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OpenFOAM tutorial
OpenFOAM tutorial
Discover it, tame it, use it
by Victor Pozzobon
(victor.pozzobon@centralesupelec.fr)
26th December 2016 Version 1.03

Disclaimer
This offering is not approved or endorsed by

OpenCFD Limited, the producer of the
OpenFOAM software and owner of the
OPENFOAM and OpenCFD trade marks.
26th December 2016 Pozzobon Victor 2

Introduction
This tutorial is a brief introduction to

OpenFOAM
This document is a step by step guide
It was done to be used on its own, there should
be no need for a presenter (myself)
It was designed for OpenFOAM 3.0.1 and
validated with 16.06+ version (changes may
appear in superior versions)

OpenFOAM
OpenFOAM (Open Field Operation And

Manipulation) is a versatile equations solver
Why do I use OpenFOAM ?
- free
- powerful
- opensource
- allows a lot of freedom
- no GUI (helps to focus on the equations)

How to use this tutorial
Almost every command will passed through the

terminal. For example, when you see:
gedit system/controlDict
you type it in the terminal
As OpenFOAM has no GUI, we will modify files.
For example, when you see this kind of picture:
modify the file so that
its content is the same
before you save it

Battle plan
Ex. 1: Cavity Ex. 6: Tubular reactor

- getting started - solver modifying (1/2)
Ex. 2: Square tube Ex. 7: Tubular reactor
- mesh manipulation - solver modifying (2/2)
- steady state
Ex. 8: Heating pipe
Ex. 3: 1D beam - custom boundary
- 1D problem condition
- transient
Ex. 9: Cake backing
Ex. 4: 2D flat plate - field affectation
- 2D problem
Ex. 10: Tank filling
Ex. 5: 2D pipe - importing a mesh
- axisymmetric problem - run in parallel
Ex. 1: Cavity - Objectives
Accessing your work directory

Accessing OpenFOAM tutorials
Understanding case architecture
Running your first OpenFOAM case
Postprocessing with ParaFoam (Paraview with
OpenFOAM reader module): data modifying,
line date / point data extraction

Ex. 1: Cavity - Run
To access your directory type in a terminal:

run
To get the full path type:
pwd
You will see:
/home/YourName/OpenFOAM/YourName-OpenFOAMVersion/run

Ex. 1: Cavity - Tutorials
To copy official tutorials to your run:

cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS Tutorials
Go to the case directory:
cd Tutorials/incompressible/icoFoam/cavity/cavity

Ex. 1: Cavity - Architecture
Case directory
Initial conditions directory
Pressure / Velocity initial conditions
Mesh directory
Physical properties values

Solving parameters directory
Mesh instructions
Parameters file
Ex. 1: Cavity Run the case
Once in 'cavity' directory, create the mesh:

blockMesh
Call the solver:
icoFoam
(you can note that the solver created several
directories e.g. '0.1'. These directories contain
data for a given time)
Watch the results:
paraFoam

Ex. 1: Cavity Postprocessing
Data analysis pipeline
Load the case
Load geometric fields
Load the fields

Current
time
step
Plotted Observation tools

data
Plot Rescale
legend legend Time
step
tool
Legend
Scene

Make it look shinier:

Filters / Alphabetical / Cell data to point data
Calculate something:
Filters / Common / Calculator OR
Extract profiles:
Filters / Data Analysis / Plot Over Line
Extract histories:
Filters / Data Analysis / Plot Selection Over Time

Battle plan
From Ex. 2 to Ex. 5, we are going to learn how

to use existing solvers in different
configurations.
We are going to set 3D, 2D planar, 2D
axisymmetrical and 1D cases
We are going to explore postprocessor basic
functions

Ex. 2: Square tube - Objectives
Creating your own case

Creating a mesh
Specifying initial / boundary conditions
Specifying physical properties values
Solving a steady state problem
Postprocessing with ParaFoam: integrating
variable / checking mass conservation

Ex. 2: Square tube Case setup
Solving steady state incompressible

Navier-Stokes equation, in a fourth of a square
pipe

dU p 2

+ U . U = + U
dt
2 cm 20 cm

Ex. 2: Square tube A new case
Go to your 'run' directory:

run
Copy an existing case:
cp -r
$FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/simpleFoam/pitzDaily/ Ex2
Move to the case directory:
cd Ex2
Open the mesh file:
gedit system/blockMeshDict

Ex. 2: Square tube A new mesh
A fourth of a square tube with symmetry plane

Points have to be prescribed in order to bluid a
mesh (consider doing a sketch) 5 6 x
Wall 2
7 1
4
Inlet Outlet
y
Symmetry
0 3
26th December 2016 plane Pozzobon Victor 19
Beware, the
points are to be Scaling
prescribed in factor
order not to
back cross a line Block division
Do (0 4 7 3) along axis
Points
locations Division grading
4 7
0 3 Points needed to
26th December 2016 Pozzobon Victor build a block 20
Face
Avoid (0 3 4 7) name
4 7
Face
type
0 3 Point sequence
delimiting the
face
Wall
Inlet Outlet

Compile your mesh:

blockMesh
Check its quality:
checkMesh

Ex. 2: Square tube Turbulence
model and parameters
Choose the turbulence
model. In this case, there
is no turbulence:
gedit constant/turbulenceProperties
Because we disabled the
turbulence, there will
be no need to specify:
epsilon, k, nut and nuTilda
fields:
rm 0/epsilon 0/k 0/nut 0/nuTilda
0/f 0/omega 0/v2

Ex. 2: Square tube IC / BC
Open initial / boundary conditions files in the

'0' directory:
gedit 0/p
gedit 0/U
Physical field
Physical field unit

[ kg m s K mol A Cd]
Initial condition
Boundary condition
on 'inlet' patch
Ex. 2: Square tube IC / BC, p
Open initial / boundary

conditions for the pressure
field
Field type, here

scalar

Ex. 2: Square tube IC / BC, U
Open initial / boundary

conditions for the velocity
field
Field type, here

vector

Ex. 2: Square tube Setting values
Open transportProperties
file, this is where physical
properties value (e.g.
viscosity) are specified:
gedit constant/transportProperties
Property name
Property dimension
[ kg m s K mol A Cd]
Property value
Subdictionaries for some viscosity laws,
can be removed in our case
Ex. 2: Square tube Control values
Open case control file:


Erase the functions and
below
End time = maximum

number of iteration
Constant time step

equals to 1

Ex. 2: Square tube Control values
In steady state, the maximum number of

iteration is prescribed using endTime. Yet, there
is no variation in time. It is a trick, nothing
more
Data are extracted every

5 iterations

Ex. 2: Square tube Run the case
The mesh has already been built, so let's run

the case:
simpleFoam
(it should converge in about 20 iterations)
Have a look at the results:
paraFoam

Ex. 2: Square tube Postprocessing
Check mass conservation:

Filters / Common / Slice
Filters / Data Analysis / Integrate Variables
Check velocity profile:
Filters / Data Analysis / Plot Over Line

Ex. 3: 1D beam - Objectives
Setting a 1D case
Solving a transient problem
Postprocessing with ParaFOAM: importing
variables (other than p and U)

Ex. 3: 1D beam Case setup
Solving transient heat conduction in a 1D beam

dT 2
= T
dt Symmetry
planes
Hot side Cold side
20 cm

Ex. 3: 1D beam Case creation
Reach 'run' directory:

run
Copy an existing heat transfer case:
cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/basic/laplacianFoam/flange Ex3
cd Ex3
Clean the case directory:
rm Allclean Allrun flange.ans
Copy Ex2 mesh:
cp ../Ex2/system/blockMeshDict system/.

Ex. 3: 1D beam Modifying mesh
Modify file:
gedit system/blockMeshDict
Build mesh:
blockMesh

Ex. 3: 1D beam IC / BC
Modify temperature file:

gedit 0/T

Ex. 3: 1D beam Diffusivity
Modify transport property file:


Ex. 3: 1D beam Control value
Modify control dictionary:

Run the case:
laplacianFoam
Postprocess the case:
paraFoam

Ex. 3: 1D beam Postprocessing
Check T, as a 'Volume field' when loading data

Ex. 4: 2D flat plate - Objectives
Setting a 2D case
Building a 2 block mesh
Changing convergence criterion
Postprocessing with ParaFoam: plotting
streamlines

Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Case setup
Solving incompressible air flow above a flat

plate, in steady state

dU p 2

+ U . U = + U
dt
30 cm
20 cm
20 cm
Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Case creation

run
cp -r Ex2 Ex4
cd Ex4
foamListTimes -rm
(this command removes time/iteration folders
except the 0 folder)

Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Mesh
We will create a mesh made of two blocks.

Modify file: gedit system/blockMeshDict
Top
Inlet Outlet
Symmetry
wall
Block 1
Down Plate
Block 2
Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Creating mesh
Create the two blocks

blockMesh will
merge them

Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Creating mesh
Set the faces

Build mesh:
blockMesh

Ex. 4: 2D flat plate IC / BC
Modify velocity file:

gedit 0/U

Ex. 4: 2D flat plate IC / BC
Modify pressure file:

gedit 0/p

Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Viscosity
Modify the kinematic viscosity:


Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Convergence
Modify pressure / velocity convergence criteria:

gedit system/fvSolution
In this case, there are a
lot of options. Some
solvers are much
simpler
Solver
Solved type and
field options
Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Convergence
Simulations can be stopped automatically once

residues values have been reached
For 2D cases, the unsolved
component of the velocity
vector prevents the solver from
reaching the tolerance most of
time. Therefore, a number of
iterations has to be
prescribed
Residues values
set for convergence
Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Run the case
The mesh has already been built

The controlDict has not changed from Ex2. The solver
will run for 100 iterations. It is enough to get the
residues below 10-6
Run the case:
simpleFoam
paraFoam

Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Postprocessing
Lower the first scene opacity:

'Click on the filter' / Display / Styling / Opacity
Plot the streamline from the inlet:
Filters / Common / Stream Tracer
Set streamlines' sources as a line, not a point:
'Click on stream tracer' / Properties / Seeds / Seed type =>
High resolution line source
Set the line you want using the coordinates

Ex. 4: 2D flat plate Postprocessing

Ex. 5: 2D pipe - Objectives
Creating a 2D axisymmetrical mesh

Nothing fancy ...

Ex. 5: 2D pipe Case setup
Solving incompressible flow in a 2D

axisymmetrical pipe, in steady state

dU p 2

+ U . U = + U
dt 10 cm
1 cm

Ex. 5: 2D pipe Case creation

run
cp -r Ex2 Ex5
Go to the new case directory:
cd Ex5
foamListTimes -rm

Ex. 5: 2D pipe Mesh
Modify file: gedit system/blockMeshDict
Axis
Outlet
Inlet
5
Front and
Back
Wall
Ex. 5: 2D pipe Block creation
Draw a wegde,
with a 5 angle
(twice 2.5)
Points 1, 2 and 3 are
not used to build the cos(2.5)
geometry. OpenFOAM
uses them to define sin(2.5)
x, y and z directions :
- point 0 to point 1 = x
- point 1 to point 2 = y
- point 0 to point 4 = z
Ex. 5: 2D pipe Patches creation
In order to do things
by the book, create
two 'wedge' patches
(here, 'front' and
'back')
It would have worked
with only one, but
checkMesh would have
returned an error

Ex. 5: 2D pipe IC / BC p
Set pressure boundary /

initial conditions:
gedit 0/p

Ex. 5: 2D pipe IC / BC U
Set veolicty boundary /

initial conditions:
gedit 0/U

Ex. 5: 2D pipe Run the case
(As usual now) The mesh has already been built,

the controlDict has not changed from Ex2. As for
Ex4, we have to set the desired number of
iterations:
So let's run the case:
simpleFoam
paraFoam

Ex. 5: 2D pipe Postprocessing
E.g. check velocity profile

Battle plan
We have used two different builtin solvers

(icoFoam, simpleFoam and laplacianFoam)
We have set cases in 3D, 2D planar, 2D
axisymmetrical and 1D configurations
We have learnt how to process data with
Paraview (paraFoam)
We are going to learn how to solve our own
equations and set fancy cases

Ex. 6: Tubular reactor Objectives
Create our own solver

Use basic operators
Create the associated case

Ex. 6: Tubular reactor Case setup
1D tubular reactor with heterogeneous catalysis

on porous media without chemical reaction in
steady state / hydrodynamics only
=0
.U =
U p 2 p=0
Symmetry
planes
Inlet Outlet
100 cm
Ex. 6: Tubular reactor Solver
directory creation
run
Create a solver directory:
mkdir solvers
Copy an existing solver:
cp -r $FOAM_APP/solvers/basic/laplacianFoam solvers/.
Rename the solver directory:
mv solvers/laplacianFoam solvers/tubeFoam

cleaning up
Move to solver directory:
cd solvers/tubeFoam
Clean the directory:
wclean
rm write.H
Rename the file:
mv laplacianFoam.C tubeFoam.C

modification
Modify compilation file:
gedit Make/files
You can specify compilation options:
gedit Make/options
(None need to be applied here)

modification / createFields.H
Modify createFields.H to
create the new fields:
gedit createFields.H
Pressure field
(scalar field)
Velocity field
(vector field)

read the physical
properties:
Physical property
called 'Mu'

modification / tubeFoam.C
Modify tubeFoam.C
to specify the
equations that will
be solved:
gedit tubeFoam.C
Time loop
Correction loop
(not mandatory)
Solved equations
(implicit '=0')

compilation
Clean the directory and compile:
wclean; wmake
If you get an error, here is what to do:
1. Read the expection message
2. Get error file and line number
Error file
and line number
3. Take care of it

Ex. 6: Tubular reactor Case
creation
Now that the solver has been compiled, let's
create the case we are going to solve. Since it
is a 1D case, copy Ex3 (1D thermal beam) case
directory:
run
cp -r Ex3 Ex6
Go to the case directory, clean it:
cd Ex6
foamListTimes -rm

Ex. 6: Tubular reactor Mesh
creation
Create the mesh:
gedit system
/blockMeshDict

Ex. 6: Tubular reactor IC / BC
Build the mesh:

blockMesh
Create IC / BC files:
mv 0/T 0/p
cp 0/p 0/U
gedit 0/p 0/U

Pressure field Velocity field
(scalar field) (vector field)

Ex. 6: Tubular reactor Physical
properties
Modify physical properties file:

Ex. 6: Tubular reactor Numerical
schemes
Modify numerical schemes in order to specify a
steady state resolution:
gedit system/fvSchemes

parameters
Modify solver parameters:
Specify tolerance on pressure equation
as single iteration stopping criterion
Number of correction
iteration (used for non
orthogonal meshes)
Specify tolerance on pressure equation

as simulation stopping criterion

Ex. 6: Tubular reactor Control
parameters
Modify solver parameters:
In this case, the solver is
only calculating a Laplacian
operator, Thus, a 10-6 residue
is reached quite fast
(2 iterations)
Changing it is not
mandatory

Ex. 6: Tubular reactor Run it
Let's run the case:

tubeFoam
Process it:
paraFoam

Ex. 7: Tubular reactor Objectives
Create our own solver with more complex

equations
Use common operators
Evolving a case

Ex. 7: Tubular reactor Case setup
1D tubular reactor with chemical reaction, in

transient state A +B=C
dA 2
=v AB
+ .( U A)= D A
dt
dB 2
=0 2
+ .( U B)=D B .U p=0
dt
dC =
U p
2

+ .( U C)=D C + Symmetry
dt planes
Inlet Outlet
100 cm
directory creation
run
cd solvers
Copy the existing solver:
cp -r tubeFoam tubeChemFoam
Move to and clean the directory:
cd tubeChemFoam
wclean

modification
Rename the file:
mv tubeFoam.C tubeChemFoam.C
Modify compilation file:
gedit Make/files

Modify createFields.H to create the species fields:
Defined in
the source
26th December 2016 Pozzobon Victor code 87
read the physical
properties:

modification / tubeChemFoam.C
Modify
tubeChemFoam.C
to add species fields:
gedit tubeChemFoam.C
Interpolates the
velocity field on the
mesh in order to
later calculate the
divergence operator

compilation / Case creation
wclean; wmake
Move to cases directory:
run
Copy Ex6 directory:
cp -r Ex6 Ex7
cd Ex7

Ex. 7: Tubular reactor Case
creation
foamListTimes -rm
Build the mesh:
blockMesh
Modify physical
properties:
gedit constant/transportPropeties

Create file for the species fields: A field

cp 0/p 0/A
cp 0/p 0/B
cp 0/p 0/C
Keep the existing files
for pressure and velocity
Modify species files:
gedit 0/A
gedit 0/B
gedit 0/C
B field C field

Ex. 7: Tubular reactor Numerical
schemes
Set numerical schemes:

parameters
Add solvers:
Due to the use of the
divergence, we need to
use asymmetric solvers
for the species fields

Ex. 7: Tubular reactor Control
parameters
Add solvers:
Run the case:
tubeChemFoam
Process it:
paraFoam

Ex. 7: Tubular reactor Nice pics

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Objectives
Modify an existing solver

Create a variating boundary condition
Evolve a case

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Case setup

axisymmetrical pipe with heat transfer , in
steady state
10 cm
1 cm

dU p 2

+ U . U = + U
dt
Ex. 8: Heating pipe Case setup

axisymmetrical pipe with heat transfer, in
steady state
dT T = .(k T )
Cp + Cp . U
dt
T inlet = 20 C
T surrounding = 80 C
k T . n =h(T T sur )
Ex. 8: Heating pipe Solver
creation
run
cd solvers

Copy simpleFoam:
cp -r $FOAM_APP/solvers/incompressible/simpleFoam .
mv simpleFoam simpleThermFoam
Move to the new solver directory:
cd simpleThermFoam

creation / modification
rm -r porousSimpleFoam/ SRFSimpleFoam/ simpleFoam.dep
wclean
Rename simpleFoam:
mv simpleFoam.C simpleThermFoam.C
Change compilation file:
gedit Make/files

Add temperature field
and related physical
properties to createFields.H:

Carry on ...
Loading turbulence
model (we do not
use it in this case)
Add temperature
field

Carry on ...
Loading
transportProperties
dictionary
Loading physical values

modification / simpleThermFoam.C
Modify solver to add temperature equation:
gedit simpleThermFoam.C

compilation / boundary condition
wclean; wmake
run
Create a directory to store boundary condition:
mkdir boundaryConditions
Move to this directory:
cd boundaryConditions

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Create
boundary condition
Copy an existing boundary condition:
cp -r
$FOAM_SRC/finiteVolume/fields/fvPatchFields/derived/tot
alTemperature convectiveHeatFlux
Move to the convectiveHeatFlux directory and
clean it (if need be):
cd convectiveHeatFlux
rm totalTemperatureFvPatchScalarField.dep

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Modify
boundary condition
Renane the boundary condition files:
mv totalTemperatureFvPatchScalarField.C
convectiveHeatFluxFvPatchScalarField.C
mv totalTemperatureFvPatchScalarField.H
convectiveHeatFluxFvPatchScalarField.H

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Compilation
rules
Create Make folder:
mkdir Make
Create rule files:
gedit Make/files Make/options
files
options

boundary condition .H file
Modify convectiveHeatFluxFvPatchScalarField.H:
gedit convectiveHeatFluxFvPatchScalarField.H

Replace all totalTemperature occurences by
convectiveHeatFlux (consider using ctrl + H)



boundary condition .C file
Modify convectiveHeatFluxFvPatchScalarField.C:
gedit convectiveHeatFluxFvPatchScalarField.C

Replace all totalTemperature occurences by
convectiveHeatFlux (consider using ctrl + H)
Change scalar affection to a gradient
affectation
Set thermal gradient equation




Compile the boundary condition:

wclean; wmake OR wclean; wmake libso

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Create case
directory
run
Copy Ex5 directory:
cp -r Ex5 Ex8
cd Ex8

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Create case
directory
foamListTimes -rm
Modify physical properties:
gedit constant/transportPropeties

Ex. 8: Heating pipe IC / BC
Create temperature field:

cp 0/p 0/T
Edit the field:
gedit 0/T

Pick a solver for the temperature field:

Deliberately high to
prevent the problem
with the unsolved
component of the
velocity field (cf. Ex 4)

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Schemes
Choose numerical scheme for temperature

divergence:
Keep the default
Laplacian scheme

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Specify library
use
Modify controlDict to specify
the use of convectiveHeatFlux
boundary condition:
1000 iterations maximum
should be enough
(mine converged after
402 iterations)

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Run the case
Create the mesh:

blockMesh
Run the case:
simpleThermFoam
Open paraFoam:
paraFoam

Ex. 8: Heating pipe Process the
case
Have a look at the temperature field:

Ex. 9: Cake baking Objectives
Modify an existing solver

Set a field that depend on another field
Set custom field
Use an existing case as initial condition
We are going to simulate the backing of a cake:
- heating up with chocolate melting (20 min, 180C)
- cooling down with chocolate solidification (1 hour)

Ex. 9: Cake baking Case setup
2D cake backing, with chocolate phase change

dT 1 dC dLC
Cp = .(k T )+Q Q= ( ) H
dt 2 dt dt
Ea 1
dC RT Ea T T surrounding = 180 C
= A 1 e C + A2 e LC 2
dt k T . n =h(T T sur )
Ea
d LC
1
Ea T
=A 2 e LC + A 1 e RT C
2
dt
Chocolate
Ex. 9: Cake baking Solver
directory creation
run
cd solvers
Copy the existing solver:
cp -r tubeFoam cakeFoam
Move to and clean the directory:
cd cakeFoam
wclean

Ex. 9: Cake baking Set
compilation rules
Rename tubeFoam:
mv tubeFoam.C cakeFoam.C
Change compilation file:
gedit Make/files

Ex. 9: Cake baking Modiy
createFields.H
Modify fields and physical properties:

Ex. 9: Cake baking Modiy
createFields.H

Ex. 9: Cake baking Modify the
solver
Rename tubeFoam:
gedit cakeFoam.C

Ex. 9: Cake baking Compile the
solver / create case
Compile the solver:
wclean; wmake
Move to 'run':
run
Create the case directory:
cp -r Ex4 Ex9
cd Ex9

Ex. 9: Cake baking Prepare case
Clean the case:

foamListTimes -rm
rm 0/U
Create fields files:
cp 0/p 0/C
cp 0/p 0/LC
mv 0/p 0/T

Ex. 9: Cake baking Create mesh
Boundary name and location:
Top
Left
Down Right
SymmetryWall

Ex. 9: Cake baking Create mesh
Modify the mesh:

gedit system/blochMeshDict

Ex. 9: Cake baking IC / BC
Modify the mesh:

gedit 0/T

Modify the mesh:

gedit 0/C

Modify the mesh:

gedit 0/LC

Ex. 9: Cake baking Chocolate
We have to specify the position of every

chocolate chip. In this case, only three pieces
will be set. First, copy an existing dictionary:
cp
$FOAM_TUTORIALS/multiphase/interFoam/ras/damBrea
k/system/setFieldsDict system/.

Ex. 9: Cake baking Chocolate
Set the chips location

and shape:
gedit system/setFieldsDict

Ex. 9: Cake baking Set properties
for the heating phase
Set the physical properties for the heating
phase
Chocolate solidification parameter are set to 0:

Ex. 9: Cake baking Set properties
for the heating phase
Set the case to transient
and specify solver features:

Ex. 9: Cake baking Set control
parameters
The heating phase
lasts 20 min (1800 s):

Ex. 9: Cake baking Run the case
Create the mesh:

blockMesh
Set chocolate field:
setFields
Solve the case:
cakeFoam

Ex. 9: Cake baking Modify the
case
Now that the heating phase has been run,
modify physical properties value:
This time, chocolate melting is disabled and
chocolate solidification is enabled

Ex. 9: Cake baking Reset control
parameters
The cooling phase
lasts 60 min (3600 s):
The last iteration will be

used as initialization

Ex. 9: Cake baking Rerun the
case
Solve the last part of the case:
cakeFoam
Process the case:
paraFoam

Ex. 9: Cake baking Process the
case
Temperature during the

Chocolate chips cooldown
location

Ex. 10: Tank filling - Objectives
This case is really basic. Its purpose is only to

discuss topics that were left uncovered
Import a mesh created with an external tool
Run a case in parallel
Exporting an animation

Ex. 10: Tank filling Case setup
Transient filling of a tank. Initially, it is full of air,

then, we are going to fill it using the two phases
flow solver interFoam
Air outlet
Water inlet
Tank walls

Ex. 10: Tank filling A new case
Go to your 'run' directory:

run
Copy 'damBreak':
cp -r
$FOAM_TUTORIALS/multiphase/interFoam/laminar/dam
Break/damBreak/ Ex10
cd Ex10

Ex. 10: Tank filling Importing the
mesh

The mesh is called 'Tank.unv'. It was drawn using
salome. It should have already been provided to
you, if this is not the case, you can find it here:
http://perso.mines-albi.fr/~vpozzobo/dl/Tank.unv
Move the mesh file to the case directory:
mv 'somewhere'/Tank.unv Ex10/.
Import the mesh:
ideasUnvToFoam Tank.unv

Ex. 10: Tank filling Importing the
mesh
There is no need to build the mesh using
blockMesh, is has already been done when
importing it. Yet, it has to be resized: atmosphere
transformPoints -scale '(0.001 0.001 0.001)'
You can check the
mesh using paraFoam: inlet
paraFoam
fixedWalls

Ex. 10: Tank filling IC / BC
Modify velocity
boundary conditions
according to the case
setup:
gedit 0/U
Negative because of
axis orientation

Modify the pressure

boundary conditions:
gedit 0/p_rgh

Copy the water phase file:

cp 0/alpha.water.org 0/alpha.water

Keep the '.org' file. It is used as a backup in
case you would have modified the initial
condition using setFields

To prevent any problem, move the '.org' file to
the case root
mv 0/alpha.water.org .

Modify the water

boundary conditions:
gedit 0/alpha.water

Ex. 10: Tank filling Setting gravity
Modify gravity orientation, so that the tank will

be vertical:
gedit constant/g
Negative because of
axis orientation

Ex. 10: Tank filling Running
parallel
OpenFOAM runs in parallel using a decomposition of
mesh and fields. You can specify the cut yourself or ask
scotch to do it for you (our call here). As a good rule of
thumb, each processor should at least have 30000 cells
to compute, if you want to see an increase in
computational speed.
Copy the decomposition dictionary from an existing case:
cp
$FOAM_TUTORIALS/multiphase/interDyMFoam/ras/damBreakWithO
bstacle/system/decomposeParDict system/.

Ex. 10: Tank filling Running
parallel
Modify the decomposition dictionary:
gedit system/decomposeParDict
Once it is done, decompose the case:
decomposePar
Number of processors
that are going to be
used

Ex. 10: Tank filling Control values
Open case control file:

The tank takes about 40s to
fill up, which represented a
cpu time of 2 days for me.
So set endTime according to
your liking. I would advice
0.30s. It still requires
30 minutes to run

Ex. 10: Tank filling Control values
Note that interFoam uses an

adaptive time step
Maximum Courant
number
Maximum time step

(in second)

Ex. 10: Tank filling Run the case
The mesh has already been built. The case has

been split between processors, so let's run the
case:
mpirun -np 2 interFoam
Number of processors
you want to use (has to
be in agreement with
decomposeParDict)

Ex. 10: Tank filling Post
processing the case
The case can then be processed. First, create a
new directory to store the pictures that we will
use to build the animation:
mkdir Extraction
Then launch the post processor:
paraFoam

Ex. 10: Tank filling Postprocessing
Load all the fields, then set opacity of the base

filter to 0.1:
Ex10.OpenFOAM / Style / Opacity

Add a contour filter, on alpha.water field, with a
threshold of 0.1:
Filters / Common / Contour
Change the background color to white:
Edit / View Settings ... / Choose color

Set the camera angle to your liking by using the

mouse or the 'Adjust Camera' tool:
Adjust Camera
button

Save the individual picture:

File / Save Animation ...
Click 'Save Animation' on the prompted form
(the settings do not matter here)
Pick 'Extraction' folder and choose a name for
the pictures (I chose 'Water')

Now paraFoam is filling 'Extraction' directory with
frames of the animation

Close paraFoam and go 'Extraction' folder:

cd Extraction
Create your .gif file:
convert -delay 10 -loop 0 Water.*.png Your.gif
Time between two

frames in milliseconds

It's over
This tutorial is over, thank you for your attention

I hope you enjoyed it
It was just a brief and partial overview of
OpenFOAM possibilities
Please feel free to contact me:
Victor.pozzobon@centralesupelec.fr

The extra mile
The open source software, I use to draw and

mesh complex geometries:
SALOME: www.salome-platform.org
Another open source software which can be
used to process high volume results:
VisIt: https://visit.llnl.gov
Where I ask for help:
CFD Online: www.cfd-online.com/Forums/openfoam

It's over
Again, thank you for your attention.
26th December 2016

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OpenFOAM Formation 103

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OpenFOAM step by step tutorial

Technical Report December 2016

Microalgae Lagragian tracking in photobioreactor View project

OpenFOAM Tutoring View project

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This offering is not approved or endorsed by

26th December 2016 Pozzobon Victor 2

This tutorial is a brief introduction to

26th December 2016 Pozzobon Victor 3

OpenFOAM (Open Field Operation And

26th December 2016 Pozzobon Victor 4

Almost every command will passed through the

26th December 2016 Pozzobon Victor 5

Ex. 1: Cavity Ex. 6: Tubular reactor

Accessing your work directory

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To access your directory type in a terminal:

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To copy official tutorials to your run:

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Physical properties values

Once in 'cavity' directory, create the mesh:

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Data analysis pipeline

Load the case

Load geometric fields

Load the fields

Plotted Observation tools

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Make it look shinier:

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From Ex. 2 to Ex. 5, we are going to learn how

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Creating your own case

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Solving steady state incompressible

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Go to your 'run' directory:

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A fourth of a square tube with symmetry plane

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Compile your mesh:

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Open initial / boundary conditions files in the

Physical field unit

Open initial / boundary

Field type, here

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Open initial / boundary

Field type, here

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Open case control file:

End time = maximum

Constant time step

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In steady state, the maximum number of

Data are extracted every

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The mesh has already been built, so let's run

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Check mass conservation: