Problem Specification

This tutorial shows you how to simulate forced convection in a pipe using ANSYS
FLUENT 12. The simulation corresponds to the forced convection experiment in MAE
4272 at Cornell University. The diagram shows a pipe with a heated section in the
middle where constant heat flux is added at the wall. The ambient air is flowing into the
pipe from the left with a uniform velocity. We'll use FLUENT to solve the relevant
boundary-value problem and obtain the velocity, temperature, pressure and density
distribution in the pipe. Inputs necessary for the simulation, such as the velocity at the
pipe inlet and heat flux added at the wall, are obtained from one particular experimental
run. Results from the simulation will be compared with corresponding experimental
values. Background information is provided in this presentation from MAE 4272
at Cornell University. Your fingers might be itching to launch FLUENT and get busy
with the mouse and keyboard. Nevertheless, you will be well-served by reviewing the
presentation before proceeding. That way, you will be better able to apply the solution
procedure to new problems.

Note to Cornell students enrolled in MAE 4272, Fall 2010: It is best to run FLUENT
in the ACCEL lab in the Engineering Library. The CIT labs in B7 Upson and 318
Phillips also have FLUENT. However, there is a video card incompatibility on the CIT
computers that appears in the post-processing step. As a result, the temperature contours
can look weird. Everything else works fine in the CIT labs. So, alternately, you can go
through the simulation in the CIT labs, save your files and load them on to the ACCEL
computers to obtain the correct temperature plot.

Simulation Inputs Obtained from Experiment

The following inputs are necessary to specify the domain, boundary conditions and
material properties for the Boundary Value Problem (BVP) that we'll solve using
FLUENT. The relevant BVP is discussed in presentation mentioned above.

Pipe Geometry:
Circular cross-section
Pipe radius = 2.94e-2 m
Pipe length = 6.045 m

Material Properties:
Coeff. of viscosity = 1.787e-5 kg/(m s)
Cp = 1005 J/(kg K)
Thermal conductivity = 0.0266 W/(m K)
Molecular weight = 28.97 g/mole

Inlet:
• u = 25.05 m/s
• v = 0 m/s
• T = 298.15 K
• k = 0.09 m2/s2; epsilon = 16 m2/s3 (These are not measured and are rough guess
values)

Outlet:
• Pressure = 97225.9 Pa

Wall:
• Heating between x = 1.83 m and x = 4.27 m
• Wall heat flux = 3473.9 W/m2
• Wall roughness: 0 (assume smooth)
• Wall thickness: 0 (assume negligible)

Ambient conditions:
• Ambient pressure = 98338.2 Pa

Experimental Data for Comparison with Simulation Results

Links are provided later to download these .csv files and make comparisons with
corresponding simulation results.

Step 1: Pre-Analysis & Start-Up

Since the pipe cross-section is circular and heat is applied in an axisymmetric manner,
we'll assume that the flow is axisymmetric. In cylindrical polar coordinates, this means
that the flow variables depend only on the axial coordinate x and radial coordinate r, and
are independent of the azimuthal coordinate θ. Hence we can model the pipe problem
with a rectangular domain.

Here R = radius of the pipe, and L = length of the pipe. Rotating the above rectangle
360 degrees about the axis will recover the full pipe geometry.

Start ANSYS FLUENT

We'll run FLUENT within the ANSYS Workbench interface.

Click on Run. This brings up the ANSYS interface. To make the best use of screen real
estate, move the windows around and resize them so that you approximate this screen
arrangement. This way you can read instructions in the browser window and implement
them in ANSYS. Note that this tutorial has been formatted to fit in a skinny browser
window. If your monitor screen is small, you can use Alt+Tab keys to conveniently
switch between the ANSYS and browser windows (this trick works in Microsoft
Windows).

You can resize the text in the browser window to your taste and comfort as follows:

In Internet Explorer: Menubar > View > Text Size, then choose the appropriate font
size.

In Mozilla Firefox: Menubar > View > Zoom

Start ANSYS workbench:

Start > All Programs > ANSYS 12.1 > Workbench

The following figure shows the workbench window.

Higher Resolution Image

On the left hand side of the workbench window, you will see a toolbox full of various
analysis systems. To the right, you see an empty work space. This is the place where
you will organize your project. At the bottom of the window, you see messages from
ANSYS.

Note to Cornell students enrolled in MAE 4272: You can skip the geometry and
mesh steps. Download the mesh by right clicking here and saving the zip file to a
convenient location. Unzip the downloaded file (you cannot read in the zip file directly).
After unzipping, you should see a file called pipe_flow.wbpj and a folder called
pipe_flow_files. Read the mesh into Workbench using File > Open. Browse to the
pipe_flow.wbpj file and select it. Then skip to Step 4: Setup (Physics).

Step 2: Geometry
Since our problem involves fluid flow, we will select the FLUENT component on the
left panel.

Left click (and hold) on Fluid Flow (FLUENT), and drag the icon to the empty space
in the Project Schematic. Here's what you get:
Since we selected Fluid Flow (FLUENT), each cell of the system corresponds to a step
in the process of performing CFD analysis using FLUENT. Rename the project to
Forced Convection.

We will work through each step from top down to get to obtain the solution to our
problem.

In the Project Schematic of Workbench window, right click on Geometry and select
Properties. You will see the properties menu on the right of the Workbench window.
Under Advance Geometry Options, change the Analysis Type to 2D.
In the Project Schematic, double left click on Geometry to start preparing the geometry.
After you launch the web tutorials and FLUENT, you will have to drag the browser
window to the width of the largest image (about 350 pixels). To make best use of screen
real estate, move the windows around and resize them so that you approximate
this screen arrangement

At this point, a new window, ANSYS Design Modeler will be opened. You will be
asked to select desired length unit. Use the default meter unit and click OK.

Creating a Sketch

Start by creating a sketch on the XYPlane. Under Tree Outline, select XYPlane, then
click on Sketching right before Details View. This will bring up the Sketching
Toolboxes.
Click Here for Select Sketching Toolboxes Demo
Click on the +Z axis on the bottom right corner of the Graphics window to have a
normal look of the XY Plane.
Click Here for Select Normal View Demo

In the Sketching toolboxes, select Rectangle. In the Graphics window, create a rough
Rectangle from starting from the origin in the positive XY direction (Make sure that
you see a letter P at the origin before you start dragging the rectangle. The letter P at the
origin means the geometry is constrained at the origin.)

You should have something like this:

Note: You do not have to worry about geometry for now, we can dimension them
properly in the later step.

Modify the Sketch

Since we have a heated section in the middle of the pipe, we need to split the geometry
appropriately. Click Modify tab and select Split. Select two points at the top of the
rectangle, where there will be a heated section. Then select two points at the bottom of
the rectangle.

Now we can constraint the lower rectangle with the top of the rectangle. Click
Constraints tab, select Equal Length. Click the appropriate top and bottom edge and set
them to be of equal length. This is shown below:

Dimensions

Under Sketching Toolboxes, select Dimensions tab, use the default dimensioning tools.
Then click on the lines and drag upwards or sideways as the case may be to place the
dimensions (V1, H2, H3, H4). Note: For horizontal dimensioning (shown in H2, H3
and H4), click first on the horizontal dimension tab under the dimensions tab and then
click (turns yellow) on the end points of the split section lines (H2, H3 and H4). Then
click on any point on the y-axis and drag up. For the vertical dimensioning (V1), click
on the vertical dimension tab under the dimensions tab. Then click on the any point on
the x-axis then click on V1 (turns yellow). Then drag V1 to the left side.

Dimensioning of the geometry is shown below:

Under Details View on the lower left corner, input the value for dimension
appropriately. Then hit enter each time each dimension is entered.
V1: 0.0294 m
H2: 1.83 m
H3: 4.27 m
H4: 6.096 m

At this point, you should see something like this for your sketch:

Now that we have the sketch done, we can create a surface for this sketch.

Then click on Concept tab in the Design modeler window, then click on Surface from
sketches.

This will create a new surface SurfaceSK1. Under the Tree Outline, click on the X-Y
Plane and select Sketch1 as Base Objects and under Details View, click Apply. Finally
click Generate to generate the surface.

Click Here for Create Surface Demo

You can close the Design Modeler and go back to Workbench (Don't worry, it will
auto save).

Step 3: Mesh
Save your work in Workbench window. In the Workbench window, right click on
Mesh, and click Edit. A new ANSYS Mesher window will open. We will create a mesh
with 200x30 elements along the pipe. This means that we will divide the pipe with 200
elements in axial direction and 30 elements along the radial direction.

In ANSYS Mesher, make sure that the unit we are working on is meter Metric unit. On
the top menu, click on Units and make sure that Metric (m, kg, N, s, V, A) is selected.

Since we are going to manually specify meshing type and element size, we should turn
off ANSYS build-in advanced sizing function. Under Details of "Mesh", expand
Sizing, select Off next to Use Advanced Size Function.
Turn off advanced size demo

Meshing Method

We would also like to create a structured mesh where the opposite edges correspond
with each other. Let's insert a Mapped Face mesh. Under Outline, right click on Mesh,
move cursor to Insert, and select Mapped Face Meshing. Alternatively, you can click
on Mesh Control on the third menu and select Mapped Face Meshing. Finally select the
pipe surface body in the Graphics window and click Apply next to Geometry.
Mapped Face Demo

Edge Sizing

Now let us move on to specify the element sizing along the pipe radial direction.
Outline > Mesh > Insert > Sizing
In the Graphics window, select both the left and right edge of the geometry (click on the
Edge tab on the Fluid flow Fluent - Mesh window and then press Ctrl + mouse click to
multiple select). Under Details of "Edge Sizing", click Apply next to Geometry.
Change the edge sizing definition Type to Number of Divisions. Enter 30 for Number
of Divisions.
Radial Sizing

Now continue with the sizing in the axial direction.

Outline > Mesh > Insert > Sizing

In the Graphics window, select all the top and bottom edge of the geometry (press Ctrl +
mouse click to multiple select). Under Details of "Edge Sizing", click Apply next to
Geometry. Enter 0.03 for Element Size (this will give us roughly 200 divisions). Next to
Behaviour, change Soft to Hard (This is to overwrite the sizing function employed by
ANSYS Mesher. Try meshing with soft behavior and see what you get).
Axial Sizing Demo

We have specified all the meshing conditions. Click Update on the third menu to see the
mesh.

Click on Mesh and look under Details of "Mesh", next to Statistics, you should see that
we have 6120 Elements for our mesh.

Create Named Selection

Next, we will name the edges accordingly so that we can specify the appropriate
boundary conditions in the later step. We know the bottom edges of the geometry are
the centerline of the pipe, the left edge is the inlet of the pipe, the right edge is the outlet
of the pipe, top side edges are wall and the top middle edge is the heated wall section.
Let's name the edges according to the diagram below. Remember to click on the Edge
tab on the Fluid flow Fluent - Mesh window and then press Ctrl + mouse click to
multiple select the 3 line sections that make up the center line before naming it.
Select the left edge and right click and select Create Named Selection. Enter Inlet and
click OK. Under Outline, you will see the name Inlet under Named Selections.
Named Selection Demo

Finish naming rest of the edges. Finally, click Update .

Step 4: Setup (Physics)

In the Workbench window, this is what you should see currently in the Project
Schematic space.

Double click on Setup which will bring up the FLUENT Launcher. Click OK to select
the default options in the FLUENT Launcher. Twiddle your thumbs a bit while the
FLUENT interface comes up. This is where we'll specify the governing equations and
boundary conditions for our boundary-value problem. On the left-hand side of the
FLUENT interface, we see various items listed under Problem Setup. We will work
from top to bottom of the Problem Setup items to setup the physics of our boundary-
value problem. On the right hand side, we have the Graphics pane and, below that, the
Command pane.

Display Mesh

Let's first display the mesh that was created in the previous step.

Problem Setup > General > Mesh > Display...

The long, skinny rectangle displayed in the graphics window corresponds to our
solution domain. Some of the operations available in the graphics window to interrogate
the geometry and mesh are:

Translation: The model can be translated in any direction by holding down the Left
Mouse Button and then moving the mouse in the desired direction.

Zoom In: Hold down the Middle Mouse Button and drag a box from the Upper Left
Hand Corner to the Lower Right Hand Corner over the area you want to zoom in on.

Zoom Out: Hold down the Middle Mouse Button and drag a box anywhere from the
Lower Right Hand Corner to the Upper Left Hand Corner.

Use these operations to zoom in and interrogate our mesh.

You should have all the surfaces shown in the above snapshot. Clicking on a surface
name in the Mesh Display menu will toggle between select and unselect. Clicking
Display will show all the currently selected surface entities in the graphics pane.
Unselect all surfaces and then select each one in turn to see which part of the domain or
boundary the particular surface entity corresponds to (you will need to zoom in/out and
translate the model as you do this). For instance, the surface labeled heated_section
should correspond to the part of the wall where heating occurs.

Specify Governing Equations

We ask FLUENT to solve the axisymmetric form of the governing equations.

General > Solver > 2D Space > Axisymmetric
The energy equation is turned off by default. Turn on the energy equation.
Models > Energy - Off > Edit...
Turn on the Energy Equation and click OK.

By default, FLUENT will assume the flow is laminar. Let's tell it that our flow is
turbulent rather than laminar and that we want to use the k-epsilon turbulence model to
simulate our turbulent flow. This means FLUENT will solve for mean (i.e. Reynolds-
averaged) quantities at every point in the domain. It will add the k and epsilon equations
to the governing equations to calculate the effect of the turbulent fluctuations on the
mean, as discussed in the powerpoint presentation.

Models > Viscous - Laminar > Edit...

Under Model, select k-epsilon (2 eqn). Since we'll use the default settings for the k-
epsilon turbulence model, click OK.
This is what you should currently see under Models.

Now let's set the "material properties" i.e. properties of air that appear in our boundary
value problem.

Materials > Fluid air > Create/Edit...

Since variations in absolute pressure are small in our pipe, we'll use a constant absolute
pressure in the ideal gas law as discussed in the powerpoint presentation. This is called
the "Incompressible ideal gas" model in FLUENT (it's non-standard nomenclature).
Change the Density (kg/m3) from constant to incompressible-ideal-gas. The constant
absolute pressure to be used in the ideal gas equation is specified later as Operating
Pressure.

The other properties are also functions of temperature. However, we'll use constant
values equal to the average values over temperature range obtained in the experiment.
Enter the following constant values:
Cp (Specific Heat) (j/kg-k): 1005
Thermal Conductivity (w/m-k): 0.0266
Viscosity (kg/m-s): 1.787e-5
Molecular Weight (kg/kgmol): 28.97 (This value is already stated if using ANSYS 12.1,
so do not bother, but may be listed in ANSYS 12.0)
Higher Resolution Image

Click Change/Create and Close the Create/Edit Materials window.

Specify Boundary Conditions

FLUENT uses gauge pressure internally in order to minimize round-off errors stemming
from small differences of big numbers. Any time an absolute pressure is needed, it is
generated by adding the so-called "operating pressure" to the gauge pressure:
absolute pressure = gauge pressure + "operating pressure"

This "operating pressure" is also used in the "incompressible ideal gas" model as
mentioned above. We will specify the "operating pressure" as equal to the measured
ambient pressure since the absolute pressure in the pipe varies only slightly from this
(you do get significant variations in gauge pressures though).

Boundary Conditions > Operating Conditions...

Enter 98338.2 under Operating Pressure and click OK.

Next we will specify the boundary condition for the centerline.

Boundary Conditions > centerline

Change the Type to axis and click OK. FLUENT will set the flow gradients at this
boundary in accordance with the axisymmetric assumption.

Now let's specify the boundary condition at the walls. By default, FLUENT correctly
picks the Wall boundary type for these boundaries. It will impose the no-slip condition
for velocity at these boundaries. Additionally, for the heated wall section, we need to
specify the heat flux into the flow.

Boundary Conditions > heated_section > Edit...

A new Wall window will open. Click on Thermal tab and enter 3473.9 next to Heat
Flux (w/m2) and click OK.
Higher Resolution Image

As discussed in the powerpoint presentation, we need to set:

 velocity and temperature (plus k and epsilon for the turbulence model equations)
at the inlet
 pressure at the outlet

For incompressible flow, the flow adjusts to the pressure at the outlet (consider this as a
signal you are sending the flow about what it needs to do inside the pipe).

Select:
Boundary Conditions > inlet
Note that the boundary Type is automatically set to velocity-inlet. FLUENT has an
automatic mechanism to pick a boundary type according to the name you give and
settings that you have selected previously (this could be dangerous if FLUENT selects
the wrong boundary type and a lackadaisical user doesn't change it.). In this case, it gets
it right.

Click Edit... to set up the correct inlet parameters. The Velocity Inlet window pops up.
Enter 25.05 next to Velocity Magnitude (m/s). For Turbulent Kinetic Energy (m2/s2),
enter value 0.09. For Turbulent Dissipation Rate (m2/s3), enter value 16. Note that k
and epsilon are not measured and are rough guess values. The results should not be
sensitive to these inputs since most of the turbulence is generated in the boundary layers
(ideally, you should check the sensitivity of your calculation to this setting).
Higher Resolution Image

Now click on Thermal tab and enter 298.15K for Temperature. Click OK to close the
window.

Finally, set up the outlet boundary condition:

Boundary Conditions > Outlet
FLUENT selects the pressure-outlet boundary type and its guess turns out to be right.

Click Edit... to specify the gauge pressure at the outlet. Enter -1112.3 for Gauge
Pressure and click Ok. (From experiment, measured outlet pressure is 97225.9 Pa.
Corresponding gauge pressure = 97225.9 Pa - operating pressure = -1112.3 Pa)

Higher Resolution Image

Now FLUENT knows all necessary elements of our beloved BVP (domain, governing
equations and boundary conditions). In the Solution step, we'll prod the beast to obtain
an approximate numerical solution to our BVP.

Step 5: Solution
FLUENT incorporates advanced algorithms for numerically solving our nonlinear BVP.
There are lots of knobs in the Solution menu that you can twiddle to improve your
numerical solution to the BVP. We'll not mess with most of these since the default
settings yield an adequate numerical solution for our problem. We could get a slight
improvement in accuracy by fiddling various knobs which we'll refrain from doing.

Let's now investigate how we can achieve a numerical solution in FLUENT. One must
keep in mind that the governing equations we are attempting to find an approximate
solution to are non-linear. This means that in order for a CFD program, such as
FLUENT to solve it, it must go through an iterative process. This process is briefly
described in the flow-chart below.

From the flow chart, we see that we need to provide FLUENT with an initial guess for
the flow variables (velocity, pressure etc.) to start the iterations. We'll also specify the
convergence criterion to let the beast know when to consider the iterative process to
have converged to a solution.

Let's take a peek under:

Solution > Solution Methods

In this case, we are using the first order solvers. (If time permits, try using second order
solvers and determine what kind of difference it makes to the convergence time and the
final solution. This is the one of the first knobs that one twiddles).

To set the convergence criterion identified in the flowchart above , select:

Solution > Monitors > Residuals - Print, Plot > Edit...

We see that we need to provide a convergence criterion for each PDE that is being
solved. For this example, we will use the default values. Also make sure Plot box is
checked. This will help you monitor how/whether the solution is proceeding to
convergence. Click OK.

Next, we set the initial guess indicated in the flowchart. The initial guess can be entered
using:

Solution > Solution Initialization

For this example, we know the conditions at the inlet of the pipe (except for pressure
which is set to zero gauge by default). Initialize the entire flowfield to the specified
values at the inlet: Under Compute from, select Inlet and click Initialize.

To prevent the computer from iterating indefinitely, we need to set an iterations limit.

Solution > Run Calculation

Enter 500 for Number of Iterations and click Calculate. You will see a window
message saying Calculating the solution... Wait for FLUENT to finish the calculation.
You should see a residual plot on screen as the computation is being performed. It
should look something like this:

Now that the computation is completed, we can go check out the results!

Step 6: Results
Please make sure your project is saved in Workbench. Double click on Results in the
Project Schematic window. This will open CFD-Post (the program used to analyze
results from FLUENT computation.)

Overview

You may have noticed in previous sections, that the pipe looks extremely long and thin
on the screen. In fact, due to the axisymmetric assumption, we have only modeled half
of a 2D section through the pipe in our analysis. To be able to make full use of the
results, we must:

1) Generate the results for the parameter investigated (e.g. temperature, pressure,
velocity).

2) Mirror the result to reflect the result of the full pipe section.
3) Stretch the pipe in the radial direction to better view contours.

The results shown below were obtained with a pipe length of 6.096 which is slightly
different from the current length of 6.045. So your results might be slightly different
from those shown below.

Temperature Contour

Our first challenge is the temperature contour. On the top menu, click on contour .
We will be calling this contour "Temperature Contour", OK when done. On the left
hand side, Details of Temperature Contour will allow you to select parameters relevant
to the results we're looking for. In this example, the Locations is periodic 1, the
Variable is Temperature. The number of contours is a personal preference, in this
example, we have selected 100. This step tells CFD-Post we are looking to plot
contours of temperature.

The next step is to mirror the image, this will make the results more intuitive and easier
to understand. From the previous screen, select the View tab. This tab will allow us to
adjust the appearance of the contour plot we have just generated. Check Apply
Reflection/Mirroring. Select ZX Plane for Method. Choosing this option reflects the
current model in the ZX plane and allows us to view the "full" pipe section.

Finally, we stretch the pipe in the radial direction. Select Apply Scale. Enter 30 for y-
axis. This will stretch our model in the y (radial) direction by a factor of 30. Click
Apply.

After you click Apply, you will see that under Outline > User Locations and Plots,
Temperature Contour is created. You will also see that the Temperature Contour is
plotted in the Graphics window on the right. Under Outline > User Locations and
Plots, uncheck Wireframe to see just the Temperature Contour in the Graphics
window.
Higher Resolution Image

Note if you see the image below instead:

Higher Resolution Image link not yet workingYou have not made a mistake, but you
do have an incompatible video card. Cornell students: this will most likely be occurring
in Phillips 318 or Upson B7 computer labs. Please make sure you use the ACCEL lab to
avoid further occurrences of this issue.

In developing the experiment, it was assumed that by the end of the adiabatic mixing
stage, the flow will be well mixed. Do the results from the numerical solution
simulation support this assumption?

Velocity Vectors

Our next challenge is to produce velocity vectors. This is a very similar process to
creating the temperature contours above. On the top menu, click on vector . Name it
"Velocity Vector" and click OK. Under Details of Velocity Vector, select periodic 1 for
Locations. Select Velocity for Variable. This tells CFD-post we are looking for vector
plots of velocity.

In the next step, we will specify the appearance of vector arrows. Select the Symbol tab.
Enter 0.05 for Symbol Size. This again is dependent on personal preference.
Finally click Apply. You will see that under Outline > User Locations and Plots,
Velocity Vector is created. Un-check Temperature Contour so that Graphics window
shows just the Velocity Vector plot. You can mirror the plot about the axis as before.
You can translate the model to look at flow development near the entrance. There is a
toolbar option at top that puts you in translate mode. You can click on the z-axis to
restore our original view.

Does the flow become fully developed at the end of the first section?

Centerline Temperature Plot

Now let's look at the temperature variation along the center-line of the pipe. To do this
we need to first create a center-line:

Insert > Location > Line

Name it "Centerline" and click OK. On the lower left panel, you will see Details of
Centerline. Enter the following coordinates.

Point 1 (0,0,0)

Point 2 (6.096,0,0)

Enter 50 for Samples. (This will be the number of sample points used when plotting
data)

Click Apply.

You will see centerline created under User Locations and Plots.
In the experiment, we are only able to measure the temperature at two points. First, at
the inlet of the pipe and second, after the adiabatic mixing stage. The simulation can
show us the variation of temperature in between these two points.

To create the desired plot:

Insert > Chart

Please name this chart "Centerline Temperature". You will see Details of Centerline
Temperature appear on the lower left panel. Select the General tab and name the chart
"Temperature Variation along Pipe Axis".

Moving on, please select the Data Series tab. This tab will help us specify the source of
the chart data. Create a new data series . Change the name from Series 1 to
FLUENT. Under Data Source, specify Centerline as Location. Click Apply. On top of
this would would also like to plot the experimental data, which can be downloaded here.
Download it to a directory of your choice. Now, click a new data series . Name it
"Experiment". Under Data Source, select File and browse for the downloaded
experimental data.
Now that we have our data sources, we will proceed by specifying the axes. We want to
see the variation of temperature with the length of the pipe. Therefore, temperature will
be on the y axis of the chart and x-position on the x axis of the chart. We will start by
defining the X-axis:

Click on X Axis tab. Next to Variable, choose X.

Now the y axis: Click on Y Axis tab. Next to Variable, choose Temperature.
Now that the chart specifications are defined, we want to customize the display. The
default setting is to display all data series using line charts, but since we only have very
few experimental points, it would be more logical to display the experimental data using
data points: Click on Line Display tab. Select "Experimental" . Next to Line Style,
change Automatic to None. Next to Symbols, change None to Diamond. Change the
color to red. Click Apply.We are now displaying experimental data using data points
denoted by red diamonds.
You will see Centerline Temperature created under Report in the Outline tab.
This is what you should see in the Graphics window.

Higher Resolution Image

From this it is obvious the experimental data compares quite well to simulation results.
This would be more accurate if we had more experimental data points to work with, but
as it is not the case, we can only assume that the in between stages match just as well as
the inlet and outlet temperatures.

Wall Temperature Plot

We will now investigate the temperature variation along the wall. To do this we need to
create a new line on the simulation. It needs to be a horizontal line correponding to the
wall.

Insert > Location > Line

Please name this line "Wall" . On the lower left panel, you will see Details of Wall.
Enter the following coordinates.

Point 1 (0,0.0294,0)

Point 2 (6.096,0.0294,0)

Again 50 for the sample size

Click Apply.

You will see wall created under User Locations and Plots.

Next, we will repeat the previous process, but using this new line as source data.
Insert > Chart

You will see Details of Wall Temperature appear on the lower left panel. Under
General tab, please name the chart "Wall Temperature".
Now click on Data Series tab to specify the location of the chart data. Create a new data
series . Change the name from Series 1 to FLUENT. Under Data Source, specify
Wall as Location.

As before, we would also like to compare our simulation result with experimental data.
Experimental data can be downloaded here. Now, click a new data series . Name it
Experiment. Under Data Source, select File and browse for the downloaded
experimental data.

Again in this case, the x-axis is the x-position along the pipe and the y-axis denotes
temperature.

As previously shown, we will specify how the chart should be displayed. The default
setting is to display the data series in lines. Since we only have a few experimental
points, we want them to be displayed in data points. Click on Line Display. Then click
on experimental tab. Next to Line Style, change Automatic to None. Next to Symbols,
change None to Diamond. Change the color to red. Click Apply.
This is what you should see in the Graphics window.

Higher Resolution Image

The experimental data are a fairly good match for what the simulation has predicted.
The wall temperature in the experiment seems to be consistently higher than the
simulation in the heated section. We will later check if refining the mesh improves this
agreement.

Pressure Plot

Now let's us look at the pressure variation at the centerline. We can use the center-line
we created earlier.

Next, we will create a chart using this Location data.

Insert > Chart
Enter "Axial Pressure" as Name. You will see Details of Axial Pressure appear on the
lower left panel. Under General, name the chart "Pressure Variation along Pipe Axis".

Now click on Data Series tap to specify the location of the chart data. Create a new data
series . Change the name from Series 1 to FLUENT. Under Data Source, specify
Centerline as Location. The centerline was already created while doing the temperature
variation along the center-line. If that chart was skipped please refer to that section on
how to create a centerline.
We would also like to compare our simulation result with experimental data.
Experimental data is can be downloaded here. Download it to the directory that you
like. Now, click a new data series . Name it Experiment. Under Data Source, select
File and browse for the downloaded experimental data.

Our purpose in this exercise is to study the pressure variation along the length of the
pipe. Therefore our chart should show pressure in the y-axis and x-position in the x-
axis.

In this case, our x-axis variable is x and our y-axis variable is pressure.
We want to the chart to be displayed exactly the same way as for wall temperature and
centerline temperature plots.
This is what you should see in the Graphics window.

Higher Resolution Image

The simulation results follow the experimental data quite closely, the general trend is
that pressure decreases (almost linearly) as we move from the inlet towards the outlet of
the pipe.

Axial Velocity Profile

Now, let's investigate the velocity profile at different lengths along the pipe. We are
especially interested in the flow development before it enters the heated section. Then
please divert your attention to the difference heat addition has on flow development.

Axial Velocity Profile before Heated Section

The heated section is from x-positions of 1.83m to 4.27m. To allow us insight into flow
development before the heated section, we will begin by creating 4 lines of x-position
less than 1.83m.

Insert > Location > Line

The first line will be to define the inlet. Accordingly, please name this line "Inlet" and
click OK. On the lower left panel, you will see Details of Inlet. Enter the following
coordinates. The coordinates are entered in terms of (x,y,z).

Point 1 (0,0,0)

Point 2 (0,0.0294,0)

We want to create a vertical line, parallel to the y axis, so check to make sure that the x
and z coordinates are the same for both points.

Enter 50 for Samples.

Click Apply.
Please repeat the process for Preheat 1 (x = 0.6) Preheat 2 (x=1.2) and 3 (x=1.8)

To double check, the coordinates for the 4 lines should be:

Point 1 Point 2

Inlet (0,0,0) (0,0.0294,0)

Preheat1 (0.6,0,0) (0.6,0.0294,0)

Preheat2 (1.2,0,0) (1.2,0.0294,0)

Preheat3 (1.8,0,0) (1.8,0.0294,0)

Check that you have the following under Outline.

Now that we have enough intervals to understand the flow development before the
heating. We should create a chart of the velocity profile at these lines.

Insert > Chart

Enter "First Section Axial Velocity Profile" as Name. Again, Details of First Section
Axial Velocity Profile will appear and please name the chart "Axial Velocity Profile".

Select the Data Series tab to specify the location of the chart data. Create a new data
series . Under Data Source, specify Inlet as Location. Change the name to Inlet.
Continue adding Data Source until we added all Inlet, Preheat 1, Preheat 2, and
Preheat 3. Name them according to the figure shown below.
Now we will specify the X Axis parameter. Click on X Axis tab. Next to Variable,
choose Velocity u. Next we will specify the Y Axis parameter. Click on Y Axis tab.
Next to Variable, choose Y. Click Apply. You will see First Section Axial Velocity
Profile created under Report in the Outline tab.

This is what you should see in the Graphics window.

Higher Resolution Image

Notice preheat 2 and preheat 3 lines yield almost the same velocity profile. This tells us
that after preheat 2, the flow his almost fully developed.
Axial Velocity Profile before and after Heated Section

To make things more interesting, let's now compare the velocity profiles before and
after the heated section. To do this, we need to first create lines after heated section

Insert > Location > Line

Name it "Postheat 1" and click OK. On the lower left panel, you will see Details of
Postheat 1. Enter the following coordinates.

Point 1 (4.27,0,0)

Point 2 (4.27,0.0294,0)

Enter 50 for Samples. (This will be the number of sample points used when plotting
data) Click Apply.

Create Postheat 2.
Insert > Location > Line

Name it "Postheat 2" and click OK. On the lower left panel, you will see Details of
Postheat 2. Enter the following coordinates.

Point 1 (5,0,0)

Point 2 (5,0.0294,0)

Enter 50 for Samples. Click Apply.

Continue the same step for creating line Outlet (x=6.096m).

Now we will have enough interval to look at the flow development before and after the
heating. Let's create a chart to investigate this.

Insert > Chart

Enter "Second Section Axial Velocity Profile" as Name. You will see Details of Second
Section Axial Velocity Profile appear on the lower left panel. Under General, give the
chart Title as "Axial Velocity Profile".

Now click on Data Series tap to specify the location of the chart data. Create a new data
series. Under Data Source, specify Preheat 3 as Location. Change the name to
x=1.8m. Continue adding Data Source until we added all Preheat 3, Postheat 1,
Postheat 2, and Outlet. Name them according to the figure shown below.
Now we will specify the X Axis parameter. Click on X Axis tab. Next to Variable,
choose Velocity u. Next we will specify the Y Axis parameter. Click on Y Axis tab.
Next to Variable, choose Y. Click Apply. You will see First Section Axial Velocity
Profile created under Report in the Outline tab.
This is what you should see in the Graphics window.

Higher Resolution Image

What we notice when comparing fully developed flow before and after heated section is
that the flow increases in velocity after the heated section. As air is heated, the density
decreases. So the velocity has to increase to maintain the same mass flow rate.

Temperature Profile

Now let's us look at the temperature profile before and after the heating section.
Insert > Chart
Enter "Temperature Profile" as Name. Details of Temperature Profile appears on the
lower left panel, so please name the chart "Temperature Profile".

Now click on Data Series tab to specify the location of the chart data. Create a new data
series. Under Data Source, specify Preheat 3 as Location. Change the name to
x=1.8m. Similarly, add the locations: Preheat 3, Postheat 1, Postheat 2, and Outlet.
Name them according to the figure shown below.

Now we will specify the X Axis parameter. Click on X Axis tab. Next to Variable,
choose Temperature. Next we will specify the Y Axis parameter. Click on Y Axis tab.
Next to Variable, choose Y. Click Apply. You will see Temperature Profile created
under Report in the Outline tab.This is what you should see in the Graphics window.

Higher Resolution Image

The plot shows temperature is nearly uniform at the outlet (end of mixing section).

Step 7: Verification & Validation

Verification and validation is a formal process for checking results. Each of these terms
has a specific meaning which we won't get into here. We'll act like consultants and do
the bare minimum: we'll refine the mesh and make sure that the results are nearly
independent of the mesh. We will also repeat the comparison with experiment which is
a very important way to check simulation results.

Refine Mesh

Let's repeat the solution on a finer mesh with smaller cells. In workbench, under Forced
Convection project, right click on Fluid Flow (FLUENT) and click duplicate. Rename
the duplicate project to Force Convection Refined Mesh. You should have two project
cells in workbench.

Double click on Mesh for Forced Convection Refined Mesh. The ANSYS Mesher
window will open. Under Outline, expand mesh tree and click on Edge Sizing.

Highlight "Edge Sizing". Under Details of "Edge Sizing", increase Number of

Divisions to 50. This will refine the mesh in the radial direction.

Highlight "Edge Sizing 2". Under Details of "Edge Sizing 2", decrease element size to
be 0.02. This will refine the mesh in the axial direction.

Click Update to generate the new mesh. If you refer back to the mesh details
and expand statistics, you will notice that the number of elements has increased to
15300, compared to 5508 of the original mesh.
Close the ANSYS Mesher and go back to Workbench windows. Under Forced
Convection Refined Mesh, right click on Fluid Flow (FLUENT) and click Update.
Wait for a few minutes for FLUENT to obtain a solution and update all the results.
We would want to compare the solution on the two meshes. To do that, drag the
Solution cell of Forced Convection Refined Mesh to Results cell of Forced
Convection.

Finally, double click on Results cell of Forced Convection to compare. Under Outline
tab, click on the results of interest to analyze (pretty sweet, huh?).