Introduction to computational

fluid dynamics

Lecture 1
Learning Objectives
⚫ Make the student understand the role of C in FD, its applicability,
potential and limitations
⚫ Give a basic foundation in numerical analysis, by teaching the
relevance of accuracy and stability
⚫ Give a working idea of the various choices of numerical methods
and discretization schemes by applying them to simple model
equations. In doing this, always remind them of the connection
with the molecular picture
⚫ Make the student knowledgeable about the various terminologies
in practical CFD (Grids, BCs, Approximations, Schemes etc)
⚫ Ingrain the basics of good CFD practice (be aware of the
applicability/feasibility of a particular model, its limitations, choose
the right boundary conditions, ascertain grid/time independence,
verification/validation)
⚫ By the end, the student should be in a position to set up simple
microfluidic/biofluid CFD problems and analyze them
Contents

⚫ Introduction (1)
⚫ Fundamentals of CFD (1)
⚫ Finite difference methods:
➔ Spatial discretization (1)
➔ Temporal discretization (1)
➔ Convergence, Consistency, Stability (0.5)
⚫ Grids/Boundary conditions (0.5)
⚫ Case studies & Best practices in CFD (1)
⚫ Machine Learning in CFD (2)
⚫ Fluid structure interaction (2)
⚫ Hands-on CFD/Lab sessions (2)
What is CFD?
⚫ CFD is a branch of Fluid dynamics
⚫ So what really is Engineering Fluid Dynamics in the first place?
Lets look at some examples:
➔ We are interested in the forces (pressure , viscous stress
etc.) acting on surfaces (Example: In an airplane, we are
interested in the lift, drag, power, pressure distribution etc)
➔ We would like to determine the velocity field (Example: In
a race car, we are interested in the local flow streamlines, so that
we can design for less drag)
➔ We are interested in knowing the temperature distribution
(Example: Heat transfer in the vicinity of a computer chip)
⚫ Roughly put, in Engineering fluid dynamics, we would like to
determine certain flow properties in a certain region of interest, so
that the information can be used to predict the behaviour of
systems, to design more efficient systems etc..
Applications of Fluid Mechanics
⚫ Mechanical Engineering
⚫ Turbines
⚫ Pumps

⚫ Aeronautics Engineering
⚫ Aeroplane
⚫ Jet Propulsion

⚫ Biomechanical Engineering
⚫ Artificial organ design
⚫ Bypass surgery
Sample Application – 1
[Simulation to understand physics]

Flow over F-16 at

45o angle of
attack
Surface Pressure
contours and
streamtraces

Courtesy: Kyle
Squires, ASU
Sample Application -2
[Validation with Experiment]

Experiment Computation

Flow over fixed wing – Expt. vs CFD of velocity contours

Amazing Biofluid world
⚫ Blood clotting
http://catalog.nucleusinc.com/generateex
hibit.php?ID=70897&ExhibitKeywordsRa
w=&TL=&A=2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81xF-
oY1r-Y
 Immersed Boundary
(IB)Method Blood Out
(Sink)
Blood In
(Source)
Blood In
(Source)

Right
Ventricle Left
Particles (Points) with Finite Mass Ventricle

Connected with Fibers (Springs) Form a

Submerged Structure

Dynamics of Large Systems Involving Large Deformation of

Challenges Heart Muscles and Valves Courtesy of Peskin and McQueen

• Coupling complex nonlinear solid motions with fluid motions

• Handling very large deformation of solids
• Computational expense
3 rigid spheres dropping in a tube
Application in Aerospace Engineering
Flexible Wing Airfoil–flow angle: 14°
Re: 200 – 400, Inflow: 10.3 cm/s
Elements: 17181, Nodes: 5840.
Application in Mechanical Engineering
Inflatable structure
3D tetrahedral elements
Inflow: 2 cm/s
Elements: 85354, Nodes: 15718.

3D Inflatable Structure
 Multiscale Modeling of Cardiovascular System
Organic-scale Vessel-scale Cellular-scale Molecular-scale

left right
atrium atrium

left right Artificial valve-fluid interaction modeling Blood cell aggregation

ventric ventri
le cle
artery Lipid-bilayer model

Angioplasty stent surgery modeling Blood clotting on implants modeling

Flow

ABIOMED Artificial heart Bonding model

red blood cells transportation in capillary leukocyte rolling/deposition on
and gas diffusion vessel wall

10−1 m 10−3 m 10−6 m 10−9 m

 Flexible valve-viscous fluid interaction
A simple flexible valve-viscous fluid interaction analysis are compared with
experiments performed at ABIOMED

A rubber beam de-

5.08cm flecting in a column of
water. Pulsatile flow
through the column
(square cross section) is
at a frequency of 1 Hz.

(a) Experiment (b) Simulation

Comparison of experimental observation and simulation

◼ Design challenges
❑ Stress concentration at the anchored end

❑ Blood cell deposition due to the reverse vortex

❑ Blood cell damage due to high transient pressure

Venous Valve: Experiments
• Site of deep saphenous venous thrombosis formation.
• Prevents retrograde venous flow (reflux).
• Site of sluggish blood flow.
• Decreased fibrinolytic activity.
• Muscle contraction prevents venous stasis:
– Increases venous flow velocity.
– Compresses veins.
• Immobilization (long distance flights, etc.) promotes
venous stasis.

Courtesy of H.F. Janssen, Texas Tech University.

Venous Valve: comparison of the
experimental and computational results

Comparison between experiment and simulation at 4 different

time steps
Venous Valve
Blood cell damage in medical devices
◼ Collaborative project with Federal Drug & Food
Administration (FDA) using computational fluid
dynamics for cell damage evaluation project

Relative Index of Hemolysis, RIH

Drug delivery process: continuum model
Bulk concentration Surface drug uptake concentration

B
Common software for CFD
Online Resources

⚫ CFD-Online: Sponsored information service for CFD-users

⚫ http://www.cfd-online.com
⚫ http://www.cfd-online.com/Resources/homes.html#Company
companies and suppliers
⚫ http://www.cfd-online.com/Forum/ discussion and information forum
⚫ http://www.cfd-online.com/Jobs/ jobs for CFD Engineers and
Researchers
⚫ Homepages of commercial suppliers of software
⚫ http://www.software.aeat.com/cfx
⚫ http://www.ansys.com
⚫ http://www.flow-3D.com
⚫ http://www.cfdrc.com
⚫ Open source codes
⚫ Openfoam
⚫ OpenCFD
⚫ CFDPython
Model Generation
⚫ Determination of the system boundaries (Where does the
system start and end? What belongs to it?)

⚫ Identification of the relevant effects (What physical processes

need to be considered? Fluid flow? Heat transfer? Chemical
reactions? etc.)

⚫ Determination of the model parameters (shape, size, material,

actuation etc.)

⚫ Mathematical formulation of the model (in commercial tools

this is usually done by the solver, the user only has to set the
parameters and boundary conditions)
⚫ Taking interactions of effects into account => multi physics
modeling
⚫ Reducing the complexity => model reduction
CFD-Simulation

⚫ Definition of CFD-Simulation:
⚫ Numerical solution of the discretised Navier-Stokes equations (and
related PDE) for given boundary conditions
⚫ Why numerical solution?
⚫ NS-equation is highly nonlinear, no exact analytical
⚫ solution known! (1 Mio. $ price rewarded by CMI for solution of the
NS) http://www.claymath.org/millennium/Navier-Stokes_Equations/

⚫ NS-equation can be solved analytically in simple geometries

using certain approximations (e.g. Stokesflow, Poiseuille-flow,
Couette-flow etc.).

⚫ But usually interesting Problems are not simple and geometries

are complex...
CFD flow chart
⚫ Identification of right approximation (Viscous/Inviscid,
Laminar/Turbulent, Incompressible / compressible, Single-
phase/multi-phase)
⚫ Identification of right solution method (Finite Element /
Difference/Volume, Structured/Unstructured mesh, Order of
accuracy)
⚫ Pre-processing (Generate computational grid, assign boundary
conditions, set initial conditions, compile code, prepare input
parameters)
⚫ Solution (Run the code, monitor the solution)
⚫ Post-processing (Collect and organize data, analyze results)
⚫ Verification (Do the results make sense? Are the trends right?
Does it agree with previous calculations on similar
configurations?)
⚫ Validation (Does the result (or an aspect of the result)) agree with
theory/experiment?)
⚫ At every step, good understanding of theoretical fluid dynamics is
essential!!!
General CFD-Approach
⚫ PDE + Boundary conditions + grid: discretized matrix
representation
General CFD-Approach

⚫ Problem Definition Numerical Solution

Discretization scheme for the
⚫ Selection of the relevant PDEs
PDE
⚫ Geometry generation Finite Difference
⚫ Import of CAD data Finite Elements
⚫ “hand made” Finite Volumes
⚫ Grid generation etc…
Algorithm for solving the matrix
⚫ grid type
(direct methods)
⚫ grid refinement
iterative methods
⚫ Specification of material data
⚫ Specification of boundary Algorithm for coupling pressure
conditions and velocity (e.g. SIMPLE)
h Different strategies / algorithms
for various fluidic domains!
CFD solves transport equations

⚫ Transport phenomena in micro fluidics

⚫ Mass
⚫ Momentum
⚫ Heat
⚫ Dispersed particles
⚫ Phase boundaries, …

⚫ Transport systems are coupled by the

interaction of forces
Generic Transport Equation (1)
Generic Transport Equation (2): Example 1
Generic Transport Equation (3): Example 2
What makes up the real strength of CFD?

⚫ Many different transport equations can be

addressed in the same way
⚫ Map to the generic transport equation

⚫ Complex systems can be addressed by coupling

of different transport equations

⚫ Only one numerical scheme will be necessary to

solve an arbitrary complex system of transport
equation

⚫ CFD-codes can be applied straightforward to a

wide range of applications!
All equations can be solved in the same way
General workflow in CFD