Workshop: Arcjet

ANSYS Fluent Getting Started

Release 2019 R1

1
Geometry

Shared Topology – shared items highlighted by

pink color in graphics

Complex model with multiple solid components

2
Named Selections (NS)

• The model consists of solid parts and volume extraction of the fluid regions will be
performed in Fluent.

• To aid in the definition of the capping surfaces, a number of named selections (NS)
have been defined.

• Note that the NS do not include "inlet" or "outlet" in their names because that
would cause Fluent to identify the solid parts as fluid regions. Instead "in" and "out"
are used, which still clearly conveys what kinds of boundaries the caps should be.

3
Starting Fluent
• Open the Fluent Launcher Window and • Select the Watertight Geometry workflow,
ensure Meshing Mode is selected set Units to mm and import "arcjetWS.scdoc"

4
Add Local Sizing

This workshop will demonstrate that a high quality CFD mesh can be created
on a complex geometry using only the global mesh settings in the Create
Surface Mesh task on the next slide

• Keep "Would you like to add local sizing?" as "no" and click Update.

5
Create Surface Mesh
• The minimum size of 0.1 mm is
based on visual inspection of the
mesh display preview boxes (image
on right) compared to small
geometry features.
• The maximum size is set to a value ≈
10% of the opening diameter
• Cells per gap is increased to 2 for
improved resolution of many small
features that exist in this model
• Click Create Surface Mesh to create
the mesh

Maximum skewness of 0.80 is a little bit high, but it is likely we will still get a
good enough quality for the volume mesh with this value. If there is a problem,
it would be easy to go back and insert an Improve Surface Mesh task
6
Describe Geometry

• The geometry consists only of solid regions.

• Capping surfaces will be defined to allow flow volume extraction.

• There will be no fluid-fluid boundary types so the setting will

have no effect in this model.

• Shared topology does not need to be applied, as it was done in

SpaceClaim

• Click Describe Geometry and go to the next task.

7
Enclose Fluid Regions

• Leave the Select By: filter setting as

"label"

• Select all labels beginning with "in"

• Enter name of "inlets" and set Zone

Type to "velocity-inlet“

• Click Enclose Fluid Regions

(Capping) • Similarly, select all labels beginning
with "out" and define a pressure-
outlet named "outlets"

• Click Enclose Fluid Regions

(Capping)

8
Regions

In the Update Regions task:

• Note that two fluid regions were created

along with numerous solid and dead regions.
• By default, fluid regions are displayed in
• Increase the Estimated Number graphics, as seen above. The Draw Regions
of Fluid Regions to 2 and click menu can be used to draw other regions as
Create Regions well.
• Click Update Regions

9
Create Volume Mesh

• Set the number of boundary layers to 5. Due to small flow

passages, start with a conservative number and try to
increase later if desired.

• Either polyhedra or poly-hexcore produce quality meshes

in complex geometry. Here poly-hexcore has been
selected, but you can try both.

• Click Create Volume Mesh to create the mesh. It will take

approximately 15 minutes.

10
Volume Mesh
• A poly-hexcore mesh of 6.1 million
cells, including both fluid and solid
regions, is created in around 15
minutes.

• The minimum orthogonal quality of

0.16 is good, which validates the
earlier decision not to try to improve
the surface mesh from maximum
skewness of 0.80.

11
Write Mesh

• Go to File > Write > Mesh and save the file as arcjetWS-volume-mesh.msh.gz.

• Exit Fluent when finished.

12