Flat Plate Boundary Layer

Created using ANSYS 13.0

Problem Specification

Consider a fluid flowing across a flat plate, as illustrated above. Obtain the velocity and
pressure distribution when the Reynolds number based on the plate length is 10,000.
This Reynolds number is obtained by using the following settings. The plate length is 1
m. The incoming fluid is flowing in the x-direction with a velocity of 1 m/s. The density of
the fluid is 1 kg/m^3 and the viscosity is 1 x 10 ^(-4) kg/(m-s). Note that these values are
not necessarily physical. They have been picked to yield the desired Reynolds number.
Check your results by comparing the velocity and pressure distribution with classical
boundary layer theory.

Pre-Analysis and Start-Up

Pre-Analysis

For an external flow like this, one needs to determine where to place the outer
boundary. A rectangular domain will be used for this simulation. The height of the
rectangular domain will be determined by the expected boundary layer thickness. For a
flat plate boundary layer, one can use the following approximation to find the boundary
layer
thickness.

When x = L,
= 0.05m. The height of the domain will be set to ten times the boundary
layer thickness. Thus, the height of the boundary will be set to 0.5m. The following
figure shows the dimensions of the domain, and the boundary labels which will be used
to
set
the
boundary
conditions.

Start ANSYS FLUENT

Prior to opening ANSYS, create a folder called FlatPlateCFD in a convenient location.

We'll use this as the working folder in which files created during the session will be
stored. For this simulation FLUENT will be run within the ANSYS Workbench Interface.
Start ANSYS Workbench:
Start> All Programs> Ansys 12.1> Workbench

The

following

figure

shows

the

workbench

window.

Higher Resolution Image

Management of Screen Real Estate

This tutorial is specially configured, so the user can have both the tutorial and ANSYS
open at the same time as shown below. It will be beneficial to have both ANSYS and
your internet browser displayed on your monitor simultaneously. Your internet browser
should consume approximately one third of the screen width while ANSYS should take
the
other
two
thirds
as
shown
below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

If the monitor you are using is insufficient in size, you can press the Alt and Tab keys
simultaneously to toggle between ANSYS and your internet browser.

Geometry
For users of ANSYS 15.0, please check this link for procedures for turning on the Auto
Constraint feature before creating sketches in DesignModeler.
Saving

It would be of best interest, to save the project at this point. Click on the "Save As.."
button,
, which is located on the top of theWorkbench Project Page . Save
the project as "FlatPlateFlow" in your working directory. When you save in ANSYS a file
and a folder will be created. For instance if you save as "FlatPlateFlow", a
"FlatPlateFlow" file and a folder called "FlatPlateFlow_files" will appear. In order to
reopen the ANSYS files in the future you will need both the ".wbpj" file and the folder. If
you do not have BOTH, you will NOT be able to access your project.
Fluid Flow(FLUENT) Project Selection

On the left hand side of the workbench window, you will see a toolbox full of various
analysis systems. To the right, you see an empty work space. This is the place where
you will organize your project. At the bottom of the window, you see messages from
ANSYS. Left click (and hold) on Fluid Flow (FLUENT) , and drag the icon into the
empty space in the Project Schematic . Your ANSYS window should now look
comparable
to
the
image
below.

Since we selected Fluid Flow(FLUENT), each cell of the system corresponds to a step
in the process of performing CFD analysis using FLUENT. Rename the project to
"FlatPlate". We will work through each step from top down to obtain the solution to our
problem.
Analysis Type

In the Project Schematic of the Workbench window, right click on Geometry and
select Properties ,
as
shown
below.

The properties menu will then appear to the right of the Workbench window.
Under Advance Geometry Options , change the Analysis Typeto 2D as shown in the
image
below.

Launch Design Modeler

In the Project Schematic , double click on Geometry to start preparing the geometry.
At this point, a new window, ANSYS Design Modeler will be opened. You will be asked
to select desired length unit. Use the default meter unit and click OK .
Creating a Sketch

Start by creating a sketch on the XYPlane . Under Tree Outline , select XYPlane , then
click on Sketching right before Details View . This will bring up the Sketching
Toolboxes .
Click Here for Select Sketching Toolboxes Demo

Click on the +Z axis on the bottom right corner of the Graphics window to have a
normal look of the XY Plane.
Click Here for Select Normal View Demo

In the Sketching toolboxes, select Rectangle . In the Graphics window, create a rough
rectangle by clicking once on the origin and then by clicking once somewhere in the
positive XY plane. (Make sure that you see a letter P at the origin before you click. The
P implies that the cursor is directly over a point of intersection.) At this point you should
have
something
comparable
to
the
image
below.

Dimensions

At this point the rectangle will be properly dimensioned. Under Sketching Toolboxes ,
select Dimensions tab, use the default dimensioning tools. Dimension the geometry as
shown
in
the
following
image.

Click Here for Higher Resolution

Under the Details View table (located in the lower left corner), set V1=0.5m and set
H2=1m,
as
shown
in
the
image
below.

Click Here for Higher Resolution

Surface Body Creation

In order to create the surface body, first (Click )Concept > Surface From Sketches as
shown
in
the
image
below.

This
will
create
a
new
surface SurfaceSK1 .
Under Details
View ,
select Sketch1 as Base Objects . Finally, click Generate to generate the surface.
At this point, you can close the Design Modeler and go back to Workbench Project
Page . Save your work thus far in the Workbench Project Page .

Mesh
In this section the geometry will be meshed with 3000 elements. That is, the field will be
divided into 50 elements in the x direction and 60 elements in the y direction.
Launch Mesher

In order to begin the meshing process, go to the Workbench Project Page,

then (Double Click) Mesh.
Default Mesh

In this section the default mesh will be generated. In order to generate the default mesh
first click on Mesh, then click on Update as shown in the image below.

You

Click

should

then

Here

obtain

for

the

Higher

following

mesh.

Resolution

Mapped Face Meshing

For this particular problem, we are interested in creating a grid style of mesh that can be
mapped to a rectangular domain. This meshing style is called Mapped Face Meshing.
In order to incorporate this meshing style (Click) Mesh Control > Mapped Face
Meshing as
can
be
seen
below.

Click

Here

For

Higher

Resolution

Now, the Mapped Face Meshing still must be applied to the geometry. In order to do
so, first click on the surface body(filled rectangle), which should then highlight green.
Next, (Click) Apply in the Details of Mapped Face Meshing table, as shown below.

Click
This
Mapped

Here
process

For
is

shown
Face

Higher
in

the

Resolution
link

below.
Demo

Now, generate the mesh by clicking Update.

Edge Sizing

The desired mesh has a specific number of divisions in the x direction and a specific
number of divisions in the y direction. In order to obtain the specified number of
divisions Edge Sizing must be used. The divisions in the x direction will be specified
first. Now, an Edge Sizing needs to be inserted. First, (Click) Mesh Control >
Sizing as
shown
below.

Click

Here

For

Higher

Resolution

Now, the geometry and the number of divisions need to be specified. First (Click) Edge
Selection Filter,
. Then hold down the "Control" button and then click the bottom
and top edge of the rectangle. Both sides should highlight green. Next, hit Apply under
the Details
of
Sizingtable
as
shown
below.

Click
Now,

Click
Then,

Here

For

set Type to Number

Here
set Number

of

Divisions as

For
of

Divisions to

Higher
shown

in

Resolution
the

image

Higher
50

as

below.

Resolution
shown

below.

Next, set the Behavior to Hard as shown in the image below. This step will disable the
ANSYS Mesher from overwriting any of our edge sizing specifications.

At this point, the edge sizing in the the y direction will be specified. Follow the same
procedure as for the edge sizing in the x direction, starting first by selecting (Click)
Mesh Control > Sizing. Select only the left side instead of the top and bottom and set
the number of divisions to 60. Remember to set the Behavior to Hard. Then,
click Update to generate the mesh with the new specifications. You should obtain the
following
mesh.

Click

Here

For

Higher

Resolution

Your mesh should now have 3,000 elements (50x60). In order to check how many
elements your mesh has, expand Statistics under "Details of Mesh" as shown below.

Make sure that you also have 3,000 elements.

Edge Sizing Biasing

We would like to have more elements in the region very close to the flate plate and less
elements in the far field. In order to do this, we must bias the edge sizing. First, click
on Edge Sizing 2, then click on Bias Type and set it to the first option as shown below.

Next, set the Bias Factor to 70 as shown below. The Bias Factor is defined in this
case to be the ratio of the longest division and the shortest division. That is, the last
division will be seventy times longer than the length of the first division.

Now, the biasing needs to be specified for the right side of the geometry. In order to
incorporate the biasing on the right side a new Edge Sizingneeds to be implemented.
First, (Click) Mesh Control > Sizing. Then, select and apply the left side of the
geometry. Then, change Type toNumber of Divisions and set Number of Divisions to
60. Next, set Behavior to Hard and set Bias Type to the second option, as shown
below.

Then, set the Bias Factor to 70. Lastly, click Update to generate the new mesh. You
should
obtain
the
following
mesh.

Click

Here

For

Higher

Resolution

Create Named Selections

Here, the edges of the geometry will be given names so one can assign boundary
conditions in FLUENT in later steps. The left side of the geometry will be called "inlet"
and the right side will be called "outlet". The top side of the rectangle will be called
"far_field" and the bottom side of the rectangle will be called "plate" as shown in the
image
below.

Click

Here

For

Higher

Resolution

In order to create a named selection first (Click) Edge Selection Filter,

. Then click
on the left side of the rectangle and it should highlight green. Next, right click the left
side of the rectangle and choose Create Named Selection as shown below.

Select the left edge and right click and select Create Named Selection. Enter "inlet"
and
click OK,
as
shown
below.

Now, create named selections for the remaining three sides and name them according
to the diagram. Once you have created all four named selections, expand Named
Selections and you should see the four named selections, as shown below.

Save, Exit & Update

First save the project. Next, close the Mesher window. Then, go to the Workbench
Project Page and click the Update Project button,

Physics Setup
Your current Workbench Project Page should look comparable to the following image.
Regardless of whether you downloaded the mesh and geometry files or if you created
them yourself, you should have checkmarks to the right of Geometry and Mesh.

The question mark to the right of right of the Setup cell is normal and indicates that
the Setup process has not yet been completed.
Launch Fluent

Double click on Setup in the Workbench Project Page which will bring up the FLUENT
Launcher. When the FLUENT Launcher appears change the options to "Double
Precision", and then click OK as shown below.The Double Precision option is used to
select the double-precision solver. In the double-precision solver, each floating point
number is represented using 64 bits in contrast to the single-precision solver which uses
32 bits. The extra bits increase not only the precision, but also the range of magnitudes
that can be represented. The downside of using double precision is that it requires more
memory.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

Twiddle your thumbs a bit while the FLUENT interface starts up. This is where we'll
specify the governing equations and boundary conditions for our boundary-value
problem. On the left-hand side of the FLUENT interface, we see various items listed
under Problem Setup. We will work from top to bottom of the Problem Setup items to
setup the physics of our boundary-value problem. On the right hand side, we have
theGraphics pane and, below that, the Command pane.
Check and Display Mesh

First, the mesh will be checked to verify that it has been properly imported
from Workbench. In order to obtain the statistics about the mesh(Click) Mesh > Info >
Size,
as
shown
in
the
image
below.

Then,

you

should

obtain

the

following

output

in

the Command pane.

The mesh that was created earlier has 3,000 elements(50 x 60). Note that in FLUENT
elements are called cells. The output states that there are 3,000 cells, which is a good
sign. Next, FLUENT will be asked to check the mesh for errors. In order to carry out the
mesh checking procedure(Click) Mesh > Check as shown in the image below.

You should see no errors in the Command pane. Now, that the mesh has been verified,

the mesh display options will be discussed. In order to bring up the display
options (Click) General > Mesh > Display as shown in the image below.

The previous step should cause the Mesh Display window to open, as shown below.
Note that the Named Selections created in the meshing steps now appear.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

You should have all the surfaces shown in the above snapshot. Clicking on a surface
name in the Mesh Display menu will toggle between select and unselect.
Clicking Display will show all the currently selected surface entities in the graphics
pane. Unselect all surfaces and then select each one in turn to see which part of the
domain or boundary the particular surface entity corresponds to (you will need to zoom
in/out and translate the model as you do this). For instance, if you select far_field, inlet,
and plate and then click Display you should then obtain the following output in the
graphics
window.

Now, make sure all 5 items under Surfaces are selected. The
button next
to Surfaces selects all of the boundaries while the
button deselects all of the
boundaries at once. Once, all the 5 boundaries have been selected click Display, then
close the Mesh Display window. The rectangle displayed in the graphics window
corresponds to our solution domain. Some of the operations available in the graphics
window
to
interrogate
the
geometry
and
mesh
are:
Translation: The model can be translated in any direction by holding down the Left
Mouse Button and then moving the mouse in the desired direction.
Zoom In: Hold down the Middle Mouse Button and drag a box from the Upper Left
Hand Corner to the Lower Right Hand Corner over the area you want to zoom in on.
Zoom Out: Hold down the Middle Mouse Button and drag a box anywhere from
the Lower
Right
Hand
Corner to
the Upper
Left
Hand
Corner.
Use these operations to zoom in and interrogate the mesh.
Define Solver Properties

In this section the various solver properties will be specified in order to obtain the proper
solution for the flat plate boundary layer flow. First, the Energy Model parameters will be
specified. In order to open the Energy Model Options Models > Energy-Off > Edit..., as
shown
in
the
following
image.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

For incompressible flow, the energy equation is decoupled from the continuity and
momentum equations. We need to solve the energy equation only if we are interested in
determining the temperature distribution. We will not deal with temperature in this
example. So leave the Energy Equation set to off and click Cancel to exit the menu.
Next, the Viscous Model parameters will be specified. In order to open the Viscous
Model Options Models > Viscous - Laminar > Edit..., as shown below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

By default, the Viscous Model options are set to laminar, so no changes are needed.
Click Cancel to exit the menu.
Define Material Properties

Now, the properties of the fluid that is being modeled will be specified. The properties of
the fluid were specified in the Problem Specificationsection. In order to create a new
fluid (Click) Materials > Fluid > Create/Edit... as shown in the image below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

In the Create/Edit Materials menu set the Density to 1kg/m^3 (constant) and set
the Viscosity to 1e-4 kg/(ms) (constant) as shown in the image below.

Click

Here

for

Click Change/Create. Close the window.

Higher

Resolution

Define Boundary Conditions

At this point the boundary conditions for the four Named Selections will be specified.
The boundary condition for the inlet will be specified first.
Inlet Boundary Condition

In order to start the process (Click) Boundary Conditions > inlet > Edit... as shown in
the
following
image.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

Note that the Boundary Condition Type should have been automatically set
to velocity-inlet. FLUENT guesses boundary conditions based on the label of the
named selections. Now, the velocity at the inlet will be specified. In the Velocity
Inlet menu set the Velocity Specification Method to Components, and set the XVelocity
(m/s) to
1
m/s,
as
shown
below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

Then, click OK to close the Velocity Inlet menu.

Outlet Boundary Condition

First, (Click) Boundary Conditions > outlet > Edit... as shown in the image below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

Note that the Boundary Condition Type should have been automatically set
to pressure-outlet. For the outlet boundary condition the gauge pressure needs to be

set to zero. The default gauge pressure is zero, thus no changes need to be made.
Close the Pressure-Outlet menu.
Plate Boundary Condition

The Boundary Condition Type should have been automatically set to wall, as shown
in
the
image
below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

If the Boundary Condition Type is not set to wall, then set it to wall. We will use the
default setting for the wall boundary condition, thus no changes are needed.
Far-Field Boundary Condition

For the far_field, set the Boundary Condition Type to symmetry, as shown below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

In the first dialog box click yes and in the second dialog box leave the name as is and
click OK. The symmetry boundary conditions sets the velocities normal to the boundary
equal
to
zero.
At this point save your work in the FLUENT Window by clicking the save button,

Numerical Solution
Second Order Scheme

A second-order discretization scheme will be used to approximate the solution. In order

to implement the second order scheme click onSolution Methods then click
on Momentum and select Second Order Upwind as shown in the image below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

Set Convergence Criteria

FLUENT reports a residual for each governing equation being solved. The residual is a
measure of how well the current solution satisfies the discrete form of each governing
equation. We'll iterate the solution until the residual for each equation falls below 1e-6.
In order to specify the residual criteria (Click) Monitors > Residuals > Edit..., as
shown
in
the
image
below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

Next, change the residual under Convergence Criterion for continuity, xvelocity,and y-velocity,
all
to
1e-6,
as
can
be
seen
below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

Lastly, click OK to close the Residual Monitors menu.

Set Initial Guess

Here, the flow field will be initialized to the values at the inlet. That is, the initial values of
all the cells will be set to 1 m/s and 0 Pa for x velocity and gauge pressure respectively.
In order to carry out the initialization click on Solution Initialization then click
on Compute
from and
selectinlet as
shown
below.

Click

Here

Then, click the Initialize button,

for

Higher

Resolution

. This completes the initialization process.

Alternately, you could set the Gauge Pressure to 0 and set the X Velocity to 1 m/s as
shown
below.

Then, you would need to press the Initialize button to apply the specified initial values
to all the cells. Either method will give you the same results.
Iterate Until Convergence

Prior, to running the calculation the maximum number of iterations must be set. To
specify the maximum number of iterations click on Run Calculation then set
the Number of Iterations to 1000, as shown in the image below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

As a safeguard save the project now. Now, click on Calculate two times in order to run
the calculation. The residuals for each iteration are printed out as well as plotted in the
graphics window as they are calculated. After running the calculation, you should obtain
the
following
residual
plot.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

The residuals fall below the specified convergence criterion of 1e-6 in about 557
iterations, as shown below. Actual number of convergence steps may vary slightly.

Click Here for Higher Resolution

At this point, save the project once again.

Step 6: Results
Velocity Vectors

One can plot vectors in the entire domain, or on selected surfaces. Here, the vectors will
be plotted for the entire domain. First, click onGraphics & Animations . Next, double
click on Vectors which is located under Graphics. Then, click on Display in
the Vectors menu. You should obtain, the following output.

You can use the wheel button of the mouse to zoom into the region that closely
surrounds the plate, to get a better view of the boundary layer velocities.

Outlet Velocity Profile

In this section we will first plot the variation of the x component of the velocity along the
outlet. Then we will plot the Blasius solution to see how the numerical solution
compares. In order to start the process (Click) Results > Plots > XY Plot... > Set
Up.. as shown below.

In the Solution XY Plot menu make sure that Position on Y Axis is selected , and X is
set to 0 and Y is set to 1. This tells FLUENT to plot the y-coordinate value on the
ordinate of the graph. Next, select Velocity... for the first box underneath X Axis
Function and select X Velocity for the second box. Please note that X Axis
Function and Y Axis Function describe the x and y axes of the graph, which should
not be confused with the x and y directions of the geometry. Finally,
select outlet under Surfaces since we are plotting the x component of the velocity
along theoutlet. This finishes setting up the plotting parameters. Your Solution XY
Plot menu should look exactly the same as the following image.

Now, click Plot. The plot of the x component of the velocity as a function of distance
along the outlet now appears.

In order to increase the legibility of the graph, we will plot the data as a line rather than
points. To turn on the line feature, click on Curves... in the Solution XY Plot menu.
Then, set Pattern to ----, set the Weight to 2 and select nothing for Symbol, as shown
below.

Next, click Apply in the Curves - Solution XY Plot menu. Next, close the Curves Solution XY Plot menu.
Now, the range of the y axis will be truncated, as we are not interested in far field
velocity. Furthermore, the grid lines will be turned on. In order to implement these two
changes. First click Axes in the Solution XY Plot menu. Next, select Y for Axis,
deselect Auto
Range,
select Major
Rules,
select Minor
Rules.
Then,
set Minimum to 0 and set Maximum to 0.12. Your Axes - Solution XY Plot menu,
should look exactly like the image below.

Then, click Apply in the Axes - Solution XY Plot menu. Now, select X for Axis and
select Major Rules and Minor Rules, as shown below.

Next, click Apply in the Axes - Solution XY Plot menu. Close the Axes - Solution XY
Plot menu. Now, click Plot in the Solution XY Plotmenu. You should obtain the
following output.

It is of interest to compare the numerical velocity profile to the velocity profile obtained
from the Blasius solution. In order to plot the theoretical results, first click here to
download the necessary file. Save the file to your working directory. Next, go to
the Solution XY Plot menu and clickLoad File... and select the file that you just
downloaded, BlasiusU.xy. Lastly, click Plot in the Solution XY Plot menu. You should
then obtain the following figure.

Lastly, select Write to File located under Options in the Solution XY Plot menu. Then,
click Write.... When prompted for a filename, enterXVelOutlet.xy and save the file in
your working directory.

Mid-Section Velocity Profile

Here, we will plot the variation of the x component of the velocity along a vertical line in
the middle of the geometry. In order to create the profile, we must first create a vertical
line at x=0.5m, using the Line/Rake tool. First, (Click) Surface < Line/Rake as shown
in the following image.

We'll create a straight vertical line from (x0,y0)=(0.5,0) to (x1,y1)=(0.5,0.5). Select Line
Tool under Options.
Enter x0=0.5, y0=0,x1=0.5,y1=0.5.
Enter line1 under New
Surface Name. Your Line/Rake Surface menu should look exactly like the following
image.

Next, click Create. Now, that the vertical line has been created we can proceed to the
plotting. Click on Plots, then double click XY Plot to open the Solution XY Plot menu.
In the Solution XY Plot menu, use the settings that were used from the section above,
except select line1 underSurfaces and deselect any other geometry sections. Make
sure that Write to File is not selected, then click Plot. You should obtain the following
output.

Then,
return
to
the Solution
XY
Plot menu
and
select
both line1 and outlet under Surfaces. Next, click Plot and you should obtain the
following figure.

Once again, return to the Solution XY Plot menu, select Write to File, then
click Write.... When prompted for a filename, enter XVelProfs.xyand save the file in your
working directory.
Pressure Coefficients

In this section we will create contour plots for the pressure coefficients. Before we
begin, we must first set the reference values for velocity. In order to do so, first click
on Reference Values then set Compute from to inlet, as shown below.

|^CompInlet_Full.png]
Next, click on Graphics and Animations, then double click on Contours, as shown
below.

In the Contours menu, set Contours of to Pressure... and set the box below
to Pressure
Coefficient.
Next,
select Filled and
set Levels to
90.
Your Contours menu should look exactly like the following image.

Lastly, click Display in the Contours menu to generate the contour plot. You should
obtain the following output.

You can then zoom in to the leading edge of the plate with the wheel mouse button as
shown below.

Skin Friction Coefficient

Here, the skin friction coefficient will be plotted as a function of distance along the plate.
First, click on Plots, then double click on XY Plot. In the Solution XY Plot menu
deselect Write to File, select Position on X Axis, set X to 1 and set Y to 0. Then, set
the box located underneathY Axis Function to Wall Fluxes and set the box below
to Skin Friction Coefficient. Next, select plate under Surfaces and deselect any other
geometry features. At this point your Solution XY Plot menu should look the same as
the following image.

Make sure that for both the x and y axes, that Auto Range is selected. Remember, that
you must click Apply to implement the changes you make. Then, click Plot in
the Solution XY Plot menu and you should obtain the following output.

It is of interest to compare the numerical skin friction coefficient profile to the skin friction
coefficient profile obtained from the Blasius solution. In order to plot the theoretical
results, first click here to download the necessary file. Save the file to your working
directory. Next, go to theSolution XY Plot menu and click Load File... and select the
file that you just downloaded, BlasiusSkin.xy. Lastly, click Plot in the Solution XY
Plot menu. You should then obtain the following figure.

Lastly, select Write to File located under Options in the Solution XY Plot menu. Then,
click Write.... When prompted for a filename, enterSkinFriction.xy and save the file in
your working directory.
Drag

Now, we will obtain the drag on the plate. First, click on Report then click on Result
Reports..., as shown in the following image.

Next, double click on Forces and click Print in the Force Reports menu. You should
then obtain the following output in the command pane.

As one can see from the data above, the plate experiences a drag of approximately
0.008377 Newtons. Furthermore, the data states that the drag coefficient is
approximately 0.01675. The drag coefficient is defined by the following equation.

In the case here, the density, velocity and area all have values of 1. Thus, the equation
above
reduces
to
the
following
equation.

The results from ANSYS FLUENT agree with the theory here since the drag coefficient
is
approximately
twice
the
value
of
the
drag.
Now, save your work in the FLUENT window, then close the FLUENT window.

Verification & Validation

It is very important that you take the time to check the validity of your solution. This
section leads you through some of the steps you can take to validate your solution.
Refine Mesh

Let's repeat the solution on a finer mesh. For the finer mesh, we will increase the total
number of elements(cells) by a factor of four. In order to accomplish this, we double the
number of divisions on each section. Instead of modifying the project that was just
created, we will duplicate it and modify the duplicate. In the Workbench Project
Page right
click
on Mesh then
click Duplicate as
shown
below.

Higher Resolution Image

Rename the duplicate project to FlatPlate (mesh 2). You should have the following two
projects
in
your Workbench
Project
Page.

Next, double click on the Mesh cell of the FlatPlate (mesh 2) project. A new ANSYS

Mesher window will open. Under Outline, expand Meshand click on Edge Sizing.
Under Details of "Edge Sizing", enter 100 for Number of Divisions. Next set the
number of divisions for Edge Sizing 2 and Edge Sizing 3 to 120. Then, click Update to
create the new mesh. The new mesh should now have 12000 elements (100 x 1200). A
quick glance of the mesh statistics reveals that there is indeed 12000 elements.

Higher Resolution Image

Compute the Solution

Close the ANSYS Mesher to go back to the Workbench Project Page. Under FlatPlate
(mesh 2), right click on Fluid Flow (FLUENT) and click on Update, as shown below.

Now, wait a few minutes for FLUENT to obtain the solution for the refined mesh. After
FLUENT obtains the solution, save your project.
Convergence

In order to launch FLUENT double click on the Solution of the "FlatPlate (mesh 2)"
project in the Workbench Project Page. The new mesh has significantly more cells,
thus it is likely that the solution did not converge to the tolerances we have previously
set. Therefore, we will iterate the solution further, to make sure that the solution
converges. In order to do so click on Run Calculation, set Number of Iterations to
1000
and
click Calculate,
as
shown
below.

Higher Resolution Image

Once you rerun the calculation, you will quickly see that the solution did not converge
for the finer mesh within 1000 iterations. The solution should converge by the 1784th
iteration
as
shown
below.

Outlet Velocity Profile

Now, the variation of the x component of the velocity will be plotted with the results of
the original mesh to determine whether the solution is mesh converged. Set up a plot for
the variation of the x component of the velocity along the outlet as was done in
the solution section. Then load the XVelOutlet.xy file into the plot and generate the plot.
You
should
obtain
the
following
image.

Higher Resolution Image

As one can see from the image above, the numerical solution does not vary much at all
between the two meshes. Thus, it has been confirmed that the solution is mesh
converged.