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Team 2
Joseph Duffy
Zlatko Sokolikj
Andrew Suellentrop
This Comsol tutorial demonstrates how to
perform the velocity profile calculations using
the simplest model possible
It utilizes the 2D axisymmetric reference
system
So we pick our space dimension to be
2D axisymmetric
And press next
We pick laminar flow
We pick laminar flow from
our physics menu
and press next
We pick Stationary Study Type
and press Finish
In the actual Exp140 Tank Discharge, our system is not stationary, yet it
is time dependent as one of our boundaries, the water level, changes. However to
make these calculations easier we assume a quasi steady state as outlined on page
16 of Exp140 Tank Discharge Theoretical Background by Loren B. Schreiber.
That means that Comsol will perform the calculation for the velocity while the
water level is kept constant. This presents an obstacle for us as we would like to
know how the velocity profile changes as the water level drops. We can overcome
this obstacle with a feature called parametric sweep which will be covered later
down this tutorial
Before we start drawing our model we must realize the significance of
our choice of dimension. We use this geometry when our 3D model is symmetric
in both the x and y axis. What we need to draw in Comsol is a sketch which,
when rotated around the z axis 360 degrees, will give us our model
So for our model
In the 2D axisymmetric geometry
our model looks like.
Z-axis
So in this tutorial
- Our start value is the liquid level in the
beginning
- Our end value is the liquid level at the end
of the experiment
- Our step, to make this calculation short, is
0.1. Since we are decreasing our parameter
our step has to be negative, hence it is
written as -0.1. You can also choose a
smaller step size; however it will make the
calculation take longer and use up more
**Do not forget to input the units
RAM.
- After inputting the values, press add.
After adding the values
right-click on Study and
press Compute
After the calculation is done,
we can see how the velocity
profile changes as we change
the tank height.
Select Solution 2, select the
height, and press plot .
Now we can calculacte the average velocity
and see how it changes for each height.
=
In the geometry we are using the equation is
=
Comsol can find both the numerator and the
denominator for us and then we can use other
computational tools to calculate .
We need to set up both integrals.
We do that by right-clicking Derived
Units in the Results section, selecting
Integration, and then selecting Line
Integration.
Now we first evaluate the numerator
- We select Solution 2 for Data set; for Parameter Selection we select From
list. Make sure all the values of the parameter are selected. Select the
Outlet as the boundary over which we integrate
- In Expression, write spf.U(the velocity profile)*r
- Select Evaluate
When the integration is complete,
the results will appear below in a
spreadsheet format. So far we
have Lt(the level in the tank) and
the integral of spf.U*r which
corresponds to our volumetric
flow rate.
Now we determine the integral in
the denominator which represents
the area
In Expression we input r, while
everything else is kept as it was
previously.
-Press Evaluate
- The new integral will appear in
the third column
- We select the whole data set
and press Copy Selection to
Clipboard.
We copy the data in an Excel Spreadsheet and find the velocity at each height by
dividing the Volumetric Flow rate by the Area, as given by the equation on the
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