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Tutorial: Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT's Volume of Fluid Model
Tutorial: Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT's Volume of Fluid Model
Fluid Model
Purpose
This tutorial examines the dam-break problem using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) multiphase
model.
This tutorial demonstrates how to do the following:
• Choose the time step by estimating the maximum possible velocity of the interface
and the grid cell dimension.
Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the FLUENT interface and that you have
a good understanding of basic setup and solution procedures. In this tutorial, you will use
VOF multiphase model, so you should have some experience with it. This tutorial will not
cover the mechanics of using this model; instead, it will focus on the application of this
model to solve a dam-break problem.
If you have not used this model before, it would be helpful to first refer to the FLUENT 6.3
User’s Guide and the FLUENT 6.2 Tutorial Guide.
Problem Description
The initial setup of the dam-break problem is shown in Figure 1.
In this problem, a rectangular column of water, in hydrostatic equilibrium, is confined
between two walls. Gravity is acting downwards with a magnitude of -9.81 m/s2 . At the
beginning of the calculation, the right wall is removed and the water is allowed to flow out
to the horizontal wall.
c Fluent Inc. November 6, 2006 1
Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
1.00e+00
9.50e-01
9.00e-01
8.50e-01
8.00e-01
7.50e-01
7.00e-01
6.50e-01
6.00e-01
5.50e-01
5.00e-01
4.50e-01
4.00e-01
3.50e-01
3.00e-01
2.50e-01
2.00e-01
1.50e-01
1.00e-01
5.00e-02
0.00e+00
Preparation
2
c Fluent Inc. November 6, 2006
Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
Step 1: Grid
Grid
FLUENT 6.3 (2d, pbns, lam)
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Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
Step 2: Models
Step 3: Materials
The default properties of water and air are the correct values for this problem. You can
check them in the Materials panel.
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Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
1. Enable Gravity.
3. Enable Specified Operating Density and retain the default value for Operating Density.
Step 6: Solution
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Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
6. Calculate the time step by estimating the maximum possible velocity of the interface
and the grid cell dimension.
4t
Courant = vf luid
4xcell
ρ 2
ρgh = v
2 f luid
p
vf luid = 2gh ≈ 10m/s
8. Save the initial case and data files, (dambreak.cas.gz and dambreak.dat.gz).
10. After FLUENT completes the specified number of iterations, run the calculation further
successively specifying 30, 30, and 20 (a total of 80) for Number of Time Steps.
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c Fluent Inc. November 6, 2006
Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
11. Save the case and data files after each set of iterations.
This will help in viewing the progress of the VOF simulation.
Step 7: Postprocessing
The velocity vectors and contours of velocity for the VOF model are displayed for four time
step values. The following figures (Figure 3 to Figure 9) show the progression of the solution
as the number of time steps is increased.
2. Display filled contours of volume fraction of water-liquid after 20 time steps (Figure 4).
(a) Select Phases... and Volume Fraction from the Contours Of drop-down lists.
(b) Select water-liquid from the Phase drop-down list and click Display.
3. Similarly, display the contours of volume fraction and velocity vectors after 50, 80,
and 100 time steps (Figure 5 to Figure 10).
c Fluent Inc. November 6, 2006 7
Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
4.26e+00
4.05e+00
3.84e+00
3.62e+00
3.41e+00
3.20e+00
2.99e+00
2.77e+00
2.56e+00
2.35e+00
2.14e+00
1.92e+00
1.71e+00
1.50e+00
1.29e+00
1.08e+00
8.63e-01
6.51e-01
4.39e-01
2.26e-01
1.41e-02
1.00e+00
9.50e-01
9.00e-01
8.50e-01
8.00e-01
7.50e-01
7.00e-01
6.50e-01
6.00e-01
5.50e-01
5.00e-01
4.50e-01
4.00e-01
3.50e-01
3.00e-01
2.50e-01
2.00e-01
1.50e-01
1.00e-01
5.00e-02
0.00e+00
8
c Fluent Inc. November 6, 2006
Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
7.33e+00
6.97e+00
6.60e+00
6.24e+00
5.87e+00
5.51e+00
5.14e+00
4.78e+00
4.41e+00
4.05e+00
3.68e+00
3.32e+00
2.95e+00
2.58e+00
2.22e+00
1.85e+00
1.49e+00
1.12e+00
7.58e-01
3.93e-01
2.78e-02
1.00e+00
9.50e-01
9.00e-01
8.50e-01
8.00e-01
7.50e-01
7.00e-01
6.50e-01
6.00e-01
5.50e-01
5.00e-01
4.50e-01
4.00e-01
3.50e-01
3.00e-01
2.50e-01
2.00e-01
1.50e-01
1.00e-01
5.00e-02
0.00e+00
c Fluent Inc. November 6, 2006 9
Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
9.01e+00
8.56e+00
8.11e+00
7.66e+00
7.21e+00
6.76e+00
6.31e+00
5.86e+00
5.41e+00
4.96e+00
4.51e+00
4.06e+00
3.61e+00
3.16e+00
2.71e+00
2.26e+00
1.80e+00
1.35e+00
9.04e-01
4.53e-01
2.46e-03
1.00e+00
9.50e-01
9.00e-01
8.50e-01
8.00e-01
7.50e-01
7.00e-01
6.50e-01
6.00e-01
5.50e-01
5.00e-01
4.50e-01
4.00e-01
3.50e-01
3.00e-01
2.50e-01
2.00e-01
1.50e-01
1.00e-01
5.00e-02
0.00e+00
10
c Fluent Inc. November 6, 2006
Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
9.35e+00
8.88e+00
8.41e+00
7.94e+00
7.48e+00
7.01e+00
6.54e+00
6.08e+00
5.61e+00
5.14e+00
4.68e+00
4.21e+00
3.74e+00
3.28e+00
2.81e+00
2.34e+00
1.88e+00
1.41e+00
9.41e-01
4.75e-01
7.71e-03
Figure 9: Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude after 100 Time Steps
1.00e+00
9.50e-01
9.00e-01
8.50e-01
8.00e-01
7.50e-01
7.00e-01
6.50e-01
6.00e-01
5.50e-01
5.00e-01
4.50e-01
4.00e-01
3.50e-01
3.00e-01
2.50e-01
2.00e-01
1.50e-01
1.00e-01
5.00e-02
0.00e+00
Figure 10: Contours of Water Volume Fraction after 100 Time Steps
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Dam-Break Simulation Using FLUENT’s Volume of Fluid Model
Summary
In this tutorial, a dam-break problem was solved using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) model
in FLUENT.
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c Fluent Inc. November 6, 2006