ExampleSteady Incompressible Flow

SOLVED WITH COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS 3.5a

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Ex a m pl e S t e a d y I n c om pr e s s i b l e Flo w
Introduction
This model examines the physics of plane, incompressible, and steady flow: flow over a backward step in the absence of external forces. This is a common benchmark problem in CFD. There is no known exact solution, but experimental data has been published (see Ref. 1) making it possible to check the accuracy of the FEM solution. The model includes analyses using both regular triangular meshes and mapped meshes, comparing the solutions for various mesh densities.

Model Definition
Fluid enters from the left side with a parabolic velocity profile, passes over a step, and leaves through the right boundary (Figure 1 shows the model geometry).

Figure 1: The backstep geometry. The model computes the fluids velocity components u = (u, v) in the x and y directions and its pressure p in the region defined by the geometry in the preceding figure. The PDE model for this application uses the stationary incompressible Navier-Stokes equations 2 u + ( u ) u + p = F u = 0

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where the quantities are (using SI units): Dynamic viscosity, = 1.79105 Pas Density, = 1.23 kg/m3 A force field, F, absent in this model The first equation is the balance of momentum from Newtons second law. The other relationship is the equation of continuity, where zero on the right-hand side states that the fluid is incompressible. The shape of the flow pattern depends only on the Reynolds number. In this model, you choose boundary conditions so that the average velocity at the inlet is Vmean = 0.544 m/s. To obtain a corresponding parabolic velocity profile, set (u, v) = (6Vmean s(1 s), 0), where s is a boundary parameterization variable that runs from 0 to 1 along the boundary. The fluid is always stationary at the walls, so (u, v) = (0, 0) is the appropriate boundary condition. At the exit boundary, assume a constant static pressure p = 0. For such a fluid flow you can expect a velocity field with a boundary layer of thickness approximately equal to 1 Re at the walls. To resolve this steep solution gradient you need a few rows of elements across the layer. For a flow with a large Reynolds number, elements in the interior of the channel can be much larger than those near the walls.
USING THE INCOMPRESSIBLE NAVIER-STOKES APPLICATION MODE

Start by setting up a model and solve this problem on a fixed isotropic mesh. The given input data correspond to a Reynolds number of 0,544 2 0,0052 1,23 Re = ------------------------------------------------------------ 389 5 1,79 10 Even though you are working with a steady flow model, it needs initial conditions because the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are nonlinear. To achieve a numerical solution, the nonlinear solver solves the equations iteratively.

Results and Discussion

Figure 2 shows the velocity field in a streamline plot. Behind the step you can identify a recirculation region that expands with increasing Re. The distance from the step to the stagnation point, where the flow reattaches to the lower wall, is the reattachment length . A dimensionless number quantifying the recirculation region is the

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reattachment length divided by the step height. According to experimental data, this quotient is approximately 7.93 at a Reynolds number of 389.

Figure 2: A streamline plot of the velocity field. For a high enough Re, the eddy crosses the outflow boundary, which means that there is an inflow through the assumed outflow boundary. This finding calls for the inclusion of more of the downstream region in the computational domain to get a reliable solution. That fact explains why the computational domain in this model is slightly longer than the one in Ref. 2. The Incompressible Navier-Stokes application mode uses Lagrange p2-p1 elements to stabilize the pressure. Thus 2nd-order Lagrange elements model the velocity components while linear elements model the pressure. The default element settings in this application mode always provide one order higher Lagrange elements for the velocity components than for the pressure. Stabilizing the solution using streamline diffusion is not recommended for the Navier-Stokes equations except at higher Reynolds numbers. Four mesh cases were considered for this model: a homogeneous structured mesh, a homogeneous unstructured mesh, and two inhomogeneous mesh cases, where local

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mesh refinements provide improved accuracy around the point where the step is taken. The following plots show examples of the mesh cases: Case 1: Homogeneous structured mesh

Case 2: Homogeneous unstructured mesh

Case 3: Structured mesh

Case 4: Unstructured mesh

To compare the results using these mesh cases, we solved the model for varying mesh densities for all four mesh cases. The graph in Figure 3 shows the resulting reattachment length divided by the step height as a function of the degrees of freedom for the different mesh cases:

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Figure 3: Reattachment length divided by step height as functions of the degrees of freedom for Case 1 (squares), Case 2 (diamonds), Case 3 (x-marks), and Case 4 (triangles). All solutions give reasonable results. Comparing results for structured and unstructured meshes and different numbers of degrees of freedom (DOFs), it is evident that the unstructured mesh cases give more accurate and more stable results even with a lower number of DOFs. However, in the limit of an infinite number of DOFs, the results for all mesh cases converge to the experimental result of 7.93. The number of mesh elements is related to the number of DOFs. However, the relation is not the same for structured and unstructured meshes. The same number of mesh elements create more DOFs for a structured mesh than for an unstructured mesh, simply because of the rectangular shape of the mesh elements. For the same number of DOFs the solution time is longer for a structured mesh than for an unstructured mesh. This is due to the structured mesh having a stronger coupled system, which results in system matrices that are less sparse.

References
1. P.M. Gresho and R.L. Sani, Incompressible Flow and the Finite Element Method , Volume 1 & 2, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2000. 2. A. Rose and B. Simpson: Laminar, Constant-Temperature Flow Over a Backward Facing Step, 1st NAFEMS Workbook of CFD Examples, Glasgow, UK, 2000.

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Model Library path:

COMSOL_Multiphysics/Fluid_Dynamics/backstep

Model Library path:

COMSOL_Multiphysics/Fluid_Dynamics/backstep_quad

Modeling Using the Graphical User Interface

MODE L NAVIGATOR

1 Go to the Model Navigator and select 2D in the Space dimension list. 2 In the list of application modes open the COMSOL Multiphysics>Fluid Dynamics folder

and then the Incompressible Navier-Stokes folder. Select Steady-state analysis.

3 Make sure that Lagrange - P2 P1 is the element type in the Element list. 4 Click OK.
OPTIONS AND SETTINGS

1 To parameterize the model, go to the Options menu and choose Constants. 2 Make the following entries in the Constants dialog box to represent the fluid

properties and velocity (the descriptions are optional):

NAME EXPRESSION DESCRIPTION

rho eta V_mean

1.23[kg/m^3] 1.79e-5[Pa*s] 0.554[m/s]

Fluid density Dynamic viscosity Average inlet velocity

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3 Click OK to close the dialog box.

GEOMETRY MODELING

1 Shift-click the Rectangle/Square button to specify a rectangle. 2 In the Rectangle dialog box, type 0.08 in the Width edit field and 0.0101 in the Height edit field. In the Position area, type 0.02 in the x edit field (keep the Base

setting Corner).
3 Click OK. 4 Shift-click the Rectangle/Square button to specify another rectangle. 5 In the Rectangle dialog box, type 0.02 in the Width edit field and 0.0052 in the Height edit field. In the Position area, type 0.0049 in the y edit field (again, keep the Base setting Corner). 6 Click OK. 7 Click the Zoom Extents button on the Main toolbar.

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PHYSICS SETTINGS

Subdomain Settings
With appropriate scaling it is possible to set the fluid density = 1 and the viscosity = 1/Re. If you model in this way, the Reynolds number contains information about fluid density together with details on length scale, velocity scale, and viscosity. For such a model, type 1/Re in the Dynamic viscosity edit field in the Subdomain Settings dialog box. Be aware, though, that you must reverse the scaling before interpreting the results quantitatively. This model, however, uses actual fluid properties specified in SI units.
1 From the Physics menu choose Subdomain Settings to launch the Subdomain Settings

dialog box.
2 Select Subdomains 1 and 2. 3 In the Density edit field type rho. 4 In the Dynamic viscosity edit field type eta.

The nonlinear solver also requires an initial value. With a low Reynolds number a simple constant expression is sufficient:
5 With both subdomains still selected, click the Init tab.

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6 Enter the initial value V_mean in the edit field for u(t0); this value corresponds to a

uniform x-velocity of magnitude Vmean throughout the domain. Leave the initial values for the y-velocity and the pressure at their default zero values.

7 Click OK.

Boundary Conditions
The relevant boundary conditions for the model are:
SETTINGS BOUNDARY 1 BOUNDARIES 25, 7 BOUNDARY 8

Boundary type Boundary condition U0 p0

Inlet Velocity
V_mean*6*s*(1-s)

Wall No slip

Outlet Pressure, no viscous stress

0

The no-slip condition is the default setting, so you only need to modify the settings for Boundaries 1 and 8.
1 From the Physics menu, choose Boundary Settings. 2 Select Boundary 1. 3 In the Boundary type list select Inlet.

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4 In the U0 edit field type V_mean*6*s*(1-s).

5 Select Boundary 8. From the Boundary type list select Outlet, then click OK.
MESH GENERATION

Because the Navier-Stokes equations are computationally difficult, it is important to use an appropriate mesh. If the mesh is too coarse, the solution might not converge at all or errors might be large. Conversely, if the mesh is too fine, the solution time for the nonlinear system of equations might be unnecessarily long. In this case, solve the model with two different types of mesh, first using a mapped mesh and later using a conventional unstructured triangular mesh.

Mesh Case 1Mapped Mesh

1 From the Mesh menu, choose Mapped Mesh Parameters. 2 In the Mapped Mesh Parameters dialog box, click the Boundary tab. 3 Specify the numbers of mesh elements according to the following table by first

selecting the appropriate boundaries in the Boundary selection list, then selecting the Constrained edge element distribution check box, and finally entering the number of elements in the Number of edge elements edit field.
SETTINGS BOUNDARIES 14, 6 BOUNDARIES 5, 7

Number of mesh elements

4 Click Remesh, then click OK.

34

62

Mesh Case 2Triangular Mesh

1 From the Mesh menu, choose Free Mesh Parameters.

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2 On the Global page, click the Custom mesh size option button, then type 9e-4 in the Maximum element size edit field. 3 Click Remesh, then click OK.
COMPUTING THE SOLUTION

Click the Solve button on the Main toolbar to start the simulation.
PO S T P RO C E S S I N G A N D V I S U A L I ZAT I O N

The default visualization displays the magnitude of the velocity field.

To see the velocity field and the pressure field simultaneously, use a combination of arrow and surface plots:
1 From the Postprocessing menu, choose Plot Parameters to open the Plot Parameters

dialog box.
2 Click the Surface tab. 3 On the Surface Data page, select Incompressible Navier-Stokes (ns)>Pressure from the Predefined quantities list. 4 Click the Arrow tab. 5 Select the Arrow plot check box.

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6 Click OK to view the combined plot.

To reproduce the plot in Figure 2, visualizing the recirculation region, use a conditional expression testing for a negative x-component in the velocity.
1 Open the Plot Parameters dialog box again. Add a streamline plot and remove the

arrows by selecting the Streamline check box and clearing the Arrow check box on the General page.
2 Click the Surface tab. 3 On the Surface Data page, type (u<-eps)*(x-0.02)/0.0049 in the Expression edit

field. Clear the Smooth check box (the given expression is deliberately discontinuous).
4 Click the Streamline tab. 5 On the Start Points page, click the Specify start point coordinates button. 6 In the x edit field type 0.03 and in the y edit field type range(5e-4,10e-4,95e-4).

These values result in nine streamlines, which at x = 0.03 m are equally spaced in the y direction.
7 Click the Line Color tab, then click the Color button. 8 In the Streamline Color dialog box, click the lightest gray swatch, then click OK. 9 Click OK to close the Plot Parameters dialog box and display the new plot.

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