Session 9

Fluent Meshing Training Course: Session 9 - Region Definition

In this session, a heat exchanger model was developed in Design Modeler and transferred into Fluent Meshing. Named selections were established in the CAD platform to enable automatic boundary detection. Local mesh controls were applied to manage surface discretization and create the surface mesh. The geometry was configured to include both fluid and solid domains in preparation for region identification and classification.

Region Categories in Fluent Meshing

Fluent Meshing recognizes three main region classifications within the simulation domain:

Fluid Zones: Designate volumes where fluid movement takes place and constitute the principal focus areas for CFD analysis. Examples include flow pathways, conduits, piping systems, and any space where fluid transport is anticipated.

Solid Zones: Indicate solid materials that may contribute to thermal conduction or serve as flow barriers. Examples encompass boundary walls, structural elements, heat exchanger tubing, and any rigid components present in the domain.

Dead Zones: Disconnected volumes that lack connection to boundary conditions and cannot contribute to the flow computation. These typically arise from geometry simplification, modeling decisions, or discontinuities in the CAD model.

Region Creation Parameters

Estimated Number of Fluid Regions: This input specifies the anticipated count of distinct fluid volumes within the geometry. Use “1” for unified continuous fluid spaces such as basic conduits or ducts, whereas larger values apply to configurations with multiple separated fluid zones like heat exchangers featuring shell-side and tube-side flows. This specification aids in memory management and computational efficiency.

Retain Dead Region Names: Determines Fluent’s handling of disconnected volumes lacking boundary connections. Selecting “No” (advised) eliminates dead/disconnected regions for streamlined meshing and enhanced processing speed. Choosing “Yes” preserves all regions for inspection and verification objectives, especially valuable when diagnosing intricate geometric configurations.