Tutorial: Hex-dominant automated – Internal flow through an angled pipe

This short tutorial shows how to create a mesh using the automated Hex-dominant operation for internal flow analysis.

Link to tutorial project containing the geometry:

Import tutorial project into workbench

Create new simulation

• As a first step we need to create a new simulation. To create a simulation left click on the pipe and then on Create Simulation.

• This dialog box allows the user to select the simulation model. Click on Incompressible.

  

• The default settings for the simulation are kept the same. Save the simulation model by clicking on the tick mark.

  

  Mesh Generation

•  Left click on the mesh icon to create a new mesh.
• Choose the Hex-Dominant only Algorithm and the meshing mode to be internal
• Select the sizing option to automatic sizing and change the desired mesh sizing to fine.
• Specify the Number of computing cores for the meshing operation (16 in this tutorial)

Boundary Layer Refinement

• In order to correctly model the flow through a pipe the boundary layer has to be resolved accurately. This can be achieved by refining the mesh in the regions close to the walls.
• The best method to do this is by the help of a layer inflation mesh refinement. To add a mesh refinement, click on ‘+’ icon next to refinements under the mesh.
• Select the  Layer Inflation setting

• keep the default settings in the dialog box

• The next step is to pick the faces.
• All faces except the inlet and outlet faces need to be selected.
• Select all the faces of the pipe by dragging the Active box selection over the pipe and deselect the inlet and outlet faces by clicking on them.

  

• It would be seen 5 faces are selected for boundary layer refinement.
• Go back to the mesh option by clicking on the mesh icon and click generate.

Mesh Inspection and Mesh Clip Generation

• Once the mesh is generated, we can check the event log for further information on our mesh.

• The Boundary layer generated can easily be seen by zooming on the mesh inlet.

  

• Click on generate mesh clip to inspect the internal mesh. Adjust the settings of the normal. Click on generate mesh clip icon.

  

• The mesh clip generated is presented below: