Fluid Mechanics

Department of Mechanical and

Aerospace Engineering

Q1. Visit the following web site and download ANSYS Student 2019 R2 and install it on your own computer.

http://www.ansys.com/academic/free-student-products

Q2. Download the first ANSYS Fluent tutorial from Google Classroom (Code) and study it carefully. If there
are any unclear parts, steps that you could not follow, steps in which ANSYS did not behave in the way
described in the tutorial or if you notice any mistakes or typos, take notes about them and submit them as
an answer to this question. It will be very useful for the improvement of the tutorial for the coming semesters.
They will help me to correct and improve the tutorial for the coming semesters. Otherwise answer this question
by writing “Everything was clear and I did not notice any mistakes”.

Q3. When we do CFD we sometimes get distracted too much by the software and focus too much on
the computational details, and we forget that we are doing “fluid mechanics”. CFD is just a tool to study
fluid mechanics. To do good CFD, your fluid mechanics knowledge should be good. Let’s refresh our knowledge
about one of the fundamental concepts in fluids mechanics; dimensional analysis and similitude.

In the 1st Fluent tutorial we studied a developing channel flow. The fluid we used was a fictitious fluid with

𝜌 = 1 kg/m3 , 𝜇 = 10−4 Pa ⋅ s
Other problem parameters were

𝐻 = 0.1 m , 𝑈𝑖𝑛 = 0.025 m/s

The only similarity parameter in this problem is the Reynolds number, which was calculated in the tutorial as 𝑅𝑒
= 𝜌𝑈𝑖𝑛𝐻/𝜇 = 25. As long as the Reynolds number stays the same, the problem is practically the same even if
we change some of the problem parameters. For example, we can double the channel height and decrease the
density by a factor of 2, and practically it is the same problem. Or we can double the inlet speed and also double
the viscosity, and it is again practically the same problem. But to see that these problems are all the same, we
need to be aware of the similitude concept and the power of using non-dimensional parameters.

One of the important results in

simulating a developing channel
flow is the total pressure drop.,
i.e. the pressure difference
Δ𝑝 ≈ 0.0031 Pa
between the inlet and the exit of
the channel. In the following
figure taken from the tutorial,
the total pressure drop along the
channel centerline is about
0.0031 Pa. This dimensional
value can be non-
dimensionalized using the inlet
dynamic pressure 𝜌𝑈𝑖𝑛 2 /2 as

follows

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 Fluid Mechanics

Δ𝑝
Δ𝑝∗ = 0.0031 Pa = 9.92
𝜌𝑈2 /2 = kg m2
𝑖𝑛 (1
m 3) (0.025 s ) /2

When we say “As long as the Reynolds number does not change, the problem remains practically the same even
if the problem parameters change”, we mean that these kind of non-dimensional parameters are expected not to
change. Let’s check whether this is really the case or not by simulating different problems at the same Reynolds
number and comparing their Δ𝑝∗ values.

a) Solve the tutorial problem using air with the following properties defined in Fluent’s database
𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 1.225 kg/m3 , 𝜇𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 1.7894 × 10−5 Pa ⋅ s
 Using 𝐻 = 0.1 m, determine 𝑈𝑖𝑛 that will give 𝑅𝑒 = 25.
 Provide the graph showing the pressure variation along the channel centerline. Calculate the
dimensional Δ𝑝.
 Calculate the non-dimensional Δ𝑝∗ and check whether it matches with the one calculated above.

b) This time use glycerin (a very viscous liquid) with the following properties defined in Fluent’s database
𝜌𝑔𝑙𝑦𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛 = 1259.9 kg/m3 , 𝜇𝑔𝑙𝑦𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛 = 0.799 Pa ⋅ s

 Using 𝐻 = 0.1 m, determine 𝑈𝑖𝑛 that will give 𝑅𝑒 = 25.

 Provide the graph showing the pressure variation along the channel centerline. Calculate the
dimensional Δ𝑝.
 Calculate the non-dimensional Δ𝑝∗ and check whether it matches with the one calculated above.

c) Comment of your findings. What is the advantage of using non-dimensional parameters instead of
dimensional ones?

d) Why is similitude and dimensional analysis more critical for experimental studies compared to CFD
simulations?

Important: To perform new Fluent solutions, open the ANSYS Workbench file that you already created for the
tutorial and double click on the Results cell (not the Setup cell) to start Fluent. This way all your previous work
including the plots you generated earlier will be accessible. All you need to do is change the fluid, change the inlet
speed, initialize the solution, run and post-process.

Important: To select a fluid from Fluent’s database, start like creating a new fluid, press the Fluent Database
button and then press Copy. It is possible to select multiple fluids in the database at the same time and in that
case the properties shown may not be for the one that is selected the last. But this is not a problem. When you
change the fluid, do not forget to assign the new fluid to fff_channel under Cell Zone Conditions.

Important: You are advised to initialize the solution before performing a new run.

Important: When you plot something in Fluent and all you see is the residual figure, it means that you are looking
at the wrong plot tab. Just activate the other plot tab to see the figure.

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 MSDE: Computational Fluid Dynamics

Q4. Let’s add a second inlet to the channel problem of the first tutorial as follows

𝐿=1m
𝑈𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 = 0.025 m/s

𝐻 = 0.1 m 𝑝=0

0.2 m 0.75 m
0.05 m 0.15 m

𝑈𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚 = 0.1 m/s

 Open the Workbench file that you created for the tutorial problem. It is a good idea to create a backup
copy of the folder in case something goes wrong and you need to access the original files.
 Modify the Geometry in Space Claim.
o Do not forget to rename the created surface as Channel or you will create unnecessary confusion
to the software in the upcoming steps.
 Regenerate the mesh.
o When you open the Meshing application you will see questions marks for all the settings that are
under Mesh. It is because the geometry is changed and the software got confused.
o Right click all the settings (method selection and all sizings) under Mesh and Suppress all of them.
We are not going to use them in this problem.
o Use Insert –> Face Meshing to create a nice structured grid of quadrilateral elements.
o Set the resolution to 6.
o Create a new mesh that looks like the following with about 6700 elements.

Only a part of the

problem domain
is shown

o You will see cross marks next to the named selections you created earlier. Again due to the
geometry the software got confused and warns you about this. You need to set them again. You
can delete them all and recreate them or you can select the proper edges for the existing ones.
And you also need to create a new named selection for the bottom inlet. Note that the walls are
now composed of more edges. Make sure that you got this step correct before proceeding.
o After you are done with the meshing application, do not forget to Update the Mesh cell in the
Workbench before starting Fluent.

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 MSDE: Computational Fluid Dynamics

 In Fluent
o Make sure that the fluid used is the same one as used in the tutorial.
o Set the bottom inlet boundary condition.
o Initialize the problem.
o Solve the problem.

Provide the following in your homework report

 Contour plot of velocity magnitude. Discuss the flow physics you see in the plot.
 Contour plot of the static pressure. Discuss the flow physics you see in the plot.
 Contour plot of the streamfunction. What information does this plot tell us?
 𝑢 velocity plot along the main channel centerline. Discuss what happens physically in different parts of
the plot.
 Pressure plot along the main channel centerline. Discuss what happens physically in different parts of the
plot.
 𝑢 profile plot at the outlet. What is the maximum speed? What should be the maximum speed of the
analytical fully developed profile?

WARNINGS

 YOU NEED TO SUBMIT ONLINE.

 PAY ATTENTION TO THE FORMATTING OF YOUR REPORT. MAKE SURE THAT IT IS IN THE BEST POSSIBLE
FORM.
 A REPORT THAT IS FULL OF FIGURES WITH TOO LITTLE OR NO WRITING WILL NOT GET A GOOD GRADE.
 MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE FIGURES HAVE A FIGURE NUMBER AND CAPTION.
 WHEN YOU TAKE SCREENSHOTS CROP THEM PROPERLY AND ONLY PROVIDE THE NECESSARY PARTS,
NOT THE WHOLE PROGRAM WINDOW OR THE WHOLE SCREEN.
 PROVIDE FIGURES THAT ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO SEE THE DETAILS, BUT NOT LARGER. DO NOT USE
UNNECESSARILY LARGE FONTS OR MARGINS.
 IF DETAILS ARE HARD TO SEE IN A FIGURE PROVIDE A CLOSE UP VIEW.
 IF NECESSARY CHANGE THE FORMAT OF THE FIGURES FLUENT GENERATES BY CHANGING LINE STYLES,
COLORS, AXES NAMES, AXES NUMER FORMAT, ETC. TO GET BETTER LOOKING FIGURES.