Laminar Pipe Flow

Created using ANSYS 13.0. Tutorial instructions work with ANSYS 14.0 and 15.0.
There are minor layout changes in ANSYS 15.0.
This tutorial has videos. If you are in a computer lab, make sure to have head phones.

Problem Specification

Consider fluid flowing through a circular pipe of constant radius as illustrated above.
The figure is not to scale. The pipe diameter D = 0.2 m and length L = 8 m Consider the
inlet velocity to be constant over the cross-section and equal to 1 m/s. The pressure at
the pipe outlet is 1 atm. Take density = 1 kg/ m 3 and coefficient of viscosity = 2 x
10 -3 kg/(m s). These parameters have been chosen to get a desired Reynolds number
of 100 and don't correspond to any real fluid.

Solve this problem numerically using ANSYS FLUENT. Present the following results:
Velocity vectors
Velocity magnitude contours
Pressure contours
Velocity profile at the outlet
Skin friction coefficient along the wall
Provide comparisons of the results with the full-developed analytical solution. Verify
your results.
Go to Step 1: Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
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Pre-Analysis & Start-Up

Preliminary Analysis

Start-Up

Prior to opening ANSYS, create a folder called pipe in a convenient location. We'll use
this as the working folder in which files created during the session will be stored. For
this simulation Fluent will be run within the ANSYS Workbench Interface. Start ANSYS
workbench:
Start> All Programs> Ansys 13.0> Workbench
The

following

figure

shows

the

workbench

window.

Higher Resolution Image

Management of Screen Real Estate

This tutorial is specially configured, so the user can have both the tutorial and ANSYS
open at the same time as shown below. It will be beneficial to have both ANSYS and
your internet browser displayed on your monitor simultaneously. Your internet browser
should consume approximately one third of the screen width while ANSYS should take
the
other
two
thirds
as
shown
below.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

If the monitor you are using is insufficient in size, you can press the Alt and Tab keys
simultaneously to toggle between ANSYS and your internet browser.
Go to Step 2: Geometry
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Geometry
For users of ANSYS 15.0, please check this link for procedures for turning on the Auto
Constraint feature before creating sketches in DesignModeler.
Fluid Flow (FLUENT) Project Selection
On the left hand side of the workbench window, you will see a toolbox full of various
analysis systems. To the right, you see an empty work space. This is the place where
you will organize your project. At the bottom of the window, you see messages from
ANSYS.
Left click (and hold) on Fluid Flow (FLUENT) , and drag the icon into the empty space
in the Project Schematic. Your ANSYS window should now look comparable to the
image
below.

Since we selected Fluid Flow (FLUENT), each cell of the system corresponds to a step
in the process of performing CFD analysis using FLUENT. Rename the project to
Laminar
Pipe.
We will work through each step from top down to obtain the solution to our problem.
Analysis Type
In the Project Schematic of the Workbench window, right click on Geometry and
select Properties ,
as
shown
below.

The properties menu will then appear to the right of the Workbench window.
Under Advance Geometry Options , change the Analysis Type to 2D as shown in the
image
below.

Launch Design Modeler

In the Project Schematic, double click on Geometry to start preparing the geometry.
At this point, a new window, ANSYS Design Modeler will be opened. You will be asked
to select desired length unit. Use the default meter unit and click OK .
Creating a Sketch
Start by creating a sketch on the XYPlane. Under Tree Outline, select XYPlane, then
click on Sketching right before Details View. This will bring up theSketching
Toolboxes.
Click
Here
for
Select
Sketching
Toolboxes
Demo

Click on the +Z axis on the bottom right corner of the Graphics window to have a
normal
look
of
the
XY
Plane.
Click
Here
for
Select
Normal
View
Demo
In the Sketching toolboxes, select Rectangle. In the Graphics window, create a rough
Rectangle by clicking once on the origin and then by clicking once somewhere in the
positive XY plane. (Make sure that you see a letter P at the origin before you click. The
P implies that the cursor is directly over a point of intersection.) At this point you should
have
something
comparable
to
the
image
below.

Dimensions
At this point the rectangle will be properly dimensioned.
Under Sketching Toolboxes, select Dimensions tab, use the default dimensioning
tools. Dimension the geometry as shown in the following image.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
Under the Details View table (located in the lower left corner), set V1 = 0.1m and set
H2
=
8m,
as
shown
in
the
image
below.

Click Here for Higher Resolution

Surface Body Creation
In order to create the surface body, first (Click) Concept > Surface From Sketches as
shown
in
the
image
below.

This will create a new surface SurfaceSK1. Under Details View, select Sketch1 as
the Base Objects by selecting one of the lines of the sketch and by clicking apply.
Then select the thickness to be 0.1m and click Generate to generate the surface.
Saving
At this point, you can close the Design Modeler and go back to Workbench Project
Page .
Save the project by clicking on the "Save As.." button,
, which is located on
the top of the Workbench Project Page . Save the project as "LaminarPipeFlow" in

your working directory. When you save in ANSYS a file and a folder will be created. For
instance if you save as "LaminarPipeFlow", a "LaminarPipeFlow" file and a folder called
"LaminarPipeFlow_files" will appear. In order to reopen the ANSYS files in the future
you will need both the ".wbpj" file and the folder. If you do not have BOTH, you will not
be able to access your project.

Go to Step 3: Mesh
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Mesh
In this section the geometry will be meshed with 500 elements. That is, the pipe will be
divided into 100 elements in the axial direction and 5 elements in the radial direction.
Launch Mesher

In order to begin the meshing process, go to the Workbench Project Page,

then (Double Click) Mesh.
Default Mesh

In this section the default mesh will be generated. This can be carried out two ways.
The first way is to (Right Click) Mesh > Generate Mesh, as shown in the image
below.

The second way in which the default mesh can be generated is to (Click) Mesh >
Generate
Mesh as
can
be
seen
below.

Either method should give you the same results. The default mesh that you generate
should
look
comparable
to
the
image
below.

Note that in Workbench there is generally at least two ways to implement actions as has
been shown above. For, simplicity's sake the "menu" method of implementing actions
will be solely used for the rest of the tutorial.
Mapped Face Meshing

As can be seen above, the default mesh has irregular elements. We are interested in
creating a grid style of mesh that can be mapped to a rectangular domain. This meshing
style is called Mapped Face Meshing. In order to incorporate this meshing style (Click)
Mesh Control > Mapped Face Meshing as can be seen below.

Now, the Mapped Face Meshing still must be applied to the pipe geometry. In order to
do so, first click on the pipe body which should then highlight green. Next, (Click)
Apply in the Details of Mapped Face Meshing table, as shown below.

This
process
is
shown
here
Now, generate the mesh by using either method from the "Default Mesh" section above.
You
should
obtain
a
mesh
comparable
to
the
following
image.

Edge Sizing

The desired mesh has specific number of divisions along the radial and the axial
direction. In order to obtain the specified number of divisions Edge Sizing must be
used. The divisions along the axial direction will be specified first. Now, an Edge
Sizing needs to be inserted. First, (Click) Mesh Control > Sizing as shown below.

Now, the geometry and the number of divisions need to be specified. First (Click) Edge
Selection Filter,

. Then hold down the "Control" button and then click the bottom

and top edge of the rectangle. Both sides should highlight green. Next, hit Apply under
the Details
of
Sizing table
as
shown
below.

Now,

Then,

change Type to Number

set Number

of

of Divisions as shown

Divisions to

100

in

as

the

image

shown

below.

below.

Follow the same procedure as for the edge sizing in the radial direction, except select
the left and right side instead of the top and bottom and set the Number of Division to
5. Then, generate the mesh by using either method from the "Default Mesh" section
above.
You
should
obtain
the
following
mesh.

As it turns out, in the mesh above there are 540 elements, when there should be only
500. Mesh statistics can be found by clicking on Mesh in the Tree and then by

expanding Statistics under the Details of Mesh table. In order to get the desired 500
element mesh the Behavior needs to be changed from Soft to Hardfor both Edge
Sizing's. In order to carry this out first Expand Mesh in the tree outline then click Edge
Sizing and then change Behavior to Hard under theDetails of Edge Sizing table, as
shown
below.

Then set the Behavior to Hard for Edge Sizing 2. Next, generate the mesh using either
method from the "Default Mesh" section above. You should then obtain the following
500
element
mesh.

Radial Sizing
Create Named Selections

Here, the edges of the geometry will be given names so one can assign boundary
conditions in Fluent in later steps. The left side of the pipe will be called "Inlet" and the
right side will be called "Outlet". The top side of the rectangle will be called "PipeWall"
and the bottom side of the rectangle will be called "CenterLine" as shown in the image
below.

In order to create a named selections first (Click) Edge Selection Filter,

. Then
click on the left side of the rectangle and it should highlight green. Next, right click the
left side of the rectangle and choose Create Named Selection as shown below.

Enter Inlet and click OK, as shown below.

Now, create named selections for the remaining three sides and name them according
to the diagram.
Save, Exit & Update

First save the project. Next, close the Mesher window. Then, go to the Workbench
Project

Page and

click

the Update

Project button,

Go to Step 4: Physics Setup

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Physics Setup
Your current Workbench Project Page should look comparable to the following image.
You
should
have
checkmarks
to
the
right
of Geometry and Mesh.

Next, the mesh and geometry data need to be read into FLUENT. To read in the
data (Right Click) Setup > Refresh in the Workbench Project Page as shown in the
image below. If the refresh option is not available, simply omit this step.

After you click Update, a question mark should appear to the right of the Setup cell.
This indicates that the Setup process has not yet been completed.
Launch Fluent

Double click on Setup in the Workbench Project Page which will bring up the FLUENT
Launcher. When the FLUENT Launcher appears change the options to "Double
Precision", and then click OK as shown below.The Double Precision option is used to
select the double-precision solver. In the double-precision solver, each floating point
number is represented using 64 bits in contrast to the single-precision solver which uses
32 bits. The extra bits increase not only the precision, but also the range of magnitudes
that can be represented. The downside of using double precision is that it requires more
memory.

Click

Here

for

Higher

Resolution

Twiddle your thumbs a bit while the FLUENT interface starts up. This is where we'll
specify the governing equations and boundary conditions for our boundary-value
problem. On the left-hand side of the FLUENT interface, we see various items listed
under Problem Setup. We will work from top to bottom of theProblem Setup items to
setup the physics of our boundary-value problem. On the right hand side, we have
the Graphics pane and, below that, the Commandpane.
Check and Display Mesh

First, the mesh will be checked to verify that it has been properly imported
from Workbench. In order to obtain the statistics about the mesh (Click) Mesh > Info >
Size,
as
shown
in
the
image
below.

Then,

you

should

obtain

the

following

output

in

the Command pane.

The mesh that was created earlier has 500 elements(5 Radial x 100 Axial). Note that in
FLUENT elements are called cells. The output states that there are 500 cells, which is a
good sign. Next, FLUENT will be asked to check the mesh for errors. In order to carry
out the mesh checking procedure (Click) Mesh > Checkas shown in the image below.

You should see no errors in the Command Pane. Now, that the mesh has been
verified, the mesh display options will be discussed. In order to bring up the display
options (Click) General > Mesh > Display as shown in the image below.

The previous step should cause the Mesh Display window to open, as shown below.
Note that the Named Selections created in the meshing steps now appear.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
You should have all the surfaces shown in the above snapshot. Clicking on a surface
name in the Mesh Display menu will toggle between select and unselect.
Clicking Display will show all the currently selected surface entities in the graphics
pane. Unselect all surfaces and then select each one in turn to see which part of the
domain or boundary the particular surface entity corresponds to (you will need to zoom
in/out and translate the model as you do this). For instance, if you select wall, outlet,
and centerline and then click Display you should then obtain the following output in the
graphics
window.

Now, make sure all 5 items under Surfaces are selected. The
button next
to Surfaces selects all of the boundaries while the
button deselects all of the
boundaries at once. Once, all the 5 boundaries have been selected click Display, then
close the Mesh Display window. The long, skinny rectangle displayed in the graphics
window corresponds to our solution domain. Some of the operations available in the

graphics

window

to

interrogate

the

geometry

and

mesh

are:

Translation: The model can be translated in any direction by holding down the Left
Mouse Button and then moving the mouse in the desired direction.
Zoom In: Hold down the Middle Mouse Button and drag a box from the Upper Left
Hand Corner to the Lower Right Hand Corner over the area you want to zoom in on.
Zoom Out: Hold down the Middle Mouse Button and drag a box anywhere from
the Lower
Right
Hand
Corner to
the Upper
Left
Hand
Corner.
Use these operations to zoom in and interrogate the mesh.
Define Solver Properties

In this section the various solver properties will be specified in order to obtain the proper
solution for the laminar pipe flow. First, the axisymmetric nature of the geometry must
be specified. Under General > Solver > 2D Space select Axisymmetric as shown in
the
image
below.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
Next, the Viscous Model parameters will be specified. In order to open the Viscous
Model Options Models > Viscous - Laminar > Edit.... By default, the Viscous Model
options are set to laminar, so no changes are needed. Click Cancel to exit the menu.
Now, the Energy Model parameters will be specified. In order to open the Energy Model
Options Models > Energy-Off > Edit.... For incompressible flow, the energy equation is
decoupled from the continuity and momentum equations. We need to solve the energy
equation only if we are interested in determining the temperature distribution. We will

not deal with temperature in this example. So leave the Energy Equation set to off and
click Cancel to exit the menu.
Define Material Properties

Now, the properties of the fluid that is being modeled will be specified. The properties of
the fluid were specified in the Problem Specification section. In order to create a new
fluid (Click) Materials > Fluid > Create/Edit... as shown in the image below.

In the Create/Edit Materials menu set the Density to 1kg/m^3 (constant) and set
the Viscosity to 2e-3 kg/(ms) (constant) as shown in the image below.

Click
Here
for
Click Change/Create. Close the window.

Higher

Resolution

Define Boundary Conditions

At this point the boundary conditions for the four Named Selections will be specified.
The boundary condition for the inlet will be specified first.
Inlet Boundary Condition

In order to start the process (Click) Boundary Conditions > inlet > Edit... as shown in
the
following
image.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
Note that the Boundary Condition Type should have been automatically set
to velocity-inlet. Now, the velocity at the inlet will be specified. In the Velocity
Inlet menu set the Velocity Specification Method to Components, and set the AxialVelocity
(m/s) to
1
m/s,
as
shown
below.

Click
Here
for
Then, click OK to close the Velocity Inlet menu.

Higher

Resolution

Outlet Boundary Condition

First,

select outlet in

the Boundary

Conditions menu,

as

shown

below.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
As can be seen in the image above the Type should have been automatically set
to pressure-outlet. If the Type is not set to pressure-outlet, then set it topressureoutlet. Now, no further changes are needed for the outlet boundary condition.
Centerline Boundary Condition

Select centerline in

the Boundary

Conditions menu,

as

shown

below.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
As can be seen in the image above the Type has been automatically set to wall which
is
not
correct.
Change
the Type to axis,
as
shown
below.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
When the dialog boxes appear click Yes to change the boundary type. Then click OK to
accept "centerline" as the zone name.
Pipe Wall Boundary Condition

First,

select pipe_wall in

the Boundary

Conditions menu,

as

shown

below.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
As can be seen in the image above the Type should have been automatically set
to wall. If the Type is not set to wall, then set it to wall. Now, no further changes are
needed for the pipe_wall boundary condition.
Save

In order to save your work (Click)File > Save Project as shown in the image below.

Go to Step 5: Numerical Solution

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Numerical Solution
Second Order Scheme

A second-order discretization scheme will be used to approximate the solution. In order

to implement the second order scheme click on Solution Methods then click
on Momentum and select Second Order Upwind as shown in the image below.

Click Here for Higher Resolution

Set Initial Guess

Here, the flow field will be initialized to the values at the inlet. In order to carry out the
initialization
click
on Solution
Initialization then
click
on Standard
Initialization, Compute
from and
select inlet as
shown
below.

Click

Here

Then, click the Initialize button,

for

Higher

Resolution

. This completes the initialization.

Set Convergence Criteria

FLUENT reports a residual for each governing equation being solved. The residual is a
measure of how well the current solution satisfies the discrete form of each governing
equation. We'll iterate the solution until the residual for each equation falls below 1e-6.
In order to specify the residual criteria (Click) Monitors > Residuals > Edit..., as
shown
in
the
image
below.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
Next, change the residual under Convergence Criterion for continuity, xvelocity,and y-velocity,
all
to
1e-6,
as
can
be
seen
below.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Lastly, click OK to close the Residual Monitors menu.

Resolution

Monitor Drag

The following video shows you how to monitor the drag coefficient during iterations in
addition to the default residuals. The equation for the drag coefficient is given in this pdf
file.

Execute Calculation

Prior, to running the calculation the maximum number of iterations must be set. To
specify the maximum number of iterations click on Run Calculation then set
the Number of Iterations to 100, as shown in the image below.

Click
Here
for
Higher
Resolution
As a safeguard save the project now. Now, click on Calculate two times in order to run
the calculation. The residuals for each iteration are printed out as well as plotted in the
graphics window as they are calculated. After running the calculation, you should obtain
the
following
residual
plot.

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Here
for
Higher
Resolution
The residuals fall below the specified convergence criterion of 1e-6 in about 48
iterations, as shown below. Actual number of convergence steps may vary slightly.

Click
At

this

Here
point,

for
save

the

Higher
project

once

Resolution
again.

Go to Step 6: Numerical Results

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Numerical Results
The results steps shown below are for the CFD-Post postprocessor that is included in
ANSYS Workbench. For instructions to view the results in the traditional FLUENT postprocessor, click here.
Velocity Vectors

The following video shows how to visualize velocity vectors.

Summary of the above video:
1.
2.
3.
4.
a.
b.
c.
5.
a.
b.

At the project schematic, double click on Results

Click on the Z axis to view the XY plane
Click periodic 1
Add velocity vector
Click on vector icon between the Location drop down menu and the Contour icon
In the Details menu, select periodic 1 for the Location
Click Apply
To make the vector symbols smaller
In the details menu of Velocity vectors, select the Symbol tab
Enter 0.1 for the Symbol Size
Velocity Magnitude Contours

The following video shows how to plot velocity magnitude contours. In order to get a
better view of the contours, the video also shows how to stretch the domain in the radial
direction as well as reflect it about the axis.
Summary of the above video:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
a.
b.
7.

Click on the Contours icon next to the Velocity Vectors icon

Name it Velocity Magnitude
In the Details of Velocity magnitude, selection periodic 1 for Location
In the variable dropdown menu, select Velocity
Click Apply
To get more contours
Scroll down the details geometry tab
Enter 51 contours in the # of Contours blank
To scale the diagram

a.
b.
c.
d.
8.
9.
a.
b.
c.

Click on the View tab inside the Details menu

Check Apply Scale
Enter 10 in the radial direction (2nd blank)
Click Apply
Turn off the wireframe by unchecking Wireframe under User Locations and Plots in the main tree
To reflect the diagram to better represent a pipe
Scroll down the View tab
Check Apply Reflection Mirroring
In the Method dropdown menu, select ZX Plane

In ANSYS version 14.5, only one half of the pipe cross-section is displayed after using
the mirroring option. You can work around this by applying the mirroring condition in the
"Default transform" setting instead of the "View" Tab from the above video. To do this
select "Default Transform" in the left-hand menu, uncheck "Instancing Info from
Domain", check "Apply Reflection" and select to mirror about the ZX Plane.

Velocity Profile at the Outlet

The following video shows how to plot the velocity profile at the outlet.
Summary of the above video:
1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
2.
3.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

Create a line at the outlet

Click on the Location icon at the toolbar
Select Line
Name it Pipe Outlet
For Point 1, enter 8 0 0
For Point 2, enter 8 .1 0
Click on Apply
Uncheck Velocity magnitude and check Wireframe to verify the location of the two points
Plot the axial velocity along this line
Click on the Chart icon in the toolbar
Name it Velocity Profile
Click on the 3D viewer by clicking the tab at the bottom
Click on the Data Series tab in Details of Velocity Profile
In the Location dropdown menu, select Pipe Outlet
Click on the X Axis tab
In the Variable dropdown menu, select Velocity U
Click on the Y Axis tab

i. In the Variable dropdown menu, select Y (radial distance)

j. Click Apply and you should see a plot in the Chart Viewer tab to the right
4. To export the data to Excel, in the Details of Velocity Profile, click Export

Tip: You can increase the number of Samples along the "Pipe Outlet location" to get a
smoother curve (though it might not make a difference here since the radial mesh is
very
coarse).
See
snapshot
below.

Axial Variation of Pressure

The following video shows how to plot the pressure variation along the wall and the
axis.

Summary of the above video:

1.
2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
3.
a.
b.
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

Go to 3D Viewer tab
To plot the pressure along the centerline
In the toolbar, click on the Location dropdown menu
Select Line
For Point 1, enter 0 0 0
For Point 2, enter 8 0 0
To plot the pressure along the pipe wall, duplicate Centerline under User Locations and Plots
For Point 1, enter 0 0.1 0
For Point 2, enter 8 0.1 0
Create a Chart by clicking the Chart icon in the toolbar
Name this Axial Pressure Variation
In the Details menu, click on the Data Series tab
In the Locatin dropdown menu, select Centerline
Click on the X Axis tab
For the Variable dropdown menu, select X
Click on the Y Axis tab
For the Variable dropdown menu, leave as pressure
Go back to Data Series tab
Add another line by clicking on the New Icon
For Location dropdown menu, select Pipe Wall

You can increase the number of Samples for "Centerline" and "Pipe Wall" locations to
get smoother curves.
Skin Friction Coefficient

The video below explains how the skin friction coefficient is calculated in FLUENT and
the need for setting reference values.

To plot the skin friction coefficient in CFD Post, follow the steps in the video below.
Summary of the above video:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
a.

Go to the Project Schematic page, click on Solution

In Fluent, under Reference values, make sure the density and velocity are of value 1
Click on File > Data File Quantities, select Skin Friction Coefficient
Click on Run Calculation tab > Calculate
Go back to Project Schematic
Double click on Results
Create a Chart by clicking on the Chart Icon in the toolbar
Name it Cf

b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
8.
a.
b.
c.
d.

Click on the Data Series tab in Details of Cf window

For the Location dropdown menu, select Pipe Wall
For the X Axis tab, select Variable X
For the Y Axis tab, select Variable Skin Friction Coefficient
Press Apply
To get a smoother plot
Go to Pipe Wall in the tree
Scroll down in Geometry tab
Increase Sample to 100
Press apply

Go to Step 7: Verification & Validation

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Verification & Validation

It is very important that you take the time to check your solution. This section leads
you through some checks on the solution.

Check Boundary Conditions

In the previous step, we already checked that the FLUENT solution satisfies the
boundary conditions on velocity. One can check the boundary condition on pressure in
a similar fashion.

Check Mass Imbalance

On the menu bar, click on Report > Result Reports. Make sure Fluxes is highlighted
and click Set Up.... Check that Mass Flow Rate is selected before selecting all the
boundaries except interior-surface_body, as shown in the figure below.

Check Momentum Imbalance

The following video shows you how to evaluate the momentum imbalance in the axial
direction. This pdf file derives the equation to implement.

Check Discretization Error

Let's repeat the FLUENT solution on a finer mesh. For the finer mesh, we will increase
the number of radial divisions from 5 to 10. In the Workbench Project Page right click
on Mesh then
click Duplicate as
shown
below.

Higher
Resolution
Image
Rename the duplicate project to Laminar Pipe Flow (mesh 2) . You should have the
following
two
projects
in
your Workbench
Project
Page .

Next, double click on the Mesh cell of the Laminar Pipe Flow (mesh 2) project. A new
ANSYS Mesher window will open. Under Outline , expand Mesh and click on Edge
Sizing ,
as
shown
below.

Under Details of "Edge Sizing", enter 10 for Number of Divisions , as shown below.

Higher

Resolution

Image

Sometimes, you need to turn-off "Advanced Size Function" under "Details of Mesh" to
get the mesher to accept the modified settings. That way the Advanced Size Function
feature will not over-ride your settings (this feature is useful for meshing complex
geometries). Click Mesh in the tree and turn off Advanced Size Function under "Details
of
Mesh"
as
shown
below.

Then,

click Update to

generate

the

new

mesh.

The mesh should now have 1000 elements (10 x 100). A quick glance of the mesh
statistics
reveals
that
there
are
indeed
1000
elements.

Higher Resolution Image

Compute the Solution

Close the ANSYS Mesher to go back to the Workbench Project Page . Under Laminar
Pipe Flow (mesh 2) , right click on Fluid Flow (FLUENT) and click on Update , as
shown
below.

Higher

Resolution

Image

Now, wait a few minutes for FLUENT to obtain the solution for the refined mesh. After
FLUENT
obtains
the
solution,
save
your
project.
It is necessary to check that the solution iterations have converged. Launch FLUENT by
double clicking on Solution of the "Laminar Pipe Flow (mesh 2)" project in
the Workbench Project Page . After FLUENT launches, select Monitors > Residuals
>
Edit... and
then Plot ,
as
shown
in
the
images
below.

It looks like my solution hasn't converged, so I need to run more iterations by

selecting Run Calculation . You may want to increase the number of iterations to, say,
1000. Ensure that you have a converged solution and save the project.

If you double-click on Results for mesh 2 in the project page, you'll see that all results
have been updated for the new mesh. Also, you can drag Solution for the original mesh
on to Results for mesh 2 in the project page. CFD-Post will automatically add the
results from the original mesh to the plots for mesh 2. For instance, you will get the
velocity profiles for both meshes in the same plot and you can export that to Excel and
compare
with
the
full-developed
analytical
solution.
For instructions to compare results in the traditional FLUENT post-processor, click here
and scroll down.

Check Against Hand Calculations

The following figure shows the comparison of the velocity profile at the outlet. Note that
the green line represents hand calculated values.

Go to Exercises
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Exercises
Exercise 1: Vertical Channel Flow
Problem Specification (pdf file)

Exercise 2: Laminar Flow within Two Rotating Concentric

Cylinders
Contributed by Prof. John Cimbala and Matthew Erdman, The Pennsylvania State University

Problem Specification (pdf file)

The video below shows how to use ANSYS Fluent to set up and solve a problem like
this.

Exercise 3: Laminar Pipe Flow

Consider developing ow in a pipe of length L = 8 m, diameter D = 0.2 m, = 1 kg/m3 ,
=2 10^3 kg/m s, and entrance velocity u_in = 1 m/s (the conditions specified in
the Problem Specification section). Use FLUENT with the "second-order upwind"

scheme for momentum to solve for the oweld on meshes of 100 5, 100 10 and
100 20 (axial divisions radial divisions).
1. Plot the axial velocity proles at the exit obtained from the three meshes. Also, plot
the corresponding velocity prole obtained from fully-developed pipe analysis. Indicate
the equation you used to generate this prole. In all, you should have four curves in a
single plot. Use a legend to identify the various curves. Axial velocity u should be on the
abscissa and r on the ordinate.
2. Calculate the shear stress Tau_xy at the wall in the fully-developed region for the
three meshes. Calculate the corresponding value from fully-developed pipe analysis.
For each mesh, calculate the % error relative to the analytical value. Include your
results
as
a
table:

3. At the exit of the pipe where the ow is fully-developed, we can define the error in the
centerline
velocity
as

where u_c is the centerline value from FLUENT and u_exact is the corresponding exact
(analytical)
value.
We
expect
the
error
to
take
the
form

where the coefficient K and power p depend upon the order of accuracy of the
discretization. Using MATLAB, perform a linear least squares t of

to obtain the coecients p and K. Plot vs. r (using symbols) on a log-log plot. Add a
line corresponding to the least-squares t to this plot.
Hint: In FLUENT, you can write out the data in any "XY" plot to a le by selecting the
"Write to File" option in the Solution XY Plot menu. Then click on Write and enter a
lename. You can strip the headers and footers in this le and read this into MATLAB
as column data using the load function in MATLAB.

4. Let's see how p changes when using a rst-order accurate discretization. In FLUENT,
use "rst-order upwind" scheme for momentum to solve for the oweld on the three
meshes. Repeat the calculation of coecients p and K as above. Add this vs. r data
(using symbols) to the above log-log plot. Add a line corresponding to the least-squares
t to this plot. In all, you should have four curves on this plot (two each for second- and
rst-order discretization). Make sure you include an appropriate legend in the gure.
Contrast the value of p obtained in the two cases and briey explain your results (23sentences).
Hint: To interpret your results, you should keep in mind that the rst or second-order
upwind discretization applies only to the inertia terms in the momentum equation. The
discretization of the viscous terms is always second-order accurate.
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Comments
Do you have any questions or comments about this tutorial? To post comments and to
see all previous discussion posts on this tutorial, please click on the following link:
Piazza Discussion - Laminar Pipe Flow
First time using our Piazza discussion board? Please click on the following link to enroll
in our class:
Piazza Sign-Up Tutorial
Don't worry, it is quick and easy! After enrollment, you will be able to access the
discussion pages for all SimCafe tutorials. Rest assured that you can post anonymously
if you wish.
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Turbulent Pipe Flow

Created using ANSYS 13.0
This tutorial has videos. If you are in a computer lab, make sure to have head phones.

Problem Specification

Let's revisit the pipe flow example considered in the previous exercise. As before, the inlet
velocity is 1 m/s, the fluid exhausts into the ambient atmosphere and density is 1 kg/m3. For =
2 x 10 -5 kg/(ms), the Reynolds no. based on the pipe diameter and average velocity at the inlet is

This change of viscosity has taken us from a Reynolds number of 100 to 10,000. At this
Reynolds number, the flow is usually completely turbulent.
We'll solve this problem numerically using ANSYS FLUENT. Among the results we'll look at
are centerline velocity, skin friction coefficient and the axial velocity profile at the outlet.
Go to Step 1: Pre-Analysis & Start-Up
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Pre-Analysis & Start-Up

Preliminary Analysis

A turbulent flow exhibits small-scale fluctuations in time. It is usually not possible to resolve
these fluctuations in a CFD calculation. So the flow variables such as velocity, pressure, etc. are
time-averaged. Unfortunately, the time-averaged governing equations are not closed. (i.e. They
contain fluctuating quantities which need to be modeled using a turbulence model.) No
turbulence model is currently available that is valid for all types of flows and so it is necessary to
choose and fine-tune a model for particular classes of flows.
In this exercise, you'll be turned loose on variants of the k- model. But in the real world, tread
with great caution: you should evaluate the validity of your calculations using a turbulence
model very carefully (which, ahem, means that there is no getting away from studying fluid
dynamics concepts and numerical methods very carefully). FLUENT should not be used as a
black box. The k- models consist of two differential equations: one each for the turbulent kinetic
energy k and turbulent dissipation . These two equations have to be solved along with the timeaveraged continuity, momentum and energy equations. So turbulent flow calculations are much
more difficult and time-consuming than laminar flow calculations. This is an exercise to whet
your appetite for turbulent flow calculations.

Start ANSYS FLUENT

Since the flow is axisymmetric, the geometry is a rectangle as in the Laminar Pipe Flow tutorial.
We will first use a 100x30 mesh (i.e. 100 divisions in the axial direction and 30 divisions in the
radial direction).
We could create this mesh from scratch, as in the Laminar Pipe Flow tutorial, but instead, we
will modify the previous 100x5 to get the 100x30 mesh. This will introduce you to the art of
modifying meshes in the ANSYS Workbench Mechanical Mesher.
Go to Step 2: Geometry
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Geometry
For this tutorial we are going to be using the same geometry that we created in the previous
tutorial. Once you have completed the Laminar Pipe Flow tutorial, you can open the saved
project and use it as a template for this tutorial.
Go to Step 3: Mesh
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Mesh
You should have completed the Laminar Pipe Flow tutorial before continuing with this one. The
starting point for this tutorial is the ending point of the one before it. If you bring up the project
we have already completed, you can follow the next steps.
Right click on Mesh . Then click on Duplicate, which will duplicate the mesh from the previous
tutorial. Enter "Turbulent Flow" in the highlighted field to rename it. At this point your project
schematic window should appear as below:

Next, double click on the Mesh cell so we can edit the mesh.

We need to change the edge sizing, as we did in the previous tutorial, to 100 by 30 (instead of
100 by 5). We are also going to need to bias it. This is because we want smaller divisions the
closer you get to the wall. First, right click on Edge Sizing 2 in the Project tree on the left, and
click Delete to remove the existing edge sizing on the inlet and outlet.
Next, we'll apply an edge sizing with bias to the inlet, the left end of the pipe. Click Mesh
Control > Sizing. Using the edge selection tool, highlight the inlet (left end) of the pipe and
click Apply next to Geometry. As in the Laminar Pipe Flow tutorial, change Type to Number
of Divisions, and enter 30. Change Behavior to Hard. Now, let's apply a bias to the edge sizing.
Under Bias Type, select the second option, - ----. Enter a Bias Factor of 10. Your Details
of "Edge Sizing 2" should now appear like the image below.

Now we would like to apply an edge sizing to the outlet, the right end of the pipe. Once again,
we'll use 30 divisions, with a bias factor of 10 and with the smaller divisions at the top, near the
wall. This time, when selecting Bias Type, choose the first option, ---- -. This will put the
smallest divisions at the top. Other than this, the procedure is the same as for the inlet. When
complete, your Details of "Edge Sizing 3" should look like this:

Right click on Mesh and select "Generate Mesh". The bias factor generates a finer mesh near the
pipe wall. This is done to compute the small fluctuation in fluid property near the wall.

Next, close the meshing window to return to the main project view.
Recall that we created the following boundary types for the 100x5 mesh in the Laminar Pipe
Flow tutorial:
Edge Position Name
Type
Left
inlet
VELOCITY_INLET
Right
outlet
PRESSURE_OUTLET
Top
wall
WALL
Bottom
centerline AXIS

Go to Step 4: Physics Setup

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Useful Information
Click here for the FLUENT 6.3.26 version.

Physics Setup
Launch FLUENT

We will be working within ANSYS Workbench. To launch FLUENT, double click on the Setup
cell from the Project view. Make sure the Double Precision option is selected. This will use 64
bits (rather than 32) per floating point number, decreasing round-off errors.

Once Fluent has opened, select Problem Setup > General > Display...
Make sure all 5 items under Surfaces are selected. Then click Display. Remember that we can
zoom in using the middle mouse button. Zoom in and admire the mesh. How many divisions are
there in the radial direction?

Recall that you can look at specific components of the mesh by choosing the entities you wish to
view under Surfaces (click to select and click again to deselect a specific boundary). Click
Display again when you have selected your boundaries. Use this feature and make sure that the
boundary labels correspond to the correct geometric entities.
Define Governing Equations

Problem Setup > General > Solver

Choose Axisymmetric under 2D Space. As in the laminar pipe flow tutorial, we'll use the
defaults of Pressure-Based Type, Steady flow and Absolute Velocity Formulation.
Problem Setup > Models > Energy...
The energy equation can be turned off since this is an incompressible flow and we are not
interested in the temperature. Make sure Energy - Off appears.
Problem Setup > Models > Viscous - Laminar
Click Edit... and choose k-epsilon (2eqn). Notice that the window expands and additional
options are displayed on choosing the k-epsilon turbulence model. Under Near-Wall Treatment,
pick Enhanced Wall Treatment. This option uses a blended function to go between a two-layer
model and standard wall functions. If the mesh near the wall is fine enough, the two-layer model
is used. Otherwise, standard wall functions are used. You could alternately use Standard Wall
Functions; this will work well when 30 < y+ < 100. Refer to the turbulence chapter in the
FLUENT user manual.

Click OK.
Problem Setup > Materials
Double click on air and change Density to 1.0 kg/m^3 and Viscosity to 2e-5 kg/(m*s). These
are the values in the Problem Specification and are picked to give us a Reynolds number of
10,000. We'll take both as constant.

Click Change/Create and close the window.

Define Boundary Conditions

Problem Setup > Boundary conditions > Operating Conditions...

Recall that for all flows, FLUENT uses the gauge pressure internally. Any time an absolute
pressure is needed, it is generated by adding the operating pressure to the gauge pressure. We'll
use the default value of 1 atm (101,325 Pa) as the Operating Pressure.
Click Cancel to leave the default in place.
We'll now setup the boundary conditions at the wall, centerline, inlet and outlet.
Problem Setup > Boundary conditions
We don't need to set any parameters for the pipewall zone. FLUENT will automatically detect
that this location should be set as a wall based on its name. Verify this by selecting that zone and
looking at its type in the drop down menu.
Next, let's look at the centerline. Since we are solving an axisymmetric problem, we will set the
centerline as the axis; this will impose symmetry at this boundary. Set centerline to axis
boundary type, using the drop down menu. Click Yes and OK to confirm.

Choose inlet and click on Edit..... This boundary is set to velocity-inlet type by default which is
right in our case. Change the Velocity Specification Method to Magnitude, Normal to
Boundary. Enter 1 m/sfor Velocity Magnitude. This indicates that the fluid is coming in normal
to the inlet at the rate of 1 meter per second. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter next to the
Turbulence Specification Method. Then enter 1% for Turbulence Intensity and 0.2m for
Hydraulic Diameter. Click OK to set the boundary conditions for the inlet.

The (absolute) pressure at the outlet is 1 atm. Since the operating pressure is set to 1 atm, the
outlet gauge pressure = outlet absolute pressure - operating pressure = 0. Choose outlet under
Zone. The Type of this boundary is pressure-outlet. Click on Edit. The default value of the
Gauge Pressure is 0. Click Cancel to leave the defaults in place.
Note: Backflow in the Pressure Outlet menu refers to flow entering through an outlet boundary.
This is not likely to happen in this case. So we don't have to set the backflow parameters.
This completes the boundary condition specification.
Reference Values

Let's setup the reference values, which will be used later on while viewing non-dimensional
results (this setting doesn't affect the numerical solution).
Problem Setup > Reference Values
Select Compute from > inlet.
Go to Step 5: Numerical Solution
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Numerical Solution

We'll use second-order discretization for the momentum equation, as in the laminar pipe flow
tutorial, and also for the turbulence kinetic energy equation which is part of the k-epsilon
turbulence model.
Solution > Solution Methods
Change the Discretization for Momentum, Turbulence Kinetic Energy and Turbulence
Dissipation Rate equations to Second Order Upwind (if you do not see all of the equations scroll
down to see them).

The order of discretization that we just set refers to the convective terms in the equations; the
discretization of the viscous terms is always second-order accurate in FLUENT. Second-order
discretization generally yields better accuracy while first-order discretization yields more robust
convergence. If the second-order scheme doesn't converge, you can try starting the iterations
with the first-order scheme and switching to the second-order scheme after some iterations.
Set Convergence Criteria

Recall that FLUENT reports a residual for each governing equation being solved. The residual is
a measure of how well the current solution satisfies the discrete form of each governing equation.
We'll iterate the solution until the residual for each equation falls below 1e-6.

Solution > Monitors > Residuals, Statistic and Force Monitors

Double click on Residuals.Notice that Convergence Criterion has to be set for the k and epsilon
equations in addition to the three equations in the last tutorial. Set the Convergence Criterion to
be 1e-06 for all five equations being solved.
Select Print to Console and Plot under Options (these are the defaults). This will print as well
plot the residuals as they are calculated which you will use to monitor convergence.

Click OK.
Set Initial Guess

We'll use an initial guess that is constant over the entire flow domain and equal to the values at
the inlet:
Solution > Solution Initialization > Standard Initialization

In the Solution Initialization menu that comes up, choose inlet under Compute From. The Axial
Velocity for all cells will be set to 1 m/s, the Radial Velocity to 0 m/s and the Gauge Pressure to
0 Pa. The Turbulence Kinetic Energy and Dissipation Rate(scroll down to see it) values are set
from the prescribed values for the Turbulence Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter at the inlet.

Click Initialize (this is easy to overlook).

This completes the problem specification. Save your project.
Iterate Until Convergence

Solve for 700 iterations.

Solution > Run Calculation
In the Iterate menu that comes up, change the Number of Iterations to 700. Click Calculate.
The solution converges in a total of about 220 iterations. You may get a different number of
iterations to convergence depending on your mesh and software version.

Click here to see a higher resolution image.

We need a larger number of iterations for convergence than in the laminar case since we have a
finer mesh and are also solving additional equations from the turbulence model.
Setup Data Export

In addition to the standard data quantities, we would also like to view the results for the Skin
Friction Coefficient. This quantity is not transferred to the post-processor by default; so we have
to do it manually.
File > Data File Quantities
Under Additional Quantities, select Skin Friction Coefficient, which should be roughly half
way down. Your window should now look like this:

Go to Step 6: Numerical Results

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Numerical Results
After the solution is complete, close the FLUENT window to return to the Workbench window.
Double click Results in the main Workbench window to open CFD Post, where we will be
viewing the results. For a basic orientation on how to use CFD Post, pl. see the videos in the
results step of the Laminar Pipe Flow tutorial.
The following instructions show only how to view results using the "chart" option. But one
should really start by viewing velocity vectors, velocity/pressure/TKE contours etc. and check
that the solution looks basically right. The Laminar Pipe Flow tutorial walks you through the
steps to view vectors and contours in CFD Post.
Locations

Before viewing the results, we need to define the locations in CFD Post where we would like to
view the results, namely the wall, centerline, and outlet.

Insert > Location > Line

Rename this location "Pipe Wall". Avoid naming locations in CFD Post with identical names to
those used in FLUENT, this can cause problems. We will define the line by two points. Enter
(0,0.1,0) for Point 1 and (8,0.1,0) for Point 2. Change Samples to 100.
Repeat the process for the two other locations needed:

Name
Point 1 Point 2
"Pipe Centerline" (0,0,0) (8,0,0)
"Pipe Outlet"
(8,0,0) (8,0.1,0)
y+

Turbulent flows are significantly affected by the presence of walls. The k-epsilon turbulence
model is primarily valid away from walls and special treatment is required to make it valid near
walls. The near-wall model is sensitive to the grid resolution which is assessed in the wall unit
y+(defined in section 10.9.1 of the FLUENT user manual). We'll gloss over the details for now
and use the following rule of thumb: select the near-wall resolution such that y+ > 30 or < 5 for
the wall-adjacent cell when using the Enhanced Wall Treatment option. Look at section 10.9,
Grid Considerations for Turbulent Flow Simulations, for details.
Let's plot y+ values for wall-adjacent cells to check how it compares with the recommendation
mentioned above.
Insert > Chart
Let's rename the graph "Wall Y plus". Also, change Title to "Wall Y plus".
Data Series Tab
Rename the data series to "Y plus". Next, change Location to Pipe Wall.

X Axis Tab
Change Variable to X.
Y Axis Tab
Change Variable to Yplus.
Click Apply and our chart should appear.

As we can see, the wall _y+_value is between roughly 1.35 and 2.45. Since this is less than 5, the
near-wall grid resolution is acceptable.
Export the data to a .csv file ("comma separated values") by clicking on Export. This file can be
opened in Excel.

Centerline Velocity

Next, we would like to make a graph of the axial velocity along the centerline. We will do this
by creating another chart.
Insert > Chart
Rename this chart "Centerline Velocity", and change the title of the chart as well.
Data Series
Change Name to "Centerline Velocity", and this time set Location to "Pipe Centerline".
X Axis
Once again, change Variable to X.

Y Axis
Change Variable to Velocity u, which corresponds to the Axial Velocity.
Click Apply and our chart should appear.

Coefficient of Skin Friction

The definition of the skin friction coefficient was discussed in the laminar pipe flow tutorial.
Once again, insert another chart, naming and titling it Coefficient of Skin Friction. Rename the
data series and choose Pipe Wall for Location. Plot X on the X Axis and the Skin Friction
Coefficient on the Y Axis. When complete, your chart should match the image below:

We can see that the fully-developed value is 0.0085. Compare this with what you'd expect from
the Moody chart.
Velocity Profile

We'll plot the axial velocity at the outlet as a function of the distance from the center of the pipe.
Insert another chart, naming and titling it "Outlet Velocity". Change the name of the data series,
and set the Location to Pipe Outlet. This time, put Velocity u on the X Axis and Y on the Y Axis.
When complete, your chart should appear as below:

The axial velocity is maximum at the centerline and zero at the wall to satisfy the no-slip
boundary condition for viscous flow. Compare qualitatively the near-wall velocity gradient
normal to the wall with the laminar case. Which is larger? From this, what can you say about the
relative strengths of near-wall mixing in the laminar and turbulent cases?
Non-dimensional Velocity Profile

To create a nondimensional version of the velocity profile, we first create a variable for r/D as
shown in the the following video.
Summary of the above video:
1. In the right preview window, select Chart Viewer (Outlet Velocity selected in the tree)
2. Go to Expressions tab in the same row as Outline
1. Right click Expressions > New
2. Name "r nondim exp"
3. For Definition
1. Right click > Variables > Y
2. Insert /0.2[m] after Y
3. Apply
3. Go to Variables tab next to Outline
1. Right click on Derived > New
2. Name it r nondim
3. For Expression, select "r nondim exp"

Then we make a plot of r/D vs. u/U using the steps shown below.

Summary of the above video:

1. Go to Outline tab
2. Highlight Outlet Velocity Chart > Right click > Duplicate
1. Name it Outlet Velocity nondim
3. Go to Chart Viewer in the right preview
1. Double click on Outlet Velocity nondim to ensure you are editing this new version
2. Click on the Y Axis
3. Select Variable r nondim
4. Apply

The axis labels and legend can be modified as shown below.

Summary of the above video:
1. In the General Table
1. For Title, enter Nondimensional Velocity Profile
2. Apply
2. In the X Axis
1. Scroll down and uncheck Use data for axis labels
2. Enter in Custom Label u/U
3. In the Y Axis
1. Scroll down and uncheck Use data for axis labels
2. Enter in Custom Label r/D
4. In the Line Display
1. Double click on Series 1 (Pipe Outlet)
2. Uncheck Use series name for legend name
3. Rename to Re = 10,000

We add the corresponding laminar profile. The necessary csv file can be downloaded here.
Summary of the above video:
1. Make sure you are editing Outlet Velocity nondim by double clicking on it
2. Go to Data Series tab
1. In the white space, right click > New
2. Click File
3. Select csv file downloaded from webpage
4. Apply
3. Go to Line Display
1. Double click on the second curve
2. Uncheck Use series name for legend name
3. Name the Legend Name Laminar
4. To save a copy of the chart, click on Save Picture icon in top toolbar

Non-dimensional Turbulent Viscosity Profile

Summary of the above video:

1. Start FLUENT
2. Go to File > Data File Quatntities
1. Make sure Turbulent Velocity is selected, press OK
3. Go back to FLUENT, click on Run Calculation
1. Enter 1 in Number of Iterations
2. Calculate
4. Go back to Project Schematic
1. Right click on Results > Refresh
5. Go to CFD Post
1. Click on Expressions tab
2. Right click on Expressions > New
3. Name it mut nondim exp
4. In Definition white space:
1. Right click > Variables > Eddy Viscosity
2. Insert + 2e-5[kg/m/s]
3. Divide whole thing by molecular viscosity 2e-5[kg/m/s]
5. Apply
6. Go to Variables tab
1. Right click Derived > New
2. Name it mut nondim
3. Click Expression > select mut nondim exp
7. Go to Outline > click on Chart icon in top toolbar
1. Name it mut nondim plot
2. Click on Data series
1. Location Pipe Outlet
3. Click on X Axis
1. Variable mut nondim
4. Click on Y Axis
1. Variable r nondim
5. Apply
Tips on plotting additional derived quantities (such as velocity gradient)

In order to plot additional derived quantities such as the gradient, divergence or curl of the
velocity field, you may find these quantities in a pop-up window in CFD post. Look at the
illustration below for plotting velocity gradient in x.

Go to Step 7: Verification & Validation

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Verification & Validation

Useful Information
Click here for the FLUENT 12 version.
In order to assess the numerical accuracy of the results obtained, it is necessary to compare
results on different meshes. We'll re-do the calculation on a 100x60 mesh which has twice the
number of nodes in the radial direction as the 100x30 mesh.
In Workbench, under Turbulent Flow project, right click on Fluid Flow (FLUENT) and click
duplicate. Rename the duplicate project to Turbulent Flow Refined Mesh. You should have
three project cells in workbench.

Double click on Mesh for Turbulent Flow Refined Mesh. The ANSYS Mesher window will
open. Under Outline, expand mesh tree and click on Edge Sizing 2.
Highlight "Edge Sizing 2". Under Details of "Edge Sizing 2", increase Number of Divisions to
60. This will refine the mesh in the radial direction at the inlet.
Highlight "Edge Sizing 3". Under Details of "Edge Sizing 3", increase Number of Divisions to
60. This will refine the mesh in the radial direction at the outlet.
Click Update to generate the new mesh.
Close the ANSYS Mesher and go back to Workbench windows. Under Turbulent Flow Refined
Mesh, right click on Fluid Flow (FLUENT) and click Update. Wait for a few minutes for
FLUENT to obtain a solution and update all the results.
We would want to compare the solution on the two meshes. To do that, drag the Solution cell of
Turbulent Flow Refined Mesh to Results cell of Turbulent Flow.
Double click the Results cell of Turbulent Flow, and after CFD Post opens, we can compare our
results by simply selecting the desired chart!
Result Comparison

The following images show comparisons of Centerline Velocity, Coefficient of Skin Friction,
Outlet Velocity, and Wall Y-plus.

From the first three plots, we can see that the velocity and skin friction coefficient results have
remained nearly unchanged. However, the Y-plus results show significant improvement.
You may want to experiment with meshes of other granularities and compare their plots with the
plots saved from the 100x30 and 100x60 meshes.

In Problem 1, we will be looking at the effect of coarse meshes with uniform granularity.
Go to Exercises
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Exercises
Problem

Use FLUENT to resolve the developing flow in a pipe (same configuration as was done in the
tutorial) for a pipe Reynolds number of 10,000 on the following meshes: 100x5, 100x20 with
uniform spacing in the radial direction. Plot the skin friction cf as a function of axial location for
each grid. Compare the exit value with the expected value for fully developed flow (e.g., see
White pgs. 345-346). Recall that a key question for the integrity of the mesh is the nondimensional value of the first nodal point:

This should be either less than 4 (so that you resolve down into the viscous sublayer) or greater
than 30 (where wall functions can accurately compensate for the poorly resolved viscous
sublayer). Intermediate values can lead to greater errors. Calculate the value of y1+ for each
mesh; use that to help explain (briefly) the trends in the agreement that you observe.
Hints

If you no longer have the 100x5 or 100x20 mesh, you can download them here: pipe100x5.msh,
pipe100x20.msh
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