PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Computer Simulation of Fluid Flow, Heat Flow,
Chemical Reactions and Stress in Solids.
PHOENICS
2006 December
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Contents
PHOENICS
Today
• This presentation shows some of the
new features in PHOENICS 2006
• The talk is in four parts:
–
–
–
–
–
Pre-processor (VR-Editor)
Post-processor (VR-Viewer)
Solver (Earth)
General improvements (common to all modules)
Special Purpose versions
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• An auto meshing feature has been
added. For most cases the Editor will
generate a reasonable grid with little or
no user input.
• The grid distribution is based on a
maximum cell size (as a fraction of the
domain size), and a maximum change
in cell size across region boundaries.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The default grid can then be easily
refined
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The treatment of Polar geometries has
been significantly updated.
• As a reminder, in polar co-ordinates
– X is θ, the angle (in radians!)
– Y is r, the radius
– Z is z, the axial distance.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• For objects using the default 'polcu'
geometries, the size is set in (dθ,dr,dz)
and position in (θ,r,z) as before.
• For non-'polcu' geometries, including
STL imports, the size is in Cartesian
(dx,dy,dz), but position is still in (θ,r,z).
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• As the Cartesian size is used, the
shape and size of the object are
preserved with no distortion.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• This allows us to use more suitable
grids…
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The treatment of INLET objects in
Polar co-ordinates has been improved.
The inflow can now be specified as:
– Cartesian velocity components
– Polar (grid-directed) velocity components
– Volumetric flow rate
– Mass flow rate
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
• The 'Slide velocity' can be set for
blockages as well as for plates.
• By setting the
surface velocity,
a range of
cases involving
steady
movement can
be treated as
steady-state.
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• In Cartesian co-ordinates, the 'Spin'
option sets the surface velocity as if
the object were rotating about its axis.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• In Polar co-ordinates , the slide
velocity can be in m/s or radians/s.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• Heat-transfer between the blockage
and the surrounding fluid is controlled
by the blockage external heat-transfer
coefficient.
• By default, this
is obtained from
the wallfunctions.
• Alternatively, a
user-set
constant value
can be supplied.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• A new object type TRANSFER has
been introduced.
• It allows the
outflow from
one solution
to be used
as the inflow
to another.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• INLET and OUTLET objects can also
be ‘tagged’ to act as Import or Export
TRANSFER objects
• Only the shape of the Import/Export
object needs to be the same between
runs – the grid does not need to be
identical
• The data to be transferred is held in an
ASCII text file
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The new object types ANGLED-IN and
ANGLED-OUT have been introduced.
• These allow inlets and outlets of any
arbitrary shape to be placed on the
outer surface of any arbitrarily-shaped
blockage.
• The area of action is the area of
intersection between the object and any
blockage.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• A new object type ASSEMBLY has
been introduced.
• The assembly object
acts as a ‘container’
for any number of
other objects, which
go together to make
a component.
• Objects are added to an assembly
object through the Hierarchy dialog.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• Components can
be added or
removed from an
assembly
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• All size and position changes made to
the assembly object are also applied to
all the components.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• All the objects in
the assembly can
then be exported
to a single file.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The saved assembly objects can then
be imported into another model.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• Objects can be partially pushed out of
the domain, to allow:
– Solution over one
half of a body, or
– Solution over any
part of a large STL
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
• The Editor can output the entire
geometry in TECPLOT format.
• Each object is
shown in
TECPLOT as a
'zone'.
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The Editor can also output the entire
geometry as a FieldView unstructured
file.
• Each object is
shown in
FieldView as a
Boundary.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Editor
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• This is what the Editor makes of it.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• When PARSOL is active in Polar coordinates, the contours and vectors in
the cut cells are displayed correctly.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
Valve simulation
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• When cyclic boundary conditions are
active, an extra tab appears on the
Viewer Options dialog.
• From here it is
possible to repeat the
image in the X
direction as many
times as wanted .
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
• The original geometry
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
• Repeated 9 times
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
• The contours repeated
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The colour palette can be reversed
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• Streamlines can also be repeated
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The sources and sinks for an object
can be displayed:
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• For selected objects, the surface contour
values can be output to a file which can
be read into Excel or Autoplot.
3D Nav.Sto.Flow Around A Moving Van
Pressure surface values for object BODY2
----------------------------------------X
Y
Z
Pressure
1.0000E+00 3.0000E+00 6.0000E+00 -1.1501E+01
8.7500E-01 3.0000E+00 6.0000E+00 -8.1237E+00
8.7500E-01 3.0000E+00 6.5000E+00 -2.0226E+01
1.0000E+00 3.0000E+00 6.5000E+00 -2.1001E+01
1.0000E+00 3.0000E+00 6.5000E+00 -2.1001E+01
8.7500E-01 3.0000E+00 6.5000E+00 -2.0226E+01
8.7500E-01 3.0000E+00 7.0000E+00 -3.2328E+01
1.0000E+00 3.0000E+00 7.0000E+00 -3.0502E+01
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• For selected objects, a surface profile on
the current plotting plane can be output
to a file which can be read into Excel or
Autoplot.
X
1.000000E+00
1.000000E+00
1.000000E+00
1.000000E+00
1.000000E+00
1.000000E+00
1.000000E+00
1.000000E+00
1.000000E+00
Y
1.583333E+00
1.750000E+00
1.916667E+00
2.083333E+00
2.250000E+00
2.416667E+00
2.583333E+00
2.750000E+00
2.916667E+00
Z
8.250000E+00
8.250000E+00
8.250000E+00
8.250000E+00
8.250000E+00
8.250000E+00
8.250000E+00
8.250000E+00
8.250000E+00
Pressure
-1.893729E+01
-1.884477E+01
-1.866686E+01
-1.838086E+01
-1.799543E+01
-1.749649E+01
-1.690780E+01
-1.624763E+01
-1.554297E+01
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
• Pressure profile on an aerofoil
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• For buoyancy-driven flows, the effect of
buoyancy on turbulence can be
significant.
• In stably-stratified flows, such as smoke
layers, turbulence can be damped.
Conversely, in the vicinity of plumes,
the turbulence can be enhanced.
• These effects are implemented in the Kε models via an additional source term.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The choice between stable or unstable
stratification was previously made by
setting a constant to 0.0 or 1.0, and so
could never be universally correct.
• An 'auto' function has been introduced
which switches between the stable and
unstable forms depending on the local
flow direction.
• This should produce better results for
cases with zones of both stable and
unstable stratification.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• Geometry of standard room fire test
– 62.9MW steady fire
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• Buoyancy constant = 0 -> layered flow
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
• Buoyancy constant = 1 -> Plume
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
• Calculated buoyancy constant
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• Auto solution is somewhere between
plume and layer!
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The solution can be output in TECPLOT
format.
• An output file, TECDATA.DAT,
containing two TECPLOT zones for
each PHOENICS domain is written.
• The first zone contains data at the cell
centres (adjusted for PARSOL cut
cells), and the second contains data at
the cell corners.
• The first is better for plotting vectors,
the second for plotting contours and
iso-surfaces.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The geometry and solution from Library
case V146 displayed in TECPLOT 10.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The solution can be output to FieldView
in PLOT3D format.
• Two output files, FVDATA.G and
FVDATA.F, containing two grids for
each PHOENICS domain are written.
• The first zone contains data at the cell
centres (adjusted for PARSOL cut
cells), and the second contains data at
the cell corners.
• The first is better for plotting vectors,
the second for plotting contours and
iso-surfaces.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Earth Improvements
• The geometry
and solution
from Library
case V146
displayed in
FieldView 11.
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
VR Viewer
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition to the normal multi-coloured
vectors, we can have
• Vectors all in
one colour
• Or any
thickness
• Or with the
size of long
vectors
limited
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
General
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• A ‘quick-zoom’ function has been added
• Press the
control key
then move
the mouse
sideways
to drag a
zoom-box.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
General
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
 The axes can be ‘unlocked’ from the
domain origin, and placed anywhere
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
General
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
 The hand-set icons appear on the tool
bar, so the hand-sets can be turned off
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
General
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
 The image can be annotated with text
strings
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
General
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
 We are now testing a 64-bit Windows
version of PHOENICS
 It does not suffer from the memory
limitations of the 32-bit versions
 Preliminary tests seem to show that
performance is very similar, however
many bits there are!
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
General
Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
 The location of the PHOENICS
installation is now held in an
environment variable.
 This makes it possible to install
PHOENICS into any convenient
location, not just the root of a drive.
 It also makes network installations
neater, as only the environment
variable and a working directory need
be present on client machines.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
SPP Improvements
PHOENICS
Today
• The following Special-purpose
versions have been brought into
the VR environment:
−CVD, for Chemical Vapour
Deposition
−ESTER, for Electrolytic
Smelting of Aluminium
• Both have dedicated Main menus
and object types
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR
PHOENICS
Today
• Now a few words about the FLAIR
Special-Purpose version of
PHOENICS.
• Some people have asked ‘What is
FLAIR?’
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
What is FLAIR?
PHOENICS
Today
• FLAIR is a Special-Purpose version of
the general CFD code PHOENICS.
• It is aimed at the HVAC community.
• It has been created by removing many
unneeded generic features, and
adding several specific features.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• FLAIR uses the PHOENICS VR-Editor
to set the problem up, with the following
additional items:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
ISO 7730 Comfort index calculations: PMV, PPD.
ISO 7730 Draught rating.
CIBSE dry resultant temperature.
Humidity calculations, with output of humidity ratio and
relative humidity.
Smoke movement calculation, with output of PPM, smoke
density and visibility.
Mean age of air calculation.
Fan operating point calculation for single and multiple
fans.
System-curve calculations.
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
Round
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
Vortex
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
Rectangular
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
Directional
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
Grille
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
Displacement
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
• In addition, the following
object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
– Fire
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
• In addition, the following
object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
– Fire
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
– Fire
– Person (standing
or sitting facing any
Direction)
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
– Fire
– Person
– Crowd
To represent a large number of people as distributed source of
heat
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
– Diffuser
– Fire
– Person
– Crowd
– Sunlight
Created in
Shapemaker
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
PHOENICS
Today
• In addition, the following object types have been
added:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Diffuser
Fire
Person
Crowd
Sunlight
Spray head
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
• Spray-head
represents
sprinklers user for firesuppression.
• It uses GENTRA to model
the droplet paths.
• Evaporation is considered,
and is linked to the FLAIR
humidity model.
• The GENTRA inlet
table
is
written
automatically.
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
FLAIR Features
• Spray-head
represents
sprinklers user for firesuppression.
• It uses GENTRA to model
the droplet paths.
• Evaporation is considered,
and is linked to the FLAIR
humidity model.
• The GENTRA inlet
table
is
written
automatically.
PHOENICS
Today
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Geometry Creation
PHOENICS
Today
• We are often asked to create geometry
from unusual sources.
• Recently we received a PDF file which
contained this image-
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Geometry Creation
PHOENICS
Today
• The numbers represent the height of
the building
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Geometry Creation
PHOENICS
Today
• The solution was to save the image as
a GIF file, then use it as a backdrop in
AC3D
• We could
trace round
each part,
then
extrude
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
Geometry Creation
PHOENICS
Today
• The resulting geometry was then
exported to PHOENICS
PHOENICS User Meeting 2006
PHOENICS
Today