OpenFOAM

The OpenFOAM Foundation

User Guide
version 10

12th July 2022

https://openfoam.org
U-2

Copyright © 2011-2022 OpenFOAM Foundation Ltd.

Author: Christopher J. Greenshields, CFD Direct Ltd.

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Typeset in LATEX.

License
THE WORK (AS DEFINED BELOW) IS PROVIDED UNDER THE TERMS OF THIS CRE-
ATIVE COMMONS PUBLIC LICENSE (“CCPL” OR “LICENSE”). THE WORK IS PROTECTED
BY COPYRIGHT AND/OR OTHER APPLICABLE LAW. ANY USE OF THE WORK OTHER
THAN AS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS LICENSE OR COPYRIGHT LAW IS PROHIBITED.

BY EXERCISING ANY RIGHTS TO THE WORK PROVIDED HERE, YOU ACCEPT AND
AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. TO THE EXTENT THIS LI-
CENSE MAY BE CONSIDERED TO BE A CONTRACT, THE LICENSOR GRANTS YOU THE
RIGHTS CONTAINED HERE IN CONSIDERATION OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF SUCH
TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

1. Definitions
a. “Adaptation” means a work based upon the Work, or upon the Work and other pre-existing
works, such as a translation, adaptation, derivative work, arrangement of music or other
alterations of a literary or artistic work, or phonogram or performance and includes cine-
matographic adaptations or any other form in which the Work may be recast, transformed,
or adapted including in any form recognizably derived from the original, except that a work
that constitutes a Collection will not be considered an Adaptation for the purpose of this
License. For the avoidance of doubt, where the Work is a musical work, performance or
phonogram, the synchronization of the Work in timed-relation with a moving image (“synch-
ing”) will be considered an Adaptation for the purpose of this License.

b. “Collection” means a collection of literary or artistic works, such as encyclopedias and an-
thologies, or performances, phonograms or broadcasts, or other works or subject matter other
than works listed in Section 1(f) below, which, by reason of the selection and arrangement of
their contents, constitute intellectual creations, in which the Work is included in its entirety
in unmodified form along with one or more other contributions, each constituting separate
and independent works in themselves, which together are assembled into a collective whole.
A work that constitutes a Collection will not be considered an Adaptation (as defined above)
for the purposes of this License.

c. “Distribute” means to make available to the public the original and copies of the Work
through sale or other transfer of ownership.

d. “Licensor” means the individual, individuals, entity or entities that offer(s) the Work under
the terms of this License.

e. “Original Author” means, in the case of a literary or artistic work, the individual, individuals,
entity or entities who created the Work or if no individual or entity can be identified, the

OpenFOAM-10
 U-3

publisher; and in addition (i) in the case of a performance the actors, singers, musicians,
dancers, and other persons who act, sing, deliver, declaim, play in, interpret or otherwise
perform literary or artistic works or expressions of folklore; (ii) in the case of a phonogram the
producer being the person or legal entity who first fixes the sounds of a performance or other
sounds; and, (iii) in the case of broadcasts, the organization that transmits the broadcast.
f. “Work” means the literary and/or artistic work offered under the terms of this License includ-
ing without limitation any production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever
may be the mode or form of its expression including digital form, such as a book, pamphlet
and other writing; a lecture, address, sermon or other work of the same nature; a dramatic
or dramatico-musical work; a choreographic work or entertainment in dumb show; a musical
composition with or without words; a cinematographic work to which are assimilated works
expressed by a process analogous to cinematography; a work of drawing, painting, archi-
tecture, sculpture, engraving or lithography; a photographic work to which are assimilated
works expressed by a process analogous to photography; a work of applied art; an illustration,
map, plan, sketch or three-dimensional work relative to geography, topography, architecture
or science; a performance; a broadcast; a phonogram; a compilation of data to the extent it
is protected as a copyrightable work; or a work performed by a variety or circus performer
to the extent it is not otherwise considered a literary or artistic work.
g. “You” means an individual or entity exercising rights under this License who has not pre-
viously violated the terms of this License with respect to the Work, or who has received
express permission from the Licensor to exercise rights under this License despite a previous
violation.
h. “Publicly Perform” means to perform public recitations of the Work and to communicate to
the public those public recitations, by any means or process, including by wire or wireless
means or public digital performances; to make available to the public Works in such a way that
members of the public may access these Works from a place and at a place individually chosen
by them; to perform the Work to the public by any means or process and the communication
to the public of the performances of the Work, including by public digital performance; to
broadcast and rebroadcast the Work by any means including signs, sounds or images.
i. “Reproduce” means to make copies of the Work by any means including without limitation
by sound or visual recordings and the right of fixation and reproducing fixations of the Work,
including storage of a protected performance or phonogram in digital form or other electronic
medium.

2. Fair Dealing Rights.

Nothing in this License is intended to reduce, limit, or restrict any uses free from copyright or
rights arising from limitations or exceptions that are provided for in connection with the copyright
protection under copyright law or other applicable laws.

3. License Grant.
Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-
free, non-exclusive, perpetual (for the duration of the applicable copyright) license to exercise the
rights in the Work as stated below:
a. to Reproduce the Work, to incorporate the Work into one or more Collections, and to Re-
produce the Work as incorporated in the Collections;

OpenFOAM-10
U-4

b. and, to Distribute and Publicly Perform the Work including as incorporated in Collections.
The above rights may be exercised in all media and formats whether now known or hereafter
devised. The above rights include the right to make such modifications as are technically necessary
to exercise the rights in other media and formats, but otherwise you have no rights to make
Adaptations. Subject to 8(f), all rights not expressly granted by Licensor are hereby reserved,
including but not limited to the rights set forth in Section 4(d).

4. Restrictions.
The license granted in Section 3 above is expressly made subject to and limited by the following
restrictions:
a. You may Distribute or Publicly Perform the Work only under the terms of this License. You
must include a copy of, or the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) for, this License with every
copy of the Work You Distribute or Publicly Perform. You may not offer or impose any terms
on the Work that restrict the terms of this License or the ability of the recipient of the Work
to exercise the rights granted to that recipient under the terms of the License. You may not
sublicense the Work. You must keep intact all notices that refer to this License and to the
disclaimer of warranties with every copy of the Work You Distribute or Publicly Perform.
When You Distribute or Publicly Perform the Work, You may not impose any effective
technological measures on the Work that restrict the ability of a recipient of the Work from
You to exercise the rights granted to that recipient under the terms of the License. This
Section 4(a) applies to the Work as incorporated in a Collection, but this does not require
the Collection apart from the Work itself to be made subject to the terms of this License. If
You create a Collection, upon notice from any Licensor You must, to the extent practicable,
remove from the Collection any credit as required by Section 4(c), as requested.

b. You may not exercise any of the rights granted to You in Section 3 above in any manner
that is primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary
compensation. The exchange of the Work for other copyrighted works by means of digital file-
sharing or otherwise shall not be considered to be intended for or directed toward commercial
advantage or private monetary compensation, provided there is no payment of any monetary
compensation in connection with the exchange of copyrighted works.

c. If You Distribute, or Publicly Perform the Work or Collections, You must, unless a request
has been made pursuant to Section 4(a), keep intact all copyright notices for the Work
and provide, reasonable to the medium or means You are utilizing: (i) the name of the
Original Author (or pseudonym, if applicable) if supplied, and/or if the Original Author
and/or Licensor designate another party or parties (e.g., a sponsor institute, publishing
entity, journal) for attribution (“Attribution Parties”) in Licensor’s copyright notice, terms
of service or by other reasonable means, the name of such party or parties; (ii) the title of
the Work if supplied; (iii) to the extent reasonably practicable, the URI, if any, that Licensor
specifies to be associated with the Work, unless such URI does not refer to the copyright
notice or licensing information for the Work. The credit required by this Section 4(c) may be
implemented in any reasonable manner; provided, however, that in the case of a Collection,
at a minimum such credit will appear, if a credit for all contributing authors of Collection
appears, then as part of these credits and in a manner at least as prominent as the credits
for the other contributing authors. For the avoidance of doubt, You may only use the credit
required by this Section for the purpose of attribution in the manner set out above and, by
exercising Your rights under this License, You may not implicitly or explicitly assert or imply

OpenFOAM-10
 U-5

any connection with, sponsorship or endorsement by the Original Author, Licensor and/or
Attribution Parties, as appropriate, of You or Your use of the Work, without the separate,
express prior written permission of the Original Author, Licensor and/or Attribution Parties.

d. For the avoidance of doubt:

i. Non-waivable Compulsory License Schemes. In those jurisdictions in which the right to

collect royalties through any statutory or compulsory licensing scheme cannot be waived,
the Licensor reserves the exclusive right to collect such royalties for any exercise by You
of the rights granted under this License;
ii. Waivable Compulsory License Schemes. In those jurisdictions in which the right to
collect royalties through any statutory or compulsory licensing scheme can be waived,
the Licensor reserves the exclusive right to collect such royalties for any exercise by
You of the rights granted under this License if Your exercise of such rights is for a
purpose or use which is otherwise than noncommercial as permitted under Section 4(b)
and otherwise waives the right to collect royalties through any statutory or compulsory
licensing scheme; and,
iii. Voluntary License Schemes. The Licensor reserves the right to collect royalties, whether
individually or, in the event that the Licensor is a member of a collecting society that
administers voluntary licensing schemes, via that society, from any exercise by You of
the rights granted under this License that is for a purpose or use which is otherwise
than noncommercial as permitted under Section 4(b).

e. Except as otherwise agreed in writing by the Licensor or as may be otherwise permitted by

applicable law, if You Reproduce, Distribute or Publicly Perform the Work either by itself or
as part of any Collections, You must not distort, mutilate, modify or take other derogatory
action in relation to the Work which would be prejudicial to the Original Author’s honor or
reputation.

5. Representations, Warranties and Disclaimer

UNLESS OTHERWISE MUTUALLY AGREED BY THE PARTIES IN WRITING, LICENSOR
OFFERS THE WORK AS-IS AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF
ANY KIND CONCERNING THE WORK, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHER-
WISE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTIBIL-
ITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT, OR THE ABSENCE
OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS, ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OF ABSENCE OF
ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT DISCOVERABLE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW
THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SUCH EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY
TO YOU.

6. Limitation on Liability.
EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL LI-
CENSOR BE LIABLE TO YOU ON ANY LEGAL THEORY FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDEN-
TAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS
LICENSE OR THE USE OF THE WORK, EVEN IF LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OpenFOAM-10
U-6

7. Termination
a. This License and the rights granted hereunder will terminate automatically upon any breach
by You of the terms of this License. Individuals or entities who have received Collections
from You under this License, however, will not have their licenses terminated provided such
individuals or entities remain in full compliance with those licenses. Sections 1, 2, 5, 6, 7,
and 8 will survive any termination of this License.

b. Subject to the above terms and conditions, the license granted here is perpetual (for the
duration of the applicable copyright in the Work). Notwithstanding the above, Licensor
reserves the right to release the Work under different license terms or to stop distributing
the Work at any time; provided, however that any such election will not serve to withdraw
this License (or any other license that has been, or is required to be, granted under the terms
of this License), and this License will continue in full force and effect unless terminated as
stated above.

8. Miscellaneous
a. Each time You Distribute or Publicly Perform the Work or a Collection, the Licensor offers
to the recipient a license to the Work on the same terms and conditions as the license granted
to You under this License.

b. If any provision of this License is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, it shall
not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of the terms of this License, and
without further action by the parties to this agreement, such provision shall be reformed to
the minimum extent necessary to make such provision valid and enforceable.

c. No term or provision of this License shall be deemed waived and no breach consented to
unless such waiver or consent shall be in writing and signed by the party to be charged with
such waiver or consent.

d. This License constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the Work
licensed here. There are no understandings, agreements or representations with respect to
the Work not specified here. Licensor shall not be bound by any additional provisions that
may appear in any communication from You.

e. This License may not be modified without the mutual written agreement of the Licensor
and You. The rights granted under, and the subject matter referenced, in this License were
drafted utilizing the terminology of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary
and Artistic Works (as amended on September 28, 1979), the Rome Convention of 1961,
the WIPO Copyright Treaty of 1996, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty of
1996 and the Universal Copyright Convention (as revised on July 24, 1971). These rights
and subject matter take effect in the relevant jurisdiction in which the License terms are
sought to be enforced according to the corresponding provisions of the implementation of
those treaty provisions in the applicable national law. If the standard suite of rights granted
under applicable copyright law includes additional rights not granted under this License, such
additional rights are deemed to be included in the License; this License is not intended to
restrict the license of any rights under applicable law.

OpenFOAM-10
 U-7

Trademarks

ANSYS is a registered trademark of ANSYS Inc.

CFX is a registered trademark of Ansys Inc.
CHEMKIN is a registered trademark of Reaction Design Corporation.
EnSight is a registered trademark of Computational Engineering International Ltd.
Fieldview is a registered trademark of Intelligent Light.
Fluent is a registered trademark of Ansys Inc.
GAMBIT is a registered trademark of Ansys Inc.
Icem-CFD is a registered trademark of Ansys Inc.
I-DEAS is a registered trademark of Structural Dynamics Research Corporation.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
OpenFOAM is a registered trademark of ESI Group.
ParaView is a registered trademark of Kitware.
STAR-CD is a registered trademark of CD-Adapco.
UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

OpenFOAM-10
U-8

OpenFOAM-10
Contents

Copyright Notice U-2

Trademarks U-7

Contents U-9

1 Introduction U-17

2 Tutorials U-19
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-20
2.1.1 Pre-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-20
2.1.1.1 Mesh generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-21
2.1.1.2 Boundary and initial conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-22
2.1.1.3 Physical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-24
2.1.1.4 Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-24
2.1.1.5 Discretisation and linear-solver settings . . . . . . . . . U-25
2.1.2 Viewing the mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-26
2.1.3 Running an application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-28
2.1.4 Post-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-28
2.1.4.1 Colouring surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-28
2.1.4.2 Cutting plane (slice) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-30
2.1.4.3 Contours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-30
2.1.4.4 Vector plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-31
2.1.4.5 Streamline plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-33
2.1.5 Increasing the mesh resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-33
2.1.5.1 Creating a new case using an existing case . . . . . . . U-34
2.1.5.2 Creating the finer mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-34
2.1.5.3 Mapping the coarse mesh results onto the fine mesh . . U-34
2.1.5.4 Control adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-35
2.1.5.5 Running the code as a background process . . . . . . . U-35
2.1.5.6 Vector plot with the refined mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . U-35
2.1.5.7 Plotting graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-36
2.1.6 Introducing mesh grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-37
2.1.6.1 Creating the graded mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-38
2.1.6.2 Changing time and time step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-39
2.1.6.3 Mapping fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-40
U-10 Contents

2.1.7 Increasing the Reynolds number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-40

2.1.7.1 Pre-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-40
2.1.7.2 Running the code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-41
2.1.8 High Reynolds number flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-41
2.1.8.1 Pre-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-42
2.1.8.2 Running the code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-44
2.1.9 Changing the case geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-44
2.1.10 Post-processing the modified geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-47
2.2 Stress analysis of a plate with a hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-47
2.2.1 Mesh generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-48
2.2.1.1 Boundary and initial conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-50
2.2.1.2 Physical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-51
2.2.1.3 Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-52
2.2.1.4 Discretisation schemes and linear-solver control . . . . U-53
2.2.2 Running the code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-54
2.2.3 Post-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-54
2.2.4 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-55
2.2.4.1 Increasing mesh resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-56
2.2.4.2 Introducing mesh grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-56
2.2.4.3 Changing the plate size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-56
2.3 Breaking of a dam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-56
2.3.1 Mesh generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-56
2.3.2 Boundary conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-58
2.3.3 Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-59
2.3.4 Setting initial fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-59
2.3.5 Fluid properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-60
2.3.6 Turbulence modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-61
2.3.7 Time step control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-61
2.3.8 Discretisation schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-62
2.3.9 Linear-solver control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-63
2.3.10 Running the code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-63
2.3.11 Post-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-63
2.3.12 Running in parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-63
2.3.13 Post-processing a case run in parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-65

3 Applications and libraries U-79

3.1 The programming language of OpenFOAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-79
3.1.1 Language in general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-79
3.1.2 Object-orientation and C++ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-80
3.1.3 Equation representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-80
3.1.4 Solver codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-81
3.2 Compiling applications and libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-81
3.2.1 Header .H files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-81
3.2.2 Compiling with wmake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-83
3.2.2.1 Including headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-83
3.2.2.2 Linking to libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-84

OpenFOAM-10
Contents U-11

3.2.2.3 Source files to be compiled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-85

3.2.2.4 Running wmake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-85
3.2.2.5 wmake environment variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-85
3.2.3 Removing dependency lists: wclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-86
3.2.4 Compiling libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-87
3.2.5 Compilation example: the pisoFoam application . . . . . . . . . U-87
3.2.6 Debug messaging and optimisation switches . . . . . . . . . . . U-90
3.2.7 Linking user-defined libraries to applications . . . . . . . . . . . U-90
3.3 Running applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-91
3.4 Running applications in parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-92
3.4.1 Decomposition of mesh and initial field data . . . . . . . . . . . U-92
3.4.2 File input/output in parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-94
3.4.2.1 Selecting the file handler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-94
3.4.2.2 Updating exisiting files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-94
3.4.2.3 Threading support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-95
3.4.3 Running a decomposed case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-95
3.4.4 Distributing data across several disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-96
3.4.5 Post-processing parallel processed cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-97
3.4.5.1 Reconstructing mesh and data . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-97
3.4.5.2 Post-processing decomposed cases . . . . . . . . . . . . U-97
3.5 Standard solvers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-97
3.5.1 ‘Basic’ CFD codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-97
3.5.2 Incompressible flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-98
3.5.3 Compressible flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-98
3.5.4 Multiphase flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-98
3.5.5 Direct numerical simulation (DNS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-99
3.5.6 Combustion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-99
3.5.7 Heat transfer and buoyancy-driven flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-100
3.5.8 Particle-tracking flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-100
3.5.9 Discrete methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-100
3.5.10 Electromagnetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-100
3.5.11 Stress analysis of solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-101
3.5.12 Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-101
3.6 Standard utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-101
3.6.1 Pre-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-101
3.6.2 Mesh generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-102
3.6.3 Mesh conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-102
3.6.4 Mesh manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-103
3.6.5 Other mesh tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-105
3.6.6 Post-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-105
3.6.7 Post-processing data converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-106
3.6.8 Surface mesh (e.g. OBJ/STL) tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-106
3.6.9 Parallel processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-108
3.6.10 Thermophysical-related utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-108
3.6.11 Miscellaneous utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-108

OpenFOAM-10
U-12 Contents

4 OpenFOAM cases U-109

4.1 File structure of OpenFOAM cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-109
4.2 Basic input/output file format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-110
4.2.1 General syntax rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-110
4.2.2 Dictionaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-111
4.2.3 The data file header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-111
4.2.4 Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-112
4.2.5 Scalars, vectors and tensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-113
4.2.6 Dimensional units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-113
4.2.7 Dimensioned types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-114
4.2.8 Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-114
4.2.9 Macro expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-115
4.2.10 Including files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-117
4.2.11 Environment variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-118
4.2.12 Regular expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-118
4.2.13 Keyword ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-118
4.2.14 Inline calculations and code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-119
4.2.15 Conditionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-120
4.3 Global controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-120
4.3.1 Overriding global controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-121
4.4 Time and data input/output control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-122
4.4.1 Time control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-122
4.4.2 Data writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-123
4.4.3 Other settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-124
4.5 Numerical schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-124
4.5.1 Time schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-126
4.5.2 Gradient schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-127
4.5.3 Divergence schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-127
4.5.4 Surface normal gradient schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-130
4.5.5 Laplacian schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-131
4.5.6 Interpolation schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-132
4.6 Solution and algorithm control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-132
4.6.1 Linear solver control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-132
4.6.1.1 Solution tolerances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-133
4.6.1.2 Preconditioned conjugate gradient solvers . . . . . . . U-134
4.6.1.3 Smooth solvers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-135
4.6.1.4 Geometric-algebraic multi-grid solvers . . . . . . . . . U-135
4.6.2 Solution under-relaxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-136
4.6.3 PISO, SIMPLE and PIMPLE algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-137
4.6.4 Pressure referencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-138
4.6.5 Other parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-138
4.7 Case management tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-138
4.7.1 File management scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-138
4.7.2 foamDictionary and foamSearch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-138
4.7.3 The foamGet script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-141
4.7.4 The foamInfo script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-142

OpenFOAM-10
Contents U-13

5 Mesh generation and conversion U-145

5.1 Mesh description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-145
5.1.1 Mesh specification and validity constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . U-145
5.1.1.1 Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-145
5.1.1.2 Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-146
5.1.1.3 Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-146
5.1.1.4 Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-147
5.1.2 The polyMesh description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-147
5.1.3 Cell shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-147
5.1.4 1- and 2-dimensional and axi-symmetric problems . . . . . . . . U-149
5.2 Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-149
5.2.1 Geometric (constraint) patch types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-150
5.2.2 Basic boundary conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-152
5.2.3 Derived types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-153
5.2.3.1 The inlet/outlet condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-153
5.2.3.2 Entrainment boundary conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . U-154
5.2.3.3 Fixed flux pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-156
5.2.3.4 Time-varying boundary conditions . . . . . . . . . . . U-156
5.3 Mesh generation with the blockMesh utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-158
5.3.1 Writing a blockMeshDict file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-160
5.3.1.1 The vertices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-160
5.3.1.2 The edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-161
5.3.1.3 The blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-162
5.3.1.4 Multi-grading of a block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-163
5.3.1.5 The boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-164
5.3.2 Multiple blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-166
5.3.3 Projection of vertices, edges and faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-167
5.3.4 Naming vertices, edges, faces and blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-168
5.3.5 Creating blocks with fewer than 8 vertices . . . . . . . . . . . . U-168
5.3.6 Running blockMesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-169
5.4 Mesh generation with the snappyHexMesh utility . . . . . . . . . . . . U-169
5.4.1 The mesh generation process of snappyHexMesh . . . . . . . . . U-170
5.4.2 Creating the background hex mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-171
5.4.3 Cell splitting at feature edges and surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . U-172
5.4.4 Cell removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-174
5.4.5 Cell splitting in specified regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-174
5.4.6 Cell splitting based on local span . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-175
5.4.7 Snapping to surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-176
5.4.8 Mesh layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-176
5.4.9 Mesh quality controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-179
5.5 Mesh conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-180
5.5.1 fluentMeshToFoam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-180
5.5.2 starToFoam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-181
5.5.2.1 General advice on conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-181
5.5.2.2 Eliminating extraneous data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-182
5.5.2.3 Removing default boundary conditions . . . . . . . . . U-183

OpenFOAM-10
U-14 Contents

5.5.2.4 Renumbering the model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-183

5.5.2.5 Writing out the mesh data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-184
5.5.2.6 Problems with the .vrt file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-185
5.5.2.7 Converting the mesh to OpenFOAM format . . . . . . U-185
5.5.3 gambitToFoam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-186
5.5.4 ideasToFoam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-186
5.5.5 cfx4ToFoam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-186
5.6 Mapping fields between different geometries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-187
5.6.1 Mapping consistent fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-187
5.6.2 Mapping inconsistent fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-187
5.6.3 Mapping parallel cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-188

6 Post-processing U-189
6.1 ParaView/paraFoam graphical user interface (GUI) . . . . . . . . . . . . U-189
6.1.1 Overview of ParaView/paraFoam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-189
6.1.2 The Parameters panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-191
6.1.3 The Display panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-192
6.1.4 The button toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-193
6.1.5 Manipulating the view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-193
6.1.5.1 View settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-194
6.1.5.2 General settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-194
6.1.6 Contour plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-194
6.1.6.1 Introducing a cutting plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-194
6.1.7 Vector plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-195
6.1.7.1 Plotting at cell centres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-195
6.1.8 Streamlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-195
6.1.9 Image output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-195
6.1.10 Animation output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-196
6.2 Post-processing command line interface (CLI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-196
6.2.1 Post-processing functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-197
6.2.1.1 Field calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-197
6.2.1.2 Field operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-198
6.2.1.3 Forces and force coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-199
6.2.1.4 Sampling for graph plotting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-199
6.2.1.5 Lagrangian data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-199
6.2.1.6 Monitoring minima and maxima . . . . . . . . . . . . U-199
6.2.1.7 Numerical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-200
6.2.1.8 Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-200
6.2.1.9 Pressure tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-200
6.2.1.10 Combustion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-200
6.2.1.11 Multiphase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-200
6.2.1.12 Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-201
6.2.1.13 Surface region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-201
6.2.1.14 ‘Pluggable’ solvers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-202
6.2.1.15 Visualisation tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-202
6.2.2 Run-time data processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-202

OpenFOAM-10
Contents U-15

6.2.3 The postProcess utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-203

6.2.4 Solver post-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-205
6.3 Sampling and monitoring data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-205
6.3.1 Probing data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-205
6.3.2 Sampling for graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-206
6.3.3 Sampling for visualisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-208
6.3.4 Live monitoring of data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-209
6.4 Third-Party post-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-210
6.4.1 Post-processing with Ensight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-211
6.4.1.1 Converting data to Ensight format . . . . . . . . . . . U-211
6.4.1.2 The ensightFoamReader reader module . . . . . . . . . U-212

7 Models and physical properties U-213

7.1 Thermophysical models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-213
7.1.1 Thermophysical and mixture models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-214
7.1.2 Transport model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-215
7.1.3 Thermodynamic models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-216
7.1.4 Composition of each constituent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-217
7.1.5 Equation of state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-218
7.1.6 Selection of energy variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-219
7.1.7 Thermophysical property data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-219
7.2 Turbulence models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-221
7.2.1 Reynolds-averaged simulation (RAS) modelling . . . . . . . . . U-221
7.2.1.1 Incompressible RAS turbulence models . . . . . . . . . U-222
7.2.1.2 Compressible RAS turbulence models . . . . . . . . . . U-223
7.2.2 Large eddy simulation (LES) modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-223
7.2.2.1 Incompressible LES turbulence models . . . . . . . . . U-224
7.2.2.2 Compressible LES turbulence models . . . . . . . . . . U-224
7.2.3 Model coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-225
7.2.4 Wall functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-225
7.3 Transport/rheology models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-226
7.3.1 Bird-Carreau model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-226
7.3.2 Cross Power Law model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-226
7.3.3 Power Law model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-227
7.3.4 Herschel-Bulkley model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-227
7.3.5 Casson model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-228
7.3.6 General strain-rate function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-228
7.3.7 Maxwell model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-228
7.3.8 Giesekus model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-229
7.3.9 Phan-Thien-Tanner (PTT) model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-229
7.3.10 Lambda thixotropic model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U-230

Index U-233

OpenFOAM-10
U-16 Contents

OpenFOAM-10
Chapter 1

Introduction

This guide accompanies the release of version 10 of the Open Source Field Operation and
Manipulation (OpenFOAM) C++ libraries. It provides a description of the basic operation
of OpenFOAM, first through a set of tutorial exercises in chapter 2 and later by a more
detailed description of the individual components that make up OpenFOAM.
OpenFOAM is a framework for developing application executables that use packaged
functionality contained within a collection of over 100 C++ libraries. OpenFOAM is shipped
with approximately 200 pre-built applications that fall into two categories: solvers, that are
each designed to solve a specific problem in fluid (or continuum) mechanics; and utilities, that
are designed to perform tasks that involve data manipulation. The solvers in OpenFOAM
cover a wide range of problems in fluid dynamics, as described in chapter 3.
Users can extend the collection of solvers, utilities and libraries in OpenFOAM, using
some pre-requisite knowledge of the underlying method, physics and programming techniques
involved.
OpenFOAM is supplied with pre- and post-processing environments. The interface to the
pre- and post-processing are themselves OpenFOAM utilities, thereby ensuring consistent
data handling across all environments. The overall structure of OpenFOAM is shown in
Figure 1.1. The pre-processing and running of OpenFOAM cases is described in chapter 4.

Open Source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFOAM) C++ Library

Pre-processing Solving Post-processing

Utilities Meshing User Standard ParaView Others

Tools Applications Applications e.g.EnSight

Figure 1.1: Overview of OpenFOAM structure.

In chapter 5, we cover both the generation of meshes using the mesh generator supplied
with OpenFOAM and conversion of mesh data generated by third-party products. Post-
processing is described in chapter 6 and some aspects of physical modelling, e.g. transport
and thermophysical modelling, are described in in chapter 7.
U-18 Introduction

OpenFOAM-10
Chapter 2

Tutorials

In this chapter we shall describe in detail the process of setup, simulation and post-processing
for some OpenFOAM test cases, with the principal aim of introducing a user to the basic pro-
cedures of running OpenFOAM. The $FOAM_TUTORIALS directory contains many more
cases that demonstrate the use of all the solvers and many utilities supplied with Open-
FOAM.
Before attempting to run the tutorials, the user must first make sure that OpenFOAM
is installed correctly. Cases in the tutorials will be copied into the so-called run directory, an
OpenFOAM project directory in the user’s file system at $HOME/OpenFOAM/<USER>-10/-
run where <USER> is the account login name and “10” is the OpenFOAM version number.
The run directory is represented by the $FOAM_RUN environment variable enabling the user
to check its existence conveniently by typing

ls $FOAM_RUN

If a message is returned saying no such directory exists, the user should create the directory
by typing

mkdir -p $FOAM_RUN

The tutorial cases describe the use of the meshing and pre-processing utilities, case setup
and running OpenFOAM solvers and post-processing using ParaView.
Copies of all tutorials are available from the tutorials directory of the OpenFOAM instal-
lation. The tutorials are organised into a set of directories according to the type of flow and
then subdirectories according to solver. For example, all the simpleFoam cases are stored
within a subdirectory incompressible/simpleFoam, where incompressible indicates the type of
flow. The user can copy cases from the tutorials directory into their local run directory as
needed. For example to run the pitzDaily tutorial case for the simpleFoam solver, the user
can copy it to the run directory by typing:

cd $FOAM_RUN
cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/simpleFoam/pitzDaily .
U-20 Tutorials

2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow

This tutorial will describe how to pre-process, run and post-process a case involving isother-
mal, incompressible flow in a two-dimensional square domain. The geometry is shown in
Figure 2.1 in which all the boundaries of the square are walls. The top wall moves in the
x-direction at a speed of 1 m/s while the other 3 are stationary. Initially, the flow will
be assumed laminar and will be solved on a uniform mesh using the icoFoam solver for
laminar, isothermal, incompressible flow. During the course of the tutorial, the effect of in-
creased mesh resolution and mesh grading towards the walls will be investigated. Finally, the
flow Reynolds number will be increased and the pisoFoam solver will be used for turbulent,
isothermal, incompressible flow.

Ux = 1 m/s

d = 0.1 m

Figure 2.1: Geometry of the lid driven cavity.

2.1.1 Pre-processing
Cases are setup in OpenFOAM by editing case files. Users should select an editor of choice
with which to do this, such as emacs, vi, gedit, nedit, etc. Editing files is possible in Open-
FOAM because the I/O uses a dictionary format with keywords that convey sufficient mean-
ing to be understood by the users.
A case being simulated involves data for mesh, fields, properties, control parameters,
etc. As described in section 4.1, in OpenFOAM this data is stored in a set of files within a
case directory rather than in a single case file, as in many other CFD packages. The case
directory is given a suitably descriptive name. This tutorial consists of a set of cases located
in $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/icoFoam/cavity, the first of which is simply named
cavity. As a first step, the user should copy the cavity case directory to their run directory.

cd $FOAM_RUN
cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/icoFoam/cavity/cavity .
cd cavity

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-21

2.1.1.1 Mesh generation

OpenFOAM always operates in a 3 dimensional Cartesian coordinate system and all geome-
tries are generated in 3 dimensions. OpenFOAM solves the case in 3 dimensions by default
but can be instructed to solve in 2 dimensions by specifying a ‘special’ empty boundary
condition on boundaries normal to the (3rd) dimension for which no solution is required.
The cavity domain consists of a square of side length d = 0.1 m in the x-y plane. A uniform
mesh of 20 by 20 cells will be used initially. The block structure is shown in Figure 2.2. The

3 2

7 6

y
x 1
0
z
4 5
Figure 2.2: Block structure of the mesh for the cavity.

mesh generator supplied with OpenFOAM, blockMesh, generates meshes from a description
specified in an input dictionary, blockMeshDict located in the system directory for a given
case. The blockMeshDict entries for this case are as follows:
1 /*--------------------------------*- C++ -*----------------------------------*\
2 ========= |
3 \\ / F ield | OpenFOAM: The Open Source CFD Toolbox
4 \\ / O peration | Website: https://openfoam.org
5 \\ / A nd | Version: 10
6 \\/ M anipulation |
7 \*---------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
8 FoamFile
9 {
10 format ascii;
11 class dictionary;
12 object blockMeshDict;
13 }
14 // * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * //
15
16 convertToMeters 0.1;
17
18 vertices
19 (
20 (0 0 0)
21 (1 0 0)
22 (1 1 0)
23 (0 1 0)
24 (0 0 0.1)
25 (1 0 0.1)
26 (1 1 0.1)
27 (0 1 0.1)
28 );
29
30 blocks
31 (

OpenFOAM-10
U-22 Tutorials

32 hex (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7) (20 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)

33 );
34
35 boundary
36 (
37 movingWall
38 {
39 type wall;
40 faces
41 (
42 (3 7 6 2)
43 );
44 }
45 fixedWalls
46 {
47 type wall;
48 faces
49 (
50 (0 4 7 3)
51 (2 6 5 1)
52 (1 5 4 0)
53 );
54 }
55 frontAndBack
56 {
57 type empty;
58 faces
59 (
60 (0 3 2 1)
61 (4 5 6 7)
62 );
63 }
64 );
65
66
67 // ************************************************************************* //

The file first contains header information in the form of a banner (lines 1-7), then file
information contained in a FoamFile sub-dictionary, delimited by curly braces ({...}).

For the remainder of the manual:

For the sake of clarity and to save space, file headers, including the banner and
FoamFile sub-dictionary, will be removed from verbatim quoting of case files
The file first specifies coordinates of the block vertices; it then defines the blocks (here,
only 1) from the vertex labels and the number of cells within it; and finally, it defines the
boundary patches. The user is encouraged to consult section 5.3 to understand the meaning
of the entries in the blockMeshDict file.
The mesh is generated by running blockMesh on this blockMeshDict file. From within the
case directory, this is done, simply by typing in the terminal:

blockMesh

The running status of blockMesh is reported in the terminal window. Any mistakes in the
blockMeshDict file are picked up by blockMesh and the resulting error message directs the
user to the line in the file where the problem occurred.

2.1.1.2 Boundary and initial conditions

Once the mesh generation is complete, the user can look at this initial fields set up for this
case. The case is set up to start at time t = 0 s, so the initial field data is stored in a 0

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-23

sub-directory of the cavity directory. The 0 sub-directory contains 2 files, p and U, one for
each of the pressure (p) and velocity (U) fields whose initial values and boundary conditions
must be set. Let us examine file p:
16 dimensions [0 2 -2 0 0 0 0];
17
18 internalField uniform 0;
19
20 boundaryField
21 {
22 movingWall
23 {
24 type zeroGradient;
25 }
26
27 fixedWalls
28 {
29 type zeroGradient;
30 }
31
32 frontAndBack
33 {
34 type empty;
35 }
36 }
37
38 // ************************************************************************* //

There are 3 principal entries in field data files:

dimensions specifies the dimensions of the field, here kinematic pressure, i.e. m2 s−2 (see
section 4.2.6 for more information);

internalField the internal field data which can be uniform, described by a single value;
or nonuniform, where all the values of the field must be specified (see section 4.2.8 for
more information);

boundaryField the boundary field data that includes boundary conditions and data for all
the boundary patches (see section 4.2.8 for more information).

For this case cavity, the boundary consists of walls only, split into 2 patches named: (1)
fixedWalls for the fixed sides and base of the cavity; (2) movingWall for the moving top of
the cavity. As walls, both are given a zeroGradient boundary condition for p, meaning “the
normal gradient of pressure is zero”. The frontAndBack patch represents the front and back
planes of the 2D case and therefore must be set as empty.
In this case, as in most we encounter, the initial fields are set to be uniform. Here the
pressure is kinematic, and as an incompressible case, its absolute value is not relevant, so is
set to uniform 0 for convenience.
The user can similarly examine the velocity field in the 0/U file. The dimensions are
those expected for velocity, the internal field is initialised as uniform zero, which in the case of
velocity must be expressed by 3 vector components, i.e. uniform (0 0 0) (see section 4.2.5
for more information).
The boundary field for velocity requires the same boundary condition for the frontAnd-
Back patch. The other patches are walls: a no-slip condition is assumed on the fixedWalls,
hence a noSlip condition. The top surface moves at a speed of 1 m/s in the x-direction so
requires a fixedValue condition with value of uniform (1 0 0).

OpenFOAM-10
U-24 Tutorials

2.1.1.3 Physical properties

The physical properties for the case are stored in dictionary files in the constant directory.
For an icoFoam case, the only property that must be specified is the kinematic viscosity
which is stored from the physicalProperties dictionary. The user can check that the kinematic
viscosity is set correctly by opening the physicalProperties dictionary to view/edit its entries.
The keyword for kinematic viscosity is nu, the phonetic label for the Greek symbol ν by
which it is represented in equations. Initially this case will be run with a Reynolds number
of 10, where the Reynolds number is defined as:
d|U|
Re = (2.1)
ν
where d and |U| are the characteristic length and velocity respectively and ν is the kinematic
viscosity. Here d = 0.1 m, |U| = 1 m/s, so that for Re = 10, ν = 0.01 m2 s−1 . The correct
file entry for kinematic viscosity is thus specified below:
16
17 nu [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 0.01;
18
19
20 // ************************************************************************* //

2.1.1.4 Control
Input data relating to the control of time and reading and writing of the solution data are
read in from the controlDict dictionary. The user should view this file; as a case control file,
it is located in the system directory.
The start/stop times and the time step for the run must be set. OpenFOAM offers great
flexibility with time control which is described in full in section 4.4. In this tutorial we wish
to start the run at time t = 0 which means that OpenFOAM needs to read field data from a
directory named 0 — see section 4.1 for more information of the case file structure. Therefore
we set the startFrom keyword to startTime and then specify the startTime keyword to
be 0.
For the end time, we wish to reach the steady state solution where the flow is circulating
around the cavity. As a general rule, the fluid should pass through the domain 10 times to
reach steady state in laminar flow. In this case the flow does not pass through this domain
as there is no inlet or outlet, so instead the end time can be set to the time taken for the lid
to travel ten times across the cavity, i.e. 1 s; in fact, with hindsight, we discover that 0.5 s is
sufficient so we shall adopt this value. To specify this end time, we must specify the stopAt
keyword as endTime and then set the endTime keyword to 0.5.
Now we need to set the time step, represented by the keyword deltaT. To achieve tempo-
ral accuracy and numerical stability when running icoFoam, a Courant number of less than
1 is required. The Courant number is defined for one cell as:
δt|U|
Co = (2.2)
δx
where δt is the time step, |U| is the magnitude of the velocity through that cell and δx is
the cell size in the direction of the velocity. The flow velocity varies across the domain and
we must ensure Co < 1 everywhere. We therefore choose δt based on the worst case: the

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-25

maximum Co corresponding to the combined effect of a large flow velocity and small cell
size. Here, the cell size is fixed across the domain so the maximum Co will occur next to
the lid where the velocity approaches 1 m s−1 . The cell size is:
d 0.1
δx = = = 0.005 m (2.3)
n 20
Therefore to achieve a Courant number less than or equal to 1 throughout the domain the
time step deltaT must be set to less than or equal to:
Co δx 1 × 0.005
δt = = = 0.005 s (2.4)
|U| 1
As the simulation progresses we wish to write results at certain intervals of time that we
can later view with a post-processing package. The writeControl keyword presents several
options for setting the time at which the results are written; here we select the timeStep
option which specifies that results are written every nth time step where the value n is
specified under the writeInterval keyword. Let us decide that we wish to write our results
at times 0.1, 0.2,. . . , 0.5 s. With a time step of 0.005 s, we therefore need to output results
at every 20th time time step and so we set writeInterval to 20.
OpenFOAM creates a new directory named after the current time, e.g. 0.1 s, on each
occasion that it writes a set of data, as discussed in full in section 4.1. In the icoFoam solver,
it writes out the results for each field, U and p, into the time directories. For this case, the
entries in the controlDict are shown below:
16
17 application icoFoam;
18
19 startFrom startTime;
20
21 startTime 0;
22
23 stopAt endTime;
24
25 endTime 0.5;
26
27 deltaT 0.005;
28
29 writeControl timeStep;
30
31 writeInterval 20;
32
33 purgeWrite 0;
34
35 writeFormat ascii;
36
37 writePrecision 6;
38
39 writeCompression off;
40
41 timeFormat general;
42
43 timePrecision 6;
44
45 runTimeModifiable true;
46
47
48 // ************************************************************************* //

2.1.1.5 Discretisation and linear-solver settings

The user specifies the choice of finite volume discretisation schemes in the fvSchemes dictio-
nary in the system directory. The specification of the linear equation solvers and tolerances

OpenFOAM-10
U-26 Tutorials

and other algorithm controls is made in the fvSolution dictionary, similarly in the system
directory. The user is free to view these dictionaries but we do not need to discuss all their
entries at this stage except for pRefCell and pRefValue in the PISO sub-dictionary of the
fvSolution dictionary. In a closed incompressible system such as the cavity, pressure is rela-
tive: it is the pressure range that matters not the absolute values. In cases such as this, the
solver sets a reference level by pRefValue in cell pRefCell. In this example both are set to
0. Changing either of these values will change the absolute pressure field, but not, of course,
the relative pressures or velocity field.

2.1.2 Viewing the mesh

Before the case is run it is a good idea to view the mesh to check for any errors. The mesh is
viewed in ParaView, the post-processing tool supplied with OpenFOAM. The ParaView post-
processing is conveniently launched on OpenFOAM case data by executing the paraFoam
script from within the case directory.
Any UNIX/Linux executable can be run in two ways: as a foreground process, i.e. one in
which the shell waits until the command has finished before giving a command prompt; as
a background process, which allows the shell to accept additional commands while it is still
running. Since it is convenient to keep ParaView open while running other commands from
the terminal, we will launch it in the background using the & operator by typing

paraFoam &

Alternatively, it can be launched from another directory location with an optional -case
argument giving the case directory, e.g.

paraFoam -case $FOAM_RUN/cavity &

This launches the ParaView window as shown in Figure 6.1. In the Pipeline Browser, the
user can see that ParaView has opened cavity.OpenFOAM, the module for the cavity case.
Before clicking the Apply button, the user needs to select some geometry from the Mesh
Parts panel. Because the case is small, it is easiest to select all the data by checking the box
adjacent to the Mesh Parts panel title, which automatically checks all individual components
within the respective panel. The user should then click the Apply button to load the geometry
into ParaView.
The user should then scroll down to the Display panel that controls the visual represen-
tation of the selected module. Within the Display panel the user should do the following as
shown in Figure 2.3:

1. in the Coloring section, select Solid Color;

2. click Edit (in Coloring) and select an appropriate colour e.g. black (for a white back-
ground);

3. select Wireframe from the Representation menu. The background colour can be set
in the View (Render View) panel at the bottom of the Properties window.

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-27

Scroll to Display title

Select Color by Solid Color
Set Solid Color, e.g. black
Select Wireframe

Figure 2.3: Viewing the mesh in paraFoam.

OpenFOAM-10
U-28 Tutorials

Especially the first time the user starts ParaView, it is recommended that they manipulate
the view as described in section 6.1.5. In particular, since this is a 2D case, it is recommended
that Camera Parallel Projection is selected at the bottom of the View (Render View) panel.
Furthermore, many parameters in the Properties window are only available by clicking
the Advanced Properties gearwheel button at the top of the Properties window, next to the
search box.

2.1.3 Running an application

Like any UNIX/Linux executable, OpenFOAM applications can be run either in the fore-
ground or background. On this occasion, we will run icoFoam in the foreground. The
icoFoam solver is executed either by entering the case directory and typing

icoFoam

at the command prompt, or with the optional -case argument giving the case directory, e.g.

icoFoam -case $FOAM_RUN/cavity

The progress of the job is written to the terminal window. It tells the user the current
time, maximum Courant number, initial and final residuals for all fields.

2.1.4 Post-processing
As soon as results are written to time directories, they can be viewed using paraFoam.
Return to the paraFoam window and select the Properties panel for the cavity.OpenFOAM
case module. If the correct window panels for the case module do not seem to be present at
any time, please ensure that: cavity.OpenFOAM is highlighted in blue; eye button alongside
it is switched on to show the graphics are enabled;
To prepare paraFoam to display the data of interest, we must first load the data at the
required run time of 0.5 s. If the case was run while ParaView was open, the output data in
time directories will not be automatically loaded within ParaView. To load the data the user
should uncheck Cache Mesh and click Refresh Times at the top Properties window (scroll up
the panel if necessary). When The time data will be loaded into ParaView.
In order to view the solution at t = 0.5 s, the user can use the VCR Controls or Current
Time Controls to change the current time to 0.5. These are located in the toolbars at the
top of the ParaView window, as shown in Figure 6.4.

2.1.4.1 Colouring surfaces

To view pressure, the user should go to the Display panel since it controls the visual repre-
sentation of the selected module. To make a simple plot of pressure, the user should select
the following, as described in detail in Figure 2.4:

1. select Surface from the Representation menu;

2. select in Coloring

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-29

Scroll to Display title

Select Color by interpolated p
Select Surface
Rescale to Data Range

Figure 2.4: Displaying pressure contours for the cavity case.

Figure 2.5: Pressures in the cavity case.

OpenFOAM-10
U-30 Tutorials

3. click the Rescale button to set the colour scale to the data range, if necessary.

The pressure field should appear as shown in Figure 2.5, with a region of low pressure at the
top left of the cavity and one of high pressure at the top right of the cavity.
With the point icon ( ) the pressure field is interpolated across each cell to give a
continuous appearance. Instead if the user selects the cell icon, , from the Coloring
menu, a single value for pressure will be attributed to each cell so that each cell will be
denoted by a single colour with no grading.
A colour legend can be added by either by clicking the Toggle Color Legend Visibility button
in the Active Variable Controls toolbar or the Show button in the Coloring section of the
Display panel. The legend can be located in the image window by drag and drop with the
mouse. The Edit button, either in the Active Variable Controls toolbar or in the Coloring
panel of the Display panel, opens the Color Map Editor window, as shown in Figure 2.6, where
the user can set a range of attributes of the colour scale and the color bar.
In particular, ParaView defaults to using a colour scale of blue to white to red rather
than the more common blue to green to red (rainbow). Therefore the first time that the user
executes ParaView, they may wish to change the colour scale. This can be done by selecting
the Choose Preset button (with the heart icon) in the Color Scale Editor. The conventional
color scale for CFD is Blue to Red Rainbow which is only listed if the user types the name in
the Search bar or checks the gearwheel to the right of that bar.
After selecting Blue to Red Rainbow and clicking Apply and Close, the user can click the
Save as Default button at the absolute bottom of the panel (file save symbol) so that ParaView
will always adopt this type of colour bar.
The user can also edit the color legend properties, such as text size, font selection and
numbering format for the scale, by clicking the Edit Color Legend Properties to the far right
of the search bar, as shown in Figure 2.6.

2.1.4.2 Cutting plane (slice)

If the user rotates the image, by holding down the left mouse button in the image window
and moving the cursor, they can see that they have now coloured the complete geometry
surface by the pressure. In order to produce a genuine 2-dimensional contour plot the user
should first create a cutting plane, or ‘slice’. With the cavity.OpenFOAM module highlighted
in the Pipeline Browser, the user should select the Slice filter from the Filters menu in the
top menu of ParaView (accessible at the top of the screen on some systems). The Slice filter
can be initially found in the Common sub-menu, but once selected, it moves to the Recent
sub-menu, disappearing from the Common sub-menu. The cutting plane should be centred
at (0.05, 0.05, 0.005) and its normal should be set to (0, 0, 1) (click the Z Normal button).

2.1.4.3 Contours
Having generated the cutting plane, contours can be created using by applying the Contour
filter. With the Slice module highlighted in the Pipeline Browser, the user should select the
Contour filter. In the Properties panel, the user should select pressure from the Contour
By menu. Under Isosurfaces, the user could delete the default value with the minus
button, then add a range of 10 values. The contours can be displayed with a Wireframe
representation if the Coloring is solid or by a field, e.g. pressure.

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-31

Choose preset
Configure Color Bar

Save as Default
Figure 2.6: Color Map Editor.

2.1.4.4 Vector plots

Before we start to plot the vectors of the flow velocity, it may be useful to remove other
modules that have been created, e.g. using the Slice and Contour filters described above.
These can: either be deleted entirely, by highlighting the relevant module in the Pipeline
Browser and clicking Delete in their respective Properties panel; or, be disabled by toggling
the eye button for the relevant module in the Pipeline Browser.
We now wish to generate a vector glyph for velocity at the centre of each cell. We first
need to filter the data to cell centres as described in section 6.1.7.1. With the cavity.Open-
FOAM module highlighted in the Pipeline Browser, the user should select Cell Centers from

OpenFOAM-10
U-32 Tutorials

Open Properties panel

Specify Set Scale Factor 0.005
Select Scale Mode off
Select vectors U
Select Glyph Type Arrow

Figure 2.7: Properties panel for the Glyph filter.

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-33

the Filter->Alphabetical menu and then click Apply.

With these Centers highlighted in the Pipeline Browser, the user should then select Glyph
from the Filter->Common menu. The Properties window panel should appear as shown in
Figure 2.7. This outdated image omits Orientation Array which must be set to U.
We suggest popular filters are added to the Filters->Favourites menu. In the resulting
Properties panel, the velocity field, U, must be selected from the vectors menu. The user
should set the Scale Array for the glyphs to be No scale array, with Set Scale Factor set
to 0.005. Under Glyph Mode, the user should select All Points.
On clicking Apply, the glyphs appear but, probably as a single colour, e.g. white. The
user should colour the glyphs by velocity magnitude which, as usual, is controlled by setting
Color by U in the Display panel. The user can also select Show Color Legend in Edit Color
Map. The output is shown in Figure 2.8, in which uppercase Times Roman fonts are selected
for the Color Legend headings and the labels are specified to 2 fixed significant figures by
deselecting Automatic Label Format and entering %-#6.2f in the Label Format text box. The
background colour is set to white in the General panel of View Settings as described in
section 6.1.5.1.
Note that at the left and right walls, glyphs appear to indicate flow through the walls.
However, it is clear that, while the flow direction is normal to the wall, its magnitude is 0.
This slightly confusing situation is caused by ParaView choosing to orientate the glyphs in
the x-direction when the glyph scaling off and the velocity magnitude is 0.

2.1.4.5 Streamline plots

Again, before the user continues to post-process in ParaView, they should disable modules
such as those for the vector plot described above. We now wish to plot streamlines of velocity
as described in section 6.1.8. With the cavity.OpenFOAM module highlighted in the Pipeline
Browser, the user should then select Stream Tracer from the Filter menu and then click
Apply. The Properties window panel should appear as shown in Figure 2.9. The Seed points
should be specified along a High Resolution Line Source running vertically through the
centre of the geometry, i.e. from (0.05, 0, 0.005) to (0.05, 0.1, 0.005). For the image in this
guide we used: a point Resolution of 21; Maximum Step Length of 0.5; Initial Step Length
of 0.2; and, Integration Direction BOTH. The Runge-Kutta 4/5 IntegratorType was used
with default parameters.
On clicking Apply the tracer is generated. The user should then select Tube from the
Filter menu to produce high quality streamline images. For the image in this report, we
used: Num. sides 6; Radius 0.0003; and, Radius factor 10. The streamtubes are coloured by
velocity magnitude. On clicking Apply the image in Figure 2.10 should be produced.

2.1.5 Increasing the mesh resolution

The mesh resolution will now be increased by a factor of two in each direction. The results
from the coarser mesh will be mapped onto the finer mesh to use as initial conditions for
the problem. The solution from the finer mesh will then be compared with those from the
coarser mesh.

OpenFOAM-10
U-34 Tutorials

2.1.5.1 Creating a new case using an existing case

We now wish to create a new case named cavityFine that is created from cavity. The user
should therefore clone the cavity case and edit the necessary files. First the user should go
to the run directory, by typing

cd $FOAM_RUN

Note that there is also a convenient alias, named run, that reproduces the command above
to change directory to $FOAM_RUN, simply by typing run.
The cavityFine case can be created by making a new case directory and copying the
relevant directories from the cavity case.

mkdir cavityFine
cp -r cavity/constant cavityFine
cp -r cavity/system cavityFine

The user can then prepare to run the new case by changing into the case directory.

cd cavityFine

2.1.5.2 Creating the finer mesh

We now wish to increase the number of cells in the mesh by using blockMesh. The user
should open the blockMeshDict file in the system directory in an editor and edit the block
specification. The blocks are specified in a list under the blocks keyword. The syntax of
the block definitions is described fully in section 5.3.1.3; at this stage it is sufficient to know
that following hex is first the list of vertices in the block, then a list (or vector) of numbers
of cells in each direction. This was originally set to (20 20 1) for the cavity case. The user
should now change this to (40 40 1) and save the file. The new refined mesh should then
be created by running blockMesh as before.

2.1.5.3 Mapping the coarse mesh results onto the fine mesh
The mapFields utility maps one or more fields relating to a given geometry onto the cor-
responding fields for another geometry. In our example, the fields are deemed ‘consistent’
because the geometry and the boundary types, or conditions, of both source and target fields
are identical. We use the -consistent command line option when executing mapFields in
this example.
The field data that mapFields maps is read from the time directory specified by startFrom
and startTime in the controlDict of the target case, i.e. those into which the results are being
mapped. In this example, we wish to map the final results of the coarser mesh from case
cavity onto the finer mesh of case cavityFine. Therefore, since these results are stored in the
0.5 directory of cavity, the startTime should be set to 0.5 s in the controlDict dictionary and
startFrom should be set to startTime.
The case is ready to run mapFields. Typing mapFields -help quickly shows that map-
Fields requires the source case directory as an argument. We are using the -consistent
option, so the utility is executed from within the cavityFine directory by

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-35

mapFields -consistent ../cavity

The utility should run with output to the terminal including:

Source: ".." "cavity"
Target: "." "cavityFine"
Create databases as time
Source time: 0.5
Target time: 0.5
Create meshes
Source mesh size: 400 Target mesh size: 1600
Consistently creating and mapping fields for time 0.5
interpolating p
interpolating U
End

2.1.5.4 Control adjustments

To maintain a Courant number of less that 1, as discussed in section 2.1.1.4, the time step
must now be halved since the size of all cells has halved. Therefore deltaT should be set
to 0.0025 s in the controlDict dictionary. Field data is currently written out at an interval
of a fixed number of time steps. Here we demonstrate how to specify data output at fixed
intervals of time. Under the writeControl keyword in controlDict, instead of requesting
output by a fixed number of time steps with the timeStep entry, a fixed amount of run time
can be specified between the writing of results using the runTime entry. In this case the
user should specify output every 0.1 and therefore should set writeInterval to 0.1 and
writeControl to runTime. Finally, since the case is starting with a solution obtained on
the coarse mesh we only need to run it for a short period to achieve reasonable convergence
to steady-state. Therefore the endTime should be set to 0.7 s. Make sure these settings are
correct and then save the file.

2.1.5.5 Running the code as a background process

The user should experience running icoFoam as a background process, redirecting the ter-
minal output to a log file that can be viewed later. From the cavityFine directory, the user
should execute:

icoFoam > log &

cat log

2.1.5.6 Vector plot with the refined mesh

The user can open multiple cases simultaneously in ParaView; essentially because each new
case is simply another module that appears in the Pipeline Browser. There is an inconvenience
when opening a new OpenFOAM case in ParaView because it expects that case data is

OpenFOAM-10
U-36 Tutorials

stored in a single file which has a file extension that enables it to establish the format.
However, OpenFOAM stores case data in multiple files without an extension in the name,
within a specific directory structure. The ParaView reader module works on the basis that,
when opening case data in OpenFOAM format, it is passed a dummy (empty) file with the
.OpenFOAM extension that resides in the case directory. The paraFoam script automatically
creates this file — hence, the cavity case module is called cavity.OpenFOAM.
If the user wishes to open a second case directly from within ParaView, they need to
create such a dummy file. They can do this ‘by hand’ or, more simply, use the paraFoam
script with the option -touch. For the cavityFine example, that involves executing from the
case directory:

paraFoam -touch

Now the cavityFine case can be loaded into ParaView by selecting Open from the File
menu, and having navigated to the cavityFine directory, opening cavityFine.OpenFOAM. The
user can now make a vector plot of the results from the refined mesh in ParaView. The plot
can be compared with the cavity case by enabling glyph images for both case simultaneously.

2.1.5.7 Plotting graphs

The user may wish to visualise the results by extracting some scalar measure of velocity
and plotting 2-dimensional graphs along lines through the domain. OpenFOAM is well
equipped for this kind of data manipulation. There are numerous utilities that do specialised
data manipulations, and the postProcess utility that includes a broad range of generic post-
processing functionality. The functions within postProcess can be listed by typing:

postProcess -list

The components and mag functions provide useful scalar measures of velocity. When the
components function is executed on a case, e.g. cavity, it reads in the velocity vector field
from each time directory and, in the corresponding time directories, writes scalar fields Ux,
Uy and Uz representing the x, y and z components of velocity.
The user can run postProcess with the components function on both cavity and cavityFine
cases. For example, for the cavity case the user should go into the cavity directory and execute
postProcess as follows:

cd $FOAM_RUN/cavity
postProcess -func "components(U)"

The individual components can be plotted as a graph in ParaView. It is quick, convenient

and has reasonably good control over labelling and formatting, so the printed output is a
fairly good standard. However, to produce graphs for publication, users may prefer to
write raw data and plot it with a dedicated graphing tool, such as gnuplot. To do this, we
recommend using the sampling tools, described in section 6.3.2 and section 2.2.3.
Before commencing plotting, the user needs to load the newly generated Ux, Uy and
Uz fields into ParaView. To do this, the user should click the Refresh Times at the top of

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-37

the Properties panel for the cavity.OpenFOAM module which will cause the new fields to
be loaded into ParaView and appear in the Volume Fields window. Ensure the new fields
are selected and the changes are applied, i.e. click Apply again if necessary. Also, data
is interpolated incorrectly at boundaries if the boundary regions are selected in the Mesh
Parts panel. Therefore the user should deselect the patches in the Mesh Parts panel, i.e.
movingWall, fixedWall and frontAndBack, and apply the changes.
Now, in order to display a graph in ParaView the user should select the module of in-
terest, e.g.cavity.OpenFOAM and apply the Plot Over Line filter from the Filter->Data
Analysis menu. This opens up a new XY Plot window below or beside the existing 3D View
window. A PlotOverLine module is created in which the user can specify the end points of
the line in the Properties panel. In this example, the user should position the line vertically
up the centre of the domain, i.e. from (0.05, 0, 0.005) to (0.05, 0.1, 0.005), in the Point1 and
Point2 text boxes. The Resolution can be set to 100.
On clicking Apply, a graph is generated in the XY Plot window. In the Display panel,
the user should set Attribute Type to Point Data. The X Axis Parameters can be set
to use the arc_length for the the X Array Name, which displays distance from the base of
the cavity on the horizontal axis of the graph.
The user can choose the fields to be displayed in the Series Parameters panel of the Display
window. From the list of scalar fields to be displayed, it can be seen that the magnitude
and components of vector fields are available by default, e.g. displayed as U_X, so that it was
not necessary to create Ux using the components function. Nevertheless, the user should
deselect all series except Ux (or U_x). A square colour box in the adjacent column to the
selected series indicates the line colour. The user can edit this most easily by a double click
of the mouse over that selection.
In order to format the graph, the user should modify the settings below the Line Series
panel, namely Line Color, Line Thickness, Line Style, Marker Style and Chart Axes.
Below these parameters in the Properties window, the user can control graph annotations,
e.g. the legend for each axis. Also, the user can set font, colour and alignment of the axes
titles, and has several options for axis range and labels in linear or logarithmic scales.
Figure 2.12 is a graph produced using ParaView. The user can produce a graph however
he/she wishes. For information, the graph in Figure 2.12 was produced with the options for
axes of: Standard type of Notation; Specify Axis Range selected; titles in Sans Serif 12
font. The graph is displayed as a set of points rather than a line by activating the Enable
Line Series button in the Display window. Note: if this button appears to be inactive by
being “greyed out”, it can be made active by selecting and deselecting the sets of variables
in the Line Series panel. Once the Enable Line Series button is selected, the Line Style and
Marker Style can be adjusted to the user’s preference.

2.1.6 Introducing mesh grading

The error in any solution will be more pronounced in regions where the form of the true
solution differ widely from the form assumed in the chosen numerical schemes. For example
a numerical scheme based on linear variations of variables over cells can only generate an
exact solution if the true solution is itself linear in form. The error is largest in regions
where the true solution deviates greatest from linear form, i.e. where the change in gradient
is largest. Error decreases with cell size.

OpenFOAM-10
U-38 Tutorials

It is useful to have an intuitive appreciation of the form of the solution before setting up
any problem. It is then possible to anticipate where the errors will be largest and to grade
the mesh so that the smallest cells are in these regions. In the cavity case the large variations
in velocity can be expected near a wall and so in this part of the tutorial the mesh will be
graded to be smaller in this region. By using the same number of cells, greater accuracy can
be achieved without a significant increase in computational cost.
A mesh of 20 × 20 cells with grading towards the walls will be created for the lid-driven
cavity problem and the results from the finer mesh of section 2.1.5.2 will then be mapped
onto the graded mesh to use as an initial condition. The results from the graded mesh will
be compared with those from the previous meshes. Since the changes to the blockMeshDict
dictionary are fairly substantial, the case used for this part of the tutorial, cavityGrade,
is supplied in the $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/icoFoam/cavity directory. The user
should copy the cavityGrade case into the run directory, then follow the steps below.

2.1.6.1 Creating the graded mesh

The mesh now needs 4 blocks as different mesh grading is needed on the left and right and
top and bottom of the domain. The block structure for this mesh is shown in Figure 2.13.
The user can view the blockMeshDict file in the system subdirectory of cavityGrade; for
completeness the key elements of the blockMeshDict file are also reproduced below. Each
block now has 10 cells in the x and y directions and the ratio between largest and smallest
cells is 2.
16 convertToMeters 0.1;
17
18 vertices
19 (
20 (0 0 0)
21 (0.5 0 0)
22 (1 0 0)
23 (0 0.5 0)
24 (0.5 0.5 0)
25 (1 0.5 0)
26 (0 1 0)
27 (0.5 1 0)
28 (1 1 0)
29 (0 0 0.1)
30 (0.5 0 0.1)
31 (1 0 0.1)
32 (0 0.5 0.1)
33 (0.5 0.5 0.1)
34 (1 0.5 0.1)
35 (0 1 0.1)
36 (0.5 1 0.1)
37 (1 1 0.1)
38 );
39
40 blocks
41 (
42 hex (0 1 4 3 9 10 13 12) (10 10 1) simpleGrading (2 2 1)
43 hex (1 2 5 4 10 11 14 13) (10 10 1) simpleGrading (0.5 2 1)
44 hex (3 4 7 6 12 13 16 15) (10 10 1) simpleGrading (2 0.5 1)
45 hex (4 5 8 7 13 14 17 16) (10 10 1) simpleGrading (0.5 0.5 1)
46 );
47
48 boundary
49 (
50 movingWall
51 {
52 type wall;
53 faces
54 (
55 (6 15 16 7)

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-39

56 (7 16 17 8)
57 );
58 }
59 fixedWalls
60 {
61 type wall;
62 faces
63 (
64 (3 12 15 6)
65 (0 9 12 3)
66 (0 1 10 9)
67 (1 2 11 10)
68 (2 5 14 11)
69 (5 8 17 14)
70 );
71 }
72 frontAndBack
73 {
74 type empty;
75 faces
76 (
77 (0 3 4 1)
78 (1 4 5 2)
79 (3 6 7 4)
80 (4 7 8 5)
81 (9 10 13 12)
82 (10 11 14 13)
83 (12 13 16 15)
84 (13 14 17 16)
85 );
86 }
87 );
88
89
90 // ************************************************************************* //

Once familiar with the blockMeshDict file for this case, the user can execute blockMesh from
the command line. The graded mesh can be viewed as before using paraFoam as described
in section 2.1.2.

2.1.6.2 Changing time and time step

The highest velocities and smallest cells are next to the lid, therefore the highest Courant
number will be generated next to the lid, for reasons given in section 2.1.1.4. It is therefore
useful to estimate the size of the cells next to the lid to calculate an appropriate time step
for this case.
When a nonuniform mesh grading is used, blockMesh calculates the cell sizes using a
geometric progression. Along a length l, if n cells are requested with a ratio of R between
the last and first cells, the size of the smallest cell, δxs , is given by:
r−1
δxs = l (2.5)
αr − 1
where r is the ratio between one cell size and the next which is given by:
1
r = R n−1 (2.6)
and

R for R > 1,
α= (2.7)
1 − r −n
+r −1
for R < 1.
For the cavityGrade case the number of cells in each direction in a block is 10, the ratio
between largest and smallest cells is 2 and the block height and width is 0.05 m. Therefore

OpenFOAM-10
U-40 Tutorials

the smallest cell length is 3.45 mm. From Equation 2.2, the time step should be less than 3.45
ms to maintain a Courant of less than 1. To ensure that results are written out at convenient
time intervals, the time step deltaT should be reduced to 2.5 ms and the writeInterval
set to 40 so that results are written out every 0.1 s. These settings can be viewed in the
cavityGrade/system/controlDict file.
The startTime needs to be set to that of the final conditions of the case cavityFine, i.e.
0.7. Since cavity and cavityFine converged well within the prescribed run time, we can set
the run time for case cavityGrade to 0.1 s, i.e. the endTime should be 0.8.

2.1.6.3 Mapping fields

First,
As in section 2.1.5.3, use mapFields to map the final results from case cavityFine onto the
mesh for case cavityGrade. From the cavityGrade directory, execute mapFields by:

mapFields -consistent ../cavityFine

Now run icoFoam from the case directory and monitor the run time information. View
the converged results for this case and compare with other results using post-processing tools
described previously in section 2.1.5.6 and section 2.1.5.7.

2.1.7 Increasing the Reynolds number

The cases solved so far have had a Reynolds number of 10. This is very low and leads
to a stable solution quickly with only small secondary vortices at the bottom corners of
the cavity. We will now increase the Reynolds number to 100, at which point the solution
takes a noticeably longer time to converge. The coarsest mesh in case cavity will be used
initially. The user should clone the cavity case and name it cavityHighRe. Rather than copying
individual directories (system, constant, etc.) as described previously, the foamCloneCase can
be used, which copies the relevant directories in one step. By default the 0 time directory is
copied, but here the user can use the -latestTime option to copy the latest time directory,
0.5, which can be used as the initial field data for our simulation. The example also uses the
run alias as a quick way to change to the run directory.

run
foamCloneCase -latestTime cavity cavityHighRe
cd cavityHighRe

2.1.7.1 Pre-processing
Go into the cavityHighRe case and edit the physicalProperties dictionary in the constant di-
rectory. Since the Reynolds number is required to be increased by a factor of 10, decrease
the kinematic viscosity by a factor of 10, i.e. to 1 × 10−3 m2 s−1 . We now run this case by
restarting from the solution at the end of the cavity case run. To do this we can use the
option of setting the startFrom keyword to latestTime so that icoFoam takes as its initial
data the values stored in the directory corresponding to the most recent time, i.e. 0.5. The
endTime should be set to 2 s.

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-41

2.1.7.2 Running the code

Run icoFoam for this case from the case directory and view the run time information. When
running a job in the background, the following UNIX commands can be useful:

nohup enables a command to keep running after the user who issues the command has logged
out;

nice changes the priority of the job in the kernel’s scheduler; a “niceness” of -20 is the
highest priority and 19 is the lowest priority.

This is useful, for example, if a user wishes to set a case running on a remote machine and
does not wish to monitor it heavily, in which case they may wish to give it low priority on the
machine. In that case the nohup command allows the user to log out of a remote machine
he/she is running on and the job continues running, while nice can set the priority to 19.
For our case of interest, we can execute the command in this manner as follows:

nohup nice -n 19 icoFoam > log &

cat log

In previous runs you may have noticed that icoFoam stops solving for velocity U quite quickly
but continues solving for pressure p for a lot longer or until the end of the run. In practice,
once icoFoam stops solving for U and the initial residual of p is less than the tolerance set
in the fvSolution dictionary (typically 10−6 ), the run has effectively converged and can be
stopped once the field data has been written out to a time directory. For example, at
convergence a sample of the log file from the run on the cavityHighRe case appears as follows
in which the velocity has already converged after 1.395 s and initial pressure residuals are
small; No Iterations 0 indicates that the solution of U has stopped:
Time = 1.43
Courant Number mean: 0.221921 max: 0.839902
smoothSolver: Solving for Ux, Initial residual = 8.733e-06, Final residual = 8.733e-06, No Iterations 0
smoothSolver: Solving for Uy, Initial residual = 9.896e-06, Final residual = 9.896e-06, No Iterations 0
DICPCG: Solving for p, Initial residual = 3.675e-06, Final residual = 8.629e-07, No Iterations 4
time step continuity errors : sum local = 6.579e-09, global = -6.667e-19, cumulative = -6.2539e-18
DICPCG: Solving for p, Initial residual = 2.608e-06, Final residual = 7.925e-07, No Iterations 3
time step continuity errors : sum local = 6.261e-09, global = -1.029e-18, cumulative = -7.28374e-18
ExecutionTime = 0.37 s ClockTime = 0 s
Time = 1.435
Courant Number mean: 0.221923 max: 0.839903
smoothSolver: Solving for Ux, Initial residual = 8.539e-06, Final residual = 8.539e-06, No Iterations 0
smoothSolver: Solving for Uy, Initial residual = 9.714e-06, Final residual = 9.714e-06, No Iterations 0
DICPCG: Solving for p, Initial residual = 4.022e-06, Final residual = 9.896e-07, No Iterations 3
time step continuity errors : sum local = 8.151e-09, global = 5.336e-19, cumulative = -6.75012e-18
DICPCG: Solving for p, Initial residual = 2.388e-06, Final residual = 8.445e-07, No Iterations 3
time step continuity errors : sum local = 7.487e-09, global = -4.427e-19, cumulative = -7.19283e-18
ExecutionTime = 0.37 s ClockTime = 0 s

2.1.8 High Reynolds number flow

View the results in paraFoam and display the velocity vectors. The secondary vortices in the
corners have increased in size. The user can then increase the Reynolds number further by
decreasing the viscosity and then rerun the case. The number of vortices increases so the
mesh resolution around them will need to increase in order to resolve the more complicated

OpenFOAM-10
U-42 Tutorials

flow patterns. In addition, as the Reynolds number increases the time to convergence in-
creases. The user should monitor residuals and extend the endTime accordingly to ensure
convergence.
The need to increase spatial and temporal resolution then becomes impractical as the
flow moves into the turbulent regime, where problems of solution stability may also occur.
Of course, many engineering problems have very high Reynolds numbers and it is infeasible
to bear the huge cost of solving the turbulent behaviour directly. Instead Reynolds-averaged
simulation (RAS) turbulence models are used to solve for the mean flow behaviour and
calculate the statistics of the fluctuations. The standard k − ε model with wall functions will
be used in this tutorial to solve the lid-driven cavity case with a Reynolds number of 104 .
Two extra variables are solved for: k, the turbulent kinetic energy; and, ε, the turbulent
dissipation rate. The additional equations and models for turbulent flow are implemented
into a OpenFOAM solver called pisoFoam.

2.1.8.1 Pre-processing
Go back to the run directory and copy the cavity case in the $FOAM_RUN/tutorials/-
incompressible/pisoFoam/RAS directory (N.B: the pisoFoam/RAS directory), renaming it
cavityRAS to avoid a clash with the existing cavity tutorial. Go into the new case directory.

run
cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/pisoFoam/RAS/cavity cavityRAS
cd cavityRAS

Generate the mesh by running blockMesh as before. Mesh grading towards the wall is not
necessary when using the standard k − ε model with wall functions since the flow in the near
wall cell is modelled, rather than having to be resolved.
A range of wall function models is available in OpenFOAM that are applied as boundary
conditions on individual patches. This enables different wall function models to be applied to
different wall regions. The choice of wall function models are specified through the turbulent
viscosity field, νt in the 0/nut file:
16
17 dimensions [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0];
18
19 internalField uniform 0;
20
21 boundaryField
22 {
23 movingWall
24 {
25 type nutkWallFunction;
26 value uniform 0;
27 }
28 fixedWalls
29 {
30 type nutkWallFunction;
31 value uniform 0;
32 }
33 frontAndBack
34 {
35 type empty;
36 }
37 }
38
39
40 // ************************************************************************* //

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-43

This case uses standard wall functions, specified by the nutWallFunction type on the
movingWall and fixedWalls patches. Other wall function models include the rough wall
functions, specified through the nutRoughWallFunction keyword.
The user should now open the field files for k and ε (0/k and 0/epsilon) and examine
their boundary conditions. For a wall boundary condition, ε is assigned a epsilonWallFunction
boundary condition and a kqRwallFunction boundary condition is assigned to k. The latter is
a generic boundary condition that can be applied to any field that are of a turbulent kinetic
energy type, e.g. k, q or Reynolds Stress R. The initial values for k and ε are set using an
estimated fluctuating component of velocity U′ and a turbulent length scale, l. k and ε are
defined in terms of these parameters as follows:
1
k = U′ • U′ (2.8)
2
Cµ0.75 k 1.5
ε= (2.9)
l
where Cµ is a constant of the k − ε model equal to 0.09. For a Cartesian coordinate system,
k is given by:
1
k = (Ux′ 2 + Uy′ 2 + Uz′ 2 ) (2.10)
2
where Ux′ 2 , Uy′ 2 and Uz′ 2 are the fluctuating components of velocity in the x, y and z
directions respectively. Let us assume the initial turbulence is isotropic, i.e. Ux′ 2 = Uy′ 2 =
Uz′ 2 , and equal to 5% of the lid velocity and that l, is equal to 5% of the box width, 0.1 m,
then k and ε are given by:
5
Ux′ = Uy′ = Uz′ = 1 m s−1 (2.11)
100
( )
3 5 2 2 −2
⇒k= m s = 3.75 × 10−3 m2 s−2 (2.12)
2 100
Cµ0.75 k 1.5
ε= ≈ 7.54 × 10−3 m2 s−3 (2.13)
l
These form the initial conditions for k and ε. The initial conditions for U and p are (0, 0, 0)
and 0 respectively as before.
Turbulence modelling includes a range of methods, e.g. RAS or large-eddy simulation
(LES), that are provided in OpenFOAM. The choice of turbulence modelling method is
selectable at run-time through the simulationType keyword in momentumTransport dictio-
nary (known as turbulenceProperties prior to OpenFOAM v8). The user can view this file in
the constant directory:
16
17 simulationType RAS;
18
19 RAS
20 {
21 model kEpsilon;
22
23 turbulence on;
24
25 printCoeffs on;
26 }
27
28 // ************************************************************************* //

OpenFOAM-10
U-44 Tutorials

The options for simulationType are laminar, RAS and LES. With RAS selected in this case,
the choice of RAS modelling is specified in a RAS subdictionary. The turbulence model
is selected by the model entry from a long list of available models that are listed in Sec-
tion 7.2.1.1. The kEpsilon model should be selected which is the standard k − ε model; the
user should also ensure that turbulence calculation is switched on.
The coefficients for each turbulence model are stored within the respective code with a
set of default values. Setting the optional switch called printCoeffs to on will make the
default values be printed to standard output, i.e. the terminal, when the model is called at
run time. The coefficients are printed out as a sub-dictionary whose name is that of the model
name with the word Coeffs appended, e.g. kEpsilonCoeffs in the case of the kEpsilon
model. The coefficients of the model, e.g. kEpsilon, can be modified by optionally including
(copying and pasting) that sub-dictionary within the RAS sub-dictionary and adjusting values
accordingly.
The user should next set the laminar kinematic viscosity in the physicalProperties dic-
tionary. To achieve a Reynolds number of 104 , a kinematic viscosity of 10−5 m is required
based on the Reynolds number definition given in Equation 2.1.
Finally the user should set the startTime, stopTime, deltaT and the writeInterval
in the controlDict. Set deltaT to 0.005 s to satisfy the Courant number restriction and the
endTime to 10 s.

2.1.8.2 Running the code

Execute pisoFoam by entering the case directory and typing “pisoFoam” in a terminal. In
this case, where the viscosity is low, the boundary layer next to the moving lid is very thin
and the cells next to the lid are comparatively large so the velocity at their centres are
much less than the lid velocity. In fact, after ≈ 100 time steps it becomes apparent that
the velocity in the cells adjacent to the lid reaches an upper limit of around 0.2 m s−1 hence
the maximum Courant number does not rise much above 0.2. It is sensible to increase the
solution time by increasing the time step to a level where the Courant number is much closer
to 1. Therefore reset deltaT to 0.02 s and, on this occasion, set startFrom to latestTime.
This instructs pisoFoam to read the start data from the latest time directory, i.e. 10.0. The
endTime should be set to 20 s since the run converges a lot slower than the laminar case.
Restart the run as before and monitor the convergence of the solution. View the results at
consecutive time steps as the solution progresses to see if the solution converges to a steady-
state or perhaps reaches some periodically oscillating state. In the latter case, convergence
may never occur but this does not mean the results are inaccurate.

2.1.9 Changing the case geometry

A user may wish to make changes to the geometry of a case and perform a new simulation.
It may be useful to retain some or all of the original solution as the starting conditions for
the new simulation. This is a little complex because the fields of the original solution are
not consistent with the fields of the new case. However the mapFields utility can map fields
that are inconsistent, either in terms of geometry or boundary types or both.
As an example, let us copy the cavityClipped case from the tutorials directory in the user’s
run directory, and change into the cavityClipped directory:

OpenFOAM-10
2.1 Lid-driven cavity flow U-45

run
cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/icoFoam/cavity/cavityClipped .
cd cavityClipped

The case consists of the standard cavity geometry but with a square of length 0.04 m removed
from the bottom right of the cavity, according to the blockMeshDict below:
16 convertToMeters 0.1;
17
18 vertices
19 (
20 (0 0 0)
21 (0.6 0 0)
22 (0 0.4 0)
23 (0.6 0.4 0)
24 (1 0.4 0)
25 (0 1 0)
26 (0.6 1 0)
27 (1 1 0)
28
29 (0 0 0.1)
30 (0.6 0 0.1)
31 (0 0.4 0.1)
32 (0.6 0.4 0.1)
33 (1 0.4 0.1)
34 (0 1 0.1)
35 (0.6 1 0.1)
36 (1 1 0.1)
37
38 );
39
40 blocks
41 (
42 hex (0 1 3 2 8 9 11 10) (12 8 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
43 hex (2 3 6 5 10 11 14 13) (12 12 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
44 hex (3 4 7 6 11 12 15 14) (8 12 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
45 );
46
47 boundary
48 (
49 lid
50 {
51 type wall;
52 faces
53 (
54 (5 13 14 6)
55 (6 14 15 7)
56 );
57 }
58 fixedWalls
59 {
60 type wall;
61 faces
62 (
63 (0 8 10 2)
64 (2 10 13 5)
65 (7 15 12 4)
66 (4 12 11 3)
67 (3 11 9 1)
68 (1 9 8 0)
69 );
70 }
71 frontAndBack
72 {
73 type empty;
74 faces
75 (
76 (0 2 3 1)
77 (2 5 6 3)
78 (3 6 7 4)
79 (8 9 11 10)
80 (10 11 14 13)

OpenFOAM-10
U-46 Tutorials

81 (11 12 15 14)
82 );
83 }
84 );
85
86
87 // ************************************************************************* //

Generate the mesh with blockMesh. The patches are set accordingly as in previous cavity
cases. For the sake of clarity in describing the field mapping process, the upper wall patch
is renamed lid, previously the movingWall patch of the original cavity.
In an inconsistent mapping, there is no guarantee that all the field data can be mapped
from the source case. The remaining data must come from field files in the target case itself.
Therefore field data must exist in the time directory of the target case before mapping takes
place. In the cavityClipped case the mapping is set to occur at time 0.5 s, since the startTime
is set to 0.5 s in the controlDict. Therefore the user needs to copy initial field data to that
directory, e.g. from time 0:

cp -r 0 0.5

Before mapping the data, the user should view the geometry and fields at 0.5 s.
Now we wish to map the velocity and pressure fields from cavity onto the new fields of
cavityClipped. Since the mapping is inconsistent, we need to edit the mapFieldsDict dictionary,
located in the system directory. The dictionary contains 2 keyword entries: patchMap and
cuttingPatches. The patchMap list contains a mapping of patches from the source fields to
the target fields. It is used if the user wishes a patch in the target field to inherit values from
a corresponding patch in the source field. In cavityClipped, we wish to inherit the boundary
values on the lid patch from movingWall in cavity so we must set the patchMap as:

patchMap
(
lid movingWall
);

The cuttingPatches list contains names of target patches whose values are to be mapped
from the source internal field through which the target patch cuts. In this case, the
fixedWalls patch is a noSlip condition so the internal values cannot be interpolated to
the patch. Therefore the cuttingPatches list can simply be empty:

cuttingPatches
(
);

If the user does wish to interpolate internal values from the source case to the fixedWalls
patch in the target case, a fixedValue boundary condition needs to be specified on the patch,
whose value can then be overridden during the mapping process; the fixedWalls patch
then needs to be included in the cuttingPatches list.
The user should run mapFields, from within the cavityClipped directory:

OpenFOAM-10
2.2 Stress analysis of a plate with a hole U-47

mapFields ../cavity

The user can view the mapped field as shown in Figure 2.14. The fixedWalls patch has
not inherited values from the source case as we expected. The user can then run the case
with icoFoam.

2.1.10 Post-processing the modified geometry

Velocity glyphs can be generated for the case as normal, first at time 0.5 s and later at
time 0.6 s, to compare the initial and final solutions. In addition, we provide an outline of
the geometry which requires some care to generate for a 2D case. The user should select
Extract Block from the Filter menu and, in the Parameter panel, highlight the patches
of interest, namely the lid and fixedWalls. On clicking Apply, these items of geometry can be
displayed by selecting Wireframe in the Display panel. Figure 2.15 displays the patches in
black and shows vortices forming in the bottom corners of the modified geometry.

2.2 Stress analysis of a plate with a hole

This tutorial describes how to pre-process, run and post-process a case involving linear-
elastic, steady-state stress analysis on a square plate with a circular hole at its centre. The
plate dimensions are: side length 4 m and radius R = 0.5 m. It is loaded with a uniform
traction of σ = 10 kPa over its left and right faces as shown in Figure 2.16. Two symmetry
planes can be identified for this geometry and therefore the solution domain need only cover
a quarter of the geometry, shown by the shaded area in Figure 2.16.
The problem can be approximated as 2-dimensional since the load is applied in the plane
of the plate. In a Cartesian coordinate system there are two possible assumptions to take in
regard to the behaviour of the structure in the third dimension: (1) the plane stress condition,
in which the stress components acting out of the 2D plane are assumed to be negligible; (2)
the plane strain condition, in which the strain components out of the 2D plane are assumed
negligible. The plane stress condition is appropriate for solids whose third dimension is thin
as in this case; the plane strain condition is applicable for solids where the third dimension
is thick.
An analytical solution exists for loading of an infinitely large, thin plate with a circular
hole. The solution for the stress normal to the vertical plane of symmetry is
 ( )

 R2 3R4
 σ 1+ 2 + 4 for |y| ≥ R
(σxx )x=0 = 2y 2y (2.14)

0 for |y| < R

Results from the simulation will be compared with this solution. At the end of the tutorial,
the user can: investigate the sensitivity of the solution to mesh resolution and mesh grading;
and, increase the size of the plate in comparison to the hole to try to estimate the error in
comparing the analytical solution for an infinite plate to the solution of this problem of a
finite plate.

OpenFOAM-10
U-48 Tutorials

2.2.1 Mesh generation

The domain consists of four blocks, some of which have arc-shaped edges. The block structure
for the part of the mesh in the x − y plane is shown in Figure 2.17. As already mentioned in
section 2.1.1.1, all geometries are generated in 3 dimensions in OpenFOAM even if the case
is to be as a 2 dimensional problem. Therefore a dimension of the block in the z direction
has to be chosen; here, 0.5 m is selected. It does not affect the solution since the traction
boundary condition is specified as a stress rather than a force, thereby making the solution
independent of the cross-sectional area.
The user should change to the run directory and copy the plateHole case into it from the
$FOAM_TUTORIALS/stressAnalysis/solidDisplacementFoam directory. The user should then
go into the plateHole directory and open the blockMeshDict file in an editor, as listed below
16 convertToMeters 1;
17
18 vertices
19 (
20 (0.5 0 0)
21 (1 0 0)
22 (2 0 0)
23 (2 0.707107 0)
24 (0.707107 0.707107 0)
25 (0.353553 0.353553 0)
26 (2 2 0)
27 (0.707107 2 0)
28 (0 2 0)
29 (0 1 0)
30 (0 0.5 0)
31 (0.5 0 0.5)
32 (1 0 0.5)
33 (2 0 0.5)
34 (2 0.707107 0.5)
35 (0.707107 0.707107 0.5)
36 (0.353553 0.353553 0.5)
37 (2 2 0.5)
38 (0.707107 2 0.5)
39 (0 2 0.5)
40 (0 1 0.5)
41 (0 0.5 0.5)
42 );
43
44 blocks
45 (
46 hex (5 4 9 10 16 15 20 21) (10 10 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
47 hex (0 1 4 5 11 12 15 16) (10 10 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
48 hex (1 2 3 4 12 13 14 15) (20 10 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
49 hex (4 3 6 7 15 14 17 18) (20 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
50 hex (9 4 7 8 20 15 18 19) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
51 );
52
53 edges
54 (
55 arc 0 5 (0.469846 0.17101 0)
56 arc 5 10 (0.17101 0.469846 0)
57 arc 1 4 (0.939693 0.34202 0)
58 arc 4 9 (0.34202 0.939693 0)
59 arc 11 16 (0.469846 0.17101 0.5)
60 arc 16 21 (0.17101 0.469846 0.5)
61 arc 12 15 (0.939693 0.34202 0.5)
62 arc 15 20 (0.34202 0.939693 0.5)
63 );
64
65 boundary
66 (
67 left
68 {
69 type symmetryPlane;
70 faces
71 (
72 (8 9 20 19)

OpenFOAM-10
2.2 Stress analysis of a plate with a hole U-49

73 (9 10 21 20)
74 );
75 }
76 right
77 {
78 type patch;
79 faces
80 (
81 (2 3 14 13)
82 (3 6 17 14)
83 );
84 }
85 down
86 {
87 type symmetryPlane;
88 faces
89 (
90 (0 1 12 11)
91 (1 2 13 12)
92 );
93 }
94 up
95 {
96 type patch;
97 faces
98 (
99 (7 8 19 18)
100 (6 7 18 17)
101 );
102 }
103 hole
104 {
105 type patch;
106 faces
107 (
108 (10 5 16 21)
109 (5 0 11 16)
110 );
111 }
112 frontAndBack
113 {
114 type empty;
115 faces
116 (
117 (10 9 4 5)
118 (5 4 1 0)
119 (1 4 3 2)
120 (4 7 6 3)
121 (4 9 8 7)
122 (21 16 15 20)
123 (16 11 12 15)
124 (12 13 14 15)
125 (15 14 17 18)
126 (15 18 19 20)
127 );
128 }
129 );
130
131
132 // ************************************************************************* //

Until now, we have only specified straight edges in the geometries of previous tutorials but
here we need to specify curved edges. These are specified under the edges keyword entry
which is a list of non-straight edges. The syntax of each list entry begins with the type of
curve, including arc, simpleSpline, polyLine etc., described further in section 5.3.1. In
this example, all the edges are circular and so can be specified by the arc keyword entry.
The following entries are the labels of the start and end vertices of the arc and a point vector
through which the circular arc passes.
The blocks in this blockMeshDict do not all have the same orientation. As can be seen in
Figure 2.17 the x2 direction of block 0 is equivalent to the −x1 direction for block 4. This
means care must be taken when defining the number and distribution of cells in each block

OpenFOAM-10
U-50 Tutorials

so that the cells match up at the block faces.

6 patches are defined: one for each side of the plate, one for the hole and one for the
front and back planes. The left and down patches are both a symmetry plane. Since this is
a geometric constraint, it is included in the definition of the mesh, rather than being purely
a specification on the boundary condition of the fields. Therefore they are defined as such
using a special symmetryPlane type as shown in the blockMeshDict.
The frontAndBack patch represents the plane which is ignored in a 2D case. Again this
is a geometric constraint so is defined within the mesh, using the empty type as shown in the
blockMeshDict. For further details of boundary types and geometric constraints, the user
should refer to section 5.2.
The remaining patches are of the regular patch type. The mesh should be generated using
blockMesh and can be viewed in paraFoam as described in section 2.1.2. It should appear as
in Figure 2.18.

2.2.1.1 Boundary and initial conditions

Once the mesh generation is complete, the initial field with boundary conditions must be
set. For a stress analysis case without thermal stresses, only displacement D needs to be set.
The 0/D is as follows:

16 dimensions [0 1 0 0 0 0 0];
17
18 internalField uniform (0 0 0);
19
20 boundaryField
21 {
22 left
23 {
24 type symmetryPlane;
25 }
26 right
27 {
28 type tractionDisplacement;
29 traction uniform (10000 0 0);
30 pressure uniform 0;
31 value uniform (0 0 0);
32 }
33 down
34 {
35 type symmetryPlane;
36 }
37 up
38 {
39 type tractionDisplacement;
40 traction uniform (0 0 0);
41 pressure uniform 0;
42 value uniform (0 0 0);
43 }
44 hole
45 {
46 type tractionDisplacement;
47 traction uniform (0 0 0);
48 pressure uniform 0;
49 value uniform (0 0 0);
50 }
51 frontAndBack
52 {
53 type empty;
54 }
55 }
56
57 // ************************************************************************* //

OpenFOAM-10
2.2 Stress analysis of a plate with a hole U-51

Firstly, it can be seen that the displacement initial conditions are set to (0, 0, 0) m. The
left and down patches must be both of symmetryPlane type since they are specified as such
in the mesh description in the constant/polyMesh/boundary file. Similarly the frontAndBack
patch is declared empty.
The other patches are traction boundary conditions, set by a specialist traction boundary
type. The traction boundary conditions are specified by a linear combination of: (1) a
boundary traction vector under keyword traction; (2) a pressure that produces a traction
normal to the boundary surface that is defined as negative when pointing out of the surface,
under keyword pressure. The up and hole patches are zero traction so the boundary
traction and pressure are set to zero. For the right patch the traction should be (1e4, 0, 0) Pa
and the pressure should be 0 Pa.

2.2.1.2 Physical properties

The physical properties for the case are set in the physicalProperties dictionary in the constant
directory, shown below:
16
17 rho
18 {
19 type uniform;
20 value 7854;
21 }
22
23 nu
24 {
25 type uniform;
26 value 0.3;
27 }
28
29 E
30 {
31 type uniform;
32 value 2e+11;
33 }
34
35 Cp
36 {
37 type uniform;
38 value 434;
39 }
40
41 kappa
42 {
43 type uniform;
44 value 60.5;
45 }
46
47 alphav
48 {
49 type uniform;
50 value 1.1e-05;
51 }
52
53 planeStress yes;
54 thermalStress no;
55
56
57 // ************************************************************************* //

The file includes mechanical properties of steel:

• Density rho = 7854 kg m−3

• Young’s modulus E = 2 × 1011 Pa

OpenFOAM-10
U-52 Tutorials

• Poisson’s ratio nu = 0.3

The planeStress switch is set to yes to adopt the plane stress assumption in this 2D
case. The solidDisplacementFoam solver may optionally solve a thermal equation that is
coupled with the momentum equation through the thermal stresses that are generated. The
user specifies at run time whether OpenFOAM should solve the thermal equation by the
thermalStress switch (currently set to no). The thermal properties are also specified for
steel for this case, i.e.:

• Specific heat capacity Cp = 434 Jkg−1 K−1

• Thermal conductivity kappa = 60.5 Wm−1 K−1

• Thermal expansion coefficient alphav = 1.1 × 10−5 K−1

For thermal calculations, the temperature field variable T is present in the 0 directory.

2.2.1.3 Control
As before, the information relating to the control of the solution procedure are read in from
the controlDict dictionary. For this case, the startTime is 0 s. The time step is not important
since this is a steady state case; in this situation it is best to set the time step deltaT to 1
so it simply acts as an iteration counter for the steady-state case. The endTime, set to 100,
then acts as a limit on the number of iterations. The writeInterval can be set to 20.
The controlDict entries are as follows:
16
17 application solidDisplacementFoam;
18
19 startFrom startTime;
20
21 startTime 0;
22
23 stopAt endTime;
24
25 endTime 100;
26
27 deltaT 1;
28
29 writeControl timeStep;
30
31 writeInterval 20;
32
33 purgeWrite 0;
34
35 writeFormat ascii;
36
37 writePrecision 6;
38
39 writeCompression off;
40
41 timeFormat general;
42
43 timePrecision 6;
44
45 graphFormat raw;
46
47 runTimeModifiable true;
48
49
50 // ************************************************************************* //

OpenFOAM-10
2.2 Stress analysis of a plate with a hole U-53

2.2.1.4 Discretisation schemes and linear-solver control

Let us turn our attention to the fvSchemes dictionary. Firstly, the problem we are analysing is
steady-state so the user should select SteadyState for the time derivatives in timeScheme.
This essentially switches off the time derivative terms. Not all solvers, especially in fluid
dynamics, work for both steady-state and transient problems but solidDisplacementFoam
does work, since the base algorithm is the same for both types of simulation.
The momentum equation in linear-elastic stress analysis includes several explicit terms
containing the gradient of displacement. The calculations benefit from accurate and smooth
evaluation of the gradient. Normally, in the finite volume method the discretisation is based
on Gauss’s theorem. The Gauss method is sufficiently accurate for most purposes but, in this
case, the least squares method will be used. The user should therefore open the fvSchemes
dictionary in the system directory and ensure the leastSquares method is selected for the
grad(U) gradient discretisation scheme in the gradSchemes sub-dictionary:
16
17 d2dt2Schemes
18 {
19 default steadyState;
20 }
21
22 ddtSchemes
23 {
24 default Euler;
25 }
26
27 gradSchemes
28 {
29 default leastSquares;
30 grad(D) leastSquares;
31 grad(T) leastSquares;
32 }
33
34 divSchemes
35 {
36 default none;
37 div(sigmaD) Gauss linear;
38 }
39
40 laplacianSchemes
41 {
42 default none;
43 laplacian(DD,D) Gauss linear corrected;
44 laplacian(kappa,T) Gauss linear corrected;
45 }
46
47 interpolationSchemes
48 {
49 default linear;
50 }
51
52 snGradSchemes
53 {
54 default none;
55 }
56
57 // ************************************************************************* //

The fvSolution dictionary in the system directory controls the linear equation solvers and
algorithms used in the solution. The user should first look at the solvers sub-dictionary
and notice that the choice of solver for D is GAMG. The solver tolerance should be set to
10−6 for this problem. The solver relative tolerance, denoted by relTol, sets the required
reduction in the residuals within each iteration. It is uneconomical to set a tight (low)
relative tolerance within each iteration since a lot of terms in each equation are explicit and

OpenFOAM-10
U-54 Tutorials

are updated as part of the segregated iterative procedure. Therefore a reasonable value for
the relative tolerance is 0.01, or possibly even higher, say 0.1, or in some cases even 0.9 (as
in this case).
16
17 solvers
18 {
19 "(D|T)"
20 {
21 solver GAMG;
22 tolerance 1e-06;
23 relTol 0.9;
24 smoother GaussSeidel;
25 nCellsInCoarsestLevel 20;
26 }
27 }
28
29 stressAnalysis
30 {
31 compactNormalStress yes;
32 nCorrectors 1;
33 D 1e-06;
34 }
35
36
37 // ************************************************************************* //

The fvSolution dictionary contains a sub-dictionary, stressAnalysis that contains some control
parameters specific to the application solver. Firstly there is nCorrectors which specifies the
number of outer loops around the complete system of equations, including traction boundary
conditions within each time step. Since this problem is steady-state, we are performing a set
of iterations towards a converged solution with the ‘time step’ acting as an iteration counter.
We can therefore set nCorrectors to 1.
The D keyword specifies a convergence tolerance for the outer iteration loop, i.e. sets a
level of initial residual below which solving will cease. It should be set to the desired solver
tolerance specified earlier, 10−6 for this problem.

2.2.2 Running the code

The user should run the code here in the background from the command line as specified
below, so he/she can look at convergence information in the log file afterwards.

solidDisplacementFoam > log &

The user should check the convergence information by viewing the generated log file which
shows the number of iterations and the initial and final residuals of the displacement in each
direction being solved. The final residual should always be less than 0.9 times the initial
residual as this iteration tolerance set. Once both initial residuals have dropped below the
convergence tolerance of 10−6 the run has converged and can be stopped by killing the batch
job.

2.2.3 Post-processing
Post processing can be performed as in section 2.1.4. The solidDisplacementFoam solver
outputs the stress field σ as a symmetric tensor field sigma. This is consistent with the

OpenFOAM-10
2.2 Stress analysis of a plate with a hole U-55

way variables are usually represented in OpenFOAM solvers by the mathematical symbol by
which they are represented; in the case of Greek symbols, the variable is named phonetically.
For post-processing individual scalar field components, σxx , σxy etc., can be generated
by running the postProcess utility as before in section 2.1.5.7, this time on sigma:

postProcess -func "components(sigma)"

Components named sigmaxx, sigmaxy etc. are written to time directories of the case. The
σxx stresses can be viewed in paraFoam as shown in Figure 2.19.
We would like to compare the analytical solution of Equation 2.14 to our solution. We
therefore must output a set of data of σxx along the left edge symmetry plane of our do-
main. The user may generate the required graph data using the postProcess utility with
the graphUniform function. Unlike earlier examples of postProcess where no configuration
is required, this example includes a graphUniform file pre-configured in the system directory.
The sample line is set between (0.0, 0.5, 0.25) and (0.0, 2.0, 0.25), and the fields are specified
in the fields list:
9 Writes graph data for specified fields along a line, specified by start and
10 end points. A specified number of graph points are used, distributed
11 uniformly along the line.
12
13 \*---------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
14
15 start (0 0.5 0.25);
16 end (0 2 0.25);
17 nPoints 100;
18
19 fields (sigmaxx);
20
21 axis y;
22
23 #includeEtc "caseDicts/postProcessing/graphs/graphUniform.cfg"
24
25 // ************************************************************************* //

The user should execute postProcessing with the graphUniform function:

postProcess -func graphUniform

Data is written in raw 2 column format into files within time subdirectories of a postPro-
cessing/graphUniform directory, e.g. the data at t = 100 s is found within the file graphUni-
form/100/line.xy. If the user has GnuPlot installed they launch it (by typing gnuplot) and
then plot both the numerical data and analytical solution as follows:

plot [0.5:2] [0:] "postProcessing/graphUniform/100/line.xy",

1e4*(1+(0.125/(x**2))+(0.09375/(x**4)))

An example plot is shown in Figure 2.20.

2.2.4 Exercises
The user may wish to experiment with solidDisplacementFoam by trying the following exer-
cises:

OpenFOAM-10
U-56 Tutorials

2.2.4.1 Increasing mesh resolution

Increase the mesh resolution in each of the x and y directions. Use mapFields to map the
final coarse mesh results from section 2.2.3 to the initial conditions for the fine mesh.

2.2.4.2 Introducing mesh grading

Grade the mesh so that the cells near the hole are finer than those away from the hole.
Design the mesh so that the ratio of sizes between adjacent cells is no more than 1.1 and so
that the ratio of cell sizes between blocks is similar to the ratios within blocks. Mesh grading
is described in section 2.1.6. Again use mapFields to map the final coarse mesh results from
section 2.2.3 to the initial conditions for the graded mesh. Compare the results with those
from the analytical solution and previous calculations. Can this solution be improved upon
using the same number of cells with a different solution?

2.2.4.3 Changing the plate size

The analytical solution is for an infinitely large plate with a finite sized hole in it. Therefore
this solution is not completely accurate for a finite sized plate. To estimate the error, increase
the plate size while maintaining the hole size at the same value.

2.3 Breaking of a dam

In this tutorial we shall solve a problem of a simplified dam break in 2 dimensions using
the interFoam solver. The feature of the problem is a transient flow of two fluids separated
by a sharp interface, or free surface. The two-phase algorithm in interFoam is based on the
volume of fluid (VOF) method in which a phase transport equation is used to determine the
relative volume fraction of the two phases, or phase fraction α, in each computational cell.
Physical properties are calculated as weighted averages based on this fraction. The nature
of the VOF method means that an interface between the phases is not explicitly computed,
but rather emerges as a property of the phase fraction field. Since the phase fraction can
have any value between 0 and 1, the interface is never sharply defined, but occupies a volume
around the region where a sharp interface should exist.
The test setup consists of a column of water at rest located behind a membrane on the
left side of a tank. At time t = 0 s, the membrane is removed and the column of water
collapses. During the collapse, the water impacts an obstacle at the bottom of the tank
and creates a complicated flow structure, including several captured pockets of air. The
geometry and the initial setup is shown in Figure 2.21.

2.3.1 Mesh generation

The user should go to their run directory and copy the damBreak case from the $FOAM_TUT-
ORIALS/multiphase/interFoam/laminar/damBreak directory, i.e.

run
cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/multiphase/interFoam/laminar/damBreak/damBreak .

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-57

Go into the damBreak case directory and generate the mesh running blockMesh as described
previously. The damBreak mesh consist of 5 blocks; the blockMeshDict entries are given
below.
16 convertToMeters 0.146;
17
18 vertices
19 (
20 (0 0 0)
21 (2 0 0)
22 (2.16438 0 0)
23 (4 0 0)
24 (0 0.32876 0)
25 (2 0.32876 0)
26 (2.16438 0.32876 0)
27 (4 0.32876 0)
28 (0 4 0)
29 (2 4 0)
30 (2.16438 4 0)
31 (4 4 0)
32 (0 0 0.1)
33 (2 0 0.1)
34 (2.16438 0 0.1)
35 (4 0 0.1)
36 (0 0.32876 0.1)
37 (2 0.32876 0.1)
38 (2.16438 0.32876 0.1)
39 (4 0.32876 0.1)
40 (0 4 0.1)
41 (2 4 0.1)
42 (2.16438 4 0.1)
43 (4 4 0.1)
44 );
45
46 blocks
47 (
48 hex (0 1 5 4 12 13 17 16) (23 8 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
49 hex (2 3 7 6 14 15 19 18) (19 8 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
50 hex (4 5 9 8 16 17 21 20) (23 42 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
51 hex (5 6 10 9 17 18 22 21) (4 42 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
52 hex (6 7 11 10 18 19 23 22) (19 42 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
53 );
54
55 defaultPatch
56 {
57 type empty;
58 }
59
60 boundary
61 (
62 leftWall
63 {
64 type wall;
65 faces
66 (
67 (0 12 16 4)
68 (4 16 20 8)
69 );
70 }
71 rightWall
72 {
73 type wall;
74 faces
75 (
76 (7 19 15 3)
77 (11 23 19 7)
78 );
79 }
80 lowerWall
81 {
82 type wall;
83 faces
84 (
85 (0 1 13 12)
86 (1 5 17 13)
87 (5 6 18 17)

OpenFOAM-10
U-58 Tutorials

88 (2 14 18 6)
89 (2 3 15 14)
90 );
91 }
92 atmosphere
93 {
94 type patch;
95 faces
96 (
97 (8 20 21 9)
98 (9 21 22 10)
99 (10 22 23 11)
100 );
101 }
102 );
103
104
105 // ************************************************************************* //

2.3.2 Boundary conditions

The user can examine the boundary geometry generated by blockMesh by viewing the bound-
ary file in the constant/polyMesh directory. The file contains a list of 5 boundary patches:
leftWall, rightWall, lowerWall, atmosphere and defaultFaces.
The user should notice the type of the patches. Firstly, the atmosphere is a standard
patch, i.e. has no special attributes, merely an entity on which boundary conditions can be
specified. Then, the defaultFaces patch is formed of block faces that are omitted from the
boundary sub-dictionary in the blockMeshDict file. Those block faces form a patch whose
properties are specified in a defaultPatch sub-dictionary in in the blockMeshDict file. In
this case, the default type is set to empty since the patch normal is in the direction we will
not solve in this 2D case.
The leftWall, rightWall and lowerWall patches are each a wall. Like the generic patch,
the wall type contains no geometric or topological information about the mesh and only differs
from the plain patch in that it identifies the patch as a wall, should an application need to
know, e.g. to apply special wall surface modelling. For example, the interFoam solver includes
modelling of surface tension and can include wall adhesion at the contact point between the
interface and wall surface. Wall adhesion models can be applied through a special boundary
condition on the alpha (α) field, e.g. the constantAlphaContactAngle boundary condition,
which requires the user to specify a static contact angle, theta0.
In this tutorial we would like to ignore surface tension effects between the wall and
interface. We can do this by setting the static contact angle, θ0 = 90◦ . However, rather
than using the constantAlphaContactAngle boundary condition, the simpler zeroGradient can
be applied to alpha on the walls.
The top boundary is free to the atmosphere so needs to permit both outflow and inflow
according to the internal flow. We therefore use a combination of boundary conditions for
pressure and velocity that does this while maintaining stability. They are:
• prghTotalPressure, applied to the pressure field, without the hydrostatic component,
pρgh , which is a fixedValue condition calculated from a specified total pressure p0 and
local velocity U;

• pressureInletOutletVelocity, applied to velocity U, which sets zeroGradient on all compo-

nents of U, except where there is inflow, in which case a fixedValue condition is applied
to the tangential component;

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-59

• inletOutlet applied to other fields, which is a zeroGradient condition when flow outwards,
fixedValue when flow is inwards.
At all wall boundaries, the fixedFluxPressure boundary condition is applied to the pressure
field, which adjusts the pressure gradient so that the boundary flux matches the velocity
boundary condition for solvers that include body forces such as gravity and surface tension.
The defaultFaces patch representing the front and back planes of the 2D problem, is,
as usual, an empty type.

2.3.3 Phases
The fluid phases are specified in the phaseProperties file in the constant directory as follows:
16
17 phases (water air);
18
19 sigma 0.07;
20
21
22 // ************************************************************************* //

It lists two phases, water and air. Equations for phase fraction are solved for the phases in
the list, except the last phase listed, i.e. air in this case. Since there are only two phases,
only one phase fraction equation is solved in this case, for the water phase fraction αwater ,
specified in the file alpha.water in the 0 directory.
The phaseProperties file also contains an entry for the surface tension between the two
phases, specified by the keyword sigma in units N m−1 .

2.3.4 Setting initial fields

Unlike the previous cases, we shall now specify a non-uniform initial condition for the phase
fraction αwater where

1 for the water phase
αwater = (2.15)
0 for the air phase

This will be done by running the setFields utility. It requires a setFieldsDict dictionary,
located in the system directory, whose entries for this case are shown below.
16
17 defaultFieldValues
18 (
19 volScalarFieldValue alpha.water 0
20 );
21
22 regions
23 (
24 boxToCell
25 {
26 box (0 0 -1) (0.1461 0.292 1);
27 fieldValues
28 (
29 volScalarFieldValue alpha.water 1
30 );
31 }
32 );
33
34
35 // ************************************************************************* //

OpenFOAM-10
U-60 Tutorials

The defaultFieldValues sets the default value of the fields, i.e. the value the field takes
unless specified otherwise in the regions sub-dictionary. That sub-dictionary contains a list
of subdictionaries containing fieldValues that override the defaults in a specified region.
The region creates a set of points, cells or faces based on some topological constraint. Here,
boxToCell creates a bounding box within a vector minimum and maximum to define the
set of cells of the water region. The phase fraction αwater is defined as 1 in this region.
The setFields utility reads fields from file and, after re-calculating those fields, will write
them back to file. In the damBreak tutorial, the alpha.water field is initially stored as a
backup named alpha.water.orig. A field file with the .orig extension is read in when the
actual file does not exist, so setFields will read alpha.water.orig but write the resulting
output to alpha.water (or alpha.water.gz if compression is switched on). This way the
original file is not overwritten, so can be reused.
The user should therefore execute setFields like any other utility by:

setFields

Using paraFoam, check that the initial alpha.water field corresponds to the desired distri-
bution as in Figure 2.22.

2.3.5 Fluid properties

The physical properties for the air and water phases are specified in physicalProperties.air and
physicalProperties.water files, respectively, in the constant directory. In each file, the viscosity
model is selected by the viscosityModel keyword. The constant model is selected for
both fluids, i.e. representing them as Newtonian fluids with a kinematic viscosity specified
by the nu keyword in units N m−1 . Other non-Newtonian viscosity models are described in
section 7.3. The density of each fluid is specified by the keyword rho in units kg m−3 . The
physicalProperties.air file is shown below as an example:

16
17 viscosityModel constant;
18
19 nu 1.48e-05;
20
21 rho 1;
22
23
24 // ************************************************************************* //

Gravitational acceleration is uniform across the domain and is specified in a file named g
in the constant directory. Unlike a normal field file, e.g. U and p, g is a uniformDimen-
sionedVectorField and so simply contains a set of dimensions and a value that represents
(0, 9.81, 0) m s−2 for this tutorial:

16
17 dimensions [0 1 -2 0 0 0 0];
18 value (0 -9.81 0);
19
20
21 // ************************************************************************* //

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-61

2.3.6 Turbulence modelling

As in the cavity example, the choice of turbulence modelling method is selectable at run-time
through the simulationType keyword in momentumTransport dictionary. In this example,
we wish to run without turbulence modelling so we set laminar:
16
17 simulationType laminar;
18
19
20 // ************************************************************************* //

2.3.7 Time step control

Time step control is an important issue in transient simulation and the surface-tracking
algorithm in interface-capturing solvers. The interFoam solver uses the multidimensional
universal limiter for explicit solution (MULES) method, created by Henry Weller, to maintain
boundedness of the phase fraction. The Courant number Co needs to be limited depending on
the choice of algorithm: with the explicit MULES algorithm, an upper limit of Co ≈ 0.25 for
stability is typical in the region of the interface; but with semi-implicit MULES, specified
by the MULESCorr keyword in the fvSolution file, there is really no upper limit in Co for
stability, but instead the level is determined by requirements of temporal accuracy.
In general it is difficult to specify a fixed time-step to satisfy the Co criterion, so interFoam
offers automatic adjustment of the time step as standard in the controlDict. The user should
specify adjustTimeStep to be on and the the maximum Co for the phase fields, maxAlphaCo,
and other fields, maxCo, to be 1.0. The upper limit on time step maxDeltaT can be set to a
value that will not be exceeded in this simulation, e.g. 1.0.
By using automatic time step control, the steps themselves are never rounded to a con-
venient value. Consequently if we request that OpenFOAM saves results at a fixed number
of time step intervals, the times at which results are saved are somewhat arbitrary. How-
ever even with automatic time step adjustment, OpenFOAM allows the user to specify that
results are written at fixed times; in this case OpenFOAM forces the automatic time step-
ping procedure to adjust time steps so that it ‘hits’ on the exact times specified for write
output. The user selects this with the adjustableRunTime option for writeControl in the
controlDict dictionary. The controlDict dictionary entries should be:
16
17 application interFoam;
18
19 startFrom startTime;
20
21 startTime 0;
22
23 stopAt endTime;
24
25 endTime 1;
26
27 deltaT 0.001;
28
29 writeControl adjustableRunTime;
30
31 writeInterval 0.05;
32
33 purgeWrite 0;
34
35 writeFormat binary;
36
37 writePrecision 6;
38

OpenFOAM-10
U-62 Tutorials

39 writeCompression off;
40
41 timeFormat general;
42
43 timePrecision 6;
44
45 runTimeModifiable yes;
46
47 adjustTimeStep yes;
48
49 maxCo 1;
50 maxAlphaCo 1;
51
52 maxDeltaT 1;
53
54
55 // ************************************************************************* //

2.3.8 Discretisation schemes

The MULES method, used by the interFoam solver, maintains boundedness of the phase
fraction independently of the underlying numerical scheme, mesh structure, etc. The choice
of schemes for convection are therfore not restricted to those that are strongly stable or
bounded, e.g. upwind differencing.
The convection schemes settings are made in the divSchemes sub-dictionary of the fv-
Schemes dictionary. In this example, the convection term in the momentum equation
(∇ • (ρUU)), denoted by the div(rhoPhi,U) keyword, uses Gauss linearUpwind grad(U)
to produce good accuracy. Here, we have opted for best stability with ϕ = 1.0. The ∇ • (Uα)
term, represented by the div(phi,alpha) keyword uses a bespoke interfaceCompression
scheme where the specified coefficient is a factor that controls the compression of the inter-
face where: 0 corresponds to no compression; 1 corresponds to conservative compression;
and, anything larger than 1, relates to enhanced compression of the interface. We generally
adopt a value of 1.0 which is employed in this example.
The other discretised terms use commonly employed schemes so that the fvSchemes dic-
tionary entries should therefore be:
16
17 ddtSchemes
18 {
19 default Euler;
20 }
21
22 gradSchemes
23 {
24 default Gauss linear;
25 }
26
27 divSchemes
28 {
29 div(rhoPhi,U) Gauss linearUpwind grad(U);
30 div(phi,alpha) Gauss interfaceCompression vanLeer 1;
31 div(((rho*nuEff)*dev2(T(grad(U))))) Gauss linear;
32 }
33
34 laplacianSchemes
35 {
36 default Gauss linear corrected;
37 }
38
39 interpolationSchemes
40 {
41 default linear;
42 }
43

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-63

44 snGradSchemes
45 {
46 default corrected;
47 }
48
49
50 // ************************************************************************* //

2.3.9 Linear-solver control

In the fvSolution file, the alpha.water sub-dictionary in solvers contains elements that are
specific to interFoam. Of particular interest is the nAlphaCorr keyword which controls the
number of iterations of the phase fraction equation within a solution step. The iteration is
used to overcome nonlinearities in the advection which are present in this case due to the
interfaceCompression scheme.

2.3.10 Running the code

Running of the code has been described in detail in previous tutorials. Try the following,
that uses tee, a command that enables output to be written to both standard output and
files:

cd $FOAM_RUN/damBreak
interFoam | tee log

The code will now be run interactively, with a copy of output stored in the log file.

2.3.11 Post-processing
Post-processing of the results can now be done in the usual way. The user can monitor the
development of the phase fraction alpha.water in time, e.g. see Figure 2.23.

2.3.12 Running in parallel

The results from the previous example are generated using a fairly coarse mesh. We now wish
to increase the mesh resolution and re-run the case. The new case will typically take a few
hours to run with a single processor so, should the user have access to multiple processors,
we can demonstrate the parallel processing capability of OpenFOAM.
The user should first clone the damBreak case, e.g. by

run
foamCloneCase damBreak damBreakFine

Enter the new case directory and change the blocks description in the blockMeshDict dic-
tionary to

blocks
(
hex (0 1 5 4 12 13 17 16) (46 10 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)

OpenFOAM-10
U-64 Tutorials

hex (2 3 7 6 14 15 19 18) (40 10 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)

hex (4 5 9 8 16 17 21 20) (46 76 1) simpleGrading (1 2 1)
hex (5 6 10 9 17 18 22 21) (4 76 1) simpleGrading (1 2 1)
hex (6 7 11 10 18 19 23 22) (40 76 1) simpleGrading (1 2 1)
);

Here, the entry is presented as printed from the blockMeshDict file; in short the user must
change the mesh densities, e.g. the 46 10 1 entry, and some of the mesh grading entries to
1 2 1. Once the dictionary is correct, generate the mesh by running blockMesh.
As the mesh has now changed from the damBreak example, the user must re-initialise the
phase field alpha.water in the 0 time directory since it contains a number of elements that
is inconsistent with the new mesh. Note that there is no need to change the U and p_rgh
fields since they are specified as uniform which is independent of the number of elements
in the field. We wish to initialise the field with a sharp interface, i.e. it elements would
have α = 1 or α = 0. Updating the field with mapFields may produce interpolated values
0 < α < 1 at the interface, so it is better to rerun the setFields utility.
The mesh size is now inconsistent with the number of elements in the alpha.water file in
the 0 directory, so the user must delete that file so that the original alpha.water.orig file is
used instead.

rm 0/alpha.water
setFields

The method of parallel computing used by OpenFOAM is known as domain decompo-

sition, in which the geometry and associated fields are broken into pieces and allocated to
separate processors for solution. The first step required to run a parallel case is therefore to
decompose the domain using the decomposePar utility. There is a dictionary associated with
decomposePar named decomposeParDict which is located in the system directory of the tuto-
rial case. Also, sample dictionaries can be found within the etc directory in the OpenFOAM
installation, which can be copied to the case directory by running the foamGet script, e.g.
(you do not need to do this):

foamGet decomposeParDict

The first entry is numberOfSubdomains which specifies the number of subdomains into
which the case will be decomposed, usually corresponding to the number of processors avail-
able for the case.
In this tutorial, the method of decomposition should be simple and the corresponding
simpleCoeffs should be edited according to the following criteria. The domain is split
into pieces, or subdomains, in the x, y and z directions, the number of subdomains in each
direction being given by the vector n. As this geometry is 2 dimensional, the 3rd direction,
z, cannot be split, hence nz must equal 1. The nx and ny components of n split the domain
in the x and y directions and must be specified so that the number of subdomains specified
by nx and ny equals the specified numberOfSubdomains, i.e. nx ny = numberOfSubdomains.
It is beneficial to keep the number of cell faces adjoining the subdomains to a minimum so,

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-65

for a square geometry, it is best to keep the split between the x and y directions should be
fairly even.
For example, let us assume we wish to run on 4 processors. We would set numberOfSub-
domains to 4 and n = (2, 2, 1). The user should run decomposePar with:

decomposePar

The terminal output shows that the decomposition is distributed fairly even between the
processors.
The user should consult section 3.4 for details of how to run a case in parallel; in this
tutorial we merely present an example of running in parallel. We use the openMPI imple-
mentation of the standard message-passing interface (MPI). As a test here, the user can run
in parallel on a single node, the local host only, by typing:

mpirun -np 4 interFoam -parallel > log &

The user may run on more nodes over a network by creating a file that lists the host
names of the machines on which the case is to be run as described in section 3.4.3. The case
should run in the background and the user can follow its progress by monitoring the log file
as usual.

2.3.13 Post-processing a case run in parallel

Once the case has completed running, the decomposed fields and mesh can be reassembled
for post-processing using the reconstructPar utility. Simply execute it from the command
line. The results from the fine mesh are shown in Figure 2.25. The user can see that the
resolution of interface has improved significantly compared to the coarse mesh.
The user may also post-process an individual region of the decomposed domain individ-
ually by simply treating the individual processor directory as a case in its own right. For
example if the user starts paraFoam by

paraFoam -case processor1

then processor1 will appear as a case module in ParaView. Figure 2.24 shows the mesh from
processor 1 following the decomposition of the domain using the simple method.

OpenFOAM-10
U-66 Tutorials

Figure 2.8: Velocities in the cavity case.

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-67

Scroll to Properties title

Set Initial Step Length to Cell Length 0.01
Set Integration Direction to BOTH
Specify Line Source and set points and resolution

Figure 2.9: Properties panel for the Stream Tracer filter.

OpenFOAM-10
U-68 Tutorials

Figure 2.10: Streamlines in the cavity case.

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-69

Select U_x from Line Series

Select arc_length
Select Line Source

Figure 2.11: Selecting fields for graph plotting.

OpenFOAM-10
U-70 Tutorials

Figure 2.12: Plotting graphs in paraFoam.

6 7 8

15 16 17
2 3
3 4 5

12 13 14
0 1
y
x 1 2
0
z 11
9 10
Figure 2.13: Block structure of the graded mesh for the cavity (block numbers encircled).

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-71

Figure 2.14: cavity solution velocity field mapped onto cavityClipped.

Figure 2.15: cavityClipped solution for velocity field.

OpenFOAM-10
U-72 Tutorials

y
σ = 10 kPa σ = 10 kPa
symmetry plane x

R = 0.5 m

symmetry plane
4.0 m
Figure 2.16: Geometry of the plate with a hole.

8 up 7 up 6

left

4 3 right

x2

9
x1 x2
left 0 4 x1 3

10 x2
x1 right
2
5 1
hole
y x2 x2

x 0 x1 1 x1 down 2
down
Figure 2.17: Block structure of the mesh for the plate with a hole.

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-73

Figure 2.18: Mesh of the hole in a plate problem.

30

25
σxx (kPa)

20

15

10

Figure 2.19: σxx stress field in the plate with hole.

OpenFOAM-10
U-74 Tutorials

35
30
Stress (σxx )x=0 (kPa)
25
20
15
10
5
0
0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
Distance, y (m)

Numerical prediction Analytical solution

Figure 2.20: Normal stress along the vertical symmetry (σxx )x=0

0.584 m

water column
0.584 m

0.292 m

0.048 m

0.1461 m 0.1459 m 0.024 m

Figure 2.21: Geometry of the dam break.

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-75

Phase fraction, α1
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0

Figure 2.22: Initial conditions for phase fraction alpha.water.

OpenFOAM-10
U-76 Tutorials

Phase fraction, α1
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
(a) At t = 0.25 s.

Phase fraction, α1
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
(b) At t = 0.50 s.

Figure 2.23: Snapshots of phase α.

OpenFOAM-10
2.3 Breaking of a dam U-77

Figure 2.24: Mesh of processor 2 in parallel processed case.

OpenFOAM-10
U-78 Tutorials

Phase fraction, α1
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
(a) At t = 0.25 s.

Phase fraction, α1
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
(b) At t = 0.50 s.

Figure 2.25: Snapshots of phase α with refined mesh.

OpenFOAM-10
Chapter 3

Applications and libraries

We should reiterate from the outset that OpenFOAM is a C++ library used primarily to
create executables, known as applications. OpenFOAM is distributed with a large set of
precompiled applications but users also have the freedom to create their own or modify
existing ones. Applications are split into two main categories:

solvers that are each designed to solve a specific problem in computational continuum me-
chanics;

utilities that perform simple pre-and post-processing tasks, mainly involving data manipu-
lation and algebraic calculations.

OpenFOAM is divided into a set of precompiled libraries that are dynamically linked during
compilation of the solvers and utilities. Libraries such as those for physical models are
supplied as source code so that users may conveniently add their own models to the libraries.
This chapter gives an overview of solvers, utilities and libraries, their creation, modification,
compilation and execution.

3.1 The programming language of OpenFOAM

In order to understand the way in which the OpenFOAM library works, some background
knowledge of C++, the base language of OpenFOAM, is required; the necessary information
will be presented in this chapter. Before doing so, it is worthwhile addressing the concept of
language in general terms to explain some of the ideas behind object-oriented programming
and our choice of C++ as the main programming language of OpenFOAM.

3.1.1 Language in general

The success of verbal language and mathematics is based on efficiency, especially in express-
ing abstract concepts. For example, in fluid flow, we use the term “velocity field”, which has
meaning without any reference to the nature of the flow or any specific velocity data. The
term encapsulates the idea of movement with direction and magnitude and relates to other
physical properties. In mathematics, we can represent velocity field by a single symbol, e.g.
U, and express certain concepts using symbols, e.g. “the field of velocity magnitude” by
U-80 Applications and libraries

|U|. The advantage of mathematics over verbal language is its greater efficiency, making it
possible to express complex concepts with extreme clarity.
The problems that we wish to solve in continuum mechanics are not presented in terms of
intrinsic entities, or types, known to a computer, e.g. bits, bytes, integers. They are usually
presented first in verbal language, then as partial differential equations in 3 dimensions of
space and time. The equations contain the following concepts: scalars, vectors, tensors,
and fields thereof; tensor algebra; tensor calculus; dimensional units. The solution to these
equations involves discretisation procedures, matrices, solvers, and solution algorithms.

3.1.2 Object-orientation and C++

Progamming languages that are object-oriented, such as C++, provide the mechanism —
classes — to declare types and associated operations that are part of the verbal and mathe-
matical languages used in science and engineering. Our velocity field introduced earlier can
be represented in programming code by the symbol U and “the field of velocity magnitude”
can be mag(U). The velocity is a vector field for which there should exist, in an object-
oriented code, a vectorField class. The velocity field U would then be an instance, or object,
of the vectorField class; hence the term object-oriented.
The clarity of having objects in programming that represent physical objects and abstract
entities should not be underestimated. The class structure concentrates code development
to contained regions of the code, i.e. the classes themselves, thereby making the code easier
to manage. New classes can be derived or inherit properties from other classes, e.g. the
vectorField can be derived from a vector class and a Field class. C++ provides the mechanism
of template classes such that the template class Field<Type> can represent a field of any
<Type>, e.g.scalar, vector, tensor. The general features of the template class are passed on
to any class created from the template. Templating and inheritance reduce duplication of
code and create class hierarchies that impose an overall structure on the code.

3.1.3 Equation representation

A central theme of the OpenFOAM design is that the solver applications, written using the
OpenFOAM classes, have a syntax that closely resembles the partial differential equations
being solved. For example the equation
∂ρU
+ ∇ • ϕU − ∇ • µ∇U = −∇p
∂t
is represented by the code

solve
(
fvm::ddt(rho, U)
+ fvm::div(phi, U)
- fvm::laplacian(mu, U)
==
- fvc::grad(p)
);

OpenFOAM-10
3.2 Compiling applications and libraries U-81

This and other requirements demand that the principal programming language of Open-
FOAM has object-oriented features such as inheritance, template classes, virtual functions
and operator overloading. These features are not available in many languages that purport
to be object-orientated but actually have very limited object-orientated capability, such as
FORTRAN-90. C++, however, possesses all these features while having the additional ad-
vantage that it is widely used with a standard specification so that reliable compilers are
available that produce efficient executables. It is therefore the primary language of Open-
FOAM.

3.1.4 Solver codes

Solver codes are largely procedural since they are a close representation of solution algo-
rithms and equations, which are themselves procedural in nature. Users do not need a deep
knowledge of object-orientation and C++ programming to write a solver but should know
the principles behind object-orientation and classes, and to have a basic knowledge of some
C++ code syntax. An understanding of the underlying equations, models and solution
method and algorithms is far more important.
There is often little need for a user to immerse themselves in the code of any of the
OpenFOAM classes. The essence of object-orientation is that the user should not have to
go through the code of each class they use; merely the knowledge of the class’ existence
and its functionality are sufficient to use the class. A description of each class, its functions
etc. is supplied with the OpenFOAM distribution in HTML documentation generated with
Doxygen at https://cpp.openfoam.org

3.2 Compiling applications and libraries

Compilation is an integral part of application development that requires careful management
since every piece of code requires its own set instructions to access dependent components of
the OpenFOAM library. In UNIX/Linux systems these instructions are often organised and
delivered to the compiler using the standard UNIXmake utility. OpenFOAM uses its own
wmake compilation script that is based on make but is considerably more versatile and easier
to use (wmake can be used on any code, not only the OpenFOAM library). To understand
the compilation process, we first need to explain certain aspects of C++ and its file structure,
shown schematically in Figure 3.1. A class is defined through a set of instructions such as
object construction, data storage and class member functions. The file that defines these
functions — the class definition — takes a .C extension, e.g. a class nc would be written in
the file nc.C. This file can be compiled independently of other code into a binary executable
library file known as a shared object library with the .so file extension, i.e.nc.so. When
compiling a piece of code, say newApp.C, that uses the nc class, nc.C need not be recompiled,
rather newApp.C calls the nc.so library at runtime. This is known as dynamic linking.

3.2.1 Header .H files

As a means of checking errors, the piece of code being compiled must know that the classes
it uses and the operations they perform actually exist. Therefore each class requires a class

OpenFOAM-10
U-82 Applications and libraries

Main code nc class

newApp.C Header file nc.H

#include "nc.H" -I option Definition...
int main()
{
...
... nc.C
return(0); #include "nc.H"
} Code...

Compiled Compiled
newApp Linked nc.so
Executable -l option Library

Figure 3.1: Header files, source files, compilation and linking

declaration, contained in a header file with a .H file extension, e.g. nc.H, that includes the
names of the class and its functions. This file is included at the beginning of any piece
of code using the class, using the #include directive described below, including the class
declaration code itself. Any piece of .C code can resource any number of classes and must
begin by including all the .H files required to declare these classes. Those classes in turn
can resource other classes and so also begin by including the relevant .H files. By searching
recursively down the class hierarchy we can produce a complete list of header files for all the
classes on which the top level .C code ultimately depends; these .H files are known as the
dependencies. With a dependency list, a compiler can check whether the source files have
been updated since their last compilation and selectively compile only those that need to be.
Header files are included in the code using the # include directive, e.g.

# include "otherHeader.H";

This causes the compiler to suspend reading from the current file, to read the included file.
This mechanism allows any self-contained piece of code to be put into a header file and
included at the relevant location in the main code in order to improve code readability.
For example, in most OpenFOAM applications the code for creating fields and reading field
input data is included in a file createFields.H which is called at the beginning of the code. In
this way, header files are not solely used as class declarations.
It is wmake that performs the task of maintaining file dependency lists amongst other
functions listed below.

• Automatic generation and maintenance of file dependency lists, i.e. lists of files which
are included in the source files and hence on which they depend.

• Multi-platform compilation and linkage, handled through appropriate directory struc-

ture.

OpenFOAM-10
3.2 Compiling applications and libraries U-83

• Multi-language compilation and linkage, e.g. C, C++, Java.

• Multi-option compilation and linkage, e.g. debug, optimised, parallel and profiling.

• Support for source code generation programs, e.g. lex, yacc, IDL, MOC.

• Simple syntax for source file lists.

• Automatic creation of source file lists for new codes.

• Simple handling of multiple shared or static libraries.

• Extensible to new machine types.

• Extremely portable, works on any machine with: make; sh, ksh or csh; lex, cc.

3.2.2 Compiling with wmake

OpenFOAM applications are organised using a standard convention that the source code of
each application is placed in a directory whose name is that of the application. The top
level source file then takes the application name with the .C extension. For example, the
source code for an application called newApp would reside is a directory newApp and the
top level file would be newApp.C as shown in Figure 3.2. wmake then requires the directory

newApp

newApp.C
otherHeader.H

Make

files
options
Figure 3.2: Directory structure for an application

must contain a Make subdirectory containing 2 files, options and files, that are described in
the following sections.

3.2.2.1 Including headers

The compiler searches for the included header files in the following order, specified with the
-I option in wmake:

1. the $WM_PROJECT_DIR/src/OpenFOAM/lnInclude directory;

2. a local lnInclude directory, i.e.newApp/lnInclude;

3. the local directory, i.e.newApp;

OpenFOAM-10
U-84 Applications and libraries

4. platform dependent paths set in files in the $WM_PROJECT_DIR/wmake/rules/$WM_-

ARCH/ directory, e.g./usr/X11/include and $(MPICH_ARCH_PATH)/include;

5. other directories specified explicitly in the Make/options file with the -I option.
The Make/options file contains the full directory paths to locate header files using the syntax:

EXE_INC = \
-I<directoryPath1> \
-I<directoryPath2> \
... \
-I<directoryPathN>

Notice first that the directory names are preceeded by the -I flag and that the syntax uses
the \ to continue the EXE_INC across several lines, with no \ after the final entry.

3.2.2.2 Linking to libraries

The compiler links to shared object library files in the following directory paths, specified
with the -L option in wmake:
1. the $FOAM_LIBBIN directory;

2. platform dependent paths set in files in the $WM_DIR/rules/$WM_ARCH/ directory,

e.g./usr/X11/lib and $(MPICH_ARCH_PATH)/lib;

3. other directories specified in the Make/options file.

The actual library files to be linked must be specified using the -l option and removing the
lib prefix and .so extension from the library file name, e.g. libnew.so is included with the
flag -lnew. By default, wmake loads the following libraries:
1. the libOpenFOAM.so library from the $FOAM_LIBBIN directory;

2. platform dependent libraries specified in set in files in the $WM_DIR/rules/$WM_ARCH/

directory, e.g. libm.so from /usr/X11/lib and liblam.so from $(LAM_ARCH_PATH)/lib;

3. other libraries specified in the Make/options file.

The Make/options file contains the full directory paths and library names using the syntax:

EXE_LIBS = \
-L<libraryPath> \
-l<library1> \
-l<library2> \
... \
-l<libraryN>

To summarise: the directory paths are preceeded by the -L flag, the library names are
preceeded by the -l flag.

OpenFOAM-10
3.2 Compiling applications and libraries U-85

3.2.2.3 Source files to be compiled

The compiler requires a list of .C source files that must be compiled. The list must contain
the main .C file but also any other source files that are created for the specific application
but are not included in a class library. For example, users may create a new class or some
new functionality to an existing class for a particular application. The full list of .C source
files must be included in the Make/files file. For many applications the list only includes the
name of the main .C file, e.g. newApp.C in the case of our earlier example.
The Make/files file also includes a full path and name of the compiled executable, specified
by the EXE = syntax. Standard convention stipulates the name is that of the application,
i.e.newApp in our example. The OpenFOAM release offers two useful choices for path:
standard release applications are stored in $FOAM_APPBIN; applications developed by the
user are stored in $FOAM_USER_APPBIN.
If the user is developing their own applications, we recommend they create an applications
subdirectory in their $WM_PROJECT_USER_DIR directory containing the source code for
personal OpenFOAM applications. As with standard applications, the source code for each
OpenFOAM application should be stored within its own directory. The only difference
between a user application and one from the standard release is that the Make/files file
should specify that the user’s executables are written into their $FOAM_USER_APPBIN
directory. The Make/files file for our example would appear as follows:

newApp.C

EXE = $(FOAM_USER_APPBIN)/newApp

3.2.2.4 Running wmake

The wmake script is generally executed by typing:

wmake <optionalDirectory>

The <optionalDirectory> is the directory path of the application that is being compiled.
Typically, wmake is executed from within the directory of the application being compiled, in
which case <optionalDirectory> can be omitted.

3.2.2.5 wmake environment variables

For information, the general environment variable settings used by wmake are listed below:

• $WM_PROJECT_INST_DIR: full path to the installation directory, e.g.$HOME/Open-

FOAM.

• $WM_PROJECT: name of the project being compiled, i.e. OpenFOAM.

• $WM_PROJECT_VERSION: version of the project being compiled, i.e. 10.

• $WM_PROJECT_DIR: full path to the main directory of the OpenFOAM release, e.g.
$HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-10.

OpenFOAM-10
U-86 Applications and libraries

• $WM_PROJECT_USER_DIR: full path to the equivalent directory for customised de-

velopments in the user accounte.g. $HOME/OpenFOAM/${USER}-10.

• $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR: full path to the directory of ThirdParty software, e.g.

$HOME/OpenFOAM/ThirdParty-10.
The environment variable settings for the compilation with wmake are listed below:
• $WM_ARCH: machine architecture, e.g. linux, linux64, linuxArm64, linuxARM7,
linuxPPC64, linuxPPC64le.

• $WM_ARCH_OPTION: 32 or 64 bit architecture.

• $WM_COMPILER: compiler being used, e.g. Gcc = gcc, Clang = LLVM Clang

• $WM_COMPILE_OPTION: compilation option, Debug = debugging, Opt = optimised.

• $WM_COMPILER_TYPE: choice of compiler, system, or ThirdParty, i.e. compiled in

ThirdParty directory.

• $WM_DIR: full path of the wmake directory.

• $WM_LABEL_SIZE: 32 or 64 bit size for labels (integers).

• $WM_LABEL_OPTION: Int32 or Int64 compilation of labels.

• $WM_LINK_LANGUAGE: compiler used to link libraries and executables c++.

• $WM_MPLIB: parallel communications library, SYSTEMOPENMPI = system version of

openMPI, alternatives include OPENMPI, SYSTEMMPI, MPICH, MPICH-GM, HPMPI, MPI,
QSMPI, INTELMPI and SGIMPI.

• $WM_OPTIONS, e.g. linuxGccDPInt64Opt, formed by combining $WM_ARCH, $WM-

_COMPILER, $WM_PRECISION_OPTION, $WM_LABEL_OPTION, and $WM_COM-
PILE_OPTION.

• $WM_PRECISION_OPTION: floating point precision of the compiled binares, SP =

single precision, DP = double precision.

3.2.3 Removing dependency lists: wclean

On execution, wmake builds a dependency list file with a .dep file extension, e.g. newApp.C.dep
in our example, in a $WM_OPTIONS sub-directory of the Make directory, e.g. Make/linux-
GccDPInt64Opt. If the user wishes to remove these files, e.g. after making code changes, the
user can run the wclean script by typing:

wclean <optionalDirectory>

Again, the <optionalDirectory> is a path to the directory of the application that is being
compiled. Typically, wclean is executed from within the directory of the application, in which
case the path can be omitted.

OpenFOAM-10
3.2 Compiling applications and libraries U-87

3.2.4 Compiling libraries

When compiling a library, there are 2 critical differences in the configuration of the file in
the Make directory:

• in the files file, EXE = is replaced by LIB = and the target directory for the compiled
entity changes from $FOAM_APPBIN to $FOAM_LIBBIN (and an equivalent $FOAM_USER_-
LIBBIN directory);

• in the options file, EXE_LIBS = is replaced by LIB_LIBS = to indicate libraries linked

to library being compiled.

When wmake is executed it additionally creates a directory named lnInclude that contains
soft links to all the files in the library. The lnInclude directory is deleted by the wclean script
when cleaning library source code.

3.2.5 Compilation example: the pisoFoam application

The source code for application pisoFoam is in the $FOAM_APP/solvers/incompressible/piso-
Foam directory and the top level source file is named pisoFoam.C. The pisoFoam.C source
code is:
1 /*---------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
2 ========= |
3 \\ / F ield | OpenFOAM: The Open Source CFD Toolbox
4 \\ / O peration | Website: https://openfoam.org
5 \\ / A nd | Copyright (C) 2011-2021 OpenFOAM Foundation
6 \\/ M anipulation |
7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 License
9 This file is part of OpenFOAM.
10
11 OpenFOAM is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
12 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
13 the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
14 (at your option) any later version.
15
16 OpenFOAM is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
17 ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
18 FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License
19 for more details.
20
21 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
22 along with OpenFOAM. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
23
24 Application
25 pisoFoam
26
27 Description
28 Transient solver for incompressible, turbulent flow, using the PISO
29 algorithm.
30
31 Sub-models include:
32 - turbulence modelling, i.e. laminar, RAS or LES
33 - run-time selectable MRF and finite volume options, e.g. explicit porosity
34
35 \*---------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
36
37 #include "fvCFD.H"
38 #include "viscosityModel.H"
39 #include "incompressibleMomentumTransportModels.H"
40 #include "pisoControl.H"
41 #include "pressureReference.H"
42 #include "fvModels.H"
43 #include "fvConstraints.H"
44

OpenFOAM-10
U-88 Applications and libraries

45 // * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * //
46
47 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
48 {
49 #include "postProcess.H"
50
51 #include "setRootCaseLists.H"
52 #include "createTime.H"
53 #include "createMesh.H"
54 #include "createControl.H"
55 #include "createFields.H"
56 #include "initContinuityErrs.H"
57
58 turbulence->validate();
59
60 // * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * //
61
62 Info<< "\nStarting time loop\n" << endl;
63
64 while (runTime.loop())
65 {
66 Info<< "Time = " << runTime.userTimeName() << nl << endl;
67
68 #include "CourantNo.H"
69
70 // Pressure-velocity PISO corrector
71 {
72 fvModels.correct();
73
74 #include "UEqn.H"
75
76 // --- PISO loop
77 while (piso.correct())
78 {
79 #include "pEqn.H"
80 }
81 }
82
83 viscosity->correct();
84 turbulence->correct();
85
86 runTime.write();
87
88 Info<< "ExecutionTime = " << runTime.elapsedCpuTime() << " s"
89 << " ClockTime = " << runTime.elapsedClockTime() << " s"
90 << nl << endl;
91 }
92
93 Info<< "End\n" << endl;
94
95 return 0;
96 }
97
98
99 // ************************************************************************* //

The code begins with a brief description of the application contained within comments over 1
line (//) and multiple lines (/*...*/). Following that, the code contains several # include
statements, e.g. # include "fvCFD.H", which causes the compiler to suspend reading from
the current file, pisoFoam.C to read the fvCFD.H.
pisoFoam resources the turbulence and transport model libraries and therefore requires
the necessary header files, specified by the EXE_INC = -I... option, and links to the libraries
with the EXE_LIBS = -l... option. The Make/options therefore contains the following:
1 EXE_INC = \
2 -I$(LIB_SRC)/MomentumTransportModels/momentumTransportModels/lnInclude \
3 -I$(LIB_SRC)/MomentumTransportModels/incompressible/lnInclude \
4 -I$(LIB_SRC)/physicalProperties/lnInclude \
5 -I$(LIB_SRC)/finiteVolume/lnInclude \
6 -I$(LIB_SRC)/meshTools/lnInclude \
7 -I$(LIB_SRC)/sampling/lnInclude

OpenFOAM-10
3.2 Compiling applications and libraries U-89

8
9 EXE_LIBS = \
10 -lmomentumTransportModels \
11 -lincompressibleMomentumTransportModels \
12 -lphysicalProperties \
13 -lfiniteVolume \
14 -lmeshTools \
15 -lfvModels \
16 -lfvConstraints \
17 -lsampling

pisoFoam contains only the pisoFoam.C source and the executable is written to the $FOAM_-
APPBIN directory as all standard applications are. The Make/files therefore contains:
1 pisoFoam.C
2
3 EXE = $(FOAM_APPBIN)/pisoFoam

Following the recommendations of section 3.2.2.3, the user can compile a separate version of
pisoFoam into their local $FOAM_USER_DIR directory by the following:

• copying the pisoFoam source code to a local directory, e.g. $FOAM_RUN;

cd $FOAM_RUN
cp -r $FOAM_SOLVERS/incompressible/pisoFoam .
cd pisoFoam
• editing the Make/files file as follows;
1 pisoFoam.C
2
3 EXE = $(FOAM_USER_APPBIN)/pisoFoam

• executing wmake.

wmake
The code should compile and produce a message similar to the following

Making dependency list for source file pisoFoam.C

g++ -std=c++0x -m32...
...
-o ... platforms/linuxGccDPInt64Opt/bin/pisoFoam

The user can now try recompiling and will receive a message similar to the following to say
that the executable is up to date and compiling is not necessary:

make: .́../bin/pisoFoam´ is up to date.

The user can compile the application from scratch by removing the dependency list with

wclean

and running wmake.

OpenFOAM-10
U-90 Applications and libraries

3.2.6 Debug messaging and optimisation switches

OpenFOAM provides a system of messaging that is written during runtime, most of which
are to help debugging problems encountered during running of a OpenFOAM case. The
switches are listed in the $WM_PROJECT_DIR/etc/controlDict file; should the user wish
to change the settings they should make a copy to their $HOME directory, i.e. $HOME/-
.OpenFOAM/10/controlDict file (see section 4.3 for more information). The list of possible
switches is extensive, relating to a class or range of functionality, and can be switched on by
their inclusion in the controlDict file, and by being set to 1. For example, OpenFOAM can
perform the checking of dimensional units in all calculations by setting the dimensionSet
switch to 1.
A small number of switches control messaging at three levels, 0, 1 and 2, most notably
the overall level switch and lduMatrix which provides messaging for solver convergence
during a run.
There are some switches that control certain operational and optimisation issues. Of
particular importance is fileModificationSkew. OpenFOAM scans the write time of data
files to check for modification. When running over a NFS with some disparity in the clock
settings on different machines, field data files appear to be modified ahead of time. This can
cause a problem if OpenFOAM views the files as newly modified and attempting to re-read
this data. The fileModificationSkew keyword is the time in seconds that OpenFOAM will
subtract from the file write time when assessing whether the file has been newly modified.
The main optimisation switches are listed below:

• fileModificationSkew: a time in seconds that should be set higher than the maxi-
mum delay in NFS updates and clock difference for running OpenFOAM over a NFS.

• fileModificationChecking: method of checking whether files have been modified

during a simulation, either reading the timeStamp or using inotify; versions that
read only master-node data also exist, termed timeStampMaster and inotifyMaster.

• commsType: parallel communications type, nonBlocking, scheduled or blocking.

• floatTransfer: if 1, will compact numbers to float precision before transfer; default

is 0.

• nProcsSimpleSum: optimises the global sum for parallel processing, by setting the
number of processors above which a hierarchical sum is performed rather than a linear
sum.

3.2.7 Linking user-defined libraries to applications

The situation may arise that a user creates a new library, say new, and wishes the features
within that library to be available across a range of applications. For example, the user may
create a new boundary condition, compiled into new, that would need to be recognised by a
range of solver applications, pre- and post-processing utilities, mesh tools, etc. Under normal
circumstances, the user would need to recompile every application with the new linked to it.
Instead there is a simple mechanism to link one or more shared object libraries dy-
namically at run-time in OpenFOAM. Simply add the optional keyword entry libs to the

OpenFOAM-10
3.3 Running applications U-91

controlDict file for a case and enter the full names of the libraries within a list (as quoted
string entries). For example, if a user wished to link the libraries new1 and new2 at run-time,
they would simply need to add the following to the case controlDict file:

libs
(
"libnew1.so"
"libnew2.so"
);

3.3 Running applications

Each application is designed to be executed from a terminal command line, typically reading
and writing a set of data files associated with a particular case. The data files for a case are
stored in a directory named after the case as described in section 4.1; the directory name
with full path is here given the generic name <caseDir>.
For any application, the form of the command line entry for any can be found by simply
entering the application name at the command line with the -help option, e.g. typing

blockMesh -help

returns the usage

Usage: blockMesh [OPTIONS]

options:
-blockTopology write block edges and centres as .obj files
-case <dir> specify alternate case directory, default is the
cwd
-dict <file> read control dictionary from specified location
-fileHandler <handler>
override the fileHandler
-libs <(lib1 .. libN)>
pre-load libraries
-noClean keep the existing files in the polyMesh
-noFunctionObjects
do not execute functionObjects
-region <name> specify alternative mesh region
-srcDoc display source code in browser
-doc display application documentation in browser
-help print the usage

If the application is executed from within a case directory, it will operate on that case.
Alternatively, the -case <caseDir> option allows the case to be specified directly so that
the application can be executed from anywhere in the filing system.

OpenFOAM-10
U-92 Applications and libraries

Like any UNIX/Linux executable, applications can be run as a background process, i.e. one
which does not have to be completed before the user can give the shell additional commands.
If the user wished to run the blockMesh example as a background process and output the
case progress to a log file, they could enter:

blockMesh > log &

3.4 Running applications in parallel

This section describes how to run OpenFOAM in parallel on distributed processors. The
method of parallel computing used by OpenFOAM is known as domain decomposition, in
which the geometry and associated fields are broken into pieces and allocated to separate
processors for solution. The process of parallel computation involves: decomposition of mesh
and fields; running the application in parallel; and, post-processing the decomposed case as
described in the following sections. The parallel running uses the public domain openMPI
implementation of the standard message passing interface (MPI) by default, although other
libraries can be used.

3.4.1 Decomposition of mesh and initial field data

The mesh and fields are decomposed using the decomposePar utility. The underlying aim
is to break up the domain with minimal effort but in such a way to guarantee an eco-
nomic solution. The geometry and fields are broken up according to a set of parameters
specified in a dictionary named decomposeParDict that must be located in the system di-
rectory of the case of interest. An example decomposeParDict dictionary is available from
the interFoam/damBreak tutorial if the user requires one; the dictionary entries within it are
reproduced below:
16
17 numberOfSubdomains 4;
18
19 method simple;
20
21 simpleCoeffs
22 {
23 n (2 2 1);
24 }
25
26 hierarchicalCoeffs
27 {
28 n (1 1 1);
29 order xyz;
30 }
31
32 manualCoeffs
33 {
34 dataFile "";
35 }
36
37 distributed no;
38
39 roots ( );
40
41
42 // ************************************************************************* //

The user has a choice of four methods of decomposition, specified by the method keyword
as described below.

OpenFOAM-10
3.4 Running applications in parallel U-93

simple Simple geometric decomposition in which the domain is split into pieces by direction,
e.g. 2 pieces in the x direction, 1 in y etc.

hierarchical Hierarchical geometric decomposition which is the same as simple except the
user specifies the order in which the directional split is done, e.g. first in the y-direction,
then the x-direction etc.

scotch Scotch decomposition which requires no geometric input from the user and attempts
to minimise the number of processor boundaries. The user can specify a weighting for
the decomposition between processors, through an optional processorWeights key-
word which can be useful on machines with differing performance between processors.
There is also an optional keyword entry strategy that controls the decomposition
strategy through a complex string supplied to Scotch. For more information, see the
source code file: $FOAM_SRC/parallel/decompose/scotchDecomp/scotchDecomp.C

manual Manual decomposition, where the user directly specifies the allocation of each cell
to a particular processor.

For each method there are a set of coefficients specified in a sub-dictionary of decomposi-
tionDict, named <method>Coeffs as shown in the dictionary listing. The full set of keyword
entries in the decomposeParDict dictionary are explained below:

• numberOfSubdomains: total number of subdomains N .

• method: method of decomposition, simple, hierarchical, scotch, manual.

• n: for simple and hierarchical, number of subdomains in x, y, z (nx ny nz )

• order: order of hierarchical decomposition, xyz/xzy/yxz. . .

• processorWeights option for scotch: list of weighting factors (<wt1>...<wtN>) for

allocation of cells to processors; <wt1> is the weighting factor for processor 1, etc.;
weights are normalised so can take any range of values.

• dataFile: for manual decomposition, name of file containing data of allocation of cells
to processors.

• distributed: yes/no switch indicating whether data is distributed across several

disks.

• roots: list of root paths to case directories (<rt1>...<rtN>), where <rt1> is the
root path for node 1, etc.

The decomposePar utility is executed in the normal manner by typing

decomposePar

OpenFOAM-10
U-94 Applications and libraries

3.4.2 File input/output in parallel

Using standard file input/output completion, a set of subdirectories will have been created,
one for each processor, in the case directory. The directories are named processorN where
N = 0, 1, . . . represents a processor number and contains a time directory, containing the
decomposed field descriptions, and a constant/polyMesh directory containing the decomposed
mesh description.
While this file structure is well-organised, for large parallel cases, it generates a large
number of files. In very large simulations, users can experience problems including hitting
limits on the number of open files imposed by the operating system.
As an alternative, the collated file format was introduced in OpenFOAM in which the
data for each decomposed field (and mesh) is collated into a single file that is written (and
read) on the master processor. The files are stored in a single directory named processors.
The file writing can be threaded allowing the simulation to continue running while the
data is being written to file — see below for details. NFS (Network File System) is not needed
when using the collated format and, additionally, there is a masterUncollated option to
write data with the original uncollated format without NFS.
The controls for the file handling are in the OptimisationSwitches of the global etc/-
controlDict file:
OptimisationSwitches
{
...
//- Parallel IO file handler
// uncollated (default), collated or masterUncollated
fileHandler uncollated;
//- collated: thread buffer size for queued file writes.
// If set to 0 or not sufficient for the file size threading is not used.
// Default: 2e9
maxThreadFileBufferSize 2e9;
//- masterUncollated: non-blocking buffer size.
// If the file exceeds this buffer size scheduled transfer is used.
// Default: 2e9
maxMasterFileBufferSize 2e9;
}

3.4.2.1 Selecting the file handler

The fileHandler can be set for a specific simulation by:

• over-riding the global OptimisationSwitches {fileHandler ...;} in the case con-

trolDict file;

• using the -fileHandler command line argument to the solver;

• setting the $FOAM_FILEHANDLER environment variable.

3.4.2.2 Updating exisiting files

A foamFormatConvert utility allows users to convert files between the collated and uncollated
formats, e.g.

OpenFOAM-10
3.4 Running applications in parallel U-95

mpirun -np 2 foamFormatConvert -parallel -fileHandler uncollated

An example case demonstrating the file handling methods is provided in:

$FOAM_TUTORIALS/heatTransfer/buoyantFoam/iglooWithFridges

3.4.2.3 Threading support

Collated file handling runs faster with threading, especially on large cases. But it requires
threading support to be enabled in the underlying MPI. Without it, the simulation will
“hang” or crash. For openMPI, threading support is not set by default prior to version 2,
but is generally switched on from version 2 onwards. The user can check whether openMPI
is compiled with threading support by the following command:

ompi_info -c | grep -oE "MPI_THREAD_MULTIPLE[^,]*"

When using the collated file handling, memory is allocated for the data in the thread.
maxThreadFileBufferSize sets the maximum size of memory that is allocated in bytes. If
the data exceeds this size, the write does not use threading.
Note: if threading is not enabled in the MPI, it must be disabled for collated file handling
by setting in the global etc/controlDict file:

maxThreadFileBufferSize 0;

When using the masterUncollated file handling, non-blocking MPI communication re-
quires a sufficiently large memory buffer on the master node. maxMasterFileBufferSize
sets the maximum size of the buffer. If the data exceeds this size, the system uses scheduled
communication.

3.4.3 Running a decomposed case

A decomposed OpenFOAM case is run in parallel using the openMPI implementation of
MPI.
openMPI can be run on a local multiprocessor machine very simply but when running
on machines across a network, a file must be created that contains the host names of the
machines. The file can be given any name and located at any path. In the following
description we shall refer to such a file by the generic name, including full path, <machines>.
The <machines> file contains the names of the machines listed one machine per line. The
names must correspond to a fully resolved hostname in the /etc/hosts file of the machine
on which the openMPI is run. The list must contain the name of the machine running the
openMPI. Where a machine node contains more than one processor, the node name may be
followed by the entry cpu=n where n is the number of processors openMPI should run on
that node.
For example, let us imagine a user wishes to run openMPI from machine aaa on the
following machines: aaa; bbb, which has 2 processors; and ccc. The <machines> would
contain:

OpenFOAM-10
U-96 Applications and libraries

aaa
bbb cpu=2
ccc

An application is run in parallel using mpirun.

mpirun --hostfile <machines> -np <nProcs>

<foamExec> <otherArgs> -parallel > log &

where: <nProcs> is the number of processors; <foamExec> is the executable, e.g.icoFoam;

and, the output is redirected to a file named log. For example, if icoFoam is run on 4 nodes,
specified in a file named machines, on the cavity tutorial in the $FOAM_RUN/tutorials/-
incompressible/icoFoam directory, then the following command should be executed:

mpirun --hostfile machines -np 4 icoFoam -parallel > log &

3.4.4 Distributing data across several disks

Data files may need to be distributed if, for example, if only local disks are used in order to
improve performance. In this case, the user may find that the root path to the case directory
may differ between machines. The paths must then be specified in the decomposeParDict
dictionary using distributed and roots keywords. The distributed entry should read

distributed yes;

and the roots entry is a list of root paths, <root0>, <root1>, . . . , for each node

roots
<nRoots>
(
"<root0>"
"<root1>"
...
);

where <nRoots> is the number of roots.

Each of the processorN directories should be placed in the case directory at each of
the root paths specified in the decomposeParDict dictionary. The system directory and files
within the constant directory must also be present in each case directory. Note: the files in
the constant directory are needed, but the polyMesh directory is not.

OpenFOAM-10
3.5 Standard solvers U-97

3.4.5 Post-processing parallel processed cases

When post-processing cases that have been run in parallel the user has two options:

• reconstruction of the mesh and field data to recreate the complete domain and fields,
which can be post-processed as normal;

• post-processing each segment of decomposed domain individually.

3.4.5.1 Reconstructing mesh and data

After a case has been run in parallel, it can be reconstructed for post-processing. The case
is reconstructed by merging the sets of time directories from each processorN directory into
a single set of time directories. The reconstructPar utility performs such a reconstruction by
executing the command:

reconstructPar

When the data is distributed across several disks, it must be first copied to the local case
directory for reconstruction.

3.4.5.2 Post-processing decomposed cases

The user may post-process decomposed cases using the paraFoam post-processor, described
in section 6.1. The whole simulation can be post-processed by reconstructing the case or
alternatively it is possible to post-process a segment of the decomposed domain individually
by simply treating the individual processor directory as a case in its own right.

3.5 Standard solvers

The solvers with the OpenFOAM distribution are in the $FOAM_SOLVERS directory, reached
quickly by typing sol at the command line. This directory is further subdivided into sev-
eral directories by category of continuum mechanics, e.g. incompressible flow, combustion
and solid body stress analysis. Each solver is given a name that is reasonably descriptive,
e.g.icoFoam solves incompressible, laminar flow. The current list of solvers distributed with
OpenFOAM is given in the following Sections.

3.5.1 ‘Basic’ CFD codes

laplacianFoam Solves a simple Laplace equation, e.g. for thermal diffusion in a solid.

potentialFoam Potential flow solver which solves for the velocity potential, to calculate the
flux-field, from which the velocity field is obtained by reconstructing the flux.

scalarTransportFoam Solves the steady or transient transport equation for a passive scalar.

OpenFOAM-10
U-98 Applications and libraries

3.5.2 Incompressible flow

adjointShapeOptimisationFoam Steady-state solver for incompressible, turbulent flow of non-
Newtonian fluids with optimisation of duct shape by applying "blockage" in regions
causing pressure loss as estimated using an adjoint formulation.

boundaryFoam Steady-state solver for incompressible, 1D turbulent flow, typically to gener-

ate boundary layer conditions at an inlet, for use in a simulation.

icoFoam Transient solver for incompressible, laminar flow of Newtonian fluids.

pimpleFoam Transient solver for incompressible, turbulent flow of Newtonian fluids, with
optional mesh motion and mesh topology changes.

pisoFoam Transient solver for incompressible, turbulent flow, using the PISO algorithm.

porousSimpleFoam Steady-state solver for incompressible, turbulent flow with implicit or

explicit porosity treatment and support for multiple reference frames (MRF).

shallowWaterFoam Transient solver for inviscid shallow-water equations with rotation.

simpleFoam Steady-state solver for incompressible, turbulent flow, using the SIMPLE algo-
rithm.

SRFPimpleFoam Large time-step transient solver for incompressible, turbulent flow in a sin-
gle rotating frame.

SRFSimpleFoam Steady-state solver for incompressible, turbulent flow of non-Newtonian flu-

ids in a single rotating frame.

3.5.3 Compressible flow

rhoCentralFoam Density-based compressible flow solver based on central-upwind schemes of
Kurganov and Tadmor with support for mesh-motion and topology changes.

rhoPimpleFoam Transient solver for turbulent flow of compressible fluids for HVAC and
similar applications, with optional mesh motion and mesh topology changes.

rhoPorousSimpleFoam Steady-state solver for turbulent flow of compressible fluids, with im-
plicit or explicit porosity treatment and optional sources.

rhoSimpleFoam Steady-state solver for turbulent flow of compressible fluids.

3.5.4 Multiphase flow

cavitatingFoam Transient cavitation code based on the homogeneous equilibrium model from
which the compressibility of the liquid/vapour "mixture" is obtained, with optional
mesh motion and mesh topology changes.

OpenFOAM-10
3.5 Standard solvers U-99

compressibleInterFoam Solver for 2 compressible, non-isothermal immiscible fluids using a

VOF (volume of fluid) phase-fraction based interface capturing approach, with optional
mesh motion and mesh topology changes including adaptive re-meshing.

compressibleMultiphaseInterFoam Solver for n compressible, non-isothermal immiscible fluids

using a VOF (volume of fluid) phase-fraction based interface capturing approach.

driftFluxFoam Solver for 2 incompressible fluids using the mixture approach with the drift-
flux approximation for relative motion of the phases.

interFoam Solver for 2 incompressible, isothermal immiscible fluids using a VOF (volume of
fluid) phase-fraction based interface capturing approach, with optional mesh motion
and mesh topology changes including adaptive re-meshing.

interMixingFoam Solver for 3 incompressible fluids, two of which are miscible, using a VOF
method to capture the interface, with optional mesh motion and mesh topology changes
including adaptive re-meshing.

multiphaseEulerFoam Solver for a system of any number of compressible fluid phases with a
common pressure, but otherwise separate properties. The type of phase model is run
time selectable and can optionally represent multiple species and in-phase reactions.
The phase system is also run time selectable and can optionally represent different
types of momentun, heat and mass transfer.

multiphaseInterFoam Solver for n incompressible fluids which captures the interfaces and
includes surface-tension and contact-angle effects for each phase, with optional mesh
motion and mesh topology changes.

potentialFreeSurfaceFoam Incompressible Navier-Stokes solver with inclusion of a wave height

field to enable single-phase free-surface approximations, with optional mesh motion and
mesh topology changes.

twoLiquidMixingFoam Solver for mixing 2 incompressible fluids.

3.5.5 Direct numerical simulation (DNS)

dnsFoam Direct numerical simulation solver for boxes of isotropic turbulence.

3.5.6 Combustion
buoyantReactingFoam Solver for combustion with chemical reactions using a density based
thermodynamics package with enhanced buoyancy treatment.

chemFoam Solver for chemistry problems, designed for use on single cell cases to provide
comparison against other chemistry solvers, that uses a single cell mesh, and fields
created from the initial conditions.

PDRFoam Solver for compressible premixed/partially-premixed combustion with turbulence

modelling.

OpenFOAM-10
U-100 Applications and libraries

reactingFoam Solver for combustion with chemical reactions.

XiEngineFoam Solver for internal combustion engines.

XiFoam Solver for compressible premixed/partially-premixed combustion with turbulence

modelling.

3.5.7 Heat transfer and buoyancy-driven flows

buoyantFoam Solver for steady or transient buoyant, turbulent flow of compressible fluids for
ventilation and heat-transfer, with optional mesh motion and mesh topology changes.

chtMultiRegionFoam Solver for steady or transient fluid flow and solid heat conduction, with
conjugate heat transfer between regions, buoyancy effects, turbulence, reactions and
radiation modelling.

thermoFoam Solver for energy transport and thermodynamics on a frozen flow field.

3.5.8 Particle-tracking flows

denseParticleFoam Transient solver for the coupled transport of particle clouds including the
effect of the volume fraction of particles on the continuous phase, with optional mesh
motion and mesh topology changes.

particleFoam Transient solver for the passive transport of a single kinematic particle cloud,
with optional mesh motion and mesh topology changes.

rhoParticleFoam Transient solver for the passive transport of a particle cloud.

3.5.9 Discrete methods

dsmcFoam Direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) solver for, transient, multi-species flows.

mdEquilibrationFoam Solver to equilibrate and/or precondition molecular dynamics systems.

mdFoam Molecular dynamics solver for fluid dynamics.

3.5.10 Electromagnetics
electrostaticFoam Solver for electrostatics.

magneticFoam Solver for the magnetic field generated by permanent magnets.

mhdFoam Solver for magnetohydrodynamics (MHD): incompressible, laminar flow of a con-

ducting fluid under the influence of a magnetic field.

OpenFOAM-10
3.6 Standard utilities U-101

3.5.11 Stress analysis of solids

solidDisplacementFoam Transient solver of linear-elastic, small-strain deformation of a solid
body, with optional thermal diffusion and thermal stresses.
solidEquilibriumDisplacementFoam Steady-state solver of linear-elastic, small-strain deforma-
tion of a solid body, with optional thermal diffusion and thermal stresses.

3.5.12 Finance
financialFoam Solves the Black-Scholes equation to price commodities.

3.6 Standard utilities

The utilities with the OpenFOAM distribution are in the $FOAM_UTILITIES directory. The
names are reasonably descriptive, e.g. ideasToFoam converts mesh data from the format writ-
ten by I-DEAS to the OpenFOAM format. The descriptions of current utilities distributed
with OpenFOAM are given in the following Sections.

3.6.1 Pre-processing
applyBoundaryLayer Apply a simplified boundary-layer model to the velocity and turbulence
fields based on the 1/7th power-law.
boxTurb Makes a box of turbulence which conforms to a given energy spectrum and is
divergence free.
changeDictionary Utility to change dictionary entries, e.g. can be used to change the patch
type in the field and polyMesh/boundary files.
createExternalCoupledPatchGeometry Application to generate the patch geometry (points and
faces) for use with the externalCoupled boundary condition.
dsmcInitialise Initialise a case for dsmcFoam by reading the initialisation dictionary system/-
dsmcInitialise.
engineSwirl Generates a swirling flow for engine calulations.
faceAgglomerate Agglomerate boundary faces using the pairPatchAgglomeration algorithm.
It writes a map from the fine to coarse grid.
foamSetupCHT Sets up a multi-region case using template files for material properties, field
and system files.
mapFields Maps volume fields from one mesh to another, reading and interpolating all fields
present in the time directory of both cases.
mapFieldsPar Maps volume fields from one mesh to another, reading and interpolating all
fields present in the time directory of both cases. Parallel and non-parallel cases are
handled without the need to reconstruct them first.

OpenFOAM-10
U-102 Applications and libraries

mdInitialise Initialises fields for a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation.

setAtmBoundaryLayer Applies atmospheric boundary layer models to the entire domain for
case initialisation.

setFields Set values on a selected set of cells/patchfaces through a dictionary.

setWaves Applies wave models to the entire domain for case initialisation using level sets for
second-order accuracy.

viewFactorsGen View factors are calculated based on a face agglomeration array (finalAgglom
generated by faceAgglomerate utility).

3.6.2 Mesh generation

blockMesh A multi-block mesh generator.

extrudeMesh Extrude mesh from existing patch (by default outwards facing normals; optional
flips faces) or from patch read from file.

extrude2DMesh Takes 2D mesh (all faces 2 points only, no front and back faces) and creates
a 3D mesh by extruding with specified thickness.

extrudeToRegionMesh Extrude faceZones (internal or boundary faces) or faceSets (bound-

ary faces only) into a separate mesh (as a different region).

foamyHexMesh Conformal Voronoi automatic mesh generator

foamyQuadMesh Conformal-Voronoi 2D extruding automatic mesher with grid or read initial

points and point position relaxation with optional "squarification".

snappyHexMesh Automatic split hex mesher. Refines and snaps to surface.

3.6.3 Mesh conversion

ansysToFoam Converts an ANSYS input mesh file, exported from I-DEAS, to OpenFOAM
format.

ccm26ToFoam Reads CCM files as written by Prostar/ccm using ccm 2.6

cfx4ToFoam Converts a CFX 4 mesh to OpenFOAM format.

datToFoam Reads in a datToFoam mesh file and outputs a points file. Used in conjunction
with blockMesh.

fluent3DMeshToFoam Converts a Fluent mesh to OpenFOAM format.

fluentMeshToFoam Converts a Fluent mesh to OpenFOAM format including multiple region

and region boundary handling.

foamMeshToFluent Writes out the OpenFOAM mesh in Fluent mesh format.

OpenFOAM-10
3.6 Standard utilities U-103

foamToStarMesh Reads an OpenFOAM mesh and writes a pro-STAR (v4) bnd/cel/vrt for-
mat.

foamToSurface Reads an OpenFOAM mesh and writes the boundaries in a surface format.

gambitToFoam Converts a GAMBIT mesh to OpenFOAM format.

gmshToFoam Reads .msh file as written by Gmsh.

ideasUnvToFoam I-Deas unv format mesh conversion.

kivaToFoam Converts a KIVA3v grid to OpenFOAM format.

mshToFoam Converts .msh file generated by the Adventure system.

netgenNeutralToFoam Converts neutral file format as written by Netgen v4.4.

plot3dToFoam Plot3d mesh (ascii/formatted format) converter.

sammToFoam Converts a Star-CD (v3) SAMM mesh to OpenFOAM format.

star3ToFoam Converts a Star-CD (v3) pro-STAR mesh into OpenFOAM format.

star4ToFoam Converts a Star-CD (v4) pro-STAR mesh into OpenFOAM format.

tetgenToFoam Converts .ele and .node and .face files, written by tetgen.

vtkUnstructuredToFoam Converts ascii .vtk (legacy format) file generated by vtk/paraview.

writeMeshObj For mesh debugging: writes mesh as three separate OBJ files which can be
viewed with e.g. javaview.

3.6.4 Mesh manipulation

attachMesh Attach topologically detached mesh using prescribed mesh modifiers.

autoPatch Divides external faces into patches based on (user supplied) feature angle.

checkMesh Checks validity of a mesh.

createBaffles Makes internal faces into boundary faces. Does not duplicate points, unlike
mergeOrSplitBaffles.

createNonConformalCouples Utility to create non-conformal couples between non-coupled

patches.

createPatch Utility to create patches out of selected boundary faces. Faces come either from
existing patches or from a faceSet.

deformedGeom Deforms a polyMesh using a displacement field U and a scaling factor supplied
as an argument.

flattenMesh Flattens the front and back planes of a 2D cartesian mesh.

OpenFOAM-10
U-104 Applications and libraries

insideCells Picks up cells with cell centre ’inside’ of surface. Requires surface to be closed
and singly connected.

mergeBaffles Detects faces that share points (baffles) and merges them into internal faces.

mergeMeshes Merges two meshes.

mirrorMesh Mirrors a mesh around a given plane.

moveMesh Mesh motion and topological mesh changes utility.

objToVTK Read obj line (not surface!) file and convert into vtk.

orientFaceZone Corrects orientation of faceZone.

polyDualMesh Calculates the dual of a polyMesh. Adheres to all the feature and patch edges.

refineMesh Utility to refine cells in multiple directions.

renumberMesh Renumbers the cell list in order to reduce the bandwidth, reading and renum-
bering all fields from all the time directories.

rotateMesh Rotates the mesh and fields from the direction n1 to direction n2.

setsToZones Add pointZones, faceZones or cellZones to the mesh from similar named
pointSets, faceSets or cellSets.

singleCellMesh Reads all fields and maps them to a mesh with all internal faces removed
(singleCellFvMesh) which gets written to region singleCell.

splitBaffles Detects faces that share points (baffles) and duplicates the points to separate
them.

splitMesh Splits mesh by making internal faces external. Uses attachDetach.

splitMeshRegions Splits mesh into multiple regions.

stitchMesh Stitches a mesh.

subsetMesh Selects a section of mesh based on a cellSet.

topoSet Operates on cellSets/faceSets/pointSets through a dictionary.

transformPoints Transforms the mesh points in the polyMesh directory according to the
translate, rotate and scale options.

zipUpMesh Reads in a mesh with hanging vertices and zips up the cells to guarantee that
all polyhedral cells of valid shape are closed.

OpenFOAM-10
3.6 Standard utilities U-105

3.6.5 Other mesh tools

autoRefineMesh Utility to refine cells near to a surface.

collapseEdges Collapses short edges and combines edges that are in line.

combinePatchFaces Checks for multiple patch faces on same cell and combines them. Mul-
tiple patch faces can result from e.g. removal of refined neighbouring cells, leaving 4
exposed faces with same owner.

modifyMesh Manipulates mesh elements.

PDRMesh Mesh and field preparation utility for PDR type simulations.

refineHexMesh Refines a hex mesh by 2x2x2 cell splitting.

refinementLevel Tries to figure out what the refinement level is on refined Cartesian meshes.
Run BEFORE snapping.

refineWallLayer Utility to refine cells next to patches.

removeFaces Utility to remove faces (combines cells on both sides).

selectCells Select cells in relation to surface.

splitCells Utility to split cells with flat faces.

3.6.6 Post-processing
engineCompRatio Calculate the geometric compression ratio. Note that if you have valves
and/or extra volumes it will not work, since it calculates the volume at BDC and TCD.

noise Utility to perform noise analysis of pressure data using the noiseFFT library.

particleTracks Generates a VTK file of particle tracks for cases that were computed using a
tracked-parcel-type cloud.

pdfPlot Generates a graph of a probability distribution function.

postProcess Execute the set of functionObjects specified in the selected dictionary (which
defaults to system/controlDict) or on the command-line for the selected set of times
on the selected set of fields.

steadyParticleTracks Generates a VTK file of particle tracks for cases that were computed
using a steady-state cloud NOTE: case must be re-constructed (if running in parallel)
before use

temporalInterpolate Interpolate fields between time-steps e.g. for animation.

OpenFOAM-10
U-106 Applications and libraries

3.6.7 Post-processing data converters

foamDataToFluent Translates OpenFOAM data to Fluent format.

foamToEnsight Translates OpenFOAM data to EnSight format.

foamToEnsightParts Translates OpenFOAM data to Ensight format. An Ensight part is

created for each cellZone and patch.

foamToGMV Translates foam output to GMV readable files.

foamToTetDualMesh Converts polyMesh results to tetDualMesh.

foamToVTK Legacy VTK file format writer.

smapToFoam Translates a STAR-CD SMAP data file into OpenFOAM field format.

3.6.8 Surface mesh (e.g. OBJ/STL) tools

surfaceAdd Add two surfaces. Does geometric merge on points. Does not check for overlap-
ping/intersecting triangles.

surfaceAutoPatch Patches surface according to feature angle. Like autoPatch.

surfaceBooleanFeatures Generates the extendedFeatureEdgeMesh for the interface between a

boolean operation on two surfaces. Assumes that the orientation of the surfaces is
correct.

surfaceCheck Checks geometric and topological quality of a surface.

surfaceClean Removes baffles - collapses small edges, removing triangles. - converts sliver
triangles into split edges by projecting point onto base of triangle.

surfaceCoarsen Surface coarsening using bunnylod:

surfaceConvert Converts from one surface mesh format to another.

surfaceFeatureConvert Convert between edgeMesh formats.

surfaceFeatures Identifies features in a surface geometry and writes them to file, based on
control parameters specified by the user.

surfaceFind Finds nearest face and vertex.

surfaceHookUp Find close open edges and stitches the surface along them

surfaceInertia Calculates the inertia tensor, principal axes and moments of a command line
specified triSurface. Inertia can either be of the solid body or of a thin shell.

surfaceLambdaMuSmooth Smooths a surface using lambda/mu smoothing.

surfaceMeshConvert Converts between surface formats with optional scaling or transforma-

tions (rotate/translate) on a coordinateSystem.

OpenFOAM-10
3.6 Standard utilities U-107

surfaceMeshConvertTesting Converts from one surface mesh format to another, but primarily
used for testing functionality.

surfaceMeshExport Export from surfMesh to various third-party surface formats with op-
tional scaling or transformations (rotate/translate) on a coordinateSystem.

surfaceMeshImport Import from various third-party surface formats into surfMesh with op-
tional scaling or transformations (rotate/translate) on a coordinateSystem.

surfaceMeshInfo Miscellaneous information about surface meshes.

surfaceMeshTriangulate Extracts surface from a polyMesh. Depending on output surface

format triangulates faces.

surfaceOrient Set normal consistent with respect to a user provided ‘outside’ point. If the
-inside option is used the point is considered inside.

surfacePointMerge Merges points on surface if they are within absolute distance. Since ab-
solute distance use with care!

surfaceRedistributePar (Re)distribution of triSurface. Either takes an undecomposed sur-

face or an already decomposed surface and redistributes it so that each processor has
all triangles that overlap its mesh.

surfaceRefineRedGreen Refine by splitting all three edges of triangle (‘red’ refinement). Neigh-
bouring triangles which are not marked for refinement get split in half (‘green’ refine-
ment).

surfaceSplitByPatch Writes regions of triSurface to separate files.

surfaceSplitByTopology Strips any baffle parts of a surface. A baffle region is one which is
reached by walking from an open edge, and stopping when a multiply connected edge
is reached.

surfaceSplitNonManifolds Takes multiply connected surface and tries to split surface at mul-
tiply connected edges by duplicating points. Introduces concept of - borderEdge.
Edge with 4 faces connected to it. - borderPoint. Point connected to exactly 2
borderEdges. - borderLine. Connected list of borderEdges.

surfaceSubset A surface analysis tool which sub-sets the triSurface to choose only a part
of interest. Based on subsetMesh.

surfaceToPatch Reads surface and applies surface regioning to a mesh. Uses boundaryMesh
to do the hard work.

surfaceTransformPoints Transform (scale/rotate) a surface. Like transformPoints but for

surfaces.

OpenFOAM-10
U-108 Applications and libraries

3.6.9 Parallel processing

decomposePar Automatically decomposes a mesh and fields of a case for parallel execution
of OpenFOAM.

reconstructPar Reconstructs fields of a case that is decomposed for parallel execution of

OpenFOAM.

reconstructParMesh Reconstructs a mesh using geometric information only.

redistributePar Redistributes existing decomposed mesh and fields according to the current
settings in the decomposeParDict file.

3.6.10 Thermophysical-related utilities

adiabaticFlameT Calculates the adiabatic flame temperature for a given fuel over a range of
unburnt temperatures and equivalence ratios.

chemkinToFoam Converts CHEMKINIII thermodynamics and reaction data files into Open-
FOAM format.

equilibriumCO Calculates the equilibrium level of carbon monoxide.

equilibriumFlameT Calculates the equilibrium flame temperature for a given fuel and pres-
sure for a range of unburnt gas temperatures and equivalence ratios; the effects of
dissociation on O2, H2O and CO2 are included.

mixtureAdiabaticFlameT Calculates the adiabatic flame temperature for a given mixture at

a given temperature.

3.6.11 Miscellaneous utilities

foamDictionary Interrogates and manipulates dictionaries.

foamFormatConvert Converts all IOobjects associated with a case into the format specified
in the controlDict.

foamListTimes List times using timeSelector.

patchSummary Writes fields and boundary condition info for each patch at each requested
time instance.

OpenFOAM-10
Chapter 4

OpenFOAM cases

This chapter deals with the file structure and organisation of OpenFOAM cases. Normally,
a user would assign a name to a case, e.g. the tutorial case of flow in a cavity is simply
named cavity. This name becomes the name of a directory in which all the case files and
subdirectories are stored. The case directories themselves can be located anywhere but we
recommend they are within a run subdirectory of the user’s project directory, i.e.$HOME/-
OpenFOAM/${USER}-10 as described at the beginning of chapter 2. One advantage of this is
that the $FOAM_RUN environment variable is set to $HOME/OpenFOAM/${USER}-10/run
by default; the user can quickly move to that directory by executing a preset alias, run, at
the command line.
The tutorial cases that accompany the OpenFOAM distribution provide useful examples
of the case directory structures. The tutorials are located in the $FOAM_TUTORIALS di-
rectory, reached quickly by executing the tut alias at the command line. Users can view
tutorial examples at their leisure while reading this chapter.

4.1 File structure of OpenFOAM cases

The basic directory structure for a OpenFOAM case, that contains the minimum set of files
required to run an application, is shown in Figure 4.1 and described as follows:
A constant directory that contains a full description of the case mesh in a subdirectory
polyMesh and files specifying physical properties for the application concerned, e.g.
physicalProperties.
A system directory for setting parameters associated with the solution procedure itself. It
contains at least the following 3 files: controlDict where run control parameters are set
including start/end time, time step and parameters for data output; fvSchemes where
discretisation schemes used in the solution may be selected at run-time; and, fvSolution
where the equation solvers, tolerances and other algorithm controls are set for the run.
The ‘time’ directories containing individual files of data for particular fields, e.g. velocity
and pressure. The data can be: either, initial values and boundary conditions that the
user must specify to define the problem; or, results written to file by OpenFOAM. Note
that the OpenFOAM fields must always be initialised, even when the solution does not
strictly require it, as in steady-state problems. The name of each time directory is based
U-110 OpenFOAM cases

<case>

system
controlDict see section 4.4
fvSchemes see section 4.5
fvSolution see section 4.6
constant
. . . Properties see chapter 7
polyMesh see section 5.1.2
points
faces
owner
neighbour
boundary
time directories see section 4.2.8
Figure 4.1: Case directory structure

on the simulated time at which the data is written and is described fully in section 4.4.
It is sufficient to say now that since we usually start our simulations at time t = 0, the
initial conditions are usually stored in a directory named 0 or 0.000000e+00, depending
on the name format specified. For example, in the cavity tutorial, the velocity field U
and pressure field p are initialised from files 0/U and 0/p respectively.

4.2 Basic input/output file format

OpenFOAM needs to read a range of data structures such as strings, scalars, vectors, tensors,
lists and fields. The input/output (I/O) format of files is designed to be extremely flexible to
enable the user to modify the I/O in OpenFOAM applications as easily as possible. The I/O
follows a simple set of rules that make the files extremely easy to understand, in contrast to
many software packages whose file format may not only be difficult to understand intuitively
but also not be published. The OpenFOAM file format is described in the following sections.

4.2.1 General syntax rules

The format follows some general principles of C++ source code.
• Files have free form, with no particular meaning assigned to any column and no need
to indicate continuation across lines.

• Lines have no particular meaning except to a // comment delimiter which makes

OpenFOAM ignore any text that follows it until the end of line.

• A comment over multiple lines is done by enclosing the text between /* and */ delim-
iters.

OpenFOAM-10
4.2 Basic input/output file format U-111

4.2.2 Dictionaries
OpenFOAM uses dictionaries as the most common means of specifying data. A dictionary is
an entity that contains data entries that can be retrieved by the I/O by means of keywords.
The keyword entries follow the general format

<keyword> <dataEntry1> ... <dataEntryN>;

Most entries are single data entries of the form:

<keyword> <dataEntry>;

Most OpenFOAM data files are themselves dictionaries containing a set of keyword entries.
Dictionaries provide the means for organising entries into logical categories and can be
specified hierarchically so that any dictionary can itself contain one or more dictionary
entries. The format for a dictionary is to specify the dictionary name followed by keyword
entries enclosed in curly braces {} as follows.

<dictionaryName>
{
... keyword entries ...
}

4.2.3 The data file header

All data files that are read and written by OpenFOAM begin with a dictionary named
FoamFile containing a standard set of keyword entries, listed below:
• version: I/O format version, optional, defaults to 2.0

• format: data format, ascii or binary

• class: class relating to the data, either dictionary or a field, e.g. volVectorField

• object: filename, e.g. controlDict (mandatory, but not used)

• location: path to the file (optional)

The following example shows the use of keywords to provide data for a case using the
types of entry described so far. The extract, from an fvSolution dictionary file, contains 2
dictionaries, solvers and PISO. The solvers dictionary contains multiple data entries for solver
and tolerances for each of the pressure and velocity equations, represented by the p and U
keywords respectively; the PISO dictionary contains algorithm controls.
16
17 solvers
18 {
19 p
20 {
21 solver PCG;
22 preconditioner DIC;
23 tolerance 1e-06;

OpenFOAM-10
U-112 OpenFOAM cases

24 relTol 0.05;
25 }
26
27 pFinal
28 {
29 $p;
30 relTol 0;
31 }
32
33 U
34 {
35 solver smoothSolver;
36 smoother symGaussSeidel;
37 tolerance 1e-05;
38 relTol 0;
39 }
40 }
41
42 PISO
43 {
44 nCorrectors 2;
45 nNonOrthogonalCorrectors 0;
46 pRefCell 0;
47 pRefValue 0;
48 }
49
50
51 // ************************************************************************* //

4.2.4 Lists
OpenFOAM applications contain lists, e.g. a list of vertex coordinates for a mesh description.
Lists are commonly found in I/O and have a format of their own in which the entries are
contained within round braces ( ). There is also a choice of format preceeding the round
braces:

• the keyword is followed immediately by round braces

<listName>
(
... entries ...
);
• the keyword is followed by the number of elements <n> in the list

<listName>
<n>
(
... entries ...
);
• the keyword is followed by a class name identifier Label<Type> where <Type> states
what the list contains, e.g. for a list of scalar elements is

<listName>
List<scalar>
<n> // optional
(
... entries ...
);

OpenFOAM-10
4.2 Basic input/output file format U-113

Note that <scalar> in List<scalar> is not a generic name but the actual text that should
be entered.
The simple format is a convenient way of writing a list. The other formats allow the code
to read the data faster since the size of the list can be allocated to memory in advance of
reading the data. The simple format is therefore preferred for short lists, where read time is
minimal, and the other formats are preferred for long lists.

4.2.5 Scalars, vectors and tensors

A scalar is a single number represented as such in a data file. A vector is a VectorSpace of
rank 1 and dimension 3, and since the number of elements is always fixed to 3, the simple
List format is used. Therefore a vector (1.0, 1.1, 1.2) is written:

(1.0 1.1 1.2)

In OpenFOAM, a tensor is a VectorSpace of rank 2 and dimension 3 and therefore the data
entries are always fixed to 9 real numbers. Therefore the identity tensor can be written:

(
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
)

This example demonstrates the way in which OpenFOAM ignores the line return is so that
the entry can be written over multiple lines. It is treated no differently to listing the numbers
on a single line:

( 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 )

4.2.6 Dimensional units

In continuum mechanics, properties are represented in some chosen units, e.g. mass in kilo-
grams (kg), volume in cubic metres (m3 ), pressure in Pascals (kg m−1 s−2 ). Algebraic op-
erations must be performed on these properties using consistent units of measurement; in
particular, addition, subtraction and equality are only physically meaningful for properties
of the same dimensional units. As a safeguard against implementing a meaningless oper-
ation, OpenFOAM attaches dimensions to field data and physical properties and performs
dimension checking on any tensor operation.
The I/O format for a dimensionSet is 7 scalars delimited by square brackets, e.g.

[0 2 -1 0 0 0 0]

where each of the values corresponds to the power of each of the base units of measurement
listed in Table 4.1. The table gives the base units for the Système International (SI) and the
United States Customary System (USCS) but OpenFOAM can be used with any system of

OpenFOAM-10
U-114 OpenFOAM cases

No. Property SI unit USCS unit

1 Mass kilogram (kg) pound-mass (lbm)
2 Length metre (m) foot (ft)
3 Time second (s) second (s)
4 Temperature Kelvin (K) degree Rankine (◦ R)
5 Quantity mole (mol) mole (mol)
6 Current ampere (A) ampere (A)
7 Luminous intensity candela (cd) candela (cd)

Table 4.1: Base units for SI and USCS

units. All that is required is that the input data is correct for the chosen set of units. It is par-
ticularly important to recognise that OpenFOAM requires some dimensioned physical con-
stants, e.g. the Universal Gas Constant R, for certain calculations, e.g. thermophysical mod-
elling. These dimensioned constants are specified in a DimensionedConstant sub-dictionary of
main controlDict file of the OpenFOAM installation ($WM_PROJECT_DIR/etc/controlDict).
By default these constants are set in SI units. Those wishing to use the USCS or any other
system of units should modify these constants to their chosen set of units accordingly.

4.2.7 Dimensioned types

Physical properties are typically specified with their associated dimensions. These entries
formally have the format that the following example of a dimensionedScalar demonstrates:

nu nu [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 1;

The first nu is the keyword; the second nu is the word name stored in class word, usually
chosen to be the same as the keyword; the next entry is the dimensionSet and the final entry
is the scalar value.
The majority of dimensioned keyword lookups set a default for the word name which can
therefore be omitted from the entry, so the more common syntax is:

nu [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 1;

4.2.8 Fields
Much of the I/O data in OpenFOAM are tensor fields, e.g. velocity, pressure data, that are
read from and written into the time directories. OpenFOAM writes field data using keyword
entries as described in Table 4.2.
The data begins with an entry for its dimensions. Following that, is the internalField,
described in one of the following ways.

• Uniform field a single value is assigned to all elements within the field, taking the
form:

internalField uniform <entry>;

OpenFOAM-10
4.2 Basic input/output file format U-115

Keyword Description Example

dimensions Dimensions of field [1 1 -2 0 0 0 0]
internalField Value of internal field uniform (1 0 0)
boundaryField Boundary field see file listing in section 4.2.8

Table 4.2: Main keywords used in field dictionaries.

• Nonuniform field each field element is assigned a unique value from a list, taking the
following form where the token identifier form of list is recommended:
internalField nonuniform <List>;

The boundaryField is a dictionary containing a set of entries whose names correspond to

each of the names of the boundary patches listed in the boundary file in the polyMesh di-
rectory. Each patch entry is itself a dictionary containing a list of keyword entries. The
mandatory entry, type, describes the patch field condition specified for the field. The re-
maining entries correspond to the type of patch field condition selected and can typically
include field data specifying initial conditions on patch faces. A selection of patch field con-
ditions available in OpenFOAM are listed in section 5.2.1, section 5.2.2 and section 5.2.3,
with a description and the data that must be specified with it. Example field dictionary
entries for velocity U are shown below:
16 dimensions [0 1 -1 0 0 0 0];
17
18 internalField uniform (0 0 0);
19
20 boundaryField
21 {
22 movingWall
23 {
24 type fixedValue;
25 value uniform (1 0 0);
26 }
27
28 fixedWalls
29 {
30 type noSlip;
31 }
32
33 frontAndBack
34 {
35 type empty;
36 }
37 }
38
39 // ************************************************************************* //

4.2.9 Macro expansion

OpenFOAM dictionary files include a macro syntax to allow convenient configuration of
case files. The syntax uses the dollar ($) symbol in front of a keyword to expand the data
associated with the keyword. For example the value set for keyword a below, 10, is expanded
in the following line, so that the value of b is also 10.

a 10;
b $a;

OpenFOAM-10
U-116 OpenFOAM cases

Variables can be accessed within different levels of sub-dictionaries, or scope. Scoping is

performed using a ‘/’ (dot) syntax, illustrated by the following example, where b is set to
the value of a, specified in a sub-dictionary called subdict.

subdictA
{
a 20;
}
b $subdictA/a;

There are further syntax rules for macro expansions:

• to traverse up one level of sub-dictionary, use the ‘..’ (double-dot) prefix, see below;

• to traverse up two levels use ‘../..’ prefix, etc.;

• to traverse to the top level dictionary use the ‘!’ (exclamation mark) prefix (most
useful), see below;

• to traverse into a separate file named otherFile, use ‘otherFile!’, see below;

• for multiple levels of macro substitution, each specified with the ‘$’ dollar syntax, ‘{}’
brackets are required to protect the expansion, see below.

When accessing parameters from another file, the $FOAM_CASE environment variable is
useful to specify the path to the file as described in Section 4.2.11 and illustrated below.

a 10;
b a;
c ${${b}}; // returns 10, since $b returns "a", and $a returns 10

subdictA
{
a 20;
}

subdictB
{
// double-dot takes scope up 1 level, then into "subdictA" => 20
b $../subdictA/a;

subsubdict
{
// exclamation mark takes scope to top level => 10
b $!a;

// "a" from another file named "otherFile"

c $otherFile!a;

OpenFOAM-10
4.2 Basic input/output file format U-117

// "a" from another file "otherFile" in the case directory

d $FOAM_CASE/otherFile!a;
}
}

4.2.10 Including files

There is additional file syntax that provides further flexibility for setting up of OpenFOAM
case files, namely directives. Directives are commands that can be contained within case
files that begin with the hash (#) symbol. The first set of directive commands are those for
reading a data file from within another data file. For example, let us say a user wishes to
set an initial value of pressure once to be used as the internal field and initial value at a
boundary. We could create a file, e.g. named initialConditions, which contains the following
entries:

pressure 1e+05;

In order to use this pressure for both the internal and initial boundary fields, the user
would simply include the initialConditions file using the #include directive, then use macro
expansions for the pressure keyword, as follows.

#include "initialConditions"
internalField uniform $pressure;
boundaryField
{
patch1
{
type fixedValue;
value $internalField;
}
}

The file include directives are as follows:

• #include "<path>/<fileName>": reads the file of name <fileName> from an absolute
or relative directory path <path>;
• #includeIfPresent "<path>/<fileName>": reads the file if it exists;
• #includeEtc "<path>/<fileName>": reads the file of name <fileName> from the
directory path <path>, relative to the $FOAM_ETC directory;
• #includeFunc <fileName>: reads the file of name <fileName>, searched from the
case system directory, followed by the $FOAM_ETC directory;
• #remove <keywordEntry>: removes any included keyword entry; can take a word or
regular expression;

OpenFOAM-10
U-118 OpenFOAM cases

4.2.11 Environment variables

OpenFOAM recognises the use of environment variables in input files. For example, the
$FOAM_RUN environment variable can be used to identify the run directory, as described
in the introduction to Chapter 2. This could be used to include a file, e.g. by

#include "$FOAM_RUN/pitzDaily/0/U"

In addition to environment variables like $FOAM_RUN, set within the operating sys-
tem, OpenFOAM recognises a number of “internal” environment variables, including the
following.

• $FOAM_CASE: the path and directory of the running case.

• $FOAM_CASENAME: the directory name of the running case.

• $FOAM_APPLICATION: the name of the running application.

4.2.12 Regular expressions

When running an application, data is initialised by looking up keywords from dictionaries.
The user can either provide an entry with a keyword that directly matches the one being
looked up, or can provide a POSIX regular expression that matches the keyword, specified
inside double-quotations ("..."). Regular expressions have an extensive syntax for various
matches of text patterns but they are typically only used in the following ways in OpenFOAM
input files.

• "inlet.*" matches any word beginning inlet. . . , including inlet itself, because ‘.’
denotes “any character” and ‘*’ denotes “repeated any number of times, including 0
times”.

• "(inlet|output)" matches inlet and outlet because () specified an expression

grouping and | is an OR operator.

4.2.13 Keyword ordering

The order in which keywords are listed does not matter, except when the same keyword is
specified multiple times. Where the same keyword is duplicated, the last instance is used. The
most common example of a duplicate keyword occurs when a keyword is included from the
file or expanded from a macro, and then overridden. The example below demonstrates this,
where pFinal adopts all the keyword entries, including relTol 0.05 in the p sub-dictionary
by the macro expansion $p, then overrides the relTol entry.

p
{
solver PCG;
preconditioner DIC;
tolerance 1e-6;

OpenFOAM-10
4.2 Basic input/output file format U-119

relTol 0.05;
}
pFinal
{
$p;
relTol 0;
}

Where a data lookup matches both a keyword and a regular expression, the keyword
match takes precedence irrespective of the order of the entries.

4.2.14 Inline calculations and code

There are two further directives that enable calculations from within input files: #calc, for
simple calculations; #codeStream, for more complex calculations.
The pipeCyclic tutorial in $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/simpleFoam demonstrates
the #calc directive through its blockMesh configuration in blockMeshDict:

//- Half angle of wedge in degrees

halfAngle 45.0;

//- Radius of pipe [m]

radius 0.5;

radHalfAngle #calc "degToRad($halfAngle)";

y #calc "$radius*sin($radHalfAngle)";
z #calc "$radius*cos($radHalfAngle)";

The file contains several calculations that calculate vertex ordinates, e.g. y, z, etc., from
geometry dimensions, e.g. radius. Calculations include standard C++ functions including
unit conversions, e.g. degToRad, and trigonometric functions, e.g. sin.
The #codeStream directive takes C++ code which is compiled and executed to deliver the
dictionary entry. The code and compilation instructions are specified through the following
keywords.

• code: specifies the code, called with arguments OStream& os and const dictionary&
dict which the user can use in the code, e.g. to lookup keyword entries from within
the current case dictionary (file).

• codeInclude (optional): specifies additional C++ #include statements to include

OpenFOAM files.

• codeOptions (optional): specifies any extra compilation flags to be added to EXE_INC

in Make/options.

• codeLibs (optional): specifies any extra compilation flags to be added to LIB_LIBS in

Make/options.

OpenFOAM-10
U-120 OpenFOAM cases

Code, like any string, can be written across multiple lines by enclosing it within hash-bracket
delimiters, i.e. #{...#}. Anything in between these two delimiters becomes a string with
all newlines, quotes, etc. preserved.
An example of #codeStream is given below, where the code in the calculates moment of
inertia of a box shaped geometry.
momentOfInertia #codeStream
{
codeInclude
#{
#include "diagTensor.H"
#};
code
#{
scalar sqrLx = sqr($Lx);
scalar sqrLy = sqr($Ly);
scalar sqrLz = sqr($Lz);
os <<
$mass
*diagTensor(sqrLy + sqrLz, sqrLx + sqrLz, sqrLx + sqrLy)/12.0;
#};
};

4.2.15 Conditionals
Input files support two conditional directives: #if. . . #else. . . #endif; and, #ifEq. . . #else. . .
#endif. The #if conditional reads a switch that can be generated by a #calc directive,
e.g.:
angle 65;
laplacianSchemes
{
#if #calc "${angle} < 75"
default Gauss linear corrected;
#else
default Gauss linear limited corrected 0.5;
#endif
}

The #ifEq compares a word or string, and executes based on a match, e.g.:
ddtSchemes
{
#ifeq ${FOAM_APPLICATION} simpleFoam
default steadyState;
#else
default Euler;
#endif
}

4.3 Global controls

OpenFOAM includes a large number of global parameters that are configured by default in
a file named controlDict. This is the so-called “global” controlDict file, as opposed to a case
controlDict file that is described in the following section.
The global controlDict file can be found in the installation within a directory named etc,
represented by the environment variable $FOAM_ETC. The file contains sub-dictionaries for
the following items.

OpenFOAM-10
4.3 Global controls U-121

• Documentation: for opening documentation in a web browser.

• InfoSwitches: controls information printed to standard output, i.e. the terminal.

• OptimisationSwitches: for parallel communication and I/O, see section 3.4.2.

• DebugSwitches: messaging switches to help debug code failures, as described in sec-

tion 3.2.6.

• DimensionedConstants: defines fundamental physical constants, e.g. Boltzmann’s

Constant.

• DimensionSets: defines a notation for dimensional units, e.g. kg.

4.3.1 Overriding global controls

The values of the DimensionedConstants depend on the unit system being adopted, i.e.
the International System of Units (SI units), or US Customary system (USCS), based on
English units (pounds, feet, etc.). The default system is naturally SI, but some users may
wish to override this with USCS units, either globally or for a specific case. The system is
set through the unitSet keyword, i.e.
DimensionedConstants
{
unitSet SI; // USCS
}

While a user could modify this setting in the etc/controlDict file in the installation, it is
better practice to use a file in their user directory. OpenFOAM provides a set of directory
locations, where global configuration files can be included, which it looks up in an order of
precedence. To list the locations, simply run the following command.

foamEtcFile -list

The listed locations include a local $HOME/.OpenFOAM directory and follow a descending
order of precedence, i.e. the last location listed (etc) is lowest precedence.
If a user therefore wished to work permanently in USCS units, they could maintain a
controlDict file in their $HOME/.OpenFOAM directory that includes the following entry.
DimensionedConstants
{
unitSet USCS;
}

OpenFOAM would read the unitSet entry from this file, but read all other controlDict
keyword entries from the global controlDict file.
Alternatively, if a user wished to work on a single case in USCS units, they could add
the same entry into the controlDict file in the system directory for their case. This file is
discussed in the next section.

OpenFOAM-10
U-122 OpenFOAM cases

4.4 Time and data input/output control

The OpenFOAM solvers begin all runs by setting up a database. The database controls
I/O and, since output of data is usually requested at intervals of time during the run, time
is an inextricable part of the database. The controlDict dictionary sets input parameters
essential for the creation of the database. The keyword entries in controlDict are listed in
the following sections. Only the time control and writeInterval entries are mandatory,
with the database using default values for any of the optional entries that are omitted.
Example entries from a controlDict dictionary are given below:
16
17 application icoFoam;
18
19 startFrom startTime;
20
21 startTime 0;
22
23 stopAt endTime;
24
25 endTime 0.5;
26
27 deltaT 0.005;
28
29 writeControl timeStep;
30
31 writeInterval 20;
32
33 purgeWrite 0;
34
35 writeFormat ascii;
36
37 writePrecision 6;
38
39 writeCompression off;
40
41 timeFormat general;
42
43 timePrecision 6;
44
45 runTimeModifiable true;
46
47
48 // ************************************************************************* //

4.4.1 Time control

startFrom Controls the start time of the simulation.

• firstTime: Earliest time step from the set of time directories.

• startTime: Time specified by the startTime keyword entry.
• latestTime: Most recent time step from the set of time directories.

startTime Start time for the simulation with startFrom startTime;

stopAt Controls the end time of the simulation.

• endTime: Time specified by the endTime keyword entry.

• writeNow: Stops simulation on completion of current time step and writes data.
• noWriteNow: Stops simulation on completion of current time step and does not
write out data.

OpenFOAM-10
4.4 Time and data input/output control U-123

• nextWrite: Stops simulation on completion of next scheduled write time, specified

by writeControl.

endTime End time for the simulation when stopAt endTime; is specified.

deltaT Time step of the simulation.

4.4.2 Data writing

writeControl Controls the timing of write output to file.

• timeStep: Writes data every writeInterval time steps.

• runTime: Writes data every writeInterval seconds of simulated time.
• adjustableRunTime: Writes data every writeInterval seconds of simulated
time, adjusting the time steps to coincide with the writeInterval if necessary
— used in cases with automatic time step adjustment.
• cpuTime: Writes data every writeInterval seconds of CPU time.
• clockTime: Writes data out every writeInterval seconds of real time.

writeInterval Scalar used in conjunction with writeControl described above.

purgeWrite Integer representing a limit on the number of time directories that are stored by
overwriting time directories on a cyclic basis. For example, if the simulations starts at
t = 5s and ∆t = 1s, then with purgeWrite 2;, data is first written into 2 directories,
6 and 7, then when 8 is written, 6 is deleted, and so on so that only 2 new results
directories exists at any time. To disable the purging, specify purgeWrite 0; (default).

writeFormat Specifies the format of the data files.

• ascii (default): ASCII format, written to writePrecision significant figures.

• binary: binary format.

writePrecision Integer used in conjunction with writeFormat described above, 6 by de-

fault.

writeCompression Switch to specify whether files are compressed with gzip when written:
on/off (yes/no, true/false)

timeFormat Choice of format of the naming of the time directories.

• fixed: ±m.dddddd where the number of ds is set by timePrecision.

• scientific: ±m.dddddde ± xx where the number of ds is set by timePrecision.
• general (default): Specifies scientific format if the exponent is less than -4 or
greater than or equal to that specified by timePrecision.

timePrecision Integer used in conjunction with timeFormat described above, 6 by default.

graphFormat Format for graph data written by an application.

OpenFOAM-10
U-124 OpenFOAM cases

• raw (default): Raw ASCII format in columns.

• gnuplot: Data in gnuplot format.
• xmgr: Data in Grace/xmgr format.
• jplot: Data in jPlot format.

4.4.3 Other settings

adjustTimeStep Switch used by some solvers to adjust the time step during the simulation,
usually according to maxCo.

maxCo Maximum Courant number, e.g. 0.5

runTimeModifiable Switch for whether dictionaries, e.g.controlDict, are re-read during a

simulation at the beginning of each time step, allowing the user to modify parameters
during a simulation.

libs List of additional libraries (existing on $LD_LIBRARY_PATH) to be loaded at run-

time, e.g. ("libNew1.so" "libNew2.so")

functions Dictionary of functions, e.g. probes to be loaded at run-time; see examples in

$FOAM_TUTORIALS

4.5 Numerical schemes

The fvSchemes dictionary in the system directory sets the numerical schemes for terms, such
as derivatives in equations, that are calculated during a simulation. This section describes
how to specify the schemes in the fvSchemes dictionary.
The terms that must typically be assigned a numerical scheme in fvSchemes range from
derivatives, e.g. gradient ∇, to interpolations of values from one set of points to another. The
aim in OpenFOAM is to offer an unrestricted choice to the user, starting with the choice
of discretisation practice which is generally standard Gaussian finite volume integration.
Gaussian integration is based on summing values on cell faces, which must be interpolated
from cell centres. The user has a wide range of options for interpolation scheme, with certain
schemes being specifically designed for particular derivative terms, especially the advection
divergence ∇ • terms.
The set of terms, for which numerical schemes must be specified, are subdivided within
the fvSchemes dictionary into the categories below.

• timeScheme: first and second time derivatives, e.g. ∂/∂t, ∂ 2 /∂ 2 t

• gradSchemes: gradient ∇

• divSchemes: divergence ∇ •

• laplacianSchemes: Laplacian ∇2

• interpolationSchemes: cell to face interpolations of values.

OpenFOAM-10
4.5 Numerical schemes U-125

• snGradSchemes: component of gradient normal to a cell face.

• wallDist: distance to wall calculation, where required.

Each keyword in represents the name of a sub-dictionary which contains terms of a particular
type, e.g.gradSchemes contains all the gradient derivative terms such as grad(p) (which
represents ∇p). Further examples can be seen in the extract from an fvSchemes dictionary
below:
16
17 ddtSchemes
18 {
19 default Euler;
20 }
21
22 gradSchemes
23 {
24 default Gauss linear;
25 }
26
27 divSchemes
28 {
29 default none;
30
31 div(phi,U) Gauss linearUpwind grad(U);
32 div(phi,k) Gauss upwind;
33 div(phi,epsilon) Gauss upwind;
34 div(phi,R) Gauss upwind;
35 div(R) Gauss linear;
36 div(phi,nuTilda) Gauss upwind;
37
38 div((nuEff*dev2(T(grad(U))))) Gauss linear;
39 }
40
41 laplacianSchemes
42 {
43 default Gauss linear corrected;
44 }
45
46 interpolationSchemes
47 {
48 default linear;
49 }
50
51 snGradSchemes
52 {
53 default corrected;
54 }
55
56
57 // ************************************************************************* //

The example shows that the fvSchemes dictionary contains 6 . . . Schemes subdictionaries
containing keyword entries for each term specified within including: a default entry;
other entries whose names correspond to a word identifier for the particular term speci-
fied, e.g.grad(p) for ∇p If a default scheme is specified in a particular . . . Schemes sub-
dictionary, it is assigned to all of the terms to which the sub-dictionary refers, e.g. specifying
a default in gradSchemes sets the scheme for all gradient terms in the application, e.g. ∇p,
∇U. When a default is specified, it is not necessary to specify each specific term itself in
that sub-dictionary, i.e. the entries for grad(p), grad(U) in this example. However, if any of
these terms are included, the specified scheme overrides the default scheme for that term.
Alternatively the user can specify that no default scheme by the none entry, as in the
divSchemes in the example above. In this instance the user is obliged to specify all terms
in that sub-dictionary individually. Setting default to none may appear superfluous since

OpenFOAM-10
U-126 OpenFOAM cases

default can be overridden. However, specifying none forces the user to specify all terms
individually which can be useful to remind the user which terms are actually present in the
application.
OpenFOAM includes a vast number of discretisation schemes, from which only a few
are typically recommended for real-world, engineering applications. The user can get help
with scheme selection by interrogating the tutorial cases for example scheme settings. They
should look at the schemes used in relevant cases, e.g. for running a large-eddy simulation
(LES), look at schemes used in tutorials running LES. Additionally, foamSearch provides a
useful tool to get a quick list of schemes used in all the tutorials. For example, to print all
the default entries for ddtSchemes for cases in the $FOAM_TUTORIALS directory, the user
can type:

foamSearch $FOAM_TUTORIALS fvSchemes ddtSchemes/default

which prints:

default backward;
default CrankNicolson 0.9;
default Euler;
default localEuler;
default none;
default steadyState;

The schemes listed using foamSearch are described in the following sections.

4.5.1 Time schemes

The first time derivative (∂/∂t) terms are specified in the ddtSchemes sub-dictionary. The
discretisation schemes for each term can be selected from those listed below.

• steadyState: sets time derivatives to zero.

• Euler: transient, first order implicit, bounded.

• backward: transient, second order implicit, potentially unbounded.

• CrankNicolson: transient, second order implicit, bounded; requires an off-centering

coefficient ψ where:

1
corresponds to pure CrankNicolson,
ψ=
0 corresponds to Euler;

generally ψ = 0.9 is used to bound/stabilise the scheme for practical engineering prob-
lems.

• localEuler: pseudo transient for accelerating a solution to steady-state using local-

time stepping; first order implicit.

OpenFOAM-10
4.5 Numerical schemes U-127

Solvers are generally configured to simulate either transient or steady-state. Changing the
time scheme from one which is steady-state to transient, or visa versa, does not affect the
fundamental nature of the solver and so fails to achieve its purpose, yielding a nonsensical
solution.
Any second time derivative (∂ 2 /∂t2 ) terms are specified in the d2dt2Schemes sub-dictionary.
Only the Euler scheme is available for d2dt2Schemes.

4.5.2 Gradient schemes

The gradSchemes sub-dictionary contains gradient terms. The default discretisation scheme
that is primarily used for gradient terms is:

default Gauss linear;

The Gauss entry specifies the standard finite volume discretisation of Gaussian integration
which requires the interpolation of values from cell centres to face centres. The interpolation
scheme is then given by the linear entry, meaning linear interpolation or central differencing.
In some tutorials cases, particular involving poorer quality meshes, the discretisation of
specific gradient terms is overridden to improve boundedness and stability. The terms that
are overridden in those cases are the velocity gradient

grad(U) cellLimited Gauss linear 1;

and, less frequently, the gradient of turbulence fields, e.g.

grad(k) cellLimited Gauss linear 1;

grad(epsilon) cellLimited Gauss linear 1;

They use the cellLimited scheme which limits the gradient such that when cell values are
extrapolated to faces using the calculated gradient, the face values do not fall outside the
bounds of values in surrounding cells. A limiting coefficient is specified after the underlying
scheme for which 1 guarantees boundedness and 0 applies no limiting; 1 is invariably used.
Other schemes that are rarely used are as follows.
• leastSquares: a second-order, least squares distance calculation using all neighbour
cells.
• Gauss cubic: third-order scheme that appears in the dnsFoam simulation on a regular
mesh.

4.5.3 Divergence schemes

The divSchemes sub-dictionary contains divergence terms, i.e. terms of the form ∇ • . . . ,
excluding Laplacian terms (of the form ∇ • (Γ∇ . . .)). This includes both advection terms,
e.g. ∇ • (Uk), where velocity U provides the advective flux, and other terms, that are often
diffusive in nature, e.g. ∇ • ν(∇U)T .
The fact that terms that are fundamentally different reside in one sub-dictionary means
that the default scheme in generally set to none in divSchemes. The non-advective terms
then generally use the Gauss integration with linear interpolation, e.g.

OpenFOAM-10
U-128 OpenFOAM cases

div(U) Gauss linear;

The treatment of advective terms is one of the major challenges in CFD numerics and so
the options are more extensive. The keyword identifier for the advective terms are usually
of the form div(phi,...), where phi generally denotes the (volumetric) flux of velocity
on the cell faces for constant-density flows and the mass flux for compressible flows, e.g.
div(phi,U) for the advection of velocity, div(phi,e) for the advection of internal energy,
div(phi,k) for turbulent kinetic energy, etc. For advection of velocity, the user can run the
foamSearch script to extract the div(phi,U) keyword from all tutorials.

foamSearch $FOAM_TUTORIALS fvSchemes "divSchemes/div(phi,U)"

The schemes are all based on Gauss integration, using the flux phi and the advected field be-
ing interpolated to the cell faces by one of a selection of schemes, e.g. linear, linearUpwind,
etc. There is a bounded variant of the discretisation, discussed later.
Ignoring ‘V’-schemes (with keywords ending “V”), and rarely-used schemes such as Gauss
cubic and vanLeerV, the interpolation schemes used in the tutorials are as follows.
• linear: second order, unbounded.

• linearUpwind: second order, upwind-biased, unbounded (but much less so than linear),
that requires discretisation of the velocity gradient to be specified.

• LUST: blended 75% linear/ 25%linearUpwind scheme, that requires discretisation of

the velocity gradient to be specified.

• limitedLinear: linear scheme that limits towards upwind in regions of rapidly

changing gradient; requires a coefficient, where 1 is strongest limiting, tending towards
linear as the coefficient tends to 0.

• upwind: first-order bounded, generally too inaccurate to be recommended.

Example syntax for these schemes is as follows.

div(phi,U) Gauss linear;

div(phi,U) Gauss linearUpwind grad(U);
div(phi,U) Gauss LUST grad(U);
div(phi,U) Gauss LUST unlimitedGrad(U);
div(phi,U) Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div(phi,U) Gauss upwind;

‘V’-schemes are specialised versions of schemes designed for vector fields. They differ
from conventional schemes by calculating a single limiter which is applied to all components
of the vectors, rather than calculating separate limiters for each component of the vector.
The ‘V’-schemes’ single limiter is calculated based on the direction of most rapidly changing
gradient, resulting in the strongest limiter being calculated which is most stable but arguably
less accurate. Example syntax is as follows.

OpenFOAM-10
4.5 Numerical schemes U-129

div(phi,U) Gauss limitedLinearV 1;

div(phi,U) Gauss linearUpwindV grad(U);

The bounded variants of schemes relate to the treatment of the material time derivative
which can be expressed in terms of a spatial time derivative and convection, e.g. for field e
in incompressible flow

De ∂e ∂e
= + U • ∇e = + ∇ • (Ue) − (∇ • U)e (4.1)
Dt ∂t ∂t
For numerical solution of incompressible flows, ∇ • U = 0 at convergence, at which point
the third term on the right hand side is zero. Before convergence is reached, however,
∇ • U ̸= 0 and in some circumstances, particularly steady-state simulations, it is better to
include the third term within a numerical solution because it helps maintain boundedness of
the solution variable and promotes better convergence. The bounded variant of the Gauss
scheme provides this, automatically including the discretisation of the third-term with the
advection term. Example syntax is as follows, as seen in fvSchemes files for steady-state
cases, e.g. for the simpleFoam tutorials

div(phi,U) bounded Gauss limitedLinearV 1;

div(phi,U) bounded Gauss linearUpwindV grad(U);

The schemes used for advection of scalar fields are similar to those for advection of
velocity, although in general there is greater emphasis placed on boundedness than accuracy
when selecting the schemes. For example, a search for schemes for advection of internal
energy (e) reveals the following.

foamSearch $FOAM_TUTORIALS fvSchemes "divSchemes/div(phi,e)"

div(phi,e) bounded Gauss upwind;

div(phi,e) Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div(phi,e) Gauss linearUpwind limited;
div(phi,e) Gauss LUST grad(e);
div(phi,e) Gauss upwind;

In comparison with advection of velocity, there are no cases set up to use linear or
linearUpwind. Instead the limitedLinear and upwind schemes are commonly used, with
the additional appearance of vanLeer, another limited scheme, with less strong limiting than
limitedLinear.
There are specialised versions of the limited schemes for scalar fields that are commonly
bounded between 0 and 1, e.g. the laminar flame speed regress variable b. A search for the
discretisation used for advection in the laminar flame transport equation yields:

div(phiSt,b) Gauss limitedLinear01 1;

OpenFOAM-10
U-130 OpenFOAM cases

The underlying scheme is limitedLinear, specialised for stronger bounding between 0 and
1 by adding 01 to the name of the scheme.
The multivariateSelection mechanism also exists for grouping multiple equation terms
together, and applying the same limiters on all terms, using the strongest limiter calculated
for all terms. A good example of this is in a set of mass transport equations for fluid species,
where it is good practice to apply the same discretisation to all equations for consistency.
The example below comes from the smallPoolFire3D tutorial in $FOAM_TUTORIALS/com-
bustion/fireFoam/les, in which the equation for enthalpy h is included with the specie mass
transport equations in the calculation of a single limiter.

div(phi,Yi_h) Gauss multivariateSelection

{
O2 limitedLinear01 1;
CH4 limitedLinear01 1;
N2 limitedLinear01 1;
H2O limitedLinear01 1;
CO2 limitedLinear01 1;
h limitedLinear 1 ;
}

4.5.4 Surface normal gradient schemes

It is worth explaining the snGradSchemes sub-dictionary that contains surface normal gra-
dient terms, before discussion of laplacianSchemes, because they are required to evaluate a
Laplacian term using Gaussian integration. A surface normal gradient is evaluated at a cell
face; it is the component, normal to the face, of the gradient of values at the centres of the
2 cells that the face connects.
A search for the default scheme for snGradSchemes reveals the following entries.

default corrected;
default limited corrected 0.33;
default limited corrected 0.5;
default orthogonal;
default uncorrected;

The basis of the gradient calculation at a face is to subtract the value at the cell centre
on one side of the face from the value in the centre on the other side and divide by the
distance. The calculation is second-order accurate for the gradient normal to the face if the
vector connecting the cell centres is orthogonal to the face, i.e. they are at right-angles. This
is the orthogonal scheme.
Orthogonality requires a regular mesh, typically aligned with the Cartesian co-ordinate
system, which does not normally occur in meshes for real world, engineering geometries.
Therefore, to maintain second-order accuracy, an explicit non-orthogonal correction can
be added to the orthogonal component, known as the corrected scheme. The correction
increases in size as the non-orthogonality, the angle α between the cell-cell vector and face
normal vector, increases.

OpenFOAM-10
4.5 Numerical schemes U-131

As α tends towards 90◦ , e.g. beyond 70◦ , the explicit correction can be so large to cause
a solution to go unstable. The solution can be stabilised by applying the limited scheme
to the correction which requires a coefficient ψ, 0 ≤ ψ ≤ 1 where


 0 corresponds to uncorrected,



0.333 non-orthogonal correction ≤ 0.5 × orthogonal part,
ψ= (4.2)

 0.5 non-orthogonal correction ≤ orthogonal part,




1 corresponds to corrected.
Typically, psi is chosen to be 0.33 or 0.5, where 0.33 offers greater stability and 0.5 greater
accuracy.
The corrected scheme applies under-relaxation in which the implicit orthogonal calcula-
tion is increased by cos−1 α, with an equivalent boost within the non-orthogonal correction.
The uncorrected scheme is equivalent to the corrected scheme, without the non-orthogonal
correction, so includes is like orthogonal but with the cos−1 α under-relaxation.
Generally the uncorrected and orthogonal schemes are only recommended for meshes
with very low non-orthogonality (e.g. maximum 5◦ ). The corrected scheme is generally
recommended, but for maximum non-orthogonality above 70◦ , limited may be required.
At non-orthogonality above 80◦ , convergence is generally hard to achieve.

4.5.5 Laplacian schemes

The laplacianSchemes sub-dictionary contains Laplacian terms. A typical Laplacian term
is ∇ • (ν∇U), the diffusion term in the momentum equations, which corresponds to the
keyword laplacian(nu,U) in laplacianSchemes. The Gauss scheme is the only choice of
discretisation and requires a selection of both an interpolation scheme for the diffusion coef-
ficient, i.e. ν in our example, and a surface normal gradient scheme, i.e. ∇U. To summarise,
the entries required are:

Gauss <interpolationScheme> <snGradScheme>

The user can search for the default scheme for laplacianSchemes in all the cases in the
$FOAM_TUTORIALS directory.

foamSearch $FOAM_TUTORIALS fvSchemes laplacianSchemes/default

It reveals the following entries.

default Gauss linear corrected;

default Gauss linear limited corrected 0.33;
default Gauss linear limited corrected 0.5;
default Gauss linear orthogonal;
default Gauss linear uncorrected;

In all cases, the linear interpolation scheme is used for interpolation of the diffusivity.
The cases uses the same array of snGradSchemes based on level on non-orthogonality, as
described in section 4.5.4.

OpenFOAM-10
U-132 OpenFOAM cases

4.5.6 Interpolation schemes

The interpolationSchemes sub-dictionary contains terms that are interpolations of values
typically from cell centres to face centres, primarily used in the interpolation of velocity
to face centres for the calculation of flux phi. There are numerous interpolation schemes
in OpenFOAM, but a search for the default scheme in all the tutorial cases reveals that
linear interpolation is used in almost every case, except for 2-3 unusual cases, e.g. DNS on
a regular mesh, stress analysis, where cubic interpolation is used.

4.6 Solution and algorithm control

The equation solvers, tolerances and algorithms are controlled from the fvSolution dictionary
in the system directory. Below is an example set of entries from the fvSolution dictionary
required for the icoFoam solver.
16
17 solvers
18 {
19 p
20 {
21 solver PCG;
22 preconditioner DIC;
23 tolerance 1e-06;
24 relTol 0.05;
25 }
26
27 pFinal
28 {
29 $p;
30 relTol 0;
31 }
32
33 U
34 {
35 solver smoothSolver;
36 smoother symGaussSeidel;
37 tolerance 1e-05;
38 relTol 0;
39 }
40 }
41
42 PISO
43 {
44 nCorrectors 2;
45 nNonOrthogonalCorrectors 0;
46 pRefCell 0;
47 pRefValue 0;
48 }
49
50
51 // ************************************************************************* //

fvSolution contains a set of subdictionaries, described in the remainder of this section that
includes: solvers; relaxationFactors; and, PISO, SIMPLE or PIMPLE.

4.6.1 Linear solver control

The first sub-dictionary in our example is solvers. It specifies each linear-solver that is used
for each discretised equation; here, the term linear-solver refers to the method of number-
crunching to solve a matrix equation, as opposed to an application solver, such as simpleFoam
which describes the entire set of equations and algorithms to solve a particular problem. The

OpenFOAM-10
4.6 Solution and algorithm control U-133

term ‘linear-solver’ is abbreviated to ‘solver’ in much of what follows; hopefully the context
of the term avoids any ambiguity.
The syntax for each entry within solvers starts with a keyword that is of the variable being
solved in the particular equation. For example, icoFoam solves equations for velocity U and
pressure p, hence the entries for U and p. The keyword relates to a sub-dictionary containing
the type of solver and the parameters that the solver uses. The solver is selected through
the solver keyword from the options listed below. The parameters, including tolerance,
relTol, preconditioner, etc. are described in following sections.

• PCG/PBiCGStab: Stabilised preconditioned (bi-)conjugate gradient, for both symmetric

and asymmetric matrices.

• PCG/PBiCG: preconditioned (bi-)conjugate gradient, with PCG for symmetric matrices,

PBiCG for asymmetric matrices.

• smoothSolver: solver that uses a smoother.

• GAMG: generalised geometric-algebraic multi-grid.

• diagonal: diagonal solver for explicit systems.

The solvers distinguish between symmetric matrices and asymmetric matrices. The symme-
try of the matrix depends on the terms of the equation being solved, e.g. time derivatives
and Laplacian terms form coefficients of a symmetric matrix, whereas an advective derivative
introduces asymmetry. If the user specifies a symmetric solver for an asymmetric matrix, or
vice versa, an error message will be written to advise the user accordingly, e.g.

--> FOAM FATAL IO ERROR : Unknown asymmetric matrix solver PCG

Valid asymmetric matrix solvers are :
3
(
PBiCG
smoothSolver
GAMG
)

4.6.1.1 Solution tolerances

The matrices are sparse, meaning they predominately include coefficients of 0, in segregated,
decoupled, finite volume numerics. Consequently, the solvers are generally iterative, i.e.
they are based on reducing the equation residual over successive solutions. The residual is
ostensibly a measure of the error in the solution so that the smaller it is, the more accurate
the solution. More precisely, the residual is evaluated by substituting the current solution
into the equation and taking the magnitude of the difference between the left and right hand
sides; it is also normalised to make it independent of the scale of the problem being analysed.
Before solving an equation for a particular field, the initial residual is evaluated based on
the current values of the field. After each solver iteration the residual is re-evaluated. The
solver stops if any one of the following conditions are reached:

OpenFOAM-10
U-134 OpenFOAM cases

• the residual falls below the solver tolerance, tolerance;

• the ratio of current to initial residuals falls below the solver relative tolerance, relTol;

• the number of iterations exceeds a maximum number of iterations, maxIter;

The solver tolerance should represent the level at which the residual is small enough that
the solution can be deemed sufficiently accurate. The solver relative tolerance limits the
relative improvement from initial to final solution. In transient simulations, it is usual to set
the solver relative tolerance to 0 to force the solution to converge to the solver tolerance in
each time step. The tolerances, tolerance and relTol must be specified in the dictionaries
for all solvers; maxIter is optional and defaults to a value of 1000.
Equations are very often solved multiple times within one solution step, or time step.
For example, when using the PISO algorithm, a pressure equation is solved according to
the number specified by nCorrectors, as described in section 4.6.3. Where this occurs, the
solver is very often set up to use different settings when solving the particular equation for
the final time, specified by a keyword that adds Final to the field name. For example, in
the cavity tutorial in section 2.1, the solver settings for pressure are as follows.

p
{
solver PCG;
preconditioner DIC;
tolerance 1e-06;
relTol 0.05;
}

pFinal
{
$p;
relTol 0;
}

If the case is specified to solve pressure 4 times within one time step, then the first 3
solutions would use the settings for p with relTol of 0.05, so that the cost of solving each
equation is relatively low. Only when the equation is solved the final (4th) time, it solves
to a residual level specified by tolerance (since relTol is 0, effectively deactivating it) for
greater accuracy, but at greater cost.

4.6.1.2 Preconditioned conjugate gradient solvers

There are a range of options for preconditioning of matrices in the conjugate gradient solvers,
represented by the preconditioner keyword in the solver dictionary, listed below. Note that
the DIC/DILU preconditioners are exclusively specified in the tutorials in OpenFOAM.

• DIC/DILU: diagonal incomplete-Cholesky (symmetric) and incomplete-LU (asymmet-

ric)

OpenFOAM-10
4.6 Solution and algorithm control U-135

• FDIC: faster diagonal incomplete-Cholesky (DIC with caching, symmetric)

• diagonal: diagonal preconditioning.

• GAMG: geometric-algebraic multi-grid.

• none: no preconditioning.

4.6.1.3 Smooth solvers

The solvers that use a smoother require the choice of smoother to be specified. The smoother
options are listed below. The symGaussSeidel and GaussSeidel smoothers are preferred in
the tutorials.

• GaussSeidel: Gauss-Seidel.

• symGaussSeidel: symmetric Gauss-Seidel.

• DIC/DILU: diagonal incomplete-Cholesky (symmetric), incomplete-LU (asymmetric).

• DICGaussSeidel: diagonal incomplete-Cholesky/LU with Gauss-Seidel (symmetric/-

asymmetric).

When using the smooth solvers, the user can optionally specify the number of sweeps, by
the nSweeps keyword, before the residual is recalculated. Without setting it, it reverts to a
default value of 1.

4.6.1.4 Geometric-algebraic multi-grid solvers

The generalised method of geometric-algebraic multi-grid (GAMG) uses the principle of:
generating a quick solution on a mesh with a small number of cells; mapping this solution
onto a finer mesh; using it as an initial guess to obtain an accurate solution on the fine
mesh. GAMG is faster than standard methods when the increase in speed by solving first
on coarser meshes outweighs the additional costs of mesh refinement and mapping of field
data. In practice, GAMG starts with the mesh specified by the user and coarsens/refines
the mesh in stages. The user is only required to specify an approximate mesh size at the
most coarse level in terms of the number of cells
The agglomeration of cells is performed by the method specified by the agglomerator
keyword. The tutorials all use the default faceAreaPair method. The agglomeration can
be controlled using the following optional entries, most of which default in the tutorials.

• cacheAgglomeration: switch specifying caching of the agglomeration strategy (default

true).

• nCellsInCoarsestLevel: approximate mesh size at the most coarse level in terms of

the number of cells (default 10).

• directSolveCoarset: use a direct solver at the coarsest level (default false).

OpenFOAM-10
U-136 OpenFOAM cases

• mergeLevels: keyword controls the speed at which coarsening or refinement is per-

formed; the default is 1, which is safest, but for simple meshes, the solution speed can
be increased by coarsening/refining 2 levels at a time, i.e. setting mergeLevels 2.

Smoothing is specified by the smoother as described in section 4.6.1.3. The number of

sweeps used by the smoother at different levels of mesh density are specified by the following
optional entries.

• nPreSweeps: number of sweeps as the algorithm is coarsening (default 0).

• preSweepsLevelMultiplier: multiplier for the number of sweeps between each coars-

ening level (default 1).

• maxPreSweeps: maximum number of sweeps as the algorithm is coarsening (default 4).

• nPostSweeps: number of sweeps as the algorithm is refining (default 2).

• postSweepsLevelMultiplier: multiplier for the number of sweeps between each re-

finement level (default 1).

• maxPostSweeps: maximum number of sweeps as the algorithm is refining (default 4).

• nFinestSweeps: number of sweeps at finest level (default 2).

4.6.2 Solution under-relaxation

A second sub-dictionary of fvSolution that is often used in OpenFOAM is relaxationFactors
which controls under-relaxation, a technique used for improving stability of a computation,
particularly in solving steady-state problems. Under-relaxation works by limiting the amount
which a variable changes from one iteration to the next, either by modifying the solution
matrix and source prior to solving for a field or by modifying the field directly. An under-
relaxation factor α, 0 < α ≤ 1 specifies the amount of under-relaxation, as described below.

• No specified α: no under-relaxation.

• α = 1: guaranteed matrix diagonal equality/dominance.

• α decreases, under-relaxation increases.

• α = 0: solution does not change with successive iterations.

An optimum choice of α is one that is small enough to ensure stable computation but large
enough to move the iterative process forward quickly; values of α as high as 0.9 can ensure
stability in some cases and anything much below, say, 0.2 are prohibitively restrictive in
slowing the iterative process.
Relaxation factors for under-relaxation of fields are specified within a field sub-dictionary;
relaxation factors for equation under-relaxation are within a equations sub-dictionary. An
example is shown below from tutorial example of simpleFoam, showing typical settings for
an incompressible steady-state solver. The factors are specified for pressure p, pressure U,
and turbulent fields grouped using a regular expression.

OpenFOAM-10
4.6 Solution and algorithm control U-137

54 relaxationFactors
55 {
56 fields
57 {
58 p 0.3;
59 }
60 equations
61 {
62 U 0.7;
63 "(k|omega|epsilon).*" 0.7;
64 }
65 }
66
67 // ************************************************************************* //

Another example for pimpleFoam, a transient incompressible solver, just uses under-relaxation
to ensure matrix diagonal equality, typical of transient simulations.
60 relaxationFactors
61 {
62 equations
63 {
64 ".*" 1;
65 }
66 }
67
68
69 // ************************************************************************* //

4.6.3 PISO, SIMPLE and PIMPLE algorithms

Most fluid dynamics solver applications in OpenFOAM use either the pressure-implicit split-
operator (PISO), the semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations (SIMPLE) algo-
rithms, or a combined PIMPLE algorithm. These algorithms are iterative procedures for
coupling equations for momentum and mass conservation, PISO and PIMPLE being used
for transient problems and SIMPLE for steady-state.
Within in time, or solution, step, both algorithms solve a pressure equation, to enforce
mass conservation, with an explicit correction to velocity to satisfy momentum conserva-
tion. They optionally begin each step by solving the momentum equation — the so-called
momentum predictor.
While all the algorithms solve the same governing equations (albeit in different forms), the
algorithms principally differ in how they loop over the equations. The looping is controlled
by input parameters that are listed below. They are set in a dictionary named after the
algorithm, i.e. SIMPLE, PISO or PIMPLE.

• nCorrectors: used by PISO, and PIMPLE, sets the number of times the algorithm
solves the pressure equation and momentum corrector in each step; typically set to 2
or 3.

• nNonOrthogonalCorrectors: used by all algorithms, specifies repeated solutions of the

pressure equation, used to update the explicit non-orthogonal correction, described in
section 4.5.4, of the Laplacian term ∇ • ((1/A)∇p); typically set to 0 (particularly for
steady-state) or 1.

• nOuterCorrectors: used by PIMPLE, it enables looping over the entire system of

equations within on time step, representing the total number of times the system is
solved; must be ≥ 1 and is typically set to 1, replicating the PISO algorithm.

OpenFOAM-10
U-138 OpenFOAM cases

• momentumPredictor: switch that controls solving of the momentum predictor; typi-

cally set to off for some flows, including low Reynolds number and multiphase.

4.6.4 Pressure referencing

In a closed incompressible system, pressure is relative: it is the pressure range that matters
not the absolute values. In these cases, the solver sets a reference level of pRefValue in cell
pRefCell. These entries are generally stored in the SIMPLE, PISO or PIMPLE sub-dictionary
and are used by those solvers that require them when the case demands it.

4.6.5 Other parameters

The fvSolutions dictionaries in the majority of standard OpenFOAM solver applications
contain no other entries than those described so far in this section. However, in general the
fvSolution dictionary may contain any parameters to control the solvers, algorithms, or in
fact anything. If any parameter or sub-dictionary is missing when an solver is run, it will
terminate, printing a detailed error message. The user can then add missing parameters
accordingly.

4.7 Case management tools

There are a set of applications and scripts that help with managing case files and help the
user find and set keyword data entries in case files. The tools are described in the following
sections.

4.7.1 File management scripts

The following tools help manage case files.
foamListTimes lists the time directories for a case, omitting the 0 directory by default; the
-rm option deletes the listed time directories, so that a case can be cleaned of time
directories with results by the following command.
foamListTimes -rm
foamCloneCase creates a new case, by copying the 0, system and constant directories from
an existing case; executed simply by the following command, where oldCase refers to
an existing case directory.
foamCloneCase oldCase newCase

4.7.2 foamDictionary and foamSearch

The foamDictionary utility offer several options for writing, editing and adding keyword
entries in case files. The utility is executed with an OpenFOAM case dictionary file as an
argument, e.g. from within a case directory on the fvSchemes file.

foamDictionary system/fvSchemes

OpenFOAM-10
4.7 Case management tools U-139

Without options, the utility lists all the keyword entries in the file, e.g. as follows for the
fvSchemes file in the pitzDaily tutorial case for simpleFoam.
{
FoamFile
{
version 2;
format ascii;
class dictionary;
location "system";
object fvSchemes;
}
ddtSchemes
{
default steadyState;
}
gradSchemes
{
default Gauss linear;
}
divSchemes
{
default none;
div(phi,U) bounded Gauss linearUpwind grad(U);
div(phi,k) bounded Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div(phi,epsilon) bounded Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div(phi,omega) bounded Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div(phi,v2) bounded Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div((nuEff*dev2(T(grad(U))))) Gauss linear;
div(nonlinearStress) Gauss linear;
}
laplacianSchemes
{
default Gauss linear corrected;
}
interpolationSchemes
{
default linear;
}
snGradSchemes
{
default corrected;
}
wallDist
{
method meshWave;
}
}

The -entry option allows the user to print the entry for a particular keyword, e.g. divSchemes
in the example below

foamDictionary -entry divSchemes system/fvSchemes

The example clearly extracts the divSchemes dictionary.

divSchemes
{
default none;
div(phi,U) bounded Gauss linearUpwind grad(U);
div(phi,k) bounded Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div(phi,epsilon) bounded Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div(phi,omega) bounded Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div(phi,v2) bounded Gauss limitedLinear 1;
div((nuEff*dev2(T(grad(U))))) Gauss linear;
div(nonlinearStress) Gauss linear;
}

OpenFOAM-10
U-140 OpenFOAM cases

The “/” syntax allows access to keywords with levels of sub-dictionary. For example, the
div(phi,U) keyword can be accessed within the divSchemes sub-dictionary by the following
command.

foamDictionary -entry "divSchemes/div(phi,U)" system/fvSchemes

The example returns the single divSchemes/div(phi,U) entry.

div(phi,U) bounded Gauss linearUpwind grad(U);

The -value option causes only the entry to be written.

foamDictionary -entry "divSchemes/div(phi,U)" -value system/fvSchemes

The example removes the keyword and terminating semicolon, leaving just the data.
bounded Gauss linearUpwind grad(U)

The -keywords option causes only the keywords to be written.

foamDictionary -entry divSchemes -keywords system/fvSchemes

The example produces a list of keywords inside the divSchemes dictionary.

default
div(phi,U)
div(phi,k)
div(phi,epsilon)
div(phi,omega)
div(phi,v2)
div((nuEff*dev2(T(grad(U)))))
div(nonlinearStress)

The example removes the keyword and terminating semicolon, leaving just the data.
bounded Gauss linearUpwind grad(U)

foamDictionary can set entries with the -set option. If the user wishes to change the
div(phi,U) to the upwind scheme, they can enter the following.

foamDictionary -entry "divSchemes.div(phi,U)" \

-set "bounded Gauss upwind" system/fvSchemes

An alternative “=” syntax can be used with the -set option which is particularly useful
when modifying multiple entries:

foamDictionary -set "startFrom=startTime, startTime=0" system/controlDict

foamDictionary can add entries with the -add option. If the user wishes to add an entry
named turbulence to divSchemes with the upwind scheme, they can enter the following.

OpenFOAM-10
4.7 Case management tools U-141

foamDictionary -entry "divSchemes.turbulence" \

-add "bounded Gauss upwind" system/fvSchemes

The foamSearch script, demonstrated extensively in section 4.5, uses foamDictionary func-
tionality to extract and sort keyword entries from all files of a specified name in a specified
dictionary. The -c option counts the number of entries of each type, e.g. the user could
searche for the choice of solver for the p equation in all the fvSolution files in the tutorials.

foamSearch -c $FOAM_TUTORIALS fvSolution solvers/p/solver

The search shows GAMG to be the most common choice in all the tutorials.

59 solver GAMG;
3 solver PBiCG;
18 solver PCG;
5 solver smoothSolver;

4.7.3 The foamGet script

The foamGet script copies configuration files into a case quickly and conveniently. The user
must be inside a case directory to run the script or identify the case directory with the -case
option. Its operation can be described using an example case, e.g. the pitzDaily case which
can be obtained as follows:

run
cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/simpleFoam/pitzDaily .
cd pitzDaily

The mesh is generated for the case by going into the case directory and running blockMesh:

cd pitzDaily
blockMesh

The user might decide before running the simulation to configure some automatic post-
processing as described in Section 6.2. For example, the user can list the pre-configured
function objects by the following command:

postProcess -list

From the output, the user could select the patchFlowRate function to monitor the flow
rate at the outlet patch. The patchFlowRate configuration file can be copied into the system
directory using foamGet:

foamGet patchFlowRate

OpenFOAM-10
U-142 OpenFOAM cases

In order to monitor the flow through the outlet patch, the patch entry in patchFlowRate
file should be set as follows:

patch outlet;

The patchFlowRate configuration is then included in the case by adding to the functions
sub-dictionary in the controlDict file:

functions
{
...
#includeFunc writeObjects(kEpsilon:G) // existing entry
#includeFunc patchFlowRate
}

4.7.4 The foamInfo script

The foamInfo script provides quick information and examples relating to a subject that
the user specifies. The subject can relate to models (including boundary conditions and
packaged function objects), applications and scripts. For example, it prints information
about the simpleFoam solver by typing the following:

foamInfo simpleFoam

Information for the flowRateInletVelocity boundary condition can similarly be obtained by

typing the following:

foamInfo flowRateInletVelocity

The output includes: the location of the source code header file for this boundary condition;
the description and usage details from the header file; and, a list of example cases that use
the boundary condition.
The example usage for volumetric flow rate can be copied to replace the inlet boundary
condition in the pitzDaily example from Section 4.7.3. The volumetric flow rate, equivalent
to a uniform flow speed of 10 m/s, is 2.54 × 10−4 m3 /s so the modified inlet patch entry
in the U file in the 0 directory should be:

inlet
{
type flowRateInletVelocity;
volumetricFlowRate 2.54e-4;
extrapolateProfile yes;
value uniform (0 0 0);
}

OpenFOAM-10
4.7 Case management tools U-143

The simpleFoam solver can then be run. The solution at convergence (around 280 steps),
visualised in ParaView, shows a nonuniform velocity profile at the inlet, due to the extrapol-
ateProfile being switched on. The flow rate at the outlet, from the function object set up in
Section 4.7.3, is written to a surfaceFieldValue.dat file in the postProcessing/patchFlowRate/0
directory. The value converges towards the inlet flow rate.

OpenFOAM-10
U-144 OpenFOAM cases

OpenFOAM-10
Chapter 5

Mesh generation and conversion

This chapter describes all topics relating to the creation of meshes in OpenFOAM: section 5.1
gives an overview of the ways a mesh may be described in OpenFOAM; section 5.3 covers the
blockMesh utility for generating simple meshes of blocks of hexahedral cells; section 5.4 covers
the snappyHexMesh utility for generating complex meshes of hexahedral and split-hexahedral
cells automatically from triangulated surface geometries; section 5.5 describes the options
available for conversion of a mesh that has been generated by a third-party product into a
format that OpenFOAM can read.

5.1 Mesh description

This section provides a specification of the way the OpenFOAM C++ classes handle a mesh.
The mesh is an integral part of the numerical solution and must satisfy certain criteria to
ensure a valid, and hence accurate, solution. During any run, OpenFOAM checks that
the mesh satisfies a fairly stringent set of validity constraints and will cease running if the
constraints are not satisfied.
By default OpenFOAM defines a mesh of arbitrary polyhedral cells in 3-D, bounded by
arbitrary polygonal faces, i.e. the cells can have an unlimited number of faces where, for
each face, there is no limit on the number of edges nor any restriction on its alignment. A
mesh with this general structure is known in OpenFOAM as a polyMesh. This type of mesh
offers great freedom in mesh generation and manipulation in particular when the geometry
of the domain is complex or changes over time.

5.1.1 Mesh specification and validity constraints

Before describing the OpenFOAM mesh format, we will first set out the validity constraints
used in OpenFOAM. The conditions that a mesh must satisfy are:

5.1.1.1 Points
A point is a location in 3-D space, defined by a vector in units of metres (m). The points are
compiled into a list and each point is referred to by a label, which represents its position in
the list, starting from zero. The point list cannot contain any point that is not part at least
one face.
U-146 Mesh generation and conversion

5.1.1.2 Faces
A face is an ordered list of points, where a point is referred to by its label. The ordering of
point labels in a face is such that each two neighbouring points are connected by an edge,
i.e. you follow points as you travel around the circumference of the face. Faces are compiled
into a list and each face is referred to by its label, representing its position in the list. The
direction of the face normal vector is defined by the right-hand rule, i.e. looking towards a
face, if the numbering of the points follows an anti-clockwise path, the normal vector points
towards you, as shown in Figure 5.1.
2
3

Sf
4

0
Figure 5.1: Face area vector from point numbering on the face

There are two types of face, described below.

• Internal faces, which connect two cells (and it can never be more than two). For each
internal face, the ordering of the point labels is such that the face normal points into
the cell with the larger label, i.e. for cells 2 and 5, the normal points into 5.
• Boundary faces, which belong to one cell since they coincide with the boundary of
the domain. A boundary face is therefore addressed by one cell(only) and a boundary
patch. The ordering of the point labels is such that the face normal points outside of
the computational domain.
Note that faces can be warped, i.e. the points of the face may not necessarily lie on a plane.

5.1.1.3 Cells
A cell is a list of faces in arbitrary order. Cells must have the properties listed below.
• The cells must be contiguous,i.e. completely cover the computational domain and must
not overlap one another.
• Every cell must be closed geometrically, such that when all face area vectors are ori-
ented to point outwards of the cell, their sum should equal the zero vector to machine
accuracy;
• Every cell must be closed topologically such that all the edges in a cell are used by
exactly two faces of the cell in question.

OpenFOAM-10
5.1 Mesh description U-147

5.1.1.4 Boundary
A boundary is a list of patches, each of which is associated with a boundary condition. A
patch is a list of face labels which clearly must contain only boundary faces and no internal
faces. The boundary is required to be closed, i.e. the sum all boundary face area vectors
equates to zero to machine tolerance.

5.1.2 The polyMesh description

The constant directory contains a full description of the case polyMesh in a subdirectory
polyMesh. The polyMesh description is based around faces and, as already discussed, internal
faces connect 2 cells and boundary faces address a cell and a boundary patch. Each face
is therefore assigned an ‘owner’ cell and ‘neighbour’ cell so that the connectivity across a
given face can simply be described by the owner and neighbour cell labels. In the case of
boundaries, the connected cell is the owner and the neighbour is assigned the label ‘-1’. With
this in mind, the I/O specification consists of the following files:

points a list of vectors describing the cell vertices, where the first vector in the list represents
vertex 0, the second vector represents vertex 1, etc.;

faces a list of faces, each face being a list of indices to vertices in the points list, where again,
the first entry in the list represents face 0, etc.;

owner a list of owner cell labels, the index of entry relating directly to the index of the face,
so that the first entry in the list is the owner label for face 0, the second entry is the
owner label for face 1, etc;

neighbour a list of neighbour cell labels;

boundary a list of patches, containing a dictionary entry for each patch, declared using the
patch name, e.g.

movingWall
{
type patch;
nFaces 20;
startFace 760;
}
The startFace is the index into the face list of the first face in the patch, and nFaces
is the number of faces in the patch.

5.1.3 Cell shapes

While OpenFOAM supports any shapes of cell, other tools and software generally do not.
Therefore conversion of meshes to and from OpenFOAM format often requires the use of
defined cell shapes, such as tetrahedra, hexahedra, etc. The functionality is available in a
cellShape class that uses a set of shapes defined in a cellModels file in the $FOAM_ETC
directory.

OpenFOAM-10
U-148 Mesh generation and conversion

Cell type Keyword Vertex numbering Face numbering Edge numbering

7 6 2
7
4 5 5 6
3
11 10
3 9
0 1 8
2 1
3
2 4
4 5
Hexahedron hex 0 1 0
6 5 10
8
3 4 1 9
7
4
2 5
5 3 3 6
4
2 2
0 1
Wedge wedge 0 1 0
5
3
3 4 1 4
5
8
2 3 6 7
4
2 0
0 2
Prism prism 0 1 1
4

7 6
1 2 4 5
3 2
3 2 4
3 1
Pyramid pyr 0 1 0 0
3

5
2
1 0 3
2 2 1
3 4
Tetrahedron tet 0 1 0
4 3
3
6
5
2 4
3
2 1 2
1
Tet-wedge tetWedge 0 1 0 0

Table 5.1: Vertex, face and edge numbering for cellShapes.

OpenFOAM-10
5.2 Boundaries U-149

Cells of a given shape are then defined by the ordering of point labels in accordance with
the numbering scheme contained in the shape model. For reference, the ordering schemes
for points, faces and edges are shown in Table 5.1. Any cell description then consists of two
parts: the name of a cell model and the ordered list of labels. Thus, using the following list
of points

(
(0 0 0)
(1 0 0)
(1 1 0)
(0 1 0)
(0 0 0.5)
(1 0 0.5)
(1 1 0.5)
(0 1 0.5)
)

A hexahedral cell would be written as follows using the keyword hex.

(hex 8(0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7))

This forms the basis for the input syntax for the blockMesh mesh generator, described in
section 5.3.

5.1.4 1- and 2-dimensional and axi-symmetric problems

OpenFOAM is designed as a code for 3-dimensional space and defines all meshes as such.
However, 1- and 2- dimensional and axi-symmetric problems can be simulated in OpenFOAM
by generating a mesh in 3 dimensions and applying special boundary conditions on any patch
in the plane(s) normal to the direction(s) of interest. More specifically, 1- and 2- dimensional
problems use the empty patch type and axi-symmetric problems use the wedge type. The
use of both are described in section 5.2.2 and the generation of wedge geometries for axi-
symmetric problems is discussed in section 5.3.5.

5.2 Boundaries
In this section we discuss the way in which boundaries are treated in OpenFOAM. The
subject of boundaries is quite complex because their role in modelling is not simply that
of a geometric entity but an integral part of the solution and numerics through boundary
conditions or inter-boundary ‘connections’. A discussion of boundaries sits uncomfortably
between a discussion on meshes, fields, discretisation, computational processing etc.
We first need to consider that, for the purpose of applying boundary conditions, a bound-
ary is generally broken up into a set of patches. One patch may include one or more enclosed
areas of the boundary surface which do not necessarily need to be physically connected. A
type is assigned to every patch as part of the mesh description, as part of the boundary file
described in section 5.1.2. It describes the type of patch in terms of geometry or a data
‘communication link’. An example boundary file is shown below for a rhoPimpleFoam case.

OpenFOAM-10
U-150 Mesh generation and conversion

A type entry is clearly included for every patch (inlet, outlet, etc.), with types assigned
that include patch, symmetryPlane and empty.
16 // * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * //
17
18 6
19 (
20 inlet
21 {
22 type patch;
23 nFaces 50;
24 startFace 10325;
25 }
26 outlet
27 {
28 type patch;
29 nFaces 40;
30 startFace 10375;
31 }
32 bottom
33 {
34 type symmetryPlane;
35 inGroups 1(symmetryPlane);
36 nFaces 25;
37 startFace 10415;
38 }
39 top
40 {
41 type symmetryPlane;
42 inGroups 1(symmetryPlane);
43 nFaces 125;
44 startFace 10440;
45 }
46 obstacle
47 {
48 type patch;
49 nFaces 110;
50 startFace 10565;
51 }
52 defaultFaces
53 {
54 type empty;
55 inGroups 1(empty);
56 nFaces 10500;
57 startFace 10675;
58 }
59 )
60
61 // ************************************************************************* //

The user can scan the tutorials for mesh generation configuration files, e.g. blockMeshDict
for blockMesh (see section 5.3) and snappyHexMeshDict for snappyHexMesh (see section 5.4,
for examples of different types being used. The following example provides documentation
and lists cases that use the symmetryPlane condition.

foamInfo -a symmetryPlane

The next example searches for snappyHexMeshDict files that specify the wall condition.

find $FOAM_TUTORIALS -name snappyHexMeshDict | \

xargs grep -El "type[\t ]*wall"

5.2.1 Geometric (constraint) patch types

The main geometric types available in OpenFOAM are summarised below. This is not a
complete list; for all types see $FOAM_SRC/finiteVolume/fields/fvPatchFields/constraint.

OpenFOAM-10
5.2 Boundaries U-151

wedge patch 2

<5◦ Axis of symmetry

wedge patch 1

wedge aligned along

coordinate plane
Figure 5.2: Axi-symmetric geometry using the wedge patch type.

• patch: generic type containing no geometric or topological information about the mesh,
e.g. used for an inlet or an outlet.

• wall: for patch that coincides with a solid wall, required for some physical modelling,
e.g. wall functions in turbulence modelling.

• symmetryPlane: for a planar patch which is a symmetry plane.

• symmetry: for any (non-planar) patch which uses the symmetry plane (slip) condition.

• empty: for solutions in in 2 (or 1) dimensions (2D/1D), the type used on each patch
whose plane is normal to the 3rd (and 2nd) dimension for which no solution is required.

• wedge: for 2 dimensional axi-symmetric cases, e.g. a cylinder, the geometry is specified
as a wedge of small angle (e.g. 1◦ ) and 1 cell thick, running along the centre line,
straddling one of the coordinate planes, as shown in Figure 5.2; the axi-symmetric
wedge planes must be specified as separate patches of wedge type.

• cyclic: enables two patches to be treated as if they are physically connected; used for
repeated geometries; one cyclic patch is linked to another through a neighbourPatch
keyword in the boundary file; each pair of connecting faces must have similar area to
within a tolerance given by the matchTolerance keyword in the boundary file.

• cyclicAMI: like cyclic, but for 2 patches whose faces are non matching; used for sliding
interface in rotating geometry cases.

• processor: the type that describes inter-processor boundaries for meshes decomposed
for parallel running.

OpenFOAM-10
U-152 Mesh generation and conversion

5.2.2 Basic boundary conditions

Boundary conditions are specified in field files, e.g. p, U, in time directories as described in
section 4.2.8. An example pressure field file, p, is shown below for the rhoPimpleFoam case
corresponding to the boundary file presented in section 5.2.1.
16 dimensions [1 -1 -2 0 0 0 0];
17
18 internalField uniform 1;
19
20 boundaryField
21 {
22 inlet
23 {
24 type fixedValue;
25 value uniform 1;
26 }
27
28 outlet
29 {
30 type waveTransmissive;
31 field p;
32 psi thermo:psi;
33 gamma 1.4;
34 fieldInf 1;
35 lInf 3;
36 value uniform 1;
37 }
38
39 bottom
40 {
41 type symmetryPlane;
42 }
43
44 top
45 {
46 type symmetryPlane;
47 }
48
49 obstacle
50 {
51 type zeroGradient;
52 }
53
54 defaultFaces
55 {
56 type empty;
57 }
58 }
59
60 // ************************************************************************* //

Every patch includes a type entry that specifies the type of boundary condition. They range
from a basic fixedValue condition applied to the inlet, to a complex waveTransmissive
condition applied to the outlet. The patches with non-generic types, e.g. symmetryPlane,
defined in boundary, use consistent boundary condition types in the p file.
The main basic boundary condition types available in OpenFOAM are summarised below
using a patch field named Q. This is not a complete list; for all types see $FOAM_SRC/fin-
iteVolume/fields/fvPatchFields/basic.
• fixedValue: value of Q is specified by value.
• fixedGradient: normal gradient of Q (∂Q/∂n) is specified by gradient.
• zeroGradient: normal gradient of Q is zero.
• calculated: patch field Q calculated from other patch fields.

OpenFOAM-10
5.2 Boundaries U-153

• mixed: mixed fixedValue/ fixedGradient condition depending on valueFraction (0 ≤

valueFraction ≤ 1) where

1
corresponds to Q = refValue,
valueFraction =  (5.1)
0 corresponds to ∂Q/∂n = refGradient.

• directionMixed: mixed condition with tensorial valueFraction, to allow different con-

ditions in normal and tangential directions of a vector patch field, e.g. fixedValue in
the tangential direction, zeroGradient in the normal direction.

5.2.3 Derived types

There are numerous more complex boundary conditions derived from the basic conditions.
For example, many complex conditions are derived from fixedValue, where the value is cal-
culated by a function of other patch fields, time, geometric information, etc. Some other
conditions derived from mixed/directionMixed switch between fixedValue and fixedGradient
(usually zeroGradient).
There are a number of ways the user can list the available boundary conditions in Open-
FOAM, with the -listScalarBCs and -listVectorBCs utility being the quickest. The boundary
conditions for scalar fields and vector fields, respectively, can be listed for a given solver, e.g.
simpleFoam, as follows.

simpleFoam -listScalarBCs -listVectorBCs

These produce long lists which the user can scan through. If the user wants more information
of a particular condition, they can run the foamInfo script which provides a description of
the boundary condition and lists example cases where it is used. For example, for the
totalPressure boundary condition, run the following.

foamInfo totalPressure

In the following sections we will highlight some particular important, commonly used bound-
ary conditions.

5.2.3.1 The inlet/outlet condition

The inletOutlet condition is one derived from mixed, which switches between zeroGradient
when the fluid flows out of the domain at a patch face, and fixedValue, when the fluid is
flowing into the domain. For inflow, the inlet value is specified by an inletValue entry.
A good example of its use can be seen in the damBreak tutorial, where it is applied to the
phase fraction on the upper atmosphere boundary. Where there is outflow, the condition is
well posed, where there is inflow, the phase fraction is fixed with a value of 0, corresponding
to 100% air.
16 dimensions [0 0 0 0 0 0 0];
17
18 internalField uniform 0;
19

OpenFOAM-10
U-154 Mesh generation and conversion

20 boundaryField
21 {
22 leftWall
23 {
24 type zeroGradient;
25 }
26
27 rightWall
28 {
29 type zeroGradient;
30 }
31
32 lowerWall
33 {
34 type zeroGradient;
35 }
36
37 atmosphere
38 {
39 type inletOutlet;
40 inletValue uniform 0;
41 value uniform 0;
42 }
43
44 defaultFaces
45 {
46 type empty;
47 }
48 }
49
50 // ************************************************************************* //

5.2.3.2 Entrainment boundary conditions

The combination of the totalPressure condition on pressure and pressureInletOutletVelocity
on velocity is extremely common for patches where some inflow occurs and the inlet flow
velocity is not known. The conditions are used on the atmosphere boundary in the damBreak
tutorial, inlet conditions where only pressure is known, outlets where flow reversal may occur,
and where flow in entrained, e.g. on boundaries surrounding a jet through a nozzle.
The idea behind this combination is that the condition is a standard combination in the
case of outflow, but for inflow the normal velocity is allowed to find its own value. Under
these circumstances, a rapid rise in velocity presents a risk of instability, but the rise is
moderated by the reduction of inlet pressure, and hence driving pressure gradient, as the
inflow velocity increases.
The totalPressure condition specifies:

p for outflow
0
p= (5.2)
p0 − 1
ρ|U2 | for inflow (dynamic pressure, subsonic)
2

where the user specifies p0 through the p0 keyword. Solver applications which include buoy-
ancy effects, though a gravitational force ρg (per unit volume) source term, tend to solve
for a pressure field pρgh = p − ρ|g|∆h, where the hydrostatic component is subtracted based
on a height ∆h above some reference. For such solvers, e.g. interFoam, an equivalent prgh-
TotalPressure condition is applied which specifies:

p for outflow
0
pρgh = (5.3)
p0 − ρ|g|∆h − 1 ρ|U2 | for inflow (dynamic pressure, subsonic)
2

OpenFOAM-10
5.2 Boundaries U-155

The pressureInletOutletVelocity condition specifies zeroGradient at all times, except on

the tangential component which is set to fixedValue for inflow, with the tangentialVelocity
defaulting to 0.
The specification of these boundary conditions in the U and p_rgh files, in the damBreak
case, are shown below.
16
17 dimensions [0 1 -1 0 0 0 0];
18
19 internalField uniform (0 0 0);
20
21 boundaryField
22 {
23 leftWall
24 {
25 type noSlip;
26 }
27 rightWall
28 {
29 type noSlip;
30 }
31 lowerWall
32 {
33 type noSlip;
34 }
35 atmosphere
36 {
37 type pressureInletOutletVelocity;
38 value uniform (0 0 0);
39 }
40 defaultFaces
41 {
42 type empty;
43 }
44 }
45
46
47 // ************************************************************************* //
16 dimensions [1 -1 -2 0 0 0 0];
17
18 internalField uniform 0;
19
20 boundaryField
21 {
22 leftWall
23 {
24 type fixedFluxPressure;
25 value uniform 0;
26 }
27
28 rightWall
29 {
30 type fixedFluxPressure;
31 value uniform 0;
32 }
33
34 lowerWall
35 {
36 type fixedFluxPressure;
37 value uniform 0;
38 }
39
40 atmosphere
41 {
42 type prghTotalPressure;
43 p0 uniform 0;
44 }
45
46 defaultFaces
47 {
48 type empty;
49 }

OpenFOAM-10
U-156 Mesh generation and conversion

50 }
51
52 // ************************************************************************* //

5.2.3.3 Fixed flux pressure

In the above example, it can be seen that all the wall boundaries use a boundary condition
named fixedFluxPressure. This boundary condition is used for pressure in situations where
zeroGradient is generally used, but where body forces such as gravity and surface tension are
present in the solution equations. The condition adjusts the gradient accordingly.

5.2.3.4 Time-varying boundary conditions

There are several boundary conditions for which some input parameters are specified by a
function of time (using Function1 functionality) class. They can be searched by the following
command.

find $FOAM_SRC/finiteVolume/fields/fvPatchFields -type f -name "*.H" |\

xargs grep -l Function1 | xargs dirname | sort

They include conditions such as uniformFixedValue, which is a fixedValue condition which

applies a single value which is a function of time through a uniformValue keyword entry.
The Function1 is specified by a keyword following the uniformValue entry, followed by
parameters that relate to the particular function. The Function1 options are list below.

• constant: constant value.

• table: inline list of (time value) pairs; interpolates values linearly between times.

• tableFile: as above, but with data supplied in a separate file.

• square: square-wave function.

• squarePulse: single square pulse.

• sine: sine function.

• one and zero: constant one and zero values.

• polynomial: polynomial function using a list (coeff exponent) pairs.

• coded: function specified by user coding.

• scale: scales a given value function by a scalar scale function; both entries can be
themselves Function1; scale function is often a ramp function (below), with value
controlling the ramp value.

• linearRamp, quadraticRamp, halfCosineRamp, quarterCosineRamp and quarter-

SineRamp: monotonic ramp functions which ramp from 0 to 1 over specified duration.

• reverseRamp: reverses the values of a ramp function, e.g. from 1 to 0.

OpenFOAM-10
5.2 Boundaries U-157

Examples or a time-varying inlet for a scalar are shown below.

inlet
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue constant 2;
}
inlet
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue table ((0 0) (10 2));
}
inlet
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue polynomial ((1 0) (2 2)); // = 1*t^0 + 2*t^2
}
inlet
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue
{
type tableFile;
format csv;
nHeaderLine 4; // number of header lines
refColumn 0; // time column index
componentColumns (1); // data column index
separator ","; // optional (defaults to ",")
mergeSeparators no; // merge multiple separators
file "dataTable.csv";
}
}
inlet
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue
{
type square;
frequency 10;
amplitude 1;
scale 2; // Scale factor for wave
level 1; // Offset
}
}
inlet
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue
{
type sine;
frequency 10;
amplitude 1;
scale 2; // Scale factor for wave
level 1; // Offset
}
}
input // ramp from 0 -> 2, from t = 0 -> 0.4
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue
{
type scale;
scale linearRamp;

OpenFOAM-10
U-158 Mesh generation and conversion

start 0;
duration 0.4;
value 2;
}
}
input // ramp from 2 -> 0, from t = 0 -> 0.4
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue
{
type scale;
scale reverseRamp;
ramp linearRamp;
start 0;
duration 0.4;
value 2;
}
}
inlet // pulse with value 2, from t = 0 -> 0.4
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue
{
type scale;
scale squarePulse
start 0;
duration 0.4;
value 2;
}
}
inlet
{
type uniformFixedValue;
uniformValue coded;
name pulse;
codeInclude
#{
#include "mathematicalConstants.H"
#};
code
#{
return scalar
(
0.5*(1 - cos(constant::mathematical::twoPi*min(x/0.3, 1)))
);
#};
}

5.3 Mesh generation with the blockMesh utility

This section describes the mesh generation utility, blockMesh, supplied with OpenFOAM.
The blockMesh utility creates parametric meshes with grading and curved edges.
The mesh is generated from a dictionary file named blockMeshDict located in the system
(or constant/polyMesh) directory of a case. blockMesh reads this dictionary, generates the
mesh and writes out the mesh data to points and faces, cells and boundary files in the same
directory.
The principle behind blockMesh is to decompose the domain geometry into a set of 1 or
more three dimensional, hexahedral blocks. Edges of the blocks can be straight lines, arcs or

OpenFOAM-10
5.3 Mesh generation with the blockMesh utility U-159

splines. The mesh is ostensibly specified as a number of cells in each direction of the block,
sufficient information for blockMesh to generate the mesh data.
Each block of the geometry is defined by 8 vertices, one at each corner of a hexahedron.
The vertices are written in a list so that each vertex can be accessed using its label, remem-
bering that OpenFOAM always uses the C++ convention that the first element of the list
has label ‘0’. An example block is shown in Figure 5.3 with each vertex numbered according
to the list. The edge connecting vertices 1 and 5 is curved to remind the reader that curved
edges can be specified in blockMesh.
It is possible to generate blocks with less than 8 vertices by collapsing one or more pairs
of vertices on top of each other, as described in section 5.3.5.
Each block has a local coordinate system (x1 , x2 , x3 ) that must be right-handed. A right-
handed set of axes is defined such that to an observer looking down the Oz axis, with O
nearest them, the arc from a point on the Ox axis to a point on the Oy axis is in a clockwise
sense.
The local coordinate system is defined by the order in which the vertices are presented
in the block definition according to:

• the axis origin is the first entry in the block definition, vertex 0 in our example;

• the x1 direction is described by moving from vertex 0 to vertex 1;

• the x2 direction is described by moving from vertex 1 to vertex 2;

• vertices 0, 1, 2, 3 define the plane x3 = 0;

• vertex 4 is found by moving from vertex 0 in the x3 direction;

• vertices 5,6 and 7 are similarly found by moving in the x3 direction from vertices 1,2
and 3 respectively.

7 2 6

6
7
5
4 3
10
11

9
8
3 1
2
x3 4 5
x2
0 x1 0 1

Figure 5.3: A single block

OpenFOAM-10
U-160 Mesh generation and conversion

Keyword Description Example/selection

convertToMeters Scaling factor for the vertex 0.001 scales to mm
coordinates
vertices List of vertex coordinates (0 0 0)
edges Used to describe arc or arc 1 4 (0.939 0.342 -0.5)
spline edges
block Ordered list of vertex labels hex (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7)
and mesh size (10 10 1)
simpleGrading (1.0 1.0 1.0)
patches List of patches symmetryPlane base
( (0 1 2 3) )
mergePatchPairs List of patches to be merged see section 5.3.2

Table 5.2: Keywords used in blockMeshDict.

5.3.1 Writing a blockMeshDict file

The blockMeshDict file is a dictionary using keywords described below.

• convertToMeters: scaling factor for the vertex coordinates, e.g. 0.001 scales to mm.

• vertices: list of vertex coordinates, see section 5.3.1.1.

• edges: used to describe curved geometry, see section 5.3.1.2.

• block: ordered list of vertex labels and mesh size, see section 5.3.1.3.

• boundary: sub-dictionary of boundary patches, see section 5.3.1.5.

• mergePatchPairs: list of patches to be merged, see section 5.3.2.

The convertToMeters keyword specifies a scaling factor by which all vertex coordinates in
the mesh description are multiplied. For example,

convertToMeters 0.001;

means that all coordinates are multiplied by 0.001, i.e. the values quoted in the blockMeshDict
file are in mm.

5.3.1.1 The vertices

The vertices of the blocks of the mesh are given next as a standard list named vertices,
e.g. for our example block in Figure 5.3, the vertices are:

vertices
(
( 0 0 0 ) // vertex number 0
( 1 0 0.1) // vertex number 1

OpenFOAM-10
5.3 Mesh generation with the blockMesh utility U-161

( 1.1 1 0.1) // vertex number 2

( 0 1 0.1) // vertex number 3
(-0.1 -0.1 1 ) // vertex number 4
( 1.3 0 1.2) // vertex number 5
( 1.4 1.1 1.3) // vertex number 6
( 0 1 1.1) // vertex number 7
);

5.3.1.2 The edges

Each edge joining 2 vertex points is assumed to be straight by default. However any edge
may be specified to be curved by entries in a list named edges. The list is optional; if the
geometry contains no curved edges, it may be omitted.
Each entry for a curved edge begins with a keyword specifying the type of curve from
those listed below.

• arc: a circular arc with a single interpolation point or angle + axis (see below).

• spline: spline curve using a list of interpolation points

• polyLine: a set of lines with list of interpolation points

• BSpline: a B-spline curve with list of interpolation points

• line: a straight line, the default which requires no edge specification.

The keyword is then followed by the labels of the 2 vertices that the edge connects.
Following that, interpolation points must be specified through which the edge passes. For
an arc, either of the following is required: a single interpolation point, which the circular arc
will intersect; or an angle and rotation axis for the arc. For spline, polyLine and BSpline,
a list of interpolation points is required. For our example block in Figure 5.3 we specify an
arc edge connecting vertices 1 and 5 as follows through the interpolation point (1.1, 0.0, 0.5):

edges
(
arc 1 5 (1.1 0.0 0.5)
);

For the angle and axis specification of an arc, the syntax is of the form:

edges
(
arc 1 5 25 (0 1 0) // 25 degrees, y-normal
);

OpenFOAM-10
U-162 Mesh generation and conversion

5.3.1.3 The blocks

The block definitions are contained in a list named blocks. Each block definition is a
compound entry consisting of a list of vertex labels whose order is described in section 5.3, a
vector giving the number of cells required in each direction, the type and list of cell expansion
ratio in each direction.
Then the blocks are defined as follows:

blocks
(
hex (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7) // vertex numbers
(10 10 10) // numbers of cells in each direction
simpleGrading (1 2 3) // cell expansion ratios
);

The definition of each block is as follows. The first entry is the shape identifier of the block,
as defined in the $FOAM_ETC/cellModels file. The shape is always hex since the blocks are
always hexahedra. There follows a list of vertex numbers, ordered in the manner described
on page U-159.
The second entry gives the number of cells in each of the x1 x2 and x3 directions for that
block. The third entry gives the cell expansion ratios for each direction in the block. The
expansion ratio enables the mesh to be graded, or refined, in specified directions. The ratio
is that of the width of the end cell δe along one edge of a block to the width of the start cell
δs along that edge, as shown in Figure 5.4.
Each of the following keywords specify one of two types of grading specification available
in blockMesh.

• simpleGrading: The simple option specifies uniform expansions in the local x1 , x2

and x3 directions respectively with only 3 expansion ratios, e.g.
simpleGrading (1 2 3)

• edgeGrading: The full cell expansion description gives a ratio for each edge of the
block, numbered according to the scheme shown in Figure 5.3 with the arrows repre-
senting the direction from first cell. . . to last cell e.g.
edgeGrading (1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3)

This means the ratio of cell widths along edges 0-3 is 1, along edges 4-7 is 2 and
along 8-11 is 3 and is directly equivalent to the simpleGrading example given above.

δe
δs Expansion ratio = δe
δs

Expansion direction
Figure 5.4: Mesh grading along a block edge

OpenFOAM-10
5.3 Mesh generation with the blockMesh utility U-163

5.3.1.4 Multi-grading of a block

Using a single expansion ratio to describe mesh grading permits only “one-way” grading
within a mesh block. In some cases, it reduces complexity and effort to be able to control
grading within separate divisions of a single block, rather than have to define several blocks
with one grading per block. For example, to mesh a channel with two opposing walls and
grade the mesh towards the walls requires three regions: two with grading to the wall with
one in the middle without grading.
OpenFOAM v2.4+ includes multi-grading functionality that can divide a block in an
given direction and apply different grading within each division. This multi-grading is spec-
ified by replacing any single value expansion ratio in the grading specification of the block,
e.g. “1”, “2”, “3” in

blocks
(
hex (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7) (100 300 100)
simpleGrading (1 2 3);
);

We will present multi-grading for the following example:

• split the block into 3 divisions in the y-direction, representing 20%, 60% and 20% of
the block length;

• include 30% of the total cells in the y-direction (300) in each divisions 1 and 3 and the
remaining 40% in division 2;

• apply 1:4 expansion in divisions 1 and 3, and zero expansion in division 2.

We can specify this by replacing the y-direction expansion ratio “2” in the example above
with the following:

blocks
(
hex (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7) (100 300 100)
simpleGrading
(
1 // x-direction expansion ratio
(
(0.2 0.3 4) // 20% y-dir, 30% cells, expansion = 4
(0.6 0.4 1) // 60% y-dir, 40% cells, expansion = 1
(0.2 0.3 0.25) // 20% y-dir, 30% cells, expansion = 0.25 (1/4)
)
3 // z-direction expansion ratio
)
);

OpenFOAM-10
U-164 Mesh generation and conversion

Both the fraction of the block and the fraction of the cells are normalized automatically.
They can be specified as percentages, fractions, absolute lengths, etc. and do not need to
sum to 100, 1, etc. The example above can be specified using percentages, e.g.

blocks
(
hex (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7) (100 300 100)
simpleGrading
(
1
(
(20 30 4) // 20%, 30%...
(60 40 1)
(20 30 0.25)
)
3
)
);

5.3.1.5 The boundary

The boundary of the mesh is given in a list named boundary. The boundary is broken into
patches (regions), where each patch in the list has its name as the keyword, which is the
choice of the user, although we recommend something that conveniently identifies the patch,
e.g.inlet; the name is used as an identifier for setting boundary conditions in the field data
files. The patch information is then contained in sub-dictionary with:

• type: the patch type, either a generic patch on which some boundary conditions are
applied or a particular geometric condition, as listed in section 5.2.1;

• faces: a list of block faces that make up the patch and whose name is the choice of
the user, although we recommend something that conveniently identifies the patch,
e.g.inlet; the name is used as an identifier for setting boundary conditions in the field
data files.

blockMesh collects faces from any boundary patch that is omitted from the boundary list
and assigns them to a default patch named defaultFaces of type empty. This means that
for a 2 dimensional geometry, the user has the option to omit block faces lying in the 2D
plane, knowing that they will be collected into an empty patch as required.
Returning to the example block in Figure 5.3, if it has an inlet on the left face, an output
on the right face and the four other faces are walls then the patches could be defined as
follows:

boundary // keyword
(
inlet // patch name
{

OpenFOAM-10
5.3 Mesh generation with the blockMesh utility U-165

type patch; // patch type for patch 0

faces
(
(0 4 7 3) // block face in this patch
);
} // end of 0th patch definition

outlet // patch name

{
type patch; // patch type for patch 1
faces
(
(1 2 6 5)
);
}

walls
{
type wall;
faces
(
(0 1 5 4)
(0 3 2 1)
(3 7 6 2)
(4 5 6 7)
);
}
);

Each block face is defined by a list of 4 vertex numbers. The order in which the vertices
are given must be such that, looking from inside the block and starting with any vertex, the
face must be traversed in a clockwise direction to define the other vertices.
When specifying a cyclic patch in blockMesh, the user must specify the name of the related
cyclic patch through the neighbourPatch keyword. For example, a pair of cyclic patches
might be specified as follows:

left
{
type cyclic;
neighbourPatch right;
faces ((0 4 7 3));
}
right
{
type cyclic;
neighbourPatch left;

OpenFOAM-10
U-166 Mesh generation and conversion

faces ((1 5 6 2));

}

5.3.2 Multiple blocks

A mesh can be created using more than 1 block. In such circumstances, the mesh is created
as described in the preceeding text. The only additional issue is the connection between
blocks. Firstly, if a face of one block also belongs to another block, the block face will not
form an external patch but instead a set of internal faces of the cells in the resulting mesh.
Alternatively if the user wishes to combine block faces which do not exactly match one
another, i.e. through shared vertices, they can first include the block faces within the patches
list. Each pair of patches whose faces are to be merged can then be included in an optional
list named mergePatchPairs. The format of mergePatchPairs is:

mergePatchPairs
(
( <masterPatch> <slavePatch> ) // merge patch pair 0
( <masterPatch> <slavePatch> ) // merge patch pair 1
...
)

See for example $FOAM_TUTORIALS/multiphase/multiphaseEulerFoam/RAS/LBend. The

pairs of patches are interpreted such that the first patch becomes the master and the second
becomes the slave. The rules for merging are as follows:
• the faces of the master patch remain as originally defined, with all vertices in their
original location;
• the faces of the slave patch are projected onto the master patch where there is some
separation between slave and master patch;
• the location of any vertex of a slave face might be adjusted by blockMesh to eliminate
any face edge that is shorter than a minimum tolerance;
• if patches overlap as shown in Figure 5.5, each face that does not merge remains as
an external face of the original patch, on which boundary conditions must then be
applied;
• if all the faces of a patch are merged, then the patch itself will contain no faces and is
removed.
The consequence is that the original geometry of the slave patch will not necessarily be
completely preserved during merging. Therefore in a case, say, where a cylindrical block
is being connected to a larger block, it would be wise to the assign the master patch to
the cylinder, so that its cylindrical shape is correctly preserved. There are some additional
recommendations to ensure successful merge procedures:
• in 2 dimensional geometries, the size of the cells in the third dimension, i.e. out of the
2D plane, should be similar to the width/height of cells in the 2D plane;

OpenFOAM-10
5.3 Mesh generation with the blockMesh utility U-167

patch 1

patch 2

region of internal connecting faces

region of external boundary faces
Figure 5.5: Merging overlapping patches

• it is inadvisable to merge a patch twice, i.e. include it twice in mergePatchPairs;

• where a patch to be merged shares a common edge with another patch to be merged,
both should be declared as a master patch.

5.3.3 Projection of vertices, edges and faces

blockMesh can be configured to create body fitted meshes using projection of vertices, edges
and/or faces onto specified geometry. The functionality can be used to mesh spherical and
cylindrical geometries such as pipes and vessels conveniently. The user can specify within
the blockMeshDict file within an optional geometry dictionary with the same format as used
in the snappyHexMeshDict file. For example to specify a cylinder using the built in geometric
type the user could configure with the following:
geometry
{
cylinder
{
type searchableCylinder;
point1 (0 -4 0);
point2 (0 4 0);
radius 0.7;
}
};

The user can then project vertices, edges and/or faces onto the cylinder surface with the
project keyword using example syntax shown below:
vertices
(
project (-1 -0.1 -1) (cylinder)
project ( 1 -0.1 -1) (cylinder)
...
);

OpenFOAM-10
U-168 Mesh generation and conversion

edges
(
project 0 1 (cylinder)
...
);
faces
(
project (0 4 7 3) cylinder
...
);

The use of this functionality is demonstrated in tutorials which can be located by searching
for the project keyword in all the blockMeshDict files by:

find $FOAM_TUTORIALS -name blockMeshDict | xargs grep -l project

5.3.4 Naming vertices, edges, faces and blocks

Vertices, edges, faces and blocks can be named in the configuration of a blockMeshDict file,
which can make it easier to manage more complex examples. It is done simply using the
name keyword. The following syntax shows naming using the example for projection in the
previous subsection:
vertices
(
name v0 project (-1 -0.1 -1) (cylinder)
name v1 project ( 1 -0.1 -1) (cylinder)
...
);
edges
(
project v0 v1 (cylinder)
...
);

When a name is provided for a given entity, it can be used to replace the index. In the
example about, rather than specify the edge using vertex indices 0 and 1, the names v0 and
v1 are used.

5.3.5 Creating blocks with fewer than 8 vertices

It is possible to collapse one or more pair(s) of vertices onto each other in order to create
a block with fewer than 8 vertices. The most common example of collapsing vertices is
when creating a 6-sided wedge shaped block for 2-dimensional axi-symmetric cases that use
the wedge patch type described in section 5.2.2. The process is best illustrated by using a
simplified version of our example block shown in Figure 5.6. Let us say we wished to create
a wedge shaped block by collapsing vertex 7 onto 4 and 6 onto 5. This is simply done by
exchanging the vertex number 7 by 4 and 6 by 5 respectively so that the block numbering
would become:

hex (0 1 2 3 4 5 5 4)

OpenFOAM-10
5.4 Mesh generation with the snappyHexMesh utility U-169

7 6

4 5

3
2

0 1
Figure 5.6: Creating a wedge shaped block with 6 vertices

The same applies to the patches with the main consideration that the block face contain-
ing the collapsed vertices, previously (4 5 6 7) now becomes (4 5 5 4). This is a block
face of zero area which creates a patch with no faces in the polyMesh, as the user can see in
a boundary file for such a case. The patch should be specified as empty in the blockMeshDict
and the boundary condition for any fields should consequently be empty also.

5.3.6 Running blockMesh

As described in section 3.3, the following can be executed at the command line to run
blockMesh for a case in the <case> directory:

blockMesh -case <case>

The blockMeshDict file must exist in the system (or constant/polyMesh) directory.

5.4 Mesh generation with the snappyHexMesh utility

This section describes the mesh generation utility, snappyHexMesh, supplied with Open-
FOAM. The snappyHexMesh utility generates 3-dimensional meshes containing hexahedra
(hex) and split-hexahedra (split-hex) automatically from triangulated surface geometries,
or tri-surfaces, in Stereolithography (STL) or Wavefront Object (OBJ) format. The mesh
approximately conforms to the surface by iteratively refining a starting mesh and morphing
the resulting split-hex mesh to the surface. An optional phase will shrink back the resulting
mesh and insert cell layers. The specification of mesh refinement level is very flexible and
the surface handling is robust with a pre-specified final mesh quality. It runs in parallel with
a load balancing step every iteration.

OpenFOAM-10
U-170 Mesh generation and conversion

STL surface

Figure 5.7: Schematic 2D meshing problem for snappyHexMesh

5.4.1 The mesh generation process of snappyHexMesh

The process of generating a mesh using snappyHexMesh will be described using the schematic
in Figure 5.7. The objective is to mesh a rectangular shaped region (shaded grey in the figure)
surrounding an object described by a tri-surface, e.g. typical for an external aerodynamics
simulation. Note that the schematic is 2-dimensional to make it easier to understand, even
though the snappyHexMesh is a 3D meshing tool.
In order to run snappyHexMesh, the user requires the following:

• one or more tri-surface files located in a constant/triSurface sub-directory of the case

directory;

• a background hex mesh which defines the extent of the computational domain and a
base level mesh density; typically generated using blockMesh, discussed in section 5.4.2.

• a snappyHexMeshDict dictionary, with appropriate entries, located in the system sub-

directory of the case.

The snappyHexMeshDict dictionary includes: switches at the top level that control the
various stages of the meshing process; and, individual sub-directories for each process. The
entries are listed below.

• castellatedMesh: to switch on creation of the castellated mesh.

• snap: to switch on surface snapping stage.

• addLayers: to switch on surface layer insertion.

• mergeTolerance: merge tolerance as fraction of bounding box of initial mesh.

• geometry: sub-dictionary of all surface geometry used.

• castellatedMeshControls: sub-dictionary of controls for castellated mesh.

• snapControls: sub-dictionary of controls for surface snapping.

OpenFOAM-10
5.4 Mesh generation with the snappyHexMesh utility U-171

• addLayersControls: sub-dictionary of controls for layer addition.

• meshQualityControls: sub-dictionary of controls for mesh quality.

All the geometry used by snappyHexMesh is specified in a geometry sub-dictionary in

the snappyHexMeshDict dictionary. The geometry can be specified through a tri-surface or
bounding geometry entities in OpenFOAM. An example is given below:
geometry
{
sphere1 // User defined region name
{
type triSurfaceMesh;
file "sphere1.obj"; // surface geometry OBJ file
regions
{
secondSolid // Named region in the OBJ file
{
name mySecondPatch; // User-defined patch name
} // otherwise given sphere1_secondSolid
}
}
box1x1x1 // User defined region name
{
type searchableBox; // region defined by bounding box
min (1.5 1 -0.5);
max (3.5 2 0.5);
}
sphere2 // User defined region name
{
type searchableSphere; // region defined by bounding sphere
centre (1.5 1.5 1.5);
radius 1.03;
}
};

5.4.2 Creating the background hex mesh

Before snappyHexMesh is executed the user must create a background mesh of hexahedral
cells that fills the entire region within by the external boundary as shown in Figure 5.8. This

Figure 5.8: Initial mesh generation in snappyHexMesh meshing process

OpenFOAM-10
U-172 Mesh generation and conversion

can be done simply using blockMesh. The following criteria must be observed when creating
the background mesh:

• the mesh must consist purely of hexes;

• the cell aspect ratio should be approximately 1, at least near surfaces at which the
subsequent snapping procedure is applied, otherwise the convergence of the snapping
procedure is slow, possibly to the point of failure;

• there must be at least one intersection of a cell edge with the tri-surface, i.e. a mesh
of one cell will not work.

Figure 5.9: Cell splitting by feature edge in snappyHexMesh meshing process

5.4.3 Cell splitting at feature edges and surfaces

Cell splitting is performed according to the specification supplied by the user in the castel-
latedMeshControls sub-dictionary in the snappyHexMeshDict. The entries for castellatedMesh-
Controls are presented below.

• insidePoint: location vector inside the region to be meshed; vector must not coincide
with a cell face either before or during refinement.

• maxLocalCells: max number of cells per processor during refinement.

• maxGlobalCells: overall cell limit during refinement (i.e. before removal).

• minRefinementCells: if minRefinementCells ≥ number of cells to be refined, surface

refinement stops.

• nCellsBetweenLevels: number of buffer layers of cells between successive levels of

refinement (typically set to 3).

• resolveFeatureAngle: applies maximum level of refinement to cells that can see

intersections whose angle exceeds resolveFeatureAngle (typically set to 30).

OpenFOAM-10
5.4 Mesh generation with the snappyHexMesh utility U-173

• features: list of features for refinement.

• refinementSurfaces: dictionary of surfaces for refinement.

• refinementRegions: dictionary of regions for refinement.

The splitting process begins with cells being selected according to specified edge features first
within the domain as illustrated in Figure 5.9. The features list in the castellatedMeshCon-
trols sub-dictionary permits dictionary entries containing a name of an edgeMesh file and the
level of refinement, e.g.:
features
(
{
file "features.eMesh"; // file containing edge mesh
level 2; // level of refinement
}
);

The edgeMesh containing the features can be extracted from the tri-surface file using the
surfaceFeatures utility which specifies the tri-surface and controls such as included angle
through a surfaceFeaturesDict configuration file, examples of which can be found in several
tutorials and at $FOAM_ETC/caseDicts/surface/surfaceFeaturesDict. The utility is simply
run by executing the following in a terminal

surfaceFeatures

Following feature refinement, cells are selected for splitting in the locality of specified sur-
faces as illustrated in Figure 5.10. The refinementSurfaces dictionary in castellatedMesh-
Controls requires dictionary entries for each STL surface and a default level specification of
the minimum and maximum refinement in the form (<min> <max>). The minimum level
is applied generally across the surface; the maximum level is applied to cells that can see
intersections that form an angle in excess of that specified by resolveFeatureAngle.
The refinement can optionally be overridden on one or more specific region of an STL
surface. The region entries are collected in a regions sub-dictionary. The keyword for each

Figure 5.10: Cell splitting by surface in snappyHexMesh meshing process

OpenFOAM-10
U-174 Mesh generation and conversion

region entry is the name of the region itself and the refinement level is contained within a
further sub-dictionary. An example is given below:
refinementSurfaces
{
sphere1
{
level (2 2); // default (min max) refinement for whole surface
regions
{
secondSolid
{
level (3 3); // optional refinement for secondSolid region
}
}
}
}

5.4.4 Cell removal

Once the feature and surface splitting is complete a process of cell removal begins. Cell
removal requires one or more regions enclosed entirely by a bounding surface within the
domain. The region in which cells are retained are simply identified by a location vector
within that region, specified by the insidePoint keyword in castellatedMeshControls. Cells
are retained if, approximately speaking, 50% or more of their volume lies within the region.
The remaining cells are removed accordingly as illustrated in Figure 5.11.

Figure 5.11: Cell removal in snappyHexMesh meshing process

5.4.5 Cell splitting in specified regions

Those cells that lie within one or more specified volume regions can be further split as
illustrated in Figure 5.12 by a rectangular region shown by dark shading. The refinement-
Regions sub-dictionary in castellatedMeshControls contains entries for refinement of the vol-
ume regions specified in the geometry sub-dictionary. A refinement mode is applied to each
region which can be:

• inside refines inside the volume region;

OpenFOAM-10
5.4 Mesh generation with the snappyHexMesh utility U-175

• outside refines outside the volume region

• distance refines according to distance to the surface; and can accommodate different
levels at multiple distances with the levels keyword.

For the refinementRegions, the refinement level is specified by the levels list of entries
with the format(<distance> <level>). In the case of inside and outside refinement,
the <distance> is not required so is ignored (but it must be specified). Examples are shown
below:
refinementRegions
{
box1x1x1
{
mode inside;
levels ((1.0 4)); // refinement level 4 (1.0 entry ignored)
}
sphere1
{ // refinement level 5 within 1.0 m
mode distance; // refinement level 3 within 2.0 m
levels ((1.0 5) (2.0 3)); // levels must be ordered nearest first
}
}

5.4.6 Cell splitting based on local span

Refinement of cells can also be specified to guarantee a specified number of cells across the
span between opposing surfaces. This refinement option can ensure that there are sufficient
cells to resolve the flow in a region of the domain, e.g. across a narrow pipe. The method re-
quires closeness data to be provided on the surface geometry. The closeness can be calculated
by the surfaceFeatures utility with the following entry in the surfaceFeaturesDict file:
surfaces
(
"pipeWall.obj"
);
closeness
{
pointCloseness yes;
}

This writes closeness data to a file named pipeWall.closeness.internalPointCloseness into

the constant/triSurface directory. The closeness is then be used for span-based refinement by
the addition of an entry in the refinementRegions sub-dictionary in snappyHexMeshDict,
e.g.:
refinementRegions
{
pipeWall
{
mode insideSpan;
levels ((1000 2));
cellsAcrossSpan 40;
}
}

OpenFOAM-10
U-176 Mesh generation and conversion

The example shows a refinement region inside the pipeWall surface in which a maximum
2 levels of refinement is guaranteed within a specified distance of 1000 from the wall. The
span-based refinement, specified by the insideSpan mode, enables the user to guarantee at
least 40 cellsAcrossSpan, i.e. across the pipe diameter.

5.4.7 Snapping to surfaces

The next stage of the meshing process involves moving cell vertex points onto surface geom-
etry to remove the jagged castellated surface from the mesh. The process is:
1. displace the vertices in the castellated boundary onto the STL surface;

2. solve for relaxation of the internal mesh with the latest displaced boundary vertices;

3. find the vertices that cause mesh quality parameters to be violated;

4. reduce the displacement of those vertices from their initial value (at 1) and repeat from
2 until mesh quality is satisfied.
The method uses the settings in the snapControls sub-dictionary in snappyHexMeshDict, listed
below.
• nSmoothPatch: number of patch smoothing iterations before finding correspondence
to surface (typically 3).

• tolerance: ratio of distance for points to be attracted by surface feature point or

edge, to local maximum edge length (typically 2.0).

• nSolveIter: number of mesh displacement relaxation iterations (typically 30-100).

• nRelaxIter: maximum number of snapping relaxation iterations (typically 5).

An example is illustrated in the schematic in Figure 5.13 (albeit with mesh motion that
looks slightly unrealistic).

5.4.8 Mesh layers

The mesh output from the snapping stage may be suitable for the purpose, although it
can produce some irregular cells along boundary surfaces. There is an optional stage of
the meshing process which introduces additional layers of hexahedral cells aligned to the
boundary surface as illustrated by the dark shaded cells in Figure 5.14.
The process of mesh layer addition involves shrinking the existing mesh from the bound-
ary and inserting layers of cells, broadly as follows:
1. the mesh is projected back from the surface by a specified thickness in the direction
normal to the surface;

2. solve for relaxation of the internal mesh with the latest projected boundary vertices;

3. check if validation criteria are satisfied otherwise reduce the projected thickness and
return to 2; if validation cannot be satisfied for any thickness, do not insert layers;

OpenFOAM-10
5.4 Mesh generation with the snappyHexMesh utility U-177

Figure 5.12: Cell splitting by region in snappyHexMesh meshing process

Figure 5.13: Surface snapping in snappyHexMesh meshing process

Figure 5.14: Layer addition in snappyHexMesh meshing process

OpenFOAM-10
U-178 Mesh generation and conversion

4. if the validation criteria can be satisfied, insert mesh layers;

5. the mesh is checked again; if the checks fail, layers are removed and we return to 2.

The layer addition procedure uses the settings in the addLayersControls sub-dictionary in
snappyHexMeshDict; entries are listed below. The user has the option of 4 different layer
thickness parameters — expansionRatio, finalLayerThickness, firstLayerThickness,
thickness — from which they must specify 2 only; more than 2, and the problem is over-
specified.

• layers: dictionary specifying layers to be inserted.

• relativeSizes: switch that sets whether the specified layer thicknesses are relative
to undistorted cell size outside layer or absolute.

• expansionRatio: expansion factor for layer mesh, increase in size from one layer to
the next.

• finalLayerThickness: thickness of layer furthest from the wall, usually in combina-

tion with relative sizes according to the relativeSizes entry.

• firstLayerThickness: thickness of layer nearest the wall, usually in combination with

absolute sizes according to the relativeSizes entry.

• thickness: total thickness of all layers of cells, usually in combination with absolute
sizes according to the

• relativeSizes entry.

• minThickness: minimum thickness of cell layer, either relative or absolute (as above).

• nGrow: number of layers of connected faces that are not grown if points do not get
extruded; helps convergence of layer addition close to features.

• featureAngle: angle above which surface is not extruded.

• nRelaxIter: maximum number of snapping relaxation iterations (typcially 5).

• nSmoothSurfaceNormals: number of smoothing iterations of surface normals (typically

1).

• nSmoothNormals: number of smoothing iterations of interior mesh movement direction

(typically 3).

• nSmoothThickness: smooth layer thickness over surface patches (typically 10).

• maxFaceThicknessRatio: stop layer growth on highly warped cells (typically 0.5).

• maxThicknessToMedialRatio: reduce layer growth where ratio thickness to medial

distance is large (typically 0.3)

• minMedianAxisAngle: angle used to pick up medial axis points (typically 90).

OpenFOAM-10
5.4 Mesh generation with the snappyHexMesh utility U-179

• nBufferCellsNoExtrude: create buffer region for new layer terminations (typically

0).

• nLayerIter: overall max number of layer addition iterations (typically 50).

• nRelaxedIter: max number of iterations after which the controls in the relaxed sub
dictionary of meshQuality are used (typically 20).
The layers sub-dictionary contains entries for each patch on which the layers are to be
applied and the number of surface layers required. The patch name is used because the
layers addition relates to the existing mesh, not the surface geometry; hence applied to a
patch, not a surface region. An example layers entry is as follows:
layers
{
sphere1_firstSolid
{
nSurfaceLayers 1;
}
maxY
{
nSurfaceLayers 1;
}
}

5.4.9 Mesh quality controls

The mesh quality is controlled by the entries in the meshQualityControls sub-dictionary in
snappyHexMeshDict; entries are listed below.
• maxNonOrtho: maximum non-orthogonality allowed (degrees, typically 65).

• maxBoundarySkewness: max boundary face skewness allowed (typically 20).

• maxInternalSkewness: max internal face skewness allowed (typically 4).

• maxConcave: max concaveness allowed (typically 80).

• minFlatness: ratio of minimum projected area to actual area (typically 0.5)

• minTetQuality: minimum quality of tetrahedral cells from cell decomposition; gen-

erally deactivated by setting large negative number since v5.0 when new barycentric
tracking was introduced, which could handle negative tets.

• minVol: minimum cell pyramid volume (typically 1e-13, large negative number dis-
ables).

• minArea: minimum face area (typically -1).

• minTwist: minimum face twist (typically 0.05).

• minDeterminant: minimum normalised cell determinant; 1 = hex; ≤ 0 = illegal cell

(typically 0.001).

• minFaceWeight: 0→0.5 (typically 0.05).

OpenFOAM-10
U-180 Mesh generation and conversion

• minVolRatio: 0→1.0 (typically 0.01).

• minTriangleTwist: > 0 for Fluent compatibility (typically -1).

• nSmoothScale: number of error distribution iterations (typically 4).

• errorReduction: amount to scale back displacement at error points (typically 0.75).

• relaxed: sub-dictionary that can include modified values for the above keyword entries
to be used when nRelaxedIter is exceeded in the layer addition process.

5.5 Mesh conversion

The user can generate meshes using other packages and convert them into the format that
OpenFOAM uses. There are numerous mesh conversion utilities listed in section 3.6.3. Some
of the more popular mesh converters are listed below and their use is presented in this section.

fluentMeshToFoam reads a Fluent.msh mesh file, working for both 2-D and 3-D cases;

starToFoam reads STAR-CD/PROSTAR mesh files.

gambitToFoam reads a GAMBIT.neu neutral file;

ideasToFoam reads an I-DEAS mesh written in ANSYS.ans format;

cfx4ToFoam reads a CFX mesh written in .geo format;

5.5.1 fluentMeshToFoam
Fluent writes mesh data to a single file with a .msh extension. The file must be written
in ASCII format, which is not the default option in Fluent. It is possible to convert single-
stream Fluent meshes, including the 2 dimensional geometries. In OpenFOAM, 2 dimensional
geometries are currently treated by defining a mesh in 3 dimensions, where the front and
back plane are defined as the empty boundary patch type. When reading a 2 dimensional
Fluent mesh, the converter automatically extrudes the mesh in the third direction and adds
the empty patch, naming it frontAndBackPlanes.
The following features should also be observed.

• The OpenFOAM converter will attempt to capture the Fluent boundary condition
definition as much as possible; however, since there is no clear, direct correspondence
between the OpenFOAM and Fluent boundary conditions, the user should check the
boundary conditions before running a case.

• Creation of axi-symmetric meshes from a 2 dimensional mesh is currently not supported

but can be implemented on request.

• Multiple material meshes are not permitted. If multiple fluid materials exist, they will
be converted into a single OpenFOAM mesh; if a solid region is detected, the converter
will attempt to filter it out.

OpenFOAM-10
5.5 Mesh conversion U-181

• Fluent allows the user to define a patch which is internal to the mesh, i.e. consists of
the faces with cells on both sides. Such patches are not allowed in OpenFOAM and
the converter will attempt to filter them out.

• There is currently no support for embedded interfaces and refinement trees.

The procedure of converting a Fluent.msh file is first to create a new OpenFOAM case
by creating the necessary directories/files: the case directory containing a controlDict file in
a system subdirectory. Then at a command prompt the user should execute:

fluentMeshToFoam <meshFile>

where <meshFile> is the name of the .msh file, including the full or relative path.

5.5.2 starToFoam
This section describes how to convert a mesh generated on the STAR-CD code into a form
that can be read by OpenFOAM mesh classes. The mesh can be generated by any of the
packages supplied with STAR-CD, i.e.PROSTAR, SAMM, ProAM and their derivatives. The
converter accepts any single-stream mesh including integral and arbitrary couple matching
and all cell types are supported. The features that the converter does not support are:

• multi-stream mesh specification;

• baffles, i.e. zero-thickness walls inserted into the domain;

• partial boundaries, where an uncovered part of a couple match is considered to be a

boundary face;

• sliding interfaces.

For multi-stream meshes, mesh conversion can be achieved by writing each individual stream
as a separate mesh and reassemble them in OpenFOAM.
OpenFOAM adopts a policy of only accepting input meshes that conform to the fairly
stringent validity criteria specified in section 5.1. It will simply not run using invalid meshes
and cannot convert a mesh that is itself invalid. The following sections describe steps that
must be taken when generating a mesh using a mesh generating package supplied with STAR-
CD to ensure that it can be converted to OpenFOAM format. To avoid repetition in the
remainder of the section, the mesh generation tools supplied with STAR-CD will be referred
to by the collective name STAR-CD.

5.5.2.1 General advice on conversion

We strongly recommend that the user run the STAR-CD mesh checking tools before attempt-
ing a starToFoam conversion and, after conversion, the checkMesh utility should be run on
the newly converted mesh. Alternatively, starToFoam may itself issue warnings containing
PROSTAR commands that will enable the user to take a closer look at cells with problems.
Problematic cells and matches should be checked and fixed before attempting to use the

OpenFOAM-10
U-182 Mesh generation and conversion

mesh with OpenFOAM. Remember that an invalid mesh will not run with OpenFOAM, but
it may run in another environment that does not impose the validity criteria.
Some problems of tolerance matching can be overcome by the use of a matching tolerance
in the converter. However, there is a limit to its effectiveness and an apparent need to increase
the matching tolerance from its default level indicates that the original mesh suffers from
inaccuracies.

5.5.2.2 Eliminating extraneous data

When mesh generation in is completed, remove any extraneous vertices and compress the
cells boundary and vertex numbering, assuming that fluid cells have been created and all
other cells are discarded. This is done with the following PROSTAR commands:

CSET NEWS FLUID

CSET INVE

The CSET should be empty. If this is not the case, examine the cells in CSET and adjust
the model. If the cells are genuinely not desired, they can be removed using the PROSTAR
command:

CDEL CSET

Similarly, vertices will need to be discarded as well:

CSET NEWS FLUID

VSET NEWS CSET
VSET INVE

Before discarding these unwanted vertices, the unwanted boundary faces have to be collected
before purging:

CSET NEWS FLUID

VSET NEWS CSET
BSET NEWS VSET ALL
BSET INVE

If the BSET is not empty, the unwanted boundary faces can be deleted using:

BDEL BSET

At this time, the model should contain only the fluid cells and the supporting vertices,
as well as the defined boundary faces. All boundary faces should be fully supported by the
vertices of the cells, if this is not the case, carry on cleaning the geometry until everything
is clean.

OpenFOAM-10
5.5 Mesh conversion U-183

5.5.2.3 Removing default boundary conditions

By default, STAR-CD assigns wall boundaries to any boundary faces not explicitly associated
with a boundary region. The remaining boundary faces are collected into a default bound-
ary region, with the assigned boundary type 0. OpenFOAM deliberately does not have a
concept of a default boundary condition for undefined boundary faces since it invites hu-
man error, e.g. there is no means of checking that we meant to give all the unassociated
faces the default condition.
Therefore all boundaries for each OpenFOAM mesh must be specified for a mesh to be
successfully converted. The default boundary needs to be transformed into a real one using
the procedure described below:

1. Plot the geometry with Wire Surface option.

2. Define an extra boundary region with the same parameters as the default region 0
and add all visible faces into the new region, say 10, by selecting a zone option in
the boundary tool and drawing a polygon around the entire screen draw of the model.
This can be done by issuing the following commands in PROSTAR:

RDEF 10 WALL
BZON 10 ALL
3. We shall remove all previously defined boundary types from the set. Go through the
boundary regions:

BSET NEWS REGI 1

BSET NEWS REGI 2
... 3, 4, ...
Collect the vertices associated with the boundary set and then the boundary faces
associated with the vertices (there will be twice as many of them as in the original
set).

BSET NEWS REGI 1

VSET NEWS BSET
BSET NEWS VSET ALL
BSET DELE REGI 1
REPL
This should give the faces of boundary Region 10 which have been defined on top of
boundary Region 1. Delete them with BDEL BSET. Repeat these for all regions.

5.5.2.4 Renumbering the model

Renumber and check the model using the commands:

CSET NEW FLUID

CCOM CSET

VSET NEWS CSET

VSET INVE (Should be empty!)

OpenFOAM-10
U-184 Mesh generation and conversion

VSET INVE
VCOM VSET

BSET NEWS VSET ALL

BSET INVE (Should be empty also!)
BSET INVE
BCOM BSET

CHECK ALL
GEOM

Internal PROSTAR checking is performed by the last two commands, which may reveal
some other unforeseeable error(s). Also, take note of the scaling factor because PROSTAR
only applies the factor for STAR-CD and not the geometry. If the factor is not 1, use the
scalePoints utility in OpenFOAM.

5.5.2.5 Writing out the mesh data

Once the mesh is completed, place all the integral matches of the model into the couple type
1. All other types will be used to indicate arbitrary matches.

CPSET NEWS TYPE INTEGRAL

CPMOD CPSET 1

The components of the computational grid must then be written to their own files. This is
done using PROSTAR for boundaries by issuing the command

BWRITE

by default, this writes to a .23 file (versions prior to 3.0) or a .bnd file (versions 3.0 and
higher). For cells, the command

CWRITE

outputs the cells to a .14 or .cel file and for vertices, the command

VWRITE

outputs to file a .15 or .vrt file. The current default setting writes the files in ASCII format.
If couples are present, an additional couple file with the extension .cpl needs to be written
out by typing:

CPWRITE

OpenFOAM-10
5.5 Mesh conversion U-185

After outputting to the three files, exit PROSTAR or close the files. Look through the
panels and take note of all STAR-CD sub-models, material and fluid properties used – the
material properties and mathematical model will need to be set up by creating and editing
OpenFOAM dictionary files.
The procedure of converting the PROSTAR files is first to create a new OpenFOAM case
by creating the necessary directories. The PROSTAR files must be stored within the same
directory and the user must change the file extensions: from .23, .14 and .15 (below STAR-
CD version 3.0), or .pcs, .cls and .vtx (STAR-CD version 3.0 and above); to .bnd, .cel and .vrt
respectively.

5.5.2.6 Problems with the .vrt file

The .vrt file is written in columns of data of specified width, rather than free format. A
typical line of data might be as follows, giving a vertex number followed by the coordinates:

19422 -0.105988957 -0.413711881E-02 0.000000000E+00

If the ordinates are written in scientific notation and are negative, there may be no space
between values, e.g.:

19423 -0.953953117E-01-0.338810333E-02 0.000000000E+00

The starToFoam converter reads the data using spaces to delimit the ordinate values and
will therefore object when reading the previous example. Therefore, OpenFOAM includes a
simple script, foamCorrectVrt to insert a space between values where necessary, i.e. it would
convert the previous example to:

19423 -0.953953117E-01 -0.338810333E-02 0.000000000E+00

The foamCorrectVrt script should therefore be executed if necessary before running the starTo-
Foam converter, by typing:

foamCorrectVrt <file>.vrt

5.5.2.7 Converting the mesh to OpenFOAM format

The translator utility starToFoam can now be run to create the boundaries, cells and points
files necessary for a OpenFOAM run:

starToFoam <meshFilePrefix>

where <meshFilePrefix> is the name of the prefix of the mesh files, including the full or
relative path. After the utility has finished running, OpenFOAM boundary types should be
specified by editing the boundary file by hand.

OpenFOAM-10
U-186 Mesh generation and conversion

5.5.3 gambitToFoam
GAMBIT writes mesh data to a single file with a .neu extension. The procedure of converting
a GAMBIT.neu file is first to create a new OpenFOAM case, then at a command prompt,
the user should execute:

gambitToFoam <meshFile>

where <meshFile> is the name of the .neu file, including the full or relative path.
The GAMBIT file format does not provide information about type of the boundary patch,
e.g. wall, symmetry plane, cyclic. Therefore all the patches have been created as type patch.
Please reset after mesh conversion as necessary.

5.5.4 ideasToFoam
OpenFOAM can convert a mesh generated by I-DEAS but written out in ANSYS format as a
.ans file. The procedure of converting the .ans file is first to create a new OpenFOAM case,
then at a command prompt, the user should execute:

ideasToFoam <meshFile>

where <meshFile> is the name of the .ans file, including the full or relative path.

5.5.5 cfx4ToFoam
CFX writes mesh data to a single file with a .geo extension. The mesh format in CFX is block-
structured, i.e. the mesh is specified as a set of blocks with glueing information and the vertex
locations. OpenFOAM will convert the mesh and capture the CFX boundary condition
as best as possible. The 3 dimensional ‘patch’ definition in CFX, containing information
about the porous, solid regions etc. is ignored with all regions being converted into a single
OpenFOAM mesh. CFX supports the concept of a ‘default’ patch, where each external face
without a defined boundary condition is treated as a wall. These faces are collected by the
converter and put into a defaultFaces patch in the OpenFOAM mesh and given the type
wall; of course, the patch type can be subsequently changed.
Like, OpenFOAM 2 dimensional geometries in CFX are created as 3 dimensional meshes
of 1 cell thickness. If a user wishes to run a 2 dimensional case on a mesh created by CFX,
the boundary condition on the front and back planes should be set to empty; the user should
ensure that the boundary conditions on all other faces in the plane of the calculation are
set correctly. Currently there is no facility for creating an axi-symmetric geometry from a 2
dimensional CFX mesh.
The procedure of converting a CFX.geo file is first to create a new OpenFOAM case, then
at a command prompt, the user should execute:

cfx4ToFoam <meshFile>

where <meshFile> is the name of the .geo file, including the full or relative path.

OpenFOAM-10
5.6 Mapping fields between different geometries U-187

5.6 Mapping fields between different geometries

The mapFields utility maps one or more fields relating to a given geometry onto the corre-
sponding fields for another geometry. It is completely generalised in so much as there does
not need to be any similarity between the geometries to which the fields relate. However, for
cases where the geometries are consistent, mapFields can be executed with a special option
that simplifies the mapping process.
For our discussion of mapFields we need to define a few terms. First, we say that the
data is mapped from the source to the target. The fields are deemed consistent if the
geometry and boundary types, or conditions, of both source and target fields are identical.
The field data that mapFields maps are those fields within the time directory specified by
startFrom/startTime in the controlDict of the target case. The data is read from the
equivalent time directory of the source case and mapped onto the equivalent time directory
of the target case.

5.6.1 Mapping consistent fields

A mapping of consistent fields is simply performed by executing mapFields on the (target)
case using the -consistent command line option as follows:

mapFields <source dir> -consistent

5.6.2 Mapping inconsistent fields

When the fields are not consistent, as shown in Figure 5.15, mapFields requires a mapFields-
Dict dictionary in the system directory of the target case. The following rules apply to the
mapping:

• the field data is mapped from source to target wherever possible, i.e. in our example
all the field data within the target geometry is mapped from the source, except those
in the shaded region which remain unaltered;

• the patch field data is left unaltered unless specified otherwise in the mapFieldsDict
dictionary.

The mapFieldsDict dictionary contain two lists that specify mapping of patch data. The first
list is patchMap that specifies mapping of data between pairs of source and target patches
that are geometrically coincident, as shown in Figure 5.15. The list contains each pair of
names of source and target patch. The second list is cuttingPatches that contains names
of target patches whose values are to be mapped from the source internal field through which
the target patch cuts. In the situation where the target patch only cuts through part of the
source internal field, e.g. bottom left target patch in our example, those values within the
internal field are mapped and those outside remain unchanged. An example mapFieldsDict
dictionary is shown below:
16
17 patchMap (lid movingWall);
18
19 cuttingPatches ();

OpenFOAM-10
U-188 Mesh generation and conversion

Coincident patches:
can be mapped using patchMap

Internal target patches:

can be mapped using cuttingPatches

Source field geometry

Target field geometry
Figure 5.15: Mapping inconsistent fields

20
21
22 // ************************************************************************* //

mapFields <source dir>

5.6.3 Mapping parallel cases

If either or both of the source and target cases are decomposed for running in parallel,
additional options must be supplied when executing mapFields:

-parallelSource if the source case is decomposed for parallel running;

-parallelTarget if the target case is decomposed for parallel running.

OpenFOAM-10
Chapter 6

Post-processing

This chapter describes options for post-processing with OpenFOAM. OpenFOAM is supplied
with a post-processing utility paraFoam that uses ParaView, an open source visualisation
application described in section 6.1.
Other methods of post-processing using third party products are offered, including En-
Sight, Fieldview and the post-processing supplied with Fluent.

6.1 ParaView/paraFoam graphical user interface (GUI)

The main post-processing tool provided with OpenFOAM is a reader module to run with
ParaView, an open-source, visualization application. The module is compiled into 2 libraries,
PVFoamReader and vtkPVFoam using version 5.4.0 of ParaView supplied with the Open-
FOAM release. It is recommended that this version of ParaView is used, although it is
possible that the latest binary release of the software will run adequately. Further details
about ParaView can be found at http://www.paraview.org.
ParaView uses the Visualisation Toolkit (VTK) as its data processing and rendering engine
and can therefore read any data in VTK format. OpenFOAM includes the foamToVTK utility
to convert data from its native format to VTK format, which means that any VTK-based
graphics tools can be used to post-process OpenFOAM cases. This provides an alternative
means for using ParaView with OpenFOAM.
In summary, we recommend the reader module for ParaView as the primary post-processing
tool for OpenFOAM. Alternatively OpenFOAM data can be converted into VTK format to
be read by ParaView or any other VTK-based graphics tools.

6.1.1 Overview of ParaView/paraFoam

paraFoam is a script that launches ParaView using the reader module supplied with Open-
FOAM. It is executed like any of the OpenFOAM utilities either by the single command
from within the case directory or with the -case option with the case path as an argument,
e.g.:

paraFoam -case <caseDir>

U-190 Post-processing

Figure 6.1: The paraFoam window

ParaView is launched and opens the window shown in Figure 6.1. The case is controlled from
the left panel, which contains the following:
• The Pipeline Browser lists the modules opened in ParaView, where the selected modules
are highlighted in blue and the graphics for the given module can be enabled/disabled
by clicking the eye button alongside;
• The Properties panel contains the input selections for the case, such as times, regions
and fields; it includes the Display panel that controls the visual representation of the
selected module, e.g. colours;
• Other panels can be selected from the View menu, including the Information panel
which gives case statistics such as mesh geometry and size.
ParaView operates a tree-based structure in which data can be filtered from the top-level
case module to create sets of sub-modules. For example, a contour plot of, say, pressure could
be a sub-module of the case module which contains all the pressure data. The strength of
ParaView is that the user can create a number of sub-modules and display whichever ones
they feel to create the desired image or animation. For example, they may add some solid
geometry, mesh and velocity vectors, to a contour plot of pressure, switching any of the items
on and off as necessary.
The general operation of the system is based on the user making a selection and then
clicking the green Apply button in the Properties panel. The additional buttons are: the

OpenFOAM-10
6.1 ParaView/paraFoam graphical user interface (GUI) U-191

Reset button which can be used to reset the GUI if necessary; and, the Delete button that
will delete the active module.

6.1.2 The Parameters panel

The Properties window for the case module includes the Parameters panel that contains the
settings for mesh, fields and global controls. The controls are described in Figure 6.2. The

Check this to enable ParaView to display

polyhedral cells and polygonal faces correctly
The user can select internalMesh
region and/or individual patches

The user can select the fields

read into the case module

Figure 6.2: The Properties panel for the case module

user can select mesh and field data which is loaded for all time directories into ParaView.
The buttons in the Current Time Controls and VCR Controls toolbars then select the
time data to be displayed, as shown is section 6.1.4.
As with any operation in paraFoam, the user must click Apply after making any changes
to any selections. The Apply button is highlighted in green to alert the user if changes have
been made but not accepted. This method of operation has the advantage of allowing the
user to make a number of selections before accepting them, which is particularly useful in
large cases where data processing is best kept to a minimum.
If new data is written to time directories while the user is running ParaView, the user
must load the additional time directories by checking the Refresh Times button. Where there

OpenFOAM-10
U-192 Post-processing

Outline, surface, wireframe or points

Colour geometry/entity by. . .
Set colour map range/appearance

Change image opacity

e.g. to make transluscent

Data interpolation method

Geometry manipulation tools

Figure 6.3: The Display panel

are occasions when the case data changes on file and ParaView needs to load the changes, the
user can also check the Update GUI button in the Parameters panel and apply the changes.

6.1.3 The Display panel

The Properties window contains the Display panel that includes the settings for visualising
the data for a given case module. The following points are particularly important:

OpenFOAM-10
6.1 ParaView/paraFoam graphical user interface (GUI) U-193

• the data range may not be automatically updated to the max/min limits of a field, so
the user should take care to select Rescale at appropriate intervals, in particular after
loading the initial case module;

• clicking the Edit Color Map button, brings up a window in which there are two panels:

1. The Color Scale panel in which the colours within the scale can be chosen. The
standard blue to red colour scale for CFD can be selected by clicking Choose
Preset and selecting Blue to Red Rainbox HSV.
2. The Color Legend panel has a toggle switch for a colour bar legend and contains
settings for the layout of the legend, e.g. font.

• the underlying mesh can be represented by selecting Wireframe in the Representation

menu of the Style panel;

• the geometry, e.g. a mesh (if Wireframe is selected), can be visualised as a single colour
by selecting Solid Color from the Color By menu and specifying the colour in the
Set Ambient Color window;

• the image can be made translucent by editing the value in the Opacity text box (1 =
solid, 0 = invisible) in the Style panel.

6.1.4 The button toolbars

ParaView duplicates functionality from pull-down menus at the top of the main window
and the major panels, within the toolbars below the main pull-down menus. The displayed
toolbars can be selected from Toolbars in the main View menu. The default layout with
all toolbars is shown in Figure 6.4 with each toolbar labelled. The function of many of the
buttons is clear from their icon and, with tooltips enabled in the Help menu, the user is
given a concise description of the function of any button.

Main controls Undo/Redo Controls Current Time Controls

VCR Controls

Common and Data Analysis Filters Camera Controls

Active Variable Controls | Representation Centre Axes Controls

Figure 6.4: Toolbars in ParaView

6.1.5 Manipulating the view

This section describes operations for setting and manipulating the view in paraFoam.

OpenFOAM-10
U-194 Post-processing

6.1.5.1 View settings

The View Settings are available in the Render View panel below the Display panel in the
Properties window. Settings that are generally important only appear when the user checks
the gearwheel button at the top of the Properties window, next to the search bar. These
advanced properties include setting the background colour, where white is often a preferred
choice for creating images for printed and website material.
The Lights button opens detailed lighting controls within the Light Kit panel. A separate
Headlight panel controls the direct lighting of the image. Checking the Headlight button with
white light colour of strength 1 seems to help produce images with strong bright colours,
e.g. with an isosurface.
The Camera Parallel Projection is the usual choice for CFD, especially for 2D cases, and
so should generally be checked. Other settings include Cube Axes which displays axes on the
selected object to show its orientation and geometric dimensions.

6.1.5.2 General settings

The general Settings are selected from the Edit menu, which opens a general Options
window with General, Colors, Animations, Charts and Render View menu items.
The General panel controls some default behaviour of ParaView. In particular, there is an
Auto Accept button that enables ParaView to accept changes automatically without clicking
the green Apply button in the Properties window. For larger cases, this option is generally
not recommended: the user does not generally want the image to be re-rendered between
each of a number of changes he/she selects, but be able to apply a number of changes to be
re-rendered in their entirety once.
The Render View panel contains 3 sub-items: General, Camera and Server. The General
panel includes the level of detail (LOD) which controls the rendering of the image while it
is being manipulated, e.g. translated, resized, rotated; lowering the levels set by the sliders,
allows cases with large numbers of cells to be re-rendered quickly during manipulation.
The Camera panel includes control settings for 3D and 2D movements. This presents the
user with a map of rotation, translate and zoom controls using the mouse in combination
with Shift- and Control-keys. The map can be edited to suit by the user.

6.1.6 Contour plots

A contour plot is created by selecting Contour from the Filter menu at the top menu
bar. The filter acts on a given module so that, if the module is the 3D case module itself,
the contours will be a set of 2D surfaces that represent a constant value, i.e. isosurfaces.
The Properties panel for contours contains an Isosurfaces list that the user can edit, most
conveniently by the New Range window. The chosen scalar field is selected from a pull down
menu.

6.1.6.1 Introducing a cutting plane

Very often a user will wish to create a contour plot across a plane rather than producing
isosurfaces. To do so, the user must first use the Slice filter to create the cutting plane,
on which the contours can be plotted. The Slice filter allows the user to specify a cutting

OpenFOAM-10
6.1 ParaView/paraFoam graphical user interface (GUI) U-195

Plane, Box or Sphere in the Slice Type menu by a center and normal/radius respectively.
The user can manipulate the cutting plane like any other using the mouse.
The user can then run the Contour filter on the cut plane to generate contour lines.

6.1.7 Vector plots

Vector plots are created using the Glyph filter. The filter reads the field selected in Vectors
and offers a range of Glyph Types for which the Arrow provides a clear vector plot images.
Each glyph has a selection of graphical controls in a panel which the user can manipulate to
best effect.
The remainder of the Properties panel contains mainly the Scale Mode menu for the
glyphs. The most common options for Scale Mode are: Vector, where the glyph length is
proportional to the vector magnitude; and, Off where each glyph is the same length. The
Set Scale Factor parameter controls the base length of the glyphs.

6.1.7.1 Plotting at cell centres

Vectors are by default plotted on cell vertices but, very often, we wish to plot data at cell
centres. This is done by first applying the Cell Centers filter to the case module, and then
applying the Glyph filter to the resulting cell centre data.

6.1.8 Streamlines
Streamlines are created by first creating tracer lines using the Stream Tracer filter. The
tracer Seed panel specifies a distribution of tracer points over a Line Source or Point
Cloud. The user can view the tracer source, e.g. the line, but it is displayed in white, so
they may need to change the background colour in order to see it.
The distance the tracer travels and the length of steps the tracer takes are specified in
the text boxes in the main Stream Tracer panel. The process of achieving desired tracer lines
is largely one of trial and error in which the tracer lines obviously appear smoother as the
step length is reduced but with the penalty of a longer calculation time.
Once the tracer lines have been created, the Tubes filter can be applied to the Tracer
module to produce high quality images. The tubes follow each tracer line and are not strictly
cylindrical but have a fixed number of sides and given radius. When the number of sides is set
above, say, 10, the tubes do however appear cylindrical, but again this adds a computational
cost.

6.1.9 Image output

The simplest way to output an image to file from ParaView is to select Save Screenshot
from the File menu. On selection, a window appears in which the user can select the
resolution for the image to save. There is a button that, when clicked, locks the aspect ratio,
so if the user changes the resolution in one direction, the resolution is adjusted in the other
direction automatically. After selecting the pixel resolution, the image can be saved. To
achieve high quality output, the user might try setting the pixel resolution to 1000 or more

OpenFOAM-10
U-196 Post-processing

in the x-direction so that when the image is scaled to a typical size of a figure in an A4 or
US letter document, perhaps in a PDF document, the resolution is sharp.

6.1.10 Animation output

To create an animation, the user should first select Save Animation from the File menu.
A dialogue window appears in which the user can specify a number of things including the
image resolution. The user should specify the resolution as required. The other noteworthy
setting is number of frames per timestep. While this would intuitively be set to 1, it can
be set to a larger number in order to introduce more frames into the animation artificially.
This technique can be particularly useful to produce a slower animation because some movie
players have limited speed control, particularly over mpeg movies.
On clicking the Save Animation button, another window appears in which the user specifies
a file name root and file format for a set of images. On clicking OK, the set of files will be
saved according to the naming convention “<fileRoot>_<imageNo>.<fileExt>”, e.g. the
third image of a series with the file root “animation”, saved in jpg format would be named
“animation_0002.jpg” (<imageNo> starts at 0000).
Once the set of images are saved the user can convert them into a movie using their
software of choice. One option is to use the built in foamCreateVideo script from the command
line whose usage is shown with the -help option.

6.2 Post-processing command line interface (CLI)

Post-processing is provided directly within OpenFOAM through the command line including
data processing, sampling (e.g. probes, graph plotting) visualisation, case control and run-
time I/O. Functionality can be executed by:
• conventional post-processing, a data processing activity that occurs after a simulation
has run;
• run-time processing, data processing that is performed during the running of a simu-
lation.
Both approaches have advantages. Conventional post-processing allows the user to choose
how to analyse data after the results are obtained. Run-time processing offers greater flexi-
bility because it has access to all the data in the database of the run at all times, rather than
just the data written during the simulation. It also allows the user to monitor processed
data during a simulation and provides a greater level of convenience because the processed
results can be available immediately to the user when the simulation ends.
There are 3 methods of post-processing that cover the options described above
• Every solver, e.g. simpleFoam can be configured to include run-time processing.
• The postProcess utility provides conventional post-processing of data written by a
simulation.
• Every solver can be run with the -postProcess option, which only executes post-
processing, but with additional access to data available on the database for the partic-
ular solver.

OpenFOAM-10
6.2 Post-processing command line interface (CLI) U-197

6.2.1 Post-processing functionality

All modes of post-processing access the same functionality implemented in OpenFOAM in
the function object framework. Function objects can be listed by running a solver with the
-listFunctionObjects option, e.g.

simpleFoam -listFunctionObjects

The list represents the underlying post-processing functionality. Almost all the functionality
is packaged into a set of configured tools that are conveniently integrated within the post-
processing CLI. Those tools are located in $FOAM_ETC/caseDicts/postProcessing and are
listed by running postProcess with the -list option.

postProcess -list

This produces a list of tools that are described in the following sections.

6.2.1.1 Field calculation

age Calculates and writes out the time taken for a particle to travel from an inlet to the
location.

components Writes the component scalar fields (e.g. Ux, Uy, Uz) of a field (e.g. U).

CourantNo Calculates the Courant Number field from the flux field.

ddt Calculates the Eulerian time derivative of a field.

div Calculates the divergence of a field.

enstrophy Calculates the enstrophy of the velocity field.

fieldAverage Calculates and writes the time averages of a given list of fields.

flowType Calculates and writes the flowType of velocity field where: -1 = rotational flow; 0
= simple shear flow; +1 = planar extensional flow.

grad Calculates the gradient of a field.

Lambda2 Calculates and writes the second largest eigenvalue of the sum of the square of the
symmetrical and anti-symmetrical parts of the velocity gradient tensor.

log Calculates the natural logarithm of the specified scalar field.

MachNo Calculates the Mach Number field from the velocity field.

mag Calculates the magnitude of a field.

magSqr Calculates the magnitude-squared of a field.

PecletNo Calculates the Peclet Number field from the flux field.

OpenFOAM-10
U-198 Post-processing

Q Calculates the second invariant of the velocity gradient tensor.

randomise Adds a random component to a field, with a specified perturbation magnitude.

reconstruct Calculates the reconstruction of a field; e.g. to construct a cell-centred velocity

U from the face-centred flux phi.

scale Multiplies a field by a scale factor

shearStress Calculates the shear stress, outputting the data as a volSymmTensorField.

streamFunction Writes the stream-function pointScalarField, calculated from the specified

flux surfaceScalarField.

surfaceInterpolation Calculates the surface interpolation of a field.

totalEnthalpy Calculates and writes the total enthalpy ha + K as the volScalarField Ha.

turbulenceFields Calculates specified turbulence fields and stores it on the database.

turbulenceIntensity Calculates and writes the turbulence intensity field I.

vorticity Calculates the vorticity field, i.e. the curl of the velocity field.

wallHeatFlux Calculates the heat flux at wall patches, outputting the data as a volVector-
Field.

wallHeatTransferCoeff Calculates the estimated incompressible flow heat transfer coefficient

at wall patches, outputting the data as a volScalarField.

wallShearStress Calculates the shear stress at wall patches, outputting the data as a vol-
VectorField.

writeCellCentres Writes the cell-centres volVectorField and the three component fields as
volScalarFields; useful for post-processing thresholding.

writeCellVolumes Writes the cell-volumes volScalarField

writeVTK Writes out specified objects in VTK format, e.g. fields, stored on the case database.

yPlus Calculates the turbulence y+, outputting the data as a yPlus field.

6.2.1.2 Field operations

add Add a list of fields.

divide From the first field, divide the remaining fields in the list.

multiply Multiply a list of fields.

subtract From the first field, subtracts the remaining fields in the list.

uniform Create a uniform field.

OpenFOAM-10
6.2 Post-processing command line interface (CLI) U-199

6.2.1.3 Forces and force coefficients

forceCoeffsCompressible Calculates lift, drag and moment coefficients by summing forces
on specified patches for a case where the solver is compressible (pressure is in units
M/(LTˆ2), e.g. Pa).

forceCoeffsIncompressible Calculates lift, drag and moment coefficients by summing forces on

specified patches for a case where the solver is incompressible (pressure is kinematic,
e.g. mˆ2/sˆ2).

forcesCompressible Calculates pressure and viscous forces over specified patches for a case
where the solver is compressible (pressure is in units M/(LTˆ2), e.g. Pa).

forcesIncompressible Calculates pressure and viscous forces over specified patches for a case
where the solver is incompressible (pressure is kinematic, e.g. mˆ2/sˆ2).

6.2.1.4 Sampling for graph plotting

graphCell Writes graph data for specified fields along a line, specified by start and end points.
One graph point is generated in each cell that the line intersects.

graphUniform Writes graph data for specified fields along a line, specified by start and end
points. A specified number of graph points are used, distributed uniformly along the
line.

graphCellFace Writes graph data for specified fields along a line, specified by start and end
points. One graph point is generated on each face and in each cell that the line
intersects.

graphFace Writes graph data for specified fields along a line, specified by start and end
points. One graph point is generated on each face that the line intersects.

graphLayerAverage Generates plots of fields averaged over the layers in the mesh

6.2.1.5 Lagrangian data

dsmcFields Calculate intensive fields UMean, translationalT, internalT, overallT from
averaged extensive fields from a DSMC calculation.

6.2.1.6 Monitoring minima and maxima

cellMax Writes out the maximum cell value for one or more fields.

cellMaxMag Writes out the maximum cell value magnitude for one or more fields.

cellMin Writes out the minimum cell value for one or more fields.

cellMinMag Writes out the maximum cell value magnitude for one or more fields.

OpenFOAM-10
U-200 Post-processing

6.2.1.7 Numerical data

residuals For specified fields, writes out the initial residuals for the first solution of each time
step; for non-scalar fields (e.g. vectors), writes the largest of the residuals for each
component (e.g. x, y, z).

6.2.1.8 Control
stopAtClockTime Stops the run when the specified clock time in second has been reached
and optionally write results before stopping.

stopAtFile Stops the run when the file stop is created in the case directory.

time Writes run time, CPU time and clock time and optionally the CPU and clock times
per time step.

timeStep Writes the time step to a file for monitoring.

writeObjects Writes out specified objects, e.g. fields, stored on the case database.

6.2.1.9 Pressure tools

staticPressureIncompressible Calculates the pressure field in normal units, i.e. Pa in SI, from
kinematic pressure by scaling by a specified density.

totalPressureCompressible Calculates the total pressure field in normal units, i.e. Pa in SI,
for a case where the solver is compressible.

totalPressureIncompressible Calculates the total pressure field for a case where the solver is
incompressible, in kinematic units, i.e. m2 /s2 in SI.

6.2.1.10 Combustion
Qdot Calculates and outputs the heat release rate for the current combustion model.

XiReactionRate Writes the turbulent flame-speed and reaction-rate volScalarFields for the
Xi-based combustion models.

6.2.1.11 Multiphase
populationBalanceMoments Calculates and writes out integral (integer moments) or mean
properties (mean, variance, standard deviation) of a size distribution computed with
multiphaseEulerFoam. Requires solver post-processing.

phaseForces Calculates the blended interfacial forces acting on a given phase, i.e. drag, vir-
tual mass, lift, wall-lubrication and turbulent dispersion. Note that it works only in
solver post-processing mode and in combination with multiphaseEulerFoam. For a sim-
ulation involving more than two phases, the accumulated force is calculated by looping
over all phasePairs the phase is a part of.

OpenFOAM-10
6.2 Post-processing command line interface (CLI) U-201

phaseMap Writes the phase-fraction map field alpha.map with incremental value ranges for
each phase e.g., with values 0 for water, 1 for air, 2 for oil, etc.

populationBalanceSizeDistribution Writes out the size distribution computed with multiphase-

EulerFoam for the entire domain or a volume region. Requires solver post-processing.

6.2.1.12 Probes

boundaryProbes Writes out values of fields at a cloud of points, interpolated to specified

boundary patches.

interfaceHeight Reports the height of the interface above a set of locations. For each loca-
tion, it writes the vertical distance of the interface above both the location and the
lowest boundary. It also writes the point on the interface from which these heights are
computed.

internalProbes Writes out values of fields interpolated to a specified cloud of points.

probes Writes out values of fields from cells nearest to specified locations.

6.2.1.13 Surface region

faceZoneAverage Calculates the average value of one or more fields on a faceZone.

faceZoneFlowRate Calculates the flow rate through a specified face zone by summing the flux
on patch faces. For solvers where the flux is volumetric, the flow rate is volumetric;
where flux is mass flux, the flow rate is mass flow rate.

patchAverage Calculates the average value of one or more fields on a patch.

patchDifference Calculates the difference between the average values of fields on two specified
patches. Calculates the average value of one or more fields on a patch.

patchFlowRate Calculates the flow rate through a specified patch by summing the flux on
patch faces. For solvers where the flux is volumetric, the flow rate is volumetric; where
flux is mass flux, the flow rate is mass flow rate.

patchIntegrate Calculates the surface integral of one or more fields on a patch.

triSurfaceDifference Calculates the difference between the average values of fields on two
specified triangulated surfaces.

triSurfaceVolumetricFlowRate Calculates volumetric flow rate through a specified triangu-

lated surface by interpolating velocity onto the triangles and integrating over the sur-
face area. Triangles need to be small (<= cell size) for an accurate result.

OpenFOAM-10
U-202 Post-processing

6.2.1.14 ‘Pluggable’ solvers

particles Tracks a cloud of parcels driven by the flow of the continuous phase.

phaseScalarTransport Solves a transport equation for a scalar field within one phase of a
multiphase simulation.

scalarTransport Solves a transport equation for a scalar field.

6.2.1.15 Visualisation tools

cutPlaneSurface Writes out cut-plane surface files with interpolated field data in VTK for-
mat.

isoSurface Writes out iso-surface files with interpolated field data in VTK format.

patchSurface Writes out patch surface files with interpolated field data in VTK format.

streamlinesLine Writes out files of stream lines with interpolated field data in VTK format,
with initial points uniformly distributed along a line.

streamlinesPatch Writes out files of stream lines with interpolated field data in VTK format,
with initial points randomly selected within a patch.

streamlinesPoints Writes out files of stream lines with interpolated field data in VTK format,
with specified initial points.

streamlinesSphere Writes out files of stream lines with interpolated field data in VTK format,
with initial points randomly selected within a sphere.

6.2.2 Run-time data processing

When a user wishes to process data during a simulation, they need to configure the case
accordingly. The configuration process is as follows, using an example of monitoring flow
rate at an outlet patch named outlet.
Firstly, the user should include the flowRatePatch function in functions sub-dictionary
in the case controlDict file, using the #includeFunc directive.

functions
{
#includeFunc flowRatePatch
... other function objects here ...
}

That will include the functionality in the flowRatePatch configuration file, located in the
directory hierarchy beginning with $FOAM_ETC/caseDicts/postProcessing.
The configuration of flowRatePatch requires the name of the patch to be supplied. Op-
tion 1 for doing this is that the user copies the flowRatePatch file into their case system
directory. The foamGet script copies the file conveniently, e.g.

OpenFOAM-10
6.2 Post-processing command line interface (CLI) U-203

foamGet flowRatePatch

The patch name can be edited in the copied file to be outlet. When the solver is run,
it will pick up an included function in the local case system directory, in precedence over
$FOAM_ETC/caseDicts/postProcessing. The flow rate through the patch will be calculated
and written out into a file within a directory named postProcessing.
Option 2 for specifying the patch name is to provide the name as an argument to the
flowRatePatch in the #includeFunc directive, using the syntax keyword=entry.

functions
{
#includeFunc flowRatePatch(patch=outlet)
... other function objects here ...
}

In the case where the keyword is field or fields, only the entry is needed when speci-
fying an argument to a function. For example, if the user wanted to calculate and write out
the magnitude of velocity into time directories during a simulation they could simply add
the following to the functions sub-dictionary in controlDict.

functions
{
#includeFunc mag(U)
... other function objects here ...
}

This works because the function’s argument U is represented by the keyword field, see
$FOAM_ETC/caseDicts/postProcessing/fields/mag.
Some functions require the setting of many parameters, e.g. to calculate forces and gen-
erate elements for visualisation, etc. For those functions, it is more reliable and convenient
to copy and configure the function using option 1 (above) rather than through arguments.

6.2.3 The postProcess utility

The user can execute post-processing functions after the simulation is complete using the
postProcess utility. Let us illustrate the use of postProcess using the pitzDaily case from the
tutorials directory. The case can be copied, e.g. into the user’s run directory; the user can
then go into the case directory, generate the mesh with blockMesh and then run simpleFoam

run
cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/simpleFoam/pitzDaily .
cd pitzDaily
blockMesh
simpleFoam

OpenFOAM-10
U-204 Post-processing

Now the user can run execute post-processing functions with postProcess. The -help option
provides a summary of its use.

postProcess -help

Simple functions like mag can be executed using the -func option; text on the command
line generally needs to be quoted (". . . ") if it contains punctuation characters.

postProcess -func "mag(U)"

This operation calculates and writes the field of magnitude of velocity into a file named
mag(U) in each time directory. Similarly, the flowRatePatch example can be executed using
postProcess.

postProcess -func "flowRatePatch(name=outlet)"

Let us say the user now wants to calculate total pressure = p + |U |2 /2 for incompressible
flow with kinematic pressure, p. The function is available, named totalPressureIncompressible,
which the user could attempt first to run as follows.

postProcess -func totalPressureIncompressible

This returns the following error message.

--> FOAM Warning : functionObject pressure: Cannot find required field p

The error message is telling the user that the pressure field p is not loaded; the same is
true of the velocity field U. For the function to work, both fields can be loaded as comma
separated arguments.

postProcess -func "totalPressureIncompressible(p,U)"

Alternatively the user can load a space separated list of fields using the -fields option,
which the function can access.

postProcess -fields "(p U)" -func totalPressureIncompressible

Both options work effectively because the pressure and velocity data is available directly
from the files, p and U.

OpenFOAM-10
6.3 Sampling and monitoring data U-205

6.2.4 Solver post-processing

A more complex example is calculating wall shear stress using the wallShearStress function.

postProcess -fields "(p U)" -func wallShearStress

Even loading relevant fields, the post-processing fails with the following message.

--> FOAM FATAL ERROR:

Unable to find turbulence model in the database

The message is telling us that the postProcess utility has not constructed the necessary
models that the solver, simpleFoam, used when running the simulation, i.e. a turbulence
model. This is a situation where we need to post-process (as opposed to run-time process)
using the solver with the -postProcess option so that the modelling will be available that
the post-processing function needs. Help for this operation can be printed with the following
command.

simpleFoam -postProcess -help

It can be seen that the options for a solver with -postProcess are the same as when
running postProcess utility. This means that the -func option can be used to execute the
wallShearStress function effectively.

simpleFoam -postProcess -func wallShearStress

Note that no fields need to be supplied, either by function arguments "(p,U)" or using
"-fields (p U)", because simpleFoam itself constructs and stores the required fields. Func-
tions can also be selected by the #includeFunc directive in functions in the controlDict
file, instead of the -func option.

6.3 Sampling and monitoring data

There are a set of general post-processing functions for sampling data across the domain for
graphs and visualisation. Several functions also provide data in a single file, in the form of
time versus values, that can be plotted onto graphs. This time-value data can be monitored
during a simulation with the foamMonitor script.

6.3.1 Probing data

The functions for probing data are boundaryProbes, internalProbes and probes as listed in
section 6.2.1.12. All functions work on the basis that the user provides some point locations
and a list of fields, and the function writes out values of the fields are those locations. The
differences between the functions are as follows.
• probes identifies the nearest cells to the probe locations and writes out the cell values;
data is written into a single file in time-value format, suitable for plotting a graph.

OpenFOAM-10
U-206 Post-processing

• boundaryProbes and internalProbes interpolate field data to the probe locations, with
the locations being snapped onto boundaries for boundaryProbes; data sets are written
to separate files at scheduled write times (like fields). data.

Generally probes is more suitable for monitoring values at smaller numbers of locations,
whereas the other functions are typically for sampling at large numbers of locations.
As an example, the user could use the pitzDaily case set up in section 6.2.3. The probes
function is best configured by copying the file to the local system directory using foamGet.

foamGet probes

The user can modify the probeLocations in the probes file as follows.
12
13 #includeEtc "caseDicts/postProcessing/probes/probes.cfg"
14
15 fields (p U);
16 probeLocations
17 (
18 (0.01 0 0)
19 );
20
21 // ************************************************************************* //

The configuration is completed by adding the #includeFunc directive to functions in the

controlDict file.

functions
{
#includeFunc probes
... other function objects here ...
}

When simpleFoam is run, time-value data is written into p and U files in postProcessing/pro-
bes/0.

6.3.2 Sampling for graphs

The graphUniform function samples data for graph plotting. To use it, the graphUniform file
can be copied into the system directory to be configured. We will configure it here using the
pitzDaily case as before. The file is simply copied using foamGet.

foamGet graphUniform

The start and end points of the line, along which data is sampled, should be edited; the
entries below provide a vertical line across the full height of the geometry 0.01 m beyond
the back step.
13
14 start (0.01 0.025 0);
15 end (0.01 -0.025 0);
16 nPoints 100;
17
18 fields (U p);

OpenFOAM-10
6.3 Sampling and monitoring data U-207

19
20 axis distance; // The independent variable of the graph. Can be "x",
21 // "y", "z", "xyz" (all coordinates written out), or
22 // "distance" (from the start point).
23
24 #includeEtc "caseDicts/postProcessing/graphs/graphUniform.cfg"
25
26 // ************************************************************************* //

The configuration is completed by adding the #includeFunc directive to functions in the

controlDict file.

functions
{
#includeFunc graphUniform
... other function objects here ...
}

simpleFoam can be then run; try running simply with the -postProcess option. Distance-
value data is written into files in time directories within postProcessing/graphUniform. The
user can quickly display the data for x-component of velocity, Ux in the last time 296, by
running gnuplot and plotting values.

gnuplot
gnuplot> set style data linespoints
gnuplot> plot "postProcessing/graphUniform/296/line_U.xy" u 2:1

This produces the graph shown in Figure 6.5. The formatting of the graph is specified in

Figure 6.5: Graph of Ux at x = 0.01, uniform sampling

configuration files in $FOAM_ETC/caseDicts/postProcessing/graphs. The graphUniform.cfg

file in that directory includes the configuration as follows.
8
9 #includeEtc "caseDicts/postProcessing/graphs/graph.cfg"
10
11 sets

OpenFOAM-10
U-208 Post-processing

12 (
13 line
14 {
15 type lineUniform;
16 axis $axis;
17 start $start;
18 end $end;
19 nPoints $nPoints;
20 }
21 );
22
23 // ************************************************************************* //

It shows that the sampling type is lineUniform, meaning the sampling uses a uniform
distribution of points along a line. The other parameters are included by macro expansion
from the main file and specify the line start and end, the number of points and the distance
parameter specified on the horizontal axis of the graph.
An alternative graph function object, graphCell, samples the data at locations nearest to
the cell centres. The user can copy that function object file and configure it as shown below.
13
14 start (0.01 -0.025 0);
15 end (0.01 0.025 0);
16 fields (U p);
17
18 axis distance; // The independent variable of the graph. Can be "x",
19 // "y", "z", "xyz" (all coordinates written out), or
20 // "distance" (from the start point).
21
22 #includeEtc "caseDicts/postProcessing/graphs/graphCell.cfg"
23
24 // ************************************************************************* //

Running simpleFoam produces the graph in Figure 6.6.

Figure 6.6: Graph of Ux at x = 0.01, mid-point sampling

6.3.3 Sampling for visualisation

There are several surfaces and streamlines functions, listed in Section 6.2.1.15, that can be
used to generate files for visualisation. The use of streamlinesLine is already configured in
the pitzDaily case.

OpenFOAM-10
6.3 Sampling and monitoring data U-209

To generate a cutting plane, the cutPlaneSurface function can be configured by copying

the cutPlaneSurface file to the system directory using foamGet.

foamGet cutPlaneSurface

The file is configured by setting the origin and normal of the plane and the field data to
be sampled. We can edit the file to produce a cutting plane along the pitzDaily geometry,
normal to the z-direction.
16
17 fields (p U);
18
19 interpolate true; // If false, write cell data to the surface triangles.
20 // If true, write interpolated data at the surface points.
21
22 #includeEtc "caseDicts/postProcessing/surface/cutPlaneSurface.cfg"
23
24 // ************************************************************************* //

The function can be included as normal by adding the #includeFunc directive to functions
in the controlDict file. Alternatively, the user could test running the function using the solver
post-processing by the following command.

simpleFoam -postProcess -func cutPlaneSurface

This produces VTK format files of the cutting plane with pressure and velocity data in time
directories in the postProcessing/cutPlaneSurface directory. The user can display the cutting
plane by opening ParaView (type paraview), then doing File->Open and selecting one of
the files, e.g. postProcessing/cutPlaneSurface/296/U_zNormal.vtk as shown in Figure 6.7.

Figure 6.7: Cutting plane with velocity

6.3.4 Live monitoring of data

Functions like probes produce a single file of time-value data, suitable for graph plotting.
When the function is executed during a simulation, the user may wish to monitor the data
live on screen. The foamMonitor script enables this; to discover its functionality, the user
run it with the -help option. The help option includes an example of monitoring residuals
that we can demonstrate in this section.
Firstly, include the residuals function in the controlDict file.

OpenFOAM-10
U-210 Post-processing

functions
{
#includeFunc residuals
... other function objects here ...
}

The default fields whose residuals are captured are p and U. Should the user wish to configure
other fields, they should make copy the residuals file in their system and edit the fields entry
accordingly. All functions files are within the $FOAM_ETC/caseDicts directory. The residuals
file can be located using foamInfo:

foamInfo residuals

It can then be copied into the system directory conveniently using foamGet:

foamGet residuals

The user can then run simpleFoam in the background.

simpleFoam > log &

The user should then run foamMonitor using the -l option for a log scale y-axis on the
residuals file as follows. If the command is executed before the simulation is complete, they
can see the graph being updated live.

foamMonitor -l postProcessing/residuals/0/residuals.dat

It produces the graph of residuals for pressure and velocity in Figure 6.8.

6.4 Third-Party post-processing

OpenFOAM includes the following applications for converting data to formats for post-
processing with several third-party tools. For EnSight, it additionally includes a reader
module, described in the next section.
foamDataToFluent Translates OpenFOAM data to Fluent format.
foamToEnsight Translates OpenFOAM data to EnSight format.
foamToEnsightParts Translates OpenFOAM data to Ensight format. An Ensight part is
created for each cellZone and patch.
foamToGMV Translates foam output to GMV readable files.
foamToTetDualMesh Converts polyMesh results to tetDualMesh.
foamToVTK Legacy VTK file format writer.
smapToFoam Translates a STAR-CD SMAP data file into OpenFOAM field format.

OpenFOAM-10
6.4 Third-Party post-processing U-211

Figure 6.8: Live plot of residuals with foamMonitor

6.4.1 Post-processing with Ensight

OpenFOAM offers the capability for post-processing OpenFOAM cases with EnSight, with
a choice of 2 options:
• converting the OpenFOAM data to EnSight format with the foamToEnsight utility;
• reading the OpenFOAM data directly into EnSight using the ensight74FoamExec mod-
ule.

6.4.1.1 Converting data to Ensight format

The foamToEnsight utility converts data from OpenFOAM to EnSight file format. For a
given case, foamToEnsight is executed like any normal application. foamToEnsight creates a
directory named Ensight in the case directory, deleting any existing Ensight directory in the
process. The converter reads the data in all time directories and writes into a case file and
a set of data files. The case file is named EnSight_Case and contains details of the data file
names. Each data file has a name of the form EnSight_nn.ext, where nn is an incremental
counter starting from 1 for the first time directory, 2 for the second and so on and ext is a
file extension of the name of the field that the data refers to, as described in the case file,
e.g.T for temperature, mesh for the mesh. Once converted, the data can be read into EnSight
by the normal means:
1. from the EnSight GUI, the user should select Data (Reader) from the File menu;
2. the appropriate EnSight_Case file should be highlighted in the Files box;
3. the Format selector should be set to Case, the EnSight default setting;
4. the user should click (Set) Case and Okay.

OpenFOAM-10
U-212 Post-processing

6.4.1.2 The ensightFoamReader reader module

EnSight provides the capability of using a user-defined module to read data from a format
other than the standard EnSight format. OpenFOAM includes its own reader module en-
sightFoamReader that is compiled into a library named libuserd-foam. It is this library that
EnSight needs to use which means that it must be able to locate it on the filing system as
described in the following section.
In order to run the EnSight reader, it is necessary to set some environment variables cor-
rectly. The settings are made in the bashrc (or cshrc) file in the $WM_PROJECT_DIR/etc/-
apps/ensightFoam directory. The environment variables associated with EnSight are pre-
fixed by $CEI_ or $ENSIGHT7_ and listed in Table 6.1. With a standard user setup, only
$CEI_HOME may need to be set manually, to the path of the EnSight installation.
Environment variable
Description and options
$CEI_HOME Path where EnSight is installed, eg /usr/local/ensight, added
to the system path by default
$CEI_ARCH Machine architecture, from a choice of names cor-
responding to the machine directory names in
$CEI_HOME/ensight74/machines; default settings include
linux_2.4 and sgi_6.5_n32
$ENSIGHT7_READER Path that EnSight searches for the user defined libuserd-foam
reader library, set by default to $FOAM_LIBBIN
$ENSIGHT7_INPUT Set by default to dummy

Table 6.1: Environment variable settings for EnSight.

The principal difficulty in using the EnSight reader lies in the fact that EnSight expects
that a case to be defined by the contents of a particular file, rather than a directory as it is
in OpenFOAM. Therefore in following the instructions for the using the reader below, the
user should pay particular attention to the details of case selection, since EnSight does not
permit selection of a directory name.
1. from the EnSight GUI, the user should select Data (Reader) from the File menu;
2. The user should now be able to select the OpenFOAM from the Format menu; if not,
there is a problem with the configuration described above.
3. The user should find their case directory from the File Selection window, highlight one
of top 2 entries in the Directories box ending in /. or /.. and click (Set) Geometry.
4. The path field should now contain an entry for the case. The (Set) Geometry text box
should contain a ‘/’.
5. The user may now click Okay and EnSight will begin reading the data.
6. When the data is read, a new Data Part Loader window will appear, asking which
part(s) are to be read. The user should select Load all.
7. When the mesh is displayed in the EnSight window the user should close the Data Part
Loader window, since some features of EnSight will not work with this window open.

OpenFOAM-10
Chapter 7

Models and physical properties

OpenFOAM includes a large range of solvers, each designed for a specific class of flow, as
described in section 3.5. Each solver uses a particular set of models which calculate physical
properties and simulate phenomena like transport, turbulence, thermal radiation, etc.
From OpenFOAM v10 onwards, a distinction is made between material properties and
models for phenomena such as those mentioned above. Properties are specified in physical-
Properties file in the constant directory. In the case of fluids, properties in physicalProperties
relate to a fluid at rest. They are the properties you might look up from a table in a book,
so can be dependent on temperature T , based on some function.
Properties described in physicalProperties do not include any dependency on the flow
itself. For example, turbulence, visco-elasticity and the variation of viscosity ν with strain-
rate, are all specified in a momentumTransport file in the constant directory. This chapter
includes a description of models for viscosity which are dependent on strain-rate in sec-
tion 7.3 and turbulence models in section 7.2. Thermophysical models, which are specified
in the physicalProperties file (since they represent temperature dependency of properties) are
described in section 7.1.

7.1 Thermophysical models

Thermophysical models are concerned with: thermodynamics, e.g. relating internal energy
e to temperature T ; transport, e.g. the dependence of properties such as ν on temperature;
and state, e.g. dependence of density ρ on T and pressure p. Thermophysical models are
specified in the physicalProperties dictionary.
A thermophysical model required an entry named thermoType which specifies the package
of thermophysical modelling that is used in the simulation. OpenFOAM includes a large set
of pre-compiled combinations of modelling, built within the code using C++ templates. It
can also compile on-demand a combination which is not pre-compiled during a simulation.
Thermophysical modelling packages begin with the equation of state and then adding
more layers of thermophysical modelling that derive properties from the previous layer(s).
The keyword entries in thermoType reflects the multiple layers of modelling and the under-
lying framework in which they combined. Below is an example entry for thermoType:

thermoType
{
U-214 Models and physical properties

type hePsiThermo;
mixture pureMixture;
transport const;
thermo hConst;
equationOfState perfectGas;
specie specie;
energy sensibleEnthalpy;
}

The keyword entries specify the choice of thermophysical models, e.g. transport constant
(constant viscosity, thermal diffusion), equationOfState perfectGas , etc. In addition there
is a keyword entry named energy that allows the user to specify the form of energy to be
used in the solution and thermodynamics. The following sections explains the entries and
options in the thermoType package.

7.1.1 Thermophysical and mixture models

Each solver that uses thermophysical modelling constructs an object of a specific thermo-
physical model class. The model classes are listed below.
fluidThermo Thermophysical model for a general fluid with fixed composition. The solvers
using fluidThermo are rhoSimpleFoam, rhoPorousSimpleFoam rhoPimpleFoam, buoyant-
Foam, rhoParticleFoam and thermoFoam.

psiThermo Thermophysical model for gases only, with fixed composition, used by rhoCen-
tralFoam.

fluidReactionThermo Thermophysical model for fluid of varying composition, including re-

actingFoam, chtMultiRegionFoam and chemFoam.

psiuReactionThermo Thermophysical model for combustion solvers that model combustion

based on laminar flame speed and regress variable, e.g.XiFoam, PDRFoam.

multiphaseMixtureThermo Thermophysical models for multiple phases used by compressible-

MultiphaseInterFoam.

solidThermo Thermophysical models for solids used by chtMultiRegionFoam.

The type keyword (in the thermoType sub-dictionary) specifies the underlying thermophys-
ical model used by the solver. The user can select from the following.
• hePsiThermo: available for solvers that construct fluidThermo, fluidReactionThermo
and psiThermo.

• heRhoThermo: available for solvers that construct fluidThermo, fluidReactionThermo

and multiphaseMixtureThermo.

• heheuPsiThermo: for solvers that construct psiuReactionThermo.

• heSolidThermo: for solvers that construct solidThermo.

OpenFOAM-10
7.1 Thermophysical models U-215

The mixture specifies the mixture composition. The option typically used for thermo-
physical models without reactions is pureMixture, which represents a mixture with fixed
composition. When pureMixture is specified, the thermophysical models coefficients are
specified within a sub-dictionary called mixture.
For mixtures with variable composition, required by thermophysical models with reac-
tions, the multicomponentMixture option is used. Species and reactions are listed in a
chemistry file, specified by the foamChemistryFile keyword. The multicomponentMixture
model then requires the thermophysical models coefficients to be specified for each specie
within sub-dictionaries named after each specie, e.g. O2, N2.
For combustion based on laminar flame speed and regress variables, constituents are a
set of mixtures, such as fuel, oxidant and burntProducts. The available mixture mod-
els for this combustion modelling are homogeneousMixture, inhomogeneousMixture and
veryInhomogeneousMixture.
Other models for variable composition are egrMixture, singleComponentMixture.

7.1.2 Transport model

The transport modelling concerns evaluating dynamic viscosity µ, thermal conductivity κ
and thermal diffusivity α (for internal energy and enthalpy equations). The current transport
models are as follows:

const assumes a constant µ and Prandtl number P r = cp µ/κ which is simply specified by a
two keywords, mu and Pr, respectively.

sutherland calculates µ as a function of temperature T from a Sutherland coefficient As and

Sutherland temperature Ts , specified by keywords As and Ts; µ is calculated according
to:
√
As T
µ= . (7.1)
1 + Ts /T

polynomial calculates µ and κ as a function of temperature T from a polynomial of any order

N , e.g.:

∑
N −1
µ= ai T i . (7.2)
i=0

logPolynomial calculates ln(µ) and ln(κ) as a function of ln(T ) from a polynomial of any
order N ; from which µ, κ are calculated by taking the exponential, e.g.:

∑
N −1
ln(µ) = ai [ln(T )]i . (7.3)
i=0

Andrade calculates ln(µ) and ln(κ) as a polynomial function of T , e.g. for µ:

a3
ln(µ) = a0 + a1 T + a2 T 2 + . (7.4)
a4 + T

OpenFOAM-10
U-216 Models and physical properties

tabulated uses uniform tabulated data for viscosity and thermal conductivity as a function
of pressure and temperature.

icoTabulated uses non-uniform tabulated data for viscosity and thermal conductivity as a
function of temperature.

WLF (Williams-Landel-Ferry) calculates µ as a function of temperature from coefficients

C1 and C2 and reference temperature Tr specified by keywords C1, C2 and Tr; µ is
calculated according to:
( )
−C1 (T − Tr )
µ = µ0 exp (7.5)
C2 + T − Tr

7.1.3 Thermodynamic models

The thermodynamic models are concerned with evaluating the specific heat cp from which
other properties are derived. The current thermo models are as follows:

eConst assumes a constant cv and a heat of fusion Hf which is simply specified by a two
values cv Hf , given by keywords Cv and Hf.

eIcoTabulated calculates cv by interpolating non-uniform tabulated data of (T, cp ) value pairs,

e.g.:
( (200 1005) (400 1020) );

ePolynomial calculates cv as a function of temperature by a polynomial of any order N :

∑
N −1
cv = ai T i . (7.6)
i=0

ePower calculates cv as a power of temperature according to:

( )n0
T
cv = c0 . (7.7)
Tref

eTabulated calculates cv by interpolating uniform tabulated data of (T, cp ) value pairs, e.g.:
( (200 1005) (400 1020) );

hConst assumes a constant cp and a heat of fusion Hf which is simply specified by a two
values cp Hf , given by keywords Cp and Hf.

hIcoTabulated calculates cp by interpolating non-uniform tabulated data of (T, cp ) value

pairs, e.g.:
( (200 1005) (400 1020) );

hPolynomial calculates cp as a function of temperature by a polynomial of any order N :

∑
N −1
cp = ai T i . (7.8)
i=0

OpenFOAM-10
7.1 Thermophysical models U-217

hPower calculates cp as a power of temperature according to:

( )n0
T
cp = c0 . (7.9)
Tref

hTabulated calculates cp by interpolating uniform tabulated data of (T, cp ) value pairs, e.g.:
( (200 1005) (400 1020) );

janaf calculates cp as a function of temperature T from a set of coefficients taken from JANAF
tables of thermodynamics. The ordered list of coefficients is given in Table 7.1. The
function is valid between a lower and upper limit in temperature Tl and Th respectively.
Two sets of coefficients are specified, the first set for temperatures above a common
temperature Tc (and below Th ), the second for temperatures below Tc (and above Tl ).
The function relating cp to temperature is:

cp = R((((a4 T + a3 )T + a2 )T + a1 )T + a0 ). (7.10)

In addition, there are constants of integration, a5 and a6 , both at high and low tem-
perature, used to evaluating h and s respectively.

Description Entry Keyword

Lower temperature limit Tl (K) Tlow
Upper temperature limit Th (K) Thigh
Common temperature Tc (K) Tcommon
High temperature coefficients a0 . . . a 4 highCpCoeffs (a0 a1 a2 a3 a4...
High temperature enthalpy offset a5 a5...
High temperature entropy offset a6 a6)
Low temperature coefficients a0 . . . a 4 lowCpCoeffs (a0 a1 a2 a3 a4...
Low temperature enthalpy offset a5 a5...
Low temperature entropy offset a6 a6)

Table 7.1: JANAF thermodynamics coefficients.

7.1.4 Composition of each constituent

There is currently only one option for the specie model which specifies the composition of
each constituent. That model is itself named specie, which is specified by the following
entries.

• nMoles: number of moles of component. This entry is only used for combustion
modelling based on regress variable with a homogeneous mixture of reactants; otherwise
it is set to 1.

• molWeight in grams per mole of specie.

OpenFOAM-10
U-218 Models and physical properties

7.1.5 Equation of state

The following equations of state are available in the thermophysical modelling library.
adiabaticPerfectFluid Adiabatic perfect fluid:
( )1/γ
p+B
ρ = ρ0 , (7.11)
p0 + B
where ρ0 , p0 are reference density and pressure respectively, and B is a model constant.
Boussinesq Boussinesq approximation
ρ = ρ0 [1 − β (T − T0 )] (7.12)
where β is the coeffient of volumetric expansion and ρ0 is the reference density at
reference temperature T0 .
icoPolynomial Incompressible, polynomial equation of state:
∑
N −1
ρ= ai T i , (7.13)
i=0

where ai are polynomial coefficients of any order N .

icoTabulated Tabulated data for an incompressible fluid using (T, ρ) value pairs, e.g.
rho ( (200 1010) (400 980) );
incompressiblePerfectGas Perfect gas for an incompressible fluid:
1
ρ= pref , (7.14)
RT
where pref is a reference pressure.
linear Linear equation of state:
ρ = ψp + ρ0 , (7.15)
where ψ is compressibility (not necessarily (RT )−1 ).
PengRobinsonGas Peng Robinson equation of state:
1
ρ= p, (7.16)
zRT
where the complex function z = z(p, T ) can be referenced in the source code in Peng-
RobinsonGasI.H, in the $FOAM_SRC/thermophysicalModels/specie/equationOfState/ di-
rectory.
perfectFluid Perfect fluid:
1
ρ= p + ρ0 , (7.17)
RT
where ρ0 is the density at T = 0.

OpenFOAM-10
7.1 Thermophysical models U-219

perfectGas Perfect gas:

1
ρ= p. (7.18)
RT

rhoConst Constant density:

ρ = constant. (7.19)

rhoTabulated Uniform tabulated data for a compressible fluid, calculating ρ as a function of

T and p.

rPolynomial Reciprocal polynomial equation of state for liquids and solids:

1
= C0 + C1 T + C2 T 2 − C3 p − C4 pT (7.20)
ρ
where Ci are coefficients.

7.1.6 Selection of energy variable

The user must specify the form of energy to be used in the solution, either internal energy
e and enthalpy h, and in forms that include the heat of formation ∆hf or not. This choice
is specified through the energy keyword.
We refer to absolute energy where heat of formation is included, and sensible energy
where it is not. For example absolute enthalpy h is related to sensible enthalpy hs by
∑
h = hs + ci ∆hif (7.21)
i

where ci and hif are the molar fraction and heat of formation, respectively, of specie i. In most
cases, we use the sensible form of energy, for which it is easier to account for energy change
due to reactions. Keyword entries for energy therefore include e.g. sensibleEnthalpy,
sensibleInternalEnergy and absoluteEnthalpy.

7.1.7 Thermophysical property data

The basic thermophysical properties are specified for each species from input data. Data
entries must contain the name of the specie as the keyword, e.g. O2, H2O, mixture, followed
by sub-dictionaries of coefficients, including:

specie containing i.e. number of moles, nMoles, of the specie, and molecular weight,
molWeight in units of g/mol;

thermodynamics containing coefficients for the chosen thermodynamic model (see below);

transport containing coefficients for the chosen tranpsort model (see below).

The following is an example entry for a specie named fuel modelled using sutherland
transport and janaf thermodynamics:

OpenFOAM-10
U-220 Models and physical properties

fuel
{
specie
{
nMoles 1;
molWeight 16.0428;
}
thermodynamics
{
Tlow 200;
Thigh 6000;
Tcommon 1000;
highCpCoeffs (1.63543 0.0100844 -3.36924e-06 5.34973e-10
-3.15528e-14 -10005.6 9.9937);
lowCpCoeffs (5.14988 -0.013671 4.91801e-05 -4.84744e-08
1.66694e-11 -10246.6 -4.64132);
}
transport
{
As 1.67212e-06;
Ts 170.672;
}
}

The following is an example entry for a specie named air modelled using const transport
and hConst thermodynamics:

air
{
specie
{
nMoles 1;
molWeight 28.96;
}
thermodynamics
{
Cp 1004.5;
Hf 2.544e+06;
}
transport
{
mu 1.8e-05;
Pr 0.7;
}
}

OpenFOAM-10
7.2 Turbulence models U-221

7.2 Turbulence models

The momentumTransport dictionary is read by any solver that includes turbulence mod-
elling. Within that file is the simulationType keyword that controls the type of turbulence
modelling to be used, either:

laminar uses no turbulence models;

RAS uses Reynolds-averaged simulation (RAS) modelling;

LES uses large-eddy simulation (LES) modelling.

7.2.1 Reynolds-averaged simulation (RAS) modelling

If RAS is selected, the choice of RAS modelling is specified in a RAS sub-dictionary which
requires the following entries.

• model: name of RAS turbulence model.

• turbulence: switch to turn the solving of turbulence modelling on/off.

• printCoeffs: switch to print model coeffs to terminal at simulation start up.

• <model>Coeffs: dictionary of coefficients for the respective model, to override the

default coefficients.

Turbulence models can be listed by running a solver with the -listMomentumTransport-

Models option, e.g.

simpleFoam -listMomentumTransportModels

With simpleFoam, the incompressible models are listed. The compressible models are listed
for a compressible solver, e.g. rhoSimpleFoam.
The RAS models used in the tutorials can be listed using foamSearch with the following
command. The lists of available models are given in the following sections.

foamSearch $FOAM_TUTORIALS momentumTransport RAS/model

Users can locate tutorials using a particular model, e.g. buoyantKEpsilon, using foamInfo.

foamInfo buoyantKEpsilon

OpenFOAM-10
U-222 Models and physical properties

7.2.1.1 Incompressible RAS turbulence models

For incompressible flows, the RAS model can be chosen from the list below.

LRR Launder, Reece and Rodi Reynolds-stress turbulence model for incompressible flows.

LamBremhorstKE Lam and Bremhorst low-Reynolds number k-epsilon turbulence model for
incompressible flows.

LaunderSharmaKE Launder and Sharma low-Reynolds k-epsilon turbulence model for incom-
pressible flows.

LienCubicKE Lien cubic non-linear low-Reynolds k-epsilon turbulence models for incompress-
ible flows.

LienLeschziner Lien and Leschziner low-Reynolds number k-epsilon turbulence model for
incompressible flows.

RNGkEpsilon Renormalization group k-epsilon turbulence model for incompressible flows.

SSG Speziale, Sarkar and Gatski Reynolds-stress turbulence model for incompressible flows.

ShihQuadraticKE Shih’s quadratic algebraic Reynolds stress k-epsilon turbulence model for
incompressible flows

SpalartAllmaras Spalart-Allmaras one-eqn mixing-length model for incompressible external

flows.

kEpsilon Standard k-epsilon turbulence model for incompressible flows.

kOmega Standard high Reynolds-number k-omega turbulence model for incompressible flows.

kOmega2006 Standard (2006) high Reynolds-number k-omega turbulence model for incom-
pressible flows.

kOmegaSST Implementation of the k-omega-SST turbulence model for incompressible flows.

kOmegaSSTLM Langtry-Menter 4-equation transitional SST model based on the k-omega-

SST RAS model.

kOmegaSSTSAS Scale-adaptive URAS model based on the k-omega-SST RAS model.

kkLOmega Low Reynolds-number k-kl-omega turbulence model for incompressible flows.

qZeta Gibson and Dafa’Alla’s q-zeta two-equation low-Re turbulence model for incompress-
ible flows

realizableKE Realizable k-epsilon turbulence model for incompressible flows.

v2f Lien and Kalitzin’s v2-f turbulence model for incompressible flows, with a limit imposed
on the turbulent viscosity given by Davidson et al.

OpenFOAM-10
7.2 Turbulence models U-223

7.2.1.2 Compressible RAS turbulence models

For compressible flows, the RAS model can be chosen from the list below.

LRR Launder, Reece and Rodi Reynolds-stress turbulence model for compressible flows.

LaunderSharmaKE Launder and Sharma low-Reynolds k-epsilon turbulence model for com-
pressible and combusting flows including rapid distortion theory (RDT) based com-
pression term.

RNGkEpsilon Renormalization group k-epsilon turbulence model for compressible flows.

SSG Speziale, Sarkar and Gatski Reynolds-stress turbulence model for compressible flows.

SpalartAllmaras Spalart-Allmaras one-eqn mixing-length model for compressible external

flows.

buoyantKEpsilon Additional buoyancy generation/dissipation term applied to the k and ep-

silon equations of the standard k-epsilon model.

kEpsilon Standard k-epsilon turbulence model for compressible flows including rapid distor-
tion theory (RDT) based compression term.

kOmega Standard high Reynolds-number k-omega turbulence model for compressible flows.

kOmega2006 Standard (2006) high Reynolds-number k-omega turbulence model for com-
pressible flows.

kOmegaSST Implementation of the k-omega-SST turbulence model for compressible flows.

kOmegaSSTLM Langtry-Menter 4-equation transitional SST model based on the k-omega-

SST RAS model.

kOmegaSSTSAS Scale-adaptive URAS model based on the k-omega-SST RAS model.

realizableKE Realizable k-epsilon turbulence model for compressible flows.

v2f Lien and Kalitzin’s v2-f turbulence model for compressible flows, with a limit imposed
on the turbulent viscosity given by Davidson et al.

7.2.2 Large eddy simulation (LES) modelling

If LES is selected, the choice of LES modelling is specified in a LES sub-dictionary which
requires the following entries.

• model: name of LES turbulence model.

• delta: name of delta δ model.

• <model>Coeffs: dictionary of coefficients for the respective model, to override the

default coefficients.

OpenFOAM-10
U-224 Models and physical properties

• <delta>Coeffs: dictionary of coefficients for the delta model.

The LES models used in the tutorials can be listed using foamSearch with the following
command. The lists of available models are given in the following sections.

foamSearch $FOAM_TUTORIALS momentumTransport LES/model

7.2.2.1 Incompressible LES turbulence models

For incompressible flows, the LES model can be chosen from the list below.
DeardorffDiffStress Differential SGS Stress Equation Model for incompressible flows
Smagorinsky The Smagorinsky SGS model.
SpalartAllmarasDDES SpalartAllmaras DDES turbulence model for incompressible flows
SpalartAllmarasDES SpalartAllmarasDES DES turbulence model for incompressible flows
SpalartAllmarasIDDES SpalartAllmaras IDDES turbulence model for incompressible flows
WALE The Wall-adapting local eddy-viscosity (WALE) SGS model.
dynamicKEqn Dynamic one equation eddy-viscosity model
dynamicLagrangian Dynamic SGS model with Lagrangian averaging
kEqn One equation eddy-viscosity model
kOmegaSSTDES Implementation of the k-omega-SST-DES turbulence model for incompress-
ible flows.

7.2.2.2 Compressible LES turbulence models

For compressible flows, the LES model can be chosen from the list below.
DeardorffDiffStress Differential SGS Stress Equation Model for compressible flows
Smagorinsky The Smagorinsky SGS model.
SpalartAllmarasDDES SpalartAllmaras DDES turbulence model for compressible flows
SpalartAllmarasDES SpalartAllmarasDES DES turbulence model for compressible flows
SpalartAllmarasIDDES SpalartAllmaras IDDES turbulence model for compressible flows
WALE The Wall-adapting local eddy-viscosity (WALE) SGS model.
dynamicKEqn Dynamic one equation eddy-viscosity model
dynamicLagrangian Dynamic SGS model with Lagrangian averaging
kEqn One equation eddy-viscosity model
kOmegaSSTDES Implementation of the k-omega-SST-DES turbulence model for compress-
ible flows.

OpenFOAM-10
7.2 Turbulence models U-225

7.2.3 Model coefficients

The coefficients for the RAS turbulence models are given default values in their respective
source code. If the user wishes to override these default values, then they can do so by
adding a sub-dictionary entry to the RAS sub-dictionary file, whose keyword name is that
of the model with Coeffs appended, e.g. kEpsilonCoeffs for the kEpsilon model. If the
printCoeffs switch is on in the RAS sub-dictionary, an example of the relevant ...Coeffs
dictionary is printed to standard output when the model is created at the beginning of a
run. The user can simply copy this into the RAS sub-dictionary file and edit the entries as
required.

7.2.4 Wall functions

A range of wall function models is available in OpenFOAM that are applied as boundary
conditions on individual patches. This enables different wall function models to be applied
to different wall regions. The choice of wall function model is specified through the turbulent
viscosity field νt in the 0/nut file. For example, a 0/nut file:
16
17 dimensions [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0];
18
19 internalField uniform 0;
20
21 boundaryField
22 {
23 movingWall
24 {
25 type nutkWallFunction;
26 value uniform 0;
27 }
28 fixedWalls
29 {
30 type nutkWallFunction;
31 value uniform 0;
32 }
33 frontAndBack
34 {
35 type empty;
36 }
37 }
38
39
40 // ************************************************************************* //

There are a number of wall function models available in the release, e.g. nutWallFunction,
nutRoughWallFunction, nutUSpaldingWallFunction, nutkWallFunction and nutkAtm-
WallFunction. The user can get the full list of wall function models using foamInfo:

foamInfo wallFunction

Within each wall function boundary condition the user can over-ride default settings for E,
κ and Cµ through optional E, kappa and Cmu keyword entries.
Having selected the particular wall functions on various patches in the nut/mut file,
the user should select epsilonWallFunction on corresponding patches in the epsilon field and
kqRwallFunction on corresponding patches in the turbulent fields k, q and R.

OpenFOAM-10
U-226 Models and physical properties

7.3 Transport/rheology models

In OpenFOAM, simulations that include flow without energy/heat require modelling of the
fluid stress. Many simulations assume a Newtonian fluid in which a viscosity ν is specified
in physicalProperties, e.g. by

viscosityModel constant;

nu 1.5e-05;

This viscosity is a single value which is constant in time and uniform over the solution
domain. Non-Newtonian models can be specified in the momentumTransport file, including:

• a family of generalisedNewtonian
√ models for a non-uniform viscosity which is a function
of strain rate γ̇ = 2| symm(∇U)|, described in sections 7.3.1, 7.3.2, 7.3.3, 7.3.4, 7.3.5
and 7.3.6;

• a set of visco-elastic models, including Maxwell, Giesekus and PTT (Phan-Thien &
Tanner), described in sections 7.3.7, 7.3.8 and 7.3.9, respectively;

• the lambdaThixotropic model, described in section 7.3.10.

7.3.1 Bird-Carreau model

The Bird-Carreau generalisedNewtonian model is
(n−1)/a
ν = ν∞ + (ν0 − ν∞ ) [1 + (k γ̇)a ] (7.22)

where the coefficient a has a default value of 2. An example specification of the model in
momentumTransport is:

viscosityModel BirdCarreau;

nuInf 1e-05;
k 1;
n 0.5;

The constant, uniform viscosity at zero strain-rate, ν0 , is specified in the physicalProperties

file.

7.3.2 Cross Power Law model

The Cross Power Law generalisedNewtonian model is:
ν0 − ν∞
ν = ν∞ + (7.23)
1 + (mγ̇)n

An example specification of the model in momentumTransport is:

OpenFOAM-10
7.3 Transport/rheology models U-227

viscosityModel CrossPowerLaw;

nuInf 1e-05;
m 1;
n 0.5;

The constant, uniform viscosity at zero strain-rate, ν0 , is specified in the physicalProperties

file.

7.3.3 Power Law model

The Power Law generalisedNewtonian model provides a function for viscosity, limited by
minimum and maximum values, νmin and νmax respectively. The function is:

ν = k γ̇ n−1 νmin ≤ ν ≤ νmax (7.24)

An example specification of the model in momentumTransport is:

viscosityModel powerLaw;

nuMax 1e-03;
nuMin 1e-05;
k 1e-05;
n 0.5;

7.3.4 Herschel-Bulkley model

The Herschel-Bulkley generalisedNewtonian model combines the effects of Bingham plastic
and power-law behavior in a fluid. For low strain rates, the material is modelled as a very
viscous fluid with viscosity ν0 . Beyond a threshold in strain-rate corresponding to threshold
stress τ0 , the viscosity is described by a power law. The model is:
( )
ν = min ν0 , τ0 /γ̇ + k γ̇ n−1 (7.25)

An example specification of the model in momentumTransport is:

viscosityModel HerschelBulkley;

tau0 0.01;
k 0.001;
n 0.5;

The constant, uniform viscosity at zero strain-rate, ν0 , is specified in the physicalProperties

file.

OpenFOAM-10
U-228 Models and physical properties

7.3.5 Casson model

The Casson generalisedNewtonian model is a basic model used in blood rheology that spec-
ifies minimum and maximum viscosities, νmin and νmax respectively. Beyond a threshold in
strain-rate corresponding to threshold stress τ0 , the viscosity is described by a “square-root”
relationship. The model is:
(√
√ )2
ν= τ0 /γ̇ + m νmin ≤ ν ≤ νmax (7.26)

An example specification of model parameters for blood is:

viscosityModel Casson;

m 3.934986e-6;
tau0 2.9032e-6;
nuMax 13.3333e-6;
nuMin 3.9047e-6;

7.3.6 General strain-rate function

A strainRateFunction generalisedNewtonian model exists that allows a user to specify vis-
cosity as a function of strain rate at run-time. It uses the same Function1 functionality to
specify the function of strain-rate, used by time varying properties in boundary conditions
described in section 5.2.3.4. An example specification of the model in momentumTransport
is shown below using the polynomial function:

viscosityModel strainRateFunction;

function polynomial ((0 0.1) (1 1.3));

7.3.7 Maxwell model

The Maxwell laminar visco-elastic model solves an equation for the fluid stress tensor τ:
∂τ νM 1
+ ∇ • (Uτ) = 2 symm [τ • ∇U] − 2 symm(∇U) − τ (7.27)
∂t λ λ
where νM (nuM) is the “Maxwell” viscosity and λ (lambda) is the relaxation time. An example
specification of model parameters is shown below:

simulationType laminar;

laminar
{
model Maxwell;

OpenFOAM-10
7.3 Transport/rheology models U-229

MaxwellCoeffs
{
nuM 0.002;
lambda 0.03;
}
}

If an additional constant, uniform viscosity at zero strain-rate, ν0 , is specified in the phys-

icalProperties file, the model becomes equivalent to an Oldroyd-B visco-elastic model. The
Maxwell model includes a multi-mode option where τ is a sum of stresses, each with an
associated relaxation time λ.

7.3.8 Giesekus model

The Giesekus laminar visco-elastic model is similar to the Maxwell model but includes an
additional “mobility” term in the equation for τ:
∂τ νM 1 αG
+ ∇ • (Uτ) = 2 symm [τ • ∇U] − 2 symm(∇U) − τ − [τi • τi ] (7.28)
∂t λ λ νM
where αG (alphaG) is the mobility parameter. An example specification of model parameters
is shown below:

simulationType laminar;

laminar
{
model Giesekus;

GiesekusCoeffs
{
nuM 0.002;
lambda 0.03;
alphaG 0.1;
}
}

The Giesekus model includes a multi-mode option where τ is a sum of stresses, each with an
associated relaxation time λ and mobility coefficient αG .

7.3.9 Phan-Thien-Tanner (PTT) model

The Phan-Thien-Tanner (PTT) laminar visco-elastic model is also similar to the Maxwell
model but includes an additional “extensibility” term in the equation for τ, suitable for
polymeric liquids:
( )
∂τ νM 1 ελ
+ ∇ • (Uτ) = 2 symm [τ • ∇U] − 2 symm(∇U) − exp − tr(τ) τ (7.29)
∂t λ λ νM

OpenFOAM-10
U-230 Models and physical properties

where ε (epsilon) is the extensibility parameter. An example specification of model param-

eters is shown below:

simulationType laminar;

laminar
{
model PTT;

PTTCoeffs
{
nuM 0.002;
lambda 0.03;
epsilon 0.25;
}
}

The PTT model includes a multi-mode option where τ is a sum of stresses, each with an
associated relaxation time λ and extensibility coefficient ε.

7.3.10 Lambda thixotropic model

The Lambda Thixotropic laminar model calculates the evolution of a structural parameter
λ (lambda) according to:

∂λ
+ ∇ • (Uλ) = a(1 − λ)b − cγ̇ d λ (7.30)
∂t
with model coefficients a, b, c and d. The viscosity ν is then calculated according to:
ν∞
ν= (7.31)
1 − Kλ2
√
where the parameter K = ν∞ /ν0 . The viscosities ν0 and ν∞ are limiting values corre-
sponding to λ = 1 and λ = 0.
An example specification of the model in momentumTransport is:

simulationType laminar;

laminar
{
model lambdaThixotropic;

lambdaThixotropicCoeffs
{
a 1;
b 2;

OpenFOAM-10
7.3 Transport/rheology models U-231

c 1e-3;
d 3;
nu0 0.1;
nuInf 1e-4;
}
}

OpenFOAM-10
U-232 Models and physical properties

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-233

Index
Symbols Numbers A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

/*...*/ ascii
C++ syntax, U-88 keyword entry, U-123
// attachMesh utility, U-103
C++ syntax, U-88 Auto Accept button, U-194
OpenFOAM file syntax, U-110 autoPatch utility, U-103
# include autoRefineMesh utility, U-105
C++ syntax, U-82, U-88 axes
bounded keyword, U-129 right-handed, U-159
<delta>Coeffs keyword, U-224 right-handed rectangular Cartesian, U-21
<model>Coeffs keyword, U-221, U-223 axi-symmetric cases, U-151, U-168
0.000000e+00 directory, U-110 axi-symmetric mesh, U-149
1-dimensional mesh, U-149
1D mesh, U-149 background
2-dimensional mesh, U-149 process, U-26, U-92
2D mesh, U-149 backward
keyword entry, U-126
0 directory, U-110 binary
add post-processing, U-198 keyword entry, U-123
addLayers keyword, U-170 block
addLayersControls keyword, U-171 expansion ratio, U-162
adiabaticFlameT utility, U-108 block keyword, U-160
adiabaticPerfectFluid model, U-218 blockMesh utility, U-102
adjointShapeOptimisationFoam solver, U-98 blocking
adjustableRunTime keyword entry, U-90
keyword entry, U-61, U-123 blockMesh utility, U-39, U-158
adjustTimeStep keyword, U-61, U-124 blockMesh executable
age post-processing, U-197 vertex numbering, U-162
agglomerator keyword, U-135 blockMeshDict
Animations window panel, U-194 dictionary, U-21, U-22, U-38, U-49, U-158,
ansysToFoam utility, U-102 U-169
applications, U-79 blocks keyword, U-22, U-34, U-162
Apply button, U-190, U-194 boundaries, U-149
applyBoundaryLayer utility, U-101 boundary, U-149
arc boundary
keyword entry, U-161 dictionary, U-147, U-158
arc keyword, U-160 boundary keyword, U-160, U-164
As keyword, U-215 boundary condition

OpenFOAM-10
U-234 Index

calculated, U-152 Rescale, U-30

constantAlphaContactAngle, U-58 Reset, U-191
cyclic, U-151, U-165 Set Ambient Color, U-193
cyclicAMI, U-151 Update GUI, U-192
directionMixed, U-153
empty, U-21, U-149, U-151 C++ syntax
fixedGradient, U-152 /*...*/, U-88
fixedValue, U-152, U-156 //, U-88
inletOutlet, U-153 # include, U-82, U-88
mixed, U-153 C1 keyword, U-216
noSlip, U-23 C2 keyword, U-216
patch, U-151 Cache Mesh button, U-28
pressureInletOutletVelocity, U-154 cacheAgglomeration keyword, U-135
processor, U-151 calculated
setup, U-22 boundary condition, U-152
symmetry, U-151 Camera Parallel Projection button, U-28, U-194
symmetryPlane, U-150, U-151 case
totalPressure, U-154 management, U-138
uniformFixedValue, U-156 cases, U-109
wall, U-43 castellatedMesh keyword, U-170
wall, U-58, U-150, U-151 castellatedMeshControls
wedge, U-149, U-151, U-168 dictionary, U-172–U-174
zeroGradient, U-152 castellatedMeshControls keyword, U-170
boundaryFoam solver, U-98 cavitatingFoam solver, U-98
boundaryProbes post-processing, U-201 cavity flow, U-20
boundaryField keyword, U-23, U-115 ccm26ToFoam utility, U-102
bounded keyword, U-129 CEI_ARCH
Boussinesq model, U-218 environment variable, U-212
boxTurb utility, U-101 CEI_HOME
boxToCell keyword, U-60 environment variable, U-212
breaking of a dam, U-56 cell
BSpline expansion ratio, U-162
keyword entry, U-161 cellMax post-processing, U-199
buoyantFoam solver, U-100 cellMaxMag post-processing, U-199
buoyantReactingFoam solver, U-99 cellMin post-processing, U-199
buoyantKEpsilon model, U-223 cellMinMag post-processing, U-199
burntProducts keyword, U-215 cellLimited
button keyword entry, U-127
Apply, U-190, U-194 cells
Auto Accept, U-194 dictionary, U-158
Cache Mesh, U-28 cellsAcrossSpan keyword, U-176
Camera Parallel Projection, U-28, U-194 cfx4ToFoam utility, U-102
Choose Preset, U-193 cfx4ToFoam utility, U-180
Delete, U-191 changeDictionary utility, U-101
Edit Color Legend Properties, U-30 Charts window panel, U-194
Edit Color Map, U-193 checkMesh utility, U-103
Enable Line Series, U-37 checkMesh utility, U-181
Lights, U-194 chemFoam solver, U-99
Refresh Times, U-28, U-191 chemkinToFoam utility, U-108

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-235

Choose Preset button, U-193 cpuTime

chtMultiRegionFoam solver, U-100 keyword entry, U-123
class CrankNicolson
polyMesh, U-145, U-147 keyword entry, U-126
vector, U-113 createBaffles utility, U-103
class keyword, U-111 createExternalCoupledPatchGeometry utility, U-
clockTime 101
keyword entry, U-123 createPatch utility, U-103
coded keyword, U-156 createNonConformalCouples utility, U-103
collapseEdges utility, U-105 Current Time Controls menu, U-28, U-191
Color By menu, U-193 cutPlaneSurface post-processing, U-202
Color Legend window, U-33 Cv keyword, U-216
Color Legend window panel, U-193 cyclic
Color Scale window panel, U-193 boundary condition, U-151, U-165
Colors window panel, U-194 cyclicAMI
combinePatchFaces utility, U-105 boundary condition, U-151
comments, U-88
Common menu, U-30 dam
commsType keyword, U-90 breaking of a, U-56
components post-processing, U-197 datToFoam utility, U-102
compressibleInterFoam solver, U-99 ddt post-processing, U-197
compressibleMultiphaseInterFoam solver, U-99 DeardorffDiffStress model, U-224
constant directory, U-109 DebugSwitches keyword, U-121
constant decomposePar utility, U-108
keyword entry, U-60
decomposePar utility, U-92, U-93
constant keyword, U-156
decomposeParDict
constantAlphaContactAngle
dictionary, U-92
boundary condition, U-58
decomposition
Contour
of field, U-92
menu entry, U-30
of mesh, U-92
control
defaultFieldValues keyword, U-60
of global parameters, U-120
deformedGeom utility, U-103
of time, U-122
controlDict Delete button, U-191
dictionary, U-24, U-34, U-44, U-52, U-61, U- delta keyword, U-223
109, U-187 deltaT keyword, U-123
controlDict file, U-120 denseParticleFoam solver, U-100
controls dependencies, U-82
global, U-120 dependency lists, U-82
overriding global, U-121 diagonal
convergence, U-41 keyword entry, U-133, U-135
convertToMeters keyword, U-160 DIC
convertToMeters keyword, U-160 keyword entry, U-134, U-135
coordinate system, U-21 DICGaussSeidel
corrected keyword entry, U-135
keyword entry, U-130, U-131 dictionary
Courant number, U-24 PIMPLE, U-137
CourantNo post-processing, U-197 PISO, U-26, U-137
Cp keyword, U-216 SIMPLE, U-137

OpenFOAM-10
U-236 Index

blockMeshDict, U-21, U-22, U-38, U-49, U- divSchemes keyword, U-124

158, U-169 dnsFoam solver, U-99
boundary, U-147, U-158 Documentation keyword, U-121
castellatedMeshControls, U-172–U-174 driftFluxFoam solver, U-99
cells, U-158 dsmcFoam solver, U-100
controlDict, U-24, U-34, U-44, U-52, U-61, dsmcInitialise utility, U-101
U-109, U-187 dsmcFields post-processing, U-199
decomposeParDict, U-92 dynamicLagrangian model, U-224
faces, U-147, U-158 dynamicKEqn model, U-224
fvSchemes, U-62, U-109, U-124
fvSolution, U-109, U-132 edgeGrading keyword, U-162
fvSchemes, U-62 edges keyword, U-160
momentumTransport, U-43, U-61, U-221 Edit menu, U-194
neighbour, U-147 Edit Color Legend Properties button, U-30
owner, U-147 Edit Color Map button, U-193
physicalProperties, U-24, U-40, U-44, U-51, egrMixture keyword, U-215
U-213 electrostaticFoam solver, U-100
points, U-147, U-158 empty
turbulenceProperties, U-43 boundary condition, U-21, U-149, U-151
DILU Enable Line Series button, U-37
keyword entry, U-134, U-135 endTime keyword, U-24, U-122, U-123
dimension energy keyword, U-214, U-219
checking in OpenFOAM, U-113 engineCompRatio utility, U-105
dimensional units, U-113 engineSwirl utility, U-101
DimensionedConstants keyword, U-121 ENSIGHT7_INPUT
dimensions keyword, U-23, U-115 environment variable, U-212
DimensionSets keyword, U-121 ENSIGHT7_READER
directionMixed environment variable, U-212
boundary condition, U-153 ensightFoamReader utility, U-212
directory enstrophy post-processing, U-197
0.000000e+00, U-110 environment variable
0, U-110 CEI_ARCH, U-212
Make, U-83 CEI_HOME, U-212
constant, U-109 ENSIGHT7_INPUT, U-212
etc, U-120 ENSIGHT7_READER, U-212
polyMesh, U-109, U-147 FOAM_APPLICATION, U-118
processorN , U-94 FOAM_CASENAME, U-118
run, U-19, U-109 FOAM_CASE, U-118
system, U-109 FOAM_FILEHANDLER, U-94
tutorials, U-19 FOAM_RUN, U-109
Display window panel, U-26, U-28, U-190, U-192 WM_ARCH_OPTION, U-86
distance WM_ARCH, U-86
keyword entry, U-175 WM_COMPILER_TYPE, U-86
distributed keyword, U-93, U-96 WM_COMPILER, U-86
div post-processing, U-197 WM_COMPILE_OPTION, U-86
div(phi,e) keyword, U-128 WM_DIR, U-86
div(phi,k) keyword, U-128 WM_LABEL_OPTION, U-86
div(phi,U) keyword, U-128 WM_LABEL_SIZE, U-86
divide post-processing, U-198 WM_LINK_LANGUAGE, U-86

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-237

WM_MPLIB, U-86 snappyHexMeshDict, U-170

WM_OPTIONS, U-86 handler, U-94, U-95
WM_PRECISION_OPTION, U-86 parallel I/O, U-94
WM_PROJECT_DIR, U-85 file format, U-110
WM_PROJECT_INST_DIR, U-85 fileModificationChecking keyword, U-90
WM_PROJECT_USER_DIR, U-86 fileModificationSkew keyword, U-90
WM_PROJECT_VERSION, U-85 files file, U-83
WM_PROJECT, U-85 Filters menu, U-30
WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR, U-86 finalLayerThickness keyword, U-178
wmake, U-85 financialFoam solver, U-101
equationOfState keyword, U-214 firstLayerThickness keyword, U-178
equilibriumFlameT utility, U-108 firstTime keyword, U-122
equilibriumCO utility, U-108 fixed
errorReduction keyword, U-180 keyword entry, U-123
etc directory, U-120 fixedGradient
Euler boundary condition, U-152
keyword entry, U-126 fixedValue
expansionRatio keyword, U-178 boundary condition, U-152, U-156
extrude2DMesh utility, U-102 flattenMesh utility, U-103
extrudeMesh utility, U-102 floatTransfer keyword, U-90
extrudeToRegionMesh utility, U-102 flow
free surface, U-56
faceAgglomerate utility, U-101 laminar, U-20
faceZoneAverage post-processing, U-201 turbulent, U-20
faceZoneFlowRate post-processing, U-201 flowType post-processing, U-197
faceAreaPair fluent3DMeshToFoam utility, U-102
keyword entry, U-135 fluentMeshToFoam utility, U-102
faces fluentMeshToFoam utility, U-180
dictionary, U-147, U-158 fluidReactionThermo model, U-214
FDIC fluidThermo model, U-214
keyword entry, U-135 OpenFOAM
featureAngle keyword, U-178 cases, U-109
features keyword, U-173 foamDataToFluent utility, U-106, U-210
field foamDictionary utility, U-108
U, U-25 foamFormatConvert utility, U-108
p, U-25 foamListTimes utility, U-108
decomposition, U-92 foamMeshToFluent utility, U-102
field keyword, U-203 foamSetupCHT utility, U-101
fieldAverage post-processing, U-197 foamToEnsight utility, U-106, U-210
fields foamToEnsightParts utility, U-106, U-210
mapping, U-187 foamToGMV utility, U-106, U-210
fields keyword, U-203 foamToStarMesh utility, U-103
fieldValues keyword, U-60 foamToSurface utility, U-103
file foamToTetDualMesh utility, U-106, U-210
Make/files, U-85 foamToVTK utility, U-106, U-210
controlDict, U-120 FOAM_APPLICATION
files, U-83 environment variable, U-118
g, U-60 FOAM_CASE
options, U-83 environment variable, U-118

OpenFOAM-10
U-238 Index

FOAM_CASENAME geometric-algebraic multi-grid, U-135

environment variable, U-118 geometry keyword, U-167, U-170
FOAM_FILEHANDLER Giesekus model, U-226
environment variable, U-94 global
FOAM_RUN controls, U-120
environment variable, U-109 controls overriding, U-121
foamChemistryFile keyword, U-215 gmshToFoam utility, U-103
foamCloneCase script, U-40, U-138 gnuplot
foamCorrectVrt script, U-185 keyword entry, U-124
foamDictionary utility, U-138 grad post-processing, U-197
FoamFile keyword, U-111 gradient
foamFormatConvert utility, U-94 Gauss’s theorem, U-53
foamGet script, U-141 least square fit, U-53
foamInfo script, U-153 least squares method, U-53
foamListTimes utility, U-138 gradSchemes keyword, U-124
foamSearch script, U-126 graphCell post-processing, U-199
foamyHexMesh utility, U-102 graphUniform post-processing, U-199, U-206
foamyQuadMesh utility, U-102 graphCellFace post-processing, U-199
forceCoeffsCompressible post-processing, U-199 graphFace post-processing, U-199
forceCoeffsIncompressible post-processing, U-199 graphFormat keyword, U-123
forcesCompressible post-processing, U-199 graphLayerAverage post-processing, U-199
forcesIncompressible post-processing, U-199
foreground halfCosineRamp keyword, U-156
process, U-26 heheuPsiThermo
format keyword, U-111 keyword entry, U-214
fuel keyword, U-215 Help menu, U-193
functions keyword, U-124 hePsiThermo
fvSchemes keyword entry, U-214
dictionary, U-62 heRhoThermo
fvSchemes keyword entry, U-214
dictionary, U-62, U-109, U-124 heSolidThermo
fvSchemes keyword entry, U-214
menu entry, U-53 Hf keyword, U-216
fvSolution hierarchical
dictionary, U-109, U-132 keyword entry, U-93
highCpCoeffs keyword, U-217
g file, U-60 homogeneousMixture keyword, U-215
gambitToFoam utility, U-103
gambitToFoam utility, U-180 icoFoam solver, U-98
GAMG icoFoam solver, U-20, U-24, U-28
keyword entry, U-53, U-133, U-135 icoPolynomial model, U-218
Gauss cubic icoTabulated model, U-218
keyword entry, U-127 ideasUnvToFoam utility, U-103
GaussSeidel ideasToFoam utility, U-180
keyword entry, U-135 incompressiblePerfectGas model, U-218
General window panel, U-194 Information window panel, U-190
general InfoSwitches keyword, U-121
keyword entry, U-123 inhomogeneousMixture keyword, U-215
generalisedNewtonian model, U-226–U-228 inletOutlet

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-239

boundary condition, U-153 OptimisationSwitches, U-121

inletValue keyword, U-153 Pr, U-215
inotify Tcommon, U-217
keyword entry, U-90 Thigh, U-217
inotifyMaster Tlow, U-217
keyword entry, U-90 Tr, U-216
inside Ts, U-215
keyword entry, U-174 bounded, U-129
insideCells utility, U-104 addLayersControls, U-171
insidePoint keyword, U-172, U-174 addLayers, U-170
insideSpan adjustTimeStep, U-61, U-124
keyword entry, U-176 agglomerator, U-135
interFoam solver, U-99 arc, U-160
interMixingFoam solver, U-99 blocks, U-22, U-34, U-162
interfaceHeight post-processing, U-201 block, U-160
internalProbes post-processing, U-201 boundaryField, U-23, U-115
internalField keyword, U-23, U-115 boundary, U-160, U-164
interpolationSchemes keyword, U-124 bounded, U-129
isoSurface post-processing, U-202 boxToCell, U-60
iterations burntProducts, U-215
maximum, U-134 cacheAgglomeration, U-135
castellatedMeshControls, U-170
jplot castellatedMesh, U-170
keyword entry, U-124 cellsAcrossSpan, U-176
class, U-111
kEpsilon model, U-222, U-223 coded, U-156
kEqn model, U-224 commsType, U-90
kOmega model, U-222, U-223 constant, U-156
kOmega2006 model, U-222, U-223 convertToMeters, U-160
kOmegaSST model, U-222, U-223 convertToMeters, U-160
kOmegaSSTDES model, U-224 defaultFieldValues, U-60
kOmegaSSTLM model, U-222, U-223 deltaT, U-123
kOmegaSSTSAS model, U-222, U-223 delta, U-223
keyword dimensions, U-23, U-115
As, U-215 distributed, U-93, U-96
C1, U-216 div(phi,U), U-128
C2, U-216 div(phi,e), U-128
Cp, U-216 div(phi,k), U-128
Cv, U-216 divSchemes, U-124
DebugSwitches, U-121 edgeGrading, U-162
DimensionSets, U-121 edges, U-160
DimensionedConstants, U-121 egrMixture, U-215
Documentation, U-121 endTime, U-24, U-122, U-123
FoamFile, U-111 energy, U-214, U-219
Hf, U-216 equationOfState, U-214
InfoSwitches, U-121 errorReduction, U-180
MULESCorr, U-61 expansionRatio, U-178
N2, U-215 featureAngle, U-178
O2, U-215 features, U-173

OpenFOAM-10
U-240 Index

fieldValues, U-60 mergePatchPairs, U-160

fields, U-203 mergeTolerance, U-170
field, U-203 meshQualityControls, U-171
fileModificationChecking, U-90 method, U-93
fileModificationSkew, U-90 minArea, U-179
finalLayerThickness, U-178 minDeterminant, U-179
firstLayerThickness, U-178 minFaceWeight, U-179
firstTime, U-122 minFlatness, U-179
floatTransfer, U-90 minMedianAxisAngle, U-178
foamChemistryFile, U-215 minRefinementCells, U-172
format, U-111 minTetQuality, U-179
fuel, U-215 minThickness, U-178
functions, U-124 minTriangleTwist, U-180
geometry, U-167, U-170 minTwist, U-179
gradSchemes, U-124 minVolRatio, U-180
graphFormat, U-123 minVol, U-179
halfCosineRamp, U-156 mixture, U-215
highCpCoeffs, U-217 model, U-221–U-224
homogeneousMixture, U-215 mode, U-174
inhomogeneousMixture, U-215 molWeight, U-219
inletValue, U-153 momentumPredictor, U-138
insidePoint, U-172, U-174 mu, U-215
internalField, U-23, U-115 nAlphaCorr, U-63
interpolationSchemes, U-124 nBufferCellsNoExtrude, U-179
laplacianSchemes, U-124 nCellsBetweenLevels, U-172
latestTime, U-40 nCorrectors, U-137
layers, U-178 nFaces, U-147
leastSquares, U-53 nFinestSweeps, U-136
levels, U-175 nGrow, U-178
libs, U-90, U-124 nLayerIter, U-179
linearRamp, U-156 nMoles, U-219
location, U-111 nNonOrthogonalCorrectors, U-137
lowCpCoeffs, U-217 nPostSweeps, U-136
maxAlphaCo, U-61 nPreSweeps, U-136
maxBoundarySkewness, U-179 nRelaxIter, U-176, U-178
maxConcave, U-179 nRelaxedIter, U-179
maxCo, U-61, U-124 nSmoothNormals, U-178
maxDeltaT, U-61 nSmoothPatch, U-176
maxFaceThicknessRatio, U-178 nSmoothScale, U-180
maxGlobalCells, U-172 nSmoothSurfaceNormals, U-178
maxInternalSkewness, U-179 nSmoothThickness, U-178
maxIter, U-134 nSolveIter, U-176
maxLocalCells, U-172 name, U-168
maxNonOrtho, U-179 neighbourPatch, U-165
maxPostSweeps, U-136 numberOfSubdomains, U-93
maxPreSweeps, U-136 nu, U-60
maxThicknessToMedialRatio, U-178 n, U-93
maxThreadFileBufferSize, U-95 object, U-111
mergeLevels, U-136 one, U-156

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-241

order, U-93 startTime, U-24, U-122

oxidant, U-215 stopAt, U-122
pRefCell, U-26, U-138 strategy, U-93
pRefValue, U-26, U-138 tableFile, U-156
patchMap, U-187 table, U-156
patches, U-160 thermoType, U-213
polynomial, U-156 thermodynamics, U-219
postSweepsLevelMultiplier, U-136 thickness, U-178
preSweepsLevelMultiplier, U-136 timeFormat, U-123
preconditioner, U-133, U-134 timePrecision, U-123
pressure, U-51 timeScheme, U-124
printCoeffs, U-44, U-221 tolerance, U-53, U-133, U-134, U-176
processorWeights, U-93 traction, U-51
probeLocations, U-206 transport, U-214, U-219
processorWeights, U-93 turbulence, U-221
project, U-167 type, U-214
purgeWrite, U-123 uniformValue, U-156
quadraticRamp, U-156 unitSet, U-121
quarterSineRamp, U-156 valueFraction, U-153
quarterCosineRamp, U-156 value, U-23, U-152
refinementRegions, U-173, U-175 version, U-111
refinementSurfaces, U-173 vertices, U-22, U-160
refinementRegions, U-174 veryInhomogeneousMixture, U-215
regions, U-60 viscosityModel, U-60
relTol, U-53, U-133, U-134 wallDist, U-125
relativeSizes, U-178 writeCompression, U-123
relaxed, U-180 writeControl, U-25, U-61, U-123
resolveFeatureAngle, U-172, U-173 writeFormat, U-123
reverseRamp, U-156 writeInterval, U-25, U-35, U-123
roots, U-93, U-96 writePrecision, U-123
runTimeModifiable, U-124 zero, U-156
scale, U-156 <delta>Coeffs, U-224
sigma, U-59 <model>Coeffs, U-221, U-223
simpleGrading, U-162 keyword entry
simulationType, U-43, U-44, U-61, U-221 BSpline, U-161
sine, U-156 CrankNicolson, U-126
singleComponentMixture, U-215 DICGaussSeidel, U-135
smoother, U-136 DIC, U-134, U-135
snGradSchemes, U-125 DILU, U-134, U-135
snapControls, U-170 Euler, U-126
snap, U-170 FDIC, U-135
solvers, U-132 GAMG, U-53, U-133, U-135
solver, U-53, U-133 Gauss cubic, U-127
specie, U-219 GaussSeidel, U-135
spline, U-160 LES, U-44, U-221
squarePulse, U-156 LUST, U-128
square, U-156 PBiCGStab, U-133
startFace, U-147 PBiCG, U-133
startFrom, U-24, U-122 PCG, U-133

OpenFOAM-10
U-242 Index

RAS, U-44, U-221 raw, U-124

adjustableRunTime, U-61, U-123 runTime, U-35, U-123
arc, U-161 scheduled, U-90
ascii, U-123 scientific, U-123
backward, U-126 scotch, U-93
binary, U-123 simple, U-93
blocking, U-90 smoothSolver, U-133
cellLimited, U-127 spline, U-161
clockTime, U-123 startTime, U-24, U-122
constant, U-60 steadyState, U-126
corrected, U-130, U-131 symGaussSeidel, U-135
cpuTime, U-123 timeStampMaster, U-90
diagonal, U-133, U-135 timeStamp, U-90
distance, U-175 timeStep, U-25, U-35, U-123
faceAreaPair, U-135 uncollated, U-94
fixed, U-123 uncorrected, U-131
general, U-123 upwind, U-128
gnuplot, U-124 writeNow, U-122
hePsiThermo, U-214 xmgr, U-124
heRhoThermo, U-214 kivaToFoam utility, U-103
heSolidThermo, U-214 kkLOmega model, U-222
heheuPsiThermo, U-214
hierarchical, U-93 LamBremhorstKE model, U-222
inotifyMaster, U-90 Lambda2 post-processing, U-197
inotify, U-90 lambdaThixotropic model, U-226
insideSpan, U-176 laminar model, U-230
inside, U-174 laminar
jplot, U-124 keyword entry, U-44, U-221
laminar, U-44, U-221 laplacianFoam solver, U-97
latestTime, U-122 laplacianSchemes keyword, U-124
leastSquares, U-127 latestTime
limitedLinear, U-128 keyword entry, U-122
limited, U-131 latestTime keyword, U-40
linearUpwind, U-128 LaunderSharmaKE model, U-222, U-223
linear, U-128 layers keyword, U-178
line, U-161 leastSquares
localEuler, U-126 keyword entry, U-127
manual, U-93 leastSquares keyword, U-53
masterUncollated, U-94 LES
multicomponentMixture, U-215 keyword entry, U-44, U-221
multivariateSelection, U-130 levels keyword, U-175
nextWrite, U-123 libraries, U-79
noWriteNow, U-122 library
nonBlocking, U-90 PVFoamReader, U-189
none, U-125, U-135 vtkPVFoam, U-189
orthogonal, U-130 libs keyword, U-90, U-124
outside, U-175 lid-driven cavity flow, U-20
polyLine, U-161 LienCubicKE model, U-222
pureMixture, U-215 LienLeschziner model, U-222

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-243

Lights button, U-194 maxIter keyword, U-134

limited maxLocalCells keyword, U-172
keyword entry, U-131 maxNonOrtho keyword, U-179
limitedLinear maxPostSweeps keyword, U-136
keyword entry, U-128 maxPreSweeps keyword, U-136
line maxThicknessToMedialRatio keyword, U-178
keyword entry, U-161 maxThreadFileBufferSize keyword, U-95
Line Style menu, U-37 Maxwell model, U-226
linear model, U-218 mdEquilibrationFoam solver, U-100
linear mdFoam solver, U-100
keyword entry, U-128 mdInitialise utility, U-102
linearRamp keyword, U-156 menu
linearUpwind Color By, U-193
keyword entry, U-128 Common, U-30
localEuler Current Time Controls, U-28, U-191
keyword entry, U-126 Edit, U-194
location keyword, U-111 Filters, U-30
log post-processing, U-197 Help, U-193
lowCpCoeffs keyword, U-217 Line Style, U-37
LRR model, U-222, U-223 Marker Style, U-37
LUST Orientation Array, U-33
keyword entry, U-128 Recent, U-30
VCR Controls, U-28, U-191
MachNo post-processing, U-197 View, U-190, U-193
mag post-processing, U-197 menu entry
magSqr post-processing, U-197 Contour, U-30
magneticFoam solver, U-100 Plot Over Line, U-37
Make directory, U-83 Save Animation, U-196
make script, U-81 Save Screenshot, U-195
Make/files file, U-85 Settings, U-194
manual Slice, U-30
keyword entry, U-93 Solid Color, U-193
mapFields utility, U-101 Toolbars, U-193
mapFieldsPar utility, U-101 View Settings, U-194
mapFields utility, U-34, U-40, U-44, U-56, U-187 Wireframe, U-193
mapping fvSchemes, U-53
fields, U-187 mergeBaffles utility, U-104
Marker Style menu, U-37 mergeMeshes utility, U-104
masterUncollated mergeLevels keyword, U-136
keyword entry, U-94 mergePatchPairs keyword, U-160
maxAlphaCo keyword, U-61 mergeTolerance keyword, U-170
maxBoundarySkewness keyword, U-179 mesh
maxCo keyword, U-61, U-124 1-dimensional, U-149
maxConcave keyword, U-179 1D, U-149
maxDeltaT keyword, U-61 2-dimensional, U-149
maxFaceThicknessRatio keyword, U-178 2D, U-149
maxGlobalCells keyword, U-172 axi-symmetric, U-149
maximum iterations, U-134 block structured, U-158
maxInternalSkewness keyword, U-179 decomposition, U-92

OpenFOAM-10
U-244 Index

description, U-145 SpalartAllmarasDDES, U-224

generation, U-158, U-169 SpalartAllmarasDES, U-224
grading, U-158, U-162 SpalartAllmarasIDDES, U-224
resolution, U-33 SpalartAllmaras, U-222, U-223
specification, U-145 WALE, U-224
split-hex, U-169 adiabaticPerfectFluid, U-218
Stereolithography (STL), U-169 buoyantKEpsilon, U-223
surface, U-169 dynamicKEqn, U-224
validity constraints, U-145 dynamicLagrangian, U-224
Mesh Parts window panel, U-26 fluidReactionThermo, U-214
meshQualityControls keyword, U-171 fluidThermo, U-214
message passing interface generalisedNewtonian, U-226–U-228
openMPI, U-95 icoPolynomial, U-218
method keyword, U-93 icoTabulated, U-218
mhdFoam solver, U-100 incompressiblePerfectGas, U-218
minArea keyword, U-179 kEpsilon, U-222, U-223
minDeterminant keyword, U-179 kEqn, U-224
minFaceWeight keyword, U-179 kOmegaSSTDES, U-224
minFlatness keyword, U-179 kOmegaSSTLM, U-222, U-223
minMedianAxisAngle keyword, U-178 kOmegaSSTSAS, U-222, U-223
minRefinementCells keyword, U-172 kOmega2006, U-222, U-223
minTetQuality keyword, U-179 kOmegaSST, U-222, U-223
minThickness keyword, U-178 kOmega, U-222, U-223
minTriangleTwist keyword, U-180 kkLOmega, U-222
minTwist keyword, U-179 lambdaThixotropic, U-226
minVol keyword, U-179 laminar, U-230
minVolRatio keyword, U-180 linear, U-218
mirrorMesh utility, U-104 multiphaseMixtureThermo, U-214
mixed perfectFluid, U-218
boundary condition, U-153 perfectGas, U-219
mixture keyword, U-215 psiThermo, U-214
mixtureAdiabaticFlameT utility, U-108 psiuReactionThermo, U-214
mode keyword, U-174 qZeta, U-222
model rPolynomial, U-219
Boussinesq, U-218 realizableKE, U-222, U-223
DeardorffDiffStress, U-224 rhoConst, U-219
Giesekus, U-226 rhoTabulated, U-219
LRR, U-222, U-223 solidThermo, U-214
LamBremhorstKE, U-222 v2f, U-222, U-223
LaunderSharmaKE, U-222, U-223 model keyword, U-221–U-224
LienCubicKE, U-222 modifyMesh utility, U-105
LienLeschziner, U-222 molWeight keyword, U-219
Maxwell, U-226 momentumPredictor keyword, U-138
PTT, U-226 momentumTransport
PengRobinsonGas, U-218 dictionary, U-43, U-61, U-221
RNGkEpsilon, U-222, U-223 moveMesh utility, U-104
SSG, U-222, U-223 MPI
ShihQuadraticKE, U-222 openMPI, U-95
Smagorinsky, U-224 mshToFoam utility, U-103

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-245

mu keyword, U-215 nSmoothThickness keyword, U-178

MULESCorr keyword, U-61 nSolveIter keyword, U-176
multicomponentMixture nu keyword, U-60
keyword entry, U-215 numberOfSubdomains keyword, U-93
multigrid
geometric-algebraic, U-135 O2 keyword, U-215
multiphaseEulerFoam solver, U-99 objToVTK utility, U-104
multiphaseInterFoam solver, U-99 object keyword, U-111
multiphaseMixtureThermo model, U-214 one keyword, U-156
multiply post-processing, U-198 Opacity text box, U-193
multivariateSelection OpenFOAM
keyword entry, U-130 applications, U-79
file format, U-110
n keyword, U-93 libraries, U-79
N2 keyword, U-215 OpenFOAM file syntax
nAlphaCorr keyword, U-63 //, U-110
name keyword, U-168 openMPI
nBufferCellsNoExtrude keyword, U-179 message passing interface, U-95
nCellsBetweenLevels keyword, U-172 MPI, U-95
nCorrectors keyword, U-137 OptimisationSwitches keyword, U-121
neighbour Options window, U-194
dictionary, U-147 options file, U-83
neighbourPatch keyword, U-165 order keyword, U-93
netgenNeutralToFoam utility, U-103 orientFaceZone utility, U-104
nextWrite Orientation Array menu, U-33
keyword entry, U-123 orthogonal
nFaces keyword, U-147 keyword entry, U-130
nFinestSweeps keyword, U-136 outside
nGrow keyword, U-178 keyword entry, U-175
nLayerIter keyword, U-179 owner
nMoles keyword, U-219 dictionary, U-147
nNonOrthogonalCorrectors keyword, U-137 oxidant keyword, U-215
noise utility, U-105
nonBlocking p field, U-25
keyword entry, U-90 paraFoam, U-189
none paraFoam, U-26
keyword entry, U-125, U-135 parallel
noSlip running, U-92
boundary condition, U-23 parallel I/O, U-94
noWriteNow file handler, U-94
keyword entry, U-122 threading support, U-95
nPostSweeps keyword, U-136 Parameters window panel, U-191
nPreSweeps keyword, U-136 ParaView, U-26
nRelaxedIter keyword, U-179 particleTracks utility, U-105
nRelaxIter keyword, U-176, U-178 particleFoam solver, U-100
nSmoothNormals keyword, U-178 particles post-processing, U-202
nSmoothPatch keyword, U-176 patch
nSmoothScale keyword, U-180 boundary condition, U-151
nSmoothSurfaceNormals keyword, U-178 patchAverage post-processing, U-201

OpenFOAM-10
U-246 Index

patchDifference post-processing, U-201 post-processing, U-189

patchFlowRate post-processing, U-201 CourantNo, U-197
patchIntegrate post-processing, U-201 Lambda2, U-197
patchSummary utility, U-108 MachNo, U-197
patches keyword, U-160 PecletNo, U-197
patchMap keyword, U-187 Qdot, U-200
patchSurface post-processing, U-202 Q, U-198
PBiCG XiReactionRate, U-200
keyword entry, U-133 add, U-198
PBiCGStab age, U-197
keyword entry, U-133 boundaryProbes, U-201
PCG cellMaxMag, U-199
keyword entry, U-133 cellMax, U-199
pdfPlot utility, U-105 cellMinMag, U-199
PDRFoam solver, U-99 cellMin, U-199
PDRMesh utility, U-105 components, U-197
PecletNo post-processing, U-197 cutPlaneSurface, U-202
PengRobinsonGas model, U-218 ddt, U-197
perfectFluid model, U-218 divide, U-198
perfectGas model, U-219 div, U-197
phaseForces post-processing, U-200 dsmcFields, U-199
phaseScalarTransport post-processing, U-202 enstrophy, U-197
phaseMap post-processing, U-201 faceZoneAverage, U-201
physicalProperties faceZoneFlowRate, U-201
dictionary, U-24, U-40, U-44, U-51, U-213 fieldAverage, U-197
PIMPLE flowType, U-197
dictionary, U-137 forceCoeffsCompressible, U-199
pimpleFoam solver, U-98 forceCoeffsIncompressible, U-199
Pipeline Browser window, U-26, U-190 forcesCompressible, U-199
PISO forcesIncompressible, U-199
dictionary, U-26, U-137 grad, U-197
pisoFoam solver, U-98 graphCellFace, U-199
pisoFoam solver, U-20 graphFace, U-199
Plot Over Line graphLayerAverage, U-199
menu entry, U-37 graphCell, U-199
plot3dToFoam utility, U-103 graphUniform, U-199, U-206
points interfaceHeight, U-201
dictionary, U-147, U-158 internalProbes, U-201
polyDualMesh utility, U-104 isoSurface, U-202
polyLine log, U-197
keyword entry, U-161 magSqr, U-197
polyMesh directory, U-109, U-147 mag, U-197
polyMesh class, U-145, U-147 multiply, U-198
polynomial keyword, U-156 particles, U-202
populationBalanceMoments post-processing, U- patchSurface, U-202
200 patchAverage, U-201
populationBalanceSizeDistribution post-processing, patchDifference, U-201
U-201 patchFlowRate, U-201
porousSimpleFoam solver, U-98 patchIntegrate, U-201

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-247

phaseMap, U-201 preconditioner keyword, U-133, U-134

phaseForces, U-200 pRefCell keyword, U-26, U-138
phaseScalarTransport, U-202 pRefValue keyword, U-26, U-138
populationBalanceMoments, U-200 pressure keyword, U-51
populationBalanceSizeDistribution, U-201 pressureInletOutletVelocity
probes, U-201, U-205 boundary condition, U-154
randomise, U-198 preSweepsLevelMultiplier keyword, U-136
reconstruct, U-198 printCoeffs keyword, U-44, U-221
residuals, U-200, U-209 processorWeights keyword, U-93
scalarTransport, U-202 probeLocations keyword, U-206
scale, U-198 probes post-processing, U-201, U-205
shearStress, U-198 process
staticPressureIncompressible, U-200 background, U-26, U-92
stopAtClockTime, U-200 foreground, U-26
stopAtFile, U-200 processor
streamFunction, U-198 boundary condition, U-151
streamlinesLine, U-202 processorN directory, U-94
streamlinesPatch, U-202 processorWeights keyword, U-93
streamlinesPoints, U-202 project keyword, U-167
streamlinesSphere, U-202 Properties window, U-191, U-192
subtract, U-198 Properties window panel, U-28, U-190
surfaceInterpolation, U-198 psiThermo model, U-214
timeStep, U-200 psiuReactionThermo model, U-214
time, U-200 PTT model, U-226
totalEnthalpy, U-198 pureMixture
totalPressureCompressible, U-200 keyword entry, U-215
totalPressureIncompressible, U-200 purgeWrite keyword, U-123
triSurfaceDifference, U-201 PVFoamReader
triSurfaceVolumetricFlowRate, U-201 library, U-189
turbulenceFields, U-198
turbulenceIntensity, U-198 Q post-processing, U-198
uniform, U-198 qZeta model, U-222
vorticity, U-198 Qdot post-processing, U-200
wallHeatFlux, U-198 quadraticRamp keyword, U-156
wallHeatTransferCoeff, U-198 quarterSineRamp keyword, U-156
wallShearStress, U-198 quarterCosineRamp keyword, U-156
writeCellCentres, U-198
writeCellVolumes, U-198 randomise post-processing, U-198
writeObjects, U-200 RAS
writeVTK, U-198 keyword entry, U-44, U-221
yPlus, U-198 raw
post-processing keyword entry, U-124
paraFoam, U-189 reactingFoam solver, U-100
postProcess utility, U-105 realizableKE model, U-222, U-223
postProcess utility, U-36, U-196 Recent menu, U-30
postSweepsLevelMultiplier keyword, U-136 reconstruct post-processing, U-198
potentialFoam solver, U-97 reconstructPar utility, U-108
potentialFreeSurfaceFoam solver, U-99 reconstructParMesh utility, U-108
Pr keyword, U-215 reconstructPar utility, U-97

OpenFOAM-10
U-248 Index

redistributePar utility, U-108 menu entry, U-195

refineHexMesh utility, U-105 scalarTransportFoam solver, U-97
refineMesh utility, U-104 scalarTransport post-processing, U-202
refineWallLayer utility, U-105 scale post-processing, U-198
refinementLevel utility, U-105 scale keyword, U-156
refinementRegions keyword, U-174 scalePoints utility, U-184
refinementRegions keyword, U-173, U-175 scheduled
refinementSurfaces keyword, U-173 keyword entry, U-90
Refresh Times button, U-28, U-191 scientific
regions keyword, U-60 keyword entry, U-123
relative tolerance, U-134 scotch
relativeSizes keyword, U-178 keyword entry, U-93
relaxed keyword, U-180 script
relTol keyword, U-53, U-133, U-134 foamCloneCase, U-40, U-138
removeFaces utility, U-105 foamCorrectVrt, U-185
Render View window, U-194 foamGet, U-141
Render View window panel, U-194 foamInfo, U-153
renumberMesh utility, U-104 foamSearch, U-126
Rescale button, U-30 make, U-81
Reset button, U-191 wclean, U-86
residuals wmake, U-81
monitoring, U-209 Seed window, U-195
residuals post-processing, U-200, U-209 selectCells utility, U-105
resolveFeatureAngle keyword, U-172, U-173 Set Ambient Color button, U-193
restart, U-40 setAtmBoundaryLayer utility, U-102
reverseRamp keyword, U-156 setFields utility, U-102
Reynolds number, U-20, U-24 setWaves utility, U-102
rhoCentralFoam solver, U-98 setFields utility, U-59, U-60
rhoParticleFoam solver, U-100 setsToZones utility, U-104
rhoPimpleFoam solver, U-98 Settings
rhoPorousSimpleFoam solver, U-98 menu entry, U-194
rhoSimpleFoam solver, U-98 shallowWaterFoam solver, U-98
rhoConst model, U-219 shape, U-162
rhoTabulated model, U-219 shearStress post-processing, U-198
RNGkEpsilon model, U-222, U-223 ShihQuadraticKE model, U-222
roots keyword, U-93, U-96 SI units, U-113
rotateMesh utility, U-104 sigma keyword, U-59
rPolynomial model, U-219 SIMPLE
run dictionary, U-137
parallel, U-92 simple
run directory, U-19, U-109 keyword entry, U-93
runTime simpleFoam solver, U-98
keyword entry, U-35, U-123 simpleGrading keyword, U-162
runTimeModifiable keyword, U-124 simulationType keyword, U-43, U-44, U-61, U-
221
sammToFoam utility, U-103 sine keyword, U-156
Save Animation singleCellMesh utility, U-104
menu entry, U-196 singleComponentMixture keyword, U-215
Save Screenshot Slice

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-249

menu entry, U-30 interFoam, U-99

Smagorinsky model, U-224 interMixingFoam, U-99
smapToFoam utility, U-106, U-210 laplacianFoam, U-97
smoother keyword, U-136 magneticFoam, U-100
smoothSolver mdEquilibrationFoam, U-100
keyword entry, U-133 mdFoam, U-100
snap keyword, U-170 mhdFoam, U-100
snapControls keyword, U-170 multiphaseEulerFoam, U-99
snappyHexMesh utility, U-102 multiphaseInterFoam, U-99
snappyHexMesh utility particleFoam, U-100
background mesh, U-171 pimpleFoam, U-98
cell removal, U-174 pisoFoam, U-20
cell splitting, U-172 pisoFoam, U-98
mesh layers, U-176 porousSimpleFoam, U-98
meshing process, U-170 potentialFoam, U-97
snapping to surfaces, U-176 potentialFreeSurfaceFoam, U-99
span refinement, U-175 reactingFoam, U-100
snappyHexMesh utility, U-169 rhoCentralFoam, U-98
snappyHexMeshDict file, U-170 rhoParticleFoam, U-100
snGradSchemes keyword, U-125 rhoPimpleFoam, U-98
Solid Color rhoPorousSimpleFoam, U-98
menu entry, U-193 rhoSimpleFoam, U-98
solidDisplacementFoam solver, U-101 scalarTransportFoam, U-97
solidEquilibriumDisplacementFoam solver, U-101 shallowWaterFoam, U-98
solidDisplacementFoam solver, U-52 simpleFoam, U-98
solidThermo model, U-214 solidDisplacementFoam, U-52
solver solidDisplacementFoam, U-101
PDRFoam, U-99 solidEquilibriumDisplacementFoam, U-101
SRFPimpleFoam, U-98 thermoFoam, U-100
SRFSimpleFoam, U-98 twoLiquidMixingFoam, U-99
XiEngineFoam, U-100 solver keyword, U-53, U-133
XiFoam, U-100 solver relative tolerance, U-134
adjointShapeOptimisationFoam, U-98 solver tolerance, U-134
boundaryFoam, U-98 solvers keyword, U-132
buoyantFoam, U-100 SpalartAllmaras model, U-222, U-223
buoyantReactingFoam, U-99 SpalartAllmarasDDES model, U-224
cavitatingFoam, U-98 SpalartAllmarasDES model, U-224
chemFoam, U-99 SpalartAllmarasIDDES model, U-224
chtMultiRegionFoam, U-100 specie keyword, U-219
compressibleInterFoam, U-99 spline
compressibleMultiphaseInterFoam, U-99 keyword entry, U-161
denseParticleFoam, U-100 spline keyword, U-160
dnsFoam, U-99 splitBaffles utility, U-104
driftFluxFoam, U-99 splitCells utility, U-105
dsmcFoam, U-100 splitMesh utility, U-104
electrostaticFoam, U-100 splitMeshRegions utility, U-104
financialFoam, U-101 square keyword, U-156
icoFoam, U-20, U-24, U-28 squarePulse keyword, U-156
icoFoam, U-98 SRFPimpleFoam solver, U-98

OpenFOAM-10
U-250 Index

SRFSimpleFoam solver, U-98 surfaceMeshInfo utility, U-107

SSG model, U-222, U-223 surfaceMeshTriangulate utility, U-107
star3ToFoam utility, U-103 surfaceOrient utility, U-107
star4ToFoam utility, U-103 surfacePointMerge utility, U-107
startFace keyword, U-147 surfaceRedistributePar utility, U-107
startFrom keyword, U-24, U-122 surfaceRefineRedGreen utility, U-107
starToFoam utility, U-180 surfaceSplitByTopology utility, U-107
startTime surfaceSplitByPatch utility, U-107
keyword entry, U-24, U-122 surfaceSplitNonManifolds utility, U-107
startTime keyword, U-24, U-122 surfaceSubset utility, U-107
staticPressureIncompressible post-processing, U- surfaceToPatch utility, U-107
200 surfaceTransformPoints utility, U-107
steadyParticleTracks utility, U-105 surfaceFeatures utility, U-173
steadyState symGaussSeidel
keyword entry, U-126 keyword entry, U-135
Stereolithography (STL), U-169 symmetry
stitchMesh utility, U-104 boundary condition, U-151
stopAt keyword, U-122 symmetryPlane
stopAtClockTime post-processing, U-200 boundary condition, U-150, U-151
stopAtFile post-processing, U-200 system directory, U-109
strategy keyword, U-93
streamFunction post-processing, U-198 table keyword, U-156
streamlinesLine post-processing, U-202 tableFile keyword, U-156
streamlinesPatch post-processing, U-202 Tcommon keyword, U-217
streamlinesPoints post-processing, U-202 temporalInterpolate utility, U-105
streamlinesSphere post-processing, U-202 tetgenToFoam utility, U-103
stress analysis of plate with hole, U-47 text box
Style window panel, U-193 Opacity, U-193
subsetMesh utility, U-104 thermoFoam solver, U-100
subtract post-processing, U-198 thermodynamics keyword, U-219
surface mesh, U-169 thermoType keyword, U-213
surfaceAdd utility, U-106 thickness keyword, U-178
surfaceAutoPatch utility, U-106 Thigh keyword, U-217
surfaceBooleanFeatures utility, U-106 time
surfaceCheck utility, U-106 control, U-122
surfaceClean utility, U-106 time post-processing, U-200
surfaceCoarsen utility, U-106 time step, U-24
surfaceConvert utility, U-106 timeFormat keyword, U-123
surfaceFeatureConvert utility, U-106 timePrecision keyword, U-123
surfaceFeatures utility, U-106 timeScheme keyword, U-124
surfaceFind utility, U-106 timeStamp
surfaceHookUp utility, U-106 keyword entry, U-90
surfaceInertia utility, U-106 timeStampMaster
surfaceInterpolation post-processing, U-198 keyword entry, U-90
surfaceLambdaMuSmooth utility, U-106 timeStep post-processing, U-200
surfaceMeshConvert utility, U-106 timeStep
surfaceMeshConvertTesting utility, U-107 keyword entry, U-25, U-35, U-123
surfaceMeshExport utility, U-107 Tlow keyword, U-217
surfaceMeshImport utility, U-107 tolerance

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-251

solver, U-134 base, U-113

solver relative, U-134 of measurement, U-113
tolerance keyword, U-53, U-133, U-134, U-176 SI, U-113
Toolbars Système International, U-113
menu entry, U-193 United States Customary System, U-113
topoSet utility, U-104 USCS, U-113
totalEnthalpy post-processing, U-198 unitSet keyword, U-121
totalPressure Update GUI button, U-192
boundary condition, U-154 upwind
totalPressureCompressible post-processing, U-200 keyword entry, U-128
totalPressureIncompressible post-processing, U- upwind differencing, U-62
200 USCS units, U-113
Tr keyword, U-216 utility
traction keyword, U-51 PDRMesh, U-105
transformPoints utility, U-104 adiabaticFlameT, U-108
transport keyword, U-214, U-219 ansysToFoam, U-102
triSurfaceDifference post-processing, U-201 applyBoundaryLayer, U-101
triSurfaceVolumetricFlowRate post-processing, U- attachMesh, U-103
201 autoPatch, U-103
Ts keyword, U-215 autoRefineMesh, U-105
turbulence blockMesh, U-39, U-158
dissipation, U-42 blockMesh, U-102
kinetic energy, U-42 boxTurb, U-101
length scale, U-43 ccm26ToFoam, U-102
turbulence keyword, U-221 cfx4ToFoam, U-180
turbulence model cfx4ToFoam, U-102
RAS, U-42 changeDictionary, U-101
turbulenceFields post-processing, U-198 checkMesh, U-181
turbulenceIntensity post-processing, U-198 checkMesh, U-103
turbulenceProperties chemkinToFoam, U-108
dictionary, U-43 collapseEdges, U-105
tutorials combinePatchFaces, U-105
breaking of a dam, U-56 createNonConformalCouples, U-103
lid-driven cavity flow, U-20 createBaffles, U-103
stress analysis of plate with hole, U-47 createExternalCoupledPatchGeometry, U-101
tutorials directory, U-19 createPatch, U-103
twoLiquidMixingFoam solver, U-99 datToFoam, U-102
type keyword, U-214 decomposePar, U-92, U-93
decomposePar, U-108
U field, U-25 deformedGeom, U-103
uncollated dsmcInitialise, U-101
keyword entry, U-94 engineCompRatio, U-105
uncorrected engineSwirl, U-101
keyword entry, U-131 ensightFoamReader, U-212
uniform post-processing, U-198 equilibriumCO, U-108
uniformFixedValue equilibriumFlameT, U-108
boundary condition, U-156 extrude2DMesh, U-102
uniformValue keyword, U-156 extrudeMesh, U-102
units extrudeToRegionMesh, U-102

OpenFOAM-10
U-252 Index

faceAgglomerate, U-101 polyDualMesh, U-104

flattenMesh, U-103 postProcess, U-36, U-196
fluent3DMeshToFoam, U-102 postProcess, U-105
fluentMeshToFoam, U-180 reconstructPar, U-97
fluentMeshToFoam, U-102 reconstructParMesh, U-108
foamDictionary, U-138 reconstructPar, U-108
foamFormatConvert, U-94 redistributePar, U-108
foamListTimes, U-138 refineHexMesh, U-105
foamDataToFluent, U-106, U-210 refineMesh, U-104
foamDictionary, U-108 refineWallLayer, U-105
foamFormatConvert, U-108 refinementLevel, U-105
foamListTimes, U-108 removeFaces, U-105
foamMeshToFluent, U-102 renumberMesh, U-104
foamSetupCHT, U-101 rotateMesh, U-104
foamToEnsightParts, U-106, U-210 sammToFoam, U-103
foamToEnsight, U-106, U-210 scalePoints, U-184
foamToGMV, U-106, U-210 selectCells, U-105
foamToStarMesh, U-103 setFields, U-59, U-60
foamToSurface, U-103 setAtmBoundaryLayer, U-102
foamToTetDualMesh, U-106, U-210 setFields, U-102
foamToVTK, U-106, U-210 setWaves, U-102
foamyHexMesh, U-102 setsToZones, U-104
foamyQuadMesh, U-102 singleCellMesh, U-104
gambitToFoam, U-180 smapToFoam, U-106, U-210
gambitToFoam, U-103 snappyHexMesh, U-169
gmshToFoam, U-103 snappyHexMesh, U-102
ideasToFoam, U-180 splitBaffles, U-104
ideasUnvToFoam, U-103 splitCells, U-105
insideCells, U-104 splitMeshRegions, U-104
kivaToFoam, U-103 splitMesh, U-104
mapFields, U-34, U-40, U-44, U-56, U-187 star3ToFoam, U-103
mapFieldsPar, U-101 star4ToFoam, U-103
mapFields, U-101 starToFoam, U-180
mdInitialise, U-102 steadyParticleTracks, U-105
mergeBaffles, U-104 stitchMesh, U-104
mergeMeshes, U-104 subsetMesh, U-104
mirrorMesh, U-104 surfaceFeatures, U-173
mixtureAdiabaticFlameT, U-108 surfaceAdd, U-106
modifyMesh, U-105 surfaceAutoPatch, U-106
moveMesh, U-104 surfaceBooleanFeatures, U-106
mshToFoam, U-103 surfaceCheck, U-106
netgenNeutralToFoam, U-103 surfaceClean, U-106
noise, U-105 surfaceCoarsen, U-106
objToVTK, U-104 surfaceConvert, U-106
orientFaceZone, U-104 surfaceFeatureConvert, U-106
particleTracks, U-105 surfaceFeatures, U-106
patchSummary, U-108 surfaceFind, U-106
pdfPlot, U-105 surfaceHookUp, U-106
plot3dToFoam, U-103 surfaceInertia, U-106

OpenFOAM-10
Index U-253

surfaceLambdaMuSmooth, U-106 boundary condition, U-58, U-150, U-151

surfaceMeshConvertTesting, U-107 wallHeatFlux post-processing, U-198
surfaceMeshConvert, U-106 wallHeatTransferCoeff post-processing, U-198
surfaceMeshExport, U-107 wallShearStress post-processing, U-198
surfaceMeshImport, U-107 wallDist keyword, U-125
surfaceMeshInfo, U-107 wclean script, U-86
surfaceMeshTriangulate, U-107 wedge
surfaceOrient, U-107 boundary condition, U-149, U-151, U-168
surfacePointMerge, U-107 window
surfaceRedistributePar, U-107 Color Legend, U-33
surfaceRefineRedGreen, U-107 Options, U-194
surfaceSplitByPatch, U-107 Pipeline Browser, U-26, U-190
surfaceSplitByTopology, U-107 Properties, U-191, U-192
surfaceSplitNonManifolds, U-107 Render View, U-194
surfaceSubset, U-107 Seed, U-195
surfaceToPatch, U-107 window panel
surfaceTransformPoints, U-107 Animations, U-194
temporalInterpolate, U-105 Charts, U-194
tetgenToFoam, U-103 Color Legend, U-193
topoSet, U-104 Color Scale, U-193
transformPoints, U-104 Colors, U-194
viewFactorsGen, U-102 Display, U-26, U-28, U-190, U-192
vtkUnstructuredToFoam, U-103 General, U-194
writeMeshObj, U-103 Information, U-190
zipUpMesh, U-104 Mesh Parts, U-26
Parameters, U-191
v2f model, U-222, U-223 Properties, U-28, U-190
value keyword, U-23, U-152 Render View, U-194
valueFraction keyword, U-153 Style, U-193
VCR Controls menu, U-28, U-191 View (Render View), U-26
vector class, U-113 Wireframe
version keyword, U-111 menu entry, U-193
vertices keyword, U-22, U-160 WM_ARCH
veryInhomogeneousMixture keyword, U-215 environment variable, U-86
View menu, U-190, U-193 WM_ARCH_OPTION
View (Render View) window panel, U-26 environment variable, U-86
View Settings WM_COMPILE_OPTION
menu entry, U-194 environment variable, U-86
viewFactorsGen utility, U-102 WM_COMPILER
viscosity environment variable, U-86
kinematic, U-24, U-44 WM_COMPILER_TYPE
viscosityModel keyword, U-60 environment variable, U-86
vorticity post-processing, U-198 WM_DIR
vtkUnstructuredToFoam utility, U-103 environment variable, U-86
vtkPVFoam WM_LABEL_OPTION
library, U-189 environment variable, U-86
WM_LABEL_SIZE
WALE model, U-224 environment variable, U-86
wall WM_LINK_LANGUAGE

OpenFOAM-10
U-254 Index

environment variable, U-86 writeMeshObj utility, U-103

WM_MPLIB writeObjects post-processing, U-200
environment variable, U-86 writeVTK post-processing, U-198
WM_OPTIONS writeCompression keyword, U-123
environment variable, U-86 writeControl keyword, U-25, U-61, U-123
WM_PRECISION_OPTION writeFormat keyword, U-123
environment variable, U-86 writeInterval keyword, U-25, U-35, U-123
WM_PROJECT writeNow
environment variable, U-85 keyword entry, U-122
WM_PROJECT_DIR writePrecision keyword, U-123
environment variable, U-85
WM_PROJECT_INST_DIR XiEngineFoam solver, U-100
environment variable, U-85 XiFoam solver, U-100
WM_PROJECT_USER_DIR XiReactionRate post-processing, U-200
xmgr
environment variable, U-86
keyword entry, U-124
WM_PROJECT_VERSION
environment variable, U-85 yPlus post-processing, U-198
WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR
environment variable, U-86 zero keyword, U-156
wmake script, U-81 zeroGradient
writeCellCentres post-processing, U-198 boundary condition, U-152
writeCellVolumes post-processing, U-198 zipUpMesh utility, U-104

OpenFOAM-10