Determining the drag force with CFD method

ANSYS Workbench 11.00

Ott Pabut

Tallinn
2010
  
 
Task 1
Determine analytically and with CFD method the moment which is generated on the
foundation of the water tower. The mass of the tower can be ignored.

D1 

U 
Data

b+D1/2  D1 = 15 m
D2 = 5 m
b = 20 m
U = 30 m/s
D2  b  Csphere = 0,42
Ccylinder = 1,15
b/2  Ρair = 1,2401 kg/m3

M
Fig 1 – The water tower

1.1 Analytical solution

The drag force for each element can be determined separately with Reyleigh equation.
, 1

where FD – drag force generated by the body,

ρ – density of the fluid,
U – speed of the body or the fluid,
Cd – experimentally determined drag force coefficient,
A – surface area of the body perpendicular to the flow.
For the sphere:
1 1 3,14 · 15
· 1,2401 · 30 · 0,42 · 41397,17 N 41,4 kN
2 4 2 4
For the cylinder:
1 1
· · 1,2401 · 30 · 1,15 · 20 · 5 64175,18 N 64,2 kN
2 2

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Force applied to the water tower

41,4 64,2 105,6 kN

In order to find the moment at the foundation the forces must be applied to their centers of
area:

15 20
· · 41,4 · 20 64,2 · 1780,5 kN · m
2 2 2 2
Answer: Foundation must resist bending moment M=1780,5 kN·m.

1.2 CFD solution

In this case the model for Ansys Workbench would have been with dimensions 45x15x15 m.
With these figures the flow analysis would have taken up much time and computer resource.
To decrease the calculation time element count could have been made smaller, but that would
have also taken down accuracy of the results.

For a better solution the hydrodynamic similarity laws are used. This enables to conduct
experiments on smaller models but ensures that the results are transferable to reality.

As we are dealing with incompressible flow, Reynlods similarity criteria is used. Two systems
are similar, when their Reynolds numbers are equal.

, 2

where D – system dimension,

μ – dynamical viscosity of the fluid,
ν – kinematical viscosity of the fluid.

From the equation 2 it can be seen that in order to reduce the dimensions of the system, speed
of the fluid U must be increased or kinematic viscosity μ must be decreased. In our task
dimensions must be reduced at least 10 times, which means that the speed of the flow would
go up to 300 m/s. This is unfavorable since it is close to the speed of sound 343 m/s. Systems
with sonic flows are not stable and our results might be inadequate. To solve the problem we
will change the viscosity by choosing a different fluid – water instead of air.

Table 1 – Physical parameters of air and water

air water
density ρ 1,2041 kg/m3 998,19 kg/m3
dynamical viscosity μ 1,84·10-5 Pa/s 1,01·10-3 Pa/s
kinematical viscosity ν 1,53·10-5 m2/s 1,01·10-6 m2/s

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Proportional coefficient:

1,53 · 10
15,15
1,01 · 10

Therefore the dimensions of the new model must be 15,15 smaller.

Table 2 – New dimensions of the system

D1 = 0,990 m
D2 = 0,330 m
b = 1,320 m
U = 30 m/s

1.2.1 Creating a new project

Open program ANSYS Workbench

1. Click Empty project

2. Inside the wizard choose File, Save As...
3. Save the project as Veetorn
4. From the left menu choose Advanced CFD, New Simulation

Workbench offers possibilities for different flow analysis General, Turbomachinery, Quick
Setup, Library Template

5. Choose General as the simulation type

Workbench opens the preprocessing unit CFX-pre

6. Inside the wizard choose File, Save Simulation As...

Save the project as Veetorn.cfx

1.2.2 Importing the mesh

1. Choose File, Import mesh... and upload the file Veetornmesh.cfx

2. Save the simulation

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Fig 1 – Imported mesh

1.2.3 Creating the computational domain

It is assumed that the flow inside the computational domain is turbulent and isothermal.
These are the most similar conditions to those in the real environment. For these simulations
the Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model with automatic wall condition analysis is
used. This enables for very precise separation of flow particles when there are at least 10
mesh nods in the boundary layer. Currently the mesh is more robust to save calculation time.

1. From the upper taskbar click Create a Domain and name it Veetorn.
2. Apply the following settings

Tab Settings Value

General Basic Settings > Fluids List Water
options Domain Models > Pressure > Reference Pressure 1 [atm]
Fluid Models Heat Transfer > Option Isothermal
Heat Transfer > Fluid Temperature 288 [K]
Turbulence > Option Shear Stress Transport

In order to get realistic results the boundary conditions must be similar to those in the reality.
For that reason atmospheric pressure and possible temperatures of the fluid are determined.

3. Click OK

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1.2.4 Determining the boundary conditions

The imported mesh contains predefined 2D regions, which make it easier to apply boundary
conditions. For the simulation following conditions are needed: inlet, outlet and walls (no slip
and slip condition).

Inlet

1. From the upper taskbar click Create a Boundary Condition

2. Name it Inlet
3. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Basic Settings Boundary Type Inlet
Location Inlet
Boundary Flow Regime > Option Subsonic
Details Mass and Momentum > Option Normal Speed
Mass and Momentum > Normal speed 30 [m s ^-1]
Turbulence > Option Low (Intensity = 1%)

Turbulence intensity is similar to the average wind tunnel where it is approximately 1-2 %.

4. Click OK

Outlet

1. Create a new boundary condition Outlet

2. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Basic Settings Boundary Type Outlet
Location Outlet
Boundary Flow Regime > Option Subsonic
Details Mass and Momentum > Option Static pressure
Mass and Momentum > Relative Pressure 0 [Pa]

Relative pressure defines the difference between the outlet and inlet pressure, currently the
same pressure applies for both and therefore the relative is 0 Pa.

3. Click OK

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Fig 2 – Inlet and Outlet

For sides and the upper plane of the rectangle slip wall condition is suitable. For those walls
the shear stress value is 0 and the flow of the fluid is not interrupted. If wind tunnel is used,
the dimensions of the rectangle should be equal to the tunnel. Computational domain for
atmospheric simulations must be big enough to ensure that streamlines exiting the area are
straight.

FreeWalls

1. Create new boundary condition FreeWalls

2. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Basic Settings Boundary Type Wall
Location Free1
Boundary Wall Influence On Flow > Option Free Slip
Details

3. Click Ok

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Noslip wall

1. Create a new boundary condition Body

2. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Basic Settings Boundary Type Wall
Location Body
Boundary Wall Influence On Flow > Option No Slip
Details

3. Click OK

Properties for the remaining 2D regions (in this case the lower XZ plane) are determined by
default. Currently the adiabatic no slip wall condition is suitable. Name of the default
conditions is Default Boundary. Even though Body and Default Boundary conditions are
identical, the Body condition was applied separately to allow easier post processing of the
results.

1.2.5 Determining the initial conditions

1. Click Define the Global Initial Conditions
2. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Global Initial Conditions > Cartesian Velocity Automatic With Value
Settings Components > Options
Initial Conditions > Cartesian Velocity 0 [m s ^-1]
Components > U
Initial Conditions > Cartesian Velocity 0 [m s ^-1]
Components > V
Initial Conditions > Cartesian Velocity 30 [m s ^-1]
Components > W
Initial Conditions > Turbulence Eddy Dissipation (Selected)

3. Click OK

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1.2.6 Setting the output data

As Workbench does not automatically calculate forces and moments, the parameters in
question must be set manually.

1. Click Create Output Files and Monitor Points

2. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Results Output Boundary Flows (Selected)
Output Boundary Flows > Boundary Flows All

3. Click OK

1.2.7 Calculating the drag force

To find the drag force on a surface, module Expressions must be used. It will apply CFX
expression language ((CEL) to find suitable parameters.

1. Click Create Expression

2. Name it FFlow and click OK
3. Under Definition write the following code:
force_z()@Body
4. Click OK

1.2.8 Modifying the solver control

1. Click Solver Control
2. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Basic settings Convergence Control > Max. Iterations 15
Convergence Criteria > Residual Target 1e-05

3. Vajuta OK

In normal condition the number of iterations must be at least 100, but in order to reduce the
calculation time it has been reduced.

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1.2.9 Getting the solution

1. Click Write Solver File
2. Name it Veetorn.def
3. Click Save

Workbench opens the Run Definition window

4. Click Start Run

Progress of the calculations can be observed form the Momentum and Mass charts. If the
results appear to go into the wrong direction, we can stop the calculations and enforce
necessary changes. On the right, info about the progress of the calculation and iterations
is displayed.

Fig 3 – Progress of the calculations

When the number of iterations has been reached or results have converged Workbench will
issue a message. To display and process results, question Post-process results now? must be
answered “Yes”. To study the simulation progress, the answer should be “No”. The results
can also be viewed by selecting CFX-Post form the lower taskbar.

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1.3 Visualization and processing of results

To display results a base plane with sampling points must be created. This will determine the
starting points of the velocity vectors.

1. From the upper taskbar click Insert, Location, Plane

2. Name it Baseplane 1
3. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Geometry Definition > Method Point and Normal
Definition > Point 0, 2.5, 0
Definition > Normal 1, 0, 0
Plane Bounds > Type Rectangular
Plane Bounds > X size 5 [m]
Plane Bounds > Y size 10 [m]
Plane Type Sample
Plane Type > X Samples 50
Plane Type > Y Samples 50
Render Draw Faces (Selected)
Draw Lines (Selected)

4. Click Apply

Display the pressure distribution on the base plane

1. Double-click Baseplane
2. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Color Mode Variable
Variable Pressure

3. Click Apply

Next the velocity vectors on the base plane are visualized. This helps to determine the
directions of flow particles and helps to display the recirculation zones.

1. Click Insert, Vector

2. Name it velocityvectors
3. Apply following settings

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Tab Settings Value

Geometry Definition > Locations Baseplane
Definition > Sampling Vertex
Symbol Symbol Size 0.5

4. Click Apply

Next streamlines are displayed to observe the flow.

1. Click Insert, Streamline

2. Name it Streamlines
3. Apply following settings

Tab Settings Value

Geometry Type 3D Streamline
Definition > Start From Inlet
Definition > # of Points 200

4. Click Apply

Fig 4 – Streamlines

To find the drag force, click Quantitative on the Outline toolbar and then click Fflow

Result is force_z()@Body = 211 370 [N], computational time 0:8:42

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Drag force determined analytically was Fsum=105,6 kN and with CFD method Force @ Z =
211, 4 kN. Analytical and CFD results differ about 2 times. The reason for big difference can
be found in the size of the generated mesh and in the small number of iterations.

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