Unit XI Implementation of boundary conditions in CFD

The common boundary conditions used in CFD control volume method are 1. inlet 2. outlet 3. wall 4. prescribed pressure 5. symmetry 6. periodicity (or cyclic boundary condition) The following assumptions are made for implementing boundary conditions i. the flow is always subsonic (M < 1), (ii) k- turbulence modelling is used, (iii) the hybrid differencing method is used for discretisation and (iv) the SIMPLE solution algorithm is applied.

Inlet boundary conditions

The distribution of all flow variables are need to be specified at inlet boundaries Consider a grid arrangement in a flow field as shown in fig. Figures 1, 2,3,4 shows the grid arrangement in the immediate vicinity of an inlet for u- and v- momentum, pressure and scalor correction equation cells. The flow direction is assumed to be broadly from the left to the right in the diagrams. The grid extends outside the physical boundary and the nodes along the line I= 1 are used to store the inlet values of flow variables. The discretised equation is solved for the first internal cell, which is shaded as shown in fig. 1. The diagrams also show the 'active' neighbours and cell faces which are represented in the discretised equation for the shaded cell assuming that hybrid differencing is used. For instance, in Figures the active neighbour velocities are given by means of arrows and the active face pressures by solid dots.

Fig.1 u-velocity cell at the inlet boundary

Fig.2 v-velocity cell at the inlet boundary

Fig.3. Pressure correction cell at inlet boundary

fig.4 Scalar cell at inlet boundary

The figures indicate that all links to neighbouring nodes remain active for the first u-, v- and cell, so to accommodate the inlet boundary condition for these variables it is unnecessary to make any modifications to their discretised equations. The pressure field obtained by solving the pressure correction equation does not give absolute pressures. It is common practice to fix the absolute pressure at one inlet node and set the pressure correction to zero at that node. Having specified a reference value the absolute pressure field inside the domain can be obtained.

Outlet boundary conditions

Outlet boundary conditions may be used in conjunction with the inlet boundary conditions. If the location of the outlet is selected far away from geometrical disturbances the flow often reaches a fully developed state where no change occurs in the flow direction. In such a region we can place an outlet surface and state that the gradients of all variables (except pressure) are zero in the flow direction. Figures 1,2,3,4 show the grid arrangements near such an outlet boundary. If NI is the total number of nodes in the x-direction, the equations are solved for cells up to I (or i) = NI 1. Before the relevant equations are solved the values of flow variables at the next node (NI), just outside the domain, are determined by extrapolation from the interior on the assumption of zero gradient at the outlet plane.

Fig.1 u-control volume at an outlet boundary

fig.2 v-control volume at an outlet boundary

Fig.3 Pressure correction cell at an outlet boundary

Fig.4 Scalar cell at an outlet boundary

For the v- and scalar equations this implies setting Figures 2 and 4 show that all links are active for these variables so their discretised equations can be solved as normal. Calculation of u at the outlet plane i = NI by assuming a zero gradient gives During the iteration cycles of the SIMPLE algorithm there is no guarantee that these velocities will conserve mass over the computational domain as a whole. To ensure that overall continuity is satisfied the total mass flux going out of the domain (Mout) is first computed by summing all the extrapolated outlet velocities. To make the mass flux out equal to the mass flux Min coming into the domain all the outlet velocity components are multiplied by the ratio Min/Mout. Thus the outlet plane velocities with the continuity correction are given by These values are subsequently used as the east neighbour velocities in the discretised momentum equations for

Wall boundary conditions

The wall is the most common boundary encountered in confined fluid flow problems. Consider a solid wall parallel to the x-direction. Figures 1,2,3 illustrate the grid details in the near wall regions for the u-velocity component (parallel to the wall), for the v-velocity component (perpendicular to the wall) and for scalar variables. The no-slip condition (u = v =0) is the appropriate condition for the velocity components at solid walls. The normal component of the velocity can simply be set to zero at the boundary (j= 2) and the discretised momentum equation at the next v-cell in the flow (j = 3) can be evaluated without modification. Since the wall velocity is known it is also unnecessary to perform a pressure correction here.

fig 1 u-velocity cell at a wall boundary

fig.2

Fig.3 Scalar cell at a wall boundary

The constant pressure boundary condition

The constant pressure condition is used in situations where exact details of the flow distribution are unknown but the boundary values of pressure are known. Typical problems where this boundary condition is appropriate include external flows around objects, free surface flows, buoyancy-driven flows such as natural ventilation and fires, and also internal flows with multiple outlets. In applying the fixed pressure boundary the pressure correction is set to zero at the nodes. The u-momentum equation is solved from i = 3 and the v-momentum and other equations from I = 2 onwards. The main outstanding problem is the unknown flow direction which is governed by the conditions inside the calculation domain. The u- velocity component across the domain boundary is generated as part of the solution process by ensuring that continuity is satisfied at every cell. For example, in fig 1, the values of ue and of vs and vn emerge from solving the discretised u- and v- momentum equations inside the domain. Given these values we can compute uw by insisting that mass is conserved for

P-cell at an inlet boundary

p'-cell at an outlet boundary

This implementation of the boundary condition causes the p'-cell nearest to the boundaries to act as a source or sink of mass. The process is repeated for each pressure boundary cell. Other variables such as , T, k and must be assigned inflow values where the flow direction is into the domain. Where the flow is outwards their values just outside the domain may be obtained by means of extrapolation

Symmetry boundary condition

The conditions at a symmetry boundary are: (i) no flow across the boundary and (ii) no scalar flux across the boundary. In the implementation, normal velocities are set to zero at a symmetry boundary and the values of all other properties just outside the solution domain (say I or i = 1) are equated to their values at the nearest node just inside the domain (Ior i = 2):

In the discretised p'-equations the link with the symmetry boundary side is cut by setting the appropriate coefficient to zero; no further modifications are required.

Periodic or cyclic boundary condition

Periodic or cyclic boundary conditions arise from a different type of symmetry in a problem.

Consider for example swirling flow in a cylindrical furnace shown in Figure. In the burner arrangement gaseous fuel is introduced through six symmetrically placed holes and swirl air enters through the outer annulus of the burner.

This problem can be solved in cylindrical polar co-ordinates (z, r, ) by considering a 60 angular sector as shown in the diagram where k refers to r-z planes in the -direction. The flow rotates in this direction, and under the given conditions the flow entering the first k-plane of the sector should be exactly the same as that leaving the last k-plane. This is an example of cyclic symmetry. The pair of boundaries k = 1 and k =NK are called periodic or cyclic boundaries. To apply cyclic boundary conditions we need to set the flux of all flow variables leaving the outlet cyclic boundary equal to the flux entering the inlet cyclic boundary. This is achieved by equating the values of each variable at the nodes just upstream and downstream of the inlet plane to the nodal values just upstream and downstream of the outlet plane. For all variables except the velocity component across the inlet and outlet planes (say w) we have For the velocity component across the boundary we have