Tutorial 10.

Simulation of Wave Generation in a Tank

Introduction
The purpose of this tutorial is to illustrate the setup and solution of the 2D laminar fluid
flow in a tank with oscillating motion of a wall.
The oscillating motion of a wall can generate waves in a tank partially filled with a
liquid and open to atmosphere. Smooth waves can be generated by setting appropriate
frequency and amplitude. One of the tank walls is moved to and fro by specifying a
sinusoidal motion.
This tutorial demonstrates how to do the following:

• Read an existing mesh file in FLUENT.

• Check the grid for dimensions and quality.

• Add new fluid in the materials list.

• Set up a multiphase flow problem.

• Use the dynamic mesh model.

• Set up an animation using Execute Commands panel.

Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have little experience with FLUENT but are familiar with
the interface.

Problem Description
In this tutorial, we consider a rectangular tank with a length (L) of 15 m and width (W)
of 0.8 m (Figure 10.1). The left wall is assigned a motion with sinusoidal time variation.
The top wall is open to atmosphere and thus maintained at atmospheric pressure. The
flow is assumed to be laminar.

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Figure 10.1: Problem Schematic

Preparation
1. Copy the mesh file wave.msh and libudf folder to your working folder.
2. Start the 2D double precision (2ddp) version of FLUENT.

Setup and Solution

Step 1: Grid
1. Read the mesh file, wave.msh.
File −→ Read −→Case...
FLUENT will read the mesh file and report the progress in the console window.
2. Check the grid.
Grid −→Check
This procedure checks the integrity of the mesh. Make sure the reported minimum
volume is a positive number.
3. Check the scale of the grid.
Grid −→Scale...

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(a) Retain the default settings.

(b) Close the Scale Grid panel.
Check the domain extents to see if they correspond to the actual physical dimensions.
If not, the grid has to be scaled with proper units.

4. Display the grid (Figure 10.2).

Display −→Grid...

(a) Click Colors....

i. Enable Color by ID in the Options list.

ii. Close the Grid Colors panel.
(b) Click Display and close the Grid Display panel.

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Figure 10.2: Grid Display

Figure 10.3: Grid Display (Close-up of moving-wall)

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Step 2: Models
1. Specify the solver settings.
Define −→ Models −→Solver...

(a) Enable Unsteady in the Time list.

(b) Enable Non-Iterative Time Advancement in the Transient Controls list.
(c) Click OK to close the Solver panel.
2. Enable VOF multiphase model.
Define −→ Models −→Multiphase...

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(a) Enable Volume of Fluid in the Model list.

The panel expands to show the other settings related to VOF model. Retain
the other settings as default.
(b) Click OK to close the Multiphase Model panel.

Step 3: Materials
Define −→Materials...

1. Add liquid water to the list of fluid materials by copying it from the materials
database.

(a) Click Fluent Database....

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i. Select water-liquid (h2o<l>) from the Fluent Fluid Materials list.

ii. Click Copy and close the Fluent Database Materials panel.
(b) Click Change/Create and close the Materials panel.

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Step 4: Phases
Define −→Phases...

1. Set air as primary phase and water as secondary phase.

(a) Select phase-1 in the Phase list and click Set....

The Type will be shown as primary-phase.

i. Enter air for the Name.

ii. Select air in the Phase Material drop-down list.
iii. Click OK to close the Primary Phase panel.
(b) Similarly change the Name of phase-2 to water and set its Type to water-liquid.
(c) Close the Phases panel.

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Step 5: Operating Conditions

Define −→Operating Conditions...

1. Set the gravitational acceleration.

(a) Enable Gravity.

(b) Enter -9.81 m/s2 for Y in the Gravitational Acceleration list.
As the tank bottom is perpendicular to Y axis, gravity points in the negative
Y direction.
(c) Enable Specified Operating Density in the Variable-Density Parameters group
box.
(d) Retain the default density of 1.225 kg/m3 .
Set the operating density to the density of the lighter phase. This excludes
the build-up of hydrostatic pressure within the lighter phase, improving the
round-off accuracy for the momentum balance.
(e) Retain the default value of zero for both X and Y in the Reference Pressure
Location group box.
This location corresponds to a region where the fluid will always be 100% of
one of the phases (water). If it is not, it is recommended to change the region
to a appropriate location where the pressure value does not change much over
time. This condition is essential for smooth and rapid convergence.
2. Click OK to close the Operating Conditions panel.

Step 6: Boundary Conditions

FLUENT maintains zero velocity condition on all the walls. Also, the pressure condition
for outlet boundary at the top is set by default to zero gauge (or atmospheric). Hence,
there is no need to change the boundary conditions. Retain all the boundary conditions
as default.S

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Step 7: UDF Library

Define −→ User-Defined −→ Functions −→Compiled...

1. Click Load to load the libudf UDF library.

The sinusoidal wall motion will be assigned using user defined function. A compiled
UDF library named libudf is created for this purpose.

Step 8: Dynamic Mesh Model

1. Set the dynamic mesh parameters.
Define −→ Dynamic Mesh −→Parameters...

(a) Enable Dynamic Mesh in the Models list.

(b) Disable Smoothing and enable Layering in the Mesh Methods list.
(c) Click the Layering tab and enter 0.4 for the Collapse Factor.

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(d) Click OK to close the Dynamic Mesh Parameters panel.

2. Set the dynamic mesh zones.

Define −→ Dynamic Mesh −→Zones...

(a) Select moving-wall from the Zone Names drop-down list.

(b) Retain the default selection of Rigid Body in the Type list.
(c) Click the Meshing Options tab and enter 0.008 m for the Cell Height.
This is the average size of the cell normal to the moving wall.
(d) Click Create and close the Dynamic Mesh Zones panel.

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Step 9: Solution
1. Retain the default solution controls.
Solve −→ Controls −→Solution...

(a) Retain the default settings for all the parameters.

(b) Click OK to close the Solution Controls panel.

2. Initialize the flow.

Solve −→ Initialize −→Initialize...

(a) Click Init and close the Solution Initialization panel.

The complete domain is now initialized with air. The water level required at
start (t=0) can be patched.

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3. Create a register marking the region of initial water level.

Adapt −→Region...

(a) Enter 15 m for X Max and 0.5 m for Y Max in the Input Coordinates group
box.
(b) Click Mark and close the Region Adaption panel.
FLUENT displays the following message in the console:
8513 cells marked for refinement, 0 cells marked for coarsening.

4. Patch the initial water level.

Solve −→ Initialize −→Patch...

(a) Select hexahedron-r0 in the Registers to Patch list.

(b) Select water in the Phase list.
(c) Select Volume Fraction in the Variable list.
(d) Enter 1 for the Value.
(e) Click Patch and close the Patch panel.

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5. Display the zone motion to check the movement of moving-wall.

(a) Display the grid (Figure 10.4).
Display −→Grid...

i. Deselect default-interior in the Surfaces list.

Zoom-in the graphics window to get the view as shown in Figure 10.4.
ii. Click Display and close the Grid Display panel.

Figure 10.4: Grid Display Outline at t=0

(b) Display the zone motion.

Display −→Zone Motion...

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i. Enter 0.001 s for Time Step in the Motion History Integration group box.
ii. Enter 300 for Number of Steps.
iii. Click Integrate.
iv. Enter 0.001 s for Time Step in the Preview Controls group box.
v. Enter 300 for Number of Steps in the Preview Controls group box.
vi. Click Preview and close the Zone Motion panel.

6. View the contours of volume fraction for water (Figure 10.5).

Display −→Contours...

(a) Select Phases... and Volume Fraction from the Contours of drop-down lists.
(b) Select water in the Phase list.
(c) Enable Filled in the Options list.
(d) Click Display and close the Contours panel.

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Figure 10.5: Contours of Volume Fraction for Water

7. Enable the plotting of residuals during the calculation.

Solve −→ Monitors −→Residual...

(a) Enable Plot in the Options list.

(b) Enter 10 for Iterations in the Plotting group box.
This will display residuals for only the last 10 iterations.
(c) Click OK to close the Residual Monitors panel.

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8. Set hardcopy settings.

File −→Hardcopy...

(a) Select TIFF in the Format group box.

(b) Select Color in the Coloring group box.
(c) Click Apply.
(d) Click Preview.
The background of graphics window is changed to white. FLUENT will display
a question dialog box asking you whether to reset the window.
(e) Click Yes in the Question dialog box.
(f) Close the Graphics Hardcopy panel.

9. Set the commands to capture the images of contours.

You need to use Text User Interface (TUI) commands to achieve this. For most of
the graphical commands, corresponding TUI commands are available.
Solve −→Execute Commands...

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(a) Enter 3 for the Defined Commands.

(b) Enable On option for all the commands.
(c) Enter 7 for Every for all the commands.
(d) Select Time Step from the When drop-down lists.
(e) For command-1, specify the Command as:
display set-window 1
This command will make the window-1 active.
(f) For command-2, specify the Command as:
display contour water vof 0 1
This command will display the contours of water volume fraction in the active
window.
(g) For command-1, specify the Command as:
display hard-copy "vof-%t.tif"
This command will save the image in the TIF format.
The %t option gets replaced with the time step number, when the image file
is saved. The TIF files saved can then be used to create a movie. For the
information on converting TIF file to an animation file, refer to
http://www.bakker.org/cfm/graphics01.htm
(h) Click OK to close the Execute Commands panel.

10. Set the surface monitors.

Solve −→ Monitors −→Surface...

(a) Enter 1 for the Surface Monitors.

(b) Enable Plot for monitor-1.
(c) Select Time Step from the When drop-down list.
(d) Click Define... for the monitor-1.

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i. Select Area-Weighted Average from the Report Type drop-down list.

ii. Select Grid... and X-Coordinate from the Report of drop-down lists.
iii. Select moving-wall from the Surfaces list.
iv. Click OK to close the Define Surface Monitor panel.
(e) Click OK to close the Surface Monitors panel.

11. Save the case and data files wave-init.cas.gz and wave-init.dat.gz.
File −→ Write −→Case & Data...
Retain the default Write Binary Files option so that you can write a binary file. The
.gz extension will save zipped files on both, Windows and UNIX platforms.

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12. Start the calculation.

Solve −→Iterate...

(a) Enter 0.001 s for Time Step Size.

(b) Enter 4000 for the Number of Time Steps.
(c) Click Iterate.
(d) Close the Iterate panel after completion of 4000 time steps.

13. Save the case and data files wave-4000.cas.gz and wave-4000.dat.gz.
File −→ Write −→Case & Data...

Step 10: Postprocessing

1. Display filled contours of static pressure (Figure 10.8).
Display −→Contours...

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Figure 10.6: Scaled Residuals

Figure 10.7: Monitor Plot of Area Weighted Average on moving-wall

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(a) Select Pressure... and Static Pressure from the Contours of drop-down lists.
(b) Click Display and close the Contours panel.
The pressure at the bottom of the tank is maximum and goes on decreasing
towards the top. This shows the variation of hydrostatic pressure due to the
height of the liquid.

Figure 10.8: Contours of Static Pressure

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Summary
The dynamic mesh model is used to apply periodic sinusoidal motion to the wall. This
generates a wave in the fluid. The VOF model is used to track the air-water interface
and consequently the wave motion. Non-iterative time advancement (NITA) was used to
reduce the run time of transient simulation. Images displaying contours of water phase
were captured to visualize the transient effects.

References
1. Flow Around the Itsukushima Gate, an example from Fluent Inc. Marketing Cata-
log, 2003.

Exercises/Discussions
1. Run the simulation for longer flow time to check the wave pattern.

2. Try running the simulation without non-iterative time advancement (NITA) option.
(a) Are the flow patterns different?
(b) Compare the wall clock time taken to reach the same flow time.

3. Run the simulation using variable time step option.

4. Try different motions to the wall and observe wave patterns.

This will need specific C compiler to create UDF library from the source code.

5. What other situation can be simulated using the same mesh file?

Links for Further Reading

• http://www.math.rug.nl/∼veldman/preprints/OMAE2004-51084.pdf

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