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Workshop 03: Fluid flow around the NACA0012 Airfoil

Introduction to ANSYS CFX

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 Introduction
Workshop Description:
The flow simulated is an external aerodynamics application for the two-dimensional
flow around a NACA0012 airfoil.
Learning Aims:
This workshop introduces several new skills:
Assessing Y+ for correct turbulence model behavior
Modifying solver settings to improve accuracy
Reading in and plotting experimental data alongside CFD results
Producing a side-by-side comparison of different CFD results.
Learning Objectives:
To understand how to model an external aerodynamics problem, and skills to improve
and assess solver accuracy with respect to both experimental and other CFD data.

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 Import the Supplied Mesh File
Start ANSYS Workbench 17.
Copy a CFX Analysis System into the Project Schematic.
Import the mesh naca0012coarse.cfx5 from \workshop_input_files\WS_05_NACA0012 airfoil.
The mesh was created with ICEM CFD, choose the right filter.
Launch CFX Pre.

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 Case Setup: Boundary Condition Values

It is important to place the far field (inlet and outlet) po 1 2 1

1 M
boundaries far enough from the object of interest. p 2
For example, in lifting airfoil calculations, it is not uncommon for the where
po total pressure 101325 Pa
far-field boundary to be a circle with a radius of 20 chord lengths.
p static pressure
1.4 for air
M Mach No. 0.7
This workshop will compare CFD with wind-tunnel test data at po
1.3871 p 73048 Pa
p
Ma = 0.7. Therefore we need to calculate the static conditions
at the far-field boundary for T and p. To 1 2
1 M
We calculate this from the total pressure, which is atmospheric at T 2
101325 Pa. where
To total temp. 311K
The wind tunnel operating conditions for validation test data give the
T static temp.
total temperature as T0 = 311 K.
To
1.3871 T 283.24 K
T

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 Case Setup: Basic Settings
Edit the domain so that:
Air Ideal Gas is used as material,
The SST turbulence model, and
Total Energy model are applied.
Set the Reference Pressure of your domain
pRef = 73048 [Pa]

The SST turbulence model is a very powerful model for aerodynamic, external flows.
The Total Energy model is needed for compressible flows where the Ma > 0.3
Since the fluid is compressible, density depends on Absolute Pressure. The Reference Pressure chosen ensures
that the values of static pressure in the solution are not too large compared with the differences, so
minimising round-off errors.
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 Case Setup: Coordinate Frame
The angle of attack is 1.55 degrees ().
One way of accounting for this angle is to create a new coordinate system whose z-
axis is in line with the flow direction.
We use this new coordinate system when applying boundary conditions.
Create a new coordinate frame: y

Insert Coordinate Frame Name = Coord 1

Option = Axis Points
Origin = 0, 0, 0
Z axis = 0.999634, 0.027049, 0 (cos1.55, sin1.55, 0)
X-Z Plane Pt = 1, 1, 0 (a point on the plane)
x
Original Coordinate Frame

Another way of accounting for this angle of attack would be to rotate the velocities at
the inlet via expressions.
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 Case Setup: Boundary Conditions
Create a boundary condition for the inlet:
Set cartesian velocity components based on the new coordinate system, Coord 1:
(U,V,W) = (0, 0, 0.7*340.29) [m/s]
340.29[m/s] equals Ma = 1.0 for the given free stream values,
i.e. it is the speed of sound under the prevailing conditions.
Set values for turbulence intensity and eddy viscosity ratio:
Fractional Intensity = 0.01, Eddy Viscosity Ratio = 1.0
Set the Static Temperature at the inlet:
T = 283.4 [K]
This will create an inlet boundary condition with air flowing at a speed flow with Ma =
0.7 at an angle of attack () of 1.55 deg.
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 Case Setup: Boundary Conditions
Create a boundary condition for the outlet:
Set a relative pressure of 0 [Pa].

Create a wall boundary, called airfoil, containing the upper and lower surfaces of the
airfoil.
Create a no-slip, adiabatic wall.

Create symmetry boundary conditions for the bottom and the top of the domain.

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 Case Setup: Solution Monitors
To help check convergence you will monitor the
lift and drag coefficients.
The drag coefficient, for example, is calculated as
cD = 2F/(Av).
Density and velocity refer to free stream values and A is
the area of the airfoil calculated as chord * span of the
airfoil, the chord being a straight line between the
leading and trailing edges.
In CEL this is defined as:
2*force_z_Coord 1()@airfoil /
(0.6[m^2]*massFlowAve(Density)@inlet
*(massFlowAve(Velocity)@inlet)^2)
Use the above expression to create a Monitor
Point for the drag coefficient.

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 Case Setup: Solution Monitors
The lift coefficient is defined analogously for the x component of force in the local
coordinate frame.

Duplicate the first monitor (right click on the monitor object in the Outline Tree) and edit the expression
in the copy. Rename the new monitor.
Functions, variables & expressions are available in the expression details tab (RMB).
The expressions must match the names for the airfoil and inlet (free stream) boundary
conditions. Check how you named them.
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 Run Calculation
Close CFX-Pre.
Save the project to airfoil.wbpj in your working
directory.
Start the run.
Review the convergence plots.
Click User Points to review the lift and drag
coefficient convergence.
From Reference [1], cl = 0.241 and cd = 0.0079
Compare with the simulation results and determine the
relative error for these quantities.
Later we will see how to improve the results in a Best
Practice Study.

Close the CFX-Solver Manager and import the results

to CFD Post.
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 Post Processing - Check the mesh (Y+)
The correct modeling of the turbulence is a crucial
task in most CFD simulations.
The reliability of the turbulence models strongly
depends on the correct prediction of the flow
behaviour near the walls.
The SST model uses the automatic wall function
which allows for integration of the governing
equations directly to the wall (a low Reynolds
number treatment) and so can better predict
boundary layer separation.
The above graph shows non-dimensional velocity versus
For this to happen, the first grid point should lie within the non-dimensional distance from the wall, y+.
viscous sub-layer (y+ 2).
Otherwise the Universal Law of The Wall for turbulence is y Wall /
y
used.

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 Post Processing - Check the mesh (Y+)

In CFD-Post y+ values can be accessed at all

wall boundary conditions.

Check the global range of y+.

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 Post Processing y+ chart
Plot the y+ values along the
airfoil surfaces.
Create a Location > Polyline which
represents the pressure and
suction sides of the air foil.
Use the Boundary Intersection
method.
Create a chart based on this
polyline which plots the y+ as
function of the x-coordinate.

Create another chart for the

pressure distribution along the
airfoil.

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 Post Processing Pressure Coefficient (cP)

We will compare the simulation results with experimental data for the pressure
coefficient, cP, on the upper and lower surfaces of the airfoil.
The pressure coefficient is a dimensionless quantity representing the ratio of static
to dynamic pressure, calculated as:
cP = 2(p-p)/(u)
where indicates free stream values.
It is used to assess pressure distribution for different designs.

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 Post Processing Pressure Coefficient (cP)
To plot the pressure coefficient you will need to create a new variable.
On the Variables tab, right-click anywhere in the window and select New
Provide a name for the variable, e.g. cp. Do not call it Cp as this is reserved for
specific heat at constant pressure - names of system variables must not be used for
expressions or user variables.
Enter the expression shown below:

Here the relative static pressure, p, is assumed to be 0 [Pa].

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 Post Processing cP chart
Create a chart to plot the pressure
coefficient against X on the polyline.
It shows the expected shape with a
value just above 1 at the stagnation
point (typical for compressible flow)
and a recovery to a slightly positive
value at the trailing edge.
Import the experimental data by
editing the details of the graph to
include another data series:
Data Series New Name =
Experimental
Data Source File Browse
ExperimentalData.csv
Apply.
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 Post Processing Contour Plots
Examine the contours of
static pressure.

Note the high pressure at the

nose and low pressure on the
upper (suction) surface. The
latter is expected as the airfoil
wing is generating lift.

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 Post Processing Contour Plots
Examine the contours
of Mach Number.

Notice that the flow is

locally supersonic (Mach
Number > 1) as the flow
accelerates over the upper
surface of the wing.

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 Best Practice Study
The current results are not satisfactory.
We should perform a Best Practice Study to understand sources of error and reduce
the errors (more details in the lecture on Best Practice Guidance).
There are 5 categories of error:
Round-Off errors.
Iterations errors.
Discretization errors.
Modeling errors.
Systematic errors.
The first three are numerical errors that should be removed from every simulation
before modeling and systematic errors are investigated!
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 Best Practice Study
The following slides give general guidance rather than step-by-step instructions.
Tip: Multiple Systems can share:
(Upstream) Geometry and Mesh Sessions.
(Downstream) Post-processing sessions.

There will be several valid schemes.

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 Best Practice Study
Getting Started:
For the following runs adapt the Solver Controls:
Increase Max Iterations to 500.
Set Timescale Control > Aggressive (to speed up the simulation).
Set as Convergence Criterion:
Residual Type RMS.
Residual Target 1e-4.

Do not run the solver yet.

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 Test 1: Round-Off Errors
Round-off errors arise from the accuracy (number of significant digits) your computer processor
works to. There are many factors that determine whether SINGLE PRECISION is sufficient, or
whether DOUBLE PRECISION is needed.

Task:
Run the simulation (with the new settings from the last slide) twice more. For the second run
switch on Double Precision. Compare the drag and lift coefficients displayed in the User Points
monitor.
If you see a difference, then DOUBLE PRECISION should be used.
(Why? In this case there are some very high aspect ratio grid cells.)
(The predicted value of the drag coefficient is 0.230, compared with 0.232 for single precision.
The predicted value of the lift coefficient was .0146, compared with .0147 for double precision)

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 Test 2: Iteration Errors
A well-posed CFD simulation converges monotonically towards the correct solution.
How many iterations are needed? Check the Residuals, Imbalances and changes to
Monitor Points. As these decrease, the iteration error decreases.

Task:
Look at the residuals in the Solver Manager.
If we switch to the Max Residuals, we can see that those for Mass and Momentum
are still > 1e-3
The Monitor Points for Lift and Drag are not converged.
The Imbalances are low (< 0.1 %).

Change the following settings in the Solver Control section in CFX-Pre.

Residual Type RMS
Residual Target 1e-6 (this is quite strict).
Conservation Target of 0.01.

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 Test 2: Iteration Errors (Cont)
After running on the simulation with these more demanding criteria, you should find
that:

All residuals reach the strict convergence criterion.

This happens before reaching the maximum number of iterations.
The monitor points are now very well converged.
The imbalances are much below the chosen criterion.

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 Test 3: Discretization Errors
The CFD solution is computed at a number of discrete locations, defined by nodes in the mesh.
How do we know that the mesh is fine enough to give a true simulation of the flow? It is
important to check that we reach mesh independence to minimise Discretization errors.

Task:
Recompute this simulation and examine the results for the mesh files:
1) naca0012medium.cfx5
2) naca0012fine.cfx5
Duplicate the system and right-click on the Imported Mesh cell to import the new mesh.
We expect you will observe that:
There is a big difference between the solutions on the coarse and medium meshes.
The results from the medium and the fine mesh are almost identical.
Therefore we should use the mesh: naca0012medium.cfx5.

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 Test 4: Modeling Errors
For some aspects of the physics the CFD solver cannot provide an exact solution. For
example, turbulence is essentially a random process.

Task:
We know that, a proper resolution of the boundary layer will have a strong
influence on the quality of the solution of this test case. This is guarantueed by a
proper mesh resolution and the automatic wall treatment of the SST turbulence
model.
Change to the k-epsilon turbulence model and recompute the flow. This model
applies a scalable wall function, which cannot resolve the influence of the viscous
sublayer.
Check the influence on the results.
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 Test 5: Systematic Errors
Systematic Errors arise from the workflow and assumptions that have been made. For
example:
The geometry might have been simplified (Fillets removed).
Only part of the device is simulated (just a single turbine blade).
Steady-state simulation of a naturally unsteady flow.

We do not suggest that you explore Systematic Errors here since that would
modification of the original geometry.

Factors to bear in mind are:

Were the domain boundaries far enough away from the airfoil?
Are there 3D effects to consider? For example, the experiment could not be pure 2D
as there would be sides to the wind tunnel.

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 Wrap-up
This workshop has shown the basic steps that are applied during CFD simulations:
Defining material properties.
Setting boundary conditions and solver settings.
Running a simulation whilst monitoring quantities of interest.
Post-processing the results.

One of the important things to remember in your own work is, before even starting the ANSYS
software, is to think WHY you are performing the simulation:
What information are you looking for?
What do you know about the flow conditions?

In this case we were interested in the lift (and drag) generated by a standard airfoil and how
well the solver predicted these when compared to high quality experimental data.

Knowing your aims from the start will help you make sensible decisions about how much of the
part to simulate, the level of mesh refinement needed, and which numerical schemes to select.

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 References

T.J. Coakley, Numerical Simulation of Viscous Transonic Airfoil Flows, NASA Ames
Research Center, AIAA-87-0416, 1987.

C.D. Harris, Two-Dimensional Aerodynamic Characteristics of the NACA 0012 Airfoil in

the Langley 8-foot Transonic Pressure Tunnel, NASA Ames Research Center, NASA TM
81927, 1981.

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