Measuring Volumetric Flow Rate through Opening

Using SimScale Fluid Flow / CFD
1

Hello,

I am attempting to quantify the amount of air that is flowing through a doorway in a HVAC simulation. Is there a tool in SimScale that would allow me to do so?

For example, I could use the IsoSurface or IsoVolume tools to identify flows that occur at a certain velocity. However, if I were wanting to quantify the actual volume of fluid that it is identifying, how would I do so?

Thank you!

2

Hey there!

To measure the flow rate through an inlet/outlet, you can do one of two things:

  • Before running the simulation, create a Result Control Item - Surface Data - Integral, and selecting the doorway face.
  • After performing the simulation, go to the Post-processor, create a cutting plane over the doorway and use the bulk calculator to compute the flow rate.
3

Thank you very much!

4

Hi,

The suggestion you gave works great! It is exactly what I was looking for. One more question, what does the negative value on the volumetric flow rate indicate? Is it saying the sum of all the fluid flow is headed in the negative x-direction? In the small snippet I showed below, the positive x-direction is out of the door towards the stairs (and viewer).

image
image1174×982 233 KB

Thank you!