Tutorial 13.

Using Dynamic Meshes

Introduction
In ANSYS FLUENT the dynamic mesh capability is used to simulate problems with
boundary motion, such as check valves and store separations. The building blocks for
dynamic mesh capabilities within ANSYS FLUENT are three dynamic mesh schemes,
namely, smoothing, layering, and remeshing. A combination of these three schemes
are used to tackle the most challenging dynamic mesh problems. However, for simple
dynamic mesh problems involving linear boundary motion, the layering scheme is often
sufficient. For example, flow around a check valve can be simulated using only the layering
scheme. In this tutorial, such a case will be used to demonstrate the layering feature of
the dynamic mesh capability in ANSYS FLUENT.
Check valves are commonly used to allow uni-directional flow. For instance, they are often
used to act as a pressure-relieving device by only allowing fluid to leave the domain when
the pressure is higher than a certain level. In such a case, the check valve is connected
to a spring that acts to push the valve to the valve seat and to shut the flow. But when
the pressure force on the valve is greater than the spring force, the valve will move away
from the valve seat and allow fluid to leave, thus reducing the pressure upstream. Gravity
could be another factor in the force balance, and can be considered in ANSYS FLUENT.
The deformation of the valve is typically neglected and thus allows for a rigid body Fluid
Structure Interaction (FSI) calculation, for which a UDF is provided.
This tutorial provides information for performing basic dynamic mesh calculations. This
tutorial demonstrates how to do the following:

• Use the dynamic mesh capability of ANSYS FLUENT to solve a simple flow-driven
rigid-body motion problem.
• Set boundary conditions for internal flow.
• Use a compiled user-defined function (UDF) to specify flow-driven rigid-body mo-
tion.
• Calculate a solution using the pressure-based solver.

Prerequisites
This tutorial is written with the assumption that you have completed Tutorial 1, and
that you are familiar with the ANSYS FLUENT navigation pane and menu structure.
Some steps in the setup and solution procedure will not be shown explicitly.

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Problem Description
The check valve problem to be considered is shown schematically in Figure 13.1. A 2D
axisymmetric valve geometry is used, consisting of a mass flow inlet on the left, and a
pressure outlet on the right, driving the motion of a valve. In this case, the transient
motion of the valve due to spring force, gravity, and hydrodynamic force is studied.
Note, however, that the valve in this case is not completely closed. Instead, for the sake
of simplicity, a small gap remains between the valve and the valve seat (since dynamic
mesh problems require that at least one layer remains in order to maintain the topology).

wall:001
seat valve
wall pressure
mass flow inlet valve outlet
axis−inlet axis−move

Figure 13.1: Problem Specification

Setup and Solution

Preparation
1. Download dynamic_mesh.zip from the User Services Center to your working folder
(as described in Tutorial 1).

2. Unzip dynamic_mesh.zip.
The files, valve.msh and valve.c can be found in the dynamic mesh folder created
after unzipping the file.
A user-defined function will be used to define the rigid-body motion of the valve
geometry. This function has already been written (valve.c). You will only need to
compile it within ANSYS FLUENT.

3. Use FLUENT Launcher to start the 2D version of ANSYS FLUENT.

For more information about FLUENT Launcher, see Section 1.1.2 in the separate
User’s Guide.
Note: The Display Options are enabled by default. Therefore, once you read in the
mesh, it will be displayed in the embedded graphics window.

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Step 1: Mesh
1. Read the mesh file valve.msh.
File −→ Read −→Mesh...

Step 2: General Settings

General

1. Check the mesh.

General −→ Check
Note: You should always make sure that the cell minimum volume is not negative,
since ANSYS FLUENT cannot begin a calculation if this is the case.

2. Display the mesh (Figure 13.2).

General −→ Display...

(a) Deselect axis-inlet, axis-move, inlet, and outlet from the Surfaces selection list.
(b) Click Display.

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Figure 13.2: Initial Mesh for the Valve

(c) Close the Mesh Display dialog box.

3. Enable an axisymmetric steady-state calculation.

General

(a) Select Axisymmetric from the 2D Space list.

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Step 3: Models
Models

1. Enable the standard k- turbulence model.

Models −→ Viscous −→ Edit...

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(a) Select k-epsilon from the Model list and retain the default selection of Standard
in the k-epsilon Model group box.
(b) Click OK to close the Viscous Model dialog box.

Step 4: Materials
Materials

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1. Apply the ideal gas law for the incoming air stream.
Materials −→ Fluid −→ Create/Edit...

(a) Select ideal-gas from the Density drop-down list.

(b) Click Change/Create.
(c) Close the Create/Edit Materials dialog box.

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Step 5: Boundary Conditions

Boundary Conditions
Dynamic mesh motion and all related parameters are specified using the items in the
Dynamic Mesh task page, not through the Boundary Conditions task page. You will set
these conditions in a later step.

1. Set the conditions for the mass flow inlet (inlet).

Boundary Conditions −→ inlet
Since the inlet boundary is assigned to a wall boundary type in the original mesh,
you will need to explicitly assign the inlet boundary to a mass flow inlet boundary
type in ANSYS FLUENT.

(a) Select mass-flow-inlet from the Type drop-down list in the Boundary Conditions
task page.
(b) Click Yes when ANSYS FLUENT asks you if you want to change the zone type.

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The Mass-Flow Inlet boundary condition dialog box will open.

i. Enter 0.0116 kg/s for Mass Flow Rate.

ii. Select Normal to Boundary from the Direction Specification Method drop-
down list.
iii. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification Method drop-
down list in the Turbulence group box.
iv. Retain 10 % for Turbulent Intensity.
v. Enter 20 mm for the Hydraulic Diameter.
vi. Click OK to close the Mass-Flow Inlet dialog box.

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2. Set the conditions for the exit boundary (outlet).

Boundary Conditions −→ outlet

Since the outlet boundary is assigned to a wall boundary type in the original mesh,
you will need to explicitly assign the outlet boundary to a pressure outlet boundary
type in ANSYS FLUENT.
(a) Select pressure-outlet from the Type drop-down list in the Boundary Conditions
task page.
(b) Click Yes when ANSYS FLUENT asks you if you want to change the zone type.

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The Pressure Outlet boundary condition dialog box will open.

i. Select From Neighboring Cell from the Backflow Direction Specification

Method drop-down list.
ii. Select Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter from the Specification Method drop-
down list in the Turbulence group box.
iii. Retain 10 % for Turbulent Intensity.
iv. Enter 50 mm for Backflow Hydraulic Diameter.
v. Click OK to close the Pressure Outlet dialog box.
3. Set the boundary type to axis for both the axis-inlet and the axis-move boundaries.
Boundary Conditions
Since the axis-inlet and the axis-move boundaries are assigned to a wall boundary
type in the original mesh, you will need to explicitly assign these boundaries to an
axis boundary type in ANSYS FLUENT.
(a) Select axis-inlet from the Zone list and select axis from the Type list.
(b) Click Yes when ANSYS FLUENT asks you if you want to change the zone type.
(c) Retain the default Zone Name in the Axis dialog box and click OK to close the
Axis dialog box.
(d) Select axis-move from the Zone list and select axis from the Type list.
(e) Click Yes when ANSYS FLUENT asks you if you want to change the zone type.
(f) Retain the default Zone Name in the Axis dialog box and click OK to close the
Axis dialog box.

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Step 6: Solution: Steady Flow

In this step, you will generate a steady-state flow solution that will be used as an initial
condition for the time-dependent solution.

1. Set the solution parameters.

Solution Methods

(a) Retain all default discretization schemes in the Solution Methods task page.
This problem has been found to converge satisfactorily with these default set-
tings.

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2. Set the relaxation factors.

Solution Controls

(a) Retain the default values for Under-Relaxation Factors in the Solution Controls
task page.

3. Enable the plotting of residuals during the calculation.

Monitors −→ Residuals −→ Edit...

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(a) Make sure Plot is enabled in the Options group box.

(b) Click OK to close the Residual Monitors dialog box.

4. Initialize the solution.

Solution Initialization

(a) Select inlet from the Compute From drop-down list.

(b) Click Initialize in the Solution Initialization task page.

5. Save the case file (valve init.cas.gz).

File −→ Write −→Case...

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6. Start the calculation by requesting 150 iterations.

Run Calculation

The solution converges in approximately 100 iterations.

7. Save the case and data files ( valve init.cas.gz and valve init.dat.gz).
File −→ Write −→Case & Data...

Step 7: Time-Dependent Solution Setup

1. Enable a time-dependent calculation.
General

(a) Select Transient from the Time list in the General task page.

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2. Set the solution parameters.

Solution Methods

(a) Retain the default selection of First Order Implicit from the Transient Formula-
tion drop-down list in the Solution Methods task page.

! Dynamic mesh simulations currently work only with first-order time ad-
vancement.

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Step 8: Mesh Motion

1. Select and compile the user-defined function (UDF).
Define −→ User-Defined −→ Functions −→Compiled...

(a) Click Add... in the Source Files group box.

The Select File dialog box will open.
i. Select the source code valve.c in the Select File dialog box, and click OK.
(b) Click Build in the Compiled UDFs dialog box.
The UDF has already been defined, but it needs to be compiled within ANSYS
FLUENT before it can be used in the solver. Here you will create a library with
the default name of libudf in your working folder. If you would like to use
a different name, you can enter it in the Library Name field. In this case you
need to make sure that you will open the correct library in the next step.
A dialog box will appear warning you to make sure that the UDF source files are
in the folder that contains your case and data files. Click OK in the warning
dialog box.
(c) Click Load to load the UDF library you just compiled.
When the UDF is built and loaded, it is available to hook to your model. Its
name will appear as valve::libudf and can be selected from drop-down lists of
various dialog boxes.

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2. Hook your model to the UDF library.

Define −→ User-Defined −→Function Hooks...

(a) Click the Edit... button next to Read Data to open the Read Data Functions
dialog box.
i. Select reader::libudf from the Available Read Data Functions selection list.
ii. Click Add to add the selected function to the Selected Read Data Functions
selection list.
iii. Click OK to close the Read Data Functions dialog box.
(b) Click the Edit... button next to Write Data to open the Write Data Functions
dialog box.
i. Select writer::libudf from the Available Write Data Functions selection list.
ii. Click Add to add the selected function to the Selected Write Data Functions
selection list.
iii. Click OK to close the Write Data Functions dialog box.
These two functions will read/write the position of C.G. and velocity in the X
direction to the data file. The location of C.G. and the velocity are necessary
for restarting a case. When starting from an intermediate case and data file,
ANSYS FLUENT needs to know the location of C.G. and velocity, which are
the initial conditions for the motion calculation. Those values are saved in the
data file using the writer UDF and will be read in using the reader UDF when
reading the data file.

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(c) Click OK to close the User-Defined Function Hooks dialog box.

3. Enable dynamic mesh motion and specify the associated parameters.

Dynamic Mesh

(a) Enable Dynamic Mesh in the Dynamic Mesh task page.

For more information on the available models for moving and deforming zones,
see Chapter 11 in the separate User’s Guide.
(b) Disable Smoothing and enable Layering in the Mesh Methods group box.
ANSYS FLUENT will automatically flag the existing mesh zones for use of the
different dynamic mesh methods where applicable.
(c) Click the Settings... button to open the Mesh Method Settings dialog box.

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i. Click the Layering tab.

ii. Select Ratio Based in the Options group box.
iii. Retain the default settings of 0.4 and 0.2 for Split Factor and Collapse
Factor, respectively.
iv. Click OK to close the Mesh Method Settings dialog box.

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4. Specify the motion of the fluid region (fluid-move).

Dynamic Mesh −→ Create/Edit...
The valve motion and the motion of the fluid region are specified by means of the
UDF valve.

(a) Select fluid-move from the Zone Names drop-down list.

(b) Retain the default selection of Rigid Body in the Type group box.
(c) Make sure that valve::libudf is selected from the Motion UDF/Profile drop-down
list in the Motion Attributes tab to hook the UDF to your model.
(d) Retain the default settings of (0, 0) m for Center of Gravity Location, and 0
for Center of Gravity Orientation.
Specifying the C.G. location and orientation is not necessary in this case,
because the valve motion and the initial C.G. position of the valve are already
defined by the UDF.
(e) Click Create.

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5. Specify the meshing options for the stationary layering interface (int-layering) in the
Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box.

(a) Select int-layering from the Zone Names drop-down list.

(b) Select Stationary in the Type group box.
(c) Click the Meshing Options tab.
i. Enter 0.5 mm for Cell Height of the fluid-move Adjacent Zone.
ii. Retain the default value of 0 mm for the Cell Height of the fluid-inlet
Adjacent zone.
(d) Click Create.

6. Specify the meshing options for the stationary outlet (outlet) in the Dynamic Mesh
Zones dialog box.
(a) Select outlet from the Zone Names drop-down list.
(b) Retain the previous selection of Stationary in the Type group box.
(c) In the Meshing Options tab and enter 1.9 mm for the Cell Height of the
fluid-move Adjacent Zone.
(d) Click Create.

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7. Specify the meshing options for the stationary seat valve (seat-valve) in the Dynamic
Mesh Zones dialog box.
(a) Select seat-valve from the Zone Names drop-down list.
(b) Retain the previous selection of Stationary in the Type group box.
(c) In the Meshing Options tab and enter 0.5 mm for Cell Height of the fluid-move
Adjacent Zone.
(d) Click Create.

8. Specify the motion of the valve (valve) in the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box.
(a) Select valve from the Zone Names drop-down list.
(b) Select Rigid Body in the Type group box.
(c) Click the Motion Attributes tab.
i. Make sure that valve::libudf is selected from the Motion UDF/Profile drop-
down list to hook the UDF to your model.
ii. Retain the default settings of (0, 0) m for Center of Gravity Location,
and 0 for Center of Gravity Orientation.
(d) Click the Meshing Options tab and enter 0 mm for the Cell Height of the
fluid-move Adjacent zone.
(e) Click Create and close the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box.

In many MDM problems, you may want to preview the mesh motion before proceeding.
In this problem, the mesh motion is driven by the pressure exerted by the fluid on the
valve and acting against the inertia of the valve. Hence, for this problem, mesh motion
in the absence of a flow field solution is meaningless, and you will not use this feature
here.

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Step 9: Time-Dependent Solution

1. Set the solution paramters.
Solution Methods

(a) Select PISO from the Scheme drop-down list in Pressure-Velocity Coupling group
box.
(b) Enter 0 for Skewness Correction.
(c) Select PRESTO! from the Pressure drop-down list in the Spatial Discretization
group box.

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2. Set the relaxation factors.

Solution Controls

(a) Enter 0.6 for Pressure in the Under-Relaxation Factors group box.
(b) Enter 0.4 for Turbulent Kinetic Energy and Turbulent Dissipation Rate in the
Under-Relaxation Factors group box.

3. Request that case and data files are automatically saved every 50 time steps.
Calculation Activities (Autosave Every (Time Steps))−→ Edit...

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(a) Enter 50 for Save Data File Every (Time Steps).

(b) Enter valve tran-.gz in the File Name text box.
(c) Select flow-time from the Append File Name with drop-down list.
When ANSYS FLUENT saves a file, it will append the flow time value to the
file name prefix (valve tran-). The gzipped standard extensions (.cas.gz
and .dat.gz) will also be appended.
(d) Click OK to close the Autosave dialog box.

4. Create animation sequences for the static pressure contour plots and velocity vectors
plots for the valve.
Calculation Activities (Solution Animations)−→ Create/Edit...
Use the solution animation feature to save contour plots of temperature every five
time steps. After the calculation is complete, you use the solution animation play-
back feature to view the animated temperature plots over time.

(a) Set Animation Sequences to 2.

(b) Enter pressure in the Name text box for the first animation.
(c) Enter vv in the Name text box for the second animation.
(d) Set Every to 5 for both animation sequences.
The default value of 1 instructs ANSYS FLUENT to update the animation
sequence at every time step. For this case, this would generate a large number
of files.
(e) Select Time Step from the When drop-down list for pressure and vv.
(f) Click the Define... button next to pressure to open the Animation Sequence
dialog box.

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i. Retain the default selection of Metafile in the Storage Type group box.
Note: If you want to store the plots in a folder other than your working
folder, enter the folder path in the Storage Directory text box. If this
field is left blank (the default), the files will be saved in your working
folder (i.e., the folder where you started ANSYS FLUENT).
ii. Set Window number to 1 and click Set.
iii. Select Contours in the Display Type group box to open the Contours dialog
box.

A. Enable Filled in the Options group box.

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B. Retain the default selection of Pressure... and Static Pressure from the
Contours of drop-down lists.
C. Click Display (Figure 13.3).

Figure 13.3: Contours of Static Pressure at t = 0 s

D. Close the Contours dialog box.

iv. Click OK in the Animation Sequence dialog box.
The Animation Sequence dialog box will close, and the checkbox in the
Active column next to pressure in the Solution Animation dialog box will be
enabled.
(g) Click the Define... button next to vv to open the Animation Sequence dialog
box.
i. Retain the default selection of Metafile in the Storage Type group box.
ii. Set Window to 2 and click Set.
iii. Select Vectors in the Display Type group box to open the Vectors dialog
box.

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A. Retain all the default settings.

B. Click Display (Figure 13.4).

Figure 13.4: Vectors of Velocity at t = 0 s

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C. Close the Vectors dialog box.

iv. Click OK in the Animation Sequence dialog box.
The Animation Sequence dialog box will close, and the checkbox in the Ac-
tive column next to vv in the Solution Animation dialog box will be enabled.
(h) Click OK to close the Solution Animation dialog box.

5. Set the time step parameters for the calculation.

Run Calculation

(a) Enter 0.0001 s for Time Step Size.

(b) Retain 20 for Max Iterations/Time Step.
In the accurate solution of a real-life time-dependent CFD problem, it is impor-
tant to make sure that the solution converges at every time step to within the
desired accuracy. Here the first few time steps will only come to a reasonably
converged solution.
This will save the time step size to the case file (the next time a case file is
saved).

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6. Save the initial case and data files for this transient problem (valve tran-0.000000.cas.gz
and valve tran-0.000000.dat.gz).
File −→ Write −→Case & Data...
7. Request 150 time steps.
Run Calculation

Extra: If you decide to read in the case file that is provided for this tutorial on the
documentation CD, you will need to compile the UDF associated with this tutorial
in your working folder. This is necessary because ANSYS FLUENT will expect to
find the correct UDF libraries in your working folder when reading the case file.
The UDF (valve.c) that is provided can be edited and customized by changing the
parameters as required for your case. In this tutorial, the values necessary for this
case were preset in the source code. These values may be modified to best suit your
model.

Step 10: Postprocessing

1. Inspect the solution at the final time step.
(a) Inspect the contours of static pressure in the valve (Figure 13.5).
Graphics and Animations −→ Contours −→ Set Up...
The negative absolute pressure indicates cavitating flow.

Figure 13.5: Contours of Static Pressure After 150 Time Steps

For details about the cavitation model, see Section 16.7.4 in the separate
Theory Guide.

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(b) Inspect the velocity vectors near the point where the valve meets the seat
valve (Figure 13.6).
Graphics and Animations −→ Vectors −→ Set Up...

Figure 13.6: Velocity Vectors After 150 Time Steps

2. You can also inspect the solution at different intermediate time steps.
(a) Read the corresponding case and data files (e.g., valve tran-0.010000.cas.gz
and valve tran-0.010000.dat.gz).
File −→ Read −→Case & Data...
(b) Display the desired contours and vectors.
3. Play the animation of the pressure contours.
Graphics and Animations −→ Solution Animation Playback −→ Set Up...

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(a) Select pressure from the Sequences list.

The playback control buttons will become active.
(b) Set the slider bar above Replay Speed about halfway in between Slow and Fast.

(c) Retain the default settings in the rest of the dialog box and click the
button.
For additional information on animating the solution, see Tutorial 4 and see
Section 26.16 in the separate User’s Guide.

4. Play the animation of the velocity vectors.

Graphics and Animations −→ Solution Animation Playback −→ Set Up...
(a) Select vv from the Sequences list.

(b) Retain the default settings in the rest of the dialog box and click the
button.
(c) Close the Playback dialog box.

Summary
In this tutorial, a check valve is used to demonstrate the dynamic layering capability
within ANSYS FLUENT, using one of the three dynamic mesh schemes available. You
were also shown how to perform a one degree of freedom (1DOF) rigid body FSI by means
of a user-defined function (UDF). ANSYS FLUENT can also perform a more general six
degrees of freedom (6DOF) rigid body FSI using a built-in 6DOF solver.

Further Improvements
This tutorial guides you through the steps to generate an initial first-order solution. You
may be able to increase the accuracy of the solution further by using an appropriate
higher-order discretization scheme. For a more accurate solution, you can increase the
number of layers across the valve seat area. This can be achieved either by using a finer
mesh at the valve seat area and/or using a non-constant layer height instead of a constant
layer height, as demonstrated in this tutorial.

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