Centrifugal Blower (MRF) — ANSYS Fluent CFD SimulationDescriptionWelcome to the Centrifugal Blower CFD Simulation module. This project explores the design and analysis of a centrifugal blower using ANSYS Fluent and the Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) approach. A centrifugal blower raises the pressure of a gas by flinging it outward with a rotating impeller and collecting it in a surrounding volute — a configuration found throughout HVAC systems, industrial ventilation, and dust-collection equipment. The challenge in simulating it is representing the spinning impeller alongside the stationary volute, which is exactly what the MRF method makes possible. As the opening project of the Rotary Equipment: Beginner CFD Training Package, it introduces the MRF approach in its simplest single-rotor form — the foundation for the rotating-machinery cases that follow.MethodologyThe core of the setup is the MRF approach for modeling rotating machinery, which divides the domain into a rotating zone around the impeller and a stationary zone for the volute. The rotating and stationary zones are defined and the interface between them is configured so the flow transitions smoothly from one to the other. The impeller is assigned its rotational speed, and appropriate boundary conditions are applied at the blower inlet and outlet. This arrangement captures the interaction between the impeller and the volute — including the flow near the volute tongue — while keeping the solution steady through the reference-frame approximation rather than physically rotating the mesh.AnalysisPost-processing focuses on the flow field within the blower. Three-dimensional velocity fields reveal the flow patterns and vortex structures developing within the rotating impeller, while pressure contours show the pressure recovery through the volute and the overall pressure rise the blower delivers. From these results you can evaluate the fundamental pressure–flow relationship, estimate the blower's efficiency, and study how the impeller and volute flows interact. The setup also supports exploring how rotational speed affects performance and generating performance curves across operating conditions. By the end of this project, you'll be able to set up a rotating-machinery simulation using the MRF method, define rotating and stationary zones and their interface, assign rotational speed, and interpret the velocity and pressure fields to evaluate centrifugal blower performance for HVAC and industrial ventilation applications.

Axial Flow Fan Stage (Rotor–Stator, MRF) — ANSYS Fluent CFD SimulationDescriptionAn axial fan stage is a rotor–stator assembly that produces steady, directed airflow for industrial uses such as cooling freshly painted body parts. The two components share the work: the spinning rotor blades add energy to the air and induce swirl, and the stationary stator blades then straighten that swirling flow so it leaves the stage roughly normal to the outlet. This project uses ANSYS Fluent to model both the rotating and stationary zones of such a fan stage and evaluate its aerodynamic performance — a classic, transferable introduction to turbomachinery CFD. Within the Rotary Equipment: Beginner CFD Training Package, this project builds on the single-rotor blower by adding a stationary stator row, introducing the rotor–stator interaction at the core of axial turbomachinery.MethodologyThe 3D rotor–stator geometry is built in Design Modeler with separate rotating and stationary zones defined, then meshed in ANSYS Meshing with about 244,675 cells. To keep the computation efficient, a periodic boundary condition is used to model only a single slice of the fan rather than the full annulus — the standard way to cut the cost of a turbomachinery analysis without losing fidelity. The rotation is handled with the Moving Reference Frame (MRF) method, which simulates the rotor spinning at 1800 rpm while the stator stays fixed — a steady-state approach to rotating machinery that avoids the expense of a fully transient moving mesh. Turbulence is modeled with the standard k-ε model across the rotating flow field.AnalysisAt the end of the solution, you generate 2D and 3D contours of pressure and velocity, along with streamlines and velocity vectors that clearly reveal the swirl induced by the rotor and its correction by the stator. From the results you extract the key turbomachinery performance metrics: a rotor tip linear velocity of about 31 m/s, a Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) of 4, and an outlet airflow rate of 16.14 L/s. By the end of this project, you'll be able to build a rotor–stator geometry with distinct motion zones, apply periodic boundaries to model a representative slice, set up the MRF method for rotating machinery, and post-process the flow to compute the performance metrics that define fan and compressor behavior — a workflow that transfers directly to blowers, axial compressors, pumps, and ventilation fans.

Centrifugal Compressor — ANSYS Fluent CFD SimulationDescriptionWelcome to the Centrifugal Compressor CFD Simulation module. This project explores the design and analysis of a centrifugal compressor using ANSYS Fluent, examining the aerodynamics within one of the most important components in turbomachinery. A centrifugal compressor raises the pressure of a gas by accelerating it through a rotating impeller and then recovering that energy as pressure in a diffuser. Unlike a low-speed blower, a compressor operates at high speed where the gas density changes significantly, making it a compressible-flow problem with coupled pressure and temperature fields. Within the Rotary Equipment: Beginner CFD Training Package, this project introduces compressible flow in rotating machinery, stepping up from the incompressible blower and fan cases toward true high-speed turbomachinery.MethodologyBecause the flow is compressible, the setup solves the governing equations for compressible flow with a turbulence model suited to high-speed rotating flow. The rotation is handled with the Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) approach for steady-state analysis, dividing the domain into a rotating zone around the impeller and a stationary zone for the diffuser, with the interface between them configured for a smooth flow transition. The impeller is assigned its rotational speed, and the boundary conditions are set to represent the compressor's operating conditions. This arrangement captures the flow through the rotating impeller passages and the pressure recovery in the diffuser, resolving both the aerodynamic and thermodynamic behavior of the stage.AnalysisPost-processing focuses on the pressure and temperature fields that define compressor performance. Three-dimensional pressure contours reveal how pressure builds through the impeller and diffuser, while temperature contours show the thermodynamic response of the compressed gas. From these results you can compute the key performance metrics — the total-to-total pressure ratio and the isentropic efficiency — and study the flow through the impeller passages and diffuser. The setup also supports exploring how rotational speed affects performance across operating conditions. By the end of this project, you'll be able to set up a compressible rotating-machinery simulation using the MRF method, resolve the coupled pressure and temperature fields, and interpret the results to evaluate centrifugal compressor performance for aerospace propulsion and industrial process applications.

DescriptionThis module covers multistage compressor simulation using CFD, applying rotary equipment and turbomachinery modeling principles to a compressor configuration with two rotor and two stator rows. Multistage compressors are widely used across mechanical engineering applications, including gas turbines, HVAC systems, and process industries, making this a foundational skill for turbomachinery-focused CFD work.MethodologyThe simulation setup covers configuring rotating reference frames for the rotor stages, defining interface conditions between rotor and stator domains, and applying turbulence models suited to compressor flow. Boundary conditions specific to compressor operation are established, and the simulation is run with convergence monitored throughout the solution process.ConclusionThe analysis examines flow patterns, pressure ratios, and temperature changes across the compressor stages, visualized through velocity fields, pressure distributions, and streamlines. This understanding supports the analysis and optimization of compression systems such as gas turbine engines, industrial air compressors, and refrigeration systems, and builds core skills for tackling advanced turbomachinery problems in mechanical engineering.

Aircraft Propeller Using Mesh Motion — ANSYS Fluent CFD SimulationDescriptionThis project analyzes the thrust and lift generated by a rotating propeller and its effect on an aircraft fuselage using ANSYS Fluent, with the Mesh Motion (moving mesh) technique as the central theme. A propeller converts the rotational power of an engine into thrust: its twisted blades act like small rotating wings, producing an aerodynamic force that resolves into a component along the aircraft axis — the propulsive thrust — and a component in the plane of the blades — the torque. Reproducing this behavior in CFD requires the propeller region to physically rotate within the simulation, and the moving-mesh approach is what makes that possible. Within the Rotary Equipment: Beginner CFD Training Package, this project introduces the Mesh Motion method on an external rotating body, moving beyond the steady MRF approach to a fully transient, physically rotating simulation.MethodologyThe aircraft and propeller geometry was designed in SolidWorks and imported into ANSYS Meshing for grid generation and boundary naming. The mesh was first built with tetrahedral elements and then converted to a polyhedral mesh within Fluent, which yields fewer cells and higher quality — 3,812,519 elements for the tetrahedral mesh and 692,023 for the polyhedral mesh. The model is divided into two zones, rotational and stationary, which is the defining structure of a mesh-motion simulation. A cylindrical rotating domain sized at 1.12 propeller diameters surrounds the impeller and is meshed more finely, reflecting the greater importance of the blade region to the results. This rotating domain sits inside the fixed outer zone, and the two are connected through an interface that transfers flow quantities between them. The Mesh Motion method makes the rotating domain physically spin about the impeller axis, directly capturing the propeller's rotation, and a transient solver is used to resolve the resulting time-dependent flow. To scale the simulation correctly, the advance ratio is used as the governing similarity parameter: with an impeller diameter of 0.0532 m and a rotational speed of 1800 rpm (30 rad/s), an advance ratio of J = 1.225 corresponds to a flow velocity of 2 m/s, providing a consistent basis for simulating the propeller across different scales by holding the advance ratio fixed.AnalysisThe results yield the drag and lift on the fuselage together with the thrust and torque on the propeller, presented in the accompanying diagrams, along with contours, vectors, and flow lines that reveal the flow physics around the aircraft and blades. The study shows that, by respecting the advance ratio for each propeller, working points can be defined through the relationship between flow velocity and rotational speed. For a fully rigorous match, additional criteria are needed — in particular the Reynolds number based on both the impeller speed and the flow velocity — and a valid scaled simulation requires that the computed Reynolds number exceed the critical value for that propeller. On that basis the model can represent real propeller operating points. By the end of this project, you'll be able to split a domain into rotating and stationary zones joined by an interface, set up the Mesh Motion method with a transient solver to capture the genuine rotation of a propeller, apply the advance ratio as a scaling parameter, and interpret the thrust, torque, and aerodynamic loads the propeller produces.

Ram Pump — ANSYS Fluent CFD SimulationDescriptionThis project simulates a ram pump using ANSYS Fluent, with the mesh-motion technique driving the moving valves at the heart of the device. A ram pump is a clever, energy-free pump: it uses the pressure surge created when a moving column of water is suddenly stopped by a closing valve — the water-hammer effect — to lift a portion of that water to a higher level, without any external power source. Capturing this behavior means physically moving the valves within the simulation, which is exactly what the mesh-motion approach provides. Within the Rotary Equipment: Beginner CFD Training Package, this project opens the pump group, applying mesh motion to a valve-driven pumping device.MethodologyThe two-dimensional geometry is produced in SpaceClaim, with a computational domain 220 cm long and 153 cm high, meshed in ANSYS Meshing using unstructured elements for a total of 325,579 elements. Because the flow is incompressible, a pressure-based solver is selected and the simulation is transient, with gravity taken into account at −9.81 m/s² along the y-axis. Turbulence is modeled with the k-omega SST model. The mesh motion is applied to the left and right valves as a cell-zone condition with a rotational velocity of 1 rad/s. The inlet is defined as a velocity inlet at 1 m/s, the outlet as a pressure outlet at 0 Pa gauge, and the walls as stationary. Pressure–velocity coupling uses the Coupled scheme; spatial discretization is second-order for pressure, second-order upwind for momentum, and first-order upwind for both the turbulent kinetic energy and the turbulent dissipation rate. The solution is initialized with the hybrid method.AnalysisAt the end of the simulation, the velocity and pressure fields can be examined to reveal how the moving valves control the flow. When both valves are half-closed, the resulting restriction increases the pressure inside the pipe. When one valve is fully open and the other completely closed, all of the inlet fluid exits through the open side under the high pressure created there. By the end of this project, you'll be able to set up a transient mesh-motion simulation with moving valves defined as cell-zone conditions, apply the k-omega SST turbulence model to an incompressible internal flow, and interpret the velocity and pressure fields to understand how a ram pump develops and uses its pressure surge.

Twin Screw Pump — ANSYS Fluent CFD SimulationThis project analyzes the operation of a twin-screw pump using ANSYS Fluent. A twin-screw pump is a positive displacement device, transferring a fixed volume of fluid per cycle based on the rotational speed and pitch of its screws. As the two screws turn, they form enclosed chambers that move along the axial direction, creating a vacuum at the inlet and positive pressure at the outlet. This double-chamber arrangement allows the pump to handle fluids of both high and low viscosity with minimal pulsation.More specifically, the pump consists of two counter-rotating screw rotors that turn toward each other, trapping fluid in the space between their threads. As the screws rotate, this trapped volume progressively shrinks, compressing the fluid and driving it toward the outlet.In this study, the pump is used to handle a highly viscous fluid—glycerin. The rotation of the screws draws glycerin into the domain, increases its pressure, and pushes it toward the outlet.The geometry was designed in SolidWorks and refined in ANSYS Design Modeler, consisting of two rotating zones (the screw rotors) and one stationary zone (the pump housing). The model was meshed in ANSYS Meshing using an unstructured mesh, totaling 1,184,161 cells.MethodologyRather than applying rotation directly to the rotor geometry, the rotational motion is imposed on the surrounding fluid through a dedicated computational zone defined in the cell zone conditions. This is achieved using the Mesh Motion method, with a rotational velocity of 3 rad/s. Pressure boundary conditions are applied at the inlet and outlet, since fluid movement through the pump is driven entirely by pressure differences rather than forced flow.ResultsThe simulation produces 2D and 3D contours of velocity and pressure, along with streamlines around the rotors. The results show that fluid motion through the pump is governed by pressure gradients: rotor rotation generates suction at the inlet and pushes the fluid toward the outlet, with the streamlines clearly illustrating the rotational flow pattern inside the pump.

DescriptionMixing tank design with rotating impellers is a core application within rotary equipment and turbomachinery engineering, where accurate modeling of rotational flow behavior directly affects mixing efficiency and process performance. This CFD simulation uses ANSYS Fluent to analyze a closed mixing tank through the Single Reference Frame (SRF) method, a widely used approach for capturing rotational effects in turbomachinery without the computational cost of fully transient rotor motion. The study examines fluid behavior driven by a rotating impeller, with relevance to chemical process engineering, mixing and blending technology, wastewater treatment, and food and beverage processing.MethodologyThe three-dimensional tank geometry is built in ANSYS Design Modeler, and the domain is discretized in ANSYS Meshing using an unstructured grid of 278,775 elements, refined for mesh quality to support accurate results. The SRF method is configured to represent rotational movement within ANSYS Fluent, paired with a steady-state k-ε turbulence model. Boundary conditions are defined for an impeller rotating at 500 rpm, establishing the rotational reference frame used throughout the simulation.Results AnalysisPost-processing extracts pressure, velocity, and turbulent intensity contours to characterize flow behavior within the rotating system. Pressure distribution analysis reveals variations from the tank center to the walls and their effect on mixing efficiency, while velocity profiles across the tank are correlated with mixing effectiveness. Turbulence intensity patterns are visualized throughout the tank to assess their impact on mixing performance, and vortex formation driven by impeller rotation is examined to understand its influence on overall fluid dynamics. Together, these results support the optimization of mixing tank designs across a range of industrial applications.

MRF Method — Mixing Tank CFD Simulation, ANSYS FluentDescriptionThis project simulates a stirred mixing tank in ANSYS Fluent using the Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) method — the first of three mixing-tank studies that model the same tank with three different rotating-frame approaches. A mixing tank uses a rotating impeller to blend fluid, and it's a workhorse of chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and wastewater processing. The MRF method represents the spinning impeller through a rotating reference frame while the tank stays stationary, giving a steady-state picture of the flow at a fraction of the cost of a fully transient simulation. Within the Rotary Equipment: Beginner CFD Training Package, this project opens the three-part mixing-tank method comparison, establishing the MRF approach as the baseline against which the SRF and mesh-motion methods that follow are compared.MethodologyThe 3D model is created in ANSYS Design Modeler and meshed in ANSYS Meshing with 229,177 unstructured elements. The domain is divided into multiple zones for the MRF method — a rotating zone around the impeller and a stationary zone for the rest of the tank. The case is set up as a steady-state analysis with the k-ε turbulence model, and the boundary conditions define a 500 rpm impeller rotation within the stationary tank. This arrangement captures the effect of the rotating impeller on the surrounding fluid without physically moving the mesh, keeping the analysis steady and efficient.AnalysisPost-processing extracts pressure, velocity, and turbulent-intensity contours along with flow vectors around the impeller. The pressure field shows the variations around the impeller and their effect on mixing across the different zones; the velocity profiles reveal the flow patterns, particularly behind the impeller, and how they correlate with mixing effectiveness; and the turbulence-intensity field shows where the mixing is most vigorous, especially near the impeller. The flow vectors reveal the vortex formation that governs mixing efficiency. By the end of this project, you'll be able to set up a multi-zone MRF simulation of a stirred tank, define the rotating and stationary zones and impeller speed, and interpret the pressure, velocity, and turbulence fields to assess mixing performance — the baseline for comparing the SRF and mesh-motion methods in the next two projects.

Mixing Tank CFD Simulation Using Mesh Motion Method in ANSYS FluentIntroductionThis project simulates the performance of a mixing tank using ANSYS Fluent. The closed tank contains water, and an impeller rotates at 500 rev/min, generating a substantial vortex at the center of the tank. This product represents the fourth episode of the Turbomachinery Training Course.Geometry and MeshThe three-dimensional geometry of the mixing tank was designed in Design Modeler and meshed using ANSYS Meshing, resulting in an unstructured mesh with 209,328 elements.MethodologyThe Mesh Motion method was enabled to capture the rotational movement of the impeller. This approach requires two distinct zones connected through an interface: a rotating zone containing the impeller, which moves independently, and a surrounding stationary zone. The simulation was solved as unsteady, with the k-epsilon model selected to capture the turbulent behavior of the flow.Results and ConclusionTwo-dimensional contours of pressure, velocity, and turbulent intensity were obtained to characterize the flow field within the tank. The pressure contours show that water pressure in front of the impeller is considerably higher than behind it, consistent with the impeller's driving action on the fluid. As expected, flow velocity behind the impeller exceeds that observed elsewhere in the domain, while the turbulent intensity contours reveal the extent of turbulence generated throughout the tank as a result of the impeller's rotational motion.