Technical Paper for Team Tech 2008 25th August 2008

Utilizing OpenSource Platform of OpenFoam for conducting CFD simulations Dr. M.R. Ravi, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, IIT Delhi Mr. Prashant Ojha, Mecharts Researchers Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Shishir Gupta1, Mecharts Researchers Pvt. Ltd. Abstract The physics of fluid flow and energy transfer is complicated and can only be solved for problems of practical relevance by using computational methods. Thus has developed the domain of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). It has wide variety of applications in various domains like Aerospace, Automobile, Defense, Bio-Medical, Chemical Processing, Power Generation, HVAC, Marine, Weather Prediction etc. In the domain of CFD, significant developments have happened in last 25 years on development of OpenSource platforms. Most notable of them is the CFD toolbox of OpenFoam, which has gained strength, robustness and popularity due to a very active user community. OpenFoams core technology is flexible set of efficient C++ modules. These modules have been used to build a whole gamut of efficient solvers which can be used to solve practically any kind of fluid problem. They are also being used by user community worldwide to develop customized and specific CFD software tools which are efficient, flexible and cost effective. This paper provides an overview of solving CFD problems using OpenFoam platform and. The examples provided are of Aerospace, Automobile, Power and HVAC (Heat Ventilation and Air Conditioning) sectors. It also provides a detailed documentation about a solver developed by the authors on OpenFoam which can perform species transport simulation in conjunction with Navier-Stokes and Turbulence equations.

1 Email: shishir@mechartes.com

Simulation Examples of OpenFoam:

Spray and combustion flame (non-premixed) Weather Prediction Bearings Viscous shear thinning Splash Simulation

References: [1] Computational Methods for Fluid Dynamics J.H. Ferziger, M. Peric Springer Publications [2] www.opencfd.co.uk/openfoam/