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Reference Frames: Part 2 – Sliding Mesh Modeling
Introduction
The motion of rotating components is often complicated by the fact that the rotational axis about
which the rotation occurs is itself in motion with respect to the fixed frame. This can be thought of
as having the rotating frame of the component “embedded” within a domain which is also in motion
(usually either rotating about its own axis, or in linear motion).
Modeling this type of system in ANSYS FLUENT has heretofore been difficult and required a general
moving/deforming mesh approach. In this tutorial, we will take advantage of the new “embedded
reference frame” feature in ANSYS FLUENT 13 which permits a moving reference frame to be
referred to another fluid domain which itself is in motion. Here the embedded frame zone is
connected to the zone which surrounds it through a mesh interface.
There are two approaches that can be used when multiple reference frames and zones connected
through mesh interfaces are involved: (a) a steady‐state multiple reference frame (MRF) modeling
approach (also known as the “frozen rotor” approach), and (b) the sliding mesh approach. We will
consider the sliding approach in this tutorial; the MRF approach is the subject of a separate tutorial,
and it is recommended that the user complete that tutorial before attempting the present one.
This tutorial demonstrates how to do the following:
• Set up an embedded reference frame model for use with the sliding mesh approach.
• Obtain the solution and post‐process the results for sliding mesh, embedded reference
frame model.
Note: Much of the background and set up has been repeated from the MRF tutorial in order to make
this tutorial selfcontained. You can save some set up work by reusing the case file from the MRF
tutorial.
Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the FLUENT interface and have a good
understanding of basic setup and solution procedures. Some details not relevant to the setup will
be omitted or only briefly mentioned.
Problem Description
This tutorial considers a simple 2‐D closed system as depicted in Figure 1. It consists of a cross‐
shaped rotor domain (diameter = 0.1 m) which is offset from the center of a circular domain
(diameter = 0.5 m) by 0.1 m in the x and y directions. The rotor is spinning clockwise at 2 rad/s.
The circular domain, in turn, is centered within a square fluid domain which is bounded by
impermeable walls. The circular domain is spinning counterclockwise at 1rad/s. The working fluid
is water with a density of 1000 kg/m3 and viscosity of 0.001 kg/m‐s.
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fluid‐outer
mesh interfaces
fluid‐rotor
fluid‐circle
Figure 1: 2‐D embedded frame model.
Preparation
1. Copy the mesh file embedded-frame.msh to the working folder. Also copy the UDF file
embed.c to the working folder.
2. Start the 2d version of ANSYS FLUENT 13.
Setup
Step 1: Grid
1. Read in the mesh file (embedded-frame-2d.msh).
2. Check and display the grid (Figure 2).
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Figure 2: Embedded reference frame mesh.
Step 3: Models
1. Keep the default General model settings, but select Transient under the Time options.
2. Enable the standard k‐ε turbulence model with standard wall functions.
Step 4: Materials
1. Create properties for liquid water as shown in the figure below.
2. Click Change/Create and close the Materials panel.
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Step 5: UserDefined Function
A user‐defined function (UDF) is required in the sliding mesh model in order to update the position
of the center of the rotation of the fluid‐rotor zone. The reason for this is that the interface
boundary associated with fluid‐rotor must track with the motion of the matching interface zone in
fluid‐circle. To achieve this, the UDF computes the center of rotation (xc, yc) as a function of time
and passes this updated position to the cell zone fluid‐rotor (the mechanism for doing this will be
shown in the next step). A listing of the UDF is provided in the appendix of this tutorial.
Note: The UDF illustrated here is specific to the present problem (i.e. rotational speeds are hardwired
in the UDF). A similar UDF can be written for other applications using the same basic ideas illustrated
in the present UDF.
1. To load the UDF, go to DefineÆUser‐DefinedÆFunctionsÆInterpreted…
2. Type in the name of the UDF (embed.c) or use the browser to find the file (see below).
3. Click on the Display Assembly Listing (this provides an indication that the UDF has been
read in successfully)
4. Click on Interpret to read in and compile the UDF.
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Step 6: Cell Zone Conditions
The Cell Zone Conditions panel for moving zones has changed in ANSYS FLUENT 13. The new
format will be displayed below with the appropriate inputs for the moving zones.
1. There are three cell zones: fluid‐circle, fluid‐outer, and fluid‐rotor. For fluid‐outer, retain all
default settings.
2. For zone fluid‐circle, select the "Mesh Motion" option and enter the parameters as shown in
the figure below. The rotational speed is set to 1 rad/s. Note that the Relative Specification
is set to absolute, which means that the frame motion is referred to the absolute
(stationary) frame for the first case. This will also be changed in the second case to refer to
fluid‐circle (the zone within which the fluid‐rotor zone is embedded).
Note: The Mesh Motion option is equivalent to the Moving Mesh option in older
versions of ANSYS FLUENT.
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3. For zone fluid‐rotor, select the "Mesh Motion" option and enter the parameters as shown in
the figure below. The UDF (called “rotor”) is first selected under the UDF option in the
panel. Set the Relative Specification to refer to the cell zone fluid‐circle. This is the
mechanism ANSYS FLUENT uses to allow the motion of fluid‐circle to impact the embedded
zone, fluid‐rotor.
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Step 6: Boundary Conditions
1. The only boundary conditions that need to be set are the outer boundary walls and the
rotor walls. You can, in the present case, retain the defaults for these boundaries.
Step 7: Mesh Interfaces
1. Open the Mesh Interfaces panel and create two interfaces: (1) mesh interface between fluid‐
circle and fluid‐outer (using zones interface‐1 and interface‐2), and (2) mesh‐interface
between fluid‐circle and fluid‐rotor (using zones interface‐3 and interface‐4). The panel is
shown below.
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Step 8: Solver Settings and Monitors
1. From SolveÆMethods, select the Coupled option for the pressure‐velocity coupling, and the
First Order Implicit option for the transient discretization. Retain the defaults for all solver
controls in SolveÆControls.
2. Create a monitor for the area‐averaged static pressure on the rotor wall interface
(interface‐1) as shown below. Note the plotting option selections to use time step for the x
axis of the history plot and to save the data every time step. This monitor will be used to
help assess the convergence of the solution, which we expect to become time‐periodic after
an initial transient.
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Note: If you do not select the Write option, the history information will be lost when
you exit ANSYS FLUENT. Retaining the monitor history is especially important for unsteady problems.
Solution
1. Initialize the solution using the default parameters for the standard initialization.
2. In the SolveÆRun Calculation… panel enter a time step of 0.0175533 sec. Retain default
settings for other parameters (e.g. 20 subiterations per time step).
Note: The rationale for the time step is as follows. In the present case it is best to use the
fastest speed (2 rad/s) as the basis for the time step. A reasonable time increment is to
permit 2 degrees (0.0349066 rad) of rotation per time step. Therefore,
Δt = (0.0349066 rad ) /( 2 rad/sec) = 0.0174533 sec
3. Save the case and data files (the initial condition) to embedded-frame-sm-
ic.{cas,dat}.gz.
Note: It is always a good practice to save the initial condition for sliding mesh cases because
if an error occurs during the solution you can reset your calculation be rereading the initial
condition files.
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4. Enter 1800 for the number time steps and run the solver. The convergence of the residuals
and the static pressure monitors are shown in the figures below.
Note: The pressure history plot indicates that the solution has approached time periodic
behavior at 1800 time steps.
5. Save the case/data files (embedded‐frame‐sm‐1800.cas.gz).
Figure 3: Residual history.
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Figure 4: Static pressure history.
PostProcessing
The instantaneous solution will be illustrated in the next set of figures.
1. Using DisplayÆGraphics and Animations… select Contours and plot the pressure and
velocity contours for both cases. These plots are shown in Figures 5 – 6 below. For
comparison the corresponding velocity plot for the steady‐state MRF case is shown in
Figure 7.
Note: The sliding mesh solution shows a similar but more local wake structure behind the
rotor versus the MRF solution. The wake arises due to the orbital motion of the rotor.
2. Using DisplayÆGraphics and Animations… select Vectors and plot the absolute velocity
vectors for both cases. This plot is shown in Figure 8 below.
Note: The plots clearly show the effect of the embedded frame. In particular, notice the
absolute velocities due to the motion of zone fluidcircle in Figure 7.
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Figure 5: Static pressure contours at 1800 time steps.
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Figure 6: Absolute velocity contours at 1800 time steps.
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Figure 7: Absolute velocity contours for steady‐state MRF solution.
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Figure 8: Velocity vectors near the rotor.
Summary
This tutorial has demonstrated the use of the embedded reference frame model with sliding
meshes. A UDF was used to control the motion of the rotor zone by both prescribing its rotational
speed and center of rotation. This permitted simultaneous rotation of the rotor zone and the
circular zone within which it was embedded. As noted previously, the UDF is specific to this case,
but could be modified for similar cases if desired.
In the present implementation, it is possible that the interfaces for embedded can become
disconnected during the course of the unsteady solution. To check that the interfaces retain their
connection, it is recommend that you preview the mesh motion using the Preview Mesh Motion…
option in SolveÆRun Calculation… You can also create animations of the mesh motion and the
solution by setting up solution animations in either Preview Mesh Motion… or Solution
Animations… under the SolveÆCalculation Activities… menu.
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Appendix: UDF Listing
/**********************************************/
/* */
/* embed.c */
/* */
/* UDF to specify a time-varying origin for */
/* an embedded reference frame moving mesh. */
/* */
/* This UDF sets the rotor zone origin and */
/* angular velocity. The origin is defined */
/* with respect to the global coordinates and */
/* thus is moving in time. The axis direction */
/* is fixed at (0,0,1) because this is a 2D */
/* case. The rotor angular velocity is fixed */
/* but could be made a function of time. */
/* */
/* FLUENT Version: 13.0 */
/* */
/**********************************************/
#include "udf.h"
#define PI 3.1415926537
origin[0] = radr*cos(theta0+thetap1);
origin[1] = radr*sin(theta0+thetap1);
origin[2] = 0.0;
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