User Programming

What are User Defined Functions Introduction to C Set-Up C User Routines in Fluent Implementing a Custom Turbulence Model Programming in other CFD Commercial Codes

Acknowledgement: this handout is partially based on Fluent training material ME469B/6/GI 1

Introduction to UDF Programming

Why programming in commercial codes?
The codes are general-purpose but cannot anticipate all needs New (physical) models can be developed in a user-friendly environment Large number of problems (test-cases) can be addressed with the same implementation

What is a the User Defined Function (UDF)?

C (Fluent) or FORTRAN (StarCD, CFX) routines programmed by the user linked to the solver to perform certain operations: initialization special boundary condition (i.e. space or time dependent) material properties source terms reaction rates postprocessing and reporting debugging .
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A Simple UDF Example

Specify a Parabolic Velocity Profile at the Inlet
Goal: The UDF (inlet_parab) set the values of the x-velocity component at the cell faces of the inlet boundary zone

Inlet zone

1) 2) 3) 4)

Determine the cell-faces belonging to the inlet zone Loop on all those faces Determine the coordinate of the face centroid Specify the x-velocity component
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A Simple UDF Example

Parabolic Velocity Profile:

function inlet_parab Definitions Loop over all the inlet cell faces Evaluate the face centroid coordinates The function return the velocity

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A Simple UDF Example

Compile/interpret the UDF: Define User Defined

Attach the profile to the inlet zone Define Boundary Condition

Equivalent to attach the profile from a separate simulation

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A Simple UDF Example

Solve the equations Solve Iterate

Final Result

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C Programming
Typical C function:

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C vs. FORTRAN

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Basic Programming Rules

Statements MUST end with a semicolon ;

Comments are placed anywhere in the program between /* */ Statements are grouped by curly brackets { }

Variables defined within the body functions are local Variables defined outside the body functions are global and can be used by all the functions that follows Variables MUST be ALWAYS defined explicitly Integer/real/double functions have to return a integer/real/double value C is case sensitive!
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Basic Statements
Arithmetic expressions in C look like FORTRAN
a = y + (i-b)/4;

Functions which return values can be used in assignment

a = mycompute(y,i,b);

Functions which do not return values can be called directly

mystuff(a,y,i,b);

Mathematical and various other default functions are available

a = pow(b,2); /* pow(x,y) returns x raised to y */

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Data Types and Arrays

Arrays of variables are defined using the notation
int a[10]; /*define an array of ten integers */ Note the brackets are square [] not round ()!! Note that the arrays ALWAYS start from 0

Standard C types are: Integer, Real, Double, Char C allows to define additional types
typedef struct list{int id, float x[3], int id_next};

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Pointers
A pointer is a variable which contain the address of another variable Pointers are defined as:
int *a_p; int a; /* pointer to an integer variable */ /* an integer variable */

Set-up a pointer
a = 1; a_p = &a; /* &a return the address of variable a */

*a_p returns the content of the address pointed by a_p

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Operators
Arithmetic Operators Logical Operators

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Conditional Statements
if and if-else Example

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Loop Procedure
for loops Example

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C Preprocessor
It handles Macro substitutions
#define A B #define my_f(x,y) x+y*3-5

The preprocessor replaces A with B It also handles file inclusion

#include udf.h #include math.h

The files to be included MUST reside in the currect directory

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Programming in C

Of course much more than just this.

Additional information are: http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave/C/CE.html Plenty of books: The C Programming Language, Kernighan & Ritchie, 1988

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UDF in Commercial CFD Codes

Commercial CFD codes allow the development of User Defined Functions for various applications. Anyway, the core of the software is closed. UDF must be compiled and linked to the main code Most codes provide macros and additional tools to facilitate the use of UDFs In Fluent there are two options: Interpreted The code is executed on a line-by-line basis at run time + does not need a separate compiler (completely automatic) - slows down the execution and uses more memory - somewhat limited in scope Compiled A library of UDF is compiled and linked to the main code Overcomes all the disadvantages reported above
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Interpret the UDFs

Define User Defined Interpreted
Display of code translation in assembly (and eventual compiling errors)

Default stack size might be too small for large arrays!

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Compile the UDFs

Define User Defined Compiled

The library MUST be precompiled in a directory tree

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Directory tree for compiled UDFs

my_library

Makefile makefile

src my_udf.c

lnx86

Machine dependent irix6r10 ultra hp700

2d makefile my_udf.c libudf.so makefile

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3d

my_udf.c

libudf.so
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Makefiles for UDFs

In the directory
/usr/local/Fluent.Inc/fluent6/src

There are two files Makefile.udf makefile.udf to be copied in the directory my_library to be copied in the directory my_library/src

The first one does not require modifications. In the second one two macros MUST be modified
SOURCE = my_udf.c FLUENT_INC = /usr/local/Fluent.Inc

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UDFs in FLUENT
Boundary Conditions Initial Conditions Adjust Function Source Terms Material Properties Execute on Demand User Defined Scalars User Defined Memory Pointers to threads Geometry Macros Cell and Face Variables Arithmetic and Trigonometric Functions

Available MACROS

Programming Tools

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Boundary Conditions
The inlet profile specification is based on the macro DEFINE_PROFILE DEFINE_PROFILE can be used for wall boundary conditions as well to impose temperature, velocity, shear stress, etc. It is possible to specify a constant value, a position-dependent or time-dependent values and to link the values on the boundary to the values in the internal cells Internal Values
x x

BC

Note that the BCs are applied to the faces of the cells (face centroids)
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Initial Conditions
The initial condition specification can be performed using the macro DEFINE_INIT Space-dependent conditions might be imposed The routine is executed once at the beginning of the solution process It is attached in the UDFs hooks Define User Defined Function Hooks

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Initial Conditions
Note that the difference between the DEFINE_PROFILE and DEFINE_INIT is that the former performs a loop on the face-centroids belonging to a certain zone whereas the latter loops on the cell-centroids Example:

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Adjust Function
Similar to the DEFINE_INIT but it is executed every iteration: DEFINE_ADJUST Can be used for postprocessing, clipping, etc. It is attached in the UDFs hooks Define User Defined Function Hooks

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Source Terms

To add a source term in the equations: DEFINE_SOURCE Can be used for: Continuity Momentum (component by component) Turbulent quantities Energy It is different from the previous macros because it works on a cell-by-cell basis (no need to perform loops!)

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Source Terms
Define Boundary Conditions Fluid

Activate source terms

Attach the UDF

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Source Terms

In FLUENT the source terms are written in the form S (f) = A + B f where f is the dependent variable A is treated explicitly and B f is treated implicitly In the DEFINE_SOURCE both terms A and B have to be specified

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Material Properties

To define the properties of the materials : DEFINE_PROPERTIES Can be used for: Viscosity Density Thermal Conductivity . As for the source terms works on a cell-by-cell basis

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Material Properties
Define Material Property
All the available UDFs Are shown in the menu

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Execute on Demand
To perform operations instantaneously : EXECUTE_ON_DEMAND It is executed when activated by the user Can be used for: Debugging Postprocessing . Define User Defined Execute on Demand

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User Defined Scalar

In addition to the Continuity and Momentum Equations (and Energy) generic transport equations can be solved (up to 50!) To include scalars in the calculations 1) Define the number of scalars Define User Defined User Defined Scalars 2) Define the diffusion and source terms in the generic equation

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User Defined Scalar

When UDS are defined in the material property panel the diffusivity of the scalars MUST be defined Define Material Property

Note that the default diffusivity for the scalars is constant and equal to 1!
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User Defined Scalar

Boundary conditions for the scalars can be defined as Constant Value Constant Gradient User Defined Define Boundary Conditions Wall

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User Defined Scalar

The Source terms for the scalars are set using the DEFINE_SOURCE macro Introduced before The scalar equations can be further customized 1) Convective terms can be modified using the macro DEFINE_UDS_FLUX 2) Unsteady term can be modified using the macro DEFINE_UDS_UNSTEADY

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User Defined Memory

The User Defined Scalars are used to solve additional equations eventually coupled to the mean flow equations Sometimes it is useful to define temporary field variables to store and retrieve values not directly available UDM are defined: Define User Defined User Defined Memory

More efficient storage compared to User Defined Scalars

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I/O in UDF
User Defined Scalars and User Defined Memory are AUTOMATICALLY Stored in the Fluent Data files Additional I/O (from and to the Fluent Case and Data files) can be Accomplished using the macro DEFINE_RW_FILE

Define User Defined Function Hooks

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Detailed Programming
The macros introduced before are interpreted/compiled and attached to the various Fluent panels The detailed programming is based on additional macros that allow to loop on cells to retrieve field variables, etc. Loop Macros Geometry Macros Field Variable Macros Control Macros Arithmetic and Trigonometric Macros Before looking at the Macros, the Fluent Data structure in introduced
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Data Structure
It is based on a hierarchy of structures Threads (zones) are collection of cells or faces Domain is a collections of threads

Domain Thread Cell Thread Face Thread Face

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Threads
Every zone is associated to a single ID (available in the boundary conditions menu)

zone ID
Given the ID of a thread the pointer can be retrieved as:
Thread *tf = Lookup_Thread(domain, ID);

Given the thread pointer the ID of the zone can be retrieved as:
ID = THREAD_ID(thread);
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Loop Macros

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Cell-face connectivity
When looping on faces the surrounding cells can be accessed using the macros:
cell0_thread = F_C0_THREAD(face,thread) cell1_thread = F_C1_THREAD(face,thread) cell0_id = F_C0(face,thread) cell1_id = F_C1(face,thread)

cell0

face

cell1

When looping on cells adjacent faces and cells can be accessed using the macros:
for(nf=0;nf<C_NFACES(cell,thread);nf++) { face_id = C_FACE(cell,thread,nf); face_thread = C_FACE_THREAD(cell,thread,nf); }
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Number of faces of each cell is unknown

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Geometry Macros

Many more available; refer to the FLUENT UDF Manual

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Field Variables Macros

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Field Variables Macros

Many more available; refer to the FLUENT UDF Manual

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Control Macros

Many more available; refer to the FLUENT UDF Manual

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An example of User Defined Programming

Low-Re k-e model
Development of a custom turbulence model can be accomplished using the UDFs. k-e model with damping functions formulation:

Transport Equations

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An example of User Defined Programming

Eddy Viscosity P= S=

Low-Re k-e model

Turbulent Kinetic Energy Production Strain Rate Magnitude

Damping functions

Turbulent Reynolds number definitions Wall boundary conditions

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Required UDF Routines

Source Terms Diffusivity Boundary Condition Adjust Routine

DEFINE_SOURCE(k_source, thread, eqn) DEFINE_SOURCE(d_source, thread, eqn) DEFINE_PROPERTY(ke_diffusivity, domain) DEFINE_PROFILE(wall_d_bc, domain) DEFINE_ADJUST(turb_adjust, domain)

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Required field variables

Density Molecular viscosity Eddy viscosity Strain Rate Magnitude Wall distance

C_R(cell,thread) C_MU(cell,thread) C_MU_T(cell,thread) Strain_rate(cell,thread) C_WALL_DIST(cell,thread)

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UDF Header
#include "udf.h" /* Turbulence model constants */ #define C_MU 0.09 #define SIG_TKE 1.0 #define SIG_TDR 1.3 #define C1_D 1.44 #define C2_D 1.92 /* User-defined scalars */ enum { TKE, TDR, N_REQUIRED_UDS };

Required: includes all Fluent macros

Constant definitions (global)

Assign a number to each scalar

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Damping Functions
These are defined on a cell-by-cell basis
/* Reynolds number definitions */ real Re_y(cell_t c, Thread *t) { return C_R(c,t)*sqrt(C_UDSI(c,t,TKE))*C_WALL_DIST(c,t)/C_MU_L(c,t);} real Re_t(cell_t c, Thread *t) { return C_R(c,t)*SQR(C_UDSI(c,t,TKE))/C_MU_L(c,t)/C_UDSI(c,t,TDR);} /* Damping Functions */ real f_mu(cell_t c, Thread *t) { return tanh(0.008*Re_y(c,t))*(1.+4/pow(Re_t(c,t),0.75));} real f_1(cell_t c, Thread *t) { return 1.;} real f_2(cell_t c, Thread *t) { return (1.-2/9*exp(-Re_t(c,t)*Re_t(c,t)/36))*(1.-exp(-Re_y(c,t)/12));}

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Source Term Routines

The production term in the k equation is: e is obtained from the definition of the eddy viscosity to increase the coupling between the equations and to define an implicit term

DEFINE_SOURCE(k_source, c, t, dS, eqn) { real G_k; G_k = C_MU_T(c,t)*SQR(Strainrate_Mag(c,t)); dS[eqn] = -2.*C_R(c,t)*C_R(c,t)*C_MU*f_mu(c,t)*C_UDSI(c,t,TKE)/C_MU_T(c,t); return G_k - C_R(c,t)*C_R(c,t)*C_MU*f_mu(c,t)*SQR(C_UDSI(c,t,TKE))/C_MU_T(c,t); }

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Source Term Routines

The production term in the e equation is: It contains already both k and e. No need for manipulations!
DEFINE_SOURCE(d_source, c, t, dS, eqn) { real G_k; G_k = C_MU_T(c,t)*SQR(Strainrate_Mag(c,t)); dS[eqn] = C1_D*f_1(c,t)*G_k/C_UDSI(c,t,TKE) - 2.*C2_D*f_2(c,t)*C_R(c,t)*C_UDSI(c,t,TDR)/C_UDSI(c,t,TKE); return C1_D*f_1(c,t)*G_k*C_UDSI(c,t,TDR)/C_UDSI(c,t,TKE) - C2_D*f_2(c,t)*C_R(c,t)*SQR(C_UDSI(c,t,TDR))/C_UDSI(c,t,TKE); }

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Diffusivity
The diffusion terms in the scalar equations are set-up together
DEFINE_DIFFUSIVITY(ke_diffusivity, c, t, eqn) { real diff; real mu = C_MU_L(c,t); real mu_t = C_R(c,t)*C_MU*f_mu(c,t)*SQR(C_UDSI(c,t,TKE))/C_UDSI(c,t,TDR); switch (eqn) { case TKE: diff = mu_t/SIG_TKE + mu; break; case TDR: diff = mu_t/SIG_TDR + mu; break; default: diff = mu_t + mu; } return diff; }

But each equation can have a different value

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Eddy Viscosity
The eddy viscosity is set in the adjust routine (called at the beginning of each Iteration) and it is used in the mean flow and in the scalar equations

DEFINE_ADJUST(turb_adjust, domain) { Thread *t; cell_t c; /* Set the turbulent viscosity */ thread_loop_c (t, domain) if (FLUID_THREAD_P(t)) { begin_c_loop(c,t) { C_MU_T(c,t) = C_R(c,t)*C_MU*f_mu(c,t)*SQR(C_UDSI(c,t,TKE))/C_UDSI(c,t,TDR); } end_c_loop(c,t) } }

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Wall Boundary Conditions

Only the boundary condition for e is complicated because it requires the value of the derivative of k (the square root of k)
DEFINE_PROFILE(wall_d_bc, t, position) { face_t f; cell_t c0; Thread *t0 = t->t0; /* t0 is cell thread */ real xw[ND_ND], xc[ND_ND], dx[ND_ND], rootk, dy, drootkdy;

The derivative is rootk/dy begin_f_loop(f,t) { rootk is the sqrt of k in c0 = F_C0(f,t); the adjacent cell center rootk = sqrt(MAX(C_UDSI(c0,t0,TKE), 0.)); dy is the distance between F_CENTROID(xw,f,t); cell and face center C_CENTROID(xc,c0,t0); NV_VV(dx, =, xc, -, xw); dy = ND_MAG(dx[0], dx[1], dx[2]); drootkdy = rootk/dy; F_PROFILE(f,t,position) = 2.*C_MU_L(c0,t0)/C_R(c0,t0)*drootkdy*drootkdy; } end_f_loop(f,t)
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Set-Up the Problem

Set-Up a case using the standard k-e Define two scalars (TKE, TDR) Compile and Attach the UDFs Deactivate the Equations for k and e Initialize and solve the RANS + TKE and TDR

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Attach the UDF

Source terms

Boundary conditions

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Open UDF Library

After compiling the library It can be opened in Fluent

Output in the text window Are the functions available

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Perform the Simulation

The convergence is for the mean flow + the two scalars (turbulent quantities deactivated!)

For postprocessing purposes the UDS have to be used instead of turbulent quantities
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Additional Information

Many additional macros are available to implement different physical models combustion models particles-based models . It is formally possible to develop additional numerical methods flux discretizations variable reconstruction and clipping . Information are available in the FLUENT UDF manual (class web site)

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UDF in other commercial CFD Codes

CFX

CFX (v4) is a structured code; the data structure is much simpler because the field variables are accessed directly. It uses 1D arrays where the quantities are stored in succession CFX UDFs are written in FORTRAN For example: U(I,J,K) U(IJK) where IJK = (K-1)*NI*NJ+(J-1)*NI There are no macros, but examples of subroutines to perform the customization USRBC USRSRC USRDIF .
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UDF in other commercial CFD Codes

Star-CD

StarCD is an unstructured code similar to Fluent in term of data organization But similar to CFX for the organization of the UDF. StarCD has threads (as Fluent) and the UDF work normally on a cell-by-cell basis StarCD UDFs are written in FORTRAN There are no macros, but examples of subroutines to perform the customization BCDEFW SORSCA DIFFUS .

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