Computational Fluid

Dynamics (CFD)
Prof. Dr. Ashraf Ali Omar
Department of Aeronautical Engineering
University of Tripoli

Outline
1. What, why and where of CFD?
2. Modeling
3. Numerical methods
4. Types of CFD codes
5. CFD Educational Interface
6. CFD Process
7. Example of CFD Process

What is CFD?

CFD is the simulation of fluids engineering systems using

modeling (mathematical physical problem formulation) and
numerical methods (discretization methods, solvers, numerical
parameters, and grid generations, etc.)
Historically only Analytical Fluid Dynamics (AFD) and
Experimental Fluid Dynamics (EFD).
CFD made possible by the advent of digital computer and
advancing with improvements of computer resources
(500 flops, 194720 teraflops, 2003)

Why use CFD?

Analysis and Design
1. Simulation-based design instead of build & test
More cost effective and more rapid than EFD
CFD provides high-fidelity database for diagnosing flow
field

2. Simulation of physical fluid phenomena that are

difficult for experiments
Full scale simulations (e.g., ships and airplanes)
Environmental effects (wind, weather, etc.)
Hazards (e.g., explosions, radiation, pollution)
Physics (e.g., planetary boundary layer, stellar evolution)

Knowledge and exploration of flow physics

Where is CFD used?

Where is CFD

Aerospace

used?

Aerospace
Automotive
Biomedical

Biomedical
F18 Store Separation

Chemical

Processing
HVAC
Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation
Sports

Automotive

Temperature and natural

convection currents in the eye
following laser heating.

Where is CFD used?

Chemical Processing

Where is CFD used?

Aerospacee
Automotive
Biomedical

Chemical
Processing
HVAC
Hydraulics
Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation
Sports

Polymerization reactor vessel - prediction

of flow separation and residence time
effects.

Hydraulics

HVAC
Streamlines for workstation
ventilation

Where is CFD used?

Marine (movie)

Sports

Where is CFD used?

Aerospace
Automotive
Biomedical
Chemical Processing
HVAC
Hydraulics

Marine
Oil & Gas
Power Generation
Sports
Oil & Gas

Flow of lubricating
mud over drill bit

Power Generation

Flow around cooling

towers

Modeling

Modeling is the mathematical physics problem

formulation in terms of a continuous initial

boundary value problem (IBVP)

IBVP is in the form of Partial Differential
Equations (PDEs) with appropriate boundary
conditions and initial conditions.

Modeling includes:
1. Geometry and domain
2. Coordinates
3. Governing equations
4. Flow conditions
5. Initial and boundary conditions
6. Selection of models for different applications

CFD Process
Geometry

Physics

Mesh

Solve

Reports

PostProcessing

Select
Geometry

Heat Transfer
ON/OFF

Unstructured
(automatic/
manual)

Steady/
Unsteady

Forces Report

Contours

Compressible
ON/OFF

Structured
(automatic/
manual)

Iterations/
Steps

XY Plot

Vectors

Flow
properties

Convergent
Limit

Verification

Streamlines

Viscous
Model

Precisions
(single/
double)

Validation

Boundary
Conditions

Numerical
Scheme

Geometry
Parameters

Domain
Shape and
Size

(lift/drag, shear
stress, etc)

Initial
Conditions

Modeling (geometry and domain)

Simple geometries can be easily created by few geometric
parameters (e.g. circular pipe)

Complex geometries must be created by the partial
differential equations or importing the database of the
geometry(e.g. airfoil) into commercial software

Domain: size and shape

Typical approaches
Geometry approximation
CAD/CAE integration: use of industry standards such as
Parasolid, ACIS, STEP, or IGES, etc.

The three coordinates: Cartesian system (x,y,z), cylindrical

system (r, , z), and spherical system(r, , ) should be
appropriately chosen for a better resolution of the geometry (e.g.
cylindrical for circular pipe).

10

Modeling (coordinates)
z

Cartesian
(x,y,z)

Cylindrical
(r,,z)

z Spherical
(r,,)

z
y
x

General Curvilinear Coordinates

General orthogonal
Coordinates
11

Modeling (governing equations)

Navier-Stokes equations (3D in Cartesian coordinates)

2u 2u 2u
u
u
u
u
p

+ u
+ v
+ w
=
+ 2 + 2 + 2
t
x
y
z
x
y
z
x
2v 2v 2v
v
v
v
v
p

+ u
+ v
+ w
=
+ 2 + 2 + 2
t
x
y
z
y
x2 y 2 z 2

w w w
w
w
w
w
p
+ u
+ v
+ w
= + 2 + 2 + 2
t
x
y
z
z
y
z
x

Local
acceleration

Convection

Piezometric pressure gradient

Viscous terms

( u ) ( v ) ( w )
+
+
+
= 0 Continuity equation
t
x
y
z

p = RT
D 2R
3 DR 2
pv p
R
+
(
)
=
Dt 2
2 Dt
L

Equation of state
Rayleigh Equation
12

Modeling (flow conditions)

Based on the physics of the fluids phenomena, CFD

can be distinguished into different categories using

different criteria

Viscous vs. inviscid

(Re)

External flow or internal flow (wall bounded or not)

Turbulent vs. laminar (Re)
Incompressible vs. compressible (Ma)
Single- vs. multi-phase (Ca)
Thermal/density effects (Pr, , Gr, Ec)
Free-surface flow (Fr) and surface tension (We)
Chemical reactions and combustion (Pe, Da)
etc

13

Modeling (initial conditions)

Initial conditions (ICS, steady/unsteady flows)
ICs should not affect final results and only
affect convergence path, i.e. number of
iterations (steady) or time steps (unsteady)
need to reach converged solutions.
More reasonable guess can speed up the
convergence
For complicated unsteady flow problems,
CFD codes are usually run in the steady
mode for a few iterations for getting a better
initial conditions

14

Modeling(boundary conditions)
Boundary conditions: No-slip or slip-free on walls,
periodic, inlet (velocity inlet, mass flow rate, constant
pressure, etc.), outlet (constant pressure, velocity
convective, numerical beach, zero-gradient), and nonreflecting (for compressible flows, such as acoustics), etc.

No-slip walls: u=0,v=0

Outlet, p=c

Inlet ,u=c,v=0
r

v=0, dp/dr=0,du/dr=0

Periodic boundary condition in

spanwise direction of an airfoil

Axisymmetric
15

Modeling (selection of models)

CFD codes typically designed for solving certain fluid

phenomenon by applying different models

Viscous vs. inviscid

(Re)

Turbulent vs. laminar (Re, Turbulent models)

Incompressible vs. compressible (Ma, equation of state)
Single- vs. multi-phase (Ca, cavitation model, two-fluid
model)

Thermal/density effects and energy equation

(Pr, , Gr, Ec, conservation of energy)

Free-surface flow (Fr, level-set & surface tracking model) and

surface tension (We, bubble dynamic model)

Chemical reactions and combustion (Chemical reaction

model)

etc
16

Modeling (Turbulence and free surface models)

Turbulent flows at high Re usually involve both large and small scale
vortical structures and very thin turbulent boundary layer (BL) near the wall

Turbulent models:
DNS: most accurately solve NS equations, but too expensive
for turbulent flows

RANS: predict mean flow structures, efficient inside BL but excessive

diffusion in the separated region.

LES: accurate in separation region and unaffordable for resolving BL

DES: RANS inside BL, LES in separated regions.

Free-surface models:
Surface-tracking method: mesh moving to capture free surface,
limited to small and medium wave slopes

Single/two phase level-set method: mesh fixed and level-set

function used to capture the gas/liquid interface, capable of
studying steep or breaking waves.
17

Examples of modeling (Turbulence and free

surface models)
URANS, Re=105, contour of vorticity for turbulent
flow around NACA12 with angle of attack 60 degrees

DES, Re=105, Iso-surface of Q criterion (0.4) for

turbulent flow around NACA12 with angle of attack 60
degrees
URANS, Wigley Hull pitching and heaving

18

Numerical methods

The continuous Initial Boundary Value Problems

(IBVPs) are discretized into algebraic equations

using numerical methods. Assemble the system of
algebraic equations and solve the system to get
approximate solutions

Numerical methods include:
1. Discretization methods
2. Solvers and numerical parameters
3. Grid generation and transformation
4. High Performance Computation (HPC) and postprocessing

19

Discretization methods

Finite difference methods (straightforward to apply,

usually for regular grid) and finite volumes and finite

element methods (usually for irregular meshes)

Each type of methods above yields the same solution if
the grid is fine enough. However, some methods are
more suitable to some cases than others

Finite difference methods for spatial derivatives with
different order of accuracies can be derived using
Taylor expansions, such as 2nd order upwind scheme,
central differences schemes, etc.

Higher order numerical methods usually predict higher
order of accuracy for CFD, but more likely unstable due
to less numerical dissipation

Temporal derivatives can be integrated either by the
explicit method (Euler, Runge-Kutta, etc.) or implicit
method (e.g. Beam-Warming method)

20

Discretization methods (Contd)

Explicit methods can be easily applied but yield

conditionally stable Finite Different Equations (FDEs),

which are restricted by the time step; Implicit methods
are unconditionally stable, but need efforts on
efficiency.

Usually, higher-order temporal discretization is used
when the spatial discretization is also of higher order.

Stability: A discretization method is said to be stable if it
does not magnify the errors that appear in the course of
numerical solution process.

Pre-conditioning method is used when the matrix of the
linear algebraic system is ill-posed, such as multiphase flows, flows with a broad range of Mach
numbers, etc.

Selection of discretization methods should consider
efficiency, accuracy and special requirements, such as
shock wave tracking.

21

Solvers and numerical parameters

Solvers include: tridiagonal, pentadiagonal solvers,

PETSC solver, solution-adaptive solver, multi-grid

solvers, etc.

Solvers can be either direct (Cramers rule, Gauss
elimination, LU decomposition) or iterative (Jacobi
method, Gauss-Seidel method, SOR method)

Numerical parameters need to be specified to control
the calculation.
Under relaxation factor, convergence limit, etc.
Different numerical schemes
Monitor residuals (change of results between
iterations)
Number of iterations for steady flow or number of
time steps for unsteady flow
Single/double precisions
22

Numerical methods (grid generation)

Grids can either be structured

(hexahedral) or unstructured
(tetrahedral). Depends upon type of
discretization scheme and application
Scheme
Finite differences: structured
Finite volume or finite element:
structured or unstructured
Application
Thin boundary layers best
resolved with highly-stretched
structured grids
Unstructured grids useful for
complex geometries
Unstructured grids permit
automatic adaptive refinement
based on the pressure gradient,
or regions interested (FLUENT)

structured

unstructured

23

Numerical methods (grid

transformation)

Transform

x
Physical domain

Transformation between physical (x,y,z)

Computational domain
f f f
f
f
=
+
= x
+ x
x x x

and computational (,,) domains,

important for body-fitted grids. The partial
f f f
f
f
=
+
= y
+y
derivatives at these two domains have the
y y y

relationship (2D as an example)

24

High performance computing and postprocessing

CFD computations (e.g. 3D unsteady flows) are usually

very expensive which requires parallel high performance

supercomputers (e.g. IBM 690) with the use of multi-block
technique.

As required by the multi-block technique, CFD codes need
to be developed using the Massage Passing Interface
(MPI) Standard to transfer data between different blocks.

Post-processing: 1. Visualize the CFD results (contour,
velocity vectors, streamlines, pathlines, streak lines, and
iso-surface in 3D, etc.), and 2. CFD UA: verification and
validation using EFD data (more details later)

Post-processing usually through using commercial software

25

Types of CFD codes

Commercial CFD code: FLUENT, Star-

CD, CFDRC, CFX/AEA, etc.

Research CFD code: CFDSHIP-IOWA

Public domain software (PHI3D,
HYDRO, and WinpipeD, etc.)

Other CFD software includes the Grid
generation software (e.g. Gridgen,
Gambit) and flow visualization software
(e.g. Tecplot, FieldView)

CFDSHIPIOWA
26

Physics

Flow conditions and fluid properties

1. Flow conditions: inviscid, viscous, laminar, or

turbulent, etc.
2. Fluid properties: density, viscosity, and
thermal conductivity, etc.
3. Flow conditions and properties usually
presented in dimensional form in industrial
commercial CFD software, whereas in nondimensional variables for research codes.
Selection of models: different models usually
fixed by codes, options for user to choose
Initial and Boundary Conditions: not fixed
by codes, user needs specify them for different
applications.
27

Mesh

Meshes should be well designed to resolve
important flow features which are dependent upon
flow condition parameters (e.g., Re), such as the
grid refinement inside the wall boundary layer

Mesh can be generated by either commercial codes
(Gridgen, Gambit, etc.) or research code (using
algebraic vs. PDE based, conformal mapping, etc.)

The mesh, together with the boundary conditions
need to be exported from commercial software in a
certain format that can be recognized by the
research CFD code or other commercial CFD
software.

28

Solve

Setup appropriate numerical parameters

Choose appropriate Solvers

Solution procedure (e.g. incompressible flows)
Solve the momentum, pressure Poisson
equations and get flow field quantities, such as
velocity, turbulence intensity, pressure and
integral quantities (lift, drag forces)

29

Reports

Reports saved the time history of the residuals

of the velocity, pressure and temperature, etc.

Report the integral quantities, such as total
pressure drop, friction factor (pipe flow), lift and
drag coefficients (airfoil flow), etc.

XY plots could present the centerline
velocity/pressure distribution, friction factor
distribution (pipe flow), pressure coefficient
distribution (airfoil flow).

AFD or EFD data can be imported and put on
top of the XY plots for validation

30

Post-processing

Analysis and visualization
Calculation of derived variables
 Vorticity
 Wall

shear stress
Calculation of integral parameters: forces,
moments
Visualization (usually with commercial
software)
Simple 2D contours
3D contour isosurface plots
Vector plots and streamlines
(streamlines are the lines whose
tangent direction is the same as the
velocity vectors)
Animations
31

Example of CFD Process (Mesh)

Grid need to be refined near the

foil surface to resolve the boundary
layer
32

Example of CFD Process (Solve)

Residuals vs. iteration

33

Example of CFD Process (Post-

processing)

34

Example of CFD Process (Reports)

35

Examples of CFD Predication

For Aerospace and Automotive
Airfoil

Pressure Contours (Airfoil)

Multi-element airfoil
Pressure Contours
p
1.83628
1.52079
1.20531
1.16814
1.15177
1.12741
1.10282
1.07674
1.05107
1.04588
1.03677
1.03585
1.03096
1.02615
1.02398
1.02158
1.01737
0.994554
0.963954
0.916544
0.889824
0.846466
0.732082
0.574339
0.416597
0.101112

Multi-element airfoil
Velocity Profile
0.12

0.08

0.1

0.11

0.07

0.09

0.06
0.08
0.25

0.26

0.27

0.28

0.29

1.04

1.05

1.06

1.07

Airship
Pressure Contours

Racing Car
Velocity Profile 1

Racing Car
Velocity Profile 2

Racing Car
Pressure Contours

Concluding Remarks
The increasing popularity and growth of the CFD
over the past decade has been truly remarkable.
The of CFD for the next decade looks bright,
although there will be some rather strong
challenges to meet.
With improvements in CFD techniques and
advances in computer technology, CFD
researches must and will find more effective
ways to applying computational tools in the
design and analysis process.

Concluding Remarks
Computational simulations will begin to
play a more dominant role in the design
cycle.

Acknowledgment
Some parts of this presentation
materials were taken from Prof. Tao
and Fred Stern presentation under title
of Introduction to CFD, University of
Iowa.