INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS [LLINTRODUCTION Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is an efficient means (tool) of analysis of systems involving fluid flow, heat transfer and other associated phenomenons such as chemical reactions, by means of computer-based simulation. CFD technique is very powerful and has found application in a wide range of industrial and non-industrial application areas. Some examples are 2% Combustion in IC Engines and Gas turbines. v Aerodynamics of aircraft and vehicles: lift and drag 2 Hydrodynamics of ships. 2 Turbo-machinery: water turbines and pumps. > Electrical and electronic engineering: cooling of equipment cluding micro-circuits. Chemical process engineering: mixing and separation, polymer moulding > Marine engineering: loads on off-shore structures. y Hydrology and oceanography: flows in rivers, oceans. > Biomedical engineering: blood flows through arteries and veins. CFD could also be defined as an extension of classical fluid dynamics, originating from the merging of classical fluid dynamics and numerical analysis supported by powerful digital computers. A primary difference between CFD methods and approximate methods of classical fluid dynamics: The madel equations and initial boundary conditions are solved in CFD numerically exact methods, without introducing any further approximation. By sufficient refinement of the mesh system, the computed solutions are expected to approach the exact solution. This is not true in case of approximate methods of classical fluid dynamics, which introduce approximations to the model equations and boundary conditions which are then solved by approximate methods. Moreover, there are several unique advantages of CFD over experiment-based approaches to fluid system design: > Substantial reduction in time and costs of new designs. > Ability to study very large system, Ability to study under hazardous conditions. > Practically unlimited level of detail of results The variable cost of an experiment, in terms of facility hire and person-hours costs, is proportional to the number of configurations tested and results obtained. In contrast, CFD codes can produce extremely large volume of results at Virtually no added expense, and it is very cheap to perform parametric (variables) studies, for optimise equipment performance. Today, CFO is an equal partner with pure theory and pure experiment in the analysis and in the solution of fluid dynamic problems. However, to keep things perspective, CFD provides a new third approach but nothing more than that. It nicely and successfully complements the other two approaches of pure theory and pure experiment, but it will never replace either of these approaches. In other words, CFD bridges the gap between the theory and practical. aayCOMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (MECH. DBATU) (1.2) INTRO. TO COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS Basie philosophy Fluid flow equations “Mathematical behavior of equations. Basic discretization of equation Fi atom) Faison) ‘Transformation and grid generation ‘Some popular techriques rosult qa 1.1.1 CFD as a Research and Design Tool ‘+ Advanced mathematical methods offer opportunities for an in-depth analysis, optimization and examination of various options in order to increase the overall efficiency of the energy facilities. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique, as a powerful engineering tool, has been extensively used for modelling and investigation of operational behaviour of thermal energy systems, but it has been used in academia for a long time, too. Advanced CFD techniques help researchers in performing research work efficiently and in interpretation of test results. The improved solver technologies and outstanding modelling possibilities also support teaching of numerical analysis and application fundamentals for a broad range of disciplines within the thermal power and environmental engineering, + Within several examples, the capabilities of CFD technique are demonstrated in connection with certain specific issues enabling realistic physical representation of the geometry and the aerodynamic processes occurring in the analyzed object, comparing different approaches to describe the turbulence, ability to analyze the combustion process at different levels depending on the specific needs, evaluation of the impact of the applied thermal radiation model on the overall results ‘+The importance of energy as an essential factor for economic growth, as well as for overall social development is well known. Advanced modelling techniques, such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFO), have reached a remarkable development and are already well established as very useful tools for solving different energy and environmental problems. They are particularly suitable for prediction of aerodynamics and thermal processes (fuel burnout, heat transfer, formation and reduction of pollutants) in combustion plants. In combination with experimental research and/or on-site measurements, they offer multiple benefits; cost and time reduction, possibility to reproduce the operating conditions, as well as detailed insight into the complex interacting physical phenomena and chemical reactions determining the combustion process. ‘+ The CFO significantly facilitate the investigation of the influence of various process and design parameters, such as fuel properties, air and fuel inlet redistribution, combustor geometry (furnace shape, air and fuel distribution openings, layout of air staging nozzles, recirculation holes), burner design, flame-wall interaction phenomena, heat transfer degradation, slagging propensity etc. to the overall combustion efficiency and, consequently, to the plant efficiency and the emission of pollutants.COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (MECH. DBATU)__(1.3) INTRO. TO COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS ‘+ A-comprehensive historical review of the modelling approaches and techniques of solid fuels combustion systems is given in, Different standpoints, objectives, advantages and shortcomings of some particular modelling approaches for two-phase flow, turbulence, combustion and thermal radiation are discussed in. Nowadays efforts of the researchers are concentrated in some general directions: improvement of the fundamental models of the complex phenomena that ‘occur in the combustion systems, detailed mathematical description of physical and chemical processes in certain specific conditions and accurate extrapolation of research results to industrial applications. The permanent progress in computers capability has enabled development and application of massive mathematical models of turbulent flows and thermal processes in the combustion systems and extensive use of CFD techniques with quite sat is factory results. + Comprehensive 3-D models of industrial-scale combustors have been developed and successfully applied for years now. There are also combinations of original models of separate processes and existing computational codes. Numerical codes that describe the processes in combustion plants, based on a solution of differential conservation equations, have been a subject of numerous investigations. + A comprehensive overview of different turbulence modelling approaches, including some widely known and applied (ke turbulence model, Spalart-Allmaras, LES, DNS etc) and some specific (two-scale second-moment one-point turbulence closure, rescale dv2-f model etc) is given in. Despite some weaknesses when applied to flows with strong streamline curvature, as in significant recirculation regions or the near-burer area of swirl burners, the k-e turbulence model, or some derivatives, like RNG k-e model or k-e -k p two-phase turbulence model, are often used in combustion systems, mostly due to the simplicity. Very often, the standard k- model, based on Kolmogorov’s work (1942), is employed as a reasonable compromise. Gas phase conservation equations are mostly used as time averaged, but some prefer the Favre-averaged equations instead. Two-phase flow is usually described by Eulerian-Lagrangian approach and PSI-CELL method for taking into account the influences between phases. Usually the combustion sub- models separately treat the releasing of volatiles, char oxidation and gas phase reactions, lke in. Thermal radiation in the furnaces is modelled by means of various approaches, like discrete transfer method, so called P-1 model as a vatiation of the P-N model, the six-fluxes method, Monte Carlo method, or discrete ordinates method. Generally, a comprehensive model of the furnace processes must balance sub-models sophistication with computational practicality [1.2 CFD CODES * CFD codes are structured around the numerical technique (algorithms) that can tackle fluid flow and temperature related problems. In order to provide easy access, all CFD packages include sophisticated user interface to input problem parameters (such as T, V, P) and to examine the results. Hence all codes contain three main elements: ( Apre-processor (ii) Asolver (iil) A post-processor. Now we will discuss the function of each element. (@ Pre-processor ‘+ Pre-processing consists of the input (known data) of a flow problem to a CFD program by means of an operator- friendly interface and the subsequent transformation of this input into a form suitable for use by the solver. Pre- processing involves: 2 Defining of the geometry of the region of interest: Computational domain. 2% Grid generation: The sub-division of the domain into a number of smaller, non-overlapping sub-domains: a grid (or mesh) of cells (control volumes or elements) > Selection of the physical and chemical phenomenons that need to be modeled. Selection of appropriate boundary conditions at cells. ‘+The accuracy of a CFD solution is governed by the number of cells, in the domain. In general, the larger the number of cells, better the solution accuracy. Both the accuracy of a solution and its cost in terms of necessary computer hardware and calculation time are dependent on the fineness af the grid. At present, its still up-to the skills of the CFD user to design a grid that isa suitable compromise between desired accuracy and solution cost.COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (MECH. DBATU) (1.4) INTRO. TO COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS Gi) Solver Solver analyses the problem using numerical techniques. There are three distinct methods of numerical solution techniques: finite difference, finite element and spectral methods. Finite volume method, a special finite difference formulation that is used in the most well-established CFD codes CFX/ANSYS, Fluent, STAR-CD. In short, the numerical techniques (algorithm) consist of the following steps: > Integration of the governing equations of the fluid flow overall the control volumes of the domain, > Discretisation conversion of the integral equations into a system of algebraic equations. > Solution of the algebraic equations by an iterative method, (ii) Post-Processor Post processing involves: (() Domain geometry (i) vector plots (li) line and shaded contour plots {iv} particle tracking (v} view manipulation (vi) colour post script output. These facilities may also include animation for dynamic result display. However, the main ingredients for success in CFD are experience and a thorough understanding of the physics of fluid flow and the fundamentals of the numerical algorithms. CFD cades contain discretisation techniques suitable for the treatment of the key transport phenomena, convection (transport due to fluid flow) and diffusion (transport due to variations of any property ¢ from point to point) as well as the source terms (associated with the creation or destruction of ¢) and the rate of change with respect to time. During the last 35 years CFD made impressive progress, and several powerful computational methods have come up during this period, the most prominent being the finite difference method, finite element method, finite volume method and spectral method. All these methods discretised the problem so that solvable systems of algebraic equations are obtained, the number of equations being equel to the number of discrete points in the domain, The resulting algebraic system is linear if the original problem is linear otherwise a system of nonlinear equations is ‘obtained, which is then solved by a standard numerical method on a digital computer. In general, CFD analysis is done in following steps: For a Given Problem: > Define material properties: () Fluid (i) Solid, > Select appropriate physical model: Turbulence Combustion Multiphase. Prescribe operating conditions. 1s at all boundary zones. y > Prescribe boundaries con > Provide initial values or a previous solution. > Set-up solver control, set-up convergence, Monitor. Visualization Tools (Monitor) can be used to, Particularly in Fluid Flow Problems. > What is the overall flow pattern? > Is there any separation of fluid in flow region? > Where do shocks, shear layers etc. form? > Are key features being resolved? Numerical Reporting Tools can be used for > Forces and Momentum, Average Heat Transfer coefficient > Surface and volume integrated quantities, flux balance,