ANSYS® CFX ®
Conjugate Heat Transfer Analysis
Technical Brief
Robust Conjugate Heat
Transfer Capability
The ANSYS CFX coupled multi-
grid solver is a powerful and
robust CFD engine with
unsurpassed parallel
processing efficiency and
innovative multi-domain
capability. Together with the
geometric flexibility and fully
implicit treatment of conjugate
heat transfer (CHT), this
software provides fast and
accurate solutions for the
widest range of combined fluid-
solid heat transfer problems.
CHT simulation in ANSYS CFX
software is invaluable for investigating
local variations in flow and heat
transfer. This figure shows the non-
uniformity of the wall heat transfer
coefficient on the outer surface of the
heat exchanger tubes caused by local
flow variations, which in turn leads to
temperature maldistribution and
thermal inefficiencies. With ANSYS
CFX, the effects of design changes,
such as the inclusion of baffles within
the shell, can be investigated quickly.
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Optimizing heat transfer between fluids and solids is critical in many types
of industrial equipment. Examples include heat transfer in pre-heaters,
economizers and inter-coolers used in power generation; cooling of turbine
blades, engine blocks and cylinder heads; and heating or cooling to control
reaction rates in chemical reactors and reformers.
When performing a conjugate heat
transfer simulation with ANSYS CFX
software, the fluid-solid interface is
handled automatically. The mesh on
the fluid and solid side does not
need to match node for node,
allowing you to choose the best
meshing approach for each
component.
Geometry courtesy PCA Engineers.
Conventional heat transfer analysis often is limited by dependence on wall
correlations that are valid only for specific types of equipment and
operating ranges. While such correlations, where applicable, provide useful
information on global heat exchanger performance, truly optimized designs
require that detailed local flow and heat transfer behavior be understood.
ANSYS CFX software includes a conjugate heat transfer (CHT)
capability, in which calculation of pure thermal conduction through solid
materials (for example, the tube walls in a shell and tube heat exchanger) is
coupled with the calculation of the temperature in the working fluids.
ANSYS CFX software features the latest technology for solving fluid flows in
general 3-D domains: a coupled multi-grid solver for rapid convergence,
fully unstructured mixed-element meshing for geometric flexibility, and CHT
through its multi-domain capability.
Multi-Domain Approach to CHT
ANSYS CFX contains multi-domain capability for which different physics
can be defined in two or more domains for a given simulation. CHT is one
example of multi-domain simulation. This same multi-domain approach is
much more than a simple CHT capability. A simulation might involve three
domains, including a single phase combusting air-fuel mixture outside a
pipe, the pipe wall and multiphase flow of a liquid inside the pipe wall.
Technical Brief
Temperature distribution in a plane
through a single-pass shell and tube
heat exchanger. ANSYS CFX software
models the shell-side fluid, tube-side
fluid and the solid tube walls in a
single simulation.
Simulation of the steady-state
conjugate heat transfer between a hot
vapor and metal blades in a steam
turbine. The solution of the fluid and
heat transfer equations is solved in a
rotating frame of reference
appropriate for rotating machinery
applications. This figure shows the
temperature distribution on a plane
through the centre of the hub, shroud,
turbine blades and blade passages.
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Conduction through the wall can be modeled. If the pipe is translucent,
radiative heat transfer can be modeled simultaneously among the three
domains. If the pipe material is permeable, the diffusion of a contaminant or
chemical could also be modeled among the three domains. Such physical
process interactions between domains are all handled in a fully implicit and
automatic fashion.
Geometric Flexibility
ANSYS CFX software’s direct CAD import and advanced unstructured mesh
generation capabilities allow the CHT option to be applied to a wide range
of complex designs. Existing meshes can also be imported from other
packages. Further, the meshing in the fluid and in the CHT solid does not
have to match node to node at the solid-fluid interface. Non-matching mesh
technology is used to automatically connect fluid and solid interfaces,
based on the proven ANSYS CFX general grid interface (GGI) technology.
The ability to generate meshes independently in the fluid and solid domains
is a critical technology enabling practical CHT simulations.
Advanced Thermal-Mechanical Solid Analysis
In many cases the CHT solid physical models inside the ANSYS CFX solver
are sufficient for the thermal analysis. But in some situations (for example
solids made of complex laminates, or when there is a significant
mechanical-thermal-fluid interaction such as a bi-metallic strip in a fluid
flow), it is advantageous to couple ANSYS CFX software with the ANSYS®
Multiphysics™ solver in a two-way fluid structure interaction simulation.
The ANSYS® software suite uses proprietary inter-solver communication
technology to enable this level of multiphysics analysis in a way that
remains computationally robust and efficient.
Ease of Use
ANSYS CFX simplifies data input by providing an extensive database of the
materials commonly used in heat transfer equipment. For unusual or
proprietary materials, the CFX Command Language™ allows direct entry of
physical property data.
ANSYS CFX software can be
coupled with the ANSYS
Multiphysics solver to
perform fluid structure
interaction simulation with
CHT, such as in this bi-
metallic strip.
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