Computational Fluid Dynamics

Session – I
Prof. C. M. Sewatkar

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Pune
 What is CFD?
 Analysis of the system involving fluid flow, heat
transfer and associated phenomenon such as chemical
reactions by means of computer based simulations
Applications
• aerodynamics of aircraft and vehicles: lift & drag
• hydrodynamics of ships
• combustion in IC engines and gas turbines
• turbo machinery – flow inside rotating passages
• electrical and electronics cooling
• marine engineering – loads on structures
• biomedical engineering – blood flows
 How does CFD code work?
• CFD codes are numerical algorithms that can tackle fluid flow
and heat transfer
• Three main elements
A. Pre-processor – input of the flow problem
 Geometry, computational domain, grid generation,
definition of fluid properties, boundary conditions
B. Solver
 Approximation of the unknown variables, discretization
by substitution of approximations into governing flow
equations, solution of the algebraic equations
 Large amount of data is obtained as a part of this step
C. Post processor
 The most important step to analyze the data,
 Graphical representation for understanding the flow or
heat transfer process
 Tecplot – is the popularly used tool
 Important issues in numerical simulations

• Note that the underlying physics is complex :– clear

understanding of the physical phenomenon is essential
• 2D or 3D decisions
• Variation of fluid properties with temperature and pressure
• Turbulence to consider or neglect
• Convergence – approach the exact solution
• Consistency – approaches the exact solution for zero grid
spacing
• Stability – damping of errors as the numerical method proceeds
 Types of fluid flow
• External flow (unconfined) – free stream
flow across a cylinder
• Internal flow (confined) – flow in a channel
or pipe
• Flow across cylinder in a channel
 External flow
Free stream flow and heat transfer
across a cylinder
Free stream flow across a cylinder
– streamlines
Vortex shedding – fluid flow across
a circular cylinder at Re = 100
Vortex shedding – fluid flow across
a square cylinder at Re = 100
Internal flow in a channel
 Modes of Heat Transfer
• Conduction: Energy transfer due to random
molecular motion (diffusion)
• Convection: In addition to energy transfer
by diffusion, energy is also transferred by
the bulk, or macroscopic, motion of the
fluid.
• Radiation: Energy emitted by matter that is
at a finite temperature.
2-D Heat Conduction in a Plate
Temperature Contours
Convective Heat Transfer
Isotherms for Forced Convective Flow
across a Square Cylinder at Re=100
 Methods of Investigation
• Theoretical Investigation
• Experimental Investigation

A theory is something nobody believes except the

person proposing the theory and an experiment is
something everybody believes except the person
doing the experiment

- Albert Einstein
CFD versus Experimental investigations

• Substantial reduction of lead time and cost of

new design
• Ability to study the systems where controlled
experiments are not possible
• Practically unlimited level of details of study
Theoretical Methods of Investigation
• Analytical Solution: Possible for certain simple situation
only but not for a general fluid flow and heat transfer
situations.

• Numerical Solution: Provides approximate solution for

any fluid flow and heat transfer situations.
– Governing Equations, Initial and Boundary Conditions
– Grid Generation : Discretization of the continuous
domain to certain grid points in the domain.
– Discretization : Converts the differential equation to
set of linear algebraic equations
– Solution Methodology : Solves the set of equations by
an iterative method using an algorithm
 Numerical Methods : Introduction
• WHAT? : It is an approximate method for
solving mathematical problems, taking into
account the extent of possible errors
(American Heritage Dictionary).

• Many problems in continuous mathematics

do not possess a closed-form solution.
Examples are finding the integrals of
exp(-x2) and solving a general polynomial of
degree five or higher. Then, one has to go
for numerical methods.
 Numerical Method: Introduction
• Types
– Direct Methods : Solved exactly by an
algorithm such as Gaussian elimination
method for solving systems of linear algebraic
equations.
– Iterative Methods : Start from a guess and
finds successive approximations that hopefully
converge to the solution.
• Discretization : Continuous problem is converted
into discrete problem to obtain approximate
solution.
 The “CFD(HT) Activity”
• One description
“Activity where the integral/differential governing
equations of fluid flow (and heat transfer) are replaced
with approximate algebraic equations that are solved
within the domain of interest to obtain the relevant flow
field information on a discrete basis”.

Final outcome of the CFD analysis is collection of

numbers
 Why CFD
• Research
 Complimentary tool to experiments and theory
 Valuable flow field information that experimental measurements may
not be able to provide
• Design and analysis of the system
 Cost effective tool to run ‘what if’ scenario to arrive at optimum
designs
• Companion tool in teaching Fluid Dynamics and heat
transfer

 Appreciation of reality by the students

 Generation of interest in fluid dynamics and heat transfer
phenomenon
Prerequisites
 Course Contents

•Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer

 Course Contents

• Methodology of CFD
Course Contents
Course Contents
 Expected Outcome
• Understanding the governing equations: origin,
derivations, manipulations.
• Understanding the basic techniques in CFDHT.
• Development of capability to write computer
codes to appreciate the working of a CFD
software.
• Generating a knowledge base to formulate your
own problem in heat and mass transfer
Texts and References