INTRODUCTION

Computational
Fluid
Dynamics
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CFD is the process of solving the fluid flow equation of

mass, moment and energy on a computer as applied to a
particular geometry and flow conditions.
The basic flow variables such as velocity, pressure and
temperature are computed at thousands of location.
The CFD solution is based on the first-principle of
conservation of mass, moment and energy
A tool for solving PDEs
3 fundamental principles:
Mass is conserved (Continuity equation);
Newtons second law (Navier-Stokes Eqn);
Energy is conserved (Bernoullis Equation)
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The Approach of Fluid Dynamics

Pure
Experimental

Pure Theory

Computational Fluid
Dynamics

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A theory is something nobody believes except the person proposing the

theory and an experiment is something everybody believes except the
person doing the experiment

Experimental Investigation

--Albert Einstein

Involve full-scale equipment

Full scale test are, in most cases, prohibitively expensive and often
impossible.
Perform experiment on small-scale models. Information must be
extrapolated to full scale, and general rules for doing this are often
unavailable.
Small scale models do not always simulate all the features of the fullscale equipment.
There are serious difficulties of measurement in many situations.

Theoretical Calculation
Consequences of a mathematical model, rather than those of an actual

physical model.
Consists of set of differential equations.
A tiny fraction of the range of practical problems can be solved.
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Advantage of Theoretical Calculations

Low cost

Speed
Complete
information

Ability to
simulate
realistic
conditions
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Ability to
simulate ideal
conditions

Why CFD?
Growth in complexity of unsolved engineering
problems
Need for quick solutions of moderate accuracy
Absence of analytical solutions
The prohibitive costs involved in performing even
scaled laboratory experiments
Efficient solution algorithms
Developments in computers in terms of speed and
storage
Sophisticated pre and post processing facilities

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Complements actual engineering

testing
Reduces engineering testing costs
Provides comprehensive data not
easily obtainable from experimental
tests.
Reduces the product-to-market
time and costs
Helps understand defects,
problems and issues in
product/process

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Advantages of CFD
It complements experimental and theoretical fluid
dynamics by providing an alternative cost effective
means of simulating real flows.
Insight
Better visualization and enhanced understanding of
designs.
Foresight
Testing many variations until you arrive at an optimal
result before physical prototyping and testing.
Practically unlimited level of detail of results at virtually
no added expense.
Efficiency
Compression of design and development cycle.
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The simulation results in prediction of the flow fields

and engineering parameters, which are very useful in the
Design and Optimization of processes and equipments.
Substantial reduction of lead times and costs of new
designs
Ability to study systems where controlled experiments
are difficult or impossible to perform (e.g. very large
systems)
Ability to study systems under hazardous conditions at
and beyond their normal performance limits (e.g. safety
studies and accident scenarios)
CFD is slowly becoming part and parcel of Computer
Aided Engineering(CAE)
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Applications of CFD
Aerodynamics of aircraft : lift and drag
Automotive : External flow over the body of a vehicle
or internal flow through the engine, combustion,
Engine cooling
Turbo machinery: Turbines, pumps , compressors
etc.
Flow and heat transfer in thermal power plants and
nuclear power reactors
HVAC
ManufacturingCasting simulation, injection
moulding of plastics
Marine engineering: loads on off-shore structures
Hydrodynamics of ships, submarines, torpedo etc.
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Applications of CFD
Electrical and electronic engineering: cooling of equipment like
transformers, Computers, microcircuits, Semiconductor processing,
Optical fibre manufacturing
Chemical process engineering: mixing and separation, chemical
reactors, polymer molding
Transport of slurries in process industries
Environmental engineering: External and internal environment of
buildings, wind loading, Investigating the effects of fire and smoke,
distribution of pollutants and effluents in air or water,
Hydrology and oceanography: flows in rivers, oceans
Meteorology: weather prediction
Enhanced oil recovery from rock formations
Geophysical flows: atmospheric convection and ground water
movement
Biomedical engineering: Flow in arteries, blood vessels, heart,
nasal cavity, Inhalers
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Pressure distribution on a pickup van with

path lines

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Streamlines on a Submarine with the surface

colored with Pressure

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Aerospace Applications

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Aerospace Applications

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Automotive Applications

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Methodology in CFD

Pre processor
Solver
Post Processor
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Pre processor
Geometry generation
Geometry cleanup
Meshing
Solver
Problem specification
Additional models
Numerical computation
Post Processor
Line and Contour data
Average Values
Report Generation
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Pre processor
Definition of the geometry of the region of interest: the
computational domain
Creating regions of fluid flow, solid regions and surface
boundary names
Grid generationthe sub-division of the domain in to a
number of smaller, non-overlapping sub-domains: a
grid(or mesh) of cells(or control volumes or elements)

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Accuracy of a solution, calculation time and cost in

terms of necessary computer hardware are dependent
on the fineness of the grid.
Over 50% of time spent in industry on a CFD project is
devoted to the definition of domain geometry and grid
generation.
Selection of the physical and chemical phenomena
that need to be modeled.
Definition of fluid properties.
Specification of appropriate boundary conditions at
cells which coincide with or touch the domain boundary
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Solver
CFD is the art of replacing the differential equation
governing the Fluid Flow, with a set of algebraic
equations (the process is called discretization), which
in turn can be solved with the aid of a digital computer
to get an approximate solution

Finite difference method

Finite Element Method
Finite volume method
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Post-processor
Versatile data visualization tools.
Domain geometry and grid display
Vector plots showing the direction and magnitude of the flow.
Line and shaded contour plots
2D and 3D surface plots
Particle tracking
View manipulation(translation, rotation, scalingetc.)
Visualization of the variation of scalar variables(variables which
have only magnitude, not direction, such as temperature, pressure
and speed) through the domain.
Quantitative numerical calculations.
Charts showing graphical plots of variables
Hard copy out put
Animation for dynamic result display
Data export facilities for further manipulation external to the
code
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