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1. Introduction
The purpose of this workshop is to simulate flow over a backward facing step. The simulation is performed
to determine, how the results from different turbulence models compare with one another, and with
experimental results. You will also check if the models can predict the reattachment point downstream
of the step.
The workshop covers many aspects of turbulent flow modeling in Fluent, including specifying models
and near wall treatments, checking y+, selecting boundary conditions, comparison with experimental
results, and comparison of results obtained with different turbulence models.
Set up and solve turbulent flows in Fluent using different models and near wall treatments.
Postprocess y+ in Fluent.
Compare results with data using CFD-Post and easily perform results comparisons using Workbench.
2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you are already familiar with the ANSYS Workbench interface and its project
workflow. This tutorial also assumes that you have completed the first workshop and that you are famil-
iar with the ANSYS Fluent tree and ribbon structure. Some steps in the setup and solution procedure
will not be shown explicitly.
3. Problem Description
Flow over a backward facing step is a standard test case for turbulence models. You will see how to
set up and solve turbulent flow problems in Fluent and learn to use CFD-Post and Workbench to compare
the results from different turbulence models with each other and with experimental data. You will also
examine how the results are affected by boundary conditions.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
5. In the window that opens, from the drop-down list next to File name, select FLUENT Mesh File.
File Save
Note
IF HPC licenses are available, you can select Parallel under Processing Options and
enter the number of processes.
Note
ANSYS Fluent will perform various checks on the mesh and will report the progress in
the console. Make sure that the reported minimum volume is a positive number.
2. Zoom in on the mesh near the bottom wall downstream of the step.
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Setup and Solution
Note
It is intended for the simulation to resolve the viscous sublayer with the mesh (no wall
functions), which requires a very fine near wall mesh to get y+ 1. Later in the workshop,
you will evaluate whether this has been achieved.
2. Set up your models for the CFD simulation using the Models group of the Setting Up Physics ribbon
tab.
i. In the Viscous Model dialog box, select k-epsilon from the Model list.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
iii. Select Enhanced Wall Treatment from the Near-Wall Treatment group.
Note
When using any k-epsilon model, the Enhanced Wall Treatment is the only
viscous sublayer resolving near wall treatment.
iv. Retain the other default settings and click OK to accept the model and close the Viscous Model
dialog box.
Note
Later on you will calculate the flow with the SST k-omega model and compare results.
a. In the Create/Edit Materials dialog box, the default fluid material is air.
d. Click Change/Create in the Create/Edit Materials dialog box and close it.
Note
These values will allow you to match the Reynolds number reported in the experiment.
4. Set up the boundary conditions for the CFD analysis using the Zones group of the Setting Up Physics
ribbon tab.
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Setup and Solution
a. In the Boundary Conditions task page, in the Zone list, select inlet_v and click Edit... to open the
Velocity Inlet dialog box.
i. In the Velocity Inlet dialog box, enter 41.7 for Velocity Magnitude (m/s).
ii. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification Method drop-down list.
4.4. Solving
1. Set up solution methods.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
a. In the Solution Methods task page, select Coupled for Scheme in the Pressure-Velocity Coupling
group box.
Note
Note
In many cases, the solution will converge in fewer iterations using Coupled plus
the Pseudo Transient method.
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Setup and Solution
a. In the Surface Report Definition dialog box, enter wall-shear-mon for the Name.
b. Under the Create group, enable Report File and Report Plot.
c. Select Wall Fluxes... and Wall Shear Stress from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
e. Click OK to save and close the Surface Report Definition dialog box.
Note
The Wall Shear Stress on the wall downstream of the step is the quantity of interest
in this simulation, so it is natural to track it with a surface report definition.
3. Similarly, create a surface report definition to track the turbulent viscosity ratio at the outlet.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
a. In the Surface Report Definition dialog box, enter turb-out-mon for the Name.
b. Under the Create group, enable Report File and Report Plot.
c. Select Turbulence... and Turbulent Viscosity Ratio from the Field Variable drop-down lists.
e. Click OK to save and close the Surface Report Definition dialog box.
Note
The solution for turbulence model variables can change very slowly in regions far
downstream from inlets. Because of this, they are often good to use for monitoring the
solution. Turbulent viscosity ratio is selected here, because it includes contributions from
both the turbulent kinetic energy and the turbulent dissipation rate, meaning both fields
have to converge before the monitor stops changing.
Solving Initialization
You can see that the residuals converge in a small number of iterations, but the monitor plots do
not definitively indicate that the solution has stopped changing.
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Setup and Solution
Note
This step is not necessary but it helps to make the y-axis range in the monitor plots
tighter, thus making it easier to see changes in the monitored variable.
a. Close the wall-shear-mon-rplot and turb-out-mon-rplot windows in the graphics display window.
i. In the Report Plot Definitions dialog box that opens, select and delete wall-shear-mon-rplot
and turb-out-mon-rplot from the list of Report Plots.
A. In the New Report Plot dialog box that opens, select wall-shear-mon from the list of
Available Report Definitions list and click Add>>.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
B. Enter turb-out-mon-rplot for Name and Plot Title and click OK.
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Setup and Solution
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
a. In the Residual Monitors dialog box, enter 1e-06 under Absolute Criteria for continuity.
Note
There is no significance to 1e-6. It is just desired to select a low value so the itera-
tions do not stop prematurely. Additional iterations will be performed and conver-
gence will be judged by whether the surface monitor plots are still changing.
Note
In the dialog box that appears, retain the selection of Use settings changes for current
calculation only. and click OK.
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Setup and Solution
You can see that neither surface monitor plot is changing and the residuals have all reached very
low levels. Together, these conditions indicate the solution is converged.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
a. In the Solution XY Plot dialog box, select Turbulence... and Wall Yplus from the Y Axis Function
drop-down lists.
b. Retain the selection of Direction Vector from the X Axis Function drop-down list.
Note
For 2D problems such as this, XY plots are an ideal way to check the y+ distribution.
Node values have been unselected because, although y+ is calculated at wall faces,
its value is stored for postprocessing in the wall adjacent cells.
e. Click Plot.
Note
These values are a little bit higher than ideal. You will see later how it affects comparison
with experiment. If this were an actual study as opposed to a workshop exercise, a mesh
sensitivity study should be done.
a. In the Vectors dialog box, enter 5 for Scale and 2 for Skip.
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Setup and Solution
Note
The vectors show the recirculation zone behind the step and the subsequent reat-
tachment of the flow. Adjust the Scale and Skip settings for optimal viewing of
the vectors.
3. Exit Fluent.
File Save
2. Right-click on the Fluent cell of the RKE system and select Duplicate from the context menu.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
a. In the Viscous Model dialog box, select k-omega from the Model list.
c. Retain the other default settings and click OK to accept the model and close the Viscous Model
dialog box.
Note
In Fluent, the turbulence models that use omega do not require the selection of a near
wall treatment. This is because the near wall treatment that is used is a y+ insensitive
method. This means it automatically behaves either as a viscous sublayer resolving
treatment or as a wall function, depending on how fine or coarse the near wall mesh
is.
Solving
8. As done previously, delete and then add the report plots (Step 4.4.6 (p. 9)), change the convergence
criteria of continuity to 1e-06 (Step 4.4.7 (p. 11)), and then calculate an additional 100 iterations.
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Setup and Solution
Y+ is qualitatively similar.
2. Click on Solution, cell 3, of the SST system and drag to Results, cell 2, of the Results system.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
4. Change the graphics window layout so that the two wireframes are displayed one below the other .
a. Retain the default name in the Insert Vector dialog box and click OK.
Note
For 2D models, CFD-Post extrudes the geometry a small distance in the 3rd direction.
The resulting symmetry planes are used for results display.
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Setup and Solution
Note
Changing the reduction factor to 2 means that only every other vector will be dis-
played, which makes the vectors easier to see.
i. Right-click in the Expressions area and select New from the context menu.
ii. In the New Expression dialog box, enter step height for Name and click OK.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
ave(Y)@inlet_bottom - ave(Y)@bottom_wall
Note
You can right-click in the details field for context menus to add functions and
locations without having to type them manually.
Note
The value displayed is 0.0127 [m]. It is also possible to type 0.0127 [m] in the
Definition field. Defining the expression as shown here will allow it to update
automatically if the step height were to be changed, for instance in a parametric
study.
b. Create another expression for the dimensionless X-coordinate, named xh expression, and define it
as X / step height .
c. Create a variable to use the previous expression to plot the wall shear stress.
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Setup and Solution
iii. In the New Variable dialog box, enter Xh for Name and click OK.
iv. In Details of Xh (scalar), retain the selection of Expression from the Method drop-down list.
v. Select xh expression from the Expression drop-down list and click Apply.
ii. Retain the default name in the Insert Polyline dialog box and click OK.
iii. In Details of Polyline 1, select Boundary Intersection from the Method drop-down list.
v. Retain the selection of bottom_wall from the Intersect With drop-down list and click Apply.
Note
There is more than one way to define this polyline, but the Boundary Inter-
section method is the most convenient in this case and its use ensures the
polyline definition would remain consistent if changes were made upstream
in the project workflow.
e. Create a chart.
Insert Chart
i. Retain the default name in the Insert Chart dialog box and click OK.
iv. In the X Axis tab, select Xh from the Variable drop-down list.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
v. In the Y Axis tab, select Wall Shear X from the Variable drop-down list.
Note
Wall Shear X is used instead of Wall Shear because the location where it
changes sign identifies the flow reattachment point.
Note
The reattachment point is identified where the shear stress changes sign
(around 6 Xh). Also, the positive values very close to the step indicate the
presence of a small secondary recirculation zone. This can also be seen by
zooming in on the vector plot and increasing the symbol size.
The size and strength of the recirculation zone predicted by either model is
remarkably similar. However, because of the proximity of the inlet to the step,
the use of uniform inlet profiles is questionable.
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Setup and Solution
vi. In the Import CFX Data File dialog box, at the bottom, select All Files from the Files of type
drop-down list.
vii. Select x-wall-shear-ds.csv from your working folder and click Open.
D. Click Apply.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
Note
The external data is from the experiment of Driver and Seegmiller. Agreement
between the CFD results and the data is not very good, however the uniform inlet
boundary conditions do not correspond to those seen experimentally in the same
location.
1. In Workbench, right-click on the RKE system and select Duplicate from the context menu.
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Setup and Solution
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
b. In the Velocity Inlet dialog box, select Components from the Velocity Specification Method drop-
down list.
e. Select K and Epsilon from the Specification Method drop-down list in the Turbulence group box.
f. Select x-coordinate-3 turb-kinetic-energy from the Turbulent Kinetic Energy (m2/s2) drop-down
list.
g. Select x-coordinate-3 turb-diss-rate from the Turbulent Dissipation Rate (m2/s3) drop-down list.
Note
The non-uniform profiles were produced by running an auxiliary calculation of the wind
tunnel section upstream of the inlet to generate a profile with the same boundary layer
thickness as the experiment.
Solving
8. Following the same steps as before, delete and then add the report plots (Step 4.4.6 (p. 9)), change the
convergence criteria of continuity to 1e-06 (Step 4.4.7 (p. 11)), and then calculate an additional 100 iter-
ations.
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Setup and Solution
As you can see, the convergence behavior is good with the new boundary conditions.
Note
By creating a duplicate of the original Fluent object, it was not necessary to redefine
any of the solution monitors, material properties or solver settings. Only the boundary
conditions needed to be changed.
a. In the Solution XY Plot dialog box, enter 0 for X and 1 for Y under Plot Direction.
b. Select Velocity... and X Velocity from the Y Axis Function drop-down list.
d. Click Axes.
i. In the Axes - Solution XY Plot dialog box, select X from the Axis group.
iv. Similarly, select Y from the Axis group and enable Major Rules and Minor Rules.
v. Click Apply and close the Axes - Solution XY Plot dialog box.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
The profile is from a developing boundary layer with freestream velocity = 44.2 m/s and a boundary
layer thickness just below 2 cm, as measured in the experiment.
11. Similar to the steps followed previously, duplicate the SST system in Workbench and rename it as SST
Profile.
12. Open Fluent from the SST system and read the profile file sst-prof.prof.
13. Set the profile to the inlet boundary condition (inlet_v) as shown in the table below.
Component Value
Velocity Specification Method Components
X-Velocity x-coordinate-3 x-velocity
Y-Velocity x-coordinate-3 y-velocity
Turbulence Specification Method K and Omega
Turbulent Kinetic Energy x-coordinate-3 turb-kinetic-energy
Specific Dissipation Rate x-coordinate-3 specific-diss-rate
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Setup and Solution
14. Initialize the solution and run for 100 iterations. Then, delete the report plots and add them back (Step
4.4.6 (p. 9) ), and continue iterating for 100 iterations after changing the convergence criteria of continuity
to 1e-06 (Step 4.4.7 (p. 11)).
Note
Select Yes if prompted whether to add a new file. (This happens in SST case. It is because,
Workbench is writing the report plot files to the directory where the .prof files are located,
and not to the directory in the Workbench project.)
16. In the Workbench Project Schematic, duplicate the Results system and rename the new one as Results
with Profiles.
17. Right-click on the connection of Results with Profiles with the SST system and select Delete from the
context menu.
18. Similarly, delete the connection of Results with Profiles with the RKE system.
19. Click on Solution, cell 3, of the RKE Profile system and drag to Results, cell 2, of the Results with Profiles
system.
20. Add a similar connection from the SST Profile system to Results with Profiles.
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Turbulent Flow Past a Backward Facing Step
21. Double-click on Results, cell 2, of the Results with Profiles system to open CFD-Post.
22. Double-click on Chart 1 in the tree and check the updated plot of comparison.
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Further Improvements
As the original Results cell was duplicated, none of the setup steps, such as defining variables and expres-
sions and loading the experimental data, needed to be repeated.
Note
Use of realistic, non-uniform velocity and turbulence profiles at the inlet greatly improves
the agreement between the results and the experiment. These results do not represent
a formal validation study.
In particular, the issue of mesh independence has not been addressed here. The intent
of this workshop is to show how to run turbulent flow calculations, the importance of
boundary conditions and how Workbench can be used to compare results from different
turbulence models.
5. Summary
This workshop has shown the steps for setting up and solving a turbulent flow:
Running a simulation and using both residuals and solution monitors to determine convergence.
When solving a particular type of flow for the first time, it can be useful to compare results from different
turbulence models and compare with data if available.
6. Further Improvements
There are many ways the simulation in this tutorial could be extended:
Mesh independence
Use Adapt Region to adapt all the cells in the mesh and re-run the calculation.
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