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CFD Learn

The document discusses steady state and transient flows in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Steady state simulations model flows that do not change over time, while transient simulations account for how flows change over time due to changing boundary conditions or inherently time-varying behavior. Sometimes steady state simulations fail to converge, indicating the actual flow may be transient in nature. Transient simulations require specifying both physical time steps and the maximum number of iterations per time step.

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kishore
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57 views

CFD Learn

The document discusses steady state and transient flows in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Steady state simulations model flows that do not change over time, while transient simulations account for how flows change over time due to changing boundary conditions or inherently time-varying behavior. Sometimes steady state simulations fail to converge, indicating the actual flow may be transient in nature. Transient simulations require specifying both physical time steps and the maximum number of iterations per time step.

Uploaded by

kishore
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CFD - Learning

Steady State and Transient Flows

The time dependence of the flow characteristics can be specified as either steady-state or transient. Steady-state simulations, by definition,
are those whose characteristics do not change with time and whose steady conditions are assumed to have been reached after a relatively
long time interval. They therefore require no real time information to describe them. Many practical flows can be assumed to be steady
after initial unsteady flow development, for example, after the start up of a rotating machine.

Transient simulations require real time information to determine the time intervals at which the CFX-Solver calculates the flow field.
Transient behavior can be caused by the initially changing boundary conditions of the flow, as in start up, or it can be inherently related to
the flow characteristics, so that a steady-state condition is never reached, even when all other aspects of the flow conditions are
unchanging. Many flows, particularly those driven by buoyancy, do not have a steady-state solution, and may exhibit cyclic behavior.

Sometimes simulations that are run in steady-state mode will have difficulty converging, and no matter what action you take regarding
mesh quality and time step size, the solution does not converge. This could be an indication of transient behavior. If you have run a steady-
state calculation and you see oscillatory behavior of the residual plots, you can test to see if you are observing a transient effect by
reducing/increasing the time step size by known factors:
• If the period of oscillation of the residual plot changes by changing the time step size, then the phenomenon is most likely a numerical
effect.
• If the period stays the same, then it is probably a transient effect.

In transient mode, you must set both physical time steps and the maximum number of coefficient iterations per time step.
Foam link
A strong or atleast functional understanding of calculus and numerical techniques is required to truly understand the code behind CFD and
program a solver. Familiarity with C, C++, Python and MATLAB will definitely help in this direction. The programming codes are written to
implement mathematical schemes.
Text Books : You can refer to 'Versteeg and Malalasekara' for a good introduction and specific guidelines/ an example to programming a
pressure based algorithm. I also recommend using John Anderson's - Introduction to CFD, which is a great book for the theory with a
gradual progression in the complexity of the mathematics involved. Another book that should help relate to the coding is 'Applied CFD -
Rainald Lohner'.
A simply worded introduction to CFD , focused on concepts and much less mathematics (and a free ebook)
> http://bookboon.com/en/textbooks/energy-environment/computational-fluid-dynamics
To understand Fluid Mechanics on a fast(er) track, try the videos and notes at > http://web.mit.edu/hml/ncfmf.html
Some very nice sources for coding examples : http://storify.com/ShreyasRagavan/software-and-code-related
Once you get along, you might want to plunge into open source CFD applications like OpenFOAM and SU2.
I'd recommend playing around with SU2 before going for openFOAM.
Have a look at the resources I've collated > http://cfdrevolutions.weebly.com/resources.html
The 'open access' and 'mathematics' sections have resources that can help with streamlining your understanding of the required calculus.
The links I've posted above are spread across different sections and are available in the website.

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