Mixer Tank CFD Simulation, ANSYS Fluent TrainingDescriptionThis project simulates a mixer tank using ANSYS Fluent. In industry, mixing is the process of combining heterogeneous materials to make them more homogeneous, and industrial mixers are machines designed to blend, homogenize, and unify different materials into a single substance. Mixers handle virtually any combination of solids or liquids required for a given product, driving heat and mass transfer between the combined components or phases — a process essential to nearly all modern industrial manufacturing and processing. With their powerful motors and blades, mixers are widely used across pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural, and food and beverage industries.This project models a mixer tank, investigating the effect of its rotating impeller on the mixing process across three phases: air, water, and salt. Water and salt each enter the tank at a mass flow rate of 0.6 kg/s.The geometry was designed in Design Modeler and meshed in ANSYS Meshing using an unstructured grid totaling 152,641 elements.MethodologyThe three-phase mixing process — air, water, and salt — was captured using the VOF multiphase model, with impeller rotation modeled using the MRF (Moving Reference Frame) method at a rotational speed of 10 rpm.ConclusionResults include contours of mixture density, velocity, phase ID, and volume fractions for water, air, and salt. The results clearly show that the impeller's rotation successfully drives three-phase mixing throughout the tank, confirming the simulation captures the intended blending behavior of the mixer system.

Multi-Stage Axial Compressor CFD Simulation, ANSYS Fluent TutorialDescriptionAn axial compressor is a gas compressor capable of continuously pressurizing gas, using a rotating, airfoil-based design in which the working fluid flows primarily parallel to the axis of rotation. Axial compressors consist of both rotating and stationary components: a central drum, driven by a shaft and supported by bearings within a stationary tubular casing, carries rows of airfoils alternating between the drum and the casing.A pair consisting of one row of rotating airfoils (blades/rotors) followed by one row of stationary airfoils (vanes/stators) forms a stage. The rotating blades accelerate the fluid in both the axial and circumferential directions, while the stationary vanes convert this increased kinetic energy into static pressure through diffusion, redirecting the flow to prepare it for the next stage's rotor. The cross-sectional area between the rotor drum and casing progressively narrows along the flow direction, maintaining an optimal Mach number as the fluid compresses.This project models a compressor with 4 stages (2 rotors, 2 stators), each featuring 120 blades, representing a high-performance, high-pressure compressor under realistic operating conditions. The 3D geometry was designed in ANSYS BladeGen, with the domain defined by a mass flow inlet and a pressure outlet. The domain was meshed in TurboGrid using an unstructured grid totaling 11,430 elements.MethodologyThe simulation used a pressure-based solver, with turbulence modeled using the k-omega SST model, run at the compressor's operational point with a mass flow rate of 110 kg/s. Compressor rotation was modeled using the MRF method, with each stage rotating at 10,000 rpm, and the Turbo Workflow module was used to streamline the overall compressor modeling process.ConclusionThe Mach number contour clearly shows how flow speed changes through each passage, dropping progressively at each stage, while the pressure contour shows pressure rising correspondingly after each stage, yielding an overall pressure ratio of 4 across the full compressor.The velocity triangles generated by the rotating rotors are clearly visible in the results, and the pressure contour on the blades reveals regions of flow stagnation and separation throughout the system. Using the software's workflow efficiency calculation, the compressor's overall efficiency was determined to be 20%, with the corresponding pressure drop also reflected in the pressure contour results.

Ducted Fan: Noise and Thrust CFD Study, ANSYS FluentDescriptionThis project simulates a ducted fan installed within a room, investigating both its acoustic behavior and thrust performance. Airflow enters the room through a doorway at 0.5 m/s, while an outlet is positioned on the wall where the ducted fan is mounted, with the fan itself rotating at 1000 rpm.The 3D geometry was designed in Design Modeler, representing a 2×3 m rectangular room with a 2.5 m ceiling height and a 30 cm diameter fan. The domain was meshed in ANSYS Meshing, initially generating a tetrahedral mesh that was then converted to polyhedral elements to reduce element count and computational cost, totaling 699,432 elements.MethodologyGravitational acceleration was included in the negative Y-direction at 9.81 m/s², with the k-epsilon Realizable model employed to capture the expected wake structures and turbulence around the fan. A dedicated rotating zone was defined around the fan using the Moving Reference Frame (MRF) approach, while the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) acoustic model was used to predict the resulting acoustic effects.ConclusionTwo sound receivers were placed within the room to evaluate the fan's noise impact — one positioned directly in front of the fan (Receiver 1), and another near the room's entrance by the door (Receiver 2). Flow contours show air entering the domain at 0.5 m/s, forming a wake around the fan zone before exiting the domain, with the duct itself acting as a natural silencer that limits how far the fan's sound propagates.As a result, while the sound pressure level remains high at Receiver 1 (closest to the fan), it drops to an acceptable range by Receiver 2, posing no concern for occupants near the entrance. This is confirmed by the A-weighted sound pressure level, which peaks at 80 dB — comfortably below the 120 dB threshold typically associated with harmful noise exposure. The simulation also reports a fan thrust force of 54.113455 N.

Acoustic in a Turbojet Intake Fan CFD SimulationDescriptionThis project simulates airflow inside a turbojet, examining the acoustic waves and sound generated within it using ANSYS Fluent. The incoming airflow is defined at a pressure of 85,416.92 Pa and a temperature of 283.9524 K, derived from the relevant governing equations.The model includes a turbojet fitted with a fan at its inlet, rotating at 2000 rpm about the X-axis. A dedicated airflow region surrounding the fan was defined and modeled using the Moving Reference Frame (MRF) approach to capture this rotational motion. The turbojet itself moves through the air at Mach 0.5 — since this exceeds the commonly used Mach 0.3 threshold for treating flow as compressible, the simulation accounts for compressibility accordingly, with a density-based solver applied and air density defined via the ideal gas law. The surrounding airflow domain was assigned a pressure far-field boundary condition at Mach 0.5.The 3D geometry was built in Design Modeler, consisting of the turbojet body with its internal fan positioned within a cylindrical computational domain representing the surrounding airflow. The region immediately around the fan was defined as an independent computational zone, allowing the fluid rotation induced by the fan to be captured through the frame motion method, while the full surrounding cylindrical domain carried the pressure far-field boundary condition. The domain was meshed in ANSYS Meshing using an unstructured grid totaling 3,723,166 elements.MethodologyAcoustic behavior was modeled using the Broadband Noise Sources model, with reference values set to match standard air properties: a reference density of 1.225 kg/m³, a reference sound speed of 340 m/s, and a reference acoustic power of 1×10⁻¹² W.ConclusionResults include contours and vector fields for velocity, pressure, temperature, Acoustic Power Level (dB), and Surface Acoustic Power Level (dB) throughout the domain, offering detailed insight into the turbojet's acoustic behavior. As air strikes the fan and its surrounding wall, the resulting acoustic parameters become most clearly defined in the region immediately downstream of the fan, with the Surface Acoustic Power Level concentrated along the fan surface itself — identifying it as the dominant noise source in this system.Plots of Acoustic Power Level and Surface Acoustic Power Level taken along the domain's centerline further clarify the precise magnitude and distribution of acoustic activity downstream of the fan, providing a clear quantitative picture of how the fan's rotation drives the turbojet's overall acoustic signature.

Acoustic (Broadband) Investigation on a HAWT, ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation TutorialDescriptionThis project investigates the acoustic performance of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT), examining the noise it generates at multiple points throughout its surrounding domain. The simulation runs in a transient state using ANSYS Fluent, with the turbine rotating at 72 rad/s about its horizontal axis while an incoming air stream approaches at 15 m/s. Several monitoring points positioned both upstream and downstream of the turbine were selected for detailed noise investigation.The acoustic results from this project are directly comparable to the companion study, "Acoustic (FWH) Investigation on a HAWT, ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation Tutorial", which solves the same underlying model using the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FWH) method instead — giving learners a direct side-by-side comparison of two distinct aeroacoustics prediction approaches applied to identical turbine conditions. Setting up this Broadband approach requires creating monitor points through the Surface–Create–Point tab under the Domain menu, then defining corresponding plots in the Report Definitions tab so acoustic quantities can be tracked transiently at each time step.The geometry was designed in Design Modeler and meshed in ANSYS Meshing using tetrahedral elements, totaling 2,696,011 elements.MethodologyAcoustic behavior was modeled using the Broadband Noise Source model, while turbine rotation was captured using the Moving Reference Frame (MRF) method applied within the Cell Zone Conditions. Turbulence was resolved using the k-ω SST model.ConclusionThe acoustic results extracted at each defined monitoring point throughout the domain include Acoustic Power Level (dB), Surface Acoustic Power Level (dB), Power Spectral Density, and Lilley's self-noise source, among other parameters. Results show Acoustic Power Level increasing significantly along the turbine's blade surface with distance from the hub, tracking the corresponding rise in local velocity magnitude toward the blade tip.These results can be directly compared against the companion FWH-based study referenced above, since both solve the identical turbine model using different acoustic prediction methods. The full set of resulting contours, plots, pathlines, and FFT spectra are provided as accompanying figures, offering a comprehensive view of the turbine's acoustic signature across the surrounding domain.

Acoustic (FWH) Investigation on a HAWT, ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation TutorialDescriptionThis project investigates the acoustic performance of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT), examining the noise it generates at multiple points throughout its surrounding domain. The simulation runs in a transient state using ANSYS Fluent, with the turbine rotating at 7 rad/s about its horizontal axis while an incoming air stream approaches at 15 m/s. Several monitoring points positioned both upstream and downstream of the turbine were selected for detailed noise investigation.The acoustic results from this project are directly comparable to the companion study, "Acoustic (Broadband) Investigation on a HAWT, ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation Tutorial", which solves the same underlying model using the Broadband Noise Source method instead — giving learners a direct side-by-side comparison of two distinct aeroacoustics prediction approaches applied to identical turbine conditions. In this FWH-based setup, monitoring points are defined through the Acoustic Model–Define Receivers tab, while the noise source itself — the turbine's blade surface — is selected through the Acoustic Model–Define Sources tab.The geometry was designed in Design Modeler and meshed in ANSYS Meshing using tetrahedral elements, totaling approximately 2,500,000 elements.MethodologyAcoustic behavior was modeled using the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FWH) acoustic model, while turbine rotation was captured using the Moving Reference Frame (MRF) method applied within the Cell Zone Conditions. Turbulence was resolved using the k-ω SST model.ConclusionThe acoustic results extracted at each defined receiver point include Surface dpdt RMS, static pressure, and sound pressure level (dBA), among other parameters. Results show the Surface dpdt RMS parameter increasing toward the blade edges farther from the hub, consistent with the higher local velocity magnitude and stronger interaction with the incoming wind flow in those regions.These results can be directly compared against the companion Broadband-based study referenced above, since both solve the identical turbine model using different acoustic prediction methods. The full set of resulting contours, plots, pathlines, and FFT spectra are provided as accompanying figures, offering a comprehensive view of the turbine's acoustic signature across the surrounding domain.

Francis Turbine Acoustics Analysis, ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation TrainingDescriptionFrancis turbines are a type of water turbine capable of harnessing both kinetic and potential energy simultaneously for power generation, owing to the specific arrangement of their blades. Water flows into the turbine's spiral chamber, where the circular arrangement of the blades requires the incoming fluid to adopt a rotational flow pattern as it collides with them, improving overall operational efficiency. This rotational flow is then directed onto the turbine runner blades at a defined flow rate, driving their rotation and producing the desired mechanical work, with water ultimately exiting the runner blades in an axial direction.This simulation models water entering the turbine's inner chamber at a mass flow rate of 1.996 m/s, with the runner blades rotating at 158 rpm.The geometry was designed in Design Modeler around two main components: fixed walls carrying stationary vanes set at fixed angles, and moving walls carrying the rotating runner blades. The domain was meshed in ANSYS Meshing using an unstructured grid totaling 4,914,404 elements, with finer mesh resolution applied near the blade surfaces to capture the more complex local flow behavior.MethodologyBlade rotation within the chamber, and the resulting rotational flow field around the blades, was captured using the Moving Reference Frame (MRF) approach — the water flow region surrounding the blades is treated as rotating relative to the blades themselves, while the blades are assigned zero rotational speed relative to this rotating reference frame. Acoustic behavior was modeled using the Broadband Noise Sources model.ConclusionSince this simulation builds on an established turbomachinery configuration already characterized in prior hydraulic analysis, the acoustic investigation here proceeds directly from those same flow settings. The results show that the rotating runner blades contribute the larger share of sound generation within the system, exhibiting notably higher acoustic power in the corresponding contour compared to the stationary components.The linearized Euler equations' contour further illustrates how sound propagates through the space between the rotor and stator, offering insight into the acoustic wave transmission pathway within the turbine's internal geometry — information directly relevant to understanding and potentially mitigating turbine noise in real-world hydroelectric installations.

Pelton Turbine, Acoustic Analysis, ANSYS Fluent CFD SimulationDescriptionThis project simulates a Pelton turbine under acoustic analysis using ANSYS Fluent. A Pelton turbine is a hydraulic turbine that harnesses the energy of pressurized water to rotate a wheel fitted with cup-shaped blades, converting that energy into mechanical power.Sound generation in mechanical equipment is generally considered an undesirable byproduct, arising from the propagation of sound waves near surfaces. Acoustic analysis provides a way to investigate sound sources and noise propagation power across various systems, including rotating equipment and turbomachinery such as this turbine.The 3D geometry was modeled in Design Modeler, representing the interior of a closed chamber housing the Pelton turbine. The domain was meshed in ANSYS Meshing, generating approximately 4,136,000 cells.MethodologyAcoustic behavior was captured using the Broadband Noise Sources method, which estimates noise generation and predicts acoustic power levels emanating from the identified sound sources. Turbine rotation was represented using the Moving Reference Frame (MRF) approach, applying rotational motion to the fluid region surrounding the turbine body; since the simulation was run under steady-state conditions, this rotation was implemented through the Frame Motion tool at a specified rotational speed.ConclusionThe results capture both the fluid flow behavior and the resulting acoustic characteristics. The acoustic power level contour on the turbine body — representing the sound power, in decibels, generated as the surface interacts with the fluid — shows the highest acoustic power levels concentrated on the turbine blades themselves.This pattern aligns closely with the turbulent intensity contour, which shows the same trend: wherever turbulent intensity is higher, acoustic power level rises correspondingly. Pressure and velocity contours around the turbine body further reinforce this relationship, with the highest pressure and velocity values also concentrated near the turbine surface — consistent with the turbine body being the dominant source of sound generation in this system.Together, these consistent, physically coherent patterns across the acoustic, turbulence, and flow results confirm that the simulation was performed correctly and accurately captures the turbine's acoustic behavior.

Horizontal Axis Tidal Turbine, Paper Numerical Validation, ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation TrainingDescriptionThis project simulates a Horizontal Axis Tidal Turbine using ANSYS Fluent, with results compared and validated against the published article "Performance of horizontal axis tidal current turbine by blade configuration."Water flows at a velocity of 1 m/s and passes over the turbine; as the flow collides with the turbine blades, it generates torque, producing rotational motion in the blades, which in turn induces a rotational flow pattern in the surrounding water.The 3D model uses S814-type airfoil sections for the turbine blades. Since the airfoil cross-section scales up or down along the blade length (based on airfoil chord length), each individual airfoil section — 16 in total — was imported as a set of coordinate points and drawn in SOLIDWORKS at a specific angle and distance from the central axis. These sections were then imported into Design Modeler for integrated blade construction.Design Modeler was used to model a three-bladed turbine. A dedicated cylindrical region was created around the blades to capture the circulating water flow, surrounded by a rectangular domain representing free-stream water flow. Blade geometry — including chord size for each airfoil section and its angle of inclination relative to the central axis — followed Table 3 of the referenced paper.Meshing was performed in ANSYS Meshing using an unstructured grid, with boundary layer mesh applied to the blade surfaces to improve accuracy, totaling 4,270,222 elements.MethodologyThe Moving Reference Frame (MRF) technique was used to simulate blade rotation, with the cylindrical region defined in frame motion mode at a rotational speed of 191 rpm about the turbine's central horizontal axis.ConclusionTurbine power (P) was calculated based on the torque applied to each blade (T), from which the pressure coefficient (Cp) was derived. These results were compared and validated against the corresponding values in Table 2 of the referenced article, which provides input and reference values used to compute the final torque and pressure coefficient figures.The power and pressure coefficient formulas follow the article's methodology, with the present CFD results compared directly against the paper's reported values in the accompanying results table.

Sloshing Tank, ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation TrainingDescriptionExperimental and numerical studies consistently demonstrate the importance of fluid sloshing within a tank on the maneuverability of floating vessels such as ships and boats. Several key laboratory studies inform this area of research, including measurements of sloshing dynamics within a tank, experimental-statistical analysis of sloshing wave impact loads on shell tank models, verification of numerical sloshing results against experimental data from scaled reservoir sections at different filling heights, investigation of long-term sloshing pressures accounting for impact-induced vibration, and experimental studies of pressure distribution from liquid sloshing in rectangular tanks.The computational domain represents a tank containing LNG fuel and air, incorporating several rows of internal joints and walls designed to restrict fluid movement. This reduces friction between fluid layers, since the inertia of fluid moving within the tank can otherwise affect the stability of the fuel carrier vehicle.The 2D tank geometry was modeled in Design Modeler, measuring 1 m in length and 0.7 m in width. Six rows of internal dividers, each 0.35 m high and 0.04 m thick, separate the fluid layers, with the geometry segmented to support a structured mesh. Since ANSYS Fluent relies on the finite volume method, mesh quality is critical; a structured mesh was accordingly generated for the tank using ANSYS Meshing.MethodologyThe simulation was set up using a pressure-based solver with absolute velocity formulation, run as a transient case with a 0.005 s time step. Gravity was enabled at -9.81 m/s² in the Y-direction, while the energy equation was disabled.Tank motion was defined through a UDF applying an oscillating zone velocity along the X-direction following a sinusoidal function, with the rotation axis fixed along Z. All walls were assigned a no-slip condition, and the reference pressure point was set at X = 0.00 m, Y = 0.25 m.The VOF multiphase model was used, with air as the primary phase and water as the secondary phase, applying implicit formulation, sharp interface modeling, and implicit body force, alongside an enabled level-set method for improved interface tracking; open channel flow was disabled. A surface tension coefficient of 0.0725 N/m was defined for the air-water interaction.Solution methods included SIMPLE for pressure-velocity coupling, PRESTO! for pressure interpolation, and QUICK schemes for both momentum and level-set discretization, with a compressive scheme applied to VOF implementation. The domain was initialized uniformly at zero, followed by a patch applied over the region X: -10 m to +10 m, Y: 0 to 0.25 m, setting static pressure as ρ_w·g·(1 − y/H_w) and a water volume fraction of 1.0. Static pressure was monitored throughout the simulation at a point located at Y = 0.0525 m.ConclusionThe simulation captures the oscillatory sloshing behavior of fluid within the tank as it responds to the applied motion, tracking the resulting pressure fluctuations at the monitored point over time. These results characterize how internal baffles and fluid inertia influence sloshing loads — information directly relevant to assessing structural and stability impacts on the fuel carrier vessel under realistic operating motion.