Simulation Fluid-Structure Interaction 3D Sliding Cup

The simulation of a fluid-structure interaction of a sliding cup in 3D can be performed with NOGRID points CFD software.

In this fluid-structure coupling, the fluid is in a cup that slides down an inclined plane. No initial speed is imposed on the cup or fluid, but a bottom wall is turned off at a certain time, causing the cup and fluid to start rotating under their self weight. The cup slides down the inclined plane and is accelerated together with the fluid. The slip coefficient between the cup and the floor is assumed to be ideal here, i.e. there is no friction.

CAD creating groups for the 3D sliding cup case in NOGRID's COMPASS

Figure 1: CAD groups created in NOGRID's COMPASS

FSI 3D sliding cup case setup within NOGRID points CFD software's GUI

Figure 2: Setup of the FSI 3D sliding cup case

FSI 3D sliding cup GUI results in NOGRID points CFD software

Figure 3: Result view of the FSI 3D Sliding Cup case within NOGRID points' GUI

Animation FSI 3D sliding cup in NOGRID points CFD software

Figure 4: Animation of the 3D sliding cup case

The fluid-rigid body interaction simulated in this study is solved in a fully coupled manner using the Lagrangian method. Fully coupled means that the motion (translation and rotation) of the cup (= the rigid body) and the fluid variables for velocity and pressure are solved simultaneously in a large solution matrix (no iterative switching back and forth between the solution variables necessary).
In engineering, this fluid-structure coupling (=FSI Fluid-Structure-Interaction) refers to the consideration of the mutual influence between a flow and moving bodies, which are not necessarily rigid. Such interactions occur in many physical applications. The flow, in this case in a rigid body, causes both displacement and rotation of that body due to the forces and torques exerted on the body by the fluid. Conversely, the motion of the body alters the flow field. When the flow is also affected by the structural response, this is referred to as a real, two-way fluid-structure coupling. If several rigid bodies are involved, the motion of one body can additionally be influenced by collisions with other bodies.

As with any rigid body in the FSI coupling, the cup in this simulation is assigned a weight and a mass moment of inertia. The rigid body therefore responds to the forces exerted on it by the fluid. Conversely, the flow is also influenced by the presence of the rigid body, as can be seen on the left, where the fluid spills over the rim of the cup.

NOGRID points can be effectively used for the design and problem solving for all kinds of FSI processes. The software helps to understand the flow by computing and visualizing the mass, momentum, and motion of single or multiple rigid bodies. You receive integral quantities that can be used to evaluate the efficiency of components and processes.

Capabilities of NOGRID points CFD software

NOGRID combines the abilitiy to handle free surface flows and moving parts within the domain and allows the simulation of virtually any geometry and operating modes, such as

computation is in full 3D solving complete Navier-Stokes-Equations
easy and intuitive setup also for FSI (Fluid-Structure-Interaction) cases
free definable material properties by equations or curves
evaluation of chemical reactions and corresponding heat source terms
open or closed domains including inflow and outflow areas (non-batch mode)
moving of parts

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Nogrid's strengths

Particular strengths of NOGRID's fluid flow CFD software are the rapid preprocessing (no fluid grid needs to be generated, only the boundary mesh, inner finite points are generated automatically depending on User setting initially and during computation), and the outstandingly short computation time even for complicated cavities.

As you can see in the image below, the boundary of the geometry still requires a mesh to allow the interior finite points to detect the boundary. The boundary must therefore be meshed and the finite points inside are automatically generated during the simulation controlled by User specifications.

Easy and fast modelling: Build geometry, mesh boundary, setup the case and start computation

What is CFD from NOGRID?

CFD solves the fundamental equations that define the fluid flow process. With CFD software from NOGRID every engineer makes better decisions by predicting, analyzing and controlling fluid flow, heat and mass transfer or chemical reaction. By using NOGRID software for flow modeling you receive information on essential flow characteristics as for example flow distribution. Using it additional to testing and experimentation NOGRID software helps to improve the evaluation of your design – resulting in better construction and operation parameters, increasing planning security and money savings due to faster time to the marketplace for your product or process.

Choose NOGRID

With NOGRID, you choose professional CFD software and services – our aim is helping you to be successful. When you decide to work with NOGRID you choose close cooperation with a dynamic, flat hierarchies-organization. Short information channels result in quick and accurate professional support and service. Our team consists of highly qualified employees, who are experts in fields such as numerical simulation or computational fluid dynamics. Based on our know-how, we are pleased to offer the following services, responding to your individual requirements:

TRAINING

In our two-days training courses you will learn, how to use NOGRID CFD software efficiently. Our technical support team will teach you how to handle and solve different cases.

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Lack of time or resources and other constraints often make outsourcing an attractive solution. We help you with your flow modeling needs. Based on our engineering expertise in this field we offer individual numerical simulation services matching the unique needs of your organization.

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