Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Reacting Flow
Three-Way Catalytic Converter Aftertreatment
Worldwide Offices
CFD in Germany
VOL XII ISSUE 1 SPRING 2003
Fluent
Celebrates!
HVAC
Supplement
Inside!
Editors Note
On the Cover:
Celebrating our anniversary are six
Fluent employees with a total of
139 years of service to the company
(left to right): Michael Engelman,
Barbara Hutchings, Bart Patel,
Sharon Everts, John Murray, and
Ferit Boysan
10 Cavendish Court
Lebanon, NH 03766 USA
1-800-445-4454
2003 Fluent Inc.
All rights reserved.
FLUENT, FIDAP, GAMBIT, POLYFLOW,
G/Turbo, MixSim, FlowLab, Icepak,
and Airpak are trademarks of Fluent
Inc. All other products or name
brands are trademarks of their
respective holders.
Liz Marshall
fluentnews@fluent.com
feature stories
Contents
reacting flow
Reacting Flow Models in FLUENT
Three-Way Catalytic Converter
Aftertreatment
departments
applications
10
chemical
12
13
biomedical
18
22
31
worldwide offices
39
academic news
42
product news
45
support corner
47
partnerships
48
around Fluent
16
marine
Flying Sails on the Computer
First European Americas Cup Winners
automotive
Grid Morphing
The Sounds of the Road
customized applications
25
materials
26
30
Bubbling Columns
24
28
20
Environmental CFD
CFD in Germany
Channeling Chaos
Students Take Home ANTEC Prize
Re-entry Vehicle Shocks
31
hvac industry supplement
S2
ventilation
S6
industrial hygiene
S7
smoke management
polymer processing
Molds that Feel the Pressure
S3
reacting flow
Reacting Flow
Models in FLUENT
By Graham Goldin and Genong Li, Fluent Inc.
reacting flow
Three-Way Catalytic
Converter
Aftertreatment
By Yong Yi, Fluent Inc.
he majority of gasoline-fueled automobiles today have an emission control system that uses a three-way catalytic converter. The purpose of the three-way catalyst is to convert carbon
monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and unburned hydrocarbons
to carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen so that emissions from gasoline engines can be rendered less harmful to the environment.
Catalytic converters are built from structures called monoliths.
The monolith forms the basic framework of the converter, and acts
as an inert substrate for the catalytic coating. A layer of washcoat
is first deposited on the substrate, and the catalysts (often precious metals such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium) are then
deposited on the washcoat. In order to reach the required conversion efficiencies for a practical converter, the surface area for
reactions must be very large, and this large area is provided by
the monolith geometry and the highly porous washcoat. To optimize the design of a catalytic converter, it is important to investigate not only the flow field, but the chemical reactions and heat
transfer in the system as well. The distributions of temperature and
species throughout the device play an important role in its performance.
FLUENT 6.1 is a powerful tool for reaction simulations. In addition to offering a number of modeling options for treating reacting flow, a new reaction model is available for reactions and heat
transfer inside porous regions, such as the monolith in the catalytic converter. With the parallel computing capability in FLUENT,
this model can easily include the effects of multiple species and
reactions. Interoperability with CHEMKIN is also available, allowing FLUENT to read complex gas or surface reaction mechanisms,
if needed.
For the catalytic converter, the reaction mechanism is taken from
Reference 1. Exhaust gas, consisting of O2, N2, C3H6, H2, H2O,
CO, and NO enters the converter from one runner with a uniform
flow rate of 0.01 kg/sec and temperature of 600K. The wall of the
converter is assumed to be adiabatic. The surface-to-volume ratio
of the porous media is assumed to be 3000 m-1. The exhaust species
diffuse to the surface of the washcoat, and are adsorbed by platinum and rhodium to become sites species. Surface reactions take
place, and product species are released from the reacting surface
by desorption. Sixty-one surface reactions were used to model the
conversion of this mixture.
The temperature distribution on a plane cutting through the
exhaust pipes shows a temperature rise due to the catalyst reaction taking place. This result is reflected in contour plots of other
species concentrations as well.
reference
1
reacting flow
Optimizing
Plant-Scale
LDPE Reactors
By Nitin H. Kolhapure* and Rodney O. Fox, Department of Chemical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
*Presently at DuPont Engineering Technology, Wilmington, DE
The mean mass fractions for initiator (top, 0 to 1.15x10 -3), monomer (middle, 0.95 to 1), and temperature
(bottom, 250 to 307C) inside a tubular reactor (d = 3.8 cm, L = 10 m)
reacting flow
The
120
80
http://www.et.byu.edu:8080/~tom/Papers/
Hemant-WSS96/WSS.html.
60
40
20
references
1
FLUENT 27 mm
FLUENT 432 mm
Experiment 27 mm
Experiment 432 mm
100
NO (ppm)
0
0.0
0.1
0.3
0.2
0.4
radial position (m)
0.5
0.6
tial part of the design procedure, it opens greater opportunities for the development of safe and efficient chemical processes at reduced costs and time. The study has
brought turbulent reacting flow simulation for singlephase finite-rate chemistry closer to realistic chemical
process engineering applications.
references
1
Pope S.B., Computationally efficient implementation of combustion chemistry using in situ adaptive tabulation.
Combustion Theory and Modeling, 1:41-63, 1997.
Kolhapure N.H. and Fox R.O., CFD in polymer reaction engineering: Combining polymerization chemistry and detailed
flow models. DECHEMA Monogr., 137:247-271, 2001.
The effect of micromixing is shown through local temperature fluctuations in the reacting environment
(top, 250 to 329C) and higher polydispersity (molecular weight distribution) (bottom, 0 to 7.15)
reacting flow
Deposition:
One Layer
at a Time
s device sizes continue to shrink below 90nm,
the semiconductor roadmap suggests that
atomic layer deposition, or ALD processes will
be required for a variety of applications, such as the deposition of barriers for copper interconnects, the creation
of tungsten nucleation layers, and the production of highly conducting dielectrics. In the ALD process, two or more
precursor gases flow over a wafer surface in an alternating manner, so that the gases can react with the sites
or functional groups on the wafer surface. When all of
the available sites are saturated, the reaction stops and
an inert gas flow purges the excess precursor molecules
from the region. The process is repeated, as the next
precursor gas flows over the wafer surface. A cycle is
defined as one pulse of precursor 1, purge, one pulse
of precursor 2, and purge. This sequence is repeated
until the final thickness is reached. These sequential, selflimiting surface reactions result in one monolayer of deposited film per cycle.
ALD is a stable process over a wide range of temperatures,
and as a result there is a linear relationship between the
thickness of the layer deposited and the number of deposition cycles. Because of the periodic pulsing of reactants and purge gases in short intervals, the ALD process
is challenging to simulate using CFD. The modeling strategy for one cycle should include convective and diffusive transport of reactants to the surface, transient boundary
Ti
N
0.6
0.4
site coverage
1.0
0.8
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.2
0.0
0
1.2
TiCl2
NH2
1.0
1.2
10
20
30
40 50
time (s)
60
70
80
0.0
0
10
20
30
40 50
time (s)
60
70
80
40
Ti
N
20
0
0
10
20
30
40 50
time (s)
60
70
80
Fractional coverages of TiCl2 and NH2 (left), growth rate for Ti and N as a function of pulse time (middle), and predicted film thickness at the wafer center over 10 cycles (right)
reacting flow
Mass fraction of CH4
Mass fraction of CO
Contours of mass fraction of the major gas species; diameter exaggerated for clarity
Surface
Reactions in
Catalytic Tubes
By Genong Li, Fluent Inc.
100
os
pts
10-1
10-2
ohs
surface coverage
10-3
10-4
10-5
h2os
hs
10-6
Pt catalyst, T = 1290K
CH4
Air
cos
d = 2mm
-7
10
L = 10cm
10-8
reference
10-9
cs
0.025
0.050
Z (m)
0.075
0.1
chemical
Bubbling Columns
By Vivek V. Buwa and Vivek V. Ranade, Industrial Flow Modeling Group, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
10
0.020
time-averaged gas-hold-up
Exper.
17x25x7
32x47x11
61x92x19
0.016
0.012
0.008
0.004
0.000
0.00
0.04
0.20
chemical
14
(a)
0.20
instantaneous gas hold up over 0.1s
0.18
0.16
gas hold-up
0.14
0.12
0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00
10
20
30
time (s)
40
50
(b)
0.14
0.12
0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00
10
30
20
time (s)
40
50
10
20
30
time (s)
40
50
(c)
0.016
0.014
local gas hold-up
not. With this approximation, the maximum error in predicted interfacial area is about 10% for the smallest group, and it decreases for
larger groups. The model has been used to study the evolution of the
bubble size distribution in bubble column reactors, and has shown
reasonably good agreement with experimental measurements. The
results are encouraging and the model is being extended to various
other multiphase systems, such as stirred tank reactors. These models can be easily extended to simulate gas-liquid mass transfer.
In another set of simulations, the Lagrangian discrete phase model
(DPM) in FLUENT was used to follow the motion of individual bubbles. This approach provides information on bubble scale processes,
which is necessary for any rigorous modeling of reactions and heat
and mass transfer. The simulation results have been validated against
experimental measurements. For example, the plume oscillation period calculated from the numerically predicted voidage fluctuation time
series using DPM simulations agrees well with the experimental measurements and Eulerian simulations. The time-averaged vertical liquid
velocity (based on LDA measurements1) and gas hold-up measured
at different column heights are in reasonably good agreement with
both the Eulerian and DPM approaches. The power spectrum of bubble passage frequencies obtained by the transient DPM simulations
also shows good agreement with experimentally measured bubble passage frequencies.
Gas-liquid and gas-liquid-solids flows in cylindrical bubble columns
have also been studied. The gas-liquid flow was found to be highly
chaotic in comparison to the quasi-periodic flow observed in the rectangular bubble column. Single-group simulations using the Eulerian
multiphase model were carried out for the gas-liquid mixtures, and
a few three-phase simulations (with gas, liquid, and granular phases)
were carried out for the gas-liquid-solids mixtures to study the effect
of solids loading on key dynamic and time-averaged flow properties.
The results, which have been compared to measurements, are still preliminary but are encouraging. They will be used in the future to help
clarify the dynamics of complex multiphase flows in bubble columns.
In another set of simulations, CFD models were used to predict mixing time, an important parameter for reactor engineering. In these
simulations, the liquid phase mixing was simulated using transient and
time-averaged flow. The mixing time values obtained using time-averaged flow were found to be much larger than those obtained by fully
transient flow. For example, at a superficial gas velocity of 0.14 cm/s,
the mixing time obtained using time averaged flow was 26.2 s in comparison with 15.4 s obtained using unsteady flow. The latter agrees
well with the experimentally measured mixing time of 16.0 s. The effects
of H/W ratio, sparger configurations, and gas velocities on the liquid
phase mixing time have been investigated using CFD as well, and the
results have been validated using experimental measurements.
0.012
0.010
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0.000
12
10
8
6
References
4
2
0
0.0
0.6
0.4
superficial gas velocity (cm/s)
0.8
1.0
Pfleger D., Gomes S., Gilbert N., and Wagner H.-G., Hydrodynamic simulations of
laboratory scale bubble columns fundamental studies of the Eulerian-Eulerian modeling approach, Chemical Engineering Science, 54, p. 5091-5099, 1999.
Buwa V.V. and Ranade V.V., Dynamics of gas-liquid flow in a rectangular bubble column: Experiments and single/multi-group CFD simulations, Chemical Engineering
Science, 57, p. 4715-4736, 2002.
11
spillweir
baffles
inlet
region
water
outlet
Separating
Water & Gas
By Steve Turner, Zeta-pdm Ltd., Isle of Wight, UK
% of particles settled
100
80
60
40
20
0
inlet design 1
inlet design 2
increasing particle size
12
biomedical
Digital
Gas Mask
By Coen van Gulijk, TNO Prins Maurits Laboratory, The Netherlands
3D scanning
Courtesy of Vitronic GmbH., Germany
Close-up of flow
patterns near
the eyepiece
13
biomedical
AccuSpray
on Demand
By Vince Sullivan, PhD and Anjana Bhuta-Wills, BD Technologies, Research Triangle Park, NC;
and Shoreh Hajiloo, ICEM CFD Engineering, Livonia, MI
The BD AccuSpray Delivery System is
designed to reach acceptable pressure
for actuation with minimal variability
Fluid is forced into the swirl chamber through a valve, resulting in rotational
flow prior to release
14
300
average particle size (m)
250
200
150
100
50
0
27
33
80
40
velocity (mm/sec)
Average particle
size (Sauter
mean diameter)
as a function of
plunger velocity
for two
correlations and
experimental
measurements;
agreement is best
when velocities in
excess of 80
m/sec are used
100
A model was developed using four design stages. First, internal single-phase
flow characteristics were modeled. Second, a 2D model of the two-phase atomization flow at the device nozzle was simulated. Third, empirical equations were
obtained from the literature, relating particle size to model output parameters
such as cone angle and intact sheet thickness at the nozzle; these were used
to validate the model. Fourth, a 3D , two-phase flow of the atomization process
was simulated using FIDAPs volume of fluid (VOF) model. These results were
then compared to average spray particle sizes produced by AccuSpray, as determined experimentally by a Sympatec laser diffractometer.
FIDAP was used to illustrate the path of the fluid as it moves past the valve,
into the swirl chamber and out the nozzle. In addition, the VOF models were
able to simulate the formation of a hollow cone, and the initial jet breakup of
the fluid as it leaves the AccuSpray nozzle.
Predictions of average particle size were obtained using semi-empirical correlations based on the fluids physical properties and the FIDAP results. There
was a close correlation between the model and experimental results, indicating that the model accurately simulates the AccuSpray operation. The experimental particle size data showed that reproducible particle size in the appropriate
range for nasal deposition occurs when plunger velocities exceed 80 mm/sec.
While the experimental results were closely matched by model results at higher velocities, the model underestimated particle size at lower velocities. The reason for the discrepancy at lower actuation rates is believed to be due to the
fact that the model assumes fully turbulent flow. This assumption appears to
be correct only at higher velocities.
Using CFD to model liquid atomization is complex because the random physical instabilities at the air-liquid interface that cause atomization can be difficult
for CFD to capture. Even so, the AccuSpray study has given BD confidence that
their new design does allow the user to reliably reach an actuation velocity high
enough to achieve full spray atomization. The results of this study indicate the
power of CFD modeling, when combined with rigorous analytical testing, to accurately predict device performance.
biomedical
Locating the
Nasal
Valve
with
FIELDVIEW
By R.A. Segal, J.M. Sheppard, J.S. Kimbell, CIIT Centers for Health
Research, Research Triangle Park, NC
90
60
45
15
Orientation of several sweep planes used for locating the nasal valve
15
biomedical
The
Heartbeat of
Pulmonary
Modeling
By Rob Woolhouse, Fluent Europe Ltd.
16
biomedical
is normally done in a surgical procedure in which
a stent is inserted to stabilize the vessel. By using
CFD, the stent location and design can be modeled prior to the operation to determine the optimum size and orientation of the device, reducing
the risk of unintentional damage and the time required
for the procedure.
The actual process of converting patient data
into a suitable CFD geometry is not trivial. Many
steps are required, and for the pulmonary artery
project, several of these involved the collaboration
of Materialise (based in Leuven, Belgium) and their
proprietary software, Mimics and Magics. Mimics
converts MRI slices into a 3D solid model, and exports
in a variety of CAD compatible file formats, including stereolithography (STL). Magics is a dedicated STL editor with a comprehensive set of surface
repair tools.
For the pulmonary artery project, an MRI scan
of a chest cavity was obtained from the Sheffield
University MRI Unit. MRI scan slices are typically produced in a greyscale pixelated DICOM format, and
these were joined together to create a 3D solid model.
Vessels not connected to those of interest, as well
as bones and other tissue, were removed. The 3D
solid model was then exported as a 3D surface in
STL format, and further edited to remove all additional unwanted features, leaving the pulmonary
artery and its primary branches for the CFD model.
The resulting smooth geometry of the artery was
then read into GAMBIT, where a tetrahedral surface
mesh was created. Due to the complexity of the
model, further surface mesh adjustment and volume meshing were performed in TGrid.
The physics of blood flow through the body has
been the focus of a number of studies over the years,
and many of the findings were incorporated into
the current model. For example, fluid structure interaction can be neglected for the pulmonary artery,
since the thick vessel wall is designed to carry large
quantities of blood under (relatively) high pressure, directly away from the heart. Initial checks
also confirmed that the flow regime was laminar. Because blood is a non-Newtonian fluid,
the shear effect on viscosity needed to be considered. The Carreau-Yasuda model was implemented through a user-defined function (UDF).
A velocity boundary was applied to the single
large inlet, with a transient, periodic profile that
reflects the flow supplied by the heart. Pressure
outlet boundary conditions (of equal pressure)
were used for the multiple outlets in the model,
and the flow split was determined by the vein
geometry.
Plots of velocity vectors indicate that there
are no recirculation regions or dead zones within the artery or its primary branches, which was
expected, since the scans were taken from a healthy
adult. Surface contours of wall shear stress show
an increase near some of the constrictions in the
vessels. However, it is unlikely that these sites
would result in the formation of an aneurysm,
since the flow in these regions is not directed
toward the surface.
Overall, this emerging technology shows promise for medical procedures in the future, since
it can provide important information specific to
an individual using non-invasive tools.
The author thanks the Sheffield University MRI Unit
for their assistance with this project.
Fluent Partnership
aterialise, based in Leuven,
Belgium, is a market leader in
the provision of rapid prototyping and software solutions for the medical device industry. It has a medical specialist
division that offers software for the production of medical models, which can be
used as masters for implants, or for the
planning of implant surgery. Under a newly
more.info@
www.materialise.com
17
marine
acht racing, in particular the Americas Cup, has always been
at the forefront of sailing research and development, with
the single goal of making boats go faster. The research, design,
and building of an International Americas Cup Class (IACC) yacht
is extremely expensive, so participants and suppliers are continually looking for inexpensive yet accurate ways to reduce R & D
costs and expedite results. In a collaboration between North Sails
Performance Resource Group and Dartmouth Colleges Thayer
School of Engineering, a Virtual Wind Tunnel (VWT) has been
developed to meet this need. The VWT enables North Sails engineers to do performance evaluations of full-scale sails and sail plans
on the computer and study the fluid-structure interaction between
the wind and sails. Initial emphasis has been put on downwind
sails that use relatively lightweight, stretchy materials compared
to modern, relatively rigid upwind sails.
The VWT is composed of three codes: MemBrain, North Sails
proprietary software for the structural analysis of sails, masts, and
rigging, GAMBIT, and FLUENT. These three components are linked
together in an iterative process, automated through the use of
GAMBIT templates. A VWT analysis begins with an assumed sail
shape and position (trim) and surface pressure distribution for a
given set of wind and boat velocities. MemBrain uses these initial conditions to compute deformations in the sail geometry by
balancing external aerodynamic pressure loads with internal stresses, which are governed by the characteristics of the sail material. Once a new sail shape has been determined, the new sail geometry
is transferred from MemBrain into an IGES file. GAMBIT automatically
reads the IGES file and generates a mesh. FLUENT is then started by template commands, and a journal file instructs the code
to read the mesh, set boundary conditions, and launch the calculation. The flow field and pressure distribution are computed
for the deformed geometry, and upon convergence, the new pressure distribution is exported into a file and used to update the
sail shape in MemBrain once again. An iterative process coupling
GAMBIT, FLUENT, and MemBrain ensues until the sail shape reaches static equilibrium, i.e. when the maximum displacement between
pressure updates is less than a preset value. GAMBIT templates
allow the entire process to be run with no intervention by the
user.
After static equilibrium has been reached, the sail forces and
moments are evaluated to see if re-trimming, or repositioning
the sails on the boat is needed in order to optimize the sails per-
Flying
Sails
on the
Computer
By H. J. Richter and K. C. Horrigan,
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH;
J.B. Braun, North Sails Performance Resource Group, Marblehead, MA;
and K. H. Kuehlert, Fluent Inc.
The initial and final sail shape and trim before and after the
optimization process
18
marine
formance, i.e. obtain the maximum driving
force or the maximum drive over heeling force
of the boat under the given wind conditions.
The VWT has many advantages over traditional wind-tunnel testing methods. First,
since VWT tests are performed on the computer, they are done at full scale, so the problems encountered when using scaling laws in
real wind tunnels are avoided. Second, the
computational flow domain around the sails
can be very large, and since no wind tunnel
walls are present, edge effects are non-exis-
The fiber
layout in an
asymmetrical
spinnaker;
changes to the
fiber layout
cause changes
to the stretching
characteristics,
and thus the
sails response
to external
forces
First European
Americas Cup Winners!
T
19
Visions
Future:
of
the
Environmental CFD
Keith Hanna from Fluent News recently interviewed Herve Buisson, Head of the Research Center
at Vivendi Water in Paris, France and Christelle de Traversay, CFD Program Manager at Vivendi
Water about the trends and challenges facing the environmental industrys use of CFD.
KH: Can you describe the scope of your environmental company today?
HB: We turned over about $29 billion in 2001 with operations
in over 100 countries worldwide and some 295,000 employees. Vivendi Environnement is the only company in the world
that operates across the entire range of environmental services, with our four divisions covering water (Vivendi Water,
which accounts for nearly half of our total revenues), waste
management (Onyx), energy services (Dalkia), and public
transportation (Connex). US Filter is a leading supplier of
water industry equipment and services in the USA. Because
of our diversity we can develop integrated service packages
that offer a comprehensive, tailored response to the envi-
20
KH: Why did you choose FLUENT as your CFD code and what
benefits does it provide?
CdT: Fluent is the clear leader in CFD and has a strong presence
here in France. We like FLUENTs ease of use, range of turbulence models and customization capabilities. We were one
of the first users in France when we licensed FLUENT in 1991
and we have stayed with Fluent France ever since. Early on
when we decided that we needed CFD, we also decided not
to develop our own CFD codes in-house because it is just
not cost-effective. Instead, we wanted CFD software that allowed
us to attach our know-how to the code and FLUENT provides that.
KH: How do you foresee CFD being used in the water & environmental industry in the long term?
HB: At Vivendi, we aim to give the best local access to our global development, and therefore want to deploy hydraulic modeling tools in an easy-to-use template format locally at every
major water plant, so that plant operators will be able to
get dynamic fluid flow information that allows them to make
informed decisions in real time. Ideally, we would want very
few buttons on the interface and background software that
is foolproof. The CFD code may be transparent and do multiple CFD simulations on a neural network for instance, or
perhaps pick out answers from a database of pre-calculated simulations to display to the operator as needed. In essence,
we are envisioning an advanced process control flow modeling tool that has CFD (and maybe other software tools)
integrated into it as necessary. In addition, we want faster,
better, and cheaper software!
We want to be able to model biological and chemical phenomena in conjunction with our CFD calculations. We work
with a range of world-class universities and colleges around
the world and would like to integrate the latest biological
and chemical research findings into our software modeling
tools. We hope to put more and more of these models into
FLUENT through user-defined functions (UDFs) or through
couplings with other software programs.
On the waste management and energy side of our company
we see a lot of potential for applying CFD, especially in incinerator modeling and solid waste management processes. Our
R&D colleagues dealing with these issues are using the same
CFD tools, to optimize intercompany transfers of know-how
and synergies. We anticipate doing more two- and threephase simulations with CFD, and anticipate such advanced
uses as multivariable analyses through Monte Carlo simulations using FLUENT output. While not underestimating the
inherent complexity of our raw material, water, with its complex chemical, biochemical, seasonal, and geographical variations, we strive to optimize our services, standardize our
equipment, and customize our engineering plants using software tools like FLUENT as powerful and smart templates
to embed our know-how.
21
automotive
Grid Morphing
By Rajneesh Singh, General Motors Corporation, Detroit, MI
create CFD
model for the
baseline
geometry
start
end
yes
DOE
analysis
completed?
define design
variables and
setup model for
morphing
no
select set of
design variable
magnitudes
(iSIGHT)
save
design variables
and Cd for post
processing
perform
CFD analysis
and compute
aerodynamic
drag (Cd)
(FLUENT)
22
generate CFD
mesh for
prescribed set
(Morpher)
The automated process for aerodynamic optimization makes use of FLUENT and a mesh morpher (Meshworks/Morpher, from Detroit Engineering
Products (DEP)). These codes are coupled via iSIGHT
(from Engineous Software Inc.) for an automatic
exchange of information and data. iSIGHT guides
the process by selecting the design variable magnitude, executing Meshworks/ Morpher to modify the mesh, and providing this mesh to FLUENT
for the next round of CFD computations. The process
can be set up to conduct traditional design optimization or Design of Experiment (DOE) studies.
It has a very quick turn-around time for multiple
calculations, and contributes to the vehicle design
in two ways. First, it can be used to develop the
enablers for the most efficient design. Second, the
process can be used to complement wind tunnel
testing. The design space can be explored to identify the aerodynamically critical regions of the vehicle, and the wind-tunnel test engineer can use this
information to reduce the number of wind-tunnel
tests.
A remote, high performance, parallel computing machine is used to run the coupled calculations
in a batch process mode. When FLUENT performs
the aerodynamic simulation, it executes a sequence
of commands listed in a journal file. The computation for each new design is started from the converged solution for the previous design, to reduce
the computational effort required. Since the CFD
computations are performed using a journal file, it
is also possible to produce a set of images to visualize the flow for each design. When combined with
averaged or integrated quantities (such as drag coefficient), these images help illustrate the flow characteristics of each case studied.
The automated analysis process for performing
a DOE study was recently illustrated using a generic automobile shape in a rectangular tunnel. A base
case and sixteen modified designs were created and
analyzed in the study. The mesh for the baseline
model was created with 1.3 million elements, with
prism layers on all of the car surfaces for an accurate resolution of the boundary layer. The designs
differed in the length and height of the rear deck
and roof edge. It took less than 2 days of time to
evaluate the 16 designs. Had more computational resources been available, more designs could have
been tested and an exhaustive DOE study conducted
to find the true optimal design. A conventional analysis procedure, in which the vehicle geometry is modified and a new mesh is constructed for each design,
would require at least an order of magnitude more
time to complete.
automotive
The
Sounds
of the
Road
The mesh in the vicinity of the noise-producing object has a strong impact on the
quality of sound that can be simulated using CFD
80
Experiment1
CFD Direct
CFD FWH
SPL (dB)
60
40
20
200
600
400
frequency (Hz)
800
acoustic module based on the Ffowcs-Williams-Hawkins theory that can calculate sound radiated by boundary and interior surfaces towards observation points inside or outside the computational domain. In addition, FLUENT
6.1 results can now be imported to SYSNOISE, an acoustics modeling tool
from LMS International.
For the SVM, the sound generated by the turbulent flow field in the wake
of the mirror has been simulated using CAA and the Ffowcs-Williams-Hawkins
formulation in FLUENT. The generic mirror shape consists of a half cylinder topped with a quarter sphere of the same diameter.
The CAA approach is executed by conducting a transient simulation of
the flow around the mirror with the LES turbulence model. Monitor points
are put at locations where microphones were placed in experiments reported in the literature1 and the transient static pressure signal is recorded at
these points. The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) tool newly introduced in
FLUENT 6.1 is used to convert the transient pressure signals into frequency spectra.
The analysis based on the Ffowcs-Williams-Hawkins model starts with a
transient simulation of the flow field around the mirror. At the beginning
of the simulation, source surfaces for the sound and receiver (microphone)
locations are input. For the SVM, the mirror body and flat plate on which
it is mounted are selected as source surfaces. During the calculation,
FLUENT creates plots or files of sound pressure vs. time.
Sound pressure spectra show that both methods are in good agreement,
qualitatively and quantitatively, with experiment. The accuracy of aeroacoustic simulations is heavily dependent on that of the underlying transient
flow simulation. Time-step, grid resolution, and grid quality not only determine the accuracy of the predicted sound pressure level, but also the frequency band over which the simulation results are meaningful.
reference
1
1000
Fluent NEWS spring 2003
23
customized applications
Customizing
Food Steamers
By Michael Engelman, Enductive Solutions, a sister company of Fluent
120
100
temperature (C)
80
60
40
20
0
-20
00:00 02:53 05:46 08:38 11:31 14:24 17:17 20:10 23:02 25:55
time (mm:ss)
Experimental profiles of temperature vs. time as measured by
the thermocouples positioned in the tray
more.info@
www.enductive.com
24
espite the fact that computer aided engineering (CAE) use is widening across
dozens of industries, the investment in
personnel, hardware, and/or software is beyond
the reach of many companies. Even if a focused,
turn-key product were available, the know-how
to develop such a product often is not. At
Enductive Solutions, CAE solutions are created for a specific application, through the use
of one or more software products that are integrated into a single, easy-to-use package.
In one recent project, a manufacturer of commercial food steamers wanted to increase the
capacity and efficacy of a steamer for a customers special requirements. The first step was
to investigate the functionality of the existing
device. It was determined that CFD would be
needed, so Enductive engineers worked with
the manufacturer on physical testing to
develop boundary conditions and a set of data
that would later be used for validation studies. The steamer was instrumented with
appropriate velocity probes and thermocouples and tested under four different operating
conditions. The tests showed that uneven heat
distribution within the steamer would make
it impossible to improve its performance without significant design changes.
Enductive engineers then obtained a
copy of the computer aided design (CAD) file
for the steamer and used it to create the geometry and mesh for a CFD simulation. Boundary
conditions and physical properties were
derived from the test results and information
provided by the manufacturer. The results of
the CFD simulation helped to explain the uneven
temperature distributions shown in the physical tests. In particular, they showed that the
location, speed, and direction of the steam
jets were far more important than the gas flow
rate entering the unit or distribution of food
Newsletter Supplement
S2
ventilation
Swiss Re Headquarters
Inside & Out
Looking Out for Crew Comfort
in Space
California Living
Air Flow Befitting the US Marines
S6
industrial hygiene
S7
smoke management
Containing Smoke in
Complex Atria
Fire Scenarios in the Budapest
Sports Arena
HVAC industry
FOCUS on CFD
HVAC industry
ventilation
Swiss Re
Headquarters
S2
required. Fresh outside air reaches the office occupants without strong
breezes through balcony openings to the light wells. An active faade
with solar control blinds was adopted for the office areas and high performance solar glass in the light well areas. CFD was used to examine
design issues such as optimum ventilation rates, position of the blinds,
and entry and exit points for the ventilation air.
CFD was also used to examine the air flow on the office floors, and
ventilation schemes for the lobby, taking into account the high ceilings,
the heat generated by various lighting schemes, and drafts from the large
revolving doors. The top of the building, with its large glass dome surrounding a restaurant and multifunction mezzanine level, produced a number of design challenges as well. Hilson Moran was involved in several
key strategy design decisions for this region, ranging from the type of
glass used to the ventilation strategy. In the final design, the ventilation
is provided by a displacement system coupled with a chilled floor. CFD
analysis was used to examine the thermal performance of the dome in
both peak summer and winter periods, and the comfort of the diners
and visitors in these areas was evaluated.
HVAC industry
ventilation
Pathlines, colored by
velocity magnitude,
illustrate the flow
field in the cupola
when the RWS is not
operating
Crew Comfort
in Space
By Jorge L. Zapata and Chang H. Son, The Boeing Company, Houston, TX
S3
California
Living
By Viralkumar Gandhi and Kishor Khankari, Fluent Inc.;
Kevin Blackwell and Rob Hammon, ConSol, Stockton, CA
windows, and partitions of the home were modeled by considering the effective U values (representative of thermal conductance) for each
component. The feedback control from a thermostat was also taken into consideration in the
transient model by monitoring the air temperature at the thermostat location in the home, and
accordingly setting the ventilation fan to ON or
OFF positions to maintain the temperature within a 68F to 72F range.
The computational model accurately predicted
the distribution of airflow and temperature during the winter season. The thermostat cycle predicts that the fan turns ON about every 14 minutes
and remains ON for about 4 minutes. These predicted durations of the fan cycles helped quantify the heating duty on the home. The analysis
also showed that in certain rooms, the high airflow rates and throws of the registers, which
are specifically designed for the summer cooling conditions in California, cause localized hot
zones near the ceiling. The prolonged OFF cycle
of the fan helps reduce the thermal stratification and give rise to more uniform air temperatures,
which translates into improved thermal comfort for the occupants.
S4
HVAC industry
ventilation
FAN ON #1
FAN OFF #1
FAN ON #2
FAN OFF #2
72
70
68
66
12
16
time (m)
20
24
28
Air Flow
Befitting the
US Marines
By Galen Burrell and Michael J. Holtz, Architectural Energy Corporation, Boulder, CO
Exhaust fan
The geometry of the museum shows
the cylindrical underground base and
conical glass dome
Supply diffusers
S5
HVAC industry
ventilation
HVAC industry
industrial hygiene
Breathing Easier
in the
S6
Workplace
C
HVAC industry
smoke management
Containing
Smoke
in
Complex Atria
S7
HVAC industry
smoke management
Fire Scenarios
in the
ecember 15, 1999 will forever remain in the memory of many Hungarians.
On that date, the Budapest Sports Hall, the largest indoor arena in
Hungary, burned down. The arena symbolized a source of great pride
in Hungary. The Hall was where crowds could experience sporting successes and failures, World and European Cups, and many other events. The
whole country was touched by the disaster. Donations were offered by artists,
entrepreneurs, public figures, and thousands of private individuals.
Construction has just been completed on a new Budapest Sports Arena.
Bouygues-Hungria Construction (builders of Parc des Princes and the Olympic
Facilities in Sydney) was selected by the Hungarian Government as the builder
for the project. The futuristic building will boast a seating capacity of 7,000
to 12,500 and an ordinary field area of 8,400m2. Its modular design is expected to attract events such as concerts and high-profile sport competitions,
including indoor motocross, horse shows, and even windsurfing.
A strong emphasis was put on safety during the design phase. In case
of fire, air vents will be closed, automatic doors will open, and the smoke
exhaust system will start to operate. During the early stages of the fire, the
developing combustion products will rise upwards and accumulate under
the ceiling of the hall, forming a continuous layer. Depending on the quantity of smoke generated and the flow rate of the smoke exhaust fans, the
lower edge of the smoke layer might gradually drop down to the top rows
of the grandstands. For this reason, the shape of the hall and the pace of
the fire will determine the time for a safe escape, in which everyone can
exit the hall without smoke poisoning or reduced visibility. An additional
consideration is the distribution of temperature in the cloud of smoke, which
can reduce the integrity of the building and cause radiation discomfort or
injury for the spectators.
To better understand these scenarios, Bouygues-Hungria charged the
Department of Fluid Mechanics of Budapest University of Technology and
Economics to perform numerical simulations and wind tunnel experiments,
with the goal of the former to study smoke propagation. Using FLUENT,
a simplified fire model was created. The fire was initiated in the vicinity of
the stage, and modeled as a simultaneous source of heat and carbon dioxide. Practical experience suggests that after ignition, the boundary of the
burning area spreads at a steady velocity, and the intensity of combustion
falling on a unit area is constant in space as well as in time. These phenomena were modeled with quadratically increasing sources of heat and
CO2. Since all possible fire scenarios could not be analyzed, smoke dispersion
was simulated for fire cases at three different locations, by using the same
power vs. time function. Thus while the simulation results provided valuable data for designers, they cannot be regarded as complete as far as all
possible fire scenarios are concerned.
The FLUENT results indicate that ten minutes after the fire ignites, the
smoke remains above the highest grandstand seats, so the people will have
ample time to vacate the building safely. The temperature in the smoke
cloud is about 100C, suggesting that the structure will not be in danger
at this time and the people will not experience too many smoke-related
side-effects.
The opening of the Budapest Arena was celebrated with a large
concert evening in March.
S8
materials
Keeping
Printer
25
Glass
Tank Design
Shattering
Methodologies
By W.S. Kuhn, Stein Heurtey, Ris-Orangis, France
26
lass melting tanks are continuously operating reactors producing up to 1000 tons/day
of glass at temperatures up to 1600C. They
have relatively simple geometry but complex heat
transfer and glass melt convection. The transformation
of the raw materials to the final glass melt passes
through complicated thermo-chemical processes involving solid, liquid and gaseous phases. At Stein Heurtey,
a worldwide supplier of thermal installations for the
steel and glass industry, several detailed analyses of
glass melting tanks have been performed using
FLUENT, resulting in an improved understanding
of many of the complex processes at work.
Typically, simulations of thermal installations are
performed using several steps. First, the critical process
parameters need to be identified. One of these parameters for glass tanks is the residence time on the
critical trajectory through the melt volume. The
critical trajectory, which has a crucial impact on
the glass quality,1 is defined either in terms of transit time, temperature, or shear flow history along
its path. Second, the experimental and mathematical
means for assessing the key process parameters
have to be identified. CFD is often used to study
the critical trajectories because glass tanks are very
difficult to access for measurements. Third, the main
factors that influence the key process parameters
must be identified. For the critical trajectories, one
such factor is the intensity of recirculation patterns
in the melt. The batch blanket, which consists of
References:
1
Chill Ripples
in
Glass
Reference:
1
The evolution of a
chill ripple by an
arching flow in
a casting process;
temperature
contours on the
glass and mold
are shown
t = 15.00 s
t = 21.67 s
The formation of
chill ripples in a
pressing process
with temperature
contours on the
glass and tool
(y-direction
stretched in
pictures on the
right hand side)
27
electronics
chneider Electric, a world leader in electrical distribution and industrial automation, develops products that are compact, yet have a
high level of electrical performance. Their products must meet strict
international standards and satisfy customer requirements such as reliability, safety, low cost maintenance, and dependability.
Electrical transformers are a good example of products that pose such
challenges to produce. To last an expected lifetime of 30 years, transformers need to be protected from high temperature peaks, which are
a major contributor to material ageing. One test applied to transformers under development involves a comparison of a transformer operating inside a kiosk (a concrete or sheet metal enclosure) to the same transformer
operating as a free-standing unit. In both cases, the transformers are assumed
to be loaded at the same nominal electrical power. The hottest surface
temperatures are measured and compared, and the difference must not
exceed 10C.
If the temperatures in the kiosk are too high for the contained transformer case, the kiosk design must be modified. Since fan cooling adds
an additional maintenance cost and reliability issues, only natural con-
Natural convection airflow inside a kiosk, resulting from transformer heating; the
transformer surface is colored by temperature, with red the maximum; pathlines
from the right louver are in blue and those from left are in red; flows are
homogeneously mixed through the kiosk as shown by traces leaving the top
Optimizing
Transformer Designs
By Dr. Laurent Tarbouriech, Schneider Electric, Grenoble, France
Inside the transformer, oil is released through gaps between the coils and
magnetic circuits; the flow of oil is shown using pathlines, colored by
temperature; the oil jets generate toroidal structures on top of the coils
28
vection is considered for kiosk cooling schemes. To model the air flow
around the transformer and test different kiosk architectures, CFD simulations using Icepak have been performed. Results show that the size
and location of louvers on the sides of the kiosk can be optimized to satisfy the international standards and minimize manufacturing costs at the
same time.
The transformer itself is made of steel sheets and coils immersed in
an oil-filled tank. The oil is heated by the transformer losses, and the heat
is dispersed throughout the oil by natural convection currents. The tank
dissipates the heat to the outside by natural convection in the surrounding
air and by radiation. Conduction through the solid structures is negligible by comparison. In Icepak simulations of the transformer, natural convection was included in both the air and the oil. The thermal inertia of
the two fluids was accounted for through temperature-dependent properties for each of the two fluids. The surface power densities of the heatproducing elements (the coils and magnetic circuit) was specified as well.
A fine mesh in the vicinity of the transformer was used. To minimize
the global size of the mesh, a non-conformal interface was positioned
around the transformer, so that a coarser mesh could be used in the outer
regions of the model. The coils and magnetic circuit were defined as hollow blocks, and the resulting mesh consisted of 865,000 hexahedral cells.
Without the meshing tools available in Icepak, the mesh would have been
roughly twice as big.
Transformer simulations were performed to study the temperatures
on the transformer surface and the flow of oil on the inside. Among the
many interesting flow features indicated in the results were toroidal shaped
structures generated by the jets of oil above the coils. Studies such as
these make the internal transformer flows and cooling behavior easier
to understand. At Schneider Electric, they contribute to the efficient development of products in which the number of prototypes is reduced, and
the development costs are kept under budget.
semiconductors
media supply
process
chamber
process
levels
1-4
exhaust
wafer
chuck
Putting
the Spin on
Semiconductors
media drainage
Diagram of the spin process equipment
By Bertram Schott and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Carinthian Tech Research (CTR) AG,
Villach, Austria; and Andreas Baldy, SEZ AG, Villach, Austria
Gas flow in a 3D
model of the spin
process equipment
2D simulation
shows the gas
flow near the
wafer surface
and between the
drainage plates
29
polymer processing
Molds
Pressure
that Feel the
up
kin
cavi_3
rubber
cavi_1
cavi_2
low
Comparison of the FIDAP predictions for volume fraction of rubber (right) with two sets of
experimental images as the mold closes (left and center)
30
worldwide offices
CFD in GERMANY
By Keith Hanna, Fluent News
31
worldwide offices
The
Rapid
ince unification in 1989, Germany has
become the largest country in Europe
with the biggest economy in the
European Union, and the third largest in the
world after America and Japan. Germanys
industrial strength is due in considerable
part to the quality of the engineered products it produces. The automotive sector is
the largest, with some world-class marques
like Audi, BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Porsche,
and Volkswagen. In addition, Germany has
two of the largest chemical companies in the
world, BASF and Bayer, along with several
large companies in the power generation,
industrial machinery, domestic products,
materials processing, pharmaceutical, and
construction industries.
Germany exports nearly 500 billion
Euros worth of its manufactured products,
and with the recent global economic
downturn, the demand for German exports
has suffered a setback as well. This has resulted in difficult times for the German economy, which has recently experienced a slowing
growth and increased unemployment rate.
To become more competitive globally,
German industry has recognized the need
for efficiency improvements in its process-
GERMANY
Capital
Berlin
Population
83,251,851
GDP
26,200 Euros
GDP - composition
agriculture: 1%
industry: 28%
services: 71%
Total Area
357,021 sq km
Exports
32
worldwide offices
Growth
of
CFD in
Germany
es, along with the need to produce higher quality products. This has led to a widespread embracing of new technologies,
including computer-aided engineering,
across all industry sectors, with the automotive
industry leading the way.
German companies spend far more on
research and development in Europe than
other nations, demonstrating their commitment to technology innovation. Despite
this, they were, for many years, relatively
cautious about adopting commercial CFD
software, compared with the US, Japan, and
the UK. No major CFD companies origi-
33
worldwide offices
Fluent Deutschland
F
At Boysen, we have been using FLUENT
for years for the numerical simulation of
unsteady and highly turbulent flow
patterns. These computations build the
basis for evaluation and optimization of
components regarding durability and
emissions. We value Fluent Deutschland
as a competent partner in support and
as a reliable provider of solutions to
complex problems."
Florian Lderitz
Friedrich Boysen GmbH & Co KG
34
worldwide offices
Technical
Support is
Key to CFD
Success
luent Deutschlands technical support group,
with a staff of over 20 engineers, provides highquality support in the local language, while drawing upon the expertise resident in the worldwide Fluent
organization, as needed. Three industry-focused teams
address a spectrum of CFD applications that range from
hypersonic flows to non-Newtonian plastics. According
to Dr.-Ing. Henning Rexroth, Technical Services Manager
at Fluent Deutschland, The support engineers are familiar with the problems and pitfalls of the real engineering world and how CFD can be successfully applied to
solve flow problems. They are realistic in setting the expectations of what CFD can and cannot do. We build longterm personal relationships with our clients, partnering
with them to make them successful with CFD. German
engineers and companies are demanding of their software products but are very loyal once they are happy
with a products capability and a companys services.
Many German companies have stayed with Fluent
Deutschland since the company was formed, and annual user surveys have shown a consistently high level of
satisfaction. Clients know that they can call the office
during German working hours and get expert support
to guide them on their CFD use and its deployment within their company. Fluent Deutschland is the only CFD
supplier in Germany to have an annual Users Group
Meeting in the German language. At these well-attended meetings, users meet with the Fluent Deutschland
staff directly and present their activities to peers in technical sessions. A strong corporate university program ensures
unrivaled support for academic users at all levels.
In addition to the support services offered by Fluent
Deutschland, other departments offer specialized services as well. For example, a local development team works
on key parts of the FLUENT code. A number of Fluent
global market managers are located in the Darmstadt
office. A local consulting services group offers timely solutions to clients custom needs. Training courses and seminars on industry-focused or product-specific topics are
also made available to new and experienced users.
35
worldwide offices
Experienced
Automotive
Windscreen deicing
Courtesy of Visteon Deutschland GmbH
36
worldwide offices
ermany has some of the biggest chemical
and materials processing companies in the
world. Some of the most complicated processing operations known to engineers, involving
mixing, polymers with complex rheology, multiphase
mixtures of liquids, solids, and gases, and chemically reacting flow are commonly found in these two
sectors of German industry. Difficult chemical process
operations such as these constitute some of the most
challenging applications that CFD can solve. To meet
the vast needs of these applications, many companies
make use of more than one CFD product from Fluent
Deutschland.
For the chemical processing industry, CFD has
yielded detailed information about unit operations
previously considered to be black boxes. Time and
again, it has helped improve process efficiencies, saving large sums in operating costs. Mixing simulations, for example, can be used to optimize impeller
locations and shaft speed so that existing equipment
can be used for new processes. CFD is unarguably
recognized as the most reliable way to reduce scaleup risks and troubleshoot equipment problems at
minimal cost. In addition, it is increasingly being coupled with 1D process simulation packages, such as
flow sheet software, to better analyze chemical process
plants and equipment.
In the materials processing sectors of plastics, glass,
food, metals, textiles, and consumer products, CFD
has become an enabling technology. It has been used
to evaluate innovative new ideas, leading to shorter product development times. For example, measurements are difficult or impossible to make in processes
involving molten glass, polymers, or metal, and CFD
predictions provide the best way for plant engineers
and managers to visualize the fluid behavior and how
it will change as modifications to the equipment are
considered.
Dr. rer. nat. Jochen Schtze of the Darmstadt office is the Product
Manager for MixSim, Fluents design tool for mixing applications.
MixSim 2, due for release this year, combines an easy-to-use interface with the GAMBIT preprocessor and the FLUENT 6 solver. Any
shape of impeller can be created automatically in a fully unstructured meshing environment. This flexibility allows for multiple impellers
and shafts and a variety of other tank internals, such as baffles, heat
exchangers, and dip tubes. Dr. Schtze joined Fluent Deutschland
in 1999 after completing a PhD in Biotechnology, simulating multiphase flows with mass transfer using CFD. He brings to his role a
wealth of user-defined functions (UDF) programming skills and mass
transfer related technical experience.
The 2003 Chemicals and Materials Team, from left to right: Dr. Mourad Lotfey, Dr.
Mark Pelzer, Annelie Groten, Ralf Lffler (Team Leader), Dr. Stefan Martens (Business
Development Manager), Dr. Christian Budde, and Dr. Jochen Schtze
37
worldwide offices
CFD software from Fluent has become an
integral part of our design services, due to
the increased planning security that
simulations make possible.
Efficient
Solutions
he power generation CFD market is one of the most
mature in Germany, covering everything from boiler, burner, and turbomachinery manufacturing to
power plants of all types. In addition, Germany has a
very sophisticated level of public environmental awareness that has resulted in some very stringent pollution
abatement legislation, and a governmental drive for sustainable energy sources like wind, biomass, and fuel cells
in the near future.
Fluent is the leading CFD supplier to the Power Industry
in the world, with state-of-the-art models for combustion and heat transfer, and an experienced technical support team in Darmstadt. German power industry users
want to increase process and equipment efficiencies to
reduce costs, and to address pollution restrictions for
NOx, CO, soot, and heavy metal levels in off-gases and
power plant wastes. Fuel cell development is at the leading edge of power generation R&D, and CFD is helping speed up this technological development. In the field
of renewable energy, wind power generators are using
CFD extensively for blade design and wind farm mapping studies. German companies are increasingly
working to develop biomass furnaces and incinerators
as well.
In the building industry, fire and safety hazard evaluations are now customary, and CFD simulations are
frequently used during the design stage to maximize
the safety of occupants during a fire and minimize the
possibility of expensive litigation down the line. In addition to fire analyses, CFD is used to design the airflow
in many newly constructed German buildings to ensure
occupant comfort for a range of exterior weather conditions. Equipment designers in the HVAC and electronics
industries also use CFD to improve designs for
enhanced performance in operation. Fluent products
and the support staff at Fluent Deutschland are wellequipped to meet client needs in all of these important
application areas.
Members of the 2003 Power, Environmental, and HVAC team are, from left to right:
Dr. Wolfgang Timm, Elmar Schneeloch, Stefan Braun, Michael Adler, Ingo Cremer
(Team Leader), and Dr. Ulrich Schmidt
38
academic news
Species contour map computed using CFD is in good agreement with experiment1
Channeling
Chaos
By Patrick Bennett, Manhasset High School, Manhasset, NY; Chris Wiggins, Columbia University, New York, NY; and Marc Horner, Fluent Inc.
Reference:
1
Stroock A.D., Dertinger S.K.W., Ajdari A., Mezic I., Stone H.A., and Whitesides G.M.,
Chaotic Mixer for Microchannels. Science Magazine, 295, January 2002.
Editors Note: Pat Bennett presented this work at the American Physical Society,
Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting last November, and entered the 2002 Intel
Science Talent Search and Siemens Westinghouse competitions. He was recognized as a semi-finalist at both events. A FLUENT user for three years, he
will enter Stanford University in September.
39
academic news
Re-entry Vehicle
Shocks
By Tracie J. Barber, University of New South Wales, Australia
he simulation of high Mach number flows is difficult experimentally, and actual flight tests are not
feasible. CFD is a convenient method to use to
study this type of flow and predict flight performance.
Other advantages include the ability to predict flow
properties that are difficult to capture experimentally, such as detailed pressure and temperature distributions.
At the University of New South Wales (UNSW), experimental, computational, and theoretical results were
recently compared for two cases that exhibit quite different shock behavior a cone and an Apollo module. This preliminary work will form the first stage of
ongoing research into re-entry vehicle and rocket flight
analysis. The two cases chosen represent two fairly simple bodies, exhibiting quite different shock behavior.
The Apollo module model is well-known to have a curved,
non-attached shock wave before it in supersonic flow.
The cone is a well-studied body in supersonics and exhibits
an attached shock. The variation in the shock waves
produced by the two bodies proves a useful test of the
CFD modeling capability, while also allowing the flow
in the base region to be studied.
The first body studied is a 15 cone, traveling at
zero angle of attack, and outfitted with two pressure
taps. The second is a 1/30th scale model of the Apollo
re-entry vehicle, also traveling at zero angle of attack,
and outfitted with four pressure taps. Visualization of
the shock waves on the actual bodies was performed
using the Schlieren method at the UNSW supersonic
wind tunnel facility at a Mach number of 3.05. At this
Mach number, the static pressure is found to be 11.32kPa
40
academic news
Comparison of CFD
and experimental
shockwave locations
for the Cone model
in the test section. Temperature was calculated to be 102.5K, local density 0.3848 kg/m3, and the local speed of sound found to be 202.9 m/s. Reynolds
numbers for the two cases, based on model characteristic length, were found
to be approximately 8.52x105.
The Schlieren method makes use of the high density gradients present
in flows exhibiting shock characteristics to enable visualization of the shock
waves. Simulations of the two vehicles were performed using FLUENT 6.
The Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model was used, and converged results
were obtained using adapted meshes and second order upwind differencing.
For computational efficiency, both cases were run as axisymmetric models. Although the vehicles are indeed axisymmetric, the wind tunnel test
section in which they are studied is not. Therefore any shock waves reflecting off the simulated tunnel walls, or their subsequent effects, are not correctly captured by the 2D models.
For the 15 cone, the photographic Schlieren result and the CFD result
both show an attached shock wave that can be seen as the dark straight
lines coming off the very front of the cone. The shock wave angle measured from the experimental image is 25.5 and from the CFD image is 25.1.
Pressure coefficient values found from the experimental pressure taps and
from corresponding CFD locations match well.
Tap Number
Cp (Exp.)
Cp (CFD)
1 base of cone
-0.1305
-0.126
2 side of cone
0.1856
0.184
For the Apollo module scale model, the unattached shock wave in the
photographic Schlieren result appears as a gradient in the image, off the
front of the body. The CFD predictions for the size and location of the shock
Tap Number
Cp (Exp.)
Cp (CFD)
1.211
-0.1237
-0.1359
1.585
1.24
0.048
-0.135
1.69
Pressure coefficient values predicted by FLUENT for the Apollo scale model
are in good agreement with experiment
Comparison of CFD
and experimental
shockwave locations
for the Apollo model
41
product news
FLUENT Ported to
Itanium 2/HP-UX Platform
By Lee Fisher, Hewlett-Packard, Burlington, MA and Stewart Featherstone, Fluent Inc.
The Intel Itanium 2 processor, introduced in mid-2002, is designed for floating-point intensive 64-bit applications running
on servers, clusters, and workstations. Codeveloped with HP, this architecture has
made headlines for its parallel processing
design and future roadmap. A fully tested version of FLUENT (FLUENT 6.1.18) for
the Itanium 2/HP-UX 11i platform is now
available for download from the User Services
Center. Benchmarks have demonstrated
significant performance gains compared
to earlier HP-UX PA-RISC workstations.
Visteon Corporation has been an early
adopter of the new Intel/HP architecture,
and is using it for production runs. This
leading Tier I automotive supplier uses
FLUENT for critical analysis of automotive
climate control subsystems. By selecting
Mixing Simulation
Gets Easier
By Jochen Schtze, MixSim Product Manager
42
product news
POLYFLOW 3.10
a UDT to run similar simulations on similar geometries. The adaptive meshing technique has been
extended to refine the mesh when large variations in certain variables are calculated
across a given element. For example, this feature makes simulation of a thin thermal layer
caused by viscous heating less dependent upon
the initial mesh. Similarly, a sizing function for
adaptive meshing has been very helpful for simulations involving large deformations, such as
glass forming applications.
Extension of 64-bit compatibility to several UNIX platforms, a LINUX version, the PomPom viscoelastic model1, and slippage along
a rotating part are some of the other new features to be found in POLYFLOW 3.10.
reference:
1
McLeish T.C.B. and Larson R.G. Molecular constitutive equations for a class of branched polymers:
the pom-pom polymer, J. Rheol. 42(1),
p. 81-110, 1998.
FIDAP 8.7.2
Released in
April 2003
By Thierry Marchal, FIDAP Product Market Manager
43
product news
The
Draw of
POLYFLOW-FLUENT Coupling
By Geraldine Deflandre, Fluent Benelux and Andy Young, Fluent Europe
Initialization
POLYFLOW
Filter
FLUENT
Filter
POLYFLOW
Convergence
no
yes
Solution
44
support corner
he primary goal of running FLUENT in parallel is
to reduce calculation turnaround times by using
multiple processors (CPUs). There are two ways to
run FLUENT in parallel in the Windows environment.
In one model, multiple processors on the same
machine are used, and in the other model, multiple
machines in a cluster are used. The way in which memory is accessed is different for these two models:
Shared Memory
CPU
Distributed Memory
CPU
CPU
CPU
Memory
Memory
CPU
CPU
Memory
Memory
Memory
Parallel
Computing on a
Windows Cluster
CPU
CPU
A.
Q.
A.
In this type of parallel implementation each processor has its own memory. The processors communicate
with each other through a socket communicator,
or MPI. Message-passing software is loaded on every
computer in the cluster and a Windows process
is started. Through the interface, computers coor-
dinate their tasks, such as sending and receiving arrays, synchronizing, and performing global operations (such as summations over all
cells), by sending and receiving messages to and from one another.
Q.
A.
Q.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the three communicators that FLUENT supports?
A.
application
RSHD
advantages
Free
A hosts file is not required
(can spawn nodes in the
FLUENT GUI)
Performs slightly faster
than MPICH
MPICH
MPI/Pro
disadvantages
Security issues (must use
an rhosts file for security)
Manual configuration is
necessary
Free
Argonne is continuously updating
Secure (password encryption)
Easy setup (no configuration)
Cost
Must use a hosts file
(cannot spawn nodes
in the FLUENT GUI)
45
support corner
Q.
A.
A hosts file is a text document that contains the names of all the computers (and processors) on the network cluster on which you want to
run FLUENT. An rhosts file is the same, but is only required when you
are using the RSHD message passing software and you have concerns
about security. Note that there are restrictions regarding the naming,
storage, and configuration of the rhosts file. These are described in the
Security section of the RSHD installation guide, which can be found at:
www.FLUENT.com/support/installation/winfaq/rshd.htm
Q.
A.
Instruction address
RSHD
MPICH
MPI/Pro
www.FLUENT.com/support/installation/winfaq/rshd.htm
www.FLUENT.com/support/installation/winfaq/mpich.htm
www.FLUENT.com/support/installation/winfaq/mpi.htm
Q.
A.
The following steps outline the procedure for configuring FLUENT network parallel:
Q.
Once I have set up FLUENT and the necessary communication software, how do I start FLUENT to run in network parallel mode?
A.
Where:
version specifies the version of FLUENT you want to run (2d, 3d,
2ddp, or 3ddp);
tnprocs specifies the number of processors you want to use (-t2
indicates that you want to use two processors);
3. Share the FLUENT.INC directory.
Right-click on the FLUENT.INC directory and choose
Sharing from the menu.
Click Share this folder
Click OK.
46
partnerships
LMS SYSNOISE
Link to FLUENT
Spatial Provides
CATIA V4 Translation
for GAMBIT
AMBIT 2.1, due for general
used to produce the CFD domain.
release in Spring 2003, includes
Spatial is dedicated to constantly improvnative CATIA V4 translation proing our interop translators, said Linda Lokay,
vided by Spatial Corporation. Spatial, a
executive vice president of marketing and
Dassault Systemes Company, is the sole
development at Spatial Corp. Our native
provider of true, native CATIA translators.
CATIA technology makes our translators
Engineers at Valeo Engine Cooling, one
superior to any comparable products on
of many GAMBIT 2.1 beta test sites, were
the market. The results experienced by Fluent
very impressed with the new robust path
and their end users are indicative of our
from the CATIA V4 model file to automatic
continuous commitment to developing
meshing. GAMBIT has made great
products that contribute to our partners
progress in CAD import, cleanup, and autosuccess.
matic meshing, says Nicolas Franois,
research and development engineer at Valeo
more.info@
Engine Cooling, a major manufacturer of
www.spatial.com
compact heat exchangers and cooling systems for the automotive industry.
GAMBIT 2.1 is a clear
breakthrough in the path
from CATIA to high-quality meshes, says Erling
Eklund, GAMBIT product
marketing manager at
Fluent Inc. In a typical CAD
import sequence, a solid or
surface model created by
CATIA V4 is directly imported into GAMBIT 2.1. The
fluid volume is extracted
using simple Boolean operations, and straight-forAerospace valve model imported from CATIA V4 into
GAMBIT 2.1
ward cleanup tools are
omputational aeroacoustics is of growing interest to analysts and designers, who would like to control or reduce
flow-induced noise. Fluent customers who use the popular acoustics package SYSNOISE from LMS International will
now be able to integrate their flow predictions from FLUENT with
acoustic solutions computed in SYSNOISE. The integration allows
FLUENT to be used for high-accuracy prediction of the flow-generated noise sources, with a coupling to SYSNOISE for prediction of how these sources are propagated and how they interact
with other acoustic phenomena.
The integration allows the time-varying surface pressure,
predicted in FLUENT, to be imported to SYSNOISE. Within
SYSNOISE, the flow solution data is processed into the frequency domain and becomes part of the acoustic prediction
performed in the SYSNOISE model. Mechanical excitations
and propagation of sound waves can also be included. Typical
applications might include noise induced by flow separation,
flow impingement, or from rotating fans or blowers.
The interoperability with FLUENT appears in SYSNOISE
Rev 5.6, and will be available from LMS International.
more.info@
www.lmsintl.com
Code
pcomm command
RSHD
MPICH
MPI/Pro
-pnet
-pnmpi
-pvmpi
\\machine specifies the name of the computer on which FLUENT is installed, and
\share is the name assigned when the directory FLUENT.INC was shared (for
example, in part 2 of the previous question, machine is computer1 and share is
fluent.inc);
hosts.txt specifies the name of the hosts file listing the computers on which you
plan to run FLUENT parallel. If you are not in the directory where the hosts file is
located you must specify the complete path to this file.
Sound confusing? It isnt, once you go through the process. All of these steps (and more
details) are available in the following comprehensive instruction guide to setting up FLUENT
network parallel: www.FLUENT.com/support/installation/winfaq/FLUENTpar61.htm
If you have questions or encounter any difficulties with the setup, please dont hesitate to
contact Installation Support at installsup@fluent.com for assistance.
Fluent NEWS spring 2003
47
Fluent Worldwide
around Fluent
Corporate headquarters
The first set of capabilities in FLUENT seems modest by todays standards, but they were state-of-theart back then. Never did we dream that in twenty years
we would reach the level of sophistication that we now
see in the pages of our newsletter: problems with millions of cells, moving geometry, LES turbulence modeling, and solution optimization!
When we began, we worked hard to educate industry managers about the existence and value of CFD.
Our early users were experts in their fields who were
not afraid to be the risk takers of the day. Once sold
on the benefits of CFD, they acted as evangelists to
convert their colleagues. Today, we see a top-level commitment at many organizations to make CAE an integral part of the production cycle, from beginning to
end. Our challenge now is to meet their needs by providing reliable software with easy access, customizability, and interoperability with other products.
Our steady growth, from the very first sale onwards,
has been mirrored by the ever-increasing capabilities
of our products as well as the number of users worldwide. The directions we have chosen to take have
always been the result of customer input. Thus, it is
you, our customers, with your continued support over
the years, who helped us become the company that
we are today, and I thank you. I also thank our capable and dedicated employees who are the heart and
soul of Fluent!
Bart Patel
CEO, Fluent Inc.
Take advantage of our new, online training courses! These topical training materials for FLUENT users are available at a reduced introductory rate of just $100 per
course. The courses are organized into manageable 30-60 minute modules and include
a number of relevant case studies and tutorials to enhance your practical knowledge and skills. You can stop and start as you please, and have access to the materials for up to 30 days.
Available courses include:
Turbulence Primer
Parallel Processing with FLUENT 6
Using User-Defined Functions with FLUENT 6
Solving Multiphase Flow Problems with FLUENT 6
Solving Combustion Problems with FLUENT 6
Solving Rotating Machinery Problems with FLUENT 6
Sign up today and take advantage of this opportunity to learn from anywhere,
at any time, and at your own pace. Introductory pricing will expire in 60 days. www.learningcfd.com
Fluent NEWS spring 2003
48
Fluent Inc.
10 Cavendish Court
Lebanon, NH 03766, USA
Tel: 603 643 2600
Fax: 603 643 3967
Email: info@fluent.com
Distributors
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