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Altair AcuSolve 2019.1 Tutorial Manual
Altair AcuSolve 2019.1 Tutorial Manual
Tutorials
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Some tutorials can be completed with a choice of pre-processor. Therefore, three sets of tutorials are
provided here: one for AcuConsole, one for HyperMesh, and one for HyperWorks CFD X.
AcuSolve Tutorials
Introduction to AcuSolve Tutorials p.viii
Objectives
The objectives of the AcuSolve tutorials are to:
• Present the basic AcuSolve workflow.
• Introduce the capabilities of AcuSolve to new users.
• Provide guidance for the use of AcuSolve with industrial applications.
Prerequisites
No experience with AcuSolve is needed prior to running through the tutorials included in this guide.
It is expected that you have some exposure to basic principles of engineering and computer-aided
engineering.
For AcuConsole tutorials, it is strongly recommended that you complete ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow
in a Mixing Elbow prior to running any of the other tutorials. This tutorial walks you through the basic
simulation workflow and the use of AcuConsole.
For HyperMesh based tutorials, the introductory tutorial ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction
provides the instructions for setting up CFD simulations in HyperMesh starting from geometry import
through post-processing. The subsequent tutorials do not have the steps related to geometry import
and mesh generation. For these tutorials, you will be provided with the model HyperMesh database (.hm
file), which has the meshed geometry. The tutorials then provide instructions related to CFD set up and
post-processing.
For the HyperWorks CFD X based tutorials, it is strongly recommended that you go through the
introductory tutorial ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction before proceeding to the other tutorials.
This tutorial includes the steps to import the geometry model, define surface mesh controls and
boundary layer parameters, etc., which are not included in the subsequent tutorials. For these
remaining tutorials, you will be provided a HyperMesh database (.hm file) which has the pre-defined
mesh controls. Instructions related to post-processing have been included in all the tutorials.
Basic Workflow
AcuConsole Based Tutorials
The basic workflow for AcuConsole based tutorials consists of the following tasks:
1. Analyze the problem and identify the important attributes that need to be provided to AcuSolve.
2. Start AcuConsole and create the simulation database.
3. Set general simulation attributes.
4. Set solution strategy attributes.
5. Set material model attributes.
6. Import the geometry for the simulation.
7. Apply attributes to volumes.
8. Create surfaces, such as inlet, outlet, and wall, and apply boundary conditions.
9. Set global meshing attributes.
10. Set user-defined zones for mesh refinements to areas not linked to a particular surface.
11. Set surface meshing attributes.
12. Generate the mesh.
13. Run AcuSolve to calculate the solution.
14. Post-process results with AcuProbe (to visualize data related to the progress of the calculations)
and/or with AcuFieldView to visualize simulation data with contours, vectors, streamlines, and the
like.
While all steps needed to complete these tutorials are explicitly mentioned, default values, initial
conditions, and discussions of other turbulence models are intentionally left out of the tutorials.
For tutorials that illustrate more complicated problems, such as those involving transient physics or
mesh motion, details of additional tasks are provided in the tutorial.
Supporting Files
Supporting files are provided for completing the tutorials. These files are located in a compressed
.zip archive located in the <hwcfdsolvers installation directory>\acusolve\win64 (or
linux64)\model_files\tutorials\AcuSolve directory.
Copy the following zip files to a local directory and expand their contents.
You will need to know these locations in order to load files for any given tutorial.
A mini flow chart is used to indicate menu selections that lead to a specific command or dialog box, for
example,
Open View > Defined Views and set the view to +Z.
This indicates that the View menu is clicked, then the Defined Views menu item is selected, and that
the button labeled +Z is clicked when the dialog opens.
A mini flow chart is also used to indicate items in the Data Tree to be expanded, for example,
Expand the Model > Surfaces > Small Inlet tree item.
This indicates that first the Model tree item is expanded, then the Surfaces item underneath it is
expanded, and finally, the Small Inlet item under Surfaces is expanded.
2 Turbulence.................................................................................................................... 89
14
3.6 ACU-T: 3300 Modeling of a Heat Exchanger Component................................................513
3.6.1 HyperMesh....................................................................................................513
3.7 ACU-T: 3400 AcuSolve-Flux Integration...................................................................... 523
3.7.1 AcuConsole................................................................................................... 523
4 Multiphase................................................................................................................... 557
15
5.10 ACU-T: 5400 Piezoelectric Flow Energy Harvester: A Fluid-Structure
Interaction (P-FSI)....................................................................................................... 1066
5.10.1 AcuConsole............................................................................................... 1066
5.11 ACU-T: 5401 Piezoelectric Flow Energy Harvester - PFSI & IMM.................................. 1110
5.11.1 AcuConsole............................................................................................... 1110
5.12 ACU-T: 5402 Piezoelectric Flow Energy Harvester with Rigid Body Rotation................... 1154
5.12.1 AcuConsole............................................................................................... 1154
5.13 ACU-T: 5403 Piezoelectric Flow Energy Harvester: A Fluid-Structure Interaction............ 1177
5.13.1 AcuConsole............................................................................................... 1177
6 AcuTrace.....................................................................................................................1212
7 Porous Medium.........................................................................................................1231
8 Optimization.............................................................................................................. 1244
10 Appendix A..............................................................................................................1356
16
Index............................................................................................................................... 1370
17
User Interface Introduction 1
1 User Interface Introduction
HyperWorks CFD X
1.1.1 HyperMesh
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation
making use of the HyperWorks package. HyperWorks is a comprehensive suite of various Computer-
Aided Engineering (CAE) products, each specialized in a certain aspect of the CAE process. These
include HyperMesh as a generic, powerful geometric modeling and pre-processing tool, and HyperView
as a post-processing and visualization tool. Bridging these two applications is a complete range of
solvers for a gamut of engineering applications. Among these solvers is AcuSolve, which is Altair’s
offering for fluid flow and thermal analysis simulations.
HyperMesh’s inbuilt geometric modeling and finite element meshing capabilities will allow you to
create the geometry for your problem and generate excellent quality meshes in a single tool. Meshes
generated in HyperMesh can be exported in the format that AcuSolve will recognize. Moreover,
HyperMesh’s integration with AcuSolve also allows you to complete the pre-processing steps in
HyperMesh itself, including the problem setup. Once you have completed setting up your simulation in
HyperMesh, you can directly generate the AcuSolve input files. You can also choose to directly launch
AcuSolve from within HyperMesh. This integration is expected to be especially beneficial for you if you
happen to be a traditional user of HyperMesh for your modeling and meshing requirements.
The HyperWorks package has a powerful tool for post-processing and visualizing the results of your CFD
simulations, called HyperView. HyperView enables you to visualize data interactively as well as capture
and standardize your post-processing activities using process automation features. HyperView combines
advanced animation and XY plotting features with window synching to enhance results visualization.
HyperView also saves 3D animation results in Altair's compact H3D format so you can visualize and
share CAE results within a 3D web environment using HyperView Player. HyperView has a rich feature
set that you might find beneficial to your post-processing activities and are useful to explore. HyperView
has inbuilt direct-reading capabilities for AcuSolve results and does not require any conversion steps.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to use HyperMesh for importing a geometric model and generating
a mesh. You will then set up and launch the simulation from within HyperMesh. Following that, you will
learn how to use HyperView for post-processing AcuSolve results.
Prerequisites
To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve. This tutorial
introduces you to HyperMesh and HyperView so no prior experience is expected.
The file manifold.x_t stores the geometry information for the fluid portion of the model for this
problem in Parasolid ASCII format.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in HyperMesh is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
The system being simulated here is a manifold pipe, analogous to an inlet manifold in an engine. An
inlet manifold distributes the incoming flow to multiple outputs. As can be seen in the image below,
the pipe has a single inlet and multiple outlets, thus distributing a fraction of the flow among each
outlet. Ideally in an inlet manifold used in an engine, the manifold design is such that it ensures near-
equal distribution of flow among all the outlets. However, the geometry being used here is purely a
demonstration case and not an optimized manifold geometry.
Introduction to HyperMesh
HyperMesh is a generic tool offering a combination of geometric modeling and pre-processing
capabilities.
HyperMesh supports a number of commonly used solvers used in simulating various engineering
applications, providing direct interfaces to most of them. This offers you flexibility to use HyperMesh as
a single tool for most, if not all, of your modeling and pre-processing activities.
AcuSolve is among the solvers that are closely integrated with HyperMesh. In order to simplify the
interfaces associated with each solver, HyperMesh uses user profiles to automatically manage the
templates for a given solver. Each user profile has an associated pre-defined set of menus, options
and toolbars visible. User profiles ensure that the solver setup is in accordance with the options and
requirements of the solver associated with the profile in which it is generated. It is advised that you
make sure you are using the correct user profile when setting up a model. Also, it is recommended that
the active user profile is not to be changed while the current HyperMesh database is populated.
In this tutorial, you will be working in a user profile associated with AcuSolve. Once you begin the
tutorial you will change the active user profile to the AcuSolve user profile. HyperMesh remembers the
last active user profile when it is restarted. If the last HyperMesh user on your machine was working in
the AcuSolve user profile when you launch HyperMesh it will start with the AcuSolve user profile.
A HyperMesh session loaded with the AcuSolve user profile looks like the image below.
1. Menu bar: Located at the top of the window, just under the title bar. Like the pull-down menus in
many applications, these menus drop-down a list of options when clicked.
2. Toolbars: Located around the modeling window. These have icons that provide quick access to
commonly-used functions, such as changing display options. They can be dragged and placed as
per the user preference.
Below are some of the commonly used toolbars.
Provides the options for creating, opening or saving the database, import/export options and
changing user profiles.
On the Checks toolbar, you can access various checks and calculations tools that are commonly
used in the model building process.
The CFD toolbar has options for creating, deleting and organizing entities, accessing meshing
panels and launching AcuConsole or AcuSolve.
On the Display toolbar, you can control what entities HyperMesh displays, primarily by masking
entities to hide or display. This toolbar is usually located along the left edge of the modeling
window.
Options available on the Visualization toolbar control how HyperMesh visualizes entities in the
modeling window.
3. Tab area: The two areas marked 3 and 4 in the image make up the tab area. The tab area is
so named because various specialized tools display on tabs in this area of the interface. One of
these tabs is the Model tab, which you will be using most frequently. Model tab will also be the tab
active by default when you start an HyperMesh session. The top half of the tab area, marked 3 in
image 2, is the browser area. Depending on the selected tab, you will be able to see the various
options or entities which belong to the active HyperMesh database. For example, when the Model
tab is selected, the Model Browser will display the entities present in the model, each of which
carry some information about the model. This information may be related to the geometrical
components that make up the model, the material information, the load information, and so on.
The model structure is viewed as a flat, listed tree structure within the browser.
4. Tab area: The bottom half, marked 4 in the image 2, is the Entity Editor. In the Entity Editor you
will be able to view and edit the information associated with the different entities available in the
browser. Clicking on an entity in the browser area will display the entity related information in this
area.
5. Main Menu: The main menu displays the available functions. You access these functions by clicking
on the button corresponding to the function you want to use. Clicking on the button will open the
panel associated with the function in the menu area.
6. Modeling Window: The modeling window is the display area for your model. You can interact with
the model in three-dimensional space in real time. In addition to viewing the model, entities can
be selected interactively from the modeling window.
7. Status bar: The status bar is located at the bottom of the screen. The four fields on the right side
of the status bar display the current include file, current part, current component collector and
current load collector. As you work in HyperMesh, any warning or error messages also display in
the status bar, on the left side.
Introduction to HyperView
HyperView is a generic post-processing and visualization environment for finite element analysis (FEA),
CFD, multi-body system simulation, digital video and engineering data.
HyperView offers direct-reading capabilities for AcuSolve generated results. AcuSolve results can be
directly opened in HyperView. HyperView also has process automation features, which can enable you
to expedite and standardize your post-processing activities.
Figure 8: HyperView
1. Menu bar: Located at the top of the window, just under the title bar. Like the pull-down menus in
many applications, these menus drop-down a list of options when clicked.
2. Toolbars: Located around the modeling window. These have icons that provide quick access to
commonly-used functions, such as changing display options. They can be dragged and placed as
per the user preference. Below are some of the commonly used toolbars.
Provides the options for creating or opening a model, saving an HyperView session and import/
export options.
On the Results toolbar you can access various options related to displaying the results, for
example, contours, vectors and streamlines.
The Display toolbar provides you with quick access to the Mask panel, Section Cut panel and
Display Controls.
The Visibility Controls toolbar provides you quick access to the visibility controls of the entities in
the Results Browser.
The Image Capture toolbar provides you quick access to the image and video capturing
capabilities.
3. Tab area: The two areas marked 3 and 4 in the image make up the tab area. The tab area is
so named because various specialized tools display on tabs in this area of the interface. In
HyperView, one of these tabs is the Results tab, which you will be using most frequently. Results
tab will also be the tab active by default when you start an HyperView session. The top half of the
tab area, marked 3 in image 3, is the browser area. Depending on the selected tab, here you will
be able to see the various options or entities which are part of the active HyperView model, in a
listed tree structure similar to HyperMesh.
4. Tab area: The bottom half, marked 4 in the image 3, is the Entity Editor. In the Entity Editor you
will be able to see and edit the information associated with the different entities available in the
browser. Clicking on an entity in the browser area will display the entity related information in the
Entity Editor.
5. Panel area: The panel area displays the function panel associated with the active function
selection. You can access these functions by clicking on the icon on a toolbar corresponding to the
function you want to use. Clicking on the icon will open the panel associated with the function in
the panel area. When you launch HyperView, you will see the Load Model panel in this region.
Figure 14:
6. Modeling window: The modeling window is the display area for your model. You can interact with
the model in three-dimensional space in real time. In addition to viewing the model, entities can
be selected interactively from the modeling window.
7. Status bar: The status bar is located at the bottom of the screen. As you work in HyperView, any
warning or error messages also display in the status bar, on the left side.
1. Start HyperMesh from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > HyperMesh.
A User Profiles dialog opens.
Note: If it does not show up for you, click Preferences on the menu bar and select
User Profiles.
Figure 15:
Traditional HyperMesh users will be able to tell the difference between the default HyperMesh
profile and the CFD (AcuSolve) profile. There will be an additional CFD toolbar visible. Also, the
Model Browser will be populated with some entities relevant to a CFD simulation setup.
Figure 16:
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. When you are setting
up the problem, there will be a file with extension hm in this directory, which corresponds to an
HyperMesh model database. Once the mesh and solution are generated, additional files and
directories will be added by HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
7. Create a new directory in this location. Name it ACU1000_HyperWorks and navigate into this
directory.
8. Enter ACU1000_HyperWorks as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your
preference.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
HyperMesh, the database path and name should not include spaces.
Tip: Alternatively, click the arrow next to the Import Solver Deck icon on the
standard toolbar and select Import Geometry.
Note: In general, if you are not sure about the geometry file type, leave the File type
option as Auto Detect.
Figure 17:
3.
Click .
Note: If you see anything in the list of import files, clear the list before this step by
clicking .
4. In the Select Parasolid file dialog, select manifold.x_t and click Open.
5. Make sure that the selected file is in the list of import files and click Import.
6. Click Close.
7.
Click on the Visualization toolbar to display the surfaces.
Figure 18:
Figure 19:
The Mesh Controls Browser lets you access all of the different meshing technologies in the single
browser. As you can see in the image above there are options to generate the surface mesh, volume
mesh, refinement zones, and so on. Within these options there are associated model, local, feature, and
refinement controls available. The model controls apply to the entire model. The local controls apply to
a specific entity in the model, such as surfaces and elements.
You will start by creating a surface mesh control followed by a volume mesh control with active
boundary layers. You will then add a volume mesh local control for the surfaces that do not require a
boundary layer.
1. Right-click on Surface Mesh in the Mesh Controls Browser. From the context menu that appears,
select Create > Model > Size and Bias > Surfaces.
2. Optional: In the Entity Editor, set the entity name to Surface_Mesh_Control.
3. Set the Element Size to 0.003.
4. Set the Element Type to Trias.
5. Under the Entity Selection group, click in the field next to Entities then click the Surfaces
collector.
Figure 20:
Figure 21:
9. In the Mesh Controls Browser, right-click on Surface Mesh and select Mesh.
Surface mesh is generated on the model.
Figure 22:
1. From the menu bar, select BCs > Components > CFD.
Figure 23:
4. Close the dialog and go to the Model Browser and expand the list of components. Right-click on
Part 1 and select Rename.
5. Type Wall as the new component name and press Enter.
6. Open the Organize panel by doing one of the following:
a) Click organize in the panel area.
Figure 24:
Figure 25:
8. In the panel area, click the elems collector and select the by face option.
All the elements on the inlet surface are selected in the modeling window.
9. Click dest component = and select Inflow.
10. Click move.
All the inlet surface mesh elements are colored in the Inflow component color.
11. Similarly, select a mesh element on each of the Outflow surfaces then click on the elems collector
and select the by face option. Verify that all the surface elements on the three outlet surfaces are
now highlighted then set the dest component = to Outflow and click move.
The model should now look similar to the figure below.
Figure 26:
1. Go to the MeshControls tab and right-click on Volume Mesh. From the context menu that
appears, select Create > Model > BL + Tetra.
Selecting BL + Tetra will show options for the boundary layer specification in addition to tetra
volume meshing options.
2. In the Entity Editor, set the entity name to Volume_Mesh_Control.
3. Under the Entity Selection group, click in the value field next to Entities then click the
Components collector.
Figure 27:
Figure 28:
You can click the icon in the dialog to quickly select all of the components.
5. Click OK to close the dialog.
6. Expand the Boundary Layer group and set the boundary layer parameters as follows:
a) Change the Method to Advanced
b) Set First Layer Thickness to 0.0005
c) Select Acceleration as the BL Growth Rate Method.
d) Set Initial Growth Rate to 1.3
e) Set the Number of Layers to 5
f) Change Hexa Transition Mode to All Prism
Figure 29:
When generating boundary layer meshes in HyperMesh, it is recommended to use All Prism
as the boundary layer meshing mode for superior element quality. The prism elements
can later be split into tetrahedral elements, which is the recommended element type for
AcuSolve.
This completes the boundary layer mesh control. You will now add a local control for surfaces
that do not require a boundary layer.
7. Right-click on Volume Mesh in the Mesh Controls Browser. From the context menu that appears,
select Create > Local > No BL.
8. Optional: In the Entity Editor, set the entity name tono_BL_control.
9. Under the Entity Selection group, click in the value field next to Entities then click the
Components collector.
Figure 30:
Figure 31:
11. Expand the Boundary Layer group and set Base Surface Mesh Treatment to Float.
Figure 32:
12. Finally, add a volume selector control to put the boundary layer and the core tetra mesh in the
same component.
a) Right-click on Volume Mesh in the Mesh Controls Browser. From the context menu that
appears, select Create > Volume Selector.
b) In the Entity Editor, activate the check box for BL and Tetras in One Component.
Figure 33:
Figure 34:
When you set up the mesh controls, at least one active model control should be present before you
generate the mesh. You can create multiple model controls, but only one model control can be active at
a time. Surface and volume mesh however have different mesh controls.
Local controls are optional. You can create multiple local mesh controls, however only the ones which
are selected at the time of mesh generation will be applied.
1. In the Mesh Controls Browser, make sure that both the Model and Local volume mesh controls are
enabled.
2. Right-click on Volume Mesh and click Mesh.
The generated volume mesh is placed in a single collector called CFD_tetcore001 under the list
of components. This collector will be visible in the Model Browser. Once the meshing is complete,
observe the mesh using the visualization controls.
Figure 35:
You can turn off the surface display to view the mesh more clearly. On the Visualization toolbar,
click the icon to display the geometry as wire frame. This will turn off the surface display. To
turn on the surface display, click the icon. Zoom in to observe the boundary layer generated.
Figure 36:
3. In the Model Browser rename the collector CFD_tetcore001 to Fluid. In the Entity Editor, change
the Type to FLUID.
This collector will hold all of the 3D volume elements.
The mesh generated has prismatic elements in the boundary layer. These elements will be split to
create tetrahedral elements.
4. Click Mesh > Edit > Elements > Split Elements.
The Split Elements panel opens.
5. Select the solid elements sub-panel.
6. Click the elems collector and select all.
7. Change the split pattern to split into tetras.
This is the optimized mode for splitting elements into tetras for a CFD simulation.
8. Click split.
Observe the mesh after the splitting process is complete.
Figure 37:
The Solver Browser lists every entity mapped to the active solver profile within the session and
places those entities into their respective entity group folders.
Figure 38:
Figure 39:
1. In the Solver Browser, expand the 02.SOLVER_SETTINGS group then click SOLVER_SETTINGS
to open it in the Entity Editor.
2. Verify that the Convergence tolerance is set to 0.001.
3. Change the Relaxation factor to 0.4.
Figure 40:
Figure 41:
There is one volume collector in this model, fluid. In the next steps you will set the material properties
for it.
1. In the Solver Browser, expand 11.Volumes then expand the FLUID volume group and click
Fluid.
The fluid collector entity opens in the Entity Editor.
2. Click in the value field for Material (it is Unspecified by default).
3. Click Material.
The Select Material dialog opens.
4. Select Water_HM and click OK.
Figure 42:
1. In the Solver Browser, expand 12.Surfaces then expand the WALL surface group. Click Wall to
open it in the Entity Editor. Verify that the Type is set to WALL.
Figure 43:
2. Expand the OUTFLOW surface group then click Outflow to open it in the Entity Editor. Verify that
the Type is set to OUTFLOW.
Figure 44:
3. Expand the INFLOW surface group then click Inflow to open it in the Entity Editor. Verify that
the Type is set to INFLOW. Set Inflow type to Average velocity. Set the Average velocity to 2
m/sec.
Figure 45:
Run AcuSolve
In this step, you will launch AcuSolve directly from HyperMesh and compute the solution.
1. In the Model Browser, ensure that the visibility of the mesh for all collectors to be exported to
AcuSolve is activated. In this case, Fluid, Wall, Inflow and Outflow should be activated.
Figure 46:
The display of the mesh icon beside the component name indicates that the visibility of mesh for
that component is on. The display of the mesh of a component can be turned on/off by clicking on
that icon.
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
Figure 47:
For this case, the default settings will be used. You may choose to change the number of
processors to allow AcuSolve to run using more processors (4 or 8), if available. HyperMesh will
generate the required solver input files and launch AcuSolve. AcuSolve will calculate the steady
state solution for this problem.
3. Verify that Auto run AcuProbe is On.
This will open an AcuProbe dialog which will let you monitor the solution progress.
4. Click Launch to start the solution process.
As the solution progresses, an AcuTail and an AcuProbe dialog will open. Solution progress is
reported in the AcuTail dialog. An AcuSolve Control dialog will also open from which you can
control the solution process. In this dialog you have options to stop the solution or generate the
output files at the end of the current time step.
Figure 48:
A summary of the run printed in the AcuTail dialog indicates that AcuSolve has finished running
the solution.
Figure 49:
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 50:
The plot above shows the residuals of the equations as the solution progresses through each time
step. You can see the residuals dropping smoothly. Once the pressure and velocity residual ratios
reach a value less than the specified convergence tolerance (0.001), the solution is considered to
be converged. By default, the eddy viscosity convergence tolerance is set to a magnitude of one
order higher than the specified convergence tolerance (0.01).
3. You can also save the plots as an image.
a) From the AcuProbe dialog, click File > Save.
b) Enter a name for the image and click Save.
4. The time series data of the variables can also be exported as a text file for further post-
processing.
a) Right-click on the variable that you want to export and click Export.
b) Enter a File name and choose .txt for the Save as type.
c) Click Save.
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
1. In the Load model and results panel, click next to load model.
2. In the Load Model File dialog, navigate to your working directory and select the AcuSolve .Log
file for the solution run that you want to post-process. In this example, the file to be selected is
ACU1000_HyperWorks.1.Log.
3. Click Open.
4. Click Apply in the panel area to load the model and results.
The model is colored by geometry after loading.
Figure 51:
4. In the panel area, under the Display tab, turn off the Discrete color option.
Figure 52:
5. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
The pressure contour should be displayed as shown in the figure below.
Figure 53:
the Save Image to File/Clipboard icon to instead of . Then paste the image in your
presentation.
Figure 54:
Figure 55:
Figure 56:
Figure 57:
Figure 58:
Figure 59:
Figure 60:
8. Click Apply.
9. Click the Display tab and set the options as shown in the figure below.
Figure 61:
10. Click the Section tab and activate the Projected and Evenly distributed check boxes.
11. Set the Number of rows and columns to 20 and 50 respectively then click Apply.
Figure 62:
Figure 63:
Display Streamlines
1. In the Results Browser, expand the Section Cuts folder.
2. Click the icon next to Section 1 to turn off its display.
3. In the Results Browser, turn off the display for all components except Inflow and Outflow.
4.
Click the icon on the Results toolbar to open the Streamlines panel.
5. Click Add to add a new set of streamlines.
6. Set the Rake type to Line, if not already selected.
7.
Click the icon.
The Reference point dialog opens.
8. Enter the reference points as shown in the figure below.
Figure 64:
9. In the panel area, set the Integration mode to Downstream and the Number of seeds to 20.
10. Make sure that the Source is set to Velocity.
11. Click Create Streamlines.
12. Enter the Streamline Size as 3 and press Enter .
Figure 65:
Figure 66:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to carry out a CFD simulation and post-processed
the results using HyperWorks products, namely HyperMesh and HyperView. You started by importing
and meshing the model in HyperMesh. You also set up the model and launchedAcuSolve directly from
within HyperMesh. Upon completion of the solution by AcuSolve, you used HyperView to post-process
the results. You learned how to create contours on the boundary surfaces and the section cuts, velocity
vectors, and streamlines.
Prerequisites
To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperWorks CFD X and AcuSolve.
The system being simulated here is a manifold pipe, analogous to an inlet manifold in an engine. An
inlet manifold distributes the incoming flow to multiple outputs. As can be seen in the image below,
the pipe has a single inlet and multiple outlets, thus distributing a fraction of the flow among each
outlet. Ideally in an inlet manifold used in an engine, the manifold design is such that it ensures near-
equal distribution of flow among all the outlets. However, the geometry being used here is purely a
demonstration case and not an optimized manifold geometry.
Figure 68:
The tools and entities displayed in the HyperWorks CFD X graphical user interface can be divided into
six general categories as shown in the figure above.
1. Menu bar
2. Ribbons
3. Modeling window
4. Entity filter
5. View Controls toolbar
6. Part Browser
1. The menu bar (1) contains the drop-down menus for File input-output, Edit and View
operations.
2. Ribbons (2) contain various functionalities and tools available in HW-CFD. Navigate between
various ribbons by clicking the ribbon buttons to the right of the menu bar. After selecting a
ribbon, the corresponding tool icons are displayed on the screen. The functionalities of various
ribbons and corresponding tools are briefly explained in this section.
Geometry ribbon
The geometry section consists of tools for creating, editing, and validating the geometry.
The geometry ribbon has three sub-sections, the tools available under the Create sub-
section can be used to create geometric entities like points, lines, surfaces etc.
Figure 69:
The tools required for performing operations like boolean, stitching surfaces, etc. are
available under the Edit sub-section.
Figure 70:
When a geometry file is imported, the Validate tool can be used to detect any defects
present in the CAD model like intersections, free edges, duplicates, sliver surfaces etc. The
tools available under the Create and Edit sub-sections can be used to resolve these defects.
This process is usually known as CAD cleanup.
Figure 71:
Flow ribbon
The flow ribbon contains tools for setting up simulation parameters, solver settings, and
reference properties such as material properties, heat sources, porous media, etc. The
Setup sub-section is where you set up the equation, solver settings and create material
models, multiplier functions, and parameters.
Figure 72:
The Domain sub-section contains tools for assigning reference properties to volumes such as
materials, heat sources, reference frames, etc.
Figure 73:
Surface boundary conditions such as inlets, outlets, far fields, etc. can be assigned using the
tools under the Boundaries sub-section. By default, all the surfaces are assigned a boundary
condition of type ‘auto_wall’ and are placed under Default wall. Please refer to the AcuSolve
Surface Processing manual for more information about auto_wall. As you assign boundary
conditions to the surfaces, they are moved into the respective group.
Figure 74:
Radiation ribbon
The Radiation ribbon is the where you apply the radiation and solar radiation parameters
and create emissivity models.
Figure 75:
Motion ribbon
Mesh boundary conditions and mesh motion related parameters can be defined using the
tools available under the Motion ribbon. Parameters such as mesh motion type and mesh
displacement constraints can be defined here.
Figure 76:
Mesh ribbon
Meshing parameters such as surface mesh controls, boundary layer parameters, volume
mesh parameters, and zone meshing parameters can be defined here. This ribbon also has
tools for local remeshing. Once all the mesh controls are defined, you can generate the
mesh using the Batch tool.
Figure 77:
Solution ribbon
The Solution ribbon is used to set up monitors for any individual surface output and volume
set output. The Field tool under Outputs is used to set the nodal output frequency for
the entire model. The Global tool under Initialization sets the nodal initial conditions for
variables like pressure, velocity, and variables specific to each turbulence model.
Figure 78:
Once the complete set up is done, the Run tool is used to launch AcuSolve. Once the
AcuSolve run parameters are set, the simulation can be started and you can monitor the
status of the run using the run manager.
3. The modeling window (3) is where the model is displayed. The model display can be
manipulated using the view controls shown in the table below. Clicking on the model will highlight
the entity being selected and right-clicking on an entity will give the user additional options for
the operations that can be done based on the context. Some of the functions available using right-
click are Show, Hide, Isolate, Select, Advanced select, Create groups, etc.
Button Operation
4. The entity filter (4) enables you to control what entities can be selected using the left-mouse
button. The filter can be set to any of the entities shown in the figure below. When a command is
active, the selection filter is automatically set to the entity (entities) which are appropriate for that
command.
Figure 79:
5. The visualization of the model can be controlled using the tools available in View Controls
toolbar (5). The display of mesh, model display mode (e.g. Topology, part, assembly, etc.),
section cuts, standard views etc., can be controlled using these tools.
6. The Part Browser (6) is where all the entities in the model are listed in a tree structure. Some
common functions that can be performed in the part browser are show, hide, isolate, destroy solid
topology, delete empty parts etc.
This tutorial uses Altair HyperView for post-processing the results. For detailed information about
the user interface of HyperView, please refer to the HyperMesh introductory tutorial, Introduction to
HyperView.
Figure 80:
3. In the Save File As dialog, navigate to the directory where you would like to save the database.
This will be your problem directory and all the files related to the simulation will be stored in this
location.
4. Enter a name for the database (eg. Manifold)) then click Save.
Figure 81:
4. Once the geometry is loaded, rotate and observe the features of the model.
The view of the model displayed in the modeling window can be controlled using the following
view controls.
Figure 82:
Figure 83:
The Validate tool scans through the entire model and lists out the defects in the geometry such as
free edges, closed shells, intersections, duplicates and sliver surfaces.
The current model doesn’t have any of the issues mentioned above. Alternatively, if any issues are
found, they are indicated by the number in the brackets adjacent to the tool name.
Observe that a blue check mark appears on the top-left corner of the Validate icon. This indicates
that the tool found no issues with the geometry model.
Figure 84:
2. Press Esc or right-click in the modeling window and select Exit from the context-menu to exit the
tool.
3. Save the database.
Figure 85:
Figure 86:
Figure 87:
6. Click the Solver controls setting and verify that the parameters are set as shown in the figure
below.
Figure 88:
Figure 89:
Figure 90:
3. Click the drop-down menu and select Water from the list of materials.
4. On the guide bar, click to execute the command.
The changes made in the tool are not effective until they are executed by clicking the icon.
Once the command is executed, the color of the geometry changes to indicate the material
assigned to the volume. In this case, there is only one volume in the geometry so there is a single
color. Alternatively, if there are multiple volumes with different materials assigned, the model will
be displayed accordingly with distinct colors for each material assigned.
Figure 91:
1. From the Flow ribbon, Domain tools, click the Profiled tool.
Figure 92:
Figure 93:
Observe that a new group named "Inlet" is created under the Boundaries list in the top-left corner
of the modeling window. Once the current command is executed, the highlighted surface will be
moved into the Inlet group.
3. In the dialog that appears, enter a value of 2.0 m/sec for Average velocity.
Figure 94:
Note: The color assigned to the surfaces is random. Therefore, the color of the
surfaces shown in the images below might be different than what you see on your
screen.
Figure 95:
5. From the Flow ribbon, Domain tools, click the Outlet tool.
Figure 96:
Figure 97:
7. Leave the default options in the dialog unchanged then click on the guide bar to execute the
command.
The color of the outlet surfaces change and the list of boundaries on the left are updated. The
number of surfaces under each group are shown in the brackets.
Figure 98:
Note:
• To update the color of any group, click on the colored-square on the left of the
group name and select the color of your choice from the palette.
• To update the name of any group, right-click on the group name and select
Rename from the context menu.
Figure 99:
Figure 100:
All the surfaces in the model are highlighted and a dialog for surface mesh parameters appears.
3. Enter 0.003 for the Average element size.
Figure 101:
4. Leave the default values for the remaining parameters unchanged then click on the guide bar to
execute the command.
Figure 102:
2. Right-click in the modeling window and go to Select > Advanced Select > By Boundaries >
Default Wall.
Figure 103:
All the wall surfaces are highlighted and a dialog for boundary layer parameters appears.
3. Enter the values in the dialog as shown in the figure below.
Figure 104:
Figure 105:
Figure 106:
3. Click Mesh.
Once the meshing process has started, the Run Status dialog appears. To view the status of the
meshing process, right-click on the process row and select View log file.
Once the meshing is done, the run status is updated accordingly, and you are automatically
moved to the Solution ribbon.
Figure 107:
Figure 108:
2. In the Global Initial Conditions dialog, click Momentum and turn off Automatic
initialization. Enter a value of 2.0 for x-velocity.
Figure 109:
3. Click Turbulence and turn off Automatic initialization. Enter a value of 1e-5 for Eddy viscosity.
Figure 110:
Run AcuSolve
1. From the Solution ribbon, Simulation tools, click the Run tool.
Figure 111:
2. In the Launch AcuSolve dialog, verify that the Problem directory and AcuRun path are pointing
to the correct location.
3. Set the Parallel processing option to Intel MPI.
4. Optional: Set the number of processors to 4 or 8 based on availability.
5. Leave the remaining options as default as click Run to launch AcuSolve.
Figure 112:
The Run Status dialog opens again and the AcuSolve run appears on the list.
6. Right-click on the AcuSolve run and select View log file.
A summary of the run printed in the dialog indicates that AcuSolve has finished running the
simulation. Once the solution is converged, the Status will be updated accordingly.
Figure 113:
7. In the Run Status dialog, right-click on AcuSolve and select Plot time history from the context
menu.
8. In the Plot Utility dialog, double-click on the Residual Ratio row to open the plot of residual
ratios.
Figure 114:
The above plot shows the residuals of the equations as the solution progresses through each time
step. You can see the residuals dropping smoothly. Once the pressure and velocity residual ratios
reach a value less than the specified convergence tolerance (0.001), the solution is considered to
be converged. By default, the eddy viscosity convergence tolerance is set to a magnitude of one
order higher than the specified convergence tolerance (0.01).
Open HyperView
Start HyperView from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > HyperView.
Figure 115:
4. In the panel area, under the Display tab, turn off the Discrete color option.
Figure 116:
5. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
The pressure contour should be displayed as shown in the figure below.
Figure 117:
the Save Image to File/Clipboard icon to instead of . Then paste the image in your
presentation.
Figure 118:
Figure 119:
Figure 120:
Figure 121:
Figure 122:
Figure 123:
Figure 124:
8. Click Apply.
9. Click the Display tab and set the options as shown in the figure below.
Figure 125:
10. Click the Section tab and activate the Projected and Evenly distributed check boxes.
11. Set the Number of rows and columns to 20 and 50 respectively then click Apply.
Figure 126:
Figure 127:
Display Streamlines
1. In the Results Browser, expand the Section Cuts folder.
2. Click the icon next to Section 1 to turn off its display.
3. In the Results Browser, turn off the display for all components except Inlet and Outlet.
Figure 128:
4.
Click the icon on the Results toolbar to open the Streamlines panel.
5. Click Add to add a new set of streamlines.
6. Set the Rake type to Line, if not already selected.
7.
Click the icon.
The Reference point dialog opens.
8. Enter the reference points as shown in the figure below.
Figure 129:
9. In the panel area, set the Integration mode to Downstream and the Number of seeds to 20.
10. Make sure that the Source is set to Velocity.
11. Click Create Streamlines.
12. Enter the Streamline Size as 3 and press Enter .
Figure 130:
Figure 131:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to carry out a CFD simulation and post-
processed the results using HyperWorks products, namely HyperWorks CFD X and HyperView. You
started by importing and meshing the model in HyperWorks CFD X. You also set up the model and
launchedAcuSolve directly from within HyperWorks CFD X. Upon completion of the solution by AcuSolve,
you used HyperView to post-process the results. You learned how to create contours on the boundary
surfaces and the section cuts, velocity vectors, and streamlines.
HyperMesh
HyperWorks CFD X
2.1.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving, and viewing results of a simulation of 3D
turbulent flow in a mixing elbow. It is designed to introduce you to the AcuSolve tool set with a simple
problem.
Prerequisites
In order to run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve. As this is the
first tutorial in the introductory tutorial sequence, no prior experience with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, or
AcuFieldView is expected.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 132. This is a typical
industrial example for mixing in a pipe by injecting high-velocity fluid from a small inlet into relatively
low-velocity fluid in the main pipe. It consists of a 90° mixing elbow with water entering through two
inlets with different velocities. The geometry is symmetric about the XY midplane of the pipe, as shown
in the figure. This symmetry allows the flow to be modeled with the use of a symmetry plane. The use
of a symmetry plane leads to reduced computation time while still providing an accurate solution.
Details of the problem characteristics are shown in the following images extracted from a sample
worksheet that was created prior to setting up the case for AcuSolve.
The diameter of the large inlet is 0.1 m, and the inlet velocity (v) is 0.4 m/s. The diameter of the small
inlet is 0.025 m, and the inlet velocity is 1.2 m/s.
Figure 133:
The fluid in this problem is water, with the following properties that do not change with temperature; a
3 -3
density (ρ) of 1000 kg/m , a molecular viscosity (μ) of 1 X 10 kg/m-sec, a conductivity (k) of 0.598
W/m-K, and a specific heat (cp) of 4183 J/kg-K, as shown in the worksheet.
Figure 134:
Based on mass conservation, the combined flow rate (Q) yields a velocity of 0.475 m/s downstream of
the small inlet. This value is useful in determining the Reynolds number, which in turn can be used to
determine if the flow should be modeled as turbulent, or if it should be modeled as laminar.
Figure 135:
In order to determine whether the modeled flow would be turbulent or whether it would be laminar, the
Reynolds number (Re) should be calculated. The Reynolds number is given by:
where ρ is the fluid density, V is the fluid velocity, D is the diameter of the flow region, and μ is the
molecular viscosity of the fluid. When the Reynolds number is above 4,000, it is generally accepted that
flow should be modeled as turbulent.
The Reynolds numbers of 40,000 at the large inlet, 30,000 at the small inlet, and 47,500 for the
combined flow indicate that the flow is turbulent throughout the flow domain.
Figure 136:
Figure 137:
In addition to setting appropriate conditions to capture the physics of the simulation, it is important
to generate a mesh that is sufficiently refined to provide good results. In this tutorial the global mesh
size is set to provide at least 30 mesh elements around the circumference of the large inlet. For this
problem, the global mesh size is 0.0106 m. This mesh size was chosen to provide a quick turnaround
time for the model. For real-world simulations, you would modify your mesh settings after an initial
solution until a mesh-independent solution is reached (that is, a solution that does not change with
further mesh refinement).
Figure 138:
AcuSolve allows for mesh refinements in a user-defined region that is independent of geometric
components of the problem such as volumes, model surfaces, or edges. It is useful to refine the mesh
in areas where gradients in pressure, velocity, eddy viscosity, and the like are steep.
Figure 139:
Once a solution is calculated, results of interest are the steady state velocity contours on the symmetry
plane, velocity vectors on the symmetry plane, and pressure contours on the symmetry plane.
Start AcuConsole
AcuConsole is the workspace that is used for building simulations and running them with AcuSolve.
Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
Start AcuConsole on Linux by entering AcuConsole in a terminal window that has the AcuSolve
environment configured. Please refer to the HyperWorks Installation Guide for instructions on
configuring AcuSolve on Linux.
• menu bar
• Toolbar
• Data Tree
• Data Tree Manager
• View Manager toolbar
• modeling window
• Detail panels
• Information window
When AcuConsole is first opened, the Data Tree, detail panel, modeling window and Information window
are empty. The following figure from a partially defined case is used to illustrate the parts of the
workspace.
View
Data Tree Manager
Manager Toolbar
Data Tree
Graphics
Window
Detail
Panel
Information
Window
Figure 140:
The items in the Data Tree are separated into two main areas, Global and Model. The Global tree item
contains geometry independent settings that apply to the AcuSolve simulation, such as the physics to
be modeled, the solution strategy, material properties and geometry independent mesh controls. The
Model branch in the Data Tree contains settings that apply to specific portions of the geometry of the
model, such as boundary conditions, material used for a volume region and meshing attributes that
apply to a specific component of the model geometry.
In this tutorial, you will begin by creating a database, populating the geometry-independent settings,
loading the geometry, creating groups, setting group attributes, adding geometry components to groups
and assigning mesh controls and boundary conditions to the groups. Next you will generate a mesh
and run AcuSolve to converge on a steady state solution. Finally, you will visualize the results using
AcuFieldView.
Tip: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
2. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
3. Create a new folder named Mixing_Elbow and open this folder.
4. Enter Mixing_Elbow as the File name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
The physical models that you define for this tutorial correspond to steady state, turbulent flow. You will
also provide some general information about the AcuSolve case, such as a title and subtitle.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 141:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 142:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 143:
Note: The detail panel can be resized by dragging the right frame of the panel.
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Enter 0.4 for the Relaxation factor.
The relaxation factor is used to improve convergence of the solution. Typically a value between
0.2 and 0.4 provides a good balance between achieving a smooth progression of the solution and
the extra compute time needed to reach convergence. Higher relaxation factors cause AcuSolve
to take more time steps to reach a steady state solution. A high relaxation factor is sometimes
necessary in order to achieve convergence for very complex applications.
Figure 144:
In the next steps you will verify that the pre-defined material properties of water match the desired
properties for this problem.
Figure 145:
Figure 146:
2. Double-click Water in the Data Tree to open the Water detail panel.
The Material type for water is Fluid.
3
3. Click the Density tab. Verify that the density of water is 1000.0 kg/m .
4. Click the Specific Heat tab. Verify that the specific heat of water is 4183.0 J/kg-K.
5. Click the Viscosity tab. Verify that the viscosity of water is 0.001 kg/m-sec.
6. Click the Conductivity tab. Verify that the conductivity of water is 0.598 W/m-K.
Figure 147:
7. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 148:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
At this point, your modeling window should look similar to what is shown in Figure 149.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your
screen may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are
randomly assigned to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on
Windows. If you are running this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight
difference between the images displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
rotate left
zoom right
Note: You will only see half of the pipe when you manipulate the view. As this
geometry is symmetric around the midplane only half of the geometry needs to
be modeled, which reduces computation time.
Figure 150:
Note: You can also fit the model to the window by clicking on the View
Manager toolbar.
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
In the next steps you will rename the default volume group, toggle the display, and assign the material
for the volume as water.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Figure 151:
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until
you press Enter on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from the
item without entering it, your changes will be lost.
5. Set the material model used for the fluid in the simulation.
a) Expand the Mixing Elbow tree item.
Note: By default, when an item in the Data Tree is specified, the corresponding
geometric elements are highlighted in the modeling window.
Figure 152:
For the next set of steps, it is useful to turn off the display of Elbow Volume by clicking so that
it is in the off ( ) state.
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate attributes for each group in the
problem, and add surfaces to the groups.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the large inlet, set the inlet velocity, and add the
main inlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 153:
Figure 154:
Figure 155:
Note: You can also use the middle mouse button to complete the addition of
geometry components to a group.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the small inlet, assign the appropriate attributes,
and add the small inlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 156:
Figure 157:
Note: If you need to zoom in or out, Ctrl+right-click and drag the cursor down or
up. You can also restore the initial view by clicking .
Figure 158:
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the pipe walls, assign the appropriate attributes,
and add the elbow pipe walls from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 159:
b) Click on the pipe near the large inlet, the pipe near the elbow, and the pipe near the outlet to
select the three surfaces that make up the main pipe wall.
Figure 160:
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the side pipe wall, assign the appropriate
attributes, and add the side pipe wall from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 161:
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the outlet, assign the appropriate attributes and
add the outlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 162:
This geometry is symmetric about the XY midplane, and can therefore be modeled with half of the
geometry. In order to take advantage of this, the midplane needs to be identified as a symmetry plane.
The symmetry boundary condition enforces constraints such that the flow field from one side of the
plane is a mirror image of that on the other side.
In the next steps you will rename the default surface and apply appropriate settings.
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group. In the previous steps, you selected geometry surfaces to be placed in the groups that
you created. At this point, all that is left in the default surface group is the symmetry plane. Rather than
create a new container, add the symmetry surface in the geometry to it, and then delete the default
surface container, you will rename the existing container.
3. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition under Symmetry to open the Simple Boundary
Condition detail panel.
4. Change the Type to Symmetry.
Figure 163:
AcuConsole supports three levels of meshing control, global, zone and geometric.
• Global mesh controls apply to the whole model without being tied to any geometric component of
the model.
• Zone mesh controls apply to a defined region of the model, but are not associated with a particular
geometric component.
• Geometric mesh controls are applied to a specific geometric component. These controls can be
applied to volume groups, surface groups, or edge groups.
In the next steps you will set global meshing parameters. In subsequent steps you will create zone and
surface meshing parameters.
Figure 164:
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Expand the Global Data Tree item.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.0106 m for the Absolute mesh size.
This absolute mesh size is chosen to ensure that there are at least 30 mesh elements around the
circumference of the main pipe.
6. Turn off the Curvature refinement parameters option.
Figure 165:
In the next steps you will define mesh controls for a region around the small pipe and extending into
the main pipe by using a zone mesh control. The region of interest for this refinement is a cylinder that
encloses the small pipe and extends into the main pipe.
Figure 166:
Figure 167:
Note: When setting mesh size for refinement zones, the best practice is to choose a
1 1 1
value that is the global mesh size divided by a power of two, that is, /2, /4, /8, and
the like.
Figure 168:
Figure 169:
In the next steps you will set parameters that control the mesh size normal to the large pipe wall
(boundary layer mesh controls).
1. Expand the Model > Surfaces > Large Pipe tree item.
2. Click the check box next to Surface Mesh Attributes to enable the settings and open the Surface
Mesh Attributes detail panel.
3. Change the Mesh size type to None.
This option indicates that the mesher will use the global meshing parameters when creating the
mesh on the surface of the pipe walls.
4. Turn on the Boundary layer flag option.
This option allows you to define how the meshing should be handled in the direction normal to the
walls.
5. Set the Resolve option to Total Layer Height.
Mesh elements for a boundary layer are grown in the normal direction from a surface to allow
effective resolution of the steep gradients near no-slip walls. The layers can be specified using a
number of different options. In this tutorial you will specify the height of the first layer, a stretch
ratio for successive layers (growth rate), and the total number of layers to generate. AcuConsole
will resolve the total layer height from the attributes that you provide. That is, total layer height
will be computed based on the height of the first element, the growth rate, and the number of
layers that you provide in the next few steps.
6. Keep the default value, 0.001 m, for First element height.
7. Enter 1.3 for the Growth rate.
8. Enter 4 for the Number of layers.
Figure 170:
In the following steps you will set meshing parameters that will allow for localized control of the mesh
size near the walls of the small pipe.
Note: You will set the same attributes as for the large pipe.
2. Click the check box next to Surface Mesh Attributes to enable the settings and open the Surface
Mesh Attributes detail panel.
3. Change the Mesh size type to None.
4. Turn on the Boundary layer flag option.
5. Set the Resolve option to Total Layer Height.
6. Enter 1.3 for the Growth rate.
7. Enter 4 for the Number of layers.
Figure 171:
Figure 172:
Figure 173: Mesh Details Around the Pipe Intersection Viewed on the Symmetry Plane
Note that the mesh size in the main pipe decreases from left to right in the transition from a
region where global settings determine the size to the zone around the small pipe where the
settings are for a finer mesh.
5. Save the database to create a backup of your settings.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
Figure 174:
Based on these settings, AcuConsole will generate the AcuSolve input files, then launch the solver.
AcuSolve will run on four processors to calculate the steady state solution for this problem.
2. Click Ok to start the solution process.
While computing the solution, an AcuTail window opens. Solution progress is reported in this
window. A summary of the solution process indicates that the run has been completed.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 175:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
In the next steps you will start AcuFieldView, manipulate the view of the model, display velocity
contours and vectors on the symmetry plane, and display pressure contours on the symmetry plane.
Start AcuFieldView
1. Click on the AcuConsole toolbar to open the Launch AcuFieldView dialog.
2. Click Ok to start AcuFieldView.
When AcuFieldView is started from AcuConsole, the main window and the Boundary Surface
dialog are displayed. The main window is comprised of six components as shown in Figure 176.
• menu bar
• Main toolbar
• Transform Controls toolbar
• Viewer toolbar
• modeling window
• Side toolbar
When you start AcuFieldView from AcuConsole, the results from the last time step of the solution
that were written to disk will be loaded for post-processing.
Viewer
Toolbar
Graphics
Side
window
Toolbar
When AcuFieldView is started directly from AcuConsole, the model will be displayed in an isometric view
with a Boundary Surface dialog open. The initial view is shown in perspective, with an outline around
the model. You will manipulate the view in the next steps, and in later steps will view different flow
characteristics using the Boundary Surface dialog.
Figure 177:
Figure 178:
Figure 179:
2.
Turn off the display of the outline around the model by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Change the view from perspective to orthographic.
a) Click on the View menu.
b) Click Perspective to disable this option.
Figure 180:
Figure 181:
rotate middle
zoom right
In the next steps you will create a boundary surface to display contours of velocity magnitude on the
symmetry plane.
1.
Click to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
Note: The dialog may already be open. This step will put the focus on the dialog.
Note: You may need to scroll down in the list to find velocity_magnitude.
c) Click Calculate.
4. Set the symmetry plane as the location for display of the contours.
a) Click OSF: Symmetry in the list of BOUNDARY TYPES.
b) Click OK.
Figure 182:
The contours reflect the velocity profiles at the inlets, and show that at the elbow there is a
momentum transfer between the high-velocity side inlet flow and the flow in the main pipe,
represented by the change in the velocity magnitude.
5. Add a legend to the view.
a) In the Boundary Surface dialog, click the Legend tab .
b) Enable the Show Legend option.
c) Enable the Frame option.
d) In the Color group, next to Geometric, click the white color swatch, and then select the black
color swatch to set the color for the legend values to black.
e) Click the white color swatch next to the Title field and set the color for the title to black.
f) Move the legend by Shift+left-clicking and dragging the legend to the left.
Figure 183:
In the next steps you will create a new boundary surface and display velocity vectors on that surface.
Figure 184:
5. Zoom in on the junction of the small inlet with the main pipe to view details of velocity vectors.
a)
Click on the toolbar.
b) Draw a box around the junction of the two pipes.
Figure 185:
Note: The Show Legend option for the velocity contour (Surface ID 1) is disabled in
order to capture this image.
The velocity vectors indicate the direction of flow. Notice that the velocity vector length
corresponds with the velocity contours. The vectors in the high-velocity region (red) are longest,
and those in the low-velocity region (blue) are shortest.
In the next steps you will create a boundary surface and display contours of pressure on the symmetry
plane.
Note: Click on the Transform Controls toolbar to resize and center the view.
Figure 186:
7. Change the color mapping to better resolve differences in the pressure contours.
When the scalar function for pressure is calculated by AcuFieldView, minimum and maximum
values are calculated for use in a colormap for the contour display. You can edit the coloring to
better resolve differences in the pressure distribution.
a) Set the Surface ID in the Boundary Surface dialog to 3.
Note: You could also make this the current surface by double-clicking the surface
in the modeling window.
Figure 187:
Notice that the Min: value for the Function Range changes when the Local option is toggled.
Notice also that the contours, especially near junction of the small pipe and the inside of the
bend in the main pipe, change as the option is toggled.
8. Add a legend to the view.
a) Click the Legend tab in the Boundary Surface dialog.
b) If needed, change the Surface ID to 3.
c) Enable the Show Legend option.
d) Enable the Frame option.
e) Move the legend by Shift+left-clicking and dragging the legend to the left.
Figure 188:
Summary
In this tutorial you worked through a basic workflow to set up a simulation of flow through a mixing
elbow. Once the case was set up, you generated a mesh and computed a solution using AcuSolve.
Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView to allow you to create contour and vector views along the
symmetry plane of the model. In other tutorials, this basic workflow will be reinforced while additional
modeling capabilities are introduced.
2.1.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1. This is a typical
industrial example for mixing in a pipe by injecting high-velocity fluid from a small inlet into relatively
low-velocity fluid in the main pipe. It consists of a 90° mixing elbow with water entering through two
inlets with different velocities. The geometry is symmetric about the XY midplane of the pipe, as shown
in the figure
Figure 190:
Figure 191:
Figure 192:
Figure 193:
6. Click Wall. In the Entity Editor, verify that the Type is set to WALL.
Figure 194:
Figure 195:
Run AcuSolve
1. Turn on the visibility of all mesh components.
For the analysis to run, the mesh for all active components must be visible.
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
3. Optional: For a faster solution time, set the number of processors to a higher number (4 or 8)
based on availability.
4. The Output time steps can be set to All or Final. Since this is a steady state analysis, the Final
time step output is sufficient.
5. Leave the remaining options as default and click Launch to start the solution process.
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
Figure 196:
3. Orient the display to the xy-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
4. Click on the Results toolbar to open the Contour panel.
5. Under result type, verify that Velocity(v) and Mag are selected.
6. Click the Components entity collector and select Displayed.
7. Click Apply.
8. In the panel area, under the Display tab, turn off the Discrete color option.
Figure 197:
9. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
Figure 198:
10. Change the result type to Pressure(s) then click Apply to view the pressure contour on the
symmetry plane.
Figure 199:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a CFD model, carry out a CFD
simulation, and post-process the results using HyperWorks products, namely AcuSolve, HyperMesh,
and HyperView. You started by importing the model in HyperMesh. Then, you defined the simulation
parameters and launched AcuSolve directly from within HyperMesh. Upon completion of the solution by
AcuSolve, you used HyperView to post-process the results and create contour plots.
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperWorks CFD X and
AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1. This is a typical
industrial example for mixing in a pipe by injecting high-velocity fluid from a small inlet into relatively
low-velocity fluid in the main pipe. It consists of a 90° mixing elbow with water entering through two
inlets with different velocities. The geometry is symmetric about the XY midplane of the pipe, as shown
in the figure.
Figure 201:
6. Enter MixingElbow as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your preference.
7. Click Save to create the database.
Figure 202:
The Validate tool scans through the entire model and lists out the defects in the geometry such as
free edges, closed shells, intersections, duplicates and sliver surfaces.
The current model doesn’t have any of the issues mentioned above. Alternatively, if any issues are
found, they are indicated by the number in the brackets adjacent to the tool name.
Observe that a blue check mark appears on the top-left corner of the Validate icon. This indicates
that the tool found no issues with the geometry model.
Figure 203:
2. Press Esc or right-click in the modeling window and select Exit from the context-menu to exit the
tool.
3. Save the database.
Figure 204:
Figure 205:
Figure 206:
6. Click the Solver controls setting and verify that the parameters are set as shown in the figure
below.
Figure 207:
Figure 208:
Figure 209:
3. In the dialog that appears, click the drop-down menu next to Material and select Water.
4. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.
Figure 210:
Figure 211:
3. In the dialog that appears, enter a value of 0.4 for Average velocity.
Figure 212:
Note: The number of inlets created appears in parenthesis on the top-right of the
Profiled tool icon.
Figure 213:
2. In the dialog that appears, enter a value of 1.2 for Average velocity.
Figure 214:
Figure 215:
Figure 216:
3. In the dialog that appears, make sure both Static pressure and Pressure loss factor are 0.
Figure 217:
4. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.
1. From the Flow ribbon, Domain tools, click the Symmetry tool.
Figure 218:
Figure 219:
Figure 220:
4. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.
5. Save the database.
Figure 221:
Note: If the model has not been validated, you are prompted to create the simulation
model before running the batch mesh.
Figure 222:
4. Click Mesh.
The Run Status dialog opens. Once the run is complete, the status is updated and you can close
the dialog.
Tip: Right-click on the mesh job and select View log file to view a summary of the
meshing process.
5. From the back side of the model, observe the refined mesh around the small inlet.
Figure 223:
Run AcuSolve
1. From the Solution ribbon, Simulation tools, click the Run tool.
Figure 224:
Figure 225:
The Run Status dialog opens. Once the run is complete, the status is updated and you can close
the dialog.
Tip: While AcuSolve is running, right-click on the AcuSolve job in the Run Status
dialog and select View Log File to monitor the AcuSolve solution process.
Open HyperView
Start HyperView from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > HyperView.
2. In the Load Model File dialog, navigate to your working directory and select the AcuSolve .Log
file for the solution run that you want to post-process. In this example, the file to be selected is
MixingElbow.1.Log.
3. Click Open.
4. Click Apply in the panel area to load the model and results.
The model is colored by geometry after loading.
Figure 226:
3. Orient the display to the xy-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
4. Click on the Results toolbar to open the Contour panel.
5. Under result type, verify that Velocity(v) and Mag are selected.
6. Click the Components entity collector and select Displayed.
7. Click Apply.
8. In the panel area, under the Display tab, turn off the Discrete color option.
Figure 227:
9. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
Figure 228:
10. Change the result type to Pressure(s) then click Apply to view the pressure contour on the
symmetry plane.
Figure 229:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a CFD model, carry out a CFD
simulation, and post-process the results using HyperWorks products, namely AcuSolve, HyperWorks
CFD X, and HyperView. You started by importing the model in HyperWorks CFD X. Then, you defined
the simulation parameters and launched AcuSolve directly from within HyperWorks CFD X. Upon
completion of the solution by AcuSolve, you used HyperView to post-process the results and create
contour plots.
AcuConsole
2.2.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up and using the SST and K-Omega turbulence models
in AcuSolve. The application that is investigated is the flow over a NACA0012 airfoil at an angle of
attack of 5 degrees. AcuSolve is used to extract the lift and drag forces on the airfoil. This tutorial
is designed to introduce you to the modeling concepts necessary to perform external aerodynamic
simulations using the SST and K-Omega turbulence models.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Use of the SST and/or K-Omega turbulence models
• Use of the farfield boundary condition type
• Use of the Variable Manager to store variables and expressions
• Entry of expressions into the panel area.
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in the figure below. It consists of
a cylindrical bounding region containing air that flows past a NACA0012 airfoil profile. The simulation
is performed as 2D by including only a single layer of extruded elements in the airfoil span direction.
The velocity vector at the far field boundary of the domain is specified to yield an angle of attack of
5 degrees and a Reynolds Number of 1.0e6. The airfoil chord is 1 meter, and standard air material
properties are used for the simulation.
Figure 230:
The diameter of the cylindrical bounding volume for the airfoil is set to 500 times the airfoil chord. This
large bounding volume is selected to ensure that the farfield boundaries are sufficiently far from the
airfoil to prevent any influence of blockage of the domain on the solution.
The initial simulation of this airfoil will be considered fully turbulent and use the SST turbulence model.
These simulation conditions correspond to a scenario where the boundary layer on the leading edge of
the airfoil is tripped with some type of roughness elements to produce a fully turbulent boundary layer
over the length of the airfoil.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, create the database for storage of AcuConsole settings and
set the location for saving mesh and solution information for AcuSolve.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new folder named TurbulentAirfoil_SST and open this folder.
5. Enter Turbulent_Airfoil_SST as the File name for the database.
Note: In order for other application to be able to read the files written by AcuConsole,
the database path and name should not include spaces.
The Variable Manager is a useful utility that allows you to define variables and expressions that can later
be referenced as inputs to the various settings used throughout the process of building your model.
When a model is constructed in terms of variables, it is very easy to update the entire model with a
simple change of a single parameter from the Variable Manager. This process will be illustrated in this
tutorial.
The AcuConsole expression syntax has two different types of entry methods. The first entry method is
known as immediate evaluation, and uses the = sign to perform assignments of values to a variable.
For example, consider an inlet boundary to a model with an area of 2 m and an average velocity of
2 m/s. If you want to create a variable called volumeFlowRate, you can enter the expression into the
Variable Manager as follows:
Name Expression
volumeFlowRate =2*2
When using the = syntax, the expression is immediately evaluated when you click out of the text entry
area and the equation used to compute that expression is not stored in the database. However, if
you wish to store the expression as a relationship, you can use the relational expression definition by
replacing the = with :=. In that case, AcuConsole stores the expression and evaluates it when needed.
This means that you can define expressions that are functions of other expressions and changes to one
will be propagated to all other dependent expressions. For example, if you want to redefine the inlet
flow rate using a relational expression, you can do that as follows:
Name Expression
inletArea 2.0
averageVelocity 2.0
volumeFlowRate :=inletArea*averageVelocity
Using this syntax, the formula for volumeFlowRate is stored in the database and will automatically
update whenever the inletArea or averageVelocity are updated. Any variables that are defined in the
Variable Manager can be referenced when specifying an integer or floating point value in the panels
area. The same expression syntax can be used.
Figure 231:
Once the expressions are entered, the Variable Manager should appear similar to what is shown
below:
Figure 232:
7. At this point all variables and expressions are defined and you can close the Variable Manager by
selecting Close.
The general attributes that you will set for this tutorial are for turbulent flow, and steady state time
analysis.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 233:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 234:
Figure 235:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Enter 0.4 for Relaxation factor.
This value is used to improve convergence of the solution. Typically a value between 0.2 and 0.4
provides a good balance between achieving a smooth progression of the solution and the extra
compute time needed to reach convergence. Higher relaxation factors cause AcuSolve to take
more time steps to reach a steady state solution. A high relaxation factor is sometimes necessary
in order to achieve convergence for very complex applications.
Figure 236:
Figure 237:
2. Double-click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air detail panel.
3. Click the Density tab and in the Density value field, enter :=rho.
This sets the value of density to be equal to the value entered in the Variable Manager.
4. Click the Viscosity tab and enter :=mu in the Viscosity field.
This sets the value of viscosity to be equal to the value entered in the Variable Manager.
Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the following
methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they are
made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to reload
the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit future
changes.
Figure 238:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click OK to close the dialog.
6. Rotate and zoom in the visualization to view the entire model.
Figure 239:
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your
screen may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are
randomly assigned to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on
Windows. If you are running this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight
difference between the images displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the default volume
container.
In the next steps you will rename the default group to Fluid, set the material for that group and add the
volume from the geometry to that volume group.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Figure 240:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate parameters for each group in
the problem and add surfaces to the groups.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the farfield boundary, set the inlet velocity and add
the corresponding surface from the geometry to this group.
Figure 241:
7. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition under Far Field to open the Simple Boundary
Condition detail panel.
8. Change the Type to Far Field.
When using the Far field boundary condition, you need to enter the vector direction of the flow
velocity. Based on this direction, AcuSolve determines whether each element face should be
acting as an inlet or an outlet. Using this direction vector, in conjunction with the outward facing
normal at each element, it applies the appropriate boundary conditions to the faces of the
model. For faces where the flow is entering the model, a nodal boundary condition for velocity
and turbulence variables is assigned. For faces where the flow is exiting the model, an element
boundary condition for pressure is assigned, that is, an outflow condition.
To facilitate ease in changing the angle of attack for this simulation, you will set the inlet velocity
vector at the far field boundary using the variables that were previously defined. Set the values
using the following inputs.
9. For X Velocity, enter :=xVelocity.
10. For Y Velocity, enter :=yVelocity.
When using the SST or k-omega turbulence models, you need to provide values for the Kinetic
energy and Eddy frequency at inflow/farfield boundaries. AcuConsole supports various options of
doing this. You can specify the values directly using turbulence input type = Direct, or you can
have AcuConsole compute the values based on an estimation of the Turbulence Intensity and
Length Scale, or based on an estimation of the Turbulence Intensity and Viscosity Ratio. Besides
these options, AcuConsole can also automatically set the values for turbulence inputs to simplify
this task for the user. This automatic selection of inputs is based on parameters like flow type, etc.
While using the automatic option to compute the values is convenient for generic cases, users are
advised to use the other available options if they have suitable input data available.
For this case, you will make use of the auto option to allow AcuConsole to calculate the kinetic
energy and eddy frequency values on the farfield boundary.
Figure 242:
You can see the value of Percent turbulence intensity is set to 0.5. This value is automatically
selected by AcuConsole based on parameters like the turbulence model selected, flow type, etc.
In the next steps you will define surface groups for slip and wall boundaries.
Figure 243:
Figure 244:
Figure 245:
Figure 246:
AcuConsole supports three levels of meshing control, global, zone and geometric.
• Global mesh controls apply to the whole model without being tied to any geometric component of
the model.
• Zone mesh controls apply to a defined region of the model, but are not associated with a particular
geometric component.
• Geometric mesh controls are applied to a specific geometric component. These controls can be
applied to volume groups, surface groups or edge groups.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Set Absolute mesh size to :=globalMeshSize.
6. Set the Curvature refinement parameters to Off.
7. Set the Mesh growth rate to 1.2.
When this option is set, the mesher will ensure that the mesh grows smoothly when transitioning
between different size. Note that the growth rate of 1.2 does not directly corresponds to a change
in length scale of adjacent elements of 1.2, but rather a gradual expansion. The mesh growth rate
can be adjusted between a value of 1 and 2. Values closer to 1.0 indicate a smoother transition,
whereas a value closer to 2.0 indicates a faster transition. A value of 1.0 disables this setting
and reverts to the default meshing behavior. It should be noted that this option can significantly
increase the time necessary to produce the mesh as well as the total number of nodes/elements
created by the mesher.
8. Set Maximum sweep angle to :=sweepAngle.
This setting instructs the mesher to use the sweepAngle parameter to define the maximum angle
between radial element lines when creating radial edge blends during the boundary layer meshing
process.
Figure 247:
For this simulation, the mesher will locally reduce the height of the boundary layer stack.
Figure 248:
the mesh size as a function of distance from the surface. This can be achieved by setting the
influence size factor. When this value is set, the local mesh size is linearly interpolated from the
size specified on the surface to the scaled value at the furthest extent of the refinement distance.
Note that the size used by the “region of influence” meshing is the absolute mesh size that is
defined in the surface mesh attributes parameter. It does not take into account any local variation
of the mesh size due to curvature refinement, and so on. Therefore, the current settings on the
airfoil surface are only used to drive the region of influence sizing. The desired element size on the
surface to resolve the shape of the airfoil will be controlled with edge meshing.
7. Set the Influence size factor to 1.0.
8. Set the Influence distance to :=chord*0.1.
9. Set Boundary layer flag to On.
10. Set the Boundary layer type to Full Control.
11. For the Resolve field, select Number of Layers.
With this setting, you will specify the first layer height of the boundary layer elements, the total
layer height and the growth rate. The total number of layers required to satisfy these settings will
be computed by AcuConsole.
12. For First element height, enter :=firstLayerHeight.
13. For Total layer height, enter :=totalLayerHeight.
14. For Growth rate, enter :=stretchRatio
15. Set the Boundary layer blends flag to On.
16. Set the Boundary layer element type to Tetrahedron.
17. For Maximum sweep angle, enter :=sweepAngle.
With these settings, the boundary layer mesher will create radial edge blends with a maximum
angle defined by the sweepAngle variable.
Figure 249:
Figure 250:
c) Select Done.
4. Activate Edge Mesh Attributes and then double-click on it.
5. Set the Mesh size type to Absolute Expression.
Figure 251:
6. Click on the Absolute mesh size expression button to open a text editor where you can write
an expression for the mesh size.
This expression will be evaluated by the mesher to determine the local mesh size that should be
used at each location on edges in the edge set.
7. Enter the following expression:
sizeMin = 0.0025
sizeMax = 0.1
xMin =(0.0)
xMax =(1.0)
xCenter =((xMin+xMax)/2.0)
dx = ((xMax-xMin)/2.0)
power = (ln(sizeMax/sizeMin))
expVal = sizeMin*exp(power*fac)
linVal = sizeMin+(sizeMax-sizeMin)*fac
value = expVal
This expression takes the min and max surface mesh size (sizeMin and sizeMax) along with the
location of the leading and trailing edge (xMin and xMax) and computes a logarithmic expansion
of the surface mesh size as a function of distance from the leading and trailing edges. The mesh
size at the leading and trailing edge corresponds to sizeMin and the size at the mid chord location
corresponds to sizeMax.
Figure 252:
8. Click Ok to close this text editor area and accept the expression.
Figure 253:
Figure 254:
Figure 255:
Figure 256:
8. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Click on the toolbar to open the AcuProbe dialog.
2. Clear the plot by right-clicking on Residual Ratio and selecting Plot None.
3. Expand Residual Ratio > All.
4. Right-click kinetic_energy and select Plot.
Figure 257:
Figure 258:
Start AcuFieldView
sqrt_eddy_per ( ). The sqrt_eddy_per variable is useful for visualizing the turbulent time scale
since the eddy_frequency variable has such a large range of values, it is often times easier to visualize
sqrt_eddy_per.
These steps are provided with the assumption that you are able to manipulate the view in AcuFieldView.
If you are unfamiliar with basic AcuFieldView operations, refer to Manipulate the Model View in
AcuFieldView.
1.
Click on the side toolbar to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
Note: The dialog may already be open. This step will put the focus on the dialog.
Note: You may have to scroll down to find sqrt_eddy_period. This is a new variable
and it represents one over the square root of omega. It has been added as it is a more
well bounded variable to plot, as compared to the eddy frequency.
Figure 259:
4. Zoom into the airfoil to view the sqrt_eddy_period around the airfoil.
Figure 260:
AcuSolve is shipped with a number of utility scripts to facilitate the pre and post-processing of a
problem solved using the solver. You will be introduced to two of these scripts, AcuLiftDrag and
AcuGetCpCf in this section, and their usage. These two scripts are focused on aerodynamic simulations
as the ones solved in this tutorial.
Run AcuLiftDrag
AcuLiftDrag is a utility script used to calculate the lift and drag coefficients for an airfoil. The following
options are required as input to run this script.
In the Analyze the Problem section, it was described that the simulation is performed as 2D by including
only a single layer of extruded elements in the airfoil span direction. When solving a problem in such a
way, the span of the airfoil should be set equal to the thickness of the domain in the extrusion direction.
When solving a 3D problem, the actual span of the airfoil should be used.
To execute the AcuLiftDrag script for this position, follow the steps below:
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
HyperWorks <version> > AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt.
2. Change the directory to the present problem directory using the 'cd' command.
3. Enter the following command at the prompt:
The output of the command should look like the image below:
Figure 261:
The value C_l corresponds to the lift coefficient, and C_d corresponds to the drag coefficient. The
final keyword refers to the respective coefficient values at the last time step of the simulation. The
rest of the values provide the basic statistics for these coefficients over all the time steps of the
simulation. These statistics are more meaningful if the simulation is transient.
The script also creates the file Turbulent_Airfoil_SST.liftDrag.dat in the problem directory.
The file contains the lift and drag data for all the available time steps in a determined tabular
arrangement. The first column is the time step, the second column is the lift coefficient, and the
third column is the drag coefficient.
Run AcuGetCpCf
AcuGetCpCf is another utility script used to calculate the pressure coefficient (Cp) for the airfoil. The
following options are required as input to run this script.
To execute the AcuGetCpCf script for this problem, follow the steps below:
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
HyperWorks <version> > AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt.
2. Change the directory to the present problem directory using the 'cd' command.
3. Enter the following command at the prompt:
The output of the command should look like the image below:
Figure 262:
The script prints the minimum and maximum values for the pressure coefficient. It also creates a
file, cp.1.dat, in the problem directory. The file contains the pressure coefficient data along the
chord of the airfoil. The first column is the x-coordinate along the chord, and the second column is
the pressure coefficient. You can use an external plotting utility to the plot the data. The resulting
plot is shown below.
Figure 263:
new settings. You can simply write the input again and run the solver to obtain a different angle of
attack solution.
AcuConsole
2.3.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a steady simulation
of transition flow over a S809 airfoil using the SA transition models. AcuSolve is used to compute the
intermittency and predict the point where the boundary layer transitions from the laminar mode to
turbulence mode. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to the modeling concepts necessary to
perform simulations using the transition models coupled with the SA Turbulence model.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow and
the steps to set up external turbulent flow are shown in ACU-T: 2100 Turbulent Flow Over an Airfoil
Using the SST Turbulence Model. The following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this
tutorial:
• Use of the Gamma transition model
• Use of the Gamma-ReTheta transition model
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
An important step in any CFD simulation is to examine the engineering problem and determine the
important parameters that need to be provided to AcuSolve. Parameters can be based on geometrical
components (such as volumes, inlets, outlets, or walls) and on flow conditions (such as fluid properties,
velocity, or whether the flow should be modeled as turbulent or as laminar).
The diameter of the cylindrical bounding volume for the airfoil is set to 500 times the airfoil chord. This
large bounding volume is selected to ensure that the farfield boundaries are sufficiently far from the
airfoil to prevent any influence of blockage of the domain on the solution.
The simulation will be carried out by activating the turbulence transition models. The underlying
turbulence model used will be the one-equation Spalart-Allmaras model. The problem will be solved
with the transition models available in AcuSolve – the one-equation Gamma and the two-equation
Gamma-ReTheta transition models. As the name suggests, the transition models predict the point
where the boundary layer transitions from the laminar mode to turbulence mode. When in the
turbulence regime, the underlying turbulence model, SA in this case, will be used to determine the flow
characteristics.
Introduction to Theory
A transition from laminar flow to turbulent flow occurs due to various external factors such as
freestream turbulence level (vertical disturbances), sound waves (acoustic disturbances), temperature
fluctuations (entropy disturbances), streamwise pressure gradients, surface roughness, surface
curvature, and vibration. Depending on the external factor or factors, the development of various
transition (instability) mechanisms cause the flow to trip from laminar to turbulent. Here are three main
mechanisms responsible for transition:
1. Natural Transition: In the laminar flow regime, viscous forces usually damp out the disturbances.
However, when the free stream turbulence is low (below 1 percent) and the Reynolds number
is higher than the critical Reynolds number, viscous forces destabilize the shear layer, causing
the fluid to transition to a turbulent regime via the development of the three initial disturbances
(waves, vorticity and vortex breakdown). This mechanism is called the Natural Transition. It is
usually very subtle and progresses very slowly, over a long distance scale.
2. Bypass Transition: When the initial disturbances are high (due to surface roughness or freestream
turbulence levels higher than 1%), turbulence are generated without development of the three
initial disturbances (T-S waves, spanwise vorticity, and vortex breakdown) observed in the natural
transition.
3. Separated-Inducted Transition: When a laminar flow experiences adverse pressure gradients
(such as airfoil suction surfaces and flow over a sphere), the fluid flow detaches from the wall
surface. If the disturbances are low, separation can cause the generation of structures found in
natural transition. Larger disturbances generate Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, where vortices roll
up before breaking down into turbulence. The process involved in separation-induced transition
depends on the size of the adverse pressure gradient and the presence of additional disturbances
(for example, obstacles).
Since transition affects the flow development, lift, drag, heat transfer, and others, it is important to
predict the transition phenomena properly. It is known that conventional turbulence models over-predict
the wall-shear stress for transitional flows. Thus, transition models can be used to improve the accuracy
of CFD solutions when flows encounter transition in the boundary layer.
production in the turbulent kinetic energy equation, while the transition momentum thickness
Reynolds number is used as the transition onset criteria. The Gamma-ReTheta model is more
suitable for cases when freestream turbulence intensity may be high or adverse pressure
gradients are present in the flow. Most internal flows and some external flows fall in this category.
2. Gamma Transition Model: The Gamma ( ) transition model is a one-equation transition model
and follows Galilean invariance by modifying the correlations. The Gamma transition model is well
suited for the external aerodynamic cases where freestream turbulence intensity is low.
The purpose of this tutorial is to provide the instructions for setting up the steady transition simulation
of the S809 airfoil using the SST transition models. To keep the total computing time within 5 minutes,
some of the meshing guidelines described above have not been followed. However, you must follow
these guidelines when solving a problem if a high accuracy in results is desired.
This tutorial consists of two parts. In the first part, you will setup and solve the problem, using the
Gamma transition model. After successfully having run the problem with the Gamma model, you will
modify the database setup to use the Gamma-ReTheta transition model, and generate the solution
again.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new folder named SA_Transition_Models and open this folder.
5. Enter sa_transition as the File name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
Figure 265:
To create new variables in the Variable Manager, you will need to click Add, then populate the
columns of the table with appropriate inputs. The columns in the table represent the name of the
variable, the expression that defines it, the current value, and a description of the expression.
3. For Name, enter Uinf.
4. For Expression, enter 4.0.
5. For Description, enter Free Stream Velocity of Air.
6. Repeat this process for the remaining variables shown in the table below:
Once the expressions are entered, the Variable Manager should appear similar to what is shown
below:
Figure 266:
7. At this point all variables and expressions are defined and you can close the Variable Manager by
selecting Close.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 267:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 268:
Figure 269:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that the Analysis type is set to Steady State.
3. Set the Max time steps to 100.
4. Set the Convergence tolerance to 0.0001.
5. Enter 0.5 for Relaxation factor.
6. Ensure that both the Turbulence and Turbulence transition flags are set to On.
Figure 270:
Figure 271:
2. Double-click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air detail panel.
The Material type for air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
3. In the Density tab check the following.
a) The Type is set to Constant
3
b) The Density value is set to 1.225 kg/m
4. Click the Viscosity tab.
-5
The viscosity of air is 1.781 x 10 kg/m - sec
The remaining thermal and other material properties are not critical to this simulation. However, you
may browse through the tabs to check the complete material specification.
5. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 272:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click OK to complete the geometry import.
6. Rotate and zoom in the visualization to view the entire model.
Figure 273:
When a new geometry is imported, by default AcuConsole will place all volumes from a geometry in a
single volume container named "default". You should be able to see it in the data tree upon successful
import of your model in the last step, under Model > Volumes > default.
Since the model for this tutorial has only a single volume, it will be the only volume in the default
volume group when the geometry is imported. Even when there is a single volume in the model, it is
advisable to rename the volume for ease of identification in future. In the next steps you will rename
the default volume group container, and set the material and other properties for it.
1. Minimize Global in the Data Tree Manager and expand the Model tree item by clicking .
2. Right-click on Surfaces and select Display off to turn off the display of surfaces
3. Expand the Volumes tree item.
4. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until
you press the Enter key on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from
the item without entering it, your changes will be lost.
d) Click on the drop-down selector next to Material model and select Air.
Figure 274:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate attributes for each group in the
problem and add surfaces to the groups.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, etc. which can sometimes be cumbersome (especially for
models with too many surfaces). To make it easier, less error prone, and for saving time two new
dialogs are provided in AcuConsole which you can use to verify and provide the information for all
surface or volume entities at once. They are the Volume Manager and Surface Manager. In this section
some features of Surface Manager are exploited.
1. Right-click on Volumes and select Display off to turn off the display of Volumes.
2. Right-click Surfaces and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New 3 times to create 3 new surface groups.
4. Turn display off for all surfaces except for default surface.
5. Rename Surface Names (column 1) for Surface 1 to Surface 3, and set the Simple BC Active and
Simple BC Type columns as per the table shown below.
Figure 275:
Figure 276:
7. Assign the outer peripheral surface of the domain to the farfield surface group. Use the following
figure as the reference for selecting the required surfaces.
Figure 277:
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to airfoil. In the previous steps,
you assigned some surfaces to various other surface groups that you created. At this point, all
that is left in the airfoil surface group are the surfaces which make up the airfoil.
8. Close the Surface Manager dialog.
When using the Far field boundary condition, you need to enter the vector direction of the
flow velocity. Based on this direction, AcuSolve determines whether each element face should
be acting as an inlet or an outlet. Using this direction vector, in conjunction with the outward
facing normal at each element, it applies the appropriate boundary conditions to the faces
of the model. For faces where the flow is entering the model, a nodal boundary condition for
velocity and turbulence variables is assigned. For faces where the flow is exiting the model,
an element boundary condition for pressure is assigned (that is, an outflow condition).
To facilitate ease in changing the angle of attack for this simulation, you will set the inlet
velocity vector at the far field boundary using the variables that were previously defined. Set
the values using the following inputs.
d) For X Velocity, enter :=xVelocity.
e) For Y Velocity, enter :=yVelocity.
f) Set the Turbulence intensity type to Auto.
Figure 278:
You can see the value of Percent turbulence intensity is set to 0.1. This value is automatically
selected by AcuConsole based on parameters like the turbulence model selected, flow type, and so
on.
1. Under Global in the Data Tree, double-click Nodal Initial Condition to open the dialog in the
detail panel.
2. Set the X velocity to :=xVelocity.
3. Set the Y velocity to :=yVelocity.
This will set the X and Y velocities equal to the values specified in the Variable Manager.
For the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model, you need to provide the initial value for Eddy viscosity. For
the Gamma transition model, you need to provide the initial value for Intermittency, or . If you have
a reasonable estimate of these values, you can enter them directly in the nodal initial condition fields.
One option is to use the same values that are assigned at the inlet boundary. In the absence of good
estimates for the initial conditions, it is also possible to let AcuSolve perform an automatic initialization
of the turbulence and transition variables. By setting these values to zero, AcuSolve will trigger an
automatic initialization of these variables.
4. Set the Eddy viscosity and Intermittency to 0.0 to trigger the automatic initialization.
Figure 279:
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
a) Click the drop-down control next to Mesh size type.
b) Click Absolute.
5. Set Absolute mesh size to 200.0 m.
6. Set the Mesh growth rate to 1.4.
7. Set Maximum sweep angle to 5.0 degrees.
Figure 280:
This parameter controls how smoothly the local boundary layer heights vary from one element to
the next after the layers height are adjusted locally to resolve poor quality elements. A low value
of this parameter smooths the variation in height over a large distance, while a value closer to 1.0
enforces a more abrupt change in height. Note that there are separate values of this setting for
2D and 3D boundary layers. For this application, you will be creating a 2D mesh and extruding it
in the third direction to create the volume. Therefore, the 2D setting will control the behavior of
the mesh in this case.
Figure 281:
Setting local mesh attributes, such as surface mesh attributes, is not mandatory. When a local mesh
attribute is not found for a component, the global attributes are used as the mesh generation control for
that component. If a local mesh attribute is present, it will take precedence over the global setting.
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
Figure 282:
Figure 283:
sizeMin = 0.002
sizeMax = 0.05
xMin = (0.0)
xMax = (1.0)
xCenter = ((xMin+xMax)/2.0)
dx = ((xMax-xMin)/2.0)
linVal = sizeMin+(sizeMax-sizeMin)*fac
value = expVal
This expression takes the min and max surface mesh size (sizeMin and sizeMax) along with the
location of the leading and trailing edge (xMin and xMax) and computes a logarithmic expansion
of the surface mesh size as a function of distance from the leading and trailing edges. The mesh
size at the leading and trailing edge corresponds to sizeMin and the size at the mid chord location
corresponds to sizeMax.
8. Select Ok to close this text editor area and accept the expression.
Figure 284:
Figure 285:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. You can rotate and zoom in the model to analyse the various mesh regions.
Figure 286:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps, you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 287:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. Double-click on Residual Ratio to expand the tree.
3. Right-click on Final and select Plot All.
This will plot the residuals for all the variables, pressure, velocity, eddy viscosity, and
intermittency, in the plot area.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 288:
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 289:
The traction values on the airfoil surface have nearly converged. When using correlation-based
transition models, it is always a good practice to examine not only the residuals but also the
actual solution quantities of interest for convergence before accepting the solution. In some other
cases, it is also possible that the flow field has converged even while the residuals show minor
oscillations. The user thus should observe both in tandem before taking an informed decision
about the validity of the solution.
7. You can also save the plots as an image.
a) From the AcuProbe dialog, click File > Save.
b) Enter a name for the image and click Save.
This tutorial shows you how to work with steady state analysis data.
Figure 290:
Set Up AcuFieldView
1. Click Viewer Options.
Figure 291:
Figure 292:
Figure 293:
You can clearly see the turbulent flow developing at about halfway through the chord of the airfoil.
Before the onset of turbulence, the boundary layer on the airfoil surface is laminar.
9. For Scalar Function, select Intermittency.
Figure 294:
A closer look at the contour plot of intermittency will show that the value of intermittency
transitions to one at the point where the flow transitions from laminar to turbulent. In the region
where the flow is laminar, from the leading edge of the airfoil to the halfway, the intermittency is
zero.
AcuSolve is shipped with a number of utility scripts to facilitate the pre and post-processing of a
problem solved using the solver. You will be introduced to two of these scripts, AcuLiftDrag and
AcuGetCpCf in this section, and their usage. These two scripts are focused on aerodynamic simulations
as the ones solved in this tutorial.
Run AcuLiftDrag
AcuLiftDrag is a utility script used to calculate the lift and drag coefficients for an airfoil. The following
options are required as input to run this script.
Table 1:
In the Analyze the Problem section, it was described that the simulation is performed as 2D by including
only a single layer of extruded elements in the airfoil span direction. When solving a problem in such a
way, the span of the airfoil should be set equal to the thickness of the domain in the extrusion direction.
When solving a 3D problem, the actual span of the airfoil should be used.
To execute the AcuLiftDrag script for this position, follow the steps below:
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
HyperWorks <version> > AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt.
2. Change the directory to the present problem directory using the 'cd' command.
3. Enter the following command at the prompt:
The ouput of the command should look like the image below:
Figure 295:
The value C_l corresponds to the lift coefficient, and C_d corresponds to the drag coefficient. The
final keyword refers to the respective coefficient values at the last time step of the simulation. The
rest of the values provide the basic statistics for these coefficients over all the time steps of the
simulation. These statistics are more meaningful if the simulation is transient.
The script also creates the file Turbulent_Airfoil_SST.liftDrag.dat in the problem directory.
The file contains the lift and drag data for all the available time steps in a determined tabular
arrangement. The first column is the time step, the second column is the lift coefficient, and the
third column is the drag coefficient.
Run AcuGetCpCf
AcuGetCpCf is another utility script used to calculate the pressure coefficient (Cp) for the airfoil. The
following options are required as input to run this script.
Table 2:
To execute the AcuGetCpCf script for this problem, follow the steps below:
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
HyperWorks <version> > AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt.
2. Change the directory to the present problem directory using the 'cd' command.
3. Enter the following command at the prompt:
The output of the command should look like the image below:
Figure 296:
The script prints the minimum and maximum vlaues for the presure coefficient. It also creates a
file, cp.1.dat, in the problem directory. The file contains the pressure coefficient data along the
chord of the airfoil. The first column is the x-coordinate along the chord, and the second column is
the pressure coefficient. You can use an external plotting utility to the plot the data. The resulting
plot is shown below.
Figure 297:
1. Close the open AcuFieldView window and return to the open AcuConsole window.
2. Save the database to retain the setup for the Gamma transition model.
3. Create a new directory within your existing working directory, or at any other location of your
choice, and name it SA_Gamma_Re_Theta.
4. Click File > Save As
5. Navigate into the SA_Gamma_Re_Theta directory. Enter sa_transition_gammaretheta as the File
name for the database, or choose any name of your preference.
6. Save the database to create a backup of your settings.
Figure 298:
1. Double-click Nodal Initial Condition in the data tree to open the detail panel.
2. Set the Transition re theta to 0.0 to trigger the automatic initialization.
Figure 299:
The remaining settings in the setup need not be modified. You can now launch AcuSolve to get the
solution of the S809 airfoil problem with the Gamma-Re-theta transition case. Follow the same
steps as in the previous case to post-process the results.
Figure 300:
Results from running AcuLiftDrag and AcuGetCpCf on the Gamma-Re Theta database are shown
below:
Figure 303:
Figure 304:
Figure 305:
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved a turbulence transition problem. The
underlying turbulence model employed was the Spalart-Allmaras model. The problem simulated a
S809 wind turbine airfoil in an external flow field. You started the tutorial by creating a database
in AcuConsole, importing and meshing the geometry, and setting up the simulation parameters.
The database was initially set up with the one-equation Gamma transition model. Once the case
was setup, the solution was generated with AcuSolve. Results were post-processed in AcuProbe and
AcuFieldView. In AcuFieldView, you observed the inter-relation between onset of turbulence viscosity
and intermittency. After successfully getting a solution for the Gamma transition model, you modified
the database to use the two-equation Gamma-Re-Theta as the transition model.
AcuConsole
2.4.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a steady simulation
of transition flow over a S809 airfoil using the SST (Shear Stress Transport k-ω) turbulence model with
transition models (Gamma or Gamma-ReTheta). AcuSolve is used to compute the intermittency and
predict the point where the boundary layer transitions from the laminar mode to turbulence mode. This
tutorial is designed to introduce you to the modeling concepts necessary to perform simulations using
the transition models coupled with the SST Turbulence model.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow and
the steps to set up external turbulent flow are shown in ACU-T: 2200 Transition Flow over an Airfoil
Using the SA Transition Models. The following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this
tutorial:
• Use of the SST turbulence model with the Gamma transition model
• Use of the SST turbulence model with Gamma-ReTheta transition model
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the tutorials, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow and
ACU-T: 2200 Transition Flow over an Airfoil Using the SA Transition Models. It is assumed that you have
some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You will also need access to a licensed
version of AcuSolve.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
An important step in any CFD simulation is to examine the engineering problem and determine the
important parameters that need to be provided to AcuSolve. Parameters can be based on geometrical
components (such as volumes, inlets, outlets, or walls) and on flow conditions (such as fluid properties,
velocity, or whether the flow should be modeled as turbulent or as laminar).
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 306. It consists of a
cylindrical bounding region containing air that flows past a S809 airfoil profile. The simulation is
performed as the two-dimensional problem by including only a single layer of extruded elements in the
airfoil span direction. The velocity vector at the far field boundary of the domain is specified to yield
an angle of attack of one degree and a Reynolds Number of ~250000. The airfoil chord is 1 m, and
standard air material properties are used for the simulation.
The diameter of the cylindrical bounding volume for the airfoil is set to 500 times the airfoil chord. This
large bounding volume is selected to ensure that the farfield boundaries are sufficiently far from the
airfoil to prevent any influence of blockage of the domain on the solution.
The simulation will be carried out by activating the turbulence transition models. The underlying
turbulence model used will be the two-equation SST turbulence model. The problem will be solved with
the transition models available in AcuSolve – the one-equation Gamma and the two-equation Gamma-
ReTheta transition models. As the name suggests, the transition models predict the point where the
boundary layer transitions from the laminar mode to turbulence mode. When in the turbulence regime,
the SST turbulence model will be used to determine the flow characteristics.
Introduction to Theory
A transition from laminar flow to turbulent flow occurs due to various external factors such as
freestream turbulence level (vertical disturbances), sound waves (acoustic disturbances), temperature
fluctuations (entropy disturbances), streamwise pressure gradients, surface roughness, surface
curvature, and vibration. Depending on the external factor or factors, the development of various
transition (instability) mechanisms cause the flow to trip from laminar to turbulent. Here are three main
mechanisms responsible for transition:
1. Natural Transition: In the laminar flow regime, viscous forces usually damp out the disturbances.
However, when the free stream turbulence is low (below 1 percent) and the Reynolds number
is higher than the critical Reynolds number, viscous forces destabilize the shear layer, causing
the fluid to transition to a turbulent regime via the development of the three initial disturbances
(waves, vorticity and vortex breakdown). This mechanism is called the Natural Transition. It is
usually very subtle and progresses very slowly, over a long distance scale.
2. Bypass Transition: When the initial disturbances are high (due to surface roughness or freestream
turbulence levels higher than 1%), turbulence are generated without development of the three
initial disturbances (T-S waves, spanwise vorticity, and vortex breakdown) observed in the natural
transition.
3. Separated-Inducted Transition: When a laminar flow experiences adverse pressure gradients
(such as airfoil suction surfaces and flow over a sphere), the fluid flow detaches from the wall
surface. If the disturbances are low, separation can cause the generation of structures found in
natural transition. Larger disturbances generate Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, where vortices roll
up before breaking down into turbulence. The process involved in separation-induced transition
depends on the size of the adverse pressure gradient and the presence of additional disturbances
(for example, obstacles).
Since transition affects the flow development, lift, drag, heat transfer, and others, it is important to
predict the transition phenomena properly. It is known that conventional turbulence models over-predict
the wall-shear stress for transitional flows. Thus, transition models can be used to improve the accuracy
of CFD solutions when flows encounter transition in the boundary layer.
production in the turbulent kinetic energy equation, while the transition momentum thickness
Reynolds number is used as the transition onset criteria. The Gamma-ReTheta model is more
suitable for cases when freestream turbulence intensity may be high or adverse pressure
gradients are present in the flow. Most internal flows and some external flows fall in this category.
2. Gamma Transition Model: The Gamma ( ) transition model is a one-equation transition model
and follows Galilean invariance by modifying the correlations. The Gamma transition model is well
suited for the external aerodynamic cases where freestream turbulence intensity is low.
The purpose of this tutorial is to provide the instructions for setting up the steady transition simulation
of the S809 airfoil using the SST transition models. To keep the total computing time within 5 minutes,
some of the meshing guidelines described above have not been followed. However, you must follow
these guidelines when solving a problem if a high accuracy in results is desired.
This tutorial consists of two parts. In the first part, you will setup and solve the problem, using the
Gamma transition model. After successfully having run the problem with the Gamma model, you will
modify the database setup to use the Gamma-ReTheta transition model, and generate the solution
again.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new folder named SST_Transition_Models and open this folder.
5. Enter sst_transition as the File name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
Figure 307:
To create new variables in the Variable Manager, you will need to click Add, then populate the
columns of the table with appropriate inputs. The columns in the table represent the name of the
variable, the expression that defines it, the current value, and a description of the expression.
3. For Name, enter Uinf.
4. For Expression, enter 4.0.
5. For Description, enter Free Stream Velocity of Air.
6. Repeat this process for the remaining variables shown in the table below:
Once the expressions are entered, the Variable Manager should appear similar to what is shown
below:
Figure 308:
7. At this point all variables and expressions are defined and you can close the Variable Manager by
selecting Close.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 309:
Figure 310:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that the Analysis type is set to Steady State.
3. Set the Max time steps to 100.
4. Set the Convergence tolerance to 0.0001.
5. Enter 0.5 for Relaxation factor.
6. Ensure that both the Turbulence and Turbulence transition flags are set to On.
Figure 311:
Figure 312:
2. Double-click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air detail panel.
The Material type for air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 313:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click OK to complete the geometry import.
6. Rotate and zoom in the visualization to view the entire model.
Figure 314:
When a new geometry is imported, by default AcuConsole will place all volumes from a geometry in a
single volume container named "default". You should be able to see it in the data tree upon successful
import of your model in the last step, under Model > Volumes > default.
Since the model for this tutorial has only a single volume, it will be the only volume in the default
volume group when the geometry is imported. Even when there is a single volume in the model, it is
advisable to rename the volume for ease of identification in future. In the next steps you will rename
the default volume group container, and set the material and other properties for it.
1. Minimize Global in the Data Tree Manager and expand the Model tree item by clicking .
2. Right-click on Surfaces and select Display off to turn off the display of surfaces
3. Expand the Volumes tree item.
4. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until
you press the Enter key on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from
the item without entering it, your changes will be lost.
d) Click on the drop-down selector next to Material model and select Air.
Figure 315:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate attributes for each group in the
problem and add surfaces to the groups.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, etc. which can sometimes be cumbersome (especially for
models with too many surfaces). To make it easier, less error prone, and for saving time two new
dialogs are provided in AcuConsole which you can use to verify and provide the information for all
surface or volume entities at once. They are the Volume Manager and Surface Manager. In this section
some features of Surface Manager are exploited.
1. Right-click on Volumes and select Display off to turn off the display of Volumes.
2. Right-click Surfaces and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New 3 times to create 3 new surface groups.
4. Turn display off for all surfaces except for default surface.
5. Rename Surface Names (column 1) for Surface 1 to Surface 3, and set the Simple BC Active and
Simple BC Type columns as per the table shown below.
Figure 316:
Figure 317:
7. Assign the outer peripheral surface of the domain to the farfield surface group. Use the following
figure as the reference for selecting the required surfaces.
Figure 318:
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to airfoil. In the previous steps,
you assigned some surfaces to various other surface groups that you created. At this point, all
that is left in the airfoil surface group are the surfaces which make up the airfoil.
8. Close the Surface Manager dialog.
When using the Far field boundary condition, you need to enter the vector direction of the
flow velocity. Based on this direction, AcuSolve determines whether each element face should
be acting as an inlet or an outlet. Using this direction vector, in conjunction with the outward
facing normal at each element, it applies the appropriate boundary conditions to the faces
of the model. For faces where the flow is entering the model, a nodal boundary condition for
velocity and turbulence variables is assigned. For faces where the flow is exiting the model,
an element boundary condition for pressure is assigned (that is, an outflow condition).
To facilitate ease in changing the angle of attack for this simulation, you will set the inlet
velocity vector at the far field boundary using the variables that were previously defined. Set
the values using the following inputs.
d) For X Velocity, enter :=xVelocity.
e) For Y Velocity, enter :=yVelocity.
f) Set Turbulence input type to Auto.
g) Set the Turbulence intensity type to Auto.
Figure 319:
You can see the value of Percent turbulence intensity is set to 0.5. This value is automatically
selected by AcuConsole based on parameters like the turbulence model selected, flow type, etc.
1. Under Global in the Data Tree, double-click Nodal Initial Condition to open the dialog in the
detail panel.
2. Set the X velocity to :=xVelocity.
3. Set the Y velocity to :=yVelocity.
This will set the X and Y velocities equal to the values specified in the Variable Manager.
4. Ensure all initial condition types in this panel are set to Constant.
For the SST turbulence model, you need to provide the initial value for kinetic energy and eddy
frequency. For the Gamma transition model, you need to provide the initial value for Intermittency,
or . If you have a reasonable estimate of these values, you can enter them directly in the nodal
initial condition fields. One option is to use the same values that are assigned at the inlet boundary.
In the absence of good estimates for the initial conditions, it is also possible to let AcuSolve perform
an automatic initialization of the turbulence and transition variables. By setting these values to zero,
AcuSolve will trigger an automatic initialization of these variables.
5. Set the Kinetic energy, Eddy frequency and Intermittency to 0.0 to trigger the automatic
initialization.
Figure 320:
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
a) Click the drop-down control next to Mesh size type.
b) Click Absolute.
5. Set Absolute mesh size to 200.0 m.
6. Set the Mesh growth rate to 1.4.
7. Set Maximum sweep angle to 5.0 degrees.
Figure 321:
This parameter controls how smoothly the local boundary layer heights vary from one element to
the next after the layers height are adjusted locally to resolve poor quality elements. A low value
of this parameter smooths the variation in height over a large distance, while a value closer to 1.0
enforces a more abrupt change in height. Note that there are separate values of this setting for
2D and 3D boundary layers. For this application, you will be creating a 2D mesh and extruding it
in the third direction to create the volume. Therefore, the 2D setting will control the behavior of
the mesh in this case.
Figure 322:
Setting local mesh attributes, such as surface mesh attributes, is not mandatory. When a local mesh
attribute is not found for a component, the global attributes are used as the mesh generation control for
that component. If a local mesh attribute is present, it will take precedence over the global setting.
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
Figure 323:
Figure 324:
sizeMin = 0.002
sizeMax = 0.05
xMin = (0.0)
xMax = (1.0)
xCenter = ((xMin+xMax)/2.0)
dx = ((xMax-xMin)/2.0)
linVal = sizeMin+(sizeMax-sizeMin)*fac
value = expVal
This expression takes the min and max surface mesh size (sizeMin and sizeMax) along with the
location of the leading and trailing edge (xMin and xMax) and computes a logarithmic expansion
of the surface mesh size as a function of distance from the leading and trailing edges. The mesh
size at the leading and trailing edge corresponds to sizeMin and the size at the mid chord location
corresponds to sizeMax.
8. Select Ok to close this text editor area and accept the expression.
Figure 325:
Figure 326:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. You can rotate and zoom in the model to analyse the various mesh regions.
Figure 327:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps, you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 328:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. Double-click Residual Ratio to expand the tree.
3. Right-click Final and click Plot All.
This will plot the residuals for all the variables, pressure, velocity, eddy viscosity, and
intermittency, in the plot area.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 329:
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 330:
The traction values on the airfoil surface have nearly converged. When using correlation-based
transition models, it is always a good practice to examine not only the residuals but also the
actual solution quantities of interest for convergence before accepting the solution. In some other
cases, it is also possible that the flow field has converged even while the residuals show minor
oscillations. The user thus should observe both in tandem before taking an informed decision
about the validity of the solution.
7. You can also save the plots as an image.
a) From the AcuProbe dialog, click File > Save.
b) Enter a name for the image and click Save.
This tutorial shows you how to work with steady state analysis data.
Figure 331:
Set Up AcuFieldView
1. Click Viewer Options.
Figure 332:
Figure 333:
Figure 334:
You can clearly see the turbulent flow developing at about halfway through the chord of the airfoil.
Before the onset of turbulence, the boundary layer on the airfoil surface is laminar.
10. Open the Coordinate Surface dialog, click Select next to Scalar Function and select
Intermittency.
Figure 335:
A closer look at the contour plot of intermittency will show that the value of intermittency
transitions to one at the point where the flow transitions from laminar to turbulent. In the region
where the flow is laminar, from the leading edge of the airfoil to the halfway, the intermittency is
zero.
AcuSolve is shipped with a number of utility scripts to facilitate the pre and post-processing of a
problem solved using the solver. You will be introduced to two of these scripts, AcuLiftDrag and
AcuGetCpCf in this section, and their usage. These two scripts are focused on aerodynamic simulations
as the ones solved in this tutorial.
Run AcuLiftDrag
AcuLiftDrag is a utility script used to calculate the lift and drag coefficients for an airfoil. The following
options are required as input to run this script.
In the Analyze the Problem section, it was described that the simulation is performed as 2D by including
only a single layer of extruded elements in the airfoil span direction. When solving a problem in such a
way, the span of the airfoil should be set equal to the thickness of the domain in the extrusion direction.
When solving a 3D problem, the actual span of the airfoil should be used.
To execute the AcuLiftDrag script for this position, follow the steps below:
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
HyperWorks <version> > AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt.
2. Change the directory to the present problem directory using the 'cd' command.
3. Enter the following command at the prompt:
-span 50
The ouput of the command should look like the image below:
Figure 336:
The value C_l corresponds to the lift coefficient, and C_d corresponds to the drag coefficient. The
final keyword refers to the respective coefficient values at the last time step of the simulation. The
rest of the values provide the basic statistics for these coefficients over all the time steps of the
simulation. These statistics are more meaningful if the simulation is transient.
The script also creates the file Turbulent_Airfoil_SST.liftDrag.dat in the problem directory.
The file contains the lift and drag data for all the available time steps in a determined tabular
arrangement. The first column is the time step, the second column is the lift coefficient, and the
third column is the drag coefficient.
Run AcuGetCpCf
AcuGetCpCf is another utility script used to calculate the pressure coefficient (Cp) for the airfoil. The
following options are required as input to run this script.
To execute the AcuGetCpCf script for this problem, follow the steps below:
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
HyperWorks <version> > AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt.
2. Change the directory to the present problem directory using the 'cd' command.
3. Enter the following command at the prompt:
1.225 -no_nc
The output of the command should look like the image below:
Figure 337:
The script prints the minimum and maximum vlaues for the presure coefficient. It also creates a
file, cp.1.dat, in the problem directory. The file contains the pressure coefficient data along the
chord of the airfoil. The first column is the x-coordinate along the chord, and the second column is
the pressure coefficient. You can use an external plotting utility to the plot the data. The resulting
plot is shown below.
Figure 338:
1. Close the open AcuFieldView window and return to the open AcuConsole window.
2. Save the database to retain the setup for the Gamma transition model.
3. Create a new directory within your existing working directory, or at any other location of your
choice, and name it SST_Gamma_ReTheta.
4. Click File > Save As
5. Navigate into the SST_Gamma_Re_Theta directory. Enter sst_transition_gammaretheta as the
File name for the database, or choose any name of your preference.
6. Save the database to create a backup of your settings.
Figure 339:
Figure 340:
1. Double-click Nodal Initial Condition in the data tree to open the detail panel.
2. Set Transition re theta to 0.0 to trigger the automatic initialization.
Figure 341:
The remaining settings in the setup need not be modified. You can now launch AcuSolve to get
the solution of the S809 airfoil problem with the Gamma-ReTheta transition case. Follow the same
steps as in the previous case to post-process the results.
Figure 342:
Results from running AcuLiftDrag and AcuGetCpCf on the Gamma-Re Theta database are shown
below:
Figure 343:
Figure 344:
Figure 345:
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved a turbulence transition problem. The
underlying turbulence model employed was the SST model. The problem simulated a S809 wind turbine
airfoil in an external flow field. You started the tutorial by creating a database in AcuConsole, importing
and meshing the geometry, and setting up the simulation parameters. The database was initially set up
with the one-equation Gamma transition model. Once the case was setup, the solution was generated
with AcuSolve. Results were post-processed in AcuProbe and AcuFieldView. In AcuFieldView you
observed the inter-relation between onset of turbulence viscosity and intermittency. After successfully
getting a solution for the Gamma transition model, you modified the database to use the two-equation
Gamma-ReTheta as the transition model.
HyperMesh
2.5.1 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 346. As an example, this
problem shows the capability of Atmospheric Boundary Layer modelling in AcuSolve.
Figure 346:
In this tutorial, you will simulate the air flow over a building with a ground roughness of 0.03. In this
case, User Defined Atmospheric Roughness Type is considered.
3. Browse to the directory where you saved the model file. Select the HyperMesh file
ACU2300_Building.hm and click Open.
4. Click File > Save As.
The Save Model As dialog opens.
5. Create a new directory named Building_ABL and navigate into this directory.
This will be the working directory and all the files related to the simulation will be stored in this
location.
6. Enter Building as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your preference.
7. Click Save to create the database.
Figure 347:
5. In the Solver Browser, expand the 02.SOLVER_SETTINGS group then click SOLVER_SETTINGS
to open it in the Entity Editor.
Figure 348:
Figure 349:
Figure 350:
Figure 351:
2. Expand OUTFLOW then click on Outflow. In the Entity Editor, change the Type to OUTFLOW.
Figure 352:
3. Expand WALL then click on Building. In the Entity Editor, change the Type to WALL.
Figure 353:
Figure 354:
5. Expand SLIP then click on Slip. In the Entity Editor, change the Type to SLIP.
Figure 355:
Figure 356:
Run AcuSolve
1. Turn on the visibility of all mesh components.
For the analysis to run, the mesh for all active components must be visible.
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
3. Optional: For a faster solution time, set the number of processors to a higher number (4 or 8)
based on availability.
4. The Output time steps can be set to All or Final. Since this is a steady state analysis, the Final
time step output is sufficient.
5. Leave the remaining options as default and click Launch to start the solution process.
Figure 357:
Figure 358:
Figure 359:
Figure 360:
Figure 361:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a CFD model, carry out a CFD
simulation, then post-process the results using HyperWorks products, namely AcuSolve, HyperMesh
and AcuFieldView. You started by importing the model in HyperMesh. Then, you defined the simulation
parameters and launched AcuSolve directly from within HyperMesh. Upon completion of solution by
AcuSolve, you used AcuFieldView to post-process the results and create contour plots.
• 3.1 ACU-T: 3000 Enclosed Hot Cylinder: Natural Convection (p. 299)
• 3.2 ACU-T: 3100 Conjugate Heat Transfer in a Mixing Elbow (p. 358)
• 3.3 ACU-T: 3101 Transient Conjugate Heat Transfer in a Mixing Elbow (p. 439)
• 3.4 ACU-T: 3200 Heat Transfer Between Concentric Spheres – P1 Radiation Model (p. 486)
• 3.5 ACU-T: 3201 Heat Transfer Between Concentric Spheres – Discrete Ordinate Radiation
Model (p. 499)
• 3.6 ACU-T: 3300 Modeling of a Heat Exchanger Component (p. 513)
• 3.7 ACU-T: 3400 AcuSolve-Flux Integration (p. 523)
AcuSolve Tutorials
3 Heat Transfer p.299
AcuConsole
HyperMesh
3.1.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a simulation of a
hot cylinder contained within another air-filled cylinder. In this simulation, an internally heated cylinder
is surrounded by air which heats up as it comes in contact with the surface of the inner cylinder. The
localized heating near the surface induces a buoyancy driven flow in the air, generating convection
currents. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to modeling concepts related to natural convection
simulations.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Creating and specifying a new custom material in AcuConsole
• Specifying a volume group as a heat source
• Using the Boussinesq density model in buoyancy driven flows, such as cases involving natural
convection
• Set up periodic boundary conditions
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
The system being simulated contains an internally-heated cylinder, which is surrounded by a cylindrical
ring of a larger diameter. The annular volume between the two cylinders is filled with a fluid (air). The
inner cylinder thus acts a heat source, and the fluid in contact with the surface of this heat source is
heated up. This hot fluid, being lower in density than the cold fluid, then rises up to the upper part of
the annulus due to buoyancy effects, and displaces the cold fluid at top. At the same time, the film of
fluid which was in contact with the heating surface is replaced by the surrounding cold fluid. This new
film of cold fluid goes through the same process until eventually a steady state convection current is
achieved, or the inner cylinder ceases to generate heat and slowly the whole system achieves an equal
temperature.
The system being simulated can be considered similar to a heat exchanger wherein the inner cylinder is
akin to a tube through which a hot fluid passes by, and the air which surrounds this inner tube extracts
heat from the inner tube. Another analogy can be of a wire carrying high current enclosed in an air
cooled chamber. As the current heats up the wire due to resistance, the air around the wire keeps the
wire temperature within control by extracting heat from the wire surface.
The schematics of the problem which will be addressed in this tutorial is shown in Figure 362. The inner
cylinder is a solid volume with internal heat generation, and the outer cylinder is a fluid volume with air
as the fluid. Both cylinders are assumed to be infinitely long and the system will be modeled using half
symmetry and periodicity. The cylinders are infinite in z-direction and hence periodicity will be applied
along this direction.
Introduction to Theory
Natural Convection
Convection is a heat transfer mechanism where the transfer of heat energy happens through the motion
of matter. Since the definition of convection involves motion of matter a fluid state is usually present in
convection. Usually this type of heat transfer takes place between a hot or a cold surface and a fluid.
The film of fluid in contact with the surface absorbs heat from or transfers heat to the surface and is
then replaced by a new film. This movement of fluid may either be governed by an external source,
such as a fan or pump, or due to internal changes in the fluid properties. When no external sources are
responsible for the fluid motion the heat transfer mechanism at work is called the Natural Convection.
The driving force for motion of the fluid in a natural convection is density changes in the fluid due to
temperature gradients induced in the fluid by heat transfer.
The natural convection mechanism works similarly as described above, whilst discussion of the problem.
The fluid which is in contact with the surface absorbs or transfers heat from the surface and becomes
hotter or colder than the surrounding fluid. Driven by buoyancy forces due to difference in densities
caused by the temperature gradient, the fluid is displaced upwards or downwards. Surrounding fluid
fills in the void created by the displaced fluid, which then undergoes the same process again. This gives
rise to a convection current which drives the hot fluid to the top and cold fluid to the bottom of the
convection cell. Buoyancy effects are driven by gravity, therefore natural convection requires presence
of a gravitational force to work. It must be noted, however, that gravity is not the driving force behind
the fluid movement. Presence of gravity only enables displacement of the fluid due to the density
changes caused by temperature gradients.
Mathematical determination of the onset of natural convection is done through a dimensionless number
called the Rayleigh number (Ra). The Rayleigh number is defined as:
where:
• x is the characteristic length (m)
• is the Rayleigh number for characteristic length x
2
• is acceleration due to gravity (m/s )
• is the surface temperature (K)
• is the quiescent temperature (fluid temperature far from the surface of the object) (K)
2
• is the kinematic viscosity (m /s)
2
• α is the thermal diffusivity (m /s)
• β is the thermal expansion coefficient (equals to for ideal gases where is absolute
temperature).
The fluid properties , α and β are evaluated at the film temperature, , which is defined as:
When the Rayleigh number is below a critical value for the fluid heat transfer is primarily in the form of
conduction. When it exceeds this critical value the dominant heat transfer mechanism is convection.
where
3
• is the instantaneous density at temperature (kg/m )
3
• is the density at reference temperature (kg/m )
As stated in the approximation, the Boussinesq density model is only applicable when density variations
are small. A general guideline is to check for the condition to be true. This indirectly puts a
limitation on this model to be used to only for cases where expected temperature differences within the
fluid are not large.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it Natural_convection and navigate into this
directory.
5. Enter NaturalConvection as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your
preference.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 363:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 364:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 365:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy in the Data Tree to open the Auto Solution Strategy
detail panel.
2. Check that Analysis type is set to Steady State.
3. Set the Max time steps to 100.
4. Change the Convergence tolerance to 0.0001.
5. Enter 0.25 for the Relaxation factor.
6. Check that Flow and Temperature are set to On.
7. Change the Temperature flow to On.
Changing the Temperature flow flag to On will instruct the solver to solve thermal-flow problems
in fully coupled mode. Otherwise these problems are solved with a staggered strategy. In
fully-coupled mode, the flow and temperature equations are solved simultaneously, while in
the staggered approach, the flow equation will usually be solved first considering constant
temperature, and then the temperature equation will be solved as the next step.
Figure 366:
Figure 367:
2. Double-click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air detail panel.
The material type for air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
3. Click the Density tab. Change the density type to Boussinesq.
Figure 368:
-5
4. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of air is 1.781 x 10 kg/m – sec.
5. Click the Specific Heat tab and make sure the Specific heat value is 1005.0 J/kg-K.
6. Similarly check the Conductivity tab and make sure the values are as follows:
a) Conductivity: 0.02521 W/m-K
b) Turbulent Prandtl number: 0.91
7. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
8. Right-click Material Model in the Data Tree and select New from the context menu that
appears.
A new entry, Material Model 1, will be created in the Data Tree under the Material Model branch.
9. Right-click Material Model 1 and select Rename in the context menu.
10. Type in Stainless Steel as the name and press Enter.
11. Double-click Stainless Steel in the Data Tree to open the Stainless Steel detail panel.
The Material type is listed as Fluid. This is the default type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
12. Change the Material type for Stainless Steel to Solid.
13. Set the material properties for Stainless Steel as follows by navigating through respective tabs in
the detail panel:
3
a) Density: 8000 kg/m .
b) Specific Heat: 500.0 J/kg-K
c) Conductivity: 16.2 W/m-K
Figure 369:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
6. Rotate the visualization to view the entire model.
Figure 370:
The first one is the gravitational force on the fluid due to inertia of the fluid. As discussed in Analyze
the Problem, gravity is an important aspect of the simulation. In fact, for thermal problems solved in
AcuSolve with the Boussinesq approximation, the gravity is scaled by the product of the expansivity
and the temperature minus reference temperature, while density remains constant. This variation in the
gravitational force on fluid regions with different temperatures is what generated convection currents.
2
For this tutorial gravity is defined as equal to standard gravity (g = 9.81 m/s ) along the negative Y-
axis, which is the downward direction in the model.
The second body force which will be used in this model is the volumetric heat source, which specifies
the heat energy source term per unit volume. This will be used to simulate the heat-generating inner
cylinder in our model.
Note: The definition of gravity here will have no effect on the simulation unless it is
assigned to some volume set in the model.
6. Create a new body force by right-clicking on Body Force in the Data Tree and selecting New in
the context menu that appears.
A new entry, Body Force 1, will be created under the Body Force branch.
7. Right-click on Body Force 1, select Rename in the context menu, and type in Heat Source as
the entity name.
8. Double-click on Heat Source to open it in the detail panel.
9. Change the Medium to Solid.
10. Click on the drop-down selector next to first Type option and select Per unit volume.
This sets the type of heat source to volumetric heat source.
11. Click on the drop-down selector next to the second Type option and select Constant.
3
12. Set the Volumetric heat source value to 20000.0 W/m
Figure 371:
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
In the next steps you will create volume groups for each volume in the model, assign volumes to the
respective volume groups, rename the default volume group container, and set the materials and other
properties for each volume group.
1. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
2. Create a new volume group for the solid inner cylinder.
a) Right-click on Volumes.
b) Click New.
3. Rename the new volume group to solid.
4. Add the solid component in the geometry to this group.
a) Right-click solid under Volumes in the Data Tree.
b) Click Add to.
c) Click the heating element portion of the geometry in the Visualization Area. Refer to the
following figure to identify the correct portion.
Figure 372:
Follow the instructions in the Add to dialog if you need to manipulate the display to select
the correct portion of the geometry.
d) Click Done to add the selected volume to the solid volume group.
5. Set up the solid volume element set.
The material model for this volume will be set to Stainless Steel, which is the custom material
model you created earlier in this tutorial, specifically for this solid volume. Also the solid volume is
to be set up as the heat source
a) Expand the solid volume group in the tree.
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem, and add surfaces to the group containers.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, and so on, which can sometimes be cumbersome, especially for
models with too many surfaces. To make it easier, less error prone, and to save time, two new dialogs
are provided in AcuConsole. Use the Volume Manager and Surface Manager to verify and provide
the information for all surface or volume entities at once. In this section some features of Surface
Manager are exploited.
1. Turn-off display for Volumes by right-clicking on Volumes and selecting Display off .
2. Right-click on Surfaces in the Data Tree and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New six times to create six new surface groups.
Figure 373:
If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click on Columns , select
these two columns from the list and click Ok.
Figure 374:
4. Turn off the display for all surfaces except for the default surface.
5. Rename the default surface to inner_wall.
Figure 375:
Figure 376:
9. Assign the outer wall of the geometry to the outer_wall surface group. Use Figure 377 as the
reference for selecting the required surfaces.
Figure 377:
Figure 378:
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to inner_walls. In the previous steps,
you assigned some surfaces to various other surface groups that you created. At this point, all that is
left in the inner_walls surface group are the surfaces which make up the contact boundary between the
inner cylinder and the fluid volume.
11. Close the Surface Manager.
This change was completed using the Surface Manager in the last section. The following steps are
thus optional.
1. Update symmetry_plane.
a) Expand the symmetry_plane surface in the tree.
b) Double-click Simple Boundary Condition under symmetry_plane to open the Simple
Boundary Condition detail panel.
c) Ensure that the Type is set to Symmetry.
2. Update outer_wall.
a) Expand the outer_wall surface group in the tree.
b) Double click Simple Boundary Condition under outer_wall to open the Simple Boundary
Condition detail panel.
c) Ensure that the Type is set to Wall.
d) Verify that the Wall velocity type is set to Match Mesh Velocity.
e) Change Temperature BC type from Flux to Value.
f) Set the Temperature to 25° C.
The default unit for temperature input is K. You can change the unit for temperature by
clicking on the unit button at the right of the input field, and selecting oC from the appearing
menu.
Figure 379:
3. Update inner_wall
The inner walls form the boundary surface of the inner cylinder volume, and enclose the fluid
volume on the inside. Since the inner cylinder is a solid medium, this contact boundary will be a
wall.
a) Expand the inner_wall surface group in the tree.
b) Double click Simple Boundary Condition under inner_wall to open the Simple Boundary
Condition detail panel.
c) Ensure that the Type is set to Wall.
d) Verify Wall velocity type is set to Match Mesh Velocity.
4. Update the periodic surfaces solid_pos_z, solid_neg_z, fluid_pos_z, and fluid_neg_z
Physically the simulation domain is assumed to extend infinitely in the z-direction. However, only
a small section of the cross section is being modelled and the solution is assumed to be consistent
along the z-direction. Thus, these periodic surfaces are not physical boundaries but the solution on
these surfaces is constrained to be equal by periodicity. This is achieved via a periodic boundary
condition in AcuConsole, which links the corresponding pairs of nodes on the two surfaces which
are to be constrained with a periodic boundary condition.
Periodicity can be defined before proceeding with mesh generation. With this workflow, when the
mesh is generated, AcuMeshSim, which is the mesh generation engine for AcuSolve, will read the
defined periodicity constraints and ensure a periodic mesh on the specified surface pairs.
Figure 380:
1. In the tree, double-click on Output, then right-click on Time History Output, and select New.
A new entry, Time History Output 1, will be created in the Data Tree under the Time History
Output branch.
2. Right-click on Time History Output 1, select Rename, and type in Monitor points as the
entity name.
3. Double click Monitor points to open the detail panel. In the detail panel,
a) Change the Type to Coordinates.
b) Click Open Array.
Figure 381:
4. Click OK.
5. Set Time step frequency to 1.
This will save the results for the defined time history points at every time step.
6. Save the database.
1. Double-click on Nodal Initial Condition in the Data Tree to open the detail panel.
2. Set the Temperature to 80° C.
a) The default unit for temperature input is K. You can change the unit for temperature by
clicking on unit to the right of the input field, and selecting oC from the appearing menu.
b) Alternatively, enter 353.15 K in the temperature field.
Figure 382:
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.005 m for the Absolute mesh size.
Figure 383:
Setting local mesh attributes, such as surface mesh attributes, is not mandatory. When a local mesh
attribute is not found for a component, the global attributes are used as the mesh generation control for
that component. If a local mesh attribute is present, it will take precedence over the global setting.
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
The detail panel should now be populated with options related to the local surface meshing
controls.
4. Ensure that the Mesh size type is set to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.002 m for the Absolute mesh size.
6. Switch the Boundary layer flag to On.
Mesh controls related to boundary layer meshing become visible.
7. Check the Boundary layer type is set to Full Control.
8. Set Resolve to Total Layer Height.
This sets the total layer height based on the other settings you provide.
9. Set the remaining settings as follows:
Option Description
Number of layers 8
Figure 384:
Instead of repeating the above steps for the outer_wall surface, you can choose to propagate the mesh
attribute settings for inner_wall surface group to outer_wall surface group.
10. Under the inner_wall surface, right-click Surface Mesh Attributes and select Propagate.
Figure 385:
11. In the Propagate dialog, select the surface outer_wall and click Propagate.
Figure 386:
Figure 387:
Figure 388:
Figure 389:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. Rotate and zoom in the model to analyze the various mesh regions.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Right-click on Nodes and select New to create a new entity, Node 1.
4. Rename Node 1 to Fixed Pressure Node.
5. Right-click Fixed Pressure Node and select Define.
6. In the Node Define Dialog Box, set Selection Type to Pressure Point and Volumes to fluid.
Figure 390:
7. Click OK.
8. Expand Fixed Pressure Node and enable Pressure.
The single node will now act as the pressure reference point for the simulation. The default Type
of Zero sets the nodes in this set to pressure = 0.0.
Figure 391:
9. Examine the location of the reference pressure node and check that it is inside the domain.
a) Right-click on Fixed Pressure Node and select Display on.
Figure 392:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 393:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 394:
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 395:
The node 1 lies in the bottom half of the model and the node 2 in the upper half. The temperature
distribution in the above plot shows that in steady state upper half of the cylinder annulus is
occupied by the hotter air and lower half has the colder air.
7. You can also save the plots as an image.
a) From the AcuProbe dialog, click File > Save.
b) Enter a name for the image and click Save.
8. The time series data of the variables can also be exported as a text file for further post-
processing.
a) Right-click on the variable that you want to export and click Export.
b) Enter a File name and choose .txt for the Save as type.
c) Click Save.
This tutorial shows you how to work with steady state analysis data.
Start AcuFieldView
1. Click on the AcuConsole toolbar to open the Launch AcuFieldView dialog.
2. Click Ok to start AcuFieldView.
You will see that the temperature contours have already been displayed on all the boundary
surfaces with mesh.
Figure 396:
Figure 397:
Figure 398:
Figure 399:
Figure 400:
Create the Boundary Surface Showing Temperature for the Outer Surfaces
with Mesh
1. Orient the geometry as shown in the figure below, so that the symmetry plane and periodic
surfaces are visible.
2.
Click the Boundary Surface icon to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
3. Click the Legend tab and check the Show Legend check box.
4. Change the color of labels to black from the color palette.
5. If desired, change the number of labels to show more labels.
6. Change the Annotation title color to black.
Note: You can move the legend using Shift + left click, and resize it using Shift +
right click.
Figure 401:
1. In the Surface tab in the Boundary Surface dialog box, click Visibility to turn it off.
2. Click Create to create a new Boundary Surface set.
3. Check Visibility to turn it on.
4. Set the Display Type to Outlines.
Figure 402:
1. In the Surface tab in the Coordinate Surface dialog box, click Create to create a new
Coordinate Surface set.
2. Set the Display Type to Vectors.
3. Change the Coloring to Scalar.
4. In the Scalar Function list, select Velocity Magnitude as the scalar function to be displayed.
5. Next to Vectors, click Options.
6. Activate Head Scaling and set it at 1.
7. Set the Length Scale to 4.
8. Activate the Skip option, and set the value to 50%.
Figure 403:
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved a natural convection problem. The problem
simulated a hot cylinder placed in the center of another air-filled cylindrical volume. Air was modeled
using a Boussinesq density approximation model, which is used for buoyancy driven flows, such as
those involving natural convection. As the film of air in vicinity of the surface of the hot inner cylinder
heated up, it generated convection currents within the annular volume.
You started the tutorial by creating a database in AcuConsole, importing and meshing the geometry and
setting up the basic simulation parameters. The hot inner cylinder was represented by a solid volume
also acting as a heat source. Once the case was setup, the solution was generated with AcuSolve.
Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView where you generated a temperature profile, and a velocity
vector profile, on a cross-section of the model.
New features that were introduced in this tutorial include creating and specifying a new custom material
in AcuConsole, specifying a volume group as a heat source using the Boussinesq density model and
setting up periodic boundary conditions.
3.1.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results of a CFD simulation of
air flow inside the annulus of a concentric cylinder with a heat source due to natural convection. You
should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperMesh, AcuSolve, and HyperView. To run this
tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
Figure 404:
The schematic of the problem to be solved is shown in the figure above. The inner cylinder is a solid
with internal heat generation and the annular space between the inner and outer cylinders is a fluid
volume with air as the fluid. The air in contact with the surface of the inner cylinder is heated up and
rises to the upper parts of the annulus due to buoyancy effects and displaces the cold fluid at the top.
At the same time, the film of the fluid which was in contact with the hot surface is replaced by the
surrounding cold fluid. This process is repeated continuously until a steady state is achieved.
Both cylinders are assumed to be infinitely long and are modeled using half symmetry and periodicity.
The cylinders are infinite in z-direction and hence periodicity will be applied along this direction.
Introduction to Theory
Natural Convection
Convection is a heat transfer mechanism where the transfer of heat energy happens through the motion
of matter. Since the definition of convection involves motion of matter a fluid state is usually present in
convection. Usually this type of heat transfer takes place between a hot or a cold surface and a fluid.
The film of fluid in contact with the surface absorbs heat from or transfers heat to the surface and is
then replaced by a new film. This movement of fluid may either be governed by an external source,
such as a fan or pump, or due to internal changes in the fluid properties. When no external sources are
responsible for the fluid motion the heat transfer mechanism at work is called the Natural Convection.
The driving force for motion of the fluid in a natural convection is density changes in the fluid due to
temperature gradients induced in the fluid by heat transfer.
The natural convection mechanism works similarly as described above, whilst discussion of the problem.
The fluid which is in contact with the surface absorbs or transfers heat from the surface and becomes
hotter or colder than the surrounding fluid. Driven by buoyancy forces due to difference in densities
caused by the temperature gradient, the fluid is displaced upwards or downwards. Surrounding fluid
fills in the void created by the displaced fluid, which then undergoes the same process again. This gives
rise to a convection current which drives the hot fluid to the top and cold fluid to the bottom of the
convection cell. Buoyancy effects are driven by gravity, therefore natural convection requires presence
of a gravitational force to work. It must be noted, however, that gravity is not the driving force behind
the fluid movement. Presence of gravity only enables displacement of the fluid due to the density
changes caused by temperature gradients.
Mathematical determination of the onset of natural convection is done through a dimensionless number
called the Rayleigh number (Ra). The Rayleigh number is defined as:
where:
• x is the characteristic length (m)
• is the Rayleigh number for characteristic length x
2
• is acceleration due to gravity (m/s )
• is the surface temperature (K)
• is the quiescent temperature (fluid temperature far from the surface of the object) (K)
2
• is the kinematic viscosity (m /s)
2
• α is the thermal diffusivity (m /s)
• β is the thermal expansion coefficient (equals to for ideal gases where is absolute
temperature).
The fluid properties , α and β are evaluated at the film temperature, , which is defined as:
When the Rayleigh number is below a critical value for the fluid heat transfer is primarily in the form of
conduction. When it exceeds this critical value the dominant heat transfer mechanism is convection.
where
3
• is the instantaneous density at temperature (kg/m )
3
• is the density at reference temperature (kg/m )
As stated in the approximation, the Boussinesq density model is only applicable when density variations
are small. A general guideline is to check for the condition to be true. This indirectly puts a
limitation on this model to be used to only for cases where expected temperature differences within the
fluid are not large.
Figure 405:
Figure 406:
Figure 407:
Figure 408:
-1
3. Verify that the Expansivity and Reference temperature values are set to 0.00347222222222 K
and 288 K respectively.
Figure 409:
Figure 410:
Figure 411:
Figure 412:
Figure 413:
Figure 414:
4. Click solid_pos_z. In the Entity Editor, turn Off the simple boundary condition.
Figure 415:
5. Similarly, turn off the simple boundary condition for the solid_neg_z, fluid_pos_z and
fluid_neg_z components.
These surfaces are the periodic surfaces along the length of the domain and should be modeled as
internal surfaces. Hence, the simple boundary condition can be turned off.
6. Click symmetry. In the Entity Editor, change the Type to SYMMETRY.
Figure 416:
7. Click inner_wall. In the Entity Editor, verify that the Type is set to WALL.
Figure 417:
Figure 418:
Figure 419:
6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 and create another PBC named periodicity_solid with the Source and
Target components as solid_pos_z and solid_neg_z, respectively.
Figure 420:
Figure 421:
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
3. Optional: For a faster solution time, set the number of processors to a higher number (4 or 8)
based on availability.
4. The Output time steps can be set to All or Final. Since this is a steady state analysis, the Final
time step output is sufficient.
5. Make sure that the Auto run AcuTail and AcuProbe options are turned On.
6. Leave the remaining options as default and click Launch to start the solution process.
Figure 422:
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 423:
Close the AcuTail and AcuProbe windows. In the HyperMesh window, close the AcuSolve Control tab.
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
2. In the Load Model File dialog, navigate to your working directory and select the AcuSolve .Log
file for the solution run that you want to post-process. In this example, the file to be selected is
NaturalConvection.1.Log.
3. Click Open.
4. Click Apply in the panel area to load the model and results.
The model is colored by geometry after loading.
Figure 424:
6. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
Verify that the contour plot looks like the figure shown below.
Figure 425:
Figure 426:
Figure 427:
The Vector plot should be modified accordingly as you make the changes mentioned above. Verify
that the vector plot looks like the one shown in the figure below. The plot is zoomed in for a clear
display of the direction of air flow.
Figure 428:
As mentioned in the problem description, the air which is in contact with the solid surface gets
heated up and rises to the top while being replaced by the colder air and the cycle gets repeated
until steady state is reached.
Summary
In this tutorial, you successfully learned how to set up and solve a natural convection problem using
AcuSolve in HyperMesh. You started by importing the HyperMesh model database and then set up the
simulation parameters and boundary conditions. Once the solution was computed, you post-processed
the results using HyperView and created a contour plot of temperature distribution across the domain.
AcuConsole
HyperMesh
HyperWorks CFD X
3.2.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving, and viewing results for a simulation of 3D
turbulent-flow with conjugate heat transfer in a mixing elbow. It is designed to introduce you to the
AcuSolve tool set with a simple problem.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Simulating heat transfer within a fluid
• Simulating heat transfer between a fluid and a solid (conjugate heat transfer)
• Creation of a new material model
• Modeling of surfaces shared between solid and fluid volumes
• Propagation (copying) of settings from one surface group to another
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 429. It consists of a
mixing elbow made of stainless steel with water entering through two inlets with different velocities and
with different temperatures. The geometry is symmetric about the XY midplane of the pipe, as shown in
the figure. This symmetry allows the flow to be modeled with the use of a symmetry plane. The use of a
symmetry plane leads to reduced computation time while still providing an accurate solution.
Details of the problem characteristics are shown in the following images extracted from a sample
worksheet that was created prior to setting up the case for AcuSolve.
The diameter of the large inlet is 0.1 m, the inlet velocity (v) is 0.4 m/s and the temperature (T) of the
fluid entering the large inlet is 295 K. The diameter of the small inlet is .025 m, the velocity is 1.2 m/s,
and the temperature of the fluid entering the small inlet is 320 K. The pipe wall has a thickness of 0.005
m.
Figure 430:
The fluid in this problem is water, with the following properties that do not change with temperature; a
3 -3
density (ρ) of 1000 kg/m , a molecular viscosity (μ) of 1 X 10 kg/m-sec, a conductivity (k) of 0.598
W/m-K, and a specific heat (cp) of 4183 J/kg-K, as shown in the worksheet.
Figure 431:
3
The pipe walls are made of stainless steel with a density of 8030 kg/m , a conductivity of 16.2 W/m-K,
and a specific heat of 500 J/kg-K.
Figure 432:
Based on mass conservation, the combined flow rate (Q) yields a velocity of 0.475 m/s downstream of
the small inlet. This value is useful in determining the Reynolds number, which in turn can be used to
determine if the flow should be modeled as turbulent, or if it should be modeled as laminar.
Figure 433:
In order to determine whether the modeled flow would be turbulent or whether it would be laminar, the
Reynolds number (Re) should be calculated. The Reynolds number is given by:
where ρ is the fluid density, v is the fluid velocity, D is the diameter of the flow region, and μ is the
molecular viscosity of the fluid. When the Reynolds number is above 4,000, it is generally accepted that
flow should be modeled as turbulent.
The Reynolds numbers of 40,000 at the large inlet, 30,000 at the small inlet, and 47,500 for the
combined flow indicate that the flow is turbulent throughout the flow domain.
Figure 434:
The simulation will be set up to model steady state, turbulent flow with varying temperature. In
addition, the thermal characteristics of the flow will be modeled using advection and diffusion equations.
Figure 435:
In addition to setting appropriate conditions to capture the physics of the simulation, it is important
to generate a mesh that is sufficiently refined to provide good results. In this tutorial the global mesh
size is set to provide at least 30 mesh elements around the circumference of the large inlet. For this
problem, the global mesh size is 0.0106 m. This mesh size was chosen to provide a quick turnaround
time for the model. For real-world simulations, you would modify your mesh settings after an initial
solution until a mesh-independent solution is reached (that is, a solution that does not change with
further mesh refinement).
Figure 436:
AcuSolve allows for mesh refinements in a user-defined region that is independent of geometric
components of the problem such as volumes, model surfaces, or edges. It is useful to refine the mesh
in areas where gradients in pressure, velocity, eddy viscosity, and the like are steep. For this problem,
the flow entering the large pipe from the side pipe creates large velocity gradients that need to be
resolved. A mesh refinement zone is used to capture the flow in this region.
Figure 437:
Once a solution is calculated, the flow properties of interest are the steady state temperature contours
on the symmetry plane, velocity vectors on the symmetry plane, temperature contours on the pipe
walls, and temperature contours at the pipe outlet.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, create the database for storage of AcuConsole settings and
set the location for saving mesh and solution information for AcuSolve.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new folder named Mixing_Elbow_Heat and open this folder.
5. Enter Mixing_Elbow_Heat as the File name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
The general parameters that you will set for this tutorial are for turbulent flow, steady state time
analysis and for thermal analysis using advection-diffusion equations.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 438:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 439:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 440:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Enter 0.4 for the Relaxation factor.
The relaxation factor is used to improve convergence of the solution. Typically a value between
0.2 and 0.4 provides a good balance between achieving a smooth progression of the solution and
the extra compute time needed to reach convergence. Higher relaxation factors cause AcuSolve
to take more time steps to reach a steady state solution. A high relaxation factor is sometimes
necessary in order to achieve convergence for very complex applications.
Figure 441:
In the next steps you will verify that the pre-defined material properties of water match the desired
properties for this problem. You will also create a new material, stainless steel, and set the desired
material properties.
Figure 442:
Figure 443:
b) Click Rename.
c) Type Stainless Steel and press Enter.
9. Double-click Steel in the Data Tree to open the Stainless Steel detail panel.
10. Change the Material type to solid.
a) Click the drop-down control next to Material Type.
b) Click Solid.
11. Set the density to be used for stainless steel in this simulation.
a) Click the Density tab.
b) Enter 8030 for Density.
c) Verify that the units are kg/m3.
12. Set the specific heat of steel for this simulation.
a) Click the Specific Heat tab.
b) Enter 500 for Specific heat.
c) Verify that the units are J/kg-K.
13. Set the conductivity of steel for this simulation.
a) Click the Conductivity tab.
b) Enter 16.2 for Conductivity.
c) Verify that the units are W/m-K.
14. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (*.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 444:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 445:
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your
screen may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are
randomly assigned to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on
Windows. If you are running this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight
difference between the images displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
In the next steps you will create a new group for the steel wall volume; set the material for that group;
add the volumes from the geometry to that volume group; rename the default volume group to Fluid
and set the material for that group; then add the volumes from the geometry to that group.
1. Expand the Model tree item.
2. Expand Volumes.
3. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until you
press Enter. If you move the input focus away from the item without entering it, your
changes will be lost.
6. Set the material model for the volume to use the Stainless Steel.
a) Expand the Steel Walls volume in the tree.
b) Double-click Element Set to open the Element Set detail panel.
c) Change the Medium to Solid to define this volume as a solid.
d) For Material model, click Stainless Steel.
Figure 446:
7. Add the pipe wall components in the geometry to this volume group.
a) Right-click Steel Walls under Volumes in the Data Tree.
b) Click Add to.
c) Click the outer surface of the pipe wall.
If you rotate the view, by Ctrl+left-clicking, you can see that only the outer volume is
highlighted.
Figure 447:
d) Click Done to add this geometry volume to the Steel Walls volume group.
Note: You can also use the middle mouse button to complete the addition of
geometry components to a group.
Figure 448:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate attributes for each group in the
problem, and add surfaces to the groups.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the large inlet, set the inlet velocity, and add the
main inlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 449:
Figure 450:
Figure 451:
c) Click Done to add this geometry surface to the Large Inlet surface group.
Note: You can also use the middle mouse button to complete the addition of
geometry components to a group.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the small inlet, assign the appropriate attributes,
and add the small inlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 452:
1. Create a new surface group and rename the surface to Small Inlet.
2. Expand the Small Inlet surface in the tree.
3. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition under Small Inlet to open the Simple Boundary
Condition detail panel.
4. Change the Type to Inflow.
5. Change the Inflow type to Average Velocity.
6. Set the Average velocity to 1.2 m/sec.
7. Set the Temperature to 320 K.
Figure 453:
Note: If you need to zoom in or out, Ctrl+right-click and drag the cursor down or
up. You can also restore the initial view by clicking .
Figure 454:
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the outlet, assign the appropriate attributes and
add the outlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 455:
Figure 456:
Set Wall Boundary Conditions for the Steel Pipe Outer Walls
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the steel pipe outer walls, assign the appropriate
attributes and add the pipe walls from the geometry to the surface group. In this simulation, you
will not be modeling the air surrounding the pipe. However, you will specify a convective heat
transfer coefficient and reference temperature to account for heat transfer from the pipe walls to the
surroundings.
1. Create a new surface group and rename the surface to Steel Pipe - Outer Walls.
2. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition under Steel Pipe - Outer Walls to open the Simple
Boundary Condition detail panel.
3. Enter 100 for the Convective heat flux coefficient and verify that the units are J/m2-sec-K.
This convective heat transfer coefficient is chosen to model the heat transfer between the steel
pipe and the surrounding air.
4. Enter 302.594 for the Convective heat flux reference temperature and verify that the units are K.
This temperature value specifies that the surroundings of the pipe are at a constant temperature
of 302.594 K.
Figure 457:
Figure 458:
b) Click Done to associate these geometry surfaces with the surface settings of the Steel Pipe -
Outer Walls group.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the steel pipe inner wall, assign the appropriate
attributes, and add the pipe walls from the geometry to the surface group.
1. Create a new surface group and rename the surface to Steel Pipe - Inner Walls.
2. Disable boundary conditions for this surface.
For this simulation, no boundary conditions will be used for the inner surface of the steel pipe.
Where there is an interface between two volumes (fluid/solid or fluid/fluid), AcuConsole treats the
interface as two surfaces. This allows you to set different attributes, such as boundary conditions
or local meshing attributes, on either side of the interface. You will set boundary conditions for the
large pipe wall (the second surface at this interface) later in this tutorial.
a) Expand the Steel Pipe - Inner Walls surface in the tree.
b) Click the check box next to Simple Boundary Condition to disable boundary conditions.
3. Turn off the display of the Steel Pipe - Outer Walls.
• Click next to the surface so that it is in the display off state ( ),
or,
• Right-click Steel Pipe - Outer Walls in the tree, and click Display off.
Turning off the display of the outer walls will make it easier to add geometric surfaces to the inner
wall group.
4. Add geometry surfaces to the Steel Pipe - Inner Walls group.
a) Right-click Steel Pipe - Inner Walls and click Add to.
b) Click the pipe near the main inlet, the pipe near the elbow, the pipe near the outlet, and the
pipe near the side inlet to select the four surfaces that make up the inner surface of the steel
pipe wall.
Figure 459:
At this point, the inner walls of the steel pipe should be highlighted.
c) Click Done to associate these geometry surfaces with the surface settings of the Steel Pipe -
Inner Walls group.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the pipe walls, assign the appropriate attributes,
and add the elbow pipe walls from the geometry to the surface group.
1. Create a new surface group and rename the surface to Large Pipe.
2. Expand the Large Pipe surface in the tree.
3. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition under Large Pipe to open the Simple Boundary
Condition detail panel.
The default wall settings will be used for the pipe wall.
4. Turn off the display of the Steel Pipe - Inner Walls.
Turning off the display of the inner walls of the steel pipe will make it easier to add geometric
surfaces to the pipe group.
5. Add geometry surfaces to this group.
a) Right-click Large Pipe and click Add to.
b) Click on the pipe near the large inlet, the pipe near the elbow, and the pipe near the outlet to
select the three surfaces that make up the main pipe wall.
Figure 460:
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the side pipe wall, assign the appropriate
parameters, and add the side pipe wall from the geometry to the surface group.
1. Create a new surface group and rename the surface to Small Pipe.
2. Expand the Small Pipe surface in the tree.
3. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition under Small Pipe to open the Simple Boundary
Condition detail panel.
As with the large pipe, the default boundary condition Type is Wall. The default is appropriate for
this group and no other changes are needed.
4. Add geometry surfaces to this group.
a) Right-click Small Pipe and click Add to.
b) Rotate the model to expose the side pipe by Ctrl+left-clicking near the bottom of the
geometry and moving the cursor toward the top of the window.
c) Click on the pipe near the side inlet.
Figure 461:
This geometry is symmetric about the XY midplane, and can therefore be modeled with half of the
geometry. In order to take advantage of this, the midplane needs to be identified as a symmetry plane.
The symmetry boundary condition enforces constraints such that the flow field from one side of the
plane is a mirror image of that on the other side.
In the next steps you will create a surface group for the symmetry plane of the pipe, assign the
appropriate attributes, and add the side pipe wall from the geometry to the surface group.
1. Create a new surface group and rename it to Symmetry.
2. Expand the Symmetry surface in the tree.
3. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition under Symmetry to open the Simple Boundary
Condition detail panel.
Figure 462:
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the ends of the steel pipe, assign the appropriate
attributes, and add the pipe ends from the geometry to the surface group.
1. Create a new surface group and rename it to Steel Pipe - Ends.
2. Expand the Steel Pipe - Ends surface in the tree.
3. Disable boundary conditions for this surface.
No boundary conditions will be used for the pipe ends for this simulation. AcuSolve will treat the
steel wall as if it continues beyond the regions modeled.
4. Turn off the display of all surface items except Steel Pipe - Ends and default.
5. Add geometric faces to this group.
a) Right-click Steel Pipe - Ends and click Add to.
b) Click on the pipe ends at the large inlet, the small inlet, and the outlet.
Note: You may need to rotate the graphic to see that the pipe end at the large
inlet is highlighted.
Figure 463:
Set Symmetry Boundary Conditions for the Steel Pipe Symmetry Plane
AcuConsole supports three levels of meshing control; global, zone, and geometric.
• Global mesh controls apply to the whole model without being tied to any geometric component of
the model.
• Zone mesh controls apply to a defined region of the model, but are not associated with a particular
geometric component.
• Geometric mesh controls are applied to a specific geometric component. These controls can be
applied to volume groups, surface groups, or edge groups.
In the next steps you will set global meshing parameters. In subsequent steps you will create zone and
surface meshing parameters.
Figure 464:
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Expand the Global Data Tree item.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.0106 m for the Absolute mesh size.
This absolute mesh size is chosen to ensure that there are at least 30 mesh elements around the
circumference of the main pipe.
6. Turn off the Curvature refinement parameters option.
Figure 465:
In the next steps you will define mesh controls for a region around the small pipe and extending into
the main pipe by using a zone mesh control. The region of interest for this refinement is a cylinder that
encloses the small pipe and extends into the main pipe.
Figure 466:
Figure 467:
Note: When setting mesh size for refinement zones, the best practice is to choose a
1 1 1
value that is the global mesh size divided by a power of 2, that is, /2, /4, /8, and the
like.
10. Set the location of the mesh refinement by defining the center points of the end faces of the
cylinder.
a) Click Open Array to open the Array Editor dialog.
b) Enter 0.143 for X-coordinate 1 and 2.
c) Enter -0.232 for Y-coordinate 1.
d) Enter -0.025 for Y-coordinate 2.
e) Enter 0.0 for Z-coordinate 2.
f) Click OK.
Figure 468:
Figure 469:
In the next steps you will set parameters that control the mesh size normal to the large pipe wall
(boundary layer mesh controls).
1. Expand the Model > Surfaces > Large Pipe tree item.
2. Click the check box next to Surface Mesh Attributes to enable the settings and open the Surface
Mesh Attributes detail panel.
3. Change the Mesh size type to None.
This option indicates that the mesher will use the global meshing attributes when creating the
mesh on the surface of the pipe walls.
4. Turn on the Boundary layer flag option.
This option allows you to define how the meshing should be handled in the direction normal to the
walls.
5. Set the Resolve option to Total Layer Height.
Mesh elements for a boundary layer are grown in the normal direction from a surface to allow
effective resolution of the steep gradients near no-slip walls. The layers can be specified using a
number of different options. In this tutorial you will specify the height of the first layer, a stretch
ratio for successive layers (growth rate), and the total number of layers to generate. AcuConsole
will resolve the total layer height from the attributes that you provide. That is, total layer height
will be computed based on the height of the first element, the growth rate, and the number of
layers that you provide in the next few steps.
6. Keep the default value, 0.001 m, for First element height
7. Enter 1.3 for the Growth rate.
8. Enter 4 for the Number of layers.
Figure 470:
The local mesh settings for the small pipe are the same as for the large pipe. AcuConsole has the
capability to propagate, or "copy and paste," settings from one group to another. In the following steps
you will propagate the local mesh settings from the large pipe surface group to the small pipe surface
group.
1. Right-click Surface Mesh Attributes under Large Pipe and click Propagate.
2. Scroll down the list of surfaces and click Small Pipe.
Figure 471:
3. Click Propagate to paste the settings for the Large Pipe surface to the Small Pipe surface.
If you examine the Surface Mesh Attributes for the Small Pipe, you will see that the settings are the
same as those for the Large Pipe.
In the following steps you will set meshing parameters that will allow for localized control of the mesh
size near the outer walls of the steel pipe.
1. Expand the Model > Surfaces > Steel Pipe - Outer Walls tree item.
2. Click the check box next to Surface Mesh Attributes to enable the settings and open the Surface
Mesh Attributes detail panel.
3. Change the Mesh size type to None.
This option indicates that the mesher will use the global meshing parameters when creating the
mesh on the surface of the pipe walls.
4. Turn on the Boundary layer flag option.
This option allows you to define how the meshing should be handled in the direction normal to the
walls. For the inner and outer walls of the steel pipe, you will set parameters to create a mesh one
layer thick with a height of 0.002 m.
5. Set the Resolve option to Total Layer Height.
6. Enter 0.002 m for First element height.
7. Enter 1 for the Number of layers.
Figure 472:
The local mesh settings for the inner walls of the pipe are the same as for the outer walls. In the
following steps you will propagate the local mesh settings from the surface group containing the steel
pipe outer walls to the surface group containing the steel pipe inner walls.
1. Right-click Surface Mesh Attributes under Steel Pipe - Outer Walls and click Propagate.
2. Scroll down the list of surfaces and click Steel Pipe - Inner Walls.
3. Click Propagate to paste the settings for the Steel Pipe - Outer Walls surface to the Steel Pipe -
Inner Walls surface.
If you examine the Surface Mesh Attributes for the Steel Pipe - Inner Walls, you will see that the
settings are the same as those for the Steel Pipe - Outer Walls.
4. Save the database to create a backup of your settings.
Figure 473:
Figure 474: Mesh Details Around the Pipe Intersection Viewed on the Symmetry Plane
Note that the mesh size in the main pipe decreases from left to right in the transition from a
region where global settings determine the size to the zone around the small pipe where the
settings are for a finer mesh.
6. Save the database to create a backup of your settings.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
Based on these settings, AcuConsole will generate the AcuSolve input files, then launch the solver.
AcuSolve will run using four processors to calculate the steady state solution for this problem.
2. Click Ok to start the solution process.
While computing the solution, an AcuTail window opens. Solution progress is reported in this
window. A summary of the solution process indicates that the run has been completed.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 475:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
In the next steps you will start AcuFieldView, manipulate the view of the model, display temperature
contours and velocity vectors on the symmetry plane, display temperature contours on the pipe wall
symmetry plane and display temperature contours at the outlet.
Start AcuFieldView
When AcuFieldView is started directly from AcuConsole, the model will be displayed in an isometric view
with a Boundary Surface dialog open. The initial view is shown in perspective, with an outline around
the model. You will manipulate the view in the next steps, and in later steps will view different flow
characteristics using the Boundary Surface dialog.
Figure 476:
Figure 477:
Figure 478:
2.
Turn off the display of the outline around the model by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Change the view from perspective to orthographic.
a) Click on the View menu.
b) Click Perspective to disable this option.
Figure 479:
Figure 480:
b)
Click .
You will see the view change as soon as you click a button in the Defined Views dialog.
c) (Optional) Close the dialog.
You can move, zoom, and rotate the view in AcuFieldView in a similar fashion as in AcuConsole.
AcuFieldView uses a different mapping for mouse-button actions.
rotate middle
zoom right
In the next steps you will create a boundary surface to display contours of fluid temperature on the
symmetry plane.
1.
Click on the side toolbar to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
Note: The dialog may already be open. This step will put the focus on the dialog.
Figure 481:
e) Click the white color swatch next to the Title field and set the color for the title to black.
Figure 482:
f) Move the legend by Shift+left-clicking and dragging the legend to the left.
Figure 483:
In the next steps you will create a new boundary surface and display velocity vectors on that surface.
Figure 484:
Figure 485:
5. Zoom in on the junction of the small inlet with the main pipe to view details of velocity vectors.
a)
Click on the toolbar.
b) Draw a box around the junction of the two pipes.
Figure 486:
Note: The Show Legend option for the temperature contour (Surface ID 1) is disabled
in order to capture this image.
The velocity vectors indicate the direction of flow. The vector length indicates the magnitude
of the flow velocity. Adding velocity vectors to a view with temperature contours allows you to
visualize temperature and velocity simultaneously.
In the next steps you will create a boundary surface to display contours of temperature on the stainless
steel pipe walls at the symmetry plane.
1. Click on the Transform Controls toolbar to center the visible surfaces and to fit the view in the
window.
2.
Click on the side toolbar to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
Note: The dialog may already be open. This step will put the focus on the dialog.
3. Disable the visibility of the temperature contours on the symmetry plane and of the velocity
vectors.
a) Set the Surface ID to 1.
b) Disable the Visibility option on the Surface tab.
c) Set the Surface ID to 2.
d) Disable the Visibility option on the Surface tab.
4. Click Create on the Surface tab of the Boundary Surface dialog.
The new Surface ID will be 3.
5. Enable the Smooth option in the Display Type control group.
6. Enable the Scalar option in the Coloring control group.
7. Set temperature as the scalar property to display.
a) Click Select in the Scalar Function control group to open the Function Selection dialog.
b) Select temperature from the list.
c) Click Calculate.
8. Set the stainless-steel pipe symmetry plane as the location for display of the contours.
a) Scroll up in the list of Boundary Types and click OSF:Steel Pipe - Symmetry.
b) Click OK.
Figure 487:
In the next steps you will create a boundary surface to display contours of temperature at the outlet.
1.
Click to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
2. Click Create on the Surface tab of the Boundary Surface dialog.
The new Surface ID will be 4.
3. Enable the Smooth option in the Display Type control group.
4. Enable the Scalar option in the Coloring control group.
5. Set temperature as the scalar property to display.
a) Click Select in the Scalar Function control group to open the Function Selection dialog.
b) Select temperature from the list.
c) Click Calculate.
6. Set the outlet as the location for display of the contours.
a) Click OSF: Outlet in the Boundary Types list.
b) Click OK.
7. Turn off the Visibility option for surfaces 1, 2, and 3.
8. Orient the view so that you can see the contours on the outlet.
a)
Click on the Transform Controls toolbar.
b) Set the Viewing Direction to -Y.
c) Click on the Transform Controls toolbar to center the visible surfaces and to fit the view in
the window.
Figure 488:
9. Change the color scale to better resolve differences in the temperature contours.
When the scalar function for temperature is calculated by AcuFieldView, minimum and maximum
values are calculated for use in a colormap for the contour display. You can edit the coloring to
better resolve differences in the pressure distribution.
a) Set the Surface ID to 4 in the Boundary Surface dialog.
Note: You could also make this the current surface by double-clicking the surface
in the modeling window.
Figure 489:
Notice that the Min: and Max: values for the Function Range change when the Local option is
toggled.
c) Enable the Local option.
Figure 490:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a simulation of conjugate heat transfer
in a mixing elbow. Once the case was set up, you generated a mesh and generated a solution using
AcuSolve. Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView to allow you to create contour and vector
views along the symmetry plane of the model. New features introduced in this tutorial include: flows of
different temperatures, simulating heat transfer within a fluid, simulating heat transfer between a fluid
and a solid (conjugate heat transfer), creation of a new material model, modeling of shared surfaces
at fluid/solid interfaces, and copying and pasting (propagation) of settings from one surface group to
another.
3.2.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperMesh, AcuSolve, and HyperView. Although it is
not necessary, it is recommended that you complete ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow prior
to running this simulation. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh
and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1. It consists of a mixing
elbow made of stainless steel with water entering through two inlets with different velocities and at
different temperatures. The geometry is symmetric about the XY midplane of the pipe, as shown in the
figure.
Figure 492:
Figure 493:
Figure 494:
Figure 495:
Figure 496:
Figure 497:
Figure 498:
Figure 499:
Figure 500:
Figure 501:
Run AcuSolve
1. Turn on the visibility of all mesh components.
For the analysis to run, the mesh for all active components must be visible.
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
3. Optional: For a faster solution time, set the number of processors to a higher number (4 or 8)
based on availability.
4. The Output time steps can be set to All or Final. Since this is a steady state analysis, the Final
time step output is sufficient.
5. Leave the remaining options as default and click Launch to start the solution process.
Figure 502:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
Figure 503:
3. Orient the display to the xy-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
4. Click on the Results toolbar to open the Contour panel.
5. Under result type, select Temperature(s).
6. Click the Components entity collector and select Displayed.
7. Click Apply.
8. In the panel area, under the Display tab, turn off the Discrete color option.
Figure 504:
9. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
Figure 505:
Figure 506:
Summary
In this tutorial, you learned how to set up a conjugate heat transfer CFD simulation using HyperMesh
and how to create a new material model. You launched AcuSolve directly from HyperMesh to compute
the solution and then post-processed the results using HyperView.
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks
UI Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperWorks CFD X, AcuSolve, and HyperView.
Although it is not necessary, it is recommended that you complete ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a
Mixing Elbow prior to running this simulation. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed
version of HyperWorks CFD X and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1. It consists of a mixing
elbow made of stainless steel with water entering through two inlets with different velocities and at
different temperatures. The geometry is symmetric about the XY midplane of the pipe, as shown in the
figure.
Figure 508:
Figure 509:
The Validate tool scans through the entire model and lists out the defects in the geometry such as
free edges, closed shells, intersections, duplicates and sliver surfaces.
The current model doesn’t have any of the issues mentioned above. Alternatively, if any issues are
found, they are indicated by the number in the brackets adjacent to the tool name.
Observe that a blue check mark appears on the top-left corner of the Validate icon. This indicates
that the tool found no issues with the geometry model.
Figure 510:
2. Press Esc or right-click in the modeling window and select Exit from the context-menu to exit the
tool.
3. Save the database.
Figure 511:
Figure 512:
Figure 513:
6. Click the Heat transfer setting then activate the Heat transfer check box.
7. Click the Solver controls setting and verify that the parameters are set as shown in the figure
below.
Figure 514:
Figure 515:
Figure 516:
Figure 517:
Figure 518:
Figure 519:
Figure 520:
Figure 521:
3. In the dialog that appears, click the drop-down menu next to Material and select Steel.
4. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and continue creating instances.
5. Next, select the inner pipe solid.
Figure 522:
6. In the dialog that appears, click the drop-down menu next to Material and select Water.
7. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.
Figure 523:
Figure 524:
3. In the dialog that appears, enter a value of 0.4 for Average velocity.
4.
Click to open the temperature tab.
5. Enter a value of 295 for Temperature.
6. Rename the inlet.
a) From the legend on the left side of the modeling window, double-click on Inlet
b) Type Large_Inlet and press Enter.
7. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and continue creating instances.
Note: The number of inlets created appears in parenthesis on the top-right of the
Profiled tool icon.
Figure 525:
Figure 526:
3. In the dialog that appears, enter a value of 1.2 for Average velocity.
4.
Click to open the temperature tab.
5. Enter a value of 320 for Temperature.
6. Rename the inlet.
a) From the legend on the left side of the modeling window, double-click on Inlet
b) Type Small_Inlet and press Enter.
7. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.
Figure 527:
Figure 528:
3. In the dialog that appears, make sure both Static pressure and Pressure loss factor are 0.
Figure 529:
4. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.
1. From the Flow ribbon, Domain tools, click the Symmetry tool.
Figure 530:
Figure 531:
Figure 532:
4. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and continue creating instances.
5. Next, select the faces for the pipe wall symmetry.
Figure 533:
Figure 534:
Figure 535:
3.
In the dialog that appears, click to open the temperature tab.
4. Change the Convective heat coefficient value to 100.
5. Change the Convective heat resistance temperature value to 302.594.
Figure 536:
Figure 537:
Note: If the model has not been validated, you are prompted to create the simulation
model before running the batch mesh.
Figure 538:
4. Click Mesh.
The Run Status dialog opens. Once the run is complete, the status is updated and you can close
the dialog.
Tip: Right-click on the mesh job and select View log file to view a summary of the
meshing process.
Figure 539:
Run AcuSolve
1. From the Solution ribbon, Simulation tools, click the Run tool.
Figure 540:
Figure 541:
The Run Status dialog opens. Once the run is complete, the status is updated and you can close
the dialog.
Tip: While AcuSolve is running, right-click on the AcuSolve job in the Run Status
dialog and select View Log File to monitor the AcuSolve solution process.
Open HyperView
Start HyperView from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > HyperView.
4. Click Apply in the panel area to load the model and results.
The model is colored by geometry after loading.
Figure 542:
3. Orient the display to the xy-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
4. Click on the Results toolbar to open the Contour panel.
5. Under result type, select Temperature(s).
6. Click the Components entity collector and select Displayed.
7. Click Apply.
8. In the panel area, under the Display tab, turn off the Discrete color option.
Figure 543:
9. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
Figure 544:
Figure 545:
Summary
In this tutorial, you learned how to set up a conjugate heat transfer simulation using HyperWorks CFD
X and how to create a new material model. You launched AcuSolve directly from HyperWorks CFD X to
compute the solution and then post-processed the results using HyperView.
AcuConsole
HyperMesh
3.3.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results of 3D, turbulent flow
with conjugate heat transfer in a mixing elbow. It is designed to introduce you to the AcuSolve tool set
with a simple problem.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow.
Details of the setup for the static simulation of this problem are shown in ACU-T: 3100 Conjugate
Heat Transfer in a Mixing Elbow. The following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this
tutorial:
• Simulating transient flow characteristics
• Creating and applying multiplier functions
• Using the restart capability
• Decoupling of the flow and temperature simulations ("frozen" flow field for thermal simulations)
• Creating an animation from transient results
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The problem is divided into two components, a steady state solution and a transient solution. The flow
and thermal fields that are established in the steady simulation will be used as a starting point for the
transient simulation. The use of these "frozen" flow and thermal fields dramatically reduces the overall
solution time necessary to solve the thermal transient model. This technique of solving temperature
separate from the flow field is a powerful feature that can be applied to a broad class of problems.
Note that this simulation approach relies on decoupling of the thermal and momentum fields. If there is
strong coupling between the flow and thermal fields (that is, through temperature-dependent material
properties), this approach cannot be applied.
This case is the same as the one used in AcuConsole. The geometry is symmetric about the XY
midplane of the pipe, as shown in the figure. This symmetry allows the flow to be modeled with the
use of a symmetry plane. The use of a symmetry plane leads to reduced computation time while still
providing an accurate solution.
Details of the problem characteristics are shown in the following images extracted from a sample
worksheet that was created prior to setting up the case for AcuSolve.
The diameter of the large inlet is 0.1 m, the inlet velocity (v) is 0.4 m/s and the temperature (T) of the
fluid entering the large inlet is 295 K. The diameter of the small inlet is .025 m, the velocity is 1.2 m/s,
and the temperature of the fluid entering the small inlet is 320 K. The pipe wall has a thickness of 0.005
m.
Figure 547:
The fluid in this problem is water, with the following properties that do not change with temperature; a
3 -3
density (ρ) of 1000 kg/m , a molecular viscosity (μ) of 1 X 10 kg/m-sec, a conductivity (k) of 0.598
W/m-K, and a specific heat (cp) of 4183 J/kg-K, as shown in the worksheet.
Figure 548:
3
The pipe walls are made of stainless steel with a density of 8030 kg/m , a conductivity of 16.2 W/m-K,
and a specific heat of 500 J/kg-K.
Figure 549:
Based on mass conservation, the combined flow rate (Q) yields a velocity of 0.475 m/s downstream of
the small inlet. This value is useful in determining the Reynolds number, which in turn can be used to
determine if the flow should be modeled as turbulent, or if it should be modeled as laminar.
Figure 550:
In order to determine whether the modeled flow would be turbulent or whether it would be laminar, the
Reynolds number (Re) should be calculated. The Reynolds number is given by:
where ρ is the fluid density, v is the fluid velocity, D is the diameter of the flow region, and μ is the
molecular viscosity of the fluid. When the Reynolds number is above 4,000, it is generally accepted that
flow should be modeled as turbulent.
The Reynolds numbers of 40,000 at the large inlet, 30,000 at the small inlet, and 47,500 for the
combined flow indicate that the flow is turbulent throughout the flow domain.
Figure 551:
The simulation will be set up to model steady state, turbulent flow. In addition, the thermal
characteristics of the flow will be modeled using advection and diffusion equations.
The simulation will be set up to model steady state, turbulent flow. In addition, the thermal
characteristics of the flow will be modeled using advection and diffusion equations. The simulation will
be set up to model steady state, turbulent flow with varying temperature.
Figure 552:
In addition to setting appropriate conditions to capture the physics of the simulation, it is important
to generate a mesh that is sufficiently refined to provide good results. In this tutorial the global mesh
size is set to provide at least 30 mesh elements around the circumference of the large inlet. For this
problem, the global mesh size is 0.0106 m. This mesh size was chosen to provide a quick turnaround
time for the model. For real-world simulations, you would modify your mesh settings after an initial
solution until a mesh-independent solution is reached (that is, a solution that does not change with
further mesh refinement).
AcuSolve allows for mesh refinements in a user-defined region that is independent of geometric
components of the problem such as volumes, model surfaces, or edges. It is useful to refine the mesh
in areas where gradients in pressure, velocity, eddy viscosity, and the like are steep. For this problem ,
the flow entering the large pipe from the side pipe creates large velocity gradients that need to be
resolved. A mesh refinement zone is used to capture the flow in this region.
Figure 553:
Once a steady state solution is calculated, you will create a transient database, modify settings, and
solve for the transient temperature characteristics of the problem.
symmetry plane
stainless steel
water
large inlet
flow direction
v = 0.4 m/sec
T0 = 295 K
Tmin = 283.15 K
symmetry plane
small inlet
flow direction
v = 1.2 m/sec
T0= 320 K
Tmin = 283.15 K
The temperature profile at the inlets is shown in Figure 555. The temperature of the water flowing in
the large inlet at t=0 is 295 K and the temperature of the fluid flowing in the small inlet at t=0 is 320
K. The temperature is held constant for 0.2 s, then is ramped down at both inlets and reaches 283.15
K at 0.4 s into the simulation. The temperature is held constant for 1 s. The temperature is ramped up
beginning at 1.4 s, and by 1.6 s the inlet temperatures are back to their initial states.
For this case, the minimum duration would be the time it takes for the cold slug to move completely
through the domain. This minimum period is given by the steady state transit time through the domain
added to the duration of the cold slug.
Transit time can be estimated using the inlet velocity at the large inlet and the estimated length of the
flow path. The flow path is made up of a straight section 0.2 m long (l1), a 90-degree elbow section
with an average radius of 0.15 m (lelbow), and another straight section 0.2 m long (l2).
Figure 556:
The inlet velocity for the large inlet is 0.4 m/s. Given a flow path of 0.6356 m, the transit time will
be approximately 1.6 s. In order to predict the movement of the cold slug through the domain, our
simulation period would be at least 3.2 s.
Figure 557:
To allow time for the thermal conditions to return to the steady state, additional time can be added to
the simulation. For this case 1.3 s will be added for a total simulation period of 4.5 s.
Figure 558:
Another critical decision in a transient simulation is choosing the time increment. The time increment
is the change in time during a given time step of the simulation. It is important to choose a time
increment that is short enough to capture the changes in flow properties of interest, but does not
require unnecessary computation time.
There are two methods commonly used for determining an appropriate time increment. The first
method involves identification of the time scales of the transient behaviors of interest and setting the
time increment to sufficiently resolve those behaviors. The second method involves setting a limit on
the number of mesh elements that the flow can cross in a given time step. A convenient metric for
the number of mesh elements crossed per time step is the Courant-Friederichs-Lewy number, or CFL
number. With this method, the time increment can be computed from the mesh size, the flow velocity,
and the desired CFL number. In this tutorial, the time increment was calculated using the global mesh
size and a CFL number of 2, ensuring that any portion of the cold slug will not advance past more than
2 mesh elements within a given step. For a real-world problem, you would base your calculations on the
mesh size at in the mesh zone of interest.
Figure 559:
The temperature change at the large inlet is from 295 K to 283.15 K. At the small inlet the temperature
changes from 320 K to 283.15 K. The ratio of the cold slug temperature to the initial temperature of the
large inlet flow is 0.9598. The ratio of the cold slug temperature to the initial temperature of the small
inlet flow is 0.8848. These values will be used in creating multiplier functions to model the transient
temperatures at the inlets.
Figure 560:
Once a transient solution is calculated, the results of interest are the transient thermal characteristics of
the fluid and pipe walls at different times in the simulation.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Open MixingElbow_ColdSlug.acs.
a) Click File > Open.
b) Browse to the directory containing Mixing_Elbow_Cold_Slug\Completed-Steady.
c) Select MixingElbow_ColdSlug.acs and click Open to open the database.
3. Run AcuSolve to solve the steady state problem.
a) Click on the toolbar to open the Launch AcuSolve dialog.
Figure 561:
Based on these settings, AcuConsole will generate the AcuSolve input files, then launch the
solver. AcuSolve will run on four processors to calculate the steady state solution for this
problem.
b) Click Ok to start the solution process.
During meshing an AcuTail window opens. Meshing progress is reported in this window. A
summary of the meshing process indicates that the mesh has been generated.
Figure 562:
The general attributes that you will modify for the transient simulation are the subtitle and the analysis
type.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 563:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 564:
Figure 565:
Figure 566:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Enter 0 for Max time steps.
This value indicates that AcuSolve should ignore this setting and calculate the maximum number
of time steps using the final time and the time increment.
3. Enter 4.5 for the Final time.
4. Enter 0.053 for the Initial time increment.
5. Enter 2 for Min stagger iterations.
This setting determines the minimum number of iterations that will be performed within each time
step.
6. Enter 5 for Max stagger iterations.
This setting determines the maximum number of iterations that will be performed within each
time step.
A minimum of 2 indicates that for every time step there will be at least two iterations performed,
even if the convergence tolerance is reached. A maximum of 5 indicates that for every time
step there will be no more than five iterations performed, even if convergence tolerance is not
achieved. If the convergence tolerance is reached before the fifth iteration, AcuSolve will proceed
to the next time step.
7. Enter 0 for the Relaxation factor.
When solving transient solutions, the relaxation factor should be set to zero. A non-zero relaxation
factor causes incremental updates of the solution, which will impact the time accuracy of the
solution for transient cases.
8. Click Off next to Flow to turn off the solving of flow equations.
9. Click Off next to Turbulence to turn off the solving of the turbulence equation.
By turning these options off, AcuSolve will not update the solution to these equations. Instead, the
current flow and turbulence values (generated from the steady state solution for this tutorial) will
be used throughout the simulation and AcuSolve will only solve for the temperature field.
Figure 567:
Figure 568:
In the next steps you will create a multiplier function for the temperature at the large inlet, duplicate
it, and modify the copy to be used with the small inlet. These multiplier functions will be applied to the
large and small inlets later in this tutorial.
Figure 569:
In this tutorial, the inlet temperatures drop from initial conditions to 283.15 K, are held at that
temperature, and then ramp back up to the initial temperatures.
Figure 570:
To make the creation of the multiplier functions as simple as possible, you will use the PB* filter in the
Data Tree Manager.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to show all problem-definition settings.
Figure 571:
2. Right-click Multiplier Function under Global in the Data Tree and click New to create a new
multiplier function.
3. Rename the multiplier function.
a) Right-click the newly created Multiplier Function 1 and click Rename.
b) Enter Temp - large inlet and press Enter.
4. Double-click Temp - large inlet to open the detail panel.
5. Set the Type to Piecewise Linear.
This option indicates that you will enter an array of numbers that will be used by AcuSolve to
interpolate the value of the multiplier function at each time step. In this example, the curve fit is a
function of time.
Figure 572:
6. Add the curve-fit values for the large inlet temperature profile.
a) Click Open Array to open the Array Editor dialog.
b) Click Add.
c) Enter 0.2 in the X column and 1 in the Y column.
d) Click Add again and enter 0.4 in the X column and 0.9598 in the Y column.
These entries will be used to indicate the ratio of the initial temperature to temperature at
different times during the simulation.
e) Repeat this process until you have entered all of the values shown in the figure below.
Figure 573:
f) Click Plot to expand the Array Editor dialog to display the plot of the curve fit values.
You may need to expand the dialog by dragging the right edge in order to see the plot.
Figure 574:
g) Click OK.
7. Duplicate the multiplier function.
a) Right-click Temp - large inlet.
b) Click Duplicate.
8. Rename Copy of Temp - large inlet to Temp - small inlet.
9. Revise the multiplier function values for the small inlet.
a) Double-click Temp - small inlet to open the multiplier function detail panel.
Note: The Type of Piecewise Linear is inherited from the multiplier function for
the large inlet.
X (sec) Y
0.0 1.0
0.2 1.0
0.4 0.8848
1.4 0.8848
1.6 1.0
X (sec) Y
4.5 1.0
d) Click OK.
Figure 575:
Figure 576:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will modify the AcuSolve settings to run the transient solution. The main feature
that you will use is a restart. A restart allows you to start a solution based on the results of a previous
solution. In this case, the flow and thermal field from the initial solution that you performed in this
tutorial will be used as the starting point. Since the flow and turbulence equations were turned off when
defining the solution strategy, the temperature field is the only one that will be solved.
Note: You can drag the right edge of the dialog to make it wider.
From run 0
Figure 577:
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 578:
8. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
In the following steps you will display the temperature contours for the fluid and for the pipe walls on
the symmetry plane, add velocity vectors to the view, then animate the results.
Start AcuFieldView
1. Click on the AcuConsole toolbar to open the Launch AcuFieldView dialog.
2. Click Ok to start AcuFieldView.
When you start AcuFieldView from AcuConsole, the results from the last time step of the solution
that were written to disk will be loaded for post-processing.
In the next steps you will create a boundary surface to display contours of fluid and solid temperature
on the symmetry plane at the end, middle, and beginning of the transient simulation. The first
visualization will be for the last time step in the simulation, which is the last set of results loaded from
AcuSolve when AcuFieldView was started.
1.
Click on the side toolbar to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
Note: The dialog may already be open. This step will put the focus on the dialog.
Figure 579:
Figure 580:
This image was created with a white background, perspective turned off, outlines turned off, and
the viewing direction set to +Z.
When AcuFieldView is run from a transient AcuSolve case, the results from the final time step are
shown by default.
10. Display contours of temperature at the middle of the transient simulation.
a) Click the Tools menu and then click Transient Data to open the Transient Data Controls
dialog.
Figure 581:
Note: Note that the slider under Solution Time is all the way to the right. The
contours currently displayed are from the end of the simulation.
a) Move the slider control to Time Step 42, or enter 42 in the field, and click Apply.
The resulting contours show the thermal conditions at time step 42.
Figure 582:
Figure 583:
Note that the contours from the beginning of the simulation are similar to those from the end of
the simulation. The conditions changed as the cold slug propagated through the pipe, and then
returned to initial conditions. The contours from the middle of the simulation show that the steel-
wall temperature near the intersection of the small pipe was higher than for the nearby water,
reflecting a lag in the temperature change of the wall compared to the water.
In the next steps you will create a new boundary surface and display velocity vectors on that surface.
The resulting visualization will be compared to the one created for the steady state solution.
Figure 584:
Figure 585:
In the next steps you will view the transient thermal data for the cold slug.
Figure 586:
3. Click Sweep.
As AcuFieldView prepares the sweep, you will see the controls advance on the Transient Data
Controls dialog, and you will see the visualization update at each time step. Once the sweep is
finished, it will play continuously until you change the controls.
4. Change the playback rate.
a) Click the View menu and then click Minimum Time Between Frames.
Figure 587:
In the next steps you will create a transient sweep and save it as an animation that can be viewed
independently of AcuFieldView.
1. Click the Tools menu and then click Transient Data to open the Transient Data Controls
dialog.
2. Click Tools > Flipbook Build Mode.
3. Click OK to dismiss the Flipbook Size Warning dialog.
The Sweep button on the Transient Data Controls dialog will have changed to Build.
Figure 588:
4. Use the slider control to set the Solution Time to the first time step and click Apply.
5. Click Build.
As AcuFieldView builds the flipbook animation, you will see the controls on the Transient Data
Controls dialog advance. Once the flipbook is built, a Flipbook Controls dialog will allow you to
play or save the animation.
Figure 589:
6.
Click to play the animation.
Figure 590:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a transient simulation case. You were
provided with a fully set up steady state case to use as initial conditions for the transient simulation.
The transient simulation was carried out using the "frozen flow" methodology to simulate the transient
temperature field without recomputing the velocity field. Once the transient case was set up and solved,
results were post-processed in AcuFieldView to allow you to create contour and vector views along the
symmetry plane of the model, and to animate the temperature contours. New features introduced in
this tutorial include transient simulation, multiplier functions, restarts, frozen flow and animation of
transient results.
3.3.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides you instructions for running a transient simulation of a 3D turbulent flow with
conjugate heat transfer in a mixing elbow. You should have already run through the ACU-T: 3100
Conjugate Heat Transfer in a Mixing Elbow tutorial and have a basic understanding of HyperMesh,
AcuSolve and HyperView. The HyperWorks Introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction, gives a basic introduction to HyperWorks and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
This problem is divided into two components, a steady state solution and a transient solution. The
schematic of the steady state component is shown below.
Figure 591:
The diameter of the large inlet is 0.1 m, the inlet velocity (v) is 0.4 m/s and the temperature (T) of the
fluid entering the large inlet is 295 K. The diameter of the small inlet is .025 m, the velocity is 1.2 m/
s, and the temperature of the fluid entering the small inlet is 320 K. The pipe wall has a thickness of
0.005 m. The fluid in this problem is water and the pipe walls are made of stainless steel with a density
of 8030 kg/m3, a conductivity of 16.2 W/m-K, and a specific heat of 500 J/kg-K.
The model file for the steady state part of the problem is provided as the input file. Once the steady
state solution is computed, it is projected on to the mesh and used as the initial state for the transient
simulation. The starting point for the transient portion of the problem is shown schematically in the
figure below.
symmetry plane
stainless steel
water
large inlet
flow direction
v = 0.4 m/sec
T0 = 295 K
Tmin = 283.15 K
symmetry plane
small inlet
flow direction
v = 1.2 m/sec
T0= 320 K
Tmin = 283.15 K
Figure 592:
At 0.2s into the simulation, a cold slug of water is injected at both the inlets and the temperature is
ramped down to 283.15 K starting from 0.2 s to 0.4 s. Then it is maintained constant at 283.15 K for
1 sec and then ramped up to initial states from 1.4s to 1.6s. Given a flow path of 0.6356 m, the transit
time for the slug is approximately 1.6s. Therefore, our simulation time should be at least 3.2 s to factor
in the duration of the slug and transit time. The total simulation time will be 4.5s to allow time for the
thermal conditions to return to a steady state.
The temperature change at the large inlet is from 295 K to 283.15 K. At the small inlet, the
temperature changes from 320 K to 283.15 K. The ratio of the cold slug temperature to the initial
temperature of the large inlet flow is 0.9598. The ratio of the cold slug temperature to the initial
temperature of the small inlet flow is 0.8848. These values will be used in creating multiplier functions
to model the transient temperatures at the inlets.
Figure 593:
1.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
2. Optional: For a faster solution time, set the number of processors to a higher number (4 or 8)
based on availability.
3. Once the solution is converged, close the AcuProbe and AcuTail windows. In addition, close the
Solver job Launcher and AcuSolve Control tabs.
4. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All
Programs > Altair <version> > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt .
5. In the Command Prompt, change the directory to the working directory by using the cd command.
6. Type the command acuProj -crd HYPERMESH.DIR\ConjugateHeatTransfer_Transient.crd -
run 1 and press Enter.
7. Verify that the working directory is now populated with the new files.
ConjugateHeatTransfer_Transient.pres.nic
ConjugateHeatTransfer_Transient.vel.nic
ConjugateHeatTransfer_Transient.temp.nic
ConjugateHeatTransfer_Transient.eddy.nic
8. Move the .nic files in the working directory into the HYPERMESH.DIR folder.
Figure 594:
Figure 595:
Figure 596:
1. Right-click on empty space in the Model Browser and select Create > Curve.
The Curve editor dialog opens.
2. Click New and enter Large_Inlet as the name in the panel area.
3. Click Proceed.
4. In the Curve editor dialog, enter the following values for the curve array.
Figure 597:
5. Click Update.
6. Click again on New and enter Small_Inlet as the name of the second curve, then click Proceed.
7. In the Curve editor dialog, click on Small_Inlet in the top-left corner and enter the following
values for the array.
Make sure that the Current curves is showing Small_Inlet.
Figure 598:
8. Click Update.
Both the curves should be displayed, as shown in the figure below.
Figure 599:
Note: The default color for the curves is grey, which can be changed using the Color
option on the bottom left corner of the Curve editor dialog
Next, you will create the Multiplier Functions for both the Inlets.
9. In the Solver Browser, right-click on 05.Multiplier_Function and select Create.
10. Set the Name of the function to Large_Inlet.
11. Select Piecewise Linear for the Multiplier Function Type.
12. Select the Curve Large_Inlet.
Figure 600:
13. Repeat the previous four steps to create a Multiplier Function named Small_Inlet with
Small_Inlet as the Curve.
Figure 601:
4. Repeat the steps 2 and 3 for the Velocity, Temperature, and Eddy Viscosity fields and select the
ConjugateHeatTransfer_Transient.vel.nic, ConjugateHeatTransfer_Transient.temp.nic,
and ConjugateHeatTransfer_Transient.eddy.nic files respectively.
Figure 602:
3. Similarly, click on Small_Inlet component and turn On the Show advanced features field. Select
Small_Inlet as the Temperature multiplier function.
4. Save the model.
Run AcuSolve
1. Turn on the visibility of all mesh components.
For the analysis to run, the mesh for all active components must be visible.
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
3. Optional: For a faster solution time, set the number of processors to a higher number (4 or 8)
based on availability.
4. Set the Output time steps to All if it's not already set.
5. Leave the remaining options as default and click Launch to start the solution process.
Figure 603:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
Figure 604:
5. Navigate to the location where you want to save the file, enter a name of your choice, and click
Save.
Summary
In this tutorial, you learned how to set up and run a transient conjugate heat transfer simulation
using HyperMesh and AcuSolve. You learned how to specify Nodal Initial Conditions and how to create
multiplier functions for setting up the transient boundary conditions. Finally, you used HyperView to
create and save an animation of the results of the transient simulation.
HyperMesh
3.4.1 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides instructions for setting, solving and viewing results for a steady state simulation
of radiation heat transfer between concentric spheres using the P-1 Radiation model. You should have
already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction,
and have a basic knowledge of HyperMesh, AcuSolve, and HyperView.To run this tutorial, you will need
access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Prior to running through this tutorial, copy HyperMesh_tutorial_inputs.zip from
<AcuSolve_installation_directory>\model_files\tutorials\AcuSolve to a local directory. Extract
ACU3200_P1Rad.hm from HyperMesh_tutorial_inputs.zip.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1. In this problem, a P1
radiation model is used to simulate the heat transfer due to radiation between concentric spheres.
The inside surface of the inner and the outside surface of the outer sphere are both held at constant
temperature while the gap between them radiates the heat from one sphere to the other.
The problem consists of a fluid region with arbitrary material properties between two concentric spheres
with surfaces held at fixed temperature, as shown in the following figure, which is not drawn to scale.
The radius of the outer sphere is 0.04 m and the radius of the inner sphere is 0.01 m. The inner surface
of the inner sphere is defined to have a constant wall temperature at 300.0 K (26.85 ºC). The outer
surface of the outer sphere is defined to have a constant wall temperature at 1300.0 K (1026.85 ºC).
The fluid within the spheres is defined as a non-conducting material, allowing heat to transfer via
radiation only.
The problem is solved as a steady state case to allow the heat transfer in the solid and fluid regions to
reach an equilibrium.
Figure 605:
Figure 606:
Figure 607:
In this step, you will define the radiation parameters i.e. emissivity models, surface boundary conditions
for the problem, and assign material properties to the fluid and solid regions.
Figure 608:
Figure 609:
4. Repeat the above steps and create another emissivity model named Outer with an Emissivity of
0.8.
Figure 610:
3. Click Inner. In the Entity Editor, change the Type to SOLID and set Inner as the Material.
Figure 611:
4. Click Outer. In the Entity Editor, change the Type to SOLID and set Outer as the Material.
Figure 612:
Figure 613:
Figure 614:
Figure 615:
Figure 616:
Run AcuSolve
5. Leave the remaining options as default and click Launch to start the solution process.
Figure 617:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
2. In the Load Model File dialog, navigate to your working directory and select the AcuSolve .Log
file for the solution run that you want to post-process. In this example, the file to be selected is
P1-Radiation_Sphere.1.Log.
3. Click Open.
4. Click Apply in the panel area to load the model and results.
The model is colored by geometry after loading.
Figure 618:
5. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
6. Right-click on empty space in the Results Browser and select Create > Section Cut > Planar to
create a planar section cut.
A new entity named Section 1 is created under the Section Cuts tree.
7. Click beside Section 1 to turn off the grid display in the graphics window.
8.
Orient the display to the xz-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
9. Verify that the contour plot looks like the figure below.
Figure 619:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a workflow to set-up a P1-Radiation model, carry out a radiation
heat transfer simulation, and post-process the results using HyperWorks products, namely AcuSolve,
HyperMesh, and HyperView. You started by importing the model in Altair HyperMesh. Then you defined
the simulation parameters and launched AcuSolve directly from within HyperMesh. Upon completion of
the solution by AcuSolve, you used HyperView to post-process the results and create contour plots.
HyperMesh
3.5.1 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides instructions for setting, solving and viewing results for a steady state simulation
of radiation heat transfer between concentric spheres using the Discrete Ordinates Radiation model.You
should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction, and have a basic knowledge of HyperMesh, AcuSolve, and HyperView. To run this tutorial,
you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Prior to running through this tutorial, copy HyperMesh_tutorial_inputs.zip from
<AcuSolve_installation_directory>\model_files\tutorials\AcuSolve to a local directory. Extract
ACU3201_DiscreteOrdinate.hm from HyperMesh_tutorial_inputs.zip.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1. In this problem, a DO
radiation model is used to simulate the heat transfer due to radiation between concentric spheres.
The inside surface of the inner and the outside surface of the outer sphere are both held at constant
temperature while the gap between them radiates the heat from one sphere to the other.
The problem consists of a fluid region with arbitrary material properties between two concentric spheres
with surfaces held at fixed temperature, as shown in the following figure, which is not drawn to scale.
The radius of the outer sphere is 0.04 m and the radius of the inner sphere is 0.01 m. The inner surface
of the inner sphere is defined to have a constant wall temperature at 300.0 K (26.85 ºC). The outer
surface of the outer sphere is defined to have a constant wall temperature at 1300.0 K (1026.85 ºC).
The fluid within the spheres is defined as a non-conducting material, allowing heat to transfer via
radiation only.
The problem is solved as a steady state case to allow the heat transfer in the solid and fluid regions to
reach an equilibrium.
Figure 620:
Figure 621:
Figure 622:
In this step, you will define the radiation parameters i.e. emissivity models, surface boundary conditions
for the problem, and assign material properties to the fluid and solid regions.
Figure 623:
Figure 624:
4. Repeat the above steps and create another emissivity model named Outer with an Emissivity of
0.8.
Figure 625:
3. Click Inner. In the Entity Editor, change the Type to SOLID and set Inner as the Material.
Figure 626:
4. Click Outer. In the Entity Editor, change the Type to SOLID and set Outer as the Material.
Figure 627:
Figure 628:
Figure 629:
Figure 630:
Figure 631:
Figure 632:
Figure 633:
Run AcuSolve
Figure 634:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
Figure 635:
5. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
6. Right-click on empty space in the Results Browser and select Create > Section Cut > Planar to
create a planar section cut.
A new entity named Section 1 is created under the Section Cuts tree.
7. Click beside Section 1 to turn off the grid display in the graphics window.
8.
Orient the display to the xz-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
9. Verify that the contour plot looks like the figure below.
Figure 636:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a workflow to set-up a DO-Radiation model, carry out a radiation
heat transfer simulation, and post-process the results using HyperWorks products, namely AcuSolve,
HyperMesh, and HyperView. You started by importing the model in Altair HyperMesh. Then you defined
the simulation parameters and launched AcuSolve directly from within HyperMesh. Upon completion of
the solution by AcuSolve, you used HyperView to post-process the results and create contour plots.
HyperMesh
3.6.1 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides instructions for running a steady-state simulation of a flow inside a pipe with
an interior heat exchanger placed at the middle of the pipe.You should have already run through
the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, and have a basic
understanding of HyperMesh and AcuSolve. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed
version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Prior to running through this tutorial, copy HyperMesh_tutorial_inputs.zip from
<AcuSolve_installation_directory>\model_files\tutorials\AcuSolve to a local directory. Extract
ACU3300_HeatExchanger.hm from HyperMesh_tutorial_inputs.zip.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in the figure below. It consists of
a cylindrical pipe channel with an interior heat exchanger component volume with thickness ‘t’ and
radius ‘r’. The heat exchanger component parameters are assigned to the HEX_Inlet surface component.
Basically, the heat exchanger model is applied to a surface and the temperature rises across that
surface to model the effect of the heat exchanger. Air enters the pipe at a velocity of 0.1 m/sec and
flows through the heat exchanger volume and then exits through the outlet.
Figure 637:
Figure 638:
Figure 639:
3. Similarly, click HEX and change the Type to FLUID and select Air_HM as the Material in the
Entity Editor.
4. Click Inlet. In the Entity Editor,
a) Change the Type to INFLOW.
b) Change the Inflow velocity type to Cartesian and set the X velocity to 0.1 m/sec.
c) Set the Temperature to 273 K.
d) Change the Turbulence input type to Viscosity Ratio.
e) For the Turbulent viscosity ratio, enter a value of 40.
Figure 640:
Figure 641:
Figure 642:
7. Click Walls. In the Entity Editor, verify that the Type is set to WALL.
The surface mesh elements on the external wall surfaces and interfaces can be grouped into one
single collector. Auto_Wall, which is an advanced feature in AcuSolve, re-groups them into surface
sets based on the element set they belong to and whether they are internal or external surfaces.
This process is done internally without the user having to do it manually.
Figure 643:
Run AcuSolve
Figure 644:
1. In the AcuProbe window, under the data tree, expand Residual Ratio, right-click on Final, and
select Plot All.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 645:
2. Once the solution is converged, right-click on Final under Residual Ratio and select Plot None.
3.
Click on the toolbar.
A User Function dialog opens.
4. Enter dT as the Name.
5. Type In = in the Function field.
6. Expand Heat Exchanger > HEX_Inlet. Right-click on air_temperature and select Copy Name.
Paste the value in the function after In =.
7. Type Out = on a new line in the Function field.
8. Expand Heat Exchanger > HEX_Inlet. Right-click on coolant_temperature and select Copy
Name. Paste the value in the function after Out =.
9. On the next line, type value = Out - In.
Figure 646:
Note: The word “value” is case sensitive and should always be in lowercase
characters. If it starts with a capital letter, it will give you an error window.
Figure 647:
You can zoom into the plot by clicking and then defining an area at the end of the curve. As
shown in the figure below, for the given problem, the temperature rise is 43.21 K.
Figure 648:
Summary
In this tutorial, you successfully learned how to set up and solve a simulation involving a Heat
Exchanger component. You imported the meshed geometry and then assigned the boundary conditions
and material properties for all the regions. Once the solution was computed, you defined a user function
in AcuProbe in order to create a plot of the temperature rise across the heat exchanger volume.
3.7.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides instructions for setting up, solving, and viewing results for simulation of a 2D
cable for simple conduction analysis. In this simulation, the heated solid volume is used for conduction
with the outer volume and comes with a flux value already calculated using another software. This
tutorial is designed to introduce you to a new feature, the Electromagnetics Manager, wherein the flux is
imported on to the heated volume in the form of a Nastran file.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Importing the heat flux using the Electromagnetics Manger in AcuConsole
• Mesh extrusion from one surface to other surface
• Use of the Variable Manager for defining all the variables in a single panel
• Post-processing with AcuFieldView for plotting temperature contours
• Creating or modifying 2D Plots in AcuFieldView
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
Figure 1 shows a simple 2D cable problem wherein the inner cylinder is provided with a volumetric heat
source of 1.46686 W and is in contact with the outer cylinder, the outer surface of which is maintained
o
at a temperature of 20 C (293K).This problem forms the basis of a simple conduction analysis between
two concentric cylinders. The only difference from the basic problem is that the heat source is calculated
using another software called Flux and is provided using AcuConsole’s EMag (Electromagnetic) Manger
to account for volumetric losses from Flux to AcuSolve.
Figure 649:
Flux is used to simulate electromagnetic components to determine static thermal loading. The
calculated thermal load value is then provided to AcuSolve to define the volumetric heat load on the
solid volume. AcuSolve can then be used to determine the behavior of the fluid surrounding the solid
components like:
• Fluid rotational effects
• Material specific properties (temperature dependent, non-Newtonian)
• Convection on the outer surface
Coupling of AcuSolve to Flux will also enable the inclusion of natural convection and forced convection
effects into the thermal calculation of various electrical devices.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it Flux_Coupling and open it.
5. Enter Cable as the file name for the database.
6. Click Save to create the database.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 650:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 651:
Note: You may need to widen the detail panel from the default size by dragging the
right edge of the panel frame.
Figure 652:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that Analysis type is set to Steady State.
3. Set the Max time steps to 100.
4. Set the Flow flag to Off.
Figure 653:
Figure 654:
2. Right-click on Material Model and select New from the context menu.
A new entry, Material Model 1, will be created in the Data Tree under the Material Model branch.
3. Rename Material Model 1 to Insulation.
4. Double-click on Insulation to open the detail panel.
5. Change the Material type to Solid.
6. Set the material properties for Insulation as follows by navigating through the respective tabs in
the detail panel:
3
1. Density: 2702.0 kg/m
2. Specific Heat: 908.0 J/kg-K
3. Conductivity: 0.8 W/m-K
7. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 655:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
6. Rotate the visualization to view the entire model.
Figure 656:
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your
screen may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are
randomly assigned to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on
Windows. If you are running this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight
difference between the images displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
In the next steps you will create volume groups for each volume in the model, assign volumes to the
respective volume groups, rename the default volume group container, and set the materials and other
properties for each volume group.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Turn off the display of surfaces by right-clicking on Surfaces and clicking Display off in the
context menu.
4. Expand Volumes. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to
the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Figure 657:
9. When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, the complete geometry volume was placed in
the default volume group. This default volume group was renamed to SolidHeated. In the previous
step, you assigned a volume to the other volume group that you created. At this point, all that is
left is the SolidHeated volume group
Figure 658:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem, and add surfaces to the group containers.
1. Turn-off the display of Volumes by right-clicking on Volumes and selecting Display off .
2. Expand Surfaces in the Data Tree and toggle on the display of the default surface container.
3. Right-click on Surfaces and select Surface Manager.
4. In the Surface Manager Dialog, click New six times to create six new surface groups.
5. If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click on Columns and select
these two columns from the list then click Ok.
6. Turn off the display for all the surfaces except for the default surface and rename to default
surface to OuterWall.
7. Rename the other surfaces and set the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns as per the
table shown below.
Figure 659:
Figure 660:
Figure 661:
Figure 662:
Figure 663:
Figure 664:
Figure 665:
i) When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all the geometry surfaces were placed in
the default surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to OuterWall.
In the previous steps, you assigned some surfaces to various other surface groups that you
created. At this point, all that is left is the OuterWall surface group.
Figure 666:
Solid
1. Expand the Solid volume group in the Data Tree.
2. Double-click Element Set under Solid to open the Element Set detail panel.
3. Change the Medium to Solid.
4. Change the Material model to Insulation.
5. Leave the remaining parameters as it is.
Figure 667:
SolidHeated
The SolidHeated group will have the same settings as Solid group. In order to not to repeat the step
again, we can propagate the settings to that group as follows:
1. Expand the Solid volume group in the tree. Right click Element Set under Solid and select
Propagate.
2. Select the SolidHeated volume group from the pop-up window and click Propagate.
Note: You can ensure the settings are applied correctly by expanding the SolidHeated
group and cross checking the element set conditions.
OuterWall
The OuterWall group defines the wall through which conduction takes place.
2. Double click Simple Boundary Condition to open the Simple Boundary Condition detail panel
3. Ensure that the Type is set to Wall.
4. Change Temperature BC type to Value.
5. Set Temperature to 293.0 K.
Figure 668:
Remaining Groups
1. Expand the +Zinner surface group in the Data Tree.
2. Deactivate Simple Boundary Condition for this surface.
All the remaining groups will have the same settings as +ZInner. In order to not to repeat steps,
we can propagate the settings.
3. Right click Simple Boundary Condition under +ZInner and select Propagate.
4. Select all the other groups except OuterWall in the pop-up window and click Propagate.
Figure 669:
Note: You can ensure the settings are applied correctly by expanding the other
surface group and cross checking the boundary conditions.
Figure 670:
Figure 671:
Note: Type equal (=) or colon equal (:=) in the Expression column before entering an
expression. The expression will be valid only if either of these two symbols are used.
Equal to (=) calculates the value of the expression when defined and uses it, whereas
colon equal (:=) recalculates the value of the expression if any relative variable is
changed.
The variables L, r, V, Q denote length of the cylinder, radius, area of the cylindrical
surface, and heat flux respectively.
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Expand the Global Data Tree item.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter :=dr for the Absolute mesh size.
6. Change the Mesh growth rate to 1.2.
Figure 672:
In the next steps you will set the volume mesh attributes.
Figure 673:
Note: :=dr refers to the value of the variable dr, which was defined in the Variables
Manager earlier. This means that the Solid volume group has an absolute mesh size of
0.0001m.
4. The SolidHeated volume group has the same mesh parameters as the Solid group. In order to
avoid repeating steps, you can propagate the settings of Solid.
a) Expand the Solid volume group.
b) Right-click on Volume Mesh Attributes and select Propagate.
c) Select the SolidHeated group in the pop-up window and click Propagate.
Setting local mesh attributes, such as surface mesh attributes, is not mandatory. When a local mesh
attribute is not found for a component, the global attributes are used as the mesh generation control for
that component. If a local mesh attribute is present, it will take precedence over the global setting.
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Expand Model in the Data Tree then expand Surfaces.
3. Expand InterfaceInner and activate the Surface Mesh Attributes check box.
4. In the detail panel, set the Boundary layer flag to On.
5. Change Resolve to Number of Layers.
6. Set First element height to :=firstLayer.
7. Set Total layer height to :=dr.
8. Set the Growth rate to 1.2.
Figure 674:
9. The surface groups InnterfaceOuter and OuterWall will have the same settings as InterfaceInner.
In order to avoid repeating steps, you can propagate settings.
a) Right-click on Surface Mesh Attributes under Interfaceinner and select Propagate.
b) Select the groups InterfaceOuter and OuterWall in the pop-up window and click Propagate.
1. Right-click on Mesh Extrusions and click New and repeat this step.
2. Rename Mesh Extrusion 1 and Mesh Extrusion 2 to ZInner and ZOuter respectively.
3. Double-click on ZInner.
A Mesh Extrusion Dialog Box opens.
4. Ensure that the geometry type is surface.
5. Select -ZInner from the drop-down menu for Side 1.
6. Select +ZInner from the drop-down menu for Side 2.
7. Change the Extrusion options to All tets.
Figure 675:
Figure 676:
Figure 677:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. Rotate and zoom in the model to analyze the various mesh regions.
In this case, the heat load is already calculated from the Electromagnetics software and imported
into the CFD mesh in the form of a .nas (NASTRAN) file. You do not need to calculate this value; it is
provided directly with the input files. In the next steps, you will learn how to import this .nas file using
the Electromagnetics Manager.
Note: Before importing the Flux values into the CFD mesh, make sure that the .nas file is
in your working directory.
Figure 678:
Figure 679:
Figure 680:
You can also see that the Total heat source in the Element Set detail panel is updated.
e) Click Ok to close the Array Editor.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 681:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
Now that a solution has been calculated, you are ready to view the flow field using AcuFieldView.
AcuFieldView is a third-party post-processing tool that is tightly integrated to AcuSolve. AcuFieldView
can be started directly from AcuConsole, or it can be started from the Start menu, or from a command
line. In this tutorial you will start AcuFieldView from AcuConsole after the solution is calculated by
AcuSolve.
In the following steps you will start AcuFieldView, create a boundary surface showing temperature and
plot temperature vs the radius of the model.
Launch AcuFieldView
1. Click on the AcuConsole toolbar to open the Launch AcuFieldView dialog.
2. Click Ok to start AcuFieldView.
When you start AcuFieldView from AcuConsole, the results from the last time step of the solution
that were written to disk will be loaded for post-processing.
Figure 682:
Figure 683:
7. In the Boundary Surface dialog, ensure that Coloring is Scalar and all the Boundary Types are
selected.
8. Set the Display Type to Constant.
9. Deactivate the box besides Show Mesh.
10.
From the toolbar, click to open the Defined Views dialog.
11. Select +Z then click Close.
12. Click the Colormap tab in the Boundary Surface dialog and select the Local check box to
display the local range of values for temperature for the selected surface.
13. Change the Max temp to 304.8 K and the Min temp to 293.0 K.
14. Click the Legend tab and activate the check boxes for Show Legend and Frame.
15. Enter (K) as the units for temperature in the Subtitle text.
16. Change the Labels, Annotation, and Subtitle color to black.
Figure 684:
Figure 685:
1.
From the Visualization toolbar, click the Plot icon .
The 2D Plot Controls and Plot Display dialogs open.
2. In the Plot tab of the 2D Plot Controls dialog, click Create.
3. Select temperature as the Left Axis Function.
4. In the Paths tab, click Create and select Line Path (volume)....
5. In the Edit Points dialog, enter the coordinate values for the two points as shown below.
Figure 686:
Figure 687:
7. Returning to the Plot tab of the 2D Plot Controls dialog, change the Horizontal Axis/Plotting
Direction to Y. Click OK in the pop-up warning.
8. Click Axes.
The Horizontal Axis dialog opens.
9. In the Horizontal Axis dialog:
a) Change the Label to Radius (m).
b) Change the Min value to 0.002.
c) Change the Max value to 0.003.
d) Change the Unit value next to Major to 0.0002.
Figure 688:
Figure 689:
Figure 690:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a steady state simulation for a 2D
cable problem. This problem was setup as a normal heat conduction problem where the inside solid
volume was provided with a heat source. You started the tutorial by creating a database in AcuConsole,
importing and meshing the geometry, and setting up the basic simulation parameters. Once the case
was setup, the solution was generated with AcuSolve. Results were also post-processed in AcuFieldView
by reading a dataset and viewing the temperature contours on the full geometry. New features that
were introduced in this tutorial included the Electromagnetic Manager, which was used for importing a
NASTRAN file that contained the thermal load applied to the SolidHeated volume, the variable manager,
for defining all the variables in a single panel, mesh extrusion from one surface to the another surface
along the length, reading a dataset in AcuFieldView, and finally, making 2D plots in AcuFieldView.
HyperMesh
4.1.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a transient dam
break simulation using the level set method. In this simulation, a square column of water is initially
held at rest by walls in one end of a reservoir. The simulation begins when the walls holding the water
column are removed and the water is free to flow out. The simulation can be used to visualize and study
the surge patterns as the column of water rushes out, as in a dam wall break.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Two-phase flow simulation using the level set method
• Transient simulation
• Use of a script for the water volume fraction initialization
• Post-processing with AcuFieldView
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
An important step in any CFD simulation is to examine the engineering problem at hand and determine
the important parameters that need to be provided to AcuSolve. Parameters can be based on
geometrical elements (such as inlets, outlets, or walls) and on flow conditions (such as fluid properties,
velocity, or whether the flow should be modeled as turbulent or as laminar).
In general, multiphase flows are mainly observed in real life environment, consisting of two or more
fluids (gas, liquid, or solid). They have possible combinations of gas-liquid (dissolved gas), liquid-liquid
(oil in water), liquid-solid (immersed particles), as well as gas-liquid-solid. The first two are examples
of two-phase immiscible flows. The two-phase immiscible flows can be solved by tracking the interface
between the two-phases. This tutorial will guide you through how to set up the two-phase flow problem
using the level set method.
The system being simulated contains a reservoir, along one corner of which stands a square water
column, held in place by walls. At time t = 0 the walls are removed. As the walls are removed, the
water column is now free to flow out and flow surges towards the other end of the reservoir. The
simulation can be used to visualize and study the surge patterns as the column of water rushes out, as
in a dam wall break.
The schematics of the problem which will be addressed in this tutorial is shown in Figure 691. The
system will be modeled as a two-dimensional problem by including only a single layer of extruded
elements in the spanwise direction.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it Dam_break and open it.
5. Enter damBreak_2D as the file name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
Figure 692:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 693:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 694:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that the Analysis type is set to Transient.
3. Set the Max time steps to 0.
4. Set the Final time to 1.0 secs.
5. Set the Initial time increment to 0.002498.
When setting up a transient analysis, if the Max time steps option is set to zero, this option is
ignored. In such a case, the final time must be specified. AcuSolve will then run until this final
time is reached, incrementing with the specified initial time increment at each time step.
6. Check that the Convergence tolerance is set to 0.001 seconds.
7. Set the Max stagger iterations to 5.
8. Set the Relaxation factor to 0.0.
When solving transient solutions, the relaxation factor should be set to zero. A non-zero relaxation
factor causes incremental updates of the solution, which will impact the time accuracy of the
solution for transient cases.
9. Check that Flow and Multifluid flags are turned On.
10. Check that Fluid 1 is set to Air.
11. Check that Fluid 2 is set to Water.
The options available to specify the fluids for Fluid 1 and Fluid 2 are taken from the material
models already defined in the open AcuConsole database. When a new AcuConsole database
is created, the available pre-defined fluid material models are Air and Water. If your model
requires a fluid other than these two, you must create and define a new material model to match
the specification of this fluid, before you can set it as one of the fluids in the Multifluid model
definition.
Figure 695:
Figure 696:
2. Double-click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air detail panel.
The material type for air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
3. In the Density tab, check the following:
a) The Type is set to Constant.
3
b) The Density value is 1.225 kg/m .
-5
4. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of air is 1.781 x 10 kg/m – sec.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
In this section you will go through and observe the multiphase parameters for the simulation as
generated by AcuConsole.
Figure 697:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 698:
Figure 699:
• Z-component: 0.0
5. Click OK to complete the definition of gravity.
Note: The definition of gravity here will have no effect on the simulation unless it is
assigned to some volume set in the model.
1. Expand the Output tree, then double-click Nodal Output to open the Nodal Output detail
panel.
2. Set Time step frequency to 1.
This will save the nodal outputs at every time step.
3. Set Output initial condition to On.
This will instruct the solver to write the initial state of the problem as the first output file.
4. Make sure that the Number of saved states is set to 0.
Setting this option to zero will instruct the solver to save all of the solution state files.
Figure 700:
1. Double-click on Nodal Initial Condition in the Data Tree to open the detail panel.
2. Set the Pressure initial condition type to Script.
3. Click Open text next to Pressure script to open the text editor.
4. Enter the following script in the text editor:
value = 0.0
if (x<0.05715 and y<0.05715): value=9.81*1000.0*(0.05715-y)
This script will set the pressure initial condition in the domain. The region where x < 0.05715
and y < 0.05715 represents the region where the water column is initially held, bound by the
dam walls. Within this region, the pressure is defined by the hydrostatic pressure level within the
water column. For all other nodes in the domain, the pressure is set to zero. At these nodes, the
pressure value represents the atmospheric pressure.
value = 0.0
if (x<0.05715 and y<0.05715): value=1.0
This script will set the initial volume fraction of the field water in the domain. For the nodes where
x < 0.05715 and y < 0.05715 (the region occupied by the water column), the volume fraction
of water will be set to 1. For all other nodes, the volume fraction of water will be set to zero. At
these nodes, the volume fraction of air will be 1, as the sum of volume fractions of the field should
always be unity.
10. Click Ok to close the text editor.
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
Since the model for this tutorial has only a single volume, it will be the only volume in the default
volume group when the geometry is imported. Even when there is a single volume in the model, it is
advisable to rename the volume for ease of identification in future. In the next steps you will rename
the default volume group container, and set the material and other properties for it.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Figure 701:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem, and add surfaces to the group containers.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, and so on, which can sometimes be cumbersome (especially
for models with too many surfaces). To make it easier, less error prone, and for saving time two new
dialogs are provided in AcuConsole which you can use to verify and provide the information for all
surface or volume entities at once. They are the Volume Manager and Surface Manager. In this section
some features of the Surface Manager are exploited.
1. In the Data Tree, right-click on Volumes and select Display off to turn off the display of
volumes.
2. Right-click on Surfaces and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New 2 times to create 2 new surface groups.
Note: If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click
Columns, select these two columns from the list, and click Ok.
4. Turn the display off for all surfaces except for default surface.
5. Rename Surface Names (column 1) for Surface 1 to Surface 2, and set the Simple BC Active and
Simple BC Type columns as per the table shown below.
Figure 702:
Figure 703:
c) Similarly assign the surface with the minimum z-coordinate to the z_neg surface group.
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the
default surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to sides. In the
previous steps, you assigned some surfaces to various other surface groups that you created.
At this point, all that is left in the sides surface group are the surfaces which make up the
sides of the reservoir.
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
a) Click the drop-down control next to Mesh size type.
b) Click Absolute.
5. Set Absolute mesh size to 0.002748 m.
Figure 704:
Figure 705:
Figure 706:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. You can rotate and zoom in the model to analyse the various mesh regions.
Figure 707:
6. Click OK.
7. Expand Fixed Pressure Node and enable Pressure.
The single node will now act as the pressure reference point for the simulation. The default Type
of Zero sets the nodes in this set to pressure = 0.0.
8. Examine the location of the reference pressure node and check that it is inside the domain.
a) Right-click on Fixed Pressure Node and select Display on.
b) Right-click on Surfaces and set Display type to outline.
You should be able to see the fixed pressure node as a point, as shown in the figure below.
Figure 708:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps, you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 709:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
• How to find the visualization panels either from the Side toolbar or the Visualization panel menu to
create and modify surfaces in AcuFieldView
• How to move the data around the graphics window using mouse actions to translate, rotate and
zoom in to the data.
This tutorial shows you how to work with steady state analysis data.
Figure 710:
Set Up AcuFieldView
1. Close the Boundary Surface dialog.
2. Click Viewer Options.
Figure 711:
Figure 712:
This will create a coordinate surface at the mid – Z coordinate plane. The coordinate surface
created is the mid plane between the two side surfaces in the model.
8. Change the Coloring to Scalar.
9. Change the Display Type to Smooth.
10. For Scalar Function, select volume_fraction-Water.
11. In the Colormap tab, set the maximum and minimum threshold values to 0.501 and 0.499
respectively.
12. From the Defined Views list, select +Z as the viewing direction.
Your view should be similar to Figure 713.
Figure 713:
Figure 714:
7. Click Build.
AcuFieldView will now build the frame-by-frame animation of the solution progressing through all
the available time steps. You will be able to see the progress in the Building Flipbook dialog.
Once the Build process is complete, a Flipbook Controls dialog will appear.
8. In the Flipbook Controls dialog, click Frame Rate.
9. For Minimum time, enter 0.1 seconds and click Close.
10.
Click Play to play the animation.
11. To save the animation, click Pause , and then click Save.
12. Provide a file name in the Flipbook File Save dialog, and click Save.
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved a multiphase flow problem. The problem
simulated a dam break scenario. A column of water initially held in place by walls in one end of
the reservoir was let free to flow at the start of the simulation. You started the tutorial by creating
a database in AcuConsole, importing and meshing the geometry, and setting up the simulation
parameters. Air and water were modelled as different fields occupying a single volume. Once the case
was setup, the solution was generated with AcuSolve. Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView
where you generated an animation of the water flow as it surges once the walls restricting the water
column are removed. New features that were introduced in this tutorial include: setting up a multiphase
flow simulation in AcuSolve with two fluids.
4.1.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides instructions for setting, solving and viewing results for a transient dam break
simulation using the Level Set method. You should have already run through the introductory
HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, and have a basic understanding of
HyperMesh, AcuSolve, and HyperView. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of
HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in the figure below. It consists of
a square water column held in place by the reservoir walls. At time t=0, the walls are removed and
the water column is now free to flow out. The simulation can be used to visualize and study the surge
patterns as the column of water rushes out, as in a dam wall break.
Figure 715:
Figure 716:
Figure 717:
Figure 718:
Figure 719:
Figure 720:
Figure 721:
Figure 722:
Figure 723:
Figure 724:
Figure 725:
Figure 726:
Figure 727:
7. Click proceed.
8. Optional: Turn off the display of the Water_Column block.
9. Save the model.
Run AcuSolve
Figure 728:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
1. Orient the display to the xy-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
2. Click on the Results toolbar to open the Contour panel.
3. Select Volume_fraction-2-Water (s) as the Result type.
4. Click Apply to display the volume fraction contour at the first time step.
5. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend.
6. In the Edit Legend dialog, change the Number of levels to 2 and the Numeric format to Fixed.
Figure 729:
3. On the ImageCapture toolbar, make sure that the Save Image to File option is On.
Summary
In this tutorial, you successfully learned how to set up and solve a multiphase flow problem using
HyperMesh and AcuSolve. You also learned how to create a multiphase model using the Level Set
method. Once the solution was computed, you post-processed the results in HyperView where you
generated an animation of the water flow as it surged once the dam walls were removed.
HyperMesh
4.2.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a transient
simulation of a two-phase flow in a square tank using the level set model. In this simulation, AcuSolve
is used to compute the time-varying water-level interface due to presence of water through the inlet
and the outlet of the tank. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to a number of modeling concept
necessary to perform two-phase simulations.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Two-phase flow solution
• Transient simulation
• Use of a script for the water volume fraction initialization
• Post-processing with AcuFieldView
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
An important step in any CFD simulation is to examine the engineering problem at hand and determine
the important parameters that need to be provided to AcuSolve. Parameters can be based on
geometrical elements (such as inlets, outlets, or walls) and on flow conditions (such as fluid properties,
velocity).
In general, multiphase flows are mainly observed in real life environment, consisting of two or more
fluids (gas, liquid, or solid). They have possible combinations of gas-liquid (dissolved gas), liquid-liquid
(oil in water), liquid-solid (immersed particles), as well as gas-liquid-solid. The first two are examples
of two-phase immiscible flows. The two-phase immiscible flows can be solved by tracking the interface
between the two-phases. This tutorial will guide you through how to set up the two-phase flow problem
using the level set method.
Figure 1 shows a schematic of the half-filled water tank at time t = 0. From t = 0 onwards, water is
injected through the inlet, at a velocity of 1.5 m/s. As the water fills in through the inlet, the water-air
interface can be visualized in a transient simulation.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it Tank_Filling and open it.
5. Enter tankFilling_2D as the file name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
Figure 731:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 732:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 733:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that the Analysis type is set to Transient.
3. Set the Max time steps to 0.
4. Set the Final time to 3.0 secs.
5. Set the Initial time increment to 0.01 secs.
When setting up a transient analysis, if the Max time steps option is set to zero, this option is
ignored. In such a case, the Final time must be specified. AcuSolve will then run until this final
time is reached, incrementing with the specified initial time increment at each time step.
6. Check that the Convergence tolerance is set to 0.001.
7. Set the Max stagger iterations to 4.
8. Set the Relaxation factor to 0.
When solving transient solutions, the relaxation factor should be set to zero. A non-zero relaxation
factor causes incremental updates of the solution, which will impact the time accuracy of the
solution for transient cases.
9. Check that Flow and Multifluid flags are turned On.
10. Change Fluid 1 to Water.
11. Change Fluid 2 to Air.
Figure 734:
Figure 735:
2. Double-click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air detail panel.
The material type for air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
3. In the Density tab, check the following:
a) The Type is set to Constant.
3
b) The Density value is 1.225 kg/m .
-5
4. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of air is 1.781 x 10 kg/m – sec.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
In this section you will define the multiphase parameters for the simulation.
Figure 736:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 737:
Figure 738:
Note: The definition of gravity here will have no effect on the simulation unless it is
assigned to some volume set in the model.
1. Expand the Output tree, then double-click Nodal Output to open the Nodal Output detail
panel.
2. Set Time step frequency to 1.
This will save the nodal outputs at every time step.
3. Set Output initial condition to On.
This will instruct the solver to write the initial state of the problem as the first output file.
4. Make sure that the Number of saved states is set to 0.
Setting this option to zero will instruct the solver to save all of the solution state files.
Figure 739:
1. Double-click on Nodal Initial Condition in the Data Tree to open the detail panel.
2. Set the Multiphase field to Water.
3. Set the Water initial condition type to Script.
4. Click Open text next to Water volume fraction script to open the text editor.
5. Enter the following script in the text editor:
value = 0.0
if y <= 0.0 : value = 1.0
The script above will set the initial volume fraction of the field water in the domain. For the nodes
where y <= 0.0 (bottom half of the domain), the volume fraction of water will be set to 1. For all
other nodes (top half of the domain), the volume fraction of water will be set to zero. At these
nodes, the volume fraction of air will be 1, as the sum of volume fractions of the field should
always be unity.
6. Click Ok to close the text editor.
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
Since the model for this tutorial has only a single volume, it will be the only volume in the default
volume group when the geometry is imported. Even when there is a single volume in the model, it is
advisable to rename the volume for ease of identification in future. In the next steps you will rename
the default volume group container, and set the material and other properties for it.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until
you press Enter on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from the
item without entering it, your changes will be lost.
Figure 740:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem, and add surfaces to the group containers.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, and so on, which can sometimes be cumbersome (especially
for models with too many surfaces). To make it easier, less error prone, and for saving time two new
dialogs are provided in AcuConsole which you can use to verify and provide the information for all
surface or volume entities at once. They are the Volume Manager and Surface Manager. In this section
some features of the Surface Manager are exploited.
1. In the Data Tree, right-click on Volumes and select Display off to turn off the display of
volumes.
2. Right-click on Surfaces and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New four times to create four new surface groups.
Note: If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click
Columns, select these two columns from the list, and click Ok.
4. Turn the display off for all surfaces except for default surface.
5. Rename Surface Names (column 1) for Surface 1 to Surface 5, and set the Simple BC Active and
Simple BC Type columns as per the table shown below.
Figure 741:
Figure 742:
7. Assign the surface with the maximum x-coordinate to inlet surface group.
8. Assign the surface with the minimum x-coordinate to outlet surface group.
Use the following figure as the reference for selecting the required surfaces.
Figure 743:
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to sides. In the previous steps,
you assigned some surfaces to various other surface groups that you created. At this point, all
that is left in the sides surface group are the surfaces which make up the sides of the reservoir.
9. Close the Surface Manager dialog.
Inlet
As mentioned earlier, the inlet in this problem is a water inlet with inlet velocity set as 1.5 m/s.
Figure 744:
Outlet
Figure 745:
Wall
Figure 746:
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Set Absolute mesh size to 0.12.
Figure 747:
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
In the following steps, you will define a mesh refinement zone, and set up the zonal mesh attributes for
it to be used in the model. A box-shaped refinement zone will be used in the region where a water-air
interface is expected.
1. Right-click Zone Mesh Attributes under the Global branch in the Data Tree and click New.
2. Rename Zone Mesh Attributes 1 to Free surface region.
3. Double-click Free surface region to open the detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh zone type to Box.
5. Click Open Array.
6. Enter the values in the Array Editor as shown below and click OK.
Figure 748:
Figure 749:
Figure 750:
Figure 751:
Figure 752:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. You can rotate and zoom in the model to analyse the various mesh regions.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps, you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
This tutorial shows you how to work with transient analysis data.
Figure 753:
Set Up AcuFieldView
1. Close the Boundary Surface dialog.
2. Click Viewer Options.
Figure 754:
5. In the Scalar Colormap Specification dialog, click Background and select White.
6. Close the Scalar Colormap Specification dialog.
7.
Click the Toggle Outline icon on the toolbar to turn off the outline display.
Your display should look similar to figure 1.
Figure 755:
Figure 756:
Figure 757:
7. Click Build.
AcuFieldView will now build the frame-by-frame animation of the solution progressing through all
the available time steps. You will be able to see the progress in the Building Flipbook dialog.
Once the Build process is complete, a Flipbook Controls dialog will appear.
8. In the Flipbook Controls dialog, click Frame Rate.
9. For Minimum time, enter 0.1 seconds and click Close.
10.
Click Play to play the animation.
11. To save the animation, click Pause , and then click Save.
12. Provide a file name in the Flipbook File Save dialog, and click Save.
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved a multiphase flow problem. The problem
simulated a square shaped water tank in which water was being injected through an inlet. The tank
also had an open outlet. As the water filled in through the inlet, the air-water interface in the tank was
visualized. You started the tutorial by creating a database in AcuConsole, importing and meshing the
geometry, and setting up the simulation parameters. Air and water were modelled as different fields
occupying a single volume. Once the case was setup, the solution was generated with AcuSolve. Results
were post-processed in AcuFieldView where you generated an animation of the water flow. New features
that were introduced in this tutorial include: setting up a multiphase flow simulation in AcuSolve with
two fluids.
4.2.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides instructions for running a transient simulation of a two-phase flow in a square
tank using the Level Set model. You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks
tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperMesh,
AcuSolve, and HyperView. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh
and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be solved is shown schematically in the figure below. It consists of a half-filled water
tank at time t=0. Water is injected through the Inlet at t=0 and as the water fills in through the inlet,
the water-air interface can be visualized in a transient simulation.
Figure 758:
Refer to the HM introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, to learn how to
select AcuSolve from User Profiles.
2.
Click the Open Model icon located on the standard toolbar.
The Open Model dialog opens.
3. Browse to the directory where you saved the model file. Select the HyperMesh file
ACU4001_FillingTank.hm and click Open.
4. Click File > Save As.
The Save Model As dialog opens.
5. Create a new directory named FillingTank and navigate into this directory.
This will be the working directory and all the files related to the simulation will be stored in this
location.
6. Enter FillingTank as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your preference.
7. Click Save to create the database.
Figure 759:
Figure 760:
Figure 761:
Figure 762:
Figure 763:
3. Click wall. In the Entity Editor, verify that the Type is set to WALL.
Figure 764:
Figure 765:
Figure 766:
Figure 767:
Figure 768:
Figure 769:
7. Click proceed.
8. Optional: Turn off the display of the Water_Column block.
9. Save the model.
Run AcuSolve
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
3. Optional: For a faster solution time, set the number of processors to a higher number (4 or 8)
based on availability.
4. The Output time steps can be set to All or Final. Since this is a Transient analysis, set it to All.
5. Leave the remaining options as default and click Launch to start the solution process.
Figure 770:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
1. In the Load model and results panel, click next to load model.
2. In the Load Model File dialog, navigate to your working directory and select the AcuSolve .Log
file for the solution run that you want to post-process. In this example, the file to be selected is
FillingTank.1.Log.
3. Click Open.
4. Click Apply in the panel area to load the model and results.
The model is colored by geometry after loading.
1. Orient the display to the xy-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
2. Click on the Results toolbar to open the Contour panel.
3. Select Volume_fraction-2-Water (s) as the Result type.
4. Click Apply to display the volume fraction contour at the first time step.
5. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend.
6. In the Edit Legend dialog, change the Number of levels to 2 and the Numeric format to Fixed.
Figure 771:
Summary
In this tutorial, you successfully learned how to set up and solve a transient multiphase flow problem
involving water filling a tank using HyperMesh and AcuSolve. You also learned how to create a
multiphase model using the Level Set method. Once the solution was computed, you post-processed the
results in HyperView where you generated an animation of the water flow as it filled the tank.
HyperMesh
4.3.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a transient
simulation of a two-phase flow in a rectangular tank using the level set model. In this simulation,
AcuSolve is used to compute the time-varying water-level interface due to sloshing of the water against
the tank walls. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to a number of modelling concept necessary to
perform two-phase simulations.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Two-phase flow simulation
• Transient simulation
• Use of a script for the water volume fraction initialization
• Use of user defined function for varying gravity
• Post-processing with AcuFieldView
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
An important step in any CFD simulation is to examine the engineering problem at hand and determine
the important parameters that need to be provided to AcuSolve. Parameters can be based on
geometrical elements (such as inlets, outlets, or walls) and on flow conditions (such as fluid properties,
velocity).
In general, multiphase flows are mainly observed in real life environment, consisting of two or more
fluids (gas, liquid, or solid). They have possible combinations of gas-liquid (dissolved gas), liquid-liquid
(oil in water), liquid-solid (immersed particles), as well as gas-liquid-solid. The first two are examples
of two-phase immiscible flows. The two-phase immiscible flows can be solved by tracking the interface
between the two-phases. This tutorial will guide you through how to set up the two-phase flow problem
using the level set method.
Figure 1 shows a schematic of the partially-filled water tank. From t = 0 onwards, water is subjected to
a sinusoidal varying body force along x direction and constant gravity along y-direction, i.e.
(1)
where
• Α = Amplitude of oscillation
•
ω = Frequency of oscillation =
In the present simulation, we use the following values for the variables of the equation above.
• Α = -0.06 m
• ω = 3.6 rad/sec
• T = 1.74 sec
• φ=0
A UDF (gravity.c) written in C language is used for this purpose. For the details of the functions used in
the gravity.c, refer to the AcuSolve User-Defined Functions Manual.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new folder named Sloshing_tank and open this folder.
5. Enter Sloshing_tank as the file name for the database
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 773:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 774:
Note: You may need to widen the detail panel by dragging the right edge of the panel
frame.
Figure 775:
Figure 776:
Figure 777:
2. Double-click Water in the Data Tree to open the Water detail panel.
The material type for water is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created
in AcuConsole.
Note: Resize the detail panel, if needed, by dragging the right frame of the panel.
3
3. Click the Density tab. The density of water is 1000.0 kg/m .
4. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of water is 0.001 kg/m-sec.
5. Double click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air material detail panel.
The material type for air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
6. In the Density tab, check the following:
a) The Type is set to Constant.
3
b) The Density value is 1.225 kg/m .
-5
7. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of air is 1.781 x 10 kg/m – sec.
8. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 778:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
6. Rotate the visualization to view the entire model.
Figure 779:
In this section you will define the multiphase parameters for the simulation.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Double-click Body Force in the Data Tree to expand it.
Figure 780:
Figure 781:
Note: The values provided above are the ones described in the section Analyzing
the Problem. The user values should be provided in the same order as shown above
because these values will be passed on to the UDF script, which refers to these values
in specific order.
8. Click Ok.
Note: The definition of gravity here will have no effect on the simulation unless it is
assigned to some volume set in the model.
1. For Windows:
a) Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs >
Altair HyperWorks<version>AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt.
b) Change the directory to the present working directory using the 'cd' command.
c) Enter the command acuMakeDll –src gravity.c.
This command creates a set of files necessary for the use of the UDF.
2. For Linux:
a) In the terminal, change the directory to the present working directory using the 'cd'
command.
b) Enter the command acuMakeLib -src gravity.c.
This command creates a set of files necessary for the use of the UDF.
1. Expand the Output tree, then double-click Nodal Output to open the Nodal Output detail
panel.
2. Set Time step frequency to 10.
This will save the nodal outputs at every time step.
3. Set Output initial condition to On.
This will instruct the solver to write the initial state of the problem as the first output file.
4. Make sure that the Number of saved states is set to 0.
Setting this option to zero will instruct the solver to save all of the solution state files.
Figure 782:
1. Double-click on Nodal Initial Condition in the Data Tree to open the detail panel.
2. In the Multiphase field, select Water from the drop-down selector menu.
3. Set the Water initial condition type to Script.
4. Click Open text next to Water volume fraction script to open the text editor.
5. Enter the following script in the text editor:
value=0
if (y<0.12):value=1
The script above will set the initial volume fraction of the field water in the domain. For the nodes
where y < 0.12, the volume fraction of water will be set to 1. For all other nodes, the volume
fraction of water will be set to zero. At these nodes, the volume fraction of air will be 1, as the
sum of volume fractions of the field should always be unity.
6. Click Ok to close the text editor.
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
Since the model for this tutorial has only a single volume, it will be the only volume in the default
volume group when the geometry is imported. Even when there is a single volume in the model, it is
advisable to rename the volume for ease of identification in future. In the next steps you will rename
the default volume group container, and set the material and other properties for it.
1. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
2. Right-click on Surfaces and click Display off to turn off the display of surfaces.
3. Expand Volumes. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to
the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until
you press Enter on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from the
item without entering it, your changes will be lost.
Figure 783:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem, and add surfaces to the group containers.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, and so on, which can sometimes be cumbersome (especially
for models with too many surfaces). To make it easier, less error prone, and for saving time, two new
dialogs are provided in AcuConsole which you can use to verify and provide the information for all
surface or volume entities at once. They are the Volume Manager and Surface Manager. In this section
some features of the Surface Manager are exploited.
1. In the Data Tree, right-click on Volumes and select Display off to turn off the display of
volumes.
2. Right-click on Surfaces and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New two times to create two new surface groups.
Note: If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click
Columns, select these two columns from the list, and click Ok.
Figure 784:
4. Turn the display off for all surfaces except for default surface.
5. Rename Surface Names (column 1) for Surface 1 and Surface 2, and set the Simple BC Active and
Simple BC Type columns as per the table shown below.
Figure 785:
Figure 786:
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Set Absolute mesh size to 0.015.
Figure 787:
1. Expand the Model Data Tree item, right-click Mesh Extrusions and select New.
2. Right-click Mesh Extrusion 1, select Rename and enter Z extrusion.
3. Right-click on Z extrusion and select Define. Double-clicking Z extrusion will achieve the same
result.
4. In the Mesh Extrusion Dialog Box that appears, make the following changes:
Figure 788:
Figure 789:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. You can rotate and zoom in the model to analyse the various mesh regions.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Right-click on Nodes and select New from the context menu to create a new entity.
4. Rename Node 1 to Fixed Pressure Node.
5. Right-click Fixed Pressure Node and select Define.
6. In the Node Define Dialog Box, set Selection type to Pressure Point and Volumes to Fluid.
Figure 790:
7. Click OK.
8. Expand Fixed Pressure Node and click Pressure.
Note: This single node will now act as the pressure reference point for the simulation.
Note: The fixed pressure node should be displayed as a point in the modeling window.
Figure 791:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps, you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
Figure 792:
For this case, the default settings will be used. AcuSolve will run using four processors (if
available, higher number of processors may be specified) and AcuConsole will generate AcuSolve
input files and will launch AcuSolve. AcuSolvewill calculate the steady state solution for this
problem.
2. Select Ok to start the solution process.
While computing the solution, an AcuTail window opens. Solution progress is reported in this
window. A summary of the solution process indicates that the run has been completed.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 793:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
This tutorial shows you how to work with steady state analysis data.
Figure 794:
Set Up AcuFieldView
Figure 795:
7.
Click the Toggle Outline icon on the toolbar to turn off the outline display.
Your display should look similar to figure 1.
Figure 796:
1. From the Surface tab in the Boundary Surface dialog, turn off the Visibility for the active
boundary surfaces.
2. Click Create to create a new Boundary Surface set.
3. For the new set:
a) Turn on the visibility.
b) Set the Display Type to Outlines.
c) For Boundary Types, click Select All.
4. Click Ok.
5.
Click to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
6. Click Create to create a new coordinate surface.
7. Select Z as the Coordinate Plane.
This will create a coordinate surface at the mid – Z coordinate plane. The coordinate surface
created is the mid plane between the two side surfaces in the model.
8. Change the Coloring to Scalar.
9. Change the Display Type to Smooth.
10. For Scalar Function, select volume_fraction-Water.
11. In the Colormap tab, set the maximum and minimum threshold values to 0.501 and 0.499
respectively.
Figure 797:
12. From the Defined Views list, select +Z as the viewing direction.
Your view should now look like this:
Figure 798:
Figure 799:
7. Click Build.
AcuFieldView will now build the frame-by-frame animation of the solution progressing through all
the available time steps. You will be able to see the progress in the Building Flipbook dialog.
Once the Build process is complete, a Flipbook Controls dialog will appear.
8. In the Flipbook Controls dialog, click Frame Rate.
9. For Minimum time, enter 0.1 seconds and click Close.
10.
Click Play to play the animation.
11. To save the animation, click Pause , and then click Save.
12. Provide a file name in the Flipbook File Save dialog, and click Save.
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved a multiphase flow problem. The problem
simulated sloshing of a rectangular water tank due to the gravity. As the water sloshed against the
walls, the air-water interface in the tank was visualized. You started the tutorial by creating a database
in AcuConsole, importing and meshing the geometry, and setting up the simulation parameters. Air
and water were modelled as different fields occupying a single volume. Once the case was setup,
the solution was generated with AcuSolve. Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView where you
generated an animation of the water flow. New features that were introduced in this tutorial include:
use of user defined function for simulating varying gravity.
4.3.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides instructions for running a transient simulation of a two-phase flow in a rectangular
tank using the level set model. You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks
tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperMesh,
AcuSolve, and HyperView. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh
and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be solved is shown schematically in the figure below. It consists of a partially filled
water tank and from time t=0, water inside the tank is subjected to a sinusoidal varying body force
along x-direction and constant gravity along y-direction.
Figure 800:
Where
• Α = Amplitude of oscillation = -0.06 m
•
ω = Frequency of oscillation = = 3.6 rad/sec
• φ = Phase difference = 0
Figure 801:
Figure 802:
Figure 803:
Figure 804:
Figure 805:
7. A UDF in the form of C language (gravity.c) is provided with the tutorial. This program should be
compiled using the following steps:
For Windows:
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start >
All Programs > Altair HyperWorks <version> > AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd
Prompt .
2. Change the directory to the present working directory using the cd command.
3. Enter the command acuMakeDll -src gravity.c and press Enter.
For Linux:
1. In the terminal, change the directory to the present working directory using the cd
command.
2. Enter the command acuMakeLib -src gravity.c and press Enter.
This command creates a set of files necessary for the use of the UDF.
Figure 806:
3. Click Wall. In the Entity Editor, verify that the Type is set to WALL.
Figure 807:
Figure 808:
Figure 809:
Figure 810:
7. Click proceed.
8. Optional: Turn off the display of the Water_Column block.
9. Save the model.
Figure 811:
Run AcuSolve
Figure 812:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
1. Orient the display to the xy-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
2. Click on the Results toolbar to open the Contour panel.
3. Select Volume_fraction-2-Water (s) as the Result type.
4. Click Apply to display the volume fraction contour at the first time step.
5. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend.
6. In the Edit Legend dialog, change the Number of levels to 2 and the Numeric format to Fixed.
Figure 813:
5. Navigate to the location where you want to save the file, enter a name of your choice, and click
Save.
Summary
In this tutorial, you successfully learned how to set up and solve a transient multiphase flow problem
involving water sloshing in a tank using HyperMesh and AcuSolve. You also learned how to create
a multiphase model using the Level Set method and specify the body force using a user-defined
function and then compile the UDF. Once the solution was computed, you post-processed the results in
HyperView where you generated an animation of the water sloshing in the tank.
HyperMesh
4.4.1 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides instructions for running a transient simulation of a two-phase flow in a pipe
using the Algebraic Eulerian model. You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks
tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperWorks,
AcuSolve, and HyperView. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh
and AcuSolve.
Prior to running through this tutorial, copy HyperMesh_tutorial_inputs.zip from
<AcuSolve_installation_directory>\model_files\tutorials\AcuSolve to a local directory. Extract
ACU4100_Disperse.hm from HyperMesh_tutorial_inputs.zip.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1. As an example, an
LPipe problem is attached here to show the capability of the Disperse modeling in AcuSolve. The
Algebraic Eulerian (AE) model is used to simulate the momentum exchange between a carrier field and
a dispersed field. When simulating multiphase flows using the AE model, the carrier field has to be a
fluid and the dispersed field can be of any medium.
In this problem, Water is considered a Carrier field material and Air is considered as Dispersed field
material. Fluid enters the Inlet at an Average Velocity of 1 m/sec and the Water and Air volume
fractions at the inlet are 96% and 4% respectively.
Figure 814:
Figure 815:
Figure 816:
Figure 817:
In this step, you will start by setting up the Multiphase material model and body force parameters.
Then, you will assign the surface boundary conditions and material properties to the fluid volume.
Figure 818:
Figure 819:
Figure 820:
Figure 821:
Figure 822:
Figure 823:
Figure 824:
5. Click Wall. In the Entity Editor, verify that the Type is set to WALL.
Figure 825:
Figure 826:
Figure 827:
Figure 828:
Run AcuSolve
Figure 829:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
Figure 830:
Figure 831:
4. Orient the display to the xy-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
5. Click on the Results toolbar to open the Contour panel.
6. From the top drop-down menu under the Result type, select Volume_fraction-2-
Water_HM_CF.AirWater_Eulerian(s).
7. Click the Components entity collector and select Displayed.
8. In the panel area, click Apply.
9. In the panel area, under the Display tab, turn off the Discrete color option.
Figure 832:
Figure 833:
Figure 834:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set-up and solve a transient multiphase flow
problem using the Algebraic Eulerian multiphase model using HyperWorks products, namely HyperMesh
and AcuSolve. You started by importing the model in HyperMesh. Then, you defined the simulation
parameters and launched AcuSolve directly from within HyperMesh. Upon completion of the solution
by AcuSolve, you used HyperView to post-process the results and created a contour plot of the volume
fraction.
4.5.1 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1. As an example, a pipe
junction problem is attached here to show the capability of the Humidity modelling in AcuSolve. In this
problem, there are two inlets with different flow, thermal, and humidity conditions. As the flow proceeds
downstream of the pipe, two pipes merge into a single pipe to create a single outlet and a distinct
profile of temperature and humidity is attained. The geometry is symmetric about the XZ midplane of
the pipe, as shown in the figure.
Figure 835:
Refer to the HM introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, to learn how to
select AcuSolve from User Profiles.
2.
Click the Open Model icon located on the standard toolbar.
The Open Model dialog opens.
3. Browse to the directory where you saved the model file. Select the HyperMesh file
ACU4200_Humidity.hm and click Open.
4. Click File > Save As.
The Save Model As dialog opens.
5. Create a new directory named PipeJunction_Humidity and navigate into this directory.
This will be the working directory and all the files related to the simulation will be stored in this
location.
6. Enter Humidity as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your preference.
7. Click Save to create the database.
Figure 836:
Figure 837:
Figure 838:
Figure 839:
Figure 840:
Figure 841:
Figure 842:
Figure 843:
Figure 844:
Figure 845:
Run AcuSolve
1. Turn on the visibility of all mesh components.
For the analysis to run, the mesh for all active components must be visible.
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
3. Optional: For a faster solution time, set the number of processors to a higher number (4 or 8)
based on availability.
4. Leave the remaining options as default and click Launch to start the solution process.
Figure 846:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
3. Click Open.
4. Click Apply in the panel area to load the model and results.
The model is colored by geometry after loading.
Figure 847:
3. Orient the display to the xz-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
4. Click on the Results toolbar to open the Contour panel.
5. Select Temperature (s) as the Result type.
6. Click the Components entity collector and select Displayed.
7. Click Apply.
8. In the panel area, under the Display tab, turn off the Discrete color option.
Figure 848:
9. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
10. Verify that the contour looks like the figure below.
Figure 849:
11. Change the Result type to Relative_humidity (v) then click Apply to view the relative humidity
contour on the minus-Y plane.
Figure 850:
Figure 851:
13. Change the Result type to Velocity (v) then click Apply.
Use the range 0 to 3.753.
Figure 852:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set-up a CFD model, carried out a CFD
simulation, and then post-processed the results using HyperWorks products, namely AcuSolve,
HyperMesh and HyperView. You started by importing the model in HyperMesh. Then, you defined the
simulation parameters and launched AcuSolve directly from within HyperMesh. Upon completion of the
solution by AcuSolve, you used HyperView to post-process the results and create contour plots.
HyperMesh
HyperWorks CFD X
5.1.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a steady simulation
of a centrifugal air blower utilizing reference frames. In this simulation, AcuSolve is used to compute
the motion of fluid due to the rotation of the impeller blades as well as the resulting pressure drop
created between the inlet and outlet after the blades have been rotating for a long time. This tutorial is
designed to introduce you to a number of modelling concepts necessary to perform simulations that use
multiple reference frames.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Rotating reference frame
• Assigning of reference frame to volume and surface sets
• Post-processing using user function with AcuProbe
• Post-processing the nodal output with AcuFieldView to get pressure and velocity fields.
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The diameter of the inlet plane is 0.1 m and the length of the inlet duct is 0.15 m. The housing width is
0.1 m and the radius of the housing from the blade wheel hub varies from 0.113 to 0.18 m.
The fan blades have a mean chord length and width of 0.05 m. The maximum thickness of the blades
is 0.003 m. The fan blades have an angular velocity of -1500 RPM. The negative sign describes the
direction of the angular velocity vector which in this case is in the –Z direction (clockwise rotation).
The boundary condition at the inlet is taken as stagnation pressure rather than mass flow rate so that
AcuSolve calculates mass flow rates and pressure rise based on impeller rotation.
3
The fluid in this problem is air, which has a density (ρ) of 1.225 kg/m and a viscosity (μ) of 1.781 X
-5
10 kg/m-sec.
In addition to setting appropriate conditions for the simulation, it is important to generate a mesh
that will be sufficiently refined to provide good results. For this problem the global mesh size is set to
provide approximately 16 elements around the circumference of the inlet which results in a mesh size
of 0.02 m. Note that higher mesh densities are required where velocity, pressure and eddy viscosity
gradients are larger. In this application, the flow will accelerate as it passes through radial flow paths
between the fan blades. This leads to the higher gradients that need finer mesh resolution. Proper
boundary layer parameters need to be set to keep the y+ near the wall surface to a reasonable level.
The mesh density used in this tutorial is coarse and is intended to illustrate the process of setting up the
model and to retain a reasonable run time. A significantly higher mesh density is needed to achieve a
grid converged solution.
Once a solution is calculated, the flow properties of interest are the mass flow rate at the outlet and the
pressure drop across the inlet and outlet. These parameters define the performance characteristics.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it Blower_MRF_Steady and open it.
5. Enter Blower_MRF_Steady as the file name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 855:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 856:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 857:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that the Analysis type is set to Steady State.
3. Set the Max time steps as 100.
4. Check that the Convergence tolerance is set to 0.001.
5. Set the Relaxation factor to 0.4.
The relaxation factor is used to improve convergence of the solution. Typically, a value between
0.2 and 0.4 provides a good balance between achieving a smooth progression of the solution and
the extra compute time needed to reach convergence. Higher relaxation factors cause AcuSolve
to take more time steps to reach a steady state solution. A high relaxation factor is sometimes
necessary in order to achieve convergence for very complex applications.
Figure 858:
Figure 859:
2. Double-click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air detail panel.
The material type for air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
3. Click the Density tab. The density of air is 1.225 kg/m3.
-5
4. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of air is 1.781 x 10 kg/m – sec.
5. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 860:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 861:
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your
screen may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are
randomly assigned to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on
Windows. If you are running this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight
difference between the images displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available settings related to general problem
setup in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Global Data Tree item.
3. Right-click Reference Frame and click New to create a new reference frame.
4. Rename the new reference frame.
a) Right-click Reference Frame 1.
b) Click Rename.
c) Type Impeller_RF and press Enter.
5. Double-click Impeller_RF to open the detail panel.
6. Click the Open Array button next to Rotation center to open the Array Editor.
7. Enter 0.05 as the Z-coordinate.
Figure 862:
Note: The negative sign specifies the clockwise direction of rotation. Note that the
rotation direction is determined using the “right-hand rule”.
Figure 863:
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
In the next steps you will create a new volume group, assign a volume to that group, rename the
default volume group container, assign the materials for the groups, and set the reference frame for the
impeller volume.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Expand Volumes. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to
the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Figure 864:
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry volumes were placed in the default
volume group container. At this point, all the remaining volumes are in the default volume group.
Rather than create a new container, add the flow volume in the geometry to it, and then delete the
default volume container, you will rename the container and modify the parameters for this group.
7. Rename the default volume group to Fluid_Impeller.
8. Check that the material model for the volumes is set as Air.
a) Double click Element Set under Fluid_Main to open it in the detail panel.
b) Ensure that the Material model is set to Air.
9. Assign the reference frame Impeller_RF to Fluid_Impeller.
Figure 865:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem and add surfaces to the group containers.
• Inlet
• Outlet
• Walls
• Interface
• Fan Blades
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the inlet, assign the appropriate settings, and add
the inlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 866:
Figure 867:
c) Click Done to add this geometry surface to the Inlet surface group.
Tip: You can also use the middle mouse button to complete the addition of
geometry components to a group.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the outlet, assign the appropriate settings, and add
the outlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 868:
Figure 869:
c) Click Done to add this geometry surface to the Outlet surface group.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the walls, assign the appropriate settings, and add
the faces from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 870:
Figure 871:
c) Click Done to associate this geometry surface with the Walls surface container.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the Interface, assign the appropriate settings, and
add the Interface surfaces from the geometry to the surface group.
Note: Internal surfaces in AcuConsole are handled in a special manner. At import time,
AcuConsole creates two identical copies of the surface. One copy of the surface is associated
with each volume. This allows you to control meshing parameters independently on each
side of the surface. When assigning boundary conditions to internal surfaces, it is important
to remember that there are two sides of the surface that need to be dealt with. When
selecting an internal surface, the side corresponding to the outer volume is the first pick
target that is encountered when both faces are visible. The inner surface can be selected
directly by changing the display of the outer surface.
1. Turn off the display of the Inlet, Outlet, and Walls surfaces.
2. Create a new surface group.
3. Rename the new surface to Interface.
4. Expand Interface in the Data Tree.
5. Turn off the Simple Boundary Condition by unchecking the box next to it.
Figure 872:
Figure 873:
Note: Note that no boundary conditions are applied to this surface at this point. The
grouping operation was performed to identify that these surfaces are internal and that
flow will be allowed to pass through them freely. These surfaces can still be used for
output purposes, however.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the Fan_Blades, assign the appropriate settings,
and add the fan blades from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 874:
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes. In subsequent steps you will set the surface
meshing attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.02 m for the Absolute mesh size.
This absolute mesh size is chosen to ensure that there are at least 50 mesh elements on the inlet.
6. Set the Maximum sweep angle as 30.0 degrees.
This option allows you to set the maximum sweep angle for edge blend meshing on a global basis
which creates a radial array of elements around sharp edges to provide better resolution of the
flow features. The sweep angle is used to control how many degrees each radial division spans.
Figure 875:
• Walls
• Fan Blades
In the following steps you will set meshing attributes that will allow for localized control of the mesh
size near the walls. The mesh size on the wall will be inherited from the global mesh size that was
defined earlier. The settings that follow will only control the growth of the boundary layer from the
walls.
Option Description
Number of layers 3
Figure 876:
In the following steps you will set meshing attributes that will allow for localized control of the mesh
size near the fan blades.
1. Under Fan Blades, click the check box next to Surface Mesh Attributes to enable the settings and
open the Surface Mesh Attributes detail panel.
2. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
3. Enter 0.005 m as the Absolute mesh size.
4. Switch the Boundary layer flag to On.
5. Set the Boundary layer type to Full Control.
6. Set the Resolve field to Total Layer Height.
7. Set the remaining settings as follows:
Option Description
Number of layers 3
Figure 877:
Figure 878:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. For the purposes of this tutorial, the following steps
lead to the display of inlet, outlet, walls and fan blades.
4. Right-click Volumes in the Data Tree and click Display off.
5. Right-click Surfaces in the Data Tree and click Display on.
6. Right-click Surfaces in the Data Tree, select Display type and click solid & wire.
7. Rotate and zoom in the model to analyze the various mesh regions.
8. Right-click on the model and select cut plane visualization to view the mesh near the fan
blades.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
Figure 881:
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 882:
5. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Residual Ratio.
3. Right-click on Final and select Plot All.
The residual ratio measures how well the solution matches the governing equations.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 883:
After AcuSolve has finished running, a summary of the solution process showing the “End Time
Step” data indicates that the simulation has been completed.
1.
In the AcuProbe window, double click on .
2. Enter the name in the User Function window as Pres_Rise.
3. In the function window, type P_Outlet =.
4. Expand Surface Output > Outlet > Pressure.
5. Right-click on pressure and select Copy Name.
6. Paste the value in the function window for Outlet pressure.
7. Type P_Inlet = on a line line.
8. Repeat steps 4 - 6 for Inlet pressure.
9. Type value = P_Outlet – P_Inlet.
Figure 884:
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 885:
Start AcuFieldView
1. Click on the AcuConsole toolbar to open the Launch AcuFieldView dialog.
2. Click Ok to start AcuFieldView.
When you start AcuFieldView from AcuConsole, the results from the last time step of the solution
that were written to disk will be loaded for post-processing.
View the Boundary Surface Showing Pressure for the Outer Surfaces with
Mesh
Figure 886:
Figure 887:
View the Boundary Surface Showing Velocity Magnitude for the Impeller
Blades
1. In the Boundary surfaces dialog, click the Surface tab and set Coloring to geometric.
2. Click the color swatch, and select grey.
3. Uncheck the Show Mesh option to turn off the mesh display.
4. Set the transparency to 62.5%.
5. Click Create to create a new boundary surface.
6. From the Boundary Types list, select fan blades and click OK.
7. For Scalar function, select velocity magnitude and click Calculate.
8. Change the Coloring to scalar.
9. Set transparency to 0.
10. On the Colormap tab, turn on local .
11. On the Legends tab, click Show Legend.
12. Orient the geometry so you can see the contour on the impeller blades properly.
13. Turn off the legend for boundary surface 2.
1.
Click the Coordinate surfaces icon to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
2. Click Create to create a new surface.
3. Set the new surface at the mid –Z coordinate surface.
4. In the Coord Plane fields, enter 0.05 as the Current value.
This is the z coordinate for the mid plane between the blower front and back walls.
5. Change the Display Type to smooth.
6. Change the Coloring to scalar.
7. Select velocity magnitude as the scalar function to display.
8. Click the Colormap tab and change the coloring to local.
9. Turn on the legend to display the velocity magnitude values on the coordinate plane.
10. Orient the geometry to see the surfaces from both sides.
Figure 888:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a steady state simulation with a rotating
reference frame in a centrifugal blower. Once the case was set up, you generated a mesh and generated
a solution using AcuSolve. AcuProbe was used to post-process the pressure rise in the blower. Results
were also post-processed in AcuFieldView to allow you to create contour views for the pressure along
the walls and velocity magnitude on the mid coordinate surface of the blower as well as the impeller
blades. New features introduced in this tutorial include creating a rotating reference frame and creating
a user function in AcuProbe.
5.1.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks
UI Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperMesh, AcuSolve, and HyperView. To run this
tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 903 and Figure 904. It
consists of a centrifugal blower with a wheel of backward curved blades, and a housing with inlet and
outlet ducts. The fluid through the inlet plane enters the hub of the blade wheel, radially accelerates
due to centrifugal force as it flows over the blades, and then exits the blower housing through the outlet
plane. Because they're relatively cheaper and simpler than axial fans, centrifugal blowers have been
widely used in HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) systems of buildings.
This will be the working directory and all the files related to the simulation will be stored in this
location.
6. Enter Blower_Steady as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your preference.
7. Click Save to create the database.
Figure 891:
Figure 892:
Figure 893:
Figure 894:
4. Click Walls. In the Entity Editor, verify that the Type is set to WALL.
Figure 895:
All the surface elements that make up the outer wall of the blower, the fan blades and the
interface between the impeller and main fluid can be grouped into one surface set. Auto_Wall,
which is an advanced feature in AcuSolve, re-groups these elements into external and internal
walls and applies appropriate wall and interface conditions. In this case, the surface elements on
the fan blades are grouped together (AUTO Fluid_Impeller wall) and the reference frame assigned
to the impeller fluid will be inherited. The surface elements on the interface will be grouped into
(AUTO Fluid_Impeller internal) and the elements on the outer casing will be grouped into (AUTO
Fluid_Main wall). This entire process of grouping is done internally without you having to do it
manually
5. Click Fluid_Main. In the Entity Editor,
a) Change the Type to FLUID.
b) Select Air_HM as the Material.
Figure 896:
Figure 897:
Run AcuSolve
Figure 898:
1.
Once the solution has converged, click the User Function icon in the AcuProbe window.
A User Function dialog opens.
2. Enter Pres_Rise as the function name.
3. Type P_Outlet = in the Function field.
4. Expand Surface Output > Outlet > Pressure. Right-click on pressure and select Copy Name.
Paste the value in the Function field after P_Outlet =.
5. On the next line, type P_Inlet = and repeat the above step for inlet pressure.
6. On the next line, type value = P_Outlet - P_Inlet.
Figure 899:
Note: The word “value” is case sensitive and should always be in lowercase
characters. If it starts with a capital letter, it will give you an error window.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 900:
In the next steps you will use HyperView to create a velocity contour on a section on the z-plane. Close
the AcuProbe and AcuTail windows. In the HyperMesh window, close the AcuSolve Control tab.
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
Figure 901:
12. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
13. Adjust the orientation in the graphics window for a better view of the results and verify that the
contour plot looks like the figure below.
Figure 902:
Summary
In this tutorial, you successfully learned how to set up a steady state simulation involving a rotating
reference frame in a centrifugal blower. You started by importing the mesh and then once the case was
set up, you generated a solution using AcuSolve. Then, you computed the pressure rise using AcuProbe
and created a contour plot for velocity on a cut plane using HyperView.
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperWorks CFD X, AcuSolve, and HyperView. To run
this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperWorks CFD X and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 889 and Figure 890. It
consists of a centrifugal blower with a wheel of backward curved blades, and a housing with inlet and
outlet ducts. The fluid through the inlet plane enters the hub of the blade wheel, radially accelerates
due to centrifugal force as it flows over the blades, and then exits the blower housing through the outlet
plane. Because they're relatively cheaper and simpler than axial fans, centrifugal blowers have been
widely used in HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) systems of buildings.
Figure 905:
Figure 906:
The Validate tool scans through the entire model and lists out the defects in the geometry such as
free edges, closed shells, intersections, duplicates and sliver surfaces.
The current model doesn’t have any of the issues mentioned above. Alternatively, if any issues are
found, they are indicated by the number in the brackets adjacent to the tool name.
Observe that a blue check mark appears on the top-left corner of the Validate icon. This indicates
that the tool found no issues with the geometry model.
Figure 907:
2. Press Esc or right-click in the modeling window and select Exit from the context-menu to exit the
tool.
3. Save the database.
Figure 908:
Figure 909:
Figure 910:
6. Click the Solver controls setting and verify that the parameters are set as shown in the figure
below.
Figure 911:
Figure 912:
Figure 913:
3. In the dialog that appears, click the drop-down menu next to Material and select Air.
4. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.
Figure 914:
2. From the Flow ribbon, Domain tools, click the Reference Frame tool.
Figure 915:
3. Make sure the Include bounding surfaces option is active on the guide bar.
4. Select the solid in the modeling window.
Bounding surfaces are automatically selected.
5. On the guide bar, click Axis.
6. Define the axis of rotation.
a) Use the Surf Center snap point to place the axis in the middle of the centrifugal blower.
Figure 916:
b) In the microdialog, click Z to align the axis with the global z axis.
c) Click to flip the spin direction.
d) Enter a value of 157.09 in the text field.
Figure 917:
7. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.
8. Right-click in the modeling window and select Show All from the context menu or press A to
return to the full model display.
Figure 918:
Figure 919:
Figure 920:
Figure 921:
Figure 922:
3. In the dialog that appears, make sure both Static pressure and Pressure loss factor are 0.
Figure 923:
4. On the guide bar, click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.
Figure 924:
Note: If the model has not been validated, you are prompted to create the simulation
model before running the batch mesh.
Figure 925:
4. Click Mesh.
The Run Status dialog opens. Once the run is complete, the status is updated and you can close
the dialog.
Tip: Right-click on the mesh job and select View log file to view a summary of the
meshing process.
Run AcuSolve
1. From the Solution ribbon, Simulation tools, click the Run tool.
Figure 926:
Figure 927:
The Run Status dialog opens. Once the run is complete, the status is updated and you can close
the dialog.
Tip: While AcuSolve is running, right-click on the AcuSolve job in the Run Status
dialog and select View Log File to monitor the AcuSolve solution process.
1.
Once the solution has converged, click the User Function icon in the AcuProbe window.
A User Function dialog opens.
2. Enter Pres_Rise as the function name.
3. Type P_Outlet = in the Function field.
4. Expand Surface Output > Outlet - Output > Pressure. Right-click on pressure and select
Copy Name. Paste the value in the Function field after P_Outlet =.
5. On the next line, type P_Inlet = and repeat the above step for inlet pressure.
6. On the next line, type value = P_Outlet - P_Inlet.
Figure 928:
Note: The word “value” is case sensitive and should always be in lowercase
characters. If it starts with a capital letter, it will give you an error window.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 929:
In the next steps you will use HyperView to create a velocity contour on a section on the z-plane.
Open HyperView
Start HyperView from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > HyperView.
Figure 930:
12. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Numeric format to Fixed
then click OK.
13. Adjust the orientation in the graphics window for a better view of the results and verify that the
contour plot looks like the figure below.
Figure 931:
Summary
In this tutorial, you successfully learned how to set up a steady state simulation involving a rotating
reference frame in a centrifugal blower. You started by importing the mesh and then once the case was
set up, you generated a solution using AcuSolve. Then, you computed the pressure rise using AcuProbe
and created a contour plot for velocity on a cut plane using HyperView.
HyperMesh
5.2.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a transient
simulation of a centrifugal air blower utilizing the sliding mesh approach. In this simulation, AcuSolve
is used to compute and visualize the motion of fluid in form of velocity field, streamlines and particle
path animations for three revolutions after the blower has been operating for a long time. This tutorial
is designed to introduce you to a number of modeling concepts necessary to perform simulations that
use the sliding mesh motion feature.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Mesh motion
• Use of multiplier function to scale the time step size
• Assigning and meshing interface surfaces
• Mesh refinement
• Projection of steady state solution as the initial condition
• Post-processing using AcuFieldView to get velocity fields, streamlines and streaklines animation.
Prerequisites
In order to run this tutorial, you should have already run through ACU-T: 5000 Blower - Steady
(Rotating Frame) and kept the solution in your working directory. It is assumed that you have some
familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You will also need access to a licensed version
of AcuSolve.
In case you do not have the steady state results, prior to running through this tutorial, copy
AcuConsole_tutorial_input.zip from <AcuSolve installation directory>\model_files
\tutorials\AcuSolve to a working directory and extract Centrifugal_Blower_MRF_Steady.acs from
AcuConsole_tutorial_inputs.zip.
The diameter of the inlet is 0.1 m and the length is 0.150 m. The scroll width is 0.1 m and the radius
varies from 0.113 m to 0.180 m.
The fan blades have a mean chord length and width of 0.05 m. The maximum thickness of the blades is
0.003 m.
To capture the dynamic motion of the impeller blades, the simulation has to be run as transient. The
converged steady state solution from the steady blower simulation is projected on the mesh and used
as the initial state for the transient simulation.
The simulation will be run to model 0.12 s of the flow, which would constitute three revolutions of the
fan blades with time step sizes scaled using a multiplier function.
The multiplier function is chosen such that the impeller blades rotate at 10 degrees per time step for
the first revolution, then ramp down from 10 degrees per time step to 3 degrees per time step during
the second revolution and complete the third revolution at 3 degrees per time step.
Figure 934:
Note: Meaningful data should be taken after 2 or 3 revolutions as the initial conditions
are flushed out of the domain. The multiplier function is selected such that the simulation
completes in sufficient time for a tutorial exercise.
The time step size for the last revolution is based on prior investigations of a similar geometry, which
indicate that this time step size is small enough to capture the transient behavior of the flow. It should
be noted, however, that a time step size sensitivity study should always be performed to establish
appropriate time step size when analyzing a new application.
The CFD analysis of this problem offers detailed information about the flow through a centrifugal blower.
To investigate this behavior, it is necessary to select an appropriate set of boundary conditions to use.
There are two different methods that are commonly used. One approach is to specify the mass flow
rate at the inlet of the blower and allow AcuSolve to compute the pressure drop, that is, flow forces
simulation. Another option is to specify the stagnation pressure at the inlet and allow AcuSolve to
compute the flow rate that results from this specified pressure change between the inlet and outlet.
The boundary conditions used in this example are the latter. That is, the inlet is taken as stagnation
pressure rather than mass flow rate so that AcuSolve calculates mass flow rates and pressure rise
based on impeller rotation.
3 -5
The fluid in this problem is air, which has a density of 1.225 kg/m and a viscosity of 1.781 X 10 kg/
m-s.
In addition to setting appropriate conditions for the simulation, it is important to generate a mesh
that will be sufficiently refined to provide good results. For this problem the global mesh size is set to
provide approximately 16 elements around the circumference of the inlet which results in a mesh size of
0.02 m.
Note that higher mesh densities are required where velocity, pressure, and eddy viscosity gradients are
larger. In this application, the flow will accelerate as it passes through radial flow paths between the
fan blades. This leads to the higher gradients that need finer mesh resolution. Proper boundary layer
parameters need to be set to keep the y+ near the wall surface to a reasonable level. The mesh density
used in this tutorial is coarse and is intended to illustrate the process of setting up the model and to
retain a reasonable run time. A significantly higher mesh density is needed to achieve a grid converged
solution.
Once a solution is calculated, the flow properties of interest are the velocity magnitude, stream – lines
and streak – lines animations as the blower goes through three revolutions of the impeller blades.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click File > Open and open Centrifugal_Blower_MRF_Steady.acs.
Figure 935:
Figure 936:
The steady state flow field was calculated as the starting point for the transient simulation of
temperature. For instructions on visualising steady state results, refer to AcuConsole.
The general parameters that you will set for this tutorial are for turbulent flow, transient analysis, and
mesh type as fully specified, which means that the motion is fully specified at the beginning of each
time step and hence no mesh equation needs to be solved.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 937:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 938:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 939:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that the Analysis type is set to Transient.
3. Set the Max time steps as 0.
AcuSolve will calculate the number of time steps based on the final time and the multiplier
function, which you will specify in the next section.
4. Set the Final time as 0.12.
5. Set the Initial time increment to 0.00111.
6. Check that the Convergence tolerance is set to 0.001.
Note that for a transient analysis, the convergence tolerance corresponds to the tolerance that
the equations are converged to before proceeding to the next time step. However, since we
are performing a maximum of 2 iterations per step, the solver will be limited in the number of
iterations it can perform while attempting to reach this tolerance.
7. Set the Max stagger iterations to 2.
This setting determines the maximum number of iterations that will occur at each time step.
8. Set the Relaxation factor to 0.
The relaxation factor is used to improve convergence of the solution. The relaxation factor is used
to improve convergence of the solution. Typically a value between 0.2 and 0.4 provides a good
balance between achieving a smooth progression of the solution and the extra compute time
needed to reach convergence. When solving transient solutions, the relaxation factor should be set
to zero. A non-zero relaxation factor causes incremental updates of the solution, which will impact
the time accuracy of the solution for transient cases.
Figure 940:
In the next steps you will create a multiplier function for the time increment. The multiplier function is
chosen such that the impeller blades rotate at 10 degrees per time step for the first revolution (0 s–
0.04 s), then ramp down from 10 degrees per time step to 3 degrees per time step during the second
revolution (0.04 s – 0.08 s) and complete the third revolution at 3 degrees per time step (0.08 s – .12
s)
To make the creation of the multiplier functions as simple as possible, you will use the PB* filter in the
Data Tree Manager.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available settings related to general problem
setup in the Data Tree.
2. In the Data Tree, under Global, right-click Multiplier Function and click New to create a new
multiplier function.
3. Rename the multiplier function.
a) Right-click the newly created Multiplier Function 1 and click Rename.
b) Type Time_Function and press Enter.
4. Double-click Time_Function to open the Time_Function detail panel.
5. Set the Type to Piecewise Linear.
This option indicates that you will enter an array of numbers that will be used by AcuSolve to
interpolate the value of the multiplier function at each time step. In this example, the curve fit is a
function of time.
Figure 941:
6. Add the curve-fit values for the large inlet temperature profile.
a) Click Open Array to open the Array Editor dialog.
b) Enter the values shown as calculated earlier and shown in the following image.
Figure 942:
7. Click Plot to expand the Array Editor dialog to display the plot of the curve fit values.
Note: You may need to expand the dialog by dragging the right edge in order to see
the plot.
Figure 943:
In the next steps you will work with the time increment feature under advanced solution strategy to
assign the multiplier function.
Figure 944:
1. Click ALE in the Data Tree Manager to see all the settings related to mesh motion.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Right-click Mesh Motion and click New to create a new mesh motion.
4. Rename the new mesh motion to Impeller_Motion.
5. Double-click Impeller_Motion to open the detail panel.
6. Set the Type to Rotation.
Figure 945:
1. Click OUT in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only those
controls related to outputs written to the solution files.
2. Double-click Output to expand it.
3. Double-click Nodal Output.
a) Change the time step frequency to 3.
This setting will save results every 3 steps and will allow you to create an animation of the
results once the simulation is complete.
4. Set Output Initial Condition to On.
This writes the initial condition file.
Figure 946:
Fluid_Impeller element set would be assigned the angular velocity and center of rotation
defined in the mesh motion.
4. Set the Reference frame as None.
Figure 947:
In the next steps you will specify the mesh motion associated with fan blades.
Figure 948:
In the next steps you will assign Interface Surface properties to the Interface.
The Interface acts as a sliding boundary and is used to connect pairs of elements that share
(approximately) the same surface but are not conformal. An Interface Surface allows the flow to pass
from one side of the surface to the other when the nodes are not connected to each other. This step
would become clear when you split the nodes on the interface surface in the later steps.
Note: Internal surfaces in AcuConsole are handled in a special manner. When a geometry
with internal surfaces is imported, AcuConsole creates two identical copies of the surface.
One copy of the surface is associated with each volume. This allows you to control meshing
parameters independently on each side of the surface. When assigning boundary conditions
to internal surfaces, it is important to remember that there are 2 sides of the surface that
need to be dealt with. When selecting an internal surface, the side corresponding to the
outer volume is the first pick target that is encountered when both faces are visible. The
inner surface can be selected directly by changing the display of the outer surface.
1. Click ALE in the Data Tree Manager to see all the settings related to mesh motion.
2. Expand Model, and then expand Surfaces.
3. Activate Interface Surface for Interface.
a) Double-click Interface.
b) Check Interface Surface under Interface.
c) Double-click Interface Surface.
d) Set the Gap factor to 0.
Gap factor is non-dimensional (with respect to the length of an element face) maximum gap
allowed for two element faces to be in contact.
A gap factor of 0 means the maximum gap allowed is zero.
Figure 949:
In the following steps you will add mesh refinement in the zone around the impeller blades closest to
the housing wall as shown in figure 3.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Under Global, right-click Zone Mesh Attributes and then click New.
3. Rename Zone Mesh Attributes 1 to Refine_1.
4. Double-click Refine_1 to open the Zone Mesh Attributes detail panel.
5. Change the Mesh zone type to Cylinder.
6. Set the location of the mesh refinement by defining the center points of the end faces of the
cylinder.
a) Click Open Array to open the Array Editor dialog.
b) Enter the coordinate values as shown in the following image.
Figure 950:
Figure 951:
Figure 952:
Figure 953:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. For the purposes of this tutorial, the following steps
lead to the display of inlet, outlet, walls and fan blades.
4. Right-click Volumes in the Data Tree and click Display off.
5. Right-click Surfaces in the Data Tree and click Display on.
6. Right-click Surfaces in the Data Tree, select Display type and click solid & wire.
7. Rotate and zoom in the model to analyze the various mesh regions.
8. Right-click on the model and select cut plane visualization to view the mesh near the fan
blades.
Splitting the nodes on the interface would allow the nodes attached to Fluid_Impeller to slide over the
nodes on Fluid_Main, hence simulating the rotation on the fluid domain with the impeller blades.
In the next steps you will split the nodes on the interface using the Mesh Op. tool.
Figure 956:
Figure 957:
7. Close the Information Window and the AcuSolve solution projection dialog.
8. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
9. In the Data Tree, expand Global, and double-click on Nodal Initial Condition.
10. Set the pressure, velocity and eddy viscosity initial condition type as Nodal Values.
11. Click Open Array next to Nodal values for Pressure to check that the values have been assigned.
Figure 958:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
Figure 959:
For this case, the default values will be used. AcuSolve will run using four processors and it will
calculate the transient solution for this problem.
2. Click Ok to start the solution process.
While computing the solution, an AcuTail window opens. Solution progress is reported in this
window. A summary of the solution process indicates that the run has been completed.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 960:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
In the following steps you will start AcuFieldView, display the velocity magnitude on the mid coordinate
surface and generate animations for velocity magnitude, streamlines and particle paths.
Start AcuFieldView
1. Click on the AcuConsole toolbar to open the Launch AcuFieldView dialog.
2. Click Ok to start AcuFieldView.
When you start AcuFieldView from AcuConsole, the results from the last time step of the solution
that were written to disk will be loaded for post-processing. You will see that the pressure
contours have already been displayed on all the boundary surfaces with mesh.
Figure 961:
These steps are provided with the assumption that you are able to manipulate the view in
AcuFieldView to have a white background, perspective turned off, outlines turned off, and the
viewing direction set to +Z. If you are unfamiliar with basic AcuFieldView operations, refer to
Manipulate the Model View in AcuFieldView.
15. Activate the Frame check box to display the frame for the legend.
Figure 962:
16. From the Tools menu, click on Transient Data to open the Transient Data Controls dialog.
For a transient case, the data displayed by launching AcuFieldView from AcuConsole is for the last
time step. The Transient Data Controls allows you to visualize the data at rest of the time steps.
The time steps at which the data can be post processed depends on the nodal output value set in
AcuConsole. In this case the nodal output is stored at every third time step.
17. Move the slider all the way to the back to zero to visualize the data at the zeroth time step.
This is done in order to build the animation from the beginning of the simulation.
18. From the Tools menu, click on Flipbook Build Mode.
A Flipbook size warning dialog appears.
19. Click OK.
In the Transient Data Controls dialog, the Sweep option under Sweep Control changes to Build.
20. Click Build.
AcuFieldView will build the frame by frame animation of the solution progressing through all of the
available time steps. You will be able to see the progress in a Building Flipbook dialog.
21. In the Flipbook Controls dialog, click on Frame Rate to open the Minimum Time Between
Frames dialog.
Figure 963:
Set up Streamlines
1.
Click to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
2.
Click the Boundary Surfaces icon and turn on the visibility.
Pressure is already selected as the Scalar Function.
3. In the Boundary Types list, select OSF: walls and click OK.
4. Change the Coloring to Geometric and select grey from the color panel.
5. Turn off the mesh display by unchecking Show Mesh.
6. Set the Transparency field to 75 %.
7. Set the Scalar Function to velocity_magnitude.
8. Turn off the Visibility for this surface.
9. Click Create to create a new boundary surface.
10. Select OSF: Inlet and OSF: Outlet from the Boundary Types list.
11. Change the Coloring to Scalar.
12. Set the Transparency to 0.
13. Create another boundary surface and select OSF: Fan_Blades from the Boundary Types list.
14. From the Visualization Panels menu, select Streamlines.
The Streamlines panel opens.
15. Select Create to create a new set of streamlines.
16. Click the Mode toggle button and select Seed a Surface.
In order to display streamlines you will need to seed a surface from where the streamlines are
generated.
Figure 964:
Figure 965:
The Step size determines the time step intervals at which the streamlines would be calculated.
22. Change the Direction to Both.
The direction determines the direction of flow (upstream, downstream or both) in which the
streamlines would be generated from the surface selected.
Figure 966:
Figure 967:
24. Change Coloring to Scalar and Display Type to Filament and Arrows.
25. Click the Colormap tab.
26. Click the Colormap drop down arrow and select NASA-1.
27. Click the Legend tab.
28. Activate the Show Legend and Frame checkboxes to turn them on.
29. Orient the geometry so that all the surfaces are visible, as shown below:
Figure 968:
Figure 969:
Set up Streaklines
Figure 970:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a transient simulation with a sliding
mesh in a centrifugal blower. Once the case was set up, you modified the mesh to include refinement
zones, projected the steady state solution onto the refined mesh and generated a solution using
AcuSolve.
Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView to allow you to create contour views for the velocity
magnitude on the mid coordinate surface of the blower as well as the impeller blades along with new
features for creating animations for contours, streamlines, streaklines and particle paths.
New features introduced in this tutorial include creating a rotational mesh motion, use of interface
surfaces, projection of steady state solution in form of nodal initial conditions, creating velocity
magnitude, streamlines and particle path animations.
5.2.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a transient
simulation of a centrifugal air blower utilizing the sliding mesh approach. In order to run this tutorial,
you should have already run through ACU-T: 5000 Blower - Steady (Rotating Frame) and kept the
solution in your working directory. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with HyperMesh,
AcuSolve, and HyperView.
Problem Description
The problem to be discussed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 971. The simulation is
divided into two components, steady state and transient. The steady state solution will be computed
first and then projected onto the mesh and used as the initial state for the transient simulation. Please
refer to the tutorial ACU-T: 5000 Blower - Steady (Rotating Frame) to learn the step by step procedure
to obtain the steady state solution for this problem. Once the transient solution is computed, you will
post-process the results using HyperView.
Figure 971:
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
3. Optional: For a faster solution time, set the number of processors to a higher number (4 or 8)
based on availability.
4. Leave the remaining options as default and click Launch to start the solution process.
5. Once the solution has converged, close the AcuTail and AcuProbe windows. Also, close the Solver
job launcher and the AcuSolve Control tab.
6. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All
Programs > Altair <version> > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt .
7. In the Command Prompt, change the directory to the working directory using the cd command.
8. Type the command acuProj -crd HYPERMESH.DIR\Blower_Transient.crd -run 1 and press
Enter.
9. Verify that the working directory is populated with the new files Blower_Transient.pres.nic,
Blower_Transient.vel.nic, and Blower_Transient.eddy.nic
10. Move these files into the HYPERMESH.DIR directory.
Figure 972:
Figure 973:
Figure 974:
Figure 975:
Figure 976:
Figure 977:
3. Repeat the above step for the Velocity and Eddy viscosity fields. Select the
Blower_Transient.vel.nic and Blower_Transient.eddy.nic files, respectively.
4. Save the model.
Figure 978:
Once the solution is launched, the AcuSolve Control tab opens. Also, the AcuTail and AcuProbe
windows are launched automatically in which the solution progress can be monitored.
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
Figure 979:
5. Click the Legend tab then click Edit Legend. In the dialog, change the Type to Dynamic scale
and the Numeric format to Fixed then click OK.
Figure 980:
Figure 981:
6.
Click on the Display toolbar to open the Section Cut panel.
7. In the panel area, click Add.
8. Under the Define plane section, change the plane to Z-Axis then click Apply.
9. Set the Z-coordinate of the Base to 0.05 then press Enter
10. Under the Display options section, activate the Cross section option.
11. Click Girdline.... In the dialog, turn off the Show Grid Line option then click OK.
Figure 982:
12. Orient the display to the xy-plane by clicking on the Standard Views toolbar.
Figure 983:
13. From the Animation toolbar, click the Animation controls icon.
Figure 984:
14. In the panel area, set the Max Frame Rate to 15 Frames/Sec by dragging the slider.
15. Click on the Start/Pause Animation icon to play the velocity magnitude animation.
Figure 985:
Create Streamlines
1.
Click on the Display toolbar to open the Section Cut panel.
2. In the panel area, toggle off the Section 1 check box.
This will turn off the display of the section cut, showing the complete model.
3. In the Results Browser, expand the list of Components and turn off all components except the
Inlet, Outlet, AUTO Fluid_Main wall and AUTO Fluid_Impeller wall.
Figure 986:
4. Change the element display mode to Transparent Elements and Feature Lines.
Figure 987:
5. Rotate the model so that you have a clear view of all the components that are being displayed.
Figure 988:
6.
Click on the Results toolbar to open the Streamlines panel.
7. In the panel area, change the Rake type to Area.
8. Click the Component entity collector then select By ID.
9. In the Select by ID dialog, enter 3 in the value field of Component ID then click OK.
10. In the panel area, change the Integration mode to Downstream.
11. Activate the Evenly distributed check box and enter a value of 10 for both Rows and Columns.
12. Toggle on the Draw as tube check box then click Create Streamlines to generate the
streamlines.
Figure 989:
This will generate streamlines originating from the Inlet surface with seeds that are distributed
uniformly over the surface area of the inlet.
Figure 990:
Figure 991:
Figure 992:
Summary
In this tutorial, you successfully learned how to set up and solve a transient simulation of a centrifugal
air blower using the sliding mesh approach. You started by importing the meshed geometry and then
ran the steady state simulation. Then, you used the steady state result as the starting point for the
transient simulation using the AcuProj tool to specify the nodal initial conditions and then solved the
transient simulation using the sliding mesh approach instead of the moving reference frame approach.
Once the transient solution was computed, you launched HyperView and created an animation of
velocity magnitude and streamlines.
AcuConsole
5.3.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for the simulation of
a brake disc in a disc brake system, as well as understanding the cooling mechanism of the disc. The
model used for this tutorial consists of a section of a brake disc on which a heat source is applied to
simulate the braking action. The heat source is the result of the friction between the brake disc that
rotates along with the wheel(s) and the brake pads, which are stationary with respect to the wheel
rotation. When the brake is applied, the pads are actuated by a hydraulic mechanism and pressed
against the disc. The frictional force between the disc and the pads causes the deceleration of the disc,
and hence the wheel. The most common mechanism of the dissipation of the mechanical energy of the
moving automobile as it decelerates is through its conversion to heat energy due to friction between the
pad and the disc. The objective of this tutorial is to quantify the temperature rise in a disc as a vehicle
passes through a cycle of deceleration and acceleration.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. This
tutorial does not introduce any new concepts or feature capabilities of AcuSolve. However, it does focus
on demonstrating the capabilities of AcuSolve in successfully simulating a complex problem such as a
disc brake system and provides guidelines on how to setup a similar simulation.
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
Figure 1 shows the schematic and working mechanism of a typical disc brake system. The brake pedal/
lever is connected to the pushrod, which exerts force on the master cylinder piston. Movement of the
piston transfers the pressure applied on the piston through the hydraulic lines to the brake pads, which
are seated in the brake caliper assembly. The pads are thus pushed towards the rotor, or the brake disc,
exerting a friction force on the rotating disc, causing it to decelerate till the brake lever is compressed
by the driver. The most common mechanism of the dissipation of the mechanical energy of the moving
automobile as it decelerates is through its conversion to heat energy due to friction between the pad
and the disc.
The heat generated through the braking force can be very high under certain conditions, and if
not quickly dissipated to the ambient air, can cause significant temperature rise in the disc. If the
disc temperature rises beyond a certain limit, it can have undesirable consequences on the braking
performance, and in extreme cases can cause brake failure as well. Some of these potential situations
are listed below:
1. Downhill braking – when the vehicle cruising downhill for a long distance, braking force is usually
applied on the disc constantly to ensure the vehicle speed is within a safe limit. Thus, the disc is
placed under constant heating, and the temperature of disc will keep rising until the heating is
balanced by cooling. The temperature reached at the ending state can be very high.
2. Repetitive braking is also a situation that often causes the disc temperature to approach the safe
limit. It is more commonly observed in racing where the vehicle is always under deceleration or
acceleration. Repetitive braking usually consists of multiple brake-release cycles within a short
time. In each cycle, disc temperature rises during braking and then cools down in release time. At
the end of each cycle, the temperature may not be fully cooled down. As a result, the temperature
of disc gets higher and higher after each cycle and eventually it may break the safe limit.
3. Emergency braking is also one of the reasons. Because the vehicle is stopped in a very short time,
the cooling effect is not significant enough to reduce the temperature on disc. As a result, the
temperature could be very high at the end of the braking cycle
While modern disc brakes can safely operate up to a surface temperature of 1200 K, the best operating
range peeks out at about 900 K. Thus, this is the maximum temperature most brake disc designs would
strive to achieve, at least under normal braking. Insufficient cooling of the brake system can result in
thermal distortion, brake fading, and brake fluid vaporization. Thermal distortion is due to excessive
thermal expansion, which in turn is due to high temperature; brake fading describes the friction force
between pad and disc, which under a fixed pressure reduces with increasing temperature. High brake
fluid temperature causes it to vaporize, which reduces the efficiency of the hydraulic system. As a
result, some brake pad stroke distance is wasted on compressing gas.
A mechanical engineer is usually concerned about the following properties: brake fading rate, thermal
stress, thermal distortion, material strength limits, and brake fluid temperature. In CFD simulations, all
the concerns are related to the two outputs: disc peak temperature and disc temperature distribution
All three heat transfer modes will be considered in this tutorial. However, modeling of radiation heat
transfer has been simplified by use of black body radiation theory with no obstacles around the disc.
For accurate radiation heat transfer, view factors between the disc and the surrounding objects must be
evaluated.
the surroundings. At the end of one such cycle, the brakes are applied again and the disc temperature
will rise once more (figure 3).
Figure 995: Expected Temperature Rise in the Disc with the Progression of Brake-Release Cycles
Figure 996:
In the center of the domain is the disc. The inner air volume encloses the air volume close to the disc. It
represents the air volume inside the wheel, which rotates along with the wheel. The outer air represents
the ambient airflow. Thus, no moving reference frame is required for the outer air. The disc has an outer
radius of 0.15m, and the inner air radius is 0.2m. The ambient boundary is the outer surface of the
computational domain. It is a cylinder that is 1.1m tall with a radius of 1.0m. Note that in the current
simulation, the vehicle body and other mechanical parts are neglected. Essentially, this computational
domain corresponds to an idealized test rig in experiment. The air volume is just a simplification of the
outer environment of the brake disc.
Figure 997: Energy Flow for Estimating Heat Flux on Front Wheel
Here, is the drag loss, which is around 27.4%. The constant is the weight fraction on the front
wheels, estimated to be about 72.5%. The reference for these two constants can be found in Martin
(2004). The heat partition ratio σ = 0.05 is the heat transferred to the pad surface. It can be estimated
by equation 1 (Adamowicz and Grzes, 2011).
Here, is the conductivity, ρ is the density, and is the specific heat capacity. Subscript 1 refers to the
pad material and subscript 2 refers to the disc material.
If the braking process contains change in both potential energy and kinetic energy of the vehicle, then
the equation for calculating the heat flux becomes:
In the current braking scenario, the vehicle is assumed to be moving on a plane road. Thus, no change
in potential energy is expected; only the kinetic energy of the vehicle is transferred to heat.
You have two options for determining the area of contact for the disc and pad surface. In the first
option, the actual area of contact between the disc and the pad is considered. This is useful for a
realistic simulation as it helps predict the peak temperature that will be reached in the disc. If a
monitoring point is put on the disc surface, the temperature value for this monitoring point will rise and
fall for each revolution of the disc as it enters and exits the contact patch.
The second option is using an averaged heat source on the disc. In this case, the heat flux generated
within the contact patch is averaged over the circumferential area swept by the disc-pad contact
surface. This simplifies the simulation, but with this option it is not possible to determine the peak
temperature occurring in the disc as the heat source itself is averaged.
The use of a heat source is also limited by the geometry used for the simulation. If a partial disc
geometry is used, you are restricted to an averaged heat source. This tutorial will be setup using an
averaged heat source applied on the disc. However, for reference, following are the formulae used to
calculate the area in equation … for both the options.
Here, θ represents the sweep of brake pad on the disc. Averaged heat flux can be computed based on
realistic heat source as follows,
Based on the assumption that q is proportional to rpm and vehicle velocity, the heat source from 0.0s to
2.8s can be given by,
For the provided geometry, the braking pad has a radius between ri = 0-11m and ro = 0-14m, and the
2
pad sweep angle on disc surface is 60 degrees. This results in a contact patch area of 0.003927 m on
each side of the disc. The outer rim radius of the disc is 0.15m, with a thickness of 0.016m at the outer
rim of the disc.
Note that in current simulations, the time function for the heat source is directly defined in a UDF.
The time function of the heat source is estimated from a pre-defined velocity variation with time.
To compute the heat source, you will need the vehicle mass, velocity profile, and the help of some
empirical coefficients mentioned in Figure 5.
One option to define the rotational motion of the disc is to use the sliding mesh method. In this method,
the actual physical motion of the brake disc in space is simulated. However, it is not possible to use this
method with the current geometry since only a section of the disc is being modeled. As the disc rotates,
it will eventually move out of contact with the ambient air which is stationary. The correct modeling
option to define this is using a Moving Reference Frame (MRF) method. In the MRF method, a reference
frame is defined for the disc surface and the air surrounding it. However, the disc itself is not rotated
during the simulation.
The definition of the MRF which will be used for the disc surface and the air surrounding it will have to
take into account the changing rotational speed of the disc as the vehicle decelerates and accelerates.
This will be achieved using a multiplier function which will be identical to the brake-release cycle curve
shown in Figure 2.
The heat source on the disc due to the braking is simulated using a user designed function. Please refer
the attached script heatSource.c. The heat source is only applied when the brake is applied, and to the
region where the pad is in contact with the disc.
A precursor simulation is used to generate the initial conditions for the flow quantities, i.e. pressure,
velocity, and the eddy viscosity in the simulation domain. It is assumed that the vehicle is cruising
at a constant 60mph velocity before applying brake. The temperature field before applying brake is
considered uniformly 300K, which doesn't need to be solved in precursor simulation. However, the
velocity field is not a steady state one because the air inside disc is rotating along with the disc. Thus,
only flow and turbulence equations are solved in this precursor simulation. The results of this precursor
simulation are provided in the precursor_run directory. These results will be interpolated to define the
initial flow field for this simulation.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it Brake_Cooling and open it.
5. Enter brake_cooling as the file name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 999:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1000:
Note: You may need to widen the detail panel from the default size by dragging the
right edge of the panel frame.
Figure 1001:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that Analysis type is set to Transient.
3. Set the Max time steps to 500.
4. Set the Final time to 37.4 seconds.
5. Set the Initial time increment to 0.1 seconds.
Transient simulation will stop when either of the final time, or the Max time steps is reached.
6. Set Min and Max stagger iterations to 2 and 4 respectively.
7. Check that the Flow, Temperature, Enclosure radiation, and Turbulence flags are set to On, and
the Temperature flow flag is set to Off.
Figure 1002:
Figure 1003:
2. Double-click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air detail panel.
The material type for air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
3. Click the Density tab. The density of air is 1.225 kg/m3 and the type is Constant.
-5
4. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of air is 1.781 x 10 kg/m – sec and the type is Constant.
5. Similarly, check the Specific Heat and Conductivity tabs and make sure the values are as follows:
1. Specific Heat: 1005.0 J/kg-K
2. Conductivity: 0.02521 W/m-K
3. Turbulent Prandtl number: 0.91
6. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
7. Right-click on Material Model in the Data Tree and select New from the context menu.
A new entry, Material Model 1, will be created in the Data Tree under the Material Model branch.
8. Rename the material model.
a) Right-click on Material Model 1.
b) Select Rename from the context menu.
c) Enter Disc Steel as the material name.
d) Press Enter on the keyboard.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until
you press the Enter. If you move the input focus away from the item without
entering it, your changes will be lost.
9. Double-click on Disc Steel in the Data Tree to open the material detail panel.
The material type is listed as Fluid. This is the default type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
10. Click on the Material type drop-down selector and choose Solid from the list that appears.
11. Set the material properties for Disc Steel as follows by navigating through the respective tabs in
the detail panel:
3
1. Density: 7200 kg/m
2. Specific Heat: 537.0 J/kg-K
3. Conductivity: 45.0 W/m-K
12. Save the database to create a backup of your settings.
Figure 1004:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
6. Rotate the visualization to view the entire model.
Figure 1005:
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your
screen may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are
randomly assigned to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on
Windows. If you are running this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight
difference between the images displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available settings related to general problem
setup in the Data Tree.
2. Right-click on Multiplier Function and select New from the context menu.
3. Rename the newly created multiplier function to MRF_Multiplier.
Don't forget to press Enter after typing in the new entity name.
4. Double-click on MRF_Multiplier to open the detail panel. In the detail panel,
a) Change the Type to Piecewise Linear.
b) Set the Curve fit variable to Time.
c) Click the Open Array button next to Curve fit values.
d) In the Array Editor dialog, click the Add button and create five rows.
e) Fill in the values as follows:
Figure 1006:
1. Click RAD in the Data Tree Manager to filter all but the radiation relates settings in the Data Tree.
2. Right-click on Emissivity Model in the Data Tree and select New from the context menu.
A new entry, Emissivity Model 1, will be created in the Data Tree under the Emissivity Model
branch.
3. Repeat the previous step to create another entry, Emissivity Model 2.
4. Rename Emissivity Model 1.
a) Right-click on Emissivity Model 1.
b) Select Rename from the context menu.
c) Enter Disc Steel as the model name.
d) Press Enter on the keyboard.
5. In a similar manner, rename Emissivity Model 2 to Air.
6. Double-click on Disc Steel to open the model details panel and set the Emissivity to 0.75.
7. Similarly, set the Emissivity for Air to 0.05.
1. Click ALL in the Data Tree Manager to show all the settings in the Data Tree.
2. Right-click on Reference Frame and select New.
3. Rename the newly created reference frame to Disc_MRF.
Don't forget to press Enter after typing in the new entity name.
4. Double-click Disc_MRF to open the detail panel.
5. Click the Open Array button next to Rotation center and check that the x, y and z coordinates for
the rotation center are (0, 0, 0).
6. Click the Open Array button next to Angular velocity. In the dialog box that opens,
a) Change the unit selector to RPM.
Figure 1007:
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
In the next steps you will create volume groups for each volume in the model, assign volumes to the
respective volume groups, rename the default volume group container, and set the materials and other
properties for each volume group.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
material models, boundary conditions, mesh parameters, etc. which can sometimes be cumbersome,
especially for models with too many surfaces. To make it easier, less error prone, and time saving, two
new dialogs are provided in AcuConsole which you can use to verify and provide the information for
all surface or volume entities at once. They are the Volume Manager and Surface Manager. In this
section some features of Volume Manager are exploited.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Turn off the display of surfaces by right-clicking on Surfaces and clicking Display off in the
context menu.
4. Expand Volumes. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to
the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Figure 1008:
Figure 1009:
Note: You may need to expand the dialog to view all the columns.
Figure 1010:
c) Click Add to in the row belonging to outer_air, select the volume as shown in the figure
below and click Done.
Figure 1011:
d) When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, the complete geometry volume was placed
in a default surface group. That volume group was renamed to disc. At this point, all that is
left is the disc volume group, which makes up the rotor disc of the brake.
Figure 1012:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem, and add surfaces to the group containers.
In the previous section, you were introduced to the Volume Manager, which is used to quickly verify
and set the basic parameters for the volume groups. In this section some features of Surface Manager
are exploited.
1. Turn-off the display of Volumes by right-clicking on Volumes and selecting Display off .
2. Expand Surfaces in the Data Tree and toggle on the display of the default surface container.
3. Right-click on Surfaces and select Surface Manager.
4. In the Surface Manager Dialog, click New seven times to create seven new surface groups.
5. If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click on Columns and select
these two columns from the list then click Ok.
6. Turn off the display for all the surfaces except for the default surface and rename to default
surface to disc_surf.
7. Rename the other surfaces and set the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns as per the
table shown below.
Figure 1013:
Figure 1014:
Figure 1015:
e) Assign the corresponding surfaces on the other side of the domain to the groups symm_air_1
and symm_disc_1 respectively.
f) Assign the remaining peripheral surfaces of the geometry to the ambient surface groups as
shown in the figure below.
Figure 1016:
g) Assign the surfaces for inner_outer_interface. These are the surfaces where the inner and
the outer_air volume coincide. Note that these surfaces will be overlapping with each other.
One of these surface sets will belong to the inner_air volume and the second to the outer_air
volume. Because of the overlap, you may need to repeat this step twice for what may look
like the same group of surfaces. However, these will be two different surface sets.
Figure 1017:
h) Assign the surfaces for inner_disc_interface. These are the surfaces where the inner_air
volume is in contact with the disc volume. Note that these surfaces will be overlapping with
another surface set belonging to the disc volume. However, unlike the previous step, you only
need to select the surfaces on the inner_air volume side for this surface group.
Figure 1018:
i) When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in a
default surface group. That surface group was renamed to disc_surf. At this point, all that is
left is the disc_surf surface group, which makes up the bounding surfaces of the disc volume.
Click ALL in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available options in the Data Tree.
Expand each of these surface groups in the Data Tree and ensure that the Surface Boundary Condition
option is not activated.
ambient
Figure 1019:
6. Double-click Radiation Surface under ambient to open the radiation detail panel.
7. If you see the Activate flag set to off, switch it to On.
8. Set the Type to Opening.
9. Set the Emissivity model to Air.
10. Set the Opening temperature to 300 K.
Figure 1020:
disc_surf
Figure 1021:
Figure 1022:
1. Expand the Element Boundary Conditions tree under Advanced Options for the disc_surf
surface group.
2. Double-click Heat Flux to open the detail panel.
Figure 1023:
Figure 1024:
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Right-click on Periodics in the Data Tree, and select New.
3. Repeat the previous step to create another entry, Periodic 2.
4. Rename Periodic 1 as periodicity_disc.
5. Rename Periodic 2 as periodicity_air.
6. Right-click on periodicity_disc and select Define.
7. In the dialog that appears, set the following conditions:
a) Side 1: symm_disc_1
b) Side 2: symm_disc_2
c) Type: Rotational
d) Point 1 (x, y, z): (0, 0, 0)
e) Point 2 (x, y, z): (0, 1, 0)
f) Angle: 45 degrees
g) Tolerance: 0.001
Figure 1025:
Figure 1026:
1. Expand the Output tree, then double-click Nodal Output to open the Nodal Output detail
panel.
2. Set Time step frequency to 1.
This will save the nodal outputs at every time step.
3. Set Output initial condition to On.
This will instruct the solver to write the initial state of the problem as the first output file.
4. Check that the Number of saved states option is set to zero.
Setting this option zero will instruct the solver to save all the solution state files
Figure 1027:
1. Expand the Output tree, right-click on Time History Output, and select New.
2. Rename Time History Output 1 to MonitorPoint.
Don't forget to press Enter after typing in the new entity name.
3. Double-click MonitorPoint. In the detail panel,
a) Change the Type to Coordinates.
b) Click Open Array next to Coordinates and edit the values in the Array Editor according to
the image shown below.
Figure 1028:
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.1 for the Absolute mesh size.
Figure 1029:
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
1. Expand the Model Data Tree item and then expand Surfaces.
2. Expand the inner_disc_interface surface group under Surfaces.
3. Double-click Surface Mesh Attributes under inner_disc_interface to open the Surface Mesh
Attributes detail panel.
4. If you see the Activate flag set to off, switch it to On.
Figure 1030:
15. Similarly, set the Surface Mesh Attributes for disc_surf using the parameters shown below.
Figure 1031:
Figure 1032:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. Rotate and zoom in the model to analyze the various mesh regions.
Figure 1033:
Note: If you open a new terminal, please source the AcuSolve build before
proceeding.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 1034:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Time History > MonitorPoint > node 1.
3. Right-click on temperature and select Plot.
This will plot the temperature of the point which you defined as the time history output point as
the solution progresses.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1035:
The temperature profile of the monitor point follows the expected behaviour. It can be seen
that the disc does not cool down completely before the next braking cycle starts, and thus the
maximum temperature reached increases with every following cycle.
4. You can also save the plots as an image.
a) From the AcuProbe dialog, click File > Save.
b) Enter a name for the image and click Save.
5. The time series data of the variables can also be exported as a text file for further post-
processing.
a) Right-click on the variable that you want to export and click Export.
b) Enter a File name and choose .txt for the Save as type.
c) Click Save.
Prerequisites
The tutorial has been written with the assumption that you have become familiar with the AcuFieldView
interface and basic operations. In general, it will be helpful to understand the following basics:
• How to find the data readers in the File pull-down on the Main menu and open the desired reader
panel for data input.
• How to find the visualization panels, either from the Side toolbar or the Visualization panel pull-
downs on the Main menu, and create and modify surfaces in AcuFieldView.
• How to move the data around the graphics window using mouse actions to translate, rotate and
zoom in to the data.
This tutorial shows you how to work with transient analysis data.
Launch AcuFieldView
1. Click on the AcuConsole toolbar to open the Launch AcuFieldView dialog.
Figure 1036:
Set Up AcuFieldView
1. Close the Boundary Surface dialog.
2. Click Viewer Options.
Figure 1037:
Figure 1038:
Your display should now look like this. The visible temperature profile on the disc surface is the
profile at the end of last time step in the simulation.
Note: You may need to adjust the zoom level and pan the model to get the view
shown below.
Figure 1039:
Figure 1040:
If the Sweep Control in this dialog says Sweep instead of Build, the Flipbook Build Mode is not
active. In Sweep mode, you will be able to create and visualize the animation but you will not be
able to save it. To be able to save the animation, enable the Flipbook Build Mode.
14. Drag the time step slider to its leftmost position. Alternatively, enter 0 in the Time Step or
Solution Time box. Click Apply.
The displayed state now corresponds to the initial state of the domain, as defined by the projected
solution from the precursor_run directory used for initializing this setup. Since the projected
solution did not include temperature data, and temperature initial condition was a constant value.
That is what you see here.
15. Click Build.
AcuFieldView will now build the frame-by-frame animation of the solution progressing through all
the available time steps. You will be able to see the progress in a Building Flipbook dialog. Once
the build process is complete, a Flipbook Controls dialog will appear.
16.
Click to play the animation.
As the animation progresses, you will be able to see the variation of temperature on the disc
surface with time. The temperature increases while the brake is pressed, and once the brake
is released, the disc slowly cools down before the brake is applied again. Then the whole cycle
repeats itself.
17. To save the animation, click , then click Save.
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved a disc brake simulation problem. You
started the tutorial by creating a database in AcuConsole, setting up the simulation parameters,
importing, and meshing the geometry. A moving reference frame approach along with a multiplier
function was used to model the brake-release cycle in a vehicle. Once the case was setup, the solution
was generated with AcuSolve. AcuProbe was used to visualize the variation of temperature on a monitor
point on the disc surface during the simulation. AcuFieldView was then utilized to generate an animation
of the temperature profile on the disc during the simulation.
AcuConsole
HyperMesh
5.4.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for simulation of flow
inside a pipe with an interior fan placed at the middle of the pipe. This middle portion of the pipe is
considered to be fan volume which is modeled using the Fan_Component parameter. In this simulation,
flow is passed from the pipe inlet and it enters the fan in axial direction and exits at the outlet causing
pressure rise due to the fan. A lumped fan model is used to obtain fan pressure rise for a known
inlet volume flow rate. This tutorial is designed to introduce the user to modeling concepts related to
Fan_Components for axial fans.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Specifying FAN_COMPONENT parameter in AcuConsole
• Setting up Inflow boundary condition with volumetric flow rate
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
An important step in any CFD simulation is to examine the engineering problem at hand and determine
the important parameters that need to be provided to AcuSolve. Parameters can be based on
geometrical elements (such as inlets, outlets, or walls) and on flow conditions (such as fluid properties,
velocity, or whether the flow should be modeled as turbulent or as laminar).
Figure 1 shows a simple axial fan component problem where fan is an interior fan with thickness “t”
and tip radius as “r”. In this simulation, flow is passed from the pipe inlet and it enters the fan in axial
direction and exits at the outlet causing pressure rise due to the fan. This fan pressure rise can be
simulated for a given volume flow rate at the inlet surface which will be assigned as the inflow boundary
3
condition. The volume flow rate at the inlet surface is considered to be 525.35 m /hr.
The middle portion of the pipe is the Fan Component volume which has both Fan_Inlet and Fan_Outlet.
The FAN_COMPONENT parameters are assigned to Fan_Inlet surface through Advance problem
definition option. Basically, the fan model is applied to a surface, and the pressure jumps across that
surface to model the effect of the fan. The outlet of the pipe geometry is assigned with Outflow BC
to model the flow exit whereas the outer walls are defined to be Wall BC with slip condition. The fluid
3
material considered for this simulation is air with density=1.225 kg/m , viscosity=1.781e-005 kg/m-s.
The FAN_COMPONENT directly computes a body force term to yield the pressure rise within the volume
of interest. It accomplishes this based on the following approach:
• Evaluate the flow rate at the inlet to the domain that is assigned as a fan component (that is, the
surface on which you have assigned the FAN_COMPONENT condition)
• Evaluate the pressure rise resulting from this flow rate based on the fan curve that the user has
input
• Compute a body force per unit length that yields the required pressure rise based on fan_length
input parameter and the target pressure rise.
• The body force can be specified to be a function of the flow direction, that is, axial velocity, radial
velocity, tangential velocity or combination of all these three.
• Assign the body force to all elements of the element set that the FAN_COMPONENT is assigned to.
So, when deciding how to set up the FAN_COMPONENT model, you also need to consider how your
fan is modeled. If it is purely axial flow, then the relevant pressure rise relationship is just in the axial
direction, and the fan_length is the distance from inlet to outlet of the fan section.
Basically the FAN_COMPONENT is modelled by adding axial, radial and tangential body forces to the
momentum equations. For an axial fan type, these forces increase the pressure across the component
by
: density
: tip velocity =
Since piecewise_bilinear curve fit values used in FAN_COMPONENT are functions of the normalized flow
1
rate (Q ) and axial coefficient (αaxial), you need to convert them from the fan performance curve.
1
Normalized flow rate (Q ):
For example, evaluate the axial coefficients and normalized flow rate from the fan performance data.
The following tables are inputs for the calculations.
1 525.35 494.91
2 890.21 474.63
3 1161.63 424.9
3
Volume Flow Rate (Q), m /hr Pressure rise (ΔP), Pa
4 1272.76 389.11
5 1356.57 350.42
6 1431.84 308.18
7 1494.69 268.35
8 1551.39 230.89
You can calculate the normalized flow rate and axial coefficient for first two volume flow rates (Q) from
Table 2. The same procedure is followed for the other volume flow rates.
3
1. For Q = 525.35 m /hr:
1
Q = = 0.0926
= = 0.4613
3
2. For Q = 890.21 m /hr:
1
Q = = 0.1569
= = 0.426
l
In this manner you can calculate Q and αaxial for the remaining volume flow rates, shown in the
following table.
1 0.0926 0.4613
2 0.1569 0.426
3 0.2047 0.3615
4 0.2243 0.3191
5 0.2391 0.2755
6 0.2523 0.2289
7 0.2634 0.1854
1
S. No Normalized Flow Rate (Q ) Axial Coefficients ( αaxial )
8 0.2734 0.1445
The same information is entered as input for axial curve fit values for the FAN_COMPONENT parameter
as shown in Figure 2.
The first column of array is the normalized radius which varies between 0 and 1 which implies that at
the centre of the fan, this value is 0 whereas at the tip of the fan, this value is 1.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it Axial_Fan and open it.
5. Enter AxialFan as the file name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1043:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1044:
Figure 1045:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that the Analysis type is set to Steady State.
3. Set the Max time steps as 50.
4. Set the Relaxation factor to 0.5.
5. Check the Flow and Turbulence are set to On.
Figure 1047:
2. Double-click Air in the Data Tree to open the Air detail panel.
The material type for air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created in
AcuConsole.
3. Click the Density tab. The density of air is 1.225 kg/m3.
-5
4. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of air is 1.781 x 10 kg/m – sec.
5. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 1048:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 1049:
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
In the next steps you will rename the default volume group container, assign the materials for that
group, and set mesh motion for the fluid volume.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Expand Volumes. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to
the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Figure 1050:
Figure 1051:
Figure 1052:
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, complete geometry volume was placed
in the default volume group. This default volume group was renamed to UpstreamDuct. In
the previous steps, you assigned some volumes to various other volume groups that you
created. At this point, all that is left is the UpstreamDuct volume group wherein the flow
enters through the volume.
e) Repeat the process with UpstreamDuct.
Figure 1053:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem, and add surfaces to the group containers.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, and so on, which can sometimes be cumbersome, especially for
models with too many surfaces. To make it easier, less error prone, and to save time, two new dialogs
are provided in AcuConsole. Use the Volume Manager and Surface Manager to verify and provide
the information for all surface or volume entities at once. In this section some features of Surface
Manager are exploited.
1. Turn-off display for Volumes by right-clicking on Volumes and selecting Display off .
2. Right-click on Surfaces in the Data Tree and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New eight times to create eight new surface groups.
4. If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click on Columns and select
these two columns from the list and click Ok.
Figure 1054:
5. Turn off the display for all surfaces except for the default surface.
6. Rename Surface 1 through Surface 9 according to the image below.
7. Set the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns as per Figure 1055.
Figure 1055:
Figure 1056:
Figure 1057:
Figure 1058:
Figure 1059:
Figure 1060:
Figure 1061:
Figure 1062:
Figure 1063:
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed
in the default surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to
Downstream_Inlet. In the previous steps, you assigned some surfaces to various other
surface groups that you created. At this point, all that is left is the Downstream_Inlet surface
group which makes up the inlet of the DownstreamDuct volume.
9. Assign the surface for the Downstream_Inlet group.
Figure 1064:
Inlet
The Inlet group defines that the flow enters through the pipe and flows across length of the pipe. The
correct boundary condition type for this surface is Inflow.
1. Expand the Inlet surface in the tree.
2. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition under Inlet to open the Simple Boundary Condition
detail panel.
3. Ensure that the Type is set to Inflow.
4. Change Inflow type from Velocity to Flow Rate.
5. In the Flow rate field, change the units to m3/hr.
6. Enter the Flow rate value as 525.35.
Figure 1065:
Outlet
The Outlet group defines the exit of the pipe. The correct boundary condition type for this surface is
Outflow.
Figure 1066:
Wall_Up
The walls enclose the fluid volume on the outside. The correct boundary condition type for this surface
is Wall.
1. Expand the Wall_Up surface group in the tree.
2. Double click Simple Boundary Condition under inner_wall to open the Simple Boundary
Condition detail panel.
3. Ensure that the Type is set to Wall.
4. Leave the remaining settings at their default values.
Figure 1067:
The surface groups Wall_Fan and Wall_Down will have the same settings as Wall_Up group. In order to
not to repeat the steps again, you can propagate the settings to those two groups.
Figure 1068:
Fan_Outlet
Uncheck the Simple Boundary Condition for this surface.
Upstream_Out
Uncheck the Simple Boundary Condition for this surface.
Downstream_Inlet
Uncheck the Simple Boundary Condition for this surface.
Fan_Inlet
This surface corresponds to the inlet of the Fan component volume. For this particular surface you need
to assign the FAN_COMPONENT parameter, which requires data related to fan speed, tip radius, axial
coefficients, and so on. This parameter is available under advanced options in AcuSolve.
1. Click ALL in the Data Tree Manager to show all the settings in the Data Tree.
2. Uncheck the Simple Boundary Condition for the Fan_Inlet surface
3. Expand Advanced Options.
4. Check the Fan Component check box to open the detail panel.
5. Ensure that the Type is set to Axial.
6. Next to Center, click Open Array.
7. In the dialog, enter 0.0 for all the fields.
8. Click OK.
9. Next to Direction, click Open Array.
10. Enter 1.0 for X-Direction, and 0.0 for the other fields.
11. Click OK.
12. For Rotational Speed change the units from rad/sec to RPM.
13. Set the Rotational Speed to 3600 RPM.
14. Set Tip Radius to 0.11 m.
15. Set Fan thickness to 0.06 m.
16. Change Axial coefficient type from Constant to Piecewise Bilinear.
17. Next to Axial curve fit values, click Open Array.
18. Click Add Col seven times and enter the following as shown in the figure below.
Figure 1069:
Figure 1070:
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.0096 m for the Absolute mesh size.
Figure 1071:
Setting local mesh attributes, such as surface mesh attributes, is not mandatory. When a local mesh
attribute is not found for a component, the global attributes are used as the mesh generation control for
that component. If a local mesh attribute is present, it will take precedence over the global setting.
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
The detail panel should now be populated with options related to the local surface meshing
controls.
4. Change the Mesh size type to None.
5. Switch the Boundary layer flag to On.
6. Change the Boundary layer type to Match Outer Layer.
7. Ensure that First element height is set to 0.001 m.
8. Change the Growth rate to 1.2.
9. Leave the remaining settings at their default values.
Figure 1072:
The surface groups Wall_Fan and Wall_Down will have the same settings as the Wall_Up group. In order
to not to repeat the steps again, you will propagate the settings to those two groups.
10. Under the Wall_Up surface, right-click Surface Mesh Attributes and select Propagate.
11. In the Propagate dialog, select the surface Wall_Fan and Wall_Down, and click Propagate.
Figure 1073:
Figure 1074:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. Rotate and zoom in the model to analyze the various mesh regions.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 1075:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Residual Ratio.
3. Right-click on Final and select Plot All.
This will plot the residuals for the three variables - eddy viscosity, pressure and velocity in the plot
area. This plot indicates the convergence of the variables with respect to timestep.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1076:
Figure 1077:
Figure 1078:
Note: The word “value” is case sensitive and should always be in lower case. If you
use a capital letter, an error window appears.
Figure 1079:
Figure 1080:
From the above figure, you can see the pressure rise got stabilized at around 9th iteration and
3
remains constant with a pressure of 494.53 Pa for a given volume flow rate of 525.35 m /hr which
is very near compared to reference value of 494.91 Pa.
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved a problem involving the FAN_COMPONENT
feature for an axial fan. The FAN_COMPONENT directly computes body force term to yield the pressure
rise within the volume of interest. The problem simulated is the flow inside pipe with a fan placed at the
middle of the pipe causing pressure rise due to fan and exits at the outlet. You started the tutorial by
creating a database in AcuConsole, importing and meshing the geometry, and setting up the simulation
parameters. The fluid domain is divided into three volumes – UpstreamDuct, Fan & DownstreamDuct
– using the Volume Manager Dialog option. Once the case was setup, the solution was generated with
AcuSolve. Results were plotted in AcuProbe by creating a user function to check for the fan pressure
rise based on Fan_Inlet and Fan_Outlet pressures. New features that were introduced in this tutorial
include: using Fan Component feature and explaining how the axial coefficients are calculated based on
volume flow rate and fan pressure rise and using the User Function option in AcuProbe.
5.4.2 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This simulation provides instructions for running a steady state simulation of flow inside a pipe with
an interior fan placed at the middle of the pipe. You should have already run through the introductory
HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, and have a basic understanding of
AcuSolve and HyperMesh. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh
and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be solved in this tutorial is shown schematically in the figure below. It consists of an
interior fan which rotates at a speed of 377 rad/sec (~3600 RPM) and has a thickness of 0.06 m and
3 3
a tip radius of 0.11 m. The volumetric flow rate at the inlet is 0.146 m /sec (~525.35 m /hr). The
problem is simulated as a steady state run and the Pressure rise across the fan region is computed.
Figure 1081:
Figure 1082:
Figure 1083:
Figure 1084:
Figure 1085:
5. Click Walls. In the Entity Editor, verify that the Type is set to WALL.
Figure 1086:
When component type is assigned as Wall, all the elements in the surface set are automatically
re-grouped into surface sets based on the parent volume they belong to and also if they are
internal or external. Auto_Wall is an advanced feature in AcuSolve which takes care of this process
internally, without you having to do it manually and hence reducing the number of steps in the
workflow.
6. Click Downstream_Duct. In the Entity Editor,
Figure 1087:
7. Similarly, set the Fan and Upstream_Duct component Type to FLUID and select Air_HM as the
Material for both components.
8. Save the model.
Run AcuSolve
Figure 1088:
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1089:
3. Once the solution is converged, right-click again on Final and select Plot None.
4.
Click the User Function icon from the toolbar.
5. In the dialog, enter the Name as dP.
6. In the Data Tree, expand Surface Output > Fan_Inlet > Pressure
7. Right-click on pressure and select Copy name.
8. In the Function field of the User Function dialog, type Fan_In = then paste the name you just
copied.
Figure 1090:
Here, the surface output (AUTO Fan internal) is the Auto_Wall generated surface output
corresponding to the internal surface at the outlet of the fan component volume.
12. Paste the name in the Function field after Fan_Out =.
13. On a new line, type value = Fan_Out - Fan_In.
Note: The word “value” is case sensitive and should always be in lower case. If you
use a capital letter, an error window appears.
Figure 1091:
Figure 1092:
You can zoom into the plot by clicking then selecting an area at the end of the curve. As
3 3
shown in the figure below, for the given flow rate of 525.35 m /hr (0.146 m /sec), the pressure
rise is 494.182 Pa.
Figure 1093:
Summary
In this tutorial you successfully learned how to set up and solve a simulation involving a fan component.
You imported the meshed geometry and then assigned the material properties and boundary conditions
to all the regions. Once the solution was computed, you defined a user function to create a plot of the
pressure rise across the fan component volume.
AcuConsole
5.5.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a simulation of the
opening of a pressure check valve. In this simulation, AcuSolve is used to compute the forces on the
valve due to the time-varying inlet flow field and to compute the motion of the valve that results from
these flow forces. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to a number of modeling concepts necessary
to perform simulations of rigid-body dynamics.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Transient simulation
• Use of a multiplier function to scale inlet boundary condition values
• Mesh motion
• Fluid-structure interaction with a rigid body
• Post-processing with AcuProbe
• Results animation
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1094. It consists of a
cylindrical pipe containing water that flows past a check valve with a shutter attached to a virtual
spring (not included in the geometry). The inlet pressure varies over time and the movement of the
shutter will be determined as a function of the balance of the fluid forces against the reactive force of
the spring. The problem is rotationally periodic at 30° increments about the longitudinal axis, and it
is assumed that the resulting flow is also rotationally periodic, allowing for modeling with the use of
a wedge-shaped section. For this tutorial, a 30° section of the geometry is modeled, as shown in the
figure. Modeling a portion of an rotationally periodic geometry leads to reduced computation time while
still providing an accurate solution.
The pipe has an inlet diameter of 0.08 m, and is 0.4 m long. The check-valve assembly is 0.085 m
downstream of the inlet. It consists of a plate 0.005 m thick with a centered orifice 0.044 m in diameter
and a shutter with an initial position 0.005 m from the opening, simulating a nearly closed condition.
The shutter plate is 0.05 m in diameter and 0.005 m thick. The shutter plate is attached to a stem 0.03
m long and 0.01 m in diameter. The mass of the shutter and stem is 0.2 kg and its motion is affected
by a virtual spring with a stiffness of 2162 N/m. The motion of the valve shutter is limited by a stop
mounted on a perforated plate downstream of the shutter.
Note that AcuSolve's internal rigid-body-dynamics solver is not able to simulate contact. Therefore, this
problem is formulated to avoid contact between the valve and the stop.
Figure 1095:
Modeling the geometry as a 30° section requires that the fluid model is set up to be consistent with the
1
rigid-body model. Since only /12 of the rigid body is modeled, the forces computed by AcuSolve that
1
act on the valve shutter represent /12 of the actual force on the device. Therefore, it is also necessary
to account for this in the simulation. There are two methods that can be used to accomplish this:
1. Scale up the fluid forces calculated by AcuSolve by a factor of 12 to represent the full load on the
device when the displacement of the body is computed.
Using this approach, the full stiffness of the valve spring is used in the rigid-body solution, and the
full mass of the valve is used.
2. Scale down the mass of the valve and the stiffness of the spring to by a factor of 12 to match the
fraction of the valve geometry to be modeled.
Using this approach, the loading passed to the rigid-body solver is not scaled.
This second approach is used in this tutorial; the scaled mass of 0.0167 kg and the scaled stiffness of
180.1667 N/m will be used .
Figure 1096:
3
The fluid in this problem is water, which has a density (ρ) of 1000 kg/m and a molecular viscosity (μ)
-3
of 1 X 10 kg/m-sec, as shown in the worksheet.
Figure 1097:
At the start of the simulation the flow field is stationary. Flow is driven by the pressure at the inlet,
which varies over time as a piecewise linear function shown in Figure 1098. As the pressure at the inlet
rises, the flow will accelerate as the valve opens. The turbulence viscosity ratio is assumed to be 10.
The initial inlet pressure is 0 Pa. At 0.002 s, the pressure begins to ramp up, and reaches 26,500 Pa at
0.05 s. The pressure is held at 26,500 Pa and begins to ramp back down starting at 0.2 s, reaching the
initial pressure at 0.25 s where it remains for the rest of the simulation.
Prior simulations of this geometry indicate that the average velocity at the inlet reaches a maximum
of 0.9 m/s. At this velocity, the Reynolds number for the flow is 72,000. When the Reynolds number is
above 4,000, it is generally accepted that flow should be modeled as turbulent.
Figure 1099:
Note that the initial conditions of the flow are actually laminar, however, the increase in flow velocity
and flow around the valve shutter is expected to cause a rapid transition to turbulent conditions.
Therefore, the simulation will be set up to model transient, turbulent flow. When performing a transient
analysis, convergence is achieved at every time step based on the defined stagger criteria. Mesh motion
will be modeled using arbitrary mesh movement (arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian mesh motion).
Figure 1100:
For this case, the transient behavior of interest occurs in the time it takes for the pressure to ramp up
and ramp back down, which is given by the transient pressure profile. To allow time for the spring to
recover, additional time will be simulated. For this tutorial, 0.1 s is added after the pressure drops back
to initial conditions, for a total duration of 0.35 s.
Figure 1101:
Another critical decision in a transient simulation is choosing the time increment. The time increment
is the change in time during a given time step of the simulation. It is important to choose a time
increment that is short enough to capture the changes in flow properties of interest, but does not
require unnecessary computation time.
There are two methods commonly used for determining an appropriate time increment. The first
method involves identification of the time scales of the transient behaviors of interest and setting the
time increment to sufficiently resolve those behaviors. The second method involves setting a limit on
the number of mesh elements that the flow can cross in a given time step. A convenient metric for
the number of mesh elements crossed per time step is the Courant-Friederichs-Lewy number, or CFL
number. With this method, the time increment can be computed from the mesh size, the flow velocity,
and the desired CFL number.
The change in inlet pressure from initial conditions to maximum occurs over 0.048 s. A time increment
of 0.002 s would allow for excellent resolution of the transient changes, without requiring excessive
computational time. This time increment would result in a CFL number of 0.36, indicating that it would
take approximately three time steps for flow to cross a single mesh element. While the time increment
could be raised and still maintain a favorable CFL number, the value of 0.002 s is chosen to better
resolve the transient changes resulting from the sudden pressure shifts.
Figure 1102:
In addition to setting appropriate conditions to capture the physics of the simulation, it is important
to generate a mesh that is sufficiently refined to provide good results. In this tutorial the global mesh
size is set to provide at least 50 mesh elements around the circumference of the inlet, resulting in a
mesh size of 0.005 m. This mesh size was chosen to provide a quick turnaround time for the model.
For real-world simulations, you would modify your mesh settings after an initial solution until a mesh-
independent solution is reached (that is, a solution that does not change with further mesh refinement).
Figure 1103:
AcuSolve allows for mesh refinements in a user-defined region that is independent of geometric
components of the problem such as volumes, model surfaces, or edges. It is useful to refine the mesh
in areas where gradients in pressure, velocity, eddy viscosity, and the like are steep.
For this problem it is desirable to resolve flow characteristics near the gap between the valve opening
and the shutter. It would also be desirable to be able to resolve flow characteristics around the complete
valve body. The mesh size for the region around the gap will be sized to allow for at least three cells
to span the gap in the initial position. The mesh around the full valve body will be sized so that the
average cell size will be one half of the global mesh size. This local mesh refinement is accomplished
using mesh refinement zones.
Figure 1104:
Once a solution is calculated, the flow properties of interest are the displacement of the moving surface,
the mass flow rate at the outlet, pressure contours on the symmetry plane, and velocity vectors on the
symmetry plane.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, create the database for storage of AcuConsole settings, and
set the location for saving mesh and solution information for AcuSolve.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new folder named Check_Valve_Transient and open this folder.
5. Enter Check_Valve_Transient as the file name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
The general attributes that you will set for this tutorial are for turbulent flow, transient time analysis,
and the use of arbitrary mesh movement.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1105:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1106:
Figure 1107:
Figure 1108:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy in the Data Tree to open the Auto Solution Strategy
detail panel.
2. Enter 0 for Max time steps.
This value indicates that AcuSolve should ignore this setting and calculate the maximum number
of time steps based on the final time and the time increment.
3. Enter 0.35 sec for the Final time.
4. Enter 0.002 sec for the Initial time increment.
5. Enter 3 for Max stagger iterations.
This setting determines the maximum number of iterations that will be performed within each
time step.
Figure 1109:
In the next steps you will verify that the pre-defined material properties of water match the desired
properties for this problem.
Figure 1110:
Figure 1111:
2. Double-click Water in the Data Tree to open the Water detail panel.
3
3. Click the Density tab. Verify that the density of water is 1000.0 kg/m .
4. Click the Viscosity tab. Verify that the viscosity of water is 0.001 kg/m-sec.
5. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 1112:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 1113:
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your
screen may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are
randomly assigned to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on
Windows. If you are running this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight
difference between the images displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
In the next steps you will create a multiplier function for the pressure at the inlet. This multiplier
function will be applied to the inlet later in this tutorial.
In this tutorial, the inlet pressure starts at 0 pascals, ramps up to 26,500 Pa, is held steady briefly, and
then ramps back to 0 Pa.
Figure 1114:
To make the creation of the multiplier functions as simple as possible, you will use the PB* filter in the
Data Tree Manager.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to show all problem-definition settings.
Figure 1115:
2. Right-click Multiplier Function under Global in the Data Tree and click New to create a new
multiplier function.
3. Rename the multiplier function.
a) Right-click the newly created Multiplier Function 1 and click Rename.
b) Enter inlet pressure.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until
you press the Enter key on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from
the item without entering it, your changes will be lost.
Figure 1116:
X Y
0.0 0.0
0.002 0.0
0.05 26500
0.2 26500
0.25 0.0
0.35 0.0
Figure 1117:
d) Click Plot to expand the Array Editor dialog to display the plot of the curve fit values.
You may need to expand the dialog by dragging the right edge in order to see the plot.
Figure 1118:
e) Click OK.
These entries will be used to control the change in inlet pressure throughout the simulation.
In the next steps you will create a mesh motion of type rigid body to simulate the valve shutter and
virtual spring. This mesh motion defines how the valve responds to the flow forces. To simplify this task,
you will use the FSI filter in the Data Tree Manager. The FSI filter limits the options in the to show only
the settings related to fluid-structure interactions.
1. Click FSI in the Data Tree Manager to filter all but the settings related to fluid-structure
interactions.
2. Right-click Mesh Motion in the Data Tree and click New to create a new mesh motion item.
3. Rename the mesh motion item.
a) Right-click Mesh motion 1.
b) Click Rename.
c) Enter rigid body and press Enter.
4. Double-click rigid body to open the detail panel.
5. Set the Type to Rigid Body Dynamic.
6. Ensure that X displacement is set to Active.
7. Set the remainder of the displacement and rotation settings to Inactive.
These settings indicate that AcuSolve should only allow for valve motion in the X direction.
8. Enter 0.0167 for Mass.
1
This is the scaled mass of the valve shutter and stem, corresponding to the /12 portion of the
geometry that is modeled.
9. Define the stiffness of the virtual spring supporting the shutter.
a) Click Open Array next to Stiffness.
b) Enter 180.1667 in the XX cell.
This is the scaled stiffness of the spring, corresponding to the portion of the geometry that is
modeled. As the valve translates only in the X direction, all other stiffness settings remain at
zero.
Figure 1119:
Figure 1120:
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
In the next steps you will rename the default volume group and set the material for the volume as
water.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Expand Volumes.
4. Rename the default volume to Fluid.
5. Double-click Element Set to open the Element Set detail panel.
6. Click the drop-down control next to Material model and select Water
Figure 1121:
For the next set of steps it is useful to turn off the display of Fluid by clicking so that it is in the off
( ) state.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the inlet, assign the multiplier function to describe
the transient pressure, and add the inlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 1122:
Figure 1123:
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the outlet, assign the appropriate attributes and
add the outlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 1124:
The problem is rotationally periodic, allowing for modeling with the use of a section. For this tutorial,
a 30-degree section of the geometry is modeled. In order to take advantage of this, the front and
rear faces of the section can be identified as symmetry planes, because the non-streamwise flow
contribution is minimal. The symmetry boundary condition enforces constraints such that the flow field
from one side of the plane is a mirror image of that on the other side.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the symmetry plane on the front of the modeled
section, and then create a second surface group for the back symmetry plane.
Figure 1125:
Figure 1126:
Figure 1127:
13. Turn off the display of all surface items except Back Symmetry and default.
14. Add geometry surfaces to this group.
a) Right-click Back symmetry and click Add to.
b) Click the symmetry plane near the inlet and near the outlet.
Figure 1128:
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the walls of the valve shutter, assign the
appropriate settings, and add the faces from the geometry to the surface group. As part of the
definition, you will assign the rigid-body mesh motion that you defined earlier to this surface.
Figure 1129:
Figure 1130:
8. Turn off the display of all surface items except Valve wall and default.
9. Add geometry surfaces to this group.
a) Right-click Valve wall and click Add to.
b) Hold the Shift key down, left-click, and drag a selection box (rubber band) around the valve
and stem.
Figure 1131:
c) Release the left key and the valve shutter and stem should be highlighted.
Figure 1132:
d) Click Done to add these geometry surfaces to the Valve wall surface group.
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group. In the previous steps, you selected geometry surfaces to be placed in the groups that
you created. At this point, all that is left in the default surface group is the pipe wall. Rather than
create a new container, add the wall surfaces in the geometry to it, and then delete the default surface
container, you will rename the existing container.
Figure 1133:
As the final step in enabling the use of mesh motion, you will revisit the mesh-motion definition to
couple the mesh motion that you created earlier with the valve wall surface group. This step instructs
AcuSolve to extract the forces on the valve from the set of surfaces that you specify in this step.
1. Click FSI in the Data Tree Manager to display the options relevant to setting up an FSI model in
the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Global > Mesh Motion tree item.
3. Double-click rigid body to open the detail panel.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the panel and click Open Refs next to Surface outputs.
5. Click Add Row in the Reference Editor.
6. Click the drop-down control for row 1 and select Valve wall.
Figure 1134:
7. Click OK.
Figure 1135:
AcuConsole supports three levels of meshing control, global, zone and geometric.
• Global mesh controls apply to the whole model without being tied to any geometric component of
the model.
• Zone mesh controls apply to a defined region of the model, but are not associated with a particular
geometric component.
• Geometric mesh controls are applied to a specific geometric component. These controls can be
applied to volume groups, surface groups, or edge groups.
In the next steps you will set global meshing attributes. In subsequent steps you will create zone and
surface meshing attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.005 m for the Absolute mesh size.
This absolute mesh size is chosen to ensure that there are at least 50 mesh elements around the
circumference of the main pipe.
6. Turn off the Curvature refinement parameters option.
7. Change the Mesh growth rate to 1.2.
This option controls that rate at which the mesh transitions between regions of different surface
and volume size. Setting this to a value of 1.2 allows for a gradual transition between finely
meshed regions and coarsely meshed regions.
8. Set the Maximum sweep angle to 30.0 degrees.
This option allows you to set the maximum sweep angle for edge-blend meshing on a global basis,
which creates a radial array of elements around sharp edges to provide better resolution of the
flow features. The sweep angle is used to control how many degrees each radial division spans.
Figure 1136:
In the following steps you will add mesh refinements in the zone around the valve gap and around the
valve body.
In the next steps you will add a set of mesh attributes for a zone around the gap between the valve
shutter and the orifice.
Figure 1137:
Figure 1138:
In the next steps you will add a set of mesh attributes for a zone around the valve body.
1. Right-click Zone Mesh Attributes under the Global branch in the Data Tree and click New.
2. Rename Zone Mesh Attributes 1 to Valve body mesh refinement.
3. Double-click Valve body mesh refinement to open the Zone Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh zone type to Cylinder.
5. Set the location of the mesh refinement by defining the center points of the end faces of the
cylinder.
a) Click Open Array to open the Array Editor dialog.
b) Enter -0.06 for X-coordinate 1.
c) Enter 0.04 for X-coordinate 2.
d) Enter 0.02 for Y-coordinate 1 and 2.
e) Enter 0.0 for Z-coordinate 1 and 2.
f) Click OK.
6. Enter 0.021 m for the Radius.
This radius is used to define a cylinder that encloses the gap in the modeled section of the check
valve.
7. Enter 0.0025 m for the Mesh size.
This will result in a zone where the mesh size is half of the global mesh size.
Figure 1139:
Figure 1140:
In the next steps you will set meshing attributes that allow for localized control of the mesh near the
walls of the pipe. The mesh size on the wall of the pipe will be inherited from the global mesh size that
was defined earlier. The settings that follow will only control the growth of the boundary layer from the
walls of the pipe into the fluid volume.
1. Expand the Model > Surfaces > Pipe wall tree item.
2. Click the check box next to Surface Mesh Attributes to enable the settings and open the Surface
Mesh Attributes detail panel.
3. Change the Mesh size type to None.
This option indicates that the mesher will use the global meshing attributes when creating the
mesh on the surface of the pipe walls.
4. Turn on the Boundary layer flag option.
This option allows you to define how the meshing should be handled in the direction normal to the
walls.
5. Set the Resolve option to Total Layer Height.
Mesh elements for a boundary layer are grown in the normal direction from a surface to allow
effective resolution of the steep gradients near no-slip walls. The layers can be specified using a
number of different options. In this tutorial you will specify the height of the first layer, a stretch
ratio for successive layers (growth rate), and the total number of layers to generate. AcuConsole
will resolve the total layer height from the attributes that you provide. That is, total layer height
will be computed based on the height of the first element, the growth rate, and the number of
layers that you provide in the next few steps.
6. Enter 0.00035 m for First element height.
7. Enter 1.2 for the Growth rate.
8. Enter 3 for the Number of layers.
9. Turn on the Boundary layer blends flag option.
This option creates a radial array of boundary layer elements around exterior corners.
10. Enter 30.0 degrees as the Maximum sweep angle.
Figure 1141:
In the next steps you will set meshing attributes that allow for localized control of the mesh size near
the walls of the valve shutter assembly.
1. Expand the Model > Surfaces > Valve wall tree item.
2. Click the check box next to Surface Mesh Attributes to enable the settings and open the Surface
Mesh Attributes detail panel.
3. Change the Mesh size type to None.
4. Turn on the Boundary layer flag option.
5. Set the Resolve option to Total Layer Height.
6. Enter 0.00015 m for First element height.
7. Enter 1.2 for the Growth rate.
Figure 1142:
Figure 1143:
Figure 1144: Mesh Details Around the Valve Viewed on the Front Symmetry Plane
Note that the mesh size in the pipe decreases from left to right in the transition from a region
where global settings determine the size to the zone around the gap where the settings are for
a finer mesh. Note also that the mesh to the right of the valve shutter is smaller than the global
mesh as determined in the Valve body mesh refinement that you created.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
Figure 1145:
5. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Surface Output > Inlet > Pressure.
3. Right-click on pressure and select Plot.
As the solution progresses, the plot will update. If you opened AcuProbe after the solution
Figure 1146:
In the next steps you will create a user function for the display of volume flow rate in AcuProbe.
Figure 1147:
Figure 1148:
In the following steps you will start AcuFieldView, display velocity magnitude and animate the view to
show mesh displacement. You will then display velocity vectors and pressure contours when the valve
shutter is at maximum displacement.
Start AcuFieldView
In the next steps you will create a boundary surface to display contours of velocity magnitude on the
front symmetry plane of the modeled slice.
These steps are provided with the assumption that you are able to manipulate the view in AcuFieldView
to have a white background, perspective turned off, outlines turned off, and the viewing direction set
to +Z. If you are unfamiliar with basic AcuFieldView operations, refer to Manipulate the Model View in
AcuFieldView .
1.
Click on the side toolbar to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
Note: The dialog may already be open. This step will put the focus on the dialog.
Note: You may need to scroll down in the list to find velocity_magnitude.
c) Click Calculate.
4. Set the front symmetry plane and pipe walls as the location for display of contours.
a) Click OSF: Front symmetry.
b) Hold the Ctrl key and click OSF: Pipe wall.
c) Click OK.
5. Add a legend to the view.
a) Click the Legend tab in the Boundary Surface dialog.
b) Enable the Show Legend option.
c) Enable the Frame option.
d) Click the white color swatch next to Geometric in the Color group and set the color for the
legend values to black.
e) Set Decimal Places to 1.
f) Click the white color swatch next to the Title field and set the color for the title to black.
Figure 1149:
This image was created with a white background, perspective turned off, outlines turned off, and
the viewing direction set to +Z.
When data was loaded from AcuSolve, AcuFieldView displays information from the final time step.
In the following steps you will display velocity magnitude at the first time step and then animate
the display to show the motion of the valve shutter and the velocity changes throughout the
simulation.
In the next steps you will create a transient sweep and save it as an animation that can be viewed
independently of AcuFieldView. As a first step, you will change the colormap used by the legend.
1. Set the colormap to use defined maximum and minimum values throughout the transient sweep.
a) Click the Colormap tab.
b) Enter 6.6 for the maximum.
c) Enter 0 for the minimum.
These settings will be used throughout the transient sweep so that the contours at each time step
will all be relative to this specified range.
Figure 1150:
2. Click the Tools menu and then click Transient Data to open the Transient Data Controls
dialog.
3. Click Tools > Flipbook Build Mode.
4. Click OK to dismiss the Flipbook Size Warning dialog.
The Sweep button on the Transient Data Controls dialog will have changed to Build.
Figure 1151:
5. Use the slider control to set the Solution Time to the first time step and click Apply.
6. Click Build.
As AcuFieldView builds the flipbook animation, you will see the controls on the Transient Data
Controls dialog advance. Once the flipbook is built, a Flipbook Controls dialog will allow you to
play or save the animation.
Figure 1152:
7. Click Frame Rate and set the Minimum Time Seconds to 0.1.
8. Use the controls on the Flipbook Controls dialog to play and pause the animation.
In the next steps you will create a coordinate surface at the mid-Z plane of the modeled section. You
will then display pressure contours and velocity vectors on that surface.
1. Disable the Visibility option on the Boundary Surface dialog used to create the display of
velocity magnitude.
2. Open View > Defined Views and set the view to +Z.
3.
Click on the side toolbar to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
Figure 1153:
Figure 1154:
Figure 1155:
Figure 1156:
AcuConsole
5.6.1 AcuConsole
AcuSolve has the capability to solve problems with fluid-structure interactions, as shown in ACU-T: 5200
Rigid-Body Dynamics of a Check Valve. It can also be coupled with external codes, such as MotionSolve,
in cases where the built-in capabilities of AcuSolve do not fully represent the physics of interest, such as
a collision between solid bodies.
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving, and viewing results for a simulation of
the opening of a pressure check valve. In this simulation, AcuSolve is used to compute the forces on
the valve due to the time-varying inlet flow field and MotionSolve is used to compute the motion of
the valve that results from these flow forces. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to a number
of modeling concepts necessary to perform simulations of rigid-body dynamics and coupling with
MotionSolve. An important feature of the AcuSolve-MotionSolve coupling is the ability to simulate
contact between solid bodies, which is demonstrated in this tutorial through the collision of the valve
with the valve seat.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Coupled solution with external code (MotionSolve)
• Fluid-structure interaction
• Mesh motion
• Transient simulation
• Use of a multiplier function to scale inlet boundary conditions
• Post-processing with AcuProbe
• Results animation
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to licensed versions of AcuSolve and MotionSolve.
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1157. It consists of a
cylindrical pipe containing water that flows past a check valve with a shutter attached to a virtual
spring (not included in the geometry). The inlet pressure varies over time and the movement of the
shutter will be determined as a function of the balance of the fluid forces against the reactive force of
the spring. The problem is rotationally periodic at 30° increments about the longitudinal axis, and it
is assumed that the resulting flow is also rotationally periodic, allowing for modeling with the use of
a wedge-shaped section. For this tutorial, a 30° section of the geometry is modeled, as shown in the
figure. Modeling a portion of an rotationally periodic geometry leads to reduced computation time while
still providing an accurate solution.
Details of the problem characteristics are shown in the following images extracted from a sample
worksheet that was created prior to setting up the case for AcuSolve.
The pipe has an inlet diameter of 0.08 m and is 0.4 m long. The check-valve assembly is 0.085 m
downstream of the inlet. It consists of a plate 0.005 m thick with a centered orifice 0.044 m in diameter
and a shutter with an initial position 0.005 m from the opening, simulating a nearly closed condition.
The shutter plate is 0.05 m in diameter and 0.005 m thick. The shutter plate is attached to a stem 0.03
m long and 0.01 m in diameter. The mass of the shutter and stem is 0.2 kg and its motion is affected
by a virtual spring with a stiffness of 2162 N/m. The motion of the valve shutter is limited by a stop
mounted on a perforated plate downstream of the shutter.
Figure 1158:
Modeling the geometry as a 30° section requires that the fluid model is set up to be consistent with the
1
rigid-body model. Since only /12 of the rigid body is modeled, the forces computed by AcuSolve that
1
act on the valve shutter represent /12 of the actual force on the device. The rigid-body-dynamics model
was set up in MotionSolve with scaled settings of mass and spring stiffness to account for the fact that
you are only modeling a small section of the full geometry. Additional information regarding the setup of
this problem in MotionSolve is provided in the MotionSolve documentation.
3
The fluid in this problem is water, which has a density (ρ) of 1000 kg/m and a molecular viscosity (μ)
-3
of 1 X 10 kg/m-sec, as shown in the worksheet.
Figure 1159:
At the start of the simulation the flow field is stationary. Flow is driven by the pressure at the inlet,
which varies over time as a piecewise linear function shown in Figure 1160. As the pressure at the inlet
rises, the flow will accelerate as the valve opens. The turbulence viscosity ratio is assumed to be 10.
The initial inlet pressure is 0 Pa. At 0.002 s the pressure begins to ramp up and reaches 29,000 Pa at
0.05 s. The pressure is held at 29,000 Pa and begins to ramp back down starting at 0.2 s, reaching the
initial pressure at 0.25 s where it remains for the rest of the simulation.
Prior simulations of this geometry indicate that the average velocity at the inlet reaches a maximum of
0.98 m/s. At this velocity, the Reynolds number for the flow is 78,400. When the Reynolds number is
above 4,000 it is generally accepted that flow should be modeled as turbulent.
Figure 1161:
Note that the initial conditions of the flow are actually laminar, however, the increase in flow velocity
and flow around the valve shutter is expected to cause a rapid transition to turbulent conditions.
Therefore, the simulation will be set up to model transient, turbulent flow. When performing a transient
analysis, convergence is achieved at every time step based on the defined stagger criteria. Mesh motion
will be modeled using arbitrary mesh movement (arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian mesh motion).
Figure 1162:
For this case, the transient behavior of interest occurs in the time it takes for the pressure to ramp up
and ramp back down, which is given by the transient pressure profile. To allow time for the spring to
recover additional time will be simulated. For this tutorial 0.1 s is added after the pressure drops back
to initial conditions for a total duration of 0.35 s.
Figure 1163:
Another critical decision in a transient simulation is choosing the time increment. The time increment
is the change in time during a given time step of the simulation. It is important to choose a time
increment that is short enough to capture the changes in flow properties of interest, but does not
require unnecessary computation time.
There are two methods commonly used for determining an appropriate time increment. The first
method involves identification of the time scales of the transient behaviors of interest and setting the
time increment to sufficiently resolve those behaviors. The second method involves setting a limit on
the number of mesh elements that the flow can cross in a given time step. A convenient metric for
the number of mesh elements crossed per time step is the Courant-Friederichs-Lewy number, or CFL
number. With this method, the time increment can be computed from the mesh size, the flow velocity
and the desired CFL number.
The change in inlet pressure from initial conditions to maximum occurs over 0.048 s. A time increment
of 0.002 s would allow for excellent resolution of the transient changes without requiring excessive
computational time. This time increment would result in a CFL number of 0.36, indicating that it would
take approximately three time steps for flow to cross a single mesh element. While the time increment
could be raised and still maintain a favorable CFL number, the value of 0.002 s is chosen to better
resolve the transient changes resulting from the sudden pressure shifts.
Figure 1164:
In addition to setting appropriate conditions to capture the physics of the simulation, it is important
to generate a mesh that is sufficiently refined to provide good results. In this tutorial the global mesh
size is set to provide at least 50 mesh elements around the circumference of the inlet, resulting in a
mesh size of 0.005 m. This mesh size was chosen to provide a quick turnaround time for the model.
For real-world simulations, you would modify your mesh settings after an initial solution until a mesh-
independent solution is reached, that is, a solution that does not change with further mesh refinement.
Figure 1165:
AcuSolve allows for mesh refinements in a user-defined region that is independent of geometric
components of the problem such as volumes, model surfaces or edges. It is useful to refine the mesh in
areas where gradients in pressure, velocity, eddy viscosity and the like are steep.
For this problem it is desirable to resolve flow characteristics near the gap between the valve opening
and the shutter. It would also be desirable to be able to resolve flow characteristics around the complete
valve body. The mesh size for the region around the gap will be sized to allow for at least three cells
to span the gap in the initial position. The mesh around the full valve body will be sized so that the
average cell size will be one half of the global mesh size. This local mesh refinement is accomplished
using mesh refinement zones.
Figure 1166:
Once a solution is calculated, the flow properties of interest are the displacement of the moving surface,
velocity of the moving surface, mass flow rate at the outlet, pressure contours on the symmetry plane
and velocity vectors on the symmetry plane.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, create the database for storage of AcuConsole settings, and
set the location for saving mesh and solution information for AcuSolve.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new folder named Check_Valve_Coupled and open this folder.
5. Enter Check_Valve_Coupled as the file name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
The general attributes that you will set for this tutorial are for turbulent flow, transient time analysis,
arbitrary mesh movement, and the use of an external code (MotionSolve).
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1167:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1168:
Figure 1169:
Figure 1170:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy in the Data Tree to open the Auto Solution Strategy
detail panel.
2. Enter 0 for Max time steps.
This value indicates that AcuSolve should ignore this setting and calculate the maximum number
of time steps based on the final time and the time increment.
3. Enter 0.35 sec for the Final time.
4. Enter 0.002 sec for the Initial time increment.
Important: The value entered here must match the print_interval setting in the
prepared MotionSolve model, Valve_model.xml, to ensure that the two solvers stay
synchronized during the solution process.
This setting determines the maximum number of iterations that will be performed within each
time step.
Figure 1171:
In the next steps you will verify that the pre-defined material properties of water match the desired
properties for this problem.
Figure 1172:
Figure 1173:
2. Double-click Water in the Data Tree to open the Water detail panel.
3
3. Click the Density tab. Verify that the density of water is 1000.0 kg/m .
4. Click the Viscosity tab. Verify that the viscosity of water is 0.001 kg/m-sec.
Figure 1174:
Figure 1175:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 1176:
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your
screen may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are
randomly assigned to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on
Windows. If you are running this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight
difference between the images displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
In the next steps you will create a multiplier function for the pressure at the inlet. This multiplier
function will be applied to the inlet later in this tutorial.
In this tutorial, the inlet pressure starts at 0 pascals, ramps up to 29,000 Pa, is held steady briefly, and
then ramps back to 0 Pa.
Figure 1177:
To make the creation of the multiplier functions as simple as possible, you will use the PB* filter in the
Data Tree Manager.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to show all problem-definition settings.
2. Right-click Multiplier Function under Global in the Data Tree and click New to create a new
multiplier function.
3. Rename the multiplier function.
a) Right-click the newly created Multiplier Function 1 and click Rename.
b) Enter inlet pressure.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until
you press the Enter key on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from
the item without entering it, your changes will be lost.
Figure 1178:
X Y
0.0 0.0
0.002 0.0
0.05 29000
0.2 29000
0.25 0.0
X Y
0.35 0.0
Figure 1179:
d) Click Plot to expand the Array Editor dialog to display the plot of the curve fit values.
You may need to expand the dialog by dragging the right edge in order to see the plot.
Figure 1180:
e) Click OK.
These entries will be used to control the change in inlet pressure throughout the simulation.
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
In the next steps you will rename the default volume group and set the material for the volume as
water.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model tree item by clicking .
3. Expand Volumes.
4. Rename the default volume to Fluid.
a) Right-click default under Volumes and click Rename on the context menu.
b) Enter Fluid.
5. Set the material model used for the fluid in the simulation.
a) Expand the Fluid tree item by clicking .
b) Double-click Element Set to open the Element Set detail panel.
c) Click the drop-down control next to Material model.
d) Click Water.
Figure 1181:
For the next set of steps it is useful to turn off the display of Fluid by clicking so that it is in the off
( ) state.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the inlet, assign the multiplier function to describe
the transient pressure, and add the inlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 1182:
Figure 1183:
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the outlet, assign the appropriate attributes and
add the outlet from the geometry to the surface group.
Figure 1184:
The problem is rotationally periodic, allowing for modeling with the use of a section. For this tutorial,
a 30-degree section of the geometry is modeled. In order to take advantage of this, the front and
rear faces of the section can be identified as symmetry planes, because the non-streamwise flow
contribution is minimal. The symmetry boundary condition enforces constraints such that the flow field
from one side of the plane is a mirror image of that on the other side.
In the next steps you will define a surface group for the symmetry plane on the front of the modeled
section, and then create a second surface group for the back symmetry plane.
Figure 1185:
Figure 1186:
Figure 1187:
13. Turn off the display of all surface items except Back Symmetry and default.
14. Add geometry surfaces to this group.
a) Right-click Back symmetry and click Add to.
b) Click the symmetry plane near the inlet and near the outlet.
Figure 1188:
Set External Code Surface Attributes for the Valve Shutter Walls
The motion of this surface, resulting from the transient inlet pressure, will be modeled with
MotionSolve. In the next steps you will define a surface group for the walls of the valve shutter, assign
the appropriate settings, and add the faces from the geometry to the surface group.
1. Click ALL in the Data Tree Manager to show all settings.
2. Create a new surface group.
3. Rename the surface to Valve wall.
4. Disable Simple Boundary Condition for Valve wall.
5. Enable External Code Surface.
Disabling the boundary condition options and enabling external code options indicates that
boundary conditions will be handled by the external code (MotionSolve).
Figure 1189:
Figure 1190:
11. Turn off the display of all surface items except Valve wall and default.
12. Add geometry surfaces to this group.
a) Right-click Valve wall and click Add to.
b) Hold the Shift key down, left-click, and drag a selection box (rubber band) around the valve
and stem.
Figure 1191:
c) Release the left key and the valve shutter and stem should be highlighted.
Figure 1192:
d) Click Done to add these geometry surfaces to the Valve wall surface group.
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group. In the previous steps, you selected geometry surfaces to be placed in the groups that
you created. At this point, all that is left in the default surface group is the pipe wall. Rather than
create a new container, add the wall surfaces in the geometry to it, and then delete the default surface
container, you will rename the existing container.
Figure 1193:
Figure 1194:
AcuConsole supports three levels of meshing control, global, zone and geometric.
• Global mesh controls apply to the whole model without being tied to any geometric component of
the model.
• Zone mesh controls apply to a defined region of the model, but are not associated with a particular
geometric component.
• Geometric mesh controls are applied to a specific geometric component. These controls can be
applied to volume groups, surface groups, or edge groups.
In the next steps you will set global meshing attributes. In subsequent steps you will create zone and
surface meshing attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.005 m for the Absolute mesh size.
This absolute mesh size is chosen to ensure that there are at least 50 mesh elements around the
circumference of the main pipe.
6. Turn off the Curvature refinement parameters option.
7. Change the Mesh growth rate to 1.2.
This option controls that rate at which the mesh transitions between regions of different surface
and volume size. Setting this to a value of 1.2 allows for a gradual transition between finely
meshed regions and coarsely meshed regions.
8. Set the Maximum sweep angle to 30.0 degrees.
This option allows you to set the maximum sweep angle for edge-blend meshing on a global basis,
which creates a radial array of elements around sharp edges to provide better resolution of the
flow features. The sweep angle is used to control how many degrees each radial division spans.
Figure 1195:
In the following steps you will add mesh refinements in the zone around the valve gap and around the
valve body.
In the next steps you will add a set of mesh attributes for a zone around the gap between the valve
shutter and the orifice.
Figure 1196:
Figure 1197:
In the next steps you will add a set of mesh attributes for a zone around the valve body.
1. Right-click Zone Mesh Attributes under the Global branch in the Data Tree and click New.
2. Rename Zone Mesh Attributes 1 to Valve body mesh refinement.
3. Double-click Valve body mesh refinement to open the Zone Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh zone type to Cylinder.
5. Set the location of the mesh refinement by defining the center points of the end faces of the
cylinder.
a) Click Open Array to open the Array Editor dialog.
b) Enter -0.06 for X-coordinate 1.
c) Enter 0.04 for X-coordinate 2.
d) Enter 0.02 for Y-coordinate 1 and 2.
e) Enter 0.0 for Z-coordinate 1 and 2.
f) Click OK.
6. Enter 0.021 m for the Radius.
This radius is used to define a cylinder that encloses the gap in the modeled section of the check
valve.
7. Enter 0.0025 m for the Mesh size.
This will result in a zone where the mesh size is half of the global mesh size.
Figure 1198:
Figure 1199:
In the next steps you will set meshing attributes that allow for localized control of the mesh near the
walls of the pipe. The mesh size on the wall of the pipe will be inherited from the global mesh size that
was defined earlier. The settings that follow will only control the growth of the boundary layer from the
walls of the pipe into the fluid volume.
1. Expand the Model > Surfaces > Pipe wall tree item.
2. Click the check box next to Surface Mesh Attributes to enable the settings and open the Surface
Mesh Attributes detail panel.
3. Change the Mesh size type to None.
This option indicates that the mesher will use the global meshing attributes when creating the
mesh on the surface of the pipe walls.
4. Turn on the Boundary layer flag option.
This option allows you to define how the meshing should be handled in the direction normal to the
walls.
5. Set the Resolve option to Total Layer Height.
Mesh elements for a boundary layer are grown in the normal direction from a surface to allow
effective resolution of the steep gradients near no-slip walls. The layers can be specified using a
number of different options. In this tutorial you will specify the height of the first layer, a stretch
ratio for successive layers (growth rate), and the total number of layers to generate. AcuConsole
will resolve the total layer height from the attributes that you provide. That is, total layer height
will be computed based on the height of the first element, the growth rate, and the number of
layers that you provide in the next few steps.
6. Enter 0.00035 m for First element height.
7. Enter 1.2 for the Growth rate.
8. Enter 3 for the Number of layers.
9. Turn on the Boundary layer blends flag option.
This option creates a radial array of boundary layer elements around exterior corners.
10. Enter 30.0 degrees as the Maximum sweep angle.
Figure 1200:
In the next steps you will set meshing attributes that allow for localized control of the mesh size near
the walls of the valve shutter assembly.
1. Expand the Model > Surfaces > Valve wall tree item.
2. Click the check box next to Surface Mesh Attributes to enable the settings and open the Surface
Mesh Attributes detail panel.
3. Change the Mesh size type to None.
4. Turn on the Boundary layer flag option.
5. Set the Resolve option to Total Layer Height.
6. Enter 0.00015 m for First element height.
7. Enter 1.2 for the Growth rate.
Figure 1201:
Figure 1202:
Figure 1203: Mesh Details Around the Valve Viewed on the Front Symmetry Plane
Note that the mesh size in the pipe decreases from left to right in the transition from a region
where global settings determine the size to the zone around the gap where the settings are for
a finer mesh. Note also that the mesh to the right of the valve shutter is smaller than the global
mesh as determined in the Valve body mesh refinement that you created.
The next sets of steps provide instructions for these two tasks.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 1204:
5. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
Run MotionSolve
In the next steps you will start MotionSolve and provide settings for communication with AcuSolve.
1. Run Start > All Programs > Altair HyperWorks <version> > MotionSolve to open the
HyperWorks Solver Run Manager.
2. Browse to the location of \Pressure_Check_Valve-Coupled\Valve_model.xml and select this as
the Input file.
This file contains MotionSolve version of the model.
3. Change the Files of type filter to Motion Solve Data (*.xml, *.acf, *.py).
4. Click Valve_model.xml and Open.
5.
Click next to Options to open the Available Options dialog.
6. Enable the -as_cosim option to indicate coupling between MotionSolve and AcuSolve.
Figure 1205:
Figure 1206:
As the solution progresses, you can monitor the progress with AcuProbe, as detailed in the next steps.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree, expand Surface Output > Inlet > Pressure.
3. Right-click on pressure and select Plot.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1207:
Note that the valve motion lags behind the pressure changes at the inlet. Note also the spike
th
around the 25 time step. This represents the collision of the valve stem with the stop and the
subsequent rebound of the valve.
Figure 1208:
th
Note that the spike in mesh_x_displacement around the 25 time step corresponds with a sudden
decrease in the velocity of the valve walls. This represents the collision of the valve stem with the
stop and the subsequent rebound is reflected by a negative X velocity.
In the following steps you will start AcuFieldView, display velocity magnitude and animate the view to
show mesh displacement. You will then display velocity vectors and pressure contours when the valve
shutter is at maximum displacement.
Start AcuFieldView
In the next steps you will create a boundary surface to display contours of velocity magnitude on the
front symmetry plane of the modeled slice.
These steps are provided with the assumption that you are able to manipulate the view in AcuFieldView
to have a white background, perspective turned off, outlines turned off, and the viewing direction set
to +Z. If you are unfamiliar with basic AcuFieldView operations, refer to Manipulate the Model View in
AcuFieldView .
1.
Click on the side toolbar to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
Note: The dialog may already be open. This step will put the focus on the dialog.
Figure 1209:
Note: You may need to scroll down in the list to find velocity_magnitude.
c) Click Calculate.
4. Set the front symmetry plane and pipe walls as the location for display of contours.
a) Click SBC: Front symmetry.
b) Hold the Ctrl key and click SBC: Pipe wall.
c) Click OK.
5. Add a legend to the view.
a) Click the Legend tab in the Boundary Surface dialog.
Figure 1210:
Figure 1211:
This image was created with a white background, perspective turned off, outlines turned off, and
the viewing direction set to +Z.
When data was loaded from AcuSolve, AcuFieldView displays information from the final time step.
In the following steps you will display velocity magnitude at the first time step and then animate
the display to show the motion of the valve shutter and the velocity changes throughout the
simulation.
In the next steps you will create a transient sweep and save it as an animation that can be viewed
independently of AcuFieldView. As a first step, you will change the colormap used by the legend.
1. Set the colormap to use defined maximum and minimum values throughout the transient sweep.
a) Click the Colormap tab.
Figure 1212:
Figure 1213:
5. Use the slider control to set the Solution Time to the first time step and click Apply.
6. Click Build.
As AcuFieldView builds the flipbook animation, you will see the controls on the Transient Data
Controls dialog advance. Once the flipbook is built, a Flipbook Controls dialog will allow you to
play or save the animation.
Figure 1214:
7. Click Frame Rate and set the Minimum Time Seconds to 0.1.
8. Use the controls on the Flipbook Controls dialog to play and pause the animation.
9. Save the animation as mesh_velocity_mag_coupled.
AcuFieldView will add the appropriate file extension. For Windows,
mesh_velocity_mag_coupled.avi will be saved. It can be viewed independently of AcuFieldView
by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer.
10. Close the Flipbook Controls dialog and click OK to dismiss the Flipbook Exit Confirmation
warning.
In the next steps you will create a coordinate surface at the mid-Z plane of the modeled section. You
will then display pressure contours and velocity vectors on that surface.
1. Disable the Visibility option on the Boundary Surface dialog used to create the display of
velocity magnitude.
2. Open View > Defined Views and set the view to +Z.
3.
Click on the side toolbar to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
Figure 1215:
h) Click the black color swatch next to the Subtitle field and set the color for the subtitle to
white.
5. Create a second coordinate surface at the mid-Z plane for the display of velocity vectors.
a) Click Create on the Surface tab of the Coordinate Surface dialog.
Figure 1216:
Figure 1217:
Figure 1218:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a transient simulation for moving mesh
and variable inlet pressure. The solution of this case was coupled between AcuSolve for the flow field
and MotionSolve for the rigid-body dynamics. Once the case was set up, you generated a mesh and
generated a solution using AcuSolve and MotionSolve. AcuProbe was used to post-process the motion
of the valve shutter (x_mesh_displacement) and velocity of the valve walls. Results were also post-
processed in AcuFieldView to allow you to create contour and vector views, and to allow you to view the
transient data. New features introduced in this tutorial include: coupled solution with an external code,
fluid-structure interaction, mesh motion, transient simulation, multiplier functions, post-processing with
AcuProbe, and animation of transient results.
5.7.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a simulation of a
flow closing valve. In this simulation, AcuSolve is used to set up the motion of the valve from open to a
fully closed configuration. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to modelling concepts necessary to
perform mesh motion simulations involving near contact simulations.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in the ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow.
The basic steps involving rigid body mesh motion are shown in the ACU-T: 5200 Rigid-Body Dynamics
of a Check Valve. The following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Creating a mesh motion with mesh distortion correction
• Creating advanced solution strategy parameters for mesh displacement stagger
• Creating multiplier function for translational mesh motion in terms of velocity or displacement
• Using the ogden model associated with Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) mesh movement
technology to run the simulation
Prerequisites
In order to run this tutorial, you should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000
Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow and ACU-T: 5200 Rigid-Body Dynamics of a Check Valve tutorial. It
is assumed that you have familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You will also need
access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The inlet height is 0.2 meters and the length of the domain is 1.0 meter. The initial position of the valve
is at 9.165 millimeters from the opening, thus simulating an open condition.
The valve moves at a constant speed of 18.33 mm/s towards and away from the opening during a time
duration of 1 second.
Note that AcuSolve cannot simulate near contact configuration with the default settings. The mesh
distortion correction and mesh stagger parameters need to be tweaked to allow the mesh elements to
collapse and recover given sufficient iterations.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click File > Open to bring up the Open data base dialog.
Note: You can also bring up the Open data base dialog by clicking on the
toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Select Closing_Valve.acs and click Open to open the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
Once you open the database, you will notice that the geometry, mesh, simulation settings, and
most of the boundary conditions have already been populated in the file.
Figure 1220:
Figure 1221:
In next steps, you will create and set the advanced solution strategy parameters that apply to the
simulation. To make this as simple as possible, you will use the PB* filter in the Data Tree Manager. This
filter reduces the number of items shown in the Data Tree and makes navigation of the entries easier.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available settings related to general problem
setup in the Data Tree.
2. Under the Global Data Tree item, double-click Advanced Solution Strategy, then double-click
the Stagger tree.
Figure 1222:
The advanced solution strategy tree contains settings that can be used to finely tune the solver
parameters, such as time increment, time marching, staggers, linear solver, convergence check,
etc.
The stagger command specifies the nonlinear iteration and linear solver parameters for the
solution of an equation. Each stagger loops over several nonlinear iterations, within which the
residual, and optionally, the LHS matrix of the stagger are formed, the resulting linear equation
system is solved, the corresponding solution field is updated, and its sub-staggers are executed.
3. Double-click on the mesh_displacement stagger to bring up the detail panel.
4. Turn on Modify advanced settings.
5. Set the Min stagger iterations and Max stagger iterations to 1 and 5 respectively.
6. Set the Convergence tolerance to 0.01.
Figure 1223:
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available settings related to general problem
setup in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Global Data Tree item.
3. Create a new multiplier function named Velocity_Multiplier.
4. Define the multiplier function parameters.
a) Double-click Velocity_Multiplier to open the detail panel.
b) Click the drop-down control next to Type and select Piecewise Linear.
c) Click the drop-down control next to Curve fit variable and select Time step.
Figure 1224:
Figure 1225:
A multiplier function is used to scale values as a function of time or time step. In this tutorial, the stop
valve moves towards and away from the opening at a constant speed. This variation is accomplished by
assigning a multiplier function to the mesh motion.
In the next steps, you will create a mesh motion to simulate the motion of the valve.
1. Click FSI in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only those
related to mesh motions and fluid/structure interactions.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Right-click Mesh Motion and click New.
4. Rename the mesh motion.
a) Right-click Mesh Motion 1.
b) Click Rename.
c) Type Valve_Motion and press Enter
5. Define the mesh motion parameters.
a) Double-click Valve_Motion to open the detail panel.
b) Change the Type to Translation.
c) Click Open Array next to Translation velocity to open the array editor.
d) Change the units to mm/sec and enter -18.33 in the X-component field.
This corresponds to the x component of the velocity defining the mesh motion.
Figure 1226:
Figure 1227:
When this translation mesh motion is defined, the nodes of the element set move at a constant velocity
of 18.33 mm/s in the negative x direction. For this case, the location of each node in the element set is
given by:
(2)
Where is the initial condition of the node, is given by translation velocity, and is time.
(3)
This approach is particularly useful in cases where you are given the displacement-time values or curves
defining the motion of the moving body.
In the next steps, you will define the mesh motion and multiplier function based on the approach
discussed in previous sections.
1. Define a translation mesh motion using the same process and parameters as previously described.
Important: You should not keep two sets of mesh motions and multiplier functions.
Given your simulation parameters, this section is intended as a substitute to velocity-
based mesh motions.
2. Set the X-velocity to 1.0 m/sec in the X-component field of the array editor.
Figure 1228:
3. Create a multiplier function called Displacement_Multiplier using the same process and
parameters as described in the previous section
4. Enter the displacement values for the curve fit variables in the array editor, as shown in the image
below.
Figure 1229:
This approach allows you to define the motion of the valve based on the displacement against the
time steps.
In the next steps you will assign the values of mesh distortion parameters to the fluid volume.
Note: You'll need to switch back to BAS in the Data Tree Manager.
2. Expand Volumes.
3. Double-click Fluid to expand the tree then double-click Element Set to open the detail panel.
4. Enter 0.0005 as the value for the Mesh distortion correction factor.
5. Enter 0.05 as the value for the Mesh distortion tolerance.
Figure 1230:
The database has all the volume and surface groups already assigned.
In the next steps, you will assign the created mesh motion to the valve surface.
1. Expand Surfaces.
2. Double-click Valve_Wall to expand the tree then double-click on Simple Boundary Condition
to open the detail panel.
3. Click the drop-down menu next to Mesh motion and select Valve_Motion.
Figure 1231:
Run AcuSolve
In order to use the ogden model associated with Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) mesh movement
technology, you need to add the corresponding flag in the configuration file and then run the simulation
using the AcuSolve command prompt.
In the next steps, you will run AcuPrep from the GUI, edit the configuration file, and launch AcuSolve
from the command prompt in order to get a solution for this case.
Figure 1232:
5. Start AcuSolve command prompt from the Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
HyperWorks <version> > AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt.
6. Browse to your working directory using the cd command.
7. Launch AcuSolve with the command AcuRun -np 4 -nt 1 -do solve to run the simulation with
four processors and only the solver module.
Note: The solution progress can be monitored by launching AcuTail using the icon
from the toolbar and selecting the log file from your working directory.
After AcuSolve has finished running, a summary of the solution process indicates that the
simulation has been completed.
Figure 1233:
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the AcuProbe window, double-click on Surface Output to expand the tree.
3. Double-click on Valve_Wall to open the surface output list.
4. Double-click on Geometry to open the list of properties related to geometry.
5. Right-click on mesh_x_displacement and click plot.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1234:
In the following steps you will start AcuFieldView, display velocity magnitude and animate the view to
show mesh displacement. You will then display velocity vectors and pressure contours when the valve
shutter is closed.
This tutorial has been written with the assumptions that you have become familiar with the
AcuFieldView interface and basic operations. In general, it will be helpful to understand the following
basics:
• How to find the data readers in the File pull-down on the Main menu and open up the desired
reader panel for data input.
• How to find the visualization panels either from the Side toolbar or the Visualization panel pull-
downs on the Main menu to create and modify surfaces in AcuFieldView.
• How to move the data around the graphics window using mouse actions to translate, rotate and
zoom in to the data.
This tutorial shows you how to work with transient data. It also shows how to visualize the flow
parameters on the complete geometry when only a section of it is simulated in AcuSolve by using
multiple datasets.
Start AcuFieldView
Figure 1235:
Figure 1236:
In the next steps you will create a transient sweep and save it as an animation that can be viewed
independently of AcuFieldView.
Note: You can move the legend using Shift + left click.
Figure 1237:
9. Go to Tools > Flipbook Build Mode and click OK on the warning displayed.
10. Go to Tools > Transient Data and move the slider all the way back to reflect the first time step
data on the boundary surface.
Figure 1238:
1. From the Boundary Surface dialog, under the surfaces tab, disable the visibility for the boundary
surfaces.
2. Change the view to +Z from the Defined Views menu.
Figure 1239:
3.
Click to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
4. Create a new surface at the mid Z coordinate plane.
5. Change the Display Type to Smooth.
6. Change the Coloring to Scalar.
7. Select pressure as the Scalar Function to be displayed.
8. Set Scalar Coloring to Local from the Colormap tab.
Figure 1240:
9. Create another coordinate surface and set the Display Type to Vectors.
10. Change the coloring to Geometric and select white from the color palette.
11. Click Options to open the Vector Options dialog.
12. Check Skip and enter 62.5%.
Figure 1241:
Figure 1242:
5.8.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a simulation of flow
around a static ship hull. In this simulation, a wave hits the static ship hull and the flow around the ship
is simulated. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to a number of modelling concepts necessary to
perform Free-Surface simulations.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Use of a User Defined Function (UDF) for the gravity wave generation
• Mesh extrusions
• Periodic boundary conditions
• Use of Surface Manager to apply surface attributes
• Free surface
• Guide surface
• Use of hydrostatic pressure for boundary conditions
• Arbitrary mesh motion using ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian) method
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
Figure 1244 depicts parameters that define a simple, progressive gravity wave. This wave can be
modeled in the form of the sinusoidal wave profile, shown below.
where
is the horizontal particle velocity of wave
is wave number =
t is the time
In the present simulation we use the following values for the variables of above equation:
U = 0.1256 m/s
= 1.0 sec
-1
= 12.566 m
= 0.01 m/s
= 0.5 m
In the present tutorial, at the inlet you will generate the wave for 2 seconds and simulate the motion of
the wave for 5 seconds. A UDF (wave.c) written in C language is used for this purpose. For the details of
the functions used in the wave.c, refer to the AcuSolve User-Defined Functions Manual.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it Ship_hull_static and open this directory.
5. Enter Ship_hull_static as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your
preference.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
The general attributes that you will set for this tutorial are for turbulent flow, transient analysis, and
mesh type as arbitrary mesh movement (ALE).
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1245:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1246:
Figure 1247:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Ensure the Analysis type is set to Transient.
3. Set the Max time steps to 100.
4. Set the Initial time increment to 0.05 seconds.
5. Change the Max stagger iterations to 4.
Stagger iterations define how many iterations will be performed within each time step. Changing
the maximum stagger iterations to 4 means that AcuSolve will perform a maximum of four
iterations at every time step whether convergence is achieved or not. Setting the minimum
stagger iterations to 0 indicates that there is no minimum number of iterations within a time step.
In this case, AcuSolve will proceed to the next time step when it has either reached the desired
convergence tolerance or the maximum number of stagger iterations within the step.
6. Check that the Relaxation factor is set to 0.0.
When solving transient solutions, the relaxation factor should be set to zero. A non-zero relaxation
factor causes incremental updates of the solution, which will impact the time accuracy of the
solution for transient cases.
Figure 1248:
Figure 1249:
Figure 1250:
2. Double-click Water in the Data Tree to open the Water detail panel.
The material type water air is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created
in AcuConsole.
3
3. Click the Density tab. The density of water is 1000.0 kg/m .
4. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of water is 0.001 kg/m – sec.
5. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 1251:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 1252:
Figure 1253:
Note: The definition of Gravity here will have no effect on the simulation unless it
assigned to a Volume in the model.
In the next steps you will rename the default volume group container, set the material for that group
and set mesh motion for the fluid volume.
1. Minimize Global in the Data Tree Manager and expand the Model tree item by clicking .
2. Expand the Volumes tree item.
3. Expand Volumes. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to
the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Figure 1254:
d) Click Done to add the selected volume to the solid volume group.
7. Set the medium for the volume to None.
The material model of the ship hull is inappropriate to the present simulation. Hence, the medium
is set to None.
Note: The element sets of the solid volume are necessary in the pre-processing
stage (AcuPrep) of the simulation for the evaluation of normal directions for the guide
surfaces. However the element sets are not necessary during the solver module
because the only interaction between the fluid and solid is at the guide surface. The
use of None for the Medium of this volume ensures that no elements of this volume are
carried over to the solver, thus saving the computational time.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, and so on, which can sometimes be cumbersome, especially for
models with too many surfaces. To make it easier, less error prone, and to save time, two new dialogs
are provided in AcuConsole. Use the Volume Manager and Surface Manager to verify and provide
the information for all surface or volume entities at once. In this section some features of Surface
Manager are exploited.
1. Turn-off display for Volumes by right-clicking Volumes and selecting Display off .
2. Right-click Surfaces in the Data Tree and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New eight times to create eight new surface groups.
4. Turn off the display for all surfaces except for the default surface.
5. Rename the default surface to Hull_guide.
6. Rename Surface 1 through Surface 8 and set the Simple BC Type and Simple BC Active options
according to the figure below.
Figure 1255:
Figure 1256:
Figure 1257:
Figure 1258:
Figure 1259:
The present simulation is a 2D representation of a ship in water. Hence it is appropriate to set the Side1
and Side2 with the slip boundary condition to simulate that effect.
Top
The Top surface is the top surface of water which is in contact with air and hence Free Surface is the
appropriate boundary condition.
Note: As the name suggest, the free surface is a surface of the fluid which is not
constrained by any physical boundary. This type of the boundary condition imposes normal
component of mesh velocity to the flow velocity at this surface.
Note: Surface tension model is the user-given model of surface tension defined under
Global > Surface Tension Model. Since the surface tension is not modelled in this
simulation, this parameter is set to None.
Note: Contact angle model is the user-given model of contact angle defined under
Global > Contact Angle Model. The contact angle model is used in conjunction with
the surface tension model. Since the surface tension is not modelled in this simulation,
this parameter is set to None.
Note: Use of Pressure loss factor (k) would add the following term to the pressure
term
where
= density of fluid
u = velocity of fluid
The higher the value of pressure loss factor, stiffer the free surface behaves, that is,
lesser the displacement of the free surface.
Bottom
The Bottom surface is a stationary surface and a Mesh displacement BC type Fixed imposes zero
mesh displacement with respect to the surface.
Outlet
where
= density of fluid
z0 = coordinate vector where the hydrostatic pressure is zero. Z0 defined below using Hydrostatic
pressure origin
g = gravity vector
6. Next to Hydrostatic pressure origin, click Open Array to define the pressure origin.
7. Provide the coordinates of origin (0, 0, 0) in the Array Editor.
Note: Hydrostatic pressure will be zero on Free surface (that is, the Top surface). The
point (0, 0, 0) is on the Top surface. In particular, any point on the Top surface can be
chosen as Hydrostatic pressure origin.
During the simulation there will be certain time points (particularly when trough is formed at the outlet
surface) at which the flow enters the domain through certain portion of outlet surface, which is called
back flow. Back flow may lead to instability temperature, turbulence variables. Enabling Back flow
conditions allows nodal boundary conditions to be specified for these variables only on nodes where
there is flow re-entering the domain. Assuming the outlet is sufficiently far away from ship hull, eddy
viscosity value can set as that of the Inlet, for example, 1e-05
8. Set Back flow conditions to On.
9. Set the Eddy viscosity back flow type to Value.
10. Set Eddy viscosity to 1e-05.
11. Change the Mesh displacement BC type to Slip.
Setting the Mesh displacement BC type to Slip will allow the nodes on this surface (Outlet) to
move freely along the surface.
No_Bc
The No_Bc surface set contains the surfaces of Guide_Vol_Ship which do not participate in actual
simulation. Hence it is appropriate to disable the Boundary condition for this surface.
1. In the Data Tree, expand No_Bc.
2. Uncheck the Simple Boundary Condition check box.
Guide_surf
This surface belonging to the Guide_Vol_Ship will remain stationary in the present simulation and
provide as a guide for the fluid around. Hence we define it as Guide Surface with no mesh motion.
Note: This ensures that boundary condition for the Guide_surf surface is not defined
by using Simple Boundary Conditions. The boundary condition will be defined as a
Guide surface using the following steps.
Hull_guide
Inlet
At the Inlet, you will provide the horizontal velocity of the gravity waves given by Equation 1. This
boundary condition at the inlet will be defined using Nodal Boundary conditions with UDF.
2. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition to open the Simple Boundary Condition detail
panel.
3. Check that the Type is Inflow.
4. Change the Mesh displacement BC type to Slip.
Note: Setting the Mesh displacement BC type to Slip will allow the nodes on the Inlet
surface to move freely along the surface.
Note: X, Y, Z velocities in the Simple Boundary Condition detail panel can be left to
default values of zero, because these values will be overwritten with Nodal Boundary
conditions below. In case of conflict of inputs, Nodal Boundary conditions have higher
precedence than Simple Boundary conditions.
Figure 1260:
The values provided above are the ones described in the section Generation of Surface Gravity
Waves. The user values should be provided in the same order as shown above, because these
values will be passed on to the UDF script which refers these values in that specific order.
15. Click OK.
Note: The following steps will only ensure that the mesh is periodic. The definition of
periodic boundary conditions for particular variables has to be made separately.
1. In the Data Tree, under Model, right click on Periodics and select New.
2. Rename Periodics 1 to Side1-Side2.
3. Right click on Side1-Side2 and select Define.
4. In the Periodics BC dialog, select the surfaces Side1 and Side2, respectively.
5. Verify that Type is Translational.
6. Set the Y-Offset to -0.01 m (which is the distance between Side1 and Side2).
Figure 1261:
Transformation information should be provided so that the Side 1 surface after transformation
matches the Side 2 surface. For the present case, Side 1 should be translated along (-Y) axis for a
distance of 0.01m. Hence the Type as Translational and the Y-Offset as -0.01m.
7. Click OK.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Under Model, expand Periodics and expand Side1-Side2.
3. Make sure that the Periodic Boundary Condition box is checked On.
4. Double-click Periodic Boundary Condition and verify that Type is set to Periodic and Active Type
is set to Always.
Figure 1262:
Global mesh attributes are the meshing parameters applied to the model as a whole without reference
to a specific geometric volume, surface, edge, or point. Local mesh attributes are used to create mesh
generation controls for specific geometry components of the model.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Expand the Global Data Tree item.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 0.01 m for the Absolute mesh size.
Figure 1263:
1. Expand the Model Data Tree item and right-click Mesh Extrusions.
2. Select New from the context menu to create a new entity, Mesh Extrusion 1.
3. Rename Mesh Extrusion 1 as Side1-Side2.
4. Right-click Side1-Side2 and select Define from the context menu.
5. In the Mesh Extrusion dialog, make the following settings.
a) Use the drop down arrows to select the surfaces for Side 1 and Side 2 as Side1 and Side2,
respectively.
b) Ensure that the Extrusion type is set to Number of layers.
c) Set Number of layers equal to 1.
d) Set Extrusion options to All tets.
Use the following figure for reference.
Figure 1264:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces, and set the display
type to solid and wire.
Figure 1265:
Split Nodes
At this point, the Hull_guide surface has all nodes that are attached to Fluid. A duplicate set of nodes
has to be created, so that one set of the nodes follow the Fluid motion and another set stays attached
to the surface Guide_surf. The following steps illustrate the process of splitting the nodes.
In the Data Tree, under Surfaces, right-click Hull_guide and select Mesh Op. > Split internal faces.
There is an increase in the number of nodes.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
While computing the solution, an AcuTail window opens. Solution progress is reported in this
window. A summary of the solution process indicates that the run has been completed.
Figure 1266:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Surface Output > Hull_guide > Forces and Moments.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1267:
In the following steps you will start AcuFieldView and create an animation of the ship hull motion with
the contours of z-mesh displacement.
Start AcuFieldView
1. Click on the AcuConsole toolbar to open the Launch AcuFieldView dialog.
2. Click Ok to start AcuFieldView.
When you start AcuFieldView from AcuConsole, the results from the last time step of the solution
that were written to disk will be loaded for post-processing.
These steps are provided with the assumption that you are able to manipulate the view in AcuFieldView
to have a white background, perspective turned off, outlines turned off, and the viewing direction set
to +z. If you are unfamiliar with basic AcuFieldView operations, refer to Manipulate the Model View in
AcuFieldView.
1. Orient the geometry so you can see the Top surface clearly, as shown in the figure below.
Figure 1268:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a static ship-hull simulation with
surface gravity waves. Once the case was set up, you generated a mesh and obtained a solution using
AcuSolve. Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView to allow you to create an animation of the free
surface movement with time. New features introduced in this tutorial include:
• User Defined Function (UDF) for surface gravity wave generation
• Mesh extrusions and periodic boundary conditions
• ALE based mesh motion approach
• Use of the Surface Manager to apply surface attributes
• Use of hydrostatic pressure as a boundary condition
• Free surface and Guide surface capabilities in AcuSolve
5.9.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving, and viewing results of a flow around
a freely floating ship hull. In this simulation, a wave hits the ship hull and displacement of the ship
and the flow around the ship are simulated. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to a number of
modeling concepts necessary to perform Free-Surface simulations.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Use of Rigid Body type mesh motion
• Use of Free surface and Guide surface capabilities in conjunction of Rigid Body mesh motion.
Prerequisites
In order to run this tutorial, you should have already run through the introductory tutorials, ACU-
T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow and ACU-T: 5300 Ship Hull Static, and be familiar with
AcuConsole, AcuSolve, or AcuFieldView. In order to run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed
version of AcuSolve.
Since the motion considered in this tutorial is perpendicular to the length of the ship, an analysis of a
2D section of the ship hull would be appropriate with lesser computation time without compromising on
accuracy. The mid-section dimensions of the Wigley hull is a function of total ship length and the model
used in this tutorial is the mid-section of Wigley hull whose ship length is 1m.
A linear solution of surface gravity wave propagation would result in the following equation for
horizontal velocity of wave.
Where,
is wave number =
t is the time
In the present simulation, the following values are used for the variables of above equation:
U = 0.1256 m/s
= 1.0 sec
-1
= 12.566 m
= 0.01 m/s
= 0.5 m
In the present tutorial, at the inlet you will generate the wave for 2 seconds and simulate the motion of
the wave for 5 seconds. A UDF (wave.c) written in C language is used for this purpose. For the details
of the functions used in the wave.c, refer to the AcuSolve User-Defined Functions Manual.
Material = Aluminum
3
Density = 2702 kg/m
= 0.00113969
= 0.0051392
= 0.004006
A local coordinate system is used to simplify the definition of the rigid body model and the solution of
the equations of motion. The translational and rotational equations of motion are:
Where,
are the translational displacement, velocity and acceleration vectors, respectively as:
, ,
are the angular displacement, angular velocity and angular acceleration vectors, respectively
as:
, ,
3. Translational damping and stiffness matrices and their rotational equivalents are assumed to be
zero.
4. The only external force acting on the rigid body is the gravity force ( ) along the z-axis.
5. The external moments acting on the body is zero, because the only external force acting on the
body is gravity which does not generate any moment.
For the present tutorial, a single element extrusion will be made along the y-axis. Based on the above
assumptions, you arrive with:
, ,
, ,
The only critical component of moment of inertia for the present tutorial is .
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click Open to open the Choose a file dialog.
Note: You can also open the Choose a file dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1271:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1272:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 1273:
Figure 1274:
2. Double-click Water in the Data Tree to open the Water detail panel.
The Material type for water is Fluid.
Note: The detail panel can be resized by dragging the right frame of the panel.
3
3. Click the Density tab. Verify that the density of water is 1000.0 kg/m .
4. Click the Viscosity tab. Verify that the viscosity of water is 0.001 kg/m-sec.
5. Double-click Aluminum in the Data Tree to open the Aluminum detail panel.
The Material type for aluminum is Solid.
3
6. Click the Density tab. Verify that the density of aluminum is 2702.0 kg/m .
7. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
1. Click ALE in the Data Tree Manager to see all the settings related to mesh motion.
2. Right-click Mesh Motion and click New to create a new mesh motion.
3. Rename Mesh Motion 1 to Rigid_body_mesh_motion.
4. Double-click Rigid_body_mesh_motion and change the Type to Rigid Body Dynamic.
Note: The values assigned to the parameters in this section are the material and
geometric properties of the ship hull. Please refer to AcuConsole.
Figure 1275:
Figure 1276:
Local Coordinates: This parameter defines the direction of local xyz coordinate system, specified
with respect to the global xyz coordinate system.
12. Click Open Array adjacent to Local coordinates.
Since the local and global coordinates are same in this simulation, use the following defaults.
Figure 1277:
Figure 1278:
Though for the present 2D problem the only critical component of moment of inertia is Iyy as
mentioned in the section Rigid Body Dynamics Analysis, AcuSolve would require the dyadic matrix
to be positive definite because of the 3D volume mesh (refer to 2-Dimensional simulations in
AcuSolve) and therefore, requires the input of Ixx, Izz.
The parameters Stiffness, Damping, Rotational stiffness, and Rotational damping will be
considered zero, because the ship is assumed to be freely floating on water.
External forces: The force of gravity is the external force acting on the ship hull along the positive-
z direction.
Figure 1279:
External Moment: The only external force on the ship hull is force of gravity. It does not produce
any moment. Therefore, the External Moment will be zero in this simulation.
The parameters Initial displacement, Initial velocity, Initial rotation, Initial angular velocity,
Initial fluid forces, and Initial fluid moments will be considered zero, because of the stationary,
equilibrium position of the ship considered at the start of the simulation.
Surface outputs: This parameter lists the array of surfaces whose output of forces and moments
will be enforced on the Rigid body (in this case, Ship hull). In this simulation, the forces from the
fluid will be enforced on the ship hull through the surface “Hull_guide” of Fluid volume.
17. Click Open Refs adjacent to Surface outputs.
18. In the Reference Editor, click Add Row.
19. Select Hull_guide and click OK.
Figure 1280:
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Expand Volumes.
4. Under Guide_Vol_Ship, double-click Element Set.
Figure 1281:
Figure 1282:
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All
Programs > Altair <version> > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt .
2. Change the directory to present working directory using the ‘cd’ command.
The working directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. When you are
setting up the problem, there will be a file with extension .acs in this directory, which corresponds
to an AcuConsole database. Once the mesh and solution are generated, additional files and
directories will be added by AcuSolve.
3. Enter the command acuMakeDll –src wave.c.
1. In the terminal, use the cd command to change the directory to the current working directory.
2. Enter the command acuMakeLib -src gravity.c.
A set of files necessary for the use of UDF are created.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
Figure 1283:
AcuSolve will run using four processors (if available, higher number of processors may be
specified) and AcuConsole will generate AcuSolve input files and will launch AcuSolve. AcuSolve
will calculate the transient solution for this problem.
2. Click Ok to start the solution process.
While computing the solution, an AcuTail window opens. Solution progress is reported in this
window. A summary of the solution process indicates that the run has been completed.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 1284:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Surface Output > Hull_guide > Forces and Moments.
3. Right-click on x_wall_shear_stress and click Plot.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1285:
Start AcuFieldView
1. Click on the AcuConsole toolbar to open the Launch AcuFieldView dialog.
2. Click Ok to start AcuFieldView.
When you start AcuFieldView from AcuConsole, the results from the last time step of the solution
that were written to disk will be loaded for post-processing.
These steps are provided with the assumption that you are able to manipulate the view in AcuFieldView
to have a white background, perspective turned off, outlines turned off, and the viewing direction set
to +z. If you are unfamiliar with basic AcuFieldView operations, refer to Manipulate the Model View in
AcuFieldView.
1. Orient the geometry so you can see the entire model clearly, as shown in the figure below.
2. In the Boundary Surfaces dialog, uncheck Show Mesh.
3. Select z-mesh-displacement as the scalar function and click Calculate.
4. In the Legend tab, click Show Legend.
5. Change the color to black.
Figure 1286:
Figure 1287:
Summary
In this tutorial, you worked through a basic workflow to set up a dynamic ship-hull simulation with
surface gravity waves. You started with an .acs file from the Ship Hull Static tutorial and modified the
set up to accommodate the rigid body motion of the ship hull. Once the case was set up, you generated
a solution using AcuSolve. Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView to allow you to create animation
of the Ship hull movement with time. New features introduced in this tutorial include: Rigid Body type
mesh motion, use of Free surface and Guide surface capabilities in conjunction of Rigid Body mesh
motion.
AcuConsole
5.10.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving, and viewing results for a simulation of a
piezoelectric fluid harvester. In this simulation, a piezoelectric flow harvester is placed in a fluid flow
channel. The harvester is attached to a cylinder mount which also acts as a bluff body causing vortices
in the fluid flow. The interaction between the pressure fields generated by the vortices and the flow
harvester structure is simulated in this tutorial. AcuSolve is used in conjunction with a structural solver
to compute the structural displacement of the harvester using a practical fluid structure interaction (P-
FSI) approach. Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) approach is used to compute the mesh deformation
in the fluid domain as it interacts with the deforming structure.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Set up a Practical FSI simulation (P-FSI)
• Using ALE mesh motion
• Use Eigenmode Manager for transferring structural data onto CFD mesh
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
The system being simulated contains a section of a cantilever beam, the fixed side of which is attached
to a rigid cylindrical body. The beam along with the cylinder is placed in a water flow stream. This
cylindrical body acts a bluff body placed in the flow and stimulates vortex shedding in the flow
downstream as it passes over the cylinder. The alternating shedding of vortices creates a zone of
alternating asymmetric pressure distribution on either side of the beam. Such an alternating pressure
distribution exerts an oscillating force on the beam, creating a sustainable oscillating vibration in the
beam.
The modeled system can be compared to a piezoelectric based fluid flow energy harvester. The beam
used in the structural model has a layered arrangement, with a brass shim sandwiched between
the piezoelectric layers on either side. Piezoelectric materials have a unique property of generating
an electric charge when subjected to stress. In the current arrangement as the fluid flow exerts an
oscillating force on the beam leading to vibration, a corresponding oscillating structural stress is induced
in the beam. The piezoelectric property comes into play here as the stress causes the piezoelectric
layers to develop an electric charge. This electric charge is then tapped by a separate electromechanical
arrangement. Thus there is a two-step energy conversion involved in this electricity generation process.
First, the fluid flow energy is converted into mechanical energy of the vibration of the beam, then this
mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. However, the FSI aspect of this conversion, which
is also of interest, is the transfer of energy between the fluid flow and beam.
The schematics of the problem that will be addressed in this tutorial are in Figure 1288. The modeled
domain consists of a fluid volume. The fluid solver does not require the solid body to be modeled.
However, the results of the structural solver will be used to define the solid body and the surfaces where
the fluid interacts with the solid will be allowed to deform according to the Eigen modes of the beam.
Figure 1289 shows the arrangement of the beam with its various layers.
Introduction to Theory
A FSI problem is a multi physics problem, with the coupled laws of structural and fluid mechanics
affecting the solution. There are two widely used approaches with which this coupling is achieved:
• Practical-FSI (P-FSI): The structure is reduced in the modal space and coupled to the fluid
domain through interface nodes. The coupling between the solvers happens in a single pass itself.
Structural behaviour is limited to be linear in a P-FSI simulation.
• Direct coupling (DC-FSI): The coupling is a co-simulation between the structural and the fluid
solver, with each solver stepping through time simultaneously and iterating to equilibrium in each
time step.
In case the deformations in the structure are large enough to alter the fluid flow significantly, the DC-
FSI co-simulation approach should be used. With this approach, as the fluid flow and pressure fields
affect the structural deformations, and the structural deformations affect the flow and pressure, the
information about these effects is exchanged between the solvers in real time.
Given the difference in coupling methodology, it is likely that slightly different results will be observed
when a same problem is solved using P-FSI and DC-FSI approaches. The choice of the approach that
should be used shall depend on the problem and the available resources. As mentioned above, the P-
FSI approach should be limited to the cases when displacements in the structure are small, and the
structural behaviour can be approximated to be linear. For all other cases, DC-FSI should be preferred.
However, DC-FSI simulations incur a higher computational resources cost. With this consideration, P-FSI
simulation can also be used as a preliminary test simulation before a DC-FSI simulation is carried out.
FSI can be stable or oscillatory. In a stable FSI, the deformed shape of the structure will not change
with time, unless the flow changes as well. In an oscillatory FSI, once the structure is deformed, it will
try to return to its non-deformed state and then the whole deformation process repeats itself.
This tutorial uses the ALE approach for specifying the mesh motion of the deformed nodes in the
domain. The Interpolated Mesh Motion approach is discussed in detail in the subsequent tutorials which
solve the same problem using this approach.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole and create the database for storage for the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it PFSI_Tutorial and navigate into this directory.
5. Enter piezo_harvester as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your
preference.
In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by AcuConsole, the database
path and name should not include spaces.
6. Click Save to create the database.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1290:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1291:
Tip: You may need to widen the detail panel from the default size by dragging the
right edge of the panel frame.
Figure 1292:
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
3. Make sure that the Analysis type is set to Transient.
4. Enter 300 for Max time steps.
5. Enter 0.01 for Initial time increment.
6. Set the Min and Max stagger iterations to 3 and 5, respectively.
7. Make sure that Flow, Mesh and Turbulence are set to On.
Figure 1293:
Figure 1294:
2. Double-click Water in the Data Tree to open the Water detail panel.
The material type for water is Fluid. Fluid is the default material type for any new material created
in AcuConsole.
3. Click the Density tab. The density value is 1000 kg/m3.
4. Make sure that the Type is set to Constant.
5. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of water is 0.001 kg/m – sec.
The remaining thermal and other material properties are not critical to this simulation. However,
you can browse through the tabs to check the complete material specification.
6. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 1295:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 1296:
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container. Since the model for this tutorial has only a single volume, it will be the only volume in the
default volume group when the geometry is imported. Even when there is a single volume in the model,
it is advisable to rename the volume for ease of identification in the future.
In the next steps you will rename the default volume group container and set the material and other
properties for it.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model tree item by clicking .
3. Turn off the display of surfaces. Right-click Surfaces and click Display off in the context menu.
4. Expand Volumes. Toggle the display of the default volume container by clicking and next to
the volume name.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
b) Enter fluid.
When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until you press the Enter
key on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from the item without entering it,
your changes will be lost.
6. Set up the fluid volume element set.
a) Expand the Fluid tree item.
b) Double-click Element Set under fluid to open the Element Set detail panel.
c) Make sure that the Medium for the volume is set to Fluid.
The default Medium for a volume in AcuConsole is Fluid.
d) Click the drop-down control next to Material model and select Water.
Figure 1297:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem, and add surfaces to the group containers.
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, and so on, which can sometimes be cumbersome, especially for
models with too many surfaces. To make it easier, less error prone, and to save time, two new dialogs
are provided in AcuConsole. Use the Volume Manager and Surface Manager to verify and provide
the information for all surface or volume entities at once. In this section some features of Surface
Manager are exploited.
1. Turn-off the display for Volumes by right-clicking Volumes and selecting Display off .
2. Right-click Surfaces in the Data Tree and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New six times to create six new surface groups.
Figure 1298:
If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click Columns , select these
two columns from the list and click Ok.
Figure 1299:
4. Turn off the display for all surfaces except for the default surface.
Figure 1300:
Figure 1301:
8. Assign the surfaces enclosing the domain at the top and bottom to the slip surface group.
9. Assign the surface with the minimum x-coordinate to the inlet surface group.
10. Assign the surface with the maximum x-coordinate to the outlet surface group.
11. Assign the cylinder surface to the cylinder surface group. This surface is the contact boundary
between the fluid and the cylinder. Use the following image as the reference for selecting the
required surfaces.
Figure 1302:
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to beam in the Surface Manager. In
the previous steps, you assigned some surfaces to various other surface groups that you created. At
this point, all that is left in the beam surface group are the surfaces that make up the contact boundary
between the fluid volume and the beam.
12. Close the Surface Manager.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available settings related to general problem
setup in the Data Tree.
2. Right-click Multiplier Function and select New.
A new entry, Multiplier Function 1, is created in the Data Tree under the Multiplier Function
branch.
3. Right-click Multiplier Function 1, select Rename in the context menu and type ForceRamp as
the entity name.
4. Double-click ForceRamp to open the ForceRamp detail panel.
5. In the detail panel, change the Type to Piecewise Linear.
6. Change the Curve fit variable to Time step.
Figure 1303:
7. Click Open Array next to the Curve fit values option and create two rows in the Array Editor
dialog.
8. Fill in the values as follows:
Figure 1304:
1. Click FSI in the Data Tree Manager to display the options relevant to setting up an FSI model in
the Data Tree.
2. Right-click Flexible Body and select New.
A new entry, Flexible Body 1, is created in the Data Tree under the Flexible Body branch.
3. Right-click Flexible Body 1, select Rename and type beam as the entity name.
4. Double-click beam to open the beam detail panel.
5. Make sure that Equation is set to Mesh Displacement.
6. Set Number of modes to 5.
This will import and apply the modal information for the first five modes available in the structural
data.
7. Set the Internal force multiplier function to the function ForceRamp, which you created as an
earlier step in the tutorial.
8. Click Open Refs next to the Surface outputs option.
The Reference Editor dialog opens.
9. Add a row by clicking Add Row.
10. Select beam as the entity in the row from the pull-down menu.
Figure 1305:
Figure 1306:
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Under Model, expand the Surfaces item, and then expand the inlet surface group.
4. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition to open the detail panel.
5. Make sure that the Type is set to Inflow.
6. Make sure that the Inflow type is set to Velocity and the Inflow velocity type is Cartesian.
7. Set the X velocity to 10 m/sec.
8. Set the Turbulence input type to Direct.
2
9. Set the Eddy viscosity to 1e-05 m /sec.
Figure 1307:
Figure 1308:
Figure 1309:
Figure 1310:
Figure 1311:
Figure 1312:
This instructs the solver to use the flexible body beam as the reference for calculating the mesh
displacement of the beam surface group.
Figure 1313:
1. Expand the Output tree, then double-click Nodal Output to open the Nodal Output detail
panel.
2. Set Time step frequency as 2.
This will save the nodal outputs at every second time step.
3. Set Output initial condition to On.
This will instruct the solver to write the initial state of the problem as the first output file.
4. Make sure that the Number of saved states is set to 0.
Setting this option to zero will instruct the solver to save all of the solution state files.
Figure 1314:
Figure 1315:
Figure 1316:
1. Double-click Nodal Initial Condition in the Data Tree to open the dialog in the detail panel.
2. Set the X velocity to 10 m/sec.
2
3. Set the Eddy viscosity to 1e-05 m /sec.
Figure 1317:
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Enter 2.0 m for the Absolute mesh size.
6. Set the Mesh growth rate to 1.4.
Figure 1318:
Surface mesh attributes are applied to a specific surface in the model. It is a type of local meshing
parameter used to create targeted mesh controls for one or more specific surfaces.
Setting local mesh attributes, such as surface mesh attributes, is not mandatory. When a local mesh
attribute is not found for a component, the global attributes are used as the mesh generation control for
that component. If a local mesh attribute is present, it will take precedence over the global setting.
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
Note: The above settings will ensure that the volume mesh to have a size 0.05 m
(Absolute mesh size) at the surface and then transition to a size of (Absolute mesh
size) × (Influence size factor) at a distance 2.0 m (Influence distance).
Figure 1319:
13. Right-click Surface Mesh Attributes under cylinder and select Propagate.
14. Click the beam surface group in the Propagate dialog.
Figure 1320:
Figure 1321:
Figure 1322:
Note: The actual number of nodes, elements and memory usage may vary slightly
from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. You can rotate and zoom in the model to analyze the various mesh regions.
Figure 1323:
Figure 1324:
Figure 1325:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will run AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 1326:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Time History > Tip_MonitorPoint > node 1.
3. Right-click on mesh_y_displacement and select Plot.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1327:
The node 1 lies at the tip of the beam. The plot above shows the displacement of the tip of the
beam due to the fluid forces as the beam interacts with the flow.
4. You can also save the plots as an image.
a) From the AcuProbe dialog, click File > Save.
b) Enter a name for the image and click Save.
5. The time series data of the variables can also be exported as a text file for further post-
processing.
a) Right-click on the variable that you want to export and click Export.
b) Enter a File name and choose .txt for the Save as type.
c) Click Save.
Start AcuFieldView
Figure 1328:
Set Up AcuFieldView
Figure 1329:
Figure 1330:
Figure 1331:
Figure 1332:
Figure 1333:
1.
Click to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
2. Turn off the visibility for the active boundary surfaces.
3.
Click to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
4. Create a new coordinate surface at the mid -Z coordinate plane.
The coordinate surface created is the mid plane between the z_neg and z-pos surfaces.
5. Change the Coloring to Scalar.
6. Change the Display Type to Smooth.
7. Select x-velocity as the Scalar Function to be displayed.
8. Select Z as the Coord Plane.
9. In the Colormap tab change Scalar Coloring to Local.
10. From the Defined Views menu bar, select +Z as the viewing direction.
Your model should look like the image below. The visible shape of the beam is its deformed shape
at the end of last time step in the simulation.
Figure 1334:
Figure 1335:
Figure 1336:
If the Sweep Control in this dialog shows Sweep instead of Build, the Flipbook Build Mode is not
active. In Sweep mode, you will be able to create and visualize the animation but you will not be
able to save it. To be able to save the animation, enable the Flipbook Build Mode.
15. Drag the time step slider to its left most position. Alternatively, type 0 for the Time Step or
Solution Time.
16. Click Apply.
The displayed state now corresponds to the initial state of the domain.
Figure 1337:
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial you successfully set up and solved a FSI problem using the Practical-FSI
or P-FSI approach. The modal analysis of the structure (beam) is first done in a structural solver
and the results of this modal analysis are used to represent the structure in AcuConsole. The results
of the modal analysis provide the necessary information, such as the mass, stiffness and damping
characteristics of the solid body, to AcuSolve. This information, along with the flow field information
generated by AcuSolve, is used to calculate the displacement of the beam as it interacts with the flow.
You started the tutorial by creating a database in AcuConsole, importing and meshing the fluid portion
geometry and setting up the basic simulation parameters. Then you set up a flexible body to represent
the beam and generated a solution with AcuSolve.
Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView where you generated an animation of the beam’s
displacement as it interacts with the fluid flow. New features that were introduced in this tutorial include
setting up a Practical FSI simulation (P-FSI), using ALE mesh motion and using Eigenmode Manager in
AcuConsole for transferring structural data onto a CFD mesh.
AcuConsole
5.11.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a simulation of a
piezoelectric fluid harvester. In this simulation, a piezoelectric flow harvester is placed in a fluid flow
channel. The harvester is attached to a cylinder mount which also acts as a bluff body causing vortices
in the fluid flow. The interaction between the pressure fields generated by the vortices and the flow
harvester structure is simulated in this tutorial. Interpolated mesh motion approach is used to compute
the mesh deformation in the fluid domain as it interacts with the deforming structure.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Fluid-structure interaction using the interpolated mesh motion (IMM)
• Use of the Eigenmode Manager for transferring structural data onto CFD mesh
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
Figure 1338 shows a CFD model consisting of a cantilever beam and a rigid cylindrical body. The
cylindrical body produces vortex shedding in the flow downstream, inducing alternating asymmetric
pressure distribution on either side of the beam. Such an alternating pressure distribution results in a
sustainable oscillating vibration in the beam.
Figure 1339 shows the beam with a brass shim sandwiched between the piezoelectric layers on either
side. Piezoelectric materials have a property of generating an electric charge when subjected to
oscillating structural stress. The electric charge is tapped by a separate electromechanical arrangement.
In this tutorial, we will focus on the simulation of the fluid forces on the beam in response to the
structural deformation. The schematics of the problem which will be addressed in this tutorial is shown
in Figure 1338. The modeled domain consists of a fluid volume. The fluid solver does not require the
solid body to be modeled. However, the results of the structural solver will be used to define the solid
body and the surfaces where the fluid interacts with the solid will be allowed to deform according to the
Eigen modes of the beam. Figure 1339 shows the arrangement of the beam with its various layers.
Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) is the interaction between a fluid flow and a deformable solid structure
in contact with the flow. There are two FSI approaches: Practical Fluid/Structure Interaction (P-FSI) and
Direct-Coupling Fluid/Structure Interaction (DC-FSI). Details about these approaches can be found in
AcuConsole.
The P-FSI approach requires eigenvalues of the OptiStruct structural model. It is then mapped to
the AcuSolve CFD model in order to compute the structural deformation in response to the vortex
shedding (fluid force) on the beam. The computation of the structural deformation will be made using
the Interpolated Mesh Motion (IMM) rather than using the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE).
When using interpolated mesh motion (IMM), all the surfaces associated with this motion are
assigned as interpolated motion surfaces and collected into a single set. All the nodes falling within
the boundaries of that set are then interpolated to determine their weighted displacement based
on the distance from their surrounding “driving” surfaces. For example, in this simulation shown in
Figure 1340, as the flow passes over the cylinder and the beam, the forces causes the beam to move
in transverse direction. This transverse motion of the beam should be communicated to the top and
bottom surfaces. Assigning these surfaces as interpolated surfaces (as shown in Figure 1340) and
then imparting the interpolated mesh motion to the nodes within the volume will linearly scale the
displacement of the surrounding nodes as a function of distance between the surfaces associated with
the interpolated mesh motion. The main advantage of interpolated mesh motion over ALE is that no
extra partial differential equations are solved, hence lower computation times. However, this approach
is limited to problems involving not so complex mesh motion.
In this tutorial, the simulation is performed using the interpolated mesh motion approach.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it PFSI_IMM_Tutorial and navigate into this
directory.
5. Enter piezo_harvester_IMM as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your
preference.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1341:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1342:
Figure 1343:
Figure 1344:
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Figure 1345:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
Figure 1346:
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
Since the model for this tutorial has only a single volume, it will be the only volume in the default
volume group when the geometry is imported. Even when there is a single volume in the model, it is
advisable to rename the volume for ease of identification in future. In the next steps you will rename
the default volume group container, and set the material and other properties for it.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until you
press the Enter key on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from the
item without entering it, your changes will be lost.
Figure 1347:
In the process of setting up a simulation, you need to move into different panels for setting up the
boundary conditions, mesh parameters, and so on, which can sometimes be cumbersome, especially for
models with too many surfaces. To make it easier, less error prone, and to save time, two new dialogs
are provided in AcuConsole. Use the Volume Manager and Surface Manager to verify and provide
the information for all surface or volume entities at once. In this section some features of Surface
Manager are exploited.
1. Turn-off the display for Volumes by right-clicking Volumes and selecting Display off .
2. Right-click Surfaces in the Data Tree and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New six times to create six new surface groups.
Figure 1348:
If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click Columns , select these
two columns from the list and click Ok.
Figure 1349:
4. Turn off the display for all surfaces except for the default surface.
5. Rename Surface 1 through Surface 6 according to Figure 1350.
6. Set the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, per Figure 1350.
Figure 1350:
Figure 1351:
8. Assign the surfaces enclosing the domain at the top and bottom to the slip surface group.
9. Assign the surface with the minimum x-coordinate to the inlet surface group.
10. Assign the surface with the maximum x-coordinate to the outlet surface group.
11. Assign the cylinder surface to the cylinder surface group. This surface is the contact boundary
between the fluid and the cylinder. Use the following image as the reference for selecting the
required surfaces.
Figure 1352:
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to beam in the Surface Manager. In
the previous steps, you assigned some surfaces to various other surface groups that you created. At
this point, all that is left in the beam surface group are the surfaces that make up the contact boundary
between the fluid volume and the beam.
12. Close the Surface Manager.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available settings related to general problem
setup in the Data Tree.
2. Right-click Multiplier Function and select New.
A new entry, Multiplier Function 1, is created in the Data Tree under the Multiplier Function
branch.
3. Right-click Multiplier Function 1, select Rename in the context menu and type ForceRamp as
the entity name.
4. Double-click ForceRamp to open the ForceRamp detail panel.
5. In the detail panel, change the Type to Piecewise Linear.
6. Change the Curve fit variable to Time step.
Figure 1353:
7. Click Open Array next to the Curve fit values option and create two rows in the Array Editor
dialog.
8. Fill in the values as follows:
Figure 1354:
1. Click FSI in the Data Tree Manager to display the options relevant to setting up an FSI model in
the Data Tree.
2. Right-click Flexible Body and select New.
A new entry, Flexible Body 1, is created in the Data Tree under the Flexible Body branch.
3. Right-click Flexible Body 1, select Rename and type beam as the entity name.
4. Double-click beam to open the beam detail panel.
5. Make sure that Equation is set to Mesh Displacement.
6. Set Number of modes to 5.
This will import and apply the modal information for the first five modes available in the structural
data.
7. Set the Internal force multiplier function to the function ForceRamp, which you created as an
earlier step in the tutorial.
8. Click Open Refs next to the Surface outputs option.
The Reference Editor dialog opens.
9. Add a row by clicking Add Row.
10. Select beam as the entity in the row from the pull-down menu.
Figure 1355:
Figure 1356:
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand the Model Data Tree item.
3. Under Model, expand the Surfaces item, and then expand the inlet surface group.
4. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition to open the detail panel.
5. Make sure that the Type is set to Inflow.
6. Make sure that the Inflow type is set to Velocity and the Inflow velocity type is Cartesian.
7. Set the X velocity to 10 m/sec.
8. Set the Turbulence input type to Direct.
2
9. Set the Eddy viscosity to 1e-05 m /sec.
Figure 1357:
Figure 1358:
Figure 1359:
Figure 1360:
Figure 1361:
Figure 1362:
This instructs the solver to use the flexible body beam as the reference for calculating the mesh
displacement of the beam surface group.
Figure 1363:
1. Expand Output, then double-click Nodal Output to open the Nodal Output detail panel.
2. Set Time step frequency as 2.
This will save the nodal outputs at every 2nd time step.
3. Set Output initial condition to On.
This will instruct the solver to write the initial state of the problem as the first output file.
4. Check that the Number of saved states is set to zero.
Setting this option to zero will instruct the solver to save all the solution state files.
Figure 1364:
Figure 1365:
Figure 1366:
1. Double-click Nodal Initial Condition in the Data Tree to open the dialog in the detail panel.
2. Set the X velocity to 10 m/sec.
2
3. Set the Eddy viscosity to 1e-05 m /sec.
Figure 1367:
1. Click ALL in the Data Tree Manager to display all settings in the Data Tree.
2. Expand Model > Surfaces > beam.
3. Check the box next to Interpolated Motion Surface.
4. In the detail panel, for Motion surface type, accept the default option of Faceted.
5. Similarly, assign the Interpolated Motion Surface for the Slip surface.
Figure 1368:
1. Click ALE in the Data Tree Manager to display all settings in the Data Tree.
2. Right-click on Mesh Motion and select New.
Figure 1369:
Figure 1370:
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand Model > Volume > fluid.
3. Double-click Element Set.
4. In the detail panel, change Mesh motion to Interpolated_mesh_motion.
Figure 1371:
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Set the Absolute mesh size to 2.0 m.
6. Set the Mesh growth rate to 1.4.
Figure 1372:
Setting local mesh attributes, such as surface mesh attributes, is not mandatory. When a local mesh
attribute is not found for a component, the global attributes are used as the mesh generation control for
that component. If a local mesh attribute is present, it will take precedence over the global setting.
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
Note: The above settings will ensure that the volume mesh to have a size 0.05 m
(Absolute mesh size) at the surface and then transition to a size of (Absolute mesh
size) × (Influence size factor) at a distance 2.0 m (Influence distance).
Figure 1373:
Instead of repeating the above steps for the beam surface group, you can propagate the mesh attribute
settings for cylinder surface group to beam surface group.
13. In the Data Tree, under cylinder, right-click on Surface Mesh Attributes.
14. Select Propagate.
15. In the Propagate dialog, select the beam surface group and click Propagate.
Figure 1374:
Figure 1375:
Note: The actual number of nodes, elements and memory usage may vary slightly
from machine to machine.
3. Visualize the mesh in the modeling window. Turn on the display of surfaces and set the display
type to solid and wire.
4. You can rotate and zoom in the model to analyze the various mesh regions.
Figure 1376:
Figure 1377:
Figure 1378:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will run AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 1379:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Time History > Tip_MonitorPoint > node 1.
3. Right-click on mesh_y_displacement and select Plot.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1380:
The node 1 lies at the tip of the beam. The plot above shows the displacement of the tip of the
beam due to the fluid forces as the beam interacts with the flow.
4. You can also save the plots as an image.
a) From the AcuProbe dialog, click File > Save.
b) Enter a name for the image and click Save.
5. The time series data of the variables can also be exported as a text file for further post-
processing.
a) Right-click on the variable that you want to export and click Export.
b) Enter a File name and choose .txt for the Save as type.
c) Click Save.
Start AcuFieldView
Figure 1381:
Set Up AcuFieldView
Figure 1382:
Figure 1383:
Figure 1384:
Figure 1385:
Figure 1386:
1.
Click to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
2. Turn off the visibility for the active boundary surfaces.
3.
Click to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
4. Create a new coordinate surface at the mid -Z coordinate plane.
The coordinate surface created is the mid plane between the z_neg and z-pos surfaces.
5. Change the Coloring to Scalar.
6. Change the Display Type to Smooth.
7. Select x-velocity as the Scalar Function to be displayed.
8. Select Z as the Coord Plane.
9. In the Colormap, tab change Scalar Coloring to Local.
10. From the Defined Views menu bar, select +Z as the viewing direction.
Your model should look like the image below. The visible shape of the beam is its deformed shape
at the end of last time step in the simulation.
Figure 1387:
Figure 1388:
Figure 1389:
If the Sweep Control in this dialog shows Sweep instead of Build the Flipbook Build Mode is not
active. In Sweep mode, you will be able to create and visualize the animation but you will not be
able to save it. To be able to save the animation, enable the Flipbook Build Mode.
15. Drag the time step slider to its left most position. Alternatively, type 0 for the Time Step or
Solution Time.
16. Click Apply.
The displayed state now corresponds to the initial state of the domain.
Figure 1390:
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial you successfully set up and solved an FSI problem, using the Practical-FSI,
or P-FSI approach. The modal analysis of the structure (beam) is first done in a structural solver and
the results of this modal analysis in the form of a .op2 file are used to represent the structure in
AcuSolve. The .op2 file provides the necessary information, such as the mass, stiffness and damping
characteristics of the solid body, to AcuSolve. This information, along with the flow field information
generated by AcuSolve, is used to calculate the displacement of the beam as it interacts with the flow.
You started the tutorial by creating a database in AcuConsole, importing and meshing the fluid portion
geometry, and setting up the basic simulation parameters. Then you set up a flexible body to represent
the beam, and generated a solution with AcuSolve. Results were post-processed in AcuFieldView
where you generated an animation of the beam’s displacement as it interacts with the fluid flow. New
features that were introduced in this tutorial include: setting up a Practical FSI simulation (P-FSI)
using Interpolated Mesh Motion (IMM), and using Eigenmode Manager in AcuConsole for transferring
structural data onto a CFD mesh.
AcuConsole
5.12.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a simulation of a
piezoelectric fluid harvester. In this simulation, a piezoelectric flow harvester is placed in a fluid flow
channel. The harvester is attached to a cylinder mount which also acts as a bluff body causing vortices
in the fluid flow. In addition, the cylinder and the harvester are imparted with a sinusoidal rotation
motion. The interaction between the pressure fields generated by the vortices and the flow harvester
structure is simulated in this tutorial. Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) approach is used to compute
the mesh deformation in the fluid domain as it interacts with the deforming structure.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Defining rigid body rotation motion
• Implementation of P-FSI in conjunction with rigid body rotation
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the tutorials ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow and
ACU-T: 5400 Piezoelectric Flow Energy Harvester: A Fluid-Structure Interaction (P-FSI). It is assumed
that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve and AcuFieldView. You will also need access
to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
The CFD model contains a cantilever beam and a rigid cylindrical body. The beam along with the
cylinder is placed in a water flow stream. This cylindrical body acts a bluff body placed in the flow
and stimulates vortex shedding in the flow downstream as it passes over the cylinder. The alternating
shedding of vortices creates a zone of alternating asymmetric pressure distribution on either side of
the beam. Such an alternating pressure distribution exerts an oscillating force on the beam, creating a
sustainable oscillating vibration in the beam.
In this tutorial, in the addition to the flexible motion of the beam adopted in Piezoelectric Flow
Harvester Tutorial-1, you will incorporate the rigid body rotation of the cylinder and the beam. The
cylinder and the beam are enforced with a sinusoidal oscillatory rotation about the center of the cylinder
with a maximum angle of rotation as 100 (i.e. 0.174 rad) with a frequency of 22 rad/sec (3.5 Hz). The
axis of rotation is along axis of cylinder. The variation of the rotation angle (θ) is given as:
Since this tutorial has a rotation motion in addition to flexible motion of beam, you can achieve higher
displacements (and hence strains) at lower velocity. Therefore, you will reduce the inlet velocity to 4 m/
sec instead of 10 m/sec in Piezoelectric Flow Harvester Tutorial-1.
The schematics of the problem which will be addressed in this tutorial is shown in Figure 1. The
modeled domain consists of a fluid volume. The fluid solver does not require the solid body to be
modeled. However, the results of the structural solver will be used to define the solid body and the
surfaces where the fluid interacts with the solid will be allowed to deform according to the Eigen modes
of the beam. Figure 2 shows the arrangement of the beam with its various layers.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
3. Create a new directory in this location. Name it P-FSI_with_rigid_body_motion.
4. Click File > Open and open piezo_harvester_P-FSI.acs.
5. Click File > Save As and enter P-FSI_with_rigid_body_rotation as the file name for the
database.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1393:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1394:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 1395:
The variation of the rotation angle ( ) is modeled using a multiplier function using
the following steps.
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available settings related to general problem
setup in the Data Tree.
2. Right-click Multiplier Function and click New to create a new multiplier function.
A new entry, Multiplier Function 1, will be created in the Data Tree under the Multiplier Function
branch.
3. Rename the new multiplier function.
a) Right-click Multiplier Function 1.
b) Click Rename.
c) Type Rotation_multiplier and press Enter.
4. Double-click Rotation_multiplier to open the detail panel.
5. Change Type to Sine Series.
6. Click Open Array next to Sine coefficients.
7. Fill in the values as follows:
In the Array Editor, the first column refers to the amplitude of the sine function, second column
refers to the frequency of the sine function and the third column refers to phase of the sine wave.
Figure 1396:
1. Click ALE in the Data Tree Manager to see all the settings related to mesh motion.
2. Right-click Mesh Motion and click New to create a new mesh motion.
3. Rename the new reference frame as Rigid_body_rotation.
4. Double-click Rigid_body_rotation to open the detail panel.
5. Change the Type to Rotation.
6. Click the Open Array button next to Rotation center to open the Array Editor.
7. Enter -0.1 as the X-coordinate.
Figure 1397:
9. Click the Open Array button next to Angular velocity to open the Array Editor.
10. Enter 1.0 as the Z-coordinate.
Figure 1398:
Figure 1399:
Using the mesh motion Type = Rotation defines the variation of the rotation angle which is
used by AcuSolve in evaluating the coordinates of the beam and cylinder. The rotation angle is
evaluated by multiplying the value of Rotation Variable with the components of Angular Velocity.
Therefore, for this tutorial, the rotation angle comes out to be:
(4)
about z-axis
For a point with initial coordinates, located on the cylinder or beam, the coordinates at a given
time, t, is given by:
(5)
(6)
(7)
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand Model > Surfaces > Beam.
3. Double-click Simple Boundary Condition to open the detail panel.
4. Set the Mesh motion to Rigid_body_rotation.
Figure 1400:
Figure 1401:
Figure 1402:
1. Under Global in the Data Tree, double-click Nodal Initial Condition to open the dialog in the
detail panel.
Figure 1403:
The following steps will create a similar monitor point at the root of the cantilever beam.
Figure 1404:
Figure 1405:
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 1406:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Time History > Root_MonitorPoint > node 1.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
4. Repeat the above steps to plot the mesh_y_displacement for the Tip_MonitorPoint.
Figure 1407:
The plot above shows the displacement of the tip and the root of the beam, due to the fluid forces
as the beam interacts with the flow. The above plot also shows the displacement at the root and
at the tip are not in phase, hence maximizing the bending stress (hence, strains) for a lower inlet
velocity.
5. You can also save the plots as an image.
a) From the AcuProbe dialog, click File > Save.
b) Enter a name for the image and click Save.
6. The time series data of the variables can also be exported as a text file for further post-
processing.
a) Right-click on the variable that you want to export and click Export.
b) Enter a File name and choose .txt for the Save as type.
c) Click Save.
Launch AcuFieldView
Figure 1408:
Set Up AcuFieldView
Figure 1409:
Figure 1410:
Figure 1411:
Figure 1412:
Figure 1413:
1.
Click to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
2. Turn off the visibility for the active boundary surfaces.
3.
Click to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
4. Create a new coordinate surface at the mid -Z coordinate plane.
The coordinate surface created is the mid plane between the z_neg and z-pos surfaces.
5. Set the Coloring to Scalar.
6. Set the Display Type to Smooth.
7. Select x-velocity as the Scalar Function to be displayed.
8. Select Z as the Coord Plane.
9. In the Colormap tab, change Scalar Coloring to Local.
Figure 1414:
Figure 1415:
If the Sweep Control in this dialog shows Sweep instead of Build, the Flipbook Build mode is not
active. In Sweep mode, you will be able to create and visualize the animation, but you will not be
able to save it. To be able to save the animation, enable the Flipbook Build Mode.
15. Drag the time step slider to its left most position. Alternatively, type 0 for the Time Step or
Solution Time.
16. Click Apply.
The displayed state now corresponds to the initial state of the domain.
Figure 1416:
Summary
In this tutorial you worked through a basic workflow to set up a flexible body motion of a rotating
beam in the wake of a cylinder. You started with the piezo_harvester_P-FSI.acs file from the tutorial
Piezoelectric Flow Harvester and modified the set up to accommodate the rigid body rotation of the
beam and the cylinder. Once the case was set up, you generated a solution using AcuSolve. Results
were post-processed in AcuFieldView to allow you to create animation of the beam displacements with
time.
AcuConsole
5.13.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a simulation of
a piezoelectric fluid harvester. In this simulation, a piezoelectric flow harvester is placed in a fluid
flow channel. The harvester is attached to a cylinder mount which also acts as a bluff body causing
vortices in the fluid flow. The interaction between the pressure fields generated by the vortices and the
flow harvester structure is simulated in this tutorial. AcuSolve is used in conjunction with a structural
solver to compute the structural displacement of the harvester using a direct-coupled fluid structure
interaction (DC-FSI) approach. Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) approach is used to compute the
mesh deformation in the fluid domain as it interacts with the deforming structure.
The basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
PFSI approach for a fluid-structure multiphysics problem has been discussed in the Piezoelectric Flow
Energy Harvester PFSI tutorial. The following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this
tutorial:
• Set up a Direct Coupled FSI simulation (DC-FSI)
• AcuSolve/OptiStruct multiphysics coupling
• Setting up external code parameters to support coupling
• Assigning external code parameters to surfaces
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a
Mixing Elbow. Though not required, it is recommended that you have also run through ACU-T: 5400
Piezoelectric Flow Energy Harvester: A Fluid-Structure Interaction (P-FSI). This tutorial will demonstrate
the same problem setup used in the P-FSI tutorial but with a DC-FSI approach. It is assumed that
you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve and AcuFieldView. You will also need access to a
licensed version of AcuSolve.
The coupled structural solver used for this tutorial is another HyperWorks product, OptiStruct. Thus,
to follow this tutorial you will also need access to a licensed version of OptiStruct. The corresponding
OptiStruct setup for this tutorial is available in the OptiStruct tutorial manual.
The color of objects shown in the modeling window in this tutorial and those displayed on your screen
may differ. The default color scheme in AcuConsole is "random," in which colors are randomly assigned
to groups as they are created. In addition, this tutorial was developed on Windows. If you are running
this tutorial on a different operating system, you may notice a slight difference between the images
displayed on your screen and the images shown in the tutorial.
The schematics of the problem is shown in Figure 1417. The CFD model consists of a cylindrical body
and a cantilever beam. This cylindrical body generates vortex shedding. This vortex shedding creates
a zone of alternating asymmetric pressure distribution on either side of the beam. Such an alternating
pressure distribution exerts an oscillating force on the beam, creating a sustainable oscillating vibration
in the beam.
The fluid solver does not require the solid body to be modeled. However, the structural solver will solve
for the structural deformation using the fluid flow and pressure field which will be acting on the surface
of the structure. The information required by the structural solver for structure displacement calculation
will be passed on to it by the fluid solver. The structural solver on the other hand, will pass on the
displacement information to the fluid solver. The fluid solver will then use this displacement information
to calculate the flow field at the next time step, which will then be used by the structural solver to
update the displacement information. This back and forth exchange of information between the fluid
and structural solver will take place at each time step, and continue until one of the solvers signals the
end of simulation. Figure 1418 shows the arrangement of the beam with its various layers.
An FSI problem is thus a multiphysics problem, with the coupled laws of structural and fluid mechanics
affecting the solution. There are two widely used approaches with which this coupling is achieved:
1. Practical-FSI (P-FSI): The structure is reduced in the modal space and coupled to the fluid
domain through interface nodes. The coupling between the solvers happens in a single pass itself.
Structural behaviour is limited to be linear in a P-FSI simulation.
2. Direct coupling (DC-FSI): The coupling is a co-simulation between the structural and the fluid
solver, with each solver stepping through time simultaneously and iterating to equilibrium in each
time step.
In case the deformations in the structure are large enough to alter the fluid flow significantly, the DC-
FSI co-simulation approach should be used. With this approach, as the fluid flow and pressure fields
affect the structural deformations, and the structural deformations affect the flow and pressure, the
information about these effects is exchanged between the solvers in real time.
Given the difference in coupling methodology, it is likely that slightly different results will be observed
when a same problem is solved using P-FSI and DC-FSI approaches. The choice of the approach that
should be used shall depend on the problem and the available resources. As mentioned above, the P-
FSI approach should be limited to the cases when displacements in the structure are small, and the
structural behaviour can be approximated to be linear. For all other cases, DC-FSI should be preferred.
However, DC-FSI simulations incur a higher computational resources cost. With this consideration, P-FSI
simulation can also be used as a preliminary test simulation before a DC-FSI simulation is carried out.
FSI can be stable or oscillatory. In a stable FSI, the deformed shape of the structure will not change
with time, unless the flow changes as well. In an oscillatory FSI, once the structure is deformed, it will
try to return to its non-deformed state and then the whole deformation process repeats itself.
In the next steps you will start AcuConsole, and create the database for storage of the simulation
settings.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click New to open the New data base dialog.
Note: You can also open the New data base dialog by clicking on the toolbar.
3. Browse to the location that you would like to use as your working directory.
This directory is where all files related to the simulation will be stored. The AcuConsole database
file (.acs) is stored in this directory. Once the mesh and solution are created, additional files and
directories will be created within this directory.
4. Create a new directory in this location. Name it DCFSI_Tutorial and navigate into this directory.
5. Enter piezo_harvester_dcfsi as the file name for the database.
Note: In order for other applications to be able to read the files written by
AcuConsole, the database path and name should not include spaces.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1419:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1420:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
3. Check that the Analysis type is set to Transient.
4. Set the Max time steps as 0.0.
5. Set the Final time as 3.0.
6. Set the Initial time increment as 0.01.
7. Set the Min stagger iterations as 3.
8. Set the Max stagger iterations as 20.
9. Set the Relaxation factor to 0.
When solving transient solutions, the relaxation factor should be set to zero. A non-zero relaxation
factor causes incremental updates of the solution, which will impact the time accuracy of the
solution for transient cases.
10. Check that the Flow, Turbulence, Mesh, and External code radio buttons are set to On.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Import Geometry
You will import the geometry in the next part of this tutorial. You will need to know the location of
fluid.x_t in order to complete these steps. This file contains information about the geometry in
Parasolid ASCII format.
1. Click File > Import.
2. Browse to the directory containing fluid.x_t.
3. Change the file name filter to Parasolid File (*.x_t *.xmt *X_T …).
4. Select fluid.x_t and click Open to open the Import Geometry dialog.
Figure 1421:
For this tutorial, the default values for the Import Geometry dialog are used to load the
geometry. If you have previously used AcuConsole, be sure that any settings that you might have
altered are manually changed to match the default values shown in the figure. With the default
settings, volumes from the CAD model are added to a default volume group. Surfaces from the
CAD model are added to a default surface group. You will work with groups later in this tutorial to
create new groups, set flow parameters, add geometric components, and set meshing parameters.
5. Click Ok to complete the geometry import.
When the geometry was imported into AcuConsole, all volumes were placed into the "default" volume
container.
Since the model for this tutorial has only a single volume, it will be the only volume in the default
volume group when the geometry is imported. Even when there is a single volume in the model, it is
advisable to rename the volume for ease of identification in future. In the next steps you will rename
the default volume group container, and set the material and other properties for it.
Note: You may not see any change when toggling the display if Surfaces are being
displayed, as surfaces and volumes may overlap.
Note: When an item in the Data Tree is renamed, the change is not saved until you
press the Enter key on your keyboard. If you move the input focus away from the
item without entering it, your changes will be lost.
Figure 1422:
In the next steps you will define surface groups, assign the appropriate settings for the different
characteristics of the problem and add surfaces to the group containers.
1. Turn-off the display for Volumes by right-clicking on Volumes and clicking Display off.
2. Right-click Surfaces and select Surface Manager.
3. In the Surface Manager dialog, click New 6 times to create 6 new surface groups.
If you cannot see the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns, click Columns, select these
two columns from the list and click Ok.
4. Turn off the display off for all surfaces except for default surface.
5. Using the figure below as a guide, rename the Surface Names (column 1) for all surfaces, and set
the Simple BC Active and Simple BC Type columns.
Make sure the Simple BC option is set to off for the beam surface.
6. Assign the surfaces to the z_pos and z_neg surface groups.
a) Click Add to in the to z_pos row.
b) Select the planar surface with the maximum z-coordinate as shown in figure below and click
Done.
7. Similarly, assign the surface with the minimum z-coordinate to the z_neg surface group.
8. Assign the surfaces enclosing the domain at the top and bottom to the slip surface group.
9. Assign the surface with the minimum x-coordinate to inlet surface group.
10. Assign the surface with the maximum x-coordinate to outlet surface group.
11. Assign the cylinder surface to the cylinder surface group.
Use the following figure as the reference for selecting the required surfaces.
When the geometry was loaded into AcuConsole, all geometry surfaces were placed in the default
surface group container. This default surface group was renamed to beam in the Surface Manager.
In the previous steps, you assigned some surfaces to various other surface groups that you created.
At this point, all that is left in the beam surface group are the surfaces which make up the contact
boundary between the fluid volume and the beam.
6. Check that the Inflow type is set to Velocity, and that the Inflow Velocity type is Cartesian.
7. Set the X velocity to 10 m/s.
8. Set the Turbulence input type to Direct.
2
9. Set the Eddy viscosity ratio to 1e-05 m /sec.
Figure 1423:
Figure 1424:
Figure 1425:
Figure 1426:
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
2. Expand Global then expand Output.
3. Double-click Nodal Output to open the Nodal Output detail panel.
4. Set Time step frequency as 2.
This will save the nodal outputs at every 2nd time step.
5. Set Output initial condition to On.
This will instruct the solver to write the initial state of the problem as the first output file.
6. Check that the Number of saved states is set to zero.
Figure 1427:
Setting this option to zero will instruct the solver to save all the solution state files.
Figure 1428:
c) Click OK.
d) Set Time step frequency to 1.
This will save the results for the defined time history point at every time step.
4. Save the database.
1. In the Data Tree, double-click Nodal Initial Condition to open the detail panel.
2. Set the X velocity to 10 m/s.
2
3. Set the Eddy viscosity to 1e-05 m /sec.
Figure 1429:
1. Click PB* in the Data Tree Manager to display all the available settings related to general problem
setup in the Data Tree.
2. Right-click on Multiplier Function and select New.
A new entry, Multiplier Function 1, is created in the Data Tree under the Multiplier Function
branch.
3. Rename Multiplier Function 1 to ForceRamp.
4. Double-click on ForceRamp to open the detail panel.
5. In the detail panel, change the Type to Piecewise Linear.
6. Change the Curve fit variable to Time step.
7. Click Open Array.
8. Click Add to create a second row in the Array Editor.
Figure 1430:
1. Click FSI in the Data Tree Manager to display the options relevant to setting up an FSI model in
the Data Tree.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click External Code Parameters to open the External Code Parameters detail panel.
4. Check that Communication is set to Socket.
5. Turn the Socket initiate flag to Off.
6. Enter the name of the machine running the structural solver in the Socket host box.
Note: If you are running AcuSolve and the structural solver (OptiStruct) on the same
machine, enter localhost here.
In the next steps you will set the global mesh attributes.
1. Click MSH in the Data Tree Manager to filter the settings in the Data Tree to show only the
controls related to meshing.
2. Double-click the Global Data Tree item to expand it.
3. Double-click Global Mesh Attributes to open the Global Mesh Attributes detail panel.
4. Change the Mesh size type to Absolute.
5. Set the Absolute mesh size to 2.0 m.
6. Set the Mesh growth rate to 1.4.
Figure 1431:
Setting local mesh attributes, such as surface mesh attributes, is not mandatory. When a local mesh
attribute is not found for a component, the global attributes are used as the mesh generation control for
that component. If a local mesh attribute is present, it will take precedence over the global setting.
In the next steps you will set the surface meshing attributes.
Note: The above settings will ensure that the volume mesh to have a size 0.05 m
(Absolute mesh size) at the surface and then transition to a size of (Absolute mesh
size) × (Influence size factor) at a distance 2.0 m (Influence distance).
Figure 1432:
Instead of repeating the above steps for the beam surface group, you can propagate the mesh attribute
settings for cylinder surface group to beam surface group.
13. In the Data Tree, under cylinder, right-click on Surface Mesh Attributes.
14. Select Propagate.
15. In the Propagate dialog, select the beam surface group and click Propagate.
Figure 1433:
Note: The actual number of nodes and elements, and memory usage may vary
slightly from machine to machine.
Figure 1434:
Run OptiStruct
1. Start OptiStruct from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > OptiStruct.
2. Click to browse for the file to open.
3. Navigate to file slab_dcfsi.fem and click Open.
4. Click Run to launch OptiStruct.
Figure 1435:
As the solution progresses, a HyperWorks Solver View window opens. OptiStruct solution
progress is reported in this window.
OptiStruct will initiate the socket connection and wait for AcuSolve to respond to its signal before
proceeding with the solution.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
A summary of the run printed in the AcuTail dialog indicates that AcuSolve has finished running
the solution.
Figure 1436:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Time History > Tip_MonitorPoint > node 1.
3. Right-click on mesh_y_displacement and select Plot.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1437:
The node 1 lies at the tip of the beam. The plot above thus shows the displacement of the tip of
the beam due to the fluid forces as the beam interacts with the flow.
This tutorial shows you how to work with steady state analysis data.
Start AcuFieldView
Figure 1438:
You will see that the pressure contours have already been displayed on all the boundary surfaces with
mesh. When results of a transient simulation is loaded in AcuConsole, the displayed results correspond
to the last time step of the simulation.
Figure 1439:
Set up AcuFieldView
Figure 1440:
4. In the Viewer Options dialog, deselect the Perspective check box to turn it off.
5. Disable axis markers by clicking Axis Markers.
6. Close the dialog.
7.
Click on the Colormap Specification icon on the toolbar.
8. In the Scalar Colormap Specification dialog, click Background and select white.
9. Close the dialog.
10.
From the toolbar, click to turn off the outline display.
Your AcuFieldView display should now look like this.
Figure 1441:
1.
Click to open the Boundary Surface dialog.
2. Turn off the visibility for the active boundary surfaces.
3.
Click to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
4. Create a new coordinate surface at the mid – Z coordinate plane by selecting Z of Coord Plane.
The coordinate surface created is the mid plane between the z_neg and z_pos surfaces.
5. Change the Coloring to Scalar.
6. Change the Display Type to Smooth.
7. Select x-velocity as the Scalar Function to display.
8. Click the Colormap tab, and change Scalar Coloring to Local.
9. From the Defined Views, select Viewing Direction as +Z.
Your AcuFieldView view should now look like this. The visible shape of the beam is its deformed
shape at the end of last time step in the simulation.
Figure 1442:
Figure 1443:
If the Sweep Control in this dialog says Sweep instead of Build, the Flipbook Build Mode is not active. In
Sweep mode, you will be able to create and visualize the animation but you will not be able to save it.
To be able to save the animation, enable the Flipbook Build Mode.
14. Drag the time step slider to its leftmost position. Alternatively, enter zero in the Time Step or
Solution Time box.
15. Click Apply.
The displayed state now corresponds to the initial state of the domain.
Figure 1444:
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved an FSI problem using the Direct Coupling,
or DC-FSI approach. DC-FSI approach is a co-simulation approach where both the structural and
the fluid solvers run simultaneously, and exchange information at each time step of the simulation.
The fluid solver passes the flow and pressure information to the structural solver, which are used to
determine the displacements in the structure. The structural solver then passes the displacement
information to the fluid solver, which then recalculates the flow and pressure field. Both the solvers
thus update and exchange the results of the simulation to achieve the solution. You started the tutorial
by creating a database in AcuConsole, importing and meshing the fluid portion geometry, and setting
up the basic simulation parameters. Then you set up the structure which interacted with the flow such
that its position was updated by the displacement data received from the structural solver at each
time step. As a final step, you defined the parameters for setting up the connection between AcuSolve
and the structural solver, and generated a solution with co-simulation. Results were post-processed in
AcuFieldView, where you generated an animation of the beam’s displacement as it interacted with the
fluid flow. New features that were introduced in this tutorial include: setting up a Direct-Coupled FSI
simulation (DC-FSI), AcuSolve/OptiStruct multiphysics coupling, setting up external code parameters to
support coupling, and assigning external code parameters to surfaces.
6.1.1 AcuConsole
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for a simulation of a
static mixer in combination with the post-processing module AcuTrace. In this simulation, AcuSolve is
used to compute the species mixing within a simple mixer and AcuTrace is used to compute the particle
motion of finite mass particles within the mixer. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to concepts
necessary to visualize streamlines and produce particle path with AcuTrace.
TThe basic steps in any CFD simulation are shown in ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing Elbow. The
following additional capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Generation of finite mass particle paths with AcuTrace.
• Conversion of the nodal output data with AcuTranstrace for reading into AcuFieldView.
• Post-processing the nodal output with AcuFieldView to visualize streamlines and particle path.
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 2000 Turbulent Flow in a Mixing
Elbow. It is assumed that you have some familiarity with AcuConsole, AcuSolve, and AcuFieldView. You
will also need access to a licensed version of AcuSolve.
An important step in any CFD simulation is to examine the engineering problem and determine the
important parameters that need to be provided to AcuSolve. Parameters can be based on geometrical
elements (such as inlets, outlets, or walls) and on flow conditions (such as fluid properties, velocity, or
whether the flow should be modeled as turbulent or as laminar).
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in Figure 1. It consists of a mixing
tube that contains several swept walls to instigate mixing within the tube. The inlet face is split into two
regions, one containing 100 percent of species_1 and the other containing zero.
The diameter of the inlet is 0.1 m and the length of the mixing tube is 0.525 m. The fins have a mean
diameter of 0.1 m. The maximum thickness of the fins are 0.003 m.
The boundary condition at the inlet is defined to produce a fully developed inlet profile with velocity of
1.0 m/s. One portion of the inlet is defined to contain 100 percent of species_1, while the other inlet is
defined to contain 0.0 percent of species_1.
The fluid in this problem is an epoxy resin, which has a density of 1264.0 kg/m3 and a viscosity of 1.49
kg/m-sec.
In addition to setting appropriate conditions for the simulation, it is important to utilize a mesh that
will be sufficiently refined to provide good results. In this application, the flow will accelerate as it
passes over the fin walls. This leads to the higher gradients that need finer resolution. Proper boundary
layer parameters need to be set to keep the y+ near the wall surface to a reasonable level. Although
a slightly refined mesh is used in this area, it should be noted that a proper mesh refinement study is
necessary in order to determine the required mesh controls to obtain a grid independent solution. The
mesh controls used in this tutorial are very coarse and are only intended to illustrate the process of
setting up the model and to retain a reasonable run time. A significantly higher mesh density is needed
to achieve a grid converged solution.
1. Start AcuConsole from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All Programs > Altair
<version> > AcuConsole.
2. Click the File menu, then click Open to open the Chose a file dialog.
3. Browse to the directory where StaticMixer.acs is stored.
4. Select StaticMixer.acs and then click Open to open the database.
The general parameters that you will set for this tutorial are for turbulent flow, steady analysis, and
mesh type as fixed.
1. Click BAS in the Data Tree Manager to switch to basic view in the Data Tree.
Figure 1446:
Tip: You can also expand a tree item by clicking next to the item name.
Figure 1447:
Tip: You can also open a panel by right-clicking a tree item and clicking Open on the
context menu.
Figure 1448:
1. Double-click Auto Solution Strategy to open the Auto Solution Strategy detail panel.
2. Check that the Analysis type is set to Steady State.
3. Set the Max time steps as 100.
4. Check that the Convergence tolerance is set to 0.001 seconds.
5. Set the Relaxation factor to 0.4.
The relaxation factor is used to improve convergence of the solution. Typically a value between
0.2 and 0.4 provides a good balance between achieving a smooth progression of the solution and
the extra compute time needed to reach convergence. Higher relaxation factors cause AcuSolve
to take more time steps to reach a steady state solution. A high relaxation factor is sometimes
necessary in order to achieve convergence for very complex applications.
Figure 1449:
2. Double-click Epoxy Resin in the Data Tree to open the Epoxy Resin detail panel.
3
3. Click the Density tab. The density of the epoxy is 1264.0 kg/m .
4. Click the Viscosity tab. The viscosity of the resin is 1.49 kg/m – sec.
5. Save the database to create a backup of your settings. This can be achieved with any of the
following methods.
• Click the File menu, then click Save.
• Click on the toolbar.
• Click Ctrl+S.
Note: Changes made in AcuConsole are saved into the database file (.acs) as they
are made. A save operation copies the database to a backup file, which can be used to
reload the database from that saved state in the event that you do not want to commit
future changes.
Run AcuSolve
In the next steps you will launch AcuSolve to compute the solution for this case.
Figure 1450:
Note: For this case, the default values will be used. AcuSolve will run using four
processors, and AcuConsole will generate AcuSolve input files and will launch
AcuSolve. AcuSolve will calculate the steady state solution for this problem.
The information provided in the summary is based on the number of processors used by AcuSolve.
If you use a different number of processors than indicated in this tutorial, the summary for your
run may be slightly different than the summary shown.
Figure 1451:
3. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1.
Open AcuProbe by clicking on the toolbar.
2. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Residual Ratio.
3. Right-click on Final and select Plot All.
The Solution ratio measures how much the solution is changing from one step to the next.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1452:
In the next steps you will define the particle trace data.
1. In AcuConsole, click ALL in the Data Tree Manager to see all settings in the Data Tree.
2. In the Data Tree, expand Particle Trace to show only items related to particle tracing.
Figure 1453:
In the next steps you will set the finite mass boundary conditions.
1. Under Particle Trace, right-click on Finite Mass Boundary Condition and select New.
2. Right-click on Finite Mass Boundary Condition 1 and select Rename.
3. Enter the new name as SideWalls.
4. Double-click on SideWalls to open the Finite Mass Boundary Condition panel.
5. Set the Particle surface to Pipe Wall.
6. Leave the Wall type set to Reflect and the Normal and Tangential coefficient of restitution type set
to Constant.
7. Enter 0.2 for both the Normal and Tangential coefficient of restitution.
Figure 1454:
8. In the Data Tree, right-click on Finite Mass Boundary Condition and select New.
9. Rename Finite Mass Boundary Condition 2 to FinWalls.
10. Double-click FinWalls to open the Finite Mass Boundary Condition panel.
11. Set the Particle surface to Fin Walls.
12. Leave the Wall type set to Reflect and the Normal and Tangential coefficient of restitution type set
to Constant.
13. Enter 0.8 for both the Normal and Tangential coefficient of restitution.
This will allow for less energy to be lost when the particle hits the wall and in turn will reflect off of
the wall with a greater velocity.
Figure 1455:
In the next steps you will define the particle seeds that are moving into the flow regime.
Figure 1456:
Figure 1457:
Figure 1458:
Run AcuTrace
In the next steps, you will launch AcuTrace to compute the solution for this case.
1.
Click on the toolbar to open the Launch AcuTrace dialog.
Figure 1459:
2. Accept the default settings and select Ok to start the solution process.
Once the run is complete, you need to convert the results so that they can be read in AcuFieldView. To
do this, run the AcuTransTrace utility. This tool can be used to convert data for Ensight, FieldView or
AcuDisplay.
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All
Programs > Altair <version> > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt .
2. Change the directory to your working location using the cd command.
3. Enter the command:
Figure 1460:
This tutorial shows you how to work with the steady state data and load a particle paths file.
Launch AcuFieldView from the AcuConsole window using the icon on the toolbar.
You will see that the pressure contours have already been displayed on all the boundary surfaces. The
image below was captured with the mesh turned off.
Figure 1461:
4. From the Boundary Types list, select OSF: Fin Walls and click Ok.
5. Orient the geometry to show that the flow moves from bottom to top of the screen.
6. In the Boundary Surfaces dialog, click Create to create a new boundary surface.
7. From the Boundary Types list, select OSF: Pipe Walls and click OK.
8. Set the Display Type to Outlines and set Coloring to Geometric.
1.
Click to open the Coordinate Surface dialog.
2. Click Create to create a new surface.
3. Set the Coord Plane at the mid –Y coordinate surface.
4. Change the Display Type to Constant.
5. Change the Coloring to Scalar.
6. For Scalar Function, select z-velocity as the scalar function to be displayed, and click Calculate.
7. Click the Colormap tab, and change the coloring to Local.
8. Click the Legend tab, and activate the Show Legend check box to display the velocity magnitude
values on the coordinate plane.
Figure 1462:
1.
Click the Paths icon to open the Particle Paths dialog.
2. Click Import.
3. Browse to the .fvp file created with acuTransTrace and click Open.
4. In the Particle Paths dialog, change the Coloring type to Scalar.
5. Set the Scalar Variable to particle_z_velocity
6. Click the Legend tab and turn on the legend.
Figure 1463:
Summary
In this tutorial, you successfully set up and solved for a steady simulation of a static mixer to visualize
the particle path. You started the tutorial by opening a database in AcuConsole and setting up the
simulation parameters to compute the species mixing within the mixer. You ran AcuTrace to generate
the particle paths within the static mixer and converted the data using AcuTranstrace to visualize the
particle paths in AcuFieldView.
7.1.1 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
This tutorial provides the instructions for setting up, solving and viewing results for simulation of flow
through a porous medium. You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial,
ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, and have a basic understanding of AcuSolve, HyperView, and
HyperMesh. To run this tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
The problem to be addressed in this tutorial is shown schematically in the figure below. It consists of a
cylindrical channel with a porous medium in the flow section. As the flow passes through this section, a
pressure drop is observed. In this simulation, an inlet velocity will be assigned to the flow and pressure
drop across the porous medium will be calculated. The length of the porous section is 0.06 m and the
fluid is an imaginary air-like fluid with a density of 1 kg/m3 and a molecular viscosity of 0.001 kg/m-s.
The inlet velocity of the flow is 0.2 m/s.
Figure 1464:
Refer to the HM introductory tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI Introduction, to learn how to
select AcuSolve from User Profiles.
2.
Click the Open Model icon located on the standard toolbar.
The Open Model dialog opens.
3. Browse to the directory where you saved the model file. Select the HyperMesh file
ACU6010_PorousMedia.hm and click Open.
4. Click File > Save As.
The Save Model As dialog opens.
5. Create a new directory named PorousMedia and navigate into this directory.
This will be the working directory and all the files related to the simulation will be stored in this
location.
6. Enter PorousMedia as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your preference.
7. Click Save to create the database.
Figure 1465:
In this step, you will start by modifying the material properties of Air and then create a material model
for the porous medium. Then, you will assign the surface boundary conditions and material properties
for all the fluid volumes.
Figure 1466:
Figure 1467:
Figure 1468:
Figure 1469:
4. Click Walls. In the Entity Editor, verify that the Type is set to WALL.
Figure 1470:
All the internal surfaces, such as the inlet and outlet of the porous section and the external walls
of pipe surface, can be grouped into one single surface set. Auto_Wall, which is an advanced
feature in AcuSolve, re-groups these elements into internal and external surfaces for each volume
and writes the surface output accordingly. This process is done internally, thereby reducing the
number of steps in the workflow.
5. Click Fluid_Upstream. In the Entity Editor,
a) Change the Type to FLUID.
b) Select Air_HM as the Material.
Figure 1471:
Figure 1472:
Figure 1473:
Figure 1474:
1. In the AcuProbe window, from the Data Tree on the left, expand Residual Ratio.
2. Right-click on Final and select Plot All.
Figure 1475:
3. Once the solution is converged, right-click again on Final and select Plot None.
4.
Click the User Function icon from the toolbar.
The User Function dialog opens.
5. In the dialog, enter dP as the function name.
6. In the Function field, type P_In =.
7. In the Data Tree, expand Surface Output > AUTO Fluid_Porous internal > Pressure.
8. Right-click on pressure and select Copy name. Paste the value in the Function window after P_In
=.
Figure 1476:
9. On the next line, type P_Out = and repeat the above step for pressure on the AUTO
Fluid_Downstream internal surface.
10. On the next line, type value = P_In - P_Out.
Note: The word “value” is case sensitive and should always be in lower case. If you
use a capital letter, an error window appears.
Figure 1477:
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1478:
Summary
In this tutorial, you learned how to set up and solve a problem with porous medium. You started by
importing the HyperMesh database and then creating a material model for the porous section. Then,
you assigned the boundary conditions and material properties and solved by launching AcuSolve directly
from HyperMesh. Finally, you created a pressure drop plot using the user function tool in AcuProbe and
calculated the drop in pressure between the inlet and outlet surfaces of the porous section.
HyperMesh
8.1.1 HyperMesh
This tutorial provides instructions for setting up, solving, and viewing results for a parametric
optimization problem in AcuSolve. The parametric studies enable you to specify one or more conditions
that may vary, such as a sweep over a range of inlet mass flow boundary conditions. The range and
frequency of the parameter controlling the mass flow is selected either by simply specifying the desired
values or having the program compute suitable values automatically. Several parameters can be used
in parametric studies, for instance, controlling the inlet mass flow, the impeller rotational speed, and
blade angles of a fan problem. The model used for this tutorial consists of a sphere immersed in a fluid
flow. The surface of the sphere is kept hot from an internal heat source. The fluid flow removes the heat
from the sphere surface, thus causing the temperature of the fluid to rise. The simulation is run with
various values of temperature at the fluid inlet to determine the conditions which result in the outlet
temperature closest to a desired value.
The basic steps in a CFD simulation have been discussed in the earlier tutorials. The following additional
capabilities of AcuSolve are introduced in this tutorial:
• Setting up a parametric optimization problem in AcuSolve
• Post-processing a parametric optimization problem
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks UI
Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperMesh and AcuSolve. To run this tutorial, you will
need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Figure 1479:
The inlet temperature here is what is known as the “design variable” for the problem. A target
value for outlet temperature is specified, and the desired inlet temperature is the value at which the
outlet temperature is closest to the target outlet temperature. The difference between the target
outlet temperature and the actual outlet temperature is what is known as the “response variable”
for the problem. Since the objective of the problem is to minimize the difference between the outlet
temperature and the target outlet temperature, this problem is a “minimization” problem.
Optimization
Optimization, in simple terms, is the process of selecting a best input from a set of available
alternatives. Almost all engineering problems today are aimed at optimizing something. Airfoil designers
are always trying to come up with new airfoil designs with better lift and low drag. Heat exchanger
component designers want to maximize the surface heat flux while also minimizing the pressure drop
through the exchanger.
AcuSolve offers you two options to setting up an optimization study: design optimization and parametric
studies. Design optimization enables you to optimize an objective function subject to certain constraints
and satisfaction of flow equations.
Parametric studies enables you to specify one or more conditions that may vary, such as a sweep over
a range of inlet mass flow boundary conditions. In parametric studies, these control parameters vary
according to a specified pattern. For example, the range and frequency of the parameter controlling the
mass flow is selected either by simply specifying the desired values or having the program computing
suitable values automatically. Several parameters can be used in parametric studies, for instance,
controlling the inlet mass flow, the impeller rotational speed, and blade angles of a fan problem.
Perhaps you want to evaluate the pressure rise and torque of the fan; these outputs are called
"response variables". The parameters controlling the run conditions are called "variables" or "design
variables". The nomenclature is similar to the optimization problems.
Minimize, objective(U,Y)
subject to constraints(U,Y)
Here, U is the flow solution variables and Y is a vector of control parameters, called Design Variables
(DVs), that determines the shape of an object or a flow parameter. The objective(s) and constraint(s)
are specified by you. A maximization problem is the same as above, but Minimize is replaced with
Maximize.
Figure 1480:
6. Enter ParametricOptimization as the file name for the database, or choose any name of your
preference.
7. Click Save to create the database.
Figure 1481:
Figure 1482:
1. In the Solver Browser, expand 02.Materials the right-click on FLUID and select Create.
2. Rename the material as simple_fluid in the Entity Editor.
3
3. Set the Density value to 1.0 kg/m .
4. Set the Viscosity value to 0.1 kg/m-sec.
5. Set the Conductivity value to 1.0 W/m-K.
Figure 1483:
Figure 1484:
Multiplier functions can also be used to scale the values of the design variables between cases. In
quantity optimization, the design variables are linked with the desired quantities in AcuSolve through
multiplier functions.
1. In the Solver Browser, right-click on 05.Multiplier_Function and select Create from the context
menu.
2. Rename the function as inflow_temperature_control in the Entity Editor.
3. Change the Multiplier Function Type to Design Variable.
4. Click in the value field next to Design Variable, click the Designvar collector, select
temperature_control from the appearing dialog, then click OK.
Figure 1485:
The most basic response variables are functions of the flow solution, extracted from the
SURFACE_OUTPUT and ELEMENT_OUTPUT. More complex response variables can be derived from these
basic response variables using expressions. An example of this is demonstrated in the following steps.
b) Click in the value field next to Surface Elements, click the Component collector, select
Outflow from the appearing dialog, and click OK.
c) Set the Output variable to Temperature.
This response variable will extract the surface integrated value of the temperature variable from
the outflow surface.
Figure 1486:
1. In the Solver Browser, expand Optimization > OBJECTIVES then click on objective1.
2. Rename the objective as find_inflow_temperature in the Entity Editor.
3. Check that the Objective Type is set to Minimize.
4. Set the Response variable to (temperature-target_temperature)^2 by clicking in the value
field next to Response variable then selecting the correct response variable from the Select
Optiresponse dialog.
Note: If there are any constraints in your problem, you can define them similarly
under the Constraints group.
Figure 1487:
Figure 1488:
Figure 1489:
Figure 1490:
Figure 1491:
Run AcuSolve
In this step, you will launch AcuSolve directly from HyperMesh and compute the solution.
1. In the Model Browser, ensure that the visibility of the mesh for all collectors to be exported
for AcuSolve are activated. In this case, display for all the collectors – Fluid, Inflow, Outflow,
Sphere_Wall, and Outer_Walls – should be activated.
Figure 1492:
2.
Click on the CFD toolbar.
The Solver job Launcher dialog opens.
Figure 1493:
For this case, the default settings will be used. You may choose to change the number of
processors to allow AcuSolve to run using more processors (4 or 8), if available. HyperMesh will
generate the required solver input files and launch AcuSolve. AcuSolve will calculate the steady
state solution for this problem.
3. Verify that Auto run AcuProbe is On.
This will open an AcuProbe dialog which will let you monitor the solution progress.
4. Click Launch to start the solution process.
As the solution progresses, an AcuTail and an AcuProbe dialog will open. Solution progress is
reported in the AcuTail dialog. An AcuSolve Control dialog will also open from which you can
control the solution process. In this dialog you have options to stop the solution or generate the
output files at the end of the current time step.
You'll notice AcuSolve prints the case number before beginning the solution for the case. The
Case-Step number is reset to 1 when AcuSolve moves to a new case while Time-Step proceeds
sequentially.
Figure 1494:
A summary of the run printed in the AcuTail dialog indicates that AcuSolve has finished running
the solution.
Figure 1495:
5. Close the AcuTail window and save the database to create a backup of your settings.
1. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Surface Output > Inflow > Temperature.
2. Right-click on temperature and select Plot.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
Figure 1496:
This plot shows the surface temperature of the inflow surface as the solution progresses.
In the setup, the inflow temperature is a design variable. At the inflow surface, the temperature
varies from case to case in accordance with the values provided to the solver by the optimization
program. The first three values of inflow temperature correspond to the values provided in
the supervised learning parameter, after which the values are provided by the optimizer. The
converged value of the inflow temperature is approximately 264.15 K. This is the value at which
the outflow temperature is closest to its target value.
3. Right-click on temperature and select Don’t Plot to turn off the plot display.
4. Expand Surface Output > Outflow > Temperature.
5. Right-click on temperature and select Plot.
Figure 1497:
This plot shows the surface temperature of the outflow surface as the solution progresses.
At the outflow surface, the temperature varies in the beginning of the simulation and ultimately
converges to a value close to the target temperature value, i.e. 325 K.
6. You can also save the plots as an image.
a) From the AcuProbe dialog, click File > Save.
b) Enter a name for the image and click Save.
7. The time series data of the variables can also be exported as a text file for further post-
processing.
a) Right-click on the variable that you want to export and click Export.
b) Enter a File name and choose .txt for the Save as type.
c) Click Save.
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All
Programs > Altair <version> > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt .
2. Change the directory to the present working directory using the cd command.
AcuSolve will print the values of design variables for each case.
Figure 1498:
Note: The order of columns in which the design variables and the response variables
are printed by these commands is the order in which they appear in the INP file.
Figure 1499:
Summary
In this AcuSolve tutorial, you successfully set up and solved a parametric optimization problem with
AcuSolve. You started the tutorial by creating a database in HyperMesh, importing and meshing the
geometry, and setting up the simulation parameters. You defined the design variables, the response
variables, and set up the objectives of the problem using the response variables. Once the case was
setup, the solution was generated with AcuSolve. AcuProbe was used to visualize the variation of design
variables and response variables as the solution progressed through the different cases provided to
AcuSolve by the optimization program. You also used the utilities provided in AcuSolve to get the design
variables and response variables information for all the cases.
HyperMesh
8.2.1 HyperMesh
Prerequisites
You should have already run through the introductory HyperWorks tutorial, ACU-T: 1000 HyperWorks
UI Introduction, and have a basic understanding of HyperMesh, AcuSolve, and HyperView. To run this
tutorial, you will need access to a licensed version of HyperMesh and AcuSolve.
Problem Description
Optimization, in simple terms, is the process of selecting a best input from a set of available
alternatives. AcuSolve offers you two options to setting up an optimization study: design optimization
and parametric studies. Design optimization enables you to optimize an objective function subject to
certain constraints and satisfaction of flow equations. The design optimization may be considered as a
sequence of cases, where each case first runs the optimizer and updates the design variables and then
solves the flow equations for a number of time steps until convergence. Sample data is gathered at the
end of each time step.
The geometry for this problem consists of a simple pipe channel with perfectly circular cross-section as
the base shape. Water enters the Inlet at the rate of 0.0003 kg/s and the outlet is a standard pressure
outlet at zero relative pressure. Walls of the channel are no-slip walls.
Figure 1500:
Figure 1501:
Figure 1502:
Create Mesh Motion and Set the Boundary Conditions and Material
Model Parameters
Figure 1503:
Figure 1504:
Figure 1505:
Figure 1506:
Figure 1507:
Figure 1508:
Figure 1509:
3. Click on return, then from the main HyperMorph menu panel, select morph volumes.
4. In the create sub-panel, click the elems collector and select all.
5. Click create.
A new morph volume is created.
Figure 1510:
6. Click return to exit to the main HyperMorph menu then select morph from the panel area.
7. Select the move handles sub-panel if it's not already selected. In the sub-panel, click the second
arrow and select scale. Leave the x scale at 1.0 and set the y scale and z scale to 1.5.
Figure 1511:
Figure 1512:
Figure 1513:
Figure 1514:
Note: When you click save, a new entity folder, Shapes, will be created in the Model
Browser. The shape outflow_expand will be created inside this folder in the Model
Browser. You can turn off the display of the shape nodal perturbations by right-clicking
on outflow_expand and selecting Hide. To show the shape again, right-click on
outflow_expand and select Show. It is recommended to hide the shape display at
this point before proceeding to next steps.
12. From the right side of the panel, select undo all.
13. Click move handles to return to the move handles sub-panel. In the sub-panel, reset the y scale
to 1.0 and leave the z scale at 1.5.
14. Activate the handles collector then select all eight handles in the modeling window.
15. Click morph.
The grid is morphed.
Figure 1515:
19. Click morph volumes to enter the morph volumes panel again then select the split/combine
sub-panel.
20. In the second row, set the split type to No. of splits (# of splits) and enter 3 for the number of
splits.
Figure 1516:
21. In the modeling window, select the edge of the morph volume marked by green crosses in the
figure below.
Figure 1517:
Figure 1518:
Note: This option allows you to link any two edges together with a master-slave
relationship between two morph volumes. In this kind of relationship, the slave edge is
forced to follow the curvature of the master edge at the joining end of the two edges.
24. Activate the master morphvolmes collector and select the outer two morph volumes shown
in the figure below. Then, activate the slave morphvolumes collector and select the inner two
morph volumes. After selecting the volumes in the order mentioned, click update.
Figure 1519:
The edges in the volume should resemble the figure shown below.
Figure 1520:
Figure 1521:
Figure 1522:
Figure 1523:
4. Click inside the value field in the newly created Data: Shape row.
A Number of shapes dialog opens. You will notice that the number of available rows is equal to
the number of points specific in the previous step.
5. In row 1, click the Shape field then click the Shape collector and select outflow_expand from
the Select Shape dialog.
6. Click in the DV field in row 1 then click the Designvar collector and select the design variable
outflow_expand from the Select Designvar dialog.
7. Similarly, select length_z as the shape and design variable for row 2 and center_y as the shape
and design variable for row 3.
Figure 1524:
Run AcuSolve
Figure 1525:
1. In the Data Tree on the left, expand Surface Output > Inflow > Pressure.
2. Right-click on pressure and select Plot.
Note: You might need to click on the toolbar in order to properly display the plot.
3. Select Edit > Toggle X-Axis-Case to change the x-axis from Time Step to Case ID.
Figure 1526:
1. Start AcuSolve Command Prompt from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All
Programs > Altair <version> > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt .
2. Change the directory to the present working directory using the cd command.
3. Enter the following command at the prompt:
acuGetDv
AcuSolve will print the values of design variables for each case.
Figure 1527:
Note: The order of columns in which the design variables and the response variables
are printed by these commands is the order in which they appear in the INP file.
Figure 1528:
Open HyperView
In the HyperMesh main menu area, click Applications > HyperView to open HyperView.
Figure 1529:
2. In the Export Settings AVI dialog, set the Frame rate to 10 fps.
3. Set the JPEG quality to 99 and click OK.
4. On the ImageCapture toolbar, make sure that the Save Image to File option is On.
Summary
In this tutorial, you learned how to set up and solve a shape optimization problem with AcuSolve using
HyperMorph. You started by importing the model database and then created mesh morphs. Then, you
defined the design variables, the response variables, and set up the objectives of the problem using the
response variables. Once the solution was computed using AcuSolve, you used the AcuSolve Command
Prompt to get the design variables and response variables used for the optimization cases. Finally, you
used HyperView to visualize how the shape of the pipe changed with the optimization steps.
The following topics are designed to give both the new as well as the experienced AcuFieldView users a
detailed look at some of the abilities of the product. In each tutorial, you will be guided through a series
of steps to visualize the results from the given data set. Each tutorial covers a different application or
industry. Visualizations have been created and calculations have been performed that might be useful
for an individual in that discipline. It is not expected nor required that you work through all of the
tutorials to learn AcuFieldView. More experienced AcuFieldView users may want to browse through the
tutorial topics to learn new visualization techniques.
Prerequisites
The tutorials have been written with the assumptions that you are familiar with components of
AcuSolve, especially AcuConsole and AcuTrans. It is also assumed that you have become familiar with
the AcuFieldView interface and basic operations. In general, it is expected that you understand the
following basics:
• How to find the data readers in the File menu and open the desired reader panel for data input.
• How to open the visualization panels either from the Side toolbar or the Visualization Panels menu
to create and modify surfaces and rakes in AcuFieldView.
• How to change scalar, vector and threshold functions for surfaces and rakes directly on their
respective visualization panels, and/or open the Function Specification panel to "load-up" different
functions in the function registers (iso-surface, scalar, vector and threshold).
• How to change the geom (geometry) color and color maps used to color surfaces on the Scalar
Colormap Specification panel.
• How to move the data around the modeling window using mouse actions to translate, rotate and
zoom in to the data.
Tutorial Data
The tutorial data is installed by default with the AcuSolve software. All of the files required for each
tutorial can be found in separate directories in <AcuSolve installation directory>\model_files
\tutorials\AcuFieldView\AFV_tutorial_inputs.zip. This zip file expands to contain subdirectories
named for each of the tutorials. The tutorials are listed in the table below.
Note: Tutorials are documented with visualization images using white backgrounds and
black text. However, the default background color in AcuFieldView is black. If you want to
recreate the images in this document, then change your background color to white as soon
as you start on a tutorial. To change your background color, click View > Background
Color. Select white and click Close.
It is strongly recommended that you save a complete restart after each page of a given tutorial so
that you can easily revert to the state at an earlier step. A complete restart is a set of files containing
information about the current state of AcuFieldView. It saves information about the data file read in and
any surfaces/rakes that have been created as well as their attributes. Restarts can be created at any
time, of course, but one complete restart for each step will assure its availability later.
Note: The tutorials were each designed to be run from a fully set up AcuConsole database
(.acs) or from a set of results that are provided. After running AcuSolve, you will start
AcuFieldView and work through the remainder of a given tutorial. If other data has been
loaded into AcuFieldView and visualizations have been performed, or if other tutorials have
been worked before starting a given tutorial (without restarting AcuFieldView), then panels
may exist in states different than that described in the instructions. If you are just starting
with AcuFieldView, it is recommended that you restart the program for each tutorial to avoid
confusion.
Prior to running this tutorial, copy the expanded biomedical directory from <AcuSolve installation
directory>\model_files\tutorials\AcuFieldView\AFV_tutorial_inputs.zip to a working
directory. See Tutorial Data for more information.
For Windows users, in order to take advantage of the restarts provided for this tutorial, you will need
to make sure that the properties for your AcuFieldView shortcut on the Start menu do not include a
Start in entry. To change that property, browse to the AcuFieldView shortcut on the Start menu, right-
click, and select Properties. The Start in field can be found on the Shortcut tab in the AcuFieldView
Properties dialog. Note that this step is only necessary because the restart files use relative paths.
Figure 1530:
Figure 1531:
3. Click Close.
4. Click File > Data Input > AcuSolve [Direct Reader].
5. Click Read Grids & Results Data.
6. Browse to the \biomedical directory, select biomedical.1.log, and click Open.
7. In the Function Subset Selection panel, which opens with all functions selected by default, click
OK.
8. When the data has loaded, switch the INPUT MODE to Append.
9. Read biomedical.1.Log again and close the AcuSolve [Direct Reader] panel once the data has
loaded a second time.
10. On the main toolbar, click Dataset.
11. Set SCALE X to -1.
12. Click Apply and Close.
13. On the main toolbar change the value for Dataset to 1 to set the dataset that you loaded first as
the current dataset.
Tip: You can also change the current dataset on the Dataset Controls panel.
14.
Click Bound to open the Boundary Surface panel.
15. Click Create, select OSF: Tumor Walls in the BOUNDARY TYPE list and click OK.
16. Change DISPLAY TYPE to Smooth shading and Geometric COLORING to red.
Figure 1532:
17. Create a second surface consisting of OSF: Artery Walls with Geometric COLORING yellow.
18. Create a third surface consisting of OSF: Catheter Inlet and OSF: Catheter Walls with Geometric
COLORING gray.
Figure 1533:
Figure 1534:
Figure 1535:
1. Rotate the view slightly and zoom into the catheter ports and the tumor.
Figure 1536:
Figure 1537:
19. Set the current Dataset to 1. Turn off Visibility for dataset 1.
Only the boundary and coordinate surfaces for dataset 2 will be visible.
Figure 1538:
20.
Click Zoom .
21. Use the left mouse button (M1) to drag a rectangular zoom box around a few of the catheter
ports. The vectors indicate the flow direction and velocity of blood flow in the artery as well as
the flow of drug-containing fluid in the catheter. Notice the change in direction as the fluid moves
through the catheter into the delivery ports. Also notice the flow interaction between the fluid
containing the drug and the blood flow through the artery.
Figure 1539:
22.
Click Undo Zoom to reset the view.
Tip: You can undo the zoom again to reset the view to an earlier zoom. Use the right
mouse button to change the zoom by dragging in the visualization window.
8. Click Tools > Unify to make all the surfaces of the same type (boundary) and of the current
dataset (dataset 2) display shear with the set color ranges.
Notice the very high shear rates on the artery wall due to the delivery of the drug through the
holes of the catheter. This shows an undesirable amount of shear on the artery.
Figure 1540:
Figure 1541:
7. Change the Dataset to make dataset 1 current, and turn the Visibility on.
8. Double click the Catheter boundary surface for dataset 1 and set the Transparency back to 0.
9.
While dataset 1 is current, click to open the Coordinate Surface panel.
10. Create a coordinate surface.
11. Turn Visibility on. Set the COORD PLANE to Z and the Current position to -0.0001.
12. Create four more coordinate surfaces: at Z= -0.0003, -0.0005, -0.0007 and -0.0011.
13. Change the DISPLAY TYPE of the current surface (Z=-0.0011) to Constant shading.
14. Change the Geometric COLORING to black, Contours from None to Scalar and Scalar Function to
stress.
15. On the Colormap tab, change the minimum to 0.0, the maximum to 180.0 and the Number of
Contours to 10.
16. Click Tools > Unify to make all the surfaces of the same type (coordinate) and of the current
dataset (dataset 1) display stress with the set color ranges.
Figure 1542:
17. Click File > Save Restart > Current Dataset and save a Current Dataset restart named
tumor_2.dat.
18. Make dataset 2 current by changing the Dataset value on the toolbar.
19. Click File > Open Restart > Current Dataset and open the Current Dataset restart to create
the same five surfaces on dataset 2 as on dataset 1.
20. Double click one coordinate surface in dataset 2.
21. Change the Scalar Function to species_1 and COLORING to Scalar.
22. Click Tools > Unify to propagate the change to the other four surfaces.
Figure 1543:
Figure 1544:
14. Click Tools > Integration to open the Integration Controls panel.
15. Change the Integration Mode to Current Surface.
16. Click Integrate.
The convective flux out of the artery Int(S) is about -5.03 e-010. Integrating across this surface
gives an indication of the relative amount of drug that flows out of the artery.
Figure 1545:
17. For boundary surface 2 (Artery Walls), change the COLORING to Scalar and change the Scalar
Function to Ndiff-Normal, the diffusive flux into the wall.
18. On the Colormap tab, change the min and max to 0.0 and 2000.0.
19. Integrate to get around 2.33e-004. Integrating on this surface indicates the relative amount of the
drug that is impinging on the artery walls.
20. Switch to boundary surface 1 (Tumor Walls).
21. Change the COLORING to Scalar and change the Scalar Function to Ndiff-Normal. On the
Colormap tab, change the min and max to 0.0 and 2000.0.
22. Turn on Visibility.
23. Integrate to get about 9.77e-005. Integrating on this surface indicates the relative amount of
the drug that is impinging on the tumor wall. Comparison of the integrated values for the artery
walls and the tumor walls indicates that for this model greater than twice the amount of the drug
diffuses into the artery walls compared to the drug that diffuses into the tumor wall.
Figure 1546:
Figure 1547:
14. The iso-surface intersecting the artery wall is open. To close it, create a fourth boundary surface
on dataset 1 consisting of OSF: Artery Walls, OSF: Tumor Walls. Color it dark yellow.
15. For Threshold Function, click Select.
16. On the Function Selection panel, select species _1 and click Calculate.
17. Turn Threshold Clip on and set Min to 0.5 to fill in the "open top" and clip the rest.
Figure 1548:
Prior to running this tutorial, copy the expanded polymer_mixing directory from <AcuSolve
installation directory>\model_files\tutorials\AcuFieldView\AFV_tutorial_inputs.zip to a
working directory. See Tutorial Data for more information.
For Windows users, in order to take advantage of the restarts provided for this tutorial, you will need
to make sure that the properties for your AcuFieldView shortcut on the Start menu do not include a
Start in entry. To change that property, browse to the AcuFieldView shortcut on the Start menu, right-
click, and select Properties. The Start in field can be found on the Shortcut tab in the AcuFieldView
Properties dialog. Note that this step is only necessary because the restart files use relative paths.
Figure 1549:
4. Exit the command window or terminal when AcuTrans completes the conversion.
Figure 1550:
Note: The file in your directory may have a slightly different step number. This is
expected due to processor and operating system differences.
7. In the Function Subset Selection panel, which opens up with all of the functions selected by
default, click OK.
8. Close the AcuSolve [FV-UNS Export] panel.
9.
Click Bound to open the Boundary Surface panel.
10. Click Create.
11. Select OSF: Fin Walls in the BOUNDARY TYPES list to create a surface consisting of all of the
blades and click OK.
12. Change DISPLAY TYPE to Smooth shading.
Figure 1551:
13.
Click on the toolbar to open the Color Mixer panel.
14. Change the gray chip to Red, Green and Blue values of 130, 130 and 158.
15. Click Apply and click Close.
16. In the Boundary Surface panel, BOUNDARY TYPES section, click OK.
Figure 1552:
Figure 1553:
20. Use the left mouse (M1) to translate the current boundary surface up and right.
21. Click Viewer Options to open the Viewer Options panel.
22. Turn Perspective off and click Close.
23. Click View > Rendering Options.
24. Turn off everything except Boundary Surfaces and Streamlines.
25. Activate Presentation Quality.
26. Adjust the controls under LIGHTING INTENSITY and SHININESS and click Refresh to see the
effect of each change.
27. Click Default Light to restore the default LIGHTING INTENSITY, reset Intensity and Highlight Size
under SHININESS to 1 and 0.5, click Refresh, and close the panel.
Figure 1554:
28.
Click Coord to open the Coordinate Surface panel.
29. Create an X Coordinate Surface.
30. Change DISPLAY TYPE to Smooth shading and COLORING to Scalar.
31. Change the Scalar function to z-velocity and click Calculate.
32. Change the Colormap minimum value to -2.0 and maximum value to 4.0.
33. Create a second coordinate surface at Y = 0.
Figure 1555:
Figure 1556:
2. Turn off the Visibility of the coordinate surfaces and the surface transformed boundary surface
(boundary surfaces ID 1 and ID 2).
3. On the Viewer toolbar, set Object to World.
4.
Click Zoom and use M1 (left mouse) to select an area to zoom into the third blade element.
5. Create a boundary surface containing the BOUNDARY TYPES of OSF: Pipe Wall.
6. Turn on Visibility (if not already).
Figure 1557:
Figure 1558:
11.
Click Iso to open the Iso-Surface panel.
12. Click Create.
Figure 1559:
17.
Click Stream or to open the Streamlines panel.
18. Click Create on the Rake tab.
19. Zoom with M1 further into the largest iso-surface region for easier seeding.
20. Use Ctrl + left mouse button (M1) to add eight seeds (Ctrl click once per seed).
Figure 1560:
21. In the Calculation Parameters section, change Direction to Both and the Step value to 6.
22. Click Calculate.
23. Change the DISPLAY TYPE to Filament, change Line Type to Thick, change Geometric coloring to
red and change Div to 100.
24. Turn Show Seeds off.
25. Use M3 (right mouse) to zoom out.
Figure 1561:
Note: The streamlines on your screen will differ from what is shown, based on the
placement of your seeds.
Figure 1562:
10. On the Surface tab of the Coordinate Surface panel, click Create again to create an identical
surface.
This new surface will be moved and oriented separately from the rest of the model.
11. On the Viewer toolbar, set Object to Surface.
12. Move the surface up.
13.
On the Viewer toolbar click to activate the locked transformation controls.
14. Use the icons on the Viewer toolbar to rotate the surface to the orientation illustrated.
Figure 1563:
There are two modes of operation of the locked transformations controls. When the mouse icon
has a light background , you can click the toolbar icons to transform the surface. When the
mouse icon has a darker background , you can perform transformation by clicking a pair of
toolbar icons and then using the right mouse to transform the surface.
Figure 1564:
15. Create five more pairs of surfaces at Z values of -0.35, -0.25, -0.15, -0.05 and 0.05.
16. Move and rotate one of each surface pair, as illustrated.
17.
Click on the Viewer toolbar to toggle to Locked Transforms control and move the coordinate
surface up.
Figure 1565:
Figure 1566:
Steps 2-6 above display the shear function on the current surface. Note that the legend title
reflects the scalar values for the surface with the visible legend.
9. Click Tools > Unify to force all of the coordinate surfaces in the dataset to acquire the same
attributes as the current surface.
This will also update the legend, as the surface it belongs to will inherit shear as the Scalar
Function. Unify only applies changes to all surfaces of the same type as the currently active
surface.
Figure 1567:
10. Double click the legend to open the Coordinate Surface panel with the ID for the surface with the
visible legend.
11.
Click the icon.
12. Click Scalar on the Function Selection panel.
13. Scroll down in the list (if needed), select lambda, and click Calculate.
14. Close the Function Specification panel.
15. On the Colormap tab of the Coordinate Surface panel, adjust the min/max SCALAR COLORING to
0.30 and 0.70.
At this point, the legend should now be updated to show the contours for lambda.
16. Click Tools > Unify to apply lambda as the scalar function for all coordinate surfaces.
The mixing parameter is interpreted as follows:
0.0 = simple rotation
1.0 = elongation
Figure 1568:
Tip: As an alternative, you can change the Scalar Function on the Coordinate Surface
panel.
3. Click Scalar.
4. On the Function Selection panel, scroll up (if needed), select species_1 and click Calculate.
5. Close the Function Specification panel.
6. On the Colormap tab of the Coordinate Surface panel, adjust the min/max SCALAR COLORING to
0.00 and 1.00.
7. Click On the Function Selection panel, scroll down in the list, if needed, select Conc Variance,
and click Calculate to apply species_1 as the scalar function for all coordinate surfaces.
Figure 1569:
8. Double click the top coordinate surface on the upstream end of the mixer.
9.
Click the icon.
10. Click Scalar.
11. On the Function Selection panel, scroll down in the list (if needed), select Conc Variance, and
click Calculate.
12. Close the Function Specification panel.
13. On the Colormap tab of the Coordinate Surface panel, adjust the max/min range to 0.00 and
0.25.
14. Click Tools > Unify to apply Conc_Variance as the scalar function for all of the coordinate
surfaces.
Figure 1570:
Species variance shows the extent of mixing statistically. At the inlet, the fluid is completely
unmixed, and in this case, the variance should be equal to 0.25 (Note: average concentration
throughout the mixer will always be 0.5.) At each of the cross-sections, the variance decreases.
These values can be computed by AcuFieldView.
1 0.2312
2 0.1702
3 0.1059
4 0.0193
5 0.0071
6 0.0029
15. To compute variance for a section, double click a section to make it current.
16.
Click the Integrate icon or Tools > Unify.
Tip: To see the icon on the toolbar, you might need to expand the toolbar with the
icon.
Figure 1571:
6. In the Length field, double click 120, change the default keyframe animation length to 40, and
press Enter.
The animation will not need to be longer and this will also help display the time line more clearly.
Figure 1572:
Figure 1573:
This places the surface at its original, untransformed position and turns on Transformation. This
change is not visible until the animation is played or you click in the modeling window.
Figure 1574:
15.
Click play arrow to preview your animation or the Frame Advance arrows to preview specific
frames.
Tip: To speed up the preview, pause the animation and edit the Inc value to 2 or to 4
to play only every other or every fourth frame, and play the animation to see the effect
of changing this value.
Figure 1575:
Figure 1576:
AcuFieldView Equations
In the following equations, the name of the function as stored in the restart files and as appears
in AcuFieldView when read in is shown first, followed by the mathematical expression followed
by the expression used in AcuFieldView to define the given function. All of the terms and factors
of the expressions used in AcuFieldView are either intrinsic functions available on the Function
Formula Specification panel or have been previously defined in this section.
Figure 1577:
and so on for Dxy, Dyy, Dzy and Dxz, Dyz and Dzz.
Figure 1578:
Prior to running this tutorial, copy the expanded vortex_shedding directory from <AcuSolve
installation directory>\model_files\tutorials\AcuFieldView\AFV_tutorial_inputs.zip to a
working directory. See Tutorial Data for more information.
For Windows users, in order to take advantage of the restarts provided for this tutorial, you will need
to make sure that the properties for your AcuFieldView shortcut on the Start menu do not include a
Start in entry. To change that property, browse to the AcuFieldView shortcut on the Start menu, right-
click, and select Properties. The Start in field can be found on the Shortcut tab in the AcuFieldView
Properties dialog. Note that this step is only necessary because the restart files use relative paths.
Figure 1579:
Figure 1580:
3. Click Close.
4. Click File > Data Input > AcuSolve [FV-UNS Export].
5. Click Read Grid or Combined Data.
6. Select vortex_shedding_step000003.fv and click Open.
7. In the Function Subset Selection panel, ensure that all function names are selected and click OK.
8. Click Yes to treat all files as a transient set.
After read in, you will be presented with an isometric view of the data outline.
9. Close the FV-UNS data input panel.
10.
Click in the Transform Controls toolbar or View > Defined Views to open the Defined Views
panel.
11. Click +Z for the VIEWING DIRECTION.
12. Close the Defined Views panel.
13.
Click Bound to visualize the cylinder using the Boundary Surface panel.
14. Click Create, select OSF: Cylinder, and click OK.
15. Change Line Type to Thick and change the Geometric color to black.
Figure 1581:
16. Zoom into the cylinder (with Object set as World on the Viewer toolbar) with the right mouse
button (M3).
Figure 1582:
17.
Click Coord to visualize the vortex shedding using the Coordinate Surface panel.
18. Click Create and change the COORD PLANE to Z.
19. Change the COLORING to Scalar and the DISPLAY TYPE from Mesh to Contours.
Figure 1583:
20. In the Colormap tab in the Coordinate Surface panel, change the Number of Contours to 32 and
the Colormap from Spectrum to NASA-1.
You can also set the colormap on the Scalar Colormap Specification panel from the Edit menu.
Figure 1584:
21. On the View menu turn off the Axis Markers and Perspective.
Figure 1585:
Note: The image on your screen may differ from what is shown based on the zoom
level.
Figure 1586:
Figure 1587:
4. Click View > Minimum Time Between Frames and set the Minimum Time Seconds to 0.1 to
slow the sweep animation.
5. Click Sweep again to stop the animation.
6. Click OK in the Transient Data Controls message panel.
7. Reset the current TIME STEP to 3 using the slider or by entering 3 in the TIME STEP field.
8. Click Apply and close the Transient Data Controls panel.
9. In the Coordinate Surface panel (Visualization Panels > Coordinate Surface), click Create.
10. Change COLORING to Geometric, DISPLAY TYPE to Mesh, COORD PLANE to X and the Current
value to 1.0.
11. Create additional vertical X coordinate surfaces at 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5.
These will be coordinate surface numbers 3-5.
12. Create horizontal Y coordinate surfaces at 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and at -0.5 and -1.0.
These will be coordinate surface numbers 6-10.
13. Use the Transient Data Controls to Sweep through the time steps again.
Notice how the blue contoured "tail" sweeps through the points [1.5, 0.5] and [1.5, -0.5]. These
two points will be used to create small coordinate surfaces to seed onto in the next step.
14. Click Sweep to stop the animation.
The following image is from time step 201.
Figure 1588:
Figure 1589:
Figure 1590:
5. With the mouse pointer above the upper of the two blue coordinate surfaces (avoid clicking on the
grid), click Ctrl+left mouse (M1) to select the surface.
An "x" should appear on the selected surface.
6. Click OK to add the 10 seeds.
7. Make the following changes to the Calculation Parameters at the bottom of the Streamlines panel
(you may need to scroll down to see the bottom panel).
a) Turn Time Limit on using the default value of 1 to limit the duration of all streamlines in this
rake to a maximum of 1.
b) Increase the Step size from the default of 3 to 9.
Figure 1591:
Figure 1592:
Note: The appearance of the streamline pattern will depend on the current time step.
10. Create a second rake and repeat the above steps as necessary for the other threshold coordinate
surface.
You may need to scroll up to see the top of the panel.
Figure 1593:
Tip: To see the icon on the toolbar, you might need to expand the toolbar with the
icon.
4. Click Create Text to create titles showing the time step and solution time being displayed.
5. In the Annotation Create panel, enter in the string: Time Step: %%N1 Solution Time: %%T1 and
click OK.
The special notation %%N1 means show the time step of dataset #1 and %%T1 means show the
solution time of dataset #1.
Figure 1594:
6. Change the default font, Lee Bold, and increase the Size as desired.
7. Move the title with the SHIFT+left mouse (M1) following the hints on the Annotation panel.
Figure 1595:
Figure 1596:
This image is from frame 63, which captured time step 189
16. Close the Flipbook Controls panel.
17. Click OK to dismiss the warning in the Flipbook Exit Conformation panel.
Tip: The arrow buttons at the top of the panel can be used to switch between Rake ID
1 and Rake ID 2.
3.
Click the Paths icon or Visualization Panels > Particle Paths.
4. Click Import.
5. Browse to and select the streakline export (particle path) file, vortex_1_3.fvp, that you
previously created.
6. Change the COLORING to Scalar and DISPLAY TYPE to Spheres.
7. Click Select and select x-velocity as the Scalar Variable for the particles.
8. Click Tools > Transient Data to open the Transient Data Controls panel.
9. Advance the TIME STEP to 225 and click Apply.
This shows the positions of the particles at their furthest extent. When the TIME STEP slider is
moved and applied, the positions of the particles change to match their locations at the selected
time step.
Figure 1597:
Figure 1598:
Figure 1599:
Figure 1600:
7. Click File > Open Restart > Script to read the script restart called create_streakline.scr
from the ..\vortex_shedding directory.
This script, shown below, automatically performs a sweep using 100 seeds and saves the
streakline export file, 100_seeds.fvp, a binary particle path file, along with the flipbook
simple_streak.miff, for Linux, or simple_streak.avi, for Windows.
!..AcuFieldView Script:
! Start recording a flipbook
RECORD ON simple_streak
! Performs a transient sweep &
! saves a streakline file
SWEEP TIME LOOP 1 1 1 100_seeds.fvp
! Turn off recording
RECORD OFF
!..End of Script
11. Click File > Open Restart > Complete to read in the complete restart called ..
\vortex_shedding\display_streakline.dat.
This restart imports the streaklines as particle paths, removes the coordinate lines, draws the
cylinder using smooth shading, changes the view to better display the vortex shedding, sets the
scalar function to use VecZ(curl(velocity)) for coordinate surface 1, relocates the surface plane
to .05, and turns on presentation rendering for better looking particles.
Figure 1601:
Note: You may need to resize your AcuFieldView window or move the model to get
the view shown above.
12. Open the Coordinate Surface panel and set the Surface ID to 1.
13. On the Colormap tab, change the scalar min/max values to -10 and 40, respectively. The Number
of Contours should be 32. Alternately, these changes can be made using the Scalar Colormap
Specification panel.
Figure 1602:
14. Click File > Open Restart > Script to read in the second script restart called ..
\vortex_shedding\display_streakline.scr.
This script performs a transient sweep and saves an animation called final_streak.miff, for
Linux, or final_streak.avi, for Windows.
15. When the script completes, exit AcuFieldView (if desired) and play the two flipbook animations,
simple_streak and final_streak.
When database is created or saved (File > New, File > Save, or via the toolbar), AcuConsole creates
a database file with the extension .acs. Once a problem is set up, a mesh generated, and a solution is
reached, an .acs file saved at that point will contain sufficient information to recreate the solution.
.acs
Note: This file is created, opened, and edited by AcuConsole. It should not be edited by any
other means.
The AcuConsole database file, with file extension .acs, stores all of the contents associated with an
AcuSolve simulation. The .acs file is initially created by AcuConsole as an empty template that will be
populated at various stages of the simulation definition. Once complete, the database stores the model
geometry, mesh settings, finite element mesh, initial conditions, boundary conditions, solution strategy
and other settings needed to solve a CFD problem.
All user actions/changes are saved immediately into the database (that is, the .acs file). This means
that you should never lose data if the code crashes, machine crashes, or the like. When the database is
saved (File > Save or on the toolbar), the existing database is copied to the .acs.bak file and a new
.acs is written to disk .
When you exit, you will be asked if you want to save changes. If you decide to not save the changes,
the .acs.bak file is moved to .acs and the uncommitted changes from the current session are
overwritten. Every action that you perform is saved to the database.
When you create multiple meshes in the same session of AcuConsole, this can lead to large database
sizes. The disk space associated with the “old” meshes can be freed up by enabling the Compress
the database option when closing a database. It is good practice to use this option. If you want to
compress the database even further, be sure that the following option is set: File > Preferences >
Data Base > Database compression option to Gzip=1,shuf. Note that this will cause the initial
opening of the database to take longer, but greatly reduce its size on disk.
When you generate a mesh (Tools > Generate Mesh or on toolbar), files and directories are
created. By default, when you generate a mesh, the options for exporting mesh settings and for
launching AcuMeshSim are turned on. You can use the Generate Mesh dialog with only the Export
option turned on. Information about these files and directories are provided in the following sections.
The files related to mesh settings are discussed first. Once you generate a mesh and save the .acs file,
the meshing files can be removed to free up disk space. You will need to regenerate the files if the you
would like to see any of the information contained in the files.
The following files are created from AcuConsole when a mesh is generated (Tools > Generate Mesh or
.ams
This file is needed for mesh generation by AcuMeshSim. It can be deleted, but will need to be recreated
in order to regenerate a mesh.
nm.smd
This file is needed for mesh generation by AcuMeshSim. It can be deleted, but will need to be recreated
in order to regenerate a mesh.
nat.x_t or nat.x_b
The Parasolid geometry file may not exist if the model was meshed from a tessellated surface. This file
should not be edited manually.
The following files are created from AcuConsole when a mesh is generated (Tools > Generate Mesh or
on toolbar) with the Launch AcuMeshSim option turned on, and with the Export ams file option
turned on, or with previously exported files.
.arm
Once a mesh has been generated and the .acs file has been created, this file can be deleted.
.Meshsim.jou
This file is only used for advanced troubleshooting of the meshing process. If your mesh has generated
without problems, you can delete this file. You may be asked for the contents of this file when working
with a support representative.
Meshsim.txt
This file provides a summary of the meshing process. Once meshing is complete, it can be deleted if the
summary information is not needed. During mesh generation, a directory, MESHSIM.DIR, is created. By
default, the files in this directory will be ASCII files. You can change the preferences so that files created
in this directory will be in binary format (File > Preferences > Export > Mesh file type).
.cnn
.cnn
Once a mesh has been generated and the .acs file has been created, this file can be deleted.
.crd
Once a mesh has been generated and the .acs file has been created, this file can be deleted.
.ebc
Name <problem>.<volID>.<volmeshtype>.<surfID>.<surfmesht
where
.ebc
Once a mesh has been generated and the .acs file has been created, this file can be deleted.
When you generate a mesh (Tools > Generate Mesh or on toolbar), by default AcuConsole first
exports the mesh settings and then AcuMeshSim is run. In this process, files and a directories are
created.
The mesh settings are contained within <problem>.ams, where <problem> is the problem name
specified when you created the AcuConsole database. This file is used as input to AcuMeshSim and
contains attributes defining the mesh settings globally, by volume set, by surface set, by edge set, by
extrusion, and so forth.
Exporting the mesh settings also generates a directory associated with the CAD. The CAD.DIR directory
is created at the same directory level as the .ams file. CAD.DIR contains a copy of the original geometry
file that was imported into AcuConsole with the extension .x_t if an ASCII file was imported, or .x_b if
a binary file was imported. CAD.DIR also contains a non-manifold CAD file with extension .smd.
AcuMeshSim generates two files that capture the outputs of the application;
<problem>.<ID>.MeshSim.txt and meshsim.jou. The .MeshSim.txt file is automatically opened by
AcuTail when AcuMeshSim is executed from AcuConsole, or it can be read manually with any text editor.
The contents include information about the meshing process, node and element count, CPU time, and
memory usage. Meshsim.jou contains additional details about the mesh process, and is useful for
debugging when problems arise during the meshing process.
Once AcuMeshSim completes, additional files will be created within the specified mesh directory, with
default name MESHSIM.DIR. MESHSIM.DIR contains the resulting mesh that was created by AcuMeshSim,
stored in separate files to represent the different surface, volume, and other information that you
requested. In addition to the files created in MESHSIM.DIR directory, a metadata file with default name
<problem>.arm will be created in the specified directory. The .arm file points to the geometry file
within CAD.DIR, and to the files contained within MESHSIM.DIR that contain the coordinate, connectivity,
elemental boundary conditions, and nodal boundary conditions The .arm file is read by AcuConsole to
import the contents of MESHSIM.DIR into the GUI for visualization and subsequent processing/storage.
Once you have successfully generated a mesh and saved the .acs file, you can safely delete the
files generated during the meshing process and still have all of the information needed to generate a
solution. If you need any of the files, they can be recreated by generating a mesh.
When you have a complete problem set up, including problem definitions and a generated mesh, the
next step is to run AcuSolve to calculate a solution. When you run AcuSolve from AcuConsole, files and
directories are created. These files support two phases of the solution process.
First, AcuConsole exports information about the problem and about the mesh. Next, AcuPrep and
AcuSolve read these files and calculate a solution, By default, when you run AcuSolve from AcuConsole,
the options for exporting the settings needed for the solver and for launching AcuSolve are both turned
on.
After you calculate a solution, you can delete the files used while calculating the solution. Care should
be taken to avoid deleting any results files. If you want to calculate a solution for the problem again,
you will need to regenerate the input files.
.inp
This file is required in order to calculate a solution. If you have generated an input file but not run
AcuSolve, do not delete this file. Once a solution is calculated, this file can be deleted, but will need to
be recreated if you want to recreate the solution.
MESH/DIR\*.*
MESH/DIR\*.*
The files in this directory are required in order to calculate a solution. If you have generated an input
file and created this directory, but not run AcuSolve, do not delete this directory. Once a solution is
calculated, this directory can be deleted, but will need to be recreated if you want to recreate the
solution. By default, the files in this directory will be ASCII files. You can change the preferences so
that files created in this directory will be in binary format (File > Preferences > Export > Mesh file
type).
ACUSIM.DIR\*.*
These files are required for results visualization. Deletion of any individual file or group of files may
render the output database unreadable. If you want to view results after files are deleted, they will
need to be recreated by running AcuSolve again.
Acusim.cnf
Name Acusim.cnf
This file is used when AcuSolve is run. This file should not be manually edited or deleted.
.echo
This file contains all of the commands needed to run AcuSolve. This file is useful for analyzing
differences in settings between runs. This file should not be manually edited or deleted.
.inc
Name <problem>.ss.inc
.Log
This file is required for results visualization. Deletion may render the output database unreadable. If this
file is deleted, it will need to be recreated by running AcuSolve again.
Once the mesh process is complete, all of the boundary conditions are prepared and the solution
strategy has been set, exporting the problem from AcuConsole generates a set of files needed for
AcuPrep and AcuSolve. The mesh is exported into a directory with default name MESH.DIR and the input
file is written to <problem>.inp.
The input file is the most critical item associated with an AcuSolve simulation. It provides reference
to all settings needed to initialize the solver with a series of command statements. The command
statements may reference various other files that are associated with the mesh, initial conditions,
boundary conditions or user subroutines.
The .inp file should be kept as a reference to the simulation, and along with MESH.DIR, these file
comprise the simulation input. If either .inp or MESH.DIR are removed, it will not be possible to run the
solver. These will need to be recreated prior to solving the problem.
The files written to MESH.DIR are identical to those written by AcuMeshSim into MESHSIM.DIR if no
modifications to the mesh are made within AcuConsole. It is possible to perform remeshing operations
using AcuMeshSim directly and simply reference the files within MESHSIM.DIR in the input file.
AcuSolve is typically launched by a wrapper script called AcuRun. AcuRun controls the simulation
procedure for AcuSolve. It requires that the input files, as described above, are properly referenced and
available for the executable to read. First, AcuRun executes AcuPrep. AcuPrep will read the .inp file
and generate a series of new files associated with the current run identifier. Since AcuSolve relies on a
complete set of commands that are not explicitly defined in the .inp file, a new file <problem>.ss.inc
is created to expand on the AUTO_SOLUTION_STATEGY command. The .inc file contains several
additional commands associated with the solution strategy that may or may not have been defined
in the .inp file. If not defined in the .inp file, commands such as TIME_SEQUENCE, TIME_INCREMENT,
STAGGER, and CONVERGENCE_CHECK_PARAMETERS are automatically defined in the .inc file based on the
default settings. The .inc file is then referenced by the INCLUDE command to fully define the solution
strategy.
AcuPrep also generates a file with the extension .echo. The .echo file gives a complete listing of all
commands required to run AcuSolve. Everything included in the .inp file and the .inc file are written
to this file, which serves as a record of the full settings for each run that was made.
Once AcuPrep is complete, AcuRun executes AcuView (if necessary), followed by AcuSolve. AcuSolve
generates a series of files that comprise the output from the simulation. The primary file associated
with the output that you will interact with is the .Log file, by default named <problem>.<run ID>.Log.
The .Log file provides a summary of the simulation progress and includes information from AcuPrep,
AcuView, and AcuSolve. The .Log file also serves as a reference for loading the simulation results into
various post processing applications, including AcuProbe, AcuFieldView, and HyperView. Note that these
applications only parse the .Log file to extract the problem name, run ID, and working directory. The
actual data that is loaded into the post-processing tools is read using an API to the AcuSolve solution
database, which requires problem name, run ID and working directory as input.
ACUSIM.DIR is the primary data storage directory for results from a solution. ACUSIM.DIR contains
various files that completely define the simulation, including results. The directory stores data in a
variety of files, each corresponding to a different type of output. These files should not be managed
manually. Rather, if you need to manage the ACUSIM.DIR directory, see Manage Files in ACUSIM.DIR.
Restart .rst
The following steps demonstrate how AcuDmg can be used to delete a complete run or only a selection
of the output contained within ACUSIM.DIR. Once certain files are removed, they cannot be restored
unless the necessary applications are rerun. For instance, if all of the .dat files are removed manually
or with AcuDmg, AcuSolve will need to be rerun from AcuConsole (Tools > AcuSolve or on the
toolbar), or AcuPrep will need to be rerun from the command line prior to running AcuSolve.
1. Open AcuDmg.
a) Click Tools > Directory Management.
The following screen shot is taken from a tutorial, where AcuSolve was run once.
Figure 1604:
2. Expand Problem, then expand the name of your problem (in the image above,
Check_Valve_Transient).
3. Choose the files to delete using one of the following methods:
• Select Problem to delete all files in ACUSIM.DIR
• Select the Run <ID> to delete all files associated with a run
• Expand the tree to select individual files to delete
4. Click File > Delete Selected.
10.4.2 AcuCleanDir
These files are required for results visualization. Deletion of any individual file or group of files may
render the output database unreadable. If you want to view results after files are deleted, they will
need to be recreated by running AcuSolve again.
A command line tool called AcuCleanDir is also available for managing the field output files in
ACUSIM.DIR. Using this tool, it is possible to delete selective output types, steps, or an entire run. Note
that this tool does not operate on time series data, only nodal data.
To use AcuCleanDir:
1. Open an AcuSolve Cmd Prompt from the Windows Start menu by clicking Start > All
Programs > Altair Hyperworks <version> > AcuSolve > AcuSolve Cmd Prompt.
2. Change to the directory where your problem is saved.
3. Execute the acuCleanDir command with appropriate options.
• To delete all but the last time step of each result type:
out NODAL_OUTPUT
odq DERIVED_QUANTITY_OUTPUT
onr NODAL_RESIDUAL_OUTPUT
ora RUNNING_AVERAGE_OUTPUT
ota TIME_AVERAGE_OUTPUT
rst RESTART_OUTPUT
oee ERROR_ESTIMATOR_OUTPUT
A command line tool called acuCpProbeFiles can be used to summarize the results of a given
AcuSolve simulation. Executing the script will copy the pertinent files from ACUSIM.DIR
and the .log file into a directory specified by the command line argument –tdir (default
is PROBE.DIR). The PROBE.DIR directory can be used by itself to interrogate results with
AcuProbe. Note, that nodal output is not stored within PROBE.DIR.
1370
ACU-T: 5402 Piezoelectric Flow Energy Harvester with Rigid Body Rotation (AcuConsole) 1154
ACU-T: 5403 Piezoelectric Flow Energy Harvester: A Fluid-Structure Interaction (AcuConsole) 1177
ACU-T: 6000 Static Mixer Simulation - AcuTrace (AcuConsole) 1213
ACU-T: 6010 Flow Through Porous Medium (HyperMesh) 1232
ACU-T: 7000 Parametric Optimization with AcuSolve (HyperMesh) 1245
ACU-T: 7001 Shape Optimization using HyperMorph (HyperMesh) 1267
AcuFieldView tutorials 1289
AFV-T: 1000 Biomedical Device Data 1291
AFV-T: 2000 Polymer Processing Data 1310
AFV-T: 3000 Transient Data 1335
B
basic workflow x
I
Introduction to AcuSolve Tutorials vii
O
objectives viii
S
supporting files xii
T
tutorial prerequisites ix
typographical conventions used in this manual xiii
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