RBF Morph Tutorial 04

Tutorial 4: Tube morphing
RBF Morph for FLUENT

Current Release: V1.5
Last updated March 2014
RBF Morph Tutorials www.rbf-morph.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................3
2. Prerequisites .....................................................................................................................................3
3. Problem description ...........................................................................................................................3
4. First solution: translating the tube extremities ....................................................................................4
4.1 Preparation .................................................................................................................................4
4.2 Source points definition and preview ...........................................................................................4
4.3 Generating and checking the solution .......................................................................................10
4.4 Morph testing ............................................................................................................................15
4.5 Saving the solution ...................................................................................................................16
5. Second solution: scaling the central portion of the tube ...................................................................16
5.1 Preparation ...............................................................................................................................16
5.2 Adjusting the solution set-up and preview the solution ..............................................................17
5.3 Morph testing and saving the solution .......................................................................................19
6. Third solution: tube morphing using Points ......................................................................................20
6.1 Preparation ...............................................................................................................................20
6.2 Defining the domain encapsulation ...........................................................................................20
6.3 Morph testing and saving the solution .......................................................................................27
7. Summary .........................................................................................................................................27
8. references .......................................................................................................................................27
Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 2

1. Introduction
This RBF-Morph tutorial is termed "Tube morphing" and has the purpose to supply the guidelines for
setting up and solving a morph study by means of the Encaps and Points features.
This tutorial demonstrates how to do the following:
 morph a model by using moving encaps only;
 morph a model by using the Points feature only;
 generate Points utilizing the source points of an encap;
 generate, check, and save the solution.
2. Prerequisites
Requirements for working this tutorial:
1. you are working in the directory where the tutorial problem resides;
2. you have just started the Fluent-GUI application;
3. you have done and adequately understood the previous tutorials.
3. Problem description
The case study, used for hemodynamics applications [R 1], is a single vessel represented by a straight
pipe with circular cross section. The pipe length is 30 mm, its diameter is 4 mm, and the volume mesh is
composed of about 200.000 hexahedrons (int_solid surface). The surface mesh of surfaces of the model
is reported in Figure 1. The external surfaces on the model are termed inlet, outlet, tube-half-1, and tube-
half-2, whilst the internal ones are called midplane and x15. These latter surfaces, in particular, are the
longitudinal and transversal mid-section surfaces of the volume mesh.
Figure 1: Surface mesh of surfaces of the tube model

As already stated, this tutorial aims at describing how a model can be morphed using the functionalities
of the Encaps and Points panel of RBF Morph. In particular, relating to Encaps, two are the actions of
interest, namely the translation and scaling of the central portion of the tube. The final part of the tutorial
illustrates the way to create Points from the source points of a previously defined encap and how the
model can be morphed by modifying their position.

4. First solution: translating the tube extremities

The first solution foresees the translation of tube extremities along the z axis. To do that, both ends of
the pipe are fixed using a moving encap with a rigid translation movement, whereas the central domain
of the pipe is wrapped by means of a moving encap with a null rigid movement. In such a manner, the
model of the pipe will be accordingly deformed to accommodate these displacements.
4.1 Preparation
After starting Fluent from the directory containing the tutorial files:
 read the test case tut_04_tube.msh.gz;
 open the RBF Morph GUI via the menu Define -> RBF-Morph;
 load the library by clicking on Enable RBF Model.
Once the library is completely loaded, the panel illustrated in Figure 2 should appear.
Figure 2: Config panel
4.2 Source points definition and preview

In the first case of study, the intent is to define Encaps entities only, in such a manner to suitably impose
the displacement of 2 mm along z axis of the extremities of the tube model. In this view, three moving
encaps are created. The first two have a rigid motion along z axis, whereas the third one has a null rigid
movement.
Considering the afore described approach, start the setting up switching to the Encaps panel in the Main
sidebar, select moving in the list of available encaps, and define 3 items acting on the arrows of the
Number of Items field as depicted in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Encaps panel

The set-up can proceed as follows.
 for the Item 1 in the encapsulation Type select box;
 in the Resolution field set 0.001;
 in the Select Parts list select inlet surface (as shown in Figure 4 on the left) and click on Setup
From Parts button (in case you want to see the item creation at the actual stage of the procedure
press the Disp button);
 set the increment value of 0.001 for DX, DY, and DZ fields;
 press the + button two times;
 to prescribe the motion of the current item, click on the Set M button to open the Set Motion
panel as shown in Figure 4 on the right. The wanted rigid motion is prescribed by setting the DZ
value to 0.002 and confirming by pressing the Set button. Close Set Motion panel by clicking on
the OK button;
 accept the set-up of the Item 1 by pressing the Set button.

Figure 4: Set-up of Item 1 of the first moving encap

This first moving encap can be displayed in the graphic viewport using the Disp button (see Figure 5).
Figure 5: Visualization of the first moving encap

For the setting up of the second item, select the Item 2 by arrows, and do again the actions performed
for the first item, but the selection of the outlet surface instead of the inlet one (see Figure 6).

Figure 6: Set-up of Item 2 of the second moving encap

Also the second moving encap can be displayed in the graphic viewport using the Disp button (see
Figure 7).
Figure 7: Visualization of the second moving encap

The setting up of the Item 3 can proceed as follows:
 select the Item 3 and in the encapsulation Type select box;
 in the Select Parts list select only tube-half-1 and tube-half-2 surfaces (as shown in Figure 8 on
the left) and click on the Setup From Parts button;
 set the increment value of 0.001 for DX, and 0.0 for both DY and DZ fields;
 press the button - twelve times;
 set the increment value of 0.0 for DX, and 0.001 for both DY and DZ fields (see Figure 8 on the
left);
 press the + button two times;
 to prescribe the motion of the current surface set, click on the Set M button and the panel Set
Motion will open as shown in Figure 8 on the right. The wanted rigid motion is a null motion, so
leave the default values and confirm by pressing the Set button. Close Set Motion panel clicking
on the OK button (alternatively you can leave the default parameters of the Set Motion panel);
 accept the set-up by pressing the Set button.
Figure 8: Set-up of Item 3 of the third moving encap

All moving encaps can be displayed in the graphic viewport using the Display button (see Figure 9).

Figure 9: Visualization of the defined moving encaps

All settings for the Encaps panel are now completed. The result of the settings in terms of source points
can be preliminarily previewed by carrying out, in sequence, the following actions:
1. click on the Finalize button;
2. display the source point by clicking on the DispPts button. Figure 10 illustrates what should be
reported in the screen, namely all defined source points together with the moving encaps;
3. preview the final positions of source points by clicking on the PrevPts button. Figure 11 illustrates
what should be reported in the screen.

Figure 10: Preview of the distribution of the source points on encaps
Figure 11: Preview of the new location of source points on encaps after morphing
4.3 Generating and checking the solution

Once all settings of solution set-up are completed, it is possible to switch to the solution step by selecting
the Solve panel. The panel shown in Figure 12 appears. After pressing the Source Points button, the
buttons Solution, DispPts and PrevPts become active.

Figure 12: Solve panel

Before executing the solution, carry out a preliminary check by pressing DispPts and PrevPts buttons.
To generate the solution press the Solution button and, read the information reported in the Fluent shell
summarizing solution computing to make sure that no errors are reported.
To gain a detailed preview of the solution, turn on the Preview panel in the Main sidebar and then select
the surfaces listed below in the Preview Surfaces list:
 tube-half-1;
 tube-half-2.
To include in the visualization the unmorphed corresponding configuration, press the Sync-> button (see
Figure 13), set the Amplification field value to 1, and then press the Preview button.

Figure 13: Preview panel

Figure 14 and Figure 15 report for the tube-half-1 and tube-half-2 surfaces the preview of the morphed
surfaces with respect to the baseline configuration, respectively for an Amplification value of 1 and -2.5.

Figure 14: Preview with amplification 1
Figure 15: Preview with amplification -2.5

To perform an animation of the detailed preview of the solution, write in the Sequence field "range -2 1
6" and unselect the surfaces in the Original Surfaces list. The panel should appear as reported in
Figure 16. Click the Init button and confirm the sequence set-up by clicking on Yes in the Question
panel.

Figure 16: Preview animation set-up

To save the animation frames of the sequence, write tut-04-sequence-1 in the Basename field, click on
the Setup button to open the Save Picture panel shown in Figure 17. In this panel, select PNG in
Format field, Color in Coloring field, and unselect White Background in Options field. Then click on
Apply and Close buttons in sequence.
Figure 17: Save Picture panel set-up

Finally click on the Save button in the Preview panel. Files referring to the frames will be saved in the
working directory and are respectively shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18: Preview animation frames
4.4 Morph testing

To quantify the effect of the morphing on the entire mesh, enable the Morph panel in the Main Sidebar
(see Figure 19). In the Morph panel, after the definition of the proper Amplification factor, it is possible
to modify the mesh by pressing the Morph button. However, since in this model only hexahedrons are
present, RBF provides the minimum and maximum volume values.

Figure 19: Morph panel

To gain the quality of the mesh after morphing, in this case it is necessary to recur to the standard quality
query of Fluent by selecting in the main menu: Mesh-> Info-> Quality.
For the present tutorial, some results in terms of Minimum Orthogonal Quality and Maximum Aspect
Ratio are collected in the following table.
Table 1: Mesh quality depending on amplification value
Minimum Maximum Aspect
Amplification
Orthogonal Quality Ratio
A=0.0 (original mesh) 8.69300e-01 3.32300e+00
A=1 8.41397e-01 2.89984e+00
A=-2.5 7.28259e-01 4.54100e+00
4.5 Saving the solution

After the solution has been verified, it is possible to save it in the Solve panel by specifying the file name
move-extremities in the Solution File field and by clicking on the Write button. The file name has to be
specified without any extension. Two files will be then saved in the working directory: move-
extremities.sol and move-extremities.rbf.
5. Second solution: scaling the central portion of the tube

The second solution envisages the scaling of the central portion of the tube. To do that, both ends of the
pipe are fixed using a moving encap with a null rigid movement, whilst the central domain of the pipe is
wrapped by means of a moving encap with a scaling action. The pipe will then be deformed to
accommodate the new shape of the throat.
5.1 Preparation
To create the second solution, the first one will adjust and, consequently, it is possible to continue from
the previous session.

5.2 Adjusting the solution set-up and preview the solution

To adjust the solution set-up, select the Encaps panel in the Main Sidebar and proceed as follows:
 select the Item 1 and click the Set M button;
 in the panel Set Motion set the DX field to 0.0;
 confirming the set-up by pressing the Set button. Then close the Set Motion panel by clicking on
the OK button;
 in the panel Set Motion set the DX field to 0.0;
 confirming the set-up by pressing the Set button. Then close Set Motion panel by clicking on the
OK button;
 in the panel Set Motion select in the Motion Type selection the scale option;
 set the value of 1 for CF X, 0.5 for both CF Y and CF Z fields, and 1 for both N1 X and N2 Y
fields as shown in Figure 20 on the right;
 visualize the scaling axis by pressing the Display Axes button. You should see on the viewport
what depicted in Figure 20 on the left;
 confirm the set-up by pressing the Set button and close Set Motion panel clicking on the OK
button;
 accept the set-up by pressing the Set button.
Figure 20: Rotation axis visualization

All settings for the Encaps panel are now completed. The result of the settings in terms of source points
can be preliminarily previewed by carrying out in sequence the following actions:

1. click the Finalize button;

2. display source point by clicking DispPts button;
3. preview the final positions of source points by clicking PrevPts button. Figure 21 illustrates what
should be reported in the screen.
Figure 21: Preview of the location of source points after morphing

In case this verification succeeds, and then the solution consistency is positively verified, the solution
process can be executed. To do that, in the Solve panel, press the Source Points button and then the
Solution button.
the surfaces listed below in Preview Surfaces list as shown in Figure 22:
 tube-half-1;
 tube-half-2.

Figure 22: Preview panel set-up

Set the Amplification value to 1 and click on the Preview button. Figure 23 reports for the tube-half-1
and tube-half-2 surfaces the obtained result.
Figure 23: Visualization of the morphed configuration with Amplitude 1
5.3 Morph testing and saving the solution

To quantify the effect of the morphing on the entire mesh, use the Morph panel similarly to what
described in Paragraph 4.4.

To save the solution, in the Solve panel specify the file name scale-mid-portion in the Solution File field
and click on the Write button. The file name has to be specified without any extension. Two files will be
then saved in the working directory: scale-mid-portion.sol and scale-mid-portion.rbf.
6. Third solution: tube morphing using Points

In this part of the tutorial, the Points feature of RBF-Morph is explored.
6.1 Preparation
Reset the solution by means of the Reset button in the Config panel already shown in Figure 2.
6.2 Defining the domain encapsulation

The Points will be defined through those generated in an Encaps domain by the SP->Points feature.
To do that, after selecting Encaps panel in the Main Sidebar, proceed as follows:
 select domain as encaps type, and set 1 in the Number of Items field;
 select box in the encapsulation Type list;
 in the Select Parts list select tube-half-1 and tube-half-2 surface and click on Setup From Parts
button;
 then set the increment value of 0.001 for DX, DY, and DZ fields;
 press the button + two times;
 accept the set-up by pressing the Set button;
 click the Finalize button;
 click the Preview button to see on the screen what depicted in Figure 25;
 click the DispPts button to see on the screen what depicted in Figure 26.

Figure 24: Encapsulation domain set-up
Figure 25: Encap domain box visualization

Figure 26: Encapsulation source points visualization

To generate the Points from source points just defined by means of the domain encap, do the following:
 select the Solve panel in the Main Sidebar shown in Figure 27;
 click on the Source Points button;
 click on the Solution button;
 click on the SP->Points button;
 click on Yes button in the Question window reported in Figure 28.

Figure 27: Solve panel
Figure 28: Question window

Automatically the code switch to the Points panel shown in Figure 29.

Figure 29: Points panel

The click on the Finalize button, enable the ShowID item to shown the ID of Points after next action has
been accomplihed, and click on DispPts button. What reported in Figure 30 should appear on the main
screen.
Figure 30: ID number visualization

To morph the model, points 3 and 4 will be utilised as example. In particular, a translation of -0.001 m
along y axis will be applied to both. In this view, proceed as follows:
 select the point 3 in the Point filed using the arrows;
 set the increment value of -0.001 for DY field;
 click on the Set button;
 select the point 4 in the Point filed using the arrows;
 set the increment value of -0.001 for DY field;
 click on the Set button;
 enable the Overlay option in the Main Sidebar;
 click on the Finalize, DispPts, and PrevPts buttons in sequence to see on the screen what
reported in Figure 31;
 disable the Overlay option in the Main Sidebar.
Figure 31: Visualization of Points before and after morphing

To generate the solution according to Points panel set-up, do the following:
 select the Solve panel in the Main Sidebar shown in Figure 27;
 click on the Source Points button;
 click on the Solution button.
the surfaces listed below in Preview Surfaces list:
 tube-half-1;
 tube-half-2.
Then set 5 in the Amplification field and the click on the Preview button to see what depicted in Figure
32.
Figure 32: Preview of morphing with Amplification 5

To gain an animation of the detailed preview of the solution, write in the Sequence field "range -5 5 10".
The panel should appear as reported in Figure 33. Click the Init button and confirm the sequence set-up
clicking on Yes in the Question panel that appears on the screen.
Figure 33: Preview panel set-up

To save the animation frames of the sequence, write tut-04-sequence-2 in the Basename field as
already described in Paragraph 4.
6.3 Morph testing and saving the solution

To the morphing effects, operate similarly to what previously described in paragraph 4.4.
To save the solution, enable the Solve panel in the Main Sidebar, write morph-by-points-3-4 in the
Solution File field as shown in Figure 34 and then click on the Write button.
Figure 34: Save solution set-up
7. Summary
This tutorial demonstrated guidelines for setting up and solving a morph study of an internal external
aerodynamic problem. In particular, the attention was focused on the Encaps and Points features.
As concerns Points, the generation by source points of a previously created encap domain has been
detailed.
8. references
R 1. Biancolini M. E., RBF Morph at CILEA Summer School 2011: Computational Tools For
Hemodynamics Application, 2011.

RBF Morph Tutorial 04

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Tutorial 4: Tube morphing

RBF Morph for FLUENT

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 2

Figure 1: Surface mesh of surfaces of the tube model

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 3

4. First solution: translating the tube extremities

Figure 2: Config panel

4.2 Source points definition and preview

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 4

Figure 3: Encaps panel

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 5

Figure 4: Set-up of Item 1 of the first moving encap

Figure 5: Visualization of the first moving encap

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 6

Figure 6: Set-up of Item 2 of the second moving encap

Figure 7: Visualization of the second moving encap

Figure 8: Set-up of Item 3 of the third moving encap

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 8

Figure 9: Visualization of the defined moving encaps

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 9

Figure 10: Preview of the distribution of the source points on encaps

4.3 Generating and checking the solution

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 10

Figure 12: Solve panel

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 11

Figure 13: Preview panel

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 12

Figure 14: Preview with amplification 1

Figure 15: Preview with amplification -2.5

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 13

Figure 16: Preview animation set-up

Figure 17: Save Picture panel set-up

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 14

Figure 18: Preview animation frames

4.4 Morph testing

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 15

Figure 19: Morph panel

4.5 Saving the solution

5. Second solution: scaling the central portion of the tube

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 16

5.2 Adjusting the solution set-up and preview the solution

Figure 20: Rotation axis visualization

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 17

1. click the Finalize button;

Figure 21: Preview of the location of source points after morphing

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 18

Figure 22: Preview panel set-up

Figure 23: Visualization of the morphed configuration with Amplitude 1

5.3 Morph testing and saving the solution

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 19

6. Third solution: tube morphing using Points

6.2 Defining the domain encapsulation

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 20

Figure 24: Encapsulation domain set-up

Figure 25: Encap domain box visualization

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 21

Figure 26: Encapsulation source points visualization

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 22

Figure 27: Solve panel

Figure 28: Question window

Tutorial 1: Tube morphing 23

Figure 29: Points panel