Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD - 2011

Autodesk Algor
Simulation CFD 2011

Seminar Notes
II
Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes
3/15/2010
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3/15/2010
III
IV
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction................................................. 1
Overview ....................................................................................................................................1
Installing and Running Autodesk Algor Simulation.......................................................1

System Requirements.......................................................................................................2
Autodesk Algor Simulation Help .......................................................................................3
Subscription Center ...........................................................................................................4
Web Links ..........................................................................................................................4
Tutorials .............................................................................................................................4
Webcasts and Web Courses ............................................................................................4
How to Receive Technical Support ..................................................................................5
Updates..............................................................................................................................5
Background of FEA ...................................................................................................................6
What is Finite Element Analysis? .....................................................................................6
Fluid Flow Review .....................................................................................................................7
Equations Used in the Solution .........................................................................................7
Limitations of CFD .............................................................................................................7
Basic FEA Concepts .........................................................................................................7
The General Flow of an Analysis ......................................................................................9
Chapter 1: Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD Example ......... 11

Chapter Objectives ..................................................................................................................11
Ball Valve Example .................................................................................................................11
Meshing the Model ..........................................................................................................12
Setting up the Model .......................................................................................................13
Analyzing the Model ........................................................................................................16
Reviewing the Results.....................................................................................................17
Creating an Animation.....................................................................................................18
Generating a Report ........................................................................................................19
Chapter 2: Basics of Fluid Flow Analysis .................. 23

Fluid Flow Elements ................................................................................................................23
Meshing Options .....................................................................................................................24
Fluid Generation ..............................................................................................................24
Tetrahedral and Boundary Layer Meshes ......................................................................26
Example of Internal Fluid Generation and Boundary Layer Meshing ...........................28
Loading Options ......................................................................................................................32
Prescribed Inlet/Outlets ...................................................................................................32
Prescribed Velocity..........................................................................................................33
Pressure/Traction ............................................................................................................33
Load Curves ............................................................................................................................36
Convergence Controls for the "Mixed GLS" and "Penalty" Formulation Options .........38
Output and Printout Intervals ..........................................................................................38
Convergence Controls for the "Segregated" Formulation Option .................................38
Turbulence...............................................................................................................................39
Surface Prescribed Turbulence Conditions....................................................................40
Wall Roughness ..............................................................................................................40
Exercise A: Venturi Model ......................................................................................... 43
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Table of Contents
Chapter 3: Results Evaluation and Presentation ............ 45

Result Types............................................................................................................................45
Reaction Forces ..............................................................................................................45
Velocity.............................................................................................................................45
Pressure...........................................................................................................................45
Vorticity ............................................................................................................................45
Vorticity Precision ............................................................................................................46
Flow Rate.........................................................................................................................46
Stress ...............................................................................................................................46
Presentation Options...............................................................................................................47
3-D Visualization of 2-D Elements ..................................................................................47
Slice Planes .....................................................................................................................47
Particle Paths...................................................................................................................48
Streamlines ......................................................................................................................50
Exercise B: 3-D Flow around a Building .................................................................. 53
Chapter 4: Additional Loading Options ..................... 55

Using a Fan Surface ...............................................................................................................55
Fan Swirl Effects..............................................................................................................56
Example of Fan Surfaces................................................................................................57
Overview of Rotating Frames of Reference ...........................................................................60
Applying a Rotating Frame of Reference ...............................................................................60
Number of Rotating Frames of Reference .............................................................................61
Example of a Rotating Frame of Reference ...................................................................63
Exercise C: Fan Model ............................................................................................... 65
Chapter 5: Open Channel Flow .............................. 67

Open Channel Flow Overview ................................................................................................67
Loads Not Available for Open Channel Flow Analysis ..................................................68
Initial Fluid Volume ..................................................................................................................68
Results Unique to Open Channel Flow ..................................................................................70
Volume of Fluid................................................................................................................70
Open Channel Flow Example.................................................................................................70
Extracting the Model Archive ..........................................................................................70
Defining the Initial Fluid Volume and Inlet/Outlet Surfaces ............................................71
Defining the Material and Analysis Parameters .............................................................72
Performing the Analysis ..................................................................................................72
Animating the Results .....................................................................................................73
Chapter 6: Multiphysics ................................... 75

Forced Convection (Uncoupled Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer) ............................................75
Natural Convection (Couple Fluid Flow and Thermal)...........................................................76
Additional Program Installation Requirements ...............................................................77
Fluid Structural Interaction (FSI) .............................................................................................78
Thermal Stress ........................................................................................................................78
Joule Heating...........................................................................................................................79
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Result Options .........................................................................................................................79

Pipe Tee Example Uncoupled Fluid/Thermal/Stress..........................................................79
Fluid Part Creation and Meshing ....................................................................................80
Setting up and Analyzing the Fluid Flow Model .............................................................83
Reviewing the Fluid Flow Results ...................................................................................84
Setting up and Analyzing the Thermal Model ................................................................85
Reviewing the Thermal Results ......................................................................................87
Setting up and Analyzing the Structural Model ..............................................................88
Reviewing the Structural Results ....................................................................................90
Heat Exchanger Example Coupled Fluid/Thermal .............................................................92
Opening and Meshing of the Model................................................................................93
Setting up the Model .......................................................................................................95
Analyzing the Model ........................................................................................................98
Exercise D: Heat Sink Model ................................................................................... 103
Self Study: Formulation Options, Porous Media, and

Transient Mass Transfer ...................... 105
Fluid Flow Formulation Options ........................................................................................... 105
Mixed GLS Formulation: .............................................................................................. 106
Segregated Formulation:.............................................................................................. 107
Penalty Formulation: .................................................................................................... 108
Porous Media ....................................................................................................................... 109
Example of Flow through Porous Media ..................................................................... 109
Using Porous Media in a Steady or Unsteady Fluid Flow Analysis............................ 114
Example of Using Porous Media in a Steady Fluid Flow Analysis ............................. 115
Self Study Exercise: Flow through Porous Media with Gravity ........................... 121
Transient Mass Transfer Overview...................................................................................... 123
Meshing Requirements ........................................................................................................ 123
Defining Species .................................................................................................................. 123
Loading Options ................................................................................................................... 124
Part-Based Loads......................................................................................................... 124
Surface Based Loads ................................................................................................... 125
Nodal Loads.................................................................................................................. 127
Analysis Parameters ............................................................................................................ 128
Result Types......................................................................................................................... 128
Species Concentration ................................................................................................. 128
Mass Flux ..................................................................................................................... 128
Mass Rate of Face ....................................................................................................... 128
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Table of Contents
VIII
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Introduction
Overview
This course will introduce you to performing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses
on 3-D models. All of the available load and constraint options for CFD analyses will be
covered. You will learn how to evaluate the results of CFD analyses and create presentations
of the results, including images, animations, and HTML reports.
For information regarding the basics of the user interface, refer to the Autodesk Algor Simulation
course and Seminar Notes, which is a prerequisite to this CFD course. The program Help files
may also be consulted for basics not covered within the CFD training manual.
Software Installation, Services, and Support

Installing and Running Autodesk Algor Simulation
The simulation software is distributed on DVDs with the exception of software for the Linux
platform, which is distributed on CDs. In addition, the software may be downloaded from the
Autodesk website. When you place the software DVD into a DVD-ROM drive, a launch
dialog having four options will appear. If you want to set up the software on a client
workstation, whether you will be using a license locked to a single computer or a network
license, press the "Install Products" button. If using a network license, you must already
have the license server software installed to a computer on the network. If you wish to create
pre-configured deployments for installing the product on multiple client workstations, choose
the "Create Deployments" command. If you want to set up the computer as a license server
to control the number of concurrent users through a network, or, if you wish to install optional
reporting tools, press the "Install Tools and Utilities" command. Finally, a fourth command
on the launch screen, "Read the Documentation," leads to a screen from which you can
access a ReadMe file and other installation and licensing guides.
During the product installation process, you will need to specify your name, the name of your
organization. You will also need to enter the product serial number and the product key.
Otherwise, you will be limited to a 30-day trial period. To customize the installation location
on your computer, the components to be installed, and/or to specify a network license server,
you will have to press the "Configuration" button that appears on one of the screens during
the installation process. Then, follow the prompts, provide the required information, and click
the "Configuration Complete" button to continue the installation process.
Any time after the installation, you will be able to start the software by using the available
shortcut found in the "Start" menu folder, "All Programs: Autodesk: Autodesk Algor
Simulation." The version number is included in the start menu folder name and shortcut.
The name of the shortcut will depend upon which package has been purchased ("Simulation,"
"Simulation MES," "Simulation CFD," or "Simulation Professional"). In the dialog
that appears when the program is launched, you will be able to open an existing model or
begin a new model. The simulation software will be used to create, analyze, and review the
results of an analysis within a single user interface, regardless of the analysis type.
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Introduction
System Requirements
We recommend the following system specifications for a Microsoft Windows platform
running Autodesk Algor Simulation. These specifications will allow you to achieve the best
performance for large models and advanced analysis types.
32-Bit
64-Bit *
Dual Intel 64 or AMD 64 Processor,

3 GHz or higher
Dual Intel 64 or AMD 64 Processor,

3 GHz or higher
2 GB RAM or higher (3 GB for MES

and CFD applications)
8 GB RAM or higher
100 GB of free disk space or higher
30 GB of free disk space or higher
256 MB or higher OpenGL

accelerated graphics card
512 MB or higher OpenGL

accelerated graphics card
DVD-ROM drive
DVD-ROM drive
Supported Operating Systems:
Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit editions)

Microsoft Vista (32-bit and 64-bit editions)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008
Microsoft Windows XP (32-bit and 64-bit editions)
Linux **
Other Requirements (All Platforms):
Mouse or pointing device

Sound card and speakers ***
Internet connection ***
Web browser with Adobe Flash Player 10 (or higher) plug-in ***
* We recommend usage of a 64-bit version of the operating system to run large models of any
analysis type and for Mechanical Event Simulation, CFD, and Multiphysics analyses.
While a 32-bit machine can be configured for larger system memory sizes, architectural
issues of the operating system limit the benefit of the additional memory.
** Linux may be used as a platform for running the solution phase of the analysis only. It
may be used for a distributed processing (or clustering) platform. However, pre- and
post-processing is done in the graphical user interface, which must be installed and run
on a Microsoft Windows platform.
*** These requirements are due to the use of multimedia in our product line and the
availability of distance learning webcasts, software demos, and related media.
Minimum system requirements and additional recommendations for Linux platforms may be
found on the Autodesk website. Navigate to the Autodesk Algor Simulation web page from
the "Products" list on the Autodesk homepage (www.autodesk.com). Next, click on the
"Features" link near the top of the product page. Then, click on the "System Requirements"
link near the top of the Features page.
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Introduction
Autodesk Algor Simulation Help

Autodesk Algor Simulation Help, often referred to as the Help files or Users Guide, contains
the following information:
Documentation for all of the model creation options within the user interface
Documentation for all of the Autodesk Algor Simulation analysis types
Documentation for all of the result options available within the user interface
Step-by-step examples that illustrate many modeling and analysis options
How to Access the Help Files
From the user interface, access the HELP pull-down menu and select the "Contents"
command. The Autodesk Algor Simulation Help title page of will appear.
You can navigate through the user's guide via the table of contents to the left or by using
the "Search" or "Index" tabs.
Features of the Help Files
Autodesk Algor Simulation Help is a set of compiled help files that are installed with the
software but are also accessible from the Autodesk website.
Hyperlinks and a table of contents make it easy to move quickly from topic to topic.
The Help window contains a standard Internet browser toolbar, so you can move forward
and backward and print with ease.
Figure I.1: Autodesk Algor Simulation Users Guide
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Introduction
Search the Help Files using Keywords
All of the pages in the Help files can be searched based on keywords.
The keywords are entered at the top of the "Search" tab on the left side of the Users
Guide screen. Topics that match the search criteria are listed below.
Keywords are used to search the Help files. You may use single or multiple keywords.
Boolean operators (AND, OR, NEAR, and NOT) are available to enhance the search utility.
Also, phrases may be enclosed in quotes to search only for a specific series of words.
Subscription Center
Along with your Autodesk Algor Simulation software purchase, you have the option of
purchasing various levels of Subscription Center access and support. The Subscription Center is
accessible via the "key" icon near the right end of the program title bar and also via the
"Help: Web Links" menu.
Through the Subscription Center, you can download software updates, service packs, and addon applications. You can access training media, such as topical webcasts. Finally, you can also
submit technical support requests via the Subscription Center.
Web Links
Within the HELP pull-down menu of the Autodesk Algor Simulation user interface, there is a
"Web Links" pull-out menu. The following content can be accessed via the web links within
this menu:
Autodesk Algor Simulation product page

Subscription Center
Services and Support information
Discussion Group
Training course information
Autodesk Labs where you may obtain free tools and explore developing technologies
Manufacturing Community
Tutorials
Tutorials are available that demonstrate many of the capabilities of the Autodesk Algor
Simulation software. Each analysis is presented through step-by-step instructions with
illustrations to assist the user. The tutorials are accessed from the "Help: Tutorials"
command and the associated model files are in the "\Tutorials\models" subdirectory within
the program installation folder. The tutorials will appear next to the user interface. You will
be able to follow the steps using the software without switching between the two windows.
Webcasts and Web Courses

Webcasts focus on the capabilities and features of the software, on new functionality, on
accuracy verification examples, and on interoperability with various CAD solid modeling
packages. These streaming media presentations are available for on-demand viewing from
the Subscription Center via your web browser. Similarly, web courses are also available for
on-demand viewing. Web courses are typically longer in duration than webcasts and focus on
more in-depth training regarding the effective usage of your simulation software. The topics
cover a wide variety of application scenarios.
4
3/15/2010
Introduction
For a list of available webcasts and web courses, follow the "Training" link from the home
page of the Subscription Center. Choose the "Autodesk Algor Simulation" product in the
"Browse the Catalog" list. This leads to the Autodesk Algor Simulation e-Learning page, in
which the available webcasts and web courses are listed according to topic.
How to Receive Technical Support

Technical support is reachable through several contact methods. The means you can use may
depend upon the level of support that was purchased. For example, customers with "Silver"
support must obtain their technical support from the reseller that sold them the software. "Gold"
subscription customers may obtain support directly from Autodesk.
Five ways to contact Technical Support:
Reseller:
Subscription Center: Access the Subscription Center from the link provided in the program
interface. Click the Tech Support link on the left side of the page
and then click on the "Request Support" link.
Autodesk Phone:
(412) 967-2700 [or in USA/Canada: (800) 482-5467]
Autodesk Fax:
(412) 967-2781
Autodesk E-mail:
service.algor@autodesk.com
Obtain phone, fax, and/or e-mail information from your reseller.
When contacting Technical Support:
Have your contract number ready before contacting Technical Support.
Know the current version number of your software.
Have specific questions ready.
Remember, Technical Support personnel cannot perform, comment on, or make

judgments regarding the validity of engineering work.
Updates
The software is updated with new functionality on a continual basis. The following three
types of releases are provided:
1.
A major version: Indicated by the four-digit year of the software release (based upon
the Autodesk fiscal year, not the calendar year)
2.
A "subscription" version: Customers with a current maintenance subscription are

eligible for additional releases that may be made available between major product version
releases. These are designated by the addition of the word "Subscription" after the major
version number.
3.
A service pack: Incorporates minor improvements to a major or subscription release and

is indicated by the letters "SP" and a service pack number after the major or subscription
version number.
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Introduction
How to Determine the Software Version
Access the HELP pull-down menu in the user interface and select the "About" command.
This dialog will display the version that you are using. In addition, the program title bar and
the splash screen that appears at each program launch will indicate the major version number
of the software. However, as with the start menu group name and program shortcut, it will
not indicate the subscription and service pack variants.
How to Obtain an Update
Update notifications are provided via the "Communication Center" within the user interface.
The Communication Center icon is located at the right end of the program window title bar.
Whenever new information is available, the state of the Communication Center icon changes.
The Communication Center provides up-to-date product support information, software
patches, subscription announcements, articles, and other product information through a
connection to the Internet. Users may specify how frequently the Live Update information
will be polledon-demand, daily, weekly, or monthly. When a program update notification
is received, the user will be given the option of downloading and installing it.
Background of FEA
What is Finite Element Analysis?
Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computerized method for predicting how a real-world
object will react to forces, heat, vibration, etc. in terms of whether it will break, wear out or
function according to design. It is called "analysis", but in the product design cycle it is used
to predict what will happen when the product is used.
The finite element method works by breaking a real object down into a large number (1,000s
or 100,000s) of elements (imagine little cubes). The behavior of each element, which is
regular in shape, is readily predicted by established mathematical equations. The computer
then combines the individual behaviors to predict the behavior of the actual object.
The "finite" in finite element analysis comes from the idea that there are a finite number of
elements in the model. Alternately, engineers have employed integral and differential
calculus, which breaks objects down into an infinite number of elements. However, for
complex geometry or physical events, derivation of the mathematical expressions can be very
difficult, if not impossible.
The finite element method is employed to predict the behavior of objects with respect to
virtually all physical phenomena:
Mechanical stress (stress analysis)

Mechanical vibration
Heat transfer - conduction, convection, radiation, and resultant temperatures
Fluid flow - both liquid and gaseous fluids
Electrostatic or MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems)
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Introduction
Fluid Flow Review

Equations Used in the Solution
For fluid flow analyses, the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are the momentum
equations subject to the incompressibility constraint. Certain body forces are considered,
including gravity, buoyancy, porous media resistance, centrifugal, and Coriolis forces. The
equations are:
v
+ v v = p 2 v + f
t
(1)
v = 0
(2)
where:
v = velocity
p = pressure
= density
= viscosity
f = other body forces
Equations (1) and (2) represent the velocity-pressure formulation. This method is applicable
to both 2-D and 3-D analyses. For a 2-D analysis, there are three unknowns, two velocity
components and the pressure. These values can be directly calculated. For a 3-D analysis,
there is an additional unknown velocity component.
For more information on the fluid flow background and how these equations are solved, refer
to the program Help files.
Limitations of CFD
Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD's capabilities will allow you to analyze incompressible
viscous flows. Theoretically, incompressible flow has a Mach number of 0. However, flows
with Mach numbers of less than 0.3 can be considered to be incompressible. In general, the
following parameters should be followed for CFD models:
Separate fluid domains (no mixture of different fluids)

Viscous fluids (non-zero friction)
Incompressible material (constant density)
Isothermal (material properties are independent of temperature)
Basic FEA Concepts

Nodes and Elements
A node is a coordinate location in space where the degrees of freedom (DOFs) are defined.
The DOFs of a node represent the possible reactions of this point due to the loading of the
model. The DOFs also represent which loads are transferred from one element to the next. In
a fluid flow analysis, velocity and pressure results are given at the nodes.
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Introduction
An element is a mathematical relation that defines how the DOFs of one node relate to the
next. Elements can be 2-D areas or 3-D volumes.
Degrees of Freedom
The degrees of freedom at a node characterize the response and represent the relative
possible reaction of a node.
The type of element being used will characterize which DOFs a node will require.
A node on a 3-D fluid flow element would have the DOFs shown in Figure I.2. V represents
velocity, which has three global components (Vx, Vy, and Vz). In addition, each node has a
pressure degree of freedom (P).
Figure I.2: Degrees of Freedom of a Node

Element Connectivity
Elements can only communicate to one another via common nodes. In the left half of Figure
I.3, velocities will not be transferred between the elements. Elements must have common
nodes to transfer loads from one to the next, such as in the right half of Figure I.3.
No Communication
Between the Elements
Communication
Between the Elements
Figure I.3: Communication through Common Nodes

NOTE: The "Smart Bonding" feature that is discussed in the Autodesk Algor Simulation
Seminar Notes and course is not applicable to fluid flow analyses. The meshes must
be matched where adjacent parts meet for flow to take place. Therefore, to ensure
compatibility between different phases of a multiphysics analysis involving fluid
flow, smart bonding should be disabled for all design scenarios. Smart bonding is
enabled or disabled via the "Contact" tab of the "Analysis Parameters" dialog
and, depending upon your software version, may be on or off by default. For version
2010, it will be off by default for newly created models. The setting for existing
models will retain its prior state.
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Introduction
Types of Elements
The actual DOFs calculated are dependent on the type of element being used.
The general element types are:
2-D Planar Elements: The mesh represents a cross-section of a fluid part. Each element
must consist of 3 or 4 lines enclosing an area and lying in the YZ plane. A thickness may
be specified in the Element Definition screen and this value is used only for 3-D
visualization purposes within the results environment. Flow rate results are output on a
per unit thickness basis.
2-D Axisymmetric Elements: The mesh represents a cross-section of an axisymmetric

part. Each element must consist of 3 or 4 lines enclosing an area and lying in the YZ
plane. All geometry must be in the Y-positive half of the plane but may extend to the
Z-axis (Y=0). The Z-axis is the cross-sections axis of revolution for all 2-D
axisymmetric models. Fluid flow rate results are output on a per-radian of revolution
basis. In other words, to get the flow rate for the full object being represented by the
cross-section, multiply the result by 2 (since there are 2 radians in 360).
3-D (Solid) Elements: Must be 4, 5, 6 or 8 nodes enclosing a volume.
DOFs for element types:
2-D Planar and Axisymmetric: Velocity in the Y and Z directions and pressure at each
node.
3-D: Velocity in the X, Y and Z directions and pressure at each node.
The General Flow of an Analysis

Create a Mesh
Start Autodesk Algor Simulation

Open your model in the FEA Editor environment
Select the analysis type
Create your mesh
Define the FEA Data
Assign the loads and constraints

Define the material
Define the analysis parameters and load curves
Run the Analysis

Review and Present Results
Review the desired result types

Save images and animations
Create presentations and HTML reports
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Introduction
10
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Chapter
Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD Example

Chapter Objectives
Overview of creating a 3-D fluid flow model.

Overview of adding velocities and boundary conditions to a model.
Overview of defining material properties.
Overview of performing an analysis.
Overview of reviewing results.
Overview of generating a report.
Ball Valve Example

This example is an introduction to the CFD software. The example will give step-by-step
instructions for creating a mesh and analyzing a three-dimensional (3-D) model of water
flowing through a partially opened ball valve. There are three sections:
Setting up the model Open the model in the FEA Editor environment and create the
mesh on the model. Then add the necessary loads and constraints and define the model
parameters. Visually check the model for errors with the Results environment.
Analyzing the model Analyze the model using the fluid flow processor.
Reviewing the results View the velocity results graphically using the Results environment.
Use the model, Ball Valve.ach, located in the "Chapter 1 Example Model\Input File" folder of
the class directory or Solutions CD. We will create a simple model of the water flowing
through a ball valve (see Figure 1.1). Water will enter the model at a velocity of 0.5 in/s in
the Z direction and exit from the opposite end of the model, where an inlet/outlet condition
will be specified. We will ramp up the velocity in 1 second using 10 steps and will continue
running at the same velocity for another 9 seconds using 10 more steps.
Figure 1.1: Ball Valve Model
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11
Chapter 1: Example Using Autodesk Algor Simulation
Meshing the Model

The FEA Editor environment is used to create a mesh for all solid models. You can open CAD
models originating from any of the various CAD solid modelers that are supported, including
the formats of thirteen proprietary CAD products. You can also open models of any of four
supported universal CAD formats (ACIS, IGES, STEP, and STL).
"Start: All Programs:
Autodesk: Autodesk Algor
Simulation: Autodesk Algor
Simulation"
Press the Windows "Start" button and access the "All

Programs" pull-out menu. Select the "Autodesk" folder
and then the "Autodesk Algor Simulation" pull-out menu.
Choose the "Autodesk Algor Simulation" command.
"Open"
Click on the "Open" icon at the left side of the dialog.
"Algor Simulation Archive

(*.ach)"
"Ball Valve.ach"
Select the "Algor Simulation Archive (*.ach)" option in the

Autodesk Algor Files section of the "Files of type:" dropdown box.
Select the file "Ball Valve.ach" in the "Chapter 1 Example
Model\Input File" directory.
"Open"
Press the "Open" button.
"OK"
Select the location where you want the model to be

extracted and press the "OK" button.
The model will appear in the FEA Editor environment.

We will use a boundary layer mesh that produces a greater concentration of nodes near the
surface of the fluid, where velocity gradients are the steepest. For the inlet and outlet
surfaces, boundary layers are not desirable. We will exclude these two surfaces from
receiving boundary layers.
"Mesh: Model Mesh
Settings"
"Options"
"Absolute mesh size"
0.2
Type "0.2" in the "Size" field.
"Tetrahedra and wedges

(boundary layer)"
Select the "Solid" icon on the left edge of the "Model

Mesh Settings" dialog.
Select the "Tetrahedra and wedges (boundary layer)"
radio button.
"OK"
Press the "OK" button.
"OK"
"Solid"
"View: Orientation: Top

View"
"Selection: Shape: Point"
"Selection: Select: Surfaces"
12
Access the MESH pull-down menu and select the "Model

Mesh Settings" command.
Press the "Options" button in the "Model Mesh
Settings" dialog.
Select the "Absolute mesh size" option in the "Type"
drop-down box.
Access the VIEW pull-down menu and select the

"Orientation" pull-out menu. Select the "Top View"
command.
Access the SELECTION pull-down menu and select the
"Shape" pull-out menu. Select the "Point" command.
This will allow you to select objects by clicking directly on
them.
Access the SELECTION pull-down menu and choose the
"Select" pull-out menu. Select the "Surfaces" command.
This will allow you to select surfaces.
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Mouse
Click on the circular surface facing the screen.
Mouse
Right-click in the display area.
"CAD Mesh Options: Exclude

from Boundary Layer"
Select the "CAD Mesh Options" pull-out menu and select

the "Exclude from Boundary Layer" command.
"Orientation" pull-out menu. Select the "Bottom View"
command.
"View: Orientation: Bottom

View"
Mouse
Mouse


Access the MESH pull-down menu and select the
"Generate Mesh" command.
Press the "No" button when asked if you want to review the
meshing results.
Access the VIEW pull-down menu and select the "Rotate"
option. Inspect the mesh on the model, rotating it by pressing
the left mouse button and dragging the cursor around the
screen. This mesh appears to be acceptable.
"Mesh: Generate Mesh"

"No"
"View: Rotate"
<Esc>
Press the <ESC> key to cancel the view rotate mode.
"View: Orientation: Isometric

View"

"Orientation" pull-out menu. Select the "Isometric
View" command.
Setting up the Model

The ball valve model will appear as shown in Figure 1.2. If you zoom in on the inlet and
outlet surfaces, which were excluded from receiving boundary layers, you will clearly see the
boundary layers applied to the adjacent cylindrical surfaces.
Figure 1.2: Ball Valve Model in FEA Editor Environment

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13
The FEA Editor environment is used to specify all of the element and analysis parameters for
your model and to apply the loads and constraints. You will notice a red X on certain
headings in the tree view. This signifies that this data has not yet been specified. You will
need to eliminate all of the red Xs before analyzing the model. Since you have created a solid
mesh, the "Element Type" heading in the tree view is already set to "3-D" and the default
"Element Definition" parameters have been accepted.
Adding Constraints
We must assume that the velocity of the fluid at the wall of the pipe is zero. By default,
before the analysis begins, the program will automatically apply zero-velocity constraints to
all outer surfaces that do not have a load applied or have not been defined as prescribed
inlet/outlets. Therefore we will assign a prescribed velocity at the inlet and apply a prescribed
inlet/outlet at the outlet. The remaining surfaces will be held to zero-velocity.

View"

command.
Mouse
Click on the surface at the end of the model facing the screen.
Mouse
"Add: Surface Prescribed

Velocity"
Select the "Add" pull-out menu and select the "Surface

Prescribed Velocity" command. The dialog shown in
Figure 1.3 will appear.
Figure 1.3: Surface Prescribed Velocity Dialog
14
Mouse
Activate the "Z Magnitude" checkbox.
0.5
Type "0.5" in the "Z Magnitude" field.
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"OK"

View"

command.
Mouse
Mouse

Inlet/Outlet"
View"

Prescribed Inlet/Outlet" command. A green "I" will
appear on each node in that surface.
View" command.
Assigning the Material Properties

Once the model has been constructed and the loads and constraints have been applied, use the
FEA Editor environment to specify material properties.
Right-click on the "Material" heading for Part 1.
Mouse
"Modify Material"
"Water"
Select the "Modify Material" command. The

"Element Material Selection" dialog will appear.
Highlight the "Water" item from the list of available
materials as shown in Figure 1.4.
Figure 1.4: Element Material Selection Dialog

"OK"
Press the "OK" button to accept the information entered in

the "Element Material Selection" dialog for Part 1.
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15

Assigning the Analysis Parameters
The prescribed velocities will follow a load curve throughout the analysis. This load curve
must be defined in the "Analysis Parameters" dialog. Three indices will be required for the
load curvethe zero-velocity initial condition, the end of the velocity ramp-up interval (at
1 second), and the end of the steady inlet velocity interval (at 10 seconds).
Mouse
Right-click on the "Analysis Type" heading in the tree view.
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
Select the "Modify Analysis Parameters" command.
Type "0" in the first row of the "Multiplier" column in

the "Time-Stepping Settings" table.
"Add Row"
Press the "Add Row" button.
10
Type "10" in the second row of the "Steps" column.
"Add Row"
10 <Tab> <Tab> 10
Type "10" in the third row of the "Time" column, press

<Tab> twice and type "10" in the third row of the "Steps"
column.
The "Time-Stepping Settings" table should appear as shown in Figure 1.5
Figure 1.5: Prescribed Velocity Load Curve

"OK"
"Analysis: Check Model"
"Tools: FEA Editor"
Press the "OK" button. The model is now ready to review

in the Results environment.
Access the ANALYSIS pull-down menu and select the
"Check Model" command to review elements, geometry
and loads in the Results environment before running the
analysis.
Once you approve the model, access the TOOLS pull-down
menu and select the "FEA Editor" command to move back
to the FEA Editor environment to run the analysis.
Analyzing the Model

"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse

"Perform Analysis" command to run the analysis. This
opens the model in the Results environment. The results
will automatically update as calculations are completed.
Click the "Toggle Load and Constraint Display" toolbar
icon to hide the load and constraint symbols.
The preceding step may be done while the solution is running. In addition, you may minimize
the Unsteady Fluid Flow analysis window to better see the model, if desired. The displayed
time step will automatically be incremented as each step converges during the solution phase.
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When the analysis has been completed, the analysis window will close and the associated task
bar button will go away.
Reviewing the Results

Adding a Slice Plane
A slice plane will allow us to view the velocity profile on the interior of the model.
Remember that the velocity for all of the outside boundaries, where no prescribed velocity,
pressure, or inlet/outlet condition was defined, will be zero (dark blue color).
"View: Orientation: Left
View"
Mouse
"Add Slice Plane: 3) YZ"
Mouse

"Orientation" pull-out menu. Select the "Left View"
command.
Right-click on the "Slice Planes" heading under the
"Presentations" heading in the tree view.
Select the "Add Slice Plane" pull-out menu and select the
"3) YZ" command.
Right-click on the "YZ Slice Plane" heading in the tree
view.
"Hide"
Select the "Hide" command.
"Results Options: Load Case:"

"Previous" or "Next"
Access the RESULTS OPTIONS pull-down menu and

select the "Load Case" pull-out menu. Use the
"Previous" or "Next" commands to toggle through the
velocity results throughout the analysis.
Adding Stream Lines

Streamlines can be added to show the path that the fluid takes through the ball valve. The
colors along the length of the streamlines will reflect the change in velocity as the fluid moves
along its path through the ball valve.
"Selection: Shape: Rectangle"
"Select: Select: Nodes"

"Shape" pull-out menu. Select the "Rectangle" command.
"Select" pull-out menu. Select the "Nodes" command.
Mouse
Draw a rectangle enclosing the bottom edge of the model.
Mouse
"Add Streamlines"
Select the "Add Streamlines" command.
Mouse
Drag the "Streamlines" dialog out of the way if it is

obstructing the view of the results legend or model.
The model should now appear as shown in Figure 1.6.
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17
Figure 1.6: Model with Streamlines
Creating an Animation
Before creating an animation, we will fix the legend display range so that it is the same for all
frames. We have twenty time steps available, so we'll use a frame rate of 5 fps, yielding a
four second animation.
"Display Options: Plot

Settings"
Click on the "X" icon in the upper right corner of the

"Streamlines" dialog to close it.
Access the DISPLAY OPTIONS pull-down menu and
select the "Plot Settings" command.
"Range Settings"
Select the "Range Settings" tab.
Mouse
Deselect the "Automatically calculate value range"

checkbox.
Enter "1" in the "High" field under the "Current Range"
heading.
Mouse
1
"OK"
Click on the "OK" button.
"Animation: Save As AVI"

5
"640x480"
18
Access the ANIMATION pull-down menu and select the

"Save As AVI" command.
Enter "5" in the "Playback Frames per Second (FPS)"
field.
Using the drop-down box in the "Preset" field under the
"Target Resolution" heading, select "640x480."
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Enter "1" in the "Start Step" field. This will exclude the
time step zero frame, which has no streamlines.
Press the "Save" button to save the animation to an AVI
file format.
Press the "No" button when asked if you want to view the
animation.
"1"
"Save"
"No"
Generating a Report
In this section, you will automatically create an HTML report using the Report Configuration
Utility. We will include a user-specified animation within the report.
"Tools: Report"
Mouse
"Configure report"
Access the TOOLS pull-down menu and select the

"Report" command to change to the Report environment.
Right-click on the "HTML Report" heading in the tree
view.
Select the "Configure report" command. This will open
the dialog shown in Figure 1.7.
Figure 1.7: Report Configuration Utility

NOTE: When selecting portions of the report to modify, click on the item name and not on the
checkbox. Clicking on the checkbox will toggle the inclusion state of the item (that is,
whether it is to be included or excluded from the HTML report).
Mouse
Activate the "Logo" checkbox. The default Autodesk logo

will be used. Note that you can browse to a logo of your own
choice. Five popular image formats are supported.
Mouse
Select the "Project Name" heading.
Ball Valve
Click and drag the mouse to select the text "Design

Analysis" and type "Ball Valve" to replace it.
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19

Analysis of Water
Flowing through a Ball
Valve
Click and drag the mouse to select the text "Project Name
Here" and replace this text by typing "Analysis of Water
Flowing through a Ball Valve".
Mouse
Select the "Title and Author" heading.
Your Name
Type your name into the "Author" field.
Your Department
Type your department name into the "Department" field.
Mouse
Person who checked
model
Department of person
who checked the model
Select the "Reviewer" heading.
Passed all FEA tests
Type "Passed all FEA tests" into the "Comments" field.
Mouse
Deselect the "Executive Summary" item by clicking on

the associated checkbox. This item will be excluded from
the report.
Type the name of the person who checked the model into
the "Reviewer" field.
Enter the name of the department of the person who
checked the model into the "Department" field.
NOTES: Text can be added as desired within the "Executive Summary" section using the built-in
word processor features. A variety of font and paragraph styles are included, such as bullet or
numbered lists, tables, tabs, and various text justification settings.
The following sections are automatically generated and cannot be modified. The analyst may
only include or exclude these items or alter their order of appearance within the report:
Summary
Analysis Parameters
Parts
Element
Material
Loads
Constraints
Probes
Rotating Frames (applicable to fluid flow analysis)
Initial Fluid Volume (applicable to open-channel analysis)
Watermark
Results Presentations
Processor Log Files Group
Code Checking Single Load Case
Code Checking Detailed
Code Checking All Load Cases
"Tree: Add AVI File"

"Ball Valve.avi"
"Open"
20
Access the TREE pull-down menu and select the "Add

AVI File" command. This will allow you to include an
animation file within the report.
Navigate to the model folder and select Ball Valve.avi as the
file to attach to the report.
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- Fluid Velocity
Streamlines
"Generate Report"
Append " Fluid Velocity Streamlines" to the end of the

default "Header Text:".
Press the "Generate Report" button. This will automatically
bring up the report, which will appear as shown in Figure 1.8
below.
Figure 1.8: Completed Report

NOTE: The default title image is the model as it currently appears within the FEA Editor
environment. A different image may be substituted for this one and/or the image may be
resized using the report configuration utility. To resize the image, click and drag the handles
that appear around the image border while it is selected or right-click on the image and choose
the "Format Image" command.
Mouse
Scroll through and review the full report. The animation

should appear at the bottom of the report and be looping
continuously.
A completed archive of this model, including results, Ball Valve.ach, is located in the
"Chapter 1 Example Model\Results Archive" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
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21
22
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Chapter
Basics of Fluid Flow Analysis

Chapter Objectives
Learn the types of 3-D elements available for fluid flow analysis.
Learn how to create models of the fluid geometry starting from models of the solid geometry.
Learn how to generate a boundary layer mesh.
Learn how to use prescribed velocities.
Learn how to use pressure/tractions.
Learn how to use prescribed inlet/outlets.
Learn how to create load curves.
Fluid Flow Elements

Fluid flow analysis supports 2-D and 3-D elements. 2-D elements can either be 3 or 4 sided
planar elements and must be drawn in the YZ plane. 2-D elements can be used to model
planar or axisymmetric flows. Each node on a 2-D element has two DOFs. These are the
velocity in the Y and Z direction. No velocity is allowed in the X direction. An additional
pressure DOF exists for each element at the centroid.
Just like in static stress, there are four possible geometrical configurations that can be used to
create 3-D fluid flow elements. These are displayed in Table 2.1
Table 2.1: 3-D Element Geometry Configurations
8-noded Brick
6-noded Wedge
5-noded Pyramid
4-noded Tetrahedral
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Chapter 2: Basics of Fluid Flow Analysis

Each node on a 3-D element has four DOFs. These are the velocity components in the X, Y,
and Z directions and the pressure.
There are four viscosity models available for both 2-D and 3-D elements. The Newtonian
model is the most commonly used viscosity model and is the default option. This model
assumes a constant viscosity. The other viscosity models will be discussed in a later chapter.
2-D and 3-D elements behave almost identically, the only major difference being the support of
velocity in the X direction for 3-D elements. The main difference is that there are more solution
options available for 3-D elements. These options will be discussed later in this manual.
Meshing Options
All of the methods taught in the Autodesk Algor Simulation course and the Advanced
Modeling Supplement can be used to create meshes for 2-D and 3-D fluid flow models. This
includes starting from CAD solid models and constructing the mesh by hand within the FEA
Editor environment. The user interface has a couple of features for CAD solid models that are
beneficial primarily for fluid flow analyses.
Fluid Generation
In order to perform a fluid flow analysis, a model representing the fluid must be created. When
performing an analysis of the fluid flow inside or around an object, many times only a model of
the object is provided. Autodesk Algor Simulation provides the capability to easily generate
a model of the fluid from the solid part or assembly geometry. This can be done using the
"Fluid Generation" pull-out menu in the MESH pull-down menu. Generally, this operation
can only be used on models that were opened using the "Surface Knitting" operation.
Occasionally, fluid part generation will work for single-part CAD models, even though surface
knitting was not performed when the model was imported into Autodesk Algor Simulation.
However, it is best to ensure the fluid generation capability by always choosing to perform
surface knitting when a fluid part will be derived from the CAD geometry.
For a new/clean installation of the software, the surface knitting option is turned off by
default. There are two ways to change the setting
1.
Access the TOOLS pull-down menu and select the "Options" command.
2.
Go to the "CAD Import" tab of the Options screen and click on the "Global CAD
Import Options" button.
3.
To the right of the "Knit surfaces on import:" heading there are three radio
buttons. Select either the "Yes" or the "Ask each time" button, depending upon the
preferred behavior.
If you choose the "Yes" option, surface knitting will be performed whenever a CAD solid
model is opened in Autodesk Algor Simulation. If the "Ask each time" option is chosen, a
dialog will appear asking if you want to perform a surface knitting operation whenever a CAD
solid model file is opened. In order to ensure the fluid generation functionality, press the
"Yes" button when prompted with this question.
NOTE: The exercises in this training manual assume that the program is configured with default
options (including the no surface knitting option). When performing an exercise in which
fluid generation will be performed, we will enable surface knitting. At the conclusion of the
exercise, we will restore the default setting ("Knit surfaces on import:" = "No"). This will
24
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keep the specified keystrokes, meshing behavior, and results consistent with the remaining
exercises and their results archives. Surface knitting adds feature lines where parts intersect
and therefore may have an effect on the surface mesh. Thus, when comparing a knit model to
a non-knit model, there may be a slight difference in the results.
There are two types of fluid generation that can be performedexternal and internal.
External
If you want to model the flow of a fluid around a part, select the "External" command in
the "Mesh: Fluid Generation" pull-out menu. The "Generate Fluid Exterior" dialog
shown in Figure 2.1 will appear. The values in the data entry fields will vary depending on
the model geometry.
Figure 2.1: Generate Fluid Exterior Dialog

In addition to the appearance of the dialog, a transparent rectangular prism will be displayed
over the model. This represents the 3-D part that will be created to model the fluid. You can
control the size and location of the prism by entering values in the "Center (Point A)" and
"Edge Lengths" sections. By default the prism will be centered at the centroid of the
volume and will extend a small distance past the model in all three global directions.
Changing the parameters will change the location and size of the prism. When you press the
"OK" button a new part will be created in the model. This part will be the rectangular prism
minus the volume of the model. When performing the fluid flow analysis, you will want to
deactivate the part(s) representing the original CAD geometry.
Note that, if there are openings in the exterior of the solid part, the fluid region will also fill
the interior of the solid part, as would occur if you actually submerged the part or assembly in
fluid. Conversely, if there are not openings in the solid part (that is, if any interior cavities are
completely contained and isolated from the exterior), then the resulting fluid region will be
solely external.
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25

Internal
If you want to model the flow of a fluid inside a part, select the "Internal" command in the
"Mesh: Fluid Generation" pull-out menu. The "Generate Fluid Interior" dialog shown in
Figure 2.2 will appear.
Figure 2.2: Generate Fluid Interior Dialog

There are two input parameters which you must specify. First, click on a single surface on the
interior of the model, around the cavity that you want to fill with fluid. Any one surface that
will be in contact with the fluid is sufficient. You do not need to select them all. Once the
surface is selected in the display area, press the "Select" button in the "Interior surface"
field. The part and surface information will appear in the adjacent field.
Next, select a surface on the exterior of the model that will define the end of the fluid part. Each
individual opening in the CAD part or assembly must be surrounded by a single surface, which
may be used to defined a termination face for the fluid region. Once the surface is selected,
press the "Add" button in the "Bounding Surfaces" section. The part and surface information
will appear in the adjacent list. Repeat this process until every boundary of the fluid region has
been defined. Multiple bounding surfaces can also be added in a single operation.
If the interior cavity or cavities are completely contained within the part or assembly (that is,
if there are no openings to the exterior region), then you will not have to specify any bounding
surfaces in order to generate the internal fluid part.
Press the "OK" button to generate a new part representing the fluid.
Tetrahedral and Boundary Layer Meshes

For most analysis types, the "Bricks and tetrahedral" solid mesh type is ideal and is the
default. This mesh creates high quality elements at the exterior of the model and lower
quality elements at the interior. However, since the interior mesh is important for a fluid flow
analysis, the "All tetrahedra" solid mesh type is selected by default for all models that are
initially defined as fluid flow analyses. This can also be specified manually by pressing the
"Options" button on the "Model Mesh Settings" dialog. Select the "Solid" icon on the
left side of the dialog and then select the "All tetrahedra" radio button in the "General" tab.
The all tetrahedra mesh type will create all 4-noded elements. This will result in higher
quality and more uniform elements throughout the model than the "Bricks and tetrahedral"
mesh option would.
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An additional solid mesh type, which can be used for fluid flow models, is the boundary layer
mesh. This is specified by selecting the "Tetrahedra and wedges (boundary layer)" radio
button. The boundary layer mesh type will create thin boundary layers of wedges at all of the
exterior surfaces of the model. Tetrahedral elements will be created for the remaining interior
of the model. This will allow you to capture the results more accurately around the walls of
the model, where velocity gradients are steepest. In addition, this mesh type ensures the
generation of interior nodes in small and/or narrow fluid passages, which might otherwise be
spanned by a single tetrahedra. This would make flow impossible due to the absence of
interior nodes (since the exterior nodes will be constrained to zero-velocity).
When either of these mesh types are selected, the "Tetrahedra" tab will become available.
This tab is shown in Figure 2.3.
Figure 2.3: Tetrahedra Tab

The "Tetrahedral meshing options" section will allow you to control the quality of the
tetrahedral elements. The "Target edge length based on" drop-down box will determine
how the value in the "Target edge length" field is used to control the size of the tetrahedral
elements as follows:
If the "Fraction of mesh size" option is selected, the value in the "Target edge
length" field will be multiplied by the surface mesh size to determine the size of the
tetrahedral elements.
If the "Absolute mesh dimension" option is selected, the value in the "Target edge
length" field will be used for the size of the tetrahedral elements.
You can control the relative size of adjacent tetrahedral elements in areas where the mesh
transitions from large element to small elements using the "Transition rate" field. The value
in this field will be the ratio of the average edge lengths of adjacent elements. This value
must be greater than 1. A large value will result in a lower quality mesh. The value in the
"Quality" field will be used as an upper limit for the aspect ratio of the elements.
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27

The "Boundary layer options" section can be used to control the wedge element boundary layers.
This section will only be available if the boundary layer mesh type is selected. The "Extrusion
distance based on" drop-down box will determine how the value in the "Total extrusion
distance" field is used to control the combined length of all of the boundary layers as follows:
If the "Fraction of mesh size" option is selected, the value in the "Total extrusion
distance" field will be multiplied by the surface mesh size. The resulting value will
be the total thickness of the boundary layers.
If the "Absolute length dimension" option is selected, the value in the "Total
extrusion distance" field will be the total thickness of the boundary layers.
If the "Percentage average local size" option is selected, the value in the "Total
extrusion distance" field will be used as a percentage of the surface mesh size in the
area of the boundary layer.
You can specify how many boundary layers will be created in the "Layers" field. The
"Growth rate" field is used to specify the ratio of the mesh sizes between adjacent layers.
This value must be greater than one. The outermost layer of wedges will be the thinnest and
the subsequent layers will each increase in thickness.
It is strongly recommended that you exclude all inlet and outlet surfaces from the boundary
layer mesh to avoid poor mesh quality at the fluid inlets and outlets. The basic guideline is to
use boundary layers only where a real wall exists. To exclude surfaces, first select the ones to
be excluded, right-click in the display area, and choose the "CAD Mesh Options: Exclude
From Boundary Layer" command.
Example of Internal Fluid Generation and Boundary Layer Meshing

To illustrate the internal fluid generation functionality, we will use the model, Internal
Fluid.step, located in the "Chapter 2 Example Model\Input Files" folder of the class directory
or Solutions CD. This is a model of a T-intersection of two pipes, with one of the ends
capped. We want to analyze the flow inside the pipes.
We will derive the fluid part automatically within the simulation software. To ensure the
fluid generation capability, surface knitting will be performed when importing the CAD
model. As stated previously, the default behavior for a new software installations is to NOT
perform surface knitting. We will change this option during the file opening process for this
exercise and then restore the default settings after importing the CAD solid model.
Simulation"

"Open"
"STEP (*.stp, *.ste, *.step)"

"Options"
"Global"
"Yes"
28
Select the "STEP (*.stp, *.ste, *.step)" option in the CAD

Files section of the "Files of type:" drop-down box.
Click on the "Options" button in the lower left corner of the
"Open" dialog box.
Select the "Global" tab of the "CAD Import: STEP files
Properties" dialog box.
Activate the "Yes" radio button. Surface knitting will be
performed for this model and for importing of all future
CAD models, unless the option is changed once again.
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"OK"
"Internal Fluid.step"
Select the file "Internal Fluid.step" in the "Chapter 2

Example Model \Input Files" directory.
"Open"
"Use STEP file units"

"OK"
"Fluid Flow: Steady Fluid
Flow"
"OK"
Choose the option to "Use STEP file units" if it is not

already selected and click the "OK" button. The original
STEP file length unit is inches.
A "Choose Analysis Type" dialog will appear. Press the
arrow button next to the analysis type field and select the
"Fluid Flow" pull-out menu. Select the "Steady Fluid
Flow" command.
Press the "OK" button. The model should appear in the
FEA Editor environment, as shown in Figure 2.4.
Figure 2.4: Model in the FEA Editor Environment

"Tools: Options: CAD
Import"
"Global CAD Import
Options"

"Options" command. Click on the "CAD Import" tab.
Press the "Global CAD Import Options" button.
"No"
Activate the "No" radio button to the right of the "Knit

surfaces on import:" heading. This will restore the default
CAD import behavior for future models.
"OK"
Press "OK" to exit the Global CAD Import Options dialog.
"OK"
Press "OK" to exit the Options dialog.

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29

"Mesh: Fluid Generation:
Internal"
Access the MESH pull-down menu and select the "Fluid

Generation" pull-out menu. Select the "Internal"
command.
Click on a surface on the inside of the pipe.
Mouse
Press the "Select" button in the "Interior surface" section

of the "Generate Fluid Interior" dialog.
Click and drag in the display area using the middle mouse
button to rotate the model until both open ends of pipe are
visible. You may also rotate the mouse wheel to zoom in or
out, if desired.
"Select"
Mouse
Click on one of the bounding surfaces as shown in Figure 2.5.
Mouse
Figure 2.5: Location of the Bounding Surfaces

<Ctrl> Mouse
"Add"
"OK"
30
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, click on the other bounding

surface as shown in Figure 2.5.
Press the "Add" button in the "Bounding Surfaces"
section of the "Generate Fluid Interior" dialog.
Press the "OK" button. A new part will be created
representing the fluid inside the pipes.
Mouse
Right-click on the heading for Part 1 in the tree view.
"Deactivate"
Select the "Deactivate" command to exclude it from the

analysis. Only the newly created fluid part will now appear,
as shown in Figure 2.6.
3/15/2010
Figure 2.6: Internal Fluid Part

"Mesh: Model Mesh
Settings"

"Options"
Press the "Options" button.

drop-down box.
0.2
"Solid"
Select the "Solid" icon on the left side of the dialog.

(boundary layer)"

radio button.
"OK"
"OK"
"View: Orientation: Right

View"

"Orientation" pull-out menu. Select the "Right View"
command.
Mouse
Click on the small circular surface facing the screen.
Mouse

From Boundary Layer"

the "Exclude From Boundary Layer" command.
command.

View"
Mouse
Mouse


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31

"No"
Press the "No" button when asked to view the mesh results.
Mouse
button to rotate the model and inspect the mesh. The meshed
model should appear as shown in Figure 2.7.
Figure 2.7: Meshed Internal Fluid Part

We will complete the setup and analysis of this model later in this chapter.
Loading Options
For most fluid flow analyses, the flow is caused by a known pressure or velocity at some area
of the model. Therefore prescribed velocities and pressures are the most common fluid flow
loads. In addition to these loads, prescribed inlet/outlets allow the user to specify for which
exterior surfaces of the model the velocities and pressures are unknown.
Prescribed Inlet/Outlets
A prescribed inlet/outlet can be applied to any node or surface of a model. A prescribed
inlet/outlet specifies an area of the model where the velocity and pressure of the flow is not
known. A zero-traction state will be applied where a prescribed inlet/outlet exists. This will
results in a near zero pressure.
If the "Use Automatic Constraints" checkbox in the "Options" tab of the "Analysis
Parameters" dialog is activated, the program will automatically add zero velocity boundary
conditions to all nodes on exterior surfaces that do not have a prescribed velocity or
pressure/traction load applied and are not specified as a prescribed inlet/outlet. These are
commonly called wall constraints. This checkbox is activated by default and is recommended
because it eliminated the need for the user to manually apply the zero-velocity constraints to
every surface of the model. This option is always active while using the "Segregated" solver.
A prescribed inlet/outlet can be specified by selecting the desired node or surface and rightclicking in the display area. Select the "Add: Nodal Prescribed Inlet/Outlet" or "Add:
Surface Prescribed Inlet/Outlet" command. A red "I" symbol will appear on each
selected node for nodal-based inlet/outlets. For surface-based inlet/outlets, a green "I" symbol
will appear at every node along the selected surface(s).
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Prescribed Velocity
Prescribed velocities can be applied to any node, edge or surface of a model. Prescribed
velocities applied to edges or surfaces will apply the velocity conditions to every node on the
edge or surface. A prescribed velocity can be applied to a model by selecting the desired
node, edge, or surface and right-clicking in the display area. Select the "Add: Nodal
Prescribed Velocity", "Add: Edge Prescribed Velocity" or "Add Surface Prescribed
Velocity" command. For a selected surface, the dialog shown in Figure 2.8 will appear.
Figure 2.8: Prescribed Velocity Dialog

For each direction in which you want to constrain the velocity, activate the checkbox. If a
checkbox is not activated, the velocity in that direction will have no constraint. For example,
if you want fluid to flow into a model at 1 in/s in the X direction, activate all three
checkboxes. Type "1" in the "X Magnitude" field and leave the other values at 0. If the
"Y Magnitude" and "Z Magnitude" checkboxes are not activated, the fluid will be able to
flow at a non-zero magnitude in those directions.
Generally, it is suggested that you use fully-constrained velocity components except for when you
intentionally wish to model symmetrical boundary conditions (that is, boundaries where only the
normal velocity is zero). For symmetrical models, leave the velocity in the directions parallel to
the symmetry plane undefined and set the velocity normal to the symmetry plane to zero.
Pressure/Traction
Pressures or tractions can be applied to any surface of a model. A pressure is always applied
normal to the face of the element. A traction is a uniform load applied along a specified
direction. A pressure or traction can be applied to a model by selecting the desired surface
and right-clicking in the display area. Select the "Add Surface Pressure/Traction"
command. The dialog shown in Figure 2.9 will appear.
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33
Figure 2.9: Surface Pressure/Traction Dialog

If you are applying a traction load (that is, a pressure that acts in a specific direction rather
than normal to the selected surfaces), select the "Traction" radio button. Specify the
magnitude of the traction in each of the three global directions in the "X Magnitude", "Y
Magnitude" and "Z Magnitude" fields. Note that the Traction option is not supported for
the Segregated formulation.
Select the "Pressure" radio button if you are applying a uniform pressure (that is, one that
has the same magnitude over the entire surface and that acts normal to the selected surfaces).
Specify the magnitude of the pressure in the "Magnitude" field. The value in the
"Magnitude" field will be treated differently depending upon which one of the five radio
buttons immediately below the "Magnitude" field is selected.
If the "Static pressure" radio button is selected, the value in the "Magnitude" field will be
the static pressure component only. If the "Modified pressure for outlet backflow" radio
button is selected, the value in the "Magnitude" field will be the static pressure. However,
additional calculations will be performed to prevent a backflow through the surface. A
backflow condition is when there is inward flow at a portion of an outlet surface or outward
flow at a portion of an inlet surface.
If the "Total pressure" radio button is selected, the value in the "Magnitude" field will be
the total pressure. This can be used to represent a flow that is open to the ambient
environment. This can also be used whenever the stagnation pressure is known but the static
pressure is unknown and the flow rate and/or velocity is also unknown.
The Vent boundary conditions simulate pressure boundaries with a specified loss
coefficient. If the "Vent Inlet" or "Vent Outlet" radio button is selected, the value in the
"Magnitude" field will be the total pressure. The Loss Coefficient of the vent must be
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specified in the provided data field. Please refer to the program Help files for more
information regarding the definition and calculation of the loss coefficient.
Note that only the Static pressure option is supported for the Mixed GLS and Penalty
formulation options. The other four options will not be available for these formulations.
In addition you can specify a loss coefficient. The loss coefficient, KL, will be used to
calculate the loss at the vent, p using the following equation:
p = K L
1
2
Vnormal
,
2
where is the fluid density and Vnormal is the velocity normal to the surface. The loss will be
subtracted from the total pressure for an inlet vent and added to the total pressure for an outlet vent.
Pressures and tractions follow a load curve through the analysis. This load curve can be specified
in the "Load Curve" field. The load curve will be defined in the "Analysis Parameters" dialog.
Returning to the internal fluid model, we will apply prescribed velocities of 1 in/s in the X
direction to the inlet of the smaller diameter pipe. The open end of the pipe will be assigned
as a prescribed inlet/outlet.
View"

command.
Mouse
Click on the small circular surface facing the screen.
Mouse

Velocity"

Prescribed Velocity" command.
Mouse
Activate the "X Magnitude" checkbox.
-1
Type "-1" in the "X Magnitude" field.
"OK"

View"

command.
Mouse
Mouse

Inlet/Outlet"

Prescribed Inlet/Outlet" command.
Double-click on the "Material" heading for Part 2 in the
tree view.
Mouse
"Water"
Highlight "Water" from the list of available materials.
"OK"

View"

View" command.
We will again resume the setup and analysis of this model later in this chapter, after some
discussion of the analysis parameters.
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35
Load Curves
As mentioned previously, the magnitudes of prescribed velocities, pressures and tractions follow
load curves throughout a fluid flow analysis. Load curves are necessary for both steady and
unsteady fluid flow analyses. Though time is not meaningful for a steady fluid flow analysis,
the load curves help provide a sequence of guesses for the nonlinear equilibrium equations. This
helps the solution converge. For an unsteady fluid flow analysis, load curves control the
magnitudes of prescribed velocities, pressures, tractions and gravity as a function of time. Load
curves are defined in the "Analysis Parameters" dialog. This can be accessed by rightclicking on the "Analysis Type" heading in the tree view and selecting the "Modify Analysis
Parameters" command. For a steady fluid flow analysis, the "Analysis Parameters" dialog
will appear as shown in Figure 2.10.
Figure 2.10: Analysis Parameters Dialog

For an unsteady fluid flow analysis, the "Initial multiplier" field will not appear within the "Load
Curves" tab of the dialog. Instead, the first row of the "Custom Load-Stepping Settings" table will
indicate the initial condition. In addition, the "Pseudo-Time" column will be renamed "Time"
because the values represent actual, absolute time points for unsteady fluid flow analyses.
A proper load curve will provide rapid convergence for a fluid flow model. Since fluid flow
is a nonlinear, iterative process, the loads will normally start with a multiplier of 0 and ramp
up to the final value. At least two points are required on the load curve. Use the "Add Row"
button to add additional rows to the spreadsheet. The "Delete Row" button will remove the
current row from the spreadsheet. The "Sort" button will sort the spreadsheet rows based on
increasing time. Specify the time for each point in the "Time" or "Pseudo-Time" column.
Specify the corresponding load multiplier in the "Multiplier" column. Note that for a steady
flow analysis, the value in the "Initial Multiplier" field represents the first point of the load
curve and the values in the first row of the table represent the second point of the load curve.
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Each time interval can be split into multiple calculation steps using the "Steps" column. This
entry determines how many steps are performed in the time interval starting on the previous
row and ending on the current row. The value on the first row is not used in an unsteady
analysis. For each calculation step, the processor will perform up to a maximum number of
iterations, determined as a function of the number specified in the "Max Iterations" column.
The actual number of iterations is not the number specified by the user. Specifically, the
processor will allow up to 95 times the user-specified Max Iterations number for steady
fluid flow and up to 47 times this value for unsteady fluid flow.
The processor will move on to the next step as soon as convergence occurs. So, the maximum
number of iterations will only be performed if convergence does not occur sooner. If the
solution does not converge (or is diverging), then the processor will either reduce the time
step (and therefore the load increment) or it will use an inertial relaxation technique. The
method used depends upon the solution formulation.
The values on Row 2 of the Time-Stepping Settings table correspond to the time interval
between Row 1 and Row 2, and so on. Therefore, the value in the "Max Iterations" column
for Row 1 has no affect for an unsteady analysis, since this is the initial condition.
Use the "Turbulence" column to activate the turbulence calculation. Specifying a value of 0
in this column will deactivate turbulence for that time interval. Specifying a value of 1 in this
column will activate turbulence for that time interval. The purpose of this calculation is to
capture real turbulence effects in fluid flow, such as the additional turbulence viscosity,
kinetic energy, and vortex dissipation rate. This option should NOT be used for time steps
involving laminar flow. The additional turbulence viscosity would tend to degrade the
accuracy of the solution, since there is no turbulence velocity in laminar flow situations.
Because of the extra effects that the turbulence option captures, it will also help convergence,
which typically becomes easier as viscosity increases. However, this is not the primary purpose
of the option and it should only be used where appropriate (transitional and turbulent flow).
Note that the value in Row 2 corresponds to the time interval between Row 1 and Row 2, and
so on. For an unsteady analysis, the value in Row 1 is the initial condition only and does not
represent any time interval by itself. Therefore, the value in the "Turbulence" column for
Row 1 has no affect for an unsteady analysis.
The "Upwind" column can be used to specify whether or not a time marching algorithm is
used for the time integration scheme. Specifying a value of 1 in this column for a given row
will implement the time marching algorithm for the time interval represented by that row. A
value of zero will prevent usage of the algorithm. The Upwind option is applicable to
unsteady fluid flow analysis only. Activating this option is recommended, as it generally
improves the accuracy of the results.
Note that the value in Row 2 corresponds to the time interval between Row 1 and Row 2, and
so on. For an unsteady analysis, the value in Row 1 is the initial condition only and does not
represent any time interval by itself. Therefore, the value in the "Upwind" column for
Row 1 has no affect for an unsteady analysis.
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37
Convergence Controls for the "Mixed GLS" and "Penalty" Formulation Options
Because fluid flow is a nonlinear process, it may be necessary for the processor to perform
several iterations. Then, the question becomes how to know whether the solution at any step
has converged or not. The following four columns of the Custom Load-Stepping Settings
table are applicable only to the "Mixed GLS" and "Penalty" formulations, as specified within
the "Solution" tab of the Analysis Parameters dialog. The columns used for the "Segregated"
formulation will be discussed later.
The "Residual Type" column can be used to indicate whether or not the velocity residual
(that is, the error in the Navier-Stokes equation) is to be used for the convergence criteria and
also whether the absolute or relative norm is to be used. Specifying a value of 1 in this
column will use the ratio of the current to previous norm for that time interval. This is the
recommended setting. Specifying a value of 0 will use the absolute norm. Specifying a value
of -1 will ignore the residual calculation. The value in Row 2 corresponds to the time interval
between Row 1 and Row 2, and so on. Therefore, the value in the "Residual Type" column
for Row 1 has no affect for an unsteady analysis. If the calculated residual norm is less than
the tolerance specified in the "Residual Tol" column, the calculation step has converged, and
the processor will move on to the next step. For an unsteady fluid flow analysis, the value in
Row 1 indicates the initial condition (at time = 0). The value in each subsequent row
corresponds to the time interval between the previous and current rows. Therefore, for an
unsteady analysis, the value in the "Residual Tol" column of Row 1 has no affect.
The "Increment Type" column can be used to indicate whether or not the velocity increment
(that is, the change in velocity from step to step) is to be used for the convergence criteria and
also whether the absolute or relative norm is to be used. Specifying a value of 0 in this
column will use the absolute norm for that time interval. This is the recommended setting.
Specifying a value of 1 will use the ratio of the current to the previous norm. Specifying a
value of -1 will ignore the residual calculation. For an unsteady fluid flow analysis, the value
in Row 1 indicates the initial condition (at time = 0). The value in each subsequent row
corresponds to the time interval between the previous and current rows. Therefore, the value
in the "Increment Type" column for Row 1 has no affect for an unsteady analysis. If the
calculated increment norm is less than the value in the "Increment Tol" column, the
calculation step has converged, and the processor will move on to the next step.
Output and Printout Intervals

The value in the "Output Interval" column is the number of calculation steps between
outputs of the results. This parameter affects what results are available in the Results
environment. A value of 1 indicates that results are written at every step, a value of 2
indicates results are written at every other step, and so on. The value in the "Printout"
column is the number of calculation steps between outputs of the text results. This input
affects what results are written to the summary file. A value of 1 indicates that results are
written at every step, a value of 2 indicates results are written at every other step, and so on.
Convergence Controls for the "Segregated" Formulation Option

The final four columns of the "Time-Stepping Settings" table control the convergence criteria
for the "Segregated" formulation, as specified within the "Solution" tab of the Analysis
Parameters dialog. The "Norm-V Type" and "Norm-P Type" are the type of convergence
criteria to use for the velocity and pressure calculations, respectively. The acceptable values
are 0 (use the absolute norm) and 1 (use the ratio of the current to previous norm). The latter
type is the default for both velocity and pressure convergence. If the calculated norms are less
than the tolerance specified in the "Velocity Norm" and "Pressure Norm" columns, the
calculation step has converged, and the processor will move on to the next step.
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Turbulence
By default, when turbulence is included in a fluid flow analysis, the Smagorinsky's Subgrid
Scale (SGS) model of the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model is used. In addition to this
method, the standard two-equation k-epsilon turbulence model is available. This model includes
a wall function and will consider surface roughness. This model is currently available for 3-D
steady or unsteady fluid-flow analyses using either the Segregated or Mixed GLS formulation.
In addition, when the Mixed GLS formulation is being used, the "Use implicit time
integration" option must also be active. This option is active by default and is accessed via the
steady or unsteady "Fluid Flow Formulation Options" dialog. To reach this dialog, click the
">>" button to the right of the "Formulation" field within the "Solution" tab.
The k-epsilon model can be specified in the same manner as the previous method. In the
"Load Curves" tab of the "Analysis Parameters" dialog, type a "1" in the "Turbulence"
column of the table for the time steps in which you want turbulence to be included as shown
in Figure 2.11, row 2.
Figure 2.11: Specifying Turbulence

In the "Turbulence" tab, select the "k-epsilon" option in the "Turbulence model
selection" drop-down box. The initial conditions need to be specified for the k-epsilon
turbulence model in the "Initial Conditions Based On" section. The "Characteristic Inlet
Length Scale" and "Characteristic Inlet Velocity Scale" set the initial conditions for
turbulence kinetic energy and dissipation rate in solving the k-epsilon equations. These
values can be found by checking the diameter or the hydraulic diameter of the inlet section,
and the specified velocity value at the inlet. If pressure is specified at the inlet surface,
estimation could be found either by the knowledge of the user about the application or by
solving the problem using the LES turbulence model for a couple of steps.
The default "Roughness Height" and "Roughness Constant" are assigned to any fixed wall
that does not have a part or surface roughness assigned to it. The values in the "Model
Constants" section are variables used in the k-epsilon equation. These values are determined
from experimental data. The defaults are the values used by the standard k-epsilon model.
Refer to the Help files for information on how each variable is used in the equation.
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39
Surface Prescribed Turbulence Conditions

Turbulence can be added to the inlet or outlet surfaces of a model in the display area. If you
select a surface, right-click and select the "Surface Prescribed Turbulence Conditions"
command. The dialog shown in Figure 2.12 will appear.
Figure 2.12: Surface Prescribed Turbulence Condition Dialog

First you must specify whether the turbulence at the surface is driven by a pressure or a velocity
in the "Surface condition type" drop-down box. The "Velocity inlet" is the preferred option
and is required for the inflow boundaries when any velocity, pressure, or inlet/outlet conditions
are specified. The "Pressure outlet" condition is optional and is only applicable when back
flow (that is, flow back into the model) occurs at any nodes along a pressure outlet.
Next, you must choose how you want to specify the conditions in the "Parameter type"
drop-down box. If the "Intensity scale factor" option is selected, the inlet conditions are
specified with the "KE intensity" [the turbulent kinetic energy intensity (I)] and "Epsilon
scale factor" [the turbulent kinetic dissipation scale factor (SF)] fields. The "KE intensity"
is used to determine the inlet turbulent kinetic energy (k) by, k = 1.5*(I*Uinlet)2. The
"Epsilon scale factor" is used to determine the inlet turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate
(Epsilon) by, Epsilon = Cmu*(k1.5)/(SF*L) where L is the characteristic length scale at the inlet,
and Cmu is the turbulent model constant with a value of 0.09.
If the "KE and epsilon" option is selected from the Parameter type drop-down box, the
inlet conditions are specified directly with the turbulence kinetic energy (k) and the turbulence
kinetic energy dissipation rate (Epsilon). The values for "Turb. kinetic energy" and "Turb.
dissipation rate" can be obtained from either upstream flow conditions, experiments, or
estimation based on the main flow conditions at the inlet. For example, K and epsilon might
be estimated by, K=Cbc*(Uinlet)2 and Epsilon = Cmu*(K1.5)/L0 where Cbc is a constant between
0.003 and 0.01, and L0 is a default mixing length value at the inlet with a value between the
minimum admissible and maximum admissible eddies.
Wall Roughness
The k-epsilon model supports wall roughness. The wall roughness can be applied on two
levels in the user interface. The settings can be defined in the "Default Wall Roughness
Settings" section of the "Turbulence" tab of the "Analysis Parameters" dialog. Secondly,
if a surface is selected, you can right-click and select the "Add: Surface Prescribed Wall
Roughness" command. Each surface prescribed roughness that the user defines will
override the default value for the selected surface(s).
40
3/15/2010

When any of these methods is used you will need to specify the following values.
Roughness Height: This is the height of the surface irregularities (typically designated as )
for uniform sand-grain roughness, or a mean height value for non-uniform sand-grain
roughness. For other commercial pipes, the "equivalent sand-grain roughness" height can be
used, and the data can be found in most fluid and piping handbooks. The default value of 0.0
indicates that the surface is treated as a smooth wall.
Roughness Constant: This is the non-dimensional constant which is used to consider the
effect of the non-uniform nature of surface roughness for real world pipes. For uniform sandgrain surfaces, it takes a value of 0.5 as the default. A higher value between 0.5 and 1.0 might
be chosen to consider the effect of non-uniformity of the wall roughness.
Returning to the Internal Fluid model, we will now apply a load curve.
Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
20
Type "20" in the first row of the "Steps" column.
Recall that the prescribed velocity for this model has been specified as -1 in/sec. in the
X-direction. Since, by default, the "Initial multiplier" field is set to 0 and the multiplier in
row 1 of the load table is set to 1, the prescribed velocity will be zero at time zero and will
ramp up from -1/20 in/sec. in the X-direction for the first step to -1 for the 20th step. Each
pseudo-time step or load case represents a steady-state fluid flow solution given the inlet
velocity for that particular step. The actual time needed to achieve steady-state flow is
unknown. For that information, an unsteady flow analysis would be required.
"OK"
"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse

"Perform Analysis" command to run the analysis. The
model will be displayed in the Results environment while
the steps are solving.

The maximum velocity at the end of the analysis is in the interior of the fluid region. By
default, only the surface results are rendered. To see the velocities at the midplane of the
fluid, we will create a slice plane. The steps that follow may be performed while the solution
is still running. Simply minimize the analysis window to get it out of the way.
"View: Orientation: Back
View"
Mouse
"Add Slice Plane: 2) XZ"
Mouse

"Orientation" pull-out menu. Select the "Back View"
command.
Right-click on the "Slice Planes" heading under the
"Presentations" heading in the tree view.
"2) XZ" command.
Right-click on the "XZ Slice Plane" heading in the tree
view.
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41

"Hide"
"Results Options: Load Case:

Previous" or
Next"

Choosing a selection shape command terminates the slice
plane editing mode. This will prevent you from accidentally
moving or rotating the slice plane when using the mouse.
Access the RESULTS OPTIONS pull-down menu and
select the "Load Case" pull-out menu. Use the
"Previous" or "Next" commands to display the velocity
results throughout the analysis.
The maximum velocity magnitude for load case 20, when viewing the sliced model, should
approximately match the value in the table below.
Maximum Velocity for
Load Case 20
(in/s)
~2.04
A completed archive of this model, including results, Internal Fluid.ach, is located in the
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Exercise A
Venturi Model
3-D Elements
Concepts that will be Illustrated:
Meshing a CAD solid model with a boundary layer mesh.

Specifying a refinement point to produce local mesh refinement.
Applying prescribed velocities.
Applying prescribed inlet/outlets.
Applying symmetry constraints.
Objective:
Mesh and perform an unsteady fluid flow analysis on the model of the fluid in the venturi
shown below. The fluid passages in the immediate area of the venturi are very narrow.
So, local mesh refinement will be used to produce a greater concentration of nodes in the
interior of the flow paths.
Geometry:
Use the file, Exercise A.step, in the "Exercise A\Input File" folder of the class directory or
Solutions CD. Specify a refinement point at coordinates (0, 0, 0) with a radius of 0.5"
and a divide factor of 4. Mesh the model with an absolute mesh size of 1/8" (0.125) using
a boundary layer mesh. Exclude the inlet surface (the one with a 45 in/s prescribed
velocity in the -Y direction), the two prescribed inlet/outlet surfaces, and the symmetry
surface from receiving a boundary layer mesh.
Loading:
45 in/s velocity in the Y direction as shown in the image above.
Constraints:
Symmetry conditions along symmetry plane.

Prescribed inlet/outlets at two locations as shown in the image above.
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43
Element:
3-D
Materials:
Water
Load curve:
Results:
Time
Multiplier
Steps
0.0
1.0
0.0
1.0
1
20
To save time, you may stop the analysis after the solution converges for a couple of time
steps. Then, to review the completed results, open the results archive, which is located in
the "Exercise A\Results Archive" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
Maximum Velocity Magnitude
(in/s) at 1 second
~311
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Chapter
Results Evaluation and Presentation

Chapter Objectives
Learn the types of results available for fluid flow analyses.

Learn how to use slice planes to view the results at the interior of the fluid.
Learn how to plot particle paths.
Learn how to plot streamlines.
Result Types
Reaction Forces
The "Reaction Vector" pull-out menu in the RESULTS pull-down menu will only be
available if the "Calculate" option was selected in the "Options for calculating reactions"
drop-down box in the "Output" tab of the "Analysis Parameters" dialog. The commands
will display the reaction forces in the fluid model. Non-zero reaction forces will exist at the
boundaries where a prescribed velocity has been applied. Either the magnitude; the individual
X, Y and Z components; or a vector plot can be displayed.
Velocity
The velocity results can be displayed using the "Velocity" pull-out menu in the RESULTS
pull-down menu. The "Magnitude" option is the default result type and will automatically
be displayed on the model as the analysis proceeds. In addition, the X, Y or Z magnitude of
the velocity can be displayed. The "Vector Plot" command is often useful for a fluid flow
analysis because it allows the user to easily see the direction of the flow
Pressure
The nodal-based smoothed pressure results can be displayed using the "Pressure" command
in the RESULTS pull-down menu. The least-squares method of smoothing the pressure
results will be used. This method will provide accurate results for internal nodes. For high
Reynolds number flows, this method may not provide accurate results at boundaries where
prescribed velocities have been applied.
Vorticity
The nodal-based smoothed vorticity results can be displayed using the "Vorticity" command
in the RESULTS pull-down menu. Vorticity is only available for 2-D elements. The vorticity
is a measure of the rotation of a fluid element as it moves through a flow field. The leastsquares method of smoothing the vorticity results will be used. This method will provide
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Chapter 3: Results Evaluation and Presentation

accurate results for internal nodes. For high Reynolds number flows, this method may not
provide accurate results at boundaries where prescribed velocities have been applied.
Vorticity Precision
The precision results based on the vorticity can be displayed using the "Vorticity Precision"
command in the RESULTS pull-down menu. Vorticity precision is only available for 2-D
elements. Precision is a method of highlighting stepped changes in results between adjacent
elements. In an ideal model, the vorticity would change smoothly between adjacent elements.
However, in the process of discretizing the model with elements, there will be a change in the
results. The vorticity precision measures the local gradient in vorticity scaled by a global
maximum vorticity. This will allow the user to see areas that may require a finer mesh.
Vorticity precision is calculated as:
where:
n = the vorticity obtained by the smoothing process at node n
e = the interpolated vorticity at the center of element e
max = a global maximum of n
Flow Rate
The volumetric flow rate results (in units of length3/time) can be displayed using the "Flow
Rate" command within the RESULTS pull-down menu. This is an element-based result,
calculated at the centroids of the elements and projected to the element faces. To inquire on
the flow rate for selected element faces, smoothing of the results must be disabled. The
"Smooth Results" setting is in the RESULTS OPTIONS pull-down menu. Click this
command to toggle smoothing on or off.
You may also inquire on the nodal flow rates when result smoothing is enabled, in which case
the nodal results are approximated from the original element-based results. However, the
greatest accuracy is obtained when using the element face flow rate results.
A positive value represents flow into the element and a negative value represents flow out of
the element. Nodal results will be zero at interior nodes, since the sum of flow into and out of
the node must be zero. However, nonzero results will be shown for individual element faces
within the interior fluid flow path. Both face-based and nodal results will be zero for
boundaries at which the velocity is constrained in all three global directions. The exception to
this is for nodes along the edge of a surface that has one of the following conditions applied to
ita prescribed inlet/outlet, a nonzero prescribed velocity, or a fan surface. In these cases,
the nodal flow rate approximation takes into account the flow through the adjacent elements.
Even though the node itself is constrained to zero velocity, there will be a nonzero flow result
due to the flow through the applicable portion of the adjacent elements.
Stress
The "Stress" pull-out menu in the RESULTS pull-down menu will only be available if the
"Output stress data" checkbox is activated in the "Output" tab of the "Analysis Parameters"
dialog. The commands will display the stresses within the fluid due to the viscosity. The "XX,"
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"YY," and "ZZ" commands will display the normal stress in the respective directions. The
"XY," "YZ," and "ZX" commands will display the shear stress in the respective directions.
Presentation Options
3-D Visualization of 2-D Elements
Access the TOOLS pull-down menu and select the "Options" command. Next, click on the
"Results" tab. Within this dialog there is a button called "3-D Element Visualization" that
produces the dialog shown in Figure 3.1 when pressed.
Figure 3.1: 3-D Element Visualization Dialog

The "Visualize 2-D elements in 3-D" option must be activated prior to loading a model into
the Results environment for the 3-D rendering capability to be available. Assuming that this
has been done, right-click on a part or parts within the model tree and enable the "3-D
Visualization" option to view a 2-D model as if it were a solid model. This capability is
applicable to both planar and axisymmetric 2-D models and is available only within the
Results environment.
Slice Planes
For most 3-D fluid flow models, the velocity results at most of the exterior of the model are
zero. It is desired to view the results at the interior of the model. A slice plane can be added
to a model to look at the results on the interior mesh. A slice plane can be added to a model
by right-clicking on the "Slice Planes" heading for the desired presentation and selecting the
"Add Slice Plane" pull-out menu. The three global planes and the isometric option will be
available. Once a plane is selected, the orientation of the plane can be modified using the
commands in the "Slice Planes" pull-out menu in the DISPLAY OPTIONS pull-down menu.
The "Rotate About I", "Rotate About J" and "Rotate About Origin" commands will
allow you to change the angle at which the plane is oriented. The I axis is the red axis on the
slice plane. The J axis is the green axis on the slice plane. The origin is located where the I
and J axes meet on the slice plane. The location of the slice plane along the normal axis can
be controlled using the "Translate Along K" command. The pop-up tool tip for the
associated toolbar icon will say "Translate Normal." The "Flip" command will hide the
elements on the opposite side of the slice plane. Once the slice plane is defined to your
specifications, you can right-click on the heading for the particular slice plane and select the
"Hide" command. This will cause the translucent plane to disappear from the view. The
slice plane will still be in effect. To deactivate the effect of the slice plane, right-click on the
heading for the particular slice plane and select the "Deactivate" command.
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Particle Paths
For an unsteady fluid flow analysis, it is possible to track the movement of a massless particle in
the fluid flow model using the "Results Options: Add Particle Paths" command. The
"Particle Paths" dialog shown in Figure 3.2 will appear. This dialog can also be accessed by
selecting nodes in the display area, right-clicking, and selecting the "Add Particle Paths"
command. If the dialog is accessed in this manner, the "Track Nodal Selection (Interactive
Mode)" checkbox will be activated and the part of the dialog below the checkbox will be hidden.
Figure 3.2: Particle Paths Dialog

The nodes through which the particles will pass can be selected using two methods. If the
"Track Nodal Selection (Interactive Mode)" checkbox is activated, all nodes currently
selected in the display area will be used. If the checkbox is deactivated, the nodes listed in the
area below will be used. A node can be added to this list either by selecting it in the display
area and pressing the "Add" button, or by pressing the "Specify" button and entering the
node number.
Pressing the "Particle Path Settings" button will access the "Particle Path Settings"
dialog shown in Figure 3.3.
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Figure 3.3: Particle Path Settings Dialog

Specify the time when you want the first particle to pass through the selected nodes in the
"Start time" field. Specify how often you want to release particles through the nodes in the
"Time interval between introducing particles" field. Specify how many particles you want
to pass through each node in the "Number of particles to introduce" field. Press the "OK"
button to accept these settings.
Pressing the "Appearance" button will access the dialog shown in Figure 3.4.
Figure 3.4: Appearance Dialog for Particle Paths

If the current result contour being displayed is the velocity and the "Color by velocity, when
plotting velocity values" checkbox is activated, the particles will be colored according to the
velocity at that time. Otherwise the particles will be the color selected in the "Color" dropdown box. If the "Render solid objects" checkbox is activated, the particles will appear as
spheres. If the checkbox is deactivated, the particles will appear as 2-D dots. The "Width"
slider can be used to control the size of the particles. If you want to connect the particles
going through each node, activate the "Connect paths as streaklines" checkbox.
All of the particle paths defined in one session of the "Particle Paths" dialog will be grouped
together as a single entry under the "Flow Visualization" heading in the tree view. This
group can be named either through the tree view or by entering descriptive name in the
"Name" field. When you exit the "Particle Paths" dialog and access it again, a new group
will be created. You can also create a new group by right-clicking on the "Flow
Visualization" heading in the tree view and selecting the "New Particle Path Group"
command. You can edit an existing group by right-clicking on the heading for that group in
the tree view and selecting the "Edit" command. You can delete an existing group by rightclicking on the heading for that group in the tree view and selecting the "Delete" command.
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49

Any active particle paths will update as you toggle through load cases. They will also be
included in animations.
The "Use For Plotting Particle Paths" button can be used to toggle between plotting particle
paths and plotting streamlines.
Streamlines
For both steady and unsteady fluid flow analyses, it is possible to show the flow through a
node during a fluid flow analysis using the "Results Options: Add Streamlines"
command. The "Streamlines" dialog shown in Figure 3.5 will appear. This dialog can also
be accessed by selecting nodes in the display area, right-clicking and selecting the "Add
Particle Paths" command. If the dialog is accessed in this manner, the "Track Nodal
Selection (Interactive Mode)" checkbox will be activated and the part of the dialog below
the checkbox will be hidden.
Figure 3.5: Streamlines Dialog

The nodes through which the streamline will pass can be selected using two methods. If the
"Track Nodal Selection (Interactive Mode)" checkbox is activated, all nodes currently
selected in the display area will be used. If the checkbox is deactivated, the nodes listed in the
area below will be used. A node can be added to this list either by selecting it in the display
area and pressing the "Add" button, or by pressing the "Specify" button and entering the
node number.
You can control what part of the streamline is displayed using the radio buttons in the
"Propagate" section. If the "Downstream" radio button is selected, a streamline will start
at the node and will continue in the direction of the positive velocity until it terminates. If the
"Upstream" radio button is selected, a streamline will start at the node and will continue in
the opposite direction of the positive velocity until it terminates. If the "Both" radio button is
selection, a streamline will start at the node and will continue in both directions.
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Pressing the "Appearance" button will access the dialog shown in Figure 3.6.
Figure 3.6: Appearance Dialog for Streamlines

If the current result contour being displayed is the velocity and the "Color by velocity, when
plotting velocity values" checkbox is activated, the streamlines will be colored according to
the velocity at that time. Otherwise the particles will be the color selected in the "Color"
drop-down box. If the "Render solid objects" checkbox is activated, the streamlines will
appear as cylinders. If the checkbox is deactivated, the particles will appear as lines. The
"Width" slider can be used to control the size of the streamlines.
All of the streamlines defined in one session of the "Streamlines" dialog will be grouped
together as a single entry under the "Flow Visualization" heading in the tree view. This
group can be named either through the tree view or by entering descriptive name in the
"Name" field. When you exit the "Streamlines" dialog and access it again, a new group
will be created. You can also create a new group by right-clicking on the "Flow
Visualization" heading in the tree view and selecting the "New Streamline Group"
command. You can edit an existing group by right-clicking on the heading for that group in
the tree view and selecting the "Edit" command. You can delete an existing group by rightclicking on the heading for that group in the tree view and selecting the "Delete" command.
Any active streamlines will update as you toggle through load cases. They will also be
included in animations.
The "Use For Plotting Streamlines" button can be used to toggle between plotting
streamlines and plotting particle paths.
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Exercise B
3-D Flow around a Building
3-D Elements
Boundary layer meshing.

Applying surface prescribed velocities.
Applying surface prescribed inlet/outlets.
Displaying particle paths and streamlines.
Objective:
Run an unsteady fluid flow analysis to determine the velocity profile as air flows over
and around a building at 3 mph (52.8 in/s) and at 30 mph (528 in/s). We expect
transitional flow for the lower speed and turbulent flow for the higher speed so we will
enable the turbulence option for all calculation steps except for the initial condition
(speed = 0).
Geometry:
The file, Exercise B.step, found in the "Exercise B\Input File" folder of the class
directory or Solutions CD, contains the air volume shown below. The volume
corresponding to the building has already been removed. Create a boundary layer mesh
for the model shown below. Use 100% mesh size and deactivate the boundary layer on
the inlet, outlet, top and sides.
Loading:
Apply a prescribed velocity of 528 inches/second in the X direction to the surface on the
left end of the model.
Apply prescribed velocities of 0 inches/second in the Y direction to the front and back
surfaces of the model.
Apply a prescribed velocity of 0 inches/second in the Z direction to the top surface of the
model.
Constraints:
Apply a prescribed inlet/outlet to the right end of the model.
Element:
3-D
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53

Material:
Air
Load curve:
Time
Multiplier
Steps
Turbulence
0.1
20
42
0.1
10
50
20
90
10
Results:
Animate the results to view the changing velocity profile. Observe the appearance of
streamlines and particle paths as the results are animated.
Compare the maximum velocity magnitude result at the end of the simulation to the table
below.
Maximum Velocity
Magnitude
(in/s) at 90 seconds
~ 951
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Chapter
Additional Loading Options

Chapter Objectives
Learn how to generate a velocity or pressure load due to a fan located in the model or at the
exterior of the model.
Learn how to use rotating frames of reference.
Using a Fan Surface

A fan surface provides the user the ability to generate a velocity or pressure load that represents the
effects of a fan, pump, or blower. The fan surface must be applied to an exterior surface of a fluid
part, though it can be an interior surface of the model. If the fan is located within the fluid domain
(that is, in the interior of the model), multiple parts must be created. You would then apply the fan
to an exterior surface of one of the fluid parts, where it meets the adjacent fluid part. The effects of
the fan can be defined by specifying a fixed velocity, a fixed pressure, a fixed flow rate, a flow rate
curve, or a velocity curve. The velocity and flow rate may also vary with time.
Figure 4.1: Fan Object Dialog

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55
Chapter 4: Additional Loading Options

If you have surfaces selected, you can right-click in the display area and select the "Add"
pull-out menu. Then, choose the "Fan Surface..." command. The "Fan Object" dialog
shown in the preceding Figure 4.1 will appear.
First, you must specify the type of fan and the direction of flow. This is done in the "Type"
drop-down box. The "External exhaust" option should be used for a fan on an exterior
surface of the model that is moving the fluid out of the model and into the ambient conditions.
The "External intake" option should be used for a fan on an exterior surface of the model
that is moving the fluid out of the ambient conditions and into the model. The "Internal"
option should be used for a fan that is located inside the model (that is, at the boundary of two
adjacent fluid parts).
Next, you must specify the type of load that the fan will apply to the model. This is done via
the "Operation" drop-down box, which has the following options.
The "Fixed velocity" option should be used if the velocity of the fluid moving
through the fan is known and is constant. The velocity magnitude should be
specified in the "Magnitude" field.
The "Fixed flow rate" option should be used if the flow rate of the fluid moving
through the fan is known and is constant. The flow rate magnitude should be
specified in the "Magnitude" field.
The "Fixed pressure" option should be used if the pressure at the fan surface is
known and is constant. This is only available for external fans. If the fan is an
external exhaust fan, you should specify a negative pressure in the "Magnitude"
field. If the fan is an external intake fan, you should specify a positive pressure in
the "Magnitude" field.
The "Flow rate curve" option should be selected if the change in the flow rate with
respect to pressure is known. When this option is selected, you will be able to define
the flow rate vs. pressure curve. The pressure values must decrease with increasing
flow rates.
The "Velocity curve" option should be selected if the change in velocity with respect
to pressure is known. When this option is selected, you will be able to define the
velocity vs. pressure curve. The pressure values must decrease with increasing
velocities.
Next, specify the direction in which the fluid is flowing through the fan. You can either select
the "X", "Y, or "Z" radio button if the flow is aligned with a global axis or you can select the
"Custom" radio button to specify a vector. Pressing the "Vector Selector..." button will
allow you to specify a vector by selecting two points in the model.
Fan Swirl Effects

If you want to account for the velocity of the fluid in the plane parallel to the fan, activate the
"Swirl" checkbox and press the "Swirl setup..." button. The "Fan Swirl Setup" dialog shown
in Figure 4.2 will appear. For example, if you have a fan forcing fluid in the Z direction, the
rotation of the fan will cause the fluid to have a velocity in the X and Y directions as well as
the Z direction. First you must define the center point of the rotation. The velocities parallel
to the fan will be zero at this point. There are two methods that can be used to define the
swirl effects. If the "Velocity magnitude" option is selected in the "Type" drop-down box,
the velocity of the nodes will be a constant value regardless of the distance from the center of
rotation. This velocity will be specified in the "Value" field. If the "Revolutions over time"
option is selected, the velocity of the nodes will increase linearly as the distance from the
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center of rotation increases. The revolutions value in Hz must be specified in the "Value"
field. It is important to note that this is the revolutions over time of the fluid, not the fan.
Figure 4.2: Fan Swirl Setup Dialog
Example of Fan Surfaces

To illustrate how to apply a fan surface, we will use the model, Fan Surface.STEP, which is
located in the "Chapter 4 Example Model\Input Files" folder of the class directory or
Solutions CD. This is a model of a cylinder with a fan surface on one end. We want to
analyze the flow inside the cylinder.
Simulation"

"Open"

"Fan Surface.STEP"
"Open"
"OK"
"Fluid Flow: Unsteady Fluid
Flow"
"OK"

Select the file "Fan Surface.STEP" in the "Chapter 4
Example Models\Input Files" directory.
A dialog will appear asking you to choose the analysis type
for this model. Press the arrow button next to the analysis
type field and select the "Fluid Flow" pull-out menu.
Choose the "Unsteady Fluid Flow" command.
FEA Editor environment as shown in Figure 4.3.
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"Mesh: Model Mesh
Settings"

"Options"
"Solid"

(boundary layer)"

radio button.
"OK"
"OK"

View"
Mouse
Click on the surface facing the screen.
Mouse


command.

View"
58

command.
Mouse
Mouse


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"No"

Press the "No" button when asked if you want to review the
meshing results.
We will define one end of the model as a fan surface at the inlet and apply a prescribed
inlet/outlet at the opposite end. The top view should still be displayed.
Mouse
Mouse
"Add: Fan Surface"

"External intake"
"Fixed flow rate"
Select the "Add" pull-out menu and select the "Fan

Surface" command.
Select the "External intake" option in the "Type" dropdown box.
Select the "Fixed flow rate" option in the "Operation"
drop down box if it is not already selected.
-50
Type "-50" in the "Magnitude" field.
"Z"
Select the "Z" radio button in the "Direction" section.
"OK"
View"
Press the "OK" button. A small "F" will appear on each

node in that surface.
command.
Mouse
Mouse

Inlet/Outlet"

Prescribed Inlet/Outlet" command. A red I will appear
on each node in that surface.
Next, we will specify the material properties and the analysis parameters.
Mouse
Right-click on the "Material" heading for Part 1.
"Modify Material"
Select the "Modify Material" command. The

"Element Material Selection" dialog will appear.
"Air"
Highlight the "Air" item from the list of available materials.
"OK"
Mouse
Right-click on the "Analysis Type" heading in the tree

view.
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
"Add Row"
Press the "Add Row" button within the "Load Curves" tab.
Type "0" in the first row of the "Multiplier" column.
10
"OK"
Press the "OK" button to close the warning message.
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"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse

"Perform Analysis" command to run the analysis and
display the model in the Results environment.
icon to hide the load and constraint symbols. The
maximum velocity at Time Step 10 should approximately
match the value in the table below.
The maximum velocity at the end of the analysis (Time Step 10) should match the value in the
table below.
Maximum Velocity
(mm/s)
~0.125
A completed archive of this model, including results, Fan Surface.ach, is located in the
"Chapter 4 Example Models\Results Archives" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
Overview of Rotating Frames of Reference

Many devices that involve motion of a fluid include rotating components. Turbomachinery
and rotating equipment such as mixing tanks, pumps, fans, compressors and turbines are a few
examples. A rotating frame of reference (RFR) is used to model flow in rotating machines.
In these cases, the flow is unsteady in an inertial frame because the blades or rotors sweep the
domain periodically. However, it is possible to perform calculations based on rotation of the
fluid relative to the machinery parts and associated fluid boundaries, which remain fixed.
This approach reduces the expensive computations needed for an accurate analysis.
Rotating frames don't physically rotate anything and therefore do not show transient effects
due to the real motion. Instead, a quasi-steady state solution is calculated to account for the
effects of the rotating equipment. Any problem in which the transient effects of rotor-stator
interaction are small is a candidate for using the rotating frame of reference approach.
Applying a Rotating Frame of Reference

In order to apply a rotating frame of reference, you must first create the rotating frame of
reference. This is done by right-clicking on the "Rotating Frames of Reference" heading in
the tree view and selecting the "New..." command. The dialog shown in Figure 4.4 will
appear. Specify the rotational velocity in the "Angular Velocity" field. Next, specify the
point about which the part is rotating in the "Center of Rotation" section. Finally, specify
the axis about which the part is rotating in the "Axis of Rotation" field.
Once the rotating frame of reference is defined, you can apply it to the model. For the RFR to
have a meaningful effect, you must apply it only to specific surfaces of a part, where the
boundary motion is known. If applied to all surfaces of a part, it has no effect because there is
no relative motion among the surfaces of the part. After the desired surfaces are selected,
right-click in the display area or on the selected surface headings in the tree view and select
the "Rotating Frames of Reference" pull-out menu. Select the one that you want to apply
from the list of previously defined RFRs.
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It is also possible to define the RFR and apply it to the desired surfaces in a single operation.
To do this, select the rotating surfaces, right-click and access the "Rotating Frames of
Reference" pull-out menu, and select the "New" command. Upon completion of the
command, the RFR is defined and applied to the surfaces that had been selected.
Figure 4.4: Rotating Frame of Reference Object Dialog
Number of Rotating Frames of Reference

For a single rotating frame model, the outside boundary must be axisymmetric; that is, having
either a circular (2-D) or a cylindrical (3-D) boundary only. In Figure 4.5 (a), on the next
page, the outside boundary is axisymmetric. Therefore, only one rotating frame of reference
is needed to simulate the flow.
In Figure 4.5 (b), the flow is obstructed by baffles and the outside boundary is not
axisymmetric. This sort of obstruction will not be solved properly with the use of a single
RFR. Two RFRs will be required, one that is rotating and one that is stationary. RFRs that
are stationary do not need to be defined by the analyst but are handled automatically by the
solver. However, the fluid will have to be modeled as two distinct parts. Figure 4.6 further
clarifies the application of multiple RFRs.
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61
(a). Single Rotating Frame
(b). Multiple Rotating Frames
Figure 4.5: Single and Multiple Rotating Frames Examples
Figure 4.6: Application of Multiple Rotating Frames of Reference
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Example of a Rotating Frame of Reference
To illustrate a rotating frame of reference, we will use the model, RFR.ach, which is located
in the "Chapter 4 Example Models\Input Files" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
This is a model of a cylinder, with one end surface rotating. We want to analyze the flow
inside the cylinder. We will use a tetrahedra and wedges (boundary layer) mesh at 50% of the
default size. Since there will be no inlet or outlet, we do not need to exclude any surfaces
from receiving the boundary layer mesh.
Simulation"

"Open"

(*.ach)"
"RFR.ach"

Select the file "RFR.ach" in the "Chapter 4 Example
Models \Input Files" directory.
"Open"
"OK"
"Mesh: Model Mesh
Settings"
Mouse

Move the "Mesh Size" slider towards the right until it
indicates 50%.
"Options"
"Solid"

(boundary layer)"

radio button.
"OK"
"Mesh Model"
Press the "Mesh Model" button on the "Model Mesh

Settings" dialog.
"No"
Now we will define the material to be air, setup the rotating frame of reference and assign it to
the top surface. The top surface will rotate with a 1 RPM angular velocity about the Z axis.
Mouse
Right-click on the "Material" heading for Part 1 in the tree

view.
"Modify Material"
Select the "Modify Material" command.
"Air"
Highlight the "Air" item from the list of available

materials.
"OK"
Mouse
Right-click on the "Rotating Frames of Reference"

heading in the tree view.
"New"
Select the "New" command.
Type "1" in the "Angular Velocity" field.
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63

"Z"
Select the "Z" radio button in the "Axis of Rotation"

section.
Rotating End Face
Type "Rotating End Face" in the "Description" field.
"OK"

View"
If the initial view orientation has been altered, access the

VIEW pull-down menu and select the "Orientation" pullout menu. Select the "Isometric View" command.
them.
Mouse
Click on the top surface of the model.
Mouse
"Rotating Frames of Reference:

Id1: Rotating End Face"
Select the "Rotating Frames of References" pull-out

menu and select the "Id1: Rotating End Face" command.
Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
"Add Row"
10
"OK"
"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse
"Results: Velocity: Vector
Plot"

then open the model in the Results environment.
Access the RESULTS pull-down menu, select the "Velocity"
pull-out menu, and choose the "Vector Plot" command. Note
the circular flow pattern produced by the RFR.
The maximum velocity at the end of the analysis should approximately match the value in the
table below.
Maximum Velocity
(cm/s)
1.27
A completed archive of this model, including results, RFR.ach, is located in the "Chapter 4
Example Models\Results Archives" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
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Exercise C
Fan Model
3D Elements
Applying rotating frames for a fan.
Objective:
Determine the velocity profile as air flows around a fan.
Geometry:
Use the file, Exercise C.ach, in the "Exercise C\Input File" folder of the class directory or
Solutions CD. This model contains a part for the fan and a part for the fluid. Deactivate
the fan part for the analysis.
Mesh the model using the default "All tetrahedra" solid meshing option, the default mesh
size, and with the option "Use automatic geometry-based mesh size function" disabled.
This will result in a somewhat finer and more uniform element size.
Loading:
Apply a rotating frame of reference to the fan contact surfaces with the following settings:
Angular velocity: 50 RPM
Center of rotation: (0, 0, 0)
Axis of rotation:
Y
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65

Constraints:
Apply a prescribed inlet/outlet to the two end surfaces, as shown in the image.
Element:
3-D
Material:
Air
Load Curve:
Time
Multiplier
Steps
0
1
2
0
1
1
1
10
5
Results:
66

at 2 seconds (mm/s)
Maximum Y-Velocity
at 2 seconds (mm/s)
101.3
-11.9
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Chapter
Open Channel Flow

Chapter Objectives
Introduce Open Channel Flow.

Describe results unique to Open Channel Flow.
Describe how to setup this analysis type.
Open Channel Flow Overview

Open channel flow involves the existence of a free surface between the flowing fluid and a
region of gas above it. In such flows, the liquid and the gas are clearly separated, they do not
mix or penetrate each other, and the density ratio between them is quite large. Flow is
generally governed by the force of gravity and inertia.
Due to a low density and negligible viscosity, both the inertia and the viscous force of the gas
are negligible. The only influence of the gas is its pressure acting on the interface. Hence, the
region of gas need not be analyzed. The free surface is calculated as a boundary with constant
pressure (for example, zero pressure by totally ignoring the air effect).
Open channel flow is computed by using the "volume of fluid" method. Surface tension and
the formation of droplets or fluid dividing into separate regions are not included in the
calculations. Also, only a single fluid should be included in the open channel flow model.
(The regular steady and unsteady fluid flow analyses can handle different fluids as long as the
parts with different fluids are not connected together.)
In addition to setting up all of the fluid flow conditions that are normally done, the following
items must be considered:
1.
The mesh should include any volume that the fluid will occupy at any time. That is,
mesh the combined fluid and gas regions as a single, contiguous solid mesh. The
calculation will determine which portions are fluid and which are gas. At any given
time during the simulation, the meshed region will only be partially filled with fluid.
(In other fluid analysis types, the entire volume of the mesh is filled with fluid
throughout the entire simulation.)
2.
The user must specify where the fluid (or gas) exists at the beginning of the analysis.
This is done with the "Initial Fluid Volumes" branch of the tree view.
NOTE: "Open Channel Flow" can be performed on 3-D models only. The analysis is unsteady (i.e.,
transient). In general, everything relevant to unsteady fluid flow is relevant to open channel
flow, with the exception of some unavailable loads (see next section) and the unique fluid
volume input and results.
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Chapter 5: Open Channel Flow
Loads Not Available for Open Channel Flow Analysis

The following loads, which are available in steady or unsteady fluid flow analysis, are not
available for open channel flow:
Fan Surfaces
Prescribed Turbulence Conditions (k-epsilon turbulence model)
Prescribed Wall Roughness (k-epsilon turbulence model)
Rotating Frames of Reference
Initial Fluid Volume

When the analysis type is "Open Channel Flow," an important step in the setup is to indicate
which portion of the model is initially filled with fluid (or which portion is initially filled with
gas). This is done with the "Initial Fluid Volumes" branch in the tree view. Right-click on
the "Initial Fluid Volumes" branch and choose the "Add New Hexahedral Region..."
command. This accesses the "Initial Fluid Volume (Hexahedral)" dialog from which the user
specifies an 8-point region in space that is initially fluid or gas.
In the "Initial Fluid Volume (Hexahedral)" dialog, set the "Fluid options" drop-down to
one of the following options:
"Inside region" indicates that the created 8-point region is initially filled with fluid.
Elements outside the region will be filled with gas.
"Outside region" indicates that the created 8-point region is initially filled with gas.
Elements outside the region will be filled with fluid.
Multiple regions can be created. The union of all of the regions determines where the fluid
and gas start at time 0. The "Enable" checkbox controls whether the region will be used in
the computations (checked) or won't be used (not checked).
Specifying the 8-point Region:
The initial fluid volume is specified using 8-points that define a hexahedral region.
Figure 5.1: 8-Point Initial Fluid Volume
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NOTE: The boundaries of the initial fluid volume do not need to correspond to element
edges, faces or vertices within the mesh. Individual elements may be partially filled
at the initial condition and throughout the simulation.
The points can be specified using either of the following two methods:
Enter points one at a time: Using the "Initial Fluid Volume (Hexahedral)" dialog (see
Figure 5.2), enter the coordinates of each point (or click existing vertices). The points are
entered in the order A, B, C, D (which define one quadrilateral face) followed by A', B',
C', and D' (which define the opposite quadrilateral face). If a point has been entered in
error, use the <Esc> key to backup through the previous points. The <Esc> key can be
used while creating the original volume or while modifying an existing volume.
Figure 5.2: Initial Fluid Volume (Hexahedral) Dialog
Enter all points at once: Click the "Edit points..." button within the "Initial Fluid
Volume (Hexahedral)" dialog to display the coordinates of all 8 points. The dialog
shown in Figure 5.3 will appear. Either enter the coordinates of a point or use the
"Select..." button to click on a vertex.
Figure 5.3: Edit Points Dialog

As valid coordinates are defined from the top of the dialog downward, the grayed-out data
input fields will become available, one-by-one.
When the analysis is started, each element is assigned a fluid volume between 0 (no fluid) and
1 (completely filled with fluid) based on the intersection of the element with each of the initial
fluid volumes.
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Results Unique to Open Channel Flow

Volume of Fluid
Along with the usual velocity, pressure, vorticity and flow rate results available for steady and
unsteady fluid flow, there is a "Volume of Fluid" result that is unique to open channel flow
analyses. This is a dimensionless result with a value ranging from 0 to 1 inclusive, which
represents the portion of the element volume that is filled with fluid. Zero represents an
empty element (i.e., all gas, no fluid). A value of 1 represents a fully fluid-filled element.
NOTE: The "Volume of Fluid" result is only created when the analysis is performed. Doing a "Check
Model" cannot be used to check the setup of the initial fluid volume.
Open Channel Flow Example

The following example consists of a structured mesh model of a U-tube manometer. The input
file, Manometer.ach, is located in the "Chapter 5 Example Model\Input File" folder of the class
directory or Solutions CD. The analysis type has already been set to "Open Channel Flow."
A portion of the tube will initially be filled with fluid (specifically, water) and we will analyze
and observe the behavior of the fluid volume due to the effects of gravity over a 1.5 second
period. The event will be captured using 200 steps.
The initial fluid volume will be 3.5 inches in height with the bottom at an elevation of
Z = 0.125 inches and the top at Z = 3.625 inches. It will be placed in the left side, vertical
tube as viewed using the "Front View" orientation. This placement demonstrates that the
initial volume's boundaries do not have to align with the nodes or element faces of the model.
Extracting the Model Archive

Simulation"

"Open"

(*.ach)"
"Manometer.ach"

Select the file "Manometer.ach" in the "Chapter 5
Example Model\Input File" directory.
"Open"
"OK"

The model will appear in the FEA Editor environment. The element type is already specified
as "3-D" since only solid elements are supported for this analysis type.
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Defining the Initial Fluid Volume and Inlet/Outlet Surfaces

View"
Mouse
"Add New Hexahedral
Region"
-2 <Tab> -1 <Tab> 0.125
<Enter>

View" command.
Right-click on the "Initial Fluid Volumes" heading in the
tree view.
Select the "Add New Hexahedral Region" command.
Type "-2" into the "X" field, press <Tab>, type "-1" into the
"Y" field, press <Tab> and type "0.125" into the "Z" field.
Press <Enter> to accept the coordinates for the first point.
A letter "A" will appear in the display area at the location of
this point.
"Use relative"
Activate the "Use relative" checkbox.
2 <Enter>
Type "2" into the "DX" field and press <Enter>.
2 <Enter>
Type "2" into the "DY" field and press <Enter>.
-2 <Enter>
Type "-2" into the "DX" field and press <Enter>.
-2 <Tab> 3.5 <Enter>
Type "-2" into the "DY" field, type "3.5" into the "Z"
field and press <Enter>.
2 <Enter>
Type "2" into the "DX" field and press <Enter>.
2 <Enter>
Type "2" into the "DY" field and press <Enter>.
-2 <Enter>
Type "-2" into the "DX" field and press <Enter>.
"Apply"
Mouse
Press the "Apply" button. A light blue hexahedral region

will appear in the display area.
Click on the "X" button in the upper right corner of the
"Initial Fluid Volume (Hexahedral)" dialog box to close it.
The model should now appear as shown in Figure 7.4.
Figure 5.4: Manometer with Initial Fluid Region Defined

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71

them.
Mouse
Click one of the two circular surfaces at the top of the U-tube.
<Ctrl> Mouse
Holding the <Ctrl> key, click on the remaining circular

surface at the top of the U-tube.
Mouse

Inlet/Outlets"
Select the "Add" pull-out menu and then the "Surface

Prescribed Inlet/Outlets" command.
Defining the Material and Analysis Parameters

Double-click on the "Material" heading under Part 1 in the
tree view.
materials.
Mouse
"Water"
"OK"
Click the "OK" button.
"Analysis: Parameters"

"Parameters" command.
"Add Row"
1.5 <Tab> <Tab> 200
Mouse
Type "1.5" in the "Time" column in the second row of the

Load Curve table. Press the <Tab> key twice and type
"200" in the "Steps" column of the same row.
Click on the "Gravity/Acceleration" tab of the Analysis
Parameters dialog. Verify that the default gravitational
acceleration (386.4 in/s2) and the default direction (-Z) are
already set and are suitable for this model. Note also that
Load Curve 1 controls the gravity load.
Click the "OK" button. The model is now ready to run.
"OK"
Performing the Analysis

"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse
"Results: Volume of Fluid"
"OK"
72

"Perform Analysis" command.
Once the model appears in the Results environment, press
the "Toggle Load and Constraint Display" toolbar button
to hide the load and constraint symbols.
Access the RESULTS pull-down menu and select the
"Volume of Fluid" command.
Press the "OK" button to dismiss the pop-up message when
the analysis has finished. The model should appear as
shown in Figure 5.5.
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Figure 5.5: Volume of Fluid Results at Last Time Step
Animating the Results

"View: Orientation: Front
View"
"Animation: Start Animation"
"Animation: Stop Animation"

"Orientation" pull-out menu. Select the "Front View"
command.
"Start Animation" command. Observe the fluid volume
motion for a couple of repetitions of the analysis event.
"Stop Animation" command.
A completed archive of this model, including results, Manometer.ach, is located in the

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Chapter
Multiphysics
Chapter Objectives
Overview of forced convection analysis.

Overview of natural convection analysis.
Overview of fluid structural interaction (FSI) analysis.
Discuss additional, non-CFD multiphysics cases.
Forced Convection (Uncoupled Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer)

Forced convection allows you to input velocity profiles from either steady or unsteady fluid flow
analyses and apply them to either a steady-state or transient heat transfer analysis. This is applicable
to processes where natural convection due to fluid buoyancy effects is insignificant in comparison to
the forced convection such as that from a pump or fan. As with coupled fluid/thermal analyses, you
may include multiple fluid and/or solid parts in the heat transfer analysis. First, the fluid flow
analysis must be performed to obtain the nodal velocity results. The heat transfer analysis must
contain geometry identical to the fluid flow models, since the velocities are applied to nodes in the
thermal model with coordinates the same as those in the fluid velocity results file.
To set up an uncoupled fluid flow and heat transfer analysis, perform the following steps:
1.
Create a model that includes the complete assembly to be analyzed (all solid and fluid parts).
The first design scenario may be defined as the fluid flow analysis (either steady or unsteady).
2.
If this is a CAD solid model, surface mesh all of the parts and then check the model (via the
"Analysis: Check Model" command) in order to complete the solid meshing and the
decoding operation (where all of the node and element numbers are assigned).
3.
Deactivate all non-fluid parts.
4.
Set up the fluid loads, constraints, and analysis parameters and then perform the fluid flow
analysis.
5.
Copy the first design scenario to a new design scenario. In this manner, it will be assured that
the subsequent FEA runs will be based on identical element and nodal geometry. Define the
new design scenario as either steady or transient heat transfer.
6.
Activate the relevant non-fluid parts.
7.
Set up the loads, constraints, and analysis parameters for the heat transfer analysis.
8.
In the display area, with nothing currently selected, right-click and choose the "Fluid
Convection" command.
9.
Click on the rightmost column of the fluid convection table and browse to the *.sfv or *.ufv
results file from the prior fluid flow design scenario folder. The file extension will depend
upon whether the fluid flow analysis was steady or unsteady. Only one row will be required
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Chapter 6: Multiphysics
in the fluid convection table, since velocities for the nodes belonging to all of the parts will be
contained in the fluid velocity output file. Nodal velocities in the fluid results file are applied
to nodes in the thermal model that are located at the same coordinates.
NOTE: It is also possible to import nodal velocities from more than one fluid model. For
example, if separate fluid flow models were created for individual parts, add a row to
the fluid convection table for each additional fluid velocity file from which nodal
velocities will be obtained.
10. If results from a single time step of an unsteady fluid flow analysis are to be used as the basis
of fluid convection for a steady-state heat transfer analysis; then, in the "Load Case" column,
specify the time step having the velocity results you want to use. Choose from the provided
pull-down list.
11. Perform the heat transfer analysis.
In order to have the velocities vary due to buoyancy effects and due to the changing
temperature profile, a coupled fluid flow and thermal multiphysics analysis must be
performed (see next section).
Natural Convection (Couple Fluid Flow and Thermal)

Natural convection of a fluid occurs when buoyancy effects are produced by temperature
variations within the fluid region. As such, the temperature distribution will affect the convective
flow and this, in turn, will affect the temperature distribution. Therefore, natural convection
problems must be solved via a Coupled Fluid Flow and Thermal analysis, which simultaneously
solves for fluid flow and heat transfer results. The two sets of calculations are performed
iteratively during the same solution phase until both the temperatures and the fluid velocities
converge. This differs from other multiphysics scenarios; where one type of result is computed
and this set of results is then used as a load in a separate analysis. Either steady-state or transient
coupled fluid flow and thermal analyses can be performed in Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD.
The Coupled Fluid Flow and Thermal analysis type is also applicable to problems involving mixed
convection. In these cases, fluid is driven by a fan or pump but there are still areas where natural
convection may have a significant effect on the velocity and temperature results. If, on the other
hand, the flow produced by natural convection is insignificant throughout the model when compared
to the forced convection flow, then an uncoupled analysis is recommended (see previous section).
Perform the following steps to set up a Coupled Fluid Flow and Thermal analysis:
76
1.
Set the analysis type to either "Steady Coupled Fluid Flow and Thermal" or "Transient
Coupled Fluid Flow and Thermal."
2.
At least one part must be declared as a fluid part by right-clicking on the "Element Type"
heading and choosing either "Fluid Flow 3-D" or "Fluid Flow 2-D." A droplet icon will
appear in the model tree, visually indicating the fluid part.
3.
Set up the fluid and thermal loads and constraints.
4.
Right-click on the "Analysis Type" heading and select the "Modify Coupled Analysis
Parameters" command.
5.
Click on the "Set for standard gravity" button and enter the necessary X, Y, and/or Z
multipliers to indicate the vector direction for gravity.
6.
Specify the desired reference temperature and buoyancy load curve parameters, then click
"OK."
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7.
Right-click on the "Analysis Type" heading and select the "Modify Fluid Analysis
Parameters" command to access and modify any parameters specific to the fluid portion
of the solution, as desired.
8.
Right-click on the "Analysis Type" heading and select the "Modify Thermal Analysis
Parameters" command to access and modify any parameters specific to the heat transfer
portion of the solution, as desired.
9.
Choose the materials or define custom material properties for the solid parts and the fluid part.
10. Run the analysis.

When performing a coupled fluid flow and thermal analysis, you may have a combination of
multiple fluid and multiple thermal parts. For the fluid parts, you will need to define both the
thermal and fluid material properties in the "Element Material Specification" dialog. To specify
temperature-dependent fluid properties, select the "Temperature Dependent" option within the
"Material model" drop-down box of the "Element Definition" dialog.
There are three separate sets of analysis parameters you will be able to define by right-clicking on
the "Analysis Type" heading in the tree view and choosing the appropriate command. Load
curves to control thermal or fluid loads (other than buoyancy) are defined within the thermal or
fluid analysis parameters screens. The buoyancy load curve is defined within the coupled analysis
parameters screen.
For steady-state analyses, the thermal loads are constant (that is, no thermal load curve may be
defined and no thermal load may be assigned to a load curve). In transient coupled fluid flow and
thermal analyses, multiple thermal load curves may be defined and thermal loads may be assigned
to these curves so that the loads will be time-dependent.
After running the analysis, the results environment will present both fluid results (e.g. velocity and
pressure) and thermal results (e.g. temperature, heat flux, and heat rate of face). The temperature
results are initially displayed by default.
NOTE: Flow patterns in most natural convection applications tend to be irregular and unsteady.
In other words, a steady-state flow pattern is never achieved and a converged FEA
solution will not be possible. In such cases, a transient coupled fluid flow and thermal
analysis will be required. The results will have to be obtained over a finite length of
time. Models dealing with highly viscous fluids having significant thermal conductivity
and traveling in confined and clearly defined flow paths will be more stable and more
likely to achieve a steady-state solution.
Additional Program Installation Requirements

A third party "Message-Passing Interface" (MPI) is required for performing Transient Coupled
Fluid Flow and Thermal analyses. This program, "MPICH2," is available as a free download and
must be installed on the PC prior to attempting a transient coupled fluid thermal analysis. It is used
to pass information between the fluid flow processor and the thermal processor.
For more information, go to the "Help: Contents" command. Navigate to the "Algor
Simulation: Installation Guide: Windows Installation: MPICH on Windows" topic. A link is
provided for downloading MPICH2 as well as instructions for installing it. This program is not
required for Steady Coupled Fluid Flow and Thermal analyses.
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Fluid Structural Interaction (FSI)

The reaction forces from a steady or unsteady fluid flow analysis may be used as an input to either
a linear or a nonlinear structural analysis. One example of this is to take the boundary reactions
from the air flowing around a structure and to use them to determine the stresses in the structure
that result from the wind load the reactions represent. The surface meshes of the fluid flow and
structural analyses must be identical.
To set up an FSI analysis, perform the following steps:
1.
Create a model that includes the complete assembly to be analyzed (all solid and fluid parts). The
first design scenario may be defined as the fluid flow analysis (either steady-state or transient).
2.
If this is a CAD solid model, surface-mesh all of the parts. It is not necessary to check the
model or to perform solid meshing at this point.
3.
Deactivate all of the solid parts.
4.
Set up the loads, constraints, and analysis parameters. You must enable the option to calculate
reaction forces. This option is found under the "Output" tab of the analysis parameters dialog.
5.
Perform the fluid flow analysis.
6.
Copy the model to a new design scenario and set the analysis type to either Static Stress with
Linear Material Models, Static Stress with Nonlinear Material Models, or Mechanical Event
Simulation." This can be done in one operation by changing the analysis type in the first
design scenario and answering "Yes" when prompted as to whether or not to create a new
design scenario for the different analysis type.
7.
Activate the solid parts.
8.
Deactivate the fluid part(s).
9.
With nothing selected, right-click in the display area and select the "Loads From File"
command.
10. Browse to the results file from the prior design scenario that contains the fluid reaction forces.
Specify the desired load case numbers for both models (fluid flow and structural) and specify the
desired load multiplier. You may specify multiple load cases for the structural analysis if desired.
11. Set up constraints, analysis parameters, and any other desired loads.
12. Run the structural analysis and review the stress and displacement results.
Thermal Stress
The temperature profile from a steady-state or transient heat transfer analysis can be applied
to a static stress or Mechanical Event Simulation (MES) analysis. This particular type of
multiphysics scenario does not involve fluid flow and is possible for users of the basic
Autodesk Algor Simulation package. As such, this topic is covered in the prerequisite
Autodesk Algor Simulation course and associated Seminar Notes.
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Joule Heating
Joule heating allows you to input electrostatic results into either a steady-state or a transient
heat transfer analysis. This will allow you to account for the effects of heat generation in
a part due to electrical current. The "Electrostatic Current and Voltage" option must
be used. This type of multiphysics analysis requires the Autodesk Algor Simulation
Professional software package.
To set up a joule heating analysis, perform the following steps:
1.
Set up and run the electrostatic analysis.
2.
Change the analysis type to either "Steady-State Heat Transfer" or to "Transient Heat
Transfer." Choose "Yes" when prompted to create a new design scenario rather than
changing the analysis type of the first scenario.
3.
Set up the loads and constraints for the heat transfer analysis.
4.
Go to the "Electrical" tab within the "Modify Analysis Parameters" screen.
5.
Activate the "Use electrostatic results to calculate Joule effects flag" checkbox.
6.
Press the "Browse" button, navigate to the results file from the electrostatic analysis,
and press the "Open" button. Then click "OK" to close the analysis parameters screen.
7.
Run the analysis.
Result Options
The result options for multiphysics analyses depend on the last analysis performed. For example,
in a stress/CFD analysis, the static stress results will be available. In a forced convection analysis,
the heat transfer results will be available. To view results of the previous analysis phase, its
design scenario must be loaded into the Results environment.
The two exceptions to this are the steady and the transient coupled fluid flow and thermal
analyses. When these are complete, you will be able to view both the thermal and the fluid flow
results within the same session and design scenario.
Pipe Tee Example Uncoupled Fluid/Thermal/Stress

This example will demonstrate the setup process for a steady-state, fluid/thermal/stress, multiphysics
analysis. The example will give step-by-step instructions for deriving a fluid part, creating the mesh,
and analyzing a three-dimensional (3-D) model of a pipe tee. There are seven sections:
1.
Fluid part creation and meshing Open the CAD solid model, derive an internal fluid part,
and create a mesh for all of the model parts.
2.
Setting up and analyzing the fluid flow model Add the necessary loads and define the
model parameters. Visually check the model for errors within the Results environment.
Analyze the model using the steady fluid flow processor.
3.
Reviewing the fluid flow results.
4.
Setting up and analyzing the heat transfer model Add the necessary loads and define the
model parameters for the thermal analysis. Analyze the model using the steady-state heat
transfer processor.
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5.
Reviewing the thermal results.
6.
Setting up and analyzing the structural model Add the necessary loads and define the model
parameters for the stress analysis phase. analyze the model using the linear static stress processor.
7.
Reviewing the stress results.
Use the 3-D solid model, Tee.stp, located in the "Chapter 6 Example Models\Input Files" folder of
the class directory or Solutions CD. An internal fluid part will be derived within the simulation
software. The fluid part will be meshed using the "Tetrahedra and wedges (boundary layer)" solid
meshing option. The solid part will be meshed using the default "All tetrahedral" solid meshing
option. The fluid inside the tee will be water, and a velocity of 1 in/s will be applied to the inlet.
During the thermal analysis, a temperature of 200F will be applied to the inlet and a convection
load will be applied to all of the external surfaces of the pipe. A structural analysis will be
performed last, incorporating a appropriate boundary conditions and loads from both the fluid and
thermal analyses (reaction forces and temperatures).
Fluid Part Creation and Meshing

Simulation"

"Open"

"Options"
"Global"
"Yes"
"OK"
"Tee.step"
Select the file "Tee.step" in the "Chapter 6 Example

Models \Input Files" directory.
"Open"

"OK"
"Fluid Flow: Steady Fluid
Flow"
"OK"
80

Click on the "Options" button in the lower left corner of the
"Open" dialog box.
Select the "Global" tab of the "CAD Import: STEP files
Properties" dialog box.
Activate the "Yes" radio button under the "Knit surfaces on
import:" heading. Surface knitting will be performed for
this model and for importing of all future CAD models,
unless the option is changed once again.

A "Choose Analysis Type" dialog will appear. Press the
arrow button next to the analysis type field and select the
"Fluid Flow" pull-out menu. Select the "Steady Fluid
Flow" command.
FEA Editor environment, as shown in Figure 6.1.
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We will now reset the global CAD import options for surface knitting back to the default value.
"Tools: Options: CAD
Import"
"Global CAD Import
Options"

"Options" command. Click on the "CAD Import" tab.
Press the "Global CAD Import Options" button.
"No"
Activate the "No" radio button to the right of the "Knit

surfaces on import:" heading. This will restore the default
CAD import behavior for future models.
"OK"
Press "OK" to exit the Global CAD Import Options dialog.
"OK"
Press "OK" to exit the Options dialog.
We will set the global mesh size before deriving the fluid part. Later, we will use part-based
mesh settings for Part 2, so that a boundary layer mesh will be applied only to the fluid part. By
defining the global mesh size first, the fluid part will automatically inherit the desired mesh size
when it is created and we will not have to set the size twice (that is, once for each part).
"Mesh: Model Mesh
Settings"

"Options"

drop-down box.
0.125
"OK"
"OK"

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"Mesh: Fluid Generation:
Internal"

Access the MESH pull-down menu and select the "Fluid
Generation" pull-out menu. Select the "Internal"
command.
Click on a surface on the inside of the pipe.
Mouse
Press the "Select" button in the "Interior surface" section

of the "Generate Fluid Interior" dialog.
out, if desired.
"Select"
Mouse
Click on one of the bounding surfaces as shown in Figure 6.2.
Mouse
Figure 6.2: Location of the Bounding Surfaces

<Ctrl> Mouse
"Add"
"OK"
"CAD Mesh Options: Part"
"Options"
82
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, click on the other bounding

surface as shown in Figure 6.2.
Press the "Add" button in the "Bounding Surfaces"
section of the "Generate Fluid Interior" dialog.
Press the "OK" button. A new part will be created
representing the fluid inside the pipes.
Right-click on "CAD Mesh Options" for Part 2 in the
model tree and choose "Part..."
Press the "Options" button. Note that an absolute mesh
size of 0.125 has already been set.
"Solid"

(boundary layer)"

radio button.
"OK"
"OK"
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Click on the exposed circular surface of the fluid at the
smaller diameter pipe. Be sure to select the fluid surface
and not the end surface of the pipe.
Holding <Ctrl>, click on the exposed circular surface of the
fluid at the end of the larger diameter pipe.
Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse
Mouse



"No"
Mouse
button to rotate the model and inspect the mesh. The meshed
model should appear as shown in Figure 6.3.
Figure 6.3: Meshed Model
Setting up and Analyzing the Fluid Flow Model

We will start by deactivating the pipe tee (Part 1) because only the fluid part will participate
in the steady fluid flow analysis.
Mouse
"Deactivate"
Mouse
Right-click on the "Part 1 < Tee >" heading in the tree

view and choose the "Deactivate" command.
Click on the exposed circular surface of the fluid in the
smaller pipe.
Mouse

Velocity"

Activate the "X Magnitude," "Y Magnitude," and
"Z Magnitude," checkboxes.
Type "-1" in the "X Magnitude" field. Leave the other
two magnitudes at zero.
Mouse
-1
"OK"

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Mouse
Click on the exposed circular surface of the fluid in the

larger pipe.
Mouse

Inlet/Outlet"

tree view.
materials.
Mouse
"Water"
"OK"
To speed up the steady-state solution somewhat, we will slightly relax the fluid velocity
convergence tolerance (Velocity Norm). In addition, we must turn on the calculation of
fluid boundary reaction forces so that they will be available as a load for the structural
analysis that follows.
Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
Mouse
Scroll towards the right end of the Custom Load-Stepping

Settings table until you can see the Velocity Norm column.
0.0005
Type 0.0005 in the Velocity Norm column.
Mouse
"Calculate"
Click on the "Output" tab of the Analysis Parameters

dialog.
Choose "Calculate" from the "Options for calculating
reactions" drop-down box.
"OK"
We are now ready to perform the thermal analysis.

"Analysis: Perform
Analysis..."
Mouse

"Perform Analysis..." command to analyze the model. It
will be displayed in the Results environment while solving.
to hide the load and constraint symbols. The contour plot
being displayed represents unconverged results of each
iteration until the convergence tolerance has been achieved
and the analysis has finished.
Reviewing the Fluid Flow Results
84
Mouse
Right-click on the "Slice Planes" heading in the tree view.
"2) XZ" command.
Mouse
Right-click on the "XZ Slice Plane" heading in the tree view.
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"Hide"
Mouse
button to rotate the model for the desired view. The
velocity magnitude results should be similar to those shown
in Figure 6.4.
Figure 6.4: Fluid Nodal Velocity Magnitude Results

Now that the fluid flow analysis has been performed, the thermal analysis can be set up. For the
thermal analysis, the convection occurring within the pipe will be based on the fluid flow results.
Setting up and Analyzing the Thermal Model

"Tools: FEA Editor"
Access the TOOLS pull-down menu and select the "FEA

Editor" command to switch back to the FEA Editor
environment.
Mouse
"Set Current Analysis Type:

Steady State Heat Transfer"
Under "Set Current Analysis Type" select "Thermal"

and then the "Steady-State Heat Transfer" analysis type.
Click "Yes" when prompted with the choice of whether or
not to create a new design scenario.
Right-click on Part 1 in the tree view and select the
"Activate" command.
view.
"Yes"
"Activate"
Mouse
"Modify Material"
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85
"Steel (ASTM - A36)"
Highlight the "Steel (ASTM - A36)" item from the list of

available materials.
"OK"
Mouse
Click on the exposed circular surface of the fluid at the end

of the smaller diameter pipe.
Mouse
"Add: Surface Applied

Temperature"
200

Applied Temperature" command.
"OK"
Mouse
Select one of the seven outer surfaces of the pipe tee.
Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse
button to rotate the model as necessary.
Holding the <Ctrl> key, select the remaining six outer surfaces
of the pipe. Repeat the preceding step to reposition the view as
necessary, and/or rotate the mouse wheel to zoom in or out.
Mouse
"Add: Surface Convection

Loads"

Convection Loads" command.
Type "0.02" in the "Temperature Independent
Convection Coefficient" field.
0.02
72
Type "72" in the "Temperature" field.
"OK"
<Esc>
Press <Esc> or click on a blank area of the display

background to unselect everything.
Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
"OK"
Press the "OK" button to accept the default parameters.
Mouse
"Fluid Convection"
Select the "Fluid Convection" command.

Click on "<Filename>" in the "Velocity Data" column of
the table.
Select the file "ds.sfv" in the "Chapter 6 Example Models
\Input Files\Tee.ds_data\1" directory.
Mouse
"ds.sfv"
Mouse
Click "No" under "Enabled" to change the value to "Yes".
Mouse
Click the drop-down for "First Part" and set it to "2".

"OK"
"Analysis: Perform
Analysis..."
Mouse
86
Type "200" in the "Magnitude" field.

"Perform Analysis..." command. The model will be
displayed in the Results environment while being solved.
Press the "Toggle Load and Constraint Display" toolbar
button to hide the load and constraint symbols.
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Reviewing the Thermal Results

To better see the effects of the flowing hot fluid and the resulting temperature distribution, we
will once again create a slice plane through the mode.
Mouse
Right-click on the "Slice Planes" heading in the tree view.
"2) XZ" command.
Mouse
Right-click on the "XZ Slice Plane" heading in the tree view.
"Hide"
Mouse
button to rotate the model for the desired view.
The temperature results should be similar to those shown in Figure 6.5. Notice the stream of higher
temperatures where the fluid exits the smaller diameter pipe and impacts against the opposite wall of
the larger pipe. You can also see the effects of eddy currents in the dead-end of the larger diameter
pipe, where the fluid is trapped.
Figure 6.5: Temperature Results
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Setting up and Analyzing the Structural Model

After completing both the fluid flow analysis and the thermal analysis, all loads required for the
structural analysis have been calculated. The structural analysis will now be set up and performed.
"Tools: FEA Editor"

Editor" command to switch back to the FEA Editor
environment.
Mouse

Linear: Static Stress with
Linear Material Models "
Under "Set Current Analysis Type" select "Linear" and

then the "Static Stress with Linear Material Models"
analysis type.
Right-click on Part 2 in the tree view and select the
"Deactivate" command. The fluid will not participate in the
structural analysis, though the fluid boundary reactions will.
out, if desired.
Click on the ring-shaped end surface of the smaller
diameter pipe.
"Yes"
"Deactivate"
Mouse
Mouse
Mouse
"Add: Surface Boundary

Condition"

Boundary Condition" command.
"Tx"
Activate the "Tx" checkbox.
"OK"
Mouse
Click on the ring-shaped end surface of the larger diameter

pipe.
Mouse
"Add: Surface Boundary

Condition"

"Tz"
Activate the "Tz" checkbox.

"OK"
"Selection: Select: Edges"
View"
Mouse
88

"Select" pull-out menu. Select the "Edges" command.
View" command.
Click on the edge running along the top of the smaller
diameter pipe (at the 12 o'clock position looking down the
X-axis). This edge lies on the center plane of the tee.
Mouse
"Add: Edge Boundary

Condition"
Select the "Add" pull-out menu and select the "Edge

"Ty"
Check the "Ty" box.
"OK"
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NOTE: The chosen constraint scheme does not restrict radial growth of the pipes due to thermal
expansion. Exaggerated stresses would occur at the ends of the pipe if this freedom of
movement were not permitted, such as if the ends of the pipe were fully-fixed. The tee is
symmetrical about the XZ plane (Y-Symmetry) and it may realistically be expected to behave
symmetrically, as loaded. Therefore, adding the Ty constraint at one of the center edges, as
we did, will provide static stability without impeding the expected displacement of the tee.
The open ends of the pipes provide the remaining Tx and Tz constraints. We now have all
three global translations constrained somewhere on the model and it is statically stable.
<Esc>
Press <Esc> to remove everything from the selection set.
Mouse
" Loads From File"
Select the "Loads From File" command.
Mouse
Press the "..." button under "Results File" in the table.
" ds.sfr"
Select the file "ds.sfr" in the "Chapter 6 Example Models

\Input Files\Tee.ds_data\1" directory. This file contains the
fluid boundary reaction forces.
"1"
Select "1" under the "Load Case from File" drop-down.
"Add Row"
Mouse
Click within the "Results File" field for row 2.

Press the "..." button at the right end of the "Results File"
field in row 2.
Select the file "ds.sfr" in the "Chapter 6 Example Models
\Input Files\Tee.ds_data\1" directory. We are applying the
fluid boundary reaction forces to an additional load case
within the structural analysis.
Mouse
" ds.sfr"
"1"
Select "1" under the "Load Case from File" drop-down.
Type "3" in the second row of the "Structural Load

Case" column.
"Add Row"
Mouse
Mouse
"Thermal Results Files (*.to,
*.tto)"
"ds.to"
field in row 3.
In the "Files of type:" field, select "Thermal Results Files
(*.to, *.tto)" from the available items in the pull-down list.
Select the file "ds.to" in the "Chapter 6 Example Models
\Input Files\Tee.ds_data\2" directory. (Note: Changing the
load case number is neither necessary nor possible, since load
cases are not applicable to steady-state thermal analyses.)
Type "2" in the third row of the "Structural Load Case"
column.
"Add Row"
Mouse
Mouse
"Thermal Results Files (*.to,
*.tto)"
field in row 4.
In the "Files of type:" field, if it is not already selected,
choose "Thermal Results Files (*.to, *.tto)" from the
available items in the pull-down list.
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Select the file "ds.to" in the "Chapter 6 Example Models
\Input Files\Tee.ds_data\2" directory. We are applying this
load to a second load case in the structural analysis.
Type "3" in the fourth row of the "Structural Load Case"
column.
"ds.to"
3
So, we have defined three load cases in the structural analysisone having only the fluid
reaction forces (Load Case 1), one having only the thermal load (Load Case 2) and one having
both loads (Load Case 3). Now, let us close the "Loads from Files" dialog and define our
analysis parameters.
"OK"
Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
"Add Row"
Enter "1" in row two of the "Thermal" column in the

"Load Case Multipliers" table.
"Add Row"
Enter "1" in row three of the "Thermal" column in the

"Load Case Multipliers" table.
"OK"
In addition to the settings within the "Loads from Files" dialog, the global "Thermal"
multiplier has to be defined within the analysis parameters screen. Specifically, the thermal
load must be enabled for the second and third load cases. The determination of which load
cases will include the nodal forces at the fluid boundaries is controlled only by the settings in
the "Loads from Files" dialog. There is no global multiplier within the analysis parameters
for nodal forces. We may now run the analysis.
"Analysis: Perform
Analysis..."
"OK"

"Perform Analysis..." command to analyze the model and
then display it in the Results environment.
Click "OK" to dismiss the pop-up message when the
analysis is finished. The warnings are all concerning nodal
forces being ignored where applied to constrained DOFs at
particular nodes. A component of the fluid reaction force has
no effect when the node to which it is attached is not free to
move in the direction that the force component is acting.
Reviewing the Structural Results

Mouse

Next"
90
button to rotate the model for the desired view.
Access the RESULTS OPTIONS pull-down menu and then
the "Load Case" pull-out menu. Select the "Next" command
to view the results of the second load case. Repeat this
command to see the third load case. Your stress results for
Load Case 3 should be similar to those shown in Figure 6.6.
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Figure 6.6: Resulting Plot of von Mises Stress, Incorporating both Thermal and Fluid Flow Effects
Note that this structural analysis has no loads applied directly to it. Rather, it is loaded only
by the thermal expansion and internal pressurization from the fluid (that is, the fluid boundary
reactions). As set up, the first load case includes only the effect of the fluid reaction forces.
The second load case includes only the thermal stresses. Finally, the third load case shows
the combined effects of the reaction forces and temperatures. Note that the stresses for load
cases 2 and 3 are essentially the same. That is because the stresses due to fluid reaction forces
(load case 1) are extremely small and insignificant in comparison to the thermal stress
magnitudes.
* * *
We will next look at a fully-coupled multiphysics analysis example. As you move forward
through this next example, note the difference in the solution time between it and the
uncoupled analysis we just completed. When fluid convection is forced, as opposed to being
driven by buoyancy (also known as natural convection), a series of uncoupled analyses are
generally preferred over a single coupled analysis. This is primarily because of the
significantly shorter solution time.
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Heat Exchanger Example Coupled Fluid/Thermal

This example will demonstrate the setup process for a steady-state, fluid/thermal, multiphysics
analysis. The example will give step-by-step instructions for creating the mesh, and analyzing a
three-dimensional (3-D) model of a heat exchanger. There are four sections:
1.
Opening and meshing the CAD solid model Open the CAD solid model, specify the
desired meshing parameters, and create a mesh for all parts.
2.
Setting up the model Add the necessary loads and define the model parameters.
Visually check the model for errors within the Results environment. The Weight and
Center of Gravity tool will be used to determine the volume of the heat source.
3.
Analyzing the model Analyze the model using the steady coupled fluid flow and thermal
processor.
4.
Reviewing the results View the temperatures, heat flux, fluid velocities, and fluid
pressures within the Results environment.
Use the 3-D solid model, Heat Exchanger.stp, located in the "Chapter 6 Example
Models\Input Files" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD. An internal fluid part is
already included within the CAD assembly and will not have to be derived within the
simulation software. We will use an absolute mesh size of 0.2" for all parts. The fluid part
will be meshed using the "Tetrahedra and wedges (boundary layer)" solid meshing option.
Two boundary layers will be specified having a total, absolute extrusion distance of 0.03".
The remaining parts will be meshed using the default "All tetrahedral" solid meshing option.
We will specify a 40 edge curve refinement angle and use the "Maximum adjacent surface
curvature" option to ensure an adequately fine mesh around the models many small
cylindrical surfaces without making the remainder of the mesh too fine. To do so, we will
have to deactivate the automatic geometry-based mesh size function.
We will define a custom unit system. The fluid inside of the unit will be a custom-defined
heavy oil having a much greater viscosity, and a somewhat greater density and thermal
conductivity relative to water. The expansion coefficient will be similar to that of water.
The heat source will provide 60 Watts of total input power. A convection load will be applied to
the exposed surfaces of the cooling fins. Velocity and temperature convergence tolerances will
be relaxed in the interest of obtaining results more quickly.
The following parameters will be used for the analysis:
Vessel Material:
Aluminum 2024-O
Heat Source Material:
AISI type 304 stainless steel
Fluid Properties:
Density = 0.00012 lbf sec2/in/in3

Viscosity = 2.5 x 10-6 lbf*s/in2
Thermal conductivity = 0.015 J/(s*in*oF)
Specific heat = 500,000 J/(lbf*s2/in*oF)
Coefficient of thermal expansion = 0.00011/oR
Loads:
The fins on the vessel transfer heat to the ambient

temperature of 80oF with a convection coefficient of
0.05 J/(s*oF*in2)
The heat source has a total heat generation of 60 W
(or 60 J/s).
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Figure 6.7: Heat Exchanger Model
Opening and Meshing of the Model

Simulation"
"Heat Exchanger.stp"

Select the " STEP (*.stp, *.ste, *.step)" option in the CAD
Select the file Heat Exchanger.stp in the "Chapter 6 Example
Models\Input Files" directory.
"Open"

"OK"

Mouse
Press the arrow button in the "Choose Analysis Type" dialog.
"Multiphysics: Steady Coupled

Fluid Flow and Thermal"
"Mesh: Model Mesh

Settings"
Select the "Multiphysics" pull-out menu and select the

"Steady Coupled Fluid Flow and Thermal" command.
Press the "OK" button. The model will appear in the FEA
Editor environment.
"Options"
Change the "Type" option under the "Mesh size" heading to

"Absolute mesh size" using the provided pull-down menu.
"OK"
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93
0.2
Type "0.2" in the "Size" input field.

Select the "Model" icon at the left side of the Model Mesh
Settings dialog.
Deactivate the "Use automatic geometry-based mesh size
function" option.
Select the "Surface" icon at the left side of the Model Mesh
Settings dialog.
Mouse
Mouse
Mouse
Mouse
Select the "Options" tab.
"Maximum adjacent surface

curvature"
Within the "Edge curve refinement" section, access the

pull-down menu in the "Mode" field and choose the
"Maximum adjacent surface curvature" option.
40
Type "40" into the "Angle (1-90 degrees)" input field.
"OK"
"OK"
"CAD Mesh Options: Part"

"Options"
94
Right-click on the "CAD Mesh Options" heading under

Part 3 in the tree view and choose the "Part" command.
This is the fluid part.
Press the "Options" button in the "Part Mesh Settings"
dialog.
Change the "Type" option under the "Mesh size" heading to
"Absolute mesh size" using the provided pull-down menu.
0.2
Type "0.2" in the "Size" input field.
Mouse
Select the "Options" tab.
"Maximum adjacent surface

curvature"
Within the "Edge curve refinement" section, access the

pull-down menu in the "Mode" field and choose the
"Maximum adjacent surface curvature" option.
40
Type "40" into the "Angle (1-90 degrees)" input field.
"Solid"
Click on the "Solid" icon at the left side of the dialog.

(boundary layer)"

radio button.
Mouse
Click on the "Tetrahedra" tab.
"Absolute length dimension"
Within the "Boundary layer options" section, access the

pull-down menu in the "Extrusion distance based on" field
and choose the "Absolute length dimension" option.
0.03
Type "0.03" in the "Total extrusion distance" field.
Type "2" in the "Layers" field.
"OK"
"OK"

"No"

View"
Access the VIEW pull-down menu, select the "Orientation"

submenu, and choose the "Right View" command. The
model should now appear as shown in Figure 6.8.
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Figure 6.8: Meshed Heat Exchanger Model (Right View)

Note that tetrahedral meshes are best suited for fluid flow analyses, since a more uniform
concentration of interior nodes is provided by this mesh engine as compared to the hybrid
mesher used as a default for stress analysis. In order to maintain compatibility between the
surface meshes of the fluid and solid parts, a tetrahedral mesh is automatically used for all
parts of coupled fluid/thermal multiphysics analyses.
Setting up the Model

We will now choose alternate display units, which will change data input units as well. Next,
we will choose our fluid part, define the material properties, apply the thermal loads, and
define the analysis parameters. Note that, if the material properties and various loads are
given in differing unit systems, the display units may be changed multiple times during model
definition, to suit each successive set of input units. In the case of this example, we will only
need to define and use one system, since all parameters are defined using consistent units.
As part of this process, we will check the model and determine the volume of Part 2. This will
be used to calculate the power input per unit volume, which we will need to define the internal
heat generation. We could just use the volume of the part based on the CAD solid model data.
However, when this volume has become discretized, as represented by the tetrahedral elements
comprising the FEA mesh, the volume of the FEA part will typically be somewhat smaller than
that of the original CAD solid part. For the most accurate heat input, it is best to determine the
actual volume of the FEA part, as-meshed, especially for round geometry.
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95
Mouse
"New"
Mouse
"Custom"
Mouse
"J"
Custom (lbf in s F J)
"OK"
Mouse
"Modify Material"
"Aluminum 2024-O"
Select the "Aluminum 2024-O" item from the list of

materials in the library.
"OK"
Mouse

view.
"Modify Material"
"AISI Type 304 Stainless

Steel"
Select the "AISI Type 304 Stainless Steel" item from the
list of materials in the library.
"OK"
Mouse
"Fluid Flow 3-D"
Mouse
96
Right-click the "Unit Systems" heading in the tree view

and select the "New" command.
Access the pull-down list in the "Unit System" input field
and select the "Custom" option.
Access the pull-down list in the "Thermal Energy" input
field and select the "J" option (Joules). Note that 1Watt of
power equals 1 Joule of energy per second.
Enter "Custom (lbf in s F J)" in the "Description" field to
identify the display units within the tree view heading for
this unit system.
Press the "OK" button. The tree view will show, via bold
text, that the "Custom" display units are currently active.
view.
Right-click on the "Element Type" heading for Part 3 in

the tree view.
Select the "Fluid Flow 3-D" command to set this as the
active fluid part.
view.
"Modify Material"
"Edit Properties"
Press the "Edit Properties" button.
0.00012
Type "0.00012" in the "Mass Density" field.
2.5e-6
Type "2.5e-6" in the "Dynamic viscosity" field.
Mouse
Click on the "Thermal" tab.
0.015
Type "0.015" in the "Thermal conductivity" field.
500000
Type "500000" in the "Specific heat" field.
0.00011
Type "0.00011" in the "Thermal Coefficient of

Expansion" field.
"OK"
"OK"
Mouse
"Modify Thermal Analysis

Parameters"
Select the "Modify Thermal Analysis Parameters"

command.
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Mouse
Click on the "Options" tab.
80
Type "80" in the "Default nodal temperature" field.
"OK"
Mouse
"Modify Coupled Analysis

Parameters"
Select the "Modify Coupled Analysis Parameters"

command.
"80"
Type "80" in the "Reference temperature" field.
"Set for standard gravity"
Press the "Set for standard gravity" button.
The model is oriented with +Z as the upward direction.

direction for gravity may be used (0, 0, -1).
Therefore, the default vector
Type "0.05" in the first row of the "Temp Tol" column of

the "Custom Load-Stepping Settings" table.
Scroll right and type "0.05" in the first row of the "Vel Tol"
column of the "Custom Load-Stepping Settings" table.
0.05
0.05
"OK"
Mouse
<Ctrl> <Shift> Mouse

Click and drag the mouse to place a selection window
enclosing only the five cooling fins and the exposed tubing
surfaces between the fins.
Holding the <Ctrl> and <Shift> keys down, draw another
selection window, this time enclosing the three short horizontal
tubes running through the fins but NOT enclosing the top or
bottom edges of the fins.
The preceding step deselected the surfaces of tube/fin intersection and the tubing surfaces. In
this way, we will confine the convection load to only the exposed surfaces of the five fins.
Mouse
"Add: Surface Convection

Loads"

Convection Loads" command.
Type "0.05" in the "Temperature Independent
Convection Coefficient" field.
0.05
80
Type "80" in the "Temperature" field.
"OK"
"Details"
"Tools: Weight and Center of
Gravity"
"OK"

"Check Model" command. After the model check has
completed, the heat exchanger will appear within the
Results environment.
Click on the "Details" button when the solid meshing
screen appears to see the log as elements are being built.
"Weight and Center of Gravity" command.
Click on the "OK" button to accept the default gravitational
acceleration of 386.4 in/sec^2.
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97
Verify that the reported volume of Part 2 is equal to, or approximately equal to, 4.4134E-01
(0.44134) in3. Record the reported volume, which will be used to calculate the heat
generation load magnitude in the next step.
"Close"
Press the "Close" button.
"Tools: FEA Editor"

Editor" command.
Mouse
Right-click on the heading for Part 2 in the model tree.
"Add: Heat Generation"
Select the "Add" pull-out menu, and select the "Heat

Generation" command.
For the following two steps, substitute the exact Part 2 volume that you previously recorded,
as reported by the Weight and Center of Gravity calculator. Slight variations in the surface
and/or solid mesh may lead to slightly different part volumes. In addition, the total volume of
the elements comprising the FEA mesh will typically differ from the original CAD part's
volume due to discretization of curved surfaces. For the most accurate heat input, it is best to
use the actual total volume of the elements rather than the theoretical volume of the original,
non-discretized CAD part.
60/.44134=
60 W / 0.44134 in^3
Type "60/.44134=" in the "Internal Heat Generation"

field. Upon pressing the "=" key, the result of
approximately 135.95 will appear in the data field.
Type "60 W / 0.44134 in^3" in the description field, since
the specified heat generation represents a total of 60 Watts
for Part 2 based on a volume of 0.46794 in3.
"OK"
Analyzing the Model

"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse

"Perform Analysis" command.
to hide the load and constraint symbols. The contour plot
being displayed represents unconverged results of each
iteration until the convergence tolerance has been achieved
and the analysis has finished.
By default, temperatures are shown as the current result type. Prior to completion of the solution,
the fluid velocities, pressures, and temperature will be updated as the solver outputs the various
iterations until the solution converges for both sets of values (fluid flow and thermal).
This analysis will likely take more than forty-five minutes to run and may take significantly
longer, depending upon the computer hardware. It would be best to leave the model running
during a lunch break or overnight. If time does not permit completing the solution phase, stop
the analysis and open the archive file that is located in the "Chapter 6 Example Model\Results
Archive" folder.
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After the solution has been completed, the temperature results should be similar to those shown
in Figure 6.9.
Figure 6.9: Temperature Results

"Results: Heat Flux:
Magnitude"
Mouse
Access the RESULTS pull-down menu, select the "Heat

Flux" pull-out menu, and choose the "Magnitude" command.
Click and drag the middle mouse button to rotate the model,
positioning it as desired to see the range of heat flux values.
Note that the region of maximum heat flux is where the tube carrying the hot liquid first
enters the cooling fins, as heat is drawn away due to the convection load in this area. The heat
flux results are shown in Figure 6.10.
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99
Figure 6.10: Heat Flux Magnitude Results

We will now look at the fluid flow results. Since the fluid region has no inlet or outlet and, since
the velocity at all boundary surfaces will be zero, we need to see into the interior to observe any
non-zero velocity results. We will define a slice plane for this purpose. We will also hide Parts 1
and 2 to suppress their feature lines, since fluid velocity results dont apply to the solid parts.
View"
"Results: Velocity: Z"
Mouse
"Add Slice Plane: 3) YZ"
"Display Options: Slice Planes:
Flip"
100
Access the VIEW pull-down menu, select the "Orientation"

submenu, and choose the "Right View" command.
Access the RESULTS pull-down menu, select the
"Velocity" pull-out menu, and choose the "Z" direction.
Right-click on the "Slice Planes" heading under
Presentation 1 in the tree view.
"3) YZ" command.
Access the DISPLAY OPTIONS pull-down menu, select
the "Slice Planes" pull-out menu, and choose the "Flip"
command.
Mouse
Right-click on the "YZ Slice Plane" heading in the tree view.
"Hide"
Mouse
Select the Part 1 heading in the tree view.
<Ctrl> Mouse
Holding the <Ctrl> key, also select the Part 2 heading in the
tree view.
Mouse
Right-click on one of the selected headings.
"Hide"
Choose the "Hide" command. The model should now

appear as shown in Figure 6.11.
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Figure 6.11: Velocity in Z-Direction

Note that the expected behavior of convective flow is demonstrated by the positive Z velocities
at the heating chamber and the vertical tubes above and below it. Note also the negative Z
velocities in the vertical tube segments at the cooling side of the circuit.
Next, we will observe the velocities in the Y-direction. You will clearly see positive Y flow
(left-to-right) exiting the top of the heating chamber (moving towards the fins) and in the top
and bottom horizontal tubes that run through the fins. You will observe also negative Y flow
(right-to-left) in the middle cooling fin tube and in the line returning to the bottom of the
heating chamber. We will also look at a vector plot of the velocities
"Results: Velocity: Vector

Plot"
"Display Options: Plot
Settings"

pull-out menu, and choose the "Y" direction.
pull-out menu, and choose the "Vector Plot" command.
Access the DISPLAY OPTIONS menu and select the "Plot
Settings" command.
Mouse
Select the "Vector Plots" tab.
Mouse
Drag the "Size of arrow heads" pointer towards the left to

about the midscale position to reduce the arrowhead size.
"OK"
"Results: Velocity: Y"
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101
Lastly, let us take a look at the pressure results and revisit the temperature results, this time
with the slice plane active.
"Results: Pressure"
"Results: Temperature"

"Pressure" command to see the fluid pressure distribution.
The fluid pressure should vary approximately from -0.003 to
+0.002 psi, with the maximum pressure being at the top of
the circuit and the minimum pressure at the bottom.
Finally, access the RESULTS pull-down menu and select the
"Temperature" command to see the fluid temperature pattern
along the slice plane. This image is shown in Figure 6.12.
Figure 6.12: Temperature Results Along the Slice Plane
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Exercise D
Heat Sink Model
3-D, Tetrahedra and Wedge (Boundary Layer) Elements
Setting up and running an unsteady fluid flow analysis and an uncoupled steady thermal analysis.
Objective:
Perform an unsteady fluid flow analysis to determine the air velocity around the heat sink
due to forced convection. Then, apply the velocities from the final time step to a steadystate thermal analysis of the assembly to determine the resulting temperature profile.
Use the "Metric mmks" unit system, which is consistent with the STEP file's length unit
(mm) and has Force in Newtons and Energy in Joules.
Geometry:
The file, Exercise D.STEP, found in the "Exercise D\Input File" folder of the class
directory or Solutions CD, contains the heat sink and semiconductor assembly shown
below. In addition, the air around the assembly is already included.
Mesh all parts at 120% of the default mesh size.
NOTE: The global default "All tetrahedra" solid meshing option will be used. However,
set the air (Part 1) to the "Tetrahedra and wedges (boundary layer)" solid meshing option.
In addition, set the number of boundary layers to 2. Exclude the inlet and outlet surfaces
from receiving boundary layers.
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103
Loading:
The semiconductor has an internal heat generation of 15 W. Use the "Weight & Center
of Gravity" calculator to determine the volume (mm3) of the semiconductor (Part 2).
Heat Generation (in J/(mm3*s) = 15 W / Volume Part 2
Incoming air is held at 30C.
Velocity of 100 mm/s in the +Z direction across the heat sink will be applied.
Constraints:
An inlet/outlet condition will be specified on the surface opposite the applied velocity.
Element:
Fluid Analysis: Part 1 (Air) 3-D.

Thermal Analysis: Part 1 (Air), Parts 2 and 3 Brick.
Materials:
The fluid is Air.

The heat sink and semiconductor are Aluminum 2024-T4; 2024-T351.
Load Curve for Fluid Flow:

Time
Multiplier
Steps
Turbulence
0
1
10
Default Nodal Temperature for Thermal Analysis: 30 C
Results:
104
Maximum Temperature
(C)
Maximum Velocity
Magnitude (mm/s)
~ 82
~ 191
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Formulation Options, Porous Media, and
Transient Mass Transfer
Fluid Flow Formulation Options
There are four formulation options available for steady and unsteady fluid flow analysis,
specified via the "Formulation" drop-down box in the "Solution" tab of the "Analysis
Parameters" dialog (shown in Figure SS.1).
Figure SS.1: Formulation Choices Solution Tab of the Analysis Parameters Dialog
The "Automatic" option will choose one of the following three formulations based on
the properties of the model.
The "Mixed GLS" option will use the Galerkin Least Squares (GLS) method. This
formulation is applicable to all 3-D analyses except for open channel flow. It is not
applicable to any 2-D fluid flow analyses. The Mixed GLS formulation will be used
when the Automatic option is selected if the following conditions are metthe
geometry is 3-D and a user-defined local coordinate system is both defined and is applied
to at least one surface where a boundary condition or a load has been applied.
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The "Segregated" option will use a segregated solution algorithm that decomposes the
global matrix into smaller sub-matrices, each governing the nodal unknowns associated
with a single conservation equation. These sub-matrices will then be solved in a
sequential manner. For most models, the segregated solver will provide the fastest
solution time, will require less RAM (since it does not solve the entire matrix at once),
and will provide the most robust solving capability.
This formulation is applicable to 3-D analyses (steady, unsteady, and open channel flow)
and 2-D planar analysis (steady and unsteady). It does not support local coordinate
systems. Therefore, as long as the model does NOT contain any applied load or
boundary condition that is based on a user-defined local coordinate system; selecting the
Automatic option will result in the usage of the segregated formulation.
The "Penalty" option will use the penalty method. The penalty method is suited only for
4-node elements in a 2-D analysis and 8-node brick elements in a 3-D analysis. Use one
of the other formulations if the mesh contains elements with fewer nodes. The penalty
method is available only for 2-D axisymmetric analyses (steady and unsteady flow) and
for 3-D analyses (except for open channel flow).
To the right of the "Formulation" input field is a button (">>"). This is used to access additional
solution options for each formulation. Figure SS.2 shows the Unsteady Fluid Flow Formulation
Options dialog. The Steady Fluid Flow Formulation Options dialog is identical except for the title
bar. A description of the additional input for each formulation follows the dialog image.
Figure SS.2: Unsteady Fluid Flow Formulation Options Dialog
Mixed GLS Formulation:

If the "Use implicit time integration" option is activated, then an implicit solution method is
used. Otherwise, an explicit method is used. The implicit time integration is more robust and
stable but generally requires a longer solution time. The explicit integration may have
convergence issues unless the time step size is small enough to lead to a stable solution.
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When using implicit time integration, the scheme can be set to either "First order Euler
scheme" or "Second order AB scheme" (the Adams-Bashforth trapezoid formula). Both
schemes have predictor and corrector steps to help with convergence.
NOTE: One of the implicit time integration schemes MUST be used if the k-epsilon
turbulence model is to be used.
Segregated Formulation:
If the analysis is using the segregated method, you can choose which solver will be used to
calculate the velocities and pressures in the "Solver Control" section. The "Iterative" solver
is recommended because it is faster and uses less memory than the sparse solvers. However, if
one of the variables (three velocity components or pressure) is not converging with the iterative
solver, then you may want to choose one of the sparse solvers. The "BCSLIB-EXT" sparse
solver is generally faster than the "PVSS" sparse solver. The "MUMPS" distributed solver is
also available on both Linux and Windows operating systems.
Since the segregated formulation solves the velocities and pressure independently, an iterative
scheme is used to converge on the solution of the matrices. Since any given solution may be
inaccurate, relaxation factors are used to minimize the oscillation that may occur in the
solution. Specifically, the segregated formulation will use under-relaxation to control the
convergence of the pressure and velocity values. You can specify the relaxation parameters
for each of these values in the "Relaxation Control" section.
If the "Apply automatic parameter control" checkbox is activated, then the solver will
automatically adjust the following relaxation parameters, starting with the entered value, based
on the convergence history and the global matrix properties. If the checkbox is not activated,
then the following relaxation parameters will remain constant throughout the entire analysis.
The "Velocity relaxation factor" will be applied to each of the velocity solutions (X, Y,
and Z matrices). Smaller values result in a more stable solution but can require more
iterations to converge. Larger values may cause the solution to diverge. The acceptable
range is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 1.
The "Pressure relaxation factor" is applied to the pressure solution. Smaller values
result in a more stable solution but can require more iterations to converge. Larger values
may cause the solution to diverge. The acceptable range is greater than 0 and less than or
equal to 1.
The "Inertial relaxation factor" is applied to the momentum equation. The acceptable
range is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 1.
The "Detect stagnation due to oscillation" drop-down is used to determine how to handle the
situation in which the results are converging toward a value but to a value larger than the user
specified tolerance. The options are:
"Perform maximum iterations": If stagnation of the convergence is detected and the

maximum number of iterations has been reached, the analysis will accept the last result
and move on to the next time step.
"Continue to next step": If stagnation of the convergence is detected, the analysis will
accept the results and will continue with the next time step.
"Stop": If stagnation of the convergence is detected, the analysis will stop. The log file
will indicate whether the stagnation was in the velocity or pressure.
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NOTES: The convergence criteria and tolerance for the segregated formulation are specified
on the "Load Curves" tab using the "Norm-V Type", "Velocity Norm", "Norm-P
Type" and "Pressure Norm" input.
The pressure must be defined somewhere in the model when using the segregated
formulation. This can be done by applying a pressure to a surface or by using
prescribed inlet/outlet conditions. (Inlet/outlet conditions set the face to 0 pressure.)
The inlet/outlet conditions can be used in conjunction with prescribed velocities that
have some velocity directions free to be calculated in order to set the pressure.
(With other formulations, the prescribed inlet/outlet in combination with partial
prescribed velocities would have no affect on the results.)
The segregated formulation does not support local coordinate systems. Do not
assign any nodes to a local coordinate system if using the segregated formulation.
Penalty Formulation:
If the analysis is using the penalty method, you must specify the parameters in the "Solution
Options" section. First, if you want the penalty factors to be recalculated at each time step of
the analysis, select the "Updated" option in the "Penalty method" drop-down box. If you want
the penalty factors to be calculated at the beginning of the analysis and be kept at those values
for the rest of the analysis, select the "Constant" option. There are two parameters that are
used to calculate the penalty factors. The first is the "Maximum length scale". This is the
maximum dimension of the physical part, not the maximum dimension of the fluid domain.
Some examples are shown in Figure SS.3.
Figure SS.3: Maximum Length Scale Examples

The second is the "Maximum expected velocity". This is the maximum velocity magnitude
that is expected anywhere in the model throughout the analysis. The values for these two
parameters do not need to be exact. Any realistic value will provide acceptable results.
During the analysis, the smoothing function takes the pressure calculated at the element's
interior and derives the pressure at the element nodes. This requires multiple calculations. The
number of calculations used is specified in the "Number of pressure smoothing passes" field.
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Porous Media
The porous media material model can be used for a wide variety of problems, including flows
through packed beds, filters, screens, perforated plates, porous metal foam, flow distributors
and tube banks.
For example in a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, the tube region can be modeled using a
distributed resistance part rather than modeling each tube individually, this will greatly
simplify the model and focus on the major flow and thermal features.
The flow through porous media processor will analyze fluid flow through a fully saturated
porous medium. The flow must be steady, incompressible, and isothermal and must maintain
its dimensional integrity. The permeability of the medium can be independent of direction or
can vary in orthogonal directions. This processor can calculate the flow in a 2-D planar, 2-D
axisymmetric or 3-D configuration and supports multiple fluid parts. Each part can have an
individual permeability. A part can also be used to model unrestrained flow as the fluid
moves between porous media.
The flow can be generated by pressures and velocities. At least one pressure load must be
applied to the model so that a reference is established. Any surface without a velocity or
pressure applied will be considered impermeable.
The flow through porous media processor uses Darcy's Law, which states
u=
where u is the velocity vector, the viscosity of the fluid, K the permeability tensor, and p the
pressure. The permeability tensor is defined as
The porous medium is considered to be isotropic if the three K components are equal.
Example of Flow through Porous Media
To illustrate how to simulate the flow through porous media, we will model and analyze the
2-D flow through porous media.
Simulation"

"New"
Select the "New" icon at the left side of the dialog.
"Fluid Flow: Flow through

Porous Media"
A dialog will appear asking you to choose the design

scenario for this model. Press the arrow button next to the
"Choose analysis type" field and select the "Fluid Flow"
pull-out menu. Select the "Flow through Porous Media"
command.
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"New"
Press the "New" button.
Porous
Type "Porous" in the "File name:" field.
"Save"
Press the "Save" button.
Mouse
Right-click on the "Plane 2 < YZ(+X) >" heading in the

tree view.
"Sketch"
Select the "Sketch" command.
"Geometry: Add:
Rectangle"
Access the GEOMETRY pull-down menu and select the

"Add" pull-out menu. Choose the "Rectangle"
command.
<Enter>
Press <Enter> to define the origin as the first corner.
4 <Tab> 2 <Enter>
Type "4" in the "Y:" field, press <Tab>, type "2" in the
"Z:" field, and press <Enter> to define the point (0, 4, 2) as
the opposite corner.
"Apply"
Press the "Apply" button.
<Esc>
Press <Esc> to exit the rectangle command.
"View: Enclose"
Mouse

"Enclose" command.
Right-click on the "Plane 2 < YZ(+X) >" heading in the
tree view.
"Sketch"
Deselect the "Sketch" command.
Mouse
Right-click on the "1 < YZ(+X) >" heading under Part 1 in

the tree view.
"Create 2D Mesh"
Select the "Create 2D Mesh" command.
"Apply"
Press the "Apply" button to create a 2-D mesh using

default settings.
Before we can define the material properties, we must first specify the element type and
thickness. We will assume a 1 inch thickness. So, our model results will represent the perinch-of-thickness flow.
Right-click on the "Element Type" heading for Part 1 in
the tree view.
Mouse
"2-D Planar"
Select the "2-D Planar" command.
Mouse
Right-click on the "Element Definition" heading for Part 1

in the tree view.
"Modify Element
Definition"
Select the "Modify Element Definition" command.
"1"
Type "1" in the "Thickness" field.
"OK"
We are now ready to define the material properties, to apply the loads and constraints, and to
define the analysis parameters. The flow will enter from the left side at a velocity of 10 in/s
in the Y direction.
Materials are considered to be isotropic if the properties are not dependent on the direction.
This material model is applicable for all fluid flow elements and is only available for flow
through porous media analyses. The isotropic material properties are shown in Figure SS.4
and are listed after the figure.
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Figure SS.4: Element Material Specifications for Isotropic Porous Media
Mass Density: The mass density of a material is its mass per unit volume. This property is
applicable to all fluid flow elements. This property is required for all fluid flow analyses.
Dynamic Viscosity: The dynamic viscosity of a fluid is a constant of proportionality for

a fluid when an external force is resisting the flow of the fluid. This property is
Permeability: This property refers to the permeability of the porous media through
which the fluid is passing. This property is applicable to all fluid flow elements.
Now that we have discussed the material properties, let us go ahead and define our porous
media for this example.
Mouse

view.
"Modify Material"
"Edit Properties"
Click the "Edit Properties" button.
0.00015
Type "0.00015" in the "Mass density" field.
0.00098
Type "0.00098" in the "Dynamic viscosity" field.
0.00025
Type "0.00025" in the "Permeability" field.
"OK"
"OK"
Next, we will define pressure boundary conditions for this model. Pressure difference in the
model will drive the flow from one end to the other.
Mouse

Click on the left end of the model, the left vertical surface
will be selected.
Mouse
"Add: Surface
Pressure/Traction"

Pressure/Traction" command. The dialog shown in
Figure SS.5 will appear.
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Figure SS.5: Surface Pressure/Traction Object Dialog

25

Press the "OK" button. A yellow P will appear on each
node in that surface.
Click on the right end of the model, the right vertical
surface will be selected.
"OK"
Mouse
Mouse
"Add: Surface
Pressure/Traction"
5

Pressure/Traction" command.
"OK"
112

Press the "OK" button. A yellow P will appear on each
node in that surface. The model should appear as shown in
Figure SS.6.
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Figure SS.6: Flow through Porous Media Model with Pressure Loads Applied
"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
"OK"

then open the model in the Results environment.
Press the "OK" button when notified that the analysis has
been completed.
The velocity should be uniform throughout the porous media and should match the value in
the table below. The full color spectrum will be seen, representing slight differences beyond
the fifth or sixth decimal places. However, at the default precision of the legend, little of no
difference will be seen between the maximum and minimum values.
Velocity (in/s)
~ 1.276
A completed archive of this model, including results, Porous.ach, is located in the "Self
Study\Example Models\Results Archives" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
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Using Porous Media in a Steady or Unsteady Fluid Flow Analysis

The element parameters for 2-D or 3-D elements will depend on the type of fluid flow
analysis that is being performed. Figure SS.7 shows the Element Definition dialog for 3-D
fluid elements. If you are performing a steady or unsteady fluid flow analysis, first select the
model that will be used for the viscosity of the fluid in the "Viscosity Model" drop-down box
in the "Element Definition" dialog.
Figure SS.7: Element Definition for Fluid 3-D Dialog

The "Newtonian" option should be used for fluids in which the shear stress is proportional to
the rate of deformation. This is the most commonly used viscosity model. The "Power Law"
option will enforce maximum and minimum limits for the viscosity of the fluid based on the
shear rates. The "Carreau Model" option is recommended if the fluid will experience large
differences in shear rate. This viscosity model will generate a curve that will characterize the
viscosity over an infinite range of shear rates. The "Porous Media Model" option can be
used to represent an area where the fluid is flowing through porous media, such as a filter.
This is used to model a distributed resistance to the flow.
So, in addition to the "Flow through Porous Media" analysis type, porous media can also be
included in a regular steady or unsteady fluid flow analysis by setting the "Viscosity Model"
to the "Porous Media Model" option. In the latter case, rather than Darcys Law (previously
described for the Flow through Porous Media analysis type), the program uses a more general and
complex governing equation that considers the porous effect.
The material properties for a porous media viscosity model within a 3-D steady or unsteady
fluid flow analysis are shown in Figure SS.8. The dialog is identical for a 2-D fluid flow
analysis, except for the title bar.
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Figure SS.8: Element Material Specification for the Porous Media

Model in 3D Steady or Unsteady Fluid Flow Analyses
Mass Density: The mass density of a material is its mass per unit volume. This property
is applicable to all fluid flow elements. This property is required for all fluid flow
analyses.
Dynamic Viscosity: The dynamic viscosity of a fluid is a constant of proportionality for

a fluid when an external force is resisting the flow of the fluid. This property is
Porosity: The porosity of a part is the ratio of the volume of the voids within the part to
the total part volume.
Permeability: This property refers to the permeability of the porous media through
which the fluid is passing. This property is applicable to all fluid flow elements.
Inertial Coefficient: For high velocity flows, the inertial coefficient provides a
correction for inertial losses in a porous medium. It can be viewed as a loss coefficient
per unit length along the direction of the flow.
Viscosity and permeability cannot be set to zero.
Example of Using Porous Media in a Steady Fluid Flow Analysis

To illustrate how to use a porous media model in regular fluid analyses, we will use the
model, PorousScreen.ach, which is located in the "Self Study\Example Models\Input Files"
folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
The model geometry is shown in Figure SS.9. The length of the channel is 90 cm, and its
height and width are both 15 cm. The top and bottom are walls.
Air enters from the left end with non-uniform velocity. It then passes through a porous screen
with a thickness of 1.5 cm (also 15 cm high x 15 cm wide) and exits at the right end. Since
this is a 2-D model, the channel and filter width is defined as the 2-D planar element thickness
within the element definition dialogs for each part. The effect of the porous screen is to make
the outlet velocity profile much more uniform than the inlet velocity profile.
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Figure SS.9: Model Geometry

Simulation"

"Open"

(*.ach)"
"PorousScreen.ach"
"Open"

Double-click the "Element Definition" heading under
Part 1 in the tree view.
"OK"
Mouse
15
Type "15" in the "Thickness (visualization only)" field.
"OK"
Mouse

tree view.
"Air"
"OK"
Mouse
"Porous Media Model"
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Select the "Algor Simulation Archive (*.ach)" option in

the Autodesk Algor Files section of the "Files of type:"
drop-down box.
Select the file "PorousScreen.ach" in the "Self
Study\Example Models\Input File" directory.
Double-click on the "Element Definition" heading for

Part 2 in the tree view.
Select the "Porous Media Model" option in the
"Viscosity Model" drop-down box.
15
Type "15" in the "Thickness (visualization only)" field.
"OK"
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tree view.
This will provide the viscosity and density values for the air
passing through the porous screen. Next, we'll specify the
porous media properties.
Mouse
"Air"
"Edit Properties"
0.1
0.3
Type "0.3" in the "Porosity" field.
0.475
Type "0.475" in the "Inertial Coefficient" field.
"OK"
"OK"
Mouse
Expand the "Surfaces" branch under Part 1 in the tree view

by clicking on the plus sign to the left of the surfaces icon.
Mouse
Right-click on the "Surface 3" heading under Part 1.

Velocity"

Mouse
Mouse
Activate the "Y Magnitude" checkbox.
1500
Type "1500" in the "Y Magnitude" field.
Mouse
"OK"
Mouse

Velocity"

Mouse
Mouse
2300
Mouse
"OK"
Mouse

Velocity"

Mouse
Mouse
1200
Mouse
"OK"
Mouse
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Velocity"

Mouse
Mouse
900
Mouse
"OK"
Mouse
Right-click on the "Surface 7" heading under par 1.

Inlet/Outlet"

Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
"OK"
"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse
Press the "OK" button to accept the default parameters and

exit the dialog.
"Perform Analysis" command to run the analysis. It
will be displayed in the Results environment while solving.
The outlet velocity is clearly more uniform than the inlet velocity profile that was specified.
Let's quantify this by inquiring on the range of velocity magnitudes along the outlet surface.
"View: Display: Shaded with
Mesh"
"View: Zoom Area"
Mouse
Draw a zoom window enclosing the outlet end of the model.
<Esc>
Press <Esc> to exit the zoom area mode.

"Selection: Select: Nodes"
Mouse
"Inquire: Results"
Mouse
"Range"
118
Access the VIEW pull-down menu and then the "Display"

pull-out menu. Choose the "Shaded with Mesh" option.
Access the VIEW pull-down menu and select the "Zoom
Area" command.
Access the SELECTION pull-down menu and then the

"Shape" pull-out menu. Choose the "Rectangle" command.
Access the SELECTION pull-down menu and then the
"Select" pull-out menu. Choose the "Nodes" command.
Draw a selection box enclosing the nodes along the far right
edge of the model, excluding the two corner nodes at the top
and bottom of the outlet surface (which are zero velocity).
Access the INQUIRE pull-down menu and select the
"Results" command.
Click on the down-arrow at the right end of the "Summary"
field and choose the "Range" option.
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The maximum velocity magnitude at the outlet surface and the output velocity range (that is,
the difference between the maximum and minimum outlet velocities) should be approximately
equal to the values in the table below.
Maximum Velocity
Magnitude
(cm/s)
Outlet Velocity Range

(cm/s)
~ 2,334
~43
The inlet velocity range is 1,400 cm/s (2300 maximum 900 minimum). Due to the effect of
the filter, the outlet velocity variation is only about 3% of the inlet velocity variation.
A completed archive of this model, including results, PorousScreen.ach, is located in the "Self
Study\Example Models\Results Archives" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
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Self Study Exercise

Flow through Porous Media with Gravity
2D Elements
Applying three different porous media.

Applying gravity for solving 2-D flow through porous media.
Objective:
Determine the velocity and pressure profiles of the fluid when gravity is applied to a
porous media model.
Geometry:
Use the file, SS Exercise.ach, in the "Self Study\SS Exercise\Input File" folder of the class
directory or Solutions CD. All parts are 1 m thick.
Loading:
Apply pressures of 1 N/m2 (1 Pa) to the locations specified in the image.

Apply standard gravity to the model with a multiplier of -1 in the Z direction.
Element:
2-D Planar
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Material:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
998
998
998
0.00099973
0.00099973
0.00099973
0.01
1e-6
0.01
Mass density (kg/m3)

Mass viscosity (Ns/m2)
Permeability k (m2)
Results:
122
Velocity
(m/s)
Pressure
(N/m2)
13.6
78,356
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Transient Mass Transfer Overview

Mass transfer refers to mass in transit due to gradients in the concentration of species within a
mixture, and the transfer is due to random molecular motion. Species transport is an
analogous name for mass transfer. The solution of mass transfer is to determine the species
concentration distribution and corresponding species flux over a time interval.
As implemented in Autodesk Algor Simulation, the mass transfer occurs via Poisson
mode, which considers diffusion mass transfer balance only. There are no convective terms
included, and the species do not interact with each other. Consequently, one model with ten
species will give the same results as ten individual models with one species each. Poisson
mode can be applied for both fluid and solid phases. A typical application example is the
migration of chemical species through a semipermeable membrane. Multiple species may be
involved in each part of the model.
The mass transfer model must be a 3-D brick model. The calculation is transient.
Exterior faces with no loads are considered impenetrable. In a symmetric model, the species
are assumed to not cross the symmetry plane. Stated more precisely, the species crossing the
symmetry boundary in both directions, due to random motion, are essentially equal and the
concentrations on either side do not change. Therefore, no boundary conditions are required
on the symmetry faces to simulate a symmetrical model.
Meshing Requirements
Transient mass transfer analyses are applicable to 3-D solid models only. The mesh may be
hand-built (structured), an automeshed CAD solid, or may be an extruded 2-D mesh. All brick
elements types applicable to fluid flow are also supported for mass transfer specifically,
8-node bricks, wedges, pyramids, and tetrahedra. 2-D and planar meshes are not supported.
The model may consist of a single part or multiple parts.
Defining Species
Before applying any loads to a transient mass transfer model, species must be created and
defined. In the model tree for this analysis type there will be a "Species" heading above the
parts list. To define a species, right-click on this heading and select the "Add New Species"
command. The dialog box shown in Figure SS.10 will appear.
Figure SS.10: Creating Mass Species Dialog
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Simply specify a "Name" to identify the species and enter a value for the "Default
Diffusivity" in units of length squared over time. Once one or more species are created, the
initial concentrations are specified via the Part Mass Species Definition dialog (shown in
Figure SS.11). This dialog is accessed by right-clicking on the "Species Definition" heading
under each part in the tree view and selecting the "Edit" command.
Figure SS.11: Part Mass Species Definition Dialog

Specify the initial concentration of each species by double-clicking on the provided data fields
in the "Initial Concentration" column and typing in the desired value. Similarly, enter the
desired "Material Diffusivity" values. Alternately, you may elect to use the default
diffusivity that was specified during species creation by activating the "(Use Default)"
checkbox. Activate or deactivate the predefined species that will participate in the part using
the checkboxes in the "Active" column.
Loading Options
Three types of loads may be applied to transient mass transfer models; part-based, surfacebased, and nodal. There are no edge-based loads for this analysis type.
Part-Based Loads
Part Mass Generation: This is the only part-based load available for mass transfer analyses.
To add this load, select one or more parts of the model in the display area or in the tree view.
Then, right-click to bring up the context menu, access the "Add" pull-out menu, and select the
"Part Mass Generation" command. The dialog shown in Figure SS.12 will appear.
Enter the "Mass Generation" magnitude in units of mass per unit time per unit volume
(length3). Select the "Species" using the provided pull-down list of previously created
species. Finally, specify the desired "Load Case" and load "Curve." An optional
description may be included.
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Figure SS.12: Creating Part Mass Object Dialog
Surface Based Loads

Surface Applied Concentration: Use this load to apply a concentration of a species to one
or more surfaces of the model when you want to control the concentration as a function of
time. A load curve may be used to vary the concentration or to hold it constant, whichever
behavior is desired. To add this load, select one or more surfaces of the model in the display
area or in the tree view. Then, right-click to bring up the context menu, access the "Add"
pull-out menu, and select the "Surface Applied Concentration" command. The dialog
shown in Figure SS.13 will appear.
Enter the "Concentration" in units of mass per unit volume (length3). Select the "Species"
using the provided pull-down list of previously created species. Specify the desired "Load
Case" and load "Curve." An optional description may be included.
Figure SS.13: Creating Applied Concentration Object Dialog
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Surface Initial Concentration: Use this load to apply an initial concentration of a species to
one or more surfaces of the model. The concentration will not be controlled by a load curve
but will change over time as a result of migration of the species during the simulation. To add
this load, select one or more surfaces of the model in the display area or in the tree view.
Then, right-click to bring up the context menu, access the "Add" pull-out menu, and
select the "Surface Initial Concentration" command. The dialog shown in Figure SS.14
will appear. The data input is the same as for a surface applied concentration except for the
absence of the load case / load curve number and curve button.
Figure SS.14: Creating Initial Concentration Object Dialog

Surface Mass Flux: Use this load to specify a mass flux (rate of migration) of a species at
one or more surfaces of the model. Positive values represent migration into the part and
negative values represent migration out of the part. The mass flux may vary as a function of
time as dictated by the assigned load curve. To add this load, select one or more surfaces of
the model in the display area or in the tree view. Then, right-click to bring up the context
menu, access the "Add" pull-out menu, and select the "Surface Mass Flux" command.
The dialog shown in Figure SS.15 will appear. The mass flux is specified in units of mass per
unit time per unit area (length2).
Figure SS.15: Creating Mass Flux Object Dialog
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Self Study
Nodal Loads
Nodal loads are applied by selecting one or more nodes of the model in the display area, rightclicking to bring up the context menu, accessing the "Add" pull-out menu, and choosing the
desired type of nodal load, as detailed below. The procedure is similar to the application of
surface loads and the dialog boxes are virtually identical, except for their titles.
Nodal Applied Concentration: The application of a nodal applied concentration is the same
as the application of a surface applied concentration except that the concentration specified
will be on a per-selected-node basis rather than on a per-selected-surface basis. The species
and load curve are selected in the same manner as it is for surface applied concentrations.
Nodal Initial Concentration: The application of a nodal initial concentration is the same as
the application of a surface initial concentration except that the concentration specified will be
on a per-selected-node basis rather than on a per-selected-surface basis. The species is
selected in the same manner as it is for surface applied concentrations. No load curve controls
the concentration but it will vary over time as a result of migration of the species during the
simulation.
Nodal Mass Source: Use this load to specify a mass flux (rate of migration) of a species at
one or more nodes of the model. Positive values represent migration into the part and
negative values represent migration out of the part. The difference between nodal mass
source and surface mass flux is that a nodal mass source is specified in units of mass per unit
time and is not on a per unit area basis as it is for surface mass fluxes. The mass source may
vary as a function of time as dictated by the assigned load curve. The Create Mass Source
Object dialog is shown in Figure SS.16.
Figure SS.16: Creating Mass Source Object Dialog
3/15/2010
127
Self Study
Analysis Parameters
Load curves, solver options and restart analysis setup for transient mass transfer analyses are
specified in a manner that is very similar to unsteady fluid flow analyses. The main
difference is the absence of several tabs in the analysis parameters screen for mass transfer
(such as, "Advanced," "Gravity/acceleration" and "Options" tabs) that are present for fluid
flow analyses. For more information, consult the online documentation by pressing the
"Help" button that appears along the bottom of the analysis parameters screen.
Result Types
Results are displayed for a single species at a time. To select the species on which to base the
contour plot, access the RESULTS OPTIONS pull-down menu from within the Results
environment and select the "Species Options" command. The dialog shown in Figure
SS.17 will appear. Choose the desired species from the provided pull-down list.
Figure SS.17: Species Options Dialog

Using the RESULTS pull-down menu, the following analysis results may be displayed as
contour plots.
Species Concentration
This result is the species concentrations in units of mass per unit volume.
Mass Flux
This result is the mass flux in units of mass per unit time per unit area (length2). The
magnitude may be displayed or the X, Y or Z component of the mass flux. This result may
also be displayed as a vector plot.
Mass Rate of Face

The mass rate of face result is presented in units of mass per unit time. It is not on a per-unitarea basis but represents the actual rate of mass migration for the element faces. To inquire
on the mass rate for selected element faces or surfaces (via the "Inquire: Results" command),
smoothing of the results needs to be disabled. Do this by toggling off the "Smooth Results"
option found within the RESULTS OPTIONS pull-down menu.
128
3/15/2010
Autodesk Algor
Simulation CFD 2011
Solutions Manual
II
Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Solutions Manual
3/15/2010
Table of Contents
Foreword..................................................... 1
Exercise A: Venturi Model ........................................................................................... 3
Exercise B: 3-D Flow around a Building .................................................................... 9
Exercise C: Fan Model ............................................................................................... 19
Exercise D: Heat Sink Model ..................................................................................... 25
Self Study Exercise: Flow through Porous Media with Gravity ............................. 33
3/15/2010
III
IV
3/15/2010
Foreword
Starting Autodesk Algor Simulation
The software may be started by:
Accessing the Windows "Start" menu and selecting the "All Programs" pull-out menu,
followed by selecting the "Autodesk" group and the "Autodesk Algor Simulation" folder
within it. Select the "Autodesk Algor Simulation" command.
In addition, the program may be started by choosing the "Autodesk Algor Mesh" command
within supported CAD solid modeling applications. This method starts the program and transfersin the CAD solid model in one operation.
Defaults
Each exercise is written using the default program settings, as if the software has been opened for the first
time after installation. In this way, a user can work through the exercises in any order. If a user will be
working through several exercises during one session, some settings from one exercise may be retained,
creating incorrect or invalid steps in the following exercise. To minimize this possibility, exit the program
at the end of each exercise and reopen it to begin a new exercise. It is possible for an experienced user to
work through several exercises without this precaution, but extra care should be taken to review that input
is correct and appropriate.
It is important that the user access view commands exactly as described, except as otherwise indicated (that
is, from the pull-down menus or toolbars). These commands ensure a constant and repeatable view
orientation that is not ensured when using the ViewCube. Specifically, while the displayed plane will be
correct, the rotational position may not be as expected when using the ViewCube.
Several program settings are global. That is, once set, they will influence the program behavior for every
model until the settings are changed again. In particular, the solution steps in this manual may be
invalidated if a deviation is made from any of the settings listed below. These are the program settings
upon which the solution procedures are based:
"Tools: Options"
o
"Analysis"
"Automate Analysis" Activated
"Ask to show mesh results after CAD meshing" Activated
"Default Modeling Units" = English (in)
"CAD Import: Global CAD Import Options"

"Knit surfaces on import:" = No
Automatically generate contact pairs:" = No
"Graphics: Navigation Tools: View Cube"

"Fit-to-View on view change" Activated
"Mouse Options: Mouse settings templates" = Algor Simulation
"Views Options: Views settings templates" = Algor Simulation

3/15/2010
Foreword
Archives
A Solutions CD is affixed to the inside back cover of this manual. The Solutions CD contains the input
files and result archives for all of the exercises in the Solutions Manual. There are clearly identified
subfolders containing the appropriate files for each exercise. Within a classroom setting, this solutions
archive will typically be extracted to a shared network location or will be pre-installed onto each student's
workstation. If being provided via a shared drive on the network, the input files and results archives must
be copied to the local computer before being opened. Do not try to open any models directly from the CD.
This will fail because files cannot be written to the read-only disk.
Opening Archives
1. Copy the set of folders and files to your local computer from the class directory or from the
Solutions CD.
2. Start Autodesk Algor Simulation and select the "Open" icon at the left side of the dialog.
3. Select the "Algor Simulation Archive (*.ach)" option in the Autodesk Algor Files section of the
"Files of type:" drop-down box.
4. Double-click to open the desired folder, highlight the desired file, and press the "Open" button.
5. In the "Browse for Folder" screen, select a folder on the hard drive for the location of the
restored model files.
6. Press the "OK" button.
The model will be restored to the selected folder and automatically opened in the FEA Editor environment.
For exercises based on CAD solid models, the input files will be universal format CAD solid model files,
rather than Autodesk Algor archives.
3/15/2010
Exercise A
Exercise A
Venturi Model
3-D Elements
Meshing a CAD solid model with a boundary layer mesh.

Specifying a refinement point to produce local mesh refinement.
Applying prescribed velocities.
Applying prescribed inlet/outlets.
Applying symmetry constraints.
Objective:
Mesh and perform an unsteady fluid flow analysis on the model of the fluid in the venturi
shown below. The fluid passages in the immediate area of the venturi are very narrow.
So, local mesh refinement will be used to produce a greater concentration of nodes in the
interior of the flow paths.
Geometry:
Use the file, Exercise A.step, in the "Exercise A\Input File" folder of the class directory or
Solutions CD. Specify a refinement point at coordinates (0, 0, 0) with a radius of 0.5"
and a divide factor of 4. Mesh the model with an absolute mesh size of 1/8" (0.125) using
a boundary layer mesh. Exclude the inlet surface (the one with a 45 in/s prescribed
velocity in the -Y direction), the two prescribed inlet/outlet surfaces, and the symmetry
surface from receiving a boundary layer mesh.
Loading:
45 in/s velocity in the Y direction as shown in the image above.
Constraints:
Symmetry conditions along symmetry plane.

Prescribed inlet/outlets at two locations as shown in the image above.
3/15/2010
Exercise A
Element:
3-D
Materials:
Water
Load curve:
Results:
Time
Multiplier
Steps
0.0
1.0
0.0
1.0
1
20
To save time, you may stop the analysis after the solution converges for a couple of time
steps. Then, to review the completed results, open the results archive, which is located in
the "Exercise A\Results Archive" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
(in/s) at 1 second
~311
3/15/2010
Exercise A
Solution
Opening the Model
Start Autodesk Algor Simulation, if it is not already running. Also, before starting this exercise, copy
the file, Exercise A.step, from the "Exercise A\Input File" folder in the class directory to your computer or
Solutions CD.
"Open"
"Exercise A.STEP"
Select the file Exercise A.STEP in the "Exercise A\Input
File" directory.
"Open"
"OK"
Flow"

for this model. Press the arrow to the right of the analysis
type field, select the "Fluid Flow" pull-out menu, and
choose the "Unsteady Fluid Flow" command.
"OK"
Meshing the Model

"Mesh: Model Mesh
Settings"

"Options"

drop-down box.
0.125

(boundary layer)"
Select the "Solid" icon on the left side of the "Model

radio button.
"OK"
"OK"
Mouse
With nothing selected, right-click in the display area.
"Solid"
"Add: Refinement Point"

0 <Tab> 0 <Tab> 0
<Tab> 0.5
Access the "Add" pull-out menu and select the

"Refinement Point" command.
Enter "0" for the "X-coordinate." Press the <Tab> key
and enter "0" for the "Y-coordinate." Press <Tab> and
enter "0" for the "Z-coordinate."
<Tab> once more and enter "0.5" in the "Effective
Radius" field.
3/15/2010
Exercise A
Mouse
Activate the "Divide factor" radio button.
Enter "4" into the "Divide factor" field.
"OK"
View"
Press the "OK" button. A small black dot will appear at

the center of the venturi.
command.
Click on the large flat surface along the symmetry plane.
Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse

"Shape" pull-out menu. Select the "Rectangle"
command.
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, draw a box around the top
edge of the model.
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, draw a box around the right
edge of the model.
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, draw a box around the
bottom edge of the model.
Mouse


Press the "No" button when asked to view the meshing results.
"No"
Adding Loads and Constraints

Mouse
Click on the large flat surface along the symmetry plane.
Mouse

Velocity"

Mouse
"OK"

Mouse
Draw a rectangle enclosing the right edge of the model.
<Ctrl> Mouse
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, draw a rectangle enclosing

the bottom edge of the model.
Mouse

Inlet/Outlet"

Mouse
Draw a rectangle enclosing the top edge of the model.
3/15/2010
Exercise A
Mouse

Velocity"

Mouse
Mouse
-45
Type "-45" in the "Y Magnitude" field.
Mouse
"OK"
Defining the Material Data and Analysis Parameters

Mouse

view.
"Modify Material"
Select the "Modify Material" command in the menu.
"Water"
Highlight the "Water" option in the material library.
"OK"
Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
"Add Row"
Type "0" in the first row of the "Multiplier" column in the

"Time-Stepping Settings" table.
20
"OK"
Running the Analysis
"Tools: FEA Editor"
"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse

"Check Model" command. The model will be checked
and will be loaded in the Results environment.
Once you are finished inspecting the model, access the TOOLS
pull-down menu and select the "FEA Editor" command. This
will return the model to the FEA Editor environment.
"Perform Analysis" command. The model will be
displayed in the Results environment while the solution
progresses.
button below the display area.
3/15/2010
Exercise A
Viewing the Results

View"

View" command. The velocity profile will appear by
default
"Results Options: Load Case:"

"Previous" or "Next"
Access the RESULTS OPTIONS pull-down menu and select

the "Load Case" pull-out menu. Use the "Previous" or
"Next" commands to toggle through the load cases.
A completed archive, with results, is located in the "Exercise A\Results Archive" folder of the class
directory or Solutions CD.
3/15/2010
Exercise B
Exercise B
3-D Flow around a Building
3-D Elements
Boundary layer meshing.

Applying surface prescribed velocities.
Applying surface prescribed inlet/outlets.
Displaying particle paths and streamlines.
Objective:
Run an unsteady fluid flow analysis to determine the velocity profile as air flows over
and around a building at 3 mph (52.8 in/s) and at 30 mph (528 in/s). We expect
transitional flow for the lower speed and turbulent flow for the higher speed so we will
enable the turbulence option for all calculation steps except for the initial condition
(speed = 0).
Geometry:
The file, Exercise B.step, found in the "Exercise B\Input File" folder of the class
directory or Solutions CD, contains the air volume shown below. The volume
corresponding to the building has already been removed. Create a boundary layer mesh
for the model shown below. Use 100% mesh size and deactivate the boundary layer on
the inlet, outlet, top and sides.
Loading:
Apply a prescribed velocity of 528 inches/second in the X direction to the surface on the
left end of the model.
Apply prescribed velocities of 0 inches/second in the Y direction to the front and back
surfaces of the model.
Apply a prescribed velocity of 0 inches/second in the Z direction to the top surface of the
model.
Constraints:
Apply a prescribed inlet/outlet to the right end of the model.
Element:
3-D
3/15/2010
Exercise B
Material:
Air
Load curve:
Time
Multiplier
Steps
Turbulence
0.1
20
42
0.1
10
50
20
90
10
Results:
Animate the results to view the changing velocity profile. Observe the appearance of
streamlines and particle paths as the results are animated.
Compare the maximum velocity magnitude result at the end of the simulation to the table
below.
Maximum Velocity
Magnitude
(in/s) at 90 seconds
~ 951
10
3/15/2010
Exercise B
Solution
Opening the Model
the file, Exercise B.step, from the "Exercise B\Input File" folder in the class directory to your computer or
Solutions CD.
"Open"
"Exercise B.step"
Select the file Exercise B.step in the "Exercise B\Input File"
directory.
"Open"
"OK"
Flow"

for this model. Press the arrow button to the right of the
analysis type field and select the "Fluid Flow" pull-out
menu. Select the "Unsteady Fluid Flow" command.
"OK"
To visually verify the orientation of the house-shaped void in the model, we will temporarily turn off the
shading by displaying only edges.
"View: Display: Edges"

Edges"
Access the VIEW pull-down menu and select the "Display"

pull-out menu. Choose the "Edges" command. Note the
outline of the house within the interior of the model.
pull-out menu. Choose the "Shaded with Edges" command.
Meshing the Model

"Mesh: Model Mesh
Settings"

"Options"
Mouse
Click on the "Solid" icon on the left side of the dialog box.

(boundary layer)"
Activate the "Tetrahedra and wedges (boundary layer)"

radio button.
"OK"
Press the "OK" button to exit the options dialog.
"OK"
Press the "OK" button to exit the mesh settings dialog.

View"

command.
3/15/2010
11
Exercise B

Mouse
Click on the rectangular surface facing the screen.
Mouse


command.

View"
Mouse
Mouse


command.

View"
Mouse
Mouse


command.

View"
Mouse
Click on the square surface facing the screen.
Mouse


command.

View"
Mouse
Mouse


Click "No" when asked if you wish to view the meshing
results.

"No"
Defining the Element and Material Data
12
Mouse

view.
"Modify Material"
3/15/2010
Exercise B
"Air"
Highlight the "Air" item in the list of materials.
"OK"
Setting the Analysis Parameters

Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
"Add Row" (4x)
Press the "Add Row" button four times, giving you a total
of five rows.
Type "2" in the "Index 2 Time" field.
42
50
90
Type "0" in the "Index 1 Multiplier" field.
0.1
Type "0.1" in the "Index 2 Multiplier" field.
0.1
Type "0.1" in the "Index 3 Multiplier" field.
20
Type "20" in the "Index 2 Steps" field.
10
20
10
Type "1" in the "Index 2 Turbulence" field.
"OK"

The model should still be oriented according to the previously selected Right View.
Mouse
Mouse

Inlet/Outlet..."

Prescribed Inlet/Outlet..." command.
command.

View"
3/15/2010
13
Exercise B
Mouse
Mouse

Velocity"

Mouse
528
Type "528" in the "X Magnitude" field.
"OK"

View"

command.
Mouse
Mouse

Velocity"

Check the box for the "Z Magnitude" field, but leave the
value set to "0".
Mouse
"OK"

View"

command.
Mouse
Mouse

Velocity"

Check the box for the "Y Magnitude" field, but leave the
value set to "0".
Mouse
"OK"

View"

command.
Mouse
Mouse

Velocity"

Check the box for the "Y Magnitude" field, but leave the
value set to "0".
Mouse
"OK"
14
3/15/2010
Exercise B

"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse

display in the Results environment while it is being solved.
Viewing the Results

The velocity magnitude results will be displayed by default and the last time step will be displayed, once
calculated. Compare the velocity to the value in the table at the end of the exercise description.
"Result Options: Load Case:
First"
"Result Options: Load Case:
Next"
View"
"Selection: Select: Nodes"
Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse
Access the RESULT OPTIONS pull-down menu and select

the "Load Case" pull-out menu. Select the "First"
command. The initial condition will be displayed.
Access the RESULT OPTIONS pull-down menu and select
the "Load Case" pull-out menu. Select the "Next"
command. Time Step 1 will be displayed (0.1 s).
command.
"Select" pull-out menu. Select the "Nodes" command.
Select a node on the vertical centerline of the displayed
model face, about one-fourth of the way from the bottom to
the top of the part.
Holding the <Ctrl> key, select two more nodes, one to the
left and one to the right of the previously selected node and
about half way to the model side edges for both. The
selected nodes should look similar to the image below.
Nodes Selected for Particle Path Display

"Add Particle Paths..."
Select the "Add Particle Paths..." command.
"Particle Path Settings"
Press the "Particle Path Settings.." button.
3/15/2010
15
Exercise B
Type "2" in the "Time interval between introducing
particles" field.
Type "25" in the "Number of particles to introduce"
field.
2
20
"OK"
<Esc>
Press <Esc> to dismiss the "Particle Paths" dialog.
Note that displaying the particle paths has automatically turned on transparency for the model, so that the
particles within the interior will be clearly visible.
View"

View" command.
Mouse

"Start Animation" command.
As the animation proceeds, the particles will flow through the model. The animation will likely be slow at
first as all the particle paths are calculated. Keep the animation running and subsequent repetitions should
display much more quickly. When you are finished with the particle tracking, use the "Animation: Stop
Animation" command.
Mouse
"Show"
View"
Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse
Right-click on the "Particle Path" heading listed under the

Presentation "1". Particle Path is a subheading under "Flow
Visualization".
Click on the "Show" command to toggle off visibility of
the particles.
command.
Select a node on the inlet face that is vertically and
horizontally nearest the center of the outline of the house.
Holding the <Ctrl> key, select eight additional nodes for a
total of nine, located as shown in the figure below.
Nodes Selected for Streamlines Display
16
Mouse
"Add Streamlines..."
Select the "Add Streamlines..." command.
3/15/2010
Exercise B
Press <Esc> to dismiss the "Streamlines" dialog.
<Esc>
View"

View" command.
"Start Animation" command.
As the animation proceeds, the streamlines will update as the flow pattern through the model changes.
When you are finished viewing the streamlines, use the "Animation: Stop Animation" command.
A completed archive of the model, Exercise B.ach, is located in the "Exercise B\Results Archive" folder of
the class directory or Solutions CD.
3/15/2010
17
Exercise B
18
3/15/2010
Exercise C
Exercise C
Fan Model
3D Elements
Applying rotating frames for a fan.
Objective:
Determine the velocity profile as air flows around a fan.
Geometry:
Use the file, Exercise C.ach, in the "Exercise C\Input File" folder of the class directory or
Solutions CD. This model contains a part for the fan and a part for the fluid. Deactivate
the fan part for the analysis.
Mesh the model using the default "All tetrahedra" solid meshing option, the default mesh
size, and with the option "Use automatic geometry-based mesh size function" disabled.
This will result in a somewhat finer and more uniform element size.
Loading:
Apply a rotating frame of reference to the fan contact surfaces with the following settings:
Angular velocity: 50 RPM
Center of rotation: (0, 0, 0)
Axis of rotation:
Y
3/15/2010
19
Exercise C
Constraints:
Apply a prescribed inlet/outlet to the two end surfaces, as shown in the image.
Element:
3-D
Material:
Air
Load Curve:
Time
Multiplier
Steps
0
1
2
0
1
1
1
10
5
Results:
20

at 2 seconds (mm/s)
Maximum Y-Velocity
at 2 seconds (mm/s)
~101.3
~ -11.4
3/15/2010
Exercise C
Solution
Opening the Model
Start Autodesk Algor Simulation, if it is not already running. We will be using the file, Exercise C.ach,
found in the "Exercise C\Input File" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
"Open"
(*.ach)"
"Open"
"OK"

Navigate to the location of the Exercise C.ach file and press
the "Open" button.
Meshing the Model

Mouse
Right-click on the heading for Part 1 in the tree view.
"Deactivate"
Select the "Deactivate" command.
"Mesh: Model Mesh

Settings"

"Options"

Select the "Model" icon on the left side of the "Model
Deselect the "Use automatic geometry-based mesh size
function" checkbox to disable this feature.
"Model"
Mouse
"OK"
"Mesh model"
Press the "Mesh model" button.
"No"
Press the "No" button when asked to view the meshing results.

View"
Mouse

command.
3/15/2010
21
Exercise C
View"

command.
<Ctrl> Mouse
Holding the <Ctrl> key, click on the surface facing the screen.
Mouse

Inlet/Outlet"

pull-out menu. Select the "Mesh" command.
Click on the "+" sign to the left of the "Surfaces" heading
under Part 2 in the tree view to expand the surface list.
Click on the "Surface 5" heading under Part 2 in the tree
view.
Holding the <Shift> key, click on the "Surface 61" heading.
All of the surfaces of the fluid where it contacts the fan blade
should turn magenta and none of the exterior surfaces.
"View: Display: Mesh"

Mouse
Mouse
<Shift> Mouse
Mouse
Select the "Rotating Frames of Reference" pull-out menu

and choose the "New" command.
"Rotating Frames of
Reference: New"
NOTE: Defining the RFR from the context menu with

surfaces selected creates the frame and assigns it to the
specific surfaces in one operation.
50
Type "50" in the "Angular Velocity" field.
"Y"
Select the "Y" radio button.
"OK"

Mesh"

pull-out menu. Select the "Shaded with Mesh" command.
Defining the Material Data and Load Curve
22
Mouse
Double-click on the "Material" heading under Part 2.
"Air"
Highlight the "Air" option in the "Element Material

Selection" dialog.
"OK"
Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
"Add Row"
"Add Row"
10
Type "2" in the third row of the "Time" column.
3/15/2010
Exercise C
5
Type "5" in the third row of the "Steps" column.
"OK"
"Tools: FEA Editor"

"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"

Once you are finished inspecting the model, access the TOOLS
pull-down menu and select the "FEA Editor" command. This
will return the model to the FEA Editor environment.
displayed n the Results environment while it is being solved.
Viewing the Results

Mouse
View"
Mouse

The velocity profile will appear by default. Access the VIEW
pull-down menu and select the "Orientation" pull-out menu.
Select the "Isometric View" command.
Right-click on the "2 <Unnamed>" heading beneath the
"Model" heading in the tree view.
"Draw Transparently"
Select the "Draw Transparently" command.
Mouse
Click in a blank portion of the display area to deselect all of

the nodes in Part 2.
Notice that the maximum velocity magnitude occurs at the tips of the fan blade contact surfaces. This is
the tangential velocity of the rotating surfaces.
"Results: Velocity: Y"
Access the RESULTS pull-down menu and then the

"Velocity" pull-out menu. Select the "Y" command.
Notice that the flow is in the -Y direction. This is what we would expect, based on the shape of the fan
blades and the positive rotation of the blades about the Y-axis.
Mouse
Right-click on the "2 <Unnamed>" heading beneath the

"Model" heading in the tree view.
"Draw Transparently"
Toggle off the "Draw Transparently" command.
Mouse
"Results: Pressure"
Click in a blank portion of the display area to deselect all of

the nodes in Part 2.
"Pressure" command.
Notice the positive pressure on the discharge side of the fan (-Y side) and the negative pressure on the
suction side (+Y side).
3/15/2010
23
Exercise C

Previous" or
Next"
Access the RESULTS OPTIONS pull-down menu and select

the "Load Case" pull-out menu. Choose the "Previous" or
"Next" commands to navigate through the load cases.
Compare the maximum velocity magnitude and Y-component at 2 seconds with the values shown in the
table at the end of the exercise description.
A completed archive, with results, Exercise C.ach, is located in the "Exercise C\Results Archive" folder of
the class directory or Solutions CD.
24
3/15/2010
Exercise D
Exercise D
Heat Sink Model
3-D, Tetrahedra and Wedge (Boundary Layer) Elements
Setting up and running an unsteady fluid flow analysis and an uncoupled steady thermal analysis.
Objective:
Perform an unsteady fluid flow analysis to determine the air velocity around the heat sink
due to forced convection. Then, apply the velocities from the final time step to a steadystate thermal analysis of the assembly to determine the resulting temperature profile.
Use the "Metric mmks" unit system, which is consistent with the STEP file's length unit
(mm) and has Force in Newtons and Energy in Joules.
Geometry:
The file, Exercise D.STEP, found in the "Exercise D\Input File" folder of the class
directory or Solutions CD, contains the heat sink and semiconductor assembly shown
below. In addition, the air around the assembly is already included.
Mesh all parts at 120% of the default mesh size.
NOTE: The global default "All tetrahedra" solid meshing option will be used. However,
set the air (Part 1) to the "Tetrahedra and wedges (boundary layer)" solid meshing option.
In addition, set the number of boundary layers to 2. Exclude the inlet and outlet surfaces
from receiving boundary layers.
3/15/2010
25
Exercise D
Loading:
The semiconductor has an internal heat generation of 15 W. Use the "Weight & Center
of Gravity" calculator to determine the volume (mm3) of the semiconductor (Part 2).
Heat Generation (in J/(mm3*s) = 15 W / Volume Part 2 .
Incoming air is held at 30C.
Velocity of 100 mm/s in the +Z direction across the heat sink will be applied.
Constraints:
An inlet/outlet condition will be specified on the surface opposite the applied velocity.
Element:
Fluid Analysis: Part 1 (Air) 3-D.

Thermal Analysis: Part 1 (Air), Parts 2 and 3 Brick.
Materials:
The fluid is Air.

The heat sink and semiconductor are Aluminum 2024-T4; 2024-T351.
Load Curve for Fluid Flow:

Time
Multiplier
Steps
Turbulence
0
1
10
Default Nodal Temperature for Thermal Analysis: 30 C
Results:
26
Maximum Temperature
(C)
Maximum Velocity
Magnitude (mm/s)
~ 82
~ 191
3/15/2010
Exercise D
Solution
Opening the Model and Setting the Units System
the file, Exercise D.STEP, from the "Exercise D\Input File" folder in the class directory to your computer
or Solutions CD.
"Open"
"Exercise D.STEP"
Select the file "Exercise D.STEP" in the "Exercise D\Input
File" directory.
"Open"
"OK"
Flow"

STEP file length unit is mm.
for this model. Press the arrow button next to the analysis
type field and select the "Fluid Flow" pull-out menu.
Select the "Unsteady Fluid Flow" command.
"OK"
Mouse
"Activate"
Right-click on the "Display Units < Metric mmks >"

heading in the tree view and choose the "Activate" command.
The desired unit system will now appear in bold text.
Meshing the Model

"Mesh: Model Mesh
Settings"

Mouse
Move the slider in the "Mesh size" section to 120%.
"OK"
Mouse
"Part"
Right-click on the "CAD Mesh Options" heading under

Part 1 in the tree view and choose the "Part" command.
Mouse
Move the slider in the "Mesh size" section to 120%.
"Options"
Mouse
Click on the "Solid" icon on the left side of the dialog box.

(boundary layer)"
Activate the "Tetrahedra and wedges (boundary layer)"

radio button.
Mouse
Click on the "Tetrahedra" tab.
Enter "2" in the "Layers" field under the "Boundary layer

options" heading.
"OK"
Press the "OK" button to exit the options dialog.
3/15/2010
27
Exercise D
Press the "OK" button to exit the part mesh settings dialog.
"OK"
View"

command.
Mouse
Mouse


command.

View"
Mouse
Mouse


Click "No" when asked if you would like to view the
meshing results at this time.

"No"
Defining the Element and Material Data

Mouse
Double-click the "Material" heading for Part 1 in the tree

view.
"Air"
Highlight the "Air" item in the list of materials.
"OK"
Mouse
Click on the "Part 2" heading in the tree view.
<Ctrl> Mouse
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, also select the "Part 3"
Mouse
"Deactivate"
Select the "Deactivate" command.
The proper material properties for Parts 2 and 3 cannot be defined at this time, since they are not fluid
parts. We will deactivate these parts because they will not participate in the fluid flow analysis. We will
wait until the thermal analysis design scenario has been created to finish defining these two parts.
Setting the Analysis Parameters
28
Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
3/15/2010
Exercise D
"Add Row"
"Add Row"
Type "0" in the "Index 1 Multiplier" field.
10
"OK"

Mouse
With the previously set Bottom View still active, click on

the rectangular surface facing the screen.
Mouse

Velocity"

Mouse
100
Type "100" in the "Z Magnitude" field.
"OK"

View"

command.
Mouse
Mouse

Inlet/Outlet..."

Prescribed Inlet/Outlet..." command.
View" command.

View"

"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse

displayed in the Results environment while it is being solved.
Once the model appears in the Results environment, click
to hide the load and constraint symbols.
3/15/2010
29
Exercise D
Take some time to look over the results of the analysis. Compare the maximum velocity to the value
shown in the table at the end of the exercise description. When satisfied, continue on by applying these
results to a thermal analysis.
"Tools: FEA Editor"

Editor" command. This will return the model to the FEA
Editor environment.
Creating a New Design Scenario and Defining the Material Data

Since the air (Part 1) is a library material, the thermal properties will be picked up automatically from the
Autodesk Algor Material library. We will only need to select materials for the semiconductor and heat
sink, which were deactivated during the fluid flow phase of the multiphysics analysis.
Mouse

Steady State Heat Transfer"
Under "Set Current Analysis Type" select "Thermal"

and then the "Steady-State Heat Transfer" analysis type.
"Yes"
Mouse
Click on the "Part 2" heading in the tree view.
<Ctrl> Mouse
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, also select the "Part 3"
Mouse
"Activate"
Select the "Activate" command.
Mouse
Click on the "Material" heading for Part 2 in the tree view.
<Ctrl> Mouse
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, click on the "Material"

heading for Part 3 in the tree view.
Mouse
"Modify Material"
"Aluminum 2024-T4; 2024T351"
Highlight the "Aluminum 2024-T4; 2024-T351" item in

the list of materials.
"OK"
Checking the Model and Determining the Volume of Part 2

We will use the weight and center of gravity calculator to determine the volume of the semiconductor. This
is another reason for checking the model. The part volumes will not be known until the model is solid
meshed and decoded via the check model operation. The analysis parameters must first be defined.

"Tools: Weight and Center-ofGravity"
"OK"
30

and loaded into the Results environment.
Access the TOOLS pull-down menu and select the "Weight
and Center-of-Gravity" command.
Press the "OK" button to accept the default gravity value.
Note the volume of Part 2, which we will need in the thermal
analysis. It should be about 3.6297E+03 (3,629.7 mm3).
3/15/2010
Exercise D
Record the exact volume for Part 2. You will use it to calculate the heat generation on a per-unit-volume
basis for this part.
"Close"
Press the "Close" button.
"Tools: FEA Editor"

Editor" command. This will return the model to the FEA
Editor environment.

View"

command.
Mouse
Mouse
"Add: Surface Applied

Temperature..."
30

Applied Temperature..." command.
"OK"
Mouse
Right-click on the heading for Part 2.
"Add: Heat Generation..."
Select the "Add" pull-out menu and select the "Heat

Generation..." command.
For the next two steps, substitute your value for the volume of Part 2 if it differs from the value shown here.
15/3629.7=
Type "15/3629.7=" in the "Internal Heat Generation"

field. This is representative of our 15 W load divided by the
part volume of 3629.7 mm3. The resultant magnitude of
0.0041326 J/(mm3s) will be shown.
15 W / 3,629.7 mm^3
Type "15 W / 3,629.7 mm^3" in the "Description" field.
"OK"
Mouse
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
"OK"
Click "OK" to dismiss the pop-up message concerning

the available solvers.
"OK"
Press the "OK" button to accept the default parameters.
Mouse
Click in a blank portion of the display area to ensure that

nothing is currently selected.
Mouse
"Fluid Convection"
Select the "Fluid Convection" command.
Mouse
"ds.ufv"
Click on "<Filename>" under "Velocity Data" in the

table.
Select the file "ds.ufv" in the "Exercise D\Input
File\Exercise D.ds_data\1" directory.
3/15/2010
31
Exercise D
"Open"
Click "No" under "Enabled" to change the value to

"Yes".
Click "No" under "Turbulence" to change the value to
"Yes".
Mouse
Mouse
20
Select "15" under the "Load Case" drop-down.
"OK"

View"

View" command.

"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"
Mouse

displayed in the Results environment while being solved.
Viewing the Results

By default, the temperature results will be displayed. You may notice that the minimum temperature of the
air is less than the applied temperature of 30C at the inlet. A finer mesh and tighter convergence tolerance
would minimize this deviation.
We will hide Part 1 so that the temperatures of the semiconductor and heat sink can be seen.
Mouse
Right-click on the Part 1 heading in the tree view.
"Hide"
Compare the maximum temperature result to the value shown in the table at the end of the exercise
description. Notice that the top of the heat sink (+Z end) is slightly warmer than the bottom. This is what
we should expect, because the air passing over and through the heat sink is increasing in temperature as it
picks up the heat generated by the semiconductor.
32
3/15/2010
Self Study Exercise
Self Study Exercise

Flow through Porous Media with Gravity
2D Elements
Applying three different porous media.

Applying gravity for solving 2-D flow through porous media.
Objective:
Determine the velocity and pressure profiles of the fluid when gravity is applied to a
porous media model.
Geometry:
Use the file, SS Exercise.ach, in the "Self Study\SS Exercise\Input File" folder of the class
directory or Solutions CD. All parts are 1 m thick.
Loading:
Apply pressures of 1 N/m2 (1 Pa) to the locations specified in the image.

Apply standard gravity to the model with a multiplier of -1 in the Z direction.
Element:
2-D Planar
3/15/2010
33
Self Study Exercise
Material:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
998
998
998
0.00099973
0.00099973
0.00099973
0.01
1e-6
0.01
Mass density (kg/m3)

Mass viscosity (Ns/m2)
2
Permeability k (m )
Results:
34
Velocity
(m/s)
Pressure
(N/m2)
13.6
78,356
3/15/2010
Self Study Exercise
Solution
Opening the Model
Start Autodesk Algor Simulation, if it is not already running. We will be using the file,
SS Exercise.ach, from the "Self Study\SS Exercise\Input File" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
"Open"
(*.ach)"
"Open"
"OK"

Navigate to the location of the file SS Exercise.ach and
press the "Open" button.
The model will display in the Right View orientation. The element type, element definitions, and materials
have not yet been specified.


Mouse
Click on the surface at the top of Part 1 (leftmost part).
<Ctrl> Mouse
While holding the <Ctrl> key, click on the surface at the top
of Part 3 (rightmost part).
Mouse
"Add: Surface
Pressure/Traction"
1

Pressure/Traction" command.
"OK"
Mouse
Right-click on the "Analysis Type" heading in the tree

view.
"Modify Analysis
Parameters"
Mouse
Click on the "Gravity/Acceleration" tab.
Mouse
Activate the "Include Gravity Force" checkbox.
"Set for standard gravity"
Press the "Set for standard gravity" button.
"OK"
Type "1" in "Magnitude" field.
3/15/2010
35
Self Study Exercise
Defining the Element and Material Properties

Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse
Mouse
"2-D Planar"
Select the "2-D Planar" command.
"Yes"
Press the "Yes" button to dismiss the pop-up message.
Mouse
<Ctrl> Mouse
Click on the "Element Definition" heading for Part 1 in

the tree view.
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, click on the "Element
Definition" heading for parts 2 and 3 in the tree view.
Mouse
"Modify Element
Definition"
1
36
Click on the "Element Type" heading for Part 1 in the tree

view.
Type" heading for Part 2 in the tree view.
Type" heading for Part 3 in the tree view.
Select the "Modify Element Definition" command.

Type "1" in the "Thickness" field.
"OK"
Mouse
Click on the "Material" heading for Part 1 in the tree view.
<Ctrl> Mouse
Holding down the <Ctrl> key, click on the "Material"

heading for Part 3 in the tree view.
"Modify Material"
"Edit Properties"
998
Type "998" in the "Mass density" field.
0.00099973
0.01
"OK"
"OK"
Mouse

view.
"Modify Material"
"Edit Properties"
998
Type "998" in the "Mass density" field.
0.00099973
1e-6
Type "1e-6" in the "Permeability" field.
"OK"
"OK"
3/15/2010
Self Study Exercise
"Tools: FEA Editor"
"Analysis: Perform
Analysis"

Once you are finished inspecting the model, access the
TOOLS pull-down menu and select the "FEA Editor"
command. This will return the model to the FEA Editor
environment.
analyzed and will be loaded in the Results environment.
Viewing the Results

The velocity magnitude will be displayed by default. Note the maximum value and compare it with the
result shown in the table at the end of the exercise description.
"Results: Pressure"

"Pressure" command to view the pressure in the porous
media.
Once again, note the maximum value and compare it with the result shown in the table at the end of the
exercise description.
A completed archive, with results, SS Exercise.ach, is located in the "Self Study\SS Exercise\Results
Archive" folder of the class directory or Solutions CD.
3/15/2010
37
Self Study Exercise
38
3/15/2010
Autodesk, Inc., 111 McInnis Parkway, San Rafael, California 94903 USA
Autodesk and Algor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other
countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
2010 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved. 668B1-A8000-PM01A

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Autodesk Algor

Simulation CFD 2011

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

2010 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Installing and Running Autodesk Algor Simulation.......................................................1

Chapter 1: Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD Example ......... 11

Chapter 2: Basics of Fluid Flow Analysis .................. 23

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Chapter 3: Results Evaluation and Presentation ............ 45

Chapter 4: Additional Loading Options ..................... 55

Chapter 5: Open Channel Flow .............................. 67

Chapter 6: Multiphysics ................................... 75

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Result Options .........................................................................................................................79

Self Study: Formulation Options, Porous Media, and

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Software Installation, Services, and Support

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Dual Intel 64 or AMD 64 Processor,

Dual Intel 64 or AMD 64 Processor,

2 GB RAM or higher (3 GB for MES

100 GB of free disk space or higher

30 GB of free disk space or higher

256 MB or higher OpenGL

512 MB or higher OpenGL

Supported Operating Systems:

Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit editions)

Other Requirements (All Platforms):

Mouse or pointing device

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Autodesk Algor Simulation Help

How to Access the Help Files

Features of the Help Files

Figure I.1: Autodesk Algor Simulation Users Guide

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Autodesk Algor Simulation product page

Webcasts and Web Courses

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

How to Receive Technical Support

(412) 967-2700 [or in USA/Canada: (800) 482-5467]

Obtain phone, fax, and/or e-mail information from your reseller.

When contacting Technical Support:

Have your contract number ready before contacting Technical Support.

Know the current version number of your software.

Have specific questions ready.

Remember, Technical Support personnel cannot perform, comment on, or make

A "subscription" version: Customers with a current maintenance subscription are

A service pack: Incorporates minor improvements to a major or subscription release and

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Mechanical stress (stress analysis)

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

Fluid Flow Review

Separate fluid domains (no mixture of different fluids)

Basic FEA Concepts

Figure I.2: Degrees of Freedom of a Node

Figure I.3: Communication through Common Nodes

Autodesk Algor Simulation CFD 2011 Seminar Notes

2-D Axisymmetric Elements: The mesh represents a cross-section of an axisymmetric

3-D (Solid) Elements: Must be 4, 5, 6 or 8 nodes enclosing a volume.

DOFs for element types: