Inputs for Boundary Mesh Generation Add_Boundary_Layers_Lesson_1

The inputs that are required in the Add Boundary Layers task are: [1] [2]
1. number of layers
2. Growth Rate
3. Transition Ratio
4. First height
5. First Aspect Ratio
The methods available for defining the boundary layer
mesh depend on these inputs, and hence it is critical to
understand what each of these inputs mean.

(0:41) We are well aware of the concept of boundary layers

in fluid dynamics and their influence on the overall fluid
flow. These thin, viscosity-dominant regions that form
along the surface of the solid body as a fluid flow past it,
play a significant role in defining skin-friction drag, heat
transfer, aircraft wing stall etc.

Figure 2 Skin Friction Drag

Figure 1 Heat Transfer

Hence, it is critical to ensure that CFD simulations

properly model the physics of the fluid flow in these
regions. Using appropriate numerical schemes, it is
necessary to ensure that the mesh in these regions is
fine enough to adequately capture fluid flow behavior.

For this purpose, the watertight workflow in Ansys Fluent Meshing has
a dedicated task i.e., the ‘Add Boundary Layers’, which can be used to
define the meshing requirement in the boundary layer zone.

How to use this task?

Go to File, Read, and select Mesh, and then pick the provided mesh file. Once Fluent finishes reading the file,
you will notice that the watertight geometry workflow has been automatically setup and all the tasks till the
Update Regions task have already been successfully completed. This is because the surface mesh that we
just imported into Fluent has originally been created using the watertight workflow and saved after
completing Update Regions task. Such files when read back into Fluent retain the information regarding their
workflow.

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Inputs for Boundary Mesh Generation Add_Boundary_Layers_Lesson_1

The model is a generic ball or check valve, which consists of 1 solid region
1. The pipe geometry
3 fluid regions:
1. The inlet pipe region
2. The valve region
3. The outlet pipe region.

The ball valve is considered as a void in the model.

Let us now look at the ‘Add Boundary Layers' task.

(2:48) If the ‘Add Boundary Layers’ setting is set to ‘yes’,
multiple input options are populated below this setting.

The ‘Name’ field can be used to specify a name to the applied

control settings.

By default, the name is auto-populated based on the Offset

Method Type that is chosen.

The “offset method” controls how the first cell layer or the mesh cells closest to the solid boundary are
generated.
There are 4 different offset method types,
1. Smooth-transition
2. Last-ratio
3. Aspect-ratio
4. Uniform.
Each of these methods have their own set of inputs to determine the height of
the first cell layer. Before we understand these 4 methods, we need to first
understand what the inputs are and their role in boundary layer mesh
generation.
---------------------------------------
(3:42) The only input that is
common to all the methods is
“Number of Layers”.
As the name suggests, it is the
number of boundary layers
that the user wants to create
“default is 3”.

Note: This number strongly depends on the accuracy requirement needed for resolving the boundary layer
flow. For external aerodynamic flows such as flow over an aircraft or a car, 10-20 layers are commonly used
to ensure the capture of all the necessary flow physics.

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Inputs for Boundary Mesh Generation Add_Boundary_Layers_Lesson_1

If the offset method is set to any method other than the last-ratio, a
growth rate input needs to be provided.
It is the ratio of the thickness of the next boundary layer cell to the
previous boundary layer cell, as viewed away from the surface on
which the layers are being grown “default value is 1.2”.
That means, if the first boundary layer thickness is x, the next layer’s
thickness is 1.2 times x, and the one after that is 1.2^2 x, and so on.
For scale resolving type simulations such as LES, a lower value of 1.1 is
generally used to make sure the chaotic aspects of the boundary layer
Figure 3 Growth Rate
fluid flow are sufficiently resolved.
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If the offset method is set to smooth-transition or last-ratio,
a transition ratio value needs to be provided. This value is
the ratio between the height of mesh in the last boundary
layer and the first cell in the volume fill.
A smaller value of transition ratio, closer to 0, implies a big
jump in size between the boundary layer mesh and the
volume mesh, and, a higher value, closer to 1, implies that
the cell height in the last boundary layer is comparable to Figure 4 Transition Ratio
that of the adjacent volume mesh cell.

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When the offset method is set to last-ratio or uniform, a first
height value needs to be provided. This value is the thickness
of the first layer of the boundary layer mesh. This value is very
critical, especially in turbulent flows, as most of the turbulent
models require a certain specific first cell height to be used,
usually defined using a variable called the y+.
Figure 5 First Height
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When the offset method is set to aspect-ratio, a first aspect-

ratio value needs to be defined. This is the ratio of the local
surface mesh size to the height of the first cell in the
boundary layer mesh.
Since the surface mesh is already created, the local mesh size
is already known, and the algorithm calculates the local first
boundary layer thickness using this local surface mesh size and
the user entered aspect ratio.
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Inputs for Boundary Mesh Generation Add_Boundary_Layers_Lesson_1

Let’s summarize what we learnt in this lesson.

We briefly discussed the importance of boundary layers in fluid dynamics and why it is critical to accurately
capture the flow physics in these regions.
We then looked at the ‘Add Boundary Layers’ task, specifically the inputs that are required, in the Ansys
Fluent Meshing Watertight Geometry Workflow, which can be used to define the boundary layer mesh.

References

[1] "Ansys Innovation Space," [Online]. Available: https://courses.ansys.com/index.php/courses/add-boundary-

layers/lessons/what-are-the-inputs-for-boundary-layer-mesh-generation-lesson-1/.

[2] "Ansys Learning (YouTube)," [Online]. Available:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7U0AtV2vxI&ab_channel=AnsysLearning.

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