Introduction to Computational

Fluid Dynamics
Adapted from notes by:
Tao Xing and Fred Stern
The University of Iowa

Outline
What

is CFD?
Why use CFD?
Where is CFD used?
Physics
Modeling
Numerics
CFD process
Resources

What is CFD?

What is CFD and its objective?

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Historically Analytical Fluid Dynamics (AFD) and EFD
(Experimental Fluid Dynamics) was used. CFD has become
feasible due to the advent of high speed digital computers.
Computer simulation for prediction of fluid-flow phenomena.
The objective of CFD is to model the continuous fluids with
Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) and discretize PDEs into
an algebra problem (Taylor series), solve it, validate it and
achieve simulation based design.

Why use CFD?

Why

use CFD?

Analysis and Design

Simulation-based design instead of build & test

More cost effectively and more rapidly than with experiments
CFD solution provides high-fidelity database for interrogation of
flow field

Simulation of physical fluid phenomena that are difficult to be

measured by experiments
Scale simulations (e.g., full-scale ships, airplanes)
Hazards (e.g., explosions, radiation, pollution)
Physics (e.g., weather prediction, planetary boundary layer, stellar
evolution)

Knowledge and exploration of flow physics

Where is CFD used? (Aerospace)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Appliances
Automotive
Biomedical

F18 Store Separation

Chemical Processing
HVAC&R
Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation
Sports

Wing-Body Interaction

Hypersonic Launch Vehicle

Where is CFD used? (Appliances)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace

Appliances
Automotive
Biomedical
Chemical Processing
HVAC&R
Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation
Sports

Surface-heat-flux plots of the No-Frost

refrigerator and freezer compartments helped
BOSCH-SIEMENS engineers to optimize the
location of air inlets.
6

Where is CFD used? (Automotive)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Appliances

Automotive
Biomedical
Chemical Processing

External Aerodynamics

HVAC&R

Undercarriage
Aerodynamics

Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation
Sports
Interior Ventilation

Engine Cooling 7

Where is CFD used? (Biomedical)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Appliances
Automotive

Biomedical
Chemical Processing

Medtronic Blood Pump

HVAC&R
Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation

Temperature and natural

convection currents in the eye
following laser heating.

Sports
Spinal Catheter

Where is CFD used? (Chemical Processing)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Appliances
Automotive
Biomedical

Chemical Processing

Polymerization reactor vessel - prediction

of flow separation and residence time
effects.

HVAC&R
Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation

Twin-screw extruder
modeling

Sports
Shear rate distribution in twinscrew extruder simulation
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Where is CFD used? (HVAC&R)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Appliances
Automotive
Biomedical
Chemical Processing

Streamlines for workstation

ventilation

HVAC&R

Particle traces of copier VOC emissions

colored by concentration level fall
behind the copier and then circulate
through the room before exiting the
exhaust.

Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation
Sports
Mean age of air contours indicate
location of fresh supply air

Flow pathlines colored by

pressure quantify head loss
in ductwork
10

Where is CFD used? (Hydraulics)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Appliances
Automotive
Biomedical
Chemical Processing
HVAC&R

Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation
Sports
11

Where is CFD used? (Marine)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Appliances
Automotive
Biomedical
Chemical Processing
HVAC&R
Hydraulics

Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation
Sports
12

Where is CFD used? (Oil & Gas)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Volume fraction of gas

Appliances
Automotive
Biomedical
Chemical Processing

Flow vectors and pressure distribution

on an offshore oil rig

Volume fraction of oil

HVAC&R
Hydraulics
Marine

Volume fraction of water

Oil & Gas

Analysis of multiphase separator

Power Generation
Sports
Flow of lubricating mud
over drill bit

13

Where is CFD used? (Power Generation)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Appliances
Automotive
Biomedical

Flow in a burner

Chemical Processing Flow around cooling towers

HVAC&R
Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas

Power Generation
Sports
Flow pattern through a water turbine.

Pathlines from the inlet

colored by temperature
during standard operating
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conditions

Where is CFD used? (Sports)

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Appliances
Automotive
Biomedical
Chemical Processing
HVAC&R
Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation

Sports
15

Physics
CFD

codes typically designed for representation of

specific flow phenomenon

Viscous vs. inviscid (no viscous forces) (Re)

Turbulent vs. laminar (Re)
Incompressible vs. compressible (Ma)
Single- vs. multi-phase (Ca)
Thermal/density effects and energy equation (Pr, , Gr, Ec)
Free-surface flow and surface tension (Fr, We)
Chemical reactions, mass transfer
etc

16

Physics
Fluid Mechanics
Inviscid

Viscous
Laminar

Compressible
(air, acoustic)

Incompressible
(water)

Internal
(pipe,valve)

Turbulence
External
(airfoil, ship)

Components of Fluid Mechanics

17

0
x
y
z
tutxuxxyuxyxzuzxyxpzxyyxzzxgx
Governing Equations

(Equations based on average velocity)

Continuity

Equation of motion

18

Navier-Stokes Equations

Claude-Louis Navier

George Gabriel Stokes

C.L. M. H. Navier, Memoire sur les Lois du Mouvements des Fluides, Mem. de lAcad. d. Sci.,6, 398 (1822)
C.G. Stokes, On the Theories of the Internal Friction of Fluids in Motion, Trans. Cambridge Phys. Soc., 8, (1845)

D
tvpvg

utuxtyzuxxuxuxxyzuyyuyuxyyzzuzuzxuzzyxpzyp2xu22xxuzy2yu22yxzy2zu22zxuzygxgzy
2
Navier-Stokes Equations
(constant and )

20

uadtyyp
yxu0dydauyx2txyu2xy20,duguyypyy0aztguzyLC11x2yp2xuy2yy2zuygy
0IBn.tCegr
12Ldypg C
2
NavierStokes Example

FinalExpresion
uy21dypg(Lx-2)

Fluid
L

Laminar Flow
Static Parallel Plates

21

Modeling

Mathematical representation of the physical problem

Some problems are exact (e.g., laminar pipe flow)
Exact solutions only exist for some simple cases. In these cases nonlinear terms
can be dropped from the N-S equations which allow analytical solution.
Most cases require models for flow behavior [e.g., K-, K-, Reynolds
Averaged Navier Stokes equations (RANS) or Large Eddy Simulation (LES)
for turbulent flow]
Initial Boundary Value Problem (IBVP), include: governing Partial Differential
Equations (PDEs), Initial Conditions (ICs) and Boundary Conditions (BCs)

22

Turbulent Flow Representation

(K- as an example)
u i u u' Where : u' deviating velocity, u constant net velocity
in the direction of flow, and u i instantaneous velocity

23

Turbulent Boundary Layer

y

Bulk Stream

x
U0

Edge of boundary layer

Outer layer

Fully turbulent layer

Sublayer + buffer layer
Wall
24

Wall Shear Stress

dU

dy

y u y
y

Friction Velocity

u
y 0

Viscous Length Scale

y+ is similar to a local Reynolds number.

Small y+ - Viscous effects dominate
Large y+ - Turbulence dominates

25

y+ and Turbulence Models

COMSOL has many turbulent models available
Low-Re models require a y+ resolution of < 1 to guarantee
accuracy
Low-Re models are necessary to accurately estimate skin
friction and flow separation
High-Re models use wall functions to approximate averaged
turbulent flow properties
Less accurate, but more computationally efficient
In COMSOL, a minimum y+ of 11.06 is enforced. To
maintain accuracy, ensure cells meet this requirement
26

Numerics / Discretization
Computational

solution of the IBVP

Method dependent upon the model equations and
physics
Several components to formulation
Discretization and linearization
Assembly of system of algebraic equations
Solve the system and get approximate solutions

27

uxi,ji1,jxi,jx2ui,j2x3ui,j6x2
Finite Differences

Finite difference
representation

Truncation error

Methods of Solution

Direct methods

Cramers Rule, Gauss elimination

LU decomposition

Iterative methods

Jacobi method, Gauss-Seidel

Method, SOR method
28

ui1,ji,jui,jx2ui,j2x23ui,j6x3
Numeric Solution
(Finite Differences)

jmax
j+1
j
j-1

i-1 i i+1

imax

Discrete Grid Points

Taylors Series Expansion

u i,j = velocity of fluid

29

2
n
2
n
afft((:x)x
2

x
xi,jn!
x)s0in.?2ff((xx))f(x)f0.9xx512 xi,j2

fE
(x0a.c2ts)olui0n.2for
c(0.os[)2
(09.8)]302E
)r
.o98075percnt

Finite Difference Truncation Error

30

CFD process
Geometry

description
Specification of flow conditions and properties
Selection of models
Specification of initial and boundary conditions
Grid generation and transformation
Specification of numerical parameters
Flow solution
Post processing: Analysis, and visualization
Uncertainty assessment
31

Geometry description
Typical

approaches

Make assumptions and

simplifications
CAD/CAE integration
Engineering drawings
Coordinates include Cartesian
system (x,y,z), cylindrical system (r,
, z), and spherical system(r, , )

32

Flow conditions and properties

Flow

conditions and properties required are

unique for each flow code and application
FlowLab requires all variables in dimensional

form
Because of focused application, research codes
often use non-dimensional variables.

33

Selection of models for flow field

Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) is to solve the N-S equations

directly without any modeling. Grid must be fine enough to resolve
all flow scales. Applied for laminar flow and rare be used in
turbulent flow.
Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (NS) equations (RANS) is to
perform averaging of NS equations and establishing turbulent
models for the eddy viscosity. Too many averaging might damping
vortical structures in turbulent flows
Large Eddy Simulation (LES), Smagorinsky constant model and
dynamic model. Provide more instantaneous information than
RANS did. Instability in complex geometries
Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) is to use one single formulation
to combine the advantages of RANS and LES.

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Initial and boundary conditions

For

steady/unsteady flow

IC should not affect final solution, only convergence path, i.e.

iteration numbers needed to get the converged solution.
Robust codes should start most problems from very crude IC, .
But more reasonable guess can speed up the convergence.

Boundary

conditions

No-slip or slip-free on the wall, periodic, inlet (velocity

inlet, mass flow rate, constant pressure, etc.), outlet

(constant pressure, velocity convective, buffer zone,
zero-gradient), and non-reflecting (compressible flows,
such as acoustics), etc.

35

Grid generation

Grids can either be structured (hexahedral) or

unstructured (tetrahedral). Depends upon type
of discretization scheme and application
Scheme
Finite differences: structured
Finite volume or finite element:
structured or unstructured
Application
Thin boundary layers best resolved
with highly-stretched structured grids
Unstructured grids useful for complex
geometries
Unstructured grids permit automatic
adaptive refinement based on the
pressure gradient, or regions of interest
(FLUENT)

36

Grid Resolution

37

Grid generation and transformation

Grids designed to resolve important

flow features which are dependent
upon flow parameters (e.g., Re)
Commercial codes such as Gridgen,
Gambit
For research code, grid generated by
one of several methods (algebraic vs.
PDE based, conformal mapping)
For complex geometries, body-fitted
coordinate system will have to be
applied (next slide). Grid
transformation from the physical
domain to the computational domain
will be necessary

Sample grid established by

Gambit of FLUENT

38

Grid transformation
y

o
Physical domain
Transformation

between physical (x,y,z)

and computational () domains,
important for body-fitted grids. The partial
derivatives at these two domains have the
relationship (2D as an example)

Computational domain
f f f
f
f

x
x
x x x

f f f
f
f

y
y
y y y

39

Numerical parameters & flow

solution
Numerical parameters are used to control flow solution.
Under relaxation factor, tridiagonal or pentadiagonal solvers
CFD Labs using FlowLab
Monitor residuals (change of results between iterations)
Number of iterations for steady flow or number of time steps for unsteady flow
Flow solution
Solve the momentum, pressure Poisson equations and get flow field quantities, such as velocity, turbulence intensity, pressure
and integral quantities (drag forces)

40

Numerical parameters & flow

solution
Typical

time
history of
residuals
The closer the
flow field to the
converged
solution, the
smaller the speed
of the residuals
decreasing.

Solution converged, residuals do

not change after more iterations
41

Post-processing

Analysis, and visualization

Calculation of derived variables

Vorticity
Wall shear stress
Calculation of integral parameters: forces, moments
Visualization (usually with commercial software)
Simple X-Y plots
Simple 2D contours
3D contour carpet plots
Vector plots and streamlines (streamlines are the lines
whose tangent direction is the same as the velocity vectors)
Animations (dozens of sample pictures in a series of time
were shown continuously)

42

Post-processing (Parallel Plates)

43

Post-Processing (example)

Pressure

contour and
velocity vectors .
Note the locations of
the highest and lowest
pressure regions.

44

Uncertainty assessment

Rigorous methodology for uncertainty assessment using

statistical and engineering concepts
Verification: process for assessing simulation numerical uncertainty
Iterative convergence: monitoring point & integral quantities should
change within the convergence criterions
Grid independent studies: 3-grids and Richardson Extrapolation
Validation: process for assessing simulation modeling uncertainty by

using benchmark experimental data

Certification: full Verification and Validation done for a

certain range of geometries & parameters which are well
known and then extrapolated, qualitatively as well as
quantitative
Simulating flows for which experiments are difficult (e.g., full-scale

Reynolds numbers, hypersonic flows, off-design conditions)

Objective: Simulation-based design

45

CFD Example

Sulzer Chemtech
250 Y Plastic
Structured Packing

46

Geometry
CT > STL > CFD
CT = 0.322 mm
Min Resolution
Copy/Pasted 2x
Surface Wrapping
Adaptive Meshing
Tetrahedral Mesh
Polyhedral Mesh
47

Mess Dimensions

48

Experiment vs. Simulation

49

Velocity Map

50

Software and resources

CFD software was built upon physics, modeling, numerics .

Two types of available software
Commercial (e.g., FLUENT, CFX, Star-CCM, COMSOL)
Research (e.g., CFDSHIP-IOWA, U2RANS)
More information on CFD can be got on the following website:
CFD Online: http://www.cfd-online.com/
CFD software
FLUENT: http://www.fluent.com/
COMSOL http://www.comsol.com/
CD-adapco: http://www.cd-adapco.com/
Grid generation software
Gridgen: http://www.pointwise.com
GridPro: http://www.gridpro.com/
Visualization software
Tecplot: http://www.amtec.com/
Fieldview: http://www.ilight.com/

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