Workbench Poly Meshing For Fluent 1.

6
[email protected]

1 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Copyright and Trademark Information

Copyright and Trademark Information

© 2016 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

ANSYS, ANSYS Workbench, Ansoft, AUTODYN, EKM, Engineering Knowledge Manager, CFX, FLUENT, HFSS,
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a trademark used by ANSYS, Inc. under licens e. CFX is a trademark of Sony Corporation in Japan. All other
brand, product, service and feature names or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Disclaimer Notice

THIS ANSYS SOFTWARE PRODUCT AND PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION INCLUDE TRADE SECRETS AND
ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY PRODUCTS OF ANSYS, INC., ITS SUBSIDIARIES, OR
LICENSORS. The software products and documentation are furnished by ANSYS, Inc., its subsidiaries, or
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only in accordance with the terms and conditions of that software license agreement.

Contains proprietary and confidential information of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates

2 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Workbench Poly Meshing for Fluent - Overview

• Name of the app : Workbench Poly Meshing For Fluent

• Target application : Meshing
• Description : Enhanced ANSYS WB Meshing for Fluent via
Workbench integrated access to powerful Fluent Meshing
capabilities, including native Polyhedral meshing.

The version of the App and the supported versions of ANSYS are the
ones indicated on the App Store.

Copyright and Trademark Information

© 2016 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

3 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 ACT App Store

• https://appstore.ansys.com/shop/ACTApps_act%20apps
• Great place to get started
− A library of helpful applications available to any ANSYS customer
− New apps added regularly
− Applications made available in either binary format (.wbex file) or binary
plus scripted format (Python and XML files)
− Scripted extensions are great examples
− Documentation and training materials available on the ANSYS Customer
Portal:
https://support.ansys.com/AnsysCustomerPortal/en_us/Downloads/AC
T+Resources

4 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Information

• Please pay attention to paragraph 9 of the CLICKWRAP SOFTWARE

LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR ACS EXTENSIONS regarding TECHNICAL
ENHANCEMENTS AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT (TECS): “TECS is not
included with the Program(s)”

• Report any issue or provide feedback related to this app please

contact:
Contact email address: [email protected]

5 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 App Installation; Critical pre-requisites
• Make sure to turn on the Beta flag in Workbench
– Under Workbench menu (Tools  Options…)
– In Appearance, invoke Beta Options flag

• The ACT do not support numbers using comma (,) as a decimal symbol,
hence period (.) has to be used on Windows OS
– To change Decimal Symbol ; Control Panel -> Region and Language -> Formats -
> Additional settings -> Numbers -> Decimal Symbol

6 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Binary App Installation (1)
Installing from the ACT Start Page:
1. From the project page, select the
“ACT Start Page” option
2. Click on “Extension Manager”
3. Press “+” symbol in the top right corner
4. It will open a file dialog to select the
appropriate “*.wbex” binary file
5. The extension is installed

Loading the extension:

1. From the Extension Manager,
click on your extension and choose
‘Load Extension’
2. The extension is loaded

Notes:
• The extension to be installed will be stored in the following location: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
• The installation will create a folder in this location, in addition to the .wbex file
• Example for [version]: v180

7 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Binary App Installation (2)

Installing from the Extensions menu:

1. From the Extensions menu, select the “Install
Extension…” option
2. It will open a file dialog to select the appropriate
“*.wbex” binary file
3. Click “Open” to install the extension

Loading the extension:

1. From the Extension Manager,
click on your extension and choose ‘Load Extension’
2. The extension is loaded

Notes:
• The extension to be installed will be stored in the following location: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
• The installation will create a folder in this location, in addition to the .wbex file

8 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Binary App Installation (3)
• Once the binary extension is installed at default location, one can move the *.wbex and the folder to any
other location
– Default path: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
– New path: Any location on your machine, shared drive etc.

• All users interested in using the extension need to include that path in their Workbench Options
1. In the “Tools” menu, select the “Options…”
2. Select “Extensions” in the pop up panel
3. Add the path under “Additional Extensions Folder …”

3
2
Define additional folders in which ACT
will search for extensions in order to
expose them in the Extension Manager

1
Notes:
• During the scan of the available extensions, the folders will be analyzed according to the following order:
1. The application data folder(e.g. %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions)
2. The additional folders defined in the “Additional Extension Folders” property
3. The installation folder
4. The “extensions” folder part of the current Workbench project (if the project was previously saved with the extension)
• If an extension is available in more than one of these locations, the 1st one according to the scan order is used
9 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017
 Scripted App Installation (source code)

• Paste the XML file and the corresponding folder on your computer. You can paste them
either:
– In the default path: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
– In a user defined path: any location on your machine, shared drive etc.

• If the files are located in the default path, the extension is automatically available in
the Extension Manager

• If the files are in a user defined path, it is required to define the “Additional Extension
Folder” under Workbench menu (Tools  Options…) to make it available in the
Extension Manager:

10 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Overview

• The purpose of this ACT is to provide an easy-to-use access of

Fluent Meshing volume meshing technology such as advanced
Inflation technology, native Polyhedral meshing, HexCore, etc.
while staying in the parametric and persistent environment of
WB and the familiar environment of Workbench meshing

• The user will need to set up all Size function parameter and
surface meshing parameters within WB meshing. The ACT is
used to provide Named Selections and volume mesh
parameters. The volume mesh is created in batch in Fluent
Meshing and then directly transferred into the Fluent Solver

11 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Introduction

• The mesh that is provided to Fluent Meshing is the CFD surface

mesh of a multi-body-part. Hence it is recommended that a
valid tet (only) mesh has been created on this multi-body part
inside WB meshing to ensure that the surface mesh is fully
connected and that there are no overlaps, etc.
• Before activating the Fluent Meshing extension, clear any
previewed surface mesh or volume mesh inside WB meshing
using Clear Generated Data
• It is recommended to invoke the (View -> Files )
option to make sure files that the ACT are
using are being created.
− For example a SYS#.msh file should be created after
doing an update

12 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Introduction

• Your starting point should

look something like this
− Note: This ACT do not support
multiple Meshing-Fluent
schematics in one project

• Activate the WBPolyMeshingForFluent ACT from

Extension – Manage Extension menu

13 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Introduction

• Connect the FluentMeshing Cell to the Mesh cell and the add
the Fluent cell to the schematics.

• Open Workbench Meshing

14 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Named Selections rules for Fluent
• Before we look into the Meshing Parameter panels, some
important pre-requisites
• Fluent Meshing (and Solver) does not accept all types of
string formats, so to avoid errors, some rules prerequisites
are strictly enforced.
• Named Selections and Paths cannot have spaces or special
characters, like ~!@#$%^&*()+=<>?. If present, please
rename the NS/directories and use underscore or hyphen
instead. Example :
− Change “%Pipe~inlet 1” to “Pipe_inlet-1” or “Pipe-inlet_1”
• By default Fluent Meshing will not grow inflation on any
non-wall Named selections
− If these boundaries are tangent to the surrounding walls,
the inflation algorithm will stair step down to the boundary

15 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 ACT Prerequisite – Material settings
• If you have a mix of Fluid and Solid
Bodies in your Geometry
− Select All Fluid bodies in the Tree
− Under Definition:
• Change the Material to Fluid

− Note that if you do not assign any body

to Fluid, the ACT will automatically , convert
all bodies to Fluid before volume meshing

− Suppressed parts in the WB tree is supported

16 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 ACT Prerequisite – Unstructured meshing for CFD
• Under Mesh
• In Defaults:
− Physics Preference: CFD
− Solver Preference: Fluent
• In Sizing
− Size Function : Curvature and/or Proximity
• Add a Patch Conforming Method
− Make sure to insert the
Patch Conforming mesh method
− Select ALL bodies
− Set the method to Tetrahedrons

17 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Invoke The ACT in WB Meshing

• In Workbench Meshing
• A new option, Poly Meshing for Fluent button will appear in
WB meshing ribbon
• Clicking on it will add a new Item “Meshing Parameter” in the
Project tree

18 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Meshing Parameter ACT panel - Overview

• The Fluent Meshing panel controls

all the parameters that are passed
from WB meshing to Fluent
Meshing
• We will cover each of the options
in the following slides and at the
same time provide any
prerequisites or limitations

19 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Named Selections rules
• Auto Zone Type Assignment
− If this option is On
• All Named Selections on faces that
meet the criteria will automatically
get the type assignment, and these
do not need to be added in the ACT
• For Periodicity, this option must be on
− If this option is Off
• All Named Selection related to non-wall boundary conditions must be
added into the ACT (the Fluent Meshing panel)
− Make sure that the send to solver flag is “on” on all NS for symmetry,
periodics, inlets, outlets and internals

• Note that Named Selections based on body selection will be

honored by the ACT, independent on the Send-to-Solver flag.
• Bodies without Named Selections will retain the Body Name

20 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Fluent Meshing panel – Symmetry/Periodic
• Start by selecting if either symmetry or
periodic boundaries exists in the model;
If not, maintain the default “none”
− Note translational periodicity is not supported
− If symmetry is selected, a new option appears,
where the number of selections
(default = 0) can be chosen
− A maximum of six fields can be created
− Inflation will not grow from symmetry/periodic
planes

• For Periodicity, no selection is needed

− BUT: Periodic Named Selection MUST be assigned
on FLUID bodies only and the NS MUST start with
the prefix “periodic” (all lowercase)
− The Auto Zone Type Assignment flag MUST be ON
21 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017
 Fluent Meshing panel – Inlets and Outlets
• If you have inlet or outlets that is not following the
standard Auto Zone Type assignment or if the flag is off
− Assign Inlet or Outlet named selections
− The same number of fields will be available
− A maximum of nine inlet NS can be assigned
− A maximum of six outlet NS can be assigned
− Inlets are assigned velocity-inlet and outlets, pressure –outlets zone
type respectfully
− Inflation will not grow from inlet/outlet boundaries

22 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Fluent Meshing panel – Internal Boundaries
• If you have multiple Fluid regions,
− By default (All) inflation will go through these
internal Fluid-Fluid boundaries
− You can also chose that inflation will grow on
all internal fluid-fluid boundaries (None)
− Or, you can select specific Named Selections for
continuous inflation (Select) or specific Named
Selection for no continuous inflation (All-
Except)
− For the Select and All- Except options, the
respective named selection (max 6) can be
pulled from a list

• For Conjugate Heat Transfer,

− The names on ALL Internal Fluid-Fluid and Solid-
Fluid boundaries can automatically be re-
named to “internal - <solid-name> - <fluid-
name>”

23 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Fluent Meshing panel – Named Selections

• Example of Named selections on a Combustor section

24 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Fluent Meshing panel – Inflation settings

• You have four Inflation settings

− First Aspect Ratio
• Recommended and default option
• Aspect ratio = Characteristic length of base/height
− Smooth Transition
− First Height
− Last Aspect Ratio
• In all cases, post stair-stepping is applied
in areas of bad quality and proximity
collisions

25 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Volume meshing settings
• Use Size Field?
Fluent Meshing will use the Size field created by the Size Function in WB
meshing to create the volume mesh, if this flag is set to yes.
− This is needed if
1. A Body of Influence Scoped Size is being used
2. The WB global growth rate is different from the local surface growth rate
− If this is set to NO
1. The WB global growth rate will be used for volume growth

• Volume fill
− Tet, Poly and HexCore can be used as
volume meshing algorithms
− The default fill method is Poly
− HexCore cannot be used in combination
with periodicity
− HexCore and Tet (without Size field) will honor the
Max Tet Size set in WB Meshing
26 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017
 Volume meshing settings
• Mesh the Solids
− You can choose to not mesh the solids included in
the model
− If the model contains no solids, the flag will be ignored
• Quality Method and Volume quality limits
− Orthogonal Quality is the default method (default limit = 0.1). It can be
used on all cell types. This method will always be used for poly
− Setting an aggressive quality criteria might
drastically increase meshing time
− Alternative methods are Skewness (default limit = 0.95) and ICEM CFD
(default limit = 0.98).

• Debug Mode
− If running in debug-mode, Fluent meshing will run with
full GUI, allowing the user to display and investigate the final volume mesh.
− To continue to solver, just type “exit yes” and hit return
− The “norun” mode will only create all the files needed
to run Fluent Meshing and create the volume mesh
27 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017
 Update the mesh
• When all Meshing parameters has been set
we can process towards mesh creation
• Update the Mesh
− Use “Update” to create the surface
mesh that will be used by the ACT
− Note that “Generate Mesh”
can be used, but the progress bar is
not displayed, while the surface mesh
is being created.

• Verify the size distribution on your

surface mesh before continuing
• Changing Meshing Parameters
− Note that, the surface mesh is independent of the ACT Meshing parameters.
Hence a change in the ACT Meshing Parameters, does NOT require a new
Update in Workbench Meshing.
− Just Reset, Refresh and Update the Fluent Meshing cell in the project page
28 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017
 Return to Project page
• At this point it could be advisable to save the project
• The next step is to Update the Fluent Meshing Cell

• Fluent Meshing is running in batch

− Fluent Meshing will process the data
• Reading the surface mesh and all parameters created in the
Fluent Meshing panel in WB meshing
• Improving the surface mesh, assigning boundary types and
create the volumetric regions
• Inflation generation and volume meshing
• Saving the final mesh and exit

29 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Open Fluent Solver
• Fluent solver will automatically read the volume mesh

• Set up Fluent and solve….

30 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017
 The ACT supports parametric studies
• Parametric study where the number of inflation layers in the
ACT panel are changed

31 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Final volume meshes

• Final mesh has expected boundary layers

DP0 DP1 DP2

32 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Produced files

• Several files are produced that provides additional information

− In Workbench project page invoke the option to view files
− The tmp.scm file includes all the commands that was executed in Fluent
meshing. Hence opening a stand-alone session of Fluent Meshing and
reading in this file will exactly reproduce the operations executed in the ACT
− The SYS#.trn file contains the transcript of the executed commands in Fluent
Meshing. At the end it also lists some statistical data regarding number of
cells created, quality and volume meshing time

33 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Source code
• If you are familiarized with Fluent Meshing commands and the
Scheme language, you can create your own customized version of
this ACT
− Using the default installation location, you will find the fluentmeshing.scm file at :
%AppData%\Ansys\v170 (or 171)\ACT\WBPolyMeshingForFluent
− The fluentmeshing.scm file contains the actual commands ( minus all parameter
definitions) sent to Fluent Meshing
− In this file you can modify some hard coded parameters or add other parameters
for the volume meshing operations.
− For example, in HexCore meshing, these parameters are used
• (ti-menu-load-string (format #f "/mesh/hexcore/controls/buffer-layers 2 "))
• (ti-menu-load-string (format #f "/mesh/hexcore/controls/peel-layers 0 "))
• (ti-menu-load-string (format #f "/mesh/hexcore/controls/skip-tet-refinement? no "))
– You can directly modify these parameters to fit your needs
− If you want the ACT to smooth acute angles to improve quality (see next slide):
• Find the string ; Following marks, smooths and remesh faces at acute angles
• Un-Comment the next 5 lines

34 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Source code; Surface mesh modifications
• Surface mesh improvements at acute angles
– If the model includes acute internal angles of 20 degrees or below, a high
quality mesh including inflation is essentially impossible to produce
– In those cases, the sharp face-face angle is automatically smoothed and re-
meshed, to improve the quality of the volume mesh

Worst skew > 0.95 Worst skew < 0.85

Before After

35 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017

 Thank you

• Ansys Inc
• If you have any questions, please contact Erling Eklund
• [email protected]

Copyright and Trademark Information

© 2016 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

36 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 23, 2017