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In this post, I’ll give a simple example of how to create curves in blockMesh. For this example, we’ll look at the following basic setup: As you can see, we’ll … Continue Reading Creating curves in blockMesh (An Example)
Experimentally visualizing high-speed flow was a serious challenge for decades. Before the advent of modern laser diagnostics and velocimetry, the only real techniques for visualizing high speed flow fields were … Continue Reading Creating synthetic Schlieren and Shadowgraph images in Paraview
Sutherland’s equation is a useful model for the temperature dependence of the viscosity of gases. I give a few details about it in this post: https://curiosityfluids.com/2019/02/15/sutherlands-law/ The law given by: … Continue Reading Solving for your own Sutherland Coefficients using Python
The most common complaint I hear, and the most common problem I observe with OpenFOAM is its supposed “steep learning curve”. I would argue however, that for those who want … Continue Reading Tips for tackling the OpenFOAM learning curve
Here I will present something I’ve been experimenting with regarding a simplified workflow for meshing airfoils in OpenFOAM. If you’re like me, (who knows if you are) I simulate a … Continue Reading Automatic Airfoil C-Grid Generation for OpenFOAM – Rev 1
Here is a useful little tool for calculating the properties across a normal shock. If you found this useful, and have the need for more, visit http://www.stfsol.com. One of STF … Continue Reading Normal Shock Calculator
Here, I’ll cover the basic workflow that I implement when I am using cfMesh. First, when do I use cfMesh? I love cfMesh. I find it robust, easy to use … Continue Reading A cfMesh workflow to speed up and improve your meshing
When working on practical engineering applications, you often encounter problems where there are significant changes in temperature locally in the flow field. For instance, if you are doing a heat … Continue Reading Sutherland’s Law
Here is a little calculator for calculating the properties of air. Enter the pressure (Pa) and Temperature (K), and the calculator should produce an estimate for the specific heat capacities, … Continue Reading Air Properties Calculator
Here, I’ll give a high-level overview of my opinions on open-source meshing for OpenFOAM. This post should help point you in direction of the mesher you could use to accomplish … Continue Reading High-level overview of meshing for OpenFOAM (and others)
Here is a simple tool to calculate the pressure drop along a pipe. It uses the Haaland equation for friction factor to approximate the Colebrook equation. If Re<2300 the flow … Continue Reading Pipe Flow Pressure Drop Calculator
kω-SST (komegaSST) Boundary Conditions Here the basic boundary conditions if you are using the kOmegaSST model in OpenFOAM: At the wall: ω (omega) – specific dissipation rate BC type: fixedValue BC … Continue Reading BASIC kOmega-SST Boundary Conditions
Here’s a useful little tool to estimate your wall spacing requirements to achieve a specific y+. It is based on flat plate boundary layer friction estimations. Therefore, it should only … Continue Reading y+ Calculator
Here is an extremely simple simulation to set up that has a surprisingly beautiful output. In this post, we will simulation the classic Rayleigh–Bénard convection (see Wikipedia) in 3D using the buoyant … Continue Reading Rayleigh–Bénard Convection Using buoyantBoussinesqPimpleFoam
This post is a simple demonstration of the timeVaryingFixedUniformValue boundary condition. This boundary condition allows a Dirichlet-type boundary condition to be varied in time. To demonstrate, we will modify the … Continue Reading Time-Varying Cylinder Motion in Cross-flow: timeVaryingFixedUniformValue
The equations used to describe steady 1D isentropic flow are derived from conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, as well as an equation of state (typically the ideal gas law). … Continue Reading Equations for Steady 1D Isentropic Flow