CFX12 04 Solver

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Transcript CFX12 04 Solver

Chapter 4 Solver Settings

Introduction to CFX

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Solver Settings

Overview

Initialization

Solver Control

Output Control

Solver Manager

Training Manual

Note: This chapter considers solver settings for steady-state simulations. Settings specific to transient simulation are discussed in a later chapter.

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Solver Settings

Initialization

Training Manual

Iterative solution procedures require that all solution variables are assigned initial values before calculating a solution

A good initial guess can reduce the solution time

In some cases a poor initial guess may cause the solver to fail during the first few iterations

The initial values can be set in 3 ways: 1.

Solver automatically calculates the initial values 2.

3.

Initial values are entered by the user Initial values are obtained from a previous solution

Initial values can be set on a per-domain basis or globally for all domains

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Solver Settings

Initialization – Setting Initial Values

Insert Global Initialisation from the toolbar or by right clicking on Flow Analysis 1

Edit each Domain to set initial values on a per-domain basis

When both are defined the domain settings take precedence

Solid domain must have initial conditions set on a per domain basis

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Solver Settings

Initialization – Setting Initial Values

The Automatic option means that the CFX-Solver will calculate an initial value for the solved variable unless a previous results file is provided

Will be based on boundary condition values and domain settings

The Automatic with Value option means that the specified value will be used unless a previous results file is provided

Can use a constant value or an expression

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Solver Settings

Initialization – Using a Previous Solution

To use a previous solution as the initial guess enable the Initial Values Specification toggle when launching the Solver

You can provide multiple initial values files

When simulating a system you can provide previous solutions for each component of the system as the initial guess

Usually each file would correspond to a separate region of space

It is best if domains in the Solver Input File do not overlap with multiple initial values files

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Editing

Edit the Solver Control object in the Outline tree

Training Manual

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Options

The Solver Control panel contains various controls that influence the behavior of the solver

These controls are important for the accuracy of the solution, the stability of the solver and the length of time it takes to obtain a solution

Training Manual

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Advection Scheme

The Advection Scheme refers to the way the advection term in the transport equations is modeled numerically

– –

i.e. the term that accounts for bulk fluid motion Often the dominant term Unsteady Advection Diffusion Generation

Three schemes are available, High Resolution, Upwind and Specified Blend

Discussed in more detail next

There is rarely any reason to change from the default High Resolution scheme

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Advection Scheme Theory

Training Manual

Solution data is stored at nodes, but variable values are required at the control volume faces to calculate fluxes

The upstream nodal values (

f

up ) are interpolated to the integration points (

f

ip

) on the control volume faces using:

– f

ip

= f

up

+  

r

f

ip

= f

up

+ 

upstream node and the integration point

r

– –

In other words, the ip value is equal to the upstream value plus a correction due to the gradient

b

can have values between 0 and 1 …

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Advection Scheme Theory

f

ip

= f

up

+  

r

Flow is misaligned with mesh

If

b

= 0 we get the Upwind advection scheme, i.e. no correction

– –

This is robust but only first order accurate Sometimes useful for initial runs, but usually not necessary

Upwind Scheme •

The Specified Blend scheme allows you to specify

b

between 0 and 1 (i.e. between no correction up to full correction)

But this is not guaranteed to be bounded, meaning that when the correction is included it can overshoot or undershoot what is physically possible

b =1.00

Training Manual

Theory

1 0

The High Resolution scheme maximizes

b

throughout the flow domain while keeping the solution bounded

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Turbulence Numerics

Regardless of the Advection Scheme selection, the Turbulence equations default to the First Order (Upwind) scheme

Usually this is sufficient

The High Resolution scheme can be selected for additional accuracy

Can give better accuracy in boundary layers on unstructured meshes

Training Manual

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Convergence Control

The Solver will finish when it reaches Max. Iterations unless convergence is achieved sooner

If Max. Iterations is reached you may not have a converged solution

Can be useful to set Max. Iterations to a large number

When the Solver finishes you should always check why it finished

Fluid Timescale Control sets the timescale in a steady-state simulation …

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Timescale Background

ANSYS CFX employs the so called False Transient Algorithm

A timescale is used to move the solution towards the final answer

Training Manual

In a steady-state simulation the timescale provides relaxation of the equation non-linearities

A steady state simulation is a “transient” evolution of the flow from the initial guess to the steady-state conditions

Converged solution is independent of the timescale used

Initial Guess 50 iterations 100 iterations 150 iterations Final Solution ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary © 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Timescale Selection

For obtaining successful convergence, the selection of the timescale plays an important role

If the timescale is too large, the convergence becomes bouncy or may even lead to the failure of the Solver

If the timescale is too small, the convergence will be very slow and the solution may not be fully accurate

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Timescale Selection

Training Manual

For advection dominated flow, a fraction of the fluid residence time is often a good estimate for the timescale

– –

A timescale of 1 / 3 of (Length Scale / Velocity Scale) is often optimal May need a smaller timescale for the first few iterations and for complex physics, transonic flow,…..

For rotating machines, 1/

(

in rad/s) is a good choice

For buoyancy driven flows, the timescale should be based on a function of gravity, thermal expansivity, temperature difference and length scale (see documentation)

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Timescale Control

Timescale Control can be Auto Timescale, Physical Timescale or Local Timescale

Factor

Physical Timescale

– Specify the timescale. Usually a constant but can also be variable via an expression – Can often set a better timescale than Auto Timescale would produce – faster convergence

Training Manual

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Timescale Control

Auto Timescale

– The Solver calculates a timescale based on boundary / initial conditions or current solution and domain length scale – Use a

Conservative

or

Aggressive

estimate for the domain length scale, or a specified value – Timescale is re-calculated and updated every few iterations as the flow field changes – Can set a

Maximum Timescale

upper limit to provide an – Tends to produce a conservative timescale – Timescale factor (default = 1) is a multiplier which can be changed to adjust the automatically calculated timescale ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary © 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Timescale Control

Local Timescale Factor

– Timescale varies throughout the domain

Local Timescale = Local Mesh Length Scale Local Velocity Scale Training Manual

Smaller Timescale in high velocity and/or fine mesh regions

Can accelerate convergence when vastly different local velocity scales exist • E.g. a jet entering a plenum – Best used on fairly uniform meshes, since small element will have a small timescale which can slow convergence – – Local Timescale Factor is a multiplier of the local timescale Never use as final solution ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary © 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

; always finish off with a constant timescale 4-19 April 28, 2009 Inventory #002598

Solver Settings

Solver Control – Convergence Criteria

Convergence Criteria settings determine when the solution is considered converged and hence when the Solver will stop

– Assuming

Max. Iterations

is not reached •

Residuals are a measure of how accurately the set of equations have been solved

– Since we are iterating towards a solution, we never get the exact solution to the equations – Lower residuals mean a more accurate solution to the set of equations (more on the next slide) – Do not confuse accurately solving the equations with overall solution accuracy – the equations may or may not be a good representation of the true system!

– Residuals are just one measure of accuracy and should be combined with other measures: • Monitor Points (ch. 8) and Imbalances (below) ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary © 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Residuals Theory

Training Manual

The continuous governing equations are discretized into a set of linear equations that can be solved. The set of linear equations can be written in the form: [A] [ Φ] = [b] where [A] is the coefficient matrix and [ Φ] is the solution variable

If the equation were solved exactly we would have: [A] [ Φ] - [b] = [0]

The residual vector [R] is the error in the numerical solution: [A] [ Φ] - [b] = [R]

Since each control volume has a residual we usually look at the RMS average or the maximum normalized residual

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Residuals

Residual Type

MAX: Convergence based on maximum residual anywhere

– –

RMS: Convergence based on average residual from all control volumes Root Mean Square =

i R i

2 n •

Residual Target

For reasonable convergence MAX residuals should be 1.0E-3, RMS should be at least 1.0E-4

The targets dependent on the accuracy needed

Lower values may be needed for greater accuracy

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Conservation Target

The Conservation Target sets a target for the global imbalances

% Imbalance  Flux In  Flux Out Maximum Flux •

The imbalances measure the overall conservation of a quantity (mass, momentum, energy) in the entire flow domain

Clearly in a converged solution Flux In should equal Flux Out

Training Manual

It’s good practice to set a Conservation Target and/or monitor the imbalances during the run

When set, the Solver must meet both the Residual and Conservation Target before stopping (assuming Max. Iterations is not reached)

Set a target of 0.01 (1%) or less

Flux In – Flux Out < 1%

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Elapsed Time and Interrupt Control

Elapsed Time Control

Can specify the maximum wall clock time for a run

Solver will stop after this amount of time regardless of whether it has converged

Training Manual

Interrupt Control

Can specify other criteria for stopping the Solver based on logical CEL expressions

When the expression returns true the solver will stop

Any value >= 0.5 is true

– –

Examples

If temperature exceeds a specified value if(areaAve(T)@wall>200[C],1,0)

If mesh quality drops below a specified value in a moving mesh case More on logical expressions in the CEL lecture

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Solid Timescale Control

This option is only available when a solid domain is included in the simulation

Training Manual

The Solid Timescale should be selected such that it is MUCH larger than the fluid timescale (100 times larger is typical)

the energy equation is usually very stable in the solid zone

solid timescales are typically much larger than fluid timescales

The fluid timescale is estimated using Length Scale / Velocity Scale

The solid timescale is automatically calculated as function of the length scale, thermal conductivity, density and specific heat capacity

Or you can choose the Physical Timescale option and provide a timescale directly

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Solver Settings

Solver Control – Equation Class Settings

The Equation Class Settings tab is an advanced option that can be used to set Solver controls on an equation specific basis

– –

Not usually needed Will override the controls set on Basic Settings for the selected equation

Advanced Options

– –

Advanced solver control options Rarely needed

Training Manual

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Solver Settings

Output Controls – Results

The Output Control settings control the output produced by the Solver

The Trn Results, Trn Stats and Export tab only apply to transient simulations and are covered in the Transient chapter

The Results tab controls the final .res file

Generally do not use the Selected Variables (or None!) option since it probably won’t contain enough information to restart the run later

Output Equation Residuals is useful if you need to check where convergence problems are occurring

Extra Output Variables List

contains variables that are not written to the standard results file

E.g. Vorticity

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Solver Settings

Output Controls – Backup

The Backup tab controls if and when backup results files are automatically written by the Solver

Training Manual

Recommend for long Solver runs in case of power failure, network interruptions, etc

Option:

– – –

Standard: Like a full results file Essential: Allows a clean solver restart Smallest: Can restart the solver, but there’ll be a jump in the residuals

Selected Variables: Not recommended

Can also manually request a backup file from the Solver Manager at any time Frequency of output can be adjusted

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Solver Settings

Output Controls – Monitor

The Monitor tab allows you to create Monitor

Points

These are used to track values of interest as the Solver runs

The Cartesian Coordinates Option is used to track the value of a variable at a specific X, Y, Z location

The Expression Option is used to monitor the values of a CEL expression

E.g. Calculate the area average of Cp at the inlet boundary:

areaAve(Cp)@inlet

E.g. Mass flow of particular fluid through an outlet:

oil.massFlow()@outlet

In steady-state simulations you should create monitor points for quantities of interest

One measure of convergence is when these values are no longer changing

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Solver Settings

Solver Manager

Training Manual

The CFX-Solver Manager is a graphical user interface used to:

– – – –

Define a run Control the CFX-Solver interactively View information about the emerging solution Export data

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Solver Settings

Solver Manager – Defining a Run

Define a new Solver run

Solver Input File should be the .def file

Can also pick .res, .bak or _full.trn files to restart a previous incomplete run

To make a physics change and restart a solution, create a new .def file and provide it as the Solver Input File then select the .res, .bak or _full.trn file in the Initial Values Specification section

If both files have the same physics, this is the same as picking the .res/.bak/_full.trn file as the input file

Use Mesh From selects which mesh to use. If the meshes are identical can use either option, otherwise:

If you use the Solver Input File mesh, the Initial Values solution is interpolated onto the input file

If you use the Initial Values mesh only the physics from the Solver Input File is used

Continue History From carriers over convergence history and iteration counters

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Solver Settings

Solver Manager – Defining a Parallel Run

By default the Solver will run in serial

A single solver process runs on the local machine

Set the Run Mode to one of the parallel options to make use of multiple cores/processors

– –

Requires parallel licenses Allows you to divide a large CFD problem into smaller partitions

• •

Faster solution times Solve larger problems by making use of memory (RAM) on multiple machines

The Local Parallel options should be used when running on a single machine

The Distributed Parallel options should be used when running across multiple machines

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Solver Settings

Solver Manager – Defining a Parallel Run

Serial

Local Parallel

Training Manual

Distributed Parallel

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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Solver Settings

Solver Manager – Define Run Advanced Controls

The Show Advanced Control toggle enables the Partitioner, Solver and Interpolator tabs

On the Partitioner tab you can pick different partitioning algorithms

– –

Partitioning is always a serial process Can be a problem for v.large cases since you cannot distribute the memory load across multiple machines

The default MeTiS algorithm uses more memory than others, so if you run out of memory use a different method (see documentation for details)

Multidomain Option:

Independent Partitioning: Each domain is partitioned into n partitions

Coupled Partitioning: All domains are combined and then partitioned into n partitions

There’s a specific option for Transient Rotor Stator cases

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Solver Settings

Solver Manager – Define Run Advanced Controls

On the Solver tab you can select the Double Precision option

The solver will use more significant figures in its calculations

– –

Doubles solver memory requirements Use when round-off error could be a problem – if ‘small’ variations in a variable are important, where ‘small’ is relative to the global range of that variable, e.g:

Many Mesh Motion cases, since the motion is often small relative to the size of the domain

Most CHT cases, since thermal conductivity is vastly different in the fluid and solid

If you have a wide pressure range, but small pressure changes are important

Small values by themselves do not need DP

Training Manual

• •

The Solver estimates its memory requirements upfront Memory Alloc Factor is a multiplier for this estimate

Use when the solver stops with an “Insufficient Memory Allocated” error

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Solver Settings

Solver Manager – Interactive Solver Control

Training Manual

During a solution Edit Run in Progress lets you make changes on the fly

Models generally cannot be changed, but timescales, BC’s, etc can

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Solver Settings

Solver Manager – Additional Solution Monitors

• •

By default monitor plots are created showing the RMS residuals for each equation solved, plus one plot for any monitor points

Right-click to switch between RMS and MAX Additional monitors can be selected showing:

– – –

Imbalances Boundary fluxes (FLOW)

Boundary forces

• •

Tangential (viscous) Normal (pressure) Source terms … New Monitor

Right-click Monitor Plot ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary © 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Solver Settings

Solver Manager – Additional Icons

By dragging the cursor over any icon, the feature description will appear

Start a new Simulation Monitor Finished Run Stop Current Run

Training Manual

Switch Residual Plot between RMS and MAX Monitor Run in Progress ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary © 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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