Module 03: Setting Up Physics

ANSYS Fluent Getting Started - Part 1

Introduction
Lecture Theme:
Defining material properties, cell zones and boundary conditions in the Setting Up Physics
tab in the Ribbon is an important part of any Fluent simulation. The accuracy of the
simulation results depends on defining these properly.
Learning Aims:
You will learn:
• How to set up cases involving turbulent flow and heat transfer
• How to define material properties
• The different boundary condition types in Fluent and how to use them
• How to define cell zone conditions in Fluent including solid zones and porous media
• How to specify well-posed boundary conditions

Learning Objectives:
You will know how to perform these essential steps in setting up a CFD analysis
Setting Up Physics: Other Group Boxes

• Solver
- There is normally no need to change anything here unless a
simulation is
• Transient (covered in Module 10)
• High speed compressible flow

• Models
Commonly used models include
• Energy (heat transfer) (details covered in Module 9)
- These slides show basic steps for setting up heat transfer
- • Radiation (covered in Module 9)
• Viscous (turbulence) (details covered in Module 8)
- These slides show basic steps for setting up a turbulent flow model
- Additional models are covered in advanced training courses
• Multiphase
• Species and combustion
• Discrete Phase
Setting Up Physics: Energy (Heat Transfer)

• Three basic steps to set up a model with heat Models

H Multiphase... ^ Solidify/Melt... I)))

Radiation...
transfer Heat Exchanger...
Cf Species... Acoustics...

- Tick Energy in the Setting Up Physics tab Vi SCO LIS...

Sj Discrete Phase...
°a More

- Define material property values (slide 10) for heat transfer •

Specific heat and thermal conductivity
- Define Boundary Conditions for heat transfer
• Temperature at flow boundaries-
• Thermal boundary conditions for walls (next slide)

These are the steps to get started working on basic heat

transfer problems. Module 9 will give a more detailed
description of heat transfer modeling in Fluent
(conduction, forced and natural convection, radiation,
conjugate heat transfer and more) for those with more
interest on this topic.
Setting Up Physics: Energy (Heat Transfer)
• Thermal conditions at Walls:
- Constant Heat Flux or Temperature
- Convection, Radiation, Mixed - Simulates an external
environment that is not modeled using user-prescribed
heat transfer coefficient and/or external emissivity and
radiation temperature

- Via System Coupling - Can be used when Fluent is coupled with

another system in Workbench using System Couplings
- Via Mapped Interface - Used with certain kinds of non-conformal interfaces
Turbulence: Reynolds Number

The Reynolds number is the criterion used to determine whether the flow is laminar or
turbulent

• The Reynolds number is based on the length scale of the flow: L = x, d, dhyd, etc.
• Transition to turbulence varies depending on the type of flow:
• External flow
• along a surface : ReX> 500 000
• around on obstacle : ReL > 20 000 Most flows of engineering interest are turbulent!

• Internal flow : ReD > 2 300

If the flow is turbulent based on the Reynolds number, a turbulence model must be used (next
slide)
Setting Up Physics: Viscous (Turbulence)

• Click Viscous to open the Viscous Models Panel

* Numerous available turbulence models
- Some are used only for very specific applications
* To get started use one of these choices Realizable k-epsilon model
- More details in Module 8 + Enhanced Wall
Treatment:
SST k-omega model:
Good choice for most
Good choice for most flows.
flows.
Best choice for
predicting detailed
local heat transfer or
flow separation on
highly refined meshes.
Setting Up Physics: Create/Edit Materials

* Fluent materials database

- Provides access to a number of pre-defined
fluid, solid and mixture materials
- Properties listed depend on the models used
- Materials can be copied to the case file and
edited if required

* User-Defined materials database

- Custom databases can be created, accessed
and modified from the standard materials
panel in Fluent
Fluid Density

• For incompressible flow with p = constant

- Select constant for density
• Ideal gas properties
- Incompressible flow, p = f(T)
• Polynomial or piecewise-polynomial
• Incompressible ideal gas law (p = poperating/RT)
- Set poperating close to the mean pressure in the problem

- Compressible flow, p = f(p,T)

• Use ideal-gas for density (p = pabsolute/RT)
- For low-Mach-number flows, set poperating close to mean pressure of the problem to
avoid round-off errors
Operating Pressure
• Represents the absolute pressure datum from which
all relative pressures are measured
•P =P +P
absolute operating relative
- Pressures specified at boundary conditions and initial conditions are relative to the n
Operating Conditions
Operating Pressure Gravity
Operating Pressure (pascal) ✓ I Gravity

• Used to avoid problems with round-off errors which occur 101325

inference Pressure Locatioj
Gravitational Acceleration

when the dynamic pressure differences in a fluid are small

compared to the absolute pressure level Boussinesq Parameters
Operating Temperature (k)

Variable-Density Parameters
| V Specified Operating Density

Operating Density (kg/m3j

1.225

Cancel
Cell Zones and Boundary Zones
• The mesh consists of a large number of finite
volumes, or cells
• The cells are grouped into one or more cell
zones
- For instance in a conjugate heat transfer calculation there may
be one cell zone for the fluid region and a second cell
zone for the solid material

• Each cell is bounded by a number of faces

• These faces are grouped into a number of face
zones
• Some of these faces are located on the Cell zone conditions are applied
boundaries of the model to all cell zones
• The zones to which such faces belong are
called boundary zones Boundary conditions are applied
to all boundary zones
Setting Up Physics: Cell Zones

• Select Cell Zones in the Zones group box

- Use List View or group by Name or Zone Type
• The Cell Zone Conditions task page opens
- Double click on any zone in the list to bring up its
cell zone conditions panel
- The cell zone conditions panel can be used to define
a porous zone, prescribe energy sources in solid and
fluid zones, specify inputs for rotating machinery, fix
the values of one or more solution variables and
many other operations
Summary
* Physical models such as heat transfer and turbulence models are enabled in the Setting
Up Physics tab
- Calculate the Reynolds number to check whether a turbulence model is required (true for most engineering
flows)

* Cell zones are used to assign which fluid/solid material(s) exist in a region
- Also have options for porous media, laminar region, fixed value, etc.

* Fluent has an extensive, customizable database of material properties

- Numerous models and options are available for definition of properties
* Boundary zones are used to assign boundary conditions at external and internal
boundaries
* Locations and types of boundary condition are extremely important for good
convergence and accurate results