Introduction of Computational Fluid Dynamics

1. Basics of Computational Fluid Dynamics

1.1. Concept of Computational Fluid Dynamics

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is the simulation of fluids engineering systems using
modeling (mathematical physical problem formulation) and numerical methods (discretization
methods, solvers, numerical parameters, and grid generations, etc.). The process is as figure 1.

Figure 1 Process of Computational Fluid Dynamics

Firstly, we have a fluid problem. To solve this problem, we should know the physical properties of
fluid by using Fluid Mechanics. Then we can use mathematical equations to describe these physical
properties. This is Navier-Stokes Equation and it is the governing equation of CFD. As the Navier-
Stokes Equation is analytical, human can understand it and solve them on a piece of paper. But if we
want to solve this equation by computer, we have to translate it to the discretized form. The translators
are numerical discretization methods, such as Finite Difference, Finite Element,
Finite Volume methods. Consequently, we also need to divide our whole problem domain into many
small parts because our discretization is based on them. Then, we can write programs to solve them.
The typical languages are Fortran and C. Normally the programs are run on workstations or
supercomputers. At the end, we can get our simulation results. We can compare and analyze the
simulation results with experiments and the real problem. If the results are not sufficient to solve the
problem, we have to repeat the process until find satisfied solution. This is the process of CFD.

1.2. Importance of Computational Fluid Dynamics

There are three methods in study of Fluid: theory analysis, experiment and simulation (CFD). As a
new method, CFD has many advantages compared to experiments. Please refer table 1.

Simulation (CFD) Experiment

Cost Cheap Expensive
Time Short Long
Scale Any Small/Middle
Information All Measured Point
Repeatable Yes Some
Safety Yes Some Dangerous

Table 1 Comparison of Simulation and Experiment

1.3. Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics

As CFD has so many advantages, it is already generally used in industry such as aerospace,
automotive, biomedicine, chemical processing, heat ventilation air condition, hydraulics, power
generation, sports and marine etc.

1.4. Physics of Fluid

Fluid is liquid and gas. For example, water and air. Fluid has many important properties, such as
velocity, pressure, temperature, density and viscosity.

The density (1) of a fluid is its mass per unit volume. If the density of fluid is constant (or the change is
very small), we call the fluid is incompressible fluid. If the density of fluid is not constant, we call the
fluid is compressible fluid. Normally, we can treat water and air as incompressible fluid. If the fluid is
incompressible, we can simplify the equations for this type of fluid.

M kg
ρ= 3 (1)
V m
The viscosity (2) is an internal property of a fluid that offers resistance to flow. For example, to stir
water is much easier than to stir honey because the viscosity of water is much smaller than honey.

Ns
µ= 3 = [Posie] (2)
m

Table 2 shows the densities and viscosities of air, water and honey.

Substance Air (18ºC) Water (20ºC) Honey (20ºC)

3
Density (kg/m ) 1.275 1000 1446
Viscosity (P) 1.82e-4 1.002e-2 190

2. 2. Navier-Stokes Equations

2.1. Conservation Law

Navier-Stokes equations are the governing equations of Computational Fluid Dynamics. It is

based on the conservation law of physical properties of fluid. The principle of conservational law
is the change of properties, for example mass, energy, and momentum, in an object is decided by
the input and output.

For example, the change of mass in the object is as follows

dM
dt = m&in − m&out (3)

If m&in − m&out = 0 , we have

dM = 0 (4)
dt
Which means
M = const (5)

2.2. Navier-Stokes Equation

Applying the mass, momentum and energy conservation, we can derive the continuity
equation, momentum equation and energy equation as follows.
Continuity Equation

Dρ ∂U
+ρ i =0 (7)
Dt ∂xi

Momentum Equation

∂U j ∂U j ∂P ∂τ ij
ρ + ρUi =− − + ρg j (8)
123
∂t ∂xi ∂x j ∂xi {
14243 { { V

I II III IV

Where

∂U j ∂U i 2 ∂U k
τ = −µ + + δ µ (9)
ij ∂x ∂x 3 ij ∂x
i j k
I: Local change with time
II: Momentum convection
III: Surface force
IV: Molecular-dependent momentum exchange (diffusion)
V: Mass force

Energy Equation

2
ρc ∂T + ρc U i ∂T = −P ∂U i + λ ∂ T2 −τ ∂U j (10)
µ ∂t µ ∂x ∂x ∂x ij ∂x
123 i i i i
I 14243 123 123 123
II III IV V

I: Local energy change with time

II: Convective term
III: Pressure work
IV: Heat flux (diffusion)
V: Irreversible transfer of mechanical energy into heat

If the fluid id compressible, we can simplify the continuity equation and momentum equation as
follows.

Continuity Equation

∂U i = 0 (11)
∂xi
Momentum Equation
 ∂U j ∂U j ∂P ∂ 2U j
ρ + ρU i =− − µ 2 + ρg (12)
∂t ∂x ∂x ∂x j
i j i

2.3. General Form of Navier-Stokes Equation

To simplify the Navier-Stokes equations, we can rewrite them as the general form.

∂(ρΦ) ∂ ∂Φ
ρU Φ − Γ
∂t + ∂x i Φ ∂x = qΦ (13)
i i

When Φ = 1,U j ,T , we can respectively get continuity equation, momentum equation and energy
equation.

3. Finite Volume Method

The Navier-Stokes equations are analytical equations. Human can understand and solve them, but
if we want to solve them by computer, we have to transfer them into discretized form. This
process is discretization. The typical discretization methods are finite difference, finite element
and finite volume methods. Here we introduce finite volume method.

3.1. The Approach of Finite Volume Method

Integrate the general form of Navier-Stokes equation over a control volume and apply Gauss
Theory

∂
∫ ∂x ΦdV = ∫ Φ ni dS (14)
V iS

We can get the integral form of Navier-Stoke equation

∂( ρΦ) ∂Φ
∫ ∂t dV + ∫ ρUiΦ − Γ ∂x ni dS = ∫ qΦ dV (15)
V S i V

To approximate the the volume integral, we can multiply the volume and the value at the center of
the control volume. For example, we have a 2D domain as fig 2. To approximate the mass and
momentum of control volume P, we have
 m = ∫ ρ dV ≈ ρ pV , mu = ∫ ρiui dV ≈ ρPuPV (16)
Vi Vi

To approximate the surface integral, for example pressure force, we have

∫ Si P dS ≈ ∑ Pk Sk k = n, s, e, w (17)
k
Normally we store our variables at the center of control volume, so we need to interpolate them to

get Pk , which are located at the surface of control volume.

Typically, we have two types of interpolations, one is upwind interpolation, and the other one is
central interpolation.
U
UP E

Ue

Figure 2 2D Structured Grid Domain

Upwind Interpolation
rr
U P if (U n) e
>0
Ue = r
r
U
E if (U n)e < 0
Central Interpolation

U = U λ +U (1− λ ) λ = xe − xP
e E e P e e
xE − xP

3.2. Conservation of Finite Volume Method

If we use finite difference and finite element approach to discretized Navier-Stokes equation, we have
to manually control the conservation of mass, momentum and energy. But with finite volume method,
we can easily find out that, if the Navier-Stokes equation is satisfied in every control volume, it will
automatically be satisfied for the whole domain. In another words, if the conservation is satisfied in
every control volume, it will be automatically satisfied in whole domain.
That is the reason why finite volume is preferred in computational fluid dynamics.

4. Grids

There are three types of grids: structured grids, unstructured grids and block structured grids.

The simplest one is structured grid (fig 3). This type of grids, all nodes have the same number
of elements around it. We can describe and store them easily. But this type of grid is only for
the simple domain.

If we have a complex domain, we can use unstructured grid. For example, fig 4 is an airfoil. The
structure of airfoil is very complex. The flow near the object is very important and complex, we
need very fine grid at this region. Far away from the airfoil, the flow is comparably simple, so we
can use coarse grid. Generally, unstructured grid is suitable for all geometries. It is very popular in
CFD. The disadvantage is that because the data structure is irregular, it is more difficult to
describe and store them.

Block structure grid is a compromising of structured and unstructured grid. The idea is, firstly,
divide the domain into several blocks, then use different structured grids in different blocks.

Figure 3 Structured Grids Figure 4 Unstructured Grids

5. Boundary Conditions

To solve the equation system, we also need boundary conditions. The typical boundary
conditions in CFD are No-slip boundary condition, Axisymmetric boundary condition, Inlet,
outlet boundary condition and Periodic boundary condition.

For example, fig 5 is a pipe, the fluid flows from left to right. We can use inlet at left side, which
means we can set the velocity manually. At the right side, we use outlet boundary condition to
keep all the properties constant, which means all the gradients are zero.
 At the wall of pipe, we can set the velocity to zero. This is no-slip boundary condition.

At the center of pipe, we can use axisymmetric boundary condition.

No-Slip B.C

Inlet B.C. Outlet B.C.

Axisymmetric B.C.

Figure 5 Boundary Conditions of Pipe Flow

 HEAT EXCHANGERS
A heat exchanger is a device designed to efficiently transfer or
"exchange" heat from one matter to another. When a fluid is used to
transfer heat, the fluid could be a liquid, such as water or oil, or could be
moving air. The most well known type of heat exchanger is a car radiator.

TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS

 Shell and tube heat exchanger

Shell and tube heat exchangers consist of series of tubes. One set of these tubes
contains the fluid that must be either heated or cooled. The second fluid runs
over the tubes that are being heated or cooled so that it can either provide the
heat or absorb the heat required. A set of tubes is called the tube bundle and can
be made up of several types of tubes: plain, longitudinally finned, etc. Shell and
tube heat exchangers are typically used for high-pressure applications (with
pressures greater than 30 bar and temperatures greater than 260 °C).[4] This is
because the shell and tube heat exchangers are robust due to their shape.

 Plate heat exchangers

Another type of heat exchanger is the plate heat exchanger. These

exchangers are composed of many thin, slightly separated plates that have
very large surface areas and small fluid flow passages for heat transfer.
Advances in gasket and brazing technology have made the plate-type heat
exchanger increasingly practical. In HVAC applications, large heat
exchangers of this type are called plate-and-frame; when used in open
loops, these heat exchangers are normally of the gasket type to allow
periodic disassembly, cleaning, and inspection.

 Plate and shell heat exchanger

A third type of heat exchanger is a plate and shell heat exchanger, which
combines plate heat exchanger with shell and tube heat exchanger
technologies. The heart of the heat exchanger contains a fully welded
circular plate pack made by pressing and cutting round plates and welding
them together. Nozzles carry flow in and out of the platepack (the 'Plate
side' flowpath). The fully welded platepack is assembled into an outer shell
that creates a second flowpath ( the 'Shell side'). Plate and shell technology
offers high heat transfer, high pressure, high operating temperature, uling
 and close approach temperature. In particular, it does completely without
gaskets, which provides security against leakage at high pressures and
temperatures.

 Adiabatic wheel heat exchanger

A fourth type of heat exchanger uses an intermediate fluid or solid store to

hold heat, which is then moved to the other side of the heat exchanger to
be released. Two examples of this are adiabatic wheels, which consist of a
large wheel with fine threads rotating through the hot and cold fluids, and
fluid heat exchangers.

 Plate fin heat exchanger

This type of heat exchanger uses "sandwiched" passages containing fins to

increase the effectiveness of the unit. The designs include crossflow and
counterflow coupled with various fin configurations such as straight fins, offset
fins and wavy fins.
Plate and fin heat exchangers are usually made of aluminum alloys, which
provide high heat transfer efficiency. The material enables the system to operate
at a lower temperature difference and reduce the weight of the equipment. Plate
and fin heat exchangers are mostly used for low temperature services such as
natural gas, helium and oxygen liquefaction plants, air separation plants and
transport industries such as motor and aircraft engines.

 Pillow plate heat exchanger

A pillow plate exchanger is commonly used in the dairy industry for cooling
milk in large direct-expansion stainless steel bulk tanks. The pillow plate allows
for cooling across nearly the entire surface area of the tank, without gaps that
would occur between pipes welded to the exterior of the tank.
The pillow plate is constructed using a thin sheet of metal spot-welded to the
surface of another thicker sheet of metal. The thin plate is welded in a regular
pattern of dots or with a serpentine pattern of weld lines. After welding the
enclosed space is pressurised with sufficient force to cause the thin metal to
bulge out around the welds, providing a space for heat exchanger liquids to
flow, and creating a characteristic appearance of a swelled pillow formed out of
metal.

 Waste heat recovery units

A waste heat recovery unit (WHRU) is a heat exchanger that recovers heat from
a hot gas stream while transferring it to a working medium, typically water or
oils. The hot gas stream can be the exhaust gas from a gas turbine or a diesel
engine or a waste gas from industry or refinery.
Large systems with high volume and temperature gas streams, typical in
industry, can benefit from steam Rankine cycle (SRC) in a waste heat recovery
unit, but these cycles are too expensive for small systems. The recovery of heat
from low temperature systems requires different working fluids than steam.
An organic Rankine cycle (ORC) waste heat recovery unit can be more efficient
at low temperature range using refrigerants that boil at lower temperatures than
water. Typical organic refrigerants are ammonia, pentafluoropropane (R-245fa
and R-245ca), and toluene.
The refrigerant is boiled by the heat source in the evaporator to produce super-
heated vapor. This fluid is expanded in the turbine to convert thermal energy to
kinetic energy, that is converted to electricity in the electrical generator. This
energy transfer process decreases the temperature of the refrigerant that, in turn,
condenses. The cycle is closed and completed using a pump to send the fluid
back to the evaporator.

 Dynamic scraped surface heat exchanger

Another type of heat exchanger is called "(dynamic) scraped surface heat

exchanger". This is the process.
Phase-change heat exchangers

Typical kettle reboiler used for industrial distillation towers

Typical water-cooled surface condenser

In addition to heating up or cooling down fluids in just a single phase,
heat exchangers can be used either to heat a liquid to evaporate (or boil) it
or used as condensers to cool a vapor and condense it to a liquid.
In chemical plants and refineries, reboilers used to heat incoming feed
for distillationtowers are often heat exchangers.[6][7]
Distillation set-ups typically use condensers to condense distillate
vapors back into liquid.
Power plants that use steam-driven turbines commonly use heat
exchangers to boil water into steam. Heat exchangers or similar units for
producing steam from water are often called boilers or steam generators.
 In the nuclear power plants called pressurized water reactors, special
large heat exchangers pass heat from the primary (reactor plant) system to
the secondary (steam plant) system, producing steam from water in the
process. These are called steam generators. All fossil-fueled and nuclear
power plants using steam-driven turbines have surface condensers to
 convert the exhaust steam from the turbines into condensate (water) for
re-use.[8][9]
 To conserve energy and cooling capacity in chemical and other plants,
regenerative heat exchangers can transfer heat from a stream that must be
cooled to another stream that must be heated, such as distillate cooling
and reboiler feed pre-heating.
 This term can also refer to heat exchangers that contain a material within
their structure that has a change of phase. This is usually a solid to liquid
phase due to the small volume difference between these states. This
change of phase effectively acts as a buffer because it occurs at a constant
temperature but still allows for the heat exchanger to accept additional
heat. One example where this has been investigated is for use in high
power aircraft electronics.
 Heat exchangers functioning in multiphase flow regimes may be subject
to the Ledinegg instability.

 Direct contact heat exchangers

Direct contact heat exchangers involve heat transfer between hot and cold
streams of two phases in the absence of a separating wall.[10]Thus such heat
exchangers can be classified as:
 Gas – liquid
 Immiscible liquid – liquid
 Solid-liquid or solid – gas

Most direct contact heat exchangers fall under the Gas – Liquid category, where
heat is transferred between a gas and liquid in the form of drops, films or
sprays.[4]
Such types of heat exchangers are used predominantly in air
conditioning, humidification, industrial hot water heating, water cooling and
condensing plants.

 Microchannel heat exchangers

Microchannel heat exchangers are multi-pass parallel flow heat exchangers
consisting of three main elements: manifolds (inlet and outlet), multi-port tubes
with the hydraulic diameters smaller than 1mm, and fins. All the elements
usually brazed together using controllable atmosphere brazing process.
Microchannel heat exchangers are characterized by high heat transfer ratio, low
refrigerant charges, compact size, and lower airside pressure drops compared to
finned tube heat exchangers. Microchannel heat exchangers are widely used in
automotive industry as the car radiators, and as condenser, evaporator, and
cooling/heating coils in HVAC industry.

 Fluid heat exchanger

This is a heat exchanger with a gas passing upwards through a shower of fluid
(often water), and the fluid is then taken elsewhere before being cooled. This is
commonly used for cooling gases whilst also removing certain impurities, thus
solving two problems at once. It is widely used in espresso machines as an
energy-saving method of cooling super-heated water to use in the extraction of
espresso.