4PC00 Thermal Fluid Engineering

Practical Guide v4.5

This document is a hands-on practical guide for 4PC00 Thermal Fluid Engineering. In order
to solve the exercises below, we recommend the students to use Webnutils, which is a CFD
simulator based on the Finite Elements Method (FEM). You can access Webnutils with the
link below:
http://webnutils.tue.nl
Note that you need your TU/e credentials and the VPN connection to make an account on
this website. Once logged in you can solve the tutorial to make yourself comfortable with
the interface and the notation. Do not forget to check the cheat sheet.
This report will represent 30% of your total course grade. Please hand in your answers
through Canvas, taking into account:
• All plots should be clearly readable with properly defined axes.
• When asked for an interpretation of a result, one should not only provide a qualitative
interpretation, but also a quantitative interpretation when applicable.
• Your answer reports are to be submitted through Canvas as PDF files.
Deadline: 19-12-2024, 23:59h

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1 Poiseuille flow 3

2 2D channel with bend 6

3 2D channel with bend-bend interaction 8

4 Cooling cylinder flow 10

2
 5D

y Γwall
(0, 0)
D Ω
Γin Γout

Γwall

Figure 1: Dimensions of the Poiseuille flow domain

1 Poiseuille flow
In order to complete this exercise, students should be able to:
• Create rectangular geometries;
• Solve coupled problems (steady-state Navier-Stokes);
• Make surface plots and compute values depending on solution variables in post-
processing.
If necessary, these topics can be looked up in sections 2.1, 3.0 and 2.3 of the Webnutils
tutorial, respectively.
We consider flow with velocity u and pressure p between two plates with length 5D, as
shown in Figure 1. The distance between the plates is D. The flow is subject to the
following boundary conditions:
   y 2 

 ⃗u = u0 1 − 4 ⃗n at Γin
D




⃗u = ⃗0 at Γwall (1)
p = 0 at Γ

out




⃗u × ⃗n = 0 at Γout


where ⃗n is the outward pointing normal.

Question 1. [1pt] Give in words the interpretation of the velocity boundary condition on
Γout .
We proceed to describe the flow physics in the interior of the domain. Assuming that the
inflow velocity u0 is small, the fluid can be considered incompressible, which means we need
only consider conservation of mass and momentum.
Conservation laws can generally be presented in two different forms: (i) in integral form,
which interrelates field variables (here velocity and pressure) in terms of integrals over a
control volume and/or its boundary, and (ii) in differential form, which interrelates field
variables in terms of values and gradients in a point, i.e. as a differential equation. For
purpose of analysis we will work with the differential form in the remainder of this section.

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The expression for conservation of momentum in incompressible flow is
 
d⃗u
ρ + (⃗u · ∇⃗u) = ∇ · σ(⃗u, p). (2)
dt
The fluid-specific aspect in this relation is the constitutive relation linking stress to velocity
and pressure. The Navier-Stokes equations are based on the modeling assumption that the
hydrostatic stress component is represented by pressure, and the deviatoric stress component
1. satisfies Galilean invariance,
2. is linearly dependent on the velocity gradient,
3. is isotropic,
resulting in a stress tensor with only one parameter:
σ(⃗u, p) = µ ∇⃗u + (∇⃗u)T − pI.
 
(3)

Question 2. [2pt] What is the commonly used name for the physical property µ? Can you
explain this property based on how the stress tensor is defined?
Note that if (⃗u, p) satisfies conservation of mass and momentum, then conservation is equally
satisfied by (⃗u, p + p0 ), where p0 is a constant pressure shift. Pressure magnitude is therefore
not defined by the two conservation laws.
We define the Poiseuille velocity field as
  y 2 
ux = u0 1 − 4
D (4)
uy = 0

The head loss is defined as

2∆p
K= , (5)
ρu20
where ∆p is the pressure difference over a certain segment. For straight segments, where
length is arbitrary, a more suitable measure is the resistance coefficient λ = KD/∆x, where
∆x is the corresponding segment length.
Question 3. [5pt] Use the Navier-Stokes equation to evaluate the pressure difference over
the flow. Then, evaluate the head loss K and the resistance coefficient λ.
We now turn to Webnutils to numerically solve the problem.
Webnutils 1

Create a rectangular domain according to Figure 1 at the beginning of this section with
D = 1. Assign boundary tags for the inflow, wall and outflow boundaries.
Create a Navier-Stokes model with density ρ = 1 and viscosity µ = 1. Set a Dirichlet
boundary condition for the wall, a Dirichlet boundary condition for the inflow with u0 = 1,
and a horizontal outflow condition for the outflow boundary. Leave the outflow pressure

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unchanged (p = 0).
Create two surface plots showing the x- and y-component of the velocity, and a surface
plot of the pressure.

Question 4. [5pt] Provide the surface plots regarding both horizontal and vertical velocities.
Do they match your theory?
Question 5. [3pt] Provide the pressure surface plot. Does it match your theory?
Question 6. [5pt] Write the resistance coefficient λ in function of the gradient of pressure
∇p. Present the resulting resistance coefficient plot and compare with both results. The
gradient of pressure is available in Webnutils as st.p ,0. Is this the trend you expect to see?
Explain the differences.

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 Γout

2D

Γwall

2D

y Ω
(0, 0) 1.5D
D
Γin

Γwall

Figure 2: Dimensions of the flow domain

2 2D channel with bend

In order to complete this exercise, students should be able to perform the following:
• Geometries consisting of multiple elements; e.g. straight lines, circle segments;
• Solve a steady state Navier-Stokes problem;
• Make contour plots, define new parameters and boundary integration in
post-processing.
If necessary, these topics can be looked up in sections 4.0, 3.0, and 3.2 of the Webnutils
tutorial, respectively.
We consider flow with velocity u and pressure p in a 2D domain with width D as shown in
Figure 2, subject to the boundary conditions of Equation (1).
Webnutils 2

Starting from the simulation of the previous section, change the geometry to the channel
with the bend as shown in Figure 2. The model parameters remain the same.

Question 7. [6pt] Provide the plots of the pressure, horizontal velocity and vertical velocity.
We now proceed to investigate where energy is dissipated in flow passing through a bend.

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The kinetic energy density is defined as
ρ
e= ⃗u · ⃗u. (6)
2
If we have a region Ω delimited by surface Γ, the energy balance takes the form ∆E = W −D,
with energy variation Z Z
de
∆E = dΩ + eun dΓ, (7)
Ω dt Γ
work Z
W = ⃗σn · ⃗u dΓ (8)
Γ
and dissipation Z
D= d dΩ. (9)
Ω
The equations above result in a dissipation d = σ : ∇⃗u, where the operator : denotes the
double contraction (check the cheat sheet to see how to implement this on Webnutils).
Question 8. [4pt] Provide the plot of the dissipation. Explain the obtained results.

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 Γwall

Γout
1.5D

2D

2D

y Ω
(0, 0) 1.5D
D
Γin

Γwall

Figure 3: Dimensions of the flow domain

3 2D channel with bend-bend interaction

In order to complete this exercise, students should be able to:
• Work with geometries consisting of straight lines and circle segments;
• Solve a steady-state Navier-Stokes problem;
• Make contour plots, define new parameters and boundary integration in post-
processing.
If necessary, these topics can be looked up in sections 4.0, 3.0, and 3.2 of the Webnutils
tutorial, respectively.
We consider flow with velocity u and pressure p in a cylindrical tube with diameter D and
length 2D, a bend of radius 1.5D, followed by an opposite bend of radius 1.5D, followed
by another segment of length 2D, as shown in Figure 3. The flow is subject to boundary
conditions of Equation (1).
We start with the workspace of the previous section.
Webnutils 3

Continuing from the simulation of the previous section, update the path defining the
geometry to match Figure 3. Keep the Navier-Stokes model as in the previous section, but
with outflow set to horizontal.
Question 9. [4pt] Repeat the analysis of Question 8 to visually analyze the interaction
between the two adjacent corners. Discuss your findings.
In Section 1 we confirmed that the obtained numerical solution is correct by comparing with
the analytical solution. For complex domains analytical solutions are not available. We can,

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however, confirm that the numerical solution satisfies conservation of mass and momen-
tum. To this end we switch to the integral forms of the conservation laws for stationary
incompressible flow:

∇ · ⃗u = 0 conservation of mass (10)

µ∇2 ⃗u − ∇p = 0 conservation of momentum (11)

Question 10. [8pt] Show the plots that represent the conservation of mass, the conservation
of momentum in the x direction, and the conservation of momentum in the y direction.
Explain the obtained results.

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 Γperiodic
D
Γin
(0, 0)
D D 3D
Γcyl
Γout
D
Γperiodic

Figure 4: Dimensions of the flow domain

4 Cooling cylinder flow

In order to complete this exercise, students should be able to:
• Create simple geometries;
• Solve coupled problems, in this case the Navier-Stokes and convection diffusion equa-
tions;
• Model periodic boundary conditions.
If necessary, these topics can be looked up in sections 2.1, 4.0, and 4.1 of the Webnutils
tutorial, respectively.
Introducing a temperature field, we consider an exterior flow with velocity u, pressure p and
temperature T around an infinite array of cylinders with radius R and spacing 4R, by making
the periodic domain shown in Figure 4. The flow is subject to boundary conditions:

⃗u = −u0⃗n


at Γin



 ⃗u = 0⃗ at Γcyl

⃗u · n = 0 at Γperiodic



⃗σn = 0 at Γout (12)

T = T0 at Γin





k∂n T = h(Tcyl − T ) at Γcyl





∂n T = 0 at Γout ∪ Γperiodic


where ∂n T = ∇T · ⃗n is the normal gradient of the temperature field.

Webnutils 4

Create the geometry as shown in Figure 4, again setting D = 1. Add a Navier-Stokes

model, setting the density and viscosity to ρ = µ = 1. Add the inflow boundary with
u0 = [1, 0]. Use periodic boundary conditions for Γperiodic and add an outflow boundary
condition at Γout . Finally, add no the slip condition at Γcyl .

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Question 11. [2pt] Provide a plot with the magnitude of the velocity in the domain.
We now solve the convection diffusion diffusion equation for temperature T :
 
dT
ρcp + ⃗u · ∇T = k∆T, (13)
dt

where cp is the specific heat and k is the thermal conductivity, with the time derivative set
to zero for steady state.
We proceed by building the model in Webnutils.
Webnutils 5

Under models, proceed by adding a convection-diffusion model with diffusivity 1 and the
velocity taken to be the solution of the Navier-Stokes model. Keep the source term as 0.
Notice that the concentration represents the temperature. Add a Dirichlet inflow boundary
with concentration 0, a homogeneous Neumann boundary at Γout and a Robin boundary at
Γcyl with transfer coefficient 1 and concentration 1. Under plots, add a surface plot of the
concentration.
Question 12. [2pt] Provide a plot of the temperature field.
Question 13. [6pt] Now change the heat transfer coefficient used in the Robin boundary
condition to 0.1 and 10. Plot the corresponding temperatures in the domain. Explain the
changes.
This is the end of the practical. Please assemble your clearly separated answers in a concise
document with your names, study numbers, and the course code on the cover. Double check
that the figures are readable and include proper axes, axis labels with units, and color bars
where appropriate. Hand in your assignment through Canvas before the indicated deadline.

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