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Modeling Cavitation
Prerequisites: This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the menu structure in
FLUENT and that you have solved or read Tutorial 1. Some steps in the setup and
solution procedure will not be shown explicitly.
Problem Description: The problem considers the cavitation caused by the flow sepa-
ration after a sharp-edged orifice. The flow is pressure driven, with an inlet pressure
of 5 × 105 Pa, and an outlet pressure of 9.5 × 104 Pa. The orifice diameter is 4
× 10− 3 m, and geometrical parameters of the orifice are D/d = 2.88 and L/d =
8, where D, d, and L are inlet diameter, orifice diameter, and orifice length respec-
tively. The geometry of the orifice is shown in Figure 17.1.
Preparation
1. Copy the file cav/cav.msh from the FLUENT documentation CD to your working
directory (as described in Tutorial 1).
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pressure Wall
inlet = 5e5 Pa
pressure
outlet = 9.5e4 Pa
Axis
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Step 1: Grid
1. Read the grid file (cav.msh).
File −→ Read −→Case...
As FLUENT reads the grid file, it will report its progress in the console window.
2. Check the grid.
Grid −→Check
FLUENT will perform various checks on the mesh and will report the progress in the
console window. Pay particular attention to the reported minimum volume. Make
sure this is a positive number.
3. Display the grid.
Display −→Grid...
(a) Display the grid using the default settings (Figure 17.2).
As shown in Figure 17.2, half of the problem geometry is modeled, with an
axis boundary (consisting of two separate lines) at the centerline. Especially
when you begin to display data graphically, you may want to mirror the view
across the centerline to obtain a more realistic view of the model. This step
will be performed later in the tutorial.
The mesh is quadrilateral, slightly graded in the plenum to be finer toward the
orifice. In the orifice, the mesh is uniform, with aspect ratios close to 1, as
the flow is expected to exhibit two-dimensional gradients.
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Step 2: Models
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3. Turn on the standard k- turbulence model with standard wall functions.
Define −→ Models −→Viscous...
(a) Select k-epsilon as the Model.
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Step 3: Materials
1. Create a new material to be used for the primary phase. Copy water vapor from
the materials database so that it can be used for the secondary phase, and modify
its density.
Define −→Materials...
(a) In the Name field, type water.
(b) Clear the Chemical Formula field.
(c) In the Density drop-down list, keep the default selection of constant, and enter
a value of 1000.
(d) In the Viscosity drop-down list, keep the default selection of constant, and enter
a value of 0.001.
(e) Click Change/Create, and then click Yes in the dialog box prompting whether
you want to overwrite the definition of air.
(f) Click the Database... button in the Materials panel.
The Database Materials panel will open.
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Step 4: Phases
1. Define the liquid water and water vapor phases that flow through the orifice.
Define −→Phases...
ii. In the Primary Phase panel, enter liquid for the Name.
iii. Select water from the Phase Material drop-down list.
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ii. In the Secondary Phase panel, enter vapor for the Name.
iii. Select water-vapor from the Phase Material drop-down list.
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iii. Select inlet-1 in the From Zone list, and then select inlet-2 in the To Zones
list.
iv. Click Copy.
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Step 7: Solution
(a) Under Under-Relaxation Factors, set the under-relaxation factor for Pressure to
0.4.
(b) Set the under-relaxation factor for Momentum to 0.4.
(c) Scroll down and set the under-relaxation factors for Turbulence Kinetic Energy,
Turbulence Dissipation Rate, and Turbulent Viscosity to 0.5.
FLUENT’s new cavitation model follows a different numerical approach from
the previous one. In general it is more robust and gives more accurate results.
Typically, for more complex cases, with very high pressure drops or large liquid-
vapor density ratios, the under-relaxation factors may need to be reduced to
between 0.1 and 0.2. For the Vaporization Mass, it is generally advised to use a
value of 0.1, even though for this term you can use an under-relaxation factor
of 0.001 to 1, as necessary.
(d) Under Discretization, select Linear in the Pressure drop-down list and SIMPLEC
in the Pressure-Velocity Coupling drop-down list.
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(a) Change the convergence criterion for continuity to 1e-7 for improved accuracy.
(b) Change all other convergence criteria except for vf-vapor to 1e-5 for improved
accuracy.
(c) Select Plot under Options, and click OK.
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3. Initialize the solution from either of the pressure inlet zones (inlet-1 or inlet-2).
Solve −→ Initialize −→Initialize...
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Step 8: Postprocessing
(a) Select Pressure... and Static Pressure in the drop-down lists under Contours Of.
(b) Select Filled under Options.
(c) Click Display.
Note the dramatic pressure drop at the flow restriction in Figure 17.3. Low
static pressure is the major factor to cause cavitation, though turbulence also
contributes to cavitation, due to the effect of pressure fluctuation and turbulent
diffusion, as will be shown in the following plots.
To make the view more realistic, you will need to mirror it across the center-
line.
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4.99e+05
4.74e+05
4.50e+05
4.25e+05
4.00e+05
3.75e+05
3.50e+05
3.25e+05
3.00e+05
2.75e+05
2.51e+05
2.26e+05
2.01e+05
1.76e+05
1.51e+05
1.26e+05
1.01e+05
7.64e+04
5.15e+04
2.67e+04
1.77e+03
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(a) Select symm-1 and symm-2 in the Mirror Planes list and click Apply.
4.99e+05
4.74e+05
4.50e+05
4.25e+05
4.00e+05
3.75e+05
3.50e+05
3.25e+05
3.00e+05
2.75e+05
2.51e+05
2.26e+05
2.01e+05
1.76e+05
1.51e+05
1.26e+05
1.01e+05
7.64e+04
5.15e+04
2.67e+04
1.77e+03
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2.48e+01
2.35e+01
2.23e+01
2.11e+01
1.98e+01
1.86e+01
1.73e+01
1.61e+01
1.49e+01
1.36e+01
1.24e+01
1.12e+01
9.91e+00
8.67e+00
7.44e+00
6.20e+00
4.96e+00
3.72e+00
2.48e+00
1.24e+00
6.01e-03
Contours of Turbulent Kinetic Energy (k) (mixture) (m2/s2) Dec 17, 2002
FLUENT 6.1 (axi, segregated, mixture, ske)
In this example, the grid used is fairly coarse. However, in cavitating flows the
pressure distribution is the dominant factor, and is not very sensitive to grid size.
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1.00e-00
9.50e-01
9.00e-01
8.50e-01
8.00e-01
7.50e-01
7.01e-01
6.51e-01
6.01e-01
5.51e-01
5.01e-01
4.51e-01
4.01e-01
3.52e-01
3.02e-01
2.52e-01
2.02e-01
1.52e-01
1.02e-01
5.24e-02
2.59e-03
Note that the high turbulent kinetic energy region near the neck of the orifice (Fig-
ure 17.5) coincides with the highest volume fraction of vapor in Figure 17.6. This
indicates the correct prediction of a localized high phase change rate. The vapor
then gets convected downstream by the main flow.
Summary: This tutorial demonstrated how to set up and resolve a strongly cavitating
pressure driven flow through an orifice, using FLUENT’s multiphase mixture model
with cavitation effects. You learned how to set the boundary conditions for an
internal flow. A steady-state solution was calculated to simulate the formation of
a vapor bubble in the neck of the flow after the section restriction at the orifice.
A more computationally-intensive unsteady calculation is necessary to accurately
simulate the irregular cyclic process of bubble formation, growth, filling by water
jet re-entry, and breakoff.
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