ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial

Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct

Jeffrey R. Berg
Scott J. Ormiston

V2.10
2 November 2006

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

Introduction
This tutorial has been adapted from a tutorial created by Jeff Berg (M.Sc. student) in 2004. That tutorial was
based on running the CFX-TASCflow (V2.11) rct.lam tutorial in CFX-5 (v5.7). The original comparisons
between TASCflow and CFX-5 have been removed in this version.

Geometry Nomenclature
The duct has a length, Lx , a depth L y , and a height, Lz .The duct length is aligned with the x axis, the depth
with the y axis, and the height with the z axis. The flow is assumed to be symmetric about a plane that bisects the
duct in the y-direction and therefore only half the duct is modelled. One corner of the duct is assumed to lie at
the origin. Figure 1 below shows the duct geometry. When the geometry was defined in the creation of the
computational mesh, all faces of the domain were assigned names. The names of the inlet and outlet planes (at
x = 0 and x = Lx ) are RCT W and RCT E, respectively. The names of the planes at y = 0 and y = L y are RCT S
and RCT N, respectively. The names of the planes at z = 0 and z = Lz are RCT B and RCT T, respectively.

Figure 1: Rectangular Duct Geometry

Problem Definition
The problem is a laminar, incompressible, constant property flow of water in a rectangular duct. The code will
be run with the heat transfer model turned off (even though an alternative approach would be to run the code
with the heat transfer model as “isothermal” and specify the desired temperature for an isothermal flow). The
flow is modelled with a rectilinear uniform grid for half the domain using symmetry in the y direction.

The problem parameters are:

• Mass flow = 3.962 x 10-2 [kg / s] for the full duct. The mass flow rate at the inlet of the half duct is
therefore 1.981 x 10-2 [kg / s].
• Density = 997.0 [kg / m3].
• Viscosity = 8.899 x 10-4 [kg / m s].
• Duct length = 2.00 m ( Lx ).
• Duct depth = 0.40 m ( L y ). Actual grid height is 0.20 m due to symmetry.
• Duct height = 0.30 m ( Lz ).
• Hydraulic diameter of the duct Dh , is 0.34286 m.
• Reynolds number based on the hydraulic diameter is 127.2.

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

Features
This tutorial demonstrates how to:
• Import a grid (from CFX-TASCgrid)
• Specify Boundary Conditions
• Solve the Problem
• Do some post-processing of the results

Setup
First, create a new directory in your file space called cfxtutorial. Make sure that the path to this directory
does not contain any space characters. Spaces in a directory name or path will cause an error message in CFX.
Make this new directory your current directory (i.e., “cd” to that directory).

The grid for this tutorial has been pre-generated. It was created in software called CFX-TASCgrid, which was
part of the CFX-TASCflow set of programs. For the purposes of this tutorial, the completed grid will be
imported to CFX. The completed grid is in a file called rct.grd that can be copied to your current directory
using:

cp –p ~engsjo/pub/mech-4820/cfxtutorial/rct.grd ./

Assumptions about Running CFX

These instructions assume that:
1. The user has modified (customised) his/her Unix account as indicated by the course instructor.
2. Is connected to a Sparc-based (not x86 or Opteron) Solaris server or workstation using vncviewer.
Examples of these machines are: antares.cc.umanitoba.ca, deneb.cc.umanitoba.ca, and
mira.cc.umanitoba.ca.

Under these assumptions, the account customisation has created two synonyms for running the pre-processor
(cfx5pre) and the post-processor (cfx5post) in a vncviewer environment. These two commands are:
• vnc-cfxpre (which is equivalent to cfx5pre –gr mesa& )
• vnc-cfxpost (which is equivalent to cfx5post –gr mesa& )
These two commands automatically add the “-gr mesa” options required to obtain correct graphical images
when using vncviewer. When using vncviewer, starting CFX-Pre from the launcher and starting CFX-Post from
the launcher or when leaving the solver will not produce the correct graphical environment (the images will not
appear correctly in the window on the right hand side of the screen). For any other methods of connection and
running CFX, please contact the course instructor for further instructions.

Defining the Simulation in CFX-Pre

To begin using CFX-Pre, start the program by typing

vnc-cfxpre

1. Creating a New Simulation

Select File > New Simulation
Simulation Type default is General
Set File name to rct_lam and click Save
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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

2. Importing the Mesh

Select File > Import Mesh
Mesh Format: Select CFX-TASCflow
File: Enter (or browse for) rct.grd
Click OK

3. Domain Specification
Select Create > Flow Objects > Domain
Name: enter duct
Click OK

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

Under General Options tab:

Basic Settings:
Fluid list: select Water
Leave all other values as the defaults.

Under Fluid Models tab:

Turbulence Model:
Option: select None (Laminar)
Leave all other values as the defaults.

Under Initialisation tab:

Click Domain Initialisation box
Click Initial Conditions box
Click Ok

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

4. Defining the Inlet Boundary Condition

Select Create > Flow Objects > Boundary Condition
Name: enter inlet
Domain: duct
Click OK

Under Basic Settings tab:

Boundary Type: select Inlet
Location: select RCT W

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

Under Boundary Details tab:

Flow Regime:
Option: Subsonic
Mass and Momentum:
Option: select Mass Flow Rate
Click on space beside Mass Flow Rate and enter: 0.01981
Flow Direction:
Option: Normal to Boundary Condition
Click Ok

5. Defining the Outlet Boundary Condition

Select Create > Flow Objects > Boundary Condition
Name: enter outlet
Domain: duct
Click OK

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10
Under Basic Settings tab:
Boundary Type: select Outlet
Location: select RCT E

Under Boundary Details tab:

Flow Regime:
Option: Subsonic
Mass and Momentum:
Option: Average Static Pressure
Click on space beside Relative Pressure and enter: 0.0
Pressure Averaging:
Option: Average Over Whole Outlet
Click Ok

6. Defining the Symmetry Plane Boundary Condition

Select Create > Flow Objects > Boundary Condition
Name: enter symmetry
Domain: duct
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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10
Click OK

Under Basic Settings tab:

Boundary Type: select Symmetry
Location: select RCT S
Click Ok

7. Defining the Walls Boundary Condition

Select Create > Flow Objects > Boundary Condition
Name: enter walls
Domain: duct
Click OK

Under Basic Settings tab:

Boundary Type: select Wall
Location: click on the icon. In the Selection Dialog window, click on RCT B, then, while holding
down the Ctrl key, click on RCT N and RCT T. Click OK.

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

Under Boundary Details tab:

Wall Influence on Flow: No Slip
Click Ok

The overall image of the domain should now appear as (with a bit of zoom using the middle mouse button):

8. Setting the Solver Controls

Select Create > Flow Objects > Solver Control
Under Basic Settings tab:
Advection Scheme:
Option: High Resolution
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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10
Convergence Control:
Timescale Control: select Physical Timescale
Physical Timescale: click in the box and enter 6000
Leave all other values as the defaults.
Click Ok

9. Writing the Solver Definition File

Select File > Write Solver File
File name: <path>/rct_lam.def
Operation: select Write Solver File
Click OK

10. Saving the Simulation

Select File > Save Simulation

11. Ending the CFX-Pre Session

Select File > Quit

Obtaining a Solution Using the CFX-Solver

To start the solver, at the command line, type:

cfx5solve &
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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

1. Defining the Run

Select File > Define Run
Under Run Definition tab:
Definition File: browse for and select rct_lam.def
Type of Run: Full
Run Mode: Serial
Click Start Run

The calculation should proceed with text information in one window and the residuals of the equations in a
second window. In this case there should be a print-out of 12 outer loop iterations and then some summary
information, followed by a CFX-5 Solver Finished Normally window. Click OK in this window.

This solver run created the textual record of the run: rct_lam_001.out and the results file that can be post-
processed: rct_lam_001.res.

2. Ending the Solver Session

Select File > Quit
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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

Viewing the Results using CFX-Post

As simple examples of post-processing, this tutorial illustrates how to create a graph of a velocity profile at the
duct exit and a velocity vector plot on the plane of symmetry. There are many other features available in CFX-
Post. For more details on these features, consult the course instructor and teaching assistants, as well as the on-
line CFX-Post help.

To begin using CFX-Post type:

% vnc-cfxpost

1. Loading the Results File

Select File > Load Results
In the file browser window, click on rct_lam_001.res and then click Open.

2. Creating a Line at the Exit Plane

Select Create > Location > Line
Name: enter Exit Line
Click OK

Under Geometry tab:

Domains: All Domains
Definition:
Method: Two Points
Point 1: enter 2, 0, 0
Point 2: enter 2, 0, 0.3
Line Type: click on circle for Cut
Click on Apply

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

A yellow line will appear at the end of the duct image in the 3D viewer. After zooming, it should appear like:

3. Creating a Graph (Chart) of a Velocity Profile at the Exit

Select Create > Chart
Name: enter U Velocity versus z
Click Ok
Under Chart Line 1 tab:
Type: Regular
Line Name: click in box and enter U Exit Profile
Location: select Exit Line
X Axis:
Variable: select Z
Click on circle for Hybrid
Y Axis:
Variable: select Velocity u
Click on circle for Hybrid
Click on Apply

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

You should see the chart shown below in the right window (Chart Viewer).

The data used in this chart can also be exported to a spreadsheet program by using the export feature.
To do this:
Click Export
File name: enter u_exit_profile.csv
File Type: Comma Separated Values (*.csv)
Click on Save

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10
The file created, when loaded into Excel (and formatted with more decimals for column A and scientific
notation for column B), looks like:

These data can also be exported in a text file format for plotting with gnuplot or other plotting software.

4. Creating a Velocity Vector Plot

Click on the 3D Viewer tab below the window on the right.
Select Create > Vector
Name: enter Symm Plane Vectors
Click OK
Under Geometry tab:
Domains: All Domains
Definition:
Locations: select symmetry
Variable: select Velocity
Click on circle for Hybrid
Leave all other values as the defaults.
Click on Apply

The vector plot below should appear in the 3D Viewer window. The domain was zoomed in for the image.

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ANSYS CFX Tutorial Laminar Flow in a Rectangular Duct V2.10

3. Ending the CFX-Post Session

Select File > Quit
Click on Save & Quit

File name: enter rct_lam

File type: CFX-Post State (*.cst)
Click on Save

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