The University of Sheffield

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Course Description and Requirements
Title:

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Module Code: MEC404 / 6404

Course Year:

Module Size: 0.5

Semester: 1

Prerequisites:

None

Corequisites:

None

Brief Description (including aims of course):

To develop the mathematical and numerical models of laminar and turbulent flows and the solution techniques; to apply these
techniques to engineering systems; and to develop confidence in the analysis and critical assessment of the numerical results. At
the end of the course students should understand the fundamentals of the Equations of Motion for laminar and turbulence model for
a given flow system; understand the applications of finite difference and finite volume discretisation and solution techniques; be
aware of special techniques required for the solutions of the Equations of Motion, be able to assess critically the numerical
accuracy of a solution; have performed a range of industrially relevant flow systems using an industrial code; be aware of the
applications of the technique to model flows involving other physical phenomena, e.g. heat transfer, chemical reactions.

Course Objectives:
At the end of the course, the students should:
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5.

Understand the fundamentals of the Equations of Motion for laminar and turbulent flows.
Be aware of the limitations and be able to select appropriate turbulence model for a given flow.
Understand the applications of finite difference and finite volume discretisation and solution techniques.
Be aware of special techniques required for the solutions of the Equations of Motion.
Be able to assess critically the numerical accuracy of a solution.

Outline Syllabus:
Equations of Motion, Time-averaged equations; Reynolds stresses, turbulence modelling, Numerical solutions, finite
difference/volume method; Solution techniques; Stability; Special techniques for the Equations of Motion; More advanced
techniques; Modelling flows.

Contents (lecture by lecture):

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Introduction; Laminar and turbulent flows.

Mathematical model of a flow.
Reynolds stresses, turbulence modelling.
Two-equation models, k- model.
Wall functions.
k- model and its variants.
Reynolds Stress Models.
More Advanced turbulence modelling.
Assessment of turbulence modelling.
The generic transport equation: concentration, mass, momentum, heat.
Finite difference method, order of accuracy.
Finite volume method.
Finite volume method.
Numerical diffusion.
Higher order upwind differencing.
Solution techniques.
Explicit vs. implicit techniques.
Pressure correction, e.g. SIMPLE algorithm.
Advanced grid structures and solution techniques.
Assessment of solutions; Review.

Module Format
Lectures
Tutorial classes (no of
tutorial sheets)
Lab/design/project
classes
Other activities

Hours
20
4

Arranged by request

coursework
Total:

48
72

Main text books (A core text; B secondary text; C peripheral reading)

A
A
B
C

Computational Fluid Dynamics - The Basics with Applications, J D Anderson Jr., McGraw-Hill, 1995
An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics, H K Verteeg and W Malalasekera
Numerical Computation of Internal and External Flows - Vol 1: Fundamentals of Numerical Discretisation, C Hirsch,
John Wiley & Sons, 1988
Computational Fluid Dynamics, P J Roach, Hermosa Press, 1982

Assessment:
Continuous assessment (3)