Workshop 7

Tank Flushing

Introduction to CFX
Pardad Petrodanesh.Co
Lecturer: Ehsan Saadati
ehsan.saadati@gmail.com
www.petrodanesh.ir
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Introduction

Workshop Supplement

This workshop models a water tank filling and then emptying through a
siphon. The problem is transient in nature and solved as a two fluid
multiphase case (air + water).
An initial water level is set in the tank. The water supply is turned on for
the first second of the simulation and then shut off for the rest of the
simulation. The water level rises until water flows out the U-tube
generating a siphoning effect which effectively empties the tank.

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Mesh Import

Workshop Supplement

1. Start Workbench, add a CFX Component System, then edit

the Setup to start CFX-Pre
2. Right-click on Mesh > Import Mesh >ICEM CFD
3. Set the Mesh Units to cm
For some mesh formats it is important to know the units used to
generate the mesh

4. Import the mesh flush.cfx5

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Define Simulation Type

Workshop Supplement

The first step is to change the Analysis Type to Transient:

1. Edit the Analysis Type object in the Outline tree
2. Set the Analysis Type Option to Transient
3. Set the Total Time to 2.5 [s]
4. Set the Timesteps to 0.01 [s] and click OK
The simulation will have 250 timesteps

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Edit Default Domain

Workshop Supplement

1. Edit Default Domain from the Outline tree

2. Delete Fluid 1 under Fluid and Particle
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Definition
Click on the New icon
Name the new fluid Air
Set the Material to Air at 25C and the
Morphology to Continuous Fluid
Create another fluid named Water
Set the Material to Water and the
Morphology to Continuous Fluid

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Edit Default Domain

Workshop Supplement

8. Turn on Buoyancy and set the (X, Y, Z)

gravity components to (0, -g, 0)

Use the expression icon to enter -g ( g is a built-in

constant )

9. Set the Buoy. Ref. Density to 1.185 [kg m^3]

This is the density of Air at 25 C. Search the help

for Buoyancy in Multiphase Flow (including the
quotes in the search) for more details

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Edit Default Domain

Workshop Supplement

10. Switch to the Fluid Models tab

11. Under Multiphase Options, enable
the Homogeneous Model
This makes the simplifying assumption that
both phases share the same velocity field

12. Set the Free Surface Model Option

to Standard
This changes some solver numerics to
resolve the free surface interface better

13. Under Heat Transfer, enable the

Homogeneous Model toggle and set
the Option to None
14. Set the Turbulence Model Option to
k-Epsilon

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Edit Default Domain

Workshop Supplement

15. Switch to the Fluid Pair Model tab

16. Enable the Surface Tension
Coefficient toggle and set the
coefficient to 0.072 [N m^-1]
17. Under Surface Tension Force, set the
Option to Continuum Surface Force
18. Set the Primary Fluid to Water
19. Under Interphase Transfer, set the
Option to Free Surface
20. Click OK to complete the changes to
the domain

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Create Boundary Conditions

Workshop Supplement

Start by creating an Opening boundary at the top of the tank to

allow air to escape as the tank is filled:
1. Insert a new boundary named Ambient
2. Set the Boundary Type to Opening and the Location to
AMBIENT
3. On the Boundary Details tab, set the Mass and Momentum
Option to Opening Pres. And Dirn with a Relative Pressure
of 0 [Pa]
4. On the Fluid Values tab, set the Volume Fraction of Air to 1
and the Volume Fraction of Water to 0
5. Click Ok to create the boundary

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Create Boundary Conditions

Workshop Supplement

Now create the outlet and symmetry boundaries. Since recirculation

may occur at the outlet this boundary will be specified as an Opening:
1. Insert a new boundary named Outlet with the Boundary Type
as Opening and the Location as OUTLET
2. In the Boundary Details, use Opening Pres. And Dirn with a
Relative Pressure of 0 [Pa]
3. In the Fluid Values, set the Volume Fraction of Air to 1 and
the Volume Fraction of Water to 0
4. Click Ok to create the boundary
5. Insert a Symmetry boundary named Sym1 on the Location
SYM1
6. Insert a Symmetry boundary named Sym2 on the Location
SYM2
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Inlet Water Flow Function

Workshop Supplement

Water will flow into the tank at a rate of 0.2 [kg s^-1] for 1 [s]; it will then
be shut off for the remainder of the simulation. Therefore the inlet flow
rate must be a function of time. You will write an expression using the
if() function to define this behavior, then create the Inlet boundary:

1. Right-click on Expressions in the Outline tree and select

Insert > Expression
2. Enter the Name as flowProfile
3. Enter the Definition as: if(t<1 [s], 0.2 [kg/s], 0 [kg/s]) and
click Apply
4. Insert a new boundary named Inlet
5. Set the Boundary Type to Inlet and the Location to INLET

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Inlet Boundary Condition

Workshop Supplement

6. In Boundary Details, set the Mass and Momentum Option

to Bulk Mass Flow Rate
7. Set the Mass Flow Rate to the expression flowProfile
8. In the Fluid Values, set the Volume Fraction of Air to 0
and the Volume Fraction of Water to 1, then click OK

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Define Expressions

Workshop Supplement

Next you will create expressions to define the initial water height and
the initial hydrostatic pressure field. These expressions must define the
correct initial flow field because the transient simulation is started cold
(it is not started from a converged steady-state simulation).

1. Insert the following expressions:

waterHt = 6 [cm]
waterVF = if(y<waterHt,1,0)*if(y>-0.01 [m],1,0)* if(x>-0.028
[m],1,0)
waterDen = 998 [kg m^-3]
HydroP = waterDen * g * (waterHt - y) * waterVF

waterHt is the initial height of the water in the tank. waterVF provides
the initial volume fraction distribution in the tank (see next slide).
waterDen is the density of water. HydroP provides the initial pressure
distribution due to the hydrostatic pressure of water.
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Define Expressions

Workshop Supplement

x = - 0.028

The expression for waterVF contains

three step() function terms multiplied
together. The first function,
step((waterHt - y) / 1[m]), returns 1
when y < waterHt. In other words the
volume fraction of water is 1 below the y
= waterHt line shown to the right.
The second step() function returns 1
when y > -0.01[m]. The third step
function returns 1 when x > -0.028 [m].

y = waterHt
y = - 0.01

The result is that the volume fraction of

water is equal to 1 only in the shaded
area shown to the right. This defines the
initial water volume fraction.
Note that the arguments to the step()
function must be dimensionless, hence
each time we divide by 1[m].
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Define Initial Conditions

Workshop Supplement

Now set the initial conditions using these expressions:

1. Right-click on Flow Analysis 1 in the Outline tree and

select Insert > Global Initialisation
2. Set all Cartesian Velocities Components to 0 [m s^-1]
3. Set the Relative Pressure to the expression HydroP
4. On the Fluid Settings tab, set the Volume Fraction for
Water to the expression waterVF. Set the Volume
Fraction for Air to the expression 1 waterVF
5. Click OK to set the initial conditions

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Define Transient Results

Workshop Supplement

By default results are only written at the end of the simulation. You must
define transient results to view the intermediate solution:

1. Edit the Output Control object in the Outline tree

2. On the Trn Results tab, create a new Transient Results
object, accepting the default Name
3. Set the Option to Selected Variables
This reduces the file size by only writing out selected variables

4. In the Output Variables List, use the icon and the Ctrl
key to pick Air.Volume Fraction, Velocity, and
Water.Volume Fraction
5. Under Output Frequency, set the Timestep Interval to 2,
then click OK
Transient results will be written every second timestep, thus
creating a total of 125 Transient Results files
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Create Monitor Point

Workshop Supplement

Next create a Monitor Point to track the volume of water in the domain
during the solution:

1. Insert a new expression named waterVol with the

Definition set to:
volumeInt(Water.Volume Fraction)@Default Domain
This is the volume integral the water volume fraction in the
domain

2. Edit the Output Control object in the Outline tree

3. On the Monitor tab, toggle Monitor Options, insert a new
Monitor Point named Water Volume
4. Set the Option to Expression and enter the Expression
Value as waterVol, then click OK

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Run Solver

Workshop Supplement

1. Close CFX-Pre and save the project as TankFlush.wbpj

2. In the Project Schematic, Edit the Solution object to start
the Solver Manager
3. Start the run from the Solver Manger
You can monitor the volume of water in the domain during the
simulation on the User Points tab
The simulation will take about 2 hours to complete. Therefore
results files have been provided with this workshop

4. After a few timesteps, Stop your run

5. Select File > Monitor Finished Run in the Solver Manager
6. Browse to the results file provided with the workshop

Note the shape of the Water Volume curve, and see that less water is in the
domain after the run is complete than there was at the beginning

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Post-Process Results

Workshop Supplement

1. Using Windows Explorer,

locate the supplied results file
TankFlush_001.res, and drag
it into an empty region of the
Project Schematic
2. A new CFX Solution and
Results cell will appear.
Double-click on the Results
object to open it in CFD-Post

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Post-Process Results

Workshop Supplement

1. Turn on Visibility for Sym1

2. On the Colour tab, set the Variable to Water.Volume
Fraction and set the Colour Map to White to Blue

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Post-Process Results

Workshop Supplement

3. Use the Timestep Selector

to load results from
different points in the simulation
4. With the first Timestep loaded, open the Animation tool
5. Select the Quick Animation toggle and select Timesteps as
the object to animate
6. Turn off the Repeat Forever button
7. Enable the Save Movie toggle and then click the Play icon
to animate the results and generate an MPEG

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Additional Notes

Workshop Supplement

The results show that a significant amount of air becomes entrained in

the water. For this situation running the Inhomogeneous model is
recommended so that each phase has its own velocity field. This would
allow entrained air bubble to rise out of the water. When both phases
have the same velocity field there is no way for entrained air to separate
from the water.
When running the Inhomogeneous model, the entrained phase should
be set as a Dispersed Phase in CFX-Pre.

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