Lecture 12

Domain Interfaces
14. 5 Release

Introduction to ANSYS
CFD Professional
2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

Release 14.5

Overview
Domain Interfaces are used for:
Connection of unmatched meshes (hex to tet for example)
a single mesh file may contain non-matching mesh regions and require nonconformal interfaces
Connect different types of domains together (e.g. Fluid to Solid)
Create periodic regions within a domain

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

Release 14.5

Overview
Where two 3-d mesh regions meet there are two possible treatments
Two elements share one face no interpolation necessary called a
conformal or one-to-one mesh interface
Every element has its own face interpolation of fluxes is necessary
called non-conformal or unmatched and a Generalised Grid Interface
(GGI) is required to connect the regions

non-conformal

conformal
2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

Release 14.5

Inserting Domain Interfaces

To create a domain interface rightclick on Flow Analysis or use the

toolbar icon

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

Release 14.5

Domain Interfaces and Boundary Objects

After creating a domain interface 3 new objects

appear in the outline tree

The interface object is at the Flow Analysis level

This is the object you should edit to make changes to the
domain interface

Within each domain a Side 1 or Side 2 boundary

condition is automatically created

The Side 1 and Side 2

boundary conditions

They will be automatically updated when changes are made to

the interface object
In general do not edit these objects but you can:
specify sources
set wall boundary conditions for non-overlap regions

The Interface object

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

Release 14.5

Domain Interfaces Panel

Domain Interfaces connect two sets of
surfaces together - Side 1 and Side 2

First select the combination of domains

Then select the Side 1 and Side 2

surface sets

What?

The Domain (Filter) just limits the scope of

the Region List to make selection easier

The Interface Models and Mesh

Connection Method control how data is
transferred across the interface

How?

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

Release 14.5

Interface Models

The available Interface Models are:

Translational Periodicity
Simulates geometries that have translational periodicity
Allows for either the mass flow rate or the pressure
change across the interface to be specified (Additional
Interface Models see later)

Rotational Periodicity
Simulates rotationally periodic geometries

General Connection
For all other types of connections

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

Release 14.5

Additional Interface Models

On the Additional Interface Models
tab you can:

Represent source or sink of momentum,

e.g. a fan or a porous wall, by specifying a
pressure change between side 1 and side
2 or a mass flow rate
With a translational periodic interface this
feature can be used to set up fullydeveloped flow in a short section of duct

Set up infinitely thin walls by selecting the

appropriate wall boundary condition
option for Mass and Momentum
- Can model heat conduction across wall
(next slide)

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

Release 14.5

Additional Interface Models (CHT)

Domain interfaces can be used to model
conduction through a thin wall

Wall Thickness is not meshed

Normal conduction only; neglects any in-plane
conduction

Set-up

Create a Fluid-Fluid Domain Interface

On the Additional Interface Models tab set
Mass and Momentum to No Slip Wall
Enable the Heat Transfer toggle and pick:
Thin Material and specify a Material &
Thickness, or
Thermal Contact Resistance

Note : Other domain interface types (Fluid-Solid etc.)

can use these options to represent coatings etc.

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

Release 14.5

Additional Interface Models contd

On the Additional Interface Models
tab you can:

Create a switch, using Conditional

Connection Control, to determine
whether the interface is open to flow or
closed, i.e. a wall
Provide a logical expression, e.g. a
function of time or pressure difference
Either define when the interface is open
or when its state changes

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

10

Release 14.5

Mesh Connection Method

1:1
Only use this option if you are sure that the nodes on Side 1 and Side 2 of the
interface match up exactly
Not used for Fluid Solid and Solid Solid interfaces

GGI

Use this option when the nodes on the two sides are not aligned
For best results both sides should have fairly similar mesh length scales
Fluxes are conserved across the interface
If the size of the connection region for one side is different from the other,
the connection will be automatically made between the mutually
overlapping surfaces (for best results ensure both sides fully overlap)
Possible to perform a connection where there is a slight gap or
interference between the two sides of the GGI connection
The gap should be small relative to the mesh length scale
When solving, GGI connections use more memory and CPU than 1:1
connections

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

11

Release 14.5

Mesh Connection Method

Automatic
This is generally the recommended option when available
It will try to make a 1:1 connection if possible, otherwise GGI
The Mesh Match Tolerance under Edit > Options > Mesh determines how close nodes need to
be before a 1:1 connection can be made
The default value of 0.005 (0.5%) is a fraction of the local mesh length scale
In some cases only the GGI option will be available
e.g. when there is a change of reference frame across the interface
In some situations a GGI connection will be used even when nodes match 1:1
e.g. Fluid Solid interfaces, since GGI connections are more accurate in these situations

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

12

Release 14.5

GGI vs 1:1 for Conjugate Heat Transfer

GGI connections are used for Fluid-Solid and Solid-Solid
interfaces
At a GGI interface, there is no discontinuity in values of temperature across
the interface
the CFX Solver calculates a "surface temperature" based on a flux-conservation
equation for the 'control surfaces' that lie between the fluid side and the solid side

At a solid-fluid 1:1 interface may result in a temperature discontinuity at the

interface
this is because values are interpolated from the interface into the bulk of the solid
domain using the value for the solid-side node at the interface, while values are
interpolated from the interface into the bulk of the fluid domain using the value for
the fluid-side node at the interface

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

13

Release 14.5

Automatic Domain Interfaces

CFX-Pre automatically creates domain

interfaces within a single mesh assembly
To connect multiple domains within the assembly
To connect non-matching meshes within the assembly
Right-click on Mesh > View by > Region Type
to see a list of assemblies in the mesh

Always check the automatic interfaces to make

sure they are correct!

Can disable automatic interface creation from

Case Options > General in the Outline tree

You always need to create interfaces manually

between mesh assemblies

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

December 12, 2013

14

Release 14.5