Advanced Engineering Solutions

Mastering Ansys CFD (Level 2)

Workshop 6, 7 & 8
CFD Simulation of Centrifugal Fan

Turbomachinery modelling in Fluent

By Sijal Ahmed
Turbomachinery Modelling Approaches
• Single Reference frame For frozen rotor and sliding mesh, pitch should be equal.
• Multiple reference frame Frozen rotor is the fixed position of upstream and
• Frozen rotor (steady state) downstream components in space and time.
• Mixing plane (steady state)
• Sliding mesh (Transient or unsteady)(Frozen rotor is the initial guess)

Casing is moving with zero rpm in

rotating reference frame Stationary domain
Casing is stationary in
stationary reference frame Rotating domain

Rotating
domain

Interface
Baffles in casing

Single Reference Frame Multiple Reference Frame (MRF)

When to use MRF Approach
Not a surface of revolution! Go for MRF approach

Interface (s)

Rotating domain

Stationary domain

Baffles in casing Multiple geometries/ Domains Non circular casing

How to Setup SRF in Fluent
-ve tangential velocity Axis of rotation is – Z
component Flow is also in +ve z axis.
+ve tangential velocity Axial velocity component
component will be -ve

Inlet: (can be set by any three of following methods)

a) Total pressure, total temperature and flow direction.
b) Mass flow, flow direction
c) Velocity inlet and flow direction
Flow direction should be set according to right hand rule.
How to Setup SRF in Fluent
This approach uses the transformed momentum
equation in rotating reference frame.

There are following boundaries

Inlet
Outlet
Blade
Hub
Periodic (not shown here)
Casing/shroud (for tip clearance, provide zero rpm in
stationary frame, otherwise keep it at zero rpm in
rotating frame.

One cell zone  for defining motion !!!

Single Blade Model with

Rotationally Periodic Boundaries
How to Setup MRF (Frozen Rotor)
• Approach 1 (when you create single mesh in meshing software for all components with two
fluid zones).
Approach 2
• Approach 2 : Create Interfaces
Wall and wall
shadow • For frozen rotor and sliding
mesh, pitch should be equal.
• For mixing plane it does not.
• Therefore for mixing plane we
can only use one passge for
stationary and rotating
components.
Approach 1 Before

Interior
After 360o Interface
How to Setup Interfaces for MRF

Rotational Periodic Translational Periodic

Periodic Repeat Interface

Provide translational distance
between two periodic boundaries Provide angle between two periodic
boundaries
How to setup MRF (Mixing Plane)
• Instead of interface, we will create mixing plane interface.
• MP is best approach for turbomachines at design conditions.

Mixing
plane
How to setup MRF (Sliding Mesh Method SMM)
• It is same as setting up Frozen rotor
model.
• Just change the problem to unsteady
from steady state and change frame
motion to mesh motion .
• Need to calculate time step based on
rotational motion.

V = S / t  t = S/V, S = 2 * π * r, V = Ω X r

Or t = 2 π / Ω, ∆t = t /n, n = no of time steps.

RPM to rad/sec
1 RPM = 2* π/60 rad/sec
2000 RPM = 2000 * 2 *π/60 rad/s = 200* 2 * 3.14 /60
= 209.3 rad/sec
How to setup MRF (Sliding Mesh Method SMM)
• For
  example, if we want to calculate time step for our present case.
• Rotational speed 2000 rpm = 209.3 rad/sec, Diameter of wheel =
385 mm = 0.385 m, therefore radius = 0.385/2 = 0.1925 m
• Linear velocity =
• Circumference = m
(equivalent to one revolution)
  1.2809
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛= =0.03179 𝑠
40.29
  0.03179
𝐼𝑓 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑡h𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 90 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑠 , ∆ 𝑡 = =0.000352 𝑠 4 deg in 1 time step
90
  0.03179
𝐼𝑓 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑡h𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 180 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑠 , ∆ 𝑡 = =0.0001766 𝑠 2 deg in 1 time step
180
  0.03179
𝐼𝑓 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑡h𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 360 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑠 , ∆ 𝑡 = =0.0000883 𝑠 1 deg in 1 time step
360
MRF (Frozen rotor or Mixing Plane or Sliding Mesh)
Summary for Different models
• For SRF, Frozen rotor and mixing plane, use Frame
motion.
• For sliding mesh, use Mesh motion. Also change
from steady state to unsteady.
• For Frozen rotor and sliding mesh, use mesh
interface. Use periodic repeats options if you are
not modelling 360.
• For mixing plane, use mixing plane interface.
• Provide rpm and correct rotation direction (use
right hand rule for sign)
• Calculate appropriate time step for sliding mesh
model.
Difference between different MRF models
• With mixing plane model, there will be no wake in downstream component as flow will be
mixed out at the interface and single value will be implemented.
• Frozen rotor model will give the wake at the fixed space and time instant.
• Sliding mesh is true flow model which will give you true picture of flow.
Two Rotor blades

Flow separation

Nozzle guide van

wake

Wake crossing the interface

(sliding mesh interface)
Sliding Mesh Model
Appropriate Approach for different problems

Centrifugal Compressor Axial Compressor Rotor 37

SRF is recommended SRF is recommended
Appropriate Approach for different problems

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine in 2D Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine NREL VI|
Frozen Rotor, or preferably sliding Frozen Rotor is recommended
mesh
Appropriate Approach for different problems

Centrifugal pump in 3D Centrifugal

Mixed flowCompressor
pump. with vanned
Centrifugal pump in 2D diffuser
Mixing and
planeEGVis preferred.
Frozen Rotor (preferably),
Frozen Rotor (preferably), or sliding Mixing
Frozenplane
rotoriscan
recommended
be used but will give
or sliding mesh
mesh results for fixed position of blades.
Appropriate Approach for different problems

Axial Compressor (multistage) Axial Compressor stage (NASA 37) Axial Compressor Rotor 37 with
Mixing plane is recommended Mixing plane is recommend casing grooves
Frozen rotor is recommended
Appropriate Approach for different problems

Axial Compressor Axial Turbine (2d)

Rotor stator interaction Wake-separation interaction.
Sliding mesh method is recommended Sliding mesh method is recommended
Recommended strategy for Current Case
• For this we have two stationary zones
and one moving zone with given rpm.
• For steady state analysis,
recommended approach is Frozen
rotor approach and will be used in
this workshop series.
• For transient, you can use sliding
mesh approach, but time mean
results will be same as frozen rotor
results.