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0 Release

Module 5: Solving
Introduction to ANSYS Fluent

1 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. April 12, 2016

 Introduction
Lecture Theme:
A Fluent simulation begins with initialization and proceeds, over a number of
iterations, to convergence. Inputs that control this process are called solver settings.
Convergence is a critical concept in simulation, so while default settings can be used in
most cases, a basic understanding of the role of the most important settings can help
to ensure optimal convergence.
Learning Aims:
You will learn:
• How to specify the solver and choose solution methods and controls
• How to initialize the solution
• How to use report definitions to monitor and judge convergence
Learning Objectives:
You will be able to choose appropriate methods and controls for your Fluent
simulation and be able to monitor and judge solution convergence
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 ANSYS Fluent Workflow
Ribbon Guides Basic Workflow

• Setting Up Domain • Setting Up Physics • Solving • Postprocessing

– Read and check mesh – Solver – Choose solution methods – Graphics and Plots
– Check mesh quality • Setup basic options and controls • Visualize solution data
– Define mesh interfaces (if – Models – Define reports for – Reports
needed) • Setup Energy, Viscous convergence checking • Quantitative solution
• See Module 3 (turbulence), – Initialization analysis
– Convert mesh to Multiphase, … – Run calculation
polyhedra (optional, if – Materials
needed) • Create/Edit materials
– Transform mesh and their properties
(optional, if needed) – Zones
• Scale, translate, rotate • Cell zone and boundary
– Set units conditions
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Solving Overview
Set the solution parameters
• The sketch to the right shows the basic
workflow for any simulation once the Initialize the solution
domain and physics have been set up
• Most items in the chart will be covered Enable the report definitions of interest
here
Calculate a solution Modify solution
– Solution parameters parameters or grid
• Choosing the solver
• Solution methods Check for convergence
– Initialization
Yes No
– Calculate the solution and monitor convergence
• Monitoring convergence
• Stability No
Check for accuracy
– Setting controls
• Accelerating convergence Yes
– Accuracy Stop
• (Discussed in Module 09, "Best Practices for CFD")
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Solver Types

• Recall from Module 3 that Fluent has two

types of solver, pressure-based and
density-based
• Pressure-Based is the default and should
be used for most problems
• Handles the range of Mach numbers
from 0 to ~2-3
• Density-Based is normally only used for
higher Mach numbers, or for specialized
cases such as capturing interacting shock
waves
• Available methods and controls will vary
depending on solver type
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Methods for the Pressure-Based Solver
• Choose Methods… in the Solution group to open the
Solution Methods Task Page
• Pressure-Velocity Coupling needed by Pressure-Based
Solver
• Default is SIMPLE
– Good for majority of routine incompressible flow
applications
• For compressible flows choose Coupled Enabling pressure-based coupled
– Often referred to as pressure-based coupled solver, solver (PBCS)
or PBCS
– Also preferred for incompressible flow cases
involving buoyancy or rotation
– Use in place of SIMPLE for any case that has
convergence problems
• The other selections are only used in specific situations
‒ PISO is normally only used for transient calculations
(Module 09)
‒ SIMPLEC is primarily of academic interest
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Under-relaxation Factors
• Implicit under-relaxation factors are
used for SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, PISO
– The under-relaxation factor, α, is
included to stabilize the iterative process
for the pressure-based solver
– The final, converged solution is
independent
of the under-relaxation factor
• Only the number of iterations
required
for convergence is dependent
• The default settings are suitable for a
wide range of problems
– You can reduce the values when necessary
– Appropriate settings are best learned
from experience!
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Pressure-Based Coupled Solver Controls

• Two methods are available to control the solution when

using the pressure-based coupled solver
– Courant number: default =200
• Can be reduced to 10-50 for problems that are difficult to converge or
for complex physics such as multiphase and combustion
• In general, lower Courant number values make the solution more stable,
while higher values allow the solution to converge faster
– If the value used is too high, the solution will probably diverge
• As with under-relaxation factors, optimal values can be somewhat
problem dependent and are best learned from experience
– Pseudo-transient (next slide)

Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Pseudo Transient Settings

• Using the Pseudo Transient option with the

pressure-based coupled solver can lead to better
convergence for meshes with high aspect ratio
cells
− Select in Solution Methods task page after
choosing Coupled
• This option requires inputs for the calculation of
the pseudo time step
− Accessed from Advanced option in the Run
Calculation group
− For internal flows, the default settings of
Automatic and Length Scale Method =
Conservative work well in the majority of cases
− For external flows, use Automatic with User-
Specified length scale equal to a characteristic
length of the geometry, e.g. airfoil chord length
− More details can be found in the Appendix
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Spatial Discretization Settings

• Use of the default settings for spatial

discretization is recommended for most cases
‒ For natural convection problems, where gravity has been
activated, the pressure discretization must be changed to
PRESTO! or Body-Force Weighted

Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Initialization
• Fluent requires that all solution variables be initialized before starting iterations
– Basically this means that in every individual cell in the mesh a value must be assigned for every solution
variable to serve as an initial guess for the solution
– A realistic initial guess improves solution stability and accelerates convergence
– In some cases a poor initial guess may cause the solver to fail during the first few iterations
• 5 initialization methods are available **
– Hybrid initialization (default)
• Use this for most cases
– FMG initialization
• Provides a more realistic initial guess, but the initialization process takes much longer than other
methods
• Can be especially beneficial for compressible flows and rotating machinery
– Standard initialization
– Patch values
– Starting from a previous solution ** Specific details of each method can be found in Appendix
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Comparison of Initialization Methods

Initial mesh before Standard Initialization: Hybrid Initialization: FMG Initialization: Final converged
solving solution
All cells have the same Slightly more realistic Much more realistic
value non-uniform initial non-uniform initial
guess guess, however takes
longer to generate
In general, the closer the initial guess is to the final solution,
the fewer iterations will be needed to reach convergence.
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Run Calculation
• Steady State
− Enter the number of iterations to be performed
− Fluent will continue from the current solution
• If no iterations have been performed previously, it
starts from the initialized solution
− The solution will stop sooner if convergence monitor
checks are met
• Transient
− Enter the time step size and the number of time
steps for the solution to run
− Continues from the current solution

• Additional options for both steady state and

transient can be accessed from the task page,
which opens after selecting Advanced…
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Convergence

• The solver must perform enough

iterations to achieve a converged solution

Residuals
• At convergence, the following should be
satisfied:
– All discrete conservation equations (momentum,
energy, etc.) are obeyed in all cells to a specified Iteration Number
tolerance (Residual).
• The residual measures the imbalance of the current

Isentropic Efficiency
numerical solution and is related to but NOT EQUAL
to the numerical error.
– Overall mass, momentum, energy, and scalar balances
are achieved
– Target quantities reach constant values
• Integral: e.g. Pressure drop
• Local: e.g. Velocity at specified position Iteration Number
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Convergence

• Monitoring convergence using residual history

– Generally, a decrease in residuals by three orders of magnitude can be a sign of convergence
– Scaled energy residual should decrease to 10-6 (for the pressure-based solver)
– Scaled species residual may need to decrease to 10-5 to achieve species balance

• Best practice is to also monitor quantitative variables to decide

convergence
– Ensure that overall mass/heat/species conservation is satisfied
– Monitor other relevant key variables/physical quantities for confirmation
• Report Definitions are used for this purpose
• It is strongly recommended to use one or more report definitions for all simulations

Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Convergence Monitors – Residuals

• Residual plots show when the residual values

have reached the specified tolerance
– It is possible to modify or disable the default checking criterion
for convergence
• Prevents calculation being stopped prematurely

All equations
converged

10-3

10-6

Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Checking Overall Flux Conservation

• The net flux imbalance (shown in the GUI as Net Results) should be less
than 1% of the smallest flux through the domain boundary

Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Report Definitions

• A flexible approach to monitoring target

quantities
– Surface, Volume, Force and Flux reports
– Relevant variables or functions (e.g. surface integrals) at a
boundary or any defined surface
– Write to file, plot in graphics window, print to console
• These additional monitored quantities are
important convergence indicators
– The use of one or more of this type of solution monitor is
strongly recommended for all calculations
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Convergence Difficulties
• Numerical instabilities can arise with an ill-posed problem, poor-quality mesh and/or
inappropriate solver settings
– Exhibited as increasing (diverging) or “stuck” residuals
– Diverging residuals imply increasing imbalance in conservation equations
– Unconverged results are very misleading!
• Troubleshooting Continuity equation convergence
– Ensure that the problem is well-posed trouble affects convergence of
– Compute an initial solution using a all equations.
first-order discretization scheme
– For the pressure-based solver, decrease
underrelaxation factors for equations
having convergence problems
– For the density-based solver, reduce
the Courant number
– Remesh or refine cells which have large
aspect ratio or large skewness.
• Remember that you cannot improve
cell skewness by using mesh adaption!
Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Accelerating Convergence

• Convergence can be accelerated by:

– Supplying better initial conditions
• Starting from a previous solution (using file/interpolation when necessary)
– Gradually increasing under-relaxation factors or Courant number
• Excessively high values can lead to solution instability and convergence problems
• You should always save case and data files before continuing iterations
– Starting with a good quality mesh with appropriate mesh resolution
• The orthogonal quality reported in Mesh > Info > Quality should have a minimum value of 0.1
and an average value that is much higher

Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Convergence vs Accuracy

• A converged solution is not necessarily an accurate solution

• Accuracy depends on :
– Order of the discretization schemes (2nd order schemes are recommended)
– Mesh resolution
– Boundary Conditions
– Model limitations
– Geometry simplifications
– Precision of the solver (2d/3d or 2ddp/3ddp)
– …

Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Summary

• All CFD simulations utilize the same basic solution procedure

– Choose the solver & solution parameters
– Define solution monitors for important "target quantities" such as mass flow rate, drag, pressure drop, heat flux, ….
– Initialize the solution
– Calculate until you get a converged solution

• Use solution monitors for judging convergence

‒ Residual monitors are also useful
‒ Be sure to check flux reports for mass and energy
• The imbalance should be less than 1% of the throughput

Introduction Solution Methods and Controls Initializing and Calculating Convergence Summary

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 Appendix

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 Available Solvers
• There are two kinds of solvers available in Fluent
• Pressure based Pressure-Based Density-Based
• Density based Segregated Coupled Coupled Implicit Coupled-Explicit
Solve U-Momentum
Solve V-Momentum Solve Mass, Solve Mass,
Solve Mass Momentum, Momentum,
Solve W-Momentum & Momentum Energy, Energy,
Solve Continuity; Species Species
Update Velocity

Solve Energy

Solve Species

Solve Turbulence Equation(s)

Solve Other Transport Equations as required

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 Pressure-based Solver (PBS)

• The pressure-based solvers Pressure-Based

Segregated Coupled
– Velocity field is obtained from the momentum equation Solve U-Momentum
– Mass conservation (continuity) is achieved by solving a Solve V-Momentum
pressure correction equation Solve Mass
Solve W-Momentum & Momentum
• Pressure-velocity coupling algorithms are derived by
reformatting the continuity equation Solve Continuity;
• The pressure equation is derived in such a way that the Update Velocity
velocity field, corrected by the pressure, satisfies
continuity Solve Energy

– Energy equation (where appropriate) is solved sequentially Solve Species

– Additional scalar equations are also solved in a segregated
Solve Turbulence Equation(s)
(sequential) fashion
Solve Other Transport Equations as required

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 Density-based Solver (DBS)
• Density-based Solver (DBS) Density-Based
Coupled Implicit Coupled-Explicit
– The governing equations of continuity, momentum, and
(where appropriate) energy and species transport are
solved simultaneously (i.e., coupled together) Solve Mass, Solve Mass,
Momentum, Momentum,
– Additional scalar equations are solved in a segregated Energy, Energy,
fashion Species Species

– The density-based solver can be run implicit or explicit

Solve Turbulence Equation(s)

Solve Other Transport Equations as required

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 Using the Pseudo-transient Solution Method
• Solution Method panel
– Select Pseudo Transient

• Run Calculation panel

– Select Time step method
• Automatic (default)
• User Specified

– For Automatic
• Select Length Scale Method (time=length/velocity)
Internal Flow
– Aggressive :
– Conservative : Max( Lext , LVol ) Lext
– User Specified Min( Lext , LVol )
Internal Flow
Lvol  3 Vol
• Conservative setting is the default External Flow External Flow
• Specify “Time Step Scaling factor”: additional user control to scale automatic L
method

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 Pressure-Based Coupled Solver: Convergence
• Pressure based coupled solver with default settings
Rotating propeller 1500 rpm SIMPLE: ~2250 iterations Coupled: ~120 iterations

– Approximately 2250 iterations of SIMPLE (default) in 3.5 hours

– Approximately 120 iterations of coupled 13 minutes

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 Choosing a Solver – Density Based
• The density-based solver is applicable when there is a strong coupling, or
interdependence, between density, energy, momentum, and/or species

• Density-based Coupled Implicit

– The implicit option is generally preferred over explicit since explicit has a very strict limit on time scale size
(CFL constraint) as implicit does not have
– Examples: High speed compressible flow with combustion, hypersonic flows, shock interactions

• Density-based Coupled Explicit

– The explicit approach is used for cases where the characteristic time scale of the flow is on the same order as
the acoustic time scale
– Example: propagation of high-Mach shock waves, shock tube problem

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 DBS Iterative Procedure – Courant Number
• A pseudo-transient term is included in the density-based solver even for steady state problems
– The Courant number (CFL) defines the
time scale size
– The pseudo-transient option is available for
DBS as well as PBS.
• For density-based explicit solver:
– Stability constraints impose a maximum limit
on the Courant number (<2)
• For density-based implicit solver:
– The Courant number is theoretically not limited
by stability constraints
• Default value is 5
– (can be reduced for start up to 0.1-2)
– Values of 100 – 1000 are common in external aero
– Solution steering can be used to automatically adjust the Courant number as the solution iterates such that it has an optimal
value at all stages of the calculation
• See Workshop 04 “Fluid flow around the NACA0012 Airfoil”.

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 PBS - Interpolation Methods for Pressure
• Interpolation is required for calculating cell-face pressures in order to compute pressure gradient (Gauss
method):
 Value (e.g. Pressure) computed here

Area
Pface A face Vector
But solver must estimate the value at each face in
P 
face

Vol order to compute pressure gradient (Gauss method)

cell

– Standard – The default scheme; reduced accuracy for flows exhibiting large surface-
normal pressure gradients near boundaries (but should not be used when steep pressure
changes are present in the flow – PRESTO! scheme should be used instead)
– PRESTO! – Use for highly swirling flows, flows involving steep pressure gradients (porous
media, fan model, etc.), or in strongly curved domains
– Linear – Use when other options result in convergence difficulties or unphysical behavior
– Second-Order – Use for compressible flows; not to be used with porous media, jump, fans,
etc. or VOF/Mixture multiphase models
– Body Force Weighted – Use when body forces are large, e.g., high Ra natural convection
or highly swirling flows

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 Discretization (Interpolation Methods)
• Field variables (stored at cell centers) must be interpolated to the faces of the control volumes

• Interpolation schemes for the convection term:

– First-Order Upwind – Easiest to converge, only first-order accurate
– Power Law – More accurate than first-order for flows when Recell < 5 (typ. low Re flows)
– Second-Order Upwind – Uses larger stencils for 2nd order accuracy, essential with tri/tet mesh or
when flow is not aligned with grid; convergence may be slower
– Monotone Upstream-Centered Schemes for Conservation Laws (MUSCL) – Locally 3rd order
convection discretization scheme for unstructured meshes; more accurate in predicting secondary
flows, vortices, forces, etc.
– Quadratic Upwind Interpolation (QUICK) – Applies to quad/hex and hybrid meshes, useful for
rotating/swirling flows, 3rd-order accurate on uniform Quad mesh

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 Effects of Discretization Theory
Flow is misaligned with mesh
RG 1
ff f f  fC 0  b  fC 0  dr0
0
fC 0 dr 0 fC1
1st-Order Upwind
Scheme, b = 0
• If b = 0 we get the 1st-Order-Upwind convection scheme,
i.e. no correction 2nd-Order
– This is robust but only first order accurate Scheme,
– Sometimes useful for initial runs b=1.00
• If b = 1 we get the 2nd-Order-Upwind Scheme
– Additional Limiters must be added to guarantee the solution to be bounded QUICK
(fC0<ff<fC1)
Scheme
• The QUICK scheme “maximizes” b throughout the flow
domain while keeping the solution bounded

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 Discretization (Interpolation Methods)

• Interpolation schemes for the diffusive term:

– Always central-differenced & 2nd order accuracy

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 Interpolation Methods (Gradients)
• Gradients of solution variables are required in order to evaluate diffusive
fluxes, velocity derivatives, and for higher-order discretization schemes.
Cell based/ Least-Squares

RG
f f  fC 0  b  fC 0  dr0
• The gradients of solution variables at cell centers can be determined using
three approaches:
– Green-Gauss Cell-Based – Good, but solution may have false diffusion (smearing
of the solution fields)
– Green-Gauss Node-Based – More accurate; minimizes false diffusion; (strongly
recommended for tri/tet and hybrid meshes)
– Least-Squares Cell-Based – The default method. Less expensive to compute than
Node-Based gradients. Slightly more expensive than Cell-Based gradients.
However, exactly reconstruct linear field on highly skewed or distorted meshes.
(appropriate for any kind of meshes) Node-Based

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 Case Check
• Case Check is a utility in Fluent
which searches for common setup
errors and inconsistencies
– Provides guidance in selecting
case parameters and models

• Tabbed sections contain

recommendations which the
user can apply or ignore

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 DBS Iterative Procedure – Solution Steering
• Objective:
Blending Factor - Stage-1
– Provide an expert system that will navigate the
a f f  f0  (1  a ) b (f  dr )
solution from the difficult initial starting solution
to a converged solution with minimum user
intervention and tweaking
CFL=200
• Particularly useful for high speed
compressible flows CFL Update – Stage 2
CFL
• Activating Solution Steering:
– Set up your case the normal way CFL=5
0 100 200 300 400
– Perform initialization (i.e. typically from flow
inlets) Stage-1
Stage-2
– Activate Solution Steering
– Select type of flow that best characterizes the
problem
• incompressible, subsonic, transonic,
supersonic , hypersonic flows
– Start iterating CFL update Termination level

0 100 200 300 400

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 Standard Initialization and Patch Values
• Standard Initialization • Patch values for individual
– Generally the user selects an inlet boundary under variables in certain regions
“Compute from” to automatically fill the initialization – Free jet flows (high velocity for jet)
values with the values that are specified at the inlet – Combustion problems (high temperature
region to initialize reaction)
boundary
– Cell registers (created by marking the
cells in the Adaption panel) can be used
for patching values into various regions
of the domain.
– Multiphase flows (patch different phase volume
fractions in one or more regions)

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 Hybrid Initialization
• The default initialization method
• This provides a quick approximation of the
flow field, by a collection of methods.
• It solves Laplace's equation to determine the
velocity and pressure fields.

• All other variables, such as temperature,

turbulence, species mass fractions, volume
fractions, etc., will be automatically patched
based on domain averaged values or a
particular interpolation method.

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 FMG Initialization

• Full Multigrid (FMG) Initialization

– Can be used to create a better initialization of the flow field
• FMG Initialization is useful for complex flow problems involving large pressure and velocity gradients on large
meshes
– FMG uses the Full Approximation Storage (FAS) Multigrid method to solve the flow problem on a sequence of
coarser meshes
• Euler equations are solved with first-order accuracy on the coarse-level meshes

• To enable FMG initialization, execute the TUI command

/solve/init/fmg-initialization
• Settings can be accessed by the TUI command
/solve/init/set-fmg-initialization

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 Starting from a Previous Solution
• A previously calculated solution can be
used as an initial condition when
changes are made to the case setup
– Use solution interpolation to initialize a run
(especially useful for starting fine-mesh cases when
coarse-mesh solutions are available)
– Once the solution is initialized, additional iterations
always use the current data set as the starting point

• Sometimes solving a simplified version

of the problem first will provide a good
Actual Problem Initial Condition
initial guess for the real problem
Heat Transfer Isothermal
Natural convection Low Rayleigh number
Combustion / reacting flow Cold flow (no combustion)
Turbulence Inviscid (Euler) solution

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 Monitors as Convergence Criteria
• Use monitors to determine solution convergence
– Lift and drag monitors, for example
– Use with or without residual monitors

•Stop criterion based on solution monitor ‘residual’, which is

defined as
– Res-m(1)=abs[m(n)-m(n-1)]/m(n)
– where m(n) = monitor value at iteration number ‘n’

•Solution will be stopped when ‘residual’ is less than the stop

criterion over specified number of previous iterations

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 Tightening the Convergence Tolerance
• If solution monitors indicate that the solution
is converged, but the solution is still changing
or has a large mass/heat imbalance, this
clearly indicates the solution is not yet
converged
• In such a case, you need to:
– Reduce values of Convergence Criteria or disable Check
Convergence in the Residual Monitors panel
– Continue iterations until the solution converges

• Selecting None under Convergence Criterion

disables convergence checking for all
equations

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 Autosave
• The solution can be saved at regular intervals during the
calculation using the Autosave menu, which is accessed
through the Calculation Activities menu panel
– This can be helpful in situations where convergence difficulties are
encountered, because it makes it possible to return to an earlier point in the
calculation
– Keeping a large number of Autosave files can use a large amount of disk space,
therefore in most cases, it is recommended to use the option to retain only the
most recent files

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 Grid Adaption
• Grid adaption adds more cells where needed to
resolve the flow field without the pre-processor
• Adaption proceeds in three steps:
– Mark cells satisfying the adaption criteria and store them in a
“register”
– Display and modify the register
– Click on Adapt to adapt the cells listed in the register Refine Threshold should be set to 10% of
• Registers can be defined based on: the value reported in the Max field.
– Gradients or iso-values of all variables
– All cells on a boundary
– All cells in a region with a defined shape
– Cell volumes or volume changes
– y+ in cells adjacent to walls Always save case
• To assist adaption process, you can: and data files
– Combine adaption registers prior to adapting
– Draw contours of adaption function the mesh!
– Display cells marked for adaption
– Limit adaption based on cell size
and number of cells

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 Adaption Example – 2D Planar Shell
• Adapt grid in regions of large pressure gradient to better resolve the
sudden pressure rise across the shock
Large pressure gradient indicating a
shock (poor resolution on coarse mesh)

Initial Mesh Pressure Contours on Initial Mesh

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 2D Planar Shell – Solution on Adapted Mesh
• Solution-based mesh adaption allows better resolution of the bow shock
and expansion wave.
Adapted cells in locations of Mesh adaption yields much-improved
large pressure gradients resolution of the bow shock.

Adapted Mesh Pressure Contours on Adapted Mesh

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 Running Simulations in Parallel
• Serial

• Local Parallel
– Shared Memory

• Distributed Parallel
– Distributed Memory

• Different communication methods are available (MPICH2, HP MPI, PVM)

– See documentation “When To Use MPI or PVM” for more details, but HP MPI is recommended in most cases
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 Running Simulations in Parallel …
• In the Fluent Launcher you can choose Parallel
and set the Parameter

• If you choose Distributed Memory, you have to

specify the names of the computers which you
want to connect
– You can specify the names directly
– You can specify a file which contains the names

• For further information see Chapter 34 in User's

Guide

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