Comprehensive Tutorial on Mesh Sensitivity Analysis in ANSYS Workbench-Fluent
This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide for performing a mesh sensitivity analysis in ANSYS Workbench-Fluent, aimed at ensuring simulation accuracy and reliability. The tutorial focuses on achieving grid independence by systematically refining the mesh and analyzing the impact on key simulation results.
Key Highlights of the Tutorial:
Setting Up the Geometry and Meshing in ANSYS Workbench
Importing or creating the geometry for simulation.
Defining mesh controls such as element size, growth rate, and boundary layer meshing.
Generating and refining meshes to evaluate their influence on results.
Parameterizing the Mesh Settings
Introducing parameterization in ANSYS Workbench to vary mesh size systematically.
Automating the process to create multiple mesh refinements for analysis.
Running Simulations in ANSYS Fluent
Setting up the physics model, including boundary conditions, fluid properties, and solver settings.
Running simulations for each mesh variation to extract results like velocity, pressure, and temperature profiles.
Performing the Sensitivity Analysis
Comparing results across different mesh densities to assess grid independence.
Identifying an optimal mesh size that balances accuracy with computational cost.
Visualization and Documentation
Demonstrating post-processing techniques for result comparison (e.g., contour plots, line graphs, or residuals).
Documenting findings, including the mesh-independence curve, to showcase the analysis process and conclusions.
Applications and Relevance
This tutorial is particularly useful for researchers, engineers, and students working on CFD simulations, especially those tackling problems like fluid flow, heat transfer, or fuel cell performance. The integration of parameterization makes it easy to automate repetitive tasks, saving time and effort.