposes only.
• In the Properties – engine-nozzle window.
• Change Conditions to Edit.
• Change Static Pressure, Total Temperature and Mass Flow Rate to Custom to apply different
Static Pressure [Pa], Total Temperature [K] and Mass Flow [kg/s] for each design point.
• Change the default parameter names to nz_P, nz_T0 and nz_mf respectively. Three custom
expressions will be created in the solution workspace and will appear in the Input:Design
Points table. You will enter their values in a later step.
• Keep the default turbulence settings.
17. You can manually fill the Input:Design Points table. Fill the table with the values as shown below.
Figure 36.46: Input:Design Points Table With 2 Design Points
Notice that there are 2 design points and 11 columns in the table. The first and second design points
represent an example of climb and nominal cruise conditions respectively. Their flight conditions
are provided for demonstration purposes only. The first column specifies the design point number
and cannot be edited. The second to fourth columns contain the Mach Number, Angle of Attack
[deg] and Altitude [m] and can be edited since these are custom parameters. Pressure [Pa] and
Temperature [K] columns cannot be edited, as they will be automatically calculated from Altitude
[m]. The next four columns define the boundary conditions of the Engine_01 group. They allow
you to input conditions corresponding to different engine regimes. The last column is set to Needs
Update for both design points since they have not yet been calculated.
18. Next, enable additional output variables relevant to your components.
• In the Setup tree, go to Component Groups.
• In the Properties – Component Groups window:
– Click the Manage Outputs button to enable component specific output parameters.
• From the Manage Component Outputs panel:
– Check the Active box of the Freestream, Fuselage, Wing_01 and Engine_01 components.
– Check the Monitor? box of the Wing_01 component.
Because Active is enabled, the mass flow balance of the Freestream group, the lift and drag forces
of the Fuselage and Wing_01 components as well as the thrust and mass flow balance of Engine_01
will be calculated and summarized in Table:Component Outputs when the calculation terminates.
Since Monitor? is enabled, the evolution of the Wing_01 Lift and Drag outputs will be plotted in
the Convergence plot.
• Click OK to close this panel.
19. In the Outline View, go to Solution → Solve. Keep the default number of Iterations of 1000. Keep
Convergence Settings as Default.
The calculation will start, and the first design point, DP-1 will be simulated. A Convergence window
will appear in place of the Graphics window and display the residuals and monitors for DP-1.
Design point DP-1 will run until the total number of Iterations (1000) or the Residuals Convergence
Cutoff (1e-5) and Aero Coeff Conv. Cutoff (2e-5) values have been satisfied, whichever comes first.
21. Look at the convergence history of the simulation in the Convergence window on the right of your
screen. Set Dataset to DP-1 and the Curve to Residuals to view the continuity, x-, y-, z-velocity,
energy, and turbulence residuals for the first design point. You can left-click a residual curve to show
the iteration number and the corresponding residual value. The residual of omega at iteration 1000
is shown and equals to 3.50981e-5 which is still higher than the residual convergence cutoff (1e-5).
The remaining residuals except for k of the DP- 1 have met or almost met the Residuals Convergence
Cutoff criteria.
Figure 36.47: Convergence of Residuals for Design Point 1 (DP-1)
22. In the Convergence window, set Curve to report_wing_01_lift. The evolution of the lift force on
Wing_01 for DP-1 will be displayed. Left-click the last iteration of the lift-force plot, to show the
value of the lift at the last iteration.
Figure 36.48: Convergence History of the Lift Force from the Wing_01 for Design Point 1
After all the design points have been updated, the status of the Input:Design Points table will be
you to quickly post-process all design point solutions, by obtaining aerodynamic coefficient plots,
creating contour plots of the solution fields, comparing solution fields to experimental data, and
more.
automatically created in the Graphics window area when the calculation is complete.
Click the Table:Summary, Table:Coefficients, Table:Forces, Table:Residuals and Table:Component

Outputs tabs at the bottom of the Graphics window to reveal each table.
point. In the current simulation, although both design points have only partially met the conver-
gence criteria, the aerodynamic coefficients, forces and moments are well converged as shown
by their convergence curves.
• Table:Residuals summarizes the final residuals as well as the number of iterations run for each
design point. For each design point, the residuals, except for k and omega, have met or almost
met the Residuals Convergence Cutoff criteria.
• Table:Coefficients contains the lift, drag and moment coefficients. The last three columns show
the convergence information of the lift and drag coefficients and the maximum value among the
three moment coefficients.
Figure 36.51: Results Table of the Aerodynamic Coefficients
Note:
While most of the residuals and the convergence of the aerodynamic coefficients meet
the default convergence cutoff criterion of 1e-5 and 2e-5, it is still recommended for
you to investigate your solutions to ensure that appropriate convergence levels have
been achieved and that convergence remains stable. The default convergence cutoff
criteria may be appropriate for some cases, but not for others, and therefore care should
be taken when selecting this value.
• Table:Forces contains the dimensional forces of lift, drag and moment.
Figure 36.52: Results Table of the Aerodynamic Forces
• Table:Component Outputs contains the lift and drag of the wing and fuselage groups, the mass
flow balance of the freestream and engine groups and the thrust of the engine group.
Fluent Aero.
• At the bottom of the Properties - Graphs window, click Plot Coefficients. An X- Y plot of
lift coefficient (Cl) vs. design point (DP) will appear in the Graphics window.
• The drag and moment coefficients can be shown by selecting Cd and Cm-r/y/p from the
Curve selection drop-down list.
• Select Cl/Cd from the Curve to show the lift to drag ratio as a function of the design point.
Figure 36.53: Lift to Drag Ratio vs. Design Point
• Click the Plot Drag Polar button. An X-Y plot of Lift Coefficient (Cl) vs. Drag Coefficient (Cd) will
appear in the Graphics window. Alternatively, you can simply change Dataset to Drag Polar
from the Graphics window to show the drag polar plot.
Figure 36.54: Lift Coefficient vs. Drag Coefficient
26. The Plots options can be used to quickly display simple 2D plots of selected design points and
solution variables.
• Left-click Plots. The Properties - Plots window will be displayed.
• Set Surfaces to Component Group.
• Change Select Component Groups to Wing_01.
• Set Surface Cut Position [m] to 4 which is a position close to the fuselage.
• Click Plot and the pressure coefficient on the walls of DP-1 at Z=4m will be plotted in the
Plots window.
A Plot Options panel will appear after clicking the Plot button. You can use this panel to personalize
some plot settings for both axes.
• Set Axis to X.
• Uncheck Auto Range.
• Set Range/Minimum and Maximum to 25.5 and 37.5 respectively.
• Set Number Format/Type to general.
• Set Precision to 3.
• Set Pattern to line--dash-dotted from Curve Settings.
• Click Plot from the Plot Options panel.
Figure 36.55: Distribution of the Wall Pressure Coefficient at Z=4m for DP-1
27. Repeat the above step for Surface Cut Position [m] of 16 and 28 which are positions close to the
mid-range and the tip of the wing respectively. After plotting the pressure-coefficient at these wing-
span positions, set the Design Point to 2 and create the same plots for DP-2. After completing
these plots, the corresponding .csv files are saved to the DP-1/Data and DP-2/Data folder in the
Results directory.
and solution variables.
• Left-click Contours from Outline View to display the Properties - Contours window.
– Set Surfaces to Component Group.
– For Select Component Groups, select both the Wing_01 and Engine_01 groups.
– Set Field to Static Pressure.
– Set Design Point to 2.
– Uncheck the Auto-Compute Range option.
– Set the Minimum and Maximum Value to 12500 and 26000 respectively.
– In the ColorMap section, uncheck Automatically Skip Labels and set Skip to 15.
– Click the Plot button.
The selected contour will be displayed in the Graphics window where you can use the mouse to
set the view of the contour. As you can see from the contour, some of the common flow features
are captured. Due to the flow on the suction side between the fuselage and the nacelle, a strong
flow acceleration is present. Flow encounters adverse pressure gradient moving downstream to the
trailing edge. At the wing tip, the pressure is higher on the outer region than on the inner region
which indicates the presence of transverse flow.
Figure 36.56: Wall Static Pressure Contour of the Wing_01 and Engine_01 Components of
Design Point 2
29. Move the view into a favorable position. Then, click Views… and change Save Name to crm-wing-
view-1. Click Save to save the current contour view.
30. Create a new Contour plot.
• Uncheck the Auto-Compute Range option.
• Set the Minimum and Maximum Value to 42500 and 52500 respectively.
• In the ColorMap section, uncheck Automatically Skip Labels and set Skip to 15.
• Click the Plot button to create the contour.
• Click View… to apply the crm-wing-view-1 to the contour.
Figure 36.57: Wall Static Pressure Contour of the Wing_01 and Engine_01 Components of
Design Point 1
Note:
The mesh used in this tutorial is very coarse. Its purpose is to quickly demonstrate a
typical workflow in Fluent Aero and should not be relied upon for accurate simulations.
For instance, this mesh may not capture well viscous effects (such as boundary layer and
viscous forces) or complex flow features (such as flow separation). This should be con-
sidered while you investigate the solutions. For more accurate simulations, a finer mesh
appropriate for external aerodynamic simulations, featuring more prism layers, higher
mesh surface refinement, and increased mesh density in the wake region, should be used.
31. In the Properties - Contours area,
• Set Cutting Plane Position [m] to 9.89 which corresponds to the pylon installation position.
• Set the Design Point to 1.
• Uncheck Auto-Compute Range.
• Set the Minimum and Maximum Value to 0.2 and 0.72 respectively.
• In the ColorMap section, uncheck Automatically Skip Labels and set Skip to 15.
The solution of design point 1 (DP-1) will be loaded, and the cutting plane contour will be displayed
in the Graphics window.
32. In the Properties - Contours area, click Save Image… and a Save Picture option panel will appear.
• Check to enable Save All Updated DPs.
• Set Format to JPEG.
• Click the Save… button.
• From the Select File dialog, set the name to CRM-engine-mach-Z9.89m.jpg.
The contours of the static pressure for all the 2 design points will be saved to the Results folder as
CRM-engine-mach-Z9.89m-DP-1 and 2.jpg.
36.4. Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an Aircraft Horizontal Tail

Wing in a Wind Tunnel Domain at Different Mass Flow Rates
The objective of this tutorial is to introduce the workflow of the WindTunnel domain type simulation
in Fluent Aero and to compute the flow around a horizontal stabilizer installed in a wind tunnel at dif-
ferent mass flow rates.
1. Extract the IRT-Swept-Tail-Wing.cas.h5 file and the reference_data folder for this tu-
torial. The reference_data folder contains several .csv formatted text files that will be compared
to the results from the current calculation. These reference data files have been generated for
demonstration purposes only.
The IRT-Swept-Tail-Wing.cas.h5 file contains a NACA64A008 swept tail placed inside a

1.8m high by 2.7m wide by 15.2m long test section. The chord line at the root is aligned with the
center line of the wall floor of the tunnel. Thus, the airflow inside the test section is aligned with
the chord of the 3D model. The objective of this simulation is to capture the wall-effects associated
with the wind tunnel test section. The grid consists of 585,742 nodes, and 1,596,549 cells. This is a
coarse mesh, and is used for demonstration purposes only. Tetrahedral cells define most of the
computational domain. Eighteen layers of prisms are grown off the horizontal stabilizer walls. A
mass-flow-inlet boundary is used to define the wind tunnel inlet flow upstream of the stabilizer. A
pressure-outlet type boundary represents the wind tunnel outlet condition. The remaining four
surrounding boundary zones are defined as wall and symmetry boundary types.
Computing Aerodynamic Coefficients on an Aircraft Horizontal Tail Wing in a Wind
Tunnel Domain at Different Mass Flow Rates
This mesh follows the WindTunnel domain type requirements of a Fluent Aero simulation. Refer
Freestream or WindTunnel Domain Type Requirements for more information.
Figure 36.59: View of the Surface Mesh Around the Horizontal Stabilizer
Figure 36.60: Setup of the Boundary Surface Mesh
2. Launch Fluent 2023 R1 on your computer. On the Fluent Launcher panel, set the Capacity Level to
Enterprise. Then select Aero. Set the number of Solver Processes to 4-16. Click Start.
3. In the Fluent Aero workspace, go to the Project ribbon. Click Workspaces → Options, and check
to enable Use Custom Solver Launch Settings.
When this option is enabled, a Fluent Launcher window will open when loading a case file. This
allows you to schedule a calculation on a server and/or to specify a different number of solver Pro-
cesses to use in your simulation. Alternatively, if this setting is disabled, Fluent Aero will load the
case file in a solver session on your local machine.
4. In the Project ribbon panel, select Project → New… and enter Fluent_Aero_Tutorial_04 to
create a new project folder.
5. In the Project ribbon, select Simulation → New Aero Workflow, and browse to and select the
IRT-Swept-Tail-Wing.cas.h5 file. A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name
of the New Simulation as IRT-Swept-Tail-Wing, check to enable Load in Solver and Use
Custom Solver Launch Settings. Click OK.
6. A Fluent Launcher window will appear, set the Solver Processes to 4-16 and click Start. The case
file will open and a background solver session will load. A new simulation folder will be created in
your project folder, and the IRT-Swept-Tail-Wing.cas.h5 file will be imported.
After the .cas.h5 file has been successfully loaded, a new Outline View tree appears under IRT-
Swept-Tails-Wing (loaded).
While importing, Fluent Aero will attempt to automatically determine if a WindTunnel domain type
is being used. It will search for any boundary that has windtunnel in its name and add those
boundaries to the WindTunnel group. If all the required boundaries are identified to create a valid
windtunnel group, Fluent Aero will set the domain type as WindTunnel, and the following message
will be reported in the Console.
7. In the Outline View window, click Geometric Properties. A Properties - Geometric Properties
window appears below the Outline View window. At the top of this new properties window, notice
that the Domain Type has been automatically set to WindTunnel.
8. Define the orientation of the geometry within the computational domain, which will be used to
compute the aerodynamic forces.
• Pitching Moment Direction will automatically be set to Z-.
• Set the Moment Center X-, Y- and Z-Position [m] to 0, 0, and 0, respectively.
• Set the Reference Length [m] to 1, which corresponds to the mean chord length.
Alternatively, the reference area can be computed by enabling the Compute Projected Area
option. A pop-up panel will appear. Set the Projection Direction to Y and select all the surfaces
of the swept wing geometry. Click the Compute button and then click the Use as Ref. Area
button to copy the computed area to the Reference Area [m^2] box.
9. In the Setup tree, go to Airflow Physics. In the Properties – Airflow Physics window, keep the
default settings.
10. In the Setup tree, go to Simulation Conditions.
• In the Properties – Simulation Conditions window:
– Set the Number of Design Points to 4.
– In the Flow Speed section:
→ Set Parameter to Mass Flow Rate.
→ Set Distribution to Custom.
– Go to the Pressure and Temperature section:
→ Set Parameter to Static.
→ Set Distribution: Pressure to Constant.
→ Set the Atmospheric Static Pressure [Pa] to 101325.
→ Set Distribution: Temperature to Constant.
→ Set the Atmospheric Static Temperature [K] to 288.15.
– In the Turbulence section,
→ Set Parameter to Intensity and Viscosity Ratio.
→ Set both Distribution: Turbulent Intensity and Turbulent Viscosity to Constant.
→ Set Turbulent Intensity [%] to 0.08.
→ Set Turbulent Viscosity Ratio to 1e-5.
– In the Wall Conditions section:
→ Enable Apply to All Walls.
→ In the Thermal Conditions section:
• Set Parameter to Heat Flux.
• Set Distribution to Constant.
• Set Heat Flux [W/m2] to 0.
11. An Input:Design Points table will be created in the graphic window on the right-hand side of the
user interface. This table shows all the design points that will be simulated.
• Set the Mass Flow Rate [kg/s] for each DP as shown below.
The Mach Number corresponding to the Mass Flow Rate of each design point will automatically
be calculated and displayed in the input design point table. The initial status of each design point
(DP) has been set as Needs Update.
Go to Component Groups. Two default Component Groups have been created after the simulation
is loaded. The WindTunnel group contains the inlet and outlet zones that define the inflow and
outflow conditions of the wind tunnel and 4 boundary zones used to represent the wind tunnel
wall. The Other group contains the remainder of the boundary zones which are the walls of the
wing geometry.
12. Create a Wing type component group from these boundary zones.
• In the Properties – Component Groups window, click Manage Components. The component
groups manager panel will appear.
• To create a Wing type component:
– Set Type to Wing in the New Component section and a default group name Wing_01 will
appear.
– Change the group name to Wing.
– Use Create>> to add Wing into Existing Components. All the boundary zones that have not
been assigned to any group are listed in the Available Zones. A Wing type group is a specific
type of group which contains a Component Parts such as Walls.
– From Available Zones, select all the boundary zones that start with wing and use Add>> to
add them to the Walls component parts.
13. Next, enable additional output variables relevant to your components.
• In the Setup tree, go to Component Groups.
• In the Properties – Component Groups window:
– Click the Manage Outputs button to enable component specific output parameters.
• From the Manage Component Outputs panel:
– Check the Active box of the WindTunnel and Wing components.
– Check the Monitor? box of the WindTunnel component.
Because Active is enabled, the mass flow rate of the WindTunnel inlet and the lift and drag forces
of the Wing component will be calculated and summarized in Table:Component Outputs after
the calculation is complete. Since Monitor? is enabled, the evolution of the mass flow rate of the
WindTunnel inlet will be plotted in the Convergence plot.
• Click OK to close this panel.
14. In the Outline View, go to Solution → Solve. Set the number of Iterations to 1000.
The calculation will start, and the first design point, DP-1, will be simulated. A Convergence window
will appear in place of the Graphics window and display the residuals and monitors for DP-1.
Design point DP-1 will continue until the total Iterations (1000) or the Residuals Convergence
Cutoff (1e-5) and Aero Coeff Conv. Cutoff (2e-5) are reached, whichever comes first.
In this example, DP-1 will calculate for 1000 iterations. At that point, the conditions will be updated
for the next design point and the calculation will resume. This process repeats until all design points
are simulated.
16. Look at the convergence history of the simulation in the Convergence window located on the right
of your screen. Set the Dataset to DP-1 and the Curve to Residuals, to view the continuity, x-, y-,
z-velocity, energy, and turbulence residuals for the first design point. You can left-click a residual
curve to show the iteration number and the corresponding residual value. Here, the residual of k at
iteration 1000 is shown and is roughly 4.e-5 which is still higher than the residual convergence cutoff
(1e-5). The remaining residuals of the DP-1 have met the Residuals Convergence Cutoff criteria
after 1000 iterations.
Figure 36.62: Convergence of Residuals for Design Point 1
Note:
While only the residual of k does not meet the residual convergence cutoff criterion of
1e-5, it is still recommended for you to investigate your solutions to ensure that appro-
priate convergence levels have been achieved and that convergence remains stable.
17. In the Convergence window, set Curve to drag-coefficient. The evolution of the drag coefficient
for DP-1 will be displayed. Left-click the last iteration of the drag-coefficient plot, to show the drag
coefficient value at the end of this simulation.
Figure 36.64: Input:Design Points Table After Calculation
you to quickly post-process design point solutions, by obtaining aerodynamic coefficient plots, cre-
ating contour plots of the solution fields, comparing solution fields to experimental data, and more.
20. The first element in the Results node is Tables. In the current tutorial, 5 different Tables will auto-
matically be created in the Graphics window area when the calculation is complete.
Click the Table:Summary, Table:Coefficients, Table:Forces, Table:Component Outputs and

Table:Residuals tabs at the bottom of the Graphics window to reveal each table.
point. In the current simulation, all design points have partially met the convergence criteria.
However, all simulations provide stable aerodynamic coefficients that do not vary after ~500 iter-
ations and all residuals satisfy the convergence criteria except for the k-turbulence equation.
Therefore, all design point results are considered as fully converged solutions.
• Table:Coefficients contains the lift, drag, yaw moment, pitching moment and rolling moment
coefficients. The Cl Conv. and Cd Conv. columns measure the convergence of the lift and drag
coefficients, which are used to determine if the convergence criteria is met. The last column shows
the maximum value of the convergence of the yaw, pitching and rolling moments.
Figure 36.66: Results Table of Aerodynamic Coefficients
• Table:Forces contains the lift, drag and moment forces.
Figure 36.67: Results Table of Aerodynamic Forces
• Table:Component Outputs shows the results of the selected component specific output para-
meters. In this tutorial, the lift and drag forces of the Wing component and the mass-flow rate
of the wind tunnel inlet section are shown.
Figure 36.68: Results Table of Component Outputs
• Table:Residuals shows the final residuals as well as the number of iterations run for each design
point.
21. Click Graphs in the Outline View to show the plots of the aerodynamic coefficients and other results
defined in Fluent Aero:
• At the bottom of the Properties - Graphs window, click Plot Coefficients. An XY plot of lift
coefficient (Cl) vs. design point (DP) will appear in the Graphics window.
• Select Cd from the drop-down list of the Curve menu to plot the drag coefficient as a function
of the design point.
• The moment coefficients can be shown by selecting Cm-r/y/p from the Curve selection drop-
down list.
Figure 36.70: Drag Coefficient vs. Design Point
22. Click the Plot Other Variables button. An X-Y plot will appear in the Graphics window. There is an
[…] option button located on the right of the Dataset All Variables drop-down. This button can
be used to modify some of the plot settings and export the plot to the disk.
• Select Wing_Drag from the Curve drop-down menu.
• Click the […] option button.
• Select Plot settings → X Axis → Plot by specified variable and change the x variable to MassFlow.
• Select Plot settings → X Axis (and Y Axis) → Custom range to adjust the range for x and y axis.
• The plot of the drag force of the wing vs the inlet mass-flow rate of the wind tunnel will be shown.
Figure 36.71: Wing Drag vs Wind Tunnel Inlet Mass Flow Rate
23. The Plots options can be used to quickly display simple 2D plots of selected design points and
solution variables.
• Left-click Plots. The Properties - Plots window will be displayed.
• Set Surface Cut Position [m] to -0.6.
• Click Plot and the pressure coefficient on the walls of DP-1 at Z=-0.6m will be plotted in the Plots
window.
A Plot Options panel will appear after clicking the Plot button. You can use this panel to customize
plot settings for both axes. Notice that when the pressure coefficient is selected in Field, the range
of the y-axis will be reverted with higher value on the bottom and lower value on the top.
Figure 36.72: Distribution of the Wall Pressure Coefficient at Z=-0.6m for DP-1
24. Click the Plot Ref. Data button to load and plot a reference dataset in the current plot. In the dialog
window that appears, browse to the reference file ref-irt-swept-wing-Cp-massflow-313-
section-z0.6m.csv in the reference_data folder, and click OK. You can use the Save Plot
button to export the current plot to a .png file on disk. The reference data will be imported in the
DP-1/Data folder in the Project View. The same plot settings will be applied to the Fluent Aero
results and black dots will be used to plot the reference data.
Figure 36.73: Load a Reference Data to the Pressure Coefficient Plot of DP-1 at Z=-0.6m
and solution variables.
• Left-click Contours from Outline View to display the Properties - Contours setup window.
– Set Surfaces to Component Group.
– Set the Select Component Group to Wing.
– Set the Field to Static Pressure.
– Set Design Point to 1.
– Uncheck Auto-Compute Range and set Minimum Value to 101000 and Maximum Value to
101600.
– Click to expand the ColorMap options. Uncheck Automatically Skip Labels and set Skip to
15.
– Click the Plot button.
The selected wall contour will be displayed in the Graphics window.
In the Graphics window, use the mouse to set the view of the contour. Click View… and change
Save Name to swept-wing-view-1. Click Save to save the current contour view. The saved view
can later be applied to other contour plots.
Figure 36.74: Wall Static Pressure Contour of Design Point 1
26. In the Properties - Contours area, click Save Image… and a Save Picture dialog will appear.
• Check to enable Save All Updated DPs.
• Set Format to JPEG.
• Click the Save… button.
• Set the image name to swept-wing-static-pressure.jpg from the Select File dialog.
The contours of the static pressure for all 4 design points will be saved to the Results folder as
swept-wing-static-pressure-DP-1 to 4.jpg.
27. Under Properties - Contours
• Set Cutting Plane Position [m] to -0.6.
• Uncheck Auto-Compute Range and set Minimum Value to 0.08 and Maximum Value to 0.16.
• Uncheck Automatically Skip Labels and set Skip to 15.
• Click the Plot button to show the cutting plane contour in the Graphics window.
28. In the Project View menu, a Results folder is created after the calculation starts. A folder for each
design point along with an associated case file, data file, and convergence file will appear inside
the Results folder. A Data folder which contains the results (a .csv formatted file) of the 2-D plot
of the pressure coefficient is created. A Summary folder containing the results tables (in .csv
formatted files) is created after clicking the Export Results Tables button.
Figure 36.76: Project View Panel After Calculation and Post-Processing
29. The results can be further investigated using the Post-Analysis (Beta) tool. Left-click out.0001.dat.h5
and select View Results – Post Solution. This command will load the Post-Analysis (Beta) viewer.
Post-Analysis (Beta) is a Beta feature that makes use of the Post-Analysis (Beta) post-processing
functionality and is directly displayed in Fluent Aero’s Graphics area. A Post-Analysis (Beta) tree
node appears in the Outline View, where you can continue post-processing.
Note:
The Post-Analysis (Beta) option is still a beta feature. Therefore, you may experience
some limitations during use.
Two different types of solution files can be loaded into Post-Analysis (Beta) using View
Results:
• Fluent Solution, which is represented by the out.0001.dat.h5 file.
• Post Solution, which is represented by the out.0001.dat.post file.
When using the Post-Analysis (Beta) functionality, it is preferred to use the Post Solution.
The Post Solution contains selected variables for post-processing and is formatted spe-
cifically for use with the Post-Analysis (Beta) tool.
30. Create a Contour plot using the Post-Analysis (Beta) tool:
• Right-click Contours in the Post-Analysis (Beta) tree and select New….
• In the Properties panel that appears, change the Name to Contour_Pressure.
• Change the Field to Absolute Pressure.
• In the Surfaces selection panel, select windtunnel-wall, wing-main, wing-te, and wing-tip.
• Enable Contour Lines.
• Disable Auto-Compute Range.
• Set the Minimum Value [Pa] and Maximum Value [Pa] to 100500 Pa and 103000 Pa, respect-
ively.
• Expand the Color Map section to reveal more options.
• Set the Precision of the legend to 4.
• Click Display (Full Window).
The Contour_Pressure will be displayed in the Post-Analysis tab of the Graphics window.
31. Once you are finished, you can close the dataset in Post-Analysis (Beta) by right-clicking the
dataset name (Results – out.0001.dat.h5) in the Outline View and selecting Delete.
36.5. Fluent Aero AET Part III – Creating VBM Input File for Blade Section
36.5.2. Prerequisites
36.5.5. Summary
The objective of this tutorial is to use Fluent Aero to simulate several design points using a range of
airflow conditions around a blade section to extract its aerodynamic performance. The aerodynamic
performance will then be exported to a section.dat file in a format that can be used as input to Fluent’s
Virtual Blade Model (VBM).
This tutorial represents Part III of the Aerodynamic Extraction Tool (AET) workflow, which focuses on
the CFD calculation of the aerodynamic performance of a blade section using Fluent Aero. Separately,
the input mesh file for this tutorial has been generated using Part I and Part II of the of the AET
Workflow, representing the CAD creation using SpaceClaim, and Mesh creation using Fluent Meshing,
respectively.
Fluent Aero AET Part III – Creating VBM Input File for Blade Section
36.5.2. Prerequisites
in this manual and that you are familiar with the Ansys Fluent Aero outline view and ribbon structure.
Some steps in the setup and solution procedure will not be shown explicitly.

Fluent Aero will be used to extract he aerodynamic performance of a naca0015 airfoil. The performance
will then be exported to a section.dat file format for use as an input to define blade section
performance in Fluent's Virtual Blade Model (VBM).
The mesh of the blade section has been constructed using the Aerodynamic Extraction Tool (AET)
Part I module, which extracts the 2D extruded CAD using SpaceClaim, and Part II module, which creates
the 2D extruded mesh using Fluent Meshing. These modules are not yet available in 2022 R2. The
naca0015 mesh can therefore be created manually or using suitable scripts as long as the input mesh
has only one cell along its span.
In this tutorial, the mesh consists of 265k prism and hexahedral cells. The mesh can be described as
a 2.5D mesh, meaning a 2D mesh that is extruded to be 1 layer thick in the spanwise direction. The
limits of the computational domain are defined by a cylindrical boundary that acts as a pressure-far-
field, and a flat circular boundary defined as a symmetry plane in the Z direction. Mesh refinement
is made in all directions away from the airfoil, to capture wakes produced by all possible AoAs, 0 to
360 degrees. For a Freestream domain type, the external boundary of the domain should be defined
with a pressure-far-field zone. Refer to Freestream or WindTunnel Domain Type Requirements for
more information.
Figure 36.77: Naca0015 Mesh

36.5.4.2. Setup
36.5.4.3. Solution
1. Download the fluent_aero_create_vbm_input_file.zip file here.
2. Unzip fluent_aero_create_vbm_input_file.zip to your working directory.
3. The file, naca0015.msh.h5, can be found in the folder.
4. Launch Fluent 2023 R1 on your computer.
5. Within the Fluent Launcher, set the Capability Level to Enterprise, then select Aero.
6. Set Solver Processes to 4-8 under Parallel Processing Options.
7. Click Start
The graphical user interface (GUI) of Fluent Aero is very similar to Fluent, however, there are some
differences such as:
• The ribbon is reduced to only the File, Project, Design Points, View tabs and therefore
most actions for setting up your simulation will be performed in the Outline View.
• Individual settings are defined in the Properties window which are accessed by left-clicking
an item in the Outline View.
Note:
Settings in the Properties window are saved as you define them, unlike dialog
boxes which require you to click an OK button.
• The console allows for Python scripting and can read Python commands from a journal or
script file.
36.5.4.2. Setup
2. Enter Fluent_Aero_Tutorial_Create_VBM_Input_File as the Project file name

within the Select File dialog.
3. Select and import the naca0015.msh.h5 input grid.
Project → Simulation → New Aero Workflow
A New Simulation window will appear. Enter the Name of the New Simulation as naca0015,
Figure 36.78: Fluent Aero Workspace
4. After the .msh.h5 file has been successfully loaded, a new Outline View tree appears under
naca0015 (loaded).
5. While importing, Fluent Aero will attempt to automatically determine if a Freestream domain
type is being used. It will search for the pressure-far-field zone that defines the external
boundary of the domain and add it to the Freestream group. Fluent Aero will set the domain
type as Freestream, and the following message will be reported in the Console.
7. Define the Geometric Properties of the simulation.
Setup → Geometric Properties
At the top of this new properties window, notice that the Domain Type has been automatically
set to Freestream.
8. Define the orientation of the geometry within the computational domain, which will be used
to compute the aerodynamic forces.
• Set the Domain Dimension to 2.5D.
Note:
This will automatically adjust the Solver Type to Pressure based, which is
more appropriate for the slow speed simulations used in this workflow.
• Retain the default selection of Y+ for Lift Direction at AoA = 0 degree.
• Retain the default selection of X+ for Drag Direction at AoA = 0 degree.
• Pitching Moment Direction will automatically be set to Z-.
• Set the Moment Center X-, Y- and Z-Position [m] to 0.25, 0, and 0.025, respectively.
• Set the Reference Length [m] to 1, which corresponds to the mean chord length.
• Set the Reference Area [m^2] to 0.05, which corresponds to the section width.
9. Define the Airflow Physics of the simulation.
Setup → Airflow Physics
– Set Type to Pressure based.
• In the Materials section
10. Define the Simulation Conditions of the simulation.
Setup → Simulation Conditions
• In the Flow Speed section:
– Retain the default selection of Mach for Parameter.
– Select Uniform from the Distribution drop-down list.
– Set the Minimum Mach Number and Maximum Mach Number to 0.1 and 0.9, respect-
ively.
– Set the Number of Points to 2.
• In the Flow Direction section:
– Retain the default selection of AoA for Parameter.
– Set the Distribution: Angle of Attack to Piecewise-Uniform.
– To the right of Number of Points, click the Edit… button. A Set Piecewise Uniform Dis-
tribution panel will appear. Set up the panel with the options shown in the image below.
Click Apply.
– Retain the default selections for all remaining settings in the Simulation Conditions Panel.
11. An Input:Design Points table will be created in the Graphics window on the right-hand side
of the user interface. This table shows all the design points that will be simulated. Due to the
use of the Uniform and Piecewise-Uniform distributions, all combinations of Mach Number
and Angle of Attack [deg] will be represented in the table, resulting in 40 design points. All
of these points were selected with the intention of providing a complete and sufficient set of
aerodynamic performance data to be used later by Fluent's Virtual Blade Mode (VBM). Some
notes about the selection of these design points.
• Two Mach Numbers (0.1 and 0.9) were used, to evaluate the aerodynamic performance of
the blade section under different flow ranges that could be experienced by the airfoil. More
Mach numbers could be used if you would like to evaluate additional flow ranges.
• A total of 17 design points will be used to simulate the angles of attack that will most fre-
quently be experienced by the blade section – between -20 and 20 degrees. In the current
demonstration, this results in a step size of 2.5 degrees between consecutive angles of attack.
This section could be further refined or expanded to evaluate more points, if of interest. For
example, a user could consider evaluating a step size of 1 degree or a range of angles between
-30 and 30 to offer a more complete set of design points.
• 3 design points will be used to simulate very large angles of attack, at 180, 90 and -90 degrees.
These angles will flesh out the set of design points allowing Fluent’s VBM to have a complete
set of data that it can use to interpolate at all possible angles of attack that could be experi-
enced by the blade section. Notably, it is essential to provide Fluent’s VBM with data that
cover the entire range of angles of attack, which means it is essential to simulate at least the
180 degree Angle of Attack.
The initial status of each design point (DP) has been set as Needs Update.
12. Define the Solve parameters.
Solution → Solve
• Set the number of Iterations to 1000.
• Select Default from the Convergence Settings drop-down list.
13. Click Update to launch the design point calculations.
The calculation will start, and the first design point, DP-1, will be simulated. A Convergence
window will appear in place of the Graphics window and display the residuals and monitors
for DP-1.
Design point DP-1 will continue until the default convergence criteria has been reached for all
residuals (1e-5) and for the lift and drag monitors (2e-5), or until maximum Iterations (1000) are
reached, whichever comes first.
Let the simulation update for a few hours, until all design points have been calculated. After
each design point has been updated, notice that the Status column of the Input:Design Points
table will be set to Updated.
36.5.4.3. Solution
1. Once all design point calculations are complete, the results should be investigated to determine
if they have all sufficiently converged. This can be done by checking if the convergence criteria
have been met for each design point, looking at the lift and drag convergence curves of each
design point to see if they have stabilized, and by investigating each design point solution using
contour plots.
2. First, check if the convergence criteria has been met for each design point. Go to the Table:
Summary and view the Conv Criteria Met? column.
The default convergence criteria specified by Fluent Aero is judged as when the solver residuals
(continuity, energy, etc) have dropped below 1e-5 and when the relative change in the lift-
coefficient and drag-coefficient over the previous 10 iterations has dropped below 2e-5. The
value in the Conv Criteria Met? column will say yes if the default convergence criteria has been
met, partially if some of the conditions have been met, and no if none or few of the conditions
have been met.
In this case, out of the 40 design points, 22 have been set to Criteria Met? yes, 5 have been
set to Criteria Met? partially, and 13 have been set to Criteria Met? no.
Note:
This distribution may change depending on how many CPUs you use for your
run, as the partitioning may affect the convergence in some cases. However,
meeting the convergence criteria does not necessarily mean the design point
has fully converged. Conversely, not meeting the convergence criteria does not
necessarily mean the design point is not sufficiently converged for your purposes.
It should only be used to give a quick sense of the overall status of the design
points. It is important to investigate the residual and coefficient convergence
curves and solution plots to have a clear sense of convergence for each design
point.
In the next steps, you will look more closely at a few individual design points.
3. Investigate the convergence history and solution of DP-10.
In the Table: Summary, this design point was specified as Conv Criteria Met: yes. This design
point was calculated with a Mach Number of 0.1 and an Angle of Attack of 5 degrees. This
low Angle of Attack and Mach Number should produce a straightforward solution that does
not contain either separation zones or shocks.
Go to the Convergence window located on the right of your screen. Set the Dataset to DP-10
and the Curve to Residuals, to view the continuity, x- y- z-velocity, energy, and turbulence
residuals. You can left-click a residual curve to show the iteration number and the corresponding
residual value.
Figure 36.81: Dataset: DP-10, Curve: Residuals
Figure 36.82: Dataset: DP-10, Curve: Lift-Coefficient
Figure 36.83: Dataset: DP-10, Curve: Drag-Coefficient
From the convergence curves, it can be seen that all solver residuals have become lower than
their cutoff point of 1e-5, and the lift-coefficient and drag-coefficient curves have stabilized.
The calculation has stopped automatically at around 250 iterations. This design point appears
to be well converged.
Plot a contour of Mach Number at this design point to view the solution. Go to Results →
Contours, enter the following and click Plot.
The solution contour appears stable, with no separation or shocks apparent in the solution.
In the Table: Summary, this design point was specified as Conv Criteria Met: partially. This
design point was calculated with a Mach Number of 0.9 and an Angle of Attack of -90 degrees.
This very high Angle of Attack and transonic Mach Number may result in large separation
zones and shocks in the solution, so the convergence of this design point may be more challen-
ging.
residual value.
From the convergence curves, while not all of the solver residuals have become lower than their
cutoff point of 1e-5, they are mostly close to that, and the lift-coefficient and drag-coefficient
curves have stabilized. The calculation has stopped automatically at the maximum of 1000 iter-
ations. While this design point did not fully meet the convergence criteria, it does appear to be
sufficiently well converged to provide a good value of lift- and drag-coefficient.
The solution contour appears stable. A small shock can be seen near the leading edge of the
airfoil, and a large separation zone can be seen below the airfoil.
In the Table: Summary, this design point was specified as Conv Criteria Met: no. This design
point was calculated with a Mach Number of 0.1 and an Angle of Attack of 20 degrees. This
angle of attack could be near the stall point for this airfoil, and therefore obtaining steady state
convergence could be more challenging.
residual value.
From the convergence curves, it can be seen that the solver residuals, the lift-coefficient and
drag-coefficient curves are oscillating and do not converge to a steady state value. This can
happen when the airfoil is near stall. This design point does not appear to be well converged.
From the contour image, the solution contour appears stable. However, we know from the
convergence curves that it is in fact oscillating. We will have to improve the convergence of
this design point in order to obtain a reasonable steady state value of lift- and drag-coefficient.
6. Repeat a similar investigation of the remaining design points, focusing especially on the design
point where the Conv Criteria Met? is set to no or partially.
7. After investigating all the solutions, it can be seen that most of the design points have converged
fairly well. Many of the design points that were set to Conv Criteria Met?: no have lift-coefficient
curves that are only oscillating by a very small amount. Therefore, keep those solutions.
However, 2 of the design points, DP-1 and DP-17, feature large oscillations in lift-coefficient
and must be recalculated with different convergence settings to obtain a reasonable steady
state value of lift-coefficient.
Note:
Small fluctuations in the coefficient of lift can also be seen in DP-18, which was
simulated at Mach 0.1 and an Angle of Attack of –90 degrees. Typically, design points
with such high AoA and low Mach may be challenging to converge, with solutions
typically featuring very large separation bubbles on the top or bottom of the blade
section. However, in this case, these fluctuations were deemed small enough to
represent a reasonable solution for use in the section.dat file. In this manner, the
initial results were kept in this example.
8. Recalculate DP-1 and DP-17 solutions using more conservative solver settings to achieve better
convergence.
From the Design Points ribbon, click Set Status.
A Set Status of Design Points window will appear. Enter the following into this panel, and
click Apply.
This will cause the Status of DP-1 and DP-17 to be set to Needs Update in the Input: Design
Points table. Alternatively, this can be done manually by clicking on the drop-down list and
then changing to Needs Update at both individual design points.
Go to Solution → Solve, and do the following:
• Set the Convergence Settings to Custom. This reveals a number of more advanced conver-
gence settings.
• Reduce the Time Scale Factor to 0.05. This will reduce the convergence rate but will poten-
tially result in a more stable solution.
• Increase the number of Iterations to 4000 to give more time for the solution to converge
since the Time Scale Factor has been reduced.
Click Update to update DP-1 and DP-17 with the new solver settings. Wait until both design
points calculations are complete.
9. After the calculations are complete, go to the Table: Summary, and notice that the Conv Cri-
teria Met? for both DP-1 and DP-17 have been set to yes.
10. Investigate the new convergence history and solution of DP-17.
residual value.
From the convergence curves, the convergence has substantially improved with the new solver
settings. The solver residuals have all dropped below their default convergence cutoff of 1e-5,
and the lift-coefficient and drag-coefficients have stabilized. The solution automatically stops
at around 2100 iterations. This design point now appears to be well converged.
From the contour image, the solution contour appears stable. This solution is slightly different
than the solution using the default convergence settings, as the separation region appears
slightly larger and more resolved.
Note:
Depending on the geometry and/or conditions, more or less design points may have
difficulty reaching a converged solution. For these design points, the first strategy
should be to change the solver settings and to recalculate in order to achieve better
convergence.
Suggestions to improve convergence of challenging design points:
For design points that are challenging to converge, there is not a single method that
can be suggested to improve the convergence. However, there are a few things that
could be tried.
• If the Pseudo Time method is used, try adjusting the Time Scale Factor. In Fluent
Aero, the default value of this is 0.5. First, try a lower value of 0.1 or 0.05.
• Change the Solution Control to CFL and adjust the Courant Number to achieve
convergence. Start with a value of 10 and keep reducing this value until conver-
gence improves.
• If the Initialization Method is set to FMG, ensure your initial solution is stable.
Try reducing the FMG CFL to 0.5 or 0.2 to improve this initial solution.
• If none of these strategies work, many additional values can be adjusted from the
Solution workspace. Refer to Fluent User's Guide for more information or sugges-
tions.
If none of these strategies are successful, the results of these design points can be
manually adjusted after exporting the section.dat file to ensure a good section.dat
file (see the Note in the subsequent section).
1. The Graphs options can be used to quickly view the coefficient values of all design points.
Display simple 2D plots of selected design points and solution variables.
Go to the Graphs tab.
• Set the Dataset to Aero Coefficients.
• Set the Curve to Cl or Cd.
Notice that most design points show an increase in Cl at an increase in DP number. This trend
does not apply to design points 18-20 and 38-40, which are the -90, 90 and 180 degree Angle
of Attack design points.
2. These plots can be further analyzed using the Parametric Graph feature.
Go to Results → Graphs in the Outline View. Click on the Parametric Graph function button
at the bottom of the Properties – Graphs panel.
The Parametric Graph window will appear. We will use this panel to organize the design points
into curve/color groups of Mach number, and plot the Cl vs AoA curve for each group together.
Set up the panel as shown in the figure below, and click Plot.
The following will be displayed in the Graphs panel.
Notice that the Cl values for both Mach 0.1 and Mach 0.9 curves are similar. Notice also that
the values of Cl at -90, 90 and 180 degrees feature lift values close to 0. Investigate more closely
the design points between -20 and 20 degrees. Click Parametric Graph to open the panel
again. This time, enable 1 for the Number of Filters to exclude any AoA above or below +/-
21 degrees, as shown in the image below.
The following will be displayed in the Graphs panel.
Notice that at an AoA of +/- 20 degrees, the Mach 0.9 condition will have reached its stall point,
but the Mach 0.1 condition will have not yet reached its stall point.
3. Now that we are satisfied with the solution at all our design points, we will export the blade
section aerodynamic performance file in a format suitable for use with Fluent’s Virtual Blade
Model (VBM).
Go to Results → Tables. Right click on Tables and select Export Results to VBM Input File.
In the panel that appears, name the file naca0015-vbm-input.dat. Click OK.
The data file will appear in the Simulation folder under the Summary tab.
Navigate to this file on the disk. This file should be in the naca0015/Results folder. Open
it with a text editor to view its content. This file can be used to define the performance of a
naca0015 blade section inside Fluent’s VBM model.
Note:
If you were unsuccessful in ensuring that all challenging design points converge suffi-
ciently well, the results of these design points can be manually adjusted after exporting
the section.dat file.
Suggestions on how to manage the results if the design points don’t converge:
There are a few approaches one can take to ensure a reasonable section.dat file is expor-
ted for use in VBM simulations inside Fluent.
• If, after thoroughly investigating the solution, it becomes apparent that the results
for coefficient of lift or drag of a design point are oscillating around a steady state
value, you may decide to take an average value of this oscillation to use in your
section.dat file. After exporting the file, open the file in a text editor, find the
combination of Mach and AoA corresponding to the design point, and replace
the instantaneous value of Cl or Cd with an averaged value.
• If the results of a design point have completely diverged or are unreliable, the
value can be removed from the section.dat file. After exporting the file, open
the file in a text editor, find the combination of Mach and AoA corresponding to
the design point, and delete the line related to the design point. When doing
this, one must reduce the number of AoA points at the top of each table section
to account for deletion of the AoA point. For example: if you were to remove the
Mach 0.1 and AoA –90 degree point from the cl and cd tables in the current tu-
torial, you would need to reduce the number of points from each table from 21
to 20.
• Note that the VBM model in Fluent requires all input section.dat files to have a
value associated with the +/-180 degree Angle of Attack for each table section.
36.5.5. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to use Fluent Aero to extract the aerodynamic performance of an
airfoil and to export that data to a file suitable for use in Fluent’s VBM model.
Chapter 37: Fluent Material Processing Tutorials
This chapter include several Material Processing Tutorials for Ansys Fluent.
The information in this chapter is divided into the following sections:

37.1. 3D Polymer Extrusion
37.2. 3D Polymer Blow Molding & Thermoforming
37.3. Injection Stretch Blow Molding (ISBM)
37.4. Glass Pressing
37.5. 3D Inverse Extrusion
37.1. 3D Polymer Extrusion

37.1.4. Results
37.1.5. Summary
This tutorial illustrates the simulation of a 3D extrusion process using the Fluent Materials Processing
workspace (Fluent Materials Processing Workspace). The workspace will allow you to set up and solve
a polymer extrusion problem so you can easily obtain an accurate prediction of the extrudate shape
for a given die geometry under prescribed operating conditions.
In this tutorial you will learn how to use the Fluent Materials Processing workspace to:
• Easily set up your extrusion simulation
• Calculate a solution
• Analyze the results.

This problem deals with the flow of a Newtonian fluid through a three-dimensional die. Due to the
symmetry of the problem (the cross-section of the die is a square), the computational domain is
defined for a quarter of the geometry and two planes of symmetry are defined.
Fluent Material Processing Tutorials
The melt enters the die as shown in Figure 37.1: Problem Description (p. 1584) at a flow rate of Q = 10
cm3/s (a quarter of the actual flow rate) and the extrudate is obtained at the exit. At the end of the
computational domain, it is assumed that the extrudate is fully deformed and that it will not deform
any further. It is assumed that subdomain 2 is long enough to account for all the deformation of the
extrudate.
Figure 37.1: Problem Description
The incompressibility and momentum equations are solved over the computational domain. The
domain for the problem is divided into two subdomains (as shown in Figure 37.1: Problem Descrip-
tion (p. 1584)) so that the remeshing algorithm can be applied only to the portion of the mesh that
will be deformed. The subdomain 1 represents the die where the fluid is confined. The subdomain 2
corresponds to the extrudate that is in contact with the air and can deform freely. The main aim of
the calculation is to find the location of the free surface (the skin of the extrudate).
The boundary sets for the problem are shown in Figure 37.2: Boundary Sets for the Problem (p. 1585),
and the conditions at the boundaries of the domains are as follows.
• boundary 1: flow inlet, volumetric flow rate Q = 10 cm3/s
• boundary 2: zero velocity
• boundary 3: symmetry plane
• boundary 4: symmetry plane
• boundary 5: free surface
• boundary 6: flow exit
3D Polymer Extrusion
Figure 37.2: Boundary Sets for the Problem

37.1.3.2. Launching Ansys Fluent
37.1.3.3. Setup Your Simulation
37.1.3.4. General Properties
37.1.3.5. Material Properties
37.1.3.6. Cell Zone Properties
37.1.3.7. Boundary Condition Properties
37.1.3.8. Mesh Deformation Properties
37.1.3.9. Solution
1. Prepare a working folder for your simulation.
2. Download the 3d_extrusion.zip file here.
3. Unzip the 3d_extrusion.zip file you have downloaded to your working folder.
4. The mesh file ext3d.msh can be found in the unzipped folder.

2. Select Materials Processing in the list of Fluent workspaces.
3. Click Start.

Clicking Start in the Fluent Launcher opens the Fluent Materials Processing workspace.
The workspace is a version of Ansys Fluent that utilizes the power of the Ansys Polyflow solver to
simulate polymer flows such as extrusion, blow molding, pressing, and so forth.
1. Open an extrusion geometry by reading in a Polyflow mesh file.
a. In the Setup properties, under Read, click the Mesh... button.
You can also use the File menu, and choose Read > Polyflow Mesh....
b. Locate and select the mesh file from your working folder (ext3d.msh)
c. Set the Mesh Length Unit to cm, and close the dialog box.
2. Set up an extrusion simulation (using the Simulation category of the Setup Ribbon).
Setup → Simulation → Use Template...
This will display the Simulation Template dialog.
a. Set the Type to Extrusion.
b. Set the Goal to be Predict extrudate shape.
c. Keep the Number of fluids as 1.
d. Click Apply.
This will instruct the workspace to set up the appropriate objects and settings based on
your selections.
Note:
Notice the Outline View's use of status icons. A green check mark indicates the
properties of that object are satisfactory. A red 'x' indicates that attention is re-
quired for that object.
You can progress down the Outline View (or across the Ribbon) to complete your simulation
settings using each object's property pages.

Click the General node in the Outline View to display general settings for the problem setup.
1. Select General in the Outline View to review general properties of the simulation.
2. Review the settings in the properties page.
3. Make sure that Steady is selected for the Calculation Type.
4. Enter 3D die swell for the Task Name.

Fluent indicates which material properties are relevant by graying out the irrelevant properties. For this
model you will only define the viscosity of the material.
Even though the default material's (fluid) properties are up-to-date, you will change how that ma-
terial's viscosity is defined.
1. Select fluid under Materials in the Outline View to review material properties of the simulation.
2. In the properties panel for the fluid material, click the icon to the left of the Viscosity Law
category to define the viscosity properties of the fluid.
3. For Shear Rate Dependence, select Cross.
The Cross law exhibits shear-thinning (the decrease in viscosity as the shear rate increases) that is
a characteristic of many polymers. The viscosity in this tutorial is given by the Cross law:
(37.1)
where:
= zero shear-rate viscosity = 85000 poise
= natural time = 0.2 s
= Cross law index = 0.3
= shear rate
4. For Zero Shear Viscosity [Pa s], enter 85000.
5. For Time Constant [s], enter 0.2.
6. For Cross Law Index, enter 0.3.

In this portion of the tutorial, you will assign your fluid cell zones.
1. Select fluid-zone under Cell Zones in the Outline View to review cell zone properties of the
simulation.
2. For Zones, select the field to open a selection dialog.
3. In the selection dialog, select both available subdomains: subdomain1 and subdomain2 and
click OK to keep your selections and close the dialog.

In the following steps you will set the conditions at each of the boundaries of the simulation.
1. Set inlet conditions.
a. Select inlet under Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View to review inlet boundary
conditions for the simulation.
b. Select boundary1 as the Boundary Zone.
c. Select Volume Flow as the Flow Specification.
d. Select fluid as the Incoming material.
e. Enter 0.00001 m^3/s (10 cm^3/s) as the Volume Flow.
2. Set outlet conditions.
a. Select extrudate-exit under Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View to review exit
boundary conditions for the simulation.
3. Set symmetry conditions.
a. Select Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View, and click the New... button in its
properties window, or right-click in the tree and add a new condition to the tree.
b. Rename the new condition to Symmetry.
c. Set the Type to Symmetry.
d. Select boundary3-subdomain1, boundary3-subdomain2, boundary4-subdomain1, and

boundary4-subdomain2 as the Boundary Zone.
4. Set free surface conditions.
a. Select free-surface under Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View to review free
surface boundary conditions for the simulation.
c. Select boundary2 as the Fixed Part.
5. Set wall conditions.
At a solid-liquid interface, the velocity of the liquid is that of the solid surface. Hence the fluid is as-
sumed to stick to the wall. This is known as the no-slip condition because the liquid is assumed to
adhere to the wall, and hence, has no velocity relative to the wall.
a. Select wall under Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View to review wall boundary

This model involves a free surface, whose shape is unknown a priori, which will be calculated together
with the flow equations. A portion of the mesh is affected by the relocation of this boundary, so a
remeshing technique is applied on this part of the mesh. The free surface is entirely contained within
subdomain 2, therefore only subdomain 2 is affected by the relocation of the free surface.
1. Under Mesh Deformations, select extrudate to edit the default properties of the extrudate
exit for your simulation.
2. Select subdomain2 for Zones.
3. Select Optimesh-3D for the Extrudate Deformation Method.
4. Select subdomain2-subdomain1 for the Inlet Section.
5. Select boundary6 for the Outlet Section.
The purpose of the remeshing technique is to relocate internal nodes according to the displacement of
boundary nodes due to the motion of the free surface, since a part of the mesh is deformed. For 3D ex-
trusion problems where large deformations of the extrudate are expected, the optimesh remeshing
technique is recommended
The optimesh remeshing technique requires the direction of extrusion to be parallel to the , , or
axis, and all slices into which the remeshing domain is cut must be perpendicular to the extrusion axis.
The domain to be remeshed is cut into a series of 2D slices (planes) in a direction perpendicular to the
direction of extrusion, and each plane is remeshed independently. For this process, Polyflow requires the
selection of the initial plane and the final plane. In this problem, the initial plane is the intersection of
subdomain 2 with subdomain 1, and the final plane is the intersection of subdomain 2 with the flow
exit (boundary 6).
37.1.3.9. Solution
Open the Solution branch of the Outline View (or use the Ribbon). Here, you can review problem
setup and other solution properties. Most items indicate that current default values are appropriate.
1. Review your problem setup.
a. Select Run Calculation to see available options.
b. Click Check to review your simulation settings. Fluent will inform you as to whether or not
your setup contains any problems and will provide guidance to solve any issues.
2. Calculate a solution.
a. Click Calculate to begin the computing a solution.
b. Once the calculations are complete, check the solution's listing in the Transcript tab to
confirm its success. You can confirm that the solution proceeded as expected by looking for
the following printed at the bottom of the listing file:
The computation succeeded.
3. Save the work.
Your work can be preserved using a "session" file - a Materials Processing workspace-specific case
file (*.mprcas) that contains your settings and your results.
File → Write → Session..., entering extrusion-3D as the name of the session
37.1.4. Results
Review results using the various tools in the Results section of the Outline View or the Ribbon where
you can setup contours, vectors, and so on.
1. Display the velocity distribution on the boundaries.
Figure 37.3: Contour Properties
a. Keep the default Name (contour-1).
b. For the Field, select VELOCITIES[].
c. For the Surfaces, select the field to open the Surfaces dialog where you can select the relevant
boundaries. Once your selections are complete, click OK to close the dialog.
Figure 37.4: Selecting Boundaries in the Surfaces Dialog
d. Keep the remaining defaults and click Display to see the velocity magnitude contour plot in
the graphics window.
Use the toolbars in the graphics window to adjust the display so that it is in an isometric ori-
entation, and fits the window.
2. Display contours of velocity in cross-sectional planes, at Z = 0, 0.08, 0.15, and 0.45 m.
a. Create a cross-section planes at Z = 0 m.
Results → Surfaces → New Plane... →
In the properties of plane-1, under Plane Settings, select XY Plane for the Creation Mode,
enter 0 for Z, and click Display
b. Create additional cross-section planes for Z = 0.08, 0.15, and 0.45 m.
Once complete, you should have four separate plane surfaces available.
You could also have used the Create Multiple Surface dialog to easily create multiple surfaces.
c. Display contours of velocity in the cross-sectional planes.
In the properties of contour-2, select VELOCITIES[] for the Field, and for the Surfaces, select
the four plane surfaces you just created, keep the remaining defaults, and click Display..
3D Polymer Blow Molding & Thermoforming
Figure 37.6: Velocity Profiles at Cross-Sections
37.1.5. Summary
This tutorial introduced the concept of a 3D extrusion problem using the Fluent Materials Processing
workspace. You solved the problem using a specific 3D geometry for the die and made suitable as-
sumptions about the physics of the problem. You analyzed the factors affecting the extrudate shape.
In addition you learned how to use the optimesh remeshing method, which is recommended for 3D
extrusion problems.
37.2. 3D Polymer Blow Molding & Thermoforming

37.2.4. Results
37.2.5. Summary
This tutorial illustrates the simulation of a 3D blow molding process using the Fluent Materials Pro-
cessing workspace (Fluent Materials Processing Workspace). The workspace will allow you to set up
and solve a polymer blow molding problem so you can easily obtain an accurate prediction of the
shaped object for a given mold geometry under prescribed operating conditions.
• Easily set up your blow molding / thermoforming simulation
• Calculate a solution
• Analyze the results, such as generating thickness-based contour plots and running transient anim-
ations.

This tutorial simulates a typical thermoforming situation for a blister. Figure 37.7: Thermoforming of
a Blister, Sheet (blue) and Mold (red) (p. 1599) shows a view of the process in the initial configuration.
Figure 37.7: Thermoforming of a Blister, Sheet (blue) and Mold (red)
To reduce the computational run time, and utilizing the symmetric nature of the blister, only one
quarter of the blister/mold is modeled, Figure 37.7: Thermoforming of a Blister, Sheet (blue) and Mold
(red) (p. 1599). From a geometric point of view, the initial (1/4) film has the following dimensions:
• Length = 0.015 m
• Width = 0.05 m
• Initial thickness = 0.0005 m
This tutorial demonstrates the modeling of a polymer sheet made up of several layers, as it is often
the case for packaging food or medication, where one layer provides mechanical resistance and an-
other layer provides a humidity barrier.
The thickness of the layer, when compared to the length/width of the blister, is rather small. This allows
for the use of the membrane (shell) element, which is suited for the analysis of 3D blow molding and
thermoforming simulations. The use of the membrane element is presently restricted to time-dependent
flows and is combined with Lagrangian representation (each mesh node is a material point). Node
displacement results from the time integration of nodal velocity.
The finite element mesh and the boundary conditions are displayed in Figure 37.8: Finite Element
Mesh, Subdomains and Boundary Sets (p. 1600). A 3D surface mesh has been generated for both the
mold and the film. The most important aspect is the proper description of the inner mold surfaces
that will shape the blister.
The film has the following material properties:
• First layer: Viscosity = 5500 Pa -s
Second layer: Viscosity = 4000 Pa -s
• First layer: Density = 975 kg/m3
Second layer: Density = 1100 kg/m3
• First layer: Initial thickness = 0.0002 m
Second layer: Initial thickness = 0.0003 m
Figure 37.8: Finite Element Mesh, Subdomains and Boundary Sets
As seen in Figure 37.8: Finite Element Mesh, Subdomains and Boundary Sets (p. 1600), the topology
involves two subdomains:
• Subdomain 1 = film
• Subdomain 2 = mold
and four boundary sets:
• Boundary 1: will be fixed (clamped boundary)
• Boundary 2: will be fixed (clamped boundary)
• Boundary 3: symmetry boundary condition with respect to the x-axis
• Boundary 4: symmetry boundary condition with respect to the y-axis
The inflation pressure will be defined on the subdomain representing the film (Subdomain 1).
When considering contact with a mold, typically, two cases may be encountered:
• The moving mold comes in contact with the shell and the shell acquires the mold velocity.
• The shell is inflated according to a certain rate and eventually comes into contact with the mold,
acquiring its shape.
Often, both types of contact are encountered in a given application.

37.2.3.7. Layer Properties
37.2.3.8. Fluid Boundary Condition Properties
37.2.3.9. Contact Boundary Conditions
37.2.3.11. Adaptive Mesh Settings
37.2.3.12. Solution
2. Download the 3d_thermo_blister.zip file here.
3. Unzip the 3d_thermo_blister.zip file you have downloaded to your working folder.
The mesh file blister.msh can be found in the unzipped folder.

3. Click Start.

1. Open a blow molding geometry by reading in a Polyflow mesh file.
b. Locate and select the mesh file from your working folder (blister.msh)
c. In this case, the mesh file does not contain any unit information, so you are prompted to
provide the units through the Define Mesh Unit dialog. Set the Mesh Length Unit to mm,
and close the dialog box.
Note:
The Fluent Materials Processing workspace always performs the setup and the
calculations in MKS. If the mesh is provided in other units, then the coordinates
are converted to meters prior to the calculation.
2. Set up a blow molding simulation (using the Simulation category of the Setup Ribbon).
a. Set the Type to Blow Molding / Thermoforming.
b. Keep the Number of Fixed Molds as 0.
c. Set the Number of Moving Molds to 1.
d. Set the Number of Layers to 2.
e. Set the Duration to 0.5 seconds.
f. Click Apply.
your selections.
Note:

Click the General node in the Outline View to display general settings for the problem setup. For
this tutorial, you can keep the default settings.

For this tutorial, you will replace the two fluids that were created for you with two special materials
imported from an installed material library.
1. Import a new material from the materials library.
Click the Import From Library... button in the Materials property page. Alternatively, you can
right-click on the Materials node, and select Import From Library... from the context menu.
Materials Import From Library...
This displays the Library of Materials dialog box.
a. Select Blow molding for the Family
b. Select BlowMolding_HDPE_isothermal_463K for the Material.
c. Click OK to close the dialog.
The new material will be added to the list of materials in the Outline View.
2. Import another material from the library by repeating the same procedure.
a. Select Blow molding for the Family
b. Select BlowMolding_PP_isothermal_493K for the Material.
c. Click OK to close the dialog.
The new material will be added to the list of materials in the Outline View.
3. Remove the original fluid materials (fluid-1 and fluid-2).
a. Select fluid-1 in the Outline View, right-click and select Delete from the context menu.
Setup → Materials → fluid-1 Delete
You will be prompted to make sure you want to remove the material. Click Yes to remove the
material.
b. Perform the same operation for fluid-2 to remove it from your setup.
4. Review material properties.
a. Select BlowMolding_HDPE_isothermal_463K under Materials in the Outline View to review

material properties of the simulation.
When you select an item in the Outline View, you can see and edit its properties and settings in
the separate Properties View window. There are numerous material properties available for your
materials using the workspace. Material properties are listed by category and you can expand
the properties of the categories you are interested in by clicking the icon to the left of the category.
b. Review the density and the viscosity settings for the first material.
c. Review the density and the viscosity settings for the second material.

In this portion of the tutorial, you will assign which cell zone is the fluid which is the moving mold, and
prescribe the motion of the mold using an expression.
1. Set the cell zone conditions for the fluid zone.
a. Select fluid-zone under Cell Zones in the Outline View to review cell zone properties of
the simulation.
b. For Zones, select the field to open a selection dialog. In the selection dialog, select subdo-
main1 and click OK to keep your selections and close the dialog.
c. Set the Inflation Pressure to 10000 Pa.
Click Display to visualize arrows on the fluid zone that demonstrate the orientation of the
pressure.
d. Select expression from the Time Dependency drop-down list, then enter IF(time <=
0.1, 0.0, IF(time >= 0.11, 1.0, (time-0.1)/(0.11-0.1))) for the time
dependency.
2. Set the cell zone conditions for the moving mold zone.
a. Select moving-mold under Cell Zones in the Outline View to review cell zone properties
of the simulation.
b. For Zones, select the field to open a selection dialog. In the selection dialog, select subdo-
main2 and click OK to keep your selections and close the dialog.
c. Check the orientation.
Click Display to visualize arrows on the moving mold zone that demonstrate the orientation,
and to confirm that the arrows are pointing to the mold body.
d. Under Translation Velocity, select expression from the Vz drop-down list and enter 0.01
* IF(time <= 0.097, 1.0, IF(time >= 0.103, 0.0, 17.167 - time *
166.67)) for Vz.

Using the blow molding simulation template, this tutorial defined two layers. In the following steps you
will further define the various layers of the simulation, each having its own material properties and initial
thickness (which can be defined as a constant, or a linear function of X, Y, Z coordinates. Layers can
overlap (partly or entirely), but they are not required to do so. Here, each layer is defined on the same
fluid-zone. The solver will model the deformation of the polymer sheet that combines (the resistance of)
the two layers. The layers are meant to stick together, so the deformation of each layer is identical, since
the area stretch can only be computed once.
1. Set conditions for the first layer.
a. Select layer-of-fluid-1 under Layers in the Outline View to review this layer's settings
for the simulation.
b. Select BlowMolding_HDPE_isothermal_463K as the Material.
c. Select subdomain1 as the Zones.
d. The layer's thickness H is defined by the polynomial: A*(1+B*x+C*y+D*z). All that

is required for this tutorial is a value for the first coefficient, A, so enter 0.0002 m.
2. Set conditions for the second layer.
a. Select layer-of-fluid-2 under Layers in the Outline View to review this layer's settings
for the simulation.
b. Select BlowMolding_PP_isothermal_493K as the Material.
c. Select subdomain1 as the Zones.
d. Enter 0.0003 m for the thickness coefficient A.
37.2.3.8. Fluid Boundary Condition Properties

1. Set conditions for the fixed edges.
a. Select fixed-edges under Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View to review this
boundary condition for the simulation.
b. Select boundary1 and boundary2 as the Boundary Zone.
2. Set two symmetry conditions.
a. Select Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View, and click the New... button in its
b. Rename the new condition to symmetry-1.
c. Set the Type to Symmetry.
d. Select boundary3 as the Boundary Zone.
e. Select Normal direction along X axis as the Plane of Symmetry.
f. Repeat the process and assign a symmetry boundary called symmetry-2 to boundary4,
assigning its plane of symmetry to be Normal direction along Y axis.

Contact between the fluid film and the solid mold can be accounted for using contact conditions.
1. Under Contact Boundary Conditions, select contact-with-moving-mold to edit the default

properties of this contact condition for your simulation.
2. Select subdomain1 for the Fluid Zone of Contact.
3. Select subdomain2 for the Mold Zone of Contact.

Here, we'll assign the film cell zone to be a deforming fluid.
1. Under Mesh Deformations, select fluid-deformation to edit the default properties of the fluid
deformation zone for your simulation.
2. Select subdomain1 for Zones.

In many practical cases, the use of adaptive meshing based on contact, remeshing, or both may be
useful to selectively and automatically refine the mesh during the solution. The blow molding simulation
template automatically includes adaptive mesh refinement, however, it is not necessary for this tutorial.
Select Adaptive Meshing in the Outline View and disable it in the Properties Window.
37.2.3.12. Solution
1. Review the derived quantities.
a. Select Derived Quantities to see available options.
b. Under Extension, check Enable to expose additional options. Keep the default settings.
b. Click Check to review your simulation settings. Fluent will inform you as to whether or not
a. Click Calculate to start the calculation.
b. Once the calculations are complete, check the solution's listing in the Transcript tab to
confirm it's success. You can confirm that the solution proceeded as expected by looking
for the following printed at the bottom of the listing file:
4. Save the work.
File → Write → Session..., entering blister as the name of the session
37.2.4. Results
1. Improve the view of the geometry using mirror planes.
a. Open the Results tab of the Ribbon and, under Graphics, select Mirror Planes... to open the
Mirror Planes dialog.
Results → Graphics → Mirror Planes...
b. In the Mirror Planes dialog, select X and Y.
2. Display contours of thickness (THICKNESS_1) in the fluid region (subdomain1).
Figure 37.9: Thickness Contour Properties
a. Specify a new Name (Thickness1).
b. For the Field, select THICKNESS_1.
boundaries. Select subdomain1 from the list, and click OK to close the dialog.
d. For the contour properties, keep the remaining defaults and click Display to see the thickness
contour plot in the graphics window.
Use the toolbars in the graphics window to adjust the display so that it is in an isometric ori-
entation, and fits the window.
Figure 37.11: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_1)
e. Review an animation of the contour.
Results → Timestep
i. To reset the timesteps, change the Current animation time step value to 1. Alternat-
ively, you can also move the slider all the way to the left, or click the Jump to Start
button ( ).
ii. To start the animation., click the Play button ( ) to start the animation.
iii. To stop the animation., click the Stop button ( ).
Figure 37.12: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_1): Timestep =1
Figure 37.13: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_1): Timestep =25
Figure 37.14: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_1): Timestep=50
3. Display contours of thickness (THICKNESS_2) in the fluid region (subdomain1).
Repeat the previous steps to create a new contour over the subdomain1 surface with the Name
of Thickness2 with the Field set to THICKNESS_2.
Figure 37.15: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_2)
Repeat the previous steps to review an animation of the contour.
4. Display contours of thickness (THICKNESS_TOT) in the fluid region (subdomain1).
of Thickness with the Field set to THICKNESS_TOT.
Figure 37.16: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_TOT)
5. Display contours of area stretch (AREA_STRETCH) in the fluid region (subdomain1).
of AreaStretch with the Field set to AREA_STRETCH.
Figure 37.17: Contours of Area Stretch (AREA_STRETCH)
37.2.5. Summary
This tutorial introduced the concept of a 3D blow molding problem using the Fluent Materials Pro-
cessing workspace. You solved the problem using a 3D shell geometry for the mold and the film and
made suitable assumptions about the physics of the problem. The mold moved into contact with the
film, where a constant pressure was applied to the film. This blew the film into the mold where it
assumed the shape of the mold.
37.3. Injection Stretch Blow Molding (ISBM)

37.3.4. Results
37.3.5. Summary
This tutorial illustrates the simulation of a 3D injection stretch blow molding (ISBM) process using the
Fluent Materials Processing workspace (Fluent Materials Processing Workspace). The workspace will
allow you to set up and solve a polymer ISBM problem so you can easily obtain an accurate prediction
of the shaped object for a given mold geometry under prescribed operating conditions.
Injection Stretch Blow Molding (ISBM)
• Easily set up your injection stretch blow molding (ISBM) simulation.
• Analyze the results, such as generating thickness-based contour plots and running transient anim-
ations.

This tutorial covers the injection stretch blow molding (ISBM) process for a 3D bottle. A preform is
first set into a mold and stretched by means of a moving rod. Once the rod has reached the desired
position (near the bottom of the mold), an internal pressure is applied to the preform to obtain the
desired bottle shape. The initial configuration of the model is shown in Figure 37.18: Problem Descrip-
tion (p. 1621) and consists of the following three domains:
• preform (displayed in orange)
• mold (displayed in light blue)
• rod (displayed in light blue)
The dimensions of the domains listed above are as follows:
• Rod diameter = 0.02 m
• Rod height = 0.1 m
• Mold diameter = 0.097 m
• Mold height = 0.3 m
• Preform initial thickness = 0.005 m
The grooves which are visible on the mold suggest that the model does not involve any geometric
symmetry.
For this problem, contact release between the preform and the rod is assumed upon application of
the shaping pressure. During the tutorial setup, the contact release will be defined using contact
boundary conditions and cell zone and fluid boundary conditions will be specified to account for the
following:
1. The velocity-driven motion of the rod during a prescribed time interval (until the rod has reached
the specified displacement).
2. The applied shaping pressure.
Additionally, the following properties will be specified during the tutorial setup:
• Downward velocity of the rod = 0.246 m/s
This velocity ensures that the rod reaches a position of 0.2 m into the mold within 0.8 s, prior to ap-
plying the internal pressure to the preform.
• Preform material density = 1000 kg/m3
• Applied shaping pressure = 106 Pa
The shaping pressure will be defined to apply after 0.86 seconds, once the rod reaches the desired
position within the preform.
• Adhesion Force = 10 Pa
This value will be used to express the contact release of the preform from the rod.
• Viscosity = 105 Pa s


37.3.3.12. Solution
1. Download the ISBM.zip file here.
2. Unzip ISBM.zip to your working directory.
3. The file, ISBM.msh can be found in the folder.

3. Click Start.

1. Load the provided mesh file.
b. Locate and select the mesh file from your working folder (ISBM.msh).
c. Set the Mesh Length Unit to m, and click Accept to close the dialog box.
2. Set up a blow molding simulation (using the Simulation category of the Setup Ribbon).
a. Set the Type to Blow Molding / Thermoforming.
b. Set the Number of Fixed Molds to 1.
d. Keep the Number of Layers as 1.
e. Set the Duration to 1.05 seconds.
f. Click Apply.
your selections.
Note:


1. Edit the density and viscosity settings for the fluid material.
Setup → Materials → fluid
a. Expand the Density Law and Viscosity Law categories.
b. In the Density Law category, enter 1000 kg/m3 for the Density.
c. In the Viscosity Law category, enter 1e5 Pa s for the Viscosity.

In this portion of the tutorial, you will assign your fluid cell zones.
1. Define the cell zone properties for the fluid-zone.
Setup → Cell Zones → fluid-zone
a. For Zones, select the field to open a selection dialog.
b. In the selection dialog, select preform and click OK to keep the selection and close the
dialog.
c. Retain the default selection of Generalized newtonian for Fluid Model .
d. Enter -1e6 Pa for the Inflation Pressure.
e. Click the arrow next to the Time Dependency entry and select Expression from the drop-
down list, then enter the following expression for the time dependency:
IF(time <= 0.86, 0., IF(time >= 0.9, 1., 0.+(1.-0.)/(0.9-

0.86)*(time-0.86)))
This expression corresponds to a ramp function which increases from 0 to 1 within the time in-
terval of 0.86 to 0.9.
f. Click Display to visualize arrows on the fluid zone.
The arrows displayed on the fluid-zone show the orientation of the pressure.
2. Define the cell zone properties for the fixed-mold.
Setup → Cell Zones → fixed-mold
a. For Zones, select mold.
b. Click Display to visualize arrows on the fixed mold.
The arrows displayed on the fixed-mold show that the direction is pointing to the mold
body side.
3. Define the cell zone properties for the moving-mold.
Setup → Cell Zones → moving-mold
a. For Zones, select rod.
b. Click Display to visualize the arrows on the rod (moving-mold).
c. In the graphics window, rotate the rod to view the arrows from the +Y direction.
The arrows displayed on the moving-mold point away from the rod, they should point to
the rod axis.
d. Enable the Flip Darts Orientation option to make the arrows point towards the rod.
In the above image, the darts may appear to still be facing away from the rod. However, the
darts are pointing towards the rod axis, but are overlapping with the rod geometry due to
scaling.
e. Click the arrow next to the Vy entry and select Expression from the drop-down list, then
enter the following expression for Vy:
IF(time <= 0.8, -0.246, IF(time >= 0.85, 0., -

0.246+(0.+0.246)/(0.85-0.8)*(time-0.8)))
This expression corresponds to a ramp function which increases from -0.246 to 0 within the
time interval of 0.8 to 0.85.

1. Define the layer-of-fluid properties.
Setup → Layers → layer-of-fluid
b. In the selection dialog, select preform and click OK to keep the selection and close the
dialog.
c. Enter 0.005 m as the thickness for A.

1. Set the conditions for the fixed-edges boundary.
a. Select fixed-edges under Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View to review this
b. Select preformedge as the Boundary Zone.

Contact between the preform and the solid and moving molds can be accounted for using contact
conditions.
1. Define the contact between the preform and the fixed mold.
a. Under Contact Boundary Conditions, select contact-with-fixed-mold to edit the default

b. Select preform for the Fluid Zone of Contact.
c. Select mold for the Mold Zone of Contact.
d. Enter 1e-4 m for the Penetration Accuracy.
2. Define the contact between the preform and the moving mold.
a. Under Contact Boundary Conditions, select contact-with-moving-mold to edit the default

b. Select preform for the Fluid Zone of Contact.
c. Select rod for the Mold Zone of Contact.
e. Enable the Allow Contact Release option.
f. Enter 10 Pa for Adhesion Force per Unit Area.

Here, we will assign the preform cell zone to be a deforming fluid.
2. Retain the selection of Lagrangian as the deformation Type.
3. Select preform for Zones.

Define the conditions and settings for adaptive meshing that will be used to refine the mesh during the
solution.
1. Define the adaptive meshing condition (condition-1).
Setup → Adaptive Meshing → Conditions → condition-1
a. Select preform for Zones.
b. Select mold for Mold Surfaces of Contact.
c. Retain the selection of angle and curvature for Method.
d. Enter 0.005 m for Minimum Size.
e. Enter 0.2 m for Maximum Size.
f. Enter 0.001 m for Tolerance.
g. Enter 0.02 m for Critical Distance.
2. Edit the adaptive meshing properties.
Setup → Adaptive Meshing
a. Enter 5 for the Number of Steps.
37.3.3.12. Solution
1. Edit the Derived Quantities.
Solution → Derived Quantities
a. Under Extension, check Enable to expose the additional options.
b. Select initially parallel to D and initially perpendicular to D for Track Vectors.
c. Retain the entry of 0 m for reference points Px, Py, and Pz.
d. Enter 1 for reference direction Dir-y.
e. Enter 0 for reference direction Dir-z.
f. Enable Self-Contact and retain the selection of Warning for Action if Self-Contact Detected
2. Edit the Calculation Activities.
Solution → Calculation Activities
a. Select Calculation Activities to see available options.
b. From the Convergence Criterion drop-down list, select User specified.
c. Enter 0.0001 for the Convergence Tolerance.
d. Enter 1e-4 seconds for the Initial Time Step.
e. Enter 1e-6 seconds for the Minimum Time Step.
f. Enter 1e-2 seconds for the Maximum Time Step.
g. Enter 0.001 for the Tolerance.
a. Click Check to review your simulation settings. Fluent will inform you as to whether or not
b. Click the Plots tab to view the plot of the convergence monitors.
c. Once the calculations are complete, check the solution's listing in the Transcript tab to
5. Save the work.
File → Write → Session..., entering ISBM as the name of the session
37.3.4. Results
1. Display contours of thickness (THICKNESS) for the preform surface.
Figure 37.19: Thickness Contour Properties
a. Specify a new Name (Thickness).
b. For the Field, select THICKNESS.
boundaries. Select preform from the list, and click OK to close the dialog.
Figure 37.21: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS)
2. Review an animation of the contour of THICKNESS.
i. To reset the timesteps, change the Current animation time step value to 0. Alternatively,
you can also move the slider all the way to the left, or click the Jump to Start button
( ).
ii. To start the animation, click the Play button ( ).
iii. To stop the animation, click the Stop button ( ).
Figure 37.22: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS): Timestep =0
Figure 37.23: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS): Timestep =208
Figure 37.24: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS): Timestep=417
Figure 37.25: Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS): Timestep=625
3. Display contours of area stretch (AREA_STRETCH) for the preform surface.
Repeat the previous steps to create a new contour over the preform surface with the Name of
AreaStretch with the Field set to AREA_STRETCH.
Figure 37.26: Contours of Area Stretch (AREA_STRETCH)
4. Display contours of self-contact (SELF_CONTACT) for the preform surface.
Repeat the previous steps to create a new contour over the preform surface with the Name of
Self-contact with the Field set to SELF_CONTACT.
Figure 37.27: Contours of Self-contact (SELF_CONTACT)
37.3.5. Summary
This tutorial introduced the concept of a 3D injection stretch blow molding problem using the Fluent
Materials Processing workspace. You solved the problem using a 3D geometry for the mold, the
preform, and the moving rod and made suitable assumptions about the physics of the problem. The
preform was lowered into a 3D mold using a moving rod, then an internal pressure was applied to
obtain the desired bottle shape.
37.4. Glass Pressing

37.4.4. Results
37.4.5. Summary
This tutorial illustrates the simulation of a glass pressing process using the Fluent Materials Processing
workspace (Fluent Materials Processing Workspace). The workspace will allow you to set up and solve
a glass pressing problem so you can easily obtain an accurate prediction of the shaped glass object
for a given mold geometry under prescribed operating conditions.
• Easily set up your pressing simulation.
• Analyze the results, such as generating contour plots and running transient animations.

In this tutorial we simulate a simple isothermal glass pressing process. In particular, deformations
undergone by the fluid as well as contact evolution are investigated. Due to the large deformations
involved in the pressing process, adaptive remeshing will also be applied for the fluid zone.
The number of steps between each mesh adaption will be set to 5. This value is chosen to allow the
time step adaption algorithm to reduce or increase the time step according to the accuracy of the
transient scheme.
Figure 37.28: Problem Description (p. 1647) shows a sketch of the geometry in the initial configuration,
before pressing the fluid. A gob of material is placed onto a mold and at a specified time, the plunger
moves downwards and presses the fluid volume. Due to the symmetry of the molds and the fluid
gob, only a quarter of the geometry is modelled.
Glass Pressing
From a geometrical point of view, the mesh within three volumes is made of tetrahedra. In the initial
configuration, the plunger is at rest and has a mass of 100 kg. At the start of the process, a constant
downward force of 10 N is applied. As the process progresses, the downward velocity of the plunger
varies to maintain the applied force against the viscous forces of the fluid, which resist deformation.
Additionally, the plunger has a maximum displacement of 0.027 m.
The fluid has a constant viscosity of 500 Pa s and density of 2500 kg/m3. It is assumed that the fluid
material sticks on walls while establishing contact with the plunger and the fixed mold. The contact
condition between the fluid and both the plunger and fixed mold will be defined with a penetration
accuracy of 1e-4 m.

37.4.3.11. Solution
1. Download the glass_pressing.zip file here.
2. Unzip glass_pressing.zip to your working directory.
3. The file, glass_pressing.msh can be found in the folder.

3. Click Start.

Glass Pressing
simulate flows of complex rheology fluids and covers processes such as extrusion, blow molding,
pressing, and so forth.
1. Load the provided mesh file.
b. Locate and select the mesh file from your working folder (glass_pressing.msh).
For this tutorial, units are predefined within the mesh file and specifying the Mesh Length
Unit is not necessary.
2. Set up a pressing simulation (using the Simulation category of the Setup Ribbon).
a. Set the Type to Pressing.
b. Set the Number of Fixed Molds to 1.
d. Click Apply.
your selections.
Note:

Glass Pressing

1. Edit the density and viscosity settings for the fluid material.
Setup → Materials → fluid
a. Enter glass for the Name.
b. Expand the Density Law and Viscosity Law categories.
c. In the Density Law category, enter 2500 kg/m3 for the Density.
d. In the Viscosity Law category, enter 500 Pa s for the Viscosity.

1. Define the cell zone properties for the fluid-zone.
Setup → Cell Zones → fluid-zone
b. In the selection dialog, select glass and click OK to keep the selection and close the dialog.
c. Retain the default selection of Generalized newtonian for Fluid Model .
2. Define the cell zone properties for the fixed-mold.
Setup → Cell Zones → fixed-mold
Glass Pressing
b. In the selection dialog, select mold and click OK to keep the selection and close the dialog.
3. Define the cell zone properties for the moving-mold.
Setup → Cell Zones → moving-mold
b. In the selection dialog, select plunger and click OK to keep the selection and close the
dialog.
c. From the Motion Type drop-down list, select Translation force imposed.
d. Enter 100 kg for Mass of the Mold.
e. Enable the Limit Mold Displacement option.
f. Enter 0.027 m for Maximum Displacement.
g. Enter -10 N for Fy.

1. Set the conditions for the free-surface boundary.
a. Select free-surface under Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View to review this
b. Select freesurface as the Boundary Zone.
2. Click Fluid Boundary Conditions in the outline view, then click New... in the properties window.
a. Enter Symmetry-1 for Name.
b. From the Type drop-down list, select Symmetry.
c. Select symmetry1 as the Boundary Zone.
3. Click Fluid Boundary Conditions in the outline view, then click New... in the properties window.
Glass Pressing
a. Enter Symmetry-2 for Name.
b. From the Type drop-down list, select Symmetry.
c. Select symmetry2 as the Boundary Zone.

Contact between the glass and the solid and moving molds can be accounted for using contact conditions.
1. Define the contact between the fluid zone and the fixed mold.
a. Under Contact Boundary Conditions, select contact-with-fixed-mold to edit the default

b. Select freesurface for the Fluid Zone of Contact.
c. Select moldcontact for the Mold Zone of Contact.
2. Define the contact between the fluid zone and the moving mold.
a. Under Contact Boundary Conditions, select contact-with-moving-mold to edit the default

b. Select freesurface for the Fluid Zone of Contact.
c. Select plungercontact for the Mold Zone of Contact.

Here, we will assign the glass to be a deforming fluid.
2. Retain the selection of Lagrangian as the deformation Type.
3. Select glass for Zones.
Glass Pressing

Define the conditions and settings for adaptive meshing that will be used to refine the mesh during the
solution.
1. Define the adaptive meshing condition (condition-1).
Setup → Adaptive Meshing → Conditions → condition-1
a. Select glass for Zones.
b. Select moldcontact and plungercontact for Mold Surfaces of Contact.
c. Select distance from the Method drop-down list.
d. Enter 0.001 m for Minimum Size.
e. Enter 0.001 m for Minimum Distance.
f. Enter 0.002 m for Maximum Size.
g. Enter 0.002 m for Maximum Distance.
2. Edit the adaptive meshing properties.
Setup → Adaptive Meshing
a. Enter 5 for the Number of Steps.
37.4.3.11. Solution
1. Edit the Calculation Activities.
Solution → Calculation Activities
Glass Pressing
a. From the Convergence Criterion drop-down list, select User specified.
b. Enter 0.0001 for the Convergence Tolerance.
a. Click Check to review your simulation settings. Fluent will inform you as to whether or not
4. Save the work.
File → Write → Session..., entering glass_pressing as the name of the session
37.4.4. Results
1. Display contours of contact time (CONTACT_TIME_2) for the freesurface, symmetry1, and
symmetry2 surfaces.
The CONTACT_TIME_2 field corresponds with the length of time that the plunger is in contact with
the fluid.
Glass Pressing
Figure 37.29: Contact Time Contour Properties
a. Specify a new Name (contact-time-2).
b. For the Field, select CONTACT_TIME_2.
boundaries. Select freesurface, symmetry1, and symmetry2 from the list, and click OK to
close the dialog.
Figure 37.31: Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2)
Glass Pressing
2. Review an animation of the contour of CONTACT_TIME_2.
i. To reset the timesteps, change the Current animation time step value to 1. Alternatively,
you can also move the slider all the way to the left, or click the Jump to Start button
( ).
ii. To start the animation, click the Play button ( ) to start the animation.
iii. To stop the animation, click the Stop button ( ).
Figure 37.32: Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2): Timestep =1
Figure 37.33: Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2): Timestep =42
Figure 37.34: Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2): Timestep=84
Glass Pressing
Figure 37.35: Contours of Contact Time (CONTACT_TIME_2): Timestep=126
3. Display contours of initial coordinate y (COORDINI[Y]).
Repeat the previous steps to create a new contour over the freesurface, symmetry1, and sym-
metry2 surfaces with the Name of initial-coordinate-y and the Field set to COORDINI[Y].
Figure 37.36: Contours of Initial Coordinate Y (COORDINI[Y])
4. Display contours of initial coordinate x (COORDINI[X]).
Repeat the previous steps to create a new contour over the freesurface, symmetry1, and sym-
metry2 surfaces, with Name of initial-coordinate-x, Field set to COORDINI[X], and the
Use Global Range option disabled.
Figure 37.37: Contours of Initial Coordinate X (COORDINI[X])
37.4.5. Summary
This tutorial introduced the concept of a 3D pressing problem using the Fluent Materials Processing
workspace. You solved the problem using a 3D geometry for the fixed mold and the plunger and
made suitable assumptions about the physics of the problem. The plunger moves downward and
presses the fluid against a fixed 3D mold to obtain the desired shape.
37.5. 3D Inverse Extrusion

37.5.4. Results
37.5.5. Summary
3D Inverse Extrusion
This tutorial illustrates the simulation of an extrusion process with adaption of a die geometry to
obtain the desired extrudate shape, using the Fluent Materials Processing workspace (Fluent Materials
Processing Workspace).
• Easily set up your inverse extrusion simulation.
• Analyze the results.

This tutorial covers the simulation of a non-isothermal extrusion process to predict the shape of a
die for a given extrudate shape. The initial configuration of the die and extrudate geometry is shown
in Figure 37.38: Problem Description (p. 1668), which consists of four distinct cell zones:
• extrudate
Cell zone for the extrudate geometry.
• constant
Cell zone for the constant portion of the die.
• adaptive
Cell zone for the adaptive portion of the die.
• fixed
Cell zone for the fixed portion of the die.
The extrudate cell zone contains the following boundaries:
• extrudate-exit (Type = Extrudate exit). See Figure 37.39: Boundaries (p. 1669).
• free-surface (Type = Free surface). See Figure 37.39: Boundaries (p. 1669).
The free-surface will be fixed to the wall-constant boundary (shown in Figure 37.40: Constant,
Adaptive, and Fixed Walls (p. 1669)) by means of a Free Surface Condition.
• guide (Type = Wall). See Figure 37.41: Extrudate Guide (p. 1670).
• symmetry-extrudate (Type = Symmetry). See Figure 37.42: Symmetries (p. 1670).
The constant cell zone contains the following boundaries:
• wall-constant (Type = Wall). See Figure 37.40: Constant, Adaptive, and Fixed Walls (p. 1669).
• symmetry-constant (Type = Symmetry). See Figure 37.42: Symmetries (p. 1670).
The adaptive cell zone contains the following boundaries:
• wall-adaptive (Type = Wall). See Figure 37.40: Constant, Adaptive, and Fixed Walls (p. 1669).
• symmetry-adaptive (Type = Symmetry). See Figure 37.42: Symmetries (p. 1670).
The fixed cell zone contains the following boundaries:
• wall-fixed (Type = Wall). See Figure 37.40: Constant, Adaptive, and Fixed Walls (p. 1669).
• symmetry-fixed (Type = Symmetry). See Figure 37.42: Symmetries (p. 1670).
• inlet (Type = Inflow). See Figure 37.39: Boundaries (p. 1669).
The figures below show the relevant boundaries for the extrudate, constant, adaptive, and fixed cell
zones.
Figure 37.39: Boundaries
Figure 37.39: Boundaries (p. 1669) shows the free-surface displayed in pink and the extrudate-exit
and inlet displayed with red arrows and blue arrows, respectively. Note that walls (displayed in gray)
consists of the wall-constant, wall-adaptive, and wall-fixed boundaries.
Figure 37.40: Constant, Adaptive, and Fixed Walls
Figure 37.40: Constant, Adaptive, and Fixed Walls (p. 1669) shows boundaries wall-constant, wall-ad-
aptive, and wall-fixed.
Figure 37.41: Extrudate Guide
Figure 37.41: Extrudate Guide (p. 1670) shows the guide within the extrudate cell zone.
Figure 37.42: Symmetries
Figure 37.42: Symmetries (p. 1670) shows the boundaries that support a symmetry condition: symmetry-
extrudate, symmetry-constant, symmetry-adaptive, and symmetry-fixed.
Convergence can be difficult to achieve when computing inverse extrusion problems, especially for
non-isothermal cases. However, the Fluent Materials Processing workspace is equipped with conver-
gence strategies for handling such difficulties. The appropriate convergence strategies are activated
automatically by the wizard, used in this tutorial.

37.5.3.6. Solution
2. Download the inverse_extrusion.zip file here.
3. Unzip the inverse_extrusion.zip file you have downloaded to your working folder.
4. The polyflow mesh file invext.poly can be found in the unzipped folder.

3. Click Start.

1. Open an extrusion geometry by reading in a Polyflow mesh file.
b. Locate and select the polyflow mesh file from your working folder (invext.poly).
2. Use the wizard to set up an inverse extrusion simulation (using the Simulation category of the
Setup Ribbon).
Setup → Simulation → Use Wizard...
This will display the Wizard dialog.
a. Set the Type to Simple inverse extrusion.
b. For Fluid Material select Extrusion_PS_thermal_453K.
c. Enter 0.085 kg/s for the Mass Flow Rate.
d. For Die Type select Fixed/Adaptive/Constant Sections.
e. Enable the Thermal option.
f. Enter 423 K and 373 K for the Inlet Temperature and Wall Temperature, respectively.
g. Click Apply.
your selections.
Note:

Click the General node in the Outline View to display general settings for the problem setup.
1. Select General in the Outline View to review general properties of the simulation.
2. Review the settings in the properties page.

1. Set the free surface conditions.
a. Select free-surface under Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View to review free
surface boundary conditions for the simulation.
b. Select Convection for the thermal condition Option.
c. Enter 5 W/(m2K) for the Heat Transfer Coefficient.
d. Enter 303 K for the Convection Temperature.
2. Set the wall conditions.
a. Select wall under Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View to review wall boundary
b. Select Partial Slip for Slip Specification as the Boundary Zone.
c. Enter 7e6 kg/(m2s) for the Friction Coefficient.
d. Select Convection for the thermal condition Option.
e. Enter 15 W/(m2K) for the Heat Transfer Coefficient.
f. Enter 373 K for the Convection Temperature.
3. Create the boundary condition for the guide.
a. Select Fluid Boundary Conditions in the Outline View, and click the New... button in the
b. Rename the new condition to guide.
c. Set the Type to Wall.
d. Select guide as the Boundary Zone.
e. Select Free slip for Slip Specification.
f. Select Convection for the thermal condition Option.
g. Enter 10 W/(m2K) for the Heat Transfer Coefficient.
h. Enter 323 K for the Convection Temperature.
37.5.3.6. Solution
b. Click Check to review your simulation settings. The workspace will inform you as to whether
or not your setup contains any problems and will provide guidance to solve any issues.
confirm its success. You can confirm that the solution proceeded as expected by looking for
the following printed at the bottom of the listing file:
3. Save the work.
File → Write → Session..., entering inverse_extrusion as the name of the session
37.5.4. Results
1. Click the Graphics tab to display the graphics window.
2. Display an isometric view of the geometry by clicking the button in the graphics toolbar,
then select Isometric from the drop-down.
3. Display the velocity distribution for the fluid zone.
Results → Quick-view → Velocity → fluid-zone
Figure 37.43: Contours of Normal Component of Velocity
4. Repeat the previous step to create a Pressure contour for the fluid zone using the Quick-view in
the ribbon.
Figure 37.44: Contours of Pressure
5. Repeat the previous steps to create a Temperature contour for the fluid zone using the Quick-
view in the ribbon.
Figure 37.45: Contours of Temperature
The temperature plot shows that the temperature of the fluid has increased due to viscous dissip-
ation. Additionally, heat exchange with the wall has caused the fluid to cool in the corners of the
channel.
6. Display the geometry from the +Y direction by clicking the button in the graphics toolbar,
then select From +Y Direction from the drop-down.
Figure 37.46: Contours of Temperature From +Y Direction
From the +Y direction, the deformation of the die and the free jet can be seen.
7. Display the geometry from the +Z direction by clicking the button in the graphics toolbar,
then select From +Z Direction from the drop-down.
Figure 37.47: Contours of Temperature From +Z Direction
8. Display contours of velocity magnitude for the die lip.
a. Enter Die_lip for Name.
b. For the Field, select VELOCITIES[].
c. For Surfaces, select the field to open the Surfaces dialog where you can select the relevant
boundaries. Select extrudate-constant from the list and click OK to close the dialog.
d. Click the Display button in the properties panel to view the die lip.
Figure 37.50: Die Lip Contours of Velocity Magnitude
e. In the properties panel enable Draw Mesh, then select Mesh Outline from the Overlayed
Mesh drop-down.
f. Click Display.
g. Use the graphics window to adjust the view as shown in the following figure.
The plot shows that the left part of the die has been enlarged and the right part has been
reduced, relative to the extrudate shape. This is due to the slower fluid velocity in the left
portion of the die and higher fluid velocity in the right portion. Additionally, the fluid in the
left portion of the die is accelerated leading to the geometry reduction, while the fluid in the
right portion of the die is slowed leading to geometry enlargement.
9. Create a YZ plane for observing the fluid velocity in the left portion of the die.
Results → Surfaces → New → Plane... →
a. Select YZ Plane for Creation Mode.
b. Enter 0.01 m for X.
10. Create an additional YZ plane for observing the fluid velocity in the right portion of the die, with
X = 0.075 m.
11. Display contours of velocity to observe the fluid velocity in the left portion of the die.
a. Enter velocity-left-block for Name.
b. For the Field, select VELOCITIES[Z].
c. For the Surfaces, select plane-1.
d. Click Display.
e. View the geometry from the +X direction by clicking the button in the graphics toolbar,
then select From +X Direction from the drop-down.
Figure 37.53: Contours of Velocity-Z From +X Direction
12. Display contours of velocity to observe the fluid velocity in the right portion of the die.
a. Enter velocity-right-block for Name.
b. For the Field, select VELOCITIES[Z].
c. For the Surfaces, select plane-2.
d. Click Display.
Figure 37.55: Contours of Velocity-Z From +X Direction
13. Create a line surface for the left portion of the die.
Results → Surfaces → Line → New...
Figure 37.56: Line Properties
a. Set First Points as 0.01, 0.0125, and -0.2 m for X, Y, and Z, respectively.
b. Set Second Points as 0.01, 0.0125, and 0.35 m for X, Y, and Z, respectively.
14. Repeat the previous procedure to create a line surface for the right portion of the die, by entering
0.075, 0.005, -0.2, 0.075, 0.005, and 0.35 for First Point X, First Point Y, First Point Z,
Second Point X, Second Point Y, and Second Point Z, respectively.
15. Create an XY plot to observe the fluid acceleration in the left and right portions of the die.
Results → Plots → XY Plot → New
Figure 37.57: XY Plot Properties
a. Select line-1 and line-2 for Lines.
b. Select Velocities[Z] for the Field.
c. Set the Plot Direction as 0, 0, and 1 for X Component, Y Component, and Z Component,
respectively.
d. Expand the Curves category and select - - - - from the Pattern drop-down list.
e. Select * from the Symbol drop-down list, then enter 0.4 for the Size.
f. Click Plot.
Figure 37.58: XY Plot
From the plot it can be seen that the fluid accelerates in the extrudate along line-1 (corres-
ponding to the left block of the die), while the fluid slows down in the extrudate along line-2
(corresponding to the right block of the die).
37.5.5. Summary
This tutorial introduced the concept of a 3D inverse extrusion problem using the Fluent Materials
Processing workspace. You solved the problem using a simple geometry for the extrudate, made
suitable assumptions about the physics of the problem, and analyzed the factors affecting the predicted
die shape.

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Ansys Fluent Tutorial Guide

ANSYS, Inc. Release 2023 R1

© 2023 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

U.S. Government Rights

Published in the U.S.A.

3.4.2. Meshing Workflow ................................................................................................................. 91

6.4.7. Cell Zone Conditions ............................................................................................................ 271

9.4.8. Compare Design Point Results .............................................................................................. 399

12.4.9. Solution of the Steady-State Mixing Plane Model ................................................................ 481

15. Modeling Species Transport and Gaseous Combustion ................................................................... 591

18. Effusion Cooling simulation in a 3D model Combustor .................................................................... 695

20.4.10. Postprocessing ................................................................................................................. 849

24.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 943

27.4.1. Preparation ...................................................................................................................... 1048

30.4.3.4. Defining Boundary Conditions ................................................................................. 1133

32.9.2. Problem Description ......................................................................................................... 1270

35.2.4. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1427

37.2.3.11. Adaptive Mesh Settings .......................................................................................... 1612

5.11. Cells Marked for Adaption ................................................................................................................. 234

10.5. Contours of Static Pressure ................................................................................................................ 423

20.7. Convergence History of DPM Mass Source on Fluid ............................................................................ 848

26.7. Contours of Static Pressure .............................................................................................................. 1044

31.1. Schematic of the Battery Pack Problem ............................................................................................ 1166

32.36. Scaled Residuals ............................................................................................................................ 1263

36.52. Results Table of the Aerodynamic Forces ........................................................................................ 1508

37.11. Contours of Thickness (THICKNESS_1) ............................................................................................ 1616

1. What’s In This Manual

2. How To Use This Manual

2.1. For the Beginner

2.2. For the Experienced User

3. Typographical Conventions Used In This Manual

Iso-Surface dialog box

surface/iso-surface text command

Customize your FMG initialization:

set FMG parameters on levels ..

residual reduction on level 1 is: [0.001]

residual reduction on level 2 is: [0.001]

Table 1: Mini Flow Chart Symbol Descriptions

Symbol Indicated Action

Look at the tree

Select from task page

Right-click the preceding item

Setting Up Domain → Mesh → Transform → Translate...

Setup → Models → Viscous Model → Realizable k-epsilon

Setup → Boundary Conditions → velocity-inlet-5

indicates opening the task page as shown below:

This tutorial is fully supported at all licensing levels.

This tutorial demonstrates how to do the following in Ansys Fluent:

• Use the Watertight Geometry guided workflow to:

– Import a CAD geometry

– Generate a surface mesh

– Cap inlets and outlets

– Extract a fluid region

– Generate a volume mesh

• Set up appropriate physics and boundary conditions.

• Review the results of the simulation.

1.3. Problem Description

Figure 1.1: Manifold Geometry for Flow Modeling

1.4. Setup and Solution

1. Download the exhaust_manifold.zip file here.

2. Unzip exhaust_manifold.zip to your working directory.

1.4.2. Launching Ansys Fluent

2. Ensure that the proper options are enabled.

b. Ensure that the Double Precision option is selected.