Fluent

FLUENT 6.
Users Guide
January 2005
Copyright c 2005 by Fluent Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or otherwise used in any form without express written permission from Fluent Inc.
Airpak, FIDAP, FLUENT, FloWizard, GAMBIT, Icemax, Icepak, Icepro, MixSim, and POLYFLOW are registered trademarks of Fluent Inc. All other products or name brands are trademarks of their respective holders. CHEMKIN is a registered trademark of Reaction Design Inc. Portions of this program include material copyrighted by PathScale Corporation 2003-2004.
Fluent Inc. Centerra Resource Park 10 Cavendish Court Lebanon, NH 03766
Using This Manual

Whats In This Manual
The FLUENT Users Guide tells you what you need to know to use FLUENT. It is divided into three volumes: Volume 1 contains information about the user interface, le import and export, unit systems, grids, boundary conditions, and physical properties. Volume 2 contains information about modeling uid ow, moving zones, turbulence, heat transfer, species transport and reacting ows, pollutant formation, and acoustics. Volume 3 contains information about ows that involve multiple phases, including solidication and melting, calculating a solution (including information about parallel processing) and postprocessing the results. A bibliography and an index for all three volumes of the Users Guide are also provided, along with a nomenclature list.
Under U.S. and international copyright law, Fluent is unable to distribute copies of the papers listed in the bibliography, other than those published internally by Fluent. Please use your library or a document delivery service to obtain copies of copyrighted papers.
A brief description of whats in each chapter follows: Volume 1 Chapter 1: Starting and Executing FLUENT, describes options and alternatives to starting, running, and exiting FLUENT. It also provides instructions for remote execution, batch execution, and using the Remote Simulation Facility (RSF). Chapter 2: Graphical User Interface (GUI), describes the mechanics of using the graphical user interface and the GUI on-line help. Chapter 3: Text User Interface (TUI), describes the mechanics of using the text interface and the TUI on-line help. (See the separate Text Command List for information about specic text interface commands.)
c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005
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Chapter 4: Reading and Writing Files, contains information about the les that FLUENT can read and write, including hardcopy les. Chapter 5: Unit Systems, describes how to use the standard and custom unit systems available in FLUENT. Chapter 6: Reading and Manipulating Grids, describes the various sources of computational grids and explains how to obtain diagnostic information about the grid and how to modify it by scaling, translating, and other methods. This chapter also contains information about the use of non-conformal grids. Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions, explains the dierent types of boundary conditions available in FLUENT, when to use them, how to dene them, and how to dene boundary proles and volumetric sources and x the value of a variable in a particular region. It also contains information about porous media and lumped parameter models. Chapter 8: Physical Properties, explains how to dene the physical properties of materials and the equations that FLUENT uses to compute the properties from the information that you input. Volume 2 Chapter 9: Modeling Basic Fluid Flow, describes the governing equations and physical models used by FLUENT to compute uid ow (including periodic ow, swirling and rotating ows, compressible ows, and inviscid ows), as well as the inputs you need to provide to use these models. Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones, describes the use of single rotating reference frames, multiple moving reference frames, mixing planes, sliding meshes, and dynamic meshes in FLUENT. Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence, describes FLUENTs models for turbulent ow and when and how to use them. Chapter 12: Modeling Heat Transfer, describes the physical models used by FLUENT to compute heat transfer (including convective and conductive heat transfer, natural convection, radiative heat transfer, and periodic heat transfer), as well as the inputs you need to provide to use these models. Chapter 13: Introduction to Modeling Species Transport and Reacting Flows, provides an overview of the models available in FLUENT for species transport and reactions, as well as guidelines for selecting an appropriate model for your application.
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Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry, describes the nite-rate chemistry models in FLUENT and how to use them. This chapter also provides information about modeling species transport in non-reacting ows. Chapter 15: Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion, describes the non-premixed combustion model and how to use it. This chapter includes details about using prePDF. Chapter 16: Modeling Premixed Combustion, describes the premixed combustion model and how to use it. Chapter 17: Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion, describes the partially premixed combustion model and how to use it. Chapter 18: The Composition PDF Transport Model, describes the composition PDF transport model and how to use it. Chapter 19: Engine Ignition Model, discusses the engine ignition models available in FLUENT. Chapter 20: Modeling Pollutant Formation, describes the models for the formation of NOx and soot and how to use them. Chapter 21: Predicting Aerodynamically Generated Noise, describes the acoustics model and how to use it. Volume 3 Chapter 22: Introduction to Modeling Multiphase Flows, provides an overview of the models for multiphase ow (including the discrete phase, VOF, mixture, and Eulerian models), as well as guidelines for selecting an appropriate model for your application. Chapter 23: Discrete Phase Models, describes the discrete phase models available in FLUENT and how to use them. Chapter 24: General Multiphase Models, describes the general multiphase models available in FLUENT (VOF, mixture, and Eulerian) and how to use them. Chapter 25: Modeling Solidication and Melting, describes FLUENTs model for solidication and melting and how to use it. Chapter 26: Using the Solver, describes the FLUENT solvers and how to use them. Chapter 27: Grid Adaption, explains the solution-adaptive mesh renement feature in FLUENT and how to use it.
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Chapter 28: Creating Surfaces for Displaying and Reporting Data, explains how to create surfaces in the domain on which you can examine FLUENT solution data. Chapter 29: Graphics and Visualization, describes the graphics tools that you can use to examine your FLUENT solution. Chapter 30: Alphanumeric Reporting, describes how to obtain reports of uxes, forces, surface integrals, and other solution data. Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions, denes the ow variables that appear in the variable selection drop-down lists in FLUENT panels, and tells you how to create your own custom eld functions. Chapter 32: Parallel Processing, explains the parallel processing features in FLUENT and how to use them. This chapter also provides information about partitioning your grid for parallel processing. Appendix A: FLUENT Model Compatibility, presents a chart outlining the compatibility of several FLUENT model categories. Appendix B: Case and Data File Formats, presents information about the contents and formats of FLUENT case and data les.
Whats in the Other Manuals

In addition to this Users Guide, there are several other manuals available to help you use FLUENT and its associated programs: The Getting Started Guide describes the capabilities of FLUENT, provides an overview of the problem setup steps, and presents helpful tips in order for you to create a successfull CFD simulation. The manual also includes information about accessing the FLUENT manuals on CD-ROM or in the installation area, and briey describes the user interface. The Tutorial Guide contains a number of example problems with detailed instructions, commentary, and postprocessing of results. The UDF Manual contains information about writing and using user-dened functions (UDFs). The Text Command List provides a brief description of each of the commands in FLUENTs text interface. The GAMBIT manuals teach you how to use the GAMBIT preprocessor for geometry creation and mesh generation.
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Typographical Conventions
Several typographical conventions are used in this manuals text to facilitate your learning process.
An informational icon (
) marks an important note.
Dierent type styles are used to indicate graphical user interface menu items and text interface menu items (e.g., Iso-Surface panel, surface/iso-surface command). The text interface type style is also used when illustrating exactly what appears on the screen or exactly what you need to type into a eld in a panel. The information displayed on the screen is enclosed in a large box to distinguish it from the narrative text, and user inputs are often enclosed in smaller boxes. A mini ow chart is used to indicate the menu selections that lead you to a specic command or panel. For example, Dene Boundary Conditions... indicates that the Boundary Conditions... menu item can be selected from the Dene pull-down menu, and display grid indicates that the grid command is available in the display text menu. The words before the arrows invoke menus (or submenus) and the arrows point from a specic menu toward the item you should select from that menu. In this manual, mini ow charts usually precede a description of a panel or command, or a screen illustration showing how to use the panel or command. They allow you to look up information about a command or panel and quickly determine how to access it without having to search the preceding material. The menu selections that will lead you to a particular panel are also indicated (usually within a paragraph) using a /. For example, Dene/Materials... tells you to choose the Materials... menu item from the Dene pull-down menu.
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Mathematical Conventions
Where possible, vector quantities are displayed with a raised arrow (e.g., a, A). Boldfaced characters are reserved for vectors and matrices as they apply to linear algebra (e.g., the identity matrix, I). The operator , referred to as grad, nabla, or del, represents the partial derivative of a quantity with respect to all directions in the chosen coordinate system. In Cartesian coordinates, is dened to be + + k x y z appears in several ways: The gradient of a scalar quantity is the vector whose components are the partial derivatives; for example, p= p p p + + k x y z
The gradient of a vector quantity is a second-order tensor; for example, in Cartesian coordinates, (v) = + + k x y z vx + vy + vz k
This tensor is usually written as

vx x vy x vz x vx y vy y vz y vx z vy z vz z
The divergence of a vector quantity, which is the inner product between and a vector; for example, v = vx vy vz + + x y z
2
The operator , which is usually written as Laplacian; for example,

2
and is known as the
T =
2T 2T 2T + + 2 x2 y 2 z
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2
T is dierent from the expression ( T )2 , which is dened as ( T) =

2
T x
T + y
T + z
An exception to the use of is found in the discussion of Reynolds stresses in Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence, where convention dictates the use of Cartesian tensor notation. In this chapter, you will also nd that some velocity vector components are written as u, v, and w instead of the conventional v with directional subscripts.
Technical Support
If you encounter diculties while using FLUENT, please rst refer to the section(s) of the manual containing information on the commands you are trying to use or the type of problem you are trying to solve. The product documentation is available from the online help on the documentation CD, or from the Fluent Inc. User Services Center (www.fluentusers.com). If you encounter an error, please write down the exact error message that appeared and note as much information as you can about what you were doing in FLUENT. Then refer to the following resources available on the Fluent Inc. User Services Center (www.fluentusers.com): Installation and System FAQs - link available from the main page on the User Services Center. The FAQs can be searched by word or phrase, and are available for general installation questions as well as for product questions. Known Defects for FLUENT - link available from the product page. The defects can be searched by word or phrase, and are listed by categories. Online Technical Support - link available from the main page on the User Services Center. From the Online Technical Support Portal page, there is a link to the Search Solutions & Request Support page, where the solutions can be searched by word or phrase. The User Services Center also provides online forums, where you can discuss topics of mutual interest and share ideas and information with other Fluent users, and provides the ability to sign up for e-mail notications on our latest product releases.
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Contacting Technical Support

If none of the resources available on the User Services Center help in resolving the problem, or you have complex modeling projects, we invite you to call your support engineer for assistance. However, there are a few things that we encourage you to do before calling: Note what you are trying to accomplish with FLUENT. Note what you were doing when the problem or error occurred. Save a journal or transcript le of the FLUENT session in which the problem occurred. This is the best source that we can use to reproduce the problem and thereby help to identify the cause.
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Contents
1 Starting and Executing FLUENT 1.1 Starting FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.1.5 1.2 Single-Precision and Double-Precision Solvers . . . . . . . . . . . Starting FLUENT on a UNIX System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting FLUENT on a Windows System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Remote Simulation Facility (RSF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Startup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1-1 1-1 1-1 1-2 1-5 1-6 1-7 1-9 1-9 1-9
Remote Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steps for Running on a Remote Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Starting the Solver Manually on the Remote Machine . . . . . . 1-10 Executing Remotely by Reading a Case File . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
1.3
Batch Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11 1.3.1 1.3.2 1.3.3 Background Execution on UNIX Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11 Background Execution on Windows Systems . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13 Batch Execution Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
1.4 1.5 1.6
Checkpointing a FLUENT Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15 Cleaning Up Processes From a FLUENT Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16 Exiting the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
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2 Graphical User Interface (GUI) 2.1 GUI Components 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 2.1.4 2.2 2.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2-1 2-1 2-1 2-5
Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dialog Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10 Graphics Display Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Customizing the Graphical User Interface (UNIX Systems Only) . . . . . 2-19 Using the GUI Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.4 2.3.5 2.3.6 2.3.7 2.3.8 2.3.9 2.3.10 2.3.11 2.3.12 Panel Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21 Context-Sensitive Help (UNIX Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22 Opening the Users Guide Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22 Opening the Users Guide Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22 Opening the Reference Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22 Help on Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25 Help for Text Interface Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25 Accessing the Other Manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25 Accessing the User Services Center Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25 Accessing the Fluent Online Technical Support Web Site . . . . . 2-26 Obtaining a Listing of Other FLUENT License Users . . . . . . . 2-26 Version and Release Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27 3-1 3-1 3-3 3-3 3-4
3 Text User Interface (TUI) 3.1 Text Menu System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 Command Abbreviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scheme Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aliases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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3.2
Text Prompt System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 3.2.5 3.2.6 3.2.7 3.2.8 Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Booleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3-4 3-5 3-5 3-5 3-5 3-5 3-6 3-7 3-7 3-7 3-8 3-8 3-9 3-9
Filenames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Default Value Binding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3 3.4
Interrupts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . System Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1 3.4.2 System Commands for UNIX-based Operating Systems . . . . . System Commands for Windows Operating Systems . . . . . . .
3.5 3.6
Text Menu Input from Character Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Text Interface Help System
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11 4-1 4-2 4-2 4-3 4-3 4-4 4-4 4-6 4-6 4-7
4 Reading and Writing Files 4.1 Shortcuts for Reading and Writing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3 4.1.4 4.1.5 4.1.6 4.1.7 4.1.8 Default File Suxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Binary Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Detecting File Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recent File List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reading and Writing Compressed Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tilde Expansion (UNIX Systems Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Automatic Numbering of Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disabling the Overwrite Conrmation Prompt . . . . . . . . . .
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4.2
Reading Mesh Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 4.2.5 4.2.6 4.2.7 4.2.8 4.2.9 4.2.10 Reading TGrid Mesh Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reading Surface Meshes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reading and Importing GAMBIT and GeoMesh Mesh Files . . . . Reading PreBFC Unstructured Mesh Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . Importing PreBFC Structured Mesh Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . Importing ANSYS Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Importing I-deas Universal Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Importing NASTRAN Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Importing PATRAN Neutral Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4-7 4-7 4-7 4-8 4-8 4-8 4-8 4-9 4-9 4-9
Importing Meshes and Data in CGNS Format . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10
4.3
Reading and Writing Case and Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4 Reading and Writing Case Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 Reading and Writing Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12 Reading and Writing Case and Data Files Together . . . . . . . 4-12
Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7
Reading FLUENT/UNS and RAMPANT Case and Data Files . . . . . . . 4-14 Importing FLUENT 4 Case Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14 Importing FIDAP Neutral Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14 Creating and Reading Journal Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15 4.7.1 User Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
4.8
Creating Transcript Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16 4.8.1 User Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
4.9
Reading and Writing Prole Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
4.10 Reading and Writing Boundary Conditions
4.11 Writing a Boundary Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-19 4.12 Saving Hardcopy Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20 4.12.1 Using the Graphics Hardcopy Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20
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4.13 Exporting Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25 4.13.1 4.13.2 Using the Export Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25 Export File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
4.14 Grid-to-Grid Solution Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-33 4.14.1 4.14.2 Performing Grid-to-Grid Solution Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . 4-33 Format of the Interpolation File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-35
4.15 Reading Scheme Source Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36 4.16 The .fluent File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36 4.17 Saving the Panel Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36 5 Unit Systems 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Restrictions on Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Units in Grid Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Built-In Unit Systems in FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customizing Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 5-2 5-2 5-3 5-4 6-1 6-2 6-2
6 Reading and Manipulating Grids 6.1 Grid Topologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.1 6.1.2 6.1.3 6.2 Examples of Acceptable Grid Topologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Face-Node Connectivity in FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10 Choosing the Appropriate Grid Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
Grid Requirements and Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16 6.2.1 6.2.2 Geometry/Grid Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16
Mesh Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17
6.3
Grid Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19 6.3.1 6.3.2 6.3.3 6.3.4 6.3.5 GAMBIT Grid Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19 GeoMesh Grid Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19 TGrid Grid Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19 PreBFC Grid Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20 ICEMCFD Grid Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20
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6.3.6 6.3.7 6.3.8 6.3.9 6.3.10 6.3.11 6.4
Grid Files from Third-Party CAD Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-21 FLUENT/UNS and RAMPANT Case Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-26 FLUENT 4 Case Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-27 FIDAP Neutral Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-27 Reading Multiple Mesh/Case/Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-28
Reading Surface Mesh Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-32
Non-Conformal Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-32 6.4.1 6.4.2 6.4.3 6.4.4 Non-Conformal Grid Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-32 Requirements and Limitations of Non-Conformal Grids . . . . . 6-36 Using a Non-Conformal Grid in FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-38 Starting From a FLUENT/UNS or RAMPANT Case . . . . . . . . 6-40
6.5
Checking the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-40 6.5.1 6.5.2 Grid Check Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-41 Repairing Duplicate Shadow Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-42
6.6
Reporting Grid Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-43 6.6.1 6.6.2 6.6.3 6.6.4 Grid Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-43 Memory Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-44 Grid Zone Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-46
Partition Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-46
6.7
Modifying the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-47 6.7.1 6.7.2 6.7.3 6.7.4 6.7.5 6.7.6 6.7.7 6.7.8 6.7.9 Scaling the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-48 Translating the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-50 Rotating the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-51 Merging Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-52 Separating Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-53 Creating Periodic Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-59 Slitting Periodic Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-60
Fusing Face Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-61 Slitting Face Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-63
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6.7.10 6.7.11 6.7.12
Extruding Face Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-64 Reordering the Domain and Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-65 Replacing, Deleting, Deactivating, and Activating Zones . . . . . 6-66 7-1 7-2 7-2 7-3 7-4 7-5 7-6 7-7 7-7 7-8 7-8
7 Boundary Conditions 7.1 Overview of Dening Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1.1 7.1.2 7.1.3 7.1.4 7.1.5 7.1.6 7.1.7 7.1.8 7.1.9 7.1.10 7.2 Available Boundary Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Boundary Conditions Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing Boundary Zone Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Copying Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting Boundary Zones in the Graphics Display . . . . . . . . Changing Boundary Zone Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dening Non-Uniform Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . .
Dening Transient Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Saving and Reusing Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11
Flow Inlets and Exits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11 7.2.1 7.2.2 Using Flow Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12 Determining Turbulence Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
7.3
Pressure Inlet Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20 7.3.1 7.3.2 7.3.3 Inputs at Pressure Inlet Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20 Default Settings at Pressure Inlet Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . 7-26 Calculation Procedure at Pressure Inlet Boundaries . . . . . . . 7-26
7.4
Velocity Inlet Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28 7.4.1 7.4.2 7.4.3 Inputs at Velocity Inlet Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-29
Default Settings at Velocity Inlet Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . 7-34 Calculation Procedure at Velocity Inlet Boundaries . . . . . . . . 7-34
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7.5
Mass Flow Inlet Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-36 7.5.1 7.5.2 7.5.3 Inputs at Mass Flow Inlet Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-37 Default Settings at Mass Flow Inlet Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . 7-42 Calculation Procedure at Mass Flow Inlet Boundaries . . . . . . 7-43
7.6
Inlet Vent Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-45 7.6.1 Inputs at Inlet Vent Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-45
7.7
Intake Fan Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47 7.7.1 Inputs at Intake Fan Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
7.8
Pressure Outlet Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-49 7.8.1 7.8.2 7.8.3 7.8.4 Inputs at Pressure Outlet Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-49 Default Settings at Pressure Outlet Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . 7-53 Calculation Procedure at Pressure Outlet Boundaries . . . . . . 7-53 Other Optional Inputs at Pressure Outlet Boundaries . . . . . . 7-54
7.9
Pressure Far-Field Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-56 7.9.1 7.9.2 7.9.3 Inputs at Pressure Far-Field Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-57 Default Settings at Pressure Far-Field Boundaries . . . . . . . . 7-59 Calculation Procedure at Pressure Far-Field Boundaries . . . . . 7-59
7.10 Outow Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-60 7.10.1 7.10.2 7.10.3 7.10.4 FLUENTs Treatment at Outow Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . 7-61 Using Outow Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-61 Mass Flow Split Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-63 Other Inputs at Outow Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-64
7.11 Outlet Vent Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-65 7.11.1 Inputs at Outlet Vent Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-65
7.12 Exhaust Fan Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-67 7.12.1 Inputs at Exhaust Fan Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-67
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7.13 Wall Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-69 7.13.1 7.13.2 7.13.3 7.13.4 Inputs at Wall Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-69 Default Settings at Wall Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-88 Shear-Stress Calculation Procedure at Wall Boundaries . . . . . 7-88 Heat Transfer Calculations at Wall Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . 7-89
7.14 Symmetry Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-91 7.14.1 7.14.2 Examples of Symmetry Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-91 Calculation Procedure at Symmetry Boundaries . . . . . . . . . 7-94
7.15 Periodic Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-94 7.15.1 7.15.2 7.15.3 7.15.4 Examples of Periodic Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-95 Inputs for Periodic Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-95 Default Settings at Periodic Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-97 Calculation Procedure at Periodic Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . 7-97
7.16 Axis Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-98 7.17 Fluid Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-99 7.17.1 Inputs for Fluid Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-99
7.18 Solid Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-102 7.18.1 Inputs for Solid Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-102
7.19 Porous Media Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-104 7.19.1 7.19.2 7.19.3 7.19.4 7.19.5 7.19.6 7.19.7 7.19.8 7.19.9 Limitations and Assumptions of the Porous Media Model . . . . 7-105 Momentum Equations for Porous Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-105 Treatment of the Energy Equation in Porous Media . . . . . . . 7-108 Treatment of Turbulence in Porous Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-109 Eect of Porosity on Transient Scalar Equations . . . . . . . . . 7-109 User Inputs for Porous Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-109 Modeling Porous Media Based on Physical Velocity . . . . . . . . 7-122 Solution Strategies for Porous Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-123 Postprocessing for Porous Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-124
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7.20 Fan Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-125 7.20.1 7.20.2 7.20.3 Fan Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-125 User Inputs for Fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-126 Postprocessing for Fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-133
7.21 Radiator Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-134 7.21.1 7.21.2 7.21.3 Radiator Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-134 User Inputs for Radiators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-136 Postprocessing for Radiators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-141
7.22 Porous Jump Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-143 7.23 Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-145 7.23.1 7.23.2 Turbo-specic Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . 7-145 General Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . 7-156
7.24 User-Dened Fan Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-164 7.24.1 7.24.2 Steps for Using the User-Dened Fan Model . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-164 Example of a User-Dened Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-165
7.25 Heat Exchanger Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-173 7.25.1 7.25.2 7.25.3 7.25.4 7.25.5 Overview and Restrictions of the Heat Exchanger Models . . . . 7-174 Heat Exchanger Model Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-176 Using the Heat Exchanger Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-182 Using the Heat Exchanger Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-193 Postprocessing for the Heat Exchanger Model . . . . . . . . . . . 7-196
7.26 Boundary Proles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-201 7.26.1 7.26.2 7.26.3 7.26.4 Boundary Prole Specication Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-201 Boundary Prole File Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-202 Using Boundary Proles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-205 Reorienting Boundary Proles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-206
7.27 Fixing the Values of Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-213 7.27.1 7.27.2 Overview of Fixing the Value of a Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-213 Procedure for Fixing Values of Variables in a Zone . . . . . . . . 7-215
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7.28 Dening Mass, Momentum, Energy, and Other Sources . . . . . . . . . . 7-217 7.28.1 Procedure for Dening Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-219
7.29 Coupling Boundary Conditions with GT-Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-222 7.29.1 7.29.2 Requirements and Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-222 User Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-223
7.30 Coupling Boundary Conditions with WAVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-226 7.30.1 7.30.2 Requirements and Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-226 User Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-227 8-1 8-2 8-3 8-4 8-9
8 Physical Properties 8.1 Dening Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1.1 8.1.2 8.1.3 8.2 Material Types and Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Materials Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using a User-Dened Materials Database . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions . . . . . . 8-18 8.2.1 8.2.2 8.2.3 8.2.4 Inputs for Polynomial Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-19 Inputs for Piecewise-Linear Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-20 Inputs for Piecewise-Polynomial Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-21 Checking and Modifying Existing Proles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-22
8.3
Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-23 8.3.1 8.3.2 8.3.3 8.3.4 8.3.5 8.3.6 8.3.7 Dening Density for Various Flow Regimes . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-23 Input of Constant Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-24
Inputs for the Boussinesq Approximation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-24 Density as a Prole Function of Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . 8-24 Incompressible Ideal Gas Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-25 Ideal Gas Law for Compressible Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-26 Composition-Dependent Density for Multicomponent Mixtures . 8-27
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8.4
Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-29 8.4.1 8.4.2 8.4.3 8.4.4 8.4.5 Input of Constant Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-29 Viscosity as a Function of Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-29 Dening the Viscosity Using Kinetic Theory . . . . . . . . . . . 8-32 8-33
Composition-Dependent Viscosity for Multicomponent Mixtures
Viscosity for Non-Newtonian Fluids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-34
8.5
Thermal Conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-39 8.5.1 8.5.2 8.5.3 8.5.4 8.5.5 Input of Constant Thermal Conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-40 Thermal Conductivity as a Function of Temperature . . . . . . . 8-40 Dening the Thermal Conductivity Using Kinetic Theory . . . . 8-40 Composition-Dependent Thermal Conductivity for Multicomponent Mixtures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-41 Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity for Solids . . . . . . . . . . . 8-42
8.6
Specic Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-47 8.6.1 8.6.2 8.6.3 8.6.4 Input of Constant Specic Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-47 Specic Heat Capacity as a Function of Temperature . . . . . . . 8-47 Dening Specic Heat Capacity Using Kinetic Theory . . . . . . 8-48 Specic Heat Capacity as a Function of Composition . . . . . . . 8-48
8.7
Radiation Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-49 8.7.1 8.7.2 8.7.3 8.7.4 Absorption Coecient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-49 Scattering Coecient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-51 Refractive Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-52 Reporting the Radiation Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-53
8.8
Mass Diusion Coecients 8.8.1 8.8.2 8.8.3 8.8.4 8.8.5
Fickian Diusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-53 Full Multicomponent Diusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-54 Thermal Diusion Coecients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-56 Mass Diusion Coecient Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-56 Mass Diusion Coecient Inputs for Turbulent Flow . . . . . . . 8-61
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8.9
Standard State Enthalpies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-62
8.10 Standard State Entropies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-62 8.11 Molecular Heat Transfer Coecient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-62 8.12 Kinetic Theory Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-63 8.13 Operating Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-64 8.13.1 8.13.2 8.13.3 The Eect of Numerical Roundo on Pressure Calculation in Low-Mach-Number Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-64 Operating Pressure, Gauge Pressure, and Absolute Pressure . . . 8-64 Setting the Operating Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-65
8.14 Reference Pressure Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-66 8.15 Real Gas Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-67 8.15.1 8.15.2 The NIST Real Gas Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-67 The User-Dened Real Gas Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-72 9-1 9-2 9-3 9-5 9-5 9-7 9-8
9 Modeling Basic Fluid Flow 9.1 9.2 9.3 Overview of Physical Models in FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Continuity and Momentum Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Periodic Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3.1 9.3.2 9.3.3 9.3.4 9.3.5 9.3.6 9.4 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . User Inputs for the Segregated Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User Inputs for the Coupled Solvers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10 Monitoring the Value of the Pressure Gradient . . . . . . . . . . 9-10 Postprocessing for Streamwise-Periodic Flows . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Swirling and Rotating Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11 9.4.1 9.4.2 9.4.3 9.4.4 9.4.5 Overview of Swirling and Rotating Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12 Physics of Swirling and Rotating Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-14 Turbulence Modeling in Swirling Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-14 Grid Setup for Swirling and Rotating Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16 Modeling Axisymmetric Flows with Swirl or Rotation . . . . . . 9-16
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9.5
Compressible Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20 9.5.1 9.5.2 9.5.3 9.5.4 9.5.5 9.5.6 When to Use the Compressible Flow Model . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22 Physics of Compressible Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22 Modeling Inputs for Compressible Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23 Floating Operating Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25 Solution Strategies for Compressible Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27 Reporting of Results for Compressible Flows . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
9.6
Inviscid Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29 9.6.1 9.6.2 9.6.3 9.6.4 Euler Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29 Setting Up an Inviscid Flow Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31 Solution Strategies for Inviscid Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31 Postprocessing for Inviscid Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32 10-1
10 Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones
10.1 Overview of Moving Zone Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2 10.2 Flow in a Rotating Reference Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3 10.2.1 10.2.2 10.2.3 10.2.4 10.2.5 10.2.6 10.2.7 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3 Equations for a Rotating Reference Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8 Grid Setup for a Single Rotating Reference Frame . . . . . . . . 10-9 Problem Setup for a Single Rotating Reference Frame . . . . . . 10-9 Choosing the Relative or Absolute Velocity Formulation . . . . . 10-10 Solution Strategies for a Rotating Reference Frame . . . . . . . . 10-12 Postprocessing for a Single Rotating Reference Frame . . . . . . 10-13
10.3 The Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15 10.3.1 10.3.2 10.3.3 10.3.4 10.3.5 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15 The MRF Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18 Grid Setup for Multiple Reference Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20 Problem Setup for Multiple Reference Frames . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20 Solution Strategies for Multiple Reference Frames . . . . . . . . 10-22
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10.3.6
Postprocessing for Multiple Reference Frames . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
10.4 The Mixing Plane Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23 10.4.1 10.4.2 10.4.3 10.4.4 10.4.5 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23 Mixing Plane Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24 Problem Setup for a Mixing Plane Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29 Solution Strategies for Problems with Mixing Planes . . . . . . . 10-34 Postprocessing for the Mixing Plane Model . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
10.5 Sliding Meshes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35 10.5.1 10.5.2 10.5.3 10.5.4 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35 Sliding Mesh Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40 Setup and Solution of a Sliding Mesh Problem . . . . . . . . . . 10-42 Postprocessing for Sliding Meshes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
10.6 Dynamic Meshes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-49 10.6.1 10.6.2 10.6.3 10.6.4 10.6.5 10.6.6 10.6.7 10.6.8 10.6.9 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-49 Dynamic Mesh Conservation Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-50 Dynamic Mesh Update Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51 Solid-Body Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68 Problem Setup for Dynamic Meshes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-71 Setting Dynamic Mesh Modeling Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . 10-73 Specifying the Motion of Dynamic Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-82 Previewing the Dynamic Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-91 Dening Dynamic Mesh Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-94
10.6.10 Using the In-Cylinder Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-102 10.6.11 Using the 2.5D Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-118 10.6.12 Using the Six DOF Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-119 10.6.13 Using the Crevice Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-121
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11 Modeling Turbulence 11.1 Introduction
11-1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2
11.2 Choosing a Turbulence Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2 11.2.1 11.2.2 11.2.3 11.2.4 11.2.5 11.2.6 11.2.7 11.2.8 11.2.9 Reynolds-Averaged Approach vs. LES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-3 Reynolds (Ensemble) Averaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-4 Boussinesq Approach vs. Reynolds Stress Transport Models . . . 11-5 The Spalart-Allmaras Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6 The Standard k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6
The RNG k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7 The Realizable k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7 The Standard k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-8 The Shear-Stress Transport (SST) k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . 11-8
11.2.10 The v 2 -f Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-9 11.2.11 The Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-9 11.2.12 Computational Eort: CPU Time and Solution Behavior . . . . 11-10 11.3 The Spalart-Allmaras Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-11 11.3.1 11.3.2 11.3.3 11.3.4 11.3.5 11.3.6 11.3.7 Transport Equation for the Spalart-Allmaras Model . . . . . . . 11-11 Modeling the Turbulent Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-11 Modeling the Turbulent Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12 Modeling the Turbulent Destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13 Model Constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-14 Wall Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-14 Convective Heat and Mass Transfer Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . 11-14
11.4 The Standard, RNG, and Realizable k- Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-15 11.4.1 11.4.2 11.4.3 11.4.4 11.4.5 The Standard k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-15
The RNG k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-17 The Realizable k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-20 Modeling Turbulent Production in the k- Models . . . . . . . . 11-23 Eects of Buoyancy on Turbulence in the k- Models . . . . . . . 11-24
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11.4.6 11.4.7
Eects of Compressibility on Turbulence in the k- Models . . . 11-25 Convective Heat and Mass Transfer Modeling in the k- Models . 11-26
11.5 The Standard and SST k- Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-27 11.5.1 11.5.2 The Standard k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-27 The Shear-Stress Transport (SST) k- Model . . . . . . . . . . . 11-32
11.6 The Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-36 11.6.1 11.6.2 11.6.3 11.6.4 11.6.5 11.6.6 11.6.7 11.6.8 11.6.9 The Reynolds Stress Transport Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-37 Modeling Turbulent Diusive Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-37 Modeling the Pressure-Strain Term . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-38 Eects of Buoyancy on Turbulence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-41 Modeling the Turbulence Kinetic Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-41 Modeling the Dissipation Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-42 Modeling the Turbulent Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-42 Boundary Conditions for the Reynolds Stresses . . . . . . . . . . 11-42 Convective Heat and Mass Transfer Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . 11-43
11.7 The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-44 11.7.1 11.7.2 11.7.3 Filtered Navier-Stokes Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-45 Subgrid-Scale Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-46 Inlet Boundary Conditions for the LES Model . . . . . . . . . . 11-48
11.8 The Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-50 11.9 Near-Wall Treatments for Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows . . . . . . . . 11-51 11.9.1 11.9.2 11.9.3 11.9.4 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-51 Wall Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-53 Enhanced Wall Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-60 LES Near-Wall Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-65
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11.10 Grid Considerations for Turbulent Flow Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . 11-66 11.10.1 Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for Wall Functions . . . . . . . . . . 11-66 11.10.2 Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for the Enhanced Wall Treatment . . 11-67 11.10.3 Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for the Spalart-Allmaras Model . . . 11-67 11.10.4 Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for the k- Models . . . . . . . . . . 11-68 11.10.5 Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for Large Eddy Simulation . . . . . . 11-68 11.11 Problem Setup for Turbulent Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-68 11.11.1 Turbulence Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-70 11.11.2 Dening Turbulence Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-76 11.11.3 Providing an Initial Guess for k and (or k and ) . . . . . . . . 11-79
11.12 Solution Strategies for Turbulent Flow Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-80 11.12.1 Mesh Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-80 11.12.2 Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-80 11.12.3 Convergence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-81 11.12.4 RSM-Specic Solution Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-81 11.12.5 LES-Specic Solution Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-82 11.13 Postprocessing for Turbulent Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-84 11.13.1 Custom Field Functions for Turbulence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-87 11.13.2 Postprocessing LES Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-87 11.13.3 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-88 12 Modeling Heat Transfer 12-1
12.1 Overview of Heat Transfer Models in FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1 12.2 Convective and Conductive Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1 12.2.1 12.2.2 12.2.3 12.2.4 12.2.5 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2 User Inputs for Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-7 Solution Process for Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-9 Reporting and Displaying Heat Transfer Quantities . . . . . . . . 12-11 Exporting Heat Flux Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13
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12.3 Radiative Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-14 12.3.1 12.3.2 12.3.3 12.3.4 12.3.5 12.3.6 12.3.7 12.3.8 12.3.9 Introduction to Radiative Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-15 Choosing a Radiation Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-17 The Discrete Transfer Radiation Model (DTRM) . . . . . . . . . 12-20 The P-1 Radiation Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-23 The Rosseland Radiation Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-27 The Discrete Ordinates (DO) Radiation Model . . . . . . . . . . 12-29 The Surface-to-Surface (S2S) Radiation Model . . . . . . . . . . 12-48 Solar Load Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-51 Radiation in Combusting Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-76 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-80
12.3.10 Overview of Using the Radiation Models
12.3.11 Selecting the Radiation Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-81 12.3.12 Dening the Ray Tracing for the DTRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-82 12.3.13 Computing or Reading the View Factors for the S2S Model . . . 12-85 12.3.14 Dening the Angular Discretization for the DO Model . . . . . . 12-93 12.3.15 Dening Non-Gray Radiation for the DO Model . . . . . . . . . 12-93 12.3.16 Dening Material Properties for Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-95 12.3.17 Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-96 12.3.18 Setting Solution Parameters for Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-106 12.3.19 Solving the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-109 12.3.20 Postprocessing Radiation Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-111 12.4 Periodic Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-115 12.4.1 12.4.2 12.4.3 12.4.4 12.4.5 12.4.6 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-115 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-116 Modeling Periodic Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-118 Solution Strategies for Periodic Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . 12-120 Monitoring Convergence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-120 Postprocessing for Periodic Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-121
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12.5 Buoyancy-Driven Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-122 12.5.1 12.5.2 12.5.3 12.5.4 12.5.5 12.5.6 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-122 Modeling Natural Convection in a Closed Domain . . . . . . . . 12-123 The Boussinesq Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-123 User Inputs for Buoyancy-Driven Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-124 Solution Strategies for Buoyancy-Driven Flows . . . . . . . . . . 12-126 Postprocessing for Buoyancy-Driven Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-128 13-1
13 Introduction to Modeling Species Transport and Reacting Flows
13.1 Overview of Species and Reaction Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1 13.2 Approaches to Reaction Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-2 13.2.1 13.2.2 13.2.3 13.2.4 13.2.5 Generalized Finite-Rate Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-2 Non-Premixed Combustion Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-2 Premixed Combustion Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-3 Partially Premixed Combustion Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-3 Composition PDF Transport Combustion Model . . . . . . . . . 13-3
13.3 Choosing a Reaction Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4 14 Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry 14-1
14.1 Volumetric Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2 14.1.1 14.1.2 14.1.3 14.1.4 14.1.5 14.1.6 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-3 Overview of User Inputs for Modeling Species Transport and Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-12 Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15 Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species . 14-17 Dening Boundary Conditions for Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-33 Dening Other Sources of Chemical Species . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-33
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14.1.7 14.1.8 14.1.9
Solution Procedures for Chemical Mixing and Finite-Rate Chemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-34 Postprocessing for Species Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-38 Importing a Volumetric Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-40
14.2 Wall Surface Reactions and Chemical Vapor Deposition . . . . . . . . . 14-42 14.2.1 14.2.2 14.2.3 14.2.4 14.2.5 14.2.6 Overview of Surface Species and Wall Surface Reactions . . . . . 14-42 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-43 User Inputs for Wall Surface Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-47 Solution Procedures for Wall Surface Reactions . . . . . . . . . . 14-49 Postprocessing for Surface Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-49 Importing a Surface Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format . 14-50
14.3 Particle Surface Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-54 14.3.1 14.3.2 14.3.3 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-54 User Inputs for Particle Surface Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-59 Using the Multiple Surface Reactions Model for Discrete-Phase Particle Combustion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-60
14.4 Species Transport Without Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-61 15 Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion 15-1
15.1 Overview of Non-Premixed Combustion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-2 15.1.1 Overview of the Non-Premixed Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-2
15.2 Non-Premixed Combustion Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-2 15.2.1 15.2.2 15.2.3 15.2.4 15.2.5 Mixture Fraction Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-3 Modeling of Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction . . . . . . . . . . 15-8 Non-Adiabatic Extensions of the Non-Premixed Model . . . . . . 15-12 Chemistry Tabulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-16 Restrictions and Special Cases for Using the Non-Premixed Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-20
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15.3 The Laminar Flamelet Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-25 15.3.1 15.3.2 15.3.3 15.3.4 15.3.5 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-25 Restrictions and Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-26 The Flamelet Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-26 Flamelet Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-30 Flamelet Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-31
15.4 User Inputs for the Non-Premixed Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-33 15.4.1 15.4.2 15.4.3 15.4.4 15.4.5 15.4.6 15.4.7 15.4.8 15.4.9 Overview of the Problem Setup Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-34 Problem Denition Using the Equilibrium Chemistry Model . . . 15-36 Problem Denition Using the Laminar Flamelet Model . . . . . . 15-40 Dening the Stream Compositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-42 Forcing the Exclusion and Inclusion of Equilibrium Species . . . 15-50 Dening the Flamelet Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-52 Calculating the Flamelets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-53 Postprocessing the Flamelet Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-56 Calculating the Look-Up Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-59
15.4.10 Postprocessing the Look-Up Table Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-62 15.5 Dening Non-Premixed Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-69 15.5.1 15.5.2 15.5.3 Input of Mixture Fraction Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . 15-69 Diusion at Inlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-70 Input of Thermal Boundary Conditions and Fuel Inlet Velocities 15-71
15.6 Dening Non-Premixed Physical Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-71 15.7 Coal Modeling Inputs in FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-72 15.8 Non-Premixed Solution Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-73 15.8.1 15.8.2 15.8.3 15.8.4 Single-Mixture-Fraction Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-74 Two-Mixture-Fraction Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-74 Starting a Non-Premixed Calculation From a Previous Case File 15-74 Solving the Flow Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-76
15.9 Postprocessing the Non-Premixed Model Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-79
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16 Modeling Premixed Combustion
16-1
16.1 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-1 16.1.1 16.1.2 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-1 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-2
16.2 Premixed Combustion Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-3 16.2.1 16.2.2 16.2.3 16.2.4 16.2.5 Propagation of the Flame Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-3 Turbulent Flame Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-4 Premixed Combustion Model Formulation in FLUENT . . . . . . 16-8 Calculation of Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-9 Calculation of Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-9
16.3 Using the Premixed Combustion Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-11 16.3.1 16.3.2 16.3.3 16.3.4 16.3.5 16.3.6 16.3.7 Enabling the Premixed Combustion Model . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-11 Choosing an Adiabatic or Non-Adiabatic Model . . . . . . . . . 16-12
Modifying the Constants for the Premixed Combustion Model . . 16-12 Dening Physical Properties for the Unburnt Mixture . . . . . . 16-13 Setting Boundary Conditions for the Progress Variable . . . . . . 16-14 Initializing the Progress Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-14 Postprocessing for Premixed Combustion Calculations . . . . . . 16-15 17-1
17 Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion
17.1 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-1 17.1.1 17.1.2 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-1 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-1
17.2 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-2 17.2.1 17.2.2 Calculation of Scalar Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-2 Laminar Flame Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-3
17.3 Using the Partially Premixed Combustion Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-4 17.3.1 17.3.2 Setup and Solution Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-4 Modifying the Unburnt Mixture Property Polynomials . . . . . . 17-6
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18 The Composition PDF Transport Model
18-1
18.1 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-1 18.2 Composition PDF Transport Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-1 18.2.1 18.2.2 18.2.3 18.2.4 18.2.5 Solution of the PDF Transport Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-3 Particle Convection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-3 Particle Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-4 Particle Reaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-6 The ISAT Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-7
18.3 Using the Composition PDF Transport Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-8 18.3.1 18.3.2 18.3.3 18.3.4 18.3.5 18.3.6 18.3.7 18.3.8 18.3.9 Enabling the Composition PDF Transport Model . . . . . . . . . 18-10 Setting Integration Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-10 Enabling KINetics from Reaction Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-12 Selecting the Particle Mixing Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-12 Dening the Solution Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-12 Monitoring the Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-14 Monitoring ISAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-15 Ecient Use of ISAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-16 Reading and Writing ISAT Tables in Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . 18-18
18.3.10 Unsteady Composition PDF Transport Simulations . . . . . . . . 18-18 18.3.11 Compressible Composition PDF Transport Simulations . . . . . 18-18 18.3.12 Composition PDF Transport Simulations with Conjugate Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19 18.3.13 Postprocessing for Composition PDF Transport Calculations . . 18-19
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19 Engine Ignition Model
19-1
19.1 Spark Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-1 19.1.1 19.1.2 19.1.3 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-1 Spark Model Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-2 Using the Spark Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-3
19.2 Autoignition Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-6 19.2.1 19.2.2 19.2.3 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-6 Ignition Model Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-7 Using the Autoignition Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-12 20-1
20 Modeling Pollutant Formation
20.1 NOx Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-1 20.1.1 20.1.2 20.1.3 20.1.4 20.1.5 20.1.6 20.1.7 20.1.8 20.1.9 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-2 Governing Equations for NOx Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-3 Thermal NOx Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-4 Prompt NOx Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-8 Fuel NOx Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-12 NOx Formation From Intermediate N2 O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-24 NOx Reduction by Reburning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-26 NOx Reduction by SNCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-31 NOx Formation in Turbulent Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-32
20.1.10 Using the NOx Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-36 20.2 Soot Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-46 20.2.1 20.2.2 20.2.3 Overview and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-46 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-47 Using the Soot Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-51
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21 Predicting Aerodynamically Generated Noise
21-1
21.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-1 21.1.1 21.1.2 21.1.3 Direct Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-2 Integral Method Based on Acoustic Analogy . . . . . . . . . . . 21-2 Broadband Noise Source Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-3
21.2 Acoustics Model Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-4 21.2.1 21.2.2 The Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Model . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-4 Broadband Noise Source Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-7
21.3 Using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Acoustics Model . . . . . . . . 21-12 21.3.1 21.3.2 21.3.3 21.3.4 Enabling the FW-H Acoustics Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-13
Specifying Source Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-16 Specifying Acoustic Receivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-20 Postprocessing for the FW-H Acoustics Model . . . . . . . . . . 21-21
21.4 Using the Broadband Noise Source Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-25 21.4.1 21.4.2 Enabling the Broadband Noise Source Models . . . . . . . . . . . 21-25 Postprocessing for the Broadband Noise Source Models . . . . . 21-27 22-1
22 Introduction to Modeling Multiphase Flows
22.1 Multiphase Flow Regimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-2 22.2 Examples of Multiphase Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-4 22.3 Approaches to Multiphase Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-4 22.3.1 22.3.2 The Euler-Lagrange Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-4 The Euler-Euler Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-5
22.4 Choosing a Multiphase Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-6 22.4.1 22.4.2 General Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-6 Detailed Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-7
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23 Discrete Phase Models
23-1
23.1 Overview and Limitations of the Discrete Phase Models . . . . . . . . . 23-1 23.1.1 23.1.2 23.1.3 23.1.4 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-1 Particles in Turbulent Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-2 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-3 Overview of Discrete Phase Modeling Procedures . . . . . . . . . 23-4
23.2 Modeling Particle Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-5 23.2.1 23.2.2 23.2.3 Equations of Motion for Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-5 Turbulent Dispersion of Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-12 Particle Erosion and Accretion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-19
23.3 Heat and Mass Transfer Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-20 23.3.1 23.3.2 23.3.3 23.3.4 23.3.5 23.3.6 Particle Types in FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-20 Law 1/Law 6: Inert Heating or Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-21 Law 2: Droplet Vaporization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-23 Law 3: Droplet Boiling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-26 Law 4: Devolatilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-27 Law 5: Surface Combustion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-37
23.4 Spray Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-43 23.4.1 23.4.2 23.4.3 23.4.4 Atomizer Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-43 Droplet Collision Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-61 Spray Breakup Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-64
Dynamic Drag Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-72
23.5 Wall-Film Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-74 23.5.1 23.5.2 23.5.3 23.5.4 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-74 Interaction During Impact with a Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-75 Splashing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-76 Conservation Equations for Wall-Film Particles . . . . . . . . . . 23-81
23.6 Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases . . . . . . . . . . 23-86
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23.7 Using the Discrete Phase Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-89 23.7.1 23.7.2 23.7.3 23.7.4 23.7.5 23.7.6 23.7.7 23.7.8 23.7.9 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-89 Options for Interaction with Continuous Phase . . . . . . . . . . 23-90 Steady/Transient Treatment of Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-90 Tracking Parameters for the Discrete Phase Model . . . . . . . . 23-93 Alternate Drag Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-97
Physical Models for the Discrete Phase Model . . . . . . . . . . . 23-97 Options for Spray Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-99 Numerics of the Discrete Phase Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-100 User-Dened Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-102
23.7.10 Parallel Processing for the Discrete Phase Model . . . . . . . . . 23-102 23.8 Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-105 23.8.1 23.8.2 23.8.3 23.8.4 23.8.5 23.8.6 23.8.7 23.8.8 23.8.9 Overview of Initial Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-105 Injection Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-106
Particle Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-108 Creating, Copying, Deleting, and Listing Injections . . . . . . . . 23-109 Dening Injection Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-111 Point Properties for Single Injections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-114 Point Properties for Group Injections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-114 Point Properties for Cone Injections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-119 Point Properties for Surface Injections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-120
23.8.10 Point Properties for Plain-Orice Atomizer Injections . . . . . . 23-122 23.8.11 Point Properties for Pressure-Swirl Atomizer Injections . . . . . 23-123 23.8.12 Point Properties for Air-Blast/Air-Assist Atomizer Injections . . 23-123 23.8.13 Point Properties for Flat-Fan Atomizer Injections . . . . . . . . . 23-124 23.8.14 Point Properties for Eervescent Atomizer Injections . . . . . . . 23-125 23.8.15 Modeling Turbulent Dispersion of Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-125 23.8.16 Custom Particle Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-128 23.8.17 Dening Properties Common to More Than One Injection . . . . 23-129
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23.9 Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase . . . . . . . . . . . 23-131 23.9.1 23.9.2 Discrete Phase Boundary Condition Types . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-132 Inputs for Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . 23-135
23.10 Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-137 23.10.1 Summary of Property Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-137 23.10.2 Setting Discrete-Phase Physical Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-137 23.11 Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-146 23.11.1 Integration of Particle Equation of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-146 23.11.2 Performing Trajectory Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-149 23.11.3 Resetting the Interphase Exchange Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-152 23.12 Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-153 23.12.1 Graphical Display of Trajectories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-153 23.12.2 Reporting of Trajectory Fates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-156 23.12.3 Step-by-Step Reporting of Trajectories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-161 23.12.4 Reporting Current Positions for Unsteady Tracking . . . . . . . . 23-163 23.12.5 Reporting of Interphase Exchange Terms and Discrete Phase Concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-165 23.12.6 Trajectory Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-166 23.12.7 Histogram Reporting of Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-167 23.12.8 Summary Reporting of Current Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-168 23.12.9 Postprocessing of Erosion/Accretion Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-170 24 General Multiphase Models 24-1
24.1 Choosing a General Multiphase Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-2 24.1.1 24.1.2 24.1.3 Overview and Limitations of the VOF Model . . . . . . . . . . . 24-3 Overview and Limitations of the Mixture Model . . . . . . . . . 24-4 Overview and Limitations of the Eulerian Model . . . . . . . . . 24-5
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24.2 Volume of Fluid (VOF) Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-7 24.2.1 24.2.2 24.2.3 24.2.4 24.2.5 24.2.6 24.2.7 24.2.8 24.2.9 The Volume Fraction Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-7 Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-8 The Momentum Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-8 The Energy Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-8 Additional Scalar Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-9 Interpolation Near the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-9 Time Dependence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-13 Surface Tension and Wall Adhesion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-13 Open Channel Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-17
24.3 Mixture Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-20 24.3.1 24.3.2 24.3.3 24.3.4 24.3.5 24.3.6 24.3.7 24.3.8 Continuity Equation for the Mixture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-20 Momentum Equation for the Mixture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-21 Energy Equation for the Mixture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-21 Relative (Slip) Velocity and the Drift Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . 24-22 Volume Fraction Equation for the Secondary Phases . . . . . . . 24-24 Granular Properties in the Mixture Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-24 Granular Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25 Solids Pressure in the Mixture Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25
24.4 Eulerian Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-26 24.4.1 24.4.2 24.4.3 24.4.4 24.4.5 24.4.6 24.4.7 24.4.8 24.4.9 Volume Fractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-26 Conservation Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-27 Interphase Exchange Coecients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-32 Solids Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-37 Maximum Packing Limit in Binary Mixtures . . . . . . . . . . . 24-40 Solids Shear Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-41 Granular Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-43 Description of Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-44 Turbulence Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-46
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24.4.10 Solution Method in FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-57 24.5 Wet Steam Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-58 24.5.1 24.5.2 24.5.3 Overview of the Wet Steam Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-58 Restrictions and Limitations of the Wet Steam Model . . . . . . 24-58 Theory and Equations of the Wet Steam Model . . . . . . . . . . 24-59
24.6 Description of Mass Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-64 24.6.1 24.6.2 24.6.3 24.6.4 Source Terms Due to Mass Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-64 Unidirectional Constant Rate Mass Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-66 UDF-Prescribed Mass Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-66 Mass Transfer through Cavitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-67
24.7 Multiphase Species Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-75 24.7.1 24.7.2 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-76 Mass and Momentum Transfer with Multiphase Species Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-76
24.8 Setting Up a General Multiphase Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-80 24.8.1 24.8.2 24.8.3 24.8.4 24.8.5 24.8.6 24.8.7 24.8.8 24.8.9 Steps for Using the General Multiphase Models . . . . . . . . . . 24-81 Additional Guidelines for Eulerian Multiphase Simulations . . . . 24-82 Enabling the Multiphase Model and Specifying the Number of Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-83 Selecting the VOF Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-85 Modeling Open Channel Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-87 Dening a Homogeneous Multiphase Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-94 Overview of Dening the Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-94 Dening Phases for the VOF Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-95 Dening Phases for the Mixture Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-99
24.8.10 Dening Phases for the Eulerian Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-103 24.8.11 Selecting a Turbulence Model for an Eulerian Multiphase Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-112 24.8.12 Including Body Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-114 24.8.13 Modeling Multiphase Species Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-115
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24.8.14 Dening Heterogeneous Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-117 24.8.15 Dening Heat Transfer for the Eulerian Model . . . . . . . . . . 24-119 24.8.16 Dening Mass Transfer Eects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-120 24.8.17 Including Cavitation Eects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-122 24.8.18 Setting Time-Dependent Parameters for the VOF Model . . . . . 24-124 24.8.19 Setting Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-126 24.8.20 Setting Initial Volume Fractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-140 24.8.21 Inputs for Compressible VOF and Mixture Model Calculations . 24-141 24.8.22 Inputs for Solidication/Melting VOF Calculations . . . . . . . . 24-141 24.8.23 Using the Wet Steam Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-142 24.9 Solution Strategies for General Multiphase Problems . . . . . . . . . . . 24-156 24.9.1 24.9.2 24.9.3 24.9.4 Solution Strategies for the VOF Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-156 Solution Strategies for the Mixture Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-157 Solution Strategies for the Eulerian Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-158 Solving Wet Steam Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-159
24.10 Postprocessing for General Multiphase Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-160 24.10.1 Available Postprocessing Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-161 24.10.2 Displaying Velocity Vectors for Individual Phases . . . . . . . . . 24-163 24.10.3 Reporting Fluxes for Individual Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-164 24.10.4 Reporting Forces on Walls for Individual Phases . . . . . . . . . 24-164 24.10.5 Reporting Flow Rates for Individual Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-164 25 Modeling Solidication and Melting 25-1
25.1 Overview and Limitations of the Solidication/Melting Model . . . . . . 25-1 25.1.1 25.1.2 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-1 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-2
25.2 Theory for the Solidication/Melting Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-3 25.2.1 25.2.2 Energy Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-3 Momentum Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-5
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25.2.3 25.2.4 25.2.5 25.2.6
Turbulence Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-5 Species Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-6 Pull Velocity for Continuous Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-6 Contact Resistance at Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-7
25.3 Using the Solidication/Melting Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-8 25.3.1 25.3.2 25.3.3 25.3.4 Setup Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-8 Procedures for Modeling Continuous Casting . . . . . . . . . . . 25-10 Solution Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-11
Postprocessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-12 26-1
26 Using the Solver
26.1 Overview of Numerical Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-2 26.1.1 26.1.2 26.1.3 Segregated Solution Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-3 Coupled Solution Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-5 Linearization: Implicit vs. Explicit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-5
26.2 Discretization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-8 26.2.1 26.2.2 26.2.3 26.2.4 26.2.5 26.2.6 26.2.7 26.2.8 26.2.9 First-Order Upwind Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-9 Power-Law Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-9
Second-Order Upwind Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-11 QUICK Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-11 Third-Order MUSCL Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-12 Central-Dierencing Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-13 Bounded Central Dierencing Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-13 Low Diusion Second Order Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-14 Modied HRIC Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-14
26.2.10 Linearized Form of the Discrete Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-16 26.2.11 Under-Relaxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-16 26.2.12 Temporal Discretization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-16 26.2.13 Evaluation of Derivatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-19
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26.3 The Segregated Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-20 26.3.1 26.3.2 26.3.3 26.3.4 Discretization of the Momentum Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-20 Discretization of the Continuity Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-22 Pressure-Velocity Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-23 Steady-State and Time-Dependent Calculations . . . . . . . . . . 26-27
26.4 The Coupled Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-31 26.4.1 26.4.2 26.4.3 26.4.4 Governing Equations in Vector Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-31 Preconditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-32 Time Marching for Steady-State Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-34 Temporal Discretization for Unsteady Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-36
26.5 Multigrid Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-38 26.5.1 26.5.2 26.5.3 26.5.4 Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-38 Multigrid Cycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-40 Algebraic Multigrid (AMG) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-44 Full-Approximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid . . . . . . . . . . . 26-48
26.6 Choosing the Solver Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-50 26.7 Overview of How to Use the Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-53 26.8 Choosing the Discretization Scheme 26.8.1 26.8.2 26.8.3 26.8.4 26.8.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-54
First Order vs. Second Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-54 Other Discretization Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-55 Choosing the Pressure Interpolation Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-55 Choosing the Density Interpolation Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-56 User Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-56
26.9 Choosing the Pressure-Velocity Coupling Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-58 26.9.1 26.9.2 26.9.3 26.9.4 SIMPLE vs. SIMPLEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-58 PISO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-58 Fractional Step Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-59 User Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-59
26.10 Setting Under-Relaxation Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-60
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26.11 Setting Solution Controls for the Non-Iterative Solver . . . . . . . . . . . 26-61 26.12 Changing the Courant Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-65 26.12.1 Courant Numbers for the Coupled Explicit Solver . . . . . . . . 26-65 26.12.2 Courant Numbers for the Coupled Implicit Solver . . . . . . . . 26-65
26.12.3 User Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-66 26.13 Turning On FAS Multigrid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-67 26.13.1 Setting Coarse Grid Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-67 26.14 Setting Solution Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-68 26.15 Initializing the Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-70 26.15.1 Initializing the Entire Flow Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-71 26.15.2 Patching Values in Selected Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-73 26.16 Full Multigrid (FMG) Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-75 26.16.1 Overview of FMG Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-75 26.16.2 Using FMG Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-77 26.16.3 Convergence Strategies for FMG Initialization . . . . . . . . . . 26-78 26.17 Performing Steady-State Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-78 26.18 Performing Time-Dependent Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-80 26.18.1 User Inputs for Time-Dependent Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-80 26.18.2 Adaptive Time Stepping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-87
26.18.3 Variable Time Stepping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-90 26.18.4 Postprocessing for Time-Dependent Problems . . . . . . . . . . . 26-92 26.19 Monitoring Solution Convergence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-93 26.19.1 Monitoring Residuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-93 26.19.2 Monitoring Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-100 26.19.3 Monitoring Forces and Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-101 26.19.4 Monitoring Surface Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-105 26.19.5 Monitoring Volume Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-109
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26.20 Animating the Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-112 26.20.1 Dening an Animation Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-113 26.20.2 Playing an Animation Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-116 26.20.3 Saving an Animation Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-119 26.20.4 Reading an Animation Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-121 26.21 Importing and Exporting Particle History Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-122 26.21.1 Importing Particle History Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-122 26.21.2 Exporting Particle History Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-123 26.22 Executing Commands During the Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-124 26.22.1 Specifying the Commands to be Executed . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-124 26.22.2 Dening Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-126 26.22.3 Saving Files During the Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-127 26.23 Managing Acoustic Signal Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-127 26.24 Convergence and Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-128 26.24.1 Judging Convergence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-128 26.24.2 Step-by-Step Solution Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-130 26.24.3 Modifying Algebraic Multigrid Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-131 26.24.4 Setting FAS Multigrid Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-137 26.24.5 Modifying Multi-Stage Time-Stepping Parameters . . . . . . . . 26-141 27 Grid Adaption 27-1
27.1 Using Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-2 27.1.1 27.1.2 Adaption Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-2 Adaption Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-5
27.2 Static Adaption Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-6 27.2.1 27.2.2 27.2.3 Hanging Node Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-6 Conformal Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-10 Conformal vs. Hanging Node Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-13
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27.3 Boundary Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-14 27.3.1 Performing Boundary Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-15
27.4 Gradient Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-19 27.4.1 27.4.2 Gradient Adaption Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-19 Performing Gradient Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-23
27.5 Dynamic Gradient Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-26 27.5.1 Dynamic Gradient Adaption Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-26
27.6 Isovalue Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-28 27.6.1 Performing Isovalue Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-30
27.7 Region Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-31 27.7.1 27.7.2 27.7.3 Dening a Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-31 Region Adaption Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-32 Performing Region Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-34
27.8 Volume Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-36 27.8.1 27.8.2 27.8.3 Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-36 Volume Adaption Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-36 Performing Volume Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-38
27.9 Yplus/Ystar Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-39 27.9.1 27.9.2 Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-39 Performing Yplus or Ystar Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-41
27.10 Geometry Based Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-42 27.10.1 Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-42 27.10.2 Performing Geometry Based Adaption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-48 27.11 Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-49 27.11.1 Manipulating Adaption Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-52 27.11.2 Modifying Adaption Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-56 27.11.3 Displaying Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-57 27.11.4 Adapting to Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-59 27.12 Grid Adaption Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-59
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27.13 Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-63 27.13.1 Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-64 27.13.2 Face Swapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-67 27.13.3 Combining Skewness-Based Smoothing and Face Swapping . . . 27-68 28 Creating Surfaces for Displaying and Reporting Data 28-1
28.1 Using Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-2 28.2 Zone Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-3 28.3 Partition Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-4 28.4 Point Surfaces 28.4.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-7
Using the Point Tool
28.5 Line and Rake Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-10 28.5.1 Using the Line Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-11
28.6 Plane Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-14 28.6.1 Using the Plane Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-16
28.7 Quadric Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-19 28.8 Isosurfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-21
28.9 Clipping Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-23 28.10 Transforming Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-25 28.11 Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-27 29 Graphics and Visualization 29-1
29.1 Basic Graphics Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-2 29.1.1 29.1.2 29.1.3 29.1.4 29.1.5 Displaying the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-2 Displaying Contours and Proles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-11 Displaying Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-18 Displaying Pathlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-28 Displaying Results on a Sweep Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-37
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29.2 Customizing the Graphics Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-39 29.2.1 29.2.2 29.2.3 29.2.4 29.2.5 29.2.6 29.2.7 Overlay of Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-39 Opening Multiple Graphics Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-41 Controlling Captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-42 Adding Text to the Graphics Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-43 Changing the Colormap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-46 Adding Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-51 Modifying the Rendering Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-53
29.3 Controlling the Mouse Button Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-56 29.4 Modifying the View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-58 29.4.1 29.4.2 29.4.3 29.4.4 Scaling, Centering, Rotating, Translating, and Zooming the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-58 Controlling Perspective and Camera Parameters . . . . . . . . . 29-61 Saving and Restoring Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-64 Mirroring and Periodic Repeats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-65
29.5 Composing a Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-71 29.5.1 29.5.2 29.5.3 29.5.4 29.5.5 29.5.6 29.5.7 Selecting the Object(s) to be Manipulated . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-72 Changing an Objects Display Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-73 Transforming Geometric Objects in a Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-75 Modifying Iso-Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-78 Modifying Pathline Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-79 Deleting an Object from the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-81 Adding a Bounding Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-81
29.6 Animating Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-83 29.6.1 29.6.2 29.6.3 29.6.4 29.6.5 Creating an Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-84 Playing an Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-85 Saving an Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-87 Reading an Animation File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-89 Notes on Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-89
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29.7 Creating Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-90 29.7.1 29.7.2 29.7.3 29.7.4 Recording Animations To Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-90 Equipment Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-91 Recording an Animation with FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-93 General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-100
29.8 Histogram and XY Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-101 29.8.1 29.8.2 29.8.3 29.8.4 29.8.5 29.8.6 29.8.7 29.8.8 29.8.9 Plot Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-101 XY Plots of Solution Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-102 XY Plots of File Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-108 XY Plots of Circumferential Averages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-111 XY Plot File Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-114 Residual Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-115 Solution Histograms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-116 Modifying Axis Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-117 Modifying Curve Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-119
29.9 Turbomachinery Postprocessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-122 29.9.1 29.9.2 29.9.3 29.9.4 29.9.5 29.9.6 29.9.7 Dening the Turbomachinery Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-122 Generating Reports of Turbomachinery Data . . . . . . . . . . . 29-125 Displaying Turbomachinery Averaged Contours . . . . . . . . . . 29-136 Displaying Turbomachinery 2D Contours . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-138 Generating Averaged XY Plots of Turbomachinery Solution Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-140 Globally Setting the Turbomachinery Topology . . . . . . . . . . 29-141 Turbomachinery-Specic Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-142
29.10 Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Postprocessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-142 29.10.1 Limitations of the FFT Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-143 29.10.2 Windowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-143 29.10.3 Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-144 29.10.4 Using the FFT Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-145
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30 Alphanumeric Reporting
30-1
30.1 Reporting Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-2 30.2 Fluxes Through Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-2 30.2.1 Generating a Flux Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-3
30.3 Forces on Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-4 30.3.1 30.3.2 Computing Forces and Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-4 Generating a Force or Moment Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-6
30.4 Projected Surface Area Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-8 30.5 Surface Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-9 30.5.1 30.5.2 Computing Surface Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-10 Generating a Surface Integral Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-12
30.6 Volume Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-14 30.6.1 30.6.2 Computing Volume Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-15 Generating a Volume Integral Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-16
30.7 Histogram Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-17 30.8 Reference Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-18 30.8.1 30.8.2 Setting Reference Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-18 Setting the Reference Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-19
30.9 Summary Reports of Case Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-20 30.9.1 Generating a Summary Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-20 31-1
31 Field Function Denitions
31.1 Node, Cell, and Facet Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-1 31.1.1 31.1.2 31.1.3 Cell Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-1 Node Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-2 Facet Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-3
31.2 Velocity Reporting Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-4 31.3 Field Variables Listed by Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-6 31.4 Alphabetical Listing of Field Variables and Their Denitions . . . . . . . 31-20
TOC-41
CONTENTS
31.5 Custom Field Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-52 31.5.1 31.5.2 31.5.3 Creating a Custom Field Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-52 Manipulating, Saving, and Loading Custom Field Functions . . . 31-55 Sample Custom Field Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-56 32-1
32 Parallel Processing
32.1 Introduction to Parallel Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-1 32.2 Starting the Parallel Version of the Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-4 32.2.1 32.2.2 32.2.3 Starting the Parallel Solver on a UNIX System . . . . . . . . . . 32-4 Starting the Parallel Solver on a LINUX System . . . . . . . . . 32-9 Starting the Parallel Solver on a Windows System . . . . . . . . 32-11
32.3 Using the Fluent Launcher (Windows only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-15 32.3.1 32.3.2 32.3.3 Fluent Launcher Path Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-18 Fluent Launcher Machine Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-19 Fluent Launcher Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-20
32.4 Using a Parallel Network of Workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-21 32.4.1 32.4.2 32.4.3 Conguring the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-21 The Hosts Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-25 Checking Network Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-26
32.5 Partitioning the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-27 32.5.1 32.5.2 32.5.3 32.5.4 32.5.5 32.5.6 Overview of Grid Partitioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-27 Partitioning the Grid Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-29 Partitioning the Grid Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-30 Grid Partitioning Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-35 Checking the Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-43 Load Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-45
TOC-42
CONTENTS
32.6 Checking and Improving Parallel Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-46 32.6.1 32.6.2 32.6.3 Checking Parallel Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-46 Improving Input/Output Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-46 Optimizing the Parallel Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-46
32.7 Running Parallel FLUENT under SGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-49 32.7.1 32.7.2 32.7.3 Overview of FLUENT and SGE Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-49 Conguring SGE for FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-50 Running a FLUENT Simulation under SGE . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-52
32.8 Running Parallel FLUENT under LSF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-54 32.8.1 32.8.2 32.8.3 32.8.4 32.8.5 32.8.6 32.8.7 32.8.8 Overview of FLUENT and LSF Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-55 Checkpointing and Restarting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-55 Conguring LSF for FLUENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-57
Submitting a FLUENT Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-58 Checkpointing FLUENT Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-58 Restarting FLUENT Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-59 Migrating FLUENT Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-59 Using FLUENT and LSF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-59
32.9 Running Parallel FLUENT under Other Resource Management Tools . . 32-62 A FLUENT Model Compatibility A-1
A.1 FLUENT Model Compatibility Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1 B Case and Data File Formats B-1
B.1 Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1 B.2 Formatting Conventions in Binary and Formatted Files . . . . . . . . . . B-2 B.3 Grid Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2 B.3.1 B.3.2 B.3.3 B.3.4 Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3 Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3 Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4 Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4
TOC-43
CONTENTS
B.3.5 B.3.6 B.3.7 B.3.8 B.3.9
Periodic Shadow Faces
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5
Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6 Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-8 Face Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-9 Cell Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
B.3.10 Interface Face Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11 B.4 Other (Non-Grid) Case Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-18 B.4.1 B.4.2 Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-18 Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-21
B.5 Data Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-21 B.5.1 B.5.2 B.5.3 Grid Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-21 Data Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-22 Residuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-23
TOC-44
Chapter 1.
Starting and Executing FLUENT
This chapter provides instructions for starting and executing FLUENT. Section 1.1: Starting FLUENT Section 1.2: Remote Execution Section 1.3: Batch Execution Section 1.4: Checkpointing a FLUENT Simulation Section 1.5: Cleaning Up Processes From a FLUENT Simulation Section 1.6: Exiting the Program
1.1
Starting FLUENT
The way you start FLUENT will be dierent for UNIX and Windows systems, as described below in Sections 1.1.2 and 1.1.3. The installation process (described in the separate installation instructions for your computer type) is designed to ensure that the FLUENT program is launched when you follow the appropriate instructions. If it is not, consult your computer systems manager or your Fluent support engineer.
1.1.1
Single-Precision and Double-Precision Solvers
Both single-precision and double-precision versions of FLUENT are available on all computer platforms. For most cases, the single-precision solver will be suciently accurate, but certain types of problems may benet from the use of a double-precision version. Several examples are listed below: If your geometry has features of very disparate length scales (e.g., a very long, thin pipe), single-precision calculations may not be adequate to represent the node coordinates. If your geometry involves multiple enclosures connected via small-diameter pipes (e.g., automotive manifolds), mean pressure levels in all but one of the zones can be quite large (since you can set only one global reference pressure location). Doubleprecision calculations may therefore be necessary to resolve the pressure dierences that drive the ow, since these will typically be much smaller than the pressure levels.
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For conjugate problems involving high thermal-conductivity ratios and/or highaspect-ratio grids, convergence and/or accuracy may be impaired with the singleprecision solver, due to inecient transfer of boundary information.
1.1.2
Starting FLUENT on a UNIX System
There are several ways to start FLUENT on a UNIX system: Start the appropriate version from the command line. Start the solver from the command line without specifying a version, and then use the Select Solver panel to choose the appropriate version. Start the solver from the command line without specifying a version, and then read in a case le (or a case le and data le) to start the appropriate version.
Specifying the Solver Version from the Command Line

When you start FLUENT from the command line, you can specify the dimensionality of the problem (2D or 3D), as well as whether you want a single- or double-precision calculation: fluent 2d runs the two-dimensional, single-precision solver, fluent 3d runs the three-dimensional, single-precision solver, fluent 2ddp runs the two-dimensional, double-precision solver, and fluent 3ddp runs the three-dimensional, double-precision solver. See Section 32.2: Starting the Parallel Version of the Solver for information about starting the parallel solvers.
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1.1 Starting FLUENT
Specifying the Solver Version in the Select Solver Panel

If you type fluent on the command line with no arguments, the startup console window (the text window and the main menu bar) will appear as shown in Figure 1.1.1.
Figure 1.1.1: Console Window at Startup
You can start a single-precision version of FLUENT by typing 2d or 3d at the version> prompt. For a double-precision version, type 2ddp or 3ddp. If you would rather use the GUI to start the correct version, select the Run... menu item in the File menu. File Run... The Select Solver panel will appear as shown in Figure 1.1.2, and you can pick the appropriate version. (You can also start FLUENT on a remote machine or start the parallel version from this panel, as described in Sections 1.2 and 32.2.) You will normally follow the steps below to start a solver from the panel: 1. Specify a 2D or 3D solver by turning the 3D option on or o under Versions. 2. Specify the precision by turning the Double Precision option on or o under Versions. 3. Click the Run button. If the program executable is not in your search path, you can specify a complete pathname to the executable in the Program text entry box before clicking Run.
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Figure 1.1.2: The FLUENT version can be selected from the Select Solver panel
Specifying the Solver Version by Reading a Case File

As discussed above, if you type fluent on the command line without specifying a version argument, the console window will appear as shown in Figure 1.1.1. You can then automatically execute the appropriate solver by selecting a case le or case and data les using the File/Read/Case... or File/Read/Case & Data... menu item (see Section 4.3: Reading and Writing Case and Data Files) or using the read-case or read-case-data command in the version text menu. File Read Case... File/Read/Case... or read-case starts the solver that is appropriate for the specied case le and then reads in the le. File Read Case & Data... File/Read/Case & Data... or read-case-data starts the solver that is appropriate for the specied case le and then reads in the specied case and data les (where the case and data les have the same name with .cas and .dat extensions, respectively).
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1.1 Starting FLUENT
1.1.3
Starting FLUENT on a Windows System
There are two ways to start FLUENT on a Windows system: Click the Start button, select the Programs menu, select the Fluent.Inc menu, and then select the FLUENT 6 program item. (Note that if the default Fluent.Inc program group name was changed when FLUENT was installed, you will nd the FLUENT 6 menu item in the program group with the new name that was assigned, rather than in the Fluent.Inc program group.) Start from an MS-DOS Command Prompt window by typing fluent 2d (for the 2D single-precision solver), fluent 3d (for the 3D single-precision solver), fluent 2ddp (for the 2D double-precision solver), or fluent 3ddp (for the 3D doubleprecision solver) at the prompt. Before doing so, however, you must rst modify your user environment so that the MS-DOS Command utility will nd fluent. You can do this by selecting the program item Set Environment, which is also found in the Fluent.Inc program group. This program will add the Fluent.Inc directory to your command search path. From the MS-DOS Command Prompt window, you can also start the parallel version of FLUENT. To start the parallel version on x processors, type fluent version -tx at the prompt, replacing version with the desired solver version (2d, 3d, 2ddp, or 3ddp) and x with the number of processors (e.g., fluent 3d -t3 to run the 3D version on 3 processors). For information about the parallel version of FLUENT, see Chapter 32: Parallel Processing.
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1.1.4
Remote Simulation Facility (RSF)
FLUENTs Remote Simulation Facility (RSF) is a highly secure mechanism for executing large, complex simulations at a remote data center. You can use FLUENT to access the RSF using the File menu. File RSF... When you select this option, FLUENT displays the Remote Simulation Facility panel (Figure 1.1.3).
Figure 1.1.3: The Remote Simulation Facility Panel
If a case and data le are already loaded into FLUENT, the Case & Data button under Write will be active, which will allow you to write out the case and data les for the current session. You must save your case and data les in order to use them on the RSF. Once you save the case and data les and launch the RSF, you can exit from FLUENT. To start an RSF session, click Start RSF to open your web browser and load the page for the FLUENT Remote Simulation Facility (RSF). For more information about the RSF, see http://www.uent.com/software/rsolve/index.htm.
To link to the RSF on UNIX platforms, you must rst have installed the contents of the FLUENT 6.x Documentation CD, which contains the les necessary to launch your browser so you can automatically view the appropriate web pages.
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1.1 Starting FLUENT
1.1.5
Startup Options
To obtain information about available versions, releases, etc. before starting up the solver, you can type fluent -help. Available options are as shown below:
Usage: fluent [version] [-help] [options] options: -cl following argument passed to fluent, -cxarg following argument passed to cortex, -cx host:p1:p2 connect to the specified cortex process, -driver [ opengl | x11 | null ], sets the graphics driver (available drivers vary by platform), -env show environment variables, -g run without gui or graphics, -gr run without graphics, -gu run without gui, -hcl following argument passed to fluent host, -help this listing, -i journal read the specified journal file, -loadx load mpp from host x, -lsf run fluent under LSF, -manspa manually spawn compute nodes, -n no execute, -ncl following argument passed to fluent node, -nocheck disable checks for valid license file and server, -pathx specify root path x to Fluent.Inc, -post run a post-processing-only executable, -px specify communicator x, -r list all releases, -rx specify release x, -sge run fluent under Sun Grid Engine, -sgeq queue name of queue for a given computing grid, -sgeckpt ckpt_obj, set Checkpointing object to ckpt_obj for SGE, -sgepe fluent_pe min_n-max_n, set parallel environment for SGE to fluent_pe, min_n and max_n are number of min and max nodes requested, -v list all versions, -vx specify version x, -tx specify number of processors x,
On Windows systems, only -cx, -driver, -env, -gu (with restrictions), -help, -i journal, -r, -rx, -v, -vx, and -tx are available.
The rst three options are for specifying arguments for FLUENT and Cortex. Cortex is a process that provides the user interface and graphics for FLUENT. The op-
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tion -cx host:p1:p2 is used only when you are starting the solver manually (see Section 1.1.2: Specifying the Solver Version in the Select Solver Panel). If you type fluent -driver, you can specify the graphics driver to be used in the solver session (e.g., fluent -driver xgl). Typing fluent -env will list all environment variables before running FLUENT. fluent -g will run Cortex without graphics and without the graphical user interface. This option is useful if you are not on an X Window display or if you want to submit a batch job. fluent -gu will run Cortex without the graphical user interface and fluent -gr will run Cortex without graphics. (On Windows systems, fluent -gu will run FLUENT keeping it in a minimized window; if you maximize the window, the GUI will be available. This option can be used in conjunction with the -i journal option to run a job in background mode.) To start the solver and immediately read a journal le, type fluent -i journal, replacing journal with the name of the journal le you want to read. The -nocheck option speeds up the solver startup by not checking to see if the license server is running. This is useful if you know that the license daemon is running or you would rather not try to start it if it is not running (e.g., if you do not have privileges to do so). fluent -post will run a version of the solver that allows you to set up a problem or perform postprocessing, but will not allow you to perform calculations. Typing fluent version -r, replacing version with the desired version, will list all releases of the specied version. fluent -rx will run release x of FLUENT. You may specify a version as well, or you can wait and specify the version when prompted by the solver. fluent -v will list the available versions. fluent -vx will run version x of FLUENT. You can type fluent -n or use the -n option in conjunction with any of the others to see where the (specied) executable is without actually running it. The remaining options are used in association with the parallel solver. -hcl is used to pass an argument to the FLUENT host process and -ncl is used to pass an argument to the FLUENT compute node process(es). -loadx is used to start the parallel compute node processes on a dedicated parallel machine from its remote front-end machine (x). -manspa is used to disable the default automatic spawning of compute node processes. -px species the use of parallel communicator x, where x can be any of the communicators listed in Section 32.2.1: Running on a Multiprocessor UNIX Machine. -pathx species the root path (path) to the Fluent.Inc installation directory. -tx species that x processors are to be used. For more information about starting the parallel version of FLUENT, see Section 32.2: Starting the Parallel Version of the Solver.
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1.2 Remote Execution
1.2
Remote Execution
There may be situations when you want to view FLUENT on one machine, but run it on a dierent (remote) machine. This section explains how to do this.
1.2.1 Overview and Limitations

If FLUENT has been started without a version argument (e.g., 3d), you can select the solver after startup. Starting the solver in this manner allows you to run it on a remote processor. By default, when you type the command to start FLUENT and include the version, you actually start Cortex (a process that provides the user interface and graphics for FLUENT) and Cortex then starts FLUENT on the same processor on which Cortex is running. When you type the startup command without specifying a version, you just start Cortex. This gives you the opportunity to specify a dierent processor on which to run the solver. Note the following limitations when you run FLUENT on a remote UNIX machine from a local Windows machine: You will not be able to read or write les using the items in the File pull-down menu; use the text commands for reading and writing les instead. See the separate Text Command List for details. You will not be able to use user-dened functions.
1.2.2
Steps for Running on a Remote Machine
To run FLUENT on a remote processor, you will normally follow the procedure listed below. 1. Start FLUENT by typing the following: On a UNIX machine, type fluent On a Windows machine (in an MS-DOS Command Prompt window), type fluent -serv -a 2. Open the Select Solver panel. File Run... 3. In the Select Solver panel, under Remote Execution, set the internet name of the remote machine (Hostname), your username at that machine (Username), and your password at that machine (Password).
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4. Specify the appropriate solver version under Versions and Options in the Select Solver panel. (More information about these items is available in Sections 1.1 and 32.2.) 5. Click the Run button. If the remote processor refuses to start the solver, you may need to try the procedure described in Section 1.2.3: Starting the Solver Manually on the Remote Machine.
1.2.3
Starting the Solver Manually on the Remote Machine
If the remote process fails when you click the Run button in the Select Solver panel (as described in Section 1.2.2: Steps for Running on a Remote Machine), you can use the listen option to work around network security devices that prevent Cortex from creating a remote process directly. The procedure is as follows: 1. Click the Listen button in the Select Solver panel or type listen at the version> prompt (and press <RETURN> to accept the default time out). FLUENT will print a message telling you what arguments you should use to start the solver on a remote machine. The arguments will be in this format: -cx host:p1:p2 where host is the name of the host Cortex is running on, and :p1:p2 are two colon-separated integers indicating the port numbers being used. 2. Open a telnet or xterm window and log onto the remote machine where you want to launch the solver. 3. In the telnet or xterm window, type the following to start the desired version of FLUENT: fluent version -cx host:p1:p2 replacing version by the version that you wish to run (e.g., 3d), and the host and port numbers by the values displayed above when you clicked Listen in the Select Solver panel or typed listen in the FLUENT console window.
1.2.4
Executing Remotely by Reading a Case File
If you plan to start the appropriate version of FLUENT by reading in a case le (as described in Section 1.1.2: Specifying the Solver Version by Reading a Case File), but you wish to run the solver on a remote machine, you can specify the remote machine in the Select Solver panel as described in Section 1.2.2: Steps for Running on a Remote Machine, and then click Apply instead of Run. This will save the settings for remote execution. When you start the solver by specifying a case le, the solver will be run on the specied remote machine.
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1.3 Batch Execution
1.3
Batch Execution
FLUENT can be used interactively, with input from and display to your computer screen, or it can be used in a batch or background mode in which inputs are obtained from and outputs are stored in les. Generally you will perform problem setup, initial calculations, and postprocessing of results in an interactive mode. However, when you are ready to perform a large number of iterative calculations, you may want to run FLUENT in batch or background mode. This allows the computer resources to be prioritized, enables you to control the process from a le (eliminating the need for you to be present during the calculation), and also provides a record of the calculation history (residuals) in an output le. While the procedures for running FLUENT in a batch mode dier depending on your computer operating system, Section 1.3.1: Background Execution on UNIX Systems provides guidance for running in batch/background on UNIX systems, and Section 1.3.2: Background Execution on Windows Systems provides guidance for running in batch/background on Windows systems.
1.3.1
Background Execution on UNIX Systems
To run FLUENT in the background in a C-shell (csh) on a UNIX system, type a command of the following form at the system-level prompt: fluent 2d -g < inputfile >& outputfile & or in a Bourne/Korn-shell, type: fluent 2d -g < inputfile > outputfile 2>&1 & In these examples, fluent is the command you type to execute FLUENT interactively. -g indicates that the program is to be run without the GUI or graphics (see Section 1.1: Starting FLUENT). inputfile is a le of FLUENT commands that are identical to those that you would type interactively. outputfile is a le that the background job will create and which will contain the output that FLUENT would normally print to the screen (e.g., the menu prompts and residual reports). & tells the UNIX system to perform this task in background and to send all standard system errors (if any) to outputfile.
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The le inputfile can be a journal le created in an earlier FLUENT session, or it can be a le that you have created using a text editor. In either case, the le must consist only of text interface commands (since the GUI is disabled during batch execution). A typical inputfile is shown below:
; Read case file rc example.cas ; Initialize the solution /solve/initialize/initialize-flow ; Calculate 50 iterations it 50 ; Write data file wd example50.dat ; Calculate another 50 iterations it 50 ; Write another data file wd example100.dat ; Exit FLUENT exit yes
This example le reads a case le example.cas, initializes the solution, and performs 100 iterations in two groups of 50, saving a new data le after each 50 iterations. The nal line of the le terminates the session. Note that the example input le makes use of the standard aliases for reading and writing case and data les and for iterating. (it is the alias for /solve/iterate, rc is the alias for /file/read-case, wd is the alias for /file/write-data, etc.) These predened aliases allow you to execute commonly-used commands without entering the text menu in which they are found. In general, FLUENT assumes that input beginning with a / starts in the top-level text menu, so if you use any text commands for which aliases do not exist, you must be sure to type in the complete name of the command (e.g., /solve/initialize/initialize-flow). Note also that you can include comments in the le. As in the example above, comment lines must begin with a ; (semicolon). An alternate strategy for submitting your batch run, as follows, has the advantage that the outputfile will contain a record of the commands in the inputfile. In this approach, you would submit the batch job in a C-shell using: fluent 2d -g -i inputfile >& outputfile & or in a Bourne/Korn-shell using: fluent 2d -g -i inputfile > outputfile 2>&1 &
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1.3 Batch Execution
1.3.2
Background Execution on Windows Systems
To run FLUENT in the background on a Windows system, the following commands can be used: fluent 3d -g -i journal fluent 3d -g -wait -i journal fluent 3d -g -hidden -i journal In these examples, fluent is the command you type to execute FLUENT interactively. -g indicates that the program is to be run minimized in the taskbar. -i journal reads the specied journal le. -wait is the command you type in a DOS batch le or some other script in a situation where the script needs to wait until FLUENT has completed its run. -hidden is similar to the -wait command, but also executes FLUENT completely hidden and noninteractively. To get an output (or transcript) le while running FLUENT in the background on a Windows system, the journal le must contain the following command to write a transcript le: ; start transcript file /file/start-transcript outputfile.trn where the outputfile is a le that the background job will create and which will contain the output that FLUENT would normally print to the screen (e.g., the menu prompts and residual reports). See Section 4.7: Creating and Reading Journal Files for details about journal les. See Section 4.8: Creating Transcript Files for details about transcript les.
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1.3.3
Batch Execution Options
During a typical session, FLUENT may require feedback from you in the event of a problem it encounters. FLUENT usually communicates problems or questions through the use of Error dialog boxes, Warning dialog boxes, or Question dialog boxes. While executing FLUENT in batch mode, you may want to suppress this type of interaction in order to, for example, create journal les more easily. There are three common batch conguration options available to you when running FLUENT in batch mode. You can access these options using the Batch Options panel. File Batch Options...
Figure 1.3.1: The Batch Options Panel
The Batch Options panel contains the following items: Conrm File Overwrite determines whether FLUENT conrms a le overwrite. This option is turned on by default. Hide Questions allows you to hide Question dialog boxes. This option is turned o by default. Exit on Error allows you to automatically exit from batch mode when an error occurs. This option is turned o by default. Note that these options are also available in the file/set-batch-options command in the text interface. file set-batch-options Any combination of these options can be turned on or o at any given time prior to running in batch mode.
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1.4 Checkpointing a FLUENT Simulation
Batch option settings are not saved with case les. They are meant to apply for the duration of the current FLUENT session only. If you read in additional mesh or case les during this session, the batch option settings will not be altered. As batch options are not saved with case les, journal les developed for use in batch mode should begin by enabling the desired batch option settings (if dierent from the default settings).
1.4
Checkpointing a FLUENT Simulation

The checkpointing feature of FLUENT allows you to save case and data les while your simulation is running. While similar to the autosave feature of FLUENT (Section 4.3.4: Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files), which allows you to save les throughout a simulation, checkpointing allows you slightly more control in that you can save a FLUENT job even after you have started the job and did not set the autosave option. Checkpointing also allows you to save case and data les and then exit out of FLUENT. This feature is especially useful when you need to stop a FLUENT job abruptly and save its data. There are two dierent ways to checkpoint a FLUENT simulation, depending upon how the simulation has been started. 1. FLUENT running under LSF or SGE FLUENT is integrated with load management tools like LSF and SGE. These two tools allow you to checkpoint any job running under them. You can use the standard method provided by these tools to checkpoint the FLUENT job. For more information on using FLUENT and SGE, see Section 32.7: Running Parallel FLUENT under SGE. For more information about using FLUENT and LSF, see Section 32.8: Running Parallel FLUENT under LSF. 2. Independently running FLUENT When not using tools such as LSF or SGE, a dierent checkpointing mechanism can be used when running a FLUENT simulation. You can checkpoint a FLUENT simulation by saving case and data les while iterating, or by saving case and data les upon exiting FLUENT. Saving case and data les while iterating: On UNIX, create a le called check-fluent, i.e., /tmp/check-fluent On Windows NT, create a le called check-fluent.txt, i.e., c:\\temp\check-fluent.txt
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Saving case and data les and exiting FLUENT: On UNIX, create a le called check-fluent, i.e., /tmp/exit-fluent On Windows NT, create a le called check-fluent.txt, i.e., c:\\temp\exit-fluent.txt The saved case and data les will have the current iteration number appended to their le names. To change the default location of these saved case and data les, you can use the following Scheme commands: (set! checkpoint/check-filename "pathname") and (set! checkpoint/exit-filename "pathname") where pathname is the path you wish to set as the new default location of the saved case and data les.
1.5
Cleaning Up Processes From a FLUENT Simulation

FLUENT lets you easily remove extraneous processes in the event that a FLUENT simulation needs to be stopped. When a session is started, FLUENT creates a kill-fluent script le. The script can be used to cleanly kill all FLUENT-related processes. FLUENT creates the kill-script le in the current working directory with a le name that includes the machine name and the process identication number (PID) (e.g., kill-fluent-mymachine-1234). On UNIX and Linux platforms, if the current directory does not possess the proper write permissions, then FLUENT will write the kill-script le to your home directory. On Windows, FLUENT will save the kill-script le to a dierent directory (i.e., %APPDATA%/Fluent.Inc where it is assumed that the APPDATA environment variable is already dened). The Fluent.Inc directory will be created if it is not already present. If, for example, FLUENT is started on a machine called thor and the process identication number is 32895, FLUENT will create a kill-script called kill-fluent-thor-32895 in the current directory. To run the kill-script, and kill all FLUENT processes related to your session, on Linux or UNIX platforms, type the following command in the console window: sh kill-fluent-thor-32895
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1.6 Exiting the Program
Or, if the shell script already has executable permissions, simply type: kill-fluent-thor-32895 To clean up extraneous FLUENT processes on Windows, double-click the corresponding batch le (e.g., kill-fluent-thor-32895.bat) that FLUENT generates at the beginning of each session.
1.6
Exiting the Program

You can exit FLUENT by selecting Exit in the File pull-down menu. If the present state of the program has not been written to a le, you will receive a warning message. You can cancel the exit and write the appropriate le(s) or you can continue to exit without saving the case or data.
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Chapter 2.
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
The user interface to FLUENT consists of a graphical interface with pull-down menus, panels, and dialogs, as well as a textual command line interface (described in Chapter 3: Text User Interface (TUI)). Section 2.1: GUI Components Section 2.2: Customizing the Graphical User Interface (UNIX Systems Only) Section 2.3: Using the GUI Help System
2.1
GUI Components
The graphical user interface (GUI) is made up of four main components: a console window, control panels, dialog boxes, and graphics windows. When you use the GUI, you will be interacting with one of these components at all times. Figure 2.1.1 is a sample screen shot showing all of the GUI components. The four GUI components are described in detail in subsequent sections. On UNIX systems, the attributes of the GUI (including colors and text fonts) can be customized to better match your platform environment. This is described in Section 2.2: Customizing the Graphical User Interface (UNIX Systems Only).
2.1.1
Console
The FLUENT Console is the main window that controls the execution of the program. When using the Console to interact with FLUENT, you have a choice between a text user interface (TUI) and a graphical user interface (GUI). The Console contains a terminal emulator for the TUI and a menu bar for the GUI. Terminal Emulator The terminal emulator is similar in behavior to xterm or other UNIX command shell tools, or to the MS-DOS Command Prompt window on Windows systems. It allows you to interact with the TUI menu. More information on the TUI can be found in Chapter 3: Text User Interface (TUI).
2-1
Console
Graphics WIndow
Dialog
Panel
Figure 2.1.1: Screen Shot Showing GUI Components
Figure 2.1.2: The Console
2-2
2.1 GUI Components
All textual output from the program (e.g., error messages) is printed in the terminal emulator, and all typing is displayed on the bottom line. As the number of text lines grows, the lines will be scrolled o the top of the window. The scroll bar on the right allows you to go back and look at the preceding text. The terminal emulator accepts <Control-C> to let you interrupt the program while it is working. It also lets you perform text copy and paste operations between the Console and other X Window (or Windows) applications (that support copy and paste). The following steps show you how to perform a copy and paste operation on a UNIX system: 1. Move the pointer to the beginning of the text to be copied. 2. Press and hold down the left mouse button. 3. Move the pointer to the end of the text (text should be highlighted). 4. Release the left mouse button. 5. Move the pointer to the target window. 6. Press the middle mouse button to paste the text. On a Windows system, you will follow the steps below to copy text to the clipboard: 1. Move the pointer to the beginning of the text to be copied. 2. Press and hold down the left mouse button. 3. Move the pointer to the end of the text (text should be highlighted). 4. Release the left mouse button. 5. Press the <Ctrl> and <Insert> keys together.
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Menu Bar The menu bar organizes the GUI menu hierarchy using a set of pull-down menus. A pull-down menu contains items that perform commonly executed actions. Figure 2.1.3 shows the FLUENT menu bar. Menu items are arranged to correspond to the typical sequence of actions that you perform in FLUENT (i.e., from left to right and from top to bottom).
Figure 2.1.3: The FLUENT Menu Bar
To select a pull-down menu item with the mouse, follow the procedure outlined below: 1. Move the pointer to the name of the pull-down menu. 2. Click the left mouse button to display the pull-down menu. 3. Move the pointer to the item you wish to select and click it. 4. Release the left mouse button. In addition to using the mouse, you can also select a pull-down menu item using the keyboard. Each pull-down menu label or menu item contains one underlined character, known as the mnemonic. Pressing the <Alt> key plus the mnemonic character of a pulldown menu will display the menu. Once the pull-down menu is selected and displayed, you can type a mnemonic character associated with an item to select that item. If at any time you wish to cancel a menu selection while a pull-down menu is posted, you can press the <ESC> key. For example, to display the Help menu and select the Using Help... option, press <ALT> h, then h. A pull-down menu item may also have an accelerator key associated with it. An accelerator key can be used to select a menu item without displaying the pull-down menu. If a menu item has an associated accelerator key, the key will be shown to the right of the item. For example, if a pull-down menu contains the item Iterate... Ctrl+I, you can select this item by holding down the <Ctrl> key and pressing the I key.
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2.1 GUI Components
2.1.2
Dialog Boxes
Dialog boxes are used to perform simple input/output tasks, such as issuing warning and error messages, or asking a question requiring a yes or no answer. A dialog box is a separate temporary window that appears when FLUENT needs to communicate with you. When a dialog box appears on your screen, you should take care of it before moving on to other tasks. Once you have tended to the dialog box, it will be closed, and then you can continue. Each type of dialog box is described below. Information Dialog Box
The Information dialog box is used to report some information that FLUENT thinks you should know. Once you have read the information, you can click the OK button to close the dialog box. Warning Dialog Box
The Warning dialog box is used to warn you of a potential problem and ask you whether or not you want to proceed with the current operation. If you click the OK button, the operation will proceed. If you click the Cancel button, the operation will be canceled.
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Error Dialog Box
The Error dialog box is used to alert you that an error that has occurred. Once you have read the error information, you can click the OK button to close the dialog box. Working Dialog Box
The Working dialog box is displayed when FLUENT is busy performing a task. This is a special dialog box, because it requires no action by you. It is there to let you know that you must wait. When the program is nished, it will close the dialog box automatically. You can, however, abort the task that is being performed by clicking the Cancel button. Question Dialog Box
The Question dialog box is used to ask you a question that requires a yes or no answer. You can click the appropriate button to answer the question.
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2.1 GUI Components
Select File Dialog Box (Windows) File selection on Windows systems is accomplished using the standard Windows Select File dialog box.
Figure 2.1.4: The Select File Dialog for Windows
See documentation regarding your Windows system for further instructions on le selection. Select File Dialog Box (Unix or Linux) For Unix or Linux systems, note that the appearance of the Select File dialog box will not always be the same. The version shown above will appear in almost all cases, but it will be dierent if you are loading external data les for use in an XY plot (see the Users Guide for more information). In such cases, the dialog box will look like the following version. The steps for le selection are as follows: 1. Go to the appropriate directory. You can do this in two dierent ways: Enter the path to the desired directory in the Filter text entry box and then press the <RETURN> key or click the Filter button. Be sure to include the nal / character in the pathname, before the optional search pattern (described below). Double-click a directory, and then a subdirectory, etc. in the Directories list until you reach the directory you want. You can also click once on a directory and then click the Filter button, instead of double-clicking. Note that the . item represents the current directory and the .. item represents the parent directory.
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Figure 2.1.5: The Select File Dialog for Unix or Linux Platforms
2. Specify the le name by selecting it in the Files list or entering it in the File text entry box (if available) at the bottom of the dialog box. The name of this text entry box will change depending on the type of le you are selecting (Case File, Journal File, etc.).
Note that if you are searching for an existing le with a nonstandard extension, you may need to modify the search pattern at the end of the path in the Filter text entry box. For example, if you are reading a data le, the default extension in the search path will be *.dat*, and only those les that have a .dat extension will appear in the Files list. If you want les with a .DAT extension to appear in the Files list, you can change the search pattern to *.DAT*. If you want all les in the directory to be listed in the Files list, enter just * as the search pattern.
3. If you are reading multiple XY-plot data les, the selected le will be added to the list of XY File(s). You can choose another le, following the instructions above, and it will also be added to this list. (If you accidentally select the wrong le, you can choose it in the XY File(s) list and click the Remove button to remove it from the list of les to be read.) Repeat until all of the desired les are in the XY File(s) list. 4. If you are writing a case, data, or radiation le, use the Write Binary Files check box to specify whether the le should be written as a text or binary le. You can read and edit a text le, but it will require more storage space than the same le
2-8
2.1 GUI Components
Figure 2.1.6: Another Version Select File Dialog for Unix or Linux Platforms
in binary format. Binary les take up less space and can be read and written by FLUENT more quickly. 5. Click the OK button to read or write the specied le. Shortcuts for this step are as follows: If your le appears in the Files list and you are not reading an XY le, doubleclick it instead of just selecting it. This will automatically activate the OK button. (If you are reading an XY le, you will always have to click OK yourself. Clicking or double-clicking will just add the selected le to the XY File(s) list.) If you entered the name of the le in the File text entry box, you can press the <RETURN> key instead of clicking the OK button.
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2.1.3
Panels
Panels are used to perform more complicated input tasks. Similar to a dialog box, a panel is displayed in a separate window, but working with a panel is more akin to lling out a form. Each panel is unique and employs various types of input controls that make up the form. The types of controls you will see are described further in this section. When you have nished entering data in a panels controls, you will need to apply the changes you have made, or cancel the changes, if desired. For this task, each panel falls into one of two behavioral categories, depending on how it was designed. The rst category of panels is used in situations where it is desirable to apply the changes and immediately close the panel. This type of panel includes two button controls as described below: OK applies any changes you have made to the panel, then closes the panel. Cancel closes the panel, ignoring any changes you have made. An example of this type of panel is shown below:
The other category of panels is used in situations where it is desirable to keep the panel displayed on the screen after changes have been applied. This makes it easy to quickly go back to that panel and make more changes. Panels used for postprocessing and grid adaption often fall into this category. This type of panel includes two button controls as described below: Apply applies any changes you have made to the panel, but does not close the panel. The name of this button is often changed to something more descriptive. For example, many of the postprocessing panels use the name Display for this button, and the adaption panels use the name Adapt. Close closes the panel.
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2.1 GUI Components
An example of this type of panel is shown below:
All panels include the following button used to access on-line help: Help displays information about the controls in the panel. The help information will appear in your web browser. Each type of input control utilized by the panels is described below. Note that the examples shown here are for a UNIX system; if you are working on a Windows system, your panel controls may look slightly dierent, but they will work exactly as described here. Tab
Much like the tabs on a notebook divider, tabs in panels are used to mark the dierent sections into which a panel is divided. A panel that contains many controls may be divided into dierent sections to reduce the amount of screen space it occupies. You can access each section of the panel by clicking the left mouse button on the corresponding tab. A click is one press and release of the mouse button.
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Button
A button, also referred to as a push button, is used to perform a function indicated by the button label. To activate a button, place the pointer over the button and click the left mouse button. Check Box
A check box, also referred to as a check button, is used to turn on/o an item or action indicated by the check box label. Click the left mouse button on the check box to toggle the state. Radio Buttons
Radio buttons are a set of check boxes with the condition that only one can be set in the on position at a time. When you click the left mouse button on a radio button, it will be turned on, and all others will be turned o. Radio buttons appear either as diamonds (as shown above) or as circles. Text Entry
A text entry lets you type text input. It will often have a label associated with it to indicate the purpose of the entry.
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2.1 GUI Components
Integer Number Entry
An integer number entry is similar to a text entry except it allows only integer numbers to be entered (e.g., 10, -10, 50000 and 5E4). You may nd it easier to enter large integer numbers using scientic notation. For example, you could enter 350000 or 3.5E5. The integer number entry also has arrow buttons that allow you to easily increase or decrease its value. For most integer number entry controls, the value will be increased (or decreased) by one when you click an arrow button. You can increase the size of the increment by holding down a keyboard key while clicking the arrow button. The keys used are shown below: Key Factor of Increase Shift 10 Ctrl 100 Real Number Entry
A real number entry is similar to a text entry, except it allows only real numbers to be entered (e.g., 10, -10.538, 50000.45 and 5.72E-4). In most cases, the label will show the units associated with the real number entry. Single-Selection List
A single-selection list contains zero or more items. Each item is printed on a separate line in the list. You can select an item by placing the pointer over the item line and clicking
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with the left mouse button. The selected item will become highlighted. Selecting another item will deselect the previously selected item in the list. Many panels will also accept a double-click in order to invoke the panel action that is associated with the list selection (see information on the panel of interest for more details). Multiple-Selection List
A multiple selection list is similar to a single-selection list, except it allows for more than one selected item at a time. When you click the left mouse button on an item, its selection state will toggle. Clicking on an unselected item will select it. Clicking on a selected item will deselect it. To select a range of items in a multiple-selection list, you can select the rst desired item, and then select the last desired item while holding down the <Shift> key. The rst and last items, and all the items between them, will be selected. You can also click and drag the left mouse button to select multiple items. There are two small buttons in the upper right corner of the multiple selection list that accelerate the task of selecting or deselecting all the items in the list. Clicking on the rst button will select all items. Clicking on the second button will deselect all items. Drop-Down List
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2.1 GUI Components
A drop-down list is a hidden single-selection list that shows only the current selection to save space. When you want to change the selection, follow the steps below: 1. Click the arrow button to display the list. 2. Place the pointer over the new list item. 3. Click the left mouse button on the item to make the selection and close the list. If you wish to abort the selection operation while the list is displayed, you can move the pointer anywhere outside the list and click the left mouse button. Scale
The scale is used to select a value from a predened range by moving a slider. The number shows the current value. To change the value, follow one of the procedures below: 1. Place the pointer over the slider. 2. Press and hold down the left mouse button. 3. Move the pointer along the slider bar to change the value. 4. Release the left mouse button. or 1. Place the pointer over the slider and click the left mouse button. 2. Using the arrow keys on the keyboard, move the slider bar left or right to change the value.
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Figure 2.1.7: Sample Graphics Display Window
2.1.4 Graphics Display Windows

Graphics display windows (e.g., Figure 2.1.7) are separate windows that display the programs graphical output. The Display Options panel can be used to change the attributes of the graphics display or to open another display window. The Mouse Buttons panel can be used to set the action taken when a mouse button is pressed in the display window.
To cancel a display operation, press <Control-C> while data are being processed in preparation for graphical display. You cannot cancel the operation after the program begins to draw in the graphics window.
For Windows systems, there are special features for printing the contents of the graphics window directly. These features are not available on UNIX systems.
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2.1 GUI Components
Printing the Contents of the Graphics Display Window (Windows Systems Only) If you are using the Windows version of FLUENT, the graphics windows system menu, displayed by clicking in the upper-left corner of the graphics window, contains the usual system commands, such as move, size, and close. Along with the system commands, FLUENT adds three more commands to the menu for printer and clipboard support. These commands are described below: Copy to Clipboard places a copy of the current picture into the Microsoft Windows clipboard. Some attributes of the copied picture can be changed using the Page Setup panel. The size of your graphics window aects the size of the text fonts used in the picture. For best results, experiment with the graphics window size and examine the resulting clipboard picture using the Windows clipboard viewer. Print... displays the Microsoft Windows Print dialog box, which enables you to send a copy of the picture to a printer. Some attributes of the copied picture can be changed using the Page Setup panel. Still more attributes of the nal print can be specied within the Microsoft Windows Print and Print Setup dialog boxes (see documentation for Microsoft Windows and your printer for details). Page Setup... displays the Page Setup panel, which allows you to change attributes of the picture copied to the clipboard, or to a printer. Page Setup Panel (Windows Systems Only) To open the Page Setup panel, select the Page Setup... menu item in the graphics display windows system menu. Controls Color allows you to specify a color or non-color picture. Color selects a color picture. Gray Scale selects a gray-scale picture. Monochrome selects a black-and-white picture. Color Quality allows you to specify the color mode used for the picture. True Color creates a picture dened by RGB values. This assumes that your printer or display has at least 65536 colors, or unlimited colors. Mapped Color creates a picture that uses a colormap. This is the right choice for devices that have 256 colors. Dithered Color creates a dithered picture that uses 20 colors or less.
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Figure 2.1.8: The Page Setup Panel (Windows Systems Only)
Clipboard Formats allows you to choose the desired format copied to the clipboard. The size of your graphics window can aect the size of the clipboard picture. For best results, experiment with the graphics window size and examine the resulting clipboard picture using the Windows clipboard viewer. Bitmap is a bitmap copy of the graphics window. DIB Bitmap is a device-independent bitmap copy of the graphics window. Metale is a Windows Metale. Enhanced Metale is a Windows Enhanced Metale. Picture Format allows you to specify a raster or a vector picture. Vector creates a vector picture. This format will have a higher resolution when printed, but some large 3D pictures may take a long time to print. Raster creates a raster picture. This format will have a lower resolution when printed, but some large 3D pictures may take much less time to print. Printer Scale % controls the amount of the page that the printed picture will cover. Decreasing the scaling will eectively increase the margin between the picture and the edge of the paper.
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2.2 Customizing the Graphical User Interface (UNIX Systems Only)
Options contains options that control other attributes of the picture. Landscape Orientation (Printer) species the orientation of the picture. If selected, the picture is made in landscape mode; otherwise, it is made in portrait mode. This option is applicable only when printing. Reverse Foreground/Background species that the foreground and background colors of the picture will be swapped. This feature allows you to make a copy of the picture with a white background and a black foreground, while the graphics window is displayed with a black background and white foreground.
2.2
Customizing the Graphical User Interface (UNIX Systems Only)

On UNIX systems, you may wish to customize the graphical user interface by changing attributes such as text color, background color, and text fonts. The program will try to provide default text fonts that are satisfactory for your platforms display size, but in some cases customization may be necessary if the default text fonts make the GUI too small or too large on your display, or if the default colors are undesirable. The GUI in FLUENT is based on the X Window System Toolkit and OSF/Motif. The attributes of the GUI are represented by X Window resources. If you are unfamiliar with the X Window System Resource Database, please refer to any documentation you may have that describes how to use the X Window System or OSF/Motif applications. The default X Window resource values for a medium resolution display are shown below: ! ! General resources ! Fluent*geometry: +0-0 Fluent*fontList: *-helvetica-bold-r-normal--12-* Fluent*MenuBar*fontList: *-helvetica-bold-r-normal--12-* Fluent*XmText*fontList: *-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-* Fluent*XmTextField*fontList: *-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-* Fluent*foreground: black Fluent*background: gray75 Fluent*activeForeground: black Fluent*activeBackground: gray85 Fluent*disabledTextColor: gray55 Fluent*XmToggleButton.selectColor: green Fluent*XmToggleButtonGadget.selectColor: green Fluent*XmText.translations:\ #override<Key>Delete: delete-previous-character() Fluent*XmTextField.translations:\ #override<Key>Delete: delete-previous-character()
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! ! Console resources ! Fluent*ConsoleText.rows: 24 Fluent*ConsoleText.columns: 80 Fluent*ConsoleText.background: linen ! ! Help Viewer resources ! Fluent*Hyper.foreground: black Fluent*Hyper.background: linen Fluent*Hyper.hyperColor: SlateBlue3 Fluent*Hyper*normalFont:\ *-new century schoolbook-medium-r-normal--12-* Fluent*Hyper*hyperFont:\ *-new century schoolbook-bold-r-normal--12-* Fluent*Hyper*texLargeFont:\ *-new century schoolbook-bold-r-normal--14-* Fluent*Hyper*texBoldFont:\ *-new century schoolbook-bold-r-normal--12-* Fluent*Hyper*texFixedFont:\ *-courier-bold-r-normal--12-* Fluent*Hyper*texItalicFont:\ *-new century schoolbook-medium-i-normal--12-* Fluent*Hyper*texMathFont:\ *-symbol-medium-r-normal--14-* Fluent*Hyper*texSansFont:\ *-helvetica-bold-r-normal--12-* To customize one or more of the resources for a particular user, place appropriate resource specication lines in that users le $HOME/.Xdefaults or whatever resource le is loaded by the X Window System on the users platform. To customize one or more of the resources for several users at a site, place the resource specication lines in an application defaults resource le called Fluent. This le should then be installed in a directory such as /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults, or on SUN workstations, the directory may be /usr/openwin/lib/app-defaults. See documentation regarding your platform for more information.
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2.3 Using the GUI Help System
2.3
Using the GUI Help System

FLUENT includes an intergrated HTML-based on-line help system that provides easy access to the program documentation. Through the graphical user interface, you have the entire Users Guide and other documentation available to you with the click of a mouse button. The Users Guide and other manuals are displayed in your web browser, and you can use the hypertext links and the browsers search and navigation tools (as well as the additional navigation tools described in the separate Getting Started Guide ) to nd the information you need. There are many ways to access the information contained in the on-line help. You can get reference information from within a panel or (on UNIX machines) request contextsensitive help for a particular menu item or panel. You can also go to the Users Guide contents page or index, and use the hypertext links there to nd the information you are looking for. In addition to the Users Guide, you can also access the other FLUENT documentation (e.g., the Tutorial Guide or UDF Manual ). Note that the Reference Guide, which is the last chapter of the Users Guide in the on-line help, contains a description of each menu item and panel.
FLUENTs help system is HTML-based, so you need to have access to a web browser. You also need to have installed the HTML les from the documentation CD-ROM. See the separate installation instructions for your platform type for information about installing the les from the documentation CD-ROM.
This section focuses on the Help menu in FLUENT, and how you can use it (and the Help button in each panel) to access the HTML-based on-line help from within FLUENT. See the separate Getting Started Guide for more information about accessing the documentation outside of FLUENT. The Getting Started Guide also provides additional information about navigating and nding information in the Users Guide (and other manuals), as well as guidelines for modifying the appearance of the HTML versions of the manuals.
2.3.1
Panel Help
To get help about a panel that you are currently using, click the Help button in the panel. The web browser will open to the section of the Reference Guide that explains the function of each item in the panel. In this section you will also nd hypertext links to the section(s) of the Users Guide that discuss how to use the panel and provide related information.
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2.3.2
Context-Sensitive Help (UNIX Only)
If you want to nd out how or when a particular menu item or panel is used, you can use the context-sensitive help feature. Select the Context-Sensitive Help item in the Help pull-down menu. Help Context-Sensitive Help With the resulting question-mark cursor, select an item from a pull-down menu. The web browser will open to the section of the Users Guide that discusses the selected item.
2.3.3
Opening the Users Guide Table of Contents
To see a list of the chapters in the Users Guide, select the Users Guide Contents... menu item in the Help pull-down menu. Help Users Guide Contents... Selecting this item will open the web browser to the contents page of the Users Guide (Figure 2.3.1). Each chapter in the list is a hypertext link that you can click to view that chapter. There is also an Expanded Contents link, which will display a list of contents including all section titles in addition to the chapter titles. Each of these is a link to the corresponding chapter or section of the manual.
2.3.4
Opening the Users Guide Index
To see the index for the Users Guide, select the Users Guide Index... menu item in the Help pull-down menu. Help Users Guide Index... Selecting this menu item will open the web browser to the A page of the index (Figure 2.3.2). You can use the links at the top and bottom of the page to access the index pages for other letters of the alphabet. Next to each entry in the index you will nd one or more numbers, which are links. Clicking on one of these links will bring you to the corresponding place in the Users Guide where the index entry topic is discussed.
2.3.5
Opening the Reference Guide
To open the web browser to the rst page of the Reference Guide, which contains information about each panel or menu item, arranged by pull-down menu, click the Reference Guide hypertext link near the bottom of the Users Guide Contents page.
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Figure 2.3.1: The FLUENT Users Guide Contents Page
2-23
Figure 2.3.2: The FLUENT Users Guide Index
2-24
2.3.6
Help on Help
You can obtain information about using on-line help by selecting the Using Help... menu item in the Help pull-down menu. Help Using Help... When you select this item, the web browser will open to the beginning of this section.
2.3.7
Help for Text Interface Commands
There are two ways to nd information about text interface commands. You can either go to the Text Command List (which can be accessed using the Help/More Documentation... menu item, as described below), or use the text interface help system described in Section 3.6: Using the Text Interface Help System.
2.3.8
Accessing the Other Manuals
As noted above, you can access other manuals through the on-line help, in addition to the Users Guide. (You can also access the Users Guide in formats other than HTML namely, Adobe Acrobat PDFwhich is recommended if you want to print out an entire chapter or a long section.) To see what other FLUENT manuals are available, select the More Documentation... menu item in the Help pull-down menu. Help More Documentation... When you select this item, the web browser will open to the FLUENT documentation home page (Figure 2.3.3). See the separate Getting Started Guide for more information.
2.3.9
Accessing the User Services Center Web Site
You can access the Fluent User Services Center web site by selecting the User Services Center... menu item in the Help pull-down menu. Help User Services Center... FLUENT will direct your web browser to the appropriate web address.
To link to the User Services Center on UNIX platforms, you must rst have installed the contents of the FLUENT Documentation CD, which contains the les necessary to launch your browser so you can automatically view the appropriate web pages.
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Figure 2.3.3: The FLUENT Documentation Home Page
2.3.10
Accessing the Fluent Online Technical Support Web Site
You can access the Fluent Online Technical Support web site by selecting the Online Technical Support... menu item in the Help pull-down menu. Help Online Technical Support... FLUENT will direct your web browser to the appropriate web address.
2.3.11
Obtaining a Listing of Other FLUENT License Users
You can obtain a listing of current FLUENT users when you select the License Usage... menu item in the Help pull-down menu. Help License Usage... FLUENT will display a list the current users of the FLUENT license feature in the console window.
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2.3.12
Version and Release Information
You can obtain information about the version and release of FLUENT you are running by selecting the Version... menu item in the Help pull-down menu. Help Version...
2-27
2-28
Chapter 3.
Text User Interface (TUI)
In addition to the graphical user interface described in Chapter 2: Graphical User Interface (GUI), the user interface to FLUENT consists of textual command line interface. Section 3.1: Text Menu System Section 3.2: Text Prompt System Section 3.3: Interrupts Section 3.4: System Commands Section 3.5: Text Menu Input from Character Strings Section 3.6: Using the Text Interface Help System The text interface (TUI) uses, and is written in, a dialect of Lisp called Scheme. Users familiar with Scheme will be able to use the interpretive capabilities of the interface to create customized commands.
3.1
Text Menu System

The text menu system provides a hierarchical interface to the programs underlying procedural interface. Because it is text based, you can easily manipulate its operation with standard text-based tools: input can be saved in les, modied with text editors, and read back in to be executed. Because the text menu system is tightly integrated with the Scheme extension language, it can easily be programmed to provide sophisticated control and customized functionality. The menu system structure is similar to the directory tree structure of UNIX operating systems. When you rst start FLUENT, you are in the root menu and the menu prompt is simply a caret.
>
To generate a listing of the submenus and commands in the current menu, simply press <RETURN>.
3-1
> <RETURN> adapt/ define/ display/ exit
file/ grid/ parallel/ plot/
report/ solve/ surface/ view/
By convention, submenu names end with a / to dierentiate them from menu commands. To execute a command, just type its name (or an abbreviation). Similarly, to move down into a submenu, enter its name or an abbreviation. When you move into the submenu, the prompt will change to reect the current menu name.
> display /display> set /display/set>
To move back to the previously occupied menu, type q or quit at the prompt.
/display/set> q /display>
You can move directly to a menu by giving its full pathname.
/display> /file /display//file>
In the above example, control was passed from /display to /file without stopping in the root menu. Therefore, when you quit from the /file menu, control will be passed directly back to /display.
/display//file> q /display>
Furthermore, if you execute a command without stopping in any of the menus along the way, control will again be returned to the menu from which you invoked the command.
3-2
3.1 Text Menu System
/display> /file start-journal jrnl Input journal opened on file "jrnl". /display>
The text menu system provides on-line help for menu commands. The text menu on-line help system is described in Section 3.6: Using the Text Interface Help System.
3.1.1
Command Abbreviation
To select a menu command, you do not need to type the entire name; you can type an abbreviation that matches the command. The rules for matching a command are as follows: A command name consists of phrases separated by hyphens. A command is matched by matching an initial sequence of its phrases. Matching of hyphens is optional. A phrase is matched by matching an initial sequence of its characters. A character is matched by typing that character. If an abbreviation matches more than one command, then the command with the greatest number of matched phrases is chosen. If more than one command has the same number of matched phrases, then the rst command to appear in the menu is chosen. For example, each of the following will match the command set-ambientcolor: setambient-color, s-a-c, sac, and sa. When abbreviating commands, sometimes your abbreviation will match more than one command. In such cases, the rst command is selected. Occasionally, there is an anomaly such as lint not matching lightinginterpolation because the li gets absorbed in lights-on? and then the nt doesnt match interpolation. This can be resolved by choosing a dierent abbreviation, such as liin, or l-int.
3.1.2 Scheme Evaluation

If you enter an open parenthesis, (, at the menu prompt, then that parenthesis and all characters up to and including the matching closing parenthesis are passed to Scheme to be evaluated, and the result of evaluating the expression is displayed.
> (define a 1) a > (+ a 2 3 4) 10
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3.1.3
Aliases
Command aliases can be dened within the menu system. As with the UNIX csh shell, aliases take precedence over command execution. The following aliases are predened in Cortex: error, pwd, chdir, ls, ., and alias. error displays the Scheme object that was the irritant in the most recent Scheme error interrupt. pwd prints the working directory in which all le operations will take place. chdir will change the working directory. ls lists the les in the working directory. alias displays the list of symbols currently aliased.
3.2
Text Prompt System

Commands require various arguments, including numbers, lenames, yes/no responses, character strings, and lists. A uniform interface to this input is provided by the text prompt system. A prompt consists of a prompt string, followed by an optional units string enclosed in parentheses, followed by a default value enclosed in square brackets
filled grids? [no] <RETURN> shrink-factor [0.1] <RETURN> line-weight [1] <RETURN> title [""] <RETURN>
The default value for a prompt is accepted by typing a <RETURN> or a , (comma).
Note that a comma is not a separator. It is a separate token that indicates a default value. The sequence 1,2 results in three values; the number 1 for the rst prompt, the default value for the second prompt, and the number 2 for the third prompt.
A short help message can be displayed at any prompt by entering a ?. (See Section 3.6: Using the Text Interface Help System.) To abort a prompt sequence, simply press <Control-C>.
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3.2 Text Prompt System
3.2.1
Numbers
The most common prompt type is a number. Numbers can be either integers or reals. Valid numbers are, for example, 16, -2.4, .9E5, and +1E-5. Integers can also be specied in binary, octal, and hexadecimal form. The decimal integer 31 can be entered as 31, #b11111, #o37, or #x1f. In Scheme, integers are a subset of reals, so you do not need a decimal point to indicate that a number is real; 2 is just as much a real as 2.0. If you enter a real at an integer prompt, any fractional part will simply be truncated; 1.9 will become 1.
3.2.2
Booleans
Some prompts require a yes-or-no response. A yes/no prompt will accept either yes or y for a positive response, and no or n for a negative response. yes/no prompts are used for conrming potentially dangerous actions such as overwriting an existing le, exiting without saving case, data, mesh, etc. Some prompts require actual Scheme boolean values (true or false). These are entered with the Scheme symbols for true and false, #t and #f.
3.2.3
Strings
Character strings are entered in double quotes, e.g., "red". Plot titles and plot legend titles are examples of character strings. Character strings can include any characters, including blank spaces and punctuation.
3.2.4
Symbols
Symbols are entered without quotes. Zone names, surface names, and material names are examples of symbols. Symbols must start with an alphabetical character (i.e., a letter), and cannot include any blank spaces or commas.
3.2.5
Filenames
Filenames are actually just character strings. For convenience, lename prompts do not require the string to be surrounded with double quotes. If, for some exceptional reason, a lename contains an embedded space character, then the name must be surrounded with double quotes. One consequence of this convenience is that lename prompts do not evaluate the response. For example, the sequence
3-5
> (define fn "valve.ps") fn > hc fn
will end up writing a hardcopy le with the name fn, not valve.ps. Since the lename prompt did not evaluate the response, fn did not get a chance to evaluate "valve.ps" as it would for most other prompts.
3.2.6
Lists
Some functions in FLUENT require a list of objects such as numbers, strings, booleans, etc. A list is a Scheme object that is simply a sequence of objects terminated by the empty list, (). Lists are prompted for an element at a time, and the end of the list is signaled by entering an empty list. This terminating list forms the tail of the prompted list, and can either be empty or can contain values. For convenience, the empty list can be entered as () as well as the standard form (). Normally, list prompts save the previous argument list as the default. To modify the list, overwrite the desired elements and terminate the process with an empty list. For example,
element(1) element(2) element(3) element(4) [()] [()] [()] [()] 1 10 100 <RETURN>
creates a list of three numbers: 1, 10, and 100. Subsequently,

element(1) element(2) element(3) element(4) element(5) [1] <RETURN> [10] <RETURN> [100] <RETURN> [()] 1000 [()] <RETURN>
adds a fourth element. Then

element(1) [1] <RETURN> element(2) [10] <RETURN> element(3) [100] ()
leaves only 1 and 10 in the list. Subsequently entering
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3.3 Interrupts
element(1) [1] ,,(11 12 13)
creates a ve element list: 1, 10, 11, 12, and 13. Finally, a single empty list removes all elements
element(1) [1] ()
3.2.7
Evaluation
All responses to prompts (except lenames, see above) are evaluated by the Scheme interpreter before they are used. You can therefore enter any valid Scheme expression as the response to a prompt. For example, to enter a unit vector with one component equal to 1/3 (without using your calculator),
/foo> set-xy x-component [1.0] (/ 1 3) y-component [0.0] (sqrt (/ 8 9))
or, you could rst dene a utility function to compute the second component of a unit vector,
> (define (unit-y x) (sqrt (- 1.0 (* x x)))) unit-y /foo> set-xy x-component [1.0] (/ 1 3) y-component [0.0] (unit-y (/ 1 3))
3.2.8 Default Value Binding

The default value at any prompt is bound to the Scheme symbol _ (underscore) so that the default value can form part of a Scheme expression. For example, if you want to decrease a default value by one-third, you could enter
shrink-factor [0.8] (/ _ 3)
3.3
Interrupts
The execution of the code can be halted using <Control-C>, at which time the present operation stops at the next recoverable location.
3-7
3.4
System Commands
The way you execute system commands with the ! (bang) shell escape character will be slightly dierent for UNIX and Windows systems.
3.4.1 System Commands for UNIX-based Operating Systems

If you are running FLUENT under a UNIX-based operating system, all characters following the ! up to the next newline character will be executed in a subshell. Any further input related to these system commands must be entered in the window in which you started the program, and any screen output will also appear in that window. (Note that if you started FLUENT remotely, this input and output will be in the window in which you started Cortex.)
> !rm junk.* > !vi script.rp
!pwd and !ls will execute the UNIX commands in the directory in which Cortex was started. The screen output will appear in the window in which you started FLUENT, unless you started it remotely, in which case the output will appear in the window in which you started Cortex. (Note that !cd executes in a subshell, so it will not change the working directory either for FLUENT or for Cortex, and is therefore not useful.) Typing cd with no arguments will move you to your home directory in the console window. FLUENT includes three system command aliases (pwd, ls, and chdir) that will be executed in your working directory with output displayed in the FLUENT console window. Note that these aliases will invoke the corresponding UNIX commands with respect to the parent directory of the case le. For example, pwd prints the parent directory of the case le in the FLUENT console window, while !pwd prints the directory from which you started FLUENT in the UNIX shell window where you started FLUENT. Several examples of system commands entered in the console are shown below. The screen output that will appear in the window in which FLUENT was started (or, if you started the program remotely, in the window in which Cortex was started) follows the examples. Example input (in the FLUENT console):
> !pwd > !ls valve*.*
3-8
3.5 Text Menu Input from Character Strings
Example output (in the window in which FLUENTor Cortex, if you started the program remotelywas started):
/home/cfd/run/valve valve1.cas valve1.msh
valve2.cas
valve2.msh
3.4.2
System Commands for Windows Operating Systems
If you are running FLUENT under a Windows operating system, all characters following the ! up to the next newline character will be executed. The results of a command will appear in the FLUENT console, or in a separate window if the command starts an external program, such as Notepad.
> !del junk.* > !notepad script.rp
!cd and !dir will execute the DOS commands and the screen output will appear in the FLUENT console window. The !cd command with no argument will display the current working directory in the FLUENT console. Several examples of system commands entered in the console are shown below. Example input (in boxes) and output (in the FLUENT console):
> !cd p:/cfd/run/valve > !dir valve*.*/w Volume in drive P is users Volume Serial Number is 1234-5678 Directory of p:/cfd/run/valve valve1.cas valve1.msh valve2.cas valve2.msh 4 File(s) 621,183 bytes 0 Dir(s) 1,830,088,704 bytes free
3.5
Text Menu Input from Character Strings

Often, when writing a Scheme extension function for FLUENT, it is convenient to be able to include menu commands in the function. This can be done with ti-menu-load-string. For example, to open graphics window 1, use (ti-menu-load-string "di ow 1")
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A Scheme loop that will open windows 0 and 1 and display the front view of the grid in window 0 and the back view in window 1 is given by (for-each (lambda (window view) (ti-menu-load-string (format #f "di ow ~a gr view rv ~a" window view))) (0 1) (front back)) This loop makes use of the format function to construct the string used by menu-load-string. This simple loop could also be written without using menu commands at all, but you need to know the Scheme functions that get executed by the menu commands to do it: (for-each (lambda (window view) (cx-open-window window) (display-grid) (cx-restore-view view)) (0 1) (front back)) String input can also provide an easy way to create aliases within FLUENT. For example, to create an alias that will display the grid, you could type the following: (alias dg (lambda () (ti-menu-load-string "/di gr"))) Then any time you enter dg from anywhere in the menu hierarchy, the grid will be drawn in the active window. ti-menu-load-string evaluates the string argument in the top level menu. It ignores any menu you may be in when you invoke ti-menu-loadstring. Therefore, the command (ti-menu-load-string "open-window 1 gr") ; incorrect usage
will not work even if you type it from within the display/ menuthe string itself must cause control to enter the display/ menu, as in (ti-menu-load-string "display open-window 1 grid")
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3.6 Using the Text Interface Help System
3.6
Using the Text Interface Help System

The text user interface provides context-sensitive on-line help. Within the text menu system, a brief description of each of the commands can be invoked by entering a ? followed by the command in question. Example:
> ?dis display/: Enter the display menu.
You can also enter a lone ? to enter help mode. In this mode, you need only enter the command or menu name to display the help message. To exit help mode type q or quit as for a normal menu. Example:
> ? [help-mode]> di display/: Enter the display menu. [help-mode]> pwd pwd: #[alias] (LAMBDA () (BEGIN (SET! pwd-cmd ((LAMBDA n n) system (IF (cx-send (unix?)) "pwd" "cd"))) (cx-send pwd-cmd))) [help-mode]> q
Help can also be obtained when you are prompted for information by typing a ? at the prompt. Example:
> display/annotate Annotation text [""] ? Enter the text to annotate the plot with. Annotation text [""]
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3-12
Chapter 4.
Reading and Writing Files
During a FLUENT session you may need to import and export several kinds of les. Files that are read include mesh, case, data, prole, Scheme, and journal les. Files that are written include case, data, prole, journal, and transcript les. FLUENT also has features that allow you to save panel layouts and hardcopies of graphics windows. You can also export data for use with various visualization and postprocessing tools. These operations are described in the following sections. Section 4.1: Shortcuts for Reading and Writing Files Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files Section 4.3: Reading and Writing Case and Data Files Section 4.4: Reading FLUENT/UNS and RAMPANT Case and Data Files Section 4.5: Importing FLUENT 4 Case Files Section 4.6: Importing FIDAP Neutral Files Section 4.7: Creating and Reading Journal Files Section 4.8: Creating Transcript Files Section 4.9: Reading and Writing Prole Files Section 4.10: Reading and Writing Boundary Conditions Section 4.11: Writing a Boundary Grid Section 4.12: Saving Hardcopy Files Section 4.13: Exporting Data Section 4.14: Grid-to-Grid Solution Interpolation Section 4.15: Reading Scheme Source Files Section 4.16: The .fluent File Section 4.17: Saving the Panel Layout
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4.1
Shortcuts for Reading and Writing Files

The following features in FLUENT make reading and writing les convenient: Automatic appending or detection of default lename suxes. Binary le reading and writing. Automatic detection of le format (text/binary). Recent le list. Reading and writing of compressed les. Tilde expansion. Automatic numbering of les. Ability to disable the overwrite conrmation prompt.
4.1.1
Default File Sufxes
Each type of le read or written in FLUENT has a default le sux associated with it. When you specify the rst part of the lename (the prex) for the commonly used les, the solver automatically appends or detects the appropriate sux. For example, to write a case le named myfile.cas, just specify the prex myfile and .cas is automatically appended. Similarly, to read the case le named myfile.cas into the solver, you can just specify myfile and FLUENT automatically searches for a le of that name with the sux .cas. The default le sux for case and data les, PDF (Probability Density Function) les, DTRM ray les, proles, scheme les, journal les, etc., are automatically detected and appended. The appropriate default le sux appears in the Select File dialog box for each type of le.
4-2
4.1 Shortcuts for Reading and Writing Files
4.1.2
Binary Files
When you write a case, data, or ray le, a binary le is saved by default. Binary les take up less memory than text les and can be read and written by FLUENT more quickly. Note: You cannot read and edit a binary le, as you can do for a text le. To save a text le, turn o the Write Binary Files option in the Select File dialog box when you are writing the le.
FLUENT can read binary les that were saved on dierent platforms, but other products (such as TGrid) cannot. If you are planning to read a case le into TGrid on a dierent platform, you should save a text le in FLUENT.
4.1.3
Detecting File Format
When you read a case, data, mesh, PDF, or ray le, the solver automatically determines whether it is a text (formatted) le or binary le.
4-3
4.1.4
Recent File List
At the bottom of the File/Read submenu there is a list of four FLUENT case les that you most recently read or wrote. To read one of these les into FLUENT, select it in the list. This allows you to read a recently used le without selecting it in the Select File dialog box. Four most recently used case les in any FLUENT session are listed. So some les may not be appropriate for your current session (e.g., a 3D case le is listed even if you are running a 2D version of FLUENT). Also, if you read a case le using this shortcut, the corresponding data le is read only if it has the same base name as the case le (e.g., file1.cas and file1.dat) and it was read (or written) with the case le the last time the case le was read (or written).
4.1.5 Reading and Writing Compressed Files Reading Compressed Files

You can use the Select File dialog box to read les compressed using compress or gzip. If you select a compressed le with a .Z extension, FLUENT automatically invokes zcat to import the le. If you select a compressed le with a .gz extension, the solver invokes gunzip to import the le. For example, if you select a le named flow.msh.gz, the solver reports the following message indicating that the result of the gunzip is imported into FLUENT via an operating system pipe.
Reading "| gunzip -c flow.msh.gz"...
You can also type in the lename without any sux (e.g., if you are not sure whether or not the le is compressed). First, the solver attempts to open a le with the input name. If it cannot nd a le with that name, it attempts to locate les with default suxes and extensions appended to the name.
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4.1 Shortcuts for Reading and Writing Files
For example, if you enter the name file-name, the solver traverses the following list until it nds an existing le: file-name file-name.gz file-name.Z file-name.suffix file-name.suffix.gz file-name.suffix.Z where sux is a common extension to the le, such as .cas or .msh. The solver reports an error if it fails to nd an existing le with one of these names.
i i
For Windows systems, only les that were compressed with gzip (i.e., les with a .gz extension) can be read. Files that were compressed with compress cannot be read into FLUENT on a Windows machine. Do not read a compressed ray le; FLUENT cannot access the ray tracing information properly from a compressed ray le.
Writing Compressed Files

You can use the Select File dialog box to write a compressed le by appending a .Z or .gz extension onto the le name. For example, if you enter flow.gz as the name for a case le, the solver reports the following message:
Writing "| gzip -cfv > flow.cas.gz"...
The status message indicates that the case le information is being piped into the gzip command, and that the output of the compression command is being redirected to the le with the specied name. In this particular example, the .cas extension is added automatically.
i i
For Windows systems, compression can be performed only with gzip. That is, you can write a compressed le by appending .gz to the name, but appending .Z does not compress the le. Do not write a compressed ray le; FLUENT cannot access the ray tracing information properly from a compressed ray le.
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4.1.6
Tilde Expansion (UNIX Systems Only)
On UNIX systems, if you specify ~/ as the rst two characters of a lename, the ~ is expanded as your home directory. Similarly, you can start a lename with ~username/, and the ~username is expanded to the home directory of username. If you specify ~/file as the case le to be written, FLUENT saves the le file.cas in your home directory. You can specify a subdirectory of your home directory as well: if you enter ~/cases/file.cas, FLUENT saves the le file.cas in the cases subdirectory.
4.1.7
Automatic Numbering of Files
There are several special characters that you can include in a lename. Using one of these character strings in your lename provides a shortcut for numbering the les based on various parameters (i.e., iteration number, time step, or total number of les saved so far), because you need not enter a new lename each time you save a le. (See also Section 4.3.4: Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files for information about saving and numbering case and data les automatically.) For unsteady calculations, you can save les with names that reect the time step at which they are saved by including the character string %t in the le name. For example, you can specify contours-%t.ps for the le name, and the solver saves a le with the appropriate name (e.g., contours-0001.ps if the solution is at the rst time step). To save a le with a name that reects the iteration at which it is saved, use the character string %i in the le name. For example, you can specify contours-%i.ps for the le name, and the solver saves a le with the appropriate name (e.g., contours-0010.ps if the solution is at the 10th iteration). To save a hardcopy le with a name that reects the total number of hardcopy les saved so far in the current solver session, use the character string %n in the le name. This option can be used only for hardcopy les.
When you use the character strings above in a lename, you will not be prompted for conrmation before FLUENT overwrites an existing le with the same name. For example, a case where you are repeatedly using the lename myfile-%t.ps to save hardcopies with names that reect the current time step. If you have already saved myfile-0001.ps at the rst time step, restart the calculation, and save another hardcopy at the (new) rst time step, the solver will overwrite the original myfile-0001.ps without checking with you.
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4.2 Reading Mesh Files
4.1.8
Disabling the Overwrite Conrmation Prompt
By default, if you ask FLUENT to write a le with the same name as an existing le in that directory, it will ask you to conrm that it is OK to overwrite the existing le. If you do not want the solver to ask you for conrmation before it overwrites existing les, you can choose the file/confirm-overwrite? text command and answer no. See Chapter 3: Text User Interface (TUI) for the text user interface commands.
4.2
Reading Mesh Files

Mesh les are created using the grid generators (GAMBIT, TGrid, GeoMesh, and PreBFC), or by several third-party CAD packages. From FLUENTs point of view, a mesh le is a subset of a case le (described in Section 4.3.1: Reading and Writing Case Files). The mesh le contains the coordinates of all the nodes, connectivity information that tells how the nodes are connected to one another to form faces and cells, and the zone types and numbers of all the faces (e.g., wall-1, pressure-inlet-5, symmetry-2). The mesh le does not contain any information on boundary conditions, ow parameters, or solution parameters. For information about grids, see Chapter 6: Reading and Manipulating Grids. To read a native-format mesh le (i.e., a mesh le that is saved in FLUENT format) into the solver, use the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.3.1: Reading and Writing Case Files. GAMBIT, TGrid, GeoMesh, and PreBFC can all write a nativeformat mesh le. For information about reading these les, see Sections 6.3.1, 6.3.2, 6.3.3, and 6.3.4. For information on importing an unpartitioned mesh le into the parallel solver using the partition lter, see Section 32.5.4: Using the Partition Filter.
4.2.1
Reading TGrid Mesh Files
TGrid has the same le format as FLUENT. Hence you can read a TGrid mesh into the solver using the File/Read/Case... menu item. File Read Case... For information about reading TGrid mesh les, see Section 6.3.3: TGrid Grid Files.
4.2.2
Reading Surface Meshes
To read the surface mesh le into FLUENT, use the Grid/Surface Mesh... menu item. Grid Surface Mesh... For information about reading surface mesh les, see Section 6.3.11: Reading Surface Mesh Files.
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4.2.3
Reading and Importing GAMBIT and GeoMesh Mesh Files
If you create a FLUENT 5/6, FLUENT/UNS, or RAMPANT grid in GAMBIT or GeoMesh, you can read it into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item. File Read Case... Select the Case... menu item to open the Select File dialog box. Specify the name of the le to be read. If you have saved a neutral le from GAMBIT, rather than a FLUENT grid le, you can import it into FLUENT using the File/Import/GAMBIT... menu item. File Import GAMBIT... For information about importing les from GAMBIT and GeoMesh, see Sections 6.3.1 and 6.3.2.
4.2.4
Reading PreBFC Unstructured Mesh Files
Since PreBFCs unstructured triangular grids have the same le format as FLUENT, you can read a PreBFC triangular mesh into the solver using the File/Read/Case... menu item.
Save the le using the MESH-RAMPANT/TGRID command. File Read Case... For information about reading PreBFC mesh les, see Section 6.3.4: PreBFC Grid Files.
4.2.5
Importing PreBFC Structured Mesh Files
You can read a PreBFC structured mesh le into FLUENT using the File/Import/PreBFC File... menu item. File Import PreBFC File... Select the PreBFC File... menu item to invoke the Select File dialog box. Specify the name of the PreBFC structured mesh le to be read. The solver reads grid information and zone types from the PreBFC mesh le. For information about importing PreBFC mesh les, see Section 6.3.4: PreBFC Grid Files.
4.2.6
Importing ANSYS Files
To read an ANSYS le, use the File/Import/ANSYS... menu item. File Import ANSYS... Select this menu item to invoke the Select File dialog box. Specify the name of the ANSYS le to be read. The solver reads grid information from the ANSYS le. For information about importing ANSYS les, see Section 6.3.6: ANSYS Files.
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4.2 Reading Mesh Files
4.2.7
Importing I-deas Universal Files
I-deas Universal les can be read into FLUENT with the File/Import/I-deas Universal... menu item. File Import I-deas Universal... Select the I-deas Universal... menu item to invoke the Select File dialog box. Specify the name of the I-deas Universal le to be read. The solver reads grid information and zone types from the I-deas Universal le. For information about importing I-deas Universal les, see Section 6.3.6: I-deas Universal Files.
4.2.8
Importing NASTRAN Files
NASTRAN les can be read into FLUENT with the File/Import/NASTRAN... menu item. File Import NASTRAN... Select the NASTRAN... menu item to invoke the Select File dialog box. Specify the name of the NASTRAN le to be read. The solver reads grid information from the NASTRAN le. For information about importing NASTRAN les, see Section 6.3.6: NASTRAN Files.
4.2.9
Importing PATRAN Neutral Files
To read a PATRAN Neutral le zoned by named components (that is, a le in which you have grouped nodes with the same specied group name), use the File/Import/PATRAN... menu item. File Import PATRAN... Selecting this menu item invokes the Select File dialog box. Specify the name of the PATRAN Neutral le to be read. The solver reads grid information from the PATRAN Neutral le. For information about importing PATRAN Neutral les, see Section 6.3.6: PATRAN Neutral Files.
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4.2.10
Importing Meshes and Data in CGNS Format
To import meshes in CFD general notation system (CGNS) format into FLUENT, use the File/Import/CGNS/Mesh... menu item. File Import CGNS Mesh... This feature is available on a limited number of platforms (aix43, aix51, alpha, hpux10p8, hpux11 irix65, irix65 mips4, lnx86, ntx86, power3, and ultra). To import a mesh and the corresponding CGNS data, use the File/Import/CGNS/Mesh & Data... menu item. File Import CGNS Mesh & Data... To import only the CGNS data, use the File/Import/CGNS/Data... menu item. File Import CGNS Data... Note: To import data correctly, rst import the mesh using the mesh only option (Mesh...), set up the boundary conditions, and read the data using the data only option (Data...). For example, if a boundary zone is of type pressure-outlet and is read as outlet, it should be changed to pressure-outlet before importing the data.
The new and original grids should have the same zones, numbered in the same order. A warning is issued if they do not, because inconsistencies can create problems with the boundary conditions.
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4.3 Reading and Writing Case and Data Files
4.3
Reading and Writing Case and Data Files

Information related to the FLUENT simulation is stored in both, the case le and the data le. The commands for reading and writing these les are described in the following sections, along with commands for the automatic saving of case and data at specied intervals. FLUENT can read and write either text or binary case and data les. Binary les require less storage space and are faster to read and write. By default, FLUENT writes les in binary format. To write a text le, disable the Write Binary Files check button in the Select File dialog box. In addition, you can read and write either text or binary les in compressed formats (see Section 4.1.5: Reading and Writing Compressed Files). FLUENT automatically detects the le type when reading.
If you adapt the grid, you must save a new case le as well as a data le. Otherwise the new data le will not correspond to the case le (for example, they will have dierent numbers of cells). If you have not saved the latest case or data le, FLUENT will warn you when you try to exit the program.
4.3.1 Reading and Writing Case Files

Case les contain the grid, boundary conditions, and solution parameters for a problem. It also contains the information about the user interface and graphics environment. For information about the format of case les see Appendix B: Case and Data File Formats. The commands used for reading case les can also be used to read native-format grid les (as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files) because the grid information is a subset of the case information. Select the File/Read/Case... menu item to invoke the Select File dialog box. File Read Case... Read a case le using the Select File dialog box. Select the File/Write/Case... menu item to invoke the Select File dialog box. File Write Case... Write a case le using the Select File dialog box. See Section 1.1.2: Specifying the Solver Version by Reading a Case File for information about executing the appropriate version automatically, based on the case le that is read. When FLUENT reads a case le, it rst looks for a le with the exact name you typed. If a le with that name is not found, it searches for the same le with dierent extensions (Section 4.1.5: Reading and Writing Compressed Files). When FLUENT writes a case le, .cas is added to the name you type unless the name already ends with .cas.
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4.3.2
Reading and Writing Data Files
Data les contain the values of the ow eld in each grid element and the convergence history (residuals) for that ow eld. For information about the format of data les see Appendix B: Case and Data File Formats. Select the File/Read/Data... menu item to invoke the Select File dialog box. File Read Data... Read a data le using the Select File dialog box. Select the File/Write/Data... menu item to invoke the Select File dialog box. File Write Data... Write a Data le using the Select File dialog box. When FLUENT reads a data le, it rst looks for a le with the exact name you typed. If a le with that name is not found, it searches for the same le with dierent extensions (Section 4.1.5: Reading and Writing Compressed Files). When FLUENT writes a data le, .dat is added to the name you type unless the name already ends with .dat.
4.3.3
Reading and Writing Case and Data Files Together
A case le and a data le together contain all the information required to restart a solution. Case les contain the grid, boundary conditions, and solution parameters. Data les contain the values of the ow eld in each grid element and the convergence history (residuals) for that ow eld. You can read a case le and a data le together by using the Select File dialog box invoked by selecting the File/Read/Case & Data... menu item. To read both les, select the appropriate case le, and the corresponding data le (same name with .dat sux) is also read. To write a case le and a data le, select the File/Write/Case & Data... menu item. File Read Case & Data... File Write Case & Data... See Section 1.1.2: Specifying the Solver Version by Reading a Case File for information about executing the appropriate version automatically based on the case le that is read.
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4.3 Reading and Writing Case and Data Files
4.3.4
Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files
You can request FLUENT to automatically save case and data les at specied intervals during a calculation. This is especially useful for time-dependent calculations, since it allows you to save the results at dierent time steps without stopping the calculation and performing the save manually. You can also use the auto-save feature for steady-state problems, to examine the solution at dierent stages in the iteration history. Automatic saving is specied using the Autosave Case/Data panel (Figure 4.3.1). File Write Autosave...
Figure 4.3.1: The Autosave Case/Data Panel
You must set the frequency of saves for case and/or data les, and the root lename. Enter the case-saving frequency in the Autosave Case File Frequency eld, and the datasaving frequency in the Autosave Data File Frequency eld. Both values are set to zero by default, indicating that no automatic saving is performed. For steady ows you specify the frequency in iterations, and for unsteady ows you specify it in time steps (unless you are using the explicit time stepping formulation, in which case you specify the frequency in iterations). If you dene an Autosave Case File Frequency of 10, for example, a case le is saved every 10 iterations or time steps. If you have limited disc space, restrict the number of les saved by FLUENT using the Overwrite Existing Files option. Enable the Overwrite Existing Files option and set the value of the Maximum Number of Each File Type eld. The case and data les are treated separately. For example, if the value of Maximum Number of Each File Type is set to ve, FLUENT saves maximum of ve case and ve data les, irrespective of the frequency. After saving the specied number of les, FLUENT overwrites the earliest existing le.
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Enter the lename for the autosave les in the Filename eld. The iteration or time-step number and an appropriate sux (.cas or .dat) is added to the specied root name. If the specied Filename ends in .gz or .Z, appropriate le compression is performed. See Section 4.1.5: Reading and Writing Compressed Files for details about le compression. All of the autosave inputs are stored in the case le.
4.4
Reading FLUENT/UNS and RAMPANT Case and Data Files

Case les created by FLUENT/UNS 3 or 4 or RAMPANT 2, 3, or 4 can be read into FLUENT in the same way that current case les are read (see Section 4.3: Reading and Writing Case and Data Files). If you read a case le created by FLUENT/UNS, FLUENT selects the Segregated solver in the Solver panel. If you read a case le created by RAMPANT, FLUENT selects the Coupled Explicit solver formulation in the Solver panel. Data les created by FLUENT/UNS 4 or RAMPANT 4 can be read into FLUENT in the same way that current data les are read (see Section 4.3: Reading and Writing Case and Data Files).
4.5
Importing FLUENT 4 Case Files

You can read a FLUENT 4 case le using the File/Import/FLUENT 4 Case File... menu item. File Import FLUENT 4 Case File... Select the FLUENT 4 Case File... menu item to invoke the Select File dialog box. Specify the name of the FLUENT 4 case le to be read. FLUENT reads only grid information and zone types from the FLUENT 4 case le. You must specify boundary conditions, model parameters, material properties, and other information after reading this le. For information about importing FLUENT 4 case les, see Section 6.3.8: FLUENT 4 Case Files.
4.6
Importing FIDAP Neutral Files

You can read a FIDAP neutral le using the File/Import/FIDAP... menu item. File Import FIDAP... Select the FIDAP... menu item invokes the Select File dialog box. Specify the name of the FIDAP le to be read. FLUENT reads grid information and zone types from the FIDAP le. You must specify boundary conditions and other information after reading this le. For information about importing FIDAP Neutral les, see Section 6.3.9: FIDAP Neutral Files.
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4.7 Creating and Reading Journal Files
4.7
Creating and Reading Journal Files

A journal le contains a sequence of FLUENT commands, arranged as they would be typed interactively into the program or entered through the GUI. The GUI commands are recorded as Scheme code lines in journal les. FLUENT creates a journal le by recording everything you type on the command line or enter through the GUI. You can also create journal les manually with a text editor. If you want to include comments in your le, be sure to put a semicolon (;) at the beginning of each comment line. See Section 1.3.1: Background Execution on UNIX Systems for an example. The purpose of a journal le is to automate a series of commands instead of entering them repeatedly on the command line. Another use is to produce a record of the input to a program session for later reference, although transcript les are often more useful for this purpose (see Section 4.8: Creating Transcript Files). Command input is taken from the specied journal le until its end is reached, at which time control is returned to the standard input (usually the keyboard). Each line from the journal le is echoed to the standard output (usually the screen) as it is read and processed.
A journal le is, by design, just a simple record and playback facility. It contains no information about the state in which it was recorded or the state in which it is being played back.
Be careful not to change the directory while recording a journal le. Also, try to re-create the state in which the journal was written before you read it into the program. For example, if your journal le includes an instruction to save a new le with a specied name, you should check that if a le with that name exists in your directory before you read in your journal le. If a le with that name exists and you read in your journal le, when the program reaches the write instruction, it will prompt for a conrmation if it is OK to overwrite the old le. Since the journal le does not contain any response to the conrmation request, FLUENT cannot continue to follow the instructions of the journal le. Other conditions that may aect the programs ability to perform the instructions contained in a journal le can be created by modications or manipulations that you make within the program. For example, if your journal le creates several surfaces and displays data on those surfaces, you must be sure to read in appropriate case and data les before reading the journal le.
At a point of time, only one journal le can be open for recording, but you can write a journal and a transcript le simultaneously. You can also read a journal le at any time.
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4.7.1
User Inputs
To start the journaling process, select the File/Write/Start Journal... menu item. File Write Start Journal... After you enter a name for the le in the Select File dialog box, journal recording begins. The Start Journal... menu item becomes the Stop Journal menu item. You can end journal recording by selecting Stop Journal, or by exiting the program. File Write Stop Journal You can read a journal le into the program using the Select File dialog box invoked by selecting the File/Read/Journal... menu item. File Read Journal... Journal les are always loaded in the main (i.e., top-level) text menu, regardless of where you are in the text menu hierarchy when you invoke the read command.
4.8
Creating Transcript Files

A transcript le contains a complete record of all standard input to and output from FLUENT (usually all keyboard and GUI input and all screen output). GUI commands are recorded as Scheme code lines in transcript les. FLUENT creates a transcript le by recording everything typed as input or entered through the GUI, and everything printed as output in the text window. The purpose of a transcript le is to produce a record of the program session for later reference. Because they contain messages and other output, transcript les (unlike journal les), cannot be read back into the program.
Only one transcript le can be open for recording at a time, but you can write a transcript and a journal le simultaneously. You can also read a journal le while a transcript recording is in progress.
4.8.1 User Inputs

To start the transcripting process, select the File/Write/Start Transcript... menu item. File Write Start Transcript... After you enter a name for the le in the Select File dialog box, transcript recording begins and the Start Transcript... menu item becomes the Stop Transcript menu item. You can end transcript recording by selecting Stop Transcript, or by exiting the program. File Write Stop Transcript
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4.9 Reading and Writing Prole Files
4.9
Reading and Writing Prole Files

Boundary proles are used to specify ow conditions on a boundary zone of the solution domain. For example, they can be used to prescribe a velocity eld on an inlet plane. For information on boundary proles, see Section 7.26: Boundary Proles.
Reading Prole Files

To read the boundary prole les, invoke the Select File dialog box by selecting the File/Read/Prole... menu item. File Read Prole...
Writing Prole Files

You can also create a prole le from the conditions on a specied boundary or surface. For example, you can create a prole le from the outlet conditions of one case. Then you can read that prole into another case and use the outlet prole data as the inlet conditions for the new case. To write a prole le, use the Write Prole panel (Figure 4.9.1). File Write Prole... 1. Retain the default option of Dene New Proles. 2. Select the surface(s) from which you want to extract data for the prole(s) in the Surfaces list. 3. Choose the variable(s) for which you want to create proles in the Values list. 4. Click Write... and specify the prole le name in the resulting Select File dialog box. FLUENT saves the grid coordinates of the data points in the selected surface(s) and the values of the selected variables at those positions. When you read the prole le back into the solver, the surface name is the prole name and the value name is the eld name that appears in the drop-down lists in the boundary condition panels. 5. Select the Write Currently Dened Proles option: If you have made any modications to the boundary proles since you read them in (e.g., if you reoriented an existing prole to create a new one). If you wish to store all the proles used in a case le in a separate le. 6. Click Write... and specify the le name in the resulting Select File dialog box. All currently dened proles are saved in this le. This le can be read back into the solver whenever you wish to use these proles again.
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Figure 4.9.1: The Write Prole Panel
4.10 Reading and Writing Boundary Conditions

To save all currently dened boundary conditions to a le, select the write-bc text command and specify a name for the le. file write-bc FLUENT writes the boundary conditions, the solver, and model settings to a le using the same format as the zone section of the case le. See Appendix B: Case and Data File Formats for details about the case le format. To read boundary conditions from a le and to apply them to the corresponding zones in your model, select the read-bc text command. file read-bc FLUENT sets the boundary conditions in the current model by comparing the zone name associated with each set of conditions in the le with the zone names in the model. If the model does not contain a matching zone name for a set of boundary conditions, those conditions are ignored. If you read boundary conditions into a model that contains a dierent mesh topology (e.g., a cell zone has been removed), check the conditions at boundaries within and
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4.11 Writing a Boundary Grid
adjacent to the region of the topological change. This is important for wall zones. Note: If the boundary conditions are not checked and some remain uninitialized, the case will not run successfully. When the read-bc feature is not used, all boundary conditions get the default settings when a mesh le is imported, allowing the case to run with the default values. If you want FLUENT to apply a set of conditions to multiple zones with similar names, or to a single zone with a name you are not sure of in advance, you can edit the boundarycondition le saved with the write-bc command to include wildcards (*) within the zone names. For example, if you want to apply a particular set of conditions to wall-12, wall-15, and wall-17 in your current model, edit the boundary-condition le so that the zone name associated with the desired conditions is wall-*.
4.11
Writing a Boundary Grid
You can write the boundary zones (surface grid) to a le. This le can be read and used by TGrid to produce a volume mesh. You may nd this feature useful if you are unsatised with a mesh obtained from another grid generation program. A boundary grid can be written using the Select File dialog box invoked by selecting the File/Write/Boundary Grid... menu item. File Write Boundary Grid...
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4.12 Saving Hardcopy Files

Graphics window displays can be saved in various formats (including TIFF, PICT, and PostScript). There can be slight dierences between hardcopies and the displayed graphics windows, since hardcopies are generated using the internal software renderer, while the graphics windows may utilize specialized graphics hardware for optimum performance. Many systems provide a utility to dump the contents of a graphics window into a raster le. This is generally the fastest method of generating a hardcopy (since the scene is already rendered in the graphics window), and guarantees that the hardcopy is identical to the window.
4.12.1
Using the Graphics Hardcopy Panel
To set hardcopy parameters and save hardcopy les, use the Graphics Hardcopy panel. File Hardcopy...
Figure 4.12.1: The Graphics Hardcopy Panel
The procedure for saving a hardcopy le is as follows: 1. Choose the hardcopy le format. 2. Specify the le type, if applicable. 3. Set the coloring.
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4. Dene the resolution, if applicable. 5. Set the appropriate options. 6. If you are generating a window dump, specify the command to be used for the dump. 7. (optional) Preview the result. 8. Click on the Save... button and enter the lename in the resulting Select File dialog box. See Section 4.1.7: Automatic Numbering of Files for information on special features related to lename specication. If you are not ready to save a hardcopy but want to save the current hardcopy settings, click on the Apply button instead of the Save... button. The applied settings become the defaults for subsequent hardcopies.
Choosing the Hardcopy File Format

To choose the hardcopy le format, select one of the following items in the Format list: EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) output is the same as PostScript output, with the addition of Adobe Document Structuring Conventions (v2) statements. Currently, no preview bitmap is included in EPS output. Often, programs that import EPS les use the preview bitmap to display on-screen, although the actual vector PostScript information is used for printing (on a PostScript device). You can save EPS les in raster or vector format. HPGL is a vector le format designed for pen plotters. The HPGL driver supports a limited set of colors and is not capable of rendering some scenes properly. IRIS Image is the native raster image le format on SGI computers. The IRIS Image driver may not be available on all platforms. JPEG is a common raster le format. PICT is the native graphics le format on Macintosh computers. PICT les may contain either vector or raster information (or both). Typically, draw programs generate vector information, while paint programs use raster formats. You can choose to save a PICT le in raster or vector format. PPM output is a common raster le format. PostScript is a common vector le format. You can also choose to save a PostScript le in raster format. TIFF is a common raster le format.
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VRML is a graphics interchange format that allows export of 3D geometrical entities that you can display in the FLUENT graphics window. This format can commonly be used by VR systems and the 3D geometry can be viewed and manipulated in a web-browser graphics window.
Non-geometric entities such as text, titles, color bars, and orientation axis are not exported. In addition, most display or visibility characteristics set in FLUENT, such as lighting, shading method, transparency, face and edge visibility, outer face culling, and hidden line removal, are not explicitly exported but are controlled by the software used to view the VRML le.
Window Dump (UNIX systems only) selects a window dump operation for generating the hardcopy. With this format, you need to specify the appropriate Window Dump Command. Vector as the File Type.
Choosing the File Type

To save a PostScript, EPS (Encapsulated PostScript), or PICT le, choose one of the following le types: A Vector le denes the graphics image as a combination of geometric primitives like lines, polygons, and text. Vector les are usually scalable to any resolution. The supported vector formats include PostScript, EPS, HPGL, and PICT. A Raster le denes the color of each individual pixel in the image. Raster les have a xed resolution. The supported raster formats are IRIS image, JPEG, PICT, PPM, PostScript, EPS, and TIFF. For the quickest print time, you can save vector les for simple 2D displays and raster les for complicated scenes.
Specifying the Color Mode

For all formats except the window dump, specify the type of Coloring you want to use for the hardcopy le. Select Color for a color-scale copy. Select Gray Scale for a gray-scale copy. Select Monochrome for a black-and-white copy.
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Most monochrome PostScript devices render Color images in shades of gray, but to ensure that the color ramp is rendered as a linearly-increasing gray ramp, you should select Gray Scale.
Dening the Resolution

For raster hardcopy les, you can control the resolution of the hardcopy image by specifying the size (in pixels). Set the desired Width and Height under Resolution. If the Width and Height are both zero, the hardcopy is generated at the same resolution as the active graphics window. To check the size of the active window in pixels, click Info in the Display Options panel. For PostScript, EPS, and PICT les, specify the resolution in dots per inch (DPI) instead of setting the width and height.
Hardcopy Options
For all hardcopy formats except the window dump, you can control two additional settings under Options: Specify the orientation of the hardcopy using the Landscape Orientation button. If this option is turned on, the hardcopy is made in landscape mode; otherwise, it is made in portrait mode. Control the foreground/background color using the Reverse Foreground/Background option. If this option is enabled, the foreground and background colors of graphics windows being hardcopied is swapped. This feature allows you to make hardcopies with a white background and a black foreground, while the graphics windows are displayed with a black background and white foreground. Hardcopy Options for PostScript Files FLUENT provides options that allow you to save PostScript les that can be printed more quickly. The following options is found in the display/set/hard-copy/driver/ post-format text menu: fast-raster enables a raster le that may be larger than the standard raster le, but will print much more quickly. raster enables the standard raster le. rle-raster enables a run-length encoded raster le that is about the same size as the standard raster le, but will print slightly more quickly. This is the default le type. vector enables the standard vector le.
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Window Dumps (UNIX Systems Only)

If you select the Window Dump format, the program uses the specied Window Dump Command to save the hardcopy le. For example, if you want to use xwd to capture a window, set the Window Dump Command to xwd -id %w > When the dump occurs, FLUENT automatically interprets %w to be the ID number of the active window. When you click on the Save... button, the Select File dialog box appears. Enter the lename for the output from the window dump (e.g., myfile.xwd). If you are planning to make an animation, save the window dumps into numbered les, using the %n variable. To do this, use the Window Dump Command (xwd -id %w), but for the lename in the Select File dialog box enter myfile%n.xwd. Each time a new window dump is created, the value of %n increases by one. So there is no need to tack numbers onto the hardcopy lenames manually. To use the ImageMagick animate program, saving the les in MIFF format (the native ImageMagick format) is more ecient. In such cases, use the ImageMagick tool import. Set the default Window Dump Command enter import -window %w Click Save... to invoke the Select File dialog box. Specify the output format to be MIFF by using the .miff sux at the end of lename. The window dump feature is both, system and graphics-driver specic. Thus the commands available for dumping windows depends on the particular conguration. When saving window dumps is that the window dump captures the window exactly as it is displayed, including resolution, colors, transparency, etc. For this reason, all of the inputs that control these characteristics are disabled in the Graphics Hardcopy panel when you enable the Window Dump format. If you are using an 8-bit graphics display, use one of the built-in raster drivers (e.g., TIFF) to generate higher-quality 24-bit color output rather than dumping the 8-bit window.
Previewing the Hardcopy Image

Before saving a hardcopy le, you have the option of previewing what the saved image looks like. Click Preview to apply the current settings to the active graphics window. Now, you can investigate the eects of dierent options interactively before saving the nal, approved hardcopy.
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4.13 Exporting Data
4.13 Exporting Data

The current release of FLUENT allows you to export data to ABAQUS, ANSYS, ASCII, AVS, CGNS, Data Explorer, EnSight (formerly known as MPGS), FAST, Fieldview, I-deas, NASTRAN, PATRAN, RadTherm, and Tecplot formats. Section 4.13.1: Using the Export Panel explains how to save data in these formats, and Section 4.13.2: Export File Formats describes each type of le. Using the parallel version of FLUENT, you can export only the EnSight Case Gold, Fieldview Unstructured, and Fieldview Case+Data les. Fieldview Case+Data les can be exported only through FLUENT text user interface (TUI). When exporting EnSight Case Gold les for transient simulations, you cannot: Switch the solver between serial and parallel. Change the number of compute nodes for a given parallel run. Else, the exported EnSight Case Gold les for each time step will not be compatible. FLUENT cannot import surfaces. So, if you export a le from FLUENT with surfaces selected, you may not be able to read these les back into FLUENT. However, TGrid can import surface data (see the TGrid Users Guide for details). If you intend to export data to I-deas, ensure that the mesh does not contain pyramidal elements, as these are currently not supported by I-deas. FLUENT exports Tecplot les in FEBLOCK format. The utility fe2ram can import Tecplot les only in FEPOINT format. If you intend to postprocess FLUENT data with Tecplot, you can either export data from FLUENT and import it into Tecplot, or use the Tecplot FLUENT Data Loader included with your Tecplot distribution. The data loader reads native FLUENT case and data les directly. If you are interested in this option, contact Tecplot, Inc. for assistance or visit www.tecplot.com.
4.13.1
Using the Export Panel
To write data that can be imported into one of the products for data visualization and postprocessing, use the Export panel (Figure 4.13.1). File Export... The procedure is as follows: 1. Select the type of le you want to write in the File Type list.
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Figure 4.13.1: The Export Panel
2. If you chose ABAQUS, ASCII, Data Explorer, I-deas Universal, NASTRAN, PATRAN, or Tecplot, select the surface(s) for which you want to write data in the Surfaces list. If no surfaces are selected, the entire domain is exported. For RadTherm les, only wall surfaces are available. 3. For ANSYS, select the cell zones to be exported. If no cell zones are selected, the entire domain is exported. 4. For all le types except ANSYS, FAST Solution, and RadTherm, select the variable(s) for which data is to be saved in the Functions to Write list. 5. (optional) For ABAQUS, ASCII, I-deas Universal, NASTRAN, and PATRAN les, select the Loads to be written (Force, Temperature, and/or Heat Flux). Saving these
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4.13 Exporting Data
loads allow you to analyze the structural stresses (uid pressure or thermal) in an FEA program. Loads are written only on boundary walls when the entire domain is exported (i.e., if Surfaces are not selected). 6. (optional) For ASCII les, select the Delimiter separating the elds (Comma or Space). 7. For ASCII and CGNS les, select the Location from which the values of scalar functions are to be taken (Node values or Cell-Centered values). 8. (optional) Dene transient export parameters. For EnSight Case Gold les, turn on the Transient option and specify a value for Append Frequency and the File Name. All of the geometry, velocity, and scalar les (e.g., file.geo, file.vel, file.scl1, etc.) is appended after the specied number of time steps during the solution process. The time values is written to the EnSight case le (e.g., file.encas), which also lists all of the other exported le names. You can write separate les for each time step by enabling the Separate le for each time step option. To save the transient parameters, click Apply. For non-stationary reference zones, all the velocities in EnSight are exported as velocities relative to the selected reference zone. For formats other than EnSight, use the Execute Commands panel. The text command for exporting to a particular format can be entered directly into the Command text eld (or the FLUENT console window if you are dening a macro). It is of the following general form: file/export/le-type le-name [list-of-surfaces ()] [yes|no] [list-of-scalars q] where items enclosed in square brackets are optional depending on the type of le being exported. le-type indicates the type of le being exported. For example, replace le-type by fieldview-unstruct to indicate Fieldview Unstructured. le-name (without the extension) indicates the name of the le that you wish to save.
By default, FLUENT does not overwrite exported les. If the specied le name already exists, FLUENT prompts you with the question OK to overwrite? every time the command is executed. Enter a response to this question (yes or no) as part of the text command entered in the Command eld.
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To export to dierent les at dierent time steps, include a %t in the lename string. FLUENT will replace the %t with the time step at which the export occurs. For example, a le name of example-%t will become example-0001 at the rst time step and example-0010 at the tenth time step.
list-of-surfaces indicates the list of surfaces (name or ID) that you wish to export (for relevant types of les). The () input terminates the list. For example, the input outlet-3 wall-2 5 () will select surfaces named outlet-3, wall-2, and also the surface with the ID 5 (not the zone ID). list-of-scalars indicates the list of cell functions that you want to write to the exported le (for relevant types of les). The q input terminates the list. For example, the input x-velocity cell-volume q will select x velocity and the cell volume. yes|no indicates that you need to answer a prompted question. Certain le types require more than one yes or no input. See Section 26.22: Executing Commands During the Calculation for information about executing commands and creating and using command macros. 9. For RadTherm les, select the method of writing the heat transfer coecient (Heat Transfer Coef.), which can be Flux Based or, if a turbulence model is enabled, Wall Function based. RadTherm option is available only when the energy equation is enabled. 10. For all le types, except transient EnSight Case Gold les, click on the Write... button to save a le for the specied function(s) in the specied format, using the Select File dialog box.
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4.13 Exporting Data
4.13.2
Export File Formats
The les that are written when export le types are selected are listed along with the equivalent text commands: ABAQUS A single le (e.g., file.aba) containing coordinates, connectivity, optional loads, zone groups, velocity, and selected scalars are written. You can specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. Export of data to Abaqus is valid only for solid zones or for those surfaces that lie at the intersection of solid zones. If temperature is selected, it is exported for the whole domain. file/export/abaqus le-name list-of-surfaces () yes|no list-of-scalars q ANSYS A single le is written containing coordinates, connectivity, and the scalars listed below: x-velocity, y-velocity, z-velocity, pressure, temperature, turb-kinetic-energy, turb-diss-rate, density, viscosity-turb, viscosity-lam, viscosity-eff, thermal-conductivity-lam, thermal-conductivity-eff, total-pressure, total-temperature, pressure-coefficient, mach-number, stream-function, heat-flux, heat-transfer-coef, wall-shear, specific-heat-cp The le written is an ANSYS results le with a .rfl extension. This le preserves the cell zones dened in FLUENT. Note: Export to ANSYS is available on a limited number of platforms (aix43, aix51, alpha hpux10p8, hpux11, irix65, irix65 mips4, and ultra) To read this le into ANSYS, do the following: 1. In ANSYS, go to General Postproc Data and File Options and read the .rfl le generated from FLUENT. 2. Go to Results Summary and click on the rst line in the upcoming panel. You will see some information listed in the ANSYS Output window displaying geometry information. 3. In the small ANSYS Input window, enter the following command: SET,FIRST 4. In the ANSYS MULTIPHYSICS UTILITY menu, select Plot and then Nodes or Elements, including the nodal solution under Results in the drop-down list. file/export/ansys le-name
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ASCII A single ASCII le containing coordinates, optional loads, and specied scalar function data. Select the Surfaces for which you want to save the data. If no surfaces are selected, the data is written for the entire domain. Then specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. If you specify the data Location as Node, then the node coordinates and the data values at the node points is exported. If you choose Cell-Centered, then the cell-centered coordinates and the data values at the cell-centered coordinates is exported. Specify the Delimiter for separating data in the le (Comma or Space). file/export/ascii le-name list-of-surfaces () yes|no list-of-scalars q yes|no AVS An AVS version 4 UCD le containing coordinate and connectivity information and specied scalar function data. specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. file/export/avs le-name list-of-scalars q CGNS (CFD general notation system) is a single le (e.g., file.cgns) containing coordinates, connectivity, zone information, velocity, and selected scalars is written. You can specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. You can also specify the Location as Node or Cell-Centered to write the scalars. file/export/cgns le-name location list-of-scalars q Data Explorer A single le (e.g., file.dx) containing coordinate, connectivity, velocity, and specied function data. Select the Surfaces for which you want to save the data. If no surfaces are selected, the data is written for the entire domain. Then specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. file/export/dx le-name list-of-surfaces () list-of-scalars q EnSight Case Gold There are four les: A geometry le (e.g., file.geo) containing the coordinates and connectivity information. A velocity le (e.g., file.vel) containing the velocity. A scalar le (e.g.,file.scl1) for each selected variable or function. An EnSight case le (e.g., file.encas) that contains details about the other exported les. You can specify the le Format as Binary or ASCII. The advantage of the binary format is that it takes less time to load the exported les into EnSight. You can specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. file/export/ensight-gold le-name list-of-scalars q yes|no
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4.13 Exporting Data
FAST a grid le in extended Plot3D format containing coordinates and connectivity, a velocity le containing the velocity, and a scalar le for each selected variable or function. This le type is valid only for triangular and tetrahedral grids. You can specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. file/export/fast-grid le-name FAST Solution a single le containing density, velocity, and total energy data. This le type is valid only for triangular and tetrahedral grids. file/export/fast-solution le-name Fieldview Unstructured A binary le (e.g., file.fvuns) containing coordinate and connectivity information and specied scalar function data, and a regions le (e.g., file.fvuns.fvreg) containing information about the cell zones and the frame of reference. The cell zone information includes the names of the cell zones along with the grid numbers. For the rotating frame of reference, the regions le contains information about the origin, the axis of rotation and the rotation speed. Volume data is written using the absolute frame of reference. file/export/fieldview-unstruct le-name list-of-scalars q In FIELDVIEW, you can visualize a single zone while completely turning o all other zones. You can specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. Note: For FIELDVIEW, FLUENT can export surface based results for pressure, shear stress, heat ux, mass ux, and species ux on boundary surfaces in addition to the usual export. FLUENT chooses the variables that are more accurate on the surfaces to export the surface based results. For 2D cases, the surface integrals are scaled down by a factor of 10000. The TUI provides separate options to write the grid and data les. Grids that change with time (sliding mesh, moving deforming mesh, or dynamic adapted mesh) can be written at each time step by dening the command to write the le in the Execute Commands panel. file/export/fieldview-unstruct-grid le-name For the grids that do not change with time, the grid le needs to be written only once. You can avoid the repeated writing of the grid les by using the TUI command for writing only the data le. file/export/fieldview-unstruct-data le-name Fieldview Case+Data A FLUENT case le (e.g., file.fvc) that can be read by FIELDVIEW, and a data le (e.g., file.fvd) containing node-averaged values for the selected variables. You can specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. file/export/fieldview le-name list-of-scalars q
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I-deas Universal a single le containing coordinates, connectivity, optional loads, zone groups, velocity, and selected scalars. You can specify which scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. file/export/ideas le-name list-of-surfaces () yes|no list-of-scalars q NASTRAN a single le (e.g., file.nas) containing coordinates, connectivity, optional loads, zone groups, and velocity. Pressure is written as PLOAD, and heat ux is written as QHBDY data. If wall zones are selected in the Surfaces list, nodal forces are written for the walls. You can choose the Loads to be written (Force, Temperature, and/or Heat Flux). Additionally, you can specify which scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. file/export/nastran le-name list-of-surfaces () yes|no list-of-scalars q PATRAN a neutral le (e.g., file.neu) containing coordinates, connectivity, optional loads, zone groups, velocity, and selected scalars. Pressure is written as a distributed load. If wall zones are selected in the Surfaces list, nodal forces are written for the walls. You can choose the Loads to be written (Force, Temperature, and/or Heat Flux). You can also specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. The PATRAN result template le (e.g., file.res tmpl) is written, which lists the scalars present in the nodal result le (e.g., file.rst). file/export/patran-neutral le-name list-of-surfaces () yes|no RadTherm a PATRAN neutral le (e.g., file.neu) containing element velocity components (i.e., the element that is just touching the wall), heat transfer coecients, and temperatures of the wall for any selected wall surface. The Surfaces list changes to contain only wall surfaces. In the case of turbulence, the heat transfer coecients (Heat Tran. Coef.) can be chosen to be Flux Based or Wall Function based. If the wall is one-sided, the data are written for one side of the wall. If the wall is two-sided, the data are written for both sides. In the case of wall-wall shadow, the values are written only for the major face. file/export/radtherm le-name list-of-surfaces () yes|no Tecplot a single le containing the coordinates and scalar functions in the appropriate tabular format. You can select the Surfaces for which to save the data. If no surfaces are selected, the data is written for the entire domain. You can then specify the scalars you want in the Functions to Write list. file/export/tecplot le-name list-of-surfaces () list-of-scalars q
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4.14 Grid-to-Grid Solution Interpolation
When you are exporting data for Data Explorer, EnSight Case Gold, or I-deas Universal and the reference zone is not a stationary zone, the data in the velocity elds are exported by default as velocities relative to the motion specication of that zone. These data are always exported, even if you do not choose to export any scalars. Any velocities that you select to export as scalars in the Functions to Write list (e.g., X Velocity, Y Velocity, Radial Velocity, etc.) are exported as absolute velocities. For all other types of exported les, the velocities exported by default are absolute velocities.
4.14
Grid-to-Grid Solution Interpolation
FLUENT can interpolate solution data for a given geometry from one grid to another, allowing you to compute a solution using one grid (e.g., hexahedral) and then change to another grid (e.g., hybrid) and continue the calculation using the rst solution as a starting point.
4.14.1
Performing Grid-to-Grid Solution Interpolation
The procedure for grid-to-grid solution interpolation is as follows: 1. Set up the model and calculate a solution on the initial grid. 2. Write an interpolation le for the solution data to be interpolated onto the new grid, using the Interpolate Data panel (Figure 4.14.1). File Interpolate... (a) Under Options, select Write Data. (b) In the Cell Zones list, select the cell zones for which you want to save data to be interpolated. Note: If your case includes both uid and solid zones, write the data for the uid zones and the data for the solid zones to separate les. (c) Choose the variable(s) for which you want to interpolate data in the Fields list. All FLUENT solution variables are available for interpolation. (d) Click Write... and specify the interpolation le name in the resulting Select File dialog box. The le format is described in Section 4.14.2: Format of the Interpolation File. 3. Set up a new case. (a) Read in the new grid, using the appropriate menu item in the File/Read/ or File/Import/ menu.
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Figure 4.14.1: The Interpolate Data Panel
(b) Dene the appropriate models.
Enable all of the models that were enabled in the original case. For example, the energy equation was enabled in the original case and you forget to enable it in the new case, the temperature data in the interpolation le will not interpolated.
(c) Dene the boundary conditions, material properties, etc. 4. Read in the data to be interpolated. File Interpolate... (a) Under Options, select Read and Interpolate. (b) In the Cell Zones list, select the cell zones for which you want to read and interpolate data. If the solution has not been initialized, computed, or read, all zones in the Cell Zones list is selected by default, to ensure that no zone remains without data after the interpolation. If all zones already have data (from initialization or a previously computed or read solution), select a subset of the Cell Zones to read and interpolate data onto a specic zone (or zones). (c) Click on the Read... button and specify the interpolation le name in the resulting Select File dialog box.
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4.14 Grid-to-Grid Solution Interpolation
If your case includes both uid and solid zones, the two sets of data are saved to separate les. Hence perform these steps twice, once to interpolate the data for the uid zones and once to interpolate the data for the solid zones.
5. Reduce the under-relaxation factors and calculate on the new grid for a few iterations to avoid sudden changes due to any imbalance of uxes after interpolation. Then increase the under-relaxation factors and compute a solution on the new grid.
4.14.2
Format of the Interpolation File
An example of an interpolation le is shown below: 2 2 34800 3 x-velocity pressure y-velocity -0.068062 -0.0680413 ... The format of the interpolation le is as follows: The rst line is the interpolation le version. It is 1.0 for FLUENT 5 and 2.0 for FLUENT 6. The second line is the dimension (2 or 3). The third line is the total number of points. The fourth line is the total number of elds (temperature, pressure, etc.) included. From line 5 is a list of eld names. To see a complete list of the eld names used by FLUENT select the display/contours text command and view the available choices for contours of. The list depends on the models turned on. Then comes a list of x, y, and (in 3D) z coordinates for all the data points. In the end is list of the eld values at all the points in the same order as their names. The number of coordinate and eld points should match the number given in line 3.
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4.15 Reading Scheme Source Files

A Scheme source le can be loaded in three ways: through the menu system as a scheme le, through the menu system as a journal le, or through Scheme itself. For large source les, use the Select File dialog box invoked by selecting the File/Read/Scheme... menu item File Read Scheme... or the Scheme load function.
> (load "file.scm")
Shorter les can also be loaded with the File/Read/Journal... menu item or the file/ read-journal command in the text interface (or its . or source alias).
> . file.scm > source file.scm
In this case, each character of the le is echoed to the console as it is read in the same way as if you were typing in the contents of the le.
4.16
The .fluent File
When starting up, FLUENT looks in your home directory for an optional le called .fluent. If it nds the le, it loads it with the Scheme load function. This le can contain Scheme functions that customize the codes operation.
4.17
Saving the Panel Layout
The Save Layout command in the File pull-down menu allows you to save the present panel and window layout. You can arrange panels and graphics windows on your screen in a preferred conguration and select the File/Save Layout menu item. File Save Layout A .cxlayout le is written in your home directory. If you subsequently arrange dierent panels and save the layout again, the positions of these panels are added to the positions of the panels that you saved earlier. If you move a panel for which a position is already saved, and then you save the layout, the new position is written to the .cxlayout le. In subsequent sessions, when you open a panel or create a graphics window, it is positioned based on the saved conguration. Any panel or window not specied in the saved conguration uses the default position. The .cxlayout le in your home directory applies to all Cortex applications (i.e., FLUENT, FLUENT/Post, MixSim, and TGrid).
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Chapter 5.
Unit Systems
This chapter describes the units used in FLUENT and how you can control them. Information is organized into the following sections: Section 5.1: Restrictions on Units Section 5.2: Units in Grid Files Section 5.3: Built-In Unit Systems in FLUENT Section 5.4: Customizing Units FLUENT allows you to work in any unit system, including inconsistent units. Thus, for example, you may work in British units with heat input in Watts or you may work in SI units with length dened in inches. This is accomplished by providing FLUENT with a correct set of conversion factors between the units you want to use and the standard SI unit system that is used internally by the solver. FLUENT uses these conversion factors for input and output, internally storing all parameters and performing all calculations in SI units. Both solvers always prompt you for the units required for all dimensional inputs. Units can be altered part-way through a problem setup and/or after you have completed your calculation. If you have input some parameters in SI units and then you switch to British, all of your previous inputs (and the default prompts) are converted to the new unit system. If you have completed a simulation in SI units but you would like to report the results in any other units, you can alter the unit system and FLUENT will convert all of the problem data to the new unit system when results are displayed. As noted above, all problem inputs and results are stored in SI units internally. This means that the parameters stored in the case and data les are in SI units. FLUENT simply converts these values to your unit system at the interface level.
5-1
Unit Systems
5.1
Restrictions on Units
It is important to note that the units for some inputs in FLUENT are dierent from the units used for the rest of the problem setup. You must always dene the following in SI units, regardless of the unit system you are using: boundary proles (see Section 7.26: Boundary Proles) source terms (see Section 7.28: Dening Mass, Momentum, Energy, and Other Sources) custom eld functions (see Section 31.5: Custom Field Functions) data in externally-created XY plot les (see Section 29.8.3: XY Plots of File Data) user-dened functions (See the separate UDF Manual for details about userdened functions.) If you dene a material property by specifying a temperature-dependent polynomial or piecewise-polynomial function, remember that temperature in the function is always in units of Kelvin or Rankine. If you are using Celsius or Kelvin as your temperature unit, then polynomial coecient values must be entered in terms of Kelvin; if you are using Fahrenheit or Rankine as the temperature unit, values must be entered in terms of Rankine. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions for information about temperature-dependent material properties.
5.2
Units in Grid Files

Some grid generators allow you to dene a set of units for the mesh dimensions. However, when you read the grid into FLUENT, it is always assumed that the unit of length is meters. If this is not true, you will need to scale the grid, as described in Section 6.7.1: Scaling the Grid.
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5.3 Built-In Unit Systems in FLUENT
5.3
Built-In Unit Systems in FLUENT

FLUENT provides four built-in unit systems: British, SI, CGS, and default. You can convert all units from one system to another in the Set Units panel (Figure 5.3.1), using the buttons under the Set All To heading. Dene Units...
Figure 5.3.1: The Set Units Panel
To choose the English Engineering standard for all units, click on the british button; to select the International System of units (SI) standard for all units, click on the si button; to choose the CGS (centimeter-gram-second) standard for all units, click on the cgs button; and to return to the default system, click on the default button. The default system of units is like SI, but uses degrees instead of radians for angles. Clicking on one of the buttons under Set All To will immediately change the unit system. You can then close the panel if you are not interested in customizing any units. Changing the unit system in the Set Units panel causes all future inputs that have units to be based on the newly selected unit system.
5-3
Unit Systems
5.4
Customizing Units
If you would like a mixed unit system, or any unit system dierent from the four supplied by FLUENT (and described in Section 5.3: Built-In Unit Systems in FLUENT), you can use the Set Units panel (Figure 5.3.1) to select an available unit or specify your own unit name and conversion factor for each quantity.
Listing Current Units

Before customizing units for one or more quantities, you may want to list the current units. You can do this by clicking on the List button at the bottom of the Set Units panel. FLUENT will print out a list (in the text window) containing all quantities and their current units, conversion factors, and osets.
Changing the Units for a Quantity

FLUENT will allow you to modify the units for individual quantities. This is useful for problems in which you want to use one of the built-in unit systems, but you want to change the units for one quantity (or for a few). For example, you may want to use SI units for your problem, but the dimensions of the geometry are given in inches. You can select the SI unit system, and then change the unit of length from meters to inches. To change the units for a particular quantity, you will follow these two steps: 1. Select the quantity in the Quantities list (they are arranged in alphabetical order). 2. Choose a new unit from those that are available in the Units list. For the example cited above, you would choose length in the Quantities list, and then select in in the Units list. The Factor will automatically be updated to show 0.0254 meters/inch. (See Figure 5.3.1.) If there were a non-zero oset for the new unit, the Oset eld would also be updated. For example, if you were using SI units but wanted to dene temperature in Celsius instead of Kelvin, you would select temperature in the Quantities list and c in the Units list. The Factor would change to 1, and the Oset would change to 273.15. Once you have selected the quantity and the new unit, no further action is needed, unless you wish to change the units for another quantity by following the same procedure.
5-4
5.4 Customizing Units
Dening a New Unit

To create a new unit to be used for a particular quantity, you will follow the procedure below: 1. In the Set Units panel, select the quantity in the Quantities list. 2. Click on the New... button and the Dene Unit panel (Figure 5.4.1) will open. In this panel, the selected quantity will be shown in the Quantity eld.
Figure 5.4.1: The Dene Unit Panel
3. Enter the name of your new unit in the Unit eld, the conversion factor in the Factor eld, and the oset in the Oset eld. 4. Click on OK in the Dene Unit panel, and the new unit will appear in the Set Units panel. For example, if you want to use hours as the unit of time, select time in the Quantities list in the Set Units panel and click on the New... button. In the resulting Dene Unit panel, enter hr for the Unit and 3600 for the Factor, as in Figure 5.4.1. Then click on OK. The new unit hr will appear in the Units list in the Set Units panel, and it will be selected.
5-5
Unit Systems
Determining the Conversion Factor The conversion factor you specify (Factor in the Dene Unit panel) tells FLUENT the number to multiply by to obtain the SI unit value from your customized unit value. Thus the conversion factor should have the form SI units/custom units. For example, if you want the unit of length to be inches, you should input a conversion factor of 0.0254 meters/inch. If you want the unit of velocity to be feet/min, you can determine the conversion factor by using the following equation: x ft 0.3048 m min m =y min ft 60 s s (5.4-1)
You should input a conversion factor of 0.0051, which is equal to 0.3048/60.
5-6
Chapter 6.
Reading and Manipulating Grids
FLUENT can import dierent types of grids from various sources. You can modify the grid by translating or scaling node coordinates, partitioning the cells for parallel processing, reordering the cells in the domain to decrease bandwidth, and merging or separating zones. You can also obtain diagnostic information on the grid, including memory usage and simplex, topological, and domain information. You can nd out the number of nodes, faces, and cells in the grid, determine the minimum and maximum cell volumes in the domain, and check for the proper numbers of nodes and faces per cell. These and other capabilities are described in the following sections. Section 6.1: Grid Topologies Section 6.2: Grid Requirements and Considerations Section 6.3: Grid Import Section 6.4: Non-Conformal Grids Section 6.5: Checking the Grid Section 6.6: Reporting Grid Statistics Section 6.7: Modifying the Grid See Chapter 27: Grid Adaption for information about adapting the grid based on solution data and related functions, and Section 32.5: Partitioning the Grid for details on partitioning the grid for parallel processing.
6-1
6.1
Grid Topologies
FLUENT being an unstructured solver uses internal data structures to assign an order to the cells, faces, and grid points in a mesh and to maintain contact between adjacent cells. Therefore, It does not require i,j,k indexing to locate neighboring cells. This gives you the exibility to use the best grid topology for your problem, as the solver does not force an overall structure or topology on the grid. In 2D, quadrilateral and triangular cells are accepted, and in 3D, hexahedral, tetrahedral, pyramid, and wedge cells can be used. Figure 6.1.1 depicts each of these cell types. Both single-block and multi-block structured meshes, as well as hybrid meshes containing quadrilateral and triangular cells or hexahedral, tetrahedral, pyramid, and wedge cells are acceptable. FLUENT also accepts grids with hanging nodes (i.e., nodes on edges and faces that are not vertices of all the cells sharing those edges or faces). See Section 27.2.1: Hanging Node Adaption for details. Grids with non-conformal boundaries (i.e., grids with multiple subdomains in which the grid node locations at the internal subdomain boundaries are not identical) are also acceptable. See Section 6.4: Non-Conformal Grids for details. Some examples of grids that are valid for FLUENT are presented in Section 6.1.1: Examples of Acceptable Grid Topologies. Dierent cell shapes and their face-node connectivity is explained in Section 6.1.2: Face-Node Connectivity in FLUENT. Section 6.1.3: Choosing the Appropriate Grid Type explains how to choose the grid type that is best suited for your problem.
6.1.1
Examples of Acceptable Grid Topologies
FLUENT can solve problems on a wide variety of grids. Figures 6.1.26.1.12 show examples of grids that are valid for FLUENT. O-type grids, grids with zero-thickness walls, C-type grids, conformal block-structured grids, multiblock structured grids, non-conformal grids, and unstructured triangular, tetrahedral, quadrilateral, and hexahedral grids are all acceptable. Note: Though FLUENT does not require a cyclic branch cut in an O-type grid, it will accept a grid that contains one.
6-2
6.1 Grid Topologies
2D Cell Types
Triangle
Quadrilateral
3D Cell Types
Tetrahedron
Hexahedron
Prism/Wedge
Pyramid
Figure 6.1.1: Cell Types
6-3
Figure 6.1.2: Structured Quadrilateral Grid for an Airfoil
6-4
6.1 Grid Topologies
Figure 6.1.3: Unstructured Quadrilateral Grid
Figure 6.1.4: Multiblock Structured Quadrilateral Grid
6-5
Figure 6.1.5: O-Type Structured Quadrilateral Grid
Figure 6.1.6: Parachute Modeled With Zero-Thickness Wall
6-6
6.1 Grid Topologies
Branch Cut
Figure 6.1.7: C-Type Structured Quadrilateral Grid
Figure 6.1.8: 3D Multiblock Structured Grid
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Figure 6.1.9: Unstructured Triangular Grid for an Airfoil
Figure 6.1.10: Unstructured Tetrahedral Grid
6-8
6.1 Grid Topologies
Figure 6.1.11: Hybrid Triangular/Quadrilateral Grid with Hanging Nodes
Figure 6.1.12: Non-Conformal Hybrid Grid for a Rotor-Stator Geometry
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6.1.2
Face-Node Connectivity in FLUENT
This section contains information about the connectivity of faces and their related nodes in terms of node number and face number. Face-node connectivity for the following cell shapes is explained here: triangular (Figure 6.1.13) quadrilateral (Figure 6.1.14) tetrahedral (Figure 6.1.15) wedge (Figure 6.1.16) pyramidal (Figure 6.1.17) hex (Figure 6.1.18) This information is useful in interfacing with FLUENT.
Face-Node Connectivity for Triangular Cells
Figure 6.1.13: Face and Node Numbering for Triangular Cells
Face Face 1 Face 2 Face 3
Associated Nodes 1-2 2-3 3-1
6-10
6.1 Grid Topologies
Face-Node Connectivity for Quadrilateral Cells
Figure 6.1.14: Face and Node Numbering for Quadrilateral Cells
Face Face 1 Face 2 Face 3 Face 4
Associated Nodes 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-1
Face-Node Connectivity for Tetrahedral Cells
Figure 6.1.15: Face and Node Numbering for Tetrahedral Cells
Face Face 1 Face 2 Face 3 Face 4
Associated Nodes 3-2-4 4-1-3 2-1-4 3-1-2
6-11
Face-Node Connectivity for Wedge Cells
Figure 6.1.16: Face and Node Numbering for Wedge Cells
Face Face 1 Face 2 Face 3 Face 4 Face 5
Associated Nodes 3-2-1 6-5-4 4-2-3-6 5-1-2-4 6-3-1-5
Face-Node Connectivity for Pyramidal Cells
Figure 6.1.17: Face and Node Numbering for Pyramidal Cells
Face Face 1 Face 2 Face 3 Face 4 Face 5
Associated Nodes 4-3-2-1 4-5-3 3-5-2 2-5-1 1-5-4
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6.1 Grid Topologies
Face-Node Connectivity for Hex Cells
Figure 6.1.18: Face and Node Numbering for Hex Cells
Face Face 1 Face 2 Face 3 Face 4 Face 5 Face 6
Associated Nodes 4-3-2-1 3-4-6-5 4-1-7-6 2-3-5-8 1-2-8-7 7-8-5-6
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6.1.3
Choosing the Appropriate Grid Type
FLUENT can use grids comprised of triangular or quadrilateral cells (or a combination of the two) in 2D, and tetrahedral, hexahedral, pyramid, or wedge cells (or a combination of these) in 3D. The choice of which mesh type to use will depend on your application. When choosing mesh type, consider the following issues: Setup time Computational expense Numerical diusion
Setup Time
Many ow problems solved in engineering practice involve complex geometries. The creation of structured or block-structured grids (consisting of quadrilateral or hexahedral elements) for such problems can be extremely time-consuming if not impossible. Therefore, setup time for complex geometries is the major motivation for using unstructured grids employing triangular or tetrahedral cells. However, if your geometry is relatively simple, there may be no saving in setup time with either approach. If you already have a mesh created for a structured code such as FLUENT 4, it will save you time to use this mesh in FLUENT rather than regenerate it. This can be a motivation for using quadrilateral or hexahedral cells in your FLUENT simulation. Note: FLUENT has a range of lters that allow you to import structured meshes from other codes, including FLUENT 4 (see Section 6.3: Grid Import).
Computational Expense
When geometries are complex or the range of length scales of the ow is large, a triangular/tetrahedral mesh can be created with far fewer cells than the equivalent mesh consisting of quadrilateral/hexahedral elements. This is because a triangular/tetrahedral mesh allows clustering of cells in selected regions of the ow domain. Structured quadrilateral/hexahedral meshes will generally force cells to be placed in regions where they are not needed. Unstructured quadrilateral/hexahedral meshes oer many of the advantages of triangular/tetrahedral meshes for moderately-complex geometries. A characteristic of quadrilateral/hexahedral elements that might make them more economical in some situations is that they permit a much larger aspect ratio than triangular/tetrahedral cells. A large aspect ratio in a triangular/tetrahedral cell will invariably aect the skewness of the cell, which is undesirable as it may impede accuracy and convergence. Therefore, if you have a relatively simple geometry in which the ow conforms
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6.1 Grid Topologies
well to the shape of the geometry, such as a long thin duct, use a mesh of high-aspectratio quadrilateral/hexahedral cells. The mesh is likely to have far fewer cells than if you use triangular/tetrahedral cells.
Numerical Diffusion
A dominant source of error in multidimensional situations is numerical diusion (false diusion). The term false diusion is used because the diusion is not a real phenomenon, yet its eect on a ow calculation is analogous to that of increasing the real diusion coecient. The following comments can be made about numerical diusion: Numerical diusion is most noticeable when the real diusion is small, that is, when the situation is convection-dominated. All practical numerical schemes for solving uid ow contain a nite amount of numerical diusion. This is because numerical diusion arises from truncation errors that are a consequence of representing the uid ow equations in discrete form. The second-order discretization scheme used in FLUENT can help reduce the eects of numerical diusion on the solution. The amount of numerical diusion is inversely related to the resolution of the mesh. Therefore, one way of dealing with numerical diusion is to rene the mesh. Numerical diusion is minimized when the ow is aligned with the mesh. This is the most relevant to the choice of the grid. If you use a triangular/tetrahedral mesh, the ow can never be aligned with the grid. If you use a quadrilateral/hexahedral mesh, this situation might occur, but not for complex ows. It is only in a simple ow, such as the ow through a long duct, in which you can rely on a quadrilateral/hexahedral mesh to minimize numerical diusion. In such situations. It is advantageous to use a quadrilateral/hexahedral mesh, since you will be able to get a better solution with fewer cells than if you were using a triangular/tetrahedral mesh.
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6.2
Grid Requirements and Considerations

This section contains information about special geometry/grid requirements and general comments on mesh quality.
6.2.1 Geometry/Grid Requirements

You should be aware of the following geometry setup and grid construction requirements at the beginning of your problem setup: Axisymmetric geometries must be dened such that the axis of rotation is the x axis of the Cartesian coordinates used to dene the geometry (Figure 6.2.1).
C L
Figure 6.2.1: Setup of Axisymmetric Geometries with the x Axis as the Centerline
FLUENT allows you to set up periodic boundaries using either conformal or nonconformal periodic zones. For conformal periodic boundaries, the periodic zones must have identical grids. The conformal periodic boundaries can be created in GAMBIT or TGrid when you are generating the volume mesh. See the GAMBIT Modeling Guide or the TGrid Users Guide for more information about creating periodic boundaries in GAMBIT or TGrid.) Alternatively, you can create the conformal periodic boundaries in FLUENT using the make-periodic text command (see Section 6.7.6: Creating Periodic Zones for details). Although GAMBIT and TGrid can produce true periodic boundaries, most CAD packages do not. If your mesh was created in such a package, create the periodic boundaries using the non-conformal periodic option in FLUENT (see Section 6.7.6: Creating Periodic Zones for details). However, this option is recommended only for periodic zones that are planar.
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6.2 Grid Requirements and Considerations
6.2.2
Mesh Quality
The quality of the mesh plays a signicant role in the accuracy and stability of the numerical computation. The attributes associated with mesh quality are node point distribution, smoothness, and skewness.
Node Density and Clustering

Since you are discretely dening a continuous domain, the degree to which the salient features of the ow (such as shear layers, separated regions, shock waves, boundary layers, and mixing zones) are resolved, depends on the density and distribution of nodes in the mesh. In many cases, poor resolution in critical regions can dramatically alter the ow characteristics. For example, the prediction of separation due to an adverse pressure gradient depends heavily on the resolution of the boundary layer upstream of the point of separation. Resolution of the boundary layer (i.e., mesh spacing near walls) also plays a signicant role in the accuracy of the computed wall shear stress and heat transfer coecient. This is particularly true in laminar ows where the grid adjacent to the wall should obey yp where yp u x u x 1 (6.2-1)
= distance to the wall from the adjacent cell centroid = free-stream velocity = kinematic viscosity of the uid = distance along the wall from the starting point of the boundary layer
Equation 6.2-1 is based upon the Blasius solution for laminar ow over a at plate at zero incidence [298]. Proper resolution of the mesh for turbulent ows is also very important. Due to the strong interaction of the mean ow and turbulence, the numerical results for turbulent ows tend to be more susceptible to grid dependency than those for laminar ows. In the near-wall region, dierent mesh resolutions are required depending on the near-wall model being used. See Section 11.10: Grid Considerations for Turbulent Flow Simulations for guidelines. In general, no ow passage should be represented by fewer than 5 cells. Most cases will require many more cells to adequately resolve the passage. In regions of large gradients, as in shear layers or mixing zones, the grid should be ne enough to minimize the change in the ow variables from cell to cell. Unfortunately, it is very dicult to determine the locations of important ow features in advance. Moreover, the grid resolution in most complicated 3D ow elds will be constrained by CPU time and computer resource limitations (i.e., memory and disk space). Although accuracy increases with larger grids, the CPU and memory requirements to compute the solution and postprocess the results
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also increase. Solution-adaptive grid renement can be used to increase and/or decrease grid density based on the evolving ow eld, and thus provides the potential for more economical use of grid points (and hence reduced time and resource requirements). See Chapter 27: Grid Adaption for information on solution adaption.
Smoothness
Truncation error is the dierence between the partial derivatives in the governing equations and their discrete approximations. Rapid changes in cell volume between adjacent cells translate into larger truncation errors. FLUENT provides the capability to improve the smoothness by rening the mesh based on the change in cell volume or the gradient of cell volume. For information on rening the grid based on change in cell volume. (See Sections 27.4 and 27.8).
Cell Shape
The shape of the cell (including its skewness and aspect ratio) also has a signicant impact on the accuracy of the numerical solution. Skewness is dened as the dierence between the shape of the cell and the shape of an equilateral cell of equivalent volume. Highly skewed cells can decrease accuracy and destabilize the solution. For example, optimal quadrilateral meshes will have vertex angles close to 90 degrees, while triangular meshes should preferably have angles of close to 60 degrees and have all angles less than 90 degrees. Aspect ratio is a measure of the stretching of the cell. As discussed in Section 6.1.3: Computational Expense, for highly anisotropic ows, extreme aspect ratios may yield accurate results with fewer cells. However, a general rule of thumb is to avoid aspect ratios in excess of 5:1.
Flow-Field Dependency
The eect of resolution, smoothness, and cell shape on the accuracy and stability of the solution process is dependent on the ow eld being simulated. For example, very skewed cells can be tolerated in benign ow regions, but can be very damaging in regions with strong ow gradients. Since the locations of strong ow gradients generally cannot be determined a priori, you should strive to achieve a high-quality mesh over the entire ow domain.
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6.3 Grid Import
6.3
Grid Import
Since FLUENT can handle a number of dierent grid topologies, there are many sources from which you can obtain a grid to be used in your simulation. You can generate a grid using GAMBIT, TGrid, GeoMesh, PreBFC, ICEMCFD, I-deas, NASTRAN, PATRAN, ARIES, ANSYS, or other preprocessors. You can also use the grid contained in a FLUENT/UNS, RAMPANT, or FLUENT 4 case le. You can also prepare multiple mesh les and combine them to create a single mesh.
6.3.1 GAMBIT Grid Files

You can use GAMBIT to create 2D and 3D structured/unstructured/hybrid grids. To create any of these meshes for FLUENT, follow the procedure described in the GAMBIT Modeling Guide, and export your mesh in FLUENT 5/6 format. All such meshes can be imported directly into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files.
6.3.2 GeoMesh Grid Files

You can use GeoMesh to create complete 2D quadrilateral or triangular grids, 3D hexahedral grids, and triangular surface grids for 3D tetrahedral grids. To create any of these meshes for FLUENT, follow the procedure described in the GeoMesh Users Guide. To complete the generation of a 3D tetrahedral mesh, read the surface mesh into TGrid and generate the volume mesh there. All other meshes can be imported directly into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files.
6.3.3 TGrid Grid Files

You can use TGrid to create 2D and 3D unstructured triangular/tetrahedral grids from boundary or surface grids. Follow the meshing procedure described in the TGrid Users Guide, and save your mesh using the File/Write/Mesh... menu item. To import the grid into FLUENT, use the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files.
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6.3.4 PreBFC Grid Files

You can use PreBFC to create two dierent types of grids for FLUENT, structured quadrilateral/hexahedral and unstructured triangular/tetrahedral.
Structured Grid Files

To generate a structured 2D or 3D grid, follow the procedure described in the PreBFC Users Guide (Chapters 6 and 7). The resulting grid will contain quadrilateral (2D) or hexahedral (3D) elements. Do not specify more than 70 wall zones and 35 inlet zones. To import the grid, use the File/Import/PreBFC File... menu item, as described in Section 4.2.5: Importing PreBFC Structured Mesh Files. To manually convert a le in PreBFC format to a mesh le suitable for FLUENT, enter the following command: utility fl42seg input-lename output-lename The output le produced can be read into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files.
Unstructured Triangular and Tetrahedral Grid Files

To generate an unstructured 2D grid, follow the procedure described in the PreBFC Users Guide. Save the mesh le in the RAMPANT format using the MESH-RAMPANT/TGRID command. The current FLUENT format is the same as the RAMPANT format. The resulting grid will contain triangular elements. To import the grid, use the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files. To generate a 3D unstructured tetrahedral grid, follow the procedure described in Chapter 8 of the PreBFC Users Guide for generating a surface mesh. Then read the surface mesh into TGrid, and complete the grid generation there. See Section 6.3.3: TGrid Grid Files for information about TGrid grid les.
6.3.5 ICEMCFD Grid Files

You can use ICEMCFD to create structured grids in FLUENT 4 format and unstructured grids in RAMPANT format. To import a FLUENT 4 grid, follow the instructions in Section 6.3.8: FLUENT 4 Case Files. To import a RAMPANT grid, use the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files.
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6.3 Grid Import
The current FLUENT format is the same as the RAMPANT format, not the FLUENT 4 format. After reading a triangular or tetrahedral ICEMCFD volume mesh, perform smoothing and swapping (as described in Section 27.13: Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping) to improve its quality.
6.3.6
Grid Files from Third-Party CAD Packages
FLUENT can import grid les from a number of third-party CAD packages, including I-deas, NASTRAN, PATRAN, and ANSYS.
I-deas Universal Files

You can import an I-deas Universal le into FLUENTin three dierent ways. 1. Generate an I-deas surface or volume mesh containing triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge and/or hexahedral elements. Import it into TGrid using the commands described in the TGrid Users Guide. Adhere to the restrictions described in Appendix B of the TGrid Users Guide. In TGrid, complete the grid generation (if necessary) and follow the instructions in Section 6.3.3: TGrid Grid Files. 2. Generate an I-deas volume mesh with linear triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, or hexahedral elements. Import it directly using the File/Import/I-deas Universal... menu item, as described in Section 4.2.7: Importing I-deas Universal Files. 3. Generate an I-deas volume mesh with linear triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, or hexahedral elements. Use the lter, fe2ram to convert the Universal le to the format used by FLUENT. To convert an input le in I-deas Universal format to an output le in FLUENT format, follow the instructions on page 6-26. After the output le is written, read it into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files. Recognized I-deas Datasets The following Universal le datasets are recognized by the FLUENT grid import utility: Node Coordinates dataset number 15, 781, 2411 Elements dataset number 71, 780, 2412 Permanent Groups dataset number 752, 2417, 2429, 2430, 2432, 2435 For 2D volume grids, the elements must exist in a constant z plane. Note: The mesh area or mesh volume datasets are not recognized. This implies that writing multiple mesh areas/volumes to a single Universal le may confuse FLUENT.
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Grouping Nodes to Create Face Zones Nodes are grouped in I-deas using the Group command to create boundary face zones. In FLUENT, boundary conditions are applied to each zone. Faces that contain the nodes in a group are gathered into a single zone. It is important not to group nodes of internal faces with nodes of boundary faces. One technique is to generate groups automatically based on curves or mesh areasi.e., every curve or mesh area will be a dierent zone in FLUENT. You may also create the groups manually, generating groups consisting of all nodes related to a given curve (2D) or mesh area (3D). Grouping Elements to Create Cell Zones Elements in I-deas are grouped using the Group command to create the multiple cell zones. All elements grouped together are placed in a single cell zone in FLUENT. If the elements are not grouped, FLUENT will place all the cells into a single zone. Deleting Duplicate Nodes I-deas may generate duplicate or coincident nodes in the process of creating elements. These nodes must be removed in I-deas before writing the universal le for import into FLUENT.
NASTRAN Files
There are three dierent ways in which you can import a NASTRAN le into FLUENT: You can generate a NASTRAN surface or volume mesh containing triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, and/or hexahedral elements, and import it into TGrid using the commands described in the TGrid Users Guide and adhering to the restrictions described in Appendix B of the TGrid Users Guide. In TGrid, complete the grid generation (if necessary) and then follow the instructions in Section 6.3.3: TGrid Grid Files. You can generate a NASTRAN volume mesh with linear triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, or hexahedral elements, and import it directly using the File/Import/NASTRAN... menu item, as described in Section 4.2.8: Importing NASTRAN Files.
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6.3 Grid Import
You can generate a NASTRAN volume mesh with linear triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, or hexahedral elements. Then use the lter fe2ram to convert the NASTRAN le to the format used by FLUENT. To convert an input le in NASTRAN format to an output le in FLUENT format, follow the instructions on page 6-26. After the output le has been written, you can read it into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files. After reading a triangular or tetrahedral NASTRAN volume mesh using the latter methods perform smoothing and swapping (as described in Section 27.13: Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping) to improve its quality. Recognized NASTRAN Bulk Data Entries The following NASTRAN le datasets are recognized by the FLUENT grid import utility: GRID single-precision node coordinates GRID* double-precision node coordinates CBAR line elements CTETRA, CTRIA3 tetrahedral and triangular elements CHEXA, CQUAD4, CPENTA hexahedral, quadrilateral, and wedge elements For 2D volume grids, the elements must exist in a constant z plane. Deleting Duplicate Nodes NASTRAN may generate duplicate or coincident nodes in the process of creating elements. These nodes must be removed in NASTRAN before writing the le for import into FLUENT.
PATRAN Neutral Files

There are three dierent ways in which you can import a PATRAN Neutral le into FLUENT. You can generate a PATRAN surface or volume mesh containing triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, and/or hexahedral elements, and import it into TGrid using the commands described in the TGrid Users Guide and adhering to the restrictions described in Appendix B of the TGrid Users Guide. In TGrid, complete the grid generation (if necessary) and then follow the instructions in Section 6.3.3: TGrid Grid Files.
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You can generate a PATRAN volume mesh with linear triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, or hexahedral elements (grouping nodes with the same componentgroup name) and import it directly to FLUENT by selecting the File/Import/ PATRAN... menu item, as described in Section 4.2.9: Importing PATRAN Neutral Files. You can generate a PATRAN volume mesh with linear triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, or hexahedral elements and then use the lter fe2ram to convert the Neutral le into the format used by FLUENT. To convert an input le in PATRAN Neutral format to an output le in FLUENT format, follow the instructions on page 6-26. After the output le has been written, you can read it into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files. After reading a triangular or tetrahedral PATRAN volume mesh using the latter methods perform smoothing and swapping (as described in Section 27.13: Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping) to improve its quality. Recognized PATRAN Datasets The following PATRAN Neutral le packet types are recognized by the FLUENT grid import utility: Node Data Packet Type 01 Element Data Packet Type 02 Distributed Load Data Packet Type 06 Node Temperature Data Packet Type 10 Name Components Packet Type 21 File Header Packet Type 25 For 2D volume grids, the elements must exist in a constant z plane. Grouping Elements to Create Cell Zones Elements are grouped in PATRAN using the Named Component command to create the multiple cell zones. All elements grouped together are placed in a single cell zone in FLUENT. If the elements are not grouped, FLUENT will place all the cells into a single zone.
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6.3 Grid Import
ANSYS Files
There are three dierent ways in which you can import an ANSYS le into FLUENT. You can generate a surface or volume mesh containing triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, or hexahedral elements using ANSYS or ARIES, and import it into TGrid using the commands described in the TGrid Users Guide and adhering to the restrictions described in Appendix B of the TGrid Users Guide. In TGrid, complete the grid generation (if necessary) and then follow the instructions in Section 6.3.3: TGrid Grid Files. You can generate an ANSYS volume mesh with linear triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, or hexahedral elements as well as with higher order elements like 20 node hexahedron, SOLID92, and SOLID187 and import it directly to FLUENT using the File/Import/ANSYS... menu item, as described in Section 4.2.6: Importing ANSYS Files. The higher order elements will be converted to their corresponding linear elements during the import in FLUENT. You can generate an ANSYS volume mesh with linear triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, wedge, or hexahedral elements and then use the lter fe2ram to convert the ANSYS le into the format used by FLUENT. To convert an input le in ANSYS 5.4 or 5.5 format to an output le in FLUENT format, follow the instructions on page 6-26. After the output le has been written, you can read it into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files. After reading a triangular or tetrahedral volume mesh using method 2 or 3 above, you should perform smoothing and swapping (as described in Section 27.13: Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping) to improve its quality. Recognized ANSYS 5.4 and 5.5 Datasets FLUENT can import mesh les from ANSYS 5.4 and 5.5 (.cdb les), retaining original boundary names. The following ANSYS le datasets are recognized by the FLUENT grid import utility: NBLOCK node block data EBLOCK element block data CMBLOCK element/node grouping The elements must be STIF63 linear shell elements. In addition, if element data without an explicit element ID is used, the lter assumes sequential numbering of the elements when creating the zones.
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Using the fe2ram Filter to Convert Files

To convert the CAD le manually before reading it into FLUENT, enter the following at a command prompt in a terminal or command window: utility fe2ram [dimension] format [zoning] input-le output-le Note: The items enclosed in square brackets are optional. Do not type the square brackets. dimension indicates the dimension of the dataset. Replace dimension by -d2 to indicate that the grid is two-dimensional. For a 3D grid, do not enter any value for dimension, because 3D is the default. format indicates the format of the le you wish to convert. Replace format by -tANSYS for an ANSYS le, -tIDEAS for an I-deas le, -tNASTRAN for a NASTRAN le, or -tPATRAN for a PATRAN le. To check if conversion from any other CAD packages has been added, type utility fe2ram -cl -help. zoning indicates how zones were identied in the CAD package. Replace zoning by -zID for a grid that was zoned by property IDs, or -zNONE to ignore all zone groupings. For a grid zoned by group, do not enter anything for zoning, because zoning by groups is the default. input-le is the name of the original le. output-le is the name of the le to which you want to write the converted grid information. For example, if you wanted to convert the 2D I-deas volume mesh le sample.unv to an output le called sample.grd, you will enter the following command: utility fe2ram -d2 -tIDEAS sample.unv sample.grd
6.3.7 FLUENT/UNS and RAMPANT Case Files

If you have a FLUENT/UNS 3 or 4 case le or a RAMPANT 2, 3, or 4 case le and you want to run a FLUENT simulation using the same grid, you can read it into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.4: Reading FLUENT/UNS and RAMPANT Case and Data Files.
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6.3 Grid Import
6.3.8 FLUENT 4 Case Files

If you have a FLUENT 4 case le and you want to run a FLUENT simulation using the same grid, import it into FLUENT using the File/Import/FLUENT 4 Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.5: Importing FLUENT 4 Case Files. FLUENT will read grid information and zone types from the FLUENT 4 case le.
FLUENT 4 may interpret some pressure boundaries dierently from the current release of FLUENT. Check the conversion information printed out by FLUENT to see if you need to modify any boundary types.
To manually convert an input le in FLUENT 4 format to an output le in the current FLUENT format, enter the following command: utility fl42seg input-lename output-lename After the output le has been written, you can read it into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files.
6.3.9 FIDAP Neutral Files

If you have a FIDAP Neutral le and you want to run a FLUENT simulation using the same grid, import it using the File/Import/FIDAP... menu item, as described in Section 4.6: Importing FIDAP Neutral Files. FLUENT will read grid information and zone types from the FIDAP le. To manually convert an input le in FIDAP format to an output le in FLUENT format, enter the following command: utility fe2ram [dimension] -tFIDAP7 input-le output-le The item in square brackets is optional. Do not type the square brackets. For a 2D le, replace dimension with -d2. For a 3D le, do not enter anything for dimension, because 3D is the default. After the output le has been written, read it into FLUENT using the File/Read/Case... menu item, as described in Section 4.2: Reading Mesh Files.
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6.3.10
Reading Multiple Mesh/Case/Data Files
There may be some cases in which you will need to read multiple mesh les (subdomains) to form your computational domain. To solve on a multiblock mesh, generate each block of the mesh in the grid generator and save it to a separate grid le. For very complicated geometries, it may be more ecient to save the mesh for each part as a separate grid le. The grid node locations need not be identical at the boundaries where two separate meshes meet. FLUENT can handle non-conformal grid interfaces. See Section 6.4: NonConformal Grids for details about non-conformal grid boundaries. There are two ways for reading multiple grid les in FLUENT: Using FLUENTs ability to read multiple mesh les. Using TGrid or tmerge.
Using FLUENTs Ability to Read Multiple Mesh Files

FLUENT allows you to handle more than one mesh at a time within the same solver settings. This multigrid handling capability is time saving, since you can directly read in the dierent mesh les in FLUENT itself without using other tools like TGrid or tmerge. To read the multiple mesh in FLUENT, select it in the Select File panel (Figure 6.3.1), and click OK. Grid Zone Append Case File... To read the rst block of mesh in FLUENT use the File Read Case... menu item and then use the Grid Zone Append Case File... menu item to read in the other mesh blocks. FLUENT also allows you to append the data on the mesh. To read in the data, select the data le in the Select File panel (Figure 6.3.1), and click OK. Grid Zone Append Case & Data Files...
Reading multiple grid and data options are available only for serial cases, not for parallel cases.
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6.3 Grid Import
Figure 6.3.1: The Select File Panel
Using TGrid or tmerge

1. Generate the grid for the whole domain in the grid generator, and save each cell zone (or block or part) to a separate grid le for FLUENT.
If one (or more) of the grids you wish to import is structured (e.g., a FLUENT 4 grid le), rst convert it to FLUENT format using the fl42seg lter described in Section 6.3.8: FLUENT 4 Case Files.
2. Before starting the solver, use either TGrid or the tmerge lter to combine the grids into one grid le. The TGrid method is convenient, but the tmerge method allows you to rotate, scale, and/or translate the grids before they are merged. To use TGrid, do the following: (a) Read all of the grid les into TGrid. When TGrid reads the grid les, it will automatically merge them into a single grid. (b) Save the merged grid le. See the TGrid Users Guide for information about reading and writing les in TGrid. To use the tmerge lter, do the following before starting FLUENT: (a) For 3D problems, type utility tmerge -3d. For 2D problems, type utility tmerge -2d.
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(b) When prompted, specify the names of the input les (the separate grid les) and the name of the output le in which to save the complete grid. (c) For each input le, specify scaling factors, translation distances, or a rotation angle. In the example below, no scaling, translation, or rotation is performed. utility tmerge -2d -cl -p my1.msh my2.msh final.msh 3. Read the combined grid le into the solver in the usual manner (using the File/Read/Case... menu item). For a conformal mesh, if you do not want a boundary between the adjacent cell zones, use the Fuse Face Zones panel to fuse the overlapping boundaries (see Section 6.7.8: Fusing Face Zones). The matching faces will be moved to a new zone with a boundary type of interior. If all faces on either or both of the original zones have been moved to the new zone, the original zone(s) will be discarded.
If you are planning to use sliding meshes, or if you have non-conformal boundaries between adjacent cell zones, do not combine the overlapping zones. Instead, change the type of the two overlapping zones to interface (as described in Section 6.4: Non-Conformal Grids).
In this example, scaling, translation, or rotation is not requested. Hence you can simplify the inputs to the following:
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6.3 Grid Import
user@mymachine:> utility tmerge -2d Starting /Fluent.Inc/utility/tmerge2.1/ultra/tmerge_2d.2.1.13 Append 2D grid files. tmerge2D Fluent Inc, Version 2.1.11 Enter name of grid file (ENTER to continue) : my1.msh x,y scaling factor, eg. 1 1 x,y translation, eg. 0 1 rotation angle (deg), eg. 45 : 1 1 : 0 0 : 0
Enter name of grid file (ENTER to continue) : my2.msh x,y scaling factor, eg. 1 1 x,y translation, eg. 0 1 rotation angle (deg), eg. 45 : 1 1 : 0 0 : 0
Enter name of grid file (ENTER to continue) : <ENTER> Enter name of output file : final.msh
Reading... node zone: id 1, ib 1, ie 1677, typ 1 node zone: id 2, ib 1678, ie 2169, typ 2 . . . done. Writing... 492 nodes, id 1, ib 1678, ie 2169, type 2. 1677 nodes, id 2, ib 1, ie 1677, type 1. . . . done. Appending done.
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6.3.11
Reading Surface Mesh Files
Surface meshes are used as background mesh for geometry based adaption. To read the surface mesh le into FLUENT, use the Grid/Surface Mesh... menu item. In the Surfaces Meshes panel, click Read... and select the surface mesh le using the Select File panel. You can also display and delete the surfaces using this panel.
Figure 6.3.2: The Surface Meshes Panel
6.4
Non-Conformal Grids
In FLUENT it is possible to use a grid composed of cell zones with non-conformal boundaries. That is, the grid node locations need not to be identical at the boundaries where two subdomains meet. FLUENT handles such meshes using the same technique that is used in the sliding mesh model, although the meshes do not slide in this situation.
6.4.1 Non-Conformal Grid Calculations

To compute the ux across the non-conformal boundary, FLUENT must rst compute the intersection between the interface zones that comprise the boundary. The resulting intersection produces an interior zone where the two interface zones overlap (see Figure 6.4.1). If one of the interface zones extends beyond the other (Figure 6.4.2), FLUENT will create one or two additional wall zones for the portion(s) of the boundary where the two interface zones do not overlap. Fluxes across the grid interface are computed using the faces resulting from the intersection of the two interface zones, not from the interface zone faces.
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6.4 Non-Conformal Grids
interface zone 1 interface zone 2
interior zone
Figure 6.4.1: Completely Overlapping Grid Interface Intersection
Figure 6.4.2: Partially Overlapping Grid Interface Intersection
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In the example shown in Figure 6.4.3, the interface zones are composed of faces A-B and B-C, and faces D-E and E-F.
cell zone 1
I A a interface zone 2 B b D
II III C e E IV VI V c F interface zone 1
cell zone 2
Figure 6.4.3: Two-Dimensional Non-Conformal Grid Interface
The intersection of these zones produces the faces a-d, d-b, b-e, and e-c. Faces produced in the region where the two cell zones overlap (d-b, b-e, and e-c) are grouped to form an interior zone, while the remaining face (a-d) forms a wall zone. To compute the ux across the interface into cell IV, face D-E is ignored and instead, faces d-b and b-e are used bringing information into cell IV from cells I and III.
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Non-Conformal Interface Algorithms

Non-conformal interface calculations are handled using the following two approaches: Triangular face approach: Triangulates the polygon intersection faces, and stores triangular faces. This approach involves node movement and water tight cells. Virtual polygon approach: Stores area vector and centroid of the polygon faces. This approach does not involve node movement and cells are not necessarily water tight cells. Hence gradients are corrected to take into account the missing cell area. Both the algorithms calculate the intersection of the interface meshes, however using dierent approach for calculations. Note: The former approach of making cells water tight sometimes results in concave cells, causing the interface creation to fail. For this reason the virtual polygon approach is more stable than the triangular face approach.
Previous versions of FLUENT (version 6.1 and earlier) use only the triangular face approach. FLUENT 6.2 supports both approaches.
Case les from FLUENT 6.1 or earlier can be read and run normally in FLUENT 6.2. By default, these cases will use the triangular face approach. You can also manually switch to the virtual polygon approach for such cases. To use the new algorithm, use the use-virtual-polygon-approach TUI command. define grid-interfaces use-virtual-polygon-approach
/define/grid-interfaces> use-virtual-polygon-approach /define/grid-interfaces>
During sliding mesh calculations, left handed faces can be generated due to bad grids. FLUENT corrects the left handedness of these faces automatically. But in extreme cases, it cannot be fully corrected. Such faces are deleted automatically, so that the solution does not diverge. Left handed cells can also be created for the geometries that contains sharp edges and corners, which may aect the nal solution. For such geometries, it is recommended to rst separate the zones and then create the interfaces separately to get the better solution. Additional input of angle/translation-vector may be required to recreate face-periodic interfaces. Also, with the new interface in parallel, there will be no need for encapsulation.
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6.4.2
Requirements and Limitations of Non-Conformal Grids
This section describes the requirements and limitations of non-conformal grids: The grid interface can be of any shape (including a non-planar surface, in 3D), provided that the two interface boundaries are based on the same geometry. If there are sharp features (e.g., 90-degree angles) or curvature in the mesh, it is especially important that both sides of the interface closely follow that feature. For example, consider the case of two concentric circles that dene two uid zones with a circular, non-conformal interface between them, as shown in Figure 6.4.4. Because the node spacing on the interface edge of the outer uid zone is coarse compared to the radius of curvature, the interface does not closely follow the feature (in this case, the circular edge.)
The maximum tolerance between two interfaces should not be larger than their adjacent cell size at that location That is no cell should be completely enclosed between two interfaces.
Figure 6.4.4: A Circular Non-Conformal Interface
A face zone cannot share a non-conformal interface with more than one other face zone. This is illustrated by an example, shown in Figure 6.4.5. Each volume in the gure is meshed separately and does not match node-to-node at the interface. To create the non-conformal interface, work with three surfaces, one side of the box (rectangle 1) and an end cap from each pipe (circle 1 and circle 2). To create interfaces between rectangle 1 and the two circles, there has to be one-to-one mapping between each end cap and the side of the box (see Figure 6.4.6). If you create a single grid with multiple cell zones separated by a non-conformal boundary, you must be sure that each cell zone has a distinct face zone on the non-conformal boundary.
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rectangle 1 circle 1
circle 2
Figure 6.4.5: Box with Two Pipes Intersecting One Side
Allowed: Divide rectangle 1 into two surfaces rectangle 1a circle 2 rectangle 1b circle 1 interface pairings are: rectangle 1a circle 2 rectangle 1b circle 1
Not allowed: Keeping things as they are Not Valid: rectangle 1 circle 2 rectangle 1 circle 1
rectangle 1 circle 2 circle 1
Figure 6.4.6: One-to-One Mapping
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The face zones for two adjacent cell zones will have the same position and shape, but one will correspond to one cell zone and one to the other. It is also possible to create a separate grid le for each of the cell zones, and then merge them as described in Section 6.3.10: Reading Multiple Mesh/Case/Data Files. All periodic zones must be correctly oriented (either rotational or translational) before you create the non-conformal interface. Periodic non-conformal interfaces must overlap exactly. That is they need to have the same rotational or translational extent and also have the same axial extent. This is not true for interfaces in general, where a wall zone is created for non-overlapping regions. For 3D cases, if the interface is periodic, only one pair of periodic boundaries can neighbor the interface. If non-conformal periodic interfaces are used, they should not be intersected by any other non-conformal interfaces. See also Section 6.4.4: Starting From a FLUENT/UNS or RAMPANT Case for information about using non-conformal FLUENT/UNS and RAMPANT cases.
6.4.3
Using a Non-Conformal Grid in FLUENT
If your multiple-zone grid includes non-conformal boundaries, check if the grid meets all the requirements listed in Section 6.4.2: Requirements and Limitations of Non-Conformal Grids). This ensures that FLUENT can obtain a solution on the mesh. Then do the following: 1. Read the grid into FLUENT. If you have multiple grid les that have not yet been merged, rst follow the instructions in Section 6.3.10: Reading Multiple Mesh/Case/Data Files to merge them into a single grid. 2. After reading in the grid, change the type of each pair of zones that comprises the non-conformal boundary to interface (as described in Section 7.1.3: Changing Boundary Zone Types). Dene Boundary Conditions... 3. Dene the non-conformal grid interfaces in the Grid Interfaces panel (Figure 6.4.7). Dene Grid Interfaces... (a) Enter a name for the interface in the Grid Interface eld.
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Figure 6.4.7: The Grid Interfaces Panel
(b) Specify the two interface zones that comprise the grid interface by selecting one in the Interface Zone 1 list and one in the Interface Zone 2 list.
If one of your interface zones is much smaller than the other, you should specify the smaller zone as Interface Zone 1 to improve the accuracy of the intersection calculation.
(c) Set the Interface Type, if appropriate. There are two options: Enable Periodic for periodic problems. Enable Coupled if the interface lies between a solid zone and a uid zone, or if you would like to model a (thermally) coupled wall between two uid zones using non-conformal interfaces. (d) Click on Create to create a new grid interface. For all types of interfaces, FLUENT will create boundary zones for the interface (e.g., wall-9, wall-10), which will appear under Boundary Zone 1 and Boundary Zone 2. If you have enabled the Coupled option, FLUENT will also create wall interface zones (e.g., wall-4, wall-4-shadow), which will appear under Interface Wall Zone 1 and Interface Wall Zone 2. (e) If the two interface zones did not overlap entirely, check the boundary zone type of the zone(s) created for the non-overlapping portion(s) of the boundary. If the zone type is not correct, you can use the Boundary Conditions panel to change it.
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(f) If you have any Coupled type interfaces, dene boundary conditions (if relevant) by updating the interface wall zones in the Boundary Conditions panel. Dene Boundary Conditions... If you create an incorrect grid interface, you can select it in the Grid Interface list and click the Delete button to delete it. Any boundary zones or wall interface zones that were created when the interface was created will also be deleted. You may then proceed with the problem setup as usual.
6.4.4
Starting From a FLUENT/UNS or RAMPANT Case
FLUENT/UNS and RAMPANT case les with non-conformal interfaces can be read and used by FLUENT without any changes. However, you may want to recompute the grid interface to take advantage of FLUENTs improved intersection calculation. You cannot simply delete the original grid interface and recompute it. Instead, you must use the define/grid-interfaces/recreate text command. define grid-interfaces recreate When you select this command, FLUENT will recreate all grid interfaces in the domain. You can then continue the problem setup or calculation as usual.
i
6.5
If you have a FLUENT/UNS or RAMPANT data le for the non-conformal case, you must read it in before you use the recreate command.
Checking the Grid

The grid checking capability in FLUENT provides domain extents, volume statistics, grid topology and periodic boundary information, verication of simplex counters, and (for axisymmetric cases) node position verication with respect to the x axis. You can obtain this information by selecting the Check menu item in the Grid pull-down menu. Grid Check
It is generally a good idea to check your grid right after reading it into the solver, in order to detect any grid trouble before you get started with the problem setup.
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6.5 Checking the Grid
6.5.1
Grid Check Information
The information that FLUENT generates when you use the Check item will appear in the console window. Sample output is shown below:
Grid Check Domain Extents: x-coordinate: min (m) = 0.000000e+00, max (m) = 6.400001e+01 y-coordinate: min (m) = -4.538534e+00, max (m) = 6.400000e+01 Volume statistics: minimum volume (m3): 2.353664e-05 maximum volume (m3): 7.599501e-03 total volume (m3): 2.341560e+00 minimum 2d volume (m3): 4.027890e-04 maximum 2d volume (m3): 1.230393e-03 Face area statistics: minimum face area (m2): 1.300719e-04 maximum face area (m2): 3.781404e-02 Checking number of nodes per cell. Checking number of faces per cell. Checking thread pointers. Checking number of cells per face. Checking face cells. Checking bridge faces. Checking right-handed cells. Checking face handedness. Checking for nodes that lie below the x-axis. Checking element type consistency. Checking boundary types: Checking face pairs. Checking periodic boundaries. Checking node count. Checking nosolve cell count. Checking nosolve face count. Checking face children. Checking cell children. Checking storage. Done.
The domain extents list the minimum and maximum x, y, and z coordinates in meters. The volume statistics include minimum, maximum, and total cell volume in m3 . A negative value for the minimum volume indicates that one or more cells have improper connectivity. Cells with a negative volume can often be identied using the Iso-Value Adaption capability to mark them for adaption and view them in the graphics window. For more
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information on creating and viewing isovalue adaption registers, see Section 27.6: Isovalue Adaption. You must eliminate these negative volumes before continuing the ow solution process. The topological information to be veried begins with the number of faces and nodes per cell. A triangular cell (2D) should have 3 faces and 3 nodes, a tetrahedral cell (3D) should have 4 faces and 4 nodes, a quadrilateral cell (2D) should have 4 faces and 4 nodes, and a hexahedral cell (3D) should have 6 faces and 8 nodes. Next, the face handedness for each zone is checked. The zones should contain all righthanded faces. Usually a grid with negative volumes will also have left-handed faces. Again, you cannot obtain a ow solution until you eliminate these connectivity problems. The last topological verication is checking the element-type consistency. If a mesh does not contain mixed elements (quadrilaterals and triangles or hexahedra and tetrahedra), FLUENT will determine that it does not need to keep track of the element types. By doing so, it can eliminate some unnecessary work. For axisymmetric cases, the number of nodes below the x axis is listed. Nodes below the x axis are forbidden for axisymmetric cases, since the axisymmetric cell volumes are created by rotating the 2D cell volume about the x axis; thus nodes below the x axis would create negative volumes. For solution domains with rotationally periodic boundaries, the minimum, maximum, average, and prescribed periodic angles are computed. A common mistake is to specify the angle incorrectly. For domains with translationally periodic boundaries, the boundary information is checked to ensure that the boundaries are truly periodic. Finally, the simplex counters are veried. The actual numbers of nodes, faces, and cells the solver has constructed are compared to the values specied in the corresponding header declarations in the grid le. Any discrepancies are reported.
6.5.2
Repairing Duplicate Shadow Nodes
If the Grid/Check report includes the following message: WARNING: node on face thread 2 has multiple shadows. it indicates the existence of duplicate shadow nodes. This error occurs only in grids with periodic-type walls. You can repair such a grid using the following text command: grid modify-zones repair-periodic If the interface is rotational periodic, you will be prompted for the rotation angle.
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6.6 Reporting Grid Statistics
6.6
Reporting Grid Statistics

There are several methods for reporting information about the grid after it has been read into FLUENT. You can report the amount of memory used by the current problem, the grid size, and statistics about the grid partitions. Zone-by-zone counts of cells and faces can also be reported. Information about grid statistics is provided in the following sections: Section 6.6.1: Grid Size Section 6.6.2: Memory Usage Section 6.6.3: Grid Zone Information Section 6.6.4: Partition Statistics
6.6.1
Grid Size
You can print out the numbers of nodes, faces, cells, and partitions in the grid by selecting the Grid/Info/Size menu item. Grid Info Size A partition is a piece of a grid that has been segregated for parallel processing (see Chapter 32: Parallel Processing). A sample of the resulting output follows:
Grid Size Level 0 Cells 7917 Faces 12247 Nodes 4468 Partitions 1
2 cell zones, 11 face zones.
If you are interested in how the cells and faces are divided among the dierent zones, you can use the Grid/Info/Zones menu item, as described in Section 6.6.3: Grid Zone Information. If you are using the coupled explicit solver, the grid information will be printed for each grid level. The grid levels result from creating coarse grid levels for the FAS multigrid convergence acceleration (see Section 26.5.4: Full-Approximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid). A sample of the resulting output is shown below:
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Grid Size Level 0 1 2 3 4 5 Cells 7917 1347 392 133 50 17 Faces 12247 3658 1217 475 197 78 Nodes 4468 0 0 0 0 0 Partitions 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 cell zones, 11 face zones.
6.6.2
Memory Usage
During a FLUENT session you may want to check the amount of memory used and allocated in the present analysis. FLUENT has a feature that will report the following information: the numbers of nodes, faces, cells, edges, and object pointers (generic pointers for various grid and graphics utilities) that are used and allocated; the amount of array memory (scratch memory used for surfaces) used and allocated; and the amount of memory used by the solver process. You can obtain this information by selecting the Grid/Info/Memory Usage menu item. Grid Info Memory Usage The memory information will be dierent for UNIX and Windows systems.
UNIX Systems
On UNIX systems, the process memory information includes the following: Process Static memory is essentially the size of the code itself. Process Dynamic memory is the allocated heap memory used to store the grid and solution variables Process Total memory is the sum of static and dynamic memory.
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6.6 Reporting Grid Statistics
Windows Systems
On Windows systems, the process memory information includes the following: Process Physical memory is the allocated heap memory currently resident in RAM. Process Virtual memory is the allocated heap memory currently swapped to the Windows system page le. Process Total memory is the sum of physical and virtual memory. Note the following: The memory information does not include the static (code) memory. In the serial version of FLUENT, the heap memory value includes storage for the solver (grid and solution variables), and Cortex (GUI and graphics memory), since Cortex and the solver are contained in the same process. In the parallel version, Cortex runs in its own process, so the heap memory value includes storage for the grid and solution variables only. On Windows systems, you can also get more information on the FLUENT process (or processes) by using the Task Manager (see your Windows documentation for details). For the serial version, the process image name will be something like fl542s.exe. For the parallel version, examples of process image names are as follows: cx332.exe (Cortex), fl542.exe (solver host), and fl smpi542.exe (one solver node).
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6.6.3
Grid Zone Information
You can print information in the console window about the nodes, faces, and cells in each zone using the Grid/Info/Zones menu item. Grid Info Zones The grid zone information includes the total number of nodes and, for each face and cell zone, the number of faces or cells, the cell (and, in 3D, face) type (triangular, quadrilateral, etc.), the boundary condition type, and the zone ID. Sample output is shown below:
Zone sizes on domain 1: 21280 hexahedral cells, zone 4. 532 quadrilateral velocity-inlet faces, zone 1. 532 quadrilateral pressure-outlet faces, zone 2. 1040 quadrilateral symmetry faces, zone 3. 1040 quadrilateral symmetry faces, zone 7. 61708 quadrilateral interior faces, zone 5. 1120 quadrilateral wall faces, zone 6. 23493 nodes.
6.6.4
Partition Statistics
You can print grid partition statistics in the console window by selecting the Grid/Info/Partitions menu item. Grid Info Partitions The statistics include the numbers of cells, faces, interfaces, and neighbors of each partition. See Section 32.5.5: Interpreting Partition Statistics for further details, including sample output.
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6.7 Modifying the Grid
6.7
Modifying the Grid

There are several ways in which you can modify or manipulate the grid after it has been read into FLUENT. You can scale or translate the grid, merge or separate zones, create or slit periodic zones, and fuse boundaries. In addition, you can reorder the cells in the domain to decrease bandwidth. Smoothing and diagonal swapping, which can be used to improve the mesh, are described in Section 27.13: Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping. Methods for partitioning grids to be used in a parallel solver are discussed in Section 32.5: Partitioning the Grid.
Whenever you modify the grid, you should be sure to save a new case le (and a data le, if data exist). If you have old data les that you would like to be able to read in again, be sure to retain the original case le as well, as the data in the old data les may not correspond to the new case le.
Information about grid manipulation is provided in the following sections: Section 6.7.1: Scaling the Grid Section 6.7.2: Translating the Grid Section 6.7.3: Rotating the Grid Section 6.7.4: Merging Zones Section 6.7.5: Separating Zones Section 6.7.6: Creating Periodic Zones Section 6.7.7: Slitting Periodic Zones Section 6.7.8: Fusing Face Zones Section 6.7.9: Slitting Face Zones Section 6.7.10: Extruding Face Zones Section 6.7.11: Reordering the Domain and Zones Section 6.7.12: Replacing, Deleting, Deactivating, and Activating Zones
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6.7.1
Scaling the Grid
Internally, FLUENT stores the computational grid in meters, the SI unit of length. When grid information is read into the solver, it is assumed that the grid was generated in units of meters. If your grid was created using a dierent unit of length (inches, feet, centimeters, etc.), you must scale the grid to meters. To do this, you can select from a list of common units to convert the grid or you can supply your own custom scale factors. Each node coordinate will be multiplied by the corresponding scale factor. Scaling can also be used to change the physical size of the grid. For instance, you could stretch the grid in the x direction by assigning a scale factor of 2 in the x direction and 1 in the y and z directions. This would double the extent of the grid in the x direction. However, you should use anisotropic scaling with caution, since it will change the aspect ratios of the cells in your grid.
If you plan to scale the grid in any way, you should do so before you initialize the ow or begin calculations. Any data that exist when you scale the grid will be invalid.
You will use the Scale Grid panel (Figure 6.7.1) to scale the grid from a standard unit of measurement or to apply custom scaling factors. Grid Scale...
Figure 6.7.1: The Scale Grid Panel
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Using the Scale Grid Panel

The procedure for scaling the grid is as follows: 1. Indicate the units in which you created the grid by choosing the appropriate abbreviation for centimeters, millimeters, inches, or feet in the Grid Was Created In drop-down list. The Scale Factors will automatically be set to the correct values (e.g., 0.0254 meters/inch or 0.3048 meters/foot). If you created your grid using units other than those in the list, you can enter the Scale Factors (e.g., the number of meters per yard) manually. 2. Click on the Scale button. The Domain Extents will be updated to show the correct range in meters. If you prefer to use your original unit of length during the FLUENT session, you can follow the procedure described below to change the unit. Changing the Unit of Length As mentioned above in step 2, when you scale the grid you do not change the units; you just convert the original dimensions of your grid points from your original units to meters by multiplying each node coordinate by the specied Scale Factors. If you want to work in your original units, instead of in meters, you can click on the Change Length Units button. This is a shortcut for changing the length unit in the Set Units panel (see Section 5.4: Customizing Units). When you click on the Change Length Units button, the Domain Extents will be updated to show the range in your original units. This unit will be used for all future inputs of length quantities. Unscaling the Grid If you use the wrong scale factor, accidentally click the Scale button twice, or wish to undo the scaling for any other reason, you can click on the Unscale button. Unscaling simply divides each of the node coordinates by the specied Scale Factors. (Selecting m in the Grid Was Created In list and clicking on Scale will not unscale the grid.) Changing the Physical Size of the Grid You can also use the Scale Grid panel to change the physical size of the grid. For example, if your grid is 5 feet by 8 feet, and you want to model the same geometry with dimensions twice as big (10 16), you can enter 2 for the X and Y Scale Factors and click on Scale. The Domain Extents will be updated to show the new range.
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6.7.2
Translating the Grid
You can move the grid by applying prescribed osets to the Cartesian coordinates of all the nodes in the grid. This would be necessary for a rotating problem if the grid were set up with the axis of rotation not passing through the origin, or for an axisymmetric problem if the grid were set up with the axis of rotation not coinciding with the x axis. It is also useful if, for example, you want to move the origin to a particular point on an object (such as the leading edge of a at plate) to make an XY plot have the desired distances on the x axis. You can translate grid points in FLUENT using the Translate Grid panel (Figure 6.7.2). Grid Translate...
Figure 6.7.2: The Translate Grid Panel
Using the Translate Grid Panel

The procedure for translating the grid is as follows: 1. Enter the desired translations in the x, y, and (for 3D) z directions (i.e., the desired delta in the axes origin) in the X, Y, and Z elds under Translation Osets. You can specify positive or negative real numbers in the current unit of length. 2. Click on the Translate button. The Domain Extents will be updated to display the new extents of the translated grid. (Note that the Domain Extents are purely informational; you cannot edit them manually.)
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6.7.3
Rotating the Grid
The ability to rotate the mesh is analogous to the ability to translate the mesh in FLUENT. You can rotate the mesh about the x, y, or z (for 3D) axis and also specify the rotation origin. This option is useful in the cases where the structural grid and the CFD grid are oset by a small angle. You can rotate the grid in FLUENT using the Rotate Grid panel (Figure 6.7.3). Grid Rotate...
Figure 6.7.3: The Rotate Grid Panel
Using the Rotate Grid Panel

The procedure for rotating the grid is as follows: 1. Specify the required Rotation Angle for the grid. You can specify any positive or negative real number in the correct unit of angle. 2. Under Rotation Origin, enter X, Y, and Z (for 3D) coordinates to specify a new origin for axis of rotation. 3. Under Rotation Axis, enter 1 for the axis along which you want to rotate the grid.
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4. Click on Rotate button. The Domain Extents will be updated to display the new extents of the rotated grid. (Note that the Domain Extents are purely informational; you cannot edit them manually.)
6.7.4
Merging Zones
To simplify the solution process, you may want to merge zones. Merging zones involves combining multiple zones of similar type into a single zone. Setting boundary conditions and postprocessing may be easier after you have merged similar zones. Zone merging is performed in the Merge Zones panel (Figure 6.7.4). Grid Merge...
Figure 6.7.4: The Merge Zones Panel
When to Merge Zones

FLUENT allows you to merge zones of similar type into a single zone. This is not necessary unless the number of zones becomes prohibitive to ecient setup or postprocessing of the numerical analysis. For example, setting the same boundary condition parameters for a large number of zones can be time-consuming and may introduce inconsistencies. In addition, the postprocessing of the data often involves surfaces generated using the zones. A large number of zones often translates into a large number of surfaces that must be selected for the various display options, such as color contouring. Fortunately, surfaces can also be merged (see Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces), minimizing the negative impact of a large number of zones on postprocessing eciency. Although merging zones can be helpful, there may be cases where you will want to retain a larger number of zones. Since the merging process is not fully reversible, a larger
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number of zones provides more exibility in imposing boundary conditions. Although a large number of zones can make selection of surfaces for display tedious, it can also provide more choices for rendering the grid and the ow-eld solution. For instance, it can be dicult to render an internal ow-eld solution. If the outer domain is composed of several zones, the grids of subsets of these zones can be plotted along with the solution to provide the relationship between the geometry and solution eld.
Using the Merge Zones Panel

The procedure for merging multiple zones of the same type into a single zone is as follows: 1. Select the zone type in the Multiple Types list. This list contains all the zone types for which there are multiple zones. When you choose a type from this list, the corresponding zones will appear in the Zones of Type list. 2. Select two or more zones in the Zones of Type list. 3. Click on the Merge button to merge the selected zones.
Remember to save a new case le (and a data le, if data exist).
6.7.5 Separating Zones

There are several methods available in FLUENT that allow you to separate a single face or cell zone into multiple zones of the same type. If your grid contains a zone that you want to break up into smaller portions, you can make use of these features. For example, if you created a single wall zone when generating the grid for a duct, but you want to specify dierent temperatures on specic portions of the wall, you will need to break that wall zone into two or more wall zones. If you plan to solve a problem using the sliding mesh model or multiple reference frames, but you forgot to create dierent uid zones for the regions moving at dierent speeds, you will need to separate the uid zone into two or more uid zones.
After performing any of these separations, you should save a new case le. If data exist, they are automatically assigned to the proper zones when separation occurs, so you should also write a new data le.
There are four ways to separate face zones and two ways to separate cell zones. The face separation methods will be described rst, followed by the cell separation tools. Slitting (decoupling) of periodic zones is discussed in Section 6.7.7: Slitting Periodic Zones. Note that all of the separation methods allow you to report the result of the separation before you commit to performing it.
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Separating Face Zones

Methods for Separating Face Zones For geometries with sharp corners, it is often easy to separate face zones based on signicant angle. Faces with normal vectors that dier by an angle greater than or equal to the specied signicant angle will be placed in dierent zones. For example, if your grid consists of a cube, and all 6 sides of the cube are in a single wall zone, you would specify a signicant angle of 89 . Since the normal vector for each cube side diers by 90 from the normals of its adjacent sides, each of the 6 sides will be placed in a dierent wall zone. If you have a small face zone and would like to put each face in the zone into its own zone, you can do so by separating the faces based on face. You can also separate face zones based on the marks stored in adaption registers. For example, you can mark cells for adaption based on their location in the domain (region adaption), their boundary closeness (boundary adaption), isovalues of some variable, or any of the other adaption methods discussed in Chapter 27: Grid Adaption. When you specify which register is to be used for the separation of the face zone, all faces of cells that are marked will be placed into a new face zone. (Use the Manage Adaption Registers panel to determine the ID of the register you wish to use.) Finally, you can separate face zones based on contiguous regions. For example, when you use coupled wall boundary conditions you need the faces on the zone to have a consistent orientation. Consistent orientation can only be guaranteed on contiguous regions, so you may need to separate face zones to allow proper boundary condition specication. Inputs for Separating Face Zones To break up a face zone based on angle, face, adaption mark, or region, use the Separate Face Zones panel (Figure 6.7.5). Grid Separate Faces...
If you are planning to separate face zones, you should do so before performing any adaptions using the (default) hanging node adaption method. Face zones that contain hanging nodes cannot be separated.
The steps for separating faces are as follows: 1. Select the separation method (Angle, Face, Mark, or Region) under Options. 2. Specify the face zone to be separated in the Zones list. 3. If you are separating by face or region, skip to the next step. Otherwise, do one of the following:
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Figure 6.7.5: The Separate Face Zones Panel
If you are separating faces by angle, specify the signicant angle in the Angle eld. If you are separating faces by mark, select the adaption register to be used in the Registers list. 4. (optional) To check what the result of the separation will be before you actually separate the face zone, click on the Report button. The report will look like this:
Zone not separated. 45 faces in contiguous region 0 30 faces in contiguous region 1 11 faces in contiguous region 2 14 faces in contiguous region 3 Separates zone 4 into 4 zone(s).
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5. To separate the face zone, click on the Separate button. FLUENT will print the following information:
45 faces in contiguous region 0 30 faces in contiguous region 1 11 faces in contiguous region 2 14 faces in contiguous region 3 Separates zone 4 into 4 zone(s). Updating zone information ... created zone wall-4:001 created zone wall-4:002 created zone wall-4:010 done.
When you separate the face zone by adaption mark, you may sometimes nd that a face of a corner cell will be placed in the wrong face zone. You can usually correct this problem by performing an additional separation, based on angle, to move the oending face to a new zone. You can then merge this new zone with the zone in which you want the face to be placed, as described in Section 6.7.4: Merging Zones.
Separating Cell Zones

Methods for Separating Cell Zones If you have two or more enclosed cell regions sharing internal boundaries (as shown in Figure 6.7.6), but all of the cells are contained in a single cell zone, you can separate the cells into distinct zones using the separation-by-region method. Note that if the shared internal boundary is of type interior, you must change it to another double-sided face zone type (fan, radiator, etc.) prior to performing the separation.
zone 1
zone 2
Figure 6.7.6: Cell Zone Separation Based on Region
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You can also separate cell zones based on the marks stored in adaption registers. You can mark cells for adaption using any of the adaption methods discussed in Chapter 27: Grid Adaption (e.g., you can mark cells with a certain isovalue range or cells inside or outside a specied region). When you specify which register is to be used for the separation of the cell zone, cells that are marked will be placed into a new cell zone. (Use the Manage Adaption Registers panel to determine the ID of the register you wish to use.) Inputs for Separating Cell Zones To break up a cell zone based on region or adaption mark, use the Separate Cell Zones panel (Figure 6.7.7). Grid Separate Cells...
Figure 6.7.7: The Separate Cell Zones Panel
If you are planning to separate cell zones, you should do so before performing any adaptions using the (default) hanging node adaption method. Cell zones that contain hanging nodes cannot be separated.
The steps for separating cells are as follows: 1. Select the separation method (Mark or Region) under Options. 2. Specify the cell zone to be separated in the Zones list. 3. If you are separating cells by mark, select the adaption register to be used in the Registers list.
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4. (optional) To check what the result of the separation will be before you actually separate the cell zone, click on the Report button. The report will look like this:
Zone not separated. Separates zone 14 into two zones, with 1275 and 32 cells.
5. To separate the cell zone, click on the Separate button. FLUENT will print the following information:
Separates zone 14 into two zones, with 1275 and 32 cells. No faces marked on thread, 2 No faces marked on thread, 3 No faces marked on thread, 1 No faces marked on thread, 5 No faces marked on thread, 7 No faces marked on thread, 8 No faces marked on thread, 9 No faces marked on thread, 61 Separates zone 62 into two zones, with 1763 and 58 faces. All faces marked on thread, 4 No faces marked on thread, 66 Moved 20 faces from face zone 4 to zone 6 Updating zone information ... Moved 32 cells from cell zone 14 to zone 10 created zone interior-4 created zone interior-6 created zone fluid-14:010 done.
As shown in the example above, separation of a cell zone will often result in the separation of face zones as well. When you separate by mark, faces of cells that are moved to a new zone will be placed in a new face zone. When you separate by region, faces of cells that are moved to a new zone will not necessarily be placed in a new face zone. If you nd that any faces are placed incorrectly, see the comment above, at the end of the inputs for face zone separation.
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6.7.6
Creating Periodic Zones
FLUENT allows you to set up periodic boundaries using either conformal or non-conformal periodic zones. You can assign periodicity to your grid by coupling a pair of face zones. If the two zones have identical node and face distributions, you can create a conformal periodic zone. If the two zones are not identical at the boundaries within a specied tolerance, then you can create a non-conformal periodic zone. (See Section 6.4: NonConformal Grids for more information about non-conformal grids.)
Remember to save a new case le (and a data le, if data exist) after creating or slitting a periodic boundary.
Creating Conformal Periodic Zones

To create conformal periodic boundaries, you will use the make-periodic text command. grid modify-zones make-periodic You will need to specify the two face zones that will comprise the periodic pair (you can enter their full names or just their IDs), and indicate whether they are rotationally or translationally periodic. The order in which you specify the periodic zone and its matching shadow zone is not signicant.
/grid/modify-zones> mp Periodic zone [()] 1 Shadow zone [()] 4 Rotational periodic? (if no, translational) [yes] n Create periodic zones? [yes] yes computed translation deltas: -2.000000 -2.000000 all 10 faces matched for zones 1 and 4. zone 4 deleted Created periodic zones.
When you create a conformal periodic boundary, the solver will check to see if the faces on the selected zones match (i.e., whether or not the nodes on corresponding faces are coincident). The matching tolerance for a face is a fraction of the minimum edge length of the face. If the periodic boundary creation fails, you can change the matching tolerance using the matching-tolerance command, but it should not exceed 0.5 or you may match up the periodic zones incorrectly and corrupt the grid. grid modify-zones matching-tolerance
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Creating Non-Conformal Periodic Zones

To create non-conformal periodic boundaries, you need to change the non-conformal periodic zones to interface zones. You will then need to set up the origin as well as the axes of the adjacent cell zone. For example, if interface-15 and interface-2 are the two non-conformal periodic zones, the non-conformal periodic boundaries are set up using the make-periodic command in the define/grid-interfaces text menu. define grid-interfaces make-periodic For example:
/define/grid-interfaces> make-periodic Periodic zone [()] interface-15 Shadow zone [()] interface-2 Rotational periodic? (if no, translational) [yes] yes Rotation angle (deg) [0] 40.0 Create periodic zone? [yes] yes grid-interface name [] fan-periodic
6.7.7 Slitting Periodic Zones

If you wish to decouple the zones in a periodic pair, you can use the slit-periodic command. grid modify-zones slit-periodic You will specify the periodic zones name or ID, and the solver will decouple the two zones in the pair (the periodic zone and its shadow) and change them to two symmetry zones:
/grid/modify-zones> sp periodic zone [()] periodic-1 Separated periodic zone.
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6.7.8
Fusing Face Zones
The face fusing utility is a convenient feature that can be used to fuse boundaries (and merge duplicate nodes and faces) created by assembling multiple mesh regions. When the domain is divided into subdomains and the grid is generated separately for each subdomain, you will combine the subdomains into a single le before reading the grid into the solver. (See Section 6.3.10: Reading Multiple Mesh/Case/Data Files for details.) This situation could arise if you generate each block of a multiblock grid separately and save it to a separate grid le. Another possible scenario is that you decided, during grid generation, to save the mesh for each part of a complicated geometry as a separate part le. (Note that the grid node locations need not be identical at the boundaries where two subdomains meet; see Section 6.4: Non-Conformal Grids for details.) The Fuse Face Zones panel (Figure 6.7.8) allows you to merge the duplicate nodes and delete these articial internal boundaries. Grid Fuse...
Figure 6.7.8: The Fuse Face Zones Panel
The boundaries on which the duplicate nodes lie are assigned zone ID numbers (just like any other boundary) when the grid les are combined, as described in Section 6.3.10: Reading Multiple Mesh/Case/Data Files. You need to keep track of the zone ID numbers when tmerge or TGrid reports its progress or, after the complete grid is read in, display all boundary grid zones and use the mouse-probe button to determine the zone names (see Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about the mouse button functions).
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Inputs for Fusing Face Zones

The steps for fusing face zones are as follows: 1. Select the zones to be fused in the Zones list. 2. Click on the Fuse button to fuse the selected zones. If all of the appropriate faces do not get fused using the default Tolerance, you should increase it and attempt to fuse the zones again. (This tolerance is the same as the matching tolerance discussed in Section 6.7.6: Creating Periodic Zones.) The Tolerance should not exceed 0.5, or you may fuse the wrong nodes.
Remember to save a new case le (and a data le, if data exist) after fusing faces.
Fusing Zones on Branch Cuts Meshes imported from structured mesh generators or solvers (such as FLUENT 4) can often be O-type or C-type grids with a reentrant branch cut where coincident duplicate nodes lie on a periodic boundary. Since FLUENT uses an unstructured grid representation, there is no reason to retain this articial internal boundary. (Of course, you can preserve these periodic boundaries and the solution algorithm will solve the problem with periodic boundary conditions.) To fuse this periodic zone with itself, you must rst slit the periodic zone, as described in Section 6.7.7: Slitting Periodic Zones. This will create two symmetry zones that you can fuse using the procedure above. Note that if you need to fuse portions of a non-periodic zone with itself, you must use the text command fuse-face-zones. grid modify-zones fuse-face-zones This command will prompt you for the name or ID of each zone to be fused. (You will enter the same zone twice.) To change the node tolerance, use the matching-tolerance command.
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6.7.9
Slitting Face Zones
The face-zone slitting feature has two uses: You can slit a single boundary zone of any double-sided type (i.e., any boundary zone that has cells on both sides of it) into two distinct zones. You can slit a coupled wall zone into two distinct, uncoupled wall zones. When you slit a face zone, the solver will duplicate all faces and nodes, except those nodes that are located at the ends (2D) or edges (3D) of the zone. One set of nodes and faces will belong to one of the resulting boundary zones and the other set will belong to the other zone. The only ill eect of the shared nodes at each end is that you may see some inaccuracies at those points when you graphically display solution data with a slit boundary. (Note that if you adapt the boundary after slitting, you will not be able to fuse the boundaries back together again.) Normally, you will not need to manually slit a face zone. Two-sided walls are automatically slit, but remain coupled. (This coupling refers only to the grid; it is independent of thermal coupling.) The adaption process treats these coupled walls just like periodic boundaries; adapting on one wall causes the same adaption on the shadow. If you want to adapt one wall independent of its shadow, you should slit the coupled wall to obtain two distinct walls.
You should not confuse slitting a face zone with separating a face zone. When you slit a face zone, additional faces and nodes are created and placed in a new zone. When you separate a face zone, a new zone will be created, but no new faces or nodes are created; the existing faces and nodes are simply redistributed among the zones.
Inputs for Slitting Face Zones

If you wish to slit a face zone, you can use the slit-face-zone command. grid modify-zones slit-face-zone You will specify the face zones name or ID, and the solver will replace the zone with two zones:
/grid/modify-zones> slfz face zone id/name [] wall-4 zone 4 deleted face zone 4 created face zone 10 created
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i
6.7.10
Remember to save a new case le (and a data le, if data exist) after slitting faces.
Extruding Face Zones
The ability to extrude a boundary face zone allows you to extend the solution domain without having to exit the solver. A typical application of the extrusion capability is to extend the solution domain when recirculating ow is impinging on a ow outlet. The current extrusion capability creates prismatic or hexahedral layers based on the shape of the face and normal vectors computed by averaging the face normals to the face zones nodes. You can dene the extrusion process by specifying a list of displacements (in SI units) or by specifying a total distance (in SI units) and parametric coordinates.
Note that extrusion is not possible from boundary face zones that have hanging nodes.
Specifying Extrusion by Displacement Distances

You can specify the extrusion by entering a list of displacement distances (in SI units) using the extrude-face-zone-delta command. grid modify-zones extrude-face-zone-delta You will be prompted for the boundary face zone ID or name and a list of displacement distances.
Specifying Extrusion by Parametric Coordinates

You can specify the extrusion by specifying a distance (in SI units) and parametric coordinates using the extrude-face-zone-para command grid modify-zones extrude-face-zone-para You will be prompted for the boundary face zone ID or name, a total distance, and a list of parametric coordinates. The list of parametric coordinates should begin with 0.0 and end with 1.0. For example, the following list of parametric coordinates would create two equally spaced extrusion layers: 0.0, 0.5, 1.0.
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6.7.11
Reordering the Domain and Zones
Reordering the domain can improve the computational performance of the solver by rearranging the nodes, faces, and cells in memory. The Grid/Reorder submenu contains commands for reordering the domain and zones, and also for printing the bandwidth of the present grid partitions. The domain can be reordered to increase memory access eciency, and the zones can be reordered for user-interface convenience. The bandwidth provides insight into the distribution of the cells in the zones and in memory. To reorder the domain, select the Domain menu item. Grid Reorder Domain To reorder the zones, select the Zones menu item. Grid Reorder Zones Finally, you can print the bandwidth of the present grid partitions by selecting the Print Bandwidth menu item. This command prints the semi-bandwidth and maximum memory distance for each grid partition. Grid Reorder Print Bandwidth
Remember to save a new case le (and a data le, if data exist) after reordering.
About Reordering
The Reverse Cuthill-McKee algorithm [65] is used in the reordering process to construct a level tree initiated from a seed cell in the domain. First a cell (called the seed cell) is selected using the algorithm of Gibbs, Poole, and Stockmeyer [109]. Each cell is then assigned to a level based on its distance from the seed cell. These level assignments form the level tree. In general, the faces and cells are reordered so that neighboring cells are near each other in the zone and in memory. Since most of the computational loops are over faces, you would like the two cells in memory cache at the same time to reduce cache and/or disk swappingi.e., you want the cells near each other in memory to reduce the cost of memory access. The present scheme reorders the faces and cells in the zone, and the nodes, faces, and cells in memory. You may also choose to reorder the zones. The zones are reordered by rst sorting on zone type and then on zone ID. Zone reordering is performed simply for user-interface convenience.
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A typical output produced using the domain reordering is shown below:

>> Reordering domain using Reverse Cuthill-McKee method: zones, cells, faces, done. Bandwidth reduction = 809/21 = 38.52 Done.
If you print the bandwidth, you will see a report similar to the following:
Maximum cell distance = 21
The bandwidth is the maximum dierence between neighboring cells in the zonei.e., if you numbered each cell in the zone list sequentially and compared the dierences between these indices.
6.7.12
Replacing, Deleting, Deactivating, and Activating Zones
FLUENT allows you to append or replace the existing cell zone in the grid. You can also permanently delete a cell zone and all associated face zones, or temporarily deactivate and activate zones from your FLUENT case.
Zone replacement, activation and deactivation are only available for serial cases, whereas deletion of zones is available for serial and parallel cases.
Replacing Zones
This feature allows you to replace a small region of a computational domain with a new region of dierent mesh quality. This functionality will be required where you may want to make changes to the geometry or mesh quality for any part of the domain. This ability of FLUENT is time saving since you can modify only the required part of the domain, without remeshing the whole domain every time. The replaced mesh will be conformal with that of the old mesh. Replacing a zone is performed in the Replace Cell Zone panel (Figure 6.7.9). Grid Zone Replace...
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Figure 6.7.9: The Replace Cell Zone Panel
For replacing the zones of the same type, do the following: 1. Click Browse... and select the modied mesh. The zone names of the new mesh will be listed under Replace with list box. 2. Under Existing Zones, select the zone you want to replace. 3. Under Replace with, select the zone from newly read mesh. 4. Click Replace to replace the selected zone.
Deleting Zones
To permanently delete zones, select them in the Delete Cell Zones panel (Figure 6.7.10), and click Delete. Grid Zone Delete...
Figure 6.7.10: The Delete Cell Zones Panel
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Deactivating Zones
To deactivate zones, select them in the Deactivate Cell Zones panel (Figure 6.7.11), and click Deactivate. Grid Zone Deactivate...
Figure 6.7.11: The Deactivate Cell Zones Panel
Deactivation will separate all relevant interior face zones (i.e., fan, interior, porous-jump, or radiator) into wall and wall-shadow pairs. Note: When you deactivate a zone using the Deactivate Cell Zones panel, FLUENT will remove the zone from the grid and from all relevant solver loops.
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Activating Zones
You can reactivate the zones and recover the last data available for them using the Activate Cell Zones panel (Figure 6.7.12). Grid Zone Activate...
Figure 6.7.12: The Activate Cell Zones Panel
Note: The Activate Cell Zones panel will only be populated with zones that were previously deactivated. After reactivation, you need to make sure that the boundary conditions for the wall and wall-shadow pairs are restored correctly to what you assigned before deactivating the zones. If you plan to reactivate them at a later time, make sure that the face zones that are separated during deactivation are not modied. Adaption, however, is supported.
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Chapter 7.
Boundary Conditions
This chapter describes the boundary condition options available in FLUENT. Details regarding the boundary condition inputs you must supply and the internal treatment at boundaries are provided. The information in this chapter is divided into the following sections: Section 7.1: Overview of Dening Boundary Conditions Section 7.2: Flow Inlets and Exits Section 7.3: Pressure Inlet Boundary Conditions Section 7.4: Velocity Inlet Boundary Conditions Section 7.5: Mass Flow Inlet Boundary Conditions Section 7.6: Inlet Vent Boundary Conditions Section 7.7: Intake Fan Boundary Conditions Section 7.8: Pressure Outlet Boundary Conditions Section 7.9: Pressure Far-Field Boundary Conditions Section 7.10: Outow Boundary Conditions Section 7.11: Outlet Vent Boundary Conditions Section 7.12: Exhaust Fan Boundary Conditions Section 7.13: Wall Boundary Conditions Section 7.14: Symmetry Boundary Conditions Section 7.15: Periodic Boundary Conditions Section 7.16: Axis Boundary Conditions Section 7.17: Fluid Conditions Section 7.18: Solid Conditions Section 7.19: Porous Media Conditions
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Boundary Conditions
Section 7.20: Fan Boundary Conditions Section 7.21: Radiator Boundary Conditions Section 7.22: Porous Jump Boundary Conditions Section 7.23: Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions Section 7.24: User-Dened Fan Model Section 7.25: Heat Exchanger Models Section 7.26: Boundary Proles Section 7.27: Fixing the Values of Variables Section 7.28: Dening Mass, Momentum, Energy, and Other Sources Section 7.29: Coupling Boundary Conditions with GT-Power Section 7.30: Coupling Boundary Conditions with WAVE
7.1
Overview of Dening Boundary Conditions

Boundary conditions specify the ow and thermal variables on the boundaries of your physical model. They are, therefore, a critical component of your FLUENT simulations and it is important that they are specied appropriately.
7.1.1
Available Boundary Types
The boundary types available in FLUENT are classied as follows: Flow inlet and exit boundaries: pressure inlet, velocity inlet, mass ow inlet, inlet vent, intake fan, pressure outlet, pressure far-eld, outow, outlet vent, exhaust fan Wall, repeating, and pole boundaries: wall, symmetry, periodic, axis Internal cell zones: uid, solid (porous is a type of uid zone) Internal face boundaries: fan, radiator, porous jump, wall, interior (The internal face boundary conditions are dened on cell faces, which means that they do not have a nite thickness and they provide a means of introducing a step change in ow properties. These boundary conditions are used to implement physical models representing fans, thin porous membranes, and radiators. The interior type of internal face zone does not require any input from you.)
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7.1 Overview of Dening Boundary Conditions
In this chapter, the boundary conditions listed above will be described, and an explanation of how to set them and when they are most appropriately used will be provided. Note that while periodic boundaries are described in Section 7.15: Periodic Boundary Conditions, additional information about modeling fully-developed periodic ows is provided in Section 9.3: Periodic Flows.
7.1.2
The Boundary Conditions Panel
The Boundary Conditions panel (Figure 7.1.1) allows you to change the boundary zone type for a given zone and open other panels to set the boundary condition parameters for each zone. Dene Boundary Conditions...
Figure 7.1.1: The Boundary Conditions Panel
Sections 7.1.37.1.6 explain how to perform these operations with the Boundary Conditions panel, and how to use the mouse and the graphics display in conjunction with the panel.
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Boundary Conditions
7.1.3
Changing Boundary Zone Types
Before you set any boundary conditions, you should check the zone types of all boundary zones and change any if necessary. For example, if your grid includes a pressure inlet, but you want to use a velocity inlet instead, you will need to change the pressure-inlet zone to a velocity-inlet zone. The steps for changing a zone type are as follows: 1. In the Boundary Conditions panel, select the zone to be changed in the Zone list. 2. Choose the correct zone type in the Type list. 3. Conrm the change when prompted by the Question dialog box.
Once you have conrmed the change, the zone type will be changed, the name will change automatically (if the original name was the default name for that zonesee Section 7.1.7: Changing Boundary Zone Names), and the panel for setting conditions for the zone will open automatically.
Note that you cannot use this method to change zone types to or from the periodic type, since additional restrictions exist for this boundary type. Section 6.7.6: Creating Periodic Zones explains how to create and uncouple periodic zones. If you are using one of the general multiphase models (VOF, mixture, or Eulerian), the procedure for changing types is slightly dierent. See Section 24.8.19: Steps for Setting Boundary Conditions for details.
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Categories of Zone Types

You should be aware that you can only change boundary types within each category listed in Table 7.1.1. (Note that a double-sided face zone is a zone that separates two dierent cell zones or regions.) Table 7.1.1: Zone Types Listed by Category Category Faces Zone Types axis, outow, mass ow inlet, pressure fareld, pressure inlet, pressure outlet, symmetry, velocity inlet, wall, inlet vent, intake fan, outlet vent, exhaust fan fan, interior, porous jump, radiator, wall periodic uid, solid (porous is a type of uid cell)
Double-Sided Faces Periodic Cells
7.1.4 Setting Boundary Conditions

In FLUENT, boundary conditions are associated with zones, not with individual faces or cells. If you want to combine two or more zones that will have the same boundary conditions, see Section 6.7.4: Merging Zones for information about merging zones. To set boundary conditions for a particular zone, perform one of the following sequences: 1. Choose the zone in the Boundary Conditions panels Zone list. 2. Click on the Set... button. or 1. Choose the zone in the Zone list. 2. Click on the selected zone type in the Type list. or 1. Double-click on the zone in the Zone list.
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Boundary Conditions
The panel for the selected boundary zone will open, and you can specify the appropriate boundary conditions.
If you are using one of the general multiphase models (VOF, mixture, or Eulerian), the procedure for setting boundary conditions is slightly dierent from that described above. See Section 24.8.19: Steps for Setting Boundary Conditions for details.
7.1.5
Copying Boundary Conditions
You can copy boundary conditions from one zone to other zones of the same type. If, for example, you have several wall zones in your model and they all have the same boundary conditions, you can set the conditions for one wall, and then simply copy them to the others. The procedure for copying boundary conditions is as follows: 1. In the Boundary Conditions panel, click the Copy... button. This will open the Copy BCs panel (Figure 7.1.2).
Figure 7.1.2: The Copy BCs Panel
2. In the From Zone list, select the zone that has the conditions you want to copy. 3. In the To Zones list, select the zone or zones to which you want to copy the conditions. 4. Click Copy. FLUENT will set all of the boundary conditions for the zones selected in the To Zones list to be the same as the conditions for the zone selected in the From Zone list. (You cannot copy a subset of the conditions, such as only the thermal conditions.)
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Note that you cannot copy conditions from external walls to internal (i.e., two-sided) walls, or vice versa, if the energy equation is being solved, since the thermal conditions for external and internal walls are dierent.
If you are using one of the general multiphase models (VOF, mixture, or Eulerian), the procedure for copying boundary conditions is slightly dierent. See Section 24.8.19: Steps for Copying Boundary Conditions for details.
7.1.6
Selecting Boundary Zones in the Graphics Display
Whenever you need to select a zone in the Boundary Conditions panel, you can use the mouse in the graphics window to choose the appropriate zone. This feature is particularly useful if you are setting up a problem for the rst time, or if you have two or more zones of the same type and you want to determine the zone IDs (i.e., gure out which zone is which). To use this feature, do the following: 1. Display the grid using the Grid Display panel. 2. Use the mouse probe button (the right button, by defaultsee Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions to modify the mouse button functions) to click on a boundary zone in the graphics window. The zone you select in the graphics display will automatically be selected in the Zone list in the Boundary Conditions panel, and its name and ID will be printed in the console window.
7.1.7
Changing Boundary Zone Names
The default name for a zone is its type plus an ID number (e.g., pressure-inlet-7). In some cases, you may want to assign more descriptive names to the boundary zones. If you have two pressure-inlet zones, for example, you might want to rename them small-inlet and large-inlet. (Changing the name of a zone will not change its type. Instructions for changing a zones type are provided in Section 7.1.3: Changing Boundary Zone Types.) To rename a zone, follow these steps: 1. Select the zone to be renamed in the Zones list in the Boundary Conditions panel. 2. Click Set... to open the panel for the selected zone. 3. Enter a new name under Zone Name. 4. Click the OK button.
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Boundary Conditions
Note that if you specify a new name for a zone and then change its type, the name you specied will be retained; the automatic name change that accompanies a change in type occurs only if the name of the zone is its type plus its ID.
7.1.8 Dening Non-Uniform Boundary Conditions

Most conditions at each type of boundary zone can be dened as prole functions instead of constant values. You can use a prole contained in an externally generated boundary prole le, or a function that you create using a user-dened function (UDF). Boundary condition proles are described in Section 7.26: Boundary Proles, and user-dened functions are described in the separate UDF Manual.
7.1.9
Dening Transient Boundary Conditions
There are two ways you can specify transient boundary conditions: transient prole with a format similar to the standard boundary proles described in Section 7.26: Boundary Proles transient prole in a tabular format
For both methods, the boundary condition will vary only in time; it must be spatially uniform.
Standard Transient Proles

The format of the standard transient prole le (based on the proles described in Section 7.26: Boundary Proles) is ((profile-name transient n periodic?) (field_name-1 a1 a2 a3 .... an) (field_name-2 b1 b2 b3 .... bn) . . . . (field_name-r r1 r2 r3 .... rn))
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One of the field names should be used for the time eld, and the time eld section must be in ascending order. The periodic? entry indicates whether or not the prole is time-periodic. Set it to 1 for a time-periodic prole, or 0 if the prole is not time-periodic. An example is shown below: ((sampleprofile transient 3 0) (time 1 2 3 ) (u 10 20 30 ) )
All quantities, including coordinate values, must be specied in SI units because FLUENT does not perform unit conversion when reading prole les. Also, boundary prole names must have all lowercase letters (e.g., name). Uppercase letters in boundary prole names are not acceptable.
You can read this le into FLUENT using the Boundary Proles panel or the File/Read/Prole... menu item. Dene Proles... File Read Prole... See Section 7.26.3: Using Boundary Proles for details.
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Boundary Conditions
Tabular Transient Proles

The format of the tabular transient prole le is profile-name n_field n_data periodic? field-name-1 field-name-2 field-name-3 .... field-name-n_field v-1-1 v-2-1 ... ... ... ... v-n_field-1 v-1-2 v-2-2 ... ... ... ... v-n_field-2 . . . . . v-1-n_data v-2-n_data ... ... ... ... v-n_field-n_data The rst eld name (e.g. field-name-1) should be used for the time eld, and the time eld section, which represents the ow time, must be in ascending order. The periodic? entry indicates whether or not the prole is time-periodic. Set it to 1 for a time-periodic prole, or 0 if the prole is not time-periodic. An example is shown below: sampletabprofile 2 3 0 time u 1 10 2 20 3 30 This le denes the same transient prole as the standard prole example above. If the periodicity is set to 1, then n data must be the number that closes one period.
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7.2 Flow Inlets and Exits
An example is shown below: periodtabprofile 2 4 1 time u 0 10 1 20 2 30 3 10 All quantities, including coordinate values, must be specied in SI units because FLUENT does not perform unit conversion when reading prole les. Also, boundary prole names must have all lowercase letters (e.g., name). Uppercase letters in boundary prole names are not acceptable. When choosing the eld names, spaces or parentheses should not be included.
You can read this le into FLUENT using the read-transient-table text command. file read-transient-table After reading the table into FLUENT, the prole will be listed in the Boundary Proles panel and can be used in the same way as a boundary prole. See Section 7.26.3: Using Boundary Proles for details.
7.1.10
Saving and Reusing Boundary Conditions
You can save boundary conditions to a le so that you can use them to specify the same conditions for a dierent case, as described in Section 4.10: Reading and Writing Boundary Conditions.
7.2
Flow Inlets and Exits

FLUENT has a wide range of boundary conditions that permit ow to enter and exit the solution domain. To help you select the most appropriate boundary condition for your application, this section includes descriptions of how each type of condition is used, and what information is needed for each one. Recommendations for determining inlet values of the turbulence parameters are also provided.
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Boundary Conditions
7.2.1
Using Flow Boundary Conditions
This section provides an overview of ow boundaries in FLUENT and how to use them. FLUENT provides 10 types of boundary zone types for the specication of ow inlets and exits: velocity inlet, pressure inlet, mass ow inlet, pressure outlet, pressure far-eld, outow, inlet vent, intake fan, outlet vent, and exhaust fan. The inlet and exit boundary condition options in FLUENT are as follows: Velocity inlet boundary conditions are used to dene the velocity and scalar properties of the ow at inlet boundaries. Pressure inlet boundary conditions are used to dene the total pressure and other scalar quantities at ow inlets. Mass ow inlet boundary conditions are used in compressible ows to prescribe a mass ow rate at an inlet. It is not necessary to use mass ow inlets in incompressible ows because when density is constant, velocity inlet boundary conditions will x the mass ow. Pressure outlet boundary conditions are used to dene the static pressure at ow outlets (and also other scalar variables, in case of backow). The use of a pressure outlet boundary condition instead of an outow condition often results in a better rate of convergence when backow occurs during iteration. Pressure far-eld boundary conditions are used to model a free-stream compressible ow at innity, with free-stream Mach number and static conditions specied. This boundary type is available only for compressible ows. Outow boundary conditions are used to model ow exits where the details of the ow velocity and pressure are not known prior to solution of the ow problem. They are appropriate where the exit ow is close to a fully developed condition, as the outow boundary condition assumes a zero normal gradient for all ow variables except pressure. They are not appropriate for compressible ow calculations. Inlet vent boundary conditions are used to model an inlet vent with a specied loss coecient, ow direction, and ambient (inlet) total pressure and temperature. Intake fan boundary conditions are used to model an external intake fan with a specied pressure jump, ow direction, and ambient (intake) total pressure and temperature. Outlet vent boundary conditions are used to model an outlet vent with a specied loss coecient and ambient (discharge) static pressure and temperature. Exhaust fan boundary conditions are used to model an external exhaust fan with a specied pressure jump and ambient (discharge) static pressure.
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7.2.2
Determining Turbulence Parameters
When the ow enters the domain at an inlet, outlet, or far-eld boundary, FLUENT requires specication of transported turbulence quantities. This section describes which quantities are needed for specic turbulence models and how they must be specied. It also provides guidelines for the most appropriate way of determining the inow boundary values.
Specication of Turbulence Quantities Using Proles

If it is important to accurately represent a boundary layer or fully-developed turbulent ow at the inlet, you should ideally set the turbulence quantities by creating a boundary prole le (see Section 7.26: Boundary Proles) from experimental data or empirical formulas. If you have an analytical description of the prole, rather than data points, you can either use this analytical description to create a boundary prole le, or create a user-dened function to provide the inlet boundary information. (See the separate UDF Manual for information on user-dened functions.) Once you have created the prole function, you can use it as described below: Spalart-Allmaras model: Choose Turbulent Viscosity or Turbulent Viscosity Ratio in the Turbulence Specication Method drop-down list and select the appropriate prole name in the drop-down list next to Turbulent Viscosity or Turbulent Viscosity Ratio. FLUENT computes the boundary value for the modied turbulent viscosity, , by combining t / with the appropriate values of density and molecular viscosity. k- models: Choose K and Epsilon in the Turbulence Specication Method drop-down list and select the appropriate prole names in the drop-down lists next to Turb. Kinetic Energy and Turb. Dissipation Rate. k- models: Choose K and Omega in the Turbulence Specication Method drop-down list and select the appropriate prole names in the drop-down lists next to Turb. Kinetic Energy and Spec. Dissipation Rate. Reynolds stress model: Choose K and Epsilon in the Turbulence Specication Method drop-down list and select the appropriate prole names in the drop-down lists next to Turb. Kinetic Energy and Turb. Dissipation Rate. Choose Reynolds-Stress Components in the Reynolds-Stress Specication Method drop-down list and select the appropriate prole name in the drop-down list next to each of the individual Reynolds-stress components.
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Boundary Conditions
Uniform Specication of Turbulence Quantities

In some situations, it is appropriate to specify a uniform value of the turbulence quantity at the boundary where inow occurs. Examples are uid entering a duct, far-eld boundaries, or even fully-developed duct ows where accurate proles of turbulence quantities are unknown. In most turbulent ows, higher levels of turbulence are generated within shear layers than enter the domain at ow boundaries, making the result of the calculation relatively insensitive to the inow boundary values. Nevertheless, caution must be used to ensure that boundary values are not so unphysical as to contaminate your solution or impede convergence. This is particularly true of external ows where unphysically large values of eective viscosity in the free stream can swamp the boundary layers. You can use the turbulence specication methods described above to enter uniform constant values instead of proles. Alternatively, you can specify the turbulence quantities in terms of more convenient quantities such as turbulence intensity, turbulent viscosity ratio, hydraulic diameter, and turbulence length scale. These quantities are discussed further in the following sections. Turbulence Intensity The turbulence intensity, I, is dened as the ratio of the root-mean-square of the velocity uctuations, u , to the mean ow velocity, uavg . A turbulence intensity of 1% or less is generally considered low and turbulence intensities greater than 10% are considered high. Ideally, you will have a good estimate of the turbulence intensity at the inlet boundary from external, measured data. For example, if you are simulating a wind-tunnel experiment, the turbulence intensity in the free stream is usually available from the tunnel characteristics. In modern low-turbulence wind tunnels, the free-stream turbulence intensity may be as low as 0.05%. For internal ows, the turbulence intensity at the inlets is totally dependent on the upstream history of the ow. If the ow upstream is under-developed and undisturbed, you can use a low turbulence intensity. If the ow is fully developed, the turbulence intensity may be as high as a few percent. The turbulence intensity at the core of a fully-developed duct ow can be estimated from the following formula derived from an empirical correlation for pipe ows: I u = 0.16(ReDH )1/8 uavg (7.2-1)
At a Reynolds number of 50,000, for example, the turbulence intensity will be 4%, according to this formula.
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Turbulence Length Scale and Hydraulic Diameter The turbulence length scale, , is a physical quantity related to the size of the large eddies that contain the energy in turbulent ows. In fully-developed duct ows, is restricted by the size of the duct, since the turbulent eddies cannot be larger than the duct. An approximate relationship between and the physical size of the duct is = 0.07L (7.2-2)
where L is the relevant dimension of the duct. The factor of 0.07 is based on the maximum value of the mixing length in fully-developed turbulent pipe ow, where L is the diameter of the pipe. In a channel of non-circular cross-section, you can base L on the hydraulic diameter. If the turbulence derives its characteristic length from an obstacle in the ow, such as a perforated plate, it is more appropriate to base the turbulence length scale on the characteristic length of the obstacle rather than on the duct size. It should be noted that the relationship of Equation 7.2-2, which relates a physical dimension (L) to the turbulence length scale ( ), is not necessarily applicable to all situations. For most cases, however, it is a suitable approximation. Guidelines for choosing the characteristic length L or the turbulence length scale selected ow types are listed below: for
For fully-developed internal ows, choose the Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter specication method and specify the hydraulic diameter L = DH in the Hydraulic Diameter eld. For ows downstream of turning vanes, perforated plates, etc., choose the Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter method and specify the characteristic length of the ow opening for L in the Hydraulic Diameter eld. For wall-bounded ows in which the inlets involve a turbulent boundary layer, choose the Intensity and Length Scale method and use the boundary-layer thickness, 99 , to compute the turbulence length scale, , from = 0.499 . Enter this value for in the Turbulence Length Scale eld.
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Boundary Conditions
Turbulent Viscosity Ratio The turbulent viscosity ratio, t /, is directly proportional to the turbulent Reynolds number (Ret k 2 /( )). Ret is large (on the order of 100 to 1000) in high-Reynoldsnumber boundary layers, shear layers, and fully-developed duct ows. However, at the free-stream boundaries of most external ows, t / is fairly small. Typically, the turbulence parameters are set so that 1 < t / < 10. To specify quantities in terms of the turbulent viscosity ratio, you can choose Turbulent Viscosity Ratio (for the Spalart-Allmaras model) or Intensity and Viscosity Ratio (for the k- models, the k- models, or the RSM).
Relationships for Deriving Turbulence Quantities

To obtain the values of transported turbulence quantities from more convenient quantities such as I, L, or t /, you must typically resort to an empirical relation. Several useful relations, most of which are used within FLUENT, are presented below. Estimating Modied Turbulent Viscosity from Turbulence Intensity and Length Scale To obtain the modied turbulent viscosity, , for the Spalart-Allmaras model from the turbulence intensity, I, and length scale, , the following equation can be used: 3 uavg I 2
(7.2-3)
This formula is used in FLUENT if you select the Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter specication method with the Spalart-Allmaras model. is obtained from Equation 7.2-2. Estimating Turbulent Kinetic Energy from Turbulence Intensity The relationship between the turbulent kinetic energy, k, and turbulence intensity, I, is 3 k = (uavg I)2 2 where uavg is the mean ow velocity. This relationship is used in FLUENT whenever the Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter, Intensity and Length Scale, or Intensity and Viscosity Ratio method is used instead of specifying explicit values for k and . (7.2-4)
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Estimating Turbulent Dissipation Rate from a Length Scale If you know the turbulence length scale, , you can determine
3/4 = C
from the relationship
k 3/2
(7.2-5)
where C is an empirical constant specied in the turbulence model (approximately 0.09). The determination of was discussed previously. This relationship is used in FLUENT whenever the Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter or Intensity and Length Scale method is used instead of specifying explicit values for k and . Estimating Turbulent Dissipation Rate from Turbulent Viscosity Ratio The value of can be obtained from the turbulent viscosity ratio t / and k using the following relationship: k2 = C t
1
(7.2-6)
where C is an empirical constant specied in the turbulence model (approximately 0.09). This relationship is used in FLUENT whenever the Intensity and Viscosity Ratio method is used instead of specifying explicit values for k and . Estimating Turbulent Dissipation Rate for Decaying Turbulence If you are simulating a wind-tunnel situation in which the model is mounted in the test section downstream of a grid and/or wire mesh screens, you can choose a value of such that kU L (7.2-7)
where k is the approximate decay of k you wish to have across the ow domain (say, 10% of the inlet value of k), U is the free-stream velocity, and L is the streamwise length of the ow domain. Equation 7.2-7 is a linear approximation to the power-law decay observed in high-Reynolds-number isotropic turbulence. Its basis is the exact equation for k in decaying turbulence, U k/x = . If you use this method to estimate , you should also check the resulting turbulent viscosity ratio t / to make sure that it is not too large, using Equation 7.2-6.
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Boundary Conditions
Although this method is not used internally by FLUENT, you can use it to derive a constant free-stream value of that you can then specify directly by choosing K and Epsilon in the Turbulence Specication Method drop-down list. In this situation, you will typically determine k from I using Equation 7.2-4. Estimating Specic Dissipation Rate from a Length Scale If you know the turbulence length scale, , you can determine from the relationship k 1/2 C
1/4
(7.2-8)
where C is an empirical constant specied in the turbulence model (approximately 0.09). The determination of was discussed previously. This relationship is used in FLUENT whenever the Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter or Intensity and Length Scale method is used instead of specifying explicit values for k and . Estimating Specic Dissipation Rate from Turbulent Viscosity Ratio The value of can be obtained from the turbulent viscosity ratio t / and k using the following relationship: k = t
1
(7.2-9)
This relationship is used in FLUENT whenever the Intensity and Viscosity Ratio method is used instead of specifying explicit values for k and .
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Estimating Reynolds Stress Components from Turbulent Kinetic Energy When the RSM is used, if you do not specify the values of the Reynolds stresses explicitly at the inlet using the Reynolds-Stress Components option in the Reynolds-Stress Specication Method drop-down list, they are approximately determined from the specied values of k. The turbulence is assumed to be isotropic such that u i uj = 0 and 2 u u = k 3 (no summation over the index ). FLUENT will use this method if you select K or Turbulence Intensity in the Reynolds-Stress Specication Method drop-down list. (7.2-11) (7.2-10)
Specifying Inlet Turbulence for LES

The turbulence intensity value specied at a velocity inlet for LES, as described in Section 11.11.2: Large Eddy Simulation Model, is used to randomly perturb the instantaneous velocity eld at the inlet. It does not specify a modeled turbulence quantity. Instead, the stochastic components of the ow at the inlet boundary are accounted for by superposing random perturbations on individual velocity components as described in Section 11.7.3: Inlet Boundary Conditions for the LES Model.
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Boundary Conditions
7.3
Pressure Inlet Boundary Conditions

Pressure inlet boundary conditions are used to dene the uid pressure at ow inlets, along with all other scalar properties of the ow. They are suitable for both incompressible and compressible ow calculations. Pressure inlet boundary conditions can be used when the inlet pressure is known but the ow rate and/or velocity is not known. This situation may arise in many practical situations, including buoyancy-driven ows. Pressure inlet boundary conditions can also be used to dene a free boundary in an external or unconned ow. You can nd the following information about pressure inlet boundary conditions in this section: Section 7.3.1: Inputs at Pressure Inlet Boundaries Section 7.3.2: Default Settings at Pressure Inlet Boundaries Section 7.3.3: Calculation Procedure at Pressure Inlet Boundaries For an overview of ow boundaries, see Section 7.2: Flow Inlets and Exits.
7.3.1
Inputs at Pressure Inlet Boundaries
Summary
You will enter the following information for a pressure inlet boundary: Total (stagnation) pressure Total (stagnation) temperature Flow direction Static pressure Turbulence parameters (for turbulent calculations) Radiation parameters (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Chemical species mass fractions (for species calculations) Mixture fraction and variance (for non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Progress variable (for premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations)
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7.3 Pressure Inlet Boundary Conditions
Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) Multiphase boundary conditions (for general multiphase calculations) Open channel ow parameters (for open channel ow calculations using the VOF multiphase model) All values are entered in the Pressure Inlet panel (Figure 7.3.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). Note that open channel boundary condition inputs are described in Section 24.8.5: Modeling Open Channel Flows.
Figure 7.3.1: The Pressure Inlet Panel
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Boundary Conditions
Pressure Inputs and Hydrostatic Head

The pressure eld (ps ) and your pressure inputs (ps or p0 ) include the hydrostatic head, 0 gx. That is, the pressure in FLUENT is dened as ps = ps 0 gx or ps ps = 0 g x x (7.3-2) (7.3-1)
This denition allows the hydrostatic head to be taken into the body force term, (0 )g, and excluded from the pressure calculation when the density is uniform. Thus your inputs of pressure should not include hydrostatic pressure dierences, and reports of pressure (ps ) will not show any inuence of the hydrostatic pressure. See Section 12.5: BuoyancyDriven Flows for information about buoyancy-driven (natural-convection) ows.
Dening Total Pressure and Temperature

Enter the value for total pressure in the Gauge Total Pressure eld in the Pressure Inlet panel. Total temperature is set in the Total Temperature eld. Remember that the total pressure value is the gauge pressure with respect to the operating pressure dened in the Operating Conditions panel. Total pressure for an incompressible uid is dened as 1 p0 = ps + |v|2 2 and for a compressible uid of constant Cp as p0 = ps 1 + where p0 ps M 1 2 M 2
/(1)
(7.3-3)
(7.3-4)
= total pressure = static pressure = Mach number = ratio of specic heats (cp /cv )
If you are modeling axisymmetric swirl, v in Equation 7.3-3 will include the swirl component. If the adjacent cell zone is moving (i.e., if you are using a rotating reference frame, multiple reference frames, a mixing plane, or sliding meshes) and you are using the
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segregated solver, the velocity in Equation 7.3-3 (or the Mach number in Equation 7.3-4) will be absolute or relative to the grid velocity, depending on whether or not the Absolute velocity formulation is enabled in the Solver panel. For the coupled solvers, the velocity in Equation 7.3-3 (or the Mach number in Equation 7.3-4) is always in the absolute frame.
Dening the Flow Direction

You can dene the ow direction at a pressure inlet explicitly, or you can dene the ow to be normal to the boundary. If you choose to specify the direction vector, you can set either the (Cartesian) x, y, and z components, or the (cylindrical) radial, tangential, and axial components. For moving zone problems calculated using the segregated solver, the ow direction will be absolute or relative to the grid velocity, depending on whether or not the Absolute velocity formulation is enabled in the Solver panel. For the coupled solvers, the ow direction will always be in the absolute frame. The procedure for dening the ow direction is as follows, referring to Figure 7.3.1: 1. Choose which method you will use to specify the ow direction by selecting Direction Vector or Normal to Boundary in the Direction Specication Method drop-down list. 2. If you selected Normal to Boundary in step 1 and you are modeling axisymmetric swirl, enter the appropriate value for the Tangential-Component of Flow Direction. If you chose Normal to Boundary and your geometry is 3D or 2D without axisymmetric swirl, there are no additional inputs for ow direction. 3. If you chose in step 1 to specify the direction vector, and your geometry is 3D, you will next choose the coordinate system in which you will dene the vector components. Choose Cartesian (X, Y, Z), Cylindrical (Radial, Tangential, Axial), or Local Cylindrical (Radial, Tangential, Axial) in the Coordinate System drop-down list. The Cartesian coordinate system is based on the Cartesian coordinate system used by the geometry. The Cylindrical coordinate system uses the axial, radial, and tangential components based on the following coordinate systems: For problems involving a single cell zone, the coordinate system is dened by the rotation axis and origin specied in the Fluid panel. For problems involving multiple zones (e.g., multiple reference frames or sliding meshes), the coordinate system is dened by the rotation axis specied in the Fluid (or Solid) panel for the uid (or solid) zone that is adjacent to the inlet.
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Boundary Conditions
For all of the above denitions of the cylindrical coordinate system, positive radial velocities point radially out from the rotation axis, positive axial velocities are in the direction of the rotation axis vector, and positive tangential velocities are based on the right-hand rule using the positive rotation axis (see Figure 7.3.2).
axial tangential radial tangential
radial
rotation axis rotation axis origin
radial
rotation axis
axial tangential (swirl)
Figure 7.3.2: Cylindrical Velocity Components in 3D, 2D, and Axisymmetric Domains The Local Cylindrical coordinate system allows you to dene a coordinate system specically for the inlet. When you use the local cylindrical option, you will dene the coordinate system right here in the Pressure Inlet panel. The local cylindrical coordinate system is useful if you have several inlets with dierent rotation axes. 4. If you chose in step 1 to specify the direction vector, dene the vector components as follows: If your geometry is 2D non-axisymmetric, or you chose in step 3 to input Cartesian vector components, enter the appropriate values for X, Y, and (in 3D) Z-Component of Flow Direction. If your geometry is 2D axisymmetric, or you chose in step 3 to input Cylindrical components, enter the appropriate values for Axial, Radial, and (if you are modeling axisymmetric swirl or using cylindrical coordinates) TangentialComponent of Flow Direction. If you are using Local Cylindrical coordinates, enter the appropriate values for Axial, Radial, and Tangential-Component of Flow Direction, and then specify the X, Y, and Z-Component of Axis Direction and the X, Y, and Z-Coordinate of Axis Origin. Figure 7.3.2 shows the vector components for these dierent coordinate systems.
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Dening Static Pressure

The static pressure (termed the Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure) must be specied if the inlet ow is supersonic or if you plan to initialize the solution based on the pressure inlet boundary conditions. Solution initialization is discussed in Section 26.15: Initializing the Solution. Remember that the static pressure value you enter is relative to the operating pressure set in the Operating Conditions panel. Note the comments in Section 7.3.1: Pressure Inputs and Hydrostatic Head regarding hydrostatic pressure. The Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure is ignored by FLUENT whenever the ow is subsonic, in which case it is calculated from the specied stagnation quantities. 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 specied stagnation pressure to compute initial values according to the isentropic relations (for compressible ow) or Bernoullis equation (for incompressible ow). Therefore, for a sub-sonic inlet it should generally be set based on a reasonable estimate of the inlet Mach number (for compressible ow) or inlet velocity (for incompressible ow).
Dening Turbulence Parameters

For turbulent calculations, there are several ways in which you can dene the turbulence parameters. Instructions for deciding which method to use and determining appropriate values for these inputs are provided in Section 7.2.2: Determining Turbulence Parameters. Turbulence modeling in general is described in Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence.
Dening Radiation Parameters

If you are using the P-1 radiation model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-tosurface model, you will set the Internal Emissivity and (optionally) Black Body Temperature. See Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions for details. (The Rosseland radiation model does not require any boundary condition inputs.)
Dening Species Mass Fractions

If you are modeling species transport, you will set the species mass fractions under Species Mass Fractions. For details, see Section 14.1.5: Dening Boundary Conditions for Species.
Dening Non-Premixed Combustion Parameters

If you are using the non-premixed or partially premixed combustion model, you will set the Mean Mixture Fraction and Mixture Fraction Variance (and the Secondary Mean Mixture Fraction and Secondary Mixture Fraction Variance, if you are using two mixture fractions), as described in Section 15.5: Dening Non-Premixed Boundary Conditions.
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Boundary Conditions
Dening Premixed Combustion Boundary Conditions

If you are using the premixed or partially premixed combustion model, you will set the Progress Variable, as described in Section 16.3.5: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Progress Variable.
Dening Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions

If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the pressure inlet. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.
Dening Multiphase Boundary Conditions

If you are using the VOF, mixture, or Eulerian model for multiphase ow, you will need to specify volume fractions for secondary phases and (for some models) additional parameters. See Section 24.8.19: Setting Boundary Conditions for details.
Dening Open Channel Boundary Conditions

If you are using the VOF model for multiphase ow and modeling open channel ows, you will need to specify the Free Surface Level, Bottom Level, and additional parameters. See Section 24.8.5: Modeling Open Channel Flows for details.
7.3.2
Default Settings at Pressure Inlet Boundaries
Default settings (in SI) for pressure inlet boundary conditions are as follows: Gauge Total Pressure Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure Total Temperature X-Component of Flow Direction Y-Component of Flow Direction Z-Component of Flow Direction Turb. Kinetic Energy Turb. Dissipation Rate 0 0 300 1 0 0 1 1
7.3.3
Calculation Procedure at Pressure Inlet Boundaries
The treatment of pressure inlet boundary conditions by FLUENT can be described as a loss-free transition from stagnation conditions to the inlet conditions. For incompressible ows, this is accomplished by application of the Bernoulli equation at the inlet boundary. In compressible ows, the equivalent isentropic ow relations for an ideal gas are used.
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Incompressible Flow Calculations at Pressure Inlet Boundaries

When ow enters through a pressure inlet boundary, FLUENT uses the boundary condition pressure you input as the total pressure of the uid at the inlet plane, p0 . In incompressible ow, the inlet total pressure and the static pressure, ps , are related to the inlet velocity via Bernoullis equation: 1 p0 = ps + v 2 2 (7.3-5)
With the resulting velocity magnitude and the ow direction vector you assigned at the inlet, the velocity components can be computed. The inlet mass ow rate and uxes of momentum, energy, and species can then be computed as outlined in Section 7.4.3: Calculation Procedure at Velocity Inlet Boundaries. For incompressible ows, density at the inlet plane is either constant or calculated as a function of temperature and/or species mass fractions, where the mass fractions are the values you entered as an inlet condition. If ow exits through a pressure inlet, the total pressure specied is used as the static pressure. For incompressible ows, total temperature is equal to static temperature.
Compressible Flow Calculations at Pressure Inlet Boundaries

In compressible ows, isentropic relations for an ideal gas are applied to relate total pressure, static pressure, and velocity at a pressure inlet boundary. Your input of total pressure, p0 , at the inlet and the static pressure, ps , in the adjacent uid cell are thus related as p0 + pop 1 2 = 1+ M ps + pop 2 where M v v = c RTs (7.3-7)
/(1)
(7.3-6)
c = the speed of sound, and = cp /cv . Note that the operating pressure, pop , appears in Equation 7.3-6 because your boundary condition inputs are in terms of pressure relative to the operating pressure. Given p0 and ps , Equations 7.3-6 and 7.3-7 are used to compute the velocity magnitude of the uid at the inlet plane. Individual velocity components at the inlet are then derived using the direction vector components. For compressible ow, the density at the inlet plane is dened by the ideal gas law in the form
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Boundary Conditions
ps + pop RTs
(7.3-8)
The specic gas constant, R, is computed from the species mass fractions, Yi , that you dened as boundary conditions at the pressure inlet boundary. The static temperature at the inlet, Ts , is computed from your input of total temperature, T0 , as T0 1 2 =1+ M Ts 2 (7.3-9)
7.4
Velocity Inlet Boundary Conditions

Velocity inlet boundary conditions are used to dene the ow velocity, along with all relevant scalar properties of the ow, at ow inlets. The total (or stagnation) properties of the ow are not xed, so they will rise to whatever value is necessary to provide the prescribed velocity distribution.
This boundary condition is intended for incompressible ows, and its use in compressible ows will lead to a nonphysical result because it allows stagnation conditions to oat to any level. You should also be careful not to place a velocity inlet too close to a solid obstruction, since this could cause the inow stagnation properties to become highly non-uniform.
In special instances, a velocity inlet may be used in FLUENT to dene the ow velocity at ow exits. (The scalar inputs are not used in such cases.) In such cases you must ensure that overall continuity is maintained in the domain. You can nd the following information about velocity inlet boundary conditions in this section: Section 7.4.1: Inputs at Velocity Inlet Boundaries Section 7.4.2: Default Settings at Velocity Inlet Boundaries Section 7.4.3: Calculation Procedure at Velocity Inlet Boundaries For an overview of ow boundaries, see Section 7.2: Flow Inlets and Exits.
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7.4 Velocity Inlet Boundary Conditions
7.4.1
Inputs at Velocity Inlet Boundaries
Summary
You will enter the following information for a velocity inlet boundary: Velocity magnitude and direction or velocity components Swirl velocity (for 2D axisymmetric problems with swirl) Temperature (for energy calculations) Outow gauge pressure (for calculations with the coupled solvers) Turbulence parameters (for turbulent calculations) Radiation parameters (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Chemical species mass fractions (for species calculations) Mixture fraction and variance (for non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Progress variable (for premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) Multiphase boundary conditions (for general multiphase calculations) All values are entered in the Velocity Inlet panel (Figure 7.4.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions).
Dening the Velocity

You can dene the inow velocity by specifying the velocity magnitude and direction, the velocity components, or the velocity magnitude normal to the boundary. If the cell zone adjacent to the velocity inlet is moving (i.e., if you are using a rotating reference frame, multiple reference frames, or sliding meshes), you can specify either relative or absolute velocities. For axisymmetric problems with swirl in FLUENT, you will also specify the swirl velocity. The procedure for dening the inow velocity is as follows: 1. Choose which method you will use to specify the ow direction by selecting Magnitude and Direction, Components, or Magnitude, Normal to Boundary in the Velocity Specication Method drop-down list.
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.4.1: The Velocity Inlet Panel
2. If the cell zone adjacent to the velocity inlet is moving, you can choose to specify relative or absolute velocities by selecting Relative to Adjacent Cell Zone or Absolute in the Reference Frame drop-down list. If the adjacent cell zone is not moving, Absolute and Relative to Adjacent Cell Zone will be equivalent, so you need not visit the list. 3. If you are going to set the velocity magnitude and direction or the velocity components, and your geometry is 3D, you will next choose the coordinate system in which you will dene the vector or velocity components. Choose Cartesian (X, Y, Z), Cylindrical (Radial, Tangential, Axial), or Local Cylindrical (Radial, Tangential, Axial) in the Coordinate System drop-down list. See Section 7.3.1: Dening the Flow Direction for information about Cartesian, cylindrical, and local cylindrical coordinate systems. 4. Set the appropriate velocity parameters, as described below for each specication method.
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Setting the Velocity Magnitude and Direction If you selected Magnitude and Direction as the Velocity Specication Method in step 1 above, you will enter the magnitude of the velocity vector at the inow boundary (the Velocity Magnitude) and the direction of the vector: If your geometry is 2D non-axisymmetric, or you chose in step 3 to use the Cartesian coordinate system, you will dene the X, Y, and (in 3D) Z-Component of Flow Direction. If your geometry is 2D axisymmetric, or you chose in step 3 to use a Cylindrical coordinate system, enter the appropriate values of Radial, Axial, and (if you are modeling axisymmetric swirl or using cylindrical coordinates) Tangential-Component of Flow Direction. If you chose in step 3 to use a Local Cylindrical coordinate system, enter the appropriate values for Axial, Radial, and Tangential-Component of Flow Direction, and then specify the X, Y, and Z-Component of Axis Direction and the X, Y, and Z-Coordinate of Axis Origin. Figure 7.3.2 shows the vector components for these dierent coordinate systems. Setting the Velocity Magnitude Normal to the Boundary If you selected Magnitude, Normal to Boundary as the Velocity Specication Method in step 1 above, you will enter the magnitude of the velocity vector at the inow boundary (the Velocity Magnitude). If you are modeling 2D axisymmetric swirl, you will also enter the Tangential-Component of Flow Direction. Setting the Velocity Components If you selected Components as the Velocity Specication Method in step 1 above, you will enter the components of the velocity vector at the inow boundary as follows: If your geometry is 2D non-axisymmetric, or you chose in step 3 to use the Cartesian coordinate system, you will dene the X, Y, and (in 3D) Z-Velocity. If your geometry is 2D axisymmetric without swirl, you will set the Radial and Axial-Velocity. If your model is 2D axisymmetric with swirl, you will set the Axial, Radial, and Swirl-Velocity, and (optionally) the Swirl Angular Velocity, as described below. If you chose in step 3 to use a Cylindrical coordinate system, you will set the Radial, Tangential, and Axial-Velocity, and (optionally) the Angular Velocity, as described below.
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Boundary Conditions
If you chose in step 3 to use a Local Cylindrical coordinate system, you will set the Radial, Tangential, and Axial-Velocity, and (optionally) the Angular Velocity, as described below, and then specify the X, Y, and Z-Component of Axis Direction and the X, Y, and Z-Coordinate of Axis Origin.
Remember that positive values for x, y, and z velocities indicate ow in the positive x, y, and z directions. If ow enters the domain in the negative x direction, for example, you will need to specify a negative value for the x velocity. The same holds true for the radial, tangential, and axial velocities. Positive radial velocities point radially out from the axis, positive axial velocities are in the direction of the axis vector, and positive tangential velocities are based on the right-hand rule using the positive axis.
Setting the Angular Velocity If you chose Components as the Velocity Specication Method in step 1 above, and you are modeling axisymmetric swirl, you can specify the inlet Swirl Angular Velocity in addition to the Swirl-Velocity. Similarly, if you chose Components as the Velocity Specication Method and you chose in step 3 to use a Cylindrical or Local Cylindrical coordinate system, you can specify the inlet Angular Velocity in addition to the Tangential-Velocity. If you specify , v is computed for each cell as r, where r is the radial coordinate in the coordinate system dened by the rotation axis and origin. If you specify both the Swirl-Velocity and the Swirl Angular Velocity, or the Tangential-Velocity and the Angular Velocity, FLUENT will add v and r to get the swirl or tangential velocity at each cell.
Dening the Temperature

For calculations in which the energy equation is being solved, you will set the static temperature of the ow at the velocity inlet boundary in the Temperature eld.
Dening Outow Gauge Pressure

If you are using one of the coupled solvers, you can specify an Outow Gauge Pressure for a velocity inlet boundary. If the ow exits the domain at any face on the boundary, that face will be treated as a pressure outlet with the pressure prescribed in the Outow Gauge Pressure eld.

For turbulent calculations, there are several ways in which you can dene the turbulence parameters. Instructions for deciding which method to use and determining appropriate values for these inputs are provided in Section 7.2.2: Determining Turbulence Parameters. Turbulence modeling in general is described in Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence.
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If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the velocity inlet. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.
Dening Multiphase Boundary Conditions

If you are using the VOF, mixture, or Eulerian model for multiphase ow, you will need to specify volume fractions for secondary phases and (for some models) additional parameters. See Section 24.8.19: Setting Boundary Conditions for details.
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Boundary Conditions
7.4.2
Default Settings at Velocity Inlet Boundaries
Default settings (in SI) for velocity inlet boundary conditions are as follows: Temperature Velocity Magnitude X-Component of Flow Direction Y-Component of Flow Direction Z-Component of Flow Direction X-Velocity Y-Velocity Z-Velocity Turb. Kinetic Energy Turb. Dissipation Rate Outow Gauge Pressure 300 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
7.4.3
Calculation Procedure at Velocity Inlet Boundaries
FLUENT uses your boundary condition inputs at velocity inlets to compute the mass ow into the domain through the inlet and to compute the uxes of momentum, energy, and species through the inlet. This section describes these calculations for the case of ow entering the domain through the velocity inlet boundary and for the less common case of ow exiting the domain through the velocity inlet boundary.
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Treatment of Velocity Inlet Conditions at Flow Inlets

When your velocity inlet boundary condition denes ow entering the physical domain of the model, FLUENT uses both the velocity components and the scalar quantities that you dened as boundary conditions to compute the inlet mass ow rate, momentum uxes, and uxes of energy and chemical species. The mass ow rate entering a uid cell adjacent to a velocity inlet boundary is computed as m= v dA (7.4-1)
Note that only the velocity component normal to the control volume face contributes to the inlet mass ow rate.
Treatment of Velocity Inlet Conditions at Flow Exits

Sometimes a velocity inlet boundary is used where ow exits the physical domain. This approach might be used, for example, when the ow rate through one exit of the domain is known or is to be imposed on the model.
In such cases you must ensure that overall continuity is maintained in the domain.
In the segregated solver, when ow exits the domain through a velocity inlet boundary FLUENT uses the boundary condition value for the velocity component normal to the exit ow area. It does not use any other boundary conditions that you have input. Instead, all ow conditions except the normal velocity component are assumed to be those of the upstream cell. In the coupled solvers, if the ow exits the domain at any face on the boundary, that face will be treated as a pressure outlet with the pressure prescribed in the Outow Gauge Pressure eld.
Density Calculation
Density at the inlet plane is either constant or calculated as a function of temperature, pressure, and/or species mass fractions, where the mass fractions are the values you entered as an inlet condition.
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Boundary Conditions
7.5
Mass Flow Inlet Boundary Conditions

Mass ow boundary conditions can be used in FLUENT to provide a prescribed mass ow rate or mass ux distribution at an inlet. Physically, specifying the mass ux permits the total pressure to vary in response to the interior solution. This is in contrast to the pressure inlet boundary condition (see Section 7.3: Pressure Inlet Boundary Conditions), where the total pressure is xed while the mass ux varies. A mass ow inlet is often used when it is more important to match a prescribed mass ow rate than to match the total pressure of the inow stream. An example is the case of a small cooling jet that is bled into the main ow at a xed mass ow rate, while the velocity of the main ow is governed primarily by a (dierent) pressure inlet/outlet boundary condition pair.
i i
The adjustment of inlet total pressure might result in a slower convergence, so if both the pressure inlet boundary condition and the mass ow inlet boundary condition are acceptable choices, you should choose the former. It is not necessary to use mass ow inlets in incompressible ows because when density is constant, velocity inlet boundary conditions will x the mass ow.
You can nd the following information about mass ow inlet boundary conditions in this section: Section 7.5.1: Inputs at Mass Flow Inlet Boundaries Section 7.5.2: Default Settings at Mass Flow Inlet Boundaries Section 7.5.3: Calculation Procedure at Mass Flow Inlet Boundaries For an overview of ow boundaries, see Section 7.2: Flow Inlets and Exits.
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7.5 Mass Flow Inlet Boundary Conditions
7.5.1
Inputs at Mass Flow Inlet Boundaries
Summary
You will enter the following information for a mass ow inlet boundary: Mass ow rate, mass ux, or (primarily for the mixing plane model) mass ux with average mass ux Total (stagnation) temperature Static pressure Flow direction Turbulence parameters (for turbulent calculations) Radiation parameters (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Chemical species mass fractions (for species calculations) Mixture fraction and variance (for non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Progress variable (for premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) Open channel ow parameters (for open channel ow calculations using the VOF multiphase model) All values are entered in the Mass-Flow Inlet panel (Figure 7.5.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). Note that open channel boundary condition inputs are described in Section 24.8.5: Modeling Open Channel Flows.
Dening the Mass Flow Rate or Mass Flux

You can specify the mass ow rate through the inlet zone and have FLUENT convert this value to mass ux, or specify the mass ux directly. For cases where the mass ux varies across the boundary, you can also specify an average mass ux; see below for more information about this specication method. If you set the mass ow rate, it will be converted internally to a uniform mass ux over the zone by dividing the ow rate by the area of the zone. You can dene the mass ux (but not the mass ow rate) using a boundary prole or a user-dened function.
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.5.1: The Mass-Flow Inlet Panel
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The inputs for mass ow rate or ux are as follows: 1. Choose the method you will use to specify the mass ow by selecting Mass Flow Rate, Mass Flux, or Mass Flux with Average Mass Flux in the Mass Flow Specication Method drop-down list. 2. If you selected Mass Flow Rate (the default), set the prescribed mass ow rate in the Mass Flow-Rate eld.
Note that for axisymmetric problems, this mass ow rate is the ow rate through the entire (2-radian) domain, not through a 1-radian slice.
If you selected Mass Flux, set the prescribed mass ux in the Mass Flux eld. If you selected Mass Flux with Average Mass Flux, set the prescribed mass ux and average mass ux in the Mass Flux and Average Mass Flux elds. More About Mass Flux and Average Mass Flux As noted above, you can specify an average mass ux with the mass ux. If, for example, you specify a mass ux prole such that the average mass ux integrated over the zone area is 4.7, but you actually want to have a total mass ux of 5, you can keep the prole unchanged, and specify an average mass ux of 5. FLUENT will maintain the prole shape but adjust the values so that the resulting mass ux across the boundary is 5. The mass ux with average mass ux specication method is also used by the mixing plane model described in Section 10.4: The Mixing Plane Model. If the mass ow inlet boundary is going to represent one of the mixing planes, then you do not need to specify the mass ux or ow rate; you can keep the default Mass Flow-Rate of 1. When you create the mixing plane later on in the problem setup, FLUENT will automatically select the Mass Flux with Average Mass Flux method in the Mass-Flow Inlet panel and set the Average Mass Flux to the value obtained by integrating the mass ux prole for the upstream zone. This will ensure that mass is conserved between the upstream zone and the downstream (mass ow inlet) zone.
Dening the Total Temperature

Enter the value for the total (stagnation) temperature of the inow stream in the Total Temperature eld in the Mass-Flow Inlet panel.
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Boundary Conditions

The static pressure (termed the Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure) must be specied if the inlet ow is supersonic or if you plan to initialize the solution based on the pressure inlet boundary conditions. Solution initialization is discussed in Section 26.15: Initializing the Solution. The Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure is ignored by FLUENT whenever the ow is subsonic. If you choose to initialize the ow based on the mass ow inlet conditions, the Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure will be used in conjunction with the specied stagnation quantities to compute initial values according to isentropic relations. Remember that the static pressure value you enter is relative to the operating pressure set in the Operating Conditions panel. Note the comments in Section 7.3.1: Pressure Inputs and Hydrostatic Head regarding hydrostatic pressure.

You can dene the ow direction at a mass ow inlet explicitly, or you can dene the ow to be normal to the boundary. You will have the option to specify the ow direction either in the absolute or relative reference frame, when the cell zone adjacent to the mass ow inlet is moving. If the cell zone adjacent to the mass ow inlet is not moving, both formulations are equivalent. The procedure for dening the ow direction is as follows, referring to Figure 7.5.1: 1. Choose which method you will use to specify the ow direction by selecting Direction Vector or Normal to Boundary in the Direction Specication Method drop-down list. 2. If you selected Normal to Boundary, there are no additional inputs for ow direction.
Note that if you are modeling axisymmetric swirl, the ow direction will be normal to the boundary; i.e., there will be no swirl component at the boundary for axisymmetric swirl.
3. If the cell zone adjacent to the mass ow inlet is moving, choose Absolute (the default) or Relative in the Reference Frame drop-down list.
These options are equivalent when the cell zone next to the mass ow inlet is stationary.
4. If you selected Direction Vector and your geometry is 2D, go to the next step. If your geometry is 3D, you will next choose the coordinate system in which you will dene the ow direction components. Choose Cartesian (X, Y, Z), Cylindrical
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(Radial, Tangential, Axial), or Local Cylindrical (Radial, Tangential, Axial) in the Coordinate System drop-down list. See Section 7.3.1: Dening the Flow Direction for information about Cartesian, cylindrical, and local cylindrical coordinate systems. 5. If you selected Direction Vector, set the vector components as follows: If your geometry is 2D non-axisymmetric, or you chose to use a 3D Cartesian coordinate system, enter the appropriate values for X, Y, and (in 3D) Z-Component of Flow Direction. If your geometry is 2D axisymmetric, or you chose to use a 3D Cylindrical coordinate system, enter the appropriate values for Axial, Radial, and (if you are modeling swirl or using cylindrical coordinates) Tangential-Component of Flow Direction. If you chose to use a 3D Local Cylindrical coordinate system, enter the appropriate values for Axial, Radial, and Tangential-Component of Flow Direction, and then specify the X, Y, and Z-Component of Axis Direction and the X, Y, and Z-Coordinate of Axis Origin. Figure 7.3.2 shows the vector components for these dierent coordinate systems.

For turbulent calculations, there are several ways in which you can dene the turbulence parameters. Instructions for deciding which method to use and determining appropriate values for these inputs are provided in Section 7.2.2: Determining Turbulence Parameters. Turbulence modeling is described in Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence.



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Boundary Conditions


If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the mass ow inlet. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.

7.5.2
Default Settings at Mass Flow Inlet Boundaries
Default settings (in SI) for mass ow inlet boundary conditions are as follows: Mass Flow-Rate Total Temperature Supersonic/Initial Gauge Pressure X-Component of Flow Direction Y-Component of Flow Direction Z-Component of Flow Direction Turb. Kinetic Energy Turb. Dissipation Rate 1 300 0 1 0 0 1 1
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7.5.3
Calculation Procedure at Mass Flow Inlet Boundaries
When mass ow boundary conditions are used for an inlet zone, a velocity is computed for each face in that zone, and this velocity is used to compute the uxes of all relevant solution variables into the domain. With each iteration, the computed velocity is adjusted so that the correct mass ow value is maintained. To compute this velocity, your inputs for mass ow rate, ow direction, static pressure, and total temperature are used. There are two ways to specify the mass ow rate. The rst is to specify the total mass ow rate, m, for the inlet. The second is to specify the mass ux, vn (mass ow rate per unit area). If a total mass ow rate is specied, FLUENT converts it internally to a uniform mass ux by dividing the mass ow rate by the total inlet area: vn = m A (7.5-1)
If the direct mass ux specication option is used, the mass ux can be varied over the boundary by using prole les or user-dened functions. If the average mass ux is also specied (either explicitly by you or automatically by FLUENT), it is used to correct the specied mass ux prole, as described earlier in this section. Once the value of vn at a given face has been determined, the density, , at the face must be determined in order to nd the normal velocity, vn . The manner in which the density is obtained depends upon whether the uid is modeled as an ideal gas or not. Each of these cases is examined below.
Flow Calculations at Mass Flow Boundaries for Ideal Gases

If the uid is an ideal gas, the static temperature and static pressure are required to compute the density: p = RT (7.5-2)
If the inlet is supersonic, the static pressure used is the value that has been set as a boundary condition. If the inlet is subsonic, the static pressure is extrapolated from the cells inside the inlet face.
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Boundary Conditions
The static temperature at the inlet is computed from the total enthalpy, which is determined from the total temperature that has been set as a boundary condition. The total enthalpy is given by 1 h0 (T0 ) = h(T ) + v 2 2 (7.5-3)
where the velocity is related to the mass ow rate given by Equation 7.5-1. Using Equation 7.5-2 to relate density to the (known) static pressure and (unknown) temperature, Equation 7.5-3 can be solved to obtain the static temperature.
Flow Calculations at Mass Flow Boundaries for Incompressible Flows

When you are modeling incompressible ows, the static temperature is equal to the total temperature. The density at the inlet is either constant or readily computed as a function of the temperature and (optionally) the species mass fractions. The velocity is then computed using Equation 7.5-1.
Flux Calculations at Mass Flow Boundaries

To compute the uxes of all variables at the inlet, the ux velocity, vn , is used along with the inlet value of the variable in question. For example, the ux of mass is vn , and the ux of turbulence kinetic energy is kvn . These uxes are used as boundary conditions for the corresponding conservation equations during the course of the solution.
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7.6 Inlet Vent Boundary Conditions
7.6
Inlet Vent Boundary Conditions

Inlet vent boundary conditions are used to model an inlet vent with a specied loss coecient, ow direction, and ambient (inlet) pressure and temperature.
7.6.1 Inputs at Inlet Vent Boundaries

You will enter the following information for an inlet vent boundary: Total (stagnation) pressure Total (stagnation) temperature Flow direction Static pressure Turbulence parameters (for turbulent calculations) Radiation parameters (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Chemical species mass fractions (for species calculations) Mixture fraction and variance (for non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Progress variable (for premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) Multiphase boundary conditions (for general multiphase calculations) Loss coecient Open channel ow parameters (for open channel ow calculations using the VOF multiphase model) All values are entered in the Inlet Vent panel (Figure 7.6.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). The rst 11 items listed above are specied in the same way that they are specied at pressure inlet boundaries. See Section 7.3.1: Inputs at Pressure Inlet Boundaries for details. Specication of the loss coecient is described here. Open channel boundary condition inputs are described in Section 24.8.5: Modeling Open Channel Flows.
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.6.1: The Inlet Vent Panel
Specifying the Loss Coefcient

An inlet vent is considered to be innitely thin, and the pressure drop through the vent is assumed to be proportional to the dynamic head of the uid, with an empirically determined loss coecient that you supply. That is, the pressure drop, p, varies with the normal component of velocity through the vent, v, as follows: 1 p = kL v 2 2 where is the uid density, and kL is the non-dimensional loss coecient. (7.6-1)
p is the pressure drop in the direction of the ow; therefore the vent will appear as a resistance even in the case of backow.
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7.7 Intake Fan Boundary Conditions
You can dene the Loss-Coecient across the vent as a constant, polynomial, piecewiselinear, or piecewise-polynomial function of the normal velocity. The panels for dening these functions are the same as those used for dening temperature-dependent properties. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions for details.
7.7
Intake Fan Boundary Conditions

Intake fan boundary conditions are used to model an external intake fan with a specied pressure jump, ow direction, and ambient (intake) pressure and temperature.
7.7.1
Inputs at Intake Fan Boundaries
You will enter the following information for an intake fan boundary: Total (stagnation) pressure Total (stagnation) temperature Flow direction Static pressure Turbulence parameters (for turbulent calculations) Radiation parameters (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Chemical species mass fractions (for species calculations) Mixture fraction and variance (for non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Progress variable (for premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) Multiphase boundary conditions (for general multiphase calculations) Pressure jump Open channel ow parameters (for open channel ow calculations using the VOF multiphase model) All values are entered in the Intake Fan panel (shown in Figure 7.7.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions).
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Boundary Conditions
The rst 11 items listed above are specied in the same way that they are specied at pressure inlet boundaries. See Section 7.3.1: Inputs at Pressure Inlet Boundaries for details. Specication of the pressure jump is described here. Open channel boundary condition inputs are described in Section 24.8.5: Modeling Open Channel Flows.
Figure 7.7.1: The Intake Fan Panel
Specifying the Pressure Jump

An intake fan is considered to be innitely thin, and the discontinuous pressure rise across it is specied as a function of the velocity through the fan. In the case of reversed ow, the fan is treated like an outlet vent with a loss coecient of unity. You can dene the Pressure-Jump across the fan as a constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function of the normal velocity. The panels for dening these functions are the same as those used for dening temperature-dependent properties. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions for details.
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7.8 Pressure Outlet Boundary Conditions
7.8
Pressure Outlet Boundary Conditions

Pressure outlet boundary conditions require the specication of a static (gauge) pressure at the outlet boundary. The value of the specied static pressure is used only while the ow is subsonic. Should the ow become locally supersonic, the specied pressure will no longer be used; pressure will be extrapolated from the ow in the interior. All other ow quantities are extrapolated from the interior. A set of backow conditions is also specied should the ow reverse direction at the pressure outlet boundary during the solution process. Convergence diculties will be minimized if you specify realistic values for the backow quantities. Several options in FLUENT exist, where a radial equilibrium outlet boundary condition can be used (see Section 7.8.1: Dening Static Pressure for details), and a target mass ow rate for pressure outlets (see Section 7.8.4: Target Mass Flow Rate Option for details) can be specied. You can nd the following information about pressure outlet boundary conditions in this section: Section 7.8.1: Inputs at Pressure Outlet Boundaries Section 7.8.2: Default Settings at Pressure Outlet Boundaries Section 7.8.3: Calculation Procedure at Pressure Outlet Boundaries Section 7.8.4: Other Optional Inputs at Pressure Outlet Boundaries For an overview of ow boundaries, see Section 7.2: Flow Inlets and Exits.
7.8.1
Inputs at Pressure Outlet Boundaries
Summary
You will enter the following information for a pressure outlet boundary: Static pressure Backow conditions Total (stagnation) temperature (for energy calculations) Backow direction specication method Turbulence parameters (for turbulent calculations) Chemical species mass fractions (for species calculations)
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Boundary Conditions
Mixture fraction and variance (for non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Progress variable (for premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Multiphase boundary conditions (for general multiphase calculations) Radiation parameters (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) Open channel ow parameters (for open channel ow calculations using the VOF multiphase model) Non-reecting boundary (for compressible coupled solver, see Section 7.23.2: General Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions for details) Target mass ow rate (not available for multiphase ows) All values are entered in the Pressure Outlet panel (Figure 7.8.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). Note that open channel boundary condition inputs are described in Section 24.8.5: Modeling Open Channel Flows.
Figure 7.8.1: The Pressure Outlet Panel
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To set the static pressure at the pressure outlet boundary, enter the appropriate value for Gauge Pressure in the Pressure Outlet panel. This value will be used for subsonic ow only. Should the ow become locally supersonic, the pressure will be extrapolated from the upstream conditions. Remember that the static pressure value you enter is relative to the operating pressure set in the Operating Conditions panel. Refer to Section 7.3.1: Pressure Inputs and Hydrostatic Head regarding hydrostatic pressure. FLUENT also provides an option to use a radial equilibrium outlet boundary condition. To enable this option, turn on Radial Equilibrium Pressure Distribution. When this feature is active, the specied gauge pressure applies only to the position of minimum radius (relative to the axis of rotation) at the boundary. The static pressure on the rest of the zone is calculated from the assumption that radial velocity is negligible, so that the pressure gradient is given by p v 2 = r r (7.8-1)
where r is the distance from the axis of rotation and v is the tangential velocity. Note that this boundary condition can be used even if the rotational velocity is zero. For example, it could be applied to the calculation of the ow through an annulus containing guide vanes.
Note that the radial equilibrium outlet condition is available only for 3D and axisymmetric swirl calculations.
Dening Backow Conditions

Backow properties consistent with the models you are using will appear in the Pressure Outlet panel. The specied values will be used only if ow is pulled in through the outlet. The Backow Total Temperature should be set for problems involving energy calculation. When the direction of the backow re-entering the computational domain is known, and deemed to be relevant to the ow eld solution, you can specify it choosing one of the options available in the Backow Direction Specication Method drop-down list. The default value for this eld is Normal to Boundary, and requires no further input. If you choose Direction Vector, the panel will expand to show the inputs for the components of the direction vector for the backow, and if you are running the 3D version of FLUENT, the panel will display a Coordinate System drop-down list. If you choose From Neighboring Cell, FLUENT will determine the direction of the
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Boundary Conditions
backow using the direction of the ow in the cell layer adjacent to the pressure outlet. For turbulent calculations, there are several ways in which you can dene the turbulence parameters. Instructions for deciding which method to use in determining appropriate values for these inputs are provided in Section 7.2.2: Determining Turbulence Parameters. Turbulence modeling in general is described in Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence. If you are modeling species transport, you will set the backow species mass fractions under Species Mass Fractions. For details, see Section 14.1.5: Dening Boundary Conditions for Species. If you are modeling combustion using the non-premixed or partially premixed combustion model, you will set the backow mixture fraction and variance values. See Section 15.5: Dening Non-Premixed Boundary Conditions for details. If you are modeling combustion using the premixed or partially premixed combustion model, you will set the backow Progress Variable value. See Section 16.3.5: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Progress Variable for details. If you are using the VOF, mixture, or Eulerian model for multiphase ow, you will need to specify volume fractions for secondary phases and (for some models) additional parameters. See Section 24.8.19: Setting Boundary Conditions for details. If backow occurs, the pressure you specied as the Gauge Pressure will be used as total pressure, so you need not specify a backow pressure value explicitly. The ow direction in this case will be normal to the boundary. If the cell zone adjacent to the pressure outlet is moving (i.e., if you are using a rotating reference frame, multiple reference frames, mixing planes, or sliding meshes) and you are using the segregated solver, the velocity in the dynamic contribution to total pressure (see Equation 7.3-3) will be absolute or relative to the motion of the cell zone, depending on whether or not the Absolute velocity formulation is enabled in the Solver panel. For the coupled solvers, the velocity in Equation 7.3-3 (or the Mach number in Equation 7.3-4) is always in the absolute frame.
Even if no backow is expected in the converged solution, you should always set realistic values to minimize convergence diculties in the event that backow does occur during the calculation.
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If you are using the P-1 radiation model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-tosurface model, you will set the Internal Emissivity and (optional) Black Body Temperature. See Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions for details. (The Rosseland radiation model does not require any boundary condition inputs.)

If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the pressure outlet. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.

7.8.2
Default Settings at Pressure Outlet Boundaries
Default settings (in SI) for pressure outlet boundary conditions are as follows: Gauge Pressure 0 Backow Total Temperature 300 Backow Turb. Kinetic Energy 1 Backow Turb. Dissipation Rate 1
7.8.3
Calculation Procedure at Pressure Outlet Boundaries
At pressure outlets, FLUENT uses the boundary condition pressure you input as the static pressure of the uid at the outlet plane, ps , and extrapolates all other conditions from the interior of the domain.
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Boundary Conditions
7.8.4
Other Optional Inputs at Pressure Outlet Boundaries
Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions Option

One of the options that may be used at pressure outlets is Non-reecting boundary conditions (NRBC). This option is only available when the coupled solver and ideal gas law are used. The NRBC option is used when waves are made to pass through the boundaries while avoiding false reections. Details of non-reecting boundary conditions can be found in Section 7.23.2: General Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions of this chapter.
Target Mass Flow Rate Option

Two methods (Method 1 and Method 2) are available for adjusting the pressure at a pressure-outlet zone in order to meet the desired mass ow rate. Both methods are based on the simple Bernoullis equation. However, they dier in the internal iteration strategy for obtaining the change in pressure on a pressure-outlet zone. In general, the target mass ow rate is achieved by adjusting the pressure value at the pressure-outlet zone up and down at every iteration. This is done in accordance with one of the two available methods until the desired target mass ow rate is obtained. The change in pressure based on Bernoullis equation is given by the following equation: dP = 0.5ave (m2 m2 )/(ave A)2 req (7.8-2)
where dP is the change in pressure, m is the current computed mass ow rate at the pressure-outlet boundary, mreq is the required mass ow rate, ave is the computed av erage density at the pressure-outlet boundary, and A is the area of the pressure-outlet boundary. The default method, Method 1, should suce in obtaining a converged solution on the targeted mass ow rate. However, if convergence diculties are encountered while using the default method, then the user may want to select the alternate method, Method 2. There are other solution strategies that may be used if convergence diculties are encountered, which will be discussed at the end of this section. The target mass ow rate option can be activated from the Pressure Outlet boundary panel by selecting the target mass ow rate button. This option will allow you to specify either a constant value or attach a UDF to set the target mass ow rate.
Note that the target mass ow rate option is not available with multiphase ows or when any of the non-reecting boundary conditions models are used. Moreover, if the pressure-outlet zone is used in the mixing-plane model, the target mass ow rate option will not be available for that particular zone.
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Target Mass Flow Rate Settings The settings for the target mass ow rate option can be accessed from the target-mass-flow-rate-settings text command: define boundary-conditions target-mass-flow-rate-settings There are two options under this menu: 1. set-method: If you select this option it will allow you to: (a) Select Method 1 or 2 (the default setting is Method 1) (b) Set the underrelaxation factor (the default setting is 0.05) (c) Set the maximum and minimum pressure that will be imposed on any pressureoutlet when a target mass ow rate option is activated. The purpose of this input is to limit the exit pressure value and prevent it from reaching unreasonable limits. 2. verbosity? If enabled the required mass ow rate, computed mass ow rate, mean pressure, the new pressure imposed on the outlet and the change in pressure in SI units are printed on the cortex window. Solution Strategies When Using the Target Mass Flow Rate Option If convergence diculties are encountered or if the solution is not converging at the desired mass ow rate, then try to lower the underrelaxation factor from the default value. Otherwise, you can use the alternate method to converge at the required mass ow rate. Also, in some cases you may want to limit the pressure values in the zone by adjusting the minimum or maximum pressure limits (note that this limit is applied to all pressure-outlet zones when the target mass ow rate option is selected). All of the above parameters can be accessed from the target-mass-flow-rate-settings text command. In some cases, you may want to switch o the target mass ow rate option initially, then guess an exit pressure that will bring the solution closer to the target mass ow rate. After the solution stabilizes, you can turn on the target mass ow rate option and iterate to convergence. For many complex ow problems, this strategy is usually very successful. The use of Full Multigrid Initialization is also very helpful in obtaining a good starting solution and in general will reduce the time required to get a converged solution on a target mass ow rate. For further information on Full Multigrid Initialization, see Section 26.16: Full Multigrid (FMG) Initialization.
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Boundary Conditions
Setting Target Mass Flow Rates Using UDFs For some unsteady problems it is desirable that the target mass ow rate be a function of the physical ow time. This enforcement of boundary condition can be done by attaching a UDF with DEFINE_PROFILE functions to the target mass ow rate eld.
Note that the mass ow rate prole is a function of time and only one constant value should be applied to all zone faces at a given time.
An example of a simple UDF using a DEFINE PROFILE that will adjust the mass ow rate can be found in Section 4.3.13: DEFINE PROFILE of the UDF Manual.
7.9
Pressure Far-Field Boundary Conditions

Pressure far-eld conditions are used in FLUENT to model a free-stream condition at innity, with free-stream Mach number and static conditions being specied. The pressure far-eld boundary condition is often called a characteristic boundary condition, since it uses characteristic information (Riemann invariants) to determine the ow variables at the boundaries.
This boundary condition is applicable only when the density is calculated using the ideal-gas law (see Section 8.3: Density). Using it for other ows is not permitted. To eectively approximate true innite-extent conditions, you must place the far-eld boundary far enough from the object of interest. For example, in lifting airfoil calculations, it is not uncommon for the fareld boundary to be a circle with a radius of 20 chord lengths.
You can nd the following information about pressure far-eld boundary conditions in this section: Section 7.9.1: Inputs at Pressure Far-Field Boundaries Section 7.9.2: Default Settings at Pressure Far-Field Boundaries Section 7.9.3: Calculation Procedure at Pressure Far-Field Boundaries For an overview of ow boundaries, see Section 7.2: Flow Inlets and Exits.
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7.9 Pressure Far-Field Boundary Conditions
7.9.1
Inputs at Pressure Far-Field Boundaries
Summary
You will enter the following information for a pressure far-eld boundary: Static pressure Mach number Temperature Flow direction Turbulence parameters (for turbulent calculations) Radiation parameters (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Chemical species mass fractions (for species calculations) Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) All values are entered in the Pressure Far-Field panel (Figure 7.9.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions).
Dening Static Pressure, Mach Number, and Static Temperature

To set the static pressure and temperature at the far-eld boundary, enter the appropriate values for Gauge Pressure and Temperature in the Pressure Far-Field panel. You will also set the Mach Number there. The Mach number can be subsonic, sonic, or supersonic.

You can dene the ow direction at a pressure far-eld boundary by setting the components of the direction vector. If your geometry is 2D non-axisymmetric or 3D, enter the appropriate values for X, Y, and (in 3D) Z-Component of Flow Direction in the Pressure Far-Field panel. If your geometry is 2D axisymmetric, enter the appropriate values for Axial, Radial, and (if you are modeling axisymmetric swirl) Tangential-Component of Flow Direction.
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.9.1: The Pressure Far-Field Panel

For turbulent calculations, there are several ways in which you can dene the turbulence parameters. Instructions for deciding which method to use and determining appropriate values for these inputs are provided in Section 7.2.2: Determining Turbulence Parameters. Turbulence modeling is described in Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence.

If you are using the P-1 radiation model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-tosurface model, you will set the Internal Emissivity and (optionally) Black Body Temperature. See Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions for details.
Dening Species Transport Parameters

If you are modeling species transport, you will set the species mass fractions under Species Mass Fractions. See Section 14.1.5: Dening Boundary Conditions for Species for details.
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7.9 Pressure Far-Field Boundary Conditions

If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the pressure far-eld boundary. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.
7.9.2
Default Settings at Pressure Far-Field Boundaries
Default settings (in SI) for pressure far-eld boundary conditions are as follows: Gauge Pressure Mach Number Temperature X-Component of Flow Direction Y-Component of Flow Direction Z-Component of Flow Direction Turb. Kinetic Energy Turb. Dissipation Rate 0 0.6 300 1 0 0 1 1
7.9.3
Calculation Procedure at Pressure Far-Field Boundaries
The pressure far-eld boundary condition is a non-reecting boundary condition based on the introduction of Riemann invariants (i.e., characteristic variables) for a one-dimensional ow normal to the boundary. For ow that is subsonic there are two Riemann invariants, corresponding to incoming and outgoing waves: R = vn 2c 1 (7.9-1)
Ri = vni +
2ci 1
(7.9-2)
where vn is the velocity magnitude normal to the boundary, c is the local speed of sound and is the ratio of specic heats (ideal gas). The subscript refers to conditions being applied at innity (the boundary conditions), and the subscript i refers to conditions in the interior of the domain (i.e., in the cell adjacent to the boundary face). These two invariants can be added and subtracted to give the following two equations: 1 vn = (Ri + R ) 2 c= 1 (Ri R ) 4 (7.9-3)
(7.9-4)
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where vn and c become the values of normal velocity and sound speed applied on the boundary. At a face through which ow exits, the tangential velocity components and entropy are extrapolated from the interior; at an inow face, these are specied as having free-stream values. Using the values for vn , c, tangential velocity components, and entropy the values of density, velocity, temperature, and pressure at the boundary face can be calculated.
7.10
Outow Boundary Conditions
Outow boundary conditions in FLUENT are used to model ow exits where the details of the ow velocity and pressure are not known prior to solution of the ow problem. You do not dene any conditions at outow boundaries (unless you are modeling radiative heat transfer, a discrete phase of particles, or split mass ow): FLUENT extrapolates the required information from the interior. It is important, however, to understand the limitations of this boundary type.
Note that outow boundaries cannot be used in the following cases:
if a problem includes pressure inlet boundaries; use pressure outlet boundary conditions (see Section 7.8: Pressure Outlet Boundary Conditions) instead if you are modeling compressible ow if you are modeling unsteady ows with varying density, even if the ow is incompressible You can nd the following information about outow boundary conditions in this section: Section 7.10.1: FLUENTs Treatment at Outow Boundaries Section 7.10.2: Using Outow Boundaries Section 7.10.3: Mass Flow Split Boundary Conditions Section 7.10.4: Other Inputs at Outow Boundaries For an overview of ow boundaries, see Section 7.2: Flow Inlets and Exits.
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7.10 Outow Boundary Conditions
7.10.1
FLUENTs Treatment at Outow Boundaries
The boundary conditions used by FLUENT at outow boundaries are as follows: A zero diusion ux for all ow variables An overall mass balance correction The zero diusion ux condition applied at outow cells means that the conditions of the outow plane are extrapolated from within the domain and have no impact on the upstream ow. The extrapolation procedure used by FLUENT updates the outow velocity and pressure in a manner that is consistent with a fully-developed ow assumption, as noted below, when there is no area change at the outow boundary. The zero diusion ux condition applied by FLUENT at outow boundaries is approached physically in fully-developed ows. Fully-developed ows are ows in which the ow velocity prole (and/or proles of other properties such as temperature) is unchanging in the ow direction. It is important to note that gradients in the cross-stream direction may exist at an outow boundary. Only the diusion uxes in the direction normal to the exit plane are assumed to be zero.
7.10.2
Using Outow Boundaries
As noted in Section 7.10.1: FLUENTs Treatment at Outow Boundaries, the outow boundary condition is obeyed in fully-developed ows where the diusion ux for all ow variables in the exit direction are zero. However, you may also dene outow boundaries at physical boundaries where the ow is not fully developedand you can do so with condence if the assumption of a zero diusion ux at the exit is expected to have a small impact on your ow solution. The appropriate placement of an outow boundary is described by example below. Outow boundaries where normal gradients are negligible: Figure 7.10.1 shows a simple two-dimensional ow problem and several possible outow boundary location choices. Location C shows the outow boundary located upstream of the plenum exit but in a region of the duct where the ow is fully-developed. At this location, the outow boundary condition is exactly obeyed. Ill-posed outow boundaries: Location B in Figure 7.10.1 shows the outow boundary near the reattachment point of the recirculation in the wake of the backwardfacing step. This choice of outow boundary condition is ill-posed as the gradients normal to the exit plane are quite large at this point and can be expected to have a signicant impact on the ow eld upstream. Because the outow boundary condition ignores these axial gradients in the ow, location B is a poor choice for
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Boundary Conditions
outow outow outow condition condition condition obeyed ill-posed not obeyed
Figure 7.10.1: Choice of the Outow Boundary Condition Location
an outow boundary. The exit location should be moved downstream from the reattachment point. Figure 7.10.1 shows a second ill-posed outow boundary at location A. Here, the outow is located where ow is pulled into the FLUENT domain through the outow boundary. In situations like this the FLUENT calculation typically does not converge and the results of the calculation have no validity. This is because when ow is pulled into the domain through an outow, the mass ow rate through the domain is oating or undened. In addition, when ow enters the domain through an outow boundary, the scalar properties of the ow are not dened. For example, the temperature of the ow pulled in through the outow is not dened. (FLUENT chooses the temperature using the temperature of the uid adjacent to the outow, inside the domain.) Thus you should view all calculations that involve ow entering the domain through an outow boundary with skepticism. For such calculations, pressure outlet boundary conditions (see Section 7.8: Pressure Outlet Boundary Conditions) are recommended.
Note that convergence may be aected if there is recirculation through the outow boundary at any point during the calculation, even if the nal solution is not expected to have any ow reentering the domain. This is particularly true of turbulent ow simulations.
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7.10 Outow Boundary Conditions
7.10.3
Mass Flow Split Boundary Conditions
In FLUENT, it is possible to use multiple outow boundaries and specify the fractional ow rate through each boundary. In the Outow panel, set the Flow Rate Weighting to indicate what portion of the outow is through the boundary.
Figure 7.10.2: The Outow Panel
The Flow Rate Weighting is a weighting factor: Flow Rate Weighting specied on boundary percentage ow = through boundary sum of all Flow Rate Weightings (7.10-1)
By default, the Flow Rate Weighting for all outow boundaries is set to 1. If the ow is divided equally among all of your outow boundaries (or if you have just one outow boundary), you need not change the settings from the default; FLUENT will scale the ow rate fractions to obtain equal fractions through all outow boundaries. Thus, if you have two outow boundaries and you want half of the ow to exit through each one, no inputs are required from you. If, however, you want 75% of the ow to exit through one, and 25% through the other, you will need to explicitly specify both Flow Rate Weightings, i.e., 0.75 for one boundary and 0.25 for the other.
If you specify a Flow Rate Weighting of 0.75 at the rst exit and leave the default Flow Rate Weighting (1.0) at the second exit, then the ow through each boundary will be =
0.75 0.75+1.0 1.0 0.75+1.0
Boundary 1
= 0.429 or 42.9% = 0.571 or 57.1%
Boundary 2 =
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7.10.4
Other Inputs at Outow Boundaries
Radiation Inputs at Outow Boundaries

In general, there are no boundary conditions for you to set at an outow boundary. If, however, you are using the P-1 radiation model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model, you will set the Internal Emissivity and (optionally) Black Body Temperature in the Outow panel. These parameters are described in Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions. The default value for Internal Emissivity is 1 and the default value for Black Body Temperature is 300.

If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the outow boundary. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.
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7.11 Outlet Vent Boundary Conditions
7.11 Outlet Vent Boundary Conditions

Outlet vent boundary conditions are used to model an outlet vent with a specied loss coecient and ambient (discharge) pressure and temperature.
7.11.1
Inputs at Outlet Vent Boundaries
You will enter the following information for an outlet vent boundary: Static pressure Backow conditions Total (stagnation) temperature (for energy calculations) Turbulence parameters (for turbulent calculations) Chemical species mass fractions (for species calculations) Mixture fraction and variance (for non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Progress variable (for premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Multiphase boundary conditions (for general multiphase calculations) Radiation parameters (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) Loss coecient Open channel ow parameters (for open channel ow calculations using the VOF multiphase model) All values are entered in the Outlet Vent panel (Figure 7.11.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). The rst 4 items listed above are specied in the same way that they are specied at pressure outlet boundaries. See Section 7.8.1: Inputs at Pressure Outlet Boundaries for details. Specication of the loss coecient is described here. Open channel boundary condition inputs are described in Section 24.8.5: Modeling Open Channel Flows.
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.11.1: The Outlet Vent Panel
Specifying the Loss Coefcient

An outlet vent is considered to be innitely thin, and the pressure drop through the vent is assumed to be proportional to the dynamic head of the uid, with an empirically determined loss coecient which you supply. That is, the pressure drop, p, varies with the normal component of velocity through the vent, v, as follows: 1 p = kL v 2 2 where is the uid density, and kL is the nondimensional loss coecient. (7.11-1)
p is the pressure drop in the direction of the ow; therefore the vent will appear as a resistance even in the case of backow.
You can dene a constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function for the Loss-Coecient across the vent. The panels for dening these functions are the same as those used for dening temperature-dependent properties. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions for details.
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7.12 Exhaust Fan Boundary Conditions
7.12 Exhaust Fan Boundary Conditions

Exhaust fan boundary conditions are used to model an external exhaust fan with a specied pressure jump and ambient (discharge) pressure.
7.12.1
Inputs at Exhaust Fan Boundaries
You will enter the following information for an exhaust fan boundary: Static pressure Backow conditions Total (stagnation) temperature (for energy calculations) Turbulence parameters (for turbulent calculations) Chemical species mass fractions (for species calculations) Mixture fraction and variance (for non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Progress variable (for premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations) Multiphase boundary conditions (for general multiphase calculations) User-dened scalar boundary conditions (for user-dened scalar calculations) Radiation parameters (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) Pressure jump Open channel ow parameters (for open channel ow calculations using the VOF multiphase model) All values are entered in the Exhaust Fan panel (Figure 7.12.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). The rst 4 items listed above are specied in the same way that they are specied at pressure outlet boundaries. See Section 7.8.1: Inputs at Pressure Outlet Boundaries for details. Specication of the pressure jump is described here. Open channel boundary condition inputs are described in Section 24.8.5: Modeling Open Channel Flows.
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Boundary Conditions
Specifying the Pressure Jump

An exhaust fan is considered to be innitely thin, and the discontinuous pressure rise across it is specied as a function of the local uid velocity normal to the fan. You can dene a constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function for the Pressure-Jump across the fan. The panels for dening these functions are the same as those used for dening temperature-dependent properties. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions for details.
Figure 7.12.1: The Exhaust Fan Panel
You must be careful to model the exhaust fan so that a pressure rise occurs for forward ow through the fan. In the case of reversed ow, the fan is treated like an inlet vent with a loss coecient of unity.
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7.13 Wall Boundary Conditions

Wall boundary conditions are used to bound uid and solid regions. In viscous ows, the no-slip boundary condition is enforced at walls by default, but you can specify a tangential velocity component in terms of the translational or rotational motion of the wall boundary, or model a slip wall by specifying shear. (You can also model a slip wall with zero shear using the symmetry boundary type, but using a symmetry boundary will apply symmetry conditions for all equations. See Section 7.14: Symmetry Boundary Conditions for details.) The shear stress and heat transfer between the uid and wall are computed based on the ow details in the local ow eld. You can nd the following information about wall boundary conditions in this section: Section 7.13.1: Inputs at Wall Boundaries Section 7.13.2: Default Settings at Wall Boundaries Section 7.13.3: Shear-Stress Calculation Procedure at Wall Boundaries Section 7.13.4: Heat Transfer Calculations at Wall Boundaries
7.13.1
Inputs at Wall Boundaries
Summary
You will enter the following information for a wall boundary: Thermal boundary conditions (for heat transfer calculations) Wall motion conditions (for moving or rotating walls) Shear conditions (for slip walls, optional) Wall roughness (for turbulent ows, optional) Species boundary conditions (for species calculations) Chemical reaction boundary conditions (for surface reactions) Radiation boundary conditions (for calculations using the P-1 model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-to-surface model) Discrete phase boundary conditions (for discrete phase calculations) Multiphase boundary conditions (for VOF calculations, optional)
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Dening Thermal Boundary Conditions at Walls

When you are solving the energy equation, you need to dene thermal boundary conditions at wall boundaries. Five types of thermal conditions are available: Fixed heat ux Fixed temperature Convective heat transfer External radiation heat transfer Combined external radiation and convection heat transfer If the wall zone is a two-sided wall (a wall that forms the interface between two regions, such as the uid/solid interface for a conjugate heat transfer problem) a subset of these thermal conditions will be available, but you will also be able to choose whether or not the two sides of the wall are coupled. See below for details. The inputs for each type of thermal condition are described below. If the wall has a nonzero thickness, you should also set parameters for calculating thin-wall thermal resistance and heat generation in the wall, as described below. You can model conduction within boundary walls and internal (i.e., two-sided) walls of your model. This type of conduction, called shell conduction, allows you to more conveniently model heat conduction on walls where the wall thickness is small with respect to the overall geometry (e.g., nned heat exchangers or sheet metal in automobile underhoods). Meshing these walls with solid cells would lead to high-aspect-ratio meshes and a signicant increase in the total number of cells. See below for details about shell conduction. Thermal conditions are entered in the Thermal section of the Wall panel (Figure 7.13.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). To view the thermal conditions, click the Thermal tab. Heat Flux Boundary Conditions For a xed heat ux condition, choose the Heat Flux option under Thermal Conditions. You will then need to set the appropriate value for the heat ux at the wall surface in the Heat Flux eld. You can dene an adiabatic wall by setting a zero heat ux condition. This is the default condition for all walls.
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Figure 7.13.1: The Wall Panel (Thermal Section)
Temperature Boundary Conditions To select the xed temperature condition, choose the Temperature option under Thermal Conditions in the Wall panel. You will need to specify the temperature at the wall surface (Temperature). The heat transfer to the wall is computed using Equation 7.13-8 or Equation 7.13-9. Convective Heat Transfer Boundary Conditions For a convective heat transfer wall boundary, select Convection under Thermal Conditions. Your inputs of Heat Transfer Coecient and Free Stream Temperature will allow FLUENT to compute the heat transfer to the wall using Equation 7.13-12. External Radiation Boundary Conditions If radiation heat transfer from the exterior of your model is of interest, you can enable the Radiation option in the Wall panel and set the External Emissivity and External Radiation Temperature.
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Combined Convection and External Radiation Boundary Conditions You can choose a thermal condition that combines the convection and radiation boundary conditions by selecting the Mixed option. With this thermal condition, you will need to set the Heat Transfer Coecient, Free Stream Temperature, External Emissivity, and External Radiation Temperature. Thin-Wall Thermal Resistance Parameters By default, a wall will have a thickness of zero. You can, however, in conjunction with any of the thermal conditions, model a thin layer of material on the wall. For example, you can model the eect of a piece of sheet metal between two uid zones, a coating on a solid zone, or contact resistance between two solid regions. FLUENT will solve a 1D conduction equation to compute the thermal resistance oered by the wall and the heat generation in the wall. To include these eects in the heat transfer calculation you will need to specify the type of material, the thickness of the wall, and the heat generation rate in the wall. Select the material type in the Material Name drop-down list, and specify the thickness in the Wall Thickness eld. If you want to check or modify the properties of the selected material, you can click Edit... to open the Material panel; this panel contains just the properties of the selected material, not the full contents of the standard Materials panel. The thermal resistance of the wall is x/k, where k is the conductivity of the wall material and x is the wall thickness. The thermal wall boundary condition you set will be specied on the outside of the uid/solid domain, which is called the inner surface of the thin wall, as shown in Figure 7.13.2. This is the side of the wall surface away from the adjacent uid or solid cell zone. The temperature specied at this side of the wall is Tb .
The convention used in FLUENT is that for any wall, outer refers to the surface of the wall facing the uid/solid cell zone and inner refers to the surface of the wall facing away from the adjacent uid/solid cell zone. If shell conduction is enabled (Section 7.13.1: Shell Conduction in ThinWalls), the shell cell temperature will be stored in the inner surface. If there is no shell conduction, then the outer surface stores the face temperature of the wall while the inner surface stores the evaluated value of the boundary condition specied by the user. Note that for thin walls, you can only specify a constant thermal conductivity. If you want to use a non-constant thermal conductivity for a wall with non-zero thickness, you should use the shell conduction model (see below for details).
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thin wall outer surface

(wall surface toward the adjacent fluid or solid cell zone)
Tb
fluid or solid cells inner surface

(wall surface away from the adjacent fluid or solid cell zone)
Figure 7.13.2: Thermal Conditions are Specied on the Inner Surface of the Thin Wall
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Boundary Conditions
Specify the heat generation rate inside the wall in the Heat Generation Rate eld. This option is useful if, for example, you are modeling printed circuit boards where you know the electrical power dissipated in the circuits. Thermal Conditions for Two-Sided Walls If the wall zone has a uid or solid region on each side, it is called a two-sided wall. When you read a grid with this type of wall zone into FLUENT, a shadow zone will automatically be created so that each side of the wall is a distinct wall zone. In the Wall panel, the shadow zones name will be shown in the Shadow Face Zone eld. You can choose to specify dierent thermal conditions on each zone, or to couple the two zones: To couple the two sides of the wall, select the Coupled option under Thermal Conditions. (This option will appear in the Wall panel only when the wall is a two-sided wall.) No additional thermal boundary conditions are required, because the solver will calculate heat transfer directly from the solution in the adjacent cells. You can, however, specify the material type, wall thickness, and heat generation rate for thin-wall thermal resistance calculations, as described above. Note that the resistance parameters you set for one side of the wall will automatically be assigned to its shadow wall zone. Specifying the heat generation rate inside the wall is useful if, for example, you are modeling printed circuit boards where you know the electrical power dissipated in the circuits but not the heat ux or wall temperature. To uncouple the two sides of the wall and specify dierent thermal conditions on each one, choose Temperature or Heat Flux as the thermal condition type. (Convection and Radiation are not applicable for two-sided walls.) The relationship between the wall and its shadow will be retained, so that you can couple them again at a later time, if desired. You will need to set the relevant parameters for the selected thermal condition, as described above. The two uncoupled walls can have dierent thicknesses, and are eectively insulated from one another. If you specify a non-zero wall thickness for the uncoupled walls, the thermal boundary conditions you set will be specied on the inner surfaces of the two thin walls, as shown in Figure 7.13.3, where Tb1 is the Temperature (or qb1 is the Heat Flux) specied on one wall and Tb2 is the Temperature (or qb2 is the Heat Flux) specied on the other wall. kw1 and kw2 are the thermal conductivities of the uncoupled thin walls. Note that the gap between the walls in Figure 7.13.3 is not part of the model; it is included in the gure only to show where the thermal boundary condition for each uncoupled wall is applied.
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thin walls
q b1 or Tb1
q b2 or Tb2 uid or solid cells uid or solid cells
k w1
k w2
Figure 7.13.3: Thermal Conditions are Specied on the Inner Surfaces of the Uncoupled Thin Walls
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Boundary Conditions
Shell Conduction in Thin-Walls To enable shell conduction for a wall, turn on the Shell Conduction option in the Wall boundary condition panel. When this option is enabled, FLUENT will compute heat conduction within the wall, in addition to conduction across the wall (which is always computed when the energy equation is solved). The Shell Conduction option will appear in the Wall panel for all walls when solution of the energy equation is active. For a wall with shell conduction enabled, the thermal conditions are applied as described above for thin walls. FLUENT cases with shell conduction can be read in serial or parallel. Either a partitioned or an unpartitioned case le can be read in parallel (see Section 32.5: Partitioning the Grid for more infomation on partitioning). After reading a case le in parallel, shell zones can be created on any wall with a positive thickness. To delete existing shell conduction zones all at once, the TUI command define/boundary-conditions/modify-zone/delete-all-shells is used. This capability is available in both serial and parallel mode.
i i
You must specify a non-zero Wall Thickness in the Wall panel, because the shell conduction model is relevant only for walls with non-zero thickness. Note that the shell conduction model has several limitations:
It is available only in 3D. It is available only when the segregated solver is used. It cannot be used with the non-premixed or partially premixed combustion model. It cannot be used with the multiphase mixture, VOF, or Eulerian model. When used in conjunction with the discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model, shell conducting walls cannot be semi-transparent. Shell conducting walls cannot be split or merged. If you need to split or merge a shell conducting wall, disable the Shell Conduction option for the wall, perform the split or merge operation, and then enable Shell Conduction for the new wall zones. The shell conduction model cannot be used on a wall zone that has been adapted. If you want to perform adaption elsewhere in the computational domain, be sure to use the mask register described in Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers to ensure that no adaption is performed on the shell conducting wall. Fluxes at the ends of a shell conducting wall are not included in the heat balance reports. These uxes are accounted for correctly in the FLUENT solution, but not in the ux report itself.
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Dening Wall Motion

Wall boundaries can be either stationary or moving. The stationary boundary condition species a xed wall, whereas the moving boundary condition can be used to specify the translational or rotational velocity of the wall, or the velocity components. Wall motion conditions are entered in the Momentum section of the Wall panel (Figure 7.13.4), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). To view the wall motion conditions, click the Momentum tab.
Figure 7.13.4: The Wall Panel for a Moving Wall
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Boundary Conditions
Dening a Stationary Wall For a stationary wall, choose the Stationary Wall option under Wall Motion. Dening Velocity Conditions for Moving Walls If you wish to include tangential motion of the wall in your calculation, you need to dene the translational or rotational velocity, or the velocity components. Select the Moving Wall option under Wall Motion. The Wall panel will expand, as shown in Figure 7.13.4, to show the wall velocity conditions. Note that you cannot use the moving wall condition to model problems where the wall has a motion normal to itself. FLUENT will neglect any normal component of wall motion that you specify using the methods below. Specifying Relative or Absolute Velocity If the cell zone adjacent to the wall is moving (e.g., if you are using a moving reference frame or a sliding mesh), you can choose to specify velocities relative to the zone motion by enabling the Relative to Adjacent Cell Zone option. If you choose to specify relative velocities, a velocity of zero means that the wall is stationary in the relative frame, and therefore moving at the speed of the adjacent cell zone in the absolute frame. If you choose to specify absolute velocities (by enabling the Absolute option), a velocity of zero means that the wall is stationary in the absolute frame, and therefore moving at the speed of the adjacent cell zonebut in the opposite directionin the relative reference frame.
If you are using one or more moving reference frames, sliding meshes, or mixing planes, and you want the wall to be xed in the moving frame, it is recommended that you specify relative velocities (the default) rather than absolute velocities. Then, if you modify the speed of the adjacent cell zone, you will not need to make any changes to the wall velocities, as you would if you specied absolute velocities.
Note that if the adjacent cell zone is not moving, the absolute and relative options are equivalent. Translational Wall Motion For problems that include linear translational motion of the wall boundary (e.g., a rectangular duct with a moving belt as one wall) you can enable the Translational option and specify the walls Speed and Direction (X,Y,Z vector). By default, wall motion is disabled by the specication of Translational velocity with a Speed of zero. If you need to dene non-linear translational motion, you will need to use the Components option, described below.
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Rotational Wall Motion For problems that include rotational wall motion you can enable the Rotational option and dene the rotational Speed about a specied axis. To dene the axis, set the RotationAxis Direction and Rotation-Axis Origin. This axis is independent of the axis of rotation used by the adjacent cell zone, and independent of any other wall rotation axis. For 3D problems, the axis of rotation is the vector passing through the specied RotationAxis Origin and parallel to the vector from (0,0,0) to the (X,Y,Z) point specied under Rotation-Axis Direction. For 2D problems, you will specify only the Rotation-Axis Origin; the axis of rotation is the z-direction vector passing through the specied point. For 2D axisymmetric problems, you will not dene the axis: the rotation will always be about the x axis, with the origin at (0,0). Note that the modeling of tangential rotational motion will be correct only if the wall bounds a surface of revolution about the prescribed axis of rotation (e.g., a circle or cylinder). Note also that rotational motion can be specied for a wall in a stationary reference frame. Wall Motion Based on Velocity Components For problems that include linear or non-linear translational motion of the wall boundary you can enable the Components option and specify the X-Velocity, Y-Velocity, and ZVelocity of the wall. You can dene non-linear translational motion using a boundary prole or a user-dened function for the X-Velocity, Y-Velocity, and/or Z-Velocity of the wall. Wall Motion for Two-Sided Walls As discussed earlier in this section, when you read a grid with a two-sided wall zone (which forms the interface between uid/solid regions) into FLUENT, a shadow zone will automatically be created so that each side of the wall is a distinct wall zone. For two-sided walls, it is possible to specify dierent motions for the wall and shadow zones, whether or not they are coupled. Note, however, that you cannot specify motion for a wall (or shadow) that is adjacent to a solid zone.
Dening Shear Conditions at Walls

Four types of shear conditions are available: no-slip specied shear specularity coecient Marangoni stress
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Boundary Conditions
Note that all moving walls are no-slip; the other shear conditions are relevant only for stationary walls. The no-slip condition is the default, and it indicates that the uid sticks to the wall and moves with the same velocity as the wall, if it is moving. The specied shear and Marangoni stress boundary conditions are useful in modeling situations in which the shear stress (rather than the motion of the uid) is known. Examples of such situations are applied shear stress, slip wall (zero shear stress), and free surface conditions (zero shear stress or shear stress dependent on surface tension gradient). The specied shear boundary condition allows you to specify the x, y, and z components of the shear stress as constant values or boundary proles. The Marangoni stress boundary condition allows you to specify the gradient of the surface tension with respect to the temperature at this surface. The shear stress is calculated based on the surface gradient of the temperature and the specied surface tension gradient. The Marangoni stress option is available only for calculations in which the energy equation is being solved. The specularity coecient shear condition is specically used in multiphase with granular ows. The specularity coecient is a measure of the fraction of collisions which transfer momentum to the wall and its value ranges between zero and unity. This implementation is based on the Johnson and Jackson [152] boundary conditions for granular ows. Shear conditions are entered in the Momentum section of the Wall panel, which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). To view the shear conditions, click the Momentum tab. Modeling No-Slip Walls You can model a no-slip wall by selecting the No Slip option under Shear Condition. This is the default for all walls in viscous ows. Specied Shear In addition to the no-slip wall that is the default for viscous ows, you can model a slip wall by specifying zero or non-zero shear. For non-zero shear, the shear to be specied is the shear at the wall by the uid. To specify the shear, select the Specied Shear option under Shear Condition (see Figure 7.13.5). You can then enter x, y, and z components of shear under Shear Stress. Wall functions for turbulence are not used with the Specied Shear option. Specularity Coefcient For multiphase granular ow, you can specify the specularity coecient such that when the value is zero, this condition is equivalent to zero shear at the wall, but when the value is near unity, there is a signicant amount of lateral momentum transfer. To specify the specularity coecient, select the Specularity Coecient option under Shear
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Figure 7.13.5: The Wall Panel for Specied Shear
Condition (see Figure 7.13.6) and enter the desired value in the text-entry box under Specularity Coecient. Marangoni Stress FLUENT can also model shear stresses caused by the variation of surface tension due to temperature. The shear stress applied at the wall is given by = d dT
sT
(7.13-1)
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.13.6: The Wall Panel for the Specularity Coecient
where d/dT is the surface tension gradient with respect to temperature, and s T is the surface gradient. This shear stress is then applied to the momentum equation. To model Marangoni stress for the wall, select the Marangoni Stress option under Shear Condition (see Figure 7.13.7). This option is available only for calculations in which the energy equation is being solved. You can then enter the surface tension gradient (d/dT in Equation 7.13-1) in the Surface Tension Gradient eld. Wall functions for turbulence are not used with the Marangoni Stress option.
Modeling Wall Roughness Effects in Turbulent Wall-Bounded Flows

Fluid ows over rough surfaces are encountered in diverse situations. Examples are, among many others, ows over the surfaces of airplanes, ships, turbomachinery, heat exchangers, and piping systems, and atmospheric boundary layers over terrain of varying roughness. Wall roughness aects drag (resistance) and heat and mass transfer on the walls. If you are modeling a turbulent wall-bounded ow in which the wall roughness eects are considered to be signicant, you can include the wall roughness eects through the law-of-the-wall modied for roughness.
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Figure 7.13.7: The Wall Panel for Marangoni Stress
Law-of-the-Wall Modied for Roughness Experiments in roughened pipes and channels indicate that the mean velocity distribution near rough walls, when plotted in the usual semi-logarithmic scale, has the same slope (1/) but a dierent intercept (additive constant B in the log-law). Thus, the law-ofthe-wall for mean velocity modied for roughness has the form u p u 1 u yp = ln(E ) B w / (7.13-2)
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Boundary Conditions
1/4 where u = C k 1/2 and
B =
1 ln fr
(7.13-3)
where fr is a roughness function that quanties the shift of the intercept due to roughness eects. B depends, in general, on the type (uniform sand, rivets, threads, ribs, mesh-wire, etc.) and size of the roughness. There is no universal roughness function valid for all types of roughness. For a sand-grain roughness and similar types of uniform roughness elements, however, B has been found to be well-correlated with the nondimensional roughness + 1/4 height, Ks = Ks u /, where Ks is the physical roughness height and u = C k 1/2 . Analyses of experimental data show that the roughness function is not a single function + + of Ks , but takes dierent forms depending on the Ks value. It has been observed that there are three distinct regimes:
+ Hydrodynamically smooth (Ks 2.25) + Transitional (2.25 < Ks 90) + Fully rough (Ks > 90)
According to the data, roughness eects are negligible in the hydrodynamically smooth regime, but become increasingly important in the transitional regime, and take full eect in the fully rough regime. In FLUENT, the whole roughness regime is subdivided into the three regimes, and the formulas proposed by Cebeci and Bradshaw based on Nikuradses data [48] are adopted to compute B for each regime.
+ For the hydrodynamically smooth regime (Ks 2.25):
B = 0
+ For the transitional regime (2.25 < Ks 90): + 1 Ks 2.25 + + ln + Cs Ks sin 0.4258(ln Ks 0.811) 87.75
(7.13-4)
B =
(7.13-5)
where Cs is a roughness constant, and depends on the type of the roughness.

+ In the fully rough regime (Ks > 90):
B =
1 + ln(1 + Cs Ks )
(7.13-6)
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+ In the solver, given the roughness parameters, B(Ks ) is evaluated using the corresponding formula (Equation 7.13-4, 7.13-5, or 7.13-6). The modied law-of-the-wall in Equation 7.13-2 is then used to evaluate the shear stress at the wall and other wall functions for the mean temperature and turbulent quantities.
Setting the Roughness Parameters The roughness parameters are in the Momentum section of the Wall panel (see Figure 7.13.7), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). To view the wall roughness parameters, click the Momentum tab. To model the wall roughness eects, you must specify two roughness parameters: the Roughness Height, Ks , and the Roughness Constant, Cs . The default roughness height (Ks ) is zero, which corresponds to smooth walls. For the roughness to take eect, you must specify a non-zero value for Ks . For a uniform sand-grain roughness, the height of the sand-grain can simply be taken for Ks . For a non-uniform sand-grain, however, the mean diameter (D50 ) would be a more meaningful roughness height. For other types of roughness, an equivalent sand-grain roughness height could be used for Ks . The above approaches are only relevant if the height is considered constant per surface. However, if the roughness constant or roughness height is not constant (i.e., ow over a nonuniform surface), then you can specify a boundary prole (Section 7.26: Boundary Proles). Similarly, user-dened functions may be used to dene a wall roughness height that is not constant. For details on the format of user-dened functions, refer to the separate UDF Manual. Choosing a proper roughness constant (Cs ) is dictated mainly by the type of the given roughness. The default roughness constant (Cs = 0.5) was determined so that, when used with k- turbulence models, it reproduces Nikuradses resistance data for pipes roughened with tightly-packed, uniform sand-grain roughness. You may need to adjust the roughness constant when the roughness you want to model departs much from uniform sand-grain. For instance, there is some experimental evidence that, for non-uniform sand-grains, ribs, and wire-mesh roughness, a higher value (Cs = 0.5 1.0) is more appropriate. Unfortunately, a clear guideline for choosing Cs for arbitrary types of roughness is not available. Note that it is not physically meaningful to have a mesh size such that the wall-adjacent cell is smaller than the roughness height. For best results, make sure that the distance from the wall to the centroid of the wall-adjacent cell is greater than Ks .
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Boundary Conditions
Dening Species Boundary Conditions for Walls

By default, a zero-gradient condition for all species is assumed at walls (except for species that participate in surface reactions), but it is also possible to specify species mass fractions at walls. That is, Dirichlet boundary conditions such as those that are specied at inlets can be used at walls as well. If you wish to retain the default zero-gradient condition for a species, no inputs are required. If you want to specify the mass fraction for a species at the wall, the steps are as follows: 1. Click the Species tab in the Wall panel to view the species boundary conditions for the wall (see Figure 7.13.8). 2. Under Species Boundary Condition, select Specied Mass Fraction (rather than Zero Diusive Flux) in the drop-down list to the right of the species name. The panel will expand to include space for Species Mass Fractions.
Figure 7.13.8: The Wall Panel for Species Boundary Condition Input
3. Under Species Mass Fractions, specify the mass fraction for the species.
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The boundary condition type for each species is specied separately, so you can choose to use dierent methods for dierent species. If you are modeling species transport with reactions, you can, alternatively, enable a reaction mechanism at a wall by turning on the Reaction option and selecting an available mechanism from the Reaction Mechanisms drop-down list. See Section 14.1.4: Dening Zone-Based Reaction Mechanisms more information about dening reaction mechanisms.
Dening Reaction Boundary Conditions for Walls

If you have enabled the modeling of wall surface reactions in the Species Model panel, you can indicate whether or not surface reactions should be activated for the wall. In the Species section of the Wall panel (Figure 7.13.8), turn the Surface Reactions option on or o. Note that a zero-gradient condition is assumed at the wall for species that do not participate in any surface reactions.
Dening Radiation Boundary Conditions for Walls

If you are using the P-1 radiation model, the DTRM, the DO model, or the surface-tosurface model, you will need to set the emissivity of the wall (Internal Emissivity) in the Radiation section of the Wall panel. If you are using the Rosseland model you do not need to set the emissivity, because FLUENT assumes the emissivity is 1. If you are using the DO model you will also need to dene the wall as diuse, specular, or semi-transparent. See Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions for details.
Dening Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions for Walls

If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the wall in the DPM section of the Wall panel. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.
Dening Multiphase Boundary Conditions for Walls

If you are using the VOF model and you are modeling wall adhesion, you can specify the contact angle for each pair of phases at the wall in the Momentum section of the Wall panel. See Section 24.8.19: Steps for Setting Boundary Conditions for details.
Dening Boundary Conditions for User-Dened Scalars

If you are using any user-dened scalars in your simulation, you can specify boundary conditions for them in the UDS section of the Wall panel. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened scalars.
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Boundary Conditions
7.13.2
Default Settings at Wall Boundaries
The default thermal boundary condition is a xed heat ux of zero. Walls are, by default, not moving.
7.13.3
Shear-Stress Calculation Procedure at Wall Boundaries
For no-slip wall conditions, FLUENT uses the properties of the ow adjacent to the wall/uid boundary to predict the shear stress on the uid at the wall. In laminar ows this calculation simply depends on the velocity gradient at the wall, while in turbulent ows one of the approaches described in Section 11.9: Near-Wall Treatments for WallBounded Turbulent Flows is used. For specied-shear walls, FLUENT will compute the tangential velocity at the boundary. If you are modeling inviscid ow with FLUENT, all walls use a slip condition, so they are frictionless and exert no shear stress on the adjacent uid.
Shear-Stress Calculation in Laminar Flow

In a laminar ow, the wall shear stress is dened by the normal velocity gradient at the wall as w = v n (7.13-7)
When there is a steep velocity gradient at the wall, you must be sure that the grid is suciently ne to accurately resolve the boundary layer. Guidelines for the appropriate placement of the near-wall node in laminar ows are provided in Section 6.2.2: Node Density and Clustering.
Shear-Stress Calculation in Turbulent Flows

Wall treatments for turbulent ows are described in Section 11.9: Near-Wall Treatments for Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows.
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7.13.4
Heat Transfer Calculations at Wall Boundaries
Temperature Boundary Conditions

When a xed temperature condition is applied at the wall, the heat ux to the wall from a uid cell is computed as q = hf (Tw Tf ) + qrad where hf Tw Tf qrad = = = = uid-side local heat transfer coecient wall surface temperature local uid temperature radiative heat ux (7.13-8)
Note that the uid-side heat transfer coecient is computed based on the local ow-eld conditions (e.g., turbulence level, temperature, and velocity proles), as described by Equations 7.13-15 and 11.9-5. Heat transfer to the wall boundary from a solid cell is computed as q= where ks Ts n = thermal conductivity of the solid = local solid temperature = distance between wall surface and the solid cell center ks (Tw Ts ) + qrad n (7.13-9)
Heat Flux Boundary Conditions

When you dene a heat ux boundary condition at a wall, you specify the heat ux at the wall surface. FLUENT uses Equation 7.13-8 and your input of heat ux to determine the wall surface temperature adjacent to a uid cell as Tw = q qrad + Tf hf (7.13-10)
where, as noted above, the uid-side heat transfer coecient is computed based on the local ow-eld conditions. When the wall borders a solid region, the wall surface temperature is computed as Tw = (q qrad )n + Ts ks (7.13-11)
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Boundary Conditions
Convective Heat Transfer Boundary Conditions

When you specify a convective heat transfer coecient boundary condition at a wall, FLUENT uses your inputs of the external heat transfer coecient and external heat sink temperature to compute the heat ux to the wall as
q = hf (Tw Tf ) + qrad = hext (Text Tw ) where hext Text qrad = = = external heat transfer coecient dened by you external heat-sink temperature dened by you radiative heat ux
(7.13-12)
Equation 7.13-12 assumes a wall of zero thickness.
External Radiation Boundary Conditions

When the external radiation boundary condition is used in FLUENT, the heat ux to the wall is computed as
q = hf (Tw Tf ) + qrad 4 4 = ext (T Tw ) where

ext
(7.13-13)
Tw T qrad
= = = =
emissivity of the external wall surface dened by you Stefan-Boltzmann constant surface temperature of the wall temperature of the radiation source or sink on the exterior of the domain, dened by you = radiative heat ux to the wall from within the domain
Equation 7.13-13 assumes a wall of zero thickness.
Combined External Convection and Radiation Boundary Conditions

When you choose the combined external heat transfer condition, the heat ux to the wall is computed as
q = hf (Tw Tf ) + qrad 4 4 = hext (Text Tw ) + ext (T Tw )
(7.13-14)
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7.14 Symmetry Boundary Conditions
where the variables are as dened above. Equation 7.13-14 assumes a wall of zero thickness.
Calculation of the Fluid-Side Heat Transfer Coefcient

In laminar ows, the uid side heat transfer at walls is computed using Fouriers law applied at the walls. FLUENT uses its discrete form: T n
q = kf
(7.13-15)
wall
where n is the local coordinate normal to the wall. For turbulent ows, FLUENT uses the law-of-the-wall for temperature derived using the analogy between heat and momentum transfer [184]. See Section 11.9.2: Standard Wall Functions for details.
7.14
Symmetry Boundary Conditions
Symmetry boundary conditions are used when the physical geometry of interest, and the expected pattern of the ow/thermal solution, have mirror symmetry. They can also be used to model zero-shear slip walls in viscous ows. This section describes the treatment of the ow at symmetry planes and provides examples of the use of symmetry. You do not dene any boundary conditions at symmetry boundaries, but you must take care to correctly dene your symmetry boundary locations.
i
7.14.1
At the centerline of an axisymmetric geometry, you should use the axis boundary type rather than the symmetry boundary type, as illustrated in Figure 7.16.1. See Section 7.16: Axis Boundary Conditions for details.
Examples of Symmetry Boundaries
Symmetry boundaries are used to reduce the extent of your computational model to a symmetric subsection of the overall physical system. Figures 7.14.1 and 7.14.2 illustrate two examples of symmetry boundary conditions used in this way. Figure 7.14.3 illustrates two problems in which a symmetry plane would be inappropriate. In both examples, the problem geometry is symmetric but the ow itself does not obey the symmetry boundary conditions. In the rst example, buoyancy creates an asymmetric ow. In the second, swirl in the ow creates a ow normal to the would-be symmetry plane. Note that this second example should be handled using rotationally periodic boundaries (as illustrated in Figure 7.15.1).
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Boundary Conditions
symmetry planes
Figure 7.14.1: Use of Symmetry to Model One Quarter of a 3D Duct
2 symmetry planes (model includes a 90 sector)
Figure 7.14.2: Use of Symmetry to Model One Quarter of a Circular CrossSection
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7.14 Symmetry Boundary Conditions
cold hot uid rises hot g
cold
not a plane of symmetry
not a plane of symmetry
Figure 7.14.3: Inappropriate Use of Symmetry
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Boundary Conditions
7.14.2
Calculation Procedure at Symmetry Boundaries
FLUENT assumes a zero ux of all quantities across a symmetry boundary. There is no convective ux across a symmetry plane: the normal velocity component at the symmetry plane is thus zero. There is no diusion ux across a symmetry plane: the normal gradients of all ow variables are thus zero at the symmetry plane. The symmetry boundary condition can therefore be summarized as follows: Zero normal velocity at a symmetry plane Zero normal gradients of all variables at a symmetry plane As stated above, these conditions determine a zero ux across the symmetry plane, which is required by the denition of symmetry. Since the shear stress is zero at a symmetry boundary, it can also be interpreted as a slip wall when used in viscous ow calculations.
7.15
Periodic Boundary Conditions
Periodic boundary conditions are used when the physical geometry of interest and the expected pattern of the ow/thermal solution have a periodically repeating nature. Two types of periodic conditions are available in FLUENT. The rst type does not allow a pressure drop across the periodic planes. (Note to FLUENT 4 users: This type of periodic boundary is referred to as a cyclic boundary in FLUENT 4.) The second type allows a pressure drop to occur across translationally periodic boundaries, enabling you to model fully-developed periodic ow. (In FLUENT 4 this is a periodic boundary.) This section discusses the no-pressure-drop periodic boundary condition. A complete description of the fully-developed periodic ow modeling capability is provided in Section 9.3: Periodic Flows. You can nd the following information about periodic boundary conditions in this section: Section 7.15.1: Examples of Periodic Boundaries Section 7.15.2: Inputs for Periodic Boundaries Section 7.15.3: Default Settings at Periodic Boundaries Section 7.15.4: Calculation Procedure at Periodic Boundaries
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7.15 Periodic Boundary Conditions
7.15.1
Examples of Periodic Boundaries
Periodic boundary conditions are used when the ows across two opposite planes in your computational model are identical. Figure 7.15.1 illustrates a typical application of periodic boundary conditions. In this example the ow entering the computational model through one periodic plane is identical to the ow exiting the domain through the opposite periodic plane. Periodic planes are always used in pairs as illustrated in this example.
4 tangential inlets
periodic boundaries
Figure 7.15.1: Use of Periodic Boundaries to Dene Swirling Flow in a Cylindrical Vessel
7.15.2
Inputs for Periodic Boundaries
For a periodic boundary without any pressure drop, there is only one input you need to consider: whether the geometry is rotationally or translationally periodic. (Additional inputs are required for a periodic ow with a periodic pressure drop. See Section 9.3: Periodic Flows.) Rotationally periodic boundaries are boundaries that form an included angle about the centerline of a rotationally symmetric geometry. Figure 7.15.1 illustrates rotational periodicity. Translationally periodic boundaries are boundaries that form periodic planes in a rectilinear geometry. Figure 7.15.2 illustrates translationally periodic boundaries. You will specify translational or rotational periodicity for a periodic boundary in the Periodic panel (Figure 7.15.4), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). (There will be an additional item in the Periodic panel for the coupled solvers, which allows you to specify the periodic pressure jump. See Section 9.3: Periodic Flows for details.) If the domain is rotationally periodic, select Rotational as the Periodic Type; if it is
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.15.2: Example of Translational Periodicity Physical Domain
periodic boundary
periodic boundary
Figure 7.15.3: Example of Translational Periodicity Modeled Domain
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7.15 Periodic Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.15.4: The Periodic Panel
translationally periodic, select Translational. For rotationally periodic domains, the solver will automatically compute the angle through which the periodic zone is rotated. The axis used for this rotation is the axis of rotation specied for the adjacent cell zone. Note that there is no need for the adjacent cell zone to be moving for you to use a rotationally periodic boundary. You could, for example, model pipe ow in 3D using a nonrotating reference frame with a pie-slice of the pipe; the sides of the slice would require rotational periodicity. You can use the Grid/Check menu item (see Section 6.5: Checking the Grid) to compute and display the minimum, maximum, and average rotational angles of all faces on periodic boundaries. If the dierence between the minimum, maximum, and average values is not negligible, then there is a problem with the grid: the grid geometry is not periodic about the specied axis.
7.15.3
Default Settings at Periodic Boundaries
By default, all periodic boundaries are translational.
7.15.4
Calculation Procedure at Periodic Boundaries
FLUENT treats the ow at a periodic boundary as though the opposing periodic plane is a direct neighbor to the cells adjacent to the rst periodic boundary. Thus, when calculating the ow through the periodic boundary adjacent to a uid cell, the ow conditions at the uid cell adjacent to the opposite periodic plane are used.
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Boundary Conditions
7.16 Axis Boundary Conditions

The axis boundary type must be used as the centerline of an axisymmetric geometry (see Figure 7.16.1). It can also be used for the centerline of a cylindrical-polar quadrilateral or hexahedral grid (e.g., a grid created for a structured-grid code such as FLUENT 4). You do not need to dene any boundary conditions at axis boundaries.
axis
Figure 7.16.1: Use of an Axis Boundary as the Centerline in an Axisymmetric Geometry
Calculation Procedure at Axis Boundaries

To determine the appropriate physical value for a particular variable at a point on the axis, FLUENT uses the cell value in the adjacent cell.
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7.17 Fluid Conditions

A uid zone is a group of cells for which all active equations are solved. The only required input for a uid zone is the type of uid material. You must indicate which material the uid zone contains so that the appropriate material properties will be used.
If you are modeling species transport and/or combustion, you will not select a material here; the mixture material is specied in the Species Model panel when you enable the model. Similarly, you will not specify the materials for a multiphase ow here; you will choose them when you dene the phases, as described in Section 24.8.8: Dening Phases for the VOF Model.
Optional inputs allow you to set sources or xed values of mass, momentum, heat (temperature), turbulence, species, and other scalar quantities. You can also dene motion for the uid zone. If there are rotationally periodic boundaries adjacent to the uid zone, you will need to specify the rotation axis. If you are modeling turbulence using one of the k- models, the k- model, or the Spalart-Allmaras model, you can choose to dene the uid zone as a laminar ow region. If you are modeling radiation using the DO model, you can specify whether or not the uid participates in radiation.
i
7.17.1
For information about porous zones, see Section 7.19: Porous Media Conditions.
Inputs for Fluid Zones
You will set all uid conditions in the Fluid panel (Figure 7.17.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions).
Dening the Fluid Material

To dene the material contained in the uid zone, select the appropriate item in the Material Name drop-down list. This list will contain all uid materials that have been dened (or loaded from the materials database) in the Materials panel. If you want to check or modify the properties of the selected material, you can click Edit... to open the Material panel; this panel contains just the properties of the selected material, not the full contents of the standard Materials panel.
If you are modeling species transport or multiphase ow, the Material Name list will not appear in the Fluid panel. For species calculations, the mixture material for all uid zones will be the material you specied in the Species Model panel. For multiphase ows, the materials are specied when you dene the phases, as described in Section 24.8.8: Dening Phases for the VOF Model.
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.17.1: The Fluid Panel
Dening Sources
If you wish to dene a source of heat, mass, momentum, turbulence, species, or other scalar quantity within the uid zone, you can do so by enabling the Source Terms option. See Section 7.28: Dening Mass, Momentum, Energy, and Other Sources for details.
Dening Fixed Values

If you wish to x the value of one or more variables in the uid zone, rather than computing them during the calculation, you can do so by enabling the Fixed Values option. See Section 7.27: Fixing the Values of Variables for details.
Specifying a Laminar Zone

When you are calculating a turbulent ow using one of the k- models, the k- model, or the Spalart-Allmaras model, it is possible to turn o turbulence modeling (i.e., disable turbulence production and turbulent viscosity, but transport the turbulence quantities) in a specic uid zone. This is useful if you know that the ow in a certain region is
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laminar. For example, if you know the location of the transition point on an airfoil, you can create a laminar/turbulent transition boundary where the laminar cell zone borders the turbulent cell zone. This feature allows you to model turbulent transition on the airfoil. To disable turbulence modeling in a uid zone, turn on the Laminar Zone option in the Fluid panel.
Specifying a Reaction Mechanism

If you are modeling species transport with reactions, you can enable a reaction mechanism in a uid zone by turning on the Reaction option and selecting an available mechanism from the Reaction Mechanisms drop-down list. See Section 14.1.4: Dening Zone-Based Reaction Mechanisms more information about dening reaction mechanisms.
Specifying the Rotation Axis

If there are rotationally periodic boundaries adjacent to the uid zone or if the zone is rotating, you must specify the rotation axis. To dene the axis, set the Rotation-Axis Direction and Rotation-Axis Origin. This axis is independent of the axis of rotation used by any adjacent wall zones or any other cell zones. For 3D problems, the axis of rotation is the vector from the Rotation-Axis Origin in the direction of the vector given by your Rotation-Axis Direction inputs. For 2D non-axisymmetric problems, you will specify only the Rotation-Axis Origin; the axis of rotation is the z-direction vector passing through the specied point. (The z direction is normal to the plane of your geometry so that rotation occurs in the plane.) For 2D axisymmetric problems, you will not dene the axis: the rotation will always be about the x axis, with the origin at (0,0).
Dening Zone Motion

To dene zone motion for a rotating or translating reference frame, select Moving Reference Frame in the Motion Type drop-down list (visible if you scroll down using the scroll bar to the right of the Rotation-Axis Origin and Direction) and then set the appropriate parameters in the expanded portion of the panel. To dene zone motion for a sliding mesh, select Moving Mesh in the Motion Type dropdown list and then set the appropriate parameters in the expanded portion of the panel. See Section 10.5: Sliding Meshes for details. For problems that include linear, translational motion of the uid zone, specify the Translational Velocity by setting the X, Y, and Z components. For problems that include rotational motion, specify the rotational Speed under Rotational Velocity. The rotation axis is dened as described above. See Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones for details about modeling ows in moving reference frames.
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Boundary Conditions

If you are using the DO radiation model, you can specify whether or not the uid zone participates in radiation using the Participates in Radiation option. See Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions for details.
7.18
Solid Conditions
A solid zone is a group of cells for which only a heat conduction problem is solved; no ow equations are solved. The material being treated as a solid may actually be a uid, but it is assumed that no convection is taking place. The only required input for a solid zone is the type of solid material. You must indicate which material the solid zone contains so that the appropriate material properties will be used. Optional inputs allow you to set a volumetric heat generation rate (heat source) or a xed value of temperature. You can also dene motion for the solid zone. If there are rotationally periodic boundaries adjacent to the solid zone, you will need to specify the rotation axis. If you are modeling radiation using the DO model, you can specify whether or not the solid material participates in radiation.
7.18.1
Inputs for Solid Zones
You will set all solid conditions in the Solid panel (Figure 7.18.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions).
Figure 7.18.1: The Solid Panel
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7.18 Solid Conditions
Dening the Solid Material

To dene the material contained in the solid zone, select the appropriate item in the Material Name drop-down list. This list will contain all solid materials that have been dened (or loaded from the materials database) in the Materials panel. If you want to check or modify the properties of the selected material, you can click Edit... to open the Material panel; this panel contains just the properties of the selected material, not the full contents of the standard Materials panel.
Dening a Heat Source

If you wish to dene a source of heat within the solid zone, you can do so by enabling the Source Terms option. See Section 7.28: Dening Mass, Momentum, Energy, and Other Sources for details.
Dening a Fixed Temperature

If you wish to x the value of temperature in the solid zone, rather than computing it during the calculation, you can do so by enabling the Fixed Values option. See Section 7.27: Fixing the Values of Variables for details.
Specifying the Rotation Axis

If there are rotationally periodic boundaries adjacent to the solid zone or if the zone is rotating, you must specify the rotation axis. To dene the axis, set the Rotation-Axis Direction and Rotation-Axis Origin. This axis is independent of the axis of rotation used by any adjacent wall zones or any other cell zones. For 3D problems, the axis of rotation is the vector from the Rotation-Axis Origin in the direction of the vector given by your Rotation-Axis Direction inputs. For 2D non-axisymmetric problems, you will specify only the Rotation-Axis Origin; the axis of rotation is the z-direction vector passing through the specied point. (The z direction is normal to the plane of your geometry so that rotation occurs in the plane.) For 2D axisymmetric problems, you will not dene the axis: the rotation will always be about the x axis, with the origin at (0,0).
Dening Zone Motion

To dene zone motion for a rotating or translating reference frame, select Moving Reference Frame in the Motion Type drop-down list and then set the appropriate parameters in the expanded portion of the panel. To dene zone motion for a sliding mesh, select Moving Mesh in the Motion Type dropdown list and then set the appropriate parameters in the expanded portion of the panel. See Section 10.5: Sliding Meshes for details.
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Boundary Conditions
For problems that include linear, translational motion of the uid zone, specify the Translational Velocity by setting the X, Y, and Z components. For problems that include rotational motion, specify the rotational Speed under Rotational Velocity. The rotation axis is dened as described above. See Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones for details about modeling ows in moving reference frames.

If you are using the DO radiation model, you can specify whether or not the solid material participates in radiation using the Participates in Radiation option. See Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions for details.
7.19
Porous Media Conditions
The porous media model can be used for a wide variety of problems, including ows through packed beds, lter papers, perforated plates, ow distributors, and tube banks. When you use this model, you dene a cell zone in which the porous media model is applied and the pressure loss in the ow is determined via your inputs as described in Section 7.19.2: Momentum Equations for Porous Media. Heat transfer through the medium can also be represented, subject to the assumption of thermal equilibrium between the medium and the uid ow, as described in Section 7.19.3: Treatment of the Energy Equation in Porous Media. A 1D simplication of the porous media model, termed the porous jump, can be used to model a thin membrane with known velocity/pressure-drop characteristics. The porous jump model is applied to a face zone, not to a cell zone, and should be used (instead of the full porous media model) whenever possible because it is more robust and yields better convergence. See Section 7.22: Porous Jump Boundary Conditions for details. You can nd information about modeling porous media in the following sections: Section 7.19.1: Limitations and Assumptions of the Porous Media Model Section 7.19.2: Momentum Equations for Porous Media Section 7.19.3: Treatment of the Energy Equation in Porous Media Section 7.19.4: Treatment of Turbulence in Porous Media Section 7.19.5: Eect of Porosity on Transient Scalar Equations Section 7.19.6: User Inputs for Porous Media Section 7.19.7: Modeling Porous Media Based on Physical Velocity
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7.19 Porous Media Conditions
Section 7.19.8: Solution Strategies for Porous Media Section 7.19.9: Postprocessing for Porous Media
7.19.1
Limitations and Assumptions of the Porous Media Model
The porous media model incorporates an empirically determined ow resistance in a region of your model dened as porous. In essence, the porous media model is nothing more than an added momentum sink in the governing momentum equations. As such, the following modeling assumptions and limitations should be readily recognized: Since the volume blockage that is physically present is not represented in the model, by default FLUENT uses and reports a supercial velocity inside the porous medium, based on the volumetric ow rate, to ensure continuity of the velocity vectors across the porous medium interface. As a more accurate alternative, you can instruct FLUENT to use the true (physical) velocity inside the porous medium. See Section 7.19.7: Modeling Porous Media Based on Physical Velocity for details. The eect of the porous medium on the turbulence eld is only approximated. See Section 7.19.4: Treatment of Turbulence in Porous Media for details. When applying the porous media model in a moving reference frame, use the relative reference frame rather than the absolute reference frame to obtain the correct source terms. When specifying the specic heat capacity, Cp , for the selected material in the porous zone, Cp must be entered as a constant value.
7.19.2
Momentum Equations for Porous Media
Porous media are modeled by the addition of a momentum source term to the standard uid ow equations. The source term is composed of two parts: a viscous loss term (Darcy, the rst term on the right-hand side of Equation 7.19-1 ), and an inertial loss term (the second term on the right-hand side of Equation 7.19-1) 1 Si = Dij vj + Cij vmag vj 2 j=1 j=1
3 3
(7.19-1)
where Si is the source term for the ith (x, y, or z) momentum equation, and D and C are prescribed matrices. This momentum sink contributes to the pressure gradient in the porous cell, creating a pressure drop that is proportional to the uid velocity (or velocity squared) in the cell. To recover the case of simple homogeneous porous media
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Boundary Conditions
Si =
1 vi + C2 vmag vi 2
(7.19-2)
where is the permeability and C2 is the inertial resistance factor, simply specify D and C as diagonal matrices with 1/ and C2 , respectively, on the diagonals (and zero for the other elements). FLUENT also allows the source term to be modeled as a power law of the velocity magnitude: Si = C0 |v|C1 = C0 |v|(C1 1) vi where C0 and C1 are user-dened empirical coecients. (7.19-3)
In the power-law model, the pressure drop is isotropic and the units for C0 are SI.
Darcys Law in Porous Media

In laminar ows through porous media, the pressure drop is typically proportional to velocity and the constant C2 can be considered to be zero. Ignoring convective acceleration and diusion, the porous media model then reduces to Darcys Law: p= v (7.19-4)
The pressure drop that FLUENT computes in each of the three (x,y,z) coordinate directions within the porous region is then vj nx j=1 xj vj ny j=1 yj vj nz j=1 zj
3 3 3
px =
py =
(7.19-5)
pz =
where 1/ij are the entries in the matrix D in Equation 7.19-1, vj are the velocity components in the x, y, and z directions, and nx , ny , and nz are the thicknesses of the medium in the x, y, and z directions.
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Here, the thickness of the medium (nx , ny , or nz ) is the actual thickness of the porous region in your model. Thus if the thicknesses used in your model dier from the actual thicknesses, you must make the adjustments in your inputs for 1/ij .
Inertial Losses in Porous Media

At high ow velocities, the constant C2 in Equation 7.19-1 provides a correction for inertial losses in the porous medium. This constant can be viewed as a loss coecient per unit length along the ow direction, thereby allowing the pressure drop to be specied as a function of dynamic head. If you are modeling a perforated plate or tube bank, you can sometimes eliminate the permeability term and use the inertial loss term alone, yielding the following simplied form of the porous media equation:
3
p=
j=1
C2ij
1 vj vmag 2
(7.19-6)
or when written in terms of the pressure drop in the x, y, z directions:
px py pz
1 C2xj nx vj vmag 2 j=1 1 C2yj ny vj vmag 2 j=1 1 C2zj nz vj vmag 2 j=1

3 3
(7.19-7)
Again, the thickness of the medium (nx , ny , or nz ) is the thickness you have dened in your model.
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Boundary Conditions
7.19.3
Treatment of the Energy Equation in Porous Media
FLUENT solves the standard energy transport equation (Equation 12.2-1) in porous media regions with modications to the conduction ux and the transient terms only. In the porous medium, the conduction ux uses an eective conductivity and the transient term includes the thermal inertia of the solid region on the medium:
(f Ef + (1 )s Es ) + t where Ef Es ke h Sf = = = = =
(v(f Ef + p)) =
ke T
i
h hi Ji + ( v) + Sf
(7.19-8) total uid energy total solid medium energy porosity of the medium eective thermal conductivity of the medium uid enthalpy source term
Effective Conductivity in the Porous Medium

The eective thermal conductivity in the porous medium, ke , is computed by FLUENT as the volume average of the uid conductivity and the solid conductivity: ke = kf + (1 )ks where kf ks = porosity of the medium = uid phase thermal conductivity (including the turbulent contribution, kt ) = solid medium thermal conductivity (7.19-9)
The uid thermal conductivity kf and the solid thermal conductivity ks can be computed via user-dened functions. The anisotropic eective thermal conductivity can also be specied via user-dened functions. In this case, the isotropic contributions from the uid, kf , are added to the diagonal elements of the solid anisotropic thermal conductivity matrix.
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7.19.4
Treatment of Turbulence in Porous Media
FLUENT will, by default, solve the standard conservation equations for turbulence quantities in the porous medium. In this default approach, therefore, turbulence in the medium is treated as though the solid medium has no eect on the turbulence generation or dissipation rates. This assumption may be reasonable if the mediums permeability is quite large and the geometric scale of the medium does not interact with the scale of the turbulent eddies. In other instances, however, you may want to suppress the eect of turbulence in the medium. If you are using one of the k- turbulence models, the k- model, or the Spalart-Allmaras model, you can suppress the eect of turbulence in a porous region by setting the turbulent contribution to viscosity, t , equal to zero. When you choose this option, FLUENT will transport the inlet turbulence quantities through the medium, but their eect on the uid mixing and momentum will be ignored. In addition, the generation of turbulence will be set to zero in the medium. This modeling strategy is enabled by turning on the Laminar Zone option in the Fluid panel. Enabling this option implies that t is zero and that generation of turbulence will be zero in this porous zone. Disabling the option (the default) implies that turbulence will be computed in the porous region just as in the bulk uid ow.
7.19.5
Effect of Porosity on Transient Scalar Equations
For transient porous media calculations, the eect of porosity on the time-derivative terms is accounted for in all scalar transport equations and the continuity equation. When the eect of porosity is taken into account, the time-derivative term becomes t (), where is the scalar quantity (k, , etc.) and is the porosity. The eect of porosity is enabled automatically for transient calculations, and the porosity is set to 1 by default.
7.19.6
User Inputs for Porous Media
When you are modeling a porous region, the only additional inputs for the problem setup are as follows. Optional inputs are indicated as such. 1. Dene the porous zone. 2. Dene the porous velocity formulation. (optional) 3. Identify the uid material owing through the porous medium. 4. Enable reactions for the porous zone, if appropriate, and select the reaction mechanism.
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Boundary Conditions
5. Set the viscous resistance coecients (Dij in Equation 7.19-1, or 1/ in Equation 7.19-2) and the inertial resistance coecients (Cij in Equation 7.19-1, or C2 in Equation 7.19-2), and dene the direction vectors for which they apply. Alternatively, specify the coecients for the power-law model. 6. Specify the porosity of the porous medium. 7. Select the material contained in the porous medium (required only for models that include heat transfer). Note that the specic heat capacity, Cp , for the selected material in the porous zone can only be entered as a constant value. 8. Set the volumetric heat generation rate in the solid portion of the porous medium (or any other sources, such as mass or momentum). (optional) 9. Set any xed values for solution variables in the uid region (optional). 10. Suppress the turbulent viscosity in the porous region, if appropriate. 11. Specify the rotation axis and/or zone motion, if relevant. Methods for determining the resistance coecients and/or permeability are presented below. If you choose to use the power-law approximation of the porous-media momentum source term, you will enter the coecients C0 and C1 in Equation 7.19-3 instead of the resistance coecients and ow direction. You will set all parameters for the porous medium in the Fluid panel (Figure 7.19.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions).
Dening the Porous Zone

As mentioned in Section 7.1: Overview of Dening Boundary Conditions, a porous zone is modeled as a special type of uid zone. To indicate that the uid zone is a porous region, enable the Porous Zone option in the Fluid panel. The panel will expand to show the porous media inputs (as shown in Figure 7.19.1).
Dening the Porous Velocity Formulation

The Solver panel contains a Porous Formulation region where you can instruct FLUENT to use either a supercial or physical velocity in the porous medium simulation. By default, the velocity is set to Supercial Velocity. For details about using the Physical Velocity formulation, see Section 7.19.7: Modeling Porous Media Based on Physical Velocity.
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Figure 7.19.1: The Fluid Panel for a Porous Zone
Dening the Fluid Passing Through the Porous Medium

To dene the uid that passes through the porous medium, select the appropriate uid in the Material Name drop-down list in the Fluid panel. If you want to check or modify the properties of the selected material, you can click Edit... to open the Material panel; this panel contains just the properties of the selected material, not the full contents of the standard Materials panel.
If you are modeling species transport or multiphase ow, the Material Name list will not appear in the Fluid panel. For species calculations, the mixture material for all uid/porous zones will be the material you specied in the Species Model panel. For multiphase ows, the materials are specied when you dene the phases, as described in Section 24.8.8: Dening Phases for the VOF Model.
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Boundary Conditions
Enabling Reactions in a Porous Zone

If you are modeling species transport with reactions, you can enable reactions in a porous zone by turning on the Reaction option in the Fluid panel and selecting a mechanism in the Reaction Mechanism drop-down list. If your mechanism contains wall surface reactions, you will also need to specify a value for the Surface-to-Volume Ratio. This value is the surface area of the pore walls per A unit volume ( V ), and can be thought of as a measure of catalyst loading. With this value, FLUENT can calculate the total surface area on which the reaction takes place A in each cell by multiplying V by the volume of the cell. See Section 14.1.4: Dening Zone-Based Reaction Mechanisms for details about dening reaction mechanisms. See Section 14.2: Wall Surface Reactions and Chemical Vapor Deposition for details about wall surface reactions.
Dening the Viscous and Inertial Resistance Coefcients

The viscous and inertial resistance coecients are both dened in the same manner. The basic approach for dening the coecients using a Cartesian coordinate system is to dene one direction vector in 2D or two direction vectors in 3D, and then specify the viscous and/or inertial resistance coecients in each direction. In 2D, the second direction, which is not explicitly dened, is normal to the plane dened by the specied direction vector and the z direction vector. In 3D, the third direction is normal to the plane dened by the two specied direction vectors. For a 3D problem, the second direction must be normal to the rst. If you fail to specify two normal directions, the solver will ensure that they are normal by ignoring any component of the second direction that is in the rst direction. You should therefore be certain that the rst direction is correctly specied. You can also dene the viscous and/or inertial resistance coecients in each direction using a user-dened function (UDF). The user-dened options become available in the corresponding drop-down list when the UDF has been created and loaded into FLUENT. Note that the coecients dened in the UDF must utilize the DEFINE PROFILE macro. For more information on creating and using user-dened function, see the separate UDF Manual. If you are modeling axisymmetric swirling ows, you can specify an additional direction component for the viscous and/or inertial resistance coecients. This direction component is always tangential to the other two specied directions. This option is available for both coupled and segregated solvers. In 3D, it is also possible to dene the coecients using a conical (or cylindrical) coordinate system, as described below.
Note that the viscous and inertial resistance coecients are generally based on the supercial velocity of the uid in the porous media.
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The procedure for dening resistance coecients is as follows: 1. Dene the direction vectors. To use a Cartesian coordinate system, simply specify the Direction-1 Vector and, for 3D, the Direction-2 Vector. The unspecied direction will be determined as described above. These direction vectors correspond to the principle axes of the porous media. For some problems in which the principal axes of the porous medium are not aligned with the coordinate axes of the domain, you may not know a priori the direction vectors of the porous medium. In such cases, the plane tool in 3D (or the line tool in 2D) can help you to determine these direction vectors. (a) Snap the plane tool (or the line tool) onto the boundary of the porous region. (Follow the instructions in Section 28.6.1: Using the Plane Tool or 28.5.1 for initializing the tool to a position on an existing surface.) (b) Rotate the axes of the tool appropriately until they are aligned with the porous medium. (c) Once the axes are aligned, click on the Update From Plane Tool or Update From Line Tool button in the Fluid panel. FLUENT will automatically set the Direction-1 Vector to the direction of the red arrow of the tool, and (in 3D) the Direction-2 Vector to the direction of the green arrow. To use a conical coordinate system (e.g., for an annular, conical lter element), follow the steps below. This option is available only in 3D cases. (a) Turn on the Conical option. (b) Specify the Cone Axis Vector and Point on Cone Axis. The cone axis is specied as being in the direction of the Cone Axis Vector (unit vector), and passing through the Point on Cone Axis. The cone axis may or may not pass through the origin of the coordinate system. (c) Set the Cone Half Angle (the angle between the cones axis and its surface, shown in Figure 7.19.2). To use a cylindrical coordinate system, set the Cone Half Angle to 0.
Figure 7.19.2: Cone Half Angle
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Boundary Conditions
For some problems in which the axis of the conical lter element is not aligned with the coordinate axes of the domain, you may not know a priori the direction vector of the cone axis and coordinates of a point on the cone axis. In such cases, the plane tool can help you to determine the cone axis vector and point coordinates. One method is as follows: (a) Select a boundary zone of the conical lter element that is normal to the cone axis vector in the drop-down list next to the Snap to Zone button. (b) Click on the Snap to Zone button. FLUENT will automatically snap the plane tool onto the boundary. It will also set the Cone Axis Vector and the Point on Cone Axis. (Note that you will still have to set the Cone Half Angle yourself.) An alternate method is as follows: (a) Snap the plane tool onto the boundary of the porous region. (Follow the instructions in Section 28.6.1: Using the Plane Tool for initializing the tool to a position on an existing surface.) (b) Rotate and translate the axes of the tool appropriately until the red arrow of the tool is pointing in the direction of the cone axis vector and the origin of the tool is on the cone axis. (c) Once the axes and origin of the tool are aligned, click on the Update From Plane Tool button in the Fluid panel. FLUENT will automatically set the Cone Axis Vector and the Point on Cone Axis. (Note that you will still have to set the Cone Half Angle yourself.) 2. Under Viscous Resistance, specify the viscous resistance coecient 1/ in each direction, and under Inertial Resistance, specify the inertial resistance coecient C2 in each direction. (You will need to scroll down with the scroll bar to view these inputs.) If you are using the Conical specication method, Direction-1 is the cone axis direction, Direction-2 is the normal to the cone surface (radial (r) direction for a cylinder), and Direction-3 is the circumferential () direction. In 3D there are three possible categories of coecients, and in 2D there are two: In the isotropic case, the resistance coecients in all directions are the same (e.g., a sponge). For an isotropic case, you must explicitly set the resistance coecients in each direction to the same value. When (in 3D) the coecients in two directions are the same and those in the third direction are dierent or (in 2D) the coecients in the two directions are dierent, you must be careful to specify the coecients properly for each direction. For example, if you had a porous region consisting of cylindrical straws with small holes in them positioned parallel to the ow direction, the ow would pass easily through the straws, but the ow in the other two directions (through the small holes) would be very little. If you had a plane of at
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plates perpendicular to the ow direction, the ow would not pass through them at all; it would instead move in the other two directions. In 3D the third possible case is one in which all three coecients are dierent. For example, if the porous region consisted of a plane of irregularly-spaced objects (e.g., pins), the movement of ow between the blockages would be dierent in each direction. You would therefore need to specify dierent coefcients in each direction. (Note the comments in Section 7.19.8: Solution Strategies for Porous Media when specifying anisotropic coecients.) Methods for deriving viscous and inertial loss coecients are described below. Deriving Porous Media Inputs Based on Supercial Velocity, Using a Known Pressure Loss When you use the porous media model, you must keep in mind that the porous cells in FLUENT are 100% open, and that the values that you specify for 1/ij and/or C2ij must be based on this assumption. Suppose, however, that you know how the pressure drop varies with the velocity through the actual device, which is only partially open to ow. The following exercise is designed to show you how to compute a value for C2 which is appropriate for the FLUENT model. Consider a perforated plate which has 25% area open to ow. The pressure drop through the plate is known to be 0.5 times the dynamic head in the plate. The loss factor, KL , dened as 1 2 p = KL ( v25%open ) 2 (7.19-10)
is therefore 0.5, based on the actual uid velocity in the plate, i.e., the velocity through the 25% open area. To compute an appropriate value for C2 , note that in the FLUENT model: 1. The velocity through the perforated plate assumes that the plate is 100% open. 2. The loss coecient must be converted into dynamic head loss per unit length of the porous region. Noting item 1, the rst step is to compute an adjusted loss factor, KL , which would be based on the velocity of a 100% open area: 1 2 p = KL ( v100%open ) 2 (7.19-11)
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Boundary Conditions
or, noting that for the same ow rate, v25%open = 4 v100%open ,
KL = KL
2 v25%open 2 v100%open 2
4 = 0.5 1 = 8
(7.19-12)
The adjusted loss factor has a value of 8. Noting item 2, you must now convert this into a loss coecient per unit thickness of the perforated plate. Assume that the plate has a thickness of 1.0 mm (103 m). The inertial loss factor would then be
C2 =
KL thickness 8 = = 8000 m1 103
(7.19-13)
Note that, for anisotropic media, this information must be computed for each of the 2 (or 3) coordinate directions. Using the Ergun Equation to Derive Porous Media Inputs for a Packed Bed As a second example, consider the modeling of a packed bed. In turbulent ows, packed beds are modeled using both a permeability and an inertial loss coecient. One technique for deriving the appropriate constants involves the use of the Ergun equation [91], a semiempirical correlation applicable over a wide range of Reynolds numbers and for many types of packing: |p| 150 (1 )2 1.75 (1 ) 2 = v + v 2 3 3 L Dp Dp (7.19-14)
When modeling laminar ow through a packed bed, the second term in the above equation may be dropped, resulting in the Blake-Kozeny equation [91]: |p| 150 (1 )2 = v 2 3 L Dp (7.19-15)
In these equations, is the viscosity, Dp is the mean particle diameter, L is the bed depth, and is the void fraction, dened as the volume of voids divided by the volume of the packed bed region. Comparing Equations 7.19-4 and 7.19-6 with 7.19-14, the
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permeability and inertial loss coecient in each component direction may be identied as
2 3 Dp 150 (1 )2
= and
(7.19-16)
C2 =
3.5 (1 ) 3 Dp
(7.19-17)
Using an Empirical Equation to Derive Porous Media Inputs for Turbulent Flow Through a Perforated Plate As a third example we will take the equation of Van Winkle et al. [256, 315] and show how porous media inputs can be calculated for pressure loss through a perforated plate with square-edged holes. The expression, which is claimed by the authors to apply for turbulent ow through square-edged holes on an equilateral triangular spacing, is m = CAf (2p)/(1 (Af /Ap )2 ) where m Af Ap C mass ow rate through the plate the free area or total area of the holes the area of the plate (solid and holes) a coecient that has been tabulated for various Reynolds-number ranges and for various D/t D/t = the ratio of hole diameter to plate thickness for t/D > 1.6 and for Re > 4000 the coecient C takes a value of approximately 0.98, where the Reynolds number is based on hole diameter and velocity in the holes. Rearranging Equation 7.19-18, making use of the relationship m = vAp and dividing by the plate thickness, x = t, we obtain p 1 2 1 (Ap /Af )2 1 = v x 2 C2 t (7.19-20) (7.19-19) = = = = (7.19-18)
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Boundary Conditions
where v is the supercial velocity (not the velocity in the holes). Comparing with Equation 7.19-6 it is seen that, for the direction normal to the plate, the constant C2 can be calculated from C2 = 1 (Ap /Af )2 1 C2 t (7.19-21)
Using Tabulated Data to Derive Porous Media Inputs for Laminar Flow Through a Fibrous Mat Consider the problem of laminar ow through a mat or lter pad which is made up of randomly-oriented bers of glass wool. As an alternative to the Blake-Kozeny equation (Equation 7.19-15) we might choose to employ tabulated experimental data. Such data is available for many types of ber [142]. volume fraction of dimensionless permeability B solid material of glass wool 0.262 0.25 0.258 0.26 0.221 0.40 0.218 0.41 0.172 0.80 where B = /a2 and a is the ber diameter. , for use in Equation 7.19-4, is easily computed for a given ber diameter and volume fraction. Deriving the Porous Coefcients Based on Experimental Pressure and Velocity Data Experimental data that is available in the form of pressure drop against velocity through the porous component, can be extrapolated to determine the coecients for the porous media. To eect a pressure drop across a porous medium of thickness, n, the coecients of the porous media are determined in the manner described below.
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If the experimental data is: Velocity (m/s) 20.0 50.0 80.0 110.0 Pressure Drop (Pa) 78.0 487.0 1432.0 2964.0
then an xy curve can be plotted to create a trendline through these points yielding the following equation p = 0.28296v 2 4.33539v where p is the pressure drop and v is the velocity. Note that a simplied version of the momentum equation, relating the pressure drop to the source term, can be expressed as p = Si or p = Si n (7.19-24) (7.19-23) (7.19-22)
Hence, comparing Equation 7.19-22 to Equation 7.19-2, yields the following curve coefcients: 1 0.28296 = C2 n 2 (7.19-25)
with = 1.225 kg/m3 , and a porous media thickness, n, assumed to be 1m in this example, the inertial resistance factor, C2 = 0.462. Likewise, 4.33539 = n
1
(7.19-26) = 242282.
with = 1.7894 105 , the viscous inertial resistance factor,
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Boundary Conditions
Note that this same technique can be applied to the porous jump boundary condition. Similar to the case of the porous media, you have to take into account the thickness of the medium n. Your experimental data can be plotted in an xy curve, yielding an equation that is equivalent to Equation 7.22-1. From there, you can determine the permeability and the pressure jump coecient C2 .
Using the Power-Law Model

If you choose to use the power-law approximation of the porous-media momentum source term (Equation 7.19-3), the only inputs required are the coecients C0 and C1 . Under Power Law Model in the Fluid panel, enter the values for C0 and C1. Note that the power-law model can be used in conjunction with the Darcy and inertia models. C0 must be in SI units, consistent with the value of C1.
Dening Porosity
To dene the porosity, scroll down below the resistance inputs in the Fluid panel, and set the Porosity under Fluid Porosity. You can also dene the porosity using a user-dened function (UDF). The user-dened option becomes available in the corresponding drop-down list when the UDF has been created and loaded into FLUENT. Note that the porosity dened in the UDF must utilize the DEFINE PROFILE macro. For more information on creating and using user-dened function, see the separate UDF Manual. The porosity, , is the volume fraction of uid within the porous region (i.e., the open volume fraction of the medium). The porosity is used in the prediction of heat transfer in the medium, as described in Section 7.19.3: Treatment of the Energy Equation in Porous Media, and in the time-derivative term in the scalar transport equations for unsteady ow, as described in Section 7.19.5: Eect of Porosity on Transient Scalar Equations. It also impacts the calculation of reaction source terms and body forces in the medium. These sources will be proportional to the uid volume in the medium. If you want to represent the medium as completely open (no eect of the solid medium), you should set the porosity equal to 1.0 (the default). When the porosity is equal to 1.0, the solid portion of the medium will have no impact on heat transfer or thermal/reaction source terms in the medium.
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Dening the Porous Material

If you choose to model heat transfer in the porous medium, you must specify the material contained in the porous medium. To dene the material contained in the porous medium, scroll down below the resistance inputs in the Fluid panel, and select the appropriate solid in the Solid Material Name drop-down list under Fluid Porosity. If you want to check or modify the properties of the selected material, you can click Edit... to open the Material panel; this panel contains just the properties of the selected material, not the full contents of the standard Materials panel. In the Material panel, you can dene the non-isotropic thermal conductivity of the porous material using a user-dened function (UDF). The user-dened option becomes available in the corresponding drop-down list when the UDF has been created and loaded into FLUENT. Note that the non-isotropic thermal conductivity dened in the UDF must utilize the DEFINE PROPERTY macro. For more information on creating and using userdened function, see the separate UDF Manual.
Dening Sources
If you want to include eects of the heat generated by the porous medium in the energy equation, enable the Source Terms option and set a non-zero Energy source. The solver will compute the heat generated by the porous region by multiplying this value by the total volume of the cells comprising the porous zone. You may also dene sources of mass, momentum, turbulence, species, or other scalar quantities, as described in Section 7.28: Dening Mass, Momentum, Energy, and Other Sources.
Dening Fixed Values

If you want to x the value of one or more variables in the uid region of the zone, rather than computing them during the calculation, you can do so by enabling the Fixed Values option. See Section 7.27: Fixing the Values of Variables for details.
Suppressing the Turbulent Viscosity in the Porous Region

As discussed in Section 7.19.4: Treatment of Turbulence in Porous Media, turbulence will be computed in the porous region just as in the bulk uid ow. If you are using one of the k- turbulence models, the Spalart-Allmaras model, or the k- model, and you want to suppress the eect of turbulence in a porous region (so that turbulence generation is zero in the porous zone), turn on the Laminar Zone option in the Fluid panel.
Specifying the Rotation Axis and Dening Zone Motion

Inputs for the rotation axis and zone motion are the same as for a standard uid zone. See Section 7.17.1: Inputs for Fluid Zones for details.
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Boundary Conditions
7.19.7
Modeling Porous Media Based on Physical Velocity
As stated in Section 7.19.1: Limitations and Assumptions of the Porous Media Model, by default FLUENT calculates the supercial velocity based on volumetric ow rate. The supercial velocity in the governing equations can be represented as vsupercial = vphysical (7.19-27)
where is the porosity of the media dened as the ratio of the volume occupied by the uid to the total volume. The supercial velocity values within the porous region remain the same as those outside of the porous region. This limits the accuracy of the porous model where there should be an increase in velocity throughout the porous region. For more accurate simulations of porous media ows, it becomes necessary to solve for the true, or physical velocity throughout the oweld, rather than the supercial velocity. FLUENT allows the calculation on the physical velocity using the Porous Formulation region of the Solver panel. By default, the Supercial Velocity option is turned on. Using the physical velocity formulation, and assuming a general scalar , the governing equation in an isotropic porous media has the following form: () + t (v) = ( ) + S (7.19-28)
Assuming isotropic porosity and single phase ow, the volume-averaged mass and momentum conservation equations are as follows: () + t (v) + t (vv) = p + (v) = 0 C2 + |v| v 2 (7.19-29)
( ) + Bf
(7.19-30)
The last term in Equation 7.19-30 represents the viscous and inertial drag forces imposed by the pore walls on the uid.
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Note that even when you solve for the physical velocity in Equation 7.19-30, the two resistance coecients can still be derived using the supercial velocity as given in Section 7.19.6: Dening the Viscous and Inertial Resistance Coecients. FLUENT assumes that the inputs for these resistance coecients are based upon well-established empirical correlations that are usually based on supercial velocity. Therefore, FLUENT automatically converts the inputs for the resistance coecients into those that are compatible with the physical velocity formulation. Note that the inlet mass ow is also calculated from the supercial velocity. Therefore, for the same mass ow rate at the inlet and the same resistance coecients, for either the physical or supercial velocity formulation you should obtain the same pressure drop across the porous media zone.
7.19.8
Solution Strategies for Porous Media
In general, you can use the standard solution procedures and solution parameter settings when your FLUENT model includes porous media. You may nd, however, that the rate of convergence slows when you dene a porous region through which the pressure drop is relatively large in the ow direction (e.g., the permeability, , is low or the inertial factor, C2 , is large). This slow convergence can occur because the porous media pressure drop appears as a momentum source termyielding a loss of diagonal dominancein the matrix of equations solved. The best remedy for poor convergence of a problem involving a porous medium is to supply a good initial guess for the pressure drop across the medium. You can supply this guess by patching a value for the pressure in the uid cells upstream and/or downstream of the medium, as described in Section 26.15.2: Patching Values in Selected Cells. It is important to recall, when patching the pressure, that the pressures you input should be dened as the gauge pressures used by the solver (i.e., relative to the operating pressure dened in the Operating Conditions panel). Another possible way to deal with poor convergence is to temporarily disable the porous media model (by turning o the Porous Zone option in the Fluid panel) and obtain an initial ow eld without the eect of the porous region. With the porous media model turned o, FLUENT will treat the porous zone as a uid zone and calculate the ow eld accordingly. Once an initial solution is obtained, or the calculation is proceeding steadily to convergence, you can enable the porous media model and continue the calculation with the porous region included. (This method is not recommended for porous media with high resistance.) Simulations involving highly anisotropic porous media may, at times, pose convergence troubles. You can address these issues by limiting the anisotropy of the porous media coecients (1/ij and C2i,j ) to two or three orders of magnitude. Even if the mediums resistance in one direction is innite, you do not need to set the resistance in that direction to be greater than 1000 times the resistance in the primary ow direction.
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Boundary Conditions
7.19.9
Postprocessing for Porous Media
The impact of a porous region on the ow eld can be determined by examining either velocity components or pressure values. Graphical plots (including XY plots and contour or vector plots) or alphanumeric reports of the following variables/functions may be of interest: X, Y, Z Velocity (in the Velocity... category) Static Pressure (in the Pressure... category) These variables are contained in the specied categories of the variable selection dropdown list that appears in postprocessing panels. Note that thermal reporting in the porous region does not reect the solid medium properties. The reported density, heat capacity, conductivity, and enthalpy in the porous region are those of the uid and do not include the eect of the solid medium.
For porous media involving surface reactions, you can display/report the surface reaction rates using the Arrhenius Rate of Reaction-n in the Reactions... category of the variable selection drop-down list.
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7.20 Fan Boundary Conditions

The fan model is a lumped parameter model that can be used to determine the impact of a fan with known characteristics upon some larger ow eld. The fan boundary type allows you to input an empirical fan curve which governs the relationship between head (pressure rise) and ow rate (velocity) across a fan element. You can also specify radial and tangential components of the fan swirl velocity. The fan model does not provide an accurate description of the detailed ow through the fan blades. Instead, it predicts the amount of ow through the fan. Fans may be used in conjunction with other ow sources, or as the sole source of ow in a simulation. In the latter case, the system ow rate is determined by the balance between losses in the system and the fan curve. FLUENT also provides a connection for a special user-dened fan model that updates the pressure jump function during the calculation. This feature is described in Section 7.24: User-Dened Fan Model. You can nd the following information about modeling fans in this section: Section 7.20.1: Fan Equations Section 7.20.2: User Inputs for Fans Section 7.20.3: Postprocessing for Fans
7.20.1
Fan Equations
Modeling the Pressure Rise Across the Fan

A fan is considered to be innitely thin, and the discontinuous pressure rise across it is specied as a function of the velocity through the fan. The relationship may be a constant, a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function, or a userdened function. In the case of a polynomial, the relationship is of the form
N
p =
n=1
fn v n1
(7.20-1)
where p is the pressure jump, fn are the pressure-jump polynomial coecients, and v is the magnitude of the local uid velocity normal to the fan.
The velocity v can be either positive or negative. You must be careful to model the fan so that a pressure rise occurs for forward ow through the fan.
You can, optionally, use the mass-averaged velocity normal to the fan to determine a single pressure-jump value for all faces in the fan zone.
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Boundary Conditions
Modeling the Fan Swirl Velocity

For three-dimensional problems, the values of the convected tangential and radial velocity elds can be imposed on the fan surface to generate swirl. These velocities can be specied as functions of the radial distance from the fan center. The relationships may be constant or polynomial functions, or user-dened functions.
You must use SI units for all fan swirl velocity inputs.
For the case of polynomial functions, the tangential and radial velocity components can be specied by the following equations:
N
U =
n=1 N
fn rn ; 1 N 6
(7.20-2)
Ur =
n=1
gn rn ; 1 N 6
(7.20-3)
where U and Ur are, respectively, the tangential and radial velocities on the fan surface in m/s, fn and gn are the tangential and radial velocity polynomial coecients, and r is the distance to the fan center.
7.20.2
User Inputs for Fans
Once the fan zone has been identied (in the Boundary Conditions panel), you will set all modeling inputs for the fan in the Fan panel (Figure 7.20.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions). Inputs for a fan are as follows: 1. Identify the fan zone. 2. Dene the pressure jump across the fan. 3. Dene the discrete phase boundary condition for the fan (for discrete phase calculations). 4. Dene the swirl velocity, if desired (3D only).
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Figure 7.20.1: The Fan Panel
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Boundary Conditions
Identifying the Fan Zone

Since the fan is considered to be innitely thin, it must be modeled as the interface between cells, rather than a cell zone. Thus the fan zone is a type of internal face zone (where the faces are line segments in 2D or triangles/quadrilaterals in 3D). If, when you read your grid into FLUENT, the fan zone is identied as an interior zone, use the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.3: Changing Boundary Zone Types) to change the appropriate interior zone to a fan zone. Dene Boundary Conditions... Once the interior zone has been changed to a fan zone, you can open the Fan panel and specify the pressure jump and, optionally, the swirl velocity.
Dening the Pressure Jump

To dene the pressure jump, you will specify a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewisepolynomial function of velocity, a user-dened function, or a constant value. You should also check the Zone Average Direction vector to be sure that a pressure rise occurs for forward ow through the fan. The Zone Average Direction, calculated by the solver, is the face-averaged direction vector for the fan zone. If this vector is pointing in the direction you want the fan to blow, do not select Reverse Fan Direction; if it is pointing in the opposite direction, select Reverse Fan Direction. Polynomial, Piecewise-Linear, or Piecewise-Polynomial Function Follow these steps to set a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function for the pressure jump: 1. Check that the Prole Specication of Pressure-Jump option is o in the Fan panel. 2. Choose polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial in the drop-down list to the right of Pressure-Jump. (If the function type you want is already selected, you can click on the Edit... button to open the panel where you will dene the function.) 3. In the panel that appears for the denition of the Pressure-Jump function (e.g., Figure 7.20.2), enter the appropriate values. These prole input panels are used the same way as the prole input panels for temperature-dependent properties. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions to nd out how to use them. 4. Set any of the optional parameters described below. (optional) When you dene the pressure jump using any of these types of functions, you can choose to limit the minimum and maximum velocity magnitudes used to calculate the pressure
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Figure 7.20.2: Polynomial Prole Panel for Pressure-Jump Denition
jump. Enabling the Limit Polynomial Velocity Range option limits the pressure jump when a Min Velocity Magnitude and a Max Velocity Magnitude are specied.
The values corresponding to the Min Velocity Magnitude and the Max Velocity Magnitude do not limit the ow eld velocity to this range. However, this range does limit the value of the pressure jump, which is a polynomial and a function of velocity, as seen in Equation 7.20-1. If the calculated normal velocity magnitude exceeds the Max Velocity Magnitude that has been specied, then the pressure jump at the Max Velocity Magnitude value will be used. Similarly, if the calculated velocity is less than the specied Min Velocity Magnitude, the pressure jump at the Min Velocity Magnitude will be substituted for the pressure jump corresponding to the calculated velocity.
You also have the option to use the mass-averaged velocity normal to the fan to determine a single pressure-jump value for all faces in the fan zone. Turning on Calculate PressureJump from Average Conditions enables this option. Constant Value To dene a constant pressure jump, follow these steps: 1. Turn o the Prole Specication of Pressure-Jump option in the Fan panel. 2. Choose constant in the drop-down list to the right of Pressure-Jump. 3. Enter the value for p in the Pressure-Jump eld.
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Boundary Conditions
You can follow the procedure below, if it is more convenient: 1. Turn on the Prole Specication of Pressure-Jump option. 2. Select constant in the drop-down list below Pressure Jump Prole, and enter the value for p in the Pressure Jump Prole eld. User-Dened Function or Boundary Prole For a user-dened pressure-jump function or a function dened in a boundary prole le, you will follow these steps: 1. Turn on the Prole Specication of Pressure-Jump option. 2. Choose the appropriate function in the drop-down list below Pressure Jump Prole. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions, and Section 7.26: Boundary Proles for details about boundary prole les. Example: Determining the Pressure Jump Function This example shows you how to determine the function for the pressure jump. Consider the simple two-dimensional duct ow illustrated in Figure 7.20.3. Air at constant density enters the 2.0 m 0.4 m duct with a velocity of 15 m/s. Centered in the duct is a fan.
Air 5 m/s Fan 0.4 m
2.0 m
Figure 7.20.3: A Fan Located In a 2D Duct
Assume that the fan characteristics are as follows when the fan is operating at 2000 rpm: Q (m3 /s) 25 20 15 10 5 0 p (Pa) 0.0 175 350 525 700 875
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where Q is the ow through the fan and p is the pressure rise across the fan. The fan characteristics in this example follow a simple linear relationship between pressure rise and ow rate. To convert this into a relationship between pressure rise and velocity, the cross-sectional area of the fan must be known. In this example, assuming that the duct is 1.0 m deep, this area is 0.4 m2 , so that the corresponding velocity values are as follows: v (m/s) p (Pa) 62.5 50.0 37.5 25.0 12.5 0 0.0 175 350 525 700 875
The polynomial form of this relationship is the following equation for a line: p = 875 14v (7.20-4)
Dening Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions for the Fan

If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the fan. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.
Dening the Fan Swirl Velocity

If you want to set tangential and radial velocity elds on the fan surface to generate swirl in a 3D problem, follow these steps: 1. Turn on the Swirl-Velocity Specication option in the Fan panel. 2. Specify the fans axis of rotation by dening the axis origin (Fan Origin) and direction vector (Fan Axis). 3. Set the value for the radius of the fans hub (Fan Hub Radius). The default is 1 106 to avoid division by zero in the polynomial. 4. Set the tangential and radial velocity functions as polynomial functions of radial distance, constant values, or user-dened functions.
You must use SI units for all fan swirl velocity inputs.
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Boundary Conditions
Polynomial Function To dene a polynomial function for tangential or radial velocity, follow the steps below: 1. Check that the Prole Specication of Tangential Velocity or Prole Specication of Radial Velocity option is o in the Fan panel. 2. Enter the coecients fn in Equation 7.20-2 or gn in Equation 7.20-3 in the Tangentialor Radial-Velocity Polynomial Coecients eld. Enter f1 rst, then f0 , etc. Separate each coecient by a blank space. Remember that the rst coecient is for 1 . r Constant Value To dene a constant tangential or radial velocity, the steps are as follows: 1. Turn on the Prole Specication of Tangential Velocity or Prole Specication of Radial Velocity option in the Fan panel. 2. Select constant in the drop-down list under Tangential or Radial Velocity Prole. 3. Enter the value for U or Ur in the Tangential or Radial Velocity Prole eld. You can follow the procedure below, if it is more convenient: 1. Turn o the Prole Specication of Tangential Velocity or Prole Specication of Radial Velocity option in the Fan panel. 2. Enter the value for U or Ur in the Tangential- or Radial-Velocity Polynomial Coecients eld. User-Dened Function or Boundary Prole For a user-dened tangential or radial velocity function or a function contained in a boundary prole le, follow the procedure below: 1. Turn on the Prole Specication of Tangential or Radial Velocity option. 2. Choose the appropriate function from the drop-down list under Tangential or Radial Velocity Prole. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions, and Section 7.26: Boundary Proles for details about boundary prole les.
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7.20.3
Postprocessing for Fans
Reporting the Pressure Rise Through the Fan

You can use the Surface Integrals panel to report the pressure rise through the fan, as described in Section 30.5: Surface Integration. There are two steps to this procedure: 1. Create a surface on each side of the fan zone. Use the Transform Surface panel (as described in Section 28.10: Transforming Surfaces) to translate the fan zone slightly upstream and slightly downstream to create two new surfaces. 2. In the Surface Integrals panel, report the average Static Pressure just upstream and just downstream of the fan. You can then calculate the pressure rise through the fan.
Graphical Plots
Graphical reports of interest with fans are as follows: Contours or proles of Static Pressure and Static Temperature XY plots of Static Pressure and Static Temperature vs position Chapter 29: Graphics and Visualization explains how to generate graphical displays of data.
When generating these plots, be sure to turn o the display of node values so that you can see the dierent values on each side of the fan. (If you display node values, the cell values on either side of the fan will be averaged to obtain a node value, and you will not see, for example, the pressure jump across the fan.)
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Boundary Conditions
7.21 Radiator Boundary Conditions

A lumped-parameter model for a heat exchange element (for example, a radiator or condenser), is available in FLUENT. The radiator boundary type allows you to specify both the pressure drop and heat transfer coecient as functions of the velocity normal to the radiator. You can nd the following information about modeling radiators in this section: Section 7.21.1: Radiator Equations Section 7.21.2: User Inputs for Radiators Section 7.21.3: Postprocessing for Radiators A more detailed heat exchanger model is also available in FLUENT. See Section 7.25: Heat Exchanger Models for details.
7.21.1
Radiator Equations
Modeling the Pressure Loss Through a Radiator

A radiator is considered to be innitely thin, and the pressure drop through the radiator is assumed to be proportional to the dynamic head of the uid, with an empirically determined loss coecient which you supply. That is, the pressure drop, p, varies with the normal component of velocity through the radiator, v, as follows: 1 p = kL v 2 2 (7.21-1)
where is the uid density, and kL is the non-dimensional loss coecient, which can be specied as a constant or as a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function. In the case of a polynomial, the relationship is of the form
N
kL =
n=1
rn v n1
(7.21-2)
where rn are polynomial coecients and v is the magnitude of the local uid velocity normal to the radiator.
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Modeling the Heat Transfer Through a Radiator

The heat ux from the radiator to the surrounding uid is given as q = h(Tair,d Text ) (7.21-3)
where q is the heat ux, Tair,d is the temperature downstream of the heat exchanger (radiator), and Text is the reference temperature for the liquid. The convective heat transfer coecient, h, can be specied as a constant or as a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function. For a polynomial, the relationship is of the form
N
h=
n=0
hn v n ; 0 N 7
(7.21-4)
where hn are polynomial coecients and v is the magnitude of the local uid velocity normal to the radiator in m/s. Either the actual heat ux (q) or the heat transfer coecient and radiator temperature (h, Text ) may be specied. q (either the entered value or the value calculated using Equation 7.21-3) is integrated over the radiator surface area. Calculating the Heat Transfer Coefcient To model the thermal behavior of the radiator, you must supply an expression for the heat transfer coecient, h, as a function of the uid velocity through the radiator, v. To obtain this expression, consider the heat balance equation: q= where q m cp h Text Tair,d A = = = = = = = heat ux (W/m2 ) uid mass ow rate (kg/s) specic heat capacity of uid (J/kg-K) empirical heat transfer coecient (W/m2 -K) external temperature (reference temperature for the liquid) (K) temperature downstream from the heat exchanger (K) heat exchanger frontal area (m2 ) mcp T = h(Tair,d Text ) A (7.21-5)
Equation 7.21-5 can be rewritten as q= mcp (Tair,u Tair,d ) = h(Tair,d Text ) A (7.21-6)
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Boundary Conditions
where Tair,u is the upstream air temperature. The heat transfer coecient, h, can therefore be computed as h= or, in terms of the uid velocity, h= vcp (Tair,u Tair,d ) Tair,d Text (7.21-8) mcp (Tair,u Tair,d ) A(Tair,d Text ) (7.21-7)
7.21.2
User Inputs for Radiators
Once the radiator zone has been identied (in the Boundary Conditions panel), you will set all modeling inputs for the radiator in the Radiator panel (Figure 7.21.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions).
Figure 7.21.1: The Radiator Panel
The inputs for a radiator are as follows: 1. Identify the radiator zone. 2. Dene the pressure loss coecient. 3. Dene either the heat ux or the heat transfer coecient and radiator temperature.
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4. Dene the discrete phase boundary condition for the radiator (for discrete phase calculations).
Identifying the Radiator Zone

Since the radiator is considered to be innitely thin, it must be modeled as the interface between cells, rather than a cell zone. Thus the radiator zone is a type of internal face zone (where the faces are line segments in 2D or triangles/quadrilaterals in 3D). If, when you read your grid into FLUENT, the radiator zone is identied as an interior zone, use the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.3: Changing Boundary Zone Types) to change the appropriate interior zone to a radiator zone. Dene Boundary Conditions... Once the interior zone has been changed to a radiator zone, you can open the Radiator panel and specify the loss coecient and heat ux information.
Dening the Pressure Loss Coefcient Function

To dene the pressure loss coecient kL you can specify a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function of velocity, or a constant value. Polynomial, Piecewise-Linear, or Piecewise-Polynomial Function Follow these steps to set a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function for the pressure loss coecient: 1. Choose polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial in the drop-down list to the right of Loss-Coecient. (If the function type you want is already selected, you can click on the Edit... button to open the panel where you will dene the function.) 2. In the panel that appears for the denition of the Loss-Coecient function (e.g., Figure 7.21.2), enter the appropriate values. These prole input panels are used the same way as the prole input panels for temperature-dependent properties. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions to nd out how to use them. Constant Value To dene a constant loss coecient, follow these steps: 1. Choose constant in the Loss-Coecient drop-down list. 2. Enter the value for kL in the Loss-Coecient eld.
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.21.2: Polynomial Prole Panel for Loss-Coecient Denition
Example: Calculating the Loss Coefcient This example shows you how to determine the loss coecient function. Consider the simple two-dimensional duct ow of air through a water-cooled radiator, shown in Figure 7.21.3.
T = 300 K
AIR
T = 300 K U = 8 m/s
0.5 m
RADIATOR, T = 400 K 2.0 m
Figure 7.21.3: A Simple Duct with a Radiator
The radiator characteristics must be known empirically. For this case, assume that the radiator to be modeled yields the test data shown in Table 7.21.1, which was taken with a waterside ow rate of 7 kg/min and an inlet water temperature of 400.0 K. To compute the loss coecient, it is helpful to construct a table with values of the dynamic head, 1 v 2 , as a function of pressure drop, p, and the ratio of these two values, kL (from 2
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7.21 Radiator Boundary Conditions Equation 7.21-1). (The air density, dened in Figure 7.21.3, is 1.0 kg/m3 .) The reduced data are shown in Table 7.21.2 below. Table 7.21.1: Airside Radiator Data Velocity (m/s) 5.0 10.0 15.0 Upstream Temp (K) 300.0 300.0 300.0 Downstream Temp (K) 330.0 322.5 320.0 Pressure Drop (Pa) 75.0 250.0 450.0
Table 7.21.2: Reduced Radiator Data v (m/s) 5.0 10.0 15.0

1 v 2 2
(Pa) 12.5 50.0 112.5
p (Pa) 75.0 250.0 450.0
kL 6.0 5.0 4.0
The loss coecient is a linear function of the velocity, decreasing as the velocity increases. The form of this relationship is kL = 7.0 0.2v where v is now the absolute value of the velocity through the radiator. (7.21-9)
Dening the Heat Flux Parameters

As mentioned in Section 7.21.1: Radiator Equations, you can either dene the actual heat ux (q) in the Heat Flux eld, or set the heat transfer coecient and radiator temperature (h, Text ). All inputs are in the Radiator panel. To dene the actual heat ux, specify a Temperature of 0, and set the constant Heat Flux value. To dene the radiator temperature, enter the value for Text in the Temperature eld. To dene the heat transfer coecient, you can specify a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function of velocity, or a constant value.
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Boundary Conditions
Polynomial, Piecewise-Linear, or Piecewise-Polynomial Function Follow these steps to set a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function for the heat transfer coecient: 1. Choose polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial in the drop-down list to the right of Heat-Transfer-Coecient. (If the function type you want is already selected, you can click on the Edit... button to open the panel where you will dene the function.) 2. In the panel that appears for the denition of the Heat-Transfer-Coecient function, enter the appropriate values. These prole input panels are used the same way as the prole input panels for temperature-dependent properties. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions to nd out how to use them. Constant Value To dene a constant heat transfer coecient, follow these steps: 1. Choose constant in the Heat-Transfer-Coecient drop-down list. 2. Enter the value for h in the Heat-Transfer-Coecient eld. Example: Determining the Heat Transfer Coefcient Function This example shows you how to determine the function for the heat transfer coecient. Consider the simple two-dimensional duct ow of air through a water-cooled radiator, shown in Figure 7.21.3. The data supplied in Table 7.21.1 along with values for the air density (1.0 kg/m3 ) and specic heat (1000 J/kg-K) can be used to obtain the following values for the heat transfer coecient h: Velocity (m/s) 5.0 10.0 15.0 h (W/m2 -K) 2142.9 2903.2 3750.0
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The heat transfer coecient obeys a second-order polynomial relationship (t to the points in the table above) with the velocity, which is of the form h = 1469.1 + 126.11v + 1.73v 2 (7.21-10)
Note that the velocity v is assumed to be the absolute value of the velocity passing through the radiator.
Dening Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions for the Radiator

If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the radiator. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.
7.21.3
Postprocessing for Radiators
Reporting the Radiator Pressure Drop

You can use the Surface Integrals panel to report the pressure drop across the radiator, as described in Section 30.5: Surface Integration. There are two steps to this procedure: 1. Create a surface on each side of the radiator zone. Use the Transform Surface panel (as described in Section 28.10: Transforming Surfaces) to translate the radiator zone slightly upstream and slightly downstream to create two new surfaces. 2. In the Surface Integrals panel, report the average Static Pressure just upstream and just downstream of the radiator. You can then calculate the pressure drop across the radiator. To check this value against the expected value based on Equation 7.21-1, you can use the Surface Integrals panel to report the average normal velocity through the radiator. (If the radiator is not aligned with the x, y, or z axis, you will need to use the Custom Field Function Calculator panel to generate a function for the velocity normal to the radiator.) Once you have the average normal velocity, you can use Equation 7.21-2 to determine the loss coecient and then Equation 7.21-1 to calculate the expected pressure loss.
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Boundary Conditions
Reporting Heat Transfer in the Radiator

To determine the temperature rise across the radiator, follow the procedure outlined above for the pressure drop to generate surfaces upstream and downstream of the radiator. Then use the Surface Integrals panel (as for the pressure drop report) to report the average Static Temperature on each surface. You can then calculate the temperature rise across the radiator.
Graphical Plots
Graphical reports of interest with radiators are as follows: Contours or proles of Static Pressure and Static Temperature XY plots of Static Pressure and Static Temperature vs position. Chapter 29: Graphics and Visualization explains how to generate graphical displays of data.
When generating these plots, be sure to turn o the display of node values so that you can see the dierent values on each side of the radiator. (If you display node values, the cell values on either side of the radiator will be averaged to obtain a node value, and you will not see, for example, the pressure loss across the radiator.)
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7.22 Porous Jump Boundary Conditions
7.22 Porous Jump Boundary Conditions

Porous jump conditions are used to model a thin membrane that has known velocity (pressure-drop) characteristics. It is essentially a 1D simplication of the porous media model available for cell zones. Examples of uses for the porous jump condition include modeling pressure drops through screens and lters, and modeling radiators when you are not concerned with heat transfer. This simpler model should be used whenever possible (instead of the full porous media model) because it is more robust and yields better convergence. The thin porous medium has a nite thickness over which the pressure change is dened as a combination of Darcys Law and an additional inertial loss term: p = 1 v + C2 v 2 m 2 (7.22-1)
where is the laminar uid viscosity, is the permeability of the medium, C2 is the pressure-jump coecient, v is the velocity normal to the porous face, and m is the thickness of the medium. Appropriate values for and C2 can be calculated using the techniques described in Section 7.19.6: User Inputs for Porous Media.
User Inputs for the Porous Jump Model

Once the porous jump zone has been identied (in the Boundary Conditions panel), you will set all modeling inputs for the porous jump in the Porous Jump panel (Figure 7.22.1), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions).
Figure 7.22.1: The Porous Jump Panel
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Boundary Conditions
The inputs required for the porous jump model are as follows: 1. Identify the porous-jump zone. 2. Set the Face Permeability of the medium ( in Equation 7.22-1). 3. Set the Porous Medium Thickness (m). 4. Set the Pressure-Jump Coecient (C2 ). 5. Dene the discrete phase boundary condition for the porous jump (for discrete phase calculations). Identifying the Porous Jump Zone Since the porous jump model is a 1D simplication of the porous media model, the porous-jump zone must be modeled as the interface between cells, rather than a cell zone. Thus the porous-jump zone is a type of internal face zone (where the faces are line segments in 2D or triangles/quadrilaterals in 3D). If the porous-jump zone is not identied as such by default when you read in the grid (i.e., if it is identied as another type of internal face zone), you can use the Boundary Conditions panel to change the appropriate face zone to a porous-jump zone. Dene Boundary Conditions... The procedure for changing a zones type is described in Section 7.1.3: Changing Boundary Zone Types. Once the zone has been changed to a porous jump, you can open the Porous Jump panel (as described in Section 7.1.4: Setting Boundary Conditions) and specify the porous jump parameters listed above. Dening Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions for the Porous Jump If you are modeling a discrete phase of particles, you can set the fate of particle trajectories at the porous jump. See Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details.
Postprocessing for the Porous Jump

Postprocessing suggestions for a problem that includes a porous jump are the same as for porous media problems. See Section 7.19.9: Postprocessing for Porous Media.
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7.23 Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions

The standard pressure boundary condition, imposed on the boundaries of articially truncated domain, results in the reection of the outgoing waves. As a consequence, the interior domain will contain spurious wave reections. Many applications require precise control of the wave reections from the domain boundaries to obtain accurate ow solutions. Non-reecting boundary conditions provide a special treatment to the domain boundaries to control these spurious wave reections. In FLUENT, two types of non-reecting boundary conditions (NRBC) are available: Turbo-specic NRBC General NRBC The Turbo-specic NRBCs, as the name indicates, are oriented toward turbomachinery types of geometry and are applicable only in steady-state calculations. On the other hand, the General NRBC, can be used in both steady and unsteady calculations, and have no geometric restrictions. Both methods are available in the coupled solvers and when the compressible ideal-gas law is used.
NRBCs are not available in the segregated solver.
Information about non-reecting boundary conditions (NRBCs) is provided in the following sections. Section 7.23.1: Turbo-specic Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions Section 7.23.2: General Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions
7.23.1
Turbo-specic Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions
Overview
The standard pressure boundary conditions for compressible ow x specic ow variables at the boundary (e.g., static pressure at an outlet boundary). As a result, pressure waves incident on the boundary will reect in an unphysical manner, leading to local errors. The eects are more pronounced for internal ow problems where boundaries are usually close to geometry inside the domain, such as compressor or turbine blade rows. The turbo-specic non-reecting boundary conditions permit waves to pass through the boundaries without spurious reections. The method used in FLUENT is based on the Fourier transformation of solution variables at the non-reecting boundary [114]. Similar implementations have been investigated by other authors [224, 293]. The solution is
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Boundary Conditions
rearranged as a sum of terms corresponding to dierent frequencies, and their contributions are calculated independently. While the method was originally designed for axial turbomachinery, it has been extended for use with radial turbomachinery.
Limitations
Note the following limitations of turbo-specic NRBCs: They are available only with the coupled solvers (explicit or implicit). The current implementation applies to steady compressible ows, with the density calculated using the ideal gas law. Inlet and outlet boundary conditions must be pressure inlets and outlets only.
Note that the pressure inlet boundaries must be set to the cylindrical coordinate ow specication method when turbo-specic NRBCs are used.
Quad-mapped (structured) surface meshes must be used for inow and outow boundaries in a 3D geometry (i.e., triangular or quad-paved surface meshes are not allowed). See Figures 7.23.1 and 7.23.2 for examples.
Note that you may use unstructured meshes in 2D geometries (Figure 7.23.3), and an unstructured mesh may be used away from the inlet and outlet boundaries in 3D geometries.
The turbo-specic NRBC method used in FLUENT is based on quasi-3D analysis. The method developed for 2D turbo-specic NRBC [114] has been extended for use on 3D geometries [293] by decoupling the tangential ow variations from the radial variations. This approximation works best for geometries with a blade pitch that is small compared to the radius of the geometry. Reverse ow on the inow and outow boundaries are not allowed. If strong reverse ow is present, then you should consider using the General NRBCs instead.
Theory
Turbo-specic NRBCs are based on Fourier decomposition of solutions to the linearized Euler equations. The solution at the inlet and outlet boundaries is circumferentially decomposed into Fourier modes, with the 0th mode representing the average boundary value (which is to be imposed as a user input), and higher harmonics that are modied to eliminate reections [293].
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Figure 7.23.1: Mesh and Prescribed Boundary Conditions in a 3D Axial Flow Problem
Figure 7.23.2: Mesh and Prescribed Boundary Conditions in a 3D Radial Flow Problem
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.23.3: Mesh and Prescribed Boundary Conditions in a 2D Case
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Equations in Characteristic Variable Form In order to treat individual waves, the linearized Euler equations are transformed to characteristic variable (Ci ) form. If we rst consider the 1D form of the linearized Euler equations, it can be shown that the characteristic variables Ci are related to the solution variables as follows: Q = T 1 C where Q = ut , T 1 ur p
u a =
(7.23-1)
1 2a2 1 2 a 1 2a2 1 2 a
a12 0 0 0 0
0 0
1 a
0 0 0
1 a
0 0
0 0
1 2
0 0
1 2
, C = C3 C4 C
5
C1 C 2
where a is the average acoustic speed along a boundary zone, , ua , ut , ur , and p represent perturbations from a uniform condition (e.g., = , p = p p, etc.). Note that the analysis is performed using the cylindrical coordinate system. All overlined (averaged) ow eld variables (e.g., , a) are intended to be averaged along the pitchwise direction. In quasi-3D approaches [114, 224, 293], a procedure is developed to determine the changes in the characteristic variables, denoted by Ci , at the boundaries such that waves will not reect. These changes in characteristic variables are determined as follows: C = T Q where
C1 C 2
5
(7.23-2)
C = C3 , T = C4 C
a2 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 a 0 a 0 0 0 a 0 0
1 0 0 1 1
, Q = ut ur p
u a
The changes to the outgoing characteristics one characteristic for subsonic inow (C5 ), and four characteristics for subsonic outow (C1 , C2 , C3 , C4 ) are determined from extrapolation of the ow eld variables using Equation 7.23-2. The changes in the incoming characteristics four characteristics for subsonic inow (C1 , C2 , C3 , C4 ), and one characteristic for subsonic outow (C5 ) are split into two components: average change along the boundary (C i ), and local changes in
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Boundary Conditions
the characteristic variable due to harmonic variation along the boundary (CiL ). The incoming characteristics are therefore given by Cij = Cioldj + Cinewj Cioldj Cinewj = C i + CiLj (7.23-3) (7.23-4)
where i = 1, 2, 3, 4 on the inlet boundary or i = 5 on the outlet boundary, and j = 1, ..., N is the grid index in the pitchwise direction including the periodic point once. The underrelaxation factor has a default value of 0.75. Note that this method assumes a periodic solution in the pitchwise direction. The ow is decomposed into mean and circumferential components using Fourier decomposition. The 0th Fourier mode corresponds to the average circumferential solution, and is treated according to the standard 1D characteristic theory. The remaining parts of the solution are described by a sum of harmonics, and treated as 2D non-reecting boundary conditions [114]. Inlet Boundary For subsonic inow, there is one outgoing characteristic (C5 ) determined from Equation 7.23-2, and four incoming characteristics (C1 , C2 , C3 , C4 ) calculated using Equation 7.23-3. The average changes in the incoming characteristics are computed from the requirement that the entropy (s), radial and tangential ow angles (r and t ), and stagnation enthalpy (h0 ) are specied. Note that in FLUENT you can specify p0 and T0 at the inlet, from which sin and h0in are easily obtained. This is equivalent to forcing the following four residuals to be zero:
R1 = p (s sin ) R2 = a (ut ua tan t ) R3 = a (ur ua tan r ) R4 = h0 h0in where sin = ln (T0in ) ( 1) ln (p0in ) h0in = cp T0in
(7.23-5) (7.23-6) (7.23-7) (7.23-8)
(7.23-9) (7.23-10)
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The average characteristic is then obtained from residual linearization as follows (see also Figure 7.23.4 for an illustration of the denitions for the prescribed inlet angles):
C 1
1
tan t (1)M tan r (1)M 2 (1)M Mt M
0
M1 M Mt M
C 2 = C 3 C 4
0 tan t
0
tan t M tan r M 2 M
tan t 2 Mt M
M2 M 2 Mr M
R1 R2 R 3
(7.23-11)
R4
where
Ma = Mt Mr and
ua a ut = a ur = a
(7.23-12) (7.23-13) (7.23-14)
M = 1 + Ma Mt tan t + Mr tan r M1 = 1 Ma Mr tan r M2 = 1 Ma Mt tan t

radial
(7.23-15) (7.23-16) (7.23-17)
ur v ut r ua t theta axial
Figure 7.23.4: Prescribed Inlet Angles
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Boundary Conditions
where |v| = u 2 + u2 + u2 t r a ut |v| ur = |v| ua = |v| (7.23-18) (7.23-19) (7.23-20) (7.23-21) (7.23-22) (7.23-23)
et = er ea
et ea er tan r = ea tan t =
To address the local characteristic changes at each j grid point along the inow boundary, the following relations are developed [114, 293]: C1Lj = p (sj s) C2Lj = C2j a utj ut C3Lj = a urj ur C4Lj =
2
(7.23-24) + Mtj C2Lj + Mrj C3Lj + h0j h0
(1+Maj )
1 C1Lj 1
Note that the relation for the rst and fourth local characteristics force the local entropy and stagnation enthalpy to match their average steady-state values. The characteristic variable C2j is computed from the inverse discrete Fourier transform of the second characteristic. The discrete Fourier transform of the second characteristic in turn is related to the discrete Fourier transform of the fth characteristic. Hence, the characteristic variable C2j is computed along the pitch as follows:

N 2
C2j = 2
n=1
j 1 C2n exp i2n N 1
(7.23-25)
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The Fourier coecients C2n are related to a set of equidistant distributed characteristic variables C5j by the following [224]:
ut + B N (a + ua ) ut + B C 5j
N C5j exp i2 j=1
C2n = where
jn N
>0 (7.23-26) <0
a + ua
B= and
i >0 sign (ut ) || < 0
(7.23-27)
= a2 u 2 u 2 a t
(7.23-28)
The set of equidistributed characteristic variables C5j is computed from arbitrary distributed C5j by using a cubic spline for interpolation, where
C5j = a uaj ua + (pj p)
(7.23-29)
For supersonic inow the user-prescribed static pressure (psin ) along with total pressure (p0in ) and total temperature (T0in ) are sucient for determining the ow condition at the inlet. Outlet Boundary For subsonic outow, there are four outgoing characteristics (C1 , C2 , C3 , and C4 ) calculated using Equation 7.23-2, and one incoming characteristic (C5 ) determined from Equation 7.23-3. The average change in the incoming fth characteristic is given by C 5 = 2 (p pout ) (7.23-30)
where p is the current averaged pressure at the exit plane and pout is the desirable average exit pressure (this value is specied by you for single-blade calculations or obtained from the assigned prole for mixing-plane calculations). The local changes (C5Lj ) are given by C5Lj = C5j + a uaj ua (pj p) (7.23-31)
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Boundary Conditions
The characteristic variable C5j is computed along the pitch as follows:

N 2
C5j = 2
n=1
j 1 C5n exp i2n N 1
(7.23-32)
The Fourier coecients C5n are related to two sets of equidistantly distributed charac teristic variables (C2j and C4j , respectively) and given by the following [224]:
A2
N C2j exp i2 j=1
C5n =
jn A4 N N
N C4j exp i2 j=1
jn N
>0 (7.23-33) <0
A2 C2j A4 C4j
where 2ua B ut B + ut A4 = B ut A2 = (7.23-34) (7.23-35)
The two sets of equidistributed characteristic variables (C2j and C4j ) are computed from arbitrarily distributed C2j and C4j characteristics by using a cubic spline for interpolation, where
C2j = a utj ut C4j = a uaj ua + (pj p)
(7.23-36)
(7.23-37)
For supersonic outow all ow eld variables are extrapolated from the interior.
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Updated Flow Variables Once the changes in the characteristics are determined on the inow or outow boundaries, the changes in the ow variables Q can be obtained from Equation 7.23-2. Therefore, the values of the ow variables at the boundary faces are as follows:
pf uaf utf urf Tf
= = = = =
pj + p uaj + ua utj + ut urj + ur Tj + T
(7.23-38) (7.23-39) (7.23-40) (7.23-41) (7.23-42)
Using Turbo-specic Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions
If you intend to use turbo-specic NRBCs in conjunction with the coupled implicit solver, it is recommended that you rst converge the solution before turning on turbo-specic NRBCs, then converge it again with turbospecic NRBCs turned on. If the solution is diverging, then you should lower the CFL number. These steps are necessary because only approximate ux Jacobians are used for the pressure-inlet and pressure-outlet boundaries when turbo-specic NRBCs are activated with the coupled implicit solver.
The procedure for using the turbo-specic NRBCs is as follows: 1. Turn on the turbo-specic NRBCs using the non-reflecting-bc text command: define boundary-conditions non-reflecting-bc turbo-specific-nrbc enable? If you are not sure whether or not NRBCs are turned on, use the show-status text command. 2. Perform NRBC initialization using the initialize text command: define boundary-conditions non-reflecting-bc turbo-specific-nrbc initialize If the initialization is successful, a summary printout of the domain extent will be displayed. If the initialization is not successful, an error message will be displayed indicating the source of the problem. The initialization will set up the pressure-inlet and pressure-outlet boundaries for use with turbo-specic NRBCs.
Note that the pressure inlet boundaries must be set to the cylindrical coordinate ow specication method when turbo-specic NRBCs are used.
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Boundary Conditions
3. If necessary, modify the parameters in the set/ submenu: define boundary-conditions non-reflecting-bc turbo-specific-nrbc set under-relaxation allows you to set the value of the under-relaxation factor in Equation 7.23-3. The default value is 0.75. discretization allows you to set the discretization scheme. The default is to use higher-order reconstruction if available. verbosity allows you to control the amount of information printed to the console during an NRBC calculation. 0 : silent 1 : basic information (default) 2 : detailed information (for debugging purposes only) Using the NRBCs with the Mixing-Plane Model If you want to use the NRBCs with the mixing-plane model you must dene the mixing plane interfaces as pressure-outlet and pressure-inlet zone type pairs.
Turbo-specic NRBCs should not be used with the mixing-plane model if reverse ow is present across the mixing-plane.
Using the NRBCs in Parallel FLUENT When the turbo-specic NRBCs are used in conjunction with the parallel solver, all cells in each boundary zone, where NRBCs will be applied, must be located or contained within a single partition. You can ensure this by manually partitioning the grid (see Section 32.5.3: Partitioning the Grid Manuallyfor more information).
7.23.2
General Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions
Overview
The General Non-reecting Boundary Conditions in FLUENT are based on characteristic wave relations derived from the Euler equations, and applied only on pressureoutlet boundary conditions. To obtain the primitive ow quantities (P, u, v, w, T ) on the pressure-outlet, reformulated Euler equations are solved on the boundary of the domain in an algorithm similar to the ow equations applied to the interior of the domain. Unlike the turbo-specic NRBC method presented in the previous section, the General NRBC method is not restricted by geometric constraints or mesh type. However, good cell skewness near the boundaries where the NRBC will be applied is advisable for a more stable, converged solution. In addition, the General NRBCs can be applied to steady or transient ows as long as the compressible ideal-gas law is used.
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Restrictions and Limitations

Note the following restrictions and limitations on the General NRBCs: The General NRBC is available only with the coupled solvers. It is available only with compressible ow while using the ideal-gas law.
The General NRBC should not be used with the wet steam or real gas models.
The General NRBC is not available if the target mass ow rate is activated in the pressure-outlet panel. The General NRBC should not be used if the Turbo-specic NRBC is activated.
i
Theory
If you switch from Turbo-specic NRBC to general NRBC or vice versa, then make sure you switch o one NRBC model before turning on the next. You cannot use both NRBC models at the same time.
General NRBCs are derived by rst recasting the Euler equations in an orthogonal coordinate system (x1 , x2 , x3 ) such that one of the coordinates, x1 , is normal to the boundary Figure 7.23.5. The characteristic analysis [350, 351] is then used to modify terms corresponding to waves propagating in the x1 normal direction. When doing so, a system of equations can be written to describe the wave propagation as follows:
t m1 t m2 t m3 t E t
+ d1 + + + + +
m2 m3 + =0 (7.23-43) x2 x3 (m1 U2 ) (m1 U3 ) U1 d1 + d3 + + =0 x2 x3 (m2 U2 ) (m2 U3 ) P U2 d1 + d4 + + + =0 x2 x3 x2 (m3 U2 ) (m3 U3 ) P U3 d1 + d5 + + + =0 x2 x3 x3 1 2 d2 [(E + P )U2 ] [(E + P )U3 ] |V | d1 + + m1 d3 + m2 d4 + m3 d5 + + =0 2 ( 1) x2 x3
Where m1 = U1 , m2 = U1 and m3 = U3 and U1 , U2 and U3 are the velocity components in the coordinate system (x1 , x2 , x3 ). The equations above are solved on pressure-outlet boundaries, along with the interior governing ow equations, using similar time stepping algorithms to obtain the values of the primitive ow variables (P, u, v, w, T ).
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Boundary Conditions
Note that a transformation between the local orthogonal coordinate system (x1 , x2 , x3 ) and the global Cartesian system (X, Y, Z) must be dened on each face on the boundary to obtain the velocity components (u, v, w) in a global Cartesian system.
x2 local orthogonal coordinate system x1
global coordinate system pressure outlet boundary
Figure 7.23.5: The Local Orthogonal Coordinate System onto which Euler Equations are Recasted for the General NRBC Method
The di terms in the transformed Euler equations contain the outgoing and incoming characteristic wave amplitudes, Li , and are dened as follows:
d1 = d2 = d3 = d4 = d5 =
1 1 [L2 + (L5 + L1 )] 2 c 2 1 (L5 + L1 ) 2 1 (L5 L1 ) 2c L3 L4
(7.23-44)
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From characteristic analyses, the wave amplitudes, Li , are given by: P U1 c ) x1 x1 P P 2 (c2 ) x1 x1 U2 3 x1 U3 4 x1 P U1 5 ( + c ) x1 x1
L1 = 1 ( L2 = L3 = L4 = L5 =
(7.23-45)
The outgoing and incoming characteristic waves are associated with the characteristic velocities of the system (i.e eigenvalues), i , as seen in Figure 7.23.6. These eigenvalues are given by:
1 = U1 c 2 = 3 = 4 = U1 5 = U1 + c
(7.23-46)
For subsonic ow leaving a pressure-outlet boundary, four waves leave the domain (associated with positive eigenvalues 2 , 3 , 4 , and 5 ) and one enters the domain (associated with negative eigenvalue 1 ). To solve Equations 7.23-44 on a pressure-outlet boundary, the values of L2 , L3 , L4 and P L5 must be rst determined from Equations 7.23-46 by using extrapolated values of x1 , U1 U2 3 , , and U1 from inside the domain. Then, for the lone incoming wave, the Linear x1 x1 x Relaxation Method (LRM) of Poinsot [264, 265] is used to determine the value of the L1 wave amplitude. The LRM method sets the value of the incoming wave amplitude to be proportional to the dierences between the local pressure on a boundary face and the imposed exit pressure. Therefore, L1 is given by L1 = K(P Pexit ) (7.23-47)
where Pexit is the imposed pressure at the exit boundary, K is the relaxation factor, and P is the local pressure value at the boundary. In general, the desirable average pressure on a non-reecting boundary can be either relaxed toward a pressure value at innity or enforced to be equivalent to some desired pressure at the exit of the boundary.
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Boundary Conditions
x2 x1
L1, 1
L 2 , 2 L 3 , 3 L 4 , 4 L5 , 5
flow direction
pressure outlet boundary
Figure 7.23.6: Waves Leaving and Entering a Boundary Face on a PressureOutlet Boundary. The Wave Amplitudes are Shown with the Associated Eigenvalues for a Subsonic Flow Condition
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If you want the average pressure at the boundary to relax toward P at innity (i.e. Pexit = P ), the suggested K factor is given by: K = 1 (1 Mmax 2 ) c h (7.23-48)
where c is the acoustic speed , h is the domain size, Mmax is the maximum Mach number in the domain, and 1 is the underrelaxation factor (default value is 0.15) . On the other hand, if the desired average pressure at the boundary is to approach a specic imposed value at the boundary, then the K factor is given by: K = 2 c where the default value for 2 is 5.0 (7.23-49)
Using General Non-Reecting Boundary Conditions

The General NRBC is available for use in the Pressure Outlet panel when either the coupled explicit or the coupled implicit solvers are activated to solve for compressible ows using the ideal-gas law. To activate the general NRBC 1. Select pressure-outlet from the Boundary Conditions Panel and click the Set... button. 2. In the Pressure Outlet panel, enable the Non-Reecting Boundary option. 3. Select one of the two NRBC Pressure Specication options: Exit pressure is at innity or Exit pressure is average pressure. (a) The Exit pressure is at innity boundary is typically used in unsteady calculations or when the exit pressure value is imposed at innity. The boundary is designed so that the pressure at the boundary relaxes toward the imposed pressure at innity. The speed at which this relaxation takes place is controlled by the parameter, sigma, which can be adjusted in the TUI: define boundary-conditions non-reflecting-bc general-nrbc set In the set/ submenu, you can set the sigma value. The default value for sigma is 0.15.
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.23.7: The Pressure Outlet Panel With the Non-Reecting Boundary Enabled
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(b) The Exit pressure is average pressure boundary specication is usually used in steady-state calculations when you want to force the average pressure on the boundary to approach the exit pressure value. The matching of average exit pressure to the imposed average pressure is controlled by parameter sigma2 which can be adjusted in the TUI: define boundary-conditions non-reflecting-bc general-nrbc set In the set/ submenu, you can set the sigma2 value. The default value for sigma2 is 5.0 .
There is no guarantee that the sigma2 value of 5.0 will force the average boundary pressure to match the specied exit pressure in all ow situations. In the case where the desired average boundary pressure has not been achieved, the user can intervene to adjust the sigma2 value so that the desired average pressure on the boundary is approached.
Usually, the solver can operate at higher CFL values without the NRBCs being turned on. Therefore, for steady-state solutions the best practice is to rst achieve a good stable solution (not necessarily converged) before activating the non-reecting boundary condition. In many ow situations, the CFL value must be reduced from the normal operation to keep the solution stable. This is particularly true with the coupled implicit solver since the boundary update is done in an explicit manner. A typical CFL value in the coupled implicit solver, with the NRBC activated, is 2.0.
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Boundary Conditions
7.24 User-Dened Fan Model

The user-dened fan model in FLUENT allows you to periodically regenerate a prole le that can be used to specify the characteristics of a fan, including pressure jump across the fan, and radial and swirling components of velocity generated by the fan. For example, consider the calculation of the pressure jump across the fan. You can, through the standard interface, input a constant for the pressure jump, specify a polynomial that describes the pressure jump as a function of axial velocity through the fan, or use a prole le that describes the pressure jump as a function of the axial velocity or location at the fan face. If you use a prole le, the same prole will be used consistently throughout the course of the solution. Suppose, however, that you want to change the prole as the ow eld develops. This would require a periodic update to the prole le itself, based upon some instructions that you supply. The user-dened fan model is designed to help you do this. To use this model, you need to generate an executable that reads a fan prole le that is written by FLUENT, and writes out a modied one, which FLUENT will then read. The source code for this executable can be written in any programming language (Fortran or C, for example). Your program will be called and executed automatically, according to inputs that you supply through the standard interface.
7.24.1
Steps for Using the User-Dened Fan Model
To make use of the user-dened fan model, follow the steps below. 1. In your model, identify one or more interior faces to represent one or more fan zones. Dene Boundary Conditions... 2. Input the name of your executable and the instructions for reading and writing prole les in the User-Dened Fan Model panel. Dene User-Dened Fan Model... 3. Initialize the ow eld and the prole les. 4. Enter the fan parameters using the standard Fan panel (opened from the Boundary Conditions panel). 5. Perform the calculation.
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7.24.2
Example of a User-Dened Fan
Usage of the user-dened fan model is best demonstrated by an example. With this in mind, consider the domain shown in Figure 7.24.1. An inlet supplies air at 10 m/s to a cylindrical region, 1.25 m long and 0.2 m in diameter, surrounded by a symmetry boundary. At the center of the ow domain is a circular fan. A pressure outlet boundary is at the downstream end.
Y X Z
Grid
Figure 7.24.1: The Inlet, Fan, and Pressure Outlet Zones for a Circular Fan Operating in a Cylindrical Domain
Solving this problem with the user-dened fan model will cause FLUENT to periodically write out a radial prole le with the current solution variables at the fan face. These variables (static pressure, pressure jump, axial, radial, and swirling (tangential) velocity components) will represent averaged quantities over annular sections of the fan. The sizes of the annular regions are determined by the size of the fan and the number of radial points to be used in the proles. Once the prole le is written, FLUENT will invoke an executable, which will perform the following tasks: 1. Read the prole le containing the current ow conditions at the fan. 2. Perform a calculation to compute new values for the pressure jump, radial velocity, and swirl velocity for the fan. 3. Write a new prole le that contains the results of these calculations.
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Boundary Conditions
FLUENT will then read the new prole le and continue with the calculation.
Setting the User-Dened Fan Parameters

Specication of the parameters for the user-dened fan begins in the User-Dened Fan Model panel (Figure 7.24.2). Dene User-Dened Fan Model...
Figure 7.24.2: The User-Dened Fan Model Panel
In this panel, you can select the fan zone(s) on which your executable will operate under Fan Zones. In this example, there is only one fan, fan-8. If you have multiple fan zones in a simulation, for which you have dierent prole specications, you can select them all at this point. Your executable will be able to dierentiate between the fan zones because the zone ID for each fan is included in the solution prole le. The executable will be invoked once for each zone, and separate prole les will be written for each. The executable le will be called on to update the prole le periodically, based on the input for the Iteration Update Interval. An input of 10, as shown in the panel, means that the fan executable in this example will act every 10 iterations to modify the prole le. The number of points in the prole le to be written by FLUENT is entered under Output Prole Points. This prole le can have the same or a dierent number of points as the one that is written by the external executable. Finally, the name of the executable should be entered under External Command Name. In the current example, the name of the executable is fantest.
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If the executable is not located in your working directory, then you must type the complete path to the executable.
Sample User-Dened Fan Program

The executable le will be built from the Fortran program, fantest.f, which is shown below. You can obtain a copy of this subroutine and the two that it calls (to read and write prole les) by contacting your Fluent technical support engineer.
c c c c c c c c c c
This program is invoked at intervals by FLUENT to read a profile-format file that contains radially averaged data at a fan face, compute new pressure-jump and swirl-velocity components, and write a new profile file that will subsequently be read by FLUENT to update the fan conditions. Usage: fantest < input_profile > output_profile
integer npmax parameter (npmax = 900) integer inp ! input: number of profile points integer iptype ! input: profile type (0=radial, 1=point) real ir(npmax) ! input: radial positions real ip(npmax) ! input: pressure real idp(npmax) ! input: pressure-jump real iva(npmax) ! input: axial velocity real ivr(npmax) ! input: radial velocity real ivt(npmax) ! input: tangential velocity character*80 zoneid integer rfanprof ! function to read a profile file integer status c status = rfanprof(npmax,zoneid,iptype, $ inp,ir,ip,idp,iva,ivr,ivt) if (status.ne.0) then write(*,*) error reading input profile file else do 10 i = 1, inp idp(i) = 200.0 - 10.0*iva(i) ivt(i) = 20.0*ir(i) ivr(i) = 0.0 10 continue call wfanprof(6,zoneid,iptype,inp,ir,idp,ivr,ivt)
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Boundary Conditions
endif stop end
After the variable declarations, which have comments on the right, the subroutine rfanprof is called to read the prole le, and pass the current values of the relevant variables (as dened in the declaration list) to fantest. A loop is done on the number of points in the prole to compute new values for: idp, the pressure jump across the fan, which in this example is a function of the axial velocity, iva ivt, the swirling or tangential velocity, which in this example is proportional to the radial position, ir ivr, the radial velocity, which in this example is set to zero After the loop, a new prole is written by the subroutine wfanprof, shown below. (For more information on prole le formats, see Section 7.26.2: Boundary Prole File Format.)
subroutine wfanprof(unit,zoneid,ptype,n,r,dp,vr,vt) c c c c writes a FLUENT profile file for input by the user fan model integer unit character*80 zoneid integer ptype integer n real r(n) real dp(n) real vr(n) real vt(n) character*6 typenam ! output unit number ! ! ! ! ! ! profile type (0=radial, 1=point) number of points radial position pressure jump radial velocity tangential velocity
if (ptype.eq.0) then typenam = radial else typenam = point endif write(unit,*) ((, zoneid(1:index(zoneid,\0)-1), , $ typenam, n, )
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write(unit,*) (r write(unit,100) r write(unit,*) ) write(unit,*) (pressure-jump write(unit,100) dp write(unit,*) ) write(unit,*) (radial-velocity write(unit,100) vr write(unit,*) ) write(unit,*) (tangential-velocity write(unit,100) vt write(unit,*) ) 100 format(5(e15.8,1x)) return end
This subroutine will write a prole le in either radial or point format, based on your input for the integer ptype. (See Section 7.26: Boundary Proles for more details on the types of prole les that are available.) The names that you use for the various proles are arbitrary. Once you have initialized the prole les, the names you use in wfanprof will appear as prole names in the Fan panel.
Initializing the Flow Field and Prole Files

The next step in the setup of the user-dened fan is to initialize (create) the prole les that will be used. To do this, rst initialize the ow eld with the Solution Initialization panel (using the velocity inlet conditions, for example), and then type the command (update-user-fans) in the console window. (The parentheses are part of the command, and must be typed in.) This will create the prole names that are given in the subroutine wfanprof.
Selecting the Proles

Once the prole names have been established, you will need to visit the Fan panel (Figure 7.24.3) to complete the problem setup. (See Section 7.20: Fan Boundary Conditions for general information on using the Fan panel.) At this time, the Fan Axis, Fan Origin, and Fan Hub Radius can be entered, along with the choice of proles for the calculation of pressure jump, tangential velocity, and radial
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.24.3: The Fan Panel
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velocity. With the prole options enabled, you can select the names of the proles from the drop-down lists. In the panel above, the selected proles are named fan-8-pressurejump, fan-8-tangential-velocity, and fan-8-radial-velocity, corresponding to the names that were used in the subroutine wfanprof.
Performing the Calculation

The solution is now ready to run. As it begins to converge, the report in the console window shows that the prole les are being written and read every 10 iterations:
iter continuity x-velocity y-velocity z-velocity k 1 residual normalization factors changed (continuity 1 1.0000e+00 1.0000e+00 1.0000e+00 1.0000e+00 1.0000e+00 ! 2 residual normalization factors changed (continuity 2 1.0000e+00 1.0000e+00 1.0000e+00 1.0000e+00 9.4933e-01 3 6.8870e-01 7.2663e-01 7.3802e-01 7.5822e-01 6.1033e-01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.1779e-01 9.8139e-02 3.0497e-01 2.9609e-01 2.8612e-01 Writing "fan-8-out.prof"... Done. Reading "fan-8-in.prof"... ! Reading profile file... 10 "fan-8" radial-profile points, r, pressure-jump, radial-velocity, tangential-velocity. Done. 10 1.7612e-01 7.4618e-02 2.5194e-01 2.4538e-01 2.4569e-01 11 1.6895e-01 8.3699e-02 2.0316e-01 2.0280e-01 2.1169e-01 . . . . . . . . . . . .
The le fan-8-out.prof is written out by FLUENT and read by the executable fantest. It contains values for pressure, pressure jump, axial velocity, radial velocity, and tangential velocity at 20 radial locations at the site of the fan. The le fan-8-in.prof is generated by fantest and contains updated values for pressure jump and radial and tangential velocity only. It is therefore a smaller le than fan-8-out.prof. The prex for these les takes its name from the fan zone with which the proles are associated. An example of the prole le fan-8-in.prof is shown below. This represents the last prole le to be written by fantest during the convergence history.
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Boundary Conditions
((fan-8 radial 10) (r 0.24295786E-01 0.33130988E-01 0.68471842E-01 0.77307090E-01 ) (pressure-jump 0.10182057E+03 0.98394081E+02 0.98020668E+02 0.98138817E+02 ) (radial-velocity 0.00000000E+00 0.00000000E+00 0.00000000E+00 0.00000000E+00 ) (tangential-velocity 0.48591572E+00 0.66261977E+00 0.13694369E+01 0.15461419E+01 )
0.41966137E-01 0.86142287E-01
0.50801374E-01 0.94963484E-01
0.59636571E-01 0.95353782E-01
0.97748657E+02 0.98264198E+02
0.97787750E+02 0.98469681E+02
0.97905228E+02 0.98478783E+02
0.00000000E+00 0.00000000E+00
0.00000000E+00 0.00000000E+00
0.00000000E+00 0.00000000E+00
0.83932275E+00 0.17228458E+01
0.10160275E+01 0.18992697E+01
0.11927314E+01 0.19070756E+01
Results
A plot of the transverse velocity components at the site of the fan is shown in Figure 7.24.4. As expected, there is no radial component, and the tangential (swirling) component increases with radius.
1.04e+01 1.00e+01 9.60e+00 9.20e+00 8.79e+00 8.38e+00 7.97e+00 7.56e+00 7.15e+00 6.75e+00 6.34e+00
Y X Z
Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s)
Figure 7.24.4: Transverse Velocities at the Site of the Fan
As a nal check on the result, an XY plot of the static pressure as a function of x position is shown (Figure 7.24.5). This XY plot is made on a line at y=0.05 m, or at about half the radius of the duct. According to the input le shown above, the pressure jump at the site of the fan should be approximately 97.8 Pa/m. Examination of the gure supports this nding.
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7.25 Heat Exchanger Models
y=.05
1.00e+01 0.00e+00 -1.00e+01 -2.00e+01 -3.00e+01 -4.00e+01
Static Pressure (pascal)
-5.00e+01 -6.00e+01 -7.00e+01 -8.00e+01 -9.00e+01 -1.00e+02

Y X Z
-0.4
-0.2
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
Position (m)
Static Pressure
Figure 7.24.5: Static Pressure Jump Across the Fan

Many engineering systems, including power plants, climate control, and engine cooling systems typically contain tubular heat exchangers. However, for most engineering problems, it is impractical to model individual ns and tubes of a heat exchanger core. In principle, heat exchanger cores introduce a pressure drop to the gas stream (also termed the primary uid) and transfer heat to a second uid, a coolant, referred to here as the auxiliary uid. In FLUENT, lumped-parameter models are used to account for the pressure loss and auxiliary uid heat rejection. FLUENT provides two heat exchanger models: the simpleeectiveness-model and the number-of-transfer-units (NTU) model. The models can be used to compute auxiliary uid inlet temperature for a xed heat rejection or total heat rejection for a xed auxiliary uid inlet temperature. For the simple-eectiveness-model, the auxiliary uid may be single-phase or two-phase. The following sections contain information about the heat exchanger models: Section 7.25.1: Overview and Restrictions of the Heat Exchanger Models Section 7.25.2: Heat Exchanger Model Theory Section 7.25.3: Using the Heat Exchanger Model Section 7.25.4: Using the Heat Exchanger Group
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Boundary Conditions
Section 7.25.5: Postprocessing for the Heat Exchanger Model
7.25.1
Overview and Restrictions of the Heat Exchanger Models
Overview
In a typical heat exchanger core, the auxiliary uid temperature is stratied in the direction of the auxiliary uid ow. As a result, heat rejection is not constant over the entire core. In FLUENT, the uid zone representing the heat exchanger core is subdivided into macroscopic cells or macros along the auxiliary uid path, as in Figure 7.25.1. In this gure, the core is discretized into 3 42 macros. This conguration consists of 2 passes, each pass having four rows and three columns of macros. The auxiliary uid inlet temperature to each macro is computed and then subsequently used to compute the heat rejection from each macro. This approach provides a realistic heat rejection distribution over the heat exchanger core. To use the heat exchanger models, you must dene one or more uid zone(s) to represent the heat exchanger core. Typically, the uid zone is sized to the dimension of the core itself. As part of the setup procedure, you will dene the auxiliary uid path, the number of macros, and the physical properties and operating conditions of the core (pressure drop parameters, heat exchanger eectiveness, auxiliary uid ow rate, etc.). You can also combine several uid zones as a single heat exchanger group. In this situation each uid zone acts as a separate heat exchanger core, and the auxiliary uid mass ow rate of the heat exchanger group is divided among the zones in the ratio of the respective volumes. For the purpose of auxiliary uid ow, heat exchanger groups can also be connected in series. In addition, a heat exchanger group can have an auxiliary uid pressure drop (e.g., for pressure dependent properties) and a supplementary auxiliary uid stream entering or leaving it. For more information on heat exchanger groups, see Section 7.25.4: Using the Heat Exchanger Group. The heat exchanger models were designed for compact heat exchangers, implying that the gas side ow is unidirectional. The auxiliary uid is assumed to ow through a large number of parallel tubes, which can optionally double back in a serpentine pattern to create a number of passes. You can independently choose the principal auxiliary uid ow direction, the pass-to-pass direction and the external gas ow direction.
It is highly recommended that the free-form Tet mesh is not used in the Heat Exchanger Model. Instead, evenly distributed Hex/Wedge cells should be used for improved accuracy and a more robust solution process.
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Coolant Passage
Macro 0
Macro 1
Macro 2
Macro 21
Macro 2 2
Macro 23
Macro 3
Macro 4
Macro 5
Macro 18
Macro 19
Macro 20
Macro 6
Macro 7
Macro 8
Macro 15
Macro 16
Macro 17
Macro 9
Macro 10
Macro 11
Macro 12
Macro 13
Macro 14
Figure 7.25.1: Core Discretized Into 3 42 Macros
Restrictions
The following restrictions are made for the heat exchanger models: The core must be approximately rectangular in shape. The gas streamwise direction (see Equation 7.25-1) must be aligned with one of the three orthogonal axes dened by the rectangular core. Flow acceleration eects are neglected in calculating the pressure loss coecient. For the simple-eectiveness-model, the gas capacity rate must be less than the auxiliary uid capacity rate. auxiliary uid phase change cannot be modeled using the ntu-model. The macro-based method requires that an equal number of cells reside in each macro of equal size.
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Boundary Conditions
7.25.2
Heat Exchanger Model Theory
In FLUENT, the heat exchanger core is treated as a uid zone with momentum and heat transfer. Pressure loss is modeled as a momentum sink in the momentum equation, and heat transfer is modeled as a heat source in the energy equation. FLUENT provides two heat exchanger models: the default ntu-model and the simpleeectiveness-model. The simple-eectiveness-model interpolates the eectiveness from the velocity vs eectiveness curve that you provide. For the ntu-model, FLUENT calculates the eectiveness, , from the NTU value that is calculated by FLUENT from the heat transfer data provided by the user in tabular format. FLUENT will automatically convert this heat transfer data to a primary uid mass ow rate vs NTU curve (this curve will be piecewise linear). This curve will be used by FLUENT to calculate the NTU for macros based on their size and primary uid ow rate. The ntu-model provides the following features: checks heat capacity for both the gas and the auxiliary uid and takes the lesser of the two for the calculation of heat transfer can be used to model heat transfer to the gas from the auxiliary uid and vice-versa can be used to model gas-side reverse ow can be used with variable density of gas can be used in either the serial or parallel FLUENT solvers The simple-eectiveness-model provides the following features: can be used to model heat transfer from the auxiliary uid to the uid auxiliary uid properties can be a function of pressure and temperature, thus allowing phase change of the auxiliary uid can be used by serial as well as parallel solvers can be used to make a network of heat exchangers using a heat exchanger group (Section 7.25.4: Using the Heat Exchanger Group)
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Streamwise Pressure Drop

In both heat exchanger models, pressure loss is modeled using the porous media model in FLUENT. The streamwise pressure drop can be expressed as 1 2 p = f m UAmin 2 where p f m UAmin = = = = streamwise pressure drop streamwise pressure loss coecient mean gas density gas velocity at the minimum ow area (7.25-1)
The pressure loss coecient is computed from f = (Kc + 1 2 ) (1 2 Ke ) where Kc Ke A Ac fc e i m = = = = = = = = = minimum ow to face area ratio entrance loss coecient exit loss coecient gas-side surface area minimum cross-sectional ow area core friction factor specic volume at the exit specic volume at the inlet mean specic volume 1 (e + i ) 2 e e A m +2 1 + fc i i Ac i (7.25-2)
Kc and Ke are empirical quantities obtained from experimental data. You will need to specify these parameters based on graphs that are closest to the heat exchanger conguration that you are setting up [164], [162]. These parameters are used to set up large resistances in the two non-streamwise directions, eectively forcing the gas ow through the core to be unidirectional. In Equation 7.25-2, the core friction factor is dened as fc = aReb min where a b Remin = core friction coecient = core friction exponent = Reynolds number for velocity at the minimum ow area (7.25-3)
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Boundary Conditions
a and b are empirical quantities obtained from experimental data. You will need to specify the core friction coecient and exponent based on graphs that are closest to the heat exchanger models that you set up [164], [162]. The Reynolds number in Equation 7.25-3 is dened as Remin = where m m Dh UAmin = = = = mean gas density mean gas viscosity hydraulic diameter gas velocity at the minimum ow area m UAmin Dh m (7.25-4)
For a heat exchanger core, the hydraulic diameter can be dened as Dh = 4L Ac A (7.25-5)
where L is the ow length of the heat exchanger. If the tubes are normal to the primary uid ow, then L is the length in the primary uid ow direction. Note that UAmin can be calculated from UAmin = U (7.25-6)
where U is the gas velocity and is the minimum ow to face area ratio.
Heat Transfer Effectiveness

For the simple-eectiveness-model, the heat-exchanger eectiveness, , is dened as the ratio of actual rate of heat transfer from the hot to cold uid to the maximum possible rate of heat transfer. The maximum possible heat transfer is given by qmax = Cmin (Tin,hot Tin,cold ) (7.25-7)
where Tin,hot and Tin,cold are the inlet temperatures of the hot and cold uids and Cmin = min[(mcp )hot , (mcp )cold ] Thus, the actual rate of heat transfer, q, is dened as q = Cmin (Tin,hot Tin,cold ) (7.25-9) (7.25-8)
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The value of depends on the heat exchanger geometry and ow pattern (parallel ow, counter ow, cross ow, etc.). Though the eectiveness is dened for a complete heat exchanger, it can be applied to a small portion of the heat exchanger represented by a computational cell. For the ntu-model, FLUENT calculates the eectiveness from the ratio of heat capacity and the number of transfer units using the relation = 1 exp where Cr is the ratio of Cmin to Cmax . Ntu should be specied for various gas ow rates (for a single auxiliary uid ow rate) as an input to the model. This Ntu for the heat exchanger is scaled for each macro in the ratio of their areas. For each macro, the gas inlet temperature is calculated using the mass average of the incoming gas temperatures at the boundaries. This automatically takes into account any reverse ow of the gas at the boundaries. 1 0.22 0.78 Ntu (1 eCr Ntu ) Cr (7.25-10)
Heat Rejection
Heat rejection is computed for each cell within a macro and added as a source term to the energy equation for the gas ow. Note that heat rejection from the auxiliary uid to gas can be either positive or negative. For the simple-eectiveness-model, the heat transfer for a given cell is computed from qcell = (mcp )g (Tin,auxiliaryuid Tcell ) where (mcp )g Tin,auxiliaryuid Tcell = heat exchanger eectiveness = gas capacity rate (ow rate specic heat) = auxiliary uid inlet temperature of macro containing the cell = cell temperature (7.25-11)
For the simple-eectiveness-model, the heat rejection from a macro is calculated by summing the heat transfer of all the cells contained within the macro qmacro =
all cells in macro
qcell
(7.25-12)
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Boundary Conditions
For the ntu-model, the heat transfer for a macro is calculated from qmacro = Cmin (Tin,auxiliaryuid Tin,gas ) where Tin,auxiliaryuid Tin,gas = macro eectiveness = macro auxiliary uid inlet temperature = macro gas inlet temperature (7.25-13)
For the ntu-model, the heat transfer for a given cell is computed from qcell = qmacro Vcell Vmacro (7.25-14)
For both heat exchanger models, the total heat rejection from the heat exchanger core is computed as the sum of the heat rejection from all the macros: qtotal =
all macros
qmacro
(7.25-15)
The auxiliary uid inlet temperature to each macro (Tin,auxiliaryuid in Equations 7.25-11 and 7.25-13) is computed based on the energy balance of the auxiliary uid ow. For a given macro, qmacro = (m)auxiliaryuid (hout hin ) (7.25-16)
where hin and hout are the inlet and outlet enthalpies of the auxiliary uid in the macro. The auxiliary uid outlet temperature from the macro is calculated as

hout cp,auxiliaryuid
constant specic heat method (7.25-17) UDF method
Tout =
f (hout , p)
where f p = user-dened function = auxiliary uid pressure
The values of hout and Tout then become the inlet conditions to the next macro. The rst row of macros (Macros 0, 1, and 2 in Figure 7.25.1) are assumed to be where the auxiliary uid enters the heat exchanger core. When the xed total heat rejection from the heat exchanger core is specied, the inlet temperature to the rst row of macros
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is iteratively computed, so that all of the equations are satised simultaneously. When a xed auxiliary uid inlet temperature is specied, the heat transfer for the rst row of macros are used to calculate their exit enthalpy, which becomes the inlet condition for the next row macros. At the end of each pass, the outlet enthalpy of each macro (in the last row) is mass averaged to obtain the inlet condition for the next pass macros.
Heat Exchanger Group Connectivity

If the optional heat exchanger group is used, a single heat exchanger may be comprised of multiple uid zones. In this case, the auxiliary uid is assumed to ow through these zones in parallel. Thus, after taking into account any auxiliary stream eects, the auxiliary uid inlet mass ow rate is automatically apportioned to each zone in the group as follows:
k i
mi =
Vi,k m k Vi,k
(7.25-18)
where mi is the total auxiliary mass ow rate for the heat exchanger group. Vi,k refers to the volume of the kth nite volume cell within the ith uid zone. Within each zone, the auxiliary uid ows through each macro in series as usual. At the outlet end of the group, the parallel auxiliary uid streams through the individual zones are recombined, and the outlet auxiliary uid enthalpy is calculated on a massaveraged basis: h=
i
mi hi i mi
(7.25-19)
With user-dened functions, the simple-eectiveness-model allows you to simulate twophase auxiliary uid ows and other complex auxiliary uid enthalpy relationships of the form h = h(T, p, x) (7.25-20)
where p is the absolute pressure and x is the quality (mass fraction of vapor) of a twophase vapor-liquid mixture. When pressure-dependent auxiliary uid properties are used, the mean pressure within each macro is calculated and passed to the user-dened function as pj = pin + j + 1 p 2 N (7.25-21)
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Boundary Conditions where j pin p N = = = = macro row index inlet auxiliary uid pressure overall pressure drop across a heat exchanger group number of rows per pass number of passes.
7.25.3
Using the Heat Exchanger Model
The heat exchanger model settings may be written into and read from the boundary conditions le (Section 4.10: Reading and Writing Boundary Conditions) using the text commands, file/write-bc and file/read-bc, respectively. Otherwise, the steps for setting up the heat exchanger models are as follows: 1. Enable the calculation of energy in the Energy panel. Dene Models Energy... 2. Specify the inputs to the heat exchanger model, using the Heat Exchanger Model panel (Figure 7.25.2). Dene User-Dened Heat Exchanger... (a) In the Fluid Zone drop-down list, select the uid zone representing the heat exchanger core. (b) Under the Model Data tab, choose Fixed Heat Rejection or Fixed Inlet Temperature, as required (Figure 7.25.2). (c) Specify the heat exchanger model as either the default ntu-model or the simpleeectiveness-model. (d) Specify the Core Porosity Model if needed. (e) If the ntu-model is chosen, a Heat Transfer Data... button will appear under Heat Exchanger Performance Data. Clicking on the Heat Transfer Data... button will open up the Heat Transfer Data Table panel with information on the uid ow rates and heat transfer data (Figure 7.25.3). (f) Enter the Auxiliary Fluid Temperature and the Primary Fluid Temperature for the ntu-model. (g) If the simple-eectiveness-model is chosen, then clicking on the Velocity Eectiveness Curve... button, under the Heat Exchanger Performance Data, allows you to set the velocity vs eectiveness curve. (h) Under the Geometry tab, dene the macro grid using the Number of Passes, the Number of Rows/Pass, and the Number of Columns/Pass elds. (i) In the Auxiliary Fluid tab, specify the auxiliary uid properties and conditions (Auxiliary Fluid Flow Rate, Inlet Temperature, and Auxiliary Fluid Specic Heat).
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Figure 7.25.2: The Heat Exchanger Model Panel Displaying the Model Data Tab
(j) In the Auxiliary Fluid tab, specify the Auxiliary Fluid Properties Method, either as a constant-specic-heat or as a user-dened-enthalpy. (k) Auxiliary Fluid Flow Rate, Heat Rejection, Inlet Temperature, and Inlet Pressure can be provided as a constant, polynomial or piecewise-linear prole that is a function of time. (l) Click Apply in the Heat Exchanger panel to save all the settings. (m) Repeat steps (a)(l) for any other heat exchanger uid zones. To use multiple uid zones to dene a single heat exchanger, or to connect the auxiliary uid ow path among multiple heat exchangers, see Section 7.25.4: Using the Heat Exchanger Group.
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Figure 7.25.3: The Heat Transfer Data Table Panel for the ntu-model
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Figure 7.25.4: The Heat Exchanger Model Panel Displaying the Geometry Tab
Selecting the Zone for the Heat Exchanger

Choose the uid zone for which you want to dene a heat exchanger in the Fluid Zone drop-down list.
Specifying Heat Exchanger Performance Data

Based on the heat transfer model you choose in the Model Data tab, some performance data must be entered for the heat exchanger. ntu-model: For the ntu-model you will provide the heat transfer for dierent primary and auxiliary uid ow rates. Click the Heat Transfer Data... to open up a tabular panel. Set the Number of auxiliary ow rates and primary uid ow rates. The panel will resize itself accordingly. You will need to provide various primary uid
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Figure 7.25.5: The Heat Exchanger Model Panel Displaying the Auxiliary Fluid Tab
ow rates and auxiliary uid ow rates and the corresponding heat transfer values. You may write this data to a le that can be read later. simple-eectiveness-model: For this model, you will need to provide velocity versus eectiveness data. To provide this you can click the Velocity Eectiveness Curve... button. This will open up a tabular panel. In this panel, you can set the number of points in the curve, then you can provide velocities and corresponding eectiveness values. This data can be written to a le and read back.
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Specifying the Auxiliary Fluid Inlet and Pass-to-Pass Directions

To dene the auxiliary uid direction and ow path, you will specify direction vectors for the Auxiliary Fluid Inlet Direction and the Pass-to-Pass Direction in the Geometry tab. Figure 7.25.6 shows these directions relative to the macros. For some problems in which the principal axes of the heat exchanger core are not aligned with the coordinate axes of the domain, you may not know the auxiliary uid inlet and pass-to-pass direction vectors a priori. In such cases, you can use the plane tool as follows to help you to determine these direction vectors. 1. Snap the plane tool onto the boundary of the heat exchanger core. (Follow the instructions in Section 28.6.1: Initializing the Plane Tool for initializing the tool to a position on an existing surface.) 2. Translate and rotate the axes of the tool appropriately until they are aligned with the principal directions of the heat exchanger core. The depth direction is determined by the red axis, the height direction by the green axis, and the width direction by the blue axis. 3. Once the axes are aligned, click on the Update From Plane Tool button in the Heat Exchanger Model panel. The directional vectors will be set automatically. (Note that the Update from Plane Tool button will also set the height, width, and depth of the heat exchanger core.)
Dening the Macros

As discussed in Section 7.25.1: Overview and Restrictions of the Heat Exchanger Models, the uid zone representing the heat exchanger core is split into macros. Macros are constructed based on the specied number of passes, the number of macro rows per pass, the number of macro columns per pass, and the corresponding auxiliary uid inlet and pass-to-pass directions (see Figure 7.25.6). Macros are numbered from 0 to (n 1) in the direction of auxiliary uid ow, where n is the number of macros. In the Heat Exchanger Model panel, in the Geometry tab, specify the Number of Passes, the Number of Rows/Pass, and the Number of Columns/Pass. The model will automatically extrude the macros to the depth of the heat exchanger core. For each pass, the Number of Rows/Pass are dened in the direction of the auxiliary ow inlet direction and the Number of Columns/Pass are dened in the direction of the pass-to-pass direction.
The Number of Rows/Pass, as well as the Number of Columns/Pass must be divisible by the number of cells in their respective directions.
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width Coolant Inlet Direction (1 Macro Column/Pass)
(4 Macro Rows/Pass)
height
Pass-to-Pass Direction (3 Passes)
Figure 7.25.6: 1 43 Macros
Viewing the Macros You can view the auxiliary uid path by displaying the macros. To view the macros for your specied Number of Passes, Number of Rows/Pass, and Number of Columns/Pass, click the Apply button at the bottom of the panel. Then click View Passes to display it. The path of the auxiliary uid is color-coded in the display: macro 0 is red and macro n 1 is blue. For some problems, especially complex geometries, you may want to include portions of the computational-domain grid in your macros plot as spatial reference points. For example, you may want to show the location of an inlet and an outlet along with the macros. This is accomplished by turning on the Draw Grid option. The Grid Display panel will appear automatically when you turn on the Draw Grid option, and you can set the grid display parameters there. When you click on View Passes in the Heat Exchanger Model panel, the grid display, as dened in the Grid Display panel, will be included in the macros plot (see Figure 7.25.7).
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5.00e+00
4.00e+00
3.00e+00
2.00e+00
1.00e+00
Y Z
0.00e+00 Macros
Figure 7.25.7: Grid Display With Macros
Selecting the Heat Exchanger Model

You can specify the model for your heat exchanger by selecting the ntu-model or the simple-eectiveness-model from the Heat Transfer Model drop-down list in the Model Data tab.
Specifying the Auxiliary Fluid Properties and Conditions

To dene the auxiliary uid properties and conditions, you will specify the Auxiliary Fluid Flow Rate (m) in the Auxiliary Fluid tab. The properties of the auxiliary uid can be specied using the Auxiliary Fluid Properties Method drop-down list. You can choose a Constant Specic Heat (cp ) and set the value in the Auxiliary Fluid Specic Heat eld below, or as a user-dened function for the enthalpy using the User Dened Enthalpy option and selecting the corresponding UDF from the Auxiliary Fluid Enthalpy UDF drop-down list. If you want FLUENT to compute the auxiliary uid inlet temperature for a specied heat rejection, follow the steps below: 1. Enable the Fixed Heat Rejection option in the Model Data tab. 2. Specify the Heat Rejection (qtotal in Equation 7.25-15) in the Auxiliary Fluid tab. 3. Specify the Initial Temperature, which will be used by FLUENT as an initial guess for the inlet temperature (Tin in Equations 7.25-11 and 7.25-16).
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If you want FLUENT to compute the total heat rejection of the core for a given inlet auxiliary uid temperature, follow the steps below: 1. Enable the Fixed Inlet Temperature option in the Model Data tab. 2. Specify the Inlet Temperature (Tin in Equations 7.25-11 and 7.25-16) in the Auxiliary Fluid tab. If you enable the User Dened Enthalpy option under the Auxiliary Fluid Properties Method, you must also specify the Inlet Pressure (pin in Equation 7.25-21) and Inlet Quality (x in Equation 7.25-20).
Setting the Pressure-Drop Parameters and Effectiveness

The pressure drop parameters and eectiveness dene the Core Porosity Model. If you would like FLUENT to set the porosity of this a heat exchanger zone using a particular core model, you can select the appropriate model. This will automatically set the porous media inputs. There are three ways to specify the Core Porosity Model parameters: Use the values in FLUENTs default model. Dene a new core porosity model with your own values. Read a core porosity model from an external le. If you do not choose a core porosity model, you will need to set the porosity parameters in the boundary conditions panel for the heat exchanger zone(s). To do this, follow the procedures described in Section 7.19.6: User Inputs for Porous Media. The models you dene will be saved in the case le. Using the Default Core Porosity Model FLUENT provides a default model for a typical heat exchanger core. To use these values, simply retain the selection of default-model in the Core Porosity Model drop-down list in the Heat Exchanger Model panel. (You can view the default parameters in the Heat Exchanger Model panel, as described below.) The default-model core porosity model is a list of constant values from the Heat Exchanger Model panel. These constants are used for setting the porous media parameters.
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Dening a New Core Porosity Model If you want to dene pressure-drop and eectiveness parameters that are dierent from those in the default core porosity model, you can create a new model. The steps for creating a new model are as follows: 1. Click on the Edit... button to the right of the Core Porosity Model drop-down list, for which default-model should have been selected. This will open the Core Porosity Model panel (Figure 7.25.8).
Figure 7.25.8: The Core Porosity Model Panel
2. Enter the name of your new model in the Name box at the top of the panel. 3. Under Gas-Side Pressure Drop, specify the following parameters used in Equation 7.25-2: Minimum Flow to Face Area Ratio () Entrance Loss Coecient (Kc ) Exit Loss Coecient (Ke ) Gas-Side Surface Area (A) Minimum Cross Section Flow Area (Ac )
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and the Core Friction Coecient and Core Friction Exponent (a and b, respectively, in Equation 7.25-3). 4. Click on Change/Create. This will add your new model to the database. Reading Heat Exchanger Parameters from an External File You can read parameters for your Core Porosity Model from an external le. A sample le is shown below: ("modelname" (0.73 0.43 0.053 5.2 0.33 9.1 0.66)) The rst entry in the le is the name of the model (e.g., modelname). The second set of numbers contains the gas-side pressure drop parameters: ( Kc Ke A Ac a b) To read an external heat exchanger le, you will follow these steps: 1. In the Core Porosity Model panel, click on the Read... button. 2. In the resulting Select File dialog box, specify the HXC Parameters File name and click OK. FLUENT will read the core porosity model parameters, and add the new model to the database. Viewing the Parameters for an Existing Core Model To view the parameters associated with a core porosity model that you have already dened, select the model name in the Database drop-down list (in the Core Porosity Model panel). The values for that model from the database will be displayed in the Core Porosity Model panel.
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7.25.4
Using the Heat Exchanger Group
To dene a single heat exchanger that uses multiple uid zones, or to connect the auxiliary uid ow path among multiple heat exchangers, you can use heat exchanger groups. To use heat exchanger groups, perform the following steps: 1. Enable the calculation of energy in the Energy panel. Dene Models Energy... 2. Specify the inputs to the heat exchanger group model, using the Heat Exchanger Group panel (Figure 7.25.9). Dene User-Dened Heat Exchanger Group... (a) Under Name, enter the name of the heat exchanger group. (b) Under Fluid Zones, select the uid zones that you want to dene in the heat exchanger group. (c) Click on the Model Data tab. i. Under Connectivity, select the Upstream heat exchanger group if such a connection exists. ii. Under Primary Fluid Flow Direction, specify the gas ow direction as either Width, Height, or Depth. iii. In the Heat Transfer Model drop-down list, choose either the ntu-model or the simple-eectiveness-model. iv. From the Core Porosity Model drop-down list, specify the core model that should be used to calculate the porous media parameters for the zones in the group. v. Provide the Heat Exchanger Performance Data according to the chosen model. (d) Click on the Geometry tab (Figure 7.25.10). i. Dene the macro grid by specifying the Number of Passes, the Number of Rows/Pass, and the Number of Columns/Pass. ii. Specify the Auxiliary Fluid Inlet Direction and Pass-to-Pass Direction. (e) Click on the Auxiliary Fluid tab (Figure 7.25.11) to specify the auxiliary uid operating conditions. i. Specify the Specic Heat as either a constant-specic-heat or as a userdened-enthalpy. ii. Auxiliary Fluid Flow Rate, Initial Temperature, and Inlet Pressure can be provided as a constant, polynomial or piecewise-linear prole that is a function of time.
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(f) If a supplementary auxiliary stream is to be modeled, click on the Supplementary Auxiliary Fluid Stream tab. i. You can specify the Supplementary Mass Flow Rate as a constant, polynomial or piecewise-linear prole that is a function of time. ii. You can specify the Supplementary Flow Temperature as a constant, polynomial or piecewise-linear prole that is a function of time. (g) Click Create or Replace in the Heat Exchanger Group panel to save all the settings. Replace changes the parameters of the already existing group that is selected in the HX Groups list.
Creating or replacing any heat exchanger group initializes any previously calculated values for temperature and enthalpy for all macros.
3. If a heat exchanger group is comprised of multiple uid zones and you wish to override any of the inputs dened in the previous steps, click on the Set... button to open the Heat Exchanger Model panel (Figure 7.25.2). Select the particular uid zone as usual. Notice that the individual heat exchanger inherits the properties of the group by default. You may override any of the following: Number of Passes, Number of Rows/Pass, and Number of Columns/Pass Auxiliary Fluid Inlet Direction and the Pass-to-Pass Direction Core Porosity Model
Selecting the Fluid Zones for the Heat Exchanger Group

Select the uid zones that you want to dene in the heat exchanger group in the Fluid Zones drop-down list. The auxiliary uid ow in all these zones will be in parallel. Note that one zone cannot be included in more than one heat exchanger group.
Selecting the Upstream Heat Exchanger Group

If you want to connect the current group in series with another group, choose the upstream heat exchanger group. Note that any group can have at most one upstream and one downstream group. Also, a group cannot be connected to itself. Select a heat exchanger group from the Upstream drop-down list under Connectivity in the Model Data tab of the Heat Exchanger Group panel.
Connecting to an upstream heat exchanger group can be done only while creating a heat exchanger group. The connection will persist even if the connection is later changed and the Replace button is clicked. To change a connection to an upstream heat exchanger group, you need to delete the connecting group and create a new heat exchanger group with the proper connection.
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Specifying the Auxiliary Fluid Inlet and Pass-to-Pass Directions

The Auxiliary Fluid Inlet Direction and Pass-to-Pass Direction, in the Geometry tab can be specied as directed in Section 7.25.3: Specifying the Auxiliary Fluid Inlet and Pass-toPass Directions in the Heat Exchanger Model panel. Note that the Update from Plane Tool will set the height, width, and depth as the average of the uid zones selected in the Fluid Zones.
Specifying the Auxiliary Fluid Properties

The auxiliary uid can be specied as having a constant-specic-heat, or a user-dened function can be written to calculate the enthalpy. The function should return a single value depending on the index: enthalpy for given values of temperature, pressure, and quality temperature for given values of enthalpy and pressure specic heat for given values of temperature and pressure The user-dened function should be of type DEFINE_SOURCE(udf_name, cell_t c, Thread *t, real d[n], int index). where n in the expression d[n] would be 0 for temperature, 1 for pressure, or 2 for quality. The variable index is 0 for enthalpy, 1 for temperature, or 2 for specic heat. This user-dened function should return real value; /* (temperature or enthalpy or Cp depending on index). */
Specifying Supplementary Auxiliary Fluid Streams

The addition or removal of a supplementary auxiliary uid is allowed in any of the heat exchanger groups. Note that auxiliary streams are not allowed for individual zones. You will input the mass ow rate, temperature, and quality of the supplementary auxiliary uid. You will also need to specify the heat transfer for various ow rates of primary and auxiliary ows. The auxiliary stream has the following assumptions: The magnitude of a negative auxiliary stream must be less than the primary auxiliary uid inlet ow rate of the heat exchanger group. Added streams will be assumed to have the same uid properties as the primary inlet auxiliary uid.
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Initializing the Auxiliary Fluid Temperature

When the heat exchanger group is connected to an upstream heat exchanger group, FLUENTwill automatically set the initial guess for the auxiliary uid inlet temperature, Tin , to be equal to the Tin of the upstream heat exchanger group. Thus the boundary condition Tin for the rst heat exchanger group in a connected series will automatically propagate as an initial guess for every other heat exchanger group in the series. However, when it is necessary to further improve convergence properties, you will be allowed to override Tin for any connected heat exchanger group by providing a value in the Initial Temperature eld. Whenever such an override is supplied, FLUENTwill automatically propagate the new Tin to any heat exchanger groups further downstream in the series. Similarly, every time the Tin boundary condition for the rst heat exchanger group is modied, FLUENTwill correspondingly update every downstream heat exchanger group. If you want to impose a non-uniform initialization on the auxiliary uid temperature eld, rst connect the heat exchanger groups and then set Tin for each heat exchanger group in streamwise order. All heat exchangers included in a group must use the xed Tin option. All heat exchangers within a heat exchanger group must have the same Tin . In other words, no local override of this setting is possible through the Heat Exchanger panel.
7.25.5
Postprocessing for the Heat Exchanger Model
To view the computed values of total heat rejection, outlet temperature, and inlet temperature for your heat exchanger, you can use the following text command: define user-defined heat-exchanger heat-exchanger-report When prompted, specify the uid zone id/name for which you want to report the results. To view the connectivity of the heat exchanger groups, use the text command (report-connectivity)
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Figure 7.25.9: The Heat Exchanger Group Panel
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Figure 7.25.10: The Heat Exchanger Group Panel - Geometry Tab
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Figure 7.25.11: The Heat Exchanger Group Panel - Auxiliary Fluid Tab
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Figure 7.25.12: The Heat Exchanger Group Panel - Supplementary Auxiliary Fluid Stream Tab
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7.26 Boundary Proles

FLUENT provides a very exible boundary prole denition mechanism. This feature allows you to use experimental data, data calculated by an external program, or data written from a previous solution using the Write Prole panel (as described in Section 4.9: Reading and Writing Prole Files) as the boundary condition for a variable. Information about boundary proles is presented in the following subsections: Section 7.26.1: Boundary Prole Specication Types Section 7.26.2: Boundary Prole File Format Section 7.26.3: Using Boundary Proles Section 7.26.4: Reorienting Boundary Proles
7.26.1
Boundary Prole Specication Types
Five types of proles are provided: Point proles are specied by an unordered set of n points: (xi , yi , vi ) for 2D problems or (xi , yi , zi , vi ) for 3D problems, where 1 i n. Proles written using the Write Prole panel and proles of experimental data in random order are examples of point proles. FLUENT will interpolate the point cloud as needed to obtain values at the boundary faces. The interpolation method for unstructured point data is zero order. In other words, for each cell face at the boundary, the solver uses the value from the prole le located closest to the cell. Therefore, if you wish an accurate specication of an inlet prole, your prole le should contain a suciently high point density. Line proles are specied for 2D problems by an ordered set of n points: (xi , yi , vi ), where 1 i n. Zero-order interpolation is performed between the points. An example of a line prole is a prole of data obtained from an external program that calculates a boundary-layer prole. Mesh proles are specied for 3D problems by an m by n mesh of points: (xij , yij , zij , vij ), where 1 i m and 1 j n. Zero-order interpolation is performed between the points. Examples of mesh proles are proles of data from a structured mesh solution and experimental data in a regular array. Radial proles are specied for 2D and 3D problems by an ordered set of n points: (ri , vi ), where 1 i n. The data in a radial prole are a function of radius only. Linear interpolation is performed between the points, which must be sorted in ascending order of the r eld. The axis for the cylindrical coordinate system is determined as follows:
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For 2D problems, it is the z-direction vector through (0,0). For 2D axisymmetric problems, it is the x-direction vector through (0,0). For 3D problems involving a swirling fan, it is the fan axis dened in the Fan panel (unless you are using local cylindrical coordinates at the boundary, as described below). For 3D problems without a swirling fan, it is the rotation axis of the adjacent uid zone, as dened in the Fluid panel (unless you are using local cylindrical coordinates at the boundary, as described below). For 3D problems in which you are using local cylindrical coordinates to specify conditions at the boundary, it is the axis of the specied local coordinate system. Axial proles are specied for 3D problems by an ordered set of n points: (zi , vi ), where 1 i n. The data in an axial prole are a function of the axial direction. Linear interpolation is performed between the points, which must be sorted in ascending order of the z eld.
7.26.2
Boundary Prole File Format
The format of the prole les is fairly simple. The le can contain an arbitrary number of proles. Each prole consists of a header that species the prole name, prole type (point, line, mesh, radial, or axial), and number of dening points, and is followed by an arbitrary number of named elds. Some of these elds contain the coordinate points and the rest contain boundary data.
All quantities, including coordinate values, must be specied in SI units because FLUENT does not perform unit conversion when reading prole les.
Parentheses are used to delimit proles and the elds within the proles. Any combination of tabs, spaces, and newlines can be used to separate elements.
In the general format description below, | indicates that you should input only one of the items separated by |s and ... indicates a continuation of the list.
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((profile1-name point|line|radial n) (field1-name a1 a2 ... an) (field2-name b1 b2 ... bn) . . . (fieldf-name f1 f2 ... fn)) ((profile2-name mesh m n) (field1-name a11 a12 ... a21 a22 ... . . . am1 am2 ... . . . (fieldf-name f11 f12 ... f21 f22 ... . . . fm1 fm2 ...
a1n a2n
amn)
f1n f2n
fmn))
Boundary prole names must have all lowercase letters (e.g., name). Uppercase letters in boundary prole names are not acceptable. Each prole of type point, line, and mesh must contain elds with names x, y, and, for 3D, z. Each prole of type radial must contain a eld with name r. Each prole of type axial must contain a eld with name z. The rest of the names are arbitrary, but must be valid Scheme symbols. For compatibility with old-style prole les, if the prole type is missing, point is assumed.
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Example
A typical usage of a boundary prole le is to specify the prole of the boundary layer at an inlet. For a compressible ow calculation, this will be done using proles of total pressure, k, and . For an incompressible ow, it might be preferable to specify the inlet value of streamwise velocity, together with k and . Below is an example of a prole le that does this:
((turb-prof point 8) (x 4.00000E+00 4.00000E+00 4.00000E+00 4.00000E+00 (y 1.06443E-03 3.19485E-03 2.90494E-01 3.31222E-01 (u 5.47866E+00 6.59870E+00 1.01674E+01 1.01656E+01 (tke 4.93228E-01 6.19247E-01 6.89414E-03 6.89666E-03 (eps 1.27713E+02 6.04399E+01 9.78365E-03 9.79056E-03 )
4.00000E+00 4.00000E+00 5.33020E-03 3.84519E-01 7.05731E+00 1.01637E+01 5.32680E-01 6.90015E-03 3.31187E+01 9.80001E-03
4.00000E+00 4.00000E+00 ) 7.47418E-03 4.57471E-01 ) 7.40079E+00 1.01616E+01 ) 4.93642E-01 6.90478E-03 ) 2.21535E+01 9.81265E-03 )
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7.26.3
Using Boundary Proles
The procedure for using a boundary prole to dene a particular boundary condition is outlined below. 1. Create a le that contains the desired boundary prole, following the format described in Section 7.26.2: Boundary Prole File Format. 2. Read the boundary prole using the Read... button in the Boundary Proles panel (Figure 7.26.1) or the File/Read/Prole... menu item. Dene Proles... File Read Prole... 3. In the boundary conditions panels (e.g., the Velocity Inlet and Pressure Inlet panels), the elds dened in the prole le (and those dened in any other prole le that you have read in) will appear in the drop-down list to the right of or below each parameter for which prole specication is allowed. To use a particular prole, select it in the list.
Boundary proles cannot be used to dene volumetric source terms. If you want to dene a non-constant source term, you will need to use a user-dened function.
For more information on UDFs, refer to the separate UDF Manual. Note that if you use the Boundary Proles panel to read a le, and a prole in the le has the same name as an existing prole, the old prole will be overwritten.
Checking and Deleting Proles

Each prole le contains one or more proles, and each prole has one or more elds dened in it. Once you have read in a prole le, you can check which elds are dened in each prole, and you can also delete a particular prole. These tasks are accomplished in the Boundary Proles panel (Figure 7.26.1). Dene Proles... To check which elds are dened in a particular prole, select the prole name in the Prole list. The available elds in that le will be displayed in the Fields list. In Figure 7.26.1, the prole elds from the prole le of Section 7.26.2: Example are shown. To delete a prole, select it in the Proles list and click on the Delete button. When a prole is deleted, all elds dened in it will be removed from the Fields list.
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Figure 7.26.1: The Boundary Proles Panel
Example
For the example given in Section 7.26.2: Example, the proles are used for inlet values of x velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, and turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate, as illustrated in Figure 7.26.2. (The y velocity is set to a constant value of zero, since it is assumed negligible. However, a prole of y velocity could also be used.) Once the proles have been specied, the boundary conditions have been saved (OKd), and the ow solution has been initialized, you can view the inlet prole as follows: For 2D calculations, open the Solution XY Plot panel. Select the appropriate boundary zone in the Surfaces list, the variable of interest in the Y Axis Function drop-down list, and the desired Plot Direction. Ensure that the Node Values check button is turned on, and then click Plot. You should then see the inlet prole plotted. If the data plotted do not agree with your specied prole, this means that there is an error in the prole le. For 3D calculations, use the Contours panel to display contours on the appropriate boundary zone surface. The Node Values check button must be turned on in order for you to view the prole data. If the data shown in the contour plot do not agree with your specied prole, this means that there is an error in the prole le.
7.26.4
Reorienting Boundary Proles
For 3D cases only, FLUENT allows you to change the orientation of an existing boundary prole so that it can be used at a boundary positioned arbitrarily in space. This allows you, for example, to take experimental data for an inlet with one orientation and apply it to an inlet in your model that has a dierent spatial orientation. Note that FLUENT assumes that the prole and the boundary are planar.
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Figure 7.26.2: Example of Using Proles as Boundary Conditions
Steps for Changing the Prole Orientation

The procedure for orienting the boundary prole data in the principal directions of a boundary is outlined below: 1. Dene and read the boundary prole as described in Section 7.26.3: Using Boundary Proles. 2. In the Boundary Proles panel, select the prole in the Prole list, and then click on the Orient... button. This will open the Orient Prole panel (Figure 7.26.3). 3. In the Orient Prole panel, enter the name of the new prole you want to create in the New Prole box. 4. Specify the number of elds you want to create using the up/down arrows next to the New Fields box. The number of new elds is equal to the number of vectors and scalars to be dened plus 1 (for the coordinates). 5. Dene the coordinate eld. (a) Enter the names of the three coordinates (x, y, z) in the rst row under New Field Names.
Ensure that the coordinates are named x, y, and z only. Do not use any other names or upper case letters in this eld.
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Figure 7.26.3: The Orient Prole Panel
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(b) Select the appropriate local coordinate elds for x, y, and z from the dropdown lists under Compute From.... (A selection of 0 indicates that the coordinate does not exist in the original prole; i.e., the original prole was dened in 2D.) 6. Dene the vector elds in the new prole. (a) Enter the names of the 3 components in the directions of the coordinate axes of the boundary under New Field Names.
Do not use upper case letters in these elds.
(b) Select the names of the 3 components of the vector in the local x, y, and z directions of the boundary prole from the drop-down lists under Compute From.... 7. Dene the scalar elds in the new prole. (a) Enter the name of the scalar in the rst column under New Field Names.
Do not use upper case letters in these elds.
(b) Click on the button under Treat as Scalar Quantity in the same row. (c) Select the name of the scalar in the corresponding drop-down list under Compute From.... 8. Under Orient To..., specify the rotational matrix RM under the Rotation Matrix [RM]. The rotational matrix used here is based on Euler angles (, , and ) that dene an orthogonal system x y z as the result of the three successive rotations from the original system xyz. In other words,
x x y = [RM ] y z z RM = [C][B][A]
(7.26-1)
(7.26-2)
where C, B, and A are the successive rotations around the z, y, and x axes, respectively. Rotation around the z axis: cos sin 0 C = sin cos 0 0 0 1

(7.26-3)
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Rotation around the y axis: cos 0 sin 0 1 0 B= sin 0 cos Rotation around the x axis: 1 0 0 A = 0 cos sin 0 sin cos

(7.26-4)
(7.26-5)
9. Under Orient To..., specify the Direction Vector. The Direction Vector is the vector that translates a boundary prole to the new position, and is dened between the centers of the prole elds.
Note that depending on your case, it may be necessary to perform only a rotation, only a translation, or a combination of a translation and a rotation.
10. Click the Create button in the Orient Prole panel, and your new prole will be created. Its name, which you entered in the New Prole box, will now appear in the Boundary Proles panel and will be available for use at the desired boundary.
Prole Orienting Example

Consider the domain with a square inlet and outlet, shown in Figure 7.26.4. A scalar prole at the outlet is written out to a prole le. The purpose of this example is to impose this outlet prole on the inlet boundary via a 90 rotation about the x axis. However, the rotation will locate the prole away from the inlet boundary. To align the prole to the inlet boundary, a translation via a directional vector needs to be performed. The problem is shown schematically in Figure 7.26.5. out is the scalar prole of the outlet. out is the image of the out rotated 90 around the x axis. In this example, since = = 0, then C = B = I, where I is the identity matrix, and the rotation matrix is 1 0 0 1 0 0 RM = [C][B][A] = 0 cos 90 sin 90 = 0 0 1 0 sin 90 cos 90 0 1 0

(7.26-6)
To overlay the outlet prole on the inlet boundary, a translation will be performed. The directional vector is the vector that translates out to in . In this example, the directional vector is (0, 15, 10)T . The appropriate inputs for the Orient Prole panel are shown in Figure 7.26.3.
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1.99e+01 1.89e+01 1.79e+01 1.69e+01 1.59e+01 1.49e+01 1.39e+01 1.29e+01 1.19e+01 1.09e+01 9.94e+00 8.94e+00 7.95e+00 6.96e+00 5.96e+00 4.97e+00 3.97e+00 2.98e+00 1.99e+00 Y X Z 9.94e-01 0.00e+00
Outlet
Inlet
Contours of Velocity Magnitude (m/s)
Sep 03, 2003 FLUENT 6.2 (3d, segregated, ske)
Figure 7.26.4: Scalar Prole at the Outlet
Note that if the prole being imposed on the inlet boundary was due to a rotation of -90 about the x axis, then the rotational matrix RM must be found for = = 0 and = 90 , and a new directional vector must be found to align the prole to the boundary.
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Directional vector (0, 15, 10) T out
" " " " " " " " !!!!!! " !" ! ! !
10
Boundary Conditions
30
out

Rotation 90

in
10
10

7-212 Figure 7.26.5: Problem Specication

5
7.27 Fixing the Values of Variables

The option to x values of variables in FLUENT allows you to set the value of one or more variables in a uid or solid zone, essentially setting a boundary condition for the variables within the cells of the zone. When a variable is xed in a given cell, the transport equation for that variable is not solved in the cell (and the cell is not included when the residual sum is computed for that variable). The xed value is used for the calculation of face uxes between the cell and its neighbors. The result is a smooth transition between the xed value of a variable and the values at the neighboring cells.
i
7.27.1
You can x values for velocity components, temperature, and species mass fractions only if you are using the segregated solver.
Overview of Fixing the Value of a Variable
The ability to x the value of a variable has a wide range of applications. The velocity xing method is often used to model the ow in stirred tanks. This approach provides an alternative to the use of a rotating reference frame (solution in the reference frame of the blade) and can be used to model baed tanks. In both 2D and 3D geometries, a uid cell zone may be used in the impeller regions, and velocity components can be xed based on measured data. Although the actual impeller geometry can be modeled and the ow pattern calculated using the sliding mesh model, experimental data for the velocity prole in the outow region are available for many impeller types. If you do not need to know the details of the ow around the blades for your problem, you can model the impeller by xing the experimentally-obtained liquid velocities in its outow zone. The velocities in the rest of the vessel can then be calculated using this xed velocity prole as a boundary condition. Figure 7.27.1 shows an example of how this method is used to model the ow pattern created by a disk-turbine in an axisymmetric stirred vessel.
Variables That Can Be Fixed

The variables that can be xed include velocity components (segregated solver only), turbulence quantities, temperature (segregated solver only), enthalpy, species mass fractions (segregated solver only), and user-dened scalars. For turbulence quantities, dierent values can be set depending on your choice of turbulence model. You can x the value of the temperature in a uid or solid zone if you are solving the energy equation. If you are using the non-premixed combustion model, you can x the enthalpy in a uid zone. If you have more than one species in your model, you can specify xed values for the species mass fractions for each individual species except the last one you dened. See the separate UDF Manual for details about dening user-dened scalars. If you are using the Eulerian multiphase model, you can x the values of velocity components and (depending on which multiphase turbulence model you are using) turbulence
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.27.1: Fixing Values for the Flow in a Stirred Tank
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quantities on a per-phase basis. See Section 24.8.19: Eulerian Model for details about setting boundary conditions for Eulerian multiphase calculations.
7.27.2
Procedure for Fixing Values of Variables in a Zone
To x the values of one or more variables in a cell zone, follow these steps (remembering to use only SI units): 1. In the Fluid panel or Solid panel, turn on the Fixed Values option. 2. Fix the values for the appropriate variables, noting the comments below. To specify a constant value for a variable, choose constant in the drop-down list next to the relevant eld and then enter the constant value in the eld. To specify a non-constant value for a variable, you can use a boundary prole (see Section 7.26: Boundary Proles) or a user-dened function for a boundary prole (see the separate UDF Manual). Select the appropriate prole or UDF in the drop-down list next to the relevant eld. If you specify a radial-type boundary prole (see Section 7.26.1: Boundary Prole Specication Types) for temperature, enthalpy, species mass fractions, or turbulence quantities for the k- , Spalart-Allmaras, or k- model, the local coordinate system upon which the radial prole is based is dened by the Rotation-Axis Origin and Rotation-Axis Direction for the uid zone. See Section 7.17.1: Specifying the Rotation Axis for information about setting these parameters. (Note that it is acceptable to specify the rotation axis and direction for a non-rotating zone. This will not cause the zone to rotate; it will not rotate unless it has been explicitly dened as a moving zone.) If you do not want to x the value for a variable, choose (or keep) none in the drop-down list next to the relevant eld. This is the default for all variables.
Fixing Velocity Components

To x the velocity components, you can specify X, Y, and (in 3D) Z Velocity values, or, for axisymmetric cases, Axial, Radial, and (for axisymmetric swirl) Swirl Velocity values. The units for a xed velocity are m/s. For 3D cases, you can choose to specify cylindrical velocity components instead of Cartesian components. Turn on the Local Coordinate System For Fixed Velocities option, and then specify the Axial, Radial, and/or Tangential Velocity values. The local coordinate system is dened by the Rotation-Axis Origin and Rotation-Axis Direction for the uid zone. See Section 7.17.1: Specifying the Rotation Axis for information about setting these parameters. (Note that it is acceptable to specify the rotation axis and direction for a non-rotating zone. This will not cause the zone to rotate; it will not rotate unless it has been explicitly dened as a moving zone.)
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Boundary Conditions
You can x values for velocity components only if you are using the segregated solver.
Fixing Temperature and Enthalpy

If you are solving the energy equation, you can x the temperature in a zone by specifying the value of the Temperature. The units for a xed temperature are K. If you are using the non-premixed combustion model, you can x the enthalpy in a zone by specifying the value of the Enthalpy. The units for a xed enthalpy are m2 /s2 . If you specify a radial-type boundary prole (see Section 7.26.1: Boundary Prole Specication Types) for temperature or enthalpy, the local coordinate system upon which the radial prole is based is dened by the Rotation-Axis Origin and Rotation-Axis Direction for the uid zone. See above for details.
You can x the value of temperature only if you are using the segregated solver.
Fixing Species Mass Fractions

If you are using the species transport model, you can x the values of the species mass fractions for individual species. FLUENT allows you to x the species mass fraction for each species (e.g., h2, o2) except the last one you dened. If you specify a radial-type boundary prole (see Section 7.26.1: Boundary Prole Specication Types) for a species mass fraction, the local coordinate system upon which the radial prole is based is dened by the Rotation-Axis Origin and Rotation-Axis Direction for the uid zone. See above for details.
You can x values for species mass fractions only if you are using the segregated solver.
Fixing Turbulence Quantities

To x the values of k and in the k- equations, specify the Turbulence Kinetic Energy and Turbulence Dissipation Rate values. The units for k are m2 /s2 and those for are m2 /s3 . To x the value of the modied turbulent viscosity () for the Spalart-Allmaras model, specify the Modied Turbulent Viscosity value. The units for the modied turbulent viscosity are m2 /s. To x the values of k and in the k- equations, specify the Turbulence Kinetic Energy and Specic Dissipation Rate values. The units for k are m2 /s2 and those for are 1/s.
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7.28 Dening Mass, Momentum, Energy, and Other Sources
To x the value of k, , or the Reynolds stresses in the RSM transport equations, specify the Turbulence Kinetic Energy, Turbulence Dissipation Rate, UU Reynolds Stress, VV Reynolds Stress, WW Reynolds Stress, UV Reynolds Stress, VW Reynolds Stress, and/or UW Reynolds Stress. The units for k and the Reynolds stresses are m2 /s2 , and those for are m2 /s3 . If you specify a radial-type boundary prole (see Section 7.26.1: Boundary Prole Specication Types) for k, , , or , the local coordinate system upon which the radial prole is based is dened by the Rotation-Axis Origin and Rotation-Axis Direction for the uid zone. See above for details. Note that you cannot specify radial-type proles for the Reynolds stresses.
Fixing User-Dened Scalars

To x the value of a user-dened scalar, specify the User dened scalar-n value. (There will be one for each user-dened scalar you have dened.) The units for a user-dened scalar will be the appropriate SI units for the scalar quantity. See the separate UDF Manual for information on user-dened scalars.
7.28
Dening Mass, Momentum, Energy, and Other Sources
You can dene volumetric sources of mass (for single or multiple species), momentum, energy, turbulence, and other scalar quantities in a uid zone, or a source of energy for a solid zone. This feature is useful when you want to input a known value for these sources. (For more complicated sources with functional dependency, you can create a user-dened function as described in the separate UDF Manual.) To add source terms to a cell or group of cells, you must place the cell(s) in a separate zone. The sources are then applied to that cell zone. Typical uses for this feature are listed below: A ow source that cannot be represented by an inlet, e.g., due to an issue of scale. If you need to model an inlet that is smaller than a cell, you can place the cell where the tiny inlet is located in its own uid zone and then dene the mass, momentum, and energy sources in that cell zone. For the example shown in Figure 7.28.1, you should set a mass source of m = j Aj vj and a momentum source of mv = mvj , where V V V V V is the cell volume. Heat release due to a source (e.g., re) that is not explicitly dened in your model. For this case, you can place the cell(s) into which the heat is originally released in its own uid zone and then dene the energy source in that cell zone. An energy source in a solid zone, for conjugate heat transfer applications. For this case, you can place the cell(s) into which the heat is originally released in its own solid zone and then dene the energy source in that cell zone.
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Boundary Conditions
A species source due to a reaction that is not explicitly included in the model. In the above example of simulating a re, you might need to dene a source for a species representing smoke generation.
v
Aj
Figure 7.28.1: Dening a Source for a Tiny Inlet
Note that if you dene a mass source for a cell zone, you should also dene a momentum source and, if appropriate for your model, energy and turbulence sources. If you dene only a mass source, that mass enters the domain with no momentum or thermal heat. The mass will therefore have to be accelerated and heated by the ow and, consequently, there may be a drop in velocity or temperature. This drop may or may not be perceptible, depending on the size of the source. (Note that dening only a momentum, energy, or turbulence source is acceptable.)
Sign Conventions and Units

All positive source terms indicate sources, and all negative source terms indicate sinks. All sources must be specied in SI units.
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7.28.1
Procedure for Dening Sources
To dene one or more source terms for a zone, follow these steps (remembering to use only SI units): 1. In the Fluid panel or Solid panel, turn on the Source Terms option. 2. Set the appropriate source terms, noting the comments below. To specify a constant source, choose constant in the drop-down list next to the source term eld and then enter the constant value in the eld. To specify a temperature-dependent or other functional source, you can use a user-dened function (see the separate UDF Manual). Select the appropriate UDF in the drop-down list next to the relevant eld. If you do not want to specify a source term for a variable, choose (or keep) none in the drop-down list next to the relevant eld. This is the default for all variables. Remember that you should not dene just a mass source without dening the other sources, as described above. Since the sources you specify are dened per unit volume, to determine the appropriate value of your source term you will often need to rst determine the volume of the cell(s) in the zone for which you are dening the source. To do this, you can use the Volume Integrals panel.
Mass Sources
If you have only one species in your problem, you can simply dene a Mass source for that species. The units for the mass source are kg/m3 -s. In the continuity equation (Equation 9.2-1), the dened mass source will appear in the Sm term. If you have more than one species, you can specify mass sources for each individual species. There will be a total Mass source term as well as a source term listed explicitly for each species (e.g., h2, o2) except the last one you dened. If the total of all species mass sources (including the last one) is 0, then you should specify a value of 0 for the Mass source, and also specify the values of the non-zero individual species mass sources. Since you cannot specify the mass source for the last species explicitly, FLUENT will compute it by subtracting the sum of all other species mass sources from the specied total Mass source. For example, if the mass source for hydrogen in a hydrogen-air mixture is 0.01, the mass source for oxygen is 0.02, and the mass source for nitrogen (the last species) is 0.015, you will specify a value of 0.01 in the h2 eld, a value of 0.02 in the o2 eld, and a value of 0.045 in the Mass eld. This concept also applies within each cell if you use user-dened functions for species mass sources.
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Boundary Conditions The units for the species mass sources are kg/m3 -s. In the conservation equation for a chemical species (Equation 14.1-1), the dened mass source will appear in the Si term.
Momentum Sources
To dene a source of momentum, specify the X Momentum, Y Momentum, and/or Z Momentum term. The units for the momentum source are N/m3 . In the momentum equation (Equation 9.2-3), the dened momentum source will appear in the F term.
Energy Sources
To dene a source of energy, specify an Energy term. The units for the energy source are W/m3 . In the energy equation (Equation 12.2-1), the dened energy source will appear in the Sh term.
Turbulence Sources
Turbulence Sources for the k- Model To dene a source of k or in the k- equations, specify the Turbulence Kinetic Energy or Turbulence Dissipation Rate term. The units for the k source are kg/m-s3 and those for are kg/m-s4 . The dened k source will appear in the Sk term on the right-hand side of the turbulent kinetic energy equation (e.g., Equation 11.4-1). The dened source will appear in the S term on the right-hand side of the turbulent dissipation rate equation (e.g., Equation 11.4-2). Turbulence Sources for the Spalart-Allmaras Model To dene a source of modied turbulent viscosity, specify the Modied Turbulent Viscosity term. The units for the modied turbulent viscosity source are kg/m-s2 . In the transport equation for the Spalart-Allmaras model (Equation 11.3-1), the dened modied turbulent viscosity source will appear in the S term. Turbulence Sources for the k- Model To dene a source of k or in the k- equations, specify the Turbulence Kinetic Energy or Specic Dissipation Rate term. The units for the k source are kg/m-s3 and those for are kg/m3 -s2 . The dened k source will appear in the Sk term on the right-hand side of the turbulent kinetic energy equation (Equation 11.5-1). The dened source will appear in the S term on the right-hand side of the specic turbulent dissipation rate equation (Equation 11.5-2).
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Turbulence Sources for the Reynolds Stress Model To dene a source of k, , or the Reynolds stresses in the RSM transport equations, specify the Turbulence Kinetic Energy, Turbulence Dissipation Rate, UU Reynolds Stress, VV Reynolds Stress, WW Reynolds Stress, UV Reynolds Stress, VW Reynolds Stress, and/or UW Reynolds Stress terms. The units for the k source and the sources of Reynolds stress are kg/m-s3 , and those for are kg/m-s4 . The dened Reynolds stress sources will appear in the Suser term on the right-hand side of the Reynolds stress transport equation (Equation 11.6-1). The dened k source will appear in the Sk term on the right-hand side of Equation 11.6-23. The dened will appear in the S term on the right-hand side of Equation 11.6-26.
Mean Mixture Fraction and Variance Sources

To dene a source of the mean mixture fraction or its variance for the non-premixed combustion model, specify the Mean Mixture Fraction or Mixture Fraction Variance term. The units for the mean mixture fraction source are kg/m3 -s, and those for the mixture fraction variance source are kg/m3 -s. The dened mean mixture fraction source will appear in the Suser term in the transport equation for the mixture fraction (Equation 15.2-4). The dened mixture fraction variance source will appear in the Suser term in the transport equation for the mixture fraction variance (Equation 15.2-5). If you are using the two-mixture-fraction approach, you can also specify sources of the Secondary Mean Mixture Fraction and Secondary Mixture Fraction Variance.
P-1 Radiation Sources

To dene a source for the P-1 radiation model, specify the P1 term. The units for the radiation source are W/m3 , and the dened source will appear in the SG term in Equation 12.3-12. Note that, if the source term you are dening represents a transfer from internal energy to radiative energy (e.g., absorption or emission), you will need to specify an Energy source of the same magnitude as the P1 source, but with the opposite sign, in order to ensure overall energy conservation.
Progress Variable Sources

To dene a source of the progress variable for the premixed combustion model, specify the Progress Variable term. The units for the progress variable source are kg/m3 -s, and the dened source will appear in the Sc term in Equation 16.2-1.
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Boundary Conditions
NO, HCN, and NH3 Sources for the NOx Model

To dene a source of NO, HCN, or NH3 for the NOx model, specify the no, hcn, or nh3 term. The units for these sources are kg/m3 -s, and the dened sources will appear in the SNO , SHCN , and SNH3 terms of Equations 20.1-1, 20.1-2, and 20.1-3.
User-Dened Scalar Sources

To dene a source for a user-dened scalar transport equation, specify the User dened scalar-n term. (There will be one for each user-dened scalar you have dened.) The units for a user-dened scalar source will be the appropriate SI units for the scalar quantity. The source will appear in the Si term of the scalar transport equation. See the separate UDF Manual for information on user-dened scalars.
7.29
Coupling Boundary Conditions with GT-Power
GT-Power users can dene time-dependent boundary conditions in FLUENT based on information from GT-Power. During the FLUENT simulation, FLUENT and GT-Power are coupled together and information about the boundary conditions at each time step is transferred between them.
7.29.1
Requirements and Restrictions
Note the following requirements and restrictions for the GT-Power coupling: The ow must be unsteady. The compressible ideal gas law must be used for density. Each boundary zone for which you plan to dene conditions using GT-Power must be a ow boundary of one of the following types: velocity inlet mass ow inlet pressure inlet pressure outlet Also, a maximum of 20 boundary zones can be coupled to GT-Power. If a mass ow inlet or pressure inlet is coupled to GT-Power, you must select Normal to Boundary as the Direction Specication Method in the Mass-Flow Inlet or Pressure Inlet panel. For a velocity inlet, you must select Magnitude, Normal to Boundary as the Velocity Specication Method in the Velocity Inlet panel.
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7.29 Coupling Boundary Conditions with GT-Power
Boundary conditions for the following variables can be obtained from GT-Power: velocity temperature pressure density species mass fractions k and (Note that it is recommended that you dene these conditions in FLUENT yourself, rather than using the data provided by GT-Power, since the GT-Power values are based on a 1D model.) Make sure that the material properties you set in FLUENT are the same as those used in GT-Power, so that the boundary conditions will be valid for your coupled simulation. If your model includes species, make sure that the name of each species in GT-Power corresponds to the Chemical Formula for that species material in the Materials panel. Also, recall that FLUENT can handle a maximum of 50 species. You can install the GT-Power libraries in a directory other than the default location. If the GT-Power libraries are loaded into a non-default location, you need to set the following environment variables: FLUENT GTIHOME - the GTI installation directory where GT-Power is installed FLUENT GTIVERSION - the current version of the GTI installation
i
7.29.2
GTI is not backwards compatible.
User Inputs
The procedure for setting up the GT-Power coupling in FLUENT is presented below. 1. Read in the mesh le and dene the models, materials, and boundary zone types (but not the actual boundary conditions), noting the requirements and restrictions listed in Section 7.29.1: Requirements and Restrictions. 2. Specify the location of the GT-Power data and have FLUENT use them to generate user-dened functions for the relevant boundary conditions (using the 1D Simulation Library panel, shown in Figure 7.29.1). Dene User-Dened 1D Coupling... (a) Select GTpower in the 1D Library drop-down list. (b) Specify the name of the GT-Power input le in the 1D Input File Name eld.
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Boundary Conditions
Figure 7.29.1: The 1D Simulation Library Panel
(c) Click the Start button. When you click Start, GT-Power will start up and FLUENT user-dened functions for each boundary in the input le will be generated. 3. Set boundary conditions for all zones. For ow boundaries for which you are using GT-Power data, select the appropriate UDFs as the conditions.
Note that you must select the same UDF for all conditions at a particular boundary zone (as shown, for example, in Figure 7.29.2); this UDF contains all of the conditions at that boundary.
4. If you plan to continue the simulation at a later time, starting from the nal data le of the current simulation, specify how often you want to have the case and data les saved automatically. File Write Autosave... To use a GT-Power restart le to restart a FLUENT calculation, you must edit the GT-Power input data le. See the GT-Power Users Guide for instructions. 5. Continue the problem setup and calculate a solution in the usual manner.
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7.29 Coupling Boundary Conditions with GT-Power
Figure 7.29.2: Using GT-Power Data for Boundary Conditions
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Boundary Conditions
7.30 Coupling Boundary Conditions with WAVE

WAVE users can dene time-dependent boundary conditions in FLUENT based on information from WAVE. During the FLUENT simulation, FLUENT and WAVE are coupled together and information about the boundary conditions at each time step is transferred between them.
7.30.1
Requirements and Restrictions
Note the following requirements and restrictions for the WAVE coupling: WAVE needs to be installed and licensed. There are always ve species that must be modeled in FLUENT just as they are dened in WAVE (F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5). It is recommended that realistic material properties be assigned to each of the ve species. The ow must be unsteady. The compressible ideal gas law must be used for density. Each boundary zone for which you plan to dene conditions using WAVE must be a ow boundary of one of the following types: velocity inlet mass ow inlet pressure inlet pressure outlet Also, a maximum of 20 boundary zones can be coupled to WAVE. If a mass ow inlet or pressure inlet is coupled to WAVE, you must select Normal to Boundary as the Direction Specication Method in the Mass-Flow Inlet or Pressure Inlet panel. For a velocity inlet, you must select Magnitude, Normal to Boundary as the Velocity Specication Method in the Velocity Inlet panel. Boundary conditions for the following variables can be obtained from WAVE: velocity temperature pressure density species mass fractions
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k and (Note that you are required to dene these conditions in FLUENT yourself, since WAVE does not calculate them.) Make sure that the material properties you set in FLUENT are the same as those used in WAVE, so that the boundary conditions will be valid for your coupled simulation. If your model includes species, make sure that the name of each species in WAVE corresponds to the Chemical Formula for that species material in the Materials panel. Also, recall that FLUENT can handle a maximum of 50 species.
7.30.2
User Inputs
The procedure for setting up the WAVE coupling in FLUENT is presented below. 1. Read in the mesh le and dene the models, materials, and boundary zone types. 2. Specify the location of the WAVE data and have FLUENT use them to generate user-dened functions for the relevant boundary conditions (using the 1D Simulation Library panel, shown in Figure 7.30.1). Dene User-Dened 1D Coupling...
Figure 7.30.1: The 1D Simulation Library Panel with WAVE Selected
(a) Select WAVE in the 1D Library drop-down list. (b) Specify the name of the WAVE input le in the 1D Input File Name eld. (c) Click the Start button. When you click Start, WAVE will start up and FLUENT user-dened functions for each boundary in the input le will be generated.
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Boundary Conditions
3. Set boundary conditions for all zones. For ow boundaries for which you are using WAVE data, select the appropriate UDFs as the conditions.
Note that you must select the same UDF for all conditions at a particular boundary zone (as shown, for example, in Figure 7.30.2); this UDF contains all of the conditions at that boundary.
Figure 7.30.2: Using WAVE Data for Boundary Conditions
4. If you plan to continue the simulation at a later time, restarting from the nal data le of the current simulation, you need to instruct both FLUENTand WAVE how often that you want to automatically save your data. You should instruct FLUENT to automatically save case and data les at specied intervals using the autosave feature. File Write Autosave...
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In addition, you should instruct WAVE as to how often it should generate its own restart les. See the WAVE Users Guide for instructions on this feature.
To use the restart feature, the time interval for writing data les must be set to the same value in both FLUENT and WAVE. For example, if FLUENT has set the autosave feature to 100, then WAVE must also set the restart le write frequency to 100 as well.
5. Continue the problem setup and calculate a solution in the usual manner.
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Boundary Conditions
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Chapter 8.
Physical Properties
This chapter describes how to dene materials, the physical equations used to compute material properties, and the methods you can use for each property input. Each property is described in detail in the following sections. If you are using one of the general multiphase models (VOF, mixture, or Eulerian), see Section 24.8.7: Overview of Dening the Phases for information about how to dene the individual phases and their material properties. Section 8.1: Dening Materials Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions Section 8.3: Density Section 8.4: Viscosity Section 8.5: Thermal Conductivity Section 8.6: Specic Heat Capacity Section 8.7: Radiation Properties Section 8.8: Mass Diusion Coecients Section 8.9: Standard State Enthalpies Section 8.10: Standard State Entropies Section 8.11: Molecular Heat Transfer Coecient Section 8.12: Kinetic Theory Parameters Section 8.13: Operating Pressure Section 8.14: Reference Pressure Location Section 8.15: Real Gas Models
8-1
Physical Properties
8.1
Dening Materials
An important step in the setup of the model is to dene the materials and their physical properties. Material properties are dened in the Materials panel, where you can enter values for the properties that are relevant to the problem scope you have dened in the Models panel. These properties may include the following: Density and/or molecular weights Viscosity Heat capacity Thermal conductivity Mass diusion coecients Standard state enthalpies Kinetic theory parameters Properties may be temperature-dependent and/or composition-dependent, with temperature dependence based on a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function and individual component properties either dened by you or computed via kinetic theory. The Materials panel will show the properties that need to be dened for the active physical models. If any property you dene requires the energy equation to be solved (e.g., ideal gas law for density, temperature-dependent prole for viscosity), FLUENT will automatically activate the energy equation. Then you have to dene the thermal boundary conditions and other parameters yourself.
Physical Properties for Solid Materials

For solid materials, only density, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity are dened. If you are modeling semi-transparent media, case radiation properties are also dened. You can specify a constant value, a temperature-dependent function, or a user-dened function for thermal conductivity; a constant value or temperature-dependent function for heat capacity; and a constant value for density. If you are using the segregated solver, density and heat capacity for a solid material are not required unless you are modeling unsteady ow or moving solid zones. Heat capacity will appear in the list of solid properties for steady ows as well. The value will be used just for postprocessing enthalpy; not in the calculation.
8-2
8.1 Dening Materials
8.1.1
Material Types and Databases
In FLUENT, you can dene six types of materials: uids, solids, mixtures, combustingparticles, droplet-particles, and inert-particles. Physical properties of uids and solids are associated with named materials. These materials are then assigned as boundary conditions for zones. When you model species transport, dene a mixture material, consisting of the various species involved in the problem. Properties will be dened for the mixture, as well as for the constituent species, which are uid materials. The mixture material concept is discussed in detail in Section 14.1.2: Mixture Materials. Combusting-particles, dropletparticles, and inert-particles are available for the discrete-phase model, as described in Section 23.10.2: The Concept of Discrete-Phase Materials. FLUENT provides a built-in global database of approximately 675 predened materials along with their properties and default values for each property. To dene a material in the problem setup, you can copy materials from this global (site-wide) database and use the default properties or dene new materials by editing their properties. The FLUENT materials database is located in the following le: path/Fluent.Inc/fluent6.x/cortex/lib/propdb.scm where path is the directory in which you have installed FLUENT and the variable x corresponds to your release version, e.g., 2 for fluent6.2. In addition to using the FLUENT materials database, you can also create your own database and materials, and use it to dene the materials in your problem setup. See Section 8.1.3: Using a User-Dened Materials Database for information about creating and using user-dened custom material databases.
All the materials that exist in your local materials list will be saved in the case le (when you write one). The materials specied by you will be available to you if you read this case le into a new solver session.
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Physical Properties
8.1.2
Using the Materials Panel
The Materials panel (Figure 8.1.1) allows you to dene the materials and their properties in your problem setup using either the Fluent Database or a User-Dened Database. It allows you to copy materials from a database, create new materials, and modify material properties. These generic functions are described in this section. The inputs for temperaturedependent properties are explained in Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using TemperatureDependent Functions. The specic inputs for each material property are discussed in the remaining sections of this chapter. Dene Materials...
Figure 8.1.1: The Materials Panel
By default, your local materials list (i.e., in the solver session) will include a single uid material (air) and a single solid material (aluminum). If the uid involved in your problem is air, you can use the default properties for air or modify the properties. If the uid in your problem is water, you can either copy water from the FLUENT database or
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create a new water material from scratch. If you copy water from the database, you can still make modications to the properties of your local copy of water. Mixture materials will not exist in your local list unless you have enabled species transport (see Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry). Similarly, inert, droplet, and combusting particle materials will not be available unless you have created a discrete phase injection of these particle types (see Chapter 23: Discrete Phase Models). When a mixture material is copied from the database, all of its constituent uid materials (species) will automatically be copied over as well.
Modifying Properties of an Existing Material

Probably, the most common operation you will perform in the Materials panel is the modication of properties for an existing material. The steps for this procedure are as follows: 1. Select the type of material (uid, solid, etc.) in the Material Type drop-down list. 2. Choose the material for which you want to modify properties, in the Fluent Fluid Materials drop-down list, Fluent Solid Materials list, or other similarly named list. The name of the list will be the same as the material type you selected in step 1. 3. Make the required changes to the properties listed in the Properties section of the panel. You can use the scroll bar to the right of the Properties section to scroll through the listed items. 4. Click on the Change/Create button to change the properties of the selected material to your new property settings. To change the properties of an additional material, repeat the process described above. Click the Change/Create button after making changes to the properties for each material.
Renaming an Existing Material

Each material is identied by a name and a chemical formula (if one exists). You can change the name of a material, but not its chemical formula (unless you are creating a new material). The procedure for renaming a material is as follows: 1. Select the type of material (uid, solid, etc.) in the Material Type drop-down list. 2. Choose the material for which you want to modify properties, in the Fluent Fluid Materials list, Fluent Solid Materials list, or other similarly named list. The name of the list will be the same as the material type you selected in step 1. 3. Enter the new name in the Name eld at the top of the panel.
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Physical Properties
4. Click on the Change/Create button. A Question dialog box will appear, asking you if the original material should be overwritten. If you are renaming the original material, click Yes to overwrite it. If you were creating a new material, click No to retain the original material. To rename another material, repeat the process described above. Click the Change/Create button after renaming each material.
Copying Materials from the FLUENT Database

The global (site-wide) materials database contains many commonly used uid, solid, and mixture materials, with property data from several dierent sources [217, 285, 374]. To use one of these materials in your problem, copy it from the FLUENT database to your local materials list. The procedure for copying a material is as follows: 1. Click on the Fluent Database... button in the Materials panel to open the Fluent Database Materials panel (Figure 8.1.2). 2. Select the type of material (uid, solid, etc.) in the Material Type drop-down list. 3. In the Fluent Fluid Materials list, Fluent Solid Materials list, or other similarly named list, choose the materials you wish to copy by clicking on them. The properties of the selected material will be displayed in the Properties area. 4. To check the material properties, use the scroll bar to the right of the Properties area to scroll through the listed items. For some properties, temperature-dependent functions are available in addition to the constant values. Select one of the function types in the drop-down list to the right of the property and the relevant parameters will be displayed. You cannot edit these values, but the panels in which they are displayed function in the same way as those used for setting temperature-dependent property functions (Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions). The inactive buttons in the Fluent Database Materials panel are operations that are applicable only for a user-dened database. These operations will be available when you click the User-Dened Database... button in the Materials panel. 5. Click Copy. The materials and their properties will be downloaded from the database into your local list, and your copy of properties will now be displayed in the Materials panel. 6. Close the Fluent Database Materials panel.
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Figure 8.1.2: Fluent Database Materials Panel
After copying a material from the database, you can modify its properties or change its name, as described earlier in this section. The original material in the database will not be aected by any changes made to your local copy of the material.
Creating a New Material

If the material you want to use is not available in the database, you can easily create a new material for the local list. This material will be available for use only for the current problem and will not be saved in the FLUENT database. The procedure for creating a new material is as follows: 1. Select the new material type (uid, solid, etc.) in the Material Type drop-down list. It does not matter which material is selected in the Fluent Fluid Materials, Fluent Solid Materials, or other similarly named list. 2. Enter the new material name in the Name eld.
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Physical Properties
3. Set the materials properties in the Properties area. If there are many properties listed, you may use the scroll bar to the right of the Properties area to scroll through the listed items. 4. Click on the Change/Create button. A Question dialog box will appear, asking you if the original material should be overwritten. (a) Click on No to retain the original material and add your new material to the list. A panel will appear asking you to enter the chemical formula of your new material. (b) Enter the formula if it is known, and click OK. Else, leave the formula blank and click on OK. The Materials panel will be updated to show the new material name and chemical formula in the FluidMaterials list (or Fluent Solid Materials or other similarly named list).
Saving Materials and Properties

All the materials and properties in your local list are saved in the case le when it is written. If you read this case le into a new solver session, all of your materials and properties will be available for use in the new session.
Deleting a Material
If there are materials in your local materials list that you no longer need, you can delete them: 1. Select the type of material (uid, solid, etc.) in the Material Type drop-down list. 2. Choose the material to be deleted in the Fluent Fluid Materials drop-down list, Fluent Solid Materials list, or other similarly named list. The lists name will be the same as the material type you selected in step 1. 3. Click on the Delete button. Deleting materials from your local list will have no eect on the materials contained in the global database.
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Changing the Order of the Materials List

By default, the materials in your local list and those in the database are listed alphabetically by name (e.g., air, atomic-oxygen (o), carbon-dioxide (co2)). If you prefer to list them alphabetically by chemical formula, select the Chemical Formula option under Order Materials By. The example materials listed, will now be in the order of: air, co2 (carbon-dioxide), o (atomic-oxygen). To change back to the alphabetical listing by name, choose the Name option under Order Materials By. You may specify the ordering method separately for the Materials and Fluent Database Materials panels. For example, you can order the database materials by chemical formula and the local materials list by name. Each panel has its own Order Materials By options.
8.1.3
Using a User-Dened Materials Database
In addition to the Fluent Materials Database, you can also use or create a user-dened materials database using the User-Dened Materials Database panel. You can browse and do the following: select from existing user-dened databases copy materials from a user-dened database create a new database, create new materials add them to the user-dened database delete materials from the database copy materials from a case to a user-dened database view the database. The following sections will address each of these functionalities in detail.
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Physical Properties
Opening a User-Dened Database

If you have a database of custom materials as .scm les with data saved in the specied format you can open these databases in FLUENT and use them to dene the materials in your problem setup. Examples: The prescribed format for saving material properties information is shown here for air and aluminum. These les can be created in a text editor and saved with a .scm extension. (air fluid (chemical-formula . #f) (density (constant . 1.225) (premixed-combustion 1.225 300)) (specific-heat (constant . 1006.43)) (thermal-conductivity (constant . 0.0242)) (viscosity (constant . 1.7894e-05) (sutherland 1.7894e-05 273.11 110.56) (power-law 1.7894e-05 273.11 0.666)) (molecular-weight (constant . 28.966)) ) (aluminum (solid) (chemical-formula . al) (density (constant . 2719)) (specific-heat (constant . 871)) (thermal-conductivity (constant . 202.4)) (formation-entropy (constant . 164448.08)) ) To select a user-dened database, click the User-Dened Database... button in the Materials panel. This will open the Open Database panel.
Figure 8.1.3: Open Database Panel
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Click the Browse... button, select the database in the Select File dialog box that opens and click OK. Click OK in the Open Database panel to open the User-Dened Database Materials panel.
Viewing Materials in a User-Dened Database

When an existing user-dened database is opened, the materials present in the database are listed in the User-Dened Database Materials panel. You can select the material type in the Material Type drop-down list and the corresponding materials will appear in the User-Dened Liquid Materials, User-Dened Solid Materials or other similarly named list (the lists name will be the same as the material type you selected).
Figure 8.1.4: User-Dened Database Materials Panel
The properties of the selected material will appear in the Properties section of the panel. This panel is similar to the Fluent Database Materials panel in function and operation.
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Physical Properties
Copying Materials from a User-Dened Database

The procedure for copying a material from a custom database is as follows: 1. In the Materials panel, click the User-Dened Database... button and open the database from which you want to copy the material. 2. In the User-Dened Database Materials panel of the selected database, select the type of material (uid, solid, etc.) in the Material Type drop-down list. 3. In the User-Dened Fluid Materials list, User-Dened Solid Materials list, or other similarly named list (the lists name will be the same as the material type you selected in step 2), choose the materials you wish to copy by clicking on them. The properties are displayed in the Properties area. 4. If you want to check the material properties, use the scroll bar to the right of the Properties area to scroll through the listed items. 5. Click on the Copy button. The selected materials and their properties will be copied from the database into your local list, and your copy of the properties will now be displayed in the Materials panel. To copy all the materials from the database in one step, click the shaded icon to the right of the User-Dened Materials title and click Copy. If a material with the same name is already dened in the case, FLUENT will prompt you to enter a new name and formula in the New Material Name panel. Enter a new name and formula in the respective elds and click OK to make a local copy of the material.
Figure 8.1.5: New Material Name Panel
6. Close the User-Dened Database Materials panel.
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After copying a material from the database, you may modify its properties or change its name, as described earlier in Section 8.1.2: Using the Materials Panel. The material in the database will not be aected by any changes you make to your local copy of the material.
Copying Materials from the Case To a User-Dened Database

You can copy materials that are dened in your problem setup to an existing or new material database. The procedure for copying materials from the case le to a database is as follows: 1. In the Materials panel, click User-Dened Database.... 2. In the Open Database panel, select the database to which you want to copy the material. If you want to create a new database, enter the name of the new database in the Database Name eld and click OK. A Question dialog box will ask you to conrm if you want to create a new le. Click Yes to conrm. 3. In the User-Dened Database Materials panel, click Copy Materials From Case..... This will open the Copy Case Material panel.
Figure 8.1.6: Copy Case Material Panel
(a) In the Copy Case Material panel, select the materials that you want to copy. To select all the materials, click on the shaded icon to the right of the Case Materials title. Clicking on the unshaded icon will deselect the selections in the list. (b) Click Copy and close the panel. Note: Do not copy materials one by one. This will result in previously copied materials getting overwritten by the new ones. Instead, select all the materials to be copied at once and click Copy.
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Physical Properties
Modifying Properties of an Existing Material

You can modify the properties of an existing material and use the modied material in the problem setup and save the modied material to the materials database. 1. In the Materials panel, click on the User-Dened Database... button and open the database that you want to use. (a) In the User-Dened Database Materials panel of the selected database, select the type of material (uid, solid, etc.) in the Material Type drop-down list. (b) In the User-Dened Fluid Materials list, User-Dened Solid Materials list, or other similarly named list. The name of the list will be the same as the material type you selected in step (a). Select the material to be modied. (c) Click Edit... to open the Material Properties panel. i. In the Material Properties list, select the property to be modied and click Edit... to open the Edit Property Methods panel. ii. Select the method to be modied in the Material Properties list of the Edit Property Methods panel and click Edit... under Edit Properties, in order to modify the properties. iii. Make the changes in the corresponding method panel and click OK. iv. Click Apply in the Material Properties panel. (d) To use the modied material in the problem setup, click Copy in the UserDened Database Materials panel and close the panel. (e) To save the modied material to the database, click Save.
Creating a New Materials Database and Materials

Using the User-Dened Database Materials panel, you can create a new materials database, copy materials to this database, and also create new materials from scratch. The procedure for creating a new database and add new materials to the database is as follows: 1. In the Materials panel, click User-Dened Database.... 2. In the Open Database panel, enter the name of the database that you are creating and click OK. 3. A dialog box will appear asking you conrm the creation of a new le. Click Yes to conrm. This will open a blank User-Dened Database Materials (Figure 8.1.7) panel.
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Figure 8.1.7: User-Dened Database Materials Panel: Blank
4. Click New... in the User-Dened Database Materials panel. This will open a blank Material Properties panel. (a) In the Material Properties panel, under Types, select the material type. You can select from uid, solid, inter-particle, droplet-particle, combusting-particle, and mixture materials. (b) Enter the name and formula (if required) of the material that you are creating in the Name and Formula elds. (c) Depending on the type of material selected in the Types list, properties applicable to that material type will appear in the Available Properties list. Select the properties that are applicable for the material that you are dening by clicking on them. (d) Click the button to move these properties to the Material Properties list on the right and click Apply. You can use the button to move the property from the Material Properties list to the Available Properties list.
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Physical Properties
Figure 8.1.8: Material Properties Panel: Blank
5. To edit the parameters that dene a property, select the property in the Material Properties list and click Edit.... This opens the Edit Property Methods panel. (a) The methods that can be used to dene the selected property are listed in the Available Properties list. You can select one or more methods and specify them for the material that you are dening, by selecting and moving them to the Material Properties list. (b) To modify each of these methods, you can select the method in the Edit Properties drop-down list and click Edit.... This will open the corresponding property panel, where you can modify the parameters used by the property method. Refer to Sections 8.2 to 8.15 for details of these properties, methods used to dene the properties and the parameters for each method. (c) Click OK in the Edit Property Methods panel. 6. Click Apply in the Material Properties panel. 7. Click Save in the User-Dened Database Materials panel to save the changes to the new materials database. Similarly, you can also append new materials to an existing database. Select the existing database in the Open Database panel. Create new materials and click save to append these materials to the existing database.
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Figure 8.1.9: Edit Property Methods Panel
Deleting Materials from a Database

To delete a material from a database, click the User-Dened Database button in the Materials panel. Select the database in the Open Database panel and click OK. Select the Material Type and the materials that you want to delete in the User-Dened Materials list and click Delete. Click Save to save the database.
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Physical Properties
8.2
Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions

Material properties can be dened as functions of temperature. For most properties, you can dene a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function of temperature: Polynomial: (T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... Piecewise-linear: (T ) = n + n+1 n (T Tn ) Tn+1 Tn (8.2-2) (8.2-1)
where 1 n N and N is the number of segments Piecewise-polynomial:
for Tmin,1 T < Tmax,1 : (T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... for Tmin,2 T < Tmax,2 : (T ) = B1 + B2 T + B3 T 2 + ... In the equations above, is the property.
(8.2-3)
If you dene a polynomial or piecewise-polynomial function of temperature, the temperature in the function is always in units of Kelvin or Rankine. If you use Celsius or Kelvin as the temperature unit, then polynomial coecient values must be entered in terms of Kelvin. If you use Fahrenheit or Rankine as the temperature unit, enter the values in terms of Rankine.
Some properties have additional functions available and for some only a subset of these three functions can be used. See the section on the property in question to determine which temperature-dependent functions you can use.
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8.2 Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions
8.2.1
Inputs for Polynomial Functions
To dene a polynomial function of temperature for a material property, do the following: 1. In the Materials panel, choose polynomial in the drop-down list to the right of the property name (e.g., Density). The Polynomial Prole panel (Figure 8.2.1) will open automatically.
Figure 8.2.1: The Polynomial Prole Panel
Note: Since this is a modal panel, the solver will not allow you to do anything else until you perform the following steps. (a) Specify the number of Coecients up to 8 coecients are available. The number of coecients denes the order of the polynomial. The default of 1 denes a polynomial of order 0. The property will be constant and equal to the single coecient A1 . An input of 2 denes a polynomial of order 1 and the property will vary linearly with temperature and so on. (b) Dene the coecients. Coecients 1, 2, 3,... correspond to A1 ,A2 , A3 ,... in Equation 8.2-1. The panel in Figure 8.2.1 shows the inputs for the following function: (T ) = 1000 0.02T (8.2-4)
Note the restriction on the units for temperature, as described above.
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Physical Properties
8.2.2
Inputs for Piecewise-Linear Functions
To dene a piecewise-linear function of temperature for a material property, do the following: 1. In the Materials panel, choose piecewise-linear in the drop-down list to the right of the property name (e.g., Viscosity).The Piecewise-Linear Prole panel (Figure 8.2.2) will open automatically.
Figure 8.2.2: The Piecewise-Linear Prole Panel
Since this is a modal panel, the solver will not allow you to do anything else until you perform the following steps. (a) Set the number of Points dening the piecewise distribution. (b) Under Data Points, enter the data pairs for each point. First enter the independent and dependent variable values for Point 1, then increase the Point number and enter the appropriate values for each additional pair of variables. The pairs of points must be supplied in the order of increasing value of temperature. The solver will not sort them for you. A maximum of 30 piecewise points can be dened for each property. The panel in Figure 8.2.2 shows the nal inputs for the prole depicted in Figure 8.2.3.
If the temperature exceeds the maximum Temperature (Tmax ) you have specied for the prole, FLUENT will use the Value corresponding to Tmax . If the temperature falls below the minimum Temperature (Tmin ) specied for your prole, FLUENT will use the Value corresponding to Tmin .
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8.2 Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions
3
Viscosity, 10 5 (Pa-sec)
(440, 2.445 10-5 )
(360, 2.117 10 ) -5 (300, 1.846 10 ) (250, 1.599 10 -5 )
-5
1
250 300 350 400 450
Temperature, T (K)
Figure 8.2.3: Piecewise-Linear Denition of Viscosity as (T )
8.2.3 Inputs for Piecewise-Polynomial Functions

To dene a piecewise-polynomial function of temperature for a material property, follow these steps: 1. In the Materials panel, choose piecewise-polynomialin the drop-down list to the right of the property name (e.g., Cp). The Piecewise-Polynomial Prole panel(Figure 8.2.4)will open automatically. Since this is a modal panel, rst perform the following steps.
Figure 8.2.4: The Piecewise-Polynomial Prole Panel
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Physical Properties
2. Specify the number of Ranges. For the example of Equation 8.2-5, two ranges of temperatures are dened:
cp (T ) =
for 300 T < 1000 : 429.929 + 1.874T 1.966 103 T 2 + 1.297 106 T 3 4.000 1010 T 4
for 1000 T < 5000 : 841.377 + 0.593T 2.415 104 T 2 + 4.523 108 T 3 3.153 1012 T 4
(8.2-5)
You may dene up to three ranges. The ranges must be supplied in the order of increasing value of temperature. The solver will not sort them for you. 3. For the rst range (Range = 1), specify the Minimum and Maximum temperatures, and the number of Coecients. (Up to eight coecients are available.) The number of coecients denes the order of the polynomial. The default of 1 denes a polynomial of order 0. The property will be constant and equal to the single coecient A1 . An input of 2 denes a polynomial of order 1. The property will vary linearly with temperature and so on. 4. Dene the coecients. Coecients 1, 2, 3,... correspond to A1 ,A2 , A3 ,... in Equation 8.2-3. The panel in Figure 8.2.4 shows the inputs for the rst range of Equation 8.2-5. 5. Increase the value of Range and enter the Minimum and Maximum temperatures, number of Coecients, and the Coecients (B1 ,B2 , B3 ,...) for the next range. Repeat if there is a third range.
8.2.4
Checking and Modifying Existing Proles
If you want to check or change the coecients, data pairs, or ranges for a previouslydened prole, click on the Edit... button to the right of the property name. The appropriate panel will open, and you can check or modify the inputs as desired.
In the Fluent Database Materials panel, you cannot edit the proles, but you can examine them by clicking on the View... button (instead of the Edit... button.)
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8.3 Density
8.3
Density
FLUENT provides several options for denition of the uid density: constant density temperature and/or composition dependent density Each of these input options and the governing physical models are explained in the following sections. In all cases, you will dene the Density in the Materials panel. Dene Materials...
8.3.1
Dening Density for Various Flow Regimes
The selection of density in FLUENT is very important. Set the density relationship based on your ow regime. For compressible ows, the ideal gas law is the appropriate density relationship. For incompressible ows, you may choose one of the following methods: Constant density, if you do not want density to be a function of temperature. The incompressible ideal gas law, when pressure variations are small enough that the ow is fully incompressible but you wish to use the ideal gas law to express the relationship between density and temperature (e.g., for a natural convection problem). Density as a polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function of temperature, when the density is a function of temperature only, as in a natural convection problem. The Boussinesq model, for natural convection problems involving small changes in temperature.
Mixing Density Relationships in Multiple-Zone Models

If your model has multiple uid zones that use dierent materials, you should be aware of the following: For calculations with the segregated solver that do not use one of the general multiphase models, the compressible ideal gas law cannot be mixed with any other density methods. This means that if the compressible ideal gas law is used for one material, it must be used for all materials. This restriction does not apply to the coupled solvers.
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Physical Properties
There is only one specied operating pressure and one specied operating temperature. This means that if you are using the ideal gas law for more than one material, they will share the same operating pressure. If you are using the Boussinesq model for more than one material, they will share the same operating temperature.
8.3.2
Input of Constant Density
If you want to dene the density of the uid as a constant, select constant in the Density drop-down list under Properties in the Materials panel. Enter the value of density for the material. For the default uid (air), the density is 1.225 kg/m3 .
8.3.3
Inputs for the Boussinesq Approximation
To enable the Boussinesq approximation for density, choose boussinesq from the Density drop-down list in the Materials panel and specify a constant value for Density. You will also need to set the Thermal Expansion Coecient, as well as relevant operating conditions, as described in Section 12.5.3: The Boussinesq Model.
8.3.4
Density as a Prole Function of Temperature
If you are modeling a problem that involves heat transfer, you can dene the density as a function of temperature. Three types of functions are available: Piecewise-linear: (T ) = n + Piecewise-polynomial: for Tmin,1 T < Tmax,1 : (T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... for Tmin,2 T < Tmax,2 : (T ) = B1 + B2 T + B3 T 2 + ... Polynomial: (T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... (8.3-4) n+1 n (T Tn ) Tn+1 Tn (8.3-1)
(8.3-2) (8.3-3)
For one of the these methods, select piecewise-linear, piecewise-polynomial, or polynomial in the Density drop-down listYou can enter the data pairs (Tn , n ), ranges and coecients, or coecients that describe these functions using the Materials panel, as described in Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions.
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8.3 Density
8.3.5
Incompressible Ideal Gas Law
In FLUENT, if you choose to dene the density using the ideal gas law for an incompressible ow, the solver will compute the density as = where, R Mw pop = = = the universal gas constant the molecular weight of the gas operating pressure pop R T Mw (8.3-5)
In this form, the density depends only on the operating pressure and not on the local relative pressure eld.
Density Inputs for the Incompressible Ideal Gas Law

The inputs for the incompressible ideal gas law are as follows: 1. Enable the ideal gas law for an incompressible uid by choosing incompressible-idealgas from the drop-down list to the right of Density in the Materials panel. Specify the incompressible ideal gas law individually for each material that you want to use it for. See Section 8.3.7: Composition-Dependent Density for Multicomponent Mixtures for information on specifying the incompressible ideal gas law for mixtures. 2. Set the operating pressure by dening the Operating Pressure in the Operating Conditions panel. Dene Operating Conditions...
By default, operating pressure is set to 101325 Pa. The input of the operating pressure is of great importance when you are computing density with the ideal gas law. See Section 8.13: Operating Pressure for recommendations on setting appropriate values for the operating pressure.
3. Set the molecular weight of the homogeneous or single-component uid (if no chemical species transport equations are to be solved), or the molecular weights of each uid material (species) in a multicomponent mixture. For each uid material, enter the value of the Molecular Weight in the Materials panel.
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Physical Properties
8.3.6
Ideal Gas Law for Compressible Flows
For compressible ows, the gas law is as following: = where, p pop = the local relative (or gauge) pressure predicted by FLUENT = the operating pressure pop + p R T Mw (8.3-6)
Density Inputs for the Ideal Gas Law for Compressible Flows
The inputs for the ideal gas law are as follows: 1. Enable the ideal gas law for a compressible uid by choosing ideal-gas from the drop-down list to the right of Density in the Materials panel. Specify the ideal gas law individually for each material that you want to use it for. See Section 8.3.7: Composition-Dependent Density for Multicomponent Mixtures for information on specifying the ideal gas law for mixtures. 2. Set the operating pressure by dening the Operating Pressure in the Operating Conditions panel. Dene Operating Conditions...
The input of the operating pressure is of great importance when you are computing density with the ideal gas law. Equation 8.3-6 notes that the operating pressure is added to the relative pressure eld computed by the solver, yielding the absolute static pressure. See Section 8.13: Operating Pressure for recommendations on setting appropriate values for the operating pressure. By default, Operating pressure is set to 101325 Pa.
3. Set the molecular weight of the homogeneous or single-component uid (if no chemical species transport equations are to be solved), or the molecular weights of each uid material (species) in a multicomponent mixture. For each uid material, enter the value of the Molecular Weight in the Materials panel.
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8.3 Density
8.3.7
Composition-Dependent Density for Multicomponent Mixtures
If you are solving species transport equations, set properties for the mixture material and for the constituent uids (species), as described in detail in Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species. To dene a composition-dependent density for a mixture, do the following: 1. Select the density method: For non-ideal-gas mixtures, select the volume-weighted-mixing-law method for the mixture material in the drop-down list to the right of Density in the Materials panel. If you are modeling compressible ow, select ideal-gas for the mixture material in the drop-down list to the right of Density in the Materials panel. If you are modeling incompressible ow using the ideal gas law, select incompressible-ideal-gas for the mixture material in the Density drop-down list in the Materials panel. If you have a user-dened function that you want to use to model the density, you can choose either the user-dened method or the user-dened-mixing-law method for the mixture material in the drop-down list. The only dierence between the user-dened-mixing-law and the user-dened option for specifying density, viscosity and thermal conductivity of mixture materials, is that with the user-dened-mixing-law option, the individual properties of the species materials can also be specied. (Note that only the constant, the polynomial methods and the user-dened methods are available.) 2. Click Change/Create. 3. If you have selected volume-weighted-mixing-law, dene the density for each of the uid materials that comprise the mixture. You may dene constant or (if applicable) temperature-dependent densities for the individual species. 4. If you selected user-dened-mixing-law, dene the density for each of the uid materials that comprise the mixture. You may dene constant, or (if applicable) temperature-dependent densities, or user-dened densities for the individual species. For more information on dening properties with user-dened functions, see the separate UDF Manual.
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Physical Properties
If you are modeling a non-ideal-gas mixture, FLUENT will compute the mixture density as = 1
Yi i i
(8.3-7)
where Yi is the mass fraction and i is the density of species i. For compressible ows, the gas law has the following form: = where, p R Yi Mw,i pop = = = = = the the the the the local relative (or gauge) pressure predicted by FLUENT universal gas constant mass fraction of species i molecular weight of species i operating pressure pop + p Yi RT i Mw,i (8.3-8)
In FLUENT, if you choose to dene the density using the ideal gas law for an incompressible ow, the solver will compute the density as = where, R Yi Mw,i pop = = = = the the the the universal gas constant mass fraction of species i molecular weight of species i operating pressure pop RT
Yi i Mw,i
(8.3-9)
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8.4 Viscosity
8.4
Viscosity
FLUENT provides several options for denition of the uid viscosity: Constant viscosity Temperature dependent and/or composition dependent viscosity Kinetic theory Non-Newtonian viscosity User-dened function Each of these input options and the governing physical models are detailed in this section. (User-dened functions are described in the separate UDF Manual.) In all cases, dene the Viscosity in the Materials panel. Dene Materials... Viscosities are input as dynamic viscosity () in units of kg/m-s in SI units or lbm /ft-s in British units. FLUENT does not ask for input of the kinematic viscosity ().
8.4.1
Input of Constant Viscosity
If you want to dene the viscosity of your uid as a constant, select constant in the guiViscosity drop-down list in the Materials panel, and enter the value of viscosity for the uid. For the default uid (air), the viscosity is 1.7894 105 kg/m-s.
8.4.2
Viscosity as a Function of Temperature
If you are modeling a problem that involves heat transfer, you can dene the viscosity as a function of temperature. Five types of functions are available: Piecewise-linear: (T ) = n + Piecewise-polynomial: n+1 n (T Tn ) Tn+1 Tn (8.4-1)
for Tmin,1 T < Tmax,1 : (T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... for Tmin,2 T < Tmax,2 : (T ) = B1 + B2 T + B3 T 2 + ...
(8.4-2) (8.4-3)
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Physical Properties
Polynomial: (T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... Sutherlands law Power law (8.4-4)
The power law described here is dierent from the non-Newtonian power law described in Section 8.4.5: Viscosity for Non-Newtonian Fluids.
For one of the rst three, select piecewise-linear, piecewise-polynomial, polynomial in the Viscosity drop-down list and then enter the data pairs (Tn , n ), ranges and coecients, or coecients that describe these functions Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using TemperatureDependent Functions. For Sutherlands law or the power law, choose sutherland or powerlaw respectively in the drop-down list and enter the parameters.
Sutherland Viscosity Law

Sutherlands viscosity law resulted from a kinetic theory by Sutherland (1893) using an idealized intermolecular-force potential. The formula is specied using two or three coecients. Sutherlands law with two coecients has the form C1 T 3/2 T + C2
= where, T C1 and C2 Yi Mw,i pop = = = = = = the the the the the the
(8.4-5)
viscosity in kg/m-s static temperature in K coecients mass fraction of species i molecular weight of species i operating pressure
For air at moderate temperatures and pressures, C1 = 1.458 106 kg/m-s-K1/2 , and C2 = 110.4 K.
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8.4 Viscosity
Sutherlands law with three coecients has the form T T0

3/2
= 0 where, T 0 T0 S = = = = =
T0 + S T +S
(8.4-6)
the viscosity in kg/m-s the static temperature in K reference value in kg/m-s reference temperature in K an eective temperature in K (Sutherland constant)
For air at moderate temperatures and pressures, 0 = 1.7894 105 kg/m-s, T0 = 273.11 K, and S = 110.56 K. Inputs for Sutherlands Law To use Sutherlands law, choose sutherland in the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity. The Sutherland Law panel will open, and you can enter the coecients as follows: 1. Select the Two Coecient Method or the Three Coecient Method.
Use SI units if you choose the two-coecient method.
2. For the Two Coecient Method, set C1 and C2. For the Three Coecient Method, set the Reference Viscosity 0 , the Reference Temperature T0 , and the Eective Temperature S.
Power-Law Viscosity Law

Another common approximation for the viscosity of dilute gases is the power-law form. For dilute gases at moderate temperatures, this form is considered to be slightly less accurate than Sutherlands law. A power-law viscosity law with two coecients has the form = BT n (8.4-7)
where is the viscosity in kg/m-s, T is the static temperature in K, and B is a dimensional coecient. For air at moderate temperatures and pressures, B = 4.093 107 , and n = 2/3.
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Physical Properties
A power-law viscosity law with three coecients has the form = 0 T T0

n
(8.4-8)
where is the viscosity in kg/m-s, T is the static temperature in K, T0 is a reference value in K, 0 is a reference value in kg/m-s. For air at moderate temperatures and pressures, 0 = 1.716 105 kg/m-s, T0 = 273 K, and n = 2/3.
The non-Newtonian power law for viscosity is described in Section 8.4.5: Viscosity for Non-Newtonian Fluids.
Inputs for the Power Law To use the power law, choose power-law in the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity. The Power Law panel will open, and you can enter the coecients as follows: 1. Select the Two Coecient Method or the Three Coecient Method.
Note that you must use SI units if you choose the two-coecient method.
2. For the Two Coecient Method, set B and the Temperature Exponent n. For the Three Coecient Method, set the Reference Viscosity 0 , the Reference Temperature T0 , and the Temperature Exponent n.
8.4.3
Dening the Viscosity Using Kinetic Theory
If you are using the gas law (as described in Section 8.3: Density), you have the option to dene the uid viscosity using kinetic theory as = 2.67 10
6
Mw T 2
(8.4-9)
where is in units of kg/m-s, T is in units of Kelvin, is in units of Angstroms, and = (T ) where T = T ( /kB ) (8.4-10)
The Lennard-Jones parameters, and /kB , are inputs to the kinetic theory calculation that you supply by selecting kinetic-theory from the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity in the Materials panel. The solver will use these kinetic theory inputs in Equation 8.4-9 to compute the uid viscosity. See Section 8.12: Kinetic Theory Parameters for details about these inputs.
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8.4 Viscosity
8.4.4
Composition-Dependent Viscosity for Multicomponent Mixtures
If you are modeling a ow that includes more than one chemical species (multicomponent ow), you have the option to dene a composition-dependent viscosity. (Note that you can also dene the viscosity of the mixture as a constant value or a function of temperature.) To dene a composition-dependent viscosity for a mixture, follow these steps: 1. For the mixture material, choose mass-weighted-mixing-law or, if you are using the ideal gas law for density, ideal-gas-mixing-law in the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity. If you have a user-dened function that you want to use to model the viscosity, you can choose either the user-dened method or the user-dened-mixinglaw method for the mixture material in the drop-down list. 2. Click Change/Create. 3. Dene the viscosity for each of the uid materials that comprise the mixture. You may dene constant or (if applicable) temperature-dependent viscosities for the individual species. You may also use kinetic theory for the individual viscosities, or specify a non-Newtonian viscosity, if applicable. 4. If you selected user-dened-mixing-law, dene the viscosity for each of the uid materials that comprise the mixture. You may dene constant, or (if applicable) temperature-dependent viscosities, or user-dened viscosities for the individual species. For more information on dening properties with user-dened functions, see the separate UDF Manual . The only dierence between the user-dened-mixing-law and the user-dened option for specifying density, viscosity and thermal conductivity of mixture materials, is that with the user-dened-mixing-law option, the individual properties of the species materials can also be specied. (Note that only the constant, the polynomial methods and the user-dened methods are available.) If you are using the ideal gas law, the solver will compute the mixture viscosity based on kinetic theory as =
i
Xi i j Xi ij
(8.4-11)
where 1+ ij =
i j 1/2 Mw,j Mw,i 1/4 2
8 1+
Mw,i Mw,j
1/2
(8.4-12)
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Physical Properties
and Xi is the mole fraction of species i. For non-ideal gas mixtures, the mixture viscosity is computed based on a simple mass fraction average of the pure species viscosities: =
i
Yi i
(8.4-13)
8.4.5
Viscosity for Non-Newtonian Fluids
For incompressible Newtonian uids, the shear stress is proportional to the rate-ofdeformation tensor D: = D where D is dened by uj ui + xi xj (8.4-14)
D=
(8.4-15)
and is the viscosity, which is independent of D. For some non-Newtonian uids, the shear stress can similarly be written in terms of a non-Newtonian viscosity : = D D (8.4-16)
In general, is a function of all three invariants of the rate-of-deformation tensor D. However, in the non-Newtonian models available in FLUENT, is considered to be a function of the shear rate only. is related to the second invariant of D and is dened as 1 D:D 2
(8.4-17)
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8.4 Viscosity
FLUENT provides four options for modeling non-Newtonian ows: Power law Carreau model for pseudo-plastics Cross model Herschel-Bulkley model for Bingham plastics
Note that the non-Newtonian power law described below is dierent from the power law described in Section 8.4.2: Power-Law Viscosity Law.
Note: Non-newtonian model for single phase is available for the mixture model and it is recommended that this should be attached to the primary phase. Appropriate values for the input parameters for these models can be found in the literature (e.g., [344]).
Power Law for Non-Newtonian Viscosity

If you choose non-newtonian-power-law in the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity, non-Newtonian ow will be modeled according to the following power law for the nonNewtonian viscosity: = k n1 eT0 /T (8.4-18)
FLUENT allows you to place upper and lower limits on the power law function, yielding the following equation: min < = k n1 eT0 /T < max (8.4-19)
where k, n, T0 , min , and max are input parameters. k is a measure of the average viscosity of the uid (the consistency index); n is a measure of the deviation of the uid from Newtonian (the power-law index), as described below; T0 is the reference temperature; and min and max are, respectively, the lower and upper limits of the power law. If the viscosity computed from the power law is less than min , the value of min will be used instead. Similarly, if the computed viscosity is greater than max , the value of max will be used instead. Figure 8.4.1 shows how viscosity is limited by min and max at low and high shear rates. The value of n determines the class of the uid: n=1 n>1 n<1 Newtonian uid shear-thickening (dilatant uids) shear-thinning (pseudo-plastics)
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Physical Properties
max
log
min
log
Figure 8.4.1: Variation of Viscosity with Shear Rate According to the NonNewtonian Power Law
.
Inputs for the Non-Newtonian Power Law To use the non-Newtonian power law, choose non-newtonian-power-law in the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity. The Non-Newtonian Power Law panel will open, and you can enter the Consistency Index k, Power-Law Index n, Reference Temperature T0 , Minimum Viscosity Limit min , and Maximum Viscosity Limit max . For temperature-independent viscosity, the value of T0 should be set to zero. If the energy equation is not being solved, FLUENT uses a default value of T =273 K in Equation 8.4-18.
The Carreau Model for Pseudo-Plastics

The power law model described in Equation 8.4-18 results in a uid viscosity that varies with shear rate. For 0, 0 , and for , , where 0 and are, respectively, the upper and lower limiting values of the uid viscosity. The Carreau model attempts to describe a wide range of uids by the establishment of a curve-t to piece together functions for both Newtonian and shear-thinning (n < 1) non-Newtonian laws. In the Carreau model, the viscosity is = + (0 )[1 + (eT0 /T )2 ](n1)/2 (8.4-20)
where the parameters n, , T0 , 0 , and are dependent upon the uid. is the time constant, n is the power-law index (as described above for the non-Newtonian power law), T0 is the reference temperature, and 0 and are, respectively, the zero- and innite-shear viscosities. Figure 8.4.2 shows how viscosity is limited by 0 and at low and high shear rates.
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8.4 Viscosity
0
log
log
Figure 8.4.2: Variation of Viscosity with Shear Rate According to the Carreau Model
.
Inputs for the Carreau Model To use the Carreau model, choose carreau in the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity. The Carreau Model panel will open, and you can enter the Time Constant , Power-Law Index n, Reference Temperature T0 , Zero Shear Viscosity 0 , and Innite Shear Viscosity . For temperature-independent viscosity, the value of T0 should be set to zero. If the energy equation is not being solved, FLUENT uses a default value of T =273 K in Equation 8.4-20.
Cross Model
The Cross model for viscosity is = where 0 0 1 + ()1n (8.4-21)
= zero-shear-rate viscosity = natural time (i.e., inverse of the shear rate at which the uid changes from Newtonian to power-law behavior) = power-law index
The Cross model is commonly used when it is necessary to describe the low-shear-rate behavior of the viscosity.
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Physical Properties
Inputs for the Cross Model To use the Cross model, choose cross in the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity. The Cross Model panel will open, and you can enter the Zero Shear Viscosity 0 , Time Constant , and Power-Law Index n .
Herschel-Bulkley Model for Bingham Plastics

The power law model described above is valid for uids for which the shear stress is zero when the strain rate is zero. Bingham plastics are characterized by a non-zero shear stress when the strain rate is zero: = 0 + D where 0 is the yield stress: For < 0 , the material remains rigid. For > 0 , the material ows as a power-law uid. The Herschel-Bulkley model combines the eects of Bingham and power-law behavior in a uid. For low strain rates ( < 0 /0 ), the rigid material acts like a very viscous uid with viscosity 0 . As the strain rate increases and the yield stress threshold, 0 , is passed, the uid behavior is described by a power law. 0 + k[ n (0 /0 )n ] = where k is the consistency factor, and n is the power-law index. Figure 8.4.3 shows how shear stress ( ) varies with shear rate () for the Herschel-Bulkley model. If you choose the Herschel-Bulkley model for Bingham plastics, Equation 8.4-23 will be used to determine the uid viscosity. The Herschel-Bulkley model is commonly used to describe materials such as concrete, mud, dough, and toothpaste, for which a constant viscosity after a critical shear stress is a reasonable assumption. In addition to the transition behavior between a ow and no-ow regime, the Herschel-Bulkley model can also exhibit a shear-thinning or shear-thickening behavior depending on the value of n. (8.4-23) (8.4-22)
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8.5 Thermal Conductivity

n>1 Bingham (n=1) 0<n<1
0
Figure 8.4.3: Variation of Shear Stress with Shear Rate According to the Herschel-Bulkley Model
Inputs for the Herschel-Bulkley Model To use the Herschel-Bulkley model, choose herschel-bulkley in the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity. The Herschel-Bulkley panel will open, and you can enter the Consistency Index k, Power-Law Index n, Yield Stress Threshold 0 , and Yielding Viscosity 0 .
8.5
Thermal Conductivity
The thermal conductivity must be dened when heat transfer is active. You will need to dene thermal conductivity when you are modeling energy and viscous ow. FLUENT provides several options for denition of the thermal conductivity: Constant thermal conductivity Temperature- and/or composition-dependent thermal conductivity Kinetic theory User-dened function Anisotropic (general, biaxial, or orthotropic) (for solid materials only) Each of these input options and the governing physical models are detailed in this section. (User-dened functions are described in the separate UDF Manual.) In all cases, you will dene the Thermal Conductivity in the Materials panel. Dene Materials... Thermal conductivity is dened in units of W/m-K in SI units or BTU/hr-ft- R in British units.
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Physical Properties
8.5.1
Input of Constant Thermal Conductivity
If you want to dene the thermal conductivity as a constant, check that constant is selected in the drop-down list to the right of Thermal Conductivity in the Materials panel, and enter the value of thermal conductivity for the material. For the default uid (air), the thermal conductivity is 0.0242 W/m-K.
8.5.2 Thermal Conductivity as a Function of Temperature

You can also choose to dene the thermal conductivity as a function of temperature. Three types of functions are available: piecewise-linear: k(T ) = kn + piecewise-polynomial: kn+1 kn (T Tn ) Tn+1 Tn (8.5-1)
for Tmin,1 T < Tmax,1 : k(T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... for Tmin,2 T < Tmax,2 : k(T ) = B1 + B2 T + B3 T 2 + ... polynomial: k(T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ...
(8.5-2) (8.5-3)
(8.5-4)
You can input the data pairs (Tn , kn ), ranges and coecients Ai and Bi , or coecients Ai that describe these functions using the Materials panel, as described in Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions.
8.5.3
Dening the Thermal Conductivity Using Kinetic Theory
If you are using the gas law (as described in Section 8.3: Density), you have the option to dene the thermal conductivity using kinetic theory as k= 15 R 4 c p Mw 1 + 4 Mw 15 R 3 (8.5-5)
where R is the universal gas constant, Mw is the molecular weight, is the materials specied or computed viscosity, and cp is the materials specied or computed specic heat capacity.
8-40
To enable the use of this equation for calculating thermal conductivity, select kinetictheory from the drop-down list to the right of Thermal Conductivity in the Materials panel. The solver will use Equation 8.5-5 to compute the thermal conductivity.
8.5.4
Composition-Dependent Thermal Conductivity for Multicomponent Mixtures
If you are modeling a ow that includes more than one chemical species (multicomponent ow), you have the option to dene a composition-dependent thermal conductivity. (Note that you can also dene the thermal conductivity of the mixture as a constant value or a function of temperature, or using kinetic theory.) To dene a composition-dependent thermal conductivity for a mixture, follow these steps: 1. For the mixture material, choose mass-weighted-mixing-law or, if you are using the ideal gas law, ideal-gas-mixing-law in the drop-down list to the right of Thermal Conductivity. If you have a user-dened function that you want to use to model the thermal conductivity, you can choose either the user-dened method or the user-dened-mixing-law method for the mixture material in the drop-down list. The only dierence between the user-dened-mixing-law and the user-dened option for specifying density, viscosity and thermal conductivity of mixture materials, is that with the user-dened-mixing-law option, the individual properties of the species materials can also be specied. (Note that only the constant, the polynomial methods and the user-dened methods are available.)
If you use ideal-gas-mixing-law for the thermal conductivity of a mixture, you must use ideal-gas-mixing-law or mass-weighted-mixing-law for viscosity, because these two viscosity specication methods are the only ones that allow specication of the component viscosities, which are used in the ideal gas law for thermal conductivity (Equation 8.5-6).
2. Click Change/Create. 3. Dene the thermal conductivity for each of the uid materials that comprise the mixture. You may dene constant or (if applicable) temperature-dependent thermal conductivities for the individual species. You may also use kinetic theory for the individual thermal conductivities, if applicable. 4. If you selected user-dened-mixing-law, dene the thermal conductivity for each of the uid materials that comprise the mixture. You may dene constant, or (if applicable) temperature-dependent thermal conductivities, or user-dened thermal conductivities for the individual species. For more information on dening properties with user-dened functions, see the separate UDF Manual.
8-41
Physical Properties
If you are using the ideal gas law, the solver will compute the mixture thermal conductivity based on kinetic theory as k=
i
Xi ki j Xj ij
(8.5-6)
where 1+ ij =
i j 1/2 Mw,j Mw,i 1/4 2
8 1+ and Xi is the mole fraction of species i.
Mw,i Mw,j
1/2
(8.5-7)
For non-ideal gases, the mixture thermal conductivity is computed based on a simple mass fraction average of the pure species conductivities: k=
i
Yi k i
(8.5-8)
8.5.5
Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity for Solids
The anisotropic conductivity option in FLUENT solves the conduction equation in solids with the thermal conductivity specied as a matrix. The heat ux vector is written as qi = kij T xj (8.5-9)
Four options are available: orthotropic, cylindrical orthotropic, user-dened anisotropic, and general anisotropic.
Note that the anisotropic conductivity options are available only with the segregated solver; you cannot use them with the coupled solvers.
Biaxial Thermal Conductivity

Biaxial thermal conductivity is mainly applicable to solid materials used for the wall shell conduction model. To dene a biaxial thermal conductivity, select biaxial in the drop-down list to the right of Thermal Conductivity in the Materials panel. This opens the Biaxial Conductivity panel (Figure 8.5.1). Both the conductivity normal to the surface of the solid region (Transverse Conductivity) and the conductivity within the shell, or solid region (Planar Conductivity) can be dened as constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial using the drop-down list
8-42
Figure 8.5.1: The Biaxial Conductivity Panel
below each of the conductivities (see Sections 8.5.1 and 8.5.2 for more details). Within the shell, however, the conductivity is isotropic. See Section 7.13.1: Shell Conduction in Thin-Walls for more information about shell conduction in walls.
Orthotropic Thermal Conductivity

When the orthotropic thermal conductivity is used, the thermal conductivities (k , k , k ) in the principal directions ( , e , e ) are specied. The conductivity matrix is then e computed as kij = k ei ej + k ei ej + k ei ej (8.5-10)
To dene an orthotropic thermal conductivity, select orthotropic in the drop-down list to the right of Thermal Conductivity in the Materials panel. This opens the Orthotropic Conductivity panel (Figure 8.5.2). Since the directions ( , e , e ) are mutually orthogonal, only the rst two need to be e specied for three-dimensional problems. e is dened using X,Y,Z under Direction 0 Components, and e is dened using X,Y,Z under Direction 1 Components. You can dene Conductivity 0 (k ), Conductivity 1 (k ), and Conductivity 2 (k ) as constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial functions of temperature, using the drop-down list below each of the conductivities (see Sections 8.5.1 and 8.5.2 for more details). For two-dimensional problems, only the functions (k , k ) and the unit vector ( ) need e to be specied.
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Physical Properties
Figure 8.5.2: The Orthotropic Conductivity Panel
Cylindrical Orthotropic Thermal Conductivity

The orthotropic conductivity of solids can be specied in cylindrical coordinates. To dene the orthotropic thermal conductivity in cylindrical coordinates, select cyl-orthotropic in the drop-down list to the right of Thermal Conductivity in the Materials panel. This opens the Cylindrical Orthotropic Conductivity panel (Figure 8.5.3). In three-dimensional cases, the origin and the direction of the cylindrical coordinate system must be specied along with the radial, tangential, and axial direction conductivities. In two-dimensional cases, the origin of the cylindrical coordinate system must be specied along with the radial and tangential direction conductivities. Note that in two-dimensional cases, the direction is always along the +z axis. You can dene the Radial Conductivity, Tangential Conductivity, and Axial Conductivity as constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, piecewise-polynomial, or as user-dened functions of temperature, using the drop-down list below each of the conductivities (see Sections 8.5.1 and 8.5.2 for more details).
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Figure 8.5.3: The Cylindrical Orthotropic Conductivity Panel
FLUENT will automatically compute the anisotropic conductivity matrix at each cell from this input. The calculation is based on the location of the cell in the cylindrical coordinate system specied.
For conductivity calculations near the wall, the cell next to the wall is chosen for computing the conductivity matrix instead of the wall itself.
User-Dened Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity

In the Material panel, you can dene the anisotropic thermal conductivity of the solid material using a user-dened function (UDF). The user-dened option become available in the corresponding drop-down list when the UDF has been created and loaded into FLUENT. Note that the non-isotropic thermal conductivity dened in the UDF must utilize the DEFINE PROPERTY macro. For more information on creating and using userdened function, see the separate UDF Manual.
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Physical Properties
General Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity

The thermal conductivity matrix is specied as kij = kij e (8.5-11)
where k is the conductivity and eij is a matrix (2 2 for two dimensions and 3 3 for three-dimensional problems). To dene a general anisotropic thermal conductivity, select anisotropic in the drop-down list to the right of Thermal Conductivity in the Materials panel. This opens the Anisotropic Conductivity panel (Figure 8.5.4).
Figure 8.5.4: The Anisotropic Conductivity Panel
Note that eij can be a non-symmetric matrix, and you can specify its components under Matrix Components in the Anisotropic Conductivity panel. k can be specied as a function of temperature using any of the usual methods (constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, piecewise-polynomial) or user-dened function which are selected from the drop-down list below Conductivity (see Sections 8.5.1 and 8.5.2 for more details).
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8.6 Specic Heat Capacity
8.6
Specic Heat Capacity

The specic heat capacity must be dened when the energy equation is active. FLUENT provides several options for denition of the heat capacity: Constant heat capacity Temperature- and/or composition-dependent heat capacity Kinetic theory Each of these input options and the governing physical models are detailed in this section. In all cases, you will dene the Cp in the Materials panel. Dene Materials... Specic heat capacity is input in units of J/kg-K in SI units or BTU/lbm- R in British units.
For combustion applications, a temperature-dependent specic heat is recommended.
8.6.1 Input of Constant Specic Heat Capacity

If you want to dene the heat capacity as a constant, check that constant is selected in the drop-down list to the right of Cp in the Materials panel, and enter the value of heat capacity. The specic heat for the default uid (air) is 1006.43 J/kg-K.
8.6.2
Specic Heat Capacity as a Function of Temperature
You can also choose to dene the specic heat capacity as a function of temperature. Three types of functions are available: piecewise-linear: cp (T ) = cpn + piecewise-polynomial: cpn+1 cpn (T Tn ) Tn+1 Tn (8.6-1)
for Tmin,1 T < Tmax,1 : cp (T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... for Tmin,2 T < Tmax,2 : cp (T ) = B1 + B2 T + B3 T 2 + ...
(8.6-2) (8.6-3)
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Physical Properties
polynomial: cp (T ) = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... (8.6-4)
You can input the data pairs (Tn , cpn ), ranges and coecients Ai and Bi , or coecients Ai that describe these functions using the Materials panel, as described in Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions.
8.6.3
Dening Specic Heat Capacity Using Kinetic Theory
If you are using the gas law (as described in Section 8.3: Density), you have the option to dene the specic heat capacity using kinetic theory as cp,i = 1 R (fi + 2) 2 Mw,i (8.6-5)
where fi is the number of modes of energy storage (degrees of freedom) for the gas species i which you can input by selecting kinetic-theory from the drop-down list to the right of Cp in the Materials panel. The solver will use your kinetic theory inputs in Equation 8.6-5 to compute the specic heat capacity. See Section 8.12: Kinetic Theory Parameters for details about kinetic theory inputs.
8.6.4
Specic Heat Capacity as a Function of Composition
If you are modeling a ow that includes more than one chemical species (multicomponent ow), you have the option to dene a composition-dependent specic heat capacity. (Note that you can also dene the heat capacity of the mixture as a constant value or a function of temperature, or using kinetic theory.) To dene a composition-dependent specic heat capacity for a mixture, follow these steps: 1. For the mixture material, choose mixing-law in the drop-down list to the right of Cp. 2. Click Change/Create. 3. Dene the specic heat capacity for each of the uid materials that comprise the mixture. You may dene constant or (if applicable) temperature-dependent heat capacities for the individual species. You may also use kinetic theory for the individual heat capacities, if applicable.
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8.7 Radiation Properties
The solver will compute the mixtures specic heat capacity as a mass fraction average of the pure species heat capacities: cp =
i
Yi cp,i
(8.6-6)
8.7
Radiation Properties
When you have activated one of the radiation models (except for the surface-to-surface model, which requires no additional properties), there will be additional properties for you to set in the Materials panel: For the P-1 model, you will need to set the radiation Absorption Coecient and Scattering Coecient (a and s in Equation 12.3-9). For the Rosseland radiation model, you will also need to set the Absorption Coecient and Scattering Coecient (a and s in Equation 12.3-10). For the DTRM, only the Absorption Coecient is required (a in Equation 12.3-2). For the DO model, you will set both the Absorption Coecient and the Scattering Coecient (a and s in Equation 12.3-37). In addition, if you are modeling semi-transparent media, you can specify the Refractive Index (na or nb in Equation 12.3-51). Note that with the DO model, you can specify radiation properties for solid materials, to be used when semi-transparent media are modeled. Information about dening each of these properties is provided in the following sections.
8.7.1
Absorption Coefcient
To dene the absorption coecient, you can specify a constant value, a temperaturedependent function (see Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions), a composition-dependent function, or a user-dened function. The absorbing and emitting parts of the radiative transfer equation (RTE), Equation 12.3-1, is a function of the absorption coecient. The absorbing or emitting eects depend on the chosen radiation model. If there are only absorption eects,then Lamberts Law of absorption applies I = Io exp (ax) (8.7-1) where I is the radiation intensity, a is the absorption coecient, and x is the distance through the material. If you are modeling non-gray radiation with the DO radiation model, you also have the option to specify a constant absorption coecient in each of the gray bands. The absorption coecient is requested in units of 1/length. Along with the scattering coecient, it
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Physical Properties
describes the change in radiation intensity per unit length along the path through the uid medium. Absorption coecients can be computed using tables of emissivity for CO2 and H2 O, which are generally available in textbooks on radiation heat transfer.
Inputs for a Constant Absorption Coefcient

To dene a constant absorption coecient, simply enter the value in the eld next to Absorption Coecient in the Materials panel. (Select constant in the drop-down list rst if it is not already selected.)
Inputs for a Composition-Dependent Absorption Coefcient

FLUENT also allows you to input a composition-dependent absorption coecient, with the local value of a a function of the local mass fractions of water vapor and carbon dioxide. This modeling option can be useful for simulation of radiation in combustion applications. The variable-absorption-coecient model used by FLUENT is the weightedsum-of-gray-gases model (WSGGM) described in Section 12.3.9: Radiation in Combusting Flows. To activate it, select wsggm-cell-based, wsggm-domain-based, or wsggm-userspecied in the drop-down list to the right of Absorption Coecient in the Materials panel. The three WSGGM options dier in the method used to compute the path length, as described below. (Remember that you must rst enable the species calculation in order to see the wsggm choices in the list, and CO2 and H2 O must be present in the mixture.) Path Length Inputs When the WSGGM is used to compute the absorption coecient, you will have a choice of methods used to calculate the path length s in Equation 12.3-87. You can use the characteristic cell size or the mean beam length (computed by the solver or dened by you). See Section 12.3.9: Radiation in Combusting Flows to determine which method is appropriate for your case. You will select the path length method when you choose the property input method for Absorption Coecient as described above. If you choose wsggm-cell-based, the characteristic-cell-size approach will be used and no further inputs are required. If you choose wsggm-domain-based, the mean-beam-length approach will be used for the calculation of a and FLUENT will compute the mean beam length based on an average dimension of the domain; no further inputs are required. If you choose wsggm-user-specied, the mean-beam-length approach will be used, but you will set the mean beam length yourself in the Path Length eld in the
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8.7 Radiation Properties
WSGGM User Specied panel. This panel will open when you choose wsggm-userspecied, and since it is a modal panel, you must tend to it immediately.
Inputs for a Non-Gray Radiation Absorption Coefcient

If you are using the non-gray DO model (see Sections 12.3.6 and 12.3.15), you can specify a dierent constant absorption coecient for each of the bands used by the gray-band model. Select gray-band in the Absorption Coecient drop-down list, and then dene the absorption coecient for each band in the Gray-Band Absorption Coecient panel. (Note that, since this is a modal panel, you must tend to it immediately.)
Effect of Particles and Soot on the Absorption Coefcient

FLUENT will include the eect of particles on the absorption coecient if you have turned on the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete Phase Model panel (only for the P-1 and DO radiation models). If you are modeling soot formation and you want to include the eect of soot formation on the absorption coecient, turn on the Generalized Model for Soot-Radiation Interaction in the Soot Model panel. The soot eects can be included for any of the radiation models, as long as you are using the WSGGM to compute a composition-dependent absorption coecient.
8.7.2
Scattering Coefcient
The scattering coecient is, by default, set to zero, and it is assumed to be isotropic. You can specify a constant value, a temperature-dependent function (see Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions), or a user-dened function. You can also specify a non-isotropic phase function. The scattering coecient is requested in units of 1/length. Along with the absorption coecient, it describes the change in radiation intensity per unit length along the path through the uid medium. You may wish to increase the scattering coecient in combustion systems, where particulates may be present.
Inputs for a Constant Scattering Coefcient

To dene a constant scattering coecient, simply enter the value in the eld next to Scattering Coecient in the Materials panel. (Select constant in the drop-down list rst if it is not already selected.)
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Physical Properties
Inputs for the Scattering Phase Function

Scattering is assumed to be isotropic, by default, but you can also specify a linearanisotropic scattering function. If you are using the DO model, Delta-Eddington and user-dened scattering functions are also available. Isotropic Phase Function To model isotropic scattering, select isotropic in the Scattering Phase Function drop-down list. No further inputs are necessary. This is the default setting in FLUENT. Linear-Anisotropic Phase Function To model anisotropic scattering, select linear-anisotropic in the Scattering Phase Function drop-down list and set the value of the phase function coecient (C in Equation 12.3-10). Delta-Eddington Phase Function To use a Delta-Eddington phase function, select delta-eddington in the Scattering Phase Function drop-down list. This will open the Delta-Eddington Scattering Function panel,in which you can specify the Forward Scattering Factor and Asymmetry Factor (f and C in Equation 12.3-41). Note that, since this is a modal panel, you must tend to it immediately. User-Dened Phase Function To use a user-dened phase function, select user-dened in the Scattering Phase Function drop-down list. The user-dened function must contain specications for and f in Equation 12.3-42. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions.
8.7.3
Refractive Index
The refractive index is, by default, set to 1. It is used only if you are modeling semitransparent media with the DO radiation model. You can specify a constant value in the eld next to Refractive Index.
8.7.4
Reporting the Radiation Properties
You can display the computed local values for a and s using the Absorption Coecient and Scattering Coecient items in the Radiation... category of the variable selection dropdown list that appears in postprocessing panels. You will also nd the Refractive Index in the Radiation... category.
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8.8 Mass Diffusion Coefcients
8.8
Mass Diffusion Coefcients

For species transport calculations, there are two ways to model the diusion of chemical species. For most applications the Ficks law approximation is adequate, but for some applications (e.g., diusion-dominated laminar ows such as chemical vapor deposition), the full multicomponent diusion model is recommended.
The full multicomponent diusion model is enabled in the Species Model panel. Also, note that the full multicomponent diusion model is computationally expensive.
8.8.1 Fickian Diffusion

Mass diusion coecients are required whenever you are solving species transport equations in multi-component ows. Mass diusion coecients are used to compute the diusion ux of a chemical species in a laminar ow using (by default) Ficks law: Ji = Di,m Yi DT,i T T (8.8-1)
where Di,m is the mass diusion coecient for species i in the mixture and DT,i is the thermal (Soret) diusion coecient. Equation 8.8-1 is strictly valid when the mixture composition is not changing, or when Di,m is independent of composition. This is an acceptable approximation in dilute mixtures when Yi << 1, for all i except the carrier gas. FLUENT can also compute the transport of non-dilute mixtures in laminar ows by treating such mixtures as multicomponent systems. Within FLUENT, Di,m can be specied in a variety of ways, including by specifying Dij , the binary mass diusion coecient of component i in component j. Dij is not used directly, however; instead, the diusion coecient in the mixture, Di,m , is computed as Di,m = 1 Xi (Xj /Dij )
j,j=i
(8.8-2)
where Xi is the mole fraction of species i. You can input Di,m or Dij for each chemical species, as described in Section 8.8.4: Mass Diusion Coecient Inputs. In turbulent ows, Equation 8.8-1 is replaced with the following form: Ji = (Di,m + t ) Sct Yi DT,i T T (8.8-3)
where Sct is the eective Schmidt number for the turbulent ow:
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Physical Properties
Sct =
t Dt
(8.8-4)
and Dt is the eective mass diusion coecient due to turbulence. In turbulent ows your mass diusion coecient inputs consist of dening the molecular contribution to diusion Di,m using the same methods available for the laminar case, with the added option to alter the default settings for the turbulent Schmidt number. As seen from Equation 8.8-4, this parameter relates the eective mass diusion coecient due to turbulence with the eddy viscosity t . As discussed in Section 8.8.5: Mass Diffusion Coecient Inputs for Turbulent Flow, the turbulent diusion coecient normally overwhelms the laminar diusion coecient, so the default constant value for the laminar diusion coecient is usually acceptable.
8.8.2
Full Multicomponent Diffusion
A careful treatment of chemical species diusion in the species transport and energy equations is important when details of the molecular transport processes are signicant (e.g., in diusion-dominated laminar ows). As one of the laminar-ow diusion models, FLUENT has the ability to model full multicomponent species transport.
General Theory
For multicomponent systems it is not possible, in general, to derive relations for the diusion uxes containing the gradient of only one component (as described in Section 8.8.1: Fickian Diusion). Here, the Maxwell-Stefan equations will be used to obtain the diusive mass ux. This will lead to the denition of generalized Ficks law diusion coecients [347]. This method is preferred over computing the multicomponent diusion coecients since their evaluation requires the computation of N 2 co-factor determinants of size (N 1) (N 1), and one determinant of size N N [336], where N is the number of chemical species.
Maxwell-Stefan Equations
From Merk [223], the Maxwell-Stefan equations can be written as
N
j=1
Xi Xj T Vj Vi = di Dij T
N
j=1
Xi Xj Dij
DT,j DT,i j i
(8.8-5)
j=i
j=i
where X is the mole fraction, V is the diusion velocity, Dij is the binary mass diusion coecient, and DT is the thermal diusion coecient.
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For an ideal gas the Maxwell diusion coecients are equal to the binary diusion coefcients. If the external force is assumed to be the same on all species and that pressure diusion is negligible, then di = Xi . Since the diusive mass ux vector is Ji = i Vi , the above equation can be written as
N
j=1
j=i
Xi Xj Jj Ji = Dij j i
Xi
T T
N
j=1
Xi Xj Dij
DT,j DT,i j i
(8.8-6)
j=i
After some mathematical manipulations, the diusive mass ux vector, Ji , can be obtained from
N 1
Ji =
j=1
Dij Yj DT,i
T T
(8.8-7)
where Yj is the mass fraction of species j. Other terms are dened as follows:
Dij = [D] = [A]1 [B]

N Xi Mw Xj Mw Aii = + D M Dij Mw,i iN w,N j=1 j=i
(8.8-8)
(8.8-9)
Aij = Xi Bii Bij
1 Mw 1 Mw Dij Mw,j DiN Mw,N Mw Mw = Xi + (1 Xi ) Mw,N Mw,i Mw Mw = Xi Mw,j Mw,N
(8.8-10) (8.8-11) (8.8-12)
where [A] and [B] are (N 1) (N 1) matrices and [D] is an (N 1) (N 1) matrix of the generalized Ficks law diusion coecients Dij [347].
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Physical Properties
8.8.3
Thermal Diffusion Coefcients
The thermal diusion coecients can be dened as constants, polynomial functions, user-dened functions, or using the following empirically-based composition-dependent expression derived from [175]:

N 0.511 Mw,i Xi 0.489 Mw,i Xi
DT,i = 2.59 10 T
0.659
M 0.511 Xi w,i N 0.511

i=1
Mw,i Xi
Yi i=1 N
(8.8-13)
i=1
This form of the Soret diusion coecient will cause heavy molecules to diuse less rapidly, and light molecules to diuse more rapidly, towards heated surfaces.
8.8.4 Mass Diffusion Coefcient Inputs

By default, the solver computes the species diusion using Equation 8.8-1 (for laminar ows) with your inputs for Di,m , the diusion coecient for species i in the mixture. For turbulent ows, species diusion is computed with Equation 8.8-3. You can input the mass diusion coecients using one of the following methods: constant dilute approximation (Fickian diusion only): dene one constant for all Di,m . dilute approximation (Fickian diusion only): dene each Di,m as a constant or as a polynomial function of temperature (if heat transfer is enabled). multicomponent method: dene the binary diusion of species i in each species j, Dij as a constant or a polynomial function of temperature, or (for ideal gases only) using kinetic theory. You should choose to input Di,m (using one of the rst two methods) if you are modeling a dilute mixture, with chemical species present at low mass fraction in a carrier uid that is present at high concentration. You may wish to dene the individual binary mass diusion coecients, Dij , if you are modeling a non-dilute mixture. If you choose to dene Dij , the solver will compute the diusion of species i in the mixture using Equation 8.8-2, unless you have enabled full multicomponent diusion.
If you want to use the full multicomponent diusion model described in Section 8.8.2: Full Multicomponent Diusion, turn on the Full Multicomponent Diusion option in the Species Model panel, and then select the multicomponent method (the third method listed above) in the Materials panel; the dilute approximation methods are not appropriate for the full multicomponent diusion model.
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You will dene Di,m or Dij for each chemical species using the Materials panel. Dene Materials... The diusion coecients have units of m2 /s in SI units or ft2 /s in British units.
Constant Dilute Approximation Inputs

To use the constant dilute approximation method, follow these steps: 1. Select constant-dilute-appx in the drop-down list to the right of Mass Diusivity. 2. Enter a single value of Di,m . The same value will be used for the diusion coecient of each species in the mixture.
Dilute Approximation Inputs

To use the dilute approximation method, follow the steps below: 1. Select dilute-approx in the drop-down list to the right of Mass Diusivity. 2. In the resulting Mass Diusion Coecients panel (Figure 8.8.1), select the species in the Species Di list for which you are going to dene the mass diusion coecient.
Figure 8.8.1: The Mass Diusion Coecients Panel for Dilute Approximation
3. You can dene Di,m for the selected species either as a constant value or (if heat transfer is active) as a polynomial function of temperature:
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Physical Properties
To dene a constant diusion coecient, select constant (the default) in the drop-down list below Coecient, and then enter the value in the eld below the list. To dene a temperature-dependent diusion coecient, choose polynomial in the Coecient drop-down list and then dene the polynomial coecients as described in Section 8.2.1: Inputs for Polynomial Functions. Di,m = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... (8.8-14)
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have dened diusion coecients for all species in the Species Di list in the Mass Diusion Coecients panel.
Multicomponent Method Inputs

To use the multicomponent method, and dene constant or temperature-dependent diffusion coecients, follow the steps below: 1. Select multicomponent in the drop-down list to the right of Mass Diusivity. 2. In the resulting Mass Diusion Coecients panel (Figure 8.8.2), select the species in the Species Di list and the Species Dj list for which you are going to dene the mass diusion coecient Dij for species i in species j.
Figure 8.8.2: The Mass Diusion Coecients Panel for the Multicomponent Method
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3. You can dene Dij for the selected pair of species as a constant value or as a polynomial function of temperature (if heat transfer is active). To dene a constant diusion coecient, select constant (the default) in the drop-down list below Coecient, and then enter the value in the eld below the list. To dene a temperature-dependent diusion coecient, choose polynomial in the Coecient drop-down list and then dene the polynomial coecients as described in Section 8.2.1: Inputs for Polynomial Functions. Dij = A1 + A2 T + A3 T 2 + ... (8.8-15)
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have dened diusion coecients for all pairs of species in the Species Di and Species Dj lists in the Mass Diusion Coecients panel. To use the multicomponent method, and dene the diusion coecient using kinetic theory (available only when the ideal gas law is used), follow these steps: 1. Choose kinetic-theory in the drop-down list to the right of Mass Diusivity. 2. Click Change/Create after completing other property denitions for the mixture material. 3. Dene the Lennard-Jones parameters, i and ( /kB )i , for each species (uid material), as described in Section 8.12: Kinetic Theory Parameters. The solver will use a modication of the Chapman-Enskog formula [218] to compute the diusion coecient using kinetic theory: T3
1 Mw,i
Dij = 0.0188
1 Mw,j
1/2
2 pabs ij D
(8.8-16)
where pabs is the absolute pressure, and D is the diusion collision integral, which is a measure of the interaction of the molecules in the system. D is a function of the quantity TD , where
TD =
T ( /kB )ij
(8.8-17)
kB is the Boltzmann constant, which is dened as the gas constant, R, divided by Avagadros number. ( /kB )ij for the mixture is the geometric average:
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Physical Properties
( /kB )ij =
( /kB )i ( /kB )j
(8.8-18)
For a binary mixture, ij is calculated as the arithmetic average of the individual s: 1 ij = (i + j ) 2 (8.8-19)
Thermal Diffusion Coefcient Inputs

If you have enabled thermal diusion (in the Species Model panel), you can dene the thermal diusion coecients in the Materials panel as follows: 1. Select one of the following three methods in the drop-down list to the right of Thermal Diusion Coecient: Choose kinetic-theory to have FLUENT compute the thermal diusion coecients using the empirically-based expression in Equation 8.8-13. No further inputs are required for this option. Choose specied to input the coecient for each species. The Thermal Diusion Coecients panel (Figure 8.8.3) will open. Further inputs are described in the next step. Choose user-dened to use a user-dened function. See the separate UDF Manual for details. 2. If you choose specied, select the species in the Species Thermal Di list for which you are going to dene the thermal diusion coecient. 3. Dene DT,i for the selected species either as a constant value or as a polynomial function of temperature: To dene a constant diusion coecient, select constant (the default) in the drop-down list below Coecient, and then enter the value in the eld below the list. To dene a temperature-dependent diusion coecient, choose polynomial in the Coecient drop-down list and then dene the polynomial coecients as described in Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions. 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have dened diusion coecients for all species in the Species Thermal Di list in the Thermal Diusion Coecients panel.
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Figure 8.8.3: The Thermal Diusion Coecients Panel
8.8.5 Mass Diffusion Coefcient Inputs for Turbulent Flow

When your ow is turbulent, you will dene Di,m or Dij , as described for laminar ows in Section 8.8.4: Mass Diusion Coecient Inputs, and you will also have the option to alter the default setting for the turbulent Schmidt number, Sct , as dened in Equation 8.8-4. Usually, in a turbulent ow, the mass diusion is dominated by the turbulent transport as determined by the turbulent Schmidt number (Equation 8.8-4). The turbulent Schmidt number measures the relative diusion of momentum and mass due to turbulence and is on the order of unity in all turbulent ows. Because the turbulent Schmidt number is an empirical constant that is relatively insensitive to the molecular uid properties, you will have little reason to alter the default value (0.7) for any species. Should you wish to modify the Schmidt number, enter a new value for Turb. Schmidt Number in the Viscous Model panel. Dene Models Viscous...
Note that the full multicomponent diusion model described in Section 8.8.2: Full Multicomponent Diusion is not recommended for turbulent ows.
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Physical Properties
8.9
Standard State Enthalpies

When you are solving a reacting ow using the nite-rate or eddy dissipation model, you will need to dene the standard state enthalpy (also known as the formation enthalpy or heat of formation), h0 for each species j. These inputs are used to dene the mixture j enthalpy as mj h0 + j
j T Tref,j
H=
cp,j dT
(8.9-1)
where Tref,j is the reference temperature at which h0 is dened. Standard state enthalpies j are input in units of J/kg mol in SI units or in units of Btu/lbm mol in British units. For each species involved in the reaction (i.e., each uid material contained in the mixture material), you can set the Standard State Enthalpy and Reference Temperature in the Materials panel.
8.10
Standard State Entropies
If you are using the nite-rate model with reversible reactions (see Section 14.1.1: The Laminar Finite-Rate Model), you will need to dene the standard state entropy, s0 for j each species j. These inputs are used to dene the mixture entropy as m j s0 + j
j T Tref,j
S=
cp,j dT T
(8.10-1)
where Tref,j is the reference temperature at which s0 is dened. Standard state entropies j are input in units of J/kgmol-K in SI units or in units of Btu/lbm mol- R in British units. For each species involved in the reaction (i.e., each uid material contained in the mixture material), you can set the Standard State Entropy and Reference Temperature in the Materials panel.
8.11
Molecular Heat Transfer Coefcient
If you are modeling premixed combustion (see Chapter 16: Modeling Premixed Combustion), the uid material in your domain should be assigned the properties of the unburnt mixture, including the molecular heat transfer coecient ( in Equation 16.2-4), which is also referred to as the thermal diusivity. is dened as k/cp , and values at standard conditions can be found in combustion handbooks (e.g., [175]). To determine values at non-standard conditions, you will need to use a third-party 1D combustion program with detailed chemistry. You can set the Molecular Heat Transfer Coecient in the Materials panel.
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8.12 Kinetic Theory Parameters
8.12 Kinetic Theory Parameters

You may choose to dene the following properties using kinetic theory when the ideal gas law is enabled: viscosity (for uids) thermal conductivity (for uids) specic heat capacity (for uids) mass diusion coecients (for multi-species mixtures) If you are using kinetic theory for a uids viscosity (Equation 8.4-9), you will need to input the kinetic theory parameters and /kB for that uid. These parameters are the Lennard-Jones parameters and are referred to by FLUENT as the characteristic length and the energy parameter respectively. When kinetic theory is applied to calculation of a uids thermal conductivity only, no inputs are required. If you are going to calculate a uids specic heat using kinetic theory (Equation 8.6-5), you will need to input the degrees of freedom for the uid material. If you use kinetic theory to dene a mixture materials mass diusivity (Equation 8.8-16), you will need to input i and ( /kB )i for each chemical species i.
Inputs for Kinetic Theory

The procedure for using kinetic theory is as follows: 1. Select kinetic-theory as the property specication method for the Viscosity, Thermal Conductivity, or heat capacity Cp of a uid material, or for the Mass Diusivity of a mixture material. 2. If the material for which you have selected the kinetic theory method for one or more properties is a uid material, you must set the kinetic theory parameters for that material. If you are using kinetic theory for the mass diusivity of a mixture material, you will dene the kinetic theory parameters for each of the constituent species (uid materials). The parameters to be set are as follows: L-J Characteristic Length L-J Energy Parameter Degrees of Freedom (only required if kinetic theory is used for specic heat)
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Physical Properties
See the beginning of this section to nd out which parameters are required to calculate each property using kinetic theory. Characteristic length is dened in units of Angstroms. The energy parameter is dened in units of absolute temperature. Degrees of freedom is a dimensionless input. All kinetic theory parameters are set to zero by default. Appropriate values for dierent materials can be found in the literature (e.g., [133]).
8.13
Operating Pressure
Specication of the operating pressure aects your calculation in dierent ways for different ow regimes. This section presents information about the operating pressure, its relevance for dierent cases, and how to set it correctly.
8.13.1
The Effect of Numerical Roundoff on Pressure Calculation in Low-Mach-Number Flow
In low-Mach-number compressible ow, the overall pressure drop is small compared to the absolute static pressure, and can be signicantly aected by numerical roundo. To understand why this is true, consider a compressible ow with M << 1. The pressure changes, p, are related to the dynamic head, 1 pM2 , where p is the static pressure and 2 is the ratio of specic heats. This gives the simple relationship p/p M2 , so that p/p 0 as M 0. Therefore, unless adequate precaution is taken, low-Mach-number ow calculations are very susceptible to roundo error.
8.13.2
Operating Pressure, Gauge Pressure, and Absolute Pressure
FLUENT avoids the problem of roundo error (discussed in Section 8.13.1: The Eect of Numerical Roundo on Pressure Calculation in Low-Mach-Number Flow) by subtracting the operating pressure (generally a large pressure roughly equal to the average absolute pressure in the ow) from the absolute pressure, and using the result (termed the gauge pressure). The relationship between the operating pressure, gauge pressure, and absolute pressure is shown below. The absolute pressure is simply the sum of the operating pressure and the gauge pressure: pabs = pop + pgauge (8.13-1)
All pressures that you specify and all pressures computed or reported by FLUENT are gauge pressures.
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8.13 Operating Pressure
8.13.3
Setting the Operating Pressure
The Signicance of Operating Pressure

Operating pressure is signicant for incompressible ideal gas ows because it directly determines the density: the incompressible ideal gas law computes density as = popT . R You must therefore be sure to set the operating pressure appropriately.
Mw
Operating pressure is signicant for low-Mach-number compressible ows because of its role in avoiding roundo error problems, as described in Section 8.13.2: Operating Pressure, Gauge Pressure, and Absolute Pressure. Again, you must be sure to set the operating pressure appropriately. For time-dependent compressible ows, you may want to specify a oating operating pressure instead of a constant operating pressure. See Section 9.5.4: Floating Operating Pressure for details. Operating pressure is less signicant for higher-Mach-number compressible ows. The pressure changes in such ows are much larger than those in low-Mach-number compressible ows, so there is no real problem with roundo error and there is therefore no real need to use gauge pressure. In fact, it is common convention to use absolute pressures in such calculations. Since FLUENT always uses gauge pressure, you can simply set the operating pressure to zero, making gauge and absolute pressures equivalent. If the density is assumed constant or if it is derived from a prole function of temperature, the operating pressure is not used in the density calculation. Note that the default operating pressure is 101325 Pa.
How to Set the Operating Pressure

The criteria for choosing a suitable operating pressure are based on the Mach-number regime of the ow and the relationship that is used to determine density. For example, if you use the ideal gas law in an incompressible ow calculation (e.g., for a natural convection problem), you should use a value representative of the mean ow pressure. To place this discussion in perspective, Table 8.13.1 shows the recommended approach for setting operating pressures. Remember that the default operating pressure is 101325 Pa.
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Physical Properties
Table 8.13.1: Recommended Settings for Operating Pressure Density Relationship Ideal Gas Law Mach Number Regime M > 0.1 M < 0.1 Incompressible Incompressible Incompressible Operating Pressure 0 or Mean Flow Pressure Mean Flow Pressure not used not used Mean Flow Pressure
Prole Function of Temperature Constant Incompressible Ideal Gas Law
You will set the Operating Pressure in the Operating Conditions panel. Dene Operating Conditions...
8.14
Reference Pressure Location
For incompressible ows that do not involve any pressure boundaries, FLUENT adjusts the gauge pressure eld after each iteration to keep it from oating. This is done using the pressure in the cell located at (or nearest to) the reference pressure location. The pressure value in this cell is subtracted from the entire gauge pressure eld; as a result, the gauge pressure at the reference pressure location is always zero. If pressure boundaries are involved, the adjustment is not needed and the reference pressure location is ignored. The reference pressure location is, by default, the cell center at or closest to (0,0,0). There may be cases in which you might want to move the reference pressure location, perhaps locating it at a point where the absolute static pressure is known (e.g., if you are planning to compare your results with experimental data). To change the location, enter new (X,Y,Z) coordinates for Reference Pressure Location in the Operating Conditions panel. Dene Operating Conditions...
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8.15 Real Gas Models

Some engineering problems involve uids that do not behave as ideal gases. For example, high-pressure ows (e.g., the ow of a refrigerant through a compressor) cannot typically be modeled using the ideal-gas law. The real gas model allows you to solve uid ow and heat transfer problems where the working uid is a real gas. The FLUENT coupled solvers provide two methods for solving this type of ow: Section 8.15.1: The NIST Real Gas Model Section 8.15.2: The User-Dened Real Gas Model
8.15.1
The NIST Real Gas Model
Overview and Limitations of the NIST Real Gas Model

The NIST real gas model is available in the coupled solvers and uses the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of Refrigerants and Refrigerant Mixtures Database Version 7.0 (REFPROP v7.0) to evaluate thermodynamic and transport properties of approximately 39 pure uids. The REFPROP v7.0 database is a shared library that is dynamically loaded into the solver when you activate the real gas model in a FLUENT session. Once the NIST real gas model is activated, control of relevant property evaluations is relinquished to the REFPROP database, and any information for a uid that is displayed in the Materials panel is ignored by the solver. However, all postprocessing functions will properly report and display the current thermodynamic and transport properties of the real gas. The following limitations exist for the NIST real gas model: The NIST real gas model can be used only with the coupled solvers. When the real gas model is active, the access to the Materials panel is restricted. Therefore, if solid properties have to be set and modied then it should be done in the Materials panel before activating the real gas model. You cannot override the REFPROP database for a real gas material by modifying parameters in the Materials panel. You cannot modify material properties in the REFPROP database libraries, or add custom materials to the NIST real gas model. When the NIST real gas model is used, all uid zones must contain the real gas; you cannot include a real gas and another uid in the same problem. The NIST real gas model does not support mixtures and/or saturated uids.
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Physical Properties
The NIST real gas model assumes that the uid you will be using in your FLUENT computation has the following characteristics: pure uid single species single phase superheated vapor Pressure-inlet, massow-inlet, and pressure-outlet are the only inow and outow boundaries available for use with this model. Non-reecting boundary conditions should not be used with the real gas models.
The REFPROP v7.0 Database

The NIST real gas model uses 39 pure uids from the REFPROP v7.0 database. The pure-uid refrigerants and hydrocarbons that are supported by REFPROP v7.0 and used in the NIST real gas model are listed in Table 8.15.1. The REFPROP v7.0 database employs the most accurate pure-uid equations of state that are currently available from NIST. These equations are based on three models: modied Benedict-Webb-Rubin (MBWR) equation of state Helmholtz-energy equation of state extended corresponding states (ECS) For details about these thermodynamic models, refer to Appendix B in the web-based REFPROP v7.0 Users Guide that is accessible from the NIST web site at: http://www.nist.gov/srd/nist23.htm
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Table 8.15.1: Hydrocarbons and Refrigerants Supported by REFPROP v7.0
R23 R143a R245ca R141b R113 R218 isobutane methane
R32 R152a R245fa R142b R114 RC318 propylene ethane
R41 R227ea R22 R11 R115 ammonia nitrogen butane
R125 R134a R236ea R236fa R123 R124 R12 R13 R116 R14 carbon dioxide propane oxygen argon water
Using the NIST Real Gas Model

When you enable the NIST real gas model and select a valid material, FLUENTs functionality remains the same as when you model uid ow and heat transfer using an ideal gas, with the exception of the Materials panel (see below). The information displayed in the Materials panel is not used by the solver because control of all relevant property evaluations is relinquished to the REFPROP database. The general procedure for using the NIST real gas model is as follows: 1. Enable one of the coupled solvers (whichever is appropriate for your case). 2. Activate the NIST real gas model. 3. Set up and write your case le. 4. Calculate a solution and perform postprocessing. Enabling the Coupled Solver You can enable the coupled solver in the Solver panel. The NIST real gas model can be used with either the implicit or the explicit formulation. Dene Models Solver...
The real gas model does not work with the segregated solver.
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Physical Properties
Activating the NIST Real Gas Model When one of the coupled solvers is enabled, you will be able to activate the NIST real gas model. Activating the NIST real gas model is a two-step process. First you enable the NIST real gas model, and then you select a pure-uid material from the REFPROP database. 1. Enable the NIST real gas model by typing the following text command at the FLUENT console prompt:
> define/user-defined/real-gas/nist-real-gas-model use real gas? [no] yes
The list of available pure-uid materials you can select from will be displayed:
ammonia.fld argon.fld butane.fld CO2.fld ethane.fld isobutan.fld methane.fld Nitrogen.fld R116.fld Oxygen.fld R11.fld propane.fld R123.fld propylen.fld R124.fld R113.fld R125.fld R114.fld R12.fld R115.fld R134a.fld R13.fld R227ea.fld R32.fld R141b.fld R22.fld R41.fld R142b.fld R236EA.fld RC318.fld R143a.fld R236fa.fld WATER.fld R14.fld R23.fld R152a.fld R245ca.fld R218.fld R245fa.fld
2. Select a pure-uid material from the REFPROP database list:
select real-gas data file [""] "R125.fld"
You must enter the complete name of the material (including the .fld sux) contained within quotes (" ").
Upon selection of a valid material (e.g., R125.fld), FLUENT will load data for that material from a library of pure uids supported by the REFPROP database, and report that it is opening the shared library (librealgas.so) where the compiled REFPROP database source code is located.
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/usr/local/Fluent.Inc/fluent6.2/realgas/lib/R125.fld Opening "/usr/local/Fluent.Inc/fluent6.2/realgas/ ultra/librealgas.so"... Setting material "air" to a real-gas... Matl name: : : Mol Wt : "R125" "pentafluoroethane "354-33-6" 120.021
!full name"
Critical properties: Temperature : 339.173 (K) Pressure : 3.6177e+06 (Pa) Density : 4.779 (mol/L) 573.582 (kg/m^3) Equation Of State (EOS) used: Helmholtz Free Energy (FEQ) EOS:"FEQ Helmholtz equation of state for R-125 of Lemmon and Jacobsen (2002)." EOS Range of applicability Min Temperature: 172.52 (K) Max Temperature: 500 (K) Max Density : 1691.1 (kg/m^3) Max Pressure : 6e+07 (Pa) Thermal conductivity Range of applicability Min Temperature: 172.52 (K) Max Temperature: 500 (K) Max Density : 1691.1 (kg/m^3) Max Pressure : 6e+07 (Pa) Viscosity Range of applicability Min Temperature: 172.52 (K) Max Temperature: 500 (K) Max Density : 1692.3 (kg/m^3) Max Pressure : 6e+07 (Pa)
Once the real gas model is activated, any information for a uid that is displayed in the Materials panel is ignored by FLUENT.
Writing Your Case File When you save your completed NIST real gas model to a case le, the linkage to the shared library containing REFPROP will be saved to the case le, along with property data for the material you selected. Consequently, whenever you read your case le in a later session, FLUENT will report this information to the console during the read process.
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Physical Properties
Postprocessing All postprocessing functions properly report and display the current thermodynamic and transport properties of the real gas. The thermodynamic and transport properties controlled by the REFPROP database include the following: density enthalpy entropy gas constant molecular viscosity sound speed specic heat thermal conductivity any quantities that are derived from the properties listed above (e.g., total quantities, ratio of specic heats)
8.15.2
The User-Dened Real Gas Model
Overview and Limitations of the User-Dened Real Gas Model

The user-dened real gas model (UDRGM) has been developed for the FLUENT coupled solvers to allow you to write your own custom real gas model to t your particular modeling needs. The UDRGM requires a library of functions written in the C programing language. Moreover,there are certain coding requirements that need to be followed when writing these functions.Sample real gas function libraries are provided to assist you in writing your own UDRGM. When UDRGM functions are compiled, they will be grouped in a shared library which later will be loaded and linked with the FLUENT executable. The procedure for using the UDRGM is dened below: 1. Dene the real gas equation of state and all related thermodynamic and transport property equations. 2. Create a C source code le that conforms to the format dened in this section. 3. Start FLUENT and set up your case le in the usual way.
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4. Compile your UDRGM C library and build a shared library le (you can use the available compiled UDF utilities in either the graphical user interface or the text command interface) 5. Load your newly created UDRGM library via the text command menu using the define user-defined real-gas text command. Upon activating the UDRGM, the function library will now supply the uid material properties for your case. 6. Run your calculation The following limitations exist for the UDRGM: The user-dened real gas model can only be used with the coupled solvers. The user-dened real gas model assumes that the uid material is a homogeneous, compressible substance(i.e., multiphase behavior is not taken into account).
Writing the UDRGM C Function Library

Creating a UDRGM C function library is reasonably straightforward; however, your code must make use of specic function names and macros, which will be described in detail below. The basic library requirements are as follows: The code must contain the udf.h le inclusion directive at the beginning of the source code. This allows the denitions for DEFINE macros and other FLUENT functions to be accessible during the compilation process. The code must include at least one of the UDFs DEFINE functions (i.e. DEFINE ON DEMAND) to be able to use the compiled UDFs utility (see the sample UDRGM codes provided below). Any values that are passed to the solver by the UDRGM or returned by the solver to the UDRGM are assumed to be in SI units. You must use the principle set of functions listed below in your UDRGM library. These functions are the mechanism by which your thermodynamic property data are transferred to the FLUENT solver. Note that ANYNAME can be any string of alphanumeric characters, and allows you to provide unique names to your library functions.
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Physical Properties
Below, the UDRGM function names and argument lists are listed, followed by a short description of the function. Function inputs from the FLUENT solver consist of one or more of the following variables: T = p = = Yi [] = Temperature, K Pressure, Pa Density, kg/m3 Species mass fraction
Yi [] is inactive at this time, and exists in the argument list for future use. Currently, it has a value of 1.0.
void ANYNAME error(int err, char *f, char *msg) prints error messages. void ANYNAME Setup(Domain *domain, char *filename, int (*messagefunc) (char *format, ...), void (*errorfunc)(char *format, ...))performs model setup and initialization. Can be used to read data and parameters related to your UDRGM. double ANYNAME density(double T, double P, double yi[]) returns the value of density as a function of temperature and pressure. This is your equation of state.
Since this function is called numerous times during each solver iteration, it is important to make this function as numerically ecient as possible.
double ANYNAME specific heat(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the real gas specic heat at constant pressure as a function of temperature and density. double ANYNAME enthalpy(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the enthalpy as a function of temperature and density. double ANYNAME entropy(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the entropy as a function of temperature and density. double ANYNAME mw(double yi[]) returns the uid molecular weight. double ANYNAME speed of sound(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the value of speed of sound as a function of temperature and density. double ANYNAME viscosity(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the value of dynamic viscosity as a function of temperature and density. double ANYNAME thermal conductivity(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the value of thermal conductivity as a function of temperature and density. double ANYNAME rho t(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the value of d at constant pressure as a function of temperature and density. dT
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double ANYNAME rho p(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the value of d at constant temperature as function of temperature and density. dp double ANYNAME enthalpy t(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the value dh of dT at constant pressure as function of temperature and density. double ANYNAME enthalpy p(double T, double Rho, double yi[]) returns the value of dh at constant temperature as function of temperature and density. dp At the end of the code you must dene a structure of type RGAS Function whose members are pointers to the principle functions listed above. The structure is of type RGAS Function and its name is RealGasFunctionList.
It is imperative that the sequence of function pointers shown below be followed. Otherwise, your real gas model will not load properly into the FLUENT code.
UDF_EXPORT RGAS_Functions RealGasFunctionList = { ANYNAME_Setup, /* Setup initialize */ ANYNAME_density, /* density */ ANYNAME_enthalpy, /* enthalpy */ ANYNAME_entropy, /* entropy */ ANYNAME_specific_heat, /* specific_heat */ ANYNAME_mw, /* molecular_weight */ ANYNAME_speed_of_sound, /* speed_of_sound */ ANYNAME_viscosity, /* viscosity */ ANYNAME_thermal_conductivity, /* thermal_conductivity */ ANYNAME_rho_t, /* drho/dT |const p */ ANYNAME_rho_p, /* drho/dp |const T */ ANYNAME_enthalpy_t, /* dh/dT |const p */ ANYNAME_enthalpy_p /* dh/dp |const T */ };
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Physical Properties
Compiling Your UDRGM C Functions and Building a Shared Library File

This section presents the steps you will need to follow to compile your UDRGM C code and build a shared library le. This process requires the use of a C compiler. Most UNIX operating systems provide a C compiler as a standard feature. If you are using a PC, you will need to ensure that a C++ compiler is installed before you can proceed (e.g., Microsoft Visual C++, v6.0 or higher). To use the UDRGM you will need to rst build the UDRGM library by compiling your UDRGM C code and then loading the library into the FLUENT code. The UDRGM shared library is built in the same way that the FLUENT executable itself is built. Internally, a script called Makefile is used to invoke the system C compiler to build an object code library that contains the native machine language translation of your higher-level C source code. This shared library is then loaded into FLUENT (either at runtime or automatically when a case le is read) by a process called dynamic loading. The object libraries are specic to the computer architecture being used, as well as to the particular version of the FLUENT executable being run. The libraries must, therefore, be rebuilt any time FLUENT is upgraded, when the computers operating system level changes, or when the job is run on a dierent type of computer. The general procedure for compiling UDRGM C code is as follows: Place the UDRGM C code in your working directory, i.e., where your case le resides. Launch FLUENT. Read your case le into FLUENT. You can now compile your UDRGM C code and build a shared library le using either the graphical interface or the text command interface.
To build UDRGM library you will use the compiled UDF utilities. However, you will not use the UDF utilities to load the library. A separate loading area for the UDRGM library will be used.
Compiling the UDRGM Using the Graphical Interface Please refer to the separate UDF Manual for information on compiled UDFs and building libraries using the FLUENT graphical user interface. If the build is successful, then the compiled library will be placed in the appropriate architecture directory (e.g., ntx86/2d). By default the library name islibudf.so (libudf.dll on Windows).
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Compiling the UDRGM Using the Text Interface The UDRGM library can be compiled in the text command interface as follows: Select the menu item define user-defined compiled-functions. Select the compile option. Enter the compiled UDF library name.
The name given here is the name of the directory where the shared library (e.g., libudf) will reside.For example, if you hit <Return> then a directory should exist with the name libudf, and this directory will contain library le called libudf. If, however, you type a new library name such as myrealgas,then a directory called myrealgas will be created and it will contain the library libudf.
Continue on with the procedure when prompted. Enter the C source le names.
Ideally you should place all of your functions into a single le. However, you can split them into separate les if desired.
Enter the header le names, if applicable. If you do not have an extra header le then hit <Return> when prompted. FLUENT will then start compiling the UDRGM C code and put it in the appropriate architecture directory.
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Physical Properties
Example:
> define/user-defined/compiled-functions load OR compile ? [load]> compile Compiled UDF library name: ["libudf"] my_lib
Make sure that UDF source files are in the directory that contains your case and data files. If you have an existing libudf directory, please remove this directory to ensure that latest files are used. Continue?[yes] <RETURN> Give C-Source file names: First file name: [""] my_c_file.c <RETURN> Next file name: [""] <RETURN>
Give header file names: First file name: [""]
my_header_file.h <RETURN>
Loading the UDRGM Shared Library File To load the UDRGM library: Go to the following menu item in the text command interface. define user-defined real-gas Select user-defined-real-gas-model. Turn on the real gas model.
use real gas? [no] yes
FLUENT will ask for the location of the user-dened real gas library. You can enter either the name of the directory where the UDRGM shared library is called orthe entire path to the UDRGM shared library. If the loading of the UDRGM library is successful you will or the message similar to the following: Opening Library Setting Loading user-defined realgas library "RealgasLibraryname"... "RealgasDirName/lnx86/2d/libudf.so" opened material "air" to a real-gas... Real-RealGasPrefexLable Library:
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UDRGM Example: Ideal Gas Equation of State

This section describes an example of a user-dened real gas model. You can use this example as the basis for your own UDRGM code. In this simple example, the standard ideal gas equation of state is used in the UDRGM. p T Cp H S c R = = = = = = = = pressure temperature specic heat enthalpy entropy density speed of sound universal gas constant/molecular weight
The ideal gas equation of state can be written in terms of pressure and temperature as = p RT (8.15-1)
The specic heat is dened to be constant Cp = 1006.42. The enthalpy is, therefore, dened as H = Cp T and entropy is given by T Tref pref p (8.15-2)
S = Cp log
+ R log
(8.15-3)
where Tref = 288.15 K and pref = 101325 Pa The speed of sound is simply dened as R (Cp R) 1 RT
c= The density derivatives are:
T Cp
(8.15-4)
d dp d dT
=
T
(8.15-5)
=
p
p = 2 RT T
(8.15-6)
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Physical Properties
The enthalpy derivatives are: dH dT dH dp =

T
= Cp
p
(8.15-7)
Cp p d 1 =0 R dp
(8.15-8)
When you activate the real gas model and load the library successfully into FLUENT, you will be using the equation of state and other uid properties from this library rather than the one built into the FLUENT code, therefore, the access to the Materials panel will be restricted. Ideal Gas UDRGM Code Listing /**********************************************************************/ /* User Defined Real Gas Model : */ /* For Ideal Gas Equation of State */ /* */ /**********************************************************************/ #include "udf.h" #include "stdio.h" #include "ctype.h" #include "stdarg.h" #define MW 28.966 /* molec. wt. for single gas (Kg/Kmol) */ #define RGAS (UNIVERSAL_GAS_CONSTANT/MW) static int (*usersMessage)(char *,...); static void (*usersError)(char *,...);
DEFINE_ON_DEMAND(I_do_nothing) { /* This is a dummy function to allow us to use */ /* the Compiled UDFs utility */ }
void IDEAL_error(int err, char *f, char *msg) { if (err) usersError("IDEAL_error (%d) from function: %s\n%s\n",err,f,msg); }
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void IDEAL_Setup(Domain *domain, char *filename, int (*messagefunc)(char *format, ...), void (*errorfunc)(char *format, ...)) { /* Use this function for any initialization or model setups*/ usersMessage = messagefunc; usersError = errorfunc; usersMessage("\nLoading Real-Ideal Library: %s\n", filename); } double IDEAL_density(double Temp, double press, double yi[]) { double r = press/(RGAS*Temp); /* Density at Temp & press */ return r; } double IDEAL_specific_heat(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { double cp=1006.43; return cp; } double IDEAL_enthalpy(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { double h=Temp*IDEAL_specific_heat(Temp, density, yi); return h; } #define TDatum 288.15 #define PDatum 1.01325e5 double IDEAL_entropy(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { double s=IDEAL_specific_heat(Temp,density,yi)*log(fabs(Temp/TDatum))+ RGAS*log(fabs(PDatum/(RGAS*Temp*density))); return s; /* (J/Kg/K) */ } /* (J/Kg) */ /* (J/Kg/K) */ /* (Kg/m^3) */
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Physical Properties
double IDEAL_mw(double yi[]) { return MW; }
/* (Kg/Kmol) */
double IDEAL_speed_of_sound(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { double cp=IDEAL_specific_heat(Temp,density,yi); return sqrt(Temp*cp*RGAS/(cp-RGAS)); } double IDEAL_viscosity(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { double mu=1.7894e-05; return mu; } double IDEAL_thermal_conductivity(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { double ktc=0.0242; return ktc; } double IDEAL_rho_t(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { /* derivative of rho wrt. Temp at constant p */ double rho_t=-density/Temp; return rho_t; } double IDEAL_rho_p(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { /* derivative of rho wrt. pressure at constant T */ double rho_p=1.0/(RGAS*Temp); return rho_p; } /* (Kg/m^3/Pa) */ /* (Kg/m^3/K) */ /* W/m/K */ /* (Kg/m/s) */ /* m/s */
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double IDEAL_enthalpy_t(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { /* derivative of enthalpy wrt. Temp at constant p */ return IDEAL_specific_heat(Temp, density, yi); } double IDEAL_enthalpy_p(double Temp, double density, double yi[]) { /* derivative of enthalpy wrt. pressure at constant T */ /* general form dh/dp|T = (1/rho)*[ 1 + (T/rho)*drho/dT|p] */ /* but for ideal gas dh/dp = 0 */ return 0.0 ; } UDF_EXPORT RGAS_Functions RealGasFunctionList = { IDEAL_Setup, /* initialize */ IDEAL_density, /* density */ IDEAL_enthalpy, /* enthalpy */ IDEAL_entropy, /* entropy */ IDEAL_specific_heat, /* specific_heat */ IDEAL_mw, /* molecular_weight */ IDEAL_speed_of_sound, /* speed_of_sound */ IDEAL_viscosity, /* viscosity */ IDEAL_thermal_conductivity, /* thermal_conductivity */ IDEAL_rho_t, /* drho/dT |const p */ IDEAL_rho_p, /* drho/dp |const T */ IDEAL_enthalpy_t, /* dh/dT |const p */ IDEAL_enthalpy_p /* dh/dp |const T */ }; /**************************************************************/
UDRGM Example: Redlich-Kwong Equation of State

This section describes another example of a user-dened real gas model. You can use this example as the basis for your own UDRGM code. In this example, the Redlich-Kwong equation of state is used in the UDRGM. This section summarizes the equations used in developing the UDRGM for the RedlichKwong equation of state. The model is based on a modied form of the Redlich-Kwong equation of state described in [11]. The equations used in this UDRGM will be listed in the sections below.
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Physical Properties
The following nomenclature applies to this section: a(T ) c Cp H n p R T S V = = = = = = = = = = = Redlich-Kwong temperature function speed of sound specic heat enthalpy exponent in function a(T ) pressure universal gas constant/molecular weight temperature entropy specic volume density
The superscript 0 designates a reference state, and the subscript c designates a critical point property. Specic Volume and Density The Redlich-Kwong equation of state can be written in the following form: p= where RT a(T ) (V b) V (V + b0 )
n
(8.15-9)
1 Tc V = , a(T ) = a0 T b0 = 0.08664
R2 Tc2 , a0 = 0.42747 , pc
RTc RTc , c0 = + b0 Vc , = b0 c0 b pc pc + Vc (Va0+b0 ) c
Since the real gas model in FLUENT requires a function for density as a function of pressure and temperature, Equation 8.15-9 must be solved for the specic volume (from which the density can be easily obtained). For convenience, Equation 8.15-9 can be written as a cubic equation for specic volume as follows: V 3 + a1 V 2 + a2 V + a3 = 0 where a1 = c0 RT RT b0 a(T ) a(T ) b , a2 = 0 + bb , a3 = p p p p (8.15-10)
Equation 8.15-10 is solved using a standard algorithm for cubic equations (see [327] for details). In the UDRGM code, the cubic solution is coded to minimize the number of
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oating point operations. This is critical for optimal performance, since this function gets called numerous times during an iteration cycle. It should be noted that the value of the exponent, n, in the function a(T ) will depend on the substance. A table of values can be found in [11] for some common substances. Alternatively, [11] states that values of n are well correlated by the empirical equation n = 0.4986 + 1.1735 + 0.475 2 where is the acentric factor, dened as = log pv (T ) 1.0 pc (8.15-11)
(8.15-12)
In the above equation, pv (T ) is the saturated vapor pressure evaluated at temperature T = 0.7Tc . Derivatives of Specic Volume and Density The derivatives of specic volume with respect to temperature and pressure can be easily determined from Equation 8.15-9 using implicit dierentiation. The results are presented below: (a1 )p V 2 + (a2 )p V + (a3 )p 3V 2 + 2a1 V + a2 (a1 )T V 2 + (a2 )T V + (a3 )T 3V 2 + 2a1 V + a2
V p V T where
=
T
(8.15-13) (8.15-14)
=
p
RT RT b0 a(T ) a(T ) b , (a2 )p = , (a3 )p = 2 2 2 p p p da(T ) Rb0 + dT R da(T ) da(T ) b a(T ) (a1 )T = , (a2 )T = , (a3 )T = , = n p p dT p dT T (a1 )p =
The derivatives of density can be obtained from the above using the relations p T = 2
T
V p V T
(8.15-15)
T
= 2
p
(8.15-16)
p
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Physical Properties
Specic Heat and Enthalpy Following [11], enthalpy for a real gas can be written H = H 0 (T ) + pV RT a(T ) V + b0 (1 + n) ln b0 V
(8.15-17)
where H 0 (T ) is the enthalpy function for a thermally perfect gas (i.e., enthalpy is a function of temperature alone). In the present case, we employ a fourth-order polynomial for the specic heat for a thermally perfect gas [233]
0 Cp (T ) = C1 + C2 T + C3 T 2 + C4 T 3 + C5 T 4
(8.15-18)
and obtain the enthalpy from the basic relation H 0 (T ) = The result is 1 1 1 1 H 0 (T ) = C1 T + C2 T 2 + C3 T 3 + C4 T 4 + C5 T 5 H 0 (T 0 ) 2 3 4 5 (8.15-20)
T T0 0 Cp (T )dT
(8.15-19)
Note that H 0 (T 0 ) is the enthalpy at a reference state (p0 , T 0 ), which can be chosen arbitrarily. The specic heat for the real gas can be obtained by dierentiating Equation 8.15-17 with respect to temperature (at constant pressure): H T
Cp = The result is
(8.15-21)
p
Cp =
0 Cp (T )
V +p T
da(T ) (1 + n) V + b0 R ln dT b0 V p
+ a(T )(1 + n)
V T
V (V + b0 ) (8.15-22)
Finally, the derivative of enthalpy with respect to pressure (at constant temperature) can be obtained using the following thermodynamic relation [233]: H p =V T
T
V T
(8.15-23)
p
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Entropy Following [11], the entropy can be expressed in the form b V S = S (T, p ) + R ln + 0 V
0 0 da(T ) dT
b0
ln
V + b0 V
(8.15-24)
where the superscript 0 again refers to a reference state where the ideal gas law is applicable. For an ideal gas at a xed reference pressure, p0 , the entropy is given by S 0 (T, p0 ) = S(T 0 , p0 ) +
T T0 0 Cp (T ) dT T
(8.15-25)
Note that the pressure term is zero since the entropy is evaluated at the reference pressure. Using the polynomial expression for specic heat, Equation 8.15-18, Equation 8.15-25 becomes
1 1 1 S 0 (T, p0 ) = S(T 0 , p0 ) + C1 ln(T ) + C2 T + C3 T 2 + C4 T 3 + C5 T 4 f (T 0 ) (8.15-26) 2 3 4 where f (T 0 ) is a constant, which can be absorbed into the reference entropy S(T 0 , p0 ). Speed of Sound The speed of sound for a real gas can be determined from the thermodynamic relation c2 = Noting that, Cp CV = T we can write the speed of sound as Cp Cp C 1
V p T
=
S
Cp CV
V2
V p T
(8.15-27)
V T
p v
(8.15-28)
T
c=V
(8.15-29)
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Physical Properties
Viscosity and Thermal Conductivity The dynamic viscosity of a gas or vapor can be estimated using the following formula from [53]: (T ) = 6.3 107 Here, Tr is the reduced temperature Tr = T Tc (8.15-31)
0.5 Mw p0.6666 c Tc0.1666
Tr1.5 Tr + 0.8
(8.15-30)
and Mw is the molecular weight of the gas. This formula neglects the eect of pressure on viscosity, which usually becomes signicant only at very high pressures. Knowing the viscosity, the thermal conductivity can be estimated using the Eucken formula [86]: 5 k = Cp + R 4 (8.15-32)
It should be noted that both Equation 8.15-30 and 8.15-32 are simple relations, and therefore may not provide satisfactory values of viscosity and thermal conductivity for certain applications. You are encouraged to modify these functions in the UDRGM source code if alternate formulae are available for a given gas. Using the Redlich-Kwong Real Gas UDRGM Using the Redlich-Kwong Real Gas UDRGM simply requires the modication of the top block of #define macros to provide the appropriate parameters for a given substance. An example listing for CO2 is given below. The parameters required are: MWT = PCRIT = TCRIT = ZCRIT = VCRIT = NRK = CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4, CC5 = P REF = T REF = Molecular weight of the substance Critical pressure (Pa) Critical temperature (K) Critical compressibility factor Critical specic volume (m3 /kg) Exponent of a(T ) function Coecients of Cp (T ) polynomial curve t Reference pressure (Pa) Reference temperature (K)
The coecients for the ideal gas specic heat polynomial were obtained from [233] (coecients for other substances are also provided in [233]). Once the source listing is modied,
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the UDRGM C code can be recompiled and loaded into FLUENT in the manner described earlier. /* The variables below need to be set for a particular gas */ /* CO2 */ /* REAL GAS EQUATION OF STATE MODEL - BASIC VARIABLES */ /* ALL VARIABLES ARE IN SI UNITS! */ #define RGASU UNIVERSAL_GAS_CONSTANT #define PI 3.141592654 #define #define #define #define #define #define MWT 44.01 PCRIT 7.3834e6 TCRIT 304.21 ZCRIT 0.2769 VCRIT 2.15517e-3 NRK 0.77
/* IDEAL GAS SPECIFIC HEAT CURVE FIT */ #define #define #define #define #define CC1 CC2 CC3 CC4 CC5 453.577 1.65014 -1.24814e-3 3.78201e-7 0.00
/* REFERENCE STATE */ #define P_REF #define T_REF 101325 288.15
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Physical Properties
Redlich-Kwong Real Gas UDRGM Code Listing /**************************************************************/ /* */ /* User-Defined Function: Redlich-Kwong Equation of State */ /* for Real Gas Modeling */ /* */ /* Author: Frank Kelecy */ /* Date: May 2003 */ /* Version: 1.02 */ /* */ /* This implementation is completely general. */ /* Parameters set for CO2. */ /* */ /**************************************************************/ #include #include #include #include "udf.h" "stdio.h" "ctype.h" "stdarg.h"
/* The variables below need to be set for a particular gas */ /* CO2 */ /* REAL GAS EQUATION OF STATE MODEL - BASIC VARIABLES */ /* ALL VARIABLES ARE IN SI UNITS! */ #define RGASU UNIVERSAL_GAS_CONSTANT #define PI 3.141592654 #define #define #define #define #define #define MWT 44.01 PCRIT 7.3834e6 TCRIT 304.21 ZCRIT 0.2769 VCRIT 2.15517e-3 NRK 0.77
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/* IDEAL GAS SPECIFIC HEAT CURVE FIT */ #define #define #define #define #define CC1 CC2 CC3 CC4 CC5 453.577 1.65014 -1.24814e-3 3.78201e-7 0.00
/* REFERENCE STATE */ #define P_REF #define T_REF 101325 288.15
/* OPTIONAL REFERENCE (OFFSET) VALUES FOR ENTHALPY AND ENTROPY */ #define H_REF #define S_REF 0.0 0.0
static int (*usersMessage)(char *,...); static void (*usersError)(char *,...); /* Static variables associated with Redlich-Kwong Model */ static double rgas, a0, b0, c0, bb, cp_int_ref;
DEFINE_ON_DEMAND(I_do_nothing) { /* this is a dummy function to allow us */ /* to use the compiled UDFs utility */ }
/*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_error */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ void RKEOS_error(int err, char *f, char *msg) { if (err) usersError("RKEOS_error (%d) from function: %s\n%s\n",err,f,msg); }
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Physical Properties
/*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_Setup */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ void RKEOS_Setup(Domain *domain, char *filename, void (*messagefunc)(char *format, ...), void (*errorfunc)(char *format, ...)) { rgas = RGASU/MWT; a0 = 0.42747*rgas*rgas*TCRIT*TCRIT/PCRIT; b0 = 0.08664*rgas*TCRIT/PCRIT; c0 = rgas*TCRIT/(PCRIT+a0/(VCRIT*(VCRIT+b0)))+b0-VCRIT; bb = b0-c0; cp_int_ref = CC1*log(T_REF)+T_REF*(CC2+ T_REF*(0.5*CC3+T_REF*(0.333333*CC4+0.25*CC5*T_REF))); usersMessage = messagefunc; usersError = errorfunc; usersMessage("\nLoading Redlich-Kwong Library: %s\n", filename); } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_pressure */ /* Returns density given T and density */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_pressure(double temp, double density) { double v = 1./density; double afun = a0*pow(TCRIT/temp,NRK); return rgas*temp/(v-bb)-afun/(v*(v+b0)); }
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/*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_spvol */ /* Returns specific volume given T and P */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_spvol(double temp, double press) { double a1,a2,a3; double vv,vv1,vv2,vv3; double qq,qq3,sqq,rr,tt,dd; double afun = a0*pow(TCRIT/temp,NRK); a1 = c0-rgas*temp/press; a2 = -(bb*b0+rgas*temp*b0/press-afun/press); a3 = -afun*bb/press; /* Solve cubic equation for specific volume */ qq = (a1*a1-3.*a2)/9.; rr = (2*a1*a1*a1-9.*a1*a2+27.*a3)/54.; qq3 = qq*qq*qq; dd = qq3-rr*rr; /* If dd < 0, then we have one real root */ /* If dd >= 0, then we have three roots -> choose largest root */ if (dd < 0.) { tt = sqrt(-dd)+pow(fabs(rr),0.333333); vv = (tt+qq/tt)-a1/3.; } else { tt = acos(rr/sqrt(qq3)); sqq = sqrt(qq); vv1 = -2.*sqq*cos(tt/3.)-a1/3.; vv2 = -2.*sqq*cos((tt+2.*PI)/3.)-a1/3.; vv3 = -2.*sqq*cos((tt+4.*PI)/3.)-a1/3.; vv = (vv1 > vv2) ? vv1 : vv2; vv = (vv > vv3) ? vv : vv3; } return vv; }
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Physical Properties
/*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_density */ /* Returns density given T and P */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_density(double temp, double press, double yi[]) { return 1./RKEOS_spvol(temp, press); /* (Kg/m3) */ } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_dvdp */ /* Returns dv/dp given T and rho */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_dvdp(double temp, double density) { double a1,a2,a1p,a2p,a3p,v,press; double afun = a0*pow(TCRIT/temp,NRK); press = RKEOS_pressure(temp, density); v = 1./density; a1 = c0-rgas*temp/press; a2 = -(bb*b0+rgas*temp*b0/press-afun/press); a1p = rgas*temp/(press*press); a2p = a1p*b0-afun/(press*press); a3p = afun*bb/(press*press); return -(a3p+v*(a2p+v*a1p))/(a2+v*(2.*a1+3.*v)); }
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/*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_dvdt */ /* Returns dv/dT given T and rho */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_dvdt(double temp, double density) { double a1,a2,dadt,a1t,a2t,a3t,v,press; double afun = a0*pow(TCRIT/temp,NRK); press = RKEOS_pressure(temp, density); v = 1./density; dadt = -NRK*afun/temp; a1 = c0-rgas*temp/press; a2 = -(bb*b0+rgas*temp*b0/press-afun/press); a1t = -rgas/press; a2t = a1t*b0+dadt/press; a3t = -dadt*bb/press; return -(a3t+v*(a2t+v*a1t))/(a2+v*(2.*a1+3.*v)); } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_Cp_ideal_gas */ /* Returns ideal gas specific heat given T */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_Cp_ideal_gas(double temp) { return (CC1+temp*(CC2+temp*(CC3+temp*(CC4+temp*CC5)))); } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_H_ideal_gas */ /* Returns ideal gas specific enthalpy given T */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_H_ideal_gas(double temp) { return temp*(CC1+temp*(0.5*CC2+temp*(0.333333*CC3+ temp*(0.25*CC4+temp*0.2*CC5)))); }
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Physical Properties
/*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_specific_heat */ /* Returns specific heat given T and rho */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_specific_heat(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { double delta_Cp,press,v,dvdt,dadt; double afun = a0*pow(TCRIT/temp,NRK); press = RKEOS_pressure(temp, density); v = 1./density; dvdt = RKEOS_dvdt(temp, density); dadt = -NRK*afun/temp; delta_Cp = press*dvdt-rgas-dadt*(1.+NRK)/b0*log((v+b0)/v) + afun*(1.+NRK)*dvdt/(v*(v+b0)); return RKEOS_Cp_ideal_gas(temp)+delta_Cp; } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_enthalpy */ /* Returns specific enthalpy given T and rho */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_enthalpy(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { double delta_h ,press, v; double afun = a0*pow(TCRIT/temp,NRK); press = RKEOS_pressure(temp, density); v = 1./density; delta_h = press*v-rgas*temp-afun*(1+NRK)/b0*log((v+b0)/v); return H_REF+RKEOS_H_ideal_gas(temp)+delta_h; } /* (J/Kg) */ /* (J/Kg-K) */
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/*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_entropy */ /* Returns entropy given T and rho */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_entropy(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { double delta_s,v,v0,dadt,cp_integral; double afun = a0*pow(TCRIT/temp,NRK); cp_integral = CC1*log(temp)+temp*(CC2+temp*(0.5*CC3+ temp*(0.333333*CC4+0.25*CC5*temp))) - cp_int_ref; v = 1./density; v0 = rgas*temp/P_REF; dadt = -NRK*afun/temp; delta_s = rgas*log((v-bb)/v0)+dadt/b0*log((v+b0)/v); return S_REF+cp_integral+delta_s; /* (J/Kg-K) */ } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_mw */ /* Returns molecular weight */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_mw(double yi[]) { return MWT; /* (Kg/Kmol) */ }
8-97
Physical Properties
/*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_speed_of_sound */ /* Returns s.o.s given T and rho */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_speed_of_sound(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { double cp = RKEOS_specific_heat(temp, density, yi); double dvdt = RKEOS_dvdt(temp, density); double dvdp = RKEOS_dvdp(temp, density); double v = 1./density; double delta_c = -temp*dvdt*dvdt/dvdp; return sqrt(cp/((delta_c-cp)*dvdp))*v; } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_rho_t */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_rho_t(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { return -density*density*RKEOS_dvdt(temp, density); } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_rho_p */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_rho_p(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { return -density*density*RKEOS_dvdp(temp, density); } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_enthalpy_t */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_enthalpy_t(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { return RKEOS_specific_heat(temp, density, yi); } /* m/s */
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/*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_enthalpy_p */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_enthalpy_p(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { double v = 1./density; double dvdt = RKEOS_dvdt(temp, density); return v-temp*dvdt; } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_viscosity */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_viscosity(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { double mu,tr,tc,pcatm; tr = temp/TCRIT; tc = TCRIT; pcatm = PCRIT/101325.; mu = 6.3e-7*sqrt(MWT)*pow(pcatm,0.6666)/pow(tc,0.16666)* (pow(tr,1.5)/(tr+0.8)); return mu; } /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* FUNCTION: RKEOS_thermal_conductivity */ /*------------------------------------------------------------*/ double RKEOS_thermal_conductivity(double temp, double density, double yi[]) { double cp, mu; cp = RKEOS_Cp_ideal_gas(temp); mu = RKEOS_viscosity(temp, density, yi); return (cp+1.25*rgas)*mu; }
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Physical Properties
/* Export Real Gas Functions to Solver */ UDF_EXPORT RGAS_Functions RealGasFunctionList = { RKEOS_Setup, /* initialize RKEOS_density, /* density RKEOS_enthalpy, /* enthalpy RKEOS_entropy, /* entropy RKEOS_specific_heat, /* specific_heat RKEOS_mw, /* molecular_weight RKEOS_speed_of_sound, /* speed_of_sound RKEOS_viscosity, /* viscosity RKEOS_thermal_conductivity, /* thermal_conductivity RKEOS_rho_t, /* drho/dT |const p RKEOS_rho_p, /* drho/dp |const T RKEOS_enthalpy_t, /* dh/dT |const p RKEOS_enthalpy_p /* dh/dp |const T };
*/ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */
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Chapter 9.
Modeling Basic Fluid Flow
This chapter describes the basic physical models that FLUENT provides for uid ow and the commands for dening and using them. Models for ows in moving zones (including sliding and dynamic meshes) are explained in Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones, models for turbulence are described in Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence, and models for heat transfer (including radiation) are presented in Chapter 12: Modeling Heat Transfer. An overview of modeling species transport and reacting ows is provided in Chapter 13: Introduction to Modeling Species Transport and Reacting Flows, details about models for species transport and reacting ows are described in Chapters 1418, and models for pollutant formation are presented in Chapter 20: Modeling Pollutant Formation. An overview of multiphase modeling is provided in Chapter 22: Introduction to Modeling Multiphase Flows, the discrete phase model is described in Chapter 23: Discrete Phase Models, general multiphase models are described in Chapter 24: General Multiphase Models, and the melting and solidication model is described in Chapter 25: Modeling Solidication and Melting. For information on modeling porous media, porous jumps, and lumped parameter fans and radiators, see Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions. The information in this chapter is presented in the following sections: Section 9.1: Overview of Physical Models in FLUENT Section 9.2: Continuity and Momentum Equations Section 9.3: Periodic Flows Section 9.4: Swirling and Rotating Flows Section 9.5: Compressible Flows Section 9.6: Inviscid Flows
9-1
9.1
Overview of Physical Models in FLUENT

FLUENT provides comprehensive modeling capabilities for a wide range of incompressible and compressible, laminar and turbulent uid ow problems. Steady-state or transient analyses can be performed. In FLUENT, a broad range of mathematical models for transport phenomena (like heat transfer and chemical reactions) is combined with the ability to model complex geometries. Examples of FLUENT applications include laminar non-Newtonian ows in process equipment; conjugate heat transfer in turbomachinery and automotive engine components; pulverized coal combustion in utility boilers; external aerodynamics; ow through compressors, pumps, and fans; and multiphase ows in bubble columns and uidized beds. To permit modeling of uid ow and related transport phenomena in industrial equipment and processes, various useful features are provided. These include porous media, lumped parameter (fan and heat exchanger), streamwise-periodic ow and heat transfer, swirl, and moving reference frame models. The moving reference frame family of models includes the ability to model single or multiple reference frames. A time-accurate sliding mesh method, useful for modeling multiple stages in turbomachinery applications, for example, is also provided, along with the mixing plane model for computing time-averaged ow elds. Another very useful group of models in FLUENT is the set of free surface and multiphase ow models. These can be used for analysis of gas-liquid, gas-solid, liquid-solid, and gas-liquid-solid ows. For these types of problems, FLUENT provides the volume-ofuid (VOF), mixture, and Eulerian models, as well as the discrete phase model (DPM). The DPM performs Lagrangian trajectory calculations for dispersed phases (particles, droplets, or bubbles), including coupling with the continuous phase. Examples of multiphase ows include channel ows, sprays, sedimentation, separation, and cavitation. Robust and accurate turbulence models are a vital component of the FLUENT suite of models. The turbulence models provided have a broad range of applicability, and they include the eects of other physical phenomena, such as buoyancy and compressibility. Particular care has been devoted to addressing issues of near-wall accuracy via the use of extended wall functions and zonal models. Various modes of heat transfer can be modeled, including natural, forced, and mixed convection with or without conjugate heat transfer, porous media, etc. The set of radiation models and related submodels for modeling participating media are general and can take into account the complications of combustion. A particular strength of FLUENT is its ability to model combustion phenomena using a variety of models, including eddy dissipation and probability density function models. A host of other models that are very useful for reacting ow applications are also available, including coal and droplet combustion, surface reaction, and pollutant formation models.
9-2
9.2 Continuity and Momentum Equations
9.2
Continuity and Momentum Equations

For all ows, FLUENT solves conservation equations for mass and momentum. For ows involving heat transfer or compressibility, an additional equation for energy conservation is solved. For ows involving species mixing or reactions, a species conservation equation is solved or, if the non-premixed combustion model is used, conservation equations for the mixture fraction and its variance are solved. Additional transport equations are also solved when the ow is turbulent. In this section, the conservation equations for laminar ow (in an inertial (non-accelerating) reference frame) are presented. The equations that are applicable to rotating reference frames are presented in Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones. The conservation equations relevant to heat transfer, turbulence modeling, and species transport will be discussed in the chapters where those models are described. The Euler equations solved for inviscid ow are presented in Section 9.6: Inviscid Flows.
The Mass Conservation Equation

The equation for conservation of mass, or continuity equation, can be written as follows: + t (v) = Sm (9.2-1)
Equation 9.2-1 is the general form of the mass conservation equation and is valid for incompressible as well as compressible ows. The source Sm is the mass added to the continuous phase from the dispersed second phase (e.g., due to vaporization of liquid droplets) and any user-dened sources. For 2D axisymmetric geometries, the continuity equation is given by vr + (vx ) + (vr ) + = Sm t x r r (9.2-2)
where x is the axial coordinate, r is the radial coordinate, vx is the axial velocity, and vr is the radial velocity.
9-3
Momentum Conservation Equations

Conservation of momentum in an inertial (non-accelerating) reference frame is described by [20] (v) + t (vv) = p + ( ) + g + F (9.2-3)
where p is the static pressure, is the stress tensor (described below), and g and F are the gravitational body force and external body forces (e.g., that arise from interaction with the dispersed phase), respectively. F also contains other model-dependent source terms such as porous-media and user-dened sources. The stress tensor is given by = ( v+ v T) 2 3 vI (9.2-4)
where is the molecular viscosity, I is the unit tensor, and the second term on the right hand side is the eect of volume dilation. For 2D axisymmetric geometries, the axial and radial momentum conservation equations are given by 1 1 p 1 vx 2 (vx ) + (rvx vx ) + (rvr vx ) = + r 2 ( v) t r x r r x r x x 3 1 vx vr + r + + Fx r r r x (9.2-5) and 1 1 p 1 vr vx (vr ) + (rvx vr ) + (rvr vr ) = + r + t r x r r r r x x r + where v = vx vr vr + + x r r (9.2-7) 1 vr 2 r 2 ( r r r 3 v) 2 vr 2 + ( r2 3 r v) +
2 vz + Fr r
(9.2-6)
and vz is the swirl velocity. (See Section 9.4: Swirling and Rotating Flows for information about modeling axisymmetric swirl.)
9-4
9.3 Periodic Flows
9.3
Periodic Flows
Periodic ow occurs when the physical geometry of interest and the expected pattern of the ow/thermal solution have a periodically repeating nature. Two types of periodic ow can be modeled in FLUENT. In the rst type, no pressure drop occurs across the periodic planes. (Note to FLUENT 4 users: This type of periodic ow is modeled using a cyclic boundary in FLUENT 4.) In the second type, a pressure drop occurs across translationally periodic boundaries, resulting in fully-developed or streamwise-periodic ow. (In FLUENT 4, this type of periodic ow is modeled using a periodic boundary.) This section discusses streamwise-periodic ow. A description of no-pressure-drop periodic ow is provided in Section 7.15: Periodic Boundary Conditions, and a description of streamwise-periodic heat transfer is provided in Section 12.4: Periodic Heat Transfer. Information about streamwise-periodic ow is presented in the following sections: Section 9.3.1: Overview and Limitations Section 9.3.2: Theory Section 9.3.3: User Inputs for the Segregated Solver Section 9.3.4: User Inputs for the Coupled Solvers Section 9.3.5: Monitoring the Value of the Pressure Gradient Section 9.3.6: Postprocessing for Streamwise-Periodic Flows
9.3.1
Overview and Limitations
Overview
FLUENT provides the ability to calculate streamwise-periodicor fully-developed uid ow. These ows are encountered in a variety of applications, including ows in compact heat exchanger channels and ows across tube banks. In such ow congurations, the geometry varies in a repeating manner along the direction of the ow, leading to a periodic fully-developed ow regime in which the ow pattern repeats in successive cycles. Other examples of streamwise-periodic ows include fully-developed ow in pipes and ducts. These periodic conditions are achieved after a sucient entrance length, which depends on the ow Reynolds number and geometric conguration. Streamwise-periodic ow conditions exist when the ow pattern repeats over some length L, with a constant pressure drop across each repeating module along the streamwise direction. Figure 9.3.1 depicts one example of a periodically repeating ow of this type which has been modeled by including a single representative module.
9-5
3.57e-03 3.33e-03 3.09e-03 2.86e-03 2.62e-03 2.38e-03 2.14e-03 1.90e-03 1.67e-03 1.43e-03 1.19e-03 9.53e-04 7.15e-04 4.77e-04 2.39e-04 1.01e-06
Figure 9.3.1: Example of Periodic Flow in a 2D Heat Exchanger Geometry
Constraints on the Use of Streamwise-Periodic Flow

The following constraints apply to modeling streamwise-periodic ow: The ow must be incompressible. The geometry must be translationally periodic. Note that transient simulations for fully-developed uid ow are not valid with translational periodic ow. If one of the coupled solvers is used, you can specify only the pressure jump; for the segregated solver, you can specify either the pressure jump or the mass ow rate. No net mass addition through inlets/exits or extra source terms is allowed. Species can be modeled only if inlets/exits (without net mass addition) are included in the problem. Reacting ows are not permitted. Discrete phase and multiphase modeling are not allowed.
9-6
9.3 Periodic Flows
9.3.2
Theory
Denition of the Periodic Velocity

The assumption of periodicity implies that the velocity components repeat themselves in space as follows:
u(r) = u(r + L) = u(r + 2L) = v(r) = v(r + L) = v(r + 2L) = w(r) = w(r + L) = w(r + 2L) = where r is the position vector and L is the periodic length vector of the domain considered (see Figure 9.3.2).
A L B L C
(9.3-1)
uA = uB = uC vA = vB = vC
= = pA pB pC pB - pA = pC - pB
Figure 9.3.2: Example of a Periodic Geometry
Denition of the Streamwise-Periodic Pressure

For viscous ows, the pressure is not periodic in the sense of Equation 9.3-1. Instead, the pressure drop between modules is periodic: p = p(r) p(r + L) = p(r + L) p(r + 2L) = (9.3-2)
If one of the coupled solvers is used, p is specied as a constant value. For the segregated solver, the local pressure gradient can be decomposed into two parts: the gradient of a periodic component, p(r), and the gradient of a linearly-varying component, |L : L| p(r) = L |L| + p(r) (9.3-3)
9-7
where p(r) is the periodic pressure and |r| is the linearly-varying component of the pressure. The periodic pressure is the pressure left over after subtracting out the linearlyvarying pressure. The linearly-varying component of the pressure results in a force acting on the uid in the momentum equations. Because the value of is not known a priori, it must be iterated on until the mass ow rate that you have dened is achieved in the computational model. This correction of occurs in the pressure correction step of the SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, or PISO algorithm where the value of is updated based on the dierence between the desired mass ow rate and the actual one. You have some control over the number of sub-iterations used to update , as described in Section 9.3.3: Setting Parameters for the Calculation of .
9.3.3
User Inputs for the Segregated Solver
If you are using the segregated solver, in order to calculate a spatially periodic ow eld with a specied mass ow rate or pressure derivative, you must rst create a grid with translationally periodic boundaries that are parallel to each other and equal in size. You can specify translational periodicity in the Periodic panel, as described in Section 7.15: Periodic Boundary Conditions. (If you need to create periodic boundaries, see Section 6.7.6: Creating Periodic Zones.) Once the grid has been read into FLUENT, you will complete the following inputs in the Periodicity Conditions panel (Figure 9.3.3): Dene Periodic Conditions...
Figure 9.3.3: The Periodicity Conditions Panel
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9.3 Periodic Flows
1. Select either the specied mass ow rate (Specify Mass Flow) option or the specied pressure gradient (Specify Pressure Gradient) option. For most problems, the mass ow rate across the periodic boundary will be a known quantity; for others, the mass ow rate will be unknown, but the pressure gradient ( in Equation 9.3-3) will be a known quantity. 2. Specify the mass ow rate and/or the pressure gradient ( in Equation 9.3-3): If you selected the Specify Mass Flow option, enter the desired value for the Mass Flow Rate. You can also specify an initial guess for the Pressure Gradient, but this is not required.
For axisymmetric problems, the mass ow rate is per 2 radians.
If you selected the Specify Pressure Gradient option, enter the desired value for Pressure Gradient. 3. Dene the ow direction by setting the X,Y,Z (or X,Y in 2D) point under Flow Direction. The ow will move in the direction of the vector pointing from the origin to the specied point. The direction vector must be parallel to the periodic translation direction or its opposite. 4. If you chose in step 1 to specify the mass ow rate, set the parameters used for the calculation of . These parameters are described in detail below. After completing these inputs, you can solve the periodic velocity eld to convergence.
Setting Parameters for the Calculation of

If you choose to specify the mass ow rate, FLUENT will need to calculate the appropriate value of the pressure gradient . You can control this calculation by specifying the Relaxation Factor and the Number of Iterations, and by supplying an initial guess for . All of these inputs are entered in the Periodicity Conditions panel. The Number of Iterations sets the number of sub-iterations performed on the correction of in the pressure correction equation. Because the value of is not known a priori, it must be iterated on until the Mass Flow Rate that you have dened is achieved in the computational model. This correction of occurs in the pressure correction step of the SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, or PISO algorithm. A correction to the current value of is calculated based on the dierence between the desired mass ow rate and the actual one. The sub-iterations referred to here are performed within the pressure correction step to improve the correction for before the pressure correction equation is solved for the resulting pressure (and velocity) correction values. The default value of 2 sub-iterations should suce in most problems, but can be increased to help speed convergence. The Relaxation Factor is an under-relaxation factor that controls convergence of this iteration process.
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You can also speed up convergence of the periodic calculation by supplying an initial guess for in the Pressure Gradient eld. Note that the current value of will be displayed in this eld if you have performed any calculations. To update the Pressure Gradient eld with the current value at any time, click on the Update button.
9.3.4
User Inputs for the Coupled Solvers
If you are using one of the coupled solvers, in order to calculate a spatially periodic ow eld with a specied pressure jump, you must rst create a grid with translationally periodic boundaries that are parallel to each other and equal in size. (If you need to create periodic boundaries, see Section 6.7.6: Creating Periodic Zones.) Then, follow the steps below: 1. In the Periodic panel (Figure 9.3.4), which is opened from the Boundary Conditions panel, indicate that the periodicity is Translational (the default). Dene Boundary Conditions...
Figure 9.3.4: The Periodic Panel
2. Also in the Periodic panel, set the Periodic Pressure Jump (p in Equation 9.3-2). After completing these inputs, you can solve the periodic velocity eld to convergence.
9.3.5
Monitoring the Value of the Pressure Gradient
If you have specied the mass ow rate, you can monitor the value of the pressure gradient during the calculation using the Statistic Monitors panel. Select per/pr-grad as the variable to be monitored. See Section 26.19.2: Monitoring Statistics for details about using this feature.
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9.4 Swirling and Rotating Flows
9.3.6
Postprocessing for Streamwise-Periodic Flows
For streamwise-periodic ows, the velocity eld should be completely periodic. If a coupled solver is used to compute the periodic ow, the pressure eld reported will be the actual pressure p (which is not periodic). If the segregated solver is used, the pressure eld reported will be the periodic pressure eld p(r) of Equation 9.3-3. Figure 9.3.5 displays the periodic pressure eld in the geometry of Figure 9.3.1. If you specied a mass ow rate and had FLUENT calculate the pressure gradient, you can check the pressure gradient in the streamwise direction () by looking at the current value for Pressure Gradient in the Periodicity Conditions panel.
1.68e-03 1.29e-03 8.98e-04 5.07e-04 1.16e-04 -2.74e-04 -6.65e-04 -1.06e-03 -1.45e-03 -1.84e-03 -2.23e-03 -2.62e-03 -3.01e-03 -3.40e-03 -3.79e-03 -4.18e-03
Contours of Static Pressure (pascal)
Figure 9.3.5: Periodic Pressure Field Predicted for Flow in a 2D Heat Exchanger Geometry
9.4
Swirling and Rotating Flows

Many important engineering ows involve swirl or rotation and FLUENT is well-equipped to model such ows. Swirling ows are common in combustion, with swirl introduced in burners and combustors in order to increase residence time and stabilize the ow pattern. Rotating ows are also encountered in turbomachinery, mixing tanks, and a variety of other applications.
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Information about rotating and swirling ows is provided in the following subsections: Section 9.4.1: Overview of Swirling and Rotating Flows Section 9.4.2: Physics of Swirling and Rotating Flows Section 9.4.3: Turbulence Modeling in Swirling Flows Section 9.4.4: Grid Setup for Swirling and Rotating Flows Section 9.4.5: Modeling Axisymmetric Flows with Swirl or Rotation When you begin the analysis of a rotating or swirling ow, it is essential that you classify your problem into one of the following ve categories of ow: axisymmetric ows with swirl or rotation fully three-dimensional swirling or rotating ows ows requiring a rotating reference frame ows requiring multiple rotating reference frames or mixing planes ows requiring sliding meshes Modeling and solution procedures for the rst two categories are presented in this section. The remaining three, which all involve moving zones, are discussed in Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones.
9.4.1
Overview of Swirling and Rotating Flows
Axisymmetric Flows with Swirl or Rotation

Your problem may be axisymmetric with respect to geometry and ow conditions but still include swirl or rotation. In this case, you can model the ow in 2D (i.e., solve the axisymmetric problem) and include the prediction of the circumferential (or swirl) velocity. It is important to note that while the assumption of axisymmetry implies that there are no circumferential gradients in the ow, there may still be non-zero swirl velocities.
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Momentum Conservation Equation for Swirl Velocity The tangential momentum equation for 2D swirling ows may be written as
1 1 1 w 1 (w)+ (ruw)+ (rvw) = r + 2 r3 t r x r r r x x r r r
w r
vw (9.4-1) r
where x is the axial coordinate, r is the radial coordinate, u is the axial velocity, v is the radial velocity, and w is the swirl velocity.
Three-Dimensional Swirling Flows

When there are geometric changes and/or ow gradients in the circumferential direction, your swirling ow prediction requires a three-dimensional model. If you are planning a 3D FLUENT model that includes swirl or rotation, you should be aware of the setup constraints listed in Section 9.4.4: Coordinate-System Restrictions. In addition, you may wish to consider simplications to the problem which might reduce it to an equivalent axisymmetric problem, especially for your initial modeling eort. Because of the complexity of swirling ows, an initial 2D study, in which you can quickly determine the eects of various modeling and design choices, can be very benecial.
For 3D problems involving swirl or rotation, there are no special inputs required during the problem setup and no special solution procedures. Note, however, that you may want to use the cylindrical coordinate system for dening velocity-inlet boundary condition inputs, as described in Section 7.4.1: Dening the Velocity. Also, you may nd the gradual increase of the rotational speed (set as a wall or inlet boundary condition) helpful during the solution process. This is described for axisymmetric swirling ows in Section 9.4.5: Gradual Increase of the Rotational or Swirl Speed to Improve Solution Stability.
Flows Requiring a Rotating Reference Frame

If your ow involves a rotating boundary which moves through the uid (e.g., an impeller blade or a grooved or notched surface), you will need to use a rotating reference frame to model the problem. Such applications are described in detail in Section 10.2: Flow in a Rotating Reference Frame. If you have more than one rotating boundary (e.g., several impellers in a row), you can use multiple reference frames (described in Section 10.3: The Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) Model) or mixing planes (described in Section 10.4: The Mixing Plane Model).
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9.4.2
Physics of Swirling and Rotating Flows
In swirling ows, conservation of angular momentum (rw or r2 = constant) tends to create a free vortex ow, in which the circumferential velocity, w, increases sharply as the radius, r, decreases (with w nally decaying to zero near r = 0 as viscous forces begin to dominate). A tornado is one example of a free vortex. Figure 9.4.1 depicts the radial distribution of w in a typical free vortex.
r axis
Figure 9.4.1: Typical Radial Distribution of w in a Free Vortex
It can be shown that for an ideal free vortex ow, the centrifugal forces created by the circumferential motion are in equilibrium with the radial pressure gradient: p w2 = r r (9.4-2)
As the distribution of angular momentum in a non-ideal vortex evolves, the form of this radial pressure gradient also changes, driving radial and axial ows in response to the highly non-uniform pressures that result. Thus, as you compute the distribution of swirl in your FLUENT model, you will also notice changes in the static pressure distribution and corresponding changes in the axial and radial ow velocities. It is this high degree of coupling between the swirl and the pressure eld that makes the modeling of swirling ows complex. In ows that are driven by wall rotation, the motion of the wall tends to impart a forced vortex motion to the uid, wherein w/r or is constant. An important characteristic of such ows is the tendency of uid with high angular momentum (e.g., the ow near the wall) to be ung radially outward (Figure 9.4.2). This is often referred to as radial pumping, since the rotating wall is pumping the uid radially outward.
9.4.3
Turbulence Modeling in Swirling Flows
If you are modeling turbulent ow with a signicant amount of swirl (e.g., cyclone ows, swirling jets), you should consider using one of FLUENTs advanced turbulence models: the RNG k- model, realizable k- model, or Reynolds stress model. The appropriate choice depends on the strength of the swirl, which can be gauged by the swirl number. The swirl number is dened as the ratio of the axial ux of angular momentum to the axial ux of axial momentum:
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7.69e-03
6.92e-03
6.15e-03
5.38e-03
4.62e-03
3.85e-03
3.08e-03
2.31e-03
1.54e-03
7.69e-04
0.00e+00
axis of rotation
Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)
Figure 9.4.2: Stream Function Contours for Rotating Flow in a Cavity (Geometry of Figure 9.4.3)
S=
rwv dA R uv dA
(9.4-3)
where R is the hydraulic radius. For ows with weak to moderate swirl (S < 0.5), both the RNG k- model and the realizable k- model yield appreciable improvements over the standard k- model. See Sections 11.4.2, 11.4.3, and 11.11.1 for details about these models. For highly swirling ows (S > 0.5), the Reynolds stress model (RSM) is strongly recommended. The eects of strong turbulence anisotropy can be modeled rigorously only by the second-moment closure adopted in the RSM. See Sections 11.6 and 11.11 for details about this model. For swirling ows encountered in devices such as cyclone separators and swirl combustors, near-wall turbulence modeling is quite often a secondary issue at most. The delity of the predictions in these cases is mainly determined by the accuracy of the turbulence model in the core region. However, in cases where walls actively participate in the generation of swirl (i.e., where the secondary ows and vortical ows are generated by pressure gradients), non-equilibrium wall functions can often improve the predictions since they use a law of the wall for mean velocity sensitized to pressure gradients. See Section 11.9: Near-Wall Treatments for Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows for additional
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details about near-wall treatments for turbulence.
9.4.4 Grid Setup for Swirling and Rotating Flows Coordinate-System Restrictions
Recall that for an axisymmetric problem, the axis of rotation must be the x axis and the grid must lie on or above the y = 0 line.
Grid Sensitivity in Swirling and Rotating Flows

In addition to the setup constraint described above, you should be aware of the need for sucient resolution in your grid when solving ows that include swirl or rotation. Typically, rotating boundary layers may be very thin, and your FLUENT model will require a very ne grid near a rotating wall. In addition, swirling ows will often involve steep gradients in the circumferential velocity (e.g., near the centerline of a free-vortex type ow), and thus require a ne grid for accurate resolution.
9.4.5 Modeling Axisymmetric Flows with Swirl or Rotation

As discussed in Section 9.4.1: Overview of Swirling and Rotating Flows, you can solve a 2D axisymmetric problem that includes the prediction of the circumferential or swirl velocity. The assumption of axisymmetry implies that there are no circumferential gradients in the ow, but that there may be non-zero circumferential velocities. Examples of axisymmetric ows involving swirl or rotation are depicted in Figures 9.4.3 and 9.4.4.
Problem Setup for Axisymmetric Swirling Flows

For axisymmetric problems, you will need to perform the following steps during the problem setup procedure. (Only those steps relevant specically to the setup of axisymmetric swirl/rotation are listed here. You will need to set up the rest of the problem as usual.) 1. Activate solution of the momentum equation in the circumferential direction by turning on the Axisymmetric Swirl option for Space in the Solver panel. Dene Models Solver... 2. Dene the rotational or swirling component of velocity, r, at inlets or walls. Dene Boundary Conditions...
Remember to use the axis boundary type for the axis of rotation.
The procedures for input of rotational velocities at inlets and at walls are described in detail in Sections 7.4.1 and 7.13.1.
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Rotating Cover
Region to be modeled
Figure 9.4.3: Rotating Flow in a Cavity
Region to be modeled
Figure 9.4.4: Swirling Flow in a Gas Burner
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Solution Strategies for Axisymmetric Swirling Flows

The diculties associated with solving swirling and rotating ows are a result of the high degree of coupling between the momentum equations, which is introduced when the inuence of the rotational terms is large. A high level of rotation introduces a large radial pressure gradient which drives the ow in the axial and radial directions. This, in turn, determines the distribution of the swirl or rotation in the eld. This coupling may lead to instabilities in the solution process, and you may require special solution techniques in order to obtain a converged solution. Solution techniques that may be benecial in swirling or rotating ow calculations include the following: (Segregated solver only) Use the PRESTO! scheme (enabled in the Pressure list for Discretization in the Solution Controls panel), which is well-suited for the steep pressure gradients involved in swirling ows. Ensure that the mesh is suciently rened to resolve large gradients in pressure and swirl velocity. (Segregated solver only) Change the under-relaxation parameters on the velocities, perhaps to 0.30.5 for the radial and axial velocities and 0.81.0 for swirl. (Segregated solver only) Use a sequential or step-by-step solution procedure, in which some equations are temporarily left inactive (see below). If necessary, start the calculations using a low rotational speed or inlet swirl velocity, increasing the rotation or swirl gradually in order to reach the nal desired operating condition (see below). See Chapter 26: Using the Solver for details on the procedures used to make these changes to the solution parameters. More details on the step-by-step procedure and on the gradual increase of the rotational speed are provided below. Step-By-Step Solution Procedures for Axisymmetric Swirling Flows Often, ows with a high degree of swirl or rotation will be easier to solve if you use the following step-by-step solution procedure, in which only selected equations are left active in each step. This approach allows you to establish the eld of angular momentum, then leave it xed while you update the velocity eld, and then nally to couple the two elds by solving all equations simultaneously.
Since the coupled solvers solve all the ow equations simultaneously, the following procedure applies only to the segregated solver.
In this procedure, you will use the Equations list in the Solution Controls panel to turn individual transport equations on and o between calculations.
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1. If your problem involves inow/outow, begin by solving the ow without rotation or swirl eects. That is, enable the Axisymmetric option instead of the Axisymmetric Swirl option in the Solver panel, and do not set any rotating boundary conditions. The resulting ow-eld data can be used as a starting guess for the full problem. 2. Enable the Axisymmetric Swirl option and set all rotating/swirling boundary conditions. 3. Begin the prediction of the rotating/swirling ow by solving only the momentum equation describing the circumferential velocity. This is the Swirl Velocity listed in the Equations list in the Solution Controls panel. Let the rotation diuse throughout the ow eld, based on your boundary condition inputs. In a turbulent ow simulation, you may also want to leave the turbulence equations active during this step. This step will establish the eld of rotation throughout the domain. 4. Turn o the momentum equations describing the circumferential motion (Swirl Velocity). Leaving the velocity in the circumferential direction xed, solve the momentum and continuity (pressure) equations (Flow in the Equations list in the Solution Controls panel) in the other coordinate directions. This step will establish the axial and radial ows that are a result of the rotation in the eld. Again, if your problem involves turbulent ow, you should leave the turbulence equations active during this calculation. 5. Turn on all of the equations simultaneously to obtain a fully coupled solution. Note the under-relaxation controls suggested above. In addition to the steps above, you may want to simplify your calculation by solving isothermal ow before adding heat transfer or by solving laminar ow before adding a turbulence model. These two methods can be used for any of the solvers (i.e., segregated or coupled). Gradual Increase of the Rotational or Swirl Speed to Improve Solution Stability Because the rotation or swirl dened by the boundary conditions can lead to large complex forces in the ow, your FLUENT calculations will be less stable as the speed of rotation or degree of swirl increases. Hence, one of the most eective controls you can apply to the solution is to solve your rotating ow problem starting with a low rotational speed or swirl velocity and then slowly increase the magnitude up to the desired level. The procedure for accomplishing this is as follows: 1. Set up the problem using a low rotational speed or swirl velocity in your inputs for boundary conditions. The rotation or swirl in this rst attempt might be selected as 10% of the actual operating conditions.
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2. Solve the problem at these conditions, perhaps using the step-by-step solution strategy outlined above. 3. Save this initial solution data. 4. Modify your inputs (boundary conditions). Increase the speed of rotation, perhaps doubling it. 5. Restart the calculation using the solution data saved in step 3 as the initial solution for the new calculation. Save the new data. 6. Continue to increment the speed of rotation, following steps 4 and 5, until you reach the desired operating condition.
Postprocessing for Axisymmetric Swirling Flows

Reporting of results for axisymmetric swirling ows is the same as for other ows. The following additional variables are available for postprocessing when axisymmetric swirl is active: Swirl Velocity (in the Velocity... category) Swirl-Wall Shear Stress (in the Wall Fluxes... category)
9.5
Compressible Flows
Compressibility eects are encountered in gas ows at high velocity and/or in which there are large pressure variations. When the ow velocity approaches or exceeds the speed of sound of the gas or when the pressure change in the system (p/p) is large, the variation of the gas density with pressure has a signicant impact on the ow velocity, pressure, and temperature. Compressible ows create a unique set of ow physics for which you must be aware of the special input requirements and solution techniques described in this section. Figures 9.5.1 and 9.5.2 show examples of compressible ows computed using FLUENT. Information about compressible ows is provided in the following subsections: Section 9.5.1: When to Use the Compressible Flow Model Section 9.5.2: Physics of Compressible Flows Section 9.5.3: Modeling Inputs for Compressible Flows Section 9.5.4: Floating Operating Pressure Section 9.5.5: Solution Strategies for Compressible Flows Section 9.5.6: Reporting of Results for Compressible Flows
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9.5 Compressible Flows
1.57e+00 1.43e+00 1.29e+00 1.16e+00 1.02e+00 8.82e-01 7.45e-01 6.07e-01 4.70e-01 3.32e-01 1.95e-01
Contours of Mach Number
Figure 9.5.1: Transonic Flow in a Converging-Diverging Nozzle
2.02e+04 1.24e+04 4.68e+03 -3.07e+03 -1.08e+04 -1.86e+04 -2.63e+04 -3.41e+04 -4.18e+04 -4.95e+04 -5.73e+04
Contours of Static Pressure (pascal)
Figure 9.5.2: Mach 0.675 Flow Over a Bump in a 2D Channel
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9.5.1
When to Use the Compressible Flow Model
Compressible ows can be characterized by the value of the Mach number: M u/c Here, c is the speed of sound in the gas: c= and is the ratio of specic heats (cp /cv ). When the Mach number is less than 1.0, the ow is termed subsonic. At Mach numbers much less than 1.0 (M < 0.1 or so), compressibility eects are negligible and the variation of the gas density with pressure can safely be ignored in your ow modeling. As the Mach number approaches 1.0 (which is referred to as the transonic ow regime), compressibility eects become important. When the Mach number exceeds 1.0, the ow is termed supersonic, and may contain shocks and expansion fans which can impact the ow pattern signicantly. FLUENT provides a wide range of compressible ow modeling capabilities for subsonic, transonic, and supersonic ows. RT (9.5-2) (9.5-1)
9.5.2 Physics of Compressible Flows

Compressible ows are typically characterized by the total pressure p0 and total temperature T0 of the ow. For an ideal gas, these quantities can be related to the static pressure and temperature by the following: p0 = exp( p For constant Cp , Equation 9.5-3 reduces to
T0 Cp T T dT
(9.5-3)
p0 = p
1+
1 2 M 2
/(1)
(9.5-4) (9.5-5)
T0 1 2 = 1+ M T 2
These relationships describe the variation of the static pressure and temperature in the ow as the velocity (Mach number) changes under isentropic conditions. For example, given a pressure ratio from inlet to exit (total to static), Equation 9.5-4 can be used to estimate the exit Mach number which would exist in a one-dimensional isentropic ow. For air, Equation 9.5-4 predicts a choked ow (Mach number of 1.0) at an isentropic
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pressure ratio, p/p0 , of 0.5283. This choked ow condition will be established at the point of minimum ow area (e.g., in the throat of a nozzle). In the subsequent area expansion the ow may either accelerate to a supersonic ow in which the pressure will continue to drop, or return to subsonic ow conditions, decelerating with a pressure rise. If a supersonic ow is exposed to an imposed pressure increase, a shock will occur, with a sudden pressure rise and deceleration accomplished across the shock.
Basic Equations for Compressible Flows

Compressible ows are described by the standard continuity and momentum equations solved by FLUENT, and you do not need to activate any special physical models (other than the compressible treatment of density as detailed below). The energy equation solved by FLUENT correctly incorporates the coupling between the ow velocity and the static temperature, and should be activated whenever you are solving a compressible ow. In addition, if you are using the segregated solver, you should activate the viscous dissipation terms in Equation 12.2-1, which become important in high-Mach-number ows.
The Compressible Form of the Gas Law

For compressible ows, the ideal gas law is written in the following form: = pop + p R T Mw (9.5-6)
where pop is the operating pressure dened in the Operating Conditions panel, p is the local static pressure relative to the operating pressure, R is the universal gas constant, and Mw is the molecular weight. The temperature, T , will be computed from the energy equation.
9.5.3
Modeling Inputs for Compressible Flows
To set up a compressible ow in FLUENT, you will need to follow the steps listed below. (Only those steps relevant specically to the setup of compressible ows are listed here. You will need to set up the rest of the problem as usual.) 1. Set the Operating Pressure in the Operating Conditions panel. Dene Operating Conditions... (You can think of pop as the absolute static pressure at a point in the ow where you will dene the gauge pressure p to be zero. See Section 8.13: Operating Pressure for guidelines on setting the operating pressure. For time-dependent compressible ows, you may want to specify a oating operating pressure instead of a constant operating pressure. See Section 9.5.4: Floating Operating Pressure for details.)
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2. Activate solution of the energy equation in the Energy panel. Dene Models Energy... 3. (Segregated solver only) If you are modeling turbulent ow, activate the optional viscous dissipation terms in the energy equation by turning on Viscous Heating in the Viscous Model panel. Note that these terms can be important in high-speed ows. Dene Models Viscous... This step is not necessary if you are using one of the coupled solvers, because the coupled solvers always include the viscous dissipation terms in the energy equation. 4. Set the following items in the Materials panel: Dene Materials... (a) Select ideal-gas in the drop-down list next to Density. (b) Dene all relevant properties (specic heat, molecular weight, thermal conductivity, etc.). 5. Set boundary conditions (using the Boundary Conditions panel), being sure to choose a well-posed boundary condition combination that is appropriate for the ow regime. See below for details. Recall that all inputs for pressure (either total pressure or static pressure) must be relative to the operating pressure, and the temperature inputs at inlets should be total (stagnation) temperatures, not static temperatures. Dene Boundary Conditions... These inputs should ensure a well-posed compressible ow problem. You will also want to consider special solution parameter settings, as noted in Section 9.5.5: Solution Strategies for Compressible Flows, before beginning the ow calculation.
Boundary Conditions for Compressible Flows

Well-posed inlet and exit boundary conditions for compressible ow are listed below: For ow inlets: Pressure inlet: Inlet total temperature and total pressure and, for supersonic inlets, static pressure Mass ow inlet: Inlet mass ow and total temperature
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For ow exits: Pressure outlet: Exit static pressure (ignored if ow is supersonic at the exit. All the information travels downstream in a supersonic region, hence the pressure at the outlet can be computed by directly extrapolating from the adjacent cell center [132]. Therefore, it is not meaningful to use the exit static pressure prescribed in the boundary conditions panel, and the exit static pressure is ignored). It is important to note that your boundary condition inputs for pressure (either total pressure or static pressure) must be in terms of gauge pressurei.e., pressure relative to the operating pressure dened in the Operating Conditions panel, as described above. All temperature inputs at inlets should be total (stagnation) temperatures, not static temperatures.
9.5.4
Floating Operating Pressure
FLUENT provides a oating operating pressure option to handle time-dependent compressible ows with a gradual increase in the absolute pressure in the domain. This option is desirable for slow subsonic ows with static pressure build-up, since it eciently accounts for the slow changing of absolute pressure without using acoustic waves as the transport mechanism for the pressure build-up. Examples of typical applications include the following: combustion or heating of a gas in a closed domain pumping of a gas into a closed domain
Limitations
The oating operating pressure option should not be used for transonic or incompressible ows. In addition, it cannot be used if your model includes any pressure inlet, pressure outlet, exhaust fan, inlet vent, intake fan, outlet vent, or pressure far eld boundaries.
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Theory
The oating operating pressure option allows FLUENT to calculate the pressure rise (or drop) from the integral mass balance, separately from the solution of the pressure correction equation. When this option is activated, the absolute pressure at each iteration can be expressed as pabs = pop,oat + p (9.5-7)
where p is the pressure relative to the reference location, which in this case is in the cell with the minimum pressure value. Thus the reference location itself is oating. pop,oat is referred to as the oating operating pressure, and is dened as pop,oat = p0 + pop op where p0 is the initial operating pressure and pop is the pressure rise. op Including the pressure rise pop in the oating operating pressure pop,oat , rather than in the pressure p, helps to prevent roundo error. If the pressure rise were included in p, the calculation of the pressure gradient for the momentum equation would give an inexact balance due to precision limits for 32-bit real numbers. (9.5-8)
Enabling Floating Operating Pressure

When time dependence is active, you can turn on the Floating Operating Pressure option in the Operating Conditions panel. Dene Operating Conditions... (Note that the inputs for Reference Pressure Location will disappear when you enable Floating Operating Pressure, since these inputs are no longer relevant.)
The oating operating pressure option should not be used for transonic ows or for incompressible ows. It is meaningful only for slow subsonic ows of ideal gases, when the characteristic time scale is much larger than the sonic time scale.
Setting the Initial Value for the Floating Operating Pressure

When the oating operating pressure option is enabled, you will need to specify a value for the Initial Operating Pressure in the Solution Initialization panel. Solve Initialize Initialize... This initial value is stored in the case le with all your other initial values.
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Storage and Reporting of the Floating Operating Pressure

The current value of the oating operating pressure is stored in the data le. If you visit the Operating Conditions panel after a number of time steps have been performed, the current value of the Operating Pressure will be displayed. Note that the oating operating pressure will automatically be reset to the initial operating pressure if you reset the data (i.e., start over at the rst iteration of the rst time step).
Monitoring Absolute Pressure

You can monitor the absolute pressure during the calculation using the Surface Monitors panel (see Section 26.19.4: Monitoring Surface Integrals for details). You can also generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of absolute pressure when your solution is complete. The Absolute Pressure variable is contained in the Pressure... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for its denition.
9.5.5
Solution Strategies for Compressible Flows
The diculties associated with solving compressible ows are a result of the high degree of coupling between the ow velocity, density, pressure, and energy. This coupling may lead to instabilities in the solution process and, therefore, may require special solution techniques in order to obtain a converged solution. In addition, the presence of shocks (discontinuities) in the ow introduces an additional stability problem during the calculation. Solution techniques that may be benecial in compressible ow calculations include the following: (segregated solver only) Initialize the ow to be near stagnation (i.e. velocity small but not zero, pressure to inlet total pressure, temperature to inlet total temperature). Turn o the energy equation for the rst 50 iterations. Leave the energy under-relaxation at 1. Set the pressure under-relaxation to 0.4, and the momentum under-relaxation to 0.3. After the solution stabilizes and the energy equation has been turned on, increase the pressure under-relaxation to 0.7. Set reasonable limits for the temperature and pressure (in the Solution Limits panel) to avoid solution divergence, especially at the start of the calculation. If FLUENT prints messages about temperature or pressure being limited as the solution nears convergence, the high or low computed values may be physical, and you will need to change the limits to allow these values. If required, begin the calculations using a reduced pressure ratio at the boundaries, increasing the pressure ratio gradually in order to reach the nal desired operating condition. If the Mach number is low, you can also consider starting the
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compressible ow calculation from an incompressible ow solution (although the incompressible ow solution can in some cases be a rather poor initial guess for the compressible calculation). In some cases, computing an inviscid solution as a starting point may be helpful. See Chapter 26: Using the Solver for details on the procedures used to make these changes to the solution parameters.
9.5.6
Reporting of Results for Compressible Flows
You can display the results of your compressible ow calculations in the same manner that you would use for an incompressible ow. The variables listed below are of particular interest when you model compressible ow: Total Temperature Total Pressure Mach Number These variables are contained in the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. Total Temperature is in the Temperature... category, Total Pressure is in the Pressure... category, and Mach Number is in the Velocity... category. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for their denitions.
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9.6 Inviscid Flows
9.6
Inviscid Flows
Inviscid ow analyses neglect the eect of viscosity on the ow and are appropriate for high-Reynolds-number applications where inertial forces tend to dominate viscous forces. One example for which an inviscid ow calculation is appropriate is an aerodynamic analysis of some high-speed projectile. In a case like this, the pressure forces on the body will dominate the viscous forces. Hence, an inviscid analysis will give you a quick estimate of the primary forces acting on the body. After the body shape has been modied to maximize the lift forces and minimize the drag forces, you can perform a viscous analysis to include the eects of the uid viscosity and turbulent viscosity on the lift and drag forces. Another area where inviscid ow analyses are routinely used is to provide a good initial solution for problems involving complicated ow physics and/or complicated ow geometry. In a case like this, the viscous forces are important, but in the early stages of the calculation the viscous terms in the momentum equations will be ignored. Once the calculation has been started and the residuals are decreasing, you can turn on the viscous terms (by enabling laminar or turbulent ow) and continue the solution to convergence. For some very complicated ows, this is the only way to get the calculation started. Information about inviscid ows is provided in the following subsections: Section 9.6.1: Euler Equations Section 9.6.2: Setting Up an Inviscid Flow Model Section 9.6.3: Solution Strategies for Inviscid Flows Section 9.6.4: Postprocessing for Inviscid Flows
9.6.1
Euler Equations
For inviscid ows, FLUENT solves the Euler equations. The mass conservation equation is the same as for a laminar ow, but the momentum and energy conservation equations are reduced due to the absence of molecular diusion. In this section, the conservation equations for inviscid ow in an inertial (non-rotating) reference frame are presented. The equations that are applicable to non-inertial reference frames are described in Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones. The conservation equations relevant for species transport and other models will be discussed in the chapters where those models are described.
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The Mass Conservation Equation

The equation for conservation of mass, or continuity equation, can be written as follows: + t (v) = Sm (9.6-1)
Equation 9.6-1 is the general form of the mass conservation equation and is valid for incompressible as well as compressible ows. The source Sm is the mass added to the continuous phase from the dispersed second phase (e.g., due to vaporization of liquid droplets) and any user-dened sources. For 2D axisymmetric geometries, the continuity equation is given by vr + (vx ) + (vr ) + = Sm t x r r (9.6-2)
where x is the axial coordinate, r is the radial coordinate, vx is the axial velocity, and vr is the radial velocity.
Momentum Conservation Equations

Conservation of momentum is described by (v) + t (vv) = p + g + F (9.6-3)
where p is the static pressure and g and F are the gravitational body force and external body forces (e.g., forces that arise from interaction with the dispersed phase), respectively. F also contains other model-dependent source terms such as porous-media and userdened sources. For 2D axisymmetric geometries, the axial and radial momentum conservation equations are given by 1 1 p (vx ) + (rvx vx ) + (rvr vx ) = + Fx t r x r r x and 1 1 p (vr ) + (rvx vr ) + (rvr vr ) = + Fr t r x r r r (9.6-5) (9.6-4)
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9.6 Inviscid Flows
where v = vx vr vr + + x r r (9.6-6)
Energy Conservation Equation

Conservation of energy is described by (E) + t
(v(E + p)) =
hj Jj + Sh
(9.6-7)
9.6.2
Setting Up an Inviscid Flow Model
For inviscid ow problems, you will need to perform the following steps during the problem setup procedure. (Only those steps relevant specically to the setup of inviscid ow are listed here. You will need to set up the rest of the problem as usual.) 1. Activate the calculation of inviscid ow by selecting Inviscid in the Viscous Model panel. Dene Models Viscous... 2. Set boundary conditions and ow properties. Dene Boundary Conditions... Dene Materials... 3. Solve the problem and examine the results.
9.6.3
Solution Strategies for Inviscid Flows
Since inviscid ow problems will usually involve high-speed ow, you may have to reduce the under-relaxation factors for momentum (if you are using the segregated solver) or reduce the Courant number (if you are using the coupled solver), in order to get the solution started. Once the ow is started and the residuals are monotonically decreasing, you can start increasing the under-relaxation factors or Courant number back up to the default values. Modications to the under-relaxation factors and the Courant number can be made in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... The solution strategies for compressible ows apply also to inviscid ows. See Section 9.5.5: Solution Strategies for Compressible Flows for details.
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9.6.4
Postprocessing for Inviscid Flows
If you are interested in the lift and drag forces acting on your model, you can use the Force Reports panel to compute them. Report Forces... See Section 30.3: Forces on Boundaries for details.
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Chapter 10.
Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones
FLUENT can model ow involving moving reference frames and moving cell zones, using several dierent approaches, and ow in moving and deforming domains (dynamic meshes). Solving ows in moving reference frames requires the use of moving cell zones. This cell zone motion is interpreted as the motion of a reference frame to which the cell zone is attached. With this capability, a wide variety of problems that involve moving parts can be set up and solved using FLUENT. Depending on the level of complexity of the motion, and on the ow physics involved, one of FLUENTs moving cell zone models may be the most suited to your application. The most general model for ow in moving and deforming cell zones in FLUENT is the dynamic mesh model, covered in Section 10.6: Dynamic Meshes. The information in this chapter is divided into the following sections: Section 10.1: Overview of Moving Zone Approaches Section 10.2: Flow in a Rotating Reference Frame Section 10.3: The Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) Model Section 10.4: The Mixing Plane Model Section 10.5: Sliding Meshes Section 10.6: Dynamic Meshes
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10.1
Overview of Moving Zone Approaches
The moving cell zone capability in FLUENT provides a powerful set of features for solving problems in which the domain or parts of the domain are in motion. Problems that can be addressed include the following: ow in a (single) rotating frame ow in multiple rotating and/or translating reference frames The single rotating frame option can be used to model ows in turbomachinery, mixing tanks, and related devices. In each of these cases, the ow is unsteady in an inertial frame (i.e., a domain xed in the laboratory frame) because the rotor/impeller blades sweep the domain periodically. However, in the absence of stators or baes, it is possible to perform calculations in a domain that moves with the rotating part. In this case, the ow is steady relative to the rotating (non-inertial) frame, which simplies the analysis. If stators or baes are present in addition to a rotor or impeller, then it is not possible to render the computational problem steady by choosing a calculation domain that rotates with the rotor or impeller. This situation occurs, for example, in turbomachinery applications where rotor and stator blades are in close proximity (and hence rotor-stator interaction is important). FLUENT provides three approaches to address this class of problems: the multiple reference frame (MRF) model the mixing plane model the sliding mesh model Both the MRF and mixing plane models assume that the ow eld is steady, with the rotor-stator or impeller-bae eects being accounted for by approximate means. These can be acceptable models in cases where the rotor-stator interaction is weak or an approximate solution for the system is desired. The sliding mesh model, on the other hand, assumes that the ow eld is unsteady, and hence models the interaction with complete delity. This is the model of choice if rotor-stator interaction is strong and a more accurate simulation of the system is desired. Note, however, that because the sliding mesh model requires an unsteady numerical solution, it is computationally more demanding than the MRF and mixing plane models.
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10.2 Flow in a Rotating Reference Frame
10.2
Flow in a Rotating Reference Frame Overview
10.2.1
When you create a model using FLUENT, you are typically modeling the ow in an inertial reference frame (i.e., in a non-accelerating coordinate system). However, FLUENT also has the ability to model ows in an accelerating reference frame. In this situation, the acceleration of the coordinate system is included in the equations of motion describing the ow. A common example of an accelerating reference frame in engineering applications is ow in rotating equipment. Many such ows can be modeled in a coordinate system that is moving with the rotating equipment and thus experiences a constant acceleration in the radial direction. This class of rotating ows can be treated using the rotating reference frame capability in FLUENT. Figure 10.2.1 depicts an example of a ow in a rotating reference frame, and illustrates the coordinate transformation from the stationary frame to the rotating frame.
Applications Involving a Rotating Reference Frame

Several examples of problems that can be modeled using a rotating reference frame are depicted in Figure 10.2.2. The applications illustrated here include: Impellers in mixing tanks Rotating turbomachinery blades (centrifugal impellers, axial fans, etc.) Flows in rotating passages (e.g., cooling ducts, secondary air ow circuits, and disk cavities in rotating equipment) When such problems are dened in a rotating reference frame, the rotating boundaries become stationary relative to the rotating frame, since they are moving at the same speed as the reference frame.
Modeling Rotor-Stator Interaction

As mentioned in Section 10.1: Overview of Moving Zone Approaches, rotor-stator interaction problems (as illustrated in Figure 10.2.3) cannot be modeled by a simple coordinate transformation to a rotating reference frame. In FLUENT, rotor-stator interaction must be treated by applying the MRF, mixing plane, or sliding mesh approach. These approaches are described in detail in Sections 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5.
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Stationary
Rotating at speed y x
(a) Original Reference Frame
Rotating at speed -
- Stationary
y1
x1
(b) Rotating Reference Frame
Figure 10.2.1: Transforming Coordinates to a Rotating Reference Frame
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y x
(a) Rotating Impeller in a Mixing Tank
y x
(b) Centrifugal Impeller Blades
Figure 10.2.2: Applications That Can Be Modeled by FLUENT in a Rotating Reference Frame
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z x
(c) Cooling Passages in a Spinning Rotor
x z y
(d) Axial Impeller Blades
Figure 10.2.2: Applications That Can Be Modeled by FLUENT in a Rotating Reference Frame
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Stationary
Rotating
(a) 2D Rotor-Stator Interaction
Stationary bafes
Rotating impeller
(b) Rotating Impeller in a Bafed Tank
Figure 10.2.3: Problems That Require MRF, Mixing Plane, or Sliding Meshes
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10.2.2
Equations for a Rotating Reference Frame
When the equations of motion (see Section 9.2: Continuity and Momentum Equations) are solved in a rotating frame of reference, the acceleration of the uid is augmented by additional terms that appear in the momentum equations [20]. FLUENT allows you to solve rotating frame problems using either the absolute velocity, v, or the relative velocity, vr , as the dependent variable. The two velocities are related by the following equation: vr = v ( r) (10.2-1)
Here, is the angular velocity vector (that is, the angular velocity of the rotating frame) and r is the position vector in the rotating frame. The left-hand side of the momentum equations appears as follows for an inertial reference frame: (v) + t (vv) (10.2-2)
For a rotating reference frame, the left-hand side written in terms of absolute velocities becomes (v) + t (vr v) + ( v) (10.2-3)
In terms of relative velocities the left-hand side is given by (vr ) + t r t
(vr vr ) + (2 vr + r) +
(10.2-4)
where (2 vr ) is the Coriolis force. Note that FLUENT neglects the r term, t so it cannot accurately model a time-varying angular velocity using the relative velocity formulation. For ows in rotating domains, the equation for conservation of mass, or continuity equation, can be written as follows for both the absolute and the relative velocity formulations: + t (vr ) = Sm (10.2-5)
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10.2.3
Grid Setup for a Single Rotating Reference Frame
It is important to remember the following coordinate-system constraints when you are setting up a problem involving a rotating reference frame: For 2D problems, the axis of rotation must be parallel to the z axis. For 2D axisymmetric problems, the axis of rotation must be the x axis. For 3D geometries, you should generate the mesh with a specic rotational axis in mind for the rotating cell zone. Usually it is convenient to use the x, y, or z axis, but FLUENT can accommodate arbitrary rotational axes.
10.2.4
Problem Setup for a Single Rotating Reference Frame
When you want to model a problem involving a single rotating reference frame, you will need to complete the following modeling inputs. (Only those steps relevant specically to the setup of a rotating reference frame problem are listed here. You will need to set up the rest of the problem as usual.) 1. Select the Velocity Formulation to be used in the Solver panel: either Relative or Absolute. (See Section 10.2.5: Choosing the Relative or Absolute Velocity Formulation for details.) Dene Models Solver... (Note that this step is irrelevant if you are using one of the coupled solvers; these solvers always use an absolute velocity formulation.) 2. For each cell zone in the domain, specify the angular velocity () of the reference frame and the axis about which it rotates. Dene Boundary Conditions... (a) In the Fluid panel or Solid panel, specify the Rotation-Axis Origin and RotationAxis Direction to dene the axis of rotation. (b) Also in the Fluid or Solid panel, select Moving Reference Frame in the Motion Type drop-down list and then set the Speed under Rotational Velocity in the expanded portion of the panel. Details about these inputs are presented in Section 7.17.1: Inputs for Fluid Zones for uid zones, and in Section 7.18.1: Inputs for Solid Zones for solid zones. 3. Dene the velocity boundary conditions at walls. You can choose to dene either an absolute velocity or a velocity relative to the moving reference frame (i.e., relative to the velocity of the adjacent cell zone specied in step 2).
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If the wall is moving at the speed of the rotating frame (and hence stationary in the rotating frame), it is convenient to specify a relative angular velocity of zero. Likewise, a wall that is stationary in the non-rotating frame of reference should be given a velocity of zero in the absolute reference frame. Specifying the wall velocities in this manner obviates the need to modify these inputs later if a change is made in the rotational velocity of the uid zone. Details about these inputs are presented in Section 7.13.1: Dening Velocity Conditions for Moving Walls. 4. Dene the velocity at any velocity inlets and the ow direction and total pressure at any pressure inlets. For velocity inlets, you can choose to dene either absolute velocities or velocities relative to the motion of the adjacent cell zone (specied in step 2). For pressure inlets, the specication of the ow direction and total pressure will be relative or absolute, depending on the velocity formulation you selected in step 1. See Section 10.2.5: Choosing the Relative or Absolute Velocity Formulation for details. (If you use one of the coupled solution algorithms, the specication is always in the absolute frame.) Details about these inputs are presented in Sections 7.3.1 and 7.4.1.
10.2.5
Choosing the Relative or Absolute Velocity Formulation
It is recommended that you use the velocity formulation that will result in most of the ow domain having the smallest velocities in that frame, thereby reducing the numerical diusion in the solution and leading to a more accurate solution. The absolute velocity formulation is preferred in applications where the ow in most of the domain is not rotating (e.g., a fan in a large room). The relative velocity formulation is appropriate when most of the uid in the domain is rotating, as in the case of a large impeller in a mixing tank.
Example
A problem with stationary outer walls and a rotating impeller can be solved in a single reference frame. The example is illustrated in Figure 10.2.4. In case A, it is expected that only the ow near the impeller would be rotating and that much of the ow away from the impeller would have a low velocity magnitude in the absolute frame. Therefore, solving in the absolute frame is recommended. In case B, most of the ow is expected to be rotating with a velocity close to that of the impeller. By solving the case in the relative frame, the ow speed would be very low relative to the impeller speed. Hence, the relative velocity formulation is appropriate. In a situation between case A and case B, either of the formulations may be used.
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A. Small Impeller
B. Large Impeller
Figure 10.2.4: Geometry with the Rotating Impeller
If the velocity formulation is switched during the solution process, FLUENT will not transform the current solution to the other frame, which can lead to large jumps in residuals. If changing the frame is necessary, it is recommended that you rst reinitialize, and then solve. When one of the coupled solution algorithms is used, the absolute formulation is always used; the relative velocity formulation is not available in the coupled solvers.
For velocity inlets and walls, you may specify velocity in either the absolute or the relative frame, regardless of whether the absolute or relative velocity is used in the computation. For pressure boundary conditions, however, FLUENT imposes several restrictions on how total pressure and ow direction are specied in rotating reference frames. The total pressure and ow direction at a pressure inlet must be specied in the absolute frame if the absolute velocity formulation is used. For calculations using relative velocities, the total pressure and ow direction must be specied with respect to the rotating frame. For pressure outlets, the specied static pressure is independent of frame. When there is backow at a pressure outlet, however, the specied static pressure is used as the total pressure. For calculations using absolute velocities, the specied static pressure is used as the total pressure in the absolute frame; for the relative velocity formulation, the specied static pressure is assumed to be the total pressure in the relative frame. As for ow direction in reverse ows, FLUENT assumes the absolute velocity to be normal to the pressure outlet for the absolute velocity formulation; for the relative velocity formulation, it is the relative velocity that is assumed to be normal to the pressure outlet.
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10.2.6
Solution Strategies for a Rotating Reference Frame
The diculties associated with solving ows in rotating reference frames are similar to those discussed in Section 9.4.5: Solution Strategies for Axisymmetric Swirling Flows for axisymmetric swirling or rotating ows. The primary issue you must confront is the high degree of coupling between the momentum equations when the inuence of the rotational terms is large. A high degree of rotation introduces a large radial pressure gradient which drives the ow in the axial and radial directions, thereby setting up a distribution of the swirl or rotation in the eld. This coupling may lead to instabilities in the solution process, and hence require special solution techniques to obtain a converged solution. Some techniques that may be benecial include the following: (Segregated solver only) Consider switching the frame in which velocities are solved by changing the velocity formulation setting in the Solver panel. (See Section 10.2.5: Choosing the Relative or Absolute Velocity Formulation for details.) (Segregated solver only) Use the PRESTO! scheme (enabled in the Solution Controls panel), which is well-suited for the steep pressure gradients involved in rotating ows. Ensure that the mesh is suciently rened to resolve large gradients in pressure and swirl velocity. (Segregated solver only) Reduce the under-relaxation factors for the velocities, perhaps to 0.30.5 or lower, if necessary. Begin the calculations using a low rotational speed, increasing the rotational speed gradually in order to reach the nal desired operating condition (see below). See Chapter 26: Using the Solver for details on the procedures used to make these changes to the solution parameters.
Gradual Increase of the Rotational Speed to Improve Solution Stability

Because the rotation of the reference frame and the rotation dened via boundary conditions can lead to large complex forces in the ow, your FLUENT calculations may be less stable as the speed of rotation (and hence the magnitude of these forces) increases. One of the most eective controls you can exert on the solution is to start with a low rotational speed and then slowly increase the rotation up to the desired level. The procedure you use to accomplish this is as follows: 1. Set up the problem using a low rotational speed in your inputs for boundary conditions and for the angular velocity of the reference frame. The rotational speed in this rst attempt might be selected as 10% of the actual operating condition.
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2. Solve the problem at these conditions. 3. Save this initial solution data. 4. Modify your inputs (i.e., boundary conditions and angular velocity of the reference frame). Increase the speed of rotation, perhaps doubling it. 5. Restart or continue the calculation using the solution data saved in Step 3 as the initial guess for the new calculation. Save the new data. 6. Continue to increment the rotational speed, following Steps 4 and 5, until you reach the desired operating condition.
10.2.7
Postprocessing for a Single Rotating Reference Frame
When you solve a problem in a rotating reference frame, you can plot or report both absolute and relative velocities. For all velocity parameters (e.g., Velocity Magnitude and Mach Number), corresponding relative values will be available for postprocessing (e.g., Relative Velocity Magnitude and Relative Mach Number). These variables are contained in the Velocity... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. Relative values are also available for postprocessing of total pressure, total temperature, and any other parameters that include a dynamic contribution dependent on the reference frame (e.g., Relative Total Pressure, Relative Total Temperature). When plotting velocity vectors, you can choose to plot vectors in the absolute frame (the default), or you can select Relative Velocity in the Vectors Of drop-down list in the Vectors panel to plot vectors in the rotating frame. If you plot relative velocity vectors, you might want to color the vectors by relative velocity magnitude (by choosing Relative Velocity Magnitude in the Color By list); by default they will be colored by absolute velocity magnitude. Figures 10.2.5 and 10.2.6 show absolute and relative velocity vectors in a rotating domain with a stationary outer wall.
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1.29e+00 1.18e+00 1.06e+00 9.46e-01 8.31e-01 7.16e-01 6.01e-01 4.87e-01 3.72e-01 2.57e-01 1.42e-01
Figure 10.2.5: Absolute Velocity Vectors
1.81e+00 1.63e+00 1.45e+00 1.27e+00 1.09e+00 9.07e-01 7.27e-01 5.47e-01 3.67e-01 1.87e-01 7.09e-03
Velocity Vectors Colored By Relative Velocity Magnitude (m/s)
Figure 10.2.6: Relative Velocity Vectors
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10.3 The Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) Model
10.3
The Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) Model Overview
10.3.1
As mentioned in Section 10.1: Overview of Moving Zone Approaches, FLUENT provides three approaches for modeling problems that involve both stationary and moving zones: the multiple reference frame (MRF) model the mixing plane model the sliding mesh model The MRF model [207] is the simplest of the three. It is a steady-state approximation in which individual cell zones move at dierent rotational/translational speeds. This approach is appropriate when the ow at the boundary between these zones is nearly uniform (mixed out). While the multiple reference frame approach is clearly an approximation, it can provide a reasonable model of the time-averaged ow for many applications. For example, the MRF model can be used for a turbomachinery application in which rotor-stator interaction is relatively weak. In mixing tanks, since the impeller-bae interactions are relatively weak, large-scale transient eects are not present and the MRF model can be used. In general, any problems where transients due to rotor-stator interaction are small are candidates for the MRF model. Another potential use of the MRF model is to compute a ow eld that can be used as an initial condition for a transient sliding mesh calculation. This eliminates the need for a startup calculation. The multiple reference frame model should not be used, however, if it is necessary to actually simulate the transients that may occur in strong impeller-bae interactions. For such cases, the sliding mesh model (see Section 10.5: Sliding Meshes) should be used.
Examples
For a mixing tank with a single impeller, you can dene a rotating reference frame that encompasses the impeller and the ow surrounding it, and use a stationary frame for the ow outside the impeller region. An example of this conguration is illustrated in Figure 10.3.1. (The dashes denote the interface between the two reference frames.) Steady-state ow conditions are assumed at the interface between the two reference frames. That is, the velocity at the interface must be the same (in absolute terms) for each reference frame. The grid does not move. You can also model a problem that includes more than one rotating reference frame. Figure 10.3.2 shows a geometry that contains two rotating impellers side by side. This
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Figure 10.3.1: Geometry with One Rotating Impeller
problem would be modeled using three reference frames: the stationary frame outside both impeller regions and two separate rotating reference frames for the two impellers. (As noted above, the dashes denote the interfaces between reference frames.)
Figure 10.3.2: Geometry with Two Rotating Impellers
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Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to the use of multiple reference frames: Use of the realizable k- model with multiple reference frames is not recommended. The boundaries separating a moving region from adjacent regions must be oriented such that the component of the frame velocity normal to the boundary is zero. For the example shown in Figure 10.3.1, this requires the dashed boundary to be circular (not square or any other shape). For a translationally moving frame, the moving zones boundaries must be parallel to the translational velocity vector. Strictly speaking, the use of multiple reference frames is meaningful only for steady ow. However, FLUENT will allow you to solve an unsteady ow when multiple reference frames are being used. In this case, unsteady terms (as described in Section 26.2.12: Temporal Discretization) are added to all the governing transport equations. You should carefully consider whether this will yield meaningful results for your application, because, for unsteady ows, a sliding mesh calculation will generally yield more meaningful results than an MRF calculation. Particle trajectories and pathlines drawn by FLUENT use the velocity relative to the cell zone motion. For massless particles, the resulting pathlines follow the streamlines based on relative velocity and are meaningful. For particles with mass, however, the particle tracks displayed are meaningless. Similarly, coupled discretephase calculations are meaningless. An alternative approach for particle tracking and coupled discrete-phase calculations with multiple reference frames is to track particles based on absolute velocity instead of relative velocity. To make this change, use the define/models/dpm/ options/track-in-absolute-frame text command. Note, that the results may strongly depend on the location of walls inside the multiple reference frame. The particle injection velocities (specied in the Set Injection Properties panel) are dened relative to the frame of reference in which the particles are tracked. By default, the injection velocities are specied relative to the local reference frame. If you enable the track-in-absolute-frame option, the injection velocities are specied relative to the absolute frame.
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You cannot accurately model axisymmetric swirl in the presence of multiple reference frames using the relative velocity formulation. This is because the current implementation does not apply the transformation used in Equation 10.3-3 to the swirl velocity derivatives. Translational and rotational velocities are assumed to be constant (time varying , vt are not allowed).
10.3.2
The MRF Formulation
The MRF formulation will depend on the velocity formulation being used. The relative velocity formulation is recommended, due to faster convergence, in cases where the ow in the rotating frame of reference is mostly rotating with the speed of the rotor, while the ow in the remainder of the domain is mostly slow. In general though, the absolute velocity formulation has proven to be ecient, and is recommended for most cases.
Relative Velocity Formulation

In FLUENTs implementation of the multiple reference frame feature, the calculation domain is divided into subdomains, each of which may be rotating/translating with respect to the laboratory (inertial) frame. The governing equations in each subdomain are written with respect to that subdomains reference frame. Thus, the ow in stationary and translating subdomains is governed by the equations in Section 9.2: Continuity and Momentum Equations, while the ow in rotating subdomains is governed by the equations presented in Section 10.2.2: Equations for a Rotating Reference Frame. At the boundary between two subdomains, the diusion and other terms in the governing equations in one subdomain require values for the velocities in the adjacent subdomain. FLUENT enforces the continuity of the absolute velocity, v, to provide the correct neighbor values of velocity for the subdomain under consideration. (This approach diers from the mixing plane approach described in Section 10.4: The Mixing Plane Model, where a circumferential averaging technique is used.) When the relative velocity formulation is used, velocities in each subdomain are computed relative to the motion of the subdomain. Velocities and velocity gradients are converted from a moving reference frame to the absolute inertial frame as described below. The position vector relative to the origin of the zone rotation axis is dened as r = x xo (10.3-1)
where x is the position in absolute Cartesian coordinates and xo is the origin of the zone rotation axis, as shown in Figure 10.3.3.
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y r Y x xo Z
absolute reference frame moving reference frame
Figure 10.3.3: Coordinate System for Relative Velocity
The relative velocity in the moving reference frame can be converted to the absolute (stationary) frame of reference using the following equation: v = vr + ( r) + vt (10.3-2)
where v is the velocity in the absolute inertial reference frame, vr is the velocity in the relative non-inertial reference frame, and vt is the translational velocity of the noninertial reference frame. Using this denition of absolute velocity, the gradient of the absolute velocity vector is given by v= vr + ( r) (10.3-3)
Absolute Velocity Formulation

When the absolute velocity formulation is used, the governing equations in each subdomain are written with respect to that subdomains reference frame, but the velocities are stored in the absolute frame. Therefore no special transformation is required at the interface between two subdomains.
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10.3.3
Grid Setup for Multiple Reference Frames
Two grid setup methods are available. Choose the method that is appropriate for your model, noting the restrictions in Section 10.3.1: Restrictions. If the boundary between two zones that are in dierent reference frames is conformal (i.e., the grid node locations are identical at the boundary where the two zones meet), you can simply create the grid as usual, with all cell zones contained in the same grid le. A dierent cell zone should exist for each portion of the domain that is modeled in a dierent reference frame. Use an interior zone for the boundary between reference frames. If the boundary between two zones that are in dierent reference frames is nonconformal (i.e., the grid node locations are not identical at the boundary where the two zones meet), follow the non-conformal grid setup procedure described in Section 6.4.3: Using a Non-Conformal Grid in FLUENT.
10.3.4
Problem Setup for Multiple Reference Frames
When you want to model a problem involving multiple reference frames, you will need to complete the following modeling inputs. (Only those steps relevant specically to the setup of a multiple reference frame problem are listed here. You will need to set up the rest of the problem as usual.)
The grid-setup constraints for a rotating reference frame listed in Section 10.2.3: Grid Setup for a Single Rotating Reference Frame apply to multiple reference frames as well.
1. Select the Velocity Formulation to be used in the Solver panel: either Absolute or Relative. (See Section 10.2.5: Choosing the Relative or Absolute Velocity Formulation for details.) Dene Models Solver... (Note that this step is irrelevant if you are using one of the coupled solution algorithms; these algorithms always use an absolute velocity formulation.) 2. For each cell zone in the domain, specify its translational velocity and/or its angular velocity () and the axis about which it rotates. Dene Boundary Conditions... (a) If the zone is rotating, or if you plan to specify cylindrical velocity or owdirection components at inlets to the zone, you will need to dene the axis of rotation. In the Fluid panel or Solid panel, specify the Rotation-Axis Origin and Rotation-Axis Direction.
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(b) Also in the Fluid or Solid panel, select Moving Reference Frame in the Motion Type drop-down list and then set the Speed under Rotational Velocity and/or the X, Y, and Z components of the Translational Velocity in the expanded portion of the panel. Details about these inputs are presented in Section 7.17.1: Inputs for Fluid Zones for uid zones, and in Section 7.18.1: Inputs for Solid Zones for solid zones. 3. Dene the velocity boundary conditions at walls. You can choose to dene either an absolute velocity or a velocity relative to the velocity of the adjacent cell zone specied in step 2. If the wall is moving at the speed of the moving frame (and hence stationary relative to the moving frame), it is convenient to specify a relative angular velocity of zero. Likewise, a wall that is stationary in the non-moving frame of reference should be given a velocity of zero in the absolute reference frame. Specifying the wall velocities in this manner obviates the need to modify these inputs later if a change is made in the rotational velocity of the uid zone. An example for which you would specify a relative velocity is as follows: If an impeller is dened as wall-3 and the uid region within the impellers radius is dened as uid-5, you would need to specify the angular velocity and axis of rotation for uid-5 and then assign wall-3 a relative velocity of 0. If you later wanted to model a dierent angular velocity for the impeller, you would need to change only the angular velocity of the uid region; you would not need to modify the wall velocity conditions. Details about these inputs are presented in Section 7.13.1: Dening Velocity Conditions for Moving Walls. 4. Dene the velocity at any velocity inlets and the ow direction and total pressure at any pressure inlets. For velocity inlets, you can choose to dene either absolute velocities or velocities relative to the motion of the adjacent cell zone (specied in step 2). For pressure inlets, the specication of the ow direction and total pressure will be relative or absolute, depending on the velocity formulation you selected in step 1. See Section 10.2.5: Choosing the Relative or Absolute Velocity Formulation for details. (If you use one of the coupled solution algorithms, the specication is always in the absolute frame.) Details about these inputs are presented in Sections 7.3.1 and 7.4.1. 5. Initialize the solution using an absolute frame of reference. Solve Initialize Initialize... Select the Absolute option under Reference Frame. If the Relative to Cell Zone option is selected, the initial ow eld can contain discontinuities, which can cause convergence problems in the rst few iterations.
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10.3.5
Solution Strategies for Multiple Reference Frames
No special solution strategies are necessary for translating reference frames. For multiple rotating reference frames, follow the guidelines presented in Section 10.2.6: Solution Strategies for a Rotating Reference Frame for a single rotating reference frame.
10.3.6
Postprocessing for Multiple Reference Frames
When you solve a problem in multiple reference frames, you can plot or report both absolute and relative velocities. For all velocity parameters (e.g., Velocity Magnitude and Mach Number), corresponding relative values will be available for postprocessing (e.g., Relative Velocity Magnitude and Relative Mach Number). These variables are contained in the Velocity... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. Relative values are also available for postprocessing of total pressure, total temperature, and any other parameters that include a dynamic contribution dependent on the reference frame (e.g., Relative Total Pressure, Relative Total Temperature).
Relative velocities are relative to the translational/rotational velocity of the reference zone (specied in the Reference Values panel). The velocity of the reference zone is the velocity dened in the Fluid panel for that zone.
When plotting velocity vectors, you can choose to plot vectors in the absolute frame (the default), or you can select Relative Velocity in the Vectors Of drop-down list in the Vectors panel to plot vectors relative to the translational/rotational velocity of the reference zone (specied in the Reference Values panel). If you plot relative velocity vectors, you might want to color the vectors by relative velocity magnitude (by choosing Relative Velocity Magnitude in the Color By list); by default they will be colored by absolute velocity magnitude. You can also generate a plot of circumferential averages in FLUENT. This allows you to nd the average value of a quantity at several dierent radial or axial positions in your model. FLUENT computes the average of the quantity over a specied circumferential area, and then plots the average against the radial or axial coordinate. For more information on generating XY plots of circumferential averages, see Section 29.8.4: XY Plots of Circumferential Averages.
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10.4 The Mixing Plane Model
10.4
The Mixing Plane Model Overview and Limitations
10.4.1
The mixing plane model in FLUENT provides an alternative to the multiple reference frame and sliding mesh models for simulating ow through domains with one or more regions in relative motion. This section provides a brief overview of the model and a list of its limitations.
Overview
As discussed in Section 10.3.1: Overview, the MRF model is applicable when the ow at the boundary between adjacent zones that move at dierent speeds is nearly uniform (mixed out). If the ow at this boundary is not uniform, the MRF model may not provide a physically meaningful solution. The sliding mesh model (see Section 10.5: Sliding Meshes) may be appropriate for such cases, but in many situations it is not practical to employ a sliding mesh. For example, in a multistage turbomachine, if the number of blades is dierent for each blade row, a large number of blade passages is required in order to maintain circumferential periodicity. Moreover, sliding mesh calculations are necessarily unsteady, and thus require signicantly more computation to achieve a nal, time-periodic solution. For situations where using the sliding mesh model is not feasible, the mixing plane model can be a cost-eective alternative. In the mixing plane approach, each uid zone is treated as a steady-state problem. Flow-eld data from adjacent zones are passed as boundary conditions that are spatially averaged or mixed at the mixing plane interface. This mixing removes any unsteadiness that would arise due to circumferential variations in the passage-to-passage ow eld (e.g., wakes, shock waves, separated ow), thus yielding a steady-state result. Despite the simplications inherent in the mixing plane model, the resulting solutions can provide reasonable approximations of the time-averaged ow eld.
Limitations
Note the following limitations of the mixing plane model: The mixing plane model requires the use of the absolute velocity formulation; you cannot use the relative velocity formulation with the mixing plane model. The LES turbulence model cannot be used with the mixing plane model. The models for species transport and combustion cannot be used with the mixing plane model. The general multiphase models (VOF, mixture, and Eulerian) cannot be used with the mixing plane model.
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The discrete phase model cannot be used with the mixing plane model for coupled ows. Non-coupled computations can be done, but you should note that the particles leave the domain of the mixing plane.
10.4.2
Mixing Plane Theory
Rotor and Stator Domains

Consider the turbomachine stages shown schematically in Figures 10.4.1 and 10.4.2. Figure 10.4.1 shows a constant radial plane within a single stage of an axial machine, while Figure 10.4.2 shows a constant plane within a mixed-ow device. In each case, the stage consists of two ow domains: the rotor domain, which is rotating at a prescribed angular velocity, followed by the stator domain, which is stationary. The order of the rotor and stator is arbitrary (that is, a situation where the rotor is downstream of the stator is equally valid).
rotor rotor outlet: p r t z s stator
R x
stator inlet: p0 r t z k mixing plane interface
Figure 10.4.1: Axial Rotor-Stator Interaction (Schematic Illustrating the Mixing Plane Concept)
In a numerical simulation, each domain will be represented by a separate mesh. The ow information between these domains will be coupled at the mixing plane interface (as shown in Figures 10.4.1 and 10.4.2) using the mixing plane model. Note that you may couple any number of uid zones in this manner; for example, four blade passages can be coupled using three mixing planes.
Note that the stator and rotor meshes do not have to be conformal; that is, the nodes on the stator exit boundary do not have to match the nodes on the rotor inlet boundary. In addition, the meshes can be of dierent types (e.g., the stator can have a hexahedral mesh while the rotor has a tetrahedral mesh).
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stator
stator inlet: p k 0 r t z
mixing plane r interface x
rotor outlet: p s r t z rotor
Figure 10.4.2: Radial Rotor-Stator Interaction (Schematic Illustrating the Mixing Plane Concept)
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The Mixing Plane Concept

The essential idea behind the mixing plane concept is that each uid zone is solved as a steady-state problem. At some prescribed iteration interval, the ow data at the mixing plane interface are averaged in the circumferential direction on both the stator outlet and the rotor inlet boundaries. The FLUENT implementation uses area-weighted averages. By performing circumferential averages at specied radial or axial stations, proles of ow properties can be dened. These proleswhich will be functions of either the axial or the radial coordinate, depending on the orientation of the mixing planeare then used to update boundary conditions along the two zones of the mixing plane interface. In the examples shown in Figures 10.4.1 and 10.4.2, proles of averaged total pressure (p0 ), direction cosines of the local ow angles in the radial, tangential, and axial directions (r , t , z ), total temperature (T0 ), turbulence kinetic energy (k), and turbulence dissipation rate ( ) are computed at the rotor exit and used to update boundary conditions at the stator inlet. Likewise, a prole of static pressure (ps ), direction cosines of the local ow angles in the radial, tangential, and axial directions (r , t , z ), are computed at the stator inlet and used as a boundary condition on the rotor exit. Passing proles in the manner described above assumes specic boundary condition types have been dened at the mixing plane interface. The coupling of an upstream outlet boundary zone with a downstream inlet boundary zone is called a mixing plane pair. In order to create mixing plane pairs in FLUENT, the boundary zones must be of the following types: upstream downstream pressure outlet pressure inlet pressure outlet velocity inlet pressure outlet mass ow inlet Specic instructions for setting up mixing planes are provided in Section 10.4.3: Problem Setup for a Mixing Plane Model.
FLUENTs Mixing Plane Algorithm

FLUENTs basic mixing plane algorithm can now be described: 1. Update the ow eld solutions in the stator and rotor domains. 2. Average the ow properties at the stator exit and rotor inlet boundaries, obtaining proles for use in updating boundary conditions. 3. Pass the proles to the boundary condition inputs required for the stator exit and rotor inlet. 4. Repeat steps 13 until convergence.
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Note that it may be desirable to under-relax the changes in boundary condition values in order to prevent divergence of the solution (especially early in the computation). FLUENT allows you to control the under-relaxation of the mixing plane variables.
Mass Conservation
Note that the algorithm described above will not rigorously conserve mass ow across the mixing plane if it is represented by a pressure inlet and pressure outlet mixing plane pair. If you use a mass ow inlet and pressure outlet pair instead, FLUENT will force mass conservation across the mixing plane. The basic technique consists of computing the mass ow rate across the upstream zone (pressure outlet) and adjusting the mass ux prole applied at the mass ow inlet such that the downstream mass ow matches the upstream mass ow. This adjustment occurs at every iteration, thus ensuring rigorous conservation of mass ow throughout the course of the calculation.
Note that, since mass ow is being xed in this case, there will be a jump in total pressure across the mixing plane. The magnitude of this jump is usually small compared with total pressure variations elsewhere in the ow eld.
Swirl Conservation
By default, FLUENT does not conserve swirl across the mixing plane. For applications such as torque converters, where the sum of the torques acting on the components should be zero, enforcing swirl conservation across the mixing plane is essential, and is available in FLUENT as a modeling option. Ensuring conservation of swirl is important because, otherwise, sources or sinks of tangential momentum will be present at the mixing plane interface. Consider a control volume containing a stationary or rotating component (e.g., a pump impeller or turbine vane). Using the moment of momentum equation from uid mechanics, it can be shown that for steady ow, T =
S
rv v ndS
(10.4-1)
where T is the torque of the uid acting on the component, r is the radial distance from the axis of rotation, v is the absolute tangential velocity, v is the total absolute velocity, and S is the boundary surface. (The product rv is referred to as swirl.) For a circumferentially periodic domain, with well-dened inlet and outlet boundaries, Equation 10.4-1 becomes
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T =
outlet
rv v ndS +
inlet
rv v ndS
(10.4-2)
where inlet and outlet denote the inlet and outlet boundary surfaces. Now consider the mixing plane interface to have a nite streamwise thickness. Applying Equation 10.4-2 to this zone and noting that, in the limit as the thickness shrinks to zero, the torque should vanish, the equation becomes rv v ndS = rv v ndS (10.4-3)
downstream
upstream
where upstream and downstream denote the upstream and downstream sides of the mixing plane interface. Note that Equation 10.4-3 applies to the full area (360 degrees) at the mixing plane interface. Equation 10.4-3 provides a rational means of determining the tangential velocity component. That is, FLUENT computes a prole of tangential velocity and then uniformly adjusts the prole such that the swirl integral is satised. Note that interpolating the tangential (and radial) velocity component proles at the mixing plane does not aect mass conservation because these velocity components are orthogonal to the face-normal velocity used in computing the mass ux.
Total Enthalpy Conservation

By default, FLUENT does not conserve total enthalpy across the mixing plane. For some applications, total enthalpy conservation across the mixing plane is very desirable, because global parameters such as eciency are directly related to the change in total enthalpy across a blade row or stage. This is available in FLUENT as a modeling option. The procedure for ensuring conservation of total enthalpy simply involves adjusting the downstream total temperature prole such that the integrated total enthalpy matches the upstream integrated total enthalpy.
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10.4.3
Problem Setup for a Mixing Plane Model
The model inputs for mixing planes are presented in this section. Only those steps relevant specically to the setup of a mixing plane problem are listed here. You will need to set up the rest of the problem as usual. Note that the use of wall and periodic boundaries in a mixing plane model is consistent with their use when the model is not active. 1. Select the (default) absolute velocity formulation in the Solver panel. Dene Models Solver... 2. For each cell zone in the domain, specify its angular velocity () and the axis about which it rotates. Dene Boundary Conditions... (a) If the zone is rotating, or if you plan to specify cylindrical-velocity or owdirection components at inlets to the zone, you will need to dene the axis of rotation. In the Fluid panel or Solid panel, specify the Rotation-Axis Origin and Rotation-Axis Direction. (b) Also in the Fluid or Solid panel, select Moving Reference Frame in the Motion Type drop-down list and then set the Speed under Rotational Velocity and/or the X, Y, and Z components of the Translational Velocity in the expanded portion of the panel. Details about these inputs are presented in Section 7.17.1: Inputs for Fluid Zones for uid zones, and in Section 7.18.1: Inputs for Solid Zones for solid zones.
It is important to dene the axis of rotation for the cell zones on both sides of the mixing plane interface, including the stationary zone.
3. Dene the velocity boundary conditions at walls. You can choose to dene either an absolute velocity or a velocity relative to the velocity of the adjacent cell zone specied in step 2. If the wall is moving at the speed of the moving frame (and hence stationary relative to the moving frame), it is convenient to specify a relative angular velocity of zero. Likewise, a wall that is stationary in the non-moving frame of reference should be given a velocity of zero in the absolute reference frame. Specifying the wall velocities in this manner obviates the need to modify these inputs later if a change is made in the rotational velocity of the uid zone. An example for which you would specify a relative velocity is as follows: If an impeller is dened as wall-3 and the uid region within the impellers radius is dened as uid-5, you would need to specify the angular velocity and axis of rotation for uid-5 and then assign wall-3 a relative velocity of 0. If you later wanted to
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model a dierent angular velocity for the impeller, you would need to change only the angular velocity of the uid region; you would not need to modify the wall velocity conditions. Details about these inputs are presented in Section 7.13.1: Dening Velocity Conditions for Moving Walls. 4. Dene the velocity at any velocity inlets and the ow direction and total pressure at any pressure inlets or mass ow inlets. For velocity inlets, you can choose to dene either absolute velocities or velocities relative to the motion of the adjacent cell zone (specied in step 2). For pressure inlets and mass ow inlets, the specication of the ow direction and total pressure will always be absolute, because the absolute velocity formulation is always used for mixing plane calculations. For a mass ow inlet, you do not need to specify the mass ow rate or mass ux. FLUENT will automatically select the Mass Flux with Average Mass Flux specication method and set the correct values when you create the mixing plane, as described in Section 7.5.1: More About Mass Flux and Average Mass Flux. Details about these inputs are presented in Sections 7.3.1, 7.4.1, and 7.5.1.
Note that the outlet boundary zone at the mixing plane interface must be dened as a pressure outlet, and the inlet boundary zone at the mixing plane interface must be dened as a velocity inlet (incompressible ow only), a pressure inlet, or a mass ow inlet. The overall inlet and exit boundary conditions can be any suitable combination permitted by the solver (e.g., velocity inlet, pressure inlet, or mass ow inlet; pressure outlet). Keep in mind, however, that if mass conservation across the mixing plane is important, you need to use a mass ow inlet as the downstream boundary; mass conservation is not maintained across the mixing plane when you use a velocity inlet or pressure inlet.
5. Dene the mixing planes in the Mixing Planes panel (Figure 10.4.3). Dene Mixing Planes... (a) Specify the two zones that comprise the mixing plane by selecting an upstream zone in the Upstream Zone list and a downstream zone in the Downstream Zone list. It is essential that the correct pairs be chosen from these lists (i.e., that the boundary zones selected lie on the mixing plane interface). You can check this by displaying the grid. Display Grid... (b) (3D only) Indicate the geometry of the mixing plane interface by choosing one of the options under Mixing Plane Geometry. A Radial geometry signies that information at the mixing plane interface is to be circumferentially averaged into proles that vary in the radial direction, e.g., p(r), T (r). This is the case for axial-ow machines, for example.
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Figure 10.4.3: The Mixing Planes Panel
An Axial geometry signies that circumferentially averaged proles are to be constructed that vary in the axial direction, e.g., p(x), T (x). This is the situation for a radial-ow device.
Note that the radial direction is normal to the rotation axis for the uid zone and the axial direction is parallel to the rotation axis.
(c) (3D only) Set the number of Interpolation Points. This is the number of radial or axial locations used in constructing the boundary proles for circumferential averaging. You should choose a number that approximately corresponds to the resolution of the surface mesh in the radial or axial direction. Note that while you can use more points if you wish, the resolution of the boundary prole will only be as ne as the resolution of the surface mesh itself. In 2D the ow data are averaged over the entire interface to create a prole consisting of a single data point. For this reason you do not need to set the number of Interpolation Points or select a Mixing Plane Geometry in 2D. (d) Set the Global Parameters for the mixing plane. i. Set the Under-Relaxation parameter. It is sometimes desirable to underrelax the changes in boundary values at mixing planes as these may change very rapidly during the early iterations of the solution and cause the calculation to diverge. The changes can be relaxed by specifying an underrelaxation less than 1. The new boundary prole values are then computed using new = old + (calculated old ) (10.4-4)
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where is the under-relaxation factor. Once the ow eld is established, the value of can be increased. ii. Click Apply to set the Global Parameters. If the Default button is visible to the right of the Apply button, clicking the Default button will return Global Parameters back to their default values. The Default button will then change to be a Reset button. Clicking the Reset button will change the Global Parameters back to the values that were last applied. (e) Click Create to create a new mixing plane. FLUENT will name the mixing plane by combining the names of the zones selected as the Upstream Zone and Downstream Zone and enter the new mixing plane in the Mixing Plane list. If you create an incorrect mixing plane, you can select it in the Mixing Plane list and click the Delete button to delete it.
Modeling Options
There are two options available for use with the mixing plane model: a xed pressure level for incompressible ows, and the swirl conservation described in Section 10.4.2: Swirl Conservation. Fixing the Pressure Level for an Incompressible Flow For certain turbomachinery congurations, such as a torque converter, there is no xedpressure boundary when the mixing plane model is used. The mixing plane model is usually used to model the three interfaces that connect the components of the torque converter. In this conguration, the pressure is no longer xed. As a result, the pressure may oat unbounded, making it dicult to obtain a converged solution. To resolve this problem, FLUENT oers an option for xing the pressure level. When this option is enabled, FLUENT will adjust the gauge pressure eld after each iteration by subtracting from it the pressure value in the cell closest to the Reference Pressure Location in the Operating Conditions panel.
This option is available only for incompressible ows calculated using the segregated solver.
To enable the xed pressure option, use the fix-pressure-level text command: define mixing-planes set fix-pressure-level
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Conserving Swirl Across the Mixing Plane As discussed in Section 10.4.2: Swirl Conservation, conservation of swirl is important for applications such as torque converters. If you want to enable swirl conservation across the mixing plane, you can use the commands in the conserve-swirl text menu: define mixing-planes set conserve-swirl To turn on swirl conservation, use the enable? text command. Once the option is turned on, you can ask the solver to report information about the swirl conservation during the calculation. If you turn on verbosity?, FLUENT will report for every iteration the zone ID for the zone on which the swirl conservation is active, the upstream and downstream swirl integration per zone area, and the ratio of upstream to downstream swirl integration before and after the correction. To obtain a report of the swirl integration at every pressure inlet, pressure outlet, velocity inlet, and mass ow inlet in the domain, use the report-swirl-integration command. You can use this information to determine the torque acting on each component of the turbomachinery according to Equation 10.4-2. Conserving Total Enthalpy Across the Mixing Plane One of the options available in the mixing plane model is to conserve total enthalpy across the mixing plane. This is a desirable feature because global parameters such as eciency are directly related to the change in total enthalpy across a blade row or stage. The procedure for ensuring conservation of total enthalpy simply involves adjusting the downstream total temperature prole such that the integrated total enthalpy matches the upstream integrated total enthalpy. If you want to enable total enthalpy conservation, you can use the commands in the conserve-total-enthalpy text menu: define mixing-planes set conserve-total-enthalpy To turn on total enthalpy conservation, use the enable? text command. Once the option is turned on, you can ask the solver to report information about the total enthalpy conservation during the calculation. If you turn on verbosity?, FLUENT will report at every iteration the zone ID for the zone on which the total enthalpy conservation is active, the upstream and downstream heat ux, and the ratio of upstream to downstream heat ux.
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10.4.4
Solution Strategies for Problems with Mixing Planes
It should be emphasized that the mixing plane model is a reasonable approximation so long as there is not signicant reverse ow in the vicinity of the mixing plane. If signicant reverse ow occurs, the mixing plane will not be a satisfactory model of the actual ow. In a numerical simulation, reverse ow often occurs during the early stages of the computation even though the ow at convergence is not reversed. Therefore, it is helpful in these situations to rst obtain a provisional solution using xed conditions at the rotor-stator interface. The mixing plane model can then be enabled and the solution run to convergence. Under-relaxing the changes in the mixing plane boundary values can also help in troublesome situations. In many cases, setting the under-relaxation factor to a value less than one can be helpful. Once the ow eld is established, you can gradually increase the under-relaxation factor.
10.4.5
Postprocessing for the Mixing Plane Model
When you solve a problem using the mixing plane model, you can plot or report both absolute and relative velocities. For all velocity parameters (e.g., Velocity Magnitude and Mach Number), corresponding relative values will be available for postprocessing (e.g., Relative Velocity Magnitude and Relative Mach Number). These variables are contained in the Velocity... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. Relative values are also available for postprocessing of total pressure, total temperature, and any other parameters that include a dynamic contribution dependent on the reference frame (e.g., Relative Total Pressure, Relative Total Temperature).
Relative velocities are relative to the translational/rotational velocity of the reference zone (specied in the Reference Values panel). The velocity of the reference zone is the velocity dened in the Fluid panel for that zone.
When plotting velocity vectors, you can choose to plot vectors in the absolute frame (the default), or you can select Relative Velocity in the Vectors Of drop-down list in the Vectors panel to plot vectors relative to the translational/rotational velocity of the reference zone (specied in the Reference Values panel). If you plot relative velocity vectors, you might want to color the vectors by relative velocity magnitude (by choosing Relative Velocity Magnitude in the Color By list); by default they will be colored by absolute velocity magnitude. See also Section 29.9: Turbomachinery Postprocessing for details about turbomachineryspecic postprocessing features.
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10.5 Sliding Meshes
10.5
Sliding Meshes Overview
10.5.1
When a time-accurate solution for rotor-stator interaction (rather than a time-averaged solution) is desired, you must use the sliding mesh model to compute the unsteady ow eld. As mentioned in Section 10.1: Overview of Moving Zone Approaches, the sliding mesh model is the most accurate method for simulating ows in multiple moving reference frames, but also the most computationally demanding. Most often, the unsteady solution that is sought in a sliding mesh simulation is timeperiodic. That is, the unsteady solution repeats with a period related to the speeds of the moving domains. However, you can model other types of transients, including translating sliding mesh zones (e.g., two cars or trains passing in a tunnel, as shown in Figure 10.5.1).
Figure 10.5.1: Two Passing Trains in a Tunnel
Note that for ow situations where there is no interaction between stationary and moving parts (i.e., when there is only a rotor), the computational domain can be made stationary by using a rotating reference frame. (See Section 10.2: Flow in a Rotating Reference Frame for details.) When transient rotor-stator interaction is desired (as in the examples in Figures 10.5.2 and 10.5.3), you must use sliding meshes. If you are interested in a steady approximation of the interaction, you may use the multiple reference frame model or the mixing plane model, as described in Sections 10.3 and 10.4.
The Sliding Mesh Technique

In the sliding mesh technique two or more cell zones are used. (If you generate the mesh in each zone independently, you will need to merge the mesh les prior to starting the calculation, as described in Section 6.3.10: Reading Multiple Mesh/Case/Data Files.) Each cell zone is bounded by at least one interface zone where it meets the opposing cell zone. The interface zones of adjacent cell zones are associated with one another to form a grid interface. The two cell zones will move relative to each other along the grid interface.
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stationary vanes rotating blades
ow
direction of motion
Figure 10.5.2: Rotor-Stator Interaction (Stationary Guide Vanes with Rotating Blades)
Figure 10.5.3: Blower
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10.5 Sliding Meshes
Note that the grid interface must be positioned so that it has uid cells on both sides. For example, the grid interface for the geometry shown in Figure 10.5.2 must lie in the uid region between the rotor and stator; it cannot be on the edge of any part of the rotor or stator.
During the calculation, the cell zones slide (i.e., rotate or translate) relative to one another along the grid interface in discrete steps. Figures 10.5.4 and 10.5.5 show the initial position of two grids and their positions after some translation has occurred.
Figure 10.5.4: Initial Position of the Grids
As the rotation or translation takes place, node alignment along the grid interface is not required. Since the ow is inherently unsteady, a time-dependent solution procedure is required.
Grid Interface Shapes

The grid interface and the associated interface zones can be any shape, provided that the two interface boundaries are based on the same geometry. Figure 10.5.6 shows an example with a linear grid interface and Figure 10.5.7 shows a circular-arc grid interface. (In both gures, the grid interface is designated by a dashed line.) If Figure 10.5.6 were extruded to 3D, the resulting sliding interface would be a planar rectangle; if Figure 10.5.7 were extruded to 3D, the resulting interface would be a cylinder. Figure 10.5.8 shows an example that would use a conical grid interface. (The slanted, dashed lines represent the intersection of the conical interface with a 2D plane.)
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Figure 10.5.5: Rotor Mesh Slides with Respect to the Stator
Figure 10.5.6: 2D Linear Grid Interface
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10.5 Sliding Meshes
Figure 10.5.7: 2D Circular-Arc Grid Interface
Figure 10.5.8: 3D Conical Grid Interface
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For an axial rotor/stator conguration, in which the rotating and stationary parts are aligned axially instead of being concentric (see Figure 10.5.9), the interface will be a planar sector. This planar sector is a cross-section of the domain perpendicular to the axis of rotation at a position along the axis between the rotor and the stator.
portion of domain being modeled
planar sector grid interface
Figure 10.5.9: 3D Planar-Sector Grid Interface
10.5.2
Sliding Mesh Theory
As discussed in Section 10.5.1: Overview, the sliding mesh model allows adjacent grids to slide relative to one another. In doing so, the grid faces do not need to be aligned on the grid interface. This situation requires a means of computing the ux across the two non-conformal interface zones of each grid interface. To compute the interface ux, the intersection between the interface zones is determined at each new time step. The resulting intersection produces one interior zone (a zone with uid cells on both sides) and one or more periodic zones. If the problem is not periodic, the intersection produces one interior zone and a pair of wall zones (which will be empty if the two interface zones intersect entirely), as shown in Figure 10.5.10. (You will need to change these wall zones to some other appropriate boundary type.) The resultant interior zone corresponds to where the two interface zones overlap; the resultant periodic zone corresponds to where they do not. The number of faces in these intersection zones will vary as the interface zones move relative to one another. Principally, uxes across the grid interface are computed using the faces resulting from the intersection of the two interface zones, rather than from the interface zone faces themselves. In the example shown in Figure 10.5.11, the interface zones are composed of faces A-B and B-C, and faces D-E and E-F. The intersection of these zones produces the faces a-d,
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10.5 Sliding Meshes

"wall" zone interior zone "wall" zone
Figure 10.5.10: Zones Created by Non-Periodic Interface Intersection
d-b, b-e, etc. Faces produced in the region where the two cell zones overlap (d-b, b-e, and e-c) are grouped to form an interior zone, while the remaining faces (a-d and c-f) are paired up to form a periodic zone. To compute the ux across the interface into cell IV, for example, face D-E is ignored and faces d-b and b-e are used instead, bringing information into cell IV from cells I and III, respectively.
cell zone 1
I A a interface zone 2 B b D
II III C e E IV V VI c F interface zone 1 f
cell zone 2
Figure 10.5.11: Two-Dimensional Grid Interface
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10.5.3
Setup and Solution of a Sliding Mesh Problem
Grid Requirements
Before beginning the problem setup in FLUENT, be sure that the grid you have created meets the following requirements: A dierent cell zone exists for each portion of the domain that is sliding at a dierent speed. The grid interface must be situated such that there is no motion normal to it. The grid interface can be any shape (including a non-planar surface, in 3D), provided that the two interface boundaries are based on the same geometry. If there are sharp features in the mesh (e.g., 90-degree angles), it is especially important that both sides of the interface closely follow that feature. If you create a single grid with multiple cell zones, you must be sure that each cell zone has a distinct face zone on the sliding boundary. The face zones for two adjacent cell zones will have the same position and shape, but one will correspond to one cell zone and one to the other. (Note that it is also possible to create a separate grid le for each of the cell zones, and then merge them as described in Section 6.3.10: Reading Multiple Mesh/Case/Data Files.) If you are modeling a rotor/stator geometry using periodicity, the periodic angle of the mesh around the rotor blade(s) must be the same as that of the mesh around the stationary vane(s). All periodic zones must be correctly oriented (either rotational or translational) before you create the grid interface. For 3D cases, if the interface is periodic, only one pair of periodic boundaries can neighbor the interface. See Section 10.5.1: The Sliding Mesh Technique for details about these restrictions and general information about how the sliding mesh model works in FLUENT.
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10.5 Sliding Meshes
Setting Up the Problem

The steps for setting up a sliding mesh problem are listed below. (Note that this procedure includes only those steps necessary for the sliding mesh model itself; you will need to set up other models, boundary conditions, etc. as usual.) 1. Enable the appropriate option for modeling unsteady ow in the Solver panel. (See Section 26.18: Performing Time-Dependent Calculations for details about the unsteady modeling capabilities in FLUENT.) Dene Models Solver... 2. Set boundary conditions for the sliding action: Dene Boundary Conditions... (a) Change the zone type of the interface zones of adjacent cell zones to interface in the Boundary Conditions panel. (b) In the Fluid panel or Solid panel for each moving uid or solid zone, select Moving Mesh in the Motion Type drop-down list and set the translational and/or rotational velocity. (Note that a solid zone cannot move at a dierent speed than an adjacent uid zone.)
Note that simultaneous translation and rotation can be modeled only if the rotation axis and the translation direction are the same (i.e., the origin is xed).
By default, the velocity of a wall is set to zero relative to the adjacent meshs motion. For walls bounding a moving mesh this results in a no-slip condition in the reference frame of the mesh. Therefore, you need not modify the wall velocity boundary conditions unless the wall is stationary in the absolute frame, and therefore moving in the relative frame. See Section 7.13.1: Dening Velocity Conditions for Moving Walls for details about wall motion. See Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions for details about input of boundary conditions. 3. Dene the grid interfaces in the Grid Interfaces panel (Figure 10.5.12). Dene Grid Interfaces... (a) Enter a name for the interface in the Grid Interface eld. (b) Specify the two interface zones that comprise the grid interface by selecting one in the Interface Zone 1 list and one in the Interface Zone 2 list. (The order does not matter.) (c) Set the Interface Type, if appropriate. There are two options: Enable Periodic for periodic problems.
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Figure 10.5.12: The Grid Interfaces Panel
Enable Coupled if the interface lies between a solid zone and a uid zone. (d) Click on Create to create a new grid interface. For all types of interfaces, FLUENT will create boundary zones for the interface (e.g., wall-9, wall-10), which will appear under Boundary Zone 1 and Boundary Zone 2. You can use the Boundary Conditions panel to change them to another zone type (e.g., pressure far-eld, symmetry, pressure outlet). If you have enabled the Coupled option, FLUENT will also create wall interface zones (e.g., wall-4, wall-4-shadow), which will appear under Interface Wall Zone 1 and Interface Wall Zone 2. If you create an incorrect grid interface, you can select it in the Grid Interface list and click on the Delete button to delete it. (Any boundary zones that were created when the interface was created will also be deleted.)
When you have completed the problem setup, you should save an initial case le so that you can easily return to the original grid position (i.e., the positions before any sliding occurs). The grid position is stored in the case le, so case les that you save at dierent times during the unsteady calculation will contain grids at dierent positions.
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10.5 Sliding Meshes
Solving the Problem

You will begin the sliding mesh calculation by initializing the solution (as described in Section 26.15.1: Initializing the Entire Flow Field) and then specifying the time step size and number of time steps in the Iterate panel, as for any other unsteady calculation. (See Section 26.18: Performing Time-Dependent Calculations for details about time-dependent solutions. Note that if you wish to save the time step size in the initial case le, you can click Apply instead of Iterate and then save a case le before starting to iterate.) FLUENT will iterate on the current time step solution until satisfactory residual reduction is achieved, or the maximum number of iterations per time step is reached. When it advances to the next time step, the cell and wall zones will automatically be moved according to the specied translational or rotational velocities (set in step 2b above). The new interface-zone intersections will be computed automatically, and resultant interior/periodic/external boundary zones will be updated (as described in Section 10.5.2: Sliding Mesh Theory). Saving Case and Data Files FLUENTs automatic saving of case and data les (see Section 4.3.4: Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files) can be used with the sliding mesh model. This provides a convenient way for you to save results at successive time steps for later postprocessing.
You must save a case le each time you save a data le because the grid position is stored in the case le. Since the grid position changes with each time step, reading data for a given time step will require the case le at that time step so that the grid will be in the proper position. You should also save your initial case le so that you can easily return to the grids original position to restart the solution if desired. If you are planning to solve your sliding mesh model in several stages, whereby you run the calculation for some period of time, save case and data les, exit FLUENT, start a new FLUENT session, read the case and data les, continue the calculation for some time, save case and data les, exit FLUENT, and so on, there may be some distortion in the mesh with each subsequent continuation of the calculation. To avoid this problem, you can delete the grid interface before saving the case le, and then create it again (as described in step 3 above) after you read the case le into a new FLUENT session.
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Time-Periodic Solutions For some problems (e.g., rotor-stator interactions), you may be interested in a timeperiodic solution. That is, the startup transient behavior may not be of interest to you. Once this startup phase has passed, the ow will start to exhibit time-periodic behavior. If T is the period of unsteadiness, then for some ow property at a given point in the ow eld: (t) = (t + N T ) (N = 1, 2, 3, ...) (10.5-1)
For rotating problems, the period (in seconds) can be calculated by dividing the sector angle of the domain (in radians) by the rotor speed (in radians/sec): T = /. For 2D rotor-stator problems, T = P/vb , where P is the pitch and vb is the blade speed. The number of time steps in a period can be determined by dividing the time period by the time step size. When the solution eld does not change from one period to the next (for example, if the change is less than 5%), a time-periodic solution has been reached. To determine how the solution changes from one period to the next, you will need to compare the solution at some point in the ow eld over two periods. For example, if the time period is 10 seconds, you can compare the solution at a given point after 22 seconds with the solution after 32 seconds to see if a time-periodic solution has been reached. If not, you can continue the calculation for another period and compare the solutions after 32 and 42 seconds, and so on until you see little or no change from one period to the next. You can also track global quantities, such as lift and drag coecients and mass ow, in the same manner. Figure 10.5.13 shows a lift coecient plot for a time-periodic solution.
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10.5 Sliding Meshes
-5.00e+00 -5.10e+00 -5.20e+00 -5.30e+00 -5.40e+00
Cl
-5.50e+00 -5.60e+00 -5.70e+00 -5.80e+00 -5.90e+00 -6.00e+00

Y X
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
0.1
0.11
Time
Cl
Figure 10.5.13: Lift Coecient Plot for a Time-Periodic Solution
The nal time-periodic solution is independent of the time steps taken during the initial stages of the solution procedure. You can therefore dene large time steps in the initial stages of the calculation, since you are not interested in a time-accurate solution for the startup phase of the ow. Starting out with large time steps will allow the solution to become time-periodic more quickly. As the solution becomes time-periodic, however, you should reduce the time step in order to achieve a time-accurate result.
If you are solving with second-order time accuracy, the temporal accuracy of the solution will be aected if you change the time step during the calculation. You may start out with larger time steps, but you should not change the time step by more than 20% during the solution process. You should not change the time step at all during the last several periods to ensure that the solution has approached a time-periodic state.
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10.5.4
Postprocessing for Sliding Meshes
Postprocessing for sliding mesh problems is the same as for other unsteady problems. You will read in the case and data le for the time of interest and display and report results as usual. For spatially-periodic problems, you may want to use periodic repeats (set in the Views panel, as described in Section 29.4: Modifying the View) to display the geometry. Figure 10.5.14 shows the ow eld for the rotor-stator example of Figure 10.5.4 at one instant in time, using 1 periodic repeat.
1.01e+05 1.01e+05 9.98e+04 9.91e+04 9.83e+04 9.75e+04 9.68e+04 9.60e+04 9.52e+04 9.45e+04 9.37e+04 Contours of Static Pressure (pascal) (Time=1.0400e-01)
Figure 10.5.14: Contours of Static Pressure for the Rotor-Stator Example
When displaying velocity vectors, note that absolute velocities (i.e., velocities in the inertial, or laboratory, reference frame) are displayed by default. You may also choose to display relative velocities by selecting Relative Velocity in the Vectors Of drop-down list in the Vectors panel. In this case, velocities relative to the translational/rotational velocity of the reference zone (specied in the Reference Values panel) will be displayed. (The velocity of the reference zone is the velocity dened in the Fluid panel for that zone.) Note that you cannot create zone surfaces for the intersection boundaries (i.e., the interior/periodic/external zones created from the intersection of the interface zones). You may instead create zone surfaces for the interface zones. Data displayed on these surfaces will be one-sided. That is, nodes on the interface zones will see only the cells on one side of the grid interface, and slight discontinuities may appear when you plot contour lines across the interface. Note also that, for non-planar interface shapes in 3D, you may see small gaps in your plots of lled contours. These discontinuities and gaps are only graphical in nature. The solution does not have these discontinuities or gaps. You can also generate a plot of circumferential averages in FLUENT. This allows you to
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
nd the average value of a quantity at several dierent radial or axial positions in your model. FLUENT computes the average of the quantity over a specied circumferential area, and then plots the average against the radial or axial coordinate. For more information on generating XY plots of circumferential averages, see Section 29.8.4: XY Plots of Circumferential Averages.
10.6
Dynamic Meshes
This section describes the theoretical background, and setup and use of the dynamic mesh model in FLUENT and its options and parameters. Section 10.6.1: Introduction Section 10.6.2: Dynamic Mesh Conservation Equations Section 10.6.3: Dynamic Mesh Update Methods Section 10.6.4: Solid-Body Kinematics Section 10.6.5: Problem Setup for Dynamic Meshes Section 10.6.6: Setting Dynamic Mesh Modeling Parameters Section 10.6.7: Specifying the Motion of Dynamic Zones Section 10.6.8: Previewing the Dynamic Mesh Section 10.6.9: Dening Dynamic Mesh Events Section 10.6.10: Using the In-Cylinder Model Section 10.6.11: Using the 2.5D Model Section 10.6.12: Using the Six DOF Solver Section 10.6.13: Using the Crevice Model
10.6.1
Introduction
The dynamic mesh model in FLUENT can be used to model ows where the shape of the domain is changing with time due to motion on the domain boundaries. The motion can be a prescribed motion (e.g., you can specify the linear and angular velocities about the center of gravity of a solid body with time) or an unprescribed motion where the subsequent motion is determined based on the solution at the current time (e.g., the linear and angular velocities are calculated from the force balance on a solid body, which is what the six degree of freedom (6DOF) solver does (see Section 10.6.12: Using the Six DOF Solver)). The update of the volume mesh is handled automatically by FLUENT at
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each time step based on the new positions of the boundaries. To use the dynamic mesh model, you need to provide a starting volume mesh and the description of the motion of any moving zones in the model. FLUENT allows you to describe the motion using either boundary proles, user-dened functions (UDFs), or the Six Degree of Freedom solver (6DOF). FLUENT expects the description of the motion to be specied on either face or cell zones. If the model contains moving and non-moving regions, you need to identify these regions by grouping them into their respective face or cell zones in the starting volume mesh that you generate. Furthermore, regions that are deforming due to motion on their adjacent regions must also be grouped into separate zones in the starting volume mesh. The boundary between the various regions need not be conformal. You can use the nonconformal or sliding interface capability in FLUENT to connect the various zones in the nal model.
10.6.2
Dynamic Mesh Conservation Equations
The integral form of the conservation equation for a general scalar, , on an arbitrary control volume, V , whose boundary is moving can be written as d dt where dV +
V V
(u ug ) dA =
dA +
S dV
(10.6-1)
is the uid density u is the ow velocity vector ug is the grid velocity of the moving mesh is the diusion coecient S is the source term of
Here V is used to represent the boundary of the control volume V . The time derivative term in Equation 10.6-1 can be written, using a rst-order backward dierence formula, as d dt (V )n+1 (V )n dV = t
(10.6-2)
where n and n + 1 denote the respective quantity at the current and next time level. The (n + 1)th time level volume V n+1 is computed from V n+1 = V n + dV t dt (10.6-3)
where dV /dt is the volume time derivative of the control volume. In order to satisfy the grid conservation law, the volume time derivative of the control volume is computed from
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
dV = dt
nf V
ug dA =
j
ug,j Aj
(10.6-4)
where nf is the number of faces on the control volume and Aj is the j face area vector. The dot product ug,j Aj on each control volume face is calculated from ug,j Aj = Vj t (10.6-5)
where Vj is the volume swept out by the control volume face j over the time step t.
10.6.3
Dynamic Mesh Update Methods
Three groups of mesh motion methods are available in FLUENT to update the volume mesh in the deforming regions subject to the motion dened at the boundaries: smoothing methods dynamic layering local remeshing methods Note that you can use FLUENTs dynamic mesh models in conjunction with hanging node adaption, with the exception of dynamic layering and face remeshing. For more information on hanging node adaption, see Section 27.2.1: Hanging Node Adaption.
Spring-Based Smoothing Method

In the spring-based smoothing method, the edges between any two mesh nodes are idealized as a network of interconnected springs. The initial spacings of the edges before any boundary motion constitute the equilibrium state of the mesh. A displacement at a given boundary node will generate a force proportional to the displacement along all the springs connected to the node. Using Hooks Law, the force on a mesh node can be written as
ni
Fi =
j
kij (xj xi )
(10.6-6)
where xi and xj are the displacements of node i and its neighbor j, ni is the number of neighboring nodes connected to node i, and kij is the spring constant (or stiness) between node i and its neighbor j. The spring constant for the edge connecting nodes i and j is dened as
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kij =
1 | xi xj |
(10.6-7)
At equilibrium, the net force on a node due to all the springs connected to the node must be zero. This condition results in an iterative equation such that xm+1 = i
ni j
kij xm j ni kij j
(10.6-8)
Since displacements are known at the boundaries (after boundary node positions have been updated), Equation 10.6-8 is solved using a Jacobi sweep on all interior nodes. At convergence, the positions are updated such that xn+1 = xn + xm,converged i i i (10.6-9)
where n + 1 and n are used to denote the positions at the next time step and the current time step, respectively. The spring-based smoothing is shown in Figures 10.6.1 and 10.6.2 for a cylindrical cell zone where one end of the cylinder is moving. Applicability of the Spring-Based Smoothing Methods You can use the spring-based smoothing method to update any cell or face zone whose boundary is moving or deforming. For non-tetrahedral cell zones (non-triangular in 2D), the spring-based method is recommended when the following conditions are met: The boundary of the cell zone moves predominantly in one direction (i.e., no excessive anisotropic stretching or compression of the cell zone). The motion is predominantly normal to the boundary zone. If these conditions are not met, the resulting cells may have high skewness values, since not all possible combinations of node pairs in non-tetrahedral cells (or non-triangular in 2D) are idealized as springs. By default, spring-based smoothing on non-triangular or non-tetrahedral cell zones are turned o. If you want to use spring-based smoothing on all cell shapes, you can turn on the model for these zones using the spring-on-all-shapes? text-interface command: define models dynamic-mesh-controls spring-on-all-shapes?
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Figure 10.6.1: Spring-Based Smoothing on Interior Nodes: Start
Figure 10.6.2: Spring-Based Smoothing on Interior Nodes: End
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Laplacian Smoothing Method

Laplacian smoothing is the most commonly used and the simplest mesh smoothing method. This method adjusts the location of each mesh vertex to the geometric center of its neighboring vertices. This method is computationally inexpensive but it does not guarantee an improvement on mesh quality, since repositioning a vertex by Laplacian smoothing can result in poor quality elements. To overcome this problem, FLUENT only relocates the vertex to the geometric center of its neighboring vertices if and only if there is an improvement in the mesh quality (i.e., the skewness has been improved). This improved Laplacian smoothing can be enabled on deforming boundaries only (i.e., the zone with triangular elements in 3D and zones with linear elements in 2D). The computation of the node positions works as follows: m = xi
ni j
m xj ni
(10.6-10)
where m is the averaged node position of node i at iteration m, m is the node position xi xj m at iteration m, and ni is the number nodes neighboring node i. of neighbor node of x i The new node position m+1 is then computed as follows: xi m+1 = m (1 ) + m xi xi xi where is the boundary node relaxation factor. This update only happens if the maximum skewness of all faces adjacent to m+1 is xi m. improved in comparison to x i (10.6-11)
Dynamic Layering Method

In prismatic (hexahedral and/or wedge) mesh zones, you can use dynamic layering to add or remove layers of cells adjacent to a moving boundary, based on the height of the layer adjacent to the moving surface. The dynamic mesh model in FLUENT allows you to specify an ideal layer height on each moving boundary. The layer of cells adjacent to the moving boundary (layer j in Figure 10.6.3) is split or merged with the layer of cells next to it (layer i in Figure 10.6.3) based on the height (h) of the cells in layer j. If the cells in layer j are expanding, they cell heights are allowed to increase until hmin > (1 + s )hideal (10.6-12)
where hmin is the minimum cell height of cell layer j, hideal is the ideal cell height, and s is the layer split factor. When this condition is met, the cells are split based on the specied layering option: constant height or constant ratio.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Layer i Layer j Moving boundary h
Figure 10.6.3: Dynamic Layering
With the constant height option, the cells are split to create a layer of cells with constant height hideal and a layer of cells of height h hideal . With the constant ratio option, the cells are split such that locally, the ratio of the new cell heights is exactly s everywhere. Figures 10.6.4 and 10.6.5 shows the result of splitting a layer of cells above a valve geometry using the constant height and constant ratio option.
Figure 10.6.4: Results of Splitting Layer By Constant Height
If the cells in layer j are being compressed, they can be compressed until hmin < c hideal (10.6-13)
where c is the layer collapse factor. When this condition is met, the compressed layer of cells is merged into the layer of cells above the compressed layer; i.e., the cells in layer j are merged with those in layer i.
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Figure 10.6.5: Results of Splitting Layer By Constant Ratio
Applicability of the Dynamic Layering Method You can use the dynamic layering method to split or merge cells adjacent to any moving boundary provided the following conditions are met: All cells adjacent to the moving face zone are either wedges or hexahedra (quadrilaterals in 2D) even though the cell zone may contain mixed cell shapes. The cell layers must be completely bounded by one-sided face zones, except when sliding interfaces are used (see Section 10.6.3: Applicability of the Face Region Remeshing Method). If the bounding face zones are two-sided walls, you must split the wall and wallshadow pair and use the coupled sliding interface option to couple the two adjacent cell zones. Note that you cannot use the dynamic layering method in conjunction with hanging node adaption. For more information on hanging node adaption, see Section 27.2.1: Hanging Node Adaption. If the moving boundary is an internal zone, cells on both sides (possibly with dierent ideal cell layer heights) of the internal zone are considered for dynamic layering. If you want to use dynamic layering on cells adjacent to a moving wall that do not span from boundary to boundary, you must separate those cells which are involved in the dynamic layering and use the sliding interfaces capability in FLUENT to transition from the deforming cells to the adjacent non-deforming cells (see Figure 10.6.6). For a moving interior face, the zones must be separated such that they are either expanding or collapsing on the same side. No one zone can consist of both expanding and collapsing layers.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes

Sliding Interfaces
Moving Face Zone Dynamic Layering Zone
Figure 10.6.6: Use of Sliding Interfaces to Transition Between Adjacent Cell Zones and the Dynamic Layering Cell Zone
Remeshing Methods
On zones with a triangular or tetrahedral mesh, the spring-based smoothing method (described in Section 10.6.3: Spring-Based Smoothing Method) is normally used. When the boundary displacement is large compared to the local cell sizes, the cell quality can deteriorate or the cells can become degenerate. This will invalidate the mesh (e.g., result in negative cell volumes) and consequently, will lead to convergence problems when the solution is updated to the next time step. To circumvent this problem, FLUENT agglomerates cells that violate the skewness or size criteria and locally remeshes the agglomerated cells or faces. If the new cells or faces satisfy the skewness criterion, the mesh is locally updated with the new cells (with the solution interpolated from the old cells). Otherwise, the new cells are discarded. FLUENT includes several remeshing methods that include local remeshing, local face remeshing (for 3D ows only), face region remeshing, and 2.5D surface remeshing (for 3D ows only). The available remeshing methods in FLUENT work for triangular-tetrahedral zones and mixed zones where the non-triangular/tetrahedral elements are skipped. The exception is the 2.5D model, where the available remeshing method only work on wedges extruded from triangular surfaces.
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Local Remeshing Method Using the local remeshing method, FLUENT marks cells based on cell skewness and minimum and maximum length scales as well as an optional sizing function. FLUENT evaluates each cell and marks it for remeshing if it meets one or more of the following criteria: It has a skewness that is greater than a specied maximum skewness. It is smaller than a specied minimum length scale. It is larger than a specied maximum length scale. Its height does not meet the specied length scale (at moving face zones, e.g., above a moving piston). Face Region Remeshing Method In addition to remeshing the volume mesh, FLUENT also allows triangular and linear faces on a deforming boundary to be remeshed. FLUENT marks deforming boundary faces for remeshing based on moving and deforming loops of faces. For face region remeshing, FLUENT marks the region of faces on the deforming boundaries at the moving boundary based on minimum and maximum length scales. Once marked, FLUENT remeshes the faces and the adjacent cells to produce a very regular mesh on the deforming boundary at the moving boundary (e.g., Figure 10.6.7). Using this method, FLUENT is able to remesh across multiple face zones. For 3D simulations, FLUENT allows remeshing with symmetric boundary conditions, and across multiple face zones which includes preserving features not only between the dierent face zones, but also within a face zone. For more information, see Section 10.6.3: Feature Detection. FLUENT automatically extracts loops on the boundary of the face zone whose nodes are moving or deforming. Consider a simple tetrahedral mesh of a cylinder whose bottom wall is moving (see Figure 10.6.7). On the deforming boundary, a single loop is generated at the bottom end of the cylinder (where the nodes are moving). FLUENT analyzes the height of the faces connected to the nodes on the loop and subsequently, splits or merges the faces depending on the specied maximum or minimum length scale. If the faces in layer j are expanding, they are allowed to expand until the maximum length scale is reached. Conversely, if the layer is contracting, they are allowed to contract until the minimum length scale is reached. When this condition is met, the compressed layer of faces is merged into the layer of faces above it. The face remeshing is illustrated in Figure 10.6.9.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Deforming boundary
Layer i Layer j h
Moving boundary
Figure 10.6.7: Remeshing at a Deforming Boundary
Applicability of the Face Region Remeshing Method You can use the local remeshing method only in cell zones that contain tetrahedral or triangular cells. If you dene deforming face zones in your model and you use local remeshing in the adjacent cell zone, the faces on the deforming face zone can be remeshed only if the following conditions are met: The faces are triangular (or linear in 2D). The faces to be remeshed are all adjacent to moving loops (i.e., moving nodes). Note that you cannot use the face region remeshing method in conjunction with hanging node adaption. For more information on hanging node adaption, see Section 27.2.1: Hanging Node Adaption. Local Face Remeshing Method The local face remeshing method only applies to 3D geometries. Using this method, FLUENT marks the faces (and the adjacent cells) on the deforming boundaries based on the face skewness. Using this method, FLUENT is able to remesh locally at deforming boundaries, however, you are not able to remesh across multiple face zones.
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Figure 10.6.8: Expanding Cylinder Before Local Face Remeshing
Figure 10.6.9: Expanding Cylinder After Local Face Remeshing
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Applicability of the Local Face Remeshing Method If you dene deforming face zones in your model and you use local face remeshing in the adjacent cell zone, the faces on the deforming face zone can be remeshed only if the following conditions are met: The faces are triangular. The faces do not exists across zones or features. Note that you cannot use the local face remeshing method in conjunction with hanging node adaption. For more information on hanging node adaption, see Section 27.2.1: Hanging Node Adaption. 2.5D Surface Remeshing Method The 2.5D surface remeshing method only applies to extruded 3D geometries and is similar to local remeshing in two dimensions on a triangular surface mesh (not a mixed zone). Faces on a deforming boundary are marked for remeshing based on face skewness, minimum and maximum length scale and an optional sizing function.
Stationary Wall
Moving Walls
Moving Walls
Figure 10.6.10: Close-Up of 2.5D Extruded Flow Meter Pump Geometry Before Remeshing and Laplacian Smoothing
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Remeshed Areas
Figure 10.6.11: Close-Up of 2.5D Extruded Flow Meter Pump Geometry After Remeshing and Laplacian Smoothing
Applicability of the 2.5D Surface Remeshing Method The following applies to the 2.5D surface remeshing method: Triangular faces get remeshed based on marking. Extruded prisms get remeshed based on the remeshing of the triangular face. Only extruded regions get remeshed, not mixed regions. Note that you cannot use the 2.5D surface remeshing method in conjunction with hanging node adaption. For more information on hanging node adaption, see Section 27.2.1: Hanging Node Adaption. For more information about the 2.5D model, see Section 10.6.11: Using the 2.5D Model.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Local Remeshing Based on Size Functions

Instead of marking cells based on minimum and maximum length scales, FLUENT also marks cells based on the size distribution generated by the sizing function if the Sizing Function option under Options is enabled. Local remeshing using size functions can be used with the following remeshing methods: local remeshing 2.5D surface remeshing Figure 10.6.12 demonstrates the advantages of using size functions for local remeshing:
Figure 10.6.12: Comparison of the Grid at the End of a Dynamic Mesh Simulation With and Without Size Functions
In determining the sizing function, FLUENT draws a bounding box around the zone that is approximately twice the size of the zone, and locates the shortest feature length within each uid zone. FLUENT then subdivides the bounding box based on the shortest feature length and the Size Function Resolution that you specify. This allows FLUENT to create a background grid. You control the resolution of the background grid and a background grid is created for each uid zone. The shortest feature length is determined by shrinking a second box around the object, and then selecting the shortest edge on that box. The size function is evaluated at the vertex of each individual background grid. As seen in Figure 10.6.13, the local value of the size function SFI is dened by SFI = DJ sJ DJ (10.6-14)
where DJ is the distance from vertex I on the background grid to the centroid of boundary cell J and sJ is the mesh size (length) of boundary cell J.
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Figure 10.6.13: Size Function Determination At Background Grid Vertex I
The size function is then smoothed using Laplacian smoothing. polates the value of the size function by calculating the distance centroid P to the background grid vertices that surround the cell The intermediate value of the size function sizeb at the centroid is sizeb = SF I LI LI
FLUENT then interLI from a given cell (see Figure 10.6.14). computed from (10.6-15)
Next, a single point Q is located within the domain (see Figure 10.6.15) that has the largest distance dmax to the nearest boundary to it. The normalized distance db for the given centroid P is given by dP min dmax
db =
(10.6-16)
Using the parameters and (the Size Function Variation and the Size Function Rate, respectively), you can write the nal value sizeP of the size function at point P as sizeP = sizeb (1 + d1+2 ) = sizeb b where sizeb is the intermediate value of the size function at the cell centroid. Note that is the size function variation. Positive values mean that the cell size increases as you move away from the boundary. Since the maximum value of db is one, the (10.6-17)
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Figure 10.6.14: Interpolating the Value of the Size Function
Figure 10.6.15: Determining the Normalized Distance
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maximum cell size becomes sizeP,max = sizeb (1 + ) = sizeb max thus, is really a measure of the maximum cell size. The factor is computed from = 1 + d1+2 b
1 1 = 1 + db
(10.6-18)
if > 0 if < 0
(10.6-19) (10.6-20)
You can use Size Function Variation (or ) to control how large or small an interior cell can be with respect to its closest boundary cell. ranges from 1 to , an value of 0.5 indicates that the interior cell size can be, at most, 1.5 the size of the closest boundary cell. Conversely, an value of 0.5 indicates that the cell size interior of the boundary can be half of that at the closest boundary cell. A value of 0 indicates a constant size distribution away from the boundary. You can use Size Function Rate (or ) to control how rapidly the cell size varies from the boundary. The value of should be specied such that 0.99 < < +0.99. A positive value indicates a slower transition from the boundary to the specied Size Function Variation value. Conversely, a negative value indicates a faster transition from the boundary to the Size Function Variation value. A value of 0 indicates a linear variation of cell size away from the boundary. You can also control the resolution of the sizing function with Size Function Resolution. The resolution determines the size of the background bins used to evaluate the size distribution with respect to the shortest feature length of the current mesh. By default, the Size Function Resolution is 3 in 2D problems, and 1 in 3D problems. A set of default values (based on the current mesh) is automatically generated if you click Use Defaults. In summary, the sizing function is a distance-weighted average of all mesh sizes on all boundary faces (both stationary and moving boundaries). The sizing function is based on the sizes of the boundary cells, with the size computed from the cell volume by assuming a perfect (equilateral) triangle in 2D and a perfect tetrahedron in 3D. You can control the size distribution by specifying the Size Function Variation and the Size Function Rate. If you have enabled the Sizing Function option, FLUENT will agglomerate a cell if size 5 4 sizeb , sizeb 5 4 (10.6-21)
where is a factor dened by Equation 10.6-19 and Equation 10.6-20.
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Note that the size function is only used for marking cells before remeshing. The size function is not used to govern the size of the cell during remeshing.
Feature Detection
For 3D simulations, FLUENT allows you to preserve features on deforming zones not only between the dierent face zones, but also within a face zone. In the Geometry Denition tab of the Dynamic Mesh Zones panel, for any geometry denition, you can indicate whether you want to include features of a specic angle by selecting Include Features under Feature Detection and setting the Feature Angle (the zonal feature angle ) in degrees. If the angle between adjacent faces is bigger than the specied angle, then the feature is recognized (i.e., cos() < cos()). Applicability of Feature Detection The following items are applicable for use with feature detection: Feature remeshing is only possible with face region remeshing Features are preserved by local face remeshing, i.e. there is no local face remeshing across features Smoothing methods preserve features, i.e. nodes at feature edges are not allowed to be smoothed
Volume Mesh Update Procedure

The volume mesh is updated automatically based on the methods described in Section 10.6.3: Dynamic Mesh Update Methods. FLUENT decides which method to use for a particular zone based on which model is enabled and the shape of the cells in the zone. For example, if the boundaries of a tetrahedral cell zone are moving, the spring-based smoothing and local remeshing methods will be used to update the volume mesh in this zone. If the zone consists of prismatic (hexahedral and/or wedge) cells, then the dynamic layer method will be used to determine where and when to insert and remove cell layers. On extruded prism zones, the 2.5D surface meshing method will be used. Depending on which model is enabled, FLUENT automatically determines which method to use by visiting the adjacent cell zones and setting appropriate ags for the volume mesh update methods to be used. If you specify the motion for a cell zone, FLUENT will visit all of the neighboring cell zones and set the ags appropriately. If you specify the motion of a boundary zone, FLUENT will analyze only the adjacent cell zones. If a cell zone does not have any moving boundaries, then no volume mesh update method will be applied to the zone.
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i
10.6.4
Note that as a result of the remeshing procedures, updated meshes may be slightly dierent when dynamic meshes are used in parallel FLUENT, and therefore very small dierences may arise in the solutions.
Solid-Body Kinematics
FLUENT uses solid-body kinematics if the motion is prescribed based on the position and orientation of the center of gravity of a moving object. This is applicable to both cell and face zones. The motion of the solid-body can be specied either as a prole or as a user-dened function (UDF). A prole may be dened by the following prole elds: time (time) crank angle (angle) (in-cylinder ows only) position (x, y, z) linear velocity (vx , vy , vz ) angular velocity (x , y , z ) orientation (x , y , z ) By default FLUENT assumes that the motion is specied in the inertial coordinate system. However, it is also possible to prescribe the motion relative to the coordinate system by selecting the Motion Type from the drop-down list for the respective uid zone dened in Dene Boundary Conditions. Thus the motion may be prescribed relative to a Rotating Reference Frame, Moving Mesh, or as Stationary. For in-cylinder simulations, the linear and angular velocity boundary proles can be expressed as a function of crank angle instead of time. Below are two examples of a prole format:
((movement_linear 3 point) (time 0 1 2 ) (x 2 3 4 ) (v_y 0 -5 0 ) )
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((movement_angular 3 point) (time 0 1 2 ) (omega_x 2 3 4 ) )
In addition to the motion description, you must also specify the starting location of the center of gravity and orientation of the solid body. FLUENT automatically updates the center of gravity position and orientation at every time step such that
xn+1 = xn + vc.g. t c.g. c.g.

n+1 n c.g. = c.g. + c.g. t
(10.6-22) (10.6-23)
where xc.g. and c.g. are the position and orientation of the center of gravity, vc.g. and c.g. are the linear and angular velocities of the center of gravity. Typically, is chosen to be an appropriate set of Euler angles. In this case, the solid-body motion must be specied using a user-dened function (DEFINE CG MOTION). The position vectors on the solid body are updated based on rotation about the instantaneous angular velocity vector c.g. . For a nite rotation angle = |c.g. |t, the nal position of a vector xr on the solid body with respect to xc.g. can be expressed as (See Figure 10.6.4) xn+1 = xn + x r r where x can be shown to be x = |xn xc.g. | [sin () + (cos () 1) er ] e r (10.6-25) (10.6-24)
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c.g.
e er
x rn+1 xr
n
x c.g.
Figure 10.6.16: Solid Body Rotation Coordinates
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The unit vectors e and er are dened as
e = er =
c.g. xr |c.g. xr | e c.g. | c.g. | e
(10.6-26) (10.6-27)
If the solid body is also translating with vc.g , the n + 1 position vector on the solid body can be expressed as xn+1 = xn + vc.g. t + xn+1 c.g. r where xn+1 is given by Equation 10.6-24. r (10.6-28)
10.6.5
Problem Setup for Dynamic Meshes
The steps for setting up a dynamic mesh problem are listed below. (Note that this procedure includes only those steps necessary for the dynamic mesh model itself; you will need to set up other models, boundary conditions, etc. as usual.) 1. Enable the appropriate option for modeling unsteady ow in the Solver panel. (See Section 26.18: Performing Time-Dependent Calculations for details about the unsteady modeling capabilities in FLUENT.) Dene Models Solver... 2. Set boundary conditions as required. Dene Boundary Conditions... See Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions for details about input of boundary conditions. The wall velocity is set up automatically when the motion attribute is set for wall zones, so you will not specify wall motion in the Wall panel. 3. Enable the dynamic mesh model, and specify related parameters. Dene Dynamic Mesh Parameters... See Section 10.6.6: Setting Dynamic Mesh Modeling Parameters for details. 4. Specify the motion of the dynamic zones in your model. Dene Dynamic Mesh Zones... See Section 10.6.7: Specifying the Motion of Dynamic Zones for details.
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5. You can display the motion of the moving zones with prescribed motion to verify the simulation setup. Display Zone Motion... 6. Dene the events that will occur during the calculation. Dene Dynamic Mesh Events... See Section 10.6.9: Dening Dynamic Mesh Events for details. 7. Save case and data. File Write Case & Data... 8. Preview your dynamic mesh setup (when the motion is a prescribed motion). Solve Mesh Motion... See Section 10.6.8: Previewing the Dynamic Mesh for details. 9. Specify the pressure-velocity coupling scheme. For transient ow calculations, the PISO algorithm is recommended, as it is the most ecient for such cases (see Section 26.9.2: PISO for details). 10. Use the automatic saving feature to specify the le name and frequency with which case and data les should be saved during the solution process. File Write Autosave... See Section 4.3.4: Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files for details about the use of this feature. This provides a convenient way for you to save results at successive time steps for later postprocessing.
You must save a case le each time you save a data le because the mesh position is stored in the case le. Since the mesh position changes with each time step, reading data for a given time step will require the case le at that time step so that the mesh will be in the proper position. You should also save your initial case le so that you can easily return to the meshs original position to restart the solution if desired.
11. (optional) If you want to create a graphical animation of the mesh over time during the solution procedure, you can use the Solution Animation panel to set up the graphical displays that you want to use in the animation. See Section 26.20: Animating the Solution for details.
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10.6.6
Setting Dynamic Mesh Modeling Parameters
To enable the dynamic mesh model, turn on Dynamic Mesh in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel (Figure 10.6.17). Dene Dynamic Mesh Parameters... If you are modeling in-cylinder motion, turn on the In-Cylinder option. If you are modeling 2.5D applications (e.g., pumps), turn on the 2.5D option (3D ows only). If you are going to use the six degrees of freedom solver, then turn on the Six DOF Solver option. Next, you will need to select the appropriate mesh update methods, and set the associated parameters, as well as the in-cylinder or Six DOF parameters, if relevant.
Figure 10.6.17: The Dynamic Mesh Parameters Panel
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Selecting the Mesh Update Methods

Under Mesh Methods, select Smoothing, Layering, and/or Remeshing. Details about these methods and their applicability to dierent cases are provided in Section 10.6.3: Dynamic Mesh Update Methods. Information about setting parameters for the mesh update methods is provided below.
Setting Mesh Update Parameters

Smoothing To turn on spring-based (or Laplacian smoothing if the 2.5D model is enabled), enable the Smoothing option under Mesh Methods in the Dynamic Mesh panel (Figure 10.6.17). The relevant parameters are specied in the Smoothing tab. Spring-Based Smoothing You can control the spring stiness by adjusting the value of the Spring Constant Factor between 0 and 1. A value of 0 indicates that there is no damping on the springs, and boundary node displacements have more inuence on the motion of the interior nodes. A value of 1 imposes the default level of damping on the interior node displacements as determined by solving Equation 10.6-8. The eect of the Spring Constant Factor is illustrated in Figures 10.6.18 and 10.6.19, which show the trailing edge of a NACA-0012 airfoil after a counter-clockwise rotation of 2.3 and the mesh is smoothed using the spring-based smoother but limited to 20 iterations. Degenerate cells (Figure 10.6.18) are created with the default value of 1 for the Spring Constant Factor. However, the original mesh distribution (Figure 10.6.19) is recovered if the Spring Constant Factor is set to 0 (i.e., no damping on the displacement of nodes on the airfoil surface). If your model contains deforming boundary zones, you can use the Boundary Node Relaxation to control how the node positions on the deforming boundaries are updated. On deforming boundaries, the node positions are updated such that xn+1 = xn + xm,converged spring (10.6-29)
where is the Boundary Node Relaxation. A value of 0 prevents deforming boundary nodes from moving (equivalent to turning o smoothing on deforming boundary zones) and a value of 1 indicates no under-relaxation. You can control the solution of Equation 10.6-8 using the values of Convergence Tolerance and Number of Iterations. FLUENT solves Equation 10.6-8 iteratively during each time step until one of the following criteria is met: the specied number of iterations has been performed
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Figure 10.6.18: Eect of a Spring Constant Factor of 1 on Interior Node Motion
Figure 10.6.19: Eect of a Spring Constant Factor of 0 on Interior Node Motion
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the solution is converged for that time step: xm rms x1 rms < convergence tolerance (10.6-30)
where x1 is the interior and deforming nodes RMS displacement at the rst rms iteration. Laplacian Smoothing Note that for 2.5D modeling (3D ows only), you can only change the Boundary Node Relaxation and the Number of Iterations. Note that the Number of Iterations is used for both spring-based and Laplacian smoothing. The Boundary Node Relaxation is used dierently by FLUENT when the 2.5D model is used. On deforming boundaries, the node positions are updated such that xn+1 = xn + xm Laplacian Dynamic Layering To turn on dynamic layering, enable the Layering option under Mesh Methods in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel (Figure 10.6.20). The layering control is specied in the Layering tab. You can control how a cell layer is split by specifying either Constant Height or Constant Ratio under Options. The Split Factor and Collapse Factor (s in Equation 10.6-12 and c in Equation 10.6-13, respectively) are the factors that determine when a layer of cells (hexahedra or wedges in 3D, or quadrilaterals in 2D) that is next to a moving boundary is split or merged with the adjacent cell layer, respectively. Local Remeshing To turn on local remeshing, enable the Remeshing option under Mesh Methods in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel (Figure 10.6.21). The local remeshing controls are specied in the Remeshing tab. You can view the vital statistics of your mesh by clicking the Mesh Scale Info... button. This displays the Mesh Scale Info panel where you can view the minimum and maximum length scale values as well as the maximum cell and face skewness values. In local remeshing, FLUENT agglomerates cells based on skewness, size, and height (adjacent moving face zones). The value of Maximum Cell Skewness indicates the desired skewness of the mesh. By default, the Maximum Cell Skewness is set to 0.9 for 3D simulations and 0.6 for 2D simulations. Cells with skewness above the maximum skewness are marked for remeshing. The size criteria are specied with Minimum Length Scale and (10.6-31)
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Figure 10.6.20: The Layering Tab in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters Panel
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Figure 10.6.21: The Remeshing Tab in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters Panel
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Maximum Length Scale. Cells with length scales below the minimum length scale and above the maximum length scale are marked for remeshing. For 3D simulations, the Face Remeshing option is available, allowing you the convenience of remeshing deforming boundary faces if you so desire. Once the option is turned on, you are able to set the Maximum Face Skewness to a specic value. In addition, you should turn on the Remeshing option in the Meshing Options tab of the Dynamics Zones panel for a deforming zone type (see Section 10.6.7: Deforming Motion). You also have the option of choosing either the local face remeshing method or the face region remeshing methods by selecting the appropriate option under Remeshing Methods for a deforming zone type. Note that depending on the case, either or both methods have to be enabled. The marking of cells based on skewness is done at every time step when the local remeshing method is enabled. However, marking based on size and height is performed between the specied Size Remesh Interval since the change in cell size distribution is typically small over one time step. By default, FLUENT replaces the agglomerated cells only if the quality of the remeshed cells has improved. However, you can override this behavior by disabling Must Improve Skewness under Options. When you use the Size Function remeshing option (see Figure 10.6.22), you can control three parameters that govern the size function. You can specify the Size Function Resolution, the Size Function Variation, and the Size Function Rate or you can return to FLUENTs default values by using the Use Defaults button. The Size Function Resolution controls the density of the background grid (see Section 10.6.3: Local Remeshing Based on Size Functions). By default, it is equivalent to 3 in 2D simulations and 1 in 3D simulations. The Size Function Variation corresponds to in Equation 10.6-17. It is the measure of the maximum permissible cell size and it ranges from 1 < < +. The Size Function Rate corresponds to in Equation 10.6-17. It is the measure of the rate of growth of the cell size, and it ranges from 0.99 < < +0.99. A value of 0 implies linear growth, whereas higher values imply a slower growth near the boundary with faster growth as one moves toward the interior.
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Figure 10.6.22: The Remeshing Tab in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters Panel Using the Size Function Option
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Setting In-Cylinder Parameters

If you turn on the In-Cylinder model in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel (Figure 10.6.17), you need to specify the Crank Shaft Speed, the Starting Crank Angle, and the Crank Period which are used to convert between ow time and crank angle. You must also specify the time step to use for advancing the solution in terms of crank angle in Crank Angle Step Size. By default, FLUENT assumes a Crank Angle Step Size of 0.5 degree.
Figure 10.6.23: The In-Cylinder Tab in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters Panel
FLUENT provides a built-in function to calculate the piston location as a function of crank angle. If the piston motion is specied using this function, you need to specify the Piston Stroke and Connecting Rod Length. The piston location is calculated using A (1 cos (c )) 2 A2 sin2 (c ) 4
ps = L +
L2
(10.6-32)
where ps is the piston location (0 at top-dead-center (TDC) and A at bottom-dead-center
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(BDC)), L is the connecting rod length, A is the piston stroke, and c is the current crank angle. The current crank angle is calculated from c = s + tshaft where s is the Starting Crank Angle and shaft is the Crank Shaft Speed. The Piston Stroke Cuto and Minimum Valve Lift values are used to control the actual values of the valve lift and piston stroke such that (10.6-33)
c min vlift = max(vlift , vlift ) ps = max(pc , pmin ) s s
(10.6-34) (10.6-35)
c min where vlift is the valve lift computed from the appropriate valve proles, vlift is the Minimum Valve Lift, pc is the stroke calculated from Equation 10.6-32, and pmin is the s s Piston Stroke Cuto. (See Section 10.6.10: Dening Motion/Geometry Attributes of Mesh Zones on how the Piston Stroke Cuto is used to control the onset of layering in the cylinder chamber.)
Setting Six DOF Solver Parameters

To use the six degree of freedom solver for your unsteady dynamic mesh simulation, select Six DOF Solver under Models in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel (Figure 10.6.17) and click on the Six DOF Solver tab (Figure 10.6.24). Dene Dynamic Mesh Parameters You can specify the gravitational acceleration in the x, y, and z directions either in this panel, or in the Operating Conditions panel.
10.6.7
Specifying the Motion of Dynamic Zones
You need to dene the motion of the dynamic zones in your model. If the zone is a rigid body, you can use a prole or user-dened function (UDF) to dene the motion of the rigid body or use the 6DOF solver. If the zone is a deforming zone, you can dene the geometry and the parameters that control face remeshing, if applicable. For a zone that is deforming and moving at the same time, you can use a user-dened function to dene the geometry and motion of the zone as they change with time.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Figure 10.6.24: The Six DOF Solver Tab in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters Panel
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General Procedure
You will specify the motion of the dynamic zones in your model using the Dynamic Mesh Zones panel. Dene Dynamic Mesh Zones... Details about specifying dierent types of motion are provided in this section. Creating a Dynamic Zone When you have completed the specication of a dynamic zone, click Create in the Dynamic Mesh Zones panel to complete the specication and add the zone to the Dynamic Zones list. Modifying a Dynamic Zone If you want to make a change to the specication of a dynamic zone, select the zone in the Dynamic Zones list, change the specication, and then click Create to update the specication. Checking the Center of Gravity If a dynamic zone has solid body motion, you can view its current position and orientation of the center of gravity (with respect to initial data) by selecting the zone in the Dynamic Zones list and then clicking on Update. Deleting a Dynamic Zone To delete a dynamic zone that you have specied, select the zone in the Dynamic Zones list, and click Delete. The zone will be removed from the Dynamic Zones list.
Stationary Motion
By default, if no motion (moving or deforming) attributes are assigned to a face or cell zone, then the zone is not considered when updating the mesh to the next time step. However, there are cases where an explicit declaration of a stationary zone is required. For example, if a cell zone is assigned some solid body motion, the positions of all nodes belonging to the cell zone will be updated even though some of the nodes may also be part of a non-moving boundary zone. An explicit declaration of a stationary zone excludes the nodes on these zones when updating the node positions. To dene a stationary zone in your model, follow the steps below. 1. Select the stationary zone in the Zone Names drop-down list. 2. Select Stationary under Type.
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Figure 10.6.25: The Dynamic Mesh Zones Panel for a Stationary Zone
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3. If the stationary zone is a face zone, then specify Cell Height on any Adjacent Zone which is involved in local remeshing or dynamic layering in the Meshing Options tab. The Cell Height species the ideal height of the adjacent cells as described earlier in the dynamic layering section. 4. Click Create.
Rigid Body Motion

To dene a rigid-body zone in your model, follow the steps below.
Figure 10.6.26: The Dynamic Mesh Zones Panel for a Rigid Body Motion
1. Select the rigid body zone in the Zone Names drop-down list. 2. Select the Rigid Body option under Type. 3. If you want to specify the motion of the rigid body zone using a prole or userdened function, then select a prole or user-dened function from the Motion UDF/Prole drop-down list in the Motion Attributes tab. See Section 7.26: Boundary
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Proles and Section 10.6.4: Solid-Body Kinematics for information on proles, and see the separate UDF Manual for information on user-dened functions. 4. If you want to use the Six DOF Solver option, then select the appropriate UDF from the Six DOF UDF drop-down list in the Motion Attributes tab (see Figure 10.6.27). Note that you should make sure that On is enabled under Six DOF Solver Options to ensure that the Six DOF solver is being used. See the separate UDF Manual for information on user-dened functions. For more information about the 6DOF solver, see Section 10.6.12: Using the Six DOF Solver. Note that the Passive option under Six DOF Solver Options is used when you do not want the forces and moments on the zone to be taken into consideration. 5. Specify the initial location of the center of gravity for the rigid body by entering the coordinates of the center of gravity in Center of Gravity Location. 6. Specify the orientation of the object with respect to the center of gravity (in the inertia coordinate system) by entering the orientations of the center of gravity in Center of Gravity Orientation. For most cases, this is an initial reference orientation that FLUENT later updates, letting you keep track or the objects current orientation. The center of gravity orientation is most useful when using the Six DOF solver, where it is used to compute the transformation matrices (see Section 10.6.12: Overview of the 6DOF Solver). 7. When using the Six DOF solver, specify the velocity of the center of gravity with respect to the inertia coordinate system by entering the velocity of the center of gravity in Center of Gravity Velocity. Also, specify the angular velocity of the center of gravity with respect to the inertia coordinate system by entering the angular velocity of the center of gravity in Center of Gravity Angular Velocity. 8. If you are solving an in-cylinder problem, specify the direction of the reference axis of the valves or piston in Valve/Piston Axis. The current valve lift or piston stroke is automatically updated in Lift/Stroke when you click Create based on the parameters you have specied earlier when you rst invoke the in-cylinder model. 9. If the rigid body zone is a face zone, specify the ideal height for cells in the adjacent cell zones by entering a value in the Cell Height eld for each Adjacent Zone in the Remeshing Options tab. The ideal cell height (hideal in Equations 10.6-12 and 10.6-13) is used by FLUENT to determine when the prismatic layer next to the rigid body should be split or merged with the layer next to it. If the adjacent zone is tetrahedral or triangular, the ideal height is used by FLUENT to determine if adjacent cells need to be agglomerated for local remeshing. 10. Click Create.
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Figure 10.6.27: The Dynamic Mesh Zones Panel for a Rigid Body Motion Using the Six DOF Solver
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Deforming Motion
To dene a deforming zone in your model, follow the steps below.
Figure 10.6.28: The Dynamic Mesh Zones Panel for a Deforming Motion
1. Select the deforming zone in the Zone Names drop-down list. 2. Select the Deforming option under Type. 3. Specify the geometry of the deforming zone in the Geometry Denition tab. There are four options: If no geometry is available, select faceted in the Denition drop-down list. If the geometry is a plane, select plane in the Denition drop-down list. To dene the plane, enter the position of a point on the plane in Point on Plane and the plane normal in Plane Normal.
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If the geometry is a cylinder, select cylinder in the Denition drop-down list. To dene the cylinder, enter the Cylinder Radius, the Cylinder Origin and the Cylinder Axis. If the geometry is described by a user-dened function, select user-dened in the Denition drop-down list and the appropriate user-dened functions in the Geometry UDF drop-down list. See the separate UDF Manual for information on user-dened functions. For 3D simulations, FLUENT allows you to preserve features not only between the dierent face zones, but also within a face zone. For any geometry denition (faceted, plane, cylinder, or user-dened), you can indicate whether you want to include features of a specic angle by selecting Include Features under Feature Detection and setting the Feature Angle in degrees. For more information, see Section 10.6.3: Feature Detection. When available, the geometry information is used to project nodes on the deforming zone after remeshing the face zone, or if nodes are moved from the spring-based smoothing method. 4. Specify the appropriate remeshing parameters in the Meshing Options tab. You can locally disable or enable any remeshing methods (the methods must be globally enabled in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel) by selecting or deselecting Smoothing, Layering (only for prismatic cell zones), or Remeshing under Mesh Methods. You can view the vital statistics of your zone by clicking the Zone Scale Info... button. This displays the Zone Scale Info panel where you can view the minimum and maximum length scale values as well as the maximum skewness values. If you selected a cell or face zone, you need to enter Minimum Length Scale, Maximum Length Scale and Maximum Skewness if you want impose a dierent set of remeshing criteria, other than those you specied globally in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel. This is not required for cell zones since the global settings for the dynamic mesh parameters are used if FLUENT determines that the local settings are unreasonable. You should use the information found in the Zone Scale Info panel in order to set your values. 5. Click Create.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
User-Dened Motion
For a zone that is deforming and moving, you can dene the position of each node on the general deforming/moving zone using a user-dened function (UDF). To dene a moving and deforming zone, follow the steps below. 1. Select the moving and deforming zone in the Zone Names drop-down list. 2. Select the User-Dened option under Type. 3. In the Motion Attributes tab, select the user-dened function that denes the geometry and motion of the zone from the Mesh Motion UDF drop-down list. See the separate UDF Manual for information on user-dened functions used to specify user-dened motion. 4. For face zones, you can specify Cell Height on any Adjacent Zone which is involved in local remeshing or dynamic layering in the Meshing Options tab. The Cell Height species the ideal height of the adjacent cells as described earlier in the dynamic layering section. 5. Click Create.
10.6.8
Previewing the Dynamic Mesh
When you have specied the mesh update methods and their associated parameters, and you have dened the motion of dynamic zones, as described in Section 10.6.7: Specifying the Motion of Dynamic Zones, you can preview the motion of the mesh or the zone as it changes with time before you start your simulation. The same dynamic zone or mesh motion will be executed when you start your simulation.
Previewing Zone Motion

You can preview the motion of zones with rigid body motion using the Zone Motion panel (Figure 10.6.29). Display Zone Motion... The zone motion preview only updates the graphical representation (in the graphics window) of the zones that you have selected using the Grid Display panel. The zone motion preview will only update those zones that have solid body motion specied. To use the Zone Motion preview: 1. Select the appropriate zones to display in the Display Grid panel 2. In the Zone Motion panel, enter the Time Step and the Number of Steps under Motion History Integration.
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Figure 10.6.29: The Zone Motion Panel
3. Click the Integrate button. This allows FLUENT to create a table of surface positions in time. 4. Under Preview Controls, specify the Time Step and the Number of Steps for preview. Note that the time step here can be larger than the integration time step. 5. Click Preview to preview the zone motion. Click Apply to save your settings for zone motion. Click Reset to have the default inputs restored in the panel. You can also use the slider bar on the Zone Motion panel to fast-forward or rewind the motion of the selected zones. Previewing the zone motion can also be used as a postprocessor for 6DOF simulations (see Section 10.6.12: Using the Six DOF Solver).
Previewing Mesh Motion

The mesh motion preview is dierent from the zone motion described above in that the mesh connectivity is not changed. To preview the dynamic mesh, you can use the Mesh Motion panel (Figure 10.6.30). Solve Mesh Motion... The procedure is as follows: 1. Save the case le. File Write Case...
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Figure 10.6.30: The Mesh Motion Panel
Note that the mesh motion will actually update the node locations as well as the connectivity of the mesh, so you must be sure to save your case le before doing the dynamic mesh motion. Once you have advanced the mesh by a certain number of time steps, you will not be able to recover the previous status of the mesh, other than by reloading the appropriate FLUENT case le.
2. Specify the Number of Time Steps and the size of each time step (Time Step Size). The current time will be displayed in the Current Mesh Time eld after the dynamic mesh has been advanced the specied number of steps. Note that if you turned on the in-cylinder model, the Time Step Size is automatically calculated from the Crank Angle Step Size and the Crank Shaft Speed that you have specied in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel. 3. To view the dynamic mesh on the graphics window, turn on the Display Grid option. In addition, you can control the frequency at which FLUENT should display an updated mesh in the Display Frequency eld. To save a hardcopy le of the mesh each time FLUENT updates it during the preview, turn on the Save Hardcopy option. This opens the Graphics Hardcopy panel (see Section 4.12: Saving Hardcopy Files). 4. Turn on Enable Autosave to use the automatic saving feature to specify the le name and frequency with which case and data les should be saved during the solution process.This opens the Autosave Case/Data panel. See Section 4.3.4: Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files for details about the use of this feature. This provides a convenient way for you to save results at successive time steps for later postprocessing. 5. Click Preview to start the preview. FLUENT will update the dynamic mesh by moving and deforming the face and cell zones that you have specied as dynamic
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zones. Click Apply to save your settings for mesh motion. Click Reset to have the default inputs restored in the panel.
10.6.9
Dening Dynamic Mesh Events
If you are simulating a ow, you can use the events in FLUENT to control the timing of specic events during the course of the simulation. With in-cylinder ows for example, you may want to open the exhaust valve (represented by a pair of deforming sliding interfaces) by creating an event to create the sliding interfaces at some crank angle. You can also use dynamic mesh events to control when to suspend the motion of a face or cell zone by creating the appropriate events based on the crank angle or time. Note that in-cylinder ows are crank angle-based, whereas all other ows are time-based.
Procedure for Dening Events

You can dene the events using the Dynamic Mesh Events panel (Figure 10.6.31). Dene Dynamic Mesh Events...
Figure 10.6.31: The Dynamic Mesh Events Panel
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
The procedure for dening events is as follows: 1. Increase the Number of Events value to the number of events you wish to specify. As this value is increased, additional event entries in the panel will become editable. 2. Turn on the check box next to the rst event and enter a name for the event under the Name heading. 3. Specify either the time or the crank angle at which you want the event to occur. For in-cylinder ows, specify the crank angle at which you want the event to occur under At Crank Angle. For non-in-cylinder ows, specify the time (in seconds) at which you want the event to occur under At Time. It is not necessary to specify the events in order of increasing time or crank angle, but it may be easier to keep track of events if you specify them in the order of increasing time or angle. 4. Click the Dene... button to open the Dene Event panel (Figure 10.6.32).
Figure 10.6.32: The Dene Event Panel
5. In the Dene Event panel, choose the type of event by selecting Change Zone Type, Copy Zone BC, Activate Cell Zone, Deactivate Cell Zone, Create Sliding Interface, Delete Sliding Interface, Change Motion Attribute, Change Time Step Size, Change Under-Relaxation Factors, Insert Boundary Zone Layer, Remove Boundary Zone Layer, Insert Interior Zone Layer, Remove Interior Zone Layer, Insert Cell Layer, or Remove Cell Layer in the Type drop-down list. These event types and their denitions are described later in this section.
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6. Repeat steps 25 for the other events, if relevant. 7. Click Apply in the Dynamic Mesh Events panel after you nish dening all events. 8. To play the events to check that they are dened correctly, click the Preview... button in the Dynamic Mesh Events panel. This displays the Events Preview panel. For in-cylinder ows, you use the Events Preview panel (Figure 10.6.33), to enter the crank angles at which you want to start and end the playback in the Start Crank Angle and End Crank Angle elds, respectively. For non-in-cylinder ows, you use the Events Preview panel to enter the time at which you want to start and end the playback in the Start Time and End Time elds, respectively. Specify the size of the step to take during the playback in the Increment eld. Click Preview to play back the events. FLUENT will play the events at the time (or crank angle in the case of in-cylinder ows) specied for each event and report when each event occurs in the text (console) window.
Figure 10.6.33: The Events Preview Panel For In-Cylinder Flows
For in-cylinder simulations, you need to specify the events for one complete engine cycle. In the subsequent cycles, the events are executed whenever event = c nperiod (10.6-36)
where event is the event crank angle, c is the current crank angle calculated from Equation 10.6-33, period is the crank angle period for one cycle, and n is some integer. As an example, for in-cylinder simulations, you are not required to specify the event crank angle to correspond exactly to the current crank angle calculated from Equation 10.6-33. FLUENT will execute an event if the current crank angle is between 0.5 where is the equivalent change in crank angle for the time step. For example, if the event preview is executed between crank angle of 340
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes and 1060 (crank period is 720 ) using an increment of 1 , FLUENT will report the following in the text window.
Execute Execute Execute Execute Execute Execute Execute Execute Event: Event: Event: Event: Event: Event: Event: Event: open-in-valve-left (defined at: 353.10, current angle: 353.00) open-in-valve-right (defined at: 353.00, current angle: 353.00) close-ex-valve-right (defined at: 355.60, current angle: 356.00) close-ex-valve-left (defined at: 357.80, current angle: 358.00) close-in-valve-left (defined at: 571.60, current angle: 572.00) close-in-valve-right (defined at: 571.80, current angle: 572.00) open-ex-valve-right (defined at: 137.10, current angle: 857.00) open-ex-valve-left (defined at: 139.00, current angle: 859.00)
Notice that events dened at 137.10 and 139 are executed at 857 and 859 , respectively, because they satisfy the condition of Equation 10.6-36.
Events
Each of the available events is described below. Changing the Zone Type You can change the type of a zone to be a wall, or an interface, interior, uid, or solid zone during your simulation. To change the type of a zone, select Change Zone Type in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel (Figure 10.6.32). Select the zone(s) that you want to change in the Zone(s) list, and then select the new zone type in the New Zone Type drop-down list. Copying Zone Boundary Conditions You can copy boundary conditions from one zone to other zones during your simulation. If, for example, you have changed an inlet zone to type wall with the Change Zone Type event, you can set the boundary conditions of the new zone type by simply copying the boundary conditions from a known zone with the corresponding zone type. To copy boundary conditions from one zone to another, select Copy Zone BC in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel (Figure 10.6.32). In the From Zone drop-down list, select the zone that has the conditions you want to copy. In the To Zone(s) list, select the zone or zones to which you want to copy the conditions. FLUENT will set all of the boundary conditions for the zones selected in the To Zone(s) list to be the same as the conditions for the zone selected in the From Zone list. (You cannot copy a subset of the conditions, such as only the thermal conditions.) Note that you cannot copy conditions from external walls to internal (i.e., two-sided) walls, or vice versa, if the energy equation is being solved, since the thermal conditions for external and internal walls are dierent.
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Deactivating a Cell Zone To deactivate a cell zone, select Deactivate Cell Zone in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel (Figure 10.6.32), then select the zone that you want to deactivate in the Zone(s) list. Only deactivated zones can be activated. When a zone is deactivated, FLUENT skips the zone during the calculations. For more information, see Section 6.7.12: Replacing, Deleting, Deactivating, and Activating Zones. Activating a Cell Zone To activate a cell zone, select Activate Cell Zone in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel (Figure 10.6.32), then select the zone that you want to activate in the Zone(s) list. For more information, see Section 6.7.12: Replacing, Deleting, Deactivating, and Activating Zones. Creating a Sliding Interface To create a sliding interface during your simulation, select Create Sliding Interface in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel (Figure 10.6.32). Enter a name for the sliding interface in the Interface Name eld. Select the two zones on either side of the interface in the Interface Zone 1 and Interface Zone 2 drop-down lists. If the interface zones that you selected above do not overlap each other completely, the non-overlapped regions on each interface zones are put into separate wall zones by FLUENT. If these wall zones (i.e., non-overlapped regions) have motion attributes associated with them, their motion can only be specied by copying the motion from another dynamic zone by selecting the appropriate dynamic zones in the Wall 1 Motion and Wall 2 Motion drop-down lists, respectively. Note that you dont have to change the boundary type from wall to interface. When the Create Sliding Interface event is executed, FLUENT will automatically change the boundary type of the face zones selected in Interface Zone 1 and Interface Zone 2 to type interface before the sliding interface is created. Deleting a Sliding Interface To delete a sliding interface that has been created earlier in your in-cylinder simulation, select Delete Sliding Interface in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel (Figure 10.6.32). Enter the name of the sliding interface to be deleted in the Interface Name eld. As with the Create Sliding Interface event, FLUENT will automatically change the corresponding interface zones to wall. However, you may want to use the Copy Zone BC event to set any boundary conditions that are not the default conditions that FLUENT assumes.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Changing the Motion Attribute of a Dynamic Zone To change the motion attribute of a dynamic zone during your in-cylinder calculation, select Change Motion Attribute in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel (Figure 10.6.32). Select the Attribute (slide, moving, or remesh) and set the appropriate Status (enable or disable). Select the corresponding dynamic zones for which you want to change the motion attributes in the Dynamic Zones list. The slide attribute is used to enable or disable smoothing of nodes on selected deforming face zones, the moving attribute is used to suspend the motion of selected moving zones, and the remesh attribute is used to enable and disable face remeshing on selected deforming face zones. Changing the Time Step To change the time step at some point during the simulation, select Change Time Step Size in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel. Specify the new physical time step size by entering the new Time Step Size in seconds. For in-cylinder simulations, specify the new physical time step by entering the new Crank Angle Step Size value in degrees. The physical time step is calculated from t = c 6shaft (10.6-37)
where the unit of shaft is assumed to be in RPM. Changing the Under-Relaxation Factor To change one ore more under-relaxation factors, select Change Under-Relaxation Factor in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel (Figure 10.6.32). Select the underrelaxation factor that you wish to change, and assign a new value to it in the UnderRelaxation Factors list. For more information on setting under-relaxation factors, see Section 26.10: Setting Under-Relaxation Factors. Inserting a Boundary Zone Layer To insert a new cell zone layer as a separate cell zone adjacent to a boundary, select Insert Boundary Zone Layer in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel. Specify the Base Dynamic Zone, from which the layer of cells is to be created, and the Side Dynamic Zone, which represents the deforming face zone adjacent to the Base Dynamic Zone before the layer is inserted. The new cell zone will inherit the boundary conditions of the cell zone adjacent to the Base Dynamic Zone before the layer is inserted. Note that a new cell layer can be inserted only from a one-sided Base Dynamic Zone. You cannot insert a new cell layer from an interior face zone.
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Figure 10.6.34 and Figure 10.6.35 illustrate the insertion of a boundary zone layer. In both gures, the circular face at the top of the cylinder is the base dynamic zone.
Figure 10.6.34: Boundary Zone Before Insertion
Figure 10.6.35: Boundary Zone After Insertion
Removing a Boundary Zone Layer To remove the cell zone layer inserted using the Insert Boundary Zone Layer event, select Remove Boundary Zone Layer in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel. Specify the same Base Dynamic Zone that you used when you dened the insert boundary layer event. Note that a cell layer can be removed only from a one-sided Base Dynamic Zone. Inserting an Interior Zone Layer To insert a new zone layer as a separate cell zone adjacent to the internal side of a boundary, select Insert Interior Zone Layer in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel. Specify the Base Dynamic Zone and the Side Dynamic Zone as described in the
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Insert Boundary Zone Layer event. You also need to specify the names of the new interior face zones (Internal Zone 1 Name and Internal Zone 2 Name) that will be created after the cell zone layer is created by FLUENT. FLUENT inserts the interior cell layer by splitting the cell zone adjacent to the Base Dynamic Zone with a plane. The position of the plane and the normal direction of the plane are implicitly dened by the cylinder origin and cylinder axis of the Side Dynamic Zone. Figure 10.6.36 and Figure 10.6.37 illustrate the insertion of an interior zone layer.
Figure 10.6.36: Interior Zone Before Insertion
Figure 10.6.37: Interior Zone After Insertion
Removing an Interior Zone Layer To remove the zone layer inserted using the Insert Interior Zone Layer event, select Remove Interior Zone Layer in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel. Specify the same Internal Zone 1 Name and Internal Zone 2 Name that you used to dene the Insert Interior Zone Layer event.
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Inserting a Cell Layer To manually insert a new cell layer to the existing cell zone, select Insert Cell Layer in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel. Specify the Adjacent Dynamic Face Zone and the Direction Parameter. This can only work on zones that are suited for layering (see Section 10.6.3: Applicability of the Dynamic Layering Method). Removing a Cell Layer To manually remove a cell layer from an existing cell zone, select Remove Cell Layer in the Type drop-down list in the Dene Event panel. Specify the Adjacent Dynamic Face Zone and the Direction Parameter. This can only work on zones that are suited for layering (see Section 10.6.3: Applicability of the Dynamic Layering Method).
Exporting and Importing Events

If you want to save the events you have dened to a le, click Write... in the Dynamic Mesh Events panel and specify the Event File in the Select File dialog box. To read the events back into FLUENT, click Read... in the Dynamic Mesh Events panel and specify the Event File in the Select File dialog box.
10.6.10
Using the In-Cylinder Model
This section describes the problem setup procedure for an in-cylinder dynamic mesh simulation.
Overview
Consider the 2D in-cylinder example shown in Figure 10.6.38 for a typical pent-roof engine. In setting up the dynamic mesh model for an in-cylinder problem, you need to consider the following issues: how to provide the proper mesh topology for the volume mesh update methods (spring-based smoothing, dynamic layering, and local remeshing) how to dene the motion attributes and geometry for the valve and piston surfaces how to address the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust valves how to specify the sequence of events that controls the in-cylinder simulation
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Intake Valve
Exhaust Valve
Piston Head
Figure 10.6.38: A 2D In-Cylinder Geometry
Dening the Mesh Topology

FLUENT requires that you provide an initial volume mesh with the appropriate mesh topology such that the various mesh update methods described in Section 10.6.3: Dynamic Mesh Update Methods can be used to automatically update the dynamic mesh. However, FLUENT does not require you to set up all in-cylinder problems using the same mesh topology. When you generate the mesh for your in-cylinder model (using GAMBIT or other mesh generation tools), you need to consider the various mesh regions that you can identify as moving, deforming, or stationary, and generate these mesh regions with the appropriate cell shape. The mesh topology for the example problem in Figure 10.6.38 is shown in Figure 10.6.39, and the corresponding volume mesh is shown in Figure 10.6.40. Because of the rectilinear motion of the moving surfaces, you can use dynamic layering zones to represent the mesh regions swept out by the moving surfaces. These regions are the regions above the top surfaces of the intake and exhaust valves and above the piston head surface, and must be meshed with quadrilateral or hexahedral cells (as required by the dynamic layering method). For the chamber region, you need to dene a remeshing zone (triangular cells) to accommodate the various positions of the valves in the course of the simulation. In this region, the motion of the boundaries (valves and piston surfaces) is propagated to the interior nodes using the spring-based smoothing method. If the cell quality violates any of the remeshing criteria that you have specied, FLUENT will automatically agglomerate these cells and remesh them. Furthermore, FLUENT will also remesh the deforming faces (based on the face heights and factors that you have specied) on the cylinder walls
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Stationary Intake Zone
Stationary Exhaust Zone
Layering Zones Above Intake Valve Layering Zones Above Intake Valve
Remeshing Zone Layering Zone Above Piston
Figure 10.6.39: Mesh Topology Showing the Various Mesh Regions
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Figure 10.6.40: Mesh Associated With the Chosen Topology
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as well as those on the sliding interfaces used to connect the chamber cell zone to the layering zones above the valve surfaces. For the intake and exhaust port regions, you can use either triangular or quadrilateral cell zones because these zones are not moving or deforming. FLUENT will automatically mark these regions as stationary zones and will not apply any mesh motion method on these cell zones. The dynamic layering regions above the piston and valves are conformal with the adjacent cell zone in the chamber and ports, respectively, so you do not have to use sliding interfaces to connect these cell zones together. However, you need to use sliding interfaces to connect the dynamic layering regions above the valves and the remeshing region in the chamber. This is shown in Figure 10.6.41 with the exhaust valve almost at full extension. Notice that cells on the chamber side of the interface zone are remeshed (i.e., split or merged) as the interface zone opens and closes because of the motion of the exhaust valve.
Sliding Interfaces
Figure 10.6.41: The Use of Sliding Interfaces to Connect the Exhaust Valve Layering Zone to the Remeshing Zone
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Dening Starting Position Mesh for the In-Cylinder Model

If you are solving an in-cylinder ow problem, it is recommended that you generate your initial mesh to coincide with the TDC (top-dead-center) position. You can then use FLUENT to position the valves and piston to correspond to the starting crank angle of your simulation using the position-starting-mesh text-interface command. define models dynamic-mesh-controls in-cylinder-parameter position-starting-mesh
/define/models/dynamic-mesh-controls/in-cylinder-parameter> position-starting-mesh Start Crank Angle (deg) [0] 340 Updating mesh position ... Done Subdividing mesh layers ... Done Remeshing cell zone fluid-chamber (id = 18) remeshing face zone cyl-wall-deform (id = 30) with length scale = 1.65000e-03 remeshing face zone intf-exv-lt-ob-t (id = 72) with length scale = 8.66000e-04 remeshing face zone intf-exv-rt-ob-t (id = 77) with length scale = 8.66000e-04 remeshing face zone intf-inv-lt-ob-t (id = 92) with length scale = 8.66000e-04 remeshing face zone intf-inv-rt-ob-t (id = 97) with length scale = 8.66000e-04 Remeshing cell zone fluid-export (id = 41) remeshing face zone exvalve-deform-lt (id = 7) with length scale = 1.60000e-03 remeshing face zone intf-exv-rt-ib-t (id = 67) with length scale = 8.66000e-04 remeshing face zone intf-exv-lt-ib-t (id = 46) with length scale = 8.66000e-04 remeshing face zone exvalve-deform-rt (id = 39) with length scale = 1.60000e-03 Remeshing cell zone fluid-inport (id = 43) remeshing face zone invalve-deform-rt (id = 8) with length scale = 1.60000e-03 remeshing face zone intf-inv-lt-ib-t (id = 82) with length scale = 8.66000e-04 remeshing face zone intf-inv-rt-ib-t (id = 87) with length scale = 8.66000e-04 remeshing face zone invalve-deform-lt (id = 40) with length scale = 1.60000e-03
This technique has the following restrictions: Does not execute mesh modication events (e.g., layer insertion). Does not work for geometries with a symmetry plane (e.g., half cylinder geometry). FLUENT will automatically remesh any deforming face zones and the adjacent cell zones (both remeshing and layering) based on the remeshing and dynamic layering parameters that you have set up for your model. In the above example, the starting crank angle for the in-cylinder simulation is 340 degrees (20 degrees before TDC). Figure 10.6.42 and Figure 10.6.43 show the initial and the starting mesh generated by FLUENT.
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Figure 10.6.42: In-Cylinder Initial Mesh
Figure 10.6.43: In-Cylinder Starting Mesh Generated by FLUENT at Crank Angle of 340 degrees
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Dening Motion/Geometry Attributes of Mesh Zones

As the piston moves down from the TDC to the BDC position, you need to expand the remeshing region such that it can accommodate the valves when they are fully extended. To accomplish this, you need to specify the dynamic layering zone adjacent to the piston surface to move with the piston until some specied distance from the TDC position. Beyond this cuto distance, the motion of the layering zone is stopped and the piston wall is allowed to continue to the BDC position. Because there is relative motion between the piston head surface and the now non-moving dynamic layering zone, cell layers will be added when the ideal layer height criteria is violated. Figures 10.6.44 to 10.6.49 show the sequence of meshes before and after the onset of cell layering when the motion in the layering zone above the piston surface is stopped (shown with = 5 ).
Figure 10.6.44: Mesh Sequence 1
FLUENT provides built-in functions to handle the full piston motion and the limited piston motion for the dynamic layering zone above the piston surface. When you dene the motion attribute of the dynamic layering zone above the piston surface, you need to use the limited piston motion function (**piston-limit** in the C.G. Motion UDF/Prole eld in the Dynamic Mesh Zones panel). Note that you must dene the parameters used by these functions before you can use them. In the current example, the piston stroke is 80 mm and the connecting rod length is 140 mm. The piston stroke cuto is assumed to happen at 25 mm from TDC position. The lift as a function of crank angle between
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes 344 and 1064 is shown in Figure 10.6.50 for both limited and full piston motion.
**piston-full** **piston-limit** 8.00e-02 7.00e-02 6.00e-02 5.00e-02 4.00e-02 3.00e-02 2.00e-02 1.00e-02 0.00e+00 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100
Crank Angle (deg)
Figure 10.6.50: Piston Position (m) as a Function of Crank Angle (deg)
To dene the motion of the valves, you need to use proles that describe the variation of valve lift with crank angle. FLUENT expects certain prole elds to be used to dene the lift and the crank angle. For example, consider the following simplied prole denition:
((ex-valve 5 point) (angle 0 180 270 (lift 0.05 0.05 1.8
360 720) 0.05 0.05))
((in-valve 5 point) (angle 0 355 440 540 720) (lift 0.05 0.05 2.0 0.05 0.05))
FLUENT expects the angle and lift elds to dene the crank angle and lift variations, respectively. The angle must be specied in degrees and the lift values must be in meters. The actual valve lift proles that you will use for the current example are shown in Figure 10.6.51. Notice that there is an overlapped period where both the intake and exhaust valves are open. The valve lift proles and the built-in functions will describe how each surface moves as a function of crank angle with respect to some reference point. For example, the valve lift is zero when the valve is fully closed and the valve lift is maximum when it is fully
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in-valve ex-valve 1.40e-02
1.20e-02
1.00e-02
8.00e-03
6.00e-03
4.00e-03
2.00e-03
0.00e+00 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100
Crank Angle (deg)
Figure 10.6.51: Intake and Exhaust Valve Lift (m) as a Function of Crank Angle (deg)
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
open. In order to move the surfaces, FLUENT requires that you specify the direction of motion for each surface. FLUENT will then update the center of gravity of each surface such that x = xref leaxis (10.6-38)
where xref is some reference position, eaxis is the unit vector in the direction of motion, and l is either the valve or the piston distance with respect to the reference position xref . Note that the unit vector of the direction of motion is specied to point in the negative direction. For example, the correct intake valve axis for this example is (0.3421, 0.9397), as shown in Figure 10.6.52.
Reference axis Reference origin
lift (l=0.05mm t=0) at Center of gravity
Figure 10.6.52: Denition of Valve Zone Attributes (Intake Valve)
Dening Valve Opening and Closure

FLUENT assumes that once you have set up the mesh topology, the mesh topology is unchanged throughout the entire simulation. Therefore, FLUENT does not allow you to completely close the valves such that the cells between the valve and the valve seat become degenerate (at cells) when these surfaces come in contact (removing these at cells would require the creation of new boundary face zones). To prevent the collapse, you need to dene a minimum valve lift and FLUENT will automatically stop the motion of the valve when the valve lift is smaller than the minimum valve lift value. The minimum valve lift value can be specied in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel. For the current example, a minimum valve lift value of 0.1 mm is assumed. When the valve position is smaller than the minimum valve lift value, it is normal practice to assume that the valve is closed. The actual closing of the valves is accomplished by deleting the sliding interfaces that connect the chamber cell zone to the dynamic layering
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zones on the valves. The interface zones are then converted to walls to close o the gaps between the valves and the valve seats. The valve opening is achieved by the reverse process. When the valve lift has reached beyond the minimum valve lift value, the valve is assumed to be open and you can redene the sliding interfaces such that the chamber zone is now connected to the dynamic layering zones above the valves.
Dening Events for In-Cylinder Applications

FLUENT will automatically limit the valve lift values depending on the specied minimum valve lift value. However, the conversion of the sliding interface zones to walls (and vice versa) is accomplished via the in-cylinder events (see Section 10.6.9: Dening Dynamic Mesh Events). For example, if the exhaust valve closes at 5 before TDC position, you must dene a Delete Sliding Interface event at the crank angle of 355. You need to dene similar events for the intake valve opening (using the Create Sliding Interface event), the intake valve closing (Delete Sliding Interface event), and the exhaust valve opening (Create Sliding Interface event) at the respective crank angles. For the current example, the exhaust valve is assumed to be open between 131 and 371 and the intake valve is open between at 345 and 584.
10.6.11
Using the 2.5D Model
For 3D simulations only, you can select the 2.5D model under Models in the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel. This model allows for a specic subset of smoothing and remeshing techniques. The 2.5D mesh essentially is a 2D triangular mesh which is expanded, or extruded, along the normal axis of the specic dynamic zone that you are interested in modeling. The triangular surface mesh is remeshed and smoothed on one side, and the changes are then extruded to the opposite side. Rigid body motion is applied to the moving face zones, while the triangular extrusion surface is assigned to a deforming zone with remeshing and smoothing enabled. The opposite side of the triangular mesh is assigned to be a deforming zone as well, with only smoothing enabled, as in Figure 10.6.53. Note that in the Smoothing tab of the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel, the 2.5D model allows you to change only the Boundary Node Relaxation value and the Number of Iterations. Also note that the Remeshing tab of the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel automatically has Face Remeshing enabled. For more information on setting smoothing and remeshing parameters, see Section 10.6.6: Setting Mesh Update Parameters. The 2.5D model only applies to mapable (i.e., extrudable) mesh geometries such as pumps as in Figure 10.6.53. Only the aspects of the geometry that represent the moving parts need to be extruded in the mesh.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Figure 10.6.53: 2.5D Extruded Gear Pump Geometry
You must only apply smoothing to the opposite side of the extruded mesh, since FLUENT requires the geometry information for the dynamic zone. FLUENT projects the nodes back to its geometry after the extrusion. Without this geometry information, the dynamic zones tends to lose its integrity.
10.6.12
Using the Six DOF Solver
FLUENTs Six Degree of Freedom (6DOF) solver computes external forces and moments such as aerodynamic and gravitational forces and moments on an object. These forces are computed by numerical integration of pressure and shear stress over the objects surfaces. Additional load forces can be added (e.g., injector forces, thrust (propulsive) forces, moments produced by a coil spring, etc.). This technique, along with the FLUENT solver and the use of dynamic meshes, can be readily applied to many useful applications, such as store separation [304, 321].
Overview of the 6DOF Solver

The 6DOF solver in FLUENT uses the objects forces and moments in order to compute the translational and angular motion of the center of gravity of an object. The governing equation for the translational motion of the center of gravity is solved for in the inertial coordinate system (Equation 10.6-39). = 1 G m fG (10.6-39)
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Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones where is the translational motion of the center of gravity, m is the mass, and f G is G the force vector due to gravity. The angular motion of the object, B , is more easily computed using body coordinates (Equation 10.6-40). B = L1 MB B LB (10.6-40)
where L is the inertia tensor, MB is the moment vector of the body, and B is the rigid body angular velocity vector. The moments are transformed from inertial to body coordinates using M B = RM G where R is the following transformation matrix: C C S S C C S C S C + S S C S S S S C C C S S S C -S S C C C (10.6-41)
where, in generic terms, C = cos() and S = sin(). The angles , , and are Euler angles that represent the following sequence of rotations: Rotation about the x-axis (e.g., roll for airplanes) Rotation about the y-axis (e.g., pitch for airplanes) Rotation about the z-axis (e.g., yaw for airplanes) Once the angular and the translational accelerations are computed from Equation 10.6-39 and Equation 10.6-40, the rates are derived by numerical integration [321]. The angular and translational velocities are used in the dynamic mesh calculations to update the rigid body position.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Setting Rigid Body Motion Attributes for the Six DOF Solver
When the Six DOF Solver is enabled, you need to provide additional information for rigid body dynamic zones. For instance, you must use a user-dened function to dene the six degrees of freedom parameters, and you must set the velocity and angular velocity for the center of gravity. For each moving object, exactly one user-dened function has to be dened, no matter how many zones there are for each object. For more information about the Six DOF Solver settings in the Dynamic Mesh Zones panel for rigid body motion, see Section 10.6.7: Rigid Body Motion. Note that you can also keep track of an objects motion history using the text user interface and by entering yes for the motion-history? text interface command. define models dynamic-mesh-controls six-dof-parameter motion-history? This command generates a single motion history le for each moving object which can be used to display zone motion for postprocessing your results. For more information on zone motion, see Section 10.6.8: Previewing the Dynamic Mesh.
10.6.13
Using the Crevice Model
Overview
The crevice model implemented in FLUENT is a zero-dimensional ring-ow model based on the model outlined in Namazian and Heywood [239] and Roberts and Matthews [283]. The model is geared toward in-cylinder specic ows, and more specically, directinjection (DI) diesel engines, and thus is available only for time-dependent simulations. The model takes mass, momentum, and energy from cells adjoining two boundaries and accounts for the storage of mass in the volumes of the crevices in the piston. Detailed geometric information regarding the ring and pistontypically a ring pack around the bore of an engineis necessary to use the crevice model. An example representation is shown in Figures 10.6.5410.6.56. Model Parameters Piston to bore clearancethe distance between the piston and the bore. Typical values are 2 to 5 mil (80 to 120 m) in a spark engine (SI) and 4 to 7 mil (100 to 240 m) in some diesel engines (CI). Ring thicknessthe variable Tr in Figure 10.6.55. Typical values range from 1 to 3 mm for SI engines and 2 to 4 mm for CI engines. Ring widththe variable Wr in Figure 10.6.55. Typical values range from 3 to 3.5 mm for SI engines and 4 to 6 mm for DI diesel engines.
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Land length p
0
Cylinder wall 1
Ring spacing
2 3 1: Top gap 2: Middle gap 3: Bottom gap p

6
Piston to bore clearance
Figure 10.6.54: Crevice Model Geometry (Piston)
W r Tr
Figure 10.6.55: Crevice Model Geometry (Ring)
Ring 1 Ring 2 Ring 3
p 1 p 3 p 5
p = cylinder pressure 0 p2 p 4 p = crankcase pressure 6
Figure 10.6.56: Crevice Model Network Representation
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Ring spacingthe distance between the bottom of one ring land and the top of the next ring land. Typical values of the ring spacing are 3 to 5 mm for SI engines and 4 to 8 mm for DI diesel engines. Land lengththe depth of the ring land (i.e., the cutout into the piston); always deeper than the width of the ring by about 1 mm. Typical values are 4 to 4.5 mm for SI engines and 5 to 7 mm for DI diesel engines. Top gapthe clearance between the ring land and the top of the ring (40 to 80 m). Middle gapthe distance between the ring and the bore (10 to 40 m). Bottom gapthe clearance between the ring land and the bottom of the ring (40 to 80 m). Shared boundary and Leaking wallthe piston (e.g., wall-8) and the cylinder wall (e.g., wall.1) in most in-cylinder simulations. Cells that share a boundary with the top of the piston and the cylinder wall are dened as the crevice cells. The ring pack is the set of rings that seal the piston in the cylinder bore. As the piston moves upward in the cylinder when the valves are closed (e.g., during the compression stroke in a four-stroke cycle engine), the pressure in the cylinder rises and ow begins to move past the rings. The pressure distribution in the ring pack is modeled by assuming either fully-developed compressible ow through the spaces between the rings and the piston, or choked compressible ow between the rings and the cylinder wall. Since the temperature in the ring pack is xed and the geometry is known, once a pressure distribution is calculated, the mass in each volume can be found using the ideal gas equation of state. The overall mass ow out of the ring pack is also calculated at each discrete step in the FLUENT solution; i.e., it is the ow past the last ring specied.
Limitations
The limitations of the crevice model are that it is zero-dimensional, transient, and currently limited to two threads that share a boundary. A zero-dimensional approach is used because it is dicult to accurately predict lateral diusion of species in the crevice. If the lateral diusion of species is important in the simulation, as in when a spray plume in a DI engine is in close proximity to the boundary and the net mass ow is into the crevice, it is recommended that the full multidimensional crevice geometry be simulated in FLUENT using a non-conformal mesh. Additionally, this approach does not specically track individual species, as any individual species would be instantly distributed over the entire ring pack. The mass ux into the domain from the crevice is assumed to have the same composition as the cell into which mass is owing.
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The formulation of the crevice ow equations is inherently transient and is solved using FLUENTs sti-equation solver. A steady problem with leakage ow can be solved by running the transient problem to steady state. Additional limitations of the crevice model in its current form are that only a single crevice is allowed and only one thread can have leakage. Ring dynamics are not explicitly accounted for, although ring positions can be set during the simulation. In this context, the crevice model solution is a sti initial boundary-value problem. The stiness increases as the pressure dierence between the ring crevices increases and also as the overall pressure dierence across the ring pack increases. Thus, if the initial conditions are very far from the solution during a time step, the ODE solver may not be able to integrate the equations successfully. One solution to this problem is to decrease the ow time step for several iterations. Another solution is to start with initial conditions that are closer to the solution at the end of the time step.
Crevice Model Theory

FLUENT solves the equations for mass conservation in the crevice geometry by assuming laminar compressible ow in the region between the piston and the top and bottom faces of the ring, and by assuming an orice ow between the ring and the cylinder wall. The equation for the mass ow through the ring end gaps is of the form mij = Cd Aij cij (10.6-42)
where Cd is the discharge coecient, Aij is the gap area, is the gas density, c is the local speed of sound, and ij is a compressibility factor given by

2 1 pi pj
2
pi pj
0.5 pi pj
> 0.52 (10.6-43)
ij =
2 1
+1 2(1)
pi pj
0.52
where is the ratio of specic heats, pi the upstream pressure and pj the downstream pressure. The equation for the mass ow through the top and bottom faces of the ring (i.e., into and out of the volume behind the piston ring) is given by h2 p2 p2 Aij ij i j 24Wr gas RT
mij =
(10.6-44)
where hij is the cross-sectional area of the gap, Wr is the width of the ring along which the gas is owing, gas is the local gas viscosity, T is the temperature of the gas and R
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
is the universal gas constant. The system of equations for a set of three rings is of the following form:
dp1 dt dp2 dt dp3 dt dp4 dt dp5 dt
= = = = =
p1 m1 p2 m2 p3 m3 p4 m4 p5 m5
(m01 m12 ) (m02 + m12 m23 m24 ) (m23 m34 ) (m24 + m34 m45 m46 ) (m45 m56 )
(10.6-45) (10.6-46) (10.6-47) (10.6-48) (10.6-49)
where p0 is the average pressure in the crevice cells and p6 is the crankcase pressure input from the text interface. The expressions for the mass ows for numerically adjacent zones (e.g., 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, etc.) are given by Equation 10.6-44 and expressions for the mass ows for zones separated by two integers (e.g., 0-2, 2-4, 4-6) are given by Equations 10.6-42 and 10.6-43. Thus, there are 2nr 1 equations needed for the solution to the ring-pack equations, where nr is the number of rings in the simulation.
Using the Crevice Model

An optical experimental engine from Dec [71] is used below to show a working example of how to use the crevice model as it is implemented in FLUENT. The grid at ten crank angle degrees before top center is shown in Figure 10.6.57. The following example shows the necessary steps to enable the crevice model for a typical in-cylinder ow. 1. From the > prompt, enter the define/models menu: define models 2. Enable the crevice model:
/define/models> crevice-model? Enable crevice model? [no] yes /define/models> dpm/ solidification-melting? dynamic-mesh? dynamic-mesh-controls/ crevice-model?
energy? multiphase/ nox? radiation/ crevice-model-controls/
steady? unsteady-1st-order? viscous/ unsteady-2nd-order? solver/
species/
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Z Y
Grid (Time=2.2222e-02) Crank Angle=-5.00(deg)
Dec 04, 2002 FLUENT 6.1 (3d, segregated, dynamesh, spe5, rke, unsteady)
Figure 10.6.57: Experimental Engine Grid
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
3. Enter the ring pack geometry:
/define/models> crevice-model-controls Cylinder bore (m) [0.1] 0.1397 Piston to bore clearance (m) [3.0e-5] 5.08e-05 Piston crevice temperature (K) [400] 433 Piston sector angle (deg) [360] 45 Ring discharge coefficient [0.8] 0.7 Pressure in crankcase (exit pressure) (Pa) [101325] Write out crevice data to a file? [no] yes output file name ["crev.out"] Available wall threads are: (wall.1 wall wall-8) Leaking wall [] wall.1 Shared boundary [] wall-8 Selected boundary threads : (wall.1 wall-8) Use these zones? [yes] yes Solve crevice model ? [no] Number of rings [3] Width of ring number Thickness of ring number Spacing of ring number Land Length for ring number Top Gap of ring number Middle Gap of ring number Bottom Gap of ring number Width of Thickness of Spacing of Land Length for Top Gap of Middle Gap of Bottom Gap of Width of Thickness of Spacing of Land Length for Top Gap of Middle Gap of Bottom Gap of ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring number number number number number number number number number number number number number number yes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: is: [0.00375] [0.0015] [0.008] [0.00391] [6e-05] [4e-05] [6e-05] [0.00375] [0.0015] [0.008] [0.00391] [6e-05] [4e-05] [6e-05] [0.00375] [0.0015] [0.00391] [0.00391] [6e-05] [4e-05] [6e-05]
Initial conditions in Pressure 1 is: Pressure 2 is: Pressure 3 is: Pressure 4 is: Pressure 5 is:
ring pack [4600623.5] [4173522.5] [3689110.5] [3130620] [2214841.8]
A fast way to set up multiple rings in the ring pack is to specify only one ring and enter the geometry. Once the ring geometry is entered, invoke the crevice-modelcontrols menu a second time and specify the number of rings desired. When the number of rings changes, the geometry from the rst ring is copied to all subsequent rings. Default values can be taken for the rest of the way through the menu structure.
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A summary of the crevice model is printed out by entering the (crevice-summary) command at the command prompt:
>(crevice-summary) crevice/n-rings crevice/ring-width crevice/ring-thickness crevice/ring-spacing crevice/land-length crevice/top-ring-gap crevice/mid-ring-gap crevice/bot-ring-gap crevice/piston-temperature crevice/sector-angle crevice/mid-gap-cd crevice/exit-pressure crevice/threads names of crevice/threads crevice/unit-roundoff crevice/piston-bore-clearance crevice/write? crevice/output-file crevice/solve? crevice/enabled? crevice/pressures : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 3 (0.00375 0.00375 0.00375) (0.0015 0.0015 0.0015) (0.008 0.008 0.00391) (0.00391 0.00391 0.00391) (6e-05 6e-05 6e-05) (4e-05 4e-05 4e-05) (6e-05 6e-05 6e-05) 433 45 0.7 101325 (5 6) (wall.1 wall-8) 5.9604645e-08 5.08e-05 #t crev.out #t #t (4600623.5 4173522.5 3689110.5 3130620 2214841)
Crevice Model Solution Details

The under-relaxation factor for the crevice model source terms can be found in the Solution Controls panel. The default value for Crevice Model Sources is 0.8, which has been found to work well for motored engine simulations. Once the crevice model is enabled, the solution proceeds normally. Solve Controls Solution... Solve Initialize Initialize... Solve Iterate...
Postprocessing for the Crevice Model

A plot of cylinder mass with and without the crevice model during the motored engine simulation is shown in Figure 10.6.58. The rate of mass loss from the crevice is proportional to the pressure dierence between the cylinder and the crankcase pressure dened in the text interface. A plot of cylinder pressure with and without the crevice model for the same engine simulation is shown in Figure 10.6.59. The eect of the mass loss from the crevice is to lower the peak pressure in proportion to the total mass loss from the cylinder.
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
Cylinder Mass (kg) With Crevice Without Crevice
4.60e-03
4.40e-03
4.20e-03
4.00e-03
3.80e-03
3.60e-03
3.40e-03
3.20e-03 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035 0.04 0.045 0.05 0.055
Cylinder Mass vs. Time (Time=0.0000e+00) Dec 06, 2002 FLUENT 6.1 (axi, segregated, dynamesh, spe5, ske, unsteady)
Figure 10.6.58: Cylinder Mass vs. Crank Angle
Cylinder Pressure With Crevice Without Crevice
5.50e+06 5.00e+06 4.50e+06 4.00e+06 3.50e+06 3.00e+06 2.50e+06 2.00e+06 1.50e+06 1.00e+06 5.00e+05 0.00e+00 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035 0.04 0.045 0.05 0.055
Cylinder Pressure vs Time (Time=0.0000e+00) Dec 06, 2002 FLUENT 6.1 (axi, segregated, dynamesh, spe5, ske, unsteady)
Figure 10.6.59: Cylinder Pressure vs. Crank Angle
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Using the Crevice Output File The pressure in the top ring land is dened as the cylinder pressure; i.e., the pressure in the cells dening the ring landing. Intermediate pressures are available at any point during the FLUENT session through the (crevice-summary) command as previously shown. If the optional data le output is chosen in the crevice-model-controls, the intermediate pressures in the dened crevices are printed to the le crev.out at the start of each new time step. The format of the le is:
# crank (deg) 1.955000e+02 1.960000e+02 1.965000e+02 1.970000e+02 1.975000e+02 1.980000e+02 data->press[0...1...2...3...4...5...6] total_mdot 2.166500e+05 1.013250e+05 1.013250e+05 1.013250e+05 2.099454e+05 1.067941e+05 1.815534e+05 1.041111e+05 2.177870e+05 1.130700e+05 1.882422e+05 1.079601e+05 2.174335e+05 1.190647e+05 1.880596e+05 1.117052e+05 2.176519e+05 1.247770e+05 1.882994e+05 1.152856e+05 2.179366e+05 1.302149e+05 1.885935e+05 1.187111e+05
1.013250e+05 1.485818e+05 1.535441e+05 1.534752e+05 1.536681e+05 1.539003e+05
1.013250e+05 1.022020e+05 1.035259e+05 1.048300e+05 1.060806e+05 1.072825e+05
1.013250e+05 1.013250e+05 1.013250e+05 1.013250e+05 1.013250e+05 1.013250e+05
0.0 -1.6 -1.6 -1.6 -1.6 -1.6
where the rst column is the current ow time (or crank angle), and the next ncv + 2 columns are the ring pressures (where ncv is the number of crevice volumes, or 2nr 1), including the face pressure on the crevice cell, and the dened pressure at the crevice exit. The nal column is the mass ow past the top ring. This le is currently formatted so that it can be read into the free Gnuplot plotting package, which is available at www.gnuplot.info . To read the crevice output le into FLUENT as a data le, you will need to put each column of the crevice output le in its own individual le. The rst three lines of each column of the data le should be of the form "Title" "X-Label" "Y-Label" 0 0 0 0 where the title, x-label, and y-label strings are enclosed by double quotes and the third line of the le contains four zeros. The lines following the rst three lines of the le are the columns you wish to plot. For example, to plot column 1 versus column 3 of the crevice model output le in FLUENT, you would enter the following commands in a Unix terminal: cat > crev_col_1_3.dat "Column 1 vs Column 3" "Crank Angle (deg)" "Pressure behind ring 1 (Pa)" 0 0 0 0 ctrl-d where ctrl-d is the end-of-le character made holding down the <Ctrl> key and pressing d. To append columns 1 and 3 to this le, enter
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10.6 Dynamic Meshes
tail +2 crev.out | awk {print $1, $3} >> crev_col_1_3.dat The le crev col 1 3.dat can now be read into FLUENT using the File XY Plot panel. See Section 29.8.3: XY Plots of File Data for details about creating x-y plots. For Windows users, the le crev.out can be imported into Excel for plotting purposes without any modication. A Gnuplot plot of the pressure in the ring pack crevices for the above engine simulation is shown in Figure 10.6.60. After an initial transient period where the ows in the network settle down, Figure 10.6.60 shows that the pressure in the ring crevices follows the cylinder pressure in form, though with pressure magnitudes that are controlled by the ring pack geometry.
Pressures in Ring Pack vs Crank Angle 5.5e+06 5e+06 4.5e+06 4e+06 3.5e+06 Pressure (Pa) 3e+06 2.5e+06 2e+06 1.5e+06 1e+06 500000 0 150 Cylinder Ring 1 1-2 Gap Ring 2 2-3 Gap Ring 3 Exit Pressure
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
Crank Angle (deg ATDC)
Figure 10.6.60: Crevice Pressures
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10-132
Chapter 11.
Modeling Turbulence
This chapter provides details about the turbulence models available in FLUENT. Information is presented in the following sections: Section 11.1: Introduction Section 11.2: Choosing a Turbulence Model Section 11.3: The Spalart-Allmaras Model Section 11.4: The Standard, RNG, and Realizable k- Models Section 11.5: The Standard and SST k- Models Section 11.6: The Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) Section 11.7: The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) Model Section 11.8: The Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) Model Section 11.9: Near-Wall Treatments for Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows Section 11.10: Grid Considerations for Turbulent Flow Simulations Section 11.11: Problem Setup for Turbulent Flows Section 11.12: Solution Strategies for Turbulent Flow Simulations Section 11.13: Postprocessing for Turbulent Flows
11-1
Modeling Turbulence
11.1
Introduction
Turbulent ows are characterized by uctuating velocity elds. These uctuations mix transported quantities such as momentum, energy, and species concentration, and cause the transported quantities to uctuate as well. Since these uctuations can be of small scale and high frequency, they are too computationally expensive to simulate directly in practical engineering calculations. Instead, the instantaneous (exact) governing equations can be time-averaged, ensemble-averaged, or otherwise manipulated to remove the small scales, resulting in a modied set of equations that are computationally less expensive to solve. However, the modied equations contain additional unknown variables, and turbulence models are needed to determine these variables in terms of known quantities. FLUENT provides the following choices of turbulence models: Spalart-Allmaras model k- models Standard k- model Renormalization-group (RNG) k- model Realizable k- model k- models Standard k- model Shear-stress transport (SST) k- model v 2 -f model Reynolds stress model (RSM) Detached eddy simulation (DES) model Large eddy simulation (LES) model
11.2
Choosing a Turbulence Model
It is an unfortunate fact that no single turbulence model is universally accepted as being superior for all classes of problems. The choice of turbulence model will depend on considerations such as the physics encompassed in the ow, the established practice for a specic class of problem, the level of accuracy required, the available computational resources, and the amount of time available for the simulation. To make the most appropriate choice of model for your application, you need to understand the capabilities and limitations of the various options. The purpose of this section is to give an overview of issues related to the turbulence models provided in FLUENT. The computational eort and cost in terms of CPU time and
11-2
11.2 Choosing a Turbulence Model
memory of the individual models is discussed. While it is impossible to state categorically which model is best for a specic application, general guidelines are presented to help you choose the appropriate turbulence model for the ow you want to model.
11.2.1
Reynolds-Averaged Approach vs. LES
Time-dependent solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations for high Reynolds-number turbulent ows in complex geometries which set out to resolve all the way down to the smallest scales of the motions are unlikely to be attainable for some time to come. Two alternative methods can be employed to render the Navier-Stokes equations tractable so that the small-scale turbulent uctuations do not have to be directly simulated: Reynolds-averaging (or ensemble-averaging) and ltering. Both methods introduce additional terms in the governing equations that need to be modeled in order to achieve a closure for the unknowns. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations govern the transport of the averaged ow quantities, with the whole range of the scales of turbulence being modeled. The RANS-based modeling approach therefore greatly reduces the required computational effort and resources, and is widely adopted for practical engineering applications. An entire hierarchy of closure models are available in FLUENTincluding Spalart-Allmaras, k- and its variants, k- and its variants, and the RSM. The RANS equations are often used to compute time-dependent ows, whose unsteadiness may be externally imposed (e.g., time-dependent boundary conditions or sources) or self-sustained (e.g., vortex-shedding, ow instabilities). LES provides an alternative approach in which large eddies are explicitly computed (resolved) in a time-dependent simulation using the ltered Navier-Stokes equations. The rationale behind LES is that by modeling less of turbulence (and resolving more), the error introduced by turbulence modeling can be reduced. It is also believed to be easier to nd a universal model for the small scales, since they tend to be more isotropic and less aected by the macroscopic features like boundary conditions, than the large eddies. Filtering is essentially a mathematical manipulation of the exact Navier-Stokes equations to remove the eddies that are smaller than the size of the lter, which is usually taken as the mesh size when spatial ltering is employed as in FLUENT. Like Reynolds-averaging, the ltering process creates additional unknown terms that must be modeled to achieve closure. Statistics of the time-varying ow-elds such as time-averages and r.m.s. values of the solution variables, which are generally of most engineering interest, can be collected during the time-dependent simulation. LES for high Reynolds number industrial ows requires a signicant amount of compute resources. This is mainly because of the need to accurately resolve the energy-containing turbulent eddies in both space and time domains, which becomes most acute in near-wall regions where the scales to be resolved become increasingly smaller. Wall functions in combination with a coarse near wall mesh can be employed, often with some success, to reduce the cost of LES for wall-bounded ows. However, one needs to carefully consider
11-3
Modeling Turbulence
the ramication of using wall functions for the ow in question. For the same reason (to accurately resolve the eddies), LES also requires highly accurate spatial and temporal discretizations.
LES/RANS Coupling: Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) Model

The detached eddy simulation (DES) model in FLUENT is based on a modied version of the Spalart-Allmaras model and can be considered a more practical alternative to LES for predicting the ow around high-Reynolds-number, high-lift airfoils. The DES approach combines an unsteady RANS version of the Spalart-Allmaras model with a ltered version of the same model to create two separate regions inside the ow domain: one that is LES-based and another that is close to the wall where the modeling is dominated by the RANS-based approach. The LES region is normally associated with the high-Re core turbulent region where large turbulence scales play a dominant role. In this region, the DES model recovers the pure LES model based on a one-equation sub-grid model. Close to the wall, where viscous eects prevail, the standard RANS model is recovered. The application of DES, however, may still require signicant CPU resources and therefore, as a general guideline, it is recommended that the conventional turbulence models employing the Reynolds-averaged approach be used for practical calculations. The LES approach, described further in Section 11.7: The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) Model, has been made available for you to try if you have the computational resources and are willing to invest the eort. The rest of this section will deal with the choice of models using the Reynolds-averaged approach.
11.2.2
Reynolds (Ensemble) Averaging
In Reynolds averaging, the solution variables in the instantaneous (exact) Navier-Stokes equations are decomposed into the mean (ensemble-averaged or time-averaged) and uctuating components. For the velocity components: u i = u i + ui where ui and ui are the mean and uctuating velocity components (i = 1, 2, 3). Likewise, for pressure and other scalar quantities: =+ where denotes a scalar such as pressure, energy, or species concentration. Substituting expressions of this form for the ow variables into the instantaneous continuity and momentum equations and taking a time (or ensemble) average (and dropping (11.2-2) (11.2-1)
11-4
the overbar on the mean velocity, u) yields the ensemble-averaged momentum equations. They can be written in Cartesian tensor form as: + (ui ) = 0 t xi p ui uj 2 ul (ui ) + (ui uj ) = + + ij t xj xi xj xj xi 3 xl (11.2-3)
(ui uj ) xj (11.2-4)
Equations 11.2-3 and 11.2-4 are called Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. They have the same general form as the instantaneous Navier-Stokes equations, with the velocities and other solution variables now representing ensemble-averaged (or time-averaged) values. Additional terms now appear that represent the eects of turbulence. These Reynolds stresses, ui uj , must be modeled in order to close Equation 11.2-4. For variable-density ows, Equations 11.2-3 and 11.2-4 can be interpreted as Favreaveraged Navier-Stokes equations [131], with the velocities representing mass-averaged values. As such, Equations 11.2-3 and 11.2-4 can be applied to density-varying ows.
11.2.3
Boussinesq Approach vs. Reynolds Stress Transport Models
The Reynolds-averaged approach to turbulence modeling requires that the Reynolds stresses in Equation 11.2-4 be appropriately modeled. A common method employs the Boussinesq hypothesis [131] to relate the Reynolds stresses to the mean velocity gradients: ui uj = t ui uj + xj xi 2 ui k + t ij 3 xi
(11.2-5)
The Boussinesq hypothesis is used in the Spalart-Allmaras model, the k- models, and the k- models. The advantage of this approach is the relatively low computational cost associated with the computation of the turbulent viscosity, t . In the case of the Spalart-Allmaras model, only one additional transport equation (representing turbulent viscosity) is solved. In the case of the k- and k- models, two additional transport equations (for the turbulence kinetic energy, k, and either the turbulence dissipation rate, , or the specic dissipation rate, ) are solved, and t is computed as a function of k and . The disadvantage of the Boussinesq hypothesis as presented is that it assumes t is an isotropic scalar quantity, which is not strictly true. The alternative approach, embodied in the RSM, is to solve transport equations for each of the terms in the Reynolds stress tensor. An additional scale-determining equation (normally for ) is also required. This means that ve additional transport equations are required in 2D ows and seven additional transport equations must be solved in 3D.
11-5
Modeling Turbulence
In many cases, models based on the Boussinesq hypothesis perform very well, and the additional computational expense of the Reynolds stress model is not justied. However, the RSM is clearly superior for situations in which the anisotropy of turbulence has a dominant eect on the mean ow. Such cases include highly swirling ows and stressdriven secondary ows.
11.2.4
The Spalart-Allmaras Model
The Spalart-Allmaras model is a relatively simple one-equation model that solves a modeled transport equation for the kinematic eddy (turbulent) viscosity. This embodies a relatively new class of one-equation models in which it is not necessary to calculate a length scale related to the local shear layer thickness. The Spalart-Allmaras model was designed specically for aerospace applications involving wall-bounded ows and has been shown to give good results for boundary layers subjected to adverse pressure gradients. It is also gaining popularity for turbomachinery applications. In its original form, the Spalart-Allmaras model is eectively a low-Reynolds-number model, requiring the viscous-aected region of the boundary layer to be properly resolved. In FLUENT, however, the Spalart-Allmaras model has been implemented to use wall functions when the mesh resolution is not suciently ne. This might make it the best choice for relatively crude simulations on coarse meshes where accurate turbulent ow computations are not critical. Furthermore, the near-wall gradients of the transported variable in the model are much smaller than the gradients of the transported variables in the k- or k- models. This might make the model less sensitive to numerical error when non-layered meshes are used near walls. See Section 6.1.3: Numerical Diusion for further discussion of numerical error. On a cautionary note, however, the Spalart-Allmaras model is still relatively new, and no claim is made regarding its suitability to all types of complex engineering ows. For instance, it cannot be relied on to predict the decay of homogeneous, isotropic turbulence. Furthermore, one-equation models are often criticized for their inability to rapidly accommodate changes in length scale, such as might be necessary when the ow changes abruptly from a wall-bounded to a free shear ow.
11.2.5
The Standard k- Model
The simplest complete models of turbulence are two-equation models in which the solution of two separate transport equations allows the turbulent velocity and length scales to be independently determined. The standard k- model in FLUENT falls within this class of turbulence model and has become the workhorse of practical engineering ow calculations in the time since it was proposed by Launder and Spalding [183]. Robustness, economy, and reasonable accuracy for a wide range of turbulent ows explain its popularity in industrial ow and heat transfer simulations. It is a semi-empirical model, and the derivation of the model equations relies on phenomenological considerations and empiricism.
11-6
As the strengths and weaknesses of the standard k- model have become known, improvements have been made to the model to improve its performance. Two of these variants are available in FLUENT: the RNG k- model [383] and the realizable k- model [306].
11.2.6
The RNG k- Model
The RNG k- model was derived using a rigorous statistical technique (called renormalization group theory). It is similar in form to the standard k- model, but includes the following renements: The RNG model has an additional term in its equation that signicantly improves the accuracy for rapidly strained ows. The eect of swirl on turbulence is included in the RNG model, enhancing accuracy for swirling ows. The RNG theory provides an analytical formula for turbulent Prandtl numbers, while the standard k- model uses user-specied, constant values. While the standard k- model is a high-Reynolds-number model, the RNG theory provides an analytically-derived dierential formula for eective viscosity that accounts for low-Reynolds-number eects. Eective use of this feature does, however, depend on an appropriate treatment of the near-wall region. These features make the RNG k- model more accurate and reliable for a wider class of ows than the standard k- model.
11.2.7
The Realizable k- Model
The realizable k- model is a relatively recent development and diers from the standard k- model in two important ways: The realizable k- model contains a new formulation for the turbulent viscosity. A new transport equation for the dissipation rate, , has been derived from an exact equation for the transport of the mean-square vorticity uctuation. The term realizable means that the model satises certain mathematical constraints on the Reynolds stresses, consistent with the physics of turbulent ows. Neither the standard k- model nor the RNG k- model is realizable. An immediate benet of the realizable k- model is that it more accurately predicts the spreading rate of both planar and round jets. It is also likely to provide superior
11-7
Modeling Turbulence
performance for ows involving rotation, boundary layers under strong adverse pressure gradients, separation, and recirculation. Both the realizable and RNG k- models have shown substantial improvements over the standard k- model where the ow features include strong streamline curvature, vortices, and rotation. Since the model is still relatively new, it is not clear in exactly which instances the realizable k- model consistently outperforms the RNG model. However, initial studies have shown that the realizable model provides the best performance of all the k- model versions for several validations of separated ows and ows with complex secondary ow features. One limitation of the realizable k- model is that it produces non-physical turbulent viscosities in situations when the computational domain contains both rotating and stationary uid zones (e.g., multiple reference frames, rotating sliding meshes). This is due to the fact that the realizable k- model includes the eects of mean rotation in the denition of the turbulent viscosity (see Equations 11.4-1711.4-19). This extra rotation eect has been tested on single rotating reference frame systems and showed superior behavior over the standard k- model. However, due to the nature of this modication, its application to multiple reference frame systems should be taken with some caution. See Section 11.4.3: Modeling the Turbulent Viscosity for information about how to include or exclude this term from the model.
11.2.8
The standard k- model in FLUENT is based on the Wilcox k- model [378], which incorporates modications for low-Reynolds-number eects, compressibility, and shear ow spreading. The Wilcox model predicts free shear ow spreading rates that are in close agreement with measurements for far wakes, mixing layers, and plane, round, and radial jets, and is thus applicable to wall-bounded ows and free shear ows. A variation of the standard k- model called the SST k- model is also available in FLUENT, and is described in Section 11.2.9: The Shear-Stress Transport (SST) k- Model.
11.2.9
The Shear-Stress Transport (SST) k- Model
The shear-stress transport (SST) k- model was developed by Menter [221] to eectively blend the robust and accurate formulation of the k- model in the near-wall region with the free-stream independence of the k- model in the far eld. To achieve this, the kmodel is converted into a k- formulation. The SST k- model is similar to the standard k- model, but includes the following renements: The standard k- model and the transformed k- model are both multiplied by a blending function and both models are added together. The blending function is designed to be one in the near-wall region, which activates the standard k- model, and zero away from the surface, which activates the transformed k- model.
11-8
The SST model incorporates a damped cross-diusion derivative term in the equation. The denition of the turbulent viscosity is modied to account for the transport of the turbulent shear stress. The modeling constants are dierent. These features make the SST k- model more accurate and reliable for a wider class of ows (e.g., adverse pressure gradient ows, airfoils, transonic shock waves) than the standard k- model.
11.2.10
The v 2 -f Model
The v 2 -f model is similar to the standard k- model, but incorporates near-wall turbulence anisotropy and non-local pressure-strain eects. A limitation of the v 2 -f model is that it cannot be used to solve Eulerian multiphase problems, whereas the k- model is typically used in such applications. The v 2 -f model is a general low-Reynolds-number turbulence model that is valid all the way up to solid walls, and therefore does not need to make use of wall functions. Although the model was originally developed for attached or mildly separated boundary layers [84], it also accurately simulates ows dominated by separation [27]. The distinguishing feature of the v 2 -f model is its use of the velocity scale, v 2 , instead of the turbulent kinetic energy, k, for evaluating the eddy viscosity. v 2 , which can be thought of as the velocity uctuation normal to the streamlines, has shown to provide the right scaling in representing the damping of turbulent transport close to the wall, a feature that k does not provide. For more information about the theoretical background and usage of the v 2 -f model, please visit the Fluent User Services Center (www.fluentusers.com).
11.2.11
The Reynolds Stress Model (RSM)
The Reynolds stress model (RSM) is the most elaborate turbulence model that FLUENT provides. Abandoning the isotropic eddy-viscosity hypothesis, the RSM closes the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations by solving transport equations for the Reynolds stresses, together with an equation for the dissipation rate. This means that ve additional transport equations are required in 2D ows and seven additional transport equations must be solved in 3D. Since the RSM accounts for the eects of streamline curvature, swirl, rotation, and rapid changes in strain rate in a more rigorous manner than one-equation and two-equation models, it has greater potential to give accurate predictions for complex ows. However, the delity of RSM predictions is still limited by the closure assumptions employed to
11-9
Modeling Turbulence
model various terms in the exact transport equations for the Reynolds stresses. The modeling of the pressure-strain and dissipation-rate terms is particularly challenging, and often considered to be responsible for compromising the accuracy of RSM predictions. The RSM might not always yield results that are clearly superior to the simpler models in all classes of ows to warrant the additional computational expense. However, use of the RSM is a must when the ow features of interest are the result of anisotropy in the Reynolds stresses. Among the examples are cyclone ows, highly swirling ows in combustors, rotating ow passages, and the stress-induced secondary ows in ducts.
11.2.12 Computational Effort: CPU Time and Solution Behavior

In terms of computation, the Spalart-Allmaras model is the least expensive turbulence model of the options provided in FLUENT, since only one turbulence transport equation is solved. The standard k- model clearly requires more computational eort than the SpalartAllmaras model since an additional transport equation is solved. The realizable kmodel requires only slightly more computational eort than the standard k- model. However, due to the extra terms and functions in the governing equations and a greater degree of non-linearity, computations with the RNG k- model tend to take 1015% more CPU time than with the standard k- model. Like the k- models, the k- models are also two-equation models, and thus require about the same computational eort. Compared with the k- and k- models, the RSM requires additional memory and CPU time due to the increased number of the transport equations for Reynolds stresses. However, ecient programming in FLUENT has reduced the CPU time per iteration signicantly. On average, the RSM in FLUENT requires 5060% more CPU time per iteration compared to the k- and k- models. Furthermore, 1520% more memory is needed. Aside from the time per iteration, the choice of turbulence model can aect the ability of FLUENT to obtain a converged solution. For example, the standard k- model is known to be slightly over-diusive in certain situations, while the RNG k- model is designed such that the turbulent viscosity is reduced in response to high rates of strain. Since diusion has a stabilizing eect on the numerics, the RNG model is more likely to be susceptible to instability in steady-state solutions. However, this should not necessarily be seen as a disadvantage of the RNG model, since these characteristics make it more responsive to important physical instabilities such as time-dependent turbulent vortex shedding. Similarly, the RSM may take more iterations to converge than the k- and k- models due to the strong coupling between the Reynolds stresses and the mean ow.
11-10
11.3 The Spalart-Allmaras Model
11.3
In turbulence models that employ the Boussinesq approach, the central issue is how the eddy viscosity is computed. The model proposed by Spalart and Allmaras [325] solves a transport equation for a quantity that is a modied form of the turbulent kinematic viscosity.
11.3.1
Transport Equation for the Spalart-Allmaras Model
The transported variable in the Spalart-Allmaras model, , is identical to the turbu lent kinematic viscosity except in the near-wall (viscous-aected) region. The transport equation for is
1 ()+ (ui ) = G + t xi xj
( + ) xj
+ Cb2 xj
Y +S (11.3-1)
where G is the production of turbulent viscosity and Y is the destruction of turbulent viscosity that occurs in the near-wall region due to wall blocking and viscous damping. and Cb2 are constants and is the molecular kinematic viscosity. S is a user-dened source term. Note that since the turbulence kinetic energy k is not calculated in the Spalart-Allmaras model, the last term in Equation 11.2-5 is ignored when estimating the Reynolds stresses.
11.3.2
Modeling the Turbulent Viscosity
The turbulent viscosity, t , is computed from t = fv1 where the viscous damping function, fv1 , is given by fv1 = and (11.3-4) 3 3 3 + Cv1 (11.3-3) (11.3-2)
11-11
Modeling Turbulence
11.3.3
Modeling the Turbulent Production
The production term, G , is modeled as G = Cb1 S where S S + 2 2 fv2 d and fv2 = 1 1 + fv1 (11.3-7) (11.3-6) (11.3-5)
Cb1 and are constants, d is the distance from the wall, and S is a scalar measure of the deformation tensor. By default in FLUENT, as in the original model proposed by Spalart and Allmaras, S is based on the magnitude of the vorticity: S 2ij ij (11.3-8)
where ij is the mean rate-of-rotation tensor and is dened by ij = 1 2 ui uj xj xi (11.3-9)
The justication for the default expression for S is that, for the wall-bounded ows that were of most interest when the model was formulated, turbulence is found only where vorticity is generated near walls. However, it has since been acknowledged that one should also take into account the eect of mean strain on the turbulence production, and a modication to the model has been proposed [67] and incorporated into FLUENT. This modication combines measures of both rotation and strain tensors in the denition of S: S |ij | + Cprod min (0, |Sij | |ij |) where Cprod = 2.0, |ij | 2ij ij , |Sij | 2Sij Sij (11.3-10)
11-12
11.3 The Spalart-Allmaras Model
with the mean strain rate, Sij , dened as Sij = 1 2 uj ui + xi xj (11.3-11)
Including both the rotation and strain tensors reduces the production of eddy viscosity and consequently reduces the eddy viscosity itself in regions where the measure of vorticity exceeds that of strain rate. One such example can be found in vortical ows, i.e., ow near the core of a vortex subjected to a pure rotation where turbulence is known to be suppressed. Including both the rotation and strain tensors more correctly accounts for the eects of rotation on turbulence. The default option (including the rotation tensor only) tends to overpredict the production of eddy viscosity and hence overpredicts the eddy viscosity itself in certain circumstances. You can select the modied form for calculating production in the Viscous Model panel.
11.3.4
Modeling the Turbulent Destruction
The destruction term is modeled as d

2
Y = Cw1 fw where
(11.3-12)
fw = g
6 1 + Cw3 6 g 6 + Cw3
1/6
(11.3-13)
g = r + Cw2 r6 r S2 d2
(11.3-14)
(11.3-15)
Cw1 , Cw2 , and Cw3 are constants, and S is given by Equation 11.3-6. Note that the modication described above to include the eects of mean strain on S will also aect the value of S used to compute r.
11-13
Modeling Turbulence
11.3.5
Model Constants
The model constants Cb1 , Cb2 , , Cv1 , Cw1 , Cw2 , Cw3 , and have the following default values [325]: 2 Cb1 = 0.1355, Cb2 = 0.622, = , Cv1 = 7.1 3 Cw1 = Cb1 (1 + Cb2 ) + , Cw2 = 0.3, Cw3 = 2.0, = 0.4187 2
11.3.6
Wall Boundary Conditions
At walls, the modied turbulent kinematic viscosity, , is set to zero. When the mesh is ne enough to resolve the laminar sublayer, the wall shear stress is obtained from the laminar stress-strain relationship: u u y = u (11.3-16)
If the mesh is too coarse to resolve the laminar sublayer, it is assumed that the centroid of the wall-adjacent cell falls within the logarithmic region of the boundary layer, and the law-of-the-wall is employed: u 1 u y = ln E u
(11.3-17)
where u is the velocity parallel to the wall, u is the shear velocity, y is the distance from the wall, is the von Krmn constant (0.4187), and E = 9.793. a a
11.3.7
Convective Heat and Mass Transfer Modeling
In FLUENT, turbulent heat transport is modeled using the concept of Reynolds analogy to turbulent momentum transfer. The modeled energy equation is thus given by the following: (E) + [ui (E + p)] = t xi xj c p t Prt T + ui (ij )e + Sh xj
k+
(11.3-18)
where k, in this case, is the thermal conductivity, E is the total energy, and (ij )e is the deviatoric stress tensor, dened as
11-14
11.4 The Standard, RNG, and Realizable k- Models
(ij )e = e
uj ui + xi xj
2 ui e ij 3 xi
The term involving (ij )e represents the viscous heating, and is always computed in the coupled solvers. It is not computed by default in the segregated solver, but it can be enabled in the Viscous Model panel. The default value of the turbulent Prandtl number is 0.85. You can change the value of Prt in the Viscous Model panel. Turbulent mass transfer is treated similarly, with a default turbulent Schmidt number of 0.7. This default value can be changed in the Viscous Model panel. Wall boundary conditions for scalar transport are handled analogously to momentum, using the appropriate law-of-the-wall.
11.4
The Standard, RNG, and Realizable k- Models
This section presents the standard, RNG, and realizable k- models. All three models have similar forms, with transport equations for k and . The major dierences in the models are as follows: the method of calculating turbulent viscosity the turbulent Prandtl numbers governing the turbulent diusion of k and the generation and destruction terms in the equation
The transport equations, methods of calculating turbulent viscosity, and model constants are presented separately for each model. The features that are essentially common to all models follow, including turbulent production, generation due to buoyancy, accounting for the eects of compressibility, and modeling heat and mass transfer.
11.4.1
The standard k- model [183] is a semi-empirical model based on model transport equations for the turbulence kinetic energy (k) and its dissipation rate ( ). The model transport equation for k is derived from the exact equation, while the model transport equation for was obtained using physical reasoning and bears little resemblance to its mathematically exact counterpart. In the derivation of the k- model, it was assumed that the ow is fully turbulent, and the eects of molecular viscosity are negligible. The standard k- model is therefore valid only for fully turbulent ows.
11-15
Modeling Turbulence
Transport Equations for the Standard k- Model

The turbulence kinetic energy, k, and its rate of dissipation, , are obtained from the following transport equations: (k) + (kui ) = t xi xj and t k k + G k + G b YM + S k xj
(11.4-1)
( ) + ( ui ) = t xi xj
2 + C1 (Gk + C3 Gb ) C2 + S (11.4-2) xj k k
In these equations, Gk represents the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to the mean velocity gradients, calculated as described in Section 11.4.4: Modeling Turbulent Production in the k- Models. Gb is the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to buoyancy, calculated as described in Section 11.4.5: Eects of Buoyancy on Turbulence in the k- Models. YM represents the contribution of the uctuating dilatation in compressible turbulence to the overall dissipation rate, calculated as described in Section 11.4.6: Eects of Compressibility on Turbulence in the k- Models. C1 , C2 , and C3 are constants. k and are the turbulent Prandtl numbers for k and , respectively. Sk and S are user-dened source terms.

The turbulent (or eddy) viscosity, t , is computed by combining k and t = C where C is a constant. k2 as follows: (11.4-3)
Model Constants
The model constants C1 , C2 , C , k , and have the following default values [183]: C1 = 1.44, C2 = 1.92, C = 0.09, k = 1.0, = 1.3 These default values have been determined from experiments with air and water for fundamental turbulent shear ows including homogeneous shear ows and decaying isotropic grid turbulence. They have been found to work fairly well for a wide range of wallbounded and free shear ows.
11-16
Although the default values of the model constants are the standard ones most widely accepted, you can change them (if needed) in the Viscous Model panel.
11.4.2
The RNG k- Model
The RNG-based k- turbulence model is derived from the instantaneous Navier-Stokes equations, using a mathematical technique called renormalization group (RNG) methods. The analytical derivation results in a model with constants dierent from those in the standard k- model, and additional terms and functions in the transport equations for k and . A more comprehensive description of RNG theory and its application to turbulence can be found in [54].
Transport Equations for the RNG k- Model

The RNG k- model has a similar form to the standard k- model: (k) + (kui ) = t xi xj and k xj + G k + G b YM + S k
k e
(11.4-4)
( ) + ( ui ) = t xi xj
2 + C1 (Gk + C3 Gb ) C2 R + S (11.4-5) xj k k
In these equations, Gk represents the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to the mean velocity gradients, calculated as described in Section 11.4.4: Modeling Turbulent Production in the k- Models. Gb is the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to buoyancy, calculated as described in Section 11.4.5: Eects of Buoyancy on Turbulence in the k- Models. YM represents the contribution of the uctuating dilatation in compressible turbulence to the overall dissipation rate, calculated as described in Section 11.4.6: Eects of Compressibility on Turbulence in the k- Models. The quantities k and are the inverse eective Prandtl numbers for k and , respectively. Sk and S are user-dened source terms.
Modeling the Effective Viscosity

The scale elimination procedure in RNG theory results in a dierential equation for turbulent viscosity: 2 k d = 1.72 d 1 + C
(11.4-6)
11-17
Modeling Turbulence
where
= e / C 100 Equation 11.4-6 is integrated to obtain an accurate description of how the eective turbulent transport varies with the eective Reynolds number (or eddy scale), allowing the model to better handle low-Reynolds-number and near-wall ows. In the high-Reynolds-number limit, Equation 11.4-6 gives t = C k2 (11.4-7)
with C = 0.0845, derived using RNG theory. It is interesting to note that this value of C is very close to the empirically-determined value of 0.09 used in the standard kmodel. In FLUENT, by default, the eective viscosity is computed using the high-Reynoldsnumber form in Equation 11.4-7. However, there is an option available that allows you to use the dierential relation given in Equation 11.4-6 when you need to include lowReynolds-number eects.
RNG Swirl Modication

Turbulence, in general, is aected by rotation or swirl in the mean ow. The RNG model in FLUENT provides an option to account for the eects of swirl or rotation by modifying the turbulent viscosity appropriately. The modication takes the following functional form: k
t = t0 f s , ,
(11.4-8)
where t0 is the value of turbulent viscosity calculated without the swirl modication using either Equation 11.4-6 or Equation 11.4-7. is a characteristic swirl number evaluated within FLUENT, and s is a swirl constant that assumes dierent values depending on whether the ow is swirl-dominated or only mildly swirling. This swirl modication always takes eect for axisymmetric, swirling ows and three-dimensional ows when the RNG model is selected. For mildly swirling ows (the default in FLUENT), s is set to 0.05 and cannot be modied. For strongly swirling ows, however, a higher value of s can be used.
11-18
Calculating the Inverse Effective Prandtl Numbers

The inverse eective Prandtl numbers, k and , are computed using the following formula derived analytically by the RNG theory: 1.3929 0 1.3929
0.6321
+ 2.3929 0 + 2.3929
0.3679
mol e
(11.4-9)
where 0 = 1.0. In the high-Reynolds-number limit (mol /e
1), k = 1.393.
The R Term in the Equation

The main dierence between the RNG and standard k- models lies in the additional term in the equation given by R = C 3 (1 /0 ) 2 1 + 3 k (11.4-10)
where Sk/ , 0 = 4.38, = 0.012. The eects of this term in the RNG equation can be seen more clearly by rearranging Equation 11.4-5. Using Equation 11.4-10, the third and fourth terms on the right-hand side of Equation 11.4-5 can be merged, and the resulting equation can be rewritten as
( ) + ( ui ) = t xi xj
where C2 is given by
xj
+ C1
(Gk + C3 Gb ) C2
(11.4-11)
C2 C2 +
C 3 (1 /0 ) 1 + 3
(11.4-12)
In regions where < 0 , the R term makes a positive contribution, and C2 becomes larger than C2 . In the logarithmic layer, for instance, it can be shown that 3.0, giving C2 2.0, which is close in magnitude to the value of C2 in the standard kmodel (1.92). As a result, for weakly to moderately strained ows, the RNG model tends to give results largely comparable to the standard k- model.
In regions of large strain rate ( > 0 ), however, the R term makes a negative contribu tion, making the value of C2 less than C2 . In comparison with the standard k- model, the smaller destruction of augments , reducing k and, eventually, the eective viscosity. As a result, in rapidly strained ows, the RNG model yields a lower turbulent viscosity than the standard k- model.
11-19
Modeling Turbulence
Thus, the RNG model is more responsive to the eects of rapid strain and streamline curvature than the standard k- model, which explains the superior performance of the RNG model for certain classes of ows.
Model Constants
The model constants C1 and C2 in Equation 11.4-5 have values derived analytically by the RNG theory. These values, used by default in FLUENT, are C1 = 1.42, C2 = 1.68
11.4.3
The Realizable k- Model
In addition to the standard and RNG-based k- models described in Sections 11.4.1 and 11.4.2, FLUENT also provides the so-called realizable k- model [306]. The term realizable means that the model satises certain mathematical constraints on the normal stresses, consistent with the physics of turbulent ows. To understand this, consider combining the Boussinesq relationship (Equation 11.2-5) and the eddy viscosity denition (Equation 11.4-3) to obtain the following expression for the normal Reynolds stress in an incompressible strained mean ow: 2 U u2 = k 2 t 3 x (11.4-13)
Using Equation 11.4-3 for t t /, one obtains the result that the normal stress, u2 , which by denition is a positive quantity, becomes negative, i.e., non-realizable, when the strain is large enough to satisfy k U 1 > 3.7 x 3C (11.4-14)
Similarly, it can also be shown that the Schwarz inequality for shear stresses (u u 2 u2 u2 ; no summation over and ) can be violated when the mean strain rate is large. The most straightforward way to ensure the realizability (positivity of normal stresses and Schwarz inequality for shear stresses) is to make C variable by sensitizing it to the mean ow (mean deformation) and the turbulence (k, ). The notion of variable C is suggested by many modelers including Reynolds [279], and is well substantiated by experimental evidence. For example, C is found to be around 0.09 in the inertial sublayer of equilibrium boundary layers, and 0.05 in a strong homogeneous shear ow. Another weakness of the standard k- model or other traditional k- models lies with the modeled equation for the dissipation rate ( ). The well-known round-jet anomaly (named based on the nding that the spreading rate in planar jets is predicted reasonably well, but
11-20
prediction of the spreading rate for axisymmetric jets is unexpectedly poor) is considered to be mainly due to the modeled dissipation equation. The realizable k- model proposed by Shih et al. [306] was intended to address these deciencies of traditional k- models by adopting the following: a new eddy-viscosity formula involving a variable C originally proposed by Reynolds [279]. a new model equation for dissipation ( ) based on the dynamic equation of the mean-square vorticity uctuation.
Transport Equations for the Realizable k- Model

The modeled transport equations for k and in the realizable k- model are
(k) + (kuj ) = t xj xj and
t k
k + G k + G b YM + S k xj
(11.4-15)
( ) + ( uj ) = t xj xj where
2 + C1 C3 Gb + S + C1 S C2 xj k+ k (11.4-16)
C1 = max 0.43,
, +5
k =S ,
S=
2Sij Sij
In these equations, Gk represents the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to the mean velocity gradients, calculated as described in Section 11.4.4: Modeling Turbulent Production in the k- Models. Gb is the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to buoyancy, calculated as described in Section 11.4.5: Eects of Buoyancy on Turbulence in the k- Models. YM represents the contribution of the uctuating dilatation in compressible turbulence to the overall dissipation rate, calculated as described in Section 11.4.6: Eects of Compressibility on Turbulence in the k- Models. C2 and C1 are constants. k and are the turbulent Prandtl numbers for k and , respectively. Sk and S are user-dened source terms. Note that the k equation (Equation 11.4-15) is the same as that in the standard kmodel (Equation 11.4-1) and the RNG k- model (Equation 11.4-4), except for the
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Modeling Turbulence
model constants. However, the form of the equation is quite dierent from those in the standard and RNG-based k- models (Equations 11.4-2 and 11.4-5). One of the noteworthy features is that the production term in the equation (the second term on the right-hand side of Equation 11.4-16) does not involve the production of k; i.e., it does not contain the same Gk term as the other k- models. It is believed that the present form better represents the spectral energy transfer. Another desirable feature is that the destruction term (the next to last term on the right-hand side of Equation 11.4-16) does not have any singularity; i.e., its denominator never vanishes, even if k vanishes or becomes smaller than zero. This feature is contrasted with traditional k- models, which have a singularity due to k in the denominator. This model has been extensively validated for a wide range of ows [171, 306], including rotating homogeneous shear ows, free ows including jets and mixing layers, channel and boundary layer ows, and separated ows. For all these cases, the performance of the model has been found to be substantially better than that of the standard k- model. Especially noteworthy is the fact that the realizable k- model resolves the round-jet anomaly; i.e., it predicts the spreading rate for axisymmetric jets as well as that for planar jets.

As in other k- models, the eddy viscosity is computed from t = C k2 (11.4-17)
The dierence between the realizable k- model and the standard and RNG k- models is that C is no longer constant. It is computed from C = where U and Sij Sij + ij ij (11.4-19) 1 A0 + As kU (11.4-18)
ij = ij 2 ijk k ij = ij ijk k
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where ij is the mean rate-of-rotation tensor viewed in a rotating reference frame with the angular velocity k . The model constants A0 and As are given by A0 = 4.04, As = where 1 Sij Sjk Ski cos1 ( 6W ), W = , S= 3 S3 1 2 uj ui + xi xj 6 cos
Sij Sij , Sij =
It can be seen that C is a function of the mean strain and rotation rates, the angular velocity of the system rotation, and the turbulence elds (k and ). C in Equation 11.4-17 can be shown to recover the standard value of 0.09 for an inertial sublayer in an equilibrium boundary layer.
In FLUENT, the term 2 ijk k is, by default, not included in the calculation of ij . This is an extra rotation term that is not compatible with cases involving sliding meshes or multiple reference frames. If you want to include this term in the model, you can enable it by using the define/models/viscous/turbulence-expert/rke-cmu-rotation-term? text command and entering yes at the prompt.
Model Constants
The model constants C2 , k , and have been established to ensure that the model performs well for certain canonical ows. The model constants are C1 = 1.44, C2 = 1.9, k = 1.0, = 1.2
11.4.4
Modeling Turbulent Production in the k- Models
The term Gk , representing the production of turbulence kinetic energy, is modeled identically for the standard, RNG, and realizable k- models. From the exact equation for the transport of k, this term may be dened as Gk = ui uj uj xi (11.4-20)
To evaluate Gk in a manner consistent with the Boussinesq hypothesis, G k = t S 2 (11.4-21)
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Modeling Turbulence
where S is the modulus of the mean rate-of-strain tensor, dened as S 2Sij Sij (11.4-22)
i
11.4.5
When using the high-Reynolds number k- versions, e is used in lieu of t in Equation 11.4-21.
Effects of Buoyancy on Turbulence in the k- Models
When a non-zero gravity eld and temperature gradient are present simultaneously, the k- models in FLUENT account for the generation of k due to buoyancy (Gb in Equations 11.4-1, 11.4-4, and 11.4-15), and the corresponding contribution to the production of in Equations 11.4-2, 11.4-5, and 11.4-16. The generation of turbulence due to buoyancy is given by Gb = gi t T Prt xi (11.4-23)
where Prt is the turbulent Prandtl number for energy and gi is the component of the gravitational vector in the ith direction. For the standard and realizable k- models, the default value of Prt is 0.85. In the case of the RNG k- model, Prt = 1/, where is given by Equation 11.4-9, but with 0 = 1/Pr = k/cp . The coecient of thermal expansion, , is dened as = 1 T
(11.4-24)
p
For ideal gases, Equation 11.4-23 reduces to Gb = gi t Prt xi (11.4-25)
It can be seen from the transport equations for k (Equations 11.4-1, 11.4-4, and 11.4-15) that turbulence kinetic energy tends to be augmented (Gb > 0) in unstable stratication. For stable stratication, buoyancy tends to suppress the turbulence (Gb < 0). In FLUENT, the eects of buoyancy on the generation of k are always included when you have both a non-zero gravity eld and a non-zero temperature (or density) gradient. While the buoyancy eects on the generation of k are relatively well understood, the eect on is less clear. In FLUENT, by default, the buoyancy eects on are neglected simply by setting Gb to zero in the transport equation for (Equation 11.4-2, 11.4-5, or 11.4-16).
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However, you can include the buoyancy eects on in the Viscous Model panel. In this case, the value of Gb given by Equation 11.4-25 is used in the transport equation for (Equation 11.4-2, 11.4-5, or 11.4-16). The degree to which is aected by the buoyancy is determined by the constant C3 . In FLUENT, C3 is not specied, but is instead calculated according to the following relation [129]: C3 = tanh v u (11.4-26)
where v is the component of the ow velocity parallel to the gravitational vector and u is the component of the ow velocity perpendicular to the gravitational vector. In this way, C3 will become 1 for buoyant shear layers for which the main ow direction is aligned with the direction of gravity. For buoyant shear layers that are perpendicular to the gravitational vector, C3 will become zero.
11.4.6
Effects of Compressibility on Turbulence in the k- Models
For high-Mach-number ows, compressibility aects turbulence through so-called dilatation dissipation, which is normally neglected in the modeling of incompressible ows [378]. Neglecting the dilatation dissipation fails to predict the observed decrease in spreading rate with increasing Mach number for compressible mixing and other free shear layers. To account for these eects in the k- models in FLUENT, the dilatation dissipation term, YM , is included in the k equation. This term is modeled according to a proposal by Sarkar [291]: YM = 2 M2 t where Mt is the turbulent Mach number, dened as k a2 (11.4-27)
Mt = where a ( RT ) is the speed of sound.
(11.4-28)
This compressibility modication always takes eect when the compressible form of the ideal gas law is used.
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Modeling Turbulence
11.4.7
Convective Heat and Mass Transfer Modeling in the k- Models
In FLUENT, turbulent heat transport is modeled using the concept of Reynolds analogy to turbulent momentum transfer. The modeled energy equation is thus given by the following: (E) + [ui (E + p)] = t xi xj T + ui (ij )e + Sh xj
ke
(11.4-29)
where E is the total energy, ke is the eective thermal conductivity, and (ij )e is the deviatoric stress tensor, dened as (ij )e = e uj ui + xi xj 2 ui e ij 3 xi
The term involving (ij )e represents the viscous heating, and is always computed in the coupled solvers. It is not computed by default in the segregated solver, but it can be enabled in the Viscous Model panel. Additional terms may appear in the energy equation, depending on the physical models you are using. See Section 12.2.1: Theory for more details. For the standard and realizable k- models, the eective thermal conductivity is given by ke = k + c p t Prt
where k, in this case, is the thermal conductivity. The default value of the turbulent Prandtl number is 0.85. You can change the value of the turbulent Prandtl number in the Viscous Model panel. For the RNG k- model, the eective thermal conductivity is ke = cp e where is calculated from Equation 11.4-9, but with 0 = 1/Pr = k/cp . The fact that varies with mol /e , as in Equation 11.4-9, is an advantage of the RNG kmodel. It is consistent with experimental evidence indicating that the turbulent Prandtl number varies with the molecular Prandtl number and turbulence [163]. Equation 11.4-9 works well across a very broad range of molecular Prandtl numbers, from liquid metals (Pr 102 ) to paran oils (Pr 103 ), which allows heat transfer to be calculated in lowReynolds-number regions. Equation 11.4-9 smoothly predicts the variation of eective
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11.5 The Standard and SST k- Models
Prandtl number from the molecular value ( = 1/Pr) in the viscosity-dominated region to the fully turbulent value ( = 1.393) in the fully turbulent regions of the ow. Turbulent mass transfer is treated similarly. For the standard and realizable k- models, the default turbulent Schmidt number is 0.7. This default value can be changed in the Viscous Model panel. For the RNG model, the eective turbulent diusivity for mass transfer is calculated in a manner that is analogous to the method used for the heat transport. The value of 0 in Equation 11.4-9 is 0 = 1/Sc, where Sc is the molecular Schmidt number.
11.5
The Standard and SST k- Models
This section presents the standard and shear-stress transport (SST) k- models. Both models have similar forms, with transport equations for k and . The major ways in which the SST model [222] diers from the standard model are as follows: gradual change from the standard k- model in the inner region of the boundary layer to a high-Reynolds-number version of the k- model in the outer part of the boundary layer modied turbulent viscosity formulation to account for the transport eects of the principal turbulent shear stress The transport equations, methods of calculating turbulent viscosity, and methods of calculating model constants and other terms are presented separately for each model.
11.5.1
The standard k- model is an empirical model based on model transport equations for the turbulence kinetic energy (k) and the specic dissipation rate (), which can also be thought of as the ratio of to k [378]. As the k- model has been modied over the years, production terms have been added to both the k and equations, which have improved the accuracy of the model for predicting free shear ows.
Transport Equations for the Standard k- Model

The turbulence kinetic energy, k, and the specic dissipation rate, , are obtained from the following transport equations: (k) + (kui ) = t xi xj k xj + G k Yk + S k
(11.5-1)
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Modeling Turbulence
and () + (ui ) = t xi xj xj + G Y + S
(11.5-2)
In these equations, Gk represents the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to mean velocity gradients. G represents the generation of . k and represent the eective diusivity of k and , respectively. Yk and Y represent the dissipation of k and due to turbulence. All of the above terms are calculated as described below. Sk and S are user-dened source terms.
Modeling the Effective Diffusivity

The eective diusivities for the k- model are given by t k t = +
k = +
(11.5-3) (11.5-4)
where k and are the turbulent Prandtl numbers for k and , respectively. The turbulent viscosity, t , is computed by combining k and as follows: t = Low-Reynolds-Number Correction The coecient damps the turbulent viscosity causing a low-Reynolds-number correction. It is given by
= 0 + Ret /Rk 1 + Ret /Rk
(11.5-5)
(11.5-6)
where
Ret = Rk
0
k = 6 i = 3 = 0.072
(11.5-7) (11.5-8) (11.5-9) (11.5-10)
11-28

Note that, in the high-Reynolds-number form of the k- model, = = 1.
Modeling the Turbulence Production

Production of k The term Gk represents the production of turbulence kinetic energy. From the exact equation for the transport of k, this term may be dened as Gk = ui uj uj xi (11.5-11)
To evaluate Gk in a manner consistent with the Boussinesq hypothesis, G k = t S 2 (11.5-12)
where S is the modulus of the mean rate-of-strain tensor, dened in the same way as for the k- model (see Equation 11.4-22). Production of The production of is given by G = Gk k where Gk is given by Equation 11.5-11. The coecient is given by 0 + Ret /R 1 + Ret /R (11.5-13)
(11.5-14)
where R = 2.95. and Ret are given by Equations 11.5-6 and 11.5-7, respectively. Note that, in the high-Reynolds-number form of the k- model, = = 1.
Modeling the Turbulence Dissipation

Dissipation of k The dissipation of k is given by Yk = f k (11.5-15)
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Modeling Turbulence
where
1
f = where
1+6802 k 1+4002 k
k 0 k > 0
(11.5-16)
k and
1 k 3 xj xj
(11.5-17)
= i [1 + F (Mt )] 4/15 + (Ret /R )4 i = 1 + (Ret /R )4 = 1.5 R = 8 = 0.09 where Ret is given by Equation 11.5-7. Dissipation of The dissipation of is given by Y = f 2 where
(11.5-18) (11.5-19) (11.5-20) (11.5-21) (11.5-22)
(11.5-23)
f = ij
1 + 70 1 + 80 ij jk Ski = ( )3 1 ui uj = 2 xj xi
(11.5-24) (11.5-25) (11.5-26)
11-30
The strain rate tensor, Sij is dened in Equation 11.3-11. Also, = i 1 i F (Mt ) i (11.5-27)
i and F (Mt ) are dened by Equations 11.5-19 and 11.5-28, respectively. Compressibility Correction The compressibility function, F (Mt ), is given by F (Mt ) = where 0 Mt Mt0 2 2 Mt Mt0 Mt > Mt0 (11.5-28)
M2 t Mt0 a =
2k a2 = 0.25 RT
(11.5-29) (11.5-30) (11.5-31)
Note that, in the high-Reynolds-number form of the k- model, i = . In the incompressible form, = i .
Model Constants
1 = 1, = 0.52, 0 = , = 0.09, i = 0.072, R = 8 9 Rk = 6, R = 2.95, = 1.5, Mt0 = 0.25, k = 2.0, = 2.0
Wall Boundary Conditions

The wall boundary conditions for the k equation in the k- models are treated in the same way as the k equation is treated when enhanced wall treatments are used with the k- models. This means that all boundary conditions for wall-function meshes will correspond to the wall function approach, while for the ne meshes, the appropriate low-Reynolds-number boundary conditions will be applied. In FLUENT the value of at the wall is specied as w = (u )2 + (11.5-32)
11-31
Modeling Turbulence The asymptotic value of + in the laminar sublayer is given by

+ + = min w ,
6 i (y + )2
(11.5-33)
where

50 + ks 100 + ks 2 + ks < 25
+ w
(11.5-34)
+ ks
25
where
+ ks = max 1.0,
ks u
(11.5-35)
and ks is the roughness height. In the logarithmic (or turbulent) region, the value of + is + = 1 du+ turb dy +
(11.5-36)
which leads to the value of in the wall cell as = u

y
(11.5-37)
Note that in the case of a wall cell being placed in the buer region, FLUENT will blend + between the logarithmic and laminar sublayer values.
11.5.2 The Shear-Stress Transport (SST) k- Model

In addition to the standard k- model described in Section 11.5.1: The Standard k- Model, FLUENT also provides a variation called the shear-stress transport (SST) k- model, so named because the denition of the turbulent viscosity is modied to account for the transport of the principal turbulent shear stress. It is this feature that gives the SST k- model an advantage in terms of performance over both the standard k- model and the standard k- model. Other modications include the addition of a cross-diusion term in the equation and a blending function to ensure that the model equations behave appropriately in both the near-wall and far-eld zones.
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Transport Equations for the SST k- Model

The SST k- model has a similar form to the standard k- model: (k) + (kui ) = t xi xj and () + (ui ) = t xi xj xj + G Y + D + S k xj + G k Yk + S k
(11.5-38)
(11.5-39)
In these equations, Gk represents the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to mean velocity gradients, calculated as described in Section 11.5.1: Modeling the Turbulence Production. G represents the generation of , calculated as described in Section 11.5.1: Modeling the Turbulence Production. k and represent the eective diusivity of k and , respectively, which are calculated as described below. Yk and Y represent the dissipation of k and due to turbulence, calculated as described in Section 11.5.1: Modeling the Turbulence Dissipation. D represents the cross-diusion term, calculated as described below. Sk and S are user-dened source terms.
Modeling the Effective Diffusivity

The eective diusivities for the SST k- model are given by t k t = +
k = +
(11.5-40) (11.5-41)
where k and are the turbulent Prandtl numbers for k and , respectively. The turbulent viscosity, t , is computed as follows: t = k 1 max 1 , SF2 a1 (11.5-42)
where S is the strain rate magnitude and 1 F1 /k,1 + (1 F1 )/k,2 1 = F1 /,1 + (1 F1 )/,2
k =
(11.5-43) (11.5-44)
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Modeling Turbulence is dened in Equation 11.5-6. The blending functions, F1 and F2 , are given by
F1 = tanh 4 1 1 = min max

+ D
k 500 4k , 2 , + 0.09y y ,2 D y 2 1 1 k = max 2 , 1010 ,2 xj xj
(11.5-45) (11.5-46) (11.5-47)
F2 = tanh 2 2 2 = max 2
k 500 , 0.09y y 2
(11.5-48) (11.5-49)
+ where y is the distance to the next surface and D is the positive portion of the crossdiusion term (see Equation 11.5-58).
Modeling the Turbulence Production

Production of k The term Gk represents the production of turbulence kinetic energy, and is dened as: Gk = min(Gk , 10 k) where Gk is dened in the same manner as in the standard k- model. tion 11.5.1: Modeling the Turbulence Production for details. Production of The term G represents the production of and is given by G = Gk t (11.5-51) (11.5-50) See Sec-
Note that this formulation diers from the standard k- model. The dierence between the two models also exists in the way the term is evaluated. In the standard k- model, is dened as a constant (0.52). For the SST k- model, is given by = F1 ,1 + (1 F1 ),2 (11.5-52)
11-34
where
,1 = ,2 =
i,1 2 w,1 2 i,2 w,2
(11.5-53) (11.5-54)
where is 0.41.
Modeling the Turbulence Dissipation

Dissipation of k The term Yk represents the dissipation of turbulence kinetic energy, and is dened in a similar manner as in the standard k- model (see Section 11.5.1: Modeling the Turbulence Dissipation). The dierence is in the way the term f is evaluated. In the standard k- model, f is dened as a piecewise function. For the SST k- model, f is a constant equal to 1. Thus, Yk = k Dissipation of The term Y represents the dissipation of , and is dened in a similar manner as in the standard k- model (see Section 11.5.1: Modeling the Turbulence Dissipation). The dierence is in the way the terms i and f are evaluated. In the standard k- model, i is dened as a constant (0.072) and f is dened in Equation 11.5-24. For the SST k- model, f is a constant equal to 1. Thus, Yk = 2 Instead of a having a constant value, i is given by i = F1 i,1 + (1 F1 )i,2 and F1 is obtained from Equation 11.5-45. (11.5-57) (11.5-56) (11.5-55)
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Modeling Turbulence
Cross-Diffusion Modication
The SST k- model is based on both the standard k- model and the standard k- model. To blend these two models together, the standard k- model has been transformed into equations based on k and , which leads to the introduction of a cross-diusion term (D in Equation 11.5-39). D is dened as D = 2 (1 F1 ) ,2 1 k xj xj (11.5-58)
For details about the various k- models, see Section 11.4: The Standard, RNG, and Realizable k- Models.
Model Constants
k,1 = 1.176, ,1 = 2.0, k,2 = 1.0, ,2 = 1.168
a1 = 0.31, i,1 = 0.075 i,2 = 0.0828

All additional model constants ( , , 0 , , R , Rk , R , , and Mt0 ) have the same values as for the standard k- model (see Section 11.5.1: Model Constants).
11.6
The Reynolds Stress Model (RSM)
The Reynolds stress model [110, 180, 181] involves calculation of the individual Reynolds stresses, ui uj , using dierential transport equations. The individual Reynolds stresses are then used to obtain closure of the Reynolds-averaged momentum equation (Equation 11.2-4). The exact form of the Reynolds stress transport equations may be derived by taking moments of the exact momentum equation. This is a process wherein the exact momentum equations are multiplied by a uctuating property, the product then being Reynoldsaveraged. Unfortunately, several of the terms in the exact equation are unknown and modeling assumptions are required in order to close the equations. In this section, the Reynolds stress transport equations are presented together with the modeling assumptions required to attain closure.
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11.6 The Reynolds Stress Model (RSM)
11.6.1
The Reynolds Stress Transport Equations
The exact transport equations for the transport of the Reynolds stresses, ui uj , may be written as follows:
( ui uj ) + (uk ui uj ) = ui uj uk + p kj ui + ik uj t xk xk Local Time Derivative Cij Convection DT,ij Turbulent Diusion
(u u ) xk xk i j DL,ij Molecular Diusion
ui uk
uj ui + uj uk xk xk
(gi uj + gj ui ) Gij Buoyancy Production
Pij Stress Production
ui uj + xj xi
ij
ui uj xk xk
ij Pressure Strain 2k uj um
ikm
Dissipation Suser (11.6-1)
+ ui u m
jkm
Fij Production by System Rotation
User-Dened Source Term
Of the various terms in these exact equations, Cij , DL,ij , Pij , and Fij do not require any modeling. However, DT,ij , Gij , ij , and ij need to be modeled to close the equations. The following sections describe the modeling assumptions required to close the equation set.
11.6.2 Modeling Turbulent Diffusive Transport

DT,ij can be modeled by the generalized gradient-diusion model of Daly and Harlow [69]: ku u ui uj k xk x
DT,ij = Cs
(11.6-2)
However, this equation can result in numerical instabilities, so it has been simplied in FLUENT to use a scalar turbulent diusivity as follows [195]: xk t ui uj k xk
DT,ij =
(11.6-3)
The turbulent viscosity, t , is computed using Equation 11.6-27.
11-37
Modeling Turbulence
Lien and Leschziner [195] derived a value of k = 0.82 by applying the generalized gradient-diusion model, Equation 11.6-2, to the case of a planar homogeneous shear ow. Note that this value of k is dierent from that in the standard and realizable kmodels, in which k = 1.0.
11.6.3
Modeling the Pressure-Strain Term
Linear Pressure-Strain Model

By default in FLUENT, the pressure-strain term, ij , in Equation 11.6-1 is modeled according to the proposals by Gibson and Launder [110], Fu et al. [105], and Launder [179, 180]. The classical approach to modeling ij uses the following decomposition: ij = ij,1 + ij,2 + ij,w (11.6-4)
where ij,1 is the slow pressure-strain term, also known as the return-to-isotropy term, ij,2 is called the rapid pressure-strain term, and ij,w is the wall-reection term. The slow pressure-strain term, ij,1 , is modeled as ij,1 C1 with C1 = 1.8. The rapid pressure-strain term, ij,2 , is modeled as 2 ij,2 C2 (Pij + Fij + Gij Cij ) ij (P + G C) 3 (11.6-6) 2 ui uj ij k k 3 (11.6-5)
where C2 = 0.60, Pij , Fij , Gij , and Cij are dened as in Equation 11.6-1, P = 1 Pkk , 2 G = 1 Gkk , and C = 1 Ckk . 2 2 The wall-reection term, ij,w , is responsible for the redistribution of normal stresses near the wall. It tends to damp the normal stress perpendicular to the wall, while enhancing the stresses parallel to the wall. This term is modeled as
ij,w C1
3 3 k 3/2 uk um nk nm ij ui uk nj nk uj uk ni nk k 2 2 C d 3 3 k 3/2 + C2 km,2 nk nm ij ik,2 nj nk jk,2 ni nk 2 2 C d (11.6-7)
11-38
where C1 = 0.5, C2 = 0.3, nk is the xk component of the unit normal to the wall, d is 3/4 the normal distance to the wall, and C = C /, where C = 0.09 and is the von Krmn constant (= 0.4187). a a ij,w is included by default in the Reynolds stress model.
Low-Re Modications to the Linear Pressure-Strain Model

When the RSM is applied to near-wall ows using the enhanced wall treatment described in Section 11.9.3: Two-Layer Model for Enhanced Wall Treatment, the pressure-strain model needs to be modied. The modication used in FLUENT species the values of C1 , C2 , C1 , and C2 as functions of the Reynolds stress invariants and the turbulent Reynolds number, according to the suggestion of Launder and Shima [182]:
C1 = 1 + 2.58A A2 1 exp (0.0067Ret )2 C2 = 0.75 A 2 C1 = C1 + 1.67 3 2 C 1 3 2 6 C2 = max ,0 C2
(11.6-8) (11.6-9) (11.6-10) (11.6-11)
with the turbulent Reynolds number dened as Ret = (k 2 / ). The parameter A and tensor invariants, A2 and A3 , are dened as
9 (A2 A3 ) 8
(11.6-12) (11.6-13) (11.6-14)
A2 aik aki A3 aik akj aji aij is the Reynolds-stress anisotropy tensor, dened as aij = ui uj + 2 kij 3 k
(11.6-15)
The modications detailed above are employed only when the enhanced wall treatment is selected in the Viscous Model panel.
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Modeling Turbulence
Quadratic Pressure-Strain Model

An optional pressure-strain model proposed by Speziale, Sarkar, and Gatski [328] is provided in FLUENT. This model has been demonstrated to give superior performance in a range of basic shear ows, including plane strain, rotating plane shear, and axisymmetric expansion/contraction. This improved accuracy should be benecial for a wider class of complex engineering ows, particularly those with streamline curvature. The quadratic pressure-strain model can be selected as an option in the Viscous Model panel. This model is written as follows:
ij = (C1 + C1 P ) bij + C2
1 bik bkj bmn bmn ij + C3 C3 bij bij kSij 3
2 + C4 k bik Sjk + bjk Sik bmn Smn ij + C5 k (bik jk + bjk ik ) 3 where bij is the Reynolds-stress anisotropy tensor dened as ui uj + 2 kij 3 bij = 2k The mean strain rate, Sij , is dened as Sij = 1 2 uj ui + xi xj
(11.6-16)
(11.6-17)
(11.6-18)
The mean rate-of-rotation tensor, ij , is dened by ij = The constants are

C1 = 3.4, C1 = 1.8, C2 = 4.2, C3 = 0.8, C3 = 1.3, C4 = 1.25, C5 = 0.4
1 2
ui uj xj xi
(11.6-19)
The quadratic pressure-strain model does not require a correction to account for the wall-reection eect in order to obtain a satisfactory solution in the logarithmic region of a turbulent boundary layer. It should be noted, however, that the quadratic pressurestrain model is not available when the enhanced wall treatment is selected in the Viscous Model panel.
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11.6.4
Effects of Buoyancy on Turbulence
The production terms due to buoyancy are modeled as t T T gi + gj Prt xj xi
Gij =
(11.6-20)
where Prt is the turbulent Prandtl number for energy, with a default value of 0.85. Using the denition of the coecient of thermal expansion, , given by Equation 11.4-24, the following expression is obtained for Gij for ideal gases: Gij = t gi + gj Prt xj xi (11.6-21)
11.6.5
Modeling the Turbulence Kinetic Energy
In general, when the turbulence kinetic energy is needed for modeling a specic term, it is obtained by taking the trace of the Reynolds stress tensor: 1 k = u i ui 2 (11.6-22)
As described in Section 11.6.8: Boundary Conditions for the Reynolds Stresses, an option is available in FLUENT to solve a transport equation for the turbulence kinetic energy in order to obtain boundary conditions for the Reynolds stresses. In this case, the following model equation is used:
(k) + (kui ) = t xi xj
t k
k 1 + (Pii + Gii ) (1 + 2M2 ) + Sk (11.6-23) t xj 2
where k = 0.82 and Sk is a user-dened source term. Equation 11.6-23 is obtainable by contracting the modeled equation for the Reynolds stresses (Equation 11.6-1). As one might expect, it is essentially identical to Equation 11.4-1 used in the standard kmodel. Although Equation 11.6-23 is solved globally throughout the ow domain, the values of k obtained are used only for boundary conditions. In every other case, k is obtained from Equation 11.6-22. This is a minor point, however, since the values of k obtained with either method should be very similar.
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Modeling Turbulence
11.6.6
Modeling the Dissipation Rate

ij ,
The dissipation tensor,
is modeled as 2 = ij ( + YM ) 3 (11.6-24)
ij
where YM = 2 M2 is an additional dilatation dissipation term according to the model t by Sarkar [291]. The turbulent Mach number in this term is dened as k a2
Mt =
(11.6-25)
where a ( RT ) is the speed of sound. This compressibility modication always takes eect when the compressible form of the ideal gas law is used. The scalar dissipation rate, , is computed with a model transport equation similar to that used in the standard k- model:
( ) + ( ui ) = t xi xj
2 1 C 1 [Pii + C 3 Gii ] C 2 + S (11.6-26) xj 2 k k
where = 1.0, C 1 = 1.44, C 2 = 1.92, C 3 is evaluated as a function of the local ow direction relative to the gravitational vector, as described in Section 11.4.5: Eects of Buoyancy on Turbulence in the k- Models, and S is a user-dened source term.
11.6.7
The turbulent viscosity, t , is computed similarly to the k- models: t = C where C = 0.09. k2 (11.6-27)
11.6.8
Boundary Conditions for the Reynolds Stresses
Whenever ow enters the domain, FLUENT requires values for individual Reynolds stresses, ui uj , and for the turbulence dissipation rate, . These quantities can be input directly or derived from the turbulence intensity and characteristic length, as described in Section 11.11.2: Reynolds Stress Model. At walls, FLUENT computes the near-wall values of the Reynolds stresses and from wall functions (see Section 11.9.2: Wall Functions). FLUENT applies explicit wall boundary
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conditions for the Reynolds stresses by using the log-law and the assumption of equilibrium, disregarding convection and diusion in the transport equations for the stresses (Equation 11.6-1). Using a local coordinate system, where is the tangential coordinate, is the normal coordinate, and is the binormal coordinate, the Reynolds stresses at the wall-adjacent cells are computed from u2 u u u2 u2 = 1.098, = 0.247, = 0.655, = 0.255 k k k k
(11.6-28)
To obtain k, FLUENT solves the transport equation of Equation 11.6-23. For reasons of computational convenience, the equation is solved globally, even though the values of k thus computed are needed only near the wall; in the far eld k is obtained directly from the normal Reynolds stresses using Equation 11.6-22. By default, the values of the Reynolds stresses near the wall are xed using the values computed from Equation 11.6-28, and the transport equations in Equation 11.6-1 are solved only in the bulk ow region. Alternatively, the Reynolds stresses can be explicitly specied in terms of wall-shear stress, instead of k: u2 u u u2 u2 = 5.1, = 1.0, = 2.3, 2 = 1.0 2 2 2 u u u u
(11.6-29)
where u is the friction velocity dened by u w /, where w is the wall-shear stress. When this option is chosen, the k transport equation is not solved.
11.6.9
Convective Heat and Mass Transfer Modeling
With the Reynolds stress model in FLUENT, turbulent heat transport is modeled using the concept of Reynolds analogy to turbulent momentum transfer. The modeled energy equation is thus given by the following: (E) + [ui (E + p)] = t xi xj c p t Prt T + ui (ij )e + Sh xj
k+
(11.6-30)
where E is the total energy and (ij )e is the deviatoric stress tensor, dened as (ij )e = e uj ui + xi xj 2 ui e ij 3 xi
The term involving (ij )e represents the viscous heating, and is always computed in the coupled solvers. It is not computed by default in the segregated solver, but it can be enabled in the Viscous Model panel. The default value of the turbulent Prandtl number is 0.85. You can change the value of Prt in the Viscous Model panel.
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Modeling Turbulence
Turbulent mass transfer is treated similarly, with a default turbulent Schmidt number of 0.7. This default value can be changed in the Viscous Model panel.
11.7
The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) Model
Turbulent ows are characterized by eddies with a wide range of length and time scales. The largest eddies are typically comparable in size to the characteristic length of the mean ow. The smallest scales are responsible for the dissipation of turbulence kinetic energy. It is possible, in theory, to directly resolve the whole spectrum of turbulent scales using an approach known as direct numerical simulation (DNS). No modeling is required in DNS. However, DNS is not feasible for practical engineering problems involving high Reynolds number ows. The cost required for DNS to resolve the entire range of scales is proportional to Re3 , where Ret is the turbulent Reynolds number. Clearly, for high t Reynolds numbers, the cost becomes prohibitive. In LES, large eddies are resolved directly, while small eddies are modeled. Large eddy simulation (LES) thus falls between DNS and RANS in terms of the fraction of the resolved scales. The rationale behind LES can be summarized as follows: Momentum, mass, energy, and other passive scalars are transported mostly by large eddies. Large eddies are more problem-dependent. They are dictated by the geometries and boundary conditions of the ow involved. Small eddies are less dependent on the geometry, tend to be more isotropic, and are consequently more universal. The chance of nding a universal turbulence model is much higher for small eddies. Resolving only the large eddies allows one to use much coarser mesh and larger timesstep sizes in LES than in DNS. However, LES still requires substantially ner meshes than those typically used for RANS calculations. In addition, LES has to be run for a suciently long ow-time to obtain stable statistics of the ow being modeled. As a result, the computational cost involved with LES is normally orders of magnitudes higher than that for steady RANS calculations in terms of memory (RAM) and CPU time. Therefore, high-performance computing (e.g., parallel computing) is a necessity for LES, especially for industrial applications. The following sections give details of the governing equations for LES, the subgrid-scale turbulence models, and the boundary conditions.
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11.7 The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) Model
11.7.1
Filtered Navier-Stokes Equations
The governing equations employed for LES are obtained by ltering the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations in either Fourier (wave-number) space or conguration (physical) space. The ltering process eectively lters out the eddies whose scales are smaller than the lter width or grid spacing used in the computations. The resulting equations thus govern the dynamics of large eddies. A ltered variable (denoted by an overbar) is dened by (x) =
D
(x )G(x, x )dx
(11.7-1)
where D is the uid domain, and G is the lter function that determines the scale of the resolved eddies. In FLUENT, the nite-volume discretization itself implicitly provides the ltering operation: (x) = 1 V (x ) dx , x V (11.7-2)
where V is the volume of a computational cell. The lter function, G(x, x ), implied here is then 1/V, x V 0, x otherwise
G(x, x )
(11.7-3)
The LES capability in FLUENTis applicable to compressible ows. For the sake of concise notation, however, the theory is presented here for incompressible ows. Filtering the Navier-Stokes equations, one obtains + (ui ) = 0 t xi and (ui ) + (ui uj ) = t xj xj ij xj p ij xi xj (11.7-4)
(11.7-5)
where ij is the stress tensor due to molecular viscosity dened by ij ui uj + xj xi 2 ul ij 3 xl (11.7-6)
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Modeling Turbulence
and ij is the subgrid-scale stress dened by ij ui uj ui uj (11.7-7)
11.7.2
Subgrid-Scale Models
The subgrid-scale stresses resulting from the ltering operation are unknown, and require modeling. The subgrid-scale turbulence models in FLUENTemploy the Boussinesq hypothesis [131] as in the RANS models, computing subgrid-scale turbulent stresses from 1 ij kk ij = 2t S ij 3 (11.7-8)
where t is the subgrid-scale turbulent viscosity, and S ij is the rate-of-strain tensor for the resolved scale dened by S ij 1 2 ui uj + xj xi
(11.7-9)
FLUENT oers four models for t : the Smagorinsky-Lilly model, the dynamic SmagorinskyLilly model, the WALE model, and the dynamic kinetic energy subgrid-scale model.
The Smagorinsky-Lilly Model

This simple model was rst proposed by Smagorinsky [313]. In the Smagorinsky-Lilly model, the eddy-viscosity is modeled by t = L2 S s where Ls is the mixing length for subgrid scales and S computed using Ls = min d, Cs V 1/3 (11.7-10) 2S ij S ij . In FLUENT, Ls is
(11.7-11)
where is the von Krmn constant, d is the distance to the closest wall, Cs is the a a Smagorinsky constant, and V is the volume of the computational cell. Lilly derived a value of 0.17 for Cs for homogeneous isotropic turbulence in the inertial subrange. However, this value was found to cause excessive damping of large-scale uctuations in the presence of mean shear and in transitional ows as near solid boundary, and has to be reduced in such regions. In short, Cs is not an universal constant, which is the most serious shortcoming of this simple model. Nonetheless, Cs value of around
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0.1 has been found to yield the best results for a wide range of ows, and is the default value in FLUENT.
The Dynamic Smagorinsky-Lilly Model

Germano et al. [107] and subsequently Lilly [198] conceived a procedure in which the Smagorinsky model constant, Cs , is dynamically computed based on the information provided by the resolved scales of motion. The dynamic procedure thus obviates the need for users to specify the model constant Cs in advance. The details of the model implementation in FLUENTand its validation can be found in [169]. The Cs obtained using the dynamic Smagorinsky-Lilly model varies in time and space over a fairly wide range. To avoid numerical instability, in FLUENT, Cs is clipped at zero and 0.23 by default.
The Wall-Adapting Local Eddy-Viscosity (WALE) Model

In the WALE model [242], the eddy viscosity is modeled by t = L2 s
d d (Sij Sij )3/2 d d (S ij S ij )5/2 + (Sij Sij )5/4
(11.7-12)
d where Ls and Sij in the WALE model are dened, respectively, as
Ls = min d, Cw V 1/3 1 2 1 ui g ij + g 2 ij g 2 , g ij = ji kk 2 3 xj
(11.7-13)
d Sij =
(11.7-14)
In FLUENT, the default value of the WALE constant, Cw , is 0.325 and has been found to yield satisfactory results for a wide range of ow. The rest of the notation is the same as for the Smagorinsky-Lilly model. With this spatial operator, the WALE model is designed to return the correct wall asymptotic (y 3 ) behavior for wall bounded ows.
The Dynamic Kinetic Energy Subgrid-Scale Model

The original and dynamic Smagorinsky-Lilly models discussed previously are essentially algebraic models in which subgrid-scale stresses are parameterized using the resolved velocity scales. The underlying assumption is the local equilibrium between the transferred energy through the grid-lter scale and the dissipation of kinetic energy at small subgrid scales. The subgrid-scale turbulence can be better modeled by accounting for the transport of the subgrid-scale turbulence kinetic energy.
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Modeling Turbulence
The dynamic SGS kinetic energy model in FLUENTreplicates the model proposed by Kim and Menon [172]. The subgrid-scale kinetic energy is dened as ksgs = 1 2 u u2 k 2 k (11.7-15)
which is obtained by contracting the subgrid-scale stress in Equation 11.7-7. The subgrid-scale eddy viscosity, t , is computed using ksgs as
1/2 t = Ck ksgs f
(11.7-16)
where f is the lter-size computed from f V 1/3 The subgrid-scale stress can then be written as 2 1/2 ij ksgs ij = 2Ck ksgs f S ij 3 ksgs is obtained by solving its transport equation k 3/2 k sgs uj k sgs ui + = ij C sgs + t xj xj f xj t ksgs k xj (11.7-17)
(11.7-18)
In the above equations, the model constants, Ck and C , are determined dynamically [172]. k is hardwired to 1.0. The details of the implementation of this model in FLUENTand its validation is given by Kim [169].
11.7.3
Inlet Boundary Conditions for the LES Model
This section describes the three algorithms available in FLUENT to model the uctuating velocity at inlet boundaries.
No Perturbations
The stochastic components of the ow at the velocity-specied inlet boundaries are neglected if the No Perturbations option is used. In such cases, individual instantaneous velocity components are simply set equal to their mean velocity counterparts. This option is suitable only when the level of turbulence at the inow boundaries is negligible or does not play a major role in the accuracy of the overall solution.
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Vortex Method
To generate a time-dependent inlet condition, a random 2D vortex method is considered. With this approach, a perturbation is added on a specied mean velocity prole via a uctuating vorticity eld (i.e. two-dimensional in the plane normal to the streamwise direction). The vortex method is based on the Lagrangian form of the 2D evolution equation of the vorticity and the Biot-Savart law. A particle discretization is used to solve this equation. These particles, or vortex points are convected randomly and carry information about the vorticity eld. If N is the number of vortex points and A is the area of the inlet section, the amount of vorticity carried by a given particle i is represented by the circulation i and an assumed spatial distribution :
i (x, y) = 4 (x) =
Ak(x, y) 3N [2 ln(3) 3 ln(2)]
(11.7-19) (11.7-20)
1 2 2 2 2 2e|x| /2 1 2e|x| /2 2 2
where k is the turbulence kinetic energy. The parameter provides control over the size of a vortex particle. The resulting discretization for the velocity eld is given by 1 2
N
u(x) =
i
i=1
((xi x) z)(1 e|xx | |x xi |2
2 /2 2
(11.7-21)
Originally [303], the size of the vortex was xed by an ad hoc value of . To make the vortex method generally applicable, a local vortex size is specied through a turbulent mixing length hypothesis. is calculated from a known prole of mean turbulence kinetic energy and mean dissipation rate at the inlet according to the following: ck 3/2 = 2
(11.7-22)
where c = 0.16. To ensure that the vortex will always belong to resolved scales, the minimum value of in Equation 11.7-22 is bounded by the local grid size. The sign of the circulation of each vortex is changed randomly each characteristic time scale . In the general implementation of the vortex method, this time scale represents the time necessary for a 2D vortex convected by the bulk velocity in the boundary normal direction to travel along n times its mean characteristic 2D size (m ), where n is xed equal to 100 from numerical testing. The vortex method considers only uctuations in the plane normal to the streamwise direction. By their interaction with the mean velocity eld, these uctuations impact streamwise uctuations downstream from the inlet plane as well.
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Modeling Turbulence
Since the vortex method theory is based on the modication of the velocity eld normal to the streamwise direction, it is imperative that user creates inlet plane normal (or as close as possible) to the streamwise velocity direction.
Spectral Synthesizer
The spectral synthesizer provides an alternative method of generating uctuating velocity components. It is based on the random ow generation technique originally proposed by Kraichnan [174] and modied by Smirnov et al. [314]. In this method, uctuating velocity components are computed by synthesizing a divergence-free velocity-vector eld from the summation of Fourier harmonics. In the implementation in FLUENT, the number of Fourier harmonics is xed to 100.
11.8
The Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) Model
The DES model belongs to the class of models usually referred to as an LES/RANS coupling modeling approach. The main idea of this approach is to combine RANS modeling with LES for applications in which classical LES is not aordable (e.g., high-Re external aerodynamics simulations). In FLUENT, the DES model is based on the one-equation Spalart-Allmaras model. The standard Spalart-Allmaras model uses the distance to the closest wall as the denition for the length scale d, which plays a major role in determining the level of production and destruction of turbulent viscosity (Equations 11.3-6, 11.3-12, and 11.3-15). The DES model, as proposed by Shur et al. [307] replaces d everywhere with a new length scale d, dened as d = min(d, Cdes ) (11.8-1)
where the grid spacing, , is based on the largest grid space in the x, y, or z directions forming the computational cell. The empirical constant Cdes has a value of 0.65.
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11.9 Near-Wall Treatments for Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows
11.9
Near-Wall Treatments for Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows Overview
11.9.1
Turbulent ows are signicantly aected by the presence of walls. Obviously, the mean velocity eld is aected through the no-slip condition that has to be satised at the wall. However, the turbulence is also changed by the presence of the wall in non-trivial ways. Very close to the wall, viscous damping reduces the tangential velocity uctuations, while kinematic blocking reduces the normal uctuations. Toward the outer part of the nearwall region, however, the turbulence is rapidly augmented by the production of turbulence kinetic energy due to the large gradients in mean velocity. The near-wall modeling signicantly impacts the delity of numerical solutions, inasmuch as walls are the main source of mean vorticity and turbulence. After all, it is in the nearwall region that the solution variables have large gradients, and the momentum and other scalar transports occur most vigorously. Therefore, accurate representation of the ow in the near-wall region determines successful predictions of wall-bounded turbulent ows. The k- models, the RSM, and the LES model are primarily valid for turbulent core ows (i.e., the ow in the regions somewhat far from walls). Consideration therefore needs to be given as to how to make these models suitable for wall-bounded ows. The Spalart-Allmaras and k- models were designed to be applied throughout the boundary layer, provided that the near-wall mesh resolution is sucient. Numerous experiments have shown that the near-wall region can be largely subdivided into three layers. In the innermost layer, called the viscous sublayer, the ow is almost laminar, and the (molecular) viscosity plays a dominant role in momentum and heat or mass transfer. In the outer layer, called the fully-turbulent layer, turbulence plays a major role. Finally, there is an interim region between the viscous sublayer and the fully turbulent layer where the eects of molecular viscosity and turbulence are equally important. Figure 11.9.1 illustrates these subdivisions of the near-wall region, plotted in semi-log coordinates.
Wall Functions vs. Near-Wall Model

Traditionally, there are two approaches to modeling the near-wall region. In one approach, the viscosity-aected inner region (viscous sublayer and buer layer) is not resolved. Instead, semi-empirical formulas called wall functions are used to bridge the viscosity-aected region between the wall and the fully-turbulent region. The use of wall functions obviates the need to modify the turbulence models to account for the presence of the wall. In another approach, the turbulence models are modied to enable the viscosity-aected region to be resolved with a mesh all the way to the wall, including the viscous sublayer. For purposes of discussion, this will be termed the near-wall modeling approach. These two approaches are depicted schematically in Figure 11.9.2.
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Modeling Turbulence
Figure 11.9.1: Subdivisions of the Near-Wall Region
Figure 11.9.2: Near-Wall Treatments in FLUENT
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In most high-Reynolds-number ows, the wall function approach substantially saves computational resources, because the viscosity-aected near-wall region, in which the solution variables change most rapidly, does not need to be resolved. The wall function approach is popular because it is economical, robust, and reasonably accurate. It is a practical option for the near-wall treatments for industrial ow simulations. The wall function approach, however, is inadequate in situations where the low-Reynoldsnumber eects are pervasive in the ow domain in question, and the hypotheses underlying the wall functions cease to be valid. Such situations require near-wall models that are valid in the viscosity-aected region and accordingly integrable all the way to the wall. FLUENT provides both the wall function approach and the near-wall modeling approach.
Near-Wall Treatments for the Spalart-Allmaras, k-, and LES Models

See Sections 11.3.6, 11.5.1, and 11.7.3, respectively, for a description of the near-wall treatments applied by the Spalart-Allmaras, k-, and LES models.
11.9.2
Wall Functions
Wall functions are a collection of semi-empirical formulas and functions that in eect bridge or link the solution variables at the near-wall cells and the corresponding quantities on the wall. The wall functions comprise laws-of-the-wall for mean velocity and temperature (or other scalars) formulas for near-wall turbulent quantities FLUENT oers two choices of wall function approaches: standard wall functions non-equilibrium wall functions
Standard Wall Functions

The standard wall functions in FLUENT are based on the proposal of Launder and Spalding [184], and have been most widely used for industrial ows. They are provided as a default option in FLUENT.
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Modeling Turbulence
Momentum The law-of-the-wall for mean velocity yields U = where

1/4 UP C kP U w / 1/2 1/2
1 ln(Ey )
(11.9-1)
(11.9-2)
y and E UP kP yP = = = = = =
1/4 C kP yP
(11.9-3)
von Krmn constant (= 0.4187) a a empirical constant (= 9.793) mean velocity of the uid at point P turbulence kinetic energy at point P distance from point P to the wall dynamic viscosity of the uid
The logarithmic law for mean velocity is known to be valid for 30 < y < 300. In FLUENT, the log-law is employed when y > 11.225. When the mesh is such that y < 11.225 at the wall-adjacent cells, FLUENT applies the laminar stress-strain relationship that can be written as U = y (11.9-4)
It should be noted that, in FLUENT, the laws-of-the-wall for mean velocity and temperature are based on the wall unit, y , rather than y + ( u y/). These quantities are approximately equal in equilibrium turbulent boundary layers. Energy Reynolds analogy between momentum and energy transport gives a similar logarithmic law for mean temperature. As in the law-of-the-wall for mean velocity, the law-of-the-wall for temperature employed in FLUENT comprises the following two dierent laws: linear law for the thermal conduction sublayer where conduction is important logarithmic law for the turbulent region where eects of turbulence dominate conduction
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The thickness of the thermal conduction layer is, in general, dierent from the thickness of the (momentum) viscous sublayer, and changes from uid to uid. For example, the thickness of the thermal sublayer for a high-Prandtl-number uid (e.g., oil) is much less than its momentum sublayer thickness. For uids of low Prandtl numbers (e.g., liquid metal), on the contrary, it is much larger than the momentum sublayer thickness. In highly compressible ows, the temperature distribution in the near-wall region can be signicantly dierent from that of low subsonic ows, due to the heating by viscous dissipation. In FLUENT, the temperature wall functions include the contribution from the viscous heating [356]. The law-of-the-wall implemented in FLUENT has the following composite form:
1/4 1/2 Pr y + 1 Pr C kP U 2 P 2 q Pr 1 ln(Ey ) + P +
t 1/4 1/2 1 C kP q 2
(Tw
1/4 1/2 TP ) cp C kP
(y < yT )
2 2 {Prt UP + (Pr Prt )Uc }
(y > yT )
(11.9-5)
where P is computed by using the formula given by Jayatilleke [149]: Pr Prt

3/4
P = 9.24 and kP cp q TP Tw Pr Prt A Uc = = = = = = = = = =
1 + 0.28e0.007Pr/Prt
(11.9-6)
turbulent kinetic energy at point P density of uid specic heat of uid wall heat ux temperature at the cell adjacent to wall temperature at the wall molecular Prandtl number (cp /kf ) turbulent Prandtl number (0.85 at the wall) Van Driest constant (= 26) mean velocity magnitude at y = yT
Note that, for the segregated solver, the terms C 1/4 k 1 2 Pr P UP 2 q and
1/4 1 C kP 2 q 1/2 2 2 Prt UP + (Pr Prt )Uc 1/2
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Modeling Turbulence
will be included in Equation 11.9-5 only for compressible ow calculations.

The non-dimensional thermal sublayer thickness, yT , in Equation 11.9-5 is computed as the y value at which the linear law and the logarithmic law intersect, given the molecular Prandtl number of the uid being modeled.
The procedure of applying the law-of-the-wall for temperature is as follows. Once the physical properties of the uid being modeled are specied, its molecular Prandtl number is computed. Then, given the molecular Prandtl number, the thermal sublayer thickness, yT , is computed from the intersection of the linear and logarithmic proles, and stored. During the iteration, depending on the y value at the near-wall cell, either the linear or the logarithmic prole in Equation 11.9-5 is applied to compute the wall temperature Tw or heat ux q (depending on the type of the thermal boundary conditions). The function for P given by equation Equation 11.9-6 is relevant for the smooth walls. For the rough walls, however, this function is modied as follows:
0.695
Prough = 3.15Pr
1 1 E E
0.359
E + E
0.6
(11.9-7)
where E is wall function constant modied for the rough walls (see Section 7.13.1: Modeling Wall Roughness Eects in Turbulent Wall-Bounded Flows for the details). Species When using wall functions for species transport, FLUENT assumes that species transport behaves analogously to heat transfer. Similarly to Equation 11.9-5, the law-of-the-wall for species can be expressed for constant property ow with no viscous dissipation as
1/4 (Yi,w Yi ) C kP Y Ji,w 1/2
Sc y 1 Sct ln(Ey ) + Pc
(y < yc ) (y > yc )
(11.9-8)
where Yi is the local species mass fraction, Sc and Sct are molecular and turbulent Schmidt numbers, and Ji,w is the diusion ux of species i at the wall. Note that Pc and yc are calculated in a similar way as P and yT , with the dierence being that the Prandtl numbers are always replaced by the corresponding Schmidt numbers. Turbulence In the k- models and in the RSM (if the option to obtain wall boundary conditions from the k equation is enabled), the k equation is solved in the whole domain including the wall-adjacent cells. The boundary condition for k imposed at the wall is k =0 n (11.9-9)
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where n is the local coordinate normal to the wall. The production of kinetic energy, Gk , and its dissipation rate, , at the wall-adjacent cells, which are the source terms in the k equation, are computed on the basis of the local equilibrium hypothesis. Under this assumption, the production of k and its dissipation rate are assumed to be equal in the wall-adjacent control volume. Thus, the production of k is computed from G k w and is computed from C 3/4 k = P yP
3/2
U w = w 1/4 1/2 y C kP yP
(11.9-10)
(11.9-11)
The equation is not solved at the wall-adjacent cells, but instead is computed using Equation 11.9-11. Note that, as shown here, the wall boundary conditions for the solution variables, including mean velocity, temperature, species concentration, k, and , are all taken care of by the wall functions. Therefore, you do not need to be concerned about the boundary conditions at the walls. The standard wall functions described so far are provided as a default option in FLUENT. The standard wall functions work reasonably well for a broad range of wall-bounded ows. However, they tend to become less reliable when the ow situations depart too much from the ideal conditions that are assumed in their derivation. Among others, the constantshear and local equilibrium hypotheses are the ones that most restrict the universality of the standard wall functions. Accordingly, when the near-wall ows are subjected to severe pressure gradients, and when the ows are in strong non-equilibrium, the quality of the predictions is likely to be compromised. The non-equilibrium wall functions oered as an additional option can improve the results in such situations.
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Modeling Turbulence
Non-Equilibrium Wall Functions

In addition to the standard wall function described above (which is the default near-wall treatment) a two-layer-based, non-equilibrium wall function [170] is also available. The key elements in the non-equilibrium wall functions are as follows: Launder and Spaldings log-law for mean velocity is sensitized to pressure-gradient eects. The two-layer-based concept is adopted to compute the budget of turbulence kinetic energy (Gk , ) in the wall-neighboring cells. The law-of-the-wall for mean temperature or species mass fraction remains the same as in the standard wall function described above. The log-law for mean velocity sensitized to pressure gradients is
1/4 1/4 U C k 1/2 C k 1/2 y 1 = ln E w /
(11.9-12)
where 1 dp yv y ln U =U 2 dx k yv
2 y yv yv + k
(11.9-13)
and yv is the physical viscous sublayer thickness, and is computed from yv

where yv = 11.225. yv
C kP
1/4 1/2
(11.9-14)
The non-equilibrium wall function employs the two-layer concept in computing the budget of turbulence kinetic energy at the wall-adjacent cells, which is needed to solve the k equation at the wall-neighboring cells. The wall-neighboring cells are assumed to consist of a viscous sublayer and a fully turbulent layer. The following prole assumptions for turbulence quantities are made:
y 0, y < yv yv k= k , w , y > yv P
2
t =
k P , y < yv y > yv
2k , y2 k3/2 , C y
y < yv y > yv
(11.9-15)
3/4 where C = C , and yv is the dimensional thickness of the viscous sublayer, dened in Equation 11.9-14.
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Using these proles, the cell-averaged production of k, Gk , and the cell-averaged dissipation rate, , can be computed from the volume average of Gk and of the wall-adjacent cells. For quadrilateral and hexahedral cells for which the volume average can be approximated with a depth-average, 1 Gk yn and 1 yn
yn yn 0 2 U 1 w yn t dy = ln 1/4 1/2 y yn C kP yv
(11.9-16)
dy =
0
1 2 + yn yv C
1/2 kP
ln
yn kP yv
(11.9-17)
where yn is the height of the cell (yn = 2yP ). For cells with other shapes (e.g., triangular and tetrahedral grids), the appropriate volume averages are used. In Equations 11.9-16 and 11.9-17, the turbulence kinetic energy budget for the wallneighboring cells is eectively sensitized to the proportions of the viscous sublayer and the fully turbulent layer, which varies widely from cell to cell in highly non-equilibrium ows. It eectively relaxes the local equilibrium assumption (production = dissipation) that is adopted by the standard wall function in computing the budget of the turbulence kinetic energy at wall-neighboring cells. Thus, the non-equilibrium wall functions, in eect, partly account for non-equilibrium eects neglected in the standard wall function.
Standard Wall Functions vs. Non-Equilibrium Wall Functions

Because of the capability to partly account for the eects of pressure gradients and departure from equilibrium, the non-equilibrium wall functions are recommended for use in complex ows involving separation, reattachment, and impingement where the mean ow and turbulence are subjected to severe pressure gradients and change rapidly. In such ows, improvements can be obtained, particularly in the prediction of wall shear (skin-friction coecient) and heat transfer (Nusselt or Stanton number).
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Modeling Turbulence
Limitations of the Wall Function Approach

The standard wall functions give reasonably accurate predictions for the majority of high-Reynolds-number, wall-bounded ows. The non-equilibrium wall functions further extend the applicability of the wall function approach by including the eects of pressure gradient and strong non-equilibrium. However, the wall function approach becomes less reliable when the ow conditions depart too much from the ideal conditions underlying the wall functions. Examples are as follows: Pervasive low-Reynolds-number or near-wall eects (e.g., ow through a small gap or highly viscous, low-velocity uid ow). Massive transpiration through the wall (blowing/suction). Severe pressure gradients leading to boundary layer separations. Strong body forces (e.g., ow near rotating disks, buoyancy-driven ows). High three-dimensionality in the near-wall region (e.g., Ekman spiral ow, strongly skewed 3D boundary layers). If any of the items listed above is a prevailing feature of the ow you are modeling, and if it is considered critically important to capture that feature for the success of your simulation, you must employ the near-wall modeling approach combined with adequate mesh resolution in the near-wall region. FLUENT provides the enhanced wall treatment for such situations. This approach can be used with the three k- models and the RSM.
11.9.3
Enhanced Wall Treatment
Enhanced wall treatment is a near-wall modeling method that combines a two-layer model with enhanced wall functions. If the near-wall mesh is ne enough to be able to resolve the laminar sublayer (typically y + 1), then the enhanced wall treatment will be identical to the traditional two-layer zonal model (see below for details). However, the restriction that the near-wall mesh must be suciently ne everywhere might impose too large a computational requirement. Ideally, then, one would like to have a near-wall formulation that can be used with coarse meshes (usually referred to as wall-function meshes) as well as ne meshes (low-Reynolds-number meshes). In addition, excessive error should not be incurred for intermediate meshes that are too ne for the near-wall cell centroid to lie in the fully turbulent region, but also too coarse to properly resolve the sublayer. To achieve the goal of having a near-wall modeling approach that will possess the accuracy of the standard two-layer approach for ne near-wall meshes and that, at the same time, will not signicantly reduce accuracy for wall-function meshes, FLUENT can combine the two-layer model with enhanced wall functions, as described in the following sections.
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Two-Layer Model for Enhanced Wall Treatment

In FLUENTs near-wall model, the viscosity-aected near-wall region is completely resolved all the way to the viscous sublayer. The two-layer approach is an integral part of the enhanced wall treatment and is used to specify both and the turbulent viscosity in the near-wall cells. In this approach, the whole domain is subdivided into a viscosity-aected region and a fully-turbulent region. The demarcation of the two regions is determined by a wall-distance-based, turbulent Reynolds number, Rey , dened as y k Rey
(11.9-18)
where y is the normal distance from the wall at the cell centers. In FLUENT, y is interpreted as the distance to the nearest wall: y min r rw
rw w
(11.9-19)
where r is the position vector at the eld point, and rw is the position vector on the wall boundary. w is the union of all the wall boundaries involved. This interpretation allows y to be uniquely dened in ow domains of complex shape involving multiple walls. Furthermore, y dened in this way is independent of the mesh topology used, and is denable even on unstructured meshes. In the fully turbulent region (Rey > Re ; Re = 200), the k- models or the RSM y y (described in Sections 11.4 and 11.6) are employed. In the viscosity-aected near-wall region (Rey < Re ), the one-equation model of Wolfy stein [381] is employed. In the one-equation model, the momentum equations and the k equation are retained as described in Sections 11.4 and 11.6. However, the turbulent viscosity, t , is computed from t,2layer = C
(11.9-20)
where the length scale that appears in Equation 11.9-20 is computed from [51] = yc 1 eRey /A (11.9-21)
The two-layer formulation for turbulent viscosity described above is used as a part of the enhanced wall treatment, in which the two-layer denition is smoothly blended with the high-Reynolds-number t denition from the outer region, as proposed by Jongen [154]: t,enh = t + (1 )t,2layer (11.9-22)
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Modeling Turbulence
where t is the high-Reynolds-number denition as described in Section 11.4: The Standard, RNG, and Realizable k- Models or 11.6 for the k- models or the RSM. A blending function, , is dened in such a way that it is equal to unity far from walls and is zero very near to walls. The blending function chosen is Rey Re 1 y = 1 + tanh 2 A
(11.9-23)
The constant A determines the width of the blending function. By dening a width such that the value of will be within 1% of its far-eld value given a variation of Rey , the result is A= |Rey | tanh(0.98) (11.9-24)
Typically, Rey would be assigned a value that is between 5% and 20% of Re . The y main purpose of the blending function is to prevent solution convergence from being impeded when the k- solution in the outer layer does not match with the two-layer formulation. The eld is computed from k 3/2
(11.9-25)
The length scales that appear in Equation 11.9-25 are again computed from Chen and Patel [51]: = yc 1 eRey /A (11.9-26)
If the whole ow domain is inside the viscosity-aected region (Rey < 200), is not obtained by solving the transport equation; it is instead obtained algebraically from Equation 11.9-25. FLUENT uses a procedure for the specication that is similar to the t blending in order to ensure a smooth transition between the algebraically-specied in the inner region and the obtained from solution of the transport equation in the outer region. The constants in the length scale formulas, Equations 11.9-21 and 11.9-26, are taken from [51]:
3/4 c = C ,
A = 70,
A = 2c
(11.9-27)
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Enhanced Wall Functions

To have a method that can extend its applicability throughout the near-wall region (i.e., laminar sublayer, buer region, and fully-turbulent outer region) it is necessary to formulate the law-of-the wall as a single wall law for the entire wall region. FLUENT achieves this by blending linear (laminar) and logarithmic (turbulent) laws-of-the-wall using a function suggested by Kader [158]: u+ = e u+ + e u+ lam turb where the blending function is given by: = where a = 0.01 and b = 5. Similarly, the general equation for the derivative
du+ dy +
1
(11.9-28)
a(y + )4 1 + by +
(11.9-29)
is
+ 1 du du+ du+ = e lam + e turb dy + dy + dy +
(11.9-30)
This approach allows the fully turbulent law to be easily modied and extended to take into account other eects such as pressure gradients or variable properties. This formula also guarantees the correct asymptotic behavior for large and small values of y + and reasonable representation of velocity proles in the cases where y + falls inside the wall buer region (3 < y + < 10). The enhanced wall functions were developed by smoothly blending an enhanced turbulent wall law with the laminar wall law. The enhanced turbulent law-of-the-wall for compressible ow with heat transfer and pressure gradients has been derived by combining the approaches of White and Cristoph [377] and Huang et al. [137]: du+ 1 turb = + S (1 u+ (u+ )2 ) dy + y where
+ 1 + y + for y + < ys + + 1 + ys for y + ys 1/2
(11.9-31)
S =
(11.9-32)
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Modeling Turbulence
and w dp dp = 2 3 dx w u (u ) dx t qw t qw u = cp w Tw cp u Tw t (u )2 2cp Tw
(11.9-33) (11.9-34) (11.9-35)
+ + where ys is the location at which the log-law slope will remain xed. By default, ys = 60. The coecient in Equation 11.9-31 represents the inuences of pressure gradients while the coecients and represent thermal eects. Equation 11.9-31 is an ordinary dierential equation and FLUENT will provide an appropriate analytical solution. If , , and all equal 0, an analytical solution would lead to the classical turbulent logarithmic law-of-the-wall.
The laminar law-of-the-wall is determined from the following expression: du+ lam = 1 + y + + dy
(11.9-36)
Note that the above expression only includes eects of pressure gradients through , while the eects of variable properties due to heat transfer and compressibility on the laminar wall law are neglected. These eects are neglected because they are thought to be of minor importance when they occur close to the wall. Integration of Equation 11.9-36 results in u+ = y + 1 + lam + y 2 (11.9-37)
Enhanced thermal wall functions follow the same approach developed for the prole of u+ . The unied wall thermal formulation blends the laminar and logarithmic proles according to the method of Kader [158]:
+ + T + = e Tlam + e Tturb
(11.9-38)
where = a(Pr y + )4 1 + bPr3 y + (11.9-39)
where Pr is the molecular Prandtl number, and the coecients a and b are dened as in Equation 11.9-29. Apart from the above formulation for T + , enhanced thermal wall
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functions follow the same logic as previously described for standard thermal wall functions (see Section 11.9.2: Energy). A similar procedure is also used for species wall functions when the enhanced wall treatment is used. See Section 11.9.2: Species for details about species wall functions. The boundary condition for turbulence kinetic energy is the same as for standard wall functions (Equation 11.9-9). However, the production of turbulence kinetic energy Gk is computed using the velocity gradients that are consistent with the enhanced law-of-thewall (Equations 11.9-28 and 11.9-30), ensuring a formulation that is valid throughout the near-wall region.
11.9.4
LES Near-Wall Treatment
When the mesh is ne enough to resolve the laminar sublayer, the wall shear stress is obtained from the laminar stress-strain relationship: u u y = u (11.9-40)
If the mesh is too coarse to resolve the laminar sublayer, it is assumed that the centroid of the wall-adjacent cell falls within the logarithmic region of the boundary layer, and the law-of-the-wall is employed: u 1 u y = ln E u
(11.9-41)
where is the von Krmn constant and E = 9.793. If the mesh is a such that the rst a a near wall point is within the buer region, then two above laws are blended in accordance with equation Equation 11.9-28. For the LES simulations in FLUENT, there is an alternative near wall approach based on the work of Werner and Wengle [373], who proposed analytical integration of power-law near-wall velocity distribution resulting in the following expressions for the wall shear stress:

2|up | z
1+B 1B 1B A 2
for |up |
1+B z
|w | =
1+B A
B z
|up |
2 1+B
2 A 1B 2z 2 A 1B 2z
for |up | >
(11.9-42)
where up is velocity parallel to the wall, A = 8.3, B = 1/7 are the constants, and z is the near-wall control volume length scale. The Werner-Wengle wall functions can be enabled using the define/models/viscous/ near-wall-treatment/werner-wengle-wall-fn? text command.
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Modeling Turbulence
11.10 Grid Considerations for Turbulent Flow Simulations

Successful computations of turbulent ows require some consideration during the mesh generation. Since turbulence (through the spatially-varying eective viscosity) plays a dominant role in the transport of mean momentum and other parameters, you must ascertain that turbulence quantities in complex turbulent ows are properly resolved if high accuracy is required. Due to the strong interaction of the mean ow and turbulence, the numerical results for turbulent ows tend to be more susceptible to grid dependency than those for laminar ows. It is therefore recommended that you resolve, with suciently ne meshes, the regions where the mean ow changes rapidly and there are shear layers with a large mean rate of strain. You can check the near-wall mesh by displaying or plotting the values of y + , y , and Rey , which are all available in the postprocessing panels. It should be remembered that y + , y , and Rey are not xed, geometrical quantities. They are all solution-dependent. For example, when you double the mesh (thereby halving the wall distance), the new y + does not necessarily become half of the y + for the original mesh. For the mesh in the near-wall region, dierent strategies must be used depending on which near-wall option you are using. In Sections 11.10.1 and 11.10.2 are general guidelines for the near-wall mesh.
11.10.1
Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for Wall Functions
The log-law, which is valid for equilibrium boundary layers and fully developed ows, provides upper and lower bounds on the acceptable distance between the cell centroid and the wall for wall-adjacent cells. The distance is usually measured in the wall unit, y + ( u y/), or y . Note that y + and y have comparable values when the rst cell is placed in the log-layer. For standard or non-equilibrium wall functions, each wall-adjacent cells centroid should be located within the log-law layer, 30 < y + < 300. A y + value close to the lower bound (y + 30) is most desirable. Although FLUENT employs the linear (laminar) law when y < 11.225, using an excessively ne mesh near the walls should be avoided, because the wall functions cease to be valid in the viscous sublayer. As much as possible, the mesh should be made either coarse or ne enough to prevent the wall-adjacent cells from being placed in the buer layer (y + = 5 30). The upper bound of the log-layer depends on, among others, pressure gradients and Reynolds number. As the Reynolds number increases, the upper bound tends to also increase. y + values that are too large are not desirable, because the wake component becomes substantially large above the log-layer.
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11.10 Grid Considerations for Turbulent Flow Simulations
Using excessive stretching in the direction normal to the wall should be avoided. It is important to have at least a few cells inside the boundary layer.
11.10.2
Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for the Enhanced Wall Treatment
Although the enhanced wall treatment is designed to extend the validity of near-wall modeling beyond the viscous sublayer, it is still recommended that you construct a mesh that will fully resolve the viscosity-aected near-wall region. In such a case, the two-layer component of the enhanced wall treatment will be dominant and the following mesh requirements are recommended (note that, here, the mesh requirements are in terms of y + , not y ): When the enhanced wall treatment is employed with the intention of resolving the laminar sublayer, y + at the wall-adjacent cell should be on the order of y + = 1. However, a higher y + is acceptable as long as it is well inside the viscous sublayer (y + < 4 to 5). You should have at least 10 cells within the viscosity-aected near-wall region (Rey < 200) to be able to resolve the mean velocity and turbulent quantities in that region.
11.10.3
Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for the Spalart-Allmaras Model
The Spalart-Allmaras model in its complete implementation is a low-Reynolds-number model. This means that it is designed to be used with meshes that properly resolve the viscous-aected region, and damping functions have been built into the model in order to properly attenuate the turbulent viscosity in the viscous sublayer. Therefore, to obtain the full benet of the Spalart-Allmaras model, the near-wall mesh spacing should be as described in Section 11.10.2: Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for the Enhanced Wall Treatment for the enhanced wall treatment. However, as discussed in Section 11.3.6: Wall Boundary Conditions, the boundary conditions for the Spalart-Allmaras model have been implemented so that the model will work on coarser meshes, such as would be appropriate for the wall function approach. If you are using a coarse mesh, you should follow the guidelines described in Section 11.10.1: NearWall Mesh Guidelines for Wall Functions. In summary, for best results with the Spalart-Allmaras model, you should use either a very ne near-wall mesh spacing (on the order of y + = 1) or a mesh spacing such that y + 30.
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Modeling Turbulence
11.10.4
Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for the k- Models
Both k- models available in FLUENT are available as low-Reynolds-number models as well as high-Reynolds-number models. If the Transitional Flows option is enabled in the Viscous Model panel, low-Reynolds-number variants will be used, and, in that case, mesh guidelines should be the same as for the enhanced wall treatment. However, if this option is not active, then the mesh guidelines should be the same as for the wall functions.
11.10.5 Near-Wall Mesh Guidelines for Large Eddy Simulation

For the LES implementation in FLUENT, the wall boundary conditions have been implemented using a law-of-the-wall approach as described in Section 11.7.3: Inlet Boundary Conditions for the LES Model. This means that there are no computational restrictions on the near-wall mesh spacing. However, for best results, it might be necessary to use a very ne near-wall mesh spacing (on the order of y + = 1).
11.11
Problem Setup for Turbulent Flows
When your FLUENT model includes turbulence you need to activate the relevant model and options, and supply turbulent boundary conditions. These inputs are described in this section. The procedure for setting up a turbulent ow problem is described below. (Note that this procedure includes only those steps necessary for the turbulence model itself; you will need to set up other models, boundary conditions, etc. as usual.) 1. To activate the turbulence model, select Spalart-Allmaras, k-epsilon, k-omega, Reynolds Stress, or (in 3D) Large Eddy Simulation under Model in the Viscous Model panel (Figure 11.11.1). Dene Models Viscous... If you choose the k-epsilon model, select Standard, RNG, or Realizable under k-epsilon Model. If you choose the k-omega model, select Standard or SST under k-omega Model.
The Large Eddy Simulation model is available only for 3D cases.
2. If the ow involves walls, and you are using one of the k- models or the RSM, choose one of the following options for the Near-Wall Treatment in the Viscous Model panel: Standard Wall Functions Non-Equilibrium Wall Functions Enhanced Wall Treatment
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11.11 Problem Setup for Turbulent Flows
Figure 11.11.1: The Viscous Model Panel
These near-wall options are described in detail in Section 11.9: Near-Wall Treatments for Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows. By default, the standard wall function is enabled. The near-wall treatment for the Spalart-Allmaras, k-, and LES models is dened automatically, as described in Sections 11.3.6, 11.5.1, and 11.7.3, respectively. 3. Enable the appropriate turbulence modeling options in the Viscous Model panel. See Section 11.11.1: Turbulence Options for details. 4. Specify the boundary conditions for the solution variables. Dene Boundary Conditions... See Section 11.11.2: Dening Turbulence Boundary Conditions for details.
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Modeling Turbulence
5. Specify the initial guess for the solution variables. Solve Initialize Initialize... See Section 11.11.3: Providing an Initial Guess for k and (or k and ) for details. Note that Reynolds stresses are automatically initialized using k, and therefore need not be initialized.
11.11.1
Turbulence Options
The various options available for the turbulence models are described in detail in Sections 11.3 through 11.7. Instructions for activating these options are provided here. If you choose the Spalart-Allmaras model, the following options are available: Vorticity-based production Strain/vorticity-based production Viscous heating (always activated for the coupled solvers) If you choose the standard k- model or the realizable k- model, the following options are available: Viscous heating (always activated for the coupled solvers) Inclusion of buoyancy eects on If you choose the RNG k- model, the following options are available: Dierential viscosity model Swirl modication Viscous heating (always activated for the coupled solvers) Inclusion of buoyancy eects on If you choose the standard k- model, the following options are available: Transitional ows Shear ow corrections Viscous heating (always activated for the coupled solvers)
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If you choose the shear-stress transport k- model, the following options are available: Transitional ows Viscous heating (always activated for the coupled solvers) If you choose the RSM, the following options are available: Wall reection eects on Reynolds stresses Wall boundary conditions for the Reynolds stresses from the k equation Quadratic pressure-strain model Viscous heating (always activated for the coupled solvers) Inclusion of buoyancy eects on If you choose the enhanced wall treatment (available for the k- models and the RSM), the following options are available: Pressure gradient eects Thermal eects If you choose the DES model, the same options are available as for Spalart-Allmaras model, since the Spalart-Allmaras model is used as the underlaying RANS model for DES modeling approach. Additionally, you can perform the following DES-specic functions by using the /define/models/viscous/detached-eddy-simulation? text command: Use cell volume-based LES length scale (default is to use maximum cell edge). Modify only the length scales that appear in the destruction term in t equation (the default is to modify all length scales within the t equation). If you choose the LES model, the following options are available: Smagorinsky-Lilly model for the subgrid-scale viscosity RNG model for the subgrid-scale viscosity Viscous heating (always activated for the coupled solvers)
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Modeling Turbulence
It is also possible to modify the Model Constants, but this is not necessary for most applications. See Sections 11.3 through 11.7 for details about these constants. Note that C1-PS and C2-PS are the constants C1 and C2 in the linear pressure-strain approximation of Equations 11.6-5 and 11.6-6, and C1-PS and C2-PS are the constants C1 and C2 in Equation 11.6-7. C1-SSG-PS, C1-SSG-PS, C2-SSG-PS, C3-SSG-PS, C3-SSG-PS, C4-SSG PS, and C5-SSG-PS are the constants C1 , C1 , C2 , C3 , C3 , C4 , and C5 in the quadratic pressure-strain approximation of Equation 11.6-16.
Including the Viscous Heating Effects

See Sections 12.2.1 and 12.2.2 for information on including viscous heating eects in your model.
Including Turbulence Generation Due to Buoyancy

If you specify a non-zero gravity force (in the Operating Conditions panel), and you are modeling a non-isothermal ow, the generation of turbulent kinetic energy due to buoyancy (Gb in Equation 11.4-1) is, by default, always included in the k equation. However, FLUENT does not, by default, include the buoyancy eects on . To include the buoyancy eects on , you must turn on the Full Buoyancy Eects option under Options in the Viscous Model panel. This option is available for the three k- models and for the RSM.
Vorticity- and Strain/Vorticity-Based Production

For the Spalart-Allmaras model, you can choose either Vorticity-Based Production or Strain/Vorticity-Based Production under Spalart-Allmaras Options in the Viscous Model panel. If you choose Vorticity-Based Production, FLUENT will use Equation 11.3-8 to compute the value of the deformation tensor S; if you choose Strain/Vorticity-Based Production, it will use Equation 11.3-10. (These options will not appear unless you have activated the Spalart-Allmaras model.)
Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) Modeling

If you enabled DES for the Spalart-Allmaras model as described at the beginning of this section, FLUENT will use Equation 11.8-1 to compute the value of the length scale d. By default, the empirical constant Cdes is set to 0.65. You can change its value in the Cdes eld under Model Constants.
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Differential Viscosity Modication

In the RNG turbulence model in FLUENT, you have an option to use a dierential formula for eective viscosity e (Equation 11.4-6) to account for low-Reynolds-number eects. To enable this option, turn on Dierential Viscosity Model under RNG Options in the Viscous Model panel. (This option will not appear unless you have activated the RNG k- model.)
Swirl Modication
Once you choose the RNG model, the swirl modication takes eect, by default, for all three-dimensional ows and axisymmetric ows with swirl. The default swirl constant (s in Equation 11.4-8) is set to 0.05, which works well for weakly to moderately swirling ows. However, for strongly swirling ows, you may need to use a larger swirl constant. To change the value of the swirl constant, you must rst turn on the Swirl Dominated Flow option under RNG Options in the Viscous Model panel. (This option will not appear unless you have activated the RNG k- model.) Once you turn on the Swirl Dominated Flow option, the swirl constant s is increased to 0.07. You can change its value in the Swirl Factor eld under Model Constants.
Transitional Flows
If either of the k- models are used, you may enable a low-Reynolds-number correction to the turbulent viscosity by enabling the Transitional Flows option under k-omega Options in the Viscous Model panel. By default, this option is not enabled, and the damping coecient ( in Equation 11.5-6) is equal to 1.
Shear Flow Corrections

In the standard k- model, you also have the option of including corrections to improve the accuracy in predicting free shear ows. The Shear Flow Corrections option under k-omega Options is enabled by default in the Viscous Model panel, as these corrections are included in the standard k- model [378]. When this option is enabled, FLUENT will calculate f and f using Equations 11.5-16 and 11.5-24, respectively. If this option is disabled, f and f will be set equal to 1.
Including Pressure Gradient Effects

If the enhanced wall treatment is used, you may include the eects of pressure gradients by enabling the Pressure Gradient Eects option under Enhanced Wall Treatment Options. When this option is enabled, FLUENT will include the coecient in Equation 11.9-31.
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Modeling Turbulence
Including Thermal Effects

If the enhanced wall treatment is used, you may include thermal eects by enabling the Thermal Eects option under Enhanced Wall Treatment Options. When this option is enabled, FLUENT will include the coecient in Equation 11.9-31. will also be included in Equation 11.9-31 when the Thermal Eects option is enabled if the ideal gas law is selected for the uid density in the Materials panel.
Including the Wall Reection Term

If the RSM is used with the default model for pressure strain, FLUENT will, by default, include the wall-reection eects in the pressure-strain term. That is, FLUENT will calculate ij,w using Equation 11.6-7 and include it in Equation 11.6-4. Note that wallreection eects are not included if you have selected the quadratic pressure-strain model.
The empirical constants and the function f used in the calculation of ij,w are calibrated for simple canonical ows such as channel ows and at-plate boundary layers involving a single wall. If the ow involves multiple walls and the wall has signicant curvature (e.g., an axisymmetric pipe or curvilinear duct), the inclusion of the wall-reection term in Equation 11.6-7 may not improve the accuracy of the RSM predictions. In such cases, you can disable the wall-reection eects by turning o the Wall Reection Eects under Reynolds-Stress Options in the Viscous Model panel.
Solving the k Equation to Obtain Wall Boundary Conditions

In the RSM, FLUENT, by default, uses the explicit setting of boundary conditions for the Reynolds stresses near the walls, with the values computed with Equation 11.6-28. k is calculated by solving the k equation obtained by summing Equation 11.6-1 for normal stresses. To disable this option and use the wall boundary conditions given in Equation 11.6-29, turn o Wall B.C. from k Equation under Reynolds-Stress Options in the Viscous Model panel. (This option will not appear unless you have activated the RSM.)
Quadratic Pressure-Strain Model

To use the quadratic pressure-strain model described in Section 11.6.3: Quadratic PressureStrain Model, turn on the Quadratic Pressure-Strain Model option under Reynolds-Stress Options in the Viscous Model panel. (This option will not appear unless you have activated the RSM.) The following options are not available when the Quadratic Pressure-Strain Model is enabled: Wall Reection Eects under Reynolds-Stress Options Enhanced Wall Treatment under Near-Wall Treatment
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Subgrid-Scale Model
If you have selected the Large Eddy Simulation model, you will be able to choose which of the subgrid-scale models described in Section 11.7.2: Subgrid-Scale Models is to be used. You can choose from the Smagorinsky-Lilly, WALE, or Kinetic-Energy Transport subgridscale models. Note that the Dynamic Model is an option with the Smagorinsky-Lilly model, while Kinetic-Energy Transport model is always run as a dynamic model. (These options will not appear unless you have activated the LES model.)
Customizing the Turbulent Viscosity

If you are using the Spalart-Allmaras, k- , k-, or LES model, a user-dened function can be used to customize the turbulent viscosity. This option will enable you to modify t in the case of the Spalart-Allmaras, k- , and k- models, and incorporate completely new subgrid models in the case of the LES model. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions. In the Viscous Model panel, under User-Dened Functions, select the appropriate userdened function in the Turbulent Viscosity drop-down list. For the LES model, select the appropriate UDF in the Subgrid-Scale Turbulent Viscosity drop-down list.
Customizing the Turbulent Prandtl Numbers

If you are using the standard or realizable k- model or the standard k- model, a userdened function can be used to customize the turbulent Prandtl numbers. This option will allow you to calculate k and either or (depending on if you have enabled the appropriate k- or k- model) by using a UDF. You will also be able to calculate the value of the energy Prandtl number (Prt in Equation 11.4-23) and the Prandtl number at the wall (Prt in Equation 11.9-5) in this way. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions. In the Viscous Model panel, under User-Dened Functions, select the appropriate userdened function from the drop-down lists under Prandtl Numbers. Options include: TKE Prandtl Number, TDR Prandtl Number (k- models only), SDR Prandtl Number (k- model only), Energy Prandtl Number, and Wall Prandtl Number.
Modeling Turbulence with Non-Newtonian Fluids

If the turbulent ow involves non-Newtonian uids, you can use the define/models/ viscous/turbulence-expert/turb-non-newtonian? text command to enable the selection of non-Newtonian options for the material viscosity. See Section 8.4.5: Viscosity for Non-Newtonian Fluids for details about these options.
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Modeling Turbulence
11.11.2
Dening Turbulence Boundary Conditions
k- Models and k- Models

When you are modeling turbulent ows in FLUENT using one of the k- models or one of the k- models, you must provide the boundary conditions for k and (or k and ) in addition to other mean solution variables. The boundary conditions for k and (or k and ) at the walls are internally taken care of by FLUENT, which obviates the need for your inputs. The boundary condition inputs for k and (or k and ) you must supply to FLUENT are the ones at inlet boundaries (velocity inlet, pressure inlet, etc.). In many situations, it is important to specify correct or realistic boundary conditions at the inlets, because the inlet turbulence can signicantly aect the downstream ow. See Section 7.2.2: Determining Turbulence Parameters for details about specifying the boundary conditions for k and (or k and ) at the inlets. You may want to include the eects of the wall roughness on selected wall boundaries. In such cases, you can specify the roughness parameters (roughness height and roughness constant) in the panels for the corresponding wall boundaries (see Section 7.13.1: Setting the Roughness Parameters). Additionally, you can control whether or not to set the turbulent viscosity to zero within a laminar zone. If the uid zone in question is laminar, the text command define/ boundary-conditions/fluid will contain an option called Set Turbulent Viscosity to zero within laminar zone?. By setting this option to yes, FLUENT will set both the production term in the turbulence transport equation and t to zero. In contrast, when the Laminar Zone option is turned on in a Fluid boundary condition panel, only the production term is set to zero. See Section 7.17.1: Specifying a Laminar Zone for details about laminar zones.
Note that the laminar zone feature is also available for the Spalart-Allmaras and RSM models.

When you are modeling turbulent ows in FLUENT using the Spalart-Allmaras model, you must provide the boundary conditions for in addition to other mean solution vari ables. The boundary conditions for at the walls are internally taken care of by FLUENT, which obviates the need for your inputs. The boundary condition input for you must supply to FLUENT is the one at inlet boundaries (velocity inlet, pressure inlet, etc.). In many situations, it is important to specify correct or realistic boundary conditions at the inlets, because the inlet turbulence can signicantly aect the downstream ow. See Section 7.2.2: Determining Turbulence Parameters for details about specifying the boundary condition for at the inlets.
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You may want to include the eects of the wall roughness on selected wall boundaries. In such cases, you can specify the roughness parameters (roughness height and roughness constant) in the panels for the corresponding wall boundaries (see Section 7.13.1: Setting the Roughness Parameters).
Note that if the DES model is enabled, the wall boundary conditions will be treated the same as for the Spalart-Allmaras model. All other boundaries will be treated the same as for the LES model (see below for details about LES boundary conditions).
Reynolds Stress Model

The specication of turbulent boundary conditions for the RSM is the same as for the other turbulence models for all boundaries except at boundaries where ow enters the domain. Additional input methods are available for these boundaries and are described here. When you choose to use the RSM, the default inlet boundary condition inputs required are identical to those required when the k- model is active. You can input the turbulence quantities using any of the turbulence specication methods described in Section 7.2.2: Determining Turbulence Parameters. FLUENT then uses the specied turbulence quantities to derive the Reynolds stresses at the inlet from the assumption of isotropy of turbulence:
ui2 = ui u j
2 k 3 = 0.0
(i = 1, 2, 3)
(11.11-1) (11.11-2)
where ui2 is the normal Reynolds stress component in each direction. The boundary condition for is determined in the same manner as for the k- turbulence models (see Section 7.2.2: Determining Turbulence Parameters). To use this method, you will select K or Turbulence Intensity as the Reynolds-Stress Specication Method in the appropriate boundary condition panel. Alternately, you can directly specify the Reynolds stresses by selecting Reynolds-Stress Components as the Reynolds-Stress Specication Method in the boundary condition panel. When this option is enabled, you should input the Reynolds stresses directly. You can set the Reynolds stresses by using constant values, prole functions of coordinates (see Section 7.26: Boundary Proles), or user-dened functions (see the separate UDF Manual).
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Modeling Turbulence
Figure 11.11.2: Specifying Inlet Boundary Conditions for the Reynolds Stresses
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Large Eddy Simulation Model

It is possible to specify the magnitude of random uctuations of the velocity components at an inlet only if the velocity inlet boundary condition is selected. In this case, you must specify a Turbulence Intensity that determines the magnitude of the random perturbations on individual mean velocity components as described in Section 11.7.3: Inlet Boundary Conditions for the LES Model. For all boundary types other than velocity inlets, the boundary conditions for LES remain the same as for laminar ows.
11.11.3
Providing an Initial Guess for k and (or k and )
For ows using one of the k- models, one of the k- models, or the RSM, the converged solutions or (for unsteady calculations) the solutions after a suciently long time has elapsed should be independent of the initial values for k and (or k and ). For better convergence, however, it is benecial to use a reasonable initial guess for k and (or k and ). In general, it is recommended that you start from a fully-developed state of turbulence. When you use the enhanced wall treatment for the k- models or the RSM, it is critically important to specify fully-developed turbulence elds. Guidelines are provided below. If you were able to specify reasonable boundary conditions at the inlet, it may be a good idea to compute the initial values for k and (or k and ) in the whole domain from these boundary values. (See Section 26.15: Initializing the Solution for details.) For more complex ows (e.g., ows with multiple inlets with dierent conditions) it may be better to specify the initial values in terms of turbulence intensity. 510% is enough to represent fully-developed turbulence. k can then be computed from the turbulence intensity and the characteristic mean velocity magnitude of your problem (k = 1.5(Iuavg )2 ). You should specify an initial guess for so that the resulting eddy viscosity (C k ) is suciently large in comparison to the molecular viscosity. In fully-developed turbulence, the turbulent viscosity is roughly two orders of magnitude larger than the molecular viscosity. From this, you can compute . Note that, for the RSM, Reynolds stresses are initialized automatically using Equations 11.11-1 and 11.11-2.
2
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Modeling Turbulence
11.12 Solution Strategies for Turbulent Flow Simulations

Compared to laminar ows, simulations of turbulent ows are more challenging in many ways. For the Reynolds-averaged approach, additional equations are solved for the turbulence quantities. Since the equations for mean quantities and the turbulent quantities (t , k, , , or the Reynolds stresses) are strongly coupled in a highly non-linear fashion, it takes more computational eort to obtain a converged turbulent solution than to obtain a converged laminar solution. The LES model, while embodying a simpler, algebraic model for the subgrid-scale viscosity, requires a transient solution on a very ne mesh. The delity of the results for turbulent ows is largely determined by the turbulence model being used. Here are some guidelines that can enhance the quality of your turbulent ow simulations.
11.12.1
Mesh Generation
The following are suggestions to follow when generating the mesh for use in your turbulent ow simulation: Picture in your mind the ow under consideration using your physical intuition or any data for a similar ow situation, and identify the main ow features expected in the ow you want to model. Generate a mesh that can resolve the major features that you expect. If the ow is wall-bounded, and the wall is expected to signicantly aect the ow, take additional care when generating the mesh. You should avoid using a mesh that is too ne (for the wall function approach) or too coarse (for the enhanced wall treatment approach). See Section 11.10: Grid Considerations for Turbulent Flow Simulations for details.
11.12.2
Accuracy
The suggestions below are provided to help you obtain better accuracy in your results: Use the turbulence model that is better suited for the salient features you expect to see in the ow (see Section 11.2: Choosing a Turbulence Model). Because the mean quantities have larger gradients in turbulent ows than in laminar ows, it is recommended that you use high-order schemes for the convection terms. This is especially true if you employ a triangular or tetrahedral mesh. Note that excessive numerical diusion adversely aects the solution accuracy, even with the most elaborate turbulence model. In some ow situations involving inlet boundaries, the ow downstream of the inlet is dictated by the boundary conditions at the inlet. In such cases, you should exercise care to make sure that reasonably realistic boundary values are specied.
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11.12.3
Convergence
The suggestions below are provided to help you enhance convergence for turbulent ow calculations: Starting with excessively crude initial guesses for mean and turbulence quantities may cause the solution to diverge. A safe approach is to start your calculation using conservative (small) under-relaxation parameters and (for the coupled solvers) a conservative Courant number, and increase them gradually as the iterations proceed and the solution begins to settle down. It is also helpful for faster convergence to start with reasonable initial guesses for the k and (or k and ) elds. Particularly when the enhanced wall treatment is used, it is important to start with a suciently developed turbulence eld, as recommended in Section 11.11.3: Providing an Initial Guess for k and (or k and ), to avoid the need for an excessive number of iterations to develop the turbulence eld. When you are using the RNG k- model, an approach that might help you achieve better convergence is to obtain a solution with the standard k- model before switching to the RNG model. Due to the additional non-linearities in the RNG model, lower under-relaxation factors and (for the coupled solvers) a lower Courant number might also be necessary. Note that when you use the enhanced wall treatment, you may sometimes nd during the calculation that the residual for is reported to be zero. This happens when your ow is such that Rey is less than 200 in the entire ow domain, and is obtained from the algebraic formula (Equation 11.9-25) instead of from its transport equation.
11.12.4
RSM-Specic Solution Strategies
Using the RSM creates a high degree of coupling between the momentum equations and the turbulent stresses in the ow, and thus the calculation can be more prone to stability and convergence diculties than with the k- models. When you use the RSM, therefore, you may need to adopt special solution strategies in order to obtain a converged solution. The following strategies are generally recommended: Begin the calculations using the standard k- model. Turn on the RSM and use the k- solution data as a starting point for the RSM calculation. Use low under-relaxation factors (0.2 to 0.3) and (for the coupled solvers) a low Courant number for highly swirling ows or highly complex ows. In these cases, you may need to reduce the under-relaxation factors both for the velocities and for all of the stresses.
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Modeling Turbulence
Instructions for setting these solution parameters are provided below. If you are applying the RSM to prediction of a highly swirling ow, you will want to consider the solution strategies discussed in Section 9.4: Swirling and Rotating Flows as well.
Under-Relaxation of the Reynolds Stresses

FLUENT applies under-relaxation to the Reynolds stresses. You can set under-relaxation factors using the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... The default settings of 0.5 are recommended for most cases. You may be able to increase these settings and speed up the convergence when the RSM solution begins to converge.
Disabling Calculation Updates of the Reynolds Stresses

In some instances, you may wish to let the current Reynolds stress eld remain xed, skipping the solution of the Reynolds transport equations while solving the other transport equations. You can activate/deactivate all Reynolds stress equations in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution...
Residual Reporting for the RSM

When you use the RSM for turbulence, FLUENT reports the equation residuals for the individual Reynolds stress transport equations. You can apply the usual convergence criteria to the Reynolds stress residuals: normalized residuals in the range of 103 usually indicate a practically-converged solution. However, you may need to apply tighter convergence criteria (below 104 ) to ensure full convergence.
11.12.5
LES-Specic Solution Strategies
Large eddy simulation involves running a transient solution from some initial condition, on an appropriately ne grid, using an appropriate time step size. The solution must be run long enough to become independent of the initial condition and to enable the statistics of the ow eld to be determined. The following are suggestions to follow when running a large eddy simulation: 1. Start by running a steady state ow simulation using a Reynolds-averaged turbulence model such as standard k- , k-, Spalart-Allmaras, or even RSM. Run until the ow eld is reasonably converged and then use the solve/initialize/ init-instantaneous-vel text command to generate the instantaneous velocity
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eld out of the steady-state RANS results. This command must be executed before LES is enabled. This option is available for all RANS-based models and it will create a much more realistic initial eld for the LES run. Additionally, it will help in reducing the time needed for the LES simulation to reach a statistically stable mode. This step is optional. 2. When you enable LES, FLUENT will automatically turn on the unsteady solver option and choose the second-order implicit formulation. You will need to set the appropriate time step size and all the needed solution parameters. (See Section 26.18.1: User Inputs for Time-Dependent Problems for guidelines on setting solution parameters for transient calculations in general.) The bounded centraldierencing spatial discretization scheme will be automatically enabled for momentum equations. Both the bounded central-dierencing and pure central-dierencing schemes are available for all equations when running LES simulations. 3. Run LES until the ow becomes statistically steady. The best way to see if the ow is fully developed and statistically steady is to monitor forces and solution variables (e.g., velocity components or pressure) at selected locations in the ow. 4. Zero out the initial statistics using the solve/initialize/init-flow-statistics text command. Before you restart the solution, enable Data Sampling for Time Statistics in the Iterate panel, as described in Section 26.18.1: User Inputs for TimeDependent Problems. 5. Continue until you get statistically stable data. The duration of the simulation can be determined beforehand by estimating the mean ow residence time in the solution domain (L/U , where L is the characteristic length of the solution domain and U is a characteristic mean ow velocity). The simulation should be run for at least a few mean ow residence times. Instructions for setting the solution parameters for LES are provided below.
Temporal Discretization
FLUENT provides both rst-order and second-order temporal discretizations. For LES, the second-order discretization is recommended. Dene Models Solver...
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Modeling Turbulence
Spatial Discretization
Overly diusive schemes such as the rst-order upwind or power law scheme should be avoided, because they may unduly damp out the energy of the resolved eddies. The central-dierencing based schemes are recommended for all equations when you use the LES model. FLUENT provides two central-dierencing based schemes: pure centraldierencing and bounded central-dierencing. The bounded scheme is the default option when you select LES or DES. Solve Controls Solution...
11.13
Postprocessing for Turbulent Flows
FLUENT provides postprocessing options for displaying, plotting, and reporting various turbulence quantities, which include the main solution variables and other auxiliary quantities. Turbulence quantities that can be reported for the k- models are as follows: Turbulent Kinetic Energy (k) Turbulence Intensity Turbulent Dissipation Rate (Epsilon) Production of k Turbulent Viscosity Eective Viscosity Turbulent Viscosity Ratio Eective Thermal Conductivity Eective Prandtl Number Wall Yplus Wall Ystar Turbulent Reynolds Number (Re y) (only when the enhanced wall treatment is used for the near-wall treatment)
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11.13 Postprocessing for Turbulent Flows
Turbulence quantities that can be reported for the k- models are as follows: Turbulent Kinetic Energy (k) Turbulence Intensity Specic Dissipation Rate (Omega) Production of k Turbulent Viscosity Eective Viscosity Turbulent Viscosity Ratio Eective Thermal Conductivity Eective Prandtl Number Wall Ystar Wall Yplus Turbulence quantities that can be reported for the Spalart-Allmaras model are as follows: Modied Turbulent Viscosity Turbulent Viscosity Eective Viscosity Turbulent Viscosity Ratio Eective Thermal Conductivity Eective Prandtl Number Wall Yplus Turbulence quantities that can be reported for the RSM are as follows: Turbulent Kinetic Energy (k) Turbulence Intensity UU Reynolds Stress
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Modeling Turbulence
VV Reynolds Stress WW Reynolds Stress UV Reynolds Stress VW Reynolds Stress UW Reynolds Stress Turbulent Dissipation Rate (Epsilon) Production of k Turbulent Viscosity Eective Viscosity Turbulent Viscosity Ratio Eective Thermal Conductivity Eective Prandtl Number Wall Yplus Wall Ystar Turbulent Reynolds Number (Re y) Turbulence quantities that can be reported for the DES model are as follows: Modied Turbulent Viscosity Turbulent Viscosity Eective Viscosity Turbulent Viscosity Ratio Eective Thermal Conductivity Eective Prandtl Number Wall Yplus Relative Length Scale (DES)
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11.13 Postprocessing for Turbulent Flows
Turbulence quantities that can be reported for the LES model are as follows: Subgrid Turbulent Kinetic Energy Subgrid Turbulent Viscosity Subgrid Eective Viscosity Subgrid Turbulent Viscosity Ratio Eective Thermal Conductivity Eective Prandtl Number Wall Yplus All of these variables can be found in the Turbulence... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for their denitions.
11.13.1
Custom Field Functions for Turbulence
In addition to the quantities listed above, you can dene your own turbulence quantities using the Custom Field Function Calculator panel. Dene Custom Field Functions... The following functions may be useful: Ratio of production of k to its dissipation (Gk / ) Ratio of the mean ow to turbulent time scale, ( Sk/ ) Reynolds stresses derived from the Boussinesq formula (e.g., uv = t u ) y
11.13.2
Postprocessing LES Statistics
As described in Section 11.7: The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) Model, LES involves the solution of a transient ow eld, but it is the mean ow quantities that are of most engineering interest. If you turn on the Data Sampling for Time Statistics option in the Iterate panel, FLUENT will gather data for time statistics while performing a large eddy simulation. You can then view both the mean and the root-mean-square (RMS) values in FLUENT. See Section 26.18.4: Postprocessing for Time-Dependent Problems for details.
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Modeling Turbulence
11.13.3
Troubleshooting
You can use the postprocessing options not only for the purpose of interpreting your results but also for investigating any anomalies that may appear in the solution. For instance, you may want to plot contours of the k eld to check if there are any regions where k is erroneously large or small. You should see a high k region in the region where the production of k is large. You may want to display the turbulent viscosity ratio eld in order to see whether or not turbulence takes full eect. Usually turbulent viscosity is at least two orders of magnitude larger than molecular viscosity for fullydeveloped turbulent ows modeled using the RANS approach (i.e., not using LES). You may also want to see whether you are using a proper near-wall mesh for the enhanced wall treatment. In this case, you can display lled contours of Rey (turbulent Reynolds number) overlaid on the mesh.
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Chapter 12.
Modeling Heat Transfer
This chapter provides details about the heat transfer models available in FLUENT. Information is presented in the following sections: Section 12.1: Overview of Heat Transfer Models in FLUENT Section 12.2: Convective and Conductive Heat Transfer Section 12.3: Radiative Heat Transfer Section 12.4: Periodic Heat Transfer Section 12.5: Buoyancy-Driven Flows
12.1
Overview of Heat Transfer Models in FLUENT
The ow of thermal energy from matter occupying one region in space to matter occupying a dierent region in space is known as heat transfer. Heat transfer can occur by three main methods: conduction, convection, and radiation. Physical models involving only conduction and/or convection are the simplest, while buoyancy-driven ow, or natural convection, and radiation models are more complex. Depending on your problem, FLUENT will solve a variation of the energy equation that takes into account the heat transfer methods you have specied. FLUENT is also able to predict heat transfer in periodically repeating geometries, thus greatly reducing the required computational eort in certain cases.
12.2
Convective and Conductive Heat Transfer
FLUENT allows you to include heat transfer within the uid and/or solid regions in your model. Problems ranging from thermal mixing within a uid to conduction in composite solids can thus be handled by FLUENT using the physical models and inputs described in this section. Radiation modeling is described in Section 12.3: Radiative Heat Transfer and natural convection is described in Section 12.5: Buoyancy-Driven Flows.
12-1
Information about heat transfer is presented in the following subsections: Section 12.2.1: Theory Section 12.2.2: User Inputs for Heat Transfer Section 12.2.3: Solution Process for Heat Transfer Section 12.2.4: Reporting and Displaying Heat Transfer Quantities Section 12.2.5: Exporting Heat Flux Data
12.2.1
Theory
The Energy Equation

FLUENT solves the energy equation in the following form: (E) + t

(v(E + p)) =
ke T
hj Jj + ( e v) + Sh
(12.2-1)
where ke is the eective conductivity (k + kt , where kt is the turbulent thermal conductivity, dened according to the turbulence model being used), and Jj is the diusion ux of species j. The rst three terms on the right-hand side of Equation 12.2-1 represent energy transfer due to conduction, species diusion, and viscous dissipation, respectively. Sh includes the heat of chemical reaction, and any other volumetric heat sources you have dened. In Equation 12.2-1, E =h p v2 + 2 (12.2-2)
where sensible enthalpy h is dened for ideal gases as h=

j
Yj hj
(12.2-3)
and for incompressible ows as h=

j
Yj hj +
(12.2-4)
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12.2 Convective and Conductive Heat Transfer
In Equations 12.2-3 and 12.2-4, Yj is the mass fraction of species j and

T
hj = where Tref is 298.15 K.
Tref
cp,j dT
(12.2-5)
The Energy Equation for the Non-Premixed Combustion Model

When the non-adiabatic non-premixed combustion model is enabled, FLUENT solves the total enthalpy form of the energy equation: (H) + t (vH) = kt H + Sh cp
(12.2-6)
Under the assumption that the Lewis number (Le) = 1, the conduction and species diusion terms combine to give the rst term on the right-hand side of the above equation while the contribution from viscous dissipation appears in the non-conservative form as the second term. The total enthalpy H is dened as H=
j
Yj H j
(12.2-7)
where Yj is the mass fraction of species j and

T
Hj =
Tref,j
cp,j dT + h0 (Tref,j ) j
(12.2-8)
h0 (Tref,j ) is the formation enthalpy of species j at the reference temperature Tref,j . j
Inclusion of Pressure Work and Kinetic Energy Terms

Equation 12.2-1 includes pressure work and kinetic energy terms which are often negligible in incompressible ows. For this reason, the segregated solver by default does not include the pressure work or kinetic energy when you are solving incompressible ow. If you wish to include these terms, use the define/models/energy? text command to turn them on. Pressure work and kinetic energy are always accounted for when you are modeling compressible ow or using one of the coupled solvers.
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Inclusion of the Viscous Dissipation Terms

Equations 12.2-1 and 12.2-6 include viscous dissipation terms, which describe the thermal energy created by viscous shear in the ow. When the segregated solver is used, FLUENTs default form of the energy equation does not include them (because viscous heating is often negligible). Viscous heating will be important when the Brinkman number, Br, approaches or exceeds unity, where Br =
2 Ue kT
(12.2-9)
and T represents the temperature dierence in the system. When your problem requires inclusion of the viscous dissipation terms and you are using the segregated solver, you should activate the terms using the Viscous Heating option in the Viscous Model panel. Compressible ows typically have Br 1. Note, however, that when the segregated solver is used, FLUENT does not automatically activate the viscous dissipation if you have dened a compressible ow model. When one of the coupled solvers is used, the viscous dissipation terms are always included when the energy equation is solved.
Inclusion of the Species Diffusion Term

Equations 12.2-1 and 12.2-6 both include the eect of enthalpy transport due to species diusion. When the segregated solver is used, the term
hj Jj
is included in Equation 12.2-1 by default. If you do not want to include it, you can turn o the Diusion Energy Source option in the Species Model panel. When the non-adiabatic non-premixed combustion model is being used, this term does not explicitly appear in the energy equation, because it is included in the rst term on the right-hand side of Equation 12.2-6. When one of the coupled solvers is used, this term is always included in the energy equation.
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Energy Sources Due to Reaction

Sources of energy, Sh , in Equation 12.2-1 include the source of energy due to chemical reaction: Sh,rxn =
j
h0 j Rj Mj
(12.2-10)
where h0 is the enthalpy of formation of species j and Rj is the volumetric rate of creation j of species j. In the energy equation used for non-adiabatic non-premixed combustion (Equation 12.2-6), the heat of formation is included in the denition of enthalpy (see Equation 12.2-7), so reaction sources of energy are not included in Sh .
Energy Sources Due To Radiation

When one of the radiation models is being used, Sh in Equation 12.2-1 or 12.2-6 also includes radiation source terms. See Section 12.3: Radiative Heat Transfer for details.
Interphase Energy Sources

It should be noted that the energy sources, Sh , also include heat transfer between the continuous and the discrete phase. This is discussed further in Section 23.6: Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases.
Boundary Conditions for Heat Transfer at Walls

Heat transfer boundary conditions at walls are discussed in Section 11.9.2: Standard Wall Functions.
Energy Equation in Solid Regions

In solid regions, the energy transport equation used by FLUENT has the following form: (h) + t where h k T Sh (vh) = (k T ) + Sh (12.2-11)
= density T = sensible enthalpy, Tref cp dT = conductivity = temperature = volumetric heat source
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The second term on the left-hand side of Equation 12.2-11 represents convective energy transfer due to rotational or translational motion of the solids. The velocity eld v is computed from the motion specied for the solid zone (see Section 7.18: Solid Conditions). The terms on the right-hand side of Equation 12.2-11 are the heat ux due to conduction and volumetric heat sources within the solid, respectively.
Anisotropic Conductivity in Solids

When you use the segregated solver, FLUENT allows you to specify anisotropic conductivity for solid materials. The conduction term for an anisotropic solid has the form (kij T ) (12.2-12)
where kij is the conductivity matrix. See Section 8.5.5: Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity for Solids for details on specifying anisotropic conductivity for solid materials.
Diffusion at Inlets
The net transport of energy at inlets consists of both the convection and diusion components. The convection component is xed by the inlet temperature specied by you. The diusion component, however, depends on the gradient of the computed temperature eld. Thus the diusion component (and therefore the net inlet transport) is not specied a priori. In some cases, you may wish to specify the net inlet transport of energy rather than the inlet temperature. If you are using the segregated solver, you can do this by disabling inlet energy diusion. By default, FLUENT includes the diusion ux of energy at inlets. To turn o inlet diusion, use the define/models/energy? text command. Inlet diusion cannot be turned o if you are using one of the coupled solvers.
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12.2.2
User Inputs for Heat Transfer
When your FLUENT model includes heat transfer you need to activate the relevant models, supply thermal boundary conditions, and input material properties that govern heat transfer and/or may vary with temperature. These inputs are described in this section. The procedure for setting up a heat transfer problem is described below. (Note that this procedure includes only those steps necessary for the heat transfer model itself; you will need to set up other models, boundary conditions, etc. as usual.) 1. To activate the calculation of heat transfer, turn on the Energy Equation option in the Energy panel (Figure 12.2.1). Dene Models Energy...
Figure 12.2.1: The Energy Panel
2. (optional, segregated solver only) If you are modeling viscous ow and you want to include the viscous heating terms in the energy equation, turn on the Viscous Heating option in the Viscous Model panel. As noted in Section 12.2.1: Inclusion of the Viscous Dissipation Terms, the viscous heating terms in the energy equation are (by default) ignored by FLUENT when the segregated solver is used. (They are always included when one of the coupled solvers is used.) Viscous dissipation should be enabled when the shear stress in the uid is large (e.g., in lubrication problems) and/or in high-velocity, compressible ows (see Equation 12.2-9). Dene Models Viscous... 3. Dene thermal boundary conditions at ow inlets, ow outlets, and walls. Dene Boundary Conditions... At ow inlets and exits you will set the temperature; at walls you may use any of the following thermal conditions: Specied heat ux Specied temperature Convective heat transfer
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External radiation Combined external radiation and external convective heat transfer Section 7.13.1: Dening Thermal Boundary Conditions at Walls provides details on the model inputs that govern these thermal boundary conditions. The default thermal boundary condition at inlets is a specied temperature of 300 K; at walls the default condition is zero heat ux (adiabatic). See Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions for details about boundary condition inputs.
If your heat transfer application involves two separated uid regions, see the information provided below.
4. Dene material properties for heat transfer. Dene Materials... Heat capacity and thermal conductivity must be dened, and you can specify many properties as functions of temperature, as described in Chapter 8: Physical Properties.
If your heat transfer application involves two separated uid regions, see the information provided below.
The Temperature Floor and Ceiling

For stability reasons, FLUENT includes a limit on the predicted temperature range. The purpose of the temperature ceiling and oor is to improve the stability of calculations in which the temperature should physically lie within known limits. Sometimes intermediate solutions of the equations give rise to temperatures beyond these limits for which property denitions, etc. are not well dened. The temperature limits keep the temperatures within the expected range for your problem. If the FLUENT calculation predicts a temperature above the maximum limit, the stored temperature values are pegged at this maximum value. The default for the temperature ceiling is 5000 K. If the FLUENT calculation predicts a temperature below the minimum limit, the stored temperature values are pegged at this minimum value. The default for the temperature minimum is 1 K. If you expect the temperature in your domain to exceed 5000 K, you should use the Solution Limits panel to increase the Maximum Temperature. Solve Controls Limits...
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Modeling Heat Transfer in Two Separated Fluid Regions

If your heat transfer application involves two uid regions separated by a solid zone or a wall, as illustrated in Figure 12.2.2, you will need to dene the problem with some care. Specically: You should not use outow boundary conditions in either uid. You can establish separate uid properties by selecting a dierent uid material for each zone. (For species calculations, however, you can only select a single mixture material for the entire domain.)
uid 2
uid 1
Figure 12.2.2: Typical Counterow Heat Exchanger Involving Heat Transfer Between Two Separated Fluid Streams
12.2.3
Solution Process for Heat Transfer
Although many simple heat transfer problems can be successfully solved using the default solution parameters assumed by FLUENT, you may accelerate the convergence of your problem and/or improve the stability of the solution process using some of the guidelines provided in this section.
Under-Relaxation of the Energy Equation

When you use the segregated solver, FLUENT under-relaxes the energy equation using the under-relaxation parameter dened by you in the Solution Controls panel, as described in Section 26.10: Setting Under-Relaxation Factors. Solve Controls Solution... If you are using the non-adiabatic non-premixed combustion model, you will set the energy under-relaxation factor as usual, but you will also set an under-relaxation factor for temperature, which will be used as described below.
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FLUENT uses a default under-relaxation factor of 1.0 for the energy equation, regardless of the form in which it is solved (temperature or enthalpy). In problems where the energy eld impacts the uid ow (via temperature-dependent properties or buoyancy) you should use a lower value for the under-relaxation factor, in the range of 0.81.0. In problems where the ow eld is decoupled from the temperature eld (no temperaturedependent properties or buoyancy forces), you can usually retain the default value of 1.0.
Under-Relaxation of Temperature When the Enthalpy Equation is Solved

When the enthalpy form of the energy equation is solved (i.e., when you are using the nonadiabatic non-premixed combustion model), FLUENT also under-relaxes the temperature, updating the temperature by only a fraction of the change that would result from the change in the (under-relaxed) enthalpy values. This second level of under-relaxation can be used to good advantage when you would like to let the enthalpy eld change rapidly, but the temperature response (and its eect on uid properties) to lag. FLUENT uses a default setting of 1.0 for the under-relaxation on temperature and you can modify this setting using the Solution Controls panel.
Disabling the Species Diffusion Term

If you are solving for species transport using the segregated solver and you encounter convergence diculties, you may want to consider turning o the Diusion Energy Source option in the Species Model panel. Dene Models Species... When this option is disabled, FLUENT will neglect the eects of species diusion on the energy equation. Note that species diusion eects are always included when one of the coupled solvers is used.
Step-by-Step Solutions
Often the most ecient strategy for predicting heat transfer is to compute an isothermal ow rst and then to add the calculation of the energy equation. The procedure diers slightly, depending on whether or not the ow and heat transfer are coupled. Decoupled Flow and Heat Transfer Calculations If your ow and heat transfer are decoupled (no temperature-dependent properties or buoyancy forces), you can rst solve the isothermal ow (energy equation turned o) to yield a converged ow-eld solution and then solve the energy transport equation alone.
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Since the coupled solvers always solve the ow and energy equations together, the procedure for solving for energy alone applies only to the segregated solver.
You can temporarily turn o the ow equations or the energy equation by deselecting Energy in the Equations list in the Solution Controls panel. (See also Section 26.24.2: Stepby-Step Solution Processes.) Solve Controls Solution... Coupled Flow and Heat Transfer Calculations If your ow and heat transfer are coupled (i.e., your model includes temperature-dependent properties or buoyancy forces), you can rst solve the ow equations before turning on energy. Once you have a converged ow-eld solution, you can turn on energy and solve the ow and energy equations simultaneously to complete the heat transfer simulation.
12.2.4
Reporting and Displaying Heat Transfer Quantities
FLUENT provides several additional reporting options for simulations involving heat transfer. You can generate graphical plots or reports of the following variables/functions: Static Temperature Total Temperature Enthalpy Relative Total Temperature Rothalpy Wall Temperature (Outer Surface) Wall Temperature (Inner Surface) Total Enthalpy Total Enthalpy Deviation Entropy Total Energy Internal Energy Total Surface Heat Flux
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Surface Heat Transfer Coef. Surface Nusselt Number Surface Stanton Number The rst 12 variables listed above are contained in the Temperature... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels, and the remaining variables are in the Wall Fluxes... category. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for their denitions.
Denition of Enthalpy and Energy in Reports and Displays

The denitions of the reported values of enthalpy and energy will be dierent depending on whether the ow is compressible or incompressible. See Section 31.4: Alphabetical Listing of Field Variables and Their Denitions for a complete list of denitions.
Reporting Heat Transfer Through Boundaries

You can use the Flux Reports panel to compute the heat transfer through each boundary of the domain, or to sum the heat transfer through all boundaries to check the heat balance. Report Fluxes... It is recommended that you perform a heat balance check to ensure that your solution is truly converged. See Section 30.2: Fluxes Through Boundaries for details about generating ux reports.
Reporting Heat Transfer Through a Surface

You can use the Surface Integrals panel (described in Section 30.5: Surface Integration) to compute the heat transfer through any boundary or any surface created using the methods described in Chapter 28: Creating Surfaces for Displaying and Reporting Data. Report Surface Integrals... To report the ow rate of enthalpy Q= Hv dA (12.2-13)
choose the Mass Flow Rate option in the Surface Integrals panel, select Enthalpy (in the Temperature... category) as the Field Variable, and pick the surface(s) on which to integrate.
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Reporting Averaged Heat Transfer Coefcients

The Surface Integrals panel can also be used to generate a report of averaged heat transfer 1 coecient h on a surface ( A h dA). Report Surface Integrals... In the Surface Integrals panel, choose the Area-Weighted Average option, select Surface Heat Transfer Coef. (in the Wall Fluxes... category) as the Field Variable, and pick the surface.
12.2.5
Exporting Heat Flux Data
It is possible to export heat ux data on wall zones (including radiation) to a generic le that you can examine or use in an external program. To save a heat ux le, you will use the custom-heat-flux text command. file export custom-heat-flux Heat transfer data will be exported in the following free format for each face zone that you select for export: zone-name nfaces x_f y_f z_f A . . .
T_w
T_c
HTC
Each block of data starts with the name of the face zone (zone-name) and the number of faces in the zone (nfaces). Next there is a line for each face (i.e., nfaces lines), each containing the components of the face centroid (x f, y f, and, in 3D, z f), the face area (A), the heat transfer rate (Q), the face temperature (T w), the adjacent cell temperature (T c), and the heat transfer coecient (HTC). If the heat transfer coecient is calculated based on wall function (Equation 31.4-33), then Q is the convective heat transfer rate. Otherwise, Q will be the total heat transfer rate, including radiation heat transfer.
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12.3
Radiative Heat Transfer
Information about radiation modeling is presented in the following sections: Section 12.3.1: Introduction to Radiative Heat Transfer Section 12.3.2: Choosing a Radiation Model Section 12.3.3: The Discrete Transfer Radiation Model (DTRM) Section 12.3.4: The P-1 Radiation Model Section 12.3.5: The Rosseland Radiation Model Section 12.3.6: The Discrete Ordinates (DO) Radiation Model Section 12.3.7: The Surface-to-Surface (S2S) Radiation Model Section 12.3.8: Solar Load Model Section 12.3.9: Radiation in Combusting Flows Section 12.3.10: Overview of Using the Radiation Models Section 12.3.11: Selecting the Radiation Model Section 12.3.12: Dening the Ray Tracing for the DTRM Section 12.3.13: Computing or Reading the View Factors for the S2S Model Section 12.3.14: Dening the Angular Discretization for the DO Model Section 12.3.15: Dening Non-Gray Radiation for the DO Model Section 12.3.16: Dening Material Properties for Radiation Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions Section 12.3.18: Setting Solution Parameters for Radiation Section 12.3.19: Solving the Problem Section 12.3.20: Postprocessing Radiation Quantities
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12.3 Radiative Heat Transfer
12.3.1
Introduction to Radiative Heat Transfer
FLUENT provides ve radiation models which allow you to include radiation, with or without a participating medium, in your heat transfer simulations: Discrete transfer radiation model (DTRM) [46, 305] P-1 radiation model [52, 308] Rosseland radiation model [308] Surface-to-surface (S2S) radiation model [308] Discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model [55, 270] Heating or cooling of surfaces due to radiation and/or heat sources or sinks due to radiation within the uid phase can be included in your model using one of these radiation models. In addition to these radiation models, FLUENT also provides a solar load model that allows you to include the eects of solar radiation in your simulation.
Radiative Transfer Equation

The radiative transfer equation (RTE) for an absorbing, emitting, and scattering medium at position r in the direction s is
4 dI(r, s) s 2 T + (a + s )I(r, s) = an + ds 4 4 0
I(r, s ) (s s ) d
(12.3-1)
where
r s s s a n s I T
= = = = = = = = = = = =
position vector direction vector scattering direction vector path length absorption coecient refractive index scattering coecient Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.672 108 W/m2 -K4 ) radiation intensity, which depends on position (r) and direction (s) local temperature phase function solid angle
(a + s )s is the optical thickness or opacity of the medium. The refractive index n is important when considering radiation in semi-transparent media. Figure 12.3.1 illustrates the process of radiative heat transfer.
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Absorption and scattering loss: I (a+ s) ds
Outgoing radiation I + (dI/ds)ds
Incoming radiation (I)
Gas emission: (aT 4 ) ds /
Scattering addition
ds
Figure 12.3.1: Radiative Heat Transfer
The DTRM and the P-1, Rosseland, and DO radiation models require the absorption coecient a as input. a and the scattering coecient s can be constants, and a can also be a function of local concentrations of H2 O and CO2 , path length, and total pressure. FLUENT provides the weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model (WSGGM) for computation of a variable absorption coecient. See Section 12.3.9: Radiation in Combusting Flows for details. The discrete ordinates implementation can model radiation in semi-transparent media. The refractive index n of the medium must be provided as a part of the calculation for this type of problem. The Rosseland model also requires you to enter a refractive index, or use the default value of 1.
Applications of Radiative Heat Transfer

Typical applications well suited for simulation using radiative heat transfer include the following: Radiative heat transfer from ames Surface-to-surface radiant heating or cooling Coupled radiation, convection, and/or conduction heat transfer Radiation through windows in HVAC applications, and cabin heat transfer analysis in automotive applications Radiation in glass processing, glass ber drawing, and ceramic processing
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You should include radiative heat transfer in your simulation when the radiant heat ux, 4 4 Qrad = (Tmax Tmin ), is large compared to the heat transfer rate due to convection or conduction. Typically this will occur at high temperatures where the fourth-order dependence of the radiative heat ux on temperature implies that radiation will dominate.
12.3.2
Choosing a Radiation Model
For certain problems, one radiation model may be more appropriate than the others. When deciding which radiation model to use, consider the following: Optical thickness: The optical thickness aL is a good indicator of which model to use in your problem. Here, L is an appropriate length scale for your domain. For ow in a combustor, for example, L is the diameter of the combustion chamber. If aL 1, your best alternatives are the P-1 and Rosseland models. The P-1 model should typically be used for optical thicknesses > 1. For optical thickness > 3, the Rosseland model is cheaper and more ecient. A second-order discretization scheme is also recommended for high optical thickness cases. The DTRM and the DO model work across the range of optical thicknesses, but are substantially more expensive to use. So you should use the thick-limit models, P-1 and Rosseland, if the problem allows it. For optically thin problems (aL < 1), only the DTRM and the DO model are appropriate. Scattering and emissivity: The P-1, Rosseland, and DO models account for scattering, while the DTRM neglects it. Since the Rosseland model uses a temperature slip condition at walls, it is insensitive to wall emissivity. Particulate eects: Only the P-1 and DO models account for exchange of radiation between gas and particulates (see Equation 12.3-15). Semi-transparent walls (interior and exterior): Only the DO model allows you to model semi-transparent walls of various types (e.g., glass). Specular walls: Only the DO model allows specular reection (e.g., for dust-free mirror). Partially-specular walls: Only the DO model allows specular reection (e.g., dusty mirror). Non-gray radiation: Only the DO model allows you to compute non-gray radiation using a gray band model. Localized heat sources: In problems with localized sources of heat, the P-1 model may over-predict the radiative uxes. The DO model is probably the best suited for computing radiation for this case, although the DTRM, with a suciently large number of rays, is also acceptable.
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Enclosure radiative transfer with non-participating media: The surface-to-surface (S2S) model is suitable for this type of problem. The radiation models used with participating media may, in principle, be used to compute the surface-to-surface radiation, but they are not always ecient.
External Radiation
If you need to include radiative heat transfer from the exterior of your physical model, you can include an external radiation boundary condition in your model (see Section 7.13.1: Dening Thermal Boundary Conditions at Walls). If you are not concerned with radiation within the domain, this boundary condition can be used without activating one of the radiation models.
Advantages and Limitations of the DTRM

The primary advantages of the DTRM are threefold: it is a relatively simple model, you can increase the accuracy by increasing the number of rays, and it applies to a wide range of optical thicknesses. You should be aware of the following limitations when using the DTRM in FLUENT: The DTRM assumes that all surfaces are diuse. This means that the reection of incident radiation at the surface is isotropic with respect to solid angle. The eect of scattering is not included. The implementation assumes gray radiation. Solving a problem with a large number of rays is CPU-intensive. The DTRM model is not compatible with non-conformal interface or sliding meshes. The DTRM model is not compatible with parallel processing.
Advantages and Limitations of the P-1 Model

The P-1 model has several advantages over the DTRM. For the P-1 model, the RTE (Equation 12.3-1) is a diusion equation, which is easy to solve with little CPU demand. The model includes the eect of scattering. For combustion applications where the optical thickness is large, the P-1 model works reasonably well. In addition, the P-1 model can easily be applied to complicated geometries with curvilinear coordinates. You should be aware of the following limitations when using the P-1 radiation model: The P-1 model assumes that all surfaces are diuse. This means that the reection of incident radiation at the surface is isotropic with respect to the solid angle.
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The implementation assumes gray radiation. There may be a loss of accuracy, depending on the complexity of the geometry, if the optical thickness is small. The P-1 model tends to over-predict radiative uxes from localized heat sources or sinks.
Advantages and Limitations of the Rosseland Model

The Rosseland model has two advantages over the P-1 model. Since it does not solve an extra transport equation for the incident radiation (as the P-1 model does), the Rosseland model is faster than the P-1 model and requires less memory. The Rosseland model can only be used for optically thick media. It is recommended for use when the optical thickness exceeds 3. Note also that the Rosseland model is not available when one of the coupled solvers is being used; it is available only with the segregated solver.
Advantages and Limitations of the DO Model

The DO model spans the entire range of optical thicknesses, and allows you to solve problems ranging from surface-to-surface radiation to participating radiation in combustion problems. It also allows the solution of radiation at semi-transparent walls. Computational cost is moderate for typical angular discretizations, and memory requirements are modest. The current implementation is restricted to either gray radiation or non-gray radiation using a gray-band model. Solving a problem with a ne angular discretization may be CPU-intensive. The non-gray implementation in FLUENT is intended for use with participating media with a spectral absorption coecient a that varies in a stepwise fashion across spectral bands, but varies smoothly within the band. Glass, for example, displays banded behavior of this type. The current implementation does not model the behavior of gases such as carbon dioxide or water vapor, which absorb and emit energy at distinct wave numbers [231]. The modeling of non-gray gas radiation is still an evolving eld. However, some researchers [100] have used gray-band models to model gas behavior by approximating the absorption coecients within each band as a constant. The implementation in FLUENT can be used in this fashion if desired. The non-gray implementation in FLUENT is compatible with all the models with which the gray implementation of the DO model can be used. Thus, it is possible to include scattering, anisotropy, semi-transparent media, and particulate eects. However, the nongray implementation assumes a constant absorption coecient within each wavelength band. The weighted sum of gray gases model (WSGGM) cannot be used to specify
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the absorption coecient in each band. The implementation allows the specication of spectral emissivity at walls. The emissivity is assumed to be constant within each band.
Advantages and Limitations of the S2S Model

The surface-to-surface radiation model is good for modeling the enclosure radiative transfer without participating media (e.g., spacecraft heat rejection system, solar collector systems, radiative space heaters, and automotive underhood cooling). In such cases, the methods for participating radiation may not always be ecient. As compared to the DTRM and the DO radiation model, the S2S model has a much faster time per iteration, although the view factor calculation itself is CPU-intensive. You should be aware of the following limitations when using the S2S radiation model: The S2S model assumes that all surfaces are diuse. The implementation assumes gray radiation. The storage and memory requirements increase very rapidly as the number of surface faces increases. This can be minimized by using a cluster of surface faces, although the CPU time is independent of the number of clusters that are used. The S2S model cannot be used to model participating radiation problems. The S2S model does not support non-conformal interfaces, hanging nodes, or grid adaption. The S2S model cannot be used if your model contains periodic or symmetry boundary conditions. The S2S model cannot be used with 2d axisymmetric geometries. The S2S model should not be used for models with multiple enclosures. (Only single enclosure geometries can be treated using the S2S model.) Use the DO model for multiple enclosure cases.
12.3.3
The Discrete Transfer Radiation Model (DTRM)
The main assumption of the DTRM is that the radiation leaving the surface element in a certain range of solid angles can be approximated by a single ray. This section provides details about the equations used in the DTRM.
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The DTRM Equations

The equation for the change of radiant intensity, dI, along a path, ds, can be written as aT 4 dI + aI = ds where a I T = = = = gas absorption coecient intensity gas local temperature Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.672 108 W/m2 -K4 ) (12.3-2)
Here, the refractive index is assumed to be unity. The DTRM integrates Equation 12.3-2 along a series of rays emanating from boundary faces. If a is constant along the ray, then I(s) can be estimated as I(s) = T 4 (1 eas ) + I0 eas (12.3-3)
where I0 is the radiant intensity at the start of the incremental path, which is determined by the appropriate boundary condition (see the description of boundary conditions, below). The energy source in the uid due to radiation is then computed by summing the change in intensity along the path of each ray that is traced through the uid control volume. The ray tracing technique used in the DTRM can provide a prediction of radiative heat transfer between surfaces without explicit view-factor calculations. The accuracy of the model is limited mainly by the number of rays traced and the computational grid.
Ray Tracing
The ray paths are calculated and stored prior to the uid ow calculation. At each radiating face, rays are red at discrete values of the polar and azimuthal angles (see Figure 12.3.2). To cover the radiating hemisphere, is varied from 0 to and from 0 2 to 2. Each ray is then traced to determine the control volumes it intercepts as well as its length within each control volume. This information is then stored in the radiation le, which must be read in before the uid ow calculations begin.
Clustering
DTRM is computationally very expensive when there are too many surfaces to trace rays from and too many volumes crossed by the rays. To reduce the computational time, the number of radiating surfaces and absorbing cells is reduced by clustering surfaces and cells into surface and volume clusters. The volume clusters are formed by starting from a cell and simply adding its neighbors and their neighbors until a specied number of
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cells per volume cluster is collected. Similarly, surface clusters are made by starting from a face and adding its neighbors and their neighbors until a specied number of faces per surface cluster is collected. The incident radiation ux, qin , and the volume sources are calculated for the surface and volume clusters respectively. These values are then distributed to the faces and cells in the clusters to calculate the wall and cell temperatures. Since the radiation source terms are highly non-linear (proportional to the fourth power of temperature), care must be taken to calculate the average temperatures of surface and volume clusters and distribute the ux and source terms appropriately among the faces and cells forming the clusters. The surface and volume cluster temperatures are obtained by area and volume averaging as shown in the following equations:
f 4 Af Tf Af 1/4
Tsc =
(12.3-4)
1/4
Tvc =
Vc Tc4 Vc
(12.3-5)
where Tsc and Tvc are the temperatures of the surface and volume clusters respectively, Af and Tf are the area and temperature of face f , and Vc and Tc are the volume and temperature of cell c. The summations are carried over all faces of a surface cluster and all cells of a volume cluster.
P t
Figure 12.3.2: Angles and Dening the Hemispherical Solid Angle About a Point P
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Boundary Condition Treatment for the DTRM at Walls

The radiation intensity approaching a point on a wall surface is integrated to yield the incident radiative heat ux, qin , as qin = Iin s nd (12.3-6)
sn>0
where is the hemispherical solid angle, Iin is the intensity of the incoming ray, s is the ray direction vector, and n is the normal pointing out of the domain. The net radiative heat ux from the surface, qout , is then computed as a sum of the reected portion of qin and the emissive power of the surface: qout = (1
w )qin
4 w Tw
(12.3-7)
where Tw is the surface temperature of the point P on the surface and w is the wall emissivity which you input as a boundary condition. FLUENT incorporates the radiative heat ux (Equation 12.3-7) in the prediction of the wall surface temperature. Equation 12.3-7 also provides the surface boundary condition for the radiation intensity I0 of a ray emanating from the point P , as I0 = qout (12.3-8)
Boundary Condition Treatment for the DTRM at Flow Inlets and Exits
The net radiative heat ux at ow inlets and outlets is computed in the same manner as at walls, as described above. FLUENT assumes that the emissivity of all ow inlets and outlets is 1.0 (black body absorption) unless you choose to redene this boundary treatment. FLUENT includes an option that allows you to use dierent temperatures for radiation and convection at inlets and outlets. This can be useful when the temperature outside the inlet or outlet diers considerably from the temperature in the enclosure. See Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions for details.
12.3.4
The P-1 Radiation Model
The P-1 radiation model is the simplest case of the more general P-N model, which is based on the expansion of the radiation intensity I into an orthogonal series of spherical harmonics [52, 308]. This section provides details about the equations used in the P-1 model.
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The P-1 Model Equations

As mentioned above, the P-1 radiation model is the simplest case of the P-N model. If only four terms in the series are used, the following equation is obtained for the radiation ux qr : qr = 1 G 3(a + s ) Cs (12.3-9)
where a is the absorption coecient, s is the scattering coecient, G is the incident radiation, and C is the linear-anisotropic phase function coecient, described below. After introducing the parameter = Equation 12.3-9 simplies to qr = G The transport equation for G is ( G) aG + 4aT 4 = SG (12.3-12) (12.3-11) 1 (3(a + s ) Cs ) (12.3-10)
where is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and SG is a user-dened radiation source. FLUENT solves this equation to determine the local radiation intensity when the P-1 model is active. Combining Equations 12.3-11 and 12.3-12, the following equation is obtained: qr = aG 4aT 4 (12.3-13)
The expression for qr can be directly substituted into the energy equation to account for heat sources (or sinks) due to radiation.
Anisotropic Scattering
Included in the P-1 radiation model is the capability for modeling anisotropic scattering. FLUENT models anisotropic scattering by means of a linear-anisotropic scattering phase function: (s s) = 1 + Cs s (12.3-14)
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Here, s is the unit vector in the direction of scattering, and s is the unit vector in the direction of the incident radiation. C is the linear-anisotropic phase function coecient, which is a property of the uid. C ranges from 1 to 1. A positive value indicates that more radiant energy is scattered forward than backward, and a negative value means that more radiant energy is scattered backward than forward. A zero value denes isotropic scattering (i.e., scattering that is equally likely in all directions), which is the default in FLUENT. You should modify the default value only if you are certain of the anisotropic scattering behavior of the material in your problem.
Particulate Effects in the P-1 Model

When your FLUENT model includes a dispersed second phase of particles, you can include the eect of particles in the P-1 radiation model. Note that when particles are present, FLUENT ignores scattering in the gas phase. (That is, Equation 12.3-15 assumes that all scattering is due to particles.) For a gray, absorbing, emitting, and scattering medium containing absorbing, emitting, and scattering particles, the transport equation for the incident radiation can be written as ( G) + 4 a T 4 + Ep (a + ap )G = 0
(12.3-15)
where Ep is the equivalent emission of the particles and ap is the equivalent absorption coecient. These are dened as follows:
N 4 Tpn V
Ep = lim and
V 0
pn Apn n=1
(12.3-16)
ap = lim
V 0
pn n=1
Apn V
(12.3-17)
In Equations 12.3-16 and 12.3-17, pn , Apn , and Tpn are the emissivity, projected area, and temperature of particle n. The summation is over N particles in volume V . These quantities are computed during particle tracking in FLUENT. The projected area Apn of particle n is dened as Apn = d2 pn 4 (12.3-18)
where dpn is the diameter of the nth particle.
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The quantity in Equation 12.3-15 is dened as = 1 3(a + ap + p ) (12.3-19)
where the equivalent particle scattering factor is dened as

N
p = lim
V 0
(1 fpn )(1
n=1
pn )
Apn V
(12.3-20)
and is computed during particle tracking. In Equation 12.3-20, fpn is the scattering factor associated with the nth particle. Heat sources (sinks) due to particle radiation are included in the energy equation as follows: qr = 4 a T 4 + Ep + (a + ap )G
(12.3-21)
Boundary Condition Treatment for the P-1 Model at Walls

To get the boundary condition for the incident radiation equation, the dot product of the outward normal vector n and Equation 12.3-11 is computed:
qr n = G n G qr,w = n
(12.3-22) (12.3-23)
Thus the ux of the incident radiation, G, at a wall is qr,w . The wall radiative heat ux is computed using the following boundary condition:
Iw (r, s) = fw (r, s) T 4 fw (r, s) = w w + w I(r, s)
(12.3-24) (12.3-25)
where w is the wall reectivity. The Marshak boundary condition is then used to eliminate the angular dependence [253]:
2 0 2
Iw (r, s) n s d =
fw (r, s) n s d
(12.3-26)
12-26
Substituting Equations 12.3-24 and 12.3-25 into Equation 12.3-26 and performing the integrations yields 4
4 Tw w
qr,w =
(1 w )Gw 2(1 + w )
w,
(12.3-27) and Equa-
If it is assumed that the walls are diuse gray surfaces, then w = 1 tion 12.3-27 becomes qr,w =
w 4 4Tw Gw
2 (2
w)
(12.3-28)
Equation 12.3-28 is used to compute qr,w for the energy equation and for the incident radiation equation boundary conditions.
Boundary Condition Treatment for the P-1 Model at Flow Inlets and Exits
The net radiative heat ux at ow inlets and outlets is computed in the same manner as at walls, as described above. FLUENT assumes that the emissivity of all ow inlets and outlets is 1.0 (black body absorption) unless you choose to redene this boundary treatment. FLUENT includes an option that allows you to use dierent temperatures for radiation and convection at inlets and outlets. This can be useful when the temperature outside the inlet or outlet diers considerably from the temperature in the enclosure. See Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions for details.
12.3.5
The Rosseland Radiation Model
The Rosseland or diusion approximation for radiation is valid when the medium is optically thick ((a + s )L 1), and is recommended for use in problems where the optical thickness is greater than 3. It can be derived from the P-1 model equations, with some approximations. This section provides details about the equations used in the Rosseland model.
The Rosseland Model Equations

As with the P-1 model, the radiative heat ux vector in a gray medium can be approximated by Equation 12.3-11: qr = G where is given by Equation 12.3-10. (12.3-29)
12-27
The Rosseland radiation model diers from the P-1 model in that the Rosseland model assumes that the intensity is the black-body intensity at the gas temperature. (The P-1 model actually calculates a transport equation for G.) Thus G = 4n2 T 4 , where n is the refractive index. Substituting this value for G into Equation 12.3-29 yields qr = 16n2 T 3 T (12.3-30)
Since the radiative heat ux has the same form as the Fourier conduction law, it is possible to write
q = qc + qr = (k + kr ) T kr = 16n2 T 3
(12.3-31) (12.3-32) (12.3-33)
where k is the thermal conductivity and kr is the radiative conductivity. Equation 12.3-31 is used in the energy equation to compute the temperature eld.
The Rosseland model allows for anisotropic scattering, using the same phase function (Equation 12.3-14) described for the P-1 model in Section 12.3.4: Anisotropic Scattering.
Boundary Condition Treatment for the Rosseland Model at Walls

Since the diusion approximation is not valid near walls, it is necessary to use a temperature slip boundary condition. The radiative heat ux at the wall boundary, qr,w , is dened using the slip coecient :
4 4 Tw Tg
qr,w =
(12.3-34)
where Tw is the wall temperature, Tg is the temperature of the gas at the wall, and the slip coecient is approximated by a curve t to the plot given in [308]:
1/2
2x3 +3x2 12x+7 54
Nw < 0.01 0.01 Nw 10 Nw > 10
(12.3-35)
12-28
where Nw is the conduction to radiation parameter at the wall: Nw = and x = log10 Nw . k(a + s ) 3 4Tw (12.3-36)
Boundary Condition Treatment for the Rosseland Model at Flow Inlets and Exits
No special treatment is required at ow inlets and outlets for the Rosseland model. The radiative heat ux at these boundaries can be determined using Equation 12.3-31. FLUENT includes an option that allows you to use dierent temperatures for radiation and convection at inlets and outlets. This can be useful when the temperature outside the inlet or outlet diers considerably from the temperature in the enclosure. See Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions for details.
12.3.6
The Discrete Ordinates (DO) Radiation Model
The discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model solves the radiative transfer equation (RTE) for a nite number of discrete solid angles, each associated with a vector direction s xed in the global Cartesian system (x, y, z). The neness of the angular discretization is controlled by you, analogous to choosing the number of rays for the DTRM. Unlike the DTRM, however, the DO model does not perform ray tracing. Instead, the DO model transforms Equation 12.3-1 into a transport equation for radiation intensity in the spatial coordinates (x, y, z). The DO model solves for as many transport equations as there are directions s. The solution method is identical to that used for the uid ow and energy equations. The implementation in FLUENT uses a conservative variant of the discrete ordinates model called the nite-volume scheme [55, 270], and its extension to unstructured meshes [236].
The DO Model Equations

The DO model considers the radiative transfer equation (RTE) in the direction s as a eld equation. Thus, Equation 12.3-1 is written as
(I(r, s)s) + (a + s )I(r, s) = an2
T 4 s + 4
4 0
I(r, s ) (s s ) d
(12.3-37)
12-29
FLUENT also allows the modeling of non-gray radiation using a gray-band model. The RTE for the spectral intensity I (r, s) can be written as
(I (r, s)s) + (a + s )I (r, s) = a n2 Ib +
s 4
4 0
I (r, s ) (s s ) d
(12.3-38)
Here is the wavelength, a is the spectral absorption coecient, and Ib is the black body intensity given by the Planck function. The scattering coecient, the scattering phase function, and the refractive index n are assumed independent of wavelength. The non-gray DO implementation divides the radiation spectrum into N wavelength bands, which need not be contiguous or equal in extent. The wavelength intervals are supplied by you, and correspond to values in vacuum (n = 1). The RTE is integrated over each wavelength interval, resulting in transport equations for the quantity I , the radiant energy contained in the wavelength band . The behavior in each band is assumed gray. The black body emission in the wavelength band per unit solid angle is written as [F (0 n2 T ) F (0 n1 T )]n2 T 4 (12.3-39)
where F (0 nT ) is the fraction of radiant energy emitted by a black body [231] in the wavelength interval from 0 to at temperature T in a medium of refractive index n. 2 and 1 are the wavelength boundaries of the band. The total intensity I(r, s) in each direction s at position r is computed using I(r, s) =
k
Ik (r, s)k
(12.3-40)
where the summation is over the wavelength bands. Boundary conditions for the non-gray DO model are applied on a band basis. The treatment within a band is the same as that for the gray DO model.
Angular Discretization and Pixelation

Each octant of the angular space 4 at any spatial location is discretized into N N solid angles of extent i , called control angles. The angles and are the polar and azimuthal angles respectively, and are measured with respect to the global Cartesian system (x, y, z) as shown in Figure 12.3.3. The and extents of the control angle, and , are constant. In two-dimensional calculations, only four octants are solved due to symmetry, making a total of 4N N directions in all. In three-dimensional calculations,
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y x
Figure 12.3.3: Angular Coordinate System
a total of 8N N directions are solved. In the case of the non-gray model, 4N N or 8N N equations are solved for each band. When Cartesian meshes are used, it is possible to align the global angular discretization with the control volume face, as shown in Figure 12.3.4. For generalized unstructured meshes, however, control volume faces do not in general align with the global angular discretization, as shown in Figure 12.3.5, leading to the problem of control angle overhang [236].
incoming directions C0 q n q C1
outgoing directions face f

Figure 12.3.4: Face with No Control Angle Overhang
Essentially, control angles can straddle the control volume faces, so that they are partially incoming and partially outgoing to the face. Figure 12.3.6 shows a 3D example of a face
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overhanging control angle incoming directions C0 q q C1 outgoing directions face f

Figure 12.3.5: Face with Control Angle Overhang
with control angle overhang. The control volume face cuts the sphere representing the angular space at an arbitrary angle. The line of intersection is a great circle. Control angle overhang may also occur as a result of reection and refraction. It is important in these cases to correctly account for the overhanging fraction. This is done through the use of pixelation [236]. Each overhanging control angle is divided into Np Np pixels, as shown in Figure 12.3.7. The energy contained in each pixel is then treated as incoming or outgoing to the face. The inuence of overhang can thus be accounted for within the pixel resolution. FLUENT allows you to choose the pixel resolution. For problems involving gray-diuse radiation, the default pixelation of 11 is usually sucient. For problems involving symmetry, periodic, specular, or semi-transparent boundaries, a pixelation of 33 is recommended. You should be aware, however, that increasing the pixelation adds to the cost of computation.
The DO implementation in FLUENTadmits a variety of scattering phase functions. You can choose an isotropic phase function, a linear anisotropic phase function, a DeltaEddington phase function, or a user-dened phase function. The linear anisotropic phase function is described in Equation 12.3-14. The Delta-Eddington function takes the following form: (s s ) = 2f (s s ) + (1 f )(1 + Cs s ) (12.3-41)
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outgoing directions z overhanging control angle
y x
incoming directions
control volume face
Figure 12.3.6: Face with Control Angle Overhang (3D)
control angle i
si
control volume face
pixel
Figure 12.3.7: Pixelation of Control Angle
12-33
Here, f is the forward-scattering factor and (s s ) is the Dirac delta function. The f term essentially cancels a fraction f of the out-scattering; thus, for f = 1, the DeltaEddington phase function will cause the intensity to behave as if there is no scattering at all. C is the asymmetry factor. When the Delta-Eddington phase function is used, you will specify values for f and C. When a user-dened function is used to specify the scattering phase function, FLUENT assumes the phase function to be of the form (s s ) = 2f (s s ) + (1 f ) (s s ) The user-dened function will specify and the forward-scattering factor f . The scattering phase functions available for gray radiation can also be used for non-gray radiation. However, the scattered energy is restricted to stay within the band. (12.3-42)
Particulate Effects in the DO Model

The DO model allows you to include the eect of a discrete second phase of particulates on radiation. In this case, FLUENT will neglect all other sources of scattering in the gas phase. The contribution of the particulate phase appears in the RTE as:
(Is) + (a + ap + p )I(r, s) = an
2 T
+ Ep +
p 4
4 0
I(r, s ) (s s ) d (12.3-43)
where ap is the equivalent absorption coecient due to the presence of particulates, and is given by Equation 12.3-17. The equivalent emission Ep is given by Equation 12.3-16. The equivalent particle scattering factor p , dened in Equation 12.3-20, is used in the scattering terms. For non-gray radiation, absorption, emission, and scattering due to the particulate phase are included in each wavelength band for the radiation calculation. Particulate emission and absorption terms are also included in the energy equation.
Boundary Condition Treatment at Opaque Walls

The discrete ordinates radiation model allows the specication of opaque walls that are interior to a domain (with adjacent uid or solid zones on both sides of the wall), or external to the domain (with an adjacent uid or solid zone on one side, only). Opaque walls are treated as gray if gray radiation is being computed, or non-gray if the non-gray DO model is being used. Figure 12.3.8 shows a schematic of radiation on an opaque wall in FLUENT.
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Medium a Adjacent Fluid or Solid q in, a reflected, specular
emission q
absorbed
n q in, a reflected, diffuse
q in, a
Figure 12.3.8: DO Radiation on Opaque Wall
12-35
The diagram in Figure 12.3.8 shows incident radiation qin,a on side a of an opaque wall. Some of the radiant energy is reected diusely and specularly, depending on the diuse fraction fd for side a of the wall that you specify as a boundary condition. Some of the incident radiation is absorbed at the surface of the wall and some radiation is emitted from the wall surface as shown in Figure 12.3.8. The amount of incident radiation absorbed at the wall surface and the amount emitted back depends on the emissivity of that surface and the diuse fraction. For non-gray DO models, you must specify internal emissivity for each wavelength band. Radiation is not transmitted through an opaque wall. Radiant incident energy that impacts an opaque wall can be reected back to the surrounding medium and absorbed by the wall. The radiation that is reected can be diusely reected and/or specularly reected, depending on the diuse fraction fd . If qin is the amount of radiative energy incident on the opaque wall, then the following general quantities are computed by FLUENT for opaque walls: emission from the wall surface = n2 diusely reected energy = fd (1
4 w Tw w )qin
specularly reected energy = (1 fd )qin absorption at the wall surface = fd

w qin
where fd is the diuse fraction, n is the refractive index of the adjacent medium, the wall emissivity, is Boltzmanns Constant, and Tw is the wall temperature.
is
There is no emission or absorption in the specular component of reected energy for an opaque wall surface.
Note that although FLUENT uses emissivity in its computation of radiation quantities, it is not available for postprocessing. Absorption at the wall surface assumes that the absorptivity is equal to the emissivity. For a purely diused wall, fd is equal to 1 and there is no specularly reected energy. Similarly, for a purely specular wall, fd is equal to 0 and there is no diusely reected energy. A diuse fraction between 0 and 1 will result in partially diuse and partially reected energy.
Note that in practice, fully specular surfaces (diuse fraction = 0) do have some emission and absorption occurring, albeit very low. To dene a problem that has a purely specular surface with emissivity, you can set the internal emissivity to 1 and set the diuse fraction to the intended emissivity. To dene a problem that has a partially-specular surface, set the internal emissivity to suit the net surface emissivity (not necessarily 0) that you expect to achieve (internal emissivity = net emissivity/diuse fraction).
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Gray Diffuse Walls For gray diuse radiation, the incident radiative heat ux, qin , at the wall is qin = Iin s nd (12.3-44)
sn>0
The net radiative ux leaving the surface is given by qout = (1

w )qin
+ n2
4 w Tw
(12.3-45)
where n is the refractive index of the medium next to the wall, w is the wall emissivity, is Boltzmanns Constant, and Tw is the wall temperature. This equation is also valid for specular radiation with emissivity = 0. The boundary intensity for all outgoing directions s at the wall is given by I0 = Non-Gray Diffuse Walls There is a special set of equations that apply uniquely to non-gray diuse opaque walls. These equations assume that the absorptivity is equal to the emissivity for the wall surface For non-gray diuse radiation, the incident radiative heat ux qin, in the band at the wall is qin, = Iin, s nd (12.3-47) qout (12.3-46)
sn>0
The net radiative ux leaving the surface in the band is given by qout, = (1
w )qin,
w [F (0
4 n2 Tw ) F (0 n1 Tw )]n2 Tw
(12.3-48)
where w is the wall emissivity in the band. F (n, , T ) provides the Planck distribution function. The boundary intensity for all outgoing directions s in the band at the wall is given by I0 = qout, (12.3-49)
12-37
Boundary Condition Treatment at Semi-Transparent Walls

FLUENT allows the specication of interior and exterior semi-transparent walls for the DO model. In the case of interior semi-transparent walls, incident radiation can pass through the wall and be transmitted to the adjacent medium (and possibly refracted), it can be reected back into the surrounding medium, and absorbed through the wall thickness. Transmission and reection can be diuse and/or specular. You specify the diuse fraction for all transmitted and reected radiation; the rest is treated specularly. For exterior semi-transparent walls, there are two possible sources of radiation on the boundary wall: an irradiation beam from outside the computational domain and incident radiation from cells in adjacent uid or solid zones. For non-gray radiation, semi-transparent wall boundary conditions are applied on a perband basis. The radiant energy within a band is transmitted, reected, and refracted as in the gray case; there is no transmission, reection, or refraction of radiant energy from one band to another. By default the DO equations are solved in all uid zones, but not in any solid zones. Therefore, if you have an adjacent solid zone for your thin wall, you will need to specify the solid zone as participating in radiation in the Solid panel as part of the boundary condition setup.
If you are interested in the detailed temperature distribution inside your semi-transparent media, then you will need to model a semi-transparent wall as a solid zone with adjacent uid zone(s), and treat the solid as a semi-transparent medium. This is discussed in a subsequent section.
Semi-Transparent Interior Walls Figure 12.3.9 shows a schematic of an interior (two-sided) wall that is treated as semitransparent in FLUENT and has zero thickness. Incident radiant energy depicted by qin,a can pass through the semi-transparent wall if and only if the contiguous uid or solid cell zones participate in radiation, thereby allowing the radiation to be coupled. Radiation coupling is set when a wall is specied as semi-transparent. Note that by default, radiation is not coupled and you will need to explicitly specify radiation coupling on the interior wall by changing the boundary condition type to semi-transparent in the Wall panel (under the Radiation tab). Incident radiant energy that is transmitted through a semi-transparent wall can be transmitted specularly and diusely. Radiation can also be reected at the interior wall back to the surrounding medium if the refractive index na for the uid zone that represents medium a is dierent than the refractive index nb for medium b. Reected radiation can be reected specularly and diusely. The fraction of diuse versus specular radiation that is transmitted and reected depends on the diuse fraction for the wall. The special cases of purely diuse and purely specular transmission and reection on semi-transparent
12-38
Medium a Adjacent Fluid or Solid
f (for side a) d
f d (for side b)
Medium b Adjacent Fluid or Solid
q in, a reflected, specular q in, a transmitted, specular, refracted n q in, a reflected, diffuse (fd used is for side a) q in, a q in, a transmitted, diffuse (f used is for side a) d
na
nb
Figure 12.3.9: DO Radiation on Interior Semi-transparent Wall
12-39
walls is presented in the following sections. If the semi-transparent wall has thickness, then the thickness and the absorption coecient determine the absorptivity of the thin wall. If either the wall thickness or absorption coecient is set to 0, then the wall has no absorptivity. Although incident radiation can be absorbed in a semi-transparent wall that has thickness, note that the absorbed radiation ux does not aect the energy equation. FLUENT does not consider emission from semi-transparent walls except for the case when a specied temperature boundary condition is dened Specular Semi-Transparent Walls Consider the special case for a semi-transparent wall, when the diuse fraction fd is equal to 0 and all of the transmitted and reected radiant energy at the semi-transparent wall is purely specular. Figure 12.3.10 shows a ray traveling from a semi-transparent medium a with refractive index na to a semi-transparent medium b with a refractive index nb in the direction s. Surface a of the interface is the side that faces medium a; similarly, surface b faces medium b. The interface normal n is assumed to point into side a. We distinguish between the intensity Ia (s), the intensity in the direction s on side a of the interface, and the corresponding quantity on the side b, Ib (s).
s medium b
st b
medium a s
a n sr
n b > na
Figure 12.3.10: Reection and Refraction of Radiation at the Interface Between Two Semi-Transparent Media
12-40
A part of the energy incident on the interface is reected, and the rest is transmitted. The reection is specular, so that the direction of reected radiation is given by sr = s 2 (s n) n (12.3-50)
The radiation transmitted from medium a to medium b undergoes refraction. The direction of the transmitted energy, st , is given by Snells law: sin b = na sin a nb (12.3-51)
where a is the angle of incidence and b is the angle of transmission, as shown in Figure 12.3.10. We also dene the direction s = st 2 (st n) n shown in Figure 12.3.10. The interface reectivity on side a [231] 1 ra (s) = 2 na cos b nb cos a na cos b + nb cos a
2
(12.3-52)
1 + 2
na cos a nb cos b na cos a + nb cos b
(12.3-53)
represents the fraction of incident energy transferred from s to sr . The boundary intensity Iw,a (sr ) in the outgoing direction sr on side a of the interface is determined from the reected component of the incoming radiation and the transmission from side b. Thus Iw,a (sr ) = ra (s)Iw,a (s) + b (s )Iw,b (s ) (12.3-54)
where b (s ) is the transmissivity of side b in direction s . Similarly, the outgoing intensity in the direction st on side b of the interface, Iw,b (st ), is given by Iw,b (st ) = rb (s )Iw,b (s ) + a (s)Iw,a (s) (12.3-55)
For the case na < nb , the energy transmitted from medium a to medium b in the incoming solid angle 2 must be refracted into a cone of apex angle c (see Figure 12.3.11) where c = sin1 na nb (12.3-56)
12-41
medium b
medium a
n b > na
Figure 12.3.11: Critical Angle c
Similarly, the transmitted component of the radiant energy going from medium b to medium a in the cone of apex angle c is refracted into the outgoing solid angle 2. For incident angles greater than c , total internal reection occurs and all the incoming energy is reected specularly back into medium b. The equations presented above can be applied to the general case of interior semi-transparent walls that is shown in Figure 12.3.9. When medium b is external to the domain as in the case of an external semi-transparent wall (Figure 12.3.12), Iw,b (s ) is given in Equation 12.3-54 as a part of the boundary condition inputs. You supply this incoming irradiation ux in terms of its magnitude, beam direction, and the solid angle over which the radiative ux is to be applied. Note that the refractive index of the external medium is assumed to be 1.
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Diffuse Semi-Transparent Walls Consider the special case for a semi-transparent wall, when the diuse fraction fd is equal to 1 and all of the transmitted and reected radiant energy at the semi-transparent wall is purely diuse. In many engineering problems, the semi-transparent interface may be a diuse reector. For such a case, the interfacial reectivity r(s) is assumed independent of s, and equal to the hemispherically averaged value rd . For n = na /nb > 1, rd,a and rd,b are given by [309]
rd,a = 1 rd,b
(1 rd,b ) n2 1 (3n + 1)(n 1) n2 (n2 1)2 n1 = + + ln 2 2 + 1)3 2 6(n + 1) (n n+1 2n3 (n2 + 2n 1) 8n4 (n4 + 1) + 2 ln(n) (n2 + 1)(n4 1) (n + 1)(n4 1)2
(12.3-57)
(12.3-58)
The boundary intensity for all outgoing directions on side a of the interface is given by Iw,a = Similarly for side b, Iw,b = where rd,b qin,b + d,a qin,a (12.3-60) rd,a qin,a + d,b qin,b (12.3-59)
qin,a = qin,b =
4
Iw,a s nd,
sn<0
(12.3-61) (12.3-62)
Iw,b s nd,
sn0
When medium b is external to the domain as in the case of an external semi-transparent wall (Figure 12.3.12), qin,b is given as a part of the boundary condition inputs. You supply this incoming irradiation ux in terms of its magnitude, beam direction, and the solid angle over which the radiative ux is to be applied. Note that the refractive index of the external medium is assumed to be 1.
12-43
Partially Diffuse Semi-Transparent Walls When the diuse fraction fd that you enter for a semi-transparent wall is between 0 and 1, the wall is partially diuse and partially specular. In this case, FLUENT includes the reective and transmitted radiative ux contributions from both diuse and specular components to the dening equations. Semi-Transparent Exterior Walls Figure 12.3.12 shows the general case of an irradiation beam qirrad applied to an exterior semi-transparent wall with zero thickness and a non-zero absorption coecient for the material property. Refer to the previous section for the radiation eects of wall thickness on semi-transparent walls.
Outside computational domain Medium A Adjacent Fluid or Solid Zone
irrad reflected, specular q q irrad normal q irrad transmitted, specular & refracted
irrad reflected, diffuse q
irrad transmitted, diffuse
irrad
n b
n a not equal to nb
Figure 12.3.12: DO Irradiation on External Semi-transparent Wall
An irradiation ux passes through the semi-transparent wall from outside the computational domain (Figure 12.3.12) into the adjacent uid or solid medium a. The transmitted radiation can be refracted (bent) and dispersed specularly and diusely, depending on
12-44
the refractive index and the diuse fraction that you provide as a boundary condition input. Note that there is a reected component of qirrad when the refractive index of the wall (nb ) is not equal to 1, as shown. There is an additional ux beyond qirrad that is applied when the Mixed or Radiation boundary conditions are selected in the Thermal tab. This external ux at the semitransparent wall is computed by FLUENT as Qext =
4 external Trad
(12.3-63)
The fraction of the above energy that will enter into the domain depends on the transmissivity of the semi-transparent wall under consideration. Note that this energy is distributed across the solid angles (i.e., similar treatment as diuse component.) Incident radiation can also occur on external semi-transparent walls. Refer to the previous discussion on interior walls for details, since the radiation eects are the same. The irradiation beam is dened by the magnitude, beam direction, and beam width that you supply. The irradiation magnitude is specied in terms of an incident radiant heat ux (W/m2 ). Beam width is specied as the solid angle over which the irradiation is distributed (i.e., the beam and extents). The default beam width in FLUENT is 1e6 degrees which is suitable for collimated beam radiation. Beam direction is dened by the vector of the centroid of the solid angle. If you select the feature Apply Irradiation Parallel to Beam in the Wall boundary condition panel, then you supply qirrad for irradiation (Figure 12.3.12) and FLUENT computes and uses the surface normal ux qirrad,normal in its radiation calculation. If this feature is not checked, then you must supply the surface normal ux qirrad,normal for irradiation. Figure 12.3.13 shows a schematic of the beam direction and beam width for the irradiation beam. You provide these inputs (in addition to irradiation magnitude) as part of the boundary conditions for a semi-transparent wall. The irradiation beam can be refracted in medium a depending on the refractive index that is specied for the particular uid or solid zone material.
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External Beam Irradiation
Beam Width ( )
y x
/2
/2
Beam Direction (X, Y, Z)
Beam Width ( )
z y
/2 /2
Beam Direction (X, Y, Z)
Figure 12.3.13: Beam Width and Direction for External Irradiation Beam
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Limitations The thin wall treatment should be used for semi-transparent walls only where absorption or emission by the walls is not signicant. In cases with signicant emission or absorption of radiation in a participating solid material, such as the absorption of long wavelength radiation in a glass window, the use of semi-transparent thin walls can result in the prediction of unphysical temperatures in the numerical solution. To avoid potentially erroneous results, one or more solid cell zones should be used to represent the solid material in such a case. Solid Semi-Transparent Media The discrete ordinates radiation model allows you to model a solid zone that has adjacent uid or solid zones on either side as a semi-transparent medium. This is done by designating the solid zone to participate in radiation as part of the boundary condition setup. Modeling a solid zone as a semi-transparent medium allows you to obtain a detailed temperature distribution inside the semi-transparent zone since FLUENT solves the energy equation on a per-cell basis for the solid and provides you with the thermal results. By default however, the DO equations are solved in uid zones, but not in any solid zones. Therefore, you will need to specify the solid zone as participating in radiation in the Solid panel as part of the boundary condition setup.
Boundary Condition Treatment at Specular Walls and Symmetry Boundaries

At specular walls and symmetry boundaries, the direction of the reected ray sr corresponding to the incoming direction s is given by Equation 12.3-50. Furthermore, Iw (sr ) = Iw (s) (12.3-64)
Boundary Condition Treatment at Periodic Boundaries

When rotationally periodic boundaries are used, it is important to use pixelation in order to ensure that radiant energy is correctly transferred between the periodic and shadow faces. A pixelation between 3 3 and 10 10 is recommended.
Boundary Condition Treatment at Flow Inlets and Exits

The treatment at ow inlets and exits is described in Section 12.3.3: Boundary Condition Treatment for the DTRM at Flow Inlets and Exits.
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12.3.7
The Surface-to-Surface (S2S) Radiation Model
The surface-to-surface radiation model can be used to account for the radiation exchange in an enclosure of gray-diuse surfaces. The energy exchange between two surfaces depends in part on their size, separation distance, and orientation. These parameters are accounted for by a geometric function called a view factor. The main assumption of the S2S model is that any absorption, emission, or scattering of radiation can be ignored; therefore, only surface-to-surface radiation need be considered for analysis.
Gray-Diffuse Radiation
FLUENTs S2S radiation model assumes the surfaces to be gray and diuse. Emissivity and absorptivity of a gray surface are independent of the wavelength. Also, by Kirchos law [231], the emissivity equals the absorptivity ( = ). For a diuse surface, the reectivity is independent of the outgoing (or incoming) directions. The gray-diuse model is what is used in FLUENT. Also, as stated earlier, for applications of interest, the exchange of radiative energy between surfaces is virtually unaected by the medium that separates them. Thus, according to the gray-body model, if a certain amount of radiant energy (E) is incident on a surface, a fraction (E) is reected, a fraction (E) is absorbed, and a fraction ( E) is transmitted. Since for most applications the surfaces in question are opaque to thermal radiation (in the infrared spectrum), the surfaces can be considered opaque. The transmissivity, therefore, can be neglected. It follows, from conservation of energy, that + = 1, since = (emissivity), and =1 .
The S2S Model Equations

The energy ux leaving a given surface is composed of directly emitted and reected energy. The reected energy ux is dependent on the incident energy ux from the surroundings, which then can be expressed in terms of the energy ux leaving all other surfaces. The energy reected from surface k is qout,k =
4 k Tk
+ k qin,k
(12.3-65)
where qout,k is the energy ux leaving the surface, k is the emissivity, is Boltzmanns constant, and qin,k is the energy ux incident on the surface from the surroundings.
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The amount of incident energy upon a surface from another surface is a direct function of the surface-to-surface view factor, Fjk . The view factor Fjk is the fraction of energy leaving surface k that is incident on surface j. The incident energy ux qin,k can be expressed in terms of the energy ux leaving all other surfaces as
N
Ak qin,k =
j=1
Aj qout,j Fjk
(12.3-66)
where Ak is the area of surface k and Fjk is the view factor between surface k and surface j. For N surfaces, using the view factor reciprocity relationship gives Aj Fjk = Ak Fkj for j = 1, 2, 3, . . . N so that
N
(12.3-67)
qin,k =
j=1
Fkj qout,j
(12.3-68)
Therefore,
N 4 k Tk + k j=1
qout,k = which can be written as
Fkj qout,j
(12.3-69)
Jk = Ek + k
j=1
Fkj Jj
(12.3-70)
where Jk represents the energy that is given o (or radiosity) of surface k, and Ek represents the emissive power of surface k. This represents N equations, which can be recast into matrix form as KJ = E (12.3-71)
where K is an N N matrix, J is the radiosity vector, and E is the emissive power vector.
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Equation 12.3-71 is referred to as the radiosity matrix equation. The view factor between two nite surfaces i and j is given by Fij = 1 Ai cos i cos j ij dAi dAj r2 (12.3-72)
Ai
Aj
where ij is determined by the visibility of dAj to dAi . ij = 1 if dAj is visible to dAi and 0 otherwise.
Clustering
The S2S radiation model is computationally very expensive when there are a large number of radiating surfaces. To reduce the computational time as well as the storage requirement, the number of radiating surfaces is reduced by creating surface clusters. The surface clusters are made by starting from a face and adding its neighbors and their neighbors until a specied number of faces per surface cluster is collected. The radiosity, J, is calculated for the surface clusters. These values are then distributed to the faces in the clusters to calculate the wall temperatures. Since the radiation source terms are highly non-linear (proportional to the fourth power of temperature), care must be taken to calculate the average temperature of the surface clusters and distribute the ux and source terms appropriately among the faces forming the clusters. The surface cluster temperature is obtained by area averaging as shown in the following equation:
f 4 Af Tf Af 1/4
Tsc =
(12.3-73)
where Tsc is the temperature of the surface cluster, and Af and Tf are the area and temperature of face f . The summation is carried over all faces of a surface cluster.
Smoothing
Smoothing can be performed on the view factor matrix to enforce the reciprocity relationship and conservation. The reciprocity relationship is represented by Ai Fij = Aj Fji (12.3-74)
where Ai is the area of surface i, Fij is the view factor between surfaces i and j, and Fji is the view factor between surfaces j and i.
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Once the reciprocity relationship has been enforced, a least-squares smoothing method [178] can be used to ensure that conservation is satised, i.e., Fij = 1.0 (12.3-75)
12.3.8
Solar Load Model
FLUENT provides a solar load model that can be used to calculate radiation eects from the suns rays that enter a computational domain. Two options are available for the model: solar ray tracing and DO irradiation. The ray tracing approach is a highly ecient and practical means of applying solar loads as heat sources in the energy equations. In cases where you want to use the discrete ordinates (DO) model to calculate radiation eects within the domain, an option is available to supply outside beam direction and intensity parameters directly to the DO model. The solar load model includes a solar calculator utility that can be used to construct the suns location in the sky for a given time-of-day, date, and position. Solar load is available in the 3d solver only, and can be used to model steady and unsteady ows.
Applications of Solar Loading

Typical applications that are well-suited for solar load simulations include the following: automotive climate control (ACC) applications human comfort modeling applications in buildings The eects of solar loading are needed in many ACC applications, where the temperature, humidity, and velocity elds around passengers (and drivers) are desired. ACC systems are tested for their capacity to cool down passenger compartments after they have been soaked in intense solar radiation. FLUENTs solar load model will enable you to simulate solar loading eects and predict the time it will take to reasonably cool down the cabin of a car that has been exposed to solar radiation, as well as predict the time interval needed to lower the temperature in specied points and areas within the domain. In the analysis of buildings, solar loading provides a signicant burden on the cooling requirement in warm climates, particularly where architects want to use the aesthetics of glazed facades. Even in cooler climates, solar loading can provide a burden during warmer seasons where modern buildings are well insulated against thermal loss during winter months. As well as providing an engineer with a practical tool for determining the solar heating eect inside a building, FLUENT solar load model will allow the sos lar transmission through all glazed surfaces to be determined over the course of a day, allowing important decisions to be made before undertaking any ow studies.
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Solar Ray Tracing

The solar load models ray tracing algorithm can be used to predict the direct illumination energy source that results from incident solar radiation. It takes a beam that is modeled using the sun position vector and illumination parameters, applies it to any or all wall or inlet/outlet boundary zones that you specify, performs a face-by-face shading analysis to determine well-dened shadows on all boundary faces and interior walls, and computes the heat ux on the boundary faces that results from the incident radiation. The resulting heat ux that is computed by the solar ray tracing algorithm is coupled to the FLUENT calculation via a source term in the energy equation. The heat sources are added directly to computational cells bordering each face and are assigned to adjacent cells in the following order: shell conduction cells, solid cells, and uid cells. Heat sources are assigned to one of these types of adjacent cells, only. You can choose to override this order and include adjacent uid cells in the solar load calculation by issuing a command in the text user interface (see Section 12.3.8: Text Interface-Only Commands for details). Note that the sun position vector and solar intensity can be entered either directly by you or computed from the solar calculator. Direct and diuse irradiation parameters can also be specied using a user-dened function (UDF) and hooked to FLUENT in the Radiation Model panel. The solar ray tracing option allows you to include the eects of direct solar illumination as well as diuse solar radiation in your FLUENT model. A two-band spectral model is used for direct solar illumination and accounts for separate material properties in the visible and infrared bands. A single-band hemispherical-averaged spectral model is used for diuse radiation. Opaque materials are characterized in terms of two-band absorptivities. A semi-transparent material requires specication of absorptivity and transmissivity. Values that you specify for transmissivity and absorptivity are dened for normal incident rays. FLUENT recomputes/interpolates these values for the given angle of incidence. The solar ray tracing algorithm also accounts for internal scattered and diusive loading. The reected component of direct solar irradiation is tracked. A fraction of this radiative heat ux, called internally scattered energy is applied to all the surfaces participating in the solar load calculation, weighted by area. The internally scattered energy depends on the scattering fraction which is specied in the TUI, and whose default value is 1. Depending on the reectivity of the primary surface, the scattering fraction can be responsible for the inclusion (or exclusion) of a large amount of radiation within the rest of the domain. Also included as internally scattered energy is the contribution of the transmitted component of diuse solar irradiation (which enters a domain through semi-transparent walls depending upon the hemispherical transmissivity). The total value of internally scattered energy is reported to the FLUENT console. The ambient ux is obtained by dividing the internally scattered energy by the total surface area of the faces participating in the solar load calculation.
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Note that Solar Ray Tracing is not a participating radiation model. It does not deal with emission from surfaces, and the reecting component of the primary incident load is distributed uniformly across all surfaces rather than being local to the surfaces reected to. If surface emission is an important factor in your case then you can consider implementing a radiation model (e.g., P1) in conjunction with Solar Ray Tracing. Shading Algorithm The shading calculation that is used for solar ray tracing is a straightforward application of vector geometry. A ray is traced from the centroid of a test face in the direction of the sun. Every other face is checked to determine if the ray intersects the candidate face and if the candidate face is in front of the test face. If both conditions are met, then an opaque face completely shades the test face. A semi-transparent face attenuates the incident energy. A Barycentric coordinate formulation is used to construct triangle-ray intersections. A quadrilateral ray intersection method is used to handle the case when model surfaces contain quadrilaterals. A quad-tree preprocessing step is applied to reduce the ray tracing algorithm complexity that can lead to long runtime for 104 faces and greater. The quadtree renement factor can be modied in the text interface. The default value of this parameter is 7 which is sucient to cover the entire spectrum of mesh sizes between one cell and ve million cells. If the mesh is greater than ve million cells, an increase in this parameter would reduce the CPU time needed to compute the solar loads. Glazing Materials Incident solar radiation can be applied to glass and plastic glazing materials of various types at wall boundaries, and the eects of coated glazings modeled using the solar ray tracing algorithm. To model solar optical properties, you will need to specify the transmissivity and reectivity of the material in the Wall boundary conditions panel. You can obtain these values from the glass (or plastic) manufacturer or use data from another source (e.g., ASHRAE Handbook). Glazing optical properties are dependent on incident angle, and the variation is signicant for an incident angle greater than 40 degrees. As the incident angle increases from zero, transmissivity decreases, reectivity increases, and absorptivity increases initially due to lengthened optical path, and then decreases as more incident radiation is reected. The shape of the property curve varies with glass type and thickness. This dierence is more pronounced for coated glass or for a multiple-pane glazing system. It cannot be assumed that all glazing systems have a universal angular dependence. For coated glazings, the spectral transmissivity and reectivity at any incident angle are approximated in the solar load model from the normal angle of incidence (Finlayson and Arasteh, 1993).
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Transmissivity is given by T (, ) = T (0, )T ref () where T ref () = a0 + a1 cos + a2 cos2 + a3 cos3 + a4 cos4 Reectivity is given by R(, ) = R(0, )[1 Rref ()] + Rref () where Rref () = b0 + b1 cos + b2 cos2 + b3 cos3 + b4 cos4 (12.3-79) (12.3-78) (12.3-77) (12.3-76)
The constants used in Equations 12.3-76 and 12.3-78 are for coated glazings and are taken from Table 12 of the ASHRAE Handbook. T (0, ) and R(0, ) are specied in the Wall boundary conditions panel. Inputs The following inputs are required for the solar ray tracing algorithm: sun direction vector direct solar irradiation diuse solar irradiation spectral fraction direct and IR absorptivity (opaque wall) direct and IR absorptivity and transmissivity (semi-transparent wall) diuse hemispherical absorptivity and transmissivity (semi-transparent wall) quad tree renement factor scattering fraction ground reectivity
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You can enter the sun direction vector components (X, Y, Z) and the direct and diuse solar irradiation values as constants in the Radiation Model panel, or you can have these parameters derived from the solar calculator. Irradiation can also be specied using a user-dened function (Section 12.3.8: User-Dened Functions (UDFs) for Solar Load.) The scattering fraction and quad tree renement factor defaults are used by the solar ray tracing algorithm. Ground reectivity is the overall reectivity of the ground and is used to calculate the component of diuse radiation that will result from radiation being reected o the ground. You can modify the default values using text commands issued at the console window (see Section 12.3.8: Text Interface-Only Commands). The absorptivity and transmissivity parameters are entered in the Wall boundary condition panel for the particular wall zones you wish to participate in solar ray tracing.
DO Irradiation
The solar load models discrete ordinates (DO) irradiation option provides you with an easy means of applying a solar load directly to the DO model. Unlike the ray tracing solar load option, the DO irradiation method does not compute heat uxes and apply them as heat sources to the energy equation. Instead, the irradiation ux is applied directly to semi-transparent walls (that you specify) as a boundary condition, and the radiative heat transfer is derived from the solution of the DO radiative transfer equation. The following inputs are required for DO irradiation at semi-transparent walls: total irradiation (direct and diuse) beam direction beam width diuse fraction In the Wall boundary condition panel for each semi-transparent wall you want to participate in DO irradiation, you can specify that the beam direction and total irradiation be derived from the solar parameters (e.g., solar calculator) that you set (or compute) in the Radiation Model panel. This is done by checking the Use Beam Direction from Solar Parameters and Use Total Irradiation from Solar Parameters boxes. When selected, FLUENT sets the beam width (the angle subtended by the sun) to the default value of 0.53 degrees for DO irradiation.
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Note that the sign of the beam direction that is needed for the DO model is opposite the sun direction vector that is entered or derived from the solar parameters. The beam direction in the DO model is the direction of external radiation (e.g., radiation coming from the sun), while the sun direction vector in the solar load model points to the sun. Incident radiation and sun angle always have an opposite sign since they are quantities that are dened from opposite perspectives.
Solar Calculator
FLUENT provides a solar calculator that can be used to compute solar beam direction and irradiation for a given time, date, and position. These values can be used as inputs to the solar ray tracing algorithm or as semi-transparent wall boundary conditions for discrete ordinates (DO) irradiation. Inputs/Outputs Inputs needed for the solar calculator are: global position (latitude, longitude, time zone) starting date and time grid orientation solar irradiation method sunshine factor Global position consists of latitude, longitude, and time zone (relative to GMT). The time of day for a transient simulation is the starting time plus the ow-time. For grid orientation, you will need to specify the North and East direction vector in the CFD grid. The default solar irradiation method is Fair Weather Conditions. Alternatively, you can choose the Theoretical Maximum method. The sunshine factor is simply a linear reduction factor for the computed incident load that allows for cloud cover to be accounted for, if appropriate. You can specify these inputs in the Solar Calculator panel that is accessible from the Radiation Model panel (Figure 12.3.17). Alternatively, you can enter the parameters using text interface commands (Section 12.3.8: Additional Text Interface Commands).
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The following values are computed by the solar calculator and are displayed on the console window whenever the solar calculator is invoked: sun direction vector direct normal solar irradiation at earths surface diuse solar irradiation - vertical and horizontal surface ground reected (diuse) solar irradiation - vertical surface Direct normal solar irradiation is computed using the ASHRAE Fair Weather Conditions method, when this option is selected in the solar calculator. (Note: Equation 20 and Table 7 from Chapter 30 of the 2001 ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals.) The theoretical maximum values for direct normal solar irradiation and diuse solar irradiation are computed using NRELs Theoretical Maximum method, when this option is selected. In practice, these values are unlikely to be experienced due to atmospheric conditions. FLUENT computes the diuse solar irradiation components (vertical and horizontal) internally for each face in the domain. When the Theoretical Maximum method is chosen, these diuse irradiation values provide estimates for the maximum vertical and horizontal surface eects. Theory FLUENT provides two options for computing the solar load: Fair Weather Conditions method and Theoretical Maximum method. Although these methods are similar, there is a key dierence. The Fair Weather Conditions method imposes greater attenuation on the solar load which is representative of atmospheric conditions that are fair but not completely clear. The equation for normal direct irradiation applying the Fair Weather Conditions Method is taken from the ASHRAE Handbook: Edn = A e sin() where A and B are apparent solar irradiation at air mass m = 0 and atmospheric extinction coecient, respectively. These values are based on the earths surface on a clear day. is the solar altitude (in degrees) above the horizontal.
B
(12.3-80)
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The equation for direct normal irradiation that is used for the Theoretical Maximum Method is taken from NRELs Solar Position and Intensity Code (Solpos): Edn = Setrn Sunprime (12.3-81)
where Setrn is the top of the atmosphere direct normal solar irradiance and Sunprime is the correction factor used to account for reduction in solar load through the atmosphere. The calculation for the diuse load in the solar model is based on the approach suggested in the 2001 ASHRAE Fundamental Handbook (Chapter 20, Fenestration). The equation for diuse solar irradiation on a vertical surface is given by: Ed = CY Edn (12.3-82)
where C is a constant whose values are given in Table 7 from Chapter 30 of the 2001 ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, Y is the ratio of sky diuse radiation on a vertical surface to that on a horizontal surface, and Edn is the direct normal irradiation at the earths surface on a clear day. The equation for diuse solar irradiation on a horizontal surface is given by: Ed = CEdn where (1 + cos ) 2 (12.3-83)
is the tilt angle of the surface (in degrees).
The equation for ground reected solar irradiation on a surface is given by: Er = Edn(C + sin )g (1 cos ) 2 (12.3-84)
where g is the ground reectivity. The total diuse irradiation on a given surface will be the sum of Ed and Er when the input for diuse solar radiation is taken from the solar calculator. Otherwise, if the constant option is selected in the Solar Calculator panel, then the total diuse irradiation will be the same as specied in the panel.
Running Solar Load Using a Serial Solver

When you want to run a steady-state solution with solar load enabled on a serial solver, you simply setup the solar load model (Section 12.3.8: Setting Up the Solar Load Model) and boundary conditions (Section 12.3.8: Setting Boundary Conditions for Solar Loading) for your case, and then run the simulation. The solution data le will contain the solar uxes that you can use for postprocessing. For a steady-state solution, the solar loads are computed on initialization. If you want to initially solve a case without solar loading
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(say, for stability) and then add the eects of solar loading afterward, you will need to enable the solar load model through the text user interface (TUI).
Note that you can compute the solar load at any time once you have setup the model by using the sol-on-demand text interface command (see Section 12.3.8: Additional Text Interface Commands for details).
When you want to run a transient solar load simulation on a serial solver, the process is the same as for the steady-state case but you will need to specify the additional Time Steps per Solar Load Update parameter in the Radiation Model panel. FLUENT will re-compute the sun position and irradiation and update solar loads with this specied frequency.
Using Solar Load in the Parallel Solver

The solar ray tracing algorithm is not parallelized in FLUENT. As a result, you will have to generate solar data for the case in serial mode, and then use that data in your parallel simulation. Follow the separate procedures below for steady-state and transient simulations, respectively. Steady-State Simulation The general process for a steady-state solar load simulation in parallel is outlined below: 1. Start a serial solver in FLUENT and read (or setup) your case le. 2. Setup the solar load model (Section 12.3.8: Setting Up the Solar Load Model). 3. Setup the boundary conditions (Section 12.3.8: Setting Boundary Conditions for Solar Loading) 4. Initialize the solution in the Solution Initialization panel. Solar load data is computed at solution initialization for steady-state cases. The data will be written to the console window, as shown in the example below: Internally Scattered Energy [W]: 2.29688e-05, Ambient Flux [W/m^2]: 0.000314448 Boundary ID: 11, Integral Energy Source [W]: 3.843255e-08 Boundary ID: 10, Integral Energy Source [W]: 1.922111e-08 Boundary ID: 8, Integral Energy Source [W]: 1.642018e-06 Boundary ID: 1, Integral Energy Source [W]: 1.126829e-04 Boundary ID: 3, Integral Energy Source [W]: 1.537705e-07 Boundary ID: 4, Integral Energy Source [W]: 3.074602e-07 Total Integral Energy Source [W]: 1.148438e-04 Compute Time: 1 sec
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5. Save the case and data les. 6. Start the parallel solver and read the case and data les. 7. Setup and run your parallel steady-state simulation. Transient Simulation The general process for a transient solar load simulation in parallel is outlined below. 1. Start a serial solver in FLUENT and read (or setup) your case le. 2. Setup the solar load model which includes specifying the Time Steps per Solar Load Update in the Radiation Model panel (Section 12.3.8: Setting Up the Solar Load Model). 3. Setup the boundary conditions (Section 12.3.8: Setting Boundary Conditions for Solar Loading). 4. Enable the autosave le capability in the text interface that will write separate solar data le(s) at specied time intervals to be used by the parallel solver. (See autosave-solar-data in Section 12.3.8: Text Interface-Only Commands).
Make sure that the frequency you specify for autosaving solar load data is the same as for updating. If you choose to make these frequencies dierent, then the autosave time step should be a multiple of the solar load update time step.
5. Disable all transport equations in the Solution Controls panel. 6. Save the case le. 7. Initialize the solution.
Solar load data is computed at solution initialization for steady-state cases and written to the console window. See previous steady-state procedure.
8. Set the Max Iterations per Time Step to 1 in the Iterate panel. 9. Run the simulation. As the solver iterates, FLUENT will write separate data les for the time step frequency that you specied in the autosave command, and will report it to the console window. The data les will be saved in your working directory and will be identied by the time step number that is appended to the le name. For example, solar data002.dat will contain the solar data for the second time step.
The autosave solar data les cannot be used for postprocessing.
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10. Start the parallel solver. 11. Read the case le. 12. Enable the autoread le capability in the text interface that will direct the solver to automatically read the autosaved solar data le(s) that were generated during the serial session. (See autoread-solar-data in Section 12.3.8: Text Interface-Only Commands).
Make sure that the frequency you specify for autoreading solar load data is the same that you specied for autosaving and updating solar data. If you choose to make these frequencies dierent, then the autosave time step should be a multiple of the update time step, and the autoread time step should be a multiple of autosave.
13. Make sure that the equations you want to solve for in your parallel simulation are set in the Solution Controls panel. 14. Run the transient simulation.
Note that the solar ux data that will be available at the end of the solution process is for the last time step that was read using the autoread frequency.
User-Dened Functions (UDFs) for Solar Load

You can write a user-dened function (UDF) to specify direct and diuse solar intensity using the DEFINE SOLAR INTENSITY macro. See Section 4.3.16: DEFINE SOLAR INTENSITY of the separate UDF Manual for details. Once interpreted or compiled, you can hook your intensity UDF for direct or diuse solar irradiation by selecting user-defined in the drop-down lists for these parameters in the Radiation Model panel. See Step 2 in Section 12.3.8: Setting Up the Solar Load Model for details.
Setting Up the Solar Load Model

Graphical User Interface The solar load model is enabled in the Radiation Model panel (Figure 12.3.14). Dene Models Radiation... The solar load model has two options: Solar Ray Tracing and DO Irradiation. Solar Ray Tracing can be applied as a standalone solar loading model, or it can be used in conjunction with one of the FLUENT radiation models (P1, Rosseland, Discrete Transfer, Surface-to-Surface, Discrete Ordinates). DO Irradiation is available only when the Discrete Ordinates (DO) radiation model is enabled.
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Figure 12.3.14: The Radiation Model Panel
1. Enable the solar load model In the Radiation Model panel. (a) To enable the solar ray tracing algorithm, choose Solar Ray Tracing under Solar Load (Figure 12.3.15). (b) To enable the DO irradiation option, rst enable the Discrete Ordinates radiation model, and then choose DO Irradiation under Solar Load (Figure 12.3.16). 2. Dene the Solar Parameters: (a) Specify the X, Y, and Z components of the Sun Direction Vector. Alternatively, you can choose to have this vector computed from the solar calculator by checking the Use Direction Computed from Solar Calculator box. (b) Specify the Illumination Parameters: i. Specify the Direct Solar Irradiation, which is the amount of energy per unit area in W/m2 due to direct solar irradiation. This value may depend on the time of year and the clearness of the sky. Make your selection in the drop-down list next to Direct Solar Irradiation and either enter a constant value, have the value computed from the solar calculator, or specify it using a user-dened function. (See Section 4.3.16: DEFINE SOLAR INTENSITY for details on writing solar intensity UDFs.) For transient simulations, you
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have the additional option of specifying a time-dependent piecewise-linear and polynomial prole for direct solar irradiation. ii. Specify the Diuse Solar Irradiation, which is the amount of energy per unit area in W/m2 due to diuse solar irradiation. This value may depend on the time of year, the clearness of the sky, and also on ground reectivity. Make your selection in the drop-down list next to Diuse Solar Irradiation and either enter a constant value, have the value computed from the solar calculator, or specify it using a user-dened function. (See Section 4.3.16: DEFINE SOLAR INTENSITY for details on writing solar intensity UDFs.) For transient simulations, you have the additional option of specifying a time-dependent piecewise-linear and polynomial prole for diuse solar irradiation. iii. If you are using the Solar Ray Tracing solar load model (Figure 12.3.15),
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then you will need to specify an additional parameter: Spectral Fraction. The spectral fraction is the fraction of incident solar radiation in the visible part of the solar radiation spectrum. The spectral fraction is not used for DO irradiation since the DO implementation is intended only for a single band. Spectral Fraction = V V + IR (12.3-85)
where V is the visible incident solar radiation, and V + IR is the total incident solar radiation (visible plus infrared).
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3. Use the solar calculator to compute solar beam direction and irradiation, if desired. (a) Click Solar Calculator... in the Radiation Model panel to open the Solar Calculator panel (Figure 12.3.17).
Figure 12.3.17: The Solar Calculator Panel (b) In the Solar Calculator panel, specify the Global Position by the following parameters: i. Specify the Longitude of the desired location in degrees. Values may range from 180 to 180 where negative values indicate the Western hemisphere and positive values indicate the Eastern hemisphere. ii. Specify the Latitude of the desired location in degrees. Values can range from 90 (the South Pole) to 90 (the North Pole), with 0 dened as the equator. iii. Specify the local Timezone of the desired location in hours relative to Greenwich Mean Time (+-GMT). This integer value can range from +12 to 12.
Note that you must specify all three Global Position parameters for the solar calculator.
(c) Specify the local Date and Time by the following parameters: i. Under Day of Year, enter (or increment) an integer for the Day and the Month.
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ii. Under Time of Day, enter an integer for the Hour that ranges from 0 to 24. Enter an integer or oating point number for Minute. The time of day is based on a 24-hour clock: 0 hours and 0 minutes corresponds to 12:00 a.m. and 23 hours 59.99 min corresponds to 11:59.99 p.m. For example, if the local time was 12:01:30 a.m., you would enter 0 for Hour and 1.5 for Minute. If the local time was 4:17 p.m., you would enter 16 for Hour and 17 for Minute. (d) Specify the Grid Orientation as the vectors for North and East in the CFD grid system of coordinates. (e) Choose the Solar Irradiation Method. The Fair Weather Conditions is the default method. (f) Specify the Sunshine Fraction (default = 1). (g) Click OK. The solar calculator output parameters are computed and written to the console window. The default values are shown below: Fair Weather Conditions: Sun Direction Vector: X: -0.0785396, Y: 0.170758, X: 0.982178 Sunshine Fraction: 1 Direct Normal Solar Irradiation (at Earths surface) [W/m^2]: 881.635 Diffuse Solar Irradiation - vertical surface: [W/m^2]: 152.107 Diffuse Solar Irradiation - horizontal surface: [W/m^2]: 177.738 Ground Reflected Solar Irradiation - vertical surface: [W/m^2]: 147.105 4. For transient simulations, specify the Time Steps Per Solar Load Update under Update Parameters. The number of time steps that you specify will direct the FLUENT solver to update the solar load data for the specied ow-time intervals in the unsteady solution process .
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Setting Boundary Conditions for Solar Loading

Once you have dened the solar parameters for the solar load model (Section 12.3.8: Setting Up the Solar Load Model), you will need to setup boundary conditions for boundary zones that will participate in solar loading. Dene Boundary Conditions...
Solar Ray Tracing

1. Set the boundary condition for each inlet and exit boundary zone that you want to include in solar loading. (a) Open the inlet or exit boundary condition panel (e.g., Velocity Inlet) and choose the Radiation tab (Figure 12.3.18). (b) Select the Participates in Solar Ray Tracing checkbox. The default is enabled for all boundary conditions. If you deactivate solar ray tracing by unchecking the box, then the surface will be ignored and the solar ray will pass through it with no interaction, regardless of the boundary condition type. (c) Click OK.
Figure 12.3.18: The Velocity Inlet Panel
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2. Set the boundary condition for each wall boundary zone that you want to include in solar loading. (a) Open a Wall boundary condition panel and choose the Radiation tab. (b) Setup the wall as an opaque or semi-transparent wall. An opaque wall will not allow solar radiation to pass through it, while a semi-transparent surface will allow a portion of the solar radiation to pass through it.) i. For an opaque wall, choose opaque from the BC Type drop-down list (Figure 12.3.19). Then select the Participates in Solar Ray Tracing checkbox, and specify the constant values for Direct Visible and Direct IR absorptivity. Note: Absorption in the visible and infrared portions of the spectrum dene the surface material for the opaque wall.
Figure 12.3.19: The Wall Panel ii. For a semi-transparent wall, choose semi-transparent from the BC Type drop-down list (Figure 12.3.20). Then, select the Participates in Solar Ray Tracing checkbox, and specify the constant values for Direct Visible, Direct IR, and Diuse Hemispherical absorptivity and transmissivity. Note: Absorption and transmittance in the visible and infrared portions of the spectrum, as well as the shading formulation (Diffuse Hemispherical), dene the surface material for a semi-transparent wall.
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Figure 12.3.20: The Wall Panel
iii. Click OK.
FLUENT will calculate the reectivity as the dierence between one and the sum of absorptivity and transmissivity: ref lectivity = 1 (absorptivity + transmissivity) (12.3-86)
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DO irradiation
1. For DO Irradiation, all boundary conditions are setup as normal for the DO model, except that now you can select semi-transparent boundary surfaces which will provide a source of solar irradiation. (a) Open a Wall boundary condition panel and choose the Radiation tab (Figure 12.3.21).
Figure 12.3.21: The Wall Panel (b) Choose semi-transparent from the BC Type drop-down list. (c) Under Solar BC Options, select Use Beam Direction from Solar Parameters to have the values for beam direction applied from the Solar Parameters panel.
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Note that the sign of the beam direction that is needed for the DO model is opposite the sun direction vector that is entered or derived from the solar parameters. The beam direction in the DO model is the direction of external radiation (e.g., radiation coming from the sun), while the sun direction vector in the solar load model points to the sun. Incident radiation and sun angle always have an opposite sign since they are quantities that are dened from opposite perspectives.
(d) Select Use Total Irradiation from Solar Parameters to have the solar calculator output be applied for total irradiation. Note that total irradiation is the sum of the direct and diuse irradiation values. When Use Total Irradiation from Solar Parameters is selected, the beam width will automatically be set to 0.53 degrees - the angle subtended by the sun. (e) Click OK.
Text Interface-Only Commands

FLUENT has provided some additional commands for solar load setup that are only available in the text interface. These commands are present below. Autosave Solar Data It is possible to direct FLUENT to automatically save solar load data to a generic le that you can examine or use in an external program. This is done by executing the text command autosave-solar-data from the text interface. define models radiation solar-parameters autosave-solar-data 1. Enter the Solar Data File Frequency (default=0). 2. Enter the lename, in quotations. 3. Choose to write le in binary format. The text interface command for autosave-solar-data for a le named solar and a frequency of 1 is shown below: /define/models/radiation/solar-parameters> autosave-solar-data Autosave Solar Data File Frequency [0] 1 Enter Filename [""] "solar"
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Autoread Solar Data When you are executing a transient simulation in parallel FLUENT and you want to take solar loading conditions into consideration, you can use autoread-solar-data text command to automatically read the solar load data le you generated during a serial run into parallel FLUENT. This is done by executing the text command autoread-solar-data from the text interface. define models radiation solar-parameters autoread-solar-data 1. Enter the Solar Data File Frequency (default=0). 2. Enter the lename, in quotations. The text interface command for autosave-read-data for a le named solar and a frequency of 1 is shown below: /define/models/radiation/solar-parameters> autosave-solar-data Autosave Solar Data File Frequency [0] 1 Enter Filename [""] "solar" Use Binary Format for Reading Data Files [yes] Align the Camera Direction with Sun Position When the solar load model is enabled, you can direct FLUENT to align the camera direction with the sun position using the text interface command: define models radiation solar-parameters sol-camera-pos This command is useful when you are executing a transient simulation and you want to capture an image of your model with solar load parameters displayed (such as solar heat ux) as the sun position changes with time in order to create an animation. See Section 12.3.8: Postprocessing Solar Load for details. Specify Scattering Fraction You can modify the default scattering fraction (1) using the text interface command: define models radiation solar-parameters scattering-fraction The scattering fraction is the amount of direct radiation that has been reected from opaque surfaces (after entering through the transparent surfaces) that will be considered to remain within the space and be evenly distributed among all surfaces. The value is between 0 and 1.
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The text interface command for specifying a scattering-fraction of 0.5 is shown below: /define/models/radiation/solar-parameters> scattering-fraction Scattering Fraction [1] .5 Apply Solar Load on Adjacent Fluid Cells You can direct FLUENT to apply the solar load that is computed from the solar ray tracing algorithm to adjacent uid cells by issuing the following command at the text interface: define models radiation solar-parameters sol-adjacent-fluidcells The text interface command is shown below: /define/models/radiation/solar-parameters> sol-adjacent-fluidcells Apply Solar Load on adjacent Fluid Cells? [no] y This command allows you to apply solar loads to adjacent uid cells only, even if solid or shell conduction zones are present. By applying the solar load on adjacent uid cells, you are overruling the default order of the adjacent cell assignment in FLUENT which is shell, solid, uid. Specify Quad Tree Renement Factor You can modify the default value (7) for the maximum quad tree renement factor in the solar ray tracing algorithm using the text command: define models radiation solar-parameters quad-tree-parameters The text interface command is shown below, when a new maximum renement value of 10 is specied: /define/models/radiation/solar-parameters> quad-tree-parameters Maximum Quad-Tree Refinement [7] 10 Specify Ground Reectivity You can modify the default value (0.2) for the ground reectivity using the text command: define models radiation solar-parameters ground-reflectivity
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Ground reectivity includes the contribution of reected solar radiation from ground surfaces. It is treated as part of the total diuse solar irradiation when the solar calculator is used in conjunction with the Diffuse Solar Irradiation illumination parameter. The default value is 0.2. /define/models/radiation/solar-parameters> ground-reflectivity Ground Reflectivity [0.2] 0.5 Additional Text Interface Commands Some solar load commands that are available in the graphical user interface are also made available in the text interface. For example, you can turn the solar load model on using the text command: define models radiation solar? You can also enter the solar calculator parameters in the text interface by executing the command: define models radiation solar-calculator Once invoked, you will be prompted to enter the solar calculator input parameters. To set the illumination parameters, select this option from the solar-parameters menu: define models radiation solar-parameters illumination-parameters And nally, you can direct FLUENT to compute the solar load on demand, by issuing the text command: define models radiation solar-parameters sol-on-demand When the command is initiated, the solar data are written to the console window (see Section 12.3.8: Using Solar Load in the Parallel Solver for a sample).
Postprocessing Solar Load

The following solar load quantities can be used to visualize the illuminated areas and shadows created by solar radiation. solar heat ux (i.e., sum of visible and IR absorbed solar ux on opaque walls) absorbed visible and IR solar ux (semi-transparent walls only) reected visible and IR solar ux (semi-transparent walls only) transmitted visible and IR solar ux (semi-transparent walls only)
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These quantities are available for postprocessing of solar loading at wall boundaries and can be displayed as contours of Wall Fluxes in the Contours panel. For steady-state simulations, the solar ux data is computed at solution initialization and is available for postprocessing. You can also compute the solar load at any time during your FLUENT session, once you have setup the model and applied boundary conditions. To compute the solar load on demand, you can issue the sol-on-demand command in the text interface (see Section 12.3.8: Additional Text Interface Commands for details). Solar heat ux, for example, can be displayed for surfaces using the Contours panel. A sample panel is shown below (Figure 12.3.22). Display Contours...
Figure 12.3.22: The Contours Panel
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Solar Load Animation at Different Sun Positions The solar camera alignment command is useful when you want to take timed pictures of solar loading eects of your model during transient simulations, and later create animations of the image les using an external program. Follow the procedure below. 1. Read (or set-up) your transient case le in FLUENT. 2. Set-up the automatic execution of solution commands in the Execute Commands panel that will: 1) display solar load parameter graphics, 2) re-position the solar camera such that the view is aligned with the instantaneous sun direction, and 3) generate a hardcopy image le (.ti) during the solution process in the Execute Commands panel. Solve Execute Commands... 3. Initialize and iterate the solution. 4. Animate the .ti les using an external animation tool. The following commands entered in the Execute Commands panel will direct FLUENT to display contours of solar heat ux, align the camera with the current direction of the sun, and then generate a hardcopy image le (.ti) of the solar heat ux contour every 300 time steps during the unsteady simulation. See Figure 12.3.23. /di/cont solar-heat-flux ,, /def/mod/rad/solar-para/sol-camera-pos /di/hc "flux-%t.tiff"
12.3.9
Radiation in Combusting Flows
The Weighted-Sum-of-Gray-Gases Model

The weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model (WSGGM) is a reasonable compromise between the oversimplied gray gas model and a complete model which takes into account particular absorption bands. The basic assumption of the WSGGM is that the total emissivity over the distance s can be presented as
I
=
i=0
a ,i (T )(1 ei ps )
(12.3-87)
where a ,i are the emissivity weighting factors for the ith ctitious gray gas, the bracketed quantity is the ith ctitious gray gas emissivity, i is the absorption coecient of the
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Figure 12.3.23: The Execute commands Panel
ith gray gas, p is the sum of the partial pressures of all absorbing gases, and s is the path length. For a ,i and i FLUENT uses values obtained from [60] and [319]. These values depend on gas composition, and a ,i also depend on temperature. When the total pressure is not equal to 1 atm, scaling rules for i are used (see Equation 12.3-93). The absorption coecient for i = 0 is assigned a value of zero to account for windows in the spectrum between spectral regions of high absorption ( I a ,i < 1) and the weighti=1 ing factor for i = 0 is evaluated from [319]:
I
a ,0 = 1
i=1
a ,i
(12.3-88)
The temperature dependence of a ,i can be approximated by any function, but the most common approximation is
J
a ,i =
j=1
b ,i,j T j1
(12.3-89)
where b ,i,j are the emissivity gas temperature polynomial coecients. The coecients b ,i,j and i are estimated by tting Equation 12.3-87 to the table of total emissivities, obtained experimentally [60, 72, 319]. The absorptivity of the radiation from the wall can be approximated in a similar way [319], but, to simplify the problem, it is assumed that = [230]. This assumption is
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justied unless the medium is optically thin and the wall temperature diers considerably from the gas temperature. Since the coecients b ,i,j and i are slowly varying functions of ps and T , they can be assumed constant for a wide range of these parameters. In [319] these constant coecients are presented for dierent relative pressures of the CO2 and H2 O vapor, assuming that the total pressure pT is 1 atm. The values of the coecients shown in [319] are valid for 0.001 ps 10.0 atm-m and 600 T 2400 K. For T > 2400 K, coecient values suggested by [60] are used. If i ps 1 for all i, Equation 12.3-87 simplies to
I
=
i=0
a ,i i ps
(12.3-90)
Comparing Equation 12.3-90 with the gray gas model with absorption coecient a, it can be seen that the change of the radiation intensity over the distance s in the WSGGM is exactly the same as in the gray gas model with the absorption coecient
I
a=
i=0
a ,i i p
(12.3-91)
which does not depend on s. In the general case, a is estimated as a= ln(1 ) s (12.3-92)
where the emissivity for the WSGGM is computed using Equation 12.3-87. a as dened by Equation 12.3-92 depends on s, reecting the non-gray nature of the absorption of thermal radiation in molecular gases. In FLUENT, Equation 12.3-91 is used when s 104 m and Equation 12.3-92 is used for s > 104 m. Note that for s 104 m, the values of a predicted by Equations 12.3-91 and 12.3-92 are practically identical (since Equation 12.3-92 reduces to Equation 12.3-91 in the limit of small s). FLUENT allows you to specify s as the characteristic cell size or the mean beam length. The model based on the mean beam length is appropriate if you have a nearly homogeneous medium and you are interested mainly in the radiation exchange between the walls of the enclosure. You can specify the mean beam length or have FLUENT compute it. If you are primarily interested in the radiation heat exchange between neighboring cells (e.g., the distribution of radiation in the vicinity of a heater), which is very common for the optically thick media for which the P-1 model is primarily designed, using the characteristic cell size as s is more appropriate. Note that the values of a predicted by the WSGGM based on the characteristic cell size can be somewhat grid-dependent, if s is small. This grid dependence, however, will not necessarily aect the predicted temperature distribution, since the radiation energy is proportional to T 4 . The characteristic-cellsize approach may give a better temperature distribution, while the mean-beam-length
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approach can give more accurate uxes at the boundaries. See Section 8.7.1: Inputs for a Composition-Dependent Absorption Coecient for details about setting properties for the WSGGM.
The WSGGM cannot be used to specify the absorption coecient in each band when using the non-gray DO model. If the WSGGM is used with the non-gray DO model, the absorption coecient will be the same in all bands.
When ptot = 1 atm The WSGGM, as described above, assumes that ptot the total (static) gas pressureis equal to 1 atm. In cases where ptot is not unity (e.g., combustion at high temperatures), scaling rules suggested in [87] are used to introduce corrections. When ptot < 0.9 atm or ptot > 1.1 atm, the values for i in Equations 12.3-87 and 12.3-91 are rescaled: i i pm tot (12.3-93)
where m is a non-dimensional value obtained from [87], which depends on the partial pressures and temperature T of the absorbing gases, as well as on ptot .
The Effect of Soot on the Absorption Coefcient

When soot formation is computed, FLUENT can include the eect of the soot concentration on the radiation absorption coecient. The generalized soot model estimates the eect of the soot on radiative heat transfer by determining an eective absorption coecient for soot. The absorption coecient of a mixture of soot and an absorbing (radiating) gas is then calculated as the sum of the absorption coecients of pure gas and pure soot: as+g = ag + as (12.3-94)
where ag is the absorption coecient of gas without soot (obtained from the WSGGM) and as = b1 m [1 + bT (T 2000)] with b1 = 1232.4 m2 /kg and bT 4.8 104 K1 m is the soot density in kg/m3 . (12.3-95)
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The coecients b1 and bT were obtained [294] by tting Equation 12.3-95 to data based on the Taylor-Foster approximation [346] and data based on the Smith et al. approximation [319]. See Sections 8.7 and 20.2.3 for information about including the soot-radiation interaction eects.
The Effect of Particles on the Absorption Coefcient

FLUENT can also include the eect of discrete phase particles on the radiation absorption coecient, provided that you are using either the P-1 or the DO model. When the P-1 or DO model is active, radiation absorption by particles can be enabled. The particle emissivity, reectivity, and scattering eects are then included in the calculation of the radiative heat transfer. See Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase for more details on the input of radiation properties for the discrete phase.
12.3.10
Overview of Using the Radiation Models
The procedure for setting up and solving a radiation problem is outlined below, and described in detail in Sections 12.3.1112.3.19. Steps that are relevant only for a particular radiation model are noted as such. Remember that only the steps that are pertinent to radiation modeling are shown here. For information about inputs related to other models that you are using in conjunction with radiation, see the appropriate sections for those models. 1. Select the radiation model, as described in Section 12.3.11: Selecting the Radiation Model. 2. If you are using the DTRM, dene the ray tracing as described in Section 12.3.12: Dening the Ray Tracing for the DTRM. If you are using the S2S model, compute or read the view factors as described in Section 12.3.13: Computing or Reading the View Factors for the S2S Model. If you are using the DO model, dene the angular discretization as described in Section 12.3.14: Dening the Angular Discretization for the DO Model and, if relevant, dene the non-gray radiation parameters as described in Section 12.3.15: Dening Non-Gray Radiation for the DO Model. 3. Dene the material properties, as described in Section 12.3.16: Dening Material Properties for Radiation. 4. Dene the boundary conditions, as described in Section 12.3.17: Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions. If your model contains a semi-transparent medium, see the information below on setting up semi-transparent media. 5. Set the solution parameters (DTRM, DO, S2S, and P-1 only). See Section 12.3.18: Setting Solution Parameters for Radiation for details.
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6. Solve the problem, as described in Section 12.3.19: Solving the Problem.
12.3.11
Selecting the Radiation Model
You can enable radiative heat transfer by selecting a radiation model in the Radiation Model panel (Figure 12.3.24). Dene Models Radiation...
Figure 12.3.24: The Radiation Model Panel (DO Model)
Select Rosseland, P1, Discrete Transfer (DTRM), Surface to Surface (S2S), or Discrete Ordinates as the Model. To disable radiation, select O. Note that when the DTRM or the DO or S2S model is activated, the Radiation Model panel will expand to show additional parameters (described in Sections 12.3.13, 12.3.14, 12.3.15, and 12.3.18). These parameters will not appear if you select one of the other radiation models. If you are running a 3d case, you will have the added option of using the solar load model. The solar load options will be displayed in the panel, below the radiation model settings.
The Rosseland model can be used only with the segregated solver.
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When the radiation model is active, the radiation uxes will be included in the solution of the energy equation at each iteration. If you set up a problem with the radiation model turned on, and you then decide to turn it o completely, you must select the O button in the Radiation Model panel. Note that, when you enable a radiation model, FLUENT will automatically turn on solution of the energy equation; you need not turn on the energy equation rst.
12.3.12 Dening the Ray Tracing for the DTRM

When you select the Discrete Transfer model and click OK in the Radiation Model panel, the DTRM Rays panel (Figure 12.3.25) will open automatically. (Should you need to modify the current settings later in the problem setup or solution procedure, you can open this panel manually using the Dene/DTRM Rays... menu item.)
Figure 12.3.25: The DTRM Rays Panel
In this panel you will set parameters for and create the rays and clusters discussed in Section 12.3.3: The DTRM Equations. The procedure is as follows: 1. To control the number of radiating surfaces and absorbing cells, set the Cells Per Volume Cluster and Faces Per Surface Cluster. (See the explanation below.) 2. To control the number of rays being traced, set the number of Theta Divisions and Phi Divisions. (Guidelines are provided below.) 3. When you click OK in the DTRM Rays panel, a Select File dialog box will open, prompting you for the name of the ray le. After you have specied the le name and chosen whether to write a binary ray le, FLUENT will write the ray le and then read it afterward. During the write process, the FLUENT console window will report the status of the DTRM ray tracing. For example:
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Completed 25% tracing of DTRM rays Completed 50% tracing of DTRM rays Completed 75% tracing of DTRM rays Completed 100% tracing of DTRM rays See below for details on DTRM Rays panel inputs.
If you cancel the DTRM Rays panel without writing and reading the ray le, the DTRM will be disabled.
Controlling the Clusters

Your inputs for Cells Per Volume Cluster and Faces Per Surface Cluster will control the number of radiating surfaces and absorbing cells. By default, each is set to 1, so the number of surface clusters (radiating surfaces) will be the number of boundary faces, and the number of volume clusters (absorbing cells) will be the number of cells in the domain. For small 2D problems, these are acceptable numbers, but for larger problems you will want to reduce the number of surface and/or volume clusters in order to reduce the ray-tracing expense. (See Section 12.3.3: Clustering for details about clustering.)
Controlling the Rays

Your inputs for Theta Divisions and Phi Divisions will control the number of rays being traced from each surface cluster (radiating surface). Theta Divisions denes the number of discrete divisions in the angle used to dene the solid angle about a point P on a surface. The solid angle is dened as varies from 0 to 90 degrees (Figure 12.3.2), and the default setting of 2 for the number of discrete settings implies that each ray traced from the surface will be located at a 45 angle from the other rays. Phi Divisions denes the number of discrete divisions in the angle used to dene the solid angle about a point P on a surface. The solid angle is dened as varies from 0 to 180 degrees in 2D and from 0 to 360 degrees in 3D (Figure 12.3.2). The default setting of 2 implies that each ray traced from the surface will be located at a 90 angle from the other rays in 2D calculations, and in combination with the default setting for Theta Divisions, above, implies that 4 rays will be traced from each surface control volume in your 2D model. Note that the Phi Divisions should be increased to 4 for equivalent accuracy in 3D models. In many cases, it is recommended that you at least double the number of divisions in and .
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Writing and Reading the DTRM Ray File

After you have activated the DTRM and dened all of the parameters controlling the ray tracing, you must create a ray le which will be read back in and used during the radiation calculation. The ray le contains a description of the ray traces (path lengths, cells traversed by each ray, etc.). This information is stored in the ray le, instead of being recomputed, in order to speed up the calculation process. By default, a binary ray le will be written. You can also create text (formatted) ray les by turning o the Write Binary Files option in the Select File dialog box.
Do not write or read a compressed ray le, because FLUENT will not be able to access the ray tracing information properly from a compressed ray le.
The ray lename must be specied to FLUENT only once. Thereafter, the lename is stored in your case le and the ray le will be automatically read into FLUENT whenever the case le is read. FLUENT will remind you that it is reading the ray le after it nishes reading the rest of the case le by reporting its progress in the text (console) window. Note that the ray lename stored in your case le may not contain the full name of the directory in which the ray le exists. The full directory name will be stored in the case le only if you initially read the ray le through the GUI (or if you typed in the directory name along with the lename when using the text interface). In the event that the full directory name is absent, the automatic reading of the ray le may fail (since FLUENT does not know in which directory to look for the le), and you will need to manually specify the ray le, using the File/Read/DTRM Rays... menu item. The safest approaches are to use the GUI when you rst read the ray le or to supply the full directory name when using the text interface.
You should recreate the ray le whenever you do anything that changes the grid, such as: change the type of a boundary zone adapt or reorder the grid scale the grid You can open the DTRM Rays panel directly with the Dene/DTRM Rays... menu item.
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Displaying the Clusters

Once a ray le has been created or read in manually, you can click on the Display Clusters button in the DTRM Rays panel to graphically display the clusters in the domain. See Section 12.3.20: Displaying Rays and Clusters for the DTRM for additional information about displaying rays and clusters.
12.3.13
Computing or Reading the View Factors for the S2S Model
When you select the Surface to Surface (S2S) model, the Radiation Model panel will expand (see Figure 12.3.26). In this section of the panel, you will compute the view factors for your problem or read previously computed view factors into FLUENT.
Figure 12.3.26: The Radiation Model Panel (S2S Model)
The S2S radiation model is computationally very expensive when there are a large number of radiating surfaces. To reduce the memory requirement for the calculation, the number of radiating surfaces is reduced by creating surface clusters. The surface cluster
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information (coordinates and connectivity of the nodes, surface cluster IDs) is used by FLUENT to compute the view factors for the surface clusters.
You should recreate the surface cluster information whenever you do anything that changes the grid, such as: change the type of a boundary zone reorder the grid scale the grid Note that you do not need to recalculate view factors after shell conduction at any wall has been enabled or disabled. See Section 7.13.1: Dening Thermal Boundary Conditions at Walls for more information about shell conduction.
FLUENT will warn you to recreate the cluster/viewfactor le if a boundary zone has been changed from a wall to an internal wall (or visa versa), or if a boundary zone has been merged, separated, or fused.
Computing View Factors

FLUENT can compute the view factors for your problem in the current session and save them to a le for use in the current session and future sessions. Alternatively, you can save the surface cluster information and view factor parameters to a le, calculate the view factors outside FLUENT, and then read the view factors into FLUENT. These methods for computing view factors are described below.
For large meshes or complex models, it is recommended that you calculate the view factors outside FLUENT and then read them into FLUENT before starting your simulation.
Computing View Factors Inside FLUENT To compute view factors in your current FLUENT session, you must rst set the parameters for the view factor calculation in the View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel (see below for details). When you have set the view factor and surface cluster parameters, click Compute/Write... under Methods in the Radiation Model panel. A Select File dialog box will open, prompting you for the name of the le in which FLUENT should save the surface cluster information and the view factors. After you have specied the le name, FLUENT will write the surface cluster information to the le. FLUENT will use the surface cluster information to compute the view factors, save the view factors to the
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same le, and then automatically read the view factors. The FLUENT console window will report the status of the view factor calculation. For example:
Completed 25% calculation of viewfactors Completed 50% calculation of viewfactors Completed 75% calculation of viewfactors Completed 100% calculation of viewfactors
Computing View Factors Outside FLUENT To compute view factors outside FLUENT, you must save the surface cluster information and view factor parameters to a le. File Write Surface Clusters... FLUENT will open the View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel, where you will set the view factor and surface cluster parameters (see below for details). When you click OK in the View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel, a Select File dialog box will open, prompting you for the name of the le in which FLUENT should save the surface cluster information and view factor parameters. After you have specied the le name, FLUENT will write the surface cluster information and view factor parameters to the le. If the specied Filename ends in .gz or .Z, appropriate le compression will be performed. (See Section 4.1.5: Reading and Writing Compressed Files for details about le compression.) To calculate the view factors outside FLUENT, enter one of the following commands: For the serial solver: utility viewfac inputle where inputle is the lename, or the correct path to the lename, for the surface cluster information and view factor parameters le that you saved from FLUENT. You can then read the view factors into FLUENT, as described below. For the network parallel solver: utility viewfac -p -tn -cnf=host1,host2,. . .,hostn inputle where n is the number of compute nodes, and host1, host2,. . . are the names of the machines being used.
Note that host1 must be a host machine.
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For a dedicated parallel machine with multiple processors: utility viewfac -tn inputle
Reading View Factors into FLUENT

If the view factors for your problem have already been computed (either inside or outside FLUENT) and saved to a le, you can read them into FLUENT. To read in the view factors, click Read... under Methods in the Radiation Model panel. A Select File dialog box will open where you can specify the name of the le containing the view factors. You can also manually specify the view factors le, using the File/Read/View Factors... menu item.
Setting View Factor and Surface Cluster Parameters

You will use the View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel (Figure 12.3.27) to set view factor and cluster parameters for the S2S model. To open this panel, click Set... under Parameters in the Radiation Model panel (Figure 12.3.26) or use the File/Write/Surface Clusters... menu item.
Figure 12.3.27: The View Factor and Cluster Parameters Panel
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Controlling the Clusters Your input for Faces Per Surface Cluster will control the number of radiating surfaces. By default, it is set to 1, so the number of surface clusters (radiating surfaces) will be equal to the number of boundary faces. For small 2D problems, this is an acceptable number. For larger problems, you may want to reduce the number of surface clusters to reduce both the size of the view factor le and the memory requirement. Such a reduction in the number of clusters, however, comes at the cost of some accuracy. (See Section 12.3.7: Clustering for details about clustering.) There are certain applications that will require most or all wall boundary zones to have the same Faces Per Surface Cluster parameter. In typical underhood simulations, for example, there can be hundreds of walls that you want to apply the same Face Per Surface Cluster parameter to. To avoid visiting each Wall boundary condition panel, you can instead click the Apply to All Walls checkbox in the View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel (Figure 12.3.27). Once you click OK, the Faces Per Surface Cluster value you specify will be copied to all wall zones that are adjacent to uid zones in your model. You can then visit only the walls you want to dene dierent settings for and set those parameters individually. The Faces Per Surface Cluster can be designated for a particular wall in the Wall boundary condition panel under the Radiation tab (Figure 12.3.28). Under the Radiation tab, you can also specify the wall as participating in radiosity calculations by checking Participates in S2S Radiation. Note that if the surface clusters are written with this feature turned o, then the view factors will not be computed at all for that particular wall. If you are unsure whether a wall is radiating or not ahead of time, then you should keep the Participates in S2S Radiation enabled and have the view factors computed. You can always toggle the switch at a later stage to include or exclude the particular wall for radiosity calculations.
The Faces Per Surface Cluster and Participates in S2S Radiation controls will not be visible in the GUI on wall boundary zones that are attached to a solid.
In some cases, you may wish to modify the cuto or split angle between adjacent face normals for the purpose of controlling surface clustering. The split angle sets the limit for which adjacent surfaces are clustered. A smaller split angle allows for a better representation of the view factor. By default, no surface cluster will contain any face that has a face normal greater than 20 . To modify the value of this parameter, you can use the split-angle text command: define models radiation s2s-parameters split-angle or file write-surface-clusters split-angle
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Figure 12.3.28: The Wall Panel
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Specifying the Orientation of Surface Pairs View factor calculations depend on the geometric orientations of surface pairs with respect to each other. Two situations may be encountered when examining surface pairs: If there is no obstruction between the surface pairs under consideration, then they are referred to as non-blocking surfaces. If there is another surface blocking the views between the surfaces under consideration, then they are referred to as blocking surfaces. Blocking will change the view factors between the surface pairs and require additional checks to compute the correct value of the view factors. For cases with blocking surfaces, select Blocking under Surfaces in the View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel. For cases with non-blocking surfaces, you can choose either Blocking or Nonblocking without aecting the accuracy. However, it is better to choose Nonblocking for such cases, as it takes less time to compute. Selecting the Method for Smoothing In order to enforce reciprocity and conservation (see Section 12.3.7: Smoothing), smoothing can be performed on the view factor matrix. To use the least-squares method for smoothing of the view factor matrix, select Least Square under Smoothing in the View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel. If you do not wish to smooth the view factor matrix, select None under Smoothing. Selecting the Method for Computing View Factors FLUENT provides two methods for computing view factors: the hemicube method and the adaptive method. The hemicube method is available only for 3D cases. The adaptive method calculates the view factors on a pair-by-pair basis using a variety of algorithms (analytic or Gauss quadrature) that are chosen adaptively depending on the proximity of the surfaces. To maintain accuracy, the order of the quadrature increases the closer the faces are together. For surfaces that are very close to each other, the analytic method is used. FLUENT determines the method to use by performing a visibility calculation. The Gaussian quadrature method is used if none of the rays from a surface are blocked by the other surface. If some of the rays are blocked by the other surface, then either a Monte Carlo integration method or a quasi-Monte Carlo integration method is used. To use the adaptive method to compute the view factors, select Adaptive in the View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel. It is recommended that you use the adaptive method for simple models, because it is faster than the hemicube method for these types of models.
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The hemicube method uses a dierential area-to-area method and calculates the view factors on a row-by-row basis. The view factors calculated from the dierential areas are summed to provide the view factor for the whole surface. This method originated from the use of the radiosity approach in the eld of computer graphics [58]. To use the hemicube method to compute the view factors, select Hemicube in the View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel. It is recommended that you use the hemicube method for large complex models, because it is faster than the adaptive method for these types of models. The hemicube method is based upon three assumptions about the geometry of the surfaces: aliasing, visibility, and proximity. To validate these assumptions, you can specify three dierent hemicube parameters, which can help you obtain better accuracy in calculating view factors. In most cases, however, the default settings will be sucient. AliasingThe true projection of each visible face onto the hemicube can be accurately accounted for by using a nite-resolution hemicube. As described above, the faces are projected onto a hemicube. Because of the nite resolution of the hemicube, the projected areas and resulting view factors may be over- or underestimated. Aliasing eects can be reduced by increasing the value of the Resolution of the hemicube under Hemicube Parameters. VisibilityThe visibility between any two faces does not change. In some cases, face i has a complete view of face k from its centroid, but some other face j occludes much of face k from face i. In such a case, the hemicube method will overestimate the view factor between face i and face k calculated from the centroid of face i. This error can be reduced by subdividing face i into smaller subfaces. You can specify the number of subfaces by entering a value for Subdivision under Hemicube Parameters. ProximityThe distance between faces is great compared to the eective diameter of the faces. The proximity assumption is violated whenever faces are close together in comparison to their eective diameter or are adjacent to one another. In such cases, the distances between the centroid of one face and all points on the other face vary greatly. Since the view factor dependence on distance is non-linear, the result is a poor estimate of the view factor. Under Hemicube Parameters, you can set a limit for the Normalized Separation Distance, which is the ratio of the minimum face separation to the eective diameter of the face. If the computed normalized separation distance is less than the specied value, the face will then be divided into a number of subfaces until the normalized distances of the subfaces are greater than the specied value. Alternatively, you can specify the number of subfaces to create for such faces by entering a value for Subdivision.
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12.3.14
Dening the Angular Discretization for the DO Model
When you select the Discrete Ordinates model, the Radiation Model panel will expand to show inputs for Angular Discretization (see Figure 12.3.24). In this section, you will set parameters for the angular discretization and pixelation described in Section 12.3.6: Angular Discretization and Pixelation. Theta Divisions (N ) and Phi Divisions (N ) will dene the number of control angles used to discretize each octant of the angular space (see Figure 12.3.3). Note that higher levels of discretization are recommended for problems where specular exchange of radiation is important to increase the likelihood of the correct beam direction being captured. For a 2D model, FLUENT will solve only 4 octants (due to symmetry); thus, a total of 4N N directions s will be solved. For a 3D model, 8 octants are solved, resulting in 8N N directions s. By default, the number of Theta Divisions and the number of Phi Divisions are both set to 2. For most practical problems, these settings are acceptable, however, a setting of 2 is considered to be a coarse estimate. Increasing the discretization of Theta Divisions and Phi Divisions to a minimum of 3, or up to 5, will achieve more reliable results. A ner angular discretization can be specied to better resolve the inuence of small geometric features or strong spatial variations in temperature, but larger numbers of Theta Divisions and Phi Divisions will add to the cost of the computation. Theta Pixels and Phi Pixels are used to control the pixelation that accounts for any control volume overhang (see Figure 12.3.7 and the gures and discussion preceding it). For problems involving gray-diuse radiation, the default pixelation of 1 1 is usually sucient. For problems involving symmetry, periodic, specular, or semi-transparent boundaries, a pixelation of 3 3 is recommended and will achieve acceptable results. The computational eort, as a result of increasing the pixelation, is less than the computational eort caused by increasing the divisions. You should be aware, however, that increasing the pixelation adds to the cost of computation.
12.3.15
Dening Non-Gray Radiation for the DO Model
If you want to model non-gray radiation using the DO model, you can specify the Number Of Bands (N ) under Non-Gray Model in the expanded Radiation Model panel (Figure 12.3.29). For a 2D model, FLUENT will solve 4N N N directions. For a 3D model, 8N N N directions will be solved. By default, the Number of Bands is set to zero, indicating that only gray radiation will be modeled. Because the cost of computation increases directly with the number of bands, you should try to minimize the number of bands used. In many cases, the absorption coecient or the wall emissivity is eectively constant for the wavelengths of importance in the temperature range of the problem. For such cases, the gray DO model can be used with little loss of accuracy. For other cases, non-gray behavior is important, but relatively few bands are necessary. For typical glasses, for example, two or three bands will frequently suce.
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When a non-zero Number Of Bands is specied, the Radiation Model panel will expand once again to show the Wavelength Intervals (Figure 12.3.29). You can specify a Name for each wavelength band, as well as the Start and End wavelength of the band in m. Note that the wavelength bands are specied for vacuum (n = 1). FLUENT will automatically account for the refractive index in setting band limits for media with n dierent from unity.
Figure 12.3.29: The Radiation Model Panel (Non-Gray DO Model)
The frequency of radiation remains constant as radiation travels across a semi-transparent interface. The wavelength, however, changes such that n is constant. Thus, when radiation passes from a medium with refractive index n1 to one with refractive index n2 , the following relationship holds: n 1 1 = n 2 2 (12.3-96)
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Here 1 and 2 are the wavelengths associated with the two media. It is conventional to specify the wavelength rather than frequency. FLUENT requires you to specify wavelength bands for an equivalent medium with n = 1. For example, consider a typical glass with a step jump in the absorption coecient at a cut-o wavelength of c . The absorption coecient is a1 for c m and a2 for > c m. The refractive index of the glass is ng . Since n is constant across a semitransparent interface, the equivalent cut-o wavelength for a medium with n = 1 is ng c using Equation 12.3-96. You should choose two bands in this case, with the limits 0 to ng c and ng c to 100. Here, the upper wavelength limit has been chosen to be a large number, 100, in order to ensure that the entire spectrum is covered by the bands. When multiple materials exist, you should convert all the cut-o wavelengths to equivalent cut-o wavelengths for an n = 1 medium, and choose the band boundaries accordingly. The bands can have dierent widths and need not be contiguous. You can ensure that the entire spectrum is covered by your bands by choosing min = 0 and nmax Tmin 50, 000. Here min and max are the minimum and maximum wavelength bounds of your wavelength bands, and Tmin is the minimum expected temperature in the domain.
12.3.16
Dening Material Properties for Radiation
When you are using the P-1, DO, or Rosseland radiation model in FLUENT, you should be sure to dene both the absorption and scattering coecients of the uid in the Materials panel. Note that you can either enter a constant value for these parameters, or you can specify them using a user-dened function (UDF). See Section 4.3.14: DEFINE PROPERTY of the separate UDF Manual for details. If you are modeling semi-transparent media using the DO model, you should also dene the refractive index for the semi-transparent uid or solid material. When using the Rosseland model, you should dene the refractive index for the uid or solid material. For the DTRM, you need to dene only the absorption coecient. Dene Materials... If your model includes gas phase species such as combustion products, absorption and/or scattering in the gas may be signicant. The scattering coecient should be increased from the default of zero if the uid contains dispersed particles or droplets which contribute to scattering. Alternatively, you can specify the scattering coecient as a userdened function (UDF). See Section 4.3.14: DEFINE PROPERTY of the separate UDF Manual for details. FLUENT allows you to input a composition-dependent absorption coecient for CO2 and H2 O mixtures, using the WSGGM. The method for computing a variable absorption coecient is described in Section 12.3.9: Radiation in Combusting Flows. Section 8.7: Radiation Properties provides a detailed description of the procedures used for input of radiation properties.
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Absorption Coefcient for a Non-Gray DO Model

If you are using the non-gray DO model, you can specify a dierent constant absorption coecient for each of the bands used by the gray-band model, as described in Section 8.7: Radiation Properties. You cannot, however, compute a composition-dependent absorption coecient in each band. If you use the WSGGM to compute a variable absorption coecient, the value will be the same for all bands. Alternatively, you can specify a user-dened function (UDF) for the absorption coecient. See Section 4.3.14: DEFINE PROPERTY of the separate UDF Manual for details.
Refractive Index for a Non-Gray DO Model

If you are using the non-gray DO model, you can specify a dierent constant refractive index for each of the bands used by the gray-band model, as described in Section 8.7: Radiation Properties. You cannot, however, compute a composition-dependent refractive index in each band.
12.3.17
Setting Radiation Boundary Conditions
When you set up a problem that includes radiation, you will set additional boundary conditions at walls, inlets, and exits. Dene Boundary Conditions...
Inlet and Exit Boundary Conditions

Emissivity When radiation is active, you can dene the emissivity at each inlet and exit boundary when you are dening boundary conditions in the associated inlet or exit boundary panel (Pressure Inlet panel, Velocity Inlet panel, Pressure Outlet panel, etc.). Enter the appropriate value for Internal Emissivity. The default value for all boundary types is 1. Alternatively, you can specify a user-dened function for emissivity. See Section 4.3.14: DEFINE PROPERTY of the separate UDF Manual for details. For non-gray DO models, the specied constant emissivity will be used for all wavelength bands.
The Internal Emissivity boundary condition is not available with the Rosseland model.
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Black Body Temperature FLUENT includes an option that allows you to take into account the inuence of the temperature of the gas and the walls beyond the inlet/exit boundaries, and specify dierent temperatures for radiation and convection at inlets and exits. This is useful when the temperature outside the inlet or exit diers considerably from the temperature in the enclosure. For example, if the temperature of the walls beyond the inlet is 2000 K and the temperature at the inlet is 1000 K, you can specify the outside-wall temperature to be used for computing radiative heat ux, while the actual temperature at the inlet is used for calculating convective heat transfer. To do this, you would specify a radiation temperature of 2000 K as the black body temperature. Although this option allows you to account for both cooler and hotter outside walls, you must use caution in the case of cooler walls, since the radiation from the immediate vicinity of the hotter inlet or outlet almost always dominates over the radiation from cooler outside walls. If, for example, the temperature of the outside walls is 250 K and the inlet temperature is 1500 K, it might be misleading to use 250 K for the radiation boundary temperature. This temperature might be expected to be somewhere between 250 K and 1500 K; in most cases it will be close to 1500 K. (Its value depends on the geometry of the outside walls and the optical thickness of the gas in the vicinity of the inlet.) In the ow inlet or exit panel (Pressure Inlet panel, Velocity Inlet panel, etc.), select Specied External Temperature in the External Black Body Temperature Method drop-down list, and then enter the value of the radiation boundary temperature as the Black Body Temperature.
i i
If you want to use the same temperature for radiation and convection, retain the default selection of Boundary Temperature as the External Black Body Temperature Method. The Black Body Temperature boundary condition is not available with the Rosseland model.
Wall Boundary Conditions for the DTRM, and the P-1, S2S and Rosseland Models
The DTRM and the P-1, S2S, and Rosseland models assume all walls to be gray and diuse. The only radiation boundary condition required in the Wall panel is the emissivity. For the Rosseland model, the internal emissivity is 1. For the DTRM and the P-1 and S2S models, you can enter the appropriate value for Internal Emissivity in the Thermal section of the Wall panel. The default value is 1. Alternatively, you can specify a user-dened function for emissivity. See Section 4.3.14: DEFINE PROPERTY of the separate UDF Manual for details.
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Partial Enclosure Wall Boundary Condition for the S2S Model When the S2S model is used, you also have the option to dene a partial enclosure; i.e., you can disable view factor calculations for walls that are not participating in the radiative heat transfer calculation. This feature allows you to save time computing the view factors and also reduce the memory required to store the view factor le during the FLUENT calculation. To make use of this feature, turn o the Participates in S2S Radiation option in the Thermal section of the Wall panel for each relevant wall. You can specify the Temperature of the partial enclosure under Partial Enclosure in the Radiation Model panel (Figure 12.3.26). The partial enclosure is treated like a black body with the specied temperature.
i i
If you change the denition of the partial enclosure by including or excluding some of the boundary zones, you will need to recompute the view factors. The Flux Reports panel will not show the exact balance of the Radiation Heat Transfer Rate because the radiative heat transfer to the partial enclosure is not included.
Wall Boundary Conditions for the DO Model

When the DO model is used, you can model opaque walls, as discussed in Section 12.3.6: Boundary Condition Treatment at Opaque Walls, as well as semi-transparent walls (Section 12.3.6: Boundary Condition Treatment at Semi-Transparent Walls). You can use a diuse wall to model wall boundaries in many industrial applications since, for the most part, surface roughness makes the reection of incident radiation diuse. For highly polished surfaces, such as reectors or mirrors, the specular boundary condition is appropriate. The semi-transparent boundary condition can be appropriate, for example, when modeling for glass panes in air. Opaque Walls In the Radiation section of the Wall panel (Figure 12.3.30), select opaque in the BC Type drop-down list to specify an opaque wall. Opaque walls are treated as gray if gray radiation is being computed, or non-gray if the non-gray DO model is being used. If the non-gray DO model is being used, the Diuse Fraction can be specied for each band. Once you have selected opaque as the BC Type, you can specify the fraction of reected radiation ux that is to be treated as diuse. By default, the Diuse Fraction is set to 1, indicating that all of the radiation is diuse. A diuse fraction equal to 0 indicates purely specular reected radiation. A diuse fraction between 0 and 1 will result in partially
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diuse and partially specular reected energy. See Section 12.3.6: Boundary Condition Treatment at Opaque Walls for more details.
Figure 12.3.30: The Wall Panel Showing Radiation Conditions for an Opaque Wall
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You will also be required to specify the internal emissivity in the Thermal section of the Wall panel (Figure 12.3.31). For gray-radiation DO models, enter the appropriate value for Internal Emissivity. (The default value is 1.) The value that you specify will be applied to the diuse component only. For non-gray DO models, specify a constant Internal Emissivity for each wavelength band in the Radiation tab. (The default value in each band is 1.) Alternatively, you can specify a user-dened function (UDF) for internal emissivity. See Section 4.3.14: DEFINE PROPERTY of the separate UDF Manual for details.
Figure 12.3.31: The Wall Panel Showing Internal Emissivity Thermal Conditions for an Opaque Wall
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You can also specify the external emissivity and external radiation temperature for a semi-transparent wall when the thermal conditions are set to Radiation or Mixed in the Wall panel (Figure 12.3.32). Alternatively, you can specify a UDF for these parameters.
Figure 12.3.32: The Wall Panel Showing External Emissivity and External Radiation Temperature Thermal Conditions
For more information on boundary condition treatment at opaque walls, see Section 12.3.6: Boundary Condition Treatment at Opaque Walls.
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Semi-Transparent Walls To dene radiation for an exterior semi-transparent wall, in the Wall panel choose the Radiation tab and then select semi-transparent in the BC Type drop-down list(Figure 12.3.33). The panel will expand to display the semi-transparent wall inputs needed to dene an external irradiation ux
Figure 12.3.33: The Wall Panel for a Semi-Transparent Wall Boundary
1. Specify the value of the irradiation ux (in W/m2 ) under Irradiation. If the non-gray DO model is being used, a constant Irradiation can be specied for each band. 2. Apply Irradiation Parallel to Beam is the default means of specifying the scale of irradiation ux. When active, FLUENT assumes the value of Irradiation that you specify is the irradiation ux parallel to the Beam Direction. When deselected, FLUENT instead assumes the valued specied is the ux parallel to the face normals
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and will calculate the resulting beam parallel ux for every face. See Figure 12.3.12 in Section 12.3.6: Semi-Transparent Exterior Walls for details. 3. Dene the Beam Width by specifying the beam Theta and Phi extents. Beam width is specied as the solid angle over which the irradiation is distributed. The default value for beam width is 1e 6 which is suitable for collimated beam radiation. A beam width less than this is likely to result in zero irradiation ux. 4. Specify the (X,Y,Z) vector that denes the Beam Direction. Beam direction is dened by the vector of the centroid of the solid angle. Only the specular component of the irradiation ux will be applied with the specied beam direction; the diuse irradiation ux will be applied diusely and hemispherically to the surface. 5. Specify the fraction of the irradiation that is to be treated as diuse as a real number between 0 and 1. By default, the Diuse Fraction is set to 1, indicating that all of the irradiation is diuse. A diuse fraction of 0 treats the radiation as purely specular. If you specify a value between 0 and 1, the radiation is treated as partially diuse and partially specular. If the non-gray DO model is being used, the Diuse Fraction can be specied for each band. See Section 12.3.6: Diuse Semi-Transparent Walls for details.
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Note that the refractive index of the external medium is assumed to be 1.
If Heat Flux conditions are specied in the Thermal section of the Wall panel, the specied heat ux is considered to be only the conduction and convection portion of the boundary ux. The given irradiation species the incoming exterior radiative ux; the radiative ux transmitted from the domain interior to the outside is computed as a part of the calculation by FLUENT. Internal emissivity is ignored for semi-transparent surfaces.
You can also specify the external emissivity and external radiation temperature for a semi-transparent wall when the thermal conditions are set to Radiation or Mixed in the Wall panel (Figure 12.3.32). Alternatively, you can specify a user-dened function (UDF) for these parameters. See Section 4.3.14: DEFINE PROPERTY of the separate UDF Manual for details. For a detailed description of boundary condition treatment at semi-transparent walls, see Section 12.3.6: Boundary Condition Treatment at Semi-Transparent Walls.
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To dene radiation for an interior (two-sided) semi-transparent wall, in the Wall panel choose the Radiation tab and then select semi-transparent in the BC Type drop-down list (Figure 12.3.34). 1. Specify the Diuse Fraction as described for the previous case.
Figure 12.3.34: The Wall Panel for an Interior Semi-Transparent Wall
Note that the internal emissivity thermal condition is ignored for semitransparent surfaces.
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Solid Boundary Conditions for the DO Model

With the DO model, you can specify whether or not you want to solve for radiation in each cell zone in the domain. By default, the DO equations are solved in all uid zones, but not in any solid zones. If you want to model semi-transparent media, for example, you can enable radiation in the solid zone(s). To do so, turn on the Participates In Radiation option in the Solid panel (Figure 12.3.35).
Figure 12.3.35: The Solid Panel
In general, you should not turn o the Participates In Radiation option for any uid zones.
See Section 12.3.6: Solid Semi-Transparent Media for more information on solid semitransparent media.
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Thermal Boundary Conditions

In general, any well-posed combination of thermal boundary conditions can be used when any of the radiation models is active. The radiation model will be well-posed in combination with xed temperature walls, conducting walls, and/or walls with set external heat transfer boundary conditions (Section 7.13.1: Dening Thermal Boundary Conditions at Walls). You can also use any of the radiation models with heat ux boundary conditions dened at walls, in which case the heat ux you dene will be treated as the sum of the convective and radiative heat uxes. The exception to this is the case of semi-transparent walls for the DO model. Here, FLUENT allows you to specify the convective and radiative portions of the heat ux separately, as explained above.
Solar Load Boundary Conditions

See Section 12.3.8: Setting Boundary Conditions for Solar Loading for a description of setting up solar load boundary conditions.
12.3.18
Setting Solution Parameters for Radiation
For the P-1, DTRM, S2S, and the DO radiation models, there are several parameters that control the radiation calculation. You can use the default solution parameters for most problems, or you can modify these parameters to control the convergence and accuracy of the solution. Iteration parameters that are unique for a particular radiation model are specied in the Radiation Model panel (e.g., Flow Iterations Per Radiation Iteration). Solution controls such as Discretization (Section 26.2: Discretization) and Under-Relaxation (Section 26.2.11: Under-Relaxation) are specied in the Solution Controls panel. Convergence Criterion (Section 26.19.1: Modifying Convergence Criteria) are set in the Residual Monitors panel. There are no solution parameters to be set for the Rosseland model, since it impacts the solution only through the energy equation.
If radiation is the only model being solved in FLUENT and all other equations are switched o, then the Flow Iterations Per Radiation Iteration solution parameter that is available for certain radiation models, is automatically reset to 1.
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P-1 Solution Parameters

For the P-1 radiation model, you can control the convergence criterion and underrelaxation factor. You should also pay attention to the optical thickness, as described below. The default convergence criterion for the P-1 model is 106 , the same as that for the energy equation, since the two are closely linked. See Section 26.19.1: Monitoring Residuals for details about convergence criteria. You can set the Convergence Criterion for p1 in the Residual Monitors panel. Solve Monitors Residual... The under-relaxation factor for the P-1 model is set with those for other variables, as described in Section 26.10: Setting Under-Relaxation Factors. Note that since the equation for the radiation temperature (Equation 12.3-12) is a relatively stable scalar transport equation, in most cases you can safely use large values of under-relaxation (0.91.0). For optimal convergence with the P-1 model, the optical thickness (a + s )L must be between 0.01 and 10 (preferably not larger than 5). Smaller optical thicknesses are typical for very small enclosures (characteristic size of the order of 1 cm), but for such problems you can safely increase the absorption coecient to a value for which (a + s )L = 0.01. Increasing the absorption coecient will not change the physics of the problem because the dierence in the level of transparency of a medium with optical thickness = 0.01 and one with optical thickness < 0.01 is indistinguishable within the accuracy level of the computation.
DTRM Solution Parameters

When the DTRM is active, FLUENT updates the radiation eld during the calculation and computes the resulting energy sources and heat uxes via the ray-tracing technique described in Section 12.3.3: Ray Tracing. FLUENT provides several solution parameters that control the solver and the solution accuracy. These parameters appear in the expanded portion of the Radiation Model panel (Figure 12.3.36). You can control the maximum number of sweeps of the radiation calculation during each global iteration by changing the Number of DTRM Sweeps. The default setting of 1 sweep implies that the radiant intensity will be updated just once. If you increase this number, the radiant intensity at the surfaces will be updated multiple times, until the tolerance criterion is met or the number of radiation sweeps is exceeded. The Tolerance parameter (0.001 by default) determines when the radiation intensity update is converged. It is dened as the maximum normalized change in the surface intensity from one DTRM sweep to the next (see Equation 12.3-97). You can also control the frequency with which the radiation eld is updated as the continuous phase solution proceeds. The Flow Iterations Per Radiation Iteration parameter
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Figure 12.3.36: The Radiation Model Panel (DTRM)
is set to 10 by default. This implies that the radiation calculation is performed once every 10 iterations of the solution process. Increasing the number can speed the calculation process, but may slow overall convergence.
S2S Solution Parameters

For the S2S model, as for the DTRM, you can control the frequency with which the radiosity is updated as the continuous-phase solution proceeds. See the description of Flow Iterations Per Radiation Iteration for the DTRM, above. If you are using the segregated solver and you rst solve the ow equations with the energy equation turned o, you should reduce the Flow Iterations Per Radiation Iteration from 10 to 1 or 2. This will ensure the convergence of the radiosity. If the default value of 10 is kept in this case, it is possible that the ow and energy residuals may converge and the solution will terminate before the radiosity is converged. See Section 12.3.19: Residual Reporting for the S2S Model for more information about residuals for the S2S model. You can control the maximum number of sweeps of the radiation calculation during each global iteration by changing the Number of S2S Sweeps. The default setting of 1 sweep implies that the radiosity will be updated just once. If you increase this number, the radiosity at the surfaces will be updated multiple times, until the tolerance criterion is met or the number of radiation sweeps is exceeded. The Tolerance parameter (0.001 by default) determines when the radiosity update is converged. It is dened as the maximum normalized change in the radiosity from one S2S sweep to the next (see Equation 12.3-98).
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DO Solution Parameters
For the discrete ordinates model, as for the DTRM, you can control the frequency with which the surface intensity is updated as the continuous phase solution proceeds. See the description of Flow Iterations Per Radiation Iteration for the DTRM, above. For most problems, the default under-relaxation of 1.0 for the DO equations is adequate. For problems with large optical thicknesses (aL > 10), you may experience slow convergence or solution oscillation. For such cases, under-relaxing the energy and DO equations is useful. Under-relaxation factors between 0.9 and 1.0 are recommended for both equations.
12.3.19
Solving the Problem
Once the radiation problem has been set up, you can proceed as usual with the calculation. Note that while the P-1 and DO models will solve additional transport equations and report residuals, the DTRM and the Rosseland and S2S models will not (since they impact the solution only through the energy equation). Residuals for the DTRM and S2S model sweeps are reported by FLUENT every time a DTRM or S2S model iteration is performed, as described below.
Residual Reporting for the P-1 Model

The residual for radiation as calculated by the P-1 model is updated after each iteration and reported with the residuals for all other variables. FLUENT reports the normalized P-1 radiation residual as dened in Section 26.19.1: Monitoring Residuals for the other transport equations.
Residual Reporting for the DO Model

After each DO iteration, the DO model reports a composite normalized residual for all the DO transport equations. The denition of the residuals is similar to that for the other transport equations (see Section 26.19.1: Monitoring Residuals).
Residual Reporting for the DTRM

FLUENT does not include a DTRM residual in its usual residual report that is issued after each iteration. The eect of radiation on the solution can be gathered, instead, via its impact on the energy eld and the energy residual. However, each time a DTRM iteration is performed, FLUENT will print out the normalized radiation error for each DTRM sweep. The normalized radiation error is dened as (Inew all radiating surfaces N (T 4 /) Iold ) (12.3-97)
E=
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where the error E is the maximum change in the intensity (I) at the current sweep, normalized by the maximum surface emissive power, and N is the total number of radiating surfaces. Note that the default radiation convergence criterion, as noted in Section 12.3.18: DTRM Solution Parameters, denes the radiation calculation to be converged when E decreases to 103 or less.
Residual Reporting for the S2S Model

FLUENT does not include an S2S residual in its usual residual report that is issued after each iteration. The eect of radiation on the solution can be gathered, instead, via its impact on the energy eld and the energy residual. However, each time an S2S iteration is performed, FLUENT will print out the normalized radiation error for each S2S sweep. The normalized radiation error is dened as (Jnew Jold ) E=
all radiating surface clusters N T 4
(12.3-98)
where the error E is the maximum change in the radiosity (J) at the current sweep, normalized by the maximum surface emissive power, and N is the total number of radiating surface clusters. Note that the default radiation convergence criterion, as noted in Section 12.3.18: DTRM Solution Parameters, denes the radiation calculation to be converged when E decreases to 103 or less.
Disabling the Update of the Radiation Fluxes

Sometimes, you may wish to set up your FLUENT model with the radiation model active and then disable the radiation calculation during the initial calculation phase. For the P1 and DO models, you can turn o the radiation calculation temporarily by deselecting P1 or Discrete Ordinates in the Equations list in the Solution Controls panel. For the DTRM and the S2S model, there is no item in the Equations list. You can instead set a very large number for Flow Iterations Per Radiation Iteration in the expanded portion of the Radiation Model panel. If you turn o the radiation calculation, FLUENT will skip the update of the radiation eld during subsequent iterations, but will leave in place the inuence of the current radiation eld on energy sources due to absorption, wall heat uxes, etc. Turning the radiation calculation o in this way can thus be used to initiate your modeling work with the radiation model inactive and/or to focus the computational eort on the other equations if the radiation model is relatively well converged.
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12.3.20
Postprocessing Radiation Quantities
FLUENT provides radiation quantities that you can use in postprocessing when your model includes the solution of radiative heat transfer. You can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following variables/functions: In the Radiation... category: Incident Radiation (P-1 and DO models) Absorption Coecient (DTRM, P-1, DO, and Rosseland models) Scattering Coecient (P-1, DO, and Rosseland models) Refractive Index (DO model only) Radiation Temperature (P-1 and DO models) Surface Cluster ID (S2S model) In the Wall Fluxes... category: Radiation Heat Flux (all radiation models) Surface Incident Radiation (S2S, DTRM, and DO models) Transmitted Radiation Flux (DO model, semi-transparent wall) Reected Radiation Flux (DO model, semi-transparent wall) Absorbed Radiation Flux (DO model, semi-transparent wall) Beam Irradiation Flux (DO model, semi-transparent wall) See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for denitions of these postprocessing variables. Note that in addition, incident radiation, transmitted, reected and absorbed radiation ux are also available on a per-band basis for the non-gray DO model.
i i
The sign convention on the radiative heat ux: heat ux from the wall surface is a positive quantity. It is possible to export heat ux data on wall zones (including radiation) to a generic le that you can examine or use in an external program. See Section 12.2.5: Exporting Heat Flux Data for details.
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Reporting and Displaying Solar Load Quantities

FLUENT provides some additional solar load variables that you can use for postprocessing when your model includes solar ray tracing. You can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following variables: In the Wall Fluxes... category: Solar Heat Flux Transmitted Visible Solar Flux (semi-transparent walls) Transmitted IR Solar Flux (semi-transparent walls) Reected Visible Solar Flux (semi-transparent walls) Reected IR Solar Flux (semi-transparent walls) Absorbed Visible Solar Flux (semi-transparent walls) Absorbed IR Solar Flux (semi-transparent walls) See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for their denitions.
Reporting Radiative Heat Transfer Through Boundaries

You can use the Flux Reports panel to compute the radiative heat transfer through each boundary of the domain, or to sum the radiative heat transfer through all boundaries. Report Fluxes... See Section 30.2: Fluxes Through Boundaries for details about generating ux reports.
Overall Heat Balances When Using the DTRM

The DTRM yields a global heat balance and a balance of radiant heat uxes only in the limit of a sucient number of rays. In any given calculation, therefore, if the number of rays is insucient you may nd that the radiant uxes do not obey a strict balance. Such imbalances are the inevitable consequence of the discrete ray tracing procedure and can be minimized by selecting a larger number of rays from each wall boundary.
Displaying Rays and Clusters for the DTRM

When you use the DTRM, FLUENT allows you to display surface or volume clusters, as well as the rays that emanate from a particular surface cluster. You will use the DTRM Graphics panel (Figure 12.3.37) for all of these displays. Display DTRM Graphics...
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Figure 12.3.37: The DTRM Graphics Panel
Displaying Clusters To view clusters, select Cluster under Display Type and then select either Surface or Volume under Cluster Type. To display all of the surface or volume clusters, select the Display All Clusters option under Cluster Selection and click the Display button. To display only the cluster (surface or volume) nearest to a specied point, deselect the Display All Clusters option and specify the coordinates under Nearest Point. You may also use the mouse to choose the nearest point. Click on the Select Point With Mouse button and then right-click on a point in the graphics window. Displaying Rays To display the rays emanating from the surface cluster nearest to the specied point, select Ray under Display Type. Set the appropriate values for Theta and Phi Divisions under Ray Parameters (see Section 12.3.12: Dening the Ray Tracing for the DTRM for details), and then click on the Display button. Figure 12.3.38 shows a ray plot for a simple 2D geometry.
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DTRM Rays
Figure 12.3.38: Ray Display
Including the Grid in the Display For some problems, especially complex 3D geometries, you may want to include portions of the grid in your ray or cluster display as spatial reference points. For example, you may want to show the location of an inlet and an outlet along with displaying the rays. This is accomplished by turning on the Draw Grid option in the DTRM Graphics panel. The Grid Display panel will appear automatically when you turn on the Draw Grid option, and you can set the grid display parameters there. When you click on Display in the DTRM Graphics panel, the grid display, as dened in the Grid Display panel, will be included in the ray or cluster display.
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12.4 Periodic Heat Transfer
12.4
Periodic Heat Transfer
FLUENT is able to predict heat transfer in periodically repeating geometries, such as compact heat exchangers, by including only a single periodic module for analysis. This section discusses streamwise-periodic heat transfer. The treatment of streamwiseperiodic ows is discussed in Section 9.3: Periodic Flows, and a description of no-pressuredrop periodic ow is provided in Section 7.15: Periodic Boundary Conditions. Information about streamwise-periodic heat transfer is presented in the following sections: Section 12.4.1: Overview and Limitations Section 12.4.2: Theory Section 12.4.3: Modeling Periodic Heat Transfer Section 12.4.4: Solution Strategies for Periodic Heat Transfer Section 12.4.5: Monitoring Convergence Section 12.4.6: Postprocessing for Periodic Heat Transfer
12.4.1
Overview
As discussed in Section 9.3.1: Overview and Limitations, streamwise-periodic ow conditions exist when the ow pattern repeats over some length L, with a constant pressure drop across each repeating module along the streamwise direction. Periodic thermal conditions may be established when the thermal boundary conditions are of the constant wall temperature or wall heat ux type. In such problems, the temperature eld (when scaled in an appropriate manner) is periodically fully-developed [255]. As for periodic ows, such problems can be analyzed by restricting the numerical model to a single module or periodic length.
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Constraints for Periodic Heat Transfer Predictions

In addition to the constraints for streamwise-periodic ow discussed in Section 9.3.1: Constraints on the Use of Streamwise-Periodic Flow, the following constraints must be met when periodic heat transfer is to be considered: The segregated solver must be used. The thermal boundary conditions must be of the specied heat ux or constant wall temperature type. Furthermore, in a given problem, these thermal boundary types cannot be combined: all boundaries must be either constant temperature or specied heat ux. (You can, however, include constant-temperature walls and zero-heat-ux walls in the same problem.) For the constant-temperature case, all walls must be at the same temperature (proles are not allowed) or zero heat ux. For the heat ux case, proles and/or dierent values of heat ux may be specied at dierent walls. When constant-temperature wall boundaries are used, you cannot include viscous heating eects or any volumetric heat sources. In cases that involve solid regions, the regions cannot straddle the periodic plane. The thermodynamic and transport properties of the uid (heat capacity, thermal conductivity, viscosity, and density) cannot be functions of temperature. (You cannot, therefore, model reacting ows.) Transport properties may, however, vary spatially in a periodic manner, and this allows you to model periodic turbulent ows in which the eective turbulent transport properties (eective conductivity, eective viscosity) vary with the (periodic) turbulence eld. Sections 12.4.2 and 12.4.3 provide more detailed descriptions of the input requirements for periodic heat transfer.
12.4.2
Theory
Streamwise-periodic ow with heat transfer from constant-temperature walls is one of two classes of periodic heat transfer that can be modeled by FLUENT. A periodic fullydeveloped temperature eld can also be obtained when heat ux conditions are specied. In such cases, the temperature change between periodic boundaries becomes constant and can be related to the net heat addition from the boundaries as described in this section.
Periodic heat transfer can be modeled only if you are using the segregated solver.
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Denition of the Periodic Temperature for Constant- Temperature Wall Conditions

For the case of constant wall temperature, as the uid ows through the periodic domain, its temperature approaches that of the wall boundaries. However, the temperature can be scaled in such a way that it behaves in a periodic manner. A suitable scaling of the temperature for periodic ows with constant-temperature walls is [255] = T (r) Twall Tbulk,inlet Twall (12.4-1)
The bulk temperature, Tbulk,inlet , is dened by

A
Tbulk,inlet =
T |v dA| |v dA|
(12.4-2)
where the integral is taken over the inlet periodic boundary (A). It is the scaled temperature, , which obeys a periodic condition across the domain of length L.
Denition of the Periodic Temperature Change for Specied Heat Flux Conditions
When periodic heat transfer with heat ux conditions is considered, the form of the unscaled temperature eld becomes analogous to that of the pressure eld in a periodic ow: T (r + L) T (r) T (r + 2L) T (r + L) = = . L L
(12.4-3)
where L is the periodic length vector of the domain. This temperature gradient, , can be written in terms of the total heat addition within the domain, Q, as = Q Tbulk,exit Tbulk,inlet = mcp L L (12.4-4)
where m is the specied or calculated mass ow rate.
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12.4.3
Modeling Periodic Heat Transfer
Overview of Streamwise-Periodic Flow and Heat Transfer Modeling Procedures

A typical calculation involving both streamwise-periodic ow and periodic heat transfer is performed in two parts. First, the periodic velocity eld is calculated (to convergence) without consideration of the temperature eld. Next, the velocity eld is frozen and the resulting temperature eld is calculated. These periodic ow calculations are accomplished using the following procedure: 1. Set up a grid with translationally periodic boundary conditions. 2. Input constant thermodynamic and molecular transport properties. 3. Specify either the periodic pressure gradient or the net mass ow rate through the periodic boundaries. 4. Compute the periodic ow eld, solving momentum, continuity, and (optionally) turbulence equations. 5. Specify the thermal boundary conditions at walls as either heat ux or constant temperature. 6. Dene an inlet bulk temperature. 7. Solve the energy equation (only) to predict the periodic temperature eld. These steps are detailed below.
User Inputs for Periodic Heat Transfer

In order to model the periodic heat transfer, you will need to set up your periodic model in the manner described in Section 9.3.3: User Inputs for the Segregated Solver for periodic ow models with the segregated solver, noting the restrictions discussed in Sections 9.3.1 and 12.4.1. In addition, you will need to provide the following inputs related to the heat transfer model: 1. Activate solution of the energy equation in the Energy panel. Dene Models Energy... 2. Dene the thermal boundary conditions according to one of the following procedures: Dene Boundary Conditions...
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If you are modeling periodic heat transfer with specied-temperature boundary conditions, set the wall temperature Twall for all wall boundaries in their respective Wall panels. Note that all wall boundaries must be assigned the same temperature and that the entire domain (except the periodic boundaries) must be enclosed by this xed-temperature condition, or by symmetry or adiabatic (q=0) boundaries. If you are modeling periodic heat transfer with specied-heat-ux boundary conditions, set the wall heat ux in the Wall panel for each wall boundary. You can dene dierent values of heat ux on dierent wall boundaries, but you should have no other types of thermal boundary conditions active in the domain. 3. Dene solid regions, if appropriate, according to one of the following procedures: Dene Boundary Conditions... If you are modeling periodic heat transfer with specied-temperature conditions, conducting solid regions can be used within the domain, provided that on the perimeter of the domain they are enclosed by the xed-temperature condition. Heat generation within the solid regions is not allowed when you are solving periodic heat transfer with xed-temperature conditions. If you are modeling periodic heat transfer with specied-heat-ux conditions, you can dene conducting solid regions at any location within the domain, including volumetric heat addition within the solid, if desired. 4. Set constant material properties (density, heat capacity, viscosity, thermal conductivity), not temperature-dependent properties, using the Materials panel. Dene Materials... 5. Specify the Upstream Bulk Temperature in the Periodicity Conditions panel. Dene Periodic Conditions...
If you are modeling periodic heat transfer with specied-temperature conditions, the bulk temperature should not be equal to the wall temperature, since this will give you the trivial solution of constant temperature everywhere.
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12.4.4
Solution Strategies for Periodic Heat Transfer
After completing the inputs described in Section 12.4.3: Modeling Periodic Heat Transfer, you can solve the ow and heat transfer problem to convergence. The most ecient approach to the solution, however, is a sequential one in which the periodic ow is rst solved without heat transfer and then the heat transfer is solved leaving the ow eld unaltered. This sequential approach is accomplished as follows: 1. Disable solution of the energy equation under Equations in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... 2. Solve the remaining equations (continuity, momentum, and, optionally, turbulence parameters) to convergence to obtain the periodic ow eld.
When you initialize the ow eld before beginning the calculation, use the mean value between the inlet bulk temperature and the wall temperature for the initialization of the temperature eld.
3. Return to the Solution Controls panel and turn o solution of the ow equations and turn on the energy solution. 4. Solve the energy equation to convergence to obtain the periodic temperature eld of interest. While you can solve your periodic ow and heat transfer problems by considering both the ow and heat transfer simultaneously, you will nd that the procedure outlined above is more ecient.
12.4.5
Monitoring Convergence
If you are modeling periodic heat transfer with specied-temperature conditions, you can monitor the value of the bulk temperature ratio = Twall Tbulk,inlet Twall Tbulk,exit (12.4-5)
during the calculation using the Statistic Monitors panel to ensure that you reach a converged solution. Select per/bulk-temp-ratio as the variable to be monitored. See Section 26.19.2: Monitoring Statistics for details about using this feature.
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12.4.6
Postprocessing for Periodic Heat Transfer
The actual temperature eld predicted by FLUENT in periodic models will not be periodic, and viewing the temperature results during postprocessing will display this actual temperature eld (T (r) of Equation 12.4-1). The displayed temperature may exhibit values outside the range dened by the inlet bulk temperature and the wall temperature. This is permissible since the actual temperature prole at the inlet periodic face will have temperatures that are higher or lower than the inlet bulk temperature. Static Temperature is found in the Temperature... category of the variable selection dropdown list that appears in postprocessing panels. Figure 12.4.1 shows the temperature eld in a periodic heat exchanger geometry.
4.00e+02 3.87e+02 3.74e+02 3.61e+02 3.48e+02 3.35e+02 3.22e+02 3.09e+02 2.96e+02 2.83e+02 2.70e+02
Contours of Static Temperature (k)
Figure 12.4.1: Temperature Field in a 2D Heat Exchanger Geometry With Fixed Temperature Boundary Conditions
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12.5
Buoyancy-Driven Flows
When heat is added to a uid and the uid density varies with temperature, a ow can be induced due to the force of gravity acting on the density variations. Such buoyancy-driven ows are termed natural-convection (or mixed-convection) ows and can be modeled by FLUENT.
12.5.1
Theory
The importance of buoyancy forces in a mixed convection ow can be measured by the ratio of the Grashof and Reynolds numbers: Gr gT L 2 = v2 Re (12.5-1)
When this number approaches or exceeds unity, you should expect strong buoyancy contributions to the ow. Conversely, if it is very small, buoyancy forces may be ignored in your simulation. In pure natural convection, the strength of the buoyancy-induced ow is measured by the Rayleigh number: Ra = gT L3 (12.5-2)
where is the thermal expansion coecient: = and is the thermal diusivity: = k cp (12.5-4) 1 T
(12.5-3)
p
Rayleigh numbers less than 108 indicate a buoyancy-induced laminar ow, with transition to turbulence occurring over the range of 108 < Ra < 1010 .
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12.5 Buoyancy-Driven Flows
12.5.2
Modeling Natural Convection in a Closed Domain
When you model natural convection inside a closed domain, the solution will depend on the mass inside the domain. Since this mass will not be known unless the density is known, you must model the ow in one of the following ways: Perform a transient calculation. In this approach, the initial density will be computed from the initial pressure and temperature, so the initial mass is known. As the solution progresses over time, this mass will be properly conserved. If the temperature dierences in your domain are large, you must follow this approach. Perform a steady-state calculation using the Boussinesq model (described in Section 12.5.3: The Boussinesq Model). In this approach, you will specify a constant density, so the mass is properly specied. This approach is valid only if the temperature dierences in the domain are small; if not, you must use the transient approach.
For a closed domain, you can use the incompressible ideal gas law only with a xed operating pressure. It cannot be used with a oating operating pressure. You can use the compressible ideal gas law with either oating or xed operating pressure.
See Section 9.5.4: Floating Operating Pressure for more information about the oating operating pressure option.
12.5.3
The Boussinesq Model
For many natural-convection ows, you can get faster convergence with the Boussinesq model than you can get by setting up the problem with uid density as a function of temperature. This model treats density as a constant value in all solved equations, except for the buoyancy term in the momentum equation: ( 0 )g 0 (T T0 )g (12.5-5)
where 0 is the (constant) density of the ow, T0 is the operating temperature, and is the thermal expansion coecient. Equation 12.5-5 is obtained by using the Boussinesq approximation = 0 (1T ) to eliminate from the buoyancy term. This approximation is accurate as long as changes in actual density are small; specically, the Boussinesq approximation is valid when (T T0 ) 1.
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Limitations of the Boussinesq Model

The Boussinesq model should not be used if the temperature dierences in the domain are large. In addition, it cannot be used with species calculations, combustion, or reacting ows.
12.5.4
User Inputs for Buoyancy-Driven Flows
You must provide the following inputs to include buoyancy forces in the simulation of mixed or natural convection ows: 1. Turn on solution of the energy equation in the Energy panel. Dene Models Energy... 2. Turn on Gravity in the Operating Conditions panel (Figure 12.5.1) and set the Gravitational Acceleration in each Cartesian coordinate direction by entering the appropriate values in the X, Y, and (for 3D) Z elds. Dene Operating Conditions
Figure 12.5.1: The Operating Conditions Panel
Note that the default gravitational acceleration in FLUENT is zero.
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3. If you are using the incompressible ideal gas law, check that the Operating Pressure is set to an appropriate (non-zero) value in the Operating Conditions panel. 4. Depending on whether or not you use the Boussinesq approximation, specify the appropriate parameters described below: If you are not using the Boussinesq model, the inputs are as follows: (a) If necessary, enable the Specied Operating Density option in the Operating Conditions panel, and specify the Operating Density. See below for details. (b) Dene the uid density as a function of temperature, as described in Sections 8.2 and 8.3. Dene Materials... If you are using the Boussinesq model (described in Section 12.5.3: The Boussinesq Model), the inputs are as follows: (a) Specify the Operating Temperature (T0 in Equation 12.5-5) in the Operating Conditions panel. (b) Select boussinesq as the method for Density in the Materials panel, as described in Sections 8.2 and 8.3. (c) Also in the Materials panel, set the Thermal Expansion Coecient ( in Equation 12.5-5) for the uid material and specify a constant density. Note that, if your model involves multiple uid materials, you can choose whether or not to use the Boussinesq model for each material. As a result, you may have some materials using the Boussinesq model and others not. In such cases, you will need to set all the parameters described above in this step. 5. The boundary pressures that you input at pressure inlet and outlet boundaries are the redened pressures as given by Equation 12.5-6. In general you should input equal pressures, p , at the inlet and exit boundaries of your FLUENT model if there are no externally-imposed pressure gradients. Dene Boundary Conditions... 6. Select Body Force Weighted or Second Order as the Discretization method for Pressure in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... You may also want to add cells near the walls to resolve boundary layers. If you are using the segregated solver, selecting PRESTO! as the Discretization method for Pressure is another recommended approach. See also Section 12.2.2: User Inputs for Heat Transfer for information on setting up heat transfer calculations.
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Denition of the Operating Density

When the Boussinesq approximation is not used, the operating density, 0 , appears in the body-force term in the momentum equations as ( 0 )g. This form of the body-force term follows from the redenition of pressure in FLUENT as ps = ps 0 gx The hydrostatic pressure in a uid at rest is then ps = 0 Setting the Operating Density By default, FLUENT will compute the operating density by averaging over all cells. In some cases, you may obtain better results if you explicitly specify the operating density instead of having the solver compute it for you. For example, if you are solving a naturalconvection problem with a pressure boundary, it is important to understand that the pressure you are specifying is ps in Equation 12.5-6. Although you will know the actual pressure ps , you will need to know the operating density 0 in order to determine ps from ps . Therefore, you should explicitly specify the operating density rather than use the computed average. The specied value should, however, be representative of the average value. In some cases, the specication of an operating density will improve convergence behavior, rather than the actual results. For such cases, use the approximate bulk density value as the operating density, and be sure that the value you choose is appropriate for the characteristic temperature in the domain. Note that, if you are using the Boussinesq approximation for all uid materials, the operating density, 0 , does not appear in the body-force term of the momentum equation, therefore, you need not specify it. (12.5-7) (12.5-6)
12.5.5
Solution Strategies for Buoyancy-Driven Flows
For high-Rayleigh-number ows, you may want to consider the solution guidelines below. In addition, the guidelines presented in Section 12.2.3: Solution Process for Heat Transfer for solving other heat transfer problems can also be applied to buoyancy-driven ows. Note, however, that for some laminar, high-Rayleigh-number ows, no steady-state solution exists.
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Guidelines for Solving High-Rayleigh-Number Flows

When you are solving a high-Rayleigh-number ow (Ra > 108 ), you should follow one of the procedures outlined below for best results. The rst procedure uses a steady-state approach: 1. Start the solution with a lower value of Rayleigh number (e.g., 107 ) and run to convergence using the rst-order scheme. 2. To change the eective Rayleigh number, change the value of gravitational acceleration (e.g., from 9.8 to 0.098 to reduce the Rayleigh number by two orders of magnitude). 3. Use the resulting data le as an initial guess for the higher Rayleigh number, and start the higher-Rayleigh-number solution using the rst-order scheme. 4. After you obtain a solution with the rst-order scheme, you may continue the calculation with a higher-order scheme. The second procedure uses a time-dependent approach to obtain a steady-state solution [128]: 1. Start the solution from a steady-state solution obtained for the same or a lower Rayleigh number. 2. Estimate the time constant as [28] = L L2 L (PrRa)1/2 = U gT L (12.5-8)
where L and U are the length and velocity scales, respectively. Use a time step t such that t 4 (12.5-9)
Using a larger time step t may lead to divergence. 3. After oscillations with a typical frequency of f = 0.050.09 have decayed, the solution reaches steady state. Note that is the time constant estimated in Equation 12.5-8 and f is the oscillation frequency in Hz. In general, this solution process may take as many as 5000 time steps to reach steady state.
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12.5.6
Postprocessing for Buoyancy-Driven Flows
The postprocessing reports of interest for buoyancy-driven ows are the same as for other heat transfer calculations. See Section 12.2.4: Reporting and Displaying Heat Transfer Quantities for details.
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Chapter 13.
Introduction to Modeling Species Transport and Reacting Flows
FLUENT provides several models for chemical species transport and chemical reactions. This chapter provides an overview of the species transport and reaction models available in FLUENT. Details about the models are provided in Chapters 1418. Models for engine ignition and pollutant formation are described in Chapters 19 and 20, respectively. Section 13.1: Overview of Species and Reaction Modeling Section 13.2: Approaches to Reaction Modeling Section 13.3: Choosing a Reaction Model
13.1
Overview of Species and Reaction Modeling
FLUENT can model species transport with or without chemical reactions. For information about modeling species transport without chemical reactions, see Section 14.4: Species Transport Without Reactions. Chemical reactions that can be modeled in FLUENT include the following: Gas phase reactions that may involve NOx and other pollutant formation, etc. Spark and autoignition (Chapter 19: Engine Ignition Model) that involve volumetric and chemical kinetics of reacting ow. Surface reactions (e.g., chemical vapor deposition) in which the reaction occurs at a solid (wall) boundary. Particle surface reactions (e.g., coal char combustion) in which the reaction occurs at the surface of a discrete-phase particle. Additional information on modeling of droplet/particle reactions is presented in Section 23.3: Heat and Mass Transfer Calculations.
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13.2
Approaches to Reaction Modeling
FLUENT provides ve approaches to modeling gas phase reacting ows: Generalized nite-rate model Non-premixed combustion model Premixed combustion model Partially premixed combustion model Composition PDF Transport model A brief overview of each model is provided in Sections 13.2.113.2.5. See Section 13.3: Choosing a Reaction Model for guidelines on choosing a model.
13.2.1
Generalized Finite-Rate Model
This approach is based on the solution of transport equations for species mass fractions. The reaction rates that appear as source terms in the species transport equations are computed from Arrhenius rate expressions. You can use chemical kinetic mechanisms from the FLUENT database, create one yourself, or import a mechanism in Chemkin format. For turbulent ows, turbulence-chemistry interaction can be ignored using the Laminar Finite-Rate model, or modeled with the Eddy Dissipation [215] or EDC models [214]. The Generalized Finite-Rate Model is suitable for a wide range of applications including premixed, partially premixed, non-premixed turbulent combustion, and ignition delay in diesel engines (Section 19.2: Autoignition Model). FLUENT provides several options to handle the sti numerics of detailed kinetic mechanism. See Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry for details.
13.2.2
Non-Premixed Combustion Model
In this approach individual species transport equations are not solved. Instead, transport equations for one or two conserved scalars (the mixture fractions) are solved and individual component concentrations are derived from the predicted mixture fraction distribution. This approach has been specically developed for the simulation of turbulent diusion ames and oers many benets over the nite-rate formulation. In the Non-Premixed Combustion Model, turbulence eects are accounted for with the help of an assumed shape Probability Density Function (PDF). Reaction mechanisms are not required; species and temperature can be modeled as in chemical equilibrium. Alternatively, the steady Laminar Flamelet model can include local nite-rate kinetic eects due to straining by the turbulence. See Chapter 15: Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion for details.
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13.2 Approaches to Reaction Modeling
13.2.3
Premixed Combustion Model
This model can be applied to turbulent combustion systems that are of the purely premixed type. In these problems perfectly mixed reactants and burned products are separated by a ame front. The reaction progress variable is solved to predict the position of this front. The inuence of turbulence is accounted for by means of a turbulent ame speed. See Chapter 16: Modeling Premixed Combustion for details.
13.2.4
Partially Premixed Combustion Model
The partially premixed combustion model has been developed for turbulent reacting ows that have a combination of non-premixed and premixed combustion. The mixture fraction equations and the reaction progress variable are solved to determine the species concentrations and position of the ame front, respectively. The knock model (Section 19.2: Autoignition Model) demonstrates the use of the concepts discussed in Chapters 16 and 17.
13.2.5
Composition PDF Transport Combustion Model
The composition PDF transport model simulates realistic nite-rate kinetic eects in turbulent ames. Arbitrary chemical mechanisms can be imported into FLUENT, and kinetic eects such as non-equilibrium species and ignition/extinction can be captured. This model is applicable to premixed, non-premixed, and partially premixed ames. Note that the model is computationally expensive. See Chapter 18: The Composition PDF Transport Model for details.
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13.3
Choosing a Reaction Model
The rst step in solving any problem involving species transport and reacting ow is to determine which model is appropriate. Consider the following guidelines: For cases involving the mixing, transport, or reaction of chemical species, or reactions on the surface of a wall or particle (e.g., chemical vapor deposition), use the generalized nite-rate model. See Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry for more information about the generalized nite-rate model. For reacting systems involving turbulent diusion ames that are near chemical equilibrium where the fuel and oxidizer enter the domain in two or three distinct streams, use the non-premixed combustion model. See Chapter 15: Modeling NonPremixed Combustion for more information about non-premixed combustion. For cases with a single, perfectly premixed reactant stream, use the premixed combustion model. See Chapter 16: Modeling Premixed Combustion for more information about premixed combustion. For cases involving premixed ames with varying equivalence ratio in the domain, use the partially premixed combustion model. See Chapter 17: Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion for more information about partially premixed combustion. For turbulent ames where nite-rate chemistry is important, use the Laminar Flamelet model (see Chapter 15: Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion), the Laminar Finite-Rate or EDC model (see Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry), or the composition PDF Transport model (see Chapter 18: The Composition PDF Transport Model).
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Chapter 14.
Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry
FLUENT can model the mixing and transport of chemical species by solving conservation equations describing convection, diusion, and reaction sources for each component species. Multiple simultaneous chemical reactions can be modeled, with reactions occurring in the bulk phase (volumetric reactions) and/or on wall or particle surfaces, and in the porous region. Species transport modeling capabilities, both with and without reactions, and the inputs you provide when using the model are described in this chapter. Note that you may also want to consider modeling your turbulent reacting ame using the mixture fraction approach (for non-premixed systems, described in Chapter 15: Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion), the reaction progress variable approach (for premixed systems, described in Chapter 16: Modeling Premixed Combustion), the partially premixed approach (described in Chapter 17: Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion), or the composition PDF Transport approach (described in Chapter 18: The Composition PDF Transport Model). Modeling multiphase species transport and nite-rate chemistry can be found in Chapter 24: General Multiphase Models. See Chapter 13: Introduction to Modeling Species Transport and Reacting Flows for an overview of the reaction modeling approaches available in FLUENT. Information is divided into the following sections: Section 14.1: Volumetric Reactions Section 14.2: Wall Surface Reactions and Chemical Vapor Deposition Section 14.3: Particle Surface Reactions Section 14.4: Species Transport Without Reactions
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14.1
Volumetric Reactions
Information about species transport and nite-rate chemistry as related to volumetric reactions is presented in the following subsections: Section 14.1.1: Theory Section 14.1.2: Overview of User Inputs for Modeling Species Transport and Reactions Section 14.1.3: Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species Section 14.1.5: Dening Boundary Conditions for Species Section 14.1.6: Dening Other Sources of Chemical Species Section 14.1.7: Solution Procedures for Chemical Mixing and Finite-Rate Chemistry Section 14.1.8: Postprocessing for Species Calculations Section 14.1.9: Importing a Volumetric Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format
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14.1 Volumetric Reactions
14.1.1
Theory
Species Transport Equations

When you choose to solve conservation equations for chemical species, FLUENT predicts the local mass fraction of each species, Yi , through the solution of a convection-diusion equation for the ith species. This conservation equation takes the following general form: (Yi ) + t (vYi ) = Ji + R i + Si (14.1-1)
where Ri is the net rate of production of species i by chemical reaction (described later in this section) and Si is the rate of creation by addition from the dispersed phase plus any user-dened sources. An equation of this form will be solved for N 1 species where N is the total number of uid phase chemical species present in the system. Since the mass fraction of the species must sum to unity, the N th mass fraction is determined as one minus the sum of the N 1 solved mass fractions. To minimize numerical error, the N th species should be selected as that species with the overall largest mass fraction, such as N2 when the oxidizer is air. Mass Diffusion in Laminar Flows In Equation 14.1-1, Ji is the diusion ux of species i, which arises due to concentration gradients. By default, FLUENT uses the dilute approximation, under which the diusion ux can be written as Ji = Di,m Yi Here Di,m is the diusion coecient for species i in the mixture. For certain laminar ows, the dilute approximation may not be acceptable, and full multicomponent diusion is required. In such cases, the Maxwell-Stefan equations can be solved; see Section 8.8.2: Full Multicomponent Diusion for details. Mass Diffusion in Turbulent Flows In turbulent ows, FLUENT computes the mass diusion in the following form: Ji = Di,m + t Sct Yi (14.1-3) (14.1-2)
t where Sct is the turbulent Schmidt number ( Dt where t is the turbulent viscosity and Dt is the turbulent diusivity). The default Sct is 0.7. Note that turbulent diusion generally overwhelms laminar diusion, and the specication of detailed laminar diusion properties in turbulent ows is generally not warranted.
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Treatment of Species Transport in the Energy Equation For many multicomponent mixing ows, the transport of enthalpy due to species diusion
n
i=1
hi Ji
can have a signicant eect on the enthalpy eld and should not be neglected. In particular, when the Lewis number Lei = k cp Di,m (14.1-4)
for any species is far from unity, neglecting this term can lead to signicant errors. FLUENT will include this term by default. In Equation 14.1-4, k is the thermal conductivity. Diffusion at Inlets For the segregated solver in FLUENT, the net transport of species at inlets consists of both convection and diusion components. (For the coupled solvers, only the convection component is included.) The convection component is xed by the inlet species mass fraction specied by you. The diusion component, however, depends on the gradient of the computed species eld at the inlet. Thus the diusion component (and therefore the net inlet transport) is not specied a priori. See Section 14.1.5: Dening Boundary Conditions for Species for information about specifying the net inlet transport of species.
The Generalized Finite-Rate Formulation for Reaction Modeling

The reaction rates that appear as source terms in Equation 14.1-1 are computed in FLUENT by one of three models: Laminar nite-rate model: The eect of turbulent uctuations are ignored, and reaction rates are determined by Arrhenius expressions. Eddy-dissipation model: Reaction rates are assumed to be controlled by the turbulence, so expensive Arrhenius chemical kinetic calculations can be avoided. The model is computationally cheap, but, for realistic results, only one or two step heat-release mechanisms should be used. Eddy-dissipation-concept (EDC) model: Detailed Arrhenius chemical kinetics can be incorporated in turbulent ames. Note that detailed chemical kinetic calculations are computationally expensive.
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The generalized nite-rate formulation is suitable for a wide range of applications including laminar or turbulent reaction systems, and combustion systems with premixed, non-premixed, or partially-premixed ames. The Laminar Finite-Rate Model The laminar nite-rate model computes the chemical source terms using Arrhenius expressions, and ignores the eects of turbulent uctuations. The model is exact for laminar ames, but is generally inaccurate for turbulent ames due to highly non-linear Arrhenius chemical kinetics. The laminar model may, however, be acceptable for combustion with relatively slow chemistry and small turbulent uctuations, such as supersonic ames. The net source of chemical species i due to reaction Ri is computed as the sum of the Arrhenius reaction sources over the NR reactions that the species participate in:
NR
Ri = Mw,i
r=1
Ri,r
(14.1-5)
where Mw,i is the molecular weight of species i and Ri,r is the Arrhenius molar rate of creation/destruction of species i in reaction r. Reaction may occur in the continuous phase between continuous-phase species only, or at wall surfaces resulting in the surface deposition or evolution of a continuous-phase species. Consider the rth reaction written in general form as follows:
N kf,r N kb,r i=1
i,r Mi
i=1
i,r Mi
(14.1-6)
where N i,r i,r Mi kf,r kb,r = = = = = = number of chemical species in the system stoichiometric coecient for reactant i in reaction r stoichiometric coecient for product i in reaction r symbol denoting species i forward rate constant for reaction r backward rate constant for reaction r
Equation 14.1-6 is valid for both reversible and non-reversible reactions. (Reactions in FLUENT are non-reversible by default.) For non-reversible reactions, the backward rate constant, kb,r , is simply omitted. The summations in Equation 14.1-6 are for all chemical species in the system, but only species that appear as reactants or products will have non-zero stoichiometric coecients. Hence, species that are not involved will drop out of the equation.
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Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry The molar rate of creation/destruction of species i in reaction r (Ri,r in Equation 14.1-5) is given by
Nr j=1 Nr j=1
Ri,r = i,r i,r kf,r where Nr Cj,r j,r j,r
[Cj,r ]j,r kb,r
[Cj,r ]j,r
(14.1-7)
= number of chemical species in reaction r = molar concentration of each reactant and product species j in reaction r (kgmol/m3 ) = forward rate exponent for each reactant and product species j in reaction r = backward rate exponent for each reactant and product species j in reaction r
See Section 14.1.4: Inputs for Reaction Denition for information about inputting the stoichiometric coecients and rate exponents for both global forward (non-reversible) reactions and elementary (reversible) reactions. represents the net eect of third bodies on the reaction rate. This term is given by
Nr
=
j
j,r Cj
(14.1-8)
where j,r is the third-body eciency of the jth species in the rth reaction. By default, FLUENT does not include third-body eects in the reaction rate calculation. You can, however, opt to include the eect of third-body eciencies if you have data for them. The forward rate constant for reaction r, kf,r , is computed using the Arrhenius expression kf,r = Ar T r eEr /RT where Ar r Er R = = = = pre-exponential factor (consistent units) temperature exponent (dimensionless) activation energy for the reaction (J/kgmol) universal gas constant (J/kgmol-K) (14.1-9)
You (or the database) will provide values for i,r , i,r , j,r , j,r , r , Ar , Er , and, optionally, j,r during the problem denition in FLUENT.
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If the reaction is reversible, the backward rate constant for reaction r, kb,r , is computed from the forward rate constant using the following relation: kb,r = kf,r Kr (14.1-10)
where Kr is the equilibrium constant for the rth reaction, computed from
NR
Kr = exp
0 0 Sr Hr R RT
patm RT
(j,r j,r )
r=1
(14.1-11)
where patm denotes atmospheric pressure (101325 Pa). The term within the exponential function represents the change in Gibbs free energy, and its components are computed as follows:
0 Sr = R N
i,r i,r
i=1 N
Si0 R h0 i RT
(14.1-12)
0 Hr = RT
i,r i,r
i=1
(14.1-13)
where Si0 and h0 are the standard-state entropy and standard-state enthalpy (heat of i formation). These values are specied in FLUENT as properties of the mixture material. Pressure-Dependent Reactions FLUENT can use one of three methods to represent the rate expression in pressuredependent (or pressure fall-o) reactions. A fall-o reaction is one in which the temperature and pressure are such that the reaction occurs between Arrhenius high-pressure and low-pressure limits, and thus is no longer solely dependent on temperature. There are three methods of representing the rate expressions in this fall-o region. The simplest one is the Lindemann [199] form. There are also two other related methods, the Troe method [113] and the SRI method [333], that provide a more accurate description of the fall-o region.
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Arrhenius rate parameters are required for both the high- and low-pressure limits. The rate coecients for these two limits are then blended to produce a smooth pressuredependent rate expression. In Arrhenius form, the parameters for the high-pressure limit (k) and the low-pressure limit (klow ) are as follows:
k = AT eE/RT klow = Alow T low eElow /RT The net rate constant at any pressure is then taken to be pr F 1 + pr
(14.1-14) (14.1-15)
knet = k where pr is dened as pr =
(14.1-16)
klow [M ] k
(14.1-17)
and [M ] is the concentration of the bath gas, which can include third-body eciencies. If the function F in Equation 14.1-16 is unity, then this is the Lindemann form. FLUENT provides two other forms to describe F , namely the Troe method and the SRI method. In the Troe method, F is given by
2 1 log pr + c log F = 1 + log Fcent n d(log pr + c)
(14.1-18)
where
c = 0.4 0.67 log Fcent n = 0.75 1.27 log Fcent d = 0.14 and Fcent = (1 )eT /T3 + eT /T1 + eT2 /T The parameters , T3 , T2 , and T1 are specied as inputs.
(14.1-19) (14.1-20) (14.1-21)
(14.1-22)
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In the SRI method, the blending function F is approximated as b T + exp T c

X
F = d a exp where
Te
(14.1-23)
X=
1 1 + log2 pr
(14.1-24)
In addition to the three Arrhenius parameters for the low-pressure limit (klow ) expression, you must also supply the parameters a, b, c, d, and e in the F expression.
Chemical kinetic mechanisms are usually highly non-linear and form a set of sti coupled equations. See Section 14.1.7: Solution Procedures for Chemical Mixing and Finite-Rate Chemistry for solution procedure guidelines. Also, if you have a chemical mechanism in CHEMKIN [165] format, you can import this mechanism into FLUENT as described in Section 14.1.9: Importing a Volumetric Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format.
The Eddy-Dissipation Model Most fuels are fast burning, and the overall rate of reaction is controlled by turbulent mixing. In non-premixed ames, turbulence slowly convects/mixes fuel and oxidizer into the reaction zones where they burn quickly. In premixed ames, the turbulence slowly convects/mixes cold reactants and hot products into the reaction zones, where reaction occurs rapidly. In such cases, the combustion is said to be mixing-limited, and the complex, and often unknown, chemical kinetic rates can be safely neglected. FLUENT provides a turbulence-chemistry interaction model, based on the work of Magnussen and Hjertager [215], called the eddy-dissipation model. The net rate of production of species i due to reaction r, Ri,r , is given by the smaller (i.e., limiting value) of the two expressions below: YR Ri,r = i,r Mw,i A min k R R,r Mw,R Ri,r = i,r Mw,i AB
N j
(14.1-25)
YP j,r Mw,j
P
(14.1-26)
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Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry where YP YR A B is is is is the mass fraction of any product species, P the mass fraction of a particular reactant, R an empirical constant equal to 4.0 an empirical constant equal to 0.5
In Equations 14.1-25 and 14.1-26, the chemical reaction rate is governed by the largeeddy mixing time scale, k/ , as in the eddy-breakup model of Spalding [326]. Combustion proceeds whenever turbulence is present (k/ > 0), and an ignition source is not required to initiate combustion. This is usually acceptable for non-premixed ames, but in premixed ames, the reactants will burn as soon as they enter the computational domain, upstream of the ame stabilizer. To remedy this, FLUENT provides the nite-rate/eddydissipation model, where both the Arrhenius (Equation 14.1-7), and eddy-dissipation (Equations 14.1-25 and 14.1-26) reaction rates are calculated. The net reaction rate is taken as the minimum of these two rates. In practice, the Arrhenius rate acts as a kinetic switch, preventing reaction before the ame holder. Once the ame is ignited, the eddy-dissipation rate is generally smaller than the Arrhenius rate, and reactions are mixing-limited.
Although FLUENT allows multi-step reaction mechanisms (number of reactions > 2) with the eddy-dissipation and nite-rate/eddy-dissipation models, these will likely produce incorrect solutions. The reason is that multistep chemical mechanisms are based on Arrhenius rates, which dier for each reaction. In the eddy-dissipation model, every reaction has the same, turbulent rate, and therefore the model should be used only for one-step (reactant product), or two-step (reactant intermediate, intermediate product) global reactions. The model cannot predict kinetically controlled species such as radicals. To incorporate multi-step chemical kinetic mechanisms in turbulent ows, use the EDC model (described below). The eddy-dissipation model requires products to initiate reaction (see Equation 14.1-26). When you initialize the solution, FLUENT sets the product mass fractions to 0.01, which is usually sucient to start the reaction. However, if you converge a mixing solution rst, where all product mass fractions are zero, you may then have to patch products into the reaction zone to ignite the ame. See Section 14.1.7: Ignition in Combustion Simulations for details.
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The Eddy-Dissipation Model for LES When the LES turbulence model is used, the turbulent mixing rate, /k in Equations 14.1-25 and 14.1-26, is replaced by the subgrid-scale mixing rate. This is calculated as
1 sgs =
2Sij Sij
(14.1-27)
where
1 sgs Sij
= subgrid-scale mixing rate (s1 ) ui = 1 xj + uj = strain rate tensor (s1 ) 2 xi
The Eddy-Dissipation-Concept (EDC) Model The eddy-dissipation-concept (EDC) model is an extension of the eddy-dissipation model to include detailed chemical mechanisms in turbulent ows [214]. It assumes that reaction occurs in small turbulent structures, called the ne scales. The length fraction of the ne scales is modeled as [118] = C where C
k2
1/4
(14.1-28)
denotes ne-scale quantities and = = volume fraction constant = 2.1377 kinematic viscosity
The volume fraction of the ne scales is calculated as 3 . Species are assumed to react in the ne structures over a time scale = C
1/2
(14.1-29)
where C is a time scale constant equal to 0.4082. In FLUENT, combustion at the ne scales is assumed to occur as a constant pressure reactor, with initial conditions taken as the current species and temperature in the cell. Reactions proceed over the time scale , governed by the Arrhenius rates of Equation 14.1-7, and are integrated numerically using the ISAT algorithm [267]. ISAT can accelerate the chemistry calculations by two to three orders of magnitude, oering substantial reductions in run-times. Details about the ISAT algorithm may be found in Sections 18.2.4 and 18.2.5. ISAT is very powerful, but requires some care. See Section 18.3.8: Ecient Use of ISAT for details on using ISAT eciently.
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The source term in the conservation equation for the mean species i, Equation 14.1-1, is modeled as ( )2 (Yi Yi ) Ri = )3 ] [1 ( where Yi is the ne-scale species mass fraction after reacting over the time . The EDC model can incorporate detailed chemical mechanisms into turbulent reacting ows. However, typical mechanisms are invariably sti and their numerical integration is computationally costly. Hence, the model should be used only when the assumption of fast chemistry is invalid, such as modeling the slow CO burnout in rapidly quenched ames, or the NO conversion in selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR). See Section 14.1.7: Solution of Sti Laminar Chemistry Systems for guidelines on obtaining a solution using the EDC model.
(14.1-30)
14.1.2
Overview of User Inputs for Modeling Species Transport and Reactions
The basic steps for setting up a problem involving species transport and reactions are listed below, and the details about performing each step are presented in Sections 14.1.3 14.1.5. Additional information about setting up and solving the problem is provided in Sections 14.1.614.1.8. 1. Enable species transport and volumetric reactions, and specify the mixture material. See Section 14.1.3: Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material. (The mixture material concept is explained below.) 2. If you are also modeling wall or particle surface reactions, turn on wall surface and/or particle surface reactions as well. See Sections 14.2 and 14.3 for details. 3. Check and/or dene the properties of the mixture. (See Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species.) Mixture properties include the following: species in the mixture reactions other physical properties (e.g., viscosity, specic heat) 4. Check and/or set the properties of the individual species in the mixture. (See Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species.) 5. Set species boundary conditions. (See Section 14.1.5: Dening Boundary Conditions for Species.)
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In many cases, you will not need to modify any physical properties because the solver gets species properties, reactions, etc. from the materials database when you choose the mixture material. Some properties, however, may not be dened in the database. You will be warned when you choose your material if any required properties need to be set, and you can then assign appropriate values for these properties. You may also want to check the database values of other properties to be sure that they are correct for your particular application. For details about modifying an existing mixture material or creating a new one from scratch, see Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species. Modications to the mixture material can include the following: Addition or removal of species Changing the chemical reactions Modifying other material properties for the mixture Modifying material properties for the mixtures constituent species If you are solving a reacting ow, you will usually want to dene the mixtures specic heat as a function of composition, and the specic heat of each species as a function of temperature. You may want to do the same for other properties as well. By default, constant properties are used, but for the properties of some species, there is a piecewisepolynomial function of temperature that exists in the database and is available for your use. You may also choose to specify a dierent temperature-dependent function if you know of one that is more suitable for your problem.
Mixture Materials
The concept of mixture materials has been implemented in FLUENT to facilitate the setup of species transport and reacting ow. A mixture material may be thought of as a set of species and a list of rules governing their interaction. The mixture material carries with it the following information: A list of the constituent species, referred to as uid materials A list of mixing laws dictating how mixture properties (density, viscosity, specic heat, etc.) are to be derived from the properties of individual species if compositiondependent properties are desired A direct specication of mixture properties if composition-independent properties are desired Diusion coecients for individual species in the mixture
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Other material properties (e.g., absorption and scattering coecients) that are not associated with individual species A set of reactions, including a reaction type (nite-rate, eddy-dissipation, etc.) and stoichiometry and rate constants Both mixture materials and uid materials are stored in the FLUENT materials database. Many common mixture materials are included (e.g., methane-air, propane-air). Generally, one/two-step reaction mechanisms and many physical properties of the mixture and its constituent species are dened in the database. When you indicate which mixture material you want to use, the appropriate mixture material, uid materials, and properties are loaded into the solver. If any necessary information about the selected material (or the constituent uid materials) is missing, the solver will inform you that you need to specify it. In addition, you may choose to modify any of the predened properties. See Section 8.1.2: Using the Materials Panel for information about the sources of FLUENTs database property data. For example, if you plan to model combustion of a methane-air mixture, you do not need to explicitly specify the species involved in the reaction or the reaction itself. You will simply select methane-air as the mixture material to be used, and the relevant species (CH4 , O2 , CO2 , H2 O, and N2 ) and reaction data will be loaded into the solver from the database. You can then check the species, reactions, and other properties and dene any properties that are missing and/or modify any properties for which you wish to use dierent values or functions. You will generally want to dene a composition- and temperature-dependent specic heat, and you may want to dene additional properties as functions of temperature and/or composition. The use of mixture materials gives you the exibility to use one of the many predened mixtures, modify one of these mixtures, or create your own mixture material. Customization of mixture materials is performed in the Materials panel, as described in Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species.
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14.1.3
Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material
The problem setup for species transport and volumetric reactions begins in the Species Model panel (Figure 14.1.1). For cases which involve multiphase species transport and reactions, refer to Section 24.7: Multiphase Species Transport. Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction...
Figure 14.1.1: The Species Model Panel
1. Under Model, select Species Transport. 2. Under Reactions, turn on Volumetric. 3. In the Mixture Material drop-down list under Mixture Properties, choose which mixture material you want to use in your problem. The drop-down list will include
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all of the mixtures that are currently dened in the database. To check the properties of a mixture material, select it and click the Edit... button. If the mixture you want to use is not in the list, choose the mixture-template material, and see Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species for details on setting your mixtures properties. If there is a mixture material listed that is similar to your desired mixture, you may choose that material and see Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species for details on modifying properties of an existing material. When you choose the Mixture Material, the Number of Volumetric Species in the mixture will be displayed in the panel for your information.
Note that if you re-open the Species Model panel after species transport has already been enabled, only the mixture materials available in your case will appear in the list. You can add more mixture materials to your case by copying them from the database, as described in Section 8.1.2: Copying Materials from the FLUENT Database, or by creating a new mixture, as described in Sections 8.1.2 and 14.1.4.
As mentioned in Section 14.1.2: Mixture Materials, modeling parameters for the species transport and (if relevant) reactions will automatically be loaded from the database. If any information is missing, you will be informed of this after you click on OK in the Species Model panel. If you want to check or modify any properties of the mixture material, you will use the Materials panel, as described in Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species. 4. Choose the Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction model. Four models are available: Laminar Finite-Rate computes only the Arrhenius rate (see Equation 14.1-7) and neglects turbulence-chemistry interaction. Finite-Rate/Eddy-Dissipation (for turbulent ows) computes both the Arrhenius rate and the mixing rate and uses the smaller of the two. Eddy-Dissipation (for turbulent ows) computes only the mixing rate (see Equations 14.1-25 and 14.1-26). EDC (for turbulent ows) models turbulence-chemistry interaction with detailed chemical mechanisms (see Equations 14.1-25 and 14.1-26). 5. If you selected EDC, you have the option to modify the Volume Fraction Constant and the Time Scale Constant (C in Equation 14.1-28 and C in Equation 14.1-29), although the default values are recommended. Further, to reduce the computational expense of the chemistry calculations, you can increase the number of Flow Iterations per Chemistry Update. By default, FLUENT will update the chemistry one per 10 ow iterations. For details about using the Integration Parameters... option, under Reactions, see Section 18.3: Using the Composition PDF Transport Model.
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6. (optional) If you want to model full multicomponent diusion or thermal diusion, turn on the Full Multicomponent Diusion or Thermal Diusion option. See Section 8.8.2: Full Multicomponent Diusion for details. 7. Enabling KINetics from Reaction Design for laminar reactions, will allow you to use the proprietary reaction-rate utilities and solution algorithms from Reaction Design, which is based on and compatible with their CHEMKIN technology [165]. For EDC Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction and the Composition PDF Transport model, enabling the KINetics from Reaction Design option will allow you to use reaction rates from Reaction Designs KINetics module, instead of the default FLUENT reaction rates. FLUENTs ISAT algorithm is employed to integrate these rates. Please refer to the KINetics for Fluent manual [2] from Reaction Design for details on the chemistry formulation options. For more information, or to obtain a license to the Fluent/KINetics module, please contact Reaction Design at info@reactiondesign.com or +1 858-550-1920, or go to http://www.reactiondesign.com.
14.1.4
Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species
As discussed in Section 14.1.2: Overview of User Inputs for Modeling Species Transport and Reactions, if you use a mixture material from the database, most mixture and species properties will already be dened. You may follow the procedures in this section to check the current properties, modify some of the properties, or set all properties for a brand-new mixture material that you are dening from scratch. Remember that you will need to dene properties for the mixture material and also for its constituent species. It is important that you dene the mixture properties before setting any properties for the constituent species, since the species property inputs may depend on the methods you use to dene the properties of the mixture. The recommended sequence for property inputs is as follows: 1. Dene the mixture species, and reaction(s), and dene physical properties for the mixture. Remember to click on the Change/Create button when you are done setting properties for the mixture material. 2. Dene physical properties for the species in the mixture. Remember to click on the Change/Create button after dening the properties for each species. These steps, all of which are performed in the Materials panel, are described in detail in this section. Dene Materials...
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Dening the Species in the Mixture

If you are using a mixture material from the database, the species in the mixture will already be dened for you. If you are creating your own material or modifying the species in an existing material, you will need to dene them yourself. In the Materials panel (Figure 14.1.2), check that the Material Type is set to mixture and your mixture is selected in the Fluent Mixture Materials list. Click on the Edit... button to the right of Mixture Species to open the Species panel (Figure 14.1.3).
Figure 14.1.2: The Materials Panel (showing a mixture material)
Overview of the Species Panel In the Species panel, the Selected Species list shows all of the uid-phase species in the mixture. If you are modeling wall or particle surface reactions, the Selected Solid Species list will show all of the bulk solid species in the mixture. Solid species are species that are created or evolved from wall boundaries or discrete-phase particles (e.g., Si(s)) and do not exist as uid-phase species.
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Figure 14.1.3: The Species Panel
If you are modeling wall surface reactions, the Selected Site Species list will show all of the site species in the mixture. Site species are species that are adsorbed to a wall boundary. The use of solid and site species with wall surface reactions is described in Section 14.2: Wall Surface Reactions and Chemical Vapor Deposition. See Section 14.3: Particle Surface Reactions for information about particle surface reactions.
The order of the species in the Selected Species list is very important. FLUENT considers the last species in the list to be the bulk species. You should therefore be careful to retain the most abundant species (by mass) as the last species when you add species to or delete species from a mixture material.
The Available Materials list shows materials that are available but not in the mixture. Generally you will see air in this list, since air is always available by default.
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Adding Species to the Mixture If you are creating a mixture from scratch or starting from an existing mixture and adding some missing species, you will rst need to load the desired species from the database (or create them, if they are not present in the database) so that they will be available to the solver. The procedure for adding species is listed below. (You will need to close the Species panel before you begin, since it is a modal panel that will not allow you to do anything else when it is open.) 1. In the Materials panel, click on the Fluent Database... button to open the Fluent Database Materials panel and copy the desired species, as described in Section 8.1.2: Copying Materials from the FLUENT Database. Remember that the constituent species of the mixture are uid materials, so you should select uid as the Material Type in the Fluent Database Materials panel to see the correct list of choices. Note that available solid species (for surface reactions) are also contained in the uid list.
If you do not see the species you are looking for in the database, you can create a new uid material for that species, following the instructions in Section 8.1.2: Creating a New Material, and then continue with step 2, below.
2. Re-open the Species panel, as described above. You will see that the uid materials you copied from the database (or created) are listed in the Available Materials list. 3. To add a species to the mixture, select it in the Available Materials list and click on the Add button below the Selected Species list (or below the Selected Site Species or Selected Solid Species list, to dene a site or solid species). The species will be added to the end of the relevant list and removed from the Available Materials list. 4. Repeat the previous step for all the desired species. When you are nished, click on the OK button.
Adding a species to the list will alter the order of the species. You should be sure that the last species in the list is the bulk species, and you should check any boundary conditions, under-relaxation factors, or other solution parameters that you have set, as described in detail below.
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Removing Species from the Mixture To remove a species from the mixture, simply select it in the Selected Species list (or the Selected Site Species or Selected Solid Species list) and click on the Remove button below the list. The species will be removed from the list and added to the Available Materials list.
Removing a species from the list will alter the order of the species. You should be sure that the last species in the list is the bulk species, and you should check any boundary conditions, under-relaxation factors, or other solution parameters that you have set, as described in detail below.
Reordering Species If you nd that the last species in the Selected Species list is not the most abundant species (as it must be), you will need to rearrange the species to obtain the proper order. 1. Remove the bulk species from the Selected Species list. It will now appear in the Available Species list. 2. Add the species back in again. It will automatically be placed at the end of the list. The Naming and Ordering of Species As discussed above, you must retain the most abundant species as the last one in the Selected Species list when you add or remove species. Additional considerations you should be aware of when adding and deleting species are presented here. There are three characteristics of a species that identify it to the solver: name, chemical formula, and position in the list of species in the Species panel. Changing these characteristics will have the following eects: You can change the Name of a species (using the Materials panel, as described in Section 8.1.2: Renaming an Existing Material) without any consequences. You should never change the given Chemical Formula of a species. You will change the order of the species list if you add or remove any species. When this occurs, all boundary conditions, solver parameters, and solution data for species will be reset to the default values. (Solution data, boundary conditions, and solver parameters for other ow variables will not be aected.) Thus, if you add or remove species you should take care to redene species boundary conditions and solution parameters for the newly dened problem. In addition, you should recognize that patched species concentrations or concentrations stored in any data
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le that was based on the original species ordering will be incompatible with the newly dened problem. You can use the data le as a starting guess, but you should be aware that the species concentrations in the data le may provide a poor initial guess for the newly dened model.
Dening Reactions
If your FLUENT model involves chemical reactions, you can next dene the reactions in which the dened species participate. This will be necessary only if you are creating a mixture material from scratch, you have modied the species, or you want to redene the reactions for some other reason. Depending on which turbulence-chemistry interaction model you selected in the Species Model panel (see Section 14.1.3: Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material), the appropriate reaction model will be displayed in the Reaction drop-down list in the Materials panel. If you are using the laminar nite-rate or EDC model, the reaction model will be nite-rate; if you are using the eddy-dissipation model, the reaction model will be eddy-dissipation; if you are using the nite-rate/eddydissipation model, the reaction model will be nite-rate/eddy-dissipation. Inputs for Reaction Denition To dene the reactions, click on the Edit... button to the right of Reaction. The Reactions panel (Figure 14.1.4) will open. The steps for dening reactions are as follows: 1. Set the total number of reactions (volumetric reactions, wall surface reactions, and particle surface reactions) in the Total Number of Reactions eld. (Use the arrows to change the value, or type in the value and press RETURN.) Note that if your model includes discrete-phase combusting particles, you should include the particulate surface reaction(s) (e.g., char burnout, multiple char oxidation) in the number of reactions only if you plan to use the multiple surface reactions model for surface combustion. 2. Specify the Reaction Name of the reaction you want to dene. 3. Set the ID of the reaction you want to dene. (Again, if you type in the value be sure to press RETURN.) 4. If this is a uid-phase reaction, keep the default selection of Volumetric as the Reaction Type. If this is a wall surface reaction (described in Section 14.2: Wall Surface Reactions and Chemical Vapor Deposition) or a particle surface reaction (described in Section 14.3: Particle Surface Reactions), select Wall Surface or Particle Surface as the Reaction Type. See Section 14.3.2: User Inputs for Particle Surface Reactions for further information about dening particle surface reactions.
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Figure 14.1.4: The Reactions Panel
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5. Specify how many reactants and products are involved in the reaction by increasing the value of the Number of Reactants and the Number of Products. Select each reactant or product in the Species drop-down list and then set its stoichiometric coecient and rate exponent in the appropriate Stoich. Coecient and Rate Exponent elds. (The stoichiometric coecient is the constant i,r or i,r in Equation 14.1-6 and the rate exponent is the exponent on the reactant or product concentration, j,r or j,r in Equation 14.1-7.) There are two general classes of reactions that can be handled by the Reactions panel, so it is important that the parameters for each reaction are entered correctly. The classes of reactions are as follows: Global forward reaction (no reverse reaction): Product species generally do not aect the forward rate, so the rate exponent for all products (j,r ) should be 0. For reactant species, set the rate exponent (j,r ) to the desired value. If such a reaction is not an elementary reaction, the rate exponent will generally not be equal to the stoichiometric coecient (i,r ) for that species. An example of a global forward reaction is the combustion of methane: CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2 O where CH4 = 1, CH4 = 0.2, O2 = 2, O2 = 1.3, CO2 = 1, CO2 = 0, H2 O = 2, and H2 O = 0. Figure 14.1.4 shows the coecient inputs for the combustion of methane. (See also the methane-air mixture material in the Database Materials panel.) Note that, in certain cases, you may wish to model a reaction where product species aect the forward rate. For such cases, set the product rate exponent (j,r ) to the desired value. An example of such a reaction is the gas-shift reaction (see the carbon-monoxide-air mixture material in the Database Materials panel), in which the presence of water has an eect on the reaction rate: CO + 1 O2 + H2 O CO2 + H2 O 2 In the gas-shift reaction, the rate expression may be dened as: k[CO][O2 ]1/4 [H2 O]1/2 where CO = 1, CO = 1, O2 = 0.5, O2 = 0.25, CO2 = 1, CO2 = 0, H2 O = 0, and H2 O = 0.5. Reversible reaction: An elementary chemical reaction that assumes the rate exponent for each species is equivalent to the stoichiometric coecient for that species. An example of an elementary reaction is the oxidation of SO2 to SO3 : SO2 + 1 O2 2 SO3
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where SO2 = 1, SO2 = 1, O2 = 0.5, O2 = 0.5, SO3 = 1, and SO3 = 1. See step 6 below for information about how to enable reversible reactions. 6. If you are using the laminar nite-rate, nite-rate/eddy-dissipation, or EDC model for the turbulence-chemistry interaction, enter the following parameters for the Arrhenius rate under the Arrhenius Rate heading: Pre-Exponential Factor (the constant Ar in Equation 14.1-9). The units of Ar must be specied such that the units of the molar reaction rate, Ri,r in Equa3 tion 14.1-5, are moles/volume-time (e.g., kgmol/m -s) and the units of the volumetric reaction rate, Ri in Equation 14.1-5, are mass/volume-time (e.g., kg/m3 -s).
It is important to note that if you have selected the British units system, the Arrhenius factor should still be input in SI units. This is because FLUENT applies no conversion factor to your input of Ar (the conversion factor is 1.0) when you work in British units, as the correct conversion factor depends on your inputs for i,r , r , etc.
Activation Energy (the constant Er in the forward rate constant expression, Equation 14.1-9). Temperature Exponent (the value for the constant r in Equation 14.1-9). Third-Body Eciencies (the values for j,r in Equation 14.1-8). If you have accurate data for the eciencies and want to include this eect on the reaction rate (i.e., include in Equation 14.1-7), turn on the Third Body Eciencies option and click on the Specify... button to open the Third-Body Eciencies panel (Figure 14.1.5). For each Species in the panel, specify the Third-Body Eciencies.
It is not necessary to include the third-body eciencies. You should not enable the Third-Body Eciencies option unless you have accurate data for these parameters.
Pressure-Dependent Reaction (if relevant) If you are using the laminar niterate or EDC model for turbulence-chemistry interaction, or have enabled the composition PDF transport model (see Chapter 18: The Composition PDF Transport Model), and the reaction is a pressure fall-o reaction (see Section 14.1.1: Pressure-Dependent Reactions), turn on the Pressure-Dependent Reaction option for the Arrhenius Rate and click on the Specify... button to open the Pressure-Dependent Reaction panel (Figure 14.1.6). Under Reaction Parameters, select the appropriate Reaction Type (lindemann, troe, or sri). See Section 14.1.1: Pressure-Dependent Reactions for details about the three methods. Next, you must specify if the Bath Gas Concentration ([M ] in Equation 14.1-17) is to be dened as the concentration of the mixture,
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Figure 14.1.5: The Third-Body Eciencies Panel
or as the concentration of one of the mixtures constituent species, by selecting the appropriate item in the drop-down list. The parameters you specied under Arrhenius Rate in the Reactions panel represent the high-pressure Arrhenius parameters. You can, however, specify values for the following parameters under Low Pressure Arrhenius Rate: ln(Pre-Exponential Factor) (Alow in Equation 14.1-15) The pre-exponential factor Alow is often an extremely large number, so you will input the natural logarithm of this term. Activation Energy (Elow in Equation 14.1-15) Temperature Exponent (low in Equation 14.1-15) If you selected troe for the Reaction Type, you can specify values for Alpha, T1, T2, and T3 (, T1 , T2 , and T3 in Equation 14.1-22) under Troe parameters. If you selected sri for the Reaction Type, you can specify values for a, b, c, d, and e (a, b, c, d, and e in Equation 14.1-23) under SRI parameters. 7. If you are using the laminar nite-rate or EDC model for turbulence-chemistry interaction, and the reaction is reversible, turn on the Include Backward Reaction option for the Arrhenius Rate. When this option is enabled, you will not be able to edit the Rate Exponent for the product species, which instead will be set to be equivalent to the corresponding product Stoich. Coecient. If you do not wish to use FLUENTs default values, or if you are dening your own reaction, you will also need to specify the standard-state enthalpy and standard-state entropy, to be used in the calculation of the backward reaction rate constant (Equation 14.1-10). Note
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Figure 14.1.6: The Pressure-Dependent Reaction Panel
that the reversible reaction option is not available for either the eddy-dissipation or the nite-rate/eddy-dissipation turbulence-chemistry interaction model. 8. If you are using the eddy-dissipation or nite-rate/eddy-dissipation model for turbulence-chemistry interaction, you can enter values for A and B under the Mixing Rate heading. Note, however, that these values should not be changed unless you have reliable data. In most cases you will simply use the default values. A is the constant A in the turbulent mixing rate (Equations 14.1-25 and 14.1-26) when it is applied to a species that appears as a reactant in this reaction. The default setting of 4.0 is based on the empirically derived values given by Magnussen et al. [215]. B is the constant B in the turbulent mixing rate (Equation 14.1-26) when it is applied to a species that appears as a product in this reaction. The default setting of 0.5 is based on the empirically derived values given by Magnussen et al. [215]. 9. Repeat steps 28 for each reaction you need to dene. When you are nished dening all reactions, click OK.
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Dening Species and Reactions for Fuel Mixtures Quite often, combustion systems will include fuel that is not easily described as a pure species (such as CH4 or C2 H6 ). Complex hydrocarbons, including fuel oil or even wood chips, may be dicult to dene in terms of such pure species. However, if you have available the heating value and the ultimate analysis (elemental composition) of the fuel, you can dene an equivalent fuel species and an equivalent heat of formation for this fuel. Consider, for example, a fuel known to contain 50% C, 6% H, and 44% O by weight. Dividing by atomic weights, you can arrive at a fuel species with the molecular formula C4.17 H6 O2.75 . You can start from a similar, existing species or create a species from scratch, and assign it a molecular weight of 100.04 (4.17 12 + 6 1 + 2.75 16). The chemical reaction would be considered to be C4.17 H6 O2.75 + 4.295O2 4.17CO2 + 3H2 O You will need to set the appropriate stoichiometric coecients for this reaction. The heat of formation (or standard-state enthalpy) for the fuel species can be calculated from the known heating value H since
N
H =
i=1
h0 i,r i,r i
(14.1-31)
where h0 is the standard-state enthalpy on a molar basis. Note the sign convention in i Equation 14.1-31: H is negative when the reaction is exothermic.
Dening Zone-Based Reaction Mechanisms

If your FLUENT model involves reactions that are conned to a specic area of the domain, you can dene reaction mechanisms to enable dierent reactions selectively in dierent geometrical zones. You can create reaction mechanisms by selecting reactions from those dened in the Reactions panel and grouping them. You can then assign a particular mechanism to a particular zone. Inputs for Reaction Mechanism Denition To dene a reaction mechanism, click on the Edit... button to the right of Mechanism. The Reaction Mechanisms panel (Figure 14.1.7) will open. The steps for dening a reaction mechanism are as follows: 1. Set the total number of mechanisms in the Number of Mechanisms eld. (Use the arrows to change the value, or type the value and press RETURN.)
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Figure 14.1.7: The Reaction Mechanisms Panel
2. Set the Mechanism ID of the mechanism you want to dene. (Again, if you type in the value, be sure to press RETURN.) 3. Specify the Name of the mechanism. 4. Select the type of reaction to add to the mechanism under Reaction Type. If you select Volumetric, the Reactions list will display all available uid-phase reactions. If you select Wall Surface or Particle Surface, the Reactions list will display all available wall surface reactions (described in Section 14.2: Wall Surface Reactions and Chemical Vapor Deposition) or particle surface reactions (described in Section 14.3: Particle Surface Reactions). If you select All, the Reactions list will display all available reactions. (This option is meant for backward compatibility with FLUENT 6.0 or earlier cases.) 5. Select the reactions to be included in the mechanism. For Volumetric or Particle Surface reactions, select available reactions for the mechanism in the Reactions list. For Wall Surface reactions, use the following procedure: (a) Select available wall surface reactions for the mechanism in the Reactions list.
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(b) If any site species appear in the selected reaction(s), set the number of sites in the Number of Sites eld. (Use the arrows to change the value, or type the value and press RETURN.) See Section 14.2.2: Wall Surface Reaction Boundary Conditions for details about site species in wall surface reactions. (c) If you specify a Number of Sites that is greater than zero, specify the properties of the site. Site Name (optional) Site Density (in kgmol/m2 ) This value is typically in the range of 108 to 106 . Click on the Dene... button. This will open the Site Parameters panel (Figure 14.1.8), where you will dene the parameters of the site species.
Figure 14.1.8: The Site Parameters Panel Site Name is the optional name of the site that was specied in the Reaction Mechanisms panel. Total Number of Site Species is the number of adsorbed species that are to be modeled at the site. (Use the arrows to change the value, or type the value and press RETURN.) Under Site Species, select the appropriate species from the drop-down list(s) and specify the fractional Initial Site Coverage for each species. For steady-state calculations, it is recommended (though not strictly required) that the initial values of Initial Site Coverage sum to unity. For transient calculations, it is required that these values sum to unity.
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Click Apply in the Site Parameters panel to store the new values. 6. Repeat steps 25 for each reaction mechanism you need to dene. When you are nished dening all reaction mechanisms, click OK.
Dening Physical Properties for the Mixture

When your FLUENT model includes chemical species, the following physical properties must be dened, either by you or by the database, for the mixture material: density, which you can dene using the gas law or as a volume-weighted function of composition viscosity, which you can dene as a function of composition thermal conductivity and specic heat (in problems involving solution of the energy equation), which you can dene as functions of composition. mass diusion coecients and Schmidt number, which govern the mass diusion uxes (Equations 14.1-2 and 14.1-3) Detailed descriptions of these property inputs are provided in Chapter 8: Physical Properties.
Remember to click on the Change/Create button when you are done setting the properties of the mixture material. The properties that appear for each of the constituent species will depend on your settings for the properties of the mixture material. If, for example, you specify a composition-dependent viscosity for the mixture, you will need to dene viscosity for each species.
Dening Physical Properties for the Species in the Mixture

For each of the uid materials in the mixture, you (or the database) must dene the following physical properties: molecular weight, which is used in the gas law and/or in the calculation of reaction rates and mole-fraction inputs or outputs standard-state (formation) enthalpy and reference temperature (in problems involving solution of the energy equation) viscosity, if you dened the viscosity of the mixture material as a function of composition
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thermal conductivity and specic heat (in problems involving solution of the energy equation), if you dened these properties of the mixture material as functions of composition standard-state entropy, if you are modeling reversible reactions thermal and momentum accommodation coecients, if you have enabled the lowpressure boundary slip model. Detailed descriptions of these property inputs are provided in Chapter 8: Physical Properties.
Global reaction mechanisms with one or two steps inevitably neglect the intermediate species. In high-temperature ames, neglecting these dissociated species may cause the temperature to be overpredicted. A more realistic temperature eld can be obtained by increasing the specic heat capacity for each species. Rose and Cooper [362] have created a set of specic heat polynomials as a function of temperature.
The specic heat capacity for each species is calculated as

m
cp (T ) =
k=0
ak T k
(14.1-32)
The modied cp polynomial coecients from [362] are provided in Table 14.1.1. Table 14.1.1: Modied cp Polynomial Coecients [362] a0 a1 a2 a3 a4 a0 a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 N2 CH4 CO H2 1.02705e+03 2.00500e+03 1.04669e+03 1.4147e+04 2.16182e02 6.81428e01 1.56841e01 1.7372e01 1.48638e04 7.08589e03 5.39904e04 6.9e04 4.48421e08 4.71368e06 3.01061e07 8.51317e10 5.05048e11 CO2 H2 O O2 5.35446e+02 1.93780e+03 8.76317e+02 1.27867e+00 1.18077e+00 1.22828e01 5.46776e04 3.64357e03 5.58304e04 2.38224e07 2.86327e06 1.20247e06 1.89204e10 7.59578e10 1.14741e09 5.12377e13 8.56597e17
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14.1.5
Dening Boundary Conditions for Species
You will need to specify the inlet mass fraction for each species in your simulation. In addition, for pressure outlets you will set species mass fractions to be used in case of backow at the exit. At walls, FLUENT will apply a zero-gradient (zero-ux) boundary condition for all species unless you have dened a surface reaction at that wall (see Section 14.2: Wall Surface Reactions and Chemical Vapor Deposition), you have dened a reaction mechanism at that wall (see Section 14.1.4: Dening Zone-Based Reaction Mechanisms), or you choose to specify species mass fractions at the wall. For uid zones, you also have the option of specifying a reaction mechanism. Input of boundary conditions is described in Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions.
Note that you will explicitly set mass fractions only for the rst N 1 species. The solver will compute the mass fraction of the last species by subtracting the total of the specied mass fractions from 1. If you want to explicitly specify the mass fraction of the last species, you must reorder the species in the list (in the Materials panel), as described in Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species.
Diffusion at Inlets with the Segregated Solver

For the segregated solver in FLUENT the net transport of species at inlets consists of both convection and diusion components. The convection component is xed by the inlet species concentration, whereas the diusion component depends on the gradient of the computed species concentration eld (which is not known a priori). In some cases, you may wish to include only the convective transport of species through the inlets of your domain. You can do this by disabling inlet species diusion. By default, FLUENT includes the diusion ux of species at inlets. To turn o inlet diusion, use either the define/models/species/inlet-diffusion? text command, or the Species Model panel. Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction... Once Species Transport is selected, you can then disable the Inlet Diusion option.
14.1.6
Dening Other Sources of Chemical Species
You can dene a source or sink of a chemical species within the computational domain by dening a source term in the Fluid panel. You may choose this approach when species sources exist in your problem but you do not want to model them through the mechanism of chemical reactions. Section 7.28: Dening Mass, Momentum, Energy, and Other Sources describes the procedures you follow to dene species sources in your FLUENT model. If the source is not a constant, you can use a user-dened function. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions.
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14.1.7
Solution Procedures for Chemical Mixing and Finite-Rate Chemistry
While many simulations involving chemical species may require no special procedures during the solution process, you may nd that one or more of the solution techniques noted in this section helps to accelerate the convergence or improve the stability of more complex simulations. The techniques outlined below may be of particular importance if your problem involves many species and/or chemical reactions, especially when modeling combusting ows.
Stability and Convergence in Reacting Flows

Obtaining a converged solution in a reacting ow can be dicult for a number of reasons. First, the impact of the chemical reaction on the basic ow pattern may be strong, leading to a model in which there is strong coupling between the mass/momentum balances and the species transport equations. This is especially true in combustion, where the reactions lead to a large heat release and subsequent density changes and large accelerations in the ow. All reacting systems have some degree of coupling, however, when the ow properties depend on the species concentrations. These coupling issues are best addressed by the use of a two-step solution process, as described below, and by the use of underrelaxation as described in Section 26.10: Setting Under-Relaxation Factors. A second convergence issue in reacting ows involves the magnitude of the reaction source term. When the FLUENT model involves very rapid reaction rates (reaction time scales are much faster than convection and diusion time scales), the solution of the species transport equations becomes numerically dicult. Such systems are termed sti systems. Sti systems with laminar chemistry can be solved using either the segregated solver with the Sti Chemistry Solver option enabled, or the coupled solver (see Section 14.1.7: Solution of Sti Laminar Chemistry Systems). The laminar chemistry model may also be used for turbulent ames, where turbulence-chemistry interactions are neglected. However, for such ames, the EDC or PDF Transport models, which account for turbulence-chemistry interactions, may be a better choice.
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Two-Step Solution Procedure (Cold Flow Simulation)

Solving a reacting ow as a two-step process can be a practical method for reaching a stable converged solution to your FLUENT problem. In this process, you begin by solving the ow, energy, and species equations with reactions disabled (the cold-ow, or unreacting ow). When the basic ow pattern has thus been established, you can reenable the reactions and continue the calculation. The cold-ow solution provides a good starting solution for the calculation of the combusting system. This two-step approach to combustion modeling can be accomplished using the following procedure: 1. Set up the problem including all species and reactions of interest. 2. Temporarily disable reaction calculations by turning o Volumetric in the Species Model panel. Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction... 3. Turn o calculation of the product species in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... 4. Calculate an initial (cold-ow) solution. (Note that it is generally not productive to obtain a fully converged cold-ow solution unless the non-reacting solution is also of interest to you.) 5. Enable the reaction calculations by turning on Volumetric again in the Species Model panel. 6. Turn on all equations. If you are using the laminar nite-rate, nite-rate/eddydissipation, EDC or PDF Transport model for turbulence-chemistry interaction, you may need to patch an ignition source (as described below).
Density Under-Relaxation
One of the main reasons a combustion calculation can have diculty converging is that large changes in temperature cause large changes in density, which can, in turn, cause instabilities in the ow solution. When you use the segregated solver, FLUENT allows you to under-relax the change in density to alleviate this diculty. The default value for density under-relaxation is 1, but if you encounter convergence trouble you may wish to reduce this to a value between 0.5 and 1 (in the Solution Controls panel).
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Ignition in Combustion Simulations

If you introduce fuel to an oxidant, spontaneous ignition does not occur unless the temperature of the mixture exceeds the activation energy threshold required to maintain combustion. This physical issue manifests itself in a FLUENT simulation as well. If you are using the laminar nite-rate, nite-rate/eddy-dissipation, EDC or PDF Transport model for turbulence-chemistry interaction, you have to supply an ignition source to initiate combustion. This ignition source may be a heated surface or inlet mass ow that heats the gas mixture above the required ignition temperature. Often, however, it is the equivalent of a spark: an initial solution state that causes combustion to proceed. You can supply this initial spark by patching a hot temperature into a region of the FLUENT model that contains a sucient fuel/air mixture for ignition to occur. Solve Initialize Patch... Depending on the model, you may need to patch both the temperature and the fuel/ oxidant/product concentrations to produce ignition in your model. The initial patch has no impact on the nal steady-state solutionno more than the location of a match determines the nal ow pattern of the torch that it lights. See Section 26.15.2: Patching Values in Selected Cells for details about patching initial values.
Solution of Stiff Laminar Chemistry Systems

When modeling sti laminar ames with the laminar nite-rate model, you can either use the segregated solver with the Sti Chemistry Solver option enabled as seen in the Species Model panel (Figure 14.1.1), or the coupled solver. When using the segregated solver for unsteady simulations, the Sti Chemistry Solver option applies a fractional step algorithm. In the rst fractional step, the chemistry in each cell is reacted at constant pressure for the ow time-step, using the ISAT integrator. In the second fractional step, the convection and diusion terms are treated just as in a non-reacting simulation. For steady simulations using the segregated solver, the Sti Chemistry Solver option approximates the reaction rate Ri in the species transport equation (see Equation 14.1-5) as,
Ri =
Ri dt
(14.1-33)
where is some time-step that requires careful selection. Note that as tends to zero the approximation becomes exact but the sti numerics will cause the segregated solver to diverge. On the other hand, as tends to innity, the approximated reaction rate Ri tends to zero and, while the numerical stiness is alleviated, there is no reaction. In FLUENT, the default value for is set to one-tenth of the minimum convective or diusive time-scale in the cell. This value was found to be suciently accurate and
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robust, although it can be modied via the solve/set/stiff-chemistry text command. ISAT is employed to integrate the sti chemistry in Equation 14.1-33. Details about the ISAT algorithm may be found in Sections 18.2.4 and Section 18.3.8: Efcient Use of ISAT. For ecient and accurate use of ISAT, a review of this section is highly recommended. Choosing the coupled implicit solver can provide further solution stability by enabling the Sti Chemistry Solver option. This option allows a larger stable Courant (CFL) number specication, although additional calculations are required to calculate the eigenvalues of the chemical Jacobian [368]. When enabling the sti-chemistry solver, the following must be specied: Temperature Positivity Rate Limit: limits new temperature changes by this factor multiplied by the old temperature. Its default value is 0.2. Temperature Time Step Reduction: limits the local CFL number when the temperature is changing too rapidly. Its default value is 0.25. Max. Chemical Time Step Ratio: limits the local CFL number when the chemical time scales (eigenvalues of the chemical Jacobian) become too large to maintain a well-conditioned matrix. Its default value is 0.9. If the coupled explicit solver is used, then the stiff-chemistry solver has to be enabled via the text command: solve set stiff-chemistry You will be prompted to specify the following: Positivity Rate Limit (for temperature): limits new temperature changes by this factor multiplied by the old temperature. Its default value is 0.2. Temperature time-step reduction factor: limits the local CFL number when the temperature is changing too rapidly. Its default value is 0.25. Maximum allowable time-step/chemical-time-scale ratio: limits the local CFL number when the chemical time scales (eigenvalues of the chemical Jacobian) become too large to maintain a well-conditioned matrix. Its default value is 0.9. The default values of these parameters are applicable in most cases.
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EDC Model Solution Procedure

Due to the high computational expense of the EDC model, it is recommended that you use the following procedure to obtain a solution using the segregated solver: 1. Calculate an initial solution using the equilibrium Non-premixed or Partially-premixed model (see Chapters 15 and 17). 2. Import a CHEMKIN format reaction mechanism (see Section 14.1.9: Importing a Volumetric Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format). 3. Enable the reaction calculations by turning on Volumetric Reactions in the Species Model panel and selecting EDC under Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction. Select the mechanism that you just imported as the Mixture Material. Dene Models Species... 4. Set the species boundary conditions. Dene Boundary Conditions... 5. Disable the ow and turbulence and solve for the species and temperature only. 6. Enable all equations and iterate to convergence. Note that the default numerical parameters for the solution of the EDC equations are set to provide maximum robustness with slowest convergence. The convergence rate can be increased by setting the Acceleration Factor with the text command: define/models/species/set-turb-chem-interaction The Acceleration Factor can be set from 0 (slow but stable) to 1 (fast but unstable).
14.1.8
Postprocessing for Species Calculations
FLUENT can report chemical species as mass fractions, mole fractions, and molar concentrations. You can also display laminar and eective mass diusion coecients. The following variables are available for postprocessing of species transport and reaction simulations: Mass fraction of species-n Mole fraction of species-n Molar Concentration of species-n Lam Di Coef of species-n E Di Coef of species-n
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Thermal Di Coef of species-n Enthalpy of species-n (segregated solver calculations only) species-n Source Term (coupled solver calculations only) Relative Humidity Time Step Scale (sti-chemistry solver only) Fine Scale Mass fraction of species-n (EDC model only) Fine Scale Transfer Rate (EDC model only) 1-Fine Scale Volume Fraction (EDC model only) Fine Scale Temperature (EDC model only) Rate of Reaction-n Arrhenius Rate of Reaction-n Turbulent Rate of Reaction-n These variables are contained in the Species..., Temperature..., and Reactions... categories of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for a complete list of ow variables, eld functions, and their denitions. Chapters 29 and 30 explain how to generate graphics displays and reports of data.
Averaged Species Concentrations

Averaged species concentrations at inlets and exits, and across selected planes (i.e., surfaces that you have created using the Surface menu items) within your model can be obtained using the Surface Integrals panel, as described in Section 30.5: Surface Integration. Report Surface Integrals... Select the Molar Concentration of species-n for the appropriate species in the Field Variable drop-down list.
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14.1.9
Importing a Volumetric Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format
If you have a gas phase chemical mechanism in CHEMKIN format, you can import the mechanism le into FLUENT using the CHEMKIN Mechanism Import panel (Figure 14.1.9). File Import CHEMKIN Mechanism...
Figure 14.1.9: The CHEMKIN Mechanism Import Panel for Volumetric Kinetics
In the CHEMKIN Mechanism Import panel 1. Enter a name for the chemical mechanism under Material Name. 2. Enter the path to the CHEMKIN le (e.g., path/file.che) under Gas Phase CHEMKIN Mechanism File.
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3. Specify the location of the Gas Phase Thermodynamic Data File (thermo.db). The format for thermo.db is detailed in the CHEMKIN manual [165]. The default thermo.db le in CHEMKIN is available only for gas phase species. 4. (Optional). Import transport properties by enabling the Import Transport Property Database and entering the path to that le. 5. Click the Import button. FLUENT will create a material with the specied name, which will contain the CHEMKIN data for the species and reactions, and add it to the list of available Mixture Materials in the Materials panel. Note that since FLUENT does not solve for the last species, you should ensure that the last species in the CHEMKIN mechanism species list is the bulk species. If not, edit the CHEMKIN mechanism le before importing it into FLUENT, and move the bulk species (i.e. the species in your system with the largest total mass) to the end of the species list.
Note that the CHEMKIN import facility does not provide full compatibility with all CHEMKIN rate formulations and that to access more complete functionality, you should consider the KINetics module option described in Section 14.1.3: Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material
For information on importing a surface kinetic mechanism in CHEMKIN format, see Section 14.2.6: Importing a Surface Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format.
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14.2
Wall Surface Reactions and Chemical Vapor Deposition
For gas-phase reactions, the reaction rate is dened on a volumetric basis and the rate of creation and destruction of chemical species becomes a source term in the species conservation equations. The rate of deposition is governed by both chemical kinetics and the diusion rate from the uid to the surface. Wall surface reactions thus create sources (and sinks) of chemical species in the bulk phase and determine the rate of deposition of surface species. Information about wall surface reactions and chemical vapor deposition is presented in the following subsections: Section 14.2.1: Overview of Surface Species and Wall Surface ReactionsSurface Reactions Section 14.2.2: Theory Section 14.2.3: User Inputs for Wall Surface Reactions Section 14.2.4: Solution Procedures for Wall Surface ReactionsReactions Section 14.2.5: Postprocessing for Surface Reactions
14.2.1
Overview of Surface Species and Wall Surface Reactions
FLUENT treats chemical species deposited on surfaces as distinct from the same chemical species in the gas. Similarly, reactions involving surface deposition are dened as distinct surface reactions and hence treated dierently than bulk phase reactions involving the same chemical species. Surface reactions can be limited so that they occur on only some of the wall boundaries (while the other wall boundaries remain free of surface reaction). The surface reaction rate is dened and computed per unit surface area, in contrast to the uid-phase reactions, which are based on unit volume.
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14.2 Wall Surface Reactions and Chemical Vapor Deposition
14.2.2
Theory
Consider the rth wall surface reaction written in general form as follows:
Ng Nb Ns Kr Ng Nb Ns
gi,r Gi +
i=1 i=1
bi,r Bi +
i=1
si,r Si
gi,r Gi +
i=1 i=1
bi,r Bi +
i=1
si,r Si
(14.2-1)
where Gi , Bi , and Si represent the gas phase species, the bulk (or solid) species, and the surface-adsorbed (or site) species, respectively. Ng , Nb , and Ns are the total numbers of these species. gi,r , bi,r , and si,r are the stoichiometric coecients for each reactant species i, and gi,r , bi,r , and si,r are the stoichiometric coecients for each product species i. Kr is the overall reaction rate constant. The summations in Equation 14.2-1 are for all chemical species in the system, but only species involved as reactants or products will have non-zero stoichiometric coecients. Hence, species that are not involved will drop out of the equation. The rate of the rth reaction is
Ng g s
Rr = kf,r
i=1
i,r i,r [Gi ]wall [Si ]wall
(14.2-2)
where [ ]wall represents molar concentrations on the wall. It is assumed that the reaction rate does not depend on concentrations of the bulk (solid) species. From this, the net molar rate of production or consumption of each species i is given by
Nrxn
Ri,gas = Ri,bulk = Ri,site =
(gi,r gi,r )Rr

r=1 Nrxn
i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , Ng i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , Nb i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , Ns
(14.2-3) (14.2-4) (14.2-5)
(bi,r bi,r )Rr

r=1 Nrxn
(si,r si,r )Rr

r=1
The forward rate constant for reaction r (kf,r ) is computed using the Arrhenius expression. For example, kf,r = Ar T r eEr /RT where Ar r Er R = = = = pre-exponential factor (consistent units) temperature exponent (dimensionless) activation energy for the reaction (J/kgmol) universal gas constant (J/kgmol-K) (14.2-6)
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You (or the database) will provide values for gi,r , gi,r , bi,r , bi,r , si,r , si,r , r , Ar , and Er .
Wall Surface Reaction Boundary Conditions

As shown in Equations 14.2-214.2-5, the goal of surface reaction modeling is to compute concentrations of gas species and site species at the wall; i.e., [Gi ]wall and [Si ]wall . Assuming that, on a reacting surface, the mass ux of each gas species is balanced with its rate of production/consumption, then
wall Di
Yi,wall mdep Yi,wall = Mw,i Ri,gas n [Si ]wall = Ri,site t
i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , Ng i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , Ns
(14.2-7) (14.2-8)
The mass fraction Yi,wall is related to concentration by [Gi ]wall = wall Yi,wall Mw,i (14.2-9)
mdep is the net rate of mass deposition or etching as a result of surface reaction; i.e.,
Nb
mdep =
i=1
Mw,i Ri,bulk
(14.2-10)
[Si ]wall is the site species concentration at the wall, and is dened as [Si ]wall = site zi where site is the site density and zi is the site coverage of species i. Using Equations 14.2-7 and 14.2-8, expressions can be derived for the mass fraction of species i at the wall and for the net rate of creation of species i per unit area. These expressions are used in FLUENT to compute gas phase species concentrations, and if applicable, site coverages, at reacting surfaces using a point-by-point coupled sti solver. (14.2-11)
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Including Mass Transfer To Surfaces in Continuity

In the surface reaction boundary condition described above, the eects of the wall normal velocity or bulk mass transfer to the wall are not included in the computation of species transport. The momentum of the net surface mass ux from the surface is also ignored because the momentum ux through the surface is usually small in comparison with the momentum of the ow in the cells adjacent to the surface. However, you can include the eect of surface mass transfer in the continuity equation by activating the Mass Deposition Source option in the Species Model panel.
Wall Surface Mass Transfer Effects in the Energy Equation

Species diusion eects in the energy equation due to wall surface reactions are included in the normal species diusion term described in Section 14.1.1: Treatment of Species Transport in the Energy Equation. If you are using the segregated solver, you can neglect this term by turning o the Diusion Energy Source option in the Species Model panel. (For the coupled solvers, this term is always included; you cannot turn it o.) Neglecting the species diusion term implies that errors may be introduced to the prediction of temperature in problems involving mixing of species with signicantly dierent heat capacities, especially for components with a Lewis number far from unity. While the eect of species diusion should go to zero at Le = 1, you may see subtle eects due to dierences in the numerical integration in the species and energy equations.
Modeling the Heat Release Due to Wall Surface Reactions

The heat release due to a wall surface reaction is, by default, ignored by FLUENT. You can, however, choose to include the heat of surface reaction by activating the Heat of Surface Reactions option in the Species Model panel and setting appropriate formation enthalpies in the Materials panel.
Slip Boundary Formulation for Low-Pressure Gas Systems

Most semiconductor fabrication devices operate far below atmospheric pressure, typically only a few millitorrs. At such low pressures, the uid ow is in the slip regime and the normally used no-slip boundary conditions for velocity and temperature are no longer valid. Knudsen number, Kn, which is dened as the ratio of mean free path to a characteristic length scale of the system, is used to describe various ow regimes. Since the mean free path increases as the pressure is lowered, the high end of Kn values represents free molecular ow and the low end the continuum regime. The range in between these two extremes is called the slip regime (0.001 < Kn < 0.1).
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In the slip regime, the gas-phase velocity at a solid surface diers from the velocity at which the wall moves, and the gas temperature at the surface diers from the wall temperature. Maxwells models are adopted for these physical phenomena in FLUENT for their simplicity and eectiveness. velocity slip Uw Ug = 2 v U 2 v Kn v n v Vg (V n)g = Vw (Ug Uc ) (14.2-12) (14.2-13)
Here, U and V represents the velocity component that is parallel and normal to the wall, respectively. The subscripts g, w and c indicate gas, wall and cell-center velocities. is the distance from cell center to the wall. v is the momentum accommodation coecient of the gas mixture and its value is calculated as massfraction weighted average of each gas species in the system.
Ng
v =
i=1
Yi i
(14.2-14)
The mean free path, , is computed as follows: kB T = 2 2 p

Ng
(14.2-15) (14.2-16)
=
i=1
Yi i
i is the Lennard-Jones characteristic length of species i. kB is the Boltzmann constant, 1.38066 1023 J/K. Equations 14.2-12 and 14.2-13 indicate that while the gas velocity component normal to the wall is the same as the wall normal velocity, the tangential components slip. The values lie somewhere between the cell-center and the wall values. These two equations can be combined to give a generalized formulation: Vw + k [(Vw n)n + Vc (Vc n)n] Vg = 1+ k where k 2 v v (14.2-18) (14.2-17)
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temperature jump Tw Tg = 2 or equivalently Tg = where = 2(2 T ) T (14.2-21) Tw + Tc 1+ (14.2-20) 2 T T Kn T 2 T 2 n T (Tg Tc ) (14.2-19)
T is the thermal accommodation coecient of the gas mixture and is calculated as T = Yi T,i .
i
14.2.3
The low-pressure slip boundary formulation is available only with the segregated solver.
User Inputs for Wall Surface Reactions
The basic steps for setting up a problem involving wall surface reactions are the same as those presented in Section 14.1.2: Overview of User Inputs for Modeling Species Transport and Reactions for setting up a problem with only uid-phase reactions, with a few additions: 1. In the Species Model panel: Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction... (a) Enable Species Transport, select Volumetric and Wall Surface under Reactions, and specify the Mixture Material. See Section 14.1.3: Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material for details about this procedure, and Section 14.1.2: Mixture Materials for an explanation of the mixture material concept. (b) (optional) If you want to model the heat release due to wall surface reactions, turn on the Heat of Surface Reactions option. (c) (optional) If you want to include the eect of surface mass transfer in the continuity equation, turn on the Mass Deposition Source option.
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(d) (optional) If you are using the segregated solver and you do not want to include species diusion eects in the energy equation, turn o the Diusion Energy Source option. See Section 14.2.2: Wall Surface Mass Transfer Eects in the Energy Equation for details. (e) (optional, but recommended for CVD) If you want to model full multicomponent diusion or thermal diusion, turn on the Full Multicomponent Diusion or Thermal Diusion option. See Section 8.8.2: Full Multicomponent Diusion for details. 2. Check and/or dene the properties of the mixture. (See Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species.) Dene Materials... Mixture properties include the following: species in the mixture reactions other physical properties (e.g., viscosity, specic heat)
You will nd all species (including the solid/bulk and site species) in the list of Fluent Fluid Materials. For a species such as Si, you will nd both Si(g) and Si(s) in the materials list for the uid material type.
Note that If you were modeling the silicon deposition reactions in the example at the beginning of Section 14.2.1: Overview of Surface Species and Wall Surface Reactions, you would need to include both Si species (gas and solid) in the mixture.
Note that the nal gas phase species named in the Selected Species list should be the carrier gas if your model includes species in dilute mixtures. (This is because FLUENT will not solve the transport equation for the nal species.) Note also that any reordering, adding or deleting of species should be handled with caution, as described in Section 14.1.4: Reordering Species.
3. Check and/or set the properties of the individual species in the mixture. (See Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species.) Note that if you are modeling the heat of surface reactions, you should be sure to check (or dene) the formation enthalpy for each species. 4. Set species boundary conditions. Dene Boundary Conditions... In addition to the boundary conditions described in Section 14.1.5: Dening Boundary Conditions for Species, you will rst need to indicate whether or not surface reactions are in eect on each wall. If so, you will then need to assign a reaction
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mechanism to the wall. To enable the eect of surface reaction on a wall, turn on the Reaction option in the Species section of the Wall panel.
If you have enabled the global Low-Pressure Boundary Slip option in the Viscous Model panel, the Shear Condition for each wall will be reset to No Slip even though the slip model will be in eect. Note that the Low-Pressure Boundary Slip option is available only when the Laminar model is selected in the Viscous Model panel.
See Section 7.13.1: Inputs at Wall Boundaries for details about boundary condition inputs for walls. See Section 7.19.6: User Inputs for Porous Media for details about boundary condition inputs for porous media.
14.2.4
Solution Procedures for Wall Surface Reactions
As in all CFD simulations, your surface reaction modeling eort may be more successful if you start with a simple problem description, adding complexity as the solution proceeds. For wall surface reactions, you can follow the same guidelines presented for uid-phase reactions in Section 14.1.7: Solution Procedures for Chemical Mixing and Finite-Rate Chemistry. In addition, if you are modeling the heat release due to surface reactions and you are having convergence trouble, you should try temporarily turning o the Heat of Surface Reactions and Mass Deposition Source options in the Species Model panel.
14.2.5
Postprocessing for Surface Reactions
In addition to the variables listed in Section 14.1.8: Postprocessing for Species Calculations, for surface reactions you can also display/report the surface coverage as well as the deposition rate of the solid species deposited on a surface. Select Surface Coverage of species-n or Surface Deposition Rate of species-n in the Species... category of the variable selection drop-down list.
For surface reactions involving porous media, you can display/report the surface reaction rates using the Arrhenius Rate of Reaction-n in the Reactions... category of the variable selection drop-down list.
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14.2.6
Importing a Surface Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format
Importing surface kinetic mechanisms in CHEMKIN format (Section 14.1.9: Importing a Volumetric Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format) requires that the gas phase mechanism le accompany the surface mechanism le for full compatibility with CHEMKIN. If the gas phase mechanism le is not available, then you will need to create one that you will import along with the surface mechanism le. The mechanism les are imported into FLUENT using the CHEMKIN Mechanism Import panel (Figure 14.2.1). File Import CHEMKIN Mechanism...
Figure 14.2.1: The CHEMKIN Mechanism Import Panel for Surface Kinetics
In the CHEMKIN Mechanism Import panel 1. Enter a name for the chemical mechanism under Material Name. 2. Enable Import Surface CHEMKIN Mechanism.
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3. Enter the path to the Gas Phase CHEMKIN Mechanism File (e.g., path/gas-file.che) and the Surface CHEMKIN Mechanism File (e.g., path/surface-file.che). 4. Specify the location of the Thermodynamic Data File (thermo.db). The format for thermo.db is detailed in the CHEMKIN Users Guide [165]. The default thermo.db le supplied with FLUENT has only gas phase species available. You will need to supply a surface thermo.db le for your surface species if this thermo information is not in the mechanism le.
Note that FLUENT will initially search for the thermodynamic data in the Surface CHEMKIN Mechanism File. If the data does not exist in the mechanism le, then FLUENT will search for the thermodynamic data in the specied Thermodynamic Database File.
5. (Optional). Import transport properties by enabling the Import Transport Property Database and entering the path to that le. 6. Click the Import button. FLUENT will create a material with the specied name, which will contain the CHEMKIN data for the species and reactions, and add it to the list of Fluent Mixture Materials. You can view all of the reactions by clicking on the Edit... button to the right of Mechanism, under Properties in the Materials panel. Note that for surface reaction mechanisms, the surface reaction rate constant can be expressed in terms of a sticking coecient. FLUENT will convert this sticking coecient form to the Arrhenius rate expression [166].
The CHEMKIN import facility does not provide full compatibility with all CHEMKIN rate formulations. To access more complete functionality, you should consider the KINetics module option described in Section 14.1.3: Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material
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Compatibility and Limitations for Gas Phase Reactions

FLUENT will allow for the following reaction types: Arrhenius reactions with arbitrary reaction order, third-body eciencies and noninteger stoichiometric coecients. Presure dependent reactions (Lindemann, Troe and SRI forms) Arbitrary reaction units Duplicate reactions (keyword DUP) FLUENT will not allow for the following reaction types: Landau-Teller reactions (keyword LT) Reverse Landau-Teller reactions (keyword RLT) Janev reactions (keyword JAN) Exponential modied power series reactions(keyword FIT1) Radiation reactions (keyword HV) Energy loss reactions (keyword EXCI) Multi-uid temperature dependence reactions (keyword TDEP) Electron momentum transfer collision frequency (keyword MOME) Arbitrary reverse reaction (keyword REV)
Note that the reaction types that FLUENT will not allow are mostly applicable to plasmas.
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Compatibility and Limitations for Surface Reactions

FLUENT will allow for the following reaction types: Arrhenius reactions with arbitrary reaction order, third-body eciencies and noninteger stoichiometric coecients. Sticking coecients (keyword STICK). Fluent converts these to an equivalent Arrhenius expression. Arbitrary reaction units Duplicate reactions (keyword DUP) FLUENT will not allow for the following reaction types: Surface Coverage modication (keyword COV) Ion-Energy Dependent reaction (keyword ENRGDEP) Bohm rate expressions (keyword BOHM) Ion-Enhanced reaction Motz-Wise correction (keywords MWON and MWOFF)
FLUENT will warn you of any incompatibilities.
For a detailed description of the keywords, see [166].
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14.3
Particle Surface Reactions
As described in Section 23.3.6: The Multiple Surface Reactions Model, it is possible to dene multiple particle surface reactions to model the surface combustion of a combusting discrete-phase particle. Information about particle surface reactions is provided in the following subsections: Section 14.3.1: Theory Section 14.3.2: User Inputs for Particle Surface Reactions Section 14.3.3: Using the Multiple Surface Reactions Model for Discrete-Phase Particle Combustion
14.3.1
Theory
General Description
The relationships for calculating char particle burning rates are presented and discussed in detail by Smith [318]. The particle reaction rate, R (kg/m2 -s), can be expressed as R = D0 (Cg Cs ) = Rc (Cs )N where D0 Cg Cs Rc N = bulk diusion coecient (m/s) = mean reacting gas species concentration in the bulk (kg/m3 ) = mean reacting gas species concentration at the particle surface (kg/m3 ) = chemical reaction rate coecient (units vary) = apparent reaction order (dimensionless) (14.3-1)
In Equation 14.3-1, the concentration at the particle surface, Cs , is not known, so it should be eliminated, and the expression is recast as follows: R R = Rc Cg D0
N
(14.3-2)
This equation has to be solved by an iterative procedure, with the exception of the cases when N = 1 or N = 0. When N = 1, Equation 14.3-2 can be written as R= Cg Rc D0 D0 + R c (14.3-3)
In the case of N = 0, if there is a nite concentration of reactant at the particle surface, the solid depletion rate is equal to the chemical reaction rate. If there is no reactant
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14.3 Particle Surface Reactions
at the surface, the solid depletion rate changes abruptly to the diusion-controlled rate. In this case, however, FLUENT will always use the chemical reaction rate for stability reasons.
FLUENT Model Formulation

A particle undergoing an exothermic reaction in the gas phase is shown schematically in Figure 14.3.1. Tp and T are the temperatures in Equation 23.3-78.
Cd,b Cd,s Concentration Tp Ck T Temperature
Distance
Figure 14.3.1: A Reacting Particle in the Multiple Surface Reactions Model
Based on the analysis above, FLUENT uses the following equation to describe the rate of reaction r of a particle surface species j with the gas phase species n. The reaction stoichiometry of reaction r in this case is described by particle species j(s) + gas phase species n products and the rate of reaction is given as Rj,r = Ap r Yj Rj,r Rj,r pn D0,r
Nr
(14.3-4)
Rj,r = Rkin,r
(14.3-5)
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where Rj,r Ap Yj r Rj,r pn D0,r Rkin,r Nr = = = = = = = = = rate of particle surface species depletion (kg/s) particle surface area (m2 ) mass fraction of surface species j in the particle eectiveness factor (dimensionless) rate of particle surface species reaction per unit area (kg/m2 -s) bulk partial pressure of the gas phase species (Pa) diusion rate coecient for reaction r kinetic rate of reaction r (units vary) apparent order of reaction r
The eectiveness factor, r , is related to the surface area, and can be used in each reaction in the case of multiple reactions. D0,r is given by [(Tp + T )/2]0.75 dp
D0,r = C1,r
(14.3-6)
The kinetic rate of reaction r is dened as Rkin,r = Ar T r e(Er /RT ) (14.3-7)
The rate of the particle surface species depletion for reaction order Nr = 1 is given by Rj,r = Ap r Yj pn For reaction order Nr = 0, Rj,r = Ap r Yj Rkin,r (14.3-9) Rkin,r D0,r D0,r + Rkin,r (14.3-8)
Extension for Stoichiometries with Multiple Gas Phase Reactants

When more than one gas phase reactant takes part in the reaction, the reaction stoichiometry must be extended to account for this case: particle species j(s) + gas phase species 1 + gas phase species 2 + . . . + gas phase species nmax products To describe the rate of reaction r of a particle surface species j in the presence of nmax gas phase species n, it is necessary to dene the diusion-limited species for each solid particle reaction, i.e., the species for which the concentration gradient between the bulk and the particle surface is the largest. For the rest of the species, the surface and the
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bulk concentrations are assumed to be equal. The concentration of the diusion-limited species is shown as Cd,b and Cd,s in Figure 14.3.1, and the concentrations of all other species are denoted as Ck . For stoichiometries with multiple gas phase reactants, the bulk partial pressure pn in Equations 14.3-4 and 14.3-8 is the bulk partial pressure of the diusion-limited species, pr,d for reaction r. The kinetic rate of reaction r is then dened as Rkin,r where pn Nr,n = = bulk partial pressure of gas species n reaction order in species n Ar T r e(Er /RT ) = (pr,d )Nr,d
nmax
pNr,n n
n=1
(14.3-10)
When this model is enabled, the constant C1,r (Equation 14.3-6) and the eectiveness factor r (Equation 14.3-4) are entered in the Reactions panel, as described in Section 14.3.2: User Inputs for Particle Surface Reactions.
Solid-Solid Reactions
Reactions involving only particle surface reactants can be modeled, provided that the particle surface reactants and products exist on the same particle. particle species 1(s) + particle species 2(s) + . . . products The reaction rate for this case is given by Equation 14.3-9.
Solid Decomposition Reactions

The decomposition reactions of particle surface species can be modeled. particle species 1(s) + particle species 2(s) + . . . + particle species nmax (s) gas species j + products The reaction rate for this case is given by Equations 14.3-414.3-10, where the diusionlimited species is now the gaseous product of the reaction. If there are more than one gaseous product species in the reaction, it is necessary to dene the diusion-limited species for the particle reaction as the species for which the concentration gradient between the bulk and the particle surface is the largest.
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Solid Deposition Reactions

The deposition reaction of a solid species on a particle can be modeled with the following assumptions: gas species 1 + gas species 2 + . . . + gas species nmax solid species j(s) + products The theoretical analysis and Equations 14.3-414.3-10 are applied for the surface reaction rate calculation, with the mass fraction of the surface species set to unity in Equations 14.3-4, 14.3-8, and 14.3-9. In FLUENT, for the particle surface species to be deposited on a particle, a nite mass of the species must already exist in the particle. This allows for activation of the deposition reaction selectively to particular injection particles. It follows that, to initiate the solid species deposition reaction on a particle, the particle must be dened in the Set Injection Properties panel (or Set Multiple Injection Properties panel) to contain a small mass fraction of the solid species to be deposited. See Section 14.3.3: Using the Multiple Surface Reactions Model for Discrete-Phase Particle Combustion for details on dening the particle surface species mass fractions.
Gaseous Solid Catalyzed Reactions on the Particle Surface

Reactions of gaseous species catalyzed on the particle surface can also be modeled following Equations 14.3-414.3-10 for the surface reaction rate calculation, with the mass fraction of the surface species set to unity in Equations 14.3-4, 14.3-8, and 14.3-9. The catalytic particle surface reaction option is enabled in FLUENT when Particle Surface is selected as the Reaction Type in the Reactions panel and there are no solid species in the reaction stoichiometry. The solid species acting as a catalyst for the reaction is dened in the Reactions panel. The catalytic particle surface reaction will proceed only on those particles containing the catalyst species. See Section 14.3.3: Using the Multiple Surface Reactions Model for Discrete-Phase Particle Combustion for details on dening the particle surface species mass fractions.
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14.3.2
User Inputs for Particle Surface Reactions
The setup procedure for particle surface reactions requires only a few inputs in addition to the procedure for volumetric reactions described in Sections 14.1.214.1.6. These additional inputs are as follows: In the Species Model panel, turn on the Particle Surface option under Reactions. Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction... When you specify the species involved in the particle surface reaction, be sure to identify the surface species, as described in Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species.
You will nd all species (including the surface species) in the list of Fluent Fluid Materials. If, for example, you are modeling coal gasication, you will nd solid carbon, C(s), in the materials list for the uid material type.
For each particle surface reaction, select Particle Surface as the Reaction Type in the Reactions panel, and specify the following parameters (in addition to those described in Section 14.1.4: Dening Reactions): Diusion-Limited Species When there is more than one gaseous reactant taking part in the particle surface reaction, the diusion-limited species is the species for which the concentration gradient between the bulk and the particle surface is the largest. See Figure 14.3.1 for an illustration of this concept. In most cases, there is a single gas phase reactant and the diusion-limited species does not need to be dened. Catalyst Species This option is available only when there are no solid species dened in the stoichiometry of the particle surface reaction. In such a case, you will need to specify the solid species that acts as a catalyst for the reaction. The reaction will proceed only on the particles that contain this solid species. See Section 14.3.3: Using the Multiple Surface Reactions Model for DiscretePhase Particle Combustion for details on dening the particle surface species mass fractions. Diusion Rate Constant (C1,r in Equation 14.3-6) Eectiveness Factor (r in Equation 14.3-4)
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14.3.3
Using the Multiple Surface Reactions Model for Discrete-Phase Particle Combustion
When you use the multiple surface reactions model, the procedure for setting up a problem involving a discrete phase is slightly dierent from that outlined in Section 23.7: Using the Discrete Phase Models. The revised procedure is as follows: 1. Enable any of the discrete phase modeling options, if relevant, as described in Section 23.7.6: Physical Models for the Discrete Phase Model. 2. Specify the initial conditions, as described in Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase. 3. Dene the boundary conditions, as described in Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase. 4. Dene the material properties, as described in Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase.
You must select multiple-surface-reactions in the Combustion Model dropdown list in the Materials panel before you can proceed to the next step.
5. If you have dened more than one particle surface species, for example, carbon (C<s>) and sulfur (S<s>), you will need to return to the Set Injection Properties panel (or Set Multiple Injection Properties panel) to specify the mass fraction of each particle surface species in the combusting particle. Click the Multiple Reactions tab, and enter the Species Mass Fractions. These mass fractions refer to the combustible fraction of the combusting particle, and should sum to 1. If there is only one surface species in the mixture material, the mass fraction of that species will be set to 1, and you will not specify anything under Multiple Surface Reactions. 6. Set the solution parameters and solve the problem, as described in Section 23.11: Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase. 7. Examine the results, as described in Section 23.12: Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase.
Unsteady particle tracking cannot be performed when the multiple surface reactions model is used.
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14.4 Species Transport Without Reactions
14.4
Species Transport Without Reactions
In addition to the volumetric and surface reactions described in the previous sections, you can also use FLUENT to solve a species mixing problem without reactions. The species transport equations that FLUENT will solve are described in Section 14.1.1: Theory, and the procedure you will follow to set up the non-reacting species transport problem is the same as that described in Sections 14.1.214.1.6, with some simplications. The basic steps are listed below: 1. Enable Species Transport in the Species Model panel and select the appropriate Mixture Material. Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction... See Section 14.1.2: Overview of User Inputs for Modeling Species Transport and Reactions for information about the mixture material concept, and Section 14.1.3: Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material for more details about using the Species Model panel. 2. (optional) If you want to model full multicomponent diusion or thermal diusion, turn on the Full Multicomponent Diusion or Thermal Diusion option. See Section 8.8.2: Full Multicomponent Diusion for details. 3. Check and/or dene the properties of the mixture and its constituent species. Dene Materials... Mixture properties include the following: species in the mixture other physical properties (e.g., viscosity, specic heat) See Section 14.1.4: Dening Properties for the Mixture and Its Constituent Species for details. 4. Set species boundary conditions, as described in Section 14.1.5: Dening Boundary Conditions for Species. No special solution procedures are usually required for a non-reacting species transport calculation. Upon completion of the calculation, you can display or report the following quantities: Mass fraction of species-n Mole fraction of species-n Concentration of species-n
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Lam Di Coef of species-n E Di Coef of species-n Enthalpy of species-n (segregated solver calculations only) Relative Humidity Mean Molecular Weight These variables are contained in the Species... and Properties... categories of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for a complete list of ow variables, eld functions, and their definitions. Chapters 29 and 30 explain how to generate graphics displays and reports of data.
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Chapter 15.
Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion
In non-premixed combustion, fuel and oxidizer enter the reaction zone in distinct streams. This is in contrast to premixed systems, in which reactants are mixed at the molecular level before burning. Examples of non-premixed combustion include pulverized coal furnaces, diesel internal-combustion engines and pool res. Under certain assumptions, the thermochemistry can be reduced to a single parameter: the mixture fraction. The mixture fraction, denoted by f , is the mass fraction that originated from the fuel stream. In other words, it is the local mass fraction of burnt and unburnt fuel stream elements (C, H, etc.) in all the species (CO2 , H2 O, O2 , etc.). The approach is elegant because atomic elements are conserved in chemical reactions. In turn, the mixture fraction is a conserved scalar quantity, and therefore its governing transport equation does not have a source term. Combustion is simplied to a mixing problem, and the diculties associated with closing non-linear mean reaction rates are avoided. Once mixed, the chemistry can be modeled as in chemical equilibrium, or near chemical equilibrium with the laminar amelet model. These models are presented in the following sections: Section 15.1: Overview of Non-Premixed Combustion Section 15.2: Non-Premixed Combustion Theory Section 15.3: The Laminar Flamelet Model Section 15.4: User Inputs for the Non-Premixed Model Section 15.5: Dening Non-Premixed Boundary Conditions Section 15.6: Dening Non-Premixed Physical Properties Section 15.7: Coal Modeling Inputs in FLUENT Section 15.8: Non-Premixed Solution Procedures Section 15.9: Postprocessing the Non-Premixed Model Results
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15.1
Overview of Non-Premixed Combustion
The non-premixed modeling approach involves the solution of transport equations for one or two conserved scalars (the mixture fractions). Equations for individual species are not solved. Instead, species concentrations are derived from the predicted mixture fraction elds. The thermochemistry calculations are preprocessed and then tabulated for look-up in FLUENT. Interaction of turbulence and chemistry is accounted for with an assumed-shape Probability Density Function (PDF).
15.1.1
Overview of the Non-Premixed Approach
The non-premixed modeling approach has been specically developed for the simulation of turbulent diusion ames with fast chemistry. For such systems, the method oers many benets over the eddy-dissipation formulation described in Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry. The non-premixed model allows intermediate (radical) species prediction, dissociation eects, and rigorous turbulence-chemistry coupling. The method is computationally ecient in that it does not require the solution of a large number of species transport equations. When the underlying assumptions are valid, the non-premixed approach is preferred over the eddy-dissipation formulation.
15.2
Non-Premixed Combustion Theory
Information about non-premixed combustion theory is presented in the following sections: Section 15.2.1: Mixture Fraction Theory Section 15.2.2: Modeling of Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction Section 15.2.3: Non-Adiabatic Extensions of the Non-Premixed Model Section 15.2.4: Chemistry Tabulation Section 15.2.5: Restrictions and Special Cases for Using the Non-Premixed Model
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15.2 Non-Premixed Combustion Theory
15.2.1
Mixture Fraction Theory
Denition of the Mixture Fraction

The basis of the non-premixed modeling approach is that under a certain set of simplifying assumptions, the instantaneous thermochemical state of the uid is related to a conserved scalar quantity known as the mixture fraction, f . The mixture fraction can be written in terms of the atomic mass fraction as [312] f= Zi Zi,ox Zi,fuel Zi,ox (15.2-1)
where Zi is the elemental mass fraction for element, i. The subscript ox denotes the value at the oxidizer stream inlet and the subscript fuel denotes the value at the fuel stream inlet. If the diusion coecients for all species are equal, then Equation 15.2-1 is identical for all elements, and the mixture fraction denition is unique. The mixture fraction is thus the elemental mass fraction that originated from the fuel stream. If a secondary stream (another fuel or oxidant, or a non-reacting stream) is included, the fuel and secondary mixture fractions are simply the elemental mass fractions of the fuel and secondary streams, respectively. The sum of all three mixture fractions in the system (fuel, secondary stream, and oxidizer) is always equal to 1: ffuel + fsec + fox = 1 (15.2-2)
This indicates that only points on the plane ABC (shown in Figure 15.2.1) in the mixture fraction space are valid. Consequently, the two mixture fractions, ffuel and fsec , cannot vary independently; their values are valid only if they are both within the triangle OBC shown in Figure 15.2.1. FLUENT discretizes the triangle OBC as shown in Figure 15.2.2. Essentially, the primary mixture fraction, ffuel , is allowed to vary between zero and one, as for the single mixture fraction case, while the secondary mixture fraction lies on lines with the following equation: fsec = psec (1 ffuel ) (15.2-3)
where psec is the normalized secondary mixture fraction and is the value at the intersection of a line with the secondary mixture fraction axis. Note that unlike fsec , psec is bounded between zero and one, regardless of the ffuel value. An important characteristic of the normalized secondary mixture fraction, psec , is its assumed statistical independence from the fuel mixture fraction, ffuel . Note that unlike fsec , psec is not a conserved scalar. The normalized mixture fraction denition for the second
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fox
A 1 C
fsec
O 0 1
ffuel
Figure 15.2.1: Relationship of ffuel , fsec , and fox
sec
f sec
O 0
f fuel
Figure 15.2.2: Relationship of ffuel , fsec , and psec
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scalar variable is used everywhere except when dening the rich limit for a secondary fuel stream, which is dened in terms of fsec .
Transport Equations for the Mixture Fraction

Under the assumption of equal diusivities, the species equations can be reduced to a single equation for the mixture fraction, f . The reaction source terms in the species equations cancel, and thus f is a conserved quantity. While the assumption of equal diusivities is problematic for laminar ows, it is generally acceptable for turbulent ows where turbulent convection overwhelms molecular diusion. The Favre mean (densityaveraged) mixture fraction equation is (f ) + t (vf ) = t f + Sm + Suser t (15.2-4)
The source term Sm is due solely to transfer of mass into the gas phase from liquid fuel droplets or reacting particles (e.g., coal). Suser is any user-dened source term. In addition to solving for the Favre mean mixture fraction, FLUENT solves a conservation equation for the mixture fraction variance, f 2 [153]:
f t
vf
t f t
+ Cg t
Cd f 2 + Suser k
(15.2-5)
where f = f f . The default values for the constants t , Cg , and Cd are 0.85, 2.86, and 2.0, respectively, and Suser is any user-dened source term. The mixture fraction variance is used in the closure model describing turbulence-chemistry interactions (see below).
2 For a two-mixture-fraction problem, ffuel and ffuel are obtained from Equations 15.2-4 and 2 15.2-5 by substituting ffuel for f and ffuel for f 2 . fsec is obtained from Equation 15.2-4 by 2 substituting fsec for f . psec is then calculated using Equation 15.2-3, and psec is obtained by solving Equation 15.2-5 with psec substituted for f . To a rst-order approximation, the variances in psec and fsec are relatively insensitive to ffuel , and therefore the equation 2 2 for psec is essentially the same as fsec .
2 2 The equation for psec instead of fsec is valid when the mass ow rate of the secondary stream is relatively small compared with the total mass ow rate.
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The Non-Premixed Model for LES

A transport equation is not solved for the mixture fraction variance. Instead, it is modeled as f where Cvar Ls = = constant subgrid length scale (see Equation 11.7-11)
2
= Cvar L2 | f | s
(15.2-6)
The constant Cvar is computed dynamically when the Dynamic Model is enabled in the Viscous panel, else a default value of 0.5 is used.
Mixture Fraction vs. Equivalence Ratio

The mixture fraction denition can be understood in relation to common measures of reacting systems. Consider a simple combustion system involving a fuel stream (F), an oxidant stream (O), and a product stream (P) symbolically represented at stoichiometric conditions as F + r O (1 + r) P (15.2-7)
where r is the air-to-fuel ratio on a mass basis. Denoting the equivalence ratio as , where = (fuel/air)actual (fuel/air)stoichiometric (15.2-8)
the reaction in Equation 15.2-7, under more general mixture conditions, can then be written as F + r O ( + r) P (15.2-9)
Looking at the left side of this equation, the mixture fraction for the system as a whole can then be deduced to be f= +r (15.2-10)
Equation 15.2-10 allows the computation of the mixture fraction at stoichiometric conditions ( = 1) or at fuel-rich conditions (e.g., > 1), or fuel-lean conditions (e.g., < 1).
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Relationship of f to Species Mass Fraction, Density, and Temperature

The power of the mixture fraction modeling approach is that the chemistry is reduced to one or two conserved mixture fractions. Under the assumption of chemical equilibrium, all thermochemical scalars (species fractions, density, and temperature) are uniquely related to the mixture fraction(s). For single mixture fraction, adiabatic systems, the instantaneous values of mass fractions, density, and temperature depend solely on the instantaneous mixture fraction, f : i = i (f ) (15.2-11)
If a secondary stream is included, the instantaneous values will depend on the instantaneous fuel mixture fraction, ffuel , and the secondary partial fraction, psec : i = i (ffuel , psec ) (15.2-12)
In Equations 15.2-11 and 15.2-12, i represents the instantaneous species mass fraction, density, or temperature. In the case of non-adiabatic systems, the eect of heat loss/gain is parameterized as i = i (f, H) (15.2-13)
for a single mixture fraction system, where H is the instantaneous enthalpy (see Equation 12.2-7). If a secondary stream is included, i = i (ffuel , psec , H) (15.2-14)
Examples of non-adiabatic ows include systems with radiation, heat transfer through walls, heat transfer to/from discrete phase particles or droplets, and multiple inlets at dierent temperatures. Additional detail about the mixture fraction approach in such non-adiabatic systems is provided in Section 15.2.3: Non-Adiabatic Extensions of the Non-Premixed Model. In many reacting systems, the combustion is not in chemical equilibrium. FLUENT offers several approaches to model chemical non-equilibrium, including the nite-rate (see Section 14.1.1: The Generalized Finite-Rate Formulation for Reaction Modeling), EDC (see Section 14.1.1: The Eddy-Dissipation-Concept (EDC) Model), and PDF transport (see Chapter 18: The Composition PDF Transport Model) models, where detailed kinetic mechanisms can be incorporated. There are two approaches in the non-premixed combustion model to simulate chemical non-equilibrium. One is the Rich Flammability Limit (RFL) option, where rich regions are modeled as a mixed but unburnt mixture of
15-7
pure fuel and a leaner equilibrium burnt mixture. The other approach is the Laminar Flamelet model, where chemical non-equilibrium due to turbulent ame stretching is included. See Section 15.3: The Laminar Flamelet Model for details about the laminar amelet model in FLUENT.
15.2.2
Modeling of Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction
Equations 15.2-11 through 15.2-14 describe the instantaneous relationships between mixture fraction and species fractions, density, and temperature under the assumption of chemical equilibrium. The FLUENT prediction of the turbulent reacting ow, however, is concerned with prediction of the averaged values of these uctuating scalars. How these averaged values are related to the instantaneous values depends on the turbulencechemistry interaction model. FLUENT applies the assumed-shape probability density function (PDF) approach as its closure model when the non-premixed model is used. The assumed shape PDF closure model is described in this section.
Description of the Probability Density Function

The Probability Density Function, written as p(f ), can be thought of as the fraction of time that the uid spends in the vicinity of the state f . Figure 15.2.3 plots the time trace of mixture fraction at a point in the ow (right-hand side) and the probability density function of f (left-hand side). The uctuating value of f , plotted on the right side of the gure, spends some fraction of time in the range denoted as f . p(f ), plotted on the left side of the gure, takes on values such that the area under its curve in the band denoted, f , is equal to the fraction of time that f spends in this range. Written mathematically, p(f ) f = lim 1 T T i
i
(15.2-15)
where T is the time scale and i is the amount of time that f spends in the f band. The shape of the function p(f ) depends on the nature of the turbulent uctuations in f . In practice, p(f ) is unknown and is modeled as a mathematical function that approximates the actual PDF shapes that have been observed experimentally.
15-8
Figure 15.2.3: Graphical Description of the Probability Density Function, p(f )
15-9
Derivation of Mean Scalar Values from the Instantaneous Mixture Fraction

The probability density function p(f ), describing the temporal uctuations of f in the turbulent ow, can be used to compute averaged values of variables that depend on f . Density-weighted mean species mass fractions and temperature can be computed (in adiabatic systems) as
1
i =
p(f )i (f )df
(15.2-16)
for a single-mixture-fraction system. When a secondary stream exists, mean values are calculated as
1 1 0
i =
p1 (ffuel )p2 (psec )i (ffuel , psec )dffuel dpsec
(15.2-17)
where p1 is the PDF of ffuel and p2 is the PDF of psec . Here, statistical independence of ffuel and psec is assumed, so that p(ffuel , psec ) = p1 (ffuel )p2 (psec ). Similarly, the mean time-averaged uid density, , can be computed as 1 = for a single-mixture-fraction system, and 1 =
1 0 0 1 1 0
p(f ) df (f )
(15.2-18)
p1 (ffuel )p2 (psec ) dffuel dpsec (ffuel , psec )
(15.2-19)
when a secondary stream exists. (f ) or (ffuel , psec ) is the instantaneous density obtained using the instantaneous species mass fractions and temperature in the ideal gas law equation. Using Equations 15.2-16 and 15.2-18 (or Equations 15.2-17 and 15.2-19), it remains only to specify the shape of the function p(f ) (or p1 (ffuel ) and p2 (psec )) in order to determine the local mean uid state at all points in the ow eld.
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The Assumed-Shape PDF

The shape of the assumed PDF, p(f ), is described in FLUENT by one of two mathematical functions: the double-delta function (two-mixture-fraction cases only) the -function (single- and two-mixture-fraction cases) The double-delta function is the most easily computed, while the -function most closely represents experimentally observed PDFs. The shape produced by this function depends solely on the mean mixture fraction, f , and its variance, f 2 . A detailed description of each function follows. The Double Delta Function PDF The double delta function is given by
0.5, 0.5,
f =f
2 2
p(f ) =
0,
f =f+ f elsewhere
(15.2-20)
with suitable bounding near f = 1 and f = 0. One example of the double delta function is illustrated in Figure 15.2.4. As noted above, the double delta function PDF is very easy to compute but is invariably less accurate than the alternate -function PDF because it assumes that only two states occur in the turbulent ow. For this reason, it is available only for two-mixture-fraction simulations where the savings in computational cost is signicant The -Function PDF The -function PDF shape is given by the following function of f and f 2 : f 1 (1 f )1 f 1 (1 f )1 df
p(f ) = where
(15.2-21)
=f and
f (1 f ) 1 f2
(15.2-22)
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p(f)
0.5
0 0
Figure 15.2.4: Example of the Double Delta Function PDF Shape
= (1 f )
f (1 f ) 1 f2
(15.2-23)
Importantly, the PDF shape p(f ) is a function of only its rst two moments, namely the mean mixture fraction, f , and the mixture fraction variance, f 2 . Thus, given FLUENTs prediction of f and f 2 at each point in the ow eld (Equations 15.2-4 and 15.2-5), the assumed PDF shape can be computed and used as the weighting function to determine the mean values of species mass fractions, density, and temperature using, Equations 15.2-16 and 15.2-18 (or, for a system with a secondary stream, Equations 15.2-17 and 15.2-19). This logical dependence is depicted visually in Figure 15.2.5 for a single mixture fraction.
15.2.3
Non-Adiabatic Extensions of the Non-Premixed Model
Many reacting systems involve heat transfer through wall boundaries, droplets, and/or particles. In such ows the local thermochemical state is no longer related only to f , but also to the enthalpy, H. The system enthalpy impacts the chemical equilibrium calculation and the temperature and species of the reacting ow. Consequently, changes in enthalpy due to heat loss must be considered when computing scalars from the mixture fraction, as in Equation 15.2-13. In such non-adiabatic systems, turbulent uctuations should be accounted for by means of a joint PDF, p(f, H). The computation of p(f, H), however, is not practical for most engineering applications. The problem can be simplied signicantly by assuming that the enthalpy uctuations are independent of the enthalpy level (i.e., heat losses do not signicantly impact the turbulent enthalpy uctuations). With this assumption, p(f, H) = p(f )(H H) and mean scalars are calculated as
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PDF Shape p(f ) = p (f , f 2 )
Chemistry Model i (f )
i = p(f ) i (f ) df
o
Look-up Table i = i (f , f
2)
Figure 15.2.5: Logical Dependence of Averaged Scalars i on f , f 2 , and the Chemistry Model (Adiabatic, Single-Mixture-Fraction Systems)
i =
i (f, H)p(f )df
(15.2-24)
Determination of i in the non-adiabatic system thus requires solution of the modeled transport equation for mean enthalpy: (H) + t (vH) = kt H + Sh cp
(15.2-25)
where Sh accounts for source terms due to radiation, heat transfer to wall boundaries, and heat exchange with the dispersed phase. Figure 15.2.6 depicts the logical dependence of mean scalar values (species mass fraction, density, and temperature) on FLUENTs prediction of f , f 2 , and H in non-adiabatic single-mixture-fraction systems. When a secondary stream is included, the mean values are calculated from
1 1 0
i =
i (ffuel , psec , H)p1 (ffuel )p2 (psec )dffuel dpsec
(15.2-26)
As noted above, the non-adiabatic extensions to the PDF model are required in systems involving heat transfer to walls and in systems with radiation included. In addition, the
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Figure 15.2.6: Logical Dependence of Averaged Scalars i on f , f 2 , H, and the Chemistry Model (Non-Adiabatic, Single-MixtureFraction Systems)
non-adiabatic model is required in systems that include multiple fuel or oxidizer inlets with dierent inlet temperatures. Finally, the non-adiabatic model is required in particleladen ows (e.g., liquid fuel systems or coal combustion systems) when such ows include heat transfer to the dispersed phase. Figure 15.2.7 illustrates several systems that must include the non-adiabatic form of the PDF model. Note that even if your system is non-adiabatic, you may want to perform the much simpler adiabatic calculation as an initial exercise.
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Q wall or Q radiation
Fuel Oxidant
f=1 f=0
(a) Heat Transfer to Domain Boundaries and/or Radiation Heat Transfer
Oxidant T = T1 Fuel Oxidant T = T2 (b) Multiple Fuel or Oxidant Inlets at Different Temperatures
Oxidant
Liquid Fuel or Pulverized Coal
(c) Dispersed Phase Heat or Mass Transfer (e.g., Liquid Fuel or Coal Combustion)
Figure 15.2.7: Reacting Systems Requiring Non-Adiabatic Non-Premixed Model Approach
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15.2.4
Chemistry Tabulation
Look-Up Tables for Adiabatic Systems

For an equilibrium, adiabatic, single-mixture-fraction case, the mean temperature, density, and species fraction are functions of the f and f 2 only (see Equations 15.2-16 and 15.2-21). Signicant computational time can be saved by computing these integrals once, storing them in a look-up table, and retrieving them during the FLUENT simulation. Figure 15.2.8 illustrates the concept of the look-up tables generated for a single-mixturefraction system. Given FLUENTs predicted value for f and f 2 at a point in the ow domain, the mean value of mass fractions, density, or temperature (i ) at that point can be obtained by table interpolation. The table, Figure 15.2.8, is the mathematical result of the integration of Equation 15.2-16. There is one look-up table of this type for each scalar of interest (species mass fractions, density, and temperature). In adiabatic systems, where the instantaneous enthalpy is a function of only the instantaneous mixture fraction, a two-dimensional look-up table, like that in Figure 15.2.8, is all that is required.
Scalar Value
Scaled Variance
Mean Mixture Fraction
Figure 15.2.8: Visual Representation of a Look-Up Table for the Scalar i as a Function of f and f 2 in Adiabatic Single-Mixture-Fraction Systems
For systems with two mixture fractions, the storage and interpolation costs of look-up tables are too expensive since four-dimensional tables would be necessary. Instead, the instantaneous properties i are tabulated as a function of the fuel mixture fraction ffuel and the secondary partial fraction psec (see Equation 15.2-12), and the PDF integrations (see Equation 15.2-14) are performed at run-time. This two-dimensional table is illustrated in Figure 15.2.9.
15-16
Instantaneous Scalar Value
Secondary Partial Fraction
Fuel Mixture Fraction
Figure 15.2.9: Visual Representation of a Look-Up Table for the Scalar i as a Function of ffuel and psec in Adiabatic Two-Mixture-Fraction Systems
3D Look-Up Tables for Non-Adiabatic Systems

In non-adiabatic systems, where the enthalpy is not linearly related to the mixture fraction, but depends also on wall heat transfer and/or radiation, a look-up table is required for each possible enthalpy value in the system. The result, for single mixture fraction systems, is a three-dimensional look-up table, as illustrated in Figure 15.2.10, which consists of layers of two-dimensional tables, each one corresponding to a normalized heat loss or gain. The rst slice corresponds to the maximum heat loss from the system, the last slice corresponds to the maximum heat gain to the system, and the zero heat loss/gain slice corresponds to the adiabatic table. Slices interpolated between the adiabatic and maximum slices correspond to heat gain, and those interpolated between the adiabatic and minimum slices correspond to heat loss. The three-dimensional look-up table allows FLUENT to determine the value of each mass fraction, density, and temperature from calculated values of f , f 2 , and H. This threedimensional table in Figure 15.2.10 is the visual representation of the integral in Equation 15.2-24. For non-adiabatic, two-mixture-fraction problems, it is unreasonable to tabulate and retrieve Equation 15.2-26 since ve-dimensional tables are required. Instead, 3D lookup tables of the instantaneous state relationship given by Equation 15.2-14 are created. The 3D table in Figure 15.2.11 is the visual representation of Equation 15.2-14. The mean density during the FLUENT solution is calculated by integrating the instantaneous density over the fuel and secondary mixture fraction space (see Equation 15.2-26).
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normalized heat loss/gain
n+1
normalized heat loss/gain n
Scalar Value
normalized heat loss/gainn-1
Scaled Variance
Mean Mixture Fraction
Figure 15.2.10: Visual Representation of a Look-Up Table for the Scalar i as a Function of f and f 2 and Normalized Heat Loss/Gain in Non-Adiabatic Single-Mixture-Fraction Systems
Note that the computation time in FLUENT for a two-mixture-fraction case will be much greater than for a single-mixture-fraction problem. This expense should be carefully considered before choosing the two-mixturefraction model. Also, it is usually expedient to start a two-mixture-fraction simulation from a converged single-mixture-fraction solution.
15-18
n+1
Instantaneous Scalar Value
normalized heat loss/gain n
n-1
Secondary Partial Fraction Fuel Mixture Fraction
Figure 15.2.11: Visual Representation of a Look-Up Table for the Scalar i as a Function of ffuel , psec , and Normalized Heat Loss/Gain in Non-Adiabatic Two-Mixture-Fraction Systems
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15.2.5
Restrictions and Special Cases for Using the Non-Premixed Model
Restrictions on the Mixture Fraction Approach

The unique dependence of i (species mass fractions, density, or temperature) on f (Equation 15.2-11 or 15.2-13) requires that the reacting system meet the following conditions: The chemical system must be of the diusion type with discrete fuel and oxidizer inlets (spray combustion and pulverized fuel ames may also fall into this category). The Lewis number must be unity. (This implies that the diusion coecients for all species and enthalpy are equal, a good approximation in turbulent ow). When a single mixture fraction is used, the following conditions must be met: Only one type of fuel is involved. The fuel may be made up of a burnt mixture of reacting species (e.g., 90% CH4 and 10% CO) and you may include multiple fuel inlets. The multiple fuel inlets must have the same composition, however. Two or more fuel inlets with dierent fuel composition are not allowed (e.g., one inlet of CH4 and one inlet of CO). Similarly, in spray combustion systems or in systems involving reacting particles, only one o-gas is permitted. Only one type of oxidizer is involved. The oxidizer may consist of a mixture of species (e.g., 21% O2 and 79% N2 ) and you may have multiple oxidizer inlets. The multiple oxidizer inlets must, however, have the same composition. Two or more oxidizer inlets with dierent composition are not allowed (e.g., one inlet of air and a second inlet of pure oxygen). When two mixture fractions are used, three streams can be involved in the system. Valid systems are as follows: Two fuel streams with dierent compositions and one oxidizer stream. Each fuel stream may be made up of a mixture of reacting species (e.g., 90% CH4 and 10% CO). You may include multiple inlets of each fuel stream, but each fuel inlet must have one of the two dened compositions (e.g., one inlet of CH4 and one inlet of CO). Mixed fuel systems including gas-liquid, gas-coal, or liquid-coal fuel mixtures with a single oxidizer. In systems with a gas-coal or liquid-coal fuel mixture, the coal volatiles and char are treated as a single composite fuel stream. Coal combustion in which volatile and char o-gases are tracked separately. Two oxidizer streams with dierent compositions and one fuel stream. Each oxidizer stream may consist of a mixture of species (e.g. 21% O2 and 79% N2 ). You may have multiple inlets of each oxidizer stream, but each oxidizer inlet must have one of the two dened compositions (e.g., one inlet of air and a second inlet of pure oxygen).
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A fuel stream, an oxidizer stream, and a non-reacting secondary stream. The ow must be turbulent. It is important to emphasize that these restrictions eliminate the use of the non-premixed approach for directly modeling premixed combustion. This is because the unburned premixed stream is far from chemical equilibrium. Note, however, that an extended mixture fraction formulation, the partially premixed model (see Chapter 17: Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion), can be applied to non-premixed, premixed, and partially premixed ames. Figures 15.2.12 and 15.2.13 illustrate typical reacting system congurations that can be handled by the non-premixed model in FLUENT. Figure 15.2.14 shows a premixed conguration that cannot be modeled using the non-premixed model.
Using the Non-Premixed Model for Liquid Fuel or Coal Combustion

You can use the non-premixed model if your FLUENT simulation includes liquid droplets and/or coal particles. In this case, fuel enters the gas phase within the computational domain at a rate determined by the evaporation, devolatilization, and char combustion laws governing the dispersed phase. In the case of coal, the volatiles and the products of char can be dened as two dierent types of fuel (using two mixture fractions) or as a single composite o-gas (using one mixture fraction), as described in Section 15.4.4: Modeling Coal Combustion Using the Non-Premixed Model.
Using the Non-Premixed Model with Flue Gas Recycle

While most problems you solve using the non-premixed model will involve inlets that contain either pure oxidant or pure fuel (f = 0 or 1), you can include an inlet that has an intermediate value of mixture fraction (0 < f < 1) provided that this inlet represents a completely reacted mixture. Such cases arise when there is ue gas recirculation, as depicted schematically in Figure 15.2.15. Since f is a conserved quantity, the mixture fraction at the ue gas recycle inlet can be computed as mfuel + mrecyc fexit = (mfuel + mox + mrecyc )fexit or fexit = mfuel mfuel + mox (15.2-28) (15.2-27)
where fexit is the exit mixture fraction (and the mixture fraction at the ue gas recycle inlet), mox is the mass ow rate of the oxidizer inlet, mfuel is the mass ow rate of the fuel inlet, mrecyc is the mass ow rate of the recycle inlet.
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60% CH4 40% CO 21% O2 79% N2
f=1
f=0
(a) Simple Fuel/Oxidant Diffusion Flame

35% O 2 65% N 2 f=0 60% CH 4 40% CO 35% O2 65% N 2 f=1
f=0
(b) Diffusion System Using Multiple Oxidant Inlets

60% CH 4 20% CO 10% C3H8 10% CO2 21% O2 79% N2 60% CH 4 20% CO 10% C3H8 10% CO2
f=1
f=0
f=1
(c) System Using Multiple Fuel Inlets
Figure 15.2.12: Chemical Systems That Can Be Modeled Using a Single Mixture Fraction
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CH 4/CO/C 3 8 H Oxidant CH 4/C 3 H
(a) System Containing Two Dissimilar Fuel Inlets
21% O2 Fuel 35% O2
(b) System Containing Two Dissimilar Oxidant Inlets
Figure 15.2.13: Chemical System Congurations That Can Be Modeled Using Two Mixture Fractions
CH 4 O 2 N 2
Figure 15.2.14: Premixed Systems CANNOT Be Modeled Using the NonPremixed Model
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If a secondary stream is included, ffuel,exit = and psec,exit = msec msec + mox

. m R
mfuel
mfuel + msec + mox
(15.2-29)
(15.2-30)
fexit . m F . m O f=1
f=0
fexit
Figure 15.2.15: Using the Non-Premixed Model with Flue Gas Recycle
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15.3 The Laminar Flamelet Model
15.3
The Laminar Flamelet Model
The laminar amelet approach models a turbulent ame brush as an ensemble of discrete, steady laminar ames, called amelets. The individual amelets are assumed to have the same structure as laminar ames in simple congurations, and are obtained by experiments or calculations. Using detailed chemical mechanisms, FLUENT can calculate laminar opposed-ow diusion amelets for non-premixed combustion. The laminar amelets are then embedded in a turbulent ame using statistical PDF methods. The advantage of the laminar amelet approach is that realistic chemical kinetic eects can be incorporated into turbulent ames. The chemistry can then be preprocessed and tabulated, oering tremendous computational savings. However, the laminar amelet model is limited to modeling combustion with relatively fast chemistry. The ame is assumed to respond instantaneously to the aerodynamic strain, and thus the model cannot capture deep non-equilibrium eects such as ignition, extinction, and slow chemistry (like NOx ). Information about the amelet model is presented in the following sections: Section 15.3.1: Introduction Section 15.3.2: Restrictions and Assumptions Section 15.3.3: The Flamelet Concept Section 15.3.4: Flamelet Generation Section 15.3.5: Flamelet Import For general information about the mixture fraction model, see Section 15.1: Overview of Non-Premixed Combustion.
15.3.1
Introduction
In a diusion ame, at the molecular level, fuel and oxidizer diuse into the reaction zone. Here they encounter high temperatures and radical species, and ignite. More heat and radicals are generated in the reaction zone, and some diuse out. In near-equilibrium ames, the reaction rate is much faster than the diusion rate. However, as the ame is stretched and strained by the turbulence, species and temperature gradients increase, and radicals and heat diuse more quickly out of the ame. The species have less time to reach chemical equilibrium, and the degree of local non-equilibrium increases. The laminar amelet model is suited to predict moderate chemical non-equilibrium in turbulent ames due to aerodynamic straining by the turbulence. The chemistry, however, is assumed to respond rapidly to this strain, so as the strain relaxes, the chemistry relaxes to equilibrium.
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When the chemical time-scale is comparable to the uid convection time-scale, the species can be considered to be in global chemical non-equilibrium. Such cases include NOx formation and low-temperature CO oxidation. The laminar amelet model is not suitable for such slow-chemistry ames. Instead, you can model slow chemistry using the trace species assumption in the NOx model (see Chapter 20: Modeling Pollutant Formation), the laminar nite-rate model (see Section 14.1.1: The Generalized Finite-Rate Formulation for Reaction Modeling), the EDC model (see Section 14.1.1: The Eddy-DissipationConcept (EDC) Model), or the PDF transport model (see Chapter 18: The Composition PDF Transport Model).
15.3.2
Restrictions and Assumptions
The following restrictions apply to all amelet models in FLUENT: Only a single mixture fraction can be modeled; two-mixture-fraction amelet models are not allowed. The mixture fraction is assumed to follow the -function PDF, and scalar dissipation uctuations are ignored. Empirically-based streams cannot be used with the amelet model.
15.3.3
The Flamelet Concept
Overview
The amelet concept views the turbulent ame as an ensemble of thin, laminar, locally one-dimensional amelet structures embedded within the turbulent ow eld [38, 257, 258] (see Figure 15.3.1). A common laminar ame used to represent a amelet in a turbulent ow is the counterow diusion ame. This geometry consists of opposed, axisymmetric fuel and oxidizer jets. As the distance between the jets is decreased and/or the velocity of the jets increased, the ame is strained and increasingly departs from chemical equilibrium until it is eventually extinguished. The species mass fraction and temperature elds can be measured in laminar counterow diusion ame experiments, or, most commonly, calculated. For the latter, a self-similar solution exists, and the governing equations can be simplied to one dimension along the axis of the fuel and oxidizer jets, where complex chemistry calculations can be aordably performed. In the laminar counterow ame, the mixture fraction, f , (see Section 15.2.1: Denition of the Mixture Fraction for denition) decreases monotonically from unity at the fuel jet to zero at the oxidizer jet. If the species mass fraction and temperature along the axis are mapped from physical space to mixture fraction space, they can be uniquely described by two parameters: the mixture fraction and the strain rate (or, equivalently,
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turbulent ame laminar amelet structure (see detail below)
ame
fuel x velocity (u fuel ) velocity gradient (a fuel ) temperature (T fuel ) fuel composition
oxidizer
velocity (u ox ) velocity gradient (a ox ) temperature (Tox ) oxidizer composition
fuel-oxidizer distance
Figure 15.3.1: Laminar Opposed-Flow Diusion Flamelet
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the scalar dissipation, , dened in Equation 15.3-2). Hence, the chemistry is reduced and completely described by the two quantities, f and . This reduction of the complex chemistry to two variables allows the amelet calculations to be preprocessed, and stored in look-up tables. By preprocessing the chemistry, computational costs are reduced considerably. The balance equations, solution methods, and sample calculations of the counterow laminar diusion ame can be found in several references. Comprehensive reviews and analyses are presented in [38, 74].
Strain Rate and Scalar Dissipation

A characteristic strain rate for an counterow diusion amelet can be dened as as = v/2d, where v is the relative speed of the fuel and oxidizer jets, and d is the distance between the jet nozzles. Instead of using the strain rate to quantify the departure from equilibrium, it is expedient to use the scalar dissipation, denoted by . The scalar dissipation is dened as = 2D| f |2 where D is a representative diusion coecient. Note that the scalar dissipation, , varies along the axis of the amelet. For the counterow geometry, the amelet strain rate as can be related to the scalar dissipation at the position where f is stoichiometric by [257]: as exp 2[erfc1 (2fst )]2 (15.3-1)
st = where st as fst erfc1 = = = =
(15.3-2)
scalar dissipation at f = fst characteristic strain rate stoichiometric mixture fraction inverse complementary error function
Physically, as the ame is strained, the width of the reaction zone diminishes, and the gradient of f at the stoichiometric position f = fst increases. The instantaneous stoichiometric scalar dissipation, st , is used as the essential non-equilibrium parameter. It has the dimensions s1 and may be interpreted as the inverse of a characteristic diusion time. In the limit st 0 the chemistry tends to equilibrium, and as st increases due to aerodynamic straining, the non-equilibrium increases. Local quenching of the amelet occurs when st exceeds a critical value.
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Embedding Laminar Flamelets in Turbulent Flames

A turbulent ame brush is modeled as an ensemble of discrete laminar amelets. Since, for adiabatic systems, the species mass fraction and temperature in the laminar amelets are completely parameterized by f and st , density-weighted mean species mass fractions and temperature in the turbulent ame can be determined from the PDF of f and st as = (f, st )p(f, st ) df dst (15.3-3)
where represents species mass fractions and temperature. In FLUENT, f and st are assumed to be statistically independent, so the joint PDF p(f, st ) can be simplied as pf (f )p (st ). A PDF shape is assumed for pf , and transport equations for f and f 2 are solved in FLUENT to specify pf . Fluctuations in st are ignored so that the PDF of is a delta function: p = (). The rst moment, namely the mean scalar dissipation, st , is modeled in FLUENT as C f k
2
st =
(15.3-4)
where C is a constant with a default value of 2. For LES, the mean scalar dissipation is modeled as st = C (t + ) 2 | f| t (15.3-5)
To avoid the PDF convolutions at FLUENT run-time, the integrations in Equation 15.3-3 are preprocessed and stored in look-up tables. For adiabatic ows, single-amelet tables have two dimensions: f and f 2 . The multiple-amelet tables have the additional dimension st . For non-adiabatic laminar amelets, the additional parameter of enthalpy is required. However, the computational cost of modeling amelets over a range of enthalpies is prohibitive, so some approximations are made. Heat gain/loss to the system is assumed to have a negligible eect on the species mass fractions, and adiabatic mass fractions are used [31, 235]. The temperature is then calculated from Equation 12.2-7 for a range of mean enthalpy gain/loss, H. Accordingly, mean temperature and density PDF tables have an extra dimension of mean enthalpy. The approximation of constant adiabatic species mass fractions is, however, not applied for the case corresponding to a scalar dissipation of zero. Such a case is represented by the non-adiabatic equilibrium solution. For st = 0, the species mass fractions are computed as functions of f , f 2 , and H. In FLUENT, you can either generate your own amelets, or import them as amelet les calculated with other stand-alone packages. Such stand-alone codes include OP-
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PDIF [208], RIF [18, 19, 262] and RUN-1DL [260]. FLUENT can import amelet les in OPPDIF format or standard amelet le format. Instructions for generating and importing amelets are provided in Section 15.3.4: Flamelet Generation and Section 15.3.5: Flamelet Import.
15.3.4
Flamelet Generation
The laminar counterow diusion ame equations can be transformed from physical space (with x as the independent variable) to mixture fraction space (with f as the independent variable) [263]. In FLUENT, a simplied set of the mixture fraction space equations are solved [262]. Here, N equations are solved for the species mass fractions, Yi , and one equation for temperature: T 1 2T 1 = 2 t 2 f cp 1 cp + 2cp f Yi T f f Yi 1 2 Yi = 2 + Si t 2 f (15.3-6)
Hi Si +
i
cp,i
i
(15.3-7)
The notation in Equations 15.3-6 and 15.3-7 is as follows: Yi , T , , and f are the ith species mass fraction, temperature, density, and mixture fraction, respectively. cp,i and cp are the ith species specic heat and mixture-averaged specic heat, respectively. Si is the ith species reaction rate, and Hi is the specic enthalpy of the ith species. The scalar dissipation, , must be modeled across the amelet. An extension of Equation 15.3-2 to variable density is used [168]: as 3( / + 1) (f ) = exp 2[erfc1 (2f )]2 4 2 / + 1 where is the density of the oxidizer stream.
2
(15.3-8)
Multiple Flamelet Libraries

FLUENT can generate multiple amelets over a range of strain rates to account for the varying strain eld in your multi-dimensional simulation. If you specify the number of amelets to be greater than one, amelets are generated at scalar dissipation values as determined by Equation 15.3-9.

10i1
for i1 < 1 s1 (15.3-9)
i =
i1 + for i1 1 s1
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where i ranges from 1 up to the specied maximum number of amelets, 0 is the initial scalar dissipation, and is the scalar dissipation step. Flamelets are generated until either the maximum number of amelets is reached, or the amelet extinguishes. Extinguished amelets are excluded from the amelet library. Additionally, you can specify that an equilibrium amelet be generated, in which a chemical equilibrium calculation is performed to represent the 0 = 0 slice, and appended to the amelet library.
Non-Adiabatic Laminar Flamelets

For non-adiabatic amelets, FLUENT follows the approach of [31, 235] and assumes that amelet species proles are unaected by heat loss/gain from the amelet. This implementation treats the heat losses accurately and consistently. Furthermore, no special non-adiabatic amelet proles need to be generated, avoiding a very cumbersome preprocessing step. In addition, the compatibility of FLUENT with external amelet generation packages (e.g., OPPDIF, RIF, RUN-1DL) is retained. The disadvantage to this model is that the eect of the heat losses on the species mass fractions is not taken into account. Also, the eect of the heat loss on the extinction limits is not taken into account. After amelet generation, the amelet proles are convoluted with the assumed-shape PDFs as in Equation 15.3-3, and then tabulated for look-up in FLUENT. The nonadiabatic PDF tables have the following dimensions: T (f , f 2 , H, ) Yi (f , f 2 , H) for = 0 (i.e., equilibrium solution) Yi (f , f 2 , ) for = 0 (f , f 2 , H, ) During the FLUENT solution, the equations for the mean mixture fraction, mixture fraction variance, and mean enthalpy are solved. The scalar dissipation eld is calculated from the turbulence eld and the mixture fraction variance. The mean values of cell temperature, density, and species mass fraction are obtained from the PDF look-up table.
15.3.5
Flamelet Import
FLUENT can import one or more amelet les, convolute these amelets with the assumedshape PDFs (see Equation 15.3-3), and construct look-up tables for use in FLUENT. The amelet les can be generated in FLUENT, or with separate, stand-alone computer codes. Two types of amelet les can be imported into FLUENT: binary les generated by the OPPDIF code [208], and standard format les described in Section 15.4.10: Standard Flamelet Files and in Peters and Rogg [260]. When amelets are generated in physical space (such as with OPPDIF), the species and temperature vary in one spatial dimension. The species and temperature must then be
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mapped from physical space to mixture fraction space. If the diusion coecients of all species are equal, a unique denition of the mixture fraction exists. However, with dierential diusion, the mixture fraction can be dened in a number of ways. FLUENT provides four methods of computing the mixture fraction prole along the laminar amelet: Average of C and H: Following Drake and Blint [79], the mixture fraction is calculated as the mean value of fC and fH , where fC and f H are the mixture fraction values based on the carbon and hydrogen elements. Hydrocarbon formula: Following Bilger et al. [30], the mixture fraction is calculated as f= where b=2 YH YO YC + 0.5 Mw,C Mw,H Mw,O (15.3-11) b box bfuel box (15.3-10)
YC , YH , and YO are the mass fractions of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, and Mw,C , Mw,H , and Mw,O are the molecular weights. box and bfuel are the values of b at the oxidizer and fuel inlets. Nitrogen method: The mixture fraction is computed in terms of the mass fraction of the nitrogen species: f= YN YN,ox YN,fuel YN,ox (15.3-12)
where YN is the elemental mass fraction of nitrogen along the amelet, YN,ox is the mass fraction of nitrogen at the oxidizer inlet, and YN,fuel is the mass fraction of nitrogen at the fuel inlet. Read from a le (standard format les only): This option is for amelets solved in mixture fraction space. If you choose this method, FLUENT will search for the mixture fraction keyword Z, as specied in [260], and retrieve the data. If FLUENT does not nd mixture fraction data in the amelet le, it will instead use the hydrocarbon formula method described above. The amelet proles in the multiple-amelet data set should vary only in the strain rate imposed; the species and the boundary conditions should be the same. The formats for multiple amelets are as follows:
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15.4 User Inputs for the Non-Premixed Model
OPPDIF format: The multiple-amelet OPPDIF les should be produced using the CNTN keyword in the OPPDIF script. Alternatively, you can use FLUENT to merge a number of single-amelet OPPDIF les into a multiple-amelet le. Standard format: If you have a set of standard format amelet les, you can import them all at the same time, and FLUENT will merge them internally into a multipleamelet le. When you import the set of amelet les, FLUENT will search for and count the occurrences of the HEADER keyword to determine the number of amelets in the le. For either type of le, FLUENT will determine the number of amelet proles and sort them in ascending strain-rate order. For amelets generated in physical space, you can select one of the four methods available for the calculation of mixture fraction. The scalar dissipation will be calculated from the strain rate using Equation 15.3-2.
15.4
User Inputs for the Non-Premixed Model
A description of the user inputs for the non-premixed model is provided in the following sections: Section 15.4.1: Overview of the Problem Setup Procedure Section 15.4.2: Problem Denition Using the Equilibrium Chemistry Model Section 15.4.3: Problem Denition Using the Laminar Flamelet Model Section 15.4.4: Dening the Stream Compositions Section 15.4.5: Forcing the Exclusion and Inclusion of Equilibrium Species Section 15.4.6: Dening the Flamelet Controls Section 15.4.7: Calculating the Flamelets Section 15.4.8: Postprocessing the Flamelet Data Section 15.4.9: Calculating the Look-Up Tables Section 15.4.10: Postprocessing the Look-Up Table Data
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15.4.1
Overview of the Problem Setup Procedure
For a single-mixture-fraction problem, you will perform the following steps: 1. Choose the chemical description of the system (equilibrium or laminar amelet). 2. Indicate whether or not the problem is adiabatic or non-adiabatic. 3. (laminar amelet model only) Import a amelet le or appropriate CHEMKIN mechanism le if generating amelets. 4. Dene the chemical boundary species to be considered for the streams in the reacting system model. Note that this step is not relevant in the case of amelet import. 5. (laminar amelet model only) If you are generating amelets, compute the amelet state relationships of species mass fractions, density, and temperature as a function of mixture fraction and scalar dissipation. 6. Compute the nal chemistry look-up table, containing mean values of species fractions, density, and temperature as a function of mean mixture fraction, mixture fraction variance, and possibly enthalpy and scalar dissipation. The contents of this look-up table will reect your preceding inputs describing the turbulent reacting system. The look-up table is the stored result of the integration of Equations 15.2-16 (or 15.2-24) and 15.2-18. The look-up table will be used in FLUENT to determine mean species mass fractions, density, and temperature from the values of mixture fraction (f ), mixture fraction variance (f 2 ), and possibly enthalpy (H) and scalar dissipation () as they are computed during the FLUENT calculation of the reacting ow. See Section 15.2.4: LookUp Tables for Adiabatic Systems and Figures 15.2.8 and 15.2.10. For a problem that includes a secondary stream (and, therefore, a second mixture fraction), you will perform the rst two steps listed above for the single-mixture-fraction approach and then prepare a look-up table of instantaneous properties using Equation 15.2-12 or 15.2-14.
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Preliminaries
Before turning on the non-premixed combustion model, you must enable turbulence calculations in the Viscous Model panel. Dene Models Viscous... If your model is non-adiabatic, you should also enable heat transfer (and radiation, if required). Dene Models Energy... Dene Models Radiation... Figure 15.2.7 illustrates the types of problems that must be treated as non-adiabatic.
Dening the Problem Type

Your rst task is to dene the type of reaction system and reaction model that you intend to use. This includes selection of the following options: Non-premixed or partially premixed model option (see Chapter 17: Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion) Equilibrium chemistry model or laminar amelet model Adiabatic or non-adiabatic modeling options (see Section 15.2.3: Non-Adiabatic Extensions of the Non-Premixed Model) Addition of a secondary stream (equilibrium model only) Empirically dened fuel and/or secondary stream composition (equilibrium model only) You can make these model selections using the Species Model panel (Figure 15.4.1). Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction...
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15.4.2
Problem Denition Using the Equilibrium Chemistry Model
In the equilibrium chemistry model, the concentrations of species of interest are determined from the mixture fraction using the assumption of chemical equilibrium (see Section 15.2.1: Relationship of f to Species Mass Fraction, Density, and Temperature). With this model, you can include the eects of intermediate species and dissociation reactions, producing more realistic predictions of ame temperatures than the EddyDissipation model. When you choose the equilibrium chemistry option, you will have the opportunity to use the rich ammability limit (RFL) option. To enable the equilibrium chemistry model, select Non-Premixed Combsution in the Species Model panel and enable Create Table under PDF Options. Select Equilibrium in the Chemistry tab of the Species Model panel.
Figure 15.4.1: The Species Model Panel (Chemistry Tab)
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Choosing Adiabatic or Non-Adiabatic Options

You should use the non-adiabatic modeling option if your problem denition in FLUENT will include one or more of the following: radiation or wall heat transfer multiple fuel inlets at dierent temperatures multiple oxidant inlets at dierent temperatures liquid fuel, coal particles, and/or heat transfer to inert particles Note that the adiabatic model is a simpler model involving a two-dimensional look-up table in which scalars depend only on f and f 2 (or on ffuel and psec ). If your model is dened as adiabatic, you will not need to solve the energy equation in FLUENT and the system temperature will be determined directly from the mixture fraction and the fuel and oxidant inlet temperatures. The non-adiabatic case will be more complex and more time-consuming to compute, requiring the generation of three-dimensional lookup tables. However, the non-adiabatic model option allows you to include the types of reacting systems described above. Select Adiabatic or Non-Adiabatic in the Chemistry tab of the Species Model panel.
Even if your FLUENT model will ultimately need to include non-adiabatic eects, you may benet from starting the analysis with an adiabatic calculation. This simpler calculation can be used as an initial condition for the non-adiabatic model, and provides you with an understanding of the system that can help you to develop an ecient non-adiabatic model.
Specifying the Operating Pressure for the System

The system Operating Pressure is used to calculate density using the ideal gas law. For non-adiabatic simulations, the Compressibility Eects option can be enabled to account for cases where the operating pressure changes in time and/or space. In such cases it is assumed that the species mass fractions do not change with pressure, and the density is calculated as = op p pop (15.4-1)
where op is the density at the specied Operating Pressure (pop ), and p is the local mean pressure in a FLUENT cell. See Section 15.8: Non-Premixed Solution Procedures for details about enabling compressibility eects.
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Enabling a Secondary Inlet Stream

If you are modeling a system consisting of a single fuel and a single oxidizer stream, you do not need to enable a secondary stream in your PDF calculation. As discussed in Section 15.2.1: Denition of the Mixture Fraction, a secondary stream should be enabled if your PDF reaction model will include any of the following: two dissimilar gaseous fuel streams: In these simulations, the fuel stream denes one of the fuels and the secondary stream denes the second fuel. mixed fuel systems of dissimilar gaseous and liquid fuel: In these simulations, the fuel stream denes the gaseous fuel and the secondary stream denes the liquid fuel (or vice versa). mixed fuel systems of dissimilar gaseous and coal fuels: In these simulations, you can use the fuel stream or the secondary stream to dene either the coal or the gaseous fuel. See Section 15.4.4: Modeling Coal Combustion Using the Non-Premixed Model regarding coal combustion simulations with the non-premixed combustion model. mixed fuel systems of coal and liquid fuel: In these simulations, you can use the fuel stream or the secondary stream to dene either the coal or the liquid fuel. See Section 15.4.4: Modeling Coal Combustion Using the Non-Premixed Model regarding coal combustion simulations with the non-premixed combustion model. coal combustion: Coal combustion can be more accurately modeled by using a secondary stream. The fuel stream must dene the char and the secondary stream must dene the volatile components of the coal. See Section 15.4.4: Modeling Coal Combustion Using the Non-Premixed Model regarding coal combustion simulations with the non-premixed combustion model. a single fuel with two dissimilar oxidizer streams: In these simulations, the fuel stream denes the fuel, the oxidizer stream denes one of the oxidizers, and the secondary stream denes the second oxidizer. To include a secondary stream in your model, turn on the Secondary Stream option under Options in the Chemistry tab.
Using a secondary stream substantially increases the calculation time for your simulation since the multi-dimensional PDF integrations are performed in FLUENT at run-time.
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Choosing to Dene the Fuel Stream(s) Empirically

The empirical fuel option provides an alternative method for dening the composition of the fuel or secondary stream when the individual species components of the fuel are unknown. When you do not select this option, you will dene which chemical species are present in each stream and the mass or mole fraction of each species, as described in Section 15.4.4: Dening the Stream Compositions. The option for dening an empirical fuel stream is particularly useful for coal combustion simulations (see Section 15.4.4: Modeling Coal Combustion Using the Non-Premixed Model) or for simulations involving other complex hydrocarbon mixtures. To dene a fuel or secondary stream empirically, turn on the Empirical Fuel Stream option, the Empirical Secondary Stream option, or both as appropriate under Options in the Chemistry tab of the Species Model panel. Additionally, specify the appropriate lower heating value (e.g., Fuel Lower Caloric Value, Secondary Lower Caloric Value) and specic heat (e.g., Fuel Specic Heat, Secondary Specic Heat) for each empirically-dened stream.
The empirical denition option is available only with the full equilibrium chemistry model. It cannot be used with the rich ammability limit (RFL) option or the laminar amelet model, since equilibrium calculations are required for the determination of the fuel composition. If your empiricallydened fuel is a gaseous fuel, you should be aware of the modeling issues related to gas-phase fuel inlet temperature in full equilibrium systems (see Section 15.4.9: Calculating the Look-Up Tables).
Enabling the Rich Flammability Limit (RFL) Option

You can dene a rich limit on the mixture fraction when the equilibrium chemistry option is used. Input of the rich limit is accomplished by specifying a value of the Rich Flammability Limit for the appropriate Fuel Stream, Secondary Stream, or both . You will not be allowed to specify the Rich Flammability Limit if you have used the empirical denition option for fuel composition. FLUENT will compute the composition at the rich limit using equilibrium. For mixture fraction values above this limit, FLUENT will suspend the equilibrium chemistry calculation and will compute the composition based on mixing, but not burning, of the fuel with the composition at the rich limit. A value of 1.0 for the rich limit implies that equilibrium calculations will be performed over the full range of mixture fraction. When you use a rich limit that is less than 1.0, equilibrium calculations are suspended whenever f , ffuel , or fsec exceeds the limit. This RFL model is a useful approach in hydrocarbon combustion calculations, allowing you to bypass complex equilibrium calculations in the fuel-rich region. The eciency of RFL will be especially important when your model is non-adiabatic, speeding up the preparation of the look-up tables. For the Secondary Stream, the rich ammability limit controls the equilibrium calculation
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for the secondary mixture fraction. For fuel streams, an RFL value of approximately twice the stoichiometric mixture fraction is appropriate. If your secondary stream is not a fuel, you should use and RFL value of 1. For a secondary fuel stream, you can consider modifying the value to use the RFL model. A value of 1.0 for the rich limit implies that equilibrium calculations will be performed over the full range of mixture fraction. When you input a rich limit that is less than 1.0, equilibrium calculations are suspended whenever fsec exceeds the limit. (Note that it is the secondary mixture fraction fsec and not the partial fraction psec that is used here.)
Experimental studies and reviews [34, 312] have shown that although the fuel-lean ame region approximates thermodynamic equilibrium, nonequilibrium kinetics will prevail under fuel-rich conditions. Therefore, for non-empirically dened fuels, the RFL model is strongly recommended.
15.4.3
Problem Denition Using the Laminar Flamelet Model
To enable the laminar amelet model, select Non-Premixed Combustion in the Species Model panel and enable Create Table under PDF Options. Select Laminar Flamelet in the Chemistry tab of the Species Model panel.
Choosing Adiabatic or Non-Adiabatic Options

Select Adiabatic or Non-Adiabatic in the Chemistry tab of the Species Model panel. See the discussion in Section 15.4.2: Problem Denition Using the Equilibrium Chemistry Model about the equilibrium model for more information.
Specifying the Operating Pressure for the System

The system Operating Pressure is used to calculate density using the ideal gas law. See the discussion Section 15.4.2: Problem Denition Using the Equilibrium Chemistry Model about the equilibrium model for more information.
Specifying a Chemical Mechanism File for Flamelet Generation

If you are generating a amelet le yourself, you will need to read in the chemical kinetic mechanism and thermodynamic data. The mechanism and thermodynamic data must be in CHEMKIN format [165]. To read in a CHEMKIN mechanism, select the Create Flamelet option in the Chemistry tab of the Species Model panel and click the Import CHEMKIN Mechanism... button. When you click this button, the CHEMKIN Mechanism Import panel (Figure 15.4.2) will open. In the CHEMKIN Mechanism Import panel, enter the path to the CHEMKIN le to be read under Gas-Phase CHEMKIN Mechanism File and specify the location of the
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thermodynamic database under Gas-Phase Thermodynamic Database File. Alternatively, you can click the appropriate Browse... button to open a Select File dialog box.
Figure 15.4.2: The CHEMKIN Mechanism Import Panel for a Gas-Phase Mechanism
Click Import in the CHEMKIN Mechanism Import panel to read the specied les into FLUENT. Note that the import is limited to mechanisms with 100 or fewer species and 500 or fewer reactions.
Importing a Flamelet
To import an existing amelet le, select the Import Flamelet option in the Chemistry tab of the Species Model panel. Select either Standard or Oppdif format under File Type and click the Import Flamelet File... button. In the resulting Select File dialog box, select the le (for a single amelet) or les (for multiple amelets) to be read in to FLUENT. After you have completed this step, you can skip ahead to the Table tab of the Species Model panel (see Section 15.4.9: Calculating the Look-Up Tables).
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15.4.4
Dening the Stream Compositions
In FLUENT, you will input only the boundary species (i.e., the fuel, oxidizer, and if necessary, secondary stream species). The intermediate and product species will be determined automatically. FLUENT provides you with an initial list of common boundary species (ch4, h2, jet-a<g>, n2 and o2). If your fuel and/or oxidizer is composed of dierent species, you can add them to the boundary Species list. All boundary species must exist in the chemical database and you must enter their names in the same format used in the database. After dening the boundary species that will be considered in the reaction system, you must dene their mole or mass fractions at the fuel and oxidizer inlets and at the secondary inlet, if one exists. (If you choose to dene the fuel or secondary stream composition empirically, you will instead enter the parameters described at the end of this section.) For the example shown in Figure 15.2.12c, for example, the fuel inlet consists of 60% CH4 , 20% CO, 10% CO2 , and 10% C3 H8 . Finally, the inlet stream temperatures of your reacting system are required for construction of the look-up table and computation of the equilibrium chemistry model. For the equilibrium chemistry model, the species names are entered using the Boundary tab in the Species Model panel (Figure 15.4.3). If you are generating a laminar amelet, the list of boundary species will be automatically lled as all the species in the CHEMKIN mechanism, and you will be unable to change these. The steps for adding new species and dening their compositions is as follows: 1. (equilibrium chemistry model only) If your fuel, oxidizer, or secondary streams are composed of species other than the default species list, type the chemical formula (e.g., so2 or SO2 for SO2 ) under Boundary Species and click Add. The species will be added to the Species list. Continue in this manner until all of the boundary species you want to include are shown in the Species list. To remove a species from the list, type the chemical formula under Boundary Species and click Remove. To print a list of all species in the thermodynamic database le (thermo.db) in the console window, click List Available Species. 2. Under Species Units, specify whether you want to enter the Mass Fraction or Mole Fraction. Mass Fraction is the default. 3. For each relevant species in the Species list, specify its mass or mole fraction for each stream (Fuel, Oxid, or Second as appropriate) by entering values in the table. Note that if you change from Mass Fraction to Mole Fraction (or vice versa), all values will be automatically converted if they sum to 0 or 1, so be sure that you are entering either all mass fraction or all mole fractions as appropriate. If the values do not sum to 0 or 1, an error will be issued.
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Figure 15.4.3: The Species Model Panel (Boundary Tab)
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4. Under Temperature, specify the following inputs: Fuel is the temperature of the fuel inlet in your model. In adiabatic simulations, this input (together with the oxidizer inlet temperature) determines the inlet stream temperatures that will be used by FLUENT. In non-adiabatic systems, this input should match the inlet thermal boundary condition that you will use in FLUENT (although you will enter this boundary condition again in the FLUENT session). If your FLUENT model will use liquid fuel or coal combustion, dene the inlet fuel temperature as the temperature at which vaporization/devolatilization begins (i.e., the Vaporization Temperature specied for the discrete-phase materialsee Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase). For such non-adiabatic systems, the inlet temperature will be used only to adjust the look-up table grid (e.g., the discrete enthalpy values for which the look-up table is computed). Note that if you have more than one fuel inlet, and these inlets are not at the same temperature, you must dene your system as non-adiabatic. In this case, you should enter the fuel inlet temperature as the value at the dominant fuel inlet. Oxid is the temperature of the oxidizer inlet in your model. The issues raised in the discussion of the input of the fuel inlet temperature (directly above) pertain to this input as well. Second is the temperature of the secondary stream inlet in your model. (This item will appear only when you have dened a secondary inlet.) The issues raised in the discussion of the input of the fuel inlet temperature (directly above) pertain to this input as well.
Setting Boundary Stream Species

In combustion, a large number of intermediate and product species may be produced from a small number of initial boundary species. In FLUENT you need to input only the species composition of your boundary species in the fuel, oxidizer, and (if appropriate) secondary streams. FLUENT will calculate all intermediate and product species automatically. The following suggestions may be helpful in the denition of the system chemistry: For coal combustion, char in the coal should be represented by C(s).
Care should be taken to distinguish atomic carbon, C, from solid carbon, C(s). Atomic carbon should be selected only if you are using the empirically-dened input method.
If your fuel composition is known empirically (e.g., C0.9 H3 O0.2 ), use the option for an empirically-dened stream (see below). If you wish to include the sulfur that may be present in a hydrocarbon fuel, note that this may hinder the convergence of the equilibrium solver, especially if the
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concentration of sulfur is small. It is therefore recommended that you include sulfur in the calculation only if it is present in considerable quantities. Including Condensed Species In addition to gaseous species, solid and liquid species can be included in the chemistry calculations. They are often indicated by an l or an s in parentheses after the species name. If you add a condensed species to the equilibrium chemical system, its density will be retrieved from FLUENTs chemical property database le propdb.scm if you are using the thermodynamic database le thermo.db that is also supplied with FLUENT. If you are using a custom thermodynamic database le and want to include a condensed species in the equilibrium system that does not exist in propdb.scm, a density of 1000 kg/m3 will be assumed. The condensed species density can be changed in the Materials panel after the PDF table has been calculated. If you modify the condensed species density in this manner, you will then need to recalculate the PDF table.
Modifying the Database

If you want to include a new species in your reacting system that is not available in the chemical database, you can add it to the database le, thermo.db. The format for thermo.db is detailed in [165]. If you choose to modify the standard database le, you should create copies of the original le.
Composition Inputs for Empirically-Dened Fuel Streams

As mentioned in Section 15.4.1: Dening the Problem Type, you can dene the composition of a fuel stream (i.e., the standard fuel or a secondary fuel) empirically. For an empirically-dened stream, you will need to enter the atomic mass fractions in addition to the inputs for lower caloric (heating) value of the fuel and the mean specic heat of the fuel that were described previously. The heat of formation and molecular weight of an empirical fuel stream is calculated from the heating value and the atomic composition. The fuel inlet temperature and fuel specic heat are used to calculate the sensible enthalpy. When an empirically-dened fuel or secondary stream is specied in the Chemistry tab (equilibrium chemistry model only) of the Species Model panel, you must specify the atom fractions of C, H, O, N, and S in that stream instead of the species mass or mole fractions. To avoid confusion, the species fraction inputs for an empirically-dened stream will be grayed out in the table within the Boundary tab, leaving only the elds for atom fractions (i.e., c, h, o, n, and s).
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Modeling Liquid Fuel Combustion Using the Non-Premixed Model

Liquid fuel combustion can be modeled with the discrete phase and non-premixed models. In FLUENT, the fuel vapor, which is produced by evaporation of the liquid fuel, is dened as the fuel stream. (See Section 15.4.4: Dening the Stream Compositions.) The liquid fuel that evaporates within the domain appears as a source of the mean fuel mixture fraction. Within FLUENT, you dene the liquid fuel discrete-phase model in the usual way. The gas phase (oxidizer) ow inlet is modeled using an inlet mixture fraction of zero and the fuel droplets are introduced as discrete-phase injections (see Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase). The property inputs for the liquid fuel droplets are unaltered by the non-premixed model (see Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase). Note that when you are requested to input the gas phase species destination for the evaporating liquid, you should input the species that comprises the evaporating stream. If the fuel stream was dened as a mixture of components, you should select the largest of these components as the evaporating species. FLUENT will ensure that the mass evaporated from the liquid droplet enters the gas phase as a source of the fuel mixture that you dened. The evaporating species you select here is used only to compute the diusion controlled driving force in the evaporation rate.
Modeling Coal Combustion Using the Non-Premixed Model

If your model involves coal combustion, the fuel and secondary stream compositions can be input in one of several ways. You can use a single mixture fraction (fuel stream) to represent the coal, dening the fuel composition as a mixture of volatiles and char (solid carbon). Alternately, you can use two mixture fractions (fuel and secondary streams), dening the volatiles and char separately. In two-mixture-fraction models for coal combustion, the fuel stream represents the char and the secondary stream represents volatiles. This section describes the modeling options and special input procedures for coal combustion models using the non-premixed approach. There are three options for coal combustion: When coal is the only fuel in the system, you can model the coal using two mixture fractions. When this approach is used, one stream is used to represent the char and the other stream is used to represent volatiles. Generally, the char stream composition is represented as 100% C(s). The volatile stream composition is dened by selecting appropriate species and setting their mole or mass fractions. Alternately, you can use the empirical method (input of atom fractions) for dening these compositions.
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Using two mixture fractions to model coal combustion is more accurate than using one mixture fraction as the volatile and char streams are modeled separately. However, the two-mixture-fraction model incurs signicant additional computational expense since the multi-dimensional PDF integrations are performed at run-time.
When coal is the only fuel in the system, you can choose to model the coal using a single mixture fraction (the fuel stream). When this approach is adopted, the fuel composition you dene includes both volatiles species and char. Char is typically represented by including C(s) in the species list. You can dene the fuel stream composition by selecting appropriate species and setting their mole fractions, or by using the empirical method (input of atom fractions). Denition of the composition is described in detail below.
Using a single mixture fraction for coal combustion is less accurate than using two mixture fractions. However, convergence in FLUENT should be substantially faster than the two-mixture-fraction model.
When coal is used with another (gaseous or liquid) fuel of dierent composition, you must model the coal with one mixture fraction and use a second mixture fraction to represent the second (gaseous or liquid) fuel. The stream associated with the coal composition is dened as detailed below for single-mixture-fraction models. Dening the Coal Composition: Single-Mixture-Fraction Models When coal is modeled using a single mixture fraction (the fuel stream), the fuel stream composition can be input using the conventional approach or the empirical fuel approach. Conventional approach: To use the conventional approach, you will need to dene the mixture of species in the coal and their mole or mass fractions in the fuel stream. Use the Boundary tab in the Species Model panel to input the list of species (e.g., C3 H8 , CH4 , CO, CO2 , C(s)) that approximate the coal composition, and their mole or mass fractions. Note that C(s) is used to represent the char content of the coal. For example, consider a coal that has a molar composition of 40% volatiles and 60% char on a dry ash free (DAF) basis. Assuming the volatiles can be represented by an equimolar mixture of C3 H8 and CO, the fuel stream composition dened in the Composition panel would be C3 H8 =0.2, CO = 0.2, and C(s)=0.60. Note that the coal composition should always be dened on an ash-free basis, even if ash will be considered in the FLUENT calculation. The following table illustrates the conversion from a typical mass-based proximate analysis to the species fraction inputs required by FLUENT. Note that the conversion requires that you make an assumption regarding the species representing the
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volatiles. Here, the volatiles are assumed to exist as an equimolar mix of propane and carbon monoxide. Proximate Analysis Weight % Mass Moles Fraction (DAF) (DAF) 0.1833 0.1167 0.6 .00417 .00417 0.050 .05834 Mole Fraction (DAF) 0.0715 0.0715 0.8570 1.0
Volatiles 30 C 3 H8 CO Fixed Carbon (C(s)) 60 Ash 10 (Total)
Moisture in the coal can be considered by adding it in the fuel composition as liquid water, H2 O(l). The moisture can also be dened as water vapor, H2 O, provided that the corresponding latent heat is included in the discrete phase material inputs in FLUENT. If the liquid water is used as a boundary species, it should be removed from the list of excluded species (see Section 15.4.5: Forcing the Exclusion and Inclusion of Equilibrium Species). Empirical fuel approach: To use the empirical approach, enable the Empirical Fuel Stream option in the Chemistry tab. This method is ideal if you have an elemental analysis of the coal. In the Chemistry tab, input the lower heating value and mean specic heat of the coal. FLUENT will use these inputs to determine the mole fractions of the chemical species you have included in the system. Then, in the Boundary tab, dene the atom fractions of C, H, N, S, and O in the fuel stream. Note that for both of these composition input methods, you should take care to distinguish atomic carbon, C, from solid carbon, C(s). Atomic carbon should only be selected if you are using the empirical fuel input method. See Section 15.7: Coal Modeling Inputs in FLUENT for details about further inputs for modeling coal combustion. Dening the Coal Composition: Two-Mixture-Fraction Models If your FLUENT model will represent the coal components using both the fuel stream and the secondary stream, one stream is used to represent char and the other stream is used to represent volatiles. (In the procedures below, it is assumed that the fuel stream represents the char and the secondary stream represents the volatiles.)
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As in single-mixture-fraction cases, the fuel stream and secondary stream compositions in a two-mixture-fraction case can be input using either the conventional approach or the empirical fuel approach. Conventional approach: To use the conventional approach, you will need to dene the mixture of species in the coal and their mole or mass fractions in the fuel and secondary streams. Use the Boundary tab of Species Model panel to dene the mole or mass fractions of volatile species in the secondary stream (e.g., C3 H8 , CH4 , CO, CO2 , C(s)). Next, dene the mole or mass fractions of species used to represent the char. Generally, you will input 100% C(s) for the fuel stream. Empirical fuel approach: To use the empirical fuel approach, enable the Empirical Secondary Stream option in the Chemistry tab for the volatile (in this case, secondary) stream. This method is ideal if you have an elemental analysis of the coal. In the Chemistry tab, input the lower heating value and mean specic heat of the coal. Then, in the Boundary tab, dene the mole or mass fractions of species used to represent the char. Generally, you will input 100% C(s) for the fuel stream. Finally, dene the atom fractions of C, H, N, S, and O in the volatiles. FLUENT will use these inputs to determine the mole fractions of the chemical species you have included in the system. For example, consider coal with the following DAF (dry ash free) data and elemental analysis: Proximate Analysis Wt % (dry) Volatiles 28 Char (C(s)) 64 Ash 8 Element C H O N S Wt % (DAF) 30.4 69.6 -
Wt % (DAF) Wt % (DAF) 89.3 89.3 5.0 5.0 3.4 3.4 1.5 2.3 0.8 -
(Note that in the nal column, for modeling simplicity, the sulfur content of the coal has been combined into the nitrogen mass fraction.) You can combine the proximate and ultimate analysis data to yield the following elemental composition of the volatile stream:
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Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion Element C H O N Total Mass Mass Fraction Moles (89.3 - 69.6) 0.65 5.4 5.0 0.16 16 3.4 0.11 0.7 2.3 0.08 0.6 30.4 22.7 Mole Fraction 0.24 0.70 0.03 0.03
This adjusted composition is used to dene the secondary stream (volatile) composition. The lower heating value of the volatiles can be computed from the known heating value of the coal and the char (DAF): LCVcoal,DAF = 35.3 MJ/kg LCVchar,DAF = 32.9 MJ/kg You can compute the heating value of the volatiles as LCVvol = or LCVvol = 40.795 MJ/kg Note that for both of these composition input methods, you should take care to distinguish atomic carbon, C, from solid carbon, C(s). Atomic carbon should only be selected if you are using the empirical fuel input method. See Section 15.7: Coal Modeling Inputs in FLUENT for details about further inputs for modeling coal combustion. 35.3 MJ/kg 0.696 32.9 MJ/kg 0.304
15.4.5
Forcing the Exclusion and Inclusion of Equilibrium Species
Because FLUENT calculates all intermediate and product species automatically during the equilibrium calculation, certain species will be included that are generally not in chemical equilibrium. Principal among these are the NOx species. Specically, the NOx reaction rates are slow and should not be treated using an equilibrium assumption. Instead, the NOx concentration is predicted most accurately using the FLUENT NOx postprocessor, where nite-rate kinetics are included (see Section 20.1: NOx Formation). The NOx species can be safely excluded from the equilibrium calculation since they are present at low concentrations and have little impact on the density, temperature, and other species. To force the exclusion of a species from the equilibrium calculation, click the Control tab in the Species Model panel (Figure 15.4.4).
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Figure 15.4.4: The Species Model Panel (Control Tab)
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Under Species Excluded From Equilibrium Calculation, enter the chemical formula for the desired species in the Add/Remove Species eld. Next, click Add to add the species to the Species list or Remove to remove an existing species from the Species list. In the case that there are species that you want to have available for postprocessing that would be ignored by FLUENT due to their low concentration (e.g., CH, CH2 , CH3 for the NOx calculation), you can force FLUENT to include them using the text interface. define models species non-premixed-combustion When the console window prompts you with Force Equilibrium Species to Include..., specify the appropriate species by entering the chemical formula(s) in double quotes (e.g., "ch", "ch2").
15.4.6
Dening the Flamelet Controls
When the laminar amelet model is selected, you can adjust the controls for the amelet solution. in the Control tab of the Species Model panel (Figure 15.4.5),
Figure 15.4.5: The Species Model Panel (Control Tab) for the Laminar Flamelet Model
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The Initial Fourier Number sets the rst time step for the solution of the amelet equations (Equations 15.3-6 and 15.3-7). This rst time step is calculated as the explicit stabilitylimited diusion time step multiplied by the this value. If the solution diverges before the rst time step is complete, the value should be lowered. The Fourier Number Multiplier increases the time step at subsequent times. Every time step after the rst is multiplied by this value. If the solution diverges after the rst time step, this value should be reduced. During the numerical integration of the amelet equations, the local error is controlled to be less than errorloc,i =
rel i
abs
(15.4-2)
where i represents the species mass fractions and temperature at point i in the 1D amelet. rel is the value of the Relative Error Tolerance and abs is the value of the Absolute Error Tolerance, both of which you can specify. Because steady laminar amelets are obtained by time-stepping, they are considered converged only when the maximum absolute change in species fraction or temperature at any discrete mixture-fraction point is less than the specied Flamelet Convergence Tolerance. Between time steps, the amelet species fractions and temperature will sometimes oscillate, which causes absolute changes that are always greater than the amelet convergence tolerance. In such cases, FLUENT will stop the amelet calculation after the total elapsed time has exceeded the Maximum Integration Time.
15.4.7
Calculating the Flamelets
In the Flamelet tab of the Species Model panel (Figure 15.4.6), you will enter values for parameters of the amelet(s). The Flamelet Parameters are as follows: Number of Grid Points in Flamelet species the number of mixture fraction grid points distributed between the oxidizer (f = 0) and the fuel (f = 1). Increased resolution will provide greater accuracy, but since the amelet species and temperature are solved coupled and implicit in f space, the solution time and memory requirements increase greatly with the number of f grid points. Maximum Number of Flamelets species the maximum number of laminar amelet proles to be calculated. If the amelet extinguishes before this number is reached, amelet generation is halted and the actual number of amelets in the amelet library will be less than this value. Initial Scalar Dissipation is the scalar dissipation of the rst amelet in the library. This corresponds to 0 in Equation 15.3-9.
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Figure 15.4.6: The Species Model Panel (Flamelet Tab)
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15.4 User Inputs for the Non-Premixed Model Scalar Dissipation Step species the interval between scalar dissipation values (in s1 ) for which multiple amelets will be calculated. This corresponds to in Equation 15.3-9. Click Calculate Flamelets to begin the laminar amelet calculation. Sample output for a amelet calculation is shown below.
Generating flamelet 1 at scalar dissipation Time (s) 1.679e-05 5.038e-05 1.175e-04 2.519e-04 5.206e-04 1.058e-03 2.133e-03 4.282e-03 8.581e-03 1.718e-02 3.437e-02 6.877e-02 1.375e-01 2.751e-01 5.502e-01 1.100e+00 2.201e+00 4.402e+00 8.804e+00 1.761e+01 3.522e+01 7.043e+01 1.409e+02 2.817e+02 5.635e+02 Temp (K) 2233.7 2233.0 2231.5 2228.6 2223.6 2215.7 2205.5 2197.0 2193.6 2193.1 2193.4 2194.3 2195.3 2192.2 2188.6 2184.8 2182.9 2186.8 2189.6 2190.0 2190.0 2190.0 2190.0 2190.0 2190.0 Residual 3.779e+00 7.734e-02 1.648e-01 3.652e-01 8.295e-01 2.100e+00 3.540e+00 4.607e+00 6.639e+00 4.905e+00 5.792e+00 4.659e+00 3.922e+00 3.181e+00 2.549e+00 1.639e+00 4.604e+00 1.307e+00 4.420e-01 8.581e-02 1.199e-02 1.735e-03 4.217e-04 6.892e-05 6.777e-06 0.01 /s
Flamelet successfully generated
Saving the Flamelet Data

The amelet tables may be stored in a le that you can import into later sessions of FLUENT. FLUENT will use the tables to extract the species fraction and temperature elds from the mixture fraction eld that it predicts as part of the PDF calculation. The amelet tables should be saved before you exit from the current FLUENT session. File Write Flamelet...
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15.4.8
Postprocessing the Flamelet Data
You can display 2D plots and 3D surfaces showing the variation of species fraction or temperature with the mean mixture fraction or scalar dissipation using the Flamelet Table (e.g., Figure 15.4.7). Display Flamelet 3D Surfaces...
Figure 15.4.7: The Flamelet Table Panel
To display the amelet tables graphically, use the following procedure: 1. In the Flamelet Table panel, in the Plot Variable drop-down list, you can select temperature or species fraction as the variable to be plotted. 2. Specify the Plot Type as either 3D Surface or 2D Curve. For a 3D surface, enable or disable Draw Numbers Box under Options. When this option is turned on, the display will include a wireframe box with the numerical limits in each coordinate direction. For a 2D curve on a 3D surface:
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(a) Specify whether you want to write the plot data to a le by toggling Write To File under Options. (b) Specify the X-Axis Function against which the plot variable will be displayed by selecting Scalar Dissipation (), or Mixture Fraction (f ). The variable that is not selected will be held constant. (c) Specify the type of discretization (i.e., how the amelet data will be sliced) for the variable that is being held constant (under Constant Value of Mixture Fraction or Constant Value of Scalar Dissipation). If you selected Index under Slice by, specify the discretization Index of the variable that is being held constant. The range of integer values that you are allowed to choose from is displayed under Min and Max, and is equivalent to the number of points specied for that variable in the Flamelet tab of the Species Model panel (see Section 15.4.7: Calculating the Flamelets). If you selected Value under Slice by, specify the numerical Value of the variable that is being held constant. The range of values that you can specify is displayed under Min and Max. 3. Write or display the amelet table results. If you have turned on the Write To File option for a 2D plot, click Write and specify a name for the le in the Select File dialog box. Otherwise, click Plot or Display as appropriate to display a 2D plot or 3D surface in the graphics window. Figures 15.4.8 and 15.4.9 show examples of a 2D curve plot and 3D surface plot of a amelet table.
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8.00e-03 7.00e-03 6.00e-03 5.00e-03
Mass Fraction of co
4.00e-03 3.00e-03 2.00e-03 1.00e-03 0.00e+00
Y Z X
10
15
20
25
30
35
Scalar Dissipation
Mass Fraction of co
Nov 17, 2003 FLUENT 6.2 (3d, segregated, pdf17, ske)
Figure 15.4.8: Example 2D Plot of Flamelet Table Data
Y Z X
Mass Fraction of ch3
Nov 17, 2003 FLUENT 6.2 (3d, segregated, pdf17, ske)
Figure 15.4.9: Example 3D Plot of Flamelet Table Data
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15.4.9
Calculating the Look-Up Tables
FLUENT requires additional inputs that are used in the creation of the look-up tables. Several of these inputs control the number of discrete values for which the look-up tables will be computed. These parameters are input in the Table tab of the Species Model panel (e.g., Figure 15.4.10).
Figure 15.4.10: The Species Model Panel (Table) Tab
The lookup table parameters are as follows: Number of Mean Mixture Fraction Points is the number of discrete values of f at which the look-up tables will be computed. For a two-mixture-fraction model, this value will also be the number of points used by FLUENT to compute the PDF if you choose the model (see Section 15.8.4: Tuning the PDF Parameters for Two-MixtureFraction Calculations). Increasing the number of points will yield a more accurate PDF shape, but the calculation will take longer. The mean mixture fraction points will be clustered around the stoichiometric mixture fraction value.
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Number of Mixture Fraction Variance Points is the number of discrete values of f 2 at which the look-up tables will be computed. Lower resolution is acceptable because the variation along the f 2 axis is, in general, slower than the variation along the f axis of the look-up tables. This option is available only when no secondary stream has been dened. Number of Secondary Mixture Fraction Points is the number of discrete values of psec at which the look-up tables will be computed. Like the Number of Mean Mixture Fraction Points, FLUENT will use the Number of Secondary Mixture Fraction Points to compute the PDF if you choose the PDF option (see Section 15.8.4: Tuning the PDF Parameters for Two-Mixture-Fraction Calculations) for a two-mixturefraction model. A larger number of points will give a more accurate shape for the PDF, but with a longer calculation time. This option is available only when a secondary stream has been dened. Maximum Number of Species is the maximum number of species that will be included in the look-up tables. The maximum number of species that can be included is 100. Number of Mean Enthalpy Points is the number of discrete values of enthalpy at which the three-dimensional look-up tables will be computed. This input is required only if you are modeling a non-adiabatic system. The number of points required will depend on the chemical system that you are considering, with more points required in high heat release systems (e.g., hydrogen/oxygen ames). Minimum Temperature is used to determine the lowest temperature for which the lookup tables are generated (see Figure 15.2.10). Your input should correspond to the minimum temperature expected in the domain (e.g., an inlet or wall temperature). The minimum temperature should be set 1020 K below the minimum system temperature. This option is available only if you are modeling a non-adiabatic system. Include Equilibrium Flamelet species that an equilibrium amelet (i.e., = 0) will be generated in FLUENT and appended to the amelet library before the PDF table is calculated. This option is available when generating or importing multiple amelets, as well as when a single amelet is considered. In the latter case, the PDF table will consist of two scalar dissipation slices, namely the equilibrium slice at x=0, and the amelet slice. This option is not available with the equilibrium chemistry model. When you are satised with your inputs, click Calculate PDF Table to generate the lookup tables. The computations performed for a single-mixture-fraction calculation culminate in the discrete integration of Equation 15.2-16 (or 15.2-24) as represented in Figure 15.2.5 (or
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Figure 15.2.6). For a two-mixture-fraction calculation, FLUENT will calculate the physical properties using Equation 15.2-14 or its adiabatic equivalent. The computation time will be shortest for adiabatic single-mixture-fraction equilibrium calculations and longest for non-adiabatic calculations involving multiple amelet generation. Below, sample output is shown for an adiabatic single-mixture-fraction equilibrium calculation and a non-adiabatic calculation with laminar amelets:
Generating PDF lookup table Type of the PDF Table: Adiabatic Table (Two Streams) Calculating table ..... 1271 points calculated 22 species added PDF Table successfully generated!
Generating PDF lookup table Type of the PDF Table: Nonadiabatic Table with Strained Flamelet Model (Two St Calculating table ..... calculating temperature limits ..... calculating temperature limits ..... calculating scalar dissipation slices ..... - scalar dissipation slice 9 calculating equilibrium slice ..... Performing PDF integrations..... 16810 points calculated 17 species added PDF Table successfully generated! Initializing PDF table arrays and structures.
After completing the calculation at the specied number of mixture fraction points, FLUENT reports that the calculation succeeded. In a single-mixture-fraction case, the resulting look-up tables take the form illustrated in Figure 15.2.8 (or Figure 15.2.10, for non-adiabatic systems). These look-up tables can be plotted using the available graphics tools, as described in Section 15.4.10: Postprocessing the Look-Up Table Data. Note that in non-adiabatic calculations, the console window will report that the temperature limits and enthalpy slices have been calculated. For a two-mixture-fraction case, the resulting look-up tables take the form illustrated in Figure 15.2.9 (or Figure 15.2.11, for non-adiabatic systems).
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Stability Issues in Calculating Look-Up Tables

Complex chemistry and non-adiabatic eects may make the equilibrium calculation more time-consuming and dicult. In some instances the equilibrium calculation may even fail. You may be able to eliminate any diculties that you encounter by trying the calculation as an adiabatic system. Adiabatic system calculations are generally quite straightforward and can provide valuable insight into the optimal inputs to the non-adiabatic calculation. Additional stability issues may arise for solid or heavy liquid fuels that have been dened using the empirical fuel approach. You may nd that, for rich fuel mixtures, the equilibrium calculation produces very low temperatures and eventually fails. This indicates that strong endothermic reactions are taking place and the mixture is not able to sustain them. In this situation, you may need to raise the heating value of the fuel until FLUENT produces acceptable results. Provided that your fuel will be treated as a liquid or solid (coal) fuel, you can maintain the desired heating value in your FLUENT simulation. This is accomplished by dening the dierence between the desired and the adjusted heating values as latent heat (in the case of combusting solid fuel) or heat of pyrolysis (in the case of liquid fuel).
Saving the Look-Up Tables

The look-up tables may be stored in a le that you can read back into later sessions of FLUENT. FLUENT will use the tables to extract the species, density, and temperature elds from the mixture fraction eld that it predicts as part of the ow-eld calculation. The look-up tables should be saved before you exit from the current FLUENT session. File Write PDF... By default, the le will be saved as formatted (ASCII, or text). To save a binary (unformatted) le, turn on the Write Binary Files option in the Select File dialog box.
15.4.10
Postprocessing the Look-Up Table Data
It is important for you to view your temperature and species tables to ensure that they are adequately but not excessively resolved. Inadequate resolution will lead to inaccuracies, and excessive resolution will lead to unnecessarily slow calculation times. After a PDF table has been generated or read in to FLUENT, you can display 2D plots and 3D surfaces showing the variation of species mole fraction, density, or temperature with the mean mixture fraction, mixture fraction variance, or enthalpy using the PDF Table panel (e.g., Figure 15.4.11). Display PDF Tables/Curves... To display the look-up tables graphically, use the following procedure:
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Figure 15.4.11: The PDF Table Panel (Non-Adiabatic Case with Flamelets)
1. In the PDF Table panel, in the Plot Variable drop-down list you can select temperature, density, or species fraction as the variable to be plotted. 2. (multiple amelets only) Specify the value of the Scalar Dissipation. In the case of non-adiabatic amelets, there is the additional parameter of mean enthalpy. In addition to varying the mean enthalpy and mean mixture fraction, you can vary the display of the PDF table by changing the value of the scalar dissipation, which gives the table a fourth dimension. 3. Specify the Plot Type as either 3D Surface or 2D Curve on 3D Surface. In the equilibrium model, a 2D curve is a slice of a 3D surface, and thus some options selected for a 3D surface may impact the display of a 2D curve. For a 3D surface: (a) Enable or disable Draw Numbers Box under Options. When this option is
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turned on, the display will include a wireframe box with the numerical limits in each coordinate direction. (b) (non-adiabatic cases only) Under Surface Parameters, specify the discrete independent variable to be held constant in the lookup table (Constant Value of). For a single-mixture-fraction case, select Scaled Heat Loss/Gain (H), Mixture Fraction (f ), or Scaled Variance (f 2 ). For any mean mixture fraction f , the variance varies between a minimum of 0 and a maximum of f (1 f ). In order to view the mixture fraction variance, it is normalized by Equation 15.4-3 so that for any mean mixture fraction the scaled variance ranges from 0 to 0.25. fs2 = 0.25 f2 f (1 f ) (15.4-3)
For a two-mixture-fraction case, the Scaled Heat Loss/Gain is the only available option. (c) (non-adiabatic cases only) Specify whether the 3D array of data points available in the look-up table will be sliced Index or Value under Slice by. If you selected Index, specify the discretization Index of the variable that is being held constant. The range of integer values that you are allowed to choose from is displayed under Min and Max, and is equivalent to the number of points specied for that variable in the Table tab of the Species Model panel (see Section 15.4.9: Calculating the Look-Up Tables). If you specied to hold the enthalpy (Scaled Heat Loss/Gain) constant, the enthalpy slice index corresponding to the adiabatic case will be displayed in the Adiabatic eld. If you selected Value, specify the numerical Value of the variable that is being held constant. The range of values that you can specify is displayed under Min and Max. For a 2D curve on a 3D surface: (a) Specify whether you want to write the plot data to a le by toggling Write To File under Options. (b) Under Curve Parameters, specify the X-Axis Function against which the plot variable will be displayed. For an adiabatic single-mixture-fraction case, select Mixture Fraction (f ), or Scaled Variance (f 2 ).
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For a non-adiabatic single-mixture-fraction case, the options will depend on what was selected under Constant Value of under Surface Parameters, but will include two of the following: Scaled Heat Loss/Gain (H), Mixture Fraction, and Scaled Variance. For a two-mixture-fraction case, select Fuel Mixture Fraction (ffuel ) or Secondary Partial Fraction (psec ). (c) Specify the type of discretization (i.e., how the look-up table data will be sliced) for the variable that is being held constant (under Constant Value of Mixture Fraction, Constant Value of Scaled Variance, etc.). Note that for non-adiabatic cases, each 3D surface slice contains a full set of 2D slices. If you selected Index under Slice by, specify the discretization Index of the variable that is being held constant. The range of integer values that you are allowed to choose from is displayed under Min and Max, and is equivalent to the number of points specied for that variable in the Table tab of the Species Model panel (see Section 15.4.9: Calculating the Look-Up Tables). If you selected Value under Slice by, specify the numerical Value of the variable that is being held constant. The range of values that you can specify is displayed under Min and Max. 4. Write or display the look-up table results. If you have turned on the Write To File option for a 2D plot, click Write and specify a name for the le in the Select File dialog box. Otherwise, click Plot or Display as appropriate to display a 2D plot or 3D surface in the graphics window. Figures 15.4.12 and 15.4.13 shows examples of 2D plots derived for a very simple hydrocarbon system. Figure 15.4.14 shows an example of a 3D surface derived for the same system.
Files for Flamelet Modeling

In this section, information is provided about the standard amelet les used for amelet generation and import. Standard Flamelet Files The data structure for the standard amelet le format is based on keywords that precede each data section. If any of the keywords in your amelet data le do not match the supported keywords, you will have to manually edit the le and change the keywords to one of the supported types. (The FLUENT amelet lter is case-insensitive, so you need not worry about capitalization within the keywords.) The following keywords are supported by the FLUENT lter:
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1.20e-01
1.00e-01
8.00e-02
Mole Fraction of co
6.00e-02
4.00e-02
2.00e-02
0.00e+00
Y Z X
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
F-Mean
Mole Fraction of co
Oct 17, 2003 FLUENT 6.2 (3d, segregated, pdf30, ske)
Figure 15.4.12: Mean Species Fraction Derived from an Equilibrium Chemistry Calculation
2.00e+03 1.80e+03 1.60e+03 1.40e+03 1.20e+03
Mean Temperature(K)
1.00e+03 8.00e+02 6.00e+02 4.00e+02 2.00e+02
Y Z X
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
F-Mean
Mean Mixture Temperature
Figure 15.4.13: Mean Temperature Derived from an Equilibrium Chemistry Calculation
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Z Y X
Mean Temperature(K)
Figure 15.4.14: 3D Plot of Look-Up Table for Temperature Generated for a Simple Hydrocarbon System
Header section: HEADER Main body section: BODY Number of species: NUMOFSPECIES Number of grid points: GRIDPOINTS Pressure: PRESSURE Strain rate: STRAINRATE Scalar dissipation: CHI Temperature: TEMPERATURE and TEMP Mass fraction: MASSFRACTION Mixture fraction: Z Sample File A sample amelet le in the standard format is provided below. Note that not all species are listed in this le.
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HEADER STRAINRATE 100. NUMOFSPECIES 12 GRIDPOINTS 39 PRESSURE 1. BODY Z 0.0000E+00 4.3000E-07 2.1876E-04 5.9030E-04 2.1967E-03 2.6424E-03 8.9401E-03 1.2800E-02 2.8522E-02 3.0647E-02 5.2655E-02 6.5420E-02 1.9518E-01 2.8473E-01 9.5897E-01 9.9025E-01 TEMPERATURE 3.0000E+02 3.0013E+02 3.5644E+02 4.3055E+02 6.9655E+02 7.6268E+02 1.4702E+03 1.7516E+03 2.2766E+03 2.2962E+03 2.0671E+03 1.8792E+03 9.6530E+02 7.5025E+02 3.2730E+02 3.0939E+02 MASSFRACTION-H2 3.2354E-07 7.4290E-07 1.2219E-05 1.7873E-05 3.0888E-05 3.3684E-05 1.0484E-04 2.6807E-04 3.1422E-03 4.1281E-03 2.4296E-02 3.7472E-02 1.7135E-01 2.6359E-01 9.5775E-01 9.8996E-01 MASSFRACTION-CH4 . . . . . . MASSFRACTION-O 6.8919E-10 2.8720E-09 5.5281E-07 1.7418E-06 2.2484E-05 3.8312E-05 1.4284E-03 2.7564E-03 3.0916E-03 2.3917E-03 5.2235E-05 1.1469E-05 2.7470E-09 8.7551E-11 7.2143E-14 0.0000E+00
2.1780E-06 9.4701E-04 3.1435E-03 1.7114E-02 3.2680E-02 8.2531E-02 4.4175E-01 9.9819E-01 3.0085E+02 4.9469E+02 8.3393E+02 1.9767E+03 2.3044E+03 1.6655E+03 5.7496E+02 3.0248E+02 1.6979E-06 2.1556E-05 3.6720E-05 6.1906E-04 5.3302E-03 5.5159E-02 4.2527E-01 9.9814E-01 . . . 1.1905E-08 3.6996E-06 6.6385E-05 3.9063E-03 1.7345E-03 2.3011E-06 2.9341E-12 0.0000E+00
1.2651E-05 1.4700E-03 4.3038E-03 2.1698E-02 3.4655E-02 1.0637E-01 6.6643E-01 1.0000E+00 3.0475E+02 5.8260E+02 9.8775E+02 2.1403E+03 2.3027E+03 1.4355E+03 4.4805E+02 3.0000E+02 3.8179E-06 2.5872E-05 4.3768E-05 1.2615E-03 6.7434E-03 7.9788E-02 6.5658E-01 1.0000E+00 . . . 4.8669E-08 8.3107E-06 1.8269E-04 4.3237E-03 1.2016E-03 3.7414E-07 7.0471E-13 0.0000E+00
7.8456E-05 1.8061E-03 5.6637E-03 2.6304E-02 4.2784E-02 1.4122E-01 8.6222E-01
3.2382E+02 6.3634E+02 1.1493E+03 2.2444E+03 2.2164E+03 1.1986E+03 3.6847E+02
8.3038E-06 2.8290E-05 5.4359E-05 2.3555E-03 1.4244E-02 1.1573E-01 8.5814E-01
. . . 2.0370E-07 1.3525E-05 4.4320E-04 3.7141E-03 2.4323E-04 4.2445E-08 0.0000E+00
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15.5 Dening Non-Premixed Boundary Conditions
Missing Species FLUENT will check whether all species in the amelet data le exist in the thermodynamic properties databases thermo.db. If any of the species in the amelet le do not exist, FLUENT will issue an error message and halt the amelet import. If this occurs, you can either add the missing species to the database, or remove the species from the amelet le. You should not remove a species from the amelet data le unless its species concentration is very small (103 or less) throughout the amelet prole. If you remove a lowconcentration species, you will not have the species concentrations available for viewing in the FLUENT calculation, but the accuracy of the FLUENT calculation will otherwise be unaected.
If you choose to remove any species, be sure to also update the number of species (keyword NUMOFSPECIES) in the amelet data le, to reect the loss of any species you have removed from the le.
If a species with relatively large concentration is missing from the FLUENT thermodynamic databases, you will have to add it. Removing a high-concentration species from the amelet le is not recommended.
15.5
Dening Non-Premixed Boundary Conditions Input of Mixture Fraction Boundary Conditions
15.5.1
When the non-premixed combustion model is used, ow boundary conditions at inlets and exits (i.e., velocity or pressure, turbulence intensity) are dened in the usual way. Species mass fractions at inlets are not required. Instead, you dene values for the mean mixture fraction, f , and the mixture fraction variance, f 2 , at inlet boundaries. (For problems that include a secondary stream, you will dene boundary conditions for the mean secondary partial fraction and its variance as well as the mean fuel mixture fraction and its variance.) These inputs provide boundary conditions for the conservation equations you will solve for these quantities. The inlet values are supplied in the boundary conditions panel for the selected inlet boundary (e.g., Figure 15.5.1). Dene Boundary Conditions... Input the Mean Mixture Fraction and Mixture Fraction Variance (and the Secondary Mean Mixture Fraction and Secondary Mixture Fraction Variance, if you are using two mixture fractions). In general, the inlet value of the mean fractions will be 1.0 or 0.0 at ow inlets: the mean fuel mixture fraction will be 1.0 at fuel stream inlets and 0.0 at oxidizer or secondary stream inlets; the mean secondary mixture fraction will be 1.0 at secondary stream inlets and 0.0 at fuel or oxidizer inlets. The fuel or secondary mixture fraction will lie between 0.0 and 1.0 only if you are modeling ue gas recycle, as illustrated in Figure 15.2.15 and discussed in Section 15.2.1: Denition of the Mixture Fraction.
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Figure 15.5.1: The Velocity Inlet Panel Showing Mixture Fraction Boundary Conditions
The fuel or secondary mixture fraction variance can usually be taken as zero at inlet boundaries.
15.5.2
Diffusion at Inlets
In some cases, you may wish to include only the convective transport of mixture fraction through the inlets of your domain. You can do this by disabling inlet mixture-fraction diusion. By default, FLUENT includes the diusion ux of mixture fraction at inlets. To turn o inlet diusion, use either the define/models/species/inlet-diffusion? text command, or the Species Model panel. Dene Models Species... Once Non-Premixed Combustion is selected, you can then disable the Inlet Diusion option.
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15.6 Dening Non-Premixed Physical Properties
15.5.3
Input of Thermal Boundary Conditions and Fuel Inlet Velocities
If your model is non-adiabatic, you should input the Temperature at the ow inlets. Recall that the inlet temperatures were requested during the table construction in the Chemistry tab of the Species Model panel, and were used in the construction of the look-up tables. The inlet temperatures for each fuel, oxidizer, and secondary inlet in your non-adiabatic model should be dened, in addition, as boundary conditions in FLUENT. It is acceptable for the inlet temperature boundary conditions to dier slightly from those you input for the look-up table calculations. If the inlet temperatures dier signicantly from those in the Chemistry tab, however, your look-up tables may provide less accurate interpolation. This is because the discrete points in the look-up tables were selected based on the inlet temperatures as dened in the Chemistry tab. Wall thermal boundary conditions should also be dened for non-adiabatic non-premixed combustion calculations. You can use any of the standard conditions available in FLUENT, including specied wall temperature, heat ux, external heat transfer coecient, or external radiation. If radiation is to be included within the domain, the wall emissivity should be dened as well. See Section 7.13.1: Dening Thermal Boundary Conditions at Walls for details about thermal boundary conditions at walls.
15.6 Dening Non-Premixed Physical Properties

When you use the non-premixed combustion model, the material used for all uid zones is automatically set to pdf-mixture. This material is a special case of the mixture material concept discussed in Section 14.1.2: Mixture Materials. The constituent species of this mixture are the species that you dened for the look-up table calculation; you cannot change them. When the non-premixed model is used, heat capacities, molecular weights, and enthalpies of formation for each species considered are extracted from the chemical database, so you will not modify any properties for the constituent species in the PDF mixture. For the PDF mixture itself, the mean density and mean specic heat are determined from the look-up tables. The physical property inputs for a non-premixed combustion problem are therefore only the transport properties (viscosity, thermal conductivity, etc.) for the PDF mixture. To set these in the Materials panel, choose mixture as the Material Type, pdf-mixture (the default, and only choice) in the Mixture Materials list, and set the desired values for the transport properties. Dene Materials... See Chapter 8: Physical Properties for details about setting physical properties. The transport properties in a non-premixed combustion problem can be dened as functions of temperature, if desired, but not as functions of composition. In practice, since turbulence eects will dominate, it will be of little benet to include even the temperature dependence of these transport properties.
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If you are modeling radiation heat transfer, you will also input radiation properties, as described in Section 8.7: Radiation Properties. Composition-dependent absorption coecients (using the WSGGM) are allowed.
15.7
Coal Modeling Inputs in FLUENT
Within FLUENT, the DPM coal combustion simulation is dened as usual when the nonpremixed combustion model is selected. The air (oxidizer) inlets are dened as having a mixture fraction value of zero. No gas phase fuel inlets will be included and the sole source of fuel will come from the coal devolatilization and char burnout. The coal particles are dened as injections using the Set Injection Properties panel in the usual way, and physical properties for the coal material are specied as described in Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase. You should keep in mind the following issues when dening injections and discrete-phase material properties for coal materials: In the Set Injection Properties panel, you will specify for the Oxidizing Species one of the components of the oxidizer stream. This species concentration eld will be used to calculate the diusion-controlled driving force in the char burnout law (if applicable). The specication of the char and volatile streams diers depending on the type of model you are dening: If the coal is modeled using a single mixture fraction, the gas phase species representing the volatiles and the char combustion are represented by the mixture fraction used by the non-premixed combustion model. If the coal is modeled using two mixture fractions, rather than specifying a destination species for the volatiles and char, you will instead specify the Devolatilizing Stream and Char Stream. If the coal is modeled using one mixture fraction, and another fuel is modeled using a second mixture fraction, you should specify the stream representing the coal as both the Devolatilizing Stream and the Char Stream. In the Materials panel, Vaporization Temperature should be set equal to the fuel inlet temperature. This temperature controls the onset of the devolatilization process. The fuel inlet temperature that you dene in the Boundary tab of the Species Model panel should be set to the temperature at which you want to initiate devolatilization. This way, the look-up tables will include the appropriate temperature range for your process. In the Materials panel, Volatile Component Fraction and Combustible Fraction should be set to values that are consistent with the coal composition used to dene the fuel (and secondary) stream composition.
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15.8 Non-Premixed Solution Procedures
Also in the Materials panel, you will be prompted for the Burnout Stoichiometric Ratio and for the Latent Heat. The Burnout Stoichiometric Ratio is used in the calculation of the diusion controlled burnout rate but has no other impact on the system chemistry when the non-premixed combustion model is used. The Burnout Stoichiometric Ratio is the mass of oxidant required per mass of char. The default value of 1.33 assumes that C(s) is oxidized by O2 to yield CO. The Latent Heat input determines the heat required to generate the vapor phase volatiles dened in the non-premixed system chemistry. You can usually set this value to zero when the non-premixed model is used, since your denition of volatile species will have been based on the overall heating value of the coal. However, if the coal composition includes the water content, the latent heat should be set as follows: Set latent heat to zero if the water content of the coal has been dened as H2O(L). In this case, the system chemistry will include the latent heat required to vaporize the liquid water. Set latent heat to the value for water (2.25 106 J/kg), adjusted by the mass loading of water in the volatiles, if the water content of the coal has been dened using water vapor, H2O. In this case, the water content you dened will be evolved along with the other species in the coal but the system chemistry does not include the latent heat eect. The Density you dene for the coal in the Materials panel should be the apparent density, including ash content. You will not be asked to dene the Heat of Reaction for Burnout for the char combustion.
Postprocessing Non-Premixed Models of Coal Combustion

FLUENT reports the rate of volatile release from the coal using the DPM Evaporation/Devolatilization postprocessing variable. The rate of char burnout is reported in the DPM Burnout variable.
15.8
Non-Premixed Solution Procedures
The non-premixed model setup and solution procedure in FLUENT diers slightly for single- and two-mixture-fraction problems. Below, an overview of each approach is provided. Note that your FLUENT case le must always meet the restrictions listed for the non-premixed modeling approach in Section 15.2.5: Restrictions on the Mixture Fraction Approach. In this section, details are provided regarding the problem denition and calculation procedures you follow in FLUENT.
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15.8.1
Single-Mixture-Fraction Approach
For a single-mixture-fraction system, when you have completed the calculation of the PDF look-up tables, you are ready to begin your reacting ow simulation. In FLUENT, you will solve the ow eld and predict the spatial distribution of f and f 2 (and H if the system is non-adiabatic or st,d if the system is based on laminar amelets). FLUENT will obtain the implied values of temperature and individual chemical species mass fractions from the look-up tables.
15.8.2
Two-Mixture-Fraction Approach
When a secondary stream is included, FLUENT will solve transport equations for the mean secondary partial fraction (psec ) and its variance in addition to the mean fuel mixture fraction and its variance. FLUENT will then look up the instantaneous values for temperature, density, and individual chemical species in the look-up tables, compute the PDFs for the fuel and secondary streams, and calculate the mean values for temperature, density, and species. Note that in order to avoid both inaccuracies and unnecessarily slow calculation times, it is important for you to view your temperature and species tables in FLUENT to ensure that they are adequately but not excessively resolved.
15.8.3
Starting a Non-Premixed Calculation From a Previous Case File
You can read a previously dened FLUENT case le as a starting point for your nonpremixed combustion modeling. If this case le contains inputs that are incompatible with the current non-premixed combustion model, FLUENT will alert you when the nonpremixed model is turned on and it will turn o those incompatible models. For example, if the case le includes species that dier from those included in the PDF le created by FLUENT, these species will be disabled. If the case le contains property descriptions that conict with the property data in the chemical database, these property inputs will be ignored.
PDF les created by prePDF 2 or older are not supported by this version of FLUENT. The les generated by PrePDF version 3 or newer, are fully compatible.
In the Species Model panel, select Non-Premixed Combustion under the Model heading. When you click OK in the Species Model panel, a Select File dialog box will immediately appear, prompting you for the name of the PDF le containing the look-up tables created in a previous FLUENT session. (The PDF le is the le you saved using the File/Write/PDF... menu item after computing the look-up tables.) FLUENT will indicate that it has successfully read the specied PDF le:
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Reading "/home/mydirectory/adiabatic.pdf"... read 5 species (binary c, adiabatic fluent) pdf file successfully read. Done.
After you read in the PDF le, FLUENT will inform you that some material properties have changed. You can accept this information; you will be updating properties later on. You can read in an altered PDF le at any time by using the File/Read/PDF... menu item.
Recall that the non-premixed combustion model is available only when you used the segregated solver; it cannot be used with the coupled solvers. Also, the non-premixed combustion model is available only when turbulence modeling is active.
If you are modeling a non-adiabatic system and you wish to include the eects of compressibility, re-open the Species Model panel (Figure 15.8.1) and turn on Compressibility Eects under PDF Options. This option tells FLUENT to update the density according to Equation 15.4-1. When the non-premixed combustion model is active, you can enable compressibility eects only in the Species Model panel. For other models, you will specify compressible ow (ideal-gas, boussinesq, etc.) in the Materials panel. See Sections 15.4.2 and 15.8.4 for more information about compressibility eects.
Figure 15.8.1: The Species Model Panel With Available PDF Options
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Retrieving the PDF File During Case File Reads

The PDF lename is specied to FLUENT only once. Thereafter, the lename is stored in your FLUENT case le and the PDF le will be automatically read into FLUENT whenever the case le is read. FLUENT will remind you that it is reading the PDF le after it nishes reading the rest of the case le by reporting its progress in the text (console) window. Note that the PDF lename stored in your case le may not contain the full name of the directory in which the PDF le exists. The full directory name will be stored in the case le only if you initially read the PDF le through the GUI (or if you typed in the directory name along with the lename when using the text interface). In the event that the full directory name is absent, the automatic reading of the PDF le may fail (since FLUENT does not know which directory to look in for the le), and you will need to manually specify the PDF le. The safest approaches are to use the GUI when you rst read the PDF le or to supply the full directory name when using the text interface.
15.8.4
Solving the Flow Problem
The next step in the non-premixed combustion modeling process in FLUENT is the solution of the mixture fraction and ow equations. First, initialize the ow. By default, the mixture fraction and its variance have initial values of zero, which is the recommended value; you should generally not set non-zero initial values for these variables. See Section 26.15: Initializing the Solution for details about solution initialization. Solve Initialize Initialize... Next, begin calculations in the usual manner. Solve Iterate... During the calculation process, FLUENT reports residuals for the mixture fraction and its variance in the fmean and fvar columns of the residual report:
iter cont x-vel y-vel k 28 1.57e-3 4.92e-4 4.80e-4 2.68e-2 29 1.42e-3 4.43e-4 4.23e-4 2.48e-2 30 1.28e-3 3.98e-4 3.75e-4 2.29e-2 epsilon fmean fvar 2.59e-3 9.09e-1 1.17e+0 2.30e-3 8.89e-1 1.15e+0 2.04e-3 8.88e-1 1.14e+0
(For two-mixture-fraction calculations, columns for psec and pvar will also appear.)
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Under-Relaxation Factors for PDF Equations

The transport equations for the mean mixture fraction and mixture fraction variance are quite stable and high under-relaxation can be used when solving them. By default, an under-relaxation factor of 1 is used for the mean mixture fraction (and secondary partial fraction) and 0.9 for the mixture fraction variance (and secondary partial fraction variance). If the residuals for these equations are increasing, you should consider decreasing these under-relaxation factors, as discussed in Section 26.10: Setting Under-Relaxation Factors.
Density Under-Relaxation
One of the main reasons a combustion calculation can have diculty converging is that large changes in temperature cause large changes in density, which can, in turn, cause instabilities in the ow solution. FLUENT allows you to under-relax the change in density to alleviate this diculty. The default value for density under-relaxation is 1, but if you encounter convergence trouble you may wish to reduce this to a value between 0.5 and 1 (in the Solution Controls panel).
Tuning the PDF Parameters for Two-Mixture-Fraction Calculations

For cases that include a secondary stream, the PDF integrations are performed inside FLUENT. The parameters for these integrations are dened in the Species Model panel (Figure 15.8.2). Dene Models Species... The parameters are as follows: Compressibility Eects (non-adiabatic systems only) tells FLUENT to update the density, temperature, species mass fraction, and enthalpy from the PDF tables to account for the varying pressure of the system. Probability Density Function species which type of PDF should be used. You can pick either double delta (the default) or beta in the drop-down list. The double delta PDF has the advantage of being faster than the beta PDF, and it is the default. The beta function, however, may be a more accurate representation of the PDF. Number of Flow Iterations Per Property Update species how often the density, temperature, and specic heats are updated from the look-up table. Remember that when you are calculating two mixture fractions, the updating of properties includes computation of the PDFs and can be quite CPU-intensive. You should generally not reduce the Number of Flow Iterations Per Property Update below the default value of 10, unless you are experiencing convergence diculties.
15-77
Figure 15.8.2: The Species Model Panel for a Two-Mixture-Fraction Calculation
15-78
15.9 Postprocessing the Non-Premixed Model Results
For simulations involving non-adiabatic multiple strained amelets, looking up the four-dimensional PDF tables can be CPU-intensive if a large number of species exist in the amelet les. In such cases, the Number of Flow Iterations Per Property Update controls the updating of the mean molecular weight, which involves looking up the PDF tables for the species mass fractions.
15.9 Postprocessing the Non-Premixed Model Results

The nal step in the non-premixed combustion modeling process is the postprocessing of species concentrations and temperature data from the mixture fraction and ow-eld solution data. The following variables are of particular interest: Mean Mixture Fraction (in the Pdf... category) Secondary Mean Mixture Fraction (in the Pdf... category) Mixture Fraction Variance (in the Pdf... category) Secondary Mixture Fraction Variance (in the Pdf... category) Fvar Prod (in the Pdf... category) Fvar2 Prod (in the Pdf... category) Mass fraction of (species-n) (in the Species... category) Mole fraction of (species-n) (in the Species... category) Molar Concentration of (species-n) (in the Species... category) Static Temperature (in the Temperature... category) Enthalpy (in the Temperature... category) These quantities can be selected for display in the indicated category of the variableselection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for their denitions. In all cases, the species concentrations are derived from the mixture fraction/variance eld using the look-up tables. Note that temperature and enthalpy can be postprocessed even when your FLUENT model is an adiabatic non-premixed combustion simulation in which you have not solved the energy equation. In both the adiabatic and non-adiabatic cases, the temperature is derived from the look-up table. Figures 15.9.1 and 15.9.2 illustrate typical results for a methane diusion ame modeled using the non-premixed approach.
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1.00e+00 9.00e-01 8.00e-01 7.00e-01 6.00e-01 5.00e-01 4.00e-01 3.00e-01 2.00e-01 1.00e-01 0.00e+00
Contours of Mean Mixture Fraction
Figure 15.9.1: Predicted Contours of Mixture Fraction in a Methane Diusion Flame
1.35e-01 1.22e-01 1.08e-01 9.48e-02 8.12e-02 6.77e-02 5.42e-02 4.06e-02 2.71e-02 1.35e-02 0.00e+00
Contours of Mass fraction of co2
Figure 15.9.2: Predicted Contours of CO2 Mass Fraction Using the NonPremixed Combustion Model
15-80
Chapter 16.
Modeling Premixed Combustion
FLUENT has a premixed turbulent combustion model based on the reaction-progress variable approach. Information about this model is provided in the following sections: Section 16.1: Overview and Limitations Section 16.2: Premixed Combustion Theory Section 16.3: Using the Premixed Combustion Model
16.1
Overview and Limitations Overview
16.1.1
In premixed combustion, fuel and oxidizer are mixed at the molecular level prior to ignition. Combustion occurs as a ame front propagating into the unburnt reactants. Examples of premixed combustion include aspirated internal combustion engines, leanpremixed gas turbine combustors, and gas-leak explosions. Premixed combustion is much more dicult to model than non-premixed combustion. The reason for this is that premixed combustion usually occurs as a thin, propagating ame that is stretched and contorted by turbulence. For subsonic ows, the overall rate of propagation of the ame is determined by both the laminar ame speed and the turbulent eddies. The laminar ame speed is determined by the rate that species and heat diuse upstream into the reactants and burn. To capture the laminar ame speed, the internal ame structure would need to be resolved, as well as the detailed chemical kinetics and molecular diusion processes. Since practical laminar ame thicknesses are of the order of millimeters or smaller, resolution requirements are usually unaordable. The eect of turbulence is to wrinkle and stretch the propagating laminar ame sheet, increasing the sheet area and, in turn, the eective ame speed. The large turbulent eddies tend to wrinkle and corrugate the ame sheet, while the small turbulent eddies, if they are smaller than the laminar ame thickness, may penetrate the ame sheet and modify the laminar ame structure. Non-premixed combustion, in comparison, can be greatly simplied to a mixing problem (see the mixture fraction approach in Section 15.1: Overview of Non-Premixed Combustion). The essence of premixed combustion modeling lies in capturing the turbulent ame speed, which is inuenced by both the laminar ame speed and the turbulence.
16-1
In premixed ames, the fuel and oxidizer are intimately mixed before they enter the combustion device. Reaction then takes place in a combustion zone that separates unburnt reactants and burnt combustion products. Partially premixed ames exhibit the properties of both premixed and diusion ames. They occur when an additional oxidizer or fuel stream enters a premixed system, or when a diusion ame becomes lifted o the burner so that some premixing takes place prior to combustion. Premixed and partially premixed ames can be modeled using FLUENTs nite-rate/eddydissipation formulation (see Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry). If nite-rate chemical kinetic eects are important, the EDC model (see Section 14.1.1: The Eddy-Dissipation-Concept (EDC) Model) or the composition PDF transport model (see Chapter 18: The Composition PDF Transport Model) can be used. For information about FLUENTs partially premixed combustion model, see Chapter 17: Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion. If the ame is perfectly premixed, so only one stream at one equivalence ratio enters the combustor, it is possible to use the premixed combustion model.
16.1.2
Limitations
The following limitations apply to the premixed combustion model: You must use the segregated solver. The premixed combustion model is not available with either of the coupled solvers. The premixed combustion model is valid only for turbulent, subsonic ows. These types of ames are called deagrations. Explosions, also called detonations, where the combustible mixture is ignited by the heat behind a shock wave, can be modeled with the nite-rate model using the coupled solver. See Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry for information about the nite-rate model. The premixed combustion model cannot be used in conjunction with the pollutant (i.e., soot and NOx ) models. However, a perfectly premixed system can be modeled with the partially premixed model (see Chapter 17: Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion), which can be used with the pollutant models. You cannot use the premixed combustion model to simulate reacting discrete-phase particles, since these would result in a partially premixed system. Only inert particles can be used with the premixed combustion model.
16-2
16.2 Premixed Combustion Theory
16.2
Premixed Combustion Theory
The turbulent premixed combustion model, based on work by Zimont et al. [389, 390, 392], involves the solution of a transport equation for the reaction progress variable. The closure of this equation is based on the denition of the turbulent ame speed.
16.2.1
Propagation of the Flame Front
In many industrial premixed systems, combustion takes place in a thin ame sheet. As the ame front moves, combustion of unburnt reactants occurs, converting unburnt premixed reactants to burnt products. The premixed combustion model thus considers the reacting ow eld to be divided into regions of burnt and unburnt species, separated by the ame sheet. The ame front propagation is modeled by solving a transport equation for the densityweighted mean reaction progress variable:, denoted by c: (c) + t where c Sct Sc = = = mean reaction progress variable turbulent Schmidt number reaction progress source term (s1 ) (vc) = t c + Sc Sct (16.2-1)
The progress variable is dened as a normalized sum of the product species,

n
Yi c=
i=1 n
(16.2-2)
Yi,eq
i=1
where n Yi Yi,eq = number of products = mass fraction of product species i = equilibrium mass fraction of product species i
Based on this denition, c = 0 where the mixture is unburnt and c = 1 where the mixture is burnt: c = 0: unburnt mixture c = 1: burnt mixture
16-3
The value of c is dened as a boundary condition at all ow inlets. It is usually specied as either 0 (unburnt) or 1 (burnt). The mean reaction rate in Equation 16.2-1 is modeled as [390] Sc = u Ut | c| where u Ut = density of unburnt mixture = turbulent ame speed (16.2-3)
Other mean reaction rate models exist [38], and can be specied using user-dened functions. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions.
16.2.2
Turbulent Flame Speed
The key to the premixed combustion model is the prediction of Ut , the turbulent ame speed normal to the mean surface of the ame. The turbulent ame speed is inuenced by the following: laminar ame speed, which is, in turn, determined by the fuel concentration, temperature, and molecular diusion properties, as well as the detailed chemical kinetics ame front wrinkling and stretching by large eddies, and ame thickening by small eddies In FLUENT, the turbulent ame speed is computed using a model for wrinkled and thickened ame fronts [390]:
Ut = A(u )3/4 Ul 1/4 t 1/4 = Au c where A u Ul = k/cp

t
1/2
1/4 t
(16.2-4) (16.2-5)
t = t /u c = /Ul2
= model constant = RMS (root-mean-square) velocity (m/s) = laminar ame speed (m/s) = molecular heat transfer coecient of unburnt mixture (thermal diusivity) (m2 /s) = turbulence length scale (m) = turbulence time scale (s) = chemical time scale (s)
16-4
The turbulence length scale,
t,
is computed from = CD (u )3 (16.2-6)
where
is the turbulence dissipation rate.
The model is based on the assumption of equilibrium small-scale turbulence inside the laminar ame, resulting in a turbulent ame speed expression that is purely in terms of the large-scale turbulent parameters. The default value of 0.52 for A is recommended by [390], and is suitable for most premixed ames. The default value of 0.37 for CD should also be suitable for most premixed ames. The model is strictly applicable when the smallest turbulent eddies in the ow (the Kolmogorov scales) are smaller than the ame thickness, and penetrate into the ame zone. This is called the thin reaction zone combustion region, and can be quantied by Karlovitz numbers, Ka, greater than unity. Ka is dened as
2 v tl Ka = = 2 t Ul
(16.2-7)
where tl t v = ( )1/4 = characteristic ame time scale = smallest (Kolmogorov) turbulence time scale = Kolmogorov velocity = kinematic viscosity
Lastly, the model is valid for premixed systems where the ame brush width increases in time, as occurs in most industrial combustors. Flames that propagate for a long period of time equilibrate to a constant ame width, which cannot be captured in this model.
16-5
Turbulent Flame Speed for LES

For simulations that use the LES turbulence model, the Reynolds-averaged quantities in the turbulent ame speed expression (Equation 16.2-4) are replaced by their equivalent sub-grid quantities. In particular, the large eddy length scale t is modeled as
t
= Cs
(16.2-8)
where Cs is the Smagorinsky constant and is the cell characteristic length. The RMS velocity in Equation 16.2-4 is replaced by the sub-grid velocity uctuation, calculated as
1 u = t sgs
(16.2-9)
where sgs is the sub-grid scale mixing rate (time scale), given in Equation 14.1-27.
Unburnt Density and Thermal Diffusivity

The unburnt density (u in Equation 16.2.1) and unburnt thermal diusivity ( in Equation 16.2-5) are specied constants that are set in the Materials panel. However, for compressible cases, such as in-cylinder combustion, these can change signicantly in time and/or space. When the ideal gas model is selected for density, the unburnt density and thermal diusivity are calculated as volume averages ahead of the ame front.
Flame Stretch Effect

Since industrial low-emission combustors often operate near lean blow-o, ame stretching will have a signicant eect on the mean turbulent heat release intensity. To take this ame stretching into account, the source term for the progress variable (Sc in Equation 16.2-1) is multiplied by a stretch factor, G [392]. This stretch factor represents the probability that the stretching will not quench the ame; if there is no stretching (G = 1), the probability that the ame will be unquenched is 100%. The stretch factor, G, is obtained by integrating the log-normal distribution of the turbulence dissipation rate, :
1 1 G = erfc ln 2 2
cr
+ 2
cr
(16.2-10) are dened below.
where erfc is the complementary error function, and and is the standard deviation of the distribution of :
16-6
= str ln
(16.2-11)
where str is the stretch factor coecient for dissipation pulsation, L is the turbulent integral length scale, and is the Kolmogorov micro-scale. The default value of 0.26 for str (measured in turbulent non-reacting ows) is recommended by [390], and is suitable for most premixed ames.
cr
is the turbulence dissipation rate at the critical rate of strain [390]:

2 = 15gcr
cr
(16.2-12)
By default, gcr is set to a very high value (1 108 ) so no ame stretching occurs. To include ame stretching eects, the critical rate of strain gcr should be adjusted based on experimental data for the burner. Numerical models can suggest a range of physically plausible values [390], or an appropriate value can be determined from experimental data. A reasonable model for the critical rate of strain gcr is gcr = BUl2 (16.2-13)
where B is a constant (typically 0.5) and is the thermal diusivity. Equation 16.2-13 can be implemented in FLUENTusing a property user-dened function. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions.
Preferential Diffusion
Preferential diusion accounts for the eect of variations in fuel molecular diusion coecients on heat release intensity in premixed turbulent combustion. Inclusion of this eect is important for simulation of combustion with light fuels (e.g., hydrogen) or heavy fuels (e.g., evaporated oil). The model for preferential diusion is based on the concept of leading points, formulated in [176]. The authors of [176] derived formulas for the changes in mixture composition within the combustion zone due to the dierence in the molecular diusivities of fuel, Dfuel , and oxidizer, Dox . These formulas are rewritten in [392] as

0 (1+Cst )d+d1 d+Cst 0 (Cst +d) 1+0 Cst +Cst (10 d)
lp 1 (16.2-14) lp < 1
lp = where Cst 0 lp
= mass stoichiometric coecient = stoichiometric ratio of unburnt mixture composition = stoichiometric ratio of leading-point composition
16-7
and Dox Dfuel
d=
(16.2-15)
The concept of leading points is applied to the FLUENT model by using lp instead of 0 for the formulation of the laminar ame speed, Ul , or the molecular heat transfer coecient, . This simple approach results in reasonable agreement with the measurements of mass combustion rates in stirred bombs [392], without the need for additional empirical parameters.
Gradient Diffusion
Volume expansion at the ame front can cause counter-gradient diusion. This eect becomes more pronounced when the ratio of the reactant density to the product density is large, and the turbulence intensity is small. It can be quantied by the ratio (u /b )(Ul /I), where u , b , Ul , and I are the unburnt and burnt densities, laminar ame speed, and turbulence intensity, respectively. Values of this ratio greater than one indicate a tendency for counter-gradient diusion, and the premixed combustion model may be inappropriate. Recent arguments for the validity of the turbulent-ame-speed model in such regimes can be found in Zimont et al. [391].
16.2.3
Premixed Combustion Model Formulation in FLUENT
FLUENT will solve the transport equation for the reaction progress variable c (Equation 16.2-1), computing the source term, Sc , based on the theory outlined above:
Sc = AGu I 3/4 [Ul (lp )]1/2 [(lp )]1/4 = AGu I t c (lp )

1/4
1/4 t |
c|
(16.2-16) (16.2-17)
| c|
16-8
16.2.4
Calculation of Temperature
The calculation method for temperature will depend on whether the model is adiabatic or non-adiabatic.
Adiabatic Temperature Calculation

For the adiabatic premixed combustion model, the temperature is assumed to vary linearly between the temperature of the unburnt mixture, Tu , and the temperature of the burnt products under adiabatic conditions, Tad : T = (1 c)Tu + cTad (16.2-18)
Non-Adiabatic Temperature Calculation

For the non-adiabatic premixed combustion model, FLUENT solves an energy transport equation in order to account for any heat losses or gains within the system. These losses/gains may include heat sources due to chemical reaction or, for example, heat losses due to radiation. The energy equation in terms of sensible enthalpy, h, for the fully premixed fuel (see Equation 12.2-3) is as follows: (h) + t (vh) = k + kt h + Sh,chem + Sh,rad cp
(16.2-19)
Sh,rad represents the heat losses due to radiation and Sh,chem represents the heat gains due to chemical reaction: Sh,chem = Sc Hcomb Yfuel where Sc Hcomb Yfuel = normalized average rate of product formation (s1 ) = heat of combustion for burning 1 kg of fuel (J/kg) = fuel mass fraction of unburnt mixture (16.2-20)
16.2.5
Calculation of Density
When the premixed combustion model is used, FLUENT calculates density using the ideal gas law. For the adiabatic model, pressure variations are neglected and the mean molecular weight is assumed to be constant. The burnt gas density is then calculated from the following relation: b Tb = u Tu (16.2-21)
16-9
where the subscript u refers to the unburnt cold mixture, and the subscript b refers to the burnt hot mixture. The required inputs are the unburnt density (u ), the unburnt temperature (Tu ), and the burnt adiabatic ame temperature (Tb ). For the non-adiabatic model, you can choose to either include or exclude pressure variations in the ideal gas equation of state. If you choose to ignore pressure uctuations, FLUENT calculates the density from T = u Tu (16.2-22)
where T is computed from the energy transport equation, Equation 16.2-19. The required inputs are the unburnt density (u ) and the unburnt temperature (Tu ). Note that, from the incompressible ideal gas equation, the expression u RTu /pop may be considered to be the eective molecular weight of the gas, where R is the gas constant and pop is the operating pressure. If you want to include pressure uctuations for a compressible gas, you will need to input the eective molecular weight of the gas. The density will be calculated from the ideal gas equation of state.
16-10
16.3 Using the Premixed Combustion Model
16.3
Using the Premixed Combustion Model
The procedure for setting up and solving a premixed combustion model is outlined below, and then described in detail. Remember that only the steps that are pertinent to premixed combustion modeling are shown here. For information about inputs related to other models that you are using in conjunction with the premixed combustion model, see the appropriate sections for those models. 1. Enable the premixed turbulent combustion model and set the related parameters. Dene Models Species... 2. Dene the physical properties for the unburnt and burnt material in the domain. Dene Materials... 3. Set the value of the progress variable c at ow inlets and exits. Dene Boundary Conditions... 4. Initialize the value of the progress variable. Solve Initialize Patch... 5. Solve the problem and perform postprocessing.
If you are interested in computing the concentrations of individual species in the domain, you can use the partially premixed model described in Chapter 17: Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion. Alternatively, compositions of the unburnt and burnt mixtures can be obtained from external analyses using equilibrium or kinetic calculations.
16.3.1
Enabling the Premixed Combustion Model
To enable the premixed combustion model, select Premixed Combustion under Model in the Species Model panel (Figure 16.3.1). Dene Models Species... When you turn on Premixed Combustion, the panel will expand to show the relevant inputs.
16-11
Figure 16.3.1: The Species Model Panel for Premixed Combustion
16.3.2
Choosing an Adiabatic or Non-Adiabatic Model
Under Premixed Combustion Model in the Species Model panel, choose either Adiabatic (the default) or Non-Adiabatic. This choice will aect only the calculation method used to determine the temperature (either Equation 16.2-18 or Equation 16.2-19).
16.3.3
Modifying the Constants for the Premixed Combustion Model
In general, you will not need to modify the constants used in the equations presented in Section 16.2: Premixed Combustion Theory. The default values are suitable for a wide range of premixed ames. If, however, you want to make some changes to the model constants, you will nd them under Model Constants in the Species Model panel. You can set the Turbulence Length Scale Constant (CD in Equation 16.2-6), the Turbulent Flame Speed Constant (A in Equation 16.2-4), the Stretch Factor Coecient (str in Equation 16.2-11) and the Turbulent Schmidt Number (Sct in Equation 16.2-1).
16-12
For a non-adiabatic premixed combustion model, note that the value you specify for the Turbulent Schmidt Number will also be used as the Prandtl number for energy. (The Energy Prandtl Number will therefore not appear in the Viscous Model panel for nonadiabatic premixed combustion models.) These parameters control the level of diusion for the progress variable and for energy. Since the progress variable is closely related to energy (because the ame progress results in heat release), it is important that the transport equations use the same level of diusion.
16.3.4
Dening Physical Properties for the Unburnt Mixture
The uid material in your domain should be assigned the properties of the unburnt mixture, including the molecular heat transfer coecient ( in Equation 16.2-4), which is also referred to as the thermal diusivity. is dened as k/cp , and values at standard conditions can be found in combustion handbooks (e.g., [175]). For both adiabatic and non-adiabatic combustion models, you will need to specify the Laminar Flame Speed (Ul in Equation 16.2-4) as a material property. If you want to include the ame stretch eect in your model, you will also need to specify the Critical Rate of Strain (gcr in Equation 16.2-12). As discussed in Section 16.2.2: Flame Stretch Eect, gcr is set to a very high value (1 108 s1 ) by default, so no ame stretching occurs. To include ame stretching eects, you will need to adjust the Critical Rate of Strain based on experimental data for the burner. Since the ame stretching and ame extinction can inuence the turbulent ame speed (as discussed in Section 16.2.2: Flame Stretch Eect), a realistic value for the Critical Rate of Strain is required for accurate predictions. Typical values for CH4 lean premixed combustion range from 3000 to 8000 s1 [390]. Note that you can specify constant values or user-dened functions to dene the Laminar Flame Speed and Critical Rate of Strain. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions. For adiabatic models, you will also specify the Adiabatic Temperature of Burnt Products (Tad in Equation 16.2-18), which is the temperature of the burnt products under adiabatic conditions. This temperature will be used to determine the linear variation of temperature in an adiabatic premixed combustion calculation. You can specify a constant value or use a user-dened function. For non-adiabatic models, you will instead specify the Heat of Combustion per unit mass of fuel and the Unburnt Fuel Mass Fraction (Hcomb and Yfuel in Equation 16.2-20). FLUENT will use these values to compute the heat losses or gains due to combustion, and include these losses/gains in the energy equation that it uses to calculate temperature. The Heat of Combustion can be specied only as a constant value, but you can specify a constant value or use a user-dened function for the Unburnt Fuel Mass Fraction. To specify the density for a premixed combustion model, choose premixed-combustion in the Density drop-down list and set the Density of Unburnt Reactants and Temperature of Unburnt Reactants (Tu and u in Equation 16.2-21). For adiabatic premixed models, your
16-13
input for Temperature of Unburnt Reactants (Tu ) will also be used in Equation 16.2-18 to calculate the temperature. The other properties specied for the unburnt mixture are viscosity, specic heat, thermal conductivity, and any other properties related to other models that are being used in conjunction with the premixed combustion model.
16.3.5
Setting Boundary Conditions for the Progress Variable
For premixed combustion models, you will need to set an additional boundary condition at ow inlets and exits: the progress variable, c. Valid inputs for the Progress Variable are as follows: c = 0: unburnt mixture c = 1: burnt mixture
16.3.6
Initializing the Progress Variable
Often, it is sucient to initialize the progress variable c to 1 (burnt) everywhere and allow the unburnt (c = 0) mixture entering the domain from the inlets to blow the ame back to the stabilizer. A better initialization is to patch an initial value of 0 (unburnt) upstream of the ame holder and a value of 1 (burnt) in the downstream region (after initializing the ow eld in the Solution Initialization panel). Solve Initialize Patch... See Section 26.15.2: Patching Values in Selected Cells for details about patching values of solution variables.
16-14
16.3.7
Postprocessing for Premixed Combustion Calculations
FLUENT provides several additional reporting options for premixed combustion calculations. You can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following items: Progress Variable Damkohler Number Stretch Factor Turbulent Flame Speed Static Temperature Product Formation Rate Laminar Flame Speed Critical Strain Rate Unburnt Fuel Mass Fraction Adiabatic Flame Temperature These variables are contained in the Premixed Combustion... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for a complete list of ow variables, eld functions, and their definitions. Chapters 29 and 30 explain how to generate graphics displays and reports of data. Note that Static Temperature and Adiabatic Flame Temperature will appear in the Premixed Combustion... category only for adiabatic premixed combustion calculations; for nonadiabatic calculations, Static Temperature will appear in the Temperature... category. Unburnt Fuel Mass Fraction will appear only for non-adiabatic models.
16-15
Computing Species Concentrations

If you know the composition of the unburnt and burnt mixtures in your model (i.e., if you have performed external analyses using single-step kinetic calculations or a third-party 1D combustion program), you can compute the species concentrations in the domain using custom eld functions: To determine the concentration of a species in the unburnt mixture, dene the custom function Yu (1 c), where Yu is the mass fraction for the species in the unburnt mixture (specied by you) and c is the value of the progress variable (computed by FLUENT). To determine the concentration of a species in the burnt mixture, dene the custom function Yb c, where Yb is the mass fraction for the species in the burnt mixture (specied by you) and c is the value of the progress variable (computed by FLUENT). See Section 31.5: Custom Field Functions for details about dening and using custom eld functions.
16-16
Chapter 17.
Modeling Partially Premixed Combustion
FLUENT provides a partially premixed combustion model that is based on the nonpremixed combustion model described in Chapter 15: Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion and the premixed combustion model described in Chapter 16: Modeling Premixed Combustion. Information about the partially premixed combustion model is presented in the following sections: Section 17.1: Overview and Limitations Section 17.2: Theory Section 17.3: Using the Partially Premixed Combustion Model
17.1
Overview and Limitations Overview
17.1.1
Partially premixed combustion systems are premixed ames with non-uniform fuel-oxidizer mixtures (equivalence ratios). Such ames include premixed jets discharging into a quiescent atmosphere, lean premixed combustors with diusion pilot ames and/or cooling air jets, and imperfectly mixed inlets. The partially premixed model in FLUENT is a simple combination of the non-premixed model (Chapter 15: Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion) and the premixed model (Chapter 16: Modeling Premixed Combustion). The premixed reaction-progress variable, c, determines the position of the ame front. Behind the ame front (c = 1), the mixture is burnt and the equilibrium or laminar amelet mixture fraction solution is used. Ahead of the ame front (c = 0), the species mass fractions, temperature, and density are calculated from the mixed but unburnt mixture fraction. Within the ame (0 < c < 1), a linear combination of the unburnt and burnt mixtures is used.
17.1.2
Limitations
The underlying theory, assumptions, and limitations of the non-premixed and premixed models apply directly to the partially premixed model. In particular, the single-mixturefraction approach is limited to two inlet streams, which may be pure fuel, pure oxidizer, or a mixture of fuel and oxidizer. The two-mixture-fraction model extends the number of inlet streams to three, but incurs a major computational overhead. See Sections 15.1.1 and 16.1.2 for additional limitations.
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17.2
Theory
The partially premixed model solves a transport equation for the mean reaction progress variable, c (to determine the position of the ame front), as well as the mean mixture fraction, f and the mixture fraction variance, f 2 . Ahead of the ame (c = 0), the fuel and oxidizer are mixed but unburnt, and behind the ame (c = 1), the mixture is burnt.
17.2.1
Calculation of Scalar Quantities
Density weighted mean scalars (such as species fraction and temperature), denoted by , are calculated from the probability density function (PDF) of f and c as
1 1
=
0 0
(f, c)p(f, c) df dc
(17.2-1)
Under the assumption of thin ames, so that only unburnt reactants and burnt products exist, the mean scalars are determined from
1 1
=c
0
b (f )p(f ) df + (1 c)
u (f )p(f ) df
(17.2-2)
where the subscripts b and u denote burnt and unburnt, respectively. The burnt scalars, b , are functions of the mixture fraction and are calculated by mixing a mass f of fuel with a mass (1 f ) of oxidizer and allowing the mixture to equilibrate. When non-adiabatic mixtures and/or laminar amelets are considered, b is also a function of enthalpy and/or strain, but this does not alter the basic formulation. The unburnt scalars, u , are calculated similarly by mixing a mass f of fuel with a mass (1 f ) of oxidizer, but the mixture is not reacted. Just as in the non-premixed model, the chemistry calculations and PDF integrations for the burnt mixture are performed in FLUENT, and look-up tables are constructed. Turbulent uctuation are neglected for the unburnt mixture, so the mean unburnt scalars, u , are functions of f only. The unburnt density, temperature, specic heat, and thermal diusivity (denoted by ) are tted in FLUENT to third-order polynomials of f using linear least squares:
3 n
u =
n=0
cn f
(17.2-3)
Since the unburnt scalars are smooth and slowly-varying functions of f , these polynomial ts are generally accurate. Access to polynomials is provided in case you want to modify them.
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17.2 Theory
17.2.2
Laminar Flame Speed
The premix model requires the laminar ame speed (see Equation 16.2-4), which depends strongly on the composition, temperature, and pressure of the unburnt mixture. For perfectly premixed systems as in Chapter 16: Modeling Premixed Combustion, the reactant stream has one composition, and the laminar ame speed is approximately constant throughout the domain. However, in partially premixed systems, the laminar ame speed will change as the reactant composition (equivalence ratio) changes, and this must be taken into account. Accurate laminar ame speeds are dicult to determine analytically, and are usually measured from experiments or computed from 1D simulations. FLUENT uses tted curves obtained from numerical simulations of the laminar ame speed [117]. These curves were determined for hydrogen (H2 ), methane (CH4 ), acetylene (C2 H2 ), ethylene (C2 H4 ), ethane (C2 H6 ), and propane (C3 H8 ) fuels. They are valid for inlet compositions ranging from the lean limit through unity equivalence ratio (stoichiometric), for unburnt temperatures from 298 K to 800 K, and for pressures from 1 bar to 40 bars. FLUENT ts these curves to a piecewise-linear polynomial. Mixtures leaner than the lean limit or richer than the rich limit will not burn, and have zero ame speed. The required inputs are values for the mean mixture fraction f at 10 laminar ame speeds. The minimum and maximum f limits for the laminar ame speed are the rst and last values of f that are input.
These ame speed ts are accurate for air mixtures with pure fuels of H2 , CH4 , C2 H2 , C2 H4 , C2 H6 , and C3 H8 . If an oxidizer other than air or a dierent fuel is used, if the mixture is rich, or if the unburnt temperature or pressure is outside the range of validity, then the curve ts will be incorrect. Although FLUENT defaults to a methane-air mixture, the laminar ame speed polynomial and the rich and lean limits are most likely incorrect. The laminar ame speed polynomial should be determined from other sources, such as measurements from the relevant literature or detailed 1D simulations, and then input into FLUENT.
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17.3
Using the Partially Premixed Combustion Model
The procedure for setting up and solving a partially premixed combustion problem combines parts of the non-premixed combustion setup and the premixed combustion setup. An outline of the procedure is provided in Section 17.3.1: Setup and Solution Procedure, along with information about where to look in the non-premixed and premixed combustion chapters for details. Inputs that are specic to the partially premixed combustion model are provided in Sections 17.3.1 and 17.3.2.
17.3.1
Setup and Solution Procedure
1. Read your mesh le into FLUENT and set up any other models you plan to use in conjunction with the partially premixed combustion model (turbulence, radiation, etc.). 2. Enable the partially premixed combustion model. (a) Turn on the Partially Premixed Combustion model in the Species Model panel. Dene Models Species... (b) If necessary, modify the Model Constants in the Species Model panel. These are the same at the constants for the premixed combustion model and, in most cases, you will not need to change them from their default values. See Section 16.3.3: Modifying the Constants for the Premixed Combustion Model for details. 3. Generate a PDF look-up table. You can follow the procedure for non-premixed combustion described in Section 15.4: User Inputs for the Non-Premixed Model.
If FLUENT warns you, during the partially premixed properties calculation, that any parameters are out of the range for the laminar ame speed function, you will need to modify the piecewise-linear points manually before saving the PDF le. See Section 17.3.2: Modifying the Unburnt Mixture Property Polynomials for details. Also, the calculation of the thermal diusivity uses the thermal conductivity in the Materials... panel. More accurate thermal diusivity polynomials can be obtained by editing the thermal conductivity in the Materials... panel and then clicking Recalculate Properties in the Premix tab.
4. Dene the physical properties for the unburnt material in the domain. Dene Materials... FLUENT will automatically select the prepdf-polynomial function for Laminar Flame Speed, indicating that the piecewise-linear polynomial function from the PDF lookup table will be used to compute the laminar ame speed. You may also choose to use a user-dened function instead of a piecewise-linear polynomial function. See
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17.3 Using the Partially Premixed Combustion Model
Section 16.3.4: Dening Physical Properties for the Unburnt Mixture for information about setting the other properties for the unburnt material. 5. Set the values for the mean progress variable ( c) and the mean mixture fraction (f ) and its variance (f 2 ) at ow inlets and exits. (For problems that include a secondary stream, you will dene boundary conditions for the mean secondary partial fraction and its variance as well.) Dene Boundary Conditions... See Section 15.5: Dening Non-Premixed Boundary Conditions for guidelines on setting mixture fraction and variance conditions, as well as thermal and velocity conditions at inlets.
There are two ways to specify a premixed inlet boundary condition: (a) If you dened the fuel composition in the Boundary tab to be the premixed inlet species, then you should set f = 1 and c = 0 in the boundary conditions panel. (b) If you set the fuel composition to pure fuel in the Boundary tab, you will need to set the correct equivalence ratio (0 < f < 1) and c = 0 at your premixed inlet boundary condition.
For example, if the premixed inlet of methane and air is at an equivalence ratio of 0.3, you can (a) specify the mass fraction of the fuel composition of YCH4 = 0.017, YO2 = 0.236, and YN2 = 0.747 in the Boundary tab and f = 1 and c = 0 in the boundary conditions panel. (b) specify the mass fraction of the fuel composition of YCH4 = 1.0 in the Boundary tab and f = 0.017 and c = 0 in the boundary conditions panel. Method (a) is preferred since it will have more points in the ame zone than method (b). 6. Initialize the value of the progress variable. Solve Initialize Patch... See Section 16.3.6: Initializing the Progress Variable for details. 7. Solve the problem and perform postprocessing. See Section 15.8.4: Solving the Flow Problem for guidelines about setting solution parameters. (These guidelines are for non-premixed combustion calculations, but they are relevant for partially premixed as well.)
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17.3.2
Modifying the Unburnt Mixture Property Polynomials
After building the PDF table FLUENT automatically calculates the temperature, density, heat capacity, and thermal diusivity of the unburnt mixture as polynomial functions of the mean mixture fraction, f (see Equation 17.2-3). The laminar ame speed is automatically calculated as a piecewise-linear polynomial function of f . However, as outlined in Section 17.2: Theory, the laminar ame speed depends on details of the chemical kinetics and molecular transport properties, and is not calculated directly. Instead, curve ts are made to ame speeds determined from detailed simulations [117]. These ts are limited to a range of fuels (H2 , CH4 , C2 H2 , C2 H4 , C2 H6 , and C3 H8 ), air as the oxidizer, equivalence ratios of the lean limit through unity, unburnt temperatures from 298 K to 800 K, and pressures from 1 bar to 40 bars. If your parameters fall outside this range, FLUENT will warn you when it computes the look-up table. In this case, you will need to modify the piecewise-linear points in the Premix tab of the Species Model panel (Figure 17.3.1) before you save the PDF le.
Figure 17.3.1: The Species Model Panel (Premix Tab)
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17.3 Using the Partially Premixed Combustion Model
For each polynomial function of f under Partially Premixed Mixture Properties (Unburnt Density, Unburnt Temperature, Unburnt Specic Heat, and Unburnt Thermal Diusivity), you can specify values for Coecient 1, Coecient 2, Coecient 3, and Coecient 4 (the polynomial coecients in Equation 17.2-3) in the appropriate Quadratic of Mixture Fraction panel (Figure 17.3.2). To open this panel, click the appropriate Edit... button in the Premix tab.
Figure 17.3.2: The Quadratic of Mixture Fraction Panel
You can also specify the piecewise-linear Mixture Fraction and its corresponding laminar Flame Speed for 10 dierent points in the Piecewise Linear panel (Figure 17.3.3). The rst set of values is the lower limit and the last set of values is the upper limit. Outside of either limit, the laminar ame speed is constant and equal to that limit. To open this panel, click the Edit... button next to Laminar Flame Speed in the Premix tab.
Note also that if you choose to use a user-dened function for the laminar ame speed in the Materials panel, the piecewise-linear t becomes irrelevant.
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Figure 17.3.3: The Piecewise Linear Panel
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Chapter 18.
The Composition PDF Transport Model
FLUENT provides a composition PDF transport model for modeling nite-rate chemistry in turbulent ames. Information about this model is presented in the following sections: Section 18.1: Overview and Limitations Section 18.2: Composition PDF Transport Theory Section 18.3: Using the Composition PDF Transport Model
18.1
The composition PDF transport model, like the EDC model (see Section 14.1.1: The Eddy-Dissipation-Concept (EDC) Model), should be used when you are interested in simulating nite-rate chemical kinetic eects in turbulent reacting ows. With an appropriate chemical mechanism, kinetically-controlled species such as CO and NOx , as well as ame extinction and ignition, can be predicted. PDF transport simulations are computationally expensive, and it is recommended that you start your modeling with small grids, and preferably in 2D. A limitation that applies to the composition PDF transport model is that you must use the segregated solver. The composition PDF transport model is not available with either of the coupled solvers.
18.2
Composition PDF Transport Theory
Turbulent combustion is governed by the reacting Navier-Stokes equations. While this equation set is accurate, its direct solution (where all turbulent scales are resolved) is far too expensive for practical turbulent ows. In Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry, the species equations are Reynolds-averaged, which leads to unknown terms for the turbulent scalar ux and the mean reaction rate. The turbulent scalar ux is modeled by gradient diusion, treating turbulent convection as enhanced diusion. The mean reaction rate is modeled by the nite-rate, eddy-dissipation, or EDC models. Since the reaction rate is invariably highly non-linear, modeling the mean reaction rate in a turbulent ow is dicult and prone to error. An alternative to Reynolds-averaging the species and energy equations is to derive a transport equation for their single-point, joint probability density function (PDF). This PDF, denoted by P , can be considered to be proportional to the fraction of the time that
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the uid spends at each species and temperature state. P has N + 1 dimensions for the N species and temperature spaces. From the PDF, any thermochemical moment (e.g., mean or RMS temperature, mean reaction rate) can be calculated. The composition PDF transport equation is derived from the Navier-Stokes equations as [266]:
1 Ji,k (P ) + (ui P ) + (Sk P ) = ui | P + P t xi k xi k xi (18.2-1) where P ui Sk ui Ji,k = Favre joint PDF of composition = mean uid density = Favre mean uid velocity vector = reaction rate for species k = composition space vector = uid velocity uctuation vector = molecular diusion ux vector
The notation of . . . denotes expectations, and A|B is the conditional probability of event A, given the event B occurs. In Equation 18.2-1, the terms on the left-hand side are closed, while those on the righthand side are not and require modeling. The rst term on the left-hand side is the unsteady rate of change of the PDF, the second term is the change of the PDF due to convection by the mean velocity eld, and the third term is the change due to chemical reactions. The principal strength of the PDF transport approach is that the highly-nonlinear reaction term is completely closed and requires no modeling. The two terms on the right-hand side represent the PDF change due to scalar convection by turbulence (turbulent scalar ux), and molecular mixing/diusion, respectively. The turbulent scalar ux term is unclosed, and is modeled in FLUENT by the gradientdiusion assumption ui | P = xi xi t P Sct xi
(18.2-2)
where t is the turbulent viscosity and Sct is the turbulent Schmidt number. A turbulence model, as described in Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence, is required for composition PDF transport simulations, and this determines t .
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18.2 Composition PDF Transport Theory
Since single-point PDFs are described, information about neighboring points is missing and all gradient terms, such as molecular mixing, are unclosed and must be modeled. The mixing model is critical because combustion occurs at the smallest molecular scales when reactants and heat diuse together. Modeling mixing in PDF methods is not straightforward, and is the weakest link in the PDF transport approach. See Section 18.2.3: Particle Mixing for a description of the mixing models.
18.2.1
Solution of the PDF Transport Equation
The PDF has N + 1 dimensions and the solution of its transport equation by conventional nite-dierence or nite-volume schemes is not tractable. Instead, a Monte Carlo method is used, which is ideal for high-dimensional equations since the computational cost increases just linearly with the number of dimensions. The disadvantage is that statistical errors are introduced, and these must be carefully controlled. To solve the modeled PDF transport equation, an analogy is made with a stochastic dierential equation (SDE) which has identical solutions. The Monte Carlo algorithm involves notional particles which move randomly through physical space due to particle convection, and also through composition space due to molecular mixing and reaction. The particles have mass and, on average, the sum of the particle masses in a cell equals the cell mass (cell density times cell volume). Since practical grids have large changes in cell volumes, the particle masses are adjusted so that the number of particles in a cell is controlled to be approximately constant and uniform. The processes of convection, diusion, and reaction are treated in fractional steps as described below. For information on the fractional step method, refer to [44].
18.2.2
Particle Convection
A spatially second-order-accurate Lagrangian method is used in FLUENT, consisting of two steps. At the rst convection step, particles are advanced to a new position xi where xi = ui = t = particle position vector Favre mean uid-velocity vector at the particle position particle time step
1/2
1 = x0 + u0 t i 2 i
(18.2-3)
For unsteady ows, the particle time step is the physical time step. For steady-state ows, local time steps are calculated for each cell as t = min(tconv , tdi , tmix ) (18.2-4)
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where tconv tdi tmix x = = = = convection number x / (cell uid velocity) diusion number (x)2 / (cell turbulent diusivity) mixing number turbulent time scale characteristic cell length = volume1/D where D is the problem dimension
After the rst convection step, all other sub-processes, including diusion and reaction are treated. Finally, the second convection step is calculated as x1 = xi i where ui t Sct i = = = = = mean cell uid density mean uid-velocity vector at the particle position turbulent viscosity turbulent Schmidt number standardized normal random vector
1/2 1/2
+ t ui
1 1 t 2t u0 + + i i 2 Sct xi tSct
(18.2-5)
18.2.3
Particle Mixing
Molecular mixing of species and heat must be modeled and is usually the source of the largest modeling error in the PDF transport approach. FLUENT provides three models for molecular diusion: the Modied Curl model [146, 244], the IEM model (which is sometimes called the LSME model) [77] and the EMST model [335].
The Modied Curl Model

For the Modied Curl model, a few particle pairs are selected at random from all the particles in a cell, and their individual compositions are moved toward their mean composition. For the special case of equal particle mass, the number of particle pairs selected is calculated as Npair = where N C t = total number of particles in the cell = mixing constant (default = 2) = turbulent time scale (for the k- model this is k/ ) 1.5C N t t (18.2-6)
The algorithm in [244] is used for the general case of variable particle mass.
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For each particle pair, a uniform random number is selected and each particles composition is moved toward the pairs mean composition by a factor proportional to :
(0 mi + 0 mj ) i j (mi + mj ) (0 mi + 0 mj ) j 1 = (1 )0 + i j j (mi + mj ) 1 = (1 )0 + i i
(18.2-7)
where i and j are the composition vectors of particles i and j, and mi and mj are the masses of particles i and j.
The IEM Model

For the Interaction by Exchange with the Mean (IEM) model, the composition of all particles in a cell are moved a small distance toward the mean composition: 1 = 0 1 e0.5C /t 0 (18.2-8)
where 0 is the composition before mixing, 1 is the composition after mixing and is the Favre mean-composition vector at the particles location.
The EMST Model

Physically, mixing occurs between uid particles that are adjacent to each other. The Modied Curl and IEM mixing models take no account of this localness, which can be a source of error. The Euclidean Minimum Spanning Tree (EMST) model mixes particle pairs that are close to each other in composition space. Since scalar elds are locally smooth, particles that are close in composition space are likely to be close in physical space. The particle pairing is determined by a Euclidean Minimum Spanning Tree, which is the minimum length of the set of edges connecting one particle to at least one other particle. The EMST mixing model is more accurate than the Modied Curl and IEM mixing models, but incurs a slightly greater computationally expensive. Details on the EMST model can be found in [335].
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18.2.4
Particle Reaction
The particle composition vector is represented as = (Y1 , Y2 , . . . , YN , T, p) (18.2-9)
where Yk is the kth species mass fraction, T is the temperature and p the pressure. For the reaction fractional step, the reaction source term is integrated as 1 = 0 +
0 t
Sdt
(18.2-10)
where S is the chemical source term. Most realistic chemical mechanisms consist of tens of species and hundreds of reactions. Typically, reaction does not occur until an ignition temperature is reached, but then proceeds very quickly until reactants are consumed. Hence, some reactions have very fast time scales, on the order of 1010 s, while others have much slower time scales, on the order of 1 s. This time-scale disparity results in numerical stiness, which means that extensive computational work is required to integrate the chemical source term in Equation 18.2-10. In FLUENT, the reaction step (i.e., the calculation of 1 ) can be performed either by Direct Integration or by In-Situ Adaptive Tabulation (ISAT), as described in the following paragraphs. A typical steady-state PDF transport simulation in FLUENT may have 50000 cells, with 20 particles per cell, and require 1000 iterations to converge. Hence, at least 109 sti ODE integrations are required. Since each integration typically takes tens or hundreds of milliseconds, on average, the direct integration of the chemistry is extremely CPUdemanding. For a given reaction mechanism, Equation 18.2-10 may be considered as a mapping. With an initial composition vector 0 , the nal state 1 depends only on 0 and the mapping time t. In theory, if a table could be built before the simulation, covering all realizable 0 states and time steps, the integrations could be avoided by table look-ups. In practice, this a priori tabulation is not feasible since a full table in N + 3 dimensions (N species, temperature, pressure and time-step) is required. To illustrate this, consider a structured table with M points in each dimension. The required table size is M N +3 , and for a conservative estimate of M = 10 discretization points and N = 7 species, the table would contain 1010 entries. On closer examination, the full storage of the entire realizable space is very wasteful because most regions are never accessed. For example, it would be unrealistic to nd a composition of YOH = 1 and T = 300K in a real combustor. In fact, for steady-state, 3D laminar simulations, the chemistry can be parameterized by the spatial position vector. Thus, mappings must lie on a three dimensional manifold within the N + 3 dimensional composition space. It is, hence, sucient to tabulate only this accessed region of the composition space.
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The accessed region, however, depends on the particular chemical mechanism, molecular transport properties, ow geometry, and boundary conditions. For this reason, the accessed region is not known before the simulation and the table cannot be preprocessed. Instead, the table must be built during the simulation, and this is referred to as in-situ tabulation. FLUENT employs ISAT [267] to dynamically tabulate the chemistry mappings and accelerate the time to solution. ISAT (In-Situ Adaptive Tabulation) is a method to tabulate the accessed composition space region on-the-y (in-situ) with error control (adaptive tabulation). When ISAT is used correctly, accelerations of two to three orders of magnitude are typical. However, it is important to understand how ISAT works to use it optimally.
18.2.5
The ISAT Algorithm
ISAT is a powerful tool that enables realistic chemistry to be incorporated in multidimensional ow simulations by accelerating the chemistry calculations. Typical speedups of 100-fold are common. This power is apparent if one considers that with a 100-fold speed-up, a simulation that would take three months without ISAT can be run in one day. At the start of a FLUENT simulation using ISAT, the ISAT table is empty. For the rst reaction step, Equation 18.2-10 is integrated with a sti ODE solver. This is called Direct Integration (DI). The rst table entry is created and consists of: The initial composition 0 The mapping 1 The mapping gradient matrix A = 1 /0 A hyper-ellipsoid of accuracy The next reaction mapping is calculated as follows: The initial composition vector for this particle is denoted 0 , where the subscript q denotes a query. The existing table q (consisting of one entry at this stage) is queried by interpolating the new mapping as 1 = 1 + A(0 0 ) q q (18.2-11)
The mapping gradient is hence used to linearly interpolate the table when queried. The ellipsoid of accuracy (EOA) is the elliptical space around the table point 0 where the linear approximation to the mapping is accurate to the specied tolerance, tol . If the query point 1 is within the EOA, then the linear interpolation by Equation 18.2-11 q is suciently accurate, and the mapping is retrieved. Otherwise, a direct integration (DI)
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The Composition PDF Transport Model is performed and the mapping error = |B(1 1 )| is calculated (here, B is a scaling DI q matrix). If this error is smaller than the specied error tolerance ( < tol ), then the original interpolation 1 is accurate and the EOA is grown so as to include 0 . If not, a q q new table entry is added. Table entries are stored as leaves in a binary tree. When a new table entry is added, the original leaf becomes a node with two leavesthe original leaf and the new entry. A cutting hyper-plane is created at the new node, so that the two leaves are on either side of this cutting plane. A composition vector 0 will hence lie on either side of this q hyper-plane. The ISAT algorithm is summarized as follows: 1. The ISAT table is queried for every composition vector during the reaction step. 2. For each query 0 the table is traversed to identify a leaf whose composition 0 is q close to 0 . q 3. If the query composition 0 lies within the EOA of the leaf, then the mapping 1 q q is retrieved using interpolation by Equation 18.2-11. Otherwise, Direct Integration (DI) is performed and the error between the DI and the linear interpolation is measured. 4. If the error is less than the tolerance, then the ellipsoid of accuracy is grown and the DI result is returned. Otherwise, a new table entry is added. At the start of the simulation, most operations are adds and grows. Later, as more of the composition space is tabulated, retrieves become frequent. Since adds and grows are very slow whereas retrieves are relatively quick, initial FLUENT iterations are slow but accelerate as the table is built.
18.3
Using the Composition PDF Transport Model
The procedure for setting up and solving a composition PDF transport problem is outlined below, and then described in detail. Remember that only steps that are pertinent to composition PDF transport modeling are shown here. For information about inputs related to other models that you are using in conjunction with the composition PDF transport model, see the appropriate sections for those models. 1. Read a CHEMKIN-formatted gas-phase mechanism le and the associated thermodynamic data le in the CHEMKIN Mechanism panel (see Section 14.1.9: Importing a Volumetric Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format). File Import CHEMKIN Mechanism...
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18.3 Using the Composition PDF Transport Model
If your chemical mechanism is not in CHEMKIN format, you will have to enter the mechanism into FLUENT as described in Section 14.1.2: Overview of User Inputs for Modeling Species Transport and Reactions.
2. Enable a turbulence model. Dene Models Viscous... 3. Enable the PDF transport model and set the related parameters. Dene Models Species... 4. Check the material properties in the Materials panel and the reaction parameters in the Reactions panel. The default settings should be sucient. Dene Materials... 5. Set the operating conditions and boundary conditions. Dene Operating Conditions... Dene Boundary Conditions... 6. Check the solver settings. Solve Controls Solution... The default settings should be sucient, although it is recommended to change the discretization to second-order once the solution has converged. 7. Initialize the solution. You may need to patch a high-temperature region to ignite the ame. Solve Initialize Initialize... Solve Initialize Patch... 8. Set up solution monitors. Solve Iterate... 9. Solve the problem and perform postprocessing.
A good initial condition can reduce the solution time substantially. It is recommended to start from an existing solution calculated using the EDC model, non-premixed combustion model, or partially premixed combus- This protion model. See Chapters 14, 15, and 17 for further information on such simulations. cedure is demonstrated in the PDF transport tutorial, which is available at the Fluent User Services Center (www.fluentusers.com).
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18.3.1
Enabling the Composition PDF Transport Model
To enable the composition PDF transport model, select Composition PDF Transport in the Species Model panel (Figure 18.3.1). Dene Models Species...
Figure 18.3.1: The Species Model Panel for Composition PDF Transport
When you turn on Composition PDF Transport, the panel will expand to show the relevant inputs.
18.3.2 Setting Integration Parameters

Under Reactions in the Species Model panel, enable Volumetric. Click on the Integration Parameters button to open the Integration Parameters panel (Figure 18.3.2). The sti ODE integrator has two error tolerancesthe Absolute Error Tolerance and the Relative Error Tolerance under ODE parametersthat are set to default values of 108 and 109 respectively. These should be sucient for most applications, although these tolerances may need to be decreased for some cases such as ignition. For problems in which the accuracy of the chemistry integrations is crucial, it may be useful to test the accuracy of the error tolerances in simple zero-dimensional and one-dimensional test simulations with parameters comparable to those in the full simulation.
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Figure 18.3.2: The Integration Parameters Panel
ISAT Parameters
If you have selected ISAT under Integration Options, you will then be able to set additional ISAT parameters. The numerical error in the ISAT table is controlled by the ISAT Error Tolerance under ISAT parameters. It may help to increase this during the initial transient solution. A larger error tolerance implies larger EOAs, greater error, but smaller tables and quicker run times. The default ISAT Error Tolerance of 0.001 may be suciently accurate for temperature and certain major species, but will most likely need to be decreased to get accurate minor species and pollutant predictions.
After your simulation is converged, you should always decrease the ISAT Error Tolerance and perform further iterations until the species that you are interested in are unchanged.
The Max. Storage is the maximum RAM used by the ISAT table, and has a default value is 100 MB. It is recommended that you set this parameter to a large fraction of the available memory on your computer.
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You can also specify the Number of Trees and the Verbosity. The Number of Trees is the number of sub-tables within the ISAT table. For simulations with a large number of species, ISAT eciency may be improved by increasing the number of trees from the default value of 1. The value of Verbosity allows you to monitor ISAT performance in dierent levels of detail. See Section 18.3.7: Monitoring ISAT for details about this parameter. To purge the ISAT table, click on Clear ISAT Table. See Section 18.3.8: Ecient Use of ISAT for more details about using ISAT eciently.
18.3.3
Enabling KINetics from Reaction Design
For the Composition PDF Transport model, enabling the KINetics from Reaction Design option will allow you to use reaction rates from Reaction Designs KINetics module, instead of the default FLUENT reaction rates. FLUENTs ISAT algorithm is employed to integrate these rates. Please refer to the KINetics for Fluent manual [2] from Reaction Design for details on the chemistry formulation options. For more information, or to obtain a license to the Fluent/KINetics module, please contact Reaction Design at info@reactiondesign.com or +1 858-550-1920, or go to http://www.reactiondesign.com.
18.3.4
Selecting the Particle Mixing Model
In the Species Model panel, select Modied Curl, IEM, or EMST under Mixing Model and specify the value of Cphi (C in Equation 18.2-6). For more information about particle diusion, see Section 18.2.3: Particle Mixing.
18.3.5
Dening the Solution Parameters
After you have dened the rest of the problem, you will need to specify solution parameters that are specic to the composition PDF transport model in the Solution Controls panel (Figure 18.3.3). Solve Controls Solution... Under PDF Transport Parameters, you can specify the following: Particles Per Cell sets the number of PDF particles per cell. Higher values of this parameter will reduce statistical error, but increase computational time. Local Time Stepping toggles the calculation of local time steps. If this option is disabled, then you will need to specify the Time Step directly (see Equation 18.2-4).
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Figure 18.3.3: The Solution Controls Panel for Composition PDF Transport
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If Local Time Stepping is enabled, then you can specify the following parameters: Convection # species the particle convection number (see tconv in Equation 18.2-4). Diusion # species the particle diusion number (see tdi in Equation 18.2-4). Mixing # species the particle mixing number (see tmix in Equation 18.2-4).
18.3.6
Monitoring the Solution
At low speeds, combustion couples to the uid ow through density. The Monte Carlo PDF transport algorithm has random uctuations in the density eld, which in turn causes uctuations in the ow eld. For steady-state ows, statistical uctuations are decreased by averaging over a number of previous iterations in the Iterate panel (Figure 18.3.4).
Figure 18.3.4: The Iterate Panel for Composition PDF Transport
Averaging reduces statistical uctuations and stabilizes the solution. However, FLUENT often indicates convergence of the ow eld before the composition elds (temperatures and species) are converged. You should lower the default convergence criteria in the Residual Monitors panel, and always check that the Total Heat Transfer Rate in the Flux Reports panel is balanced. It is also recommended that you monitor temperature/species on outlet boundaries and ensure that these are steady. By default FLUENT performs one nite-volume iteration and then one PDF transport particle step. This should be optimal for most cases; however, control is provided to
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perform multiple nite-volume iterations (Number of FV Sub-Iterations) and multiple PDF transport particle steps (Number of PDF Sub-Iterations). By increasing the Iterations in Time Average, uctuations are smoothed out and residuals level o at smaller values. However, the composition PDF method requires a larger number of iterations to reach steady-state. It is recommended that you use the default of 50 Iterations in Time Average until the steady-state solution is obtained. Then, to gradually decrease the residuals, increase the Iterations in Time Average by setting a Time Average Increment to a value from 0 to 1 (the value 0.2 is recommended). Subsequent iterations will increase the Iterations in Time Average by the Time Average Increment.
18.3.7
Monitoring ISAT
You can monitor ISAT performance by setting the Verbosity in the ISAT Parameters panel. For a Verbosity of 1 or 2, FLUENT writes the following information periodically to a le named isat stats.dat: Total number of queries Total number of queries resulting in retrieves Total number of queries resulting in grows Total number of queries resulting in adds Total number of queries resulting in direct integrations Cumulative CPU seconds in ISAT Cumulative CPU seconds outside ISAT Cumulative wall-clock time in seconds (i.e., total CPU time in ISAT plus total CPU time out of ISAT plus CPU idle time)
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The ISAT Verbosity option of 2 is for expert users who are familiar with ISATAB v3.0 [268]. FLUENT writes out the following les for Verbosity = 2: tablename stats.out, as described above tablename ODE accuracy.out reports the accuracy of the ODE integrations. For every new ISAT table entry, if the maximum absolute error in temperature or species is greater than any previous error, a line is written to this le. This line consists of the total number of ODE integrations performed up to this time, the maximum absolute species error, the absolute temperature error, the initial temperature and the time step tablename ODE diagnostic.out prints diagnostics from the ODE solver tablename ODE warning.out prints warnings from the ODE solver Initially, the table name is equal by default to the current case name, and is changed as the table is written or read. In parallel, each processor builds its own ISAT table. If Verbosity is enabled in parallel, each compute node writes out the Verbosity le(s) with the node ID number appended to the le name.
18.3.8
Efcient Use of ISAT
Ecient use of ISAT requires thoughtful control. What follows are some detailed recommendations concerning the achievement of this goal.
The numerical error in the ISAT table is controlled by the ISAT Error Tolerance, which has a default value of 0.001. This value is relatively large, which allows faster convergence times. However, once the solution has converged, it is important to reduce this ISAT Error Tolerance and re-converge. This process should be repeated until the species that you are interested in modeling are unchanged. Note that as the error tolerance is decreased, the memory and time requirements to build the ISAT table will increase substantially. There is a large performance penalty in specifying an error tolerance smaller than is needed to achieve acceptable accuracy, and the error tolerance should be decreased gradually and judiciously. Once the ISAT table is full, all queries that cannot be retrieved are directly integrated. Since retrieves are much quicker than direct integrations, larger ISAT tables are faster. Hence, you should set the ISAT Max. Storage to a large fraction of the available memory on your computer.
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During the initial iterations, before a steady-state solution is attained, transient composition states occur that are not present in the steady-state solution. For example, you might patch a high temperature region in a cold fuel-air mixing zone to ignite the ame, whereas the converged solution never has hot reactants without products. Since all states that are realized in the simulation are tabulated in ISAT, these initial mappings are wasteful of memory, and can degrade ISAT performance. If the table lls the allocated memory and contains entries from an initial transient that are no longer accessed, it may be benecial to purge the ISAT table. This is achieved by either clearing it in the Integration Parameters panel, or saving your case and data les, exiting FLUENT, then restarting FLUENT and reading in the case and data. The optimum ISAT table is achieved when a new table is started from the converged FLUENT solution. If you are simulating a range of parametric cases where the ame changes gradually, it is likely benecial to create such an optimum table for the rst case, and then save it. File Write ISAT Table... Subsequent runs can start from this table by reading it into memory. File Read ISAT Table... See Section 18.3.9: Reading and Writing ISAT Tables in Parallel for information about reading and writing ISAT tables in parallel. ISAT eciency may be increased by employing multiple tables (also called trees). Increasing the number of trees has the eect of decreasing the table size and hence the time needed to build the table, but increasing the retrieve time. Hence, for long simulations with simple chemistry, a small number of tables may be optimal. On the other hand, for short simulations with complex chemistry, computers with limited memory, or simulations with a small ISAT error tolerance, a large number of trees is likely optimal since most of the CPU time is spent building the table. From experience, ISAT performs very well on premixed turbulent ames, where the range of composition states are smaller than in non-premixed ames. ISAT performance degrades in ames with large time-scales, where more work is required in the ODE integrator.
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18.3.9
Reading and Writing ISAT Tables in Parallel
When FLUENT is run in parallel, each partition builds its own ISAT table and does not exchange information with ISAT tables on other compute nodes. You can save the ISAT tables on all compute nodes: File Write ISAT Table... Each compute node writes out its ISAT table to the specied le name, with the node ID number appended to the le name. For example, a specied le name of my name on a two compute node run will write two les called my name-0.isat and my name-1.isat. Subsequent runs can start from existing ISAT tables by reading them into memory. File Read ISAT Table... Files can be read in two ways: Parallel nodes can read in corresponding ISAT tables saved from a previous parallel simulation. The appended node ID should be removed from the input le name. For the above example, the le name my name should be specied in the Select File dialog box. You should never read ISAT tables generated from a parallel simulation with a dierent number of parallel nodes. All nodes can read one unique ISAT table. You might use this approach if you have a large table from a serial simulation. FLUENT rst checks to see if the exact lename that you specied exists, and if it does, all nodes will read this one le.
18.3.10
Unsteady Composition PDF Transport Simulations
For unsteady composition PDF transport simulations, a fractional step scheme is employed where the PDF particles are advanced over the time step, and then the ow is advanced over the time step. Unlike steady-state simulations, composition statistics are not averaged over iterations, and to reduce statistical error you should increase the number of particles per cell in the Solution Monitors panel. For low speed ows, the thermochemistry couples to the ow through density. Statistical errors in the calculation of density may cause convergence diculties between time step iterations. If you experience this, increase the number of PDF particles per cell, or decrease the density under-relaxation.
18.3.11
Compressible Composition PDF Transport Simulations
Compressibility is included when ideal-gas is selected as the density method in the Materials panel. For such ows, particle internal energy is increased by pv over the time step t, where p is the cell pressure and v is the change in the particle specic volume over the time step.
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18.3.12
Composition PDF Transport Simulations with Conjugate Heat Transfer
When solid zones are present in the simulation, FLUENT solves the energy equation in the turbulent ow zones by the Monte Carlo particle method, and the energy equation in the solid zones by the nite-volume method.
18.3.13 Postprocessing for Composition PDF Transport Calculations Reporting Options

FLUENT provides several reporting options for composition PDF transport calculations. You can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following items: Static Temperature Mean Static Temperature RMS Static Temperature Mass fraction of species-n Mean species-n Mass Fraction RMS species-n Mass Fraction The instantaneous temperature in a cell is calculated as
Nc i=1 Tp mp Nc i=1 mp
Tinstant = where Tinstant Nc Tp mp = = = =
(18.3-1)
instantaneous cell temperature at the present iteration number of particles in the cell particle temperature particle mass
Mean and root-mean-square (RMS) temperatures are calculated in FLUENT by averaging instantaneous temperatures over a user-specied number of previous iterations (see Section 18.3.6: Monitoring the Solution). Note that for steady-state simulations, instantaneous temperatures and species represent a Monte Carlo realization and are as such unphysical. Mean and RMS quantities are much more useful.
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Particle Tracking Options

When you have enabled the composition PDF transport model, you can display the trajectories of the PDF particles using the Particle Tracks panel (Figure 18.3.5). Display Particle Tracks...
Figure 18.3.5: The Particle Tracks Panel for Tracking PDF Particles
Select the Track PDF Transport Particles option to enable PDF particle tracking. To speed up the plotting process, you can specify a value n for Skip, which will plot only every nth particle. For details about setting other parameters in the Particle Tracks panel, see Section 23.12.1: Graphical Display of Trajectories. When you have nished setting parameters, click Display to display the particle trajectories in the graphics window.
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Chapter 19.
Engine Ignition Model
This chapter discusses the engine ignition models available in FLUENT in the following sections: Section 19.1: Spark Model Section 19.2: Autoignition Model
19.1
Spark Model
The spark model in FLUENT will be described in the context of the premixed turbulent combustion model. Information regarding the theory and use of this model is detailed in the following sections: Section 19.1.1: Overview and Limitations Section 19.1.2: Spark Model Theory Section 19.1.3: Using the Spark Model
19.1.1
Initiation of combustion at a desired time and location in a combustion chamber can be accomplished by sending a high voltage across two narrowly separated wires, creating a spark. The spark event in typical engines happens very quickly relative to the main combustion in the engine. The physical description of this simple event is very involved and complex, making it dicult to accurately model the spark in the context of a multidimensional engine simulation. Additionally, the energy from the spark event is several orders of magnitude less than the chemical energy release from the fuel. Despite the amount of research devoted to spark ignition physics and ignition devices, the ignition of a mixture at a point in the domain is more dependent on the local composition than on the spark energy (see Heywood [130]). Thus, for situations in which FLUENT is utilized for combustion engine modeling, including internal combustion engines, the spark event does not need to be modeled in great detail, but simply as the initiation of combustion over a duration set by the user. Since spark ignition is inherently transient, the spark model is only available in the transient solver. Additionally, the spark model requires chemical reactions to be solved.
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The spark model is available for all of the combustion models, however, it may be most applicable to the premixed and partially premixed combustion models. The Spark Model used in FLUENT is based on a one-dimensional analysis by Lipatnikov [200]. The model is sensitive to perturbations and can be subject to instabilities when used in multi-dimensional simulations. The instabilities are inherent to the model and can be dependent on the mesh, especially near the beginning of the spark event when the model reduces diusion to simulate the initial laminar spark kernel growth. The instability is susceptible to numerical errors which are increased when the grid is not aligned with the ame propagation. As the spark kernel grows and the model allows turbulent mixing to occur, the eect of the instability decreases.
19.1.2
Spark Model Theory
The spark model in FLUENT is based on the work done by Lipatnikov [200] and extended to other combustion models. The derivation of the model can be done in the context of the Zimont premixed combustion model.
Zimont Premixed Flame Model

The transport equation for the mean reaction progress variable, c, is given by Equation 19.1-1 c + t (vc) = (Dt c) + u Ut | c| (19.1-1)
where Dt is the turbulent diusivity, u is the density of the unburned mixture and Ut is the turbulent ame speed. Since the spark is often very small compared to the grid size of the model and is often laminar in nature, the Zimont model is modied such that c + t (vc) = (( + Dtt ) c) + u Ut | c| (19.1-2)
where is the laminar thermal diusivity and the eective diusivity Dtt is given by Dt 1 exp Dt
ttd
Dtt =
if ttd 0 if ttd < 0
(19.1-3)
where is ttd = ttig and tig denotes the time at which the spark is initiated. Additionally, is an eective diusion time, set by the user.
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19.1 Spark Model
Only turbulent scales that are smaller than the spark radius can contribute to turbulent spark diusion, so the expression for the eective turbulent diusivity, Dtt , is ramped up as the spark grows. This creates higher temperatures at the location of the spark and can cause convergence diculties. In addition to convergence diculties, small changes in the diusion time can change the result signicantly. Because of these issues, the diusion time can be controlled by the user, and has a default value of 1e-5 seconds.
Other Combustion Models

The spark model is compatible with all combustion models in FLUENT. However, the premixed and partially premixed models dier in that the progress variable inside the spark region is set equal to 1, a burned state, for the duration of the spark event. Other combustion models have the energy input into the cell. If the temperature exceeds 2500 K or the spark duration is exceeded, no energy from the spark model will be added to the spark cells. The spark model can be used in models other than the premixed and partially premixed combustion models, however, the user must balance energy input and diusivity to produce a high enough temperature to initiate combustion, which can be a nontrivial undertaking. The models use has been extended to be compatible with the other models, however, in some cases it simply creates a high temperature region and does not guarantee the initiation of combustion.
19.1.3
Using the Spark Model
To activate the spark model 1. Enable the transient (unsteady) calculation in the Solver panel. 2. Select an appropriate reaction model in the species menu. Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction... 3. Select Species Transport under Model in the Species Model panel and turn on Volumetric under Reactions. 4. The species menu contains the Spark Ignition... model, which is now selectable. Select the Spark Ignition... model. This will open the Spark Ignition Model Panel. 5. Dene the spark model as either Fixed Spark Size or Time Varying Spark Radius. When the Fixed Spark Size is enabled, the panel expands to include the main spark model inputs (Figure 19.1.2). The shape of the spark can be spherical, cylindrical or hexahedral in three dimensional simulations, or circular or hexahedral in two dimensional simulations. Depending on the shape selected, appropriate inputs are highlighted or grayed out.
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Figure 19.1.1: The Spark Ignition Model Panel
Figure 19.1.2: The Expanded Spark Ignition Model Panel
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19.1 Spark Model
To dene a spherical spark, the shape parameters can be selected by clicking the Select Points With Mouse button at the bottom of the panel, and highlighting the center and radius of the spark kernel. The Energy input, Start Time, Duration, and Diusion Time are entered using the GUI.
When the in-cylinder model is turned on, the start time is entered in crank angle degrees instead of seconds as in Figure 19.1.2, however the spark duration is still in seconds.
The energy input is in Joules by default, however, you can redene the units as needed. The rate of energy input into the domain is constant so that the total energy will be evenly distributed over the duration that you set. The energy input in the spark model should result in an appropriate temperature rise in the cell that is high enough to initiate combustion. The energy input is only a model parameter and does not reect energy input in actual automotive ignition systems, which typically range between 50 and 150 millijoules. If the user selects the Time Varying Spark Radius option, the spark is assumed spherical and will grow from an initial radius, r0 , to a nal radius, rf , over the spark duration, with a cube root dependence on time so that the radius will grow faster at the beginning and more slowly near the end. This time dependent behavior is consistent with experimental ndings (see Heywood [130]). The Time Varying Spark Radius option is recommended as it has been found to be less sensitive to model parameters.
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19.2
Autoignition Model
Autoignition phenomena in engines are due to the eects of chemical kinetics of the reacting ow inside the cylinder. There are two types of autoignition models considered in FLUENT: Knock Model in spark-ignited (SI) engines Ignition Delay Model in diesel engines Autoignition models in FLUENT are described in the following sections.
19.2.1
Overview
The concept of knock has been studied extensively in the context of premixed engines, as it denes a limit in terms of eciency and power production of that type of engine. As the compression ratio increases, the eciency of the engine as a function of the work extracted from the fuel increases. However, as the compression ratio increases, the temperature and pressure of the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder also increase during the cycle compressions. The temperature and pressure increase can be large enough for the mixture to spontaneously ignite and release its heat before the spark plug res. The premature release of all of the energy in the air/fuel charge is almost never desirable, as this results in the spark event no longer controlling the combustion. As a result of the premature release of the energy, catastrophic damage to the engine components can occur. The sudden, sharp rise in pressure inside the engine can be heard clearly through the engine block as a knocking sound, hence the term knock. For commonly available gasoline pumps, knock usually limits the highest practical compression ratio to less than 11:1 for premium fuels and around 9:1 for less expensive fuels. By comparison, ignition delay in diesel engines has not been as extensively studied as SI engines, mainly because it does not have such a sharply dening impact on engine eciency. Ignition delay in diesel engines refers to the time between when the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber and when the pressure starts to increase as the fuel releases its energy. The fuel is injected into a gas which is usually air, however, it can have a considerable amount of exhaust gas mixed in (or EGR) to reduce Nitrogen Oxide emissions (NOx). Ignition delay depends on the composition of the gas in the cylinder, the temperature of the gas, the turbulence level, and other factors. Since ignition delay changes the combustion phasing, which in turn impacts eciency and emissions, it is important to account for it in a diesel engine simulation.
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19.2 Autoignition Model
Model Limitations
The main dierence between the knock model and the ignition delay model is the manner in which the model is coupled with the chemistry. The knock model always releases energy from the fuel while the ignition delay model prevents energy from being released prematurely. The knock model in FLUENT is compatible with the premixed and partially premixed combustion models. The autoignition model is compatible with any volumetric combustion model, with the exception of the purely premixed models. The autoignition models are inherently transient and so are not available with steady simulations. The autoignition models in general require adjustment of parameters to reproduce engine data and are likely to require tuning to improve accuracy. Once the model is calibrated to a particular engine conguration, then dierent engine speeds and loads can be reasonably well represented. Detailed chemical kinetics may be more applicable over a wider range of conditions, though are more expensive to solve. The single equation autoignition models are appropriate for the situation where geometric delity or resolution of particular ow details is more important than chemical eects on the simulation.
19.2.2
Ignition Model Theory
Both the knock and the ignition delay models are treated similarly in FLUENT, in that they share the same infrastructure. These models belong to the family of single equation autoignition models and use correlations to account for complex chemical kinetics. They dier from the eight step reaction models, such as Halsteads Shell model [212], in that only a single transport equation is solved. The source term in the transport equation is typically not sti, thus making the equation relatively inexpensive to solve. This approach is appropriate for large simulations where geometric accuracy is more important than fully resolved chemical kinetics. The model can be used on less resolved meshes to explore a range of designs quickly, and to obtain trends before utilizing more expensive and presumably more accurate chemical mechanisms in multidimensional simulations.
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Transport of Ignition Species

Autoignition is modeled using the transport equation for an Ignition Species, Yig , which is given by Yig + t (vYig ) = t Yig + Sig Sct (19.2-1)
where Yig is a mass fraction of a passive species representing radicals which form when the fuel in the domain breaks down. Sct is the turbulent Schmidt number. The term Sig is the source term for the ignition species which has a form
t
Sig =
t=t0
dt ig
where t0 corresponds to the time at which fuel is introduced into the domain. The ig term is a correlation of ignition delay with the units of time. Ignition has occurred when the ignition species reaches a value of 1 in the domain. It is assumed that all the radical species represented by Yig diuse at the same rate as the mean ow. Note that the source term for these radical species is treated dierently for knock and ignition delay. Furthermore, the form of the correlation of ignition delay diers between the two models. Details of how the source term is treated are covered in the following sections.
Knock Modeling
When modeling knock or ignition delay, chemical energy in the fuel is released when the ignition species reaches a value of 1 in the domain. For the knock model, two correlations are built into Fluent. One is given by Douaud [78], while the other is a generalized model which reproduces several correlations, given by Heywood [130]. Modeling of the Source Term In order to model knock in a physically realistic manner, the source term is accumulated under appropriate conditions in a cell. Consider the one dimensional ame in Figure 19.2.1. Here, the ame is propagating from left to right, and the temperature is relatively low in front of the ame and high behind the ame. In this gure, Tb and Tu represent the temperatures at the burnt and unburnt states, respectively. The ignition species accumulates only when there is fuel. In the premixed model, the fuel is dened as f uel = 1 c, where c is the progress variable. If the progress variable has a value of zero, the mixture is considered unburned. If the progress variable is 1, then the mixture is considered burned.
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T Tb
fuel = 0 Sig = 0 Tu
fuel > 0 Sig > 0

-
X Figure 19.2.1: Flame Front Showing Accumulation of Source Terms for the Knock Model
When the ignition species reaches a value of 1 in the domain, knock has occurred at that point. The value of the ignition species can exceed unity. In fact, values well above that can be obtained in a short time. The ignition species will continue to accumulate until there is no more fuel present. Correlations An extensively tested correlation for knock in SI engines is given by Douaud and Eyzat [78]: ON = 0.01768 100
3.402
p1.7 exp
3800 T
(19.2-2)
where ON is the octane number of the fuel, p is the absolute pressure in atmospheres and T is the temperature in Kelvin. A generalized expression for is also available which can reproduce many existing Arrhenius correlations. The form of the correlation is =A ON 100
a
pb T c RPMd d exp
Ea RT
(19.2-3)
where A is the pre-exponential (with units in seconds), RPM is the engine speed in cycles per minute and is the fuel/air equivalence ratio.
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Energy Release Once ignition has occurred in the domain, the knock event is modeled by releasing the remaining fuel energy with a single-step Arrhenius reaction. An additional source term, which burns the remaining fuel in that cell, is added to the rate term in the premixed model. The reaction rate is given by = A0 exp Ea RT (19.2-4)
where A0 = 8.6 109 , and Ea = 15078. These values are chosen to reect single-step reaction rates appropriate for propane as described in Amsden [8]. The rate at which the fuel is consumed is limited such that a completely unburned cell will burn during three of the current time steps. Limiting the reaction rate is done purely for numerical stability.
Ignition Delay Modeling

When modeling ignition delay in diesel engines, chemical reactions are allowed to occur when the ignition species reaches a value of 1 in the domain. For the ignition delay model, two correlations are built into Fluent, one given by Hardenburg and Hase [127] and the other, a generalized model which reproduces several Arrhenius correlations from the literature. If the ignition species is less than 1 when using the ignition delay model, the chemical source term is suppressed by not activating the combustion model at that particular time step; thus, the energy release is delayed. This approach is reasonable if the user has a good high-temperature chemical model, but does not wish to solve for typically expensive low temperature chemistry. Modeling of the Source Term In order to model ignition in a physically realistic manner, the source term is accumulated under appropriate conditions in a cell. Consider the one dimensional spray in Figure 19.2.2. Here, the spray is propagating from left to right and the fuel mass fraction is relatively low in front of the spray and high behind the spray. If there is no fuel in the cell, the model will set the local source term to zero, nevertheless, the value of Yig can be nonzero due to convection and diusion. Correlations If fuel is present in the cell, there are two built-in options in FLUENT to calculate the local source term. The rst correlation was done by Hardenburg and Hase and was developed at Daimler Chrysler for heavy duty diesel engines. The correlation works over a reasonably wide range of conditions and is given by
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Yf uel 6
fuel > 0 Sig > 0
fuel = 0 Sig = 0
-
X Figure 19.2.2: Propagating Fuel Cloud Showing Accumulation of Source Terms for the Ignition Delay Model
id =
C1 + 0.22S p 1 1 21.2 exp Ea + 6N RT 17, 190 p 12.4
ep
(19.2-5)
where id is in seconds, C1 is 0.36, N is engine speed in revolutions per minute, Ea is the eective activation energy and ep is the pressure exponent. The expression for the eective activation energy is given by Ea = Ehh CN + 25 (19.2-6)
where CN is the cetane number. The activation energy, Ehh , pre-exponential, C1 , pressure exponent, ep , and cetane number, CN , are accessible from the GUI. The default values of these variables are listed in the table below. Table 19.2.1: Default Values of the Variables in the Hardenburg Correlation Variable Ehh CN Default 618,840 25 C1 ep 0.36 0.63
The second correlation, which is the generalized correlation, is given by Equation 19.2-3 and is available for ignition delay calculations.
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Energy Release If the ignition species is greater than or equal to 1 anywhere in the domain, ignition has occurred and combustion is no longer delayed. The ignition species acts as a switch to turn on the volumetric reactions in the domain. Note that the ignition species mass fraction can exceed 1 in the domain, therefore, it is not truly a mass fraction, but rather a passive scalar which represents the integrated correlation as a function of time.
19.2.3
Using the Autoignition Models
To activate the autoignition model 1. Enable the transient (unsteady) calculation in the Solver panel. 2. Select an appropriate reaction model in the species menu. Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction... 3. The models in the Species Model panel that are compatible with the autoignition model are Species Transport, Premixed Combustion, Partially Premixed Combustion, and Composition PDF Transport. 4. The species menu contains the Autoignition... model, which is now selectable. Select the Autoignition... model. If Species Transport is selected in the Species Model panel, turn on Volumetric under Reactions. With this model selected, only the Ignition Delay Model can be turned on.
Figure 19.2.3: The Ignition Delay Model in the Autoignition Model Panel
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With the Premixed Combustion or Partially Premixed Combustion models selected, only the Knock Model can be turned on.
Figure 19.2.4: The Knock Model in the Autoignition Model Panel
5. When the Ignition Delay Model is enabled, the panel expands to include the modeling parameters for this model (Figure 19.2.5). The two correlation options that exist with this model are the Hardenburg and the Generalized. Depending on which correlation option is selected, the appropriate modeling parameters will appear in the panel.
Figure 19.2.5: The Ignition Delay Model Within the Autoignition Model Panel
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The Hardenburg option is typically used for heavy duty diesel engines. A Fuel Species is selected from the drop-down list and the Pre Exponential, Pressure Exponent, Activation Energy, and Cetane Number are entered using the GUI. Default values of these parameters can be found in Table 19.2.1. The Generalized option is described by Equation 19.2-3. Similarly to the Hardenburg option, a Fuel Species is selected from the drop-down list and the Pre Exponential, Temperature Exponent, Activation Energy, RPM Exponent, Pressure Exponent, Equivalence Ratio Exponent, Octane Number, and Octane Number Exponent are entered using the GUI. 6. When the Knock Model is enabled, the panel expands to include modeling parameters for this model (Figure 19.2.6). The two correlation options that exist with this model are the Douaud and the Generalized. Depending on which correlation option is selected, the appropriate modeling parameters will appear in the panel.
Figure 19.2.6: The Knock Model Within the Autoignition Model Panel
The Douaud option is used for knock in SI engines. The modeling parameters that are specied in the GUI for this option are the Pre Exponential, Pressure Exponent, Activation Temperature, Octane Number, and Octane Exponent (Equation 19.2-2). The Generalized option (Equation 19.2-3) in the knock model require the same parameters as in the ignition delay model.
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Chapter 20.
Modeling Pollutant Formation
This chapter discusses the models available in FLUENT for modeling pollutant formation. Information is presented in the following sections: Section 20.1: NOx Formation Section 20.2: Soot Formation
20.1
NOx Formation
The following sections present the theoretical background of NOx prediction and information about the usage of the NOx models employed by the solver. Section 20.1.1: Overview Section 20.1.2: Governing Equations for NOx Transport Section 20.1.3: Thermal NOx Formation Section 20.1.4: Prompt NOx Formation Section 20.1.5: Fuel NOx Formation Section 20.1.6: NOx Formation From Intermediate N2 O Section 20.1.7: NOx Reduction by Reburning Section 20.1.8: NOx Reduction by SNCR Section 20.1.9: NOx Formation in Turbulent Flows Section 20.1.10: Using the NOx Model
20-1
20.1.1
Overview
NOx emission consists of mostly nitric oxide (NO), and to a lesser degree nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ) and nitrous oxide (N2 O). NOx is a precursor for photochemical smog, contributes to acid rain, and causes ozone depletion. Thus, NOx is a pollutant. The FLUENT NOx model provides a tool to understand the sources of NOx production and to aid in the design of NOx control measures.
NOx Modeling in FLUENT

The FLUENT NOx model provides the capability to model thermal, prompt, and fuel NOx formation as well as NOx consumption due to reburning in combustion systems. It uses rate models developed at the Department of Fuel and Energy at The University of Leeds in England as well as from the open literature. NOx reduction using reagent injection, such as selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), can be modeled in FLUENT along with an N2 O intermediate model which has also been incorporated. To predict NOx emissions, FLUENT solves a transport equation for nitric oxide (NO) concentration. When fuel NOx sources are present, FLUENT solves additional transport equations for intermediate species (HCN and/or NH3 ). When the N2 O intermediate model is activated, an additional transport equation for N2 O will be solved. The NOx transport equations are solved based on a given ow eld and combustion solution. In other words, NOx is postprocessed from a combustion simulation. It is thus evident that an accurate combustion solution becomes a prerequisite of NOx prediction. For example, thermal NOx production doubles for every 90 K temperature increase when the ame temperature is about 2200 K. Great care must be exercised to provide accurate thermophysical data and boundary condition inputs for the combustion model. Appropriate turbulence, chemistry, radiation and other submodels must be employed. To be realistic, one can only expect results to be as accurate as the input data and the selected physical models. Under most circumstances, NOx variation trends can be accurately predicted but the NOx quantity itself cannot be pinpointed. Accurate prediction of NOx parametric trends can cut down on the number of laboratory tests, allow more design variations to be studied, shorten the design cycle, and reduce product development cost. That is truly the power of the FLUENT NOx model and, in fact, the power of CFD in general.
20-2
20.1 NOx Formation
The Formation and Reduction of NOx in Flames

In laminar ames, and at the molecular level within turbulent ames, the formation of NOx can be attributed to four distinct chemical kinetic processes: thermal NOx formation, prompt NOx formation, fuel NOx formation, and intermediate N2 O. Thermal NOx is formed by the oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen present in the combustion air. Prompt NOx is produced by high-speed reactions at the ame front, and fuel NOx is produced by oxidation of nitrogen contained in the fuel. At elevated pressures and oxygen-rich conditions, NOx may also be formed from molecular nitrogen (N2 ) via N2 O. The reburning and SNCR mechanisms reduce the total NOx formation by accounting for the reaction of NO with hydrocarbons and ammonia, respectively.
i
20.1.2
The NOx models cannot be used in conjunction with the premixed combustion model.
Governing Equations for NOx Transport
FLUENT solves the mass transport equation for the NO species, taking into account convection, diusion, production and consumption of NO and related species. This approach is completely general, being derived from the fundamental principle of mass conservation. The eect of residence time in NOx mechanisms, a Lagrangian reference frame concept, is included through the convection terms in the governing equations written in the Eulerian reference frame. For thermal and prompt NOx mechanisms, only the NO species transport equation is needed: (YNO ) + t (vYNO ) = (D YNO ) + SNO (20.1-1)
As discussed in Section 20.1.5: Fuel NOx Formation, the fuel NOx mechanisms are more involved. The tracking of nitrogen-containing intermediate species is important. FLUENT solves a transport equation for the HCN, NH3 or N2 O species in addition to the NO species: (YHCN ) + t (YNH3 ) + t (YN2 O ) + t (vYHCN ) = (vYNH3 ) = (vYN2 O ) = (DYHCN ) + SHCN (DYNH3 ) + SNH3 (DYN2 O ) + SN2 O (20.1-2)
(20.1-3)
(20.1-4)
where YHCN , YNH3 , YN2 O , and YNO are mass fractions of HCN, NH3 , N2 O, and NO in the gas phase. The source terms SHCN , SNH3 , SN2 O , and SNO are to be determined next for dierent NOx mechanisms.
20-3
20.1.3
Thermal NOx Formation
The formation of thermal NOx is determined by a set of highly temperature-dependent chemical reactions known as the extended Zeldovich mechanism. The principal reactions governing the formation of thermal NOx from molecular nitrogen are as follows:
O + N2 N + O2
N + NO O + NO
(20.1-5) (20.1-6)
A third reaction has been shown to contribute to the formation of thermal NOx , particularly at near-stoichiometric conditions and in fuel-rich mixtures: N + OH H + NO (20.1-7)
Thermal NOx Reaction Rates

The rate constants for these reactions have been measured in numerous experimental studies [32, 104, 232], and the data obtained from these studies have been critically evaluated by Baulch et al. [21] and Hanson and Salimian [126]. The expressions for the rate coecients for Equations 20.1-520.1-7 used in the NOx model are given below. These were selected based on the evaluation of Hanson and Salimian [126]. kf,1 kf,2 kf,3 = 1.8 108 e38370/T = 1.8 104 T e4680/T = 7.1 107 e450/T kr,1 kr,2 kr,3 = 3.8 107 e425/T = 3.81 103 T e20820/T = 1.7 108 e24560/T
In the above expressions, kf,1 , kf,2 , and kf,3 are the rate constants for the forward reactions 20.1-520.1-7, respectively, and kr,1 , kr,2 , and kr,3 are the corresponding reverse rate constants. All of these rate constants have units of m3 /gmol-s. The net rate of formation of NO via Reactions 20.1-520.1-7 is given by
d[NO] = kf,1 [O][N2 ] + kf,2 [N][O2 ] + kf,3 [N][OH] kr,1 [NO][N] kr,2 [NO][O] kr,3 [NO][H] dt (20.1-8) where all concentrations have units of gmol/m3 . To calculate the formation rates of NO and N, the concentrations of O, H, and OH are required.
20-4
20.1 NOx Formation
The Quasi-Steady Assumption for [N]

The rate of formation of NOx is signicant only at high temperatures (greater than 1800 K) because xation of nitrogen requires the breaking of the strong N2 triple bond (dissociation energy of 941 kJ/gmol). This eect is represented by the high activation energy of reaction 20.1-5, which makes it the rate-limiting step of the extended Zeldovich mechanism. However, the activation energy for oxidation of N atoms is small. When there is sucient oxygen, as in a fuel-lean ame, the rate of consumption of free nitrogen atoms becomes equal to the rate of its formation and therefore a quasi-steady state can be established. This assumption is valid for most combustion cases except in extremely fuel-rich combustion conditions. Hence the NO formation rate becomes
kr,1 kr,2 1 kf,1 [N2 ]k[NO] 2 ] d[NO] f,2 [O = 2kf,1 [O][N2 ] kr,1 [NO] dt 1 + kf,2 [O2 ]+kf,3 [OH]
2
(gmol/m3 -s)
(20.1-9)
Sensitivity of Thermal NOx to Temperature

From Equation 20.1-9 it is clear that the rate of formation of NO will increase with increasing oxygen concentration. It also appears that thermal NO formation should be highly dependent on temperature but independent of fuel type. In fact, based on the limiting rate described by kf,1 , the thermal NOx production rate doubles for every 90 K temperature increase beyond 2200 K.
Decoupling NOx and Flame Calculations

To solve Equation 20.1-9, concentration of O atoms and the free radical OH will be required in addition to concentration of stable species (i.e., O2 , N2 ). Following the suggestion by Zeldovich, the thermal NOx formation mechanism can be decoupled from the main combustion process, by assuming equilibrium values of temperature, stable species, O atoms, and OH radicals. However, radical concentrations, O atoms in particular, are observed to be more abundant than their equilibrium levels. The eect of partial equilibrium O atoms on NOx formation rate has been investigated [229] during laminar methane-air combustion. The results of these investigations indicate that the level of NOx emission can be underpredicted by as much as 28% in the ame zone, when assuming equilibrium O-atom concentrations.
Determining O Radical Concentration

There has been little detailed study of radical concentration in industrial turbulent ames, but work [81] has demonstrated the existence of this phenomenon in turbulent diusion ames. Presently, there is no denitive conclusion as to the eect of partial equilibrium on NOx formation rates in turbulent ames. Peters and Donnerhack [259] suggest that partial equilibrium radicals can account for no more than a 25% increase in thermal NOx
20-5
and that uid dynamics has the dominant eect on NOx formation rate. Bilger et al. [29] suggest that in turbulent diusion ames, the eect of O atom overshoot on the NOx formation rate is very important. To overcome this possible inaccuracy, one approach would be to couple the extended Zeldovich mechanism with a detailed hydrocarbon combustion mechanism involving many reactions, species, and steps. This approach has been used previously for research purposes [226]. However, long computer processing time has made the method economically unattractive and its extension to turbulent ows dicult. To determine the O radical concentration, FLUENT uses one of three approachesthe equilibrium approach, the partial equilibrium approach, and the predicted concentration approachin recognition of the ongoing controversy discussed above. Method 1: Equilibrium Approach The kinetics of the thermal NOx formation rate is much slower than the main hydrocarbon oxidation rate, and so most of the thermal NOx is formed after completion of combustion. Therefore, the thermal NOx formation process can often be decoupled from the main combustion reaction mechanism and the NOx formation rate can be calculated by assuming equilibration of the combustion reactions. Using this approach, the calculation of the thermal NOx formation rate is considerably simplied. The assumption of equilibrium can be justied by a reduction in the importance of radical overshoots at higher ame temperature [80]. According to Westenberg [376], the equilibrium O-atom concentration can be obtained from the expression [O] = kp [O2 ]1/2 With kp included, this expression becomes [O] = 3.97 105 T 1/2 [O2 ]1/2 e31090/T where T is in Kelvin. gmol/m3 (20.1-11) (20.1-10)
20-6
20.1 NOx Formation
Method 2: Partial Equilibrium Approach An improvement to method 1 can be made by accounting for third-body reactions in the O2 dissociation-recombination process: O2 + M O+O+M (20.1-12)
Equation 20.1-11 is then replaced by the following expression [365]: [O] = 36.64T 1/2 [O2 ]1/2 e27123/T gmol/m3 (20.1-13)
which generally leads to a higher partial O-atom concentration. Method 3: Predicted O Approach When the O-atom concentration is well-predicted using an advanced chemistry model (such as the amelet submodel of the non-premixed model), [O] can be taken simply from the local O-species mass fraction.
Determining OH Radical Concentration

FLUENT uses one of three approaches to determine the OH radical concentration: the exclusion of OH from the thermal NOx calculation approach, the partial equilibrium approach, and the use of the predicted OH concentration approach. Method 1: Exclusion of OH Approach In this approach, the third reaction in the extended Zeldovich mechanism (Equation 20.1-7) is assumed to be negligible through the following observation: k2 [O2 ]eq k3 [OH]eq
This assumption is justied for lean fuel conditions and is a reasonable assumption for most cases. Method 2: Partial Equilibrium Approach In this approach, the concentration of OH in the third reaction in the extended Zeldovich mechanism (Equation 20.1-7) is given by [22, 375] [OH] = 2.129 102 T 0.57 e4595/T [O]1/2 [H2 O]1/2 gmol/m3 (20.1-14)
20-7
Method 3: Predicted OH Approach As in the predicted O approach, when the OH radical concentration is well-predicted using an advanced chemistry model such as the amelet model, [OH] can be taken directly from the local OH species mass fraction.
Summary
To summarize, thermal NOx formation rate is predicted by Equation 20.1-9. The O-atom concentration needed in Equation 20.1-9 is computed using Equation 20.1-11 for the equilibrium assumption, using Equation 20.1-13 for a partial equilibrium assumption, or using the local O-species mass fraction. You will make the choice during problem setup. In terms of the transport equation for NO (Equation 20.1-1), the NO source term due to thermal NOx mechanisms is Sthermal,NO = Mw,NO d[NO] dt (20.1-15)
where Mw,NO is the molecular weight of NO (kg/gmol), and d[NO]/dt is computed from Equation 20.1-9.
20.1.4
Prompt NOx Formation
It is known that during combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, the NOx formation rate can exceed that produced from direct oxidation of nitrogen molecules (i.e., thermal NOx ).
Where and When Prompt NOx Occurs

The presence of a second mechanism leading to NOx formation was rst identied by Fenimore [94] and was termed prompt NOx . There is good evidence that prompt NOx can be formed in a signicant quantity in some combustion environments, such as in lowtemperature, fuel-rich conditions and where residence times are short. Surface burners, staged combustion systems, and gas turbines can create such conditions [15]. At present the prompt NOx contribution to total NOx from stationary combustors is small. However, as NOx emissions are reduced to very low levels by employing new strategies (burner design or furnace geometry modication), the relative importance of the prompt NOx can be expected to increase.
20-8
20.1 NOx Formation
Prompt NOx Mechanism

Prompt NOx is most prevalent in rich ames. The actual formation involves a complex series of reactions and many possible intermediate species. The route now accepted is as follows:
CH + N2 N + O2 HCN + OH CN + O2
HCN + N NO + O CN + H2 O NO + CO
(20.1-16) (20.1-17) (20.1-18) (20.1-19)
A number of species resulting from fuel fragmentation have been suggested as the source of prompt NOx in hydrocarbon ames (e.g., CH, CH2 , C, C2 H), but the major contribution is from CH (Equation 20.1-16) and CH2 , via CH2 + N2 HCN + NH (20.1-20)
The products of these reactions could lead to formation of amines and cyano compounds that subsequently react to form NO by reactions similar to those occurring in oxidation of fuel nitrogen, for example: HCN + N N2 + ... (20.1-21)
Factors of Prompt NOx Formation

Prompt NOx formation is proportional to the number of carbon atoms present per unit volume and is independent of the parent hydrocarbon identity. The quantity of HCN formed increases with the concentration of hydrocarbon radicals, which in turn increases with equivalence ratio. As the equivalence ratio increases, prompt NOx production increases at rst, then passes a peak, and nally decreases due to a deciency in oxygen.
Primary Reaction
Reaction 20.1-16 is of primary importance. In recent studies [296], comparison of probability density distributions for the location of the peak NOx with those obtained for the peak CH have shown close correspondence, indicating that the majority of the NOx at the ame base is prompt NOx formed by the CH reaction. Assuming that Reaction 20.1-16 controls the prompt NOx formation rate, d[NO] = k0 [CH][N2 ] dt (20.1-22)
20-9
Modeling Strategy
There are, however, uncertainties about the rate data for the above reaction. From Reactions 20.1-1620.1-20, it can be concluded that the prediction of prompt NOx formation within the ame requires coupling of the NOx kinetics to an actual hydrocarbon combustion mechanism. Hydrocarbon combustion mechanisms involve many steps and, as mentioned previously, are extremely complex and costly to compute. In the present NOx model, a global kinetic parameter derived by De Soete [322] is used. De Soete compared the experimental values of total NOx formation rate with the rate of formation calculated by numerical integration of the empirical overall reaction rates of NOx and N2 formation. He showed that overall prompt formation rate can be predicted from the expression
d[NO] = (overall prompt NOx formation rate) (overall prompt N2 formation rate) dt (20.1-23) In the early stages of the ame, where prompt NOx is formed under fuel-rich conditions, the O concentration is high and the N radical almost exclusively forms NOx rather than nitrogen. Therefore, the prompt NOx formation rate will be approximately equal to the overall prompt NOx formation rate: d[NO] = kpr [O2 ]a [N2 ][FUEL]eEa /RT dt For C2 H4 (ethylene)-air ames, kpr = 1.2 107 (RT /p)a+1 ; Ea = 251151 J/gmol (20.1-24)
where a is the oxygen reaction order, R is the universal gas constant, and p is pressure (all in SI units). The rate of prompt NOx formation is found to be of the rst order with respect to nitrogen and fuel concentration, but the oxygen reaction order, a, depends on experimental conditions.
20-10
20.1 NOx Formation
Rate for Most Hydrocarbon Fuels

Equation 20.1-24 was tested against the experimental data obtained by Backmier et al. [12] for dierent mixture strengths and fuel types. The predicted results indicated that the model performance declined signicantly under fuel-rich conditions and for higher hydrocarbon fuels. To reduce this error and predict the prompt NOx adequately in all conditions, the De Soete model was modied using the available experimental data. A correction factor, f , was developed, which incorporates the eect of fuel type, i.e., number of carbon atoms, and air-to-fuel ratio for gaseous aliphatic hydrocarbons. Equation 20.1-24 now becomes d[NO] = f kpr [O2 ]a [N2 ][FUEL]eEa /RT dt so that the source term due to prompt NOx mechanism is Sprompt,NO = Mw,NO In the above equations, f = 4.75 + 0.0819 n 23.2 + 322 12.23 kpr = 6.4 106 (RT /p)a+1 ; (20.1-27) d[NO] dt (20.1-26) (20.1-25)
Ea = 303474.125 J/gmol
n is the number of carbon atoms per molecule for the hydrocarbon fuel, and is the equivalence ratio. The correction factor is a curve t for experimental data, valid for aliphatic alkane hydrocarbon fuels (Cn H2n+2 ) and for equivalence ratios between 0.6 and 1.6. For values outside the range, the appropriate limit should be used. Values of kpr and Ea were developed at the Department of Fuel and Energy at The University of Leeds in England. Here the concept of equivalence ratio refers to an overall equivalence ratio for the ame, rather than any spatially varying quantity in the ow domain. In complex geometries with multiple burners this may lead to some uncertainty in the specication of . However, since the contribution of prompt NOx to the total NOx emission is often very small, results are not likely to be signicantly biased.
20-11
Oxygen Reaction Order

Oxygen reaction order depends on ame conditions. According to De Soete [322], oxygen reaction order is uniquely related to oxygen mole fraction in the ame:
1.0,
a=
XO2 4.1 103 3.95 0.9 ln XO2 , 4.1 103 XO2 1.11 102 0.35 0.1 ln XO2 , 1.11 102 < XO2 < 0.03 0, XO2 0.03
(20.1-28)
20.1.5
Fuel NOx Formation
Fuel-Bound Nitrogen
It is well known that nitrogen-containing organic compounds present in liquid or solid fossil fuel can contribute to the total NOx formed during the combustion process. This fuel nitrogen is a particularly important source of nitrogen oxide emissions for residual fuel oil and coal, which typically contain 0.32% nitrogen by weight. Studies have shown that most of the nitrogen in heavy fuel oils is in the form of heterocycles and it is thought that the nitrogen components of coal are similar [155]. It is believed that pyridine, quinoline, and amine type heterocyclic ring structures are of importance.
Reaction Pathways
The extent of conversion of fuel nitrogen to NOx is dependent on the local combustion characteristics and the initial concentration of nitrogen-bound compounds. Fuel-bound nitrogen-containing compounds are released into the gas phase when the fuel droplets or particles are heated during the devolatilization stage. From the thermal decomposition of these compounds, (aniline, pyridine, pyrroles, etc.) in the reaction zone, radicals such as HCN, NH3 , N, CN, and NH can be formed and converted to NOx . The above free radicals (i.e., secondary intermediate nitrogen compounds) are subject to a double competitive reaction path. This chemical mechanism has been subject to several detailed investigations [227]. Although the route leading to fuel NOx formation and destruction is still not completely understood, dierent investigators seem to agree on a simplied model:
NO
O
2 ion dat oxi
Fuel Nitrogen
Nitrogen Intermediates
red
NO
uct ion
N2
20-12
20.1 NOx Formation
Recent investigations [136] have shown that hydrogen cyanide appears to be the principal product if fuel nitrogen is present in aromatic or cyclic form. However, when fuel nitrogen is present in the form of aliphatic amines, ammonia becomes the principal product of fuel nitrogen conversion. In the FLUENT NOx model, sources of NOx emission for gaseous, liquid and coal fuels are considered separately. The nitrogen-containing intermediates are grouped as HCN, NH3 , or a combination of both. Transport equations (20.1-1 and 20.1-2 or 20.1-3) are solved, after which the source terms SHCN , SNH3 , and SNO are determined for dierent fuel types. Discussions to follow refer to fuel NOx sources for SNO and intermediate HCN, NH3 sources for SHCN and SNH3 . Contributions from thermal and prompt mechanisms have been discussed in previous sections.
Fuel NOx from Gaseous and Liquid Fuels

The fuel NOx mechanisms for gaseous and liquid fuels are based on dierent physics but the same chemical reaction pathways. Fuel NOx from Intermediate Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) When HCN is used as the intermediate species:
1: O
oxi dat
2 ion
NO
Fuel Nitrogen
HCN
red
uct
2: N O
ion
N2
The source terms in the transport equations can be written as follows:
SHCN = Spl,HCN + SHCN1 + SHCN2 SNO = SNO1 + SNO2
(20.1-29) (20.1-30)
20-13
HCN Production in a Gaseous Fuel The rate of HCN production is equivalent to the rate of combustion of the fuel: Spl,HCN = where Spl,HCN Rcf YN,fuel Rcf YN,fuel Mw,HCN Mw,N (20.1-31)
= source of HCN (kg/m3 -s) = mean limiting reaction rate of fuel (kg/m3 -s) = mass fraction of nitrogen in the fuel
The mean limiting reaction rate of fuel, Rcf , is calculated from the Magnussen combustion model, so the gaseous fuel NOx option is available only when the generalized nite-rate model is used. HCN Production in a Liquid Fuel The rate of HCN production is equivalent to the rate of fuel release into the gas phase through droplet evaporation: Spl,HCN = where Spl,HCN Sfuel YN,fuel V = = = = Sfuel YN,fuel Mw,HCN Mw,N V (20.1-32)
source of HCN (kg/m3 -s) rate of fuel release from the liquid droplets to the gas (kg/s) mass fraction of nitrogen in the fuel cell volume (m3 )
HCN Consumption The HCN depletion rates from reactions (1) and (2) in the above mechanism are the same for both gaseous and liquid fuels, and are given by De Soete [322] as
a R1 = A1 XHCN XO2 eE1 /RT
(20.1-33) (20.1-34)
R2 = A2 XHCN XNO e where R1 , R2 T X A1 A2 E1 E2 = = = = = = =
E2 /RT
conversion rates of HCN (s1 ) instantaneous temperature (K) mole fractions 1.0 1010 s1 3.0 1012 s1 280451.95 J/gmol 251151 J/gmol
20-14
20.1 NOx Formation
The oxygen reaction order, a, is calculated from Equation 20.1-28. Since mole fraction is related to mass fraction through molecular weights of the species (Mw,i ) and the mixture (Mw,m ), Xi = Yi Mw,m Yi = Mw,i Mw,i RT p (20.1-35)
HCN Sources in the Transport Equation The mass consumption rates of HCN which appear in Equation 20.1-29 are calculated as SHCN1 = R1 Mw,HCN p RT Mw,HCN p RT (20.1-36)
SHCN2 = R2 where SHCN1 SHCN2 p T R =
(20.1-37)
consumption rates of HCN in reactions 1 and 2 respectively (kg/m3 -s) = pressure (Pa) = mean temperature (K) = universal gas constant
NOx Sources in the Transport Equation NOx is produced in reaction 1 but destroyed in reaction 2. The sources for Equation 20.1-30 are the same for a gaseous as for a liquid fuel, and are evaluated as follows: SNO1 = SHCN1 Mw,NO Mw,NO p = R1 Mw,HCN RT (20.1-38)
SNO2 = SHCN2
Mw,NO Mw,NO p = R2 Mw,HCN RT
(20.1-39)
20-15
Fuel NOx from Intermediate Ammonia (NH3 ) When NH3 is used as the intermediate species:
1: O
oxi dat
2 ion
NO
Fuel Nitrogen
NH 3
red
uct
2: N O
ion
N2
The source terms in the transport equations can be written as follows:
SNH3 = Spl,NH3 + SNH3 1 + SNH3 2 SNO = SNO1 + SNO2 NH3 Production in a Gaseous Fuel The rate of NH3 production is equivalent to the rate of combustion of the fuel: Spl,NH3 = where Spl,NH3 Rcf YN,fuel Rcf YN,fuel Mw,NH3 Mw,N
(20.1-40) (20.1-41)
(20.1-42)
= source of NH3 (kg/m3 -s) = mean limiting reaction rate of fuel (kg/m3 -s) = mass fraction of nitrogen in the fuel
The mean limiting reaction rate of fuel, Rcf , is calculated from the Magnussen combustion model, so the gaseous fuel NOx option is available only when the generalized nite-rate model is used.
20-16
20.1 NOx Formation
NH3 Production in a Liquid Fuel The rate of NH3 production is equivalent to the rate of fuel release into the gas phase through droplet evaporation: Spl,NH3 = where Spl,NH3 Sfuel YN,fuel V = = = = Sfuel YN,fuel Mw,NH3 Mw,N V (20.1-43)
source of NH3 (kg/m3 -s) rate of fuel release from the liquid droplets to the gas (kg/s) mass fraction of nitrogen in the fuel cell volume (m3 )
NH3 Consumption The NH3 depletion rates from reactions (1) and (2) in the above mechanism are the same for both gaseous and liquid fuels, and are given by De Soete [322] as
a R1 = A1 XNH3 XO2 eE1 /RT
(20.1-44) (20.1-45)
R2 = A2 XNH3 XNO e where R1 , R2 T X A1 A2 E1 E2 = = = = = = =
E2 /RT
conversion rates of NH3 (s1 ) instantaneous temperature (K) mole fractions 4.0 106 s1 1.8 108 s1 133947.2 J/gmol 113017.95 J/gmol
The oxygen reaction order, a, is calculated from Equation 20.1-28. Since mole fraction is related to mass fraction through molecular weights of the species (Mw,i ) and the mixture (Mw,m ), Xi can be calculated using Equation 20.1-35.
20-17
NH3 Sources in the Transport Equation The mass consumption rates of NH3 which appear in Equation 20.1-40 are calculated as SNH3 1 = R1 Mw,NH3 p RT Mw,NH3 p RT (20.1-46)
SNH3 2 = R2 where SNH3 1 SNH3 2 p T R =
(20.1-47)
consumption rates of NH3 in reactions 1 and 2 respectively (kg/m3 -s) = pressure (Pa) = mean temperature (K) = universal gas constant
NOx Sources in the Transport Equation NOx is produced in reaction 1 but destroyed in reaction 2. The sources for Equation 20.1-41 are the same for a gaseous as for a liquid fuel, and are evaluated as follows: SNO1 = SNH3 1 Mw,NO Mw,NO p = R1 Mw,NH3 RT (20.1-48)
SNO2 = SNH3 2
Mw,NO Mw,NO p = R2 Mw,NH3 RT
(20.1-49)
Fuel NOx from Coal

Nitrogen in Char and in Volatiles For the coal it is assumed that fuel nitrogen is distributed between the volatiles and the char. Since there is no reason to assume that N is equally distributed between the volatiles and the char the fraction of N in the volatiles and the char should be specied separately. When HCN is used as the intermediate species, two variations of fuel NOx mechanisms for coal are included. When NH3 is used as the intermediate species, two variations of fuel NOx mechanisms for coal are included, much like in the calculation of NOx production from the coal via HCN. It is assumed that fuel nitrogen is distributed between the volatiles and the char.
20-18
20.1 NOx Formation
Coal Fuel NOx Scheme A The rst HCN mechanism assumes that all char N converts to HCN which is then converted partially to NO [320]. The reaction pathway is described as follows:
Char N 1: O 2 HCN 2: NO N2
With the rst scheme, all char-bound nitrogen converts to HCN. Thus,
3: Char NO
Volatile N
N2
Schar,HCN = Schar,NO where Sc YN,char V = = =
Sc YN,char Mw,HCN Mw,N V = 0
(20.1-50) (20.1-51)
char burnout rate (kg/s) mass fraction of nitrogen in char cell volume (m3 )
Coal Fuel NOx Scheme B The second HCN mechanism assumes that all char N converts to NO directly [205]. The reaction pathway is described as follows:
Char N 1: O 2 HCN 2: NO N2 NO 3: Char N2
Volatile N
20-19
According to Lockwood [205], the char nitrogen is released to the gas phase as NO directly, mainly as a desorption product from oxidized char nitrogen atoms. If this approach is followed, then
Schar,HCN = 0 Sc YN,char Mw,NO Schar,NO = Mw,N V Which HCN Scheme to Use?
(20.1-52) (20.1-53)
The second HCN mechanism tends to produce more NOx emission than the rst. In general, however, it is dicult to say which one outperforms the other. The source terms for the transport equations are
SHCN = Spvc,HCN + SHCN1 + SHCN2 SNO = Schar,NO + SNO1 + SNO2 + SNO3
(20.1-54) (20.1-55)
Source contributions SHCN1 , SHCN2 , SNO1 , and SNO2 are described previously. Therefore, only the heterogeneous reaction source, SNO3 , the char NOx source, Schar,NO , and the HCN production source, Spvc,HCN , need to be considered. NOx Reduction on Char Surface The heterogeneous reaction of NO reduction on the char surface has been modeled according to the following [191]: R3 = A3 eE3 /RT pNO where R3 pNO E3 A3 T = = = = = rate of NO reduction (gmol/m2 -s) BET mean NO partial pressure (atm) 142737.485 J/gmol 230 gmol/m2 -s-atm BET mean temperature (K) (20.1-56)
The partial pressure pNO is calculated using Daltons law: pNO = pXNO
20-20
20.1 NOx Formation
The rate of NO consumption due to reaction 3 will then be SNO3 = cs ABET Mw,NO R3 where ABET cs SNO3 = BET surface area (m2 /kg) = concentration of particles (kg/m3 ) = NO consumption (kg/m3 -s)
BET Surface Area The heterogeneous reaction involving char is mainly an adsorption process whose rate is directly proportional to the pore surface area. The pore surface area is also known as the BET surface area due to the researchers who pioneered the adsorption theory (Brunauer, Emmett and Teller [41]). For commercial adsorbents, the pore (BET) surface areas range from 100,000 to 2 million square meters per kilogram, depending on the microscopic structure. For coal, the BET area is typically 25,000 m2 /kg which is used as the default in FLUENT. The overall source of HCN (Spvc,HCN ) is a combination of volatile contribution (Svol,HCN ) and char contribution (Schar,HCN ): Spvc,HCN = Svol,HCN + Schar,HCN HCN from Volatiles The source of HCN from the volatiles is related to the rate of volatile release: Svol,HCN = where Svol YN,vol V Svol YN,vol Mw,HCN Mw,N V
= source of volatiles originating from the coal particles into the gas phase (kg/s) = mass fraction of nitrogen in the volatiles = cell volume (m3 )
Calculation of sources related to char-bound nitrogen depends on the fuel NOx scheme selection.
20-21
Coal Fuel NOx Scheme C The rst NH3 mechanism assumes that all char N converts to NH3 which is then converted partially to NO [320]. The reaction pathway is described as follows:
Char N 1: O 2 NH 3 2: NO N2
In this scheme, all char-bound nitrogen converts to NH3 . Thus,
3: Char NO
Volatile N
N2
Schar,NH3 = Schar,NO where Sc YN,char V = = =
Sc YN,char Mw,NH3 Mw,N V = 0
(20.1-57) (20.1-58)
char burnout rate (kg/s) mass fraction of nitrogen in char cell volume (m3 )
Coal Fuel NOx Scheme D The second NH3 mechanism assumes that all char N converts to NO directly [205]. The reaction pathway is described as follows:
Char N 1: O 2 NH 3 2: NO N2 NO 3: Char N2
Volatile N
20-22
20.1 NOx Formation
According to Lockwood [205], the char nitrogen is released to the gas phase as NO directly, mainly as a desorption product from oxidized char nitrogen atoms. If this approach is followed, then
Schar,NH3 = 0 Sc YN,char Mw,NO Schar,NO = Mw,N V Which NH3 Scheme to Use?
(20.1-59) (20.1-60)
The second NH3 mechanism tends to produce more NOx emission than the rst. In general, however, it is dicult to say which one outperforms the other. The source terms for the transport equations are
SNH3 = Spvc,NH3 + SNH3 1 + SNH3 2 SNO = Schar,NO + SNO1 + SNO2 + SNO3
(20.1-61) (20.1-62)
Source contributions SNH3 1 , SNH3 2 , SNO1 , SNO2 , SNO3 , Schar,NO are described previously. Therefore, only the NH3 production source, Spvc,NH3 , needs to be considered. The overall production source of NH3 is a combination of volatile contribution (Svol,NH3 ), and char contribution (Schar,NH3 ): Spvc,NH3 = Svol,NH3 + Schar,NH3 NH3 from Volatiles The source of NH3 from the volatiles is related to the rate of volatile release: Svol,NH3 = where Svol YN,vol V Svol YN,vol Mw,NH3 Mw,N V (20.1-63)
= source of volatiles originating from the coal particles into the gas phase (kg/s) = mass fraction of nitrogen in the volatiles = cell volume (m3 )
Calculation of sources related to char-bound nitrogen depends on the fuel NOx scheme selection.
20-23
Partitioning Fuel Nitrogen to HCN and NH3

In certain cases, especially when the fuel is a solid in a uidized bed combustor, both HCN and NH3 can be generated as intermediates at high enough temperatures [241]. In particular, low-ranking (lignite) coal has been shown to produce 10 times more NH3 compared to the level of HCN, whereas higher-ranking (bituminous) coal has been shown to produce only HCN [240]. Studies by Winter et al. [380] have shown that for bituminous coal, using an HCN/NH3 partition ratio of 9:1 gave better NOx predictions when compared to measurements than specifying only a single intermediate species. Liu and Gibbs [203] work with woody-biomass (pine wood chips), on the other hand, has suggested an HCN/NH3 ratio of 1:9 due to the younger age of the fuel. In total, the above work suggests the importance of being able to specify that portions of the fuel nitrogen will be converted to both HCN and NH3 intermediates at the same time. In FLUENT, fuel nitrogen partitioning can be used whenever HCN or NH3 are intermediates for NOx production, though it is mainly applicable to solid fuels such as coal and biomass. The reaction pathways and source terms for HCN and NH3 were discussed in previous sections.
20.1.6
NOx Formation From Intermediate N2 O
Melte and Pratt [220] proposed the rst intermediate mechanism for NOx formation from molecular nitrogen (N2 ) via nitrous oxide (N2 O). Nitrogen enters combustion systems mainly as a component of the combustion and dilution air. Under favorable conditions, which are elevated pressures and oxygen-rich conditions, this intermediate mechanism can contribute as much as 90% of the NOx formed during combustion. This makes it particularly important in equipment such as gas turbines and compression-ignition engines. Because these devices are operated at increasingly low temperatures to prevent NOx formation via the thermal NOx mechanism, the relative importance of the N2 Ointermediate mechanism is increasing. It has been observed that about 30% of the NOx formed in these systems can be attributed to the N2 O-intermediate mechanism. The N2 O-intermediate mechanism may also be of importance in systems operated in ameless mode (e.g., diluted combustion, ameless combustion, ameless oxidation, and FLOX systems). In a ameless mode, fuel and oxygen are highly diluted in inert gases so that the combustion reactions and resulting heat release are carried out in the diuse zone. As a consequence, elevated peaks of temperature are avoided, which prevents thermal NOx . Research suggests that the N2 O-intermediate mechanism may contribute about 90% of the NOx formed in ameless mode, and that the remainder can be attributed to the prompt NOx mechanism. The relevance of NOx formation from N2 O has been observed indirectly, and theoretically speculated for a number of combustion systems and by a number of researchers [14, 61, 115, 332, 341].
20-24
20.1 NOx Formation
N2 O-Intermediate NOx Mechanism

The simplest form of the mechanism [220] takes into account two reversible elementary reactions:
N2 + O + M N2 O + O
N2 O + M 2NO
(20.1-64) (20.1-65)
Here, M is a general third body. Because the rst reaction involves third bodies, the mechanism is favored at elevated pressures. Both reactions involve the oxygen radical O, which makes the mechanism favored at oxygen-rich conditions. While not always justied, it is often assumed that the radical O atoms originate solely from the dissociation of molecular oxygen, 1 O2 2 O (20.1-66)
According to the kinetic rate laws, the rate of NOx formation via the N2 O-intermediate mechanism is d[NO] = 2 kf,2 [N2 O][O] kr,2 [NO]2 dt gmol/m3 -s (20.1-67)
To solve Equation 20.1-67, you will need to have rst calculated [O] and [N2 O]. It is often assumed that N2 O is at quasi-steady-state (i.e., d[N2 O]/dt = 0), which implies [N2 O] = kf,1 [N2 ][O][M] + kr,2 [NO]2 kr,1 [M] + kf,2 [O] (20.1-68)
The system of Equations 20.1-6720.1-68 can be solved for the rate of NOx formation when the concentration of N2 , O2 , and M, the kinetic rate constants for Equations 20.1-64 and 20.1-65, and the equilibrium constant of Equation 20.1-66 are known. The appearance of NO in Equation 20.1-65 entails that coupling of the N2 O mechanism with the thermal NOx mechanism (and other NOx mechanisms). kf,1 kf,2 = 4.44 1032 T 8.358 e28234/T = 2.90 107 e11651/T kr,1 kr,2 = = 4.00 108 e28234/T 1.45 1029 T 9.259 e11651/T
In the above expressions, kf,1 and kf,2 are the forward rate constants of Equations 20.1-64 and 20.1-65, and kr,1 and kr,2 are the corresponding reverse rate constants. The units for kf,2 , kr,1 , and kr,2 are m3 /gmol-s, while kf,1 has units of m6 /gmol2 -s2 .
20-25
20.1.7
NOx Reduction by Reburning
The design of complex combustion systems for utility boilers, based on air- and fuelstaging technologies, involves many parameters and their mutual interdependence. These parameters include local stoichiometry, temperature and chemical concentration eld, residence time distribution, velocity eld, and mixing pattern. A successful application of the in-furnace reduction techniques requires control of these parameters in an optimum manner so as to avoid impairing the boiler performance. In the mid 1990s, global models describing the kinetics of NOx destruction in the reburn zone of a staged combustion system became available. Two of these models are described below.
Instantaneous Approach
The instantaneous NOx reburning mechanism is a pathway whereby NO reacts with hydrocarbons and is subsequently reduced. In general: CHi + NO HCN + products Three reburn reactions are modeled by FLUENT for 1600 T 2100:
k
(20.1-69)
1 CH + NO HCN + O
(20.1-70) (20.1-71) (20.1-72)
CH2 + NO HCN + OH CH3 + NO HCN + H2 O

k3
k2
If the temperature is outside of this range, NO reburn will not be computed.
The rate constants for these reactions are taken from Bowman [34] and have units of m3 /gmol-s: k1 = 1 108 ; k2 = 1.4 106 e550/T ; The NO depletion rate due to reburn is expressed as d[NO] = k1 [CH][NO] k2 [CH2 ][NO] k3 [CH3 ][NO] dt (20.1-73) k3 = 2 105
and the source term for the reburning mechanism in the NO transport equation can be calculated as Sreburn,NO = Mw,NO d[NO] dt (20.1-74)
20-26
20.1 NOx Formation
To calculate the NO depletion rate due to reburning, FLUENT will obtain the concentrations of CH, CH2 , and CH3 from the species mass fraction results of the combustion calculation. When you use this method, you must be sure to include the species CH, CH2 , and CH3 in your problem denition.
Partial Equilibrium Approach

The partial equilibrium approach is based on the model proposed by Kandamby et al. [159] and [4]. The model adds a reduction path to De Soetes global model [322] that describes the NOx formation/destruction mechanism in a pulverized coal ame. The additional reduction path accounts for the NOx destruction in the fuel-rich reburn zone by CH radicals (see Figure 20.1.1).
CH i (4) O2 (3) Fuel N (1) HCN NO (2) N2

Figure 20.1.1: De Soetes Global NOx Mechanism With Additional Reduction Path
NO
CH i (5)
Products
This model can be used in conjunction with the eddy-dissipation combustion model and does not require the specication of CH radical concentrations, since they are computed based on the CH-radical partial equilibrium. The reburn fuel itself can be an equivalent of CH4 , CH3 , CH2 , or CH. How this equivalent fuel is determined is open for debate and an approximate guide would be to consider the C/H ratio of the fuel itself. A multiplicative constant of 4.0 104 has been developed for the partial equilibrium of CH radicals to reduce the rates of HCN and NO in the reburn model. This value was obtained by researchers, who developed the model, by way of predicting NOx values for a number of test cases for which experimental data exists.
20-27
NOx Reduction Mechanism In the fuel-rich reburn zone, the HCN oxidation is suppressed and the amount of NO formed in the primary combustion zone is decreased by the reduction reaction from HCN to N2 . However, the NO concentration may also decrease due to reactions with CH radicals, which are available in signicant amounts in the reburn zone. The following are considered to be the most important reactions of NO reduction by CH radicals:
NO + CH2 HCN + OH NO + CH HCN + O NO + C CN + O
(20.1-75) (20.1-76) (20.1-77)
These reactions may be globally described by the addition of pathways (4) and (5) in Figure 20.1.1, leading respectively to the formation of HCN and of minor intermediate nitrogen radicals. Assuming that methane is the reburning gas, the global NO reduction rates are then expressed as
R4 = (ka 1 + kb 2 )[CH4 ][NO] 1 R5 = kc 3 2 [CH4 ][NO] 1 where 1 = [H] ; [H2 ] 2 = [OH] [H2 O]
(20.1-78) (20.1-79)
Therefore, the additional source terms of the HCN and NO transport equations due to reburn reactions are given by
d[HCN] = 4 104 R4 dt d[NO] = 4 104 (R4 + R5 ) dt
(20.1-80) (20.1-81)
20-28
20.1 NOx Formation
Certain assumptions are required to evaluate the rate constants ka , kb , and kc and the factors 1 and 2 . For hydrocarbon diusion ames, the following reaction set can be reasonably considered to be in partial equilibrium:
CH4 + H CH3 + OH CH2 + H CH + H Thus, the rate constants may be computed as ka = k1 kf,4 kf,5 ; kr,4 kr,5 kb = k2
CH3 + H2 CH2 + H2 O CH + H2 C + H2
(20.1-82) (20.1-83) (20.1-84) (20.1-85)
kf,4 kf,5 kf,6 ; kr,4 kr,5 kr,6
kc = k3
kf,4 kf,5 kf,6 kf,7 kr,4 kr,5 kr,6 kr,7
where k1 , k2 , and k3 are the rate constants for Equations 20.1-7520.1-77. The forward and reverse rate constants for Equations 20.1-8220.1-85 are kf,4 kf,7 and kr,4 kr,7 , respectively. In addition, it is assumed that 1 = 1, because the H-radical concentration in the post-ame region of a hydrocarbon diusion ame has been observed to be of the same order as [H2 ]. Finally, the OH-radical concentration is estimated by considering the reaction OH + H2 H2 O + H (20.1-86)
to be partially equilibrated, leading to the relationship 2 = kr,8 kf,8
Values for the rate constants ka , kb , and kc for dierent equivalent fuel types are given in Arrhenius form (AT b eE/RT ) in Table 20.1.1 [190]. All rate constants have units of m3 /gmol-s, and all values of E have units of J/gmol. For Equation 20.1-86, kf,8 = 1.02 105 T 1.60 e13802/RT ; kr,8 = 4.52 105 T 1.60 e80815/RT
20-29
Table 20.1.1: Rate Constants for Dierent Reburn Fuels Rate Constant A b E A b E A b E CH4 5.30 109 -1.54 27977 3.31 1013 -3.33 15090 3.06 1011 -2.64 77077 Equivalent CH3 0.37 109 -1.54 27977 0.23 1013 -3.33 15090 0.21 1011 -2.64 77077 Fuel Type CH2 0.23 107 -1.54 27977 0.14 1011 -3.33 15090 0.13 109 -2.64 77077
ka
kb
kc
CH 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.63 108 -3.33 15090 0.58 106 -2.64 77077
20-30
20.1 NOx Formation
20.1.8
NOx Reduction by SNCR
The selective non-catalytic reduction of NOx (SNCR), rst described by Lyon [210], is a method to reduce the emission of NOx from combustion by injecting a selective reductant such as ammonia (NH3 ) or urea (CO(NH2 )2 ) into the furnace, where it can react with NO in the ue gas to form N2 . However, the reductant can be oxidized as well to form NOx . The selectivity for the reductive reactions decreases with increasing temperature [225] while the rate of the initiation reaction simultaneously increases. This limits the SNCR process to a narrow temperature interval, or window, where the lower temperature limit for the interval is determined by the residence time. Several investigators have modeled the process using a large number of elementary reactions. A simple empirical model has been proposed by Fenimore [95], which is based on experimental measurements. However, the model was found to be unsuitable for practical applications. Ostberg and Dam-Johansen [251] proposed a two-step scheme describing the SNCR process as shown in Figure 20.1.2, which is a single initiation step followed by two parallel reaction pathways: one leading to NO reduction, and the other to NO formation.
OH OH NH 3 NH 2 NO
NO
N2
Figure 20.1.2: Simplied Reaction Mechanism for the SNCR Process
1 3 NO + NH3 + O2 N2 + H2 O 4 2 5 3 NH3 + O2 NO + H2 O 4 2
(20.1-87) (20.1-88)
The reaction orders of NO and NH3 at 4% volume O2 and the empirical rate constants kr and kox for Equations 20.1-87 and 20.1-88, respectively, have been estimated from work done by Brouwer et al. [40]. The reaction order of NO was found to be 1 for Equation 20.1-87 and the order of NH3 was found to be 1 for both reactions. As such, the following reaction rates for NO and NH3 , at 4% volume O2 , were proposed:
RNO = kr [NO][NH3 ] + kox [NH3 ][O2 ] RNH3 = kr [NO][NH3 ] kox [NH3 ][O2 ]
(20.1-89) (20.1-90)
20-31
Modeling Pollutant Formation The rate constants kr and kox have units of m3 /gmol-s, and are dened as kr = 4.24 102 T 5.30 eEr /RT ; kox = 3.50 101 T 7.65 eEox /RT where Er = 349937.06 J/gmol and Eox = 524487.005 J/gmol. This model has been shown to give reasonable predictions of the SNCR process in pulverized coal and uidized bed combustion applications. The model also captures the inuence of the most signicant parameters for SNCR, which are the temperature of the ue gas at the injection position, the residence time in the relevant temperature interval, the NH3 to NO molar ratio, and the eect of combustible additives. However, the model is not capable of simulating non-ideal mixing of reactants. In this case, the model overestimates the NO reduction for temperatures above the optimum temperature by an amount similar to that of the detailed kinetic model of Miller and Bowman [225].
The SNCR process naturally occurs when NH3 is present in the ame as a fuel N intermediate. For this reason, even if the SNCR model is not activated and there is no reagent injection, the natural SNCR process may still occur in the ame. Therefore, you may notice that in this version of FLUENT, the predicted NO values may be lower than expected. The temperature range or window at which SNCR may occur is 1073 K < T < 1373 K. To model your case without using the natural SNCR process, please contact your support engineer for information on how to deactivate it.
20.1.9
NOx Formation in Turbulent Flows
The kinetic mechanisms of NOx formation and destruction described in the preceding sections have all been obtained from laboratory experiments using either a laminar premixed ame or shock-tube studies where molecular diusion conditions are well dened. In any practical combustion system, however, the ow is highly turbulent. The turbulent mixing process results in temporal uctuations in temperature and species concentration that will inuence the characteristics of the ame. The relationships among NOx formation rate, temperature, and species concentration are highly nonlinear. Hence, if time-averaged composition and temperature are employed in any model to predict the mean NOx formation rate, signicant errors will result. Temperature and composition uctuations must be taken into account by considering the probability density functions which describe the time variation. NOx formation in turbulent interaction models does not produce favorable results when the Species/Species option is enabled due to the temperature having a more signicant eect on the NOx than the species. Therefore, a more favorable combination is the temperature/species option. The variance model given by Equation 20.1-99 is inaccurate
20-32
20.1 NOx Formation
for the eddy-dissipation combustion model. Therefore, it is recommended that you ignore turbulent uctuations when calculating NOx with the eddy-dissipation combustion model.
The Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction Model

In turbulent combustion calculations, FLUENT solves the density-weighted time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for temperature, velocity, and species concentrations or mean mixture fraction and variance. To calculate NO concentration, a time-averaged NO formation rate must be computed at each point in the domain using the averaged oweld information. Methods of modeling the mean turbulent reaction rate can be based on either moment methods [379] or probability density function (PDF) techniques [147]. FLUENT uses the PDF approach.
The PDF method described here applies to the NOx transport equations only. The preceding combustion simulation can use either the generalized nite-rate chemistry model by Magnussen and Hjertager or the nonpremixed combustion model. For details on these models, refer to Chapters 14 and 15.
The PDF Approach

The PDF method has proven very useful in the theoretical description of turbulent ow [148]. In the FLUENT NOx model, a single- or joint-variable PDF in terms of a normalized temperature, species mass fraction, or the combination of both is used to predict the NOx emission. If the non-premixed combustion model is used to model combustion, then a one- or two-variable PDF in terms of mixture fraction(s) is also available. The mean values of the independent variables needed for the PDF construction are obtained from the solution of the transport equations.
General Expression for Mean Reaction Rate

The mean turbulent reaction rate w can be described in terms of the instantaneous rate w and a single or joint PDF of various variables. In general, w= w(V1 , V2 , . . .)P (V1 , V2 , . . .)dV1 dV2 . . . (20.1-91)
where V1 , V2 ,... are temperature and/or the various species concentrations present. P is the probability density function (PDF).
20-33
Mean Reaction Rate Used in FLUENT

The PDF is used for weighting against the instantaneous rates of production of NO (e.g., Equation 20.1-15) and subsequent integration over suitable ranges to obtain the mean turbulent reaction rate. Hence we have S NO = or, for two variables S NO = SNO (V1 , V2 )P (V1 , V2 )dV1 dV2 (20.1-93) SNO (V1 )P1 (V1 )dV1 (20.1-92)
where S NO is the mean turbulent rate of production of NO, SNO is the instantaneous rate of production given by, for example, Equation 20.1-15, and P1 (V1 ) and P (V1 , V2 ) are the PDFs of the variables V1 and, if relevant, V2 . The same treatment applies for the HCN or NH3 source terms. Equation 20.1-92 or 20.1-93 must be integrated at every node and at every iteration. For a PDF in temperature, the limits of integration are determined from the minimum and maximum values of temperature in the combustion solution. For a PDF in mixture fraction, the limits of the integrations in Equation 20.1-92 or 20.1-93 are determined from the values stored in the look-up tables.
Statistical Independence
In the case of the two-variable PDF, it is further assumed that the variables V1 and V2 are statistically independent so that P (V1 , V2 ) can be expressed as P (V1 , V2 ) = P1 (V1 )P2 (V2 ) (20.1-94)
Beta PDF Assumption

P is assumed to be a two-moment beta function as appropriate for combustion calculations [125, 228]. The equation for the beta function is ( + ) 1 P (V ) = V (1 V )1 = ()()
0
V 1 (1 V )1
1
(20.1-95)
V 1 (1 V )1 dV
where ( ) is the Gamma function, and depend on m, the mean value of the quantity in question, and its variance, 2 :
20-34
20.1 NOx Formation
=m
m(1 m) 1 2 m(1 m) 1 2
(20.1-96)
= (1 m)
(20.1-97)
The beta function requires that the independent variable V assume values between 0 and 1. Thus, eld variables such as temperature must be normalized.
Calculation Method for 2

The variance, 2 , can be computed by solving a transport equation during the combustion calculation stage. This approach is computationally intensive and is not applicable for a postprocessing treatment of NOx prediction. Instead, calculation of 2 is based on an approximate form of the variance transport equation. A transport equation for the variance 2 can be derived: 2 + t (v 2 ) = t 2 + Cg t ( m)2 Cd 2 t k (20.1-98)
where the constants t , Cg and Cd take the values 0.85, 2.86, and 2.0, respectively. Assuming equal production and dissipation of variance, one gets t k Cg m t k Cg 2 = ( m)2 = Cd Cd x
m + y
m + z
(20.1-99)
The term in the brackets is the dissipation rate of the independent variable. For a PDF in mixture fraction, the mixture fraction variance has already been solved as part of the basic combustion calculation, so no additional calculation for 2 is required.
20-35
20.1.10
Using the NOx Model
Decoupled Analysis: Overview

NOx concentrations generated in combustion systems are generally low. As a result, NOx chemistry has negligible inuence on the predicted ow eld, temperature, and major combustion product concentrations. It follows that the most ecient way to use the NOx model is as a postprocessor to the main combustion calculation. The recommended procedure is as follows: 1. Calculate your combustion problem using FLUENT as usual.
If you plan to use FLUENT SNCR model for NOx reduction, you will rst need to include ammonia as a uid species in the main combustion calculation and dene appropriate ammonia injections, as described later in this section. See Section 14.1.4: Dening the Species in the Mixture for details about adding species to your model and Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase for details about creating injections.
2. Activate the desired NOx models (thermal, fuel, and/or prompt NOx , with or without reburn) and set the appropriate parameters, as described in this section. Dene Models Species NOx... 3. In the Solution Controls panel, turn o the solution of all variables except species NO (and HCN, NH3 , or N2 O, based on the model selected). Solve Controls Solution... 4. Also in the Solution Controls panel, set a suitable value for the NO (and HCN, NH3 , or N2 O, if appropriate) under-relaxation. A value of 0.8 to 1.0 is suggested, although lower values may be required for certain problems. That is, if convergence cannot be obtained, try a lower under-relaxation value. 5. In the Residual Monitors panel, decrease the convergence criterion for NO (and HCN, NH3 , or N2 O, if appropriate) to 106 . Solve Monitors Residual... 6. Dene the boundary conditions for NO (and HCN, NH3 , or N2 O if necessary) at ow inlets. Dene Boundary Conditions... 7. Perform calculations until convergence (i.e., until the NO (and HCN, NH3 , or N2 O, if solved) species residuals are below 106 ) to ensure that the NO and HCN or NH3 concentration elds are no longer evolving.
20-36
20.1 NOx Formation
When you begin iterating with the NOx model enabled, FLUENT may report that the solution has converged after the rst iteration. This is due to the lack of signicant levels of pollutants in the solution. You can force FLUENT to continue iterating by repeated iteration requests. Once pollutants appear in the solution, FLUENT will continue iterating on its own until a steady solution is achieved.
8. Review the mass fractions of NO (and HCN, NH3 , or N2 O) with alphanumerics and/or graphics tools in the usual way. 9. Save a new set of case and data les, if desired. Inputs specic to the calculation of NOx formation are explained in the remainder of this section.
Activating the NOx Models

To activate the NOx models and set related parameters, you will use the NOx Model panel (e.g., Figure 20.1.3). Dene Models Species NOx...
Figure 20.1.3: The NOx Model Panel
In the Formation tab, select the NOx models under Pathways to be used in the calculation of the NO and HCN, NH3 , or N2 O concentrations:
20-37
To enable thermal NOx , turn on the Thermal NO option. To enable prompt NOx , turn on the Prompt NO option. To enable fuel NOx , turn on the Fuel NO option. To enable the formation of NOx through an N2 O intermediate, turn on the N2O Intermediate option. (Note that the N2O Intermediate option will not appear until you have activated one of the other NO models listed above.) Your selection(s) under Pathways will activate the calculation of thermal, prompt, fuel, and/or N2 O-intermediate NOx in accordance with the chemical kinetic models described in Sections 20.1.320.1.6. Mean NO formation rates will be computed directly from mean concentrations and temperature in the ow eld.
Setting Thermal NOx Parameters

The NOx routines employ three methods for calculation of thermal NOx (as described in Section 20.1.3: Method 1: Equilibrium Approach). You will specify the method to be used in the Thermal tab, under Formation Model Parameters in the NOx Model panel: To choose the equilibrium method, select equilibrium in the [O] Model drop-down list. To choose the partial equilibrium method, select partial-equilibrium in the [O] Model or [OH] Model drop-down list. To use the predicted O and/or OH concentration, select instantaneous in the [O] Model or [OH] Model drop-down list.
Setting Prompt NOx Parameters

Prompt NO formation is predicted using Equations 20.1-25 and 20.1-27. The parameters are entered in the Prompt tab under Formation Model Parameters in the NOx Model panel: Specify which of the dened species is the fuel by choosing it in the Fuel Species drop-down list. Set the Fuel Carbon Number (number of carbon atoms per fuel molecule) Set the Equivalence Ratio: Equivalence Ratio = actual fuel-to-air ratio stoichiometric fuel-to-air ratio
20-38
20.1 NOx Formation
For any carbon number, Cn , the limits of the Equivalence Ratio are such that, if it is greater than 1.57, then limit the Equivalence Ratio to 1.57. If Cn is less than or equal to 4, then an additional limit is applied. When the Equivalence Ratio is between 0.365 and 0.685, the midpoint value is computed, which is 0.525. Thus for Equivalence Ratio values below the midpoint value, set the value to the lower limit and for an Equivalence Ratio above the midpoint value, set the value to the upper limit). These limits are purely mathematical and only guarantee positive prompt NO rates.
Setting Fuel NOx Parameters

For fuel NOx models, you will rst need to specify the fuel type in the Fuel tab under Model Parameters: For solid fuel NOx , select Solid under Fuel Type. For liquid fuel NOx , select Liquid under Fuel Type. For gaseous fuel NOx , select Gas under Fuel Type. Note that you can use only one of the fuel models at a time. The Gas option is available only with the nite-rate and eddy break-up (EBU) chemistry models are active (see Section 14.1.3: Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material). Setting Gaseous and Liquid Fuel NOx Parameters If you have selected Gas or Liquid as the Fuel Type, you will also need to specify the following: For a gaseous fuel, select the Fuel Species from the drop-down list. Select the intermediate species (hcn, nh3, or hcn/nh3/no) in the N Intermediate drop-down list. Set the correct mass fraction of nitrogen in the fuel (kg nitrogen per kg fuel) in the Fuel N Mass Fraction eld. If you selected hcn/nh3/no as the intermediate, you will need to set the following values: Specify the overall fraction of the fuel N, by mass, that will be converted to the intermediate species and/or product NO in the Conversion Fraction eld. N Intermediate Conversion Fraction has a default value of 1. Thus, any remaining N will not contribute to NOx formation. This is based on the assumption that
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the remaining volatile N will convert to gas phase nitrogen. However, this has very little eect on the overall mass fraction of gas phase nitrogen. Therefore, you do not have to solve for nitrogen species when solving pollutant transport equations. Specify the fraction of the converted fuel N, by mass, that will become HCN and NH3 under Partition Fractions. The fraction of fuel N that will become NO will be calculated by the remainder. Note that setting a partition fraction of 0 for both HCN and NH3 is equivalent to assuming that all fuel N is converted to the nal product NO, whereas a partition fraction of 0 for HCN and 1 for NH3 is the same as selecting NH3 as the intermediate. FLUENT will use Equations 20.1-29 and 20.1-30 (for HCN) or Equations 20.1-40 and 20.1-41 (for NH3 ) to predict NO formation for a gaseous or liquid fuel. Setting Solid (Coal) Fuel NOx Parameters For solid fuel, FLUENT will use Equations 20.1-54 and 20.1-55 (for HCN) or Equations 20.1-61 and 20.1-62 (for NH3 ) to predict NO formation. Several inputs are required for the coal fuel NOx model: Select the intermediate species (hcn, nh3, or hcn/nh3/no) in the N Intermediate drop-down list. Specify the mass fraction of nitrogen in the volatiles in the Volatile N Mass Fraction eld. If you selected hcn/nh3/no as the volatile N intermediate, you will need to set the following values: Specify the overall fraction of the volatile N, by mass, that will be converted to the intermediate species and/or product NO in the Conversion Fraction eld. Specify the fraction of the converted volatile N, by mass, that will become HCN and NH3 under Partition Fractions. The fraction of volatile N that will become NO will be calculated by the remainder. Select the char N conversion path from the Char N Conversion drop-down list as no, hcn, nh3, or hcn/nh3/no. Note that hcn or nh3 can be selected only if the same species has been selected as the intermediate species in the N Intermediate drop-down list. Specify the mass fraction of nitrogen in the char in the Char N Mass Fraction eld. If you selected hcn/nh3/no as the char N intermediate, you will need to set the following values:
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20.1 NOx Formation
Specify the overall fraction of the char N, by mass, that will be converted to the intermediate species and/or product NO in the Conversion Fraction eld. Specify the fraction of the converted char N, by mass, that will become HCN and NH3 under Partition Fractions. The fraction of char N that will become NO will be calculated by the remainder. Dene the BET internal pore surface area (see Section 20.1.5: BET Surface Area for details) of the particles in the BET Surface Area eld. The following equations are used to determine the mass fraction of nitrogen in the volatiles and char: mNv/c = mv/c mfNv/c where mNv/c mv/c mfNv/c Let PN v PN c T Nf uel Nsplit Fvol Fchar = = = = = = percentage by mass rate of nitrogen in volatiles percentage by mass rate of nitrogen in char percentage by mass of nitrogen in fuel (daf) split of nitrogen between volatiles and char mass fraction of volatiles in coal (daf) mass fraction of char in coal (daf) = rate of release of fuel nitrogen in kg/s = rate of release of volatiles (v) or char (c) in kg/s = mass fraction of nitrogen in volatiles or char (20.1-100)
Then the following should hold: Fvol + Fchar = 1.0 PNv = Nsplit PNc (Fvol PNv ) + (Fchar PNc ) = T Nf uel T Nf uel (Fvol Nsplit ) + Fchar (20.1-101)
(20.1-102)
(20.1-103)
PN c =
(20.1-104)
Note that if water is assumed to release at the same rate as volatiles, the above calculation has to be slightly modied.
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Setting N2 O Pathway Parameters

The formation of NO through an N2 O intermediate can be predicted by two methods. You will specify the method to be used in the N2O Path tab. To choose the quasi-steady state method, select quasi-steady in the N2O Model drop-down list.
The transport equation for the species N2 O will not be solved for N2 O, however, N2 O will be updated at every iteration. Therefore, the residual values that appear for N2 O are always zero. Do not be alarmed if the solver keeps printing zero at each iteration.
To choose the simplied form of the N2 O-intermediate mechanism, select transportedsimple in the N2O Model drop-down list. Here, the species N2 O is added to the list of pollutant species, and its mass fraction is solved via a transport equation. The atomic O concentration will be calculated according to the thermal NOx [O] Model that you have specied previously. If you have not selected the Thermal NO pathway, then you will be given the option to specify an [O] Model for the N2 O pathway calculation. The same three options for the thermal NOx [O] Model will be the available options.
Setting Parameters for NOx Reburn

To enable NOx reduction by reburning, click the Reduction tab in the NOx Model panel and turn on the Reburn option under Methods. Click the Reburn tab under Reduction Method Parameters, where you can choose from the following options: To choose the instantaneous method, select instantaneous [ch] in the Reburn Model drop-down list.
When you use this method, you must be sure to include the species CH, CH2 , and CH3 in your problem denition. See Section 20.1.7: NOx Reduction by Reburning for details.
To choose the partial equilibrium method, select partial-equilibrium in the Reburn Model drop-down list. You will then need to select the Reburn Fuel Species from the drop-down list of available species, and also specify the Equivalent Fuel Type (ch4, ch3, ch2, or ch). For example, if you choose methane as the reburn fuel, then the Equivalent Fuel Type would be ch4. If you choose a reburn fuel such as hv vol (a volatile component of coal), then you must specify the most appropriate equivalent hydrocarbon fuel type so that the partial equilibrium model will be activated correctly.
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20.1 NOx Formation
Due to coal volatiles behaving very dierently, it is important to select the correct equivalent fuel type. You must rst consider the volatile fuel composition, then check the C/H ratio to nd the fuel which most closely matches CH, CH2 , CH3 , or CH4 [287]. How the equivalent fuel is determined is still debatable, however, considering the C/H ratio of the fuel itself is a reasonable indicator.
Setting SNCR Parameters

To enable NOx reduction by SNCR, click the Reduction tab in the NOx Model panel and turn on the SNCR option under Methods. Click the SNCR tab under Reduction Method Parameters, where you can choose from the following options: To have ammonia included as a gas-phase pollutant species from the injection locations, select gaseous injection in the Injection Method drop-down list. If you plan to select this option for NOx postprocessing, then NH3 must also be included as a gas-phase species. Additionally, you will need to specify the mass fraction of ammonia at the respective inlet for the SNCR injection. This set of inputs will need to have been done prior to the main FLUENT combustion calculation. To have ammonia included as a liquid-phase pollutant species from the injection locations, select liquid injection in the Injection Method drop-down list. Specify the SNCR Reagent Species as nh3 in the drop-down list. If you plan to select this option for NOx postprocessing, then NH3 must also be included as both a gas-phase and liquid-phase species. Additionally, you will need to specify injection locations for liquid droplet ammonia particles and set gaseous ammonia as the evaporation species. This set of inputs will need to have been done prior to the main FLUENT combustion calculation.
Setting Turbulence Parameters

If you want to take into account turbulent uctuations (as described in Section 20.1.9: NOx Formation in Turbulent Flows) when you compute the specied NO formation (thermal, prompt, and/or fuel, with or without reburn), click the Turbulence Interaction tab and select one of the options in the PDF Mode drop-down list under Turbulence Interaction Mode. Select temperature to take into account uctuations of temperature. Select temperature/species to take into account uctuations of temperature and mass fraction of the species selected in the Species drop-down list (which appears when you select this option).
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Select species 1/species 2 to take into account the uctuation of mass fractions of two species selected in the Species 1 and Species 2 drop-down lists (which appear when you select this option). (non-premixed combustion calculations only) Select Mixture Fraction to take into account uctuation in the mixture fraction(s). The Mixture Fraction option is available only if you are using the non-premixed combustion model to model the reacting system. If the Mixture Fraction option is used, the instantaneous temperatures, density, and species concentrations are taken from the PDF look-up table as a function of mixture fraction. The beta PDF in mixture fraction is calculated from the values of mean mixture fraction and variance at each cell. After the instantaneous NOx rates have been calculated at each cell, they are convoluted with the mixture fraction PDF to yield the mean rates in turbulent ow. Extra Input for Non-Adiabatic Non-Premixed Combustion Calculations Using a PDF in Mixture Fraction If you choose the Mixture Fraction option and you are using the non-adiabatic nonpremixed combustion model, an additional option (Use Top Temperature) will appear under Turbulence Interaction Mode. When this option is o (the default condition) the local cell enthalpy is used to calculate the instantaneous temperature used in the NOx rate calculation. This option should be used in most cases. If you enable Use Top Temperature, then in the part of the domain where the turbulent uctuations are signicant, the instantaneous temperatures are calculated in terms of the lowest heat loss (or highest heat gain) in that part of the domain. (In the equations in Section 15.2: Non-Premixed Combustion Theory, the heat loss/gain is H .) The result of this calculation will be the maximum possible NOx production that can be calculated through the convolution with the mixture fraction PDF. By comparing the default results with those generated using the top temperature option, you can determine how sensitive the NOx calculation is to the local enthalpy variation when the uctuations are signicant.
Note that the mixture fraction PDF option is not available for cases with non-adiabatic multiple amelets.
Number of Beta Points You can, optionally, adjust the number of Beta PDF Points. The default value of 10, indicating that the beta function in Equation 20.1-92 or Equation 20.1-93 will be integrated at 10 points on a histogram basis, will yield an accurate solution with reasonable computation time. Increasing this value may improve accuracy, but will also increase the computation time.
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20.1 NOx Formation
Specifying a User-Dened Function for the NOx Rate

You can, optionally, choose to specify a user-dened function for the rate of NOx production. The rate returned from the UDF is added to the rate returned from the standard NOx production options, if any are selected. However, if you would like to replace any or all of FLUENTs NOx rate calculations with your own user-dened NOx rate, you can turn on the Replace with UDF Rate option for the appropriate NOx formation pathway(s) after loading the UDF le. In the Formation tab, select the desired function in the NOx Rate drop-down list under User-Dened Functions. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions.
Dening Boundary Conditions for the NOx Model

At ow inlet boundaries, you will need to specify the NO Mass Fraction, and if necessary, the HCN Mass Fraction, NH3 Mass Fraction, and N2O Mass Fraction. Dene Boundary Conditions... You can retain the default inlet values of zero for these quantities or you can input non-zero numbers as appropriate for your combustion system.
Postprocessing
When you compute NOx formation, the following additional variables will be available for postprocessing: Mass fraction of NO Mass fraction of HCN (appropriate fuel NOx model only) Mass fraction of NH3 (appropriate fuel NOx model only) Mass fraction of N2O (N2 O-intermediate model only) Mole fraction of NO Mole fraction of HCN (appropriate fuel NOx model only) Mole fraction of NH3 (appropriate fuel NOx model only) Mole fraction of N2O (N2 O-intermediate model only) NO Density HCN Density (appropriate fuel NOx model only)
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NH3 Density (appropriate fuel NOx model only) N2O Density (N2 O-intermediate model only) Rate of NO (from the individual pathways) Rate of HCN (appropriate fuel NOx model only) Rate of NH3 (appropriate fuel NOx model only) Rate of N2O (N2 O-intermediate model only) These variables are contained in the NOx... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels. Additional NO rates from individual pathways, Thermal, Prompt, Fuel, and N20 Path can be plotted.
20.2
Soot Formation
Information about soot formation is presented in the following sections: Section 20.2.1: Overview and Limitations Section 20.2.2: Theory Section 20.2.3: Using the Soot Models
20.2.1
FLUENT provides two empirical models for the prediction of soot formation in combustion systems. In addition, the predicted soot concentration can be included in the prediction of radiation absorption coecients within the combustion system. You can include the eect of soot on radiation absorption when you use the P-1, discrete ordinates, or discrete transfer radiation model with a variable absorption coecient.
Predicting Soot Formation

FLUENT predicts soot concentrations in a combustion system using one of two available models: the single-step Khan and Greeves model [167], in which FLUENT predicts the rate of soot formation based on a simple empirical rate. the two-step Tesner model [215, 349], in which FLUENT predicts the formation of nuclei particles, with soot formation on the nuclei.
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20.2 Soot Formation
The Khan and Greeves model is the default model used by FLUENT when you include soot formation. In both models, combustion of the soot (and particle nuclei) is assumed to be governed by the Magnussen combustion rate [215]. Note that this limits the use of the soot formation models to turbulent ows. Soot formation cannot be predicted by FLUENT for laminar or inviscid ows. Both soot formation models are empirically-based, approximate models of the soot formation process in combustion systems. The detailed chemistry and physics of soot formation are quite complex and are only approximated in the models used by FLUENT. You should view the results of these models as qualitative indicators of your system performance unless you can undertake experimental validation of the results.
Restrictions on Soot Modeling

The following restrictions apply to soot formation models: You must use the segregated solver. The soot models are not available with either of the coupled solvers. Soot formation can be modeled only for turbulent ows. The soot model cannot be used in conjunction with the premixed combustion model.
20.2.2
Theory
The Single-Step Soot Formation Model

In the single-step Khan and Greeves model [167], FLUENT solves a single transport equation for the soot mass fraction: (Ysoot ) + t where Ysoot soot Rsoot = soot mass fraction = turbulent Prandtl number for soot transport = net rate of soot generation (kg/m3 -s) (vYsoot ) = t Ysoot + Rsoot soot (20.2-1)
Rsoot , the net rate of soot generation, is the balance of soot formation, Rsoot,form , and soot combustion, Rsoot,comb : Rsoot = Rsoot,form Rsoot,comb The rate of soot formation is given by a simple empirical rate expression: (20.2-2)
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Rsoot,form = Cs pfuel r eE/RT where Cs pfuel r E/R = = = = = soot formation constant (kg/N-m-s) fuel partial pressure (Pa) equivalence ratio equivalence ratio exponent activation temperature (K)
(20.2-3)
The rate of soot combustion is the minimum of two rate expressions [215]: Rsoot,comb = min[R1 , R2 ] The two rates are computed as R1 = AYsoot and R2 = A where A Yox , Yfuel soot , fuel = constant in the Magnussen model = mass fractions of oxidizer and fuel = mass stoichiometries for soot and fuel combustion Yox soot Ysoot soot Ysoot soot + Yfuel fuel (20.2-6) (20.2-5) (20.2-4)
The default constants for the single-step model are valid for a wide range of hydrocarbon fuels.
The Two-Step Soot Formation Model

The two-step Tesner model [349] predicts the generation of radical nuclei and then computes the formation of soot on these nuclei. FLUENT thus solves transport equations for two scalar quantities: the soot mass fraction (Equation 20.2-1) and the normalized radical nuclei concentration: (b ) + t nuc (vb ) = nuc t b nuc + Rnuc nuc (20.2-7)
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20.2 Soot Formation where b nuc nuc R nuc = normalized radical nuclei concentration (particles 1015 /kg) = turbulent Prandtl number for nuclei transport = normalized net rate of nuclei generation (particles 1015 /m3 -s)
In these transport equations, the rates of nuclei and soot generation are the net rates, involving a balance between formation and combustion. Soot Generation Rate The two-step model computes the net rate of soot generation, Rsoot , in the same way as the single-step model, as a balance of soot formation and soot combustion: Rsoot = Rsoot,form Rsoot,comb (20.2-8)
In the two-step model, however, the rate of soot formation, Rsoot,form , depends on the concentration of radical nuclei, cnuc : Rsoot,form = mp ( Nsoot )cnuc where mp Nsoot cnuc = = = = = mean mass of soot particle (kg/particle) concentration of soot particles (particles/m3 ) radical nuclei concentration = bnuc (particles/m3 ) empirical constant (s1 ) empirical constant (m3 /particle-s) (20.2-9)
The rate of soot combustion, Rsoot,comb , is computed in the same way as for the single-step model, using Equations 20.2-420.2-6. The default constants for the two-step model are for combustion of acetylene (C2 H2 ). According to Ahmad et al. [5], these values should be modied for other fuels, since the sooting characteristics of acetylene are known to be dierent from those of saturated hydrocarbon fuels. Nuclei Generation Rate The net rate of nuclei generation in the two-step model is given by the balance of the nuclei formation rate and the nuclei combustion rate:
R = R nuc nuc,form Rnuc,comb
(20.2-10)
where R nuc,form R nuc,comb = rate of nuclei formation (particles 1015 /m3 -s) = rate of nuclei combustion (particles 1015 /m3 -s)
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Modeling Pollutant Formation The rate of nuclei formation, R nuc,form , depends on a spontaneous formation and branching process, described by
R nuc,form = 0 + (f g)cnuc g0 cnuc Nsoot
(20.2-11)
0 = a cfuel eE/RT 0 where c nuc a 0 a0 cfuel f g g0 = = = = = = normalized nuclei concentration (= b ) nuc a0 /1015 pre-exponential rate constant (particles/kg-s) fuel concentration (kg/m3 ) linear branching termination coecient (s1 ) linear termination on soot particles (m3 /particle-s)
(20.2-12)
Note that the branching term, (f g)c , in Equation 20.2-11 is included only when nuc the kinetic rate, 0 , is greater than the limiting formation rate (105 particles/m3 -s, by default). The rate of nuclei combustion is assumed to be proportional to the rate of soot combustion: R nuc,comb = Rsoot,comb b nuc Ysoot (20.2-13)
where the soot combustion rate, Rsoot,comb , is given by Equation 20.2-4.
Effect of Soot on the Radiation Absorption Coefcient

A description of the modeling of soot-radiation interaction is provided in Section 12.3.9: The Eect of Soot on the Absorption Coecient.
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20.2 Soot Formation
20.2.3
Using the Soot Models
To compute the soot formation, you will need to start from a converged uid-ow solution. The procedure for setting up and solving a soot formation model is outlined below, and described in detail on the pages that follow. Remember that only the steps that are pertinent to soot modeling are shown here. For information about inputs related to other models that you are using in conjunction with the soot formation model, see the appropriate sections for those models. 1. Calculate your turbulent combustion (nite-rate or non-premixed) problem using FLUENT as usual. 2. Enable the desired soot formation model and set the related parameters, as described in this section. Dene Models Species Soot... 3. In the Solution Controls panel, turn o solution of all variables except soot (and nuclei, if you are using the two-step model). Solve Controls Solution... 4. Also in the Solution Controls panel, set a suitable value for the soot (and nuclei, for the two-step model) under-relaxation factor(s). A value of 0.8 is suggested, although a lower value may be required for certain problems. That is, if convergence cannot be obtained, try a lower under-relaxation value. 5. In the Residual Monitors panel, decrease the convergence criterion for soot (and nuclei, for the two-step model) to 105 . Solve Monitors Residual... 6. Dene the boundary conditions for soot (and nuclei, for the two-step model) at ow inlets. Dene Boundary Conditions... 7. Perform calculations until convergence (i.e., until the sootand nuclei, for the twostep modelresidual is below 105 ) to ensure that the soot (and nuclei) eld is no longer evolving. 8. Review the mass fraction of soot (and nuclei) with alphanumerics and/or graphics tools in the usual way. 9. Save a new set of case and data les, if desired. 10. If you want to calculate a coupled solution for the soot and the ow eld, turn on the other variables again and recompute until convergence. (See the end of this section for some advice on coupled calculations.)
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Selecting the Soot Model

You can enable the calculation of soot formation by selecting a soot model in the Soot Model panel (Figure 20.2.1). Dene Models Species Soot...
Figure 20.2.1: The Soot Model Panel
Under Model, select either the One-Step or the Two-Step model. The panel will expand to show the appropriate inputs for the selected model. (If you want to include the eects of soot formation on the radiation absorption coecient, turn on the Generalized Model option under Soot-Radiation Interaction.)
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20.2 Soot Formation
Setting the Combustion Process Parameters

For both soot models, you will next dene the Process Parameters, which depend on the combustion process that you are modeling. These inputs include the stoichiometry of the fuel and soot combustion and (for the two-step model only) the average size and density of the soot particles: Mean Diameter of Soot Particle and Mean Density of Soot Particle are the assumed average diameter and average density of the soot particles in the combustion system, used to compute the soot particle mass, mp , in Equation 20.2-9 for the twostep model. Note that the default values for soot density and diameter are taken from [215]. These parameters will not appear when the one-step model is used. Stoichiometry for Soot Combustion is the mass stoichiometry, soot , in Equation 20.2-6, which computes the soot combustion rate in both soot models. The default value supplied by FLUENT (2.6667) assumes that the soot is pure carbon and that the oxidizer is O2 . Stoichiometry for Fuel Combustion is the mass stoichiometry, fuel , in Equation 20.2-6, which computes the soot combustion rate in both soot models. The default value supplied by FLUENT (3.6363) is for combustion of propane (C3 H8 ) by oxygen (O2 ).
Dening the Fuel and Oxidizing Species

In addition to dening the stoichiometry for the fuel and soot combustion, you need to tell FLUENT which chemical species in your model should be used as the fuel and oxidizer. In the Soot Model panel under Species Denition, select the fuel in the Fuel drop-down list and the oxidizer in the Oxidant drop-down list. If you are using the non-premixed model for the combustion calculation and your fuel stream consists of a mixture of components, you should choose the most appropriate species as the Fuel species for the soot formation model. Similarly, the most signicant oxidizing component (e.g., O2 ) should be selected as the Oxidant.
Setting Model Parameters for the Single-Step Model

When you choose the One-Step model for soot formation, the modeling parameters to be dened are those used in Equations 20.2-3, 20.2-5, and 20.2-6: Soot Formation Constant is the parameter Cs in Equation 20.2-3. Equivalence Ratio Exponent is the exponent r in Equation 20.2-3.
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Equivalence Ratio Minimum and Equivalence Ratio Maximum are the minimum and maximum values of the fuel equivalence ratio in Equation 20.2-3. Equation 20.2-3 will be solved only if Equivalence Ratio Minimum < < Equivalence Ratio Maximum; if is outside of this range, there is no soot formation. Activation Temperature of Soot Formation Rate is the term E/R in Equation 20.2-3. Magnussen Constant for Soot Combustion is the constant A used in the rate expressions governing the soot combustion rate (Equations 20.2-5 and 20.2-6). Note that the default values for these parameters are for propane fuel [57, 363], and are considered to be valid for a wide range of hydrocarbon fuels.
Setting Model Parameters for the Two-Step Model

When you choose the Two-Step model for soot formation, the modeling parameters to be dened are those used in Equations 20.2-5, 20.2-6, 20.2-9, 20.2-11, and 20.2-12: Limiting Nuclei Formation Rate is the limiting value of the kinetic nuclei formation rate 0 in Equation 20.2-12. Below this limiting value, the branching and termination term, (f g) in Equation 20.2-11, is not included. Nuclei Branching-Termination Coecient is the term (f g) in Equation 20.2-11. Nuclei Coecient of Linear Termination on Soot is the term g0 in Equation 20.2-11. Pre-Exponential Constant of Nuclei Formation is the pre-exponential term a0 in the kinetic nuclei formation term, Equation 20.2-12. Activation Temperature of Nuclei Formation Rate is the term E/R in the kinetic nuclei formation term, Equation 20.2-12. Constant Alpha for Soot Formation Rate is , the constant in the soot formation rate equation, Equation 20.2-9. Constant Beta for Soot Formation Rate is , the constant in the soot formation rate equation, Equation 20.2-9. Magnussen Constant for Soot and Nuclei Combustion is the constant A used in the rate expressions governing the soot combustion rate (Equations 20.2-5 and 20.2-6). The default values for the two-step model are the same as in Magnussen and Hjertager [215] (for an acetylene ame), except for a0 , which is assumed to have the original value from Tesner et al. [349]. If your model involves propane fuel rather that acetylene, it is recommended that you change the value of to 3.5 108 [5]. For best results, you should modify both of these parameters, using empirically determined inputs for your specic combustion system.
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20.2 Soot Formation
Dening Boundary Conditions for the Soot Model

At ow inlet boundaries, you will need to specify the Soot Mass Fraction, Ysoot , in Equation 20.2-1, and (for the two-step model only) the Nuclei mass concentration, b , in nuc Equation 20.2-7. Dene Boundary Conditions... You can retain the default inlet values of zero for both quantities or you can input non-zero numbers as appropriate for your combustion system.
Coupled Soot Calculations

If you are calculating a coupled solution for the soot and the ow eld, you will generally need to increase the convergence criteria for soot (and nuclei, for the two-step model) to 104 . You may choose to keep the recommended value of 105 used for the uncoupled soot calculation, but be aware that the coupled solution may not be able to converge to this stricter tolerance. For coupled calculations you should also use a lower under-relaxation factor for soot (and nuclei, for the two-step model). A value of 0.2 will be suitable in most cases. If you are calculating a coupled solution and you are modeling radiative heat transfer using a variable absorption coecient, you should enable the Generalized Model for SootRadiation Interaction in the Soot Model panel. When this option is enabled, FLUENT will include the eect of soot on the variable radiation absorption coecient, as described in Section 12.3.9: The Eect of Soot on the Absorption Coecient.
Reporting Soot Quantities

FLUENT provides several additional reporting options when your model includes soot formation. You can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following items: Mass fraction of Soot Mole fraction of Soot Soot Density Rate of Soot Mass fraction of Nuclei (two-step model only) Rate of Nuclei (two-step model only) Both of these parameters are contained in the Soot... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels.
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Chapter 21. Predicting Aerodynamically Generated Noise

The discipline of acoustics, which is a study of pressure waves in uids, is intimately related to uid dynamics. Many sounds that are technologically important in industrial applications are generated by and propagated in uid ows. The phenomena associated with sounds can therefore be understood and analyzed in the general framework of uid dynamics. The governing equations for acoustics are indeed the same as the ones governing uid ows. The main challenge in numerically predicting sound waves stems from the well-recognized fact that sounds have much lower energy than uid ows, typically by several orders of magnitude. This poses a great challenge to the computation of sounds in terms of diculty of numerically resolving sound waves, especially when one is interested in predicting sound propagation to the far-eld. Another challenge comes from the diculty of predicting the very ow phenomena (e.g., turbulence) in the near eld that are responsible for generating sounds. This chapter provides an overview of FLUENTs approaches to computing aerodynamically generated sound, the underlying theories, the model setup, and the procedure for computing sound. Section 21.1: Overview Section 21.2: Acoustics Model Theory Section 21.3: Using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Acoustics Model Section 21.4: Using the Broadband Noise Source Models
21.1
Overview
Considering the breadth of the discipline and the challenges encountered in computing sounds, it is not surprising that a number of computational approaches have been proposed over the years whose sophistication, applicability, and cost widely vary. FLUENT oers three approaches to computing sounds, a direct method, an integral method based on acoustic analogy, and a broadband-noise-source-models method.
21-1
Predicting Aerodynamically Generated Noise
21.1.1
Direct Method
In this method, both generation and propagation of sound waves are directly computed by solving the appropriate uid dynamics equations. Prediction of sound waves always requires time-accurate solutions to the governing equations. Furthermore, in most practical applications of the direct method, one has to employ governing equations that are capable of modeling viscous and turbulence eects, such as unsteady Navier-Stokes equations (i.e., DNS), RANS equations, and ltered equations used in DES and LES. The direct method is thus computationally dicult and expensive inasmuch as it requires highly accurate numerics, very ne computational meshes all the way to receivers, and acoustically non-reecting boundary conditions. The computational cost becomes prohibitive when sound is to be predicted in the far-eld (e.g., hundreds of chord-lengths in the case of an airfoil). The direct method becomes feasible when receivers are in the near eld (e.g., cabin noise). In many such situations involving near-eld sound, sounds (or pseudo-sounds for that matter) are predominantly due to local hydrodynamic pressure which can be predicted with a reasonable cost and accuracy. Since sound propagation is directly resolved in this method, one normally needs to solve the compressible form of the governing equations (e.g., compressible RANS equations, compressible form of ltered equations for LES). Only in situations where the ow is low subsonic and the receivers in the near eld sense primarily local hydrodynamic pressure uctuations (i.e., pseudo sound) can incompressible ow formulations be used. But this incompressible treatment will also not allow to simulate resonance and feedback phenomena.
21.1.2
Integral Method Based on Acoustic Analogy
For predictions of mid- to far-eld noise, the methods based on Lighthills acoustic analogy [196] oer viable alternatives to the direct method. In this approach, the near-eld ow obtained from appropriate governing equations such as unsteady RANS equations, DES, or LES are used to predict the sound with the aid of analytically derived integral solutions to wave equations. The acoustic analogy essentially decouples the propagation of sound from its generation, allowing one to separate the ow solution process from the acoustics analysis. FLUENT oers a method based on the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) equation and its integral solutions [97]. The FW-H formulation adopts the most general form of Lighthills acoustic analogy, and is capable of predicting sound generated by equivalent acoustic sources such as monopoles, dipoles, and quadrupoles. FLUENT adopts a time-domain integral formulation wherein time histories of sound pressure, or acoustic signals, at prescribed receiver locations are directly computed by evaluating a few surface integrals. Time-accurate solutions of the ow-eld variables, such as pressure, velocity components, and density on source (emission) surfaces, are required to evaluate the surface integrals.
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21.1 Overview
Time-accurate solutions can be obtained from unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations, large eddy simulation (LES), or detached eddy simulation (DES) as appropriate for the ow at hand and the features that you want to capture (e.g., vortex shedding). The source surfaces can be placed not only on impermeable walls, but also on interior (permeable) surfaces, which enables you to account for the contributions from the quadrupoles enclosed by the source surfaces. Both broadband and tonal noise can be predicted depending on the nature of the ow (noise source) being considered, turbulence model employed, and the time-scale of the ow resolved in the ow calculation. The FW-H acoustics model in FLUENT allows you to select multiple source surfaces and receivers. It also permits you either to save the source data for a future use, or to carry out an on-the-y acoustic calculation simultaneously as the transient ow calculation proceeds, or both. Sound pressure signals thus obtained can be processed using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and associated post-processing capabilities to compute and plot such acoustic quantities as the overall sound pressure level (SPL) and power spectra. One important limitation of FLUENTs FW-H model is that it is applicable only to predicting the propagation of sound toward free space. Thus, while the model can be legitimately used to predict far-eld noise due to external aerodynamic ows, such as the ows around ground-vehicles and aircrafts, it cannot be used for predicting the noise propagation inside ducts or wall-enclosed space.
21.1.3
Broadband Noise Source Models
In many practical applications involving turbulent ows, noise does not have any distinct tones, and the sound energy is continuously distributed over a broad range of frequencies. In those situations involving broadband noise, statistical turbulence quantities readily computable from RANS equations can be utilized, in conjunction with semi-empirical correlations and Lighthills acoustic analogy, to shed some light on the source of broadband noise. FLUENT oers several such source models that enable you to quantify the local contribution (per unit surface are or volume) to the total acoustic power generated by the ow. They are: Proudmans formula Jet noise source model Boundary layer noise source model Source terms in the linearized Euler equations Source terms in Lilleys equation
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Considering that one would ultimately want to come up with some measures to mitigate the noise generated by the ow in question, the source models can be employed to extract useful diagnostics on the noise source to determine which portion of the ow is primarily responsible for the noise generation. Note, however, that these source models do not predict the sound at receivers. Unlike the direct method and the FW-H integral method, the broadband-noise-source models do not require transient solutions to any governing uid dynamics equations. All the source models need are what typical RANS models would provide, such as the mean velocity eld, turbulent kinetic energy (k) and the dissipation rate (). Therefore, the use of broadband-source models requires the least computational resources.
21.2
Acoustics Model Theory
This section describes the theoretical background for the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings model and the broadband noise source models.
21.2.1
The Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Model
The Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) equation is essentially an inhomogeneous wave equation that can be derived by manipulating the continuity equation and the Navier-Stokes equations. The FW-H [39, 97] equation can be written as:
1 2p a2 t2 0
2 {Tij H(f )} xi xj {[Pij nj + ui (un vn )] (f )} xi {[0 vn + (un vn )] (f )} + t =
(21.2-1)
where ui un vi vn (f ) H(f ) = = = = = = uid velocity component in the xi direction uid velocity component normal to the surface f = 0 surface velocity components in the xi direction surface velocity component normal to the surface Dirac delta function Heaviside function
p is the sound pressure at the far eld (p = p p0 ). f = 0 denotes a mathematical surface introduced to embed the exterior ow problem (f > 0) in an unbounded space, which facilitates the use of generalized function theory and the free-space Green function to obtain the solution. The surface (f = 0) corresponds to the source (emission) surface, and can be made coincident with a body (impermeable) surface or a permeable surface
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21.2 Acoustics Model Theory
o the body surface. ni is the unit normal vector pointing toward the exterior region (f > 0), a0 is the far-eld sound speed, and Tij is the Lighthill stress tensor, dened as Tij = ui uj + Pij a2 ( 0 ) ij 0 Pij is the compressive stress tensor. For a Stokesian uid, this is given by Pij = pij ui uj 2 uk + ij xj xi 3 xk (21.2-3) (21.2-2)
The free-stream quantities are denoted by the subscript 0. The solution to Equation 21.2-1 is obtained using the free-space Green function ((g)/4r). The complete solution consists of surface integrals and volume integrals. The surface integrals represent the contributions from monopole and dipole acoustic sources and partially from quadrupole sources, whereas the volume integrals represent quadrupole (volume) sources in the region outside the source surface. The contribution of the volume integrals becomes small when the ow is low-subsonic and the source surface encloses the source region. In FLUENT, the volume integrals are dropped. Thus, we have p (x, t) = pT (x, t) + pL (x, t) where (21.2-4)
4pT (x, t) = +
f =0
0 Un + Un r (1 Mr )2
dS
dS r2 (1 Mr )3 1 Lr 4pL (x, t) = dS a0 f =0 r (1 Mr )2 Lr L M dS + 2 (1 M )2 f =0 r r Lr rMr + a0 (Mr M 2 ) 1 dS + a0 f =0 r2 (1 Mr )3

f =0
0 Un rMr + a0 (Mr M 2 )
(21.2-5)
(21.2-6)
21-5
where (ui vi ) 0 = Pij nj + ui (un vn )
Ui = v i + Li
(21.2-7) (21.2-8)
When the integration surface coincides with an impenetrable wall, the two terms on the right in Equation 21.2-4, pT (x, t) and pL (x, t), are often referred to as thickness and loading terms, respectively, in light of their physical meanings. The square brackets in Equations 21.2-5 and 21.2-6 denote that the kernels of the integrals are computed at the corresponding retarded times, , dened as follows, given the observer time, t, and the distance to the observer, r, =t r a0 (21.2-9)
The various subscripted quantities appearing in Equations 21.2-5 and 21.2-6 are the inner products of a vector and a unit vector implied by the subscript. For instance, Lr = L = Li ri and Un = U n = Ui ni , where r and n denote the unit vectors in r the radiation and wall-normal directions, respectively. The dot over a variable denotes source-time dierentiation of that variable. Please note the following remarks regarding the applicability of this integral solution: The FW-H formulation in FLUENT can handle rotating surfaces as well as stationary surfaces. It is not required that the surface f = 0 coincide with body surfaces or walls. The formulation permits source surfaces to be permeable, and therefore can be placed in the interior of the ow. When a permeable source surface (either interior or non-conformal sliding interface) is placed at a certain distance o the body surface, the integral solutions given by Equations 21.2-5 and 21.2-6 include the contributions from the quadrupole sources within the region enclosed by the source surface. When using a permeable source surface, the mesh resolution needs to be ne enough to resolve the transient ow structures inside the volume enclosed by the permeable surface.
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21.2.2
Broadband Noise Source Models
Proudmans formula
Proudman [269], using Lighthills acoustic analogy, derived a formula for acoustic power generated by isotropic turbulence without mean ow. More recently, Lilley [197] rederived the formula by accounting for the retarded time dierence which was neglected in Proudmans original derivation. Both derivations yield acoustic power due to unit volume of isotropic turbulence (in W/m3 ) as u3 u5 a5 0
PA = 0
(21.2-10)
where u and are the turbulence velocity and length scales, respectively, and a0 is the speed of sound. in Equation 21.2-10 is a model constant. In terms of k and , Equation 21.2-10 can be rewritten as PA = 0 Mt5 where Mt = 2k a0 (21.2-12) (21.2-13) The re-scaled constant, , is set to 0.1 in FLUENT based on the calibration of Sarkar and Hussaini [292] using direct numerical simulation of isotropic turbulence. FLUENT can also report the acoustic power in dB, which is computed from LP = 10 log PA Pref (21.2-14) (21.2-11)
where Pref is the reference acoustic power (Pref = 1012 W/m3 by default). The Proudmans formula gives an approximate measure of the local contribution to total acoustic power per unit volume in a given turbulence eld. Proper caution, however, should be taken when interpreting the results in view of the assumptions made in the derivation, such as high Reynolds number, small Mach number, isotropy of turbulence, and zero mean motion.
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Jet noise source model

This source model for axisymmetric jets is based on the works of Goldstein [116] who modied the model originally proposed by Ribner [281] to better account for anisotropy of turbulence in axisymmetric turbulent jets. In Goldsteins model, the total acoustic power emitted by the unit volume of a turbulent jet is computed from
2 0 2 0
PA (y) =
I(r, ; y)r2 sin d d I(r, ; y) sin d (21.2-15)
= 2r
where r and are the radial and angular coordinates of the receiver location, and I(r, ; y) is the directional acoustic intensity per unit volume of a jet dened by
4 4 12 0 f L1 L2 u2 Dself 24 0 f L1 L4 u2 2 t1 2 t1 + I(r, ; y) = 5 2 5 2 5 5 a0 r C a0 r 2
U r
Dshear C5
(21.2-16)
C in Equation 21.2-16 is the modied convection factor dened by C = 1 Mc cos and Dself = 1 + 2( + Dshear M N ) cos2 sin2 9 (21.2-18) (21.2-19) (21.2-20) (21.2-17)
1 M2 1.5 2 + M 1.5N (3 3N + 2 ) sin4 3 7 2 1 1 = cos2 cos2 + 2N sin2 2 2
The remaining parameters are dened as
L2 L1 3 1 M = 2 2 ut2 N = 1 u2 t1 =
(21.2-21)
2
(21.2-22) (21.2-23)
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L1 = L2 =
u2 t1 u2 t2
3/2
(21.2-24)
3/2
(21.2-25) (21.2-26)
f = 2
where u2 and u2 are computed dierently depending on the turbulence model chosen for t1 t2 the computation. When the RSM is selected, they are computed from the corresponding normal stresses. For all other two-equation turbulence models, they are obtained from u2 = t1 u2 t2 8 k 9 4 = k 9 (21.2-27) (21.2-28) (21.2-29) FLUENT reports the acoustic power both in the dimensional units (W/m3 ) and in dB computed from LP = 10 log where Pref is the reference acoustic power (Pref PA Pref = 1012 W/m3 by default). (21.2-30)
Boundary layer noise source model

Far-eld sound generated by turbulent boundary layer ow over a solid body at low Mach numbers is often of practical interest. The Curles integral [64] based on acoustic analogy can be used to approximate the local contribution from the body surface to the total acoustic power. To that end, one can start with the Curles integral 1 (xi yi ) ni p (y, ) dS(y) (21.2-31) 4a0 S r2 t where denotes the emission time ( = t r/a0 ), and S the integration surface. p (x, t) = Using this, the sound intensity in the far eld can then be approximated by 1 16 2 a2 0 cos2 p (y, ) Ac (y) dS(y) r2 t
2
p2
(21.2-32)
where Ac is the correlation area, r |x y|, and cos is the angle between |x y| and the wall-normal direction n.
21-9
The total acoustic power emitted from the entire body surface can be computed from
PA = =
1 0 a0
S
2 0 0
p 2 r2 sin dd (21.2-33)
I(y) dS(y)
where Ac (y) p I(y) 120 a3 t 0

2
(21.2-34)
which can be interpreted as the local contribution per unit surface area of the body surface to the total acoustic power. The mean-square time-derivative of the surface pressure and the correlation area are further approximated in terms of turbulent quantities like turbulent kinetic energy, dissipation rate, and wall-shear. FLUENT reports the acoustic surface power dened by Equation 21.2-34 both in physical (W/m2 ) and dB units.
Source Terms in the Linearized Euler Equations

The linearized Euler equations (LEE) can be derived from the Navier-Stokes equations starting from decompositions of the ow variables into mean, turbulent, and acoustic components, and by assuming that the acoustic components are much smaller than the mean and turbulent components. The resulting linearized Euler equations for the acoustic velocity components can be written as uai Ui 1 pa a P uai + Uj + uaj + 2 = t xj xj xi xi Uj ui Ui u u 1 p uj i+ uu uj i xj xj xj xi t xj j i
Lsh Lse
(21.2-35)
where the subscript a refers to the corresponding acoustic components, and the prime superscript refers to the turbulent components. The right-hand side of Equation 21.2-35 can be considered as eective source terms responsible for sound generation. Among them, the rst three terms involving turbulence are the main contributors. The rst two terms denoted by Lsh are often referred to as shear-noise source terms, since they involve the mean shear. The third term denoted by Lse is often called the self-noise source term, for it involves turbulent velocity components only. The turbulent velocity eld needed to compute the LEE source terms is obtained using the method of stochastic noise generation and radiation (SNGR) [26]. In this method,
21-10
the turbulent velocity eld and its derivatives are computed from a sum of N Fourier modes.
N
u (x, t) = 2
n=1
un cos kn x + n n
(21.2-36)
where un , n , n are the amplitude, phase, and directional (unit) vector of the n-th Fourier mode associated with the wave-number vector kn . Note that the source terms in the LEE are vector quantities, having two or three components depending on the dimension of the problem at hand.
Source Terms in Lilleys Equation

Lilleys equation is a third-order wave equation that can be derived by combining the conservation of mass and momentum of compressible uids. When the viscous terms are omitted, it can be written in the following form: D D2 2 Dt Dt xj where = (1/) ln ppo . Lilleys equation can be linearized about the underlying steady ow as ui (x, t) = Ui (x) + ui (x, t) where u (x, t) is the turbulent velocity component. Substituting Equation 21.2-38 into the source term of Equation 21.2-37, we have S 2 uk uj ui xi xk xj Uk Uj Ui u u u Uk Uj ui u u Ui = 2 2 k j i 6 6 k j xi xk xj xi xk xj xi xk xj xi xk xj Self-Noise terms Shear-Noise terms (21.2-38) a2 xj uk a2 xj xk xj = 2 uk uj ui xi xk xj
+2
(21.2-37)
(21.2-39)
The resulting source terms in Equation 21.2-39 are evaluated using the mean velocity eld and the turbulent (uctuating) velocity components synthesized by the SNGR method. As with the LEE source terms, the source terms in Equation 21.2-39 are grouped depending on whether the mean velocity gradients are involved (shear-noise or not self-noise), and reported separately in FLUENT.
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21.3
Using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Acoustics Model
The procedure for computing sound using the FW-H acoustics model in FLUENT consists largely of two steps. In the rst step, a time-accurate ow solution is generated, from which time histories of the relevant variables (e.g., pressure, velocity, and density) on the selected source surfaces are obtained. In the second step, sound pressure signals at the user-specied receiver locations are computed using the source data collected during the rst step.
Note that you can also use the FW-H model for a steady-state simulation in the case where your model has a single rotating reference frame. Here, the loading noise due to the motion of the noise sources is computed using the FW-H integrals (see Equations 21.2-5 and 21.2-6), except that the term involving the time derivative of surface pressure (Lr in Equation 21.2-6) is set to zero.
In computing sound pressure using the FW-H integral solution, FLUENT uses a so-called forward-time projection to account for the time-delay between the emission time (the time at which the sound is emitted from the source) and the reception time (the time at which the sound arrives at the receiver location). The forward-time projection approach enables you to compute sound at the same time on-the-y as the transient ow solution progresses, without having to save the source data. In this section, the procedure for setting up and using the FW-H acoustics model is outlined rst, followed by detailed descriptions of each of the steps involved. Remember that only the steps that are pertinent to acoustics modeling are discussed here. For information about the inputs related to other models that you are using in conjunction with the FW-H acoustics model, see the appropriate sections for those models. The general procedure for carrying out an FW-H acoustics calculation in FLUENT is as follows: 1. Calculate a converged ow solution. For a transient case, run the transient solution until you obtain a statistically steady-state solution as described below. 2. Enable the FW-H acoustics model and set the associated model parameters. Dene Models Acoustics 3. Specify the source surface(s) and choose the options associated with acquisition and saving of the source data. For a steady-state case, specify the rotating surface zone(s) as the source surface(s). 4. Specify the receiver location(s). 5. Continue the transient solution for a suciently long period of time and save the source data (transient cases only).
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21.3 Using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Acoustics Model
Solve Iterate... 6. Compute and save the sound pressure signals. Solve Acoustic Signals 7. Postprocess the sound pressure signals. Plot FFT...
Before you start the acoustics calculation for a transient case, a FLUENT transient solution should have been run to a point where the transient ow-eld has become statistically steady. In practice, this means that the unsteady ow-eld under consideration, including all the major ow variables, has become fully developed in such a way that its statistics do not change with time. Monitoring the major ow variables at selected points in the domain is helpful for determining if this condition has been met.
As discussed earlier, URANS, DES, and LES are all legitimate candidates for transient ow calculations. For stationary source surfaces, the frequency of the aerodynamically generated sound heard at the receivers is largely determined by the time scale or frequency of the underlying ow. Therefore, one way to determine the time-step size for the transient computation is to make it small enough to resolve the smallest characteristic time scale of the ow at hand that can be reproduced by the mesh and turbulence adopted in your model. Once you have obtained a statistically stationary ow-eld solution, you are ready to acquire the source data.
21.3.1
Enabling the FW-H Acoustics Model
To enable the FW-H acoustics model, select Ffowcs-Williams & Hawkings in the Acoustics Model panel (Figure 21.3.1). Dene Models Acoustics... When you turn on Ffowcs-Williams & Hawkings, the panel will expand to show the relevant elds for user-inputs.
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Figure 21.3.1: The Acoustics Model Panel
Setting Model Constants

Under Model Constants in the Acoustics Model panel, specify the relevant acoustic parameters and constants used by the model. Far-Field Density (for example, 0 in Equation 21.2-1) is the far-eld uid density. Far-Field Sound Speed (for example, a0 in Equation 21.2-1) is the sound speed in the far eld (= RT0 ). Reference Acoustic Pressure (for example, pref in Equation 29.10-11) is used to calculate the sound pressure level in dB (see Section 29.10.4: Using the FFT Utility). The default reference acoustic pressure is 2 105 Pa. Number of Time Steps Per Revolution is available only for steady-state cases that have a single rotating reference frame. Here you will specify the number of equivalent time steps that it will take for the rotating zone to complete one revolution. Number of Revolutions is available only for steady-state cases that have a single rotating reference frame. Here you will specify the number of revolutions that will be simulated in the model. Source Correlation Length is required when sound is to be computed using a 2D ow result. The FW-H integrals will be evaluated over this length in the depth-wise direction using the identical source data. The default values are appropriate for sound propagating in air at atmospheric pressure and temperature.
21-14
Computing Sound On-the-Fly

The FW-H acoustics model in FLUENT allows you to perform simultaneous calculation of the sound pressure signals at the prescribed receivers without having to write the source data to les, which can save a signicant amount of disk space on your machine. To enable this on-the-y calculation of sound, turn on the Compute Acoustic Signals Simultaneously option in the Acoustics Model panel.
Because the noise computation takes a negligible percentage of memory and computational time compared to a transient ow calculation, this option can be used by itself or along with the process of source data le export and sound calculation. For the latter, computing signals on the y allows you to see when the signals have become statistically steady so you can know when to stop the simulation.
When the Compute Acoustic Signals Simultaneously option is enabled, the FLUENT console window will print a message at the end of each time step indicating that the sound pressure signals have been computed (e.g., Computing sound signals at x receiver locations ..., where x is the number of receivers you specied). Enabling this option instructs FLUENT to compute sound pressure signals at the end of each time step, which will slightly increase the computation time.
Note that this option is available only when the FW-H acoustics model has been enabled. See below for details about exporting source data without enabling the FW-H model.
Writing Source Data Files

Although the on-the-y capability is a convenient feature, you will want to save the source data as well, because the acquisition of source data during a transient ow-eld calculation is the most time-consuming part of acoustics computations, and you most likely will not want to discard it. By saving the source data, you can always reuse it to compute the sound pressure signals at new or additional receiver locations. To enable saving the source data to les, turn on the Export Acoustic Source Data option in the Acoustics Model panel. Once this option is selected, the relevant source data at all face elements of the selected source surfaces will be written into the les you specify. The source data vary depending on the solver option you have chosen and whether the source surface is a wall or not. Table 21.3.1 shows the ow variables saved as the source data. See Section 21.3.2: Specifying Source Surfaces for details on how to specify parameters for exporting source data.
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Table 21.3.1: Source Data Saved in Source Data Files Solver Option incompressible incompressible compressible compressible Source Surface walls permeable surfaces walls permeable surfaces Source data p p, u, v, w p , p, u, v, w
Exporting Source Data Without Enabling the FW-H Model You can also export sound source data for use with SYSNOISE without having to enable the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) model. You will still need to specify source surfaces (see Section 21.3.2: Specifying Source Surfaces), as .index and .asd les are required by SYSNOISE. In addition, you can choose uid zones as emission sources if you want to export quadrupole sources. To enable the selection of uid zones as sources, use the define models acoustics export-volumetric-sources? text command and change the selection to yes. SYSNOISE also requires centroid data for source zones that are being exported. Once you have specied the source zones in the Acoustic Sources panel (Figure 21.3.2), you can export the centroid data to a .data le by using the define models acoustics write-centroid-info text command. Since you will not be using the FW-H model to compute signals, you will not need to specify any acoustic model parameters or receiver locations. Also, you will not be able to turn on the Compute Acoustic Signals Simultaneously option in the Acoustics Model panel, and Acoustic Signals... will not be available in the Solve menu.
21.3.2
Specifying Source Surfaces
In the Acoustics Model panel, click the Sources... button to open the Acoustic Sources panel (Figure 21.3.2). Here you will specify the source surface(s) to be used in the acoustics calculation and the inputs associated with saving source data to les. Under Source Zones, you can select multiple emission (source) surfaces and the surface Type that you can select is not limited to a wall. You can also choose interior surfaces and sliding interfaces (both stationary and rotating) as source surfaces.
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Figure 21.3.2: The Acoustic Sources Panel
The ability to choose multiple source surfaces is useful for investigating the contributions from individual source surfaces. The results based on the use of multiple source surfaces are valid as long as there are negligible acoustic interactions among the surfaces. Thus, some caution needs to be taken when selecting multiple source surfaces.
In cases where multiple source surfaces are selected, no source surface may enclose any of the other source surfaces. Otherwise, the sound pressure calculated based on the source surfaces will not be accurate, as the contribution from the enclosed (inner) source surfaces is over predicted, since the FW-H model is unable to account for the shading of the sound from the inner source surfaces by the enclosure surface. If you specify any interior surfaces as source surfaces, the interior surface must be generated in advance (e.g., in GAMBIT) in such a way that the two cell zones adjacent to the surface have dierent cell zone IDs. Furthermore, you must correctly specify which of the two zones is occupied by the quadrupole sources (interior cell zone). This will allow FLUENT to determine the direction in which the sound will propagate. When you rst attempt to select a legitimate interior surface (i.e., an interior surface having two dierent cell zones on both sides) as a source surface, the Interior Cell Zone Selection panel (Figure 21.3.3) will appear. You will then need to select the interior cell zones from the two zones listed under the Interior Cell Zone. Figure 21.3.4 shows an example of
21-17
an interior source surface.
Figure 21.3.3: The Interior Cell Zone Selection Panel
Like general interior surfaces, if the source surfaces selected are sliding interfaces, a panel similar to Figure 21.3.3 will appear that will show the two adjacent cell zones and you will be asked to specify the zone which has the sound sources.
When a permeable surface (either interior or sliding interface) is chosen as the source surface, other wall surfaces inside the volume enclosed by the permeable surface that generate sound should not be chosen for the acoustics calculation. For example, when running an on-the-y calculation, if both these surfaces are selected, the sound pressure will be counted twice.
3.36e+03 2.92e+03 2.48e+03 2.04e+03 1.59e+03 1.15e+03 7.12e+02 2.70e+02 -1.71e+02 -6.13e+02 -1.05e+03 -1.50e+03 -1.94e+03 -2.38e+03 -2.82e+03 -3.26e+03 -3.70e+03 -4.14e+03 -4.59e+03 -5.03e+03 -5.47e+03
outer fluid interior source surface
inner fluid
Contours of Static Pressure (pascal) (Time=2.2210e-02) Jan 30, 2004 FLUENT 6.2 (2d, segregated, LES, unsteady)
Figure 21.3.4: An Interior Source Surface
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Saving Source Data

To save the source data, you have to specify the Source Data Root File Name, Write Frequency (in number of time steps), and No. of Time Steps Per File in the Acoustic Sources panel. The Source Data Root File Name is used to give the names of the source data les (e.g., acoustic examplexxxx.asd, where xxxx is the global time-step index of the transient solution) and an index le (e.g., acoustic example.index) that will store the information associated with the source data . The Write Frequency allows you to control how often the source data will be written. This will enable you to save disk space if the time-step size used in the transient ow simulation is smaller than necessary to resolve the sound frequency you are attempting to predict. In most situations, however, you will want to save the source data at every time step and use the default value of 1. Since acoustics calculations usually generate thousands of time steps of source data, you may want to split the data into several les. Specifying the No. of Time Steps Per File allows you to write the source data into separate les for dierent simulation intervals, the duration of which (in terms of the number of transient ow time steps) is specied by you. For example, if you specify 100 for this parameter, each le will contain source data for an interval length of 100 time steps regardless of the write frequency. You will nd this feature useful if you want to use a selected number of source data les to compute the sound pressure rather than using all the data. For example, you may want to exclude an initial portion of the source data from your acoustics calculation because you may realize later that the ow eld has not fully attained a statistically steady state. After you click Apply, FLUENT will create the index le (e.g., acoustics example.index), which contains information about the source data.
If you choose to save source data, keep in mind that the source data can use up a considerable amount of disk space, especially if the mesh being used has a large number of face elements on the source surfaces you selected. FLUENT will print out the disk space requirement per time step at the time of source surface selection if the Export Acoustic Source Data option is enabled in the Acoustics Model panel.
At this point, if you have chosen to perform your acoustics calculation in two steps, (i.e., saving the source data rst, and computing the sound at a later time), you can go ahead and instruct FLUENT to perform a suitable number of time steps, and the source data will be saved to the disk. If you have chosen to perform an on-the-y acoustic calculation, then you will need to specify receiver locations (see Section 21.3.3: Specifying Acoustic Receivers) before you run the unsteady FLUENT solution any further.
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21.3.3
Specifying Acoustic Receivers
In the Acoustics Model panel, click the Receivers... button to open the Acoustic Receivers panel (Figure 21.3.5).
Figure 21.3.5: The Acoustic Receivers Panel
Note that you can also open the Acoustic Receivers panel by clicking the Receivers... button in the Acoustic Sources or the Acoustic Signals panels.
Increase the No. of Receivers to the total number of receivers for which you want to compute sound, and enter the coordinates for each receiver in the X-Coord., Y-Coord., and Z-Coord. elds. Note that because FLUENTs acoustics model is ideally suited for fareld noise prediction, the receiver locations you dene should be at a reasonable distance from the sources of sound (i.e., the selected source surfaces). The receiver locations can also fall outside of the computational domain. For each receiver, you can specify a le name in the Signal File Name eld. These les will be used to store the sound pressure signals at the corresponding receivers. By default, the les will be named receiver-1.ard, receiver-2.ard, etc. Once the receiver locations have been dened, the setup for your acoustic calculation is complete. You can now proceed to instruct FLUENT to perform a transient calculation for a suitable number of time steps. When the calculation is nished, you will have either the source data saved on les (if you chose to save it to a le or les), or the sound pressure signals (if you chose to perform an acoustic calculation on-the-y), or both (if you chose to save the source data to les and if you chose to perform the acoustic calculation on-the-y). If you chose to save the source data to les, the FLUENT console window will print a message at the end of each time step indicating that source data have been written (or appended to) a le (e.g., acoustic example240.asd).
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21.3.4
Postprocessing for the FW-H Acoustics Model
At this point, you will have either the source data saved to les or the sound pressure signals computed, or both. You can process these data to compute and plot various acoustic quantities using FLUENTs FFT capabilities. See Section 29.10: Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Postprocessing for more information.
Writing Acoustic Signals

If you chose to perform the acoustic calculation on-the-y, you will need to write the sound pressure data to les. To do so, select Write Acoustic Signals under Options in the Acoustic Signals panel (Figure 21.3.6) and then click Write. The computed acoustic pressure will be saved from internal buer memory into a separate le for each receiver you dened in the Acoustic Receivers panel (e.g., receiver-1.ard). Solve Acoustic Signals...
Reading Unsteady Acoustic Source Data

Computing the sound pressure signals using the source data saved to les is done in the Acoustic Signals panel (Figure 21.3.6). Solve Acoustic Signals... To compute the sound data, use the following procedure: 1. In the Acoustic Signals panel, select Read Unsteady Acoustic Source Data Files under Options. 2. Click Load Index File... and select the index le for your computation in the Select File dialog box. The le will have the name you entered in the Source Data Root Filename eld in the Acoustic Sources panel, followed by the .index sux (e.g., acoustic example.index). 3. In the Source Data Files list, select the source data les that you want to use to compute sound. Source data les will all contain the specied root le name followed by the sux .asd.
You can use any number of source data les. However, note that you should select only consecutive les.
4. In the Active Source Zones list, select the source zones you want to include to compute sound. See Section 21.3.2: Specifying Source Surfaces for details about proper source surface selection.
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Figure 21.3.6: The Acoustic Signals Panel
5. In the Receivers list, select the receivers for which you want to compute and save sound. Optionally, you can click the Receivers... button to open the Acoustic Receivers panel and dene additional receivers. 6. Click the Compute/Write button to compute and save the sound pressure data. One le will be saved for each receiver you previously specied in the Acoustic Receivers panel (e.g., receiver-1.ard).
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If you enabled both the Export Acoustic Source Data and Compute Acoustic Signals Simultaneously options in the Acoustics Model panel, you will need to rst select the Write Acoustic Signals option in the Acoustic Signals panel after the ow simulation has been completed. If you select the Read Unsteady Acoustic Source Data Files before writing out the on-the-y data in such a case, the data will be ushed out of the internal buer memory. To avoid such a loss of data, you should save the FLUENT case and data les whenever you begin to do an acoustic computation in the Acoustic Signals panel. The sound pressure data calculated on-the-y will then be saved into the .dat le. Finally, after the on-the-y data are saved, make sure to change the le names of the receivers before doing a sound pressure calculation with the Read Unsteady Acoustic Source Data Files option enabled, to avoid overwriting the on-the-y signal les. Note that you can compute and write sound pressure signals only when the FW-H acoustics model has been enabled. See Section 21.3.1: Exporting Source Data Without Enabling the FW-H Model for details about exporting source data (e.g., for SYSNOISE) without enabling the FW-H model.
Automatically Pruning the Signal Data Before the computed sound pressure data at each receiver is saved, it is by default automatically pruned. Pruning of the receiver data means clipping the tails of the signal where incomplete source information is available. The acoustic source data is tabulated from time 0 to n . Without auto-pruning, the receiver register begins receiving the earliest sound pressure signal at rmin t0 = 0 + a0 where rmin is the shortest distance between the source surfaces and the receiver. However, the receiver will not receive the sound pressure signal from the farthest point on the source surfaces (rmax ) until the receiver time becomes rmax t1 = 0 + a0 From time t0 to t1 , the sound accumulated on the receiver register does not include the contribution from the entire source surface area, and thus the sound pressure data received during that time is not complete. The same thing occurs during the period from rmin tm = m + a0 to rmax tn = n + a0
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Thus, pruning means clipping the signal on the incomplete ends, from t0 to t1 and tm to tn . Auto-pruning can be disabled using the define models acoustics auto-prune text command. Although auto-pruning can be disabled, it is expected that you will use only the complete sound pressure data.
Reporting Option
The RMS value of the time-derivative of the static pressure (p/t) is for postprocessing available on surfaces when the FW-H acoustics model is used. Select Surface dpdt RMS in the Acoustics... category in the relevant postprocessing panels.
Using the FFT Capabilities

Once the sound pressure signals are computed and saved in les, the sound data is ready to be analyzed using FLUENTs FFT tools. In the Fourier Transform panel (Figure 29.10.1), click on Load Input File... and select the appropriate .ard le. If the receiver data is still in FLUENTs memory, then it can directly be processed using the Process Receiver option. See Section 29.10: Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Postprocessing for more information on FLUENTs FFT capabilities. Plot FFT...
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21.4 Using the Broadband Noise Source Models
21.4
Using the Broadband Noise Source Models
In this section, the procedure for setting up and using the broadband noise source models is outlined rst, followed by descriptions of each of the steps involved. The general procedure for carrying out a broadband noise source calculation in FLUENT is as follows: 1. Calculate a steady or unsteady RANS solution. 2. Enable the broadband noise model and set the associated model parameters. Dene Models Acoustics... 3. Postprocess the noise sources. Display Contours...
21.4.1
Enabling the Broadband Noise Source Models
To enable the broadband noise sources models, select Broadband Noise Sources in the Acoustics Model panel (Figure 21.4.1). Dene Models Acoustics...
Figure 21.4.1: The Acoustics Model Panel for Broadband Noise
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Setting Model Constants

Under Model Constants in the Acoustics Model panel, specify the relevant acoustic parameters and constants used by the model. See Section 21.3.1: Enabling the FW-H Acoustics Model for the denitions of Far-Field Density and Far-Field Sound Speed. Reference Acoustic Power (for example, Pref in Equation 21.2-14) is used to compute the acoustic power outputs in decibels (dB). The default value is 1012 . Note that the units for the reference acoustic power will be dierent in 2D (W/m2 ) and 3D (W/m3 ) cases. Number of Realizations is the number of samples used in the SNGR to compute the averaged source terms of LEE and Lilleys equations. The default value is 200. Number of Fourier Modes (N in Equation 21.2-36) is the number of the Fourier modes used to compute the turbulent velocity eld and its derivatives. The turbulent velocity eld is then used to compute the LEE and Lilleys source terms. The default value is 50.
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21.4 Using the Broadband Noise Source Models
21.4.2
Postprocessing for the Broadband Noise Source Models
The nal step in the broadband noise source modeling process is the postprocessing of acoustic power and noise source data. The following variables are available in the Acoustics... postprocessing category: Acoustic Power Level (dB) Acoustic Power Jet Acoustic Power Level (dB) (axisymmetric models only) Jet Acoustic Power (axisymmetric models only) Surface Acoustic Power Level (dB) Surface Acoustic Power Lilleys Self-Noise Source Lilleys Shear-Noise Source Lilleys Total Noise Source LEE Self-Noise X-Source LEE Shear-Noise X-Source LEE Total Noise X-Source LEE Self-Noise Y-Source LEE Shear-Noise Y-Source LEE Total Noise Y-Source LEE Self-Noise Z-Source (3D models only) LEE Shear-Noise Z-Source (3D models only) LEE Total Noise Z-Source (3D models only)
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Chapter 22.
Introduction to Modeling Multiphase Flows
A large number of ows encountered in nature and technology are a mixture of phases. Physical phases of matter are gas, liquid, and solid, but the concept of phase in a multiphase ow system is applied in a broader sense. In multiphase ow, a phase can be dened as an identiable class of material that has a particular inertial response to and interaction with the ow and the potential eld in which it is immersed. For example, dierent-sized solid particles of the same material can be treated as dierent phases because each collection of particles with the same size will have a similar dynamical response to the ow eld. This chapter provides an overview of multiphase modeling in FLUENT, and Chapters 23 and 24 provide details about the multiphase models mentioned here. Chapter 25: Modeling Solidication and Melting provides information about melting and solidication. Information in this chapter is presented in the following sections: Section 22.1: Multiphase Flow Regimes Section 22.2: Examples of Multiphase Systems Section 22.3: Approaches to Multiphase Modeling Section 22.4: Choosing a Multiphase Model
22-1
22.1
Multiphase Flow Regimes
Multiphase ow can be classied by the following regimes, grouped into four categories: gas-liquid or liquid-liquid ows bubbly ow: discrete gaseous or uid bubbles in a continuous uid droplet ow: discrete uid droplets in a continuous gas slug ow: large bubbles in a continuous uid stratied/free-surface ow: immiscible uids separated by a clearly-dened interface gas-solid ows particle-laden ow: discrete solid particles in a continuous gas pneumatic transport: ow pattern depends on factors such as solid loading, Reynolds numbers, and particle properties. Typical patterns are dune ow, slug ow, packed beds, and homogeneous ow. uidized beds: consist of a vertical cylinder containing particles where gas is introduced through a distributor. The gas rising through the bed suspends the particles. Depending on the gas ow rate, bubbles appear and rise through the bed, intensifying the mixing within the bed. liquid-solid ows slurry ow: transport of particles in liquids. The fundamental behavior of liquid-solid ows varies with the properties of the solid particles relative to those of the liquid. In slurry ows, the Stokes number (see Equation 22.4-4) is normally less than 1. When the Stokes number is larger than 1, the characteristic of the ow is liquid-solid uidization. hydrotransport: densely-distributed solid particles in a continuous liquid sedimentation: a tall column initially containing a uniform dispersed mixture of particles. At the bottom, the particles will slow down and form a sludge layer. At the top, a clear interface will appear, and in the middle a constant settling zone will exist. three-phase ows (combinations of the others listed above) Each of these ow regimes is illustrated in Figure 22.1.1.
22-2
22.1 Multiphase Flow Regimes
slug ow
bubbly, droplet, or particle-laden ow
stratied/free-surface ow
pneumatic transport, hydrotransport, or slurry ow
sedimentation
uidized bed
Figure 22.1.1: Multiphase Flow Regimes
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22.2
Examples of Multiphase Systems
Specic examples of each regime described in Section 22.1: Multiphase Flow Regimes are listed below: Bubbly ow examples: absorbers, aeration, air lift pumps, cavitation, evaporators, otation, scrubbers Droplet ow examples: absorbers, atomizers, combustors, cryogenic pumping, dryers, evaporation, gas cooling, scrubbers Slug ow examples: large bubble motion in pipes or tanks Stratied/free-surface ow examples: sloshing in oshore separator devices, boiling and condensation in nuclear reactors Particle-laden ow examples: cyclone separators, air classiers, dust collectors, and dust-laden environmental ows Pneumatic transport examples: transport of cement, grains, and metal powders Fluidized bed examples: uidized bed reactors, circulating uidized beds Slurry ow examples: slurry transport, mineral processing Hydrotransport examples: mineral processing, biomedical and physiochemical uid systems Sedimentation examples: mineral processing
22.3
Approaches to Multiphase Modeling
Advances in computational uid mechanics have provided the basis for further insight into the dynamics of multiphase ows. Currently there are two approaches for the numerical calculation of multiphase ows: the Euler-Lagrange approach and the Euler-Euler approach.
22.3.1
The Euler-Lagrange Approach
The Lagrangian discrete phase model in FLUENT (described in Chapter 23: Discrete Phase Models) follows the Euler-Lagrange approach. The uid phase is treated as a continuum by solving the time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, while the dispersed phase is solved by tracking a large number of particles, bubbles, or droplets through the calculated ow eld. The dispersed phase can exchange momentum, mass, and energy with the uid phase.
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22.3 Approaches to Multiphase Modeling
A fundamental assumption made in this model is that the dispersed second phase occupies a low volume fraction, even though high mass loading (mparticles muid ) is acceptable. The particle or droplet trajectories are computed individually at specied intervals during the uid phase calculation. This makes the model appropriate for the modeling of spray dryers, coal and liquid fuel combustion, and some particle-laden ows, but inappropriate for the modeling of liquid-liquid mixtures, uidized beds, or any application where the volume fraction of the second phase is not negligible.
22.3.2
The Euler-Euler Approach
In the Euler-Euler approach, the dierent phases are treated mathematically as interpenetrating continua. Since the volume of a phase cannot be occupied by the other phases, the concept of phasic volume fraction is introduced. These volume fractions are assumed to be continuous functions of space and time and their sum is equal to one. Conservation equations for each phase are derived to obtain a set of equations, which have similar structure for all phases. These equations are closed by providing constitutive relations that are obtained from empirical information, or, in the case of granular ows, by application of kinetic theory. In FLUENT, three dierent Euler-Euler multiphase models are available: the volume of uid (VOF) model, the mixture model, and the Eulerian model.
The VOF Model

The VOF model (described in Section 24.2: Volume of Fluid (VOF) Model) is a surfacetracking technique applied to a xed Eulerian mesh. It is designed for two or more immiscible uids where the position of the interface between the uids is of interest. In the VOF model, a single set of momentum equations is shared by the uids, and the volume fraction of each of the uids in each computational cell is tracked throughout the domain. Applications of the VOF model include stratied ows, free-surface ows, lling, sloshing, the motion of large bubbles in a liquid, the motion of liquid after a dam break, the prediction of jet breakup (surface tension), and the steady or transient tracking of any liquid-gas interface.
The Mixture Model

The mixture model (described in Section 24.3: Mixture Model) is designed for two or more phases (uid or particulate). As in the Eulerian model, the phases are treated as interpenetrating continua. The mixture model solves for the mixture momentum equation and prescribes relative velocities to describe the dispersed phases. Applications of the mixture model include particle-laden ows with low loading, bubbly ows, sedimentation, and cyclone separators. The mixture model can also be used without relative velocities for the dispersed phases to model homogeneous multiphase ow.
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The Eulerian Model

The Eulerian model (described in Section 24.4: Eulerian Model) is the most complex of the multiphase models in FLUENT. It solves a set of n momentum and continuity equations for each phase. Coupling is achieved through the pressure and interphase exchange coecients. The manner in which this coupling is handled depends upon the type of phases involved; granular (uid-solid) ows are handled dierently than non-granular (uid-uid) ows. For granular ows, the properties are obtained from application of kinetic theory. Momentum exchange between the phases is also dependent upon the type of mixture being modeled. FLUENTs user-dened functions allow you to customize the calculation of the momentum exchange. Applications of the Eulerian multiphase model include bubble columns, risers, particle suspension, and uidized beds.
22.4
Choosing a Multiphase Model
The rst step in solving any multiphase problem is to determine which of the regimes described in Section 22.1: Multiphase Flow Regimes best represents your ow. Section 22.4.1: General Guidelines provides some broad guidelines for determining appropriate models for each regime, and Section 22.4.2: Detailed Guidelines provides details about how to determine the degree of interphase coupling for ows involving bubbles, droplets, or particles, and the appropriate model for dierent amounts of coupling.
22.4.1
General Guidelines
In general, once you have determined the ow regime that best represents your multiphase system, you can select the appropriate model based on the following guidelines. Additional details and guidelines for selecting the appropriate model for ows involving bubbles, droplets, or particles can be found in Section 22.4.2: Detailed Guidelines. For bubbly, droplet, and particle-laden ows in which the dispersed-phase volume fractions are less than or equal to 10%, use the discrete phase model. See Chapter 23: Discrete Phase Models for more information about the discrete phase model. For bubbly, droplet, and particle-laden ows in which the phases mix and/or dispersed-phase volume fractions exceed 10%, use either the mixture model (described in Section 24.3: Mixture Model) or the Eulerian model (described in Section 24.4: Eulerian Model). See Sections 22.4.2 and 24.1 for details about how to determine which is more appropriate for your case. For slug ows, use the VOF model. See Section 24.2: Volume of Fluid (VOF) Model for more information about the VOF model. For stratied/free-surface ows, use the VOF model. See Section 24.2: Volume of Fluid (VOF) Model for more information about the VOF model.
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22.4 Choosing a Multiphase Model
For pneumatic transport, use the mixture model for homogeneous ow (described in Section 24.3: Mixture Model) or the Eulerian model for granular ow (described in Section 24.4: Eulerian Model). See Sections 22.4.2 and 24.1 for details about how to determine which is more appropriate for your case. For uidized beds, use the Eulerian model for granular ow. See Section 24.4: Eulerian Model for more information about the Eulerian model. For slurry ows and hydrotransport, use the mixture or Eulerian model (described, respectively, in Sections 24.3 and 24.4). See Sections 22.4.2 and 24.1 for details about how to determine which is more appropriate for your case. For sedimentation, use the Eulerian model. See Section 24.4: Eulerian Model for more information about the Eulerian model. For general, complex multiphase ows that involve multiple ow regimes, select the aspect of the ow that is of most interest, and choose the model that is most appropriate for that aspect of the ow. Note that the accuracy of results will not be as good as for ows that involve just one ow regime, since the model you use will be valid for only part of the ow you are modeling.
22.4.2
Detailed Guidelines
For stratied and slug ows, the choice of the VOF model, as indicated in Section 22.4.1: General Guidelines, is straightforward. Choosing a model for the other types of ows is less straightforward. As a general guide, there are some parameters that help to identify the appropriate multiphase model for these other ows: the particulate loading, , and the Stokes number, St. (Note that the word particle is used in this discussion to refer to a particle, droplet, or bubble.)
The Effect of Particulate Loading

Particulate loading has a major impact on phase interactions. The particulate loading is dened as the mass density ratio of the dispersed phase (d) to that of the carrier phase (c): = The material density ratio = d c (22.4-2) d d c c (22.4-1)
is greater than 1000 for gas-solid ows, about 1 for liquid-solid ows, and less than 0.001 for gas-liquid ows.
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Using these parameters it is possible to estimate the average distance between the individual particles of the particulate phase. An estimate of this distance has been given by Crowe et al. [62]: L 1+ = dd 6
1/3
(22.4-3)
where = . Information about these parameters is important for determining how the dispersed phase should be treated. For example, for a gas-particle ow with a particulate L loading of 1, the interparticle space dd is about 8; the particle can therefore be treated as isolated (i.e., very low particulate loading). Depending on the particulate loading, the degree of interaction between the phases can be divided into three categories: For very low loading, the coupling between the phases is one-way; i.e., the uid carrier inuences the particles via drag and turbulence, but the particles have no inuence on the uid carrier. The discrete phase, mixture, and Eulerian models can all handle this type of problem correctly. Since the Eulerian model is the most expensive, the discrete phase or mixture model is recommended. For intermediate loading, the coupling is two-way; i.e., the uid carrier inuences the particulate phase via drag and turbulence, but the particles in turn inuence the carrier uid via reduction in mean momentum and turbulence. The discrete phase, mixture, and Eulerian models are all applicable in this case, but you need to take into account other factors in order to decide which model is more appropriate. See below for information about using the Stokes number as a guide. For high loading, there is two-way coupling plus particle pressure and viscous stresses due to particles (four-way coupling). Only the Eulerian model will handle this type of problem correctly.
The Signicance of the Stokes Number

For systems with intermediate particulate loading, estimating the value of the Stokes number can help you select the most appropriate model. The Stokes number can be dened as the relation between the particle response time and the system response time: St =
d2
d ts
(22.4-4)
d where d = 18d and ts is based on the characteristic length (Ls ) and the characteristic c s velocity (Vs ) of the system under investigation: ts = Ls . V
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22.4 Choosing a Multiphase Model
For St 1.0, the particle will follow the ow closely and any of the three models (discrete phase, mixture, or Eulerian) is applicable; you can therefore choose the least expensive (the mixture model, in most cases), or the most appropriate considering other factors. For St > 1.0, the particles will move independently of the ow and either the discrete phase model or the Eulerian model is applicable. For St 1.0, again any of the three models is applicable; you can choose the least expensive or the most appropriate considering other factors. Examples For a coal classier with a characteristic length of 1 m and a characteristic velocity of 10 m/s, the Stokes number is 0.04 for particles with a diameter of 30 microns, but 4.0 for particles with a diameter of 300 microns. Clearly the mixture model will not be applicable to the latter case. For the case of mineral processing, in a system with a characteristic length of 0.2 m and a characteristic velocity of 2 m/s, the Stokes number is 0.005 for particles with a diameter of 300 microns. In this case, you can choose between the mixture and Eulerian models. (The volume fractions are too high for the discrete phase model, as noted below.)
Other Considerations
Keep in mind that the use of the discrete phase model is limited to low volume fractions. Also, the discrete phase model is the only multiphase model that allows you to specify the particle distribution or include combustion modeling in your simulation.
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Chapter 23.
Discrete Phase Models
This chapter describes the Lagrangian discrete phase capabilities available in FLUENT and how to use them. Information is organized into the following sections: Section 23.1: Overview and Limitations of the Discrete Phase Models Section 23.2: Modeling Particle Motion Section 23.3: Heat and Mass Transfer Calculations Section 23.4: Spray Models Section 23.5: Wall-Film Model Section 23.6: Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases Section 23.7: Using the Discrete Phase Models Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase Section 23.11: Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase Section 23.12: Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase
23.1
Overview and Limitations of the Discrete Phase Models Introduction
23.1.1
In addition to solving transport equations for the continuous phase, FLUENT allows you to simulate a discrete second phase in a Lagrangian frame of reference. This second phase consists of spherical particles (which may be taken to represent droplets or bubbles) dispersed in the continuous phase. FLUENT computes the trajectories of these discrete phase entities, as well as heat and mass transfer to/from them. The coupling between the phases and its impact on both the discrete phase trajectories and the continuous phase ow can be included.
23-1
FLUENT provides the following discrete phase modeling options: Calculation of the discrete phase trajectory using a Lagrangian formulation that includes the discrete phase inertia, hydrodynamic drag, and the force of gravity, for both steady and unsteady ows Prediction of the eects of turbulence on the dispersion of particles due to turbulent eddies present in the continuous phase Heating/cooling of the discrete phase Vaporization and boiling of liquid droplets Combusting particles, including volatile evolution and char combustion to simulate coal combustion Optional coupling of the continuous phase ow eld prediction to the discrete phase calculations Droplet breakup and coalescence These modeling capabilities allow FLUENT to simulate a wide range of discrete phase problems including particle separation and classication, spray drying, aerosol dispersion, bubble stirring of liquids, liquid fuel combustion, and coal combustion. The physical equations used for these discrete phase calculations are described in Sections 23.223.6, and instructions for setup, solution, and postprocessing are provided in Sections 23.7 23.12.
23.1.2
Particles in Turbulent Flows
The dispersion of particles due to turbulence in the uid phase can be predicted using the stochastic tracking model or the particle cloud model (see Section 23.2.2: Turbulent Dispersion of Particles). The stochastic tracking (random walk) model includes the eect of instantaneous turbulent velocity uctuations on the particle trajectories through the use of stochastic methods (see Section 23.2.2: Stochastic Tracking). The particle cloud model tracks the statistical evolution of a cloud of particles about a mean trajectory (see Section 23.2.2: Particle Cloud Tracking). The concentration of particles within the cloud is represented by a Gaussian probability density function (PDF) about the mean trajectory. For stochastic tracking a model is available to account for the generation or dissipation of turbulence in the continuous phase (see Section 23.6: Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases).
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23.1 Overview and Limitations of the Discrete Phase Models
23.1.3
Limitations
Limitation on the Particle Volume Fraction

The discrete phase formulation used by FLUENT contains the assumption that the second phase is suciently dilute that particle-particle interactions and the eects of the particle volume fraction on the gas phase are negligible. In practice, these issues imply that the discrete phase must be present at a fairly low volume fraction, usually less than 1012%. Note that the mass loading of the discrete phase may greatly exceed 1012%: you may solve problems in which the mass ow of the discrete phase equals or exceeds that of the continuous phase. See Chapters 22 and 24 for information about when you might want to use one of the general multiphase models instead of the discrete phase model.
Limitation on Modeling Continuous Suspensions of Particles

The steady-particle Lagrangian discrete phase model described in this chapter is suited for ows in which particle streams are injected into a continuous phase ow with a welldened entrance and exit condition. The Lagrangian model does not eectively model ows in which particles are suspended indenitely in the continuum, as occurs in solid suspensions within closed systems such as stirred tanks, mixing vessels, or uidized beds. The unsteady-particle discrete phase model, however, is capable of modeling continuous suspensions of particles. See Chapters 22 and 24 for information about when you might want to use one of the general multiphase models instead of the discrete phase models.
Limitations on Using the Discrete Phase Model with Other FLUENT Models
The following restrictions exist on the use of other models with the discrete phase model: Streamwise periodic ow (either specied mass ow rate or specied pressure drop) cannot be modeled when the discrete phase model is used. Only non-reacting particles can be included when the premixed combustion model is used. Surface injections will not be moved with the grid when a sliding mesh or a moving or deforming mesh is being used. The cloud model is not available for unsteady particle tracking, or in parallel, when using the message passing option for the particles. The wall-lm model is only valid for liquid materials. If a non-liquid particle interacts with a wall-lm boundary, the boundary condition will default to the reect boundary condition.
23-3
When multiple reference frames are used in conjunction with the discrete phase model, the display of particle tracks will not, by default, be meaningful. Similarly, coupled discrete-phase calculations are not meaningful. An alternative approach for particle tracking and coupled discrete-phase calculations with multiple reference frames is to track particles based on absolute velocity instead of relative velocity. To make this change, use the define/models/dpm/ options/track-in-absolute-frame text command. Note that the results may strongly depend on the location of walls inside the multiple reference frame. The particle injection velocities (specied in the Set Injection Properties panel) are dened relative to the frame of reference in which the particles are tracked. By default, the injection velocities are specied relative to the local reference frame. If you enable the track-in-absolute-frame option, the injection velocities are specied relative to the absolute frame.
23.1.4
Overview of Discrete Phase Modeling Procedures
You can include a discrete phase in your FLUENT model by dening the initial position, velocity, size, and temperature of individual particles. These initial conditions, along with your inputs dening the physical properties of the discrete phase, are used to initiate trajectory and heat/mass transfer calculations. The trajectory and heat/mass transfer calculations are based on the force balance on the particle and on the convective/radiative heat and mass transfer from the particle, using the local continuous phase conditions as the particle moves through the ow. The predicted trajectories and the associated heat and mass transfer can be viewed graphically and/or alphanumerically. You can use FLUENT to predict the discrete phase patterns based on a xed continuous phase ow eld (an uncoupled approach), or you can include the eect of the discrete phase on the continuum (a coupled approach). In the coupled approach, the continuous phase ow pattern is impacted by the discrete phase (and vice versa), and you can alternate calculations of the continuous phase and discrete phase equations until a converged coupled solution is achieved. See Section 23.6: Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases for details.
Outline of Steady-State Problem Setup and Solution Procedure

The general procedure for setting up and solving a steady-state discrete-phase problem is outlined below: 1. Solve the continuous-phase ow. 2. Create the discrete-phase injections. 3. Solve the coupled ow, if desired. 4. Track the discrete-phase injections, using plots or reports.
23-4
23.2 Modeling Particle Motion
Outline of Unsteady Problem Setup and Solution Procedure

The general procedure for setting up and solving an unsteady discrete-phase problem is outlined below: 1. Create the discrete-phase injections. 2. Initialize the ow eld. 3. Advance the solution in time by taking the desired number of time steps. Particle positions will be updated as the solution advances in time. If you are solving an uncoupled ow, the particle position will be updated at the end of each time step. For a coupled calculation, the positions are iterated on or within each time step.
23.2
Modeling Particle Motion Equations of Motion for Particles
23.2.1
Particle Force Balance

FLUENT predicts the trajectory of a discrete phase particle (or droplet or bubble) by integrating the force balance on the particle, which is written in a Lagrangian reference frame. This force balance equates the particle inertia with the forces acting on the particle, and can be written (for the x direction in Cartesian coordinates) as dup gx (p ) = FD (u up ) + + Fx dt p (23.2-1)
where Fx is an additional acceleration (force/unit particle mass) term, FD (u up ) is the drag force per unit particle mass and FD = 18 CD Re p d2 24 p (23.2-2)
Here, u is the uid phase velocity, up is the particle velocity, is the molecular viscosity of the uid, is the uid density, p is the density of the particle, and dp is the particle diameter. Re is the relative Reynolds number, which is dened as Re dp |up u| (23.2-3)
23-5
Laws for Drag Coefcients

The drag coecient, CD , can be taken from either CD = a1 + a2 a3 + 2 Re Re (23.2-4)
where a1 , a2 , and a3 are constants that apply to smooth spherical particles over several ranges of Re given by Morsi and Alexander [234], or CD = where b1 b2 b3 b4 = = = = exp(2.3288 6.4581 + 2.44862 ) 0.0964 + 0.5565 exp(4.905 13.8944 + 18.42222 10.25993 ) exp(1.4681 + 12.2584 20.73222 + 15.88553 ) 24 b3 Resph 1 + b1 Resph b2 + Resph b4 + Resph (23.2-5)
(23.2-6)
which is taken from Haider and Levenspiel [123]. The shape factor, , is dened as = s S (23.2-7)
where s is the surface area of a sphere having the same volume as the particle, and S is the actual surface area of the particle. The Reynolds number Resph is computed with the diameter of a sphere having the same volume. For sub-micron particles, a form of Stokes drag law is available [252]. In this case, FD is dened as FD = 18 dp 2 p Cc (23.2-8)
The factor Cc is the Cunningham correction to Stokes drag law, which you can compute from Cc = 1 + 2 (1.257 + 0.4e(1.1dp /2) ) dp (23.2-9)
where is the molecular mean free path. A high-Mach-number drag law is also available. This drag law is similar to the spherical law (Equation 23.2-4) with corrections [56] to account for a particle Mach number greater than 0.4 at a particle Reynolds number greater than 20.
23-6
For unsteady models involving discrete phase droplet breakup, a dynamic drag law option is also available. See Section 23.4.4: Dynamic Drag Model for a description of this law. Instructions for selecting the drag law are provided in Section 23.7.5: Alternate Drag Laws.
Including the Gravity Term

While Equation 23.2-1 includes a force of gravity on the particle, it is important to note that in FLUENT the default gravitational acceleration is zero. If you want to include the gravitational force, you must remember to dene the magnitude and direction of the gravity vector in the Operating Conditions panel.
Other Forces
Equation 23.2-1 incorporates additional forces (Fx ) in the particle force balance that can be important under special circumstances. The rst of these is the virtual mass force, the force required to accelerate the uid surrounding the particle. This force can be written as Fx = 1 d (u up ) 2 p dt (23.2-10)
and is important when > p . An additional force arises due to the pressure gradient in the uid: u up p x
Fx =
(23.2-11)
23-7
Forces in Rotating Reference Frames

The additional force term, Fx , in Equation 23.2-1 also includes forces on particles that arise due to rotation of the reference frame. These forces arise when you are modeling ows in rotating frames of reference (see Section 10.2: Flow in a Rotating Reference Frame). For rotation dened about the z axis, for example, the forces on the particles in the Cartesian x and y directions can be written as 1 2 x + 2 uy,p uy p p
(23.2-12)
where uy,p and uy are the particle and uid velocities in the Cartesian y direction, and 1 2 y 2 ux,p ux p p (23.2-13)
where ux,p and ux are the particle and uid velocities in the Cartesian x direction.
Thermophoretic Force
Small particles suspended in a gas that has a temperature gradient experience a force in the direction opposite to that of the gradient. This phenomenon is known as thermophoresis. FLUENT can optionally include a thermophoretic eect on particles in the additional acceleration (force/unit mass) term, Fx , in Equation 23.2-1: Fx = DT,p 1 T mp T x (23.2-14)
where DT,p is the thermophoretic coecient. You can dene the coecient to be constant, polynomial, or a user-dened function, or you can use the form suggested by Talbot [343]: Fx = 6dp 2 Cs (K + Ct Kn) 1 T (1 + 3Cm Kn)(1 + 2K + 2Ct Kn) mp T x (23.2-15)
23-8
23.2 Modeling Particle Motion where: Kn K k kp CS Ct Cm mp T = = = = = = = = = = = Knudsen number = 2 /dp mean free path of the uid k/kp uid thermal conductivity based on translational energy only = (15/4) R particle thermal conductivity 1.17 2.18 1.14 particle mass local uid temperature uid viscosity
This expression assumes that the particle is a sphere and that the uid is an ideal gas.
Brownian Force
For sub-micron particles, the eects of Brownian motion can be optionally included in the additional force term. The components of the Brownian force are modeled as a Gaussian white noise process with spectral intensity Sn,ij given by [192] Sn,ij = S0 ij where ij is the Kronecker delta function, and S0 = 216kB T 2 d5 p
p 2
(23.2-16)
(23.2-17) Cc
T is the absolute temperature of the uid, is the kinematic viscosity, and kB is the Boltzmann constant. Amplitudes of the Brownian force components are of the form So t
Fbi = i
(23.2-18)
where i are zero-mean, unit-variance-independent Gaussian random numbers. The amplitudes of the Brownian force components are evaluated at each time step. The energy equation must be enabled in order for the Brownian force to take eect. Brownian force is intended only for non-turbulent models.
23-9
Saffmans Lift Force

The Samans lift force, or lift due to shear, can also be included in the additional force term as an option. The lift force used is from Li and Ahmadi [192] and is a generalization of the expression provided by Saman [289]: 2K 1/2 dij (v vp ) p dp (dlk dkl )1/4
F =
(23.2-19)
where K = 2.594 and dij is the deformation tensor. This form of the lift force is intended for small particle Reynolds numbers. Also, the particle Reynolds number based on the particle-uid velocity dierence must be smaller than the square root of the particle Reynolds number based on the shear eld. Since this restriction is valid for submicron particles, it is recommended to use this option only for submicron particles.
Stochastic Particle Tracking in Turbulent Flow

When the ow is turbulent, FLUENT will predict the trajectories of particles using the mean uid phase velocity, u, in the trajectory equations (Equation 23.2-1). Optionally, you can include the instantaneous value of the uctuating gas ow velocity, u=u+u (23.2-20)
to predict the dispersion of the particles due to turbulence. FLUENT uses a stochastic method (random walk model) to determine the instantaneous gas velocity, as detailed in Section 23.2.2: Stochastic Tracking.
Particle Cloud Tracking in Turbulent Flow

Particle dispersion due to turbulent uctuations can also be modeled with the particle cloud model [24, 25, 143, 201]. The turbulent dispersion of particles about a mean trajectory is calculated using statistical methods. The concentration of particles about the mean trajectory is represented by a Gaussian probability density function (PDF) whose variance is based on the degree of particle dispersion due to turbulent uctuations. The mean trajectory is obtained by solving the ensemble-averaged equations of motion for all particles represented by the cloud (see Section 23.2.2: Particle Cloud Tracking).
23-10
Droplet Size Distributions

For liquid sprays, a convenient representation of the droplet size distribution is the RosinRammler expression. The complete range of sizes is divided into an adequate number of discrete intervals; each represented by a mean diameter for which trajectory calculations are performed. If the size distribution is of the Rosin-Rammler type, the mass fraction of droplets of diameter greater than d is given by Yd = e(d/d)
n
(23.2-21)
where d is the size constant and n is the size distribution parameter. Use of the RosinRammler size distribution is detailed in Section 23.8.7: Using the Rosin-Rammler Diameter Distribution Method.
Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions

When a particle strikes a boundary face, one of several contingencies may arise: Reection via an elastic or inelastic collision. Escape through the boundary. (The particle is lost from the calculation at the point where it impacts the boundary.) Trap at the wall. Non-volatile material is lost from the calculation at the point of impact with the boundary; volatile material present in the particle or droplet is released to the vapor phase at this point. Passing through an internal boundary zone, such as radiator or porous jump. Slide along the wall depending on particle properties and impact angle. You also have the option of implementing a user-dened function to model the particle behavior when hitting the boundary. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions. These boundary condition options are described in detail in Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase.
23-11
23.2.2
Turbulent Dispersion of Particles
Turbulent dispersion of particles can be modeled using either a stochastic discrete-particle approach or a cloud representation of a group of particles about a mean trajectory. In addition, these approaches can be combined to model a set of clouds about a mean trajectory that includes the eects of turbulent uctuations in the gas phase velocities.
Turbulent dispersion of particles cannot be included if the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model is used.
Stochastic Tracking
In the stochastic tracking approach, FLUENT predicts the turbulent dispersion of particles by integrating the trajectory equations for individual particles, using the instantaneous uid velocity, u + u (t), along the particle path during the integration. By computing the trajectory in this manner for a sucient number of representative particles (termed the number of tries), the random eects of turbulence on the particle dispersion may be accounted for. In FLUENT, the Discrete Random Walk (DRW) model is used. In this model, the uctuating velocity components are discrete piecewise constant functions of time. Their random value is kept constant over an interval of time given by the characteristic lifetime of the eddies. The DRW model may give non-physical results in strongly nonhomogeneous diusiondominated ows, where small particles should become uniformly distributed. Instead, the DRW will show a tendency for such particles to concentrate in low-turbulence regions of the ow. The Integral Time Prediction of particle dispersion makes use of the concept of the integral time scale, T , which describes the time spent in turbulent motion along the particle path, ds: T =
0
up (t)up (t + s) ds up 2
(23.2-22)
The integral time is proportional to the particle dispersion rate, as larger values indicate more turbulent motion in the ow. It can be shown that the particle diusivity is given by ui uj T . For small tracer particles that move with the uid (zero drift velocity), the integral time becomes the uid Lagrangian integral time, TL . This time scale can be approximated as TL = CL k (23.2-23)
23-12
where CL is to be determined as it is not well known. By matching the diusivity of tracer particles, ui uj TL , to the scalar diusion rate predicted by the turbulence model, t /, one can obtain TL 0.15 for the k- model and its variants, and TL 0.30 k (23.2-25) k (23.2-24)
when the Reynolds stress model (RSM) is used [69]. For the k- models, substitute = /k into Equation 23.2-23. The LES model uses the equivalent LES time scales. The Discrete Random Walk Model In the Discrete Random Walk (DRW) model, or eddy lifetime model, the interaction of a particle with a succession of discrete stylized uid phase turbulent eddies is simulated. Each eddy is characterized by a Gaussian distributed random velocity uctuation, u , v , and w a time scale, e The values of u , v , and w that prevail during the lifetime of the turbulent eddy are sampled by assuming that they obey a Gaussian probability distribution, so that u = u2 (23.2-26)
where is a normally distributed random number, and the remainder of the right-hand side is the local RMS value of the velocity uctuations. Since the kinetic energy of turbulence is known at each point in the ow, these values of the RMS uctuating components can be dened (assuming isotropy) as u2 = v2= w2= 2k/3 (23.2-27)
for the k- model, the k- model, and their variants. When the RSM is used, non-isotropy of the stresses is included in the derivation of the velocity uctuations:
23-13
u v w
= u2 = v2 = w2
(23.2-28) (23.2-29) (23.2-30)
when viewed in a reference frame in which the second moment of the turbulence is diagonal [388]. For the LES model, the velocity uctuations are equivalent in all directions. See Section 11.7.3: Inlet Boundary Conditions for the LES Model for details. The characteristic lifetime of the eddy is dened either as a constant: e = 2TL (23.2-31)
where TL is given by Equation 23.2-23 in general (Equation 23.2-24 by default), or as a random variation about TL : e = TL log(r) (23.2-32)
where r is a uniform random number between 0 and 1 and TL is given by Equation 23.2-24. The option of random calculation of e yields a more realistic description of the correlation function. The particle eddy crossing time is dened as tcross = ln 1 Le |u up |
(23.2-33)
where is the particle relaxation time, Le is the eddy length scale, and |u up | is the magnitude of the relative velocity. The particle is assumed to interact with the uid phase eddy over the smaller of the eddy lifetime and the eddy crossing time. When this time is reached, a new value of the instantaneous velocity is obtained by applying a new value of in Equation 23.2-26.
23-14
Using the DRW Model The only inputs required for the DRW model are the value for the integral time-scale constant, CL (see Equations 23.2-23 and 23.2-31) and the choice of the method used for the prediction of the eddy lifetime. You can choose to use either a constant value or a random value by selecting the appropriate option in the Set Injection Properties panel for each injection, as described in Section 23.8.15: Stochastic Tracking.
Turbulent dispersion of particles cannot be included if the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model is used.
Stochastic Staggering of Particles In order to obtain a better representation of an injector, the particles can be staggered either spatially or temporally. When particles are staggered spatially, FLUENT randomly samples from the region in which the spray is specied (e.g. the sheet thickness in the pressure-swirl atomizer) so that as the calculation progresses, trajectories will originate from the entire region. This allows the entire geometry specied in the atomizer to be sampled while specifying fewer streams in the input panel, thus decreasing computational expense. When injecting particles in a transient calculation using relatively large time steps in relation to the spray event, the particles can clump together in discrete bunches. The clumps do not look physically realistic, though FLUENT calculates the trajectory for each particle as it passes through a cell and the coupling to the gas phase is properly accounted for. To obtain a statistically smoother representation of the spray, the particles can be staggered in time. During the rst time step, the particle is tracked for a random percentage of its initial step. This results in a sample of the initial volume swept out by the particle during the rst time step and a smoother, more uniform spatial distribution at longer time intervals. The menu for staggering is available in the text user interface, under define/models/dpm/options/particle-staggering. The staggering factor in the TUI is a constant which multiplies the random sample. The staggering factor controls the percentage of the initial time step that will be sampled. For example, if the staggering factor is 0.5, then the parcels in the injection will be tracked between half and all of their full initial time step. If the staggering factor is 0.1, then the parcels will be tracked between ninety percent and all of their initial time step. If the staggering factor is set to 0.9, the parcels will be tracked between ten percent and all of their initial time step. This allows the user to control the amount of smoothing between injections.
23-15
The default values for the options in the TUI are no temporal staggering and a temporal staggering factor of 1.0. The temporal staggering factor is inactive until the ag for temporal staggering is turned on.
Particle Cloud Tracking

The particle cloud model is based on the stochastic transport of particle models developed by Litchford and Jeng [201], Baxter and Smith [25], and Jain [143]. The approach uses statistical methods to trace the turbulent dispersion of particles about a mean trajectory. The mean trajectory is calculated from the ensemble average of the equations of motion for the particles represented by the cloud. The cloud enters the domain either as a point source or with an initial diameter. The cloud expands due to turbulent dispersion as it is transported through the domain until it exits. The distribution of particles in the cloud is dened by a probability density function (PDF) based on the position in the cloud relative to the cloud center. The value of the PDF represents the probability of nding particles represented by that cloud with residence time t at location xi in the ow eld. The average particle number density can be obtained by weighting the total ow rate of particles represented by that cloud, m, as n(xi ) = mP (xi , t) (23.2-34)
The PDFs for particle position are assumed to be multivariate Gaussian. These are completely described by their mean, i , and variance, i 2 , and are of the form P (xi , t) = 1
3
es/2 i
(23.2-35)
(2)3/2
i=1
where
3
s=
i=1
x i i i
(23.2-36)
The mean of the PDF, or the center of the cloud, at a given time represents the most likely location of the particles in the cloud. The mean location is obtained by integrating a particle velocity as dened by an equation of motion for the cloud of particles:
t
i (t) xi (t) =
Vi (t1 ) dt1 + xi (0)
(23.2-37)
The equations of motion are constructed using an ensemble average.
23-16

2 The radius of the particle cloud is based on the variance of the PDF. The variance, i (t), of the PDF can be expressed in terms of two particle turbulence statistical quantities: t 0 t2 0
2 i (t) = 2
2 up,i (t2 )
Rp,ii (t2 , t1 )dt1 dt2
(23.2-38)
2 where up,i are the mean square velocity uctuations, and Rp,ij (t2 , t1 ) is the particle velocity correlation function:
Rp,ij (t2 , t1 ) =
up,i (t2 )up,j (t1 )

2 2 up,i (t2 )up,j (t2 ) 1/2
(23.2-39)
By using the substitution = |t2 t1 |, and the fact that Rp,ij (t2 , t1 ) = Rp,ij (t4 , t3 ) whenever |t2 t1 | = |t4 t3 |, we can write
2 i (t) = 2 t 0 2 up,i (t2 ) t2 0
(23.2-40)
Rp,ii ( )d dt2
(23.2-41)
Note that cross correlations in the denition of the variance (Rp,ij , i = j) have been neglected. The form of the particle velocity correlation function used determines the particle dispersion in the cloud model. FLUENT uses a correlation function rst proposed by Wang [364], and used by Jain [143]. When the gravity vector is aligned with the z-coordinate direction, Rij takes the form:
Rp,11 =
u 2 ( /a ) St2 B 2 + 1 e StT B 0.5mT T 2 u 2 ( B/T ) mT StT B + e 1 + + 0.5mT T (23.2-42) (23.2-43) (23.2-44)
Rp,22 = Rp,11 u 2 StT B ( /a ) u 2 ( B/T ) Rp,33 = e e where B =
1 + m2 2 and a is the aerodynamic response time of the particle: T
23-17
a = and
p d2 p 18
(23.2-45)
T = Tf E = = St = StT = = m = TmE = mT =
mT TmE m 3/4 C k 3/2 ( 2 k)1/2 3 a g u a TmE a T St2 (1 + m2 2 ) 1 T T u u u Tf E u G(m) m 1 (1 + St)0.4(1+0.01St)

0
(23.2-46) (23.2-47) (23.2-48) (23.2-49) (23.2-50) (23.2-51) (23.2-52) (23.2-53) (23.2-54)

2
2 G(m) =
ey dy 1+
m2
( erf(y)y 1 + ey2 )
5/2
(23.2-55)
Using this correlation function, the variance is integrated over the life of the cloud. At any given time, the cloud radius is set to three standard deviations in the coordinate directions. The cloud radius is limited to three standard deviations since at least 99.2% of the area under a Gaussian PDF is accounted for at this distance. Once the cells within the cloud are established, the uid properties are ensemble-averaged for the mean trajectory, and the mean path is integrated in time. This is done with a weighting factor dened as P (xi , t)dV (23.2-56) P (xi , t)dV
W (xi , t)
Vcell
Vcloud
If coupled calculations are performed, sources are distributed to the cells in the cloud based on the same weighting factors.
23-18
Using the Cloud Model The only inputs required for the cloud model are the values of the minimum and maximum cloud diameters. The cloud model is enabled in the Set Injection Properties panel for each injection, as described in Section 23.8.15: Cloud Tracking.
i
23.2.3
The cloud model is not available for unsteady particle tracking, or in parallel, when using the message passing option for the particles.
Particle Erosion and Accretion
Particle erosion and accretion rates can be monitored at wall boundaries. The erosion rate is dened as
Nparticles
Rerosion =
p=1
mp C(dp )f ()v b(v) Aface
(23.2-57)
where C(dp ) is a function of particle diameter, is the impact angle of the particle path with the wall face, f () is a function of impact angle, v is the relative particle velocity, b(v) is a function of relative particle velocity, and Aface is the area of the cell face at the wall. Default values are C = 1.8 109 , f = 1, and b = 0. Since C, f , and b are dened as boundary conditions at a wall, rather than properties of a material, the default values are not updated to reect the material being used. You will need to specify appropriate values at all walls. Values of these functions for sand eroding both carbon steel and aluminum are given by Edwards et al. [89]. The erosion rate as calculated above is displayed in units of removed material/(areatime), i.e., mass ux, and can therefore be changed accordingly to the dened units in FLUENT. The functions C and f have to be specied in consistent units to build a dimensionless group with the relative particle velocity and its exponent. To compute an erosion rate in terms of length/time (mm/year, for example) you can either dene a custom eld function to divide the erosion rate by the density of the wall material or include this division in the units for C and/or f . Note that the units given by FLUENT when displaying the erosion rate are no longer valid in the latter case. A variety of erosion models [99, 219, 88, 243, 156, 290] containing model constants [156, 88] and angle functions can be easily implemented into FLUENT. The equations describing some of the erosion models can be modied to appear in the form of the general equation describing the erosion rate, Equation 23.2-57. For example, the Tulsa Angle Dependent Model [88] described by Equation 23.2-58 ER = 1559B 0.59 Fs v 1.73 f () (23.2-58)
23-19
can be rewritten in the form of Equation 23.2-57 with the following substitutions:
v 1.73 = v b(v) 1559B 0.59 Fs = C(dp )
(23.2-59) (23.2-60)
where ER is the erosion rate, B is the Brinell hardness, and Fs is a particle shape coecient. User-dened functions can be used to describe erosion models of any form. For more complex models, such as those models with varying function angles, f (), the default Erosion Model in the wall Boundary Conditions panel cannot be used. Hence, a user-dened function should be used instead. For information on how to apply user-dened functions for DPM erosion models, refer to the DEFINE DPM EROSION macro in the separate UDF Manual , or contact your support engineer for further assistance. Note that the particle erosion and accretion rates can be displayed only when coupled calculations are enabled. The accretion rate is dened as
Nparticles
Raccretion =
p=1
mp Aface
(23.2-61)
23.3
Heat and Mass Transfer Calculations
Using FLUENTs discrete phase modeling capability, reacting particles or droplets can be modeled and their impact on the continuous phase can be examined. Several heat and mass transfer relationships, termed laws, are available in FLUENT and the physical models employed in these laws are described in this section.
23.3.1
Particle Types in FLUENT
The laws that you activate depend upon the particle type that you select. In the Set Injection Properties panel you will specify the Particle Type, and FLUENT will use a given set of heat and mass transfer laws for the chosen type. All particle types have predened sequences of physical laws as shown in the table below: Particle Type Inert Droplet Combusting Description inert/heating or cooling heating/evaporation/boiling heating; evolution of volatiles/swelling; heterogeneous surface reaction Laws Activated 1, 6 1, 2, 3, 6
1, 4, 5, 6
23-20
23.3 Heat and Mass Transfer Calculations
In addition to the above laws, you can dene your own laws using a user-dened function. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions. You can also extend combusting particles to include an evaporating/boiling material by selecting Wet Combustion in the Set Injection Properties panel. FLUENTs physical laws (Laws 1 through 6), which describe the heat and mass transfer conditions listed in this table, are explained in detail in Sections 23.3.223.3.6.
23.3.2
Law 1/Law 6: Inert Heating or Cooling
The inert heating or cooling laws (Laws 1 and 6) are applied when the particle temperature is less than the vaporization temperature that you dene, Tvap , and after the volatile fraction, fv,0 , of a particle has been consumed. These conditions may be written as Law 1: Tp < Tvap Law 6: mp (1 fv,0 )mp,0 (23.3-2) (23.3-1)
where Tp is the particle temperature, mp,0 is the initial mass of the particle, and mp is its current mass. Law 1 is applied until the temperature of the particle/droplet reaches the vaporization temperature. At this point a non-inert particle/droplet may proceed to obey one of the mass-transfer laws (2, 3, 4, and/or 5), returning to Law 6 when the volatile portion of the particle/droplet has been consumed. (Note that the vaporization temperature, Tvap , is thus an arbitrary modeling constant used to dene the onset of the vaporization/boiling/volatilization laws.) When using Law 1 or Law 6, FLUENT uses a simple heat balance to relate the particle temperature, Tp (t), to the convective heat transfer and the absorption/emission of radiation at the particle surface: m p cp where mp cp Ap T h
p
dTp = hAp (T Tp ) + dt
4 p Ap (R
4 Tp )
(23.3-3)
= = = = = = = =
mass of the particle (kg) heat capacity of the particle (J/kg-K) surface area of the particle (m2 ) local temperature of the continuous phase (K) convective heat transfer coecient (W/m2 -K) particle emissivity (dimensionless) Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 x 108 W/m2 -K4 ) G radiation temperature, ( 4 )1/4
23-21
Equation 23.3-3 assumes that there is negligible internal resistance to heat transfer, i.e., the particle is at uniform temperature throughout. G is the incident radiation in W/m2 : G=
=4
Id
(23.3-4)
where I is the radiation intensity and is the solid angle. Radiation heat transfer to the particle is included only if you have enabled the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model and you have activated radiation heat transfer to particles using the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete Phase Model panel. Equation 23.3-3 is integrated in time using an approximate, linearized form that assumes that the particle temperature changes slowly from one time value to the next: mp cp dTp = Ap h + dt
3 p Tp
Tp + hT +
4 p R
(23.3-5)
As the particle trajectory is computed, FLUENT integrates Equation 23.3-5 to obtain the particle temperature at the next time value, yielding Tp (t + t) = p + [Tp (t) p ]ep t where t is the integration time step and p = and
3 Ap (h + p Tp (t)) p = m p cp 4 hT + p R 3 h + p Tp (t)
(23.3-6)
(23.3-7)
(23.3-8)
FLUENT can also solve Equation 23.3-5 in conjunction with the equivalent mass transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 23.7.8: Including a Coupled Heat-Mass Solution on the Particles for details. The heat transfer coecient, h, is evaluated using the correlation of Ranz and Marshall [272, 273]: Nu = hdp 1/2 = 2.0 + 0.6Red Pr1/3 k (23.3-9)
23-22
where dp k Red Pr = particle diameter (m) = thermal conductivity of the continuous phase (W/m-K) = Reynolds number based on the particle diameter and the relative velocity (Equation 23.2-3) = Prandtl number of the continuous phase (cp /k )
Finally, the heat lost or gained by the particle as it traverses each computational cell appears as a source or sink of heat in subsequent calculations of the continuous phase energy equation. During Laws 1 and 6, particles/droplets do not exchange mass with the continuous phase and do not participate in any chemical reaction.
23.3.3
Law 2: Droplet Vaporization
Law 2 is applied to predict the vaporization from a discrete phase droplet. Law 2 is initiated when the temperature of the droplet reaches the vaporization temperature, Tvap , and continues until the droplet reaches the boiling point, Tbp , or until the droplets volatile fraction is completely consumed: Tp < Tbp (23.3-10)
mp > (1 fv,0 )mp,0
(23.3-11)
The onset of the vaporization law is determined by the setting of Tvap , a temperature that has no other physical signicance. Note that once vaporization is initiated (by the droplet reaching this threshold temperature), it will continue to vaporize even if the droplet temperature falls below Tvap . Vaporization will be halted only if the droplet temperature falls below the dew point. In such cases, the droplet will remain in Law 2 but no evaporation will be predicted. When the boiling point is reached, the droplet vaporization is predicted by a boiling rate, Law 3, as described in Section 23.3.4: Law 3: Droplet Boiling.
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Mass Transfer During Law 2

During Law 2, the rate of vaporization is governed by gradient diusion, with the ux of droplet vapor into the gas phase related to the gradient of the vapor concentration between the droplet surface and the bulk gas: Ni = kc (Ci,s Ci, ) where Ni kc Ci,s Ci, = molar ux of vapor (kgmol/m2 -s) = mass transfer coecient (m/s) = vapor concentration at the droplet surface (kgmol/m3 ) = vapor concentration in the bulk gas (kgmol/m3 ) (23.3-12)
Note that FLUENTs vaporization law assumes that Ni is positive (evaporation). If conditions exist in which Ni is negative (i.e., the droplet temperature falls below the dew point and condensation conditions exist), FLUENT treats the droplet as inert (Ni = 0.0). The concentration of vapor at the droplet surface is evaluated by assuming that the partial pressure of vapor at the interface is equal to the saturated vapor pressure, psat , at the particle droplet temperature, Tp : Ci,s = where R is the universal gas constant. The concentration of vapor in the bulk gas is known from solution of the transport equation for species i or from the PDF look-up table for non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations: Ci, = Xi pop RT (23.3-14) psat (Tp ) RTp (23.3-13)
where Xi is the local bulk mole fraction of species i, pop is the operating pressure, and T is the local bulk temperature in the gas. The mass transfer coecient in Equation 23.3-12 is calculated from a Nusselt correlation [272, 273]: NuAB = where Di,m Sc dp kc dp 1/2 = 2.0 + 0.6Red Sc1/3 Di,m (23.3-15)
= diusion coecient of vapor in the bulk (m2 /s) = the Schmidt number, D i,m = particle (droplet) diameter (m)
23-24
The vapor ux given by Equation 23.3-12 becomes a source of species i in the gas phase species transport equation, as specied by you (see Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase) or from the PDF look-up table for non-premixed combustion calculations. The mass of the droplet is reduced according to mp (t + t) = mp (t) Ni Ap Mw,i t where Mw,i mp Ap = molecular weight of species i (kg/kgmol) = mass of the droplet (kg) = surface area of the droplet (m2 ) (23.3-16)
FLUENT can also solve Equation 23.3-16 in conjunction with the equivalent heat transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 23.7.8: Including a Coupled Heat-Mass Solution on the Particles for details.
Dening the Vapor Pressure and Diffusion Coefcient

You must dene the vapor pressure as a polynomial or piecewise linear function of temperature (psat (T )) during the problem denition. Note that the vapor pressure denition is critical, as psat is used to obtain the driving force for the evaporation process (Equations 23.3-12 and 23.3-13). You should provide accurate vapor pressure values for temperatures over the entire range of possible droplet temperatures in your problem. Vapor pressure data can be obtained from a physics or engineering handbook (e.g., [256]). You must also input the diusion coecient, Di,m , during the setup of the discrete phase material properties. Note that the diusion coecient inputs that you supply for the continuous phase are not used in the discrete phase model.
Heat Transfer to the Droplet

Finally, the droplet temperature is updated according to a heat balance that relates the sensible heat change in the droplet to the convective and latent heat transfer between the droplet and the continuous phase: mp cp dTp dmp = hAp (T Tp ) + hfg + Ap p (R 4 Tp 4 ) dt dt (23.3-17)
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Discrete Phase Models where cp Tp h T hfg

p
dmp dt
= = = = = = = = =
droplet heat capacity (J/kg-K) droplet temperature (K) convective heat transfer coecient (W/m2 -K) temperature of continuous phase (K) rate of evaporation (kg/s) latent heat (J/kg) particle emissivity (dimensionless) Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 x 108 W/m2 -K4 ) I radiation temperature, ( 4 )1/4 , where I is the radiation intensity
Radiation heat transfer to the particle is included only if you have enabled the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model and you have activated radiation heat transfer to particles using the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete Phase Model panel. The heat transferred to or from the gas phase becomes a source/sink of energy during subsequent calculations of the continuous phase energy equation.
23.3.4
Law 3: Droplet Boiling
Law 3 is applied to predict the convective boiling of a discrete phase droplet when the temperature of the droplet has reached the boiling temperature, Tbp , and while the mass of the droplet exceeds the non-volatile fraction, (1 fv,0 ): Tp Tbp and mp > (1 fv,0 )mp,0 (23.3-19) (23.3-18)
When the droplet temperature reaches the boiling point, a boiling rate equation is applied [175]: d(dp ) 4k cp, (T Tp ) = (1 + 0.23 Red ) ln 1 + dt p cp, dp hfg where cp, p k = heat capacity of the gas (J/kg-K) = droplet density (kg/m3 ) = thermal conductivity of the gas (W/m-K)
(23.3-20)
Equation 23.3-20 was derived assuming steady ow at constant pressure. Note that the model requires T > Tbp in order for boiling to occur and that the droplet remains at xed temperature (Tbp ) throughout the boiling law.
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When radiation heat transfer is active, FLUENT uses a slight modication of Equation 23.3-20, derived by starting from Equation 23.3-17 and assuming that the droplet temperature is constant. This yields or d(dp ) k Nu 2 = (T Tp ) + dt p hfg dp
4 p (R 4 Tp )
dmp hfg = hAp (T Tp ) + Ap p (R 4 Tp 4 ) dt
(23.3-21)
(23.3-22)
Using Equation 23.3-9 for the Nusselt number correlation and replacing the Prandtl number term with an empirical constant, Equation 23.3-22 becomes d(dp ) 2 2k [1 + 0.23 Red ] = (T Tp ) + dt p hfg dp
4 p (R 4 Tp )
(23.3-23)
In the absence of radiation, this result matches that of Equation 23.3-20 in the limit that the argument of the logarithm is close to unity. FLUENT uses Equation 23.3-23 when radiation is active in your model and Equation 23.3-20 when radiation is not active. Radiation heat transfer to the particle is included only if you have enabled the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model and you have activated radiation heat transfer to particles using the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete Phase Model panel. The droplet is assumed to stay at constant temperature while the boiling rate is applied. Once the boiling law is entered it is applied for the duration of the particle trajectory. The energy required for vaporization appears as a (negative) source term in the energy equation for the gas phase. The evaporated liquid enters the gas phase as species i, as dened by your input for the destination species (see Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase).
23.3.5
Law 4: Devolatilization
The devolatilization law is applied to a combusting particle when the temperature of the particle reaches the vaporization temperature, Tvap , and remains in eect while the mass of the particle, mp , exceeds the mass of the non-volatiles in the particle: Tp Tvap and Tp Tbp and mp > (1 fv,0 )(1 fw,0 )mp,0 (23.3-25) (23.3-24)
23-27
where fw,0 is the mass fraction of the evaporating/boiling material if Wet Combustion is selected (otherwise, fw,0 = 0). As implied by Equation 23.3-24, the boiling point, Tbp , and the vaporization temperature, Tvap , should be set equal to each other when Law 4 is to be used. When wet combustion is active, Tbp and Tvap refer to the boiling and evaporation temperatures for the combusting material only. FLUENT provides a choice of four devolatilization models: the constant rate model (the default model) the single kinetic rate model the two competing rates model (the Kobayashi model) the chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) model Each of these models is described, in turn, below.
Choosing the Devolatilization Model

You will choose the devolatilization model when you are setting physical properties for the combusting-particle material in the Materials panel, as described in Section 23.10.2: Description of Properties. By default, the constant rate model (Equation 23.3-26) will be used.
The Constant Rate Devolatilization Model

The constant rate devolatilization law dictates that volatiles are released at a constant rate [23]: where mp fv,0 mp,0 A0 = = = = 1 dmp = A0 fv,0 (1 fw,0 )mp,0 dt (23.3-26)
particle mass (kg) fraction of volatiles initially present in the particle initial particle mass (kg) rate constant (s1 )
The rate constant A0 is dened as part of your modeling inputs, with a default value of 12 s1 derived from the work of Pillai [261] on coal combustion. Proper use of the constant devolatilization rate requires that the vaporization temperature, which controls the onset of devolatilization, be set appropriately. Values in the literature show this temperature to be about 600 K [23]. The volatile fraction of the particle enters the gas phase as the devolatilizing species i, dened by you (see Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase).
23-28
Once in the gas phase, the volatiles may react according to the inputs governing the gas phase chemistry.
The Single Kinetic Rate Model

The single kinetic rate devolatilization model assumes that the rate of devolatilization is rst-order dependent on the amount of volatiles remaining in the particle [13]: where mp fv,0 fw,0 mp,0 k dmp = k[mp (1 fv,0 )(1 fw,0 )mp,0 ] dt (23.3-27)
= particle mass (kg) = mass fraction of volatiles initially present in the particle = mass fraction of evaporating/boiling material (if wet combustion is modeled) = initial particle mass (kg) = kinetic rate (s1 )
Note that fv,0 , the fraction of volatiles in the particle, should be dened using a value slightly in excess of that determined by proximate analysis. The kinetic rate, k, is dened by input of an Arrhenius type pre-exponential factor and an activation energy: k = A1 e(E/RT ) FLUENT uses default rate constants, A1 and E, as given in [13]. Equation 23.3-27 has the approximate analytical solution: (23.3-28)
mp (t + t) = (1 fv,0 )(1 fw,0 )mp,0 + [mp (t) (1 fv,0 )(1 fw,0 )mp,0 ]ekt (23.3-29) which is obtained by assuming that the particle temperature varies only slightly between discrete time integration steps. FLUENT can also solve Equation 23.3-29 in conjunction with the equivalent heat transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 23.7.8: Including a Coupled Heat-Mass Solution on the Particles for details.
23-29
The Two Competing Rates Kobayashi Model

FLUENT also provides the kinetic devolatilization rate expressions of the form proposed by Kobayashi [173]: R1 = A1 e(E1 /RTp ) R2 = A2 e(E2 /RTp ) (23.3-30)
(23.3-31)
where R1 and R2 are competing rates that may control the devolatilization over dierent temperature ranges. The two kinetic rates are weighted to yield an expression for the devolatilization as mv (t) = (1 fw,0 )mp,0 ma where mv (t) mp,0 1 , 2 ma = = = =
t 0 t
(1 R1 + 2 R2 ) exp
(R1 + R2 ) dt dt
(23.3-32)
volatile yield up to time t initial particle mass at injection yield factors ash content in the particle
The Kobayashi model requires input of the kinetic rate parameters, A1 , E1 , A2 , and E2 , and the yields of the two competing reactions, 1 and 2 . FLUENT uses default values for the yield factors of 0.3 for the rst (slow) reaction and 1.0 for the second (fast) reaction. It is recommended in the literature [173] that 1 be set to the fraction of volatiles determined by proximate analysis, since this rate represents devolatilization at low temperature. The second yield parameter, 2 , should be set close to unity, which is the yield of volatiles at very high temperature. By default, Equation 23.3-32 is integrated in time analytically, assuming the particle temperature to be constant over the discrete time integration step. FLUENT can also solve Equation 23.3-32 in conjunction with the equivalent heat transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 23.7.8: Including a Coupled Heat-Mass Solution on the Particles for details.
23-30
The CPD Model

In contrast to the coal devolatilization models presented above, which are based on empirical rate relationships, the chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) model characterizes the devolatilization behavior of rapidly heated coal based on the physical and chemical transformations of the coal structure [102, 103, 119]. General Description During coal pyrolysis, the labile bonds between the aromatic clusters in the coal structure lattice are cleaved, resulting in two general classes of fragments. One set of fragments has a low molecular weight (and correspondingly high vapor pressure) and escapes from the coal particle as a light gas. The other set of fragments consists of tar gas precursors that have a relatively high molecular weight (and correspondingly low vapor pressure) and tend to remain in the coal for a long period of time during typical devolatilization conditions. During this time, reattachment with the coal lattice (which is referred to as crosslinking) can occur. The high molecular weight compounds plus the residual lattice are referred to as metaplast. The softening behavior of a coal particle is determined by the quantity and nature of the metaplast generated during devolatilization. The portion of the lattice structure that remains after devolatilization is comprised of char and mineral-compound-based ash. The CPD model characterizes the chemical and physical processes by considering the coal structure as a simplied lattice or network of chemical bridges that link the aromatic clusters. Modeling the cleavage of the bridges and the generation of light gas, char, and tar precursors is then considered to be analogous to the chemical reaction scheme shown in Figure 23.3.1.
Figure 23.3.1: Coal Bridge
The variable represents the original population of labile bridges in the coal lattice. Upon heating, these bridges become the set of reactive bridges, . For the reactive bridges, two competing paths are available. In one path, the bridges react to form side
23-31
chains, . The side chains may detach from the aromatic clusters to form light gas, g1 . As bridges between neighboring aromatic clusters are cleaved, a certain fraction of the coal becomes detached from the coal lattice. These detached aromatic clusters are the heavy-molecular-weight tar precursors that form the metaplast. The metaplast vaporizes to form coal tar. While waiting for vaporization, the metaplast can also reattach to the coal lattice matrix (crosslinking). In the other path, the bridges react and become a char bridge, c, with the release of an associated light gas product, g2 . The total population of bridges in the coal lattice matrix can be represented by the variable p, where p = + c. Reaction Rates Given this set of variables that characterizes the coal lattice structure during devolatilization, the following set of reaction rate expressions can be dened for each, starting with the assumption that the reactive bridges are destroyed at the same rate at which they are created ( = 0): t d dt dc dt d dt dg1 dt dg2 dt
= kb = kb = +1 kg +1
(23.3-33) (23.3-34) (23.3-35) (23.3-36) (23.3-37)
2kb
= kg = 2 dc dt
where the rate constants for bridge breaking and gas release steps, kb and kg , are expressed in Arrhenius form with a distributed activation energy: k = Ae(EE )/RT (23.3-38)
where A, E, and E are, respectively, the pre-exponential factor, the activation energy, and the distributed variation in the activation energy, R is the universal gas constant, and T is the temperature. The ratio of rate constants, = k /kc , is set to 0.9 in this model based on experimental data.
23-32
Mass Conservation The following mass conservation relationships are imposed:
g = g1 + g2 g1 = 2f g2 = 2(c c0 )
(23.3-39) (23.3-40) (23.3-41)
where f is the fraction of broken bridges (f = 1 p). The initial conditions for this system are given by the following:
c(0) (0) (0) g(0)
= = = =
c0 0 = p 0 c 0 2f0 = 2(1 c0 0 ) g1 (0) = g2 (0) = 0
(23.3-42) (23.3-43) (23.3-44) (23.3-45)
where c0 is the initial fraction of char bridges, p0 is the initial fraction of bridges in the coal lattice, and 0 is the initial fraction of labile bridges in the coal lattice. Fractional Change in the Coal Mass Given the set of reaction equations for the coal structure parameters, it is necessary to relate these quantities to changes in coal mass and the related release of volatile products. To accomplish this, the fractional change in the coal mass as a function of time is divided into three parts: light gas (fgas ), tar precursor fragments (ffrag ), and char (fchar ). This is accomplished by using the following relationships, which are obtained using percolation lattice statistics:
r(g1 + g2 )( + 1) 4 + 2r(1 c0 )( + 1) 2 ffrag (t) = [F (p) + rK(p)] 2 + r(1 c0 )( + 1) fchar (t) = 1 fgas (t) ffrag (t) fgas (t) =
(23.3-46) (23.3-47) (23.3-48)
The variables , , F (p), and K(p) are the statistical relationships related to the cleaving of bridges based on the percolation lattice statistics, and are given by the following equations:
23-33
= 1+r
( 1) + p 4(1 p) = 2(1 p) p p p
+1 1
(23.3-49) (23.3-50) (23.3-51)
F (p) = K(p) =
+1 1 p 2
p p
+1 1
(23.3-52)
r is the ratio of bridge mass to site mass, mb /ma , where
mb = 2Mw, ma = Mw,1 ( + 1)Mw,
(23.3-53) (23.3-54)
where Mw, and Mw,1 are the side chain and cluster molecular weights respectively. + 1 is the lattice coordination number, which is determined from solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements related to coal structure parameters, and p is the root of the following equation in p (the total number of bridges in the coal lattice matrix): p (1 p )1 = p(1 p)1 (23.3-55)
In accounting for mass in the metaplast (tar precursor fragments), the part that vaporizes is treated in a manner similar to ash vaporization, where it is assumed that the nite fragments undergo vapor/liquid phase equilibration on a time scale that is rapid with respect to the bridge reactions. As an estimate of the vapor/liquid that is present at any time, a vapor pressure correlation based on a simple form of Raoults Law is used. The vapor pressure treatment is largely responsible for predicting pressure-dependent devolatilization yields. For the part of the metaplast that reattaches to the coal lattice, a cross-linking rate expression given by the following equation is used: dmcross = mfrag Across e(Ecross /RT ) dt (23.3-56)
where mcross is the amount of mass reattaching to the matrix, mfrag is the amount of mass in the tar precursor fragments (metaplast), and Across and Ecross are rate expression constants.
23-34
CPD Inputs Given the set of equations and corresponding rate constants introduced for the CPD model, the number of constants that must be dened to use the model is a primary concern. For the relationships dened previously, it can be shown that the following parameters are coal-independent [102]: Ab , Eb , Eb , Ag , Eg , and Eg for the rate constants kb and kg Across , Ecross , and These constants are included in the submodel formulation and are not input or modied during problem setup. There are an additional ve parameters that are coal-specic and must be specied during the problem setup: initial fraction of bridges in the coal lattice, p0 initial fraction of char bridges, c0 lattice coordination number, + 1 cluster molecular weight, Mw,1 side chain molecular weight, Mw, The rst four of these are coal structure quantities that are obtained from NMR experimental data. The last quantity, representing the char bridges that either exist in the parent coal or are formed very early in the devolatilization process, is estimated based on the coal rank. These quantities are entered in the Materials panel as described in Section 23.10.2: Description of Properties. Values for the coal-dependent parameters for a variety of coals are listed in Table 23.3.1.
Particle Swelling During Devolatilization

The particle diameter changes during devolatilization according to the swelling coecient, Csw , which is dened by you and applied in the following relationship: dp (1 fw,0 )mp,0 mp = 1 + (Csw 1) dp,0 fv,0 (1 fw,0 )mp,0 where dp,0 dp = particle diameter at the start of devolatilization = current particle diameter (23.3-57)
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Table 23.3.1: Chemical Structure Parameters for Coal Type Zap (AR) Wyodak (AR) Utah (AR) Ill6 (AR) Pitt8 (AR) Stockton (AR) Freeport (AR) Pocahontas (AR) Blue (Sandia) Rose (AFR) 1443 (lignite, ACERC) 1488 (subbituminous, ACERC) 1468 (anthracite, ACERC) +1 3.9 5.6 5.1 5.0 4.5 4.8 5.3 4.4 5.0 5.8 4.8 4.7 4.7
13
C NMR for 13 Coals Mw, 40 42 36 27 24 20 17 14 47 48 36 37 12 c0 .20 .14 0 0 0 0 0 .20 .15 .10 .20 .15 .25
p0 Mw,1 .63 277 .55 410 .49 359 .63 316 .62 294 .69 275 .67 302 .74 299 .42 410 .57 459 .59 297 .54 310 .89 656
AR refers to eight types of coal from the Argonne premium sample bank [323, 361]. Sandia refers to the coal examined at Sandia National Laboratories [101]. AFR refers to coal examined at Advanced Fuel Research. ACERC refers to three types of coal examined at the Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center.
w,0 )mp,0 m The term (1f(1fw,0 )mp,0p is the ratio of the mass that has been devolatilized to the total fv,0 volatile mass of the particle. This quantity approaches a value of 1.0 as the devolatilization law is applied. When the swelling coecient is equal to 1.0, the particle diameter stays constant. When the swelling coecient is equal to 2.0, the nal particle diameter doubles when all of the volatile component has vaporized, and when the swelling coecient is equal to 0.5 the nal particle diameter is half of its initial diameter.
Heat Transfer to the Particle During Devolatilization

Heat transfer to the particle during the devolatilization process includes contributions from convection, radiation (if active), and the heat consumed during devolatilization: mp cp dTp dmp = hAp (T Tp ) + hfg + Ap p (R 4 Tp 4 ) dt dt (23.3-58)
Radiation heat transfer to the particle is included only if you have enabled the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model and you have activated radiation heat transfer to particles using the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete Phase Model panel. By default, Equation 23.3-58 is solved analytically, by assuming that the temperature and mass of the particle do not change signicantly between time steps:
23-36
Tp (t + t) = p + [Tp (t) p ]ep t where hAp T + dmp hfg + Ap p R 4 dt p = hAp + p Ap Tp 3 and Ap (h + p Tp 3 ) p = m p cp
(23.3-59)
(23.3-60)
(23.3-61)
FLUENT can also solve Equation 23.3-58 in conjunction with the equivalent mass transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 23.7.8: Including a Coupled Heat-Mass Solution on the Particles for details.
23.3.6
Law 5: Surface Combustion
After the volatile component of the particle is completely evolved, a surface reaction begins which consumes the combustible fraction, fcomb , of the particle. Law 5 is thus active (for a combusting particle) after the volatiles are evolved: mp < (1 fv,0 )(1 fw,0 )mp,0 and until the combustible fraction is consumed: mp > (1 fv,0 fcomb )(1 fw,0 )mp,0 (23.3-63) (23.3-62)
When the combustible fraction, fcomb , has been consumed in Law 5, the combusting particle may contain residual ash that reverts to the inert heating law, Law 6 (see Section 23.3.2: Law 1/Law 6: Inert Heating or Cooling). With the exception of the multiple surface reactions model, the surface combustion law consumes the reactive content of the particle as governed by the stoichiometric requirement, Sb , of the surface burnout reaction: char(s) + Sb ox(g) products(g) (23.3-64)
where Sb is dened in terms of mass of oxidant per mass of char, and the oxidant and product species are dened in the Set Injection Properties panel.
23-37
FLUENT provides a choice of four heterogeneous surface reaction rate models for combusting particles: the diusion-limited rate model (the default model) the kinetics/diusion-limited rate model the intrinsic model the multiple surface reactions model Each of these models is described in detail below. You will choose the surface combustion model when you are setting physical properties for the combusting-particle material in the Materials panel, as described in Section 23.10.2: Description of Properties. By default, the diusion-limited rate model will be used.
Diffusion-Limited Surface Reaction Rate Model

The diusion-limited surface reaction rate model which is the default model in FLUENT, assumes that the surface reaction proceeds at a rate determined by the diusion of the gaseous oxidant to the surface of the particle: dmp Yox T = 4dp Di,m dt Sb (Tp + T ) where Di,m Yox Sb = diusion coecient for oxidant in the bulk (m2 /s) = local mass fraction of oxidant in the gas = gas density (kg/m3 ) = stoichiometry of Equation 23.3-64 (23.3-65)
Equation 23.3-65 is derived from the model of Baum and Street [23] with the kinetic contribution to the surface reaction rate ignored. The diusion-limited rate model assumes that the diameter of the particles does not change. Since the mass of the particles is decreasing, the eective density decreases, and the char particles become more porous.
Kinetic/Diffusion Surface Reaction Rate Model

The kinetic/diusion-limited rate model assumes that the surface reaction rate is determined either by kinetics or by a diusion rate. FLUENT uses the model of Baum and Street [23] and Field [98], in which a diusion rate coecient [(Tp + T )/2]0.75 D0 = C1 dp
(23.3-66)
23-38
and a kinetic rate R = C2 e(E/RTp ) are weighted to yield a char combustion rate of dmp D0 R = Ap pox dt D0 + R (23.3-68) (23.3-67)
where Ap is the surface area of the droplet (d2 ), pox is the partial pressure of oxidant p species in the gas surrounding the combusting particle, and the kinetic rate, R, incorporates the eects of chemical reaction on the internal surface of the char particle (intrinsic reaction) and pore diusion. In FLUENT, Equation 23.3-68 is recast in terms of the oxidant mass fraction, Yox , as dmp RT Yox D0 R = Ap dt Mw,ox D0 + R (23.3-69)
The particle size is assumed to remain constant in this model while the density is allowed to decrease. When this model is enabled, the rate constants used in Equations 23.3-66 and 23.3-67 are entered in the Materials panel, as described in Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase.
Intrinsic Model
The intrinsic model in FLUENT is based on Smiths model [318], assuming the order of reaction is equal to unity. Like the kinetic/diusion model, the intrinsic model assumes that the surface reaction rate includes the eects of both bulk diusion and chemical reaction (see Equation 23.3-69). The intrinsic model uses Equation 23.3-66 to compute the diusion rate coecient, D0 , but the chemical rate, R, is explicitly expressed in terms of the intrinsic chemical and pore diusion rates: R= dp p Ag k i 6 (23.3-70)
is the eectiveness factor, or the ratio of the actual combustion rate to the rate attainable if no pore diusion resistance existed [185]: = where is the Thiele modulus: 3 ( coth 1) 2 (23.3-71)
23-39
dp Sb p Ag ki pox = 2 De ox
1/2
(23.3-72)
ox is the density of oxidant in the bulk gas (kg/m3 ) and De is the eective diusion coecient in the particle pores. Assuming that the pore size distribution is unimodal and the bulk and Knudsen diusion proceed in parallel, De is given by De = 1 1 + 2 DKn D0
1
(23.3-73)
where D0 is the bulk molecular diusion coecient and is the porosity of the char particle: =1 p t (23.3-74)
p and t are, respectively, the apparent and true densities of the pyrolysis char. (in Equation 23.3-73) is the tortuosity of the pores. The default value for in FLUENT is 2, which corresponds to an average intersecting angle between the pores and the external surface of 45 [185]. DKn is the Knudsen diusion coecient: DKn = 97.0rp Tp Mw,ox (23.3-75)
where Tp is the particle temperature and rp is the mean pore radius of the char particle, which can be measured by mercury porosimetry. Note that macropores (rp > 150 ) dominate in low-rank chars while micropores (rp < 10 ) dominate in high-rank A A chars [185]. Ag (in Equations 23.3-70 and 23.3-72) is the specic internal surface area of the char particle, which is assumed in this model to remain constant during char combustion. Internal surface area data for various pyrolysis chars can be found in [317]. The mean value of the internal surface area during char combustion is higher than that of the pyrolysis char [185]. For example, an estimated mean value for bituminous chars is 300 m2 /g [50]. ki (in Equations 23.3-70 and 23.3-72) is the intrinsic reactivity, which is of Arrhenius form: ki = Ai e(Ei /RTp ) (23.3-76)
23-40
where the pre-exponential factor Ai and the activation energy Ei can be measured for each char. In the absence of such measurements, the default values provided by FLUENT (which are taken from a least squares t of data of a wide range of porous carbons, including chars [317]) can be used. To allow a more adequate description of the char particle size (and hence density) variation during combustion, you can specify the burning mode , relating the char particle diameter to the fractional degree of burnout U (where U = 1 mp /mp,0 ) by [316] dp = (1 U ) dp,0 (23.3-77)
where mp is the char particle mass and the subscript zero refers to initial conditions (i.e., at the start of char combustion). Note that 0 1/3 where the limiting values 0 and 1/3 correspond, respectively, to a constant size with decreasing density (zone 1) and a decreasing size with constant density (zone 3) during burnout. In zone 2, an intermediate value of = 0.25, corresponding to a decrease of both size and density, has been found to work well for a variety of chars [316]. When this model is enabled, the rate constants used in Equations 23.3-66, 23.3-70, 23.3-72, 23.3-73, 23.3-75, 23.3-76, and 23.3-77 are entered in the Materials panel, as described in Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase.
The Multiple Surface Reactions Model

Modeling multiple particle surface reactions follows a pattern similar to the wall surface reaction models, where the surface species is now a particle surface species. For the mixture material dened in the Species Model panel, the particle surface species can be depleted or produced by the stoichiometry of the particle surface reaction (dened in the Reactions panel). The particle surface species constitutes the reactive char mass of the particle, hence, if a particle surface species is depleted, the reactive char content of the particle is consumed, and in turn, when a surface species is produced, it is added to the particle char mass. Any number of particle surface species and any number of particle surface reactions can be dened for any given combusting particle. Multiple injections can be accommodated, and combusting particles reacting according to the multiple surface reactions model can coexist in the calculation, with combusting particles following other char combustion laws. The model is based on oxidation studies of char particles, but it is also applicable to gas-solid reactions in general, not only to char oxidation reactions. See Section 14.3: Particle Surface Reactions for information about particle surface reactions.
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Limitations Note the following limitations of the multiple surface reactions model: The model is not available together with the unsteady tracking option. The model is available only with the species transport model for volumetric reactions, and not with the non-premixed, premixed, or partially premixed combustion models.
Heat and Mass Transfer During Char Combustion

The surface reaction consumes the oxidant species in the gas phase; i.e., it supplies a (negative) source term during the computation of the transport equation for this species. Similarly, the surface reaction is a source of species in the gas phase: the product of the heterogeneous surface reaction appears in the gas phase as a user-selected chemical species. The surface reaction also consumes or produces energy, in an amount determined by the heat of reaction dened by you. The particle heat balance during surface reaction is mp cp dTp dmp = hAp (T Tp ) fh Hreac + Ap p (R 4 Tp 4 ) dt dt (23.3-78)
where Hreac is the heat released by the surface reaction. Note that only a portion (1 fh ) of the energy produced by the surface reaction appears as a heat source in the gasphase energy equation: the particle absorbs a fraction fh of this heat directly. For coal combustion, it is recommended that fh be set at 1.0 if the char burnout product is CO and 0.3 if the char burnout product is CO2 [35]. Radiation heat transfer to the particle is included only if you have enabled the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model and you have activated radiation heat transfer to particles using the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete Phase Model panel. By default, Equation 23.3-78 is solved analytically, by assuming that the temperature and mass of the particle do not change signicantly between time steps. FLUENT can also solve Equation 23.3-78 in conjunction with the equivalent mass transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 23.7.8: Including a Coupled Heat-Mass Solution on the Particles for details.
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23.4 Spray Models
23.4
Spray Models
In addition to the simple injection types described in Section 23.8.2: Injection Types, FLUENT also provides more complex injection types for sprays. For most types of injections, you will need to provide the initial diameter, position, and velocity of the particles. For sprays, however, there are models available to predict the droplet size and velocity distributions. Models are also available for droplet breakup and collision, as well as a dynamically varying drag coecient which accounts for variation in droplet shape. These models for realistic spray simulations are described in this section. Information is organized into the following subsections: Section 23.4.1: Atomizer Models: Atomizer Models Section 23.4.2: Droplet Collision Model: Droplet Collision Model Section 23.4.3: Spray Breakup Models: Spray Breakup Models Section 23.4.4: Dynamic Drag Model: Dynamic Drag Model
23.4.1
Atomizer Models
Five atomizer models are available in FLUENT to predict the spray characteristics from knowledge of global parameters such as nozzle type and liquid ow rate: plain-orice atomizer pressure-swirl atomizer at-fan atomizer air-blast/air-assisted atomizer eervescent/ashing atomizer You can choose them as injection types and dene the associated parameters in the Set Injection Properties panel, as described in Section 23.8.2: Injection Types. Details about the atomizer models are provided below.
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General Information
All of the atomization models use physical atomizer parameters, such as orice diameter and mass ow rate, to calculate initial droplet size, velocity, and position. For realistic atomizer simulations, the droplets must be randomly distributed, both spatially through a dispersion angle and in their time of release. For other types of injections in FLUENT (non-atomizer), all of the droplets are released along xed trajectories at the beginning of the time step. The atomizer models use stochastic trajectory selection and staggering to attain a random distribution. Further information on staggering can be found in section Section 23.2.2: Stochastic Staggering of Particles. Stochastic trajectory selection is the random dispersion of initial droplet directions. All of the atomizer models provide an initial dispersion angle, and the stochastic trajectory selection picks an initial direction within this angle. This approach improves the accuracy of the results for spray-dominated ows. The droplets will be more evenly spread among the computational cells near the atomizer, which improves the coupling to the gas phase by spreading drag more smoothly over the cells near the injection. Source terms in the energy and species conservation equations are also more evenly distributed among neighboring cells, improving solution convergence.
The Plain-Orice Atomizer Model

The plain-orice is the most common type of atomizer and the most simply made. However there is nothing simple about the physics of the internal nozzle ow and the external atomization. In the plain-orice atomizer model in FLUENT, the liquid is accelerated through a nozzle, forms a liquid jet and then breaks up to form droplets. This apparently simple process is dauntingly complex. The plain orice may operate in three dierent regimes: single-phase, cavitating and ipped [324]. The transition between regimes is abrupt, producing dramatically dierent sprays. The internal regime determines the velocity at the orice exit, as well as the initial droplet size and the angle of droplet dispersion. Diagrams of each case are shown in Figures 23.4.1, 23.4.2, and 23.4.3.
23-44
23.4 Spray Models
p d
p liquid jet orice walls L
downstream gas
Figure 23.4.1: Single-Phase Nozzle Flow (Liquid completely lls the orice.)
vapor
liquid jet
vapor
orice walls
downstream gas
Figure 23.4.2: Cavitating Nozzle Flow (Vapor pockets form just after the inlet corners.)
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liquid jet orice walls downstream gas
Figure 23.4.3: Flipped Nozzle Flow (Downstream gas surrounds the liquid jet inside the nozzle.)
23-46
23.4 Spray Models
Internal Nozzle State To accurately predict the spray characteristics, the plain-orice model in FLUENT must identify the correct state of the internal nozzle ow because the nozzle state has a tremendous eect on the external spray. Unfortunately, there is no established theory for determining the nozzle state. One must rely on empirical models obtained from experimental data. FLUENT uses several dimensionless parameters to determine the internal ow regime for the plain-orice atomizer model. These parameters and the decision-making process are summarized below. A list of the parameters that control internal nozzle ow is given in Table 23.4.1. These parameters may be combined to form non-dimensional characteristic lengths such as r/d and L/d, as well as non-dimensional groups like the Reynolds number based on hydraulic head (Reh ) and the cavitation parameter (K). Table 23.4.1: List of Governing Parameters for Internal Nozzle Flow nozzle diameter d nozzle length L radius of curvature of the inlet corner r upstream pressure p1 downstream pressure p2 viscosity liquid density l vapor pressure pv
Reh =
dl
2(p1 p2 ) l p1 pv p1 p2
(23.4-1)
K=
(23.4-2)
The liquid ow often contracts in the nozzle, as can be seen in Figures 23.4.2 and 23.4.3. Nurick [245] found it helpful to use a coecient of contraction (Cc ) to represent the reduction in the cross-sectional area of the liquid jet. The coecient of contraction is dened as the area of the stream of contracting liquid over the total cross-sectional area of the nozzle. FLUENT uses Nuricks t for the coecient of contraction: Cc = 1 (23.4-3)
1 2 Cct
11.4r d
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Here, Cct is a theoretical constant equal to 0.611, which comes from potential ow analysis of ipped nozzles. Coefcient of Discharge Another important parameter for describing the performance of nozzles is the coecient of discharge (Cd ). The coecient of discharge is the ratio of the mass ow rate through the nozzle to the theoretical maximum mass ow rate: Cd = me A 2l (p1 p2 ) (23.4-4)
where me is the eective mass ow rate of the nozzle, dened by me = 2 m (23.4-5)
Here, m is the mass ow rate specied in the user interface, and is the dierence between the azimuthal stop angle and the azimuthal start angle = stop start (23.4-6)
as input by the user (see Section 23.8.10: Point Properties for Plain-Orice Atomizer Injections). Note that the mass ow rate input by the user should be for the appropriate start and stop angles, in other words the correct mass ow rate for the sector being modeled. Note also that for of 2, the eective mass ow rate is identical to the mass ow rate in the interface. The cavitation number (K in Equation 23.4-2) is an essential parameter for predicting the inception of cavitation. The inception of cavitation is known to occur at a value of Kincep 1.9 for short, sharp-edged nozzles. However, to include the eects of inlet rounding and viscosity, an empirical relationship is used: Kincep = 1.9 1 r d
2
1000 Reh
(23.4-7)
Similarly, a critical value of K where ip occurs is given by Kcrit = 1 + 1 1+

L 4d
1+
2000 Reh
e70r/d
(23.4-8)
If r/d is greater than 0.05, then ip is deemed impossible and Kcrit is set to 1.0.
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23.4 Spray Models
The cavitation number, K, is compared to the values of Kincep and Kcrit to identify the nozzle state. The decision tree is shown in Figure 23.4.4. Depending on the state of the nozzle, a unique closure is chosen for the above equations. For a single-phase nozzle (K > Kincep , K Kcrit ) [194], the coecient of discharge is given by Cd = 1
1 Cdu
+ 20 (1+2.25L/d) Reh
(23.4-9)
where Cdu is the ultimate discharge coecient, and is dened as Cdu = 0.827 0.0085 L d (23.4-10)
For a cavitating nozzle (Kcrit K Kincep ) [245] the coecient of discharge is determined from Cd = Cc K For a ipped nozzle (K < Kcrit ) [245], Cd = Cct = 0.611
K Kincep K > K incep
(23.4-11)
(23.4-12)
K < Kcrit
K K crit
K < Kcrit
K Kcrit
ipped
cavitating
ipped
single phase
Figure 23.4.4: Decision Tree for the State of the Cavitating Nozzle
All of the nozzle ow equations are solved iteratively, along with the appropriate relationship for coecient of discharge as given by the nozzle state. The nozzle state may change as the upstream or downstream pressures change. Once the nozzle state is determined, the exit velocity is calculated, and appropriate correlations for spray angle and initial droplet size distribution are determined.
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Exit Velocity For a single-phase nozzle, the estimate of exit velocity (u) comes from the conservation of mass and the assumption of a uniform exit velocity: u= me l A (23.4-13)
For the cavitating nozzle, Schmidt and Corradini [299] have shown that the uniform exit velocity is not accurate. Instead, they derived an expression for a higher velocity over a reduced area: u= 2Cc p1 p2 + (1 2Cc )pv Cc 2l (p1 pv ) (23.4-14)
This analytical relation is used for cavitating nozzles in FLUENT. For the case of ipped nozzles, the exit velocity is found from the conservation of mass and the value of the reduced ow area: u= Spray Angle The correlation for the spray angle () comes from the work of Ranz [271]:
tan1
4 CA g 3 l 6
me l Cct A
(23.4-15)
= 2
single phase, cavitating (23.4-16) ipped
0.01
The spray angle for both single-phase and cavitating nozzles depends on the ratio of the gas and liquid densities and also the parameter CA . For ipped nozzles, the spray angle has a constant value. The parameter CA , which you must specify, is thought to be a constant for a given nozzle geometry. The larger the value, the narrower the spray. Reitz [276] suggests the following correlation for CA : CA = 3 + L 3.6d (23.4-17)
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23.4 Spray Models
The spray angle is sensitive to the internal ow regime of the nozzle. Hence, you may wish to choose smaller values of CA for cavitating nozzles than for single-phase nozzles. Typical values range from 4.0 to 6.0. The spray angle for ipped nozzles is a small, arbitrary value that represents the lack of any turbulence or initial disturbance from the nozzle. Droplet Diameter Distribution One of the basic characteristics of an injection is the distribution of drop size. For an atomizer, the droplet diameter distribution is closely related to the nozzle state. FLUENTs spray models use a two-parameter Rosin-Rammler distribution, characterized by the most probable droplet size and a spread parameter. The most probable droplet size, d0 is obtained in FLUENT from the Sauter mean diameter, d32 [187]. For more information about the Rosin-Rammler size distribution, see Section 23.8.7: Using the Rosin-Rammler Diameter Distribution Method. For single-phase nozzle ows, the correlation of Wu et al. [382] is used to calculate d32 and relate the initial drop size to the estimated turbulence quantities of the liquid jet: d32 = 133.0We0.74 , (23.4-18)
where = d/8, is the radial integral length scale at the jet exit based upon fullydeveloped turbulent pipe ow, and We is the Weber number, dened as We l u2 . (23.4-19)
Here, is the droplet surface tension. For a more detailed discussion of droplet surface tension and the Weber number, see Section 23.4.3: Spray Breakup Models. For more information about mean particle diameters, see Section 23.12.8: Summary Reporting of Current Particles. For cavitating nozzles, FLUENT uses a slight modication of Equation 23.4-18. The initial jet diameter used in Wus correlation, d, is calculated from the eective area of the cavitating orice exit, and thus represents the eective diameter of the exiting liquid jet, de . For an explanation of eective area of cavitating nozzles, please see Schmidt and Corradini [299]. The length scale for a cavitating nozzle is = de /8, where 4me . l u
de =
(23.4-20)
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For the case of the ipped nozzle, the initial droplet diameter is set to the diameter of the liquid jet: d0 = d Cct where d0 is dened as the most probable diameter. The second parameter required to specify the droplet size distribution is the spread parameter, s. The values for the spread parameter are chosen from past modeling experience and from a review of experimental observations. Table 23.4.2 lists the values of s for the three nozzle states. The larger the value of the spread parameter, the narrower the droplet size distribution. Table 23.4.2: Values of Spread Parameter for Dierent Nozzle States State single phase cavitating ipped Spread Parameter 3.5 1.5 (23.4-21)
Since the correlations of Wu et al. provide the Sauter mean diameter, d32 , these are converted to the most probable diameter, d0 . Lefebvre [187] gives the most general relationship between the Sauter mean diameter and most probable diameter for a RosinRammler distribution. The simplied version for s=3.5 is as follows: 1 s
1/s
d0 = 1.2726d32 1
(23.4-22)
At this point, the droplet size, velocity, and spray angle have been determined and the initialization of the injections is complete.
The Pressure-Swirl Atomizer Model

Another important type of atomizer is the pressure-swirl atomizer, sometimes referred to by the gas-turbine community as a simplex atomizer. This type of atomizer accelerates the liquid through nozzles known as swirl ports into a central swirl chamber. The swirling liquid pushes against the walls of the swirl chamber and develops a hollow air core. It then emerges from the orice as a thinning sheet, which is unstable, breaking up into ligaments and droplets. The pressure-swirl atomizer is very widely used for liquid-fuel combustion in gas turbines, oil furnaces, and direct-injection spark-ignited automobile engines. The transition from internal injector ow to fully-developed spray can be divided
23-52
23.4 Spray Models
into three steps: lm formation, sheet breakup, and atomization. A sketch of how this process is thought to occur is shown in Figure 23.4.5.
lm formation sheet breakup
atomization
Figure 23.4.5: Theoretical Progression from the Internal Atomizer Flow to the External Spray
The interaction between the air and the sheet is not well understood. It is generally accepted that an aerodynamic instability causes the sheet to break up. The mathematical analysis below assumes that Kelvin-Helmholtz waves grow on the sheet and eventually break the liquid into ligaments. It is then assumed that the ligaments break up into droplets due to varicose instability. Once the liquid droplets are formed, the spray evolution is determined by drag, collision, coalescence, and secondary breakup. The pressure-swirl atomizer model used in FLUENT is called the Linearized Instability Sheet Atomization (LISA) model of Schmidt et al. [301]. The LISA model is divided into two stages: 1. lm formation 2. sheet breakup and atomization Both parts of the model are described below.
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Film Formation The centrifugal motion of the liquid within the injector creates an air core surrounded by a liquid lm. The thickness of this lm, t, is related to the mass ow rate by me = ut(dinj t) (23.4-23)
where dinj is the injector exit diameter, and me is the eective mass ow rate, which is dened by equation Equation 23.4-5 . The other unknown in Equation 23.4-23 is u, the axial component of velocity at the injector exit. This quantity depends on internal details of the injector and is dicult to calculate from rst principles. Instead, the approach of Han et al. [124] is used. The total velocity is assumed to be related to the injector pressure by 2p l
U = kv
(23.4-24)
where kv is the velocity coecient. Lefebvre [187] has noted that kv is a function of the injector design and injection pressure. If the swirl ports are treated as nozzles and if it is assumed that the dominant portion of the pressure drop occurs at those ports, kv is the expression for the discharge coecient (Cd ). For single-phase nozzles with sharp inlet corners and L/d ratios of 4, a typical Cd value is 0.78 or less [194]. If the nozzles are cavitating, the value of Cd may be as low as 0.61. Hence, 0.78 should be a practical upper bound for kv . Reducing kv by 10% to 0.7 approximates the eect of other momentum losses on the discharge coecient. Physical limits on kv require that it be less than unity from conservation of energy, yet be large enough to permit sucient mass ow. To guarantee that the size of the air core is non-negative, the following expression is used for kv : kv = max 0.7, 4me cos l 2p (23.4-25)
d2 l 0
Assuming that p is known, Equation 23.4-24 can be used to nd U . Once U is determined, u is found from u = U cos (23.4-26)
where is the spray angle, which is assumed to be known. At this point, the thickness and axial component of the liquid lm are known at the injector exit. The tangential component of velocity (w = U sin ) is assumed to be equal to the radial velocity component of the liquid sheet downstream of the nozzle exit. The axial component of velocity is assumed to remain constant.
23-54
23.4 Spray Models
Sheet Breakup and Atomization The pressure-swirl atomizer model includes the eects of the surrounding gas, liquid viscosity, and surface tension on the breakup of the liquid sheet. Details of the theoretical development of the model are given in Senecal et al. [302] and are only briey presented here. For a more robust implementation, the gas-phase velocity is neglected in calculating the relative liquid-gas velocity and is instead set by the user. This avoids having the injector parameters depend too heavily on the usually under-resolved gas-phase velocity eld very near the injection location. The model assumes that a two-dimensional, viscous, incompressible liquid sheet of thickness 2h moves with velocity U through a quiescent, inviscid, incompressible gas medium. The liquid and gas have densities of l and g , respectively, and the viscosity of the liquid is l . A coordinate system is used that moves with the sheet, and a spectrum of innitesimal wavy disturbances of the form = 0 eikx+t (23.4-27)
is imposed on the initially steady motion. The spectrum of disturbances results in uctuating velocities and pressures for both the liquid and the gas. In Equation 23.4-27, 0 is the initial wave amplitude, k = 2/ is the wave number, and = r + ii is the complex growth rate. The most unstable disturbance has the largest value of r , denoted here by , and is assumed to be responsible for sheet breakup. Thus, it is desired to obtain a dispersion relation = (k) from which the most unstable disturbance can be calculated as a function of wave number. Squire [329], Li and Tankin [193], and Hagerty and Shea [122] have shown that two solutions, or modes, exist that satisfy the governing equations subject to the boundary conditions at the upper and lower interfaces. The rst solution, called the sinuous mode, has waves at the upper and lower interfaces in phase. The second solution is called the varicose mode which has the waves at the upper and lower interfaces radians out of phase. It has been shown by numerous authors (e.g., Senecal et. al. [302]) that the sinuous mode dominates the growth of varicose waves for low velocities and low gas-toliquid density ratios. In addition, it can be shown that the sinuous and varicose modes become indistinguishable for high-velocity ows. As a result, the atomization model in FLUENT is based upon the growth of sinuous waves on the liquid sheet. As derived in Senecal et al. [302], the dispersion relation for the sinuous mode is given by 2 [tanh(kh) + Q] + [4l k 2 tanh(kh) + 2iQkU ] + 4l k 4 tanh(kh) 4l2 k 3 tanh( h) QU 2 k 2 + k 3 =0 l (23.4-28)
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2
where Q = g /l and
= k 2 + /l .
Above a critical Weber number of Weg = 27/16 (based on the liquid velocity, gas density, and sheet half-thickness), the fastest-growing waves are short. For Weg < 27/16, the wavelengths are long compared to the sheet thickness. The speed of modern high pressure fuel injection systems is high enough to ensure that the lm Weber number is well above this critical limit. An order-of-magnitude analysis using typical values shows that the terms of second order in viscosity can be neglected in comparison to the other terms in Equation 23.4-28. Using this assumption, Equation 23.4-28 reduces to
1 r = 2l k 2 tanh(kh) + tanh(kh) + Q
k 3 4l2 k 4 tanh2 (kh) Q2 U 2 k 2 [tanh(kh) + Q] QU 2 k 2 + l
(23.4-29)
For waves that are long compared with the sheet thickness, a mechanism of sheet disintegration proposed by Dombrowski and Johns [76] is adopted. For long waves, ligaments are assumed to form from the sheet breakup process once the unstable waves reach a critical amplitude. If the surface disturbance has reached a value of b at breakup, a breakup time, , can be evaluated: b = 0 e 1 b ln 0
(23.4-30)
where , the maximum growth rate, is found by numerically maximizing Equation 23.4-29 as a function of k. The maximum is found using a binary search that checks the sign of the derivative. The sheet breaks up and ligaments will be formed at a length given by U b ln 0
Lb = U =
(23.4-31)
b where the quantity ln( 0 ) is an empirical sheet constant that you must specify. The default value of 12 was obtained theoretically by Weber [367] for liquid jets. Dombrowski and Hooper [75] showed that a value of 12 for the sheet constant agreed favorably with experimental sheet breakup lengths over a range of Weber numbers from 2 to 200.
The diameter of the ligaments formed at the point of breakup can be obtained from a mass balance. If it is assumed that the ligaments are formed from tears in the sheet twice per wavelength, the resulting diameter is given by
23-56
23.4 Spray Models
dL =
8h Ks
(23.4-32)
where Ks is the wave number corresponding to the maximum growth rate, . The ligament diameter depends on the sheet thickness, which is a function of the breakup length. The lm thickness is calculated from the breakup length and the radial distance from the center line to the mid-line of the sheet at the atomizer exit, r0 : hend = r0 h0 r0 + Lb sin
2
(23.4-33)
This mechanism is not used for waves that are short compared to the sheet thickness. For short waves, the ligament diameter is assumed to be linearly proportional to the wavelength that breaks up the sheet, dL = 2CL Ks (23.4-34)
where CL , or the ligament constant, is equal to 0.5 by default. In either the long-wave or the short-wave case, the breakup from ligaments to droplets is assumed to behave according to Webers [367] analysis for capillary instability. d0 = 1.88dL (1 + 3Oh)1/6 (23.4-35)
Here, Oh is the Ohnesorge number which is a combination of the Reynolds number and the Weber number (see Section 23.4.3: Jet Stability Analysis for more details about Oh). Once d0 has been determined from Equation 23.4-35, it is assumed that this droplet diameter is the most probable droplet size of a Rosin-Rammler distribution with a spread parameter of 3.5 and a default dispersion angle of 6 (which can be modied in the GUI). The choice of spread parameter and dispersion angle is based on past modeling experience [300]. It is important to note that the spray cone angle must be specied by the user when using this model.
The Air-Blast/Air-Assist Atomizer Model

In order to accelerate the breakup of liquid sheets from an atomizer, an additional air stream is often directed through the atomizer. The liquid is formed into a sheet by a nozzle, and air is then directed against the sheet to promote atomization. This technique is called air-assisted atomization or air-blast atomization, depending on the quantity of air and its velocity. The addition of the external air stream past the sheet produces smaller droplets than without the air. Though the exact mechanism for this enhanced performance is not completely understood, it is thought that the assisting air may accelerate
23-57
the sheet instability. The air may also help disperse the droplets, preventing collisions between them. Air-assisted atomization is used in many of the same applications as pressure-swirl atomization, where especially ne atomization is required. FLUENTs air-blast atomization model is a variation of the pressure-swirl model. One important dierence between them is that the sheet thickness is set directly in the airblast atomizer model. This input is necessary because of the variety of sheet formation mechanisms used in air-blast atomizers. Hence the air-blast atomizer model does not contain the sheet formation equations that were included in the pressure-swirl atomizer model (Equations 23.4-2323.4-26). You will also specify the maximum relative velocity that is produced by the sheet and air. Though this quantity could be calculated, specifying a value relieves you from the necessity of nely resolving the atomizer internal ow. This feature is convenient for simulations in large domains, where the atomizer is very small by comparison. An additional dierence is that the air-blast atomizer model assumes that the sheet breakup is always due to short waves. This assumption is a consequence of the greater sheet thickness commonly found in air-blast atomizers. Hence the ligament diameter is assumed to be linearly proportional to the wavelength of the fastest-growing wave on the sheet, and is calculated from Equation 23.4-34. Other inputs are similar to the pressure-swirl model the user must provide the mass ow rate and spray angle. The angle in the case of the air-blast atomizer is the initial trajectory of the lm as it leaves the end of the orice. The value of the angle is negative if the initial lm trajectory is inward, towards the centerline. Specication of the inner and outer diameters of the lm at the atomizer exit are also required, in addition to the dispersion angle whose default value is 6 (which can be modied in the GUI). Since the air-blast atomizer model does not include internal gas ows, the user must create the air streams surrounding the injector as boundary conditions within the FLUENT simulation. These streams are ordinary continuous-phase ows and require no special treatment.
The Flat-Fan Atomizer Model

The at-fan atomizer is very similar to the pressure-swirl atomizer, but it makes a at sheet and does not use swirl. The liquid emerges from a wide, thin orice as a at liquid sheet that breaks up into droplets. The primary atomization process is thought to be similar to the pressure-swirl atomizer. Some researchers believe that at-fan atomization, because of jet impingement, is very similar to the atomization of a at sheet. The at-fan model could serve doubly for this application. The at-fan atomizer is available only for 3D models. An image of the three-dimensional at fan is shown in Figure 23.4.6. The model assumes that the fan originates from a virtual origin. You need to provide the location of this origin, which is the intersection of the lines that mark the sides of the fan as well as the location of the center point
23-58
23.4 Spray Models
of the arc from which the fan originates. FLUENT will nd the vector that points from the origin to the center point in order to determine the direction of the injection. You also need to provide the half-angle of the fan arc, the width of the orice (in the normal direction) and the mass ow rate of the liquid to use the at-fan atomizer model.
center point
virtual origin normal vector
Figure 23.4.6: Flat Fan Viewed From Above and From the Side
The breakup of the at fan is calculated very much like the breakup of the sheet in the pressure-swirl atomizer. The sheet breaks up into ligaments which then form individual droplets. The only dierence is that for short waves, the at fan sheet is assumed to form ligaments at half-wavelength intervals. Hence the ligament diameter for short waves is given by 16h Ks
dL =
(23.4-36)
In this case, dL in Equation 23.4-36 is taken to be the most probable diameter, with a Rosin-Rammler spread parameter of 3.5 and a default dispersion angle of 6 . This angle can be set in the Set Injection Properties panel. In all other respects, the at-fan atomizer model is like the sheet breakup portion of the pressure-swirl atomizer.
Effervescent Atomizer Model

Eervescent atomization is the injection of liquid infused with a super-heated (with respect to downstream conditions) liquid or propellant. As the volatile liquid exits the nozzle, it rapidly changes phase. This phase change quickly breaks up the stream into small droplets with a wide dispersion angle. The model also applies to cases where a very hot liquid is discharged.
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Since the physics of eervescence is not well understood, the model must rely on rough empirical ts. The photographs of Reitz and Bracco [276] provide some insights. These photographs show a dense liquid core to the spray, surrounded by a wide shroud of smaller droplets. The initial velocity of the droplets is computed from conservation of mass, assuming the exiting jet has a cross-sectional area that is Cct times the nozzle area, where Cct is a xed constant, equal to 0.611 as specied in Equations 23.4-3 and 23.4-12. u= me l Cct A (23.4-37)
The maximum droplet diameter is set to the eective diameter of the exiting jet: dmax = d Cct (23.4-38)
The droplet size is then sampled from a Rosin-Rammler distribution with a spread parameter of 4.0. (See Section 23.8.7: Using the Rosin-Rammler Diameter Distribution Method for details on the Rosin-Rammler distribution.) The most probable droplet size depends on the angle, , between the droplets stochastic trajectory and the injection direction: d0 = dmax e(/s )
2
(23.4-39)
The dispersion angle multiplier, s , is computed from the quality, x, and the specied value for the dispersion constant, Ce :
x = s
mvapor (mvapor + mliquid ) x = Ce
(23.4-40) (23.4-41)
This technique creates a spray with large droplets in the central core and a shroud of smaller surrounding droplets. The droplet temperature is initialized to the initial temperature fraction, f , times the saturation temperature of the droplets. f should be slightly less than 1.0, because the droplet temperatures should be close to boiling. To complete the model, the ashing vapor must also be included in the calculation. This vapor is part of the continuous phase and not part of the discrete phase model. You must create an inlet at the point of injection when you specify boundary conditions for the continuous phase.
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23.4 Spray Models
When the eervescent atomizer model is selected, you will need to specify the nozzle diameter, mass ow rate, mixture quality, saturation temperature of the volatile substance, spray half-angle and dispersion constant in addition to specifying the position and direction of the injector.
23.4.2
Droplet Collision Model
Introduction
When your simulation includes tracking of droplets, FLUENT provides an option for estimating the number of droplet collisions and their outcomes in a computationally ecient manner. The diculty in any collision calculation is that for N droplets, each droplet has N 1 possible collision partners. Thus, the number of possible collision pairs 1 is approximately 2 N 2 . (The factor of 1 appears because droplet A colliding with droplet 2 B is identical to droplet B colliding with droplet A. This symmetry reduces the number of possible collision events by half.) An important consideration is that the collision algorithm must calculate 1 N 2 possible 2 collision events at every time step. Since a spray can consist of several million droplets, the computational cost of a collision calculation from rst principles is prohibitive. This motivates the concept of parcels. Parcels are statistical representations of a number of individual droplets. For example, if FLUENT tracks a set of parcels, each of which represents 1000 droplets, the cost of the collision calculation is reduced by a factor of 106 . Because the cost of the collision calculation still scales with the square of N , the reduction of cost is signicant; however, the eort to calculate the possible intersection of so many parcel trajectories would still be prohibitively expensive. The algorithm of ORourke [247] eciently reduces the computational cost of the spray calculation. Rather than using geometry to see if parcel paths intersect, ORourkes method is a stochastic estimate of collisions. ORourke also makes the assumption that two parcels may collide only if they are located in the same continuous-phase cell. These two assumptions are valid only when the continuous-phase cell size is small compared to the size of the spray. For these conditions, the method of ORourke is second-order accurate at estimating the chance of collisions. The concept of parcels together with the algorithm of ORourke makes the calculation of collision possible for practical spray problems. Once it is decided that two parcels of droplets collide, the algorithm further determines the type of collision. Only coalescence and bouncing outcomes are considered. The probability of each outcome is calculated from the collisional Weber number (W ec ) and a t to experimental observations. Here, W ec =
2 Urel D
(23.4-42)
where Urel is the relative velocity between two parcels and D is the arithmetic mean
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diameter of the two parcels. The state of the two colliding parcels is modied based on the outcome of the collision.
Use and Limitations

The collision model assumes that the frequency of collisions is much less than the particle time step. If the particle time step is too large, then the results may be timestep-dependent. You should adjust the particle length scale accordingly. Additionally, the model is most applicable for low-Weber-number collisions where collisions result in bouncing and coalescence. Above a Weber number of about 100, the outcome of collision could be shattering. Sometimes the collision model can cause grid-dependent artifacts to appear in the spray. This is a result of the assumption that droplets can collide only within the same cell. These tend to be visible when the source of injection is at a mesh vertex. The coalescence of droplets tends to cause the spray to pull away from cell boundaries. In two dimensions, a ner mesh and more computational droplets can be used to reduce these eects. In three dimensions, best results are achieved when the spray is modeled using a polar mesh with the spray at the center.
Theory
As noted above, ORourkes algorithm assumes that two droplets may collide only if they are in the same continuous-phase cell. This assumption can prevent droplets that are quite close to each other, but not in the same cell, from colliding, although the eect of this error is lessened by allowing some droplets that are farther apart to collide. The overall accuracy of the scheme is second-order in space. Probability of Collision The probability of collision of two droplets is derived from the point of view of the larger droplet, called the collector droplet and identied below with the number 1. The smaller droplet is identied in the following derivation with the number 2. The calculation is in the frame of reference of the larger droplet so that the velocity of the collector droplet is zero. Only the relative distance between the collector and the smaller droplet is important in this derivation. If the smaller droplet is on a collision course with the collector, the centers will pass within a distance of r1 + r2 . More precisely, if the smaller droplet center passes within a at circle centered around the collector of area (r1 + r2 )2 perpendicular to the trajectory of the smaller droplet, a collision will take place. This disk can be used to dene the collision volume, which is the area of the aforementioned disk multiplied by the distance traveled by the smaller droplet in one time step, namely (r1 + r2 )2 vrel t. The algorithm of ORourke uses the concept of a collision volume to calculate the probability of collision. Rather than calculating whether or not the position of the smaller droplet center is within the collision volume, the algorithm calculates the probability
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23.4 Spray Models
of the smaller droplet being within the collision volume. It is known that the smaller droplet is somewhere within the continuous-phase cell of volume V . If there is a uniform probability of the droplet being anywhere within the cell, then the chance of the droplet being within the collision volume is the ratio of the two volumes. Thus, the probability of the collector colliding with the smaller droplet is P1 = (r1 + r2 )2 vrel t V (23.4-43)
Equation 23.4-43 can be generalized for parcels, where there are n1 and n2 droplets in the collector and smaller droplet parcels, respectively. The collector undergoes a mean expected number of collisions given by n= n2 (r1 + r2 )2 vrel t V (23.4-44)
The actual number of collisions that the collector experiences is not generally the mean expected number of collisions. The probability distribution of the number of collisions follows a Poisson distribution, according to ORourke, which is given by
n P (n) = e
nn n!
(23.4-45)
where n is the number of collisions between a collector and other droplets. Collision Outcomes Once it is determined that two parcels collide, the outcome of the collision must be determined. In general, the outcome tends to be coalescence if the droplets collide headon, and bouncing if the collision is more oblique. In the reference frame being used here, the probability of coalescence can be related to the oset of the collector droplet center and the trajectory of the smaller droplet. The critical oset is a function of the collisional Weber number and the relative radii of the collector and the smaller droplet. The critical oset is calculated by ORourke using the expression 2.4f We
bcrit = (r1 + r2 ) min 1.0, where f is a function of r1 /r2 , dened as f r1 r2 = r1 r2

3
(23.4-46)
2.4
r1 r2
+ 2.7
r1 r2
(23.4-47)
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Discrete Phase Models The value of the actual collision parameter, b, is (r1 + r2 ) Y , where Y is a random number between 0 and 1. The calculated value of b is compared to bcrit , and if b < bcrit , the result of the collision is coalescence. Equation 23.4-45 gives the number of smaller droplets that coalesce with the collector. The properties of the coalesced droplets are found from the basic conservation laws. In the case of a grazing collision, the new velocities are calculated based on conservation of momentum and kinetic energy. It is assumed that some fraction of the kinetic energy of the droplets is lost to viscous dissipation and angular momentum generation. This fraction is related to b, the collision oset parameter. Using assumed forms for the energy loss, ORourke derived the following expression for the new velocity: m1 v1 + m2 v2 + m2 (v1 v2 ) m1 + m2 b bcrit r1 + r2 bcrit
v1 =
(23.4-48)
This relation is used for each of the components of velocity. No other droplet properties are altered in grazing collisions.
23.4.3
Spray Breakup Models
FLUENT oers two spray breakup models: the Taylor Analogy Breakup (TAB) model and the wave model. The TAB model is recommended for low-Weber-number injections and is well suited for low-speed sprays into a standard atmosphere. For Weber numbers greater than 100, the wave model is more applicable. The wave model is popular for use in high-speed fuel-injection applications. Details for each model are provided below.
Taylor Analogy Breakup (TAB) Model

Introduction The Taylor Analogy Breakup (TAB) model is a classic method for calculating droplet breakup, which is applicable to many engineering sprays. This method is based upon Taylors analogy [345] between an oscillating and distorting droplet and a spring mass system. Table 23.4.3 illustrates the analogous components. Table 23.4.3: Comparison of a Spring-Mass System to a Distorting Droplet Spring-Mass System restoring force of spring external force damping force Distorting and Oscillating Droplet surface tension forces droplet drag force droplet viscosity forces
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23.4 Spray Models
The resulting TAB model equation set, which governs the oscillating and distorting droplet, can be solved to determine the droplet oscillation and distortion at any given time. As described in detail below, when the droplet oscillations grow to a critical value the parent droplet will break up into a number of smaller child droplets. As a droplet is distorted from a spherical shape, the drag coecient changes. A drag model that incorporates the distorting droplet eects is available in FLUENT. See Section 23.4.4: Dynamic Drag Model for details. Use and Limitations The TAB model is best for low-Weber-number sprays. Extremely high-Weber-number sprays result in shattering of droplets, which is not described well by the spring-mass analogy. Droplet Distortion The equation governing a damped, forced oscillator is [248] F kx d dx d2 x =m 2 dt dt (23.4-49)
where x is the displacement of the droplet equator from its spherical (undisturbed) position. The coecients of this equation are taken from Taylors analogy:
F g u 2 = CF m l r k = Ck 3 m l r d l = Cd 2 m l r
(23.4-50) (23.4-51) (23.4-52)
where l and g are the discrete phase and continuous phase densities, u is the relative velocity of the droplet, r is the undisturbed droplet radius, is the droplet surface tension, and l is the droplet viscosity. The dimensionless constants CF , Ck , and Cd will be dened later. The droplet is assumed to break up if the distortion grows to a critical ratio of the droplet radius. This breakup requirement is given as x > Cb r (23.4-53)
where Cb is a constant equal to 0.5 if breakup is assumed to occur when the distortion is equal to the droplet radius, i.e., the north and south poles of the droplet meet at
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the droplet center. This implicitly assumes that the droplet is undergoing only one (fundamental) oscillation mode. Equation 23.4-49 is non-dimensionalized by setting y = x/(Cb r) and substituting the relationships in Equations 23.4-5023.4-52: d2 y CF g u2 Ck Cd l dy = y 2 2 3 dt Cb l r l r l r2 dt (23.4-54)
where breakup now occurs for y > 1. For under-damped droplets, the equation governing y can easily be determined from Equation 23.4-54 if the relative velocity is assumed to be constant: 1 dy0 y0 Wec sin(t) + dt td
y(t) = Wec + e(t/td ) (y0 Wec ) cos(t) + where
(23.4-55)
We = Wec = y0 = dy0 = dt 1 = td 2 =
g u 2 r CF We Ck Cb y(0) dy (0) dt Cd l 2 l r 2 1 Ck 3 2 l r td
(23.4-56) (23.4-57) (23.4-58) (23.4-59) (23.4-60) (23.4-61)
In Equation 23.4-55, u is the relative velocity between the droplet and the gas phase and We is the droplet Weber number, a dimensionless parameter dened as the ratio of aerodynamic forces to surface tension forces. The droplet oscillation frequency is represented by . The default value of y0 is 0, based upon the work of Liu et al. [202]. The constants have been chosen to match experiments and theory [177]:
Ck = 8 Cd = 5 1 CF = 3 If Equation 23.4-55 is solved for all droplets, those with y > 1 are assumed to break up. The size and velocity of the new child droplets must be determined.
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23.4 Spray Models
Size of Child Droplets The size of the child droplets is determined by equating the energy of the parent droplet to the combined energy of the child droplets. The energy of the parent droplet is [248] dy = 4r2 + K l r5 5 dt
Eparent
+ 2y2
(23.4-62)
where K is the ratio of the total energy in distortion and oscillation to the energy in the fundamental mode, of the order ( 10 ). The child droplets are assumed to be non-distorted 3 and non-oscillating. Thus, the energy of the child droplets can be shown to be Echild = 4r2 r dy + l r 5 r32 6 dt
2
(23.4-63)
where r32 is the Sauter mean radius of the droplet size distribution. r32 can be found by equating the energy of the parent and child droplets (i.e., Equations 23.4-62 and 23.4-63), setting y = 1, and 2 = 8/l r3 : r32 = r 1+
8Ky 2 20
l r 3 (dy/dt)2
6K5 120
(23.4-64)
Once the size of the child droplets is determined, the number of child droplets can easily be determined by mass conservation. Velocity of Child Droplets The TAB model allows for a velocity component normal to the parent droplet velocity to be imposed upon the child droplets. When breakup occurs, the equator of the parent droplet is traveling at a velocity of dx/dt = Cb r(dy/dt). Therefore, the child droplets will have a velocity normal to the parent droplet velocity given by vnormal = Cv Cb r dy dt (23.4-65)
where Cv is a constant of order (1). Although this imposed velocity is assumed to be in a plane normal to the path of the parent droplet, the exact direction in this plane cannot be specied. Therefore, the direction of this imposed velocity is selected randomly, yet is conned in a plane normal to the parent relative velocity vector. Because the child droplets are assumed to move in one direction, momentum is not conserved for individual breakup events. However, on average, momentum is conserved.
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Droplet Breakup To model droplet breakup, the TAB model rst determines the amplitude for an undamped oscillation (td ) for each droplet at time step n using the following: (dy/dt)n +
2
A=
(y n
Wec
)2
(23.4-66)
According to Equation 23.4-66, breakup is possible only if the following condition is satised: Wec + A > 1 (23.4-67)
This is the limiting case, as damping will only reduce the chance of breakup. If a droplet fails the above criterion, breakup does not occur. The only additional calculations required then, are to update y using a discretized form of Equation 23.4-55 and its derivative, which are both based on work done by ORourke and Amsden [248]:
n
n+1
= Wec + e
(t/td )
1 (y Wec ) cos(t) +
n
dy dt
y n Wec sin(t) td (23.4-68)
dy dt
n+1
Wec y n+1 + td 1 dy dt
n
e(t/td )
y n Wec cos(t) (y n Wec ) sin(t) td
(23.4-69)
All of the constants in these expressions are assumed to be constant throughout the time step. If the criterion of Equation 23.4-67 is met, then breakup is possible. The breakup time, tbu , must be determined to see if breakup occurs within the time step t. The value of tbu is set to the time required for oscillations to grow suciently large that the magnitude of the droplet distortion, y, is equal to unity. The breakup time is determined under the assumption that the droplet oscillation is undamped for its rst period. The breakup time is therefore the smallest root greater than tn of an undamped version of Equation 23.4-55: Wec + A cos[(t tn ) + ] = 1 where (23.4-70)
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23.4 Spray Models
cos = and
y n Wec A
(23.4-71)
sin =
(dy/dt)n A
(23.4-72)
If tbu > tn+1 , then breakup will not occur during the current time step, and y and (dy/dt) are updated by Equations 23.4-68 and 23.4-69. The breakup calculation then continues with the next droplet. Conversely, if tn < tbu < tn+1 , then breakup will occur and the child droplet radii are determined by Equation 23.4-64. The number of child droplets, N , is determined by mass conservation: N n+1 = N n rn rn+1
3
(23.4-73)
A velocity component normal to the relative velocity vector, with magnitude computed by Equation 23.4-65, is imposed upon the child droplets. It is assumed that the child droplets are neither distorted nor oscillating; i.e., y = (dy/dt) = 0. The breakup process is applied to all of the droplets in the parcel (see Section 23.4.2: Droplet Collision Model for a description of parcels). When the breakup event occurs, two equal mass parcels are created from the original parcel, one with the velocity components computed by Equation 23.4-65 and one with an equal and opposite normal component such that the breakup event does not result in unphysical momentum sources in the gas phase.
Wave Breakup Model

Introduction An alternative to the TAB model that is appropriate for high-Weber-number ows is the wave breakup model of Reitz [275], which considers the breakup of the droplets to be induced by the relative velocity between the gas and liquid phases. The model assumes that the time of breakup and the resulting droplet size are related to the fastest-growing Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, derived from the jet stability analysis described below. The wavelength and growth rate of this instability are used to predict details of the newlyformed droplets.
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Use and Limitations The wave model is appropriate for high-speed injections, where the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is believed to dominate spray breakup (We > 100). Because this breakup model can increase the number of computational parcels, you may wish to inject a modest number of droplets initially. You must also specify the model constants, which depend on the internal ow of the spray nozzle being modeled. Jet Stability Analysis The jet stability analysis described in detail by Reitz and Bracco [277] is presented briey here. The analysis considers the stability of a cylindrical, viscous, liquid jet of radius a issuing from a circular orice at a velocity v into a stagnant, incompressible, inviscid gas of density 2 . The liquid has a density, 1 , and viscosity, 1 , and a cylindrical polar coordinate system is used which moves with the jet. An arbitrary innitesimal axisymmetric surface displacement of the form = 0 eikz+t (23.4-74)
is imposed on the initially steady motion and it is thus desired to nd the dispersion relation = (k) which relates the real part of the growth rate, , to its wave number, k = 2/. In order to determine the dispersion relation, the linearized equations for the hydrodynamics of the liquid are solved assuming wave solutions of the form
1 = C1 I0 (kr)eikz+t 1 = C2 I1 (Lr)eikz+t
(23.4-75) (23.4-76)
where 1 and 1 are the velocity potential and stream function, respectively, C1 and C2 are integration constants, I0 and I1 are modied Bessel functions of the rst kind, L2 = k 2 + /1 , and 1 is the liquid kinematic viscosity [275]. The liquid pressure is obtained from the inviscid part of the liquid equations. In addition, the inviscid gas equations can be solved to obtain the uctuating gas pressure at r = a: p21 = 2 (U ik)2 k K0 (ka) K1 (ka) (23.4-77)
where K0 and K1 are modied Bessel functions of the second kind and u is the relative velocity between the liquid and the gas. The linearized boundary conditions are
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23.4 Spray Models
v1 = u1 r and p1 + 21
t v1 = z
(23.4-78) (23.4-79)
2 + a2 2 a2 z
+ p2 = 0
(23.4-80)
which are mathematical statements of the liquid kinematic free surface condition, continuity of shear stress, and continuity of normal stress, respectively. Note that u1 is the axial perturbation liquid velocity, v1 is the radial perturbation liquid velocity, and is the surface tension. Also note that Equation 23.4-79 was obtained under the assumption that v2 = 0. As described by Reitz [275], Equations 23.4-78 and 23.4-79 can be used to eliminate the integration constants C1 and C2 in Equations 23.4-75 and 23.4-76. Thus, when the pressure and velocity solutions are substituted into Equation 23.4-80, the desired dispersion relation is obtained: 2 + 21 k 2 I1 (ka) 2kL I1 (ka) I1 (La) 2 = I0 (ka) k + L2 I0 (ka) I1 (La)
2
k L 2 a2 (1 k 2 a2 ) 1 a2 L 2 + a2
I1 (ka) 2 + U i I0 (ka) 1 k
L 2 a2 L 2 + a2
I1 (ka) K0 (ka) (23.4-81) I0 (ka) K1 (ka)
As shown by Reitz [275], Equation 23.4-81 predicts that a maximum growth rate (or most unstable wave) exists for a given set of ow conditions. Curve ts of numerical solutions to Equation 23.4-81 were generated for the maximum growth rate, , and the corresponding wavelength, , and are given by Reitz [275]: (1 + 0.45Oh0.5 )(1 + 0.4Ta0.7 ) = 9.02 a (1 + 0.87We1.67 )0.6 2 1 a3 (0.34 + 0.38We1.5 ) 2 = (1 + Oh)(1 + 1.4Ta0.6 )
(23.4-82) (23.4-83)
where Oh = We1 /Re1 is the Ohnesorge number and Ta = Oh We2 is the Taylor number. Furthermore, We1 = 1 U 2 a/ and We2 = 2 U 2 a/ are the liquid and gas Weber numbers, respectively, and Re1 = U a/1 is the Reynolds number.
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Droplet Breakup In the wave model, breakup of droplet parcels is calculated by assuming that the radius of the newly-formed droplets is proportional to the wavelength of the fastest-growing unstable surface wave on the parent droplet. In other words, r = B0 (23.4-84)
where B0 is a model constant set equal to 0.61 based on the work of Reitz [275]. Furthermore, the rate of change of droplet radius in the parent parcel is given by da (a r) = , ra dt where the breakup time, , is given by = 3.726B1 a (23.4-86) (23.4-85)
and and are obtained from Equations 23.4-82 and 23.4-83, respectively. The breakup time constant, B1 , is set to a value of 1.73 as recommended by Liu et al. [202]. Values of B1 can range between 1 and 60, depending on the injector characterization. In the wave model, mass is accumulated from the parent drop at a rate given by Equation 23.4-86 until the shed mass is equal to 5% of the initial parcel mass. At this time, a new parcel is created with a radius given by Equation 23.4-84. The new parcel is given the same properties as the parent parcel (i.e., temperature, material, position, etc.) with the exception of radius and velocity. The new parcel is given a component of velocity randomly selected in the plane orthogonal to the direction vector of the parent parcel, and the momentum of the parent parcel is adjusted so that momentum is conserved. The velocity magnitude of the new parcel is the same as the parent parcel.
23.4.4
Dynamic Drag Model
Accurate determination of droplet drag coecients is crucial for accurate spray modeling. FLUENT provides a method that determines the droplet drag coecient dynamically, accounting for variations in the droplet shape.
Use and Limitations

The dynamic drag model is applicable in almost any circumstance. It is compatible with both the TAB and wave models for spray breakup. When the collision model is turned on, collisions reset the distortion and distortion velocities of the colliding droplets.
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23.4 Spray Models
Theory
Many droplet drag models assume the droplet remains spherical throughout the domain. With this assumption, the drag of a spherical object is determined by the following [202]:

0.424
24 Re
Re > 1000 (23.4-87) Re 1000
Cd,sphere =
1 + 1 Re2/3 6
However, as an initially spherical droplet moves through a gas, its shape is distorted signicantly when the Weber number is large. In the extreme case, the droplet shape will approach that of a disk. The drag of a disk, however, is signicantly higher than that of a sphere. Since the droplet drag coecient is highly dependent upon the droplet shape, a drag model that assumes the droplet is spherical is unsatisfactory. The dynamic drag model accounts for the eects of droplet distortion, linearly varying the drag between that of a sphere (Equation 23.4-87) and a value of 1.54 corresponding to a disk [202]. The drag coecient is given by Cd = Cd,sphere (1 + 2.632y) where y is the droplet distortion, as determined by the solution of d2 y CF g u2 Ck Cd l dy = y 2 2 3 dt Cb l r l r l r2 dt (23.4-89) (23.4-88)
In the limit of no distortion (y = 0), the drag coecient of a sphere will be obtained, while at maximum distortion (y = 1) the drag coecient corresponding to a disk will be obtained. Note that Equation 23.4-89 is obtained from the TAB model for spray breakup, described in Section 23.4.3: Taylor Analogy Breakup (TAB) Model, but the dynamic drag model can be used with either of the breakup models.
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23.5
Wall-Film Model Introduction
23.5.1
Spray-wall interaction is an important part of the mixture formation process in port fuel injected (PFI) engines. A fuel spray impinges on a surface, usually at the intake port near the intake valve, as well as at the intake valve itself, where it splashes and subsequently evaporates. The evaporated mixture is entrained into the cylinder of the engine, where it is mixed with the fresh charge and any residual gas in the cylinder. The mixture that is compressed and burned, nally exits through the exhaust port. The process repeats itself between 200 and 8000 times per second, depending on the engine. Several cycles worth of fuel remain in the intake tract due to lm formation on the walls. This in turn makes the lm important in hydrocarbon emissions for PFI engines. Additionally, lm can form inside combustion chambers of direct injection (DI) types of engines. In a direct injection engine, fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber, where the spray can impinge upon the piston if the injection event is early or late in the cycle. The modeling of the wall-lm inside a DI engine, especially in diesel engines, is compounded by the presence of carbon deposits on the surfaces of the engine. This carbon deposit absorbs the liquid lm as it impinges upon it. It is believed that the carbon deposits adsorb the fuel later in the cycle, however this phenomena is very complex and is not well understood. DPM particles are used to model the wall-lm. The wall-lm model in FLUENT allows a single component liquid drop to impinge upon a boundary surface and form a thin lm. The model can be broken down into four major subtopics: interaction during the initial impact with a wall boundary, subsequent tracking on surfaces, calculation of lm variables, and coupling to the gas phase. Figure 23.5.1 schematically shows the basic mechanisms considered for the wall-lm model. The main assumptions and restrictions for the wall-lm model are as follows: The layer is thin, less than 500 microns in thickness. This limitation is due to the assumption of a linear velocity prole in the lm. The temperature in the lm particles change relatively slowly so that an analytical integration scheme can be utilized. Film particles are assumed to be in direct contact with the wall surface and the heat transfer from the wall to the lm takes place by conduction. The lm temperature never exceeds the boiling temperature for the liquid. The simulation is transient. The wall-lm model is not available with the Workpile Algorithm shared memory option in parallel processing.
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23.5 Wall-Film Model

Major Physical Phenomena
Convective heat transfer Impinging Fuel Drops Splashing Evaporation Shear Forces Film separation and sheet breakup
If you wish to model a spray impacting a very hot wall, the wall-jet model may be more appropriate as the assumption in the wall-jet impingement model is that there is a vapor layer underneath the drops which keeps them from making direct contact with the boundary surface. This may be a more accurate assumption for in-cylinder diesel computations at typical operating conditions.
23.5.2
The wall interaction is based on the work of Stanton [330] and ORourke [250], where the regimes are calculated for a drop-wall interaction based on local information. The four regimes, stick, rebound, spread, and splash are based on the impact energy and wall temperature. The following chart is helpful in showing the cutos. Below the boiling temperature of the liquid, the impinging droplet can either stick, spread or splash, while above the boiling temperature, the particle can either rebound or splash. The criteria by which the regimes are partitioned are based on the impact energy and the boiling temperature of the liquid. The impact energy is dened by E2 = Vr2 D 1 min (h0 /D, 1) + bl /D (23.5-1)
where is the liquid density, Vr is the relative velocity of the particle in the frame of the wall (i.e. Vr2 = (Vp Vw )2 ), D is the diameter of the droplet, and is the surface tension of the liquid. Here, bl is a boundary layer thickness, dened by D bl = Re (23.5-2)

Conduction
Figure 23.5.1: Mechanisms of Splashing, Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer for the wall-Film
Interaction During Impact with a Boundary
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E 6
Splash
Spread Rebound Stick

-
Tw Figure 23.5.2: Simplied Decision Chart for Wall Interaction Criterion.
Tb
where the Reynolds number is dened as Re = Vr D/. By dening the energy as in Equation 23.5-1, the presence of the lm on the wall suppresses the splash, but does not give unphysical results when the lm height approaches zero. The sticking regime is applied when the dimensionless energy E is less than 16, and the particle velocity is set equal to the wall velocity. In the spreading regime, the initial direction and velocity of the particle are set using the wall-jet model, where the probability of the drop having a particular direction along the surface is given by an analogy of an inviscid liquid jet with an empirically dened radial dependence for the momentum ux. If the wall temperature is above the boiling temperature of the liquid, impingement events below a critical impact energy (E) results in the particles rebounding from the wall. For the rebound regime, the particle rebounds with the following coecient of restitution: e = 0.993 1.76I + 1.562 0.493 I I where I is the impingement angle as measured from the wall surface. Splashing occurs when the impingement energy is above a critical energy threshold, dened as Ecr > 57.7. The number of splashed droplet parcels is set in the Boundary Conditions panel with a default number of 4, however, the user can select numbers between zero and ten. The splashing algorithm follows that described by Stanton [330] and is detailed in Section 23.5.3: Splashing. (23.5-3)
23.5.3
Splashing
If the particle impinging on the surface has a suciently high energy, the particle splashes and several new particles are created. The number of particles created by each impact is explicitly set by the user in the DPM tab in the Boundary Conditions panel, as in Figure 23.5.3. The number of splashed parcels may be set to an integer value between zero and ten. The properties (diameter, magnitude, and direction) of the splashed parcels
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are randomly sampled from the experimentally obtained distribution functions described in the following sections. Setting the number of splashed parcels to zero turns o the splashing calculation. Bear in mind that each splashed parcel can be considered a discrete sample of the distribution curves and that selecting the number of splashed drops in the Boundary Conditions panel does not limit the number of splashed drops, only the number of parcels representing those drops.
Figure 23.5.3: The Discrete Phase Model Panel and the Film Model Parameters
Therefore, for each splashed parcel, a dierent diameter is obtained by sampling a cumulative probability distribution function (CPDF), which is obtained from a Weibull distribution function and tted to the data from Mundo, et. al. [43]. The equation is pdf d D d d = 2 2 exp D D
(23.5-4)
and it represents the probability of nding drops of diameter di in a sample of splashed drops. This distribution is similar to the Nakamura-Tanasawa distribution function used
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Discrete Phase Models by ORourke [250], but with the peak of the distribution function being D = dmax / 2. To ensure that the distribution functions produce physical results with an increasing Weber number, the following expression for dmax from ORourke [250] is used. The peak of the splashed diameter distribution is
2 Ecrit 6.4 dmax /d0 = MAX , , 0.06 E2 W e
(23.5-5)
where the expression for energy is given by Equation 23.5-1. Low Weber number impacts are described by the second term in Equation 23.5-5 and the peak of the minimum splashed diameter distribution is never less than 0.06 for very high energy impacts in any of the experiments analyzed by ORourke [250]. The Weber number in Equation 23.5-5 is dened using the relative velocity and drop diameter: We = Vr2 D . (23.5-6)
The cumulative probability distribution function (CPDF) is needed so that a diameter can be sampled from the experimental data. The CPDF is obtained from integrating Equation 23.5-4 to obtain cpdf d D d = 1 exp D
(23.5-7)
which is bounded by zero and one. An expression for the diameter (which is a function of D, the impingement Weber number W e, and the impingement energy) is obtained by inverting Equation 23.5-7 and sampling the CPDF between zero and one. The expression for the diameter of the ith splashed parcel is therefore given by, di = D ln (1 ci ) where ci is the ith random sample. Once the diameter of the splashed drop has been determined, the probability of nding that drop in a given sample is determined by evaluating Equation 23.5-4 at the given diameter. The number of drops per parcel can be expressed as a function of the total number of splashed drops: Ni = Ntot pdfi (23.5-8)
where the pdfi is for the ith sample. The values of pdfi are then normalized so that their sum is one. Both the number per parcel (Ni ) and the total number of splashed drops (Ntot ) is unknown, but an expression for Ntot can be obtained from the conservation of mass if the total splashed mass is known. The amount of mass splashed from the surface is a quadratic function of the splashing energy, obtained from the experimental data from Mundo [43]. The splashed mass fraction ys is given by ys =
2 2 1.8x104 (E 2 Ecrit ) , Ecrit < E 2 < 7500 0.70 , E 2 > 7500
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The authors (ORourke et al. [250]) noted that nearly all of the impacts for typical diesel sprays are well above the upper bound and so the splashing event nearly always ejects 70% of the mass of the impinging drop. To obtain an expression for the total number of drops, we note that overall conservation of mass requires that the sum of the total mass of the splashed parcel(s) must equal the splashed mass fraction, or Ntot 6
Nparcels
pdfn d3 = ys m0 n
n=1
(23.5-9)
where m0 is the total mass of the impinging parcel. The expression for the total number of splashed drops is ys m0 Ntot = Nparcels (pdfn d3 ) n=1 n 6 The number of splashed drops per parcel is then determined by Equation 23.5-8 with the values of pdfi given by Equation 23.5-4. To calculate the velocity with which the splashed drops leave the surface, additional correlations are sampled for the normal component of the velocity. A Weibull function, t to the data from Mundo [43], is used as the pdf for the normal component. The probability density is given by Vni pdf Vnd where bv = and v = 0.158e0.017I (23.5-12) where I is the angle at which the parcel impacts the surface, or the impingement angle. The tangential component of the velocity is obtained from the expression for the reection angle s : s = 65.4 + 0.226l (23.5-13) combined with Vti = Vni tan(s ) (23.5-14) 2.1, I 50 1.10 + 0.02I , I > 50 (23.5-11) bv = v
Vni /Vnd v
bv 1
Vni /Vnd exp v
bv
(23.5-10)
Finally, an energy balance is performed for the new parcels so that the sum of the kinetic and surface energies of the new drops does not exceed that of the old drops. The energy balance is given by 1 2
Nparcel Nparcel
mi Vi2 +
i=1 i=1
1 Ni d2 = md Vd2 mi Vi2 + md d2 Ecrit i i 2
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where Ecrit is the threshold energy for splashing to occur. To ensure conservation of energy, the following correction factor is computed: K=
1 m V2 2 d d
(mi Vi2 ) + (md d2 ) Ecrit i

1 2 Nparcel i=1
Nparcel i=1
(Ni d2 ) i
(mi Vi2 )
(23.5-15)
This correction factor is needed due to the relatively small number of sampled points for the velocity of the splashed drops (see Stanton [331] for more detail). The components of the splashed parcel are multiplied by the square root of K in Equation 23.5-15 so that energy will be conserved. The normal and tangential velocity components of the splashed parcels are therefore given by Vni = KVni and Vti = KVti FLUENTwill limit the velocity of the splashed parcels so that they do not exceed the impact velocity of the original parcel. It is important to note that splashing events are inherently transient, so the splashing submodel is only available with unsteady tracking in FLUENT. Splashing can also cause large increases in source terms in the cells in which it occurs, which can cause diculty in convergence between time steps. Thus, it may be necessary to use a smaller time step during the simulation when splashing is enabled.
Separation Criteria
The lm can separate from the wall when the stress at an edge of the lm exceeds the adhesion forces holding the lm to the wall. These forces are complex and highly dependent on local surface conditions. An order of magnitude analysis of a lm rounding a sharp corner shows that the stresses at the edge of a lm are proportional to the angle which the lm negotiates. In FLUENT, you can specify the maximum angle that the lm can negotiate using a special text command. For more information, contact your FLUENT support engineer.
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23.5.4
Conservation Equations for Wall-Film Particles
Conservation equations for momentum, mass, and energy for individual parcels in the wall-lm are described below. The particle-based approach for thin lms was rst formulated by ORourke [249] and most of the following derivation is based closely on that work.
Momentum
The equation for the momentum of a parcel on the lm is h dup + h( dt
s pf )
= g tg + w tw + P imp, Mimp, up + F n, + h(g aw )
(23.5-16)
where denotes the current face on which the particle resides, h denotes the current lm height at the particle location, s is the gradient operator restricted to the surface, and pf is the pressure on the surface of the lm. On the right-hand side of Equation 23.5-16, g denotes the magnitude of the shear stress of the gas ow on the surface of the lm, tg is the unit vector in the direction of the relative motion of the gas and the lm surface, l is the liquid viscosity, and w is the magnitude of the stress that the wall exerts on the lm. Similarly to the expression for tg , tw is the unit vector in the direction of the relative motion of the lm and the wall. The remaining expressions on the right-hand side of Equation 23.5-16 are P imp, which denotes the impingement pressure on the lm surface, M imp, is the impingement momentum source, and F n, is the force necessary to keep the lm on the surface, as determined by up n = 0. (23.5-17)
Here, h(g aw ) is the body force term. Note that the body force term can be very signicant, despite the small values of lm thickness due to the very high acceleration rates seen in simulations with moving boundaries. The requirement represented by Equation 23.5-17 is explicitly enforced at each time step in FLUENTfor all particles representing the wall-lm. The term h( s pf ) is the surface gradient of the pressure on the face, pf . This pressure, pf , is the sum of the uid pressure and the impingement pressure from the drops on the face, given by pf = Pcell P imp, n + Mimp, up n where the impingement mass Mimp, is given by Mimp, = l Vp v nf (xs , v, r, Td , t)drdvdTd (23.5-18)
and the impingement pressure is given by P imp, = l Vp vv nf (xs , v, r, Td , t)drdvdTd (23.5-19)
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where Vp is the volume of the drop. An approximation of the impingement mass in Equation 23.5-18 is given by Mimp, =
Ns
Vp
n=0
A t,
(23.5-20)
and the corresponding expression of the impingement pressure in Equation 23.5-19 is given by Ni P imp, = Vp (un+1 un ) A t. (23.5-21) p p
n=0
The summation in Equation 23.5-20 is over all the drops which actually stick to the face during the time step (Ns ). The summation in Equation 23.5-21 is over all the particles which impinge upon the face during the same interval (Ni ). The expression for the stress that the gas exerts on the surface of the wall-lm, g , in Equation 23.5-16 is given by
2 g = Cf (ug 2up )2 = Cf Vrelg
where Cf is the skin friction coecient and ug is the gas velocity evaluated at the lm height above the wall. The assumption made in evaluating the skin friction coecient is that the wall shear stress from the gas is constant over the thickness of the lm and the boundary layer above the lm (in the normal direction from the face). The stress is tangent to the wall in the direction of the dierence between the wall-lm velocity and the gas velocity, so the unit vector in the direction of the velocity dierence along the surface is Vrelg (Vrelg n) n tg = |Vrelg (Vrelg n) | n where n is the normal face . The expression for the stress that the wall exerts on the lm, w , in Equation 23.5-16 is given by w = l l |2up uw | = |Vrelw | h h
where l is the liquid viscosity and uw is the velocity of the wall. Here, w acts in the direction of the velocity dierence between the wall and the lm, as given by Vrelw (Vrelw n) n tw = . |Vrelw (Vrelw n) | n Note that the tangential unit vectors, tg and tw , are independent and can point in completely dierent directions. Since FLUENTsolves a particle position equation of the form dup = up , dt
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Equation 23.5-16 must be rearranged. The lm particle acceleration is then given by 2Cf |Vrelg | 2l l |uw | Pimp Mimp s pf ) tw + + + g + 2+ up . h2 h h h h (23.5-22) The terms for Mimp and Pimp are used from the previous time step and the dierential equations for the particle motion are solved with the existing integration routines. dup Cf |Vrelg | ( tg = dt h

Mass Transfer from the Film

The lm vaporization law is applied when the lm particle is above the vaporization temperature Tvap . A wall particle has the temperature limited by the boiling temperature Tbp and does not have a specic boiling law associated with the physics of lm boiling. The vaporization rate of the lm is governed by gradient diusion from the surface exposed to the gas phase. The gradient of vapor concentration between the lm surface and the gas phase is Ni = Bf (Ci,s Ci, ) (23.5-23) where Ni is the molar ux of vapor (with units of kg-mol/m2 -s), Bf is the mass transfer coecient (in m/s), and Ci,s and Ci, are the vapor concentrations on the lm surface and in the bulk gas, respectively. The units of vapor concentration are kg-mol/m3 . The vapor concentration at the surface is evaluated using the saturated vapor pressure at the lm surface temperature and the bulk gas concentration is obtained from the ow eld solution. The vaporization rate is sensitive to the saturated vapor pressure, similar to droplet vaporization. The mass transfer coecient is obtained using a Nusselt correlation for the heat transfer coecient and replacing the Prandtl number with the Schmidt number. The equation is N ux = Bf x = kf 0.332Re1/2 Sc1/3 Rex < 2500, 0.6 < Sc < 50 x 0.0296Re4/5 Sc1/3 Rex > 2500, 0.6 < Sc < 60 x (23.5-24)
where the Reynolds number is based on a representative length derived from the face area. The temperature for the lm surface is equal to the gas temperature, but is limited by the boiling temperature of the liquid. The particle properties are evaluated at the surface temperature when used in correlation 23.5-24. The mass of the particle is decreased by mp (t + t) = mp (t) Ni Ap Mw,i t (23.5-25)
where Mw,i is the molecular weight of the gas phase species to which the vapor from the liquid is added. The diameter of the lm particle is decreased to account for the mass loss in the individual parcel. This keeps the number of drops in the parcel constant and acts only as a place holder. When the parcel detaches from the boundary, the diameter is set to the height of the lm and the number in the parcel is adjusted so that the overall mass of the parcel is conserved.
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Energy Transfer from the Film

To obtain an equation for the temperature in the lm, energy ux from the gas side as well as energy ux from the wall side must be considered. The assumed temperature prole in the liquid is bilinear, with the surface temperature Ts being the maximum temperature of the gas at the lm height. Furthermore, the boiling point of the liquid and the wall temperature will be the maximum of the wall face temperature Tw , and will be the same boiling temperature as the liquid. An energy balance on a lm particle yields d {mp Cp Tp } = Qcond + Qconv (23.5-26) dt where Qcond is the conduction from the wall, given by Qcond = Ap (Tw Tp ) h
where is the thermal conductivity of the liquid and h is the lm height at the location of the particle, as seen in Figure 23.5.4. The convection from the top surface, Qconv is given by Qconv = hf Ap (Tg Tp ) where hf is the lm heat transfer coecient given by Equation 23.5-24 and Ap is the area represented by a lm particle, taken to be a mass weighted percentage of the face area, Af . Contributions from the impingement terms are neglected in this formulation, as well as contributions from the gradients of the mean temperature on the edges of the lm.
Ts
Tp
2h
Tw
Figure 23.5.4: Assumption of a Bilinear Temperature Prole in the Film
Assuming that the temperature changes slowly for each particle in the lm, the equation for the change in temperature of a non vaporizing particle can be written as mp Cp dTp = Ap hf + Tp + hTg + Tw dt h h (23.5-27)
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As the particle trajectory is computed, FLUENTintegrates Equation 23.5-27 to obtain the particle temperature at the next time value, yielding Tp (t + t) = p + [Tp (t) p ]ep t where t is the integration time step and p and p are given by hf Tg + Tw h p = hf + h and
Ap (hf + h ) p = mp Cp
(23.5-28)
(23.5-29)
(23.5-30)
When the particle changes its mass during vaporization, an additional term is added to Equation 23.5-27 to account for the enthalpy of vaporization, which is given by mp Cp dTp = Ap hf + Tp + hTg + Tw + mp hf g dt h h (23.5-31)
where hf g is the latent heat of vaporization (with units of J/kg) and the expression mp is the rate of evaporation in kg/s. This alters the expression for p in Equation 23.5-29 so that hf Tg + Tw + mp hf g /Ap h p = (23.5-32) hf + h When the wall-lm model is active, the heat ux from the wall to the liquid lm is subtracted from the heat ux from the wall to the gas phase. Additionally, enthalpy from vaporization of the liquid from the wall is subtracted from the cell to which the vapor mass goes. Since lm boiling is modeled by limiting the liquid phase temperature to the boiling point of the material, energy in excess of that absorbed by the liquid will be put into the gas phase. When the thermal boundary conditions on the wall are set to a constant heat ux, the local temperature of the wall face is used as the thermal boundary condition for the wall-lm particles.
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23.6
Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases
As the trajectory of a particle is computed, FLUENT keeps track of the heat, mass, and momentum gained or lost by the particle stream that follows that trajectory and these quantities can be incorporated in the subsequent continuous phase calculations. Thus, while the continuous phase always impacts the discrete phase, you can also incorporate the eect of the discrete phase trajectories on the continuum. This two-way coupling is accomplished by alternately solving the discrete and continuous phase equations until the solutions in both phases have stopped changing. This interphase exchange of heat, mass, and momentum from the particle to the continuous phase is depicted qualitatively in Figure 23.6.1.
typical particle trajectory mass-exchange heat-exchange momentum-exchange
typical continuous phase control volume
Figure 23.6.1: Heat, Mass, and Momentum Transfer Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases
Momentum Exchange
The momentum transfer from the continuous phase to the discrete phase is computed in FLUENT by examining the change in momentum of a particle as it passes through each control volume in the FLUENT model. This momentum change is computed as 18CD Re (up u) + Fother mp t p d2 24 p
F =
(23.6-1)
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23.6 Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases where p dp Re up u CD mp t Fother = = = = = = = = = = viscosity of the uid density of the particle diameter of the particle relative Reynolds number velocity of the particle velocity of the uid drag coecient mass ow rate of the particles time step other interaction forces
This momentum exchange appears as a momentum sink in the continuous phase momentum balance in any subsequent calculations of the continuous phase ow eld and can be reported by FLUENT as described in Section 23.12: Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase.
Heat Exchange
The heat transfer from the continuous phase to the discrete phase is computed in FLUENT by examining the change in thermal energy of a particle as it passes through each control volume in the FLUENT model. In the absence of a chemical reaction (i.e., for all particle laws except Law 5) the heat exchange is computed as mp mp cp Tp + hfg + hpyrol + mp,0 mp,0
Tp Tref
Q= where mp mp,0 cp Tp mp hfg hpyrol cp,i Tp Tref mp,0
cp,i dT
mp,0
(23.6-2)
= = = = = = = = = = =
average mass of the particle in the control volume (kg) initial mass of the particle (kg) heat capacity of the particle (J/kg-K) temperature change of the particle in the control volume (K) change in the mass of the particle in the control volume (kg) latent heat of volatiles evolved (J/kg) heat of pyrolysis as volatiles are evolved (J/kg) heat capacity of the volatiles evolved (J/kg-K) temperature of the particle upon exit of the control volume (K) reference temperature for enthalpy (K) initial mass ow rate of the particle injection tracked (kg/s)
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This heat exchange appears as a source or sink of energy in the continuous phase energy balance during any subsequent calculations of the continuous phase ow eld and is reported by FLUENT as described in Section 23.12: Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase. A similar equation governs heat exchange under Law 5, in which the heat of surface combustion is incorporated.
Mass Exchange
The mass transfer from the discrete phase to the continuous phase is computed in FLUENT by examining the change in mass of a particle as it passes through each control volume in the FLUENT model. The mass change is computed simply as M= mp mp,0 mp,0 (23.6-3)
This mass exchange appears as a source of mass in the continuous phase continuity equation and as a source of a chemical species dened by you. The mass sources are included in any subsequent calculations of the continuous phase ow eld and are reported by FLUENT as described in Section 23.12: Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase.
Under-Relaxation of the Interphase Exchange Terms

Note that the interphase exchange of momentum, heat, and mass is under-relaxed during the calculation, so that Fnew = Fold + (Fcalculated Fold ) Qnew = Qold + (Qcalculated Qold ) Mnew = Mold + (Mcalculated Mold ) (23.6-4)
(23.6-5)
(23.6-6)
where is the under-relaxation factor for particles/droplets that you can set in the Solution Controls panel. The default value for is 0.5. This value may be reduced to improve the stability of coupled calculations. Note that the value of does not inuence the predictions obtained in the nal converged solution.
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23.7 Using the Discrete Phase Models
Two options exist when updating the new particle source terms Fnew , Qnew and Mnew . The rst option is to compute the new source terms and the particle source terms, Fcalculated , Qcalculated and Mcalculated , at the same time. The second option is to update the new source terms, Fnew , Qnew and Mnew , every ow iteration, while the particle source terms, Fcalculated , Qcalculated and Mcalculated , are calculated every Discrete Phase Model iteration. The latter option is recommended for transient ows, where the particles are updated once per ow time step.
Interphase Exchange During Stochastic Tracking

When stochastic tracking is performed, the interphase exchange terms, computed via Equations 23.6-1 to 23.6-6, are computed for each stochastic trajectory with the particle mass ow rate, mp0 , divided by the number of stochastic tracks computed. This implies that an equal mass ow of particles follows each stochastic trajectory.
Interphase Exchange During Cloud Tracking

When the particle cloud model is used, the interphase exchange terms are computed via Equations 23.6-1 to 23.6-6 based on ensemble-averaged ow properties in the particle cloud. The exchange terms are then distributed to all the cells in the cloud based on the weighting factor dened in Equation 23.2-56.
23.7
Using the Discrete Phase Models Overview
23.7.1
The procedure for setting up and solving a problem involving a discrete phase is outlined below, and described in detail in Sections 23.7.223.12. Only the steps related specically to discrete phase modeling are shown here. For information about inputs related to other models that you are using in conjunction with the discrete phase models, see the appropriate sections for those models. 1. Enable any of the discrete phase modeling options, if relevant, as described in this section. 2. Choose a transient or steady treatment of particles as described in Section 23.7.3: Steady/Transient Treatment of Particles. 3. Enable the required physical submodels for the discrete phase model, as described in Section 23.7.6: Physical Models for the Discrete Phase Model. 4. Set the numerics parameters and solve the problem, as described in Section 23.7.8: Numerics of the Discrete Phase Model and Section 23.11: Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase.
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5. Specify the initial conditions and particle size distributions, as described in Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase. 6. Dene the boundary conditions, as described in Section 23.9: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase. 7. Dene the material properties, as described in Section 23.10: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase. 8. Examine the results, as described in Section 23.12: Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase.
23.7.2
Options for Interaction with Continuous Phase
If the discrete phase interacts (i.e., exchanges mass, momentum, and/or energy) with the continuous phase, you should enable the Interaction with the Continuous Phase option. An input for the Number of Continuous Phase Iterations per DPM Iteration will appear, which allows you to control the frequency at which the particles are tracked and the DPM sources are updated. For steady-state simulations, increasing the Number of Continuous Phase Iterations per DPM Iteration will increase stability but require more iterations to converge. Figure 23.7.1 shows how the source term, S, when applied to the ow equations, changes with the number of updates for varying under relaxation factors. In Figure 23.7.1, S is the nal source term for which a value is reached after a certain number of updates and S0 is the initial source term at the start of the computation. The value of S0 is typically zero at the beginning of the calculation. In addition, another option exists which allows you to control the numerical treatment of the source terms and how they are applied to the continuous phase equations. Update DPM Sources Every Flow Iteration is recommended when doing unsteady simulations; at every DPM Iteration, the particle source terms are recalculated. The source terms applied to the continuous phase equations transition to the new values every ow iteration based onEquations 23.6-4 to 23.6-6. This process is controlled by the under-relaxation factor, specied in the Solution Controls panel, see Section 23.11.2: Under-Relaxation of the Interphase Exchange Terms. Figure 23.7.1 can be applied to this option as well. Keep in mind that the DPM source terms are updated every continuous ow iteration.
23.7.3
Steady/Transient Treatment of Particles
The Discrete Phase Model utilizes a Lagrangian approach to derive the equations for the underlying physics which are solved transiently. Transient numerical procedures in the Discrete Phase Model can be applied to resolve steady ow simulations as well as transient ows.
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Figure 23.7.1: Eect of Number of Source Term Updates on Source Term Applied to Flow Equations
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In the Discrete Phase Model panel you have the option of choosing whether you want to treat the particles in an unsteady or a steady fashion. This option can be chosen independent of the settings for the solver. Thus, you can perform steady state trajectory simulations even when selecting a transient solver for numerical reasons. You can also specify unsteady particle tracking when solving the steady continuous phase equations. This can be used to improve numerical stability for very large particle source terms or simply for postprocessing purposes. Whenever you enable a breakup or collision model to simulate sprays, theUnsteady Particle Tracking will be switched on automatically. When Unsteady Particle Tracking is enabled several new options appear. If steady state equations are solved for the continuous phase, you simply enter the Particle Time Step Size and the Number of Time Steps, thus tracking particles every time a DPM iteration is conducted. When you increase the Number of Time Steps, the droplets penetrate the domain faster.
Note that you must enter the start and stop times for each injection.
When solving unsteady equations for the continuous phase, you must decide whether you want to Use Fluid Flow Time Step to inject the particles, or whether you prefer a Particle Time Step Size independent of the uid ow time step. With the latter option, you can use the Discrete Phase Model in combination with changes in the time step for the continuous equations, as it is done when using adaptive ow time stepping. If you do not Use Fluid Flow Time Step, you will need to decide when to inject the particles for a new time step. You can either Inject Particles at Particle Time step or at the ow time step. In any case, the particles will always be tracked in such a way that they coincide with the ow time of the continuous ow solver. You can use a user-dened function (DEFINE DPM TIMESTEP) to change the time step for DPM particle tracking. The time step can be prescribed for special applications where a certain time step is needed. See Section 4.6.13: DEFINE DPM TIMESTEP of the FLUENT 6.2 UDF Manual for details on changing the time step size for DPM particle tracking.
When the coupled explicit solver is used with the explicit unsteady formulation, the particles are advanced once per time step and are calculated at the start of the time step (before the ow is updated).
Additional inputs are required for each injection in the Set Injection Properties panel. For Unsteady Particle Tracking, the injection Start Time and Stop Time must be specied under Point Properties. Injections with start and stop times set to zero will be injected only at the start of the calculation (t = 0). Changing injection settings during a transient simulation will not aect particles currently released in the domain. At any point during a simulation, you can clear particles that are currently in the domain by clicking on the Clear Particles button in the Discrete Phase Model panel.
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For unsteady simulations (with the implicit solvers), several methods can be chosen to control when the particles are advanced. If the Number of Continuous Phase Iterations per DPM Iteration is less than the number of iterations required to converge the continuous phase between time steps, then sub-iterations are done. Here, particles are tracked to their new positions during a time step and DPM sources are updated; particles are then returned to their original state at the beginning of the time step. At the end of the time step, particles are advanced to their new positions based on the continuous-phase solution. If the Number of Continuous Phase Iterations per DPM Iteration is larger than the number of iterations specied to converge the continuous phase between time steps, the particles are advanced at the beginning of the time step to compute the particle source terms. When you specify a value of Zero as the Number of Continuous Phase Iterations per DPM Iteration, the particles are advanced at the end of the time step. For this option, it may be better if the particle source terms are not reset at the beginning of the time step. This can be done with the TUI command define/models /dpm/interaction/reset-sources-at-timestep?. In all the above cases, you must provide a sucient number of particle source term updates to better control when the particles are advanced, see Figure 23.7.1.
i
23.7.4
In steady-state discrete phase modeling, particles do not interact with each other and are tracked one at a time in the domain.
Tracking Parameters for the Discrete Phase Model
You will use two parameters to control the time integration of the particle trajectory equations: the length scale/step length factorused to set the time step for integration within each control volume the maximum number of time stepsused to abort trajectory calculations when the particle never exits the ow domain Each of these parameters is set in the Discrete Phase Model panel (Figures 23.7.2 ) under Tracking Parameters in the Tracking tab. Dene Models Discrete Phase...
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Figure 23.7.2: The Discrete Phase Model Panel and the Tracking Parameters
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Figure 23.7.3: The Discrete Phase Model Panel and the Physical Models
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Max. Number Of Steps is the maximum number of time steps used to compute a single particle trajectory via integration of Equations 23.2-1 and 23.11-1. When the maximum number of steps is exceeded, FLUENT abandons the trajectory calculation for the current particle injection and reports the trajectory fate as incomplete. The limit on the number of integration time steps eliminates the possibility of a particle being caught in a recirculating region of the continuous phase ow eld and being tracked innitely. Note that you may easily create problems in which the default value of 500 time steps is insucient for completion of the trajectory calculation. In this case, when trajectories are reported as incomplete within the domain and the particles are not recirculating indenitely, you can increase the maximum number of steps (up to a limit of 109 ). Length Scale controls the integration time step size used to integrate the equations of motion for the particle. The integration time step is computed by FLUENT based on a specied length scale L, and the velocity of the particle (up ) and of the continuous phase (uc ): t = L up + uc (23.7-1)
where L is the Length Scale that you dene. As dened by Equation 23.7-1, L is proportional to the integration time step and is equivalent to the distance that the particle will travel before its motion equations are solved again and its trajectory is updated. A smaller value for the Length Scale increases the accuracy of the trajectory and heat/mass transfer calculations for the discrete phase. (Note that particle positions are always computed when particles enter/leave a cell; even if you specify a very large length scale, the time step used for integration will be such that the cell is traversed in one step.) Length Scale will appear in the Discrete Phase Model panel when the Specify Length Scale option is on. Step Length Factor also controls the time step size used to integrate the equations of motion for the particle. It diers from the Length Scale in that it allows FLUENT to compute the time step in terms of the number of time steps required for a particle to traverse a computational cell. To set this parameter instead of the Length Scale, turn o the Specify Length Scale option. The integration time step is computed by FLUENT based on a characteristic time that is related to an estimate of the time required for the particle to traverse the current continuous phase control volume. If this estimated transit time is dened as t , FLUENT chooses a time step t as t = t (23.7-2)
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where is the Step Length Factor. As dened by Equation 23.7-2, is inversely proportional to the integration time step and is roughly equivalent to the number of time steps required to traverse the current continuous phase control volume. A larger value for the Step Length Factor decreases the discrete phase integration time step. The default value for the Step Length Factor is 5. Step Length Factor will appear in the Discrete Phase Model panel when the Specify Length Scale option is o (the default setting). One simple rule of thumb to follow when setting the parameters above is that if you want the particles to advance through a domain consisting of N grid cells into the main ow direction, the Step Length Factor times N should be approximately equal to the Max. Number Of Steps.
23.7.5
Alternate Drag Laws
There are ve drag laws for the particles that can be selected in the Drag Law drop-down list under Drag Parameters. The spherical, nonspherical, Stokes-Cunningham, and high-Mach-number laws described in Section 23.2.1: Particle Force Balance are always available, and the dynamic-drag law described in Section 23.4.4: Dynamic Drag Model is available only when one of the droplet breakup models is used in conjunction with unsteady tracking. See Section 23.7.7: Modeling Spray Breakup for information about enabling the droplet breakup models. If the spherical law, the high-Mach-number law, or the dynamic-drag law is selected, no further inputs are required. If the nonspherical law is selected, the particle Shape Factor ( in Equation 23.2-7) must be specied. For the Stokes-Cunningham law, the Cunningham Correction factor (Cc in Equation 23.2-9) must be specied.
23.7.6
Physical Models for the Discrete Phase Model
This section provides instructions for using the optional discrete phase models available in FLUENT. All of them can be turned on in the Discrete Phase Model panel (Figure 23.7.3). Dene Models Discrete Phase...
Including Radiation Heat Transfer to the Particles

If you want to include the eect of radiation heat transfer to the particles (Equation 12.3-20), you must turn on the Particle Radiation Interaction option under the Physical Models tab, in the Discrete Phase Model panel (Figure 23.7.3). You will also need to dene additional properties for the particle materials (emissivity and scattering factor), as described in Section 23.10.2: Description of Properties. This option is available only when the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model is used.
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Including the Thermophoretic Force on the Particles

If you want to include the eect of the thermophoretic force on the particle trajectories (Equation 23.2-14), turn on the Thermophoretic Force option under the Physical Models tab, in the Discrete Phase Model panel. You will also need to dene the thermophoretic coecient for the particle material, as described in Section 23.10.2: Description of Properties.
Including Brownian Motion Effects on the Particles

For sub-micron particles in laminar ow, you may want to include the eects of Brownian motion (described in Section 23.2.1: Brownian Force) on the particle trajectories. To do so, turn on the Brownian Motion option under the Physical Models tab. When Brownian motion eects are included, it is recommended that you also select the StokesCunningham drag law in the Drag Law drop-down list under Drag Parameters, and specify the Cunningham Correction (Cc in Equation 23.2-9).
Including Saffman Lift Force Effects on the Particles

For sub-micron particles, you can also model the lift due to shear (the Saman lift force, described in Section 23.2.1: Samans Lift Force) in the particle trajectory. To do this, turn on the Saman Lift Force option under the Physical Models tab, in the Discrete Phase Model panel.
Monitoring Erosion/Accretion of Particles at Walls

Particle erosion and accretion rates can be monitored at wall boundaries. These rate calculations can be enabled in the Discrete Phase Model panel when the discrete phase is coupled with the continuous phase (i.e., when Interaction with Continuous Phase is selected). Turning on the Erosion/Accretion option will cause the erosion and accretion rates to be calculated at wall boundary faces when particle tracks are updated. You will also need to set the Impact Angle Function (f () in Equation 23.2-57), Diameter Function (C(dp ) in Equation 23.2-57), and Velocity Exponent Function (b(v) in Equation 23.2-57) in the Wall boundary conditions panel for each wall zone (as described in Section 23.9.2: Inputs for Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions).
Considering Change of Turbulent Quantities due to Particles

Particles can damp or produce turbulent eddies ([247]. In FLUENT, the work done by the turbulent eddies on the particles is subtracted from the turbulent kinetic energy using the formulation described in [92] and [3]. If you want to consider these eects in the chosen turbulence model, you can turn this on using Two-Way Turbulence Coupling, under the Physical Models tab.
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Tracking in a Reference Frame

Particle tracking is related to a coordinate system. With Track in Absolute Frame enabled, you can choose to track the particles in the absolute reference frame. All particle coordinates and velocities are then computed in this frame. The forces due to friction with the continuous phase are transformed to this frame automatically. In rotating ows it might be appropriate for numerical reasons to track the particles in the relative reference frame. If several reference frames exist in one simulation, then the particle velocities are transformed to each reference frame when they enter the uid zone associated with this reference frame.
23.7.7
Options for Spray Modeling
When you enable particle tracking, the Physical Models tab in Discrete Phase Model panel will expand to show options related to spray modeling.
Modeling Spray Breakup

To enable the modeling of spray breakup, select the Droplet Breakup option under Spray Model and then select the desired model (TAB or Wave). A detailed description of these models can be found in Section 23.4.3: Spray Breakup Models. For the TAB model, you will need to specify a value for y0 (the initial distortion at time equal to zero in Equation 23.4-55) in the y0 eld. The default value (y0 = 0) is recommended. For the wave model, you will need to specify values for B0 and B1, where B0 is the constant B0 in Equation 23.4-84 and B1 is the constant B1 in Equation 23.4-86. You will generally not need to modify the value of B0, as the default value 0.61 is acceptable for nearly all cases. A value of 1.73 is recommended for B1. For steady-state simulations, you will also need to specify an appropriate Particle Time Step Size and the Number of Time Steps which will control the spray density. See Section 23.7.2: Options for Interaction with Continuous Phase for more information. Note that you may want to use the dynamic drag law when you use one of the spray breakup models. See Section 23.7.5: Alternate Drag Laws for information about choosing the drag law.
Modeling Droplet Collisions

To include the eect of droplet collisions, as described in Section 23.4.2: Droplet Collision Model, select the Droplet Collision option under Spray Models. There are no further inputs for this model.
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23.7.8
Numerics of the Discrete Phase Model
The underlying physics of the Discrete Phase Model is described by ordinary dierential equations (ODE) as opposed to the continuous ow which is expressed in the form of partial dierential equations (PDE). Therefore, the Discrete Phase Model uses its own numerical mechanisms and discretization schemes, which are completely dierent from other numerics used in FLUENT.
Figure 23.7.4: The Discrete Phase Model Panel and the Numerics
The Numerics tab gives you control over the numerical schemes for particle tracking as well as solutions of heat and mass equations.
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Numerics for Tracking of the Particles

To solve equations of motion for the particles, the following numerical schemes are available: implicit uses an implicit Euler integration of Equation 23.2-1 which is unconditionally stable for all particle relaxation times. trapezoidal uses a semi-implicit trapezoidal integration. analytic uses an analytical integration of Equation 23.2-1 where the forces are held constant during the integration. runge-kutta facilitates a 5th order Runge Kutta scheme derived by Cash and Karp [47]. You can either choose a single tracking scheme, or switch between higher order and lower order tracking schemes using an automated selection based on the accuracy to be achieved and the stability range of each scheme. In addition, you can control how accurately the equations need to be solved. Accuracy Control enables the solution of equations of motion within a specied tolerance. This is done by computing the error of the integration step and reducing the integration step if the error is too large. If the error is within the given tolerance, the integration step will also be increased in the next steps. Tolerance is the maximum relative error which has to be achieved by the tracking procedure. Based on the numerical scheme, dierent methods are used to estimate the relative error. The implemented Runge-Kutta scheme uses an embedded error control mechanism. The error of the other schemes is computed by comparing the result of the integration step with the outcome of a two step procedure with half the step size. Max. Renements is the maximum number of step size renements in one single integration step. If this number is exceeded the integration will be conducted with the last rened integration step size. Automated Tracking Scheme Selection provides a mechanism to switch in an automated fashion between numerically stable lower order schemes and higher order schemes, which are stable only in a limited range. In situations where the particle is far from hydrodynamic equilibrium, an accurate solution can be achieved very quickly with a higher order scheme, since these schemes need less step renements for a certain tolerance. When the particle reaches hydrodynamic equilibrium, the higher order schemes become inecient since their step length is limited to a stable range. In this case, the mechanism switches to a stable lower order scheme and facilitates larger integration steps.
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This mechanism is only available when Accuracy Control is enabled.
Higher Order Scheme can be chosen from the group consisting of trapezoidal and rungekutta scheme. Lower Order Scheme consists of implicit and the exponential analytic integration scheme. Tracking Scheme is selectable only if Automated Tracking Scheme Selection is switched o. You can choose any of the tracking schemes. You also can combine each of the tracking schemes with Accuracy Control.
Including a Coupled Heat-Mass Solution on the Particles

By default, the solution of the particle heat and mass equations are solved in a segregated manner. If you enable the Coupled Heat-Mass Solution option, FLUENT will solve this pair of equations using a sti, coupled ODE solver with error tolerance control. The increased accuracy, however, comes at the expense of increased computational expense.
23.7.9
User-Dened Functions
User-dened functions can be used to customize the discrete phase model to include additional body forces, modify interphase exchange terms (sources), calculate or integrate scalar values along the particle trajectory, and incorporate non-standard erosion rate denitions. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions. In the Discrete Phase Model panel, under User-Dened Functions in the UDF tab, there are drop-down lists labeled Body Force, Scalar Update, Source, Spray Collide Function, and DPM Time Step. If Erosion/Accretion is enabled under the Physical Models tab, there will be an additional drop-down list labeled Erosion/Accretion. These lists will show available user-dened functions that can be selected to customize the discrete phase model. In addition, you can specify a Number of Scalars which are allocated to each particle and can be used to store information when implementing your own particle models.
23.7.10
Parallel Processing for the Discrete Phase Model
FLUENT oers two modes of parallel processing for the discrete phase model: the Shared Memory and the Message Passing options under the Parallel tab, in the Discrete Phase Model panel. The Shared Memory option is suitable for computations where the machine running the FLUENT host process is an adequately large, shared memory, multiprocessor machine. The Message Passing option is turned on by default and is suitable for generic distributed memory cluster computing. The Shared Memory option is implemented using POSIX Threads (pthreads) based on a shared memory model. Once the Shared Memory option is enabled, you can then select
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Figure 23.7.5: The Discrete Phase Model Panel and the UDFs
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along with it the Workpile Algorithm and specify the Number of Threads. By default, the Number of Threads is equal to the number of compute nodes specied for the parallel computation. You can modify this value based on the computational requirements of the particle calculations. If, for example, the particle calculations require more computation than the ow calculation, you can increase the Number of Threads (up to the number of available processors) to improve performance. When using the Shared Memory option, the particle calculations are entirely managed by the FLUENT host process. You must make sure that the machine executing the host process has enough memory to accommodate the entire grid.
Note that the Shared Memory option is not available for Windows 2000.
The Message Passing option enables cluster computing and also works on shared memory machines. With this option enabled, the compute node processes perform the particle work on their local partitions. Particle migration to other compute nodes is implemented using message passing primitives. There are no special requirements for the host machine. Note that this model is not available if the Cloud Model option is turned on under the Turbulent Dispersion tab of the Set Injection Properties panel. When running FLUENT in parallel, by default, pathline displays are computed in serial on the host node. Pathline displays may be computed in parallel on distributed memory systems if the Message Passing parallel option is selected in the Discrete Phase Model panel. You may seamlessly switch between the Shared Memory option and the Message Passing option at any time during the FLUENT session. In addition to performing general parallel processing of the Discrete Phase Model, you have the option of implementing DPM-specic user-dened functions in parallel FLUENT. See Section 10.4: Parallelization of Discrete Phase Model (DPM) UDFs of the separate UDF Manual for details on parallelization of DPM UDFs.
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23.8 Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase
23.8
Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase Overview of Initial Conditions
23.8.1
The primary inputs that you must provide for the discrete phase calculations in FLUENT are the initial conditions that dene the starting positions, velocities, and other parameters for each particle stream. These initial conditions provide the starting values for all of the dependent discrete phase variables that describe the instantaneous conditions of an individual particle: Position (x, y, z coordinates) of the particle. Velocities (u, v, w) of the particle. Velocity magnitudes and spray cone angle can also be used (in 3D) to dene the initial velocities (see Section 23.8.8: Point Properties for Cone Injections). For moving reference frames, relative velocities should be specied. Diameter of the particle, dp . Temperature of the particle, Tp . Mass ow rate of the particle stream that will follow the trajectory of the individual particle/droplet, mp (required only for coupled calculations). Additional parameters if one of the atomizer models described in Section 23.4.1: Atomizer Models is used for the injection.
When an atomizer model is selected, you will not input initial diameter, velocity, and position quantities for the particles due to the complexities of sheet and ligament breakup. Instead of initial conditions, the quantities you will input for the atomizer models are global parameters.
These dependent variables are updated according to the equations of motion (Section 23.2: Modeling Particle Motion) and according to the heat/mass transfer relations applied (Section 23.3: Heat and Mass Transfer Calculations) as the particle/droplet moves along its trajectory. You can dene any number of dierent sets of initial conditions for discrete phase particles/droplets provided that your computer has sucient memory.
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23.8.2
Injection Types
You will dene the initial conditions for a particle/droplet stream by creating an injection and assigning properties to it. FLUENT provides 10 types of injections: single group hollow cone (only in 3D) solid cone (only in 3D) surface plain-orice atomizer pressure-swirl atomizer at-fan atomizer air-blast atomizer eervescent atomizer read from a le For each non-atomizer injection type, you will specify each of the initial conditions listed in Section 23.8.1: Overview of Initial Conditions, the type of particle that possesses these initial conditions, and any other relevant parameters for the particle type chosen. You should create a single injection when you want to specify a single value for each of the initial conditions (Figure 23.8.1). Create a group injection (Figure 23.8.2) when you want to dene a range for one or more of the initial conditions (e.g., a range of diameters or a range of initial positions). To dene hollow spray cone injections in 3D problems, create a cone injection (Figure 23.8.3). To release particles from a surface (either a zone surface or a surface you have dened using the items in the Surface menu), you will create a surface injection. (If you create a surface injection, a particle stream will be released from each facet of the surface. You can use the Bounded and Sample Points options in the Plane Surface panel to create injections from a rectangular grid of particles in 3D (see Section 28.6: Plane Surfaces for details). Particle initial conditions (position, velocity, diameter, temperature, and mass ow rate) can also be read from an external le if none of the injection types listed above can be used to describe your injection distribution. The le has the following form: (( x y z u v w diameter temperature mass-flow) name )
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with all of the parameters in SI units. All the parentheses are required, but the name is optional. The inputs for setting injections are described in detail in Section 23.8.5: Dening Injection Properties.
Figure 23.8.1: Particle Injection Dening a Single Particle Stream
q q q q
Figure 23.8.2: Particle Injection Dening an Initial Spatial Distribution of the Particle Streams
Figure 23.8.3: Particle Injection Dening an Initial Spray Distribution of the Particle Velocity
w
w w
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23.8.3
Particle Types
When you dene a set of initial conditions (as described in Section 23.8.5: Dening Injection Properties), you will need to specify the type of particle. The particle types available to you depend on the range of physical models that you have dened in the Models family of panels. An inert particle is a discrete phase element (particle, droplet, or bubble) that obeys the force balance (Equation 23.2-1) and is subject to heating or cooling via Law 1 (Section 23.3.2: Law 1/Law 6: Inert Heating or Cooling). The inert type is available for all FLUENT models. A droplet particle is a liquid droplet in a continuous-phase gas ow that obeys the force balance (Equation 23.2-1) and that experiences heating/cooling via Law 1 followed by vaporization and boiling via Laws 2 and 3 (Sections 23.3.3 and 23.3.4). The droplet type is available when heat transfer is being modeled and at least two chemical species are active or the non-premixed or partially premixed combustion model is active. You should use the ideal gas law to dene the gas-phase density (in the Materials panel, as discussed in Section 8.3.5: Density Inputs for the Incompressible Ideal Gas Law) when you select the droplet type. A combusting particle is a solid particle that obeys the force balance (Equation 23.2-1) and experiences heating/cooling via Law 1 followed by devolatilization via Law 4 (Section 23.3.5: Law 4: Devolatilization), and a heterogeneous surface reaction via Law 5 (Section 23.3.6: Law 5: Surface Combustion). Finally, the nonvolatile portion of a combusting particle is subject to inert heating via Law 6. You can also include an evaporating material with the combusting particle by selecting the Wet Combustion option in the Set Injection Properties panel. This allows you to include a material that evaporates and boils via Laws 2 and 3 (Sections 23.3.3 and 23.3.4) before devolatilization of the particle material begins. The combusting type is available when heat transfer is being modeled and at least three chemical species are active or the non-premixed combustion model is active. You should use the ideal gas law to dene the gas-phase density (in the Materials panel) when you select the combusting particle type.
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23.8.4
Creating, Copying, Deleting, and Listing Injections
You will use the Injections panel (Figure 23.8.4) to create, copy, delete, and list injections. Dene Injections...
Figure 23.8.4: The Injections Panel
(You can also click on the Injections... button in the Discrete Phase Model panel to open the Injections panel.)
Creating Injections
To create an injection, click on the Create button. A new injection will appear in the Injections list and the Set Injection Properties panel will open automatically to allow you to set the injection properties (as described in Section 23.8.5: Dening Injection Properties).
Modifying Injections
To modify an existing injection, select its name in the Injections list and click on the Set... button. The Set Injection Properties panel will open, and you can modify the properties as needed. If you have two or more injections for which you want to set some of the same properties, select their names in the Injections list and click on the Set... button. The Set Multiple Injection Properties panel will open, which will allow you to set the common properties. For instructions about using this panel, see Section 23.8.17: Dening Properties Common to More Than One Injection.
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Copying Injections
To copy an existing injection to a new injection, select the existing injection in the Injections list and click on the Copy button. The Set Injection Properties panel will open with a new injection that has the same properties as the injection you selected. This is useful if you want to set another injection with similar properties.
Deleting Injections
You can delete an injection by selecting its name in the Injections list and clicking on the Delete button.
Listing Injections
To list the initial conditions for the particle streams in the selected injection, click on the List button. The list reported by FLUENT in the console window contains, for each particle stream that you have dened, the following (in SI units): Particle stream number in the column headed NO Particle type (IN for inert, DR for droplet, or CP for combusting particle) in the column headed TYP x, y, and z position in the columns headed (X), (Y), and (Z) x, y, and z velocity in the columns headed (U), (V), and (W) Temperature in the column headed (T) Diameter in the column headed (DIAM) Mass ow rate in the column headed (MFLOW)
Shortcuts for Selecting Injections

FLUENT provides a shortcut for selecting injections with names that match a specied pattern. To use this shortcut, enter the pattern under Injection Name Pattern and then click Match to select the injections with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify drop*, all injections that have names beginning with drop (e.g., drop-1, droplet) will be selected automatically. If they are all selected already, they will be deselected. If you specify drop?, all surfaces with names consisting of drop followed by a single character will be selected (or deselected, if they are all selected already).
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23.8.5
Dening Injection Properties
Once you have created an injection (using the Injections panel, as described in Section 23.8.4: Creating, Copying, Deleting, and Listing Injections), you will use the Set Injection Properties panel (Figure 23.8.5) to dene the injection properties. (Remember that this panel will open when you create a new injection, or when you select an existing injection and click on the Set... button in the Injections panel.)
Figure 23.8.5: The Set Injection Properties Panel
The procedure for dening an injection is as follows: 1. If you want to change the name of the injection from its default name, enter a new one in the Injection Name eld. This is recommended if you are dening a large number of injections so you can easily distinguish them. When assigning names to your injections, keep in mind the selection shortcut described in Section 23.8.4: Creating, Copying, Deleting, and Listing Injections.
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2. Choose the type of injection in the Injection Type drop-down list. The ten choices (single, group, cone, solid-cone, surface, plain-orice-atomizer, pressure-swirl-atomizer, air-blast-atomizer, at-fan-atomizer, eervescent-atomizer, and le) are described in Section 23.8.2: Injection Types. Note that if you select any of the atomizer models, you will also need to set the Viscosity and Droplet Surface Tension in the Materials panel.
If you are using sliding or moving/deforming meshes in your simulation, you should not use surface injections because they are not compatible with moving meshes.
3. If you are dening a single injection, go to the next step. For a group, cone, solidcone, or any of the atomizer injections, set the Number of Particle Streams in the group, spray cone, or atomizer. If you are dening a surface injection, choose the surface(s) from which the particles will be released in the Release From Surfaces list. If you are reading the injection from a le, click on the File... button at the bottom of the Set Injection Properties panel and specify the le to be read in the resulting Select File dialog box. The parameters in the injection le must be in SI units. 4. Select Inert, Droplet, or Combusting as the Particle Type. The available types are described in Section 23.8.3: Particle Types. 5. Choose the material for the particle(s) in the Material drop-down list. If this is the rst time you have created a particle of this type, you can choose from all of the materials of this type dened in the database. If you have already created a particle of this type, the only available material will be the material you selected for that particle. You can dene additional materials by copying them from the database or creating them from scratch, as discussed in Section 23.10.2: Setting Discrete-Phase Physical Properties and described in detail in Section 8.1.2: Using the Materials Panel. 6. If you are dening a group or surface injection and you want to change from the default linear (for group injections) or uniform (for surface injections) interpolation method used to determine the size of the particles, select rosin-rammler or rosin-rammler-logarithmic in the Diameter Distribution drop-down list. The RosinRammler method for determining the range of diameters for a group injection is described in Section 23.8.7: Using the Rosin-Rammler Diameter Distribution Method. 7. If you have created a customized particle law using user-dened functions, turn on the Custom option under Laws and specify the appropriate laws as described in Section 23.8.16: Custom Particle Laws. 8. If your particle type is Inert, go to the next step. If you are dening Droplet particles, select the gas phase species created by the vaporization and boiling laws (Laws 2 and 3) in the Evaporating Species drop-down list.
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If you are dening Combusting particles, select the gas phase species created by the devolatilization law (Law 4) in the Devolatilizing Species drop-down list, the gas phase species that participates in the surface char combustion reaction (Law 5) in the Oxidizing Species list, and the gas phase species created by the surface char combustion reaction (Law 5) in the Product Species list. Note that if the Combustion Model for the selected combusting particle material (in the Materials panel) is the multiple-surface-reaction model, then the Oxidizing Species and Product Species lists will be disabled because the reaction stoichiometry has been dened in the mixture material. 9. Click the Point Properties tab (the default), and specify the point properties (position, velocity, diameter, temperature, andif appropriatemass ow rate and any atomizer-related parameters) as described for each injection type in Sections 23.8.6 23.8.14. 10. If the ow is turbulent and you wish to include the eects of turbulence on the particle dispersion, click the Turbulent Dispersion tab, turn on the Stochastic Model or the Cloud Model, and set the related parameters as described in Section 23.8.15: Modeling Turbulent Dispersion of Particles. 11. If your combusting particle includes an evaporating material, click the Wet Combustion tab, select the Wet Combustion option, and then select the material that is evaporating/boiling from the particle before devolatilization begins in the Liquid Material drop-down list. You should also set the volume fraction of the liquid present in the particle by entering the value of the Liquid Fraction. Finally, select the gas phase species created by the evaporating and boiling laws in the Evaporating Species drop-down list in the top part of the panel. 12. If you want to use a user-dened function to initialize the injection properties, click the UDF tab to access the UDF inputs. You can select an Initialization function under User-Dened Functions to modify injection properties at the time the particles are injected into the domain. This allows the position and/or properties of the injection to be set as a function of ow conditions. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions.
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23.8.6
Point Properties for Single Injections
For a single injection, you will dene the following initial conditions for the particle stream under the Point Properties heading (in the Set Injection Properties panel): Position: Set the x, y, and z positions of the injected stream along the Cartesian axes of the problem geometry in the X-, Y-, and Z-Position elds. (Z-Position will appear only for 3D problems.) Velocity: Set the x, y, and z components of the streams initial velocity in the X-, Y-, and Z-Velocity elds. (Z-Velocity will appear only for 3D problems.) Diameter: Set the initial diameter of the injected particle stream in the Diameter eld. Temperature: Set the initial (absolute) temperature of the injected particle stream in the Temperature eld. Mass ow rate: For coupled phase calculations (see Section 23.11: Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase), set the mass of particles per unit time that follows the trajectory dened by the injection in the Flow Rate eld. Note that in axisymmetric problems the mass ow rate is dened per 2 radians and in 2D problems per unit meter depth (regardless of the reference value for length). Duration of injection: For unsteady particle tracking (see Section 23.7.3: Steady/Transient Treatment of Particles), set the starting and ending time for the injection in the Start Time and Stop Time elds.
23.8.7
Point Properties for Group Injections
For group injections, you will dene the properties described in Section 23.8.6: Point Properties for Single Injections for single injections for the First Point and Last Point in the group. That is, you will dene a range of values, 1 through N , for each initial condition by setting values for 1 and N . FLUENT assigns a value of to the ith injection in the group using a linear variation between the rst and last values for : i = 1 + N 1 (i 1) N 1 (23.8-1)
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Thus, for example, if your group consists of 5 particle streams and you dene a range for the initial x location from 0.2 to 0.6 meters, the initial x location of each stream is as follows: Stream 1: x = 0.2 meters Stream 2: x = 0.3 meters Stream 3: x = 0.4 meters Stream 4: x = 0.5 meters Stream 5: x = 0.6 meters
In general, you should supply a range for only one of the initial conditions in a given groupleaving all other conditions xed while a single condition varies among the stream numbers of the group. Otherwise you may nd, for example, that your simultaneous inputs of a spatial distribution and a size distribution have placed the small droplets at the beginning of the spatial range and the large droplets at the end of the spatial range.
Note that you can use a dierent method for dening the size distribution of the particles, as discussed below.
Using the Rosin-Rammler Diameter Distribution Method

By default, you will dene the size distribution of particles by inputting a diameter for the rst and last points and using the linear equation (23.8-1) to vary the diameter of each particle stream in the group. When you want a dierent mass ow rate for each particle/droplet size, however, the linear variation may not yield the distribution you need. Your particle size distribution may be dened most easily by tting the size distribution data to the Rosin-Rammler equation. In this approach, the complete range of particle sizes is divided into a set of discrete size ranges, each to be dened by a single stream that is part of the group. Assume, for example, that the particle size data obeys the following distribution: Diameter Range (m ) 070 70100 100120 120150 150180 180200 Mass Fraction in Range 0.05 0.10 0.35 0.30 0.15 0.05
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The Rosin-Rammler distribution function is based on the assumption that an exponential relationship exists between the droplet diameter, d, and the mass fraction of droplets with diameter greater than d, Yd : Yd = e(d/d)
n
(23.8-2)
FLUENT refers to the quantity d in Equation 23.8-2 as the Mean Diameter and to n as the Spread Parameter. These parameters are input by you (in the Set Injection Properties panel under the First Point heading) to dene the Rosin-Rammler size distribution. To solve for these parameters, you must t your particle size data to the Rosin-Rammler exponential equation. To determine these inputs, rst recast the given droplet size data in terms of the Rosin-Rammler format. For the example data provided above, this yields the following pairs of d and Yd : Mass Fraction with Diameter, d (m) Diameter Greater than d, Yd 70 0.95 100 0.85 120 0.50 150 0.20 180 0.05 200 (0.00) A plot of Yd vs. d is shown in Figure 23.8.6. Next, derive values of d and n such that the data in Figure 23.8.6 t Equation 23.8-2. The value for d is obtained by noting that this is the value of d at which Yd = e1 0.368. From Figure 23.8.6, you can estimate that this occurs for d 131 m. The numerical value for n is given by n= ln( ln Yd ) ln d/d
By substituting the given data pairs for Yd and d/d into this equation, you can obtain values for n and nd an average. Doing so yields an average value of n = 4.52 for the example data above. The resulting Rosin-Rammler curve t is compared to the example data in Figure 23.8.7. You can input values for Yd and n, as well as the diameter range of the data and the total mass ow rate for the combined individual size ranges, using the Set Injection Properties panel. This technique of tting the Rosin-Rammler curve to spray data is used when reporting the Rosin-Rammler diameter and spread parameter in the discrete phase summary panel in Section 23.12.8: Summary Reporting of Current Particles.
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1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7

Mass Fraction > d, Yd
0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210 230 250
Diameter, d ( m)
Figure 23.8.6: Example of Cumulative Size Distribution of Particles
A second Rosin-Rammler distribution is also available based on the natural logarithm of the particle diameter. If in your case, the smaller-diameter particles in a Rosin-Rammler distribution have higher mass ows in comparison with the larger-diameter particles, you may want better resolution of the smaller-diameter particle streams, or bins. You can therefore choose to have the diameter increments in the Rosin-Rammler distribution done uniformly by ln d. In the standard Rosin-Rammler distribution, a particle injection may have a diameter range of 1 to 200 m. In the logarithmic Rosin-Rammler distribution, the same diameter range would be converted to a range of ln 1 to ln 200, or about 0 to 5.3. In this way, the mass ow in one bin would be less-heavily skewed as compared to the other bins. When a Rosin-Rammler size distribution is being dened for the group of streams, you should dene (in addition to the initial velocity, position, and temperature) the following parameters, which appear under the heading for the First Point: Total Flow Rate: the total mass ow rate of the N streams in the group. Note that in axisymmetric problems this mass ow rate is dened per 2 radians and in 2D problems per unit meter depth.
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1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7

Mass Fraction > d, Yd
0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210 230 250
Diameter, d ( m)
Figure 23.8.7: Rosin-Rammler Curve Fit for the Example Particle Size Data
Min. Diameter: the smallest diameter to be considered in the size distribution. Max. Diameter: the largest diameter to be considered in the size distribution. Mean Diameter: the size parameter, d, in the Rosin-Rammler equation (23.8-2). Spread Parameter: the exponential parameter, n, in Equation 23.8-2.
The Stochastic Rosin-Rammler Diameter Distribution Method

For atomizer injections, a Rosin-Rammler distribution is assumed for the particles exiting the injector. In order to decrease the number of particles necessary to accurately describe the distribution, the diameter distribution function is randomly sampled for each instance where new particles are introduced into the domain. The Rosin-Rammler distribution can be written as D 1 Y = exp d
n
(23.8-3)
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23.8 Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase where Y is the mass fraction smaller than a given diameter D, d is the Rosin-Rammler diameter and n is the Rosin-Rammler exponent. This expression can be inverted by taking logs of both sides and rearranging, D = d ( ln(1 Y ))1/n . (23.8-4)
Given a mass fraction Y along with parameters d and n, this function will explicitly provide a diameter, D. Diameters for the atomizer injectors described in Section 23.8.10: Point Properties for Plain-Orice Atomizer Injections are obtained by uniformly sampling Y in equation 23.8-4.
23.8.8
Point Properties for Cone Injections
In 3D problems, you can dene a hollow or solid cone of particle streams using the cone or solid-cone injection type, respectively. For both types of cone injections, the inputs are as follows: Position: Set the coordinates of the origin of the spray cone in the X-, Y-, and Z-Position elds. Diameter: Set the diameter of the particles in the stream in the Diameter eld. Temperature: Set the temperature of the streams in the Temperature eld. Axis: Set the x, y, and z components of the vector dening the cones axis in the X-Axis, Y-Axis, and Z-Axis elds. Velocity: Set the velocity magnitude of the particle streams that will be oriented along the specied spray cone angle in the Velocity Mag. eld. Cone angle: Set the included half-angle, , of the hollow spray cone in the Cone Angle eld, as shown in Figure 23.8.8. Radius: A non-zero inner radius can be specied to model injectors that do not emanate from a single point. Set the radius r (dened as shown in Figure 23.8.8) in the Radius eld. The particles will be distributed about the axis with the specied radius. Swirl fraction (hollow cone only): Set the fraction of the velocity magnitude to go into the swirling component of the ow in the Swirl Fraction eld. The direction of the swirl component is dened using the right-hand rule about the axis (a negative value for the swirl fraction can be used to reverse the swirl direction). Mass ow rate: For coupled calculations, set the total mass ow rate for the streams in the spray cone in the Total Flow Rate eld.
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r origin axis
Figure 23.8.8: Cone Half Angle and Radius
The distribution of the particle streams for the solid cone injection is random, as seen in Figure 23.8.3. Furthermore, duplicating this injection may not necessarily result in the same distribution, at the same location.
For transient calculations, the spatial distribution of streams at the initial injection location is recalculated at each time step. Sampling dierent possible trajectories allows a more accurate representation of a solid cone using fewer computational parcels. For steady state calculations, the trajectories are initialized one time and kept the same for subsequent DPM iterations. The trajectories are recalculated when a change in the injection panel occurs or when a case and data le are saved. If the residuals and solution change when a small change is made to the injection or when a case and data le are saved, it may mean that there are not enough trajectories being used to represent the solid cone with sucient accuracy.
Note that you may want to dene multiple spray cones emanating from the same initial location in order to specify a size known distribution of the spray or to include a known range of cone angles.
23.8.9
Point Properties for Surface Injections
For surface injections, you will dene all the properties described in Section 23.8.6: Point Properties for Single Injections for single injections except for the initial position of the particle streams. The initial positions of the particles will be the location of the data points on the specied surface(s). Note that you will set the Total Flow Rate of all particles released from the surface (required for coupled calculations only). If you want, you can scale the individual mass ow rates of the particles by the ratio of the area of the face they are released from to the total area of the surface. To scale the mass ow rates, select the Scale Flow Rate By Face Area option under Point Properties.
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Note that many surfaces have non-uniform distributions of points. If you want to generate a uniform spatial distribution of particle streams released from a surface in 3D, you can create a bounded plane surface with a uniform distribution using the Plane Surface panel, as described in Section 28.6: Plane Surfaces. In 2D, you can create a rake using the Line/Rake Surface panel, as described in Section 28.5: Line and Rake Surfaces.
Note also that the surface injections will not be moved with the grid when a sliding mesh or a moving or deforming mesh is being used.
A non-uniform size distribution can be used for surface injections, as described below.
Using the Rosin-Rammler Diameter Distribution Method

The Rosin-Rammler size distributions described in Section 23.8.7: Using the RosinRammler Diameter Distribution Method for group injections is also available for surface injections. If you select one of the Rosin-Rammler distributions, you will need to specify the following parameters under Point Properties, in addition to the initial velocity, temperature, and total ow rate: Min. Diameter: the smallest diameter to be considered in the size distribution. Max. Diameter: the largest diameter to be considered in the size distribution. Mean Diameter: the size parameter, d, in the Rosin-Rammler equation (Equation 23.8-2). Spread Parameter: the exponential parameter, n, in Equation 23.8-2. Number of Diameters: the number of diameters in each distribution (i.e., the number of dierent diameters in the stream injected from each face of the surface). FLUENT will inject streams of particles from each face on the surface, with diameters dened by the Rosin-Rammler distribution function. The total number of injection streams tracked for the surface injection will be equal to the number of diameters in each distribution (Number of Diameters) multiplied by the number of faces on the surface.
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23.8.10
Point Properties for Plain-Orice Atomizer Injections
For a plain-orice atomizer injection, you will dene the following initial conditions under Point Properties: Position: Set the x, y, and z positions of the injected stream along the Cartesian axes of the problem geometry in the X-Position, Y-Position, and Z-Position elds. (Z-Position will appear only for 3D problems). Axis (3D only): Set the x, y, and z components of the vector dening the axis of the orice in the X-Axis, Y-Axis, and Z-Axis elds. Temperature: Set the temperature of the streams in the Temperature eld. Mass ow rate: Set the mass ow rate for the streams in the atomizer in the Flow Rate eld. Note that in 3D sectors, the ow rate must be appropriate for the sector dened by the Azimuthal Start Angle and Azimuthal Stop Angle. Duration of injection: For unsteady particle tracking (see Section 23.7.3: Steady/Transient Treatment of Particles), set the starting and ending time for the injection in the Start Time and Stop Time elds. Vapor pressure: Set the vapor pressure governing the ow through the internal orice (pv in Table 23.4.1) in the Vapor Pressure eld. Diameter: Set the diameter of the orice in the Injector Inner Diam. eld (d in Table 23.4.1). Orice length: Set the length of the orice in the Orice Length eld (L in Table 23.4.1). Radius of curvature: Set the radius of curvature of the inlet corner in the Corner Radius of Curv. eld (r in Table 23.4.1). Nozzle parameter: Set the constant for the spray angle correlation in the Constant A eld (CA in Equation 23.4-17). Azimuthal angles: For 3D sectors, set the Azimuthal Start Angle and Azimuthal Stop Angle. See Section 23.4.1: The Plain-Orice Atomizer Model for details about how these inputs are used.
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23.8.11
Point Properties for Pressure-Swirl Atomizer Injections
For a pressure-swirl atomizer injection, you will specify some of the same properties as for a plain-orice atomizer. In addition to the position, axis (if 3D), temperature, mass ow rate, duration of injection (if unsteady), injector inner diameter, and azimuthal angles (if relevant) described in Section 23.8.10: Point Properties for Plain-Orice Atomizer Injections, you will need to specify the following parameters under Point Properties: Spray angle: Set the value of the spray angle of the injected stream in the Spray Half Angle eld ( in Equation 23.4-26). Pressure: Set the pressure upstream of the injection in the Upstream Pressure eld (p1 in Table 23.4.1). Sheet breakup: Set the value of the empirical constant that determines the length of the ligaments that are formed after sheet breakup in the Sheet Constant eld b (ln( 0 ) in Equation 23.4-31). Ligament diameter: For short waves, set the proportionality constant that linearly relates the ligament diameter, dL , to the wavelength that breaks up the sheet in the Ligament Constant eld (see Equations 23.4-3223.4-35). See Section 23.4.1: The Pressure-Swirl Atomizer Model for details about how these inputs are used.
23.8.12
Point Properties for Air-Blast/Air-Assist Atomizer Injections
For an air-blast/air-assist atomizer, you will specify some of the same properties as for a plain-orice atomizer. In addition to the position, axis (if 3D), temperature, mass ow rate, duration of injection (if unsteady), injector inner diameter, and azimuthal angles (if relevant) described in Section 23.8.10: Point Properties for Plain-Orice Atomizer Injections, you will need to specify the following parameters under Point Properties: Outer diameter: Set the outer diameter of the injector in the Injector Outer Diam. eld. This value is used in conjunction with the Injector Inner Diam. to set the thickness of the liquid sheet (t in Equation 23.4-23). Spray angle: Set the initial trajectory of the lm as it leaves the end of the orice in the Spray Half Angle eld ( in Equation 23.4-26). Relative velocity: Set the maximum relative velocity that is produced by the sheet and air in the Relative Velocity eld. Sheet breakup: Set the value of the empirical constant that determines the length of the ligaments that are formed after sheet breakup in the Sheet Constant eld b (ln( 0 ) in Equation 23.4-31).
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Ligament diameter: For short waves, set the proportionality constant (CL in Equation 23.4-34) that linearly relates the ligament diameter, dL , to the wavelength that breaks up the sheet in the Ligament Constant eld. See Section 23.4.1: The Air-Blast/Air-Assist Atomizer Model for details about how these inputs are used.
23.8.13
Point Properties for Flat-Fan Atomizer Injections
The at-fan atomizer model is available only for 3D models. For this type of injection, you will dene the following initial conditions under Point Properties: Arc position: Set the coordinates of the center point of the arc from which the fan originates in the X-Center, Y-Center, and Z-Center elds (see Figure 23.4.6). Virtual position: Set the coordinates of the virtual origin of the fan in the X-Virtual Origin, Y-Virtual Origin, and Z-Virtual Origin elds. This point is the intersection of the lines that mark the sides of the fan (see Figure 23.4.6). Normal vector: Set the direction that is normal to the fan in the X-Fan Normal Vector, Y-Fan Normal Vector, and Z-Fan Normal Vector elds. Temperature: Set the temperature of the streams in the Temperature eld. Mass ow rate: Set the mass ow rate for the streams in the atomizer in the Flow Rate eld. Duration of injection: For unsteady particle tracking (see Section 23.7.3: Steady/Transient Treatment of Particles), set the starting and ending time for the injection in the Start Time and Stop Time elds. Spray half angle: Set the initial half angle of the drops as they leave the end of the orice in the Spray Half Angle eld. Orice width: Set the width of the orice (in the normal direction) in the Orice Width eld. Sheet breakup: Set the value of the empirical constant that determines the length of the ligaments that are formed after sheet breakup in the Flat Fan Sheet Constant eld (see Equation 23.4-31). See Section 23.4.1: The Flat-Fan Atomizer Model for details about how these inputs are used.
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23.8.14
Point Properties for Effervescent Atomizer Injections
For an eervescent atomizer injection, you will specify some of the same properties as for a plain-orice atomizer. In addition to the position, axis (if 3D), temperature, mass ow rate (including both ashing and non-ashing components), duration of injection (if unsteady), vapor pressure, injector inner diameter, and azimuthal angles (if relevant) described in Section 23.8.10: Point Properties for Plain-Orice Atomizer Injections, you will need to specify the following parameters under Point Properties: Mixture quality: Set the mass fraction of the injected mixture that vaporizes in the Mixture Quality eld (x in Equation 23.4-41). Saturation temperature: Set the saturation temperature of the volatile substance in the Saturation Temp. eld. Droplet dispersion: Set the parameter that controls the spatial dispersion of the droplet sizes in the Dispersion Constant eld (Ce in Equation 23.4-41). Spray angle: Set the initial trajectory of the lm as it leaves the end of the orice in the Maximum Half Angle eld. See Section 23.4.1: Eervescent Atomizer Model for details about how these inputs are used.
23.8.15
Modeling Turbulent Dispersion of Particles
As mentioned in Section 23.8.5: Dening Injection Properties, you can choose for each injection stochastic tracking or cloud tracking as the method for modeling turbulent dispersion of particles.
Stochastic Tracking
For turbulent ows, if you choose to use the stochastic tracking technique, you must enable it and specify the number of tries. Stochastic tracking includes the eect of turbulent velocity uctuations on the particle trajectories using the DRW model described in Section 23.2.2: Stochastic Tracking. 1. Click the Turbulent Dispersion tab in the Set Injection Properties panel. 2. Enable stochastic tracking by turning on the Stochastic Model under Stochastic Tracking. 3. Specify the Number Of Tries:
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An input of zero tells FLUENT to compute the particle trajectory based on the mean continuous phase velocity eld (Equation 23.2-1), ignoring the eects of turbulence on the particle trajectories. An input of 1 or greater tells FLUENT to include turbulent velocity uctuations in the particle force balance as in Equation 23.2-20. The trajectory is computed more than once if your input exceeds 1: two trajectory calculations are performed if you input 2, three trajectory calculations are performed if you input 3, etc. Each trajectory calculation includes a new stochastic representation of the turbulent contributions to the trajectory equation. When a sucient number of tries is requested, the trajectories computed will include a statistical representation of the spread of the particle stream due to turbulence. Note that for unsteady particle tracking, the Number of Tries is set to 1 if Stochastic Tracking is enabled. If you want the characteristic lifetime of the eddy to be random (Equation 23.2-32), enable the Random Eddy Lifetime option. You will generally not need to change the Time Scale Constant (CL in Equation 23.2-23) from its default value of 0.15, unless you are using the Reynolds Stress turbulence model (RSM), in which case a value of 0.3 is recommended. Figure 23.8.9 illustrates a discrete phase trajectory calculation computed via the mean tracking (number of tries = 0) and Figure 23.8.10 illustrates the stochastic tracking (number of tries > 1) option. When multiple stochastic trajectory calculations are performed, the momentum and mass dened for the injection are divided evenly among the multiple particle/droplet tracks, and are thus spread out in terms of the interphase momentum, heat, and mass transfer calculations. Including turbulent dispersion in your model can thus have a signicant impact on the eect of the particles on the continuous phase when coupled calculations are performed.
Cloud Tracking
For turbulent ows, you can also include the eects of turbulent dispersion on the injection. When cloud tracking is used, the trajectory will be tracked as a cloud of particles about a mean trajectory, as described in Section 23.2.2: Particle Cloud Tracking. 1. Click the Turbulent Dispersion tab in the Set Injection Properties panel. 2. Enable cloud tracking by turning on the Cloud Model under Cloud Tracking. 3. Specify the minimum and maximum cloud diameters. Particles enter the domain with an initial cloud diameter equal to the Min. Cloud Diameter. The particle clouds maximum allowed diameter is specied by the Max. Cloud Diameter.
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3.04e-02 2.84e-02 2.63e-02 2.43e-02 2.23e-02 2.03e-02 1.82e-02 1.62e-02 1.42e-02 1.22e-02 1.01e-02 8.10e-03 6.08e-03 4.05e-03 2.03e-03 0.00e+00
Particle Traces Colored by Particle Time (s)
Figure 23.8.9: Mean Trajectory in a Turbulent Flow
3.00e-02 2.80e-02 2.60e-02 2.40e-02 2.20e-02 2.00e-02 1.80e-02 1.60e-02 1.40e-02 1.20e-02 1.00e-02 8.00e-03 6.00e-03 4.00e-03 2.00e-03 0.00e+00
Particle Traces Colored by Particle Time (s)
Figure 23.8.10: Stochastic Trajectories in a Turbulent Flow
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You may want to restrict the Max. Cloud Diameter to a relevant length scale for the problem to improve computational eciency in complex domains where the mean trajectory may become stuck in recirculation regions.
23.8.16
Custom Particle Laws
If the standard FLUENT laws, Laws 1 through 6, do not adequately describe the physics of your discrete phase model, you can modify them by creating custom laws with userdened functions. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions. You can also create custom laws by using a subset of the existing FLUENT laws (e.g., Laws 1, 2, and 4), or a combination of existing laws and user-dened functions. Once you have dened and loaded your user-dened function(s), you can create a custom law by enabling the Custom option under Laws in the Set Injection Properties panel. This will open the Custom Laws panel. In the drop-down list to the left of each of the six particle laws, you can select the appropriate particle law for your custom law. Each list contains the available options that can be chosen (the standard laws plus any user-dened functions you have loaded).
Figure 23.8.11: The Custom Laws Panel
There is a seventh drop-down list in the Custom Laws panel labeled Switching. You may wish to have FLUENT vary the laws used depending on conditions in the model. You can customize the way FLUENT switches between laws by selecting a user-dened function from this drop-down list.
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An example of when you might want to use a custom law might be to replace the standard devolatilization law with a specialized devolatilization law that more accurately describes some unique aspects of your model. After creating and loading a user-dened function that details the physics of your devolatilization law, you would visit the Custom Laws panel and replace the standard devolatilization law (Law 2) with your user-dened function.
23.8.17 Dening Properties Common to More Than One Injection

If you have a number of injections for which you want to set the same properties, FLUENT provides a shortcut so that you do not need to visit the Set Injection Properties panel for each injection to make the same changes. As described in Section 23.8.5: Dening Injection Properties, if you select more than one injection in the Injections panel, clicking the Set... button will open the Set Multiple Injection Properties panel (Figure 23.8.12) instead of the Set Injection Properties panel.
Figure 23.8.12: The Set Multiple Injection Properties Panel
Depending on the type of injections you have selected (single, group, atomizers, etc.), there will be dierent categories of properties listed under Injections Setup. The names
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of these categories correspond to the headings within the Set Injection Properties panel (e.g., Particle Type and Stochastic Tracking). Only those categories that are appropriate for all of your selected injections (which are shown in the Injections list) will be listed. If all of these injections are of the same type, more categories of properties will be available for you to modify. If the injections are of dierent types, you will have fewer categories to select from.
Modifying Properties
To modify a property, follow these steps: 1. Select the appropriate category in the Injections Setup list. For example, if you want to set the same ow rate for all of the selected injections, select Point Properties. The panel will expand to show the properties that appear under that heading in the Set Injection Properties panel. 2. Set the property (or properties) to be modied, as described below. 3. Click Apply. FLUENT will report the change in the console window.
You must click Apply to save the property settings within each category. If, for example, you want to modify the ow rate and the stochastic tracking parameters, you will need to select Point Properties in the Injections Setup list, specify the ow rate, and click Apply. You would then repeat the process for the stochastic tracking parameters, clicking Apply again when you are done.
There are two types of properties that can be modied using the Set Multiple Injection Properties panel. The rst type involves one of the following actions: selecting a value from a drop-down list choosing an option using a radio button The second type involves one of the following actions: entering a value in a eld turning an option on or o
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23.9 Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase
Setting the rst type of property works the same way as in the Set Injection Properties panel. For example, if you select Particle Type in the Injections Setup list, the panel will expand to show the portion of the Set Injection Properties panel where you choose the particle type. You can simply choose the desired type and click Apply. Setting the second type of property requires an additional step. If you select a category in the Injections Setup list that contains this type of property, the expanded portion of the panel will look like the corresponding part of the Set Injection Properties panel, with the addition of Modify check buttons (see Figure 23.8.12). To change one of the properties, rst turn on the Modify check button to its left, and then specify the desired status or value. For example, if you would like to enable stochastic tracking, rst turn on the Modify check button to the left of Stochastic Model. This will make the property active so you can modify its status. Then, under Property, turn on the Stochastic Model check button. (Be sure to click Apply when you are done setting stochastic tracking parameters.) If you would like to change the value of Number of Tries, select the Modify check button to its left to make it active, and then enter the new value in the eld. Make sure you click Apply when you have nished modifying the stochastic tracking properties.
The setting for a property that has not been activated with the Modify check button is not relevant, because it will not be applied to the selected injections when you click Apply. After you turn on Modify for a particular property, clicking Apply will modify that property for all of the selected injections, so make sure that you have the settings the way that you want them before you do this. If you make a mistake, you will have to return to the Set Injection Properties panel for each injection to x the incorrect setting, if it is not possible to do so in the Set Multiple Injection Properties panel.
Modifying Properties Common to a Subset of Selected Injections

Note that it is possible to change a property that is relevant for only a subset of the selected injections. For example, if some of the selected injections are using stochastic tracking and some are not, enabling the Random Eddy Lifetime option and clicking Apply will turn this option on only for those injections that are using stochastic tracking. The other injections will be unaected.
23.9
Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase
When a particle reaches a physical boundary (e.g., a wall or inlet boundary) in your model, FLUENT applies a discrete phase boundary condition to determine the fate of the trajectory at that boundary. The boundary condition, or trajectory fate, can be dened separately for each zone in your FLUENT model.
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23.9.1
Discrete Phase Boundary Condition Types
The available boundary conditions, as noted in Section 23.2: Modeling Particle Motion, include the following: reect rebounds the particle o the boundary in question with a change in its momentum as dened by the coecient of restitution. (See Figure 23.9.1.)
V2,n coefcient of = V restitution 1,n
Figure 23.9.1: Reect Boundary Condition for the Discrete Phase
The normal coecient of restitution denes the amount of momentum in the direction normal to the wall that is retained by the particle after the collision with the boundary [342]: en = v2,n v1,n (23.9-1)
where vn is the particle velocity normal to the wall and the subscripts 1 and 2 refer to before and after collision, respectively. Similarly, the tangential coecient of restitution, et , denes the amount of momentum in the direction tangential to the wall that is retained by the particle. A normal or tangential coecient of restitution equal to 1.0 implies that the particle retains all of its normal or tangential momentum after the rebound (an elastic collision). A normal or tangential coecient of restitution equal to 0.0 implies that the particle retains none of its normal or tangential momentum after the rebound. Non-constant coecients of restitution can be specied for wall zones with the reect type boundary condition. The coecients are set as a function of the impact angle, 1 , in Figure 23.9.1. Note that the default setting for both coecients of restitution is a constant value of 1.0 (all normal and tangential momentum retained). trap terminates the trajectory calculations and records the fate of the particle as trapped. In the case of evaporating droplets, their entire mass instantaneously
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passes into the vapor phase and enters the cell adjacent to the boundary. See Figure 23.9.2. In the case of combusting particles, the remaining volatile mass is passed into the vapor phase.
volatile fraction ashes to vapor 1
Figure 23.9.2: Trap Boundary Condition for the Discrete Phase
escape reports the particle as having escaped when it encounters the boundary in question. Trajectory calculations are terminated. See Figure 23.9.3.
particle vanishes
Figure 23.9.3: Escape Boundary Condition for the Discrete Phase
wall-jet means that the direction and velocity of the droplet particles are given by the resulting momentum ux, which is a function of the impingement angle, , and Weber number. See Figure 23.9.4. The wall-jet boundary condition assumes an analogy with an inviscid jet impacting a solid wall. Equation 23.9-2 shows the analytical solution for an axisymmetric impingement assuming an empirical function for the sheet height (H) as a function of the angle that the drop leaves the impingement (). H() = H e(1 )
(23.9-2)
where H is the sheet height at = and is a constant determined from conservation of mass and momentum. The probability that a drop leaves the impingement
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z y H()
x x side view top view
Figure 23.9.4: Wall Jet Boundary Condition for the Discrete Phase
point at an angle between and + is given by integrating the expression for H() = ln[1 P (1 e )] (23.9-3)
where P is a random number between 0 and 1. The expression for is given in Naber and Reitz [238] as e + 1 sin() = (e 1)(1 + ( )2 ) (23.9-4)
The wall-jet boundary condition is appropriate for high-temperature walls where no signicant liquid lm is formed, and in high-Weber-number impacts where the spray acts as a jet. The model is not appropriate for regimes where lm is important (e.g., port fuel injection in SI engines, rainwater runo, etc.). interior means that the particles will pass through the internal boundary. This option is available only for internal boundary zones, such as a radiator or a porous jump. It is also possible to use a user-dened function to compute the behavior of the particles at a physical boundary. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions. Because you can stipulate any of these conditions at ow boundaries, it is possible to incorporate mixed discrete phase boundary conditions in your FLUENT model.
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Default Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions

FLUENT assumes the following boundary conditions: reect at wall, symmetry, and axis boundaries, with both coecients of restitution equal to 1.0 escape at all ow boundaries (pressure and velocity inlets, pressure outlets, etc.) interior at all internal boundaries (radiator, porous jump, etc.) The coecient of restitution can be modied only for wall boundaries.
23.9.2
Inputs for Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions
Discrete phase boundary conditions can be set for boundaries in the panels opened from the Boundary Conditions panel. When one or more injections have been dened, inputs for the discrete phase will appear in the panels (e.g., Figure 23.9.5). Select reect, trap, escape, wall-jet, or user-dened in the Boundary Cond. Type drop-down list under Discrete Phase Model Conditions. (In the Walls panel, you will need to click on the DPM tab to access the Discrete Phase Model Conditions.) These conditions are described in Section 23.9.1: Discrete Phase Boundary Condition Types. If you select user-dened, you can select a user-dened function in the Boundary Cond. Function dropdown list. For internal boundary zones, such as a radiator or a porous jump, you can also choose an interior boundary condition. The interior condition means that the particles will pass through the internal boundary. If you select the reect type at a wall (only), you can dene a constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function for the Normal and Tangent coecients of restitution under Discrete Phase Reection Coecients. See Section 23.9.1: Discrete Phase Boundary Condition Types for details about the boundary condition types and the coecients of restitution. The panels for dening the polynomial, piecewise-linear, and piecewise-polynomial functions are the same as those used for dening temperaturedependent properties. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions for details. If the Erosion/Accretion option is selected in the Discrete Phase Model panel, the erosion rate expression must be specied at the walls. The erosion rate is dened in Equation 23.2-57 as a product of the mass ux and specied functions for the particle diameter, impact angle, and velocity exponent. Under Erosion Model in the Wall panel, you can dene a constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function for the Impact Angle Function, Diameter Function, and Velocity Exponent Function (f (), C(dp ), and b(v) in Equation 23.2-57). See Sections 23.2.3 and 23.7.6 for a detailed description of these functions and Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent
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Figure 23.9.5: Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions in the Wall Panel
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23.10 Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase
Functions for details about using the panels for dening polynomial, piecewise-linear, and piecewise-polynomial functions.
23.10
Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase
In order to apply the physical models described in earlier sections to the prediction of the discrete phase trajectories and heat/mass transfer, FLUENT requires many physical property inputs.
23.10.1
Summary of Property Inputs
Tables 23.10.123.10.4 summarize which of these property inputs are used for each particle type and in which of the equations for heat and mass transfer each property input is used. Detailed descriptions of each input are provided in Section 23.10.2: Setting Discrete-Phase Physical Properties. Table 23.10.1: Property Inputs for Inert Particles Property density specic heat particle emissivity particle scattering factor thermophoretic coecient Symbol p in Eq. 23.2-1 cp in Eq. 23.3-3 p in Eq. 23.3-3 f in Eq. 12.3-20 DT,p in Eq. 23.2-14
23.10.2
Setting Discrete-Phase Physical Properties
The Concept of Discrete-Phase Materials

When you create a particle injection and dene the initial conditions for the discrete phase (as described in Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase), you choose a particular material as the particles material. All particle streams of that material will have the same physical properties. Discrete-phase materials are divided into three categories, corresponding to the three types of particles available. These material types are inert-particle, droplet-particle, and combusting-particle. Each material type will be added to the Material Type list in the Materials panel when an injection of that type of particle is dened (in the Set Injection Properties or Set Multiple Injection Properties panel, as described in Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase). The rst time you create an injection of each particle type, you will be able to choose a material from the database, and this will become the default material for that type of particle. That is, if you create another injection of the same type of particle, your selected material will be used for that injection
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Table 23.10.2: Property Inputs for Droplet Particles Properties Symbol density p in Eq. 23.2-1 specic heat cp in Eq. 23.3-17 thermal conductivity kp in Eq. 23.2-15 viscosity in Eq. 23.4-52 latent heat hfg in Eq. 23.3-17 vaporization temperature Tvap in Eq. 23.3-10 boiling point Tbp in Eq. 23.3-10, 23.3-18 volatile component fraction fv0 in Eq. 23.3-11, 23.3-19 binary diusivity Di,m in Eq. 23.3-15 saturation vapor pressure psat (T ) in Eq. 23.3-13 heat of pyrolysis hpyrol in Eq. 23.6-2 droplet surface tension in Eq. 23.4-19, 23.4-51 particle emissivity p in Eq. 23.3-17, 23.3-23 particle scattering factor f in Eq. 12.3-20 thermophoretic coecient DT,p in Eq. 23.2-14
as well. You may choose to modify the predened properties for your selected particle material, if you want (as described in Section 8.1.2: Modifying Properties of an Existing Material). If you need only one set of properties for each type of particle, you need not dene any new materials; you can simply use the same material for all particles.
If you do not nd the material you want in the database, you can select a material that is close to the one you wish to use, and then modify the properties and give the material a new name, as described in Section 8.1.2: Creating a New Material. Note that a discrete-phase material type will not appear in the Material Type list in the Materials panel until you have dened an injection of that type of particles. This means, for example, that you cannot dene or modify any combusting-particle materials until you have dened a combusting particle injection (as described in Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase).
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Table 23.10.3: Property Inputs for Combusting Particles (Laws 14) Properties Symbol density p in Eq. 23.2-1 specic heat cp in Eq. 23.3-3 latent heat hfg in Eq. 23.6-2 vaporization temperature Tvap = Tbp in Eq. 23.3-24 volatile component fraction fv0 in Eq. 23.3-25 swelling coecient Csw in Eq. 23.3-57 burnout stoichiometric ratio Sb in Eq. 23.3-64 combustible fraction fcomb in Eq. 23.3-63 heat of reaction for burnout Hreac in Eq. 23.3-64 23.3-78 fraction of reaction heat given to solid fh in Eq. 23.3-78 particle emissivity p in Eq. 23.3-58, 23.3-78 particle scattering factor f in Eq. 12.3-20 thermophoretic coecient DT,p in Eq. 23.2-14 devolatilization model law 4, constant rate constant A0 in Eq. 23.3-26 law 4, single rate pre-exponential factor A1 in Eq. 23.3-27 activation energy E in Eq. 23.3-27 law 4, two rates pre-exponential factors A1 , A2 in Eq. 23.3-30, 23.3-31 activation energies E1 , E2 in Eq. 23.3-30, 23.3-31 weighting factors 1 , 2 in Eq. 23.3-32 law 4, CPD initial fraction of bridges in coal lattice p0 in Eq. 23.3-43 initial fraction of char bridges c0 in Eq. 23.3-42 lattice coordination number + 1 in Eq. 23.3-54 cluster molecular weight Mw,1 in Eq. 23.3-54 side chain molecular weight Mw, in Eq. 23.3-53
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Table 23.10.4: Property Inputs for Combusting Particles (Law 5) Properties Symbol combustion model law 5, diusion rate binary diusivity Di,m in Eq. 23.3-65 law 5, diusion/kinetic rate mass diusion limited rate constant C1 in Eq. 23.3-66 kinetics limited rate pre-exp. factor C2 in Eq. 23.3-67 kinetics limited rate activ. energy E in Eq. 23.3-67 law 5, intrinsic rate mass diusion limited rate constant C1 in Eq. 23.3-66 kinetics limited rate pre-exp. factor Ai in Eq. 23.3-76 kinetics limited rate activ. energy Ei in Eq. 23.3-76 char porosity in Eq. 23.3-73 mean pore radius rp in Eq. 23.3-75 specic internal surface area Ag in Eq. 23.3-70, 23.3-72 tortuosity in Eq. 23.3-73 burning mode in Eq. 23.3-77 law 5, multiple surface reaction binary diusivity Di,m in Eq. 23.3-65
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Dening Additional Discrete-Phase Materials In many cases, a single set of physical properties (density, heat capacity, etc.) is appropriate for each type of discrete phase particle considered in a given model. Sometimes, however, a single model may contain two dierent types of inert, droplet, or combusting particles (e.g., heavy particles and gaseous bubbles or two dierent types of evaporating liquid droplets). In such cases, it is necessary to assign a dierent set of properties to the two (or more) dierent types of particles. This is easily accomplished by dening two or more inert, droplet, or combusting particle materials and using the appropriate one for each particle injection. You can dene additional discrete-phase materials either by copying them from the database or by creating them from scratch. See Section 8.1.2: Using the Materials Panel for instructions on using the Materials panel to perform these actions.
Recall that you must dene at least one injection (as described in Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase) containing particles of a certain type before you will be able to dene additional materials for that particle type.
Description of Properties
The properties that appear in the Materials panel vary depending on the particle type (selected in the Set Injection Properties or Set Multiple Injection Properties panel, as described in Sections 23.8.5 and 23.8.17) and the physical models you are using in conjunction with the discrete-phase model. Below, all properties you may need to dene for a discrete-phase material are listed. See Tables 23.10.123.10.4 to see which properties are dened for each type of particle. Density is the density of the particulate phase in units of mass per unit volume of the discrete phase. This density is the mass density and not the volumetric density. Since certain particles may swell during the trajectory calculations, your input is actually an initial density. Cp is the specic heat, cp , of the particle. The specic heat may be dened as a function of temperature by selecting one of the function types from the drop-down list to the right of Cp. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using TemperatureDependent Functions for details about temperature-dependent properties. Thermal Conductivity is the thermal conductivity of the particle. This input is specied in units of W/m-K in SI units or Btu/ft-h- F in British units and is treated as a constant by FLUENT. Latent Heat is the latent heat of vaporization, hfg , required for phase change from an evaporating liquid droplet (Equation 23.3-17) or for the evolution of volatiles from
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a combusting particle (Equation 23.3-58). This input is supplied in units of J/kg in SI units or of Btu/lbm in British units and is treated as a constant by FLUENT. Thermophoretic Coecient is the coecient DT,p in Equation 23.2-14, and appears when the thermophoretic force (which is described in Section 23.2.1: Thermophoretic Force) is included in the trajectory calculation (i.e., when the Thermophoretic Force option is enabled in the Discrete Phase Model panel). The default is the expression developed by Talbot [343] (talbot-diusion-coe) and requires no input from you. You can also dene the thermophoretic coecient as a function of temperature by selecting one of the function types from the drop-down list to the right of Thermophoretic Coecient. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using TemperatureDependent Functions for details about temperature-dependent properties. Vaporization Temperature is the temperature, Tvap , at which the calculation of vaporization from a liquid droplet or devolatilization from a combusting particle is initiated by FLUENT. Until the particle temperature reaches Tvap , the particle is heated via Law 1, Equation 23.3-3. This temperature input represents a modeling decision rather than any physical characteristic of the discrete phase. Boiling Point is the temperature, Tbp , at which the calculation of the boiling rate equation (23.3-20) is initiated by FLUENT. When a droplet particle reaches the boiling point, FLUENT applies Law 3 and assumes that the droplet temperature is constant at Tbp . The boiling point denotes the temperature at which the particle law transitions from the vaporization law to the boiling law. Volatile Component Fraction (fv0 ) is the fraction of a droplet particle that may vaporize via Laws 2 and/or 3 (Sections 23.3.3 and 23.3.4). For combusting particles, it is the fraction of volatiles that may be evolved via Law 4 (Section 23.3.5: Law 4: Devolatilization). Binary Diusivity is the mass diusion coecient, Di,m , used in the vaporization law, Law 2 (Equation 23.3-15). This input is also used to dene the mass diusion of the oxidizing species to the surface of a combusting particle, Di,m , as given in Equation 23.3-65. (Note that the diusion coecient inputs that you supply for the continuous phase are not used for the discrete phase.) Saturation Vapor Pressure is the saturated vapor pressure, psat , dened as a function of temperature, which is used in the vaporization law, Law 2 (Equation 23.3-13). The saturated vapor pressure may be dened as a function of temperature by selecting one of the function types from the drop-down list to the right of its name. (See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions for details about temperature-dependent properties.) In the case of unrealistic inputs, FLUENT restricts the range of Psat to between 0.0 and the operating pressure. Correct input of a realistic vapor pressure curve is essential for accurate results from the vaporization model.
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Heat of Pyrolysis is the heat of the instantaneous pyrolysis reaction, hpyrol , that the evaporating/boiling species may undergo when released to the continuous phase. This input represents the conversion of the evaporating species to lighter components during the evaporation process. The heat of pyrolysis should be input as a positive number for exothermic reaction and as a negative number for endothermic reaction. The default value of zero implies that the heat of pyrolysis is not considered. This input is used in Equation 23.6-2. Swelling Coecient is the coecient Csw in Equation 23.3-57, which governs the swelling of the coal particle during the devolatilization law, Law 4 (Section 23.3.5: Law 4: Devolatilization). A swelling coecient of unity (the default) implies that the coal particle stays at constant diameter during the devolatilization process. Burnout Stoichiometric Ratio is the stoichiometric requirement, Sb , for the burnout reaction, Equation 23.3-64, in terms of mass of oxidant per mass of char in the particle. Combustible Fraction is the mass fraction of char, fcomb , in the coal particle, i.e., the fraction of the initial combusting particle that will react in the surface reaction, Law 5 (Equation 23.3-63). Heat of Reaction for Burnout is the heat released by the surface char combustion reaction, Law 5 (Equation 23.3-64). This parameter is input in terms of heat release (e.g., Joules) per unit mass of char consumed in the surface reaction. React. Heat Fraction Absorbed by Solid is the parameter fh (Equation 23.3-78), which controls the distribution of the heat of reaction between the particle and the continuous phase. The default value of zero implies that the entire heat of reaction is released to the continuous phase. Devolatilization Model denes which version of the devolatilization model, Law 4, is being used. If you want to use the default constant rate devolatilization model, Equation 23.3-26, retain the selection of constant in the drop-down list to the right of Devolatilization Model and input the rate constant A0 in the eld below the list. You can activate one of the optional devolatilization models (the single kinetic rate, two kinetic rates, or CPD model, as described in Section 23.3.5: Law 4: Devolatilization) by choosing single rate, two-competing-rates, or cpd-model in the drop-down list. When the single kinetic rate model (single-rate) is selected, the Single Rate Devolatilization Model panel will appear and you will enter the Pre-exponential Factor, A1 , and the Activation Energy, E, to be used in Equation 23.3-28 for the computation of the kinetic rate. When the two competing rates model (two-competing-rates) is selected, the Two Competing Rates Model panel will appear and you will enter, for the First Rate
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and the Second Rate, the Pre-exponential Factor (A1 in Equation 23.3-30 and A2 in Equation 23.3-31), Activation Energy (E1 in Equation 23.3-30 and E2 in Equation 23.3-31), and Weighting Factor (1 and 2 in Equation 23.3-32). The constants you input are used in Equations 23.3-30 through 23.3-32. When the CPD model (cpd-model) is selected, the CPD Model panel will appear and you will enter the Initial Fraction of Bridges in Coal Lattice (p0 in Equation 23.3-43), Initial Fraction of Char Bridges (c0 in Equation 23.3-42), Lattice Coordination Number ( + 1 in Equation 23.3-54), Cluster Molecular Weight (Mw,1 in Equation 23.3-54), and Side Chain Molecular Weight (Mw, in Equation 23.3-53). Note that the Single Rate Devolatilization Model, Two Competing Rates Model, and CPD Model panels are modal panels, which means that you must tend to them immediately before continuing the property denitions. Combustion Model denes which version of the surface char combustion law (Law 5) is being used. If you want to use the default diusion-limited rate model, retain the selection of diusion-limited in the drop-down list to the right of Combustion Model. No additional inputs are necessary, because the binary diusivity dened above will be used in Equation 23.3-65. To use the kinetics/diusion-limited rate model for the surface combustion model, select kinetics/diusion-limited in the drop-down list. The Kinetics/Diusion-Limited Combustion Model panel will appear and you will enter the Mass Diusion Limited Rate Constant (C1 in Equation 23.3-66), Kinetics Limited Rate Pre-exponential Factor (C2 in Equation 23.3-67), and Kinetics Limited Rate Activation Energy (E in Equation 23.3-67). Note that the Kinetics/Diusion-Limited Combustion Model panel is a modal panel, which means that you must tend to it immediately before continuing the property denitions. To use the intrinsic model for the surface combustion model, select intrinsic-model in the drop-down list. The Intrinsic Combustion Model panel will appear and you will enter the Mass Diusion Limited Rate Constant (C1 in Equation 23.3-66), Kinetics Limited Rate Pre-exponential Factor (Ai in Equation 23.3-76), Kinetics Limited Rate Activation Energy (Ei in Equation 23.3-76), Char Porosity ( in Equation 23.3-73), Mean Pore Radius (rp in Equation 23.3-75), Specic Internal Surface Area (Ag in Equations 23.3-70 and 23.3-72), Tortuosity ( in Equation 23.3-73), and Burning Mode, alpha ( in Equation 23.3-77). Note that the Intrinsic Combustion Model panel is a model panel, which means that you must tend to it immediately before continuing the property denitions. To use the multiple surface reactions model, select multiple-surface-reactions in the drop-down list. FLUENT will display a dialog box informing you that you will need to open the Reactions panel, where you can review or modify the particle surface reactions that you specied as described in Section 14.1.2: Overview of User Inputs for Modeling Species Transport and Reactions.
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If you have not yet dened any particle surface reactions, you must be sure to dene them now. See Section 14.3.3: Using the Multiple Surface Reactions Model for Discrete-Phase Particle Combustion for more information about using the multiple surface reactions model.
You will notice that the Burnout Stoichiometric Ratio and Heat of Reaction for Burnout are no longer available in the Materials panel, as these parameters are now computed from the particle surface reactions you dened in the Reactions panel. Note that the multiple surface reactions model is available only if the Particle Surface option for Reactions is enabled in the Species Model panel. See Section 14.3.2: User Inputs for Particle Surface Reactions for details. When the eect of particles on radiation is enabled (for the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model only) in the Discrete Phase Model panel, you will need to dene the following additional parameters: Particle Emissivity is the emissivity of particles in your model, p , used to compute radiation heat transfer to the particles (Equations 23.3-3, 23.3-17, 23.3-23, 23.3-58, and 23.3-78) when the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model is active. Note that you must enable radiation to particles, using the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete Phase Model panel. Recommended values of particle emissivity are 1.0 for coal particles and 0.5 for ash [204]. Particle Scattering Factor is the scattering factor, fp , due to particles in the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model (Equation 12.3-20). Note that you must enable particle eects in the radiation model, using the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete Phase Model panel. The recommended value of fp for coal combustion modeling is 0.9 [204]. Note that if the eect of particles on radiation is enabled, scattering in the continuous phase will be ignored in the radiation model. When an atomizer injection model and/or the spray breakup or collision model is enabled in the Set Injection Properties panel (atomizers) and/or Discrete Phase Model panel (spray breakup/collision), you will need to dene the following additional parameters: Viscosity is the droplet viscosity, l . The viscosity may be dened as a function of temperature by selecting one of the function types from the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions for details about temperature-dependent properties. You also have the option of implementing a user-dened function to model the droplet viscosity. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions. Droplet Surface Tension is the droplet surface tension, . The surface tension may be dened as a function of temperature by selecting one of the function types from
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the drop-down list to the right of Droplet Surface Tension. See Section 8.2: Dening Properties Using Temperature-Dependent Functions for details about temperaturedependent properties. You also have the option of implementing a user-dened function to model the droplet surface tension. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions.
23.11
Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase
Solution of the discrete phase implies integration in time of the force balance on the particle (Equation 23.2-1) to yield the particle trajectory. As the particle is moved along its trajectory, heat and mass transfer between the particle and the continuous phase are also computed via the heat/mass transfer laws (Section 23.3: Heat and Mass Transfer Calculations). The accuracy of the discrete phase calculation thus depends on the time accuracy of the integration and upon the appropriate coupling between the discrete and continuous phases when required. Numerical controls are described in Section 23.7.8: Numerics of the Discrete Phase Model. Coupling and performing trajectory calculations are described in Section 23.11.2: Performing Trajectory Calculations. Sections 23.11.3 and 23.7.10 provide information about resetting interphase exchange terms and using the parallel solver for a discrete phase calculation.
23.11.1
Integration of Particle Equation of Motion
The trajectory equations, and any auxiliary equations describing heat or mass transfer to/from the particle, are solved by stepwise integration over discrete time steps. Integration of time in Equation 23.2-1 yields the velocity of the particle at each point along the trajectory, with the trajectory itself predicted by dx = up dt (23.11-1)
Equations 23.2-1 and 23.11-1 are a set of coupled ordinary dierential equations. Equation 23.2-1 can be cast into the following general form dup 1 = (u up ) + a dt p (23.11-2)
where the term a includes accelerations due to all other forces except drag force. This set can be solved for constant u, a and p by analytical integration. For the particle velocity at the new location un+1 we get p un+1 = un + e p
t
p
un un ap e p
t
p
(23.11-3)
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23.11 Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase The new location xn+1 can be computed from a similar relationship. p xn+1 = xn + t(un + ap ) + p 1 e p p
t
p
un un ap p
(23.11-4)
In these equations un and un represent particle velocities and uid velocities at the old p location. Equations 23.11-3 and 23.11-4 are applied when using the analytic discretization scheme. The set of Equations 23.2-1 and 23.11-1 can also be solved using numerical discretization schemes. When applying the Euler implicit discretization to Equation 23.11-2 we get un + t(a + p 1+
t p un ) p
un+1 p
(23.11-5)
When applying a trapezoidal discretization to Equation 23.11-2 the variables up and un on the right hand side are taken as averages, while accelerations, a, due to other forces are held constant. We get un+1 un 1 p p = (u u ) + an p t p The averages u and u are computed from p 1 n (u + un+1 ) p 2 p 1 n = (u + un+1 ) 2 = un + tun un p
(23.11-6)
u = p u un+1
(23.11-7) (23.11-8) (23.11-9)
The particle velocity at the new location n + 1 is computed by un (1 p

1 t ) 2 p
un+1 p
t p
un + 1 tun p 2 1+
1 t 2 p
un + ta (23.11-10)
For the implicit and the trapezoidal schemes the new particle location is always computed by a trapezoidal discretization of Equation 23.11-1. 1 xn+1 = xn + t un + un+1 p p p p 2 (23.11-11)
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Equations 23.11-2 and 23.11-1 can also be computed using a Runge-Kutta scheme which was published by Cash and Karp [47]. The ordinary dierential equations can be considered as vectors, where the left hand side is the derivative y and the right hand side is an arbitrary function f (t, y). y = f (t, y) We get y n+1 = y n + c1 k1 + c2 k2 + c3 k3 + c4 k4 + c5 k5 + c6 k6 with (23.11-13) (23.11-12)
k1 = tf (t, y n ) k2 = tf (t + a2 t, y n + b21 k1 ) k3 = tf (t + a3 t, y n + b31 k1 + b32 k2 ) k4 = tf (t + a4 t, y n + b41 k1 + b42 k2 + b43 k3 ) k5 = tf (t + a5 t, y n + b51 k1 + b52 k2 + b53 k3 + b54 k4 ) k6 = tf (t + a6 t, y n + b61 k1 + b62 k2 + b63 k3 + b64 k4 + b65 k5 ) The coecients a2 . . . a6 , b21 . . . b65 , and c1 . . . c6 are taken from Cash and Karp [47] This scheme provides an embedded error control, which is switched o, when no Accuracy Control is enabled. For rotating reference frames, the integration is carried out in the rotating frame with the extra terms described in Equations 23.2-12 and 23.2-13, thus accounting for system rotation. Using the mechanisms available for accuracy control, the trajectory integration will be done accurately in time. The analytic scheme is very ecient. It can become inaccurate for large steps and in situations where the particles are not in hydrodynamic equilibrium with the continuous ow. The numerical schemes implicit and trapezoidal, in combination with Automated Tracking Scheme Selection, consider most of the changes in the forces acting on the particles and are chosen as default schemes. The runge-kutta scheme is recommended of non-drag force changes along a particle integration step. The integration step size of the higher-order schemes, trapezoidal and runge-kutta, is limited to a stable range. Therefore it is recommended to use them in combination with Automated Tracking Scheme Selection.
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23.11 Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase
23.11.2
Performing Trajectory Calculations
The trajectories of your discrete phase injections are computed when you display the trajectories using graphics or when you perform solution iterations. That is, you can display trajectories without impacting the continuous phase, or you can include their eect on the continuum (termed a coupled calculation). In turbulent ows, trajectories can be based on mean (time-averaged) continuous phase velocities or they can be impacted by instantaneous velocity uctuations in the uid. This section describes the procedures and commands you use to perform coupled or uncoupled trajectory calculations, with or without stochastic tracking or cloud tracking.
Uncoupled Calculations
For the uncoupled calculation, you will perform the following two steps: 1. Solve the continuous phase ow eld. 2. Plot (and report) the particle trajectories for discrete phase injections of interest. In the uncoupled approach, this two-step procedure completes the modeling eort, as illustrated in Figure 23.11.1. The particle trajectories are computed as they are displayed, based on a xed continuous-phase ow eld. Graphical and reporting options are detailed in Section 23.12: Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase.
continuous phase ow eld calculation particle trajectory calculation

Figure 23.11.1: Uncoupled Discrete Phase Calculations
This procedure is adequate when the discrete phase is present at a low mass and momentum loading, in which case the continuous phase is not impacted by the presence of the discrete phase.
Coupled Calculations
In a coupled two-phase simulation, FLUENT modies the two-step procedure above as follows: 1. Solve the continuous phase ow eld (prior to introduction of the discrete phase).
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2. Introduce the discrete phase by calculating the particle trajectories for each discrete phase injection. 3. Recalculate the continuous phase ow, using the interphase exchange of momentum, heat, and mass determined during the previous particle calculation. 4. Recalculate the discrete phase trajectories in the modied continuous phase ow eld. 5. Repeat the previous two steps until a converged solution is achieved in which both the continuous phase ow eld and the discrete phase particle trajectories are unchanged with each additional calculation. This coupled calculation procedure is illustrated in Figure 23.11.2. When your FLUENT model includes a high mass and/or momentum loading in the discrete phase, the coupled procedure must be followed in order to include the important impact of the discrete phase on the continuous phase ow eld.
continuous phase ow eld calculation
particle trajectory calculation
update continuous phase source terms
Figure 23.11.2: Coupled Discrete Phase Calculations
When you perform coupled calculations, all dened discrete phase injections will be computed. You cannot calculate a subset of the injections you have dened.
Procedures for a Coupled Two-Phase Flow If your FLUENT model includes prediction of a coupled two-phase ow, you should begin with a partially (or fully) converged continuous-phase ow eld. You will then create your injection(s) and set up the coupled calculation.
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23.11 Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase
For each discrete-phase iteration, FLUENT computes the particle/droplet trajectories and updates the interphase exchange of momentum, heat, and mass in each control volume. These interphase exchange terms then impact the continuous phase when the continuous phase iteration is performed. During the coupled calculation, FLUENT will perform the discrete phase iteration at specied intervals during the continuous-phase calculation. The coupled calculation continues until the continuous phase ow eld no longer changes with further calculations (i.e., all convergence criteria are satised). When convergence is reached, the discrete phase trajectories no longer change either, since changes in the discrete phase trajectories would result in changes in the continuous phase ow eld. The steps for setting up the coupled calculation are as follows: 1. Solve the continuous phase ow eld. 2. In the Discrete Phase Model panel (Figure 23.7.2), enable the Interaction with Continuous Phase option. 3. Set the frequency with which the particle trajectory calculations are introduced in the Number Of Continuous Phase Iterations Per DPM Iteration eld. If you set this parameter to 5, for example, a discrete phase iteration will be performed every fth continuous phase iteration. The optimum number of iterations between trajectory calculations depends upon the physics of your FLUENT model.
Note that if you set this parameter to 0, FLUENT will not perform any discrete phase iterations.
During the coupled calculation (which you initiate using the Iterate panel in the usual manner) you will see the following information in the FLUENT console as the continuous and discrete phase iterations are performed:
iter continuity x-velocity y-velocity k epsilon energy time/it 314 2.5249e-01 2.8657e-01 1.0533e+00 7.6227e-02 2.9771e-02 9.8181e-03 :00:05 315 2.7955e-01 2.5867e-01 9.2736e-01 6.4516e-02 2.6545e-02 4.2314e-03 :00:03 DPM Iteration .... number tracked= 9, number escaped= 1, Done. 316 1.9206e-01 1.1860e-01 6.9573e-01 317 2.0729e-01 3.2982e-02 8.3036e-01 318 3.2820e-01 5.5508e-02 6.0900e-01
aborted= 0, trapped= 0, evaporated = 8,i 5.2692e-02 2.3997e-02 2.4532e-03 :00:02 4.1649e-02 2.2111e-02 2.5369e-01 :00:01 5.9018e-02 2.6619e-02 4.0394e-02 :00:00
Note that you can perform a discrete phase calculation at any time by using the solve/dpm-update text command.
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Stochastic Tracking in Coupled Calculations If you include the stochastic prediction of turbulent dispersion in the coupled two-phase ow calculations, the number of stochastic tries applied each time the discrete phase trajectories are introduced during coupled calculations will be equal to the Number of Tries specied in the Set Injection Properties panel. Input of this parameter is described in Section 23.8.15: Stochastic Tracking. Note that the number of tries should be set to 0 if you want to perform the coupled calculation based on the mean continuous phase ow eld. An input of n 1 requests n stochastic trajectory calculations for each particle in the injection. Note that when the number of stochastic tracks included is small, you may nd that the ensemble average of the trajectories is quite dierent each time the trajectories are computed. These dierences may, in turn, impact the convergence of your coupled solution. For this reason, you should include an adequate number of stochastic tracks in order to avoid convergence troubles in coupled calculations. Under-Relaxation of the Interphase Exchange Terms When you are coupling the discrete and continuous phases for steady-state calculations, using the calculation procedures noted above, FLUENT applies under-relaxation to the momentum, heat, and mass transfer terms. This under-relaxation serves to increase the stability of the coupled calculation procedure by letting the impact of the discrete phase change only gradually: Enew = Eold + (Ecalculated Eold ) (23.11-14)
where Enew is the exchange term, Eold is the previous value, Ecalculated is the newly computed value, and is the particle/droplet under-relaxation factor. FLUENT uses a default value of 0.5 for . You can modify by changing the value in the Discrete Phase Sources eld under Under-Relaxation Factors in the Solution Controls panel. You may need to decrease in order to improve the stability of coupled discrete phase calculations.
23.11.3 Resetting the Interphase Exchange Terms

If you have performed coupled calculations, resulting in non-zero interphase sources/sinks of momentum, heat, and/or mass that you do not want to include in subsequent calculations, you can reset these sources to zero. Solve Initialize Reset DPM Sources When you select the Reset DPM Sources menu item, the sources will immediately be reset to zero without any further conrmation from you.
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23.12 Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase

After you have completed your discrete phase inputs and any coupled two-phase calculations of interest, you can display and store the particle trajectory predictions. FLUENT provides both graphical and alphanumeric reporting facilities for the discrete phase, including the following: Graphical display of the particle trajectories Summary reports of trajectory fates Step-by-step reports of the particle position, velocity, temperature, and diameter Alphanumeric reports and graphical display of the interphase exchange of momentum, heat, and mass Sampling of trajectories at boundaries and lines/planes Summary reporting of current particles in the domain Histograms of trajectory data at sample planes Display of erosion/accretion rates This section provides detailed descriptions of each of these postprocessing options. (Note that plotting or reporting trajectories does not change the source terms.)
23.12.1
Graphical Display of Trajectories
When you have dened discrete phase particle injections, as described in Section 23.8: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase, you can display the trajectories of these discrete particles using the Particle Tracks panel (Figure 23.12.1). Display Particle Tracks... The procedure for drawing trajectories for particle injections is as follows: 1. Select the particle injection(s) you wish to track in the Release From Injections list. (You can choose to track a specic particle, instead, as described below.) 2. Set the length scale and the maximum number of steps in the Discrete Phase Model panel, as described in Section 23.7.8: Numerics of the Discrete Phase Model. Dene Models Discrete Phase... If stochastic and/or cloud tracking is desired, set the related parameters in the Set Injection Properties panel, as described in Section 23.8.15: Stochastic Tracking.
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Figure 23.12.1: The Particle Tracks Panel
3. Set any of the display options described below. 4. Click on the Display button to draw the trajectories or click on the Pulse button to animate the particle positions. The Pulse button will become the Stop ! button during the animation, and you must click on Stop ! to stop the pulsing.
For unsteady particle tracking simulations, clicking on Display will show only the current location of the particles. Typically, you should select point in the Style drop-down list when displaying transient particle locations since individual positions will be displayed. The Pulse button option is not available for unsteady tracking.
Specifying Individual Particles for Display

It is also possible to display the trajectory for an individual particle stream instead of for all the streams in a given injection. To do so, you will rst need to determine which particle is of interest. Use the Injections panel to list the particle streams in the desired injection, as described in Section 23.8.4: Creating, Copying, Deleting, and Listing Injections.
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Dene Injections... Note the ID numbers listed in the rst column of the listing printed in the FLUENT console. Then perform the following steps after step 1 above: 1. Enable the Track Single Particle Stream option in the Particle Tracks panel. 2. In the Stream ID eld, specify the ID number of the particle stream for which you want to plot the trajectory.
Options for Particle Trajectory Plots

The options mentioned above include the following: You can include the grid in the trajectory display, control the style of the trajectories (including the twisting of ribbonstyle trajectories), color them by dierent scalar elds and control the color scale, and coarsen trajectory plots. You can also choose node or cell values for display. If you are pulsing the trajectories, you can control the pulse mode. Finally, you can generate an XY plot of the particle trajectory data (e.g., residence time) as a function of time or path length and save this XY plot data to a le. Plotting particle trajectories can be very time consuming, therefore, to reduce the plotting time, a coarsening factor can be used to reduce the number of points that are plotted. Providing a coarsening factor of n, will result in each nth point being plotted for a given trajectory in any cell. This coarsening factor is specied in the Particle Tracks panel, in the Coarsen eld and is only valid for steady state cases. For example, if the coarsening factor is set to 2, then FLUENT will plot alternate points.
Note that if any particle or pathline enters a new cell, this point will always be plotted.
To reduce plotting time in transient cases, FLUENT has available an option to skip plotting every nth particle in an injection. Selecting this option is also done in the Particle Tracks panel menu by specifying a nonzero integer in the Skip eld. For example, if an individual stream is selected and the skip option is set to 1, every other particle will be plotted. If the entire injection is selected with a skip option of 1, every other particle will be plotted for all streams in the injection. These options are controlled in exactly the same way that pathline-plotting options are controlled. See Section 29.1.4: Options for Pathline Plots for details about setting the trajectory plotting options mentioned above. Note that in addition to coloring the trajectories by continuous phase variables, you can also color them according to the following discrete phase variables: particle time, particle velocity, particle diameter, particle density, particle mass, particle temperature, particle law number, particle time step, and particle Reynolds number. These variables are included in the Particle Variables... category of the Color By list. To display the minimum and maximum values in the domain, click the Update Min/Max button.
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Graphical Display in Axisymmetric Geometries

For axisymmetric problems in which the particle has a non-zero circumferential velocity component, the trajectory of an individual particle is often a spiral about the centerline of rotation. FLUENT displays the r and x components of the trajectory (but not the component) projected in the axisymmetric plane.
23.12.2
Reporting of Trajectory Fates
When you perform trajectory calculations by displaying the trajectories (as described in Section 23.12.1: Graphical Display of Trajectories), FLUENT will provide information about the trajectories as they are completed. By default, the number of trajectories with each possible fate (escaped, aborted, evaporated, etc.) is reported:
DPM Iteration .... num. tracked = 7, escaped = 4, aborted = 0, trapped = 0, evaporated = 3, inco Done.
You can also track particles through the domain without displaying the trajectories by clicking on the Track button at the bottom of the panel. This allows the listing of reports without also displaying the tracks.
Trajectory Fates
The possible fates for a particle trajectory are as follows: Escaped trajectories are those that terminate at a ow boundary for which the escape condition is set. Incomplete trajectories are those that were terminated when the maximum allowed number of time stepsas dened by the Max. Number Of Steps input in the Discrete Phase Model panel (see Section 23.7.8: Numerics of the Discrete Phase Model)was exceeded. Trapped trajectories are those that terminate at a ow boundary where the trap condition has been set. Evaporated trajectories include those trajectories along which the particles were evaporated within the domain. Aborted trajectories are those that fail to complete due to roundo reasons. You may want to retry the calculation with a modied length scale and/or dierent initial conditions.
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Shed trajectories are newly generated particles during the breakup of a larger droplet. They appear only if a breakup model is enabled. Coalesced trajectories are removed particles which have coalesced after particleparticle collisions. They appear only if the coalescence model is enabled. Splashed trajectories are particles which are newly generated when a particle touches a wall-lm. Those trajectories appear only if the wall-lm model is enabled.
Summary Reports
You can request additional detail about the trajectory fates as the particles exit the domain, including the mass ow rates through each boundary zone, mass ow rate of evaporated droplets, and composition of the particles. 1. Follow steps 1 and 2 in Section 23.12.1: Graphical Display of Trajectories for displaying trajectories. 2. Select Summary as the Report Type and click Display or Track. A detailed report similar to the following example will appear in the console window. (You may also choose to write this report to a le by selecting File as the Report to option, clicking on the Write... button (which was originally the Display button), and specifying a le name for the summary report le in the resulting Select File dialog box.)
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DPM Iteration .... num. tracked = 10, escaped = 8, aborted = 0, trapped = 0, evaporated = 0, inc Fate ---Incomplete Escaped - Zone 7 Number -----2 8 Elapsed Time (s) Min Max Avg Std Dev ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- --1.485e+01 2.410e+01 1.947e+01 4.623e+00 4.940e+00 2.196e+01 1.226e+01 4.871e+00
(*)- Mass Transfer Summary -(*) Fate ---Incomplete Escaped - Zone 7 Mass Flow (kg/s) Initial Final Change ---------- ---------- ---------1.388e-03 1.943e-04 -1.194e-03 1.502e-03 2.481e-04 -1.254e-03 (*)- Energy Transfer Summary -(*) Fate ---Incomplete Escaped - Zone 7 Heat Content (W) Initial Final Change ---------- ---------- ---------4.051e+02 3.088e+02 -9.630e+01 4.383e+02 3.914e+02 -4.696e+01 (*)- Combusting Particles -(*) Fate ---Incomplete Escaped - Zone 7 Done. Volatile Content (kg/s) Initial Final %Conv ---------- ---------- ------6.247e-04 0.000e+00 100.00 6.758e-04 0.000e+00 100.00 Char Content (kg/s) Initial Final ---------- ---------- -5.691e-04 0.000e+00 1 6.158e-04 3.782e-05
The report groups together particles with each possible fate, and reports the number of particles, the time elapsed during trajectories, and the mass and energy transfer. This information can be very useful for obtaining information such as where particles are escaping from the domain, where particles are colliding with surfaces, and the extent of heat and mass transfer to/from the particles within the domain. Additional information is reported for combusting particles.
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Elapsed Time The number of particles with each fate is listed under the Number heading. (Particles that escape through dierent zones or are trapped at dierent zones are considered to have dierent fates, and are therefore listed separately.) The minimum, maximum, and average time elapsed during the trajectories of these particles, as well as the standard deviation about the average time, are listed in the Min, Max, Avg, and Std Dev columns. This information indicates how much time the particle(s) spent in the domain before they escaped, aborted, evaporated, or were trapped.
Fate ---Incomplete Escaped - Zone 7 Number -----2 8 Elapsed Time (s) Min Max Avg Std Dev ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- --1.485e+01 2.410e+01 1.947e+01 4.623e+00 4.940e+00 2.196e+01 1.226e+01 4.871e+00
Also, on the right side of the report are listed the injection name and index of the trajectories with the minimum and maximum elapsed times. (You may need to use the scroll bar to view this information.)
Elapsed Time (s) Injection, Index Min Max Avg Std Dev Min Max --- ---------- ---------- ---------- -------------------- -----------------+01 2.410e+01 1.947e+01 4.623e+00 injection-0 1 injection-0 0 +00 2.196e+01 1.226e+01 4.871e+00 injection-0 9 injection-0 2
Mass Transfer Summary For all droplet or combusting particles with each fate, the total initial and nal mass ow rates and the change in mass ow rate are reported in the Initial, Final, and Change columns. With this information, you can determine how much mass was transferred to the continuous phase from the particles.
(*)- Mass Transfer Summary -(*) Fate ---Incomplete Escaped - Zone 7 Mass Flow (kg/s) Initial Final Change ---------- ---------- ---------1.388e-03 1.943e-04 -1.194e-03 1.502e-03 2.481e-04 -1.254e-03
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Energy Transfer Summary For all particles with each fate, the total initial and nal heat content and the change in heat content are reported in the Initial, Final, and Change columns. This report tells you how much heat was transferred from the continuous phase to the particles.
(*)- Energy Transfer Summary -(*) Fate ---Incomplete Escaped - Zone 7 Heat Content (W) Initial Final Change ---------- ---------- ---------4.051e+02 3.088e+02 -9.630e+01 4.383e+02 3.914e+02 -4.696e+01
Combusting Particles If combusting particles are present, FLUENT will include additional reporting on the volatiles and char converted. These reports are intended to help you identify the composition of the combusting particles as they exit the computational domain.
(*)- Combusting Particles -(*) Fate Volatile Content (kg/s) Initial Final %Conv ------------- ---------- ------Incomplete 6.247e-04 0.000e+00 100.00 Escaped - Zone 7 6.758e-04 0.000e+00 100.00 Char Content (kg/s) Initial Final %Conv ---------- ---------- ------5.691e-04 0.000e+00 100.00 6.158e-04 3.782e-05 93.86
The total volatile content at the start and end of the trajectory is reported in the Initial and Final columns under Volatile Content. The percentage of volatiles that has been devolatilized is reported in the %Conv column. The total reactive portion (char) at the start and end of the trajectory is reported in the Initial and Final columns under Char Content. The percentage of char that reacted is reported in the %Conv column. Combusting Particle with the Multiple Surface Reaction Model If the multiple surface reaction model is used with combusting particles, FLUENT will include additional reporting on the mass of the individual solid species that constitute the particle mass.
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(*)- Multiple Surface Reactions -(*) Fate ---Escaped Escaped Escaped Escaped Escaped Species Names ------c<s> s<s> cao caso4 caco3 Species Content (kg/s) Initial Final %Conv ---------- ---------- ------6.080e-02 1.487e-06 100.00 3.200e-03 5.077e-06 99.84 0.000e+00 1.153e-03 0.00 0.000e+00 9.266e-04 0.00 8.000e-03 5.260e-03 34.25
Zone Zone Zone Zone Zone
6 6 6 6 6
The total mass of each solid species in the particles at the start and end of the trajectory is reported in the Initial and Final columns, respectively. The percentage of each species that is reacted is reported in the %Conv column. Note that for the solid reaction products (e.g., if the mass of a solid species has increased in the particle), the conversion is reported to be 0.
23.12.3
Step-by-Step Reporting of Trajectories
At times, you may want to obtain a detailed, step-by-step report of the particle trajectory/trajectories. Such reports can be obtained in alphanumeric format. This capability allows you to monitor the particle position, velocity, temperature, or diameter as the trajectory proceeds. The procedure for generating les containing step-by-step reports is listed below: 1. Follow steps 1 and 2 in Section 23.12.1: Graphical Display of Trajectories for displaying trajectories. You may want to track only one particle at a time, using the Track Single Particle Stream option. 2. Select Step By Step as the Report Type.
This option is only available for steady-state cases. For transient cases, see Section 23.12.4: Reporting Current Positions for Unsteady Tracking.
3. Select File as the Report to option. (The Display button will become the Write... button.) 4. In the Signicant Figures eld, enter the number of signicant gures to be used in the step-by-step report. 5. Click on the Write... button and specify a le name for the step-by-step report le in the resulting Select File dialog box.
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A detailed report similar to the following example will be saved to the specied le before the trajectories are plotted. (You may also choose to print the report in the console by choosing Console as the Report to option and clicking on Display or Track, but the report is very long that it is unlikely to be of use to you in that form.) The step-by-step report lists the particle position and velocity of the particle at selected time steps along the trajectory:
Time 0.000e+00 3.773e-05 5.403e-05 9.181e-05 1.296e-04 1.608e-04 . . . X-Position 1.411e-03 2.411e-03 2.822e-03 3.822e-03 4.821e-03 5.644e-03 . . . Y-Position 3.200e-03 3.200e-03 3.192e-03 3.192e-03 3.192e-03 3.192e-03 . . . Z-Velocity 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 . . . X-Velocity 2.650e+01 2.648e+01 2.647e+01 2.644e+01 2.642e+01 2.639e+01 . . . Y-Velocity 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 . . . Z-Veloc 0.000e 0.000e 0.000e 0.000e 0.000e 0.000e . . .
Also listed are the diameter, temperature, density, and mass of the particle. (You may need to use the scroll bar to view this information.) In addition, the variable you have selected in the Color By list is also listed. This provides you with a simple way to export any variable along a particle trajectory onto the console or into a le. Note that the Coarsen option aects the step-by-step report.
Y-Velocity 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 . . . Z-Velocity 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 . . . Diameter Temperature 2.000e-04 3.000e+02 2.000e-04 3.006e+02 2.000e-04 3.009e+02 2.000e-04 3.015e+02 2.000e-04 3.022e+02 2.000e-04 3.027e+02 . . . . . . Density 1.30e+03 1.30e+03 1.30e+03 1.30e+03 1.30e+03 1.30e+03 . . . Mass ColorBy 5.445e-09 0.000e+00 5.445e-09 3.773e-05 5.445e-09 5.403e-05 5.445e-09 9.181e-05 5.445e-09 1.296e-04 5.445e-09 1.608e-04 . . . . . .
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23.12.4
Reporting Current Positions for Unsteady Tracking
In transient cases, when using unsteady tracking, you may want to obtain a report of the particle trajectory/trajectories showing the current positions of the particles. Selecting Current Positions under Report Type in the ParticleTracks panel enables the display of the current positions of the particles. The procedure for generating les containing current position reports is listed below: 1. Follow steps 1 and 2 in Section 23.12.1: Graphical Display of Trajectories for displaying trajectories. You may want to track only one particle stream at a time, using the Track Single Particle Stream option. 2. Select Current Position as the Report Type. 3. Select File as the Report to option. (The Display button will become the Write... button.) 4. In the Signicant Figures eld, enter the number of signicant gures to be used in the step-by-step report. 5. Click on the Write... button and specify a le name for the current position report le in the resulting Select File dialog box. The current position report lists the positions and velocities of all particles that are currently in the domain:
Time 0.000e+00 1.672e-05 3.342e-05 5.010e-05 6.675e-05 8.338e-05 . . . X-Position 1.000e-03 1.168e-03 1.337e-03 1.508e-03 1.680e-03 1.854e-03 . . . Y-Position 3.120e-02 3.128e-02 3.137e-02 3.145e-02 3.153e-02 3.161e-02 . . . Z-Position 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 . . . X-Velocity 1.000e+01 1.010e+01 1.019e+01 1.028e+01 1.038e+01 1.047e+01 . . . Y-Velocity 5.000e+00 4.988e+00 4.977e+00 4.965e+00 4.954e+00 4.942e+00 . . . Z-Veloc 0.000e 0.000e 0.000e 0.000e 0.000e 0.000e . . .
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Also listed are the diameter, temperature, density, mass of the particles, number in parcel and the variable selected from the Color By list. (You may need to use the scroll bar to view this information.)
elocity 000e+00 000e+00 000e+00 000e+00 000e+00 000e+00 . . . Diameter Temperature 7.000e-05 3.000e+02 7.000e-05 3.009e+02 7.000e-05 3.019e+02 7.000e-05 3.028e+02 7.000e-05 3.037e+02 7.000e-05 3.046e+02 . . . . . . Density Mass Number ColorBy 1.300e+03 2.335e-10 3.183e+03 0.000e+00 1.300e+03 2.335e-10 3.183e+03 1.672e-05 1.300e+03 2.335e-10 3.183e+03 3.342e-05 1.300e+03 2.335e-10 3.183e+03 5.010e-05 1.300e+03 2.335e-10 3.183e+03 6.675e-05 1.300e+03 2.335e-10 3.183e+03 8.338e-05 . . . . . . . . . . . .
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23.12.5
Reporting of Interphase Exchange Terms and Discrete Phase Concentration
FLUENT reports the magnitudes of the interphase exchange of momentum, heat, and mass in each control volume in your FLUENT model. It can also report the total concentration of the discrete phase. You can display these variables graphically, by drawing contours, proles, etc. They are all contained in the Discrete Phase Model... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels: DPM Concentration DPM Mass Source DPM X,Y,Z Momentum Source DPM Swirl Momentum Source DPM Sensible Enthalpy Source DPM Enthalpy Source DPM Absorption Coecient DPM Emission DPM Scattering DPM Burnout DPM Evaporation/Devolatilization DPM (species) Source DPM Erosion DPM Accretion DPM (species) Concentration See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for denitions of these variables. Note that these exchange terms are updated and displayed only when coupled calculations are performed. Displaying and reporting particle trajectories (as described in Sections 23.12.1 and 23.12.2) will not aect the values of these exchange terms.
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23.12.6
Trajectory Sampling
Particle states (position, velocity, diameter, temperature, and mass ow rate) can be written to les at various boundaries and planes (lines in 2D) using the Sample Trajectories panel (Figure 23.12.2). Report Discrete Phase Sample...
Figure 23.12.2: The Sample Trajectories Panel
The procedure for generating les containing the particle samples is listed below: 1. Select the injections to be tracked in the Release From Injections list. 2. Select the surfaces at which samples will be written. These can be boundaries from the Boundaries list or planes from the Planes list (in 3D) or lines from the Lines list (in 2D). 3. Click on the Compute button. Note that for unsteady particle tracking, the Compute button will become the Start button (to initiate sampling) or a Stop button (to stop sampling). Clicking on the Compute button will cause the particles to be tracked and their status to be written to les when they encounter selected surfaces. The le names will be formed by appending .dpm to the surface name.
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For unsteady particle tracking, clicking on the Start button will open the les and write the le header sections. If the solution is advanced in time by computing some time steps, the particle trajectories will be updated and the particle states will be written to the les as they cross the selected planes or boundaries. Clicking on the Stop button will close the les and end the sampling. For stochastic tracking, it may be useful to repeat this process multiple times and append the results to the same le, while monitoring the sample statistics at each update. To do this, enable the Append Files option before repeating the calculation (clicking on Compute). Similarly, you can cause erosion and accretion rates to be accumulated for repeated trajectory calculations by turning on the Accumulate Erosion/Accretion Rates option. (See also Section 23.12.9: Postprocessing of Erosion/Accretion Rates.) The format and the information written for the sample output can also be controlled through a user-dened function, which can be selected in the Output drop-down list. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions.
23.12.7
Histogram Reporting of Samples
Histograms can be plotted from sample les created in the Sample Trajectories panel (as described in Section 23.12.6: Trajectory Sampling) using the Trajectory Sample Histograms panel (Figure 23.12.3). Report Discrete Phase Histogram...
Figure 23.12.3: The Trajectory Sample Histograms Panel
The procedure for plotting histograms from data in a sample le is listed below: 1. Select a le to be read by clicking on the Read... button. After you read in the sample le, the boundary name will appear in the Sample list.
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2. Select the data sample in the Sample list, and then select the data to be plotted from the Fields list. 3. Click on the Plot button at the bottom of the panel to display the histogram. By default, the percent of particles will be plotted on the y axis. You can plot the actual number of particles by deselecting Percent under Options. The number of bins or intervals in the plot can be set in the Divisions eld. You can delete samples from the list with the Delete button and update the Min/Max values with the Compute button.
23.12.8
Summary Reporting of Current Particles
For many mass-transfer and ow processes, it is desirable to know the mean diameter of the particles. A mean diameter, Djk , is calculated from the particle size distribution using the following general expression [175]:
(Djk )
jk
Dj f (D)dD (23.12-1) Dk f (D)dD
0 0
where j and k are integers and f (D) is the distribution function (e.g., Rosin-Rammler). D10 , for example, is the average (arithmetic) particle diameter. The Sauter mean diameter (SMD), D32 , is the diameter of a particle whose ratio of volume to surface area is equal to that of all particles in the computation. A summary of common mean diameters is given in Table 23.12.1. Table 23.12.1: Common Mean Diameters and Their Fields of Application j 1 2 3 2 3 3 4 k 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 Order j+k 1 2 3 3 4 5 7 Name Mean diameter, D10 Mean surface diameter, D20 Mean volume diameter, D30 Overall surface diameter, D21 Overall volume diameter, D31 Sauter mean diameter, D32 De Brouckere diameter, D43 Field of Application Comparisons, evaporation Absorption Hydrology Adsorption Evaporation, molecular diusion Combustion, mass transfer, and eciency studies Combustion equilibrium
Summary information (number, mass, average diameter) for particles currently in the computational domain can be reported using the Particle Summary panel (Figure 23.12.4).
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Figure 23.12.4: The Particle Summary Panel
Report Discrete Phase Summary... The procedure for reporting a summary for particle injections is as follows: 1. Select the particle injection(s) for which you want to generate a summary in the Injections list. FLUENT provides a shortcut for selecting injections with names that match a specied pattern. To use this shortcut, enter the pattern under Injection Name Pattern and then click Match to select the injections with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify drop*, all injections that have names beginning with drop (e.g., drop-1, droplet) will be selected automatically. If they are all selected already, they will be deselected. If you specify drop?, all surfaces with names consisting of drop followed by a single character will be selected (or deselected, if they are all selected already). 2. Click Summary to display the injection summary in the console window.
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(*)- Summary for Injection: injection-0 -(*) Total number of parcels : Total number of particles : Total mass : Maximum RMS distance from injector : Maximum particle diameter : Minimum particle diameter : Overall RR Spread Parameter : Maximum Error in RR fit : Overall RR diameter (D_RR): Overall mean diameter (D_10): Overall mean surface area (D_20): Overall mean volume (D_30): Overall surface diameter (D_21): Overall volume diameter (D_31): Overall Sauter diameter (D_32): Overall De Brouckere diameter (D_43): 1862 1.196710e+05 1.128303e-05 7.372527e-01 3.072739e-04 1.756993e-06 1.446806e+00 1.071220e-01 9.051303e-05 4.663269e-05 5.344694e-05 6.121478e-05 6.125692e-05 7.013570e-05 8.030141e-05 1.082971e-04
(kg) (m) (m) (m)
(m) (m) (m) (m) (m) (m) (m) (m)
23.12.9
Postprocessing of Erosion/Accretion Rates
You can calculate the erosion and accretion rates in a cumulative manner (over a series of injections) by using the Sample Trajectories panel. First select an injection in the Release From Injections list and compute its trajectory. Then turn on the Accumulate Erosion/Accretion Rates option, select the next injection (after deselecting the rst one), and click Compute again. The rates will accumulate at the surfaces each time you click Compute.
Both the erosion rate and the accretion rate are dened at wall face surfaces only, so they cannot be displayed at node values.
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Chapter 24.
General Multiphase Models
This chapter discusses the general multiphase models that are available in FLUENT. Chapter 22: Introduction to Modeling Multiphase Flows provides a brief introduction to multiphase modeling, Chapter 23: Discrete Phase Models discusses the Lagrangian dispersed phase model, and Chapter 25: Modeling Solidication and Melting describes FLUENTs model for solidication and melting. Section 24.1: Choosing a General Multiphase Model Section 24.2: Volume of Fluid (VOF) Model Section 24.3: Mixture Model Section 24.4: Eulerian Model Section 24.5: Wet Steam Model Section 24.6: Description of Mass Transfer Section 24.7: Multiphase Species Transport Section 24.8: Setting Up a General Multiphase Problem Section 24.9: Solution Strategies for General Multiphase Problems Section 24.10: Postprocessing for General Multiphase Problems
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24.1
Choosing a General Multiphase Model
As discussed in Section 22.4: Choosing a Multiphase Model, the VOF model is appropriate for stratied or free-surface ows, and the mixture and Eulerian models are appropriate for ows in which the phases mix or separate and/or dispersed-phase volume fractions exceed 10%. (Flows in which the dispersed-phase volume fractions are less than or equal to 10% can be modeled using the discrete phase model described in Chapter 23: Discrete Phase Models.) To choose between the mixture model and the Eulerian model, you should consider the following, in addition to the detailed guidelines in Section 22.4: Choosing a Multiphase Model: If there is a wide distribution of the dispersed phases (i.e., if the particles vary in size and the largest particles do not separate from the primary ow eld), the mixture model may be preferable (i.e., less computationally expensive). If the dispersed phases are concentrated just in portions of the domain, you should use the Eulerian model instead. If interphase drag laws that are applicable to your system are available (either within FLUENT or through a user-dened function), the Eulerian model can usually provide more accurate results than the mixture model. Even though you can apply the same drag laws to the mixture model, as you can for a non-granular Eulerian simulation, if the interphase drag laws are unknown or their applicability to your system is questionable, the mixture model may be a better choice. For most cases with spherical particles, then the Schiller-Naumann law is more than adequate. For cases with non-spherical particles, then a user-dened function can be used. If you want to solve a simpler problem, which requires less computational eort, the mixture model may be a better option, since it solves a smaller number of equations than the Eulerian model. If accuracy is more important than computational eort, the Eulerian model is a better choice. Keep in mind, however, that the complexity of the Eulerian model can make it less computationally stable than the mixture model. Brief overviews of the three models, including their limitations, are provided in Sections 24.1.1, 24.1.2, and 24.1.3. Detailed descriptions of the models are provided in Sections 24.2, 24.3, and 24.4. FLUENTs multiphase models are compatible with FLUENTs dynamic mesh modeling feature. For more information on the dynamic mesh feature, see Section 10.6: Dynamic Meshes. For more information about how other FLUENT models are compatible with FLUENTs multiphase models, see Appendix A: FLUENT Model Compatibility.
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24.1 Choosing a General Multiphase Model
24.1.1
Overview and Limitations of the VOF Model
Overview
The VOF model can model two or more immiscible uids by solving a single set of momentum equations and tracking the volume fraction of each of the uids throughout the domain. Typical applications include the prediction of jet breakup, the motion of large bubbles in a liquid, the motion of liquid after a dam break, and the steady or transient tracking of any liquid-gas interface.
Limitations
The following restrictions apply to the VOF model in FLUENT: You must use the segregated solver. The VOF model is not available with either of the coupled solvers. All control volumes must be lled with either a single uid phase or a combination of phases; the VOF model does not allow for void regions where no uid of any type is present. Only one of the phases can be dened as a compressible ideal gas. There is no limitation on using compressible liquids using user-dened functions. Streamwise periodic ow (either specied mass ow rate or specied pressure drop) cannot be modeled when the VOF model is used. The LES turbulence model cannot be used with the VOF model. The second-order implicit time-stepping formulation cannot be used with the VOF model. The shell conduction model for walls cannot be used with the VOF model.
Steady-State and Transient VOF Calculations

The VOF formulation in FLUENT is generally used to compute a time-dependent solution, but for problems in which you are concerned only with a steady-state solution, it is possible to perform a steady-state calculation. A steady-state VOF calculation is sensible only when your solution is independent of the initial conditions and there are distinct inow boundaries for the individual phases. For example, since the shape of the free surface inside a rotating cup depends on the initial level of the uid, such a problem must be solved using the time-dependent formulation. On the other hand, the ow of water in a channel with a region of air on top and a separate air inlet can be solved with the steady-state formulation.
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24.1.2
Overview and Limitations of the Mixture Model
Overview
The mixture model is a simplied multiphase model that can be used to model multiphase ows where the phases move at dierent velocities, but assume local equilibrium over short spatial length scales. The coupling between the phases should be strong. It can also be used to model homogeneous multiphase ows with very strong coupling and the phases moving at the same velocity. In addition, the mixture model can be used to calculate non-Newtonian viscosity. The mixture model can model n phases (uid or particulate) by solving the momentum, continuity, and energy equations for the mixture, the volume fraction equations for the secondary phases, and algebraic expressions for the relative velocities. Typical applications include sedimentation, cyclone separators, particle-laden ows with low loading, and bubbly ows where the gas volume fraction remains low. The mixture model is a good substitute for the full Eulerian multiphase model in several cases. A full multiphase model may not be feasible when there is a wide distribution of the particulate phase or when the interphase laws are unknown or their reliability can be questioned. A simpler model like the mixture model can perform as well as a full multiphase model while solving a smaller number of variables than the full multiphase model. The mixture model allows you to select granular phases and calculates all properties of the granular phases. This is applicable for liquid-solid ows.
Limitations
The following limitations apply to the mixture model in FLUENT: You must use the segregated solver. The mixture model is not available with either of the coupled solvers. Only one of the phases can be dened as a compressible ideal gas. There is no limitation on using compressible liquids using user-dened functions. Streamwise periodic ow with specied mass ow rate cannot be modeled when the mixture model is used (the user is allowed to specify a pressure drop). Solidication and melting cannot be modeled in conjunction with the mixture model. The LES turbulence model cannot be used with the mixture model. The second-order implicit time-stepping formulation cannot be used with the mixture model.
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24.1 Choosing a General Multiphase Model
The mixture model cannot be used for inviscid ows. The shell conduction model for walls cannot be used with the mixture model.
24.1.3
Overview and Limitations of the Eulerian Model
Overview
The Eulerian multiphase model in FLUENT allows for the modeling of multiple separate, yet interacting phases. The phases can be liquids, gases, or solids in nearly any combination. An Eulerian treatment is used for each phase, in contrast to the EulerianLagrangian treatment that is used for the discrete phase model. With the Eulerian multiphase model, the number of secondary phases is limited only by memory requirements and convergence behavior. Any number of secondary phases can be modeled, provided that sucient memory is available. For complex multiphase ows, however, you may nd that your solution is limited by convergence behavior. See Section 24.9.3: Solution Strategies for the Eulerian Model for multiphase modeling strategies. FLUENTs Eulerian multiphase model diers from the Eulerian model in FLUENT 4 in that there is no global distinction between uid-uid and uid-solid (granular) multiphase ows. A granular ow is simply one that involves at least one phase that has been designated as a granular phase. The FLUENT solution is based on the following: A single pressure is shared by all phases. Momentum and continuity equations are solved for each phase. The following parameters are available for granular phases: Granular temperature (solids uctuating energy) can be calculated for each solid phase. You can select either an algebraic formulation, a constant, a user-dened function, or a partial dierential equation. Solid-phase shear and bulk viscosities are obtained by applying kinetic theory to granular ows. Frictional viscosity is also available. You can select appropriate models and user-dened functions for all properties. Several interphase drag coecient functions are available, which are appropriate for various types of multiphase regimes. (You can also modify the interphase drag coecient through user-dened functions, as described in the separate UDF Manual.) All of the k- turbulence models are available, and may apply to all phases or to the mixture.
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Limitations
All other features available in FLUENT can be used in conjunction with the Eulerian multiphase model, except for the following limitations: The Reynolds Stress turbulence model is not available on a per phase basis. Particle tracking (using the Lagrangian dispersed phase model) interacts only with the primary phase. Streamwise periodic ow with specied mass ow rate cannot be modeled when the Eulerian model is used (the user is allowed to specify a pressure drop). Compressible ow is not allowed. Inviscid ow is not allowed. The second-order implicit time-stepping formulation cannot be used with the Eulerian model. Melting and solidication are not allowed.
Stability and Convergence

The process of solving a multiphase system is inherently dicult, and you may encounter some stability or convergence problems, although the current algorithm is more stable than that used in FLUENT 4. If a time-dependent problem is being solved, and patched elds are used for the initial conditions, it is recommended that you perform a few iterations with a small time step, at least an order of magnitude smaller than the characteristic time of the ow. You can increase the size of the time step after performing a few time steps. For steady solutions it is recommended that you start with a small under-relaxation factor for the volume fraction, it is also recommended no to start with a patch of volume fraction equal to zero. Another option is to start with a mixture multiphase calculation, and then switch to the Eulerian multiphase model. Stratied ows of immiscible uids should be solved with the VOF model (see Section 24.2: Volume of Fluid (VOF) Model). Some problems involving small volume fractions can be solved more eciently with the Lagrangian discrete phase model (see Chapter 23: Discrete Phase Models). Many stability and convergence problems can be minimized if care is taken during the setup and solution processes (see Section 24.9.3: Solution Strategies for the Eulerian Model).
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24.2 Volume of Fluid (VOF) Model
24.2
Volume of Fluid (VOF) Model
The VOF formulation relies on the fact that two or more uids (or phases) are not interpenetrating. For each additional phase that you add to your model, a variable is introduced: the volume fraction of the phase in the computational cell. In each control volume, the volume fractions of all phases sum to unity. The elds for all variables and properties are shared by the phases and represent volume-averaged values, as long as the volume fraction of each of the phases is known at each location. Thus the variables and properties in any given cell are either purely representative of one of the phases, or representative of a mixture of the phases, depending upon the volume fraction values. In other words, if the qth uids volume fraction in the cell is denoted as q , then the following three conditions are possible: q = 0: the cell is empty (of the qth uid). q = 1: the cell is full (of the qth uid) 0 < q < 1: the cell contains the interface between the qth uid and one or more other uids. Based on the local value of q , the appropriate properties and variables will be assigned to each control volume within the domain.
24.2.1
The Volume Fraction Equation
The tracking of the interface(s) between the phases is accomplished by the solution of a continuity equation for the volume fraction of one (or more) of the phases. For the qth phase, this equation has the following form: 1 (q q ) + q t
(q q vq ) = Sq +
p=1
(mpq mqp )
(24.2-1)
where mqp is the mass transfer from phase q to phase p and mpq is the mass transfer from phase p to phase q. By default, the source term on the right-hand side of Equation 24.2-1, Sq , is zero, but you can specify a constant or user-dened mass source for each phase. See Section 24.6: Description of Mass Transfer for more information on the modeling of mass transfer in FLUENTs general multiphase models. The volume fraction equation will not be solved for the primary phase; the primary-phase volume fraction will be computed based on the following constraint:
n
q = 1
q=1
(24.2-2)
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24.2.2
Properties
The properties appearing in the transport equations are determined by the presence of the component phases in each control volume. In a two-phase system, for example, if the phases are represented by the subscripts 1 and 2, and if the volume fraction of the second of these is being tracked, the density in each cell is given by = 2 2 + (1 2 )1 (24.2-3)
In general, for an n-phase system, the volume-fraction-averaged density takes on the following form: = q q (24.2-4)
All other properties (e.g., viscosity) are computed in this manner.
24.2.3
The Momentum Equation
A single momentum equation is solved throughout the domain, and the resulting velocity eld is shared among the phases. The momentum equation, shown below, is dependent on the volume fractions of all phases through the properties and . (v) + t (vv) = p + v+ vT + g + F (24.2-5)
One limitation of the shared-elds approximation is that in cases where large velocity dierences exist between the phases, the accuracy of the velocities computed near the interface can be adversely aected.
24.2.4
The Energy Equation
The energy equation, also shared among the phases, is shown below. (E) + t (v(E + p)) = (ke T ) + Sh (24.2-6)
The VOF model treats energy, E, and temperature, T , as mass-averaged variables:

n
q q Eq E=
q=1 n
(24.2-7) q q
q=1
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where Eq for each phase is based on the specic heat of that phase and the shared temperature. The properties and ke (eective thermal conductivity) are shared by the phases. The source term, Sh , contains contributions from radiation, as well as any other volumetric heat sources. As with the velocity eld, the accuracy of the temperature near the interface is limited in cases where large temperature dierences exist between the phases. Such problems also arise in cases where the properties vary by several orders of magnitude. For example, if a model includes liquid metal in combination with air, the conductivities of the materials can dier by as much as four orders of magnitude. Such large discrepancies in properties lead to equation sets with anisotropic coecients, which in turn can lead to convergence and precision limitations.
24.2.5
Additional Scalar Equations
Depending upon your problem denition, additional scalar equations may be involved in your solution. In the case of turbulence quantities, a single set of transport equations is solved, and the turbulence variables (e.g., k and or the Reynolds stresses) are shared by the phases throughout the eld.
24.2.6
Interpolation Near the Interface
FLUENTs control-volume formulation requires that convection and diusion uxes through the control volume faces be computed and balanced with source terms within the control volume itself. There are four schemes in FLUENT for the calculation of face uxes for the VOF model: geometric reconstruction, donor-acceptor, Euler explicit, and implicit. In the geometric reconstruction and donor-acceptor schemes, FLUENT applies a special interpolation treatment to the cells that lie near the interface between two phases. Figure 24.2.1 shows an actual interface shape along with the interfaces assumed during computation by these two methods. The Euler explicit scheme and the implicit scheme treat these cells with the same interpolation as the cells that are completely lled with one phase or the other (i.e., using the standard upwind, second-order, QUICK, or modied HRIC scheme), rather than applying a special treatment.
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actual interface shape
interface shape represented by the geometric reconstruction (piecewise-linear) scheme
interface shape represented by the donor-acceptor scheme
Figure 24.2.1: Interface Calculations
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The Geometric Reconstruction Scheme

In the geometric reconstruction approach, the standard interpolation schemes that are used in FLUENT are used to obtain the face uxes whenever a cell is completely lled with one phase or another. When the cell is near the interface between two phases, the geometric reconstruction scheme is used. The geometric reconstruction scheme represents the interface between uids using a piecewise-linear approach. In FLUENT this scheme is the most accurate and is applicable for general unstructured meshes. The geometric reconstruction scheme is generalized for unstructured meshes from the work of Youngs [387]. It assumes that the interface between two uids has a linear slope within each cell, and uses this linear shape for calculation of the advection of uid through the cell faces. (See Figure 24.2.1.) The rst step in this reconstruction scheme is calculating the position of the linear interface relative to the center of each partially-lled cell, based on information about the volume fraction and its derivatives in the cell. The second step is calculating the advecting amount of uid through each face using the computed linear interface representation and information about the normal and tangential velocity distribution on the face. The third step is calculating the volume fraction in each cell using the balance of uxes calculated during the previous step.
When the geometric reconstruction scheme is used, a time-dependent solution must be computed. Also, if you are using a conformal grid (i.e., if the grid node locations are identical at the boundaries where two subdomains meet), you must ensure that there are no two-sided (zero-thickness) walls within the domain. If there are, you will need to slit them, as described in Section 6.7.9: Slitting Face Zones.
The Donor-Acceptor Scheme

In the donor-acceptor approach, the standard interpolation schemes that are used in FLUENT are used to obtain the face uxes whenever a cell is completely lled with one phase or another. When the cell is near the interface between two phases, a donoracceptor scheme is used to determine the amount of uid advected through the face [134]. This scheme identies one cell as a donor of an amount of uid from one phase and another (neighbor) cell as the acceptor of that same amount of uid, and is used to prevent numerical diusion at the interface. The amount of uid from one phase that can be convected across a cell boundary is limited by the minimum of two values: the lled volume in the donor cell or the free volume in the acceptor cell. The orientation of the interface is also used in determining the face uxes. The interface orientation is either horizontal or vertical, depending on the direction of the volume fraction gradient of the qth phase within the cell, and that of the neighbor cell that shares the face in question. Depending on the interfaces orientation as well as its motion, ux
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values are obtained by pure upwinding, pure downwinding, or some combination of the two.
When the donor-acceptor scheme is used, a time-dependent solution must be computed. Also, the donor-acceptor scheme can be used only with quadrilateral or hexahedral meshes. In addition, if you are using a conformal grid (i.e., if the grid node locations are identical at the boundaries where two subdomains meet), you must ensure that there are no two-sided (zero-thickness) walls within the domain. If there are, you will need to slit them, as described in Section 6.7.9: Slitting Face Zones.
The Euler Explicit Scheme

In the Euler explicit approach, FLUENTs standard nite-dierence interpolation schemes are applied to the volume fraction values that were computed at the previous time step.
n+1 n q n+1 q n q q V + t
n n (q Uf q,f ) =
p=1
(mpq mqp ) + Sq V
(24.2-8)
where
n + 1 = index for new (current) time step n = index for previous time step q,f = face value of the qth volume fraction, computed from the rstor second-order upwind, QUICK, or modied HRIC scheme V = volume of cell Uf = volume ux through the face, based on normal velocity
This formulation does not require iterative solution of the transport equation during each time step, as is needed for the implicit scheme.
When the Euler explicit scheme is used, a time-dependent solution must be computed.
The Implicit Scheme

In the implicit interpolation method, FLUENTs standard nite-dierence interpolation schemes, including the modied HRIC scheme, are used to obtain the face uxes for all cells, including those near the interface.
n+1 n q n+1 q n q q V + t
n+1 n+1 (n+1 Uf q,f ) = Sq + q
n p=1
(mpq mqp ) V
(24.2-9)
Since this equation requires the volume fraction values at the current time step (rather than at the previous step, as for the Euler explicit scheme), a standard scalar transport
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equation is solved iteratively for each of the secondary-phase volume fractions at each time step. The implicit scheme can be used for both time-dependent and steady-state calculations. See Section 24.8.4: Selecting the VOF Formulation for details.
24.2.7
Time Dependence
For time-dependent VOF calculations, Equation 24.2-1 is solved using an explicit timemarching scheme. FLUENT automatically renes the time step for the integration of the volume fraction equation, but you can inuence this time step calculation by modifying the Courant number. You can choose to update the volume fraction once for each time step, or once for each iteration within each time step. These options are discussed in more detail in Section 24.8.18: Setting Time-Dependent Parameters for the VOF Model.
24.2.8
Surface Tension and Wall Adhesion
The VOF model can also include the eects of surface tension along the interface between each pair of phases. The model can be augmented by the additional specication of the contact angles between the phases and the walls. You can specify a surface tension coecient as a constant, as a function of temperature, or through a UDF. The solver will include the additional tangential stress terms (causing what is termed as Marangoni convection) that arise due to the variation in surface tension coecient. Variable surface tension coecient eects are usually important only in zero/near-zero gravity conditions.
Surface Tension
Surface tension arises as a result of attractive forces between molecules in a uid. Consider an air bubble in water, for example. Within the bubble, the net force on a molecule due to its neighbors is zero. At the surface, however, the net force is radially inward, and the combined eect of the radial components of force across the entire spherical surface is to make the surface contract, thereby increasing the pressure on the concave side of the surface. The surface tension is a force, acting only at the surface, that is required to maintain equilibrium in such instances. It acts to balance the radially inward intermolecular attractive force with the radially outward pressure gradient force across the surface. In regions where two uids are separated, but one of them is not in the form of spherical bubbles, the surface tension acts to minimize free energy by decreasing the area of the interface. The surface tension model in FLUENT is the continuum surface force (CSF) model proposed by Brackbill et al. [36]. With this model, the addition of surface tension to the VOF calculation results in a source term in the momentum equation. To understand the origin of the source term, consider the special case where the surface tension is constant along the surface, and where only the forces normal to the interface are considered. It can
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be shown that the pressure drop across the surface depends upon the surface tension coecient, , and the surface curvature as measured by two radii in orthogonal directions, R1 and R2 : p2 p1 = 1 1 + R1 R2 (24.2-10)
where p1 and p2 are the pressures in the two uids on either side of the interface. In FLUENT, a formulation of the CSF model is used, where the surface curvature is computed from local gradients in the surface normal at the interface. Let n be the surface normal, dened as the gradient of q , the volume fraction of the qth phase. n= q (24.2-11)
The curvature, , is dened in terms of the divergence of the unit normal, n [36]: = where n= n |n| (24.2-13) n (24.2-12)
The surface tension can be written in terms of the pressure jump across the surface. The force at the surface can be expressed as a volume force using the divergence theorem. It is this volume force that is the source term which is added to the momentum equation. It has the following form: Fvol =
pairs ij, i<j
ij
i i j j + j j i i 1 (i + j ) 2
(24.2-14)
This expression allows for a smooth superposition of forces near cells where more than two phases are present. If only two phases are present in a cell, then i = j and i = j , and Equation 24.2-14 simplies to Fvol = ij 1 i i (i + j ) 2 (24.2-15)
where is the volume-averaged density computed using Equation 24.2-4. Equation 24.2-15 shows that the surface tension source term for a cell is proportional to the average density in the cell.
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Note that the calculation of surface tension eects on triangular and tetrahedral meshes is not as accurate as on quadrilateral and hexahedral meshes. The region where surface tension eects are most important should therefore be meshed with quadrilaterals or hexahedra. When Surface Tension Effects are Important The importance of surface tension eects is determined based on the value of two dimensionless quantities: the Reynolds number, Re, and the capillary number, Ca; or the Reynolds number, Re, and the Weber number, We. For Re 1, the quantity of interest is the capillary number: Ca = and for Re U (24.2-16)
1, the quantity of interest is the Weber number: We = LU 2 (24.2-17) 1
where U is the free-stream velocity. Surface tension eects can be neglected if Ca or We 1.
Several surface tension options are provided through the text user interface (TUI) using the solve/set/surface-tension command: solve set surface-tension The surface-tension command prompts you for the following information: Whether you require node-based smoothing. The default value is no indicating that cell-based smoothing will be used for the VOF calculations. The number of smoothings. The default value is 1. A higher value can be used in case of tetrahedral and triangular meshes in order to reduce any spurious velocities. The smoothing relaxation factor. The default is 1. This is useful in the cases where VOF smoothing causes a problem (e.g., liquid enters through the inlet with wall adhesion on). Whether you want to use VOF gradients at the nodes for curvature calculations. With this option, FLUENT uses VOF gradients directly from the nodes to calculate the curvature for surface tension forces. The default is yes which produces better results with surface tension compared to gradients that are calculated at the cell centers.
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Wall Adhesion
An option to specify a wall adhesion angle in conjunction with the surface tension model is also available in the VOF model. The model is taken from work done by Brackbill et al. [36]. Rather than impose this boundary condition at the wall itself, the contact angle that the uid is assumed to make with the wall is used to adjust the surface normal in cells near the wall. This so-called dynamic boundary condition results in the adjustment of the curvature of the surface near the wall. If w is the contact angle at the wall, then the surface normal at the live cell next to the wall is n = nw cos w + tw sin w (24.2-18)
where nw and tw are the unit vectors normal and tangential to the wall, respectively. The combination of this contact angle with the normally calculated surface normal one cell away from the wall determine the local curvature of the surface, and this curvature is used to adjust the body force term in the surface tension calculation. The contact angle w is the angle between the wall and the tangent to the interface at the wall, measured inside the rst phase of the pair listed in the Wall panel, as shown in Figure 24.2.2.
second phase
interface w
rst phase
wall
Figure 24.2.2: Measuring the Contact Angle
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24.2.9
Open Channel Flow
FLUENT can model the eects of open channel ow (e.g., rivers, dams, and surfacepiercing structures in unbounded stream) using the VOF formulation and the open channel boundary condition. These ows involve the existence of a free surface between the owing uid and uid above it (generally the atmosphere). In such cases, the wave propagation and free surface behavior becomes important. Flow is generally governed by the forces of gravity and inertia. This feature is mostly applicable to marine applications and the analysis of ows through drainage systems. Open channel ows are characterized by the dimensionless Froude Number, which is dened as the ratio of inertia force and hydrostatic force. V Fr = gy (24.2-19)
where V is the velocity magnitude, g is gravity, and y is a length scale, in this case, the distance from the bottom of the channel to the free surface. The denominator in Equation 24.2-19 is the propagation speed of the wave. The wave speed as seen by the xed observer is dened as Vw = V gy (24.2-20)
Based on the Froude number, open channel ows can be classied in the three categories. When F r < 1, i.e., V < gy (thus Vw < 0 or Vw > 0), the ow is known to be subcritical where disturbances can travel upstream as well as downstream. In this case, downstream conditions might aect the ow upstream. When F r = 1 (thus Vw = 0), the ow is known to be critical, where upstream propagating waves remain stationary. In this case, the character of the ow changes. When F r > 1, i.e., V > gy (thus Vw > 0), the ow is known to be supercritical where disturbances cannot travel upstream. In this case, downstream conditions do not aect the ow upstream.
Upstream Boundary Conditions

There are two options available for the upstream boundary condition for open channel ows: Pressure inlet Mass ow rate
24-17
Pressure Inlet The total pressure p0 at the inlet can be given as 1 g p0 = ( 0 )V 2 + ( 0 )| |( ( b )) g a 2 (24.2-21)
where b and are the position vectors of the face centroid and any point on the free a surface, respectively, Here, free surface is assumed to be horizontal and normal to the direction of gravity. is the gravity vector, | | is the gravity magnitude, g is the unit g g vector of gravity, V is the velocity magnitude, is the density of the mixture in the cell, and 0 is the reference density. From this, the dynamic pressure q is q= and the static pressure ps is g ps = ( 0 )| |( ( b )) g a which can be further expanded to g ps = ( 0 )| |(( b ) + ylocal ) g where the distance from the free surface to the reference position, ylocal , is ylocal = ( g ) a Mass Flow Rate The mass ow rate for each phase associated with the open channel ow is dened by mphase = phase (Areaphase )(V elocity) (24.2-26) (24.2-25) (24.2-24) (24.2-23) 0 2 V 2 (24.2-22)
24-18
Volume Fraction Specication In open channel ows, FLUENT internally calculates the volume fraction based on the input parameters specied in the Boundary Conditions panel, therefore this option has been disabled. For subcritical inlet ows (Fr < 1), FLUENTreconstructs the volume fraction values on the boundary by using the values from the neighboring cells. This can be accomplished using the following procedure: Calculate the node values of volume fraction at the boundary using the cell values. Calculate the volume fraction at the each face of boundary using the interpolated node values. For supercritical inlet ows (Fr > 1), the volume fraction value on the boundary can be calculated using the xed height of the free surface from the bottom.
Downstream Boundary Conditions

Pressure Outlet Determining the static pressure is dependant on the Pressure Specication Method. Using the Free Surface Level, the static pressure is dictated by Equation 24.2-23 and Equation 24.2-25, otherwise you must specify the static pressure as the Gauge Pressure. For subcritical outlet ows (Fr < 1), if there are only two phases, then the pressure is taken from the pressure prole specied over the boundary, otherwise the pressure is taken from the neighboring cell. For supercritical ows (Fr >1), the pressure is always taken from the neighboring cell. Backow Volume Fraction Specication FLUENT internally calculates the volume fraction values on the outlet boundary by using the neighboring cell values, therefore, this option is disabled.
24-19
24.3
Mixture Model
The mixture model, like the VOF model, uses a single-uid approach. It diers from the VOF model in two respects: The mixture model allows the phases to be interpenetrating. The volume fractions q and p for a control volume can therefore be equal to any value between 0 and 1, depending on the space occupied by phase q and phase p. The mixture model allows the phases to move at dierent velocities, using the concept of slip velocities. (Note that the phases can also be assumed to move at the same velocity, and the mixture model is then reduced to a homogeneous multiphase model.) The mixture model solves the continuity equation for the mixture, the momentum equation for the mixture, the energy equation for the mixture, and the volume fraction equation for the secondary phases, as well as algebraic expressions for the relative velocities (if the phases are moving at dierent velocities).
24.3.1
Continuity Equation for the Mixture
The continuity equation for the mixture is (m ) + t where vm is the mass-averaged velocity: vm = and m is the mixture density:
n n k=1
(m vm ) = 0
(24.3-1)
k k vk m
(24.3-2)
m =
k=1
k k
(24.3-3)
k is the volume fraction of phase k.
24-20
24.3 Mixture Model
24.3.2
Momentum Equation for the Mixture
The momentum equation for the mixture can be obtained by summing the individual momentum equations for all phases. It can be expressed as (m vm ) + t (m vm vm ) = p +
n
vm +
T vm
+ (24.3-4)
m g + F +
k=1
k k vdr,k vdr,k
where n is the number of phases, F is a body force, and m is the viscosity of the mixture:
n
m =
k=1
k k
(24.3-5)
vdr,k is the drift velocity for secondary phase k: vdr,k = vk vm (24.3-6)
24.3.3
Energy Equation for the Mixture
The energy equation for the mixture takes the following form: n (k k Ek ) + t k=1
n
k=1
(k vk (k Ek + p)) =
(ke T ) + SE
(24.3-7)
where ke is the eective conductivity ( k (kk + kt )), where kt is the turbulent thermal conductivity, dened according to the turbulence model being used). The rst term on the right-hand side of Equation 24.3-7 represents energy transfer due to conduction. SE includes any other volumetric heat sources. In Equation 24.3-7, Ek = hk p v2 + k k 2 (24.3-8)
for a compressible phase, and Ek = hk for an incompressible phase, where hk is the sensible enthalpy for phase k.
24-21
24.3.4
Relative (Slip) Velocity and the Drift Velocity
The relative velocity (also referred to as the slip velocity) is dened as the velocity of a secondary phase (p) relative to the velocity of the primary phase (q): vpq = vp vq The mass fraction for any phase (k) is dened as ck = k k m (24.3-10) (24.3-9)
The drift velocity and the relative velocity (vqp ) are connected by the following expression:
n
vdr,p = vpq
k=1
ck vqk
(24.3-11)
FLUENTs mixture model makes use of an algebraic slip formulation. The basic assumption of the algebraic slip mixture model is that to prescribe an algebraic relation for the relative velocity, a local equilibrium between the phases should be reached over short spatial length scale. Following Manninen et al. [216], the form of the relative velocity is given by: vpq = where p is the particle relaxation time p = p d2 p 18q (24.3-13) p (p m ) a fdrag p (24.3-12)
d is the diameter of the particles (or droplets or bubbles) of secondary phase p, a is the secondary-phase particles acceleration. The default drag function fdrag is taken from Schiller and Naumann [297]: 1 + 0.15 Re0.687 Re 1000 0.0183 Re Re > 1000
fdrag =
(24.3-14)
and the acceleration a is of the form a = g (vm )vm vm t (24.3-15)
24-22
24.3 Mixture Model
The simplest algebraic slip formulation is the so-called drift ux model, in which the acceleration of the particle is given by gravity and/or a centrifugal force and the particulate relaxation time is modied to take into account the presence of other particles. In turbulent ows the relative velocity should contain a diusion term due to the dispersion appearing in the momentum equation for the dispersed phase. FLUENT adds this dispersion to the relative velocity: (p m )d2 m p = a q 18q fdrag p D
vpq
(24.3-16)
where (m ) is the mixture turbulent viscosity and (D ) is a Prandtl dispersion coecient. When you are solving a mixture multiphase calculation with slip velocity, you can directly prescribe formulations for the drag function. The available choices are: Schiller-Naumann (the default formulation) Morsi-Alexander Symmetric Constant User-dened See Section 24.4.3: Interphase Exchange Coecients for more information on these drag functions and their formulations, and Section 24.8.9: Dening Phases for the Mixture Model for instructions on how to enable them. Note that, if the slip velocity is not solved, the mixture model is reduced to a homogeneous multiphase model. In addition, the mixture model can be customized (using user-dened functions) to use a formulation other than the algebraic slip method for the slip velocity. See the separate UDF Manual for details.
24-23
24.3.5
Volume Fraction Equation for the Secondary Phases
From the continuity equation for secondary phase p, the volume fraction equation for secondary phase p can be obtained: (p p ) + t
n
(p p vm ) =
(p p vdr,p ) +
q=1
(mqp mpq )
(24.3-17)
24.3.6
Granular Properties in the Mixture Model
Since the concentration of particles is an important factor in the calculation of the eective viscosity for the mixture, we may use the granular viscosity (see section on Eulerian granular ows) to get a value for the viscosity of the suspension. The volume weighted averaged for the viscosity would now contain shear viscosity arising from particle momentum exchange due to translation and collision. The collisional and kinetic parts, and the optional frictional part, are added to give the solids shear viscosity: s = s,col + s,kin + s,fr (24.3-18)
Collisional Viscosity
The collisional part of the shear viscosity is modeled as [112, 340] 4 s = s s ds g0,ss (1 + ess ) 5
1/2
s,col
(24.3-19)
Kinetic Viscosity
FLUENT provides two expressions for the kinetic viscosity. The default expression is from Syamlal et al. [340]: s ds s s 2 = 1 + (1 + ess ) (3ess 1) s g0,ss 6 (3 ess ) 5
s,kin
(24.3-20)
The following optional expression from Gidaspow et al. [112] is also available: 10s ds s 4 1 + g0,ss s (1 + ess ) = 96s (1 + ess ) g0,ss 5
2
s,kin
(24.3-21)
24-24
24.3 Mixture Model
24.3.7
Granular Temperature
The viscosities need the specication of the granular temperature for the sth solids phase. Here we use an algebraic equation derived from the transport equation by neglecting convection and diusion and takes the form [340] 0 = (ps I + s ) : where (ps I + s ) : vs s ls = the generation of energy by the solid stress tensor = the collisional dissipation of energy = the energy exchange between the lth uid or solid phase and the sth solid phase vs s + ls (24.3-22)
The collisional dissipation of energy, s , represents the rate of energy dissipation within the sth solids phase due to collisions between particles. This term is represented by the expression derived by Lun et al. [206] m = 12(1 e2 )g0,ss 2 ss s s 3/2 s ds (24.3-23)
The transfer of the kinetic energy of random uctuations in particle velocity from the sth solids phase to the lth uid or solid phase is represented by ls [112]: ls = 3Kls s (24.3-24)
FLUENT allows you to solve for the granular temperature with the following options: Algebraic formulation (the default). This is obtained by neglecting convection and diusion in the transport equation (Equation 24.3-22) [340]. Constant Granular Temperature. This is useful in very dense situations where the random uctuations are small. UDF for Granular Temperature.
24.3.8
Solids Pressure in the Mixture Model
The total solid pressure is calculated and included in the mixture momentum equations:
N
Ps,total =
q=1
pq
(24.3-25)
where pq is presented in the section for granular ows by equation Equation 24.4-48
24-25
24.4
Eulerian Model
To change from a single-phase model, where a single set of conservation equations for momentum, continuity and (optionally) energy is solved, to a multiphase model, additional sets of conservation equations must be introduced. In the process of introducing additional sets of conservation equations, the original set must also be modied. The modications involve, among other things, the introduction of the volume fractions 1 , 2 , . . . n for the multiple phases, as well as mechanisms for the exchange of momentum, heat, and mass between the phases. Details about the Eulerian multiphase model are presented in the following subsections: Section 24.4.1: Volume Fractions Section 24.4.2: Conservation Equations Section 24.4.3: Interphase Exchange Coecients Section 24.4.4: Solids Pressure Section 24.4.5: Maximum Packing Limit in Binary Mixtures Section 24.4.6: Solids Shear Stresses Section 24.4.7: Granular Temperature Section 24.4.8: Description of Heat Transfer Section 24.4.9: Turbulence Models Section 24.4.10: Solution Method in FLUENT
24.4.1
Volume Fractions
The description of multiphase ow as interpenetrating continua incorporates the concept of phasic volume fractions, denoted here by q . Volume fractions represent the space occupied by each phase, and the laws of conservation of mass and momentum are satised by each phase individually. The derivation of the conservation equations can be done by ensemble averaging the local instantaneous balance for each of the phases [9] or by using the mixture theory approach [33]. The volume of phase q, Vq , is dened by Vq = q dV (24.4-1)
24-26
24.4 Eulerian Model
where
n
q = 1
q=1
(24.4-2)
The eective density of phase q is q = q q where q is the physical density of phase q. (24.4-3)
24.4.2
Conservation Equations
The general conservation equations from which the equations solved by FLUENT are derived are presented in this section, followed by the solved equations themselves.
Equations in General Form

Conservation of Mass The continuity equation for phase q is (q q ) + t
n
(q q vq ) =
p=1
(mpq mqp ) + Sq
(24.4-4)
where vq is the velocity of phase q and mpq characterizes the mass transfer from the pth th to q phase, and mqp characterizes the mass transfer from phase q to phase p, and you are able to specify these mechanisms separately. By default, the source term Sq on the right-hand side of Equation 24.4-4 is zero, but you can specify a constant or user-dened mass source for each phase. A similar term appears in the momentum and enthalpy equations. See Section 24.6: Description of Mass Transfer for more information on the modeling of mass transfer in FLUENTs general multiphase models.
24-27
Conservation of Momentum The momentum balance for phase q yields (q q vq ) + t

n p=1
(q q vq vq ) = q p +
q + q q g+ (24.4-5)
(Rpq + mpq vpq mqp vqp ) + (Fq + Flift,q + Fvm,q ) where q is the q th phase stress-strain tensor q = q q ( vq + 2 T vq ) + q (q q ) 3 vq I
(24.4-6)
Here q and q are the shear and bulk viscosity of phase q, Fq is an external body force, Flift,q is a lift force, Fvm,q is a virtual mass force, Rpq is an interaction force between phases, and p is the pressure shared by all phases. vpq is the interphase velocity, dened as follows. If mpq > 0 (i.e., phase p mass is being transferred to phase q), vpq = vp ; if mpq < 0 (i.e., phase q mass is being transferred to phase p), vpq = vq . Likewise, if mqp > 0 then vqp = vq , if mqp < 0 then vqp = vp . Equation 24.4-5 must be closed with appropriate expressions for the interphase force Rpq . This force depends on the friction, pressure, cohesion, and other eects, and is subject to the conditions that Rpq = Rqp and Rqq = 0. FLUENT uses a simple interaction term of the following form:
n n
Rpq =
p=1 p=1
Kpq (vp vq )
(24.4-7)
where Kpq (= Kqp ) is the interphase momentum exchange coecient (described in Section 24.4.3: Interphase Exchange Coecients). Lift Forces For multiphase ows, FLUENT can include the eect of lift forces on the secondary phase particles (or droplets or bubbles). These lift forces act on a particle mainly due to velocity gradients in the primary-phase ow eld. The lift force will be more signicant for larger particles, but the FLUENT model assumes that the particle diameter is much smaller than the interparticle spacing. Thus, the inclusion of lift forces is not appropriate for closely packed particles or for very small particles.
24-28
24.4 Eulerian Model
The lift force acting on a secondary phase p in a primary phase q is computed from [82] Flift = 0.5q p (vq vp ) ( vq ) (24.4-8)
The lift force Flift will be added to the right-hand side of the momentum equation for both phases (Flift,q = Flift,p ). In most cases, the lift force is insignicant compared to the drag force, so there is no reason to include this extra term. If the lift force is signicant (e.g., if the phases separate quickly), it may be appropriate to include this term. By default, Flift is not included. The lift force and lift coecient can be specied for each pair of phases, if desired.
It is important that if you include the lift force in your calculation, you need not include it everywhere in the computational domain since it is computationally expensive to converge. For example, in the wall boundary layer for turbulent bubbly ows in channels, the lift force is signicant when the slip velocity is large in the vicinity of high strain rates for the primary phase.
Virtual Mass Force For multiphase ows, FLUENT includes the virtual mass eect that occurs when a secondary phase p accelerates relative to the primary phase q. The inertia of the primaryphase mass encountered by the accelerating particles (or droplets or bubbles) exerts a virtual mass force on the particles [82]: dq vq dp vp dt dt
Fvm = 0.5p q The term

dq dt
(24.4-9)
denotes the phase material time derivative of the form dq () () = + (vq dt t ) (24.4-10)
The virtual mass force Fvm will be added to the right-hand side of the momentum equation for both phases (Fvm,q = Fvm,p ). The virtual mass eect is signicant when the secondary phase density is much smaller than the primary phase density (e.g., for a transient bubble column). By default, Fvm is not included.
24-29
Conservation of Energy To describe the conservation of energy in Eulerian multiphase applications, a separate enthalpy equation can be written for each phase:
pq (q q hq )+ (q q uq hq ) = q + q : t t
uq qq +Sq +
p=1
(Qpq + mpq hpq mqp hqp ) (24.4-11)
where hq is the specic enthalpy of the q th phase, qq is the heat ux, Sq is a source term that includes sources of enthalpy (e.g., due to chemical reaction or radiation), Qpq is the intensity of heat exchange between the pth and q th phases, and hpq is the interphase enthalpy (e.g., the enthalpy of the vapor at the temperature of the droplets, in the case of evaporation). The heat exchange between phases must comply with the local balance conditions Qpq = Qqp and Qqq = 0.
Equations Solved by FLUENT

The equations for uid-uid and granular multiphase ows, as solved by FLUENT, are presented here for the general case of an n-phase ow. Continuity Equation The volume fraction of each phase is calculated from a continuity equation: 1 (q q ) + rq t
(q q vq ) =
p=1
(mpq mqp )
(24.4-12)
where rq is the phase reference density, or the volume averaged density of the q th phase in the solution domain. The solution of this equation for each secondary phase, along with the condition that the volume fractions sum to one (given by Equation 24.4-2), allows for the calculation of the primary-phase volume fraction. This treatment is common to uid-uid and granular ows.
24-30
24.4 Eulerian Model
Fluid-Fluid Momentum Equations The conservation of momentum for a uid phase q is
(q q vq ) + t
(q q vq vq ) = q p +
n
q + q q g +
(Kpq (vp vq ) + mpq vpq mqp vqp ) +

p=1
(Fq + Flift,q + Fvm,q )
(24.4-13)
Here g is the acceleration due to gravity and q , Fq , Flift,q , and Fvm,q are as dened for Equation 24.4-5. Fluid-Solid Momentum Equations Following the work of [7, 49, 73, 112, 186, 206, 246, 340], FLUENT uses a multi-uid granular model to describe the ow behavior of a uid-solid mixture. The solid-phase stresses are derived by making an analogy between the random particle motion arising from particle-particle collisions and the thermal motion of molecules in a gas, taking into account the inelasticity of the granular phase. As is the case for a gas, the intensity of the particle velocity uctuations determines the stresses, viscosity, and pressure of the solid phase. The kinetic energy associated with the particle velocity uctuations is represented by a pseudothermal or granular temperature which is proportional to the mean square of the random motion of particles. The conservation of momentum for the uid phases is similar to Equation 24.4-13, and that for the sth solid phase is
(s s vs ) + t
(s s vs vs ) = s p
N
ps +
s + s s g +
(Kls (vl vs ) + mls vls msl vsl ) +

l=1
(Fs + Flift,s + Fvm,s )
(24.4-14)
where ps is the sth solids pressure, Kls = Ksl is the momentum exchange coecient between uid or solid phase l and solid phase s, N is the total number of phases, and Fq , Flift,q , and Fvm,q are as dened for Equation 24.4-5.
24-31
Conservation of Energy The equation solved by FLUENT for the conservation of energy is Equation 24.4-11.
24.4.3
Interphase Exchange Coefcients
It can be seen in Equations 24.4-13 and 24.4-14 that momentum exchange between the phases is based on the value of the uid-uid exchange coecient Kpq and, for granular ows, the uid-solid and solid-solid exchange coecients Kls .
Fluid-Fluid Exchange Coefcient

For uid-uid ows, each secondary phase is assumed to form droplets or bubbles. This has an impact on how each of the uids is assigned to a particular phase. For example, in ows where there are unequal amounts of two uids, the predominant uid should be modeled as the primary uid, since the sparser uid is more likely to form droplets or bubbles. The exchange coecient for these types of bubbly, liquid-liquid or gas-liquid mixtures can be written in the following general form: Kpq = q p p f p (24.4-15)
where f , the drag function, is dened dierently for the dierent exchange-coecient models (as described below) and p , the particulate relaxation time, is dened as p = p d2 p 18q (24.4-16)
where dp is the diameter of the bubbles or droplets of phase p. Nearly all denitions of f include a drag coecient (CD ) that is based on the relative Reynolds number (Re). It is this drag function that diers among the exchange-coecient models. For all these situations, Kpq should tend to zero whenever the primary phase is not present within the domain. To enforce this, the drag function f is always multiplied by the volume fraction of the primary phase q, as is reected in Equation 24.4-15. For the model of Schiller and Naumann [297] f= where CD = 24(1 + 0.15 Re0.687 )/Re Re 1000 0.44 Re > 1000 (24.4-18) CD Re 24 (24.4-17)
24-32
24.4 Eulerian Model
and Re is the relative Reynolds number. The relative Reynolds number for the primary phase q and secondary phase p is obtained from Re = q |vp vq |dp q (24.4-19)
The relative Reynolds number for secondary phases p and r is obtained from Re = rp |vr vp |drp rp (24.4-20)
where rp = p p + r r is the mixture viscosity of the phases p and r. The Schiller and Naumann model is the default method, and it is acceptable for general use for all uid-uid pairs of phases. For the Morsi and Alexander model [234] f= where CD = a1 + a3 a2 + 2 Re Re (24.4-22) CD Re 24 (24.4-21)
and Re is dened by Equation 24.4-19 or 24.4-20. The as are dened as follows:

a1 , a 2 , a 3 =
0, 24, 0 3.690, 22.73, 0.0903 1.222, 29.1667, 3.8889 0.6167, 46.50, 116.67 0.3644, 98.33, 2778 0.357, 148.62, 47500 0.46, 490.546, 578700 0.5191, 1662.5, 5416700
0 < Re < 0.1 0.1 < Re < 1 1 < Re < 10 10 < Re < 100 100 < Re < 1000 1000 < Re < 5000 5000 < Re < 10000 Re 10000
(24.4-23)
The Morsi and Alexander model is the most complete, adjusting the function definition frequently over a large range of Reynolds numbers, but calculations with this model may be less stable than with the other models.
24-33
For the symmetric model Kpq = where pq and f= where CD = 24(1 + 0.15 Re0.687 )/Re Re 1000 0.44 Re > 1000 (24.4-27) CD Re 24 (24.4-26) (p p + q q )( dp +dq )2 2 = 18(p p + q q ) (24.4-25) p (p p + q q )f pq (24.4-24)
and Re is dened by Equation 24.4-19 or 24.4-20. Note that if there is only one dispersed phase, then dp = dq in Equation 24.4-25. The symmetric model is recommended for ows in which the secondary (dispersed) phase in one region of the domain becomes the primary (continuous) phase in another. Thus for a single dispersed phase, dp = dq and (dp +dq ) = dp. For example, 2 if air is injected into the bottom of a container lled halfway with water, the air is the dispersed phase in the bottom half of the container; in the top half of the container, the air is the continuous phase. This model can also be used for the interaction between secondary phases. You can specify dierent exchange coecients for each pair of phases. It is also possible to use user-dened functions to dene exchange coecients for each pair of phases. If the exchange coecient is equal to zero (i.e., if no exchange coecient is specied), the ow elds for the uids will be computed independently, with the only interaction being their complementary volume fractions within each computational cell.
24-34
24.4 Eulerian Model
Fluid-Solid Exchange Coefcient

The uid-solid exchange coecient Ksl can be written in the following general form: Ksl = s s f s (24.4-28)
where f is dened dierently for the dierent exchange-coecient models (as described below), and s , the particulate relaxation time, is dened as s = s d2 s 18l (24.4-29)
where ds is the diameter of particles of phase s. All denitions of f include a drag function (CD ) that is based on the relative Reynolds number (Res ). It is this drag function that diers among the exchange-coecient models. For the Syamlal-OBrien model [339] f= CD Res l 2 24vr,s (24.4-30)
where the drag function has a form derived by Dalla Valle [68]
CD = 0.63 +
4.8 Res /vr,s
(24.4-31)
This model is based on measurements of the terminal velocities of particles in uidized or settling beds, with correlations that are a function of the volume fraction and relative Reynolds number [282]: Res = l ds |vs vl | l (24.4-32)
where the subscript l is for the lth uid phase, s is for the sth solid phase, and ds is the diameter of the sth solid phase particles. The uid-solid exchange coecient has the form Ksl = 3s l l Res CD |vs vl | 2 d 4vr,s s vr,s (24.4-33)
24-35
where vr,s is the terminal velocity correlation for the solid phase [106]:
vr,s = 0.5 A 0.06 Res + with
(0.06 Res )2 + 0.12 Res (2B A) + A2
(24.4-34)
4.14 A = l
(24.4-35)
and
1.28 B = 0.8l
(24.4-36)
for l 0.85, and

2.65 B = l
(24.4-37)
for l > 0.85. This model is appropriate when the solids shear stresses are dened according to Syamlal et al. [340] (Equation 24.4-64). For the model of Wen and Yu [372], the uid-solid exchange coecient is of the following form: 3 s l l |vs vl | 2.65 Ksl = CD l 4 ds where CD = 24 1 + 0.15(l Res )0.687 l Res (24.4-39) (24.4-38)
and Res is dened by Equation 24.4-32. This model is appropriate for dilute systems. The Gidaspow model [112] is a combination of the Wen and Yu model [372] and the Ergun equation [91]. When l > 0.8, the uid-solid exchange coecient Ksl is of the following form: 3 s l l |vs vl | 2.65 Ksl = CD l 4 ds (24.4-40)
24-36
24.4 Eulerian Model
where CD = When l 0.8, Ksl = 150 l s |vs vl | s (1 l )l + 1.75 2 l ds ds (24.4-42) 24 1 + 0.15(l Res )0.687 l Res (24.4-41)
This model is recommended for dense uidized beds.
Solid-Solid Exchange Coefcient

The solid-solid exchange coecient Kls has the following form [338]: 3 (1 + els )
2
Kls = where els Cfr,ls dl g0,ls
+ Cfr,ls 8 s s l l (dl + ds )2 g0,ls 2 (l d3 + s d3 ) s l
|vl vs |
(24.4-43)
= =
the coecient of restitution the coecient of friction between the lth and sth solid-phase particles (Cfr,ls = 0) = the diameter of the particles of solid l = the radial distribution coecient
Note that the coecient of restitution is described in Section 24.4.4: Solids Pressure and the radial distribution coecient is described in Section 24.4.4: Radial Distribution Function.
24.4.4
Solids Pressure
For granular ows in the compressible regime (i.e., where the solids volume fraction is less than its maximum allowed value), a solids pressure is calculated independently and used for the pressure gradient term, ps , in the granular-phase momentum equation. Because a Maxwellian velocity distribution is used for the particles, a granular temperature is introduced into the model, and appears in the expression for the solids pressure and viscosities. The solids pressure is composed of a kinetic term and a second term due to particle collisions:
2 ps = s s s + 2s (1 + ess )s g0,ss s
(24.4-44)
where ess is the coecient of restitution for particle collisions, g0,ss is the radial distribution function, and s is the granular temperature. FLUENT uses a default value of 0.9
24-37
for ess , but the value can be adjusted to suit the particle type. The granular temperature s is proportional to the kinetic energy of the uctuating particle motion, and will be described later in this section. The function g0,ss (described below in more detail) is a distribution function that governs the transition from the compressible condition with < s,max , where the spacing between the solid particles can continue to decrease, to the incompressible condition with = s,max , where no further decrease in the spacing can occur. A value of 0.63 is the default for s,max , but you can modify it during the problem setup. Others formulation that are also available in FLUENTare [340]
2 ps = 2s (1 + ess )s g0,ss s
(24.4-45)
and [213] 1 2 ps = s s s + 4s s g0,ss s + ((1 + ess )(1 ess + 2f ric )) 2 (24.4-46)
When more than one solids phase are calculated, the above expression does not take into account the eect of other phases. A derivation of the expressions from the Boltzman equations for a granular mixture are beyond the scope of this manual, however there is a need to provide a better formulation so that some properties may feel the presence of other phases. A known problem is that N solids phases with identical properties should be consistent when the same phases are described by a single solids phase. Equations derived empirically may not satisfy this property and need to be changed accordingly without deviating signicantly from the original form. From [111], a general solids pressure formulation in the presence of other phases could be of the form g0,pq d3 nq np (1 + eqp )f (mp , mq , p , q ) qp 3 p=1
N
pq = q q q +
(24.4-47)
where dpq = dp +dq is the average diameter, np , nq are the number of particles, mp and mq 2 are the masses of the particles in phases p and q, and f is a function of the masses of the particles and their granular temperatures. For now, we have to simplify this expression so that it depends only on the granular temperature of phase q d3 pq = q q q + 2 pq (1 + epq )g0,pq q p q q 3 p=1 dq
N
(24.4-48)
Since all models need to be cast in the general form, it follows that d3 pq pc,qp )q q d3 p=1 q
N
pq = q q q + (
(24.4-49)
24-38
24.4 Eulerian Model
where pc,qp is the collisional part of the pressure between phases q. and p The above expression reverts to the one solids phase expression when N = 1 and q = p but also has the property of feeling the presence of other phases.
Radial Distribution Function

The radial distribution function, g0 , is a correction factor that modies the probability of collisions between grains when the solid granular phase becomes dense. This function may also be interpreted as the non-dimensional distance between spheres: g0 = s + dp s (24.4-50)
where s is the distance between grains. From Equation 24.4-50 it can be observed that for a dilute solid phase s , and therefore g0 1. In the limit when the solid phase compacts, s 0 and g0 . The radial distribution function is closely connected to the factor of Chapman and Cowlings [49] theory of non-uniform gases. is equal to 1 for a rare gas, and increases and tends to innity when the molecules are so close together that motion is not possible. In the literature there is no unique formulation for the radial distribution function. FLUENT has a number of options For one solids phase, use [246]:
g0 = 1
s s,max
1 3
(24.4-51)
This is an empirical function and does not extends easily to n phases. For two identical phases with the property that q = 1 + 2 , the above function is not consistent for the calculation of the partial pressures p1 and p2 , pq = p1 + p2 . In order to correct this problem, FLUENT uses the following consistent formulation
g0,ll where
= 1
s s,max
1 3
1 N k + dl 2 k=1 dk
(24.4-52)
s =
k=1
(24.4-53)
and k are solids phases only.
24-39
The following expression is also available [139] g0,ll 3 N k = + dl s (1 s,max ) 2 k=1 dk 1 (24.4-54)
Also available [213], slightly modied for n solids phases, is g0,ll =

2 3 1 + 2.5s + 4.59s + 4.52s 1 N k + dl s (1 s,max )0.678 2 k=1 dk
(24.4-55)
The following equation [340] is available g0,kl

k 3( N k ) 1 k=1 d = + dk dl (1 s ) (1 s )2 (dj + dk )
(24.4-56)
When the number of solid phases is greater than 1, Equation 24.4-52, Equation 24.4-54 and Equation 24.4-55 are extended to g0,lm = dm g0,ll + dl g0,mm dm + dl (24.4-57)
It is interesting to note that equations Equation 24.4-54 and Equation 24.4-55 compare well with [6] experimental data, while Equation 24.4-56 reverts to the [45] derivation
24.4.5
Maximum Packing Limit in Binary Mixtures
The packing limit is not a xed quantity and may change according to the number of particles present within a given volume and the diameter of the particles. Small particles accumulate in between larger particles increasing the packing limit. For a binary mixture FLUENTuses the correlations proposed by [93]. For a binary mixture with diameters d1 > d2 , the mixture composition is dened as X1 = 11 2 + where X1 <= 1,max (1,max + (1 1,max )2,max ) (24.4-58)
24-40
24.4 Eulerian Model
The maximum packing limit for the mixture is given by
s,max = (1,max 2,max + [1
d2 ](1 1,max )2,max ) d1 X1 (1,max + (1 1,max )2,max ) 1,max +2,max
(24.4-59)
(24.4-60)
otherwise, the maximum packing limit for the binary mixture is d2 ](1,max + (1 1,max )2,max )(1 X1 ) + 1,max d1
[1
(24.4-61)
The packing limit is used for the calculation of the radial distribution function.
24.4.6
Solids Shear Stresses
The solids stress tensor contains shear and bulk viscosities arising from particle momentum exchange due to translation and collision. A frictional component of viscosity can also be included to account for the viscous-plastic transition that occurs when particles of a solid phase reach the maximum solid volume fraction. The collisional and kinetic parts, and the optional frictional part, are added to give the solids shear viscosity: s = s,col + s,kin + s,fr (24.4-62)
Collisional Viscosity
The collisional part of the shear viscosity is modeled as [112, 340] 4 s s,col = s s ds g0,ss (1 + ess ) 5
1/2
(24.4-63)
24-41
Kinetic Viscosity
FLUENT provides two expressions for the kinetic part. The default expression is from Syamlal et al. [340]: s ds s s 2 = 1 + (1 + ess ) (3ess 1) s g0,ss 6 (3 ess ) 5
s,kin
(24.4-64)
The following optional expression from Gidaspow et al. [112] is also available: 10s ds s 4 = 1 + g0,ss s (1 + ess ) 96s (1 + ess ) g0,ss 5
2
s,kin
(24.4-65)
Bulk Viscosity
The solids bulk viscosity accounts for the resistance of the granular particles to compression and expansion. It has the following form from Lun et al. [206]: 4 s s = s s ds g0,ss (1 + ess ) 3
1/2
(24.4-66)
Note that the bulk viscosity is set to a constant value of zero, by default. It is also possible to select the Lun et al. expression or use a user-dened function.
Frictional Viscosity
In dense ow at low shear, where the secondary volume fraction for a solid phase nears the packing limit, the generation of stress is mainly due to friction between particles. The solids shear viscosity computed by FLUENT does not, by default, account for the friction between particles. If the frictional viscosity is included in the calculation, FLUENT uses Schaeers [295] expression: ps sin s,fr = 2 I2D (24.4-67)
where ps is the solids pressure, is the angle of internal friction, and I2D is the second invariant of the deviatoric stress tensor. It is also possible to specify a constant or userdened frictional viscosity.
24-42
24.4 Eulerian Model
24.4.7
Granular Temperature
The granular temperature for the sth solids phase is proportional to the kinetic energy of the random motion of the particles. The transport equation derived from kinetic theory takes the form [73]
3 (s s s ) + 2 t where
(s s vs s ) = (ps I+ s ) :
vs + (ks s )s +ls (24.4-68)
(ps I + s ) : vs ks s s ls
= = = =
the generation of energy by the solid stress tensor the diusion of energy (ks is the diusion coecient) the collisional dissipation of energy the energy exchange between the lth uid or solid phase and the sth solid phase
Equation 24.4-68 contains the term ks s describing the diusive ux of granular energy. When the default Syamlal et al. model [340] is used, the diusion coecient for granular energy, ks is given by 15ds s s s 12 16 1 + 2 (4 3)s g0,ss + (41 33)s g0,ss ) = 4(41 33) 5 15
ks where
(24.4-69)
1 = (1 + ess ) 2 FLUENT uses the following expression if the optional model of Gidaspow et al. [112] is enabled:
ks =
150s ds () 384(1 + ess )g0,ss
6 1 + s g0,ss (1 + es ) 5
+ 2s s 2 ds (1 + ess )g0,ss
(24.4-70)
The collisional dissipation of energy, s , represents the rate of energy dissipation within the sth solids phase due to collisions between particles. This term is represented by the expression derived by Lun et al. [206] m = 12(1 e2 )g0,ss 2 ss s s 3/2 s ds (24.4-71)
24-43
General Multiphase Models The transfer of the kinetic energy of random uctuations in particle velocity from the sth solids phase to the lth uid or solid phase is represented by ls [112]: ls = 3Kls s (24.4-72)
FLUENT allows the user to solve for the granular temperature with the following options: Algebraic formulation (the default). It is obtained by neglecting convection and diusion in the transport equation, Equation 24.4-68 [340]. Partial Dierential Equation. This is given by Equation 24.4-68 and it is allowed to choose dierent options for it properties. Constant Granular Temperature. This is useful in very dense situations where the random uctuations are small. UDF for Granular Temperature. For a granular phase s, we may write the shear force at the wall in the following form s = s 3 s g0 s Us,|| 6 s,max (24.4-73)
Here Us,|| is the particle slip velocity parallel to the wall, is the specularity coecient between the particle and the wall, s,max is the volume fraction for the particles at maximum packing, and g0 is the radial distribution function that is model dependent. The general boundary condition for granular temperature at the wall takes the form [152] qs =
3 s s 2 3 s g0 s )Us,|| Us,|| 3 (1 e2 )s g0 s sw 6 s,max 4 s,max
(24.4-74)
24.4.8
Description of Heat Transfer
The internal energy balance for phase q is written in terms of the phase enthalpy, Equation 24.4-11, dened by Hq = cp,q dTq (24.4-75)
where cp,q is the specic heat at constant pressure of phase q. The thermal boundary conditions used with multiphase ows are the same as those for a single-phase ow. See Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions for details.
24-44
24.4 Eulerian Model
The Heat Exchange Coefcient

The rate of energy transfer between phases is assumed to be a function of the temperature dierence Qpq = hpq (Tp Tq ) (24.4-76)
where hpq (= hqp ) is the heat transfer coecient between the pth phase and the q th phase. The heat transfer coecient is related to the pth phase Nusselt number, Nup , by hpq = 6q p q Nup dp 2 (24.4-77)
Here q is the thermal conductivity of the q th phase. The Nusselt number is typically determined from one of the many correlations reported in the literature. In the case of uid-uid multiphase, FLUENT uses the correlation of Ranz and Marshall [272, 273]: Nup = 2.0 + 0.6Re1/2 Pr1/3 p (24.4-78)
where Rep is the relative Reynolds number based on the diameter of the pth phase and the relative velocity |up uq |, and Pr is the Prandtl number of the q th phase: Pr = c p q q q (24.4-79)
In the case of granular ows (where p = s), FLUENT uses a Nusselt number correlation by Gunn [121], applicable to a porosity range of 0.351.0 and a Reynolds number of up to 105 :
2 2 Nus = (7 10f + 5f )(1 + 0.7Re0.2 Pr1/3 ) + (1.33 2.4f + 1.2f )Re0.7 Pr1/3 (24.4-80) s s
The Prandtl number is dened as above with q = f . For all these situations, hpq should tend to zero whenever one of the phases is not present within the domain. To enforce this, hpq is always multiplied by the volume fraction of the primary phase q, as reected in Equation 24.4-77.
24-45
24.4.9
Turbulence Models
To describe the eects of turbulent uctuations of velocities and scalar quantities in a single phase, FLUENT uses various types of closure models, as described in Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence. In comparison to single-phase ows, the number of terms to be modeled in the momentum equations in multiphase ows is large, and this makes the modeling of turbulence in multiphase simulations extremely complex. FLUENT provides three methods for modeling turbulence in multiphase ows within the context of the k- models. In addition, FLUENT provides two turbulence options within the context of the Reynolds-Stress models (RSM). The k- turbulence model options are: mixture turbulence model (default) dispersed turbulence model turbulence model for each phase
Note that the descriptions of each method below are presented based on the standard k- model. The multiphase modications to the RNG and realizable k- models are similar, and are therefore not presented explicitly.
The RSM turbulence model options are: mixture turbulence model (default) dispersed turbulence model For either category, the choice of model depends on the importance of the secondaryphase turbulence in your application.
k- Turbulence Models
FLUENT provides three turbulence model options in the context of the k- models: the mixture turbulence model (default), the dispersed turbulence model, or a per=phase turbulence model.
24-46
24.4 Eulerian Model
k- Mixture Turbulence Model The mixture turbulence model is the default multiphase turbulence model. It represents the rst extension of the single-phase k- model, and it is applicable when phases separate, for stratied (or nearly stratied) multiphase ows, and when the density ratio between phases is close to 1. In these cases, using mixture properties and mixture velocities is sucient to capture important features of the turbulent ow. The k and equations describing this model are as follows: (m k) + t and (m ) + t (m vm ) = t,m + (C1 Gk,m C2 m ) k (24.4-82) (m vm k) = t,m k + Gk,m m k (24.4-81)
where the mixture density and velocity, m and vm , are computed from
N
m =
i=1
i i
(24.4-83)
and
N
i i vi vm =
i=1 N
(24.4-84) i i
i=1
the turbulent viscosity, t,m , is computed from t,m = m C k2 (24.4-85)
and the production of turbulence kinetic energy, Gk,m , is computed from Gk,m = t,m ( vm + ( vm )T ) : vm (24.4-86)
The constants in these equations are the same as those described in Section 11.4.1: The Standard k- Model for the single-phase k- model.
24-47
k- Dispersed Turbulence Model The dispersed turbulence model is the appropriate model when the concentrations of the secondary phases are dilute. In this case, interparticle collisions are negligible and the dominant process in the random motion of the secondary phases is the inuence of the primary-phase turbulence. Fluctuating quantities of the secondary phases can therefore be given in terms of the mean characteristics of the primary phase and the ratio of the particle relaxation time and eddy-particle interaction time. The model is applicable when there is clearly one primary continuous phase and the rest are dispersed dilute secondary phases. Assumptions The dispersed method for modeling turbulence in FLUENT involves the following assumptions: A modied k- model for the continuous phase: Turbulent predictions for the continuous phase are obtained using the standard k- model supplemented with extra terms that include the interphase turbulent momentum transfer. Tchen-theory correlations for the dispersed phases: Predictions for turbulence quantities for the dispersed phases are obtained using the Tchen theory of dispersion of discrete particles by homogeneous turbulence [131]. Interphase turbulent momentum transfer: In turbulent multiphase ows, the momentum exchange terms contain the correlation between the instantaneous distribution of the dispersed phases and the turbulent uid motion. It is possible to take into account the dispersion of the dispersed phases transported by the turbulent uid motion. A phase-weighted averaging process: The choice of averaging process has an impact on the modeling of dispersion in turbulent multiphase ows. A two-step averaging process leads to the appearance of uctuations in the phase volume fractions. When the two-step averaging process is used with a phase-weighted average for the turbulence, however, turbulent uctuations in the volume fractions do not appear. FLUENT uses phase-weighted averaging, so no volume fraction uctuations are introduced into the continuity equations.
24-48
24.4 Eulerian Model
Turbulence in the Continuous Phase The eddy viscosity model is used to calculate averaged uctuating quantities. The Reynolds stress tensor for continuous phase q takes the following form: 2 q = (q kq + q t,q 3 Uq )I + q t,q ( Uq + Uq )
T
(24.4-87)
where Uq is the phase-weighted velocity. The turbulent viscosity t,q is written in terms of the turbulent kinetic energy of phase q:
2 kq q
t,q = q C
(24.4-88)
and a characteristic time of the energetic turbulent eddies is dened as 3 kq t,q = C 2 q where
q
(24.4-89)
is the dissipation rate and C = 0.09.
The length scale of the turbulent eddies is

3/2 3 kq C 2 q
Lt,q =
(24.4-90)
Turbulent predictions are obtained from the modied k- model:
(q q kq ) + t and
(q q Uq kq ) =
(q
t,q kq ) + q Gk,q q q k
+ q q kq (24.4-91)
(q q q ) + t
(q q Uq q ) =
(q
t,q
q)
+ q
kq
(C1 Gk,q C2 q q ) + q q q (24.4-92)
Here kq and q represent the inuence of the dispersed phases on the continuous phase q, and Gk,q is the production of turbulent kinetic energy, as dened in Section 11.4.4: Modeling Turbulent Production in the k- Models. All other terms have the same meaning as in the single-phase k- model.
24-49
The term kq can be derived from the instantaneous equation of the continuous phase and takes the following form, where M represents the number of secondary phases: Kpq (< vq vp > +(Up Uq ) vdr ) p=1 q q
M
k q = which can be simplied to
(24.4-93)
k q =
Kpq (kpq 2kq + vpq vdr ) p=1 q q
(24.4-94)
where klq is the covariance of the velocities of the continuous phase q and the dispersed phase l (calculated from Equation 24.4-102 below), vpq is the relative velocity, and vdr is the drift velocity (dened by Equation 24.4-107 below). q is modeled according to Elgobashi et al. [90]: q = C3 where C3 = 1.2. Turbulence in the Dispersed Phase Time and length scales that characterize the motion are used to evaluate dispersion coecients, correlation functions, and the turbulent kinetic energy of each dispersed phase. The characteristic particle relaxation time connected with inertial eects acting on a dispersed phase p is dened as
1 F,pq = p q Kpq q
kq
k q
(24.4-95)
p + CV q
(24.4-96)
The Lagrangian integral time scale calculated along particle trajectories, mainly aected by the crossing-trajectory eect [63], is dened as t,pq = where = |vpq |t,q Lt,q (24.4-98) t,q (1 + C 2 ) (24.4-97)
24-50
24.4 Eulerian Model
and C = 1.8 1.35 cos2 (24.4-99)
where is the angle between the mean particle velocity and the mean relative velocity. The ratio between these two characteristic times is written as pq = t,pq F,pq (24.4-100)
Following Simonin [310], FLUENT writes the turbulence quantities for dispersed phase p as follows:
kp = kpq = Dt,pq = Dp = b =
b2 + pq kq 1 + pq b + pq 2kq 1 + pq 1 kpq t,pq 3 2 1 Dt,pq + kp b kpq F,pq 3 3 1 p (1 + CV ) + CV q
(24.4-101) (24.4-102) (24.4-103) (24.4-104) (24.4-105)
and CV = 0.5 is the added-mass coecient. Interphase Turbulent Momentum Transfer The turbulent drag term for multiphase ows (Kpq (vp vq ) in Equation 24.4-7) is modeled as follows, for dispersed phase p and continuous phase q: Kpq (vp vq ) = Kpq (Up Uq ) Kpq vdr (24.4-106)
The second term on the right-hand side of Equation 24.4-106 contains the drift velocity: vdr = Dp Dq p q pq p pq q
(24.4-107)
Here Dp and Dq are diusivities, and pq is a dispersion Prandtl number. When using Tchen theory in multiphase ows, FLUENT assumes Dp = Dq = Dt,pq and the default value for pq is 0.75.
24-51
The drift velocity results from turbulent uctuations in the volume fraction. When multiplied by the exchange coecient Kpq , it serves as a correction to the momentum exchange term for turbulent ows. This correction is not included, by default, but you can enable it during the problem setup. You can enable the eect of drift velocity by performing the following: 1. If it is not already done, set the k-epsilon Multiphase Model to Dispersed in the Viscous panel. 2. Enter the multiphase-options text command in the console window. define models viscous multiphase-turbulence multiphase-options
/define/models/viscous/multiphase-turbulence> multiphase-options Enable dispersion force in momentum? [no] yes Enable interphase k-epsilon source? [no] yes
The eect of the drift velocity is inuenced both by the momentum equation and, to a lesser extent, the turbulence equation. Therefore, you should answer yes to both questions to take into account the eect of drift velocity. k- Turbulence Model for Each Phase The most general multiphase turbulence model solves a set of k and transport equations for each phase. This turbulence model is the appropriate choice when the turbulence transfer among the phases plays a dominant role. Note that, since FLUENT is solving two additional transport equations for each secondary phase, the per-phase turbulence model is more computationally intensive than the dispersed turbulence model. Transport Equations The Reynolds stress tensor and turbulent viscosity are computed using Equations 24.4-87 and 24.4-88. Turbulence predictions are obtained from (q q kq ) + t
N
(q q Uq kq ) =
N
(q
t,q kq ) + (q Gk,q q q q ) + k
Klq (Clq kl Cql kq )

l=1 l=1
Klq (Ul Uq )
N t,l t,q l + Klq (Ul Uq ) q (24.4-108) l l q q l=1
24-52
24.4 Eulerian Model
and (q q q ) + t
N
(q q Uq q ) =
N
(q
t,q
q)
kq
C1 q Gk,q C2 q q
C3
l=1
Klq (Clq kl Cql kq )

l=1
Klq (Ul Uq )
N t,l t,q l + Klq (Ul Uq ) q l l q q l=1 (24.4-109)
The terms Clq and Cql can be approximated as Clq = 2, Cql = 2 where lq is dened by Equation 24.4-100. Interphase Turbulent Momentum Transfer The turbulent drag term (Kpq (vp vq ) in Equation 24.4-7) is modeled as follows, where l is the dispersed phase (replacing p in Equation 24.4-7) and q is the continuous phase:
N N N
lq 1 + lq
(24.4-110)
Klq (vl vq ) =
l=1 l=1
Klq (Ul Uq )
l=1
Klq vdr,lq
(24.4-111)
Here Ul and Uq are phase-weighted velocities, and vdr,lq is the drift velocity for phase l (computed using Equation 24.4-107, substituting l for p). Note that FLUENT will compute the diusivities Dl and Dq directly from the transport equations, rather than using Tchen theory (as it does for the dispersed turbulence model). As noted above, the drift velocity results from turbulent uctuations in the volume fraction. When multiplied by the exchange coecient Klq , it serves as a correction to the momentum exchange term for turbulent ows. This correction is not included, by default, but you can enable it during the problem setup. The turbulence model for each phase in FLUENT accounts for the eect of the turbulence eld of one phase on the other(s). If you want to modify or enhance the interaction of the multiple turbulence elds and interphase turbulent momentum transfer, you can supply these terms using user-dened functions.
24-53
RSM Turbulence Models

Multiphase turbulence modeling typically involves two equation models that are based on single-phase models and often cannot accurately capture the underlying ow physics. Additional turbulence modeling for multiphase ows is diminished even more when the basic underlying single-phase model cannot capture the complex physics of the ow. In such situations, the logical next step is to combine the Reynolds stress model with the multiphase algorithm in order to handle challenging situations in which both factors, RSM for turbulence and the Eulerian multiphase formulation, are a precondition for accurate predictions [66]. The phase-averaged continuity and momentum equations for a continuous phase are: (c c ) + t (c rmc Uc ) + t (c rmc Uc (c c Uc ) = 0 (24.4-112)
Uc ) = c p +
c + FDc t
(24.4-113)
For simplicity, the laminar stress-strain tensor and other body forces such as gravity have been omitted from Equations 24.4-112-24.4-113. The tilde denotes phase-averaged variables while an overbar (e.g., c ) reects time-averaged values. In general, any variable can have a phase-average value dened as c c c = c
(24.4-114)
Considering only two phases for simplicity, the drag force between the continuous and the dispersed phases can be dened as: d ud c uc FDc = Kdc (Ud Uc ) d c
(24.4-115)
where Kdc is the drag coecient. Several terms in the Equation 24.4-115 need to be modeled in order to close the phase-averaged momentum equations. Full descriptions of all modeling assumptions can be found in [59]. This section only describes the dierent modeling denition of the turbulent stresses t that appears in Equation 24.4-113. The turbulent stress that appears in the momentum equations need to be dened on a per-phase basis and can be calculated as:
t k = k k Rk,ij
(24.4-116)
24-54
24.4 Eulerian Model
where the subscript k is replaced by c for the primary (i.e., continuous) phase or by d for any secondary (i.e., dispersed) phases. As is the case for single-phase ows, the current multiphase Reynolds stress model (RSM) also solves the transport equations for Reynolds stresses Rij . FLUENT includes two methods for modeling turbulence in multiphase ows within the context of the RSM model: the dispersed turbulence model, and the mixture turbulence model. RSM Dispersed Turbulence Model The dispersed turbulence model is used when the concentrations of the secondary phase are dilute and the primary phase turbulence is regarded as the dominant process. Consequently, the transport equations for turbulence quantities are only solved for the primary (continuous) phase, while the predictions of turbulence quantities for dispersed phases are obtained using the Tchen theory. The transport equation for the primary phase Reynolds stresses in the case of the dispersed model are:
Uj + Rjk Ui (Rij ) + (Uk Rij ) = Rik t xk xk xk
(Rij ) xk xk
u u [ui uj uk ] + p( i + j ) xk xj xi + R,ij ij
(24.4-117)
The variables in Equation 24.4-117 are per continuous phase c and the subscript is omitted for clarity. The last term of Equation 24.4-117, R,ij , takes into account the interaction between the continuous and the dispersed phase turbulence. A general model for this term can be of the form: R,ij = Kdc C1,dc (Rdc,ij Rc,ij ) + Kdc C2,dc adc,i bdc,j (24.4-118)
where C1 and C2 are unknown coecients, adc,i is the relative velocity, bdc,j represents the drift or the relative velocity, and Rdc,ij is the unknown particulate-uid velocity correlation. To simplify this unknown term, the following assumption has been made: 2 R,ij = ij k 3 (24.4-119)
where ij is the Kronecker delta, and k represents the modied version of the original Simonin model [310]. kc = Kdc (kdc 2kc + Vrel Vdrift ) (24.4-120)
24-55
General Multiphase Models where Kc represents the turbulent kinetic energy of the continuous phase, kdc is the rel and Vdrift stand for the continuous-dispersed phase velocity covariance and nally, V relative and the drift velocities, respectively. In order to achieve full closure, the transport equation for the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate () is required. The modeling of together with all other unknown terms in Equation 24.4-120 are modeled in the same way as in [59]. RSM Mixture Turbulence Model The main assumption for the mixture model is that all phases share the same turbulence eld which consequently means that the term R in the Reynolds stress transport equations (Equation 24.4-117) is neglected. Apart from that, the equations maintain the same form but with phase properties and phase velocities being replaced with mixture properties and mixture velocities. The mixture density, for example, can be expressed as
N
m =
i=1
i i
(24.4-121)
while mixture velocities can be expressed as Um = where N is the number of species.

N i=1 i i Ui N i=1 i i
(24.4-122)
24-56
24.4 Eulerian Model
24.4.10
Solution Method in FLUENT
For Eulerian multiphase calculations, FLUENT uses the Phase Coupled SIMPLE (PCSIMPLE) algorithm [354] for the pressure-velocity coupling. PC-SIMPLE is an extension of the SIMPLE algorithm [254] to multiphase ows. The velocities are solved coupled by phases, but in a segregated fashion. The block algebraic multigrid scheme used by the coupled solver described in [370] is used to solve a vector equation formed by the velocity components of all phases simultaneously. Then, a pressure correction equation is built based on total volume continuity rather than mass continuity. Pressure and velocities are then corrected so as to satisfy the continuity constraint.
The Pressure-Correction Equation

For incompressible multiphase ow, the pressure-correction equation takes the form 1 k=1 rk
n
k k + t
k k vk +
k k vk ( l=1
(mlk mkl )) = 0
(24.4-123)
where rk is the phase reference density for the k th phase (dened as the total volume average density of phase k), vk is the velocity correction for the k th phase, and vk is the value of vk at the current iteration. The velocity corrections are themselves expressed as functions of the pressure corrections.
Volume Fractions
The volume fractions are obtained from the phase continuity equations. In discretized form, the equation of the k th volume fraction is ap,k k =
nb
(anb,k nb,k ) + bk = Rk
(24.4-124)
In order to satisfy the condition that all the volume fractions sum to one,
n
k = 1
k=1
(24.4-125)
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24.5
Wet Steam Model Overview of the Wet Steam Model
24.5.1
During the rapid expansion of steam, a condensation process will take place shortly after the state path crosses the vapor-saturation line. The expansion process causes the super-heated dry steam to rst subcool and then nucleate to form a two-phase mixture of saturated vapor and ne liquid droplets known as wet steam. Modeling wet steam is very important in the analysis and design of steam turbines. The increase in steam turbine exit wetness can cause severe erosion to the turbine blades at the low-pressure stages, and a reduction in aerodynamic eciency of the turbine stages operating in the wet steam region [211]. FLUENT has adopted the Eulerian-Eulerian approach for modeling wet steam ow. The ow mixture is modeled using the compressible Navier-stokes equations, in addition to two transport equations for the liquid-phase mass-fraction (), and the number of liquiddroplets per unit volume (). The phase change model, which involves the formation of liquid-droplets in a homogeneous non-equilibrium condensation process, is based on the classical non-isothermal nucleation theory. This section describes the theoretical aspects of the wet steam model. Information about enabling the model and using your own property functions and data with the wet steam model is provided in Section 24.8.23: Using the Wet Steam Model. Solution settings and strategies for the wet steam model can be found in Section 24.9.4: Solving Wet Steam Flow. Postprocessing variables are described in Section 24.10.1: Available Postprocessing Variables.
24.5.2
Restrictions and Limitations of the Wet Steam Model
The following restrictions and limitations currently apply to the wet steam model in FLUENT: The wet steam model is available for the coupled solvers only. Pressure inlet, mass-ow inlet, and pressure outlet are the only inow and outow boundary conditions available. When the wet steam model is active, the access to the Materials panel is restricted because the uid mixture properties are determined from the built in steam property functions or from the user-dened wet steam property functions. Therefore, if solid properties need to be set and adjusted, then it must be done in the Materials panel before activating the wet steam model.
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24.5 Wet Steam Model
24.5.3
Theory and Equations of the Wet Steam Model
The Wet Steam Flow Equations

The wet steam is a mixture of two-phases. The primary phase is the gaseous-phase consisting of water-vapor (denoted by the subscript v) while the secondary phase is the liquid-phase consisting of condensed-water droplets (denoted by the subscript l). The following assumptions are made in this model: The velocity slip between the droplets and gaseous-phase is negligible. The interactions between droplets are neglected. The mass fraction of the condensed phase, (also known as wetness factor), is small ( < 0.2). Since droplet sizes are typically very small (from approximately 0.1 microns to approximately 100 microns), it is assumed that the volume of the condensed liquid phase is negligible. From the preceding assumptions, it follows that the mixture density () can be related to the vapor density (v ) by the following equation: = v (1 ) (24.5-1)
In addition. the temperature and the pressure of the mixture will be equivalent to the temperature and pressure of the vapor-phase. The mixture ow is governed by the compressible Navier-Stokes equations given in vector form by Equation 26.4-4: W Q t Q dV +
V
[F G] dA =
H dV
V
(24.5-2)
where Q=(P,u,v,w,T) are mixture quantities. The ow equations are solved using the same coupled solver algorithms employed for general compressible ows. To model wet steam, two additional transport equations are needed [157]. The rst transport equation governs the mass fraction of the condensed liquid phase (): + t ( ) = v (24.5-3)
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where is the mass generation rate due to condensation and evaporation (kg per unit volume per second). The second transport equation models the evolution of the number density of the droplets per unit volume: + t ( ) = I v (24.5-4)
where I is the nucleation rate (number of new droplets per unit volume per second). Together, Equation 24.5-2, Equation 24.5-3, and Equation 24.5-4 form a closed system of equations which, along with Equation 24.5-1, permit the calculation of the wet steam ow eld.
The Phase Change Model

The following is assumed in the phase change model: Homogeneous-condensation (i..e no impurities present to form nuclei). The droplet growth is based on average representative mean radii. The droplet is assumed to be spherical. The droplet is surrounded by innite vapor space. The heat capacity of the ne droplet is negligible compared with the latent heat released in condensation. The mass generation rate in the classical nucleation theory during the non-equilibrium condensation process is given by the sum of mass increase due to nucleation (the formation of critically sized droplets) and also due to growth/demise of these droplets [157]. Therefore, is written as: 4 r = l Ir 3 + 4l r2 3 t (24.5-5)
where r is the average radius of the droplet, and r is the Kelvin-Helmholtz critical droplet radius, above which the droplet will grow and below which the droplet will evaporate. An expression for r is given by [386]. r = 2 l RT ln S (24.5-6)
where is the liquid surface tension evaluated at temperature T , l is the condensed liquid density (also evaluated at temperature T ), and S is the super saturation ratio dened as the ratio of vapor pressure to the equilibrium saturation pressure:
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s=
P Psat (T )
(24.5-7)
The expansion process is usually very rapid. Therefore, when the state path crosses the saturated-vapor line, the process will depart from equilibrium, and the supersaturation ratio S can take on values greater than one. The condensation process involves two mechanisms, the transfer of mass from the vapor to the droplets and the transfer of heat from the droplets to the vapor in the form of latent heat. This energy transfer relation was presented in [384] and used in [157] and can be written as: r P +1 = Cp (T0 T ) t hlv l 2RT 2 where T0 is the droplet temperature. The classical homogeneous nucleation theory describes the formation of a liquid-phase in the form of droplets from a supersaturated phase in the absence of impurities or foreign particles. The nucleation rate described by the steady-state classical homogeneous nucleation theory [386] and corrected for non-isothermal eects, is given by: 2 qc v I= (1 + ) l 2 e Mm 3
4r 2 3Kb T
(24.5-8)
(24.5-9)
where qc is evaporation coecient, kb is the Boltzmann constant, Mm is mass of one molecule, is the liquid surface tension, and l is the liquid density at temperature T . A non-isothermal correction factor, , is given by: 2( 1) ( + 1) hlv RT hlv 0.5 RT
(24.5-10)
where hlv is the specic enthalpy of evaporation at pressure p and is the ratio of specic heat capacities.
Built-In Thermodynamic Wet Steam Properties

There are many equations that describe the thermodynamic state and properties of steam. While some of these equations are accurate in generating property tables, they are not suitable for fast CFD computations. Therefore, FLUENT uses a simpler form of the thermodynamic state equations [385] for ecient CFD calculations that are accurate over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. These equations are described below.
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Equation of State The steam equation of state used in the solver, which relates the pressure to the vapor density and the temperature, is given by [385]: P = v RT (1 + Bv + Cv 2 ) (24.5-11)
where B, and C are the second and the third virial coecients given by the following empirical functions: B = a1 (1 +
5 1 ) + a2 e (1 e ) 2 + a3
(24.5-12)
where B is given in m3 /kg, = 1500 with T given in Kelvin, = 10000.0, a1 = 0.0015, T a2 = -0.000942, and a3 = -0.0004882. C = a( 0 )e + b where C is given in m6 /kg 2 , = a= 1.772, and b= 1.5E-06.
T 647.286
(24.5-13)
with T given in Kelvin, o = 0.8978, =11.16,
The two empirical functions that dene the virial coecients B and C cover the temperature range from 273 K to 1073 K. The vapor isobaric specic heat capacity Cpv is given by:
Cpv = Cp0 (T ) + R [(1 v T )(B B1 ) B2 ] v + (1 2v T )C + v T C1 The vapor specic enthalpy, hv is given by: hv = h0 (T ) + RT (B B1 )v + (C The vapor specic entropy, sv is given by: sv = s0 (T ) R ln v + (B + B1 )v + (C + C1 ) 2 v 2 C1 2 )v 2
C2 v 2 2 (24.5-14)
(24.5-15)
(24.5-16)
The isobaric specic heat at zero pressure is dened by the following empirical equation: Cp0 (T ) =
i=1 6
ai T i2
(24.5-17)
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where Cp0 is in KJ/kg K, a1 = 46.0, a2 = 1.47276, a3 = 8.38930E-04, a4 = -2.19989E-07, a5 = 2.46619E-10, and a6 = -9.70466E-14. and B1 = T dB , C1 = T dC , B2 = T 2 dB2 , and C2 = T 2 dC2 . dT dT dT dT Both h0 (T ) and s0 (T ) are functions of temperature and they are dened by: h0 (T ) = Cp0 dT + hc Cp0 dT + sc T (24.5-18)
2 2
s0 (T ) = where hc and sc are arbitrary constants.
(24.5-19)
The vapor dynamic viscosity v and thermal conductivity Ktv are also functions of temperature and were obtained from [384]. Saturated Vapor Line The saturation pressure equation as a function of temperature was obtained from [278]. The example provided in Section 24.8.23: UDWSPF Example contains a function called wetst satP() that represents the formulation for the saturation pressure. Saturated Liquid Line At the saturated liquid-line, the liquid density, surface tension, specic heat Cp, dynamic viscosity, and thermal conductivity must be dened. The equation for liquid density, l , was obtained from [278]. The liquid surface tension equation was obtained from [384]. While the values of Cpl , l and Ktl were curve t using published data from [86] and then written in polynomial forms. The example provided in Section 24.8.23: UDWSPF Example contains functions called wetst cpl(), wetst mul(), and wetst ktl() that represent formulations for Cpl , l and Ktl . Mixture Properties The mixture properties are related to vapor and liquid properties via the wetness factor using the following mixing law: m = l + (1 )v (24.5-20)
where represents any of the following thermodynamic properties: h, s, Cp, Cv, or Kt.
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24.6
Description of Mass Transfer
This section describes the modeling of mass transfer in the framework of FLUENTs general multiphase models (i.e., Eulerian multiphase, mixture multiphase, VOF multiphase). There are numerous kinds of mass transfer processes that can be modeled in FLUENT. You can use models available in FLUENT (e.g. FLUENTs cavitation model), or dene your own mass transfer model via user-dened functions. See Section 24.6.3: UDF-Prescribed Mass Transfer and the separate UDF Manual for more information about the modeling of mass transfer via user-dened functions. Information about mass transfer is presented in the following subsections: Section 24.6.1: Source Terms Due to Mass Transfer Section 24.6.2: Unidirectional Constant Rate Mass Transfer Section 24.6.3: UDF-Prescribed Mass Transfer Section 24.6.4: Mass Transfer through Cavitation
i
24.6.1
Note that FLUENTs current cavitation model can only be used in the framework of the mixture multiphase model.
Source Terms Due to Mass Transfer
FLUENT adds contributions due to mass transfer only to the momentum, species, and energy equations. No source term is added for other scalars such as turbulence or userdened scalars. Let mpi qj be the mass transfer rate per unit volume from the ith species of phase p to the j th species of phase q. In case a particular phase does not have a mixture material associated with it, the mass transfer will be with the bulk phase.
Mass Equation
The contribution to the mass source for phase p in a cell is mp = mpi qj and for phase q is mq = mpi qj (24.6-2) (24.6-1)
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24.6 Description of Mass Transfer
Momentum Equation
For VOF or mixture models, there is no momentum source. For the Eulerian model, the momentum source in a cell for phase p is mp up = mpi qj up and for phase q is mq uq = mpi qj up (24.6-4) (24.6-3)
Energy Equation
For all multiphase models, the following energy sources are added. The energy source in a cell for phase p is Hp = mpi qj (hi ) p and for phase q is Hq = mpi qj (hi + hf p hf q ) p
i j i j
(24.6-5)
(24.6-6)
where hf p and hf q are the formation enthalpies of species i of phase p and species j of phase q respectively and hi is the enthalpy of species i of phase p (with reference to the p formation enthalpy).
Species Equation
The species source in a cell for species i of phase p is mi = mpi qj p and for species j of phase q is mj = mpi qj q (24.6-8) (24.6-7)
Other Scalar Equations

No source/sink terms are added for turbulence quantities and other scalars. The transfer of these scalar quantities due to mass transfer could be modeled using user-dened source terms.
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24.6.2
Unidirectional Constant Rate Mass Transfer
The unidirectional mass transfer model denes a positive mass ow rate per unit volume from phase p to phase q: mpq = max[0, pq ] max[0, pq ] where pq = rp q (24.6-10) (24.6-9)
and r is a constant rate of particle shrinking or swelling, such as the rate of burning of a liquid droplet. This is not available for the VOF model. If phase p is a mixture material and a mass transfer mechanism is dened for species i of phase p, then pq = rp yp,i q where yp,i is the mass fraction of species i in phase p. (24.6-11)
24.6.3
UDF-Prescribed Mass Transfer
Because there is no universal model for mass transfer, FLUENT provides a UDF that you can use to input models for dierent types of mass transfer, e.g. evaporation, condensation, boiling, etc. Note that when using this UDF, FLUENT will automatically add the source contribution to all relevant momentum and scalar equations. This contribution is based on the assumption that the mass created or destroyed will have the same momentum and energy of the phase from which it was created or destroyed. If you would like to input your source terms directly into momentum, energy, or scalar equations, then the appropriate path is to use UDFs for user-dened sources for all equations, rather than the UDF for mass transfer. See the separate UDF Manual for more information about UDF-based mass transfer in multiphase.
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24.6.4
Mass Transfer through Cavitation
This section provides information about the cavitation model used in FLUENT. You can use FLUENTs current cavitation model to include cavitation eects in two-phase ows when the mixture model is used.
Overview of the Cavitation Model

A liquid at constant temperature can be subjected to a decreasing pressure, which may fall below the saturated vapor pressure. The process of rupturing the liquid by a decrease of pressure at constant temperature is called cavitation. The liquid also contains the micro-bubbles of non-condensable (dissolved or ingested) gases, or nuclei, which under decreasing pressure may grow and form cavities. In such processes, very large and steep density variations happen in the low-pressure/cavitating regions. The cavitation model implemented here is based on the so-called full cavitation model, developed by Singhal et al. [311]. It accounts for all rst-order eects (i.e., phase change, bubble dynamics, turbulent pressure uctuations, and non-condensable gases). However, unlike the original approach [311] assuming single-phase, isothermal, variable uid density ows, the cavitation model in FLUENT is under the framework of multiphase ows. It has the capability to account for multiphase (N-phase) ows or ows with multiphase species transport, the eects of slip velocities between the liquid and gaseous phases, and the thermal eects and compressibility of both liquid and gas phases. The cavitation model can be used with the mixture multiphase model (with or without slip velocities). The complete cavitation model capability in FLUENT can be presented in two parts: The Basic Cavitation Model: This includes a description of the fundamental modeling approach and the standard two-phase cavitation model. The Extended Cavitation Model Capability: This includes a description of the extension of the cavitation model for multiphase (N-phase) ows, or ows with multiphase species transport applications.
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Basic Cavitation Model

In the standard two-phase cavitation model, the following assumptions are made: The system under investigation involves only two phases (a liquid and its vapor), and a certain fraction of separately modeled non-condensable gases. Both bubble formation (evaporation) and collapse (condensation) are taken into account in the model. The mass fraction of non-condensable gases is known in advance. The cavitation model oers the following capabilities: The cavitation model accounts for the mass transfer between a single liquid and its vapor. It is compatible with all the available turbulence models in FLUENT. It can be solved with the mixture energy equation. It is fully compatible with dynamic mesh and non-conformal interfaces. Both liquid and vapor phases can be incompressible or compressible. The noncondensible gases are assumed to always be compressible. For compressible liquids, the density can be described using a user-dened function. See the separate UDF Manual for more information on user-dened density functions. The parameters used in the mass transfer model for cavitation (vaporization pressure, liquid surface tension coecient) can be either a constant or a function of temperature. The following limitations apply to the cavitation model in FLUENT: The cavitation model cannot be used with the VOF model, because the surface tracking schemes for the VOF model are incompatible with the interpenetrating continua assumption of the cavitation model. The cavitation model can be used only for multiphase simulations that use the mixture model. It is always preferable to solve for cavitation using the mixture model without slip velocity; slip velocities can be turned on if the problem suggests that there is signicant slip between phases. The cavitation model can only used for cavitating ow occurring in a single liquid uid; With the cavitation model, the primary phase must be liquid, the secondary phase must be vapor.
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Vapor Mass Fraction and Vapor Transport The working uid is assumed to be a mixture of liquid, vapor and non-condensable gases. Standard governing equations in the mixture model and the mixture turbulence model describe the ow and account for the eects of turbulence. A vapor transport equation governs the vapor mass fraction, f , given by: (f ) + t (vv f ) = ( f ) + Re Rc (24.6-12)
where is the mixture density, vv is the velocity vector of the vapor phase, is the eective exchange coecient, and Re and Rc are the vapor generation and condensation rate terms (or phase change rates). The rate expressions are derived from the RayleighPlesset equations, and limiting bubble size considerations (interface surface area per unit volume of vapor) [311]. These rates are functions of the instantaneous, local static pressure and are given by: when p < psat Vch 2(psat p) l v (1 f ) 3l
Re = Ce when p > psat
(24.6-13)
Rc = Cc
Vch 2(p psat ) l l f 3l
(24.6-14)
where the suxes l and v denote the liquid and vapor phases, Vch is a characteristic velocity, which is approximated by the local turbulence intensity, (i.e. Vch = k), is the surface tension coecient of the liquid, psat is the liquid saturation vapor pressure at the given temperature, and Ce and Cc are empirical constants. The default values are Ce = 0.02 and Cc = 0.01.
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Turbulence-Induced Pressure Fluctuations Signicant eect of turbulence on cavitating ows has been reported [286]. FLUENTs cavitation model accounts for the turbulence-induced pressure uctuations by simply raising the phase-change threshold pressure from psat to 1 pv = (psat + pturb ) 2 where pturb = 0.39k where k is the local turbulence kinetic energy. Effects of Non-Condensable Gases The operating liquid usually contains small nite amounts of non-condensable gases (e.g., dissolved gases, aeration). Even a very small amount (e.g., 10 ppm) of non-condensable gases can have signicant eects on the cavitating ow eld due to expansion at low pressures (following the ideal gas law). In the present approach, the working uid is assumed to be a mixture of the liquid phase and the gaseous phase, with the gaseous phase comprising of the liquid vapor and the non-condensable gases. The density of the mixture, , is calculated as = v v + g g + (1 v g )l (24.6-17) (24.6-16) (24.6-15)
where l , v , and g are the densities of the liquid, the vapor, and the non-condensable gases, respectively, and l , v , and g are the respective volume fractions. The relationship between the mass fraction (fi ) in Equations 24.6-1224.6-14 and the volume fraction (i ) in Equation 24.6-17 is i = fi i (24.6-18)
The combined volume fraction of vapor and gas (i.e., v + g ) is commonly referred to as the void fraction (). It may be noted that the non-condensable gas is not dened as a phase or a material. When using the ideal gas law to compute the non-condensable gas density, the molecular weight and temperature are required. By default, the gas is assumed to be air and the molecular weight is set to 29.0. However, if the non-condensable gas is not air, then the molecular weight can be changed by using a text command. For more information, contact your FLUENT support engineer.
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As for the temperature, the default value is set to 300 K when the energy equation is not activated. If the temperature is dierent, but still a constant (i.e., isothermal ow), you can change the temperature in FLUENT in the following way: Activate the energy equation. Dene Models Energy... Open the Solution Initialization panel. Solve Initialize Initialize... In the Solution Initialization, set the initial value as a desired temperature. Open the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... In the Solution Controls panel, under Equations, turn o the energy equation by deselecting Energy in the list.. By so doing, FLUENT uses the initial values for the temperature. Phase Change Rates After accounting for the eects of turbulence-induced pressure uctuations and noncondensable gases, the nal phase rate expressions are written as: when p < pv Re = Ce when p > pv Rc = Cc k 2(p pv ) l l fv 3l k 2(pv p) l v (1 fv fg ) 3l
(24.6-19)
(24.6-20)
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Additional Guidelines for the Cavitation Model In practical applications of the cavitation model, several factors greatly inuence numerical stability. For instance, high pressure dierence between the inlet and exit, large ratio of liquid to vapor density, and near zero saturation pressure all cause unfavorable eects on solution convergence. In addition, poor initial conditions very often lead to an unrealistic pressure eld and unexpected cavitating zones, which, once present, are then usually very dicult for the model to correct. To help address these potential numerical problems, some tips for using the cavitation model are listed below: Relaxation Factors: In general, small relaxation factors are advised for momentum equations, usually, between 0.05 0.4; The relaxation factor for the pressurecorrection equation should usually be larger than those for momentum equations, say in the range 0.2 0.7. The density and the vaporization mass (source term in the vapor equation) can also be relaxed to improve convergence, Typically, the relaxation factor for density is set between the values of 0.3 and 1.0, while for the vaporization mass values between 0.1 and 1.0 may be appropriate. For some extreme cases, even smaller relaxation factors may be required for all the equations. Initial Conditions: Though no special initial condition settings are required, it is suggested that the vapor fraction is always set to inlet values. The pressure is set close to the highest pressure among the inlets and outlets to avoid unexpected low pressure and cavitating spots. Also, in complicated cases, it may be benecial to obtain a realistic pressure eld before substantial cavities are formed. This can be achieved by (1). setting near zero relaxation factors for the vaporization mass and for density, and increasing them to reasonable values after a sucient number of iterations; And (2). obtaining a converged / near-converged solution for a single phase liquid ow, then switching on the cavitation model. Non-Condensable Gases: Non-condensable gases are usually present in liquids. Even a small amount (e.g., 15 ppm) of non-condensable gases can have signicant eects on both the physical realism and the convergence characteristics of the solution. A value of zero for the mass fraction of non-condensable gases should generally be avoided. In some cases, if the liquid is puried of non-condensable gases, a much smaller value (e.g., 108 ) may be used to replace the default value of 1.5105 . In fact, higher mass fractions of the non-condensable gases may, in many cases, enhance numerical stability and lead to more realistic results. In particular, when the saturation pressure of a liquid at a certain temperature is zero or very small, non-condensable gases will play a crucial role both numerically and physically. Limits for Dependent Variables: In many cases, setting the pressure upper limit to a reasonable value can help convergence greatly at the early stage of the solution. It is advised to always limit the maximum pressure when it is possible. By default, FLUENT sets the maximum pressure limit to 5.01010 Pascal.
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Relax the Pressure Correction Equation: For cavitating ows, a special relaxation factor is introduced for the pressure correction equation. By default, this factor is set to 0.7, which should work well for most of the cases. For some very complicated cases, however, you may experience the divergence of the AMG solver. Under those circumstances, this value may be reduced to no less than 0.4. You can set the value of this relaxation factor by typing a text command. For more information, contact your FLUENT support engineer. As for many multiphase ows, it is more desirable to use the following pressure discretization schemes in cavitation applications: Body Force Weighted Second Order PRESTO The standard and linear schemes generally are not very eective in complex cavitating ows.
Extended Cavitation Model Capability

In many practical applications, when cavitation occurs, there exist other gaseous species in the systems investigated. For instance, in a ventilated supercavitating vehicle, air is injected into a liquid to stabilize or increase the cavitation along the vehicle surfaces. Also in some cases, the incoming ow is a mixture of a liquid and some gaseous species. In order to be able to predict those type of cavitating ows, the basic two-phase cavitation model needs to be extended to a multiphase (N-phase) ows, or a multiphase species transport cavitation model. Multiphase Cavitation Model The multiphase cavitation model is an extension of the basic two-phase cavitation model to multiphase ows. In addition to the primary liquid and secondary vapor phase, more secondary gaseous phases can be included into the computational system under the following assumptions/limitations: Mass transfer (cavitation) only occurs between the rst and the second phases. The basic cavitation model is still used to model the phase changes between the liquid and vapor. Only one secondary phase can be dened as compressible gas phase, while a userdened density may be applied to all the phases.
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The pre-described non-condensable gases can still be included in the system. To exclude non-condensable gases from the system, the mass fraction needs to be set to 0, and the non-condensable gas needs to be modeled by a separate compressible gas phase. For an non-cavitating phase i, the general transport equation governing the mass fraction fi given by: (fi ) + t (vv fi ) = (fi fi ) + Sfi (24.6-21)
where Sfi is a (user-dened) source term. By default, Sfi = 0. Multiphase Species Transport Cavitation Model In some cases, there are several gas phase components in a system. It is desirable to consider them all compressible. Since only one compressible gas phase is allowed in the general multiphase approach, the multiphase species transport approach oers an option to handle these type of applications by assuming that there is one compressible gas phase with multiple species. The detailed description of the multiphase species transport approach can be found in Section 24.7: Multiphase Species Transport. The multiphase species transport cavitation model can be summarized as follows: All the assumptions/limitations for the multiphase cavitation model also apply here. The primary phase can only be a single liquid. All the secondary phases allow more than one species. The vapor, either as a phase or a species, must be in the second phase. The mass transfer between a liquid and a vapor phase/species is modeled by the basic cavitation model. The mass transfer between other phases or species are modeled with the standard mass transfer approach. In the standard model, the zero constant rate should be chosen. For the phases with multiple species, the phase shares the same pressure as the other phases, but each species has its own pressure (i.e., partial pressure). As a result, the vapor density and the pressure used in Equation 24.6-19 are the partial density and pressure of the vapor.
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24.7 Multiphase Species Transport
24.7
Multiphase Species Transport
Species transport, as described in Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and FiniteRate Chemistry, can also be applied to multiphase ows. You can choose to solve the conservation equations for chemical species in multiphase ows by having FLUENT, for each phase k, predict the local mass fraction of each species, Yi k , through the solution of a convection-diusion equation for the ith species. The generalized chemical species conservation equation (Equation 14.1-1), when applied to a multiphase mixture can be represented in the following form:
n q q q q ( Yi )+ (q q v q Yi q ) = q Ji +q Ri q +q Si q + (mpi qj mqj pi )+R (24.7-1) t p=1
where Ri q is the net rate of production of homogeneous species i by chemical reaction for phase q, mqj pi is the mass transfer source between species i and j from phase q to p, and R is the heterogeneous reaction rate. In addition, q is the volume fraction for phase q and Si q is the rate of creation by addition from the dispersed phase plus any user-dened sources. FLUENT treats homogeneous gas phase chemical reactions the same as a single-phase chemical reaction. The reactants and the products belong to the same mixture material (set in the Species Model panel), and hence the same phase. The reaction rate is scaled by the volume fraction of the particular phase in the cell. The set-up of a homogeneous gas phase chemical reaction in FLUENT is the same as it is for a single phase. For more information, see Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry. For most multiphase species transport problems, boundary conditions for a particular species are set in the associated phase boundary condition panel (see Chapter 24.8.19: Setting Boundary Conditions), and postprocessing and reporting of results is performed on a per-phase basis (see Section 24.10: Postprocessing for General Multiphase Problems). For multiphase species transport simulations, the Species Model panel allows you to include Volumetric, Wall Surface, and Particle Surface reactions. FLUENT treats multiphase surface reactions as it would a single-phase reaction. The reaction rate is scaled with the volume fraction of the particular phase in the cell. For more information, see Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry.
To turn o reactions for a particular phase, while keeping the reactions active for other phases. turn on Volumetric under Reactions in the Species Model panel. Then, in the Materials panel, select none from the Reactions drop-down list.
The species of dierent phases is entirely independent. There is no implicit relationship between them even if they share the same name. Explicit relationships between
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species of dierent phases can be specied through mass transfer and heterogeneous reactions. For more information on mass transfer and heterogeneous reactions, see Section 24.8.16: Dening Mass Transfer Eects and Section 24.8.14: Dening Heterogeneous Reactions, respectively. Some phases may have a uid material associated with them instead of a mixture material. The species equations are solved in those phases that are assigned a mixture material. The species equation above is solved for the mass fraction of the species in a particular phase. The mass transfer and heterogeneous reactions will be associated with the bulk uid for phases with a single uid material.
24.7.1
Limitations
The following limitations exist for the modeling of species transport for multiphase ows: The non-premixed, premixed, partially-premixed combustion, or the composition PDF transport species transport models are not available for multiphase species reactions. The sti chemistry solver is not available for multiphase species reactions. Only the laminar nite-rate, nite-rate/eddy-dissipation and eddy-dissipation turbulence-chemistry models of homogeneous reactions are available for multiphase species transport. The discrete phase model (DPM) is not compatible with multiphase species transport.
24.7.2
Mass and Momentum Transfer with Multiphase Species Transport
The FLUENT multiphase mass transfer model accommodates mass transfer between species belonging to dierent phases. Instead of a matrix-type input, multiple mass transfer mechanisms need to be input. Each mass transfer mechanism denes the mass transfer phenomenon from one entity to another entity. An entity is either a particular species in a phase, or the bulk phase itself if the phase does not have a mixture material associated with it. The mass transfer phenomenon could be specied either through the inbuilt unidirectional constant-rate mass transfer (Section 24.6.2: Unidirectional Constant Rate Mass Transfer) or through user-dened functions. FLUENT loops through all the mass transfer mechanisms to compute the net mass source/sink of each species in each phase. The net mass source/sink of a species is used to compute species and mass source terms. FLUENT will also automatically add the source contribution to all relevant momentum and energy equations based on that assumption that the momentum and energy carried along with the transferred mass. For other equations, the transport due to mass transfer needs to be explicitly modeled by the user.
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Source Terms Due to Heterogeneous Reactions

Consider the following reaction: aA + bB cC + dD Let as assume that A and C belong to phase 1 and B and D to phase 2. Mass Transfer Mass source for the phases are given by: S1 = R(cMc aMa ) S2 = R(dMd bMb ) (24.7-3) (24.7-4) (24.7-2)
where S is the mass source, M is the molecular weight, and R is the reaction rate. The general expression for the mass source for the ith phase is Sri = R
ri r j Mjr p j Mjp pi
(24.7-5) (24.7-6) (24.7-7)
Spi = R
Si = Spi + Sri
where is the stoichiometric coecient, p represents the product, and r represents the reactant. Momentum Transfer Momentum transfer is more complicated, but we can assume that the reactants mix (conserving momentum) and the products take momentum in the ratio of the rate of their formation. The net velocity, unet , of the reactants is given by: unet = aMa u1 + bMb u2 aMa + bMb (24.7-8)
The general expression for the net velocity of the reactants is given by: unet =
r r j Mjr urj r r r j Mj
(24.7-9)
where j represents the j th item (either a reactant or a product).
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Momentum transfer for the phases is then given by:

u S1 = R(cMc unet aMa u1 ) u S2 = R(dMd unet bMb u2 )
(24.7-10) (24.7-11)
The general expression is Siu = Spi unet R

ri r j Mjr ui
(24.7-12)
If we assume that there is no momentum transfer, then the above term will be zero. Species Transfer The general expression for source for k th species in the j th phase is Sri = R k Spk = R i
r j Mjr
k ri k k
(24.7-13) (24.7-14) (24.7-15)
p j Mjp pk i
Sik = Spk + Sri k i Heat Transfer
For heat transfer, we need to consider the formation enthalpies of the reactants and products as well: The net enthalpy of the reactants is given by: Hnet = aMa (Ha + hf ) + bMb (Hb + hf ) a b aMa + bMb (24.7-16)
where hf represents the formation enthalpy, and H represents the enthalpy. The general expression for Hnet is: Hnet =
r r r j Mjr (Hj + hf j ) r r r j Mj r
(24.7-17)
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If we assume that this enthalpy gets distributed to the products in the ratio of their mass production rates, heat transfer for the phases are given by:
H S1 = R(cMc Hnet aMa H a cMc hc ) f H S2
(24.7-18) (24.7-19)
= R(dMd Hnet bMb H
dMd hd ) f
The last term in the above equations appears because our enthalpy is with reference to the formation enthalpy. The general expression for the heat source is: SiH = Spi Hnet R
ri r r j Mjr Hj + pi p j Mjp hf j p
(24.7-20)
If we assume that there is no heat transfer, we can assume that the dierent species only carry their formation enthalpies with them. Thus the expression for Hnet will be: Hnet = The expression SiH will be SiH = Spi Hnet R
pi p j Mjp hf j p r r j Mjr hf j r r r j Mj r
(24.7-21)
(24.7-22)
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24.8
Setting Up a General Multiphase Problem
This section provides instructions and guidelines for using the VOF, mixture, and Eulerian multiphase models. Information is presented in the following subsections: Section 24.8.1: Steps for Using the General Multiphase Models Section 24.8.2: Additional Guidelines for Eulerian Multiphase Simulations Section 24.8.3: Enabling the Multiphase Model and Specifying the Number of Phases Section 24.8.4: Selecting the VOF Formulation Section 24.8.5: Modeling Open Channel Flows Section 24.8.6: Dening a Homogeneous Multiphase Flow Section 24.8.7: Overview of Dening the Phases Section 24.8.8: Dening Phases for the VOF Model Section 24.8.9: Dening Phases for the Mixture Model Section 24.8.10: Dening Phases for the Eulerian Model Section 24.8.11: Selecting a Turbulence Model for an Eulerian Multiphase Calculation Section 24.8.12: Including Body Forces Section 24.8.13: Modeling Multiphase Species Transport Section 24.8.14: Dening Heterogeneous Reactions Section 24.8.15: Dening Heat Transfer for the Eulerian Model Section 24.8.16: Dening Mass Transfer Eects Section 24.8.17: Including Cavitation Eects Section 24.8.18: Setting Time-Dependent Parameters for the VOF Model Section 24.8.19: Setting Boundary Conditions Section 24.8.20: Setting Initial Volume Fractions Section 24.8.21: Inputs for Compressible VOF and Mixture Model Calculations Section 24.8.22: Inputs for Solidication/Melting VOF Calculations Section 24.8.23: Using the Wet Steam Model
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24.8 Setting Up a General Multiphase Problem
24.8.1
Steps for Using the General Multiphase Models
The procedure for setting up and solving a general multiphase problem is outlined below, and described in detail in the subsections that follow. Remember that only the steps that are pertinent to general multiphase calculations are shown here. For information about inputs related to other models that you are using in conjunction with the multiphase model, see the appropriate sections for those models. See also Section 24.8.2: Additional Guidelines for Eulerian Multiphase Simulations for guidelines on simplifying Eulerian multiphase simulations. 1. Enable the multiphase model you want to use (VOF, mixture, or Eulerian) and specify the number of phases. For the VOF model, specify the VOF formulation as well. Dene Models Multiphase... See Sections 24.8.3 and 24.8.4 for details. 2. Copy the material representing each phase from the materials database. Dene Materials... If the material you want to use is not in the database, create a new material. See Section 8.1.2: Using the Materials Panel for details about copying from the database and creating new materials. See Section 24.8.21: Inputs for Compressible VOF and Mixture Model Calculations for additional information about specifying material properties for a compressible phase (VOF and mixture models only). It is possible to turn o reactions in some materials by selecting none in the Reactions drop-down list under Properties in the Materials panel.
If your model includes a particulate (granular) phase, you will need to create a new material for it in the uid materials category (not the solid materials category).
3. Dene the phases, and specify any interaction between them (e.g., surface tension if you are using the VOF model, slip velocity functions if you are using the mixture model, or drag functions if you are using the Eulerian model). Dene Phases... See Sections 24.8.724.8.10 for details. 4. (Eulerian model only) If the ow is turbulent, dene the multiphase turbulence model. Dene Models Viscous... See Section 24.8.11: Selecting a Turbulence Model for an Eulerian Multiphase Calculation for details.
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5. If body forces are present, turn on gravity and specify the gravitational acceleration. Dene Operating Conditions... See Section 24.8.12: Including Body Forces for details. 6. Specify the boundary conditions, including the secondary-phase volume fractions at ow boundaries and (if you are modeling wall adhesion in a VOF simulation) the contact angles at walls. Dene Boundary Conditions... See Section 24.8.19: Setting Boundary Conditions for details. 7. Set any model-specic solution parameters. Solve Controls Solution... See Sections 24.8.18 and 24.9 for details. 8. Initialize the solution and set the initial volume fractions for the secondary phases. Solve Initialize Patch... See Section 24.8.20: Setting Initial Volume Fractions for details. 9. Calculate a solution and examine the results. Postprocessing and reporting of results is available for each phase that is selected. See Sections 24.9 and 24.10 for details.
24.8.2
Additional Guidelines for Eulerian Multiphase Simulations
Once you have determined that the Eulerian multiphase model is appropriate for your problem (as described in Sections 22.4 and 24.1), you should consider the computational eort required to solve your multiphase problem. The required computational eort depends strongly on the number of transport equations being solved and the degree of coupling. For the Eulerian multiphase model, which has a large number of highly coupled transport equations, computational expense will be high. Before setting up your problem, try to reduce the problem statement to the simplest form possible. Instead of trying to solve your multiphase ow in all of its complexity on your rst solution attempt, you can start with simple approximations and work your way up to the nal form of the problem denition. Some suggestions for simplifying a multiphase ow problem are listed below: use a hexahedral or quadrilateral mesh (instead of a tetrahedral or triangular mesh) reduce the number of phases
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You may nd that even a very simple approximation will provide you with useful information about your problem. See Section 24.9.3: Solution Strategies for the Eulerian Model for more solution strategies for Eulerian multiphase calculations.
24.8.3
Enabling the Multiphase Model and Specifying the Number of Phases
To enable the VOF, mixture, or Eulerian multiphase model, select Volume of Fluid, Mixture, or Eulerian as the Model in the Multiphase Model panel (Figure 24.8.1). Dene Models Multiphase...
Figure 24.8.1: The Multiphase Model Panel
The panel will expand to show the relevant inputs for the selected multiphase model.
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If you selected the VOF model, the inputs are as follows: number of phases VOF formulation (see Section 24.8.4: Selecting the VOF Formulation) (optional) implicit body force formulation (see Section 24.8.12: Including Body Forces) If you selected the mixture model, the inputs are as follows: number of phases whether or not to compute the slip velocities (see Section 24.8.6: Dening a Homogeneous Multiphase Flow) (optional) implicit body force formulation (see Section 24.8.12: Including Body Forces) If you selected the Eulerian model, the inputs are as follows: number of phases To specify the number of phases for the multiphase calculation, enter the appropriate value in the Number of Phases eld. You can specify up to 20 phases.
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24.8.4
Selecting the VOF Formulation
To specify the VOF formulation to be used, select the appropriate VOF Scheme under VOF Parameters in the Multiphase Model panel. The VOF formulations that are available in FLUENT are as follows: Time-dependent with the geometric reconstruction interpolation scheme: This formulation should be used whenever you are interested in the time-accurate transient behavior of the VOF solution. To use this formulation, select Geo-Reconstruct (the default) as the VOF Scheme. FLUENT will automatically turn on the unsteady formulation with rst-order discretization for time in the Solver panel. Time-dependent with the donor-acceptor interpolation scheme: This formulation should be used instead of the time-dependent formulation with the geometric reconstruction scheme if your mesh contains highly twisted hexahedral cells. For such cases, the donor-acceptor scheme may provide more accurate results. To use this formulation, select Donor-Acceptor as the VOF Scheme. FLUENT will automatically turn on the unsteady formulation with rst-order discretization for time in the Solver panel. Time-dependent with the Euler explicit interpolation scheme: Since the donoracceptor scheme is available only for quadrilateral and hexahedral meshes, it cannot be used for a hybrid mesh containing twisted hexahedral cells. For such cases, you should use the time-dependent Euler explicit scheme. This formulation can also be used for other cases in which the geometric reconstruction scheme does not give satisfactory results, or the ow calculation becomes unstable. Note that the modied HRIC scheme can be computationally inexpensive when compared to the geometric reconstruction scheme and improves the robustness and stability of the calculations. To use this formulation, select Euler Explicit as the VOF Scheme. FLUENT will automatically turn on the unsteady formulation with rst-order discretization for time in the Solver panel. While the Euler explicit time-dependent formulation is less computationally expensive than the geometric reconstruction scheme, the interface between phases will not be as sharp as that predicted with the geometric reconstruction scheme. To reduce this diusivity, it is recommended that you use the second-order discretization scheme for the volume fraction equations. In addition, you may want to consider turning the geometric reconstruction scheme back on after calculating a solution with the implicit scheme, in order to obtain a sharper interface. Time-dependent with the implicit interpolation scheme: This formulation can be used if you are looking for a steady-state solution and you are not interested in the
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intermediate transient ow behavior, but the nal steady-state solution is dependent on the initial ow conditions and/or you do not have a distinct inow boundary for each phase. To use this formulation, select Implicit as the VOF Scheme, and enable an Unsteady calculation in the Solver panel (opened with the Dene/Models/Solver... menu item).
The issues discussed above for the Euler explicit time-dependent formulation also apply to the implicit time-dependent formulation. You should take the precautions described above to improve the sharpness of the interface.
Steady-state with the implicit interpolation scheme: This formulation can be used if you are looking for a steady-state solution, you are not interested in the intermediate transient ow behavior, and the nal steady-state solution is not aected by the initial ow conditions and there is a distinct inow boundary for each phase. Note that the implicit modied HRIC scheme can be used as a robust alternative to the explicit geometric reconstruction scheme. To use this formulation, select Implicit as the VOF Scheme.
The issues discussed above for the Euler explicit time-dependent formulation also apply to the implicit steady-state formulation. You should take the precautions described above to improve the sharpness of the interface.
For the geometric reconstruction and donor-acceptor schemes, if you are using a conformal grid (i.e., if the grid node locations are identical at the boundaries where two subdomains meet), you must ensure that there are no two-sided (zero-thickness) walls within the domain. If there are, you will need to slit them, as described in Section 6.7.9: Slitting Face Zones.
Examples
To help you determine the best formulation to use for your problem, examples that use dierent formulations are listed below: jet breakup: time-dependent with the geometric reconstruction scheme (or the donor-acceptor or Euler explicit scheme if problems occur with the geometric reconstruction scheme) shape of the liquid interface in a centrifuge: time-dependent with the implicit interpolation scheme ow around a ships hull: steady-state with the implicit interpolation scheme
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24.8.5
Modeling Open Channel Flows
Using the VOF formulation, open channel ows can be modeled in FLUENT. To start using the open channel ow boundary condition, perform the following: 1. Turn on gravity. (a) Open the Operating Conditions panel. Dene Operating Conditions... (b) Turn on Gravity and set the gravitational acceleration elds. 2. Enable the volume of uid model. (a) Open the Multiphase Model panel. Dene Models Multiphase... (b) Under Model, turn on Volume of Fluid. (c) Under VOF Scheme, select either Implicit, Explicit, or Geo-Reconstruct. 3. Under VOF Parameters, select Open Channel Flow. In order to set specic parameters for a particular boundary for open channel ows, turn on the Open Channel Flow option in the corresponding boundary condition panel. Table 24.8.1 summarizes the types of boundaries available to the open channel ow boundary condition, and the additional parameters needed to model open channel ow. For more information on setting boundary condition parameters, see Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions. Table 24.8.1: Open Channel Boundary Parameters for the VOF Model Boundary Type pressure inlet Parameter Inlet Group ID; Secondary Phase for Inlet; Flow Specication Method; Free Surface Level, Bottom Level; Velocity Magnitude Outlet Group ID: Pressure Specication Method; Free Surface Level; Bottom Level Inlet Group ID; Secondary Phase for Inlet; Free Surface Level; Bottom Level
pressure outlet mass ow inlet
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Dening Inlet Groups Open channel systems involve the owing uid (the secondary phase) and the uid above it (the primary phase). If both phases enter through the separate inlets (e.g., inlet-phase2 and inlet-phase1), these two inlets form an inlet group. This inlet group is recognized by the parameter Inlet Group ID, which will be same for both the inlets that make up the inlet group. On the other hand, if both the phases enter through the same inlet (e.g., inlet-combined), then the inlet itself represents the inlet group.
In three-phase ows, only one secondary phase is allowed to pass through one inlet group.
Dening Outlet Groups Outlet-groups can be dened in the same manner as the inlet groups.
In three-phase ows, the outlet should represent the outlet group, i.e., separate outlets for each phase are not recommended in three-phase ows.
Setting the Inlet Group For pressure inlets and mass ow inlets, the Inlet Group ID is used to identify the dierent inlets that are part of the same inlet group. For instance, when both phases enter through the same inlet (single face zone), then those phases are part of one inlet group and you would set the Inlet Group ID to 1 for that inlet (or inlet group). In the case where the same inlet group has separate inlets (dierent face zones) for each phase, then the Inlet Group ID will be the same for each inlet of that group. When specifying the inlet group, use the following guidelines: Since the Inlet Group ID is used to identify the inlets of the same inlet group, general information such as Free Surface Level, Bottom Level, or the mass ow rate for each phase should be the same for each inlet of the same inlet group. You should specify a dierent Inlet Group ID for each distinct inlet group. For example, consider the case of two inlet groups for a particular problem. The rst inlet group consists of water and air entering through the same inlet (a single face zone). In this case, you would specify an inlet group ID of 1 for that inlet (or inlet group). The second inlet group consists of oil and air entering through the same inlet group, but each uses a dierent inlet (oil-inlet and air-inlet) for each phase. In this case, you would specify the same Inlet Group ID of 2 for both of the inlets that belong to the inlet group.
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Setting the Outlet Group

For pressure outlet boundaries, the Outlet Group ID is used to identify the dierent outlets that are part of the same outlet group. For instance, when both phases enter through the same outlet (single face zone), then those phases are part of one outlet group and you would set the Outlet Group ID to 1 for that outlet (or outlet group). In the case where the same outlet group has separate outlets (dierent face zones) for each phase, then the Outlet Group ID will be the same for each outlet of that group. When specifying the outlet group, use the following guidelines: Since the Outlet Group ID is used to identify the outlets of the same outlet group, general information such as Free Surface Level or Bottom Level should be the same for each outlet of the same outlet group. You should specify a dierent Outlet Group ID for each distinct outlet group. For example, consider the case of two outlet groups for a particular problem. the rst inlet group consists of water and air exiting from the same outlet (a single face zone). In this case, you would specify an outlet number of 1 for that outlet (or outlet group). The second outlet group consists of oil and air exiting through the same outlet group, but each uses a dierent outlet (oil-outlet and air-outlet) for each phase. In this case, you would specify the same Outlet Group ID of 2 for both of the outlets that belong to the outlet group.
For three-phase ows, when all the phases are leaving through the same outlet, the outlet should consist only of a single face zone.
Determining the Free Surface Level

For the appropriate boundary, you need to specify the Free Surface Level value. This parameter is available for all relevant boundaries, including pressure outlet, mass ow inlet, and pressure inlet. The Free Surface Level, is represented by ylocal in Equation 24.2-25. ylocal = ( g ) a (24.8-1)
where is the position vector of any point on the free surface, and g is the unit vector a in the direction of the force of gravity. Here we assume a horizontal free surface that is normal to the direction of gravity.
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We can simply calculate the free surface level in two steps: 1. Determine the absolute value of height from the free surface to the origin in the direction of gravity. 2. Apply the correct sign based on whether the free surface level is above or below the origin. If the liquids free surface level lies above the origin, then the Free Surface Level is positive (see Figure 24.8.2). Likewise, if the liquids free surface level lies below the origin, then the Free Surface Level is negative.
Determining the Bottom Level

For the appropriate boundary, you need to specify the Bottom Level value. This parameter is available for all relevant boundaries, including pressure outlet, mass ow inlet, and pressure inlet. The Bottom Level, is represented by a relation similar to Equation 24.2-25. ybottom = ( b g ) (24.8-2)
where b is the position vector of any point on the bottom of the channel, and g is the unit vector of gravity. Here we assume a horizontal free surface that is normal to the direction of gravity. We can simply calculate the bottom level in two steps: 1. Determine the absolute value of depth from the bottom level to the origin in the direction of gravity. 2. Apply the correct sign based on whether the bottom level is above or below the origin. If the channels bottom lies above the origin, then the Bottom Level is positive (see Figure 24.8.2). Likewise, if the channels bottom lies below the origin, then the Bottom Level is negative.
Specifying the Total Height

The total height, along with the velocity, is used as an option for describing the ow. The total height is given as ytot = ylocal + V2 2g (24.8-3)
where V is the velocity magnitude and g is the gravity magnitude.
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Free Surface Level (positive)
Bottom Level (positive)
Reference Level Origin
Figure 24.8.2: Determining the Free Surface Level and the Bottom Level
Determining the Velocity Magnitude

Pressure inlet boundaries require the Velocity Magnitude for calculating the dynamic pressure at the boundary. This is to be specied as the magnitude of the upstream inlet velocity in the ow.
Determining the Secondary Phase for the Inlet

For pressure inlets and mass ow inlets, the Secondary Phase for Inlet eld is signicant in cases of three-phase ows.
Note that only one secondary phase is allowed to pass through one inlet group.
Consider a problem involving a three-phase ow consisting of air as the primary phase, and oil and water as the secondary phases. Consider also that there are two inlet groups: 1. water and air 2. oil and air For the rst inlet group, you would choose water as the secondary phase. For the second inlet group, you would choose oil as the secondary phase.
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Choosing the Pressure Specication Method

For a pressure outlet boundary, the outlet pressure can be specied in one of two ways, 1. By prescribing the local height (i.e., a hydrostatic pressure prole) 2. By specifying the constant pressure
This option is not available in the case of three-phase ows since the pressure on the boundary is taken from the neighboring cell.
Limitations
The following list summarizes some issues and limitations associated with the open channel boundary condition. 1. The conservation of the Bernoulli integral does not provide the conservation of mass ow rate for the pressure boundary. In the case of a coarser mesh, there can be a signicant dierence in mass ow rate from the actual mass ow rate. For ner meshes, the mass ow rate comes closer to the actual value. So, for problems having constant mass ow rate, the mass ow rate boundary condition is a better option. The pressure boundary should be selected when steady and non-oscillating drag is the main objective. 2. Specifying the top boundary as the pressure outlet can sometimes lead to a divergent solution. This may be due to the corner singularity at the pressure boundary in the air region or due to the inability to specify local ow direction correctly if the air enters through the top locally. 3. Only the heavier phase should be selected as the secondary phase. 4. In the case of three-phase ows, only one secondary phase is allowed to enter through one inlet group. That means, the mixed inow of dierent secondary phases is not allowed.
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Recommendations for Setting Up an Open Channel Flow Problem

The following list represents a list of recommendations for solving problems using the open channel ow boundary condition. In the cases where the inlet group has a dierent inlet for each phase of uid, then the parameter values (such as Free Surface Level, Bottom Level, and Mass Flow Rate) for each inlet should correspond to all other inlets that belong to the inlet group. The solution begins with an estimated pressure prole at the outlet boundary. In general, you can start the solution by assuming that the level of liquid at the outlet corresponds to the level of liquid at the inlet. The convergence and solution time is very dependant on the initial conditions. When the ow is completely subcritical (upstream and downstream), in marine applications for instance, the above approach is recommended. If the nal conditions of the ow can be predicted by other means, the solution time can be signicantly reduced by using the proper boundary condition. The initialization procedure is very critical in the open channel analysis. If you are interested in the nal steady state solution, then follow the initialization procedure given below: 1. Initialize the domain by setting the volume fraction of the secondary phase to 0, and providing the inlet velocity. 2. Patch the domain using a volume fraction value of the secondary phase to 1, up to the Free Surface Level specied at the inlet 3. Patch the inlet velocity again in the full domain. If the Free Surface Level values are dierent at the inlet and outlet, then patching some regions with inlet Free Surface Level values and some regions with outlet Free Surface Level values could be useful for some problems. The same steps for initialization are also recommended for unsteady ows, but now the initial conditions are dependant on the user. For the initial stability of the solution, a smaller time step is recommended. You can increase the time step once the solution becomes more stable.
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24.8.6
Dening a Homogeneous Multiphase Flow
If you are using the mixture model, you have the option to disable the calculation of slip velocities and solve a homogeneous multiphase ow (i.e., one in which the phases all move at the same velocity). By default, FLUENT will compute the slip velocities for the secondary phases, as described in Section 24.3.4: Relative (Slip) Velocity and the Drift Velocity. If you want to solve a homogeneous multiphase ow, turn o Slip Velocity under Mixture Parameters.
24.8.7
Overview of Dening the Phases
To dene the phases (including their material properties) and any interphase interaction (e.g., surface tension and wall adhesion for the VOF model, slip velocity for the mixture model, drag functions for the mixture and the Eulerian models), you will use the Phases panel (Figure 24.8.3). Dene Phases...
Figure 24.8.3: The Phases Panel
Each item in the Phase list in this panel is one of two types, as indicated in the Type list: primary-phase indicates that the selected item is the primary phase, and secondary-phase indicates that the selected item is a secondary phase. To specify any interaction between the phases, click the Interaction... button. Instructions for dening the phases and interaction are provided in Sections 24.8.8, 24.8.9, and 24.8.10 for the VOF, mixture, and Eulerian models, respectively.
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24.8.8
Dening Phases for the VOF Model
Instructions for specifying the necessary information for the primary and secondary phases and their interaction in a VOF calculation are provided below.
In general, you can specify the primary and secondary phases whichever way you prefer. It is a good idea, especially in more complicated problems, to consider how your choice will aect the ease of problem setup. For example, if you are planning to patch an initial volume fraction of 1 for one phase in a portion of the domain, it may be more convenient to make that phase a secondary phase. Also, if one of the phases is a compressible ideal gas, it is recommended that you specify it as the primary phase to improve solution stability. Recall that only one of the phases can be a compressible ideal gas. Be sure that you do not select a compressible ideal gas material (i.e., a material that uses the compressible ideal gas law for density) for more than one of the phases. See Section 24.8.21: Inputs for Compressible VOF and Mixture Model Calculations for details.
Dening the Primary Phase

To dene the primary phase in a VOF calculation, follow these steps: 1. Select phase-1 in the Phase list. 2. Click Set..., and the Primary Phase panel (Figure 24.8.4) will open.
Figure 24.8.4: The Primary Phase Panel
3. In the Primary Phase panel, enter a Name for the phase. 4. Specify which material the phase contains by choosing the appropriate material in the Phase Material drop-down list.
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5. Dene the material properties for the Phase Material. (a) Click Edit..., and the Material panel will open. (b) In the Material panel, check the properties, and modify them if necessary. (See Chapter 8: Physical Properties for general information about setting material properties, Section 24.8.21: Inputs for Compressible VOF and Mixture Model Calculations for specic information related to compressible VOF calculations, and Section 24.8.22: Inputs for Solidication/Melting VOF Calculations for specic information related to melting/solidication VOF calculations.)
If you make changes to the properties, remember to click Change before closing the Material panel.
6. Click OK in the Primary Phase panel.
Dening a Secondary Phase

To dene a secondary phase in a VOF calculation, follow these steps: 1. Select the phase (e.g., phase-2) in the Phase list. 2. Click Set..., and the Secondary Phase panel (Figure 24.8.5) will open.
Figure 24.8.5: The Secondary Phase Panel for the VOF Model
3. In the Secondary Phase panel, enter a Name for the phase. 4. Specify which material the phase contains by choosing the appropriate material in the Phase Material drop-down list. 5. Dene the material properties for the Phase Material, following the procedure outlined above for setting the material properties for the primary phase. 6. Click OK in the Secondary Phase panel.
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Including Surface Tension and Wall Adhesion Effects

As discussed in Section 24.2.8: When Surface Tension Eects are Important, the importance of surface tension eects depends on the value of the capillary number, Ca (dened by Equation 24.2-16), or the Weber number, We (dened by Equation 24.2-17). Surface tension eects can be neglected if Ca 1 or We 1.
Note that the calculation of surface tension eects will be more accurate if you use a quadrilateral or hexahedral mesh in the area(s) of the computational domain where surface tension is signicant. If you cannot use a quadrilateral or hexahedral mesh for the entire domain, then you should use a hybrid mesh, with quadrilaterals or hexahedra in the aected areas. FLUENT also oers an option to use VOF gradients at the nodes for curvature calculations on meshes when more accuracy is desired. For more information, see Section 24.2.8: Surface Tension and Wall Adhesion.
If you want to include the eects of surface tension along the interface between one or more pairs of phases, as described in Section 24.2.8: Surface Tension and Wall Adhesion, click Interaction... to open the Phase Interaction panel (Figure 24.8.6).
Figure 24.8.6: The Phase Interaction Panel for the VOF Model (Surface Tension Tab)
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Follow the steps below to include surface tension (and, if appropriate, wall adhesion) eects along the interface between one or more pairs of phases: 1. Click the Surface Tension tab. 2. If you want to include wall adhesion, turn on the Wall Adhesion option. When Wall Adhesion is enabled, you will need to specify the contact angle at each wall as a boundary condition (as described in Section 24.8.19: Setting Boundary Conditions). 3. For each pair of phases between which you want to include the eects of surface tension, specify a constant surface tension coecient. Alternatively you can specify a temperature dependent, polynomial, piece-wise polynomial, piecewise linear, or a user-dened surface tension coecient. See Section 24.2.8: Surface Tension and Wall Adhesion for more information on surface tension, and the separate UDF Manual for more information on user-dened functions. All surface tension coecients are equal to 0 by default, representing no surface tension eects along the interface between the two phases.
For calculations involving surface tension, it is recommended that you also turn on the Implicit Body Force treatment for the Body Force Formulation in the Multiphase Model panel. This treatment improves solution convergence by accounting for the partial equilibrium of the pressure gradient and surface tension forces in the momentum equations. See Section 26.3.3: Special Treatment for Strong Body Forces in Multiphase Flows for details.
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24.8.9
Dening Phases for the Mixture Model
Instructions for specifying the necessary information for the primary and secondary phases and their interaction for a mixture model calculation are provided below.
Recall that only one of the phases can be a compressible ideal gas. Be sure that you do not select a compressible ideal gas material (i.e., a material that uses the compressible ideal gas law for density) for more than one of the phases. See Section 24.8.21: Inputs for Compressible VOF and Mixture Model Calculations for details.

The procedure for dening the primary phase in a mixture model calculation is the same as for a VOF calculation. See Section 24.8.8: Dening the Primary Phase for details.
Dening a Non-Granular Secondary Phase

To dene a non-granular (i.e., liquid or vapor) secondary phase in a mixture multiphase calculation, follow these steps: 1. Select the phase (e.g., phase-2) in the Phase list. 2. Click Set..., and the Secondary Phase panel (Figure 24.8.7) will open. 3. In the Secondary Phase panel, enter a Name for the phase. 4. Specify which material the phase contains by choosing the appropriate material in the Phase Material drop-down list. 5. Dene the material properties for the Phase Material, following the same procedure you used to set the material properties for the primary phase (see Section 24.8.8: Dening the Primary Phase). For a particulate phase (which must be placed in the uid materials category, as mentioned in Section 24.8.1: Steps for Using the General Multiphase Models), you need to specify only the density; you can ignore the values for the other properties, since they will not be used. 6. In the Secondary Phase panel, specify the Diameter of the bubbles, droplets, or particles of this phase (dp in Equation 24.3-12). You can specify a constant value, or use a user-dened function. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions. Note that when you are using the mixture model without slip velocity, this input is not necessary, and it will not be available to you. 7. Click OK in the Secondary Phase panel.
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Figure 24.8.7: The Secondary Phase Panel for the Mixture Model
Dening a Granular Secondary Phase

To dene a granular (i.e., particulate) secondary phase in a mixture model multiphase calculation, follow these steps: 1. Select the phase (e.g., phase-2) in the Phase list. 2. Click Set..., and the Secondary Phase panel (Figure 24.8.8) will open. 3. In the Secondary Phase panel, enter a Name for the phase. 4. Specify which material the phase contains by choosing the appropriate material in the Phase Material drop-down list. 5. Dene the material properties for the Phase Material, following the same procedure you used to set the material properties for the primary phase (see Section 24.8.8: Dening the Primary Phase). For a granular phase (which must be placed in the uid materials category, as mentioned in Section 24.8.1: Steps for Using the General Multiphase Models), you need to specify only the density; you can ignore the values for the other properties, since they will not be used.
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Figure 24.8.8: The Secondary Phase Panel for a Granular Phase Using the Mixture Model
Note that all properties for granular ows can utilize user-dened functions (UDFs).
See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions. 6. Turn on the Granular option. 7. In the Secondary Phase panel, specify the following properties of the particles of this phase: Diameter species the diameter of the particles. You can select constant in the drop-down list and specify a constant value, or select user-dened to use a userdened function. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions. Granular Viscosity species the kinetic part of the granular viscosity of the particles (s,kin in Equation 24.3-18). You can select constant (the default) in the drop-down list and specify a constant value, select syamlal-obrien to compute the value using Equation 24.3-20, select gidaspow to compute the value using Equation 24.3-21, or select user-dened to use a user-dened function.
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Granular Temperature species temperature for the solids phase and is proportional to the kinetic energy of the random motion of the particles. Choose either the algebraic, the constant, or user-dened option. Solids Pressure species the pressure gradient term, ps , in the granular-phase momentum equation. Choose either the lun-et-al, the syamlal-obrien, the maahmadi, or the user-dened option. Radial Distribution species a correction factor that modies the probability of collisions between grains when the solid granular phase becomes dense. Choose either the lun-et-al, the syamlal-obrien, the ma-ahmadi, the arastoopour, or a user-dened option. Elasticity Modulus is dened as G= with G 0. Choose either the derived or user-dened options. Packing Limit species the maximum volume fraction for the granular phase (s,max ). For monodispersed spheres, the packing limit is about 0.63, which is the default value in FLUENT. In polydispersed cases, however, smaller spheres can ll the small gaps between larger spheres, so you may need to increase the maximum packing limit. 8. Click OK in the Secondary Phase panel. Ps s (24.8-4)
Dening Drag Between Phases

For mixture multiphase ows with slip velocity, you can specify the drag function to be used in the calculation. The functions available here are a subset of those discussed in Section 24.8.10: Dening Phases for the Eulerian Model. See Section 24.3.4: Relative (Slip) Velocity and the Drift Velocity for more information. To specify drag laws, click Interaction... to open the Phase Interaction panel (Figure 24.8.9), and then click the Drag tab.
Dening the Slip Velocity

If you are solving for slip velocities during the mixture calculation, and you want to modify the slip velocity denition, click Interaction... to open the Phase Interaction panel (Figure 24.8.10), and then click the Slip tab. Under Slip Velocity, you can specify the slip velocity function for each secondary phase with respect to the primary phase by choosing the appropriate item in the adjacent drop-down list.
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Figure 24.8.9: The Phase Interaction Panel for the Mixture Model (Drag Tab)
Select maninnen-et-al (the default) to use the algebraic slip method of Manninen et al. [216], described in Section 24.3.4: Relative (Slip) Velocity and the Drift Velocity. Select none if the secondary phase has the same velocity as the primary phase (i.e., no slip velocity). Select user-dened to use a user-dened function for the slip velocity. See the separate UDF Manual for details.
24.8.10
Dening Phases for the Eulerian Model
Instructions for specifying the necessary information for the primary and secondary phases and their interaction for an Eulerian multiphase calculation are provided below.

The procedure for dening the primary phase in an Eulerian multiphase calculation is the same as for a VOF calculation. See Section 24.8.8: Dening the Primary Phase for details.
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Figure 24.8.10: The Phase Interaction Panel for the Mixture Model (Slip Tab)
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Dening a Non-Granular Secondary Phase

To dene a non-granular (i.e., liquid or vapor) secondary phase in an Eulerian multiphase calculation, follow these steps: 1. Select the phase (e.g., phase-2) in the Phase list. 2. Click Set..., and the Secondary Phase panel (Figure 24.8.11) will open.
Figure 24.8.11: The Secondary Phase Panel for a Non-Granular Phase
3. In the Secondary Phase panel, enter a Name for the phase. 4. Specify which material the phase contains by choosing the appropriate material in the Phase Material drop-down list. 5. Dene the material properties for the Phase Material, following the same procedure you used to set the material properties for the primary phase (see Section 24.8.8: Dening the Primary Phase). 6. In the Secondary Phase panel, specify the Diameter of the bubbles or droplets of this phase. You can specify a constant value, or use a user-dened function. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions. 7. Click OK in the Secondary Phase panel.
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Dening a Granular Secondary Phase

To dene a granular (i.e., particulate) secondary phase in an Eulerian multiphase calculation, follow these steps: 1. Select the phase (e.g., phase-2) in the Phase list. 2. Click Set..., and the Secondary Phase panel (Figure 24.8.12) will open.
Figure 24.8.12: The Secondary Phase Panel for a Granular Phase
3. In the Secondary Phase panel, enter a Name for the phase. 4. Specify which material the phase contains by choosing the appropriate material in the Phase Material drop-down list. 5. Dene the material properties for the Phase Material, following the same procedure you used to set the material properties for the primary phase (see Section 24.8.8: Dening the Primary Phase). For a granular phase (which must be
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placed in the uid materials category, as mentioned in Section 24.8.1: Steps for Using the General Multiphase Models), you need to specify only the density; you can ignore the values for the other properties, since they will not be used. Note that all properties for granular ows can utilize user-dened functions See (UDFs). the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions.
6. Turn on the Granular option. 7. (optional) Turn on the Packed Bed option if you want to freeze the velocity eld for the granular phase. Note that when you select the packed bed option for a phase, you should also use the xed velocity option with a value of zero for all velocity components for all interior cell zones for that phase. 8. Specify the Granular Temperature Model. Choose either the default Phase Property option or the Partial Dierential Equation option. See Section 24.4.7: Granular Temperature for details. 9. In the Secondary Phase panel, specify the following properties of the particles of this phase: Diameter species the diameter of the particles. You can select constant in the drop-down list and specify a constant value, or select user-dened to use a userdened function. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened functions. Granular Viscosity species the kinetic part of the granular viscosity of the particles (s,kin in Equation 24.4-62). You can select constant (the default) in the drop-down list and specify a constant value, select syamlal-obrien to compute the value using Equation 24.4-64, select gidaspow to compute the value using Equation 24.4-65, or select user-dened to use a user-dened function. Granular Bulk Viscosity species the solids bulk viscosity (q in Equation 24.4-6). You can select constant (the default) in the drop-down list and specify a constant value, select lun-et-al to compute the value using Equation 24.4-66, or select user-dened to use a user-dened function. Frictional Viscosity species a shear viscosity based on the viscous-plastic ow (s,fr in Equation 24.4-62). By default, the frictional viscosity is neglected, as indicated by the default selection of none in the drop-down list. If you want to include the frictional viscosity, you can select constant and specify a constant value, select schaeer to compute the value using Equation 24.4-67, or select user-dened to use a user-dened function. Angle of Internal Friction species a constant value for the angle used in Schaeers expression for frictional viscosity (Equation 24.4-67). This parameter is relevant only if you have selected schaeer or user-dened for the Frictional Viscosity.
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Granular Conductivity species the solids granular conductivity (ks in Equation 24.4-68). You can select syamlal-obrien to compute the value using Equation 24.4-69, select gidaspow to compute the value using Equation 24.4-70, or select user-dened to use a user-dened function. Note, however, that FLUENT currently uses an algebraic relation for the granular temperature. This has been obtained by neglecting convection and diusion in the transport equation, Equation 24.4-68 [340]. Granular Temperature species temperature for the solids phase and is proportional to the kinetic energy of the random motion of the particles. Choose either the algebraic, the constant, or user-dened option. Solids Pressure species the pressure gradient term, ps , in the granular-phase momentum equation. Choose either the lun-et-al, the syamlal-obrien, the maahmadi, or a user-dened option. Radial Distribution species a correction factor that modies the probability of collisions between grains when the solid granular phase becomes dense. Choose either the lun-et-al, the syamlal-obrien, the ma-ahmadi, the arastoopour, or a user-dened option. Elasticity Modulus is dened as G= with G 0. Packing Limit species the maximum volume fraction for the granular phase (s,max ). For monodispersed spheres, the packing limit is about 0.63, which is the default value in FLUENT. In polydispersed cases, however, smaller spheres can ll the small gaps between larger spheres, so you may need to increase the maximum packing limit. 10. Click OK in the Secondary Phase panel. Ps s (24.8-5)
Dening the Interaction Between Phases

For both granular and non-granular ows, you will need to specify the drag function to be used in the calculation of the momentum exchange coecients. For granular ows, you will also need to specify the restitution coecient(s) for particle collisions. It is also possible to include an optional lift force and/or virtual mass force (described below) for both granular and non-granular ows. To specify these parameters, click Interaction... to open the Phase Interaction panel (Figure 24.8.13).
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Figure 24.8.13: The Phase Interaction Panel for the Eulerian Model
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Specifying the Drag Function FLUENT allows you to specify a drag function for each pair of phases. Follow the steps below: 1. Click the Drag tab to display the Drag Function inputs. 2. For each pair of phases, select the appropriate drag function from the corresponding drop-down list. Select schiller-naumann to use the uid-uid drag function described by Equation 24.4-18. The Schiller and Naumann model is the default method, and it is acceptable for general use in all uid-uid multiphase calculations. Select morsi-alexander to use the uid-uid drag function described by Equation 24.4-22. The Morsi and Alexander model is the most complete, adjusting the function denition frequently over a large range of Reynolds numbers, but calculations with this model may be less stable than with the other models. Select symmetric to use the uid-uid drag function described by Equation 24.4-27. The symmetric model is recommended for ows in which the secondary (dispersed) phase in one region of the domain becomes the primary (continuous) phase in another. For example, if air is injected into the bottom of a container lled halfway with water, the air is the dispersed phase in the bottom half of the container; in the top half of the container, the air is the continuous phase. Select wen-yu to use the uid-solid drag function described by Equation 24.4-39. The Wen and Yu model is applicable for dilute phase ows, in which the total secondary phase volume fraction is signicantly lower than that of the primary phase. Select gidaspow to use the uid-solid drag function described by Equation 24.4-41. The Gidaspow model is recommended for dense uidized beds. Select syamlal-obrien to use the uid-solid drag function described by Equation 24.4-31. The Syamlal-OBrien model is recommended for use in conjunction with the Syamlal-OBrien model for granular viscosity. Select syamlal-obrien-symmetric to use the solid-solid drag function described by Equation 24.4-43. The symmetric Syamlal-OBrien model is appropriate for a pair of solid phases. Select constant to specify a constant value for the drag function, and then specify the value in the text eld. Select user-dened to use a user-dened function for the drag function (see the separate UDF Manual for details).
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If you want to temporarily ignore the interaction between two phases, select none. Specifying the Restitution Coefcients (Granular Flow Only) For granular ows, you need to specify the coecients of restitution for collisions between particles (els in Equation 24.4-43 and ess in Equation 24.4-44). In addition to specifying the restitution coecient for collisions between each pair of granular phases, you will also specify the restitution coecient for collisions between particles of the same phase. Follow the steps below: 1. Click the Collisions tab to display the Restitution Coecient inputs. 2. For each pair of phases, specify a constant restitution coecient. All restitution coecients are equal to 0.9 by default. Including the Lift Force For both granular and non-granular ows, it is possible to include the eect of lift forces (Flift in Equation 24.4-8) on the secondary phase particles, droplets, or bubbles. These lift forces act on a particle, droplet, or bubble mainly due to velocity gradients in the primary-phase ow eld. In most cases, the lift force is insignicant compared to the drag force, so there is no reason to include it. If the lift force is signicant (e.g., if the phases separate quickly), you may want to include this eect.
Note that the lift force will be more signicant for larger particles, but the FLUENT model assumes that the particle diameter is much smaller than the interparticle spacing. Thus, the inclusion of lift forces is not appropriate for closely packed particles or for very small particles.
To include the eect of lift forces, follow these steps: 1. Click the Lift tab to display the Lift Coecient inputs. 2. For each pair of phases, select the appropriate specication method from the corresponding drop-down list. Note that, since the lift forces for a particle, droplet, or bubble are due mainly to velocity gradients in the primary-phase ow eld, you will not specify lift coecients for pairs consisting of two secondary phases; lift coecients are specied only for pairs consisting of a secondary phase and the primary phase. Select none (the default) to ignore the eect of lift forces. Select constant to specify a constant lift coecient, and then specify the value in the text eld.
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Select user-dened to use a user-dened function for the lift coecient (see the separate UDF Manual for details). Including the Virtual Mass Force For both granular and non-granular ows, it is possible to include the virtual mass force (Fvm in Equation 24.4-9) that is present when a secondary phase accelerates relative to the primary phase. The virtual mass eect is signicant when the secondary phase density is much smaller than the primary phase density (e.g., for a transient bubble column). To include the eect of the virtual mass force, turn on the Virtual Mass option in the Phase Interaction panel. The virtual mass eect will be included for all secondary phases; it is not possible to enable it just for a particular phase.
24.8.11
Selecting a Turbulence Model for an Eulerian Multiphase Calculation
If you are using the Eulerian model to solve a turbulent ow, you will need to choose one of turbulence models described in Section 24.4.9: Turbulence Models in the Viscous Model panel (Figure 24.8.14). The procedure is as follows: 1. Select either k-epsilon or Reynolds Stress under Model. 2. Select the desired k-epsilon Model or RSM Multiphase Model and any other related parameters, as described for single-phase calculations in Section 11.11: Problem Setup for Turbulent Flows. 3. Under k-epsilon Multiphase Model or RSM Multiphase Model, indicate the desired multiphase turbulence model (see Section 24.4.9: Turbulence Models for details about each): Select Mixture to use the mixture turbulence model. This is the default model. Select Dispersed to use the dispersed turbulence model. This model is applicable when there is clearly one primary continuous phase and the rest are dispersed dilute secondary phases. Select Per Phase to use a k- turbulence model for each phase. This model is appropriate when the turbulence transfer among the phases plays a dominant role.
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Figure 24.8.14: The Viscous Model Panel for an Eulerian Multiphase Calculation
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Including Source Terms

By default, the interphase momentum, k, and sources are not included in the calculation. If you want to include any of these source terms, you can enable them using the multiphase-options command in the define/models/viscous/multiphase-turbulence/ text menu. Note that the inclusion of these terms can slow down convergence noticeably. If you are looking for additional accuracy, you may want to compute a solution rst without these sources, and then continue the calculation with these terms included. In most cases these terms can be neglected.
Customizing the k- Multiphase Turbulent Viscosity

If you are using the k- multiphase turbulence model, a user-dened function can be used to customize the turbulent viscosity for each phase. This option will enable you to modify t in the k- model. For more information, see the separate UDF Manual. In the Viscous Model panel, under User-Dened Functions, select the appropriate userdened function in the Turbulent Viscosity drop-down list.
24.8.12
Including Body Forces
In many cases, the motion of the phases is due, in part, to gravitational eects. To include this body force, turn on Gravity in the Operating Conditions panel and specify the Gravitational Acceleration. Dene Operating Conditions... For VOF calculations, you should also turn on the Specied Operating Density option in the Operating Conditions panel, and set the Operating Density to be the density of the lightest phase. (This excludes the buildup of hydrostatic pressure within the lightest phase, improving the round-o accuracy for the momentum balance.) If any of the phases is compressible, set the Operating Density to zero.
For VOF and mixture calculations involving body forces, it is recommended that you also turn on the Implicit Body Force treatment for the Body Force Formulation in the Multiphase Model panel. This treatment improves solution convergence by accounting for the partial equilibrium of the pressure gradient and body forces in the momentum equations. See Section 26.3.3: Special Treatment for Strong Body Forces in Multiphase Flows for details.
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24.8.13
Modeling Multiphase Species Transport
FLUENT lets you describe a multiphase species transport and volumetric reaction (Section 24.7: Multiphase Species Transport) in a fashion that is similar to setting up a single-phase chemical reaction using the Species Model panel (e.g., Figure 24.8.15). Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction
Figure 24.8.15: The Species Model Panel With a Multiphase Model Enabled
1. Select Species Transport under Model. 2. Turn on Volumetric under Reactions. 3. Select a specic phase using the Phase drop-down list under Phase Properties. 4. Click the Set... button to display the Phase Properties panel (Figure 24.8.16).
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Figure 24.8.16: The Phase Properties Panel
In the Phase Properties panel, the material for each phase is listed in the Material drop-down list. From this list, you can choose the material that you want to use for a specic phase. The drop-down list contains all of the materials that have been dened for your simulation. If you want to inspect or edit any of the properties of any of the materials, then you need to open the Materials panel by clicking the Edit... button. 5. In the Species Model panel, choose the Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction model. Three models are available: Laminar Finite-Rate computes only the Arrhenius rate (see Equation 14.1-7) and neglects turbulence-chemistry interaction. Eddy-Dissipation (for turbulent ows) computes only the mixing rate (see Equations 14.1-25 and 14.1-26). Finite-Rate/Eddy-Dissipation (for turbulent ows) computes both the Arrhenius rate and the mixing rate and uses the smaller of the two. When modeling multiphase species transport, additional inputs may also be required depending on your modelling needs. See, for example, Section 24.8.14: Dening Heterogeneous Reactions for more information dening heterogeneous reactions, or Section 24.8.16: Dening Mass Transfer Eects for more information on mass transfer eects.
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24.8.14
Dening Heterogeneous Reactions
You can use FLUENT to dene multiple heterogeneous reactions and stoichiometry using the Phase Interaction panel (e.g., Figure 24.8.17). Dene Phases... 1. In the Phases panel (Figure 24.8.3), click the Interaction... button to open the Phase Interaction panel.
Figure 24.8.17: The Phase Interaction Panel for Heterogeneous Reactions
2. Click the Reactions tab in the Phase Interaction panel. 3. Set the total number of reactions (volumetric reactions, wall surface reactions, and particle surface reactions) in the Total Number of Heterogeneous Reactions eld. (Use the arrows to change the value, or type in the value and press RETURN.) 4. Specify the Reaction Name of each reaction that you want to dene. 5. Set the ID of each reaction you want to dene. (Again, if you type in the value be sure to press RETURN.)
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6. For each reaction, specify how many reactants and products are involved in the reaction by increasing the value of the Number of Reactants and the Number of Products. Select each reactant or product in the Reaction tab and then set its stoichiometric coecient in the Stoich. Coecient eld. (The stoichiometric coecient is the constant i,r or i,r in Equation 14.1-6.) 7. For each reaction, indicate the Phase and Species and the stoichiometric coecient for each of your reactants and products. 8. For each reaction, indicate an applicable user-dened function using the Reaction Rate Function drop-down list.
The heterogeneous reaction rates can only be specied using a user-dened function. A UDF is available for an Arrhenius-type reaction with rate exponents that are equivalent to the stoichiometric coecients
For more information, see the separate UDF Manual.
FLUENT assumes that the reactants are mixed thoroughly before reacting together, thus the heat and momentum transfer is based on this assumption. This assumption can be deactivated using a text command. For more information, contact your FLUENT support engineer.
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24.8.15
Dening Heat Transfer for the Eulerian Model
To dene heat transfer in a multiphase Eulerian simulation, you will need to visit the Phase Interaction panel, after you have turned on the energy equation in the Energy panel. Dene Phases... 1. Click the Interaction... ure 24.8.18). button to open the Phase Interaction panel (e.g., Fig-
Figure 24.8.18: The Phase Interaction Panel for Heat Transfer
2. Click on the Heat tab in the Phase Interaction panel. 3. Select the desired correlation for the Heat Transfer Coecient. Available choices are: gunn is frequently used for Eulerian multiphase simulations involving a granular phase. ranz-marshall is frequently used for Eulerian multiphase simulations not involving a granular phase. none allows you to ignore the eects of heat transfer between the two phases user-dened allows you to implement a correlation reecting a model of your choice, through a user-dened function.
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4. Set the appropriate thermal boundary conditions. You will specify the thermal boundary conditions for each individual phase on most boundaries, and for the mixture on some boundaries. See Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions for more information on boundary conditions, and Section 24.8.19: Eulerian Model for more information on specifying boundary conditions for a Eulerian multiphase calculation. See Section 24.4.8: Description of Heat Transfer for more information on heat transfer in the framework of a Eulerian multiphase simulation.
24.8.16
Dening Mass Transfer Effects
As discussed in Section 24.6: Description of Mass Transfer, mass transfer eects in the framework of FLUENTs general multiphase models (i.e., Eulerian multiphase, mixture multiphase, or VOF multiphase) can be modeled in one of three ways: unidirectional constant rate mass transfer (not available for VOF calculations) UDF-prescribed mass transfer mass transfer through cavitation (only valid for the mixture multiphase model) Because of the dierent procedures and limitations involved, dening mass transfer through cavitation is described separately in Section 24.8.17: Including Cavitation Eects. To dene mass transfer in a multiphase simulation, either as unidirectional constant or using a UDF, you will need to use the Phase Interaction panel (e.g., Figure 24.8.19). Dene Phases... 1. In the Phases panel (Figure 24.8.3), click the Interaction... button to open the Phase Interaction panel. 2. Click the Mass tab in the Phase Interaction panel. 3. Specify the Number of Mass Transfer Mechanisms. You can include any number of mass transfer mechanisms in your simulation. Note also that the same pair of phases can have multiple mass transfer mechanisms and you have the ability to activate and deactivate the mechanisms of your choice. 4. For each mechanism, specify the phase of the source material under From Phase. 5. If species transport is part of the simulation, and the source phase is composed of a mixture material, then specify the species of the source phase mixture material in the corresponding Species drop-down list.
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Figure 24.8.19: The Phase Interaction Panel for Mass Transfer
6. For each mechanism, specify the phase of the destination material phase under To Phase. 7. If species transport is part of the simulation, and the destination phase is composed of a mixture material, then specify the species of the destination phase mixture material in the corresponding Species drop-down list. 8. For each mass transfer mechanism, select the desired mass transfer correlation under Mechanism. Available choices are: constant-rate enables a constant, unidirectional mass transfer. user-dened allows you to implement a correlation reecting a model of your choice, through a user-dened function. FLUENT will automatically include the terms needed to model mass transfer in all relevant conservation equations. Another option to model mass transfer between phases is through the use of user-dened sources and their inclusion in the relevant conservation equations. This approach is a more involved but more powerful, allowing you to split the source terms according to a model of your choice.
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Note that momentum, energy, and turbulence are also transported with the mass that is transferred. FLUENT assumes that the reactants are mixed thoroughly before reacting together, thus the heat and momentum transfer is based on this assumption. This assumption can be deactivated using a text command. For more information, contact your FLUENT support engineer.
When your model involves the transport of multiphase species, you can dene a mass transfer mechanism between species from dierent phases. If a particular phase does not have a species associated with it, then the mass transfer throughout the system will be performed by the bulk uid material.
Note that including species transport eects in the mass transport of multiphase simulation requires that Species Transport be turned on in the Species Model panel. Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction
24.8.17
Including Cavitation Effects
For mixture model calculations, it is possible to include the eects of cavitation, using FLUENTs cavitation model described in Section 24.6.4: Mass Transfer through Cavitation. To enable the cavitation model, turn on the Cavitation option in the Mass tab of the Phase Interaction panel. When you are using FLUENTs cavitation model, you will specify three parameters to be used in the calculation of mass transfer due to cavitation. Under Cavitation Parameters in the Phase Interaction panel, set the Vaporization Pressure (psat in Equation 24.6-15), the Surface Tension Coecient , and the mass fraction of Non Condensable Gas . The default value of psat is 2540 Pa, the vaporization pressure for water at ambient temperature. Note that psat and the surface tension are properties of the liquid, depending mainly on temperature. Non Condensable Gas is the mass fraction of dissolved gases, which depends on the purity of the liquid. When multiple species are included in one or more secondary phases, or the heat transfer due to phase change needs to be taken into account, the mass transfer mechanism must be dened before turning on the Cavitation option. This is dened in the same way as described Section 24.8.16: Dening Mass Transfer Eects. It may be noted, however, that for cavitation problems, at least two mass transfer mechanisms are dened: 1. Mass transfer from liquid to vapor. 2. Mass transfer from vapor to liquid.
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Figure 24.8.20: The Phase Interaction Panel for Mass Transfer with Cavitation Enabled
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In the Phase Interaction panel (Figure 24.8.21), you should choose the constant rate option in the Mechanism drop-down list and leave the value as 0 for both mass transfer mechanisms before turning on the Cavitation option.
Figure 24.8.21: The Phase Interaction Panel for Mass Transfer with Cavitation Disabled
24.8.18 Setting Time-Dependent Parameters for the VOF Model

If you are using the time-dependent VOF formulation in FLUENT, an explicit solution for the volume fraction is obtained either once each time step or once each iteration, depending upon your inputs to the model. You also have control over the time step used for the volume fraction calculation. To compute a time-dependent VOF solution, you will need to enable the Unsteady option in the Solver panel (and choose the appropriate Unsteady Formulation, as discussed in Section 26.18.1: User Inputs for Time-Dependent Problems). If you choose the GeoReconstruct, Donor-Acceptor, or Euler Explicit scheme, FLUENT will turn on the rstorder unsteady formulation for you automatically, so you need not visit the Solver panel yourself. Dene Models Solver...
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There are two inputs for the time-dependent calculation in the Multiphase Model panel: By default, FLUENT will solve the volume fraction equation(s) once for each time step. This means that the convective ux coecients appearing in the other transport equations will not be completely updated each iteration, since the volume fraction elds will not change from iteration to iteration. If you want FLUENT to solve the volume fraction equation(s) at every iteration within a time step, turn on the Solve VOF Every Iteration option under VOF Parameters. When FLUENT solves these equations every iteration, the convective ux coecients in the other transport equations will be updated based on the updated volume fractions at each iteration. This choice is the less stable of the two, and requires more computational eort per time step than the default choice.
If you are using sliding meshes, or dynamic meshes with layering and/or remeshing, using the Solve VOF Every Iteration option will yield more accurate results, although at a greater computational cost.
When FLUENT performs a time-dependent VOF calculation, the time step used for the volume fraction calculation will not be the same as the time step used for the rest of the transport equations. FLUENT will rene the time step for VOF automatically, based on your input for the maximum Courant Number allowed near the free surface. The Courant number is a dimensionless number that compares the time step in a calculation to the characteristic time of transit of a uid element across a control volume: t xcell /vuid (24.8-6)
In the region near the uid interface, FLUENT divides the volume of each cell by the sum of the outgoing uxes. The resulting time represents the time it would take for the uid to empty out of the cell. The smallest such time is used as the characteristic time of transit for a uid element across a control volume, as described above. Based upon this time and your input for the maximum allowed Courant Number, a time step is computed for use in the VOF calculation. For example, if the maximum allowed Courant number is 0.25 (the default), the time step will be chosen to be at most one-fourth the minimum transit time for any cell near the interface. Note that these inputs are not required when the implicit scheme is used.
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24.8.19
Setting Boundary Conditions
Multiphase boundary conditions are set in the Boundary Conditions panel (Figure 24.8.22), but the procedure for setting multiphase boundary conditions is slightly dierent than for single-phase models. You will need to set some conditions separately for individual phases, while other conditions are shared by all phases (i.e., the mixture), as described in detail below. Dene Boundary Conditions...
Figure 24.8.22: The Boundary Conditions Panel
Boundary Conditions for the Mixture and the Individual Phases

The conditions you need to specify for the mixture and those you need to specify for the individual phases will depend on which of the three multiphase models you are using. Details for each model are provided below.
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VOF Model If you are using the VOF model, the conditions you need to specify for each type of zone are listed below and summarized in Table 24.8.2. For an exhaust fan, inlet vent, intake fan, outlet vent, pressure inlet, pressure outlet, or velocity inlet, there are no conditions to be specied for the primary phase. For each secondary phase, you will need to set the volume fraction as a constant, a prole (see Section 7.26: Boundary Proles), or a user-dened function (see the separate UDF Manual). All other conditions are specied for the mixture. For a mass ow inlet, you will need to set the mass ow rate or mass ux for each individual phase. All other conditions are specied for the mixture.
Note that if you read a VOF case that was set up in a version of FLUENT prior to 6.1, you will need to redene the conditions at the mass ow inlets.
For an axis, fan, outow, periodic, porous jump, radiator, solid, symmetry, or wall zone, all conditions are specied for the mixture; there are no conditions to be set for the individual phases. For a uid zone, mass sources are specied for the individual phases, and all other sources are specied for the mixture. If the uid zone is not porous, all other conditions are specied for the mixture. If the uid zone is porous, you will enable the Porous Zone option in the Fluid panel for the mixture. The porosity inputs (if relevant) are also specied for the mixture. The resistance coecients and direction vectors, however, are specied separately for each phase. See Section 7.19.6: User Inputs for Porous Media for details about these inputs. All other conditions are specied for the mixture. See Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions for details about the relevant conditions for each type of boundary. Note that the pressure far-eld boundary is not available with the VOF model.
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Table 24.8.2: Phase-Specic and Mixture Conditions for the VOF Model Type Primary Phase exhaust fan; nothing inlet vent; intake fan; outlet vent; pressure inlet; pressure outlet; velocity inlet ow inlet mass ow/ux axis; fan; nothing outow; periodic; porous jump; radiator; solid; symmetry; wall pressure far- not available eld uid mass source; other porous inputs Secondary Phase volume fraction Mixture all others
mass ow/ux nothing
all others all others
not available
not available
mass source; other porous zone; porous inputs porosity; all others
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Mixture Model If you are using the mixture model, the conditions you need to specify for each type of zone are listed below and summarized in Table 24.8.3. For an exhaust fan, outlet vent, or pressure outlet, there are no conditions to be specied for the primary phase. For each secondary phase, you will need to set the volume fraction as a constant, a prole (see Section 7.26: Boundary Proles), or a user-dened function (see the separate UDF Manual). All other conditions are specied for the mixture. For an inlet vent, intake fan, or pressure inlet, you will specify for the mixture which direction specication method will be used at this boundary (Normal to Boundary or Direction Vector). If you select the Direction Vector specication method, you will specify the coordinate system (3D only) and ow-direction components for the individual phases. For each secondary phase, you will need to set the volume fraction (as described above). All other conditions are specied for the mixture. For a mass ow inlet, you will need to set the mass ow rate or mass ux for each individual phase. All other conditions are specied for the mixture.
Note that if you read a mixture multiphase case that was set up in a version of FLUENT previous to 6.1, you will need to redene the conditions at the mass ow inlets.
For a velocity inlet, you will specify the velocity for the individual phases. For each secondary phase, you will need to set the volume fraction (as described above). All other conditions are specied for the mixture. For an axis, fan, outow, periodic, porous jump, radiator, solid, symmetry, or wall zone, all conditions are specied for the mixture; there are no conditions to be set for the individual phases. Outow boundary conditions are not available for the cavitation model. For a uid zone, mass sources are specied for the individual phases, and all other sources are specied for the mixture. If the uid zone is not porous, all other conditions are specied for the mixture. If the uid zone is porous, you will enable the Porous Zone option in the Fluid panel for the mixture. The porosity inputs (if relevant) are also specied for the mixture. The resistance coecients and direction vectors, however, are specied separately for each phase. See Section 7.19.6: User Inputs for Porous Media for details about these inputs. All other conditions are specied for the mixture. See Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions for details about the relevant conditions for each type of boundary. Note that the pressure far-eld boundary is not available with the mixture model.
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Table 24.8.3: Phase-Specic and Mixture Conditions for the Mixture Model Type exhaust fan; outlet vent; pressure outlet inlet vent; intake fan; pressure inlet; mass ow inlet velocity inlet axis; fan; outow (n/a for cavitation model); periodic; porous jump; radiator; solid; symmetry; wall; pressure fareld uid Primary Phase nothing Secondary Phase volume fraction Mixture all others
coord. system; ow coord. system; ow di- dir. spec. direction rection; volume fraction method; all others mass ow/ux velocity nothing mass ow/ux velocity; volume fraction nothing all others all others all others
not available
not available
not available other porous zone; porosity; all others
mass source; other mass source; porous inputs porous inputs
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Eulerian Model If you are using the Eulerian model, the conditions you need to specify for each type of zone are listed below and summarized in Tables 24.8.4, 24.8.5, 24.8.6, and 24.8.7. Note that the specication of turbulence parameters will depend on which of the three multiphase turbulence models you are using, as indicated in Tables 24.8.524.8.7. See Sections 24.4.9 and 24.8.11 for more information about multiphase turbulence models. For an exhaust fan, outlet vent, or pressure outlet, there are no conditions to be specied for the primary phase if you are modeling laminar ow or using the mixture turbulence model (the default multiphase turbulence model), except for backow total temperature if heat transfer is on. For each secondary phase, you will need to set the volume fraction as a constant, a prole (see Section 7.26: Boundary Proles), or a user-dened function (see the separate UDF Manual). If the phase is granular, you will also need to set its granular temperature. If heat transfer is on, you will also need to set the backow total temperature. If you are using the mixture turbulence model, you will need to specify the turbulence boundary conditions for the mixture; if you are using the dispersed turbulence model, you will need to specify them for the primary phase; if you are using the per-phase turbulence model, you will need to specify them for the primary phase and for each secondary phase. All other conditions are specied for the mixture. For an inlet vent, intake fan, or pressure inlet, you will specify for the mixture which direction specication method will be used at this boundary (Normal to Boundary or Direction Vector). If you select the Direction Vector specication method, you will specify the coordinate system (3D only) and ow-direction components for the individual phases. If heat transfer is on, you will also need to set the total temperature for the individual phases. For each secondary phase, you will need to set the volume fraction (as described above). If the phase is granular, you will also need to set its granular temperature. If you are using the mixture turbulence model, you will need to specify the turbulence boundary conditions for the mixture; if you are using the dispersed turbulence model, you will need to specify them for the primary phase; if you are using the per-phase turbulence model, you will need to specify them for the primary phase and for each secondary phase. All other conditions are specied for the mixture. For a velocity inlet, you will specify the velocity for the individual phases. If heat transfer is on, you will also need to set the total temperature for the individual phases.
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For each secondary phase, you will need to set the volume fraction (as described above). If the phase is granular, you will also need to set its granular temperature. If you are using the mixture turbulence model, you will need to specify the turbulence boundary conditions for the mixture; if you are using the dispersed turbulence model, you will need to specify them for the primary phase; if you are using the per-phase turbulence model, you will need to specify them for the primary phase and for each secondary phase. All other conditions are specied for the mixture. For an axis, outow, periodic, solid, or symmetry zone, all conditions are specied for the mixture; there are no conditions to be set for the individual phases. For a wall zone, shear conditions are specied for the individual phases; all other conditions are specied for the mixture, including thermal boundary conditions, if heat transfer is on. For a uid zone, all source terms and xed values are specied for the individual phases, unless you are using the mixture turbulence model or the dispersed turbulence model. If you are using the mixture turbulence model, source terms and xed values for turbulence are specied instead for the mixture; if you are using the dispersed turbulence model, they are specied only for the primary phase. If the uid zone is not porous, all other conditions are specied for the mixture. If the uid zone is porous, you will enable the Porous Zone option in the Fluid panel for the mixture. The porosity inputs (if relevant) are also specied for the mixture. The resistance coecients and direction vectors, however, are specied separately for each phase. See Section 7.19.6: User Inputs for Porous Media for details about these inputs. All other conditions are specied for the mixture. See Chapter 7: Boundary Conditions for details about the relevant conditions for each type of boundary. Note that the pressure far-eld, fan, porous jump, radiator, and mass ow inlet boundaries are not available with the Eulerian model.
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Table 24.8.4: Phase-Specic and Mixture Conditions for the Eulerian Model (for Laminar Flow) Type exhaust fan; outlet vent; pressure outlet; inlet vent; intake fan; pressure inlet; Primary Phase (tot. temperature) Secondary Phase Mixture volume fraction; gran. all others temperature (tot. temperature) dir. spec. method; all others all others
coord. system; ow coord. system; ow didirection (tot. tem- rection; volume fraction; perature) gran. temperature (tot. temperature) velocity inlet velocity (tot. tem- velocity; volume fraction; perature) gran. temperature (tot. temperature) axis; outow; nothing nothing periodic; solid; symmetry wall shear condition shear condition pressure far- not available not available eld; fan; porous jump; radiator; mass ow inlet; uid all source terms; all all source terms; all xed xed values; other values; other porous inporous inputs puts
all others
all others not available
porous zone; porosity; all others
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Table 24.8.5: Phase-Specic and Mixture Conditions for the Eulerian Model (with the Mixture Turbulence Model) Type exhaust fan; outlet vent; pressure outlet; inlet vent; intake fan; pressure inlet; velocity inlet Primary Phase (tot. temperature) Secondary Phase Mixture volume fraction; gran. all others temperature (tot. temperature) dir. spec. method; all others all others
axis; outow; periodic; solid; symmetry wall shear condition pressure not available far-eld; fan; porous jump; radiator; mass ow inlet; uid other source terms; other xed values; other porous inputs
coord. system; ow coord. system; ow didirection (tot. tem- rection; volume fraction; perature) gran. temperature (tot. temperature) velocity (tot. tem- velocity; volume fraction; perature) gran. temperature (tot. temperature) nothing nothing
all others
shear condition not available
other source terms; source terms other xed values; other for turbuporous inputs lence; xed values for turbulence; porous zone; porosity; all others
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Table 24.8.6: Phase-Specic and Mixture Conditions for the Eulerian Model (with the Dispersed Turbulence Model) Type exhaust fan; outlet vent; pressure outlet inlet vent; intake fan; pressure inlet velocity inlet Primary Phase Secondary Phase Mixture turb. parameters volume fraction; gran. all others (tot. temperature) temperature (tot. temperature) coord. system; ow direction; turb. parameters; (tot. temperature) velocity; turb. parameters (tot. temperature) nothing coord. system; ow direction; volume fraction; gran. temperature (tot. temperature) velocity; volume fraction; gran. temperature (tot. temperature) nothing dir. spec. method; all others all others
axis; outow; periodic; solid; symmetry wall shear condition pressure not available far-eld; fan; porous jump; radiator; mass ow inlet uid momentum, mass, turb. sources; momentum, mass, turb. xed values; other porous inputs
all others
momentum and mass porous zone; sources; momentum and porosity; all mass xed values; other others porous inputs
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Table 24.8.7: Phase-Specic and Mixture Conditions for the Eulerian Model (with the Per-Phase Turbulence Model) Type exhaust fan; outlet vent; pressure outlet inlet vent; intake fan; pressure inlet velocity inlet Primary Phase Secondary Phase turb. parameters volume fraction; turb. (tot. temperature) parameters; gran. temperature (tot. temperature) coord. system; ow coord. system; ow didirection; turb. pa- rection; volume fraction; rameters (tot. tem- turb. parameters; gran. perature) temperature (tot. temperature) velocity; turb. pa- velocity; volume fraction; rameters (tot. tem- turb. parameters; gran. perature) temperature (tot. temperature) nothing nothing Mixture all others
dir. spec. method; all others
all others
axis; outow; periodic; solid; symmetry wall shear condition pressure not available far-eld; fan; porous jump; radiator; mass ow inlet uid momentum, mass, turb. sources; momentum, mass, turb. xed values; other porous inputs
all others
momentum, mass, turb. porous zone; sources; momentum, porosity; all mass, turb. xed values; others other porous inputs
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Steps for Setting Boundary Conditions

The steps you need to perform for each boundary are as follows: 1. Select the boundary in the Zone list in the Boundary Conditions panel. 2. Set the conditions for the mixture at this boundary, if necessary. (See above for information about which conditions need to be set for the mixture.) (a) In the Phase drop-down list, select mixture. (b) If the current Type for this zone is correct, click Set... to open the corresponding panel (e.g., the Pressure Inlet panel); otherwise, choose the correct zone type in the Type list, conrm the change (when prompted), and the corresponding panel will open automatically. (c) In the corresponding panel for the zone type you have selected (e.g., the Pressure Inlet panel, shown in Figure 24.8.23), specify the mixture boundary conditions.
Figure 24.8.23: The Pressure Inlet Panel for a Mixture
Note that only those conditions that apply to all phases, as described above, will appear in this panel.
For a VOF calculation, if you enabled the Wall Adhesion option in the Phase Interaction panel, you can specify the contact angle at the wall for each pair of phases (as shown in Figure 24.8.24).
The contact angle (w in Figure 24.2.2) is the angle between the wall and the tangent to the interface at the wall, measured inside the rst phase of the pair listed in the Wall panel. For example, if you are setting the contact angle between the oil and air phases in the Wall panel shown in Figure 24.8.24, w is measured inside the oil phase.
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Figure 24.8.24: The Wall Panel for a Mixture in a VOF Calculation with Wall Adhesion
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The default value for all pairs is 90 degrees, which is equivalent to no wall adhesion eects (i.e., the interface is normal to the adjacent wall). A contact angle of 45 , for example, corresponds to water creeping up the side of a container, as is common with water in a glass. (d) Click OK when you are done setting the mixture boundary conditions. 3. Set the conditions for each phase at this boundary, if necessary. (See above for information about which conditions need to be set for the individual phases.) (a) In the Phase drop-down list, select the phase (e.g., water).
Note that, when you select one of the individual phases (rather than the mixture), only one type of zone appears in the Type list. It is not possible to assign phase-specic zone types at a given boundary; the zone type is specied for the mixture, and it applies to all of the individual phases.
(b) Click Set... to open the panel for this phases conditions (e.g., the Pressure Inlet panel, shown in Figure 24.8.25).
Figure 24.8.25: The Pressure Inlet Panel for a Phase (c) Specify the conditions for the phase. Note that only those conditions that apply to the individual phase, as described above, will appear in this panel. (d) Click OK when you are done setting the phase-specic boundary conditions.
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Steps for Copying Boundary Conditions

The steps for copying boundary conditions for a multiphase ow are slightly dierent from those described in Section 7.1.5: Copying Boundary Conditions for a single-phase ow. The modied steps are listed below: 1. In the Boundary Conditions panel, click the Copy... button. This will open the Copy BCs panel. 2. In the From Zone list, select the zone that has the conditions you want to copy. 3. In the To Zones list, select the zone or zones to which you want to copy the conditions. 4. In the Phase drop-down list, select the phase for which you want to copy the conditions (either mixture or one of the individual phases).
Note that copying the boundary conditions for one phase does not automatically result in the boundary conditions for the other phases and the mixture being copied as well. You need to copy the conditions for each phase on each boundary of interest.
5. Click Copy. FLUENT will set all of the selected phases (or mixtures) boundary conditions on the zones selected in the To Zones list to be the same as that phases conditions on the zone selected in the From Zone list. (You cannot copy a subset of the conditions, such as only the thermal conditions.) See Section 7.1.5: Copying Boundary Conditions for additional information about copying boundary conditions, including limitations.
24.8.20
Setting Initial Volume Fractions
Once you have initialized the ow (as described in Section 26.15: Initializing the Solution), you can dene the initial distribution of the phases. For a transient simulation, this distribution will serve as the initial condition at t = 0; for a steady-state simulation, setting an initial distribution can provide added stability in the early stages of the calculation. You can patch an initial volume fraction for each secondary phase using the Patch panel. Solve Initialize Patch... If the region in which you want to patch the volume fraction is dened as a separate cell zone, you can simply patch the value there. Otherwise, you can create a cell register that contains the appropriate cells and patch the value in the register. See Section 26.15.2: Patching Values in Selected Cells for details.
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24.8.21
Inputs for Compressible VOF and Mixture Model Calculations
If you are using the VOF or mixture model for a compressible ow, note the following: Only one of the phases can be dened as a compressible ideal gas (i.e., you can select the ideal gas law for the density of only one phases material). There is no limitation on using compressible liquids using user-dened functions. If you are using the VOF model, for stability reasons, it is better (although not required) if the primary phase is a compressible ideal gas. If you specify the total pressure at a boundary (e.g., for a pressure inlet or intake fan) the specied value for temperature at that boundary will be used as total temperature for the compressible phase, and as static temperature for the other phases (which are incompressible). For each mass ow inlet, you will need to specify mass ow or mass ux for each individual phase.
Note that if you read a case le that was set up in a version of FLUENT previous to 6.1, you will need to redene the conditions at the mass ow inlets. See Section 24.8.19: Setting Boundary Conditions for more information on dening conditions for a mass ow inlet in VOF and mixture multiphase calculations.
See Section 9.5: Compressible Flows for more information about compressible ows.
24.8.22
Inputs for Solidication/Melting VOF Calculations
If you are including melting or solidication in your VOF calculation, note the following: It is possible to model melting or solidication in a single phase or in multiple phases. For phases that are not melting or solidifying, you must set the latent heat (L), liquidus temperature (Tliquidus ), and solidus temperature (Tsolidus ) to zero. See Chapter 25: Modeling Solidication and Melting for more information about melting and solidication.
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24.8.23
Using the Wet Steam Model
Once you have enabled either of the coupled solvers in FLUENT, you can activate the wet steam model (see Section 24.5: Wet Steam Model) by opening the Multiphase panel and selecting the Wet Steam option. Dene Models Multiphase
Figure 24.8.26: The Multiphase Model Panel With the Wet Steam Model Activated
This section includes information about using your own property functions and data with the wet steam model. Solution settings and strategies for the wet steam model can be found in Section 24.9.4: Solving Wet Steam Flow. Postprocessing variables are described in Section 24.10.1: Available Postprocessing Variables.
User Dened Thermodynamic Wet Steam Properties

FLUENT allows you to use your own property functions and data with the wet steam model. This is achieved with user dened wet steam property functions (UDWSPF). These user dened functions are written in the C programing language and there is a certain programming format that must be used so that you can build a successful library that can be loaded into the FLUENT code. The procedure for using the user dened wet steam property functions (UDWSPF) is dened below: 1. Dene the wet steam equation of state and all related thermodynamic and transport property equations. 2. Create a C source code le that conforms to the format dened in this section.
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3. Start FLUENT and set up your case le in the usual way. 4. Turn on the wet steam model. 5. Compile your UDWSPF C functions and build a shared library le using the text user interface. define models multiphase wet-steam compile-user-defined-wetsteam-functions 6. Load your newly created UDWSPF library using the text user interface. define models multiphase wet-steam load-unload-user-defined-wetsteam-library 7. Run your calculation.
Note that the UDWSPF can only be used when the wet steam model is activated. Therefore, the UDWSPF are available for use with the coupled solver only.
Writing the User Dened Wet Steam Property Functions (UDWSPF)

Creating a UDWSPF C function library is reasonably straightforward; however, your code must make use of specic function names and macros, which will be described in detail below: The code must contain the udf.h le inclusion directive at the beginning of the source code. This allows the denitions for DEFINE macros and other FLUENT functions to be accessible during the compilation process. The code must include at least one of the UDFs DEFINE functions (i.e. DEFINE ON DEMAND) to be able to use the compiled UDFs utility. Any values that are passed to the solver by the UDWSPF or returned by the solver to the UDWSPF are assumed to be in SI units. You must use the principle set of functions listed below in your UDWSPF library. These functions are the mechanism by which your thermodynamic property data are transferred to the FLUENT solver. Below, the user dened wet steam property function names and argument lists are given, followed by a short description of the function. Function inputs from the FLUENT solver consist of one or more of the following variables: T = temperature (K), P = pressure (P a), and = vapor-phase density (kg/m3 ).
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void wetst init(Domain *domain) This will be called when you load the UDWSPF. You use it to initialize wet steam model constants or your own model constants.. Returns nothing. real wetst satP(real T) Saturated pressure function. Takes on temperature in K. Returns saturation pressure in Pa real wetst satT(real P, real T) Saturated Temperature function. Takes on pressure in Pa and a starting guess temperature in K. Returns saturation temperature in K. real wetst eosP(real rho, real T) Equation of state. Takes on vapor density in kg/m3 and Temperature in K. Returns pressure in Pa. real wetst eosRHO(real P, real T) Equation of state. Takes on pressure in Pa and temperature in K. Returns vapor density in kg/m3 . real wetst cpv(real T, real rho) Vapor specic heat at constant pressure. Takes on temperature in K and vapor density in kg/m3 . Returns specic heat at constant pressure in J/kg/K. real wetst cvv(real T, real rho) Vapor specic heat at constant volume. Takes on temperature in K and vapor density in kg/m3 . Returns specic heat at constant volume in J/kg/K.. real wetst hv(real T,real rho) Vapor specic enthalpy. Takes on temperature in K and vapor density in kg/m3 . Returns specic enthalpy in J/Kg. real wetst sv(real T, real rho) Vapor specic entropy. Takes on temperature in K and vapor density in kg/m3 . Returns specic entropy in J/Kg/K. real wetst muv(real T, real rho) Vapor dynamic viscosity. Takes on temperature in K and vapor density in kg/m3 . returns viscosity in kg/m/s. real wetst ktv(real T, real rho) Vapor thermal conductivity. Takes on temperature in K and vapor density in kg/m3 . returns thermal conductivity in W/m/K. real wetst rhol(real T) Saturated liquid density. Takes on temperature in K. Returns liquid density in kg/m3 . real wetst cpl(real T) Saturated liquid specic heat at constant pressure. Takes on temperature in K. Returns liquid specic heat in J/kg/K. real wetst mul(real T) Liquid dynamic viscosity. Takes on Temperature in K. Returns dynamic viscosity in kg/m/s.
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real wetst ktl(real T) Liquid thermal conductivity. Takes on temperature in K. Returns thermal conductivity in W/m/K. real wetst surft(real T) Liquid surface tension. Takes on Temperature in K. Returns surface tension N/m. At the end of the code you must dene a structure of type WS Functions whose members are pointers to the principle functions listed above. The structure is of type WS Functions and its name is WetSteamFunctionList. UDF_EXPORT WS_Functions WetSteamFunctionList = { wetst_init, /*initialization function*/ wetst_satP, /*Saturation pressure*/ wetst_satT, /*Saturation temperature*/ wetst_eosP, /*equation of state*/ wetst_eosRHO, /*equation of state*/ wetst_hv, /*vapor enthalpy*/ wetst_sv, /*vapor entropy*/ wetst_cpv, /*vapor isobaric specific heat*/ wetst_cvv, /*vapor isochoric specific heat*/ wetst_muv, /*vapor dynamic viscosity*/ wetst_ktv, /*vapor thermal conductivity*/ wetst_rhol, /*sat. liquid density*/ wetst_cpl, /*sat. liquid specific heat*/ wetst_mul, /*sat. liquid viscosity*/ wetst_ktl, /*sat. liquid thermal conductivity*/ wetst_surft /*liquid surface tension*/ };
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Compiling Your UDWSPF and Building a Shared Library File

This section presents the steps you will need to follow to compile your UDWSPF C code and build a shared library le. This process requires the use of a C compiler. Most UNIX operating systems provide a C compiler as a standard feature. If you are using a PC, you will need to ensure that a C ++ compiler is installed before you can proceed (e.g., Microsoft Visual C ++, v6.0 or higher).
To use the UDWSPF you will need to rst build the UDWSPF library by compiling your UDWSPF C code and then loading the library into the FLUENT code.
The UDWSPF shared library is built in the same way that the FLUENT executable itself is built. Internally, a script called Makefile is used to invoke the system C compiler to build an object code library that contains the native machine language translation of your higher-level C source code. This shared library is then loaded into FLUENT (either at runtime or automatically when a case le is read) by a process called dynamic loading. The object libraries are specic to the computer architecture being used, as well as to the particular version of the FLUENT executable being run. The libraries must, therefore, be rebuilt any time FLUENT is upgraded, when the computers operating system level changes, or when the job is run on a dierent type of computer. The general procedure for compiling UDWSPF C code is as follows: Place the UDWSPF C code in your working directory, i.e., where your case le resides. Launch FLUENT. Read your case le into FLUENT. You can now compile your UDWSPF C code and build a shared library le using the commands provided in the text command interface (TUI) as described below: Select the define/models/multiphase/wet-steam menu item define models multiphase wet-steam Select the compile-user-defined-wetsteam-functions option. Enter the compiled UDWSPF library name. The name given here is the name of the directory where the shared library (e.g., libudf) will reside. For example, if you hit <Enter> then a directory should exist with the name libudf, and this directory will contain library le called libudf. If, however, you type a new library name such as mywetsteam, then a directory called mywetsteam will be created and it will contain the library libudf.
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Continue on with the procedure when prompted. Enter the C source le names.
Ideally you should place all of your functions into a single le. However, you can split them into separate les if desired.
Enter the header le names, if applicable. If you do not have an extra header le, then press <Enter> when prompted. FLUENT will then start compiling the UDWSPF C code and put it in the appropriate architecture directory.
Loading the UDWSPF Shared Library File

To load the UDWSPF library: Go to the define/models/multiphase/wet-steam menu item in the text user interface define models multiphase wet-steam Select the load-unload-user-defined-wetsteam-library option and follow the procedure when prompted. If the loading of the UDWSPF library is successful, you will see a message similar to the following: Opening user-defined wet steam library "libudf"... Library "libudf/lnx86/2d/libudf.so" opened Setting material properties to Wet-Steam... Initializing user defined material properties...
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UDWSPF Example
This section describe a simple UDWSPF. You can use this example as a the basis for your own UDWSPF code. For approximate calculations at low pressure, the simple ideal-gas equation of state and constant isobaric specic heat is assumed and used. The properties at the saturated liquid line and the saturated vapor line used in this example are similar to the one used by FLUENT. /**********************************************************************/ /* User Defined Wet Steam Properties: EOS : Ideal Gas Eq. Vapor Sat. Line : W.C.Reynolds tables (1979) Liquid Sat. Line: E. Eckert & R. Drake book (1972)
Use ideal-gas EOS with Steam properties to model wet steam condensation in low pressure nozzle Author: L. Zori Date : Jan. 29 2004 */ /**********************************************************************/ #include "udf.h" #include "stdio.h" #include "ctype.h" #include "stdarg.h" /*Global Constants for this model*/ real ws_TPP = 338.150 ; real ws_aaa = 0.01 ; real cpg = 1882.0 ;/* Cp-vapor at low-pressure region*/ DEFINE_ON_DEMAND(I_do_nothing) { /* This is a dummy function to allow us to use */ /* the Compiled UDFs utility */ }
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void wetst_init(Domain *domain) { /* You must initialize these material property constants.. they will be used in the wet steam model in fluent */ ws_Tc = 647.286 ;/*Critical Temp. */ ws_Pc = 22089000.00 ;/*Critical Pressure */ mw_f = 18.016 ;/*fluid droplet molecular weight (water) */ Rgas_v = 461.50 ;/*vapor Gas Const*/ } real wetst_satP(real T) { real psat ; real real real real real real real real real real real SUM=0.0; pratio; F ; a1 = -7.41924200 a2 = 2.97210000E-01 a3 = -1.15528600E-01 a4 = 8.68563500E-03 a5 = 1.09409899E-03 a6 = -4.39993000E-03 a7 = 2.52065800E-03 a8 = -5.21868400E-04
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
if (T > ws_Tc) T = ws_Tc ; F = ws_aaa*(T - ws_TPP) ; SUM = a1 + F*(a2+ F*(a3+ F*(a4+ F*(a5+ F*(a6+ F*(a7+ F*a8)))))) ; pratio = (ws_Tc/T - 1.0)*SUM; psat = ws_Pc *exp(pratio) ; return psat; /*Pa */ }
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real wetst_satT(real P, real T) { real tsat ; real dT, dTA,dTM,dP,p1,p2,dPdT; int i ; for (i=0; i<25; ++i) { if (T > ws_Tc) T = ws_Tc-0.5; p1= wetst_satP(T) p2= wetst_satP(T+0.1) dPdT = (p2-p1)/0.1 ; dP = P - p1 ; dT = dP/dPdT ; ; ;
dTA = fabs(dT); dTM = 0.1*T ; if (dTA > dTM) dT=dT*dTM/dTA ; T = T + dT; if (fabs(dT) < TEMP_eps*T) break; } tsat = T; return tsat; /*K */ } real wetst_eosP(real rho, real T) { real P ; P = rho* Rgas_v * T ; return P; /*Pa */ }
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real wetst_eosRHO(real P, real T) { real rho ; rho = P/(Rgas_v * T) ; return rho; /*kg/m3 */ }
real wetst_cpv(real T, real rho) { real cp; cp = cpg ;
return cp; /* (J/Kg/K) */ } real wetst_cvv(real T, real rho) { real cv; cv = wetst_cpv(T,rho) - Rgas_v ; return cv; /* (J/Kg/K) */ } real wetst_hv(real T,real rho) { real h; h = T* wetst_cpv(T,rho) ; return h; /* (J/Kg) */ }
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real wetst_sv(real T, real rho) { real s ; real TDatum=288.15; real PDatum=1.01325e5; s=wetst_cpv(T,rho)*log(T/TDatum)+ Rgas_v*log(PDatum/(Rgas_v*T*rho)); return s; /* (J/Kg/K) */ }
real wetst_muv(real T, real rho) { real muv ; muv=1.7894e-05 ; return muv; /* (Kg/m/s) */ } real wetst_ktv(real T, real rho) { real ktv ; ktv=0.0242 ; return ktv; /* W/m/K */ }
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real wetst_rhol(real T) { real rhol; real SUM = 0.0 int ii int i real rhoc = 317.0 real D[8] ; ; ; ; ;
D[0] = 3.6711257 ; D[1] = -2.8512396E+01 ; D[2] = 2.2265240E+02 ; D[3] = -8.8243852E+02 ; D[4] = 2.0002765E+03 ; D[5] = -2.6122557E+03 ; D[6] = 1.8297674E+03 ; D[7] = -5.3350520E+02 ; if (T > ws_Tc) T = ws_Tc ; for(ii=0;ii < 8;++ii) { i = ii+1 ; SUM += D[ii] * pow((1.0 - T/ws_Tc), i/3.0) } rhol = rhoc*(1.0+SUM); return rhol; /* (Kg/m3) */ }
real wetst_cpl(real T) { real cpl; real real real real real real a1= -36571.6 ; a2= 555.217 ; a3= -2.96724 ; a4= 0.00778551; a5= -1.00561e-05; a6= 5.14336E-09;
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if (T > ws_Tc) T = ws_Tc ; cpl = a1 + T*(a2+ T*(a3+ T*(a4+ T*(a5+ T*a6)))) ; return cpl; /* (J/Kg/K) */ }
real wetst_mul(real T) { real mul ; real real real real real real real a1= 0.530784; a2= -0.00729561; a3= 4.16604E-05 ; a4= -1.26258E-07; a5= 2.13969E-10; a6= -1.92145E-13; a7= 7.14092E-17;
if (T > ws_Tc) T = ws_Tc ; mul = a1 + T*(a2+ T*(a3+ T*(a4+ T*(a5+ T*(a6+ T*a7))))) ; return mul; /* (Kg/m/s) */ } real wetst_ktl(real T) { real ktl ; real real real real real real a1= -1.17633; a2= 0.00791645; a3= 1.48603E-05; a4= -1.31689E-07; a5= 2.47590E-10; a6= -1.55638E-13;
if (T > ws_Tc) T = ws_Tc ; ktl = a1 + T*(a2+ T*(a3+ T*(a4+ T*(a5+ T*a6)))) ; return ktl; /* W/m/K */ }
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real wetst_surft(real T) { real sigma ; real real real real real Tr ; a1= 82.27 ; a2= 75.612 ; a3= -256.889 ; a4= 95.928 ;
if (T > ws_Tc) T = ws_Tc ; Tr = T/ws_Tc ; sigma = 0.001*(a1 + Tr*(a2+ Tr*(a3+ Tr*a4))) ; return sigma ;/* N/m */ } /* do not change the order of the function list */ UDF_EXPORT WS_Functions WetSteamFunctionList = { wetst_init, /*initialization function*/ wetst_satP, /*Saturation pressure*/ wetst_satT, /*Saturation temperature*/ wetst_eosP, /*equation of state*/ wetst_eosRHO, /*equation of state*/ wetst_hv, /*vapor enthalpy*/ wetst_sv, /*vapor entropy*/ wetst_cpv, /*vapor isobaric specific heat*/ wetst_cvv, /*vapor isochoric specific heat*/ wetst_muv, /*vapor dynamic viscosity*/ wetst_ktv, /*vapor thermal conductivity*/ wetst_rhol, /*sat. liquid density*/ wetst_cpl, /*sat. liquid specific heat*/ wetst_mul, /*sat. liquid viscosity*/ wetst_ktl, /*sat. liquid thermal conductivity*/ wetst_surft /*liquid surface tension*/ }; /**********************************************************************/
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24.9
Solution Strategies for General Multiphase Problems
Solution strategies for the VOF, mixture, and Eulerian models are provided in Sections 24.9.1, 24.9.2, and 24.9.3, respectively.
24.9.1
Solution Strategies for the VOF Model
Several recommendations for improving the accuracy and convergence of the VOF solution are presented here.
Setting the Reference Pressure Location

The site of the reference pressure can be moved to a location that will result in less roundo in the pressure calculation. By default, the reference pressure location is the center of the cell at or closest to the point (0,0,0). You can move this location by specifying a new Reference Pressure Location in the Operating Conditions panel. Dene Operating Conditions... The position that you choose should be in a region that will always contain the least dense of the uids (e.g., the gas phase, if you have a gas phase and one or more liquid phases). This is because variations in the static pressure are larger in a more dense uid than in a less dense uid, given the same velocity distribution. If the zero of the relative pressure eld is in a region where the pressure variations are small, less round-o will occur than if the variations occur in a eld of large non-zero values. Thus in systems containing air and water, for example, it is important that the reference pressure location be in the portion of the domain lled with air rather than that lled with water.
Pressure Interpolation Scheme

For all VOF calculations, you should use the body-force-weighted pressure interpolation scheme or the PRESTO! scheme. Solve Controls Solution...
Discretization Scheme Selection for the Implicit and Euler Explicit Formulations
When the implicit or Euler explicit scheme is used you should use the modied HRIC, second-order, or QUICK discretization schemes for the volume fraction equations in order to improve the sharpness of the interface between phases. Solve Controls Solution...
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24.9 Solution Strategies for General Multiphase Problems
Pressure-Velocity Coupling and Under-Relaxation for the Time-Dependent Formulations

Another change that you should make to the solver settings is in the pressure-velocity coupling scheme and under-relaxation factors that you use. The PISO scheme is recommended for transient calculations in general. Using PISO allows for increased values on all under-relaxation factors, without a loss of solution stability. You can generally increase the under-relaxation factors for all variables to 1 and expect stability and a rapid rate of convergence (in the form of few iterations required per time step). For calculations on tetrahedral or triangular meshes, an under-relaxation factor of 0.70.8 for pressure is recommended for improved stability with the PISO scheme. Solve Controls Solution... As with any FLUENT simulation, the under-relaxation factors will need to be decreased if the solution exhibits unstable, divergent behavior with the under-relaxation factors set to 1. Reducing the time step is another way to improve the stability.
Under-Relaxation for the Steady-State Formulation

If you are using the steady-state implicit VOF scheme, the under-relaxation factors for all variables should be set to values between 0.2 and 0.5 for improved stability.
24.9.2
Solution Strategies for the Mixture Model
Setting the Under-Relaxation Factor for the Slip Velocity

You should begin the mixture calculation with a low under-relaxation factor for the slip velocity. A value of 0.2 or less is recommended. If the solution shows good convergence behavior, you can increase this value gradually.
Calculating an Initial Solution

For some cases (e.g., cyclone separation), you may be able to obtain a solution more quickly if you compute an initial solution without solving the volume fraction and slip velocity equations. Once you have set up the mixture model, you can temporarily disable these equations and compute an initial solution. Solve Controls Solution... In the Solution Controls panel, deselect Volume Fraction and Slip Velocity in the Equations list. You can then compute the initial ow eld. Once a converged ow eld is obtained, turn the Volume Fraction and Slip Velocity equations back on again, and compute the mixture solution.
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24.9.3
Solution Strategies for the Eulerian Model
Calculating an Initial Solution

To improve convergence behavior, you may want to compute an initial solution before solving the complete Eulerian multiphase model. There are two methods you can use to obtain an initial solution for an Eulerian multiphase calculation: Set up and solve the problem using the mixture model (with slip velocities) instead of the Eulerian model. You can then enable the Eulerian model, complete the setup, and continue the calculation using the mixture-model solution as a starting point. Set up the Eulerian multiphase calculation as usual, but compute the ow for only the primary phase. To do this, deselect Volume Fraction in the Equations list in the Solution Controls panel. Once you have obtained an initial solution for the primary phase, turn the volume fraction equations back on and continue the calculation for all phases. You should not try to use a single-phase solution obtained without the mixture or Eulerian model as a starting point for an Eulerian multiphase calculation. Doing so will not improve convergence, and may make it even more dicult for the ow to converge.
Temporarily Ignoring Lift and Virtual Mass Forces

If you are planning to include the eects of lift and/or virtual mass forces in a steady-state Eulerian multiphase simulation, you can often reduce stability problems that sometimes occur in the early stages of the calculation by temporarily ignoring the action of the lift and the virtual mass forces. Once the solution without these forces starts to converge, you can interrupt the calculation, dene these forces appropriately, and continue the calculation.
Using W-Cycle Multigrid

For problems involving a packed-bed granular phase with very small particle sizes (on the order of 10 m), convergence can be obtained by using the W-cycle multigrid for the pressure. Under Fixed Cycle Parameters in the Multigrid Controls panel, you may need to use higher values for Pre Sweeps, Post Sweeps, and Max Cycles. When you are choosing the values for these parameters, you should also increase the Verbosity to 1 in order to monitor the AMG performance; i.e., to make sure that the pressure equation is solved to a desired level of convergence within the AMG solver during each global iteration. See Section 24.8.10: Dening Phases for the Eulerian Model for more information about granular phases, and Sections 26.5.2 and 26.24.3 for details about multigrid cycles.
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24.9 Solution Strategies for General Multiphase Problems
24.9.4
Solving Wet Steam Flow
Boundary Conditions, Initialization, and Patching

When you use the wet steam model (described in Section 24.5: Wet Steam Model and Section 24.8.23: Using the Wet Steam Model), the following two eld variables will show up in the Inow, Outow boundary panels, and in the Initialization and Patch panels. 1. Liquid Mass Fraction (or the wetness factor). In general, for dry steam entering ow boundaries, the wetness factor is zero. 2. Log10 of the Number of Droplets per unit volume. In general this value is set to zero indicating zero droplets entering the domain.
Solution Limits for the Wet Steam Model

When you activate the wet steam model for the rst time, a message is displayed indicating that the Minimum Static Temperature should be adjusted to 273 K since the accuracy of the built-in steam data is not guaranteed below a value of 273 K. If you use your own steam property functions, you can adjust this limit to whatever is permissible for your data. To adjust the temperature limits, go to the Solution Limits panel. Solve Controls Limits The default maximum wetness factor or liquid mass fraction () is set to 0.1. In general, during the convergence process, it is common that this limit will be reached, but eventually the wetness factor will drop below the value of 0.1. However, in cases where the limit must be adjusted, you can do so using the text user interface. define models multiphase wet-steam set max-liquid-mass-fraction
Note that the maximum wetness factor should not be set beyond 0.2 since the present model assumes a low wetness factor. When the wetness factor is greater than 0.1, the solution tends to be less stable due to the large source terms in the transport equations. Thus, the maximum wetness factor has been set to a default value of 0.1, which corresponds to the fact that most nozzle and turbine ows will have a wetness factor less that 0.1.
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Solution Strategies for the Wet Steam Model

If you face convergence diculties while solving wet steam ow, try to initially lower the CFL value and use rst-order discretization schemes for the solution. If you are still unable to obtain a converged solution, then try the following solver settings: 1. Lower the under-relaxation factor for the wet steam equation below the current set value. The under-relaxation can be found in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution 2. Solve for an initial solution with no condensation. Once you have obtained a proper initial solution, turn on the condensation. To turn condensation on or o, go to the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution In the Solution Controls panel, deselect Wet Steam in the Equations list. When doing so, you are preventing condensation from taking place while still computing the ow based on steam properties. Once a converged ow eld is obtained, turn the Wet Steam equation back on again and compute the mixture solution.
24.10
Postprocessing for General Multiphase Problems
Each of the three general multiphase models provides a number of additional eld functions that you can plot or report. You can also report ow rates for individual phases for all three models, and display velocity vectors for the individual phases in a mixture or Eulerian calculation. Information about these postprocessing topics is provided in the following subsections: Section 24.10.1: Available Postprocessing Variables Section 24.10.2: Displaying Velocity Vectors for Individual Phases Section 24.10.3: Reporting Fluxes for Individual Phases Section 24.10.4: Reporting Forces on Walls for Individual Phases Section 24.10.5: Reporting Flow Rates for Individual Phases
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24.10 Postprocessing for General Multiphase Problems
24.10.1
Available Postprocessing Variables
When you use one of the general multiphase models, some additional eld functions will be available for postprocessing, as listed in this section. Most eld functions that are available in single phase calculations will be available for either the mixture or each individual phase, as appropriate for the general multiphase model and specic options that you are using. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for a complete list of eld functions and their denitions. Chapters 29 and 30 explain how to generate graphics displays and reports of data.
VOF Model
For VOF calculations you can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following additional item: Volume fraction (in the Phases... category), available for each phase. The non-phase-specic variables that are available (e.g., variables in the Pressure... and Velocity... categories) represent mixture quantities. Thermal quantities will be available only for calculations that include the energy equation.
Mixture Model
For calculations with the mixture model, you can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following additional items: Diameter (in the Properties... category), available only for secondary phases. Volume fraction (in the Phases... category), available for each phase. The non-phase-specic variables that are available (e.g., variables in the Pressure... category) represent mixture quantities. Thermal quantities will be available only for calculations that include the energy equation.
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Eulerian Model
For Eulerian multiphase calculations you can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following additional items: Diameter (in the Properties... category), available only for secondary phases. Granular Conductivity (in the Properties... category), available only for granular phases. Granular Pressure (in the Granular Pressure... category), available only for granular phases. Granular Temperature (in the Granular Temperature... category), available only for granular phases. Volume fraction (in the Phases... category), available for each phase. The availability of turbulence quantities will depend on which multiphase turbulence model you used in the calculation. Thermal quantities will be available (on a per-phase basis) only for calculations that include the energy equation.
Multiphase Species Transport

For calculations using species transport with either of the multiphase models, you can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following additional items: Mass Fraction of species-n (in the Species... category), available for each species. Mole Fraction of species-n (in the Species... category), available for each species. Molar Concentration of species-n (in the Species... category), available for each species. Lam. Di Coe of species-n (in the Species... category), available for each species. E. Di. Coe. of species-n (in the Species... category), available for each species. Enthalpy of species-n (in the Species... category), available for each species. Relative Humidity (in the Species... category). Turbulent Rate of Reaction-n (in the Reactions... category), available for each species. Rate of Reaction (in the Reactions... category). Mass Transfer Rate n (in the Phase Interaction... category), available for each mass transfer mechanism that you dened. Thermal quantities will be available only for calculations that include the energy equation.
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24.10 Postprocessing for General Multiphase Problems
Wet Steam Model

FLUENT provides a wide range of post processing information related to the wet steam model. The wet steam related items can be found in Wet Steam.... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in the post processing panels. Liquid Mass Fraction Liquid Mass Generation Rate Log10(Droplets per unit volume) Log10(Droplets nucleation rate) Steam density Liquid density Mixture density Saturation ratio Saturation pressure Saturation temperature Subcooled vapor temperature Droplet critical radius Droplet average radius Droplet growth rate
24.10.2
Displaying Velocity Vectors for Individual Phases
For mixture and Eulerian calculations, it is possible to display velocity vectors for the individual phases using the Vectors panel. Display Vectors... To display the velocity of a particular phase, select Velocity in the Vectors Of dropdown list, and then select the desired phase in the Phase drop-down list. You can also choose Relative Velocity to display the phase velocity relative to a moving reference frame. To display the mixture velocity vm (relevant for mixture model calculations only), select Velocity (or Relative Velocity for the mixture velocity relative to a moving reference frame), and mixture as the Phase. Note that you can color vectors by values of any available variable, for any phase you dened. To do so, make the appropriate selections in the Color By and following Phase drop-down lists.
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24.10.3
Reporting Fluxes for Individual Phases
When you use the Flux Reports panel to compute uxes through boundaries, you will be able to specify whether the report is for the mixture or for an individual phase. Report Fluxes... Select mixture in the Phase drop-down list at the bottom of the panel to report uxes for the mixture, or select the name of a phase to report uxes just for that phase.
24.10.4
Reporting Forces on Walls for Individual Phases
For Eulerian calculations, when you use the Force Reports panel to compute forces or moments on wall boundaries, you will be able to specify the individual phase for which you want to compute the forces. Report Forces... Select the name of the desired phase in the Phase drop-down list on the left side of the panel.
24.10.5
Reporting Flow Rates for Individual Phases
You can obtain a report of mass ow rate for each phase (and the mixture) through each ow boundary using the report/mass-flow text command: report mass-flow When you specify the phase of interest (the mixture or an individual phase), FLUENT will list each zone, followed by the mass ow rate through that zone for the specied phase. An example is shown below.
/report> mf (mixture water air) domain id/name [mixture] air zone 10 (spiral-press-outlet): -1.2330244 zone 3 (pressure-outlet): -9.7560663 zone 11 (spiral-vel-inlet): 0.6150589 zone 8 (spiral-wall): 0 zone 1 (walls): 0 zone 4 (velocity-inlet): 4.9132133 net mass-flow: -5.4608185
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Chapter 25.
Modeling Solidication and Melting
This chapter describes how you can model solidication and melting in FLUENT. Information is organized into the following sections: Section 25.1: Overview and Limitations of the Solidication/Melting Model Section 25.2: Theory for the Solidication/Melting Model Section 25.3: Using the Solidication/Melting Model
25.1
Overview and Limitations of the Solidication/Melting Model Overview
25.1.1
FLUENT can be used to solve uid ow problems involving solidication and/or melting taking place at one temperature (e.g., in pure metals) or over a range of temperatures (e.g., in binary alloys). Instead of tracking the liquid-solid front explicitly, FLUENT uses an enthalpy-porosity formulation. The liquid-solid mushy zone is treated as a porous zone with porosity equal to the liquid fraction, and appropriate momentum sink terms are added to the momentum equations to account for the pressure drop caused by the presence of solid material. Sinks are also added to the turbulence equations to account for reduced porosity in the solid regions. FLUENT provides the following capabilities for modeling solidication and melting: Calculation of liquid-solid solidication/melting in pure metals as well as in binary alloys Modeling of continuous casting processes (i.e., pulling of solid material out of the domain) Modeling of the thermal contact resistance between solidied material and walls (e.g., due to the presence of an air gap) Modeling of species transport with solidication/melting Postprocessing of quantities related to solidication/melting (i.e., liquid fraction and pull velocities)
25-1
These modeling capabilities allow FLUENT to simulate a wide range of solidication/melting problems, including melting, freezing, crystal growth, and continuous casting. The physical equations used for these calculations are described in Section 25.2: Theory for the Solidication/Melting Model, and instructions for setting up and solving a solidication/melting problem are provided in Section 25.3: Using the Solidication/Melting Model.
25.1.2
Limitations
As mentioned in Section 25.1.1: Overview, the formulation in FLUENT can be used to model the solidication/melting of pure materials, as well as alloys. The liquid fraction versus temperature relationship used in FLUENT is the lever rule; i.e., a linear relationship (Equation 25.2-3). Other relationships are possible [337], but are not currently available in FLUENT. The following limitations apply to the solidication/melting model in FLUENT: The solidication/melting model can be used only with the segregated solver; it is not available with the coupled solvers. The solidication/melting model cannot be used for compressible ows. Of the general multiphase models (VOF, mixture, and Eulerian), only the VOF model can be used with the solidication/melting model. With the exception of species diusivities, you cannot specify material properties separately for the solid and liquid materials. When using the solidication/melting model in conjunction with modeling species transport with reactions, there is no mechanism to restrict the reactions to only the liquid region; i.e., the reactions are solved everywhere.
25-2
25.2 Theory for the Solidication/Melting Model
25.2
Theory for the Solidication/Melting Model
An enthalpy-porosity technique [357, 358, 359] is used in FLUENT for modeling the solidication/melting process. In this technique, the melt interface is not tracked explicitly. Instead, a quantity called the liquid fraction, which indicates the fraction of the cell volume that is in liquid form, is associated with each cell in the domain. The liquid fraction is computed at each iteration, based on an enthalpy balance. The mushy zone is a region in which the liquid fraction lies between 0 and 1. The mushy zone is modeled as a pseudo porous medium in which the porosity decreases from 1 to 0 as the material solidies. When the material has fully solidied in a cell, the porosity becomes zero and hence the velocities also drop to zero. In this section, an overview of the solidication/melting theory is given. Refer to Voller and Prakash [359] for details on the enthalpy-porosity method.
25.2.1
Energy Equation
The enthalpy of the material is computed as the sum of the sensible enthalpy, h, and the latent heat, H: H = h + H where
T
(25.2-1)
h = href + and href Tref cp
Tref
cp dT
(25.2-2)
= reference enthalpy = reference temperature = specic heat at constant pressure
The liquid fraction, , can be dened as
= 0 if T < Tsolidus = 1 if T > Tliquidus = T Tsolidus if Tsolidus < T < Tliquidus Tliquidus Tsolidus (25.2-3)
Equation 25.2-3 is referred to as the lever rule.
25-3
The latent heat content can now be written in terms of the latent heat of the material, L: H = L The latent heat content can vary between zero (for a solid) and L (for a liquid). In the case of multicomponent solidication with species segregation; i.e., solidication or melting with species transport, the solidus and liquidus temperatures are computed instead of specied (Equations 25.2-5 and 25.2-6). (25.2-4)
Tsolidus = Tmelt +
solutes
Ki m i Y i m i Yi
solutes
(25.2-5) (25.2-6)
Tliquidus = Tmelt +
where Ki is the partition coecient of solute i, which is the ratio of the concentration in solid to that in liquid at the interface, Yi is the mass fraction of solute i, and mi is the slope of the liquidus surface with respect to Yi . It is assumed that the last species material of the mixture is the solvent and that the other species are the solutes. For solidication/melting problems, the energy equation is written as (H) + t where H v S (vH) = (k T ) + S (25.2-7)
= enthalpy (see Equation 25.2-1) = density = uid velocity = source term
The solution for temperature is essentially an iteration between the energy equation (Equation 25.2-7) and the liquid fraction equation (Equation 25.2-3). Directly using Equation 25.2-3 to update the liquid fraction usually results in poor convergence of the energy equation. In FLUENT, the method suggested by Voller and Swaminathan [360] is used to update the liquid fraction. For pure metals, where Tsolidus and Tliquidus are equal, a method based on specic heat, given by Voller and Prakash [359], is used instead.
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25.2.2
Momentum Equations
The enthalpy-porosity technique treats the mushy region (partially solidied region) as a porous medium. The porosity in each cell is set equal to the liquid fraction in that cell. In fully solidied regions, the porosity is equal to zero, which extinguishes the velocities in these regions. The momentum sink due to the reduced porosity in the mushy zone takes the following form: S= (1 )2 Amush (v vp ) ( 3 + ) (25.2-8)
where is the liquid volume fraction, is a small number (0.001) to prevent division by zero, Amush is the mushy zone constant, and vp is the solid velocity due to the pulling of solidied material out of the domain (also referred to as the pull velocity). The mushy zone constant measures the amplitude of the damping; the higher this value, the steeper the transition of the velocity of the material to zero as it solidies. Very large values may cause the solution to oscillate. The pull velocity is included to account for the movement of the solidied material as it is continuously withdrawn from the domain in continuous casting processes. The presence of this term in Equation 25.2-8 allows newly solidied material to move at the pull velocity. If solidied material is not being pulled from the domain, vp = 0. More details about the pull velocity are provided in Section 25.2.5: Pull Velocity for Continuous Casting.
25.2.3
Turbulence Equations
Sinks are added to all of the turbulence equations in the mushy and solidied zones to account for the presence of solid matter. The sink term is very similar to the momentum sink term (Equation 25.2-8): S= (1 )2 Amush ( 3 + ) (25.2-9)
where represents the turbulence quantity being solved (k, , , etc.), and the mushy zone constant, Amush , is the same as the one used in Equation 25.2-8.
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25.2.4
Species Equations
In the case of solidication/melting with species transport, the following species equation is solved: (Yi ) + t where Ji is given by Ji = [Di,m,liq Yi,liq + (1 )Di,m,sol Yi,sol ] Here Yi is the average species mass fraction in a cell: Yi = Yi,liq + (1 )Yi,sol Yi,liq and Yi,sol are related by the partition coecient Ki : Yi,sol = Ki Yi,liq (25.2-13) (25.2-12) (25.2-11) ( [vliq Yi,liq + (1 )vp Yi,sol ]) = Ji + R i (25.2-10)
vliq is the velocity of the liquid and vp is the solid (pull) velocity. vp is set to zero if pull velocities are not included in the solution. The liquid velocity can be found from the average velocity (as determined by the ow equation) as vliq = (v vp (1 )) (25.2-14)
25.2.5
Pull Velocity for Continuous Casting
In continuous casting processes, the solidied matter is usually continuously pulled out from the computational domain, as shown in Figure 25.2.1. Consequently, the solid material will have a nite velocity that needs to be accounted for in the enthalpy-porosity technique. As mentioned in Section 25.2.2: Momentum Equations, the enthalpy-porosity approach treats the solid-liquid mushy zone as a porous medium with porosity equal to the liquid fraction. A suitable sink term is added in the momentum equation to account for the pressure drop due to the porous structure of the mushy zone. For continuous casting applications, the relative velocity between the molten liquid and the solid is used in the momentum sink term (Equation 25.2-8) rather than the absolute velocity of the liquid. The exact computation of the pull velocity for the solid material is dependent on the Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio of the solid and the forces acting on it. FLUENT
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mushy zone
solidied shell
vp
liquid pool
wall
Figure 25.2.1: Pulling a Solid in Continuous Casting
uses a Laplacian equation to approximate the pull velocities in the solid region based on the velocities at the boundaries of the solidied region:
2
vp = 0
(25.2-15)
FLUENT uses the following boundary conditions when computing the pull velocities: At a velocity inlet, a stationary wall, or a moving wall, the specied velocity is used. At all other boundaries (including the liquid-solid interface between the liquid and solidied material), a zero-gradient velocity is used. The pull velocities are computed only in the solid region. Note that FLUENT can also use a specied constant value or custom eld function for the pull velocity, instead of computing it. See Section 25.3.2: Procedures for Modeling Continuous Casting for details. ug-models-melt-freeze.aux
25.2.6
Contact Resistance at Walls
FLUENTs solidication/melting model can account for the presence of an air gap between the walls and the solidied material, using an additional heat transfer resistance between walls and cells with liquid fraction less than 1. This contact resistance is accounted for by modifying the conductivity of the uid near the wall. Thus, the wall heat ux, as shown in Figure 25.2.2, is written as q= (T Tw ) (l/k + Rc (1 )) (25.2-16)
25-7
where T , Tw , and l are dened in Figure 25.2.2, k is the thermal conductivity of the uid, is the liquid volume fraction, and Rc is the contact resistance, which has the same units as the inverse of the heat transfer coecient.
wall near-wall cell Tw
q
Tw
q q
T
q
Rc
l/k
Figure 25.2.2: Circuit for Contact Resistance
25.3
Using the Solidication/Melting Model Setup Procedure
25.3.1
The procedure for setting up a solidication/melting problem is described below. (Note that this procedure includes only those steps necessary for the solidication/melting model itself; you will need to set up other models, boundary conditions, etc. as usual.) 1. To activate the solidication/melting model, turn on the Solidication/Melting option in the Solidication and Melting panel (Figure 25.3.1). Dene Models Solidication & Melting... FLUENT will automatically enable the energy equation, so you do not have to visit the Energy panel before turning on the solidication/melting model. 2. Under Parameters, specify the value of the Mushy Zone Constant (Amush in Equation 25.2-8).
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25.3 Using the Solidication/Melting Model
Figure 25.3.1: The Solidication and Melting Panel
Values between 104 and 107 are recommended for most computations. The higher the value of the Mushy Zone Constant, the steeper the damping curve becomes, and the faster the velocity drops to zero as the material solidies. Very large values may cause the solution to oscillate as control volumes alternately solidify and melt with minor perturbations in liquid volume fraction. 3. If you want to include the pull velocity in your simulation (as described in Sections 25.2.2 and 25.2.5), turn on the Include Pull Velocities option under Parameters. 4. If you are including pull velocities and you want FLUENT to compute them (using Equation 25.2-15) based on the specied velocity boundary conditions, as described in Section 25.2.5: Pull Velocity for Continuous Casting, turn on the Compute Pull Velocities option and specify the number of Flow Iterations Per Pull Velocity Iteration.
It is not necessary to have FLUENT compute the pull velocities. See Section 25.3.2: Procedures for Modeling Continuous Casting for information about other approaches.
The default value of 1 for the Flow Iterations Per Pull Velocity Iteration indicates that the pull velocity equations will be solved after each iteration of the solver. If you increase this value, the pull velocity equations will be solved less frequently. You may want to increase the number of Flow Iterations Per Pull Velocity Iteration if the liquid fraction equation is almost converged (i.e., the position of the liquid-solid interface is not changing very much). This will speed up the calculation, although the residuals may jump when the pull velocities are updated. 5. In the Materials panel, specify the Melting Heat (L in Equation 25.2-3), Solidus Temperature (Tsolidus in Equation 25.2-3), and Liquidus Temperature (Tliquidus in Equation 25.2-3) for the material being used in your model. Dene Materials...
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If you are solving for species transport, you will also have to specify the Melting Temperature of pure solvent (Tmelt in Equations 25.2-5 and 25.2-6). The solvent is the last species material of the mixture material. For each solute, you will have to specify the slope of the liquidus surface (Slope of Liquidus Line) with respect to the concentration of the solute (mi in Equations 25.2-5 and 25.2-6), the Partition Coecient (Ki ), and the rate of Diusion in Solid. It is not necessary to specify mi and Ki for the solvent. 6. Set the boundary conditions. Dene Boundary Conditions... In addition to the usual boundary conditions, consider the following: If you want to account for the presence of an air gap between a wall and an adjacent solidied region (as described in Section 25.2.6: Contact Resistance at Walls), specify a non-zero value, a prole, or a user-dened function for Contact Resistance (Rc in Equation 25.2-16) under Thermal Conditions in the Wall panel. If you want to specify the gradient of the surface tension with respect to the temperature at a wall boundary, you can use the Marangoni Stress option for the wall Shear Condition. See Section 7.13.1: Marangoni Stress for details. If you want FLUENT to compute the pull velocities during the calculation, note how your specied velocity conditions are used in this calculation (see Section 25.2.5: Pull Velocity for Continuous Casting). Section 25.3.2: Procedures for Modeling Continuous Casting contains additional information about modeling continuous casting. See Sections 25.3.3 and 25.3.4 for information about solving a solidication/melting model and postprocessing the results.
25.3.2
Procedures for Modeling Continuous Casting
As described in Sections 25.2.2 and 25.2.5, you can include the pull velocities in your solidication/melting calculation to model continuous casting. There are three approaches to modeling continuous casting in FLUENT: Specify constant or variable pull velocities. To use this approach (the default), do not turn on the Compute Pull Velocities option. If you use this approach, you will need to patch constant values or custom eld functions for the pull velocities, after you initialize the solution. Solve Initialize Patch...
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25.3 Using the Solidication/Melting Model
See Section 26.15.2: Patching Values in Selected Cells for details about patching values. Note that it is acceptable to patch values for the pull velocities in the entire domain, because the patched values will be used only if the liquid fraction, , is less than 1. Have FLUENT compute the pull velocities (using Equation 25.2-15) during the calculation, based on the specied velocity boundary conditions. To use this approach, turn on the Compute Pull Velocities option. This method is computationally expensive, and is recommended only if the pull velocities are strongly dependent on the location of the liquid-solid interface. If you have FLUENT compute the pull velocities, then there are no additional inputs or setup procedures beyond those presented in Section 25.3.1: Setup Procedure. Have FLUENT compute the pull velocities just once, and then use those values for the remainder of the calculation. To use this approach, perform one iteration with FLUENT computing the pull velocities, and then turn o the Compute Pull Velocities option and continue the calculation. For the remainder of the calculation, FLUENT will use the values computed for the pull velocities at the rst iteration.
25.3.3
Solution Procedure
Before solving the coupled uid ow and heat transfer problem, you may want to patch an initial temperature or solve the steady conduction problem as an initial condition. The coupled problem can then be solved as either steady or unsteady. Because of the nonlinear nature of these problems, however, in most cases an unsteady solution approach is preferred. You can specify the under-relaxation factor applied to the liquid fraction equation in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... Specify the desired value in the Liquid Fraction Update eld under Under-Relaxation Factors. This sets the value of in the following equation for updating the liquid fraction from one iteration (n) to the next (n + 1): n+1 = n + where is the predicted change in liquid fraction. In many cases, there is no need to change the default value of . If, however, there are convergence diculties, reducing the value may improve the solution convergence. Convergence diculties can be expected in steady-state calculations, continuous casting (25.3-1)
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simulations, simulations involving multicomponent solidication, and simulations where a large value of the mushy zone constant is used.
25.3.4
Postprocessing
For solidication/melting calculations, you can generate graphical plots or alphanumeric reports of the following items, which are all available in the Solidication/Melting... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels: Liquid Fraction Contact Resistivity X, Y, Z or Axial, Radial, Swirl Pull Velocity The rst two items are available for all solidication/melting simulations, and the others will appear only if you are including pull velocities (either computed or specied) in the simulation. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for a complete list of eld functions and their denitions. Chapters 29 and 30 explain how to generate graphics displays and reports of data. Figure 25.3.2 shows lled contours of liquid fraction for a continuous crystal growth simulation.
1.00e+00 9.00e-01 8.00e-01 7.00e-01 6.00e-01 5.00e-01 4.00e-01 3.00e-01 2.00e-01 1.00e-01 0.00e+00
Contours of Liquid Fraction
Figure 25.3.2: Liquid Fraction Contours for Continuous Crystal Growth
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Chapter 26.
Using the Solver
This chapter describes the FLUENT solver and how to use it. Details about the solver algorithms used by FLUENT are provided in Sections 26.126.5. Section 26.7: Overview of How to Use the Solver provides an overview of how to use the solver, and the remaining sections provide detailed instructions. Section 26.1: Overview of Numerical Schemes Section 26.2: Discretization Section 26.3: The Segregated Solver Section 26.4: The Coupled Solver Section 26.5: Multigrid Method Section 26.6: Choosing the Solver Formulation Section 26.7: Overview of How to Use the Solver Section 26.8: Choosing the Discretization Scheme Section 26.9: Choosing the Pressure-Velocity Coupling Method Section 26.10: Setting Under-Relaxation Factors Section 26.11: Setting Solution Controls for the Non-Iterative Solver Section 26.12: Changing the Courant Number Section 26.13: Turning On FAS Multigrid Section 26.14: Setting Solution Limits Section 26.15: Initializing the Solution Section 26.16: Full Multigrid (FMG) Initialization Section 26.17: Performing Steady-State Calculations Section 26.18: Performing Time-Dependent Calculations Section 26.19: Monitoring Solution Convergence
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Using the Solver
Section 26.20: Animating the Solution Section 26.21: Importing and Exporting Particle History Data Section 26.22: Executing Commands During the Calculation Section 26.23: Managing Acoustic Signal Data Section 26.24: Convergence and Stability
26.1
Overview of Numerical Schemes
FLUENT allows you to choose either of two numerical methods: segregated solver coupled solver Using either method, FLUENT will solve the governing integral equations for the conservation of mass and momentum, and (when appropriate) for energy and other scalars such as turbulence and chemical species. In both cases a control-volume-based technique is used that consists of: Division of the domain into discrete control volumes using a computational grid. Integration of the governing equations on the individual control volumes to construct algebraic equations for the discrete dependent variables (unknowns) such as velocities, pressure, temperature, and conserved scalars. Linearization of the discretized equations and solution of the resultant linear equation system to yield updated values of the dependent variables. The two numerical methods employ a similar discretization process (nite-volume), but the approach used to linearize and solve the discretized equations is dierent. The general solution methods are described rst in Sections 26.1.1 and 26.1.2, followed by a discussion of the linearization methods in Section 26.1.3: Linearization: Implicit vs. Explicit.
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26.1 Overview of Numerical Schemes
26.1.1
Segregated Solution Method
The segregated solver is the solution algorithm previously used by FLUENT 4. Using this approach, the governing equations are solved sequentially (i.e., segregated from one another). Because the governing equations are non-linear (and coupled), several iterations of the solution loop must be performed before a converged solution is obtained. Each iteration consists of the steps illustrated in Figure 26.1.1 and outlined below: 1. Fluid properties are updated, based on the current solution. (If the calculation has just begun, the uid properties will be updated based on the initialized solution.) 2. The u, v, and w momentum equations are each solved in turn using current values for pressure and face mass uxes, in order to update the velocity eld. 3. Since the velocities obtained in Step 2 may not satisfy the continuity equation locally, a Poisson-type equation for the pressure correction is derived from the continuity equation and the linearized momentum equations. This pressure correction equation is then solved to obtain the necessary corrections to the pressure and velocity elds and the face mass uxes such that continuity is satised. 4. Where appropriate, equations for scalars such as turbulence, energy, species, and radiation are solved using the previously updated values of the other variables. 5. When interphase coupling is to be included, the source terms in the appropriate continuous phase equations may be updated with a discrete phase trajectory calculation. 6. A check for convergence of the equation set is made. These steps are continued until the convergence criteria are met.
26-3
Using the Solver
Update properties.
Solve momentum equations.
Solve pressure-correction (continuity) equation. Update pressure, face mass ow rate.
Solve energy, species, turbulence, and other scalar equations.
Converged?
Stop
Figure 26.1.1: Overview of the Segregated Solution Method
26-4
26.1.2
Coupled Solution Method
The coupled solver solves the governing equations of continuity, momentum, and (where appropriate) energy and species transport simultaneously (i.e., coupled together). Governing equations for additional scalars will be solved sequentially (i.e., segregated from one another and from the coupled set) using the procedure described for the segregated solver in Section 26.1.1: Segregated Solution Method. Because the governing equations are non-linear (and coupled), several iterations of the solution loop must be performed before a converged solution is obtained. Each iteration consists of the steps illustrated in Figure 26.1.2 and outlined below: 1. Fluid properties are updated, based on the current solution. (If the calculation has just begun, the uid properties will be updated based on the initialized solution.) 2. The continuity, momentum, and (where appropriate) energy and species equations are solved simultaneously. 3. Where appropriate, equations for scalars such as turbulence and radiation are solved using the previously updated values of the other variables. 4. When interphase coupling is to be included, the source terms in the appropriate continuous phase equations may be updated with a discrete phase trajectory calculation. 5. A check for convergence of the equation set is made. These steps are continued until the convergence criteria are met.
26.1.3
Linearization: Implicit vs. Explicit
In both the segregated and coupled solution methods the discrete, non-linear governing equations are linearized to produce a system of equations for the dependent variables in every computational cell. The resultant linear system is then solved to yield an updated ow-eld solution. The manner in which the governing equations are linearized may take an implicit or explicit form with respect to the dependent variable (or set of variables) of interest. By implicit or explicit we mean the following: implicit: For a given variable, the unknown value in each cell is computed using a relation that includes both existing and unknown values from neighboring cells. Therefore each unknown will appear in more than one equation in the system, and these equations must be solved simultaneously to give the unknown quantities.
26-5
Using the Solver
Update properties.
Solve continuity, momentum, energy, and species equations simultaneously.
Solve turbulence and other scalar equations.
Converged?
Stop
Figure 26.1.2: Overview of the Coupled Solution Method
explicit: For a given variable, the unknown value in each cell is computed using a relation that includes only existing values. Therefore each unknown will appear in only one equation in the system and the equations for the unknown value in each cell can be solved one at a time to give the unknown quantities. In the segregated solution method each discrete governing equation is linearized implicitly with respect to that equations dependent variable. This will result in a system of linear equations with one equation for each cell in the domain. Because there is only one equation per cell, this is sometimes called a scalar system of equations. A point implicit (Gauss-Seidel) linear equation solver is used in conjunction with an algebraic multigrid (AMG) method to solve the resultant scalar system of equations for the dependent variable in each cell. For example, the x-momentum equation is linearized to produce a system of equations in which u velocity is the unknown. Simultaneous solution of this equation system (using the scalar AMG solver) yields an updated u-velocity eld. In summary, the segregated approach solves for a single variable eld (e.g., p) by considering all cells at the same time. It then solves for the next variable eld by again considering all cells at the same time, and so on. There is no explicit option for the segregated solver. In the coupled solution method you have a choice of using either an implicit or explicit linearization of the governing equations. This choice applies only to the coupled set of
26-6
governing equations. Governing equations for additional scalars that are solved segregated from the coupled set, such as for turbulence, radiation, etc., are linearized and solved implicitly using the same procedures as in the segregated solution method. Regardless of whether you choose the implicit or explicit scheme, the solution procedure shown in Figure 26.1.2 is followed. If you choose the implicit option of the coupled solver, each equation in the coupled set of governing equations is linearized implicitly with respect to all dependent variables in the set. This will result in a system of linear equations with N equations for each cell in the domain, where N is the number of coupled equations in the set. Because there are N equations per cell, this is sometimes called a block system of equations. A point implicit (block Gauss-Seidel) linear equation solver is used in conjunction with an algebraic multigrid (AMG) method to solve the resultant block system of equations for all N dependent variables in each cell. For example, linearization of the coupled continuity, x-, y-, z-momentum, and energy equation set will produce a system of equations in which p, u, v, w, and T are the unknowns. Simultaneous solution of this equation system (using the block AMG solver) yields at once updated pressure, u-, v-, w-velocity, and temperature elds. In summary, the coupled implicit approach solves for all variables (p, u, v, w, T ) in all cells at the same time. If you choose the explicit option of the coupled solver, each equation in the coupled set of governing equations is linearized explicitly. As in the implicit option, this too will result in a system of equations with N equations for each cell in the domain. And likewise, all dependent variables in the set will be updated at once. However, this system of equations is explicit in the unknown dependent variables. For example, the x-momentum equation is written such that the updated x velocity is a function of existing values of the eld variables. Because of this, a linear equation solver is not needed. Instead, the solution is updated using a multi-stage (Runge-Kutta) solver. Here you have the additional option of employing a full approximation storage (FAS) multigrid scheme to accelerate the multi-stage solver. In summary, the coupled explicit approach solves for all variables (p, u, v, w, T ) one cell at a time. Note that the FAS multigrid is an optional component of the explicit approach, while the AMG is a required element in both the segregated and coupled implicit approaches.
26-7
Using the Solver
26.2
Discretization
FLUENT uses a control-volume-based technique to convert the governing equations to algebraic equations that can be solved numerically. This control volume technique consists of integrating the governing equations about each control volume, yielding discrete equations that conserve each quantity on a control-volume basis. Discretization of the governing equations can be illustrated most easily by considering the steady-state conservation equation for transport of a scalar quantity . This is demonstrated by the following equation written in integral form for an arbitrary control volume V as follows: v dA = where v A S = = = = = = density velocity vector (= u + v in 2D) surface area vector diusion coecient for gradient of (= /x) + (/y) in 2D) source of per unit volume dA + S dV (26.2-1)
Equation 26.2-1 is applied to each control volume, or cell, in the computational domain. The two-dimensional, triangular cell shown in Figure 26.2.1 is an example of such a control volume. Discretization of Equation 26.2-1 on a given cell yields
Nfaces Nfaces
f vf f Af =
f f
( )n Af + S V
(26.2-2)
where Nfaces f f vf Af Af ( )n V = = = = = = number of faces enclosing cell value of convected through face f mass ux through the face area of face f , |A| (= |Ax + Ay | in 2D) magnitude of normal to face f cell volume
The equations solved by FLUENT take the same general form as the one given above and apply readily to multi-dimensional, unstructured meshes composed of arbitrary polyhedra. By default, FLUENT stores discrete values of the scalar at the cell centers (c0 and c1 in Figure 26.2.1). However, face values f are required for the convection terms in Equa-
26-8
26.2 Discretization
c1 A c0
Figure 26.2.1: Control Volume Used to Illustrate Discretization of a Scalar Transport Equation
tion 26.2-2 and must be interpolated from the cell center values. This is accomplished using an upwind scheme. Upwinding means that the face value f is derived from quantities in the cell upstream, or upwind, relative to the direction of the normal velocity vn in Equation 26.2-2. FLUENT allows you to choose from several upwind schemes: rst-order upwind, second-order upwind, power law, and QUICK. These schemes are described in Sections 26.2.126.2.4. The diusion terms in Equation 26.2-2 are central-dierenced and are always secondorder accurate.
26.2.1
First-Order Upwind Scheme
When rst-order accuracy is desired, quantities at cell faces are determined by assuming that the cell-center values of any eld variable represent a cell-average value and hold throughout the entire cell; the face quantities are identical to the cell quantities. Thus when rst-order upwinding is selected, the face value f is set equal to the cell-center value of in the upstream cell.
26.2.2
Power-Law Scheme
The power-law discretization scheme interpolates the face value of a variable, , using the exact solution to a one-dimensional convection-diusion equation (u) = x x x (26.2-3)
where and u are constant across the interval x. Equation 26.2-3 can be integrated to yield the following solution describing how varies with x:
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Using the Solver
x exp(Pe L ) 1 (x) 0 = L 0 exp(Pe) 1
(26.2-4)
where 0 L = |x=0 = |x=L
and Pe is the Peclet number: Pe = uL (26.2-5)
The variation of (x) between x = 0 and x = L is depicted in Figure 26.2.2 for a range of values of the Peclet number. Figure 26.2.2 shows that for large Pe, the value of at x = L/2 is approximately equal to the upstream value. This implies that when the ow is dominated by convection, interpolation can be accomplished by simply letting the face value of a variable be set equal to its upwind or upstream value. This is the standard rst-order scheme for FLUENT.
L
Pe < -1
P = -1 e
Pe= 0
P=1 e
P>1 e
0 X
Figure 26.2.2: Variation of a Variable Between x = 0 and x = L (Equation 26.2-3)
If the power-law scheme is selected, FLUENT uses Equation 26.2-4 in an equivalent power law format [254], as its interpolation scheme.
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26.2 Discretization
As discussed in Section 26.2.1: First-Order Upwind Scheme, Figure 26.2.2 shows that for large Pe, the value of at x = L/2 is approximately equal to the upstream value. When Pe=0 (no ow, or pure diusion), Figure 26.2.2 shows that may be interpolated using a simple linear average between the values at x = 0 and x = L. When the Peclet number has an intermediate value, the interpolated value for at x = L/2 must be derived by applying the power law equivalent of Equation 26.2-4.
26.2.3
Second-Order Upwind Scheme
When second-order accuracy is desired, quantities at cell faces are computed using a multidimensional linear reconstruction approach [17]. In this approach, higher-order accuracy is achieved at cell faces through a Taylor series expansion of the cell-centered solution about the cell centroid. Thus when second-order upwinding is selected, the face value f is computed using the following expression: f = + s (26.2-6)
where and are the cell-centered value and its gradient in the upstream cell, and s is the displacement vector from the upstream cell centroid to the face centroid. This formulation requires the determination of the gradient in each cell. This gradient is computed using the divergence theorem, which in discrete form is written as 1 V
Nfaces f
f A
(26.2-7)
Here the face values f are computed by averaging from the two cells adjacent to the face. Finally, the gradient is limited so that no new maxima or minima are introduced.
26.2.4
QUICK Scheme
For quadrilateral and hexahedral meshes, where unique upstream and downstream faces and cells can be identied, FLUENT also provides the QUICK scheme for computing a higher-order value of the convected variable at a face. QUICK-type schemes [188] are based on a weighted average of second-order-upwind and central interpolations of the variable. For the face e in Figure 26.2.3, if the ow is from left to right, such a value can be written as
e =
Sd Sc Su + 2Sc Sc P + E + (1 ) P W S c + Sd S c + Sd Su + S c Su + S c
(26.2-8)
26-11
Using the Solver
Su
Sc
Sd
x w P
w
x e E
e
Figure 26.2.3: One-Dimensional Control Volume
= 1 in the above equation results in a central second-order interpolation while = 0 yields a second-order upwind value. The traditional QUICK scheme is obtained by setting = 1/8. The implementation in FLUENT uses a variable, solution-dependent value of , chosen so as to avoid introducing new solution extrema. The QUICK scheme will typically be more accurate on structured grids aligned with the ow direction. Note that FLUENT allows the use of the QUICK scheme for unstructured or hybrid grids as well; in such cases the usual second-order upwind discretization scheme (described in Section 26.2.3: Second-Order Upwind Scheme) will be used at the faces of non-hexahedral (or non-quadrilateral, in 2D) cells.
26.2.5
Third-Order MUSCL Scheme
This third-order convection scheme was conceived from the original MUSCL (Monotone Upstream-Centered Schemes for Conservation Laws) [352] by blending a central dierencing scheme and second-order upwind scheme as f = f + (1 )f,SOU (26.2-9)
where f is the value of interpolated at the face center, and f,SOU is computed using the second-order upwind scheme as described in Section 26.2.3: Second-Order Upwind Scheme. Unlike the QUICK scheme which is applicable to structured hex meshes only, the MUSCL scheme is applicable to arbitrary meshes. Compared to the second-order upwind scheme, the third-order MUSCL has a potential to improve spatial accuracy for all types of meshes by reducing numerical diusion, most signicantly for complex three-dimensional ows, and it is available for all transport equations.
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26.2 Discretization
The third-order MUSCL currently implemented in FLUENT does not contain any ux-limiter. As a result, it can produce undershoot and overshoot when the ow-eld under consideration has discontinuities such as shock waves.
26.2.6
Central-Differencing Scheme
A second-order-accurate central-dierencing discretization scheme is available for the momentum equations when you are using the LES turbulence model. This scheme provides improved accuracy for LES calculations. The central-dierencing scheme calculates the face value for a variable (f ) as follows: f,CD = 1 1 (0 + 1 ) + ( r,0 r0 + 2 2 r,1 r1 ) (26.2-10)
where the indices 0 and 1 refer to the cells that share face f , r,0 and r,1 are the reconstructed gradients at cells 0 and 1, respectively, and r is the vector directed from the cell centroid toward the face centroid. It is well known that central-dierencing schemes can produce unbounded solutions and non-physical wiggles, which can lead to stability problems for the numerical procedure. These stability problems can often be avoided if a deferred approach is used for the central-dierencing scheme. In this approach, the face value is calculated as follows:
f =
f,UP implicit part
(f,CD f,UP ) explicit part
(26.2-11)
where UP stands for upwind. As indicated, the upwind part is treated implicitly while the dierence between the central-dierence and upwind values is treated explicitly. Provided that the numerical solution converges, this approach leads to pure second-order dierencing.
26.2.7
Bounded Central Differencing Scheme
The central dierencing scheme described in Section 26.2.6: Central-Dierencing Scheme is an ideal choice for LES in view of its meritoriously low numerical diusion. However, it often leads to unphysical oscillations in the solution elds. In LES, the situation is exacerbated by usually very low subgrid-scale turbulent diusivity. The bounded central dierencing scheme is essentially based on the normalized variable diagram (NVD) approach [189] together with convection boundedness criterion (CBC). The bounded central dierencing scheme is a composite NVD-scheme that consists of a pure central dierencing, a blended scheme of the central dierencing and the second-order upwind
26-13
Using the Solver
scheme, and the rst-order upwind scheme. It should be noted that the rst-order scheme is used only when the CBC is violated.
The bounded central dierencing scheme is the default convection scheme for LES. When you select LES, the convection discretization schemes for all transport equations are automatically switched to the bounded central dierencing scheme.
26.2.8
Low Diffusion Second Order Scheme
In order to reduce dissipation in LES calculations, FLUENT uses a modied version of the Roe Flux Dierence Splitting scheme, called the Low Diusion Second Order scheme. The scheme includes low Mach number preconditioning, in which the articial dissipation term has been removed, as suggested in [42], through the use of a hybrid scheme that combines a central scheme and a second order upwind scheme (Roes Flux Dierence scheme).
i i
26.2.9
The low diusion discretization must be used only for subsonic ows. For high Mach number ows, you should switch to the second-order upwind scheme. The low diusion discretization is only available with the implicit-time formulation (dual-time-stepping). When running LES with the explicit time formulation, you will need to use the second order upwind scheme.
Modied HRIC Scheme
For simulations using the VOF multiphase model, upwind schemes are generally unsuitable for interface tracking because of their overly diusive nature. Central dierencing schemes, while generally able to retain the sharpness of the interface, are unbounded and often give unphysical results. In order to overcome these deciencies, FLUENT uses a modied version of the High Resolution Interface Capturing (HRIC) scheme. The modied HRIC scheme is a composite NVD scheme that consists of a non-linear blend of upwind and downwind dierencing [237]. First, the normalized cell value of volume fraction, c , is computed and is used to nd f , as follows: the normalized face value, D U c = A U where A is the acceptor cell, D is the donor cell, and U is the upwind cell, and (26.2-12)
26-14
26.2 Discretization
f
Figure 26.2.4: Cell Representation for Modied HRIC Scheme
f =
2c 1
c < 0 or c > 1 0 c 0.5 0.5 c 1
(26.2-13)
Here, if the upwind cell is not available (e.g., unstructured mesh), an extrapolated value is used for U . Directly using this value of f causes wrinkles in the interface, if the ow is parallel to the interface. So, FLUENT switches to ULTIMATE QUICKEST scheme (the one-dimensional bounded version of the QUICK scheme [189]) based on the angle between the face normal and interface normal: U Q = f
c
M IN f ,
6c +3 8
c < 0 or c > 1 0.5 c 1
(26.2-14)
This leads to a corrected version of the face volume fraction, : f = f cos + (1 cos )U Q f f where d | ||d| (26.2-15)
cos =
(26.2-16)
and d is a vector connecting cell centers adjacent to the face f . The face volume fraction is now obtained from the normalized value computed above as follows: f = (A U ) + U f (26.2-17)
26-15
Using the Solver
The modied HRIC scheme provides improved accuracy for VOF calculations when compared to QUICK and second order schemes, and is less computationally expensive than the Geo-Reconstruct scheme.
26.2.10 Linearized Form of the Discrete Equation

The discretized scalar transport equation (Equation 26.2-2) contains the unknown scalar variable at the cell center as well as the unknown values in surrounding neighbor cells. This equation will, in general, be non-linear with respect to these variables. A linearized form of Equation 26.2-2 can be written as aP =
nb
anb nb + b
(26.2-18)
where the subscript nb refers to neighbor cells, and aP and anb are the linearized coecients for and nb . The number of neighbors for each cell depends on the grid topology, but will typically equal the number of faces enclosing the cell (boundary cells being the exception). Similar equations can be written for each cell in the grid. This results in a set of algebraic equations with a sparse coecient matrix. For scalar equations, FLUENT solves this linear system using a point implicit (Gauss-Seidel) linear equation solver in conjunction with an algebraic multigrid (AMG) method which is described in Section 26.5.3: Algebraic Multigrid (AMG).
26.2.11
Under-Relaxation
Because of the nonlinearity of the equation set being solved by FLUENT, it is necessary to control the change of . This is typically achieved by under-relaxation, which reduces the change of produced during each iteration. In a simple form, the new value of the variable within a cell depends upon the old value, old , the computed change in , , and the under-relaxation factor, , as follows: = old + (26.2-19)
26.2.12
Temporal Discretization
For transient simulations, the governing equations must be discretized in both space and time. The spatial discretization for the time-dependent equations is identical to the steady-state case. Temporal discretization involves the integration of every term in the dierential equations over a time step t. The integration of the transient terms is straightforward, as shown below.
26-16
26.2 Discretization
A generic expression for the time evolution of a variable is given by = F () t (26.2-20)
where the function F incorporates any spatial discretization. If the time derivative is discretized using backward dierences, the rst-order accurate temporal discretization is given by n+1 n = F () t and the second-order discretization is given by 3n+1 4n + n1 = F () 2t where = a scalar quantity n + 1 = value at the next time level, t + t n = value at the current time level, t n 1 = value at the previous time level, t t Once the time derivative has been discretized, a choice remains for evaluating F (): in particular, which time level values of should be used in evaluating F ? (26.2-22) (26.2-21)
Implicit Time Integration

One method is to evaluate F () at the future time level: n+1 n = F (n+1 ) t (26.2-23)
This is referred to as implicit integration since n+1 in a given cell is related to n+1 in neighboring cells through F (n+1 ): n+1 = n + tF (n+1 ) (26.2-24)
This implicit equation can be solved iteratively by initializing i to n and iterating the equation i = n + tF (i ) for the rst-order implicit formulation, or (26.2-25)
26-17
Using the Solver
i = 4/3n 1/3n1 + 2/3tF (i )
(26.2-26)
for the second-order implicit formulation, until i stops changing (i.e., converges). At that point, n+1 is set to i . The advantage of the fully implicit scheme is that it is unconditionally stable with respect to time step size.
Explicit Time Integration

A second method is available when the coupled explicit solver is used. This method evaluates F () at the current time level: n+1 n = F (n ) t (26.2-27)
and is referred to as explicit integration since n+1 can be expressed explicitly in terms of the existing solution values, n : n+1 = n + tF (n ) (This method is also referred to as global time stepping.) Here, the time step t is restricted to the stability limit of the underlying solver (i.e., a time step corresponding to a Courant number of approximately 1). In order to be time-accurate, all cells in the domain must use the same time step. For stability, this time step must be the minimum of all the local time steps in the domain. The use of explicit time stepping is fairly restrictive. It is used primarily to capture the transient behavior of moving waves, such as shocks, because it is more accurate and less expensive than the implicit time stepping methods in such cases. You cannot use explicit time stepping in the following cases: Calculations with the segregated or coupled implicit solver. The explicit time stepping formulation is available only with the coupled explicit solver. Incompressible ow. Explicit time stepping cannot be used to compute timeaccurate incompressible ows (i.e., gas laws other than ideal gas). Incompressible solutions must be iterated to convergence within each time step. Convergence acceleration. FAS multigrid and residual smoothing cannot be used with explicit time stepping because they destroy the time accuracy of the underlying solver. (26.2-28)
26-18
26.2 Discretization
26.2.13
Evaluation of Derivatives
The derivative of a given variable is used to discretize the convection and diusion terms of the equations of motion. The gradient is computed using the Green-Gauss theorem as
( )c0 =
1 V
f Af
f
(26.2-29)
where f is the value of at the cell face centroid, and the summation is over all the faces enclosing the cell. Cell-Based Derivative Evaluation By default, the face value, f , in Equation 26.2-29 is taken from the arithmetic average of the values at the neighboring cell centers, i.e., f = c0 + c1 2 (26.2-30)
To use this option, select Cell-Based under Gradient Option in the Solver panel. Node-Based Derivative Evaluation Alternatively, f can be computed by the arithmetic average of the nodal values on the face. 1 Nf
Nf
f =
n
n
(26.2-31)
where Nf is the number of nodes on the face. The nodal values, n in Equation 26.2-31, are constructed from the weighted average of the cell values surrounding the nodes, following the approach originally proposed by Holmes and Connel[135] and Rauch et al.[274]. This scheme reconstructs exact values of a linear function at a node from surrounding cell-centered values on arbitrary unstructured meshes by solving a constrained minimization problem, preserving a second-order spatial accuracy. The node-based averaging scheme is known to be more accurate than the default cellbased scheme for unstructured meshes, most notably for triangular and tetrahedral meshes. To use this option, select Node-Based under Gradient Option in the Solver panel.
26-19
Using the Solver
26.3
The Segregated Solver
In this section, special practices related to the discretization of the momentum and continuity equations and their solution by means of the segregated solver are addressed. These practices are most easily described by considering the steady-state continuity and momentum equations in integral form: v dA = 0 v v dA = pI dA + dA + (26.3-1)
F dV
V
(26.3-2)
where I is the identity matrix, is the stress tensor, and F is the force vector.
26.3.1
Discretization of the Momentum Equation
The discretization scheme described in Section 26.2: Discretization for a scalar transport equation is also used to discretize the momentum equations. For example, the x-momentum equation can be obtained by setting = u: aP u =
nb
anb unb +
pf A + S
(26.3-3)
If the pressure eld and face mass uxes were known, Equation 26.3-3 could be solved in the manner outlined in Section 26.2: Discretization, and a velocity eld obtained. However, the pressure eld and face mass uxes are not known a priori and must be obtained as a part of the solution. There are important issues with respect to the storage of pressure and the discretization of the pressure gradient term; these are addressed next. FLUENT uses a co-located scheme, whereby pressure and velocity are both stored at cell centers. However, Equation 26.3-3 requires the value of the pressure at the face between cells c0 and c1, shown in Figure 26.2.1. Therefore, an interpolation scheme is required to compute the face values of pressure from the cell values.
Pressure Interpolation Schemes

The default scheme in FLUENT interpolates the pressure values at the faces using momentum equation coecients [280]. This procedure works well as long as the pressure variation between cell centers is smooth. When there are jumps or large gradients in the momentum source terms between control volumes, the pressure prole has a high gradient at the cell face, and cannot be interpolated using this scheme. If this scheme is used, the discrepancy shows up in overshoots/undershoots of cell velocity.
26-20
26.3 The Segregated Solver
Flows for which the standard pressure interpolation scheme will have trouble include ows with large body forces, such as in strongly swirling ows, in high-Rayleigh-number natural convection and the like. In such cases, it is necessary to pack the mesh in regions of high gradient to resolve the pressure variation adequately. Another source of error is that FLUENT assumes that the normal pressure gradient at the wall is zero. This is valid for boundary layers, but not in the presence of body forces or curvature. Again, the failure to correctly account for the wall pressure gradient is manifested in velocity vectors pointing in/out of walls. Several alternate methods are available for cases in which the standard pressure interpolation scheme is not valid: The linear scheme computes the face pressure as the average of the pressure values in the adjacent cells. The second-order scheme reconstructs the face pressure in the manner used for second-order accurate convection terms (see Section 26.2.3). This scheme may provide some improvement over the standard and linear schemes, but it may have some trouble if it is used at the start of a calculation and/or with a bad mesh. The second-order scheme is not applicable for ows with discontinuous pressure gradients imposed by the presence of a porous medium in the domain or the use of the VOF or mixture model for multiphase ow. The body-force-weighted scheme computes the face pressure by assuming that the normal gradient of the dierence between pressure and body forces is constant. This works well if the body forces are known a priori in the momentum equations (e.g., buoyancy and axisymmetric swirl calculations).
When a case contains porous media, the body-force-weighted scheme is applied only for non-porous faces, where the scheme takes into account the discontinuity of explicit body forces (e.g., gravity, swirl, Coriolis) and the discontinuity of pressure gradients for ows with rapidly changing densities (e.g., natural convection, VOF). All interior and exterior porous faces are treated with a special scheme that preserves the continuity of the normal velocity across cell faces in spite of the discontinuity of the resistance.
The PRESTO! (PREssure STaggering Option) scheme uses the discrete continuity balance for a staggered control volume about the face to compute the staggered (i.e., face) pressure. This procedure is similar in spirit to the staggered-grid schemes used with structured meshes [254]. Note that for triangular and tetrahedral meshes, comparable accuracy is obtained using a similar algorithm. The PRESTO! scheme is available for all meshes, including but not limited to, tetrahedral, triangular, hexahedral, quadrilateral, and hybrid meshes.
26-21
Using the Solver
See Section 26.8.3: Choosing the Pressure Interpolation Scheme for recommendations on when to use these alternate schemes.
26.3.2
Discretization of the Continuity Equation
Equation 26.3-1 may be integrated over the control volume in Figure 26.2.1 to yield the following discrete equation
Nfaces
J f Af = 0
f
(26.3-4)
where Jf is the mass ux through face f , vn . As described in Section 26.1: Overview of Numerical Schemes, the momentum and continuity equations are solved sequentially. In this sequential procedure, the continuity equation is used as an equation for pressure. However, pressure does not appear explicitly in Equation 26.3-4 for incompressible ows, since density is not directly related to pressure. The SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-Linked Equations) family of algorithms [254] is used for introducing pressure into the continuity equation. This procedure is outlined in Section 26.3.3: SIMPLE. In order to proceed further, it is necessary to relate the face values of velocity, vn , to the stored values of velocity at the cell centers. Linear interpolation of cell-centered velocities to the face results in unphysical checker-boarding of pressure. FLUENT uses a procedure similar to that outlined by Rhie and Chow [280] to prevent checkerboarding. The face value of velocity is not averaged linearly; instead, momentum-weighted averaging, using weighting factors based on the aP coecient from equation 26.3-3, is performed. Using this procedure, the face ux, Jf , may be written as Jf = Jf + df (pc0 pc1 ) (26.3-5)
where pc0 and pc1 are the pressures within the two cells on either side of the face, and Jf contains the inuence of velocities in these cells (see Figure 26.2.1). The term df is a function of aP , the average of the momentum equation aP coecients for the cells on either side of face f .
Density Interpolation Schemes

For compressible ow calculations (i.e., calculations that use the ideal gas law for density), FLUENT applies upwind interpolation of density at cell faces. (For incompressible ows, FLUENT uses arithmetic averaging.) Three interpolation schemes are available for the density upwinding at cell faces: rst-order upwind (default), second-order-upwind, and QUICK.
26-22
The rst-order upwind scheme (based on [160]) sets the density at the cell face to be the upstream cell-center value. This scheme provides stability for the discretization of the pressure-correction equation, and gives good results for most classes of ows. The rst-order scheme is the default scheme for compressible ows. The second-order upwind scheme provides stability for supersonic ows and captures shocks better than the rst-order upwind scheme. The QUICK scheme for density is similar to the QUICK scheme used for other variables. See Section 26.2.4: QUICK Scheme for details.
The second-order upwind and QUICK schemes for density are not available for compressible multiphase calculations; the rst-order upwind scheme is used for the compressible phase, and arithmetic averaging is used for the incompressible phases. For stability reasons, it is recommended that you achieve a solution with a rst order scheme and then switch to a higher order scheme for compressible ow calculations.
See Section 26.8.4: Choosing the Density Interpolation Scheme for recommendations on choosing an appropriate density interpolation scheme for your compressible ow.
26.3.3
Pressure-Velocity Coupling
Pressure-velocity coupling is achieved by using Equation 26.3-5 to derive an equation for pressure from the discrete continuity equation (Equation 26.3-4) FLUENT provides the option to choose among four pressure-velocity coupling algorithms: SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, PISO, and (for unsteady ows using the non-iterative time advancement scheme (NITA)) Fractional Step (FSM). See Section 26.9: Choosing the Pressure-Velocity Coupling Method for instructions on how to select these algorithms.
SIMPLE
The SIMPLE algorithm uses a relationship between velocity and pressure corrections to enforce mass conservation and to obtain the pressure eld. If the momentum equation is solved with a guessed pressure eld p , the resulting face ux, Jf , computed from Equation 26.3-5
Jf = Jf + df (p p ) c0 c1
(26.3-6)
does not satisfy the continuity equation. Consequently, a correction Jf is added to the face ux Jf so that the corrected face ux, Jf
26-23
Using the Solver
Jf = J f + Jf
(26.3-7)
satises the continuity equation. The SIMPLE algorithm postulates that Jf be written as Jf = df (pc0 pc1 ) where p is the cell pressure correction. The SIMPLE algorithm substitutes the ux correction equations (Equations 26.3-7 and 26.3-8) into the discrete continuity equation (Equation 26.3-4) to obtain a discrete equation for the pressure correction p in the cell: aP p =
nb
(26.3-8)
anb pnb + b
(26.3-9)
where the source term b is the net ow rate into the cell:
Nfaces J f Af
b=
f
(26.3-10)
The pressure-correction equation (Equation 26.3-9) may be solved using the algebraic multigrid (AMG) method described in Section 26.5.3: Algebraic Multigrid (AMG). Once a solution is obtained, the cell pressure and the face ux are corrected using p = p + p p
Jf = Jf + df (pc0 pc1 )
(26.3-11)
(26.3-12)
Here p is the under-relaxation factor for pressure (see Section 26.2.11: Under-Relaxation for information about under-relaxation). The corrected face ux, Jf , satises the discrete continuity equation identically during each iteration.
SIMPLEC
A number of variants of the basic SIMPLE algorithm are available in the literature. In addition to SIMPLE, FLUENT oers the SIMPLEC (SIMPLE-Consistent) algorithm [353]. SIMPLE is the default, but many problems will benet from the use of SIMPLEC, as described in Section 26.9.1: SIMPLE vs. SIMPLEC.
26-24
The SIMPLEC procedure is similar to the SIMPLE procedure outlined above. The only dierence lies in the expression used for the face ux correction, Jf . As in SIMPLE, the correction equation may be written as
Jf = Jf + df (pc0 pc1 )
(26.3-13)
However, the coecient df is redened as a function of (aP nb anb ). The use of this modied correction equation has been shown to accelerate convergence in problems where pressure-velocity coupling is the main deterrent to obtaining a solution. Skewness Correction For meshes with some degree of skewness, the approximate relationship between the correction of mass ux at the cell face and the dierence of the pressure corrections at the adjacent cells is very rough. Since the components of the pressure-correction gradient along the cell faces are not known in advance, an iterative process similar to the PISO neighbor correction described below is desirable. After the initial solution of the pressurecorrection equation, the pressure-correction gradient is recalculated and used to update the mass ux corrections. This process, which is referred to as skewness correction, signicantly reduces convergence diculties associated with highly distorted meshes. The SIMPLEC skewness correction allows FLUENT to obtain a solution on a highly skewed mesh in approximately the same number of iterations as required for a more orthogonal mesh.
PISO
The Pressure-Implicit with Splitting of Operators (PISO) pressure-velocity coupling scheme, part of the SIMPLE family of algorithms, is based on the higher degree of the approximate relation between the corrections for pressure and velocity. One of the limitations of the SIMPLE and SIMPLEC algorithms is that new velocities and corresponding uxes do not satisfy the momentum balance after the pressure-correction equation is solved. As a result, the calculation must be repeated until the balance is satised. To improve the eciency of this calculation, the PISO algorithm performs two additional corrections: neighbor correction and skewness correction. Neighbor Correction The main idea of the PISO algorithm is to move the repeated calculations required by SIMPLE and SIMPLEC inside the solution stage of the pressure-correction equation [140]. After one or more additional PISO loops, the corrected velocities satisfy the continuity and momentum equations more closely. This iterative process is called a momentum correction or neighbor correction. The PISO algorithm takes a little more CPU time per solver iteration, but it can dramatically decrease the number of iterations required for convergence, especially for transient problems.
26-25
Using the Solver
Skewness Correction For meshes with some degree of skewness, the approximate relationship between the correction of mass ux at the cell face and the dierence of the pressure corrections at the adjacent cells is very rough. Since the components of the pressure-correction gradient along the cell faces are not known in advance, an iterative process similar to the PISO neighbor correction described above is desirable [96]. After the initial solution of the pressure-correction equation, the pressure-correction gradient is recalculated and used to update the mass ux corrections. This process, which is referred to as skewness correction, signicantly reduces convergence diculties associated with highly distorted meshes. The PISO skewness correction allows FLUENT to obtain a solution on a highly skewed mesh in approximately the same number of iterations as required for a more orthogonal mesh. Skewness - Neighbor Coupling For meshes with a high degree of skewness, the simultaneous coupling of the neighbor and skewness corrections at the same pressure correction equation source may cause divergence or a lack of robustness. An alternate, although more expensive, method for handling the neighbor and skewness corrections inside the PISO algorithm is to apply one or more iterations of skewness correction for each separate iteration of neighbor correction. For each individual iteration of the classical PISO algorithm from [140], this technique allows a more accurate adjustment of the face mass ux correction according to the normal pressure correction gradient.
Special Treatment for Strong Body Forces in Multiphase Flows

When large body forces (e.g., gravity or surface tension forces) exist in multiphase ows, the body force and pressure gradient terms in the momentum equation are almost in equilibrium, with the contributions of convective and viscous terms small in comparison. Segregated algorithms converge poorly unless partial equilibrium of pressure gradient and body forces is taken into account. FLUENT provides an optional implicit body force treatment that can account for this eect, making the solution more robust. The basic procedure involves augmenting the correction equation for the face ow rate, Equation 26.3-12, with an additional term involving corrections to the body force. This results in extra body force correction terms in Equation 26.3-10, and allows the ow to achieve a realistic pressure eld very early in the iterative process. This option is available only for multiphase calculations, but it is turned o by default. Section 24.8.12: Including Body Forces includes instructions for turning on the implicit body force treatment. In addition, FLUENT allows you to control the change in the body forces through the use of an under-relaxation factor for body forces.
26-26
26.3.4
Steady-State and Time-Dependent Calculations
If you are performing a steady-state calculation, the governing equations for the segregated solver do not contain time-dependent terms . For steady-state ows, Section 26.2: Discretization describes control-volume-based discretization of the steadystate transport equation (see Equation 26.2-1). For time-dependent ows, the discretized form of the generic transport equations is of the following form: dV + t v dA = dA + S dV (26.3-14)
where = = v = A = = = S =
t
conservative form of transient derivative of transported variable density velocity vector (= u + v in 2D) surface area vector diusion coecient for gradient of (= /x) + (/y) in 2D) source of per unit volume
The temporal discretization of the transient derivative in the Equation 26.3-14 is described in Section 26.2.12: Temporal Discretization, including rst and second order schemes in time. The segregated solver in FLUENT uses an implicit discretization of the transport equation (Equation 26.3-14). As a standard default approach, all convective, diusive, and source terms are evaluated from the elds for time level n+1.
dV + t
n+1 n+1 v n+1 dA =
n+1
n+1 dA +
S n+1 dV
(26.3-15)
26-27
Using the Solver
The Frozen Flux Formulation

The standard fully-implicit discretization of the convective part of Equation 26.3-15 produces non-linear terms in the resulting equations. In addition, solving these equations generally requires numerous iterations per time step. As an alternative, FLUENT provides an optional way to discretize the convective part of Equation 26.3-14 using the mass ux at the cell faces from the previous time level n. v dA = n n+1 v n dA (26.3-16)
The solution still has the same order of accuracy but the non-linear character of the discretized transport equation is essentially reduced and the convergence within each time step is improved. To use this feature, turn on the Use Frozen Flux Formulation? option in the Solver panel.
This option is only available for single-phase transient problems that use the segregated iterative solver and do not use a moving/deforming mesh model.
Time-Advancement Schemes
In the segregated solver, the overall time-discretization error is determined by both the choice of temporal discretization (e.g., rst-order, second-order) and the manner in which the solutions are advanced to the next time step (time-advancement scheme). Temporal discretization introduces the corresponding truncation error; O(t), O [(t)2 ], for rst-order and second-order, respectively. The segregated solution process by which the equations are solved one by one introduces splitting error. There are two approaches to the time-advancement scheme depending on how you want to control the splitting error.
26-28
Iterative Time-Advancement Scheme In the iterative scheme, all the equations are solved iteratively, for a given time-step, until the convergence criteria are met. Thus, advancing the solutions by one time-step normally requires a number of outer iterations as shown in Figure 26.1.1 and Figure 26.3.1. With this iterative scheme, non-linearity of the individual equations and inter-equation couplings are fully accounted for, eliminating the splitting error. The iterative scheme is the default in FLUENT.
t = t + n t
Solve Momentum Equations
Solve Pressure Correction
Outer Iterations
Correct Velocity Pressure Flux
Solve Scalars (T, , , etc.)
Converged? yes Next Time Step n += 1
no
Figure 26.3.1: Overview of the Iterative Time Advancement Solution Method For the Segregate Solver
26-29
Using the Solver
Non-Iterative Time-Advancement Scheme The iterative time-advancement scheme requires a considerable amount of computational eort due to a large number of outer iterations performed for each time-step. The idea underlying the non-iterative time-advancement (NITA) scheme is that, in order to preserve overall time accuracy, you do not really need to reduce the splitting error to zero, but only have to make it the same order as the truncation error. The NITA scheme, as seen in Figure 26.3.2, thus does not need the outer iterations, performing only a single outer iteration per time-step, which signicantly speeds up transient simulations.
t = t + n t no
Solve U, V, and W Equations
Converged? yes
Solve Pressure Correction no Correct Velocity Pressure Flux Converged? yes
Solve and
no
Converged? yes
Solve Other Scalars
Next Time Step n += 1
Figure 26.3.2: Overview of the Non-Iterative Time Advancement Solution Method
FLUENToers two versions of NITA schemes; the non-iterative fractional step method (FSM) ([10], [83], [150], and [151]) and the non-iterative PISO method [141]. Both NITA schemes are available for rst-order and second-order time integration.
26-30
26.4 The Coupled Solver
26.4
The Coupled Solver
The coupled solver in FLUENT solves the governing equations of continuity, momentum, and (where appropriate) energy and species transport simultaneously as a set, or vector, of equations. Governing equations for additional scalars will be solved sequentially (i.e., segregated from one another and from the coupled set).
26.4.1 Governing Equations in Vector Form

The system of governing equations for a single-component uid, written to describe the mean ow properties, is cast in integral, Cartesian form for an arbitrary control volume V with dierential surface area dA as follows: t W dV +
V
[F G] dA =
H dV
V
(26.4-1)
where the vectors W, F, and G are dened as

u v vu + p i 0 xi yi zi
W=
, F=
vv + p j
, G=
vw + pk
vE + pv
ij vj + q
and the vector H contains source terms such as body forces and energy sources. Here , v, E, and p are the density, velocity, total energy per unit mass, and pressure of the uid, respectively. is the viscous stress tensor, and q is the heat ux. Total energy E is related to the total enthalpy H by E = H p/ where H = h + |v|2 /2 (26.4-3) (26.4-2)
The Navier-Stokes equations as expressed in Equation 26.4-1 become (numerically) very sti at low Mach number due to the disparity between the uid velocity v and the acoustic speed c (speed of sound). This is also true for incompressible ows, regardless of the uid velocity, because acoustic waves travel innitely fast in an incompressible uid (speed of sound is innite). The numerical stiness of the equations under these conditions results in poor convergence rates. This diculty is overcome in FLUENTs coupled solver by employing a technique called (time-derivative) preconditioning [371].
26-31
Using the Solver
26.4.2
Preconditioning
Time-derivative preconditioning modies the time-derivative term in Equation 26.4-1 by pre-multiplying it with a preconditioning matrix. This has the eect of re-scaling the acoustic speed (eigenvalue) of the system of equations being solved in order to alleviate the numerical stiness encountered in low Mach number and incompressible ow. Derivation of the preconditioning matrix begins by transforming the dependent variable in Equation 26.4-1 from conserved quantities W to primitive variables Q using the chainrule as follows: W Q t Q dV +
V
[F G] dA =
H dV
V
(26.4-4)
where Q is the vector {p, u, v, w, T }T and the Jacobian W/Q is given by
W = Q
p p u p v p w p H
0 0 0 u
0 0 0 v
0 0 0 w
T T u T v T w T H + Cp
(26.4-5)
where p T
p =
, T =
T
and = 1 for an ideal gas and = 0 for an incompressible uid. The choice of primitive variables Q as dependent variables is desirable for several reasons. First, it is a natural choice when solving incompressible ows. Second, when we use second-order accuracy we need to reconstruct Q rather than W in order to obtain more accurate velocity and temperature gradients in viscous uxes, and pressure gradients in inviscid uxes. And nally, the choice of pressure as a dependent variable allows the propagation of acoustic waves in the system to be singled out [355]. We precondition the system by replacing the Jacobian matrix W/Q (Equation 26.4-5) with the preconditioning matrix so that the preconditioned system in conservation form becomes t Q dV +
V
[F G] dA =
H dV
V
(26.4-6)
26-32
where
u v w H
0 0 0 u
0 0 0 v
0 0 0 w
T T u T u T u T H + Cp
(26.4-7)
The parameter is given by 1 T 2 Ur Cp
(26.4-8)
The reference velocity Ur appearing in Equation 26.4-8 is chosen locally such that the eigenvalues of the system remain well conditioned with respect to the convective and diusive time scales [371]. The resultant eigenvalues of the preconditioned system (Equation 26.4-6) are given by u, u, u, u + c , u c where (26.4-9)
u = vn u = u (1 ) c =
2 2 u2 + Ur 2 1 Ur /2
= =
p +
T Cp
For an ideal gas, = (RT )1 = 1/c2 . Thus, when Ur = c (at sonic speeds and above), = 0 and the eigenvalues of the preconditioned system take their traditional form, u c. At low speed, however, as Ur 0, 1/2 and all eigenvalues become of the same order as u. For constant-density ows, = 0 and = 1/2 regardless of the values of Ur . As long as the reference velocity is of the same order as the local velocity, all eigenvalues remain of the order u. Thus, the eigenvalues of the preconditioned system remain well conditioned at all speeds. Note that the non-preconditioned Navier-Stokes equations are recovered exactly from 2 Equation 26.4-6 by setting 1/Ur to p , the derivative of density with respect to pressure. In this case reduces exactly to the Jacobian W/Q.
26-33
Using the Solver
Although Equation 26.4-6 is conservative in the steady state, it is not, in a strict sense, conservative for time-dependent ows. This is not a problem, however, since the preconditioning has already destroyed the time accuracy of the equations and we will not employ them in this form for unsteady calculations.
Flux-Difference Splitting
The inviscid ux vector F appearing in Equation 26.4-6 is evaluated by a standard upwind, ux-dierence splitting [284]. This approach acknowledges that the ux vector F contains characteristic information propagating through the domain with speed and direction according to the eigenvalues of the system. By splitting F into parts, where each part contains information traveling in a particular direction (i.e., characteristic information), and upwind dierencing the split uxes in a manner consistent with their corresponding eigenvalues, we obtain the following expression for the discrete ux at each face: F= 1 1 (FR + FL ) |A| Q 2 2 (26.4-10)
Here Q is the spatial dierence QR QL . The uxes FR = F (QR ) and FL = F (QL ) are computed using the (reconstructed) solution vectors QR and QL on the right and left side of the face. The matrix |A| is dened by |A| = M || M 1 (26.4-11)
where is the diagonal matrix of eigenvalues and M is the modal matrix that diagonalizes 1 A, where A is the inviscid ux Jacobian F/Q. For the non-preconditioned system (and an ideal gas) Equation 26.4-10 reduces to Roes ux-dierence splitting [284] when Roe-averaged values are used to evaluate |A|. At present, arithmetic averaging of states QR and QL is used. In its current form, Equation 26.4-10 can be viewed as a second-order central dierence plus an added matrix dissipation. The added matrix dissipation term is not only responsible for producing an upwinding of the convected variables, and of pressure and ux velocity in supersonic ow, but it also provides the pressure-velocity coupling required for stability and ecient convergence of low-speed and incompressible ows.
26.4.3
Time Marching for Steady-State Flows
The coupled set of governing equations (Equation 26.4-6) in FLUENT is discretized in time for both steady and unsteady calculations. In the steady case, it is assumed that time marching proceeds until a steady-state solution is reached. Temporal discretization of the coupled equations is accomplished by either an implicit or an explicit time-marching scheme. These two algorithms are described below.
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Explicit Scheme
In the explicit scheme a multi-stage, time-stepping algorithm [145] is used to discretize the time derivative in Equation 26.4-6. The solution is advanced from iteration n to iteration n + 1 with an m-stage Runge-Kutta scheme, given by
Q0 = Qn Qi = i t1 Ri1 Qn+1 = Qm where Qi Qi Qn and i = 1, 2, . . . , m is the stage counter for the m-stage scheme. i is the multi-stage coecient for the ith stage. The residual Ri is computed from the intermediate solution Qi and, for Equation 26.4-6, is given by
Nfaces
Ri =
F(Qi ) G(Qi ) A V H
(26.4-12)
The time step t is computed from the CFL (Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy) condition t = CFLx max (26.4-13)
where max is the maximum of the local eigenvalues dened by Equation 26.4-9. The convergence rate of the explicit scheme can be accelerated through use of the full-approximation storage (FAS) multigrid method described in Section 26.5.4: FullApproximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid. By default, FLUENT uses a 3-stage Runge-Kutta scheme based on the work by [209] for steady-state ows that use the coupled explicit solver. Implicit Residual Smoothing The maximum time step can be further increased by increasing the support of the scheme through implicit averaging of the residuals with their neighbors. The residuals are ltered through a Laplacian smoothing operator: Ri = Ri + (Rj Ri ) (26.4-14)
This equation can be solved with the following Jacobi iteration: m Ri + Ri = 1+ m1 Rj 1
(26.4-15)
26-35
Using the Solver
Two Jacobi iterations are usually sucient to allow doubling the time step with a value of = 0.5.
Implicit Scheme
In the implicit scheme, an Euler implicit discretization in time of the governing equations (Equation 26.4-6) is combined with a Newton-type linearization of the uxes to produce the following linearized system in delta form [369]:
Nfaces j
D +
Sj,k Qn+1 = Rn
(26.4-16)
The center and o-diagonal coecient matrices, D and Sj,k are given by
D = Sj,k =
Nfaces V + Sj,i t j
(26.4-17) (26.4-18)
Fj Gj Qk Qk
and the residual vector Rn and time step t are dened as in Equation 26.4-12 and Equation 26.4-13, respectively. Equation 26.4-16 is solved using a point Gauss-Seidel scheme in conjunction with an algebraic multigrid (AMG) method (see Section 26.5.3: Algebraic Multigrid (AMG)) adapted for coupled sets of equations.
26.4.4
Temporal Discretization for Unsteady Flows
For time-accurate calculations, explicit and implicit time-stepping schemes are available. (The implicit approach is also referred to as dual time stepping.)
Explicit Time Stepping

In the explicit time stepping approach, the explicit scheme described above is employed, using the same time step in each cell of the domain, and with preconditioning disabled.
Dual Time Stepping

When performing unsteady simulations with the implicit-time formulation (dual-time stepping), FLUENT uses a low Mach number preconditioner (for all ow regimes that span from zero speed to Mach one). To provide for ecient, time-accurate solution of the preconditioned equations, FLUENT employs a dual time-stepping, multi-stage scheme
26-36
to produce accurate results both for pure convective processes (e.g., simulating unsteady turbulence) and for acoustic processes (e.g., simulating wave propagation) [85, 288]. Here we introduce a preconditioned pseudo-time-derivative term into Equation 26.4-1 as follows: t W dV +
V
Q dV +
V
[F G] dA =
H dV
V
(26.4-19)
where t denotes physical-time and is a pseudo-time used in the time-marching procedure. Note that as , the second term on the LHS of Equation 26.4-19 vanishes and Equation 26.4-1 is recovered. The time-dependent term in Equation 26.4-19 is discretized in an implicit fashion by means of either a rst- or second-order accurate, backward dierence in time. This is written in semi-discrete form as follows:
1 0 W + Qk+1 + [F G] dA t Q V 1 k n =H + 0W 1W + t
2W
n1
where { 0 = 1 = 1/2, 2 = 0} gives rst-order time accuracy, and { 0 = 3/2, 1 = 2, 2 = 1/2} gives second-order. k is the inner iteration counter and n represents any given physical-time level. The pseudo-time-derivative is driven to zero at each physical time level by a series of inner iterations using either the implicit or explicit time-marching algorithm. Throughout the (inner) iterations in pseudo-time, Wn and Wn1 are held constant and Wk is computed from Qk . As , the solution at the next physical time level Wn+1 is given by W(Qk ). Note that the physical time step t is limited only by the level of desired temporal accuracy. The pseudo-time-step is determined by the CFL condition of the (implicit or explicit) time-marching scheme.
26-37
Using the Solver
26.5
Multigrid Method
The FLUENT solver contains two forms of multigrid: algebraic (AMG) and full-approximation storage (FAS). As discussed in Section 26.1.3: Linearization: Implicit vs. Explicit, AMG is an essential component of both the segregated and coupled implicit solvers, while FAS is an important, but optional, component of the coupled explicit solver. (Note that when the coupled explicit solver is used, since the scalar equations (e.g., turbulence) are solved using the segregated approach, AMG will also be used.) This section describes the mathematical basis of the multigrid approach. Common aspects of AMG and FAS are presented rst, followed by separate sections that provide details unique to each method. Information about user inputs and controls for the multigrid solver is provided in Sections 26.24.3 and 26.24.4.
26.5.1
Approach
FLUENT uses a multigrid scheme to accelerate the convergence of the solver by computing corrections on a series of coarse grid levels. The use of this multigrid scheme can greatly reduce the number of iterations and the CPU time required to obtain a converged solution, particularly when your model contains a large number of control volumes.
The Need for Multigrid

Implicit solution of the linearized equations on unstructured meshes is complicated by the fact that there is no equivalent of the line-iterative methods that are commonly used on structured grids. Since direct matrix inversion is out of the question for realistic problems and whole-eld solvers that rely on conjugate-gradient (CG) methods have robustness problems associated with them, the methods of choice are point implicit solvers like Gauss-Seidel. Although the Gauss-Seidel scheme rapidly removes local (high-frequency) errors in the solution, global (low-frequency) errors are reduced at a rate inversely related to the grid size. Thus, for a large number of nodes, the solver stalls and the residual reduction rate becomes prohibitively low. The multi-stage scheme used in the coupled explicit solver can eciently remove local (high-frequency) errors as well. That is, the eect of the solution in one cell is communicated to adjacent cells relatively quickly. However, the scheme is less eective at reducing global (low-frequency) errorserrors which exist over a large number of control volumes. Thus, global corrections to the solution across a large number of control volumes occur slowly, over many iterations. This implies that performance of the multi-stage scheme will deteriorate as the number of control volumes increases. Multigrid techniques allow global error to be addressed by using a sequence of successively coarser meshes. This method is based upon the principle that global (low-frequency) error existing on a ne mesh can be represented on a coarse mesh where it again becomes accessible as local (high-frequency) error: because there are fewer coarse cells overall,
26-38
26.5 Multigrid Method
the global corrections can be communicated more quickly between adjacent cells. Since computations can be performed at exponentially decaying expense in both CPU time and memory storage on coarser meshes, there is the potential for very ecient elimination of global error. The ne-grid relaxation scheme or smoother, in this case either the pointimplicit Gauss-Seidel or the explicit multi-stage scheme, is not required to be particularly eective at reducing global error and can be tuned for ecient reduction of local error.
The Basic Concept in Multigrid

Consider the set of discretized linear (or linearized) equations given by A e + b = 0 (26.5-1)
where e is the exact solution. Before the solution has converged there will be a defect d associated with the approximate solution : A + b = d We seek a correction to such that the exact solution is given by e = + Substituting Equation 26.5-3 into Equation 26.5-1 gives (26.5-3) (26.5-2)
A ( + ) + b = 0 A + (A + b) = 0 Now using Equations 26.5-2 and 26.5-5 we obtain A + d = 0
(26.5-4) (26.5-5)
(26.5-6)
which is an equation for the correction in terms of the original ne level operator A and the defect d. Assuming the local (high-frequency) errors have been suciently damped by the relaxation scheme on the ne level, the correction will be smooth and therefore more eectively solved on the next coarser level.
26-39
Using the Solver
Restriction and Prolongation

Solving for corrections on the coarse level requires transferring the defect down from the ne level (restriction), computing corrections, and then transferring the corrections back up from the coarse level (prolongation). We can write the equations for coarse level corrections H as AH H + R d = 0 (26.5-7)
where AH is the coarse level operator and R the restriction operator responsible for transferring the ne level defect down to the coarse level. Solution of Equation 26.5-7 is followed by an update of the ne level solution given by new = + P H (26.5-8)
where P is the prolongation operator used to transfer the coarse level corrections up to the ne level.
Unstructured Multigrid
The primary diculty with using multigrid on unstructured grids is the creation and use of the coarse grid hierarchy. On a structured grid, the coarse grids can be formed simply by removing every other grid line from the ne grids and the prolongation and restriction operators are simple to formulate (e.g., injection and bilinear interpolation). The diculties of applying multigrid on unstructured grids are overcome in separate fashion by each of the two multigrid methods used in FLUENT. While the basic principles discussed so far and the cycling strategy described in Section 26.5.2: Multigrid Cycles are the same, the techniques for construction of restriction, prolongation, and coarse grid operators are dierent, as discussed in Section 26.5.3: Algebraic Multigrid (AMG) and Section 26.5.4: Full-Approximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid for the AMG and FAS methods, respectively.
26.5.2
Multigrid Cycles
A multigrid cycle can be dened as a recursive procedure that is applied at each grid level as it moves through the grid hierarchy. Four types of multigrid cycles are available in FLUENT: the V, W, F, and exible (ex) cycles. The V and W cycles are available in both AMG and FAS, while the F and exible cycles are restricted to the AMG method only. (The W and ex AMG cycles are not available for solving the coupled equation set due to the amount of computation required.)
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The V and W Cycles

Figures 26.5.1 and 26.5.2 show the V and W multigrid cycles (dened below). In each gure, the multigrid cycle is represented by a square, and then expanded recursively to show the individual steps that are performed within the cycle. The individual steps are represented by a circle, one or more squares, and a triangle, connected by lines: circlesquare-triangle for a V cycle, or circle-square-square-triangle for a W cycle. The squares in this group expand again, into circle-square-triangle or circle-square-square-triangle, and so on. You may want to follow along in the gures as you read the steps below. For the V and W cycles, the traversal of the hierarchy is governed by three parameters, 1 , 2 , and 3 , as follows: 1. First, iterations are performed on the current grid level to reduce the high-frequency components of the error (local error). For AMG, one iteration consists of one forward and one backward Gauss-Seidel sweep. For FAS, one iteration consists of one pass of the multi-stage scheme (described in Section 26.4.3: Explicit Scheme). These iterations are referred to as pre-relaxation sweeps because they are performed before moving to the next coarser grid level. The number of pre-relaxation sweeps is specied by 1 . In Figures 26.5.1 and 26.5.2 this step is represented by a circle and marks the start of a multigrid cycle. The high-wave-number components of error should be reduced until the remaining error is expressible on the next coarser mesh without signicant aliasing. If this is the coarsest grid level, then the multigrid cycle on this level is complete. (In Figures 26.5.1 and 26.5.2 there are 3 coarse grid levels, so the square representing the multigrid cycle on level 3 is equivalent to a circle, as shown in the nal diagram in each gure.)
In the AMG method, the default value of 1 is zero (i.e., no pre-relaxation sweeps are performed).
2. Next, the problem is restricted to the next coarser grid level using Equation 26.5-7. In Figures 26.5.1 and 26.5.2, the restriction from a ner grid level to a coarser grid level is designated by a downward-sloping line. 3. The error on the coarse grid is reduced by performing a specied number (2 ) of multigrid cycles (represented in Figures 26.5.1 and 26.5.2 as squares). Commonly, for xed multigrid strategies 2 is either 1 or 2, corresponding to V-cycle and Wcycle multigrid, respectively. 4. Next, the cumulative correction computed on the coarse grid is interpolated back to the ne grid using Equation 26.5-8 and added to the ne grid solution. In the FAS method, the corrections are additionally smoothed during this step using
26-41
Using the Solver
grid level 0 0 1 0 1 2
multigrid cycle pre-relaxation sweeps post-relaxation sweeps and/or Laplacian smoothings
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3
Figure 26.5.1: V-Cycle Multigrid

grid level 0 0 1 0 1 2
multigrid cycle pre-relaxation sweeps post-relaxation sweeps and/or Laplacian smoothings
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3
Figure 26.5.2: W-Cycle Multigrid
26-42
the Laplacian smoothing operator discussed in Section 26.4.3: Implicit Residual Smoothing. In Figures 26.5.1 and 26.5.2 the prolongation is represented by an upward-sloping line. The high-frequency error now present at the ne grid level is due to the prolongation procedure used to transfer the correction. 5. In the nal step, iterations are performed on the ne grid to remove the highfrequency error introduced on the coarse grid by the multigrid cycles. These iterations are referred to as post-relaxation sweeps because they are performed after returning from the next coarser grid level. The number of post-relaxation sweeps is specied by 3 . In Figures 26.5.1 and 26.5.2, this relaxation procedure is represented by a single triangle. For AMG, the default value of 3 is 1.
Note, however, that if you are using AMG with V-cycle to solve an energy equation with a solid conduction model presented with anisotropic or very high conductivity coecient, there is a possibility of divergence with a default post-relaxation sweep of 1. In such cases you should increase the post-relaxation sweep (e.g., to 2) in the AMG section for better convergence, or change the cycle type to F-cycle or W-cycle, with an under-relaxation factor set to 1. This is especially eective when calculating pure heat conduction or conjugate heat transfer. Any instability observed when using the F-cycle or W-cycle can be remedied by increasing the pre-relaxation sweep count to 1. Although the default value of 0 is optimal for most cases, increasing the pre-relaxation sweep value to 1 or 2 can improve convergence.
Since the default value for 1 is 0 (i.e., pre-relaxation sweeps are not performed),this procedure is roughly equivalent to using the solution from the coarse level as the initial guess for the solution at the ne level. For FAS, the default value of 3 is zero (i.e., post-relaxation sweeps are not performed); post-relaxation sweeps are never performed at the end of the cycle for the nest grid level, regardless of the value of 3 . This is because for FAS, postrelaxation sweeps at the ne level are equivalent to pre-relaxation sweeps during the next cycle.
26-43
Using the Solver
26.5.3
Algebraic Multigrid (AMG)
This algorithm is referred to as an algebraic multigrid scheme because, as we shall see, the coarse level equations are generated without the use of any geometry or rediscretization on the coarse levels; a feature that makes AMG particularly attractive for use on unstructured meshes. The advantage being that no coarse grids have to be constructed or stored, and no uxes or source terms need be evaluated on the coarse levels. This approach is in contrast with FAS (sometimes called geometric) multigrid in which a hierarchy of meshes is required and the discretized equations are evaluated on every level. In theory, the advantage of FAS over AMG is that the former should perform better for non-linear problems since non-linearities in the system are carried down to the coarse levels through the re-discretization; when using AMG, once the system is linearized, non-linearities are not felt by the solver until the ne level operator is next updated.
AMG Restriction and Prolongation Operators

The restriction and prolongation operators used here are based on the additive correction (AC) strategy described for structured grids by Hutchinson and Raithby [138]. Inter-level transfer is accomplished by piecewise constant interpolation and prolongation. The defect in any coarse level cell is given by the sum of those from the ne level cells it contains, while ne level corrections are obtained by injection of coarse level values. In this manner the prolongation operator is given by the transpose of the restriction operator P = RT (26.5-9)
The restriction operator is dened by a coarsening or grouping of ne level cells into coarse level ones. In this process each ne level cell is grouped with one or more of its strongest neighbors, with a preference given to currently ungrouped neighbors. The algorithm attempts to collect cells into groups of xed size, typically two or four, but any number can be specied. In the context of grouping, strongest refers to the neighbor j of the current cell i for which the coecient Aij is largest. For sets of coupled equations Aij is a block matrix and the measure of its magnitude is simply taken to be the magnitude of its rst element. In addition, the set of coupled equations for a given cell are treated together and not divided amongst dierent coarse cells. This results in the same coarsening for each equation in the system.
26-44
AMG Coarse Level Operator

The coarse level operator AH is constructed using a Galerkin approach. Here we require that the defect associated with the corrected ne level solution must vanish when transferred back to the coarse level. Therefore we may write R dnew = 0 Upon substituting Equations 26.5-2 and 26.5-8 for dnew and new we have (26.5-10)
R [A new + b] = 0 R A + P H + b = 0 (26.5-11)
Now rearranging and using Equation 26.5-2 once again gives
R A P H + R (A + b) = 0 R A P H + R d = 0
(26.5-12)
Comparison of Equation 26.5-12 with Equation 26.5-7 leads to the following expression for the coarse level operator: AH = R A P (26.5-13)
The construction of coarse level operators thus reduces to a summation of diagonal and corresponding o-diagonal blocks for all ne level cells within a group to form the diagonal block of that groups coarse cell.
The F Cycle
The multigrid F cycle is essentially a combination of the V and W cycles described in Section 26.5.2: The V and W Cycles. Recall that the multigrid cycle is a recursive procedure. The procedure is expanded to the next coarsest grid level by performing a single multigrid cycle on the current level. Referring to Figures 26.5.1 and 26.5.2, this means replacing the square on the current level (representing a single cycle) with the procedure shown for the 0-1 level cycle (the second diagram in each gure). We see that a V cycle consists of: pre sweep restrict V cycle prolongate post sweep
26-45
Using the Solver
and a W cycle: pre sweep restrict W cycle W cycle prolongate post sweep An F cycle is formed by a W cycle followed by a V cycle: pre sweep restrict W cycle V cycle prolongate post sweep As expected, the F cycle requires more computation than the V cycle, but less than the W cycle. However, its convergence properties turn out to be better than the V cycle and roughly equivalent to the W cycle. The F cycle is the default AMG cycle type for the coupled equation set.
The Flexible Cycle

For the exible cycle, the calculation and use of coarse grid corrections is controlled in the multigrid procedure by the logic illustrated in Figure 26.5.3. This logic ensures that coarser grid calculations are invoked when the rate of residual reduction on the current grid level is too slow. In addition, the multigrid controls dictate when the iterative solution of the correction on the current coarse grid level is suciently converged and should thus be applied to the solution on the next ner grid. These two decisions are controlled by the parameters and shown in Figure 26.5.3, as described in detail below. Note that the logic of the multigrid procedure is such that grid levels may be visited repeatedly during a single global iteration on an equation. For a set of 4 multigrid levels, referred to as 0, 1, 2, and 3, the ex-cycle multigrid procedure for solving a given transport equation might consist of visiting grid levels as 0-1-2-3-2-3-2-1-0-1-2-1-0, for example. The main dierence between the exible cycle and the V and W cycles is that the satisfaction of the residual reduction tolerance and termination criterion determine when and how often each level is visited in the exible cycle, whereas in the V and W cycles the traversal pattern is explicitly dened. The Residual Reduction Rate Criteria The multigrid procedure invokes calculations on the next coarser grid level when the error reduction rate on the current level is insucient, as dened by Ri > Ri1 (26.5-14)
Here Ri is the absolute sum of residuals (defect) computed on the current grid level after the ith relaxation on this level. The above equation states that if the residual present in the iterative solution after i relaxations is greater than some fraction, (between 0 and 1), of the residual present after the (i 1)th relaxation, the next coarser grid level should
26-46

level
R0
relaxation
Solve for on level 0 (ne) grid R i> R i-1

0 0
R i< R 0 or i > i max,coarse
return R 0< R 0 or 0 i i > i max,ne
Solve for on level 1 grid R i> R i-1

1 1
Solve for on level 2 grid R i> R i-1 etc.

2 2
Figure 26.5.3: Logic Controlling the Flex Multigrid Cycle
be visited. Thus is referred to as the residual reduction tolerance, and determines when to give up on the iterative solution at the current grid level and move to solving the correction equations on the next coarser grid. The value of controls the frequency with which coarser grid levels are visited. The default value is 0.7. A larger value will result in less frequent visits, and a smaller value will result in more frequent visits. The Termination Criteria Provided that the residual reduction rate is suciently rapid, the correction equations will be converged on the current grid level and the result applied to the solution eld on the next ner grid level. The correction equations on the current grid level are considered suciently converged when the error in the correction solution is reduced to some fraction, (between 0 and 1), of the original error on this grid level: Ri < R0 (26.5-15)
Here, Ri is the residual on the current grid level after the ith iteration on this level, and R0 is the residual that was initially obtained on this grid level at the current global iteration. The parameter , referred to as the termination criterion, has a default value of 0.1. Note that the above equation is also used to terminate calculations on the lowest (nest) grid level during the multigrid procedure. Thus, relaxations are continued on each
26-47
Using the Solver
grid level (including the nest grid level) until the criterion of this equation is obeyed (or until a maximum number of relaxations has been completed, in the case that the specied criterion is never achieved).
26.5.4
Full-Approximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid
FLUENTs approach to forming the multigrid grid hierarchy for FAS is simply to coalesce groups of cells on the ner grid to form coarse grid cells. Coarse grid cells are created by agglomerating the cells surrounding a node, as shown in Figure 26.5.4. Depending on the grid topology, this can result in cells with irregular shapes and variable numbers of faces. The grid levels are, however, simple to construct and are embedded, resulting in simple prolongation and relaxation operators.
Figure 26.5.4: Node Agglomeration to Form Coarse Grid Cells
It is interesting to note that although the coarse grid cells look very irregular, the discretization cannot see the jaggedness in the cell faces. The discretization uses only the area projections of the cell faces and therefore each group of jagged cell faces separating two irregularly-shaped cells is equivalent to a single straight line (in 2D) connecting the endpoints of the jagged segment. (In 3D, the area projections form an irregular, but continuous, geometrical shape.) This optimization decreases the memory requirement and the computation time.
FAS Restriction and Prolongation Operators

FAS requires restriction of both the ne grid solution and its residual (defect) d. The restriction operator R used to transfer the solution to the next coarser grid level is formed using a full-approximation scheme [37]. That is, the solution for a coarse cell is obtained by taking the volume average of the solution values in the embedded ne grid cells. Residuals for the coarse grid cell are obtained by summing the residuals in the embedded ne grid cells. The prolongation operator P used to transfer corrections up to the ne level is constructed to simply set the ne grid correction to the associated coarse grid value.
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26.5 Multigrid Method The coarse grid corrections H , which are brought up from the coarse level and applied to the ne level solution, are computed from the dierence between the solution calculated on the coarse level H and the initial solution restricted down to the coarse level R. Thus correction of the ne level solution becomes new = + P H R (26.5-16)
FAS Coarse Level Operator

The FAS coarse grid operator AH is simply that which results from a re-discretization of the governing equations on the coarse level mesh. Since the discretized equations presented in Sections 26.2 and 26.4 place no restrictions on the number of faces that make up a cell, there is no problem in performing this re-discretization on the coarse grids composed of irregularly shaped cells. There is some loss of accuracy when the nite-volume scheme is used on the irregular coarse grid cells, but the accuracy of the multigrid solution is determined solely by the nest grid and is therefore not aected by the coarse grid discretization. In order to preserve accuracy of the ne grid solution, the coarse level equations are modied to include source terms [144] which insure that corrections computed on the coarse grid H will be zero if the residuals on the ne grid dh are zero as well. Thus, the coarse grid equations are formulated as AH H + dH = dH (R) Rdh (26.5-17)
Here dH is the coarse grid residual computed from the current coarse grid solution H , and dH (R) is the coarse grid residual computed from the restricted ne level solution R. Initially, these two terms will be the same (because initially we have H = R) and cancel from the equation, leaving AH H = Rdh (26.5-18)
So there will be no coarse level correction when the ne grid residual dh is zero.
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Using the Solver
26.6
Choosing the Solver Formulation
FLUENT provides three dierent solver formulations: segregated coupled implicit coupled explicit All three solver formulations will provide accurate results for a broad range of ows, but in some cases one formulation may perform better (i.e., yield a solution more quickly) than the others. The segregated and coupled approaches dier in the way that the continuity, momentum, and (where appropriate) energy and species equations are solved: the segregated solver solves these equations sequentially (i.e., segregated from one another), while the coupled solver solves them simultaneously (i.e., coupled together). Both formulations solve the equations for additional scalars (e.g., turbulence or radiation quantities) sequentially. The implicit and explicit coupled solvers dier in the way that they linearize the coupled equations. See Section 26.1: Overview of Numerical Schemes for more details about the three solver formulations. Note that the segregated solver is the formulation previously used by FLUENT 4 and FLUENT/UNS, and the coupled explicit solver is the formulation previously used by RAMPANT. The segregated solver traditionally has been used for incompressible and mildly compressible ows. The coupled approach, on the other hand, was originally designed for high-speed compressible ows. Both approaches are now applicable to a broad range of ows (from incompressible to highly compressible), but the origins of the coupled formulation may give it a performance advantage over the segregated solver for high-speed compressible ows. By default, FLUENT uses the segregated solver, but for high-speed compressible ows (as discussed above), highly coupled ows with strong body forces (e.g., buoyancy or rotational forces), or ows being solved on very ne meshes, you may want to consider the coupled implicit solver instead. This solver couples the ow and energy equations, which often results in faster solution convergence. A trade-o involved in the use of the coupled implicit solver is that it requires more memory (1.5 to 2 times) than the segregated solver. For cases where the use of the coupled implicit solver is desirable, but your machine does not have sucient memory, you can use the segregated solver or the coupled explicit solver instead. The coupled explicit solver also couples the ow and energy equations, but it requires less memory than the coupled implicit solver. It will, however, usually take longer to reach a converged solution with the coupled explicit solver than with the coupled implicit solver.
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26.6 Choosing the Solver Formulation
Note that the segregated solver provides several physical models that are not available with the coupled solvers:
Cavitation model Fixed variable option Physical velocity formulation for porous media Volume-of-uid (VOF) model Multiphase mixture model Eulerian multiphase model Non-premixed combustion model Premixed combustion model Partially premixed combustion model Composition PDF transport model Soot and NOx models Rosseland radiation model Melting/solidication model Specied mass ow rate for streamwise periodic ow Shell conduction model Floating operating pressure The following features are available with the coupled solvers, but not with the segregated solver: Real gas model User-dened real gas model NIST real gas model Non-reecting boundary conditions Sti chemistry solver option for laminar ames
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Using the Solver
User Inputs for Solver Selection

To choose one of the three solver formulations, you will use the Solver panel (Figure 26.6.1). Dene Models Solver...
Figure 26.6.1: The Solver Panel
To use the segregated solver, retain the default selection of Segregated under Solver. To use the coupled implicit solver, select Coupled under Solver and Implicit (the default) under Formulation. To use the coupled explicit solver, select Coupled under Solver and Explicit under Formulation.
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26.7 Overview of How to Use the Solver
26.7
Overview of How to Use the Solver
Once you have dened your model and specied which solver you want to use (see Section 26.6: Choosing the Solver Formulation), you are ready to run the solver. The following steps outline a general procedure you can follow: 1. Choose the discretization scheme and, for the segregated solver, the pressure interpolation scheme (see Section 26.8: Choosing the Discretization Scheme). 2. (segregated solver only) Select the pressure-velocity coupling method (see Section 26.9: Choosing the Pressure-Velocity Coupling Method). 3. (segregated solver only) Select the porous media velocity method (see Section 7.19: Porous Media Conditions). 4. Select how you want the derivatives to be evaluated by choosing a gradient option (see Section 26.2.13: Evaluation of Derivatives). 5. Set the under-relaxation factors (see Section 26.10: Setting Under-Relaxation Factors). 6. (coupled explicit solver only) Turn on FAS multigrid (see Section 26.13: Turning On FAS Multigrid). 7. Make any additional modications to the solver settings that are suggested in the chapters or sections that describe the models you are using. 8. Initialize the solution (see Section 26.15: Initializing the Solution). 9. Enable the appropriate solution monitors (see Section 26.19: Monitoring Solution Convergence). 10. Start calculating (see Section 26.17: Performing Steady-State Calculations for steadystate calculations, or Section 26.18: Performing Time-Dependent Calculations for time-dependent calculations). 11. If you have convergence trouble, try one of the methods discussed in Section 26.24: Convergence and Stability. The default settings for the rst three items listed above are suitable for most problems and need not be changed. The following sections outline how these and other solution parameters can be changed, and when you may wish to change them.
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Using the Solver
26.8
Choosing the Discretization Scheme
FLUENT allows you to choose the discretization scheme for the convection terms of each governing equation. (Second-order accuracy is automatically used for the viscous terms.) When the segregated solver is used, all equations are, by default, solved using the rstorder upwind discretization for convection. When one of the coupled solvers is used, the ow equations are solved using the second-order scheme by default, and the other equations use the rst-order scheme by default. See Section 26.2: Discretization for a complete description of the discretization schemes available in FLUENT. In addition, when you use the segregated solver, you can specify the pressure interpolation scheme. See Section 26.3.1: Pressure Interpolation Schemes for a description of the pressure interpolation schemes available in FLUENT.
26.8.1
First Order vs. Second Order
When the ow is aligned with the grid (e.g., laminar ow in a rectangular duct modeled with a quadrilateral or hexahedral grid) the rst-order upwind discretization may be acceptable. When the ow is not aligned with the grid (i.e., when it crosses the grid lines obliquely), however, rst-order convective discretization increases the numerical discretization error (numerical diusion). For triangular and tetrahedral grids, since the ow is never aligned with the grid, you will generally obtain more accurate results by using the second-order discretization. For quad/hex grids, you will also obtain better results using the second-order discretization, especially for complex ows. In summary, while the rst-order discretization generally yields better convergence than the second-order scheme, it generally will yield less accurate results, especially on tri/tet grids. See Section 26.24: Convergence and Stability for information about controlling convergence. For most cases, you will be able to use the second-order scheme from the start of the calculation. In some cases, however, you may need to start with the rst-order scheme and then switch to the second-order scheme after a few iterations. For example, if you are running a high-Mach-number ow calculation that has an initial solution much dierent than the expected nal solution, you will usually need to perform a few iterations with the rst-order scheme and then turn on the second-order scheme and continue the calculation to convergence. For a simple ow that is aligned with the grid (e.g., laminar ow in a rectangular duct modeled with a quadrilateral or hexahedral grid), the numerical diusion will be naturally low, so you can generally use the rst-order scheme instead of the second-order scheme without any signicant loss of accuracy. Finally, if you run into convergence diculties with the second-order scheme, you should try the rst-order scheme instead.
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26.8 Choosing the Discretization Scheme
26.8.2
Other Discretization Schemes
The QUICK discretization scheme may provide better accuracy than the second-order scheme for rotating or swirling ows solved on quadrilateral or hexahedral meshes. In general, however, the second-order scheme is sucient and the QUICK scheme will not provide signicant improvements in accuracy. A power law scheme is also available, but it will generally yield the same accuracy as the rst-order scheme. The central-dierencing scheme is available only when you are using the LES turbulence model, and it should be used only when the mesh spacing is ne enough so that the magnitude of the local Peclet number (Equation 26.2-5) is less than 1. A modied HRIC scheme (Section 26.2.9: Modied HRIC Scheme) is also available for VOF simulations using either the implicit or explicit formulation.
26.8.3
Choosing the Pressure Interpolation Scheme
As discussed in Section 26.3.1: Pressure Interpolation Schemes, a number of pressure interpolation schemes are available when the segregated solver is used in FLUENT. For most cases the standard scheme is acceptable, but some types of models may benet from one of the other schemes: For problems involving large body forces, the body-force-weighted scheme is recommended. For ows with high swirl numbers, high-Rayleigh-number natural convection, highspeed rotating ows, ows involving porous media, and ows in strongly curved domains, use the PRESTO! scheme. For compressible ows, the second-order scheme is recommended. Use the second-order scheme for improved accuracy when one of the other schemes is not applicable.
The second-order scheme cannot be used with porous media or with the VOF or mixture model for multiphase ow.
Note that you will not specify the pressure interpolation scheme if you are using the Eulerian multiphase model. FLUENT will use the solution method described in Section 24.4.10: Solution Method in FLUENT for Eulerian multiphase calculations.
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Using the Solver
26.8.4
Choosing the Density Interpolation Scheme
As discussed in Section 26.3.2: Density Interpolation Schemes, three density interpolation schemes are available when the segregated solver is used to solve a single-phase compressible ow. The rst-order upwind scheme (the default) provides stability for the discretization of the pressure-correction equation, and gives good results for most classes of ows. If you are calculating a compressible ow with shocks, the rst-order upwind scheme may tend to smooth the shocks; you should use the second-order-upwind or QUICK scheme for such ows. For compressible ows with shocks, using the QUICK scheme for all variables, including density, is highly recommended for quadrilateral, hexahedral, or hybrid meshes.
i
26.8.5
Note that you will not be able to specify the density interpolation scheme for a compressible multiphase calculation; the rst-order upwind scheme will be used for the compressible phase.
User Inputs
You can specify the discretization scheme and, for the segregated solver, the pressure interpolation scheme in the Solution Controls panel (Figure 26.8.1). Solve Controls Solution... For each scalar equation listed under Discretization (Momentum, Energy, Turbulence Kinetic Energy, etc. for the segregated solver or Turbulence Kinetic Energy, Turbulence Dissipation Rate, etc. for the coupled solvers) you can choose First Order Upwind, Second Order Upwind, Power Law, QUICK, Third-Order MUSCL, or (if you are using the LES turbulence model) Bounded Central Dierencing (the default) or Central Dierencing in the adjacent drop-down list. For the coupled solvers, you can choose either First Order Upwind, Second Order Upwind, Third-Order MUSCL or (if you are using the LES turbulence model) Low Diusion Second Order for the Flow equations (which include momentum and energy). Note that the panel shown in Figure 26.8.1 is for the segregated solver. If you are using the segregated solver, select the pressure interpolation scheme under Discretization in the drop-down list next to Pressure. You can choose Standard, Linear, Second Order, Body Force Weighted, or PRESTO!. If you are using the segregated solver and your ow is compressible (i.e., you are using the ideal gas law for density), select the density interpolation scheme under Discretization in the drop-down list next to Density. You can choose First Order Upwind, Second Order Upwind, QUICK or Third-Order MUSCL. (Note that Density will not appear for incompressible or multiphase ows.) If you change the settings for Discretization, but you then want to return to FLUENTs default settings, you can click the Default button. FLUENT will change the settings to the defaults and the Default button will become the Reset button. To get your settings back again, you can click the Reset button.
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26.8 Choosing the Discretization Scheme
Figure 26.8.1: The Solution Controls Panel for the Segregated Solver
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Using the Solver
26.9
Choosing the Pressure-Velocity Coupling Method
FLUENT provides four methods for the pressure-velocity coupling in the segregated solver: SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, PISO, and (for time-dependant ows using the Use Non-Iterative Time Advancement option (NITA)) Fractional Step (FSM). Steady-state calculations will generally use SIMPLE or SIMPLEC, while PISO is recommended for transient calculations. PISO may also be useful for steady-state and transient calculations on highly skewed meshes.
i
26.9.1
Pressure-velocity coupling is relevant only for the segregated solver; you will not specify it for the coupled solvers.
SIMPLE vs. SIMPLEC
In FLUENT, both the standard SIMPLE algorithm and the SIMPLEC (SIMPLE-Consistent) algorithm are available. SIMPLE is the default, but many problems will benet from the use of SIMPLEC, particularly because of the increased under-relaxation that can be applied, as described below. For relatively uncomplicated problems (laminar ows with no additional models activated) in which convergence is limited by the pressure-velocity coupling, you can often obtain a converged solution more quickly using SIMPLEC. With SIMPLEC, the pressurecorrection under-relaxation factor is generally set to 1.0, which aids in convergence speedup. In some problems, however, increasing the pressure-correction under-relaxation to 1.0 can lead to instability due to high grid skewness. For such cases, you will need to use one or more skewness correction schemes, use a slightly more conservative under-relaxation value (up to 0.7), or use the SIMPLE algorithm. For complicated ows involving turbulence and/or additional physical models, SIMPLEC will improve convergence only if it is being limited by the pressure-velocity coupling. Often it will be one of the additional modeling parameters that limits convergence; in this case, SIMPLE and SIMPLEC will give similar convergence rates.
26.9.2
PISO
The PISO algorithm (see Section 26.3.3: PISO) with neighbor correction is highly recommended for all transient ow calculations, especially when you want to use a large time step. (For problems that use the LES turbulence model, which usually requires small time steps, using PISO may result in increased computational expense, so SIMPLE or SIMPLEC should be considered instead.) PISO can maintain a stable calculation with a larger time step and an under-relaxation factor of 1.0 for both momentum and pressure. For steady-state problems, PISO with neighbor correction does not provide any noticeable advantage over SIMPLE or SIMPLEC with optimal under-relaxation factors. PISO with skewness correction is recommended for both steady-state and transient calculations on meshes with a high degree of distortion.
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26.9 Choosing the Pressure-Velocity Coupling Method
When you use PISO neighbor correction, under-relaxation factors of 1.0 or near 1.0 are recommended for all equations. If you use just the PISO skewness correction for highly-distorted meshes (without neighbor correction), set the under-relaxation factors for momentum and pressure so that they sum to 1 (e.g., 0.3 for pressure and 0.7 for momentum). If you use both PISO methods, follow the under-relaxation recommendations for PISO neighbor correction, above. For most problems, it is not necessary to disable the default coupling between neighbor and skewness corrections. For highly distorted meshes, however, disabling the default coupling between neighbor and skewness corrections is recommended.
26.9.3
Fractional Step Method
The Fractional Step method (FSM) is available when you choose to use the NITA scheme (i.e., the Use Non-Iterative Time Advancement option in the Solver panel). With the NITA scheme, the FSM is slightly less computationally expensive compared to the PISO algorithm. Whether you select FSM or PISO depends on the application. For some problems (e.g., simulations that use VOF), FSM could be less stable than PISO. In most cases, the default values for the solution controls are enough to set a robust convergence of the internal pressure correction sub-iterations due to skewness. Only very complex problems (e.g., moving deforming meshes, sliding interfaces, the VOF model) could require a reduction of relaxation for pressure up to a value of 0.7 or 0.8.
26.9.4
User Inputs
You can specify the pressure-velocity coupling method in the Solution Controls panel (Figure 26.8.1). Solve Controls Solution... Choose SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, PISO, or Fractional Step in the Pressure-Velocity Coupling drop-down list. If you choose PISO, the panel will expand to show the additional parameters for pressurevelocity coupling. By default, the number of iterations for Skewness Correction and Neighbor Correction are set to 1. If you want to use only Skewness Correction, then set the number of iterations for Neighbor Correction to 0. Likewise, if you want to use only Neighbor Correction, then set the number of iterations for Skewness Correction to 0. For most problems, you do not need to change the default iteration values. By default, the Skewness-Neighbor Coupling option is turned on to allow for a more economical but a less robust variation of the PISO algorithm. If you choose SIMPLEC under Pressure-Velocity Coupling, you will have to also set the Skewness Correction, whose default value is 0.
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Using the Solver
26.10 Setting Under-Relaxation Factors

As discussed in Section 26.2.11: Under-Relaxation, the segregated solver uses underrelaxation to control the update of computed variables at each iteration. This means that all equations solved using the segregated solver, including the non-coupled equations solved by the coupled solvers (turbulence and other scalars, as discussed in Section 26.1.2: Coupled Solution Method), will have under-relaxation factors associated with them. In FLUENT, the default under-relaxation parameters for all variables are set to values that are near optimal for the largest possible number of cases. These values are suitable for many problems, but for some particularly nonlinear problems (e.g., some turbulent ows or high-Rayleigh-number natural-convection problems) it is prudent to reduce the under-relaxation factors initially. It is good practice to begin a calculation using the default under-relaxation factors. If the residuals continue to increase after the rst 4 or 5 iterations, you should reduce the under-relaxation factors. Occasionally, you may make changes in the under-relaxation factors and resume your calculation, only to nd that the residuals begin to increase. This often results from increasing the under-relaxation factors too much. A cautious approach is to save a data le before making any changes to the under-relaxation factors, and to give the solution algorithm a few iterations to adjust to the new parameters. Typically, an increase in the under-relaxation factors brings about a slight increase in the residuals, but these increases usually disappear as the solution progresses. If the residuals jump by a few orders of magnitude, you should consider halting the calculation and returning to the last good data le saved. Note that viscosity and density are under-relaxed from iteration to iteration. Also, if the enthalpy equation is solved directly instead of the temperature equation (i.e., for nonpremixed combustion calculations), the update of temperature based on enthalpy will be under-relaxed. To see the default under-relaxation factors, you can click the Default button in the Solution Controls panel. For most ows, the default under-relaxation factors do not usually require modication. If unstable or divergent behavior is observed, however, you need to reduce the underrelaxation factors for pressure, momentum, k, and from their default values to about 0.2, 0.5, 0.5, and 0.5. (It is usually not necessary to reduce the pressure under-relaxation for SIMPLEC.) In problems where density is strongly coupled with temperature, as in very-high-Rayleigh-number natural- or mixed-convection ows, it is wise to also underrelax the temperature equation and/or density (i.e., use an under-relaxation factor less than 1.0). Conversely, when temperature is not coupled with the momentum equations (or when it is weakly coupled), as in ows with constant density, the under-relaxation factor for temperature can be set to 1.0. For other scalar equations (e.g., swirl, species, mixture fraction and variance) the default
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26.11 Setting Solution Controls for the Non-Iterative Solver
under-relaxation may be too aggressive for some problems, especially at the start of the calculation. You may wish to reduce the factors to 0.8 to facilitate convergence.
User Inputs
You can modify the under-relaxation factors in the Solution Controls panel (Figure 26.8.1). Solve Controls Solution... You can set the under-relaxation factor for each equation in the eld next to its name under Under-Relaxation Factors.
If you are using the segregated solver, all equations will have an associated under-relaxation factor. If you are using one of the coupled solvers, only those equations that are solved sequentially (see Section 26.1.2: Coupled Solution Method) will have under-relaxation factors.
If you change under-relaxation factors, but you then want to return to FLUENTs default settings, you can click the Default button. FLUENT will change the factors to the default values and the Default button will become the Reset button. To get your settings back again, you can click the Reset button.
26.11
Setting Solution Controls for the Non-Iterative Solver
You can use the non-iterative solver (see Section 26.3.4: Time-Advancement Schemes) for transient problems in order to increase the speed and eciency of the calculations. The settings for the non-iterative solver should provide control over the maximum number of sub-iterations for each individual equation. The criteria for convergence include the Correction Tolerance (dened by the overall accuracy), Residual Tolerance (controlling the solution of the linear equations), and the individual Relaxation Factor. The default control settings are optimally designed in order to get a second-order accurate solution. To use FLUENTs non-iterative transient solver in order to boost the eciency of transient simulations: 1. Open the Solver panel. Dene Models Solver... 2. Select the Use Non-Iterative Time-Advancement option. 3. Open the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution...
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Using the Solver
4. Under Pressure-Velocity Coupling, you can choose either the Fractional Step or PISO scheme. Under Non-Iterative Solver Controls, you will see parameters that control the sub-iterations for individual equations (see below). When you select the PISO scheme, you can set the value for the Neighbor Correction. Skewness correction is performed automatically.
User Inputs
You can modify the non-iterative solution controls in the Solution Controls panel (Figure 26.11.1). Solve Controls Solution...
Figure 26.11.1: The Solution Controls Panel for the Segregated Non-Iterative Solver
Under Non-Iterative Solver Controls, there are several parameters that control the subiterations for the individual equations. The sub-iterations for an equation stop when the total number of sub-iterations exceeds the value specied for Max. Corrections, regardless of whether or not the convergence criteria (described below) are met.
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26.11 Setting Solution Controls for the Non-Iterative Solver
The sub-iterations for an equation end when the ratio of the residuals at the current sub-iteration and the rst sub-iteration is less than the value specied in the Correction Tolerance eld. You can monitor the details of the sub-iteration convergence by looking at the AMG solver performance (i.e., setting the Verbosity eld in the Multigrid Controls panel to 1). Be sure to pay attention to the residuals for the current sub-iteration (i.e., the residual for the 0-th AMG cycle at the current sub-iteration) and the initial residual of the time step (i.e., the residual for the 0-th AMG cycle of the rst sub-iteration). The ratio of these two residuals is what is controlled by the Correction Tolerance eld. These two residuals are also the residuals plotted when using the Residual Monitor panel and reported in the FLUENT console window at the end of a time step. Note that the residuals reported at the end of a time step can be scaled or unscaled, depending on the settings in the Residual Monitor panel. The residuals reported when monitoring the AMG solver performance are always unscaled. For each interim sub-iteration, the AMG cycles continue until the usual AMG termination criteria (0.1 by default, and set in the Multigrid Controls panel) are met. However, for the last sub-iteration (i.e., either when the maximum number of sub-iterations are reached or when the correction tolerance is satised), the AMG cycles continue until the ratio of the residual at the current cycle to the initial residual (the residual for the 0-th AMG cycle of the rst sub-iteration of the time step) drops below the value specied for Residual Tolerance. You may want to adjust the Residual Tolerance, depending on the time step selected. The default Residual Tolerance should be well suited for moderate time steps (i.e., for cell CFL numbers of 1 to 10). Note that you can display the cell CFL numbers for unsteady problems by selecting Cell Courant Number in the Velocity... category of all postprocessing panels. For very small time steps (cell CFL <<1), the diagonal dominance of the system is very high and the convergence should be driven further by reducing the Residual Tolerance value. For larger time steps (cell CFL >>1), it may be possible that the residual tolerance cannot be reached due to round-o errors, and unless the Residual Tolerance value is increased, AMG cycles can be wasted. Again, this can be monitored by monitoring the AMG solver performance. The Relaxation Factor eld denes the explicit relaxation of variables between sub-iterations. The relaxation factors can be used to prevent the solution from diverging. They should be left at their default values of 1, unless divergence is detected. If the solution diverges, you should rst try to stabilize the solution by lowering the relaxation factors for pressure to 0.70.8, and by reducing the time step. The following is a list of models that are supported with the non-iterative solver: Inviscid ow (excluding ideal gas) Laminar ow All models of turbulence (including LES and DES) Heat transfer
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Using the Solver
Non-reacting species transport General compressible ows (most subsonic and some transonic applications) VOF multiphase model (most applications) Phase change (solidication and melting) The following is a list of models that partially support the non-iterative solver: MDM Non-newtonian uids General compressible ows (aerospace supersonic applications) The following is a list of models that do not support the non-iterative solver: Eulerian multiphase (all non-VOF models) Radiation models Reacting species and any type of combustion including PDF DPM, spark, and crevice models UDS transport
The PRESTO! pressure interpolation scheme, when compared to using the iterative time-advancement, is less stable when using the non-iterative time-advancement solver. As a consequence, smaller time steps may be required. As mentioned above, the default control settings are optimally designed to obtain a second-order solution. In order to save CPU time, in cases where transient accuracy is not a main concern (i.e., rst-order integration in time and space), or when NITA is used to converge toward a steady state solution, you may want to set the Max. Corrections value to 1 in the Solution Controls panel for all transport equations except pressure.
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26.12 Changing the Courant Number
26.12 Changing the Courant Number

For FLUENTs coupled solvers, the main control over the time-stepping scheme is the Courant number (CFL). The time step is proportional to the CFL, as dened in Equation 26.4-13. Linear stability theory determines a range of permissible values for the CFL (i.e., the range of values for which a given numerical scheme will remain stable). When you specify a permissible CFL value, FLUENT will compute an appropriate time step using Equation 26.4-13. In general, taking larger time steps leads to faster convergence, so it is advantageous to set the CFL as large as possible (within the permissible range). The stability limits of the coupled implicit and explicit solvers are signicantly dierent. The explicit solver has a more limited range and requires lower CFL settings than does the coupled implicit solver. Appropriate choices of CFL for the two solvers are discussed below.
26.12.1
Courant Numbers for the Coupled Explicit Solver
Linear stability analysis shows that the maximum allowable CFL for the multi-stage scheme used in the coupled explicit solver will depend on the number of stages used and how often the dissipation and viscous terms are updated (see Section 26.24.5: Changing the Multi-Stage Scheme). But in general, you can assume that the multi-stage scheme is stable for Courant numbers up to 2.5. This stability limit is often lower in practice because of nonlinearities in the governing equations. The default CFL for the coupled explicit solver is 1.0, but you may be able to increase it for some 2D problems. You should generally not use a value higher than 2.0. If your solution is diverging, i.e., if residuals are rising very rapidly, and your problem is properly set up and initialized, this is usually a good sign that the Courant number needs to be lowered. Depending on the severity of the startup conditions, you may need to decrease the CFL to a value as low as 0.1 to 0.5 to get started. Once the startup transients are reduced you can start increasing the Courant number again.
26.12.2
Courant Numbers for the Coupled Implicit Solver
Linear stability theory shows that the point Gauss-Seidel scheme used in the coupled implicit solver is unconditionally stable. However, as with the explicit solver, nonlinearities in the governing equations will often limit stability. The default CFL for the coupled implicit solver is 5.0. It is often possible to increase the CFL to 10, 20, 100, or even higher, depending on the complexity of your problem. You may nd that a lower CFL is required during startup (when changes in the solution are highly nonlinear), but it can be increased as the solution progresses.
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Using the Solver
The coupled AMG solver has the capability to detect divergence of the multigrid cycles within a given iteration. If this happens, it will automatically reduce the CFL and perform the iteration again, and a message will be printed to the screen. Five attempts are made to complete the iteration successfully. Upon successful completion of the current iteration the CFL is returned to its original value and the iteration procedure proceeds as required.
26.12.3 User Inputs

The Courant number is set in the Solution Controls panel (Figure 26.12.1). Solve Controls Solution... Enter the value for Courant Number under Solver Parameters. (Note that the panel shown in Figure 26.12.1 is for the coupled explicit solver. For the coupled implicit solver, the Courant Number is the only item that will appear under Solver Parameters.) When you select the coupled explicit solver in the Solver panel, FLUENT will automatically set the Courant Number to 1; when you select the coupled implicit solver, the Courant Number will be changed to 5 automatically.
Figure 26.12.1: The Solution Controls Panel for the Coupled Explicit Solver
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26.13 Turning On FAS Multigrid
26.13 Turning On FAS Multigrid

As discussed in Section 26.5: Multigrid Method, FAS multigrid is an optional component of the coupled explicit solver. (AMG multigrid is always on, by default.) Since nearly all coupled explicit calculations will benet from the use of the FAS multigrid convergence accelerator, you should generally set a non-zero number of coarse grid levels before beginning the calculation. For most problems, this will be the only FAS multigrid parameter you will need to set. Should you encounter convergence diculties, consider applying one of the methods discussed in Section 26.24.4: Setting FAS Multigrid Parameters.
Note that you cannot use FAS multigrid with explicit time stepping (described in Section 26.2.12: Temporal Discretization) because the coarse grid corrections will destroy the time accuracy of the ne grid solution.
26.13.1
Setting Coarse Grid Levels
As discussed in Section 26.5.4: Full-Approximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid, FAS multigrid solves on successively coarser grids and then transfers corrections to the solution back up to the original ne grid, thus increasing the propagation speed of the solution and speeding convergence. The most basic way you can control the multigrid solver is by specifying the number of coarse grid levels to be used. As explained in Section 26.5.4: Full-Approximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid, the coarse grid levels are formed by agglomerating a group of adjacent ne cells into a single coarse cell. The optimal number of grid levels is therefore problem-dependent. For most problems, you can start out with 4 or 5 levels. For large 3D problems, you may want to add more levels (although memory restrictions may prevent you from using more levels, since each coarse grid level requires additional memory). If you believe that multigrid is causing convergence trouble, you can decrease the number of levels. If FLUENT reaches a coarse grid with one cell before creating as many levels as you requested, it will simply stop there. That is, if you request 5 levels, and level 4 has only 1 cell, FLUENT will create only 4 levels, since levels 4 and 5 would be the same. To specify the number of grid levels you want, set the number of Multigrid Levels in the Solution Controls panel (Figure 26.12.1) under Solver Parameters. Solve Controls Solution... You can also set the Max Coarse Levels under FAS Multigrid Controls in the Multigrid Controls panel. Solve Controls Multigrid... Changing the number of coarse grid levels in one panel will automatically update the number shown in the other.
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Coarse grid levels are created when you rst begin iterating. If you want to check how many cells are in each level, request one iteration and then use the Grid/Info/Size menu item (described in Section 6.6.1: Grid Size) to list the size of each grid level. If you are satised, you can continue the calculation; if not, you can change the number of coarse grid levels and check again. For most problems, you will not need to modify any additional multigrid parameters once you have settled on an appropriate number of coarse grid levels. You can simply continue your calculation until convergence.
26.14
Setting Solution Limits
In order to keep the solution stable under extreme conditions, FLUENT provides limits that keep the solution within an acceptable range. You can control these limits with the Solution Limits panel (Figure 26.14.1). Solve Controls Limits...
Figure 26.14.1: The Solution Limits Panel
FLUENT applies limiting values for pressure, static temperature, and turbulence quantities. The purpose of these limits is to keep the absolute pressure or the static temperature from becoming 0, negative, or excessively large during the calculation, and to keep the turbulence quantities from becoming excessive. FLUENT also puts a limit on the rate of reduction of static temperature to prevent it from becoming 0 or negative.
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26.14 Setting Solution Limits
Typically, you will not need to change the default solution limits. If pressure, temperature, or turbulence quantities are being reset to the limiting value repeatedly (as indicated by the appropriate warning messages in the console window), you should check the dimensions, boundary conditions, and properties to be sure that the problem is set up correctly and try to determine why the variable in question is getting so close to zero or so large. You can use the marking feature (used to mark cells for adaption) to identify which cells have a value equal to the limit. (Use the Iso-Value Adaption panel, as described in Section 27.6: Isovalue Adaption.) In very rare cases, you may need to change the solution limits, but only do so if you are sure that you understand the reason for the solvers unusual behavior. (For example, you may know that the temperature in your domain will exceed 5000 K. Be sure that any temperature-dependent properties are appropriately dened for high temperatures if you increase the maximum temperature limit.) For an ideal gas, the absolute pressure and static temperature solution limits are set as described in this section. However, there are no static temperature and absolute pressure solution limits for incompressible ow.
Limiting the Values of Solution Variables

The limiting minimum and maximum values for absolute pressure are shown in the Minimum and Maximum Absolute Pressure elds. If the FLUENT calculation predicts a value less than the Minimum Absolute Pressure or greater than the Maximum Absolute Pressure, the corresponding limiting value will be used instead. Similarly, the Minimum and Maximum Temperature are limiting values for energy calculations. The Maximum Turb. Viscosity Ratio and the Minimum Turb. Kinetic Energy are limiting values for turbulent calculations. If the calculation predicts a k value less than the Minimum Turb. Kinetic Energy, the limiting value will be used instead. For the viscosity ratio limit, FLUENT uses the limiting maximum value of turbulent viscosity (C k 2 / ) in the ow eld relative to the laminar viscosity. If the ratio calculated by FLUENT exceeds the limiting value, the ratio is set to the limiting value by limiting to the necessary value.
Limiting the Reduction Rate for Temperature

In FLUENTs coupled solvers, the rate of reduction of temperature is controlled by the Positivity Rate Limit. The default value of 0.2, for example, means that temperature is not allowed to decrease by more than 20% of its previous value from one iteration to the next. If the temperature change exceeds this limit, the time step in that cell is reduced to bring the change back into range and a time step reduced warning is printed. (This
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Using the Solver
reduced time step will be used for the solution of all variables in the cell, not just for temperature.) Rapid reduction of temperature is an indication that the temperature may become negative. Repeated time step reduced warnings should alert you that something is wrong in your problem setup. (If the warning messages stop appearing, the calculation may have recovered from the time-step reduction.)
Resetting Solution Limits

If you change and save the value of one of the solution limits, but you then want to return to the default limits set by FLUENT, you can reopen the Solution Limits panel and click the Default button. FLUENT will change the values to the defaults and the Default button will become the Reset button. To get your values back again, you can click the Reset button.
26.15
Initializing the Solution
Before starting your CFD simulation, you must provide FLUENT with an initial guess for the solution ow eld. In many cases, you must take extra care to provide an initial solution that will allow the desired nal solution to be attained. A real-life supersonic wind tunnel, for example, will not start if the back pressure is simply lowered to its operating value; the ow will choke at the tunnel throat and will not transition to supersonic. The same holds true for a numerical simulation: the ow must be initialized to a supersonic ow or it will simply choke and remain subsonic. There are two methods for initializing the solution: Initialize the entire ow eld (in all cells). Patch values or functions for selected ow variables in selected cell zones or registers of cells. (Registers are created with the same functions that are used to mark cells for adaption.)
Before patching initial values in selected cells, you must rst initialize the entire ow eld. You can then patch the new values over the initialized values for selected variables.
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26.15 Initializing the Solution
26.15.1
Initializing the Entire Flow Field
Before you start your calculations or patch initial values for selected variables in selected cells (Section 26.15.2: Patching Values in Selected Cells) you must initialize the ow eld in the entire domain. The Solution Initialization panel (Figure 26.15.1) allows you to set initial values for the ow variables and initialize the solution using these values. Solve Initialize Initialize...
Figure 26.15.1: The Solution Initialization Panel
You can compute the values from information in a specied zone, enter them manually, or have the solver compute average values based on all zones. You can also indicate whether the specied values for velocities are absolute or relative to the velocity in each cell zone. The steps for initialization are as follows: 1. Set the initial values: To initialize the ow eld using the values set for a particular zone, select the zone name in the Compute From drop-down list. All values under the Initial Values heading will automatically be computed and updated based on the conditions dened at the selected zone. To initialize the ow eld using computed average values, select all-zones in the Compute From drop-down list. FLUENT will compute and update the Initial Values based on the conditions dened at all boundary zones.
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If you wish to change one or more of the values, you can enter new values manually in the elds next to the appropriate variables. If you prefer to enter all values manually, you can do so without selecting a zone in the Compute From list. 2. If your problem involves moving reference frames or sliding meshes, indicate whether the initial velocities are absolute velocities or velocities relative to the motion of each cell zone by selecting Absolute or Relative to Cell Zone under Reference Frame. (If no zone motion occurs in the problem, the two options are equivalent.) The default reference frame for velocity initialization in FLUENT is relative. If the solution in most of your domain is rotating, using the relative option may be better than using the absolute option. 3. Once you are satised with the Initial Values displayed in the panel, you can click the Init button to initialize the ow eld. If solution data already exist (i.e., if you have already performed some calculations or initialized the solution), you must conrm that it is OK to overwrite those data.
Saving and Resetting Initial Values

When you initialize the solution by clicking on Init, the initial values will also be saved; should you need to reinitialize the solution later, you will nd the correct values in the panel when you reopen it. If you wish to dene initial values now, but you are not yet ready to initialize the solution, you can follow the instructions above for setting the values and then click Apply instead of Init. This will save the currently displayed values without initializing the solution. You can return to the panel later on and perform the initialization. If you accidentally select the wrong zone from the Compute From list or manually set a value incorrectly, you can use the Reset button to reset all elds to their saved values. Values are saved each time the panel is opened, before Compute From is executed, and after Init or Apply is executed.
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26.15 Initializing the Solution
26.15.2
Patching Values in Selected Cells
Once you have initialized (or calculated) the entire ow eld, you may patch dierent values for particular variables into dierent cells. If you have multiple uid zones, for example, you may want to patch a dierent temperature in each one. You can also choose to patch a custom eld function (dened using the Custom Field Function Calculator panel) instead of a constant value. If you are patching velocities, you can indicate whether the specied values are absolute velocities or velocities relative to the cell zones velocity. All patching operations are performed with the Patch panel (Figure 26.15.2). Solve Initialize Patch...
Figure 26.15.2: The Patch Panel
1. Select the variable to be patched in the Variable list. 2. In the Zones To Patch and/or Registers To Patch lists, choose the zone(s) and/or register(s) for which you want to patch a value for the selected variable.
When shell conduction is enabled, the names of the Zones To Patch will appear as shell:wall-name. The wall-name is the name of the wall on which a shell conduction zone has been created.
3. If you wish to patch a constant value, simply enter that value in the Value eld. If you want to patch a previously-dened eld function, turn on the Use Field Function option and select the appropriate function in the Field Function list.
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4. If you selected a velocity in the Variable list, and your problem involves moving reference frames or sliding meshes, indicate whether the patched velocities are absolute velocities or velocities relative to the motion of each cell zone by selecting Absolute or Relative to Cell Zone under Reference Frame. (If no zone motion occurs in the problem, the two options are equivalent.) The default reference frame for velocity patching in FLUENT is relative. If the solution in most of your domain is rotating, using the relative option may be better than using the absolute option. 5. Click the Patch button to update the ow-eld data. (Note that patching will have no eect on the iteration or time-step count.)
Using Registers
The ability to patch values in cell registers gives you the exibility to patch dierent values within a single cell zone. For example, you may want to patch a certain value for temperature only in uid cells with a particular range of concentrations for one species. You can create a cell register (basically a list of cells) using the functions that are used to mark cells for adaption. These functions allow you to mark cells based on physical location, cell volume, gradient or isovalue of a particular variable, and other parameters. See Chapter 27: Grid Adaption for information about marking cells for adaption. Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers provides information about manipulating dierent registers to create new ones. Once you have created a register, you can patch values in it as described above.
Using Field Functions

By dening your own eld function using the Custom Field Function Calculator panel, you can patch a non-constant value in selected cells. For example, you may want to patch varying species mass fractions throughout a uid region. To use this feature, simply create the function as described in Section 31.5: Custom Field Functions, and then perform the function-patching operation in the Patch panel, as described above.
Using Patching Later in the Solution Process

Since patching aects only the variables for which you choose to change the value, leaving the rest of the ow eld intact, you can use it later in the solution process without losing calculated data. (Initialization, on the other hand, resets all data to the initial values.) For example, you might want to start a combustion calculation from a cold-ow solution. You can simply read in (or calculate) the cold-ow data, patch a high temperature in the appropriate cells, and continue the calculation. Patching can also be useful when you are solving a problem using a step-by-step technique, as described in Section 26.24.2: Step-by-Step Solution Processes.
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26.16 Full Multigrid (FMG) Initialization

For many complex ow problems such as those found in rotating machinery, or ows in expanding or spiral ducts, ow convergence can be accelerated if a better initial solution is used at the start of the calculation. The Full Multigrid initialization (FMG initialization) can provide this initial and approximate solution at a minimum cost to the overall computational expense.
26.16.1 Overview of FMG Initialization

FMG initialization utilizes the FLUENT FAS Multigrid technology (see Section 26.5.4: FullApproximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid) to obtain the initial solution. Starting from a uniform solution (after performing standard initialization), the FMG initialization procedure constructs the desirable number of geometric grid levels using the procedure outlined in Section 26.5.4: Full-Approximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid. To begin the process, the initial solution is restricted all the way down to the coarsest level. The FAS multigrid cycle is then applied until a given order of residual reduction is obtained or the maximum number of cycles is reached. The solution is then interpolated one grid level up and the FAS multigrid cycle is applied again between the current level all the way down to the coarsest level. This process will repeat until the nest level is reached. The FMG initialization iteration is illustrated in Figure 26.16.1.
Grid Level Fine 0
Coarse
Figure 26.16.1: The FMG Initialization
Since FMG initialization does most of the work on coarse levels, this initialization procedure is computationally inexpensive and, for large problems, a good initial solution can be obtained in a fraction of the time spent to converge on a nal solution. It should be noted that the FMG initialization can be used with any of the FLUENT solvers (segregated, coupled implicit or explicit).
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Using the Solver
When FMG initialization is started, the algorithm will perform the following steps: 1. Records the current solver selection and all current solver parameters. 2. Switches from the selected solver to the coupled explicit solver. 3. Performs one FMG iteration using the FMG parameters given in the text command interface (see below). 4. Switches back to the initially selected solver and resets all solver parameters back to the original solver settings. In the FMG iteration, the inviscid Euler equations are solved using rst order-discretization to obtain the approximate solution. If species are present, then the FMG initialization will solve the species equations. However, turbulence equations or any other transport scalars are not solved in the FMG initialization.
Limitations of FMG Initialization

FMG initialization is not available for unsteady ows.
If an initial solution is needed for an unsteady calculation, then you must rst switch to the steady state solver, perform FMG initialization and other necessary iterations to get an initial solution, and then perform unsteady calculations.
FMG will not initialize turbulence or other transport equations eld variables.
If your are solving for turbulent ow, then you can still use FMG initialization, however the FMG will not initialize the turbulence eld variables. For this reason, a good initial guess of the turbulence eld quantities are important for achieving fast convergence after the FMG initialization has been performed.
FMG should not to be used with multiphase ow.
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26.16.2
Using FMG Initialization
You can access the FMG initialization procedure using the text user interface (TUI) once the standard ow initialization is performed (see Section 26.5.4: Full-Approximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid) or if valid ow data are available (i.e., through reading a data le). To customize the FMG initialization, type the following command: solve initialize set-fmg-initialization You will be asked to enter: The number of multigrid level for the FMG iteration (the default is 5).
For small cases (100, 000 cells or less), it is recommended that you lower the number of multigrid to 3 or 4.
For each level of multigrid, you will be asked to enter the residual reduction (the default value is 0.001, and the number of cycles per level (the defaults at each level are 10, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 500). In general, you should perform more iterations on coarse levels than ne levels. Level 0 is the nest level, which represents the original mesh. FMG iteration Courant-number (the default is 0.75). This will be the CFL value that the FAS multigrid will use for the FMG initialization. Enabling verbose mode (the default is no). By enabling this option, you will be able to monitor the convergence at each level.
If you do not customize the FMG settings, then the default values will be used.
To perform the FMG initialization, type the following command: solve initialize fmg-initialization When you are prompted to Enable FMG initialization? [no], type yes.
When verbose mode is selected and the FMG initialization is being executed, FLUENT will rst output the multigrid level information followed by convergence history for the FAS multigrid cycle on each level. The normalized residual value is printed after ten FAS cycles or when the number of FAS cycles is reached. The output will indicate when convergence is reached on each level and when the solution is being interpolated to the next level.
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Using the Solver
26.16.3
Convergence Strategies for FMG Initialization
When setting the FMG initialization parameters, you should consider performing more iterations on the coarse levels than on the ne levels. However, keep in mind that the purpose of FMG initialization is to obtain a good initial solution at a low cost. You should try to avoid unreasonable convergence tolerance that will make the FMG initialization expensive. Turn on the verbose mode to help you determine if the ow is converging as expected during the FMG iterations. If the solution is not converging to the desired tolerance, consider increasing the number of FAS multigrid cycles at each level. If the solution is diverging during the FAS cycles, then consider lowering the FMG iteration Courant number since the default value is probably too aggressive and is likely causing the solution to diverge. For turbulent ows, it is very important to rst perform standard initialization with proper and realistic values of the turbulence variables (e.g. k and ). This can be done by computing the average values based on the conditions dened at the inow boundary or at all boundary zones. Then, you can proceed with FMG initialization. Unrealistic initialization of turbulence variables may cause convergence diculties during the rst few iterations on the ne mesh, thereby nullifying the benet of FMG initialization.
26.17
Performing Steady-State Calculations
For steady-state calculations, you will request the start of the solution process using the Iterate panel (Figure 26.17.1). Solve Iterate...
Figure 26.17.1: The Iterate Panel
In this panel, you will supply the number of additional iterations to be performed in the Number of Iterations eld. (For unsteady calculation inputs, see Section 26.18.1: User
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26.17 Performing Steady-State Calculations
Inputs for Time-Dependent Problems.) If no calculations have been performed yet, FLUENT will begin calculations starting at iteration 1, using the initial solution. If you are starting from current solution data, FLUENT will begin at the last iteration performed, using the current solution data as its starting point. By default, FLUENT will update the convergence monitors (described in Section 26.19: Monitoring Solution Convergence) after each iteration. If you increase the Reporting Interval from the default of 1 you can get reports less frequently. For example, if you set the Reporting Interval to 2, the monitors will print or plot reports at every other iteration. Note that the Reporting Interval also species how often FLUENT should check if the solution is converged. For example, if your solution converges after 40 iterations, but your Reporting Interval is set to 50, FLUENT will continue the calculation for an extra 10 iterations before checking for (and nding) convergence. When you click the Iterate button, FLUENT will begin to calculate. During iteration, a Working dialog is displayed. Clicking on the Cancel button or typing <Control-C> in the FLUENT console window will interrupt the iteration, as soon as it is safe to stop. (See below for more details.)
Updating UDF Proles

If you have used a user-dened function (UDF) to dene any boundary conditions, properties, etc., you can control the frequency with which the function is updated by modifying the value of the UDF Prole Update Interval. If UDF Prole Update Interval is set to n, the function will be updated after every n iterations. By default, the UDF Prole Update Interval is set to 1. You might want to increase this value if your prole computation is expensive. See the separate UDF Manual for details about creating and using UDFs.
Interrupting Iterations
As mentioned above, you can interrupt the calculation by clicking on the Cancel button in the Working dialog box that appears while the solver is calculating. In addition, on most, but not all, computer systems you will be able to interrupt calculations using a control sequence, usually <Control-C>. This allows you to stop the calculation process before proceeding with the remainder of the requested iterations.
Resetting Data
After you have performed some iterations, if you decide to start over again from the rst iteration (e.g., after making some changes to the problem setup), you can reinitialize the solution using the Solution Initialization panel, as described in Section 26.15.1: Initializing the Entire Flow Field.
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26.18 Performing Time-Dependent Calculations

FLUENT can solve the conservation equations in time-dependent form, to simulate a wide variety of time-dependent phenomena, such as vortex shedding and other time-periodic phenomena compressible lling and emptying problems transient heat conduction transient chemical mixing and reactions Figures 26.18.1 and 26.18.2 illustrate the time-dependent vortex shedding ow pattern in the wake of a cylinder. Activating time dependence is sometimes useful when attempting to solve steady-state problems which tend toward instability (e.g., natural convection problems in which the Rayleigh number is close to the transition region). It is possible in many cases to reach a steady-state solution by integrating the time-dependent equations. See Section 26.2.12: Temporal Discretization for details about temporal discretization.
26.18.1
User Inputs for Time-Dependent Problems
To solve a time-dependent problem, you will follow the procedure outlined below: 1. Enable the Unsteady option in the Solver panel (Figure 26.18.3), and specify the desired Unsteady Formulation. Dene Models Solver... The 1st-Order Implicit formulation is sucient for most problems. If you need improved accuracy, you can use the 2nd-Order Implicit formulation instead. The Explicit formulation (available only if the coupled explicit solver is selected under Solver and Formulation at the top of the panel) is used primarily to capture the transient behavior of moving waves, such as shocks. See Section 26.2.12: Temporal Discretization for details. You can also use the Use Non-iterative Time Advancement option when using the segregated solver under Transient Controls. option in your time dependent ow calculations. (see Section 26.3.4: Time-Advancement Schemes). When using the segregated solver, you also can select the Use Frozen Flux Formulation? under Transient Controls option in your time dependent ow calculations. (see Section 26.3.4: Steady-State and Time-Dependent Calculations). Note that this option is only available for single-phase transient problems that use the segregated solver and do not use a moving/deforming mesh model.
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1.92e+01 1.76e+01 1.60e+01 1.44e+01 1.28e+01 1.12e+01 9.60e+00 8.00e+00 6.40e+00 4.80e+00 3.20e+00 1.60e+00 0.00e+00
Contours of Stream Function (kg/s) (Time=3.6600e+01)
Figure 26.18.1: Time-Dependent Calculation of Vortex Shedding (t=3.66 sec)
1.92e+01 1.76e+01 1.60e+01 1.44e+01 1.28e+01 1.12e+01 9.60e+00 8.00e+00 6.40e+00 4.80e+00 3.20e+00 1.60e+00 0.00e+00
Contours of Stream Function (kg/s) (Time=4.1600e+01)
Figure 26.18.2: Time-Dependent Calculation of Vortex Shedding (t=41.6 sec)
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Using the Solver
Figure 26.18.3: The Solver Panel for an Unsteady Calculation
2. Dene all relevant models and boundary conditions. Note that any boundary conditions specied using user-dened functions can be made to vary in time. See the separate UDF Manual for details. 3. If you are using the segregated solver, choose PISO as the Pressure-Velocity Coupling scheme under Discretization in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... In general, to increase the speed of the calculations, you will need to modify the PISO Parameters from their default values. See Section 26.9.2: PISO for more information about the optimal use of the PISO algorithm.
If you are using the LES turbulence model with small time steps, the PISO scheme may be too computationally expensive. It is therefore recommended that you use SIMPLE or SIMPLEC instead of PISO.
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4. (optional) If you are using the explicit unsteady formulation or if you are using the adaptive time stepping method (described below and in Section 26.18.2: Adaptive Time Stepping) it is recommended that you enable the printing of the current time (for the explicit unsteady formulation) or the current time step size (for the adaptive time stepping method) at each iteration, using the Statistic Monitors panel. Solve Monitors Statistic... Select time (for the current time) or delta time (for the current time step size) in the Statistics list and turn on the Print option. When FLUENT prints the residuals to the console window at each iteration, it will include a column with the current time or the current time step size. 5. (optional) Use the Force Monitors panel or the Surface Monitors panel to monitor (and/or save to a le) time-varying force coecient values or the average, mass average, integral, or ux of a eld variable or function on a surface as it changes with time. See Section 26.19: Monitoring Solution Convergence for details. 6. Set the initial conditions (at time t = 0) using the Solution Initialization panel. Solve Initialize Initialize... You can also read in a steady-state data le to set the initial conditions. File Read Data... 7. Use the automatic saving feature to specify the le name and frequency with which case and data les should be saved during the solution process. File Write Autosave... See Section 4.3.4: Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files for details about the use of this feature. You may also want to request automatic execution of other commands using the Execute Commands panel. See Section 26.22: Executing Commands During the Calculation for details. 8. (optional) If you want to create a graphical animation of the solution over time, you can use the Solution Animation panel to set up the graphical displays that you want to use in the animation. See Section 26.20: Animating the Solution for details.
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9. (optional) If you want FLUENT to gather data for time statistics (i.e., time-averaged and root-mean-square values for solution variables) during the calculation, follow these steps: (a) Turn on the Data Sampling for Time Statistics option in the Iterate panel. Solve Iterate... Enabling this option will allow you to display and report both the mean and the root-mean-square (RMS) values, as described in Section 26.18.4: Postprocessing for Time-Dependent Problems.
Note that gathering data for time statistics is not meaningful inside a moving cell zone (i.e., a sliding zone in a sliding mesh problem).
(b) Initialize the ow statistics. Solve Initialize Reset Statistics Note that you can also use this menu item to reset the ow statistics after you have gathered some data for time statistics. If you perform, say, 10 time steps with the Data Sampling for Time Statistics option enabled, check the results, and then continue the calculation for 10 more time steps, the time statistics will include the data gathered in the rst 10 time steps unless you reinitialize the ow statistics. 10. Specify time-dependent solution parameters and start the calculation, as described below for the implicit and explicit unsteady formulations: If you have chosen the 1st-Order or 2nd-Order Implicit formulation, the procedure is as follows: (a) Set the time-dependent solution parameters in the Iterate panel (Figure 26.18.4). Solve Iterate... Solution parameters for the implicit unsteady formulations are as follows: Max Iterations per Time Step: When FLUENT solves the time-dependent equations using the implicit formulation, iteration is necessary at each time step. This parameter sets a maximum for the number of iterations per time step. If the convergence criteria are met before this number of iterations is performed, the solution will advance to the next time step. Time Step Size: The time step size is the magnitude of t. Since the FLUENT formulation is fully implicit, there is no stability criterion that needs to be met in determining t. However, to model transient phenomena properly, it is necessary to set t at least one order of magnitude smaller than the smallest time constant in the system being
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Figure 26.18.4: The Iterate Panel for Implicit Unsteady Calculations
modeled. A good way to judge the choice of t is to observe the number of iterations FLUENT needs to converge at each time step. The ideal number of iterations per time step is 510. If FLUENT needs substantially more, the time step is too large. If FLUENT needs only a few iterations per time step, t may be increased. Frequently a time-dependent problem has a very fast startup transient that decays rapidly. It is thus often wise to choose a conservatively small t for the rst 510 time steps. t may then be gradually increased as the calculation proceeds. For time-periodic calculations, you should choose the time step based on the time scale of the periodicity. For a rotor/stator model, for example, you might want 20 time steps between each blade passing. For vortex shedding, you might want 20 steps per period. To determine a proper choice of t, you can plot contours of the Courant number within the domain. For a stable, ecient calculation, the Courant number should not exceed a value of 2040 in most sensitive transient regions of the domain.
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Using the Solver
By default, the size of the time step is xed (as indicated by the selection of Fixed under Time Stepping Method). To have FLUENT modify the size of the time step as the calculation proceeds, select Adaptive and specify the parameters under Adaptive Time Stepping in the expanded Iterate panel. See Section 26.18.2: Adaptive Time Stepping for details. With the Adaptive time stepping method (Figure 26.18.5), the value you specify for the Time Step Size will be the initial size of the time step. As the calculation proceeds, the Time Step Size shown in the Iterate panel will be the size of the current time step (see Section 26.18.2: Adaptive Time Stepping). For transient VOF calculations, inputs while using the Variable time stepping method (Figure 26.18.6) are in many ways the same as for the adaptive time stepping method, with the exception of specifying a global Courant number (see Section 26.18.3: Variable Time Stepping). (b) Specify the desired Number of Time Steps in the Iterate panel and click Iterate. As it calculates a solution, FLUENT will print the current time at the end of each time step. If you have chosen the Explicit unsteady formulation, you will follow a dierent procedure: (a) Use the default settings for the Solver Parameters in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... If you have modied the Solver Parameters, you can click the Default button to retrieve the default settings. (b) Specify the desired Number of Iterations and click Iterate. Solve Iterate... Remember that when the explicit unsteady formulation is used, each iteration is a time step. When FLUENT prints the residuals to the console window, it will include a column with the current time (if you requested this in step 4, above). 11. Save the nal data le (and case le, if you have modied it) so that you can continue the unsteady calculation later, if desired. File Write Data...
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Additional Inputs
The procedures for setting the reporting interval, updating UDF proles, interrupting iterations, and resetting data are the same as those for steady-state calculations. See Section 26.17: Performing Steady-State Calculations for details.
If you are using a user-dened function in your time-dependent calculation, note that, in addition to being updated after every n iterations (where n is the value of the UDF Prole Update Interval), the function will also be updated at the rst iteration of each time step.
26.18.2
Adaptive Time Stepping
As mentioned in Section 26.18.1: User Inputs for Time-Dependent Problems, it is possible to have the size of the time step change as the calculation proceeds, rather than specifying a xed size for the entire calculation. This section provides a brief description of the algorithm that FLUENT uses to compute the time step size, as well as an explanation of each of the parameters that you can set to control the adaptive time stepping.
Adaptive time stepping is available only with the segregated and coupled implicit solvers; it cannot be used with the coupled explicit solver. In addition, it cannot be used with the VOF or discrete phase model.
The Adaptive Time Stepping Algorithm

The automatic determination of the time step size is based on the estimation of the truncation error associated with the time integration scheme (i.e., rst-order implicit or second-order implicit). If the truncation error is smaller than a specied tolerance, the size of the time step is increased; if the truncation error is greater, the time step size is decreased. An estimation of the truncation error can be obtained by using a predictor-corrector type of algorithm [120] in association with the time integration scheme. At each time step, a predicted solution can be obtained using a computationally inexpensive explicit method (forward Euler for the rst-order unsteady formulation, Adams-Bashford for the secondorder unsteady formulation). This predicted solution is used as an initial condition for the time step, and the correction is computed using the non-linear iterations associated with the implicit (segregated or coupled) algorithm. The norm of the dierence between the predicted and corrected solutions is used as a measure of the truncation error. By comparing the truncation error with the desired level of accuracy (i.e., the truncation error tolerance), FLUENT is able to adjust the time step size by increasing it or decreasing it.
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Using the Solver
Specifying Parameters for Adaptive Time Stepping

The parameters that control the adaptive time stepping appear in the Iterate panel, as described in Section 26.18.1: User Inputs for Time-Dependent Problems.
Figure 26.18.5: The Iterate Panel for Implicit Unsteady Calculations and Adaptive Time Stepping
These parameters are as follows: Truncation Error Tolerance species the threshold value to which the computed truncation error is compared. Increasing this value will lead to an increase in the size of the time step and a reduction in the accuracy of the solution. Decreasing it will lead to a reduction in the size of the time step and an increase in the solution accuracy, although the calculation will require more computational time. For most cases, the default value of 0.01 is acceptable. Ending Time species an ending time for the calculation. Since the ending time cannot be determined by multiplying the number of time steps by a xed time step size, you need to specify it explicitly.
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Minimum/Maximum Time Step Size specify the upper and lower limits for the size of the time step. If the time step becomes very small, the computational expense may be too high; if the time step becomes very large, the solution accuracy may not be acceptable to you. You can set the limits that are appropriate for your simulation. Minimum/Maximum Step Change Factor limit the degree to which the time step size can change at each time step. Limiting the change results in a smoother calculation of the time step size, especially when high-frequency noise is present in the solution. If the time step change factor, f , is computed as the ratio between the specied truncation error tolerance and the computed truncation error, the size of time step tn is computed as follows: If 1 < f < fmax , tn is increased to meet the desired tolerance. If 1 < fmax < f , tn is increased, but its maximum possible value is fmax tn1 . If fmin < f < 1, tn is unchanged. If f < fmin < 1, tn is decreased. Number of Fixed Time Steps species the number of xed-size time steps that should be performed before the size of the time step starts to change. The size of the xed time step is the value specied for Time Step Size in the Iterate panel. It is a good idea to perform a few xed-size time steps before switching to the adaptive time stepping. Sometimes spurious discretization errors can be associated with an impulsive start in time. These errors are dissipated during the rst few time steps, but they can adversely aect the adaptive time stepping and result in extremely small time steps at the beginning of the calculation.
When the solution tends to exhibit incomplete convergence, rather than increasing the time step size or keeping the same time step size in the next step, FLUENT reduces the time step size by at least half for the next time step (making sure that the time step size does not go below the specied minimum time step size.
Specifying a User-Dened Time Stepping Method

If you want to use your own adaptive time stepping method, instead of the method described above, you can create a user-dened function for your method and select it in the User-Dened Time Step drop-down list. The other inputs under Adaptive Time Stepping will not be used when you select a user-dened function. See the separate UDF Manual for details about creating and using user-dened functions.
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Using the Solver
26.18.3
Variable Time Stepping
For VOF calculations (using either the Euler Explicit or the Geo-Reconstruct schemes), FLUENT allows you to use variable time stepping in order to automatically change the time-step when an interface is moving through dense cells or if the interface velocity is high. Variable time stepping is available for all the explicit schemes of VOF, which includes the donor-acceptor scheme as well. Variable time stepping is not available for the implicit scheme of VOF.
The Variable Time Stepping Algorithm

The global time-step tglobal is changed in the following manner: tglobal = CF Lglobal max(
outgoingf luxes ) volume
(26.18-1)
outgoingf luxes where the ratio is calculated for each cell. FLUENT takes the maximum volume of this ratio to calculate the global time step.
Specifying Parameters for Variable Time Stepping

For transient VOF calculations, when the Variable Time Step option is chosen in the Iterate panel (Figure 26.18.6), FLUENT presents additional parameters. With the exception of the Global Courant number eld, all parameters are the same as for adaptive time stepping (see Section 26.18.2: Adaptive Time Stepping). The default value for the Global Courant number is 2. The variable time step is based on the maximum Courant number near the VOF interface. To calculate that Courant number, FLUENT uses a ux-based denition where, in the region near the uid interface, FLUENT divides the volume of each cell by the sum of the outgoing uxes. The resulting time represents the time it would take for the uid to empty out of the cell. The smallest such time is used as the characteristic time of transit for a uid element across a control volume.
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Figure 26.18.6: The Iterate Panel for Implicit Unsteady Calculations and Variable Time Stepping
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Using the Solver
26.18.4
Postprocessing for Time-Dependent Problems
The postprocessing of time-dependent data is similar to that for steady-state data, with all graphical and alphanumeric commands available. You can read a data le that was saved at any point in the calculation (by you or with the autosave option) to restore the data at any of the time levels that were saved. File Read Data... FLUENT will label any subsequent graphical or alphanumeric output with the time value of the current data set. If you save data from the force or surface monitors to les (see step 5 in Section 26.18.1: User Inputs for Time-Dependent Problems), you can read these les back in and plot them to see a time history of the monitored quantity. Figure 26.18.7 shows a sample plot generated in this way.
-5.00e+00 -5.10e+00 -5.20e+00 -5.30e+00 -5.40e+00
Cl
-5.50e+00 -5.60e+00 -5.70e+00 -5.80e+00 -5.90e+00 -6.00e+00

Y X
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
0.1
0.11
Time
Cl
Figure 26.18.7: Lift Coecient Plot for a Time-Periodic Solution
If you enabled the Data Sampling for Time Statistics option in the Iterate panel, FLUENT will compute the time average (mean) and root-mean-squares of the instantaneous values sampled during the calculation. The mean and root-mean-square (RMS) values for all solution variables will be available in the Unsteady Statistics... category of the variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels.
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26.19 Monitoring Solution Convergence

During the solution process you can monitor the convergence dynamically by checking residuals, statistics, force values, surface integrals, and volume integrals. You can print reports of or display plots of lift, drag, and moment coecients, surface integrations, and residuals for the solution variables. For unsteady ows, you can also monitor elapsed time. Each of these monitoring features is described below.
26.19.1 Monitoring Residuals

At the end of each solver iteration, the residual sum for each of the conserved variables is computed and stored, thus recording the convergence history. This history is also saved in the data le. The residual sum is dened below. On a computer with innite precision, these residuals will go to zero as the solution converges. On an actual computer, the residuals decay to some small value (round-o) and then stop changing (level out). For single precision computations (the default for workstations and most computers), residuals can drop as many as six orders of magnitude before hitting round-o. Double precision residuals can drop up to twelve orders of magnitude. Guidelines for judging convergence can be found in Section 26.24.1: Judging Convergence.
Denition of Residuals for the Segregated Solver

After discretization, the conservation equation for a general variable at a cell P can be written as aP P =
nb
anb nb + b
(26.19-1)
Here aP is the center coecient, anb are the inuence coecients for the neighboring cells, and b is the contribution of the constant part of the source term Sc in S = Sc + SP and of the boundary conditions. In Equation 26.19-1, aP =
nb
anb SP
(26.19-2)
The residual R computed by FLUENTs segregated solver is the imbalance in Equation 26.19-1 summed over all the computational cells P . This is referred to as the unscaled residual. It may be written as R =
cells P
|
nb
anb nb + b aP P |
(26.19-3)
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Using the Solver
In general, it is dicult to judge convergence by examining the residuals dened by Equation 26.19-3 since no scaling is employed. This is especially true in enclosed ows such as natural convection in a room where there is no inlet ow rate of with which to compare the residual. FLUENT scales the residual using a scaling factor representative of the ow rate of through the domain. This scaled residual is dened as R =
cells P
nb
anb nb + b aP P | cells P |aP P |
(26.19-4)
For the momentum equations the denominator term aP P is replaced by aP vP , where vP is the magnitude of the velocity at cell P . The scaled residual is a more appropriate indicator of convergence for most problems, as discussed in Section 26.24.1: Judging Convergence. This residual is the default displayed by FLUENT. Note that this denition of residual is also used by Fluent Inc.s structured grid solver FLUENT 4. For the continuity equation, the unscaled residual for the segregated solver is dened as Rc =
cells P
|rate of mass creation in cell P|
(26.19-5)
The segregated solvers scaled residual for the continuity equation is dened as
c Riteration N c Riteration 5
(26.19-6)
The denominator is the largest absolute value of the continuity residual in the rst ve iterations. The scaled residuals described above are useful indicators of solution convergence. Guidelines for their use are given in Section 26.24.1: Judging Convergence. It is sometimes useful to determine how much a residual has decreased during calculations as an additional measure of convergence. For this purpose, FLUENT allows you to normalize the residual (either scaled or unscaled) by dividing by the maximum residual value after M iterations, where M is set by you in the Residual Monitors panel in the Iterations eld under Normalization.
Riteration N R = Riteration M
(26.19-7)
Normalization in this manner ensures that the initial residuals for all equations are of O(1) and is sometimes useful in judging overall convergence. By default, M = 5. You can also specify the normalization factor (the denominator in Equation 26.19-7) manually in the Residual Monitors panel.
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Denition of Residuals for the Coupled Solvers

A residual for the coupled solvers is simply the time rate of change of the conserved variable (W). The RMS residual is the square root of the average of the squares of the residuals in each cell of the domain: W t
2
R(W) =
(26.19-8)
Equation 26.19-8 is the unscaled residual sum reported for all the coupled equations solved by FLUENTs coupled solvers.
The residuals for the equations that are solved sequentially by the coupled solvers (turbulence and other scalars, as discussed in Section 26.1.2: Coupled Solution Method) are the same as those described above for the segregated solver.
In general, it is dicult to judge convergence by examining the residuals dened by Equation 26.19-8 since no scaling is employed. This is especially true in enclosed ows such as natural convection in a room where there is no inlet ow rate of with which to compare the residual. FLUENT scales the residual using a scaling factor representative of the ow rate of through the domain. This scaled residual is dened as R(W)iteration N R(W)iteration 5 (26.19-9)
The denominator is the largest absolute value of the residual in the rst ve iterations. The scaled residuals described above are useful indicators of solution convergence. Guidelines for their use are given in Section 26.24.1: Judging Convergence. It is sometimes useful to determine how much a residual has decreased during calculations as an additional measure of convergence. For this purpose, FLUENT allows you to normalize the residual (either scaled or unscaled) by dividing by the maximum residual value after M iterations, where M is set by you in the Residual Monitors panel in the Iterations eld under Normalization. Normalization of the residual sum is accomplished by dividing by the maximum residual value after M iterations, where M is set by you in the Residual Monitors panel in the Iterations eld under Normalization: R(W)iteration N R(W) = R(W)iteration M (26.19-10)
Normalization in this manner ensures that the initial residuals for all equations are of O(1) and is sometimes useful in judging overall convergence.
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Using the Solver
By default, M = 5, making the normalized residual equivalent to the scaled residual. You can also specify the normalization factor (the denominator in Equation 26.19-10) manually in the Residual Monitors panel.
Overview of Using the Residual Monitors Panel

All inputs controlling the monitoring of residuals are entered using the Residual Monitors panel (Figure 26.19.1). Solve Monitors Residual... or Plot Residuals...
Figure 26.19.1: The Residual Monitors Panel
In general, you will only need to enable residual plotting and modify the convergence criteria using this panel. Additional controls are available for disabling monitoring of particular residuals, and modifying normalization and plot parameters.
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Printing and Plotting Residuals

By default, residual values for all relevant variables are printed in the text (console) window after each iteration. If you wish to disable this printout, turn o Print under Options. To enable the plotting of residuals after each iteration, turn on Plot under Options. Residuals will be plotted in the graphics window (with the window ID set in the Window eld) during the calculation. If you wish to display a plot of the current residual history, simply click the Plot push button.
Modifying Convergence Criteria

In addition to plotting and printing residual values during the calculation, FLUENT will also check for convergence. If convergence is being monitored, the solution will stop automatically when each variable meets its specied convergence criterion. Convergence checks can be performed only for variables for which you are monitoring residuals (i.e., variables for which the Monitor option is enabled). You can choose whether or not you want to check the convergence for each variable by turning on or o the Check Convergence option for it in the Residual Monitors panel. To modify the convergence criterion for a particular variable, enter a new value in the corresponding Convergence Criterion eld.
Storing Residual History Points

Residual histories for each variable are automatically saved in the data le, regardless of whether they are being monitored. You can control the number of history points to be stored by changing the Iterations entry under Storage. By default, up to 1000 points will be stored. If more than 1000 iterations are performed (i.e., the limit is reached), every other point will be discardedleaving 500 history pointsand the next 500 points will be stored. When the total hits 1000 again, every other point will again be discarded, etc. If you are performing a large number of iterations, you will lose a great deal of residual history information about the beginning of the calculation. In such cases, you should increase the Iterations value to a more appropriate value. Of course, the larger this number is, the more memory you will need, the longer the plotting will take, and the more disk space you will need to store the data le.
Plot Parameters
If you choose to plot the residual values (either interactively during the solution or using the Plot button after calculations are complete), there are several display parameters you can modify.
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Using the Solver
In the Window eld under Plotting, you can specify the ID of the graphics window in which the plot will be drawn. When FLUENT is iterating, the active graphics window is temporarily set to this window to update the residual plot, and then returned to its previous value. Thus, the residual plot can be maintained in a separate window that does not interfere with other graphical postprocessing. You can modify the number of residual history points to be displayed in the plot by changing the Iterations entry under Plotting. If you specify n points, FLUENT will display the last n history points. Since the y axis is scaled by the minimum and maximum values of all points in the plot, you can zoom in on the end of the residual history by setting Iterations to a value smaller than the number of iterations performed. If, for example, the residuals jumped early in the calculation when you turned on turbulence, that peak broadens the overall range in residual values, making the smaller uctuations later on almost indistinguishable. By setting the value of Iterations so that the plot does not include that early peak, your y-axis range is better suited to the values that you are interested in seeing. For more information on residual history points, please refer to the discussion of storing residual history points, described earlier in this section. You can also modify the attributes of the plot axes and the residual curves. Click the Axes... or Curves... button to open the Axes panel or Curves panel. See Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9 for details.
Note that entering a value for Iterations under Plotting does not necessarily mean solved iterations but rather stored (or sampled) data points. Note also that the frequency of the data storage will diminish towards the start of the solution as the number of solved iterations increases. Due to this, whenever the stored iterations is greater than the solved iterations, if you plot n iterations, you actually see a history that goes back further than n solved iterations.
Disabling Monitoring
If your problem requires the solution of many equations (e.g., turbulence quantities and multiple species), a plot that includes all residuals may be dicult to read. In such cases, you may choose to monitor only a subset of the residuals, perhaps those that aect convergence the most. You can indicate whether or not you want to monitor residuals for each variable by enabling or disabling the relevant check box in the Monitor list of the Residual Monitors panel.
Controlling Normalization
By default, scaling of residuals (see Equations 26.19-4 and 26.19-9) is enabled and the default convergence criterion is 106 for energy and P-1 equations and 103 for all other equations. Residual normalization (i.e., dividing the residuals by the largest value during the rst few iterations) is also available but disabled by default.
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Normalization can be used with both scaled and unscaled residuals. Note that if normalization is enabled, the convergence criterion may need to be adjusted appropriately. See Section 26.24.1: Judging Convergence for information about judging convergence based on the dierent types of residual reports. (Both the raw residuals and scaling factors are stored in the data le, so you can switch between scaled and unscaled residuals.) To report unscaled residuals, simply turn o the Scale option under Normalization.
If you switch from scaled to unscaled residuals (or vice versa) and you are normalizing the residuals (as described below), you must click the Renorm button to recompute the normalization factors.
If you wish to normalize the residuals (see Equation 26.19-7 or 26.19-10), turn on the Normalize option under Normalize. The Normalization Factor column will be added to the panel at this time. FLUENT will normalize the printed or plotted residual for each variable by the value indicated as the Normalization Factor for that variable. The default Normalization Factor is the maximum residual value after the rst 5 iterations. To use the maximum residual value after a dierent number of iterations (i.e., specify a dierent value for M in Equation 26.19-7 or 26.19-10), you can modify the Iterations entry under Normalization. In some cases, the maximum residual may occur sometime after the iteration specied in the Iterations eld. If this should occur, you can click the Renorm button to set the normalization factors for all variables to the maximum values in the residual histories. Subsequent plots and printed reports will use the new normalization factor. You can also specify the normalization factor (the denominator in Equation 26.19-7 or 26.19-10) explicitly. To modify the normalization factor for a particular variable, enter a new value in the corresponding Normalization Factor eld in the Residual Monitors panel. If you wish to report unnormalized, unscaled residuals (Equation 26.19-3 or 26.19-8), turn o the Normalize and Scale options under Normalization in the Residual Monitors panel. Note that unnormalized, unscaled residuals are stored in the data le regardless of whether the reported residuals are normalized or scaled.
Postprocessing Residual Values

If you are having solution convergence diculties, it is often useful to plot the residual value elds (e.g., using contour plots) to determine where the high residual values are located. When you use one of the coupled solvers, the residual values for all solution variables are available in the Residuals... category in the postprocessing panels. (If you read case and data les into FLUENT, you will need to perform at least one iteration before the residual values are available for postprocessing.) For the segregated solver, however, only the mass imbalance in each cell is available by default.
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Using the Solver
If you want to plot residual value elds for a segregated solver calculation, you will need to do the following: 1. Read in the case and data les of interest (if they are not already in the current session). 2. Use the expert command in the solve/set/ text menu to enable the saving of residual values. solve set expert Among other questions, FLUENT will ask if you want to save cell residuals for postprocessing. Enter yes or y, and keep the default settings for all of the other questions (by pressing the <RETURN> key). 3. Perform at least one iteration. The solution variables for which residual values are available will appear in the Residuals... category in the postprocessing panels. Note that residual values are not available for the radiative transport equations solved by the discrete ordinates radiation model.
26.19.2
Monitoring Statistics
If you are solving a fully-developed periodic ow, you may want to monitor the pressure gradient or the bulk temperature ratio, as discussed in Section 9.3: Periodic Flows. If you are solving an unsteady ow (especially if you are using the explicit time stepping option), you may want to monitor the time that has elapsed during the calculation. The physical time of the ow eld starts at zero when you initialize the ow. (See Section 26.18: Performing Time-Dependent Calculations for details about modeling unsteady ows.) If you are using the adaptive time stepping method described in Section 26.18.2: Adaptive Time Stepping, you may want to monitor the size of the time step, t. You can use the Statistic Monitors panel (Figure 26.19.2) to print or plot these quantities during the calculation. Solve Monitors Statistic... The procedure for setting up this monitor is listed below: 1. Indicate the type of report you want by turning on the Print option for a printout or the Plot option for a plot. You can enable these options simultaneously. 2. Select the appropriate quantity in the Statistics list. 3. If you are plotting the quantities, you can set any of the plotting options discussed below.
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Figure 26.19.2: The Statistic Monitors Panel
Plot Parameters
If you choose to plot the statistics, there are several display parameters you can modify. In the First Window eld, you can specify the ID of the graphics window in which the plot will be drawn (or in which the rst plot will be drawn, if you are plotting more than one quantity.) When FLUENT is iterating, the active graphics window is temporarily set to this window to update the plot, and then returned to its previous value. Thus, the statistics plot can be maintained in a separate window that does not interfere with other graphical postprocessing. Note that additional quantities that you have selected in the Statistics list will be plotted in windows with incrementally higher IDs. You can also modify the attributes of the plot axes and curves. Click the Axes... or Curves... button to open the Axes panel or Curves panel. See Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9 for details.
26.19.3 Monitoring Forces and Moments

At the end of each solver iteration, the lift, drag, and/or moment coecient can be computed and stored to create a convergence history. You can print and plot this convergence data, and also save it to an external le. The external le is written in the FLUENT XY plot le format described in Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format. Monitoring forces can be useful when you are calculating external aerodynamics, for example, and you are especially interested in the forces. Sometimes the forces converge before the residuals have dropped three orders of magnitude, so you can save time by stopping the calculation earlier than you would if you were monitoring only residuals. (You should be sure to check the mass ow rate and heat transfer rate as well, using the Flux Reports panel described in Section 30.2: Fluxes Through Boundaries, to ensure that the mass and energy are being suitably conserved.)
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Using the Solver
The force and moment coecients use the reference values described in Section 30.8: Reference Values. Specically, the force coecients use the reference area, density, and velocity, and the moment coecients use the reference area, density, velocity and length. Only the processed force coecient data is saved. If you decide to change any of the parameters controlling the force monitoring, such as the reference values, force vector, moment center, moment axis, or wall zones, you may see a discontinuity in the data: the previous data is not updated. Usually, if you have made changes you will want to delete the previous force coecient data before continuing to iterate.
Monitoring Forces in Unsteady Flow Calculations

If you are calculating unsteady ow, the specied force reports will be updated after each time step, rather than after each iteration. All other features of the force monitor and the related setup procedures are unchanged.
Overview of Using the Force Monitors Panel

You can use the Force Monitors panel (Figure 26.19.3) to print, plot, and save the convergence history of the drag, lift, and moment coecients on specied wall zones. Solve Monitors Force...
Figure 26.19.3: The Force Monitors Panel
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In this panel you will indicate the types of reports that you want (printouts, plots, or les), and specify which coecients and wall zones are of interest. Additional information will be entered for each coecient that is monitored. You can also modify the plot parameters.
Remember to click Apply after making the desired modications to the setup for each coecient report.
Specifying the Force Coefcient Report

For each coecient that you choose to monitor, you will set all appropriate parameters in the Force Monitors panel and click Apply. You can monitor one, two, or all three of the coecients (drag, lift, and moment vector component) while iterating. When you select the desired coecient, the current (or default) panel settings are shown for that coecient. Clicking the Apply button will save the current panel settings for the selected coecient. The procedure for specifying a force coecient report is listed below: 1. Indicate the type of report you want (printout, plot, or le), as described below. 2. If you want to monitor the force or moment on individual walls in a single printout, plot, or le, turn on the Per Zone option. See below for details. 3. Choose the coecient of interest by selecting Drag, Lift, or Moment in the Coecient drop-down list. 4. In the Wall Zones list, select the wall zone(s) on which the selected coecient is to be computed. If you are monitoring more than one coecient, the selected wall zones are often the same for each coecient. If you want, however, you can have each coecient computed on a dierent set of zones. 5. Depending on the coecient selected, do one of the following: If you are monitoring the drag or lift coecient, enter the X, Y, and Z components of the Force Vector along which the forces will be computed. The Force Vector heading will appear only if you have selected Drag or Lift in the Coecient drop-down list. By default, drag is computed in the x direction and lift in the y direction. If you are monitoring the moment coecient, enter the Cartesian coordinates (X, Y, and Z) of the Moment Center about which moments will be computed. The Moment Center heading will appear only if you have selected Moment in the Coecient drop-down list. The default moment center is (0,0,0). You will also need to specify which component of the moment vector you wish to monitor. Presently, you can monitor only one component of the moment
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Using the Solver
vector at a time. Select X-Axis, Y-Axis, or Z-Axis in the About drop-down list. (This list is active only if you have selected Moment in the Coecient drop-down list.) For two dimensional ows, only the moment vector about the z-coordinate axis exists. 6. Click Apply and repeat the process for additional coecients, if desired.
Printing, Plotting, and Saving Force Coefcient Histories

There are three methods available for reporting the selected force coecients. To print the coecient value(s) in the text (console) window after each iteration, turn on the Print option under Options in the Force Monitors panel. To plot the coecient in the graphics window indicated in Plot Window, turn on the Plot option. If you want to save the values to a le, turn on the Write option and specify the File Name. You can enable any combination of these options simultaneously.
If you choose not to save the force coecient data in a le, this information will be lost when you exit the current FLUENT session.
If you wish to display a plot of the current force-coecient history, simply click the Plot button. Plot Parameters If you choose to plot the force coecients (either interactively during the solution or using the Plot button after calculations are complete), there are several display parameters you can modify. In the Plot Window eld, you can specify the ID of the graphics window in which the plot for each force coecient will be drawn. When FLUENT is iterating, the active graphics window is temporarily set to this window to update the plot, and then returned to its previous value. Thus, the force-coecient plots can be maintained in separate windows that do not interfere with other graphical postprocessing. You can also modify the attributes of the plot axes and the coecient curves. The same attributes apply to all force-monitor plots. Click the Axes... or Curves... button to open the Axes panel or Curves panel. See Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9 for details.
Monitoring Forces and Moments on Individual Walls

By default, FLUENT will compute and monitor the total force or moment for all of the selected walls combined together. If you have selected multiple walls and you want to monitor the force or moment on each wall separately, you can turn on the Per Zone option in the Force Monitors panel. The specied force vector or moment axis will apply to all selected walls.
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If the monitor results are printed to the console (using the Print option), the force or moment on each wall will be printed in a separate column. If the results are plotted (using the Plot option), a separate curve for each wall will be drawn in the specied plot window. If the results are written to a le (using the Write option), the le will be in a tab-separated column format based on the XY plot le format described in Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format.
Discarding the Force-Monitoring Data

Should you decide that the data gathered by the force monitor are not useful (e.g., if you are restarting the calculation or you changed one of the reference values), you can discard the accumulated data by clicking on the Clear button. The Clear button will delete all monitoring data for the coecient selected in the Coecient drop-down list, including the associated history le (with the name in the File Name eld). When you use the Clear button, you will need to conrm the data discard in a Question dialog box. Only the force-monitoring data is removed using this operation; the solution data is not aected.
26.19.4
Monitoring Surface Integrals
At the end of each solver iteration or time step, the average, mass average, integral, ow rate, or other integral report of a eld variable or function can be monitored on a surface. You can print and plot these convergence data, and also save them in an external le. The external le is written in the FLUENT XY plot le format described in Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format. The report types available are the same as those in the Surface Integrals panel, as described in Section 30.5: Surface Integration. Monitoring surface integrals can be used to check for both iteration convergence and grid independence. For example, you can monitor the average value of a certain variable on a surface. When this value stops changing, you can stop iterating. You can then adapt the grid and reconverge the solution. The solution can be considered grid-independent when the average value on the surface stops changing between adaptions.
Overview of Dening Surface Monitors

You can use the Surface Monitors panel (Figure 26.19.4) to create surface monitors and indicate whether and when each ones history is to be printed, plotted, or saved. The Dene Surface Monitor panel (Figure 26.19.5), opened from the Surface Monitors panel, allows you to dene what each monitor tracks (i.e., the average, integral, ow rate, mass average, or other integral report of a eld variable or function on one or more surfaces).
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Dening Surface Monitors

You will begin the surface monitor denition procedure in the Surface Monitors panel (Figure 26.19.4). Solve Monitors Surface...
Figure 26.19.4: The Surface Monitors Panel
The procedure is as follows: 1. Increase the Surface Monitors value to the number of surface monitors you wish to specify. As this value is increased, additional monitor entries in the panel will become editable. For each monitor, you will perform the following steps. 2. Enter a name for the monitor under the Name heading, and use the Plot, Print, and Write check buttons to indicate the report(s) you want (plot, printout, or le), as described below. 3. Indicate whether you want to update the monitor every Iteration or every Time Step by selecting the appropriate item in the drop-down list below Every. Time Step is a valid choice only if you are calculating unsteady ow. If you specify every Iteration, and the Reporting Interval in the Iterate panel is greater than 1, the monitor will be updated at every reporting interval instead of at each iteration (e.g., for a reporting interval of 2, the monitor will be updated after every other iteration). If you specify every Time Step, the reporting interval will have no eect; the monitor will always be updated after each time step.
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4. Click the Dene... button to open the Dene Surface Monitor panel (Figure 26.19.5). Since this is a modal panel, the solver will not allow you to do anything else until you perform steps 510, below.
Figure 26.19.5: The Dene Surface Monitor Panel
5. In the Dene Surface Monitor panel, choose the integration method for the surface monitor by selecting Integral, Area-Weighted Average, Flow Rate, Mass Flow Rate, Mass-Weighted Average, Sum, Facet Average, Facet Minimum, Facet Maximum, Vertex Average, Vertex Minimum, or Vertex Maximum in the Report Type drop-down list. These methods are described in Section 30.5: Surface Integration. 6. In the Surfaces list, choose the surface or surfaces on which you wish to integrate. 7. Specify the variable or function to be integrated in the Report Of drop-down list. First select the desired category in the upper drop-down list. You can then select one of the related quantities in the lower list. (See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 8. If you are plotting the data or writing them to a le, specify the parameter to be used as the x-axis value (the y-axis value corresponds to the monitored data). In the X Axis drop-down list, select Iteration, Time Step, or Flow Time as the x-axis function against which monitored data will be plotted or written. Time Step and Flow Time are valid choices only if you are calculating unsteady ow. If you choose
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Time Step, the x axis of the plot will indicate the time step, and if you choose Flow Time, it will indicate the elapsed time. 9. If you are plotting the monitored data, specify the ID of the graphics window in which the plot will be drawn in the Plot Window eld. When FLUENT is iterating, the active graphics window is temporarily set to this window to update the plot, and then returned to its previous value. Thus, each surface-monitor plot can be maintained in a separate window that does not interfere with other graphical postprocessing. In order to have multiple monitors display in a single graphics window, you can set the Plot Window ID to correspond to the same ID for dierent monitors. This is useful when you have multiple monitor displays on the screen, you can set all monitors to the same display. For example, for three dierent monitors, you can set the Plot Window ID to 0 for each of the dierent monitors in order to display all three monitors in a single window. The name of the monitors (monitor-1.out, etc.) will be dierent, but only the Plot Window ID will remain the same. So that each monitor has data that is stored in a dierent le, but the data is displayed in the same window.
i i
Note that surface and volume monitors cannot be displayed on the same window. The scale of the quantities should be considered while presenting them in a single window. Since the display has only one scale, it becomes dicult to monitor combinations of extreme scale dierences. For example, if one monitor uses a scale of 10e3 and another monitor uses a scale of 10e3 , then these monitors should not share the same window.
10. If you are writing the monitored data to a le, specify the File Name. 11. Remember to click OK in the Surface Monitors panel after you nish dening all surface monitors.
Printing, Plotting, and Saving Surface Integration Histories

There are three methods available for reporting the selected surface integration. To print the surface integration in the text (console) window after each iteration, turn on the Print option in the Surface Monitors panel. To plot the integrated values in the graphics window indicated in Plot Window (in the Dene Surface Monitor panel), turn on the Plot option in the Surface Monitors panel. If you want to save the values to a le, turn on the Write option in the Surface Monitors panel and specify the File Name in the Dene Surface Monitor panel. You can enable any combination of these options simultaneously.
If you choose not to save the surface integration data in a le, this information will be lost when you exit the current FLUENT session.
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Plot Parameters You can modify the attributes of the plot axes and curves used for each surface-monitor plot. Click the Axes... or Curves... button in the Dene Surface Monitor panel for the appropriate monitor to open the Axes panel or Curves panel for that surface-monitor plot. See Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9 for details.
26.19.5
Monitoring Volume Integrals
At the end of each solver iteration or time step, the volume or the sum, volume integral, volume average, mass integral, or mass average of a eld variable or function can be monitored in one or more cell zones. You can print and plot these convergence data, and also save them in an external le. The external le is written in the FLUENT XY plot le format described in Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format. The report types available are the same as those in the Volume Integrals panel, as described in Section 30.6: Volume Integration. Monitoring volume integrals can be used to check for both iteration convergence and grid independence. For example, you can monitor the average value of a certain variable in a particular cell zone. When this value stops changing, you can stop iterating. You can then adapt the grid and reconverge the solution. The solution can be considered gridindependent when the average value in the cell zone stops changing between adaptions.
Overview of Dening Volume Monitors

You can use the Volume Monitors panel (Figure 26.19.6) to create volume monitors and indicate whether and when each ones history is to be printed, plotted, or saved. The Dene Volume Monitor panel (Figure 26.19.7), opened from the Volume Monitors panel, allows you to dene what each monitor tracks (i.e., the volume or the sum, integral, or average of a eld variable or function in one or more cell zones).
Dening Volume Monitors

You will begin the volume monitor denition procedure in the Volume Monitors panel (Figure 26.19.6). Solve Monitors Volume... The procedure is as follows: 1. Increase the Volume Monitors value to the number of volume monitors you wish to specify. As this value is increased, additional monitor entries in the panel will become editable. For each monitor, you will perform the following steps.
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Figure 26.19.6: The Volume Monitors Panel
2. Enter a name for the monitor under the Name heading, and use the Plot, Print, and Write check buttons to indicate the report(s) you want (plot, printout, or le), as described below. 3. Indicate whether you want to update the monitor every Iteration or every Time Step by selecting the appropriate item in the drop-down list below Every. Time Step is a valid choice only if you are calculating unsteady ow. If you specify every Iteration, and the Reporting Interval in the Iterate panel is greater than 1, the monitor will be updated at every reporting interval instead of at each iteration (e.g., for a reporting interval of 2, the monitor will be updated after every other iteration). If you specify every Time Step, the reporting interval will have no eect; the monitor will always be updated after each time step. 4. Click the Dene... button to open the Dene Volume Monitor panel (Figure 26.19.7). Since this is a modal panel, the solver will not allow you to do anything else until you perform steps 510, below. 5. In the Dene Volume Monitor panel, choose the integration method for the volume monitor by selecting Volume, Sum, Volume Integral, Volume-Average, Mass Integral, or Mass-Average in the Report Type drop-down list. These methods are described in Section 30.6: Volume Integration. 6. In the Cell Zones list, choose the cell zone(s) on which you wish to integrate. 7. Specify the variable or function to be integrated in the Report Of drop-down list. First select the desired category in the upper drop-down list. You can then select
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Figure 26.19.7: The Dene Volume Monitor Panel
one of the related quantities in the lower list. (See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 8. If you are plotting the data or writing them to a le, specify the parameter to be used as the x-axis value (the y-axis value corresponds to the monitored data). In the X Axis drop-down list, select Iteration, Time Step, or Flow Time as the x-axis function against which monitored data will be plotted or written. Time Step and Flow Time are valid choices only if you are calculating unsteady ow. If you choose Time Step, the x axis of the plot will indicate the time step, and if you choose Flow Time, it will indicate the elapsed time. 9. If you are plotting the monitored data, specify the ID of the graphics window in which the plot will be drawn in the Plot Window eld. When FLUENT is iterating, the active graphics window is temporarily set to this window to update the plot, and then returned to its previous value. Thus, each volume-monitor plot can be maintained in a separate window that does not interfere with other graphical postprocessing. 10. If you are writing the monitored data to a le, specify the File Name. 11. Remember to click OK in the Volume Monitors panel after you nish dening all volume monitors.
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Printing, Plotting, and Saving Volume Integration Histories

There are three methods available for reporting the selected volume integration. To print the volume integration in the text (console) window after each iteration, turn on the Print option in the Volume Monitors panel. To plot the integrated values in the graphics window indicated in Plot Window (in the Dene Volume Monitor panel), turn on the Plot option in the Volume Monitors panel. If you want to save the values to a le, turn on the Write option in the Volume Monitors panel and specify the File Name in the Dene Volume Monitor panel. You can enable any combination of these options simultaneously.
If you choose not to save the volume integration data in a le, this information will be lost when you exit the current FLUENT session.
Plot Parameters You can modify the attributes of the plot axes and curves used for each volume-monitor plot. Click the Axes... or Curves... button in the Dene Volume Monitor panel for the appropriate monitor to open the Axes panel or Curves panel for that volume-monitor plot. See Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9 for details.
26.20
Animating the Solution
During the calculation, you can have FLUENT create an animation of contours, vectors, XY plots, monitor plots (residual, statistic, force, surface, or volume), or the mesh (useful primarily for moving mesh simulations). Before you begin the calculation, you will specify and display the variables and types of plots you want to animate, and how often you want plots to be saved. At the specied intervals, FLUENT will display the requested plots, and store each one. When the calculation is complete, you can play back the animation sequence, modify the view (for grid, contour, and vector plots), if desired, and save the animation to a series of hardcopy les or an MPEG le Instructions for dening a solution animation sequence are provided in Section 26.20.1: Dening an Animation Sequence. Sections 26.20.2 and 26.20.3 describe how to play back and save the animation sequences you have created, and Section 26.20.4: Reading an Animation Sequence describes how to read a previously-saved animation sequence into FLUENT.
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26.20 Animating the Solution
26.20.1
Dening an Animation Sequence
You can use the Solution Animation panel (Figure 26.20.1) to create an animation sequence and indicate how often each frame of the sequence should be created. The Animation Sequence panel (Figure 26.20.2), opened from the Solution Animation panel, allows you to dene what each sequence displays (e.g., contours or vectors of a particular variable), where it is displayed, and how each frame is stored. You will begin the animation sequence denition in the Solution Animation panel (Figure 26.20.1). Solve Animate Dene...
Figure 26.20.1: The Solution Animation Panel
The procedure is as follows: 1. Increase the Animation Sequences value to the number of animation sequences you wish to specify. As this value is increased, additional sequence entries in the panel will become editable. For each sequence, you will perform the following steps. 2. Enter a name for the sequence under the Name heading. This name will be used to identify the sequence in the Playback panel, where you can play back the animation sequences that you have dened or read in. This name will also be used as the prex for the le names if you save the sequence frames to disk. 3. Indicate how often you want to create a new frame in the sequence by setting the interval under Every and selecting Iteration or Time Step in the drop-down list below
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When. (Time Step is a valid choice only if you are calculating unsteady ow.) For example, to create a frame every 10 time steps, you would enter 10 under Every and select Time Step under When. 4. Click the Dene... button to open the Animation Sequence panel (Figure 26.20.2).
Figure 26.20.2: The Animation Sequence Panel
5. Dene the Sequence Parameters in the Animation Sequence panel. (a) Specify whether you want FLUENT to save the animation sequence frames in memory or on your computers hard drive. To save the animation sequence in memory, select In Memory under Storage Type. To save the animation sequence to your computers hard drive as a graphics metale, select Metale under Storage Type. To save the animation sequence to your computers hard drive as a pixmap image, select PPM Image under Storage Type.
Note that the FLUENT metales created for each frame in the animation sequence contain information about the entire scene, not just the view that is displayed in the plot. As a result, they can be quite large. By default, the les will be stored to disk. If you do not want to use up disk space to store them, you can instead choose to store them in memory. Storing them in memory will, however, reduce the amount of memory available to the solver. Note that the playback of a sequence stored in memory will be faster than one stored to disk.
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An advantage to saving the animation sequence using the PPM Image option is that you can use the separate pixmap image les for the creation of a single GIF le. GIF le creation can be done quickly with graphics tools provided by other third-party graphics packages such as ImageMagick, i.e., animate or convert. For example, if you save the PPM les starting with the string sequence-2, and you are using the ImageMagick software, you can use the convert command with the -adjoin option to create a single GIF le out of the sequence using the following command. convert -adjoin sequence-2_00*.ppm sequence2.gif
(b) If you selected Metale or PPM Image under Storage Type, specify the directory where you want to store the les in the Storage Directory eld. (This can be a relative or absolute path.) (c) Specify the ID of the graphics window where you want the plot to be displayed in the Window eld, and click Set. (The specied window will open, if it is not already open.) When FLUENT is iterating, the active graphics window is set to this window to update the plot. If you want to maintain each animation in a separate window, specify a dierent Window ID for each. 6. Dene the display properties for the sequence. (a) Under Display Type in the Animation Sequence panel, choose the type of display you want to animate by selecting Grid, Contours, Pathlines, Particle Tracks, Vectors, XY Plot, or Monitor. If you choose Monitor, you can select any of the available types of monitor plots in the Monitor Type drop-down list: Residuals, Force, Statistics, Surface, or Volume. The rst time that you select Contours, Vectors, or XY Plot, or one of the monitor types if you select Monitor, FLUENT will open the corresponding panel (e.g., the Contours panel or the Vectors panel) so you can modify the settings and generate the display. To make subsequent modications to the display settings for any of the display types, click the Properties... button to open the panel for the selected Display Type. (b) Dene the display in the panel for the selected Display Type (e.g., the Contours or Solution XY Plot panel), and click Display or Plot.
You must click Display or Plot to initialize the scene to be repeated during the calculation.
See below for guidelines on dening display properties for grid, contour, and vector displays. 7. Remember to click OK in the Solution Animation panel after you nish dening all animation sequences.
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Note that, when you click OK in the Animation Sequence panel for a sequence, the Active button for that sequence in the Solution Animation panel will be turned on automatically. You can choose to use a subset of the sequences you have dened by turning o the Active button for those that you currently do not wish to use.
Guidelines for Dening an Animation Sequence

If you are dening an animation sequence containing grid, contour, or vector displays, note the following when you are dening the display: If you want to include lighting eects in the animation frames, be sure to dene the lights before you begin the calculation. See Section 29.2.6: Adding Lights for information about adding lights to the display. If you want to maintain a constant range of colors in a contour or vector display, you can specify a range explicitly by turning o the Auto Range option in the Contours or Vectors panel. See Section 29.1.2: Specifying the Range of Magnitudes Displayed or 29.1.3 for details. Scene manipulations that are specied using the Scene Description panel will not be included in the animation sequence frames. View modications such as mirroring across a symmetry plan will be included.
26.20.2
Playing an Animation Sequence
Once you have dened a sequence (as described in Section 26.20.1: Dening an Animation Sequence) and performed a calculation, or read in a previously created animation sequence (as described in Section 26.20.4: Reading an Animation Sequence), you can play back the sequence using the Playback panel (Figure 26.20.3). Solve Animate Playback... Under Animation Sequences in the Playback panel, select the sequence you want to play in the Sequences list. To play the animation once through from start to nish, click the play button under the Playback heading. (The buttons function in a way similar to those on a standard video cassette player. Play is the second button from the righta single triangle pointing to the right.) To play the animation backwards once, click the play reverse button (the second from the lefta single triangle point to the left). As the animation plays, the Frame scale shows the number of the frame that is currently displayed, as well as its relative position in the entire animation. If, instead of playing the complete animation sequence, you want to jump to a particular frame, move the Frame slider bar to the desired frame number, and the frame corresponding to the new frame number will be displayed in the graphics window.
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Figure 26.20.3: The Playback Panel
For smoother animations, turn on the Double Buering option in the Display Options panel (see Section 29.2.7: Modifying the Rendering Options). This will reduce screen icker during graphics updates.
Additional options for playing back animations are described below.
Modifying the View

If you want to replay the animation sequence with a dierent view of the scene, you can use your mouse to modify (e.g., translate, rotate, zoom) it in the graphics window where the animation is displayed. Note that any changes you make to the view for an animation sequence will be lost when you select a new sequence (or reselect the current sequence) in the Sequences list.
Modifying the Playback Speed

Dierent computers will play the animation sequence at dierent speeds, depending on the complexity of the scene and the type of hardware used for graphics. You may want to slow down the playback speed for optimal viewing. Move the Replay Speed slider bar to the left to reduce the playback speed (and to the right to increase it).
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Playing Back an Excerpt

You may sometimes want to play only one portion of a long animation sequence. To do this, you can modify the Start Frame and the End Frame under the Playback heading. For example, if your animation contains 50 frames, but you want to play only frames 20 to 35, you can set Start Frame to 20 and End Frame to 35. When you play the animation, it will start at frame 20 and nish at frame 35.
Fast-Forwarding the Animation

You can fast-forward or fast-reverse the animation by skipping some of the frames during playback. To fast-forward the animation, you will need to set the Increment and click the fast-forward button (the last button on the righttwo triangles pointing to the right). If, for example, your Start Frame is 1, your End Frame is 15, and your Increment is 2, when you click the fast-forward button, the animation will show frames 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15. Clicking on the fast-reverse button (the rst button on the lefttwo triangles pointing to the left) will show frames 15, 13, 11,...1.
Continuous Animation
If you want the playback of the animation to repeat continuously, there are two options available. To continuously play the animation from beginning to end (or from end to beginning, if you use one of the reverse play buttons), select Auto Repeat in the Playback Mode drop-down list. To play the animation back and forth continuously, reversing the playback direction each time, select Auto Reverse in the Playback Mode drop-down list. To turn o the continuous playback, select Play Once in the Playback Mode list. This is the default setting.
Stopping the Animation

To stop the animation during playback, click the stop button (the square in the middle of the playback control buttons). If your animation contains very complicated scenes, there may be a slight delay before the animation stops.
Advancing the Animation Frame by Frame

To advance the animation manually frame by frame, use the third button from the right (a vertical bar with a triangle pointing to the right). Each time you click this button, the next frame will be displayed in the graphics window. To reverse the animation frame by frame, use the third button from the left (a left-pointing triangle with a vertical bar). Frame-by-frame playback allows you to freeze the animation at points that are of particular interest.
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Deleting an Animation Sequence

If you want to remove one of the sequences that you have created or read in, select it in the Sequences list and click the Delete button. If you want to delete all sequences, click the Delete All button.
Note that if you delete a sequence that has not yet been saved to disk (i.e., if you selected In Memory under Storage Type in the Animation Sequence panel), it will be removed from memory permanently. If you want to keep any animation sequences that are stored only in memory, you should be sure to save them (as described in Section 26.20.3: Saving an Animation Sequence) before you delete them from the Sequences list or exit FLUENT.
26.20.3
Saving an Animation Sequence
Once you have created an animation sequence, you can save it in any of the following formats: Solution animation le containing the FLUENT metales Hardcopy les, each containing a frame of the animation sequence MPEG le containing each frame of the animation sequence Note that, if you are saving hardcopy les or an MPEG le, you can modify the view (e.g., translate, rotate, zoom) in the graphics window where the animation is displayed, and save the modied view instead of the original view.
Solution Animation File

If you selected Metale or PPM Image under Storage Type in the Animation Sequence panel, then FLUENT will save the solution animation le for you automatically. It will be saved in the specied Storage Directory, and its name will be the Name you specied for the sequence, with a .cxa extension (e.g., pressure-contour.cxa). In addition to the .cxa le, FLUENT will also save a metale with a .hmf extension for each frame (e.g., pressure-contour 0002.hmf). The .cxa le contains a list of the associated .hmf les, and tells FLUENT the order in which to display them. If you selected In Memory under Storage Type, then the solution animation le (.cxa) and the associated metales (.hmf) will be lost when you exit from FLUENT, unless you save them as described below. You can save the animation sequence to a le that can be read back into FLUENT (see Section 26.20.4: Reading an Animation Sequence) when you want to replay the animation. As noted in Section 26.20.4: Reading an Animation Sequence, the solution animation le
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can be used for playback in FLUENT independent of the case and data les that were used to generate it. To save a solution animation le (and the associated metales), select Animation Frames in the Write/Record Format drop-down list in the Playback panel, and click the Write button. FLUENT will save a .cxa le, as well as a .hmf le for each frame of the animation sequence. The lename for the .cxa le will be the specied sequence Name (e.g., pressure-contour.cxa), and the lenames for the metales will consist of the specied sequence Name followed by a frame number (e.g., pressure-contour 0002.hmf). All of the les (.cxa and .hmf) will be saved in the current working directory.
Hardcopy File
You can also generate a hardcopy le for each frame in the animation sequence. This feature allows you to save your sequence frames to hardcopy les used by an external animation program such as ImageMagick. As noted above, you can modify the view in the graphics window before you save the hardcopy les. To save the animation as a series of hardcopy les, follow these steps: 1. Select Hardcopy Frames in the Write/Record Format drop-down list in the Playback panel. 2. If necessary, click the Hardcopy Options... button to open the Graphics Hardcopy panel and set the appropriate parameters for saving the hardcopy les. (If you are saving hardcopy les for use with ImageMagick, for example, you may want to select the window dump format. See Section 4.12.1: Window Dumps (UNIX Systems Only) for details.) Click Apply in the Graphics Hardcopy panel to save your modied settings.
Do not click the Save... button in the Graphics Hardcopy panel. You will save the hardcopy les from the Playback panel in the next step.
3. In the Playback panel, click the Write button. FLUENT will replay the animation, saving each frame to a separate le. The lenames will consist of the specied sequence Name followed by an animation sequence and a frame number (e.g., pressure-contour 1 0002.ps), and they will all be saved in the current working directory.
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MPEG File
It is also possible to save all of the frames of the animation sequence in an MPEG le, which can be viewed using an MPEG decoder such as mpeg play. Saving the entire animation to an MPEG le will require less disk space than storing individual window dump les (using the hardcopy method), but the MPEG le will yield lower-quality images. As noted above, you can modify the view in the graphics window before you save the MPEG le. To save the animation to an MPEG le, follow these steps: 1. Select MPEG in the Write/Record Format drop-down list in the Playback panel. 2. Click the Write button. FLUENT will replay the animation and save each frame to a separate scratch le, and then it will combine all the les into a single MPEG le. The name of the MPEG le will be the specied sequence Name with a .mpg extension (e.g., pressure-contour.mpg), and it will be saved in the current working directory.
26.20.4
Reading an Animation Sequence
If you have saved an animation sequence to a solution animation le (as described in Section 26.20.3: Saving an Animation Sequence), you can read that le back in at a later time (or in a dierent session) and play the animation. Note that you can read a solution animation le into any FLUENT session; you do not need to read in the corresponding case and data les. In fact, you do not need to read in any case and data les at all before you read a solution animation le into FLUENT. To read a solution animation le, click the Read... button in the Playback panel. In the resulting Select File dialog box, specify the name of the le to be read.
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26.21 Importing and Exporting Particle History Data

FLUENT allows you to export particle history data as your solution progresses, and allows you to import particle history data for display purposes.
26.21.1 Importing Particle History Data

To import particle history data in order to display the data in the graphics window, select the Import Particle Data... option under the Solve/Particle History menu. Solve Particle History Import Particle Data... This displays the Import Particle Data panel (Figure 26.21.1).
Figure 26.21.1: The Import Particle Data Panel
1. Click Read... to display a le selection dialog where you can enter a le name and a directory that contains the imported data. 2. Choose from the available import options by selecting Auto Range and/or Draw Grid under Options. If you prefer to restrict the range of the scalar eld, turn o the Auto Range option (under Options) and set the Min and Max values manually beneath the Color by list. 3. Choose to color the particle pathlines by any of the scalar elds in the Color by list. 4. Select a pathline style under Style. To set pathline style attributes, click the Style Attributes... button. For more information about the pathline style types, see Section 29.1.4: Controlling the Pathline Style.
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26.21 Importing and Exporting Particle History Data
5. The value of Steps sets the maximum number of steps a particle can advance. A particle will stop when it has traveled this number of steps or when it leaves the domain. 6. If your pathline plot is dicult to understand because there are too many paths displayed, you can thin out the pathlines by changing the Skip value. 7. Click the Display button to draw the pathlines, or click the Pulse button to animate the particle positions. The Pulse button will become the Stop ! button during the animation, and you must click Stop ! to stop the pulsing. 8. Click Close to close the panel.
26.21.2
Exporting Particle History Data
Once you have acquired particle history data, you can export the data by selecting the Export Particle Data... option under the Solve/Particle History menu. Solve Particle History Export Particle Data... This displays the Export Particle Data panel (Figure 26.21.2).
Figure 26.21.2: The Export Particle Data Panel
1. Choose the type of le you want to export by selecting either Standard (FIELDVIEW format) or Geometry (.ibl format) under Type. 2. Select an appropriate variable under Export Variables. 3. Choose how you want to order your data by selecting Particle ID (the default), Time, or Surface ID.
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4. Select a predened injection under Injections. 5. Click Write... to display a le selection dialog where you can enter a le name and a directory for the exported data. 6. Click Close to close the panel.
26.22
Executing Commands During the Calculation
As described in Sections 26.19 and 26.20, respectively, you can report and monitor various quantities (e.g., residuals, force coecients) and create animations of the solution while the solver is performing calculations. FLUENT also includes a feature that allows you to dene your own command(s) to be executed during the calculation at specied intervals. For example, you can ask FLUENT to export data to a third-party package such as FIELDVIEW after every time step. You will specify a series of text commands or use the GUI to dene the steps to be performed.
If you want to save case or data les at intervals during the calculation, you must use the Autosave Case/Data panel (opened with the File/Write/Autosave... menu item). See Section 4.3.4: Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files for details.
26.22.1
Specifying the Commands to be Executed
You will indicate the command(s) that you want the solver to execute at specied intervals during the calculation using the Execute Commands panel (Figure 26.22.1). Solve Execute Commands...
If you want to save case or data les at intervals during the calculation, you must use the Autosave Case/Data panel. See Section 4.3.4: Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files for details.
The procedure is as follows: 1. Increase the Dened Commands value to the number of commands you wish to specify. As this value is increased, additional command entries will become editable. For each command, you will perform the following steps. 2. Turn on the On check button next to the command if you want it to be executed during the calculation. You may dene multiple commands and choose to use only a subset of them by turning o the check button for those that you do not wish to use. 3. Enter a name for the command under the Name heading.
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26.22 Executing Commands During the Calculation
Figure 26.22.1: The Execute Commands Panel
4. Indicate how often you want the command to be executed by setting the interval under Every and selecting Iteration or Time Step in the drop-down list below When. (Time Step is a valid choice only if you are calculating unsteady ow.) For example, to execute the command every 10 iterations, you would enter 10 under Every and select Iteration under When.
If you specify an interval in iterations, be sure to keep the Reporting Interval in the Iterate panel at its default value of 1.
5. Dene the command by entering a series of text commands in the Command eld, or by entering the name of a command macro you have dened (or will dene) as described in Section 26.22.2: Dening Macros.
If the command to be executed involves saving a le, see Section 26.22.3: Saving Files During the Calculation for important information.
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26.22.2
Dening Macros
Macros that you dene for automatic execution during the calculation can also be used interactively by you during the problem setup or postprocessing. For example, if you dene a macro that performs a certain type of adaption after each iteration, you can also use the macro to perform this adaption interactively. Denition of a macro is accomplished as follows: 1. In the Execute Commands panel, click the Dene Macro... button to open the Dene Macro panel (Figure 26.22.2). Since this is a modal panel, the solver will not allow you to do anything else until you perform step 2, below.
Figure 26.22.2: The Dene Macro Panel
2. In the Dene Macro panel, specify a Name for the macro (e.g., adapt1) and click OK. (The Dene Macro... button in the Execute Commands panel will become the End Macro button.) 3. Perform the steps that you want the macro to perform. For example, if you want the macro to perform gradient adaption, open the Gradient Adaption panel, specify the appropriate adaption function and parameters, and click Adapt to perform the adaption.
If the command to be executed involves saving a le, see Section 26.22.3: Saving Files During the Calculation for important information.
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26.23 Managing Acoustic Signal Data
4. When you have completed the steps you wish the macro to perform, click the End Macro button in the Execute Commands panel. As noted above, once you have dened a macro for execution during the calculation, you can use it at any time. If you dened the macro called adapt1 to adapt based on pressure gradient, you can simply type adapt1 in the console (text) window to perform this adaption. This macro is independent of any text menus, so you need not move to a dierent text menu to use it. Macros can be saved to and read from les. To save all macros that are currently dened, use the file/write-macros text command. To read all the macros in a macro le, use the file/read-macros text command.
A macro, like a journal le, is a simple record/playback function. It will therefore know nothing about the state in which it was recorded or the state in which it is being played back. You must be careful not to change directories while dening a macro. Also, you must be careful that all surfaces, variables, etc. that are used by the macro have been properly dened when you (or FLUENT) invoke the macro.
26.22.3
Saving Files During the Calculation
If the command to be executed during the calculation involves saving a le, you must include a special character in the le name when you enter it in the Select File dialog box so that the solver will know to assign a new name to each le it saves. You can number the les by iteration number or by time step. (These special characters for numbering les are also useful when you are saving window dumps for use in animations, as described in Section 4.12.1: Window Dumps (UNIX Systems Only).) See Section 4.1.7: Automatic Numbering of Files for details about these special characters for lenames.
If you want to save case or data les at intervals during the calculation, you must use the Autosave Case/Data panel (opened with the File/Write/Autosave... menu item). See Section 4.3.4: Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files for details.
26.23
Managing Acoustic Signal Data
For simulations that include acoustic modeling, (e.g., the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings model), the Solve menu includes the Acoustic Signals... option that allows you to compute and save sound pressure signals. Solve Acoustic Signals... Details of this option and FLUENTs acoustic models can be found in Chapter 21: Predicting Aerodynamically Generated Noise.
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26.24 Convergence and Stability

Convergence can be hindered by a number of factors. Large numbers of computational cells, overly conservative under-relaxation factors, and complex ow physics are often the main causes. Sometimes it is dicult to know whether you have a converged solution. In the following sections, some of the numerical controls and modeling techniques that can be exercised to enhance convergence and maintain stability are examined. Section 26.24.1: Judging Convergence Section 26.24.2: Step-by-Step Solution Processes Section 26.24.3: Modifying Algebraic Multigrid Parameters Section 26.24.4: Setting FAS Multigrid Parameters Section 26.24.5: Modifying Multi-Stage Time-Stepping Parameters You should also refer to Sections 26.8 and 26.9 for information about how the choice of discretization scheme or (for the segregated solver) pressure-velocity coupling scheme can aect convergence. Manipulation of under-relaxation parameters and multigrid settings to enhance convergence is discussed in Sections 26.10 and 26.24.3.
26.24.1
Judging Convergence
There are no universal metrics for judging convergence. Residual denitions 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 such as drag or heat transfer coecient. For most problems, the default convergence criterion in FLUENT is sucient. This criterion requires that the scaled residuals dened by Equation 26.19-4 or 26.19-9 decrease to 103 for all equations except the energy and P-1 equations, for which the criterion is 106 . Sometimes, however, this criterion may not be appropriate. Typical situations are listed below. If you make a good initial guess of the ow eld, the initial continuity residual may be very small leading to a large scaled residual for the continuity equation. In such a situation it is useful to examine the unscaled residual and compare it with an appropriate scale, such as the mass ow rate at the inlet.
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For some equations, such as for turbulence quantities, a poor initial guess may result in high scale factors. In such cases, scaled residuals will start low, increase as non-linear sources build up, and eventually decrease. It is therefore good practice to judge convergence not just from the value of the residual itself, but from its behavior. You should ensure that the residual continues to decrease (or remain low) for several iterations (say 50 or more) before concluding that the solution has converged. Another popular approach to judging convergence is to require that the unscaled residuals drop by three orders of magnitude. FLUENT provides residual normalization for this purpose, as discussed in Section 26.19.1: Denition of Residuals for the Segregated Solver, where residuals are dened for both the segregated solver and the coupled solver. In this approach the convergence criterion is that the normalized unscaled residuals should drop to 103 . However, this requirement may not be appropriate in many cases: If you have provided a very good initial guess, the residuals may not drop three orders of magnitude. In a nearly-isothermal ow, for example, energy residuals may not drop three orders if the initial guess of temperature is very close to the nal solution. If the governing equation contains non-linear source terms which are zero at the beginning of the calculation and build up slowly during computation, the residuals may not drop three orders of magnitude. In the case of natural convection in an enclosure, for example, initial momentum residuals may be very close to zero because the initial uniform temperature guess does not generate buoyancy. In such a case, the initial nearly-zero residual is not a good scale for the residual. If the variable of interest is nearly zero everywhere, the residuals may not drop three orders of magnitude. In fully-developed ow in a pipe, for example, the cross-sectional velocities are zero. If these velocities have been initialized to zero, initial (and nal) residuals are both close to zero, and a three-order drop cannot be expected. In such cases, it is wise to monitor integrated quantities, such as drag or overall heat transfer coecient, before concluding that the solution has converged. It may also be useful to examine the un-normalized unscaled residual, and determine if the residual is small compared to some appropriate scale. Alternatively, the scaled residual dened by Equation 26.19-4 or 26.19-9 (the default) may be considered. Conversely, it is possible that if the initial guess is very bad, the initial residuals are so large that a three-order drop in residual does not guarantee convergence. This is specially true for k and equations where good initial guesses are dicult. Here again it is useful to examine overall integrated quantities that you are particularly interested in. If the solution is unconverged, you may drop the convergence tolerance, as described in Section 26.19.1: Modifying Convergence Criteria.
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26.24.2
Step-by-Step Solution Processes
One important technique for speeding convergence for complex problems is to tackle the problem one step at a time. When modeling a problem with heat transfer, you can begin with the calculation of the isothermal ow. To solve turbulent ow, you might start with the calculation of laminar ow. When modeling a reacting ow, you can begin by computing a partially converged solution to the non-reacting ow, possibly including the species mixing. When modeling a discrete phase, such as fuel evaporating from droplets, it is a good idea to solve the gas-phase ow eld rst. Such solutions generally serve as a good starting point for the calculation of the more complex problems. These step-by-step techniques involve using the Solution Controls panel to turn equations on and o.
Selecting a Subset of the Solution Equations

FLUENT automatically solves each equation that is turned on using the Models family of panels. If you specify in the Viscous Model panel that the ow is turbulent, equations for conservation of turbulence quantities are turned on. If you specify in the Energy panel that FLUENT should enable energy, the energy equation is activated. Convergence can be sped up by focusing the computational eort on the equations of primary importance. The Equations list in the Solution Controls panel allows you to turn individual equations on or o temporarily. Solve Controls Solution... A typical example is the computation of a ow with heat transfer. Initially, you will dene the full problem scope, including the thermal boundary conditions and temperaturedependent ow properties. Following the problem setup, you will use the Solution Controls panel to temporarily turn o the energy equation. You can then compute an isothermal ow eld, remembering to set a reasonable initial value for the temperature of the uid.
This is possible only for the segregated solver; the coupled solvers solve the energy equation together with the ow equations in a coupled manner, so you cannot turn o the energy equation as described above.
When the isothermal ow is reasonably well converged, you can turn the energy equation back on. You can actually turn o the momentum and continuity equations while the initial energy eld is being computed. When the energy eld begins to converge well, you can turn the momentum and continuity equations back on so that the ow pattern can adjust to the new temperature eld. The temperature will couple back into the ow solution by its impact on uid properties such as density and viscosity. The temperature eld will have no eect on the ow eld if the uid properties (e.g., density, viscosity) do not vary with temperature. In such cases, you can compute the energy eld without turning the ow equations back on again.
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If you have specied temperature-dependent ow properties, you should be sure that a realistic value has been set for temperature throughout the domain before disabling calculation of the energy equation. If an unrealistic temperature value is used, the ow properties dependent on temperature will also be unrealistic, and the ow eld will be adversely aected. Instructions for initializing the temperature eld or patching a temperature eld onto an existing solution are provided in Section 26.15: Initializing the Solution.
Turning Reactions On and Off

To solve a species mixing problem prior to solving a reacting ow, you should set up the problem including all of the reaction information, and save the complete case le. To turn o the reaction so that only the species mixing problem can be solved, you can use the Species Model panel to turn o the Volumetric option under Reactions. Dene Models Species Transport & Reaction... Once the species mixing problem has partially converged, you can return to the Species Model panel and turn the Volumetric Reactions option on again. You can then resume the calculation starting from the partially converged data. For combustion problems you may want to patch a hot temperature in the vicinity of the anticipated reactions before you restart the calculation. See Section 26.15.2: Patching Values in Selected Cells for information about patching an initial value for a ow variable.
26.24.3
Modifying Algebraic Multigrid Parameters
The default algebraic multigrid settings are appropriate for nearly all problems, but in rare cases you may need to make minor adjustments. This section describes how to analyze the multigrid solvers performance to determine which parameters should be modied. It also provides examples of suggested settings for particular types of problems and explains how to set the multigrid parameters.
Analyzing the Algebraic Multigrid Solver

As mentioned earlier, in most cases the multigrid solver will not require any special attention from you. If, however, you have convergence diculties or you want to minimize the overall solution time by using more aggressive settings, you can monitor the multigrid solver and modify the parameters to improve its performance. (The instructions below assume that you have already begun calculations, since there is no need to monitor the solver if you do not t into one of the two categories above.) To determine whether your convergence diculties can be alleviated by modifying the multigrid settings, you will check if the requested residual reduction is obtained on each
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grid level. To minimize solution time, you will check to see if switching to a more powerful cycle will result in overall reduction of work by the solver.
Monitoring the Algebraic Multigrid Solver

The steps for monitoring the solver are as follows: 1. Set multigrid Verbosity to 1 or 2 in the Multigrid Controls panel. Solve Controls Multigrid... 2. Request a single iteration using the Iterate panel. Solve Iterate... If you set the verbosity to 2, the information printed in the console (text) window for each equation will include the following: equation name equation tolerance (computed by the solver using a normalization of the source vector) residual value after each xed multigrid cycle or ne relaxation for the ex cycle number of equations in each multigrid level, with the zeroth level being the original (nest-level) system of equations Note that the residual printed at cycle or relaxation 0 is the initial residual before any multigrid cycles are performed. When verbosity is set to 1, only the equation name, tolerance, and residuals are printed. A portion of a sample printout is shown below:
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pressure correction equation: tol. 1.2668e-05 0 2.5336e+00 1 4.9778e-01 2 2.5863e-01 3 1.9387e-01 multigrid levels: 0 918 1 426 2 205 3 97 4 45 5 21 6 10 7 4
Interpreting the Algebraic Multigrid Report By default, the ex cycle is used for all equations except pressure correction, which uses a V cycle. Typically, for a ex cycle only a few (510) relaxations will be performed at the nest level and no coarse levels will be visited. In some cases one or two coarse levels may be visited. If the maximum number of ne level relaxations is not sucient, you may want to increase the maximum number (as described in Section 26.24.3: Changing the Maximum Number of Relaxations) or switch to a V cycle (as described in Section 26.24.3: Specifying the Multigrid Cycle Type). For pressure correction, a V cycle is used by default. If the maximum number of cycles (30 by default) is not sucient, you can switch to a W cycle (using the Multigrid Controls panel, as described in Section 26.24.3: Specifying the Multigrid Cycle Type). Note that for the parallel solver, eciency may deteriorate with a W cycle. If you are using the parallel solver, you can try increasing the maximum number of cycles by increasing the value of Max Cycles in the Multigrid Controls panel under Fixed Cycle Parameters. Solve Controls Multigrid...
Changing the Maximum Number of Relaxations

To change the maximum number of relaxations, increase or decrease the value of Max Fine Relaxations or Max Coarse Relaxations in the Multigrid Controls panel (Figure 26.24.1) under Flexible Cycle Parameters. Solve Controls Multigrid...
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Figure 26.24.1: The Multigrid Controls Panel
Specifying the Multigrid Cycle Type

By default, the V cycle is used for the pressure equation and the ex cycle is used for all other equations. (See Section 26.5.2: Multigrid Cycles for a description of these cycles.) To change the cycle type for an equation, you will use the top portion of the Multigrid Controls panel (Figure 26.24.1). For each equation, you can choose Flexible, V-Cycle, W-Cycle, or F-Cycle in the adjacent drop-down list.
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Setting the Termination and Residual Reduction Parameters

When you use the ex cycle for an equation, you can control the multigrid performance by modifying the Termination and/or Restriction criteria for that equation at the top of the Multigrid Controls panel (Figure 26.24.1). Solve Controls Multigrid... The Restriction criterion is the residual reduction tolerance, in Equation 26.5-14. This parameter dictates when a coarser grid level must be visited (due to insucient improvement in the solution on the current level). With a larger value of , coarse levels will be visited less often (and vice versa). The Termination criterion, in Equation 26.5-15, governs when the solver should return to a ner grid level (i.e., when the residuals have improved suciently on the current level). For the V, W, or F cycle, the Termination criterion determines whether or not another cycle should be performed on the nest (original) level. If the current residual on the nest level does not satisfy Equation 26.5-15, and the maximum number of cycles has not been performed, FLUENT will perform another multigrid cycle. (The Restriction parameter is not used by the V, W, and F cycles.)
Setting the AMG Method and the Stabilization Parameters

You can use the Multigrid Controls panel (Figure 26.24.1) to choose between two AMG solvers: aggregative or selective. The aggregative AMG (AAMG) is the default solver that was used in previous versions of FLUENT. The selective AMG (SAMG) solver is available only for scalar equations, and is not available in parallel FLUENT. These two solvers dier in the way the grids are coarsened and in their interpolation method. The AAMG solver [369] builds coarse levels by grouping ne level cells to make coarse level cells, and uses piecewise constant interpolation. The SAMG solver [334] builds coarse levels by selecting some of the ne level cells for solution on the coarse level, and tries to approximate the use of linear interpolation. Due to its use of more accurate interpolation, SAMG has a better convergence rate than AAMG but has a more expensive setup phase. For this reason, AAMG is usually faster if you are only converging one order of magnitude, while SAMG is faster if using a tight multigrid convergence tolerance. SAMG is a good choice for multiphase granular ow problems where a tight convergence tolerance on the pressure equation can be used to avoid volume imbalance errors in the volume fraction equations. SAMG has advantages in solving problems with strongly varying (anisotropic) diusive coecients, which occurs in problems with porous media, conduction with anisotropic thermal conductivities, and multiphase problems. In some cases, using SAMG allows up to a 20% reduction in the number of external iterations for unsteady water-air turbulent ow in bubble columns, and allows increasing the VOF under-relaxation factor in phase separators from 0.2 (when used with AAMG) to 1.
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The Multigrid Controls panel (Figure 26.24.1) also allows you to choose a stabilization method. If desired, you can choose the bi-conjugate gradient stabilized method [16] (BCGSTAB) option in order to improve the convergence of the linear solver. BCGSTAB can be preconditioned by any of the AMG solvers and provides stabilization for them. FLUENT usually builds diagonally dominant matrices for the linear solver. However, this is not always possible. A linear system with highly dominant o-diagonal coecients may occur during discretization of complex physical models such as multiphase cavitation. Using the BCGSTAB option in such cases can be helpful. In addition, the AMG convergence in parallel can be improved using the BCGSTAB option with AMG.
Additional Algebraic Multigrid Parameters

There are several additional parameters that control the algebraic multigrid solver, but there will usually be no need to modify them. These additional parameters are all contained in the Multigrid Controls panel (Figure 26.24.1). Solve Controls Multigrid... Coarsening Parameters For all multigrid cycle types, you can control the maximum number of coarse levels (Max Coarse Levels under Coarsening Parameters) that will be built by the multigrid solver. Sets of coarser simultaneous equations are built until the maximum number of levels has been created, or the coarsest level has only 3 equations. Each level has about half as many unknowns as the previous level, so coarsening until there are only a few cells left will require about as much total coarse-level coecient storage as was required on the ne mesh. Reducing the maximum coarse levels will reduce the memory requirements, but may require more iterations to achieve a converged solution. Setting Max Coarse Levels to 0 turns o the algebraic multigrid solver. Another coarsening parameter you can control is the increase in coarseness on successive levels. The Coarsen By parameter species the number of ne grid cells that will be grouped together to create a coarse grid cell. The algorithm groups each cell with its closest neighbor, then groups the cell and its closest neighbor with the neighbors closest neighbor, continuing until the desired coarsening is achieved. Typical values are in the range from 2 to 10, with the default value of 2 giving the best performance, but also the greatest memory use. You should not adjust this parameter unless you need to reduce the memory required to run a problem.
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Fixed Cycle Parameters For the xed (V, W, and F) multigrid cycles, you can control the number of pre- and post-relaxations (1 and 3 in Section 26.5.2: Multigrid Cycles). Pre Sweeps sets the number of relaxations to perform before moving to a coarser level. Post Sweeps sets the number to be performed after coarser level corrections have been applied. Normally one post-relaxation is performed and no pre-relaxations are done (i.e., 3 = 1 and 1 = 0), but in rare cases, you may need to increase the value of 1 to 1 or 2.
If you are using AMG with V-cycle to solve an energy equation with a solid conduction model presented with anisotropic or very high conductivity coecient, there is a possibility of divergence with a default post-relaxation sweep of 1. In such cases you should increase the post-relaxation sweep (to say 2) in the AMG section for better convergence.
Returning to the Default Multigrid Parameters

If you change the multigrid parameters, but you then want to return to FLUENTs default settings, you can click the Default button in the Multigrid Controls panel. FLUENT will change all settings to the defaults, and the Default button will become the Reset button. To get your settings back again, you can click the Reset button.
26.24.4
Setting FAS Multigrid Parameters
For most calculations, you will not need to modify any FAS multigrid parameters once you have set the number of coarse grid levels. If, however, you encounter convergence diculties, you may consider the following suggested procedures.
Recall that FAS multigrid is used only by the coupled explicit solver.
Combating Convergence Trouble

Some problems may approach convergence steadily at rst, but then the residuals will level o and the solution will get stuck. In some cases (e.g., long thin ducts), this convergence trouble may be due to multigrids slow propagation of pressure information through the domain. In such cases, you should turn o multigrid by setting Multigrid Levels to 0 in the Solution Controls panel (under Solver Parameters). Solve Controls Solution...
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Industrial-Strength FAS Multigrid

In some cases, you may nd that your problem is converging, but at an extremely slow rate. Such problems can often benet from a more aggressive form of multigrid, which will speed up the propagation of the solution corrections. For such problems, you can try the industrial-strength multigrid settings.
These settings are very aggressive and assume that the solution information passed through the multigrid levels is somewhat accurate. For this reason, you should only attempt the procedure described here after you have performed enough iterations that the solution is o to a good start. Using industrial-strength multigrid too early in the calculation processwhen the solution is far from correctwill not help convergence and may cause the calculation to become unstable, as very incorrect values are propagated quickly to the original grid. Note also that while these multigrid settings will usually reduce the total number of iterations required to reach convergence, they will greatly increase the computation time for each multigrid cycle. Thus the solver will be performing fewer but longer iterations.
The strategy employed is as follows: Increase the number of iterations performed on each grid level before proceeding to a coarser level Increase the number of iterations performed on each grid level after returning from a coarser level Allow full correction transfer from one level to the next ner level, instead of transferring reduced values of the corrections Do not smooth the interpolated corrections when they are transferred from a coarser grid to a ner grid You can set all of the parameters for this strategy under FAS Multigrid Controls in the Multigrid Controls panel (Figure 26.24.2) and then continue the calculation. Solve Controls Multigrid... Increasing the number of iterations performed on each grid level before proceeding to a coarser level (the value of 1 described in Section 26.5.2: Multigrid Cycles) will improve the solution passed from each ner grid level to the next coarser grid level. Try increasing the value of Pre Sweeps (under FAS Multigrid Controls, not under Algebraic Multigrid Controls) to 10. Increasing the number of iterations performed on each level after returning from a coarser level will improve the corrections passed from each coarser grid level to the next ner grid
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Figure 26.24.2: The Multigrid Controls Panel
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level. Errors introduced on the coarser grid levels can therefore be reduced before they are passed further up the grid hierarchy to the original grid. Try increasing the value of Post Sweeps (under FAS Multigrid Controls, not under Algebraic Multigrid Controls) to 10. By default, the full values of the multigrid corrections are not transferred from a coarser grid to a ner grid; only 60% of the value is transferred. This prevents large errors from transferring quickly up to the original grid and causing the calculation to become unstable. It also prevents a good solution from propagating quickly to the original grid, however. By increasing the Correction Reduction to 1, you can transfer the full values from coarser to ner grid levels, speeding the propagation of the solution and, usually, the convergence as well. When the corrections on a coarse grid are passed back to the next ner grid level, the values are, by default, interpolated and then smoothed. Disabling the smoothing so that the actual value in a coarse grid cell is assigned to the ne grid cells that comprise it can also aid convergence. To turn o smoothing, set Correction Smoothing to 0. Large discontinuities between cells will be smoothed out implicitly as a result of the additional Post Sweeps performed.
Additional Multigrid Parameters

There are several additional parameters that control the multigrid solver, but there will usually be no need to modify them. These additional parameters are all contained in the Multigrid Controls panel. Solve Controls Multigrid... Specifying the Multigrid Cycle Type By default, the V cycle is used for the ow equations. (See Section 26.5.2: Multigrid Cycles for a description of the available cycles.) To change to a W cycle, you can select it in the drop-down list next to Flow at the top of the Multigrid Controls panel (Figure 26.24.2). Reducing the Time Step for Coarse Grid Levels The Courant Number Reduction (at the bottom of the Multigrid Controls panel) sets the factor by which to reduce the Courant number for coarse grid levels (i.e., every level except the nest). Some reduction of time step (such as the default 0.9) is typically required because the stability limit cannot be determined as precisely on the irregularly shaped coarser grid cells.
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26.24.5
Modifying Multi-Stage Time-Stepping Parameters
The most common parameter you will change to control the multi-stage time-stepping scheme is the Courant number. Instructions for modifying the Courant number are presented in Section 26.12: Changing the Courant Number, and procedures for modifying other less commonly changed parameters are provided in this section.
Using Residual Smoothing to Increase the Courant Number

Implicit residual smoothing (or averaging) is a technique that can be used to reduce the time step restriction of the solver, thereby allowing the Courant number to be increased. The implicit smoothing is implemented with an iterative Jacobi method, as described in Section 26.4.3: Implicit Residual Smoothing. You can control residual smoothing in the Solution Controls panel. Solve Controls Solution... By default, the number of Iterations for Residual Smoothing is set to zero, indicating that residual smoothing is disabled. If you increase the Iterations counter to 1 or more, you can enter the Smoothing Factor. A smoothing factor of 0.5 with 2 passes of the Jacobi smoother is usually adequate to allow the Courant number to be doubled.
Changing the Multi-Stage Scheme

It is possible to make several changes to the multi-stage time-stepping scheme itself. You can change the number of stages and set a new multi-stage coecient for each stage. You can also control whether or not dissipation and viscous stresses are updated at each stage. These changes are made in the Multi-Stage Parameters panel (Figure 26.24.3). Solve Controls Multi-Stage...
You should not attempt to make changes to FLUENTs multi-stage scheme unless you are very familiar with multi-stage schemes and are interested in trying a dierent scheme found in the literature.
Changing the Coefcients and Number of Stages By default, the FLUENT multi-stage scheme uses 3 stages with coecients of 0.2075, 0.5915, and 1.0 for the rst through third stages, respectively. You can decrease or increase the number of stages using the arrow buttons for Number of Stages in the MultiStage Parameters panel. (If you want to increase the number of stages beyond ve, you will need to use the text-interface command solve/set/multi-stage.) For each stage, you can modify the Coecient. Coecients must be greater than 0 and less than 1. The nal stage should always have a coecient of 1.
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Using the Solver
Figure 26.24.3: The Multi-Stage Parameters Panel
Controlling Updates to Dissipation and Viscous Stresses For each stage, you can indicate whether or not articial dissipation and viscous stresses are evaluated. If a Dissipation box is selected for a particular stage, articial dissipation will be updated on that stage. If not selected, articial dissipation will remain frozen at the value of the previous stage. If a Viscous box is selected for a particular stage, viscous stresses will be updated on that stage. If not selected, viscous stresses will remain frozen at the value of the previous stage. Viscous stresses should always be computed on the rst stage, and successive evaluations will increase the robustness of the solution process, but will also increase the expense (i.e., increase the CPU time per iteration). For steady problems, the nal solution is independent of the stages on which viscous stresses are updated. Resetting the Multi-Stage Parameters If you change the multi-stage parameters, but you then want to return to the default scheme set by FLUENT, you can click the Default button in the Multi-Stage Parameters panel. FLUENT will change the values to the defaults and the Default button will become the Reset button. To get your values back again, you can click the Reset button.
26-142
Chapter 27.
Grid Adaption
The solution-adaptive mesh renement feature of FLUENT allows you to rene and/or coarsen your grid based on geometric and numerical solution data. In addition, FLUENT provides tools for creating and viewing adaption elds customized to particular applications. The adaption process is described in detail in the following sections. Section 27.1: Using Adaption Section 27.2: Static Adaption Process Section 27.3: Boundary Adaption Section 27.4: Gradient Adaption Section 27.5: Dynamic Gradient Adaption Section 27.6: Isovalue Adaption Section 27.7: Region Adaption Section 27.8: Volume Adaption Section 27.9: Yplus/Ystar Adaption Section 27.10: Geometry Based Adaption Section 27.11: Registers Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls Section 27.13: Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping
27-1
Grid Adaption
27.1
Using Adaption
Two signicant advantages of the unstructured mesh capability in FLUENT are: Reduced setup time compared to structured grids. Ability to incorporate solution-adaptive renement of the mesh. By using solution-adaptive renement, you can add cells where they are needed in the mesh, thus enabling the features of the ow eld to be better resolved. When adaption is used properly, the resulting mesh is optimal for the ow solution because the solution is used to determine where more cells need to be added. Thus, computational resources are not wasted by the inclusion of unnecessary cells, as it occurs in the structured grid approach. Also, the eect of mesh renement on the solution can be studied without completely regenerating the mesh. Note: When you perform mesh adaption in a parallel computation, a load balancing step will be performed by FLUENT by default. You can turn o the automatic load balancing using the following TUI command: (disable-load-balance-after-adaption) To return to the default behavior, use the following command: (enable-load-balance-after-adaption) The automatic load balancing will not occur in conjunction with dynamic adaption. See Section 27.5: Dynamic Gradient Adaption for information on dynamic adaption, and Section 32.6.3: Load Balancing for information on load balancing in parallel FLUENT.
27.1.1
Adaption Example
An example of eective use of adaption is in the solution of the compressible, turbulent ow through a 2D turbine cascade. The initial mesh around the blade is ne as shown in Figure 27.1.1. The surface node distribution thus provides adequate denition of the blade geometry, and enables the turbulent boundary layer to be properly resolved without further adaption. On the other hand, the mesh on the inlet, outlet, and periodic boundaries is comparatively coarse. To ensure that the ow in the blade passage is appropriately resolved, solution-adaptive renement was used to create the mesh shown in Figure 27.1.2.
27-2
27.1 Using Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.1.1: Turbine Cascade Mesh Before Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.1.2: Turbine Cascade Mesh After Adaption
27-3
Grid Adaption
Although the procedure for solution adaption will vary according to the ow being solved, the adaption process used for the turbine cascade is described in this example. Though this example involves compressible ow, the general procedure is applicable for incompressible ows as well. 1. Display contours of pressure adaption function to determine a suitable renement threshold (see Section 27.4: Gradient Adaption). 2. Mark the cells within the renement threshold, creating a renement register (see Sections 27.11 and 27.4). 3. Repeat the process described in steps 1 and 2, using gradients of Mach number as a renement criterion. 4. To rene in the wake region, use isovalues of total pressure as a criterion (see Section 27.6: Isovalue Adaption). This causes cells within the boundary layer and the wake to be marked, since these are both regions of high total-pressure loss. 5. Use the Manage Adaption Registers panel to combine the three renement registers into a single register (see Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers). 6. Limit the minimum cell volume for adaption to prevent the addition of cells within the boundary layer, where the mesh was judged to be ne enough already (see Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls). 7. Rene the cells contained in the resulting adaption register (see Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers). 8. Perform successive smoothing and swapping iterations using the Smooth/Swap Grid panel (see Section 27.13: Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping). This step is recommended if you are using conformal adaption. The eect of rening on gradients is evident in the ner mesh ahead of the leading edge of the blade and within the blade passage (Figure 27.1.2). The ner mesh in the wake region is due to the adaption using isovalues of total pressure.
27-4
27.1 Using Adaption
27.1.2
Adaption Guidelines
The advantages of solution-adaptive renement, when used properly as in the turbine cascade example in Section 27.1.1: Adaption Example, are signicant. However, this capability must be used carefully to avoid certain pitfalls. Some guidelines for proper usage of solution-adaptive renement are as follows: The surface mesh must be ne enough to adequately represent the important features of the geometry. For example, it would be bad practice to place too few nodes on the surface of a highly-curved airfoil, and then use solution renement to add nodes on the surface. The surface will always contain the facets contained in the initial mesh, regardless of the additional nodes introduced by renement. The initial mesh should contain sucient cells to capture the essential features of the ow eld. For example, you want to predict the shock forming around a blu body in supersonic ow. To obtain a reasonable rst solution, the initial mesh should contain enough cells and also have sucient resolution to represent the shape of the body. Subsequent gradient adaption can be used to sharpen the shock and to establish a grid-independent solution. Obtain a reasonably well-converged solution before performing an adaption. If you adapt to an incorrect solution, cells will be added in the wrong region of the ow. Use careful judgment in deciding how well to converge the solution before adapting, because there is a trade-o between adapting too early to an unconverged solution and wasting time by continuing to iterate when the solution is not changing signicantly. This does not directly apply to dynamic adaption, because here the solution is adapted either at every iteration or at every time-step, depending on which solver is being used. Write a case and data le before starting the adaption process. If you generate an undesirable mesh, you can restart the process with the saved les. This does not directly apply to dynamic adaption, because here the solution is adapted either at every iteration or at every time-step, depending on which solver is being used. Select suitable variables when performing gradient adaption. For some ows, the choice is clear. For instance, adapting on gradients of pressure is a good criterion for rening in the region of shock waves. In most incompressible ows, however, it makes little sense to rene on pressure gradients. A more suitable parameter in an incompressible ow might be mean velocity gradients. If the ow feature of interest is a turbulent shear ow, it will be important to resolve the gradients of turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent energy dissipation, so these might be
27-5
Grid Adaption
appropriate renement variables. In reacting ows, temperature or concentration (or mole or mass fraction) of reacting species might be appropriate. Do not over-rene a particular region of the solution domain. It causes very large gradients in cell volume. Such poor adaption practice can adversely aect the accuracy of the solution.
27.2
Static Adaption Process
The adaption process is separated into two distinct tasks. 1. The individual cells are marked for renement or coarsening based on the adaption function, which is created from geometric and/or solution data. 2. The cell is rened or considered for coarsening based on these adaption marks. The primary advantages of this modularized approach are the abilities to create sophisticated adaption functions and to experiment with various adaption functions without modifying the existing mesh.
Write a case and data le before starting the adaption process. If you generate an undesirable grid, you can restart the process with the saved les.
Two dierent types of adaption are available in FLUENT: Hanging node adaption: It is the default method (see Section 27.2.1: Hanging Node Adaption). Conformal adaption: It is available only for triangular and tetrahedral grids (see Section 27.2.2: Conformal Adaption).
27.2.1
Hanging Node Adaption
Grids produced by the hanging node adaption procedure are characterized by nodes on edges and faces that are not vertices of all the cells sharing those edges or faces, as shown in Figure 27.2.1. Hanging node grid adaption provides the ability to operate on grids with a variety of cell shapes, including hybrid grids. Although the hanging node scheme provides signicant grid exibility, it requires additional memory to maintain the grid hierarchy which is used by the rendering and grid adaption operations.
27-6
27.2 Static Adaption Process
Hanging Node
Figure 27.2.1: Example of a Hanging Node
Hanging Node Renement

The cells marked for renement are divided as described here: A triangle is split into 4 triangles. A quadrilateral is split into 4 quadrilaterals. A tetrahedron is split into eight tetrahedra. The subdivision consists of trimming each corner of the tetrahedron, and subdividing the enclosed octahedron by introducing the shortest diagonal. A hexahedron is split into 8 hexahedra. A wedge (prism) is split into 8 wedges. A pyramid is split into 6 pyramids and 4 tetrahedra. Figures 27.2.2 and 27.2.3 illustrate the division of the supported cell shapes. To maintain accuracy, neighboring cells are not allowed to dier by more than one level of renement. This prevents the adaption from producing excessive cell volume variations (reducing truncation error) and ensures that the positions of the parent (original) and child (rened) cell centroids are similar (reducing errors in the ux evaluations).
27-7
Grid Adaption
Triangle
Quadrilateral
Figure 27.2.2: Hanging Node Adaption of 2D Cell Types
27-8
Tetrahedron
Hexahedron
Prism/Wedge
Pyramid
Figure 27.2.3: Hanging Node Adaption of 3D Cell Types
Hanging Node Coarsening

The mesh is coarsened by reintroducing inactive parent cells (uniting the child cells to reclaim the previously subdivided parent cell). An inactive parent cell is reactivated if all its children are marked for coarsening. You will eventually reclaim the original grid with repeated application of the hanging node coarsening. Using the hanging node adaption process, you cannot coarsen the grid further than the original grid. However, conformal coarsening allows you to remove original grid points to reduce the density of the grid.
27-9
Grid Adaption
27.2.2
Conformal Adaption
The conformal adaption process does not create hanging nodes. Instead, all the cells sharing an edge or face include all the nodes on those entities. The conformal renement process adds nodes on edges and the conformal coarsening removes nodes and retriangulates the resulting cavity. Note: This process should not be used in conjunction with dynamic adaption (described in Section 27.5: Dynamic Gradient Adaption).
Conformal Renement
To rene the cell, split the boundary or internal faces (including periodic boundary faces). This technique has two primary advantages: The process is conservative and does not require interpolation to obtain the solution vector for the new cells. Repeated renement of a skewed cell does not increase the grid skewness.
Figure 27.2.4: Cell Renement by Bisecting Longest Edge
Figure 27.2.4 shows how the triangle labeled A would be split for renement. The cells are rened by splitting the longest edge of the triangle or tetrahedron. The process is to nd the longest edge of any cell marked for renement search for a longer edge. If any of the neighbor cells has a longer edge, the scheme spins around that new edge searching for a longer edge. When the longest edge is identied, it is split. Although this process maintains the quality of the triangulation with repeated application, it splits many cells that are not marked for renement. For example, Figure 27.2.5 shows the original cell marked for renement (marked with an X), and Figure 27.2.6 shows the nal mesh created by the conformal renement process.
27-10
Figure 27.2.5: Original GridCell Marked for Renement
Figure 27.2.6: Final GridAfter Conformal Renement
27-11
Grid Adaption
Conformal Coarsening
The grid is coarsened by removing nodes that are shared by cells marked for coarsening. If all the cells attached to the node are marked for coarsening, the solver attempts to remove the node. Local retriangulation process is attempted for each of the nodes marked for removal, as follows: 1. A list of the cells attached to the marked node is generated. Removing these cells creates a cavity that must be retriangulated. 2. A list of the faces inside the cavity is generated. 3. A list of the faces on the cavity boundary is generated. 4. If the node to be removed is on a boundary, a new boundary triangulation is generated. Those faces are added to the list of faces on the cavity. 5. From the list of faces on the cavity, a new Delaunay triangulation is created. See the Theory chapter in the TGrid Users Guide for a description of Delaunay triangulation. 6. If the process is successful, the node, faces, and cells from the original triangulation of the region are deleted. 7. All nodes associated with the cavity are removed from the list of deleted nodes to avoid consecutive coarsening in the same region. 8. The solution variables in the new cells are computed using a volume-weighted average. Figure 27.2.7 illustrates the removal of node n1 and the resulting retriangulation. In this example, c1, c2, c3, c4, and c5 are the cells attached to the node. Faces f 6, f 7, f 8, f 9, and f 10 are the faces inside the cavity. Faces on the cavity includes f 1, f 2, f 3, f 4, and f 5. The new faces of the triangulation are f 11 and f 12, and the new cells are c6, c7, and c8.
Figure 27.2.7: Removing a Node and Retriangulating the Region
27-12
Nodes introduced by renement are called renement nodes. Nodes that existed in the mesh before renement are called original nodes. By default, only renement nodes can be removed in the coarsening process, but you can remove any node by resetting the node ags. For information on node ags, see Section 27.12: Controlling Node Removal During Conformal Coarsening. Presently, the grid-coarsening facility is available only in the 2D version of FLUENT.
27.2.3
Conformal vs. Hanging Node Adaption
For most problems, the hanging node adaption provides exibility for grid adaption. However, the following points should help you in selecting the appropriate type of adaption for your specic application. The conformal adaption method is only valid for tri and tet grids, while the hanging node adaption can be applied to all supported cell shapes. The hanging node adaption is usually more local in nature than the conformal adaption. In conformal adaption, many cells in addition to the marked cells may be rened due to the longest edge splitting criteria. For highly graded grids, the initial conformal renement sweeps tend to exhibit substantial propagation of the cell renement, sometimes rening the grid many cells away from the actual cell marked for renement. (Subsequent renements are usually much more local in nature.) The hanging node scheme only propagates to maintain the renement level dierence, which is much more conned. Conformal coarsening allows you to coarsen the initial grid, and this is only available in 2D. With renement and coarsening, the hanging node adaption scheme will retain the connectivity of the original grid, while the conformal adaption method will modify the connectivity. The modication of the connectivity can have accuracy implications for grids used in unsteady problems with periodic behavior (e.g., vortex shedding behind a cylinder) if you perform successive renements and coarsenings. The hanging node adaption has a memory overhead associated with maintaining the grid hierarchy and temporarily storing the edges in 3D. The conformal adaption has no memory overhead other than the additional nodes, faces and cells added to increase the grid density. Conformal adaption should not be used in conjunction with dynamic adaption (described in Section 27.5: Dynamic Gradient Adaption).
27-13
Grid Adaption
27.3
Boundary Adaption
If more cells are required on a boundary, they can be added using boundary adaption, which allows you to mark or rene cells in the proximity of the selected boundary zones. The ability to rene the grid near one or more boundary zones is provided because important uid interactions often occur in these regions. Example, development of strong velocity gradients in the boundary layer near a wall. An example of a grid that can be improved with boundary adaption is shown in Figure 27.3.1. This mesh has only two cells on the vertical face of a step. Boundary adaption on the zone corresponding to the face of the step can be used to increase the number of cells, as shown in Figure 27.3.2. This procedure cannot increase the resolution of a curved surface. Therefore, if more cells are required on a curved surface where the shape of the surface is important, create the mesh with sucient surface nodes before reading it into the solver.
Grid
Figure 27.3.1: Mesh Before Adaption
27-14
27.3 Boundary Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.3.2: Mesh After Boundary Adaption
27.3.1
Performing Boundary Adaption
You can perform the boundary adaption in three dierent ways based on: Number of cells: In this case, the distance of a cell from the boundary is measured in number of cells. Normal distance: In this case, the cell renement is based on the normal distance of a cell from the boundary. Target boundary volume: In this case, the cell renement is based on a target boundary volume and growth factor.
27-15
Grid Adaption
You can use any of these methods in the Boundary Adaption panel (Figure 27.3.3). Adapt Boundary...
Figure 27.3.3: The Boundary Adaption Panel
Boundary Adaption Based on Number of Cells

The procedure for performing adaption based on the distance of a cell from the boundary in terms of the number of cells is as follows: 1. In the Boundary Adaption panel (Figure 27.3.3), select Cell Distance under Options, choose the boundary zones near which you want to rene cells in the Boundary Zones list, and click Apply. This operation is performed to ll the cell distance variable for each cell to be visualized in Step 2. 2. (optional) Click the Contours... button to open the Contours panel. (a) Enable Filled contours, disable Node Values. (b) Choose Adaption... and Boundary Cell Distance in the Contours of drop-down list. (c) Select the appropriate surfaces (3D only). (d) Click Display to see the location of cells with each value of boundary cell distance. By displaying dierent ranges of values (as described in Section 29.1.2: Specifying the Range of Magnitudes Displayed), you can determine the cell distance of the cells you wish to adapt.
27-16
27.3 Boundary Adaption
3. Set the Number of Cells to the desired value. If you retain the default value of 1, only those cells that have edges (2D) or faces (3D) on the specied boundary zone(s) (i.e., those cells with a boundary cell distance of 1) will be marked or adapted. If you increase the value to 2, cells with a boundary cell distance of 2 will also be marked/adapted, and so on. 4. (optional) If you want to set any adaption options (described in Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls), click on the Controls... button to open the Grid Adaption Controls panel. 5. Click Mark to mark the cells for renement by placing them in an adaption register (which can be manipulated as described in Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers), or click Adapt to perform the renement immediately.
Boundary Adaption Based on Normal Distance

The procedure for performing renement based on a cells normal distance from the boundary (i.e., distance of cell centroid from the boundary) is as follows: 1. In the Boundary Adaption panel, select Normal Distance under Options, choose the boundary zones near which you want to rene cells in the Boundary Zones list, and click Apply. This operation is performed to ll the cell distance variable for each cell to be visualized in Step 2. 2. (optional) Open the Contours panel by clicking on the Contours... button. (a) Enable Filled contours, disable Node Values. (b) Choose Adaption... and Boundary Normal Distance in the Contours of dropdown list. (c) Select the appropriate surfaces (3D only). (d) Click Display to see the location of cells with each value of normal distance. By displaying dierent ranges of values (as described in Section 29.1.2: Specifying the Range of Magnitudes Displayed), you can determine the normal distance of the cells you wish to adapt. 3. Set the Distance Threshold to the desired value. Cells with a normal distance to the selected boundary zone(s) less than or equal to this value will be marked or adapted. 4. (optional) If you want to set any adaption options (described in Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls), click on the Controls... button to open the Grid Adaption Controls panel.
27-17
Grid Adaption
5. Click Mark to mark the cells for renement by placing them in an adaption register (which can be manipulated as described in Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers), or click Adapt to perform the renement immediately.
Boundary Adaption Based on Target Boundary Volume

This boundary adaption allows you to produce exponentially larger (or smaller) cells as you get further from the boundaries. The cells are marked for renement based on the following equation: Vn > Vboundary ed (27.3-1)
where Vn is the cell volume, Vboundary is the specied boundary volume (Boundary Volume), is the exponential growth factor (Growth Factor), and d is the normal distance of the cell centroid from the selected boundaries. Vboundary ed is the target volume for a cell. The procedure for this type of boundary renement is as follows: 1. In the Boundary Adaption panel, select Volume Distance under Options, set the Boundary Volume and Growth Factor to the desired values, choose the boundary zones in the Boundary Zones list where you want the Boundary Volume to be applied, and click Apply. This operation is performed to ll the cell distance variable for each cell to be visualized in Step 2. 2. (optional) Open the Contours panel by clicking on the Contours... button. (a) Enable Filled contours, disable Node Values. (b) Choose Adaption... and Boundary Normal Distance in the Contours of dropdown list. (c) Select the appropriate surfaces (3D only). (d) Click Display to see the contours of the target volume. By displaying dierent ranges of values (as described in Section 29.1.2: Specifying the Range of Magnitudes Displayed), you can determine the normal distance of the cells you wish to adapt. You can modify the values of the inputs (Boundary Volume, Growth Factor, and/or Boundary Zones), click Apply in the Boundary Adaption panel, and then redisplay the contour plot to visualize the modied target volume distribution. 3. (optional) If you want to set any adaption options (described in Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls), click on the Controls... button to open the Grid Adaption Controls panel.
27-18
27.4 Gradient Adaption
4. Click Mark to mark the cells for renement by placing them in an adaption register (which can be manipulated as described in Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers), or click Adapt to perform the renement immediately.
27.4
Gradient Adaption
The gradient adaption function allows you to mark cells or adapt the grid based on the gradient, curvature, or isovalue of the selected eld variables.
27.4.1
Gradient Adaption Approach
Solution-adaptive grid renement is performed to eciently reduce the numerical error in the digital solution, with minimal numerical cost. Unfortunately, direct error estimation for point-insertion adaption schemes is dicult because of the complexity of accurately estimating and modeling the error in the adapted grids. A comprehensive mathematically rigorous theory for error estimation and convergence is not yet available for CFD simulations. Assuming that maximum error occurs in high-gradient regions, the readily available physical features of the evolving ow eld may be used to drive the grid adaption process. Three approaches for using this information for grid adaption are available in FLUENT: Gradient approach: In this approach, FLUENT multiplies the Euclidean norm of the gradient of the selected solution variable by a characteristic length scale [70]. For example, the gradient function in two dimensions has the following form: |ei1 | = (Acell ) 2 | f |
r
(27.4-1)
where ei1 is the error indicator, Acell is the cell area, r is the gradient volume weight, and f is the Euclidean norm of the gradient of the desired eld variable, f . The default value of the gradient volume weight is unity, which corresponds to full volume weighting. A value of zero will eliminate the volume weighting, and values between 0 and 1 will use proportional weighting of the volume. If you specify adaption based on the gradient of a scalar, then the value of |ei1 | is displayed when you plot contours of the adaption function. This approach is recommended for problems with strong shocks, e.g., supersonic inviscid ows.
27-19
Grid Adaption
Curvature approach: This is the equidistribution adaption technique formerly used by FLUENT, that multiplies the undivided Laplacian of the selected solution variable by a characteristic length scale [366]. For example, the gradient function in two dimensions has the following form: |ei2 | = (Acell ) 2 |
r
f|
(27.4-2)
where ei2 is the error indicator, Acell is the cell area, r is the gradient volume weight, and 2 f is the undivided Laplacian of the desired eld variable (f ). The default value of the gradient volume weight is unity, which corresponds to full volume weighting. A value of zero will eliminate the volume weighting, and values between 0 and 1 will use proportional weighting of the volume. This approach is recommended for problems with smooth solutions. Isovalue approach: This approach is not based on derivatives. Instead, the isovalues of the required eld variable f , are used to control the adaption. Therefore, the function is of the form: ei3 = f. (27.4-3)
where ei3 is the error indicator. This approach is recommended for problems where derivatives are not helpful. For example, if you want to rene the mesh where the reaction is taking place, you can use the isovalues of the reaction rate and mark for renement at high reaction rates. This approach also allows you to customize the criteria for controlling the adaption using custom eld functions, user-dened scalars, etc. The length scale is the square (2D) or cube (3D) root of the cell volume. Introducing the length scale allows resolution of both strong and weak disturbances, increasing the potential for more accurate solutions. However, you can reduce or eliminate the volume weighting by changing the gradient Volume Weight in the Grid Adaption Controls panel (see Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls for details). Any of the eld variables available for contouring can be used in the gradient adaption function. These scalar functions include, both geometric and physical features of the numerical solution. Therefore, in addition to traditional adaption to physical features, such as the velocity, you may choose to adapt to the cell volume eld to reduce rapid variations in cell volume.
27-20
In addition to the Standard (no normalization) approach formerly used by FLUENT, two options are available for Normalization [108]: Scale, which scales the values of ei1 , ei2 , or ei3 by their average value in the domain, i.e.: |ei | |ei | (27.4-4)
when using the Scale option, suitable rst-cut values for the Coarsen Threshold and the Rene Threshold are 0.3 to 0.5, and 0.7 to 0.9, respectively. Smaller values will result in larger adapted regions. Normalize, which scales the values of ei1 , ei2 , or ei3 by their maximum value in the domain, therefore always returning a problem-independent range of [0, 1] for any variable used for adaption, i.e.: |ei | max |ei | (27.4-5)
when using the Normalize option, suitable rst-cut values for the Coarsen Threshold and the Rene Threshold are 0.2 to 0.4, and 0.5 to 0.9, respectively. Smaller values will result in larger adapted regions.
Example of Steady Gradient Adaption

An example of the use of steady gradient adaption is the solution of the supersonic ow over a circular cylinder. The initial mesh, shown in Figure 27.4.1, is very coarse, even though it contains sucient cells to adequately describe the shape of the cylinder. The mesh ahead of the cylinder is too coarse to resolve the shock wave that forms in front of the cylinder. In this instance, pressure is a suitable variable to be used in gradient adaption. This is because there will be a jump in pressure across the shock. However, several adaptions are necessary before the shock can be properly resolved. After several adaptions the mesh will be as shown in Figure 27.4.2. A typical application of gradient adaption for an incompressible ow might be a mixing layer, which involves a discontinuity.
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Grid Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.4.1: Blu-Body Mesh Before Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.4.2: Blu-Body Mesh After Gradient Adaption
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27.4.2
Performing Gradient Adaption
The Gradient Adaption panel (Figure 27.4.3) allows you to perform gradient adaption. Adapt Gradient...
Figure 27.4.3: The Gradient Adaption Panel
The procedure for performing gradient adaption is as follows: 1. Select appropriate adaption method. Curvature is the criterion for adaption, formerly used by FLUENT and is recommended for problems with smooth solutions. Gradient is recommended for problems with strong shocks (e.g., supersonic inviscid ows). Iso-Value is recommended for problems where derivatives are not helpful, or when you want to customize the adaption criterion (using custom eld functions, user-dened scalars, etc.).
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Grid Adaption
2. Select a Normalization method: Standard if normalization of the gradient or curvature is not to be performed. This was always the case in Fluent 6.0. Scale if the gradients or curvature are to be scaled by the average value in the domain. Normalize uses a scaling by the maximum value of the variable in the domain, i.e., the gradient or curvature are bounded by [0, 1]. Using either scaling or normalization makes the setting of the rene and coarsen thresholds much simpler, and almost independent of the current solution and specic problem. This is especially important when using the automated dynamic adaption process. 3. Select the required solution variable in the Gradients of drop-down list. 4. Click Compute. 5. Click Contours... to open the Contours panel. (a) Enable Filled contours, disable Node Values, choose Adaption... and Existing Value in the Contours of drop-down list. (b) Select the appropriate surfaces (3D only). (c) Click Display to see the location of cells with each curvature value. By displaying dierent ranges of values (as described in Section 29.1.2: Specifying the Range of Magnitudes Displayed), you can determine the range of curvatures for which you want to adapt cells. If you are using normalization, the range for the curvatures of any variable will always be [0, 1]. 6. Set the values for Rene Threshold. Cells with gradient values above this value will be either marked or rened. 7. Select the Norm per Zone option for cases where dierent ow conditions exist for dierent zones. This approach of zonal normalization normalizes (scale or normalize) each zone of the domain in contrast to normalization on the whole domain. This approach is useful for dynamic adaption (see Section 27.5: Dynamic Gradient Adaption for details), where you want to solve the ow problem involving dierent ow intensities in the dierent cell zones. If you use gradient adaption for the whole domain, the small gradients may be neglected in comparison to large gradients depending on the adaption threshold. Activating Norm per Zone in the Gradient Adaption panel will scale or normalize each
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zone independently, which means the strongest gradient for each zone is considered separately for adaption of that zone. Note: If you expect gradients of dierent intensities throughout the domain and you want to resolve them, separate the domain into dierent zones for precise zonal normalization. This approach is referred as zonal adaption. 8. If you want to coarsen the grid, set the Coarsen Threshold to a non-zero value. Cells with gradient values below the specied value will be either marked or coarsened. Notes: 1. If you are using the default hanging node adaption, you will not be able to create a grid that is coarser than the original grid. For this, use conformal adaption. 2. Conformal coarsening is only available for 2D or axisymmetric geometries. See Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls for details. 9. To set adaption options (described in Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls), click Controls... to open the Grid Adaption Controls panel. 10. To mark the cells for adaption (renement/coarsening), click Mark. You can then place the cells in an adaption register, which can be manipulated (as described in Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers). To perform the adaption immediately, click Adapt. Note: To disable renement, coarsening, or marking for renement/coarsening, turn o the Rene or Coarsen option before marking or adapting.
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Grid Adaption
27.5
Dynamic Gradient Adaption
In contrast with the static gradient adaption (Section 27.4: Gradient Adaption) dynamic gradient adaption is a fully automated process. For time dependent and for steady state problems, you can perform the entire solution without changing the initial settings. That is, you can let the solver periodically perform adaptions without changing/entering any parameter.
27.5.1
Dynamic Gradient Adaption Approach
The dynamic gradient adaption executes the gradient adaption automatically. Though all options of gradient adaption are valid for the dynamic gradient adaption, some specic settings are recommended: In the Gradient Adaption Panel Turn on Rene and Coarsen options. The Norm per Zone enables zonal normalization for the dynamic adaption. See Section 27.4.2: Performing Gradient Adaption (item 7) for details. For Normalization, use either the Scale or the Normalize option. The non-normalized values of the gradient or the curvature of a variable (obtained by selecting Standard for the Normalization) are generally strongly solutiondependent, and therefore would require re-adjustment of the Coarsen Threshold and Rene Threshold as the solution proceeds. For dynamic adaption, scaling is preferred if you wish to resolve regions of small values of the gradient (or curvature/isovalues) accurately, in addition to the region of highest gradient (or curvature/isovalues). Scaling does not take very high values of the gradient or curvature as much into account as does the normalization. The starting values for Rene Threshold and Coarsen Threshold are 1e10 and 0 respectively. The more renement you want, the smaller these values should be. Specify the Interval between two consecutive automatic mesh adaptions. Depending on whether you are performing a steady state or a time dependent solution, specify Interval in iterations or time steps respectively. This value depends on the type of problem solved and the time step used (where applicable). For steady state problems, values of 100 or higher are reasonable and for time dependent problems, values of 10 or lower are often required. If you are using the coupled explicit solver with explicit unsteady formulation, your input will be in number of iterations.
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27.5 Dynamic Gradient Adaption
When the parallel solver is used, there is no automatic load balancing during the dynamic adaption process. Hence you can use the execute command functionality to enforce repartitioning after a reasonable number of time steps or iterations.
For example you can use the following commands: para/part/method principal-axes para/part/use-stored In the Gradient Adaption Controls Panel Always use Hanging node adaption method. Set values for Min # of Cells, Max # of Cells, Max Level of Rene or Min Cell Volume. The limits for the Min # of Cells and Max # of Cells can aect the Coarsen Threshold and Rene Threshold values. If either the Min # of Cells or the Max # of Cells are violated, the Coarsen Threshold or the Rene Threshold are adjusted to fulll the limits for the Min # of Cells or the Max # of Cells. The default value for Max Level of Rene is 2, which is good start for most problems. If required, you can increase this value.
Even in a 2D problem, the default value of 2 can increase the number of cells by a factor of 16, in the adapted regions. A value of zero leaves this parameter unbounded: in this case you should use a suitable limit for Min Cell Volume.
Examples of Dynamic Gradient Adaption

Example 1: Steady state problem. Consider a supersonic ow over the blunt body. To determine the wave drag for such problem, rst resolve the shock wave. Start with a coarse mesh and setup dynamic adaption. As you start iterating the solution, the solver will produce a blurred shock, probably in an incorrect location. After the adaptions, the shock will become sharper and move into the correct location. Example 2: Time dependent problem. Consider a traveling shock wave. To determine the precise pressure amplitudes and arrival times at a number of locations, you need to resolve the shock wave over the time, so that you can maintain the correct shock strength and its location. Dynamic adaption is ecient in this case, as it renes the mesh near the shock and at the same time it coarsens the mesh wherever needed.
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Grid Adaption
See also Tutorial 4 for an example of applying dynamic gradient adaption to a FLUENT simulation.
27.6
Isovalue Adaption
Some ows may contain ow features that are easy to identify based on values of a certain quantity. For instance, wakes represent a total pressure decit, and jets are identiable by a region of relatively high-velocity uid. Since it is known that these regions also contain large gradients of important ow quantities (such as k and in turbulent ows), it is convenient to perform an isovalue adaption on the relevant ow quantity than to rene on gradients of the individual ow variables. The isovalue adaption function allows you to mark or rene cells inside or outside a specied range of a selected eld variable function. The grid can be rened or marked for renement based on geometric and/or solution vector data. Specically, any quantity in the display list of eld variables can be used for the isovalue adaption. Some examples of how you might use the isovalue marking/adaption feature include the following: Create masks using coordinate values or the quadric function. Rene cells that have a velocity magnitude within a specied range. Mark and display cells with a pressure or continuity residual outside of a desired range to determine where the numerical solution is changing rapidly. The approach used in isovalue adaption function is to compute the specied value for each cell (velocity, quadric function, centroid x coordinate, etc.), and then visit each cell, marking for renement the cells that have values inside (or outside) the specied ranges. An example of a problem in which isovalue adaption is useful is shown in Figure 27.6.1. The mesh for an impinging jet is displayed along with contours of x velocity. An isovalue adaption based on x velocity allows renement of the mesh only in the jet (Figure 27.6.2). Note: When adapting to isovalues take care to prevent large gradients in cell volume. This can aect accuracy and impede convergence (Section 27.1: Using Adaption). To rectify large gradients in cell volume, adapt to cell-volume change, as demonstrated in Section 27.8.2: Volume Adaption Example.
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27.6 Isovalue Adaption
1.00e+00
9.00e-01
8.00e-01
7.00e-01
6.00e-01
5.00e-01
4.00e-01
3.00e-01
2.00e-01
1.00e-01
Contours of X-Velocity (m/s)
Figure 27.6.1: Impinging Jet Mesh Before Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.6.2: Impinging Jet Mesh After Isovalue Adaption
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Grid Adaption
27.6.1
Performing Isovalue Adaption
You can perform isovalue adaption in the Iso-Value Adaption panel (Figure 27.6.3). Adapt Iso-Value...
Figure 27.6.3: The Iso-Value Adaption Panel
The general procedure for performing isovalue adaption is as follows: 1. Select the desired solution variable in the Iso-Values of drop-down list and click on Compute to update the Min and Max elds. 2. Choose the Inside or Outside option and set the Iso-Min and Iso-Max values. If you choose Inside, cells with isovalues between Iso-Min and Iso-Max will be marked or rened. If you choose Outside, cells with isovalues less than Iso-Min or greater than Iso-Max will be marked or rened. 3. (optional) If you want to set any adaption options (described in Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls), click Controls... button to open the Grid Adaption Controls panel. 4. Click Mark to mark the cells for renement by placing them in an adaption register (which can be manipulated as described in Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers), or click Adapt to perform the renement immediately.
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27.7 Region Adaption
27.7
Region Adaption
Many mesh generators create meshes with cell volumes that grow very rapidly with distance from boundaries. While this avoids a dense grid as a matter of course, it might also create problems if the mesh is not ne enough to resolve the ow. But if it is known a priori that a ner mesh is required in a certain region of the solution domain, the mesh can be rened using region adaption. The region adaption function marks or renes cells inside or outside a region dened by text or mouse input. Presently, the grid can be rened or marked inside or outside a hexahedron (quadrilateral in 2D), a sphere (circle in 2D), or a cylinder. The regionbased marking/adaption feature is particularly useful for rening regions that intuitively require good resolution: e.g., the wake region of a blunt-body ow eld. In addition, you can use the region marking to create mask adaption registers that can be used to limit the extent of the renement and coarsening.
27.7.1
Dening a Region
The basic approach to the region adaption function is to rst dene a region: The hexahedron (quadrilateral) is dened by entering the coordinates of two points dening the diagonal. The sphere (circle) is dened by entering the coordinates of the center of the sphere and its radius. To dene a cylinder, specify the coordinates of the points dening the cylinder axis, and the radius. In 3D this will dene a cylinder. In 2D, you will have an arbitrarily oriented rectangle with length equal to the cylinder axis length and width equal to the radius. A rectangle dened using the cylinder option diers from one dened with the quadrilateral option in that the former can be arbitrarily oriented in the domain while the latter must be aligned with the coordinate axes. You can either enter the exact coordinates into the appropriate real entry elds or select the locations with the mouse on displays of the grid or solution eld. After the region is dened, each cell that has a centroid inside/outside the specied region is marked for renement.
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Grid Adaption
27.7.2
Region Adaption Example
Figure 27.7.1 shows a mesh that was created for solving the ow around a ap airfoil. The mesh is very ne near the surface of the airfoil so that the viscous-aected region may be resolved. However, the mesh grows very rapidly away from the airfoil, because of which the ow separation known to occur on the suction surface of the ap will not be properly predicted. To avoid this problem, the grid is adapted within circular regions (selected by mouse probe) surrounding the ap. The result is shown in Figure 27.7.2. When the region adaption is performed, the minimum cell volume for adaption is limited (as described in Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls) to prevent the very small cells near the surface from being rened further.
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Grid
Figure 27.7.1: Flap-Airfoil Mesh Before Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.7.2: Flap-Airfoil Mesh After Region Adaption
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Grid Adaption
27.7.3
Performing Region Adaption
You will perform region adaption in the Region Adaption panel (Figure 27.7.3). Adapt Region...
Figure 27.7.3: The Region Adaption Panel
The procedure for performing isovalue adaption is as follows: 1. In the Region Adaption panel, choose the Inside or Outside option. If you choose Inside, cells with centroids within the specied region will be marked or rened. If you choose Outside, cells with centroids outside the specied region will be marked or rened. 2. Specify the shape of the region. In 2D, you may choose a Quadrilateral, Circle, or Cylinder. In 3D, you may choose a Hexahedron, Sphere, or Cylinder. 3. Dene the region by entering values into the panel or by using the mouse. In the panel the inputs are as follows: To dene a hexahedron or quadrilateral, enter the coordinates of two points dening the diagonal of the box.
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For a hexahedron, dene (Xminimum,Yminimum,Zminimum) and (Xmaximum,Ymaximum, Zmaximum). For a quadrilateral, dene (Xminimum,Yminimum) and (Xmaximum,Ymaximum). To dene a sphere or circle, enter the values for the Radius and the coordinates of its center; (Xcenter, Ycenter, Zcenter) for a sphere or (Xcenter, Ycenter) for a circle. To dene a cylinder, enter the value for the Radius and the minimum and maximum coordinates dening the cylinder axis; (X-Axis Min, Y-Axis Min, ZAxis Min) and (X-Axis Max, Y-Axis Max, Z-Axis Max) for 3D or (X-Axis Min,YAxis Min) and (X-Axis Max,Y-Axis Max) for 2D. In 2D, this will be the width of the resulting rectangle. 4. To dene the region using the mouse, click on the Select Points with Mouse button. Using the right mouse button select the input coordinates from a display of the grid or solution eld. After selecting the points, the values will be loaded automatically into the appropriate elds in the panel. See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for details about mouse button functions. If you want, you can edit these values before marking or adapting. To dene a hexahedron or quadrilateral, select the two points of the diagonal in any order. To dene a sphere or circle, rst select the location of the centroid and then select a point that lies on the sphere/circle (i.e., a point that is one radius away from the centroid). To dene a cylinder, rst select the two points that dene the cylinder axis and then select a point that is one radius away from the axis. 5. (optional) If you want to set any adaption options (described in Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls), click on the Controls... button to open the Grid Adaption Controls panel. 6. Click Mark to mark the cells for renement by placing them in an adaption register (which can be manipulated as described in Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers), or click Adapt to perform the renement immediately.
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Grid Adaption
27.8
Volume Adaption
As mentioned in Section 27.1: Using Adaption, it is best for both accuracy and convergence to have a mesh in which the changes in cell volume are gradual. If the mesh creation or adaption process results in a mesh that does not have this property, the grid can be improved by using volume adaption with the option of rening, based on either the cell volume or the change in volume between the cell and its neighbors.
27.8.1
Approach
Marking or rening the grid based on volume magnitude is often used to remove large cells or to globally rene the mesh. The procedure is to mark for renement any cell with a volume greater than the specied threshold value. Marking or rening the grid based on the change in cell volume is used to improve the smoothness of the grid. The procedure is to mark for renement any cell that has a volume change greater than the specied threshold value. The volume change is computed by looping over the faces and comparing the ratio of the cell neighbors to the face. For example, in Figure 27.8.1 the ratio of V1/V2 and the ratio of V2/V1 is compared to the threshold value. If V2/V1 is greater than the threshold, then C2 is marked for renement.
Figure 27.8.1: Volume ChangeRatio of the Volumes of the Cells
27.8.2
Volume Adaption Example
The mesh in Figure 27.8.2 was created for computing a turbulent jet. Local renement was used in TGrid to create a mesh that is ne in the region of the jet, but coarse elsewhere. This created a very sharp change in cell volume at the edge of the jet. To improve the mesh, it was rened using volume adaption with the criterion that the maximum cell volume change should be less than 50%. The minimum cell volume for adaption was also limited. The resulting mesh, after smoothing and swapping, is shown in Figure 27.8.3. It can be seen that the interface between the rened region within the jet and the surrounding mesh is no longer as sharp.
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27.8 Volume Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.8.2: Jet Mesh Before Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.8.3: Jet Mesh After Volume Adaption Based on Change in Cell Volume
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Grid Adaption
27.8.3
Performing Volume Adaption
You will perform volume adaption in the Volume Adaption panel (Figure 27.8.4). Adapt Volume...
Figure 27.8.4: The Volume Adaption Panel
The procedure for performing volume adaption is as follows: 1. In the Volume Adaption panel, specify whether you want to adapt based on volume magnitude or volume change by selecting the Magnitude or Change option. 2. Click on Compute to update the Min and Max elds. These elds will show the range of cell volumes or cell volume changes (dened in Section 27.8.1: Approach), depending on your selection in step 1. 3. Set the Max Volume or Max Volume Change value. (a) If you have chosen to adapt based on volume Magnitude, cells that have volumes greater than Max Volume will be marked or rened. (b) If you are adapting based on volume Change, cells with volume changes greater than Max Volume Change will be marked or rened. 4. (optional) If you want to set any adaption options (described in Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls), click on the Controls... button to open the Grid Adaption Controls panel. 5. Click Mark to mark the cells for renement by placing them in an adaption register (which can be manipulated as described in Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers), or click Adapt to perform the renement immediately.
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27.9 Yplus/Ystar Adaption
27.9
Yplus/Ystar Adaption
FLUENT provides three dierent options for near-wall modeling of turbulence, standard wall functions, non-equilibrium wall functions, and the enhanced wall treatment. As described in Section 11.10: Grid Considerations for Turbulent Flow Simulations, there are certain mesh requirements for each of these near-wall modeling options. It is often dicult to gauge the near-wall resolution requirements when creating the mesh. Hence, Yplus and Ystar adaption have been provided to appropriately rene or coarsen the mesh along the wall during the solution process.
27.9.1
Approach
The approach is to compute y + or y for boundary cells on the specied viscous wall zones, dene the minimum and maximum allowable y + or y , and mark and/or adapt the appropriate cells. Cells with y + or y values below the minimum allowable threshold will be marked for coarsening and cells with y + or y values above the maximum allowable threshold will be marked for renement (unless coarsening or renement has been disabled). Figure 27.9.1 shows the mesh for a duct ow, where the top boundary is the wall and the bottom boundary is the symmetry plane. After an initial solution, it was determined that y + values of the cells on the wall boundary were too large, and y + adaption was used to rene them. The resulting mesh is shown in Figure 27.9.2. This gure shows that the height of the cells along the wall boundary has been reduced during the renement process. However, the cell-size distribution on the wall after renement is much less uniform than in the original mesh, which is an adverse eect of y + adaption. See Section 11.10: Grid Considerations for Turbulent Flow Simulations for guidelines on recommended values of y + or y for dierent near-wall treatments.
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Grid Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.9.1: Duct Flow Mesh Before Adaption
Grid
Figure 27.9.2: Duct Flow Mesh After y + Adaption
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27.9 Yplus/Ystar Adaption
27.9.2
Performing Yplus or Ystar Adaption
You will perform Yplus or Ystar adaption in the Yplus/Ystar Adaption panel (Figure 27.9.3). Adapt Yplus/Ystar...
Figure 27.9.3: The Yplus/Ystar Adaption Panel
The procedure for performing y + or y adaption is as follows: 1. In the Yplus/Ystar Adaption panel, select Yplus or Ystar as the adaption Type. (a) Select Yplus if you are using the enhanced wall treatment. (b) If you are using wall functions, you can select either type. 2. Choose the wall zones for which you want boundary cells to be marked or adapted in the Wall Zones list, and click on Compute to update the Min and Max elds. The values displayed are the minimum and maximum values for all wall zones, not just of those selected. 3. Set the Min Allowed and Max Allowed. Cells with y + or y values below Min Allowed will be coarsened or marked for coarsening, and cells with y + or y values above Max Allowed will be rened or marked for renement. Note: If you are using the default hanging node adaption, you will not be able to create a grid that is coarser than the original grid. For this, you must use conformal adaption that is conformal coarsening which is only available for 2D or axisymmetric geometries. See Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls for details.
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Grid Adaption
4. (optional) If you want to set any adaption options (described in Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls), click on the Controls... button to open the Grid Adaption Controls panel. 5. Click Mark to mark the cells for adaption (renement/coarsening) by placing them in an adaption register (which can be manipulated as described in Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers), or click Adapt to perform the adaption immediately. To disable renement or coarsening, or marking for renement or coarsening, turn o the Rene or Coarsen option before marking or adapting.
27.10
Geometry Based Adaption
The purpose of adaption is to produce a mesh that is ne enough and adequately represents all important features of the geometry. However, when you have a coarse mesh of a geometry that has curved proles and sharp corners, the adapted mesh may not recover the curved proles and corners at the perimeter of the geometry. In such cases, use geometry based adaption to reconstruct the geometry (or to recover the ner details of the geometry at its extends) along with performing the adaption process.
27.10.1
Approach
Geometry based adaption works on the principle of geometry reconstruction. In this approach, the cell count of the mesh is increased by creating the new nodes in the domain in between the existing nodes of the mesh. The newly created nodes are projected in such a way that the resulting mesh is ner and its shape is closer to the original geometry. The following sections explain how nodes are projected and the parameters that control the node propagation.
Node Projection
Consider a coarse mesh created for a circular geometry. A section of the mesh close to the circular edge is shown in Figure 27.10.1. The edge is not smooth and has sharp corners, because of which its shape is not closer to that of the original geometry. Using boundary adaption along with the geometry reconstruction option will result in a mesh with smoother edges as shown in Figure 27.10.2. In Figure 27.10.2, the dotted lines represent the original edge of the mesh. The boundary adaption process creates new nodes in between the original nodes. These nodes are projected towards the edge of the geometry, because of which the resulting mesh has smooth edges and its shape is closer to the original geometry.
Only the nodes created in the adaption process (newly created nodes) are projected and the original nodes retain their positions.
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27.10 Geometry Based Adaption
Figure 27.10.1: Mesh Before Adaption
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Grid Adaption
The following parameters control node projection and are specied in Geometry Based Adaption panel. Levels of Projection Propagation: This parameter allows you to specify the number of node layers across which node propagation should take place for geometry reconstruction. A value of 1 means only the nodes at the boundary will be projected, a value of 2 means the nodes at the boundary and the nodes in the next layer will be projected, and so on. Note: The nodes in the rst level are projected by a maximum magnitude and the node in the last level are projected by a minimum magnitude. The magnitude of projection decreases gradually from the rst level to the last level. For example, a value of 3 for Levels of Projection Propagation means, the level 1 node is projected by maximum magnitude and level 3 node is projected by minimum magnitude. Figure 27.10.3 illustrates the level of propagation and magnitude of projection of newly created nodes.
Figure 27.10.3: Levels Projection Propagation and Magnitude
Direction of Projection: This parameter allows you to specify the direction, X, Y, or Z (for 3D), for node projection. If you do not specify any direction, the node projection takes place at the nearest point of the newly created node. Background Mesh: This option allows you to use a ne surface mesh as a background mesh, based on which the geometry is reconstructed. When you read the
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surface mesh, the node projection will take place based on the node positions of the background mesh. This option is useful when the mesh you want to adapt is very coarse and geometry is highly curved. In such cases, node projection, only by specifying the parameters may not result in a good quality mesh. However, you can also modify the propagation criteria by specifying the parameters.
i i
You can read only one surface mesh at a time. The various zones of the surface mesh will be listed in the Background Mesh drop-down list. Geometry based adaption with background mesh is not available in parallel.
Example of Geometry Based Adaption

Consider a mesh created for a spherical geometry. The initial mesh is very coarse, because of which it has sharp corners (as in Figure 27.10.4). It does not represent the spherical geometry accurately. To recover the original spherical geometry from this coarse mesh use geometry based adaption. If you adapt boundaries of the domain without activating the Reconstruct Geometry option, the resulting mesh (see Figure 27.10.5) has sucient number of cells, but the boundary of the domain still contains sharp corners. Boundary adaption only creates new nodes in between the existing nodes to increase the cell count of the mesh. Since it does not project the nodes, the shape of the mesh remains as it is. If you adapt the boundary with Reconstruct Geometry option. The resulting mesh (Figure 27.10.6) has more number of cells and less sharp corners at boundary. In addition, the newly created nodes are projected in a direction such that its shape is closer to the original geometry (i.e., sphere with smooth boundary).
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Grid Adaption
Figure 27.10.4: Coarse Mesh of a Sphere
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Figure 27.10.5: Adapted MeshWithout Geometry Reconstruction
Figure 27.10.6: Mesh After Geometry Based Adaption
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Grid Adaption
27.10.2
Performing Geometry Based Adaption
The Geometry Based Adaption panel (Figure 27.10.7) allows you to reconstruct the geometry while performing boundary adaption. Adapt Geometry...
Figure 27.10.7: The Geometry Based Adaption Panel
The procedure for performing geometry based adaption is as follows: 1. Enable Reconstruct Geometry option. The panel will expand showing relevant parameters. 2. Under Wall Zones, select the zone you want to adapt. You can select each wall zone separately and specify dierent parameters for each. 3. Specify Levels of Projection Propagation to indicate the number of layers of the nodes you want to project. 4. Enable Direction of Projection and specify the directions in which you want to project the nodes. This will activate the parameters X, Y and Z. If you want node projection in the X direction, specify X=1. If you do not activate this option, the node projection will take place at the nearest point.
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27.11 Registers
5. (optional) If you have ne surface mesh for the geometry, you can use the Background Mesh option to load the surface mesh as a background mesh. This will project the nodes based on the background mesh and reconstruct the geometry more accurately. 6. To disable the geometry reconstruction for any zone in the domain, select that zone under Wall Zones and activate Disable geometry based adaption for this zone. 7. To disable geometry based adaption for the whole domain, disable Reconstruct Geometry. After setting the parameters for geometry based adaption proceed to mesh adaption.
27.11
Registers
A register is the group of cells that are marked for renement/coarsening but not adapted. There are two types of registers: Adaption Register Mask Register
Adaption Register
An adaption register is basically a list of identiers for each cell in the domain. The identiers designate whether a cell is neutral (not marked), marked for renement, or marked for coarsening. Invoking the Mark command creates an adaption register. It is called a register because it is used in a manner similar to the way memory registers are used in calculators. For example, one adaption register holds the result of an operation, another register holds the results of a second operation, and these registers can be used to produce a third register. The adaption function is used to set the appropriate identier. For example, to rene the cells based on pressure gradient, the solver computes the gradient adaption function for each cell. The cell value is compared with the rening and coarsening threshold values and assigned the appropriate identier. If the cell value < coarsen threshold value, the cell is marked for coarsening. If the coarsen threshold value < cell value < rene threshold value, the cell is neutral (not marked). If the cell value > rene threshold value, the cell is marked for renement.
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Grid Adaption
Adaption registers can be created using geometric data, physical features of the ow eld, and combinations of these information. After they are created, the adaption registers can be listed, displayed, deleted, combined, exchanged, inverted, and changed to mask registers. Hybrid Adaption Functions The hybrid adaption functions are created to conne the adaption to a specic region (using masks) and/or create a more accurate error indicator. FLUENT provides a few basic tools to aid in creating hybrid adaption functions. 1. Create the initial adaption registers using geometric and/or solution vector information. 2. Manipulate these registers and their associated renement and coarsening marks. Manipulate the registers by changing the type and/or combining them to create the desired hybrid function. Manipulate the marks by using Exchange, Invert, Limit, and Fill operations. 3. Delete, display adapt to the hybrid adaption functions. For example, you can capture the shock wave generated on a wedge in a supersonic ow eld by adapting the grid to the gradients of pressure. The pressure gradient near the surface of the wedge, however, is relatively small. You can therefore use the velocity eld to resolve the equally important boundary layer near the surface of the wedge. If you adapt to pressure, regions near the surface might be coarsened. If you subsequently adapted to velocity, these regions may be rened, but the net result will not gain in resolution. If you combine the velocity and pressure gradient adaption functions, the new adaption function will allow increased resolution in both regions. The relative weight of the two functions in the hybrid function is determined by the values of the renement and coarsening thresholds you specify for each of the ow eld variables. To rene the shock and boundary layer only near the leading edge of the wedge, create a circle at the leading edge of the wedge using the region adaption function, change this new register to a mask, and combine it with the hybrid gradient function. The GUI and text interface commands generate adaption registers that designate the cells marked for renement or coarsening. These registers can be converted to mask registers.
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27.11 Registers
Mask Register
Mark registers maintain only two states: ACTIVE and INACTIVE. If the adaption register is converted to a mask, cells marked for renement become ACTIVE cells, while those that are unmarked or marked for coarsening become INACTIVE. You can use a mask register to limit adaption to cells within a certain region. This process is illustrated in Figures 27.11.1, 27.11.2, and 27.11.3. Figure 27.11.1 shows a cloud of cells representing an adaption register (shaded cells are marked cells). Figure 27.11.2 illustrates the active cells associated with a mask register. If the mask is applied to (combined with) the adaption register, the new adaption register formed from the combination has the marked cells shown in Figure 27.11.3.
Figure 27.11.1: Adaption Register with Marked Cells
Figure 27.11.2: Mask Register with Active Cells
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Grid Adaption
Figure 27.11.3: New Adaption Register Created from Application of Mask
This example does not dierentiate between renement or coarsening marks because the mask is applied to both types of marks. For more information on combining registers, see Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers.
27.11.1
Manipulating Adaption Registers
You can manipulate, delete, and display adaption registers by marking cells for adaption. Since these registers are used to adapt the grid, the ability to manipulate them provides additional control over the adaption process. Management of adaption registers is performed in the Manage Adaption Registers panel (Figure 27.11.4). You can also open this panel by clicking on the Manage... button in any of the adaption panels. Adapt Manage... You can modify and manipulate adaption registers by: changing the register types combining the registers deleting the registers
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27.11 Registers
Figure 27.11.4: The Manage Adaption Registers Panel
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Grid Adaption
Changing Register Types

If the adaption register is converted to a mask, the cells marked for renement are ACTIVE, and all other cells are INACTIVE (i.e., the cells marked for coarsening are ignored). Generally, the adaption registers converted to masks are those that are generated by adaption functions that mark cells exclusively for renement, such as region or isovalue adaption functions. The other major dierence between adaption and mask registers is the manner in which they are combined. To change the type of one or more registers from adaption to mask, or vice versa, do the following: 1. Choose the register(s) in the Registers list. 2. Click on the Change Type button under Register Actions. The new type of the register (if multiple registers are selected, the most recently selected or deselected register) will be shown as the Type under Register Info. Select each register individually to see what its current type is
Combining Registers
After the individual adaption registers have been created and appropriately modied, they are combined to create hybrid adaption functions. 1. Any number of registers can be combined in the following manner: All adaption registers are combined into a new adaption register. All mask registers are combined into a new mask register. The new adaption and mask registers are combined. 2. Any number of adaption registers can be combined in the following manner: If the cell is marked for renement in any of the registers, mark the cell for renement in the new register (bitwise OR). If the cell is marked for coarsening in all of the registers, mark the cell for coarsening in the new register (bitwise AND). 3. The mask registers are combined in a manner similar to the renement marks. If any cell is marked ACTIVE, the cell in the new register is marked ACTIVE (bitwise OR). 4. Finally, in the combination of an adaption and mask register, only cells that are marked in the mask register can have an adaption mark in the combined register (bitwise AND).
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27.11 Registers
For example, creating an adaption function based on pressure gradient may generate cells marked for renement and coarsening throughout the entire solution domain. If this register is then combined with a mask register created from cells marked inside a sphere, only the cells inside the sphere will be marked for renement or coarsening in the new register. Note: The eect of masks depends on the order in which they are applied. For example, consider two adjacent, circular masks. Applying one mask to the adaption register and then applying the other mask to the result of the rst combination would give a much dierent result than applying the combination of the two masks to the initial adaption register. The second combination results in a greater possible number of marked cells. To combine two or more registers, do the following: 1. Choose the registers in the Registers list. 2. Click on the Combine button under Register Actions. The selected registers will remain intact, and the register(s) resulting from the combination will be added to the Registers list. In some instances, three new registers may be created: a combination of the adaption registers a combination of the mask registers a combination of the two combined registers For more information about combining registers, see Section 27.11: Adaption Register.
Deleting Registers
The primary reason for deleting registers is to discard unwanted adaption registers. This will reduce confusion and the possibility of generating undesired results by selecting these discarded registers. In addition, only 32 adaption registers can exist at one time. Therefore discard unwanted registers to make room for new ones. You can delete any number of adaption registers. To permanently remove one or more registers, do the following: 1. Choose the register(s) in the Registers list. 2. Click on the Delete button under Register Actions.
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Grid Adaption
27.11.2
Modifying Adaption Marks
The adaption marks are the identiers that designate whether a cell should be rened, coarsened, or neutral. The operations used for modifying the adaption marks are: Exchange: It changes the cells marked for renement into cells marked for coarsening, and all cells originally marked for coarsening into cells marked for renement. This operation is applied to adaption registers that have only renement marks. For example, the exchange operation can be used to coarsen a rectangular region. First, create an adaption register that marks a rectangular region of cells for renement. Then use the Exchange operation to modify the cell marks, creating a rectangular region with cells marked for coarsening. Invert: This operation can only be used with mask registers. It toggles the mask markings, i.e., all cells marked ACTIVE are switched to INACTIVE, and all cells marked INACTIVE are switched to ACTIVE. For example, if you generate a mask that denes a circular region, you can quickly modify the mask to dene the region outside of the circle using the Invert operation. Limit: This operation applies the present adaption volume limit to the selected adaption register. For information on adaption limits, see Section 27.12: Grid Adaption Controls. You generally use this operation to determine the eect of the present limits on the adaption process. You can use the volume limit to create a uniform mesh by setting the limit to rene only the large cells. After all the cells have reached a uniform size, you can continue the renement process to the desired resolution. Fill: This operation marks the cells in the adaption register that are not marked for renement. You can use the Fill operation to combine multiple registers to make a new register. Notes: 1. When you combine registers, a cell will be marked for coarsening only if it is marked for coarsening in all of the registers. 2. If you create an adaption register with an operation that only marks cells for renement, but you do not want to prohibit coarsening, use the Fill operation before combining the register with any other registers. The process for modifying adaption marks is as follows: 1. Choose the register(s) in the Registers list. 2. Click on the Exchange, Invert, Limit, or Fill button under Mark Actions.
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27.11 Registers
27.11.3
Displaying Registers
Viewing the cell markings is often helpful in the process of creating hybrid adaption functions. You can plot a marker at the cell centroid and/or a wireframe of the cell to view the state of the cell. By default, the cells marked for renement are colored in red, and the cells marked for coarsening are marked in cyan. In addition, cells marked ACTIVE in a mask register are also colored red. These are the cells that are marked for adaption, but the nal number of cells added or subtracted from the grid depends on the adaption limits and the grid characteristics. To display a register, do the following: 1. Choose the register in the Registers list. 2. Set the display options by clicking on the Options... button. 3. Click on the Display button.
Adaption Display Options

Various aspects of the adaption register display can be modied, such as the wireframe visibility and shading, marker visibility, color, size, and symbol. Also, you can select either surface or zone grids for the display. The adaption register display capability allows you to view the cells that are agged for adaption. Depending on the dimension of the problem and the number of agged cells, you can customize the adaption display options. The most common method for viewing agged cells in 2D is to draw the grid and lled wireframes, but this is impractical in 3D. In three dimensions, you can plot the centroid markers of the cells with the grid of selected boundary zones. You can use markers and/or wireframes to display the agged cells in an adaption or mask register. The marker is a symbol placed at the centroid of the cell. There is a rene marker and a coarsen marker. You can change the symbol, color, and size of these markers. A wireframe is composed of the edges of the triangle or tetrahedron. Its color is the same as the respective marker color, and can be lled, if required. Portions of the grid can be drawn with the marker symbols or wireframes to aid in evaluating the location of marked cells. All of these options are set in the Adaption Display Options panel (Figure 27.11.5). You can also open this panel by clicking on the Options... button in the Manage Adaption Registers panel.
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Grid Adaption
Figure 27.11.5: The Adaption Display Options Panel
Adapt Display Options... To enable or disable the display of wireframes for cells marked for renement/coarsening, turn the Wireframe option on or o under Rene and/or Coarsen. To draw lled wireframes (i.e., using a solid color, instead of the outline) turn on the Filled option. To enable or disable the display of markers for cells marked for renement/coarsening, turn the Marker option on or o under Rene and/or Coarsen. Use markers to specify their size in the Size eld, and their symbol in the Symbol drop-down list. To change the color of the rene or coarsen markers/wireframes, select a new color in the Color drop-down list under Rene or Coarsen. By default, rene markers/wireframes are red and coarsen markers/wireframes are cyan. To include portions of the grid in the register display, enable the Draw Grid option. The Grid Display panel will appear automatically, where you can set the grid display parameters. When you click on Display in the Manage Adaption Registers panel, the grid display, as dened in the Grid Display panel, will be included in the register display.
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27.12 Grid Adaption Controls
27.11.4
Adapting to Registers
These register tools provide you with the ability to create hybrid adaption functions customized to your ow-eld application. The customized adaption function is used to direct the renement and coarsening of the grid. To perform the adaption, follow these steps: 1. Choose the register in the Registers list. 2. Click the Adapt button.
27.12
Grid Adaption Controls
FLUENT allows you to: Change the adaption type from hanging node to conformal. Place restrictions on the cell zones. Limit adaption by cell volume or volume weight. Limit the total number of cells that can be produced from the adaption process. Modify the intensity of the volume weighting in the gradient function. Restrict the adaption process to renement and/or coarsening, and control which nodes are eligible for possible elimination from the grid during conformal coarsening. The parameters controlling the aspects of adaption are set in the Grid Adaption Controls panel (Figure 27.12.1). You can also open this panel by clicking on the Controls... button in any of the adaption panels. Adapt Controls... Note: Write a case and data le before starting the adaption process. Then, if you generate an undesirable grid, you can restart the process with the saved les.
Controlling the Type of Adaption

You can choose to use hanging node or conformal adaption. You can also restrict the adaption process to the addition of grid resolution through renement and/or the removal of grid density through coarsening.
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Grid Adaption
Figure 27.12.1: The Grid Adaption Controls Panel
To use hanging node adaption (the default), select Hanging in the Type frame, and to use conformal adaption, select Conformal. The hanging node and conformal adaption procedures are described in detail in Section 27.2: Static Adaption Process. To enable/disable renement, turn the Rene option on or o. To enable/disable coarsening, turn the Coarsen option on or o.
Limiting Adaption By Zone

You can limit the adaption process to specied cell zones. The cells composing the uid and solid regions of the analysis generally have very dierent resolution requirements and error indicators. Limiting the adaption to a specic cell zone and use dierent adaption functions to create the optimal grid. To limit the adaption to a particular cell zone (or to particular cell zones), select the cell zones in which you want to perform adaption in the Zones list. By default, adaption will be performed in all cell zones.
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27.12 Grid Adaption Controls
Limiting Adaption By Cell Volume or Volume Weight

The minimum cell volume limit restricts the renement process to cells with volumes greater than the limit. Use this to initiate the renement process on larger cells, gradually reducing the limit to create a uniform cell size distribution. Set this limit in the Min Cell Volume eld. The input that you will give in this eld for a 2D axisymmetric problem will be interpreted as the minimum cell area. In addition, the gradient volume weight can be modied. A value of zero eliminates volume weighting, a value of unity uses the entire volume, and values between 0 and 1 scale the volume weighting. Set this value in the Volume Weight eld. For more information, see Section 27.4.1: Gradient Adaption Approach.
Limiting the Total Number of Cells

The maximum number of cells is a restriction that prevents FLUENT from creating more cells than required for the present analysis. In addition, it saves the time you spent waiting for the grid adaption process to complete the creation of these cells. However, this premature termination of the renement process can produce undesirable grid quality depending on the order in which the cells were visited, which is based on the cell arrangement in memory (random). During the dynamic gradient adaption, the resulting number of cells after adaption is estimated. If this number exceeds the maximum number of cells, both the Coarsen Threshold and the Rene Threshold are updated. This is done to ensure the best possible grid resolution with the specied number of cells. You can also specify the minimum number of cells. This is helpful if strong structures of the ow that were resolved with the adaption vanished (e.g. left the domain) and you want to resolve the remaining weaker ones. This would otherwise require modifying the Coarsen Threshold and the Rene Threshold. You can set the total number of cells allowed in the grid in the Max # of Cells eld. The minimum number of cells in the grid can be set in the Min # of Cells eld. The default values of zero places no limits on the number of cells.
Controlling the Levels of Renement During Hanging Node Adaption

You can control the number of levels of renement used to split cells during non-conformal adaption by setting the Max Level of Rene. The default value of 2 is a good start for most problems. If this is not sucient, you can increase this value. Note: Even in a 2D problem, the default value of 2 can increase the number of cells by a factor of 16, in the adapted regions.
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Grid Adaption
A value of zero leaves this parameter unbounded, and you should use a suitable limit for Min Cell Volume. For more information on hanging node adaption, see Section 27.2.1: Hanging Node Adaption. For guidelines for limiting cell sizes and number of cells during dynamic gradient adaption, see Section 27.5.1: Dynamic Gradient Adaption Approach.
Controlling Node Removal During Conformal Coarsening

You can control the removal of nodes during coarsening by modifying the node removal ags. The node removal ags control which nodes are eligible for possible elimination from the grid. Note: The node removal ags apply to conformal adaption only. For hanging node adaption, only renement nodes can be removed during coarsening, and they are always removed. Nodes introduced by renement are called renement nodes, and nodes that existed in the mesh before renement are called original nodes. FLUENT maintains a section in the case le with the node ags. If this section doesnt exist (i.e., when you rst read a grid), it identies all nodes as original nodes. It also distinguishes between nodes on boundary, internal, and periodic zones for both original nodes and nodes created by adaptive renement. To guarantee that the original shape of the domain boundaries is maintained, only the nodes introduced by renement are removed. For example, consider the grid of a rectangular domain. If one of the nodes on the edges of the rectangle is removed the shape is not modied, but if one of the corner nodes of the rectangle is eliminated, the shape is changed from a quadrilateral to a pentagon. You can modify this default behavior by changing the node removal ags. The most common modication is to allow the removal of original internal nodes. Removing internal nodes does not destroy the shape of the boundary. In fact, it can be very helpful if the initial grid has substantial resolution in a region with minor or no changes in physical features. Note: Removing the original boundary or periodic nodes can alter the shape, and in some instances may even destroy the topology, producing a worthless grid. Therefore, be careful when removing original boundary and periodic nodes. Write a case and data le before starting the adaption process. Then, if you generate an undesirable grid, you can restart the process with the saved les.
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27.13 Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping
By default, only the removal of renement nodes is allowed, as indicated by the enabled status of Boundary - Rened, Internal - Rened, and Periodic - Rened and the disabled status of Boundary - Original, Internal - Original, and Periodic - Original in the Grid Adaption Controls panel. If you want to disable the removal of these types of nodes, do so by turning o the associated check button. Similarly, if you want to enable their removal, turn on the associated check button.
27.13
Improving the Grid by Smoothing and Swapping
Smoothing and face swapping are tools that complement grid adaption, increasing the quality of the nal numerical mesh. Smoothing repositions the nodes and face swapping modies the cell connectivity to achieve these improvements in quality. Note: Face swapping is applicable only to grids with triangular or tetrahedral cells. Both, smoothing and swapping are performed using the Smooth/Swap Grid panel (Figure 27.13.1). Adapt Smooth/Swap...
Figure 27.13.1: The Smooth/Swap Grid Panel
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Grid Adaption
27.13.1
Smoothing
Two smoothing methods available in FLUENT are: Laplace smoothing: It can be applied to all types of grids, but it is recommended to use it for quadrilateral and hexahedral grids. Skewness-based smoothings: It is recommended for triangular and tetrahedral grids. This method can be used alternatively with face swapping (see Section 27.13.3: Combining Skewness-Based Smoothing and Face Swapping).
Laplacian Smoothing
When you use this method, a Laplacian smoothing operator is applied to the unstructured grid to reposition nodes. The new node position is the average of the positions of its node neighbors. The relaxation factor (with value between 0.0 and 1.0) multiplies the computed node position increment. A value of zero results in no movement of the node and a value of unity results in movement equivalent to the entire computed increment. Figure 27.13.2 illustrates the new node position for a typical conguration of quadrilateral cells. The dashed line is the original grid and the solid line is nal grid.
Figure 27.13.2: Result of Smoothing Operator on Node Position
This repositioning strategy improves the skewness of the mesh, but relaxes the clustering of node points. In extreme circumstances, the present operator may create grid lines that cross over the boundary, creating negative cell volumes. This is most likely to occur near sharp or coarsely resolved convex corners, especially if you perform multiple smoothing operations with a large relaxation factor. Figure 27.13.3 illustrates an initial tetrahedral grid before one unrelaxed smoothing iteration creates grid lines that cross over each other (Figure 27.13.4). The default smoothing parameters are designed to improve grid quality with minimal adverse eects, but save a case le before smoothing the mesh. If you apply a conservative
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Figure 27.13.3: Initial Grid Before Smoothing Operation
Figure 27.13.4: Grid Smoothing Causing Grid-Line Crossing
relaxation factor and start with a good quality initial grid, the frequency of failure due to smoothing is extremely low in two dimensions. However, corruption of the grid topology occurs much more frequently in three dimensions, particularly with tetrahedral grids. The smoothing operator can also be applied repeatedly, but as the number of smoothing sweeps increase, the node points have a tendency to pull away from boundaries and the grid tends to lose any clustering characteristics.
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Grid Adaption
To perform Laplacian smoothing, do the following: 1. In the Smooth/Swap Grid panel (Figure 27.13.1), select laplace in the Method dropdown list under Smooth. 2. Set the factor by which to multiply the computed position increment for the node in the Relaxation Factor eld. The lower the factor, the more reduction in node movement. 3. Specify the number of successive smoothing sweeps to be performed on the grid in the Number of Iterations eld. The default value is 4. 4. Click the Smooth button.
Skewness-Based Smoothing
When you use skewness-based smoothing, FLUENT applies a smoothing operator to the grid, repositioning interior nodes to lower the maximum skewness of the grid. FLUENT will try to move interior nodes to improve the skewness of cells with skewness greater than the specied minimum skewness. This process can be very time-consuming, so perform smoothing only on cells with high skewness. Improved results can be obtained by smoothing the nodes several times. There are internal checks that will prevent a node from being moved if moving it causes the maximum skewness to increase, but it is common for the skewness of some cells to increase when a cell with a higher skewness is being improved. Thus, you may see the average skewness increase while the maximum skewness is decreasing.
Carefully consider whether the improvements to the mesh due to a decrease in the maximum skewness are worth the potential increase in the average skewness. Performing smoothing only on cells with very high skewness (e.g., 0.8 or 0.9) may reduce the adverse eects on the average skewness.
To perform skewness-based smoothing, do the following: 1. In the Smooth/Swap Grid panel (Figure 27.13.1), select skewness in the Method drop-down list under Smooth. 2. Set the minimum cell skewness value for which node smoothing will be attempted in the Minimum Skewness eld. FLUENT will try to move interior nodes to improve the skewness of cells with skewness greater than this value. By default, Minimum Skewness is set to 0.4 for 2D and 0.8 for 3D. 3. Specify the number of successive smoothing sweeps to be performed on the grid in the Number of Iterations eld. The default value is 4. 4. Click the Smooth button.
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27.13.2
Face Swapping
Face swapping is used to improve the quality of a triangular or tetrahedral grid. To perform face swapping, click on the Swap button in the Smooth/Swap Grid panel until the reported Number Swapped is 0. The Number Visited indicates the total number of faces that were visited and tested for possible face swapping. Face swapping is applicable only to grids with triangular or tetrahedral cells.
Triangular Grids
The approach for triangular grids is to use the Delaunay circle test to decide if a face shared by two triangular cells should be swapped. A pair of cells sharing a face satises the circle test if the circumcircle of one cell does not contain the unshared node of the second cell. Figure 27.13.5 illustrates cell neighbors in the circle test. In cases where the circle test is not satised, the diagonal or face is swapped, as illustrated in Figure 27.13.6.
Figure 27.13.5: Examples of Cell Congurations in the Circle Test
Figure 27.13.6: Swapped Faces to Satisfy the Delaunay Circle Test
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Grid Adaption
Repeated application of the face-swapping technique will produce a constrained Delaunay mesh. If you have a Delaunay grid, it is a unique triangulation that maximizes the minimum angles in the mesh. Thus, the triangulation tends toward equilateral cells, providing the most equilateral grid for the given node distribution. For more information on Delaunay mesh generation, see the Theory chapter in the TGrid Users Guide.
Tetrahedral Grids
For tetrahedral grids, face swapping consists of searching for congurations of three cells sharing an edge and converting them into two cells sharing a face to decrease skewness and the cell count (see Figure 27.13.7).
Figure 27.13.7: 3D Face Swapping
27.13.3 Combining Skewness-Based Smoothing and Face Swapping

As mentioned in Section 27.13.1: Skewness-Based Smoothing, skewness-based smoothing should usually be alternated with face swapping. Guidelines for this procedure are presented here. Perform four smoothing iterations using a Minimum Skewness of 0.8 for 3D, or 0.4 for 2D. Swap until the Number Swapped decreases to 0. For 3D grids, decrease the Minimum Skewness to 0.6 and repeat the smoothing/swapping procedure.
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Chapter 28.
Creating Surfaces for Displaying and Reporting Data
FLUENT allows you to select portions of the domain to be used for visualizing the ow eld. The domain portions are called surfaces, and there are a variety of ways to create them. Surfaces are required for graphical analysis of 3D problems, since you cannot display vectors, contours, etc. or create an XY plot for the entire domain at once. In 2D you can usually visualize the ow eld on the entire domain, but to create an XY plot of a variable in a portion of the interior of the domain, you must generate a surface. In addition, in both 2D and 3D, you will need one or more surfaces if you want to generate a surface-integral report. Note that FLUENT will automatically create a surface for each boundary zone in the domain. Surface information is stored in the case le. The following sections explain how to create surfaces, rename, group, and delete them, and determine their sizes. Section 28.1: Using Surfaces Section 28.2: Zone Surfaces Section 28.3: Partition Surfaces Section 28.4: Point Surfaces Section 28.5: Line and Rake Surfaces Section 28.6: Plane Surfaces Section 28.7: Quadric Surfaces Section 28.8: Isosurfaces Section 28.9: Clipping Surfaces Section 28.10: Transforming Surfaces Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces
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28.1
Using Surfaces
In order to visualize the internal ow of a 3D problem or create XY plots of solution variables for 3D results, you must select portions of the domain (surfaces) on which the data are to be displayed. Surfaces can also be used for visualizing or plotting data for 2D problems, and for generating surface-integral reports. FLUENT provides methods for creating several kinds of surfaces, and stores all surfaces in the case le. These surfaces and their uses are described briey below: Zone Surfaces: If you want to create a surface that will contain the same cells/faces as an existing cell/face zone, you can generate a zone surface. This kind of surface is useful for displaying results on boundaries. Partition Surfaces: When you are using the parallel version of FLUENT, you may nd it useful to create surfaces that are dened by the boundaries between grid partitions (see Chapter 32: Parallel Processing for more information about running the parallel solver). You can then display data on each side of a partition boundary. Point Surfaces: To monitor the value of some variable or function at a particular location in the domain, you can create a surface consisting of a single point. Line and Rake Surfaces: To generate and display pathlines, you must specify a surface from which the particles are released. Line and rake surfaces are well-suited for this purpose and for obtaining data for comparison with wind tunnel data. A rake surface consists of a specied number of points equally spaced between two specied endpoints. A line surface is simply a line that includes the specied endpoints and extends through the domain; data points will be at the centers of the cells through which the line passes, and consequently will not be equally spaced. Plane Surfaces: If you want to display ow-eld data on a specic plane in the domain, you can create a plane surface. A plane surface is simply a plane that passes through three specied points. Quadric Surfaces: To display data on a line (2D), plane (3D), circle (2D), sphere (3D), or quadric surface you can specify the surface by entering the coecients of the quadric function that denes it. This feature provides you with an explicit method for dening surfaces. Isosurfaces: You can use an isosurface to display results on cells that have a constant value for a specied variable. Generating an isosurface based on x, y, or z coordinate, for example, will give you an x, y, or z cross-section of your domain. Generating an isosurface based on pressure will allow you to display data for another variable on a surface of constant pressure.
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28.2 Zone Surfaces
28.2
Zone Surfaces
Zone surfaces are useful for displaying results on boundaries. For example, you may want to plot contours of velocity magnitude at the inlet and outlet of the problem domain, or temperature contours on the domains walls. To do so, you need to have a surface that contains the same faces (or cells) as an existing face (or cell) zone. Zone surfaces are created automatically for all boundary face zones in the domain, so you will generally not need to create any zone surfaces unless you accidentally delete one. To create a zone surface, you will use the Zone Surface panel (Figure 28.2.1). Surface Zone...
Figure 28.2.1: The Zone Surface Panel
The steps for creating the zone surface are as follows: 1. In the Zone list, select the zone for which you want to create a surface. 2. If you do not want to use the default name assigned to the surface, enter a new name under New Surface Name. The default name is the concatenation of the surface type and an integer which is the new surface ID (e.g., zone-surface-6). (If the New Surface Name you enter is the same as the name of a surface that already exists, FLUENT will automatically assign the default name to the new surface when it is created.) 3. Click on the Create button. The new surface name will be added to the Surfaces list in the panel.
28-3
If you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click on the Manage... button to open the Surfaces panel. See Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces for details.
28.3
Partition Surfaces
If you are using the parallel version of FLUENT (see Chapter 32: Parallel Processing), you may nd it useful to create data surfaces dened by the boundaries of grid partitions. As described in Section 32.5: Partitioning the Grid, partitioning the grid divides it into groups of cells that can be solved on separate processors when you use a parallel solver. A partition surface will contain faces or cells on the boundary of two grid partitions. For example, you can plot solution values on the partition surface to determine how the solution is changing across a partition interface. Figure 28.3.1 shows cell-partition contours on a partition surface which is overlaid on the grid.
0.00e+00 3.00e-01 6.00e-01 9.00e-01 1.20e+00 1.50e+00 1.80e+00 2.10e+00 2.40e+00 2.70e+00 3.00e+00 Contours of Cell Partition
Figure 28.3.1: Contours of Cell Partitions on Partition Surface Overlaid on Grid
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28.3 Partition Surfaces
To create a partition surface, you will use the Partition Surface panel (Figure 28.3.2). Surface Partition... The steps for creating the partition surface are as follows:
Figure 28.3.2: The Partition Surface Panel
1. Specify the partition boundary you are interested in by indicating the two bordering partitions under the Partitions heading. The boundary that denes the partition surface is the boundary between the interior partition and the exterior partition. Int Part indicates the ID number of the interior partition (i.e., the partition under consideration), and Ext Part indicates the ID number of the bordering (exterior) partition. The Min and Max elds will indicate the minimum and maximum ID numbers of the grid partitions. (The minimum is always zero, and the maximum is one less than the number of processors.) If there are more than two grid partitions, each interior partition will share boundaries with several exterior partitions. By setting the appropriate values for Int Part and Ext Part, you can create surfaces for any of these boundaries. 2. Choose interior or exterior faces or cells to be contained in the partition surface by turning Cells and Interior on or o under Options. To obtain a surface consisting of cells that are on the interior side of the partition boundary, turn on both Cells and Interior. To create one consisting of cells that are on the exterior side, turn on Cells and turn o Interior. If you want the surface to contain the faces on the boundary instead of the cells, turn o the Cells option. To have the faces reect data values for the interior cells, turn the Interior check button on, and to have them reect values for the exterior cells, turn it o.
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3. If you do not want to use the default name assigned to the surface, enter a new name under New Surface Name. The default name is the concatenation of the surface type and an integer which is the new surface ID (e.g., partition-surface-6). (If the New Surface Name you enter is the same as the name of a surface that already exists, FLUENT will automatically assign the default name to the new surface when it is created.) 4. Click on the Create button. The new surface name will be added to the Surfaces list in the panel. If you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click on the Manage... button to open the Surfaces panel. See Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces for details.
28.4
Point Surfaces
You may often be interested in displaying results at a single point in the domain. For example, you may want to monitor the value of some variable or function at a particular location. To do this, you must rst create a point surface, consisting of a single point. When you display node-value data on a point surface, the value displayed will be a linear average of the neighboring node values. If you display cell-value data, the value at the cell in which the point lies will be displayed. To create a point surface, you will use the Point Surface panel (Figure 28.4.1). Surface Point...
Figure 28.4.1: The Point Surface Panel
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28.4 Point Surfaces
The steps for creating the point surface are as follows: 1. Specify the location of the point. There are three dierent ways to do this: Enter the coordinates (x0,y0,z0) under Coordinates. Click on the Select Point With Mouse button and then select the point by clicking on a location in the active graphics window with the mouse-probe button. (See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about setting mouse button functions.) Use the Point Tool option to interactively position a point in the graphics window. You can set the initial location of this point using one of the two methods described above for specifying the points position (or you can start from the position dened by the default Coordinates). See Section 28.4.1: Using the Point Tool for information about using the point tool. 2. If you do not want to use the default name assigned to the surface, enter a new name under New Surface Name. The default name is the concatenation of the surface type and an integer which is the new surface ID (e.g., point-5). (If the New Surface Name you enter is the same as the name of a surface that already exists, FLUENT will automatically assign the default name to the new surface when it is created.) 3. Click on the Create button to create the new surface. If you want to check that your new surface has been added to the list of all dened surfaces, or you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click on the Manage... button to open the Surfaces panel. See Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces for details.
28.4.1
Using the Point Tool
The point tool allows you to interactively ne-tune the denition of a point using graphics. Starting from an initial point, you can translate the point until its position is as desired. For example, if you need to position a point surface at the center of a duct, just past the inlet, you can start with the point tool near the desired location (e.g., on the inlet), and translate it until it is in the proper place. (You may nd it helpful to display grid faces to ensure that the point tool is correctly positioned inside the domain.)
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Initializing the Point Tool

Before turning on the Point Tool option, set the Coordinates to suitable starting values. You can enter values manually, or use the Select Point With Mouse button. Often it is convenient to display the grid for an inlet or isosurface on or near which the point is to be located, and then select a point on that grid to specify the initial position of the point tool. Once you have specied the appropriate Coordinates, activate the tool by turning on the Point Tool option. The point tool, an eight-sided polygon, will appear in the graphics window, as shown in Figure 28.4.2.
Figure 28.4.2: The Point Tool
You can then translate the point tool as described below. The point surface you create will be located at the center of the point tool.
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28.4 Point Surfaces
Translating the Point Tool

To translate the point tool in the direction along the red axis, click the mouse-probe button (the right button by defaultsee Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about changing the mouse functions) anywhere on the gray part of the point tool and drag the mouse until the tool reaches the desired location. Green arrows will show the direction of motion. To translate the tool in the transverse directions (i.e., along either of the other axes), press the <Shift> key, click the mouse-probe button anywhere on the gray part of the point tool, and drag the mouse until the tool reaches the desired location. Two sets of green arrows will show the possible directions of motion. (In 2D, there will be only one set of green arrows, since there is only one other direction for translation.) If you nd the perspective distracting when performing this type of translation, you can turn it o in the Camera Parameters panel (opened from the Views panel), as described in Section 29.4.2: Controlling Perspective and Camera Parameters.
Resetting the Point Tool

If you lose the point tool, or want to reset it for any other reason, you can either click on the Reset button to return the point tool to the default position and start from there, or turn the tool o and reinitialize it as described above. In the default position, the point tool will lie at the center of the domain.
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28.5
Line and Rake Surfaces
You can create lines and rakes in the domain for releasing particles, obtaining data for comparison with tunnel data, etc. A rake consists of a specied number of points equally spaced between two specied endpoints. A line is simply a line that extends up to and includes the specied endpoints; data points will be located where the line intersects the faces of the cell, and consequently may not be equally spaced. To create a line or rake surface, you will use the Line/Rake Surface panel (Figure 28.5.1). Surface Line/Rake...
Figure 28.5.1: The Line/Rake Surface Panel
The steps for creating the line or rake surface are as follows: 1. Indicate whether you are creating a Line surface or a Rake surface by selecting the appropriate item in the Type drop-down list. 2. If you are creating a rake surface, specify the Number of Points to be equally spaced between the two endpoints.
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28.5 Line and Rake Surfaces
3. Specify the location of the line or rake surface. There are three dierent ways to dene the location: Enter the coordinates of the rst point (x0,y0,z0) and the last point (x1,y1,z1) under End Points. Click on the Select Points With Mouse button and then select the endpoints by clicking on locations in the active graphics window with the mouse-probe button. (See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about setting mouse button functions.) Use the Line Tool option to interactively position a line in the graphics window. You can set the initial location of this line using one of the two methods described above for specifying endpoints (or you can start from the position dened by the default End Points). See Section 28.5.1: Using the Line Tool for information about using the line tool. Note that the coordinates of the End Points will be updated automatically when you use the second or third method described above. 4. If you do not want to use the default name assigned to the surface, enter a new name under New Surface Name. The default name is the concatenation of the surface type and an integer which is the new surface ID (e.g., line-5 or rake-6). (If the New Surface Name you enter is the same as the name of a surface that already exists, FLUENT will automatically assign the default name to the new surface when it is created.) 5. Click on the Create button to create the new surface. If you want to check that your new surface has been added to the list of all dened surfaces, or you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click on the Manage... button to open the Surfaces panel. See Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces for details.
28.5.1
Using the Line Tool
The line tool allows you to interactively ne-tune the denition of a line or rake using graphics. Starting from an initial line, you can translate, rotate, and resize the line until its position, orientation, and length are as desired. For example, if you need to position a rake surface just inside the inlet to a duct, you can start with the line tool near the desired location (e.g., on the inlet), and translate, rotate, and resize it until you are satised. (You may nd it helpful to display grid faces to ensure that the line tool is correctly positioned inside the domain.)
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Initializing the Line Tool

Before turning on the Line Tool option, set the End Points to suitable starting values. You can enter values manually, or use the Select Points With Mouse button. Often it is convenient to display the grid for an inlet or isosurface on or near which you wish to place the line or rake surface and then select two points on that grid to specify the initial position of the line tool. Once you have specied the appropriate End Points, activate the tool by turning on the Line Tool option. The line tool will appear in the graphics window, as shown in Figure 28.5.2.
Figure 28.5.2: The Line Tool
You can then translate, rotate, and/or resize the line tool as described below.
Translating the Line Tool

To translate the line tool in the direction along the red axis, click the mouse-probe button (the right button by defaultsee Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about changing the mouse functions) anywhere on the line part of the tool (see note below) and drag the mouse until the tool reaches the desired location. Green arrows will show the direction of motion.
Do not click on the axes of the line tool that have arrows on the ends. These axes control rotation of the tool. Click only on the portion of the tool that represents the prospective line surface. This portion is designated by the rectangles attached to each end.
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28.5 Line and Rake Surfaces
To translate the tool in the transverse directions (i.e., along either of the axes within the plane perpendicular to the red axis), press the <Shift> key, click the mouse-probe button anywhere on the line part of the tool (see note above), and drag the mouse until the tool reaches the desired location. Two sets of green arrows will show the possible directions of motion. (In 2D, there will be only one set of green arrows, since there is only one other direction for translation.) If you nd the perspective distracting when performing this type of translation, you can turn it o in the Camera Parameters panel (opened from the Views panel), as described in Section 29.4.2: Controlling Perspective and Camera Parameters.
Rotating the Line Tool

To rotate the line tool, you will click the mouse-probe button on one of the white axes with arrows. When you click on one of these axes, a green ribbon will encircle the other arrowed axis, designating it as the axis of rotation. As you drag the mouse along the circle to rotate the tool, the green circle will become yellow.
Do not click on the red axis to rotate the line tool.
Resizing the Line Tool

If you plan to generate a rake surface, you can resize the line tool to dene the length of the rake. Click the mouse-probe button in one of the white rectangles at the ends of the line part of the tool (shown in black in Figure 28.5.2) and drag the mouse to lengthen or shorten the tool. Green arrows will show the direction of stretching/shrinking.
Resetting the Line Tool

If you lose the line tool, or want to reset it for any other reason, you can either click on the Reset button to return the line tool to the default position and start from there, or turn the tool o and reinitialize it as described above. In the default position, the line tool will lie midway along the x and y lengths of the domain, spanning the z domain extent.
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28.6
Plane Surfaces
To display ow-eld data on a specic plane in the domain, you will use a plane surface. You can create surfaces that cut through the solution domain along arbitrary planes only in 3D; this feature is not available in 2D. There are six types of plane surfaces that you can create: Intersection of the domain with the innite plane: This is the default plane surface created. The extents of the plane will be determined by the extents of the domain. Since the plane is slicing through the domain, the data points will, by default, be located where the plane intersects the faces of a cell, and consequently may not be equally spaced. Bounded plane: This plane will be a bounded parallelepiped, for which 3 of the 4 corners are the 3 points that dene the plane equation (or the 4 corners are the corners of the plane tool). Like the default plane surface described above, this type of surface will also have unequally spaced data points. Bounded plane with equally spaced data points: This plane is the same as the bounded plane described above, except you will specify the density of points along the 2 directions of the parallelepiped, creating a uniform distribution of data points. Plane having a certain normal vector and passing through a specied point: To create this type of plane, you will dene a normal vector and a point. A plane with the specied normal and passing through the specied point will be created. Plane aligned with an existing surface: To create this type of plane, you will dene a single point and a surface. A plane parallel to the selected surface and passing through the specied point will be created. Plane aligned with the view in the graphics window: To create this type of plane, you will dene a single point. A plane parallel to the current view in the active graphics window and passing through the specied point will be created. To create a plane surface, you will use the Plane Surface panel (Figure 28.6.1). Surface Plane... The steps for creating the plane surface are as follows: 1. Decide which of the six types of planes described above you want to create. If you are creating the default plane type (the intersection of the innite plane with the domain), go directly to step 2. To create a bounded plane, turn on Bounded under Options. To create a bounded plane with equally spaced data points, turn on both Bounded and Sample Points, and then set the number of data points under
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28.6 Plane Surfaces
Figure 28.6.1: The Plane Surface Panel
Sample Density. You will specify the point density in each direction by entering the appropriate values for Edge 1 and Edge 2. (Edge 1 extends from point 0 to point 1, and edge 2 extends from point 1 to point 2. The points are specied in step 2, below.) To dene a plane aligned with an existing surface, select Aligned With Surface, and then choose the surface in the Surfaces list and specify a single point using one of the rst two methods described below in step 2. To dene a plane aligned with the view plane, select Aligned With View Plane, and then choose a single point using one of the rst two methods described below in step 2. To dene a plane having a certain normal vector and passing through a specied point, select Point And Normal, and then specify the normal vector by entering values in the ix, iy, and iz elds under Normal, and a single point using one of the rst two methods described below in step 2.
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2. Specify the location of the plane surface. There are three dierent ways to dene the location: Enter the coordinates of the three Points dening the planar surface: (x0,y0,z0), (x1,y1,z1), and (x2,y2,z2). Click on the Select Points button and then select the three points by clicking on locations in the active graphics window with the mouse-probe button. (See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about setting mouse button functions.) Use the Plane Tool option to interactively position a plane in the graphics window. You can set the initial location of this plane using one of the two methods described above for specifying the dening points (or you can start from the position dened by the default Points). See Section 28.6.1: Using the Plane Tool for information about using the plane tool. Note that the coordinates of the Points will be updated automatically when you use the second or third method described above. 3. If you do not want to use the default name assigned to the surface, enter a new name under New Surface Name. The default name is the concatenation of the surface type and an integer which is the new surface ID (e.g., plane-7). (If the New Surface Name you enter is the same as the name of a surface that already exists, FLUENT will automatically assign the default name to the new surface when it is created.) 4. Click on the Create button to create the new surface. If you want to check that your new surface has been added to the list of all dened surfaces, or you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click on the Manage... button to open the Surfaces panel. See Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces for details.
28.6.1
Using the Plane Tool
The plane tool allows you to interactively ne-tune the denition of a plane using graphics. Starting from an initial plane, you can translate, rotate, and resize the plane until its position, orientation, and size are as desired. For example, if you need to position a plane surface at a cross-section of an irregularly-shaped, curved duct, you can start with the plane tool near the desired location, resize it, translate it until it is within the duct walls, and rotate it to the proper orientation. (You may nd it helpful to display grid faces to ensure that the plane tool is correctly positioned inside the domain.)
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28.6 Plane Surfaces
Initializing the Plane Tool

Before turning on the Plane Tool option, set the Points to suitable starting values. You can enter values manually, or use the Select Points button. Often it is convenient to display the grid for an inlet or isosurface that is similar to the desired plane surface, and then select three points on that grid to position the initial plane. Once you have specied the appropriate Points, activate the tool by turning on the Plane Tool option. The plane tool will appear in the graphics window, as shown in Figure 28.6.2.
Figure 28.6.2: The Plane Tool
You can then translate, rotate, and/or resize the plane tool as described below.
Translating the Plane Tool

To translate the plane tool in the direction normal to the plane, click the mouse-probe button (the right button by defaultsee Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about changing the mouse functions) anywhere on the gray part of the plane tool and drag the mouse until the tool reaches the desired location. Green arrows will show the direction of motion.
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To translate the tool in the transverse directions (i.e., along either of the axes that lie within the plane), press the <Shift> key, click the mouse-probe button anywhere on the gray part of the plane tool, and drag the mouse until the tool reaches the desired location. Two sets of green arrows will show the possible directions of motion. If you nd the perspective distracting when performing this type of translation, you can turn it o in the Camera Parameters panel (opened from the Views panel), as described in Section 29.4.2: Controlling Perspective and Camera Parameters.
Rotating the Plane Tool

To rotate the plane tool, you will click the mouse-probe button on one of the white arrows at the tips of the planes axes. Clicking on any arrow allows you to rotate the tool about either of the other two axes: when you click on the arrow, two green ribbons will encircle the plane tool, forming circles about each of the two possible axes of rotation. Drag the mouse along the desired circle to rotate the tool. As you do so, the circle along which the tool is rotating will become yellow. The following notes may help you when you are rotating the plane tool: Once you move your mouse along one circle, you cannot change the direction of rotation unless you release the mouse-probe button and try again. Be careful to start moving your mouse very steadily so that you can choose the correct direction. Do not click on the red arrow to rotate. Do not try to rotate by clicking on an arrow that is pointing away from you. It will be very dicult for you to judge which direction of rotation is correct from this point of view. Since there are two arrows on each axis, there will always be an appropriate arrow available. Do not rotate the plane tool more than 90 or so at once. If you rotate the tool by a large angle, the arrow on which you are clicking will begin to point away from you, and you will have trouble controlling the rotation (as discussed in the item above).
Resizing the Plane Tool

If you plan to generate a bounded plane, you can resize the plane tool to dene the planes boundaries. Click the mouse-probe button in one of the white squares at the plane tools corners (shown in black in Figure 28.6.2) and drag the mouse to stretch or shrink the tool. Green arrows will show the direction of the planes diagonal.
Be careful not to drag your mouse across any of the axes while resizing the tool. This will ip the tool over and corrupt it. If you accidentally do this, reset the plane tool and start again.
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28.7 Quadric Surfaces
Resetting the Plane Tool

If you lose the plane tool, or want to reset it for any other reason, you can either click on the Reset Points button to return the plane tool to the default position and start from there, or turn the tool o and reinitialize it as described above. In the default position, the plane tool will lie midway along the x length of the domain, spanning the y and z domain extents.
28.7
Quadric Surfaces
If you want to display data on a line (2D), plane (3D), circle (2D), sphere (3D), or general quadric surface, you can specify the surface by entering the coecients of the quadric function that denes it. This feature provides you with an explicit method for dening surfaces. See Sections 28.5 and 28.6 for additional methods for creating line and plane surfaces. To create a quadric surface, you will use the Quadric Surface panel (Figure 28.7.1). Surface Quadric...
Figure 28.7.1: The Quadric Surface Panel
The steps for creating the quadric surface are as follows: 1. Decide which type of quadric surface you want to create. In 3D, choose Plane, Sphere, or (general) Quadric in the Type drop-down list. In 2D, choose Line, Circle, or Quadric.
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2. Specify the dening equation for the surface in SI units. Line or plane surface: If you have selected Line (in 2D) or Plane (in 3D) as the surface type, the surface will consist of all points on the domain that satisfy the equation ix x + iy y + iz z = distance. You will input ix (the coecient of x), iy (the coecient of y), iz (the coecient of z), and distance (the distance of the line or plane from the origin) in the elds to the right of the Type drop-down list. When you click on the Update button under the Quadric Function heading, the display of the quadric function coecients will change to reect your inputs. Circle or sphere surface: If you have selected Circle (in 2D) or Sphere (in 3D) as the surface type, the surface will consist of all points on the domain that satisfy the equation (x x0)2 + (y y0)2 + (z z0)2 = r2 . You will input x0,y0,z0 (the x, y, and z coordinates of the sphere or circles center) and r2 (the square of the radius) in the elds to the right of the Type drop-down list. When you click on the Update button under the Quadric Function heading, the display of the quadric function coecients will change to reect your inputs. Quadric surface: If you have selected Quadric as the surface type, the surface will consist of all points in the domain that satisfy the general quadric function Q = value. You will input the coecients of the quadric function Q (the coecients of the terms x2 , y2 , z2 , xy, yz, zx, x, y, z and the constant term) directly in the Quadric Function box, and you will set value to the right of the Type drop-down list. Note that the Update button will be disabled when you choose this type of surface. 3. If you do not want to use the default name assigned to the surface, enter a new name under New Surface Name. The default name is the concatenation of the surface type and an integer which is the new surface ID (e.g., sphere-slice-7 or quadric-slice-10). (If the New Surface Name you enter is the same as the name of a surface that already exists, FLUENT will automatically assign the default name to the new surface when it is created.) 4. Click on the Create button to create the new surface. If you want to check that your new surface has been added to the list of all dened surfaces, or you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click on the Manage... button to open the Surfaces panel. See Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces for details.
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28.8 Isosurfaces
28.8
Isosurfaces
If you want to display results on cells that have a constant value for a specied variable, you will need to create an isosurface of that variable. Generating an isosurface based on x, y, or z coordinate, for example, will give you an x, y, or z cross-section of your domain; generating an isosurface based on pressure will allow you to display data for another variable on a surface of constant pressure. You can create an isosurface from an existing surface or from the entire domain. Furthermore, you can restrict any isosurface to a specied cell zone.
Note that you cannot create an isosurface until you have initialized the solution, performed calculations, or read a data le.
To create an isosurface, you will use the Iso-Surface panel (Figure 28.8.1). Surface Iso-Surface...
Figure 28.8.1: The Iso-Surface Panel
The steps for creating the isosurface are as follows: 1. Choose the scalar variable to be used for isosurfacing in the Surface of Constant drop-down list. First, select the desired category in the upper list. You can then select from related quantities from the lower list. (See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.)
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2. If you wish to create an isosurface from an existing surface (i.e., generate a new surface of constant x, y, temperature, pressure, etc. that is a subset of another surface), choose that surface in the From Surface list. If you do not select a surface from the list, the isosurfacing will be performed on the entire domain. You can specify the cell zone on which you want to create an isosurface by selecting the zone in the From Zones list. If you do not select a zone from the list, then the isosurfacing will not be restricted to any cell zone and will run through the entire domain. 3. Click on the Compute button to calculate the minimum and maximum values of the selected scalar eld in the domain or on the selected surface (in the From Surface list). The minimum and maximum values will be displayed in the Min and Max elds. 4. Set the isovalue using one of the following methods. (Note that the second method will allow you to dene multiple isovalues in a single isosurface.) You can set an isovalue interactively by moving the slider with the left mouse button. The value in the Iso-Values eld will be updated automatically. This method will also create a temporary isosurface in the graphics window. Using the slider allows you to preview an isosurface before creating it.
Even though the isosurface is displayed, it is only a temporary surface. To create an isosurface, use the Create button after deciding on a particular isovalue.
You can type in isovalues in the Iso-Values eld directly, separating multiple values by white space. Multiple isovalues will be contained in a single isosurface; i.e., you cannot select subsurfaces within the resulting isosurface. 5. If you do not want to use the default name assigned to the surface, enter a new name under New Surface Name. The default name is the concatenation of the surface type and an integer which is the new surface ID (e.g., z-coordinate-6). (If the New Surface Name you enter is the same as the name of a surface that already exists, FLUENT will automatically assign the default name to the new surface when it is created.) 6. Click on the Create button. The new surface name will be added to the From Surface list in the panel. If you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click on the Manage... button to open the Surfaces panel. See Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces for details.
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28.9 Clipping Surfaces
28.9
Clipping Surfaces
If you have created a surface, but you do not want to use the whole surface to display data, you can clip the surface between two isovalues to create a new surface that spans a specied subrange of a specied scalar quantity. The clipped surface consists of those points on the selected surface where the scalar eld values are within the specied range. For example, in Figure 28.9.1 the external wall has been clipped to values of x coordinate less than 0 to show only the back half of the wall, allowing you to see the valve inside the intake port.
Figure 28.9.1: External Wall Surface Isoclipped to Values of x Coordinate
To clip an existing surface, you will use the Iso-Clip panel (Figure 28.9.2). Surface Iso-Clip... The steps for clipping a surface are as follows: 1. Choose the scalar variable on which the clipping will be based in the Clip To Values Of drop-down list. First, select the desired category in the upper list. You can then select from related quantities from the lower list. (See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 2. Select the surface to be clipped in the Clip Surface list. 3. Click on the Compute button to calculate the minimum and maximum values of the selected scalar eld on the selected surface. The minimum and maximum values will be displayed in the Min and Max elds.
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Figure 28.9.2: The Iso-Clip Panel
4. Dene the clipping range using one of the following methods. You can set the upper and lower limits of the clipping range interactively by moving the indicator in each dial (i.e., the dial above the Min or Max eld) with the left mouse button. The value in the corresponding Min or Max eld will be updated automatically. This method will also create a temporary surface in the graphics window. Using the dials allows you to preview a clipped surface before creating it.
Even though the clipped surface is displayed, it is only a temporary surface. To create the new surface, use the Clip button after deciding on the clipping range.
You can type the minimum and maximum values in the clipping range directly in the Min and Max elds. 5. If you do not want to use the default name assigned to the surface, enter a new name under New Surface Name. The default name is the concatenation of the surface type and an integer which is the new surface ID (e.g., clip-density-8). (If the New Surface Name you enter is the same as the name of a surface that already exists, FLUENT will automatically assign the default name to the new surface when it is created.) 6. Click on the Clip button. The new surface name will be added to the Clip Surface list in the panel. (The original surface will remain unchanged.)
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28.10 Transforming Surfaces
If you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click on the Manage... button to open the Surfaces panel. See Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces for details.
28.10
Transforming Surfaces
You can create a new data surface from an existing surface by rotating and/or translating the original surface. For example, you can rotate the surface of a complicated turbomachinery blade to plot data in the region between blades. You can also create a new surface at a constant normal distance from the original surface. To transform an existing surface to create a new one, you will use the Transform Surface panel (Figure 28.10.1). Surface Transform...
Figure 28.10.1: The Transform Surface Panel
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The steps for transforming a surface are as follows: 1. Select the surface to be transformed in the Transform Surface list. 2. Set the appropriate transformation parameters, as described below. You can perform any combination of translation, rotation, and isodistancing on the surface. Rotation: To rotate a surface, you will specify the origin about which the rotation is performed, and the angle by which the surface is rotated. In the About box under Rotate, you will specify a point, and the origin of the coordinate system for the rotation will be set to that point. (The x, y, and z directions will be the same as for the global coordinate system.) For example, if you specied the point (1,5,3) in 3D, rotation would be about the x, y, and z axes anchored at (1,5,3). You can either enter the points coordinates in the x,y,z elds or click on the Mouse Select button and select a point in the graphics window using the mouse-probe button. (See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about mouse button functions.) In the Angles box under Rotate, you will specify the angles about the x, y, and z axes (i.e., the axes of the coordinate system with the origin dened under About) by which the surface is rotated. For 2D problems, you can specify rotation about the z axis only. Translation: To translate a surface, you will simply dene the distance by which the surface is translated in each direction. Set the x, y, and z translation distances under Translate. Isodistancing: To create a surface positioned at a constant normal distance from the original surface, you need to set only that normal distance between the original surface and the transformed surface. Set the value for d under Iso-Distance. 3. If you do not want to use the default name assigned to the surface, enter a new name under New Surface Name. The default name is the concatenation of the surface type and an integer which is the new surface ID (e.g., transform-9). (If the New Surface Name you enter is the same as the name of a surface that already exists, FLUENT will automatically assign the default name to the new surface when it is created.) 4. Click on the Create button. The new surface name will be added to the Transform Surface list in the panel. (The original surface will remain unchanged.) If you want to delete or otherwise manipulate any surfaces, click on the Manage... button to open the Surfaces panel. See Section 28.11: Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces for details.
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28.11 Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces
28.11 Grouping, Renaming, and Deleting Surfaces

Once you have created a number of surfaces, you can interactively rename, delete, and group surfaces and obtain information about their components. Grouping surfaces is useful if you want to perform postprocessing on a number of surfaces at a time. For example, you may want to group several wall surfaces together to generate a contour plot of temperature on all walls. To postprocess results on each wall surface individually, you will simply ungroup the surfaces. Manipulation of existing surfaces is performed with the Surfaces panel (Figure 28.11.1). Surface Manage...
Figure 28.11.1: The Surfaces Panel
You can also open this panel by clicking on the Manage... button in one of the surface creation panels described in the previous sections.
Grouping Surfaces
As mentioned above, you may want to group several surfaces together in order to perform postprocessing on all of them at once. To create a surface group, select the surfaces to be grouped in the Surfaces list. You can dene a new name for the group in the Name eld, or you can use the default name, which is the name of the rst surface you selected in the Surfaces list. Then click on the Group button. The selected surfaces will disappear from the Surfaces list, and the name of the surface group will be added to the list.
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Note that the Group button will not appear until you have selected at least two surfaces. As soon as you choose a second surface in the Surfaces list, the Rename button will change to the Group button.
To ungroup the surfaces, simply select the surface group in the Surfaces list and click on the UnGroup button. The group name will disappear from the list and the names of the original surfaces in the group will reappear in the list.
Renaming Surfaces
To change the name of an existing surface, select the surface in the Surfaces list, enter a new name in the Name eld, and then click on the Rename button. The new name will replace the old name in the Surfaces list and the surface will be otherwise unchanged. Note that the Rename button will not appear in the panel if you have selected more than one surface. When more than one surface is selected, the Rename button is replaced by the Group button.
Deleting Surfaces
If you nd that a surface is no longer useful, you may want to delete it to prevent the list of surfaces from becoming too cluttered. Select the surface or surfaces to be deleted in the Surfaces list, and then click on the Delete button. The delete operation is not reversible, so if you want to get a deleted surface back again you will need to recreate it using one of the surface-creation panels described in the previous sections.
Surface Statistics
You can also use the Surfaces panel to retrieve topological information about surfaces. Points is the total number of nodes in a surface. 0D Facets is the number of isolated nodes in a surface (i.e., nodes that have no connectivity, such as point surfaces or nodes in a rake), 1D Facets is the number of linear faces (consisting of two connected nodes) in a surface in a 2D problem, and 2D Facets is the number of 2D faces (triangular or quadrilateral) in a surface in a 3D problem. Note that an interior zone surface in a 3D problem consists of 2D facets, and similarly an interior zone surface in a 2D problem consists of 1D facets. These statistics are listed for the surface(s) selected in the Surfaces list. If more than one surface is selected, the sum over all selected surfaces is displayed for each quantity. Note that if you want to check these statistics for a surface that was read from a case le, you will need to rst display it.
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Chapter 29.
Graphics and Visualization
Graphics tools available in FLUENT allow you to process the information contained in your CFD solution and easily view the results. The following sections explain how to use these tools to examine your solution. (Note that the procedure for saving hardcopy les of graphics displays is described in Section 4.12: Saving Hardcopy Files.) Section 29.1: Basic Graphics Generation Section 29.2: Customizing the Graphics Display Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions Section 29.4: Modifying the View Section 29.5: Composing a Scene Section 29.6: Animating Graphics Section 29.7: Creating Videos Section 29.8: Histogram and XY Plots Section 29.9: Turbomachinery Postprocessing Section 29.10: Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Postprocessing
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29.1
Basic Graphics Generation
In FLUENT you can generate graphics displays showing grids, contours, proles, vectors, and pathlines. Some graphics are generated using variables that are plotted directly from the FLUENT data le once the le has been read. The variables listed in the data le depend on the models active at the time the le is written. Variables that are required by the solver, based on the current model settings, but are missing from the data le are set to their default values. For those missing variables, one iteration should be performed in order to obtain the required values for generating the plot. A complete list of variables stored in the data le is available in (xfile.h) and can be accessed as stated in Section B.5: Data Sections. The following sections describe how to create these plots. (Generation of histogram and XY plots is discussed in Section 29.8: Histogram and XY Plots.)
If your model includes a discrete phase, you can also display the particle trajectories, as described in Section 23.12.1: Graphical Display of Trajectories.
Section 29.1.1: Displaying the Grid Section 29.1.2: Displaying Contours and Proles Section 29.1.3: Displaying Vectors Section 29.1.4: Displaying Pathlines Section 29.1.5: Displaying Results on a Sweep Surface
29.1.1
Displaying the Grid
During the problem setup or when you are examining your solution, you may want to look at the grid associated with certain surfaces. You can display the outline of all or part of the domain, as shown in Figure 29.1.1; draw the grid lines (edges), as shown in Figure 29.1.2; draw the solid surfaces (lled grids) for a 3D domain, as shown in Figure 29.1.3; and/or draw the nodes on the domain surfaces, as shown in Figure 29.1.4. See also Section 29.1.5: Displaying Results on a Sweep Surface for information about displaying the grid on a surface that sweeps through the domain.
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29.1 Basic Graphics Generation
Y X Z
Grid Outline
Figure 29.1.1: Outline Display
Y Z X
Grid
Figure 29.1.2: Grid Edge Display
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Y X Z
Grid
Figure 29.1.3: Grid Face (Filled Grid) Display
Y X Z
Node Display
Figure 29.1.4: Node Display
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Steps for Generating Grid or Outline Plots

You can draw the grid or outline for all or part of your domain using the Grid Display panel (Figure 29.1.5). Display Grid...
Figure 29.1.5: The Grid Display Panel
The basic steps for generating a grid or outline plot are as follows: 1. Choose the surfaces for which you want to display the grid or outline in the Surfaces list. If you want to select several surfaces of the same type, you can select that type in the Surface Types list instead. All of the surfaces of that type will be selected automatically in the Surfaces list (or deselected, if they are all selected already). Another shortcut is to specify a Surface Name Pattern and click Match to select surfaces with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify wall*, all surfaces whose names begin with wall (e.g., wall-1, wall-top) will be selected automatically. If they are all selected already, they will be deselected. If you specify wall?, all surfaces whose names consist of wall followed by a single character will be selected (or deselected, if they are all selected already). To choose all outline surfaces (i.e., surfaces on the outer boundary of the domain), click the Outline button below the Surface Types list. If all outline surfaces are
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already selected, this will deselect them. To choose all interior surfaces, click the Interior button. If all interior surfaces are already selected, this will deselect them. 2. Depending on what you want to draw, do one or more of the following: To draw an outline of the selected surfaces (as in Figure 29.1.1), select Edges under Options and Outline under Edge Type. If you need more detail in the outline display of a complex geometry, see the description of the Feature option, below. To draw the grid edges (as in Figure 29.1.2), select Edges under Options and All under Edge Type. To generate a lled-grid display (as in Figure 29.1.3), select Faces under Options. To draw the nodes on the selected surfaces (as in Figure 29.1.4), select Nodes under Options. 3. Set any of the options described below. 4. Click the Display button to draw the specied grid or outline in the active graphics window. If you choose to display lled grids, and you want a smoothly shaded display, you should turn on lighting and select a lighting interpolation method other than Flat in the Display Options panel or the Lights panel. If you display nodes, and you want to change the symbol representing the nodes, you can change the Point Symbol in the Display Options panel. See Section 29.2.7: Modifying the Rendering Options for details.
Grid and Outline Display Options

The options mentioned in the procedure above include modifying the grid colors, adding the outline of important features to an outline display, drawing partition boundaries, and shrinking the faces and/or cells in the display. Modifying the Grid Colors FLUENT allows you to control the colors that are used to render the grids for each zone type or surface. This capability can help you to understand grid plots quickly and easily. To modify the colors, open the Grid Colors panel (Figure 29.1.6) by clicking on the Colors... button in the Grid Display panel. (Note that you can set colors individually for the grids displayed on each surface, using the Scene Description panel.)
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Figure 29.1.6: The Grid Colors Panel
By default, the Color by Type option is turned on, allowing you to assign colors based on zone type. To change the color used to draw the grid for a particular zone type, select the zone type in the Types list and then select the new color in the Colors list. You will see the eect of your change when you next display the grid. Note that the surface type in the Types list applies to all surface grids (i.e., grids that are drawn for surfaces created using the panels opened from the Surface menu) except zone surfaces. If you prefer to use the colors FLUENT assigns by zone ID, then you can display the grid using the Color by ID option. Adding Features to an Outline Display For closed 3D geometries such as cylinders, the standard outline display often will not show enough detail to accurately depict the shape. This is because for each boundary, only those edges on the outside of the geometry (i.e., those that are used by only one face on the boundary) are drawn. In Figure 29.1.7, which shows the outline display for a complicated duct geometry, only the inlet and outlet are visible. You can capture additional features using the Feature option in the Grid Display panel. (See Figure 29.1.8.) Turn on Feature under Edge Type, and then set the Feature Angle. With the default Feature Angle of 20, if the dierence between the normal directions of two adjacent faces is more than 20 , the edge between those faces will be drawn. Decreasing the Feature Angle will result in more edge lines (i.e., more detail) being added to the outline display. The appropriate angle for your geometry will depend on its curvature and complexity. You can modify the Feature Angle until you nd the value that yields the best outline display.
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Figure 29.1.7: Standard Outline of Complex Duct
Figure 29.1.8: Feature Outline of Complex Duct
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Drawing Partition Boundaries If you have partitioned your grid for parallel processing, you can add the display of partition boundaries to the grid display by turning on the Partitions option in the Grid Display panel. Shrinking Faces and Cells in the Display If you need to distinguish individual faces or cells in the display, you may want to enlarge the space between adjacent faces or cells by increasing the Shrink Factor in the Grid Display panel. The default value of zero produces a display in which the edges of adjacent faces or cells overlap. A value of 1 creates the opposite extreme: each face or cell is represented by a point and there is considerable space between each one. A small value such as 0.01 may be large enough to allow you to distinguish one face or cell from its neighbor. Displays with dierent Shrink Factor values are shown in Figures 29.1.9 and 29.1.10. Remember that you must click Display to see the eect of the change in Shrink Factor.
Figure 29.1.9: Grid Display with Shrink Factor = 0
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Figure 29.1.10: Grid Display with Shrink Factor = 0.01
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29.1.2
Displaying Contours and Proles
FLUENT allows you to plot contour lines or proles superimposed on the physical domain. Contour lines are lines of constant magnitude for a selected variable (isotherms, isobars, etc.). A prole plot draws these contours projected o the surface along a reference vector by an amount proportional to the value of the plotted variable at each point on the surface. Sample plots are shown in Figures 29.1.11 and 29.1.12. See also Section 29.1.5: Displaying Results on a Sweep Surface for information about displaying contours or proles on a surface that sweeps through the domain.
6.60e-02 5.80e-02 5.01e-02 4.21e-02 3.41e-02 2.61e-02 1.82e-02 1.02e-02 2.23e-03 -5.75e-03 -1.37e-02
Natural Convection in a Power Bus Configuration Contours of Static Pressure (pascal)
Figure 29.1.11: Contours of Static Pressure
Steps for Generating Contour and Prole Plots

You can plot contours or proles using the Contours panel (Figure 29.1.13). Display Contours... The basic steps for generating a contour or prole plot are as follows: 1. Select the variable or function to be contoured or proled in the Contours of dropdown list. First select the desired category in the upper list; you may then select a related quantity in the lower list. (See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.)
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1.45e-01 1.20e-01 9.61e-02 7.17e-02 4.74e-02 2.30e-02 -1.34e-03 -2.57e-02 -5.00e-02 -7.44e-02 -9.87e-02
Natural Convection in a Power Bus Configuration Profiles of Y-Velocity (m/s)
Figure 29.1.12: Prole Plot of y Velocity
2. Choose the surface or surfaces on which to draw the contours or proles in the Surfaces list. For 2D cases, if no surface is selected, contouring or proling is done on the entire domain. For 3D cases, you must always select at least one surface. If you want to select several surfaces of the same type, you can select that type in the Surface Types list instead. All of the surfaces of that type will be selected automatically in the Surfaces list (or deselected, if they are all selected already). Another shortcut is to specify a Surface Name Pattern and click Match to select surfaces with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify wall*, all surfaces whose names begin with wall (e.g., wall-1, wall-top) will be selected automatically. If they are all selected already, they will be deselected. If you specify wall?, all surfaces whose names consist of wall followed by a single character will be selected (or deselected, if they are all selected already). 3. Specify the number of contours or proles in the Levels eld. The maximum number of levels allowed is 100. 4. If you are generating a prole plot, turn on the Draw Proles option. In the resulting Prole Options panel (Figure 29.1.14) you will dene the proles as described below: (a) Set the zero height reference value for the prole (Reference Value) and the length scale factor for projection (Scale Factor). Any point on the prole with a value equal to the Reference Value will be plotted exactly on the dening surface. Values greater than the Reference Value will be projected ahead of the surface (in the direction of Projection Dir.) and scaled by Scale Factor),
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Figure 29.1.13: The Contours Panel
and values less than the Reference Value will be projected behind the surface and scaled. These parameters can be used to create fuller proles when you need to display the variation in a variable which is small compared to the absolute value of the variable. Consider, for example, the display of temperature proles when the temperature range in the domain is from 300 K to 310 K. The 10 K range in the temperature will be hard to detect when proles are drawn using the default scaling (which will be based on the absolute magnitude of 310 K). To create a fuller prole, you can set the Reference Value to 300 and the prole Scaling Factor to 5 (for example) to magnify the display of the remaining 10 K range. In subsequent display of the proles, the reference value of 300 will be eectively subtracted from the data before display so that the temperatures of 300 K will not be oset from the baselines. The proles will then reect only the variation of temperature from 300 K. (b) Set the direction in which proles are projected (Projection Dir.). In 2D, for example, a contour plot of pressure on the entire domain can be projected in the z direction to form a carpet plot, or a contour plot of y velocity on a sequence of y-coordinate slice lines can be projected in the y direction to form a series of velocity proles (as shown in Figure 29.1.12).
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Figure 29.1.14: The Prole Options Panel
(c) Click Apply and close the Prole Options panel. 5. Set any of the options described below. 6. Click the Display button to draw the specied contours or proles in the active graphics window. The resulting display will include the specied number of contours or proles of the selected variable, with the magnitude on each one determined by equally incrementing between the values shown in the Min and Max elds.
Contour and Prole Plot Options

The options mentioned in the procedure above include drawing color-lled contours/proles (instead of the default line contours/proles), specifying a range of values to be contoured or proled, including portions of the grid in the contour or prole display, choosing node or cell values for display, and storing the contour or prole plot settings. Drawing Filled Contours or Proles Color-lled contour or prole plots show a contour or prole display containing a continuous color display (see Figure 29.1.15), instead of just drawing lines representing specic values. (Note that a color-lled prole display is often referred to as a carpet plot.) To generate a lled contour or prole plot, turn on the Filled option in the Contours panel during step 5 above. To display smoothly shaded lled contours, you must turn on lighting and select a lighting interpolation method other than Flat in the Display Options panel or the Lights panel. Note that you will not get smooth shading of lled contours if the Clip to Range (see below) option is turned on. Smooth shading of lled proles is not available.
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1.38e+05 1.29e+05 1.20e+05 1.12e+05 1.03e+05 9.43e+04 8.56e+04 7.69e+04 6.82e+04 5.95e+04
X Z
5.09e+04
Y
Fluent Inc. Contours of Static Pressure (pascal) Thu Aug 24 1995
Figure 29.1.15: Filled Contours of Static Pressure
Specifying the Range of Magnitudes Displayed By default, the minimum and maximum values contoured or proled are set based on the range of values in the entire domain. This means that the color scale will start at the smallest value in the domain (shown in the Min eld) and end at the largest value (shown in the Max eld). If you are plotting contours or proles on a subset of the domain (i.e., on a surface), your plot may cover only the midrange of the color scale. For example, if blue corresponds to 0 and red corresponds to 10, and the values on your surface range only from 4 to 6, your plot will contain mostly green contours or proles, since green is the color at the middle of the default color scale. If you want to focus in on a smaller range of values, so that blue corresponds to 4 and red to 6, you can manually reset the range to be displayed. (You can also use the minimum and maximum values on the selected surfacesrather than in the entire domainto determine the range, as described below.) Another reason to manually set the range is if you are interested only in certain values. For example, if you want to determine the region where pressure exceeds a certain value, you can increase the minimum value for display so that the lower pressure values are not displayed. To manually set the contour/prole range, turn o the Auto Range option in the Contours panel. The Min and Max elds will become editable, and you can enter the new range of values to be displayed. To show the default range at any time, click the Compute button and the Min and Max elds will be updated.
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If you are drawing lled contours or proles (as described above) you can control whether or not values outside the prescribed Min/Max range are displayed. To leave areas in which the value is outside the specied range empty (i.e., draw no contours or proles), turn on the Clip to Range option. This is the default setting. If you turn Clip to Range o, values below the Min value will be colored with the lowest color on the color scale, and values above the Max value will be colored with the highest color on the color scale. Figures 29.1.16 and 29.1.17 show the results of enabling/disabling the Clip to Range option. You can also choose to base the minimum and maximum values on the range of values on the selected surfaces, rather than in the entire domain. To do this, turn o the Global Range option in the Contours panel. The Min and Max values will be updated when you next click Compute or Display. Including the Grid in the Contour Plot For some problems, especially complex 3D geometries, you may want to include portions of the grid in your contour or prole plot as spatial reference points. For example, you may want to show the location of an inlet and an outlet along with the contours. This is accomplished by turning on the Draw Grid option in the Contours panel. The Grid Display panel will appear automatically when you turn on the Draw Grid option, and you can set the grid display parameters there. When you click Display in the Contours panel, the grid display, as dened in the Grid Display panel, will be included in the contour or prole plot. Choosing Node or Cell Values In FLUENT you can choose to display the computed cell-center values or values that have been interpolated to the nodes. By default, the Node Values option is turned on, and the interpolated values are displayed. For line contours or proles, node values are always used. If you are displaying lled contours or proles and you prefer to display the cell values, turn the Node Values option o. Filled contours/proles of node values will show a smooth gradation of color, while lled contours/proles of cell values may show sharp changes in color from one cell to the next. If you are plotting contours to show the eect of a porous medium or fan, to depict a shock wave, or to show any other discontinuities or jumps in the plotted variable, you should use cell values; if you use node values in such cases, the discontinuity will be smeared by the node averaging for graphics and will not be shown clearly in the plot.
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1.30e+05 1.27e+05 1.24e+05 1.21e+05 1.18e+05 1.15e+05 1.12e+05 1.09e+05 1.06e+05 1.03e+05
X Z
1.00e+05
Y
Figure 29.1.16: Filled Contours with Clip to Range On
1.30e+05 1.27e+05 1.24e+05 1.21e+05 1.18e+05 1.15e+05 1.12e+05 1.09e+05 1.06e+05 1.03e+05
X Z
1.00e+05
Y
Figure 29.1.17: Filled Contours with Clip to Range O
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Storing Contour Plot Settings For frequently used combinations of contour variables and options, you can store the information needed to generate the contour plot by specifying a Setup number and setting up the desired information in the Contours panel. When you click on the Display button, the settings for Options, Contours of, Min, Max, and Surfaces will be saved. You can then change the Setup number to an unused value (i.e., an ID for which no information has been saved) and generate a dierent contour plot. To generate a plot using the saved setup information, change the Setup number back to the value for which you saved contour information and click Display. You can save up to 10 dierent setups.
Note that the number of contour Levels, the surfaces selected for display in the Grid Display panel (when the Draw Grid option is activated), and the settings for proles in the Prole Options panel (when the Draw Proles option is activated) will not be saved in the Setup, nor will the Setups be saved in the case le.
29.1.3
Displaying Vectors
You can draw vectors in the entire domain, or on selected surfaces. By default, one vector is drawn at the center of each cell (or at the center of each facet of a data surface), with the length and color of the arrows representing the velocity magnitude (Figure 29.1.18). The spacing, size, and coloring of the arrows can be modied, along with several other vector plot settings. Velocity vectors are the default, but you can also plot vector quantities other than velocity. Note that cell-center values are always used for vector plots; you cannot plot node-averaged values. See also Section 29.1.5: Displaying Results on a Sweep Surface for information about displaying vectors on a surface that sweeps through the domain.
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1.45e-01 1.30e-01 1.16e-01 1.01e-01 8.69e-02 7.24e-02 5.79e-02 4.34e-02 2.90e-02 1.45e-02 0.00e+00
Natural Convection in a Power Bus Configuration Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s)
Figure 29.1.18: Velocity Vector Plot
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Steps for Generating Vector Plots

You can plot vectors using the Vectors panel (Figure 29.1.19). Display Vectors...
Figure 29.1.19: The Vectors Panel
The basic steps for generating a vector plot are as follows: 1. In the Vectors of drop-down list, select the vector quantity to be plotted. By default, only velocity and relative velocity are available, but you can create your own custom vectors as described below. 2. In the Surfaces list, choose the surface(s) on which you want to display vectors. If you want to display vectors on the entire domain, select none of the surfaces in the list. If you want to select several surfaces of the same type, you can select that type in the Surface Types list instead. All of the surfaces of that type will be selected automatically in the Surfaces list (or deselected, if they are all selected already).
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Another shortcut is to specify a Surface Name Pattern and click Match to select surfaces with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify wall*, all surfaces whose names begin with wall (e.g., wall-1, wall-top) will be selected automatically. If they are all selected already, they will be deselected. If you specify wall?, all surfaces whose names consist of wall followed by a single character will be selected (or deselected, if they are all selected already). 3. Set any of the options described below. 4. Click the Display button to draw the vectors in the active graphics window.
Displaying Relative Velocity Vectors

If you are solving your problem using one or more moving reference frames or moving meshes, you will have the option to display either the absolute vectors or the relative vectors. If you select Velocity (the default) in the Vectors of list, the vectors will be drawn based on the absolute, stationary reference frame. If you select Relative Velocity, the vectors will be drawn based on the reference frame of the Reference Zone in the Reference Values panel. See Section 30.8.2: Setting the Reference Zone for details. (If you are modeling a single rotating reference frame, you need not specify the Reference Zone; the vectors will be drawn based on the rotating reference frame.)
Vector Plot Options

The options mentioned in the procedure above include scaling the vector arrows, skipping the display of some vectors, displaying vectors in the plane of the data surface, displaying xed-length or xed-color vectors, displaying directional components of the vectors, specifying a range of values to be displayed, coloring the vectors by a dierent scalar eld, including portions of the grid in the vector display, and changing the style of the arrows or the scale of the arrowheads. The most common options are set in the Vectors panel, and others are set in the Vector Options panel (Figure 29.1.20), which you can open by clicking on the Vector Options... button in the Vectors panel. Scaling the Vectors By default, vectors are scaled automatically so that the arrows overlap minimally when no vectors are skipped. (See below for instructions on thinning the vector display.) With the Auto Scale option, you can modify the Scale factor (which is set to 1 by default) to increase or decrease the vector scale from the default auto scale. The main advantage of autoscaling is that the vector display with a scale factor of 1 will always be appropriate, regardless of the size of the domain, giving you a better starting point for ne-tuning the vector scale.
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Figure 29.1.20: The Vector Options Panel
If you turn o the Auto Scale option, the vectors will be drawn at their actual sizes scaled by the scale factor (Scale, which is set to 1 by default). The actual size of a vector is the magnitude of the vector variable (velocity, by default) at the point where it is drawn. A vector drawn at a point where the velocity magnitude is 100 m/s is drawn 100 m long, whether the domain is 0.1 m or 1000 m. You can modify the vector scale by changing the value of Scale in the Vectors panel until the size of the vectors (i.e., the actual size multiplied by Scale) is satisfactory. Skipping Vectors If your vector display is dicult to understand because there are too many arrows displayed, you can thin out the vectors by changing the Skip value in the Vectors panel. By default, Skip is set to 0, indicating that a vector will be drawn for each cell in the domain or for each face on the selected surface (e.g., n vectors). If you increase Skip to 1, every other vector will be displayed, yielding n/2 vectors. If you increase Skip to 2, every third vector will be displayed, yielding n/3 vectors, and so on. The order of faces on the selected surface (or cells in the domain) will determine which vectors are skipped or drawn; thus adaption and reordering will change the appearance of the vector display when a non-zero Skip value is used. Drawing Vectors in the Plane of the Surface For some problems, you may be interested in visualizing velocity (or other vector) components that are normal to the ow. These secondary ow components are usually much smaller than the components in the ow direction and are dicult to see when the ow direction components are also visible. To easily view the normal ow components, you can turn on the In Plane option in the Vector Options panel. When this option is on, FLUENT will display only the vector components in the plane of the surface selected for
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display. If the selected surface is a cross-section of the ow domain, you will be displaying the components normal to the ow. Figure 29.1.21 shows velocity vectors generated using the In Plane option. (Note that these vectors have been translated outside the domain, as described in Section 29.5.3: Transforming Geometric Objects in a Scene, so that they can be seen more easily.)
1.50e+00 1.35e+00 1.20e+00 1.05e+00 8.97e-01 7.48e-01 5.98e-01 4.49e-01 2.99e-01 1.50e-01 5.23e-04
Z Y
Velocity Vectors in Plane Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s)
Figure 29.1.21: Velocity Vectors Generated Using the In Plane Option
Displaying Fixed-Length Vectors By default, the length of a vector is proportional to its velocity magnitude. If you want all of the vectors to be displayed with the same length, you can turn on the Fixed Length option in the Vector Options panel. To modify the vector length, adjust the value of the Scale factor in the Vectors panel. Displaying Vector Components All Cartesian components of the vectors are drawn by default, so that the arrow points along the resultant vector in physical space. However, sometimes one of the components, say, the x component, is relatively large. In such cases, you may want to suppress the x component and scale up the vectors, in order to visualize the smaller y and z components. To suppress one or more of the vector components, turn o the appropriate button(s) (X, Y, or Z Component) in the Vector Options panel.
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Specifying the Range of Magnitudes Displayed By default, the minimum and maximum vectors included in the vector display are set based on the range of vector-variable (velocity, by default) magnitudes in the entire domain. If you want to focus in on a smaller range of values, you can restrict the range to be displayed. The color scale for the vector display will change to reect the new range of values. (You can also use the minimum and maximum values on the selected surfacesrather than on the entire domainto determine the range, or change the scalar eld by which the vectors are colored from velocity magnitude to any other scalar, as described below.) To manually set the range of velocity magnitudes (or the range of whatever scalar eld is selected in the Color by drop-down list), turn o the Auto Range option in the Vectors panel. The Min and Max elds will become editable, and you can enter the new range of values to be displayed. For example, if you want to display velocity vectors only in regions where the velocity magnitude exceeds 150 m/s but is less than 300 m/s, you will change the value of Min to 150 and the value of Max to 300. Similarly, if you are coloring the vectors by static pressure, you can choose to display velocity vectors only in regions where the pressure is within a specied range. To show the default range at any time, click the Compute button and the Min and Max elds will be updated. When you restrict the range of vectors displayed, you can also control whether or not values outside the prescribed Min/Max range are displayed. To leave areas in which the value is outside the specied range empty (i.e., draw no vectors), turn on the Clip to Range option. This is the default setting. If you turn Clip to Range o, values below the Min value will be colored with the lowest color on the color scale, and values above the Max value will be colored with the highest color on the color scale. This feature is the same as the one available for displaying lled contours (see Figures 29.1.16 and 29.1.17). You can also choose to base the minimum and maximum values on the range of values on the selected surfaces, rather than the entire domain. To do this, turn o the Global Range option in the Vectors panel. The Min and Max values will be updated when you next click Compute or Display. Changing the Scalar Field Used for Coloring the Vectors If you want to color the vectors by a scalar eld other than velocity magnitude (the default), you can select a dierent variable or function in the Color by drop-down list. Select the desired category in the upper list, and then choose one of the related quantities from the lower list. If you choose static pressure, for example, the length of the vectors will still correspond to the velocity magnitude, but the color of the vectors will correspond to the value of pressure at each point where a vector is drawn.
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Displaying Vectors Using a Single Color If you want all of the vectors to be the same color, you can select the color to be used in the Color drop-down list in the Vector Options panel. If no color is selected (i.e., if you choose the empty space at the top of the drop-down listthe default selection), the vector color will be determined by the Color by eld specied in the Vectors panel. Single color vectors are useful in displays that overlay contours and vectors. Including the Grid in the Vector Plot For some problems, especially complex 3D geometries, you may want to include portions of the grid in your vector plot as spatial reference points. For example, you may want to show the location of an inlet and an outlet along with the vectors. This is accomplished by turning on the Draw Grid option in the Vectors panel. The Grid Display panel will appear automatically when you turn on the Draw Grid option, and you can set the grid display parameters there. When you click Display in the Vectors panel, the grid display, as dened in the Grid Display panel, will be included in the vector plot. Changing the Arrow Characteristics There are ve dierent styles available for drawing the vector arrows. Choose cone, lledarrow, arrow, harpoon, or headless in the Style drop-down list in the Vectors panel. The default arrow style is harpoon. If you choose a vector arrow style that includes heads, you can control the size of the arrowhead by modifying the Scale Head value in the Vector Options panel.
Creating and Managing Custom Vectors

In addition to the velocity vector quantity provided by FLUENT, you can also dene your own custom vectors to be plotted. This capability is available with the Custom Vectors panel. Any custom vectors that you dene will be saved in the case le the next time that you save it. You can also save your custom vectors to a separate le, so that they can be used with a dierent case le.
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Creating Custom Vectors To create your own custom vector, you will use the Custom Vectors panel (Figure 29.1.22). This panel allows you to dene custom vectors based on existing quantities. Any vectors that you dene will be added to the Vectors of list in the Vectors panel. To open the Custom Vectors panel, click the Custom Vectors... button in the Vectors panel.
Figure 29.1.22: The Custom Vectors Panel
The steps for creating a custom vector are as follows: 1. Specify the name of the custom vector in the Vector Name eld.
Be sure that you do not specify a name that is already used for a standard vector (e.g., velocity or relative-velocity).
2. Select the variable or function for the x component of the vector in the X Component drop-down list. First select the desired category in the upper list; you may then select a related quantity in the lower list. (See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 3. Repeat the step above to select the variable or function for the y component (and, in 3D, the z component) of the custom vector.
You can use the Custom Vectors option to plot vectors in solid cell zones. The scalars that are selected in the x, y components (and, in 3D, the z component), and which are valid in solid regions, will have vector plots displayed in the solid cell zones. Note that if a vector has no valid components in the solid region, then that vector will not be plotted in the solid region. However, if at least one component of the vector is valid in the solid region, then only that component of the vector will be plotted.
4. Click the Dene button.
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Manipulating, Saving, and Loading Custom Vectors Once you have dened your vectors, you can manipulate them using the Vector Denitions panel (Figure 29.1.23). You can display a vector denition to be sure that it is correct, delete the vector if you decide that it is incorrect and needs to be redened, or give the vector a new name. You can also save custom vectors to a le or read them from a le. The custom vector le allows you to transfer custom vectors between case les. To open the Vector Denitions panel, click the Manage... button in the Custom Vectors panel.
Figure 29.1.23: The Vector Denitions Panel
The following actions can be performed in the Vector Denitions panel: To check the denition of a vector, select it in the Vectors list. Its denition will be displayed in the X Component, Y Component, and Z Component elds at the top of the panel. This display is for informational purposes only; you cannot edit it. If you want to change a vector denition, you must delete the vector and dene it again in the Custom Vectors panel. To delete a vector, select it in the Vectors list and click the Delete button. To rename a vector, select it in the Vectors list, enter a new name in the Name eld, and click the Rename button.
Be sure that you do not specify a name that is already used for a standard vector (e.g., velocity or relative-velocity).
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To save all the vectors in the Vectors list to a le, click the Save... button, and specify the le name in the resulting Select File dialog box (see Section 2.1.2: Select File Dialog Box (Unix or Linux)). To read custom vectors from a le that you saved as described above, click the Load... button and specify the le name in the resulting Select File dialog box. (Custom vectors are valid Scheme functions, and can also be loaded with the File/Read/Scheme... menu item, as described in Section 4.15: Reading Scheme Source Files.)
29.1.4
Displaying Pathlines
Pathlines are used to visualize the ow of massless particles in the problem domain. The particles are released from one or more surfaces that you have created with the tools in the Surface menu (see Chapter 28: Creating Surfaces for Displaying and Reporting Data). A line or rake surface (see Section 28.5: Line and Rake Surfaces) is most commonly used. Figure 29.1.24 shows a sample plot of pathlines.
3.00e+01 2.70e+01 2.40e+01 2.10e+01 1.80e+01 1.50e+01 1.20e+01 9.00e+00 6.00e+00 3.00e+00 0.00e+00
Y X Z
Fluent Inc. Path Lines Colored by Particle Id Tue Aug 29 1995
Figure 29.1.24: Pathline Plot
Note that the display of discrete-phase particle trajectories is discussed in Section 23.12.1: Graphical Display of Trajectories.
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Steps for Generating Pathlines

You can plot pathlines using the Path Lines panel (Figure 29.1.25). Display Path Lines...
Figure 29.1.25: The Path Lines Panel
The basic steps for generating pathlines are as follows: 1. Select the surface(s) from which to release the particles in the Release From Surfaces list. 2. Set the step size and the maximum number of steps. The Step Size sets the length interval used for computing the next position of a particle. (Note that particle positions are always computed when particles enter/leave a cell; even if you specify a very large step size, the particle positions at the entry/exit of each cell will still be computed and displayed.) The value of Steps sets the maximum number of steps a particle can advance. A particle will stop when it has traveled this number of steps or when it leaves the domain. One simple rule of thumb to follow when setting these two parameters is that if you want the particles to advance through a domain
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of length L, the Step Size times the number of Steps should be approximately equal to L. 3. Set any of the options described below. 4. Click the Display button to draw the pathlines, or click the Pulse button to animate the particle positions. The Pulse button will become the Stop ! button during the animation, and you must click Stop ! to stop the pulsing.
Options for Pathline Plots

The options mentioned in the procedure above include the following. You can include the grid in the pathline display, control the style of the pathlines (including the twisting of ribbon-style pathlines), and color them by dierent scalar elds and control the color scale. You can also thin the pathline display, trace the particle positions in reverse, and draw oil-ow pathlines. If you are pulsing the pathlines, you can control the pulse mode. If you are using larger time step size for calculations then you can control the accuracy of the pathline by specifying tolerance. In addition to the regular pathline display, you can also generate an XY plot of a specied quantity along the pathline trajectories. Finally, you can choose node or cell values for display (or plotting). Including the Grid in the Pathline Display For some problems, especially complex 3D geometries, you may want to include portions of the grid in your pathline display as spatial reference points. For example, you may want to show the location of an inlet and an outlet along with the pathlines (as in Figure 29.1.24). This is accomplished by turning on the Draw Grid option in the Path Lines panel. The Grid Display panel will appear automatically when you turn on the Draw Grid option, and you can set the grid display parameters there. When you click Display in the Path Lines panel, the grid display, as dened in the Grid Display panel, will be included in the plot of pathlines. Controlling the Pathline Style Pathlines can be displayed as lines (with or without arrows), ribbons, cylinders (coarse, medium, or ne), triangles, spheres, or a set of points. You can choose line, line-arrows, point, sphere, ribbon, triangle, coarse-cylinder, medium-cylinder, or ne-cylinder in the Style drop-down list in the Path Lines panel. (Note that pulsing can be done only on point, sphere, or line styles.)
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Once you have selected the pathline style, click the Style Attributes... button to set the pathline thickness and other parameters related to the selected Style: If you are using the line or line-arrows style, set the Line Width in the Path Style Attributes panel that appears when you click the Style Attributes... button. For line-arrows you will also set the Spacing Factor, which controls the spacing between the lines. The size of the arrow heads can be adjusted by entering a value in the Scale text-entry box. If you are using the point style, you will set the Marker Size in the Path Style Attributes panel. The thickness of the pathline will be the thickness of the marker. If you are using the sphere style, you will set the Diameter and the Detail in the Path Style Attributes panel. The best diameter to use will depend on the dimensions of the domain, the view, and the particle density. However, an adequate starting point would be a diameter on the order of 1/4 of the average cell size or 1/4 step size. Units for the Diameter eld correspond to the mesh dimensional units. The level of detail applied to the graphical rendering of the spheres can be controlled using the Detail eld in the Path Style Attributes panel. The level of detail uses integer values ranging from 4 to 50. Note that the performance of the graphical rendering will be better when using a small level of detail, i.e., very coarse spheres, such as 6 or 8. The rendering performance signicantly decreases with higher levels of detail. You should gradually increase the detail to determine the best-case scenario between performance and quality. Also note that to take full advantage of spherical rendering, lighting should be turned on in the view. The Gouraud setting provides much smoother looking spheres than the Flat setting and better performance than the Phong setting. For more information on lighting, see Section 29.2.6: Adding Lights. If you are using the triangle or any of the cylinder styles, you will set the Width in the Path Style Attributes panel. For triangles, the specied value will be half the width of the triangles base, and for cylinders, the value will be the cylinders radius. If you are using the ribbon style, clicking on the Style Attributes... button will open the Ribbon Attributes panel, in which you can set the ribbons Width. You can also specify parameters for twisting the ribbon pathlines. In the Twist By dropdown list, you can select a scalar eld on which the pathline twisting is based (e.g., helicity). Select the desired category in the upper list and then select a related quantity in the lower list. Note that the twisting may not be displayed smoothly because the scalar eld by which you are twisting the pathline is calculated at cell centers only (and not interpolated to a particles position). The Twist Scale sets
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the amount of twist for the selected scalar eld. To magnify the twist for a eld with very little change, increase this factor; to display less twist for a eld with dramatic changes, decrease this factor. (When you click Compute, the Min and Max elds will be updated to show the range of the Twist By scalar eld.) Controlling Pathline Colors By default, the pathlines are colored by the particle ID number. That is, each particles path will be a dierent color. You can also choose the color based on the surface from where the pathlines were released from using the surface ID as the particle variable. You can choose to color the pathlines by any of the scalar elds in the Color by drop-down list. (Select the desired category in the upper list and then select a related quantity in the lower list.) If you color the pathlines by velocity magnitude, for example, each particles path will be colored depending on the speed of the particle at each point in the path. The range of values of the selected scalar eld will, by default, be the upper and lower limits of that eld in the entire domain. The color scale will map to these values accordingly. If you prefer to restrict the range of the scalar eld, turn o the Auto Range option (under Options) and set the Min and Max values manually beneath the Color by list. If you color the pathlines by velocity, and you limit the range to values between 30 and 60 m/s, for example, the lowest color will be used when the particle speed falls below 30 m/s and the highest color will be used when the particle speed exceeds 60 m/s. To show the default range at any time, click the Compute button and the Min and Max elds will be updated. Thinning Pathlines If your pathline plot is dicult to understand because there are too many paths displayed, you can thin out the pathlines by changing the Path Skip value in the Path Lines panel. By default, Path Skip is set to 0, indicating that a pathline will be drawn from each face on the selected surface (e.g., n pathlines). If you increase Path Skip to 1, every other pathline will be displayed, yielding n/2 pathlines. If you increase Path Skip to 2, every third pathline will be displayed, yielding n/3, and so on. The order of faces on the selected surface will determine which pathlines are skipped or drawn; thus adaption and reordering will change the appearance of the pathline display when a non-zero Path Skip value is used.
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Coarsening Pathlines To further simplify pathline plots, and reduce plotting time, a coarsening factor can be used to reduce the number of points that are plotted. Providing a coarsening factor of n, will result in each nth point being plotted for a given pathline in any cell. This coarsening factor is specied in the Path Lines panel, in the Path Coarsen eld. For example, if the coarsening factor is set to 2, then FLUENT will plot alternate points.
Note that if any particle or pathline enters a new cell, this point will always be plotted.
Reversing the Pathlines If you are interested in determining the source of a particle for which you know the nal destination (e.g., a particle that leaves the domain through an exit boundary), you can reverse the pathlines and follow them from their destination back to their source. To do this, turn on the Reverse option in the Path Lines panel. All other inputs for dening the pathlines will be exactly the same as for forward pathlines; the only dierence is that the surface(s) selected in the Release From Surfaces list will be the nal destination of the particles instead of their source. Plotting Oil-Flow Pathlines If you want to display oil-ow pathlines (i.e., pathlines that are constrained to lie on a particular boundary), turn on the Oil Flow option in the Path Lines panel. You will then need to select a single boundary zone in the On Zone list. The selected zone is the boundary on which the oil-ow pathlines will lie. Controlling the Pulse Mode If you are going to use the Pulse button in the Path Lines panel to animate the pathlines, you can choose one of two pulse modes for the release of particles that follow the pathlines. To release a single wave of particles, select the Single option under Pulse Mode. To release particles continuously from the initial positions, select the Continuous option. Controlling the Accuracy If you are using large time step size for the calculation, there might be signicant error introduced while calculating the pathlines. To control this error, select Accuracy Control and specify the value of Tolerance. The tolerance value will be taken in to consideration while calculating the pathlines for each time step.
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Generating an XY Plot Along Pathline Trajectories If you want to generate an XY plot along the trajectories of the pathlines you have dened, turn on the XY Plot option in the Path Lines panel. The Color by drop-down list will be replaced by Y Axis Function and X Axis Function lists. Select the variable to be plotted on the y axis in the Y Axis Function list, and specify whether you want to plot this quantity as a function of the Time elapsed along the trajectory, or the Path Length along the trajectory by selecting the appropriate item in the X Axis Function drop-down list. Specify the Step Size, number of Steps, and other parameters as usual for a standard pathline display. Then click Plot to display the XY plot. Once you have generated an XY plot, you may want to save the plot data to a le. You can read this le into FLUENT at a later time and plot it alone using the File XY Plot panel, as described in Section 29.8.3: XY Plots of File Data, or add it to a plot of solution data, as described in Section 29.8.2: Including External Data in the Solution XY Plot. To save the plot data to a le, turn on the Write to File option in the Path Lines panel. The Plot button will change to the Write... button. Clicking on the Write... button will open the Select File dialog box, in which you can specify a name and save a le containing the plot data. The format of this le is described in Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format. Saving Pathline Data To save pathline data to a le, turn on the Write to File option in the Path Lines panel (Figure 29.1.25). In the Type drop-down list, select the type of le (standard or geometry). If standard is selected under Type, FLUENT will write the le in FIELDVIEW format, which can be exported and read into FIELDVIEW. The FIELDVIEW T M ASCII Particle Path Format is licensed from Intelligent Light, proprietor of an independent visualization software package (http://www.ilight.com ). The le name that you use for saving the data must have a .fvp extension. You also have the ability to retrieve and display the particle and pathline trajectories from the le. If geometry is selected under Type, the le will be written in .ibl format, which can be read in GAMBIT. If standard type is selected, the particle path format will be written in ASCII format if the case is steady-state. For transient or unsteady-state cases, the BINARY format must be used. The FIELDVIEW format consists of a set of paths, each path consisting of a series of points. Each point is specied by an X, Y, and Z location, where several variables may be dened at each location. Furthermore, the X, Y, and Z locations must be specied at each time step. A full description of the ASCII and BINARY formats can be found in Appendix K - Particle Path Formats of FIELDVIEWs Reference Manual [1], available to licensed FIELDVIEW users.
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Below is an example of the FIELDVIEW particle path format for a steady-state case:
FVPARTICLES 2 1 Tag Names 1 Inlet Variable Names 2 Time Velocity 3 1 0.2 0.8 1.3 0.2 0.3 0.9 1.3 0.4 0.5 1.1 1.3 0.6
0.3 0.4 0.3
The le consists of header information, while the rest of the le contains information for each path. In this example, only one path is shown. Tag Names must be specied to initiate the tag section. In this example, one tag is used, namely Inlet. Two variables are specied, Time and Velocity. 3 points for this path will be entered for the rst (and in this case the only) tag, 1. The rst three columns are the X, Y, and Z locations, the fourth and fth columns are the time and velocity variables of each of the three points, respectively. Exporting particle data can be done using either standard or geometry type. For information on exporting particle data in FIELDVIEW (standard) or .ibl (geometry) format, refer to Section 26.21: Importing and Exporting Particle History Data.
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The written (or exported) geometry le format contains particle paths in the form of a curve which can be read in GAMBIT. An example of a geometry (.ibl) le format containing multiple curves is
Closed Index Arclength
Begin section ! 1 Begin curve ! 1 1 185.61 2 88.90000000000001 Begin curve ! 2 1 88.89999999999569 2 76.90221619148909 3 62.92208239159677 4 47.47166726362848 5 31.11689338997181 6 14.45680848476821 7 -1.898356710978934 8 -17.34954014966171 9 -31.33079110697006 10 -43.330000000007 Begin curve ! 3 1 2
0 0
23.26 -89.67
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
-89.6699999999997 -101.2290490001453 -110.2907424975297 -116.5231659809653 -119.6980363161113 -119.6990633707006 -116.5262095254603 -110.2956910520416 -101.2357213074894 -89.67815166483965
-43.33 -175.56
0 0
-89.67815166485001 64.69066040289
The above example demonstrates how multiple curves can be imported; single curves may also be imported. After importing this le into GAMBIT, the le is read by rst looking for a Begin curve string and then looking for the X, Y, and Z coordinates under the Begin curve line. You can choose to color the pathlines by any of the scalar elds in the Color by drop-down list. Select the surface(s) from which to release the particles in the Release From Surfaces list. Click on the Write... button to open the Select File dialog box, in which you can specify a name and save a le containing the pathline data.
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Choosing Node or Cell Values In FLUENT you can determine the scalar eld value at a particle location using the computed cell-center values or values that have been interpolated to the nodes. By default, the Node Values option is turned on, and the interpolated values are used. If you prefer to use the cell values, turn the Node Values option o. If you are plotting pathlines to show the eect of a porous medium or fan, to depict a shock wave, or to show any other discontinuities or jumps in the plotted variable, you should use cell values; if you use node values in such cases, the discontinuity will be smeared by the node averaging for graphics and will not be shown clearly in the plot.
29.1.5
Displaying Results on a Sweep Surface
Sweep surfaces can be used when you want to examine the grid, contours, or vectors on various sections of the domain without explicitly creating the corresponding surfaces. For example, if you want to display solution results for a 3D combustion chamber, instead of creating numerous surfaces at dierent cross-sections of the domain, you can use a sweep surface to view the variation of the ow and temperature throughout the chamber.
Steps for Generating a Plot Using a Sweep Surface

You can plot grids, contours, or vectors on a sweep surface using the Sweep Surface panel (Figure 29.1.26). Display Sweep Surface... The basic steps for generating a grid, contour, or vector plot using a sweep surface are as follows: 1. Under Sweep Axis, specify the (X, Y, Z) vector representing the axis along which the surface should be swept. 2. Click Compute to update the Min Value and Max Value to reect the extents of the domain along the specied axis. 3. Under Display Type, specify the type of display you want to see: Grid, Contours, or Vectors. The rst time that you select Contours or Vectors, FLUENT will open the Contours panel or the Vectors panel so you can modify the settings for the display. To make subsequent modications to the display settings, click the Properties... button to open the Contours or Vectors panel. 4. Move the slider under Value (which indicates the value of x, y, or z) to move the sweep surface through the domain along the specied Sweep Axis. FLUENT will update the grid, contour, or vector display when you release the slider. You can also enter a position in the Value eld and press the <RETURN> key to update the display.
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Figure 29.1.26: The Sweep Surface Panel
5. If you want to save the currently displayed sweep for a dierent type of plot (e.g., a pathlines plot with displays on other surfaces, click Create... to (Figure 29.1.27). Enter the Surface Name and click
surface so that you can use it or an XY plot) or combine it open the Create Surface panel OK.
Figure 29.1.27: The Create Surface Panel
The surface that is created is an isosurface based on the grid coordinates; the contour or vector settings are not stored in the surface. You can also animate the sweep surface display, as described below, rather than moving the slide bar yourself.
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29.2 Customizing the Graphics Display
Animating a Sweep Surface Display

The steps for animating a sweep surface display are as follows: 1. Specify the Sweep Axis and Display Type as described above. 2. Under Animation, enter the Initial Value and Final Value for the animation. These values correspond to the minimum and maximum values along the Sweep Axis for which you want to animate the display. 3. Specify the number of Frames you want to see in the animation. 4. Click Animate.
29.2
Customizing the Graphics Display
There are a number of ways in which you can alter the graphical display once you have generated the basic elements in it (contours, grids, etc.). For example, you can overlay multiple graphics, add descriptive text or lighting to the plot, and modify the captions. These and other customizations are described in this section. Section 29.2.1: Overlay of Graphics Section 29.2.2: Opening Multiple Graphics Windows Section 29.2.3: Controlling Captions Section 29.2.4: Adding Text to the Graphics Window Section 29.2.5: Changing the Colormap Section 29.2.6: Adding Lights Section 29.2.7: Modifying the Rendering Options
29.2.1
Overlay of Graphics
Normally, you can see only one picture at a time in the graphics window; i.e., as one plot is generated, the previous plot is erased. Sometimes, however, you may want to see two plots overlaid. For example, you may want to plot vectors and pressure contours on the same plot (see Figure 29.2.1). You can do this by turning on the Overlays option (and clicking Apply) in the Scene Description panel. Display Scene...
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Once overlaying is enabled, subsequent graphics that you generate will be displayed on top of the existing display in the active graphics window. To generate a plot without overlays, you must turn o the Overlays option in the Scene Description panel (and remember to click Apply). When you are overlaying multiple graphics, the captions and color scale that will appear in the latest display are those that correspond to the most recently drawn graphic. Note that when overlaying is enabled, it will apply to all graphics windows, including those that are not yet open. Turning overlays on and o does so for all graphics windows, not just for the active window. That is, if you enable overlays, open a new graphics window (as described in Section 29.2.2: Opening Multiple Graphics Windows), and then generate two or more graphics in that window, they will be overlaid.
1.27e+00 1.15e+00 1.04e+00 9.27e-01 8.13e-01 6.99e-01 5.86e-01 4.72e-01 3.58e-01 2.45e-01 1.31e-01
Fluent Inc. Velocity Vectors and Pressure Contours Tue Aug 29 1995
Figure 29.2.1: Overlay of Velocity Vectors and Pressure Contours
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29.2.2
Opening Multiple Graphics Windows
During your FLUENT session, you can open up to 12 graphics windows at one time. The windows are numbered 0 through 11 and the ID number for each window will appear at the top of the frame that surrounds it. The rst time you display graphics, window 0 will open automatically. To open an additional window, you can use the Display Options panel (Figure 29.2.2). Display Options...
Figure 29.2.2: The Display Options Panel
Use the up arrow to increment the window ID in the Active Window eld under Graphics Window and then click the Open button. To close an open window, increase or decrease the Active Window value to the ID of the window to be closed, and then click the Close button that appears next to the Active Window eld. (The Open button will change to the Close button if the Active Window is open.)
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Setting the Active Window

When you have more than one graphics window open, you must identify the active window so that FLUENT will know which one to draw the plot in. There are two ways to set the active window: you can simply click any mouse button in the desired graphics window, or you can specify the ID for the desired graphics window in the Active Window eld (in the Display Options panel) and click the Set button. Regardless of the method used, this window will remain active until you set a new active window.
29.2.3
Controlling Captions
FLUENT graphics include, by default, a caption block that consists of elds of text describing the contents of the graphic, the FLUENT product identication, an axis triad indicating the orientation of the displayed object, and a color key dening the correspondence between each color and the magnitude of the plotted variable. You can turn o the display of the captions and color scale, and/or the axis triad. You can also display the color map on any side of the display window as per convenience. In addition you can also edit the captions directly in the graphics window.
Enabling/Disabling the Captions and Color Scale

You can disable the display of the captions and the color scale by turning o the Captions Visible option under Captions in the Display Options panel (Figure 29.2.2). Display Options... Note that you can use the text interface to enable/disable the captions and color scale individually, and to change the size and position of the captions and color scale. display set windows text display set windows scale
Editing the Captions

When captions are displayed in the graphics window, you may choose to modify, delete, or add to the text that appears in the caption box. To do so, click the left mouse button in the desired location. A cursor will appear, and you can then type new text or delete the text that was originally there (using the backspace or delete key). Note that changes to existing text in the caption block will be removed when you draw new graphics in the window (unless you are overlaying multiple graphics in the same window), but text that you add on a previously empty line in the caption block will not be removed until the default caption text makes use of that line.
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Adding a Title to the Caption

You can dene a title for your problem using the title text command: display set title The title you dene will appear on the top line of the caption, at the far left, in all subsequent plots. It will also be saved in the case le.
You will need to enclose your title in quotation marks (e.g., "my title").
Enabling/Disabling the Axes

You can disable the display of the axis triad by turning o the Axes Visible option under Captions in the Display Options panel (Figure 29.2.2).
Color Map Alignment

You can set the position of color map on any side (left, top, bottom, or right) of the display window as per convenience. Default alignment for color map is set to Left. If you wish to change the alignment, select the required direction in the Color Map Alignment drop-down list.
29.2.4
Adding Text to the Graphics Window
There are two ways to add text annotations with optional attachment lines to the graphics windows. You can either use the mouse-annotate function for one of the mouse buttons, or use the Annotate panel. Both of these methods are described in this section. Figure 29.2.3 shows an example of a graphics display with annotated text in it.
Adding Text Using the Annotate Panel

Adding text to the graphics window using the Annotate panel (Figure 29.2.4) allows you to control the font and color of the text. Display Annotate... The steps for adding text are as follows: 1. Under Font Specication, select the font type in the Name drop-down list, the font weight (Medium or Bold) in the Weight drop-down list, the size (in points) in the Size drop-down list, the color in the Color drop-down list, and the slant (Regular or Italic) in the Slant drop-down list. 2. Enter the text to be added in the Annotation Text eld.
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3.00e+01 2.70e+01 2.40e+01 2.10e+01 1.80e+01 1.50e+01 1.20e+01 9.00e+00 6.00e+00 3.00e+00 0.00e+00
Y X Z
Fluent Inc. Path Lines Colored by Particle Id Tue Aug 29 1995
Figure 29.2.3: Graphics Window with Text Annotation
Figure 29.2.4: The Annotate Panel
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3. Click Add. You will be asked to pick the location in the graphics window where you want to place the text, using the mouse-probe button. (By default, the mouseprobe button is the right button, but you can change this using the Mouse Buttons panel, as described in Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions.) If you click the mouse button once in the desired location, the text will be placed at that point. Dragging the mouse with the mouse-probe button depressed will draw an attachment line from the point where the mouse was rst clicked to the point where it was released. The annotation text will be placed at the point where the mouse button was released.
Adding Text Using the mouse-annotate Function

To add text annotations to the graphics window using the mouse-annotate function, you must rst set the function of one of the mouse buttons to be mouse-annotate in the Mouse Buttons panel. (See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for details about modifying the mouse button functions.) Then, click the mouse-annotate button in the desired location in the graphics window. A cursor will appear and you can type the text directly in the graphics window. Dragging the mouse with the mouseannotate button depressed will draw an attachment line from the point where the mouse was rst clicked to the point where it was released. The cursor will then appear at the point where the mouse button was released. You can use the Annotate panel to edit or delete text added using the mouse, as described below.
Editing Existing Annotation Text

Once you have added text to the graphics display, using either the Annotate panel or the mouse-annotate function, you may change the font characteristics of one or more text items, or delete individual text items. To modify or delete existing text, follow these steps: 1. Select the appropriate item in the Names list in the Annotate panel (Figure 29.2.4). When you select a name, the associated text will be displayed in the Annotation Text eld, and the Add button will become the Edit button. 2. Modify the Font Specication entries as desired, and click the Edit button to modify the text, or simply click the Delete Text button below the Names list to delete the selected text. Note that if you want to make changes to all current annotation text, you can select all of the Names instead of just one in step 1.
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You can move the text in the same way that you move other geometric objects in the display, using the Scene Description panel and the Transformations panel. See Section 29.5.3: Transforming Geometric Objects in a Scene for details.
Clearing Annotation Text

Annotation text is associated with the active graphics window and is removed only when the annotations are explicitly cleared. To remove the annotations from the graphics window, you must click the Clear button in the Annotate panel (even if you use the mouse-annotate function to add the text). If you draw new graphics in the window without clearing the annotations, they will remain visible in the new display.
29.2.5
Changing the Colormap
The default colormap used by FLUENT to display graphical data (e.g., vectors) ranges from blue (minimum value) to red (maximum value). Additional predened colormaps are available, and you can also create custom colormaps. To make any changes to the colormap, you will use the Colormap panel (Figure 29.2.5). Display Colormaps...
Figure 29.2.5: The Colormap Panel
(When you plot contours, you can temporarily modify the number of colors in the colormap by changing the number of contour levels in the Contours panel; you will only need to use the Colormap panel if you wish to change other characteristics of the colormap.)
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Note that if you are using a gray-scale colormap and you wish to save a gray-scale hardcopy, you should actually save a color hardcopy. When you save a gray-scale hardcopy, FLUENT uses an internal gray scale, not the gray scale specied by the colormap. If you save a color hardcopy, the colormap you selected (i.e., your gray scale) will be used.
Predened Colormaps
The following colormaps are automatically available in FLUENT: bgr: Blue represents the minimum value, green the middle, and red the maximum value. Colors in between are interpolated from blue to green, and from green to red. (This is the default colormap.) bgrb: Blue represents the minimum and maximum values, and green and red are values 1/3 and 2/3 of the maximum value, respectively. Colors in between are interpolated from blue to green, from green to red, and from red to blue. blue: The minimum value is represented by blue-black, and the maximum value by pure blue. cyan-yellow: Cyan represents the minimum value and yellow represents the maximum value. fea: Blue represents the minimum value and red represents the maximum value. The colors in between are those used in third-party nite element analysis packages. gray: Black is used for the minimum value and white for the maximum value. green: The minimum value is represented by green-black, and the maximum value by pure green. purple-magenta: Purple represents the minimum value and magenta represents the maximum value. red: The minimum value is represented by red-black, and the maximum value by pure red. rgb: Red represents the minimum value, green the middle, and blue the maximum value. Colors in between are interpolated from red to green, and from green to blue. The number of colors interpolated between the colors in the scale name (e.g., between purple and magenta) will depend on the size of the colormap.
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Selecting a Colormap
The procedure for selecting a new colormap to be used in graphics displays is as follows: 1. In the Colormap panel (Figure 29.2.5), select the desired colormap in the Currently Dened drop-down list. This list will contain all of the colormaps predened by FLUENT as well as any custom colormaps that you have created as described below. 2. Set any of the options described below. 3. Click Apply to update the current graphics display with the new colormap. All future displays will use the newly selected colormap and options. Specifying the Colormap Size and Scale Once you have selected the desired colormap from the Currently Dened list, you may modify the Colormap Size. This value is the number of distinct colors in the color scale. You can also choose to use a logarithmic scale instead of a decimal scale by turning on the Log Scale option. With a log scale, the color used in the graphics display will represent the log of the value at that location in the domain. The values represented by the colors will, therefore, increase exponentially. Changing the Number Format You can change the format of the labels that dene the color divisions at the left of the graphics window using the controls under the Number Format heading in the Colormap panel. To display the real value with an integral and fractional part (e.g., 1.0000), select oat in the Type drop-down list. You can set the number of digits in the fractional part by changing the value of Precision. To display the real value with a mantissa and exponent (e.g., 1.0e-02), select exponential in the Type drop-down list. You can dene the number of digits in the fractional part of the mantissa in the Precision eld. To display the real value with either oat or exponential form, depending on the size of the number and the dened Precision, choose general in the Type drop-down list.
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Creating a Customized Colormap

You can create your own colormap by manipulating the anchor colors and the colormap size. A color scale is created by linear interpolation between the anchor colors. The color, number, and position of the anchor colors will therefore control the description of the colormap. By increasing the colormap size, you can increase the total number of colors and obtain a color scale that changes more gradually. The procedure you will follow is listed below: 1. In the Colormap panel, click the Edit... button to open the Colormap Editor panel (Figure 29.2.6).
Figure 29.2.6: The Colormap Editor Panel
2. In the Colormap Editor panel, select a color scale in the Currently Dened list as your starting point. The colors in the scale will be displayed at the top of the panel. A white bar below a color is an anchor point indicating that this color is an anchor color. 3. If you want to add more colors to the color scale, increase the Colormap Size; to use fewer colors, decrease this value. When you use the counter arrows (or type in
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a value and press <RETURN>), the color scale display at the top of the panel will be updated immediately.
The total number of colors must not be less than the number of anchor points.
4. To obtain the desired color scale interpolation, manipulate the anchor colors as needed: To add an anchor point, click any mouse button on the black space directly below the desired anchor color (or click on the color itself). A white bar will appear below the color to identify it as an anchor color, and the color will automatically be selected for color-denition modication. To remove an anchor point, click on the white bar below the anchor color. The white bar will disappear and the color scale will be updated to reect the new interpolation. To select a current anchor color in order to modify its color denition, click on the color itself at the top of the panel. To modify the color of the selected anchor color, you can change either the red/green/blue components (choose RGB, the default) or the hue/saturation/value components (choose HSV). HSV is recommended if you plan to record the graphics display on video, as it allows you to create a more subtle gradation of color and reduce the tendency of bright colors to bleed. Move the Red, Green, and Blue or Hue, Sat, and Value sliders to obtain the desired color. The color scale at the top of the panel will be updated automatically to show the eect of your change.
It is a good idea to note the original value of a color component before moving the slider so that you will be able to return to it if you change your mind. (See Section 2.1.3: Scale for instructions on using a scale slider.)
If you make a mistake while modifying the color scale, you can start over by selecting the starting-point colormap in the Currently Dened list. 5. If you want to change the default name of the new colormap, enter the new name in the Name eld. By default, custom color maps are called cmap-0, cmap-1, etc. 6. Click OK to save the new colormap. The colormap name will now appear in the Currently Dened list in the Colormap panel and can be selected for use in the graphics display. Custom colormap denitions will be saved in the case le.
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29.2.6
Adding Lights
In FLUENT you can add lights with a specied color and direction to your display. These lights can enhance the appearance of the display when it contains 3D geometries. By default one light is dened. You can turn on the eect of the existing light(s) using the Display Options panel or the Lights panel, and you can add new lights using the Lights panel.
Turning on Lighting Effects with the Display Options Panel

To turn on the eect of lighting, you can use the Display Options panel. Display Options... If you turn on the Lights On option under Lighting Attributes and click the Apply button, you will see the lighting eects in the active graphics window. To turn o the lighting eects, simply turn o the Lights On option and click Apply. You can also choose the method to be used in lighting interpolation; select Flat, Gouraud, or Phong in the Lighting drop-down list. (Flat is the most basic method: there is no interpolation within the individual polygonal facets. Gouraud and Phong have smoother gradations of color because they interpolate on each facet.)
Turning on Lighting Effects with the Lights Panel

You can also turn on lighting eects using the Lights panel (Figure 29.2.7). Display Lights... For constant lighting eects in the direction of the view, turn on the Headlight On option in the Lights panel. This option has the eect of a light source directly in front of the model, no matter what orientation the model is viewed in. To disable this feature, turn o the Headlight On option in the Lights panel. In the Lighting Method drop-down list, choose Flat, Gouraud, or Phong to enable the appropriate lighting method. (These methods are described above.) To disable lighting, select O in the list. To see the lighting eects in the active graphics window, click the Apply button.
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Dening Light Sources

You can control individual lights in the Lights panel (Figure 29.2.7). The Lights panel allows you to create a light and then turn it o without deleting it. In this way, you can retain lights that you have dened previously but do not wish to use at present. Display Lights...
Figure 29.2.7: The Lights Panel
(You can also open the Lights panel by clicking on the Lights... button in the Display Options panel.) By default, light 0 is dened to be dark gray with a direction of (1,1,1). A light source is a distant light, similar to the sun. The direction (1,1,1) means that the rays from the light will be parallel to the vector from (1,1,1) to the origin. To create an additional light (e.g., light 1), follow the steps listed below. 1. Increase Light ID to a new value (e.g., 1). 2. Turn on the Light On check button. 3. Dene the light color by entering a descriptive string (e.g., lavender) in the Color eld, or by moving the Red, Green, and Blue sliders to obtain the desired color. The default color for all lights is dark gray.
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4. Specify the light direction by doing one of the following: Enter the (X,Y,Z) Cartesian components under Direction. Click the middle mouse button in the desired location on the sphere under Active Lights. (You can also move the light along the circles on the surface of the sphere by dragging the mouse while holding down the middle button.) You can rotate the sphere by pressing the left mouse button and moving the mouse (like a trackball). Use your mouse to change the view in the graphics window so that your position in reference to the geometry is the position from which you would like a light to shine. Then click the Use View Vector button to update the X,Y,Z elds with the appropriate values for your current position and update the graphics display with the new light direction. This method is convenient if you know where you want a light to be, but you are not sure of the exact direction vector. 5. Repeat steps 14 if you want to add more lights. 6. When you have dened all the lights you want, click Apply to save their denitions. Removing a Light To remove a light, enter the ID number of the light to be removed in the Light ID eld and then turn o the Light On button. When a light is turned o, its denition is retained, so you can easily add it to the display again at a later time by turning on the Light On button. For example, you may want to dene three dierent lights to be used in dierent scenes. You can dene each of them, and then turn on only one or two at a time, using the Light ID eld and the Light On button. Once you have made all the desired modications to the lights, remember to click the Apply button to save the changes. Resetting the Light Denitions If you have made changes to the light denitions, but you have not yet clicked on Apply, you can reset the lights by clicking on the Reset button. All lighting characteristics will revert to the last saved state (i.e., the lighting that was in eect the last time you opened the panel or clicked on Apply).
29.2.7
Modifying the Rendering Options
Depending on the objects in your display window and what kind of graphics hardware and software you are using, you may want to modify some of the rendering parameters listed below. All are listed under the Rendering heading in the Display Options panel (Figure 29.2.2). Display Options...
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After making a change to any of these rendering parameters, click the Apply button to re-render the scene in the active graphics window with the new attributes. To see the eect of the new attributes on another graphics window, you must redisplay it or make it the active window (see Section 29.2.2: Setting the Active Window) and click Apply again. Line Width: By default, all lines drawn in the display have a thickness of 1 pixel. If you want to increase the thickness of the lines, increase the value of Line Width. Point Symbol: By default, nodes displayed on surfaces and data points on line or rake surfaces are represented in the display by a + sign inside a circle. If you want to modify this representation (e.g., to make the nodes easier to see), you can select a dierent symbol in the Point Symbol drop-down list. Wireframe Animation: When you use the mouse to modify the view in the display, a wireframe representation will be displayed for all geometry during the mouse manipulation. If your computer has a graphics accelerator, you may want to disable this feature by turning o the Wireframe Animation option. Turning this option o when your computer does not have a graphics accelerator may make mouse manipulation very slow. Double Buering: Enabling the Double Buering option can dramatically reduce screen icker during graphics updates. Note, however, that if your display hardware does not support double buering and you turn this option on, double buering will be done in software. Software double buering uses extra memory. Outer Face Culling: This option allows you to turn o the display of outer faces in wall zones. Outer Face Culling is useful for displaying both sides of a slit wall. By default, when you display a slit wall, one side will bleed through to the other. When you turn on the Outer Face Culling option, the display of a slit wall will show each side distinctly as you rotate the display. This option can also be useful for displaying two-sided walls (i.e., walls with uid or solid cells on both sides). Hidden Line Removal: If you do not use hidden line removal, FLUENT will not try to determine which lines in the display are behind others; it will display all of them, and a cluttered display will result for most 3D grid displays. For most 3D problems, therefore, you should turn on the Hidden Line Removal option. You should turn this option o (for optimal performance) if you are working with a 2D problem or with geometries that do not overlap. Hidden Surface Removal: If you do not use hidden surface removal, FLUENT will not try to determine which surfaces in the display are behind others; it will display all of them, and a cluttered display will result for most 3D grid displays. For most 3D problems, therefore, you should turn on the Hidden Surface Removal option. You should turn this option o (for optimal performance) if you are working with a 2D problem or with geometries that do not overlap.
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You can choose one of the following methods for performing hidden surface removal in the Hidden Surface Method drop-down list. These options vary in speed and quality, depending on the device you are using. Hardware Z-buer is the fastest method if your hardware supports it. The accuracy and speed of this method is hardware-dependent. Note that if this method is not available on your computer, selecting it will cause the Software Z-buer method to be used. Painters will show fewer edge-aliasing eects than Hardware-Z-buer. This method is often used instead of Software-Z-buer when memory is limited. Software Z-buer is the fastest of the accurate software methods available (especially for complex scenes), but it is memory-intensive. Z-sort only is a fast software method, but it is not as accurate as Software-Zbuer.
Graphics Device Information

If you need to know which graphics driver you are using and what graphics hardware it recognizes, you can click the Info button in the Display Options panel. The graphics device information will be printed in the text (console) window.
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29.3
Controlling the Mouse Button Functions
A convenient feature of FLUENT is that it allows you to assign a specic function to each of the mouse buttons. According to your specications, clicking a mouse button in the graphics window will cause the appropriate action to be taken. These functions apply only to the graphics windows; they are not active when an XY plot or histogram is displayed. (See Section 29.8.1: Plot Types for information about the use of mouse buttons in these plots.) Clicking any mouse button in a graphics window will make that window the active window.
Button Functions
The predened button functions available are listed below: mouse-rotate allows you to rotate the view by dragging the mouse across the screen. Dragging horizontally rotates the object about the screens y axis; vertical mouse movement rotates the object about the screens x axis. The function completes when the mouse button is released or the cursor leaves the graphics window. mouse-dolly allows you to translate the view by dragging the mouse while holding down the button. The function completes when the mouse button is released or the cursor leaves the graphics window. mouse-zoom allows you to draw a zoom box, anchored at the point at which the button was pressed, by dragging the mouse with the button held down. When you release the button, if the dragging was from left to right, a magnied view of the area within the zoom box will ll the window. If the dragging was from right to left, the area of the window is shrunk to t into the zoom box, resulting in a zoomed out view. If the mouse button is simply clicked (not dragged), the selected point becomes the center of the window. mouse-roll-zoom allows you to rotate or zoom the view, depending on the direction in which you drag the mouse. If you drag the mouse horizontally, the display will rotate about the axis normal to the screen. If you drag it vertically, the display will be magnied (if you drag it down) or shrunk (if you drag it up). The function completes when the mouse button is released or the cursor leaves the graphics window. Note that this function is similar to the function of the right mouse button in GAMBIT. mouse-probe allows you to select items from the graphics windows and request information about displayed scenes. If the probe function is turned o and you click the mouse-probe button in the graphics window, only the identity of the item on which you clicked will be printed out in the console window. If the probe function is turned on, more detailed information about a selected item will be printed out.
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29.3 Controlling the Mouse Button Functions
mouse-annotate allows you to insert text into the graphics window. If the mouse button is dragged, an attachment line is drawn. When the button is released (after dragging or clicking), a cursor is displayed in the graphics window, and you can enter your text. When you are nished, press <RETURN> or move the cursor out of the graphics window. To modify or remove annotated text and attachment lines, use the Clear button in the Annotate panel, as described in Section 29.2.4: Editing Existing Annotation Text.
Modifying the Mouse Button Functions

Mouse button functions are specied in the Mouse Buttons panel (Figure 29.3.1). Display Mouse Buttons...
Figure 29.3.1: The Mouse Buttons Panel
For each mouse button (Left, Middle, and Right), select the desired function in the dropdown list. The functions are listed above. If you assign the probe function to one of the buttons, select on or o as the Probe status. The new button functions take eect as soon as you click OK. That is, you do not have to redraw the graphics window to use the new functions; the appropriate function will be executed when a mouse button is subsequently clicked in a graphics window. The default button functions are as follows: Button Left Middle Right 2D mouse-dolly mouse-zoom mouse-probe 3D mouse-rotate mouse-zoom mouse-probe
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29.4
Modifying the View
FLUENT allows you to control the view of the scene that is displayed in the graphics window. You can modify the view by scaling, centering, rotating, translating, or zooming the display. You can also save a view that you have created, or restore or delete a view that you saved earlier. These operations are performed in the Views panel (Figure 29.4.1) or with the mouse.
You can revert to the previous view using the keyboard command <Ctrl>-L while the graphics window has the main focus. You can also use the text command view last from the top level of the text command tree. You can use the command to revert to any of the past 20 views.
29.4.1
Scaling, Centering, Rotating, Translating, and Zooming the Display
Scaling and centering the display is accomplished using the Views panel (Figure 29.4.1). Display Views...
Figure 29.4.1: The Views Panel
You can rotate, translate, and zoom the graphics display using either the mouse or the Camera Parameters panel (Figure 29.4.2), which is opened from the Views panel.
Scaling and Centering

You can scale and center the current display without changing its orientation by clicking on the Auto Scale button in the Views panel.
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29.4 Modifying the View
Figure 29.4.2: The Camera Parameters Panel
Rotating the Display

In 3D you can rotate the display in any direction, using either the mouse or the Camera Parameters panel. In 2D you can rotate the display about the axis normal to the screen, using either the mouse or the Camera Parameters panel. To rotate a 3D display with the mouse, you will use the button with the mouse-rotate function (the left button, by default). (See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about changing the mouse functions.) Click and drag the left mouse button in the graphics window to rotate the geometry in the display. You can also click and drag the left mouse button on the (x,y,z) graphics triad in the lower left corner to rotate the display. If you press the <Shift> key when you rst click the mouse button to begin the rotation, the rotation will be constrained to a single direction (e.g., you can rotate about the screens horizontal axis without changing the position relative to the vertical axis). If you want to constrain the rotation of a 3D display to be about the axis normal to the screen, you can also use the mouse-roll-zoom function described below for 2D cases. To rotate a 3D display using the Camera Parameters panel (Figure 29.4.2) you will use the dial and the scales below it and to its left: To rotate about the horizontal axis at the center of the screen, move the slider on the scale to the left of the dial up or down (see Section 2.1.3: Scale for instructions on using the scale). To rotate about the vertical axis at the center of the screen, move the slider on the scale below the dial to the left or right. To rotate about the axis at the center of and perpendicular to the screen, click the left mouse button on the indicator in the dial and drag it around the dial.
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Note that the position of the slider or the dial indicator does not reect the cumulative rotation about the axis; the slider or indicator will return to its original position when you release the mouse button.
To rotate a 2D display about the axis normal to the screen, you can use the dial in the Camera Parameters panel, as described above for 3D cases. If you want to rotate with the mouse instead, you can use the mouse-roll-zoom function. (See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about enabling this optional function.) Click the appropriate mouse button and drag the mouse to the left for clockwise rotation, or to the right for counter-clockwise rotation. Spinning the Display with the Mouse When you use the mouse for rotation, you have the option to push the display into a continuous spin. This feature can be used in conjunction with video recording, or simply for interactive viewing of the domain from dierent angles. To activate this option, use the auto-spin? text command: display set rendering-options auto-spin? Then display the graphics (or, if the graphics are already displayed, you can click the Apply button in the Display Options panel). The mouse-rotate button will then have two uses: To perform the standard rotation, stop dragging the mouse before you release the mouse-rotate button. To start the continuous spin, release the mouse-rotate button while you are still dragging the mouse. The display will continue to rotate on its own until you click any mouse button in the graphics window again. The speed of the rotation will depend on how fast you are dragging the mouse when you release the button. For smoother rotation, turn on the Double Buering option in the Display Options panel (see Section 29.2.7: Modifying the Rendering Options). This will reduce screen icker during graphics updates.
Translating the Display

By default the left mouse button is set to mouse-dolly in 2D. (See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about changing the mouse functions.) Click and drag the left mouse button in the graphics window to translate the geometry in the display. In 3D, you can either change one of the button functions to mouse-dolly and follow the instructions above for 2D, or use the mouse-zoom button (the middle button by default).
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Click the middle button once on the point in the display that you want to move to the center of the screen. FLUENT will redisplay the graphic with that point in the center of the window. (Note that this method can also be used in 2D.)
Zooming the Display

In both 2D and 3D you will use the mouse button with the mouse-zoom function (the middle button by default) or the mouse-roll-zoom function (see Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about enabling this optional function), or the Camera Parameters panel to magnify and shrink the display. With the mouse-zoom function, click the middle mouse button and drag it from left to right (creating a zoom box) to magnify the display. Figure 29.4.3 displays the correct dragging of the mouse, from upper left to lower right on the display, in order to zoom. (You can also drag from lower left to upper right.) After you release the mouse button, FLUENT will redisplay the graphic, lling the graphics window with the portion of the display that previously occupied the zoom box. Click the middle mouse button and drag it from right to left to shrink the display. Figure 29.4.4 displays the correct dragging of the mouse, from lower right to upper left on the display, in order to de-zoom. (You can also drag from upper right to lower left.) After you release the mouse button, FLUENT will redisplay the graphic, shrinking the graphical display by the ratio of sizes of the zoom box you created and the previous display. With the mouse-roll-zoom function, click the appropriate mouse button and drag the mouse down to zoom in continuously, or up to zoom out. In the Camera Parameters panel (Figure 29.4.2), use the scale to the right of the dial to zoom the display. Move the slider bar up to zoom in and down to zoom out.
29.4.2
Controlling Perspective and Camera Parameters
Perspective and other camera parameters are dened in the Camera Parameters panel, which you can open by clicking on the Camera... button in the Views panel (Figure 29.4.1). Display Views...
Perspective and Orthographic Views

You may choose to display either an orthographic view or a perspective view of your graphics. To show a perspective view (the default), select Perspective in the Projection drop-down list in the Camera Parameters panel (Figure 29.4.2). To turn o perspective, select Orthographic in the Projection drop-down list.
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click here
drag direction
release region to be zoomed
Figure 29.4.3: Zooming In (Magnifying the Display)
release
drag direction
click here region to be un-zoomed
Figure 29.4.4: Zooming Out (Shrinking the Display)
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Modifying Camera Parameters

Instead of translating, rotating, and zooming the display as described in Section 29.4.1: Scaling, Centering, Rotating, Translating, and Zooming the Display, you may sometimes want to modify the camera through which you are viewing the graphics display. The camera is dened by four parameters: position, target, up vector, and eld, as illustrated in Figure 29.4.5. Position is the cameras location. Target is the location of the point the camera is looking at, and up vector indicates to the camera which way is up. Field indicates the eld of view (width and height) of the display.
view plane
up vector position target x eld
y eld
Figure 29.4.5: Camera Denition
To modify the cameras position, select Position in the Camera drop-down list and specify the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the desired point. To modify the target location, select Target in the Camera drop-down list and specify the coordinates of the desired point. Select Up Vector to change the up direction. The up vector is the vector from (0,0,0) to the specied (X,Y,Z) point. Finally, to change the eld of view, select Field in the Camera list and enter the X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) eld distances.
Click Apply after you change each camera parameter (Position, Target, Up Vector, and Field).
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29.4.3
Saving and Restoring Views
After you make changes to the view shown in your graphics window, you may want to save the view so that you can return to it later. Several default views are predened for you, and can be easily restored. All saving and restoring functions are performed with the Views panel (Figure 29.4.1). Display Views...
Note that settings for mirroring and periodic repeats are not saved in a view.
Restoring the Default View

When experimenting with dierent view manipulation techniques, you may accidentally lose your geometry in the display. You can easily return to the default (front) view by clicking on the Default button in the Views panel.
Saving Views
Once you have created a new view that you want to save for future use, enter a name for it in the Save Name eld in the Views panel and click the Save button. Your new view will be added to the list of Views, and you can restore it later as described below. If a view with the same name already exists, you will be asked in a Question dialog box if it is OK to overwrite the existing view. If you overwrite one of the default views (top, left, right, front, etc.), be sure to save it in a view le if you wish to use it in a later session. (Although all views are saved to the case le, the default views are recomputed automatically when a case le is read in. Any custom view with the same name as a default view will be overwritten at that time.) As mentioned above, all dened views will be saved in the case le when you write one. If you plan to use your views with another case le, you can write a view le containing just the views. You can read this view le into another solver session involving a dierent case le and restore any of the dened views, as described below. To save a view le, click the Write... button in the Views panel. In the resulting Write Views panel (Figure 29.4.6), select the views you want to save in the Views To Save list and click OK. You will then use the Select File dialog box to specify the le name and save the view le.
Reading View Files

If you have saved views to a view le (as described above), you can read them into your current solver session by clicking on the Read... button in the Views panel, and indicating the name of the view le in the resulting Select File dialog box. If a view that you read
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Figure 29.4.6: The Write Views Panel
has the same name as a view that already exists, you will be asked in a Question dialog box if it is OK to overwrite (i.e., replace) the existing view.
Restoring Views
You can restore any of the predened views, views you have saved, or views that you have read from a view le. Select the view in the Views list and click the Restore button, or just double-click the desired view in the Views list.
Deleting Views
If you decide that you no longer want to keep a particular view, you can delete it by selecting it in the Views list and clicking on the Delete button. Use this option carefully, so that you do not accidentally delete one of the predened views.
29.4.4
Mirroring and Periodic Repeats
If you model the problem domain as a subset of the complete geometry using symmetry or periodic boundaries, you can display results on the complete geometry by mirroring or repeating the domain. For example, only one half of the annulus shown in Figure 29.4.7 was modeled, but the graphics are displayed on both halves. You can also dene mirror planes or periodic repeats just for graphical display, even if you did not model your problem using symmetry or periodic boundaries.
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4.86e-02 4.14e-02 3.42e-02 2.69e-02 1.97e-02 1.25e-02 5.28e-03 -1.94e-03 -9.16e-03 -1.64e-02 -2.36e-02
Fluent Inc. Contours of Static Pressure (pascal) Tue Aug 29 1995
Figure 29.4.7: Mirroring Across a Symmetry Boundary
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Display of symmetry and periodic repeats is controlled in the Views panel (Figure 29.4.8). Display Views...
Figure 29.4.8: The Views Panel
For a symmetric domain, all symmetry boundaries are listed in the Mirror Planes list. Select one or more of these boundaries as the plane(s) about which to mirror the display. For a periodic domain, click the Dene... button to open the Graphics Periodicity panel, to access the periodicity parameters. Specify the number of times to repeat the modeled portion by increasing the value of Number of Repeats. If, for example, you modeled a 90 sector of a duct and you wanted to display results on the entire duct, you would set Number of Repeats to 4. In some cases, there may be multiple zones with dierent periodicity in the domain. For example, in turbomachinery problems with multiple blade rows using the mixing plane model, the periodic angles are dierent for each blade row. One blade may contain 20 blades (18 periodic angle) and other may contain 15 blades (24 periodic angle). In such cases select the required cell zone and specify the number of repeats for that particular cell zone. When you click Set in the Graphics Periodicity panel the graphics display will be immediately updated to show the requested periodic repeats. Figures 29.4.9 and 29.4.10 shows the display for the sample geometry before and after applying the periodic repeats respectively. In this case the value of Number of Repeats is set to 6 for the 60 sector (outer part) and to a value of 4 is set for the 90 sector (inner part) of the geometry.
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Y Z X
Grid FLUENT 6.2 (3d, segregated, lam)
Figure 29.4.9: Before Applying Periodicity
Y Z X
Grid FLUENT 6.2 (3d, segregated, lam)
Figure 29.4.10: After Applying Periodicity
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Periodic Repeats for Graphics

To dene graphical periodicity for a non-periodic domain, follow these steps: 1. Click the Dene... button under Periodic Repeats in the Views panel. 2. In the resulting Graphics Periodicity panel (Figure 29.4.11), select the Cell Zone for which you want to specify the number of repeats. Associated Surfaces list contains the surfaces associated with the selected cell zone. This is only informative and you can not edit the selection of surfaces in this box. 3. Specify Rotational or Translational as the Periodic Type.
Figure 29.4.11: The Graphics Periodicity Panel
4. For translational periodicity, specify the Translation distance of the repeated domain in the X, Y, and Z directions. For rotational periodicity, specify the axis about which the periodicity is dened and the Angle by which the domain is rotated to create the periodic repeat. For 3D problems, the axis of rotation is the vector passing through the specied Axis Origin and parallel to the vector from (0,0,0) to the (X,Y,Z) point specied under Axis Direction. For 2D problems, you will specify only the Axis Origin; the axis of rotation is the z-direction vector passing through the specied point. 5. Specify Number of Repeats for the selected cell zone.
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6. Click Set in the Graphics Periodicity panel. 7. Follow the same procedure for other cell zones. 8. Click Apply in the Views panel to visualize the modied display. You can delete the denition of any periodicity you have dened for graphics by clicking on the Reset button in the Graphics Periodicity panel. Note: For the 3D domain with multiple periodic zones having dierent periodicity, FLUENT can repeat only grid, contour and vector plots, and not the pathlines and particle tracks. Also if such domain contains, isosurfaces and clip-surfaces, that are associated with a particular cell zone, they are repeated using the same periodicity that is dened for that cell zone. However, if the surface is not associated with any cell zone, you can not specify the periodicity for that surface.
Mirroring for Graphics

To dene a mirror plane for a non-symmetric domain, follow the procedure below: 1. Click the Dene Plane... button under Mirror Planes in the Views panel. 2. In the resulting Mirror Planes panel (Figure 29.4.12), set the coecients of X, Y, and Z and the Distance (of the plane from the origin) in the following equation for the mirror plane: Ax + By + Cz = distance (29.4-1)
3. Click the Add button to add the dened plane to the Mirror Planes list. When you are done creating mirror planes, click OK. The newly dened plane(s) will now appear in the Mirror Planes list in the Views panel. To include the mirroring in the display, select the plane(s) and click Apply, as described above. If you want to delete a mirror plane that you have dened, select it in the Mirror Planes list in the Mirror Planes panel and click the Delete button. When you click OK in this panel, the deleted plane will be removed permanently from the Mirror Planes list in the Views panel.
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29.5 Composing a Scene
Figure 29.4.12: The Mirror Planes Panel
29.5
Composing a Scene
Once you have displayed some geometric objects (grids, surfaces, contours, vectors, etc.) in your graphics window, you may want to move them around and change their characteristics to increase the eectiveness of the scene displayed. You can use the Scene Description panel (Figure 29.5.1) and the Display Properties panel (Figure 29.5.2) and Transformations panel (Figure 29.5.4), which are opened from within it, to rotate, translate, and scale each object individually, as well as change the color and visibility of each object. Display Scene... The Iso-Value panel (Figure 29.5.5), which is also opened from within the Scene Description panel, allows you to change the isovalue of a selected isosurface. The Pathline Attributes panel (Figure 29.5.6) lets you set some pathline attributes. The ability to make geometric objects visible and invisible is especially useful when you are creating an animation (see Section 29.6: Animating Graphics) because it allows you to add or delete objects from the scene one at a time. The ability to change the color and position of an object independently of the others in the scene is also useful for setting up animations, as is the ability to change isosurface isovalues. You will nd the features in the Scene Description panel useful even when you are not generating animations because they allow you to manage your graphics window eciently. The procedure for overlaying graphics, which uses the Scene Description panel, is described in Section 29.2.1: Overlay of Graphics. (Note that you cannot use the Scene Description panel to control XY plot and histogram displays.) Note that the Time Step... option is not available in FLUENT. (It is available only for the Fluent Inc. postprocessing program, FLUENT/Post. See the FLUENT/Post Users Guide for details.)
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Figure 29.5.1: The Scene Description Panel
29.5.1
Selecting the Object(s) to be Manipulated
In order to manipulate the objects in the scene, you will begin by selecting the object or objects of interest in the Names list in the Scene Description panel (Figure 29.5.1). The Names list is a list of the geometric objects that currently exist in the scene (including those that are presently invisible). If you select more than one object at a time, any operation (transformation, color specication, etc.) will apply to all the selected objects. You can also select objects by clicking on them in the graphics display using the mouseprobe button, which is, by default, the right mouse button. (See Section 29.3: Controlling the Mouse Button Functions for information about mouse button functions.) To deselect a selected object, simply click on its name in the Names list. When you select one or more objects (either in the Names list or in the display), the Type eld will report the type of the selected object(s). Possible types for a single object include grid, surface, contour, vector, path, and text (i.e., annotation text). This information is especially helpful when you need to distinguish two or more objects with the same name. When more than one object is selected, the type displayed is Group.
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29.5.2
Changing an Objects Display Properties
To enhance the scene in the graphics window, you can change the color, visibility, and other display properties of each geometric object in the scene. You can specify dierent colors for displaying the edges and faces of a grid object to show the underlying mesh (edges) when the faces of the grid are lled and shaded. You can also make a selected object temporarily invisible. If, for example, you are displaying the entire grid for a complicated problem, you can make objects visible or invisible to display only certain boundary zones of the grid without regenerating the grid display using the Grid Display panel. You can also use the visibility controls to manipulate geometric objects for ecient graphics display or for the creation of animations. These features, plus several others, are available in the Display Properties panel (Figure 29.5.2).
Figure 29.5.2: The Display Properties Panel
To set the display properties described above, select one or more objects in the Names list in the Scene Description panel and then click the Display... button to open the Display Properties panel for that object or group of objects.
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Controlling Visibility
There are several ways for you to control the visibility of an object. All visibility options are listed under the Visibility heading in the Display Properties panel. To make the selected object(s) invisible, turn o the Visible option. To undo invisibility, simply turn the Visible option on again. To turn the eect of lighting for the selected object(s) on or o, use the Lighting check button. You can choose to have lighting aect only certain objects instead of all of them. Note that if Lighting is turned on for an object such as a contour or vector plot, the colors in the plot will not be exactly the same as those in the colormap at the left of the display. To toggle the lled display of faces for the selected grid or surface object(s), use the Faces option. Turning Faces on here has the same eect as turning it on for the entire grid in the Grid Display panel. To turn the display of outer edges on or o, use the Outer Faces option. This option is useful for displaying both sides of a slit wall. By default, when you display a slit wall, one side will bleed through to the other. When you turn o the Outer Faces option, the display of a slit wall will show each side distinctly as you rotate the display. This option can also be useful for displaying two-sided walls (i.e., walls with uid or solid cells on both sides). To turn the display of interior and exterior edges of the geometric object(s) on or o, use the Edges option. To turn the display of the outline of the geometric object(s) on or o, use the Perimeter Edges check button. To toggle the display of feature lines (described in Section 29.1.1: Adding Features to an Outline Display), if any, for the selected object(s), use the Feature Edges option. To toggle the display of the lines (if any) in the geometric object(s), use the Lines check button. Pathlines, line contours, and vectors are lines. To toggle the display of nodes (if any) in the geometric object(s), use the Nodes check button. Once you have set the appropriate display parameters, click the Apply button to update the graphics display.
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Controlling Object Color and Transparency

The Display Properties panel also lets you control an objects color and how transparent it is. All color and transparency options are listed under the Colors heading. To modify the color of faces, edges, or lines in the selected object(s), choose facecolor, edge-color, line-color, or node-color in the Color drop-down list. The Red, Green, and Blue color scales will show the RGB components of the face, edge or line color, which you can modify by moving the sliders on the color scales. When you are satised with the color specication, click Apply to save it and update the display. The ability to set the colors for faces and edges can be useful when you wish to have a lled display for the grid or surface, but you also want to be able to see the grid lines. You can achieve this eect by specifying dierent colors for the faces and the edges. To set the relative transparency of an object, select face-color in the Color dropdown list. Move the slider on the Transparency scale and click the Apply button to update the graphics display. An object with a transparency of 0 is opaque, and an object with a transparency of 100 is transparent. By specifying a high transparency value for the walls of a pipe, for example, you will be able to see contours that you have displayed on cross-sections inside the pipe. (This feature is available on all platforms when the software z buer is used for hidden surface removal, but if your display hardware supports transparency, it will be more ecient to use the hardware z buer as the hidden surface method instead. You can select these methods in the Display Options panel, as described in Section 29.2.7: Modifying the Rendering Options.)
i
29.5.3
If you save a hardcopy of a display with transparent surfaces, you should not set the File Type in the Graphics Hardcopy panel to Vector.
Transforming Geometric Objects in a Scene
When you are composing a scene in your graphics window, you might nd it helpful to move a particular object from its original position or to increase or decrease its size. For example, if you have displayed contours or vectors on cross-sections of an internal ow domain (such as a pipe), you might want to translate these cross-sections so that they will appear outside of the pipe, where they can be seen and interpreted more easily. Figure 29.5.3 shows such an example. You can also move an object by rotating it about the x, y, or z axis. If you want to display one object more prominently than the others, you can scale its size. If your geometry is rotating or has rotational symmetry, you can display the meridional view. All of these capabilities are available in the Transformations panel (Figure 29.5.4).
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1.50e+00 1.35e+00 1.20e+00 1.05e+00 8.97e-01 7.48e-01 5.98e-01 4.49e-01 2.99e-01 1.50e-01 5.23e-04
Z Y
Velocity Vectors in Plane Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s)
Figure 29.5.3: Velocity Vectors Translated Outside the Domain for Better Viewing
To perform the transformations described above, select one or more objects in the Names list in the Scene Description panel and then click the Transform... button to open the Transformations panel for that object or group of objects.
Translating Objects
To translate the selected object(s), enter the translation distance in each direction in the X, Y, and Z real number elds under Translate. (Note that you can check the domain extents in the Scale Grid panel or the Iso-Surface panel.) Translations are not cumulative, so you can easily return to a known state. To return to the original position, simply enter 0 in all three real number elds.
Rotating Objects
To rotate the selected object(s), enter the number of degrees by which to rotate about each axis in the X, Y, and Z integer number elds under Rotate By. (You can enter any value between 360 and 360.) By default, the rotation origin will be (0,0,0). If you want to spin an object about its own origin, or about some other point, specify the X, Y, and Z coordinates of that point under Rotate About. Rotations are not cumulative, so you can easily return to a known state. To return to the original position, simply enter 0 in all three integer number elds under Rotate By.
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Figure 29.5.4: The Transformations Panel
Scaling Objects
To scale the selected object(s), enter the amount by which to scale in each direction in the X, Y, and Z real number elds under Scale. To avoid distortion of the objects shape, be sure to specify the same value for all three entries. Scaling is not cumulative, so you can easily return to a known state. To return the object to its original size, simply enter 1 in all three real number elds.
Displaying the Meridional View

To display the meridional view of the selected object(s), turn on the Meridional option. This option is available only for 3D models. It is applicable to cases with a dened axis of rotation and is especially useful in turbomachinery applications. The meridional transformation projects the selected entities onto a surface of constant angular coordinate, . The resultant projection thus lies in an (r, ) plane where is in the direction of the rotation axis and r is normal to it. The value of used for the projection is taken as that corresponding to the minimum (r, ) point of the entity.
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29.5.4
Modifying Iso-Values
One convenient feature that you can use to generate eective animations is the ability to generate surfaces with intermediate values between two isosurfaces with dierent isovalues. If the surfaces have contours, vectors, or pathlines displayed on them, FLUENT will generate and display contours, vectors, or pathlines on the intermediate surfaces that it creates.
Steps for Modifying Iso-Values

You can modify an isosurfaces isovalue directly by selecting it in the Scene Description panels Names list or indirectly by selecting an object displayed on the isosurface. Then click the Iso-Value... button to open the Iso-Value panel (Figure 29.5.5) for the selected object. Note that this button is available only if the geometric object selected in the Names list is an isosurface or a object on an isosurface (contour on an isosurface, for example); otherwise it is grayed out.
Figure 29.5.5: The Iso-Value Panel
In the Iso-Value panel, set the new isovalue in the Iso-Value eld, and click Apply. Contours, vectors, or pathlines that were displayed on the original isosurface will be displayed for the new isovalue.
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An Example of Iso-Value Modication for an Animation

The ability to generate intermediate surfaces with data displayed on them is especially convenient if you want to create an animation that shows data on successive slices of the problem domain. For example, if you have solved the ow through a pipe junction and you want to create an animation that moves through one of the pipes (along the y axis) and displays pressure contours on several cross-sections, you can use the following procedure: 1. Generate a surface of constant y coordinate (such as the y coordinate at the pipe inlet) using the Iso-Surface panel. 2. Use the Contours panel to generate contours of static pressure on this isosurface and manipulate the graphics display to the desired view. 3. Open the Animate panel and create key frame 1. 4. In the Scene Description panel, select the contour in the Names list and click the Iso-Value... button to open the Iso-Value panel. 5. Change the value of the isovalue to the y coordinate at the other end of the pipe, and click Apply. You will see the contours of static pressure at the new y coordinate. 6. Set key frame 10 in the Animate panel. 7. Play back the animation. When you play back the animation, FLUENT will create the intermediate frames showing contours of static pressure on the slices between the two ends of the pipe. Ten slices will be shown in succession, all with contours displayed on them. Using the Sweep Surface panel to animate the display of contours or vectors on a surface that sweeps through the domain may be more convenient than the procedure described above. See Section 29.1.5: Displaying Results on a Sweep Surface for details.
29.5.5
Modifying Pathline Attributes
If you are creating animations of existing pathlines, you may want to change the number of steps used in the computation of the pathlines. This allows you to animate pathlines advancing through the domain. To do so, select the pathlines in the Names list in the Scene Description panel and then click the Path Lines... button to open the Pathline Attributes panel (Figure 29.5.6). In the Pathline Attributes panel, set the new maximum number of steps for pathline computation (Max Steps). After you change the value and click Apply, the selected pathline will be recomputed and redrawn.
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Figure 29.5.6: The Pathline Attributes Panel
An Example of Pathline Modication for an Animation

You can use the following procedure to animate pathlines from step 2 to step 101 (for example): 1. Generate the plot of pathlines using the Path Lines panel. 2. In the Scene Description panel, select the pathlines in the Names list and click the Path Lines... button to open the Pathline Attributes panel. 3. Change the value of the maximum number of steps to 2, and click Apply. 4. Open the Animate panel and create key frame 1. 5. In the Pathline Attributes panel, change the value of the maximum number of steps to 101, and click Apply. 6. Set key frame 100 in the Animate panel. 7. Play back the animation. When you play back the animation, FLUENT will animate the pathlines so that they advance one step in each frame.
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29.5.6
Deleting an Object from the Scene
If you are composing a complex scene with overlays and nd that you no longer want to keep one of the objects, it is possible to delete it without aecting any of the other objects in the scene. The ability to delete individual objects is especially useful if you have overlays on and you generate an unwanted object (e.g., if you generate contours of the wrong variable). You can simply delete the unwanted object and continue your scene composition, instead of starting over from the beginning. Note that it is also possible to make objects temporarily invisible, as described in Section 29.5.2: Controlling Visibility. Object deletion is performed in the Scene Description panel (Figure 29.5.1). To delete an object from the scene, select it in the Names list and then click the Delete Geometry button. The selected name will disappear from the Names list, and the display will be updated immediately.
29.5.7
Adding a Bounding Frame
FLUENT allows you to add a bounding frame around your displayed domain. You may also include measure markings on the bounding frame to indicate the length, height, and/or width of the domain, as shown in Figure 29.5.7.
1.1 3.2
1.2 -0.85
Y X Z
Figure 29.5.7: Graphics Display with Bounding Frame
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To add a bounding frame to your display, you will follow the procedure below: 1. Click the Frame Options... button in the Scene Description panel (Figure 29.5.1) to open the Bounding Frame panel (Figure 29.5.8).
Figure 29.5.8: The Bounding Frame Panel
2. Under Frame Extents in the Bounding Frame panel, select Domain or Display to indicate whether the bounding frame should encompass the domain extents or only the portion of the domain that is shown in the display. 3. In the Axes portion of the Bounding Frame panel, specify the frame boundaries and measurements to be shown in the display: Indicate the bounding plane(s) (e.g., the x-z and y-z planes shown in Figure 29.5.7) to be displayed by clicking on the white square on the appropriate plane of the box shown under the Axes heading. (You can use any of the mouse buttons.) The square will turn red to indicate that the associated bounding plane will be displayed in the graphics window. Specify where you would like to see the measurement annotations by clicking on the appropriate edge of the box. The edge will turn red to indicate that the markings will be displayed along that edge of the displayed geometry.
If you have trouble determining which square or edge corresponds to which location in your domain, you can easily nd out by displaying one or two bounding planes to get your bearings. You can then select the appropriate objects to obtain the nal display.
4. Click the Display button to update the display with the current settings. If you are not satised with the frame, repeat steps 2 and/or 3 and click Display again. 5. Once you are satised with the bounding frame that is displayed, click OK to close the Bounding Frame panel and save the frame settings for future displays.
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29.6 Animating Graphics
6. If you wish to include the bounding frame in all subsequent displays, turn on the Draw Frame option in the Scene Description panel and click Apply. If this option is not enabled, the bounding box will appear only in the current display; it will not be redisplayed when you generate a new display (unless you have overlays enabled). The bounding planes and axis annotations will appear in the Names list of the Scene Description panel, and you can manipulate them in the same way as any other geometric object in the display. For example, you can use the Display Properties panel to change the face color of a bounding plane or to make it transparent (see Section 29.5.2: Changing an Objects Display Properties).
29.6
Animating Graphics
To generate animations that progress from one static view of the graphics display to the next, you can set up key frames (individual static images) using the Animate panel (Figure 29.6.1). Display Scene Animation...
Figure 29.6.1: The Animate Panel
You can compose a scene in the graphics window and dene it as a single key frame. Then, modify the scene by moving or scaling objects, making some objects invisible or visible, changing colors, changing the view, or making other changes, and dene the new scene as another key frame. FLUENT can then interpolate smoothly between the two frames that you dened, creating a specied number of intermediate frames.
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Another method of generating animations is to automatically generate surfaces with intermediate values between two isosurfaces with dierent isovalues. See Section 29.5.4: Modifying Iso-Values for details. See Section 29.1.5: Displaying Results on a Sweep Surface for information about displaying the grid, contours, or vectors on a surface that sweeps through the domain. If you want to create a graphical animation of the solution over time, you can use the Solution Animation panel to set up the graphical displays that you want to use in the animation. You can choose the type of display you want to animate by choosing Grid, Contours, Pathlines, Particle Tracks, Vectors, XY Plot, or Monitor. For details on animating the solution, see Section 26.20: Animating the Solution. For more information on generating, displaying, and saving pathlines and particle tracks, refer to Section 29.1.4: Displaying Pathlines.
29.6.1
Creating an Animation
You can dene any number of key frames (up to 3000) to create your animation. By assigning the appropriate numbers to the key frames, you provide the information FLUENT needs to create the correct number of intermediate frames. For example, to create a simple animation that begins with a front view of an object, moves to a side view, and ends with a rear view of the object, you would follow the procedure outlined below: 1. Determine the number of frames that you want in the animation. For this example, consider the animation to be 31 frames. 2. Determine the number of key frames that you need to specify. In this example, you will specify three: one showing the front view, one showing the side view, and one showing the rear view. 3. Determine the appropriate key frame numbers to assign to the 3 specied frames. Here, the front view will be specied as key frame 1, the side view will be key frame 16, and the rear view will be key frame 31. 4. Compose the scenes for each view to be used as a key frame. You can use the Scene Description panel (see Section 29.5: Composing a Scene) and the Views panel (see Section 29.4: Modifying the View) to modify the display, and any other panels or commands to create contours, vectors, pathlines, etc. to be included in each scene. After you complete each scene, create the appropriate key frame by setting the Frame number and clicking on the Add button under Key Frames in the Animate panel. (See Section 29.6.5: Notes on Animation for special considerations related to key frame denition.)
Be sure to change the Frame number before clicking on the Add button, or you will overwrite the last key frame that you created.
You can check any of the key frames that you have created by selecting it in the Keys list. The selected key frame will be displayed in the graphics window.
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5. When you complete the animation, you can play it back as described in Section 29.6.2: Playing an Animation and/or save it as described in Section 29.6.3: Saving an Animation.
Deleting Key Frames

If, during the creation of your animation, you want to remove one of the key frames that you have dened, select the key frame in the Keys list and click the Delete button. If you want to delete all key frames and start over again, click the Delete All button.
29.6.2
Playing an Animation
Once you have dened the key frames (as described in Section 29.6.1: Creating an Animation) or read in a previously created animation le (as described in Section 29.6.4: Reading an Animation File), you can play back the animation and FLUENT will interpolate between the frames that you specied to complete the animation. To play the animation once through from start to nish, click the play button under the Playback heading in the Animate panel. (The buttons function in a way similar to those on a standard video cassette player. Play is the second button from the righta single triangle pointing to the right.) To play the animation backwards once, click the play reverse button (the second from the lefta single triangle point to the left). As the animation plays, the Frame scale shows the number of the frame that is currently displayed, as well as its relative position in the entire animation. If, instead of playing the complete animation, you want to jump to a particular key frame, move the Frame slider bar to the desired frame number, and the frame corresponding to the new frame number will be displayed in the graphics window. Additional options for playing back animations are described below. Be sure to check Section 29.6.5: Notes on Animation as well for important notes about playing back animations.
Playing Back an Excerpt

You may sometimes want to play only one portion of a long animation. To do this, you can modify the Start Frame and the End Frame under the Playback heading in the Animate panel. For example, if your animation contains 50 frames, but you want to play only frames 20 to 35, you can set Start Frame to 20 and End Frame to 35. When you play the animation, it will start at frame 20 and nish at frame 35.
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Fast-Forwarding the Animation

You can fast-forward or fast-reverse the animation by skipping some of the frames during playback. To fast-forward the animation, you will need to set the Increment and click the fast-forward button (the last button on the righttwo triangles pointing to the right). If, for example, your Start Frame is 1, your End Frame is 15, and your Increment is 2, when you click the fast-forward button, the animation will show frames 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15. Clicking on the fast-reverse button (the rst button on the lefttwo triangles pointing to the left) will show frames 15, 13, 11,...1.
Continuous Animation
If you want the playback of the animation to repeat continuously, there are two options available. To continuously play the animation from beginning to end (or from end to beginning, if you use one of the reverse play buttons), select Auto Repeat in the Playback Mode drop-down list in the Animate panel. To play the animation back and forth continuously, reversing the playback direction each time, select Auto Reverse in the Playback Mode drop-down list. To turn o the continuous playback, select Play Once in the Playback Mode list. This is the default setting.
Stopping the Animation

To stop the animation during playback, click the stop button (the square in the middle of the playback control buttons). If your animation contains very complicated scenes, there may be a slight delay before the animation stops.
Advancing the Animation Frame by Frame

To advance the animation manually frame by frame, use the third button from the right (a vertical bar with a triangle pointing to the right). Each time you click this button, the next frame will be displayed in the graphics window. To reverse the animation frame by frame, use the third button from the left (a left-pointing triangle with a vertical bar). Frame-by-frame playback allows you to freeze the animation at points that are of particular interest.
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29.6.3
Saving an Animation
Once you have created your animation, you can save it in any of the following formats: Animation le containing the key frame descriptions Hardcopy les, each containing a frame of the animation MPEG le containing each frame of the animation Video (see Section 29.7: Creating Videos)
Animation File
You can save the key frame denitions to a le that can be read back into FLUENT (see Section 29.6.4: Reading an Animation File) when you want to replay the animation. Since the animation le will contain only the key frame denitions, you must be sure that you have a case and data le containing the necessary surfaces and other information referred to by the key frame descriptions. To write an animation le, select Key Frames in the Write/Record Format drop-down list in the Animate panel, and click the Write... button. In the resulting Select File dialog box, specify the name of the le and save it.
Hardcopy File
You can also generate a hardcopy le for each frame in the animation. This feature allows you to save your animation frames to hardcopy les used by an external animation program such as ImageMagick. To save the animation as a hardcopy le, follow these steps: 1. Select Hardcopy Frames in the Write/Record Format drop-down list in the Animate panel. 2. If necessary, click the Hardcopy Options... button to open the Graphics Hardcopy panel and set the appropriate parameters for saving the hardcopy les. (If you are saving hardcopy les for use with ImageMagick, for example, you may want to select the window dump format. See Section 4.12.1: Window Dumps (UNIX Systems Only) for details.) Click Apply in the Graphics Hardcopy panel to save your modied settings.
Do not click the Save... button in the Graphics Hardcopy panel. You will save the hardcopy les from the Animate panel in the next step.
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3. In the Animate panel, click the Write... button. In the resulting Select File dialog box, specify the lename and click OK to save the les. (See Section 4.12.1: Window Dumps (UNIX Systems Only) for information about specifying lenames that increment automatically as additional hardcopies are saved.) FLUENT will replay the animation, saving each frame to a separate le.
MPEG File
It is also possible to save all of the frames of the animation in an MPEG le, which can be viewed using an MPEG decoder such as mpeg play. Saving the entire animation to an MPEG le will require less disk space than storing the individual window dump les (using the hardcopy method), but the MPEG le will yield lower-quality images. To save the animation to an MPEG le, follow these steps: 1. Select MPEG in the Write/Record Format drop-down list in the Animate panel. 2. In the Animate panel, click the Write... button. In the resulting Select File dialog box, specify the lename and click OK to save the les. FLUENT will replay the animation and save each frame to a separate scratch le, and then it will combine all the les into a single MPEG le.
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29.6.4
Reading an Animation File
If you have saved the key frames dening an animation to an animation le (as described in Section 29.6.3: Saving an Animation), you can read that le back in at a later time (or in dierent session) and play the animation. Before reading in an animation le, be sure that the current case and data contain the surfaces and any other information that the key frame description refers to. To read an animation le, click the Read... button in the Animate panel. In the resulting Select File dialog box, specify the name of the le to be read.
29.6.5
Notes on Animation
When you are creating and playing back animations, please note the following: For smoother animations, turn on the Double Buering option in the Display Options panel (see Section 29.2.7: Modifying the Rendering Options). This will reduce screen icker during graphics updates. When you are dening key frames, you must create all geometric objects that will be used in the animation before you create any key frames. You cannot create a key frame using one set of geometric objects and then generate a new geometry (such as a vector plot) and include that in another key frame. Create all geometric objects rst, and then use the Display Properties panel to control the visibility of the objects in each key frame (see Section 29.5.2: Controlling Visibility). A single animation sequence can contain up to 3000 key frames. When you play back an animation, the colormap used will be the one that is currently active, not the one that was active during recording.
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29.7
Creating Videos
Tools are available for creating videos from FLUENT. This section is a guide to video creation using the new video capabilities. It assumes that you have a ready-to-use video system, and that you are familiar with this system, including the special video hardware and software installed on your computer. The main use for this feature is to record an animation that you have created using the Animate panel (as described in Section 29.6: Animating Graphics). This section will describe issues involved in recording animations to video, the kind of video equipment you will need, and the procedures for creating a video using FLUENT.
i
29.7.1
Video creation is not currently available in Windows versions of FLUENT.
Recording Animations To Video
Recording an animation involves copying the computer-generated images to videotape so that you can view the animation with a VCR, or another type of tape player. This task is not an easy one, as there are several issues that should be addressed in order to create an acceptable video. A couple of these issues are described in the following sections.
Computer Image vs. Video Image

The computer monitor uses a dierent video signal than the video tape recorder (VTR). Most computers use an RGB-component, non-interlaced signal with high resolution and a high refresh rate. A VTR typically uses a standard broadcast video signal (such as NTSC or PAL), which has an interlaced, composite signal with lower resolution and a lower refresh rate. In order to send the computer image to the VTR for recording, the computer has to produce a video signal in the proper format. This requires extra hardware, which, in many cases, converts RGB component video to standard broadcast video, resulting in a lower quality image. A solution to this problem is to make sure that the image you are recording does not have small text, or too much small detail that will be hard to see on video. Sometimes it is best to zoom in on an area of interest in a large image and animate just that portion. Another problem is that RGB-component video has a larger color space (or color gamut) than standard broadcast video. This means that some colors may get clipped when an image is converted to broadcast video, resulting in washed-out colors, or color bleeding. The solution is to try to make sure that the colors fall within the color space of the video format, and are not oversaturated. Some picture controls that can help you do this are available in FLUENT. These controls will be discussed in Section 29.7.3: Check the Picture Quality.
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29.7 Creating Videos
Real-Time vs. Frame-By-Frame

If the images in the animation can be rendered fast enough on the computer screen, it may be possible to record the animation in real-time. This is as simple as placing the video tape recorder (VTR) in record mode, and playing the animation on the computer screen. This also requires scan-converting hardware that will convert the scan lines of the computer screen to a video signal sent to the VTR. In many cases, however, the animation cannot be played back on the computer screen in real-time. To create a video that plays the animation at a desirable speed, the animation must be recorded frame-by-frame. This involves sending one frame to the VTR, instructing it to record the frame at a specic point on the tape, then backing up the VTR to repeat the procedure with the next frame. This process takes quite a bit longer than real-time recording, but the result can be a much smoother video animation.
29.7.2
Equipment Required
In general, recording an animation to video requires a system with the following hardware components: Computer with video hardware to produce the video signal. Editing VTR (video tape recorder) that supports frame-accurate recording. VTR Controller which enables computer software to control the recording process. Two VTR controller models are supported by FLUENT: the V-LAN controller developed by Videomedia, Inc., and the MiniVAS/MiniVAS-2 controller developed by the V.A.S. Group. FLUENT assumes that your recording system is set up as shown in Figure 29.7.1 for a system with a V-LAN controller or as shown in Figure 29.7.2 for a system with a MiniVAS controller.
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RS-232
Computer Video
V-LAN Controller
Editing VTR
Composite Video
Figure 29.7.1: Recording System with V-LAN Controller
RS-232
Computer Video
MiniVAS Controller
Editing VTR
Composite Video
Figure 29.7.2: Recording System with MiniVAS/MiniVAS-2 Controller
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29.7.3
Recording an Animation with FLUENT
The steps for recording an animation using FLUENT are as follows: 1. Create an animation. 2. Open a connection to the VTR controller. 3. Set up your recording session. 4. Check the picture quality. 5. Make sure your tape is formatted (preblacked). 6. Start the recording session. Each step is described in detail in the following sections.
Create an Animation
When recording animations to video, you must rst create your animation. Its also a good idea to play it back a couple times to make sure you are satised with it, and to save the animation key frame denitions to a le for later use (see Section 29.6.1: Creating an Animation). When you are ready to record the animation, you can select Video in the Write/Record Format drop-down list found in the Animate panel. When you do so, the name of the Write... button will change to Record..., and you can click Record... to display the Video Control panel (Figure 29.7.3) used for video creation. This panel can also be displayed by selecting the Video Control... menu item in the Display pull-down menu.
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Figure 29.7.3: The Video Control Panel
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Open a Connection to the VTR Controller

The steps for connecting to your VTR controller are as follows: 1. Select the protocol used by your VTR controller using the Protocol drop-down list. 2. Check the settings for your VTR controller by clicking on the Settings... button. For V-LAN, this will display the V-LAN Settings panel, and for MiniVAS, it will display the MiniVAS Settings panel. 3. Select the RS-232 serial port used to connect the VTR controller to your computer. Usually, the serial port is identied by a le name such as /dev/ttyd1 for serial port 1, and /dev/ttyd2 for serial port 2. If this is the case on your system, you can simply set the value of Port #; otherwise, you can type a new le name in the Serial Port text entry. Make sure that you have the proper UNIX read/write permissions for the le. 4. Open a connection to the VTR controller by clicking the Open button. If successful, a line will be printed out in the console window that reports the VTR controller protocol version and the VTR device ID.
Set Up Your Recording Session

Once you have established a connection to the VTR controller, you can set up your recording session. There are three types of recording sessions, as described below: Preblack is the process of formatting a tape by laying down a time code onto the tape. A tape must be formatted before any frame-accurate editing, including frame-byframe animation, can be performed. During this process, one usually records a black video signal onto the tape as well, thus the name preblack. When you select this option, the current graphics window will be cleared to black. You can use the window to send your black video signal to the VTR.
Remember that when you preblack a previously formatted tape, a new time code will be written and any previously recorded video will be destroyed.
Live Action allows you to record a live FLUENT session which can be used for demonstration. This option requires your computers video hardware to have a scan converter that will send the computer display image to your VTR system. Animation will play an animation that you have created, and record it onto your VTR system.
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Figure 29.7.4: The Animation Recording Options Panel
The Options... button in the Video Control panel is used to display the Animation Recording Options panel (Figure 29.7.4): There are three parts to setting up your animation recording session: 1. Select the recording source. 2. Choose real-time or frame-by-frame recording. 3. Set the video frame hold counts. Select the Recording Source There are two possible video sources that can be used for recording an animation: Screen and Hardcopy. The choice of video source depends on what your video hardware/software provides. Here is a description of each: Screen can be used if your computers video hardware can send all or a portion of the computer screen as a video signal to the VTR using a scan converter and associated software. With this option, you are responsible for setting up the scan converter and sending the video signal to the VTR. Hardcopy instructs FLUENT to create a hardcopy of each frame of animation and send the hardcopy le to the computers video hardware using a system command. This option assumes that your computers video system includes a frame buer that can store an image and send it as a video signal to the video recording system.
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When using the hardcopy option, a shell script will be called that will send the hardcopy le to the video frame buer. The default setting is videocmd, which is a shell script that is included in your FLUENT distribution. It is located in path/Fluent.Inc/bin, where path is the directory in which you have placed the release directory, Fluent.Inc. This shell script will execute your systems command to send an image le to the video frame buer. The script videocmd is set up to call the SGI system command memtovid. If you have a dierent system, you must copy the shell script videocmd to a new le and modify it to perform the proper task on your system (see the comments in videocmd for details). You can specify the name of your shell script using the Video Command text entry in the Animation Recording Options panel. In order to send a hardcopy le of the proper format to the video frame buer, you must set up the hardcopy format using the Graphics Hardcopy panel, which can be displayed by clicking the Hardcopy Options... button in the Animation Recording Options panel. If you choose to perform a window dump to create the hardcopy le, the default window dump command used will also be videocmd. You can change this setting to use your own command. After setting the hardcopy options, click Apply instead of Save... in the Graphics Hardcopy panel to apply the change. Once you have set up the hardcopy format and system command, you can test the conguration by sending the picture in the current graphics window to the video frame buer. This is done by clicking on Preview in the Animation Recording Options panel. (Note that this is another way to send a black video signal to your VTR when you are preblacking a tape). Choose Real-Time or Frame-By-Frame Recording There are two methods for recording an animation: real-time and frame-by-frame. These methods are described below: Real-Time can be used if the animation playback speed is fast enough to provide a reasonably smooth animation in real-time. This is only available if the selected record source is Screen. In this mode, FLUENT will simply turn VTR recording on, play the animation, then stop the recording. Frame-By-Frame is used to produce a higher-quality video animation by recording one frame at a time. For each animation frame, this method will 1) play the frame on the screen (and generate the hardcopy le, if needed), 2) preroll the VTR, and 3) record the frame. If the animation has 50 frames, this procedure is repeated 50 times, i.e., 50 record passes are made. This is the recommended method, because the real-time playback of the animation will usually be too slow and choppy.
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When recording in frame-by-frame mode, there is an optional setting called Frames/Pass, which can be used to try and speed up the frame-by-frame recording process. It species the number of animation frames recorded to tape per record pass. If the animation is long enough (200 frames or more), you can try setting this value to 2 or higher. For example, if you set this value to 2 for a 202-frame animation, it will record animation frame 1 during the rst pass, frames 2 and 102 during the second pass, frames 3 and 103 during the third pass, and so on. This is possible only if the animation frames can be rendered in time to be inserted onto the tape during a record pass, so use this setting with caution. Set the Video Frame Hold Counts The video standard NTSC has a frame rate of 30 frames/sec (and the PAL standard has a rate of 25 frames/sec). At the NTSC rate, a 150-frame animation will take only 5 seconds to play. To stretch out the animation, you can record the same animation frame over 2 or more video frames. This is done by setting video frame hold counts for the beginning, middle, and end of the animation, using the Animation Recording Options panel controls described below: Begin Hold species the number of video frames to hold the rst animation frame. It helps to hold the rst frame for about 5 seconds (150 video frames for NTSC, or 125 for PAL) so that the viewer can get accustomed to the picture before the animation begins. Frame Hold species the number of video frames to hold each animation frame, other than the rst and last. To slow down your recorded animation, try setting this value to 2 or 3. End Hold species the number of video frames to hold the last animation frame. You may want to hold the last animation frame for about 5 seconds to provide closure.
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Check the Picture Quality

As described in Section 29.7.1: Recording Animations To Video, there are several sacrices made when sending a computer image to video, including loss of color and resolution. Some steps can be taken to minimize the problem using the Picture Options panel (Figure 29.7.5). Display this panel by clicking the Picture... button in the Video Control panel.
Figure 29.7.5: The Picture Options Panel
Color Use these controls to ensure that all colors fall into the proper color space for your video device. Also, for best results, set the saturation and brightness levels to 80% or less. Window Size If you have a scan converter that converts a portion of the computer screen, you can set the graphics window to a particular pixel size to match the scan converters window size. You can also create a margin around the picture in the window to keep unwanted parts of the screen (such as the window border) out of the video image.
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Make Sure Your Tape is Formatted (Preblacked)

Before you can start the recording session, you need to make sure the tape has been preblacked with a time code or frame code. When you start with a brand new tape, you need to take time out and preblack the whole tape rst. This can be done using the following steps: 1. Rewind the tape to the beginning. 2. Select a preblack recording session by clicking on the Preblack radio button in the Video Control panel. 3. Send the VTR a black video signal using a scan converter or a hardcopy by clicking on the Preview button in the Animation Recording Options panel. 4. Click the Preblack button in the VTR Controls section of the Video Control panel to start the preblacking.
Start the Recording Session

Make sure you have the proper recording session selected. If you are recording an animation, the Animation radio button should be selected. To start recording onto tape, you must rst go to the in point on tape where you want the recording to begin. With a blank tape, it is important to start at about 20 seconds into the tape, so the VTR has a chance to preroll up to the in point. You can use the VTR button controls to position the tape, but an easier way to go to a certain point is to type the time code or frame code in the Time or Frame counter and press the <Enter> key. For example, a time code of 00:02:36:07 is 2 minutes, 36 seconds, and 7 frames. In order to go to this position on the tape, you can enter the time code as 2:36:07, leaving out the leading zeros, or you can simply enter 23607, leaving out the leading zeros and colons. Once your tape is at the start position for your recording session, click the Record button to start recording.
29.7.4
General Information
For other sources of information on video creation, check out these web sites on the Internet: San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) http://vis.sdsc.edu Army High Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC) http://www.arc.umn.edu
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29.8 Histogram and XY Plots
29.8
Histogram and XY Plots
In addition to the many graphics tools already discussed, FLUENT also provides tools that allow you to generate XY plots and histograms of solution, le, and residual data. You can modify the colors, titles, legend, and axis and curve attributes to customize your plots. The following sections describe the XY and histogram plotting features in FLUENT. Section 29.8.1: Plot Types Section 29.8.2: XY Plots of Solution Data Section 29.8.3: XY Plots of File Data Section 29.8.4: XY Plots of Circumferential Averages Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format Section 29.8.6: Residual Plots Section 29.8.7: Solution Histograms Section 29.8.8: Modifying Axis Attributes Section 29.8.9: Modifying Curve Attributes
29.8.1
Plot Types
Data can be plotted in XY (abscissa/ordinate) form or histogram form. Each form is described below.
XY Plots
An XY (abscissa/ordinate) plot is a line and/or symbol chart of data. Virtually any dened variable or function is accessible for this type of plot. Furthermore, you may read in an externally-generated data le in order to compare your results with experimental data. You can also use the XY-plot facility to plot out the residual histories of variables, or the time histories if you have a transient problem. FLUENT provides tools for controlling many aspects of the XY plot, including background color, legend, and axis and curve attributes. Figure 29.8.1 shows a sample XY plot. To dierentiate the data being displayed, you can customize the pattern, color and weight of the data lines and the shape, color, and size of the data markers. When an XY plot is displayed in the graphics window, you can use any of the mouse buttons to add text annotations to the plot. (See Section 29.2.4: Adding Text Using the mouse-annotate Function for more information about the mouse-annotate function.) In addition, you can use any of the mouse buttons to move and resize the legend box.
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Zones/Surfaces symmetry-3 wall-4

7.00e-02 6.00e-02 5.00e-02 4.00e-02
Static Pressure (pascal)
3.00e-02 2.00e-02 1.00e-02 -2.24e-10 -1.00e-02 -0.08 -0.06 -0.04 -0.02 -1.79e-09 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08
Position (m)
Static Pressure
Figure 29.8.1: Sample XY Plot
Histograms
A histogram plot is a bar chart of data. It is a representation of a frequency of distribution by means of rectangles of widths representing class intervals and with areas proportional to the corresponding frequencies. When a histogram plot is displayed in the graphics window, you can use any of the mouse buttons to add text annotations to the plot. (See Section 29.2.4: Adding Text Using the mouse-annotate Function for more information about the mouse-annotate function.) Figure 29.8.2 shows a sample histogram. See Section 30.7: Histogram Reports for information about printing histogram reports. For more information on histogram plots, see Section 29.8.7: Solution Histograms.
29.8.2
XY Plots of Solution Data
You can produce a very sophisticated XY plot by using data from several zones, surfaces, or les and modifying the axis and curve attributes. Using the capability for loading external data les, you can create plots that compare your FLUENT results with data from other sources. To get further information about the solution, you can investigate the frequency of distribution of the data using a histogram (see Section 29.8.7: Solution Histograms).
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25 22.5 20 17.5 15 12.5 10 7.5 5 2.5 0 0.94 0.96 0.98 1 1.02 1.04 1.06 1.08
Density (kg/m3)
Histogram of Density
Figure 29.8.2: Sample Histogram
Steps for Generating Solution XY Plots

You can create an XY plot of solution data using the Solution XY Plot panel (Figure 29.8.3). Plot XY Plot...
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Figure 29.8.3: The Solution XY Plot Panel
The basic steps for generating a solution XY plot are as follows: 1. Specify the variables(s) you are plotting: To plot a variable on the y axis as a function of position on the x axis, turn on the Position on X Axis option and choose the variable to be plotted on the y axis in the Y Axis Function drop-down list. Select a category from the upper list and then choose the desired quantity in the lower list. (See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) To plot a variable on the x axis as a function of position on the y axis, turn on the Position on Y Axis option and choose the variable to be plotted on the x axis in the X Axis Function drop-down list. To plot one variable as a function of another, turn o both the Position on X Axis and Position on Y Axis options and select the variables to be plotted in the X Axis Function and Y Axis Function drop-down lists. 2. Specify the plot direction: To plot a variable as a function of position along a specied direction vector, select Direction Vector in the X Axis Function or Y Axis Function drop-down list (whichever is the position axis), and specify the components of the direction vector for plotting under Plot Direction. The position axis of the plot is
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indicated by the selection of Position on X Axis or Position on Y Axis. The positions plotted will have coordinate values that correspond to the dot product of the data coordinate vector with the plot direction vector. For example, if you are plotting a variable at the pressure outlet of the geometry shown in Figure 29.8.4, you would specify the Plot Direction vector (1,0,0) since you are interested in how the variable changes as a function of x. Figure 29.8.5 shows the resulting XY plot. (If you specied (0,1,0) as the plot direction, all variable values would be plotted at the same position (see Figure 29.8.6), since the y value is the same at every point on the pressure outlet.) It is also possible to plot a variable as a function of position along the length of a specied curvilinear surface. The curvilinear surface must be piecewise linear and it cannot contain more than one closed curve, such as a complete circle. To plot a variable in this way, select Curve Length in the X Axis Function or Y Axis Function drop-down list (whichever is the position axis). Then specify the plot direction along the surface: to plot the variable along the direction of increasing curve length, select Default under Plot Direction; to plot the variable in the direction of decreasing surface length, select Reverse. To check the direction in which the variable will be plotted along a surface, select the surface in the Surfaces list and click Show under Plot Direction. FLUENT will display the selected surface in the graphics window, marking the start of the surface with a blue dot and the end of the surface with a red dot. FLUENT will also display arrows on the surface showing the direction in which the variable will be plotted. 3. Choose the surface(s) on which to plot data in the Surfaces list. Note that if you are plotting a variable as a function of position along the length of a curvilinear surface, you can select only one surface in the Surfaces list. 4. Set any of the options described below, or modify the attributes of the axes or curves as described in Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9. 5. Click the Plot button to generate the XY plot in the active graphics window. Note that you can use any of the mouse buttons to annotate the XY plot (see Section 29.2.4: Adding Text to the Graphics Window) or move the plot legend from its default position in the upper left corner of the graphics window.
Options for Solution XY Plots

The options mentioned in the procedure above include the following. You can include data from an external le in the solution XY plot to compare your results with experimental data. You can also choose node or cell values to be plotted, and save the plot data to a le.
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Fluent Inc. Grid Thu Aug 31 1995
Figure 29.8.4: Geometry Used for XY Plot
pressure-outlet-6
3.00e+02
2.50e+02
2.00e+02
dyn-head
1.50e+02
1.00e+02
5.00e+01
0.00e+00 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64
Position (in)
Fluent Inc. Dynamic Head Thu Aug 31 1995
Figure 29.8.5: Data Plotted at Outlet Using a Plot Direction of (1,0,0)
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pressure-outlet-6
3.00e+02
2.50e+02
2.00e+02
dyn-head
1.50e+02
1.00e+02
5.00e+01
0.00e+00 64 64 64
Position (in)
Fluent Inc. Dynamic Head Thu Aug 31 1995
Figure 29.8.6: Data Plotted at Outlet Using a Plot Direction of (0,1,0)
Including External Data in the Solution XY Plot To add external data to your XY plot for comparison with your results, you must rst ensure that any external data les are in the format described in Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format. You can then load the le(s) by clicking on the Load File... button and specifying the le(s) to be read in the resulting Select File dialog box (see Section 2.1.2: Select File Dialog Box (Unix or Linux)). Once a le has been loaded, its title will appear in the File Data list. You can choose the data le(s) to be included in your plot from the titles in this list. To remove a le from the File Data list, select it and then click the Free Data button. Choosing Node or Cell Values In FLUENT you can choose to display the computed cell-center values or values that have been interpolated to the nodes. By default, the Node Values option is turned on, and the interpolated values are displayed. If you prefer to display the cell values, turn the Node Values option o. Node-averaged data curves may be somewhat smoother than curves for cell values. If you are displaying the XY plot to show the eect of a porous medium or fan, to depict a shock wave, or to show any other discontinuities or jumps in the plotted variable, you should use cell values; if you use node values in such cases, the discontinuity will be smeared by the node averaging for graphics and will not be shown clearly in the plot.
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Saving the Plot Data to a File Once you have generated an XY plot, you may want to save the plot data to a le. You can read this le into FLUENT at a later time and plot it alone using the File XY Plot panel, as described in Section 29.8.3: XY Plots of File Data, or add it to a plot of solution data, as described above. To save the plot data to a le, turn on the Write to File option in the Solution XY Plot panel. The Plot button will change to the Write... button. Clicking on the Write... button will invoke the Select File dialog box, in which you can specify a name and save a le containing the plot data. The format of this le is described in Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format. To sort the saved plot data in order of ascending x axis value, turn on the Order Points option in the Solution XY Plot panel before you click the Write... button. This option is available only when the Write to File option is turned on.
29.8.3
XY Plots of File Data
In addition to plots of FLUENT data, you can also plot the data contained in external les. The File XY Plot panel allows you to display data read from external les in an abscissa/ordinate plot form. The format of the plot le is described in Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format.
Steps for Generating XY Plots of Data in External Files

You can create an XY plot of data contained in one or more external les using the File XY Plot panel (Figure 29.8.7). Plot File...
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Figure 29.8.7: The File XY Plot Panel
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The steps for generating a le XY plot are as follows: 1. Load each external data le (with the format described in Section 29.8.5: XY Plot File Format) by entering its name in the text eld beneath the Files list and clicking on the Add... button (or pressing <RETURN>). If you click Add... without specifying a name under Files (or if you specify an incorrect or duplicate name), a Select File dialog box will appear and you can specify one or more les there. When a le is loaded, its name will appear in the Files list and its title will appear in the Legend Entries list. Data in all loaded les will be plotted, so if you decide not to include one of the loaded les in the plot you must select it and click the Delete button to remove it. 2. Set any of the options described below, or modify the attributes of the axes or curves as described in Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9. 3. Click the Plot button to generate an XY plot of the data associated with all loaded les.
Options for File XY Plots

The options mentioned in the procedure above include the following. You can change the plot title, legend title, or legend entry. Changing the Plot Title The plot title will appear in the caption box at the bottom of the graphics window. You can modify the plot title by changing the entry in the Plot Title text box in the File XY Plot panel (or by editing the caption box manually, as described in Section 29.2.3: Controlling Captions). Changing the Legend Entry When you plot data from a single le, the y axis of the plot will be labeled by the legend entry. To modify this label, click on the text in the Legend Entries list, edit the text that appears in the text eld below the list, and then click the Change Legend Entry button (or hit <RETURN>). When you next plot the data, the new legend entry will appear in the plot.
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Changing the Legend Title When you plot data from more than one le, a legend will appear in the upper left corner of the graphics window. By default, the legend will have no title. If you want to add a title, enter it in the Legend Title text eld. The title will appear above the legend the next time you plot the data. Note that you can use any of the mouse buttons to annotate the plot (see Section 29.2.4: Adding Text to the Graphics Window) or move the legend from its default position.
29.8.4
XY Plots of Circumferential Averages
You can also generate a plot of circumferential averages in FLUENT. This allows you to nd the average value of a quantity at several dierent radial or axial positions in your model. FLUENT computes the average of the quantity over a specied circumferential area, and then plots the average against the radial or axial coordinate.
Steps for Generating an XY Plot of Circumferential Averages

You can generate an XY plot of circumferential averages in the radial direction using the circum-avg-radial text command: plot circum-avg-radial or you can use the circum-avg-axial text command to generate an average in the axial direction: plot circum-avg-axial The steps for generating an XY plot of circumferential averages are as follows: 1. Specify the variable to be averaged by typing its name when FLUENT prompts you for averages of. You can press <RETURN> to see a list of available variables. 2. Choose the surface on which to plot data by typing its name when FLUENT prompts you for on surface.
Use the Grid Display panel to see a list of surfaces on which you can plot data. (Pressing <RETURN> will not show a list of available surfaces.)
3. Specify the number of bands to be created. (The default number of bands is 5.) FLUENT will create circumferential bands by iso-clipping the specied surface into equal bands of radial or axial coordinate. An example of the iso-clips created is shown in Figure 29.8.8. (The radial or axial coordinate is derived from the rotation axis of the Reference Zone specied in the Reference Values panel.)
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iso-clips
X Z Y
Iso-Clips for Circumferential Average
Figure 29.8.8: Iso-Clips Created For Circumferential Averaging
FLUENT then computes the average of the variable for each band using the area-weighted average described in Section 30.5.1: Computing Surface Integrals. Finally, it plots the average of the variable as a function of radial or axial coordinate. Figure 29.8.9 shows an example of an XY plot of circumferential averages using radial coordinates. When the circumferential average plot is generated, FLUENT also creates a new surface called radial-bands or axial-bands, which contains the iso-clips described above (see Figure 29.8.8). You can use this surface to generate other XY plots. For more information on the creation and manipulation of surfaces, see Chapter 28: Creating Surfaces for Displaying and Reporting Data.
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1.02e+05 1.02e+05 1.02e+05 1.01e+05 1.00e+05
Total Pressure
1.00e+05 9.95e+04 9.90e+04 9.85e+04 9.80e+04 9.75e+04 0.17 0.18 0.19 0.2 0.21 0.22 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.26
Y Z
Radius
Circumferential Averages
Figure 29.8.9: XY Plot of Circumferential Averages
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Customizing the Appearance of the Plot

If you want to customize the appearance of the axes or curves in a circumferential average plot, you can save the plot data to a le (using the plot-to-file text command, as described below), read the le into FLUENT and plot it again (using the File XY Plot panel, as described in Section 29.8.3: XY Plots of File Data), and then use the Axes and Curves panels (as described in Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9) to modify the appearance of the plot. To save the plot data to a le, rst use the plot-to-file text command to specify the name of the le. plot file-set plot-to-file Then generate the circumferential average XY plot as described above. FLUENT will display the plot in the graphics window, and also save the plot data to the specied le.
29.8.5
XY Plot File Format
The XY le format read or written by FLUENT includes the following information: The title of the plot The label for the abscissa and the ordinate Cortex variables and pairs of abscissa/ordinate data for each curve in the plot The following sample le illustrates the XY le format: (title "Velocity Magnitude") (labels "Position" "Velocity Magnitude") ((xy/key/label "pressure-inlet-8") (xy/key/visible? #t) (xy/line/pattern "--") 0.0000 230.097 0.0625 160.551 0.1250 149.205 ... 0.5000 183.007 )
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Similar to the case le format, parentheses bound the various pieces of information in the formatted, ASCII le. The title (title " ") and labels (labels " ") must be rst in the le, then each curve has information in the form ((cxvar value) x y x y x y ...), where there may be zero or more Cortex variables dened for each curve. You do not have to include Cortex variables to import your XY data. For example, you may wish to import experimental data to compare with the FLUENT solution. The following example would use the default Cortex variables in the code to dene the data. After you import the le into FLUENT, you could then use the Axes panel and the Curves panel to customize the XY plot, as described in Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9. (title "Experiment, Run 11") (labels "X, m" "Cp") ( 0 1.5 1.5 1.3 3.2 1.5 5.1 1.2 )
29.8.6
Residual Plots
Residual history can be displayed using an XY plot. The abscissa of the plot corresponds to the number of iterations and the ordinate corresponds to the log-scaled residual values. To plot the current residual history, click the Plot button in the Residual Monitors panel. Plot Residuals... For additional information about using the Residual Monitors panel to plot residuals, see Section 26.19.1: Printing and Plotting Residuals.
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29.8.7
Solution Histograms
Histograms can be displayed in a graphics window using a bar chart (or printed in the console window, as described in Section 30.7: Histogram Reports). The abscissa of the chart is the desired solution quantity and the ordinate is the percentage of the total number of cells.
Steps for Generating Histogram Plots

You can create a histogram plot of solution data using the Solution Histogram panel (Figure 29.8.10). Plot Histogram...
Figure 29.8.10: The Solution Histogram Panel
The steps for generating a histogram plot are as follows: 1. Choose the scalar quantity to be plotted in the Histogram Of drop-down list. Select a category in the upper list and then select the desired quantity in the lower list. (See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 2. Set the number of data intervals that will be plotted in the histogram in the Divisions eld. By default there will be 10 intervals (bars) in the histogram plot. If you want to resolve the histogram plot to ner intervals, increase the number of Divisions. You may want to click the Compute button to update the Min and Max elds when you are trying to decide how many divisions to plot. 3. Set the option described below, if desired, or modify the attributes of the axes or curves as described in Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9. 4. Click the Plot button to generate the histogram plot in the active graphics window.
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Options for Histogram Plots

Other than the axis and curve attribute controls mentioned in the procedure above, the only option for histogram plotting is the ability to specify a subrange of values to be plotted. Specifying the Range of Values Plotted By default, the range of values included in the histogram plot is automatically set to the range of values in the entire domain for the selected variable. If you want to focus in on a smaller range of values, you can restrict the range to be displayed. To manually set the range of values, turn o the Auto Range option in the Solution Histogram panel. The Min and Max elds will become editable, and you can enter the new range of values to be plotted. To show the default range at any time, click the Compute button and the Min and Max elds will be updated.
29.8.8
Modifying Axis Attributes
You can modify the appearance of the XY and histogram plot axes by changing the parameters that control the labels, scale, range, numbers, and major and minor rules. For each type of plot (solution XY, le XY, residual, histogram, etc.), you can set dierent axis parameters in the Axes panel (Figure 29.8.11). Note that the title following Axes in the panel indicates which plot environment you are changing (e.g., the Axes - Solution XY Plot panel controls axis parameters for solution XY plots). To open the Axes panel for a particular plot type, click the Axes... button in the appropriate panel (e.g., the Solution XY Plot, File XY Plot, or Residual Monitors panel).
Using the Axes Panel

The Axes panel allows you to independently control the characteristics of the ordinate (y axis) and abscissa (x axis) on an XY plot or histogram. To set parameters for one axis or the other, you will follow the procedure below: 1. Choose the axis for which you want to modify the attributes by selecting X or Y under Axis. 2. Set the desired parameters. 3. Click Apply and then choose the other axis and repeat the steps, if desired. Your changes to the axis attributes will appear in the graphics window the next time you generate a plot.
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Figure 29.8.11: The Axes Panel
Changing the Axis Label If you want to modify the label for the axis, you can do so by editing the Label text eld in the Axes panel. Changing the Format of the Data Labels You can change the format of the labels that dene the primary data divisions on the axes using the controls under the Number Format heading in the Axes panel. To display the real value with an integral and fractional part (e.g., 1.0000), select oat in the Type drop-down list. You can set the number of digits in the fractional part by changing the value of Precision. To display the real value with a mantissa and exponent (e.g., 1.0e-02), select exponential in the Type drop-down list. You can dene the number of digits in the fractional part of the mantissa in the Precision eld. To display the real value with either oat or exponential form, depending on the size of the number and the dened Precision, choose general in the Type drop-down list.
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Choosing Logarithmic or Decimal Scaling By default, decimal scaling is used for both axes (except for the y axis in residual plots, which uses a log scale). If you want to change to a logarithmic scale, turn on the Log option in the Axes panel. To return to a decimal scale, turn o the Log option. Note that when you are using the logarithmic scale, the Range values are the exponents; to specify a logarithmic range from 1 to 10000, for example, you will specify a minimum value of 1 and a maximum value of 4. Resetting the Range of the Axis By default, the extents of the axis will range from the minimum value plotted to the maximum value plotted. If you want to change the range or extents of the axis, you can do so by turning o the Auto Range option in the Axes panel and setting the new Minimum and Maximum values for the Range. This feature is useful when you are generating a series of plots and you want the extents of one or both of the axes to be the same, even if the range of plotted values diers. (For example, if you are generating plots of temperature on several dierent wall zones, you might want the minimum and maximum temperature on the y axis to be the same in every plot so that you can easily compare one plot with another. You would determine a temperature range that includes the temperatures on all walls, and use that as the range for the y axis in each plot.) Controlling the Major and Minor Rules FLUENT allows you to display major and/or minor rules on the axes. Major and minor rules are the horizontal or vertical lines that mark, respectively, the primary and secondary data divisions and span the whole plot window to produce a grid. To add major or minor rules to the plot, turn on the Major Rules or Minor Rules option. You can then specify a color and weight for each type of rule. Under the Major Rules or Minor Rules heading, select the desired color for the lines in the Color drop-down list and specify the line thickness in the Weight eld. A line of weight 1.0 is normally 1 pixel wide. A weight of 2.0 would make the line twice as thick (i.e., 2 pixels wide).
29.8.9
Modifying Curve Attributes
The data curves in XY plots and histograms can be represented by any combination of lines and markers. You can modify the attributes of the curves, including the patterns, weights, and colors of the lines, and the symbols, sizes, and colors of the markers. For each type of plot (solution XY, le XY, residual, histogram, etc.), you can set dierent curve parameters in the Curves panel (Figure 29.8.12). Note that the title following Curves in the panel indicates which plot environment you are changing (e.g., the Curves - Solution XY Plot panel controls curve parameters for solution XY plots). To open the Curves panel for a particular plot type, click the Curves... button in the appropriate panel (e.g., Solution XY Plot, File XY Plot, or Residual Monitors panel).
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Figure 29.8.12: The Curves Panel
Using the Curves Panel

The Curves panel allows you to independently control the characteristics of each data curve in an XY plot or histogram. To set parameters for a curve, you will follow the procedure below: 1. Specify the curve for which you want to modify the attributes by increasing or decreasing the Curve # counter. The curves are numbered sequentially, starting from 0. For example, if you were plotting ow-eld values on two surfaces, the rst surface would be curve 0, and the second, curve 1. If the plot contains only one curve, the Curve # is set to 0 and is not editable. 2. Set the desired line and/or marker parameters as described below. 3. Click Apply and then choose another Curve # and repeat the steps, if desired. Your changes to the curve attributes will appear in the graphics window the next time you generate a plot. Changing the Line Style You can control the pattern, color, and weight of the line using the controls under the Line Style heading: To set the line pattern for the curve, choose one of the items in the Pattern dropdown list. Except for center and phantom lines, the list displays examples of the pattern choices. A center line alternates a very long dash and a short dash and
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a phantom line alternates a very long dash and a double short dash. Note that selecting the second item in the drop-down list, represented by 4 short dashes, will result in a solid-line curve.
If you do not want the data points to be connected by any type of line (i.e., if you plan to use just markers), select the blank choice, which is the rst item in the Pattern list.
To set the color of the line, pick one of the choices in the Color drop-down list. To dene the line thickness, set the value of Weight. A line weight of 1.0 is normally 1 pixel wide. Therefore, a weight of 2.0 would make the line twice as thick (i.e., 2 pixels wide). Changing the Marker Style You can control the symbol, color, and size for the data marker using the controls under the Marker Style heading: To set the symbol used to mark data, choose one of the items in the Symbol dropdown list. The list displays examples of the symbol choices. For example, in plotting pressure-coecient data on the upper and lower surfaces of an airfoil, the symbol /*\ (lled-in upward-pointing triangle) could be used for the marker representing the upper surface data, and the symbol \*/ (lled-in downward-pointing triangle) could be used for the marker representing the lower surface data.
If you do not want the data points to be represented by markers (i.e., if you plan to use just a line connecting the data points), select the blank choice, which is the rst item in the Style list.
To set the color of the marker, pick one of the choices in the Color drop-down list. To dene the size of the data marker, set the value of Size. A symbol of size 1.0 is 3.0% of the height of the display screen, except for the . symbol, which is always one pixel. Previewing the Curve Style To see what a particular setting will look like in the plot, you can preview it in the Sample window of the Curves panel. A single marker and/or line will be shown with the specied style attributes.
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29.9
Turbomachinery Postprocessing
In addition to the many graphics tools already discussed, FLUENT also provides turbomachinery-specic postprocessing features which can be accessed once you have dened the topology of the problem. Information on postprocessing for turbomachinery applications is provided in the following sections: Section 29.9.1: Dening the Turbomachinery Topology Section 29.9.2: Generating Reports of Turbomachinery Data Section 29.9.3: Displaying Turbomachinery Averaged Contours Section 29.9.4: Displaying Turbomachinery 2D Contours Section 29.9.5: Generating Averaged XY Plots of Turbomachinery Solution Data Section 29.9.6: Globally Setting the Turbomachinery Topology Section 29.9.7: Turbomachinery-Specic Variables
29.9.1
Dening the Turbomachinery Topology
In order to establish the turbomachinery-specic coordinate system used in subsequent postprocessing functions, FLUENT requires you to dene the topology of the ow domain. The procedure for dening the topology is described below, along with details about the boundary types.
Note that the current implementation of the turbomachinery topology definition for postprocessing is no longer limited to one row of blades at a time. If your geometry contains multiple rows of blades, you can dene all turbomachinery topologies simultaneously. You can name and/or manage all topologies and perform various turbomachinery postprocessing tasks on a single topology or on all topologies at once. The turbo coordinates can only be generated properly if the correct rotation axis is specied in the boundary conditions panel for the uid zone (see Section 7.17.1: Specifying the Rotation Axis).
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29.9 Turbomachinery Postprocessing
To dene the turbomachinery topology in FLUENT, you will use the Turbo Topology panel (Figure 29.9.1). Dene Turbo Topology...
Figure 29.9.1: The Turbo Topology Panel
The steps for dening topology for your turbomachinery application are as follows: 1. Select a boundary type under Boundaries (e.g., Hub in Figure 29.9.1). The boundary types are described in detail below. 2. In the Surfaces list, choose the surface(s) that represent the boundary type you selected in step 1. If you want to select several surfaces of the same type, you can select that type in the Surface Types list instead. All of the surfaces of that type will be selected automatically in the Surfaces list (or deselected, if they are all selected already). Another shortcut is to specify a Surface Name Pattern and click Match to select surfaces with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify wall*, all surfaces whose names begin with wall (e.g., wall-1, wall-top) will be
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selected automatically. If they are all selected already, they will be deselected. If you specify wall?, all surfaces whose names consist of wall followed by a single character will be selected (or deselected, if they are all selected already). 3. Repeat the steps above for all the boundary types that are relevant for your model.
For a complete turbo topology denition the surfaces dened as inlet, outlet, hub, casing, periodic, theta min, and theta max (if available) should form a closed domain.
4. Enter a name in the Turbo Topology Name eld or keep the default name. 5. Click Dene to complete the denition of the boundaries. FLUENT will inform you that the turbomachinery postprocessing functions have been activated, and the Turbo menu will appear in FLUENTs menu bar at the top of the console window. 6. Specify a position vector that is dened as = 0. This position vector should be outside the domain, e.g., if your domain lies in the rst and second quadrant, specify negative y axis as the zero line. This will ensure that there is no discontinuity in angular coordinates within the domain. This can be done using the display/set/zero-theta-dir command. Default zero line is +y axis. If this axis passes through the domain, you should dene the zero line, so as to satisfy above criteria. 7. To view a dened topology, select the topology from the Turbo Topology Name dropdown list and click Display. The dened topology is shown in the active graphics window. This allows you to visually check the boundaries to ensure that you have dened them correctly. 8. To edit a dened topology, select the topology from the Turbo Topology Name drop-down list, make the appropriate changes and click Modify. 9. To remove a dened topology, select the topology from the Turbo Topology Name drop-down list and click Delete.
Note that the topology setup that you dene will be saved to the case le when you save the current model. Thus, if you read this case back into FLUENT, you do not need to set up the topology again.
However, use of a bc (boundary condition) le to set the turbo topology for two similar cases may not work properly. In that case you need to set the turbo topology manually.
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Boundary Types
The boundaries for the turbomachinery topology are as follows (see Figure 29.9.2): Hub is the wall zone(s) forming the lower boundary of the ow passage (generally toward the axis of rotation of the machine). Casing is the wall zone(s) forming the upper boundary of the ow passage (away from the axis of rotation of the machine). Theta Periodic is the periodic boundary zone(s) on the circumferential boundaries of the ow passage. Theta Min is the wall zone at the minimum angular () position on a circumferential boundary. Theta Max is the wall zone at the maximum angular () position on a circumferential boundary. Inlet is the inlet zone(s) through which the ow enters the passage. Outlet is the outlet zone(s) through which the ow exits the passage. Blade is the wall zone(s) that denes the blade(s) (if any). Note that these zones cannot be attached to the circumferential boundaries. For this situation, use Theta Min and Theta Max to dene the blade.
29.9.2
Generating Reports of Turbomachinery Data
Once you have dened your turbomachinery topologies, as described in Section 29.9.1: Dening the Turbomachinery Topology, you can report a number of turbomachinery quantities, including mass ow, swirl number, torque, and eciencies. To report turbomachinery quantities in FLUENT, you will use the Turbo Report panel (Figure 29.9.3). Turbo Report...
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TOP view of passage theta periodic (periodic boundaries)
inlet
outlet
blade theta min (wall) theta max (wall)
Figure 29.9.2: Turbomachinery Boundary Types
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Figure 29.9.3: The Turbo Report Panel
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The procedure for using this panel is as follows: 1. Under Averages, specify whether you want to report Mass-Weighted or Area-Weighted averages. 2. Under Turbo Topology, specify a predened turbomachinery topology from the drop-down list. 3. Click Compute. FLUENT will compute the turbomachinery quantities as described below, and display their values. 4. If you want to save the reported values to a le, click Write... and specify a name for the le in the resulting Select File dialog box.
Computing Turbomachinery Quantities

Mass Flow The mass ow rate through a surface is dened as follows: m=
A
(v n)dA
(29.9-1)
where A is the area of the inlet or outlet, v is the velocity vector, is the uid density, and n is a unit vector normal to the surface. Swirl Number The swirl number is dened as follows: rv (v n) dS (29.9-2)
S
SW = r
vz (v n) dS
where r is the radial coordinate (specically, the radial distance from the axis of rotation), v is the tangential velocity, v is the velocity vector, n is a unit vector normal to the surface, S denotes the inlet or outlet, and r= 1 S rdS
S
(29.9-3)
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Average Total Pressure The area-averaged total pressure is dened as follows: pt dA A (29.9-4)
pt =
where pt is the total pressure and A is the area of the inlet or outlet. The mass-averaged total pressure is dened as follows: (pt |v n|)dA (29.9-5) ( |v n|)dA
pt =
where pt is the total pressure, A is the area of the inlet or outlet, v is the velocity vector, is the uid density, and n is a unit vector normal to the surface. Average Total Temperature The area-averaged total temperature is dened as follows: Tt dA A (29.9-6)
Tt =
where Tt is the total temperature and A is the area of the inlet or outlet. The mass-averaged total temperature is dened as follows: (Tt |v n|)dA (29.9-7) ( |v n|)dA
Tt =
where Tt is the total temperature, A is the area of the inlet or outlet, v is the velocity vector, is the uid density, and n is a unit vector normal to the surface.
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Average Flow Angles The area-averaged ow angles are dened as follows:

r = tan1 in the radial direction, and

A A
vz dA
v dA

(29.9-8)
= tan1
A A
vz dA
vr dA

(29.9-9)
in the tangential direction, where vz , vr , and v represent the axial, radial, and tangential velocities, respectively. The mass-averaged ow angles are dened as follows:

r,m = tan1 in the radial direction, and

A A
(vz )dA
(vr )dA

(29.9-10)
,m = tan1 in the tangential direction. Passage Loss Coefcient
A A
(vz )dA
(v )dA

(29.9-11)
The engineering loss coecient is dened as follows: KL = pt,i pt,o 1 v 2 i 2 (29.9-12)
where pt,i is the mass-averaged total pressure at the inlet, pt,o is the mass-averaged total pressure at the outlet, is the density of the uid, and v i is the mass-averaged velocity magnitude at the inlet.
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The normalized loss coecient is dened as follows: KL,n = pt,i pt,o pt,i ps,o (29.9-13)
where ps,o is the mass-averaged static pressure at the outlet. Axial Force The axial force on the rotating parts is dened as follows: Fa = ( n) dS a (29.9-14)
where S represents the surfaces comprising all rotating parts, is the total stress tensor (pressure and viscous stresses), n is a unit vector normal to the surface, and a is a unit vector parallel to the axis of rotation. Torque The torque on the rotating parts is dened as follows: T =
S
(r ( n)) dS a
(29.9-15)
where S represents the surfaces comprising all rotating parts, is the total stress tensor, n is a unit vector normal to the surface, r is the position vector, and a is a unit vector parallel to the axis of rotation. Efciencies for Pumps and Compressors The denitions of the eciencies for compressible and incompressible ows in pumps and compressors are described in this section. Eciencies for turbines are described later in this section. Consider a pumping or compression device operating between states 1 and 2 as illustrated in Figure 29.9.4. Work input to the device is required to achieve a specied compression of the working uid. Assuming that the processes are steady state, steady ow, and that the mass ow rates are equal at the inlet and outlet of the device (no lm cooling, bleed air removal, etc.), the eciencies for incompressible and compressible ows are as described below.
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Work input to rotor
Figure 29.9.4: Pump or Compressor
Incompressible Flows For devices such as liquid pumps and fans at low speeds, the working uid can be treated as incompressible. The eciency of a pumping process with an incompressible working uid is dened as the ratio of the head rise achieved by the uid to the power supplied to the rotor/impeller. This can be expressed as follows: = where Q pt T = = = = volumetric ow rate total pressure net torque acting on the rotor/impeller rotational speed Q(pt2 pt1 ) T (29.9-16)
This denition is sometimes called the hydraulic eciency. Often, other eciencies are included to account for ow leakage (volumetric eciency) and mechanical losses along the transmission system between the rotor and the machine providing the power for the rotor/impeller (mechanical eciency). Incorporating these losses then yields a total eciency for the system. Compressible Flows For gas compressors that operate at high speeds and high pressure ratios, the compressibility of the working uid must be taken into account. The eciency of a compression process with a compressible working uid is dened as the ratio of the work required for an ideal (reversible) compression process to the actual work input. This assumes the compression process occurs between states 1 and 2 for a given pressure ratio. In most cases, the pressure ratio is the total pressure at state 2 divided by the total pressure at state 1. If the process is also adiabatic, then the ideal state at 2 is the isentropic state.
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From the foregoing denition, the eciency for an adiabatic compression process can be written as c = where ht1 ht2 ht2,i = = = total enthalpy at 1 actual total enthalpy at 2 isentropic total enthalpy at 2 ht2,i ht1 ht2 ht1 (29.9-17)
If the specic heat is constant, Equation 29.9-17 can also be expressed as c = where Tt1 Tt2 Tt2,i = = = total temperature at 1 actual total temperature at 2 isentropic total temperature at 2 Tt2,i Tt1 Tt2 Tt1 (29.9-18)
Using the isentropic relation Tt2,i = Tt1 pt2 pt1

1
(29.9-19)
where is the ratio of specic heats specied in the Reference Values panel. the eciency can be written in the compact form
pt2 pt1
1
Tt1 c =
1 (29.9-20)
Tt2 Tt1
Note that this denition requires data only for the actual states 1 and 2. Compressor designers also make use of the polytropic eciency when comparing one compressor with another. The polytropic eciency is dened as follows:
1 ln pt2 pt1 Tt2 ln Tt1
c,p =
(29.9-21)
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Efciencies for Turbines Consider a turbine operating between states 1 and 2 in Figure 29.9.5. Work is extracted from the working uid as it expands through the turbine. Assuming that the processes are steady state, steady ow, and that the mass ow rates are equal at the inlet and outlet of the device (no lm cooling, bleed air removal, etc.), turbine eciencies for incompressible and compressible ows are as described below.
Work output from rotor
Figure 29.9.5: Turbine
Incompressible Flows The eciency of a turbine with an incompressible working uid is dened as the ratio of the work delivered to the rotor to the energy available from the uid stream. This ratio can be expressed as follows: = where Q pt T = = = = volumetric ow rate total pressure net torque acting on the rotor/impeller rotational speed T Q(pt1 pt2 ) (29.9-22)
Note the similarity between this denition and the denition of incompressible compression eciency (Equation 29.9-16). As with hydraulic pumps and compressors, other eciencies (e.g., volumetric and mechanical eciencies) can be dened to account for other losses in the system. Compressible Flows For high-speed gas turbines operating at large expansion pressure ratios, compressibility must be accounted for. The eciency of an expansion process with a compressible work-
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ing uid is dened as the ratio of the actual work extracted from the uid to the work extracted from an ideal (reversible) process. This assumes that the expansion process occurs between states 1 and 2 for a given pressure ratio. In contrast to the compression process, the pressure ratio for expansion is the total pressure at state 1 divided by the total pressure at state 2. If the process is also adiabatic, then the ideal state at 2 is the isentropic state. From the foregoing denition, the eciency for an adiabatic expansion process through a turbine can be written as c = where ht1 ht2 ht2,i = = = total enthalpy at 1 actual total enthalpy at 2 isentropic total enthalpy at 2 ht1 ht2 ht1 ht2,i (29.9-23)
If the specic heat is constant, Equation 29.9-23 can also be expressed as e = where Tt1 Tt2 Tt2,i = = = total temperature at 1 actual total temperature at 2 isentropic total temperature at 2 Tt1 Tt2 Tt1 Tt2,i (29.9-24)
Using the isentropic relation Tt1 = Tt2,i pt1 pt2

1
(29.9-25)
the expansion eciency can be written in the compact form e = Tt1 Tt2 Tt1 1
pt2 pt1
1
(29.9-26)
Note that this denition requires data only for the actual states 1 and 2.
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As with compressors, one may also dene a polytropic eciency for turbines. The polytropic eciency is dened as follows:
Tt1 Tt2 1 ln pt1 pt2
e,p =
ln
(29.9-27)
29.9.3
Displaying Turbomachinery Averaged Contours
Turbo averaged contours are generated as projections of the values of a variable averaged in the circumferential direction and visualized on an r-z plane. A sample plot is shown in Figure 29.9.7.
Steps for Generating Turbomachinery Averaged Contour Plots

You can display contours using the Turbo Averaged Contours panel (Figure 29.9.6). Turbo Averaged Contours...
Figure 29.9.6: The Turbo Averaged Contours Panel
The basic steps for generating a turbo averaged contour plot are as follows: 1. Select All or a specic predened turbomachinery topology from the Turbo Topology drop down list. 2. Select the variable or function to be displayed in the Contours of drop-down list. First select the desired category in the upper list; you may then select a related
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quantity in the lower list. (See Section 29.9.7: Turbomachinery-Specic Variables for a list of turbomachinery-specic variables, and see Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 3. Specify the number of contours in the Levels eld. The maximum number of levels allowed is 100. 4. Set any of the options described below. 5. Click the Display button to draw the specied contours in the active graphics window. The resulting display will include the specied number of contours of the selected variable, with the magnitude on each one determined by equally incrementing between the values shown in the Min and Max elds. Note that the Min and Max values displayed in the panel are the minimum and maximum averaged values. These limits will in general be dierent from the global Domain Min and Domain Max, which are also displayed for your reference (see Figure 29.9.6).
1.80e+00
1.63e+00
1.45e+00
1.28e+00
1.10e+00
Y
9.24e-01
Averaged Turbo Contour - pressure (atm) (atm)
Figure 29.9.7: Turbo Averaged Filled Contours of Static Pressure
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Contour Plot Options

The options mentioned in the procedure above include drawing color-lled contours (instead of line contours), specifying a range of values to be contoured, and storing the contour plot settings. These options are the same as those in the standard Contours panel. See Section 29.1.2: Contour and Prole Plot Options for details about using them.
29.9.4
Displaying Turbomachinery 2D Contours
In postprocessing a turbomachinery solution, it is often desirable to display contours on surfaces of constant spanwise coordinate, and then project these contours onto a plane. This permits easier evaluation of the contours, especially for surfaces that are highly three-dimensional.
Steps for Generating Turbo 2D Contour Plots

You can display contours using the Turbo 2D Contours panel (Figure 29.9.8). Turbo 2D Contours...
Figure 29.9.8: The Turbo 2D Contours Panel
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The basic steps for generating a turbo 2D contour plot are as follows: 1. Specify a specic predened turbomachinery topology using the Turbo Topology drop-down list. 2. Enter a value for the Normalised Spanwise Coordinates (0 to 1) for the spanwise surface you want to create.
If shroud and hub are the curved surfaces, the iso-surface very close to them may contain void spaces as FLUENT displays only a plane cut surface.
3. Select the variable or function to be displayed in the Contours of drop-down list. First select the desired category in the upper list; you may then select a related quantity in the lower list. (See Section 29.9.7: Turbomachinery-Specic Variables for a list of turbomachinery-specic variables, and see Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 4. Specify the number of contours in the Levels eld. The maximum number of levels allowed is 100. 5. Click the Display button to draw the specied contours in the active graphics window. The resulting display will include the specied number of contours of the selected variable, with the magnitude on each one determined by equally incrementing between the values shown in the Min and Max elds.
Contour Plot Options

Depending on the type of contour plot you want to display, select appropriate choice under Options. These options are the same as those in the standard Contours panel. See Section 29.1.2: Contour and Prole Plot Options for details about using them.
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29.9.5
Generating Averaged XY Plots of Turbomachinery Solution Data
When comparing numerical solutions of turbomachinery problems to experimental data, it is often useful to plot circumferentially averaged quantities in the spanwise and meridional directions. This section describes how to do this in FLUENT.
Steps for Generating Turbo Averaged XY Plots

To create an XY plot of circumferentially averaged solution data, you will use the Turbo Averaged XY Plot panel (Figure 29.9.9). Turbo Averaged XY Plot...
Figure 29.9.9: The Turbo Averaged XY Plot Panel
The basic steps for generating a turbo averaged XY plot are as follows: 1. Select the variable or function to be plotted in the Y Axis Function drop-down list. First select the desired category in the upper list; you may then select a related quantity in the lower list. (See Section 29.9.7: Turbomachinery-Specic Variables for a list of turbomachinery-specic variables, and see Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 2. Select All or a specic predened turbomachinery topology from the Turbo Topology drop down list. 3. Select the variable or function to be plotted in the X Axis Function drop-down list. The choices are Hub to Casing Distance and Meridional Distance.
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4. Specify the desired value in the Fractional Distance eld. The denition of the fractional distance depends on your selection of X Axis Function: If you selected Hub to Casing Distance, the fractional distance is Inlet to Outlet. If you selected Meridional Distance, the fractional distance is Hub to Casing. 5. (optional) Modify the attributes of the axes or curves as described in Sections 29.8.8 and 29.8.9. 6. Click the Plot button to generate the XY plot in the active graphics window. Note that you can use any of the mouse buttons to annotate the XY plot (see Section 29.2.4: Adding Text to the Graphics Window). If you wish to write the XY data to a le, follow these steps instead of Step 5 above: 1. Turn on the Write to File option. The Plot button will change to the Write... button. 2. Click Write.... 3. In the resulting Select File dialog box, specify a name for the plot le and save it.
29.9.6
Globally Setting the Turbomachinery Topology
In some cases, i.e., iso-surface creation, FLUENT allows you to globally set the current turbomachinery topology for your model using the Turbo Options panel (Figure 29.9.10). Turbo Options...
Figure 29.9.10: The Turbo Options Panel
To set the current topology, select a topology from the Current Topology drop-down list and select OK.
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29.9.7
Turbomachinery-Specic Variables
The following turbomachinery-specic variables are available in FLUENT: Meridional Coordinate Abs Meridional Coordinate Spanwise Coordinate Abs (H-C) Spanwise Coordinate Abs (C-H) Spanwise Coordinate Pitchwise Coordinate Abs Pitchwise Coordinate These variables are contained in the Grid... category of the variable selection drop-down list. See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for their denitions.
29.10
Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Postprocessing
When trying to interpret time-sequence data from a transient solution, it is often useful to look at the datas spectral (frequency) attributes. For instance, you may wish to determine the major vortex-shedding frequency from the time-history of the drag force on a body recorded during a FLUENT simulation. Or, you may want to compute the spectral distribution of static pressure data recorded at a particular location on a body surface. Similarly, you may need to compute the spectral distribution of turbulent kinetic energy using data for uctuating velocity components. To interpret some of these time dependent data, you need to perform Fourier transform analysis. In essence, the Fourier transform enables you to take any time dependent data and resolve it into an equivalent summation of sine and cosine waves. FLUENT allows you to analyze your time dependent data using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm. Information on using the FFT algorithm in FLUENT is provided in the following sections: Section 29.10.1: Limitations of the FFT Algorithm Section 29.10.2: Windowing Section 29.10.3: Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Section 29.10.4: Using the FFT Utility
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29.10 Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Postprocessing
29.10.1
Limitations of the FFT Algorithm
The following limitations apply to FLUENTs FFT module: The FLUENT FFT module can only read inputs les in the FLUENT monitor and x-y le formats. The FLUENT FFT module assumes that the input data have been sampled at equal intervals and are consecutive (in the order of increasing time). The lowest frequency that the FFT module can pick up is given by 1/t, where t is the total sampling time. If the sampled sequence contains frequencies lower than this, these frequencies will be aliased into higher frequencies. The highest frequency that the FFT module can pick up is 1/(2dt), where dt is the sampling interval (or time step).
29.10.2
Windowing
The discrete FFT algorithm is based on the assumption that the time-sequence data passed to the FFT corresponds to a single period of a periodically repeating signal. Since, in most situations, the rst and the last data points will not coincide, the repeating signal implied in the assumption can often have a large discontinuity. The large discontinuity produces high-frequency components in the resulting Fourier modes, causing an aliasing error. You can condition the input signal before the transform by windowing it, in order to avoid this problem. Suppose that we have N consecutive discrete (time-sequence) data sampled with a constant interval, t: k (tk ), tk k t, k = 0, 1, 2, ..., (N 1) (29.10-1)
Windowing is done by multiplying the original input data (j ) by a window function, Wj : j = j Wj j = 0, 1, 2, ..., (N 1) (29.10-2)
FLUENT oers four dierent window functions: Hammings window: Wj = 0.54 0.46 cos 1
8j N
j N , j 7N 8 8 N < j < 7N 8 8
(29.10-3)
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Hannings window: Wj = Barletts window: 0.5[1 cos( 8j )] N 1 j N , j 7N 8 8 N < j < 7N 8 8 jN 8 j 7N 8 N <j< 8 (29.10-4)
Wj = 8(1 1 Blackmans window: Wj =
8j N
j ) N
(29.10-5)
7N 8
0.42 0.5 cos( 8j ) + 0.08 cos( 16j ) N N 1
j N , j 7N 8 8 N < j < 7N 8 8
(29.10-6)
These window functions preserve a large fraction (3/4) of the original data, aecting only 1/4 of the data on both ends.
29.10.3 Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)

The Fourier transform utility in FLUENT allows you to compute the Fourier transform of a signal, (t), a real-valued function, from a nite number of its sampled points. The discrete Fourier transform of k is dened by
N 1
k =
n=0
n e2ikn/N
k = 0, 1, 2, ...(N 1)
(29.10-7)
where n are the discrete Fourier coecients, which can be obtained from 1 n = N
N 1 k=0
k e2ikn/N
n = 0, 1, 2, ...(N 1)
(29.10-8)
Equation 29.10-7 and Equation 29.10-8 form a Fourier transform pair that allows us to determine one from the other. Note that when we follow the convention of varying n from 0 to N 1 in Equation 29.10-7 or Equation 29.10-8 instead of from N/2 to N/2, the range of index 1 n N/2 1 corresponds to positive frequencies, and the range of index N/2 + 1 n N 1 corresponds to negative frequencies. n = 0 still corresponds to zero frequency. For the actual calculation of the transforms, FLUENT adopts the so-called fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm which signicantly reduces operation counts in comparison to the direct transform. Furthermore, unlike most FFT algorithms in which the number
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of data should be a power of 2, the FFT utility in FLUENT employs a prime-factor algorithm [348]. The number of data points permissible in the prime-factor FFT algorithm is any products of mutually prime factors from the set 2,3,4,5,7,8,9,11,13,16, with a maximum value of 720720 = 5 7 9 11 13 16. Thus, the prime-factor FFT preserves the original data better than the conventional FFT. Just prior to computing the transform, FLUENT determines the largest permissible number of data points based on the prime factors, discarding the rest of the data.
29.10.4
Using the FFT Utility
The FLUENT FFT utility is available through the Fourier Transform panel (Figure 29.10.1). Plot FFT...
Figure 29.10.1: The Fourier Transform Panel
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Loading Data for Spectral Analysis

FFT analysis requires an input signal data le consisting of time-sequence data. To load an input signal data le into the Fourier Transform panel, click the Load Input File... button. This displays a File Selection dialog box where you can browse through your le directories and locate your data le containing your time-sequence data. To remove a le from the Files list, select it and then click the Free File Data button. If you computed acoustic signals on-the-y, you have the option of processing signal data from a le or processing receiver data stored in memory. To analyze signal data from an existing input le, select Process File Data under Process Options and proceed as described above. To analyze receiver data stored in memory, select Process Receiver under Process Options and select the appropriate receiver in the Receiver list. Click Plot FFT to display the spectral analysis data.
Customizing the Input

With the input signal data le loaded into the Fourier Transform panel, you may want to customize the input signal data set. You can customize the input signal by clicking the Plot/Modify Input Signal button. This displays the Plot/Modify Input Signal panel (Figure 29.10.2).
Figure 29.10.2: The Plot/Modify Input Signal Panel
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The Plot/Modify Input Signal panel allows you to analyze a portion of the input signal, view input Signal Statistics (Min, Max, Mean, and Variance), and set title and label information for the input signal data le. Customizing the Input Signal Data Set By default, the entire data set is analyzed. To analyze a portion of the input signal, turn on the Clip to Range option and specify the data range by entering Min and Max values under X-Axis Range. To have the y axis quantities reduced by the Mean value of the relevant signal property, turn on the Subtract Mean Value option. The Set Defaults button will reset the original values for the Min and Max elds under X-Axis Range and turn o the Clip to Range option. Viewing Data Statistics To aid in the signal analysis, whether for the entire input signal or for a certain range of data, the Signal Statistics portion of the Plot/Modify Input Signal panel displays signal information such as minimum, maximum, and average signal values, as well as signal variance. Customizing Titles and Labels You can create a new title or edit the original title for the input signal plot by entering a text string in the Signal Plot Title text box. Likewise, you can create a new axis label or edit the original axis label by entering a text string into either the Y-Axis Label text box or the X-Axis Label text box. Applying the Changes in the Input Signal Data To apply any changes you have made in the Plot/Modify Input Signal panel and view a plot of the input signal, click the Apply/Plot button.
Customizing the Output

In most practical applications with CFD data, you may want to nd out how much power or energy is contained in a certain frequency range, but do not want to distinguish positive and negative frequency. In recognition of this, all the outputs from the FFT module in FLUENT pertain to one-sided spectra for the range of positive frequency. The Fourier Transform (Figure 29.10.1) and Plot/Modify Input Signal (Figure 29.10.2) panels allow you to set several dierent functions for the x and y axes, apply dierent FFT windowing techniques, and set various output options.
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Specifying a Function for the y Axis You can choose the y-axis function using the Y Axis Function drop-down list. Available options for the y-axis functions are as follows: Power Spectral Density is the distribution of signal power in the frequency domain. It has units of the signal magnitude squared (e.g., Pa2 ) and is dened as E(fn ) = |0 |2 E(fn ) = 2 |n |2
n = 1, 2, ..., N/2
(29.10-9)
Magnitude (or amplitude) is the square root of the power spectral density.
A(fn )
E(fn )
n = 0, 1, 2, ..., N/2
(29.10-10)
Sound Pressure Level (dB) is the decibel level. For either general or acoustic data, when the sampled data is pressure (e.g., static pressure or sound pressure), you can compute the power in decibel units using
Lsp (fn ) = 10 log
p 2 (fn ) p2 ref
(dB)
(29.10-11)
where p 2 (fn ) is the power spectral density of the pressure uctuation and pref is the reference acoustic pressure. See Section 21.3.1: Enabling the FW-H Acoustics Model for details about specifying this parameter. Sound Amplitude (dB) is exactly one-half of the sound pressure level in Equation 29.10-11. This quantity is also applicable for acoustics analysis. p 2 (fn ) p2 ref
Asp (fn ) = 10 log
(dB)
(29.10-12)
A-Weighted, Sound Pressure Level (dB A) is the calculated sound pressure level weighted by the A-scale function to more closely approximate the frequency response of the human ear. A-Weighting is applied for loudness levels below 55 phons (55 dB at 1 kHz) and is the most commonly used weighting function. See Figure 29.10.3 for a graphical representation. B-Weighted, Sound Pressure Level (dB B) is the calculated sound pressure level weighted by the B-scale function. B-Weighting is applied to loudness levels between 55 and 85 phons, though it is rarely used.
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Figure 29.10.3: A-, B-, and C-Weighting Functions
C-Weighted, Sound Pressure Level (dB C) is the calculated sound pressure level weighted by the C-scale function. C-Weighting is applied for loudness levels above 85 phons and is commonly used for high-intensity sound such as trac studies. Further graphical customizations for the y axis are available by clicking the Axes... button. For more information, see Section 29.8.8: Modifying Axis Attributes. Specifying a Function for the x Axis There are three options for the x-axis function you can choose from. They are all related to the discrete frequencies at which the Fourier coecients are computed. You can apply specic analytic functions for the x-axis using the X Axis Function drop-down list. Available options for the x-axis functions are: Frequency (Hz) is dened as: 1 n N t
fn =
n = 0, 1, 2, ..., N/2
(29.10-13)
where N is the number of data points used in the FFT.
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Strouhal Number is the non-dimensionalized version of the frequency dened in Equation 29.10-13:
Stn
fn Lref Uref
(29.10-14)
where Lref and Uref are the reference length and velocity scales specied in the Reference Values panel. Fourier Mode is the index in Equations 29.10-7 and/or 29.10-8, which represents the nth or kth term in the Fourier transform of the signal. Octave Band (Hz) is a range of discrete frequency bands for dierent octaves within the threshold of hearing. The range of each octave band is double to that of the previous band (see Table 29.10.1). 1/3-Octave Band (Hz) is a range of discrete frequency bands within the threshold of hearing. Here, the range of each band is one-third of an octave, meaning that there are three times as many bands for the same frequency range.
Table 29.10.1: Octave Band Frequencies and Weightings Lower Freq. (Hz) 11 22 45 90 180 355 710 1400 2800 5600 11200 Center Freq. (Hz) 16 31.5 63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000 16000 Upper Freq. (Hz) 22 45 90 180 355 710 1400 2800 5600 11200 22400
dB A dB B dB C -56.7 -28.5 -8.5 -39.4 -17.1 -3.0 -26.2 -9.3 -0.8 -16.1 -4.2 -0.2 -8.6 -1.3 0.0 -3.2 -0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 -0.1 -0.2 1.0 -0.7 -0.8 -1.1 -2.9 -3.0 -6.6 -8.4 -8.5
Further graphical customizations for the x-axis are available by clicking the Axes... button. For more information, see Section 29.8.8: Modifying Axis Attributes.
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Specifying Output Options You can write out the FFT data directly to a le by choosing the Write FFT to File option under Options in the Fourier Transform panel. Once the Write FFT to File option is selected, click the Write FFT button to display a le selection dialog box where you can choose a le and/or a location to hold the FFT data. Further customizations for how the FFT data is displayed are available by clicking the Curves... button. For more information, see Section 29.8.9: Modifying Curve Attributes. Specifying a Windowing Technique You can use the various windowing techniques described in Section 29.10.2: Windowing by selecting any of the Window options in the Plot/Modify Input Signal panel. By default, None is selected so that no windowing technique is applied. Specifying Labels and Titles You can assign a title for your FFT plot using the Plot Title text eld. You can also assign y-axis and x-axis labels for your FFT plot using the Y-Axis Label and X-Axis Label text elds, respectively. By default, FLUENT assigns the Y-Axis Label and the X-Axis Label to the particular selection of Y-Axis Function and X-Axis Function.
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Chapter 30.
Alphanumeric Reporting
FLUENT provides tools for computing and reporting integral quantities at surfaces and boundaries. These tools enable you to nd the mass ow rate and heat transfer rate through boundaries, the forces and moments on boundaries, and the area, integral, ow rate, average, and mass average (among other quantities) on a surface or in a volume. In addition, you can print histograms of geometric and solution data, set reference values for the calculation of non-dimensional coecients, and compute projected surface areas. You can also print or save a summary report of the models, boundary conditions, and solver settings in the current case. These features are described in the following sections. Section 30.1: Reporting Conventions Section 30.2: Fluxes Through Boundaries Section 30.3: Forces on Boundaries Section 30.4: Projected Surface Area Calculations Section 30.5: Surface Integration Section 30.6: Volume Integration Section 30.7: Histogram Reports Section 30.8: Reference Values Section 30.9: Summary Reports of Case Settings Reporting tools for the discrete phase are described in Section 23.12: Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase.
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30.1
Reporting Conventions
For 2D problems, FLUENT computes all integral quantities per unit depth. For axisymmetric problems, all integral quantities are computed for an angle of 2 radians.
30.2
Fluxes Through Boundaries
For selected boundary zones, you can compute the following quantities: The mass ow rate through a boundary is computed by summing the dot product of the density times the velocity vector and the area projections over the faces of the zone. The total heat transfer rate through a boundary is computed by summing the total heat transfer rate, q = qc + qr , over the faces, where qc is the convective heat transfer rate and qr is the radiation heat transfer rate. The computation of the heat transfer through the face depends on the specied boundary condition. For example, the conduction heat transfer on a constant-temperature wall face would be the product of the thermal conductivity with the dot product of the area projection and the temperature gradient. For ow boundaries, the total heat transfer rate is the ow rate of the conserved quantity. Depending on the models that are being used, the total heat transfer rate may include the convective ow of sensible or total enthalpy, diusive ux of energy, etc. For reacting ows, FLUENT reports the total energy ux, which consists of the sensible and formation enthalpies (see Section 12.2.1: Theory for details). The radiation heat transfer rate through a boundary is computed by summing the radiation heat transfer rate qr over the faces. The computation of the radiation heat transfer depends on the radiation model used. For example, you might use ux reporting to compute the resulting mass ow through a duct with pressure boundaries specied at the inlet and exit.
Flux Reporting with Particles and Volumetric Sources

Note that the reported mass and heat balances address only ow that enters or leaves the domain through boundaries; they do not include the contributions from user-dened volumetric sources or particle injections. For this reason, a mass or heat imbalance may be reported. To determine if a solution involving a discrete phase is converged, you can compare this imbalance with the change in mass ow or heat content computed in the particle tracking summary report. The net ow rate or heat transfer rate reported in the Flux Reports panel should be nearly equal to the Change in Mass Flow or Heat Content in the summary report generated from the Particle Tracks panel.
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30.2 Fluxes Through Boundaries
30.2.1
Generating a Flux Report
To obtain a report of mass ow rate, heat transfer rate, or radiation heat transfer rate on selected boundary zones, use the Flux Reports panel (Figure 30.2.1). Report Fluxes...
Figure 30.2.1: The Flux Reports Panel
The steps for generating the report are as follows: 1. Specify which ux computation you are interested in by selecting Mass Flow Rate, Total Heat Transfer Rate, or Radiation Heat Transfer Rate under Options. 2. In the Boundaries list, choose the boundary zone(s) on which you want to report uxes. If you want to select several boundary zones of the same type, you can select that type in the Boundary Types list instead. All of the boundaries of that type will be selected automatically in the Boundaries list (or deselected, if they are all already selected). Another shortcut is to specify a Boundary Name Pattern and click Match to select boundary zones with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify wall*, all boundaries whose names begin with wall (e.g., wall-1, wall-top) will be selected automatically. If they are all selected already, they will be deselected. If you specify wall?, all boundaries whose names consist of wall followed by a single character will be selected (or deselected, if they are all already selected).
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3. Click on the Compute button. The Results list will display the results of the selected ux computation for each selected boundary zone, and the box below the Results list will show the summation of the individual zone ux results. Note that the uxes are reported exactly as computed by the solver. Therefore, they are inherently more accurate than those computed with the Flow Rate option in the Surface Integrals panel (described in Section 30.5: Surface Integration).
30.3
Forces on Boundaries
You can compute and report the forces along a specied vector and the moments about a specied center for selected wall zones. This feature can be used, for example, to report aerodynamic coecients such as lift, drag, and moment coecient for an airfoil calculation.
30.3.1
Computing Forces and Moments
The total force component along the specied force vector a on a wall zone is computed by summing the dot product of the pressure and viscous forces on each face with the specied force vector. The terms in this summation represent the pressure and viscous force components in the direction of the vector a: Fa
total f orce component
a Fp
pressure f orce component
a Fv
viscous f orce component
(30.3-1)
where a Fp Fv = = = specied force vector pressure force vector viscous force vector
In addition to the actual pressure, viscous, and total forces, the associated force coefcients are also computed, using the reference values specied in the Reference Values panel (as described in Section 30.8: Reference Values). The force coecient is dened as force divided by 1 v 2 A, where , v, and A are the density, velocity, and area explicitly 2 specied in the Reference Values panel. Finally, the net values of the pressure, viscous, and total forces and coecients for all the selected wall zones are also computed.
30-4
30.3 Forces on Boundaries
The total moment vector about a specied center A is computed by summing the cross products of the pressure and viscous force vectors for each face with the moment vector rAB , which is the vector from the specied moment center A to the force origin B (see Figure 30.3.1). The terms in this summation represent the pressure and viscous moment vectors: MA total moment where A B rAB Fp Fv = = = = = specied moment center force origin moment vector pressure force vector viscous force vector = rAB Fp pressure moment + rAB Fv viscous moment (30.3-2)
Line of action of F
Moment center
rAB
B
Force origin
F = Fp + Fv
MA= r O x y
Figure 30.3.1: Moment About a Specied Moment Center
Direction of the total moment vector follows the right hand rule for cross products. In addition to the actual components of the pressure, viscous, and total moments, the moment coecients are also computed, using the reference values specied in the Reference Values panel (as described in Section 30.8: Reference Values). The moment coecient is
30-5
Alphanumeric Reporting dened as the moment divided by 1 v 2 AL, where , v, A, and L are the density, velocity, 2 area, and length explicitly specied in the Reference Values panel. Finally, the net values of the pressure, viscous, and total moments and coecients for all the selected wall zones are also computed. To reduce round-o error, a reference pressure (also specied in the Reference Values panel) is used to normalize the cell pressure for computation of the pressure force. For example, the net pressure force vector, acting on a wall zone, is computed as the vector sum of the individual force vectors for each cell face:
Fp =
i=1 n
(p pref )A n
n
(30.3-3) A n (30.3-4)
=
i=1
pA pref n
i=1
where n is the number of faces, A is the area of the face, and n is the unit normal to the face.
30.3.2
Generating a Force or Moment Report
To obtain a report for selected wall zones of forces along a specied vector or moments about a specied center, use the Force Reports panel (Figure 30.3.2). Report Forces...
Figure 30.3.2: The Force Reports Panel
30-6
30.3 Forces on Boundaries
The steps for generating the report are as follows: 1. Specify which type of report you are interested in by selecting Forces or Moments under Options. 2. If you choose a force report, specify the X, Y, and Z components of the Force Vector along which the forces will be computed. If you choose a moment report, specify the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the Moment Center about which the moments will be computed. 3. In the Wall Zones list, choose the wall zone(s) on which you want to report the force or moment information. A shortcut that may be useful if you have a large number of wall zones is to specify a Wall Name Pattern and click Match to select wall zones with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify out*, all walls whose names begin with out (e.g., outer-wall-top, outside-wall) will be selected automatically. If they are all selected already, they will be deselected. If you specify out?, all walls whose names consist of out followed by a single character will be selected (or deselected, if they are all selected already). 4. Click the Print button. If Forces has been selected under Options, the console window will display the pressure force, viscous force (if appropriate), total forces, pressure coecient, viscous coecient, and total coecients for each selected wall zones. If Moments has been selected, the pressure moments, viscous moments (if appropriate), total moments, pressure coecient, viscous coecient and total coecients for each selected wall zones will be displayed. Additionally, the net values of the coecients and the forces or moments for all selected wall zones will be printed at the end of the report. See Section 30.3.1: Computing Forces and Moments for details about computing forces and moments.
30-7
30.4
Projected Surface Area Calculations
You can use the Projected Surface Areas panel (Figure 30.4.1) to compute an estimated area of the projection of selected surfaces along the x, y, or z axis (i.e., onto the yz, xz, or xy plane). Report Projected Areas...
Figure 30.4.1: The Projected Surface Areas panel
The procedure for calculating the projected area is as follows: 1. Select the Projection Direction (X, Y, or Z). 2. Choose the surface(s) for which the projected area is to be calculated in the Surfaces list. 3. Set the Min Feature Size to the length of the smallest feature in the geometry that you want to resolve in the area calculation. (You can just use the default value to start with, if you are not sure of the size of the smallest geometrical feature.) 4. Click on Compute. The area will be displayed in the Area box and in the console window. 5. To improve the accuracy of the area calculation, reduce the Min Feature Size by half and recompute the area. Repeat this step until the computed Area stops changing (or you reach memory capacity). This feature is available only for 3D domains.
30-8
30.5 Surface Integration
30.5
Surface Integration
You can compute the area or mass ow rate, or the integral, area-weighted average, ow rate, mass-weighted average, sum, facet average, facet maximum, facet minimum, vertex average, vertex minimum, and vertex maximum for a selected eld variable on selected surfaces in the domain. These surfaces are sets of data points created by FLUENT for each of the zones in your model, or dened by you using the methods described in Chapter 28: Creating Surfaces for Displaying and Reporting Data, or by using the Text User Interface, described in Chapter 3: Text User Interface (TUI). Since a surface can be arbitrarily positioned in the domain, the value of a variable at each data point is obtained by linear interpolation of node values. For some variables, these node values are computed explicitly by the solver. For others, however, only cellcenter values are computed, and the node values are obtained by averaging of the cell values. These successive interpolations can lead to small errors in the surface integration reports. (Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions provides information on which variables have computed node values.) Example uses of several types of surface integral reports are given below: Area: You can compute the area of a velocity inlet zone, and then estimate the velocity from the mass ow rate: v= m A (30.5-1)
Area-weighted average: You can nd the average value on a solid surface, such as the average heat ux on a heated wall with a specied temperature. Mass average: You can nd the average value on a surface in the ow, such as average enthalpy at a velocity inlet. Mass ow rate: You can compute the mass ow rate through a velocity inlet zone, and then estimate the velocity from the area, as described above. Flow rate: To calculate the heat transfer rate through a surface, you can calculate the ow rate of enthalpy. Integral: You can use integrals for more complex calculations, which may involve the use of the Custom Field Function Calculator panel, described in Section 31.5: Custom Field Functions, to calculate a function that requires integral computations (e.g., swirl number).
30-9
30.5.1 Area
Computing Surface Integrals
The area of a surface is computed by summing the areas of the facets that dene the surface. Facets on a surface are either triangular or quadrilateral in shape.
n
dA =
i=1
|Ai |
(30.5-2)
Integral
An integral on a surface is computed by summing the product of the facet area and the selected eld variable, such as density or pressure. Each facet is associated with a cell in the domain. If the facet is the result of an isovalue cut through the cell, the eld variable assigned to the facet is the associated cell value. If the facet is on a boundary surface, an interpolated face value is used for the integration instead of the cell value. This is done to improve the accuracy of the calculation, and to ensure that the result matches the boundary conditions specied on the boundary and the uxes reported on the boundary.
n
dA =
i=1
i |Ai |
(30.5-3)
Area-Weighted Average
The area-weighted average of a quantity is computed by dividing the summation of the product of the selected eld variable and facet area by the total area of the surface: 1 A dA = 1 n i |Ai | A i=1 (30.5-4)
Flow Rate
The ow rate of a quantity through a surface is computed by summing the product of density and the selected eld variable with the dot product of the facet area vector and the facet velocity vector:
n
v dA =
i=1
i i vi Ai
(30.5-5)
30-10
Mass Flow Rate

The mass ow rate through a surface is computed by summing the product of density with the dot product of the facet area vector and the facet velocity vector:
n
v dA =
i=1
i vi Ai
(30.5-6)
Mass-Weighted Average
The mass-weighted average of a quantity is computed by dividing the summation of the product of the selected eld variable and the absolute value of the dot product of the facet area and momentum vectors by the summation of the absolute value of the dot product of the facet area and momentum vectors (surface mass ux):
n
v dA v dA
i i vi Ai =
i=1 n
(30.5-7) i vi Ai
i=1
Sum
The sum of a specied eld variable on a surface is computed by summing the value of the selected variable at each facet:
n
i
i=1
(30.5-8)
Facet Average
The facet average of a specied eld variable on a surface is computed by dividing the summation of the facet values of the selected variable by the total number of facets. See Section 31.1: Node, Cell, and Facet Values for denitions of facet values.
n
i
i=1
(30.5-9)
Facet Minimum
The facet minimum of a specied eld variable on a surface is the minimum facet value of the selected variable on the surface. See Section 31.1: Node, Cell, and Facet Values for denitions of facet values.
30-11
Facet Maximum
The facet maximum of a specied eld variable on a surface is the maximum facet value of the selected variable on the surface. See Section 31.1: Node, Cell, and Facet Values for denitions of facet values.
Vertex Average
The vertex average of a specied eld variable on a surface is computed by dividing the summation of the vertex values of the selected variable by the total number of vertices. See Section 31.1: Node, Cell, and Facet Values for denitions of vertex values.
n
i
i=1
(30.5-10)
Vertex Minimum
The vertex minimum of a specied eld variable on a surface is the minimum vertex value of the selected variable on the surface. See Section 31.1: Node, Cell, and Facet Values for denitions of vertex values.
Vertex Maximum
The vertex maximum of a specied eld variable on a surface is the maximum vertex value of the selected variable on the surface. See Section 31.1: Node, Cell, and Facet Values for denitions of vertex values.
30.5.2
Generating a Surface Integral Report
To obtain a report for selected surfaces of the area or mass ow rate or the integral, ow rate, sum, facet maximum, facet minimum, vertex maximum, vertex minimum, or mass-, area-, facet-, or vertex-averaged quantity of a specied eld variable, use the Surface Integrals panel (Figure 30.5.1). Report Surface Integrals... The steps for generating the report are as follows: 1. Specify which type of report you are interested in by selecting Area, Integral, AreaWeighted Average, Flow Rate, Mass Flow Rate, Mass-Weighted Average, Sum, Facet Average, Facet Minimum, Facet Maximum, Vertex Average, Vertex Minimum, or Vertex Maximum in the Report Type drop-down list.
30-12
Figure 30.5.1: The Surface Integrals Panel
2. If you are generating a report of area or mass ow rate, skip to the next step. Otherwise, use the Field Variable drop-down lists to select the eld variable to be used in the surface integrations. First, select the desired category in the upper drop-down list. You can then select a related quantity from the lower list. (See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 3. In the Surfaces list, choose the surface(s) on which to perform the surface integration. If you want to select several surfaces of the same type, you can select that type in the Surface Types list instead. All of the surfaces of that type will be selected automatically in the Surfaces list (or deselected, if they are all selected already). Another shortcut is to specify a Surface Name Pattern and click Match to select surfaces with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify wall*, all surfaces whose names begin with wall (e.g., wall-1, wall-top) will be selected automatically. If they are all selected already, they will be deselected. If you specify wall?, all surfaces whose names consist of wall followed by a single character will be selected (or deselected, if they are all selected already). 4. Click on the Compute button. Depending on the type of report you have selected, the label for the result will change to Area, Integral, Area-Weighted Average, Flow
30-13
Rate, Mass Flow Rate, Mass-Weighted Average, Sum of Facet Values, Average of Facet Values, Minimum of Facet Values, Maximum of Facet Values, Average of Surface Vertex Values, Minimum of Vertex Values, or Maximum of Vertex Values, as appropriate. Note the following items: Mass averaging weights toward regions of higher velocity (i.e., regions where more mass crosses the surface). Flow rates reported using the Surface Integrals panel are not as accurate as those reported with the Flux Reports panel (described in Section 30.2: Fluxes Through Boundaries). The facet and vertex average options are recommended for zero-area surfaces.
30.6 Volume Integration

The volume, sum, volume integral, volume-weighted average, mass integral, and massweighted average can be obtained for a selected eld variable in selected cell zones in the domain. Example uses of the dierent types of volume integral reports are given below: Volume: You can compute the total volume of a uid region. Sum: You can add up the discrete-phase mass or energy sources to determine the net transfer from the discrete phase. You can also sum user-dened sources of mass or energy. Volume integral: For quantities that are stored per unit volume, you can use volume integrals to determine the net value (e.g., integrate density to determine mass). Volume-weighted average: You can obtain volume averages of mass sources, energy sources, or discrete-phase exchange quantities. Mass integral: You can determine the total mass of a particular species by integrating its mass fraction. Mass-weighted average: You can nd the average value (such as average temperature) in a uid zone.
30-14
30.6 Volume Integration
30.6.1
Computing Volume Integrals
Volume
The volume of a surface is computed by summing the volumes of the cells that comprise the zone:
n
dV =
i=1
|Vi |
(30.6-1)
Sum
The sum of a specied eld variable in a cell zone is computed by summing the value of the selected variable at each cell in the selected zone:
n
i
i=1
(30.6-2)
Volume Integral
A volume integral is computed by summing the product of the cell volume and the selected eld variable:
n
dV =
i=1
i |Vi |
(30.6-3)
Volume-Weighted Average
The volume-weighted average of a quantity is computed by dividing the summation of the product of the selected eld variable and cell volume by the total volume of the cell zone: 1 V dV = 1 V
n
i |Vi |
i=1
(30.6-4)
Mass-Weighted Integral
The mass-weighted integral is computed by summing the product of density, cell volume, and the selected eld variable:
n
dV =
i=1
i i |Vi |
(30.6-5)
30-15
Mass-Weighted Average
The mass-weighted average of a quantity is computed by dividing the summation of the product of density, cell volume, and the selected eld variable by the summation of the product of density and cell volume:
n
dV = dV
i i |Vi |
i=1 n
(30.6-6) i |Vi |
i=1
30.6.2
Generating a Volume Integral Report
To obtain a report for selected cell zones of the volume or the sum, volume integral, volume-weighted average, mass-weighted integral, or mass-weighted average quantity of a specied eld variable, use the Volume Integrals panel (Figure 30.6.1). Report Volume Integrals...
Figure 30.6.1: The Volume Integrals Panel
The steps for generating the report are as follows: 1. Specify which type of report you are interested in by selecting Volume, Sum, Volume Integral, Volume-Average, Mass Integral, or Mass-Average under Options. 2. If you are generating a report of volume, skip to the next step. Otherwise, use the Field Variable drop-down lists to select the eld variable to be used in the integral, sum, or averaged volume integrations. First, select the desired category in the upper drop-down list. You can then select a related quantity from the lower list.
30-16
30.7 Histogram Reports
(See Chapter 31: Field Function Denitions for an explanation of the variables in the list.) 3. In the Cell Zones list, choose the zones on which to compute the volume, sum, volume integral, volume-weighted average, mass integral, or mass-averaged quantity. 4. Click on the Compute button. Depending on the type of report you have selected, the label for the result will change to Total Volume, Sum, Total Volume Integral, Volume-Weighted Average, Total Mass-Weighted Integral, or Mass-Weighted Average, as appropriate.
30.7
Histogram Reports
In FLUENT, you can print geometric and solution data in the console (text) window in histogram format or plot a histogram in the graphics window. Graphical display of histograms and the procedures for dening a histogram are discussed in Section 29.8.7: Solution Histograms. The number of cells, the range of the selected variable or function, and the percentage of the total number of cells in the interval will be reported, as in the example below:
0 cells below 1.195482 (0 %) 2 cells between 1.195482 and 1.196048 (4.1666667 1 cells between 1.196048 and 1.196614 (2.0833333 0 cells between 1.196614 and 1.19718 (0 %) 0 cells between 1.19718 and 1.197746 (0 %) 2 cells between 1.197746 and 1.198312 (4.1666667 1 cells between 1.198312 and 1.198878 (2.0833333 6 cells between 1.198878 and 1.199444 (12.5 %) 9 cells between 1.199444 and 1.20001 (18.75 %) 25 cells between 1.20001 and 1.200576 (52.083333 2 cells between 1.200576 and 1.201142 (4.1666667 0 cells above 1.201142 (0 %)
%) %)
%) %)
%) %)
To generate such a printed histogram, use the Solution Histogram panel. Report Histogram... Follow the instructions in Section 29.8.7: Solution Histograms for generating histogram plots, but click on Print instead of Plot to create the report.
30-17
30.8
Reference Values
You can control the reference values that are used in the computation of derived physical quantities and non-dimensional coecients. These reference values are used only for postprocessing. Some examples of the use of reference values include the following: Force coecients use the reference area, density, and velocity. In addition, the pressure force calculation uses the reference pressure. Moment coecients use the reference length, area, density and velocity. In addition, the pressure force calculation uses the reference pressure. Reynolds number uses the reference length, density, and viscosity. Pressure and total pressure coecients use the reference pressure, density, and velocity. Entropy uses the reference density, pressure, and temperature. Skin friction coecient uses the reference density and velocity. Heat transfer coecient uses the reference temperature. Turbomachinery eciency calculations use the ratio of specic heats.
30.8.1
Setting Reference Values
To set the reference quantities used for computing normalized ow-eld variables, use the Reference Values panel (Figure 30.8.1). Report Reference Values... You can input the reference values manually or compute them based on values of physical quantities at a selected boundary zone. The reference values to be set are Area, Density, Enthalpy, Length, Pressure, Temperature, Velocity, dynamic Viscosity, and Ratio Of Specic Heats. For 2D problems, an additional quantity, Depth, can also be dened. This value will be used for reporting uxes and forces. (Note that the units for Depth are set independently from the units for length in the Set Units panel.) If you want to compute reference values from the conditions set on a particular boundary zone, select the zone in the Compute From drop-down list. Note, however, that depending on the boundary condition used, only some of the reference values may be set. For example, the reference length and area will not be set by computing the reference values from a boundary condition; you will need to set these manually. To set the values manually, simply enter the value for each under the Reference Values heading.
30-18
30.8 Reference Values
Figure 30.8.1: The Reference Values Panel
30.8.2
Setting the Reference Zone
If you are solving a ow involving multiple reference frames or sliding meshes, you can plot velocities and other related quantities relative to the motion of a specied reference zone. Choose the desired zone in the Reference Zone drop-down list. Changing the reference zone allows you to plot velocities (and total pressure, temperature, etc.) relative to the motion of dierent zones. See Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones for details about postprocessing of relative quantities.
30-19
30.9
Summary Reports of Case Settings
You may sometimes nd it useful to get a report of the current settings in your case. In FLUENT, you can list the settings for physical models, boundary conditions, material properties, and solver controls. This report allows you to get an overview of your current problem denition quickly, instead of having to check the settings in each panel.
30.9.1
Generating a Summary Report
To generate a summary report you will use the Summary panel (Figure 30.9.1). Report Summary...
Figure 30.9.1: The Summary Panel
The steps are as follows: 1. Select the information you would like to see in the report (Models, Boundary Conditions, Solver Controls, and/or Material Properties) in the Report Options list. 2. To print the information to the FLUENT console window, click on the Print button. To save the information to a text le, click on the Save... button and specify the lename in the resulting Select File dialog box.
30-20
Chapter 31.
Field Function Denitions
You must select ow variables for a number of tasks in FLUENT. The values are computed and placed in temporary memory that is allocated for storing the results for each cell. For example, the Compute command associated with a panel that contains the eld variable drop-down list calculates the values of the selected function and places them into temporary storage. Sections 31.1 and 31.2 provide some general information related to the eld variables. In Section 31.3: Field Variables Listed by Category, the variables are listed by category in Tables 31.3.131.3.13. These tables will also indicate when each variable will be available. Section 31.4: Alphabetical Listing of Field Variables and Their Denitions contains an alphabetical listing of the variables along with their denitions. All variables appear as they would in the variable selection drop-down lists that are contained in many of the FLUENT panels. Section 31.5: Custom Field Functions explains how you can calculate your own eld function. Section 31.1: Node, Cell, and Facet Values Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options Section 31.3: Field Variables Listed by Category Section 31.4: Alphabetical Listing of Field Variables and Their Denitions Section 31.5: Custom Field Functions
31.1
Node, Cell, and Facet Values
For the following discussion, surface refers to a collection of facets, lines or points that are created and manipulated in the Surface menu. In most cases, these surfaces are created by computing intersections of constant isovalues with the domain cells or with existing surfaces.
31.1.1
Cell Values
FLUENT stores most variables in cells. For postprocessing, the entire region contained within the cell has this value. A surface cell value is the value of the cell that has been intersected by a surface facet or line, or that contains a surface point. Since surface facets and lines are created from the intersection of isovalues and the existing grid cells, this is a unique denition. On a boundary, the cell value is the value in the cell adjacent to the boundary.
31-1
31.1.2
Node Values
Node values are explicitly dened or obtained by weighted averaging of the cell data. Various boundary conditions impose values of eld variables at the domain boundaries, so grid node values on these boundary zones are obtained by simple averaging of the adjacent boundary face data. In addition, for several variables (e.g., node coordinates) explicit node values are available at all nodes. Computation of node values is performed in two steps: 1. Values at all nodes are initialized to the weighted average of the surrounding cell values. The weights are the inverses of the distances between the nodes and the cell centroid. 2. At boundaries, these node values are overwritten with the simple average of the boundary face values. Variables for which explicit node values are available at boundaries are indicated by bnv in Tables 31.3.131.3.13. For example, in Figure 31.1.1, the value at node n1 will be computed from the weighted average of the values in the surrounding cells (c1c6). The value at node n2 will be computed from the simple average of the boundary faces (bf 1 and bf 2) if there are explicit boundary values available for the variable in question.
c4 c3 n1 c2 c1 bf1 n2 c6 c7 bf2 boundary c5
Figure 31.1.1: Computing Node Values
Note that explicit boundary node values are not available for custom eld functions.
31-2
31.1 Node, Cell, and Facet Values
Vertex Values for Points That are Not Mesh Nodes

The values of the nodes on surfaces are linearly interpolated from the grid node data. For zone surfaces, the nodes on the surface and the zone correspond; thus, the values are identical. For surfaces that are not zone surfaces (e.g., isosurfaces, plane surfaces, etc.), the node values are interpolated from grid nodes on the cell faces intersected by the postprocessing surface. For point surfaces the value is interpolated from all the grid nodes of the cell containing the point.
31.1.3
Facet Values
Facets can be created on preprocessing surfaces and postprocessing surfaces.
Facet Values on Zone Surfaces

The interior facets on a zone surface are associated with two cells (c0 and c1). The values of specied variable on such facets are computed as the average of the two cell values of the selected variable. The boundary facet values of a specied eld variable on a zone surface are computed from the boundary condition provided by the user.
Facet Values on Postprocessing Surfaces

The facets on a postprocessing surface are associated with one cell. The values of a specied variable on such facets are the same as the cell values of the selected variable in the associated cells.
31-3
31.2
Velocity Reporting Options
The following methods are available for reporting velocities: Cartesian velocities: These velocities are based on the Cartesian coordinate system used by the geometry. To report Cartesian velocities, select X Velocity, Y Velocity, or Z Velocity. This is the most common type of velocity reported. Cylindrical velocities: These velocities are the axial, radial, and tangential components based on the following coordinate systems: For axisymmetric problems, in which the rotation axis must be the x axis, the x direction is the axial direction and the y direction is the radial direction. (If you model axisymmetric swirl, the swirl direction is the tangential direction.) For 2D problems involving a single cell zone, the z direction is the axial direction, and its origin is specied in the Fluid panel. For 3D problems involving a single cell zone, the coordinate system is dened by the rotation axis and origin specied in the Fluid panel. For problems involving multiple zones (e.g., multiple reference frames or sliding meshes), the coordinate system is dened by the rotation axis specied in the Fluid (or Solid) panel for the reference zone. The reference zone is chosen in the Reference Values panel, as described in Section 30.8: Reference Values. Recall that for 2D problems, you will specify only the axis origin; the z direction is always the axial direction. For all of the above denitions of the cylindrical coordinate system, positive radial velocities point radially out from the rotation axis, positive axial velocities are in the direction of the rotation axis vector, and positive tangential velocities are based on the right-hand rule using the positive rotation axis. To report cylindrical velocities, select Axial Velocity, Radial Velocity, etc. Figure 31.2.1 illustrates the cylindrical velocities available for dierent types of domains: For 3D problems, you can report axial, radial, and tangential velocities. For 2D problems, radial and tangential velocities are available. For axisymmetric problems, you can report axial and radial velocities, and if you are modeling axisymmetric swirl you can also report the swirl velocity (which is equivalent to the tangential velocity). Relative velocities: These velocities are based on the coordinate system and motion of a moving reference frame. They are useful when you are modeling your ow using a rotating reference frame, a mixing plane, multiple reference frames, or sliding meshes. (See Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones for information about modeling ow in moving zones.) To report relative velocities, select Relative X Velocity, Relative Y Velocity, Relative Radial Velocity, etc. (Note that you can report relative velocities for both Cartesian and cylindrical components.)
31-4
31.2 Velocity Reporting Options

axial tangential radial tangential
radial
rotation axis rotation axis origin
radial
rotation axis
axial tangential (swirl)
Figure 31.2.1: Cylindrical Velocity Components in 3D, 2D, and Axisymmetric Domains
If you are using a single rotating reference frame, the relative velocity values will be reported with respect to the moving frame. If you are using multiple reference frames, mixing planes, or sliding meshes, you will need to specify the frame to which you want the velocities to be relative by choosing the appropriate cell zone as the Reference Zone in the Reference Values panel (see Section 30.8: Reference Values). The axis of rotation for each cell zone is dened in the associated Fluid panel or Solid panel. (See Section 7.17.1: Specifying the Rotation Axis or 7.18.1 for details.) Note that if your problem does not involve any moving zones, relative and absolute velocities will be equivalent. Note that relative velocities can also be used to compute stagnation quantities (total pressure and total temperature), and that the cylindrical coordinate systems described in the second item above are used for dening the Axial Coordinate and Radial Coordinate as well.
31-5
31.3
Field Variables Listed by Category
In Tables 31.3.131.3.13, the following restrictions apply to marked variables: 2d 2da 2dasw 3d bns bnv cpl cv des dil do dpm dtrm fwh e edc emm ewt gran h2o id ke kw les melt mix mp nox np nv p p1 available only for 2D ows available only for 2D axisymmetric ows (with or without swirl) available only for 2D axisymmetric swirl ows available only for 3D ows available only for broadband noise source models node values available at boundaries available only in the coupled solvers available only for cell values (Node Values option turned o) available only when the DES turbulence model is used not available with full multicomponent diusion available only when the discrete ordinates radiation model is used available only for coupled discrete phase calculations available only when the discrete transfer radiation model is used available only with the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings acoustics model available only for energy calculations available only with the EDC model for turbulence-chemistry interaction available also when the Eulerian multiphase model is used available only with the enhanced wall treatment available only if a granular phase is present available only when the mixture contains water available only when the ideal gas law is enabled for density available only when one of the k- turbulence models is used available only when one of the k- turbulence models is used available only when the LES turbulence model is used available only when the melting and solidication model is used available only when the multiphase mixture model is used available only for multiphase models available only for NOx calculations not available in parallel solvers uses explicit node value function available only in parallel solvers available only when the P-1 radiation model is used
31-6
31.3 Field Variables Listed by Category
pdf pmx ppmx r rad rc rsm s2s sa seg sp sr sol soot stat stcm t turbo udm uds v
available available available available available available available available available available available available available available available available available available available available available
only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only
for non-premixed combustion calculations for premixed combustion calculations for partially premixed combustion calculations when the Rosseland radiation model is used for radiation heat transfer calculations for nite-rate reactions when the Reynolds stress turbulence model is used when the surface-to-surface radiation model is used when the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model is used in the segregated solver for species calculations for surface reactions when the solar model is used for soot calculations with data sampling for unsteady statistics for sti chemistry calculations for turbulent ows when a turbomachinery topology has been dened when a user-dened memory location is used when a user-dened scalar is used for viscous ows
Table 31.3.1: Pressure and Density Categories Category Pressure... Variable Static Pressure (bnv) Pressure Coecient Dynamic Pressure Absolute Pressure (bnv) Total Pressure (bnv) Relative Total Pressure Density Density All
Density...
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Table 31.3.2: Velocity Category Category Velocity... Variable Velocity Magnitude (bnv) X Velocity (bnv) Y Velocity (bnv) Z Velocity (3d, bnv) Swirl Velocity (2dasw, bnv) Axial Velocity (2da or 3d) Radial Velocity Stream Function (2d) Tangential Velocity Mach Number (id) Relative Velocity Magnitude (bnv) Relative X Velocity (bnv) Relative Y Velocity (bnv) Relative Z Velocity (3d, bnv) Relative Axial Velocity (2da) Relative Radial Velocity (2da) Relative Swirl Velocity (2dasw, bnv) Relative Tangential Velocity Relative Mach Number (id) Grid X-Velocity (nv) Grid Y-Velocity (nv) Grid Z-Velocity (3d, nv) Velocity Angle Relative Velocity Angle Vorticity Magnitude (v) Helicity (v, 3d) X-Vorticity (v, 3d) Y-Vorticity (v, 3d) Z-Vorticity (v, 3d) Cell Reynolds Number (v) Preconditioning Reference Velocity (cpl)
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Table 31.3.3: Temperature, Radiation, and Solidication/Melting Categories Category Variable Temperature... Static Temperature (e, bnv, nv) Total Temperature (e, nv) Enthalpy (e, nv) Relative Total Temperature (e) Rothalpy (e, nv) Fine Scale Temperature (edc, nv, e) Wall Temperature (Outer Surface) (e, v) Wall Temperature (Inner Surface) (e, v) Total Enthalpy (e) Total Enthalpy Deviation (e) Entropy (e) Total Energy (e) Internal Energy (e) Radiation... Absorption Coecient (r, p1, do, or dtrm) Scattering Coecient (r, p1, or do) Refractive Index (do) Radiation Temperature (p1 or do) Incident Radiation (p1 or do) Incident Radiation (Band n) (do (non-gray)) Surface Cluster ID (s2s) Solidication/ Liquid Fraction (melt) Melting... Contact Resistivity (melt) X Pull Velocity (melt (if calculated)) Y Pull Velocity (melt (if calculated)) Z Pull Velocity (melt (if calculated), 3d) Axial Pull Velocity (melt (if calculated), 2da) Radial Pull Velocity (melt (if calculated), 2da) Swirl Pull Velocity (melt (if calculated), 2dasw)
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Table 31.3.4: Turbulence Category Category Turbulence... Variable Turbulent Kinetic Energy (k) (ke, kw, or rsm; bnv, nv, or emm) UU Reynolds Stress (rsm; emm) VV Reynolds Stress (rsm; emm) WW Reynolds Stress (rsm; emm) UV Reynolds Stress (rsm; emm) UW Reynolds Stress (rsm, 3d; emm) VW Reynolds Stress (rsm, 3d; emm) Turbulence Intensity (ke, kw, or rsm) Turbulent Dissipation Rate (Epsilon) (ke or rsm; bnv, nv, or emm) Specic Dissipation Rate (Omega) (kw) Production of k (ke, kw, or rsm; emm) Modied Turbulent Viscosity (sa) Turbulent Viscosity (sa, ke, kw, rsm, or des) Eective Viscosity (sa, ke, kw, rsm, or des; emm) Turbulent Viscosity Ratio (ke, kw, rsm, sa, or des; emm) Subgrid Kinetic Energy (les) Subgrid Turbulent Viscosity (les) Subgrid Eective Viscosity (les) Subgrid Turbulent Viscosity Ratio (les) Subgrid Filter Length (les) Eective Thermal Conductivity (t, e) Eective Prandtl Number (t, e) Wall Ystar (ke, kw, or rsm) Wall Yplus (t) Turbulent Reynolds Number (Re y) (ke or rsm; ewt) Relative Length Scale (DES) (des)
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Table 31.3.5: Species, Reactions, Pdf, and Premixed Combustion Categories Category Species... Variable Mass fraction of species-n (sp, pdf, or ppmx; nv) Mole fraction of species-n (sp, pdf, or ppmx) Molar Concentration of species-n (sp, pdf, or ppmx) Lam Di Coef of species-n (sp, dil) E Di Coef of species-n (t, sp, dil) Thermal Di Coef of species-n (sp) Enthalpy of species-n (sp) species-n Source Term (rc, cpl) Surface Deposition Rate of species-n (sr) Surface Coverage of species-n (sr) Relative Humidity (sp, pdf, or ppmx; h2o) Time Step Scale (sp, stcm) Fine Scale Mass fraction of species-n (edc) Fine Scale Transfer Rate (edc) 1-Fine Scale Volume Fraction (edc) Rate of Reaction-n (rc) Arrhenius Rate of Reaction-n (rc) Turbulent Rate of Reaction-n (rc, t) Mean Mixture Fraction (pdf or ppmx; nv) Secondary Mean Mixture Fraction (pdf or ppmx; nv) Mixture Fraction Variance (pdf or ppmx; nv) Secondary Mixture Fraction Variance (pdf or ppmx; nv) Fvar Prod (pdf or ppmx) Fvar2 Prod (pdf or ppmx) Scalar Dissipation (pdf or ppmx) Progress Variable (pmx or ppmx; nv) Damkohler Number (pmx or ppmx) Stretch Factor (pmx or ppmx) Turbulent Flame Speed (pmx or ppmx) Static Temperature (pmx or ppmx) Product Formation Rate (pmx or ppmx) Laminar Flame Speed (pmx or ppmx) Critical Strain Rate (pmx or ppmx) Adiabatic Flame Temperature (pmx or ppmx) Unburnt Fuel Mass Fraction (pmx or ppmx)
Reactions...
Pdf...
Premixed Combustion...
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Table 31.3.6: NOx, Soot, and Unsteady Statistics Categories Category NOx... Variable Mass fraction of NO (nox) Mass fraction of HCN (nox) Mass fraction of NH3 (nox) Mass fraction of N2O (nox) Mole fraction of NO (nox) Mole fraction of HCN (nox) Mole fraction of NH3 (nox) Mole fraction of N2O (nox) NO Density (nox) HCN Density (nox) NH3 Density (nox) N2O Density (nox) Variance of Temperature (nox) Variance of Species (nox) Variance of Species 1 (nox) Variance of Species 2 (nox) Rate of NO (nox) Rate of Thermal NO (nox) Rate of Prompt NO (nox) Rate of Fuel NO (nox) Rate of N2OPath NO (nox) Rate of Reburn NO (nox) Rate of SNCR NO (nox) Rate of USER NO (nox) Mass fraction of soot (soot) Mass fraction of Nuclei (soot) Mole fraction of soot (soot) Soot Density (soot) Rate of Soot (soot) Rate of Nuclei (soot) Mean quantity-n (stat) RMS quantity-n (stat)
Soot...
Unsteady Statistics...
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Table 31.3.7: Phases, Discrete Phase Model, Granular Pressure, and Granular Temperature Categories Category Phases... Discrete Phase Model... Variable Volume fraction (mp) DPM Mass Source (dpm) DPM Erosion (dpm, cv) DPM Accretion (dpm, cv) DPM X Momentum Source (dpm) DPM Y Momentum Source (dpm) DPM Z Momentum Source (dpm, 3d) DPM Swirl Momentum Source (dpm, 2dasw) DPM Sensible Enthalpy Source (dpm, e) DPM Enthalpy Source (dpm, e) DPM Absorption Coecient (dpm, rad) DPM Emission (dpm, rad) DPM Scattering (dpm, rad) DPM Burnout (dpm, sp, e) DPM Evaporation/Devolatilization (dpm, sp, e) DPM Concentration (dpm) DPM species-n Source (dpm, sp, e) Granular Pressure... Granular Pressure (emm, gran) Granular Temperature... Granular Temperature (emm, gran)
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Table 31.3.8: Properties, Wall Fluxes, User Dened Scalars, and User Dened Memory Categories Category Properties... Variable Molecular Viscosity (v) Diameter (mix, emm) Granular Conductivity (mix, emm, gran) Thermal Conductivity (e, v) Specic Heat (Cp) (e) Specic Heat Ratio (gamma) (id) Gas Constant (R) (id) Molecular Prandtl Number (e, v) Mean Molecular Weight (seg, pdf) Sound Speed (id) Wall Fluxes... Wall Shear Stress (v, cv, emm) X-Wall Shear Stress (v, cv, emm) Y-Wall Shear Stress (v, cv, emm) Z-Wall Shear Stress (v, 3d, cv, emm) Axial-Wall Shear Stress (2da, cv) Radial-Wall Shear Stress (2da, cv) Swirl-Wall Shear Stress (2dasw, cv) Skin Friction Coecient (v, cv, emm) Total Surface Heat Flux (e, v, cv) Radiation Heat Flux (rad, cv) Solar Heat Flux (sol, cv) Absorbed Radiation Flux (Band-n) (do,cv) Absorbed Visible Solar Flux (sol, cv) Absorbed IR Solar Flux (sol, cv) Reected Radiation Flux (Band-n) (do, cv) Reected Visible Solar Flux (sol, cv) Reected IR Solar Flux (sol, cv) Transmitted Radiation Flux (Band-n) (do, cv) Transmitted Visible Solar Flux (sol, cv) Transmitted IR Solar Flux (sol, cv) Beam Irradiation Flux (Band-n) (do, cv) Surface Incident Radiation (do, dtrm, or s2s; cv) Surface Heat Transfer Coef. (e, v, cv) Wall Func. Heat Tran. Coef. (e, v, cv) Surface Nusselt Number (e, v, cv) Surface Stanton Number (e, v, cv) User Dened Scalars... Scalar-n (uds) Diusion Coef. of Scalar-n (uds) User Dened Memory... udm-n (udm)
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Table 31.3.9: Cell Info, Grid, and Adaption Categories Category Cell Info... Variable Cell Partition (np) Active Cell Partition (p) Stored Cell Partition (p) Cell Id (p) Cell Element Type Cell Zone Type Cell Zone Index Partition Neighbors X-Coordinate (nv) Y-Coordinate (nv) Z-Coordinate (3d, nv) Axial Coordinate (nv) Angular Coordinate (3d, nv) Abs. Angular Coordinate (3d, nv) Radial Coordinate (nv) X Surface Area Y Surface Area Z Surface Area (3d) X Face Area Y Face Area Z Face Area (3d) Cell Equiangle Skew Cell Equivolume Skew Cell Volume 2D Cell Volume (2da) Cell Wall Distance Face Handedness Face Squish Index Cell Squish Index
Grid...
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Table 31.3.10: Grid Category (Turbomachinery-Specic Variables) and Adaption Category Category Grid... Variable Meridional Coordinate (nv, turbo) Abs Meridional Coordinate (nv, turbo) Spanwise Coordinate (nv, turbo) Abs (H-C) Spanwise Coordinate (nv, turbo) Abs (C-H) Spanwise Coordinate (nv, turbo) Pitchwise Coordinate (nv, turbo) Abs Pitchwise Coordinate (nv, turbo) Adaption Function Adaption Curvature Adaption Space Gradient Adaption Iso-Value Existing Value Boundary Cell Distance Boundary Normal Distance Boundary Volume Distance (np) Cell Volume Change Cell Surface Area Cell Warpage Cell Children Cell Rene Level
Adaption...
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Table 31.3.11: Residuals Category Category Residuals... Variable Mass Imbalance (seg) Pressure Residual (cpl) X-Velocity Residual (cpl) Y-Velocity Residual (cpl) Z-Velocity Residual (cpl, 3d) Axial-Velocity Residual (cpl, 2da) Radial-Velocity Residual (cpl, 2da) Swirl-Velocity Residual (cpl, 2dasw) Temperature Residual (cpl, e) Species-n Residual (cpl, sp) Time Step (cpl) Pressure Correction (cpl) X-Velocity Correction (cpl) Y-Velocity Correction (cpl) Z-Velocity Correction (cpl, 3d) Axial-Velocity Correction (cpl, 2da) Radial-Velocity Correction (cpl, 2da) Swirl-Velocity Correction (cpl, 2dasw) Temperature Correction (cpl, e) Species-n Correction (cpl, sp)
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Table 31.3.12: Derivatives Category Category Derivatives... Variable Strain Rate (v) dX-Velocity/dx dY-Velocity/dx dZ-Velocity/dx (3d) dAxial-Velocity/dx (2da) dRadial-Velocity/dx (2da) dSwirl-Velocity/dx (2dasw) d species-n/dx (cpl, sp) dX-Velocity/dy dY-Velocity/dy dZ-Velocity/dy (3d) dAxial-Velocity/dy (2da) dRadial-Velocity/dy (2da) dSwirl-Velocity/dy (2dasw) d species-n/dy (cpl, sp) dX-Velocity/dz (3d) dY-Velocity/dz (3d) dZ-Velocity/dz (3d) d species-n/dz (cpl, sp, 3d) dOmega/dx (2dasw) dOmega/dy (2dasw) dp-dX (seg) dp-dY (seg) dp-dZ (seg, 3d)
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Table 31.3.13: Acoustics Category Category Acoustics... Variable Surface dpdt RMS (fwh) Acoustic Power Level (dB) (bns) Acoustic Power (bns) Jet Acoustic Power Level (dB) (bns, 2da) Jet Acoustic Power (bns, 2da) Surface Acoustic Power Level (dB) (bns) Surface Acoustic Power (bns) Lilleys Self-Noise Source (bns) Lilleys Shear-Noise Source (bns) Lilleys Total Noise Source (bns) LEE Self-Noise X-Source (bns) LEE Shear-Noise X-Source (bns) LEE Total Noise X-Source (bns) LEE Self-Noise Y-Source (bns) LEE Shear-Noise Y-Source (bns) LEE Total Noise Y-Source (bns) LEE Self-Noise Z-Source (bns, 3d) LEE Shear-Noise Z-Source (bns, 3d) LEE Total Noise Z-Source (bns, 3d)
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31.4
Alphabetical Listing of Field Variables and Their Denitions
Below, the variables listed in Tables 31.3.131.3.13 are dened. For some variables (such as residuals) a general denition is given under the category name, and variables in the category are not listed individually. When appropriate, the unit quantity is included, as it appears in the Quantities list in the Set Units panel. Abs (C-H) Spanwise Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the dimensional coordinate in the spanwise direction, from casing to hub. Its unit quantity is length. Abs (H-C) Spanwise Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the dimensional coordinate in the spanwise direction, from hub to casing. Its unit quantity is length. Abs Meridional Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the dimensional coordinate that follows the ow path from inlet to outlet. Its unit quantity is length. Abs Pitchwise Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the dimensional coordinate in the circumferential (pitchwise) direction. Its unit quantity is angle. Absolute Pressure (in the Pressure... category) is equal to the operating pressure plus the gauge pressure. See Section 8.13: Operating Pressure for details. Its unit quantity is pressure. Absorbed Radiation Flux (Band-n) (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the amount of radiative heat ux absorbed by a semi-transparent wall for a particular band of radiation. Its unit quantity is heat-ux. Absorbed Visible Solar Flux, Absorbed IR Solar Flux (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the amount of solar heat ux absorbed by a semi-transparent wall for a visible or infrared (IR) radiation. Absorption Coecient (in the Radiation... category) is the property of a medium that describes the amount of absorption of thermal radiation per unit path length within the medium. It can be interpreted as the inverse of the mean free path that a photon will travel before being absorbed (if the absorption coecient does not vary along the path). The unit quantity for Absorption Coecient is length-inverse. Acoustic Power (in the Acoustics... category) is the acoustic power per unit volume generated by isotropic turbulence (see Equation 21.2-10). It is available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. Its unit quantity is power per volume. Acoustic Power Level (dB) (in the Acoustics... category) is the acoustic power per unit volume generated by isotropic turbulence and reported in dB (see Equation 21.2-14). It is available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used.
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31.4 Alphabetical Listing of Field Variables and Their Denitions
Active Cell Partition (in the Cell Info... category) is an integer identier designating the partition to which a particular cell belongs. In problems in which the grid is divided into multiple partitions to be solved on multiple processors using the parallel version of FLUENT, the partition ID can be used to determine the extent of the various groups of cells. The active cell partition is used for the current calculation, while the stored cell partition (the last partition performed) is used when you save a case le. See Section 32.5.3: Partitioning the Grid Manually for more information. Adaption... includes eld variables that are commonly used for adapting the grid. For information about solution adaption, see Chapter 27: Grid Adaption. Adaption Function (in the Adaption... category) can be either the Adaption Space Gradient or the Adaption Curvature, depending on the settings in the Gradient Adaption panel. For instance, the Adaption Curvature is the undivided Laplacian of the values in temporary cell storage. To display contours of the Laplacian of pressure, for example, you rst select Static Pressure, click the Compute (or Display) button, select Adaption Function, and nally click the Display button. Adaption Iso-Value (in the Adaption... category) is the desired eld variable function. Adaption Space Gradient (in the Adaption... category) is the rst derivative of the desired eld variable. |ei1 | = (Acell ) 2 | f |
r
(31.4-1)
Depending on the settings in the Gradient Adaption panel, this equation will either be scaled or normalized. Recommended for problems with shock waves (i.e., supersonic, inviscid ows). For more information, see Section 27.4.1: Gradient Adaption Approach. Adaption Curvature (in the Adaption... category) is the second derivative of the desired eld variable. |ei2 | = (Acell ) 2 |
r
f|
(31.4-2)
Depending on the settings in the Gradient Adaption panel, this equation will either be scaled or normalized. Recommended for smooth solutions (i.e., viscous, incompressible ows). For more information, see Section 27.4.1: Gradient Adaption Approach. Adiabatic Flame Temperature (in the Premixed Combustion... category) is the adiabatic temperature of burnt products in a laminar premixed ame (Tb in Equation 16.2-21). Its unit quantity is temperature.
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Arrhenius Rate of Reaction-n (in the Reactions... category) is given by the following expression (see Equation 14.1-7 for denitions of the variables shown here): Rr = kf,r
Nr j=1
[Cj,r ]j,r kb,r
Nr j=1
[Cj,r ]j,r
The reported value is independent of any particular species, and has units of kgmol/m3 -s. To nd the rate of production/destruction for a given species i due to reaction r, multiply the reported reaction rate for reaction r by the term Mi (i,r i,r ), where Mi is the molecular weight of species i, and i,r and i,r are the stoichiometric coecients of species i in reaction r. Angular Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the angle between the radial vector and the position vector. The radial vector is obtained by transforming the default radial vector (y-axis) by the same rotation that was applied to the default axial vector (zaxis ). This assumes that, after the transformation, the default axial vector (z-axis) becomes the reference axis. The angle is positive in the direction of cross-product between reference axis and radial vector. Abs. Angular Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the absolute value of the Angular Coordinate dened above. Axial Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the distance from the origin in the axial direction. The axis origin and (in 3D) direction is dened for each cell zone in the Fluid or Solid panel. The axial direction for a 2D model is always the z direction, and the axial direction for a 2D axisymmetric model is always the x direction. The unit quantity for Axial Coordinate is length. Axial Pull Velocity (in the Solidication/Melting... category) is the axial-direction component of the pull velocity for the solid material in a continuous casting process. Its unit quantity is velocity. Axial Velocity (in the Velocity... category) is the component of velocity in the axial direction. (See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for details.) For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Its unit quantity is velocity. Axial-Wall Shear Stress (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the axial component of the force acting tangential to the surface due to friction. Its unit quantity is pressure. Beam Irradiation Flux (Band-b) (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is specied as an incident heat ux (W/m2 ) for each wavelength band. Boundary Cell Distance (in the Adaption... category) is an integer that indicates the approximate number of cells from a boundary zone.
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Boundary Normal Distance (in the Adaption... category) is the distance of the cell centroid from the closest boundary zone. Boundary Volume Distance (in the Adaption... category) is the cell volume distribution based on the Boundary Volume, Growth Factor, and normal distance from the selected Boundary Zones dened in the Boundary Adaption panel. See Section 27.3: Boundary Adaption for details. Cell Children (in the Adaption... category) is a binary identier based on whether a cell is the product of a cell subdivision in the hanging-node adaption process (value = 1) or not (value = 0). Cell Element Type (in the Cell Info... category) is the integer cell element type identication number. Each cell can have one of the following element types: triangle tetrahedron quadrilateral hexahedron pyramid wedge 1 2 3 4 5 6
Cell Equiangle Skew (in the Grid... category) is a nondimensional parameter calculated using the normalized angle deviation method, and is dened as max qmax qe qe qmin , 180 qe qe (31.4-3)
where qmax = largest angle in the face or cell qmin = smallest angle in the face or cell qe = angle for an equiangular face or cell (e.g., 60 for a triangle and 90 for a square) A value of 0 indicates a best case equiangular cell, and a value of 1 indicates a completely degenerate cell. Degenerate cells (slivers) are characterized by nodes that are nearly coplanar (collinear in 2D). Cell Equiangle Skew applies to all elements. Cell Equivolume Skew (in the Grid... category) is a nondimensional parameter calculated using the volume deviation method, and is dened as optimal-cell-size cell-size optimal-cell-size (31.4-4)
where optimal-cell-size is the size of an equilateral cell with the same circumradius. A value of 0 indicates a best case equilateral cell and a value of 1 indicates a
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completely degenerate cell. Degenerate cells (slivers) are characterized by nodes that are nearly coplanar (collinear in 2D). Cell Equivolume Skew applies only to triangular and tetrahedral elements. Cell Id (in the Cell Info... category) is a unique integer identier associated with each cell. Cell Info... includes quantities that identify the cell and its relationship to other cells. Cell Partition (in the Cell Info... category) is an integer identier designating the partition to which a particular cell belongs. In problems in which the grid is divided into multiple partitions to be solved on multiple processors using the parallel version of FLUENT, the partition ID can be used to determine the extent of the various groups of cells. Cell Rene Level (in the Adaption... category) is an integer that indicates the number of times a cell has been subdivided in the hanging node adaption process, compared with the original grid. For example, if one quad cell is split into four quads, the Cell Rene Level for each of the four new quads will be 1. If the resulting four quads are split again, the Cell Rene Level for each of the resulting 16 quads will be 2. Cell Reynolds Number (in the Velocity... category) is the value of the Reynolds number in a cell. (Reynolds number is a dimensionless parameter that is the ratio of inertia forces to viscous forces.) Cell Reynolds Number is dened as Re ud (31.4-5)
where is density, u is velocity magnitude, is the eective viscosity (laminar plus turbulent), and d is Cell Volume1/2 for 2D cases and Cell Volume1/3 in 3D or axisymmetric cases. Cell Squish Index (in the Grid... category) is a measure of the quality of a mesh, and is calculated from the dot products of each vector pointing from the centroid of a cell toward the center of each of its faces, and the corresponding face area vector as Ai rc0/xfi max 1 i |Ai ||rc0/xfi | Therefore, the worst cells will have a Cell Squish Index close to 1. Cell Surface Area (in the Adaption... category) is the total surface area of the cell, and is computed by summing the area of the faces that compose the cell.

(31.4-6)
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Cell Volume (in the Grid... category) is the volume of a cell. In 2D the volume is the area of the cell multiplied by the unit depth. For axisymmetric cases, the cell volume is calculated using a reference depth of 1 radian. The unit quantity of Cell Volume is volume. 2D Cell Volume (in the Grid... category) is the two-dimensional volume of a cell in an axisymmetric computation. For an axisymmetric computation, the 2D cell volume is scaled by the radius. Its unit quantity is area. Cell Volume Change (in the Adaption... category) is the maximum volume ratio of the current cell and its neighbors. Cell Wall Distance (in the Grid... category) is the distribution of the normal distance of each cell centroid from the wall boundaries. Its unit quantity is length. Cell Warpage (in the Adaption... category) is the square root of the ratio of the distance between the cell centroid and cell circumcenter and the circumcenter radius: warpage = |rcentroid rcircumcenter | Rcircumcenter (31.4-7)
Cell Zone Index (in the Cell Info... category) is the integer cell zone identication number. In problems that have more than one cell zone, the cell zone ID can be used to identify the various groups of cells. Cell Zone Type (in the Cell Info... category) is the integer cell zone type ID. A uid cell has a type ID of 1, a solid cell has a type ID of 17, and an exterior cell (parallel solver) has a type ID of 21. Contact Resistivity (in the Solidication/Melting... category) is the additional resistance at the wall due to contact resistance. It is equal to Rc (1 )/h, where Rc is the contact resistance, is the liquid fraction, and h is the cell height of the wall-adjacent cell. The unit quantity for Contact Resistivity is thermal-resistivity. Critical Strain Rate (in the Premixed Combustion... category) is a parameter that takes into account the stretching and extinction of premixed ames (gcr in Equation 16.2-13). Its unit quantity is time-inverse. Custom Field Functions... are scalar eld functions dened by you. You can create a custom function using the Custom Field Function Calculator panel. All dened custom eld functions will be listed in the lower drop-down list. See Section 31.5: Custom Field Functions for details. Damkohler Number (in the Premixed Combustion... category) is a nondimensional parameter that is dened as the ratio of turbulent to chemical time scales. Density... includes variables related to density.
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Density (in the Density... category) is the mass per unit volume of the uid. Plots or reports of Density include only uid cell zones. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. The unit quantity for Density is density. Density All (in the Density... category) is the mass per unit volume of the uid or solid material. Plots or reports of Density All include both uid and solid cell zones. The unit quantity for Density All is density. Derivatives... are the viscous derivatives. For example, dX-Velocity/dx is the rst derivative of the x component of velocity with respect to the x-coordinate direction. You can compute rst derivatives of velocity, angular velocity, and pressure in the segregated solver, and rst derivatives of velocity, angular velocity, temperature, and species in the coupled solvers. Diameter (in the Properties... category) is the diameter of particles, droplets, or bubbles of the secondary phase selected in the Phase drop-down list. Its unit quantity is length. Diusion Coef. of Scalar-n (in the User Dened Scalars... category) is the diusion coecient for the nth user-dened scalar transport equation. See the separate UDF manual for details about dening user-dened scalars. Discrete Phase Model... includes quantities related to the discrete phase model. See Chapter 23: Discrete Phase Models for details about this model. DPM Absorption Coecient (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the absorption coecient for discrete-phase calculations that involve radiation (a in Equation 12.3-1). Its unit quantity is length-inverse. DPM Accretion (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the accretion rate calculated at a wall boundary: Raccretion = mp p=1 Aface
N
(31.4-8)
where mp is the mass ow rate of the particle stream, and Aface is the area of the wall face where the particle strikes the boundary. This item will appear only if the optional erosion/accretion model is enabled. See Section 23.7.6: Monitoring Erosion/Accretion of Particles at Walls for details. The unit quantity for DPM Accretion is mass-ux. DPM Burnout (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the exchange of mass from the discrete to the continuous phase for the combustion law (Law 5) and is proportional to the solid phase reaction rate. The burnout exchange has units of mass-ow.
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DPM Concentration (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the total concentration of the discrete phase. Its unit quantity is density. DPM Emission (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the amount of radiation emitted by a discrete-phase particle per unit volume. Its unit quantity is heatgeneration-rate. DPM Enthalpy Source (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the exchange of enthalpy (sensible enthalpy plus heat of formation) from the discrete phase to the continuous phase. The exchange is positive when the particles are a source of heat in the continuous phase. The unit quantity for DPM Enthalpy Source is power. DPM Erosion (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the erosion rate calculated at a wall boundary face: Rerosion = mp f () p=1 Aface
N
(31.4-9)
where mp is the mass ow rate of the particle stream, is the impact angle of the particle path with the wall face, f () is the function specied in the Wall panel, and Aface is the area of the wall face where the particle strikes the boundary. This item will appear only if the optional erosion/accretion model is enabled. See Section 23.7.6: Monitoring Erosion/Accretion of Particles at Walls for details. The unit quantity for DPM Erosion is mass-ux. DPM Evaporation/Devolatilization (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the exchange of mass, due to droplet-particle evaporation or combusting-particle devolatilization, from the discrete phase to the evaporating or devolatilizing species. If you are not using the non-premixed combustion model, the mass source for each individual species (DPM species-n Source, below) is also available; for nonpremixed combustion, only this sum is available. The unit quantity for DPM Evaporation/Devolatilization is mass-ow. DPM Mass Source (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the total exchange of mass from the discrete phase to the continuous phase. The mass exchange is positive when the particles are a source of mass in the continuous phase. If you are not using the non-premixed combustion model, DPM Mass Source will be equal to the sum of all species mass sources (DPM species-n Source, below); if you are using the non-premixed combustion model, it will be equal to DPM Burnout plus DPM Evaporation/Devolatilization. The unit quantity for DPM Mass Source is mass-ow. DPM Scattering (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the scattering coecient for discrete-phase calculations that involve radiation (s in Equation 12.3-1). Its unit quantity is length-inverse.
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DPM Sensible Enthalpy Source (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the exchange of sensible enthalpy from the discrete phase to the continuous phase. The exchange is positive when the particles are a source of heat in the continuous phase. Its unit quantity is power. DPM species-n Source (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the exchange of mass, due to droplet-particle evaporation or combusting-particle devolatilization, from the discrete phase to the evaporating or devolatilizing species. (The name of the species will replace species-n in DPM species-n Source.) These species are specied in the Set Injection Properties panel, as described in Section 23.8.5: Dening Injection Properties. The unit quantity is mass-ow. Note that this variable will not be available if you are using the non-premixed combustion model; use DPM Evaporation/Devolatilization instead. DPM Swirl Momentum Source (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) is the exchange of swirl momentum from the discrete phase to the continuous phase. This value is positive when the particles are a source of momentum in the continuous phase. The unit quantity is force. DPM X, Y, Z Momentum Source (in the Discrete Phase Model... category) are the exchange of x-, y-, and z-direction momentum from the discrete phase to the continuous phase. These values are positive when the particles are a source of momentum in the continuous phase. The unit quantity is force.
1 Dynamic Pressure (in the Pressure... category) is dened as q 2 v 2 . Its unit quantity is pressure.
E Di Coef of species-n (in the Species... category) is the sum of the laminar and turbulent diusion coecients of a species into the mixture: Di,m + t Sct
(The name of the species will replace species-n in E Di Coef of species-n.) The unit quantity is mass-diusivity. Eective Prandtl Number (in the Turbulence... category) is the ratio e cp /ke , where e is the eective viscosity, cp is the specic heat, and ke is the eective thermal conductivity. Eective Thermal Conductivity (in the Properties... category) is the sum of the laminar and turbulent thermal conductivities, k+kt , of the uid. A large thermal conductivity is associated with a good heat conductor and a small thermal conductivity with a poor heat conductor (good insulator). Its unit quantity is thermal-conductivity.
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Eective Viscosity (in the Turbulence... category) is the sum of the laminar and turbulent viscosities of the uid. Viscosity, , is dened by the ratio of shear stress to the rate of shear. Its unit quantity is viscosity. Enthalpy (in the Temperature... category) is dened dierently for compressible and incompressible ows, and depending on the solver and models in use. For compressible ows, H=
j
Yj H j
(31.4-10)
and for incompressible ows, H=

j
Yj H j +
(31.4-11)
where Yj and Hj are, respectively, the mass fraction and enthalpy of species j. (See Enthalpy of species-n, below). For the segregated solver, the second term on the right-hand side of Equation 31.4-11 is included only if the pressure work term is included in the energy equation (see Section 12.2.1: Inclusion of Pressure Work and Kinetic Energy Terms). For adiabatic non-premixed combustion cases, Enthalpy reports the adiabatic value based on the local mean mixture fraction. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase dropdown list. For all species models, the Enthalpy plots consist solely of the thermal (or sensible) energy. The unit quantity for Enthalpy is specic-energy. Enthalpy of species-n (in the Species... category) is dened dierently depending on the solver and models options in use. The quantity:
T
Hj =
Tref,j
cp,j dT + h0 (Tref,j ) j
(31.4-12)
where h0 (Tref,j ) is the formation enthalpy of species j at the reference temperature j Tref,j ), is reported only for non-adiabatic PDF cases, or if the coupled solver is selected. The quantity:
T
hj =
Tref
cp,j dT
(31.4-13)
where Tref = 298.15K, is reported in all other cases. The unit quantity for Enthalpy of species-n is specic-energy.
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Entropy (in the Temperature... category) is a thermodynamic property dened by the equation Q S (31.4-14) rev T where rev indicates an integration along a reversible path connecting two states, Q is heat, and T is temperature. For compressible ows, entropy is computed using the equation p/pref s = cv 1 (31.4-15) (/ref ) where cv is computed from R/( 1), and the reference pressure and density are dened in the Reference Values panel. For incompressible ow, the entropy is computed using the equation s = cp T 1 Tref (31.4-16)
where cp is the specic heat at constant pressure and Tref is dened in the Reference Values panel. The unit quantity for entropy is specic-heat. Existing Value (in the Adaption... category) is the value that presently resides in the temporary space reserved for cell variables (i.e., the last value that you displayed or computed). Face Handedness (in the Grid... category) is a parameter that is equal to one in cells that are adjacent to left-handed faces, and zero elsewhere. It can be used to locate mesh problems. Face Squish Index (in the Grid... category) is a measure of the quality of a mesh, and is calculated from the dot products of each face area vector, and the vector that connects the centroids of the two adjacent cells as 1 Ai rc0/c1 |Ai ||rc0/c1 | (31.4-17)
Therefore, the worst cells will have a Face Squish Index close to 1. Fine Scale Mass Fraction of species-n (in the Species... category) is the term Yi in Equation 14.1-30. Fine Scale Temperature (in the Temperature... category) is the temperature of the ne scales, which is calculated from the enthalpy when the reaction proceeds over the time scale ( in Equation 14.1-29), governed by the Arrhenius rates of Equation 14.1-7. Its unit quantity is temperature. Fine Scale Transfer Rate (in the Species... category) is the transfer rate of the ne scales, which is equal to the inverse of the time scale ( in Equation 14.1-29). Its unit quantity is time-inverse.
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1-Fine Scale Volume Fraction (in the Species... category) is a function of the ne scale volume fraction ( in Equation 14.1-28). The quantity is subtracted from unity to make it easier to interpret. Fvar Prod (in the Pdf... category) is the production term in the mixture fraction variance equation solved in the non-premixed combustion model (i.e., the last two terms in Equation 15.2-5). Fvar2 Prod (in the Pdf... category) is the production term in the secondary mixture fraction variance equation solved in the non-premixed combustion model. See Equation 15.2-5. Gas Constant (R) (in the Properties... category) is the gas constant of the uid. Its unit quantity is specic-heat. Granular Conductivity (in the Properties... category) is equivalent to the diusion coecient in Equation 24.4-68. For more information, see Section 24.4.7: Granular Temperature. Its unit quantity is kg/m-s. Granular Pressure... includes quantities for reporting the solids pressure for each granular phase (ps in Equation 24.4-44). See Section 24.4.4: Solids Pressure for details. Its unit quantity is pressure. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Granular Temperature... includes quantities for reporting the granular temperature for each granular phase (s in Equation 24.4-68). See Section 24.4.7: Granular Temperature for details. Its unit quantity is m2 /s2 . For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Grid... includes variables related to the grid. Grid X-Velocity, Grid Y-Velocity, Grid Z-Velocity (in the Velocity... category) are the vector components of the grid velocity for moving-grid problems (rotating or multiple reference frames, mixing planes, or sliding meshes). Its unit quantity is velocity. HCN Density (in the NOx... category) is the mass per unit volume of HCN. The unit quantity is density. The HCN Density will appear only if you are modeling fuel NOx . See Section 20.1.5: Fuel NOx Formation for details. Helicity (in the Velocity... category) is dened by the dot product of vorticity and the velocity vector. H =( V)V (31.4-18) It provides insight into the vorticity aligned with the uid stream. Vorticity is a measure of the rotation of a uid element as it moves in the ow eld.
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Incident Radiation (in the Radiation... category) is the total radiation energy, G, that arrives at a location per unit time and per unit area: G=
=4
Id
(31.4-19)
where I is the radiation intensity and is the solid angle. G is the quantity that the P-1 radiation model computes. For the DO radiation model, the incident radiation is computed over a nite number of discrete solid angles, each associated with a vector direction. The unit quantity for Incident Radiation is heat-ux. Incident Radiation (Band n) (in the Radiation... category) is the radiation energy contained in the wavelength band for the non-gray DO radiation model. Its unit quantity is heat-ux. Internal Energy (in the Temperature... category) is the summation of the kinetic and potential energies of the molecules of the substance per unit volume (and excludes chemical and nuclear energies). Internal Energy is dened as e = cv T . Its unit quantity is specic-energy. Jet Acoustic Power (in the Acoustics... category) is the acoustic power for turbulent axisymmetric jets (see Equation 21.2-15). It is available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. Jet Acoustic Power Level (dB) (in the Acoustics... category) is the acoustic power for turbulent axisymmetric jets, reported in dB (see Equation 21.2-30). It is available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. Lam Di Coef of species-n (in the Species... category) is the laminar diusion coecient of a species into the mixture, Di,m . Its unit quantity is mass-diusivity. Laminar Flame Speed (in the Premixed Combustion... category) is the propagation speed of laminar premixed ames (Ul in Equation 16.2-4). Its unit quantity is velocity. LEE Self-Noise X-Source, LEE Self-Noise Y-Source, LEE Self-Noise Z-Source (in the Acoustics... category ) are the self-noise source terms in the linearized Euler equation for the acoustic velocity component (see Equation 21.2-35). They are available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. LEE Shear-Noise X-Source, LEE Shear-Noise Y-Source, LEE Shear-Noise Z-Source (in the Acoustics... category ) are the shear-noise source terms in the linearized Euler equation for the acoustic velocity component (see Equation 21.2-35). They are available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used.
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LEE Total Noise X-Source, LEE Total Noise Y-Source, LEE Total Noise Z-Source (in the Acoustics... category ) are the total noise source terms in the linearized Euler equation for the acoustic velocity component (see Equation 21.2-35). The total noise source term is the sum of the self-noise and shear-noise source terms. They are available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. Lilleys Self-Noise Source (in the Acoustics... category ) is the self-noise source term in the linearized Lilleys equation (see Equation 21.2-39), available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. Lilleys Shear-Noise Source (in the Acoustics... category ) is the shear-noise source term in the linearized Lilleys equation (see Equation 21.2-39), available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. Lilleys Total Noise Source (in the Acoustics... category ) is the total noise source term in the linearized Lilleys equation (see Equation 21.2-39). The total noise source term is the sum of the self-noise and shear-noise source terms, available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. Liquid Fraction (in the Solidication/Melting... category) is the liquid fraction computed by the solidication/melting model: = H =0 L H =1 L if if T < Tsolidus T > Tliquidus Tsolidus < T < Tliquidus (31.4-20)
if
H T Tsolidus = L Tliquidus Tsolidus
Mach Number (in the Velocity... category) is the ratio of velocity and speed of sound. Mass fraction of HCN, Mass fraction of NH3, Mass fraction of NO, Mass fraction of N2O (in the NOx... category) are the mass of HCN, the mass of NH3 , the mass of NO, and the mass of N2 O per unit mass of the mixture (e.g., kg of HCN in 1 kg of the mixture). The Mass fraction of HCN and the Mass fraction of NH3 will appear only if you are modeling fuel NOx . See Section 20.1.5: Fuel NOx Formation for details. Mass fraction of nuclei (in the Soot... category) is the number of particles per unit mass of the mixture (in units of particles 1015 /kg) The Mass fraction of nuclei will appear only if you use the two-step soot model. See Section 20.2: Soot Formation for details. Mass fraction of soot (in the Soot... category) is the mass of soot per unit mass of the mixture (e.g., kg of soot in 1 kg of the mixture). See Section 20.2: Soot Formation for details.
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Mass fraction of species-n (in the Species... category) is the mass of a species per unit mass of the mixture (e.g., kg of species in 1 kg of the mixture). Mean quantity-n (in the Unsteady Statistics... category) is the time-averaged value of a solution variable (e.g., Static Pressure). See Section 26.18.4: Postprocessing for Time-Dependent Problems for details. Meridional Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the normalized (dimensionless) coordinate that follows the ow path from inlet to outlet. Its value varies from 0 to 1. Mixture Fraction Variance (in the Pdf... category) is the variance of the mixture fraction solved for in the non-premixed combustion model. This is the second conservation equation (along with the mixture fraction equation) that the non-premixed combustion model solves. (See Section 15.2.1: Denition of the Mixture Fraction.) Modied Turbulent Viscosity (in the Turbulence... category) is the transported quantity that is solved for in the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model (see Equation 11.3-1). The turbulent viscosity, t , is computed directly from this quantity using the relationship given by Equation 11.3-2. Its unit quantity is viscosity. Molar Concentration of species-n (in the Species... category) is the moles per unit volume of a species. Its unit quantity is concentration. Mole fraction of species-n (in the Species... category) is the number of moles of a species in one mole of the mixture. Mole fraction of HCN, Mole fraction of NH3, Mole fraction of NO, Mole fraction of N2O (in the NOx... category) are the number of moles of HCN, NH3 , NO, and N2 O in one mole of the mixture. The Mole fraction of HCN and the Mole fraction of NH3 will appear only if you are modeling fuel NOx . See Section 20.1.5: Fuel NOx Formation for details. Mole fraction of soot (in the Soot... category) is the number of moles of soot in one mole of the mixture. Molecular Prandtl Number (in the Properties... category) is the ratio cp lam /klam . Molecular Viscosity (in the Properties... category) is the laminar viscosity of the uid. Viscosity, , is dened by the ratio of shear stress to the rate of shear. Its unit quantity is viscosity. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. For granular phases, this is equivalent to the solids shear viscosity s in Equation 24.4-62. NH3 Density, NO Density, N2O Density (in the NOx... category) are the mass per unit volume of NH3 , NO and N2 O. The unit quantity for each is density. The NH3 Density will appear only if you are modeling fuel NOx . See Section 20.1.5: Fuel NOx Formation for details.
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NOx... contains quantities related to the NOx model. See Section 20.1: NOx Formation for details about this model. Partition Boundary Cell Distance (in the Grid... category) is the smallest number of cells which must be traversed to reach the nearest partition (interface) boundary. Partition Neighbors (in the Cell Info... category) is the number of adjacent partitions (i.e., those that share at least one partition boundary face (interface)). It gives a measure of the number of messages that will have to be generated for parallel processing. Pdf... contains quantities related to the non-premixed combustion model, which is described in Chapter 15: Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion. Phases... contains quantities for reporting the volume fraction of each phase. See Chapter 24: General Multiphase Models for details. Pitchwise Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the normalized (dimensionless) coordinate in the circumferential (pitchwise) direction. Its value varies from 0 to 1. Preconditioning Reference Velocity (in the Velocity... category) is the reference velocity used in the coupled solvers preconditioning algorithm. See Section 26.4.2: Preconditioning for details. Premixed Combustion... contains quantities related to the premixed combustion model, which is described in Chapter 16: Modeling Premixed Combustion. Pressure... includes quantities related to a normal force per unit area (the impact of the gas molecules on the surfaces of a control volume). Pressure Coecient (in the Pressure... category) is a dimensionless parameter dened by the equation (p pref ) (31.4-21) qref where p is the static pressure, pref is the reference pressure, and qref is the reference dynamic pressure dened by 1 ref vref 2 . The reference pressure, density, and velocity 2 are dened in the Reference Values panel. Cp = Product Formation Rate (in the Premixed Combustion... category) is the source term in the progress variable transport equation (Sc in Equation 16.2-1). Its unit quantity is time-inverse. Production of k (in the Turbulence... category) is the rate of production of turbulence kinetic energy (times density). Its unit quantity is turb-kinetic-energy-production. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list.
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Progress Variable (in the Premixed Combustion... category) is a normalized mass fraction of the combustion products (c = 1) or unburnt mixture products (c = 0), as dened by Equation 16.2-2. Properties... includes material property quantities for uids and solids. Rate of NO (in the NOx... category) is the overall rate of formation of NO due to all active NO formation pathways (e.g., thermal, prompt, etc.). Rate of Nuclei (in the Soot... category) is the overall rate of formation of nuclei. Rate of N2OPath NO (in the NOx... category) is the rate of formation of NO due to the N2O pathway only (only available when N2O pathway is active). Rate of Prompt NO (in the NOx... category) is the rate of formation of NO due to the prompt pathway only (only available when prompt pathway is active). Rate of Reburn NO (in the NOx... category) is the rate of formation of NO due to the reburn pathway only (only available when reburn pathway is active). Rate of SNCR NO (in the NOx... category) is the rate of formation of NO due to the SNCR pathway only (only available when SNCR pathway is active). Rate of Soot (in the Soot... category) is the overall rate of formation of soot mass. Rate of Thermal NO (in the NOx... category) is the rate of formation of NO due to the thermal pathway only (only available when thermal pathway is active). Rate of Fuel NO (in the NOx... category) is the rate of formation of NO due to the fuel pathway only (only available when fuel pathway is active). Rate of USER NO (in the NOx... category) is the rate of formation of NO due to user dened rates only (only available when UDF rates are added). Radial Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the length of the radius vector in the polar coordinate system. The radius vector is dened by a line segment between the node and the axis of rotation. You can dene the rotational axis in the Fluid panel. (See also Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options.) The unit quantity for Radial Coordinate is length. Radial Pull Velocity (in the Solidication/Melting... category) is the radial-direction component of the pull velocity for the solid material in a continuous casting process. Its unit quantity is velocity. Radial Velocity (in the Velocity... category) is the component of velocity in the radial direction. (See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for details.) The unit quantity for Radial Velocity is velocity. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list.
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Radial-Wall Shear Stress (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the radial component of the force acting tangential to the surface due to friction. Its unit quantity is pressure. Radiation... includes quantities related to radiation heat transfer. See Section 12.3: Radiative Heat Transfer for details about the radiation models available in FLUENT. Radiation Heat Flux (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the rate of radiation heat transfer through the control surface. It is calculated by the solver according to the specied radiation model. Heat ux out of the domain is negative, and heat ux into the domain is positive. The unit quantity for Radiation Heat Flux is heat-ux. Radiation Temperature (in the Radiation... category) is the quantity R , dened by R = ( G 1/4 ) 4 (31.4-22)
where G is the Incident Radiation. The unit quantity for Radiation Temperature is temperature. Rate of Reaction-n (in the Reactions... category) is the eective rate of progress of nth reaction. For the nite-rate model, the value is the same as the Arrhenius Rate of Reaction-n. For the eddy-dissipation model, the value is equivalent to the Turbulent Rate of Reaction-n. For the nite-rate/eddy-dissipation model, it is the lesser of the two. Reactions... includes quantities related to nite-rate reactions. See Chapter 14: Modeling Species Transport and Finite-Rate Chemistry for information about modeling nite-rate reactions. Reected Radiation Flux (Band-n) (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the amount of radiative heat ux reected by a semi-transparent wall for a particular band of radiation. Its unit quantity is heat-ux. Reected Visible Solar Flux, Reected IR Solar Flux (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the amount of solar heat ux reected by a semi-transparent wall for a visible or infrared (IR) radiation. Refractive Index (in the Radiation... category) is a nondimensional parameter dened as the ratio of the speed of light in a material to that in vacuum. See Section 12.3.6: Specular Semi-Transparent Walls for details. Relative Axial Velocity (in the Velocity... category) is the axial-direction component of the velocity relative to the reference frame motion. See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for details. The unit quantity for Relative Axial Velocity is velocity.
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Relative Humidity (in the Species... category) is the ratio of the partial pressure of the water vapor actually present in an air-water mixture to the saturation pressure of water vapor at the mixture temperature. FLUENT computes the saturation pressure, p, from the following equation [278]: ln where pc Tc F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 a Tp = = = = = = = = = = = = p pc =
8 Tc 1 Fi [a (T Tp )]i1 T i=1
(31.4-23)
22.089 MPa 647.286 K 7.4192420 2.9721000 101 1.1552860 101 8.6856350 103 1.0940980 103 4.3999300 103 2.5206580 103 5.2186840 104 0.01 338.15 K
Relative Length Scale (DES) (in the Turbulence... category) is dened by Ls = Lsrans Lsles (31.4-24)
where Lsrans is an RANS-based length scale, and Lsles is an LES-based length scale. All of the cells inside the domain in which Ls > 0 belong to the LES region, and all of the cells inside the domain in which Ls < 0 belong to the RANS region. Relative Mach Number (in the Velocity... category) is the nondimensional ratio of the relative velocity and speed of sound. Relative Radial Velocity (in the Velocity... category) is the radial-direction component of the velocity relative to the reference frame motion. (See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for details.) The unit quantity for Relative Radial Velocity is velocity. Relative Swirl Velocity (in the Velocity... category) is the tangential-direction component of the velocity relative to the reference frame motion, in an axisymmetric swirling ow. (See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for details.) The unit quantity for Relative Swirl Velocity is velocity. Relative Tangential Velocity (in the Velocity... category) is the tangential-direction component of the velocity relative to the reference frame motion. (See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for details.) The unit quantity for Relative Tangential Velocity is velocity.
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Relative Total Pressure (in the Pressure... category) is the stagnation pressure computed using relative velocities instead of absolute velocities; i.e., for incompressible ows the dynamic pressure would be computed using the relative velocities. (See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for more information about relative velocities.) The unit quantity for Relative Total Pressure is pressure. Relative Total Temperature (in the Temperature... category) is the stagnation temperature computed using relative velocities instead of absolute velocities. (See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for more information about relative velocities.) The unit quantity for Relative Total Temperature is temperature. Relative Velocity Angle (in the Velocity... category) is similar to the Velocity Angle except that it uses the relative tangential velocity, and is dened as tan1 Its unit quantity is angle. Relative Velocity Magnitude (in the Velocity... category) is the magnitude of the relative velocity vector instead of the absolute velocity vector. The relative velocity (w) is the dierence between the absolute velocity (v) and the grid velocity. For simple rotation, the relative velocity is dened as w vr (31.4-26) relative-tangential-velocity axial-velocity (31.4-25)
where is the angular velocity of a rotating reference frame about the origin and r is the position vector. (See also Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options.) The unit quantity for Relative Velocity Magnitude is velocity. Relative X Velocity, Relative Y Velocity, Relative Z Velocity (in the Velocity... category) are the x-, y-, and z-direction components of the velocity relative to the reference frame motion. (See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for details.) The unit quantity for these variables is velocity. Residuals... contains dierent quantities for the segregated and coupled solvers: In the coupled solvers, this category includes the corrections to the primitive variables pressure, velocity, temperature, and species, as well as the time rate of change of the corrections to these primitive variables for the current iteration (i.e., residuals). Corrections are the changes in the variables between the current and previous iterations and residuals are computed by dividing a cells correction by its physical time step. The total residual for each variable is the summation of the Euler, viscous, and dissipation contributions. The dissipation components are the vector components of the ux-like, face-based dissipation operator.
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In the segregated solver, only the Mass Imbalance in each cell is reported (unless you have requested others, as described in Section 26.19.1: Postprocessing Residual Values). At convergence, this quantity should be small compared to the average mass ow rate. RMS quantity-n (in the Unsteady Statistics... category) is the root mean squared value of a solution variable (e.g., Static Pressure). See Section 26.18.4: Postprocessing for Time-Dependent Problems for details. Rothalpy (in the Temperature... category) is dened as I =h+ w 2 u2 2 2 (31.4-27)
where h is the enthalpy, w is the relative velocity magnitude, and u is the magnitude of the rotational velocity u = r. Scalar-n (in the User Dened Scalars... category) is the value of the nth scalar quantity you have dened as a user-dened scalar. See the separate UDF manual for more information about user-dened scalars. Scalar Dissipation (in the Pdf... category) is one of two parameters that describes the species mass fraction and temperature for a laminar amelet in mixture fraction spaces. It is dened as = 2D| f |2 (31.4-28)
where f is the mixture fraction and D is a representative diusion coecient (see Section 15.3.3: The Flamelet Concept for details). Its unit quantity is time-inverse. Scattering Coecient (in the Radiation... category) is the property of a medium that describes the amount of scattering of thermal radiation per unit path length for propagation in the medium. It can be interpreted as the inverse of the mean free path that a photon will travel before undergoing scattering (if the scattering coecient does not vary along the path). The unit quantity for Scattering Coecient is length-inverse. Secondary Mean Mixture Fraction (in the Pdf... category) is the mean ratio of the secondary stream mass fraction to the sum of the fuel, secondary stream, and oxidant mass fractions. It is the secondary-stream conserved scalar that is calculated by the non-premixed combustion model. See Section 15.2.1: Denition of the Mixture Fraction. Secondary Mixture Fraction Variance (in the Pdf... category) is the variance of the secondary stream mixture fraction that is solved for in the non-premixed combustion model. See Section 15.2.1: Denition of the Mixture Fraction.
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Skin Friction Coecient (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is a nondimensional parameter dened as the ratio of the wall shear stress and the reference dynamic pressure Cf w 1 v2 2 ref ref (31.4-29)
where w is the wall shear stress, and ref and vref are the reference density and velocity dened in the Reference Values panel. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Solar Heat Flux (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the rate of solar heat transfer through the control surface. Heat ux out of the domain is negative and heat ux into the domain is positive. Solidication/Melting... contains quantities related to solidication and melting. Soot... contains quantities related to the Soot model, which is described in Section 20.2: Soot Formation. Soot Density (in the Soot... category) is the mass per unit volume of soot. The unit quantity is density. See Section 20.1.5: Fuel NOx Formation for details. Sound Speed (in the Properties... category) is the acoustic speed. It is computed from p . Its unit quantity is velocity. Spanwise Coordinate (in the Grid... category) is the normalized (dimensionless) coordinate in the spanwise direction, from hub to casing. Its value varies from 0 to 1. species-n Source Term (in the Species... category) is the source term in each of the species transport equations due to reactions. The unit quantity is always kg/m3 -s. Species... includes quantities related to species transport and reactions. Specic Dissipation Rate (Omega) (in the Turbulence... category) is the rate of dissipation of turbulence kinetic energy in unit volume and time. Its unit quantity is time-inverse. Specic Heat (Cp) (in the Properties... category) is the thermodynamic property of specic heat at constant pressure. It is dened as the rate of change of enthalpy with temperature while pressure is held constant. Its unit quantity is specic-heat. Specic Heat Ratio (gamma) (in the Properties... category) is the ratio of specic heat at constant pressure to the specic heat at constant volume. Stored Cell Partition (in the Cell Info... category) is an integer identier designating the partition to which a particular cell belongs. In problems in which the grid is divided into multiple partitions to be solved on multiple processors using the
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parallel version of FLUENT, the partition ID can be used to determine the extent of the various groups of cells. The active cell partition is used for the current calculation, while the stored cell partition (the last partition performed) is used when you save a case le.See Section 32.5.3: Partitioning the Grid Manually for more information. Static Pressure (in the Pressure... category) is the static pressure of the uid. It is a gauge pressure expressed relative to the prescribed operating pressure. The absolute pressure is the sum of the Static Pressure and the operating pressure. Its unit quantity is pressure. Static Temperature (in the Temperature... and Premixed Combustion... categories) is the temperature that is measured moving with the uid. Its unit quantity is temperature. Note that Static Temperature will appear in the Premixed Combustion... category only for adiabatic premixed combustion calculations. See Section 16.3.7: Postprocessing for Premixed Combustion Calculations. Strain Rate (in the Derivatives... category) relates shear stress to the viscosity. Also called the shear rate ( in Equation 8.4-17), the strain rate is related to the second invariant of the rate-of-deformation tensor D. Its unit quantity is time-inverse. In 3D Cartesian coordinates, the strain rate, S, is dened as u x v x w x u u u + + x x y v u v + + x y y w u w + + x z y u v u u w + + + + y x z z x v v v v w + + + + y y z z y w v w w w + + + y z z z z (31.4-30)
S2 =
For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Stream Function (in the Velocity... category) is formulated as a relation between the streamlines and the statement of conservation of mass. A streamline is a line that is tangent to the velocity vector of the owing uid. For a 2D planar ow, the stream function, , is dened such that u y v x (31.4-31)
where is constant along a streamline and the dierence between constant values of stream function dening two streamlines is the mass rate of ow between the streamlines.
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The accuracy of the stream function calculation is determined by the text command /display/set/n-stream-func. Stretch Factor (in the Premixed Combustion... category) is a nondimensional parameter that is dened as the probability of unquenched amelets (G in Equation 16.2-10). Subgrid Filter Length (in the Turbulence... category) is a mixing length for subgrid scales of the LES turbulence model (dened as LS in Equation 11.7-11). Subgrid Kinetic Energy (in the Turbulence... category) is the turbulence kinetic energy per unit mass of the unresolved eddies, ks , calculated using the LES turbulence model. It is dened as ks = t2 L2 s (31.4-32)
Its unit quantity is turbulent-kinetic-energy. Subgrid Turbulent Viscosity (in the Turbulence... category) is the turbulent (dynamic) viscosity of the uid calculated using the LES turbulence model. It expresses the proportionality between the anisotropic part of the subgrid-scale stress tensor and the rate-of-strain tensor. (See Equation 11.7-8.) Its unit quantity is viscosity. Subgrid Turbulent Viscosity Ratio (in the Turbulence... category) is the ratio of the subgrid turbulent viscosity of the uid to the laminar viscosity, calculated using the LES turbulence model. Surface Acoustic Power (in the Acoustics... category) is the Acoustic Power per unit area generated by boundary layer turbulence (see Equation 21.2-34). It is available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. Its unit quantity is power per area. Surface Acoustic Power Level (dB) (in the Acoustics... category) is the Acoustic Power per unit area generated by boundary layer turbulence, and represented in dB (see Equation 21.2-34). It is available only when the Broadband Noise Sources acoustics model is being used. Surface Cluster ID (in the Radiation... category) is used to view the distribution of surface clusters in the domain. Each cluster has a unique integer number (ID) associated with it. Surface Coverage of species-n (in the Species... category) is the amount of a surface species that is deposited on the substrate at a specic point in time. Surface Deposition Rate of species-n (in the Species... category) is the amount of a surface species that is deposited on the substrate. Its unit quantity is mass-ux.
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Surface dpdt RMS (in the Acoustics... category) is the RMS value of the time-derivative of static pressure (p/t). It is available when the Ffowcs-Williams & Hawkings acoustics model is being used. Surface Heat Transfer Coef. (in the Wall Fluxes... category), as dened in FLUENT, is given by the equation q he = (31.4-33) Twall Tref where q is the combined convective and radiative heat ux, Twall is the wall temperature, and Tref is the reference temperature dened in the Reference Values panel. Please note that Tref is a constant value that should be representative of the problem. Its unit quantity is the heat-transfer-coecient. Surface Incident Radiation (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the net incoming radiation heat ux on a surface. Its unit quantity is heat-ux. Surface Nusselt Number (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is a local nondimensional coecient of heat transfer dened by the equation he Lref (31.4-34) k where he is the heat transfer coecient, Lref is the reference length dened in the Reference Values panel, and k is the molecular thermal conductivity. Nu = Surface Stanton Number (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is a nondimensional coecient of heat transfer dened by the equation St = he ref vref cp (31.4-35)
where he is the heat transfer coecient, ref and vref are reference values of density and velocity dened in the Reference Values panel, and cp is the specic heat at constant pressure. Swirl Pull Velocity (in the Solidication/Melting... category) is the tangential-direction component of the pull velocity for the solid material in a continuous casting process. Its unit quantity is velocity. Swirl Velocity (in the Velocity... category) is the tangential-direction component of the velocity in an axisymmetric swirling ow. See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for details. The unit quantity for Swirl Velocity is velocity. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Swirl-Wall Shear Stress (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the swirl component of the force acting tangential to the surface due to friction. Its unit quantity is pressure.
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Tangential Velocity (in the Velocity... category) is the velocity component in the tangential direction. (See Section 31.2: Velocity Reporting Options for details.) The unit quantity for Tangential Velocity is velocity. Temperature... indicates the quantities associated with the thermodynamic temperature of a material. Thermal Conductivity (in the Properties... category) is a parameter (k) that denes the conduction rate through a material via Fouriers law (q = k T ). A large thermal conductivity is associated with a good heat conductor and a small thermal conductivity with a poor heat conductor (good insulator). Its unit quantity is thermal-conductivity. Thermal Di Coef of species-n (in the Species... category) is the thermal diusion coecient for the nth species (DT,i in Equations 8.8-1, 8.8-3, and 8.8-7). Its unit quantity is viscosity. Time Step (in the Residuals... category) is the local time step of the cell, t, at the current iteration level. Its unit quantity is time. Time Step Scale (in the Species... category) is the factor by which the time step is reduced for the sti chemistry solver (available in the coupled solver only). The time step is scaled down based on an eigenvalue and positivity analysis. Total Energy (in the Temperature... category) is the total energy per unit mass. Its unit quantity is specic-energy. For all species models, plots of Total Energy include the sensible, chemical and kinetic energies. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Total Enthalpy (in the Temperature... category) is dened as H + 1 v 2 where H is the 2 Enthalpy, as dened in Equation 12.2-7, and v is the velocity magnitude. Its unit quantity is specic-energy. For all species models, plots of Total Enthalpy consist of the sensible, chemical and kinetic energies. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Total Enthalpy Deviation (in the Temperature... category) is the dierence between Total Enthalpy and the reference enthalpy, H + 1 v 2 Href , where Href is the reference 2 enthalpy dened in the Reference Values panel. However, for non-premixed and partially premixed models, Total Enthalpy Deviation is the dierence between Total Enthalpy and total adiabatic enthalpy (total enthalpy where no heat loss or gain occurs). The unit quantity for Total Enthalpy Deviation is specic-energy. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list.
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Total Pressure (in the Pressure... category) is the pressure at the thermodynamic state that would exist if the uid were brought to zero velocity and zero potential. For compressible ows, the total pressure is computed using isentropic relationships. For constant cp , this reduces to: 1 2 /(1) M (31.4-36) 2 where p is the static pressure, is the ratio of specic heats, and M is the Mach number. For incompressible ows (constant density uid), we use Bernoullis equation, p0 = p + pdyn , where pdyn is the local dynamic pressure. Its unit quantity is pressure. p0 = p 1 + Total Surface Heat Flux (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the rate of total heat transfer through the control surface. It is calculated by the solver according to the boundary conditions being applied at that surface. By denition, heat ux out of the domain is negative, and heat ux into the domain is positive. The unit quantity for Total Surface Heat Flux is heat-ux. Total Temperature (in the Temperature... category) is the temperature at the thermodynamic state that would exist if the uid were brought to zero velocity. For compressible ows, the total temperature is computed from the total enthalpy using the current cp method (specied in the Materials panel). For incompressible ows, the total temperature is equal to the static temperature. The unit quantity for Total Temperature is temperature. Transmitted Radiation Flux (Band-n) (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the amount of radiative heat ux transmitted by a semi-transparent wall for a particular band of radiation. Its unit quantity is heat-ux. Transmitted Visible Solar Flux, Transmitted IR Solar Flux (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the amount of solar heat ux transmitted by a semi-transparent wall for a visible or infrared radiation. Turbulence... includes quantities related to turbulence. See Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence for information about the turbulence models available in FLUENT. Turbulence Intensity (in the Turbulence... category) is the ratio of the magnitude of the RMS turbulent uctuations to the reference velocity:
2 k 3
I=
vref
(31.4-37)
where k is the turbulence kinetic energy and vref is the reference velocity specied in the Reference Values panel. The reference value specied should be the mean velocity magnitude for the ow. Note that turbulence intensity can be dened in
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dierent ways, so you may want to use a custom eld function for its denition. See Section 31.5: Custom Field Functions for more information. Turbulent Dissipation Rate (Epsilon) (in the Turbulence... category) is the turbulent dissipation rate. Its unit quantity is turbulent-energy-diss-rate. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Turbulent Flame Speed (in the Premixed Combustion... category) is the turbulent ame speed computed by FLUENT using Equation 16.2-4. Its unit quantity is velocity. Turbulent Kinetic Energy (k) (in the Turbulence... category) is the turbulence kinetic energy per unit mass dened as 1 k = ui u i (31.4-38) 2 Its unit quantity is turbulent-kinetic-energy. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Turbulent Rate of Reaction-n (in the Reactions... category) is the rate of progress of the nth reaction computed by Equation 14.1-25 or 14.1-26. For the eddy-dissipation model, the value is the same as the Rate of Reaction-n. For the nite-rate model, the value is zero. Turbulent Reynolds Number (Re y) (in the Turbulence... category) is a nondimensional quantity dened as d k lam (31.4-39)
where k is turbulence kinetic energy, d is the distance to the nearest wall, and lam is the laminar viscosity. Turbulent Viscosity (in the Turbulence... category) is the turbulent viscosity of the uid computed using the turbulence model. Its unit quantity is viscosity. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Turbulent Viscosity Ratio (in the Turbulence... category) is the ratio of turbulent viscosity to the laminar viscosity. udm-n (in the User Dened Memory... category) is the value of the quantity in the nth user-dened memory location. Unburnt Fuel Mass Fraction (in the Premixed Combustion... category) is the mass fraction of unburnt fuel. This function is available only for non-adiabatic models. Unsteady Statistics... includes mean and root mean square (RMS) values of solution variables derived from transient ow calculations.
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User Dened Memory... includes quantities that have been allocated to a user-dened memory location. See the separate UDF Manual for details about user-dened memory. User-Dened Scalars... includes quantities related to user-dened scalars. See the separate UDF Manual for information about using user-dened scalars. UU Reynolds Stress (in the Turbulence... category) is the u 2 stress. UV Reynolds Stress (in the Turbulence... category) is the u v stress. UW Reynolds Stress (in the Turbulence... category) is the u w stress. Variance of Species (in the NOx... category) is the variance of the mass fraction of a selected species in the ow eld. It is calculated from Equation 20.1-98. Variance of Species 1, Variance of Species 2 (in the NOx... category) are the variances of the mass fractions of the selected species in the ow eld. They are each calculated from Equation 20.1-98. Variance of Temperature (in the NOx... category) is the variance of the normalized temperature in the ow eld. It is calculated from Equation 20.1-98. Velocity... includes the quantities associated with the rate of change in position with time. The instantaneous velocity of a particle is dened as the rst derivative of the position vector with respect to time, dr/dt, termed the velocity vector, v. Velocity Angle (in the Velocity... category) is dened as follows: For a 2D model, tan1 For a 2D or axisymmetric model, tan1 For a 3D model, tan1 Its unit quantity is angle. tangential-velocity-component axial-velocity-component (31.4-42) radial-velocity-component axial-velocity-component (31.4-41) y-velocity-component x-velocity-component (31.4-40)
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Velocity Magnitude (in the Velocity... category) is the speed of the uid. Its unit quantity is velocity. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Volume fraction (in the Phases... category) is the volume fraction of the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Vorticity Magnitude (in the Velocity... category) is the magnitude of the vorticity vector. Vorticity is a measure of the rotation of a uid element as it moves in the ow eld, and is dened as the curl of the velocity vector: = V (31.4-43)
VV Reynolds Stress (in the Turbulence... category) is the v 2 stress. VW Reynolds Stress (in the Turbulence... category) is the v w stress. Wall Fluxes... includes quantities related to forces and heat transfer at wall surfaces. Wall Func. Heat Tran. Coef. is dened by the equation he =
1/4 1/2 Cp C kp T
(31.4-44)
where Cp is the specic heat, kp is the turbulence kinetic energy at point P , and T is dened in Equation 11.9-5. Wall Shear Stress (in the Wall Fluxes... category) is the force acting tangential to the surface due to friction. Its unit quantity is pressure. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Wall Temperature (Inner Surface) (in the Temperature... category) is the temperature on the inner surface of a wall (corresponding to the side of the wall surface away from the adjacent uid or solid cell zone). Note that wall thermal boundary conditions are applied on this surface. See also Figure 7.13.2. The unit quantity for Wall Temperature (Inner Surface) is temperature. Wall Temperature (Outer Surface) (in the Temperature... category) is the temperature on the outer surface of a wall (corresponding to the side of the wall surface toward the adjacent uid or solid cell zone). Note that wall thermal boundary conditions are applied on the Inner Surface. See also Figure 7.13.2. The unit quantity for Wall Temperature (Outer Surface) is temperature.
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Wall Yplus (in the Turbulence... category) is a nondimensional parameter dened by the equation y+ = u yP (31.4-45)
where u = w /w is the friction velocity, yP is the distance from point P to the wall, is the uid density, and is the uid viscosity at point P . See Section 11.9: Near-Wall Treatments for Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows for details. For multiphase models, this value corresponds to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. Wall Ystar (in the Turbulence... category) is a nondimensional parameter dened by the equation
1/4 C kP yP y = 1/2
(31.4-46)
where kP is the turbulence kinetic energy at point P , yP is the distance from point P to the wall, is the uid density, and is the uid viscosity at point P . See Section 11.9: Near-Wall Treatments for Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows for details. WW Reynolds Stress (in the Turbulence... category) is the w 2 stress. X-Coordinate, Y-Coordinate, Z-Coordinate (in the Grid... category) are the Cartesian coordinates in the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis directions respectively. The unit quantity for these variables is length. X Face Area, Y Face Area, Z Face Area (in the Grid... category) are the components of the boundary face area vectors stored in the adjacent boundary cells. The face area calculations are done as in X Surface Area, Y Surface Area, Z Surface Area (see below), except the area values in the cells with more than one boundary face are not summed to obtain the cell values. Instead, the area value relative to the last visited face of each cell is taken as the cell value. The face area calculation can be restricted to a set of zones. Your zone selection can be made from the Boundary Zones list contained in the Boundary Adaption panel. The face areas will be calculated only on the zones selected, and in order to make your selection active, you need to click the Mark button in the Boundary Adaption panel. Note that if the Boundary Zones list is empty, all boundary zones will be used. X Pull Velocity, Y Pull Velocity, Z Pull Velocity (in the Solidication/Melting... category) are the x, y, and z components of the pull velocity for the solid material in a continuous casting process. The unit quantity for each is velocity.
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X Surface Area, Y Surface Area, Z Surface Area (in the Grid... category) are the components of the boundary face area vectors stored in the adjacent boundary cells. The surface area is accumulated from all boundary faces adjacent to the boundary cell. For each boundary face zone, the component of the face area in the relevant direction (x, y, or z) is added to the cell value of the adjacent cell. For those cells having more than one boundary face, the cell value is the sum (accumulation) of all the boundary face area values. In most circumstances, the X Surface Area, Y Surface Area, Z Surface Area are used for ux and surface integration. In the few instances where area accumulation must be avoided, you can mark the zones of interest and use X Face Area, Y Face Area, Z Face Area (see above) for ux and integral calculations. X Velocity, Y Velocity, Z Velocity (in the Velocity... category) are the components of the velocity vector in the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis directions, respectively. The unit quantity for these variables is velocity. For multiphase models, these values correspond to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list. X-Vorticity, Y-Vorticity, Z-Vorticity (in the Velocity... category) are the x, y, and z components of the vorticity vector. X-Wall Shear Stress, Y-Wall Shear Stress, Z-Wall Shear Stress (in the Wall Fluxes... category) are the x, y, and z components of the force acting tangential to the surface due to friction. The unit quantity for these variables is pressure. For multiphase models, these values correspond to the selected phase in the Phase drop-down list.
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31.5
Custom Field Functions
In addition to the basic eld variables provided by FLUENT (and described in Section 31.4: Alphabetical Listing of Field Variables and Their Denitions), you can also dene your own eld functions to be used in conjunction with any of the commands that use these variables (contour and vector display, XY plots, etc.). This capability is available with the Custom Field Function Calculator panel. You can use the default eld variables, previously dened calculator functions, and calculator operators to create new functions. (Several sample functions are described in Section 31.5.3: Sample Custom Field Functions.) Any eld functions that you dene will be saved in the case le the next time that you save it. You can also save your custom eld functions to a separate le (as described in Section 31.5.2: Manipulating, Saving, and Loading Custom Field Functions), so that they can be used with a dierent case le.
Note that all custom eld functions are evaluated and stored in SI units. Any solver-dened ow variables that you use in your eld-function denition will be automatically converted if they are not already in SI units, but you must be careful to enter constants in the appropriate units. Note also that explicit node values are not available for custom eld functions; all node values for these functions will be computed by averaging the values in the surrounding cells, as described in Section 31.1.2: Node Values.
31.5.1
Creating a Custom Field Function
To create your own eld function, you will use the Custom Field Function Calculator panel (Figure 31.5.1). This panel allows you to dene eld functions based on existing functions, using simple calculator operators. Any functions that you dene will be added to the list of default ow variables and other eld functions provided by the solver. Dene Custom Field Functions...
Recall that you must enter all constants in the function denition in SI units.
The steps for creating a custom eld function are as follows: 1. Use the calculator buttons and the Field Functions list and Select button to specify the function denition, as described below. (As you select each item from the Field Functions list or click a button in the calculator keypad, its symbol will appear in the Denition text entry box. You cannot edit the contents of this box directly; if you want to delete part of a function, use the DEL button on the keypad.) 2. Specify the name of the function in the New Function Name eld.
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31.5 Custom Field Functions
Figure 31.5.1: The Custom Field Function Calculator Panel
Be sure that you do not specify a name that is already used for a standard eld function (e.g., velocity-magnitude); you can see a complete list of the predened eld functions in FLUENT by selecting the display/contours text command and viewing the available choices for contours of.
3. Click the Dene button. When you click Dene, the solver will create the function and add it to the list of Custom Field Functions within the drop-down list of available eld functions. The Dene push button is grayed out after you create a new function or if the Denition text entry box is empty. Should you decide to rename or delete the function after you have completed the denition, you can do so in the Field Function Denitions panel, which you can open by clicking on the Manage... push button. See Section 31.5.2: Manipulating, Saving, and Loading Custom Field Functions for details.
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Using the Calculator Buttons

Your function denition can include many basic calculator operations (e.g., addition, subtraction, multiplication, square root). When you select a calculator button (by clicking on it), the appropriate symbol will appear in the Denition text entry box. The meaning of the buttons is straightforward; they are similar to the buttons you would nd on any standard calculator. You should, however, note the following: The CE/C button will clear the entire Denition and the New Function Name, if you have entered one. The DEL button will delete only the last entry in the Denition text entry box. You can use DEL to delete characters one at a time, starting with the last one entered. To obtain the inverse trigonometric functions arcsin, arccos, and arctan, click the INV button before selecting sin, cos, or tan. The ABS button yields the absolute value of the number that follows it, and the log button yields the natural logarithm of the following number. The PI button represents and the e button represents the base of the natural logarithm system (which is approximately equal to 2.71828).
Using the Field Functions List

Your function denition can also include any of the eld functions dened by the solver (and listed in Section 31.4: Alphabetical Listing of Field Variables and Their Denitions) or by you. To include one of these variables/functions in your function denition, select it in the Field Functions drop-down list and then click the Select button below the list. The symbol for the selected item will appear in the Denition text entry box (e.g., p will appear if you select Static Pressure).
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31.5.2
Manipulating, Saving, and Loading Custom Field Functions
Once you have dened your eld functions, you can manipulate them using the Field Function Denitions panel (Figure 31.5.2). You can display a function denition to be sure that it is correct, delete the function if you decide that it is incorrect and needs to be redened, or give the function a new name. You can also save custom eld functions to a le or read them from a le. The custom eld function le allows you to transfer your custom functions between case les. To open the Field Function Denitions panel, click the Manage... button in the Custom Field Function Calculator panel.
Figure 31.5.2: The Field Function Denitions Panel
The following actions can be performed in the Field Function Denitions panel: To check the denition of a function, select it in the Field Functions list. Its denition will be displayed in the Denition eld. This display is for informational purposes only; you cannot edit it. If you want to change a function denition, you must delete the function and dene it again in the Custom Field Function Calculator panel. To delete a function, select it in the Field Functions list and click the Delete button. To rename a function, select it in the Field Functions list, enter a new name in the Name eld, and click the Rename button.
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Be sure that you do not specify a name that is already used for a standard eld function (e.g., velocity-magnitude); you can see a complete list of the predened eld functions in FLUENT by selecting the display/contours text command and viewing the available choices for contours of.
To save all of the functions in the Field Functions list to a le, click the Save... button and specify the le name in the resulting Select File dialog box (see Section 2.1.2: Select File Dialog Box (Unix or Linux)). To read custom eld functions from a le that you saved as described above, click the Load... button and specify the le name in the resulting Select File dialog box. (Custom eld function les are valid Scheme functions, and can also be loaded with the File/Read/Scheme... menu item, as described in Section 4.15: Reading Scheme Source Files.)
31.5.3
Sample Custom Field Functions
When you are checking the results of your simulation, you may nd it useful to dene some of the following eld functions: To dene a function that determines the ratio of static pressure to inlet total pressure, use the relationship R= p + pop pto + pop (31.5-1)
where p is the static pressure calculated by the solver, pto is the inlet total pressure, and pop is the operating pressure for the problem. Use the solver-dened function Static Pressure for p, and the numerical value that you specied for Gauge Total Pressure in the Pressure Inlet panel for pto . Specify the value of the operating pressure to be the value that you set in the Operating Conditions panel. As discussed in Section 8.13: Operating Pressure, all pressures in FLUENT are gauge pressures relative to the operating pressure. If the operating pressure is zero, as is generally the case for compressible ow calculations, the expression for the pressure ratio reduces to PR = p pto (31.5-2)
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To dene a function that determines the critical velocity ratio v/a , a parameter that is sometimes used in turbomachinery calculations, use the relationship v = a +1 1
1/2
1 PR(1)/
(31.5-3)
In this relationship, a is the critical velocity (i.e., the velocity that would occur for the same stagnation conditions if M = 1), is the ratio of specic heats, and PR is the pressure ratio dened in Equation 31.5-2 for which you created your own function. For , ratio of specic heats, select Specic Heat Ratio (gamma) in the Properties... category. To include PR, select Custom Field Functions... in the rst drop-down list under Field Functions, and then select from the second list the function name that you assigned PR. Suppose you have swirling ow in a pipe, aligned with the z axis, and you want to calculate the ow rate of angular momentum through a cross-sectional plane: rv v dA (31.5-4)
You can create a function for the product rv , where r is the Radial Coordinate and v is the Tangential Velocity. Then use the Surface Integrals panel to compute the ow rate of this quantity.
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Chapter 32.
Parallel Processing
The following sections describe the parallel-processing features of FLUENT. Section 32.1: Introduction to Parallel Processing Section 32.2: Starting the Parallel Version of the Solver Section 32.3: Using the Fluent Launcher (Windows only) Section 32.4: Using a Parallel Network of Workstations Section 32.5: Partitioning the Grid Section 32.6: Checking and Improving Parallel Performance Section 32.7: Running Parallel FLUENT under SGE Section 32.8: Running Parallel FLUENT under LSF Section 32.9: Running Parallel FLUENT under Other Resource Management Tools
32.1
Introduction to Parallel Processing
The FLUENT serial solver manages le input and output, data storage, and ow eld calculations using a single solver process on a single computer. FLUENTs parallel solver allows you to compute a solution by using multiple processes that may be executing on the same computer, or on dierent computers in a network. Figures 32.1.1 and 32.1.2 illustrate the serial and parallel FLUENT architectures. Parallel processing in FLUENT involves an interaction between FLUENT, a host process, and a set of compute-node processes. FLUENT interacts with the host process and the collection of compute nodes using a utility called cortex that manages FLUENTs user interface and basic graphical functions. Parallel FLUENT splits up the grid and data into multiple partitions, then assigns each grid partition to a dierent compute process (or node). The number of partitions is an integral multiple of the number of compute nodes available to you (e.g., 8 partitions for 1, 2, 4, or 8 compute nodes). The compute-node processes can be executed on a massively-parallel computer, a multiple-CPU workstation, or a network of workstations using the same or dierent operating systems.
32-1
Parallel Processing
CORTEX
Solver
File Input/Output
Data: Cell Face Node
Disk
Figure 32.1.1: Serial FLUENT Architecture
In general, as the number of compute nodes increases, turnaround time for the solution will decrease. However, parallel eciency decreases as the ratio of communication to computation increases, so you should be careful to choose a large enough problem for the parallel machine.
FLUENT uses a host process that does not contain any grid data. Instead, the host process only interprets commands from FLUENTs graphics-related interface, cortex. The host distributes those commands to the other compute nodes via a socket communicator to a single designated compute node called compute-node-0. This specialized compute node distributes the host commands to the other compute nodes. Each compute node simultaneously executes the same program on its own data set. Communication from the compute nodes to the host is possible only through compute-node-0 and only when all compute nodes have synchronized with each other. Each compute node is virtually connected to every other compute node, and relies on its communicator to perform such functions as sending and receiving arrays, synchronizing, performing global operations (such as summations over all cells), and establishing machine connectivity. A FLUENT communicator is a message-passing library. For example, the message-passing library could be a vendor implementation of the Message Passing Interface (MPI) standard, as depicted in Figure 32.1.2. All of the parallel FLUENT processes (as well as the serial process) are identied by a unique integer ID. The host collects messages from compute-node-0 and performs operations (such as printing, displaying messages, and writing to a le) on all of the data, in the same way as the serial solver.
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32.1 Introduction to Parallel Processing
CORTEX
HOST
FLUENT MPI
File Input/Output
Disk
COMPUTE NODES
Compute Node 0 Compute Node 1
FLUENT MPI
FLUENT MPI
Socket
MP
FLUENT MPI FLUENT MPI
Compute Node 2
Compute Node 3
Figure 32.1.2: Parallel FLUENT Architecture
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Recommended Usage of Parallel FLUENT

The recommended procedure for using parallel FLUENT is as follows: 1. Start up the parallel solver and spawn additional compute nodes (if necessary). See Sections 32.2 and 32.4 for details. 2. Read your case le and have FLUENT partition the grid automatically upon loading it. It is best to partition after the problem is set up, since partitioning has some model dependencies (e.g., adaption on non-conformal interfaces, sliding-mesh and shell-conduction encapsulation). Note that there are other approaches for partitioning, including manual partitioning in either the serial or the parallel solver. See Section 32.5: Partitioning the Grid for details. 3. Review the partitions and perform partitioning again, if necessary. See Section 32.5.5: Checking the Partitions for details on checking your partitions. 4. Calculate a solution. See Section 32.6: Checking and Improving Parallel Performance for information on checking and improving the parallel performance.
32.2 Starting the Parallel Version of the Solver

The way you start the parallel version of FLUENT depends on whether you are using a dedicated parallel machine or a workstation cluster.
32.2.1
Starting the Parallel Solver on a UNIX System
You can run FLUENT on a UNIX dedicated parallel machine or a network of UNIX workstations. The procedures for starting these versions are described in this section.
Running on a Multiprocessor UNIX Machine

To run FLUENT on a dedicated parallel machine (i.e., a multiprocessor workstation or a massively parallel machine), type the usual startup command without a version (i.e., fluent), and then use the Select Solver panel (Figure 32.2.1) to specify the parallel architecture and version information. File Run... 1. Under Versions, specify the 3D or 2D single- or double-precision version by turning the 3D and Double Precision options on or o, and turn on the Parallel option.
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Figure 32.2.1: The Select Solver Panel
2. Under Options, select the message-passing library in the Communicator drop-down list. The Default library is recommended, because it selects the library that should provide the best overall parallel performance for your dedicated parallel machine. If you prefer to select a specic library, you can choose either Vendor MPI or Shared Memory MPI (MPICH). Vendor MPI selects the message-passing library optimized by your hardware vendor. If the parallel toolkit supplied by your hardware vendor is installed on your machine, FLUENT will detect it automatically when the Default option is selected. Shared Memory MPI (MPICH) selects the MPICH messagepassing library, a public-domain version of MPI. 3. Set the number of CPUs in the Processes eld. 4. Click the Run button to start the parallel version. No additional setup is required once the solver starts. If you prefer to start the parallel version from the command line, you can type fluent version -tn [-pcomm] [-loadhost] [-pathpath] where version is 2d, 3d, 2ddp, or 3ddp, and n is replaced by the number of CPUs to be used. The remaining arguments are optional, as indicated by the square brackets around
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them. (If you enter one or more of these optional arguments, do not include the square brackets.) comm is replaced by the name of the parallel communication library, host is replaced by the hostname of the machine to launch the compute nodes (by default, it is set to the machine youre using when entering this command), and path is replaced by the root path to the Fluent.Inc installation directory.
In general, you will need to specify -pcomm only if you want to override the default communication library (which should provide best overall parallel performance).
The available communicators for dedicated parallel UNIX machines are listed below (Tables 32.2.1 and 32.2.2), along with their associated communication libraries, the corresponding syntax, and the supported architectures (See Step 2, above, for a description of these libraries): Table 32.2.1: Available communicators for UNIX platforms (per platform) Platform Linux Ultra SGI HP Processor 32 bit 64 bit Itanium 32 bit 64 bit 32 bit 64 bit 32 bit 64 bit Parish 64 bit Itanium 64 bit 64 bit 32 bit 64 bit Architecture lnx86 lnia64 ultra ultra64 irix65 mips4 irix65 mips4 64 hpux11 hpux11 64 hpux11 ia64 alpha fujitsu pp aix51 aix51 64 Communicators beo, net, nmpi, scampi, smpi net, nmpi, smpi net, nmpi, smpi, vmpi net, smpi, vmpi net, nmpi, smpi, vmpi net, nmpi, smpi, vmpi net, nmpi, smpi, vmpi net, nmpi, smpi, vmpi net, vmpi net, nmpi, smpi, vmpi, tmpi net, nmpi, vmpi net, nmpi, smpi, vmpi net, nmpi, smpi, vmpi
DEC Fujitsu IBM
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Table 32.2.2: Available communicators for UNIX platforms (per communicator) Communicator Syntax (ag) Commun. Supports Vendor Library spawnimpl. ing availnodes able (costs) socket yes no network MPI (MPICH) shared MPI (MPICH) Vendor MPI no no Used with DMM *** yes yes Used with SMM ** yes yes Platform
net nmpi
-pnet -pnmpi
all platforms all platforms all platforms all platforms except Linux Linux Linux DEC
smpi
-psmpi
no
no
no
yes
vmpi
-pvmpi
no
yes
yes
yes
beo * scampi * tmpi
-pbeo beowoulf -pscampi SCAMPI -ptmpi MPI
no no no
no no no
yes yes yes
yes yes yes
* Not formally qualied in FLUENT but vendor might support. * SMM is Shared Memory Machine where the memory is shared between the processors on a single machine. ** DMM is Distributed Memory Machine where each processor has its own memory associated with it. nmpi is recommended to be used with DMM if vmpi is not available, and smpi is recommended to be used with SMM if vmpi is not available.
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Running on a UNIX Workstation Cluster

To run FLUENT on a network of UNIX workstations, type the usual startup command without a version (i.e., fluent), and then use the Select Solver panel (Figure 32.2.1) to specify the parallel architecture and version information. File Run... 1. Under Versions, specify the 3D or 2D single- or double-precision version by turning the 3D and Double Precision options on or o, and turn on the Parallel option. 2. Under Options, select the Socket message-passing library in the Communicator dropdown list.
When you start the parallel network version, you must select Socket or Network MPI (MPICH) in the Communicator drop-down list, unless the vendor MPI library (described earlier in this section) supports clustering. If you keep the Default option, one of the MPI parallel versions will start instead, and you will be unable to spawn additional compute nodes.
3. Set the number of initial compute node processes to spawn on the host machine in the Processes eld. You can start with 1 or 0 nodes and spawn the rest later on, as described in Section 32.4.1: Conguring the Network. 4. (optional) Specify the name of a le containing a list of machines, one per line, in the Hosts File eld. If the number of Processes is set to 0, FLUENT will spawn a compute node on each machine listed in the le. 5. Click the Run button to start the parallel network version. If you prefer to start the parallel network version from the command line, you can type fluent version -t1 -pnet (to use the socket communicator) or fluent version -t1 -pnmpi (to use the network MPI communicator) to start the solver with 1 compute node on the host workstation. You can then spawn additional processes on remote workstations using the Network Conguration panel, as described in Section 32.4.1: Conguring the Network. You can type fluent version -t0 -pnet [-cnf=hostsle] (to use the socket communicator) or fluent version -t0 -pnmpi [-cnf=hostsle]
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(to use the network MPI communicator) to start a host process that controls compute nodes situated on remote machines. If the optional -cnf=hostsle is specied, a compute node will be spawned on each machine listed in the le hostsle. (If you enter this optional argument, do not include the square brackets.) Otherwise, you can spawn the processes as described in Section 32.4.1: Conguring the Network.
32.2.2
Starting the Parallel Solver on a LINUX System
You can run FLUENT on a LINUX dedicated parallel machine or a network of LINUX workstations. The procedures for starting these versions are described in this section.
Running on a Multiprocessor LINUX Machine

To run FLUENT on a dedicated parallel machine (i.e., a multiprocessor workstation or a massively parallel machine), type the usual startup command without a version (i.e., fluent), and then use the Select Solver panel (Figure 32.2.1) to specify the parallel architecture and version information. File Run... 1. Under Versions, specify the 3D or 2D single- or double-precision version by turning the 3D and Double Precision options on or o, and turn on the Parallel option. 2. Under Options, select the message-passing library in the Communicator drop-down list. The Default library is recommended, because it selects the library that should provide the best overall parallel performance for your dedicated parallel machine. If you prefer to select a specic library, you can choose either Vendor MPI or Shared Memory MPI (MPICH). Vendor MPI selects the message-passing library optimized by your hardware vendor. If the parallel toolkit supplied by your hardware vendor is installed on your machine, FLUENT will detect it automatically when the Default option is selected. Shared Memory MPI (MPICH) selects the MPICH messagepassing library, a public-domain version of MPI. 3. Set the number of CPUs in the Processes eld. 4. Click the Run button to start the parallel version. No additional setup is required once the solver starts. If you prefer to start the parallel version from the command line, you can type fluent version -tn [-pcomm] [-loadhost] [-pathpath] where version is 2d, 3d, 2ddp, or 3ddp, and n is replaced by the number of CPUs to be used. The remaining arguments are optional, as indicated by the square brackets around them. (If you enter one or more of these optional arguments, do not include the square
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brackets.) comm is replaced by the name of the parallel communication library, host is replaced by the hostname of the machine to launch the compute nodes (by default, it is set to the machine youre using when entering this command), and path is replaced by the root path to the Fluent.Inc installation directory.
In general, you will need to specify -pcomm only if you want to override the default communication library (which should provide best overall parallel performance).
The available communicators for dedicated parallel lnx86 LINUX machines are listed in Tables 32.2.1 and 32.2.2, along with the associated communication libraries and corresponding syntax. FLUENT supplies the necessary components for the ssh, nmpi, smpi, and net communicators. As for the rest, you need to contact the vendor directly. See step 2, above, for a description of these libraries.
Running on a LINUX Workstation Cluster

To run FLUENT on a network of LINUX workstations, type the usual startup command without a version (i.e., fluent), and then use the Select Solver panel (Figure 32.2.1) to specify the parallel architecture and version information. File Run... 1. Under Versions, specify the 3D or 2D single- or double-precision version by turning the 3D and Double Precision options on or o, and turn on the Parallel option. 2. Under Options, select the Socket message-passing library in the Communicator dropdown list.
When you start the parallel network version, you must select Socket or Network MPI (MPICH) in the Communicator drop-down list, unless the vendor MPI library (described earlier in this section) supports clustering. If you keep the Default option, one of the MPI parallel versions will start instead, and you will be unable to spawn additional compute nodes.
3. Set the number of initial compute node processes to spawn on the host machine in the Processes eld. You can start with 1 or 0 nodes and spawn the rest later on, as described in Section 32.4.1: Conguring the Network. 4. (optional) Specify the name of a le containing a list of machines, one per line, in the Hosts File eld. If the number of Processes is set to 0, FLUENT will spawn a compute node on each machine listed in the le. 5. Click the Run button to start the parallel network version.
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If you prefer to start the parallel network version from the command line, you can type fluent version -t1 -pnet (to use the socket communicator) or fluent version -t1 -pnmpi (to use the network MPI communicator) to start the solver with 1 compute node on the host workstation. You can then spawn additional processes on remote workstations using the Network Conguration panel, as described in Section 32.4.1: Conguring the Network. You can type fluent version -t0 -pnet [-cnf=hostsle] (to use the socket communicator) or fluent version -t0 -pnmpi [-cnf=hostsle] (to use the network MPI communicator) to start a host process that controls compute nodes situated on remote machines. If the optional -cnf=hostsle is specied, a compute node will be spawned on each machine listed in the le hostsle. (If you enter this optional argument, do not include the square brackets.) Otherwise, you can spawn the processes as described in Section 32.4.1: Conguring the Network.
Running With Multiple Network Cards

For Linux machines (lnx86, lnia64, and lnamd64) that have multiple network cards using either the net or the mpi communicators, you can choose a specic network card for your calculations. When nodes on a cluster have multiple network cards (fast ethernet and gigabyte, for example), FLUENT allows you to choose a particular network card for the computation by specifying the appropriate name or IP address in the host le.
32.2.3
Starting the Parallel Solver on a Windows System
You can run FLUENT on a Windows dedicated parallel machine or a network of Windows machines. The procedures for starting these versions are described in this section.
Running on a Multiprocessor Windows Machine

On a Windows system, you can start the dedicated parallel version of FLUENT from the MS-DOS Command Prompt window. To start the parallel version on x processors, type fluent version -tx at the prompt, replacing version with the solver version (2d, 3d, 2ddp, or 3ddp) and x with the number of processors (e.g., fluent 3d -t3 to run the 3D version on 3 proces-
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sors). (See Section 1.1.3: Starting FLUENT on a Windows System for information about modifying your user environment if the fluent command is not recognized.)
Running on a Windows Cluster

There are several ways to run FLUENT in parallel on a network of Windows machines: using one of the communicators that is included with the FLUENT distribution, or using either a vendor-supplied or a public domain message-passing interface. The available communicators for dedicated parallel ntx86 Windows machines, the associated communication libraries for them, and the corresponding syntax are listed below: Table 32.2.3: Available communicators for Windows platform (per platform) Platform Windows Processor 32 bit Architecture ntx86 Communicators net, nmpi, smpi, vmpi
Table 32.2.4: Available communicators for Windows platform (per communicator) Communicator Syntax Commun. Supports Library spawning nodes socket network MPI (MPICH) shared MPI (MPICH) Vendor MPI yes no Vendor impl. available (costs) no no Used with DMM ** yes yes Used with SMM * yes yes
net nmpi
-pnet -pnmpi
smpi
-psmpi
no
no
no
yes
vmpi
-pvmpi
no
yes
yes
yes
* SMM is Shared Memory Machine where the memory is shared between the processors on a single machine. * DMM is Distributed Memory Machine where each processor has its own memory associated with it. nmpi is recommended to be used with DMM if vmpi is not available, and smpi is recommended to be used with SMM if vmpi is not available.
See the installation instructions for Windows parallel for details about obtaining and installing one of these programs. The startup instructions below assume that you have properly set up the necessary software, based on the appropriate installation instructions.
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Starting the Socket-Based Parallel Version of FLUENT If you are using the socket version for network communication, type the following in an MS-DOS Command Prompt window: fluent version -tnprocs -pnet [-cnf=hostle] -pathsharename where version must be replaced by the version of FLUENT you want to run (2d, 3d, 2ddp, or 3ddp). -pathsharename species the shared network name for the Fluent.Inc directory in UNC form. For example, if FLUENT has been installed on computer1, then you should replace sharename by the UNC name for the shared directory, \\computer1\fluent.inc. -cnf=hostle (optional) species the hostle, which contains a list of the computers on which you want to run the parallel job. If the hostle is not located in the directory where you are typing the startup command, you will need to supply the full pathname to the le. (If you include the -cnf option, do not include the square brackets; see the example below.) You can use a plain text editor like Notepad to create the hostle. The only restriction on the lename is that there should be no spaces in it. For example, hosts.txt is an acceptable hostle name, but my hosts.txt is not. Your hostle (e.g., hosts.txt) might contain the following entries: computer1 computer2
The rst computer in the list must be the name of the local computer you are working on. The last entry must be followed by a blank line.
If a computer in the network is a multiprocessor, you can list it more than once. For example, if computer1 has 2 CPUs, then, to take advantage of both CPUs, the hosts.txt le should list computer1 twice: computer1 computer1 computer2 If you do not include the -cnf option, FLUENT will start nprocs (see below) processes on the computer where you type the startup command. You can then use the Network Conguration panel in FLUENT to interactively spawn additional nodes on the cluster. See Section 32.4: Using a Parallel Network of Workstations for details.
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-tnprocs species the number of processes to use. If the -cnf option is present, the hostle argument is used to determine which computers to use for the parallel job. For example, if there are 10 computers listed in the hostle and you want to run a job with 5 processes, set nprocs to 5 (i.e., -t5) and FLUENT will use the rst 5 machines listed in the hostle. You can use the Network Conguration panel to kill processes or spawn additional processes after startup. See Section 32.4: Using a Parallel Network of Workstations for details. As an example, the full command line to start a 3D socket-based parallel job on the rst 3 computers listed in a hostle called hosts.txt is as follows:
fluent 3d -t3 -pnet -cnf=hosts.txt -path\\computer1\fluent.inc
Starting the MPI-Based Parallel Version of FLUENT If you are using either vendor-supplied or public domain MPI software for network communication, type the following in an MS-DOS Command Prompt window: fluent version -tnprocs -pcomm -cnf=hostle -pathsharename where comm can be either nmpi or vmpi and the remaining options have the same meanings as for the socket-based startup described above, with the following dierences: The hostle specication is required. You can neither spawn nor kill nodes on the cluster using the Network Conguration panel when MPI software is used. The rst computer listed in the hostle must be the name of the local computer you are working on. As an example, the full command line to start a 3D vendor-MPI-based parallel job on the rst 3 computers listed in a hostle called hosts.txt is as follows:
fluent 3d -t3 -pvmpi -cnf=hosts.txt -path\\computer1\fluent.inc
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32.3 Using the Fluent Launcher (Windows only)
32.3
Using the Fluent Launcher (Windows only)
The Fluent Launcher (Figure 32.3.1), is a stand-alone Windows application that allows you to launch FLUENT jobs from a computer with a Windows operating system to a cluster of computers. The Fluent Launcher takes the options that you specify in the main Fluent Launcher panel and the Fluent Setup panel (see Section 32.3.1: Fluent Launcher Path Setup and Section 32.3.2: Fluent Launcher Machine Setup), and uses those settings to create a FLUENT parallel command. This command will then be distributed to your network where typically another application may manage the session(s). You can create a shortcut on your desktop pointing to the Fluent Launcher executable at FLUENT_INC\fluent6.x\launcher\bin\launcher.exe where FLUENT INC is the root path to where FLUENT is installed, (i.e., usually the FLUENT INC environment variable) and x indicates the release version of FLUENT).
Figure 32.3.1: The Fluent Launcher Panel
The Fluent Launcher allows you to perform the following: 1. Set options for your FLUENT executable, such as specifying an area, indicating a release type, or a version number. 2. Indicate either a serial or parallel execution, along with the number of parallel processes, and a communicator to use for parallel computations.
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3. Set additional options such as specifying a working directory, a batch mode, or a journal le. When you are ready to launch your serial or parallel application, click the Launch button.
For parallel applications, you are required to have the RSH daemon installed on each machine.
Using the Fluent Launcher From Another Machine

If you wish to use the Fluent Launcher from another machine, you can create a shortcut on that machine pointing to the original executable (at FLUENT INC/fluent6.x/launcher/ bin/launcher.exe where FLUENT INC is the root path to where FLUENT is installed, (i.e., usually the FLUENT INC environment variable) and x indicates the release version of FLUENT).
Do not copy or move the launcher.exe le from its original directory to any other directory, otherwise the Fluent Launcher application will not work.
Setting Executable Options With the Fluent Launcher

Under Executable Options, you can use the Fluent Launcher to indicate the version of the FLUENT executable that you want to run. You can also specify a release number, and the area from which you are running the code. Under Area, you can choose from either release or prototype. The release option represents the nal version of the current software (either a FLUENT release or a FLUENT maintenance release). The prototype option represents a FLUENT prototype or pre-release (beta) version of the software. Under Release, you can specify the number associated with a given release, maintenance release or prototype application. Under Version, you can specify the dimensionality and the precision of the FLUENT product. There are four possible choices: 2d, 2ddp, 3d, or 3ddp. The 2d and 3d options provide single precision results for two-dimensional or three-dimensional problems, respectively. The 2ddp and 3ddp options provide double precision results for two-dimensional or threedimensional problems, respectively.
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Setting Parallel Options With the Fluent Launcher

Under Parallel Options, you can use the Fluent Launcher to indicate whether you want to run FLUENT in serial mode or in parallel mode. To run FLUENT in serial mode, make sure the Parallel option is turned o. To run FLUENT in parallel, make sure the Parallel option is turned on. When the Parallel option is turned on, you can indicate the number of parallel processes that you will be running, as well as the type of parallel communicator that you need to use. Use the Processes eld to indicate the number of parallel processes. The range of parallel processes ranges from 1 to 1024. If Processes is equal to 1, you might want to consider running the FLUENT job in serial mode. Use the Communicator eld to indicate the type of parallel communicator that you require. There are several options, based on the operating system of the parallel cluster. See Tables 32.2.1, 32.2.2, and 32.2.3 for more information.
Setting Additional Options With the Fluent Launcher

Under Additional Options, you can use the Fluent Launcher to indicate a working directory, whether you want to run FLUENT using batch mode, list executed commands, or whether or not use a journal le. In the Directory eld, enter the path of your current working directory or click Browse... to browse through your directory structure. Select the Journal File option to instruct the Fluent Launcher application to use a journal le. Once selected, provide the path to the journal le and the name of the journal le. Using the journal le, you can automatically load the case, compile any user-dened functions, iterate until the solution converges, and write results to a output le. Select the Batch Mode option in order to run and quit out of FLUENT jobs without the graphical user interface (GUI).
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32.3.1
Fluent Launcher Path Setup
The Fluent Launcher can be used to set up path information for your FLUENT jobs through the Paths tab in the Fluent Setup panel (Figure 32.3.2). To access the Fluent Setup panel, click the Setup... button in the Fluent Launcher.
Figure 32.3.2: The Paths Tab in the Fluent Setup Panel
The Paths tab in the Fluent Setup panel allows you to use a set of custom path congurations. New setup information is saved for this session and future sessions when you click the Apply button. When you are nished setting up your custom path conguration, click the Close button to dismiss the Fluent Setup panel.
Windows Setup
When you choose to use your own path conguration information, you can then indicate the Release path on the Windows platform. This eld holds the path to the release area for Windows executables.
Make sure that the path is a UNC path (i.e., accessible to all nodes).
If you have turned on the Enable Prototype option, then you have the additional option of selecting the path to the prototype area for Windows executables using the Prototype eld under Windows Paths
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UNIX Setup
When you choose to use your own path conguration information, you can then indicate the Release path on the UNIX platform. This eld holds the path to the release area for UNIX executables. If you have turned on the Enable Prototype option, then you have the additional option of selecting the path to the prototype area for UNIX executables using the Prototype eld under UNIX Paths.
i
32.3.2
Note that UNIX paths are not veried.
Fluent Launcher Machine Setup
The Fluent Launcher can be used to set up dierent machine congurations for your FLUENT jobs through the Machines tab in the Fluent Setup panel (Figure 32.3.3). To access the Fluent Setup panel, click the Setup... button in the Fluent Launcher. The Machines tab in the Fluent Setup panel allows you to use a dierent machine conguration. New setup conguration is saved for the current session and future sessions when you click the Apply button. Machines listed at the top of the list will be used rst.
Figure 32.3.3: The Machines Tab in the Fluent Setup Panel
Using the Machines tab in the Fluent Setup Panel, you can create and edit a listing of machine names that you want involved in the parallel FLUENT job. You can add a machine name to the Current Machines list by entering a name in the Machine Name eld and clicking the Add button.
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You can remove a machine name from the Current Machines list by selecting the name in the list and clicking the Remove button. You can manipulate how the names are listed in the Current Machines list by selecting a name in the list and using the Up button to move the name one listing closer to the top of the list. Likewise, you can move a name one listing closer to the bottom of the list by selecting the name and clicking the Down button. When you are nished setting up your machine conguration, click the Close button to dismiss the Fluent Setup panel.
32.3.3
Fluent Launcher Example
The Fluent Launcher takes the options that you have specied in the main Fluent Launcher panel and the Fluent Setup panel, and uses those settings to create a FLUENT parallel command. This command will then be distributed to your network where typically another application may manage the session(s). For example, if, in the main Fluent Launcher panel, under Executable Options, you selected release for the Area, 6.1.28 for the Release, and 3d for the Version. Then, under Parallel Options, you selected Parallel, chose 2 for the number of Processes, and selected net for the Communicator. Then, in the Fluent Setup panel (clicking the Setup... button), you specied \\Server\Fluent.Inc, for Release under Windows Path, and added my pc to the list of Current Machines in the Machines tab. Finally, you clicked the Apply button in the Fluent Setup panel and then clicked the Launch button. The Fluent Launcher would then generate the following parallel command: FLUENT_INC\ntbin\ntx86\fluent -r6.1.28 3d -t2 -pnet -path\FLUENT\_HOME -cnf="machines_file" where FLUENT INC indicates the directory where Fluent.Inc is located and machines file indicates the location of the machine conguration le that the Fluent Launcher generates. This le contains the names of the machines (e.g., my pc) indicated in the Machines tab in the Fluent Setup panel.
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32.4 Using a Parallel Network of Workstations
32.4
Using a Parallel Network of Workstations
You can create a virtual parallel machine by spawning (and killing) compute node processes on workstations connected by a network. Multiple compute node processes are allowed to exist on the same workstation, even if the workstation contains only a single CPU.
32.4.1
Conguring the Network
If you want to spawn compute nodes on several dierent machines, or if you want to make any changes to the current network conguration (e.g., if you accidentally spawned too many compute nodes on the host machine when you started the solver), you can use the Network Conguration panel (Figure 32.4.1). Parallel Network Congure...
Figure 32.4.1: The Network Conguration Panel
Note that not all communicators allow you to congure a network of spawned compute nodes if you do not start FLUENT using host les. Only -pnet allows you to manually spawn additional compute nodes before reading the case le. Using -pnmpi, for example, does not allow you to congure the network of spawned compute nodes.
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Structure of the Network

Compute nodes are labeled sequentially starting at 0. In addition to the compute node processes, there is one host process. The host process is automatically started when FLUENT starts, and it is killed when FLUENT exits. It cannot be killed while running. Compute nodes, however, can be killed at any time, with the exception that compute node 0 can only be killed if it is the last remaining compute node process. The host process always spawns compute node 0. Compute node 0 spawns all other compute nodes.
Steps for Spawning Compute Nodes

The basic steps for spawning compute nodes are as follows: 1. Choose the host machine(s) on which to spawn compute nodes in the Available Hosts list. If the desired machine is not listed, you can use the Host Entry elds to manually add a host (as described below), or you can copy the desired host from the host database (as described in Section 32.4.2: The Hosts Database). 2. Set the number of compute node processes to spawn on each selected host machine in the Spawn Count eld. 3. Click the Spawn button and the new node(s) will be spawned and added to the Spawned Compute Nodes list. Additional functions related to network conguration are described below. Adding Hosts Manually To add a host to the Available Hosts list in the Network Conguration panel manually, you can enter the internet name of the remote machine in the Hostname eld under Host Entry, enter your login name on that machine in the Username eld (unless your accounts all have the same login name, in which case you need not specify a username), and then click the Add button. The specied host will be added to the Available Hosts list.
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Deleting Hosts To delete a host from the Available Hosts list in the Network Conguration panel, select the host and click the Delete button. The host name will be removed from the Available Hosts list (but the hosts database (see Section 32.4.2: The Hosts Database) will not be aected). Killing Compute Nodes If you spawn an undesired compute node, you can easily remove it by selecting it in the Spawned Compute Nodes list and clicking on the Kill button.
Remember that compute node 0 can only be killed if it is the last remaining compute node process.
Saving a Hosts File If you have compiled a group of Available Hosts that you may want to use again in another session, you can save a hosts le containing all entries in the Available Hosts list. Click the Save... button and, in the resulting Select File dialog box, enter the name of the le and save it. In a future session, you can load the contents of this le into the hosts database (see Section 32.4.2: The Hosts Database) and then copy the hosts over to the Network Conguration panel in order to reproduce the current Available Hosts list.
Common Problems Encountered During Node Spawning

The spawning process will try to establish a connection with a new compute node, but if after 50 seconds it receives no response from the new compute node, it will assume the spawn was unsuccessful. The spawn will be unsuccessful, for example, if the remote machine is unable to nd the FLUENT executable. To manually test if the spawning machine can start a new compute node, you can type rsh [-l username] hostname fluent -t0 -v from a shell prompt on the spawning machine. hostname should be replaced with the internet name of the machine on which you want to spawn a compute node, and username should be replaced with your login name on the remote machine specied by hostname.
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If all your accounts have the same login name, you do not need to specify a username. (The square brackets around -l username indicate that it is not always required; if you do enter a login name, do not include the square brackets.) Note that on some systems, the remote shell command is remsh instead of rsh.
The spawn test could fail for several reasons: Login incorrect. The machine spawning a new compute node must be able to rsh to the machine where the new process will reside, or the spawn will fail. There are several ways to enable this capability. Consult your systems administrator for assistance. uent: Command not found. The rsh to the remote machine succeeded, but the path to the FLUENT shell script could not be found on that machine. If you are using csh, then the path to the FLUENT shell script should be added to the path variable in your .cshrc le. If that also fails, you can use the parallel/network/ path text command to set the path to the Fluent.Inc installation directory directly before spawning the compute node. parallel network path
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32.4.2
The Hosts Database
When you are creating a parallel network of workstations, it is convenient to start with a list of machines that are part of your local network (a hosts le). You can load a le containing these names into the hosts database and then select the hosts that are available for creating a parallel conguration (or network) on a cluster of workstations using the Hosts Database panel (Figure 32.4.2). Parallel Network Database...
Figure 32.4.2: The Hosts Database Panel
(You can also open this panel by clicking on the Database... button in the Network Conguration panel.) If the hosts le fluent.hosts or .fluent.hosts exists in your home directory, its contents are automatically added to the hosts database at startup. Otherwise, the hosts database will be empty until you read in a host le.
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Reading Hosts Files

If you have a hosts le containing a list of machines on your local network, you can load this le into the Hosts Database panel by clicking on the Load... button and specifying the le name in the resulting Select File dialog box. Once the contents of the le have been read, the host names will appear in the Hosts list. (FLUENT will automatically add the IP (Internet Protocol) address for each recognized machine. If a machine is not currently on the local network, it will be labeled unknown.)
Copying Hosts to the Network Conguration Panel

If you want to copy one or more of the Hosts in the Hosts Database panel to the Available Hosts list in the Network Conguration panel, select the desired name(s) in the Hosts list and click the Copy button. The selected hosts will be added to the list of Available Hosts on which you can spawn nodes.
32.4.3 Checking Network Connectivity

For any compute node, you can print network connectivity information that includes the hostname, architecture, process ID, and ID of the selected compute node and all machines connected to it. The ID of the selected compute node is marked with an asterisk. The ID for the FLUENT host process is always host. The compute nodes are numbered sequentially starting from node-0. All compute nodes are completely connected. In addition, compute node 0 is connected to the host process. To obtain connectivity information for a compute node, you can use the Parallel Connectivity panel (Figure 32.4.3). Parallel Show Connectivity...
Figure 32.4.3: The Parallel Connectivity Panel
Indicate the compute node ID for which connectivity information is desired in the Compute Node eld, and then click the Print button. Sample output for compute node 0 is shown below:
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32.5 Partitioning the Grid
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------ID Comm. Hostname O.S. PID Mach ID HW ID Name -----------------------------------------------------------------------------host net balin Linux-32 17272 0 7 Fluent Host n3 smpi balin Linux-32 17307 1 10 Fluent Node n2 smpi filio Linux-32 17306 0 -1 Fluent Node n1 smpi bofur Linux-32 17305 0 1 Fluent Node n0* smpi balin Linux-32 17273 2 11 Fluent Node
O.S is the architecture, Comm. is the communicator, PID is the process ID number, Mach ID is the compute node ID, and HW ID is an identier specic to the communicator used. You can also check connectivity of a compute node in the Network Conguration panel by selecting it in the Spawned Compute Nodes list and clicking on the Connectivity button. If you click the Connectivity button without selecting any of the Spawned Compute Nodes, the Parallel Connectivity panel will open, and you can specify the node there, as described above. If you select more than one of the Spawned Compute Nodes, clicking on the Connectivity button will print connectivity information for each selected node.
32.5
Partitioning the Grid
Information about grid partitioning is provided in the following sections: Section 32.5.1: Overview of Grid Partitioning Section 32.5.2: Partitioning the Grid Automatically Section 32.5.3: Partitioning the Grid Manually Section 32.5.4: Grid Partitioning Methods Section 32.5.5: Checking the Partitions Section 32.5.6: Load Distribution
32.5.1
Overview of Grid Partitioning
When you use the parallel solver in FLUENT, you need to partition or subdivide the grid into groups of cells that can be solved on separate processors (see Figure 32.5.1). You can either use the automatic partitioning algorithms when reading an unpartitioned grid into the parallel solver (recommended approach, described in Section 32.5.2: Partitioning the Grid Automatically), or perform the partitioning yourself in the serial solver or after reading a mesh into the parallel solver (as described in Section 32.5.3: Partitioning the Grid Manually). In either case, the available partitioning methods are those described in Section 32.5.4: Grid Partitioning Methods. You can partition the grid before or after
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you set up the problem (by dening models, boundary conditions, etc.), although it is better to partition after the setup, due to some model dependencies (e.g., adaption on non-conformal interfaces, sliding-mesh and shell-conduction encapsulation).
If your case le contains sliding meshes, or non-conformal interfaces on which you plan to perform adaption during the calculation, you will have to partition it in the serial solver. See Sections 32.5.2 and 32.5.3 for more information.
Note that the relative distribution of cells among compute nodes will be maintained during grid adaption, except if non-conformal interfaces are present, so repartitioning after adaption is not required. See Section 32.5.6: Load Distribution for more information. If you use the serial solver to set up the problem before partitioning, the machine on which you perform this task must have enough memory to read in the grid. If your grid is too large to be read into the serial solver, you can read the unpartitioned grid directly into the parallel solver (using the memory available in all the dened hosts) and have it automatically partitioned. In this case you will set up the problem after an initial partition has been made. You will then be able to manually repartition the case if necessary. See Sections 32.5.2 and 32.5.3 for additional details and limitations, and Section 32.5.5: Checking the Partitions for details about checking the partitions.
Before Partitioning
Domain
Interface Boundary
After Partitioning
Partition 0
Partition 1
Figure 32.5.1: Partitioning the Grid
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32.5.2
Partitioning the Grid Automatically
For automatic grid partitioning, you can select the bisection method and other options for creating the grid partitions before reading a case le into the parallel version of the solver. For some of the methods, you can perform pretesting to ensure that the best possible partition is performed. See Section 32.5.4: Grid Partitioning Methods for information about the partitioning methods available in FLUENT. Note that if your case le contains sliding meshes, or non-conformal interfaces on which you plan to perform adaption during the calculation, you will need to partition it in the serial solver, and then read it into the parallel solver, with the Case File option turned on in the Auto Partition Grid panel (the default setting). The procedure for partitioning automatically in the parallel solver is as follows: 1. (optional) Set the partitioning parameters in the Auto Partition Grid panel (Figure 32.5.2). Parallel Auto Partition...
Figure 32.5.2: The Auto Partition Grid Panel
If you are reading in a mesh le or a case le for which no partition information is available, and you keep the Case File option turned on, FLUENT will partition the grid using the method displayed in the Method drop-down list. If you want to specify the partitioning method and associated options yourself, the procedure is as follows: (a) Turn o the Case File option. The other options in the panel will become available. (b) Select the bisection method in the Method drop-down list. The choices are the techniques described in Section 32.5.4: Bisection Methods. (c) You can choose to independently apply partitioning to each cell zone, or you can allow partitions to cross zone boundaries using the Across Zones check
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button. It is recommended that you not partition cells zones independently (by turning o the Across Zones check button) unless cells in dierent zones will require signicantly dierent amounts of computation during the solution phase (e.g., if the domain contains both solid and uid zones). (d) If you have chosen the Principal Axes or Cartesian Axes method, you can improve the partitioning by enabling the automatic testing of the dierent bisection directions before the actual partitioning occurs. To use pretesting, turn on the Pre-Test option. Pretesting is described in Section 32.5.4: Pretesting. (e) Click OK. If you have a case le where you have already partitioned the grid, and the number of partitions divides evenly into the number of compute nodes, you can keep the default selection of Case File in the Auto Partition Grid panel. This instructs FLUENT to use the partitions in the case le. 2. Read the case le. File Read Case...
Reporting During Auto Partitioning

As the grid is automatically partitioned, some information about the partitioning process will be printed in the text (console) window. If you want additional information, you can print a report from the Partition Grid panel after the partitioning is completed. Parallel Partition... When you click the Print Active Partitions or Print Stored Partitions button in the Partition Grid panel, FLUENT will print the partition ID, number of cells, faces, and interfaces, and the ratio of interfaces to faces for each active or stored partition in the console window. In addition, it will print the minimum and maximum cell, face, interface, and faceratio variations. See Section 32.5.5: Interpreting Partition Statistics for details. You can examine the partitions graphically by following the directions in Section 32.5.5: Checking the Partitions.
32.5.3
Partitioning the Grid Manually
Automatic partitioning in the parallel solver (described in Section 32.5.2: Partitioning the Grid Automatically) is the recommended approach to grid partitioning, but it is also possible to partition the grid manually in either the serial solver or the parallel solver. After automatic or manual partitioning, you will be able to inspect the partitions created (see Section 32.5.5: Checking the Partitions) and optionally repartition the grid, if necessary. Again, you can do so within the serial or the parallel solver, using the Partition Grid panel. A partitioned grid may also be used in the serial solver without any loss in performance.
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Guidelines for Partitioning the Grid

The following steps are recommended for partitioning a grid manually: 1. Partition the grid using the default bisection method (Principal Axes) and optimization (Smooth). 2. Examine the partition statistics, which are described in Section 32.5.5: Interpreting Partition Statistics. Your aim is to achieve small values of Interface ratio variation and Global interface ratio while maintaining a balanced load (Cell variation). If the statistics are not acceptable, try one of the other bisection methods. 3. Once you determine the best bisection method for your problem, you can turn on Pre-Test (see Section 32.5.4: Pretesting) to improve it further, if desired. 4. You can also improve the partitioning using the Merge optimization, if desired. Instructions for manual partitioning are provided below.
Using the Partition Grid Panel

For grid partitioning, you need to select the bisection method for creating the grid partitions, set the number of partitions, select the zones and/or registers, and choose the optimizations to be used. For some methods, you can also perform pretesting to ensure that the best possible bisection is performed. Once you have set all the parameters in the Partition Grid panel to your satisfaction, click the Partition button to subdivide the grid into the selected number of partitions using the prescribed method and optimization(s). See above for recommended partitioning strategies. You can set the relevant inputs in the Partition Grid panel (Figure 32.5.3 in the parallel solver, or Figure 32.5.4 in the serial solver) in the following manner: Parallel Partition... 1. Select the bisection method in the Method drop-down list. The choices are the techniques described in Section 32.5.4: Bisection Methods. 2. Set the desired number of grid partitions in the Number integer number eld. You can use the counter arrows to increase or decrease the value, instead of typing in the box. The number of grid partitions must be an integral multiple of the number of processors available for parallel computing.
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Figure 32.5.3: The Partition Grid Panel in the Parallel Solver
Figure 32.5.4: The Partition Grid Panel in the Serial Solver
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3. You can choose to independently apply partitioning to each cell zone, or you can allow partitions to cross zone boundaries using the Across Zones check button. It is recommended that you not partition cells zones independently (by turning o the Across Zones check button) unless cells in dierent zones will require signicantly dierent amounts of computation during the solution phase (e.g., if the domain contains both solid and uid zones). 4. You can select Encapsulate Grid Interfaces if you would like the cells surrounding all non-conformal grid interfaces in your mesh to reside in a single partition at all times during the calculation. If your case le contains non-conformal interfaces on which you plan to perform adaption during the calculation, you will have to partition it in the serial solver, with the Encapsulate Grid Interfaces and Encapsulate for Adaption options turned on. 5. If you have enabled the Encapsulate Grid Interfaces option in the serial solver, the Encapsulate for Adaption option will also be available. When you select this option, additional layers of cells are encapsulated such that transfer of cells will be unnecessary during parallel adaption. 6. You can activate and control the desired optimization methods (described in Section 32.5.4: Optimizations) using the items under Optimizations. You can activate the Merge and Smooth schemes by turning on the Do check button next to each one. For each scheme, you can also set the number of Iterations. Each optimization scheme will be applied until appropriate criteria are met, or the maximum number of iterations has been executed. If the Iterations counter is set to 0, the optimization scheme will be applied until completion, without limit on the maximum number of iterations. 7. If you have chosen the Principal Axes or Cartesian Axes method, you can improve the partitioning by enabling the automatic testing of the dierent bisection directions before the actual partitioning occurs. To use pretesting, turn on the Pre-Test option. Pretesting is described in Section 32.5.4: Pretesting. 8. In the Zones and/or Registers lists, select the zone(s) and/or register(s) for which you want to partition. For most cases, you will select all Zones (the default) to partition the entire domain. See below for details. 9. Click the Partition button to partition the grid. 10. If you decide that the new partitions are better than the previous ones (if the grid was already partitioned), click the Use Stored Partitions button to make the newly stored cell partitions the active cell partitions. The active cell partition is used for the current calculation, while the stored cell partition (the last partition performed) is used when you save a case le.
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11. When using the dynamic mesh model in your parallel simulations, the Partition panel includes an Auto Repartition option and a Repartition Interval setting. These parallel partitioning options are provided because FLUENT migrates cells when local remeshing and smoothing is performed. Therefore, the partition interface becomes very wrinkled and the load balance may deteriorate. By default, the Auto Repartition option is selected, where a percentage of interface faces and loads are automatically traced. When this option is selected, FLUENT automatically determines the most appropriate repartition interval based on various simulation parameters. Sometimes, using the Auto Repartition option provides insucient results, therefore, the Repartition Interval setting can be used. The Repartition Interval setting lets you to specify the interval (in time steps or iterations respectively) when a repartition is enforced. When repartitioning is not desired, then you can set the Repartition Interval to zero.
Note that when dynamic meshes and local remeshing is utilized, updated meshes may be slightly dierent in parallel FLUENT (when compared to serial FLUENTor when compared to a parallel solution created with a different number of compute nodes), resulting in very small dierences in the solutions.
Partitioning Within Zones or Registers The ability to restrict partitioning to cell zones or registers gives you the exibility to apply dierent partitioning strategies to subregions of a domain. For example, if your geometry consists of a cylindrical plenum connected to a rectangular duct, you may want to partition the plenum using the Cylindrical Axes method, and the duct using the Cartesian Axes method. If the plenum and the duct are contained in two dierent cell zones, you can select one at a time and perform the desired partitioning, as described in Section 32.5.3: Using the Partition Grid Panel. If they are not in two dierent cell zones, you can create a cell register (basically a list of cells) for each region using the functions that are used to mark cells for adaption. These functions allow you to mark cells based on physical location, cell volume, gradient or isovalue of a particular variable, and other parameters. See Chapter 27: Grid Adaption for information about marking cells for adaption. Section 27.11.1: Manipulating Adaption Registers provides information about manipulating dierent registers to create new ones. Once you have created a register, you can partition within it as described above.
Note that partitioning within zones or registers is not available when Metis is selected as the partition Method.
For dynamic mesh applications (see item 11 above), FLUENT stores the partition method used to partition the respective zone. Therefore, if repartitioning is done, FLUENT uses the same method that was used to partition the mesh.
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Reporting During Partitioning As the grid is partitioned, information about the partitioning process will be printed in the text (console) window. By default, the solver will print the number of partitions created, the number of bisections performed, the time required for the partitioning, and the minimum and maximum cell, face, interface, and face-ratio variations. (See Section 32.5.5: Interpreting Partition Statistics for details.) If you increase the Verbosity to 2 from the default value of 1, the partition method used, the partition ID, number of cells, faces, and interfaces, and the ratio of interfaces to faces for each partition will also be printed in the console window. If you decrease the Verbosity to 0, only the number of partitions created and the time required for the partitioning will be reported. You can request a portion of this report to be printed again after the partitioning is completed. When you click the Print Active Partitions or Print Stored Partitions button in the parallel solver, FLUENT will print the partition ID, number of cells, faces, and interfaces, and the ratio of interfaces to faces for each active or stored partition in the console window. In addition, it will print the minimum and maximum cell, face, interface, and face-ratio variations. In the serial solver, you will obtain the same information about the stored partition when you click Print Partitions. See Section 32.5.5: Interpreting Partition Statistics for details.
Recall that to make the stored cell partitions the active cell partitions you must click the Use Stored Partitions button. The active cell partition is used for the current calculation, while the stored cell partition (the last partition performed) is used when you save a case le.
Resetting the Partition Parameters If you change your mind about your partition parameter settings, you can easily return to the default settings assigned by FLUENT by clicking on the Default button. When you click the Default button, it will become the Reset button. The Reset button allows you to return to the most recently saved settings (i.e., the values that were set before you clicked on Default). After execution, the Reset button will become the Default button again.
32.5.4
Grid Partitioning Methods
Partitioning the grid for parallel processing has three major goals: Create partitions with equal numbers of cells. Minimize the number of partition interfacesi.e., decrease partition boundary surface area. Minimize the number of partition neighbors.
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Balancing the partitions (equalizing the number of cells) ensures that each processor has an equal load and that the partitions will be ready to communicate at about the same time. Since communication between partitions can be a relatively time-consuming process, minimizing the number of interfaces can reduce the time associated with this data interchange. Minimizing the number of partition neighbors reduces the chances for network and routing contentions. In addition, minimizing partition neighbors is important on machines where the cost of initiating message passing is expensive compared to the cost of sending longer messages. This is especially true for workstations connected in a network. The partitioning schemes in FLUENT use bisection algorithms to create the partitions, but unlike other schemes which require the number of partitions to be a factor of two, these schemes have no limitations on the number of partitions. For each available processor, you will create the same number of partitions (i.e., the total number of partitions will be an integral multiple of the number of processors).
Bisection Methods
The grid is partitioned using a bisection algorithm. The selected algorithm is applied to the parent domain, and then recursively applied to the child subdomains. For example, to divide the grid into four partitions, the solver will bisect the entire (parent) domain into two child domains, and then repeat the bisection for each of the child domains, yielding four partitions in total. To divide the grid into three partitions, the solver will bisect the parent domain to create two partitionsone approximately twice as large as the otherand then bisect the larger child domain again to create three partitions in total. The grid can be partitioned using one of the algorithms listed below. The most ecient choice is problem-dependent, so you can try dierent methods until you nd the one that is best for your problem. See Section 32.5.3: Guidelines for Partitioning the Grid for recommended partitioning strategies. Cartesian Axes bisects the domain based on the Cartesian coordinates of the cells (see Figure 32.5.5). It bisects the parent domain and all subsequent child subdomains perpendicular to the coordinate direction with the longest extent of the active domain. It is often referred to as coordinate bisection. Cartesian Strip uses coordinate bisection but restricts all bisections to the Cartesian direction of longest extent of the parent domain (see Figure 32.5.6). You can often minimize the number of partition neighbors using this approach. Cartesian X-, Y-, Z-Coordinate bisects the domain based on the selected Cartesian coordinate. It bisects the parent domain and all subsequent child subdomains perpendicular to the specied coordinate direction. (See Figure 32.5.6.)
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Cartesian R Axes bisects the domain based on the shortest radial distance from the cell centers to that Cartesian axis (x, y, or z) which produces the smallest interface size. This method is available only in 3D. Cartesian RX-, RY-, RZ-Coordinate bisects the domain based on the shortest radial distance from the cell centers to the selected Cartesian axis (x, y, or z). These methods are available only in 3D. Cylindrical Axes bisects the domain based on the cylindrical coordinates of the cells. This method is available only in 3D. Cylindrical R-, Theta-, Z-Coordinate bisects the domain based on the selected cylindrical coordinate. These methods are available only in 3D. Metis uses the METIS software package for partitioning irregular graphs, developed by Karypis and Kumar at the University of Minnesota and the Army HPC Research Center. It uses a multilevel approach in which the vertices and edges on the ne graph are coalesced to form a coarse graph. The coarse graph is partitioned, and then uncoarsened back to the original graph. During coarsening and uncoarsening, algorithms are applied to permit high-quality partitions. Detailed information about METIS can be found in its manual [161].
Note that when using the socket version (-pnet), the METIS partitioner is not available. In this case, METIS partitioning can be obtained using the partition lter, as described below.
Polar Axes bisects the domain based on the polar coordinates of the cells (see Figure 32.5.9). This method is available only in 2D. Polar R-Coordinate, Polar Theta-Coordinate bisects the domain based on the selected polar coordinate (see Figure 32.5.9). These methods are available only in 2D. Principal Axes bisects the domain based on a coordinate frame aligned with the principal axes of the domain (see Figure 32.5.7). This reduces to Cartesian bisection when the principal axes are aligned with the Cartesian axes. The algorithm is also referred to as moment, inertial, or moment-of-inertia partitioning. This is the default bisection method in FLUENT. Principal Strip uses moment bisection but restricts all bisections to the principal axis of longest extent of the parent domain (see Figure 32.5.8). You can often minimize the number of partition neighbors using this approach. Principal X-, Y-, Z-Coordinate bisects the domain based on the selected principal coordinate (see Figure 32.5.8).
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Spherical Axes bisects the domain based on the spherical coordinates of the cells. This method is available only in 3D. Spherical Rho-, Theta-, Phi-Coordinate bisects the domain based on the selected spherical coordinate. These methods are available only in 3D.
3.00e+00
2.25e+00
1.50e+00
7.50e-01
0.00e+00 Contours of Cell Partition
Figure 32.5.5: Partitions Created with the Cartesian Axes Method
Optimizations
Additional optimizations can be applied to improve the quality of the grid partitions. The heuristic of bisecting perpendicular to the direction of longest domain extent is not always the best choice for creating the smallest interface boundary. A pre-testing operation (see Section 32.5.4: Pretesting) can be applied to automatically choose the best direction before partitioning. In addition, the following iterative optimization schemes exist: Smooth attempts to minimize the number of partition interfaces by swapping cells between partitions. The scheme traverses the partition boundary and gives cells to the neighboring partition if the interface boundary surface area is decreased. (See Figure 32.5.10.) Merge attempts to eliminate orphan clusters from each partition. An orphan cluster is a group of cells with the common feature that each cell within the group has at least one face which coincides with an interface boundary. (See Figure 32.5.11.) Orphan clusters can degrade multigrid performance and lead to large communication costs.
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3.00e+00
2.25e+00
1.50e+00
7.50e-01
Figure 32.5.6: Partitions Created with the Cartesian Strip or Cartesian XCoordinate Method
3.00e+00
2.25e+00
1.50e+00
7.50e-01
Figure 32.5.7: Partitions Created with the Principal Axes Method
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3.00e+00
2.25e+00
1.50e+00
7.50e-01
Figure 32.5.8: Partitions Created with the Principal Strip or Principal XCoordinate Method
3.00e+00
2.25e+00
1.50e+00
7.50e-01
Figure 32.5.9: Partitions Created with the Polar Axes or Polar ThetaCoordinate Method
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Figure 32.5.10: The Smooth Optimization Scheme
Figure 32.5.11: The Merge Optimization Scheme
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In general, the Smooth and Merge schemes are relatively inexpensive optimization tools.
Pretesting
If you choose the Principal Axes or Cartesian Axes method, you can improve the bisection by testing dierent directions before performing the actual bisection. If you choose not to use pretesting (the default), FLUENT will perform the bisection perpendicular to the direction of longest domain extent. If pretesting is enabled, it will occur automatically when you click the Partition button in the Partition Grid panel, or when you read in the grid if you are using automatic partitioning. The bisection algorithm will test all coordinate directions and choose the one which yields the fewest partition interfaces for the nal bisection. Note that using pretesting will increase the time required for partitioning. For 2D problems partitioning will take 3 times as long as without pretesting, and for 3D problems it will take 4 times as long.
Using the Partition Filter

As noted above, you can use the METIS partitioning method through a lter in addition to within the Auto Partition Grid and Partition Grid panels. To perform METIS partitioning on an unpartitioned grid, use the File/Import/Partition/Metis... menu item. File Import Partition Metis... FLUENT will use the METIS partitioner to partition the grid, and then read the partitioned grid into the solver. The number of partitions will be equal to the number of processes. You can then proceed with the model denition and solution.
Direct import to the parallel solver through the partition lter requires that the host machine has enough memory to run the lter for the specied grid. If not, you will need to run the lter on a machine that does have enough memory. You can either start the parallel solver on the machine with enough memory and repeat the process described above, or run the lter manually on the new machine and then read the partitioned grid into the parallel solver on the host machine.
To manually partition a grid using the partition lter, enter the following command: utility partition input-lename partition-count output-lename where input-lename is the lename for the grid to be partitioned, partition-count is the number of partitions desired, and output-lename is the lename for the partitioned grid. You can then read the partitioned grid into the solver (using the standard File/Read/Case... menu item) and proceed with the model denition and solution.
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When the File/Import/Partition/Metis... menu item is used to import an unpartitioned grid into the parallel solver, the METIS partitioner partitions the entire grid. You may also partition each cell zone individually, using the File/Import/Partition/Metis Zone... menu item. File Import Partition Metis Zone... This method can be useful for balancing the work load. For example, if a case has a uid zone and a solid zone, the computation in the uid zone is more expensive than in the solid zone, so partitioning each zone individually will result in a more balanced work load.
32.5.5
Checking the Partitions
After partitioning a grid, you should check the partition information and examine the partitions graphically.
Interpreting Partition Statistics

You can request a report to be printed after partitioning (either automatic or manual) is completed. In the parallel solver, click the Print Active Partitions or Print Stored Partitions button in the Partition Grid panel. In the serial solver, click the Print Partitions button. FLUENT distinguishes between two cell partition schemes within a parallel problem: the active cell partition and the stored cell partition. Initially, both are set to the cell partition that was established upon reading the case le. If you re-partition the grid using the Partition Grid panel, the new partition will be referred to as the stored cell partition. To make it the active cell partition, you need to click the Use Stored Partitions button in the Partition Grid panel. The active cell partition is used for the current calculation, while the stored cell partition (the last partition performed) is used when you save a case le. This distinction is made mainly to allow you to partition a case on one machine or network of machines and solve it on a dierent one. Thanks to the two separate partitioning schemes, you could use the parallel solver with a certain number of compute nodes to subdivide a grid into an arbitrary dierent number of partitions, suitable for a dierent parallel machine, save the case le, and then load it into the designated machine. When you click Print Partitions in the serial solver, you will obtain information about the stored partition. The output generated by the partitioning process includes information about the recursive subdivision and iterative optimization processes. This is followed by information about the nal partitioned grid, including the partition ID, number of cells, number of faces, number of interface faces, ratio of interface faces to faces for each partition, number of neighboring partitions, and cell, face, interface, neighbor, mean cell, face ratio, and global face ratio variations. Global face ratio variations are the minimum and maximum values of the respective quantities in the present partitions. For example, in the sample
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output below, partitions 0 and 3 have the minimum number of interface faces (10), and partitions 1 and 2 have the maximum number of interface faces (19); hence the variation is 1019. Your aim is to achieve small values of Interface ratio variation and Global interface ratio while maintaining a balanced load (Cell variation).
>> Partitions: P Cells I-Cells Cell Ratio 0 134 10 0.075 1 137 19 0.139 2 134 19 0.142 3 137 10 0.073 -----Partition count Cell variation Mean cell variation Intercell variation Intercell ratio variation Global intercell ratio Face variation Interface variation Interface ratio variation Global interface ratio Neighbor variation
Faces I-Faces Face Ratio Neighbors 217 10 0.046 1 222 19 0.086 2 218 19 0.087 2 223 10 0.045 1 = = = = = = = = = = = 4 (134 - 137) ( -1.1% (10 - 19) ( 7.3% 10.7% (217 - 223) (10 - 19) ( 4.5% 3.4% (1 - 2)
1.1%) 14.2%)
8.7%)
Computing connected regions; type ^C to interrupt. Connected region count = 4
Note that partition IDs correspond directly to compute node IDs when a case le is read into the parallel solver. When the number of partitions in a case le is larger than the number of compute nodes, but is evenly divisible by the number of compute nodes, then the distribution is such that partitions with IDs 0 to (M 1) are mapped onto compute node 0, partitions with IDs M to (2M 1) onto compute node 1, etc., where M is equal to the ratio of the number of partitions to the number of compute nodes.
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Examining Partitions Graphically

To further aid interpretation of the partition information, you can draw contours of the grid partitions, as illustrated in Figures 32.5.532.5.9. Display Contours... To display the active cell partition or the stored cell partition (which are described above), select Active Cell Partition or Stored Cell Partition in the Cell Info... category of the Contours Of drop-down list, and turn o the display of Node Values. (See Section 29.1.2: Displaying Contours and Proles for information about displaying contours.)
i
32.5.6
If you have not already done so in the setup of your problem, you will need to perform a solution initialization in order to use the Contours panel.
Load Distribution
If the speeds of the processors that will be used for a parallel calculation dier signicantly, you can specify a load distribution for partitioning, using the load-distribution text command. parallel partition set load-distribution For example, if you will be solving on three compute nodes, and one machine is twice as fast as the other two, then you may want to assign twice as many cells to the rst machine as to the others (i.e., a load vector of (2 1 1)). During subsequent grid partitioning, partition 0 will end up with twice as many cells as partitions 1 and 2. Note that for this example, you would then need to start up FLUENT such that compute node 0 is the fast machine, since partition 0, with twice as many cells as the others, will be mapped onto compute node 0. Alternatively, in this situation, you could enable the load balancing feature (described in Section 32.6.3: Load Balancing) to have FLUENT automatically attempt to discern any dierence in load among the compute nodes.
If you adapt a grid that contains non-conformal interfaces, and you want to rebalance the load on the compute nodes, you will have to save your case and data les after adaption, read the case and data les into the serial solver, repartition using the Encapsulate Grid Interfaces and Encapsulate for Adaption options in the Partition Grid panel, and save case and data les again. You will then be able to read the manually repartitioned case and data les into the parallel solver, and continue the solution from where you left it.
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32.6
Checking and Improving Parallel Performance
To determine how well the parallel solver is working, you can measure computation and communication times, and the overall parallel eciency, using the performance meter. You can also control the amount of communication between compute nodes in order to optimize the parallel solver, and take advantage of the automatic load balancing feature of FLUENT.
32.6.1
Checking Parallel Performance
The performance meter allows you to report the wall clock time elapsed during a computation, as well as message-passing statistics. Since the performance meter is always activated, you can access the statistics by printing them after the computation is completed. To view the current statistics, use the Parallel/Timer/Usage menu item. Parallel Timer Usage Performance statistics will be printed in the text window (console). To clear the performance meter so that you can eliminate past statistics from the future report, use the Parallel/Timer/Reset menu item. Parallel Timer Reset
32.6.2
Improving Input/Output Speed
By default, FLUENT reads in and automatically distributes the complete domain over the entire network of compute nodes, increasing the speed of your parallel processes. If the host machine has sucient memory, you can slightly improve the parallel performance using the text command interface (TUI). parallel set fast-io? The fast-io? command allows you to still maintain the same benets of speed. However, the complete domain is read on the host machine rst and then distributed, thus requiring the host machine to have sucient memory.
32.6.3
Optimizing the Parallel Solver
Increasing the Report Interval

In FLUENT, you can reduce communication and improve parallel performance by increasing the report interval for residual printing/plotting or other solution monitoring reports. You can modify the value for Reporting Interval in the Iterate panel. Solve Iterate...
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32.6 Checking and Improving Parallel Performance
Note that you will be unable to interrupt iterations until the end of each report interval.
Load Balancing
A dynamic load balancing capability is available in FLUENT. The principal reason for using parallel processing is to reduce the turnaround time of your simulation, ideally by a factor proportional to the collective speed of the computing resources used. If, for example, you were using four CPUs to solve your problem, then you would expect to reduce the turnaround time by a factor of four. This is of course the ideal situation, and assumes that there is very little communication needed among the CPUs, that the CPUs are all of equal speed, and that the CPUs are dedicated to your job. In practice, this is often not the case. For example, CPU speeds can vary if you are solving in parallel on a heterogeneous collection of workstations, other jobs may be competing for use of one or more of the CPUs, and network trac either from within the parallel solver or generated from external sources may delay some of the necessary communication among the CPUs. If you enable dynamic load balancing in FLUENT, the load across the computational and networking resources will be monitored periodically. If the load balancer determines that performance can be improved by redistributing the cells among the compute nodes, it will automatically do so. There is a time penalty associated with load balancing itself, and so it is disabled by default. If you will be using a dedicated homogeneous resource, or if you are using a heterogeneous resource but have accounted for dierences in CPU speeds during partitioning by specifying a load distribution (see Section 32.5.6: Load Distribution), then you may not need to use load balancing.
Note that when the shell conduction model is used, you will not be able to turn on load balancing.
To enable and control FLUENTs automatic load balancing feature, use the Load Balance panel (Figure 32.6.1). Load balancing will automatically detect and analyze parallel performance, and redistribute cells between the existing compute nodes to optimize it. Parallel Load Balance... The procedure for using load balancing is as follows: 1. Turn on the Load Balancing option. 2. Select the bisection method to create new grid partitions in the Partition Method drop-down list. The choices are the techniques described in Section 32.5.4: Bisection Methods. As part of the automatic load balancing procedure, the grid will be repartitioned into several small partitions using the specied method. The resulting partitions will then be distributed among the compute nodes to achieve a more balanced load.
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Figure 32.6.1: The Load Balance Panel
3. Specify the desired Balance Interval. When a value of 0 is specied, FLUENT will internally determine the best value to use, initially using an interval of 25 iterations. You can override this behavior by specifying a non-zero value. FLUENT will then attempt to perform load balancing after every N iterations, where N is the specied Balance Interval. You should be careful to select an interval that is large enough to outweigh the cost of performing the load balancing operations. Note that you can interrupt the calculation at any time, turn the load balancing feature o (or on), and then continue the calculation.
If problems arise in your computations due to adaption, you can turn o the automatic load balancing, which occurs any time that mesh adaption is performed in parallel.
To instruct the solver to skip the load balancing step, issue the following command: (disable-load-balance-after-adaption) To return to the default behavior use the following command: (enable-load-balance-after-adaption)
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32.7 Running Parallel FLUENT under SGE
32.7
Running Parallel FLUENT under SGE
Sun Grid Engine (SGE) software is a distributed computing resource management tool that you can use with either the serial or the parallel version of FLUENT. FLUENT submits a process to the SGE software, then SGE selects the most suitable machine to process the FLUENT simulation. You can congure SGE and select the criteria by which SGE determines the most suitable machine for the FLUENT simulation. Among many other features, running a FLUENT simulation using SGE allows you to: Save the current status of the job (i.e., in the case of FLUENT saving .case and .data les, also known as checkpointing.) Migrate the simulation to another machine Restart the simulation on the same or another machine
32.7.1
Overview of FLUENT and SGE Integration

Sun Grid Engine software version 5.3 or higher, available online at http://www.sun.com/ Fluent 6.x, available from Fluent Inc.
Requirements
FLUENT and SGE Communication FLUENT and SGE communicate with each other through checkpointing and migration commands. To checkpoint, or save, FLUENT simulations, SGE uses an executable le called checkpoint command.fluent. To migrate FLUENT simulations to another machine, SGE uses another executable le called migration command.fluent. Checkpointing Directories FLUENT creates a checkpointing sub-directory, identied by the job ID. The checkpointing directory contains les related only to the submitted job. Checkpointing Trigger Files When a FLUENT simulation needs to be checkpointed, SGE creates a checkpoint trigger le (.check) in the job subdirectory, which causes FLUENT to checkpoint and continue running. If the job needs to be migrated, because of a machine crash or for some other reason, a dierent trigger le (.exit) is created which causes FLUENT to checkpoint and exit.
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Default File Location By default, the following SGE-related FLUENT les are installed in path/Fluent.Inc /addons/sge1.0, where path is the directory in which you have placed the release directory, Fluent.Inc. ckpt command.fluent migr command.fluent sge request kill-fluent sample ckpt obj sample pe These les are described later in this section.
32.7.2
Conguring SGE for FLUENT
SGE must be installed properly if checkpointing is needed or parallel FLUENT is being run under SGE. The checkpoint queues must be congured rst, and they must be congured by someone with manager or root privileges.
General Conguration
Using the SGE graphical interface, the general conguration of SGE and FLUENT requires the following:. 1. The Shell Start Mode must be set to unix behavior. 2. Under Type, the checkpointing option must be marked as true. When running parallel FLUENT simulations, the following options are also important: 1. Under Type, the parallel option must be marked as true. 2. The value of slots should be set to a value greater than 1.
Checkpoint Conguration
Checkpointing is congured using the MinCpuTime eld. This eld species the time interval between checkpoints. The value of MinCpuTime should be a reasonable amount of time. Too low a value for MinCpuTime results in frequent checkpointing operations and writing .case and .data les can be computationally expensive.
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SGE requires checkpointing objects to perform checkpointing operations. FLUENT provides a sample checkpointing object called fluent ckpt obj. Checkpoint conguration also requires root or manager privileges. While creating new checkpointing objects for FLUENT, keep the default values as given in the sample/default object provided by FLUENT and change only the following values: Queue List The queue list should contain the queues that are able to be used as checkpoint objects. Checkpointing and Migration Command This value should only be changed when the executable les are not in the default location, in which case, the full path should be specied. All the les (i.e., ckpt command.fluent and migr command.fluent) should be located in a directory that is accessible from all machines where the FLUENT simulation is running. The default place for these les is path/Fluent.Inc/addons/sge1.0, where path is the directory in which you have placed the release directory, Fluent.Inc. Checkpointing Directory This value dictates where the checkpointing subdirectories are created, and hence users must have the correct permission to this directory. Also this directory should be visible to all machines where the FLUENT simulation is running. The default value is NONE where FLUENT uses the current working directory as the checkpointing directory.
Conguring Parallel Environments

For submitting parallel jobs, SGE needs a parallel environment interface, or PE interface. FLUENT provides a sample parallel environment interface, fluent pe. Parallel environment conguration requires root or manager privileges. While creating any new parallel environment for FLUENT, change only the following values: Queue List This should contain all the queues where qtype has been set to PARALLEL. User/XUser List This contains the list of users who are allowed or denied access to the parallel environment. Stop Proc Args This should be changed only if the kill-fluent executable is not in the default directory, in which case, the full path to the le should be given, and the path should be accessible from every machine.
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Slots This should be set to a large numerical value indicating the maximum of slots that can be occupied by all the parallel environment jobs that are running. FLUENT uses fluent pe as the default parallel environment, therefore, there must be one parallel environment with this name.
Conguring a Default Request File

As an alternative to specifying numerous command line options or arguments when you invoke SGE, you can provide a list of SGE options in a default request le. A default request le should be set up when using SGE with FLUENT. FLUENT provides a sample request le called sge request. All default request options and arguments for SGE that are common to all users can be placed under a default request le, sge request located in the <sge root>/<cell>/ common/ directory. Individual users can set their own default arguments and options in a private general request le, .sge request, located in their $HOME directory. Private general request les override the options set by the global sge request le in the <sge root>/<cell>/common/ directory. Any settings found in either the global or private default request le can be overridden by specifying new options in the command line.
32.7.3
Running a FLUENT Simulation under SGE
Running FLUENT under SGE requires additional options for the FLUENT command syntax. The command line syntax is as follows: fluent <other FLUENT options> -sge [-sgeckpt ckpt object] [-sgeq queue name] [-sgepe parallel env N MIN-N MAX ] The additional parameters are explained below. -sge Tells FLUENT to run under SGE. -sgeckpt ckpt object Species the checkpointing object and overrides the checkpointing option specied in the default request le. If this option is not specied in the command line, and the default general request le contains no setting, then the FLUENT simulation is unable to use checkpoints.
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-sgeq queue name Species the name of the queue. sgepe parallel env N MIN-N MAX Species the parallel environment to be used, when FLUENT is run in parallel. This should be specied only if the -sge option is also specied. N MIN and N MAX represent the minimum and maximum number of requested nodes. This parameter is optional. For parallel FLUENT, if this parameter is not specied, but the command line -sge option is given, FLUENT will take fluent pe as the default parallel environment, 1 as N MIN and the number of nodes requested to FLUENT as N MAX. The following examples demonstrate various command line syntax meanings: Serial FLUENT simulation running under SGE. fluent 2d -sge Serial FLUENT simulation with checkpoints. fluent 2d -sge -sgeckpt fluent ckpt Parallel FLUENT simulation running under SGE. fluent 2d -t<N> -pnet -sge Parallel FLUENT under SGE with a dierent parallel environment. fluent 2d -t<N> -pnet -sge -sgepe diff pe <N MIN>-<N MAX>
In this example, note that the -t<N> option will be ignored and the <N MIN>-<N MAX> option will take precedence.
Parallel FLUENT under SGE with a dierent parallel environment and a queue. fluent 2d -t<N> -pnet -sge -sgeq large -sgepe diff pe <N MIN>-<N MAX>
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32.8
Running Parallel FLUENT under LSF
Platform Computing Corporations LSF software is a distributed computing resource management tool that you can use with either the serial or the parallel versions of FLUENT. Using LSF, FLUENT simulations can take full advantage of LSF checkpointing (i.e., saving FLUENT .case and .data les) and migration features. LSF is also integrated with FLUENTs vendor-based vmpi and the socket-based net MPI communication libraries for distributed MPI processing, increasing the eciency of the software and data processing.
Running FLUENT under LSF is not currently supported on Windows.
Platforms Standard Edition is the foundation for all LSF products, it oers users load sharing and batch scheduling across distributed UNIX, LINUX and Windows NT computing environments. Platforms LSF Standard Edition provides the following functionality: Comprehensive Distributed Resource Management dynamic load sharing services batch scheduling and resource management policies Flexible Queues and Sharing Control priority load conditions for job scheduling time windows for job processing limits on the number of running jobs and job resource consumption Fair-share Scheduling of Limited Resources manage shares for users and user groups ensure fair sharing of limited computing resources Maximum Fault Tolerance provides batch service as long as one computer is active ensures that no job is lost when the entire network goes down restarts jobs on other compute nodes when a computer goes down
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32.8 Running Parallel FLUENT under LSF
32.8.1
Overview of FLUENT and LSF Integration

LSF Batch 3.2+, available from Platform Computing Corporation http://www.platform.com/ Fluent 6.x, available from Fluent Inc.
Requirements
Optional Requirements The echkpnt.fluent and erestart.fluent shell scripts, available from Platform Computing Corporation or Fluent Inc. permit FLUENT checkpointing and restarting from within LSF Hardware vendor supplied MPI environment for network computing. If available, the vmpi version of FLUENT may perform better than the net version. Obtaining Distribution Files Distribution les for LSF to be used with FLUENT are available from Platform Computing Corporation. Installation instructions are included. The les are available from your LSF vendor, and from Platforms corporate web site ( http://www.platform.com/ ) and FTP site ( ftp.platform.com ). The ftp directory location is /lsf/distrib/integra/Fluent. Access to the download area of the Platform web site and the Platform FTP site is controlled by login name and password. If you are unable to access the distribution les, contact Platform at info@platform.com.
32.8.2
Checkpointing and Restarting
LSF provides utilities to save (i.e., checkpoint), and restart an application. The FLUENT and LSF integration allows FLUENT to take advantage of the checkpoint and restart features of LSF. At the end of each iteration, FLUENT looks for the existence of a checkpoint or checkpoint-exit le. If FLUENT detects the checkpoint le, it writes a case and data le, removes the checkpoint le, and continues iterating. If FLUENT detects the checkpoint-exit le, it writes a case le and data le, then exits. LSFs bchkpnt utility can be used to create the checkpoint and checkpoint-exit les, thereby forcing FLUENT to checkpoint itself, or checkpoint and terminate itself. In addition to writing a case le and data le, FLUENT also creates a simple journal le with instructions to read the checkpointed case le and data le, and continues iterating. FLUENT uses that journal le when restarted with LSFs brestart utility. The greatest benet of the checkpoint facilities occurs when it is used on an automatic basis. By starting jobs with a periodic checkpoint, LSF automatically restarts any jobs that are lost due to host failure from the last checkpoint. This facility can dramatically reduce lost compute time, and also avoids the task of manually restarting failed jobs.
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FLUENT Checkpoint Files

To checkpoint FLUENT jobs using LSF, LSF supplies special versions of echkpnt and erestart. These FLUENT checkpoint les are called echkpnt.fluent and erestart.fluent.
Checkpoint Directories
When you submit a checkpointing job, you specify a checkpoint directory. Before the job starts running, LSF sets the environment variable LSB CHKPNT DIR. The value of LSB CHKPNT DIR is a subdirectory of the checkpoint directory specied in the command line. This subdirectory is identied by the job ID and only contains les related to the submitted job.
Checkpoint Trigger Files

When you checkpoint a FLUENT job, LSF creates a checkpoint trigger le (.check) in the job subdirectory, which causes FLUENT to checkpoint and continue running. A special option is used to create a dierent trigger le (.exit), to cause FLUENT to checkpoint and exit the job. FLUENT uses the LSB CHKPNT DIR environment variable to determine the location of checkpoint trigger les. It checks the job subdirectory periodically while running the job. FLUENT does not perform any checkpointing unless it nds the LSF trigger le in the job subdirectory. FLUENT removes the trigger le after checkpointing the job.
Restart Jobs
If a job is restarted, LSF attempts to restart the job with the -restart option appended to the original fluent command. FLUENT uses the checkpointed data and case les to restart the process from that checkpoint point, rather than repeating the entire process. Each time a job is restarted, it is assigned a new job ID, and a new job subdirectory is created in the checkpoint directory. Files in the checkpoint directory are never deleted by LSF, but you may choose to remove old les once the FLUENT job is nished and the job history is no longer required.
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32.8.3
Conguring LSF for FLUENT
LSF provides special versions of echkpnt and erestart called echkpnt.fluent and erestart.fluent to allow checkpointing with FLUENT. You must make sure LSF uses these les instead of the standard versions. 1. To congure LSF (v4.0 or earlier) for FLUENT: Overwrite the standard versions of echkpnt and erestart with the special FLUENT versions. OR Complete the following steps: (a) Leave the standard LSF les in the default location and install the FLUENT versions in a dierent directory. (b) In lsf.conf, modify the LSF ECHKPNTDIR environment variable to point to the FLUENT versions. The LSF ECHKPNTDIR environment variable species the location of the echkpnt and erestart les that LSF will use. If this variable is not dened, LSF uses the les in the default location, identied by the environment variable LSF SERVERDIR. (c) Save the changes to lsf.conf. (d) Recongure the cluster with the commands lsadmin reconfig and badmin reconfig. LSF checks for any conguration errors. If no fatal errors are found, you are asked to conrm reconguration. If fatal errors are found, reconguration is aborted. 2. To congure LSF (v4.1 or later) for FLUENT: Copy the echkpnt.fluent and erestart.fluent les to the LSF SERVERDIR for each architecture that is desired. Submit the job with the method=fluent parameter when specifying the checkpoint information (examples are provided below) .
Note that LSF includes an email notication utility that sends email notices to users when an LSF job has been completed. If a user submits a batch job to LSF and the email notication utility is enabled, LSF will distribute an email containing the output for the particular LSF job. When a FLUENT job is run under LSF with the -g option, the email will also contain information from the FLUENT console window.
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32.8.4
Submitting a FLUENT Job
To submit a FLUENT job using LSF, you need to include certain LSF checkpointing parameters in the standard call to FLUENT. Submitting a batch job requires the bsub command. The syntax for the bsub command to submit a FLUENT job is: bsub [-k checkpoint dir | -k "checkpoint dir[checkpoint period]" [bsub options] FLUENT command [FLUENT options] -lsf The checkpointing feature for FLUENT jobs requires all of the following parameters: -k checkpoint dir Regular option to bsub that species the name of the checkpoint directory. FLUENT command Regular command used with FLUENT software. -lsf Special option to the FLUENTcommand. Species that FLUENT is running under LSF, and causes FLUENT to check for trigger les in the checkpoint directory if the environment variable LSB CHKPNT DIR is set.
32.8.5
Checkpointing FLUENT Jobs
Checkpointing a batch job requires the bchkpnt command. The syntax for the bchkpnt command is: bchkpnt [bsub options][-k]job ID -k Regular option to the bchkpnt command, species checkpoint and exit. The job will be killed immediately after being checkpointed. When the job is restarted, it does not have to repeat any operations. job ID The job ID of the FLUENT job. Used to specify which job to checkpoint.
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32.8.6
Restarting FLUENT Jobs
Restarting a batch job requires the brestart command. The syntax for the brestart command is: brestart [bsub options] checkpoint directory job ID checkpoint directory Species the checkpoint directory, where the job subdirectory is located. job ID The job ID of the FLUENT job, species which job to restart. At this point, the restarted job is assigned a new job ID, and the new job ID is used for checkpointing. The job ID changes each time the job is restarted.
32.8.7
Migrating FLUENT Jobs
Migrating a FLUENT job requires the bmig command. The syntax for the bmig command is: bmig [bsub options] job ID job ID The job ID of the FLUENT job, species which job to restart. At this point, the restarted job is assigned a new job ID, and the new job ID is used for checkpointing. The job ID changes each time the job is restarted.
32.8.8
Using FLUENT and LSF
This section describes various examples of running FLUENT and LSF. Serial FLUENT interactive job under LSF bsub -I fluent 3d -lsf Serial FLUENT batch job under LSF bsub fluent 3d -g -i journal file -lsf Parallel FLUENT net version interactive job under LSF, on <N> CPUs bsub -I -n <N> fluent 3d -t0 -pnet -lsf
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PAM is an extension of LSF that manages parallel processes by choosing the appropriate compute nodes and launching child processes. When using the net version of FLUENT, PAM is not used to launch FLUENT (so the JOB STARTER argument of the LSF queue should not be set). Instead, LSF will set an environment variable that contains a list of <N> hosts, and FLUENT will use this list to launch itself. The integration between PAM and FLUENT is supported on the following platforms: lnx86; Ultra; HPUX; IBM SP (AIX). Of these platforms, all except lnx86 can use the vmpi version of FLUENT.
Parallel FLUENT net version batch job under LSF, using <N> processes bsub -n <N> fluent 3d -t0 -pnet -g -i journal file -lsf The examples below apply to both interactive and batch submissions. For brevity, only batch submissions are described. Usage of the LSF checkpoint and restart capabilities, requiring echkpnt and erestart, are described as follows: Serial FLUENT batch job under LSF with checkpoint/restart bsub -k " /home/username method=fluent 60" fluent 3d -g -i journal file -lsf Submits a job that uses /home/username as the checkpoint directory, the LSF 4.1 method= specication for which echkpnt/erestart combination to use, and a 60 minute duration between automatic checkpoints. bjobs Returns the <JOB ID>s of the batch jobs in the LSF system bchkpnt <JOB ID> Forces FLUENT to write a case le and a data le as well as a restart journal le at the end of its current iteration The les are saved in a directory named [chkpnt dir]/<JOB ID> FLUENT then continues to iterate bchkpnt -k <JOB ID> Forces FLUENT to write a case le and a data le as well as a restart journal le at the end of its current iteration The les are saved in a directory named [chkpnt dir]/<JOB ID> and then FLUENT exits
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brestart [chkpnt dir] <JOB ID> Starts a FLUENT job using the latest case and data les in the [chkpnt dir]/<JOB ID> directory The restart journal le [chkpnt dir]/<JOB ID>/#restart.inp is used to instruct FLUENT to read the latest case and data les in that directory, and continue iterating Parallel FLUENT VMPI version batch job under LSF with checkpoint/restart, using <N> processes bsub -k [chkpnt dir] -n <N> fluent 3d t<N> -pvmpi -g -i journal file -lsf bjobs Returns the <JOB ID>s of the batch jobs in the LSF system bchkpnt <JOB ID> Forces parallel FLUENT to write a case le and data le as well as a restart journal le at the end of its current iteration The les are saved in a directory named [chkpnt dir]/<JOB ID> Parallel FLUENT then continues to iterate bchkpnt -k <JOB ID> Forces parallel FLUENT to write a case le and a data le and a restart journal le at the end of its current iteration The les are saved in a directory named [chkpnt dir]/<JOB ID> Parallel FLUENT then exits brestart [chkpnt dir] <JOB ID> Starts a FLUENT network parallel job using the latest case and data les in the [chkpnt dir]/<JOB ID> directory The restart journal le [chkpnt dir]/<JOB ID>/#restart.inp is used to instruct FLUENT to read the latest case and data les in that directory, and continue iterating The parallel job will be restarted using same <N> number of processes as that used for the original bsub submission bmig m host 0 All jobs on host host will be checkpointed and moved to another host.
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32.9
Running Parallel FLUENT under Other Resource Management Tools
Many hardware vendors oer workload balancing software or computing resource management tools, such as IBMs Load Leveler, or Altair Engineering Inc.s PBSPro. These other resource management tools are not supported by FLUENT . If you experience difculties running FLUENT in conjunction with these or other tools, please contact the appropriate hardware vendor for assistance.
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Appendix A.
FLUENT Model Compatibility
A.1 FLUENT Model Compatibility Chart

The following chart summarizes the compatibility of several FLUENT model categories: Multiphase Models (see Chapter 22: Introduction to Modeling Multiphase Flows) Moving Domain Models (See Chapter 10: Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones) Turbulence Models (See Chapter 11: Modeling Turbulence) Combustion Models (See Chapter 13: Introduction to Modeling Species Transport and Reacting Flows) Note that a y indicates that two models are compatible with each other, while an n indicates that two models are not compatible with each other.
A-1
FLUENT Model Compatibility
Multiphase Models Eulerian VOF Mixture Discrete Phase Moving Domain Models Sliding Mesh Mixing Plane Dynamic Mesh Multiple Reference Frame Single Reference Frame Turbulence Models SpalartAllmaras kepsilon komega Reynolds Stress LES Combustion Models Laminar Finite Rate Eddy Dissipation Eddy Dissipation Concept NonPremixed Premixed Partially Premixed Composition PDF Transport NOx Soot y y y y y y y y y y y n n n n n n n y y y y y y y y y y y n n n n n n n y y n n n n n n n y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y n n n n n n n n y y y y y y y y y y y y y y n n n n y y y y y y y y y y y y y n y y y n y n y n y y y y n y y y y n y y y y n y y n n y y y y y y y n y y y n y y y y y y y n y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y Key: n = not compatible y = compatible
y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y
n n n n y y y y y y y y y y y y y y
y y y y y y y y y y y y y y
y y y y y y y y y n y y y y
n n n y y y y y y n y y y y
* Includes Standard, RNG, and Realizable kepsilon models ** Includes Standard and SST komega models
Figure A.1.1: FLUENT Model Compatibility Chart
A-2
Mu lti Eu phas eM ler i od VO an els F Mi xtu re Di scr e Mo te Ph vin ase Sli g Do din ma Mi g Me in M sh xin od els Dy g Pla ne nam M u ic M ltip esh Sin le R efe gle r Tu Refe ence Fra ren rb Sp ulenc ce Fr me ala am eM r k tAll odel e eps ma s i ras k lon om Re ega yn o LE lds S S tre ss Co mb ust La ion mi n M Ed ar Fin ode ls dy ite Ra Ed Dissi te dy pat No Dissi ion pat n P i Pre remi on C xed onc mi x ept Pa rtia ed lly Co mp Prem ix o NO sition ed x PD FT So ran ot spo rt
Appendix B.
Case and Data File Formats
This Appendix describes the contents and formats of FLUENT case and data les. Section B.1: Guidelines Section B.2: Formatting Conventions in Binary and Formatted Files Section B.3: Grid Sections Section B.4: Other (Non-Grid) Case Sections Section B.5: Data Sections Descriptions of the sections are grouped according to function. Section B.2: Formatting Conventions in Binary and Formatted Files: The dierences between formatted and binary les. Section B.3: Grid Sections: Creating grids for FLUENT. Section B.4: Other (Non-Grid) Case Sections: The boundary conditions, material properties, and solver control settings. Section B.3: Grid Sections and Section B.5: Data Sections: Importing solutions into another postprocessor. The case and data les may contain other sections that are intended for internal use only.
B.1
Guidelines
The FLUENT case and data les are broken into several sections according to the following guidelines: Each section is enclosed in parentheses and begins with a decimal integer indicating its type. This integer is dierent for formatted and binary les (Section B.2: Formatting Conventions in Binary and Formatted Files). All groups of items are enclosed in parentheses. This makes skipping to ends of (sub)sections and parsing them very easy. It also allows for easy and compatible addition of new items in future releases. Header information for lists of items is enclosed in separate sets of parentheses preceding the items, and the items are enclosed in their own parentheses.
B-1
B.2 Formatting Conventions in Binary and Formatted Files

For formatted les, examples of le sections are given in Sections B.3 and B.4. For binary les, the header indices described in this section (e.g., 10 for the node section) are preceded by 20 for single-precision binary data, or by 30 for double-precision binary data (e.g., 2010 or 3010 instead of 10). The end of the binary data is indicated by End of Binary Section 2010 or End of Binary Section 3010 before the closing parameters of the section. An example with the binary data represented by periods is as follows: (2010 (2 1 2aad 2 3)( . . . ) End of Binary Section 2010)
B.3
Grid Sections
Grid sections are stored in the case le. A grid le is a subset of a case le, containing only those sections pertaining to the grid. The currently dened grid sections are: Comment (See B.3.1) Header (See B.3.2) Dimensions (See B.3.3) Nodes (See B.3.4) Periodic Shadow Faces (See B.3.5) Cells (See B.3.6) Faces (See B.3.7) Face Tree (See B.3.8) Cell Tree (See B.3.9) Interface Face Parents (See B.3.10) The section ID numbers are indicated in both symbolic and numeric forms. The symbolic representations are available as symbols in a Scheme source le (xfile.scm), which is available from Fluent Inc., or as macros in a C header le (xfile.h), which is located in the following directory in your installation area: /Fluent.Inc/fluent6.x/client/src/xfile.h
B-2
B.3 Grid Sections
B.3.1
Comment
0 xf-comment XF COMMENT optional
Index: Scheme symbol: C macro: Status:
Comment sections can appear anywhere in the le (except within other sections) as: (0 "comment text") It is recommended to precede each long section, or group of related sections, by a comment section explaining what is to follow. Example: (0 "Variables:") (37 ( (relax-mass-flow 1) (default-coefficient ()) (default-method 0) ))
B.3.2 Header
Index: Scheme symbol: C macro: Status: 1 xf-header XF HEADER optional
Header sections can appear anywhere in the le (except within other sections) as: (1 "TGrid 2.1.1") The purpose of this section is to identify the program that wrote the le. Although it can appear anywhere, it is one of the rst sections in the le. Additional header sections indicate other programs that may have been used in generating the le. It provides a history mechanism showing where the le came from and how it was processed.
B-3
B.3.3
Dimensions
2 xf-dimension XF DIMENSION optional
The dimensions of the grid appear as: (2 ND) where ND is 2 or 3. This section is supported as a check that the grid has the appropriate dimension.
B.3.4 Nodes
Index: Scheme symbol: C macro: Status: Example: (10 (zone-id first-index last-index type ND)( x1 y1 z1 x2 y2 z2 . . . )) If zone-id is zero, this provides the total number of nodes in the grid. first-index will then be one, last-index will be the total number of nodes in hexadecimal, type is equal to 1, ND is the dimensionality of the grid, and there are no coordinates following. The parentheses for the coordinates are not there either. For example: (10 (0 1 2d5 1 2)) If zone-id is greater than zero, it indicates the zone to which the nodes belong. first-index and last-index are the indices of the nodes in the zone, in hexadecimal. The values of last-index in each zone must be less than or equal to the value in the declaration section. Type is always equal to 1. ND is an optional argument that indicates the dimensionality of the node data, where ND is 2 or 3. If the number of dimensions in the grid is two, as specied by the node header, then only x and y coordinates are present on each line. 10 xf-node XF NODE required
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B.3 Grid Sections
Example of two-dimensional grid: (10 (1 1 2d5 1.500000e-01 1.625000e-01 . . . 1.750000e-01 2.000000e-01 1.875000e-01 )) 1 2)( 2.500000e-02 1.250000e-02
0.000000e+00 2.500000e-02 1.250000e-02
Because the grid connectivity is composed of integers representing pointers (see Cells and Faces), using hexadecimal conserves space in the le and provides for faster le input and output. The header indices are in hexadecimal so that they match the indices in the bodies of the grid connectivity sections. The zone-id and type are also in hexadecimal for consistency.
B.3.5 Periodic Shadow Faces

Index: Scheme symbol: C macro: Status: 18 xf-periodic-face XF PERIODIC FACE required only for grids with periodic boundaries
This section indicates the pairings of periodic faces on periodic boundaries. Grids without periodic boundaries do not have sections of this type. The format of the section is as follows: (18 f00 f10 f20 . . . )) where first-index last-index periodic-zone shadow-zone = = = = index of the rst periodic face pair in the list index of the last periodic face pair in the list zone ID of the periodic face zone zone ID of the corresponding shadow face zone (first-index last-index periodic-zone shadow-zone)( f01 f21 f21
B-5
These are in hexadecimal format. The indices in the section body (f*) refer to the faces on each of the periodic boundaries (in hexadecimal), the indices being osets into the list of faces for the grid. Note: In this case, first-index and last-index do not refer to face indices. They refer to indices in the list of periodic pairs. Example: (18 (1 2b a c) ( 12 1f 13 21 ad 1c2 . . . ))
B.3.6 Cells
Index: Scheme symbol: C macro: Status: 12 xf-cell XF CELL required
The declaration section for cells is similar to that for nodes. (12 (zone-id first-index last-index type element-type)) Again, zone-id is zero to indicate that it is a declaration of the total number of cells. If last-index is zero, then there are no cells in the grid. This is useful when the le contains only a surface mesh to alert FLUENT that it cannot be used. In a declaration section, the type is ignored, and has the value of zero, while the element-type is ignored completely. For example, (12 (0 1 3e3 0)) It states that there are 3e3 (hexadecimal) = 995 cells in the grid. This declaration section is required and must precede the regular cell sections.
B-6
B.3 Grid Sections
The element-type in a regular cell section header indicates the type of cells in the section, as follows: element-type 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 description nodes/cell mixed triangular 3 tetrahedral 4 quadrilateral 4 hexahedral 8 pyramid 5 wedge 6 faces/cell 3 4 4 6 5 5
Regular cell sections have no body, but they have a header of the same format where first-index and last-index indicate the range for the particular zone, type indicates whether the cell zone is an active zone (solid or uid), or inactive zone (currently only parent cells resulting from hanging node adaption). Active zones are represented with type=1, while inactive zones are represented with type=32. In the earlier versions of FLUENT, a distinction was made used between solid and uid zones. This is now determined by properties (i.e., material type). A type of zero indicates a dead zone and will be skipped by FLUENT. If a zone is of mixed type (element-type=0), it will have a body that lists the element type of each cell. Example: (12 (9 1 3d 0 0)( 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 3 1 . . . )) Here, there are 3d (hexadecimal) = 61 cells in cell zone 9, of which the rst 3 are triangles, the next 2 are quadrilaterals, and so on.
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B.3.7
Faces
13 xf-face XF FACE required
The face section has a header with the same format as that for cells (but with a section index of 13). (13 (zone-id first-index last-index type element-type)) A zone-id of zero indicates a declaration section with no body, and element-type indicates the type of faces in that zone. The body of a regular face section contains the grid connectivity, and each line appears as follows: n0 n1 n2 cr cl where, n* = c* = dening nodes (vertices) of the face adjacent cells
This is an example of the triangular face format. The actual number of nodes depends on the element type. The order of the cell indices is important. The rst cell (cr) is the cell on the right side of the face and cl is the cell on the left side. Handedness is determined by the right-hand rule. If you curl the ngers of your right hand in the order of the nodes, your thumb will point to the right side of the face. In 2D grids, the k vector pointing outside the grid plane is used to determine the right hand-side cell (cr) from k r. If there is no adjacent cell, then either cr or cl is zero. All cells, faces, and nodes have positive indices. For les containing only a boundary mesh, both these values are zero. If it is a two-dimensional grid, n2 is omitted. If the face zone is of mixed type (element-type = 0), the body of the section will include the face type and will appear as follows: type v0 v1 v2 c0 c1 Here, type is the type of face, as dened in the following table: element-type 0 2 3 4 face type nodes/face mixed linear 2 triangular 3 quadrilateral 4
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B.3 Grid Sections
The current valid boundary condition types are dened in the following table: bc name interior wall pressure-inlet, inlet-vent, intake-fan pressure-outlet, exhaust-fan, outlet-vent symmetry periodic-shadow pressure-far-eld velocity-inlet periodic fan, porous-jump, radiator mass-ow-inlet interface parent (hanging node) outow axis bc id 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 12 14 20 24 31 36 37
For non-conformal grid interfaces, the faces resulting from the intersection of the nonconformal grids are placed in a separate face zone. A factor of 1000 is added to the type of these sections, e.g., 1003 is a wall zone. For information on face-node connectivity for various cell types in FLUENT, refer to Section 6.1.2: Face-Node Connectivity in FLUENT.
B.3.8
Face Tree
59 xf-face-tree XF FACE TREE only for grids with hanging-node adaption
This section indicates the face hierarchy of the grid containing hanging nodes. The format of the section is as follows:
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(59 (face-id0 face-id1 parent-zone-id child-zone-id) ( number-of-kids kid-id-0 kid-id-1 ... kid-id-n . . . )) where, face-id0 face-id1 parent-zone-id child-zone-id number-of-kids kid-id-n = = = = = = index of the rst parent face in the section index of the last parent face in the section ID of the zone containing parent faces ID of the zone containing children faces the number of children of the parent face the face IDs of the children
These are in hexadecimal format.
B.3.9
Cell Tree
58 xf-cell-tree XF CELL TREE only for grids with hanging-node adaption
This section indicates the cell hierarchy of the grid containing hanging nodes. The format of the section is as follows: (58 (cell-id0 cell-id1 parent-zone-id child-zone-id) ( number-of-kids kid-id-0 kid-id-1 ... kid-id-n . . . )) where, cell-id0 cell-id1 parent-zone-id child-zone-id number-of-kids kid-id-n = = = = = = index of the rst parent cell in the section index of the last parent cell in the section ID of the zone containing parent cells ID of the zone containing children cells the number of children of the parent cell the cell IDs of the children
These are in hexadecimal format.
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B.3 Grid Sections
B.3.10
Interface Face Parents

61 xf-face-parents XF FACE PARENTS only for grids with non-conformal interfaces
This section indicates the relationship between the intersection faces and original faces. The intersection faces (children) are produced from intersecting two non-conformal surfaces (parents) and are some fraction of the original face. Each child will refer to at least one parent. The format of the section is as follows: (61 (face-id0 face-id1) ( parent-id-0 parent-id-1 . . . )) where, face-id0 face-id1 parent-zone-id child-zone-id number-of-kids = = = = = index of the rst child face in the section index of the last child face in the section index of right-side parent face index of left-side parent face the number of children of the parent face
These are in hexadecimal format. If you read a non-conformal grid from FLUENT into TGrid, TGrid will skip this section, so it will not maintain all the information necessary to preserve the non-conformal interface. When you read the grid back into FLUENT, you will need to recreate the interface.
Example Files
Example 1 Figure B.3.1 illustrates a simple quadrilateral mesh with no periodic boundaries or hanging nodes.
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bn8
bf8
bn2
bf7
bn4
bf6
bn7
bf9
c1
f1
c2
f2
c3
bf10
bn5
bf3
bn1
bf4
bn3
bf5
bn6
Figure B.3.1: Quadrilateral Mesh
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B.3 Grid Sections
The following describes this mesh: (0 "Grid:") (0 "Dimensions:") (2 2) (12 (0 1 3 0)) (13 (0 1 a 0)) (10 (0 1 8 0 2)) (12 (7 1 3 1 3)) (13 (2 1 2 2 2)( 1 2 1 2 3 4 2 3)) (13 5 1 1 3 3 6 (13 7 4 4 2 2 8 (3 3 5 3 2)( 1 0 2 0 3 0)) (4 6 8 3 2)( 3 0 2 0 1 0))
(13 (5 9 9 a 2)( 8 5 1 0)) (13 (6 a a 24 2)( 6 7 3 0)) (10 (1 1 8 1 2) ( 1.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 2.00000000e+00 2.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 3.00000000e+00 3.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00
0.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00))
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Example 2 Figure B.3.2 illustrates a simple quadrilateral mesh with periodic boundaries but no hanging nodes. In this example, bf9 and bf10 are faces on the periodic zones.
bn8
bf8
bn2
bf7
bn4
bf6
bn7
bf9
c1
f1
c2
f2
c3
bf10
bn5
bf3
bn1
bf4
bn3
bf5
bn6
Figure B.3.2: Quadrilateral Mesh with Periodic Boundaries
The following describes this mesh: (0 "Dimensions:") (2 2) (0 "Grid:") (12 (0 1 3 0)) (13 (0 1 a 0)) (10 (0 1 8 0 2)) (12 (7 1 3 1 3)) (13 (2 1 2 2 2)( 1 2 1 2 3 4 2 3)) (13 5 1 1 3 3 6 (13 7 4 4 2 2 8 (3 3 5 3 2)( 1 0 2 0 3 0)) (4 6 8 3 2)( 3 0 2 0 1 0))
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B.3 Grid Sections
(13 (5 9 9 c 2)( 8 5 1 0)) (13 (1 a a 8 2)( 6 7 3 0)) (18 (1 1 5 1)( 9 a)) (10 (1 1 8 1 2)( 1.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 2.00000000e+00 2.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 3.00000000e+00 3.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 Example 3 Figure B.3.3 illustrates a simple quadrilateral mesh with hanging nodes.
0.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00))
bn13
bf15
bn7
bf14
bn8 bf12 bn2 bf13 bn12 f6 c6 f4 n1 c5 f3 c4 f1 c3 f2 bf17 bn3 bf18
bf16
c1
f5
c2
n5 f7
bn10
bf8
bn6
bf9
bn9 bf11 bn4 bf10 bn11
Figure B.3.3: Quadrilateral Mesh with Hanging Nodes
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The following describes this mesh:
(0 "Grid:") (0 "Dimensions:") (2 2) (12 (0 1 7 0)) (13 (0 1 16 0)) (10 (0 1 d 0 2)) (12 (7 1 6 1 3)) (12 (1 7 7 20 3)) (58 (7 7 1 7)( 4 6 5 4 3)) (13 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 6 7 5 8 9 5 (13 a 6 6 9 4 b 9 4 (13 2 8 c 2 8 7 7 d (2 1 7 2 2)( 6 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 1 2 2 6 2 5)) (3 8 b 3 2)( 1 0 2 0 4 0 5 0)) (4 c f 3 2)( 6 0 3 0 2 0 1 0))
(13 (5 10 10 a 2)( d a 1 0)) (13 (6 11 12 24 2)(
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B.3 Grid Sections
3 c 3 0 b 3 4 0)) (13 (b 13 13 1f 2)( c 8 7 0)) (13 (a 14 14 1f 2)( b c 7 0)) (13 (9 15 15 1f 2)( 9 b 7 0)) (13 (8 16 16 1f 2)( 9 8 2 7)) (59 (13 13 b 4)( 2 d c)) (59 (14 14 a 6)( 2 12 11)) (59 (15 15 9 3)( 2 b a)) (59 (16 16 8 2)( 2 7 6)) (10 (1 1 d 1 2) ( 2.50000000e+00 2.50000000e+00 3.00000000e+00 2.50000000e+00 2.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 2.00000000e+00 2.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 3.00000000e+00 3.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00
5.00000000e-01 1.00000000e+00 5.00000000e-01 0.00000000e+00 5.00000000e-01 0.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 0.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00 1.00000000e+00))
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B.4 Other (Non-Grid) Case Sections

The following sections store boundary conditions, material properties, and solver control settings.
B.4.1
Zone
39 (45) xf-rp-tv XF RP TV required
There is typically one zone section for each zone referenced by the grid. Although some grid zones may not have corresponding zone sections, there cannot be more than one zone section for each zone. A zone section has the following form: (39 (zone-id (condition1 (condition2 (condition3 . . . )) zone-type zone-name domain-id)( . value1) . value2) . value3)
Grid generators and other preprocessors need only provide the section header and leave the list of conditions empty, as in (39 (zone-id zone-type zone-name domain-id)()) The empty parentheses at the end are required. The solver adds conditions as appropriate, depending on the zone type. When only zone-id, zone-type, zone-name, and domain-id are specied, the index 45 is preferred for a zone section. However, the index 39 must be used if boundary conditions are present, because any and all remaining information in a section of index 45 after zone-id, zone-type, zone-name, and domain-id will be ignored. Here the zone-id is in decimal format. This is in contrast to the use of hexadecimal in the grid sections.
B-18
B.4 Other (Non-Grid) Case Sections
The zone-type is one of the following: axis exhaust fan fan fluid inlet vent intake fan interface interior mass-flow-inlet outlet vent outflow periodic porous-jump pressure-far-field pressure-inlet pressure-outlet radiator shadow solid symmetry velocity-inlet wall The interior, fan, porous-jump, and radiator types can be assigned only to zones of faces inside the domain. The interior type is used for the faces within a cell zone; the others are for interior faces that form innitely thin surfaces within the domain. FLUENT allows the wall type to be assigned to face zones both on the inside and on the boundaries of the domain. Some zone types are valid only for certain types of grid components. For example, cell (element) zones can be assigned only one of the following types: fluid solid All of the other types listed above can be used only for boundary (face) zones.
B-19
Case and Data File Formats The zone-name is a user-specied label for the zone. It must be a valid Scheme symbol1 and is written without quotes. The rules for a valid zone-name (Scheme symbol) are as follows: The rst character must be a lowercase letter2 or a special-initial. Each subsequent character must be a lowercase letter, a special-initial, a digit, or a special-subsequent. where a special-initial character is one of the following: ! $ % & * / : < = > ? ~ _ ^ and a special-subsequent is one of the following: . + Examples of valid zone names are inlet-port/cold!, eggs/easy, and e=m*c^2. Some examples of zone sections produced by grid generators and preprocessors are as follows: (39 (1 fluid fuel 1)()) (39 (8 pressure-inlet pressure-inlet-8 2)()) (39 (2 wall wing-skin 3)()) (39 (3 symmetry mid-plane 1)()) The domain-id is an integer that appears after the zone name, associating the boundary condition with a particular phase or mixture (sometimes referred to as phase-domains and mixture-domains).
See Revised(4) Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme, William Clinger and Jonathan Rees (Editors), 2 November 1991, Section 7.1.1. 2 The Standard actually only requires that case be insignicant; the Fluent Inc. implementation accomplishes this by converting all uppercase input to lowercase.
B-20
B.5 Data Sections
B.4.2
Partitions
40 xf-partition This section indicates each cells partiXF PARTITION only for partitioned grids the section is as follows:
Index: Scheme symbol: C macro: Status: tion. The format of
(40 (zone-id first-index last-index partition-count)( p1 p2 p3 . . . pn )) where, p1 p2 pn child-zone-id number-of-kids partition-count = = = = = = the partition of the cell whose ID is first-index the partition of the cell whose ID is first-index+1, etc. the partition of the cell whose ID is last-index index of left-side parent face the number of children of the parent face the total number of partitions
Partition IDs must be between 0 and partition-count1
B.5 Data Sections

The following sections store iterations, residuals, and data eld values.
B.5.1
Grid Size
33 xf-grid-size XF GRID SIZE optional
This section indicates the number of cells, faces, and nodes in the grid that corresponds to the data in the le. This information is used to check that the data and grid match. The format is (33 (n-elements n-faces n-nodes)) where the integers are written in decimal.
B-21
B.5.2
Data Field
300 xf-rf-seg-data XF RF SEG DATA required
This section lists a ow eld solution variable for a cell or face zone. The data are stored in the same order as the cells or faces in the case le. Separate sections are written out for each variable for each face or cell zone on which the variable is stored. The format is (300 (sub-section-id zone-id n-phases first-id last-id) ( data for cell or face with data-for-cell-or-face with .. data-for-cell-or-face with )) size n-time-levels id = first-id id = first-id+1 id = last-id
where sub-section-id is a (decimal) integer that identies the variable eld (e.g., 1 for pressure, 2 for velocity). The complete list of these is available in the header le (xfile.h), which is located in the following directory in your installation area: /Fluent.Inc/fluent6.x/client/src/xfile.h where, zone-id = the ID number of the cell or face zone size = the length of the variable vector zone-id matches the ID used in case le. size is 1 for a scalar, 2 or 3 for a vector, equal to the number of species for variables dened for each species). n-time-levels and n-phases currently are not used. A sample data le section for the velocity eld in a cell zone for a steady-state, singlephase, 2D problem is shown below: (300 (2 16 2 0 0 17 100) (8.08462024e-01 8.11823010e-02 8.78750622e-01 3.15509699e-02 1.06139672e+00 -3.74040119e-02 ... 1.33301604e+00 -5.04243895e-02 6.21703446e-01 -2.46118382e-02 4.41687912e-01 -1.27046436e-01 1.03528820e-01 -1.01711005e-01 ))
B-22
B.5 Data Sections
The variables that are listed in the data le depend on the models active at the time the le is written. Variables that are required by the solver based on the current model settings but are missing from the data le are set to their default values when the data le is read. Any extra variables that are present in the data le but are not relevant according to current model settings are ignored.
B.5.3
Residuals
301 xf-rf-seg-residuals XF RF SEG RESIDUALS optional
This section lists the values of the residuals for a particular data eld variable at each iteration: (301 (n residual-section-id size)( r1 r2 . . . rn )) where, n = size = residual-section-id = the number of residuals the length of the variable vector an integer (decimal) indicating the equation
size is 1 for a scalar, 2 or 3 for a vector, equal to the number of species for variables dened for each species. The residual-section-id indicates the equation for which the residual is stored in the section, according to the C constants dened in a header le (xfile.h) available in your installation area, as noted in Section B.3: Grid Sections. The equations for which residuals are listed in the data le depend on the models active at the time the le is written. If the residual history is missing from the data le for a currently active equation, it is initialized with zeros.
B-23
B-24
Nomenclature
A a a c CD d DH E f F FD g Gr H h h I J K k k k kB k,kc Area (m2 , ft2 ) Acceleration (m/s2 , ft/s2 ) Local speed of sound (m/s, ft/s) Concentration (mass/volume, moles/volume) Drag coecient, dened dierent ways (dimensionless) Diameter; dp , Dp , particle diameter (m, ft) Hydraulic diameter (m, ft) Total energy, activation energy (J, kJ, cal, Btu) Mixture fraction (dimensionless) Force vector (N, lbf ) Drag force (N, lbf ) Gravitational acceleration (m/s2 , ft/s2 ); standard values = 9.80665 m/s2 , 32.1740 ft/s2 Grashof number ratio of buoyancy forces to viscous forces (dimensionless) Total enthalpy (energy/mass, energy/mole) Heat transfer coecient (W/m2 -K, Btu/ft2 -h- F) Species enthalpy; h0 , standard state enthalpy of formation (energy/mass, energy/mole) Radiation intensity (energy per area of emitting surface per unit solid angle) Mass ux; diusion ux (kg/m2 -s, lbm /ft2 -s) Equilibrium constant = forward rate constant/backward rate constant (units vary) Kinetic energy per unit mass (J/kg, Btu/lbm ) Reaction rate constant, e.g., k1 , k1 ,kf,r , kb,r (units vary) Thermal conductivity (W/m-K, Btu/ft-h- F) Boltzmann constant (1.38 1023 J/molecule-K) Mass transfer coecient (units vary); also K, Kc
cp , cv Heat capacity at constant pressure, volume (J/kg-K, Btu/lbm - F)
Dij , D Mass diusion coecient (m2 /s, ft2 /s)
, l, L Length scale (m, cm, ft, in)
Nom-1
Nomenclature
Le m m Mw M Nu p Pe Pr Q q R r R Ra Re S s Sc Sij T t U
Lewis number ratio of thermal diusivity to mass diusivity (dimensionless) Mass (g, kg, lbm ) Mass ow rate (kg/s, lbm /s) Molecular weight (kg/kgmol, lbm /lbm mol) Mach number ratio of uid velocity magnitude to local speed of sound (dimensionless) Nusselt number dimensionless heat transfer or mass transfer coecient (dimensionless); usually a function of other dimensionless groups Pressure (Pa, atm, mm Hg, lbf /ft2 ) Peclet number Re Pr for heat transfer, and Re Sc for mass transfer (dimensionless) Prandtl number ratio of momentum diusivity to thermal diusivity (dimensionless) Flow rate of enthalpy (W, Btu/h) Heat ux (W/m2 , Btu/ft2 -h) Gas-law constant (8.31447 103 J/kgmol-K, 1.98588 Btu/lbm mol- F) Radius (m, ft) Reaction rate (units vary) Rayleigh number Gr Pr; measure of the strength of buoyancy-induced ow in natural (free) convection (dimensionless) Reynolds number ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces (dimensionless) Total entropy (J/K, J/kgmol-K, Btu/lbm mol- F) Species entropy; s0 , standard state entropy (J/kgmol-K, Btu/lbm mol- F) Schmidt number ratio of momentum diusivity to mass diusivity (dimensionless) Mean rate-of-strain tensor (s1 ) Temperature (K, C, R, F) Time (s) Free-stream velocity (m/s, ft/s)
u, v, w Velocity magnitude (m/s, ft/s); also written with directional subscripts (e.g., vx , vy , vz , vr ) V v We Volume (m3 , ft3 ) Overall velocity vector (m/s, ft/s) Weber number ratio of aerodynamic forces to surface tension forces (dimensionless)
Nom-2
Nomenclature
X Y
Mole fraction (dimensionless) Mass fraction (dimensionless) Permeability (m2 , ft2 ) Thermal diusivity (m2 /s, ft2 /s) Volume fraction (dimensionless) Coecient of thermal expansion (K1 ) Porosity (dimensionless) Ratio of specic heats, cp /cv (dimensionless) Change in variable, nal initial (e.g., p, t, H, S, T ) Delta function (units vary) Emissivity (dimensionless) Lennard-Jones energy parameter (J/molecule) Turbulent dissipation rate (m2 /s3 , ft2 /s3 ) Void fraction (dimensionless)
, r s
Eectiveness factor (dimensionless) Rate exponents for reactants, products (dimensionless) Radiation temperature (K) Molecular mean free path (m, nm, ft) Wavelength (m, nm, A, ft) Dynamic viscosity (cP, Pa-s, lbm /ft-s) Kinematic viscosity (m2 /s, ft2 /s) Density (kg/m3 , lbm /ft3 ) Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 108 W/m2 -K4 ) Surface tension (kg/m, dyn/cm, lbf /ft) Scattering coecient (m1 ) Stress tensor (Pa, lbf /ft2 ) Shear stress (Pa, lbf /ft2 ) Time scale, e.g., c , p , c (s) Tortuosity, characteristic of pore structure (dimensionless) Equivalence ratio (dimensionless) Thiele modulus (dimensionless) Angular velocity; ij , Mean rate of rotation tensor (s1 )
, Stoichiometric coecients for reactants, products (dimensionless)
Nom-3
Nomenclature Specic dissipation rate (s1 ) Solid angle (degrees, radians, gradians) Diusion collision integral (dimensionless)
, D
Nom-4
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Bib-28
Index
acoustics model, 21-1, 26-127 acoustic analogy, 21-2 boundary layer noise, 21-9 ABAQUS, 4-25 broadband noise, 21-3, 21-7, 21-25 abs. angular coordinate, 31-22 postprocessing, 21-27 absolute pressure, 8-64, 31-20 computing sound pressure data, 21-21 absolute reference frame, 23-99 direct method, 21-2 absolute velocity, 10-9, 10-13, 10-19, 10-21, FW-H, 21-12 10-22, 10-30, 10-34, 10-48, postprocessing, 21-21 26-72, 26-74 FW-H formulation, 21-4 absolute velocity formulation, 10-8, 10-10 integral method, 21-2 absorbed IR solar ux, 31-20 jet noise, 21-8 absorbed radiation ux, 31-20 Lilleys equation, 21-11 absorbed visible solar ux, 31-20 linearized Euler equation, 21-10 absorption coecient, 8-49, 12-95, 31-20 Proudmans formula, 21-7 composition-dependent, 8-50, quadrupoles, 21-3 12-16, 12-76 receivers, 21-20 eect of particles on, 8-51, 12-80 saving source data, 21-19 eect of soot on, 8-51, 12-79, source surfaces, 21-16 20-52, 20-55 SYSNOISE export, 21-16 non-gray radiation, 8-51 writing acoustic signals, 21-21 WSGGM, 8-50, 12-76 writing data les, 21-15, 21-19 accelerating reference frame, 10-3 Activate Cell Zones panel, 6-69 accretion, 23-98, 23-135, 31-26 activating zones, 6-66 reporting, 23-170 active cell partition, 31-21, 32-33 accuracy, 6-17 Adapt/Boundary..., 27-14, 27-16 diusion terms, 26-9 Adapt/Controls..., 27-59 rst-order, 26-9, 26-54 Adapt/Display Options..., 27-57 second-order, 26-11, 26-54 Adapt/Geometry panel, 27-48 acoustic power, 31-20 Adapt/Geometry..., 27-42 acoustic power level, 31-20 Adapt/Gradient..., 27-19, 27-23 Acoustic Receivers panel, 21-20 Adapt/Iso-Value..., 27-28, 27-30 Acoustic Signals panel, 21-21 Adapt/Manage..., 27-52 acoustic signals, 21-2 Adapt/Region..., 27-31, 27-34 Acoustic Sources panel, 21-16 Adapt/Smooth/Swap..., 27-63 Acoustics Model panel, 21-13 2.5D model, 10-73, 10-118 2.5D surface remeshing method, 10-61
Index-1
Index
Adapt/Volume..., 27-36, 27-38 Adapt/Yplus/Ystar..., 27-39, 27-41 adaption, 6-18, 27-1 y + ,y , 27-39 adaption registers, 27-49 boundary, 27-14 choosing the appropriate method, 27-13 coarsening, 27-9, 27-12 conformal, 27-4, 27-6, 27-10 enabling, 27-59 conformal vs. hanging node, 27-13 curvature, 31-21 deleting registers, 27-55 display options, 27-57 displaying registers, 27-57 dynamic gradient, 27-26 example, 27-2 function, 31-21 geometry based, 27-42 gradient, 27-19 guidelines, 27-5 hanging node, 27-6, 27-59 hybrid adaption, 27-50 isovalue, 27-28, 31-21 limiting, 27-59 manipulating registers, 27-52 marking, 27-6 mask registers, 27-51 modifying registers, 27-56 process, 27-6 renement, 27-7, 27-10 region, 27-31 space gradient, 31-21 volume, 27-36 Adaption Display Options panel, 27-57 adaptive time stepping, 26-86, 26-87 added mass eect, 24-29 adding text, 29-57 aerodynamic noise, 21-1 aggregative multigrid solver, 26-135 algebraic multigrid (AMG), 26-16, 26-38, 26-44 alloys, solidication of, 25-1
alphanumeric reporting, 30-1 angle of internal friction, 24-107 angular coordinate, 31-22 angular discretization, 12-30, 12-93 angular momentum, 9-14 angular velocity, 7-32, 10-8, 10-9, 10-20, 10-29 coordinate-system constraints, 10-9 Animate panel, 29-83 animation, 26-112, 29-71, 29-83 automatic, 26-112 example, 29-79, 29-80 of pathlines, 26-123, 29-30 playback, 29-85 restrictions, 29-89 saving, 29-87 solution, 26-112 Animation Sequence panel, 26-113, 26-114 Anisotropic Conductivity panel, 8-46 anisotropic thermal conductivity, 8-42, 12-6 Annotate panel, 29-43 annotated text, 29-43, 29-57 ANSYS, 4-25 ANSYS le, 4-8, 6-25 append case le, 6-28 append data le, 6-28 ARIES, 6-25 Arrhenius reaction rate, 14-5, 14-25, 31-22 ASCII le export, 4-25 aspect ratio, 6-14, 6-18 atomizer models, 23-43 Auto Partition Grid panel, 32-29 Autoignition Model panel, 19-12 autoignition model, 19-6 ignition delay modeling, 19-10 knock modeling, 19-8 limitations, 19-6 overview, 19-6 automatic le saving, 4-13, 10-72, 10-93, 26-83, 26-124 automatic partitioning, 32-29 Autosave Case/Data panel, 4-13 autosave, maximum number of les, 4-13
Index-2
Index
averaged values, 26-107, 26-110 AVS, 4-25 Axes panel, 29-117 axes, 29-117 attributes, 29-117 axial coordinate, 31-22 axial force, 29-131 axial pull velocity, 31-22 axial velocity, 7-31, 31-22 axis boundary condition, 7-98 axis of rotation, 6-50, 7-101, 7-103, 10-9, 10-20, 10-29 axisymmetric cases, 6-16, 6-42, 6-50, 7-98, 9-16, 30-2 axisymmetric ow in multiple reference frames, 10-18 rotation axis, 10-9 axisymmetric swirl, 7-23, 7-24, 7-31, 9-12, 9-16 inputs for, 9-16 solution strategies for, 9-18 backow, 7-49, 7-51 basic cavitation model, 24-68 batch execution, 1-11, 26-124 options, 1-14 Batch Options... panel, 1-14 beam irradiation ux, 31-22 Bernoulli equation, 7-26 Biaxial Conductivity panel, 8-42 biaxial thermal conductivity, 8-42 binary diusivity, 23-142 binary les, 4-3 Bingham plastics, 8-38 black body temperature, 12-97 Blake-Kozeny equation, 7-116 blowers, 10-35 body forces, 26-21, 26-26, 26-50, 26-55 for multiphase ow, 24-114, 26-26 implicit treatment of, 26-26 boiling, 23-23 point, 23-142 rate equation, 23-26 booleans, 3-5
Boundary Adaption panel, 27-16 boundary adaption, 27-14 boundary cell distance, 27-16, 31-22 Boundary Conditions panel, 7-3 boundary conditions, 7-1 axis, 7-98 centerline, 7-98 compressible ow, 9-24 copying, 7-6 coupling with GT-Power, 7-222 coupling with WAVE, 7-226 discrete phase, 23-11, 23-131, 23-132 exhaust fan, 7-12, 7-67 fan, 7-125 xing values in cell zones, 7-213 ow inlets and exits, 7-11 heat exchanger, 7-134 ill-posed, 7-62 inlet, 7-28, 7-217 inlet vent, 7-12, 7-45 intake fan, 7-12, 7-47 listing, 30-20 low-pressure gas slip, 14-45 mass ow inlet, 7-12, 7-36 mixing plane model, 10-29 moving zones, 7-101, 7-103 multiphase ow, 24-126 multiple reference frames, 10-21 non-premixed combustion model, 15-69 non-reecting, 7-145 non-uniform inputs for, 7-8 NOx, 20-45 opaque walls, 12-34 outow, 7-12, 7-60 outlet vent, 7-12, 7-65 overview, 7-2 periodic, 7-94, 12-116 porous jump, 7-143 porous media, 7-104 premixed turbulent combustion, 16-14 pressure far-eld, 7-12, 7-56 pressure inlet, 7-12, 7-20 pressure outlet, 7-12, 7-49
Index-3
Index
radiant, 7-90 radiation, 12-96 discrete ordinates (DO) model, 12-37, 12-38, 12-47 discrete transfer model (DTRM), 12-23 ow inlets and exits, 12-96 non-gray discrete ordinates (DO) model, 12-37 P-1 model, 12-26, 12-27 Rosseland model, 12-28, 12-29 walls, 12-97, 12-98 radiator, 7-134 reading, 4-18 rotating ow, 9-16 rotating reference frame, 10-9 saving, 4-18 setting, 7-5 transient, 7-8 sliding meshes, 10-43 soot, 20-55 source term input, 7-217 species, 7-86, 14-33, 14-44 surface reaction, 7-87, 14-44 swirling ow, 9-16 symmetry, 7-91 thermal, 7-90, 12-7 at walls, 7-70 transient, 7-8 turbulence, 11-42, 11-48, 11-76 input methods, 7-13 velocity inlet, 7-12, 7-28 wall, 7-69 writing, 4-18 boundary grid le, 4-19 boundary layers, 6-17, 9-16, 27-14 boundary normal distance, 27-17, 31-23 Boundary Proles panel, 7-205 boundary proles, 7-8, 7-201 le format, 7-202 reading and writing les, 4-17 reorienting, 7-206 units of, 5-2
boundary volume distance, 31-23 boundary zones, 7-5 changing name of, 7-7 changing type of, 7-4 Bounded Central Dierencing Scheme, 26-13 bounded plane, 28-14 Bounding Frame panel, 29-82 bounding frame, 29-81 Boussinesq hypothesis, 11-5 Boussinesq model, 8-24, 12-123 limitations, 12-124 branch cuts, 6-62 Brinkman number, 12-4 broadband noise, 21-7 Brownian force, 23-9, 23-98 browser, 2-21 bubble columns, 22-6 bubbles, 23-1 bubbly ow, 22-2, 22-4, 22-6 bulk species, 14-1914-21 buoyancy forces, 12-122 buoyancy-driven ows, 12-122 boundary conditions, 7-20, 7-22 inputs for, 12-124 solution procedures, 12-127 theory, 12-122 burnout stoichiometric ratio, 15-73, 23-143 burnt mixture, 16-3 species concentration, 16-11, 16-16 buttons, 2-12 C-type grids, 6-62 calculations, 26-78, 26-80 convergence of, 26-128, 26-137 executing commands during, 26-124 in batch mode, 1-11 interrupting, 26-79 stability of, 26-128, 26-130 steady-state, 26-78 time-dependent, 26-80 Camera Parameters panel, 29-58, 29-61 cancelling, 2-6 a display operation, 2-16
Index-4
Index
capabilities, 9-2 capillary number, 24-15 captions, 29-42 carpet plot, 29-14 Carreau Model panel, 8-37 Carreau model, 8-36 carrier, 14-48 Cartesian coordinate system, for boundary condition inputs, 7-23 Cartesian velocities, 31-4 for boundary condition inputs, 7-30 case les automatic saving of, 4-13, 10-72, 10-93, 26-83 FLUENT 4, 4-14, 6-27 FLUENT/UNS, 4-14 non-conformal, 6-40 format, B-1 RAMPANT, 4-14, 6-26 non-conformal, 6-40 reading and writing, 4-11, 4-12 writing, 6-47 cavitation model, 24-67 additional guidelines, 24-72 limitations, 24-68 multiphase, 24-73 multiphase species transport, 24-74 non-condensable gases, 24-70, 24-122 surface tension coecient, 24-122 vapor transport, 24-69 vaporization pressure, 24-122 cell aspect ratio, 6-14, 6-18 children, 31-23 element type, 31-23 equiangular skewness, 31-23 equivolume skewness, 31-23 partition, 31-24 rene level, 31-24 Reynolds number, 31-24 skewness, 6-14, 6-18 equiangular, 31-23 equivolume, 31-23
squish index, 31-24 surface area, 31-24 type, 31-25 values, 26-8, 31-1 for contours, 29-16 for pathlines, 29-37 for XY plots, 29-107 volume, 6-18, 31-25 2D, 31-25 change, 6-18, 27-28, 31-25 negative, 6-42 wall distance, 31-25 warpage, 31-25 zones, 31-25 separating, 6-56 centering the display, 29-58 centerline boundary conditions, 7-98 centrifugal impellers, 10-3 CFL condition, 26-35, 26-65 CGNS les, 4-10, 4-25 char, 20-20 burnout, 23-37 character strings, 3-5 characteristic length, 8-64 characteristic strain rate, 15-28 check box, 2-12 checking the grid, 6-40 checkpointing, 1-15 using LSF, 1-15, 32-54 using SGE, 1-15, 32-49 chemical database, 15-2 chemical mechanism les, 14-40, 15-40 chemical reaction, 12-5 equilibrium chemistry, 15-7, 15-36 non-equilibrium chemistry, 15-7, 15-25 non-premixed combustion model, 15-2 reversible, 14-7, 14-32 chemical vapor deposition, 14-42 CHEMKIN les, 14-40, 15-40 CHEMKIN Mechanism Import panel, 14-40, 14-50 circumferential average, 10-22, 10-26, 10-48, 29-111
Index-5
Index
cleaning up processes, 1-16 cloud tracking, 23-16, 23-126 clustering, 12-21, 12-50, 12-83 display, 12-112 co-located scheme, 26-20 coal combustion, 15-37, 15-72, 23-38 carbon conversion, 23-158 char burnout, 23-37, 23-143, 23-144 devolatilization, 23-27, 23-143 discrete phase, 23-108 empirical fuel denition in, 15-39, 15-45 fuel composition, 15-46 heating value, 15-45, 15-48 in non-premixed combustion model, 15-44, 15-46 models for, 23-38, 23-143 particle heating, 23-36 swelling, 23-35 water content, 15-48, 15-73, 23-113 coarse grid levels, 26-67, 26-137 coarsen, pathline, 29-33 coarsening, 27-9, 27-12, 27-13 parameters, 26-136 coecient of restitution, 24-37 cold ow, 14-35 color scale, 29-42 Colormap panel, 29-46 colormap, 29-46 custom, 29-49 Colormap Editor panel, 29-49 colors, 29-75 contour, 29-11, 29-136, 29-139 for annotation, 29-43 grid, 29-6 pathline, 29-32 vector, 29-24, 29-25 combustible fraction, 15-72, 23-143 combustion, 14-34 coal, 15-21, 15-37, 15-46, 23-27 empirical fuel denition, 15-39 equilibrium chemistry, 15-36 nite-rate model, 14-4 amelet model, 15-25
liquid fuel, 15-21, 15-37, 23-23 model compatibility, A-1 non-equilibrium chemistry, 15-25 non-premixed, 15-2 partially premixed, 17-1 pollutant formation, 15-50, 20-1 premixed, 16-1 solution techniques, 26-131 sulfur in, 15-44 command les, 26-124 command macros, 26-126 communicators, 32-2 LINUX, 32-10 UNIX, 32-6 Windows, 32-12 composition PDF transport model, 18-1 IEM model, 18-4 ISAT algorithm, 18-7 model compatibility, A-1 Modied Curl model, 18-4 Monte Carlo method, 18-3 particle tracking, 18-20 reporting options, 18-19 compressed les, 4-4 compressible ows, 9-20, 26-50 boundary conditions for, 9-24 calculations at inlet pressure boundaries, 7-27 oating operating pressure, 9-25 higher-order density interpolation, 26-22, 26-56 inputs for, 8-26, 9-23 physics of, 9-22 pressure interpolation, 26-55 solution strategies, 9-27 turbulence modeling, 11-25 compressible liquid, density, 24-68 computational expense, 6-14, 27-2 compute nodes, 32-1, 32-22 connectivity information for, 32-26 killing, 32-23 spawning, 32-22 troubleshooting, 32-23
Index-6
Index
computing sound pressure data, 21-21 computing view factors, 12-85 concentration, discrete phase, 31-27 concrete, 8-38 conduction, 12-1, 12-6 shell, 7-76 conductive heat transfer, 12-1 conformal adaption, 27-4, 27-6, 27-10 enabling, 27-59 conical grid interface, 10-37 conjugate-gradient methods, 26-38 conservation equations, 9-3 discretization of, 26-8 in integral form, 26-20, 26-31 source term additions to, 7-217 consistency factor, 8-38 console, 1-4, 2-1 contact angle, 24-16, 24-137 contact resistance in solidication and melting, 25-7 contact resistivity, 31-25 continuity equation, 9-3, 9-30 continuous casting, 25-1, 25-2, 25-6 inputs for, 25-10 contour plotting, 29-11 for turbomachinery, 29-136, 29-138 Contours panel, 29-11 control volume technique, 26-2 convection in moving solids, 12-5 convective heat transfer, 12-1 conventions used in this guide, UTM-5 convergence, 12-127, 14-34, 26-93, 26-128, 27-28, 27-36 acceleration of, 26-67, 26-70, 26-131, 26-138 criteria, 26-3, 26-5 modifying, 26-97 judging, 26-93, 26-101, 26-128 conversion factors for units, 5-6 coordinate transformation, 10-3 coordinates, 31-36, 31-50 constraints for rotating reference frames, 10-9
Copy BCs panel, 7-6 core porosity model default, 7-190 dening, 7-191 reading parameters from an external le, 7-192 Core Porosity Model panel, 7-191 Coriolis force, 10-8 Cortex, 1-7, 1-9, 3-4 coupled solver, 26-5, 26-31, 26-50 Courant number, 26-65 discretization, 26-34 explicit, 26-7, 26-50 Courant number, 26-65 ux dierence splitting, 26-34 implicit, 26-7, 26-50 Courant number, 26-65 memory usage, 26-50 limitations, 26-51 preconditioning, 26-32 residuals, 26-95 temporal discretization, 26-34 coupled walls, 6-63, 7-74 Courant number, 26-35, 26-141 coupled explicit solver, 26-65 coupled implicit solver, 26-65 for VOF calculations, 24-125 setting, 26-65 CPD model, 23-31 Create Surface panel, 29-38 crevice model, 10-121 output le, 10-130 postprocessing, 10-128 theory, 10-124 critical strain rate, 31-25 Cross Model panel, 8-38 Cross model, 8-37 crystal growth, 25-2 Curves panel, 29-119 Custom Field Function Calculator panel, 31-52
Index-7
Index
custom eld functions, 31-25, 31-52 for solution initialization, 26-74 sample, 31-56 saving, 31-55 units of, 5-2, 31-52 Custom Vectors panel, 29-26 customizing eld functions, 31-52 GUI, 2-19 units, 5-4 vectors, 29-26 CVD, 14-42 low-pressure gas slip, 14-45 .cxlayout le, 4-36 cyclic boundary, 7-94 cyclones, 11-10 cylindrical coordinate system for boundary condition inputs, 7-23 Cylindrical Orthotropic Conductivity panel, 8-44 cylindrical orthotropic thermal conductivity, 8-44 cylindrical velocities, 31-4 for boundary condition inputs, 7-30 Damkohler number, 31-25 Darcys Law, 7-105, 7-106, 7-143 data export, 4-25 data les automatic saving of, 4-13, 10-72, 10-93, 26-83 FLUENT/UNS, 4-14 format, B-1 importing and exporting particle history data, 26-122 postprocessing time-sequence data, 29-142 RAMPANT, 4-14 reading and writing, 4-11, 4-12 writing, 6-47 data resetting, 26-79
database materials, 8-3, 23-137 data sources, 8-6 user-dened, 8-9 Data Explorer, 4-25 Deactivate Cell Zones panel, 6-68 deactivating zones, 6-66 Dene Event panel, 10-95 Dene Macro panel, 26-126 Dene Surface Monitor panel, 26-105, 26-107 Dene Unit panel, 5-5 Dene Volume Monitor panel, 26-109, 26-110 Dene/Boundary Conditions..., 7-3 dene/boundary-conditions/non-reecting-bc, 7-155 Dene/Custom Field Functions..., 31-52 Dene/DTRM Rays..., 12-82 Dene/Dynamic Mesh/Events..., 10-94 Dene/Dynamic Mesh/Parameters..., 10-73 Dene/Dynamic Mesh/Zones..., 10-82, 10-84 Dene/Grid Interfaces..., 6-38, 10-43 dene/grid-interfaces/make-periodic, 6-60 dene/grid-interfaces/recreate, 6-40 dene/grid-interfaces/use-virtual-polygon-approach, 6-35 Dene/Injections..., 23-109 Dene/Materials..., 8-4, 14-17, 15-71 Dene/Mixing Planes..., 10-30 dene/mixing-planes/set/conserve-swirl, 10-33 dene/mixing-planes/set/x-pressure-level, 10-32 Dene/Models/Acoustics..., 21-13 dene/models/acoustics/auto-prune, 21-24 dene/models/acoustics/export-volumetric-sources?, 21-16 dene/models/acoustics/write-centroid-info, 21-16 Dene/Models/Discrete Phase..., 23-93, 23-97
dene/models/dpm/options/track-in-absoluteframe, 10-17, 23-4 dene/models/dynamic-mesh-controls/in-cylinderparameter/position-starting-mesh, 10-107 dene/models/dynamic-mesh-controls/six-dofparameter/motion-history?, 10-121
Index-8
Index
dene/models/dynamic-mesh-controls/spring-on-allshapes?, 10-52
Dene/Models/Energy..., 9-24, 12-7, 12-124 dene/models/energy?, 12-3, 12-6 Dene/Models/Multiphase..., 24-83

dene/models/multiphase/wet-steam/compile-userdened-wetsteam-functions, 24-143,
24-146
dene/models/multiphase/wet-steam/load-unloaduser-dened-wetsteam-library, 24-143 dene/models/multiphase/wet-steam/set/maxliquid-mass-fraction, 24-159
Dene/Turbo Topology..., 29-123 Dene/Units..., 5-3 Dene/User-Dened/1D Coupling..., 7-223, 7-226, 7-227 dene/user-dened/compiled-functions, 8-77 Dene/User-Dened/Fan Model..., 7-166 Dene/User-Dened/Heat Exchanger Group..., 7-193 Dene/User-Dened/Heat Exchanger..., 7-182
dene/user-dened/heat-exchanger/heat-exchangerreport, 7-196 dene/user-dened/real-gas, 8-73
Dene/Models/Pollutants/Soot..., 20-52 Dene/Models/Radiation..., 12-81, 12-85, denitions for eld functions, 31-1 12-93, 12-107 for ow variables, 31-1 dene/models/radiation/s2s-parameters/split-angle, deforming zones, 10-82, 10-89 12-89 dene/models/radiation/solar-parameters/autoread- degrees of freedom, 8-63 solar-data/, 12-72 Delaunay triangulation, 27-12 dene/models/radiation/solar-parameters/autosave- Delete Zones panel, 6-67 solar-data/, 12-71 deleting zones, 6-66 Dene/Models/Solidication and Melting..., Delta-Eddington scattering phase function, 25-8 8-52, 12-32 Dene/Models/Solver..., 9-16, 26-52, 26-80 density, 8-23, 14-31, 31-26 Dene/Models/Species..., 16-11 Boussinesq model, 8-23 composition-dependent, 8-27 dene/models/species/inlet-diusion?, 14-33, 15-70 compressible liquid, 24-68 Dene/Models/Species/NOx..., 20-36, 20-37 constant, 8-23, 8-24 Dene/Models/Species/Soot..., 20-51 discrete phase, 23-141 for premixed turbulent Dene/Models/Species/Transport & Reaccombustion, 16-9 tion..., 14-47 ideal gas law, 8-23, 8-26 Dene/Models/Species/Transport and Reaction..., 15-35 incompressible ideal gas law, 8-23, 8-25 Dene/Models/Viscous..., 9-31, 11-68 interpolation schemes, 26-22, 26-56 restrictions, 8-23 dene/models/viscous/turbulence-expert/rke-cmurotation-term?, 11-23 temperature-dependent, 8-23, 8-24 dene/models/viscous/turbulence-expert/turb-nonderivative evaluation, 26-19 newtonian?, 11-75 derivatives, 31-26 Dene/Operating Conditions..., 8-25, 8-26, detached eddy simulation (DES) model, 8-66, 9-23, 12-124 11-4, 11-50, 11-72 Dene/Periodic Conditions..., 9-8 devolatilization, 31-27 Dene/Phases..., 24-94 models, 23-27, 23-143 Dene/Proles..., 7-205 dialog box, 2-5
Index-9
Index
discrete phase, 23-1 diesel engines, 10-121 diusion, 6-15 aborted trajectories, 23-93 preferential, 16-7 absorption coecient, 31-26 species, 12-10, 14-3 accretion, 23-98, 23-135, 31-26 thermal, 31-45 reporting, 23-170 diusion coecient, 14-3, 14-13, 14-31 air-blast atomizer, 23-57 species, 31-28, 31-32 injections, 23-123 thermal, 8-56 atomizer models, 23-43 user-dened scalar, 31-26 boiling, 23-23 diusion ames, 15-2 boundary conditions, 23-11, 23-131, 23-132 diusivity escape, 23-133 binary, 23-142 interior, 23-134 direct numerical simulation, 11-44 reect, 23-132 discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model, 12-15 trap, 23-132 advantages, 12-19 wall jet, 23-133 angular discretization, 12-30, 12-93 Brownian force, 23-9, 23-98 boundary conditions burnout, 31-26 diuse semi-transparent walls, 12-43 cloud tracking, 23-10, 23-16, 23-126 ow inlets and exits, 12-47 coal combustion, 15-72 gray-diuse walls, 12-37 coecient of restitution, 23-132, 23-135 opaque walls, 12-98 combusting, 23-108, 23-137 periodic boundaries, 12-47 concentration, 23-165, 31-27 semi-transparent walls, 12-38, 12-102 cone injections, 23-106, 23-119 solid semi-transparent media, 12-47 coupled calculations, 23-4, 23-86, 23-89, 23-150, 23-152, 26-3, 26-5 specular semi-transparent walls, 12-40 coupled heat-mass solution, 23-102 specular walls, 12-47 customized particle laws, 23-112, 23-128 symmetry boundaries, 12-47 devolatilization, 23-27, 31-27 limitations, 12-19 display, 23-153 non-gray, 12-29 drag coecient, 23-6, 23-97 inputs for, 12-93 drag force, 23-5 limitations, 12-19 droplet, 23-108, 23-137 particulate eects, 12-34 collision model, 23-61 particulate eects, 12-34 dynamic drag model, 23-72 pixelation, 12-30, 12-93 eervescent atomizer, 23-59 properties, 8-49 injections, 23-125 residuals, 12-109 emission, 31-27 semi-transparent walls erosion, 23-98, 23-135, 31-27 limitations, 12-47 reporting, 23-170 solution parameters, 12-109 evaporation, 31-27 theory, 12-29
Index-10
Index
at-fan atomizer, 23-58 injections, 23-124 group injections, 23-106, 23-114 heat transfer, 23-4, 23-20, 23-21, 23-86, 23-87, 23-158 in multiple reference frames, 10-17, 23-4 inert, 23-108, 23-137 initial conditions, 23-105 read from a le, 23-106 injections, 23-106 copying, 23-110 creating, 23-109 deleting, 23-110 listing, 23-110 read from a le, 23-106 setting properties, 23-111 setting properties for multiple, 23-129 inputs, 23-89 for boundary conditions, 23-131 for initial conditions, 23-105 for material properties, 23-137 for optional models, 23-97 for particle tracking, 23-90 for spray modeling, 23-99 for transient particles, 23-90 interaction with continuous phase, 23-90 lift force, 23-10, 23-98 limitations of, 10-17, 23-3, 24-6 mass ow rate, 23-114, 23-117, 23-119 mass transfer, 23-4, 23-20, 23-25, 23-86, 23-88, 23-132, 23-142, 23-158 materials, 8-5, 23-112, 23-137 model compatibility, A-1 numerics, 23-100, 23-146 options, 23-97 overview, 23-4 parallel processing, 23-102 message passing, 23-102 shared memory, 23-102 workpile, 23-104 particle cloud tracking, 23-10, 23-16, 23-126
particle stream, 23-110 particle summary reporting, 23-168 particle tracking, 23-89 plain-orice atomizer, 23-44 injections, 23-122 point properties, 23-114 postprocessing, 23-153 pressure-swirl atomizer, 23-52 injections, 23-123 properties, 23-137 radiation heat transfer to, 23-22, 23-26, 23-42, 23-97, 23-145 reference frame, 23-99 residence time, 23-159 restitution coecient, 23-132, 23-135 rotating reference frames, 23-8 scattering, 31-27 setup, 23-109 for steady-state problem, 23-4 for unsteady problem, 23-5 size distribution, 23-11, 23-115 solution procedures, 23-146 sources, 31-27 spray breakup models, 23-64 spray modeling, 23-43 atomizers, 23-43 breakup, 23-64 droplet collision, 23-61 dynamic drag, 23-72 wall-lm, 23-74 stochastic tracking, 23-10, 23-12, 23-15, 23-125, 23-152 summary report, 23-157 surface injections, 23-106, 23-120 thermophoretic coecient, 23-142 thermophoretic force, 23-8, 23-98 time step, 23-87, 23-93 tracking, 23-93 tracking schemes, 23-101 trajectory calculations, 23-5, 23-149 trajectory reporting, 23-156, 23-161 at boundaries, 23-166 unsteady tracking, 23-163
Index-11
Index
display, 29-1 transient particles, 23-90 animation, 29-83 turbulence, 23-98 restrictions, 29-89 turbulent dispersion, 23-2, 23-10, 23-12, 23-16 annotation, 29-43 uncoupled calculations, 23-149 bounding frame, 29-81 under-relaxation, 23-152 captions, 29-42 user-dened functions, 23-102, 23-128 centering, 29-58 using, 23-89 choosing surfaces for, 28-1 vapor pressure, 23-25 coarse, 29-33 vaporization, 23-23, 23-132 colormap, 29-46 colors, 29-6, 29-24, 29-25, 29-32, 29-75 wall-lm model, 23-74 composing, 29-71 wet combustion, 23-113 contours, 29-11 Discrete Phase Model panel, 23-93, 23-97, 23-109, 23-153 for turbomachinery, 29-136, 29-138 Discrete Random Walk model, 23-12, 23-13, deleting objects, 29-81 23-126 grid, 29-2 discrete transfer radiation model (DTRM), in multiple graphics windows, 29-41 12-15 lights, 29-51 advantages, 12-18 magnifying, 29-56, 29-61 boundary conditions, 12-23 mirroring, 29-65 limitations, 12-18 on surfaces with uniform distribution, properties, 8-49 28-10, 28-14 residuals, 12-109 outline, 29-2, 29-7 solution parameters, 12-107 overlaying, 29-39 theory, 12-20 pathlines, 29-28 discrete values, storage points, 26-8 periodic repeats, 29-65 discretization, 6-15, 26-8, 26-20 proles, 29-11 bounded central dierencing properties, 29-73 scheme, 26-13 rendering options, 29-53 rst-order scheme, 26-9, 26-54 rotating, 29-56, 29-59 frozen ux formulation, 26-28 scaling, 29-58 inputs for, 26-54 sweep surface, 29-37 iterative time advancement, 26-28 symmetry, 29-65 low diusion second order title, 29-43, 29-110 scheme, 26-14 translating, 29-56, 29-60 modied HRIC scheme, 26-14 transparency, 29-75 node vs cell, 26-19 turbomachinery 2D contours, 29-138 non-iterative time advancement, 26-28 turbomachinery averaged power-law scheme, 26-9, 26-55 contours, 29-136 QUICK scheme, 26-11, 26-55 vectors, 29-18 second-order scheme, 26-11, 26-54 view modication, 29-58 temporal, 26-16, 26-27, 26-34, 26-36 visibility, 29-74 third-order MUSCL scheme, 26-12 zooming, 29-61
Index-12
Index
Display Options panel, 29-41, 29-42, 29-51, 29-53 Display Properties panel, 29-73 Display/Annotate..., 29-43 Display/Colormaps..., 29-46 Display/Contours..., 29-11 Display/DTRM Graphics..., 12-112 Display/Flamelet 3D Surfaces..., 15-56 Display/Grid..., 29-2, 29-5 Display/Lights..., 29-51 Display/Mouse Buttons..., 29-56, 29-57 Display/Options..., 29-39, 29-41, 29-42, 29-51, 29-53 Display/Particle Tracks..., 18-20, 23-153 Display/Path Lines..., 29-28, 29-29 Display/PDF Tables/Curves..., 15-62 Display/Scene Animation..., 29-83 Display/Scene..., 29-39, 29-71 display/set/title, 29-43 display/set/windows/scale, 29-42 display/set/windows/text, 29-42 display/set/zero-theta-dir, 29-124 Display/Sweep Surface..., 29-37 Display/Vectors..., 29-18, 29-20 Display/Video Control..., 29-90 Display/Views..., 29-58, 29-64, 29-67 Display/Zone Motion..., 10-91 dissipation, 26-142 divergence, 26-60 troubleshooting, 26-69 DNS, 11-44 DO radiation model, 12-29 non-gray diuse walls, 12-37 opaque walls, 12-34 donor-acceptor scheme, 24-11, 24-85 double buering, 29-54 double-precision solvers, 1-1, 26-93 double-sided face zones, 7-5 dough, 8-38 drag coecient, 26-101 discrete phase, 23-6, 23-97 in Eulerian multiphase model, 22-6 drift ux model, 24-23
drift velocity, 24-22 drop-down list, 2-14 droplet, 23-1, 23-108, 23-137 boiling, 23-26 devolatilization, 23-27 inert heating or cooling, 23-21 initial conditions, 23-105 size distribution, 23-11 surface combustion, 23-37 trajectories alphanumeric reporting, 23-165 display of, 23-153 vaporization, 23-23 droplet ow, 22-2, 22-4, 22-6 DTRM, 12-15, 12-20 DTRM Graphics panel, 12-112 DTRM Rays panel, 12-82 DTRM rays, 12-82 dual time stepping, 26-17, 26-36 dynamic head, 7-134 dynamic kinetic energy subgrid-scale model, 11-47 dynamic layering method, 10-54 Dynamic Mesh Events panel, 10-94 dynamic mesh model model compatibility, A-1 partitioning in parallel, 32-33, 32-34 Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel, 10-73 Dynamic Mesh Zones panel, 10-84 dynamic meshes, 10-49 2.5D, 10-73 2.5D model, 10-118 in-cylinder model parameters, 10-81 constraints, 10-52, 10-56, 10-59, 10-61, 10-62, 10-67 crevice model, 10-121 dening events, 10-94 dynamic layering, 10-76 dynamic layering method, 10-54 grid requirements 2.5D surface remeshing, 10-62 dynamic layering, 10-56 feature detection, 10-67
Index-13
Index
local face remeshing, 10-61 local remeshing, 10-59 spring-based smoothing, 10-52 in-cylinder model, 10-73, 10-81 in-cylinder motion, 10-102 Laplacian smoothing, 10-74, 10-76 Laplacian smoothing method, 10-54 local remeshing, 10-76 mesh motion methods, 10-51 feature detection, 10-67 volume mesh update, 10-67 previewing, 10-91 remeshing method face region, 10-58 remeshing methods, 10-57 2.5D surface, 10-61 local, 10-58 local face, 10-59 setting parameters, 10-73 setup, 10-71 Six DOF solver, 10-73, 10-119 Six DOF solver parameters, 10-82 smoothing, 10-74 solid-body kinematics, 10-68 specifying zone motion, 10-82 spring-based smoothing, 10-74 spring-based smoothing method, 10-51 theory, 10-50 dynamic pressure, 31-28 dynamic Smagorinsky-Lilly subgrid-scale model, 11-47 EDC model, 14-11 model compatibility, A-1 eddy-dissipation model, 14-9 model compatibility, A-1 eective density, 24-27 eective Prandtl number, 31-28 eective thermal conductivity, 31-28 eective viscosity, 31-29 eectiveness, 7-190 heat exchangers, 7-178 eectiveness factor, 14-56
eciencies for pumps and compressors, 29-131 eciencies for turbines, 29-134 elastic collision, 23-132 elasticity modulus, 24-102, 24-108 emissivity, 12-17, 12-96, 12-97 empirical fuel, 15-39, 15-45 Energy panel, 9-24, 12-7, 12-124 energy, 31-32, 31-45 equation, 9-31, 12-2 in solid regions, 12-5 parameter, 8-64 sources, 7-220, 12-5 Engine Ignition auto, 19-6 spark, 19-1 enhanced wall functions, 11-63 EnSight, 4-25 enthalpy, 31-29 equation, 12-3 standard-state, 14-31 enthalpy-porosity method, 25-3 entropy, 14-32, 30-18, 31-30 equilibrium chemistry, 15-2, 15-7, 15-36 condensed phase species, 15-45 empirical fuels, 15-39 partial equilibrium, 15-7 equivalence ratio, 15-6 Ergun equation, 7-116 erosion, 23-98, 23-135, 31-27 reporting, 23-170 Error dialog box, 2-6 error messages, 2-6 error reduction, 26-54 rate, 26-46 using multigrid, 26-38 Euler equations, 9-29 Euler explicit interpolation scheme, 24-12, 24-85 Euler scheme, 23-146 Euler-Euler multiphase modeling, 22-5 Euler-Lagrange multiphase modeling, 22-4
Index-14
Index
Eulerian multiphase ow, model compatibility, A-1 Eulerian multiphase model, 22-6, 24-5 k- dispersed turbulence model, 24-48 k- mixture turbulence model, 24-47 k- per-phase turbulence model, 24-52 added mass eect, 24-29 bulk viscosity, 24-42 conservation equations, 24-27 convergence of, 24-6 drag function, 24-110 exchange coecients, 24-32 frictional viscosity, 24-42 granular temperature, 24-43 heat exchange coecient, 24-45 heat transfer, 24-44 kinetic viscosity, 24-42 lift forces, 24-28, 24-111 limitations of, 24-6 mass transfer, 24-64 overview, 24-5 restitution coecients, 24-111 RSM dispersed turbulence model, 24-55 RSM mixture turbulence model, 24-56 RSM turbulence models, 24-54 solids pressure, 24-37 solids shear stresses, 24-41 solution strategies, 24-82, 24-158 theory, 24-26 turbulence in, 24-6, 24-46 virtual mass force, 24-29, 24-112 volume fraction, 24-26 evaporation, 23-23, 31-27 events dening dynamic mesh events, 10-94 Events Preview panel, 10-96 Execute Commands panel, 26-124 Exhaust Fan panel, 7-67 exhaust fan boundary, 7-12, 7-67 existing value, 31-30 exiting, 1-17 explicit time stepping, 26-18, 26-36 restrictions, 26-67
exploded views, 29-77 exponential scheme, 23-146 Export panel, 4-25 exporting data, 4-25 heat ux, 12-13 extended cavitation model, 24-73 external ows, 7-56 boundary conditions, 7-20 external heat transfer boundary conditions, 7-90 external radiation, 12-18 extruding face zones, 6-64 F-cycle multigrid, 26-45 face ux, 26-22 face handedness, 6-42, 31-30 face region remeshing method, 10-58 face squish index, 31-30 face swapping, 27-67 face zones fusing, 6-61 separating, 6-54 slitting, 6-63 face-node connectivity, 6-10 false diusion, 6-15 Fan panel, 7-126 fan model, 7-125 user-dened, 7-125, 7-164 fans, 10-2 postprocessing for, 29-16, 29-37, 29-107 far-eld boundary, 7-12, 7-32, 7-56 FAS multigrid, 26-48 FAST, 4-25 Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) customizing the input, 29-146 customizing the output, 29-147 loading data, 29-146 using, 29-145 Fast Fourier Transform(FFT) limitations, 29-143 postprocessing, 29-142 windowing, 29-143 fe2ram, 6-26 feature detection, 10-67
Index-15
Index
feature outline, 29-7 Ficks law, 8-53 FIDAP neutral les, 4-14, 6-27 Field Function Denitions panel, 31-55 eld functions custom, 31-52 sample, 31-56 saving, 31-55 units of, 5-2, 31-52 denitions, 31-1 for solution initialization, 26-74 Fieldview, 4-25 le format, 4-3 le sux, 4-2 File XY Plot panel, 29-108 File/Batch Options..., 1-14 le/conrm-overwrite?, 4-7 File/Exit, 1-17 File/Export..., 4-25 le/export/custom-heat-ux, 12-13 File/Hardcopy..., 4-20 File/Import/ANSYS..., 4-8 File/Import/CGNS/Mesh and Data..., 4-10 File/Import/CGNS/Mesh..., 4-10 File/Import/CHEMKIN Mechanism..., 14-40, 14-50 File/Import/FIDAP..., 4-14, 6-27 File/Import/FLUENT 4 Case File..., 4-14 File/Import/FLUENT 4 Case..., 6-27 File/Import/GAMBIT..., 4-8 File/Import/I-deas Universal..., 4-9, 6-21 File/Import/NASTRAN..., 4-9, 6-22 File/Import/Partition/Metis Zone..., 32-43 File/Import/Partition/Metis..., 32-42 File/Import/PATRAN..., 4-9, 6-24 File/Import/PreBFC File..., 4-8, 6-20 File/Interpolate..., 4-33 le/read-bc, 4-18 le/read-macros, 26-127 le/read-transient-table, 7-11 File/Read/Case and Data..., 1-4, 4-11, 4-12 File/Read/Case..., 1-4, 4-7, 4-8, 4-11 File/Read/Data..., 4-11, 4-12
File/Read/DTRM Rays..., 12-84 File/Read/Journal..., 4-15, 4-16 File/Read/PDF..., 15-75 File/Read/Prole..., 4-17, 7-205 File/Read/Scheme..., 4-36 File/Read/View Factors..., 12-88 File/RSF..., 1-6 File/Run..., 1-3, 32-4, 32-9 File/Save Layout, 4-36 le/set-batch-options, 1-14 le/write-bc, 4-18 le/write-macros, 26-127 le/write-surface-clusters/split-angle, 12-89 File/Write/Autosave..., 4-13, 10-72, 26-83 File/Write/Boundary Grid..., 4-19 File/Write/Case and Data..., 4-11, 4-12 File/Write/Case..., 4-11, 4-12 File/Write/Data..., 4-11 File/Write/Flamelet..., 15-55 File/Write/PDF..., 15-62 File/Write/Prole..., 4-17 File/Write/Start Journal..., 4-15, 4-16 File/Write/Start Transcript..., 4-16 File/Write/Stop Journal, 4-15, 4-16 File/Write/Stop Transcript, 4-16 File/Write/Surface Clusters..., 12-87, 12-88 lenames, 3-5 les, 4-1 automatic saving of, 4-13, 10-72, 10-93, 26-83, 26-124 binary, 4-3, 4-11 boundary grid, 4-19 case and data, 4-11 CGNS, 4-10 chemical mechanism, 14-40, 15-40 compressed reading, 4-4 writing, 4-5 DTRM rays, 12-84 amelet, 15-65 format, B-1 formatted, 4-3, 4-11 grid, 4-7
Index-16
Index
hardcopy, 4-20 importing and exporting particle history data, 26-122 interpolation, 4-35 journal, 4-15 log, 4-15 MPEG, 26-121, 29-88 naming conventions for, 4-2 numbering, 4-6, 26-127 overwriting, 4-7 prole, 4-17 ray, 12-82, 12-84 reading and writing, 4-1 compressed, 4-4 shortcuts, 4-2 reading multiple, 2-8 recently read, 4-4 searching for, 2-8 selecting, 2-7 shortcuts for reading and writing, 4-2 surface grid, 4-19 surface mechanism, 14-50 text, 4-3, 4-11 transcript, 4-16 unformatted, 4-3, 4-11 lled contours, 29-14 grids, 29-6, 29-74 proles, 29-14 lter papers, 7-104, 7-118 ne scale mass fraction, 31-30 ne scale temperature, 31-30 ne scale transfer rate, 31-30 nite-rate reactions, 14-4 particle surface, 14-54 volumetric, 14-2 wall surface, 14-42 nite-volume scheme, 26-8 rst-order accuracy, 26-9, 26-54 rst-order time stepping, 26-17 xing variable values in cell zones, 7-213 fl42seg, 6-20, 6-27
ame front, 16-3 thickening, 16-4 ame speed, 16-4 ame stretching, 16-6 amelet model, 15-7, 15-25 approaches generation, 15-30 import, 15-31 assumptions, 15-26 les, 15-65 standard, 15-65 amelet generation approach, 15-30 inputs for, 15-40 amelet import approach, 15-31 importing a amelet le, 15-41 inputs for, 15-33 look-up tables, 15-62 multiple amelet libraries, 15-30 multiple-amelet import approach OPPDIF les, 15-33 standard format les, 15-33 non-adiabatic, 15-31 OPPDIF les, 15-33 parameters, 15-52 PDF table parameters, 15-59 restrictions, 15-26 scalar dissipation, 15-28 single-amelet import approach OPPDIF les, 15-31 standard format les, 15-31 standard format les, 15-32, 15-33, 15-65 strain rate, 15-28 theory, 15-26 Flamelet Table panel, 15-56 ex-cycle multigrid, 26-46, 26-133 oating operating pressure, 9-25 ow direction at mass ow inlets, 7-40 at pressure far-eld boundaries, 7-57 at pressure inlets, 7-23 ow distributors, 7-104
Index-17
Index
ow rate, 30-9 for multiphase calculations, 24-164 ow variable denitions, 31-1 ue gas recycle in non-premixed combustion model, 15-21 FLUENT, model compatibility, A-1 FLUENT Launcher, 32-15 additional options, 32-17 batch mode setup, 32-15 example, 32-20 executable options, 32-16 journal le setup, 32-15 machine setup, 32-19 number of processes setup, 32-15 parallel options, 32-17 path setup, 32-18 using on another machine, 32-16 .fluent le, 4-36 uent -help, 1-7 FLUENT 4, 26-50 FLUENT 4 case les, 4-14, 6-27 Fluent Database Materials panel, 8-6, 14-20 FLUENT/UNS, 26-50 FLUENT/UNS case and data les, 4-14 non-conformal, 6-40 FLUENT/UNS case les, 6-26 Fluid panel, 7-99, 7-110 uid materials, 7-99, 8-4, 14-20 uid phase reactions, 13-1 uid zone, 7-99 uid-uid multiphase ows, 24-31 uidized beds, 22-2, 22-4, 22-6, 22-7 ux dierence splitting, 26-34 Flux Reports panel, 30-3 ux through a surface, 30-10 uxes through boundaries, 30-2 FMG multigrid, 26-75 convergence strategies, 26-78 limitations, 26-76 using, 26-77 Force Monitors panel, 26-102 Force Reports panel, 30-6
forces coecients of, 30-18 monitoring, 26-101 on boundaries, 30-4 formation enthalpy, 8-62, 14-31 formation rate, 31-35 formats of case and data les, B-1 Fourier Transform panel, 29-145 Fractional Step algorithm, 26-59 non-iterative scheme (NITA), 26-30 free stream, 7-56 free vortex, 9-14 free-surface ow, 22-2, 22-4, 22-6 freezing, 25-2 frictional viscosity, 24-107 frozen ux formulation, 26-28, 26-80 fuel rich ames, 15-7 full multicomponent diusion, 8-54 full multigrid (FMG), 26-75 convergence strategies, 26-78 limitations, 26-76 using, 26-77 full-approximation storage (FAS) multigrid, 26-38, 26-48 fully-developed ow, 9-5 Fuse Face Zones panel, 6-61 fusing face zones, 6-61 FW-H acoustics model, 21-4, 21-12 GAMBIT grid le, 4-8, 6-19 gas constant, 31-31 gas law, 8-23, 8-25, 8-28, 8-65, 9-24 gaseous solid catalyzed reactions, 14-58 gauge pressure, 8-64 Gauss-Seidel method, 26-38 general non-reecting boundary conditions overview of, 7-156 theory, 7-157 using, 7-161 GeoMesh grid le, 4-8, 6-19 geometric reconstruction scheme, 24-11, 24-85 geometry based adaption, 27-42 Gidaspow model, 24-36
Index-18
Index
global time stepping, 26-18 gnuplot, 10-130 governing equations, 9-3 discretization of, 26-8 in integral form, 26-20, 26-31 source term additions to, 7-217 gradient dynamic adaption, 27-26 Gradient Adaption panel, 27-23 gradient adaption, 27-19 gradient option, 26-19 setting, 26-53 granular bulk viscosity, 24-107 granular conductivity, 24-108, 31-31 granular ows, 22-5, 22-6, 24-31 stresses in, 24-31 granular temperature, 24-25, 24-43, 24-102, 24-108 granular viscosity, 24-101, 24-107 graphical user interface (GUI), 2-1 customizing the, 2-19 graphics, 29-1 captions, 29-42 display windows, 2-16 active, 29-42 closing, 29-41 multiple, 29-41 opening, 29-41 Windows features, 2-16 hardcopy les, 4-20 overlay of, 29-39 title, 29-43 window dumps, 4-24 Graphics Hardcopy panel, 4-20 Graphics Periodicity panel, 29-69 Grashof number, 12-122 gravitational acceleration, 12-124, 23-7 gray-band model, 12-29 grid, 6-1, 31-31 activating zones, 6-66 adaption, 6-18, 27-1 aspect ratio, 6-14, 6-18 C-type, 6-62
checking the, 6-40 coarse levels, 26-67 coarsening, 27-9, 27-12, 27-13 based on gradient, 27-25 near walls, 27-39 colors in display, 29-6 deactivating zones, 6-66 deleting zones, 6-66 display, 29-2 extrusion, 6-64 les, 4-7 reading multiple, 6-28, 6-61 lters fe2ram, 6-26 fl42seg, 6-20 partition, 32-42 tmerge, 6-29 importing, 6-19 ANSYS les, 6-25 CGNS, 4-10 FIDAP les, 6-27 FLUENT 4 les, 6-27 FLUENT/UNS les, 6-26 GAMBIT les, 6-19 GeoMesh les, 6-19 I-deas les, 6-21 ICEMCFD les, 6-20 NASTRAN les, 6-22 PATRAN les, 6-23 PreBFC les, 6-20 RAMPANT les, 6-26 TGrid les, 6-19 interfaces, 6-32, 10-35, 10-40 creating, 6-38, 10-43 deleting, 6-40, 10-44 recreating, 6-40 shapes of, 10-37 memory usage, 6-44 motion of, 10-1, 10-35, 10-50 multiblock, 6-28, 6-61 non-conformal, 6-32 algorithms, 6-35 requirements, 6-36
Index-19
Index
O-type, 6-62 partitioning, 32-27 automatic, 32-29 check, 32-43 lter, 32-42 guidelines, 32-31 inputs for, 32-29, 32-31 interpreting statistics, 32-43 manual, 32-30 methods, 32-36 METIS, 32-42 optimizations, 32-38 report, 6-46, 32-35 statistics, 6-46, 32-35 within registers, 32-34 within zones, 32-34 periodicity, 6-59 quality, 6-17 reading, 6-19 renement, 7-217, 27-2, 27-5, 27-7, 27-10, 27-13 at boundaries, 27-14 based on cell volume, 27-36 based on gradient, 27-19 based on isovalue, 27-28 dynamic, 27-26 in a region, 27-31 near walls, 27-39 reordering, 6-65 replacing zones, 6-66 requirements, 6-16 axisymmetric, 6-16 dynamic meshes, 10-52, 10-56, 10-59, 10-61, 10-62, 10-67 multiple reference frames, 10-20 non-conformal, 6-36 periodic, 6-16 rotating ow, 9-16 rotating reference frame, 10-9 sliding meshes, 10-42 swirling ow, 9-16 turbulence, 11-66 volume of uid (VOF) model, 24-86
resolution, 6-15, 6-17, 11-66, 27-2, 27-5 rotate, 6-51 rotation of, 10-1 scaling, 6-48 setup constraints, 6-16 axisymmetric, 6-16 dynamic meshes, 10-52, 10-56, 10-59, 10-61, 10-62, 10-67 multiple reference frames, 10-20 non-conformal, 6-36 periodic, 6-16 rotating ow, 9-16 rotating reference frame, 10-9 sliding meshes, 10-42 swirling ow, 9-16 turbulence, 11-66 volume of uid (VOF) model, 24-86 setup time, 6-14, 27-2 size, 6-43 skewness, 6-14, 6-18 smoothing, 27-63 spacing at walls, 6-17 in laminar ows, 7-88 in turbulent ows, 11-66, 27-39 storage points, 26-8 topologies, 6-2 translation, 6-50 type, 6-2 units of, 5-2 velocity, 31-31 zone information, 6-46 Grid Adaption Controls panel, 27-59 Grid Display panel, 29-5 Grid Interfaces panel, 6-38, 10-43 Grid/Check, 6-40 Grid/Fuse..., 6-61 Grid/Info/Memory Usage, 6-44 Grid/Info/Partitions, 6-46 Grid/Info/Size, 6-43 Grid/Info/Zones, 6-46 Grid/Merge..., 6-52 grid/modify-zones/extrude-face-zone-delta, 6-64 grid/modify-zones/extrude-face-zone-para, 6-64
Index-20
Index
grid/modify-zones/fuse-face-zones, 6-62 grid/modify-zones/make-periodic, 6-59 grid/modify-zones/matching-tolerance, 6-59, 6-62 grid/modify-zones/repair-periodic, 6-42 grid/modify-zones/slit-face-zone, 6-63 grid/modify-zones/slit-periodic, 6-60
ntu-model, 7-173 features, 7-176 restrictions, 7-175 reports, 7-196 restrictions, 7-175 simple-eectiveness-model, 7-173 Grid/Reorder/Domain, 6-65 features, 7-176 Grid/Reorder/Print Bandwidth, 6-65 restrictions, 7-175 Grid/Reorder/Zones, 6-65 heat ux, 7-91, 30-2, 31-46 Grid/Rotate..., 6-51 exporting data, 12-13 Grid/Scale..., 6-48 wall, 7-89 Grid/Separate/Cells..., 6-53, 6-57 heat of formation, 8-62 Grid/Separate/Faces..., 6-53, 6-54 heat of reaction, 14-28 Grid/Smooth/Swap..., 27-63 surface reaction, 14-45 Grid/Translate..., 6-50 heat rejection, 7-179 Grid/Zone/Activate..., 6-66, 6-69 heat exchangers, 7-179 Grid/Zone/Append Case & Data Files..., 6-28 heat sources, 7-103, 7-134, 7-217, 7-220, Grid/Zone/Append Case File..., 6-28 12-6 Grid/Zone/Deactivate..., 6-66, 6-68 heat transfer, 12-1 Grid/Zone/Delete..., 6-66, 6-67 boundary conditions, 7-90 Grid/Zone/Replace..., 6-66 at walls, 7-70 GT-Power, 7-222 convective and conductive, 12-1 GUI, 2-1 theory, 12-2 customizing the, 2-19 inputs for, 12-7 overview of models, 12-1 hanging node adaption, 27-6, 27-59 periodic, 12-115 hanging nodes, 6-2, 27-6 radiation, 7-90, 12-14 hardcopy rate, 30-3 les for animation, 26-120, 29-87 reporting, 12-11 options, 4-20 for radiation, 12-111 saving les, 4-20 solution procedures, 12-9 automatically, 26-127 to the wall, 7-89 using gray-scale colormap, 29-47 volume sources, 7-103, 7-217 HCN density, 31-31 heat transfer coecient, 6-17, 30-18, 31-44 heat capacity, 8-47 calculations of, 7-91 heat exchanger groups, 7-173, 7-181 Heat Transfer Data Table panel, 7-182 Heat Exchanger Model panel, 7-182 heat exchanger models, 7-134, 7-173, 7-189 helicity, 31-31 help, 2-21 dening, 7-189 text interface, 3-11 eectiveness, 7-178, 7-190 Help/Context-Sensitive Help, 2-22 group connectivity, 7-181 Help/License Usage..., 2-26 heat rejection, 7-179 Help/More Documentation..., 2-25 inputs, 7-182 Help/Online Technical Support..., 2-26 macros, 7-174, 7-187
Index-21
Index
Help/User Services Center, 2-25 Help/Users Guide Contents..., 2-22 Help/Users Guide Index..., 2-22 Help/Using Help..., 2-25 Help/Version..., 2-27 Herschel-Bulkley panel, 8-39 Herschel-Bulkley model, 8-38 heterogeneous reactions dening, 24-117 source terms, 24-77 hidden line removal, 29-54 hidden surface removal, 29-54 histograms, 29-102, 29-116, 30-17 Hosts Database panel, 32-25 hosts for parallel processing, 32-25 hydraulic diameter, 7-15 hydrostatic head, 7-22 hydrotransport, 22-2, 22-4, 22-7
incident radiation, 31-32, 31-44 incomplete particle trajectories, 23-96 incompressible ow calculations at inlet pressure boundaries, 7-27 inertial reference frame, 10-2 Information dialog box, 2-5 initial conditions, 26-70 discrete phase, 23-105 initializing the solution, 26-70 using average values, 26-71 Injections panel, 23-109 inlet boundaries, 7-28 Inlet Vent panel, 7-45 inlet vent boundary, 7-12, 7-45 Intake Fan panel, 7-47 intake fan boundary, 7-12, 7-47 integer entry, 2-13 integral reporting, 26-107, 26-110, I-deas, 4-25 30-9, 30-14 I-deas Universal le, 4-9, 6-21 integral time scale, 23-12 ICEMCFD grid le, 6-20 Integration Parameters panel, 18-10 ideal gas law, 7-56, 8-25, 8-28, 8-65, interface zone, 10-35, 10-43 9-24, 23-108 contour display, 10-48 ignition source, 14-36 Interior Cell Zone Selection panel, 21-17 impeller-bae interaction, 10-15 interior zone, 7-2, 7-128, 7-137, 10-40 impellers, 10-2 internal emissivity, 12-100, 12-101, 12-103 multiple, 10-16 internal energy, 31-32 implicit Euler scheme, 23-146 interphase exchange coecients, 24-32 implicit interpolation scheme, 24-12, Interpolate Data panel, 4-33 24-85, 24-86 interpolation, 4-33, 26-9, 26-20 implicit time stepping, 26-17, 26-36 le format, 4-35 import, fe2ram lter, 6-26 grid-to-grid, 4-33 in-cylinder model, 10-73, 10-102 interrupt, 3-7 crevice model of calculations, 26-79 output le, 10-130 Intrinsic Combustion Model panel, 23-144 postprocessing, 10-128 inviscid ow, 9-29 theory, 10-124 equations, 9-29 events, 10-118 inputs for, 9-31 geometry and motion attributes, 10-109 solution, 9-31 mesh topology, 10-103 ISAT algorithm, 18-7 parameters, 10-81 Iso-Clip panel, 28-23 starting position, 10-107 valve opening and closing, 10-117 Iso-Surface panel, 28-21
Index-22
Index
Iso-Value panel, 29-78 Iso-Value Adaption panel, 27-30 isosurfaces, 28-2, 28-21 isotropic scattering phase function, 8-52 isovalue, 28-22, 28-23 adaption, 27-28 modication, 29-79 Iterate panel, 26-78, 26-84 iteration, 26-78 control during, 26-124 interrupt of, 26-79 iterative procedure, 26-3, 26-5, 26-78 iterative time advancement, 26-28 jet acoustic power, 31-32 jet acoustic power in dB, 31-32 jet breakup, 22-5, 24-3, 24-86 journal les, 4-15 k- Multiphase Turbulent Viscosity customizing, 24-114 k- model, 11-15 model compatibility, A-1 realizable, 11-7, 11-20 RNG, 11-7, 11-17 standard, 11-6, 11-15 k- model model compatibility, A-1 SST, 11-8 standard, 11-8 key frame, 29-83 kill-script, 1-16 kinetic theory, 8-32, 8-33, 8-40, 8-48, 8-59 in granular ows, 22-5 parameters, 8-63 Kinetics/Diusion-Limited Combustion Model panel, 23-144 Knudsen number, 14-45, 23-9 Kobayashi model, 23-30 Lagrangian discrete phase model, 23-1 laminar nite rate model model compatibility, A-1 laminar nite-rate model, 14-5
laminar ow shear stress, 7-88 laminar viscosity, 31-34 laminar zone, 7-100, 7-121 Laplacian smoothing, 27-64 Laplacian smoothing method, 10-54 large eddy simulation (LES), 11-44 boundary conditions, 11-48 model compatibility, A-1 no perturbations, 11-48 reporting mean ow quantities, 11-87 solution strategies, 11-82 spectral synthesizer, 11-50 subgrid-scale models, 11-46 dynamic kinetic energy model, 11-47 dynamic Smagorinsky-Lilly model, 11-47 Smagorinsky-Lilly model, 11-46 WALE model, 11-47 vortex method, 11-49 latent heat, 25-9 of vaporization, 15-73, 23-141 LEE self-noise source, 31-32 LEE shear-noise source, 31-32 LEE total noise source, 31-33 legend, 29-42, 29-110 length scale, 7-15 Lennard-Jones parameters, 8-32, 8-59, 8-63 LES, 11-3, 11-44 model compatibility, A-1 lever rule, 25-2, 25-3 Lewis number, 14-4, 14-45 license users, 2-26 lift coecient, 26-101 lift force, 23-10, 23-98 lift forces in multiphase ow, 24-28 Lights panel, 29-51 lights, 29-51, 29-74 Lilleys self-noise source, 31-33 Lilleys shear-noise source, 31-33 Lilleys total noise source, 31-33 line solvers, 26-38
Index-23
Index
line surfaces, 28-2, 28-10 using the line tool, 28-11 line tool, 28-11 Line/Rake Surface panel, 28-10 linear pressure-strain model, 11-38 linear-anisotropic scattering phase function, 8-52, 12-24, 12-28, 12-32 linearization, 26-5 liquid fraction, 25-3, 31-33 liquid fuel combustion, 15-37, 23-23 in non-premixed combustion model, 15-46 liquidus temperature, 25-9 list drop-down, 2-14 multiple selection, 2-14 single selection, 2-13 Load Balance panel, 32-47 load balancing, 27-2, 27-27 local cylindrical coordinate system for boundary condition inputs, 7-24 local cylindrical velocities for boundary condition inputs, 7-30 local face remeshing method, 10-59 local remeshing method, 10-58 log les, 4-15 logarithmic plots, 29-119 loss coecient, 7-134 core porosity model, 7-191 inlet vent, 7-46 outlet vent, 7-66 radiator, 7-137 Low Diusion Second Order scheme, 26-14 low-Reynolds-number ows, 11-18 LSF checkpointing, 1-15, 32-54 checkpointing a FLUENT job, 32-58 checkpointing and restarting, 32-55 conguration, 32-57 migrating FLUENT jobs, 32-59 overview, 32-55 parallel processing, 1-15, 32-54 restarting a FLUENT job, 32-59
serial processing, 1-15, 32-54 submitting a FLUENT job, 32-58 using with FLUENT, 32-59 lumped parameter models, 7-125 Mach number, 7-57, 9-22, 9-28, 31-33 macros, 7-174, 7-187, 26-126 magnifying the display, 29-56, 29-61 Manage Adaption Registers panel, 27-52 manuals using the, UTM-1 Marangoni stress, 7-80, 7-81 mass and momentum transfer multiphase species transport, 24-76 mass diusion, 14-3 to surfaces, 14-45 Mass Diusion Coecients panel, 8-57, 8-58 mass diusion coecients, 8-53, 8-61, 14-31, 31-28, 31-32 kinetic theory, 8-59 mass ow inlet boundary, 7-12, 7-36 mass ow rate, 7-37, 30-3, 30-9 through a surface, 30-11 mass ow split, 7-63 mass ux, 7-37, 30-2 mass fraction, 31-34 mass sources, 7-219 mass transfer, 24-64 mass-averaged quantities, 30-11, 30-16 Mass-Flow Inlet panel, 7-37 massively parallel machines, 32-4, 32-9 Materials panel, 8-4, 14-17, 15-71 materials, 8-3 copying from the database, 8-6 creating new, 8-7 database, 8-3, 14-14, 14-20 data sources, 8-6 user-dened, 8-9 deleting, 8-8 discrete phase, 8-5, 23-112, 23-137 mixture, 8-5, 14-13 modifying, 8-5 PDF mixture, 15-71 renaming, 8-5
Index-24
Index
reordering, 8-9 saving, 8-8 Maxwell-Stefan equations, 8-54 mean beam length, 8-50 mean ow quantities, 26-92 mean free path, 14-45, 23-9 memory usage, 6-44 in multigrid, 26-67, 26-136 in the coupled implicit solver, 26-50 menu bar, 2-4 Merge Zones panel, 6-52 merging zones, 6-52 meridional view, 29-77 Mesh Motion panel, 10-92 mesh motion methods, 10-51 feature detection, 10-67 volume mesh update, 10-67 Mesh Scale Info panel, 10-76 message passing library, 32-2 metallurgy, 25-1 METIS, 32-42 Mirror Planes panel, 29-70 mixed convection, 12-122, 26-60 inputs for, 12-124 mixing, 13-1 mixing plane model, 10-18, 10-23 boundary conditions, 10-29 enthalpy conservation, 10-33 xing the pressure level, 10-32 mass conservation, 10-27 model compatibility, A-1 patching values, 26-74 postprocessing, 10-34 pressure boundary conditions in, 10-30 setup, 10-29 solution initialization, 26-72 solution procedures, 10-34 swirl conservation, 10-27, 10-33 theory, 10-24 total enthalpy conservation, 10-28 velocity formulation in, 10-29 with non-reecting boundary conditions, 7-156
Mixing Planes panel, 10-30 mixing rate, 14-16, 14-27, 24-116 mixing tanks, 10-2, 10-3, 10-15 mixture fraction, 15-3 boundary conditions, 15-69 conservation of, 15-5 limitations on, 15-20 secondary, 31-40 variance, 15-5, 31-34 secondary, 31-40 mixture materials, 8-5, 14-13 creating, 14-20 PDF, 15-71 mixture model, 22-5 body forces, 24-114 drift ux model, 24-23 drift velocity, 24-22 droplet diameter, 24-99 limitations, 24-4 model compatibility, A-1 momentum equation, 24-21 overview, 24-4 patching initial volume fraction, 24-140 properties, 24-99 relative velocity, 24-22 slip velocity, 24-22 solution strategies, 24-157 theory, 24-20 volume fraction, 24-24 mixture multiphase model basic cavitation model, 24-68 cavitation model, 24-67 collisional viscosity, 24-24 extended cavitation model, 24-73 granular temperature, 24-25 kinetic viscosity, 24-24 mass transfer, 24-64 solids shear stresses, 24-24 mixture properties, 14-17, 14-31 Modied HRIC scheme, 26-14 modied turbulent viscosity, 31-34 molar concentration species, 31-34
Index-25
Index
mole fraction, 31-34 soot, 31-34 molecular heat transfer coecient, 8-62, 16-13 molecular viscosity, 31-34 molecular weight, 8-25, 8-26, 14-31 moment coecient, 26-101, 30-18 moments, 30-4 momentum accommodation coecient, 14-32 momentum equation, 9-4, 9-30 momentum sources, 7-220 monitoring forces and moments, 26-83, 26-101 residuals, 26-93 solution convergence, 26-93 statistics, 26-100 surfaces, 26-83, 26-105 volume integrals, 26-109 Monte Carlo method, 18-3 Morsi and Alexander model, 24-33 mouse functions, 29-56 GAMBIT-style, 29-56 manipulation, 29-54, 29-56 probe, 29-56 Mouse Buttons panel, 29-57 moving domains model compatibility, A-1 moving grid, 10-1 moving reference frames, 10-1 patching values, 26-74 postprocessing, 29-21 solution initialization, 26-72 moving walls, 7-78 MPEG le, 26-121, 29-88 MPGS, 4-25 mud, 8-38 Multi-Stage Parameters panel, 26-141 multi-stage scheme, 26-35 controls for, 26-141 modifying, 26-141 stability, 26-65
multiblock grids, 6-28, 6-61 multicomponent diusion, 8-54 Multigrid Controls panel, 26-67, 26-13226-135, 26-138, 26-140 multigrid solver, 26-38 aggregative, 26-135 algebraic (AMG), 26-44 inputs for, 26-131 coarsening parameters, 26-136 cycles, 26-40 default parameters, 26-137 F cycle, 26-45 ex cycle, 26-46, 26-133 full (FMG), 26-75 convergence strategies, 26-78 limitations, 26-76 using, 26-77 full-approximation storage (FAS), 26-48 creating coarse grid levels for, 26-67 inputs for, 26-67, 26-137 levels, 26-67 inputs for algebraic (AMG), 26-131 full-approximation storage (FAS), 26-67, 26-137 limitations, 26-67 memory usage, 26-67, 26-136 performance monitoring, 26-131 prolongation, 26-40 residual reduction rate, 26-46 residual reduction tolerance, 26-135 restriction, 26-40 selective, 26-135 termination criteria, 26-47, 26-135 turning o, 26-136, 26-137 V cycle, 26-41, 26-133 W cycle, 26-41, 26-133 with parallel solver, 26-133 multiphase cavitation model, 24-73
Index-26
Index
multiphase ow, 22-1 basic cavitation model, 24-68 body forces, 24-114, 26-26 boundary conditions, 24-126 cavitation model, 24-67 choosing a model for, 22-6, 24-2 compressible, 24-141 Euler-Euler approach, 22-5 Euler-Lagrange approach, 22-4 Eulerian model, 22-6, 24-5, 24-26 examples, 22-4 extended cavitation model, 24-73 uid-uid, 24-31 uid-solid, 24-31 gas-liquid, 22-2 gas-solid, 22-2 granular, 24-31 heterogeneous reactions, 24-117 homogeneous, 24-23 inputs for, 24-80 cavitation model, 24-122 heat transfer in Eulerian model, 24-119 mass transfer, 24-120 interphase exchange coecients, 24-32 introduction, 22-1 liquid-liquid, 22-2 liquid-solid, 22-2 mixture model, 22-5, 24-4, 24-20 model compatibility, A-1 overview, 22-1 particulate loading, 22-7 postprocessing, 24-160 postprocessing wet steam ow, 24-163 regimes, 22-2 reporting ow rates, 24-164 solution strategies, 24-156 solving wet steam ow, 24-159 Stokes number, 22-8 using the wet steam model, 24-142 volume of uid (VOF) model, 22-5, 24-3, 24-7
wet steam model, 24-58 properties, 24-61, 24-142 restrictions, 24-58 UDF, 24-143 Multiphase Model panel, 24-83 multiphase species transport, 24-75, 24-115 cavitation model, 24-73, 24-74 heterogeneous reactions, 24-77 limitations, 24-76 momentum transfer, 24-76 postprocessing, 24-162 multiple graphics windows, 29-41 multiple reference frames, 10-3, 10-15 boundary conditions, 10-21 discrete phase in, 10-17, 23-4 for axisymmetric ow, 10-18 grid setup, 10-20 model compatibility, A-1 patching values, 26-74 pathlines, 10-17 postprocessing, 10-22, 29-21, 30-19 pressure boundary conditions in, 10-21 restrictions of, 10-15, 10-17 setup, 10-20 solution initialization, 26-72 solution strategies, 10-22 steady ow approximation, 10-15 theory of, 10-18 velocity formulation in, 10-18, 10-20 multiple selection list, 2-14 multiple surface reactions model, 14-60, 23-41 multiprocessor workstations, 32-4, 32-9 mushy zone, 25-3, 25-5 N2O density, 31-34 NASTRAN, 4-25 NASTRAN le, 4-9, 6-22 natural convection, 12-122, 26-21, 26-60 boundary conditions, 7-22 high-Rayleigh-number ows, 12-127 in a closed domain, 12-123 inputs for, 12-124
Index-27
Index
natural time, 8-37 Navier-Stokes equations, 9-3 ltered, 11-45 near-wall ows, 11-18 near-wall treatments, 11-51 neighbor correction, 26-25 network cards multiple, 32-11 Network Conguration panel, 32-21 New Material Name panel, 8-12 NH3 density, 31-34 NIST real gas model, 8-67 limitations, 8-67 NO density, 31-34 no-slip condition, 7-69, 7-80 node values, 26-8, 31-2 for contours, 29-16 for pathlines, 29-37 for XY plots, 29-107 nodes display of, 29-6, 29-54 original, 27-13, 27-62 renement, 27-13, 27-62 removing, 27-62 noise, 21-3 non-condensable gases, 24-122 non-conformal grids, 6-32 requirements for, 6-36 non-conformal interface algorithms, 6-35 non-equilibrium chemistry, 15-7 non-equilibrium wall functions, 11-58, 11-59 non-gray radiation, 12-17, 12-29 boundary conditions, 12-37 inputs for, 12-93 limitations, 12-19 particulate eects, 12-34 non-inertial reference frame, 10-2 non-isotropic thermal conductivity user-dened, 7-121 non-iterative solver (NITA) inputs for, 26-61 supported models, 26-63
non-iterative time advancement (NITA), 26-28, 26-80 non-Newtonian uids, 8-34 Non-Newtonian Power Law panel, 8-36 non-Newtonian power law, 8-35 non-Newtonian viscosity, 8-34 Carreau model, 8-36 Cross model, 8-37 Herschel-Bulkley model, 8-38 power law, 8-35 non-premixed combustion model, 15-2 boundary conditions, 15-69 condensed phase species, 15-45 empirical fuels, 15-39, 15-45 equilibrium chemistry, 15-7, 15-36 amelet data, 15-55 amelet model, 15-25 ue gas recycle, 15-21 FLUENT solution secondary mixture fraction parameters, 15-77 for coal combustion, 15-37, 15-44, 15-46 for liquid fuels, 15-37 fuel inlet temperature, 15-44 limitations of, 15-20 look-up tables, 15-12, 15-13, 15-16, 15-59, 15-62 model compatibility, A-1 multiple fuel inlets, 15-14, 15-20 non-adiabatic form, 15-12, 15-37 non-equilibrium chemistry, 15-7, 15-25 PDF functions in, 15-11 postprocessing, 15-79 problem setup, 15-34 rich ammability limit, 15-7 secondary stream, 15-38 solution parameters, 15-77 solution parameters, 15-59 solving, 15-76 species selection, 15-44 stability issues, 15-62 non-reacting species transport, 14-61
Index-28
Index
non-reecting boundary conditions, 7-145 general, 7-156 limitations of, 7-146, 7-157 parallel processing with, 7-156 turbo-specic, 7-145 with mixing plane model, 7-156 normalization, 30-18 of residuals, 26-94, 26-95, 26-98 NOx Model panel, 20-37 NOx model, 15-50, 20-1 boundary conditions, 20-45 coal, 20-18, 20-39 fuel, 20-12, 20-38 gaseous fuel, 20-39 inputs for, 20-36 intermediate N2 O, 20-38 liquid fuel, 20-13, 20-39 model compatibility, A-1 PDF functions in, 20-33 prompt, 20-8, 20-38 reburn, 20-26 selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), 20-31 thermal, 20-4, 20-38 turbulence-chemistry interaction, 20-32 under-relaxation for, 20-36 user-dened functions for, 20-45 ntu-model, 7-173 features, 7-176 restrictions, 7-175 nuclei formation, 20-49 numerical diusion, 6-15, 26-54 numerical scheme, 26-2 Nusselt number, 31-44 O-type grids, 6-62 oil-ow pathlines, 29-33 on-line help for the GUI, 2-21 Online Technical Support access from the interface, 2-26 link, UTM-7 opaque walls, 12-34
open channel boundary condition, 24-17, 24-87 limitations, 24-92 recommendations, 24-93 open channel ow, 24-17, 24-87 downstream boundary condition, 24-19 limitations, 24-92 mass ow rate, 24-18 recommendations, 24-93 upstream boundary condition, 24-17 Operating Conditions panel, 8-25, 8-26, 8-66, 9-23, 12-124, 23-7 operating density, 12-126 operating pressure, 8-25, 8-26, 8-64, 9-23, 12-125 oating, 9-25 operating temperature, 12-125 OPPDIF, 15-30 opposed-ow diusion amelet, 15-26 optical thickness, 12-17 Orient Prole panel, 7-207 orienting boundary proles, 7-206 original nodes, 27-13, 27-62 orthographic, 29-61 Orthotropic Conductivity panel, 8-43 orthotropic thermal conductivity, 8-43, 8-44 outow boundary, 7-12, 7-60 outow gauge pressure, 7-32 Outlet Vent panel, 7-65 outlet vent boundary, 7-12, 7-65 outline display, 29-2, 29-7 overlay of graphics, 29-39 P-1 radiation model, 12-15 advantages, 12-18 boundary conditions, 12-26, 12-27 limitations, 12-18 particulate eects in, 12-25 properties, 8-49 residuals, 12-109 solution parameters, 12-107 theory, 12-23
Index-29
Index
packed beds, 7-104, 7-116 packing limit, 24-102, 24-108 Page Setup panel, 2-17 panel layout, 4-36 panels, 2-10 Parallel Connectivity panel, 32-26 parallel processing, 32-1 eciency, 32-2 active cell partition, 31-21 architecture, 32-1 automatic partitioning, 32-29 cell partition, 31-24 checkpointing, 1-15 communication, 32-46 hosts database, 32-25 increasing speed, 32-46 introduction, 32-1 load balancing, 32-47 load distribution, 32-45 manual partitioning, 32-30 multigrid settings for, 26-133 multiple network cards, 32-11 network conguration, 32-21 network connectivity, 32-26 on a multiprocessor workstation, 32-4, 32-9, 32-11 on a workstation cluster, 32-8, 32-10, 32-12, 32-21 partition surfaces, 28-4 partitioning, 32-1, 32-27 performance, 32-46 recommended procedure, 32-1 resource tools, 32-62 starting the solver, 32-4 on a LINUX workstation cluster, 32-10 on a multiprocessor LINUX machine, 32-9 on a multiprocessor UNIX machine, 32-4 on a multiprocessor Windows machine, 32-11 on a UNIX workstation cluster, 32-8
on a Windows workstation cluster, 32-12 stored cell partition, 31-41 troubleshooting, 32-23 using LSF, 1-15, 32-54 using SGE, 1-15, 32-49 Parallel/Auto Partition..., 32-29 Parallel/Load Balance..., 32-47 Parallel/Network/Congure..., 32-21 Parallel/Network/Database..., 32-25 parallel/network/path, 32-24 Parallel/Partition..., 32-31 parallel/partition/set/load-distribution, 32-45 parallel/set/fast-io?, 32-46 Parallel/Show Connectivity..., 32-26 Parallel/Timer/Reset, 32-46 Parallel/Timer/Usage, 32-46 partially premixed combustion model, 17-1 limitations of, 17-1 model compatibility, A-1 overview, 17-1 theory, 17-2 using, 17-4 partially premixed ames, 16-2, 17-1 partially-specular boundaries, 12-17 particle, 23-1 accretion, 23-98, 23-135 boiling, 23-26 cloud tracking, 23-16, 23-126 devolatilization, 23-27 erosion, 23-98, 23-135 heat/mass transfer calculations, 23-20 incomplete, 23-96 inert heating or cooling, 23-21 initial conditions, 23-105 laws, 23-20 custom, 23-112, 23-128 radiation, 12-17, 12-25, 12-34, 12-80, 23-22, 23-26, 23-145 reference frame, 23-99 size distribution, 23-11, 23-115 sub-micron, 23-6, 23-9 surface combustion, 23-37
Index-30
Index
trajectory calculations, 23-5, 23-89 trajectory reports, 23-156, 23-161 alphanumeric reporting, 23-165 display of, 23-153 PDF tracking, 18-20 step-by-step track report, 23-161 unsteady, 23-163 turbulence, 23-98 turbulent dispersion, 23-12 vaporization, 23-23 particle data importing and exporting, 26-122 particle motion, 23-5 Particle Summary panel, 23-168 particle summary reporting, 23-168 particle surface reactions, 14-18, 14-22, 14-54 catalyst species, 14-59 gaseous solid catalyzed reactions, 14-58 inputs for, 14-59 solid decomposition reactions, 14-57 solid deposition reactions, 14-58 solid-solid reactions, 14-57 theory, 14-54 particle tracking, 23-89 Particle Tracks panel, 23-153 particle-laden ow, 22-2, 22-4, 22-6 particulate loading, 22-7 particulate reactions, 13-1 partition boundary cell distance, 31-35 Partition Grid panel, 32-31 partition neighbors, 31-35, 32-36 Partition Surface panel, 28-5 partition surfaces, 28-2, 28-4 partitioning, 31-24, 31-35, 32-1, 32-27 automatic, 32-29 check, 32-43 lter, 32-42 guidelines, 32-31 inputs for, 32-29, 32-31 manual, 32-30 methods, 32-36
METIS, 32-42 optimizations, 32-38 report, 6-46, 32-35 statistics, 6-46, 32-35 interpreting, 32-43 using dynamic mesh model, 32-33 within registers, 32-34 within zones, 32-34 passage loss coecient, 29-130 Patch panel, 26-73 patching eld functions, 26-73 initial values, 26-70, 26-73 Path Lines panel, 29-29 Path Style Attributes panel, 29-31 Pathline Attributes panel, 29-79 pathlines, 28-2, 29-28 accuracy control, 29-33 animation of, 29-79 in multiple reference frames, 10-17 oil-ow, 29-33 reversing, 29-33 save, 29-34 twisting, 29-31 XY plots along trajectories, 29-34 PATRAN, 4-25 PATRAN Neutral le, 4-9, 6-23 PDF reaction, 18-6 PDF Table panel, 15-62 Peclet number, 26-10 perforated plates, 7-104, 7-117 Periodic panel, 7-95, 9-10 periodic boundaries, 6-16, 6-42, 6-62, 7-94, 10-40, 29-65 creating, 6-59 slitting, 6-60 periodic ow, 9-5 constraints, 9-6 inputs for the coupled solvers, 9-10 inputs for the segregated solver, 9-8 pressure, 9-7 theory, 9-7
Index-31
Index
periodic heat transfer, 12-115 constant ux, 12-116 constant temperature, 12-116 constraints, 12-116 inputs for, 12-118 postprocessing, 12-121 restrictions, 12-116 solution strategies, 12-120 theory, 12-116 Periodicity Conditions panel, 9-8 permeability, 7-106 perspective, 29-61 phase, 22-1 dening, 24-94 for Eulerian model, 24-103 for mixture model, 24-99 for VOF model, 24-95 granular, 24-100, 24-106 diameter, 24-99, 24-105, 31-26 drag (mixture), 24-102 interaction, 24-108 Phase Interaction panel, 24-97, 24-102, 24-108 Phase Properties panel, 24-115 Phases panel, 24-94 Piecewise Linear panel, 17-7 Piecewise Polynomial Prole panel, 8-21 Piecewise-Linear Prole panel, 8-20 PISO algorithm, 26-25, 26-58 neighbor correction, 26-25 non-iterative scheme (NITA), 26-30 skewness correction, 26-26 skewness-neighbor coupling, 26-26 under-relaxation, 26-58 pixelation, 12-30, 12-93 planar sector, 10-40 Plane Surface panel, 28-14 plane surfaces, 28-2, 28-14 using the plane tool, 28-16 plane tool, 28-16 Playback panel, 26-116 plot axes, 29-117 plot types, 29-101
plot/circum-avg-axial, 29-111 plot/circum-avg-radial, 29-111
Plot/FFT..., 29-145 Plot/File..., 29-108 Plot/Histogram..., 29-116 Plot/Modify Input Signal panel, 29-146 Plot/Residuals..., 26-96, 29-115 Plot/XY Plot..., 29-102, 29-103 plots external data, 29-108 histogram, 29-102, 29-116 logarithmic, 29-119 residual, 29-115 solution, 29-102, 29-116 title for, 29-110 XY, 29-101, 29-102, 29-108, 29-115 along pathline trajectories, 29-34 axis attributes, 29-117 circumferential average, 29-111 curve attributes, 29-119 le format, 29-114 turbomachinery, 29-140 pneumatic transport, 22-2, 22-4, 22-7 Point Surface panel, 28-6 point surfaces, 28-2, 28-6 using the point tool, 28-7 point tool, 28-7 pollutant formation, 15-44, 15-50, 20-1 NOx, 15-50, 20-1 soot, 20-46 Polynomial Prole panel, 8-19 porosity, user-dened, 7-120 Porous Jump panel, 7-143 porous jump, 7-143 porous media, 7-104 1D, 7-143 enabling reactions, 7-112 heat transfer in, 7-108 inputs for, 7-109 limitations of, 7-105 physical velocity formulation, 7-122 postprocessing for, 29-16, 29-37, 29-107 power-law model, 7-106, 7-120
Index-32
Index
solution strategies, 7-123 turbulence in, 7-109 velocity formulation, 7-105, 7-110 velocity formulation setting, 26-53 positivity rate limit, 26-69 postprocessing, 29-1 Fast Fourier Transform(FFT), 29-142 FW-H acoustics model, 21-21 reports, 29-125, 30-1 turbomachinery, 29-122 Power Law panel, 8-32 power law, 8-31 index, 8-38 non-Newtonian, 8-35 power-law scheme, 26-9 Prandtl number, 31-28, 31-34 pre-exponential factor, 14-25 PreBFC structured grid le, 4-8, 6-20 PreBFC unstructured grid le, 4-8, 6-20 precision, 1-1, 26-93 preconditioning, 26-32, 31-35 matrix, 26-32 preferential diusion, 16-7 premixed ame model Zimont, 19-2 premixed ames, 16-2 premixed turbulent combustion, 16-1 adiabatic, 16-9 boundary conditions, 16-14 density, 16-9 ame front, 16-3 wrinkling, 16-4 ame speed, 16-4 ame stretching, 16-6 inputs for, 16-11 model compatibility, A-1 non-adiabatic, 16-9 physical properties, 16-13 postprocessing, 16-15 preferential diusion, 16-7 product formation, 16-3 progress variable, 16-3, 16-14 restrictions, 16-2
species concentrations, 16-11, 16-16 stretch factor, 16-6 theory, 16-3 pressure, 31-35 absolute, 8-64 coecient, 30-18, 31-35 drop, 7-134 heat exchanger, 7-177, 7-190 dynamic, 31-28 gauge, 8-64 interpolation schemes, 26-20, 26-55 jump exhaust fan, 7-68 fan, 7-128 intake fan, 7-48 operating, 8-64 reference, 8-66, 24-156 relative total, 31-39 static, 31-42 total, 31-46 pressure boundary conditions, 7-20 in mixing plane model, 10-30 in multiple reference frames, 10-21 in rotating reference frames, 10-10 Pressure Far-Field panel, 7-57 pressure far-eld boundary, 7-12, 7-56 Pressure Inlet panel, 7-21 pressure inlet boundary, 7-12, 7-20 Pressure Outlet panel, 7-50 pressure outlet boundary, 7-12, 7-49 pressure work, 12-3 pressure-correction equation, 26-23 Pressure-Dependent Reaction panel, 14-25 pressure-velocity coupling, 26-23 inputs for, 26-58 PRESTO, 9-18, 10-12, 12-125, 26-21, 26-55 previewing the dynamic mesh, 10-91 Primary Phase panel, 24-95 Print panel, 2-17 probability density function, 15-8 processes, cleaning up, 1-16 product formation, 16-3 production of k, 31-35
Index-33
Index
Prole Options panel, 29-12 prole plotting, 29-11 scaling factor, 29-13 proles boundary, 7-201 reading and writing, 4-17 units of, 5-2 progress variable, 16-3, 16-14, 31-36 projected surface area, 30-8 prolongation, 26-40 properties, 8-1 composition-dependent, 14-13 database, 8-3, 14-14, 14-20, 15-2 data sources, 8-6 user-dened, 8-9 discrete phase, 23-137 for solid materials, 8-2 listing, 30-20 mixture, 14-17, 14-31 modifying, 8-5 saving, 8-8 species, 14-31 temperature-dependent, 8-18 solution techniques for, 26-131 units for, 5-2, 8-18 Proudmans formula, 21-7 pseudo-plastics, 8-36 pull velocity, 25-5, 25-6 inputs for, 25-10 pull-down menu, 2-4 pyrolysis, 23-143 Quadratic of Mixture Fraction panel, 17-7 quadratic pressure-strain model, 11-40 Quadric Surface panel, 28-19 quadric surfaces, 28-2, 28-19 quadrupoles, 21-3 Question dialog box, 2-6 QUICK scheme, 26-11 radial distribution, 24-102, 24-108 radial equilibrium pressure distribution, 7-51 radial pull velocity, 31-36
radial velocity, 7-31, 31-36 radiation boundary temperature correction, 12-97 radiation heat ux, 30-2, 30-3, 31-37 Radiation Model panel, 12-81, 12-85, 12-93, 12-107 radiation temperature, 31-37 radiative heat transfer, 12-14 applications, 12-16 black body temperature, 12-97 boundary conditions, 12-96 ow inlets and exits, 12-96 walls, 12-97, 12-98 choosing a model, 12-17 discrete ordinates (DO) model, 12-29 non-gray, 12-29 discrete phase, 23-97, 23-145 discrete transfer radiation model (DTRM), 12-20 clustering, 12-21, 12-83, 12-112 ray tracing, 12-21, 12-83, 12-112 emissivity, 12-17, 12-96 external, 12-18 inputs for, 12-80 non-gray, 12-17, 12-29 non-gray discrete ordinates (DO) model, 12-29 inputs for, 12-93 limitations, 12-19 optical thickness, 12-17 overview of, 12-15 P-1 model, 12-23 participation in radiation, 12-105 particulate eects, 12-17, 12-80 properties, 8-49, 12-95 reporting, 12-111 Rosseland model, 12-27 scattering, 12-17 semi-transparent media, 12-38 semi-transparent walls, 12-17 solar calculator, 12-56 solar load model, 12-51 solution, 12-106, 12-109
Index-34
Index
soot eects on, 12-79 surface-to-surface (S2S) radiation model, 12-48 clustering, 12-50 smoothing, 12-50 turning on, 12-81 Radiator panel, 7-136 radiators, 7-134 radio buttons, 2-12 RadTherm, 4-25 rake surfaces, 28-2, 28-10 using the line tool, 28-11 RAMPANT, 26-50 RAMPANT case and data les, 4-14 non-conformal, 6-40 RAMPANT case les, 6-26 raster le, 4-22 rate of fuel NO, 31-36 rate of N2OPath NO, 31-36 rate of NO, 31-36 rate of nuclei, 31-36 rate of prompt NO, 31-36 rate of reburn NO, 31-36 rate of SNCR NO, 31-36 rate of soot, 31-36 rate of thermal NO, 31-36 rate of user NO, 31-36 ray le, 12-84 ray tracing, 12-21, 12-82, 12-83 Rayleigh number, 12-122, 26-80 reacting ows, 14-1 choosing a model for, 13-4 eddy-dissipation model, 14-16, 24-116 equilibrium chemistry, 15-2 nite-rate model, 14-16, 24-116 inputs for, 14-15 overview of inputs for, 14-12 heterogeneous reactions, 23-38 models for, 13-2 non-premixed combustion model, 15-2 overview of, 13-1 partially premixed combustion, 17-1 pollutant formation in, 20-1
premixed combustion, 16-1 solution techniques, 26-131 Reaction Mechanisms panel, 14-28 reaction progress variable, 16-3, 16-14 reaction rate, 31-37, 31-47 surface reactions, 14-43 reactions dening, 14-22 for fuel mixtures, 14-28 zone-based mechanisms, 14-28 pressure-dependent, 14-7 reversible, 14-7, 14-32 read-case, 1-4 read-case-data, 1-4 reading multiple grids, 6-28 real gas models NIST, 8-67 limitations, 8-67 UDRGM, 8-67 example, 8-79, 8-83 limitations, 8-73 using the NIST model, 8-69 using the UDRGM model, 8-72 real number entry, 2-13 realizable k- model, 11-7, 11-20 model compatibility, A-1 reburning, 20-26 reference frame, 23-99 reference frames multiple, 10-15 rotating, 10-1 translating, 10-2 reference pressure, 30-6 location, 8-66, 24-156 reference temperature, 14-31 Reference Values panel, 10-22, 10-34, 10-48, 30-18 reference values, 30-18 for force reports, 26-102, 30-4, 30-5 reference zone, 10-22, 10-34, 10-48, 29-21, 30-19 renement, 27-7, 27-10, 27-13 renement nodes, 27-13, 27-62
Index-35
Index
reected IR solar ux, 31-37 reected radiation ux, 31-37 reected visible solar ux, 31-37 refractive index, 8-52, 12-15, 31-37 refrigerant, 8-67 Region Adaption panel, 27-34 region adaption, 27-31 registers, 27-49 adaption, 27-49 combining, 27-52 deleting, 27-52, 27-55 displaying, 27-57 manipulating, 27-52 mask, 27-51 modifying, 27-56 patching with, 26-70, 26-74 types, 27-49 relative humidity, 31-38 relative length scale, 31-38 relative Mach number, 31-38 relative total pressure, 31-39 relative total temperature, 31-39 relative velocity, 10-9, 10-13, 10-19, 10-21, 10-22, 10-30, 10-34, 10-48, 26-72, 26-74, 29-21, 31-4, 31-37, 31-39 angle, 31-39 for mixture model, 24-22 relative velocity formulation, 10-8, 10-10 in multiple reference frames, 10-18 relaxation scheme, 26-38, 26-43 relaxation sweeps, 26-41, 26-43 remeshing local, using size functions, 10-63 method face region, 10-58 local, 10-58 methods, 10-57 2.5D surface, 10-61 local face, 10-59 remote execution, 1-9 limitations on Windows systems, 1-9 Remote Simulation Facility (RSF) panel, 1-6 rendering options, 29-53
renormalization group (RNG) theory, 11-17 reordering, 6-65 grid, 6-65 zones, 6-65 reorienting boundary proles, 7-206 Replace cell Zone panel, 6-66 replacing zones, 6-66 Report/Discrete Phase/Histogram..., 23-167 Report/Discrete Phase/Sample..., 23-166 Report/Discrete Phase/Summary..., 23-168 Report/Fluxes..., 30-2, 30-3 Report/Forces..., 30-4, 30-6 Report/Histogram..., 30-17 report/mass-ow, 24-164 Report/Projected Areas..., 30-8 Report/Reference Values..., 30-18 Report/Summary..., 30-20 Report/Surface Integrals..., 30-9, 30-12 Report/Volume Integrals..., 30-14, 30-16 reporting case settings, 30-20 conventions, 30-2 uxes through boundaries, 30-2 forces on boundaries, 30-4 heat ux, 30-2 histograms, 30-17 mass ux, 30-2 moments, 30-4 options for velocity, 31-4 projected surface areas, 30-8 radiation heat ux, 30-2 surface integrals, 30-9 turbomachinery quantities, 29-125 volume integrals, 30-14 resetting data, 26-79 residence time, 23-158 Residual Monitors panel, 26-96 residual reduction rate criteria, 26-46, 26-135 residual smoothing, 26-35, 26-141
Index-36
Index
residuals, 31-39 denition of coupled solver, 26-95 segregated solver, 26-93 display controls, 26-97 display of, 26-96 divergence of, 26-60 for the discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model, 12-109 for the discrete transfer radiation model (DTRM), 12-109 for the P-1 radiation model, 12-109 for the surface-to-surface (S2S) radiation model, 12-110 monitoring, 26-93 normalization of, 26-94, 26-95, 26-98 plotting, 29-115 reduction of, 26-128 reduction rate, 26-47 renormalization of, 26-99 scaling of, 26-94, 26-95 XY plots, 29-115 resistance coecients, 7-112 user-dened, 7-112 restriction, 26-40 reversible reactions, 14-7, 14-32 Reynolds averaging, 11-3, 11-4 Reynolds number, 12-122, 30-2, 30-18, 31-24 Reynolds stress model (RSM), 11-9, 11-36 boundary conditions, 11-42 linear pressure-strain model, 11-38 model compatibility, A-1 pressure-strain term in, 11-38 quadratic pressure-strain model, 11-40 solution strategies, 11-81 Reynolds stresses, 11-5, 31-48 Ribbon Attributes panel, 29-31 rich ammability limit model, 15-7, 15-40 rich ammability limit option, 15-39 rich limit, 15-6, 15-39 Riemann invariants, 7-59 RIF, 15-30
risers, 22-6 RMS ow quantities, 26-92, 31-40 RNG k- model, 11-7, 11-17 model compatibility, A-1 swirl modication, 11-18 root-mean-square ow quantities, 26-92 Rosin-Rammler size distribution, 23-11, 23-115 Rosseland radiation model, 12-15 advantages, 12-19 boundary conditions, 12-28, 12-29 limitations, 12-19 properties, 8-49 theory, 12-27 Rotate Grid panel, 6-51 rotating equipment, 10-3 rotating ow, 9-11, 10-1, 10-12 grid sensitivity in, 9-16 multiple reference frames, 10-15 physics of, 9-14 pressure interpolation, 26-55 turbulence modeling in, 11-8, 11-10 rotating objects in a scene, 29-76 rotating passages, 10-3 rotating reference frame, 10-1, 10-15 boundary conditions, 10-9 constraints, 10-11 coordinate-system constraints, 10-9 discrete phase, 23-8 mathematical equations, 10-8 patching values, 26-74 postprocessing, 10-13, 29-21, 30-19 pressure boundary conditions, 10-10 setup, 10-9 solution initialization, 26-72 solution procedures, 10-12 velocity formulation, 10-9, 10-10 rotating the display, 29-56, 29-59 rotating the grid, 6-51 rotation axis, 7-101, 7-103, 10-9, 10-20, 10-29 rotation vector, 10-8 rothalpy, 31-40
Index-37
Index
rotor-stator interaction, 10-2, 10-3, 10-15 round-o error, 26-93 RSM, 11-36 RUN-1DL, 15-30 Runge Kutta, 23-146 Samans lift force, 23-10, 23-98 Sample Trajectories panel, 23-166 saving boundary conditions, 4-18 case and data les, 4-12, 6-47 case les, 4-11 data les, 4-12 hardcopy les, 4-20 model settings, 4-18 panel layout, 4-36 solver settings, 4-18 scalar dissipation, 15-28 scale (in a GUI panel), 2-15 Scale Grid panel, 6-48 scaling objects in a scene, 29-77 the display, 29-58 the grid, 6-48 vectors, 29-21 scattering, 12-17 coecient, 8-51, 12-95, 31-40 phase function, 8-52 Delta-Eddington, 8-52, 12-32 isotropic, 8-52 linear-anisotropic, 8-52, 12-24, 12-28, 12-32 user-dened, 8-52, 12-32 Scene Description panel, 29-39, 29-71 scene description, 29-71 Scheme, 3-1, 3-3, 3-5, 3-9 loading source les, 4-36 Schiller and Naumann model, 24-32 Schmidt number, 8-53, 8-61, 14-3, 14-31 search pattern, 2-8 second-order accuracy, 26-11, 26-54 second-order time stepping, 10-47, 26-18 secondary mixture fraction, 15-3, 31-40 variance, 31-40
Secondary Phase panel, 24-96, 24-99, 24-100, 24-105, 24-106 secondary stream, 15-38 solution parameters, 15-77 sedimentation, 22-2, 22-4, 22-5, 22-7 segregated solver, 26-3, 26-6, 26-20, 26-50 density interpolation schemes, 26-22, 26-56 discretization, 26-20 frozen ux formulation, 26-28, 26-80 iterative time advancement, 26-28 limitations, 26-51 non-iterative time advancement (NITA), 26-28, 26-80 porous media velocity formulation, 26-53 pressure interpolation schemes, 26-20, 26-55 pressure-velocity coupling, 26-23, 26-58 residuals, 26-93 steady-state ows, 26-27 time-dependent ows, 26-27 Select File panel, 6-28 Select File dialog box, 2-7 Select Solver panel, 1-3, 32-4, 32-9 selecting les, 2-7 selective multigrid solver, 26-135 selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), 20-31 semi-transparent media, 8-52, 12-38 semi-transparent walls, 12-17 sensible enthalpy, 12-2 Separate Cell Zones panel, 6-57 Separate Face Zones panel, 6-54 separated ows, 6-17 separating cell zones, 6-56 face zones, 6-54 sequential solution, 26-3 serial processing checkpointing, 1-15 using LSF, 1-15, 32-54 using SGE, 1-15, 32-49
Index-38
Index
Set Injection Properties panel, 15-72, 23-109, 23-111 Set Multiple Injection Properties panel, 23-129 Set Units panel, 5-3 SGE checkpointing, 1-15, 32-49, 32-50 conguration, 32-50 overview, 32-49 parallel processing, 1-15, 32-49 running a parallel FLUENT job, 32-52 serial processing, 1-15, 32-49 shear layers, 6-17 shear stress, 6-17, 7-88, 31-22, 31-49, 31-51 laminar ow, 7-88 shear thinning, 8-38 shell conduction, 7-76 shock waves, 6-17, 27-5, 27-21 postprocessing for, 29-16, 29-37, 29-107 SIMPLE algorithm, 26-23, 26-58 comparison to SIMPLEC, 26-58 simple-eectiveness-model, 7-173 features, 7-176 restrictions, 7-175 SIMPLEC algorithm, 26-24, 26-58 skewness correction, 26-25 under-relaxation, 26-58 Single Rate Devolatilization Model panel, 23-143 single reference frame, model compatibility, A-1 single selection list, 2-13 single-precision solvers, 1-1 Site Parameters panel, 14-30 site species, 14-28, 14-44 Six DOF solver, 10-49, 10-73, 10-119 parameters, 10-82 rigid body motion, 10-121 size functions local remeshing, 10-63
skewness, 6-14, 6-18 correction, 26-25, 26-26 equiangular, 31-23 equivolume, 31-23 skewness-neighbor coupling, 26-26 skin friction coecient, 30-18, 31-41 slider, 2-15 sliding meshes, 10-35 boundary conditions, 10-43 constraints, 10-37, 10-42, 10-45 contour display, 10-48 le saving, 10-44, 10-45 grid interface shapes, 10-37 grid requirements, 10-42 grid setup, 10-35 initial conditions for, 10-15 model compatibility, A-1 patching values, 26-74 postprocessing, 10-48, 29-21, 30-19 rotation speed, 10-43 setup, 10-43 solution initialization, 26-72 solution procedure, 10-45 theory, 10-40 time step, 10-45, 10-47 translational, 10-43 slip velocity, 24-22 slip wall, 7-69, 7-80, 7-91 slitting face zones, 6-63 sloshing, 22-5 slug ow, 22-2, 22-4, 22-6 slurry ow, 22-2, 22-4, 22-7 Smagorinsky-Lilly subgrid-scale model, 11-46 Smooth/Swap Grid panel, 27-63 smoothing, 12-50, 27-63 Laplacian, 27-64 residuals, 26-35 skewness-based, 27-66 solar calculator, 12-56 inputs/outputs, 12-56 theory, 12-57 solar heat ux, 31-41
Index-39
Index
solar load model applications, 12-51 boundary conditions, 12-67 discrete ordinates (DO) irradiation, 12-55 boundary conditions, 12-70 parallel solver, 12-59 steady-state, 12-59 transient, 12-60 postprocessing, 12-74 animation, 12-76 serial solver, 12-58 setup, 12-61 graphical user interface, 12-61 GUI, 12-61 solar calculator, 12-56 solar ray tracing, 12-52 glazing materials, 12-53 inputs, 12-54 shading algorithm, 12-53 text interface commands, 12-71 TUI additional commands, 12-74 adjacent uid cells, 12-73 align camera, 12-72 autoread solar data, 12-72 autosave solar data, 12-71 ground reectivity, 12-73 quad tree renement, 12-73 scattering fraction, 12-72 TUI commands, 12-71 UDFs, 12-61 user-dened functions, 12-61 solar ray tracing boundary conditions, 12-67 Solid panel, 7-102 solid decomposition reactions, 14-57 solid deposition reactions, 14-58 solid materials, 7-103, 8-2, 14-48, 14-59 solid species, 14-18, 14-28, 14-44 solid suspension, 23-3 solid zone, 7-102 convection in a moving, 12-5
solid-solid reactions, 14-57 Solidication and Melting panel, 25-8 solidication and melting, 25-1 in a VOF calculation, 24-141 inputs for, 25-8 limitations, 25-2 overview, 25-1 postprocessing, 25-12 solution procedure, 25-11 theory, 25-3 solids pressure, 24-37, 24-102, 24-108 radial distribution function, 24-39 solidus temperature, 25-9 solution, 26-1 accuracy, 26-9, 26-54 animating, 26-112 calculations, 26-78 convergence, 26-93 convergence and stability, 26-128 executing commands during, 26-124 histograms, 29-116 initialization, 26-70, 26-73, 26-79 inputs, 26-53 interpolation, 4-33 interrupt of, 26-79 limits, 26-68 pressure, 9-27 temperature, 9-27, 12-8 monitoring, 26-100 in time-dependent ows, 26-102 non-iterative solver (NITA), 26-61 numerical scheme overview, 26-2 parameters listing, 30-20 non-iterative solver, 26-61 under-relaxation, 26-60 procedure, 26-53 process, 26-1 stability, 26-60
Index-40
Index
techniques compressible ow, 9-27 discrete phase, 23-146 for convergence monitoring, 26-100 for heat transfer, 12-9 for periodic heat transfer, 12-120 for porous media, 7-123 for radiation, 12-106 for reacting ows, 14-34, 26-131 for swirling or rotating ow, 9-18 for turbulence, 11-80 step-by-step, 26-130 turning equations on/o, 26-130 under-relaxation, 26-16, 26-60 XY plots, 29-102 Solution Animation panel, 26-113 Solution Controls panel, 10-12, 26-56, 26-59, 26-61, 26-62, 26-66, 26-67, 26-130, 26-141 Solution Histogram panel, 29-116, 30-17 Solution Initialization panel, 26-71 Solution Limits panel, 26-68 Solution XY Plot panel, 29-103 Solve/Acoustic Signals..., 21-21 Solve/Animate/Dene..., 26-113 Solve/Animate/Playback..., 26-116 Solve/Controls/Limits..., 26-68 Solve/Controls/Multi-Stage..., 26-141 Solve/Controls/Multigrid..., 26-67, 26-13226-135, 26-138, 26-140 Solve/Controls/Solution..., 26-56, 26-59, 26-61, 26-62, 26-66, 26-67, 26-130 solve/dpm-update, 23-151 Solve/Execute Commands..., 26-124 solve/initialize/fmg-initialization, 26-77 solve/initialize/init-ow-statistics, 11-83 Solve/Initialize/Initialize..., 26-70, 26-71 Solve/Initialize/Patch..., 26-70, 26-73 Solve/Initialize/Reset DPM Sources, 23-152 Solve/Initialize/Reset Statistics, 26-80, 26-84 solve/initialize/set-fmg-initialization, 26-77 Solve/Iterate..., 26-78, 26-84 Solve/Mesh Motion..., 10-91, 10-92
Solve/Monitors/Force..., 26-101, 26-102 Solve/Monitors/Residual..., 26-93, 26-96 Solve/Monitors/Statistic..., 26-100 Solve/Monitors/Surface..., 26-105, 26-106 Solve/Monitors/Volume..., 26-109 solve/set/expert, 26-100 solve/set/multi-stage, 26-141 solve/set/sti-chemistry, 14-37 solve/set/surface-tension, 24-15 Solver panel, 9-16, 26-52, 26-80 solver, 26-1 coupled, 26-5, 26-31 explicit, 26-7, 26-50 implicit, 26-7, 26-50 limitations, 26-51 discretization, 26-8 double-precision, 1-1 formulation choosing, 26-50 inputs for, 26-53 linearization, 26-5 explicit, 26-6 implicit, 26-5 multi-stage scheme, 26-35 multigrid, 26-16, 26-38 algebraic (AMG), 26-38, 26-44 full (FMG), 26-75 full-approximation storage (FAS), 26-38, 26-48 node vs. cell discretization, 26-19 numerical scheme, 26-2 overview of, 26-2 parallel, 32-1 saving settings to a le, 4-18 segregated, 26-3, 26-6, 26-20, 26-50 limitations, 26-51 selection, 1-9 single-precision, 1-1 using, 26-53 soot mole fraction, 31-34 soot density, 31-41 Soot Model panel, 20-52
Index-41
Index
soot model, 20-46 boundary conditions, 20-55 combustion process parameters, 20-53 inputs for, 20-51 model compatibility, A-1 radiation eects, 12-79 restrictions, 20-47 single-step, 20-47 model parameters, 20-53 theory, 20-47 two-step, 20-48 model parameters, 20-54 Soret diusion, 8-56 sound pressure data, 21-21 sound pressure level, 21-14 sound speed, 31-41 source terms heterogeneous reactions, 24-77 in conservation equations, 7-217 units for, 5-2 Spalart-Allmaras model, 11-6, 11-11 DES model, 11-4 model compatibility, A-1 Spark Ignition Model panel, 19-3 spark model, 19-1 limitations, 19-1 overview, 19-1 spawning compute nodes, 32-22 Species panel, 14-18, 14-20 species, 8-5, 14-13 adding, 14-20 boundary conditions, 7-86, 14-33 bulk, 14-1914-21 dening, 14-18 for fuel mixtures, 14-28 deleting, 14-21 diusion, 12-4, 12-10, 14-3 mass fractions, 14-33 mixing, 13-1 molar concentration, 31-34 order of, 14-1914-21, 14-48 properties, 14-31 removing, 14-21
reordering, 14-21 sources, 14-33, 14-42 transport, 14-1 inputs for, 14-15 overview, 13-1 without reactions, 14-61 Species Model panel, 14-47, 15-35, 16-11 species transport multiphase, 24-75, 24-115 heterogeneous reactions, 24-77 limitations, 24-76 momentum transfer, 24-76 postprocessing, 24-162 specic dissipation rate, 31-41 specic heat capacity, 8-47, 14-31, 14-32, 31-41 composition-dependent, 8-48 constant, 8-47 discrete phase, 23-141 kinetic theory, 8-48 temperature-dependent, 8-47 specic heat ratio, 31-41 specular boundaries, 12-17 specular walls, 12-17 specularity coecient, 7-80 speed of sound, 31-41 split mass ow, 7-63 spray modeling, 23-43 atomizers, 23-43 breakup, 23-64 droplet collision, 23-61 dynamic drag, 23-72 inputs for, 23-99 wall-lm, 23-74 spread parameter, 23-116 spring-based smoothing method, 10-51 SST k- model, 11-8 model compatibility, A-1 stability, 26-16, 26-58, 26-128, 26-130 under-relaxation and, 26-60 stagnation pressure, 9-22 stagnation temperature, 9-22
Index-42
Index
standard k- model, 11-6, 11-15 model compatibility, A-1 standard k- model, 11-8 model compatibility, A-1 standard state enthalpy, 8-62 standard state entropy, 8-62 Stanton number, 31-44 starting and executing, 1-1 starting FLUENT, 1-1, 32-4 on a LINUX workstation cluster, 32-10 on a multiprocessor LINUX machine, 32-9 on a multiprocessor UNIX machine, 32-4 on a multiprocessor Windows machine, 32-11 on a UNIX system, 1-2 on a UNIX workstation cluster, 32-8 on a Windows system, 1-5, 32-15 on a Windows workstation cluster, 32-12 using the Remote Simulation Facility (RSF), 1-6 static pressure, 7-25, 7-40, 7-51, 7-57, 31-42 static temperature, 7-32, 7-57, 31-42 Statistic Monitors panel, 26-100 step-by-step solution techniques, 26-130 sti chemistry, 14-36 stirred tank reactors, 10-2 stochastic particle tracking, 23-12, 23-125 in coupled calculations, 23-152 stoichiometric ratio, 15-6 stoichiometry, 14-14 Stokes number, 22-8 Stokes-Cunningham law, 23-6, 23-97 stored cell partition, 31-41, 32-33 strain rate, 15-28, 31-42 stratied ow, 22-2, 22-422-6 stream function, 31-42 streamwise-periodic ow, 9-5 stretch factor, 16-6, 31-43 strings, 3-5 sub-micron particles, 23-6, 23-9
subgrid lter length, 31-43 subgrid turbulent kinetic energy, 31-43 subgrid turbulent viscosity, 31-43 ratio, 31-43 subgrid-scale models, 11-46 dynamic kinetic energy model, 11-47 dynamic Smagorinsky-Lilly model, 11-47 Smagorinsky-Lilly model, 11-46 WALE model, 11-47 subsonic, 7-25, 9-22 Summary panel, 30-20 supersonic, 7-25, 9-22 surface acoustic power, 31-43 surface area (projected), 30-8 Surface CHEMKIN les, 14-50 surface coverage, 31-43 surface deposition, 14-44, 14-45 rate, 31-43 surface dpdt RMS, 31-44 surface grid le, 4-19 Surface Integrals panel, 30-12 surface integration, 30-9 surface kinetic mechanism les, 14-50 surface mesh read, 6-32 Surface Monitors panel, 26-105, 26-106 surface tension, 7-81, 24-13 inputs for, 24-97 surface tension coecient, 24-122 surface-to-surface (S2S) radiation model, 12-15 advantages, 12-20 boundary conditions, 12-98 limitations, 12-20 residuals, 12-110 solution parameters, 12-108 theory, 12-48 Surface/Iso-Clip..., 28-23 Surface/Iso-Surface..., 28-21 Surface/Line/Rake..., 28-10 Surface/Manage..., 28-27 Surface/Partition..., 28-4
Index-43
Index
Surface/Plane..., 28-14 Surface/Point..., 28-6 Surface/Quadric..., 28-19 Surface/Transform..., 28-25 Surface/Zone..., 28-3 Surfaces panel, 28-27 surfaces, 28-1 clipping, 28-23 deleting, 28-27 grouping, 28-27 isodistancing, 28-26 isosurfaces, 28-2, 28-21 line, 28-2, 28-10 monitoring, 26-105 partition, 28-2, 28-4 plane, 28-2, 28-14 point, 28-2, 28-6 quadric, 28-2, 28-19 rake, 28-2, 28-10 renaming, 28-27 rotating, 28-26 transforming, 28-25 translating, 28-26 using, 28-2 zone, 28-2, 28-3 Sutherland Law panel, 8-31 swapping, 27-63, 27-67 Sweep Surface panel, 29-37 sweep surface, 29-37 sweeps, for radiation, 12-107, 12-108 swelling, 23-143 coecient, 23-35 swirl number, 9-14 swirl pull velocity, 31-44 swirl velocity, 7-31, 9-13, 31-44 for fans, 7-126, 7-131 swirling ow, 9-11, 26-21 grid sensitivity in, 9-16 physics of, 9-14 pressure interpolation, 26-55 solution strategies for, 9-18 turbulence modeling in, 9-14, 11-7, 11-8, 11-10, 11-18
Syamlal-OBrien model, 24-35 symbols, 3-5 symmetric model, 24-34 symmetry boundary, 7-91, 29-65 symmetry in the display, 29-65 tab (in a GUI panel), 2-11 TAB model, 23-64 tangential velocity, 7-31, 31-45 Taylor analogy breakup model, 23-64 Taylor-Foster approximation, 12-80 Tecplot, 4-25 temperature, 31-39, 31-42, 31-45, 31-46, 31-49 temperature-dependent properties, 8-18, 12-10 density, 8-24 specic heat capacity, 8-47 thermal conductivity, 8-40 viscosity, 8-29 temporal discretization, 26-27, 26-34, 26-36 solver, 26-16 terminal emulator, 2-1 termination criteria, 26-47, 26-135 text annotation, 29-57 entry, 2-12 prompts, 3-4 user interface, 3-1 TGrid grid le, 4-7, 6-19 thermal accommodation coecient, 14-32 thermal boundary conditions external heat transfer coecient, 7-90 heat ux, 7-89 thermal conductivity, 8-39, 14-31, 14-32, 31-28, 31-45 anisotropic, 8-42, 12-6 composition-dependent, 8-41 constant, 8-40 cylindrical orthotropic, 8-44 discrete phase, 23-141 kinetic theory, 8-40 temperature-dependent, 8-40 user-dened, 8-45
Index-44
Index
thermal diusion coecients, 8-56, 31-45 thermal diusivity, 16-13 thermal expansion coecient, 8-24 thermal mixing, 12-1 thermal resistance, 7-72 thermophoretic coecient, 23-142 thermophoretic force, 23-8, 23-98 thin walls, 7-72 Third-Body Eciencies panel, 14-25 third-body eciencies, 14-6, 14-25 Third-Order MUSCL scheme, 26-12 tilde expansion, 4-6 time advancement schemes, 26-28 time step, 26-37, 26-84, 31-45 discrete phase, 23-87, 23-93 scale, 31-45 time stepping adaptive, 26-87 dual, 26-17, 26-36 explicit, 26-18, 26-36 restrictions, 26-67 rst-order, 26-17 global, 26-18 implicit, 26-17, 26-36 second-order, 26-18 variable, 26-90 time-dependent problems, 26-80 adaptive time stepping, 26-87 animations of, 26-112 boundary conditions for, 7-8 inputs for, 26-80 mean ow quantities, 26-92 postprocessing, 26-92, 26-112 root-mean-square quantities, 26-92 solution monitoring, 26-102 solution parameters for, 26-84 statistical analysis, 26-84, 26-92 time-periodic, 10-46, 10-47 variable time stepping, 26-90 time-periodic ows, 10-46, 10-47 title, 29-43, 29-110 tmerge, 6-29 toothpaste, 8-38
topology, global setting, 29-141 torque, 29-131 torque converters, 10-32, 10-33 total energy, 31-45 total enthalpy, 31-45 total pressure, 7-22, 9-22, 9-28, 31-46 total temperature, 7-22, 7-39, 9-22, 9-28, 31-46 trajectory calculations, 23-5 transcript les, 4-16 Transform Surface panel, 28-25 Transformations panel, 29-75 transforming objects in a scene, 29-75 transient boundary conditions, 7-8 transient particles, 23-90 Translate Grid panel, 6-50 translating objects in a scene, 29-76 reference frames, 10-2, 10-15 the display, 29-56, 29-60 the grid, 6-50 translation velocity, 10-21, 10-29 transmitted radiation (IR) solar ux, 31-46 transmitted radiation ux, 31-46 transmitted visible solar ux, 31-46 transonic, 9-22 transparency, 29-75 trapezoidal Euler scheme, 23-146 triangular face approach, 6-35 troubleshooting of calculations, 26-69 tube banks, 7-104 TUI, 3-1 turbines, 10-2 Turbo 2D Contours panel, 29-138 Turbo Averaged Contours panel, 29-136 Turbo Averaged XY Plot panel, 29-140 Turbo Options panel, 29-141 Turbo Report panel, 29-125 Turbo Topology panel, 29-123
Index-45
Index
turbo-specic non-reecting boundary conditions overview of, 7-145 theory, 7-146 using, 7-155 Turbo/2D Contours..., 29-138 Turbo/Averaged Contours..., 29-136 Turbo/Averaged XY Plot..., 29-140 Turbo/Options..., 29-141 Turbo/Report..., 29-125 turbomachinery, 10-2, 28-25 2D contours, 29-138 average ow angles, 29-130 average total pressure, 29-129 average total temperature, 29-129 averaged contours, 29-136 axial force, 29-131 coordinates, 29-142 dening topology, 29-122 eciency, 29-131, 29-134, 30-18 mass ow, 29-128 passage loss coecient, 29-130 postprocessing, 29-122 quantities, 29-128 report, 29-125 setting global topology, 29-141 swirl number, 29-128 topology, 29-122 torque, 29-131 XY plots, 29-140 turbulence, 11-1, 23-98 boundary conditions, 11-76 computing, 7-16 input methods, 7-13 relationships for deriving, 7-16 buoyancy eects, 11-24, 11-41 choosing a model, 11-2 compressibility eects, 11-25 computational expense, 11-10 DES model, 11-4, 11-50, 11-72 discrete phase interaction, 23-2 dissipation rate, 31-47 enhanced wall functions, 11-63
grid considerations for, 11-66, 11-80, 27-39 inputs for, 11-68 intensity, 7-14, 31-46 k- model, 11-15 realizable, 11-7, 11-20 RNG, 11-7, 11-17 standard, 11-6, 11-15 k- model SST, 11-8 standard, 11-8 kinetic energy, 31-47 large eddy simulation (LES), 11-44 length scale, 7-15 model compatibility, A-1 modeling, 11-1, 11-5 in multiphase ows, 24-6 near-wall treatments, 11-51 no perturbations, 11-48 options, 11-70 production, 11-12, 11-23 realizable k- model, 11-7, 11-20 reporting, 11-84 Reynolds stress model (RSM), 11-36 RNG k- model, 11-7, 11-17 solution strategies, 11-80 sources, 7-220 Spalart-Allmaras model, 11-6, 11-11 spectral synthesizer, 11-50 SST k- model, 11-8 standard k- model, 11-6, 11-15 standard k- model, 11-8 transition, 7-101, 7-121 troubleshooting, 11-88 two-layer model, 11-51, 11-61 user-dened functions, 11-75 v 2 -f model, 11-9 vortex method, 11-49 wall functions, 11-51, 11-53 limitations of, 11-60 non-equilibrium, 11-58 standard, 11-53 wall roughness, 7-82, 11-76, 11-77
Index-46
Index
turbulence-chemistry interaction, 14-9, 15-2, 15-8, 20-32 turbulent reaction rate, 31-47 turbulent Reynolds number, 31-47 turbulent viscosity, 31-47 in the k- model, 11-16 modied, 31-34 ratio, 7-16, 31-47 subgrid, 31-43 subgrid, 31-43 twisting pathlines, 29-31 Two Competing Rates Model panel, 23-143 two-layer model, 11-51, 11-61 two-sided wall, 7-70, 7-74, 7-79 unburnt mixture, 16-3 physical properties, 16-13 species concentration, 16-11, 16-16 under-relaxation, 26-16 default values, 26-61 discrete phase, 23-88, 23-152 inputs for, 26-60 of body forces, 26-26 of density, 14-35 of energy, 12-9 of temperature, 12-10 with PISO, 26-58 with SIMPLEC, 26-58 uniform distribution for display, 28-10, 28-14 units, 5-1, 31-20 conversion factors, 5-6 custom systems, 5-4 for custom eld functions, 31-52 for length, 6-49 restrictions, 5-2 unsteady ows, 26-80 in multiple reference frames, 10-17 upwind schemes, 26-9 rst-order, 26-9 second-order, 26-11 user interface graphical, 2-1 text, 3-1
User Services Center access from the interface, 2-25 link, UTM-7 user-dened materials database, 8-9 User-Dened Fan Model panel, 7-166 user-dened fan model, 7-164 user-dened functions (UDFs), 7-8 discrete phase, 23-102, 23-128 in multiphase models, 22-6 turbulence, 11-75 units in, 5-2 update of, 26-79 user-dened quantities non-isotropic thermal conductivity, 7-121 porosity, 7-120 resistance coecients, 7-112 user-dened real gas model (UDRGM), 8-67 ideal gas equation example, 8-79 limitations, 8-73 Redlich-Kwong equation example, 8-83 users, current, 2-26 using the manual, UTM-1 v 2 -f model, 11-9 V-cycle multigrid, 26-41, 26-133 vapor pressure, 23-142 vaporization, 23-21, 23-23, 23-27 pressure, 24-122 temperature, 15-72, 23-21, 23-142 variable denitions, 31-1 variable time stepping, 26-90 Vector Denitions panel, 29-27 vector le, 4-22 Vector Options panel, 29-21 Vectors panel, 29-20 vectors, 29-18 custom, 29-25 velocity, 31-39, 31-48 angle, 31-48 relative, 31-39 axial, 7-31, 31-22
Index-47
Index
boundary conditions, 7-29 Cartesian, 31-4 for boundary condition inputs, 7-30 components, 31-51 cylindrical, 31-4 for boundary condition inputs, 7-30 xed values of, 7-213 local cylindrical for boundary condition inputs, 7-30 magnitude, 31-49 radial, 7-31, 31-36 reporting options, 31-4 swirl, 9-13, 31-44 tangential, 7-31, 31-45 velocity far-eld boundary, 7-32 velocity formulation in rotating reference frames, 10-9 porous media, 7-105, 7-110 Velocity Inlet panel, 7-29 velocity inlet boundary, 7-12, 7-28 velocity vectors, 29-18 video, 29-90 View Factor and Cluster Parameters panel, 12-88 view factors, 12-49 computing, 12-85 adaptive method, 12-91 for large meshes or complex models, 12-86, 12-87 hemicube method, 12-92 inside FLUENT, 12-86 outside FLUENT, 12-87 reading, 12-88 setting parameters, 12-88 view last, 29-58 view modication in graphics, 29-58 Views panel, 29-58, 29-64, 29-67 views restoring, 29-65 saving, 29-64 virtual mass force, 23-7, 24-29 virtual polygon approach, 6-35
viscosity, 8-29, 14-31, 31-29, 31-34, 31-47 Carreau model, 8-36 composition-dependent, 8-33 constant, 8-29 Cross model, 8-37 kinetic theory, 8-32 non-Newtonian, 8-34 Carreau model, 8-36 Cross model, 8-37 Herschel-Bulkley model, 8-38 power law, 8-35 power law, 8-31 non-Newtonian, 8-35 Sutherlands law, 8-30, 8-31 temperature-dependent, 8-29 zero-shear-rate, 8-37 viscous dissipation, 9-24, 12-4, 12-7 Viscous Model panel, 8-61, 9-31, 11-68 viscous stresses, 26-142 visibility, 29-73 visualizing results, 29-1 volatile fraction, 15-72, 23-21, 23-142 volatiles, 20-21, 20-23 Volume Adaption panel, 27-38 volume adaption, 27-36 volume fraction, 22-5, 24-26, 31-49 in Eulerian multiphase model, 24-26 in Lagrangian discrete phase model, 23-3 in mixture model, 24-24 in VOF model, 24-7 Volume Integrals panel, 30-16 volume integrals, monitoring, 26-109 volume integration, 30-14 volume mesh update procedure, 10-67 Volume Monitors panel, 26-109 volume of uid (VOF) model, 22-5 donor-acceptor scheme, 24-11, 24-85 Euler explicit scheme, 24-12, 24-85 geometric reconstruction scheme, 24-11, 24-85 implicit scheme, 24-12, 24-85, 24-86
Index-48
Index
interpolation, 24-9 donor-acceptor scheme, 24-11, 24-85 Euler explicit scheme, 24-12, 24-85 geometric reconstruction scheme, 24-11, 24-85 implicit scheme, 24-12, 24-85, 24-86 limitations, 24-3 mass transfer, 24-64 model compatibility, A-1 momentum equation, 24-8 open channel ow, 24-17, 24-87 limitations, 24-92 recommendations, 24-93 overview, 24-3 properties, 24-8, 24-95, 24-96 reporting ow rates, 24-164 solidication and melting in, 24-141 solution strategies, 24-156 steady-state calculations, 24-3, 24-86 surface tension, 24-13 inputs for, 24-97 theory, 24-7 time-dependent calculations, 24-3, 24-85 inputs for, 24-124 volume fraction, 24-7 wall adhesion, 24-16 inputs for, 24-98, 24-137 volumetric heat sources, 12-6 volumetric species, 14-16 vortex shedding, 26-80 vorticity, 31-31, 31-49 components, 31-51 magnitude, 31-49 W-cycle multigrid, 26-41, 26-133 WALE subgrid-scale model, 11-47 Wall panel, 7-70, 7-77, 7-78, 7-80, 7-85 wall adhesion, 24-16 inputs for, 24-98, 24-137
boundary conditions, 7-69 motion, 7-77 shear, 7-79 thermal, 7-70 coupled, 6-63, 7-74 uxes, 31-49 functions, 11-51, 11-53 limitations of, 11-57, 11-60 non-equilibrium, 11-58 standard, 11-53 heat ux, 7-89 Marangoni stress, 7-80, 7-81 motion, 7-77, 7-78, 10-43 no-slip, 7-80 rotation, 9-14, 10-9, 10-21, 10-29 roughness, 7-82, 11-76, 11-77 shear stress, 7-88, 31-22, 31-49 components, 31-51 shell conduction, 7-76 slip, 7-80 specied shear, 7-80 specularity coecient, 7-80 temperature, 31-49 thickness, 7-72 translation, 10-21, 10-29 two-sided, 7-70, 7-74, 7-79 wall function heat transfer coecient, 31-49 wall surface reactions, 13-1, 14-18, 14-42 boundary conditions, 7-87, 14-44 heat transfer, 14-45 inputs for, 14-47 reaction rate, 14-43 site species, 14-28, 14-44 solid species, 14-28, 14-44 Warning dialog box, 2-5 WAVE, 7-226 wave breakup model, 23-69 wavelength bands, 12-30 web browser, 2-21 Weber number, 23-51, 24-15 weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model (WSGGM), 8-50, 12-16, 12-76
Index-49
Index y , 11-54, 11-66, 31-50 adaption, 27-39 + y , 11-54, 11-66, 31-50 adaption, 27-39 yield stress, 8-38 Yplus/Ystar Adaption panel, 27-41 zero-shear-rate viscosity, 8-37 Zone Motion panel, 10-91 zone motion specifying, 10-82 Zone Scale Info panel, 10-90 Zone Surface panel, 28-3 zone surfaces, 28-2, 28-3 zones changing name of, 7-7 changing type of, 7-4 deforming, 10-50, 10-82, 10-89 double-sided, 7-5 moving, 10-1, 10-35 reordering, 6-65 zooming, 29-56, 29-61
Wen and Yu model, 24-36 wet steam multiphase model postprocessing, 24-163 properties, 24-61, 24-142 restrictions, 24-58 solving, 24-159 theory, 24-58 UDF, 24-143 using, 24-142 window dumps, 4-24 windows, 2-16 Windows systems graphics display window features, 2-16 starting FLUENT on, 1-5, 32-11, 32-15 using the Remote Simulation Facility (RSF), 1-6 wireframe animations, 29-54 Working dialog box, 2-6 workpile, 23-104 workstation clusters, 32-8, 32-10 Write Prole panel, 4-17 Write Views panel, 29-64 WSGGM User Specied panel, 8-51 XY plot les units in, 5-2 XY plots, 29-101, 29-102, 29-108, 29-117 along pathline trajectories, 29-34 axis attributes, 29-117 circumferential average, 29-111 curve attributes, 29-119 le format, 29-114 residuals, 29-115 turbomachinery, 29-140
Index-50

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FLUENT 6.

Fluent Inc. Centerra Resource Park 10 Cavendish Court Lebanon, NH 03766

Using This Manual

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Using This Manual

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Using This Manual

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Using This Manual

Whats in the Other Manuals

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Using This Manual

) marks an important note.

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Using This Manual

This tensor is usually written as

The operator , which is usually written as Laplacian; for example,

and is known as the

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Using This Manual

T is dierent from the expression ( T )2 , which is dened as ( T) =

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Using This Manual

Contacting Technical Support

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

1.4 1.5 1.6

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

2-1 2-1 2-1 2-5

Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dialog Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10 Graphics Display Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Default Value Binding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Importing Meshes and Data in CGNS Format . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10

Automatic Saving of Case and Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13

4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7

Creating Transcript Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16 4.8.1 User Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16

Reading and Writing Prole Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18

4.10 Reading and Writing Boundary Conditions

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Mesh Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

6.3.6 6.3.7 6.3.8 6.3.9 6.3.10 6.3.11 6.4

Reading Surface Mesh Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-32

Partition Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-46

Fusing Face Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-61 Slitting Face Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-63

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

6.7.10 6.7.11 6.7.12

Dening Transient Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Saving and Reusing Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Composition-Dependent Viscosity for Multicomponent Mixtures

Viscosity for Non-Newtonian Fluids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-34

Mass Diusion Coecients 8.8.1 8.8.2 8.8.3 8.8.4 8.8.5

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

Standard State Enthalpies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-62

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005

10 Modeling Flows in Moving and Deforming Zones

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005